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She hummed happily as he ran his fingers through her hair. His breathing was even beneath her head as she lay tucked up against his side and his heartbeat thumped under her palm.
“You’re like a seal lion,” Aang murmured sleepily. “So content to be petted.”
“I would hope I’m much more pleasant to touch than a seal,” Katara replied with a muted laugh.
“You are,” he nudged his bare hip against the warm skin of her thigh, “trust me.”
“Flirt.”
Aang hummed his reply, shifting his legs to stretch beneath the sheets of their bed and sighing as the joints popped. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was starting to dip behind the horizon, the pink light washing through the open curtains. Aang and Katara had had a day to themselves – a rare treat – and had spent the day in wrapped in various amorous trysts in their small apartment in the Upper Ring.
They had made it back to their soft bed after sharing a bottle of wine and basket of sweet fruits, savouring the aftertaste through gentle kisses. It had been slow and lazy, the bed stead creaking with their sleepy rhythm. It had been a nice way to celebrate Aang’s seventeenth birthday.
“Hey,” Katara muttered, her lips brushing against his chest. “I love you. Happy birthday, sweetie.”
“Love you too,” Aang replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead and scratching at her scalp. “Thank you for today. I preferred this to that awful party Kuei tried to throw last week.”
“It was terrible, wasn’t it?” Katara agreed, rolling her eyes in distaste. Her fingers traced lightly against the sharp lines of his ribs.
“Imagine what he’s gonna do for our wedding.”
Katara hummed in reply. “No doubt Bosco will be performing some sort of show if we let Kuei have his way.”
“We could just run off somewhere – maybe Ember Island – and get a Sage to bless us there,” Aang replied softly. “No big fuss, no expectations, just you and me?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Katara answered, closing her eyes and snuggling into the warmth of his skin. They sweat on their skin dried as they lay in silence and Aang’s fingers traced the line of her spine. The dying light of the day bathed the room in a soft pink colour – it reminded Aang of the flush that would rise to Katara’s skin, like raspberries dipped in chocolate.
“Did… did you just ask me to marry you?”
Aang looked down at Katara, her eyes wide as she stared back at him with a smile quirking the corners of her lips. “I dunno,” he replied, shrugging and smiling back, “I thought you were asking me.”
Katara giggled and crawled up the bed. She straddled his lap, her giggles becoming a smirk as Aang groaned at her movements. “To be honest, I don’t think anyone really ever had to ask.”
“Mmm,” Aang answered, his fingers threaded in to her hair as she bent to kiss his neck. “I think you’re right.”