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Kya and Tenzin tiptoed after Bumi, who was holding the tray of food.
It was their parents’ anniversary, and the three had gotten up early to prepare a special breakfast to surprise them with in bed.
Stopping outside Aang and Katara’s closed door, Bumi looked at his brother and sister. “Ready? One… two… three…!”
Kya threw open the door, and they shouted in unison. “Surprise!”
But then the kids stopped dead in their tracks.
There was movement under the sheets — and not the gentle sort that suggested that Katara and Aang were just waking up.
Oh, no. Their parents were very much awake and doing something no child would ever be able to unsee.
Bumi dropped the tray, and they all started screaming, bolting from the room.
Thirty minutes earlier…
Katara awoke to find Aang gazing at her with soft, gray eyes.
She propped herself up on one arm and lightly poked him in the cheek. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking about how beautiful you are and how much I love you,” he said without missing a beat, unfazed by getting caught staring.
“Aw. You’re sweet,” she murmured. “Happy anniversary.”
“Happy anniversary, sweetie,” he said, rolling onto his side to kiss her.
Their lips lingered, and when Aang pulled back, he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Where has the time gone? Feels like just yesterday that we were newlyweds and building Air Temple Island. Now, look at us. Eighteen years have flown by.”
”Eighteen wonderful years,” Katara said, pressing a hand to his bare chest. “And three amazing children.”
“The best,” Aang said. “Though, speaking of the kids… They’re still asleep. You wanna…?”
He wiggled his hips playfully under the covers and Katara laughed, kissing him with a fierceness that embodied the depth of their love.
They quickly shucked off their sleep clothes and Katara drew him into her arms.
Soon, Aang was thrusting into her, a faint sheen appearing on his brow as he redoubled his pace.
Katara arched her back into him with a soft gasp as he angled his hips and brushed against a particularly sensitive area.
Neither heard the door open.
“Surprise!”
They jumped, and Aang withered immediately.
There was an excruciating beat of silence before the sound of crashing dishes and three bloodcurdling screams reverberated through the room and down the hall as their children fled the scene.
Aang tried to turn around, but got caught up in the sheets and nearly tumbled off the bed.
“Nothing’s happening!” he insisted desperately.
Mortified, Katara grabbed the covers to shield herself. But by then, the kids were long gone.
A hand flew to her mouth in disbelief as she and Aang exchanged guilty looks in the cavernous silence.
Downstairs in the kitchen, the siblings were in a state of utter chaos.
Bumi paced back and forth, head in his hands. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
Meanwhile, Kya was bending water straight from the tap, trying in vain to flush the cursed image from her eyes. “I can still see it!” she wailed.
“What were they doing?” Tenzin asked, sounding equally curious and mystified.
“Nothing!” Kya snapped, attempting to preserve her little brother’s innocence. “They were doing nothing!”
Bumi either did not get the memo or had elected to ignore it outright.
”It!” he said, slamming his hands down on the counter. “They were doing it!”
”He doesn’t know what you’re talking about!” Kya cried, bending the excess water from her face.
Tenzin crossed his arms. “Sex? I know what sex is, Kya. Lin told me. It’s when two people take off their clothes and—“
Kya squeaked in horror. “Stop talking!”
“We need to leave,” Bumi said, as if he’d just had an epiphany. “We can’t be here right now. Come on, let’s go.”
He pocketed some spare coins lying on the table and gestured for Kya and Tenzin to follow.
“I’m hungry, though,” Tenzin said, catching a glimpse of the leftover scallion pancakes they had made.
Kya pulled him by the arm out the door. “We’ll take Appa for a ride and get breakfast downtown. Hurry up.”
Dressed in her powder blue robe, Katara sat at the edge of the bed, still rattled.
She groaned, running her hands through her hair.
”We traumatized our children,” she said.
”I don’t think it was that bad,” Aang said, throwing on a pale yellow tunic.
Katara threw her arm out at the open doorway where sliced mangoes, scallion pancakes, and mini egg tarts lay scattered on the tatami floor. “Sweetie, they dropped a tray of dishes and ran out like they were on fire!”
Aang sat next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him with a distressed sigh.
“I’m sure the kids are fine,” he said. “We’ll talk to them, and, you know, we’ll make it light. Maybe crack a few jokes. Remember, we set the tone. It’s only a big deal if we make it a big deal.”
She looked at him, skeptical. “Jokes? Like what?”
“Well, this is just one idea, but something like, ‘Knock, knock;’ ‘Who’s there?’ ‘Someone who doesn’t want to see their parents… well, y’know. That’s why we knocked.’”
Seeing her expression, Aang gave a nervous laugh. “Or not. Don’t worry. We’ll come up with something.”
“We have to rehearse exactly what we’re going to say because that’s the only way I’m going to keep it together when my babies are looking at me with judgment and disgust.”
She curled closer to Aang’s side and hid her face in his chest.
“To be fair,” Aang said, kissing the crown of her hair, “they’re teenagers. That’s how they always look at us.”
Buying steamed buns from a favorite local vendor, the kids sat atop Appa’s saddle, chewing quietly.
”You do realize Mom and Dad are going to want to talk to us about this, right?” Bumi said, staring off into the distance at Air Temple Island.
Kya made a face. “Please don’t say that. I really don’t think I can handle a big family meeting.”
“We’re not gonna have a choice,” Bumi said, turning to look at her and Tenzin. “They love to talk about everything. You know that. We’re definitely not getting out of this one. My advice is, when they start talking, just smile, nod, and think about something else.”
“Kind of like when Dad tells us that story over and over of that monk who didn't eat for, like, a hundred days,” Tenzin said.
Bumi grinned. “Exactly.”
When they’d finished their breakfast, Tenzin airbent the trash into a nearby receptacle while Bumi grabbed the reins.
”Let’s get this over with,” he sighed. “Appa, yip, yip.”
“So, first of all, we do want to apologize for what happened,” Katara said. She and Aang were in the living room, sitting on the sofa adjacent to the kids.
“Well, we’re not sorry for what happened. We’re sorry that you saw it happen,” Aang clarified.
Katara cleared her throat. “Right… I think they got that. So, look, we know that no one wants to see their parents...” her voice faltered for a moment, searching for the right words.
Aang stepped in to fill the silence. “Your… sensuality…”
“… not dressed. Oh.”
“Basically,” Aang continued, already on a runaway train. “it’s two adults.”
”Adults,” Katara echoed. So far, so good.
”And it’s like they’re shaking hands… except they’re not using their hands. At all.”
The kids didn’t respond but were smiling and nodding to everything said.
Katara fixed him with a pointed stare. It was time to wrap this up.
“I guess what Dad and I are trying to say is that, as you get older and start to explore your sexuality, you’ll see that as long as you’re in a committed relationship with consenting adults, then there’s really nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Wow. Great talk, guys,” Bumi said, the wide grin still plastered on his face. He stood up and with a small jerk of his head, indicated that his sister and brother do the same. “You talked to us on our level without being condescending. Really appreciate it.”
“Oh. Of course, sweetheart. And you guys know if you have any questions or just want to talk, you can come to me or Dad at any time, right?.”
“Yup, definitely,” he said quickly. “So, if we’re done here, I think we’ll go do… something. Come on, guys.”
“Love you!” she called after them.
”Love you, too!”
Katara’s shoulders sagged in relief. “That went pretty well, right?”
“You were great,” Aang said. “Totally calm and collected.”
“You too! I mean, this was a defining moment for us as parents, sweetie, and I think we nailed it.”
Aang leaned over to kiss her as Kya bounded back around the corner.
”Hey, Mom, can I—“ Her eyes widened at the display before her and she made a little noise of incredulity.
”Oh, for the love of Tui, enough!” She then stalked away, her request going unanswered.
The following week, the kids presented Katara and Aang with a belated anniversary gift.
“Wow. How thoughtful,” Katara said as Bumi handed a silk pouch to Aang. “What is it?”
Reaching into the bag, Aang took out the present. He looked at Katara and held up the item for her to see.
“It’s a lock. For our… room.”
“We asked Auntie Toph to metalbend one for us,” Kya said. “She said it’s super strong.”
”I see,” Katara said under her breath, face aflame.
”We’ll use it all the time,” Aang said.
Katara sucked in a sharp breath and plucked the lock from Aang’s hand. “Thank you. Very… considerate.”
Unfortunately for the kids, what had been thought of as a foolproof way to ensure they were never again subjected to such horror backfired in spectacular fashion. For when the lock was used, it made a terribly loud click that could be heard through the walls, thus giving away their parents’ deeds and sending them running.