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Aang felt as though his heart was beating out of his chest, his legs all of a sudden feeling too weak to hold his weight. For some reason, he avoided her eyes; maybe it was nerves getting the better of him as he was down on one knee, palms face up to her holding something very special. Not a word had been spoken between them. Any man would have feared the silence, but Aang was happy to wait. He would give Katara all the time she needed.
Her eyes glistened with tears.
It was stunning; beautiful; perfect - dare she say even more gorgeous than her mother's. The two ends of the blue satin necklace hung over the sides of his palms, delicately waving in the ocean breeze. Katara found herself unable to look away, hearing only the sounds of the waves crashing gently on the shore and her rapidly beating heart. The fabric was rich, and she noticed threads of purple interwoven throughout the blue, giving it an otherworldly glow when the moonlight hit it. And the pendant... where to begin. It was an opal stone reflecting colours Katara had never seen before tonight. It was completely flawless, marked with an engraving original to any other; the first to ever have existed - the symbols for water and air combined.
This was the best moment of her life so far, but the best was yet to come. The best would be the day she married him. “...Aang,” Her voice cracked, a pool of broken sobs stuck in her throat, and his eyes finally lay on hers after hearing her voice.
“Katara, I... I know we’re young.” Aang began: he was seventeen. “But I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life. If you aren’t ready to take such a big step, I-”
“Yes.” She whispered.
And adrenaline raged through him.
“Yes!” She spoke again, louder, making sure he heard her loud and clear. The tears were now falling to her cheeks and giggles sporadically spilt from her lips, unable to be stopped. She was ecstatic. Katara had never felt joy as pure as this: not since the first night they spent together.
“Yes...?” Aang was still unsure, that pit in his stomach still feeding him doubtful thoughts. Until she said the words:
“Of course I’ll marry you!” the tears still coming - streaming down her face. And finally, he believed her, a grin spreading across his face as he stood, arms wrapping around her in an instant and lifting her from the ground. The air was filled with their laughter as he swept her off her feet, spinning her under the sky. The Airbender was completely high on joy, gripping her to him as tight as he could. He never wanted to let go as the realisation dawned on him over and over again in his head: they were getting married...
They were getting married!
Her toes finally touched the sand, and his eyes glistened in the moonlight, and she decided again that no one was as beautiful as him. And he decided again that no one was as beautiful as her.
“I love you.” She whispered, gazing deep into his loving eyes.
And she kissed him before he could tell her the same, their lips pressed together in such a loving embrace.
Their lives would be spent together, and nothing was as perfect as that.
“Sokka’s coming for dinner tonight,” Katara spoke from the vanity, her eyes on his reflection sitting comfortably on the edge of their bed.
“Really?” Aang frowned. “I thought he was staying with Suki for a few days?”
“He was.” She sighed. This had happened before: her brother would seek refuge at their house for a few hours, contemplate his thoughts, realise he misses her (maybe taking a few drinks to get to that realisation) and then he would run straight to her place (or walk with Aang in company if he did have the few drinks) full of regrets and apologies to give to her as soon as she opens the door. “I was talking to Suki at the market. She told me about their fight.” Aang tipped his head back.
“Ahh,” The sound of realisation. She shook her head at him with a smile. Katara adored her brother, but sometimes his surprise company was kind of annoying. But it did open a perfect opportunity for the newly engaged couple. “You could take the chance to tell him the news...?” Aang mused, a smile fighting its way onto his lips.
“I was planning on it,” She smiled at him in the mirror, taking the betrothal necklace off of her neck and reaching for her mothers. Aang frowned instantly. “Can you help me with this?” Her hands disappeared to the back of her neck under long and thick lengths of hair, her hands holding the ends of the fabric for him to tie, but a surge of curiosity compelled him to stay put.
“Sweetie?”
“Yeah?”
“Why’d you take off your necklace?” Then she realised how that must have looked to him.
“Oh, no, don’t worry. I’m just putting Mom's on for tonight because Sokka would notice mine straight away,” Mine. It was nice to hear that. “I want it to be a complete surprise when we tell him.”
“Is it really that noticeable?” She spun around again.
“It’s that beautiful.” She reassured him. His eyes looked to the ceiling for a second, trying to fight back the biggest smile.
“Suck-up,” He joked under his breath, making his way over to her, the suppressed grin soon surfacing. She gave him a playful punch in the arm.
“Shut up.” She turned, her back facing him again, feeling his fingertips light against her skin as he gathered all of her hair together and brushed it over one shoulder so he could see what he was doing.
“Is it too loose?”
“No, that’s perfect.” She turned, her hand now resting on his cheek. He smirked at her.
“Not as perfect as you.” He wiggled his brows.
“Who’s the suck-up now?” She laughed, lightly smacking his cheek. It was only banter, of course, but he still leaned down, stealing a kiss from her laughing lips and attempted a quick getaway, but she swiftly pulled him back down to steal another, which led to her pulling him in for another, and another...
And another. Until her back was against the bedpost and his hands were in her hair. Until their pants filled the air and half of his clothes were somewhere on the floor. Until she fumbled with the tie of his pants and he hiked up her skirt, hands sliding down the backs of her thighs to-
“Where's my favourite travel companions?!” The couple froze instantly at the sound of Sokka's voice, their front door slamming closed. Her chest was still heaving for breath.
“Shit -” She took one look at him, half-naked, still in position to lift her from the ground. “Shit! Aang, get dressed!” She shoved him away, patting down her skirt.
“Don’t act like this is my fault-!”
“Just hurry up and get dressed!” She hissed, shoving him and running to her vanity, while he struggled to hold back his laughter, grabbing his clothes off the floor too slowly for her liking.
“This was not my fault,” Aang defended with a laugh.
“Yes, it was!" The waterbender jabbed a finger in his direction. "If you hadn’t kissed me in the first place-”
“-Hello? Anyone home?”
“This wouldn’t have happened!” She whisper-shouted after hearing her brother from the hall. “We’ll be right there!” The woman called before throwing Aang a glare; who was frantically fixing his robes with a shit-eating grin. “Go!” She hissed again, causing him to throw his hands up in defence.
“I’m going!” Aang chuckled and made his way out of their room and to the kitchen to find Sokka already sitting at the dining table. “Sokka!”
“Hey, man!” He got to his feet and beckoned Aang in for a hug. “Wow, you're getting pretty tall!” He said while patting his back.
“I’m almost eighteen, Sokka,” He pulled back. “Can you stop talking to me like I'm a kid?” Aang laughed a little, though it did bug him from time to time.
“Don’t worry my dude, I’m only teasing you,” He punched his shoulder with a grin; quite hard, actually, and Aang still felt like he was being treated like a kid. A kid who was marrying this guy's sister.
What if Sokka thought they were too young?
“Wow...” Sokka mumbled with his mouth full before going back to his bowl to gather another hefty amount of fried duck and rice. “'Dis is delicious!” Aang raised his brows at her, a shy smile on her lips.
“You think anything edible is delicious, Sokka-” She played with her own food.
“No, he's right. I tell her all the time, Sokka, but it's like talking to a wall!” He looked her way, wishing the girl he loved would take a compliment every now and then. Another bit of the vegetarian meal she had prepared for them both was soon placed into his mouth. But, Sokka was having duck. It's not that Katara didn't eat meat anymore, she just didn't have a preference and it seemed easier for Aang and her to cook and eat together. She had to prepare some kind of meat every time her brother came, though. He wasn’t the biggest fan of vegetarian cuisine.
“K'tara,” He said before swallowing, moving his chopsticks, that were already halfway in his mouth, to point them at Aang, a piece of duck still in between them. “Listen to your boyfriend.” He stressed every word. Aang’s eyes widened at this, and he kept his head low and his focus on his meal, clearly hiding his face. Katara noticed him smirking. But not for the obvious reason of Sokka's comment about Katara doing what he says, it was the fact that Aang was more than her boyfriend now, and Sokka didn't know, to Aang's smug delight. Katara found herself fighting back a laugh at how cocky the Avatar seemed; but instead, she rolled her eyes, looking back at her brother.
“I do listen to him.”
“Do not.” Aang scoffed, jokingly.
“Yes, I do!” She turned, trying her best to be serious.
“You know, I kinda believe Aang on this one-” Sokka shrugged to his sister whose mouth was now agape. Aang gave her a triumphant look, but her attention was on her brother who had surprisingly given up on trying to get another mouthful anytime soon.
“I’m your sister!”
“But Aang’s my bro! Isn’t that right, Aang?” Sokka didn’t know how true his statement would be in the near future.
“It sure is.” The airbender agreed, smiling at Katara whose eyebrows raised. This is the perfect opening, she realised.
“Well... actually...” She started, her features now void of the mock annoyance she donned previously. The comedic atmosphere suddenly dulled to something a lot more serious. Something Sokka was not ready for as his eyes darted between the both of them, searching for an explanation for the change in mood. Aang got back to his initial position, Sokka’s arm dropping, and he cleared his throat. Sokka looked beyond confused, and a little worried. “Speaking of brothers,” Aang made eye contact with her, giving her a look that asked if he could continue. His stomach was a mess of butterflies and nerves. Of course, she complied, and so he turned to face her brother head-on, drawing a deep (and not so steady) breath through his nose. Sokka gave him his full attention, but not without question. His whole body was tense.
“What's going on?”
“...I asked Katara to marry me.” Aang said, and Sokka’s features softened immediately. It was as if an invisible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He didn’t know what to say, so he watched them instead. The warmth of her hand embraced Aang’s under the table, the couple looking Sokka’s way intently. His lack of reply knocked their confidence a bit. At last:
“...Katara?” he said something. Did his voice crack a little? Katara thought.
“I said yes, obviously.” She laughed nervously, giving Aangs hand a squeeze. She really hoped his voice did crack.
Abruptly, Sokka got to his feet. But he stood for a bit in silence, just looking at them. Now that he was on his feet, he didn’t know what to do or what to say. All control over his voice was completely gone in this moment and his breath was caught in his throat. Aang was worried, turning his head to her for a second, but she was just as confused as him - the look on her face not helping. If he wasn’t happy, Aang didn’t know what to do - much less Katara. Aang felt like he was going to be sick - but then, Sokka let out an exasperated breath that seemed to thaw the smile that was frozen underneath the shock on his face, and Aang released the breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Their hearts were racing as the smile only grew on his lips, and at last, he found his voice and: “My baby bro is getting married!” He blurted out and pulled Aang up by his robes into a hug so tight it almost winded the Avatar. Katara still sat on her chair feeling... indifferent. One: she was excited and relieved that he was happy. But, two: Baby bro? What about baby sis?!
“Hey!” She interrupted, Aang in the unbreakable grip of his fiance’s brother, desperately patting his back to let go.
“They grow up so fast!” Sokka sniffed to himself, rubbing at his eyes while completely ignoring Aang's struggle and instead hugged him tighter. Behind this joking, childish demeanour, Sokka was absolutely over the moon. There was no way on earth would he ever have a serious reaction to news like this.
“-Sokka-” Aang managed to get out. “-I can’t breathe-”
“Oh! Sorry Aang!” He released Aang, hands on his shoulders at arm's length and peering into his eyes. “Spirits! I’m just so happy for you two!” He grinned, squeezing his shoulders so tight it made Aang physically winch.
“Would you mind showing it?” Katara complained from behind her fiance, arms crossed, feeling a little left out, but she couldn't keep a smile from appearing on her lips when Sokka finally looked in his sister’s direction. He was beaming. It felt so good to tell him and to watch him as he grinned at both of them. Her brother was trying his best to hide the way the tears threatened to pool in his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek, unbeknownst to both of them.
“...Come here.” He gestured to Katara, and she gingerly smiled up at him before she was engulfed in an embrace so loving that she remembered they hadn’t hugged in years. “I am so, so happy for you, Katara.” He shut his eyes tight, a smile that he decided wouldn’t be wiped off his face for at least a few days on his face, resting his chin on the top of her head. And she found that her eyes were threatening to spill with tears again as her brother swayed her from side to side, holding her close to his chest. Aang was happy to watch, seeing the siblings so happy, but Sokka called out to him. “Aang, get in here!” He outstretched an arm to him, and Katara copied, sniffing a little as her gaze met Aang’s; he was smiling like an idiot.
Soon they were in a giant embrace, and not one word was spoken between them for a while as they basked in the sheer joy of the moment. Their food was getting cold, but they didn’t care. When feeling love and happiness like that, nothing else in the world matters.