Chapter Text
Katara was sitting with Bumi on the cliffside of Air Temple Island, the evening slow and vibrant as they watched the clouds thin out past the mountains. Katara handed Bumi a piece of bread and ran her fingers through his hair as he dropped crumbs onto his comic book. She smiled as the wind whipped her baby hairs across her face, watching Bumi use his finger to keep track of his place on the page.
Bumi's birthday was tomorrow. A few weeks ago, he told his parents that he wanted nothing more than to do a day at sea with his friends, Katara and Aang agreeing with his seemingly simple request. All they would need to do is take them out on the boat, which Sokka wouldn't mind helping with.
"Aang," Katara had mumbled once Bumi excitedly left the room, thinking of how to tell his friends about his birthday plans. "Something tells me that he doesn't just want a day out on the boat."
Aang had chuckled. "Now what ever would give you that idea?"
Katara grinned and held Aang's collar as she leaned into him. Bumi was smart. She remembered a time when he drew a design for Kya's crib that would expand as Kya grew. The wood would be on a notch system that only needed to be snapped into place. At the time, when Bumi was 8, he was most excited about his built-in slide feature. "Your son makes blueprints about what he's going to eat for the day. You think he's not in his room right now drawing up some idea for his party?"
Aang wanted to take credit for his son's intelligence, but he knew he got it from his mother. He rubbed her cheek. "Hey, that's the water tribe blood." Although he knew it, he didn't exactly admit that the sneakiness was fully from him, though. Aang giggled and pulled her into his chest.
"Or too much time with his uncle," Katara followed, sighing in adoration. Truthfully, there was nothing that made her heart fuller than watching her son spend time with Sokka. They were so alike in so many ways.
On the cliffside, Katara began to hum a water tribe tune, her eyes slightly closed as the sun gleamed through the hazy evening. The tops of her cheeks were warmed by the remaining glimpses of sunlight. Bumi melted into her touch as he turned the page, gently swatting away a spiderfly. His lemur, Kiui, was curled up sleeping next to them. She thought about how her boy was growing up, and wondered how many more moments like this she would have with him before he towered over her. She smiled as she remembered how quickly Aang shot up; now, he was taller than Sokka.
Katara knew that Aang was suddenly approaching, although if not for Kya on his shoulders, she wouldn't have heard him. Instead, she heard Kya's giggles as Aang blew up gusts of wind to keep her hair out of his face. Despite being 3, Kya had already started to show her gentle spirit. She rarely fussed, was usually patient, and asked more questions than any kid they knew. Aang met Katara's eyes and smiled, plopping down next to the pair on the ground. Katara immediately lit up. She missed him.
"My Sky!" She greeted him, kissing his cheek.
"My Sea," He responded, about to lean in to kiss her but interrupted by Kya clumsily climbing down from Aang's shoulders. She was in a hurry, trying to catch up to a dragonfly as it flew past. Katara grinned as she watched her run through the grass. "Please be careful around the edge, okay?" Katara called out, her hand blocking the sun from her eyes.
"I know," Kya replied, giggling before nearly tripping over her own feet. Katara didn't even need to look over at Aang before he earthbent a railing along the edge, just in case. Kya paused to look curiously at Aang before continuing her chase.
Aang finally gave Katara a kiss before looking down at Bumi's comic book, his focus unbroken despite the new distractions. "Ah, you're getting to the part about The Circus Master. His fire whip is really cool when he-"
"Shhh, DAD!" Bumi stuck a finger out towards him, Aang raising an eyebrow in return. "Don't spoil it, are you crazy?"
Katara bumped shoulders with Aang. "Yeah, Dad. You wouldn't want to spoil the part where The Circus Master talks to Clyde about going-"
"Ughhh..." Bumi groaned, rolling onto his back. Aang and Katara giggled as Bumi looked up to glare at them. He attempted to look threatening, but his youthful features betrayed his intentions.
"Boom, did you figure out what you wanted to do on the boat tomorrow?" Aang asked. They never spoke to Bumi about how they knew he had additional plans, but Bumi knew he didn't need to say anything. He grabbed either side of his book in the air above him as the pages fell down, a piece of paper dropping out of the back. He unfolded it and handed it to Aang, Katara leaning into his chest to see what it said. Bumi sat up.
Aang and Katara tried to make sense of the drawings they saw. Arrows were pointing from the boat and into the ocean, with giant circles surrounding stick figures. Next to the circle was a tall man with an arrow, and a woman with hair flowing around her shoulders. It looked like Bumi had tried to get Katara's hair just right. In the drawing, they both had their arms raised. They peeked over the drawing to see Bumi's excited eyes.
"You want us to..." Aang's voice trailed off, keeping an eye on Kya as she got near his makeshift wall.
"Can you pleeease take us to the ocean floor? Please please pleeease. It would just take a little bit of waterbending. And if you do it together maybe it won't be so tiring. And it would just be for a little while, I want to see if Kiui can catch a fish." Kiui stirred from his sleeping spot at the sound of his name. "And maybe we can explore the reef. If not maybe I can ask the waterbenders in town if they can help?" Kya ran by again, Bumi stopping her before she fell into the wall. "Kya, if only you could bend, then maybe you could help, too." She swatted Bumi's hand away before running back into the grass.
Aang looked at Katara. With both of them there, it wouldn't be too hard to keep a bubble underwater. Before they were married, they would take trips into the ocean together, bending the water above their heads to watch the fish swim by. There, in their own bubble, they would be completely separate from the world. They would take turns focusing on the responsibility of bending as the other would lay kisses on their neck. Sometimes, they would tease the other to not lose focus.
As Bumi grew up they eventually took him too, especially when he started becoming interested in fish. He would stick his hands through the water, trying to catch one, not realizing how small his arms truly were in the vast expanse of ocean. Bumi had always been entirely sure that the world was within his reach.
Katara squeezed Aang's hand and looked at Bumi. "I don't see why not."
Bumi squealed and jumped to his feet. "Thank you thank you!!" Kya looked up at the commotion and ran over to check on her brother. She looked up to Bumi more than anything, her hand reaching for his.
"Boom-boom?"
Bumi reached down and picked her up, hiking her on the side of his hip. "Kya, are you excited?" He spun them in circles, Kya giggling and grabbing his arm tightly. Aang gazed lovingly at Katara, his heart full with the sound of their children's laughter. Katara was a beautiful mother. She made beautiful kids. This was all he ever dreamed of.
As Aang started to feel his heart flutter, Katara started to speak. "How exactly are you going to get your friends and their parents down to the ocean floor? We'll be in a boat in the middle of the water. They can't swim that far."
Bumi hadn't told them of this part yet. He was hoping they wouldn't ask. "Um..." he looked to the side. A few days ago, he spoke to his Uncle Sokka and mentioned this very concern. When Bumi proposed his solution, Sokka had pat his back in pride, reassuring him that he would help. "Uncle Sokka..."
"Oh, God," Aang muttered under his breath.
"Uncle Sokka said we can use his submarine – please don't say no, come on, it would be so cool Mom and Dad." Bumi grabbed one of Kya's hands to do a begging motion towards his parents.
Katara groaned. "Bumi, don't you think that's a little... much?"
Bumi didn't respond, only rested his face on Kya's and rocked them back and forth before looking at his mother with pleading eyes. She always saw her father in them.
Katara could picture Sokka checking all of the bells and whistles of his submarine right now, preparing for a group of 20 people to come aboard. She rolled her eyes at the fact that Sokka conveniently left out this part of the birthday planning when he asked them what they needed for the party. "Should I bring food? Games?" A damn submarine?
Aang shook his head. "What do you think, dear?" He was deferring this one. It was her brother, after all. Secretly, he agreed with Bumi. He thought the idea was pretty cool - of course, only if Katara thought it was, too.
"If Sokka said he'd bring it, then I guess that's fine. You're gonna have some birthday, Booms."
Bumi swung Kya over his shoulders, whooping as he sprinted down the hillside, Kya's joyous squeals echoing off the buildings. Kiui followed them, chirping through the sky. Katara sighed as she rested her head on Aang's shoulder. Aang put his lips against her hair, warmth still clinging to the strands from the setting sun. Hugging her close, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"C'mon. The stew is almost ready. Kya helped." Aang got up and helped Katara to her feet, her grabbing the supplies from their picnic as they made their way inside.
After dinner, Katara put Kya to bed as Aang helped Bumi set out supplies for tomorrow. Bumi had an entire checklist of food, clothes, and fishing gear. He was only inviting five friends, but Aang and Katara urged him to extend the invitation to their parents. They didn't always get to invite guests over to the island, and figured it would be good to speak to them more than occasional exchanges of small-talk at school.
"Some of the acolytes agreed to fly the bison to pick everyone up from the docks, they should be there by noon." Bumi stuffed a bag full of diving equipment. Aang slowed as he watched his son's movements, shocked at how grown he seemed. Bumi exuded confidence and adventure, similar to Aang when he was younger. He felt pride wash over him. Bumi turned twelve tomorrow, the same age Aang was when he learned he was the avatar. Secretly, this birthday meant just as much to Aang as it did to Bumi.
Aang walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Bumi, I'm so proud of you. You're one of the smartest people I know. Happy birthday, my son." Bumi gleamed up at him, smiling, before hugging him tight.
"Thanks Dad, I'm so excited. I can't wait."
Aang smiled down at him. "Go on to bed. Tomorrow's a big day. I'll get the rest of this packed, and tomorrow morning we'll load it onto the boat." Bumi sauntered into his room as Aang finished packing. Katara was still with Kya, so he decided to go ahead and load everything onto the boat anyways. It would give Bumi less to do on his birthday so he could focus on enjoying it. Aang took off his shirt to carry the heavy supplies onto the boat, using earthbending to push it down the slopes. He worked up a sweat as he put everything inside, organized it, and double checked that the boat was ready for tomorrow.
When he walked back inside the house and into the master bedroom, he found Katara combing her hair on their bed. She was dressed in a cropped shirt and shorts, her skin glowing from lotion. She never failed to take his breath away; her features were so intoxicating that he had to force himself to remember that he's a master of air. She noticed his pause and looked up at him, sweat beading at the top of his chest.
"You're gonna rinse off, right?" She twisted her face up slightly, trying to hide her affection for the way his muscles were swelling. Aang smirked as he made his way to their bathroom, starting to touch the hem of his shorts on the way.
"You gonna do it for me?" He called out, his voice echoing off the tile, Katara grinning widely before blushing and throwing her head back. Aang's flirting always weakened her. She couldn't get the image out of her head of his rosy chest as he eyed her on the bed a second ago. The image in her head when she heard his shorts hit the ground wasn't easy to ignore, either.
Katara quietly got up and slowly walked towards the bathroom, not sure what her intentions were just yet. She peeked around the corner and watched as he stepped into the shower, using waterbending to make the water flow out. With a deep breath, he firebent a heated steam through his nostrils to turn the shower into a sauna. As the steam rose, he looked over his shoulder at Katara, throwing her a wink before reaching for the soap. Katara could have fallen to her knees.
Aang eyed her as she inched closer, a hungry expression on her face. She looked innocent and curious, her gaze raking his frame, as if she couldn't decide which part of him she wanted to try first. Aang smirked at the sight of her in her thin top, the steam causing it to cling to her skin. She stood at the edge of the shower and he leaned in to kiss her. He stopped the water after a moment, but Katara was already wet. She tasted like the strawberry tart they had for dessert. He was partly aware of the fact that the water had soaked her shirt, but as much as he wanted to take a peek, he wanted to kiss her more. He deepened the kiss and held on to either side of her head before eventually breaking away.
"Are you going to get in here with me, or are you going to let me finish so I can get into bed with you?" Aang was okay with either option, but a decision needed to be made. He stole a glance at her shirt.
Katara kissed him again before taking a step back. She wanted the latter. "Don't take too long, Avatar." She returned his wink and walked back into their room, feeling his gaze burn into her back. She waterbent her damp clothes dry before lifting the covers and sliding inside, sighing at the comfort of their cool, silk sheets.
Aang took the quickest shower of his life. He knew that his beautiful waterbender was waiting for him, a thought that made him excitedly airbend the water off of him so he could hurry to bed. Despite being together for nearly 20 years, they never seemed to lose that sense of longing for one another. Some time to touch her skin and kiss her was exactly the type of thing he needed after such a rough day with the council in Republic City – everyone always looked to him for the answers, and when he offered suggestions, they would undermine him with their own opinions. The stress of it all weighed on his shoulders, but Katara had a gift for making it all go away. He walked towards the bedroom and leaned against the door frame, dressed in thin shorts, his muscles still full from the heat of the shower.
"Hey, Mama," He nodded his head to Katara, whose eyes flicked open and lips turned up. "I missed you."
Katara sat up slightly. "In the shower?"
Aang laughed. "Yes. But, at work, too. It was a long day." He walked towards the bed and climbed underneath the covers, hovering slightly over Katara, who wrapped her arms around him and brought him in close. The warmth between their bodies radiated against their skin. They both sighed; this is all they wanted.
"How was the council?" Katara rubbed her hands on Aang's temple before tracing his tattoo down his neck. Aang could feel his eyes closing at the contact.
"They still aren't happy with the new infrastructure deals, they think we should have waited to find cheaper materials. I felt like it didn't really make a difference. If we keep pushing everything off, then nothing will get done. I have to meditate throughout the day to not get too frustrated. I hate feeling like that."
Katara massaged his shoulder, humming in understanding. "I'm sorry, Aang. I'm sure it's really difficult to deal with all of those strong personalities." She kissed his forehead, him opening his eyes to look at her.
"I feel a lot better now," he whispered, leaning in to lock his lips with hers. She sighed into his body, fully melting into the curve of his chest and hips as he pulled her in tighter. The sound of the councilmen's arguing in Aang's ears started to grow quiet, replaced by the slight whimper escaping from Katara's throat as he grabbed at her sides. He pulled back slightly, his lips just barely touching hers. "How about you? How were the kids?"
Katara felt slightly guilty. She had a wonderful day. Bumi worked on a school project for most of the day, which kept him pretty busy. Kya wanted to help with the garden, and the weather was perfect as they sat and tended to the soil.
"It was actually a really nice day for once," Katara said softly. "The weather was gorgeous. We spent nearly the entire day outside. Kya learned how to pick berries without touching the thorns," she continued, Aang's hands rubbing up and down her back.
"That makes me really happy to hear," Aang responded, genuine. "You deserve days like these. You looked beautiful on that cliffside today. I really wanted to kiss you."
"You did kiss me."
"Katara." Aang chastised; she knew what he meant. He wanted to really kiss her. To provide a demonstration, Aang leaned in and kissed her deeply. He held the side of her face as their lips moved together, electric and alive, the original purpose fading as a new purpose took its place. Katara giggled at his enthusiasm, happy that he wanted her in this way. They kissed like this for quite some time, savoring the way their bodies relaxed underneath each other's touch. Aang was about to shift his weight above her when he was interrupted by Katara growling.
"I can't believe Sokka. He really didn't think to mention that to us?"
Aang continued kissing, not wanting her to lose focus. "Are you really thinking about your brother right now?" He mumbled, gently nipping at her bottom lip.
"I'm gonna kill him tomorrow." She sighed as Aang's lips traveled down her chin and onto her neck. "God, I hope tomorrow goes well. I hope the weather is okay."
"All the reports today said it should be beautiful." He paused, feeling her pulse on his lips. "I hope it goes well, too. Bumi really deserves it. He's such a great kid."
"He is." Katara smiled. "He's also sneaky, like you."
He rolled his eyes. Of course Katara picked up on that. "Yeah, well, I like to call it clever."
"Okay, Mr. Clever, you'll be the one to discipline him when he's sneaking out as a teenager."
Aang froze, a memory popping into his head. A few months ago, he caught Bumi heading for the Bison late at night. Aang was stepping out for a late night meditation when he spotted him, a backpack in hand. Bumi had told him that he just wanted to fly around for a bit, that he wouldn't go too far. Aang reminded him of the rules: no solo bison trips until he was twelve. Since it was his "first offense," Aang promised not to tell Katara. Neither Aang nor Bumi wanted to rustle those feathers. He definitely wasn't going to rustle those feathers now, either.
"That's fine, I can handle that." Aang responded after a moment, returning to Katara's throat. "You'll have your hands full healing Kya, anyways."
Katara let out a laugh. It was true, a good portion of the day was spent healing the various cuts and bruises Kya collected. Her carefree nature often resulted in a reduced awareness of her surroundings, always tripping and running into walls. Katara and Aang recently considered avoiding healing her from now on so she would learn to be more careful, but neither of them could deny her when she cried. "You're gonna have quite a bit of work on your hands if she's an airbender. She isn't exactly graceful, yet."
Aang's heart fluttered at the thought of his child airbending. While the bending status of his children didn't necessarily matter to him, the idea of seeing another airbender again made him emotional, especially if that airbender was his daughter. Katara started to kiss him again when he took too long.
"I know she looks exactly like me, but her spirit looks like you, Aang," Katara whispered. "She might be an airbender. Maybe a waterbender, which I would obviously love. Either way, I know she's a bender. I can feel it."
"I think we got spoiled with Bumi. If she ends up being a bender, we're going to be busy." Aang lowered himself down so his face was above her stomach, leaving a slow kiss in the center. He thought about how his children's laughter made his heart flutter on the cliffside today, and as he planted a kiss on her navel, he imagined another one growing there. "You make such beautiful babies, Katara," Aang continued as Katara felt her pulse pick up. He kissed below her belly button, then one inch lower. His eyes flicked up to meet hers. "Give me another?"
Katara's heart dropped low in her stomach. They had spoken about it before, how it might be a good time to try for a third. They were getting older, and Bumi was now twelve. Both of them knew they wanted at least three, but them taking this idea seriously was only a recent development. They tangled together in agreement, the fantasy of their growing family giving them a newfound purpose.