Aang loves every one of his little bubbly bumble bees
He sells honey and honeycomb and beeswax at the little farmers market under the bridge in the city. Itâs held right against the grassy bed of the canal, and the bridge is huge and gives them plenty of shade. Itâs like an amphitheater in under there
His stall is 2 aisles across from Kataraâs, but they clearly see each other through the gap that was made for the walkway in the aisles between them.Â
Sokka runs a food truck and leaves the TV on so the mini-plaza that they made can always watch the game (the âIcedodgersâ are Sokkaâs favorite team)
Aangâs literally the sweetest thing there
Katara got stung by the love bug and hasnât recovered.
He was so calm and nice that he rarely ever got stung by his bees, not even those that accidentally followed him to market (he hushed them like little kids, put them in a little net carrier, and took them back home)
He was a quiet man, but he was always moving, even if it was just the slightest bit--the bouncing of his leg, the tapping of his finger, or the little fiddle with a fold of his shirt. If he talked, though, he was anything but quiet...but he was always kind
He was alwaysâalwaysâmoving. Always buzzing with energy.
He was graceful but also clumsy. It was a...unique combination. It didnât hurt him one bit, though. He bounced off like it had meant nothing. (he was literally like the lil bees he so loved...he claimed to have a favorite named Appa)
Katara grows moonpeaches and sells them in the market, but, one year, her trees arenât doing too hot.
She has a little cry about it after she hits her breaking point, and Aang is helping her in an instant
Long story short, she asks to rent some of his bees to help her trees (that her mother had planted) so that her business doesnât go under (renting bees in a real thing btw my neighbors do it with their blueberry farm)
Aang does her one better and gives her a full hive, but he has to teach her how to handle and care for them, of course.Â
Katara was by no means weak, but even she couldnât help herself if she was swarmed.Â
She hit her head pretty bad when she gets spooked and falls back, but she didnât want to go to the hospital. The last time she went there with someone, she was the only one to come out.Â
Aang helps her get better
Katara has to take some medicine, but a spoonful of sugar isnât around (honey works just as well, though)
The first time she calls him âhoneyâ, itâs an accident
The second time she doesnât know she did it until she sees his smile
The third time itâs to wave him down when heâs a little lost trying to find the restaurant she had chosen to have their first date (he had spun in a graceful little circle but also bumped into a pole--clumsy but graceful as always)
The first time he calls her âsweetieâ, itâs right before their first kiss
The second doesnât have a limit, because he called her by the nickname every moment after
...Their businesses both boom in the next season
Because no one had seen moonpeaches so big
And no one had tried honey made from the pollen from moonpeaches. It was almost pinkish in the right light
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Okay so you know how Toph is the only one not to go on a life-changing field trip with Zuko?
...What if she went on one with Azula?
Azula needs her own Uncle Iroh, but, instead of soft love like Iroh gave Zuko, she needs tough love. So Tophâwho is arguably the best people-reader of everyone and so âseesâ that Azula needs someone to give a damn about her instead of coddle herâbecomes her Uncle Iroh. (And Toph had a convo with Iroh before and got his wisdomâAzula may not want her around, but sheâll be there if she needs her)
They both have unresolved issues with their moms. Azula thinks her mom didnât care about her. Toph thinks her mom cared too much about her. (And Toph already reconciled with her dad in the comics, but not with her momâthe one who Toph got excited to see when she heard the letter Long Feng had in Ba Sing Se).
Zuko orders Azula to go on a buddy-buddy trip with Toph because, like Iroh said, sometimes the best way to solve your problems is by helping someone else solve theirs.
Azula helps Toph reconcile with her mom in a very Azula-way that doesnât work out, and she doesnât understand why. She had the perfect strategy, so why is it taking so long for the blind fool to get it over with? But Azula comes to realize that wounds can be healed, sure, but you canât rip out stitches. These things take time and care. So Azula stops talking and starts observing, and she sees, over time, how Toph and her mom compromise in order to understand each other better and come to peace with one another.
^^^Azula tries to hide how jealous she is, but Toph can âseeâ right through her. Azula can never hide anything from the blind earthbender, and it makes Azula feel vulnerable in a way she hates.
^^^Because of her change of heart, Azula loses her firebending. Toph doesnât know about the dragons, but she does know about the badgermoles. She takes Azula to them, and Toph and the badgermoles help Azula learn that the elements and bending are a way of interacting with the world and not just weapons.
Toph gives Azula advice like she gave Zuko advice at the Ember Island Players. (âYour mom talks about you all the time, yâknow. Itâs pretty annoying. But also very sweet.â âShe despises me.â âDoubt that. Sheâs just sad.â âPfft. Hardly.â âIâm serious. Sheâs not mad at you. Sheâs just sad that you lost your way.â)
Ozai scarred both of his kidsâZuko just has a scar thatâs easy to see. Toph canât see at all, but she knows that Zuko and Azula were both equally hurt by their father. Zuko just had someone (Iroh) to take him under their wing. Azula hadâand still hasâno one.
Azula and Toph start to argue but in an endearing way like sisters because their personalities are actually more alike than not, and Azula is baffled by having what feels like a real sibling. Azula has a lot of trust issues, but Toph is literally the most trustworthy person around because she has mastered the art of not ever giving a single damn. Sheâs like a rock. A foundation. A cornerstone.
They both think theyâre more self-reliant than they actually are, but they truly do crave companionship. Toph understands this, now. She didnât have a real friend until she was 12. Azula is almost a young adult and never had a real friend (that wasnât forced to be her âfriendâ.)
I think that Toph and Azula would get along so well once they become friends. âFuck you.â âFuck you, too.â would be their version of a hug. They both hide their weaknesses and are the âstrongest earthbender to have ever livedâ and the âstrongest firebender to have ever livedâ.
imo Theyâre so much more alike than not, and I really, really want them to have a buddy comedy adventure together.
Katara of the Southern Water Tribe was a loving daughter, a doting sister, and a pirate without equal. She was the youngest Master of White Waters that anyone had ever seen, and she was the only captain from her Tribe to gain naval renown since the Raids.
She had captained The Last Airbender ever since she found it frozen and abandoned in ice when she was a girl. Hers was the fastest ship on the ocean. It was engineered, through repairs, in part by her brotherâher first mate and her favored back to have to hers in a firefight. Some sailors claimed The Last Airbender sometimes flew over the water since the wind was forever partial to its sails, orange and always pulled taut like a glider by insistent breezes.
Katara and her crew made their living reacquiring airbender artifacts that the Fire Nation looted from the ruined holy sitesânow mass gravesâthat were once the Temples that housed her Tribeâs closest companions and allies.
No one knew why the Fire Nation wanted the Air Nomadâs relics, especially after they had collected a hundred years of dust.
It didnât matter, though.
If the Fire Nation wanted it, Katara wouldnât let them have it.
Besides, tonight was promising. The moon was full, their hearts were heavy with song, and, if the security on board the black navy ship was anything to go by, this nightâs haul looked like a good one. The older men of her crew hadnât seen an entourage like that since they were boys apprenticing under their fathers (before the Fire Nation rebranded her peopleâs trade and branded them all pirates...But her people were nothing if not honest, so they became exactly what the Fire Nation feared.)
There was a firefight and a storm from hell, and Katara couldnât help but feel a little betrayed by the wind. It usually warned her of such things by feeding her the smells of lightning and pregnant storm clouds.
She labeled the wind a traitor when she was knocked overboard.
She cursed it a thousand times over when a cyclone turned her world black.
Katara woke up surrounded by dead plants, debris, and dead relicsâloaded in splintered cratesâof a dead nation. The wind greeted her like an awkward friend and welcomed her to an island from nowhere.
âThe Boy in the Boxââas Katara had come to call himâhad eyes like pirateâs silver and was as much a living relic as Katara had ever seen.
âWill you go sealturtle surfing with me?â
Well, at least Katara had friendly company to help her search for The Last Airbender.
Even more Toph and Azula life-changing field trip headcanons:
PART I
Toph tells Azula that she was Melon Lord. Azula likes her style. Toph also tells her that Katara hates papaya, so Azula calls Katara the Papaya Peasant.
Toph tells Azula about the time she became the Blind Bandit, and Azula is impressed. They restart the gig for a while, and Toph loves Azulaâs strategies. Together, they wreak havoc in gambling and other dastardly (but mostly harmless) ventures.
They pass the time by people-watching and making fun of everyone. (âWell, that sounds really shallow and stupid. Let's try it!â)
They meet June and have an absolute blast together. (God I want to write something with these three causing chaos together. âChaos Crewâ lmao).
June joins them...and Azula suddenly realizes that she doesnât want to talk to boys anymore. (âDo you...You like her, donât you?â âWhat? Thatâs ridiculous. June is just a valuable asset to our operation.â âI can tell youâre lying~â)
^^^Azula still has a lot of trouble flirting, but Toph kicks her in the ass and gets her to try again and tells her to just be herself. Azula does try to be herself, and, surprisingly, June is in love with her method of flirting. (âTogether, you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world! We will dominate the Earth!â âYou son of a bitch, Iâm in.â)
Azula needs an outlet for her anger and the war-driven nature that Ozai instilled in her, so Toph helps her become the Kemurikage (but without a cloak) to dole out vigilante justice. Azula loves destroying the mafias and etc. that they find around the Earth Kingdom, and as they travel and she doles out justice, Azula comes to see what the Fire Nation did in the war because her great nation allowed low-lifeâs like this to worm into and take over their conquests (her experience is very a la âZuko Aloneâ)
Toph teaches Azula what makes one-liner jokes funny, but she immediately regrets it because Azula becomes the Queen of dad jokes and is very proud of it because she can cause pain to anyone within earshot and laugh at them at the same time.
(Will add more ideas as they come to me because I am loving Tophâs and Azulaâs dynamic)
Itâs the ATLA/TLOK crossover we all deserve, and I am having such a blast writing it it isnât even funny. Aang with the Krew and his grandbabies and his kids and modern technology is glorious.
Basically, through a series of events (donât wanna give too much away there lol), Korra stumbles upon a post-The Search Aang. Shenanigans and plot and feels ensue, especially since no one tells Aang who they are or where he truly is at first. Thereâs an alternate beginning to this story that I have half-written that I love and almost went with instead, but Iâll probabibly post it as its own separate thing.
Chaos from the older gaang of course if for no other reason than because I refuse to believe that Suki is dead.
And Iâll be damned if I donât squeeze in as much bestdad!Aang as I can because my God young Aang being anxious about being a father gets me right where it hurts, and to be sure there will be conversations between Aang and the adults who he doesnât realize are his kids (hereâs a draft-snippet of the scene Iâm currently working on):
He smiled even though he was crying, and his face looked like a sun shower. His voice trembled just as badly as his lip when he spoke. âI know theyâll hate me, but thatâs okay. Theyâll have Katara. And theyâll have Sokka and Toph and Zuko and Suki. T-They can teach them the things that they wonât want to learn from me. And thatâs okay. Isnât it?â He looked up at them. His smile was smaller, but he was crying harder. âIsnât it? I mean, I was kindof hoping that they would go penguin sledding with me, but they might not want to. But thatâs okay, too. Katara can do it way better than meâand theyâll love Katara. Katara is Katara. Yeah. I-Itâs okay. Perfectly okay.â
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Halloween-themed drabble because I have no â¨self-controlâ¨
Katara is a witch who heals anything for a price.
...she doesnât know how to respond to the teary-eyed boy offering her two copper-pieces for a nationâs-worth of souls.
âI know itâs not much, butâŚb-but Iâll give you whatever you need?â
Katara scoffed. She could see the hole in his chest. He was a walking wound bleeding everything everywhere at once. Even now his pain pooled in his eyes and threatened to run down his still damp cheeks.
Katara swallowed. Her frozen heart throbbed.
The moat surrounding her hut rippled with something that wasnât anger and steamed with something that wasnât rage.
Her hand itched to touch her motherâs necklace just as the boy thumbed the two copper-pieces and worn Pia Sho tile. He didn't flinch when Momo curled about her shoulders and cocked his head in curiosity. The water-being pulsed through all states of matter before settling on a steamy mix of powder and frost that gave the illusion of fur.
The boy wasnât afraid in the least. Maybe he had been so scared for so long that even magic held no sway over him.
Katara blinked. He was still looking at herâlooking through and into her. His gaze charged through her walls and danced around the spikes and barbed wire that a hundred years of isolation and deals with the unsavory had conditioned her to keep up.
She could read him just as easily, but she didnât like what she found. HeâAang, he said his name wasâwasnât even an open book. He was a single page, torn out and laid bare and alone without even a cover to protect him.
He had been holding on for so long. Holding on to a hope so foolish for so longâhow could he expect her to actuallyâ
âI canât give you what you ask.â
His impossible hope wavered like his grip on it was trembling with the waves of exhaustion it had been fighting for spiritsâ know how long, and Katara found herself speaking before she could stop herself.
âBut I may be able to teach you.â
The boy smiled so wide that Katara had half a mind to reevaluate whether or not he was a shape-shifter. âReally?â
Katara tried and failed to hide her small smile. The boy was infectious. âPerhaps.â She turned and made a motion for him to follow even though he was already at her heels. Momo ran twice around her neck in a stream of water before pooling and reforming in the hood of her parka. He glanced between Katara and the boy and gargled sounds of bubbles that rippled like high-pitched chittering.
I HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR A CHANCE TO WRITE THIS AU
Kataang + #17: âI donât know where I am. Help me.â (+ ~fluff~)
Katara and the Assassinâs Silver (ao3)
Words: 1,000+ (I broke the rule again but for good reason I swear)
Rating: T
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The Painted Lady was known for many things. She was the deadliest shot in the Yu Yan. She was one of Phoenixâs top computer specialists. She had more confirmed kills than any assassin in any history book in public circulation.
Katara was the uncontested all-star of her squad. She was the favored pawn of her overseers. She was a stern rule-follower who never once had to be re-educated at the School.
The only thing she struggled with was hiding the lingering thoughts that worried about her brother. She was certain she had one. She loved him dearly, she supposed. His name was Sokka. He was an idiot.
She missed him so much that it almost made her feel something.
Katara, for all her deeds, was with only one flaw. She was nearing the end of her teens, and she still hadnât found her soulmate. This was troubling. Soulmates meant attachments. The Painted Lady couldnât afford attachments.
And the Painted lady didnât get attached.
Katara did.
The boy with eyes like silver bullets was silly, stupid, and always smiling. The air was thick with his emotions. They bled into Katara like water into a dry sponge.
He was intriguing, to say the least.
He was also her target.
Her target.
Hers.
Zuko needed to get it through his thick head.
Katara saved the boy who was once the center picture of her bowâs scope. A mugger tried to take her target. This was unacceptable.
The boy with eyes like silver bullets had smiled when she picked him up off the asphalt. He was damn near as light as air, and he touched his soul to hers before she could stop it.
Katara ran under the cover of a misty bomb and tried to figure out what it meant to taste things.
She loved it, she supposed. Having a sense of taste was strange. It was the mark of her soulmateâs claimâthe missing sense that made her others make sense. It was stupid. Just like his smile.
It made her feel more than something.
But Katara was the Painted Lady.
Katara was an assassin.
Katara was also the soulmate of a boy with eyes like silver bullets and who smiled like his joy was a gift to share with the world.
Katara saved him. She was still an assassin
But she was also a defector.
She was also in deep shit.
The boy with eyes like silver bullets was buried even deeper in the pile than her, though. Katara felt little remorse as she picked off her former comrades who tried to take out her target.
Her target.
Her soulmate.
Katara didnât know that water had a taste until she met him.
She didnât know that hunger pained with yearning.
Her soul and what was once her heart were starved and ached so badly for him that, some nights, when the moon was full, she paced on the rooftop overlooking his monastery and growled like she was more wolf than woman.
Her soulmate with eyes like silver bullets had given her the ability to taste.
She hungered for him. And it was nearly unbearable.
He strained with the same need. She could tell. Katara watched him through the scope of her bow when he practiced his whatever it was that left him winded and sweaty and left Katara wondering whether or not to include the exercises in her routine. He moved like he was made of water.
She wondered if he tasted like it, too.
The first time she touched him, it was a purposeful accident because he was an idiot with no sense of self-preservation.
âOh, sorry, sorry!â Her soulmate with eyes like silver bullets scrambled to help her up off the ground. He was alone at the carnival. He snuck away for some unsupervised fun, but he must have left his remaining braincells back in his room.
Because thereâs no way in hell he couldn't have noticed the nest of Yu Yan stalking his movements like coyotes picking off weakened prey.
Too soon the boy was holding her hand. The Painted Lady was as comforting as a glacier and twice as cold. She could harden herself into steel at a momentâs notice.
Katara was an ice floe drifting in the unknown, looking for a safe harbor to shelter her from melting into irrelevanceâjust another lapping wave.
She was a puddle in his hand when he pulled her to her feet. Her training kept her standing, and her mind recomputed the cardinal directions as her soulmate with eyes like silver bullets became the center of her world.
Katara narrowed her eyes into a glare of her periphery. She did not take kindly to being hunted.
âHey, are you okay?â
Her soulmateâs voice slid over her like snow sliding down a roof in one giant sheet. Warmth pooled in its wake, and she never wanted more of something in her entire life.
She hungered for it.
He looked her in the eye, and she was trapped in his snare.
âAre you lost?â
Lost. Yes, she could work with lost. His humanitarian nature would have him keep her close.
âI donât know where I am. Help me?â The words were strange. Her voice sounded even stranger.
Her soulmate ate it up like he was starved for her. He curled his lip like he was eager to hear more. âIâm Aang. Whatâs your name?â
âAangâŚâ His name tasted better than anything Kataraâs new sense could imagine. âMy...My name is Katara.â
Real name. Stupid decision.
Aang gave her a stupid smile that shifted gravity and threatened to make her feet leave the earth.
âKataraâŚâ Aangâshe could taste even the thought of himâstumbled over her name with double the faultiness, and he failed spectacularly to hide it.
âWill you go penguinsledding with me?â He pointed to the ride of chutes that had otterpenguins shaped into carts and plummeting down at alarming speeds.
âUm...sure.â
Katara looked over her shoulder. Eyes were heavy and hot on her back. She held Aangâs hand and tugged him to her side to hide him from being burned by their glares.
He screamed on the drop. Katara pretended to do the same. He hugged her, damn near hiding in her clothes, and Katara felt like she was plummeting down a different, faster ride that left her stomach in the wrong place. The smell of himâopen spaces under cloudless skies and churned earth after heavy stormsâfed her soul just enough to make her smile when he blessed her with the same gesture.
She won him the largest skybison plushy available. He wanted desperately to return the favor, though he was the worst shot Katara had ever seen. She discreetly shot one of her nanodarts at the smallest target, and Aang nearly blew her away with the force of his smile.
He was as giddy as could be when he handed her the smallest plushy they hadâa winged lemur with velcro on the paws so it could be hugged and hanged onto things.
Katara wore it around her neck and couldnât quite understand why it made her feel more important than when she received her medals for getting her hundredth kill.
The Yu Yan werenât supposed to get attached. Especially the Painted Lady. Thatâs why they took out their targets from a distance.
Something cold but unseen brushed Kataraâs neck and made her skin ripple with gooseflesh.
They were seen.
This was bad.
Things went from bad to worse when Kataraâs next surveillance found murder dressed in a sharp outfit and even sharper nails. The Kemurikage Dragon cut the crowd with her golden glare.
Katara had to think fast.
She never could figure out if her mind, her heart, or her soul made her next choice.
Because things went from worse to amazing when she spun her soulmate around. She used herself and the lemur around her neck, hanging down her back, as a shield, and pressed him into the wall between the stalls for Ba Sing Sausages and Western Air Tempura.
Public displays of affection were naturally avoided by the subconscious, even when on the hunt.
Katara kissed the boy who was once her target, then her soulmate, and now her friend.
She didnât expect him to kiss her back.
Or to laugh and pull her closer like he had been expecting and waiting for this.
He tasted like sunshine and silly smiles. Like the warm things and soft comforts she had always been denied. He stood on his tiptoes, trying to climb the side of the bison plush to make himself level with her.
He pulled away to breathe. Kataraâs soul cried out, her heart nearly whined, and her next breath almost left her in a growl.
She was still hungry for him.
âAre you still lost, Katara?â
His eyes were older and held something dangerous that tempted Katara to play with it just because.
He was taunting her.
He smirked with his eyes and smiled to signal the seal of his challenge.
She leaned closer. She felt more like a wolf than she ever was on the roof, and the hunter she was made to be was more than happy to come out and play.
He smiled some more. In a stupid, lopsided way.
She loved it.
She was starved to see it more.
âWhy, yes, my Silver Bullet. I am very lost.â She kissed his cheek, savoring the taste of the smile that curled it towards his eyes. âHelp me?â
He giggled again. Katara kissed him just in time to taste it.
Her hunger was sated. The beast beneath her skin purred its content and bathed in everything that was Aang.
If Katara didnât know any better, she would have thought they loved each other in a past life.
But that was just silly.
Assassins and their targets never fell in love.
The hunter and the hunted lived worlds apart.
He kissed her this time, the prey tasting the predator.
The girl who thought herself a monster and a wolf surrendered to the boy with eyes like silver bullets and who looked at her as if through a scope.
And, suddenly, Katara realized.
Aang was hungry for her, too.
Katara kissed him again. And again. Even after her hunger was satedâfor the momentâshe chased his smiles and little laughs and relished the dreamy warmth his hugs leaked into her.
The Yu Yan could jump in the river. Azula right along with them.
Aang was her soulmate. Hers.
The world would burn and be reborn out of ash before she would let them take him from her.
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Idk this is just a thing that happened in my brain because I really wanted to write assassin!Katara
and I figured since I see a lot of soulmate AUs where color is seen once soulmates meet, I could change it up.
Sorry for the wait!đ Crazy two days of life and work and family
(Kataang + #5: âYouâre burning up.â)
(This is in the same AU as THIS hurt/comfort ficlet ask)
Fire Breather
Words: 1,248
Rating: G
ArchiveOfOurOwn
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The snow was soft, wouldnât stop falling, and cloaked Katara in a powdery cape. The grown-ups and big-kids were all at pick-up, but her best friend still hadnât come out.
Aang wasnât on the stairs.
He wasnât with Mister Bumi, either.
Katara tightened her arms around the apple Aang didnât pick up. Mister Bumi always brought one for Aangâs invisible friend, and Aang never forgot Appaâs daily treat.
Miss Kyoshi hadnât seen Aang since recess, but Mister Roku said Aang went to play hide and seek with Hide.
Katara didnât like that one bit. Hide had a face that made her want to hit him, especially when he flicked Aang where it hurt or when he tried to take her best friendâs beanie.
Katara bit her lip, puffed her cheeks, and held Appaâs apple a little bit tighter. The snow reached past her knees as she followed the tracks trying not to be found. She passed the body-sized holes where Aang had tripped once and then twice. The tracks went under the chainlink fence and turned a corner out of the grown-upsâ sight.
Katara stepped into the inky blue shadows behind the schoolhouse. Chilly cold like jumping into the snow after a hot bath made her skin tingle.
Aangâs nothing-voiceâthe cry that needed his breathing-boxâhad her sprinting and her stomach flipping like it was jumping off a teeter-totter.
âAangâ!â
Hide, the bully, was grabbing Kataraâs best friend with one big-kid hand and holding Aangâs beanie in the other. Aangâs breathing was rough and gritty like running on frozen mulch, and his little tears made Kataraâs heart hurt. He jumped and struggled more than he ever should, all in his desperation to get his beanie back. It was useless. The snow swallowed him nearly to his waist, and Hide was the biggest kid in their class.
Katara remembered how Sokka threw his baseball with their Dad. She also remembered what Suki did to Sokka when the softball player first met her brother.
Hide dropped Aang like the boy half his size had caught fire. The bully first held his bruising head where Appaâs apple left its mark, but then Katara was in front of him and furious, and Hide fell to his knees to cradle where she kicked him.
âYou leave him alone!â
Hide limped like something was broken and sped up like Katara was something ferocious disguised as a girl. âI-Iâm telling Miss Kyoshi!â
Katara lunged at him. Hide flinched and slipped in the snow.
She couldnât wait to hear what Miss Kyoshi would do to the meanie.
âAang?â
Aang wheezed. His nothing-voice was panicked and thin as he fumbled for his breathing-box. It was white, shaped like a bison, and anchored to the inside of his coat pocket by a string of beads.
Katara dropped to her knees in front of him. They sat in a bowl of snow with walls nearly two feet high. Aangâs fingers were stiff as if frozen, and Katara scooted closer like sharing her warmth would somehow help.
She remembered how her Dad helped Aang with the breathing-box when he and Katara played for too long in the park. She also remembered what her Mom said to help Aang back then, too.
âItâs okay, sweetie.â She helped Aang prep the white bison and guide it to his mouth. âItâs okay. I got you, Aang. Youâre okay.â
She counted slowly and out loud like Sokka did when Katara was scared. Aangâs breathing fell in line with it, and he looked at her in teary awe.
The beanie Hide tore had a blue arrow and was Aangâs favorite. Katara made it for him when her Mom first taught her to crochet.
Katara took it from Aangâs hand and tucked itâvery carefullyâin her backpack. She could mend it later.
In the same moment, she took off her own beanieâblue with black and white fishes and made by her Mom on the Solsticeâand slid it over her best friendâs head.
Aang wiped his eyes. Katara could read the âthank youâ in his smile even though she couldnât read all her letters. And she knew for a fact that hugs made Aangâs hurts go away better than any bandaid.
His voice was even smaller than him when she pulled away. â...T-Thanks, Kâtara.â
âDo you wanna go play together? Before my Mom picks us up? The big-kid side of the playground is empty.â Aangâs shy smile got a little bigger. âWe can make a snowfort if ya wanna. I saw how Sokka made his tower yesterday.â
âCan Appa play, too?â
âWell, duh.â Katara lent him a hand and didnât let go even after she tugged Aang to his feet. âWe might have to make a snowcastle for him to fit, though.â
âYeah! Yeah!â Aang bounced a little bit, even though it made his breathing harder and faster and had Kataraâs heart hurting again. âAnd you can be the knight like in the storybook Miss Kyoshi read today! And IâI...I, umâŚâ
âYou can be a knight, too. Appa can be your horsie.â
â...But I canât be a knight.â
âWhy not?â
âI canât run a lotâŚâ Aang scratched his chest and over the breathing-box in his coat pocket.
Katara still held his hand, but now a bit tighter. âThat doesnât mean you canât be a knight. You donât have to run a lot a lot.â
âIt makes my chest hurt real bad. Gyatso said Imma get a puppy, though. He said itâll help.â Aang tried to smile. âYou can be the knight, though! Youâll be the best knight! Youâre really, really brave, Kâtara!â
Katara didnât like that one bit. Aang had a face that made her want to hug him, especially when his teary eyes hit her where it hurt and his shaky lip tried to hide his hiccup.
Katara bit her lip, puffed her cheeks, and held his hand a little bit tighter. She scowled like she was threatening an answer to come out of hiding.
âOkay. Iâll be the knight, but youâre gonna be my princess.â
Katara puffed her chest and picked up her stride. Aang tried not to be dragged as his best friend marched them to the shallow snow where they played.
âWhat?â His voice was breathless, but in a good way. âReally?â
âYeah-huh! And as my princess, you need to stick with me so I can protect you.â She showed him their held hands. âSo Iâm not gonna let you go, okay?â
â...Promise?â
âPromise.â
She looked him in the eye like when her Dad told her Mom he would be home by Christmas.
Aang smiled like it really was Christmas, and Kataraâs best friend sucked in air like he might have trouble breathing again.
âOkay! Okay!â
Katara was nothing if not a knight of honor. Her princess was wounded and slow (and short) in the deep snow, and he had to lift his knee almost to his chest with every step he took.
This was unacceptable.
Katara had no sooner said her vows than herded her too-light princess (and both their backpacks) onto her back.
She struggled a bit, but then Aang laughed. It drowned the memory of his nothing-voice and filled Katara with something like strength. She liked it when he laughed. It made her heart run and jump like Nyla did when June got off the bus at her house.
It nearly left her breathless.
Her best friend was in never such a danger with her around to protect him.
âOh, thank you, Miss Mighty Knight Katara!â Kataraâs princess swooned just like in the storybook. âYouâre my hero!â
He kissed her cheek just like in the storybook, too.
Lava gushed under Kataraâs cheeks, and Katara waited, frozen, for her body, now on fire, to melt through the snow and into the center of the earth.
âKâtara? Katara!â Kataraâs princess patted her cheeks, and her best friend looked ready to cry. âKatara, youâre burning up!â Aang patted a little bit of snow on her and sounded like he would need his breathing-box. âIâm sorry! Iâm sorry!â
Katara hugged him, laughed until he did, too, and patted his back when she pulled away.
âShush, princess! The dragon is coming!â
âA dragon?â
âThe dragon! Now hurry, princess!â Katara spun and made room for him on her back. âThe dragonâs super strong and is gonna burn the school down! We gotta run away! With Appa! Into the storm!â
Aang tugged his best friendâs beanie more snugly on his head and giggled as his brave knight herded him onto her back. Katara ran fast and long enough for both of them. They dodged fireballs and firestorms until princess, knight, and Appa were covered in frost and snow and safely hidden from their enemies.
Sokka found their hideout and poked a hole that broke it open from top to bottom.
Katara bowed and Aang did the same, and they finally broke character to hug.
It had never been harder for them to leave the schoolhouse.
Tomorrow felt like a hundred years away.
************************************
đIđstanđchildhoodđfriendđAUsđ
I broke my rule to keep this under 1,000 words but I just...I had half of another answer to the ask written when this idea hit me like a truck. I just couldnât resist. And it felt criminal to cut any more words than I already didđ
Hurt/comfort dialogue prompt ask: Send me a number with an ATLA ship and any other details you wantâ¤ď¸
(Iâll add a read more + Iâll post this and the other dialogue-ask-prompt-ficlets on my ao3 when I get to my PC!)
Also just a PSA I love this fandom and everyone in it y'all are so kind and sweet itâs making me short-circuitđ
