Title- (The First of Many) Lazy Mornings
Rating- T for nonexplicit mentions of sex
Summary- The next morning, Katara felt as though she should be more overwhelmed than she was.

A/N- And here it is, Kataang Week Day 2, for the prompt "sleepy." It's sort of just slapped together awkwardly because I procrastinated so much on these prompts (seriously I had almost two months notice and I didn't even start until last week), so it may or may not be terrible. Just so you're cued in, Day 5 will be a prelude to this.

Day 2: Sleepy

The return to consciousness was slow, like swimming through syrup. It took Katara several long minutes to rise up out of dreams she no longer remembered and emerge fully into wakefulness, with more than one detour through half-conscious delusions.

When she finally came fully awake and her eyes fluttered open, she became slowly aware that it was just past dawn, if the silvery shade of light leaking in through the curtains was any indication. Katara was not an early riser by nature and she was therefore puzzled that she would awaken so early.

It took her another several moments to work out why her body felt strange. She ached in unaccustomed places, and she felt a little stiff and just... different. And then, as she caught sight of the burned-out stubs of candles placed in clusters all around the room, she remembered. She and Aang had made love the night before.

It was a strange sort of revelation. Really, when she thought about it, nothing had really changed. And yet, everything had.

She rolled over onto her side and there he was, still asleep. Katara couldn't have prevented the smile that spread across her face even if she wanted to. She knew she must look silly, lying there grinning like a dope at her sleeping boyfriend, but she didn't care. She felt more content than she knew what to do with, and it filled her up with a more concentrated variation of a familiar urge: that need to be as close to Aang as possible.

They had fallen asleep all curled up close together, she recalled, but it seemed they'd rolled apart during the night. However, Aang's left hand was stretched out toward her, as if he'd been unconsciously reaching for her. The thought made her smile and she scooted closer to him, catching that outstretched hand in hers.

Making love had not been something they had planned.

They were on their way from Gaoling to the Northern Air Temple and they had been caught up in a sudden squall that had blown over the Western Earth Kingdom from the coast in the late afternoon the day before. Rather than taking the risk of flying onward in bad weather, something Aang had been loathe to do since the incident that had resulted in his century-long sleep beneath the ocean, they had decided to cut the day's travel a little short and stop for the night. They had found a comfortable way-house in the next village that had an available room and taken refuge from the winter rains, which were still cold even this close to the equator.

They had been halfway through the process of removing their wet clothes when Aang had kissed her and... well, that had pretty much led to this.

Unplanned as it was, though, she didn't regret a bit of it. She was sure there were people back home (some of them in her own family) who would try to give her grief for it if they knew, but Katara couldn't have cared less about traditional attitudes toward love and marriage. Some traditions, she had long since learned, were made to be broken. They certainly weren't married, they weren't even engaged, but as far as she was concerned that didn't matter. She might not wear a betrothal necklace, but she and Aang had discussed the subject of marriage many times. They both knew that although the time wasn't yet right for them to marry, when the situation in the colonies had calmed slightly and they had time to breathe, they would. She wanted no one but him, and only a fool would suggest that Aang had ever looked at any woman but her. They were deeply committed to each other, regardless of whether or not they had made that final pledge. Their decision to share their bodies with each other, unplanned as it had been, was not taken lightly by either of them.

Katara gazed at her sleeping boyfriend. That word had always seemed far too small for the strength of the bond between them, but in the wake of what they'd shared the night before, it was doubly so. He was so much more than just a boyfriend.

At the age of not-quite-seventeen, Aang was still in the process of growing up, tripping over feet that remained a little too big for him despite how much height he'd gained in recent years. Katara studied his face intently. He really is beautiful, she thought fondly. There was no other word for it. Aang was just beautiful. She'd always thought so, but as time and maturity began to shape his features, the effect it had on her became more pronounced. One thing that hadn't changed, though, were his eyes. She could never fail to be fascinated by that striking shade of silvery grey, so distinctly unlike any eyes she had ever seen before. At the moment, however, his eyes were closed in sleep, hidden from her beneath the dark sweep of his unfairly long lashes.

She yawned and stretched contentedly, snuggling closer to Aang's warm body and tucking herself neatly into the curves and folds of him. She quickly realized, with a mixture of naïve curiosity and a strange sort of self-satisfied pride, that although he might be asleep, his body certainly seemed more than capable of reacting to her nearness. Rather than being put off, she found herself unexpectedly pleased that she was able to provoke that particular reaction in him when he wasn't even awake.

Her proximity must have woken him (he had always been such a light sleeper), because he shifted, hummed softly, and opened his eyes. A sleepy smile crossed his face the instant he saw her, and his free arm immediately curled around her waist, drawing their bodies still closer together. Katara instantly fell in love with the besotted look he wore on his face, because it perfectly mirrored how she felt at that moment. The night before had proven that just when she thought she had understood the full depth of her love for him, the truth was that she had only just scratched the surface. It was clear to her just by looking at him that he felt the same.

"Hi," he said in an intimate whisper.

Mirroring his smile, she kissed him sweetly and returned the greeting.

When she pulled back his smile was, if possible, even wider. He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose affectionately, causing her to giggle. Then he sighed a little regretfully and mumbled, "Teo's expecting us today. We should probably get moving."

Katara shook her head. "Nope, I don't think so," she said.

"But-"

She squirmed just the tiniest bit closer to him, deliberately stimulating a certain part of him that was still pressed against her thigh and drawing a soft gasp from her partner's lips. He met her eyes questioningly.

"It's not urgent," she said firmly. "Teo can wait."

He blushed, and then proceeded to kiss her senseless.