Katara felt warm. Uncomfortably warm. The sun had risen and her sleeping bag felt like a suffocating cocoon. She sat up, peeling her torso from the furs and turned to her boyfriend, ready to wake him only to see his rolled sleeping bad sitting where he'd slept. That wasn't normal. The now fifteen year old avatar was never awake before her. It was always a struggle to get him started in the morning now that he was in the throes of puberty.

Growth spurts, ravenous appetite, breaking voice and the urge to hibernate were symptoms she easily remembered watching her own brother endure.

What could he be up to?

She twisted her legs out of her bag and rolled it tight, and put both bags in Appa's saddle before turning to the bison. He was munching happily on his hay, taking his time. He definitely enjoyed the more relaxed pace of travel, and the lighter load. She and Aang traveled together now that everyone had their own thing to do.

Sokka spent his time in the ever growing Republic City along with Toph who had opened her bending school there. Suki was still with her brother, working security for the Council and living with her brother, who seemed to be dragging his feet with his girlfriend.

Zuko of course was in the Fire Nation Capital with were the reason for the trip she and Aang were currently making. Just three days from now the couple would be getting married.

It was hard not to feel jealous. Her boyfriend was still a teen, and not quite ready for that step himself. She knew it was only a matter of time before those two years between them felt like nothing at all, but right now being two years his senior was practically torture. They had gone to visit her father in the South Pole, and she'd seen so many young couples starting their families.

A big part of her was ready for that.

"At least he fed you before he wandered off. Too bad you can't tell me where he ran off to." She pet the gentle giant near his ear and he let out a low groan as if making an apology and returned to his breakfast. Guess she better start their own breakfast so they could leave soon.

She stepped into the saddle and started fishing through their bags to get a clean pot, rice, and the ash bananas that Aang had picked from the trees yesterday. They had reached a Fire Nation Island late yesterday and decided to camp out to arrive early today at the palace.

"Wait!" She looked up to see and running toward her and she had to resist the urge to laugh. He hadn't grown into his legs yet and his awkward movements nearly made him stumble half the time. He waved as he called to her, reaching her quickly he smiled. "Don't make anything Katara. Today you're not doing anything."

"I'm not?" She smiled softly. She knew he was up to something. "Why not?"

"Cause today is for you. You didn't forget?"

Apparently she had. What was today? She ran through a mental list of important days and... oh. She smiled. "I remember now."

He grinned at her. "Happy birthday Katara." He leaned in close and his lips met hers in a soft kiss. It was short and sweet and made her stomach flutter. "Today is for you. We'll see Zuko and Mai tomorrow. He already knows we'll be late. We can swim, bend, go into town... anything you want. But after lunch you have three hours booked at the spa in town. Then after dinner I'll have a surprise for you."

"You are the sweetest boyfriend." She smiled at him and touched his cheek. "This sounds amazing. You didn't need to do so much."

"I wanted to. We went to the South Pole for your other birthdays and your family handled everything. I wanted to take care of it this time- but we'll go there as soon as we're done in the Fire Nation so you can see Hakoda and Gran Gran. I just thought it would be nice if this year it was just the two of us."

"It will be perfect." He was always so excited over her birthday. It was true he hadn't planned something like this before but he always managed something special for her. She suspected it had something to do with the fact he didn't get to celebrate his own.

Air Nomads had a lot of strange traditions and ideals. One being that no one's birthday was celebrated. They saw it as an act of hubris and unnecessary. Aang didn't even know the true anniversary of when he was born. He just knew he was born in the fall, and used the start of the season each year to add a year to his age. She didn't like it and had told him as much, but he acted like it didn't matter to him. But she could see it in his eyes, the more he watched his friends the more he wished his upbringing had been different.

"I brought back breakfast." He held up a box and opened it for her and inside she saw wild rice mixed with seaweed and komodo dragon sausage and a small sweet bun with red preserves.

"This looks delicious." She put the supplies away and took her box appreciatively, sitting with him and his own breakfast. His box was just full of local fruits and two sweet buns. She took a bite of her sausage first and smiled. She didn't eat meat often now, it was always easier to make just one meal instead of two different ones. She was normally okay with the dietary change but at the same time she missed the meals of home which included a great many things Aang wasn't so willing to eat. She ate more but blushed when she realized she was being watched. "What?"

"You just look happy. I like to see you happy."

"Of course I am. How could I not be here with you like this?" Now he smiled and blushed, choosing to focus on his own breakfast now. They ate the rest of their meal in happy silence, taking time to enjoy food neither of them had to prepare. That was always a nice treat. "I can't wait for the spa, it's going to be amazing. You've never gone before, have you?"

"Nope. But I won't today either. I have to get the surprise ready while you're there."

"Oh, really? It won't be as nice alone. You should come too."

"We'll spend the whole rest of the day together, I promise. I'm making you something and I really think you'll enjoy it."

"Alright. I'm sure I will." She touched his shoulder and leaned in to kiss his cheek, pressing her lips on the far side of his face near his recently more defined jaw line. Then she kissed him again against his neck, and she could feel his skin get hot under her touch. As much as they touched and kissed he nearly always became bashful from the attention. She would miss that if he ever grew out of it. When she sat up straight again she nearly laughed as she saw the blush not only across his cheeks, but the matching shade of red on his ears and even his head.

"So, what do you want to do first?" She knew he knew how red he was and wanted to change the subject, so she let him.

"Actually a day at the beach sounds like a lot of fun. We should go until lunch. Swim, lay in the sun, look at some shops. We really should find a gift for Mai and Zuko."

"Then that's what we'll do." He hopped to his feet and with a smile he reached his hand down for hers. She took it, and when he pulled her up to meet him she smiled again as she noted she had to look up ever so slightly to meet his eyes. She had a feeling she was going to wish every day could be like today.

After five hours at the beach and lunch in a nearby restaurant he got Katara to the spa and watched her leave for her first treatment, a long bath in the natural hot springs. When she heard that she wasn't as reluctant to see him go, he knew she needed to unwind.

Now was when all his work started and he knew he needed to get right to it to make the rest of her day as perfect as he could.

First he had to go back to Appa at the campsite and bring him into town so he could stay at the stalls until morning. Easy enough. He already made sure he and Katara had a room at the inn. He knew she would be excited to sleep in a bed. It was a rare luxury for them both since she always traveled with him. These first years after the war kept him so busy they were always on the move.

He had to go back to the market for all the supplies he needed, and take a swim for the seacumquats.

Next involved some flying. There was this desert-ish patch in the middle of the island with cracked clay-like dirt that would make a perfect oven, almost just like the ones in the temples. He stood on the dirt and used his earth, water and firebending to make a cooked clay oven.

He spent the next two and a half hours making the mock seaprune soup Katara never got to eat, and baked her a fruit pie. A layer of cake with moon peach filling and sweet icing, which he made a light blue that matched the color of her mother's necklace, which she still wore every day.

He couldn't wait to see what she thought of everything. He wanted the night to be special. Nothing made him happier than making her happy. Katara always did so much for him, supported him through every challenge he had to face. He just had to show her how much he loved her for that. When everything was ready he took it back to their room and set a table outside the balcony of their room. He'd asked the nice woman at the spa to bring Katara here and give her their room number. All the had to do was wait for her. He stood in livingroom with a smile on his face and watched the door. He just knew they would never forget this birthday.