Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. :(

Thanks to Michael for the beta.

Actually, I've Seen It All

She was amazed at how much he had changed in the two years they had known each other.

When released from the iceberg, he had been almost a head shorter than her, a thin little thing with a chubby face and a childish voice. Someone who would blush deeply if she so much as pecked him on the cheek. Twelve-year-old Aang had been unsure of himself, his skills and his place in the world.

By the time he defeated Ozai at thirteen, he had already shown changes: he stood only a couple of inches shorter than her and had started to fill out nicely, but still had the tendency to blush at every kiss he got, whether they be on the cheek or on the lips.

Now, at fourteen he was several inches taller than her, his baby fat mostly gone, his stature lean yet muscled, his voice deeper, and more often than not it was he who made her blush, not the other way around.

As adolescence progressed, he grew more and more confident about himself as a person, as the Avatar, and as a male being as well. His kisses got increasingly demanding, his one-time awkwardness about experimenting with the tongue long forgotten, and Katara found herself melting in his arms as he pressed her into the soft padding of the sofa. Thank the spirits Toph was away visiting her parents and Sokka was on a date with Suki – had they been present, the young couple would now be hearing the blind girl's complaints about skyrocketing pulses and Sokka's threats about emasculating Aang.

Katara didn't exactly know what made her shudder: desire for her boyfriend or the thought of her brother doing any kind of harm to Aang – especially that kind of harm. She needed every part of Aang. That part too. Just not yet.

As if fate had decided to prove its twisted sense of humour, Katara felt Aang stiffen in her arms just as something – also remarkably stiff – brushed her thigh.

All confidence acquired over the years gone with the wind, her boyfriend scrambled to his feet only to drop back down on the sofa at the other end of it – as far from Katara as possible.

She was shocked to see him curled into a ball, his legs drawn up to his chin, his face the colour of the setting sun. That was when she realised how much she'd missed his blushes, his adorable insecurities. And, she had to admit she hadn't expected to see them return in a situation like this. Then again, they had never been in a situation like this before.

Katara didn't know if she should feel frightened, flattered or downright exhilarated. She didn't know what she should say either, whether she should say anything at all.

Thankfully, Aang was the first to speak. "I'm... I'm sorry, Katara."

"Er... what for?" she ran a hand across her tousled locks, trying in vain to smooth them.

"Well... you know... Or... don't you know?" he swallowed so hard that it was audible.

Her lips twitched as she tried to suppress a grin. The poor boy was hoping she hadn't noticed. She could probably pretend she hadn't. But no... she wouldn't be so merciful.

"What do you mean, Sweetie? What am I supposed to know?" She cocked her head innocently. She was determined to make him sweat.

"Er... nothing..."

"Really? Then why have you fled from me as if I've burned you? Last time I checked, I was no firebender... Or are you coming down with an illness? You look rather red in the face. Do you have a fever? Should I feel your pulse? Or another part of you? Any part of you?"

If such a thing was possible, his blush deepened even more. "No... no, really, I'm fine."

"Fine?" she pressed. "You don't look fine. Let me check you."

"No. No checking!" he snapped, and hugged his knees even tighter.

She couldn't take it anymore – laughter burst out of her, echoing across the living room of their fancy house, perhaps across the whole of Ba Sing Se.

"It's not funny!" Aang said exasperatedly.

"Yes, it is! But also... quite flattering," she added, leaning a little closer. Seeing her heavy-lidded stare, Aang tried to slip further away, but the armrest of the sofa wouldn't let him. He was cornered.

"Flat... flattering?"

"Yeah. Absolutely."

"So..." he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "you... know what's up with me?"

"Of course I know, Aang," she giggled. "And you have nothing to feel ashamed of. It's perfectly natural. Gran-Gran said all boys went through that. Actually, more often than they would like to."

"Your Gran-Gran must have told you a lot about things like that," he said, diverting his eyes. "I mean... you even helped her deliver babies. I expect she must've told you everything related to... that stuff."

"Sure she has. And I expect someone must have told you too...?"

He made a face. "Just a little bit. Monk Gyatso made a point of telling me about the basics, the theory, when I turned twelve, but... that's not much. Not enough. I need to know more, but I never had the courage to ask Sokka. Though I've been giving thoughts to asking Zuko." A small smile graced his lips. "Yeah, I guess Zuko wouldn't mind talking to me about it... it's not like he's ever caught me making out with his sister..."

"If he ever did and I found out, Azula wouldn't live to see another day," Katara said matter-of-factly.

Aang let out a timid chuckle. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll just go and... I'll return once my problem's... gone."

"Aang, you don't have to leave. I don't feel uncomfortable because of your predicament."

"But I do!" he said hotly, moving to stand up, but stopped in mid-motion and sat back down. "What did you just say? That you don't feel... uncomfortable? Really not?"

"Really not, Aang," she presented him with an encouraging smile.

"But... but it is embarrassing!"

"Sweetie, it's not like I haven't seen anything like that before."

"WHAT? What... what d'you mean by that?"

"Oh please," Katara rolled her eyes, "I'm a healer. And even before I realised I was one, I used to play nurse around sick people. Some were so helpless for weeks that they needed to be washed and changed..."

"Helpless... for weeks?" He gulped, and judging by his expression, he was catching on. But she wanted to tease him a little longer.

"Yeah. Like Sokka when he was caught in a snow storm for days and came home with pneumonia. He nearly died of fever and was out for two weeks. Gran-Gran and I fed him, changed him, cleaned him... So yeah, I've seen it all before."

Aang sighed in relief. "Geez, you had me scared, Katara. I nearly thought you were talking about... well, someone else."

"You, for example?" she challenged.

"I... uh..."

She decided it was time to give him the coup the grace. "I confess. I was talking about you too. Who do you think took care of you while you were out for nearly three weeks?"

His eyes widened to rival the size of Momo's. It took some time before he regained his voice.

"I... er... I knew you were healing me, but... but I never imagined you have done more than that... Great spirits, I never thought you would do such a thing!"

She crossed her arms and knitted her eyebrows. "You're talking as though it were a bad thing! I nursed you back to health, and that involved more than just healing your wounds! I fed you, watered you, and yes, I changed you when you couldn't go to the bathroom!"

He hid his face in his palms and groaned, "I wish the ground would open up and swallow me! Come to think of it," he added in a little lighter tone, "I could arrange that! But then the others would wonder what happened to the fancy floorboards..." He sighed and hung his head. "I'm sorry, Katara. I just never gave it a thought... but in hindsight I should have. One can't go three weeks without food... it should've been obvious that someone was feeding me and cleaning me... I just never imagined you'd go to such length to..."

"Aang," she reached out and squeezed his arm, "I would go to any length to help you. It was no trouble, really. I gladly did it."

He looked up, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Just how gladly?"

She felt suddenly warm. A little too warm for her liking. "Quite. But I wasn't the only one glad about it."

"Huh?"

She slipped closer to him and nudged him gently in the ribs. "You might have been unconscious, but your body wasn't entirely. Once when I was cleaning a particularly... er... sensitive area, I got a bit of a surprise."

"Uh..." He let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that."

"No problem. I didn't mind."

"You didn't?"

She cast her eyes down, feeling her cheeks glow. "I happened to like what I saw."

"Really? But... but I was so little then. I can't have been very impressive. Though..." he gave her a self-conscious smile, "I've grown since. Every bit of me."

"I can imagine that," she chuckled, "and I wouldn't mind checking someday. Just... not yet."

"Sure, not yet," he fidgeted. "A couple of years later, huh?"

"Yeah, a couple of years later."

"Unless I turn horribly sick again..."

"Don't you dare."

Aang's self-conscious smile slowly turned into an unabashed grin. "You know, I wonder why Sokka never teased me about you doing all those things to me while I was out."

"Perhaps because he remembered he had gone through the same."

"The same? You mean, he too gave you a 'little surprise'?"

"No, thank the spirits! I would've died of the shock!"

"Yeah," Aang laughed, "the mere mental image is disturbing. But it had its uses. My little problem's gone. Shall we have dinner now?" He stood and offered a hand to help her up.

"All right," she accepted his hand. "And Aang..."

"Yes?"

"Well," she fumbled with her hair again, "next time you meet Zuko, make sure you have that talk with him. It might come in handy. Someday..."

o

The sky was darkening and the stars were coming out as Aang left the house to feed Appa. Sokka and Suki still hadn't returned from their date, and the only light in the building was the one coming through Katara's bedroom window.

Aang looked up at the light and let out a longing sigh. A couple more years. How would he be able to wait so long?

The sky bison let out a burp and Aang patted his flank. "Glad you enjoyed your meal, buddy."

The animal, as though he had sensed his young master's discomfort, nuzzled him. Aang lost himself in the soft, white fur and his eyes wandered back to Katara's window.

"Buddy, I was wondering," he murmured to Appa, "how can one get pneumonia around here?"

FIN

A/N: reviews would be most welcome. Also, check out my other ATLA one-shots, especially It's All About Him that is loosely linked to this one.