A/N: Written for the day five prompt for Kataang Week 2018: Councilwoman Katara. Word count: 341

Learning Curve

When she heard the knock on her office door, Katara glanced at the clock sitting on top of her desk and groaned. She knew who was on the other side before they came in, but she still grimaced when the door opened and she saw Aang's face, complete with a smile she didn't deserve.

"I'm sorry," she said, having remembered her promise to be home for dinner that night. "There's so much more paperwork than I imagined, and I—"

"It's fine, Katara."

Aang moved around her desk and began massaging her shoulders. Katara let herself sink into it, trying to relax her stiff muscles, but even the way Aang's touch left her tingling, couldn't distract her from the sheer amount of work she needed to do.

"You've got to take a break," Aang said, leaning down to place a brief kiss to the top of her head. "You're running yourself into the ground."

"But I have to—"

"Don't you always yell at me when I don't take any breaks from Avatar business?"

Katara sighed, running a hand over her eyes.

"Yes, but—"

"No buts," Aang replied, his small grin teasing her.

He perched himself on Katara's desk, and she couldn't help but lean forward to make sure he wasn't crushing anything important.

"Being the Avatar was a lot harder when I was younger and everything was new," Aang said. "You've just become a councilwoman. It'll get easier once you get the hang of it, but you have got to let yourself rest."

Katara leaned back in her chair and tried to focus on relaxing her shoulders and lower back, where most of her tension was focused.

"You're right. I can't stay in this office. It's been hours since I've actually accomplished anything. My brain doesn't want to comprehend anything anymore."

Aang smiled brightly.

"To dinner we go then!" he announced, standing and holding out his hand for Katara to take.

She did so with a smile, thankful that she had Aang in her life to remind her of what was important.