Trading Dignity for Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Air Bender. If I did, things would definitely be very interesting.

Summary: Katara is being married off to unify the Water Tribe, and Aang isn't happy about it. What lengths will Aang go too to stop the wedding? And why does he care so much? Aang X Katara! Story also contains a hint of Lemon, though it won't be graphic at all.

In honor of the new episode 'Secret of the Fire Nation' coming on tomorrow, I decided to repost one of my Avatar one-shots that got removed from the site when my old account 'Lady Serenity Moon Child' was deleted. Also as a side note, the characters are several years older in this story than they are in the show, last time I posted this I forgot to mention it and some people got a little weirded out.

XXX

The feast was set out before the three young heroes, only days before they had been at the front gates of the capital of the fire nation, staring down the barrel of an army of fire benders whose powers were supercharged by the comet streaking across the sky. All had looked lost until Aang had summoned forth his Avatar spirit; the army was blown away like they were nothing and he now stood face to face with the Fire Lord. Ozai looked down at the young Avatar, a smile glinting in his eyes and victory dancing across his twisted lips. To him, Aang was nothing more than a little boy whom had spoken out of turn and must be punished like he had done to his own son. Aang closed in on the elder man and stopped directly in front of him only five feet away.

"You don't stand a chance little boy," the man growled, his face a toothy grin, "And when you're dead, I'll kill that stupid water tribe boy and your precious water bender shall become a member of my harem." He paused, reveling in the horrified look on the boy's face, "I'll enjoy breaking her."

Aang glanced quickly over his shoulder, to where Katara was using her water bending to keep the now advancing army at bay. They had recovered from being hurled over fifty feet away and were now heading to rejoin their lord. "Hurry Aang!" she cried, there were so many. She would die if he didn't hurry up.

"You won't touch her," the Avatar snarled, his eyes and arrows glowing blue. The man opened his mouth to comment further, but found himself unable to speak as blood poured out of his mouth. Looking down he saw Aang's glider sticking out of his gut. The air bender had shot it at him so quickly that he didn't even feel it puncture his gut. Eyes returning to normal, Aang walked up to the body and wrenched his glider free of the dead fire bender.

"Aang are you alright," Katara whispered, leaning towards him and shaking him from his thoughts of the final battle.

"Yeah," he said softly, looking at the girl who was sitting to his right. He could never tell her what the Fire Lord had said to him.

"Thinking about the battle," she murmured, one of her hands coming to rest on his upper thigh. He nodded, not trusting his voice as he placed his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She understood him better than anyone, she was his best friend.

A clinking of metal on glass could be heard as Katara's father stood, trying to draw the attention of the hall to him, "A great victory has been won. And I am so very pleased to say that my children stood on the front lines with the Avatar, that two of our own were brave enough to make this journey with him shows that our people's spirit is not as broken as many have thought." He paused taking a deep swig of his wine, "And to help show the unity of our people, I am please to announce the engagement of my daughter to Takura of the Northern Water Tribe."

The Avatar's entire world shattered around him; it was like he was suddenly thrust into the coldest water imaginable with no air in his lungs to sustain him. He was faintly aware of Sokka's hand patting him on the back, and Katara jumping to her feet and shouting in indignation. But other than those faint awareness's he could feel nothing. His five senses all ceasing to function at the same time, leaving him in a state of complete shock. His eyes burned with the desire to shed tears but no water rushed to his ducts to sooth the pain; all water was lost to him, and he mourned it more than any other loss that he had ever suffered. He could feel his Avatar spirit, savagely trying to rear its head but he contained it. Honestly he didn't know how he did it, but all that mattered was the fact that he had.

"…But Father," Katara spat out the last word as if it was some vile substance, "I don't love Takura, I don't even know him!"

"You'll learn," he said coldly, his eyes narrowing at the girl who was managing to cause quite a scene. Every head in the hall was directed at them, the only boon to the entire thing was that there was no one from the Northern Tribe in the hall; they would arrive in a few days for the wedding. Hopefully by then the girl would have worked out all her anger and see the wisdom of what he had arranged for her.

She looked at him, completely aghast, before she began to speak. Her voice was harsh and cold, around her goblets of liquid froze solid and people looked at the bender in terror. "I will never learn to love Takura. Love must be mutual and not forced," her voice gained volume and strength, "And besides, I have already found someone whom I have given my heart to." With that, she spun on her heal and fled the room the tears, which had been threatening to fall the entire time, pouring down her face.

All eyes turned to her brother and the pale face Avatar who was still completely motionless.

"Well, who is this man that has stolen your sister's heart?" the father demanded of his son.

Sokka blinked as he wracked his mind for anyone they had met whom his sister might have been interested. It could have been Haru, she had seemed quite smitten with the earth bender, but they hadn't seen him in ages. Had he not known of the vicious attack that his sister had launched on Jet after he had fought with Aang, he might think that the mysterious boy was the one.

But then it hit him, like ten tons of flying bison.

His face blanched and his lips narrowed until they were nearly invisible. He knew who it was, and he wasn't going to say anything, "I really don't know." He forced a nervous laugh, "I was as surprised as you." Standing slowly, he excused himself and grabbed the still shocked Avatar by the arm, pulling him to his feet and dragging him away from the table.

Outside the cold night air was like a slap in the face, it sobered the Avatar immediately from his stupor and he groaned as his hands covered his face; he hunched forward against the cold as he followed Sokka towards the hut that they were sharing. Sokka glanced back at the younger boy and sighed, the air bender was a picture of sorrow and defeat.

He looked broken.

Closing the door behind them, the water tribe boy threw himself onto one of the beds, watching Aang with curious eyes. "You love her don't you?" he asked after a moment, feeling strangely comfortable with the idea of this boy, the Avatar, being in love with his baby sister.

"I…I don't know…" Aang confessed after a moment. Once the words were out of his mouth he began to pace back and forth in front of his friend, his head hung low. "I have never cared about anyone more in my entire life, Sokka and it scares me!" The intensity of the words surprised both of them, and Aang sank to the floor, his head cradled in his hands and his knees drawn up to his chest.

"It's ok to feel that way," Sokka soothed, wishing that this was a problem that his sister could handle instead of him. She could read the boy like an open book, it was like she could sense what he was feeling and instinctively reacted to it. Maybe it was a female thing, he mused, some sort of pre-maternal instinct. He had always thought that she had kind of raised Aang, being the one to comfort, consol, and care for the young man when he was at his weakest and supporting him completely when at his strongest.

Aang shook his head slowly and sorrowfully, "No it's not. I'm a monk, and what's more is I'm the Avatar! I'm not allowed to feel this way. I'm not allowed to have a life outside of serving others!" With this the boy completely broke down and Sokka was at a loss. The few other times that he had seen the young Avatar cry, he had been cradled in Katara's arms his head resting gently on her breast as his tears turned her blue robes a dark navy. She would sit up with him all night hushing, cuddling and reassuring the sobbing boy in a way that only she could.

Lifting his head to look at the other boy, Aang heard Sokka gasp in horror. Instead of tears pouring down his face, angry twin rivers of crimson trailed from his eyes to his chin before dripping onto his yellow and orange robes. Wiping his face with his hands, Aang drew back two bloodied palms. His tear ducts had strained themselves so in the effort to restrain the tears that they had burst. Jumping up Sokka ran to retrieve Gran-Gran, if anyone could fix this, she could. Moments later, he returned with the ancient woman, and together they got the Avatar onto his bed. Using rags they sopped away he blood, and applied pressure to the ruptured ducts.

"Well what happened?" Sokka demanded of the woman, his voice tense and somewhat high pitched.

The woman sighed, blotting away the last of the blood from the Avatar's eyes. "It is hard to explain. He is suffering from a broken heart."

Sokka looked dumbfounded, "What?" he finally managed to choke out. Aang's eyes twitched under his closed eyelids, showing that he was listening also.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she placed a hand lightly on his knee, "Benders react differently to some things. Emotion is tied directly into their powers. When a person's heart is broken their first instinct is to cry, but a water bender, having control over all water, even what is contained inside their own bodies, often react like this. They completely shut out water they can't bend, can't cry, and they get a searing pain in their throat and stomach when they drink water. Since he is Avatar, he is in part water bender, to stay hydrated he is going to have to drink wine or broth, they are still based off of water but they have enough other things in them to dull the pain."

"How do we make him better?" her grandson asked her, his voice low with worry.

"The only cure is time," she sighed softly, patting the young Avatar's knee, "In time he will be better. And so will Katara."

Aang's eyes shot open and he sat up, staring wide eyed at the old woman, despite the pain that it caused him, "What's wrong with Katara!"

"She is suffering just as you are," the woman lowered her head, her voice breaking slightly, "Her idiot father should have known that this would happen. That's why arranged marriages are so rare among water benders, there hasn't been one in over three centuries. I had just left her hut when Sokka found me."

"I have to go see her," Aang said suddenly, trying to stand.

Sokka pushed him down and held him there for a moment, "You two both need rest, talk to her in the morning."

"I have to see her now!" Aang pleaded, struggling to free himself of the older boy, "I need to…"

Gran-Gran placed a hand over the struggling boy's mouth, before whispering softly, "Katara is already asleep. She isn't going anywhere; whatever you have to say can wait until morning. Then both your minds will be clearer." Finally he stopped struggling and lay back, closing his eyes slowly. His whole body felt numb, and he was faintly aware of the two who stood over him, speaking tersely. It wasn't until this moment that he realized how tired he was, but sleep refused to come; he tried several times to open his eyes, but the lids felt heavy and he couldn't get them to move. His body was the same way, so he just lay there, lost in his thoughts.

Once again, his mind wandered back to the day of the final battle.

He stood over the body of the now dead Fire Lord Ozai, his bloody glider clenched in his hand. The man at his feet lay spread eagle, his eyes open wide and glazed over with death, crimson blood had formed a pool around him, and despite the dead man's horrified expression, he looked oddly peaceful. Aang was faintly aware that a hushed silence had fallen over the palace; Fire Benders would not fight on after their leader fell. Their feudal code would not allow it. A light hand touched his shoulder; he didn't have to look to know who it was. She was the only one who touched him like that, with such tender compassion that it almost made his knees weak. Slowly her arms made their way around his shoulders and she pulled his unmoving form into a fierce embrace, burying her face into the crook of his neck; he could feel her hot tears pouring down his neck and her moist breath made his skin tingle.

They stood like that for a long time, he refused to turn and face her. He felt soiled, less than human. He had taken another life, and he suddenly felt unworthy of even being in her presence. His legs were shaking beneath him at this point, and his knees buckled unexpectedly. Well unexpected to him, Katara had sensed the change in his stance and caught him deftly in her arms, lowering both of them to the ground where she cradled him against her chest. He had been in her arms like this a few times before; he had sobbed like a small child for countless hours, but this time he didn't cry.

He couldn't cry.

She had leaned her cheek against his bald head tenderly, her arms encircling him in warmth that only she possessed. Once she had pulled her head away and planted a soft kiss on his forehead, the action was simple and fleeting, but it left him trembling. Replacing her cheek against his head, she continued to hold him. All the fire benders had fled the city long ago, and they were alone on the steps of the palace. They sat at the top of the steps in complete silence, at the bottom of those same steps was Sokka, his back pressed against Apa's fury side.

The sun set and still they sat there.

It was sunrise the next morning when finally the pair at the top of the steps moved. Aang pulled himself away from Katara and stood, offering her a hand he hefted her to her feet. Silently they walked down the steps to where Sokka stood, still leaning against Apa. No words were said between the three as they climbed up onto the bison, Apa rose slowly into the air and began to fly. No one bothered to guide the bison anymore; they had been around the world so many times that he knew where to go on his own.

But now, as he lay on his bed in the hut that he and Sokka were sharing, he wished more than anything that he had told the bison to go somewhere else, anywhere else.

Anywhere but the South Pole.

He must have fallen asleep at some point or another, because the next thing he knew light was streaming through windows, falling across his face and into his eyes painfully. Standing slowly he walked over to the wash basin that sat on a nearby table and began to scrub his hands and face, removing the last traces of blood from his pale skin. After drying off with a rough towel and putting on robes devoid of blood, he moved to the door and headed out into the cold arctic morning. The village was abuzz with activity, as people rushed around doing morning chores. Women wished their husbands good luck as they headed off to hunt or fish and older children were managing their younger siblings while their mothers washed clothes on the beach. He spotted Sokka across the village, he was heading out to hunt with his father and a few other men; Aang turned away and headed off in the other direction, he thought it best not to interrupt Sokka and his father.

Moving aimlessly through the village, Aang found himself at the one place he knew he would end up. He stood nervously in front of Katara's hut, his hand poised to knock on the door, but before his hand could descend the door flew open, revealing Katara. Her eyes were puffy, and he could see faint traces of dried blood around her eyes; her blue robes were stained almost black in the places where the bloody tears had fallen. He could tell that she was in pain, and his heart ached for her. Stepping to the side, she ushered him into the hut; the room was small and crowded with the things that had been so important to her in her childhood. She sat down on her bed and he sat beside her, so often they just sat in a comfortable silence, but this time was different. The air was thick with tension, and both were fidgeting nervously.

Finally Katara broke the silence, "I can't water bend. Gran-Gran said that I wouldn't be able to, and she was right. I was trying when you got here. I can't even feel the water."

"I can't water bend either," he said softly, looking down at his upturned palms. He heard her gasp slightly.

Cool palms pressed to his cheeks as she turned him to face her, he lowered his eyes refusing to look her in the eye, "You're the Avatar, you have to be able to water bend." Her words were quiet and her body was trembling slightly; his amber eyes finally met her azure ones.

"But I can't." Their eyes were locked, neither could look away.

Neither wanted to look away.

"You have to," she whispered, her face the embodiment of sorrow, and her eyes pleading, "If you don't, I don't know what I'll do. You're the only thing that I can count on anymore."

He didn't know what to say, his mouth hung open in surprise at her statement; those simple words rocked his being. Aang loved her more in that moment than he ever had before, to think that through everything that had happened she still felt that she could depend upon him. Like he was her rock in a stormy sea, her last anchor, the one thing that allowed her to hold fast to all she believed in despite that fact that everything that she had ever known was changing around her.

Leaning in he kissed her softly on her lips. He didn't know why he did it, all he knew was that once their lips had touched everything seemed to disappear. He started to pull away, but her hands snaked around his neck pulling him closer; the kiss was so full of pain and anguish, but it tasted just as sweet as either had ever imagined it would. He felt like he was sinking, sinking completely into her arms, completely into her kiss. Nothing made sense, he couldn't think straight, all he knew was that everything was alright.

But as they pulled apart, his heart broke again.

Even if Katara could get out of her engagement, which was doubtful at best, they could never be together. He was a monk and the Avatar, it was his duty to put the safety of the world before his own or any one person's; and the teachings of monkhood, which had been drilled into him since he was old enough to understand the words, told him that they could never be together the way he wanted them to be. He knew that they could never make it work because of who he was and what he was destined to do.

And what was worse, Katara knew it too.

Sinking to the floor he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his head in his hands; Katara slid down beside him and for what seemed like the millionth time in the years that they had been friends, she pulled him into her arms and cradled him to her chest. But this time, it was as much for her comfort as it was for his. Soon both slipped into sleep, neither having gotten a good sleep the night before. Katara's sleep was dreamless, but Aang's was far from it.

He was walking through a village, presumably fire nation, as crimson banners bearing the nations crest hung on every available surface. To him it looked like they were preparing for a festival, but there were no people around. He walked down the disserted street looking to his right and left for any sign of the villagers, reaching the end of the street he peered deeply into the window of a nearby Tea House. Inside he could see two shadowy male figures engrossed in a deep conversation over their steaming cups of tea. Placing a hand on the door and pushed it open, the scents of jasmine, chamomile, lemon, and hundreds of other herbs wafted into his face. The smell of the herbal teas was almost as soothing as the voice he could now hear calling his name.

"Aang," the wizened voice of Monk Giatso called, "Come join us for some tea."

Walking into the dimly lit Tea House, Aang could now clearly make out the faces of the two men; sure enough one was Giatso, and the other was Avatar Roku. The aged fire bender smiled warmly at warmly at Aang as he sat down at the table, "We were just speaking of a certain dilemma involving you."

"What would that be?" Aang asked, his mind filled with his own personal problems. A cup of tea appeared in front of him and he took a deep swig of the warm liquid; it burnt his throat slightly, but not because of its temperature. It was his broken heart, and much as Gran-Gran had told him that water would burn his throat, the tea burnt being nothing more than water that had had plant leaves soaked in it. He fought back a pained grimace and looked up at the two men before him.

"Let us get right to it Aang," Giatso said, "Roku if you would."

"Aang," Roku started, leaning across the table so that his face was only a foot from the young Avatar, "There is no easy was to put this." He paused and took a deep breathe, "Not only are you the last air bender, but you are the one of the last four Avatars. That is unless something is done."

"You see," Giatso picked up where Avatar Roku had left off, "That when the Avatar cycle comes full circle, there will be no air benders to continue it, and with no Avatar the world can not go on. If something doesn't happen soon, when the next fire nation Avatar dies the world will die to."

"What are you saying?" Aang asked warily, looking between the two men.

Roku took a deep breathe, "We are asking you to bridge you duty as Avatar, and disband all the teachings of monkhood that have been drilled into you since a young age." He paused collecting his thoughts, "Aang we are asking you to take a wife, and to become a father. It is the only way to save the world and to preserve peace."

Aang looked between the two men before speaking, "I have to be dreaming. I'm just having this crazy dream because of everything that's been happening."

Giatso placed a hand on Aang's shoulder, "You are not dreaming. When you fell into a troubled sleep it allowed you to be transported into the spirit realm. The Avatar is the bridge between the realms, it only makes sense that you could travel here when it would aid your waking problems."

"But listen to me now young Avatar," Roku said, his voice kinder than one would think, "The other past Avatar's and myself have discussed this long and hard, it has been something of a raging debate in our own personal corner of the spirit realm since you were awakened from that iceberg by the water tribe girl. And we have finally reached a decision after all this time." He took a deep moment before continuing, "But the other Avatar's insisted that we have some final say in the one you choose. I was instructed by them to ask you if there is anyone in particular that we should begin observing?"

"Yes," Aang answered after a moment, "The water bender that rescued me from the iceberg, Katara."

"Aang you understand that she is promised to another man?" Giatso asked, though not surprised by his pupil's statement. He had been watching over him for a long time and knew very well where the young man's heart lie.

"Yes I know."

"Very well," Roku said, standing to leave, "The other Avatar's and I will have our answer back to you in two days, but you mustn't do anything until then."

Aang blinked, he was suddenly back in Katara's hut, still held securely in her arms; leaning deeper into her embrace he sighed.

Everything was becoming so overwhelming. He didn't know what to do.

And even if the Avatars approved of Katara, there was no guarantee that she would have him. Plus there was still the dark cloud of her impending marriage hanging over his head, and he had no idea how to stop that; he had heard from his friends many times just how stubborn their father could be. To be able to get him to do something that he didn't want to do was nearly impossible, unless you had a big enough bargaining chip.

"Aang…" the girl mumbled in her sleep, nearly causing him to melt. She had said his name so softly, almost wistfully; when he was younger he had hated his name, but when she said it, it sounded perfect. So simple, you could almost hear her lips curling into a smile when she spoke his name, the way she said it was always so cheerful, even when she was sad. "… I love you… Aang…"

His heart caught in his throat, he had always been told that a person couldn't lie in their sleep, and he prayed that the person who had told him this was right. The very sound of the words were magical to him and he could feel tears, real tears, pouring down his face, but then he remembered what Roku had said, and the tears immediately stopped leaving his eyes burning. He had felt on top of the world when she had mumbled those simple words, but his heart broke once again, he had to wait. Nothing was to be done until the Avatar's made their decision.

'Damn the Avatars,' his mind cried as he looked at the girl holding onto him tightly as she slept, 'Who are they to tell me who I can and cannot love?'

'They are you,' another voice in his mind said softly, 'They want to see you happy. They're just being cautious.'

"I have to listen to them," he said finally, looking once again at Katara. She depended on him being the Avatar, and to be the Avatar he had to follow their rules. Brushing his lips across her forehead, he sighed, "Because for you I'd do anything." Katara nuzzled closer to him gently.

At sunset the delegation from the Northern Tribe arrived, and things went as well as could be expected. The Northern Chief and his lovely wife introduced their nephew Takura to Katara and her father, when the boy tried to take Katara's hand to plant a small kiss on it, both Sokka and Aang had to grab a hold of the girl to keep her from throttling him. Her father was not amused; he had to drag her to the guest's huts to apologize and later forced her to sit next to her betrothed at dinner.

But she rebelled every chance she got.

Soup was spilled on laps, lewd comments were made, several times she belched loudly.

Yeah this was the girl the Avatar loved.

Her little performance must have been really impressing Avatars who were watching her. Aang bowed his head, everything was beginning to look quiet hopeless again.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Katara gushed, having just dumped a full pot of hot tea on Takura's head, "It must have slipped." Aang almost felt bad for him, almost. Fighting back a chuckle he took a bite of his salad. Hopefully his past lives had a sense of humor. And if they didn't he was up a creek without a paddle.

Dinner was dismissed early that night, undoubtedly to keep Katara from 'accidentally' assaulting her fiancé any further. The members of the Northern Tribe exited quickly until the only people remaining were Katara, her father, Sokka, Gran-Gran, and of course Aang; the silence that filled the tent was so intense that it was almost painful.

"I hope your proud of yourself Katara," her father started slowly, "The chieftain is very upset."

"Well maybe that'll teach both of you a lesson about messing with peoples lives," Katara said defiantly, her entire body held rigidly straight as she took a sip of the wine that her grandmother had slipped her at the beginning of the meal.

"Well young lady, the jokes on you," her father's eyes were flashing angrily and everyone shifted nervously in their seats, "Thanks to your antics, the chieftain and I have decided to move the wedding up to the day after tomorrow."

Katara's eyes widened in shock and Aang nearly spewed his mouthful of wine across the table. Her wedding was to be on the same day that the Avatar's got back to him with their answer. "You can't," she choked, her entire body shaking with the desire to cry.

"I can and I have," he answered calmly, "Now go to bed."

Katara fled the room, not even bothering to grab her coat on the way out; Aang leapt to his feet and chased after her, her coat hanging over his arm. The man looked slightly alarmed by the look on the Avatar's face as he ran passed. His normally cheerful expression was contorted with barely suppressed anger, and if he wasn't mistaken, quite a bit of sorrow as well.

He found her out on the beach, out of sight of the village; her slight body was shaking both with the cold and her anger and she was watching the waves with detachment.

"I can't even feel the water," she said softly, knowing it was him without looking, her eyes never leaving the crashing waves. Aang moved to her side silently and put her coat over her shoulders; she turned to him slowly, as she spoke, "I know that if I marry Takura I'll never feel the water again. I couldn't handle that Aang. It would kill me." She was looking him directly in the eye now, and he once again felt himself moving closer to her; without hesitation he took her into his arms and kissed her firmly on the lips. Before either knew what was going on, they were pressed against one another trying to get as close together as they could. Aang ran his tongue along her lips and she opened her mouth with a moan; finally breaking apart, their lips only centimeters apart and their eyes still closed, Katara whispered hoarsely, "I want you Aang."

Aang opened his eyes, slightly taken aback, and caught her face in his hands, she looked up at him pleadingly; she had never asked him for anything in the entire time that they had known each other, and she had willingly given him so much. He couldn't, he wouldn't deny her this. Not when she looked into his eyes like that, not when she gave him that little smile, and not when she took him by the hand leading him back to her hut.

They took the long way back, hiding behind a snow bank; neither moved until the last candle in the village was extinguished. Then they moved slowly from the protection of the bank, slinking noiselessly across the snow and into the dark confines of her hut. Aang stood wordlessly as he heard the door lock and the sound of curtains being closed. It would be a massive understatement to say that he was nervous, his entire body was trembling; Katara took his hand and led him across the room, and immediately the trembling stopped.

She had always had that effect on him.

They stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed for a moment, neither moving; this was something completely alien to them, and neither was quite sure how to approach it. Aang was a monk, and Katara had never been close enough to a guy to ever consider this an option. But that still didn't mean that they hadn't thought about it. Both went to their own side of the bed, pulling the sheets down; they were being methodical about it, moving slowly in the direction of what they knew was going to occur before the night ended. Stripping down to nothing, they looked at each other embarrassed; then clambering into bed they lay facing one another, the blankets pulled up to their chins.

The sudden skin to skin contact was strange, he could feel her breast barely touching his chest and she could feel the barest brush of his legs against hers as he shifted nervously. She wanted this, for more reason than one, and there was no way she was going to turn back now. Grabbing his face she kissed him roughly, and he pulled her closer to him his hands running up and down her back feeling skin that he had only ever dreamed of before. They continued to kiss, roughly, hungrily and then finally they made love.

The explosion of emotions rocketed through them, setting their entire being ablaze; inside the hut, the world was perfect.

But outside all hell was breaking loose, from a seemingly cloudless sky a thunderstorm, stronger than any the small village had ever seen, battered the coast. Had any soul been brave enough to look out a door or window, they would have seen the giant waves like mini tsunamis coming rushing at the shore only to split in the middle and crash viciously on either side of the village. Wind whipped around the buildings, doing no damage to the structures, but stripping the ground of its snowy covering and leaving nothing but bare soil. The storm was tremendous in all of it fierceness, but instead of being a force of sheer destruction, it was tender and took great care not to destroy the village. As one would probably guess, this was not a normal storm; it was an overflow of emotions from the passion of two benders. For as the two fell into a deep restful sleep, cradled in each others arms the storm disappeared leaving almost no trace of it having ever been there.

The two woke hours later, to the sound of Sokka shouting and pounding on the door, his voice on the verge of panic, "Katara, Aang's missing! I can't find him anywhere; I think he's run off!"

The girl grinned slightly at her lover as she stood, taking one of the sheets from the bed and wrapping it around her slender form, leaving the other blankets to provide Aang with sufficient cover as she moved to the door. Unlocking it slowly, she opened it just a crack so that she could see her brother's face. "He's not missing." She mumbled softly, "He's in here."

Sokka pushed his way in, a goofy grin on his face, "So you two finally did it. God, it's about time."

"What?" Katara questioned, sitting back down on the bed, taking care to not let her sheet slide. This was not the reaction that she had expected from her brother. Aang looked at the older boy just as curiously; Katara leaned back against him and he looped an arm around her waist as they waited for an explanation.

"You two have been in love for forever," he said exasperatedly, throwing his hands in the air as if to stress his point, "Don't you remember the first time that Aang got captured by the fire nation and I told you 'Let's go save your boyfriend.'? Well I'm not completely stupid you know. I knew that you were sweet on him even then."

"So you're not mad?" Aang questioned nervously. This was not the Sokka that he had come to know over the years, this was a strangely calm and reserved Sokka. Truthfully the older boy's actions being so out of character had him wondering if he was just pretending not to be mad and was actually going to kill him later when there were no witnesses.

"Honestly no," Sokka said, looking oddly thoughtful, "But if it was any other guy, that I had found in here, it would be a different story." He paused for a moment, putting a hand to his chin and sitting down at the chair in front of Katara's dressing table, "What does this mean for the wedding?"

Katara bowed her head sadly, "It means nothing." She paused, "You know father, Sokka; he will never change his mind. It would take a miracle to stop this wedding." Tears were pouring down her face as she leaned back against Aang, who hugged her softly; her entire world was crumbling to dust and she could do nothing about it. Laying in the arms of the man she loved and knowing that in a day's time she would be married to someone else, it was enough to break her heart again. But the tears kept falling. It was the Avatar's job to fix things that were broken and he had fixed her heart to well; in a time when she knew all should feel hopeless, she felt that warm bubble of hope deep in her stomach. 'Damn it Aang,' she thought to herself, her tears finally ceasing, 'Why do you have to be so good at your job.'

Over the course of the day, the two saw little of each other. Aang staid with Sokka, and Katara was being constantly bustled in and out of huts were the final touches were being put on preparations for the next days wedding. The whole village was full of boisterous activity, it was enough to leave even the most calm and collected persons head spinning. Bundles of dried flowers were being arranged, meat was being seasoned and packed in ice to await cooking, mounds of potatoes were being pealed, and one squirming water tribe girl was being fitted for her wedding gown.

The pale blue silk, wrapped around her thin frame like a toga and was pinned shut on her right shoulder by an opal pin baring the crest of the water tribe. It was beautiful, even Katara had to admit, but she still stared at her reflection in disgust. This wasn't right. The whole wedding was bogus, there hadn't been an arranged marriage among water benders for over three hundred years, and know her she was being forced to marry someone that she didn't love. "So this is the thanks that my own tribe gives me for helping the Avatar save the world," she grumbled under her breathe as one of the women working on her dress pinned the hem.

At that moment she wanted nothing more than to be in Aang's arms and have this entire thing turn out to be a terrible dream, but that was wishful thinking and she knew that wishes didn't come true. Miracles happened, wishes didn't. It was as simple as that.

Dinner was eaten in complete silence that night, no one dared speak. No one wanted to be the spark that lit the argument that was building between Katara and her father; the two glared at each other over the meal, the air was thick with the tension between them. People gradually began to excuse themselves from the meal, planning to turn in early so they could get a head start on the last of the wedding preparations the next morning. Aang was among the first to head off the bed, closely followed by Sokka. Katara sat stubbornly in her seat until everyone else had left, before heading off herself; if her father was going to force her to be a bride, she at least wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her being a well rested one.

Morning came early, to early. A night of restless slumber had assailed Aang; nightmares had plagued what little slumber he had be able to manage, and know he sat on the beach watching the sun rise and praying that the Avatar's would come soon with their answer.

He didn't have to wait long.

The nine hundred and ninety-nine Avatar's that had served before him, appeared on the beach; standing closest to Aang was a grave looking Roku. Aang already knew what their answer was going to be; Roku opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, he bowed his head, struck speechless by the sorrow that the young Avatar was going to face. Seeing Roku's inability to speak, one of the earth bender Avatars stepped forward.

"We have reached our decision, young Avatar." The man started, his back ramrod straight, and his green eyes dull with his considerable age, "The water tribe girl is not appropriate and your late night encounter, though it proved fruitful, was one of the deciding factors."

Despite the anger and sorrow welling up in him he managed to speak, "What do you mean by 'proved fruitful'?"

"The water bender is with child," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The Avatar Cycle is preserved. Now she will marry and when the child is born they will believe it to be her husband's, and they will raise it as their own, never being wise to the fact that the child is half air bender."

Aang's face blanched and it looked as though he might throw up. The Avatars, their message being delivered, disappeared leaving Aang alone. Rubbing his face with his hands, Aang began to cry, and this time there was no Katara there to hold him and tell him that it would all be alright. What the Avatar's had told him was a slap in the face, not only was he to stand by while the one he loved married another, but he also had to stand by while that man also raised his child.

Standing slowly, and deliberately he turned towards the village, as he whispered under his breathe, "Damn the Avatars." He had let so much of his life be dictated by others, he had never known his parents growing up; he had risked his life and the lives of others to stop the fire nation, all because the Avatar's said it was his destiny. "Screw Destiny."

Storming into the village he was more determined than he had ever been in his entire life, even as he had face the fire lord and possibly death. To him this was more a matter of life and death than a thousand wars. He reached the village's center, and saw the wedding already underway. Katara stood across from Takura, staring loathingly at him and at her father who was reading the water tribes marriage rights aloud. He stalked up the aisle and came to a halt before them. "This stops now," he growled in the most threatening voice that he could manage.

"How dare you interrupt this Ceremony!" Katara's father shouted angrily, "I should have you exiled from the village for this, even if you are the Avatar."

"I won't allow you to marry Katara off like you would trade salted fish," Aang snarled, moving closer, his fists clenched at his sides.

"You have no say in what I do or do not do," the man barked, "I am only doing what is best for my tribe."

"What about what's best for your daughter?" Aang was beyond furious and a strong wind was beginning to pick up around him, "You were to busy kissing up to the northern water tribe to realize that your daughter's heart was broken by the marriage that you arranged!"

"Why do you care so much?" he hollered in reply, though the answer was blatantly obvious to all the people who were watching the fight with interest.

"Because I love her!" Aang shouted, his air bender markings glowing menacingly. Suddenly his voice became quieter, "I fought the fire lord for her, I nearly died for her, I mastered the elements for her; everything that I have done since she freed me from that iceberg has been for her." He paused for a moment, "It had nothing to do with destiny." He breathed deeply and looked Katara's father directly in the eye, "It had everything to do with her. And now I ask you please, let her out of this arranged marriage."

Katara was crying freely and threw herself into Aang's arms as he finished speaking. "I love you too," she mumbled kissing him softly on the cheek, then turning to her father, "Please?"

The water tribe man was at a loss for words. Even he could see that their emotions were genuine, it almost hurt to see how much they loved each other. He had felt love like that once, and she had been taken from him by the fire nation. He had lost his wife, the love of his life, he wasn't going to let the same happen to his daughter. "Katara, you are free of your betrothal."

"Thank you!" she squealed with delight throwing herself at her father and giving him the first loving hug that she had given him since before her mother died.

"You can't do that," came a soft voice, all eyes were on Takura as he continued to speak, "You have a written agreement with my uncle stating that the only way that either of us can get out of this wedding is if one of us is proven to be impure."

"I'm sorry Katara," her father stated, looking at her sorrowfully, "My hands are tied."

Katara bit her lip nervously and looked up at her father, her voice no more than a whisper, "No they're not. The night before last…ah… Aang and I…um… slept together."

The man's eyes widened, but Takura clucked his tongue as if he was getting quite bored with the whole situation, "My dear Katara, how do we know that you aren't lying?"

"You don't," she replied uneasily, "You have to take my word for it."

"Well seeing as how you're the one trying to get out of the marriage, your word isn't good enough. We need proof." The boy was grinning at this point, he had won.

"Katara's pregnant," Aang stated plainly, staring at the arrogant boy before him. Katara looked at him shocked, but didn't say anything.

"You honestly think that I'll believe that you know that she's pregnant already when you only slept together a day ago?" the boy was laughing at this point, thinking that they were grasping at straws, looking for an answer.

"The Avatar speaks the truth," came a new voice that Aang recognized immediately.

"Roku!" Aang shouted, spinning around to see the shadowy figures of his past lives hovering behind the crowd.

Roku slid down the aisle without a sound, coming to a halt before the group that had been arguing moments before. "The water tribe girl is pregnant with the Avatar's child. And you," Roku turned to face Aang directly, "Have passed our test. We give you our blessing in any life you and she choose to make."

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked, suddenly furious with his sneaky past lives, "What test?"

Roku chuckled, "We knew from the beginning that she was a worthy match for you. We, however were not certain if you were worthy of her. Countless times you have put your life on the line for her, but never your dignity. We needed proof that you would fight for her, even if it cost you your honor." Aang glared at the man. "And you passed."

Tension was mounting as they stared at each other menacingly. The staring contest, however, was broken by a drunken yell from the crowd of transparent Avatars, "Are we havin' a wedding or what? Don' tell me tat ah broke out the 'ood fire whiskey fer nuttin!"

Aang and Katara smile at each other; taking her hands in his, and looking her directly in her deep blue eyes, he asked quietly, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she murmured, kissing him.

And so the legend goes that Aang, the thousandth Avatar, and the last air bender, married Katara of the water tribe. And they went on to do great things, as did their children, but that's another story.

XXX

A/N: Well there you go. Love it? Hate it? Well tell me what you think.

Luv y'all,

Dirty Thoughts of Bliss

Please R&R