Oneshot? WTF?! Yeaaaaahh well this idea like... came out of nowhere and it seemed funny in my head so I wrote it down. And that's basically it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar
The Avatar smiled as the little Earth Kingdom town he'd come to call home came into view below him, glowing like a gem among the cliffs in the red glow of the evening sun.
"See that, Buddy?" he asked his bison excitedly. "We're home."
Appa grunted his approval, tired from the long flight from Ba Sing Se. Aang, now a full-fledged Avatar of nearly nineteen years, had been called there for something boring and diplomatic and was seeing the town for the first time in nearly two months.
When the giant bison touched down in the town square, it became immediately apparent that someone had spotted them coming in for a landing and spread the word, because a small crowd had assembled to welcome his arrival. As usual. Aang smiled, a little exasperated. He'd told the citizens again and again that they didn't need to give him a hero's welcome every time he returned from an errand, but they refused to listen.
Cheers greeted him as he leapt down from Appa's head, offering a tired wave and a humored smile. Mostly familiar faces greeted him, residents of the town. But there were always a few people who went out of their way to come to the Avatar's village, hoping to get a glimpse of him. Most of the townsfolk approached him easily, saying hello and asking how the trip was. Aang answered them all comfortably. He knew these people, they were friends.
"Aang!"
The first truly welcome voice in the crowd caught his attention and he smiled as Sokka shoved his way into view. An imposing man of over six feet with broad shoulders and "that wild Water Tribe look about him," as the townspeople put it, Sokka had no trouble wading through the throng. He thumped Aang on the back by way of greeting, and Aang was happy to see Momo swaying on his shoulder. The lemur was getting old and had to stay grounded, but Sokka was taking care of him.
"Hey, Sokka," Aang smiled. "Not too much changed in my absence, I hope."
"Nope, everything still boring and peaceful, thanks to us," Sokka sighed.
"Where's Toph?" Aang asked conversationally, noting the absence of the Blind Bandit.
"How should I know, I'm not her babysitter," Sokka pointed out sourly. Aang raised an eyebrow at him but he waved it off. "Probably in some tournament somewhere, I dunno. She comes and goes as she pleases, you know that."
"True enough," the monk consented. He stifled a yawn and looked around at the now sedate crowd, most of the townspeople having welcomed him and moved on about their business. The tourists still remained, some standing on toes to get a good look. "More Avatar-watchers than usual," Aang commented lightly.
Sokka snorted with laughter. "That's because your fan club is in town," he said, sounding as though he was thoroughly enjoying informing Aang of this.
"My what?" Aang replied blankly.
"A gaggle of giggling girls," Sokka sighed dramatically. "They've been here for almost a week waiting for you to get back so they could meet you."
"Since when do I have a fan club?" Aang blurted, bewildered by this development.
"Since you grew up," Sokka shrugged. "Or haven't you noticed that you've gotten taller and aren't a skinny runt anymore?"
"Oh thanks," Aang muttered, scowling.
Sokka laughed. "Come on, Aang," he said airily. "According to these girls, you're a prize catch! Tattoos, battle scars, stormy grey eyes, this was all from them, not me, just pointing that out."
"Just how much time have you spent talking to these girls?" Aang asked with a laugh.
Sokka scowled. "Too much," he growled. "They follow me around because I know you." But then he shrugged again. "But you're here now, so they can follow you around instead. You enjoy that." He clapped Aang on the shoulder and took his leave, pausing near a group of girls hovering on the other side of Appa. Aang looked at them curiously. There were probably eleven or twelve of them, all in their teen years. The oldest one, who was looking at him with much more interest than he was comfortable with, couldn't have been a day over sixteen. Sokka was pointing at him, smirking, and Aang started to feel this sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed hard when they all started giggling and tightened a hand on his staff, turning in walking briskly down the market street.
"Sleep well, Buddy!" he called back to Appa. The bison yawned in reply and took off for the barn he slept in closer to the cliff side.
"Avatar Aang, wait up!"
Aang sighed and slowed to a stop. He had to be polite, he couldn't help it. He turned warily, watching as the pack of girls approached. He distinctly saw Sokka leaving the center of town, laughing himself hoarse. Aang silently vowed to get his revenge.
Unsurprisingly, the girl who had called him to a stop was the one who had been staring at him before. She smirked up at him, being nearly a head shorter.
"I'm An Li," she said immediately, bowing her head a little in respect. "It's an honor to meet you." Even her voice sounded smirky.
"Um… thanks," Aang replied uncomfortably, glancing down the street where his house waited for him. "I'm Aang."
"We know that," An Li laughed, and the chorus giggled behind her. Aang started to get that sinking feeling again.
"Er… not to be rude or anything, but I'm really very tired and I'd like to go home, so…" he began, turning away from them and praying to the spirits to let him get away.
"Oh good, we'll walk you home," An Li piped up immediately.
Stupid spirits. Now these girls would know where he lived.
"Okay, fine," he sighed. "But as soon as we get there I'll have to ask you to let me turn in for the night."
"Alright," An Li said lightly, sounding as though she wasn't really listening. He sighed again and started toward home, and the girls immediately started asking him questions.
"How tall are you, really?"
"Those tattoos… when did you get them?"
"Do you really have a scar from getting struck by lightning?"
"How old are you? I mean, including that whole iceberg thing."
Aang did his best to sort out the questions and answer them in as few words as possible. It was rather difficult since they were all talking at once. After what felt like hours, he finally saw his front door. It was a small, simple house with a great round door, much like the house in Ba Sing Se. Flower-covered vines hung from the roof, attracting all sorts of birds on summer mornings. But now the house front was quiet, lamplight flickering behind the curtained windows.
"Okay, here we are," he said loudly over the questions. "I guess it's time for you to-"
"One last question," An Li said quickly, smiling in a way that made Aang feel very tired. She had been conspicuously quiet the whole way to the house.
He sighed again. "Shoot."
"Well, everyone has heard the stories about your adventures," she began airily. "But people hardly hear anything about your personal life." A few of the girls giggled.
"My personal life," Aang repeated, completely nonplussed.
"Are you seeing someone?" she asked bluntly, watching him shrewdly.
"Seeing someone?" he repeated again, not quite getting the thread of this conversation.
An Li heaved a dramatic sigh and more giggling erupted behind her. "Are you involved with someone, you know? Are you… in a relationship?"
"Oh," Aang replied, comprehension dawning. So that was how he had to get rid of these girls. "Frankly… yes."
An Li's smile dropped from her face. This seemed to be the first surprising bit of news she'd received all day. The giggling ceased immediately. "Oh, well," An Li said hastily. "How serious is it?" She was smirking again as if she'd caught him.
"Pretty serious," Aang said lightly, shrugging. "I fell in love with her when I was twelve. We've been living together for the past five years."
This was met with no response. None of the girls had seen this coming, apparently, and Aang was taking quite a bit of satisfaction from it. He placed a hand on the doorknob.
"If you've heard all about my adventures, you've probably heard all about her, too," he said logically, pulling the door open. "Her name's Katar-"
He didn't get a chance to finish. As the door opened, something came flying out of the house. Something with long dark hair and bright blue eyes and a silk nightgown to match. Aang managed to catch this something around the waist, and she promptly wrapped her legs around him and took his face in her hands, kissing him senseless.
Apparently, she hadn't noticed the dozen teenage girls standing two feet away. And she continued not noticing them as she worked out her pent up longing for him, lips remaining hot on his for so long it was a wonder they didn't both suffocate. When she finally did release him to take a breath, she simply leaned her forehead against his, eyes closed contentedly.
"I've missed you," she whispered.
"Two months is too long," he agreed, laughing a little.
At that point he remembered his fan club. "Oh… um…"
Katara seemed to notice them at the same time. Her eyes widened and she immediately detached herself from his waist, putting a couple of feet of space between them though her hand remained on his shoulder.
"Oh, my…" she muttered, mortified. "I'm so sorry… for that…" She glanced at Aang, who shrugged, blushing as much as she was. "Um… who are you?"
"Oh, right, this is my fan club," Aang said hastily when none of the girls replied.
Katara glanced at him in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Your what?"
"Yeah I know, weird, right?" he laughed nervously.
Katara laughed too, still embarrassed. But when the two of them turned to address the girls again, they had all wandered off. Katara frowned.
"Well that was odd," she admitted.
"You don't know the half of it," Aang sighed, shaking his head.
She smirked and took hold of the front of his shirt, taking several steps backward toward the open doorway of their house.
"Please, tell me all about it," she said lowly, grinning at him.
He shook his head in exasperation, grinning as he grabbed her around the waist and carried her through the doorway, prompting her to laugh again. "You're gonna be the death of me, you know that?" he muttered as he closed to door behind them.
The fan club left early the next morning. Aang and Katara never heard from them again.