Chapter 3: Keep Me Warm?

Within the next few seconds, Aang was back at Katara's bedside and was surprised to see her large blue eyes peering up at him. "Hey," he whispered softly, kneeling down so he was right beside her on the crimson bed, laying his hand against her face and brushing the strewn out hair that had fallen across her forehead and eyes. "How are you feeling?" he asked in a whisper.

Katara turned her head towards Aang's touch and he smiled. "Like I was hit by lightning." She murmured with a soft chuckle. "Aang?" She whispered to him, her voice thick with exhaustion, but there was no trace of wanting to sleep in her eyes.

"Yes darling?" Aang whispered back, and then mentally slapped himself. I can't believe I just said that! His eyes widened in horror and his fingertips that were still stroking her face froze for a moment. C'mon Aang, you said it, now deal with it, play it off. Aang continued stroking her face as if nothing happened and she met his eyes, a light blush on her face.

"We need to…talk." She whispered and tried to sit up, pain shot up her shoulder and she winced, a whimper forcing it's way past her lips.

Aang was up and sitting next to her on her bed in a flash, both of his hands now cupping her face. "Katara? Katara, look at me." She gasped for breath, and then kept her focus on Aang until the pain passed. Once it was over and the pain had subsided, she sighed.

"I'm okay." She murmured, although Aang could tell that the pain left her body weak. He gently pushed Katara back down against the silk.

"It's okay, just lay down. You need to rest hun." Aang whispered soothingly to her. "I can go into the next room if you'd like-" Aang began to stand.

Katara shout out her hand and gripped Aang's tightly. "No! Don't leave, Aang." She whispered eyes suddenly wide. "Please." There were tears in her eyes now, but she refused to let them spill.

Aang's eyes widened at the thought of leaving Katara again, and slowly sank back down onto the bed. "Okay, once you rest, I will tell you what happened and where I went, I promise. I am not going to leave you, I'm going to stay here and take care of you. All night." He released her face and got off of the bed, the marble floor echoing his light footstep as he grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the bed.

"What are you doing?" Katara wondered out loud as he pushed the chair into place.

"Spending the night with you." Aang answered simply as he sat down and leaned back into the black cushions. An amused smile played on his lips and his eyebrow raised as Katara gaped at him. "What?" he asked her. "Why are you looking at my like that?"

"You are not spending the night in a chair." Katara said, astonished.

Aang rolled his eyes back at her. "Well I'm not going to leave you, so what do you want me to do?" He questioned, genuinely confused.

"Come here." She replied jutting her head over behind her, motioning him to come on the bed.

Aang's face went from confused to red. "W-what?" he asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

"You heard right." Katara stated, unphased that she had answered the Avatar's unspoken question and instead, rolling her eyes at the Avatar's silence. "C'mon, I want to talk to you anyway."

"Er, okay then." He murmured quietly and got off the chair. He crawled onto the bed and lay down facing her. A small smile tugged at her lips as she raised her hand and placed it against his jaw. He smiled and relaxed at her touch, moving his face to cuddle with her had. "You're cold." Aang murmured to her hand softly. His voice was deep and soothing, and is eyes were closed. At that moment, Katara saw the man he had become in nine short months, she saw the struggle and exhaustion in the lines of his face. She wanted nothing more than to hold him.

"Keep me warm?" she asked quietly. Aang's eyes snapped open at her words and he locked eyes with Katara, surprise highlighting his features, eyes wide, and mouth slightly agape. He hesitated for a moment, and then carefully brought his left arm against Katara's waist. He hovered there, waiting for permission, and when Katara, didn't retaliate, he lowered his arm to connect it to her waist, pulling her close. He pulled her against his bare chest, and Katara laid her head between his neck and collarbone. Katara's hand was snuggled between their bodies and Aang pulled the blanket over them. Aang sighed in contentment and lowered his head to where it his forehead connected with the top of her head.

Thoughts were racing through Katara's mind although Aang seemed completely relaxed. She now felt the urge to kiss him. All she had to do was turn her head up! How could it be that hard? You love him, don't you? Katara blinked at herself. Yes you do, Katara, now let him know that! The war's over, don't make it any harder! She took a deep breath and looked up slowly. Aang lifted his head a few centimeters to see what she was doing, and when he realized what was about to happen, his eyes fluttered closed just before their lips connected. The spark shot through their bodies as their lips moved slowly against one another, but the lust that brought Katara to kiss him didn't go away, it deepened, and she was under its control as she moved her lips faster, hungrily against his own. Aang replied with such enthusiasm and pulled her even closer to him. His arm tightened around her waist and his other hand tangled into her thick espresso curls at the base of her neck, deepening the kiss.

Aang suddenly pulled back. "I'm in love with you." Aang whispered, confidence thick in his voice.

Her eyes met his slowly, his eys full of emotion yet unwavering, his chest rising and falling a bit shakily, and his face flushed pink from their previous activity. Katara blinked at his metallic eyes that seemed to look straight through her."I love you too." She whispered just as quietly as she watched Aang's eyes shine with unshed tears.

"Really?" he asked her, his shyness beginning to return.

She kissed him softly on the lips, and when she leaned back up, he was grinning."I'm sorry I made you wait this long."

Aang wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of his chest. "It was well worth the wait." He answered quietly. "You were worth every second."

With that, he tugged Katara down onto his shoulder, cocooning her with his arms and his warmth. Katara's eyelids fell heavy as she slept off the throbbing pain in her shoulder, feeling fully safe for the first time since the Fire Nation raid that killed her mother. She smiled herself to sleep.

Heya! I'm putting my author's notes at the end because I know you don't read the author's head notes you greedy little bookworms you. The first chapter of my other story The Story of The Last Airbender is up, so if you would like to see more, go check it out. If you are checking it out after reading this, leave me a * in your review so I know you came from here. All the love my little Ava-nerds! 3