Aang sat, fingers twitching impatiently, as the latest meeting began. He had long since dropped his mask of interest in favor of a dulled stare. Of course, the advisors and Zuko were too involved in the discussion to pay him much notice. All the more reason for him to wonder why he was even there in the first place.

He knew it was regulation to have the Avatar listen in on key meetings, but to keep him busy for weeks? They might as well have bound and gagged him, locked him in the meeting room, and forced proposal upon proposal on him. In the end, it would be the same result: boredom.

“Don’t you think so, Aang?”

He snapped out of his stupor and realized Zuko was staring at him. “Um, yes,” he said, trying to act at least a little dignified. “I agree with… whatever the Firelord said.” Everyone else in the room glared at him; Aang shrunk back in his seat.

By the end of the meeting, it was already sundown. The young Avatar was sore and tired. He wasn’t used to being in a room for countless hours, after all. He liked a little more freedom, a little more space. Why didn’t they have meetings in the garden?

He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and sighing. “This is wearing me down,” he grumbled to no one in particular. It’d been days since he’d even seen his friends. Were they having fun without him? He felt a pang of jealousy. They didn’t have the same obligations he had, so they could come and go as they pleased. The thought made him a little bitter, but he pushed the feeling down. His duty was something he’d accepted, right? Even if it got in the way of fun… and relationships.

“Katara….”

He missed her. They were both staying in the palace, sure, but he hadn’t seen her in such a long time (because two days seems like an eternity when you’re stuck in meetings with snarling advisors). The relationship was still quite new, and he was simply a young teenager with a large desire to kiss his girlfriend. A desire that had been rather persistent as of late.

So it was a shock when he felt a hand push him hard against the wall. His eyes snapped open; Katara stared back at him. Her face was unreadable, and he could only imagine the thoughts running through her head as her other hand moved to rest on the wall behind him. Aang fumbled with his words.

Little could be done, however, when she suddenly pressed her lips to his. The action caught him off guard, body stiff in surprise. What was she doing? A kiss in the hall usually made the waterbender flush with embarrassment.

When he attempted to return the kiss, she pushed against his shoulder in protest. This was her moment, the shove seemed to say. She wanted to do all of the ‘talking.’ Mumbling something incoherent against her lips, Aang balled his fists, shut his eyes, and let her do as she pleased.

When she pulled back, he cautiously opened one eye. He didn’t know if she was done, or if she was going to do… well, whatever that was, again. “Katara…?” he said quietly. She blushed and ducked her head. “What’s wrong?”

“I missed you,” she told him. “The others have been hanging out a lot, and I’ve been waiting for you to have some free time, and I…” The water bender paused, biting her bottom lip in thought. “I was lonely.”

He chuckled; she glared at him. “No, sorry, I’m not laughing because of that. It’s just--I’ve been lonely, too.” Aang took her hand in his, smiling as their fingers intertwined. “Wanna go stargaze for a while?”

“That’d be nice.” And from her lips blossomed the smile he’d missed for the past few days.

They stayed up late, talking of life and love, forgetting that the world would continue tomorrow.

~~~

UH YEAH, FIC AND PIC. I've been a busy bee (but not with my trades, fml). I hope I can get a lot more done this week~