Pirate Love (kataang story)

The Hunt Begins

Katara could only blink in surprise as she continued looking between the hand that was being offered to her and the warm smile on the young man in front of her. Sure, she had learned enough about Aang to know by now that he was more than capable of surprises, but this was… shocking.

It had been obvious since the beginning that he had found her attractive. After all, he had admitted to it with no reservations, so she supposed that this shouldn't be so surprising to her. Yet she still couldn't help but stare almost dumbfoundedly at him as his hand was still raised out to her. One of the last things she had expected him to do was this.

She chided herself as her heart started beating hopefully as to what this might mean. Just because he felt an attraction to her didn't mean that he actually felt that way about her. He probably thought that this would just be something fun for them to do. Of course he didn't think of her in that way. Why would he? Beauty aside, she didn't feel as if she had a lot to offer. She was just some girl who found herself on a mission to avenge her parents deaths. She was nothing special. What could she possibly offer?

As hard as she was trying, she couldn't deny that her heart was filled with hope and excitement as she looked up into his eyes, seeing a playful yet caring light in his that she found herself getting lost in. It was ridiculous, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Why would Aang ask her to dance? There were plenty of other female pirates he could have asked, but he asked her instead. Did that mean that he…

"Katara?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, her eyes widened and a large blush colored her cheeks as she realized that she had likely just been staring at him for longer than she should have. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she shook herself out of her daze and somewhat nervously replied. "Yeah?"

Amusement danced in the young airbender's eyes as he noticed this, though he did not know why she was nervous, and decided to ignore it. "I asked if you wanted to dance," he said simply, his warm smile never faltering as Katara forced herself to gain her composure.

It took her a moment to fully regain herself, and even when she did, she could still feel her nerves and excitement get to her when she finally replied. "Oh, I don't know… These shoes aren't really right for dancing," she attempted to sound convincing, her nervousness making her poor excuse even worse as she started fiddling with her hair. "And I-I'm not sure I know how to-"

"Take my hand," Aang politely demanded, his smile never faltering as she looked up at him with nervousness plain on her face, but his heart leapt when a smile slowly found its way onto her face.

"Okay," she finally replied with just as warm a smile as she took his hand, her smile growing more than she had thought possible as he dragged her out to the middle of the room where others had already started dancing, unable to hide the excitement and happiness that she knew was on her face.

This was surprising for her, as she never in a million years would have imagined anyone making her feel this way, and yet here she was. Being dragged by a rather handsome and fun young man who she admired, despite the little time they had known each other. But, as much as she would like to, she couldn't deny that she was happy and excited that he had asked her to dance. Not that she would ever admit it out loud, of course.

Finally reaching an open spot for them, Aang turned around to look at her and leaned in to whisper in her ear, sending some not unpleasant shivers down her spine as she felt his warm breath on her neck. "Just follow my lead," his soft voice whispered to her, making her smile and nod as she waited to see what he would do.

She became a bit puzzled as she saw him extend a hand out to her, but after realizing that she was supposed to follow his lead, she did the same and crossed her forearm over his, waiting to see what they would do next.