Chapter Text
"Daddy!" Yelled bumi, as he crashes into Aangs legs.
He had just got to katara place, where 5 year old bumi and 8 month old kya stayed at during the week.
Weekends were his overnight stays with them, but still seeing them throughout the week.
Co parenting with Katara was something he never imagined happening, sure they had a decent friendship going on for the sake of the kids.
But it wasn't what aang wanted, or hope for.
He saw their future together, waking up together side by side, his face tucked into katara shoulder, as bumi footsteps were heard getting closer, the baby monitor showing kya as she stared to wake up as well.
Them stolen kisses they're have before deciding who dealing with which kid in the morning.
Now?
Those days were gone.
He'll be lying if he said that he wasn't thinking about her everyday since they filed for divorce.
Every time he saw her, it just hurt seeing what he lost.
As Sokka once said "he can barely function whenever we remind him that's his soon to be ex wife, imagine the hell it going to be when she goes in the dating pool one day"
He didn't care about her seeing other guy eventually (he did)
What made him sick to his stomach was knowing other man was gonna be touching on her.
Any man who ends up in that position won't know her body as well as he does, even till this day.
He knew her weak spots, how just one hand holding the back of her neck made her weak in the knees, And how she loved that dirty talk beforehand.
He knew how to make her body sore for days, knew every little sound she made when she was trying not to be loud, knew the exact look she got right before she kissed him like she couldn't stand being apart from him another second.
And maybe that was the worst part.
Because none of that mattered anymore.
Katara looked up from where she sat on the floor beside Kya's play mat, her waves pulled up into a loose clip, hoodie hanging off one shoulder.
And God.
That was another thing killing him lately.
She looked good.
Not just pretty.
Not just "the mother of his kids" beautiful.
She looked lighter.
Like somewhere between the sleepless nights with a baby and the heartbreak of their marriage falling apart, she had found herself again.
Her skin glowed.
She laughed easier now.
Going out more
Started posting little gym selfies and beach pictures with Toph and Suki that had people flooding her comments.
Aang saw all of it.
Unfortunately.
Because he still followed her.
Because he still checked.
And because he still loved her.
"Careful" Katara laughed as Bumi nearly tackled him over. "You're gonna knock your dad out."
Bumi giggled, wrapping around Aang's leg tighter.
"I'm strong now."
"You are" Aang smiled softly, rubbing his son's curls before finally lifting his eyes back to Katara.
Big mistake.
She smiled at him politely.
Politely.
Not like she used to after fourteen years together.
Just polite.
Like he was somebody she used to know.
"Hey" she said. "Kya just ate, so her bottles are already packed. Her pajamas are in the blue bag because somehow she spits on literally everything else."
Aang nodded slowly, trying to focus on her words instead of the fact she smelled like his old apartment again.
Vanilla and coconut.
His chest tightened.
"Okay."
Katara stood up, brushing her hands against her leggings before moving toward the kitchen counter.
And there it was again.
That stupid little ache in his stomach.
Because she moved around this place without him now.
Like she had adjusted to a life where he wasn't there every morning.
Where she didn't wait for him to come home.
Where she didn't crawl into his lap while complaining about her day.
She had adapted.
Meanwhile Aang still slept on one side of the bed.
Still reached for her in his sleep.
Still sometimes unlocked his phone to text her something funny before remembering.
She his ex-wife.
Well soon to be.
Cause the divorce hasn't been finalized
The word made him sick every single time.
And the thought of it being official once they get through all the paperwork and stuff made him want to puke.
"You hungry?" Katara asked casually. "I made way too much food for lunch earlier."
"No, I'm good."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Another lie.
He'd barely eaten all week.
Katara glanced at him for a second longer than usual, like she could still tell when he was off.
And maybe she did.
She still knew him better than anyone else could.
"Well" she said softly, "there's leftovers in the fridge you could take if you change your mind."
Aang swallowed hard.
Because for one tiny second, it felt normal again.
Like maybe he could walk into the kitchen and wrap his arms around her waist.
Like maybe she'd lean back into him automatically.
Like maybe none of this had happened.
Then her phone buzzed.
Aang watched her face change immediately.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she looked down at the screen.
And suddenly he couldn't breathe.
It hit him so fast he almost hated himself for it.
Jealousy.
Katara typed something back quickly before locking her phone.
Aang tried to sound normal about it.
"Somebody got you smiling like that?"
He said, half teasing her, and the other half actually wanting to know
The words came out lighter than he felt.
Katara looked up, for a second, something unreadable crossed her face.
Then she shrugged.
"Suki sent me a video."
Relief hit him so hard it almost embarrassed him.
"Oh."
thank the spirits
He used to be the person who made her smile at her phone.
It was none of his business anyways if it was another man
But he'll be lying if he said a part of him didn't feel a bit relieved
Katara look up at him carefully
"You okay?"
"No"
Aang almost said.
Instead he forced a smile.
"Yeah."
She nodded slowly like she knew he was lying but didn't push.
That hurt too.
Because at one point Katara would've sat him down and dragged every feeling out of him until three in the morning if she had to.
Now she respected his distance.
Kya started fussing from the play mat, saving them both from the tension.
Katara immediately walked over and bent down, scooping her into her arms.
And Aang's chest physically ached watching it.
She looked so natural holding their daughter.
Kya grabbed at Katara's necklace while babbling, making Katara laugh softly before kissing her chunky little cheek.
Aang remembered exactly what it felt like kissing those lips.
Remembered lazy Sunday mornings where Katara sat in his lap feeding baby Bumi while Aang kissed along her neck until she got flustered and told him to stop distracting her.
Remembered her falling asleep on his chest after long nights with newborn cries and exhaustion.
Then Bumi grabbed Aang's hand excitedly.
"Daddy! Can we get ice cream?"
Aang smiled faintly.
"Yeah, we can do that."
"YAY!"
Bumi ran up the stairs to get his shoes dramatically.
Katara laughed under her breath before shaking her head.
"He gets that from you."
Aang looked at her.
"You used to think it was cute."
"I still do."
The softness in her voice almost cracked him open.
For one second, they just stared at each other.
And there it was again.
That thing between them.
Like it was never gone.
But just buried under hurt and divorce papers and pride.
Katara looked away first.
"Text me if they start to act out" she said quietly.
"I always do."
"I know."
And somehow that hurt worst of all.
Because despite everything.
He still knew how she took her coffee.
Still knew she hated thunderstorms.
Still knew she couldn't sleep without noise in the background.
"Before you leave with them"
Katara started, as she waked over to the dining room entrance, which Aang followed right behind her
"I wanted to talk about the whole divorce process thing"
She said as she took a sat, with kya now sitting on her lap.
The second the words left her mouth, Aang's stomach dropped.
Divorce process.
Even after months, hearing it out loud still felt unreal.
Like eventually somebody was gonna tell them this had all been one giant misunderstanding.
Bumi was probably too busy upstairs trying to shove his shoes on the wrong feet to notice the sudden tension thickening the room.
Aang stayed standing for a moment before finally sitting across from her at the dining table.
The same table they bought together after arguing for three hours because Katara wanted "something modern" and Aang wanted something "with character."
They ended up with both.
Like always.
Or at least they used to.
Kya sat happily on Katara's lap chewing on one of her tiny toys while Katara adjusted her daughter's little sock absently.
Aang noticed immediately that she wouldn't look directly at him anymore.
That never meant anything good.
"What about it?"
he asked carefully.
Katara inhaled slowly.
"The lawyers sent over the updated custody agreement."
Aang nodded once.
"Okay."
"And"
she hesitated, eyes lowering to Kya for a second.
"They're asking if we want to finalize everything before the end of summer."
Finalize.
Another word he hated.
Like their marriage was just paperwork now.
Like fourteen years together could be stamped and filed away.
Aang leaned back in his chair slowly.
"Okay"
"Aang I'm being serious"
"What, I replied to all their emails"
He said
"Yeah, that took you a whole month to do"
She said.
He couldn't tell if she was being playful cause of the tone she said it in, or if she was being serious.
Or maybe he the reason he didn't know was because he eyes kept going down to Katara chest, where the hoodie she had on earlier was long gone by now, and underneath she had was a white tube top.
Aang didn't even realize he'd gone quiet for a second too long.
Katara did.
She always she did.
Her eyes flicked up sharply.
"Aang."
He blinked, straightening in his chair. "What?"
Her expression tightened just slightly. Not angry exactly.
Almost like she was disappointed.
"I said" she repeated carefully, "it took you a month to respond to basic custody emails."
"Oh."
He cleared his throat.
"Yeah. I- I was busy, sorry."
Cause what else was he supposed to say
Sorry I didn't respond because I couldn't look read through them without getting physically sick?
Sorry I didn't do it fast enough because I kept having to hold myself back from asking you for a second chance?
Sorry I didn't do them because I couldn't bare with the fact that I had completely lost the love of my life?
Katara let out a quiet breath through her nose, like she didn't fully believe him but didn't want to argue in front of Kya.
Which was fair.
Kya babbled happily, completely unaware of the tension between them, completely laid out in her mother lap while chewing on her own sleeve.
Aang watched her for half a second too long.
Then forced himself back to the conversation.
"I'm sorry" he repeated
"I'll be better about it."
"Thank you." She said
Silence again.
Different this time, though.
More heavier
Katara shifted slightly in her seat, adjusting Kya on her lap.
"I just "
she started, then stopped, like she was choosing her words carefully.
"I don't want this dragged out longer than it has to be, I know we still adjusting to this and I didn't want to be up your ass about it"
"Yeah" he said quietly. "I get it."
A part of him felt guilty about it. About not getting it over with faster for her sake.
Despite it all he couldn't even imagine what she was feeling.
People kept acting like he was the only one hurting because he was the one obviously falling apart.
But Katara?
Katara had always been good at surviving.
Good at smiling through exhaustion.
Good at holding things together while quietly losing it on the inside
And Aang knew her better than anybody.
Which meant he knew that glow everyone else saw lately probably came with nights where she cried in the shower so the kids wouldn’t hear her.
He knew her job definitely did not help with the stress, between dealing with patients, the kids, and more.
Knew her stress only cleaned when her emotions got too loud.
Knew she bit the inside of her cheek when she was overwhelmed.
Even now at this moment, she was doing it.
Tiny little movement.
Barely noticeable to anyone else.
But he noticed.
Because after fourteen years together, noticing her was second nature to him now.
Katara adjusted Kya again, gently kissing the top of the baby’s head.
Aang’s chest tightened.
Still taking care of everybody else first.
Still carrying everything on her shoulders like she always had.
And suddenly, instead of feeling defensive, he just felt sad.
Sad for her.
Sad for both of them.
“I know this hasn’t been easy on you either” he said quietly.
Katara blinked, like she hadn’t expected that response.
“Aang”
“I mean it.” His voice stayed soft. “I know I’m making parts of this harder.”
Her eyes dropped to Kya again.
And that told him enough.
“You don’t have to take responsibility for all of it” she murmured.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I do have responsibility in it.”
Another silence.
Kya suddenly reached toward him with grabby little hands and an excited squeal.
Aang’s expression softened instantly.
“Well hey there sweet girl.”
He leaned forward automatically, taking her from Katara’s lap with practiced ease.
Their fingers brushed again during the handoff.
This time Katara didn’t pull away immediately.
Just for a second.
Kya immediately grabbed onto the collar of his shirt while babbling nonsense into his chest.
Aang smiled faintly, kissing the side of her head.
And when he looked back up, Katara was watching him.
Not coldly.
Just watching.
All those nights when they were younger and exhausted and learning parenthood together.
Aang walking the floor with a crying baby at three in the morning while Katara fell asleep on the couch.
Katara breastfeeding while half asleep and he rubbed her back gently.
They were partners, lovers then.
The kind that was built slowly over years.
And maybe that was why losing it hurt so much.
Because it wasn’t just romance.
It was home.
They were each other’s home for a long time.
“You’re good with them” Katara said suddenly.
Aang frowned softly. “They’re our kids.”
“I know” she said quietly. “But still.”
Something about the way she said it sounded heavier than the words themselves.
Like maybe she was remembering too much too.
Aang bounced Kya gently when she started chewing on his hoodie string.
“Remember when you acted like I was some random babysitter.”
Katara huffed out the smallest laugh.
“Those were the newborn Bumi days, where you looked terrified.”
“That’s not true.”
“Aang, you cried because he sneezed too hard.”
“He was tiny!”
Katara laughed again.
Actually laughed this time.
And spirit.
That sound nearly took him out.
Because there she was.
His Katara.
Not his ex-wife sitting across from him discussing custody agreements.
Just Katara.
The girl who used to laugh into his shoulder at two in the morning.
The woman who used to steal fries off his plate and deny it.
The mother of his children.
The love of his life.
The laugh faded slowly, but the softness stayed behind in her eyes.
And somehow that was worse.
Because it reminded him they still knew how to be them.
Katara looked down at her hands after a moment.
“I never wanted us to hate each other through this” she admitted quietly.
Aang answered immediately.
“I could never hate you katara.”
Her face shifted at that.
Aang noticed.
He always did.
Katara swallowed once before looking away toward the kitchen.
“I know” she whispered.
“I know”