Hey guys! I'm back with another story that was inspired by the description I read of another writer's story. Basically, their story was about Katara realizing that she wouldn't be able to just have Aang to herself and breaks up with him because of it, which, with all due respect, is kind of stupid because there's no way that she would break up with him because of that. I'm sure she was well aware when they dated that she wouldn't have him completely to herself, but I digress. To the author's credit, they had them get back together eventually, even if it was five years later. If the author of said story reads this and gets offended, I mean no offense at all, I just hate the idea of Katara doing that to Aang and then they both waste so much time not being together. Regardless, this story was inspired by that story, so thank you to said author for helping me make this story. I should also mention that this takes place between "The Promise" and "The Search". Anyway, thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a great day!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It was a beautiful day in Ba Sing Se as the Avatar and the waterbender walked around the city hand in hand, taking in the lively atmosphere of those around them. Sure, they had been there more than a few times, but compared to the air temples and the South Pole, it was still something that they found they couldn't quite get used to.
Aang had been around a lot of people back when the Air Nomads were still around, but it had never been quite like this. And though he still didn't like how everyone was clearly divided into different classes, he had to appreciate the beauty of the city. Even if he didn't exactly have the best memories of the place.
Katara had mixed feelings for Ba Sing Se. On one hand, this had been the city where Aang had been struck down by Azula in the crystal catacombs, something that she would never be able to forget. That night had haunted her ever since, and the memory of it made her not so fond of the city. On the other hand, this is where they had found Appa, where she had discovered that she didn't just like, but loved Aang, and best of all, where they had finally gotten together. So, despite the horrible memory of Aang being struck down, her memories of the place were mostly fond. Though as they walked, she couldn't help but be a bit paranoid that something else bad would happen while they were there.
Despite all of the bad things that had happened in the city, they were happy to be where they were, especially since they were there together. After the craziness with the Earth King and Zuko, the two needed some serious relaxation while they waited for the Yu Dao situation to be resolved.
And so it had been decided that they would take a relaxing stroll through the upper ring in the hopes that they could just enjoy the beautiful day and not have to worry about potential wars or anything that didn't involve them. Katara had even gone as far as to give Sokka some money so he could go to his favorite restaurant, which she hoped would keep him busy for at least a few hours.
Much to her disliking, she and Aang didn't get nearly as much alone time as she felt they should. Likely due to the fact that Sokka seemed to know when they were trying to have some time together and, whether on purpose or on accident, he always somehow managed to find them and ruin any kind of time together that they could get, irritating the young waterbender to no end.
So after she had made sure that her dear brother had gone off to his favorite restaurant, she hadn't wasted a second and quickly grabbed Aang to get as far away from Sokka as possible. Sure, they knew that they could take Appa and go somewhere else, but they both enjoyed how lively the city was during the day, and thus had decided that a walk would be a great way to spend their time together.
As they walked, Katara couldn't help but smile at all that she could see. The city, despite originally being for the Harmony Restoration Movement, had decided to embrace the fact that Yu Dao would become its own entity, especially because it had ended up sparing them from having to go to war again. After a hundred years of war and oppression, the last thing the people wanted was to start up another one.
In celebration of avoiding another war, the people had decided to really kick things into gear. Parties could be seen from almost every building, with beautiful music playing everywhere the young couple went. It was truly a wonderful sight to see.
Looking around, Aang noticed a nearby flower shop and smiled as an idea came to mind. Gesturing for Katara to wait there for a second, he quickly walked over to the little stand and purchased a blue lily. Though he wished that the shop had panda lilies, he understood that they were rare and hard to find.
Katara couldn't hold back the smile from her face as he walked back over and presented it to her with a warm smile that made her heart melt. He had always been so sweet and kind to her, but now that she knew it was because he loved her, it made it all the better.
"Thank you, Aang," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, making him grin happily. No matter how many times she did it, every kiss was just like the first one, and he was always thinking of ways to get more. "It's beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," he smiled slyly, making her roll her eyes, though she couldn't keep a small smile off her face.
"You're so cheesy," she told him as she sniffed her flower before once again taking his hand in hers and smiling at him. "That's okay, though. I like cheesy."
Aang grinned again, happy to know that she didn't seem to mind his cheesy comments. He was full of them, but even if they were kind of cheesy, he meant what he said. She was truly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he was amazed everyday that a girl like her could love a guy like him.
Resuming their walk, the two lovers talked about everything that had happened lately, knowing that they hadn't really had the chance to talk because of the almost-war.
"I just can't believe that the Earth King wanted to go to war just to prove himself," Katara said in disbelief as they turned down another street. "It's just so... "
"Wrong?" Aang supplied helpfully, making her nod as he squeezed her hand. "I know, but we should give him a little break. Long Feng kept him in the dark about the war for years, and he felt like he wasn't being the ruler he should be. I'm not saying his actions were right, but I can understand where he was coming from."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked in confusion, thinking that he wouldn't be able to relate to the Earth King's problem at all.
Aang looked down at his feet, thinking of all that had happened because of a mistake he had made as a child. "It's my fault that the war happened at all," he finally began after a few moments of silence. "If I had stayed at the air temple, maybe I could have helped defeat Sozin, and then maybe the world would never have had to deal with it in the first place." He took a deep breath, a deeply sad look in his eyes. "Everything that's happened, the war, people losing their loved ones, the extinction of my people… It's all my fault."
Katara immediately stopped walking and took both of his hands in hers before looking him dead in the eyes. "Aang, we've been over this. There's nothing that you could have done. If you had stayed at the air temple, you would have been killed, too."
"Maybe I should have been," Aang muttered, taking Katara more than a little by surprise, but he didn't allow her the chance to disagree just yet. "Maybe if I had just died, maybe the next Avatar would have been born in the Northern Tribe and had enough time to train and stop the war. Maybe then people wouldn't have suffered for so long because of me."
Though he supposed that he should have known that Katara wouldn't just let him continue to think this way. "Or, maybe the world would be worse than it is now. Maybe the next Avatar would be born in the Southern Water Tribe and end up getting kidnapped or killed. Maybe the Avatar Cycle would end because there weren't any more airbenders. Maybe the whole world would end." Katara stopped to take a breath and looked up at him. "There's a lot of things that could have happened, Aang, but they didn't. I'm sorry that you feel like everything is your fault, but you were just a kid, Aang. The monks weren't even supposed to tell you that you were the Avatar until you were sixteen. There's a reason why it was supposed to be then. That's a lot of pressure to put on a twelve year old."
"Yeah, but-"
"Do you know what would have happened if you weren't here with me, Aang?" Katara interrupted him seriously, taking him by surprise as he shook his head and waited for her to continue. "I would have spent the rest of my life in the South Pole, depressed and stuck doing chores while I worried whether my father would survive or not. But you changed that, Aang. You gave my life purpose, you made me laugh and smile when no one else could, and you gave me something that I never thought I would have." She smiled warmly at him, all traces of anger and seriousness gone from her face. "When I was a little girl, I dreamed that I would meet someone who would love me and treat me right. But as I grew up, I didn't think that would ever happen. But then you came along, Aang. If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten to see the world, I never would have gotten to make a difference." She smiled and squeezed his hands again. "And I never would have gotten to meet you."
Aang felt like he was about to let a tear fall, but he just barely managed to hold it in as Katara gave him another smile that made him feel like he was going to pass out. "If you hadn't left, I would never have gotten to be with you. I love you, Aang, and I'm sorry that you feel like you should have died, but if nothing else, then you should know that you getting trapped in the iceberg was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Unable to hold himself back anymore, Aang took a step closer and pulled her in for a passionate kiss, which she returned with just as much fervor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As they kissed, Aang couldn't help but feel his guilt start to melt away. Sure, he still blamed himself for everything that had happened, but after hearing what Katara had told him, he knew that he couldn't allow himself to think about what could have been. He had to live in the moment right then and there, because though he wished he could have stopped the war, he was glad that he got trapped in the iceberg. He never would have met Katara if he hadn't, and decided that it was time to let everything go.
After a few more moments of the two kissing, they reluctantly pulled away from each other and looked into each others' eyes, breathing heavily from lack of breath. Once they finally managed to get some air into their lungs, Katara gave him another warm smile. "So don't think that you should have died, Aang. The world's a better place now because of you."
"Because of us," he corrected her with a smile, making her smile again back at him. "I couldn't have done it without any of you. Especially without you, Katara. You were what kept me going, because I wanted to make the world safe for you," he admitted, making Katara tear up a little as he smiled at her.
Now unable to hold herself back, she grabbed his face with her hands and brought him into another kiss, this one slower, but even more passionate than the last one, making them both feel light and fuzzy from how their lips moved against each other. When they finally pulled apart, Aang kissed her one last time and grabbed her hand.
"Come on, let's go check out the rest of the city," he invited, making her smile as she nodded and allowed him to lead the way through the streets. Now feeling better, Aang was even more light and happy then he had been before their conversation, stopping to talk to random civilians and demonstrate some of his bending for kids, making Katara smile as she saw how well he did with them. She knew that he would make a good father one day, and she was looking forward to them having a family of their own in the future.
As the two lovers continued their walk through the city, Katara couldn't help but feel like everything was just perfect at the moment. Her brother was currently occupied elsewhere, the city was alive with people celebrating another war that they helped prevent, and Aang was next to her. Everything seemed just right.
So she supposed that it shouldn't have come as a surprise when something just had to come in and ruin it.
After the Avatar and the waterbender had turned another corner, they had been surprised to come across a group of giggling girls who had noticed that the Avatar was walking around and decided that they wanted to talk to him in person. These weren't the girls from the "Avatar Aang Fan Club" that Katara had met not too long ago, but she could tell by the way they were looking at him that they would be trouble.
"Hey, Avatar Aang!" one of them walked right up to him with a flirty smile and a look in her eyes that Katara recognized. It was one of a predator finding its prey, and this did not make her happy, at all.
She trusted Aang and knew that he wasn't going to leave her for anyone else, especially after what had happened at his fanclub. Although being jealous and sad that he had seemed to enjoy the girls' attention, she had been both relieved and ashamed of herself for thinking that he would actually think of any girl other than her. She supposed she should have known. After all, he had told her that the very reason he wanted to end the war was for her, but although she would never admit it, she had a green monster in her that she just couldn't seem to shake.
It was rather funny now that she thought about it. Over the course of their journey, she had a few moments of jealousy that she could remember, even if some of them she hadn't known that she was jealous at the time.
Kyoshi Island, for instance. Back then she had no clue about her feelings for Aang, thinking that she only liked him as a friend and that he only thought the same. But, as she looked back on it and was reminded of how she had reacted rather poorly to him showing off for the other girls and how her now obvious jealousy had made her angry with him, she knew that she had really been jealous of that Aang was showing off for girls that weren't her, even if she hadn't known how she felt toward him then. Though this just reinforced her theory that she had fallen in love with him from the moment she first saw him.
And then there was the dance party in that cave. Man, had she been upset when Sokka had said that he and that girl looked together. What was her name? On Ji? At any rate, she had tried to play it cool, but that green monster in her had been having quite a fit in her, making her sad as she practically slumped against the table in sadness.
But, she had been surprised and delighted when he had then asked her to dance, and although she had been a bit nervous, she had been far more excited that out of all the girls he could have asked to dance with him, he had picked her, silencing the green monster within her. For the time being, at least.
She could still remember that dance well. It was one of the best moments of her life. Though she wasn't exactly sure why, there was something about Aang taking charge that really got to her. The look in his eyes when they had danced and the utter confidence that had seemed to pour out of him had put her in a spell, especially with the way he had smiled at her when she had nervously noticed that everyone had stopped to watch them. But the way that he had told her not to worry about anyone else… Needless to say, if she hadn't been worried about possibly losing him as a friend, she likely would have kissed him right then and there.
It had been extremely tempting to kiss him when he had brought her into a dip and they were face to face, but she had just barely managed to hold herself back, not knowing whether he felt the same or not. Though, looking back, she supposed she should have known. Whenever she thought back to the time she had spent with him during their journey to defeat the firelord, it was now obvious just how clear he had been about his feelings for her. And though she knew that it was rather stupid for her to never have noticed it, she also supposed that hindsight was twenty-twenty, after all.
A smile crept onto Katara's face as these delightful memories flowed through her mind, but the sound of giggling girls snapped her back to attention and killed her smile, being reminded that she would have to deal with his rather annoying fans.
"Uh, hey. I'm Aang," the young airbender in question waved back to them with a polite smile, not wanting to be rude, but not really wanting them to interrupt the little time he got to have alone with Katara.
The lead girl giggled, making the other girls around her giggle as well as they all smiled flirtily at him. "You're so funny, Avatar Aang," she flirted lightly, making Katara's right eye start to twitch a little as she saw how obvious they were being flirting with her boyfriend. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
At this, Katara looked like she was about to explode and opened her mouth to tell her just who she was to Aang, but she didn't get the chance, as he was more than willing to help her out with that.
"Yeah, actually, I do!" he told them cheerily with a smile, making Katara smile as she saw how happy he was to introduce her. "This is my girlfriend, Katara."
The girls' smiles all dropped from hearing this, but unfortunately for Katara, they weren't going to be done quite yet. "Oh. Well, we'll just see how long that lasts," the lead girl smirked, making Katara's blood start to boil again as she grit her teeth, but Aang frankly had had enough of them and could tell that Katara had, too.
"I've been in love with her since I first saw her, so I'm hoping that it'll last for a long time," he told them honestly, making Katara smile appreciatively at him for his honesty. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, but we've got to go. There's a party being held tonight that we need to get to."
"Oh, you mean the one at the Earth King's palace?" the girl asked sweetly, which Aang reluctantly nodded to, not wanting to tell her but not wanting to lie either. "What luck! We'll be there, too!" With one final flirty smile, the girls all blew a kiss to him and waved before finally walking away, with Katara digging her fingers into her hands rather roughly.
Aang noticed this and looked at her with concern. "Um, Sweetie? Are you okay?" he asked carefully, though he couldn't help the small bit of amusement that seeped into his voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Katara grit through her teeth in a fake smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Not believing her for a second, he took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs gently over the marks her nails had left in her skin, making her look up at him in surprise. She hadn't been expecting this, but it was nice. It always amazed her how Aang knew just what to do to make her feel better.
"Don't listen to them, Katara. Every girl in the world could try to steal me, but no matter what, I would always pick you," he told her with a smile.
Katara smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a kiss. "I know that, Sweetie, it just bugs me. Why can't they just leave us alone?"
"I don't know," Aang admitted with a shrug. "But what I do know is that they only like me because I'm the Avatar, and you love me for who I am, despite all the baggage that comes with dating the Avatar. So no matter what they say or do, don't let it bother you. I'll be with you as long as you want me to, because all I want is to be with you."
Feeling her eyes water, Katara kissed him fiercely as she felt a strong wave of love wash over her at his words. It never failed to amaze her how he always knew just what to say to make her feel better, even when she let her green monster get the best of her. Though she supposed she didn't really let it, as she knew that Aang was the best part of her. When she was about to kill Yon Rha, it was his words in her head that reminded her that she was better than killing, and it was her love for him that made her decide to spare the miserable man's life.
After the couple had been kissing for a couple minutes, they reluctantly pulled apart to catch their breath while they stared into each others' eyes. "I love you so much, Aang," she whispered to him.
He smiled and kissed her again. "I love you too, Katara. Come on," he offered his hand to her. "Let's just go to the party for a little bit and go home."
"Okay," Katara agreed with a smile, happy to have such a loving boyfriend who she knew she could count on to make her feel better. With that encouragement, the young Avatar led the way to the party, hoping that the two would just be left alone.
A few hours later, the happy couple were at the party having a good time, despite the fact that Katara had to constantly be on the lookout for the other girls who had been attempting to flirt with Aang. Sure, she wasn't worried about them actually stealing him, but that didn't mean she was going to put up with them.
But the only other problem she had with the night was that Aang kept getting pulled aside by generals and diplomats to talk, leaving her alone for a few minutes before Aang would figure out an excuse to leave and get back to her. She knew that this would happen when they started dating. After all, he was the Avatar. The Avatar belonged to the world, and though she wished she could have him all to herself, she would rather share him than not have him at all.
Though sharing him with other girls? Now, that was where the line was drawn. No one else was allowed to have him in that way but her. Just like he had told her, as long as he wanted to be with her, then she would be with him.
After a few more minutes of sitting at a table and drinking some special punch that had been put out for the party guests, Aang seemed to manage to pull himself away from one of the diplomats and made his way back to Katara, giving her an apologetic smile as he sat down next to her.
"Sorry about that. They were a little more chatty than everyone else," he told her as he took her hand in his. "Are you bored?"
"Well, I'm not now that you're back," she smiled, making him smile back at her before something seemed to catch Aang's interest. Katara was about to ask him what it was when she heard it, too. In celebration of peace between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, the Earth King had introduced some Fire Nation cultural practices into the party, and one of these things was a familiar song. One that she hadn't heard since they were undercover in the Fire Nation. "Is that…" she trailed off in disbelief.
Aang grinned and nodded as he stood up. "It is. I'll never forget that sound for the rest of my life." Katara couldn't help but giggle a little at him as he stretched out his hand to her, being reminded of what happened in the cave from what felt like so long ago.
"I don't know, Aang…" Katara pretended to be nervous and reluctant, just as she had when they were in that cave. "These shoes aren't really right for dancing, a-and I'm not sure I know how to-"
"Take my hand," Aang demanded politely with that same charming smile that had made her blush, though she had to admit, she was still blushing at this moment from it.
"Okay," she finally agreed, smiling wider as he took her hand and practically dragged her out onto the dance floor. Once they had found a good spot to begin, they bowed to each other and started their dance, though due to the fact that they were in special robes for the occasion, they knew that they wouldn't be able to do as many tricks as they did back in the Fire Nation. Regardless, they knew they didn't need it.
Following the more basic moves they had used in the dance, the two stole the crowd's attention as they moved fluidly, making the large group of people erupt in "ooh" and "aah"s as the two lovers danced to their hearts' content.
Before very long, they finally reached the end of the dance where Aang took Katara's hand in his and pulled her into a dip, both of them breathing heavily as they stared into each others' eyes. Though Aang had one more trick up his sleeve as he leaned down and gave Katara a sweet and tender kiss, making her sigh in contentment of the moment before he pulled away.
"That's what I wanted to do after the song was over at the secret dance party," he told her breathlessly, making her smile back at him before he pulled her back up to a standing position.
"Funny, because that's what I wanted to do, too," she confessed, making him smile as he leaned in to kiss her again.
The two were interrupted, however, as the group of giggling girls came walking towards them with the lead girl in the front. "Wow, Avatar Aang! You really can dance! Care to show me a few moves?" she smiled flirtily at him.
"Um… I think-" Aang tried to come up with an excuse, but before he knew it, the girl had grabbed him by his robe and dragged him away from the now clearly unhappy waterbender. She knew that she didn't have anything to worry about and that these girls were a nuisance at best, but she just couldn't help it. She understood that one part of Aang had to be shared with the world, but the other part of him was all hers; something that she intended to make clear.
Not willing to allow this intrusion anymore, the young waterbender marched right up to her boyfriend and grabbed him by the arm, taking him by surprise as she pulled him towards her lips and kissed him passionately in front of everyone, not even caring anymore that they were in public.
The leader of the group of giggling girls scoffed as she watched this, but after seeing that she had clearly lost, gathered her little posse and left, much to Katara's relief.
After a few moments, the couple reluctantly pulled apart to look at each other. "What was that for?" Aang asked breathlessly, a goofy smile on his face that made her smile as she took a fistful of his robes and pulled him closer.
"The Avatar might belong to the world, but Aang is all mine. Got it?" she smirked, seeing how much he was suffering from being inches away from her lips and not being able to do anything about it.
But, to her surprise, he smirked right back at her. "I've always been yours, Katara. You just didn't know it. I'm yours for the rest of my life."
"Good," Katara smiled as she closed the gap until they were a centimeter apart. He could feel her lips brush against his as she spoke. "You're mine." And with that, she closed the tiny amount of distance between them, making them both savor the sweetness of each others' lips before they pulled apart and held each other close, swaying to the soft music that played around them as Katara couldn't help but think what a perfect ending to the night it had been.