The Safety School

Katara could hardly believe it, even as she looked at the finals list. She had scored the highest in her class on the waterbending final, the final that would determine who went onto the University and study to become a professional waterbender. She ran down the hall as fast as her legs could carry her until she reached the corridor with the underclassman. Aang's class didn't get out until three but she could barely contain her excitement as she waited for him, shifting her weight as she rolled her ankles,impatiently. She must have been grinning madly, because when the bell rang and the classroom emptied, Aang stood there for a good minute staring at her.

"Katara? Is everything ok?" he asked, waving his hand in front of her face, pulling her out of her daydream.

"I got in!" she said, beaming.

"You got in?" he asked, his mind blanking for a minute.

"The University. I got in!"

"That's great! I knew you would!" Aang exclaimed, as he threw his arms around her neck and kissed her with such force that she fell back against the wall. Lockers opened around them as the bell signaled summer freedom. Papers flew about as lockers were emptied and then abandoned. They didn't care, it was just them. Even after they pulled away, they continued to stand, leaning slightly against the wall, nose to nose before Aang spoke again.

"I should probably go clean out my locker," he replied, a blush creeping up his face.

"Yeah, um, me too." Katara said, sliding past him.

She quickly kissed him on the cheek and ran down the hall.

"Call me tonight and we'll celebrate. Maybe we'll go to The Popsicle?"

"Sure," he called breathlessly, still smiling. Why was it after three years, her kisses could still take his breath away?

As Aang waited for Katara he could hardly contain his excitement. Not only because he was going to be a junior the upcoming year, but also that Katara had made it into the school she wanted. He had spent many nights telling her that if she just trusted herself, she'd make it in. She graduated in four days, and the sadness that Aang had felt knowing that she'd leave the school for good was replaced by joy in knowing that she'd be just down the road at the University. Maybe they could spend their lunches together, like he'd always hoped.

The door opened and Aang nearly choked on his coffee. Katara stood in the entry way, shaking snow of her parka. She unzipped it to reveal jeans and low-cut top he had never seen before. Her mother's choker hung at her neck, and Aang found it hard to stare anywhere else but there.

"Hello, Aang," she said, hanging her parka on the hook by the table and sliding next to him into the booth.

"Hey-Katara-I," Aang tried to sputter out a greeting.

She laughed and kissed him.

"That's ok. I just wanted to look nice, that's all."

As Aang's brain short-circuited, she slid out of the booth.

"Um, I already ordered you a coffee." he started, blushing a little.

"Thanks." She slid back into the booth and kissed him again.

"I'm so excited," she said, once they parted. "I knew I was good enough to go to NWU, but I never really thought I'd get into it, you know? It just seemed so far away. But now that I'm looking at it, I'm really excited."

Their coffees came and they slid closer together. Aang smiled apprehensively.

"I'm going to miss you," he said quietly into his cup.

"And I'm going to miss you too, but I'll be right down the street. I can meet you for lunch. Or you can come and see me. We could meet here? Don't worry Aang, we'll still get to see each other. I promise."

When she kissed him again, he didn't pull away and they spent the evening in each others arms until the coffee shop closed.

They spent the summer in their usual style, reliving past dates. The Northern Penguin Sledding Park had experienced a recent growth and was busier than ever but neither of them minded. Katara swore that no matter how old she got she'd always feel the way she did the very first time she went penguin sledding with Aang, when he had shown up at the north pole with a suitcase full of clothes and a glider four years ago. It seemed like so long ago now, the first time they went penguin sledding,but the air stung her face and the snow from Aang's penguin looked like glitter in the afternoon sun, just like it did that first day.

They spent days at Sokka's fort, which, oddly enough was still there. (Sokka was twelve when he built it and even though the North Pole had several forts, much more impressive than anything he could build, he built it anyway, to give him practice for home he said, when he finished with school, but then his girlfriend died and he left the North Pole to "find himself".) And even though both of them felt too old, they had snowball fights anyway, and when they were too tired, laid in the snow and made snow angels, until they got too cold and went inside.

It was the best summer they had spent together in a long time and it was only just beginning. They still had six weeks to go. She sighed and smiled, this was going to be a great summer.

Two weeks later, Katara got a phone call that left her brokenhearted. She walked down the hall to were Aang was staying; in her brother's old bedroom until Sokka either came back from "soul searching" or Aang was transferred to the Earth Kingdom. She knocked on the door, half expecting him to be sleeping.

A quiet "come in" was heard behind the door.

"Hey Aang," Katara said, dejectedly, as Aang turned from his desk to face her.

He took one look at her and crossed to her, bringing her into a hug.

"What's wrong, Katara?" he whispered into her hair.

"Everything," she said, holding back tears. "The University just called, and they're full. They can't take me for two years."

"Oh no! I'm sorry, Katara." he said, pulling her tighter. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll just have to go to my safety school," she said, pulling away to look into his eyes. "I've been accepted there too."

"Did the South Pole finally open a university?" Aang asked, hope in his gray eyes.

"No." Katara said again, drying her eyes and sitting on the corner of his bed."My safety school is in the Earth Kingdom-Ba Sing Se."

"Oh." he said, dejectedly, sitting next to her on the bed. "Ba Sing Se? When do you leave?"

"Four weeks. I have to stay on campus for a month before school starts since I'm not a resident of the Earth Kingdom. Oh Aang, I'm sorry, I know you were looking forward to lunch on campus with me, but I'll just have to put that on hold. I'll come back for break, and we'll spend those two weeks together, I promise."