uh, hi... *cough* *shuffle feet nervously* well i was bored...so i got this out... btw, anyone knows where i got the title? it's the main inspiration for this! anywayz, i hope there's still people out there...please give me feedback! i love reading what you guys say :)

All in all, in Aang's life, his heart stopped a total of six times.

The very first time, was when he first heard her laughter, in the swamp. It was calling out to him. It was something perhaps tangible, and it was like it was reaching out to him, specifically him. It was reminiscent of something. He couldn't place his finger on what it was, but he knew that whatever it was, it was important. You could call it one of those defining moments in his life. He didn't know it back then though.

He didn't know why, but his heart clenched and stopped, just for a second.

The second time his heart stopped was when he saw her at the earth bending tournament. It hit him like a speeding locomotive and just smashed him senseless. He somehow recognized her immediately.

At first, he did not connect her to the swamp. From where, he didn't know. He just knew her. Maybe it was from another lifetime. Or maybe it was just clairvoyance on his part. His heart stopped, or at least to him it felt like it, he couldn't even remember breathing until that same laughter he had heard, weeks before, rang in his ears. This time, it was not hazy, with thick swampy air mixing with it. It was so crisp and real.

It was a sound that would forever ring in his ears.

The third time his heart stopped, it stopped literally, for a good long while, but he didn't like to count that time.

That time Azula killed him.

Unlike the first two times, he didn't feel the sudden rush of blood and that came back to him as his heart started again. Because his heart didn't. It had stopped for hours. He actually felt his spirit slowly separating from his physical body. He wanted to scream, but nothing ever came out. Then Katara had used the water from the spirit oasis to bring him back.

So the third time that counted, when his heart stopped beating, was when he first tasted her.

She tasted like spring. She tasted like apples, coupled with an exotic fruit he couldn't place his finger on.

He had nervously leaned forward, his heart thundering crazily. He licked his lips before he went for it, his stomach churning fervently; and then he kissed her.

He kissed her and she didn't pull back. At first, it scared the hell out of him.

It scared him that his lips were now on hers. It scared him that she was going to pull away. And then it scared him that she wasn't pulling away, but was instead pulling him closer. It scared him that she just might feel the same way. His heart stopped, and he was scared.

A combination of fear, nervousness and joy, among a few other millions of things that raced through his mind. His mind went into over drive, and his heart stopped. That was the third time.

The fourth time his heart stopped, was when he felt it.

He loved her.

The epiphany hit him harder than the lightning that had once killed him.

It struck him so suddenly, though looking back, he was surprised he didn't realize it sooner. They were just laughing together. Aang couldn't remember what they were laughing about. Nor did he care.

All he remembered was that moment he gazed into her eyes and he just knew. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel as if he had all his life. Or even before his current life, in a previous life. He liked to think it was destiny or fate smiling down on him. After all, they say the past is only the future with the lights on.

His heart has just bursted with joy, warmth radiating from the pit of his stomach and spreading all over. He felt like he was soaring even though he was firmly anchored to the ground by the earth bender next to him. Giddines rolled over him like an avalanche land he felt like exploding.

He couldn't help but just smile and smile and smile. His heart fluttered and then just stopped in realization in that moment.

The fifth time his heart stopped beating happened much later in his life. It happened when he touched her.

When he touched her cold, lifeless body.

His heart stopped. The blood just froze in his veins, and his heart broke.

It shattered. It shattered into a billion shards of glass.

With his heart in pieces, he didn't last very long.

A week later, his heart stopped for the sixth and final time.

Public Service Announcement by Fire Lord Zuko

It gives me great sorrow to announce the death of the Avatar Aang. He was the one who ended the great war. He was the one who re-united the nations. He was one of, if not, the greatest Avatar to date. He was the one to bring peace to the nations.

He was also one of my greatest friends.

It adds to the immense sorrow already felt due to the recent passing of the Avatar's wife, another great friend of mind, Earth-bending Master General Toph. It is now a time of mourning for the entire nation, even as we usher in the new Avatar, a reported water-bender girl, Korra.

They were together till the end. Their presence is already missed by myself and my wife, Mai, and our children, Prince Tako and Princess Utsukushi, not to mention his friends, General Sokka of the Water Tribe and Master Water-bender Katara as well as their families, to name a few. They also leave behind their own children, Kai, Mei Li and Ishuya. Their bodies may decay, but they will remain in our hearts forever in spirit.

Nevertheless, I am sure they have now found one another, and are re-united once again in the Spirit World. As they were always supposed to be. Together through lifetimes.

Let us mourn.

-Firelord Zuko

I'll be there when your heat stops beating~

I'll be there when your last breath's taken away~