GASP! Another story!! Lol yes yes I know, im working on others right now, but this one just pretty much hit me like a 10 ton bison and I just had to write it!! Lol. It takes place right after Crossroads of Destiny.

…and yes….it's a Kataang with some Sukka (I guess that's what its called as far as Sokka/Suki goes lol) as well.

…and I really cant remember whether or not there was a name for the leader of Kyoshi Island (its been so long since I've actually seen that episode lol) so I decided to name him Shan.)

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Waking Up

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The air bison glided through the air quietly the weary passengers on his back, exhausted from their battle. The teenage water tribe warrior boy looked down from where he sat before looking to his sister.

"So, where are we gonna go now?" Sokka's quiet voice suddenly cut through the air. Katara turned and looked to her brother with sad blue eyes,

"Where can we go?" She sighed and looked down to the sleeping air bender in her arms. She blinked away a tear before it had the chance to fall "Right now, the most important thing is to try and find someplace safe so Aang can rest…so we all can" A silence fell over them once more, the only sound coming from Bosco as he yawned loudly.

"Well…what about Kyoshi Island?" Sokka looked to Katara. She turned to him.

"Sokka…do you think that's such a good idea?"

"Look Katara, I know you're worried, but I'll be fine. I'm sure Suki is just fine. But right now the most important thing is finding solid, safe ground where Aang can rest." Katara looked at him a moment and nodded.

"Kyoshi Island it is."

The group flew for hours, before Appa's feet softly touched down on the ground. He lay on his stomach, as if to make it easier for Sokka and Katara to carry Aang off. They walked down his tail, Toph following closely behind, holding onto the back of Sokka's shirt so she wouldn't fall. The Earth King followed behind them, and of course, Bosco was close behind. When they made it to solid ground Sokka and Katara each slung an arm of Aang's over their shoulders. They looked around the silent sleeping town. It was too late to be awake, and too early for the sun to rise.

"Come on…there's a infirmary around here somewhere." Sokka shifted Aang as easily as he could and they began to walk on. They finally came to the building and Katara knocked on the door. After a moment a short plump woman came to the door, wrapped in a night robe. Her eyes widened at the sight of the group standing before her.

"Friends of the Avatar! Please, come inside." She spoke with a hushed voice so as not to wake anyone else and moved aside to let them all in. "What happened?"

"Ba Sing Se has fallen." Toph replied. The earth king whimpered at the fact of hearing it again. The woman looked to the King and then to Katara and Sokka.

"And the Avatar?"

"He's going to be alright." Katara looked to Aang and then the woman, biting her bottom lip before she said anything that may make her cry. The woman nodded.

"Come, you all need your rest, and then you can tell your story to the Shan, our leader, in the morning." She turned and led them down a hallway and into a large room filled with beds. "If you need anything, just ask. My name is Lin." Katara nodded to her,

"Thank you." Lin nodded and walked out. Toph made her way to a bed and plopped down onto the mattress.

"Finally. Some rest and relaxation." She placed her arms under her head, yawning loudly. Sokka and Katara gently rested Aang into a bed and Sokka walked away, leaving Katara at Aang's side. He sat on a bed and looked around, Toph was already fast asleep, and in the corner of the room the Earth King was looking rather disgustedly at a bed as Bosco groaned, plopping backwards onto the closest bed. Following suit the King laid down in his own bed. Katara sat on the edge of Aang's bed, running a thumb over the top of his hand gently. Sokka walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Katara, he's going to be okay." She merely nodded. "You're a master waterbender Katara, you used the Oasis water…and even more important, you care about Aang. We all do. He's going to be okay." He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I know Sokka…I'm just worried. We almost…" her voice cracked and she turned, sobbing into Sokka. He caught her quickly; he hadn't exactly expected her to break down like that.

"I know Katara…I know. It's going to be okay." He spoke soothingly to her, letting her cry onto his shirt. He placed a hand on top of her head in an attempt to calm her down. "Why don't you try to get some rest? We've all had a really long day." Katara sniffled, nodding her head as she stood up.

"Thanks Sokka…" She hugged him once more before turning and walking to the bed on the other side of Aang's. She lay down and curled up, lying on the one side that would allow her to see Aang. She watched Sokka turn over in his own bed, his back to her, and slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

The next day Katara woke up to find the room occupied by only herself and Aang. The sun shined through the windows in its afternoon light. She stood up and stretched lightly, making her way to Aang's bed. She shifted the blankets over him lightly and sat down on the edge, looking over his face. She heard someone walk into the room. She turned to see Sokka.

"Hey…you're up." She nodded lightly.

"Yea, where is everyone?"

"Just around town. We spoke with Shan, the leader here, this morning. He said he'd talk to you when you're ready. And Aang of course when he wakes up." He paused a moment, watching his sister. "You should get something to eat. It's pretty late ya know."

"I'm fine Sokka." He looked at her a moment before giving in.

"Alright. I'm going eat something and go around the island, see if anyone's heard anything about he Kyoshi Warriors…and Suki." Katara looked to him,

"You didn't ask during the meeting?"

"It was kinda rushed. Strictly business. The others wanted to start making plans to start getting together an army of some sort, but Shan told them to wait until after you and Aang talk to him." Sokka looked out the window" Sokka looked out the window. "Well…I'm gonna go. I'll see you later." He turned towards the door and stopped, looking back to his sister.

"Katara…please, just eat something okay? You can't let yourself starve." Katara nodded, not saying anything. Sokka watched her another moment before turning and walking out of the room.

Sokka made his way outside after having eaten a few pieces of dried meat he had found in his bag. Those in the streets waved to him, asking him how he and the rest of the group were doing. But for some strange reason, whenever Sokka asked someone about the Warriors, they made an excuse of needing to leave, or would quickly change the subject, avoiding it completely. After an hour or so of no luck Sokka decided to try the last person he could think of, the leader of Kyoshi Island.

"If he doesn't know anything then I don't know what I'll do." As Sokka made his way through the town and toward the house where he knew Shan lived.

"Sokka!" he stopped in his tracks, looking around through the bustling crowd. "Sokka!" That was when he saw her. A young woman his age running through the crowd, a broad smile on her face. She wore a basic earth kingdom dress. Sokka did a double take and broke into a wide smile.

"SUKI!" Sokka ran to her and when they met, he scooped her up and twirled her around. He placed her feet back to the ground. "Suki! Where have you be-" he was cut off as Suki's mouth met his, pulling him into a kiss. He gladly returned it, their arms wrapping around one another. The kiss seemed to last forever for the two, and after a few moments Suki broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his despite the rather painful looking, fading bruise she wore from her left cheek up to her forehead.

"I never thought I'd see you again…" she sniffled, burying her head into his shoulder as she began to cry.

"Woah…hey…it's okay. I'm here now." Sokka hugged her, rubbing her back gently. "Everything's going to be okay." He felt Suki's arms wrap tighter around him and he hugged her back more, rubbing her back still. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew, that right now, this was all she needed. "Come on…let's go inside so you can tell me what happened." Suki inhaled deeply, her tears calming and she nodded.

"Alright." Sokka placed an arm around Suki's shoulders and led her towards the infirmary, leading her to the couch in the sitting room. He sat down and took her hands, looking to her as she took a seat next to him. It was then he noticed the bandage-wrapping going from her left hand to her elbow.

"Suki…" he gently trailed a hand from hers, up the bandage, stopping to rest on her elbow.

"Oh Sokka…it was horrible. That…witch of a fire nation princess attacked us. We were trying to help Appa and she attacked us. I didn't think we'd make it out. She and those friends of hers are dangerous. Especially that quick little one. We don't even know if Appa made it out. We fought with all our might but it just wasn't good enough."

"You tried, that's what matters. Appa is fine, and you're fine, and-" he was quickly cut off.

"I was scared Sokka." Sokka looked to her, almost dumbfounded. "I was scared of losing, I was scared we wouldn't make it…. and I was scared I'd never see you again."

"Suki…" Sokka brought an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close into him, resting his head against hers as she rested her own against his shoulder. "You're a great leader and a great fighter Suki. And you're alive and healthy. And I'm sure everyone else is too." Suki nodded lightly, looking down to their hands as Sokka entwined his fingers with her uninjured hand, watched as he lightly ran a thumb over her bandaged hand with his second hand, holding it lightly so as not to hurt her.

"We're all just a little burnt or banged up. But yes, we're fine. But what about Appa? What about all of you? I heard you all made it here late last night."

"Appa is fine. We found him…or actually he found us. That princess you're talking about came with her friends to Ba Sing Se. The city has fallen."

"What?" Suki turned to look to him with scared eyes. Sokka turned to look at her and gripped her uninjured hand supportingly.

"There was a huge fight…and Aang got pretty hurt from that lightning attack Azula uses. We almost lost him. If Katara hadn't been there, I don't think he would have made it."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Yea, he's just sleeping. I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"And what about you?"

"I'm fine. And even better I found you again. Azula and her friends came to the city, impersonating Kyoshi Warriors, and I thought it was you. When I asked Ty Lee…that quick little one…about you, she said she never heard of you, and that's when I knew they were lying…that's when we all knew. They tried to take the city down from the inside, and succeeded. All I could think about was if you were okay or not. I'm really glad you are Suki, I really am." Suki smiled to him,

"So am I Sokka." he smiled back and kissed her forehead lightly before wrapping his arm back around her shoulders, keeping his other hand in hers. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his own rest once more on hers, and so they sat, comforted by one another and the fact that each other was okay.

Back in the resting room Katara had only moved once to get herself a small bit to eat when hunger clawed at her stomach. She opened the window closest to the bed all the way to let in the warm breeze and took her seat once more at Aang's side.

"Please Aang…wake up. Just wake up." She looked to him, gripping his hand.. In an effort to pass time and to distract her mind for a small amount of time, she had taken a damp cloth and gently washed off his face, arms and hands, clearing them of soot, healing any other scratches and injuries he may have had. After that, she continued to watch over him, her eyes tracing his features. Slowly her hand reached up, gently touching his scalp. She couldn't help but smile lightly at the smooth skin, the blue arrow tattoo. She gently traced her hand down to his cheek, "Aang…" She watched as his eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes squinted. She smiled, watching as his eyes opened.

"H-Hey Katara…" he smiled to her, shifting in his bed.

"Aang! You're okay!" Aang sat up slowly, looking to Katara.

"Yea…" He winced slightly as he sat back and was almost instantly wrapped up in a hug by Katara.

"I was so worried."

"Katara, I…" Aang heard Katara start to cry at the same time he felt the hot tears hitting his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay Katara. I'm okay." Katara shook her head slightly,

"I almost lost you Aang…I was so scared." Aang sat there, unsure of what to do and rubbed her back.

"But I'm okay now Katara. You helped me…thank you."

"But you almost died Aang. What if I didn't know how to heal? What if I hadn't had the water from the Spirit Oasis? What if I hadn't been there? What if-" Aang put his hand over Katara's mouth, hushing her.

"But none of that happened Katara. And I'm okay. And I owe that all to you."

"Aang…" she hugged him once more, feeling a bit better. Suddenly there was the loud sound of Aang's stomach growling. He chuckled and looked to Katara as she sat back from the hug.

"I guess I'm a little hungry." Katara smiled and stood up.

"I'll go get you something to eat." She turned and propped up his pillow, fluffing it, before walking out of the room. Aang watched her go and smiled, sitting back against the pillow. He smiled as he thought about Katara, how she was always there for him, always helping, and always such a good friend.

"I need to tell her." After a few more minutes Katara walked in holding a tray filled with fruits, tea and a bowl of oatmeal. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Wow…that's uh…a lot." Katara laughed lightly

"Well I didn't know what you'd want or how hungry you were so I just got a whole bunch. Now eat up."

"Before I do…I need to talk to you about something." Aang looked to her. Katara placed the tray on the night table and looked to him.

"What is it?" Aang reached forward, taking one of her hands in his.

"Well…it's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now. But every time I try to I seem to get…interrupted." He paused, taking in a deep breath. "Katara…I lo-" He stopped and sighed, looking down nervously.

"Aang?" Katara gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Aang closed his eyes and exhaled before turning his gaze to her.

"When I was being trained by the Guru...he gave me a lot of chakras to unblock. He told me if I unblocked all seven chakras I'd be able to have total control over the Avatar State. I cleared all but one. The Thought Chakra."

"Thought Chakra?"

"It's an earthly attachment; it's what keeps me connected to here. Guru Pathik told me that I needed to let go of whatever I was attached to. But I couldn't. I tried once with him, and again when we were fighting Azula. But I just couldn't let go."

"Well Aang, if it's going to help you, maybe you should just let whatever it is go."

"It's not like that Katara. See…the one thing holding me here is really important. That something…is you. I love you Katara." He looked to her, blushing. Katara felt her own face grow red

"Aang…I-"

"Hey Aang! We heard you were up!" Aang frowned at the fact he was interrupted once again and traded glances with Katara who gave him a slight apologetic look at the fact they were interrupted, a light blush still on her cheeks. Sokka made his way over to the bed, Suki close behind. They joined each other on the opposite side of Katara. "Glad to see you're up buddy." Sokka clapped Aang's shoulder gently so as not to hurt him.

"Thanks Sokka. Hey Suki! You're okay!" Suki smiled to him,

"Glad to see you are too."

"So how ya feeling Aang?" Sokka looked to his friend, smiling.

"Alright. Just really hungry. Where's Toph and the Earth King?"

"Around here somewhere. I think Toph is actually making friends with some of the other Kyoshi Warriors." Sokka chuckled, and Aang's growling stomach cut through the air again.

"Right. Well, we'll just let you eat. I'm sure Katara will be helping. Let's go Suki." He gripped her hand lightly and they walked out of the room, leaving Katara and Aang alone. They watched them leave and Katara turned back to look at Aang, her cheeks pink.

"Hey Aang?"

"…Yea?" He looked to her, a small nervous smile on his face.

"About before… what you said… I…love you too." She blushed deeply, looking down.

"Really?! You do!?" Aang beamed at her. Katara nodded, smiling to him.

"Yea…I have, for a while now." The two smiled at each other for a moment before laughing

"And to think it took us this long to actually say it to one another." Katara smiled to him, shifting forwards a bit more. Aang gripped her hand, placing his free one on top of it.

"Well I'm just glad we actually said it." He smiled to her. Katara leaned towards him a bit more. Aang sat there a quick moment, nervously, before leaning forwards slowly as well. Their lips met softly, eyes closed. At the same time the two felt a jolt run through one another's body and pulled back, blushing fiercely. Katara giggled, smiling to Aang, who wore a rather dopey smile on his face. She shifted on the bed to sit next to him, entwining her fingers with his. Aang's thumb moved gently over her hand, and together the two sat in their happiness, feeling as if they were floating, knowing that one another cared just as much for the other. For now, lunch could wait.

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Alrighty! What'd ya think? This is my first ever Kataang and I think it came out pretty well. What about you!? And of course I had to have some Sukka in there . I've seriously worked like, 3 days, non-stop on this thing. I'd sit down for hours and just write. Today was actually just the final editing. I really hope everyone likes it.

At first, this was going to be just a one shot, but I'm actually thinking about making it a multi-chapter. Feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

OH! And I might, just might, attempt a Tokka!! le gasp! Lol.