Hello there, reader! I must say first, this does not belong to me, but to the fantastical writer Mystic Water Bender3. I'm simply finishing it. WHEN, you ask, will it be done? I've got no clue, because I'm having a hard time with this one. I'll post the second half along with my ending (which will hopefully be just as good as the beginning.) when I finish it. I refuse to keep this story hidden any longer, so here you have it!

Disclaimer: Neither one of us own ratavA. Yah.

Flashback

"Aang, please don't go."

The young airbender looked up from his steering and gazed sympathetically at his friend next to him.

"You know I can't stay, Katara," he said softly, "The world needs me now."

"But what if I need you?" she shouted, tears threatening to fall as she stared longingly into his dark eyes.

"I don't want to go either, but I can't just ignore the end of the war. I can't turn my back on the world again," he replied quietly. Katara bit her lip, but the pain it brought did not weaken her urge to tell him what she most wanted to say.

"I understand, but... can't Sokka and I come?" she asked. He smiled weakly, his hands slowly slipping from Appa's reins to turn around and look at her.

"I know you want to," he began, "I want you to too, but things have changed. Just a few months ago, everything we did was a race against the clock, and I needed both of you then, but it's over now, and we have all the time in the world. I can't drag you guys around the world for the rest of my life, especially when you're not needed anymore."

"Then we'll come with you anyways!" she cried, but even as she said this she knew what his answer would be.

"I really wish you could...,"he answered softly.

Katara turned helplessly to her brother, who had been listening in stiff silence as Katara's pleas had been denied.

"Sokka...?"she said quietly, "You wouldn't mind traveling with Aang, would you?" The warrior looked up, his expression unreadable.

Finally, he distinctively muttered, "Kind of."

"Sokka!"

"Katara, think about it!" he exclaimed, cowering slightly under her threatening look, "We'd never be able to go home again!"

"But I thought we were family!" she shouted.

"We are," Sokka said, smiling slyly at Aang, "Which is why under no circumstances is Aang allowed to not visit."

"It's not the same," but even as she said this, a small smile had crept up on her face as she watched his face light up from Sokka's comment.

The smile faded and she sighed, peering over the edge of the saddle and looking down, watching as dozens of fluffy white clouds drifted past them. She looked up as they began to descend, thoughts of regret and doom swimming inside her head as their destination arose in view.

"Aang, you will come back, won't you?" she asked suddenly, turning back to the monk.

"Don't worry about it, Katara. I'll visit whenever I can!" he replied.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She sat back, reassured, and waited as the flying bison took on a burst of speed and dove inside a cluster of clouds, its thick white blanket soon covering them. When they emerged only a few moments later, she found that her village was waiting for them directly below. The giant animal swooped down, letting a rush of cold air brush against their faces, then slowed as it approached a large iceberg. There was a large splash, and the bison crashed into the icy water, its large head bobbing above the surface as it pulled up to the iceberg.

There was an uncomfortable silence that fell between the three teens, until at last, Aang muttered, "I guess this is good-bye then." Sokka nodded and stood up, crossing over the saddle and kneeling down next to Aang.

"Good luck, Aang. We'll really miss you." He hesitated, looking the airbender up and down, and continued, "I guess I can't really call you a goofy kid anymore, huh?" she gave a weak smile and quickly hugged him, Sokka returning the embrace without comment. When they finally broke away, Sokka stood up, muttered a quiet, "See you around," and slid off the bison onto the iceberg below.

Katara looked away, feeling extremely uncomfortable as Aang's gaze traveled from her brother to her. She stared down at her hands, which seemed to not want to hold still for even a second, and began to twiddle her thumbs to keep them occupied. Finally with a rather forced sigh, she looked up at his solemn face and found that his eyes were glassy with tears. Her hand flew to her own eyes, realizing that tears had sprung up in hers as well.

After a while, she looked up, having felt someone's hand on her own, and found that it was Aang's. Her gaze softened and slowly moved upwards until she was staring directly into his silvery eyes.

"I'll come back, Katara," he said quietly, squeezing her hand.

"I know you will," she replied, her voice barely audible. He smiled, his goofy grin forcing her to return the gesture. She inched closer towards him, and slowly sat up and wrapped her arms around him, every doubt and worry being temporarily pushed to the very back of her mind. He returned the embrace whole-heartedly, neither one of them making any move to pull apart.

"Aang, I need to tell you something, but I don't know how to say it," she said quietly.

"Just try then," he replied in the same soft tone. She hesitated, then pulled herself out of his arms and cast an anxious glance at Sokka to make sure he wasn't looking. When she had made sure he had his back turned to them, she turned back to Aang and quickly kissed him on the cheek. He gaped at her, completely frozen in surprise as his cheeks flushed bright pink.

"Katara!" The waterbender turned around, praying to herself that Sokka wouldn't see her blush. Luckily he made no move to show that he had seen her, but began to frantically wave his arms. Katara turned back to Aang, gave him one last hug, and stood up.

"Bye Aang...," she said softly as she slid down the giant bison. His eyes followed her all the way down, but he couldn't seem to muster up the courage to answer her.

"Take care, guys," he finally managed to say in a slightly cracked voice.

"You too," Sokka replied.

Aang looked away, but it wasn't until he caught Katara's eye that he managed to summon up his courage and reply in a faint whisper, "I like you too."

End Flashback