Aang breathed in deeply through his nose, allowing cool air to fill his lungs. The temperature was dropping with every passing minute, but he didn't mind; the colder it got, the closer it meant he was.

Appa groaned below him, sensing that they were nearing familiar territory. "Yeah boy, we're almost there. Almost home," he said, patting Appa's great head, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

It had been almost five months since he had left the Southern Water Tribe. The four nations were celebrating seven war-free years, and as such it was important for the young Avatar appear at celebrations, make speeches, attend meetings and see to other general peace keeping duties.

Rebuilding the world after a century of war was no easy task; at first, Aang was shocked and almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that had to be done. A part of him had expected everything to magically resolve itself once he had defeated the so-called 'Phoenix King'. He quickly learned that this wasn't the case.

One hundred years of war had left the world in complete disarray: environmentally, economically, politically and socially. As the Avatar, it was Aang's job to restore balance to the devastated world.

Naturally, Avatar Aang had risen to the task. Over the past seven years he had worked tirelessly to undo the damage of the war. Of course, none of it would have been possible without Katara by his side every step of the way. Not only had she been his moral support and his rock when everything seemed overwhelming, but she was also an extremely valuable asset in the restoration effort.

Katara had a natural ability with people and conflict resolution. Coupled with her ingrained need to help people, Katara was invaluable when it came to dealing with the people and had helped Aang deal with difficult situations on multiple occasions. She had proved herself so skilled, that she had been appointed as the head liaison between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. Along with Sokka at the head of the Southern Water Tribe redevelopment project, Katara's home began to return to its former glory.

Aang smiled to himself as he thought about how hard Katara had worked to get to this point. Katara's immigration scheme was a true stroke of genius: along with Master Pakku, she had been able to encourage many skilled waterbenders, tradesmen and families to emigrate from the North Pole to help rebuild and recolonise the Southern Water Tribe.

In just a few years, they had reunited the scattered villages throughout the South Pole and were well on the way to rebuilding the great southern water tribe. Aang was incredibly proud of her; his chest swelled whenever he talked to others about about Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

The smile on Aang's lips widened as he caught the first glimmer of sun reflecting off the snow-covered buildings. "Nearly there, buddy!" he cheered in excitement.

It had been possibly the longest five months of his life. Usually Katara would have been right there by his side when he had to take trips like this, but this time she really was needed to stay in the South Pole to run operations and make sure some new arrivals from the North settled in smoothly.

Katara especially hated when they were separated for extended periods of time. The last time this had happened Aang had been gone for three months, and when he returned, he was about foot taller and his voice was an octave lower.

"Who is this man and what has he done with the Aang I know?" Katara had asked when she first caught sight of him, her eyes wide. But she eventually grew to love the changes, although she was a bit put out that she had missed the worst of his squeaking phase.

Aang guided Appa down to land outside the city gates, where a group of waterbenders greeted him warmly.

"Avatar Aang! We were hoping you'd be back soon. How was your trip?" one of them asked.

"It was just fine, everything went smoothly. It's good to be back though. Could you tell me where Katara might be?" Aang asked, arching his eyebrows hopefully.

"Oh yes, at around this time she must be training with the young waterbenders," the man replied, giving Aang a hint of a knowing smile.

"Great," Aang beamed, "Would you mind taking Appa for me?" The man hesitated momentarily, glancing up at the enormous sky bison. "Don't worry, he's very friendly," Aang assured.

"Oh y-yes of course." He nodded to a few of his men and they began to lead Appa off.

"Make sure he has plenty of hay!" Aang called after them, then turned back to the man who was beaming once more.

"Avatar Aang, welcome back."

Aang smiled and nodded his head respectfully to him before he turned back to the gates, which were now being opened. He took in a deep breath and walked into the city. Looking around, he noticed that it was designed similarly to that of the Northern Water Tribe, which made sense since many of the architects would have been northerners. One distinct difference was that there were roads instead of canals, which Aang was sure Sokka was pleased about.

"Aang!"

"Avatar Aang!"

"He's back!"

"Welcome back, Avatar Aang!"

The people called out to him as he walked down the street and he smiled and waved politely in reply. At first his fame was a bit of an adjustment to make; it seemed everywhere he went people knew his name and the story of how he had defeated Firelord Ozai. Katara had seemed concerned that it would all go to his head, especially since he'd amassed some fan clubs with a majority of female members. But Aang took it in his stride, as always. Besides, he knew what would happen if he behaved the way he did the last time, when he had a group of female admirers on Kyoshi island.

With a spring in his step, he continued walking towards the centre of the city where aspiring young waterbenders underwent their training. Just as she'd had a knack for teaching him, Katara was especially skilled at teaching the children, and she absolutely loved it.

Aang rounded a corner and came to the wall of a courtyard. Through a window hole in the ice, Aang saw a group of children lined up along a channel of water that ran through the courtyard. They were moving smoothly back and forth, trying to push the water.

"Yes, good, you guys are doing great! Just feel the flow of energy…"

Aang's heart raced as he heard her voice for the first time in months and saw her moving through the kids, adjusting their stance when necessary. He didn't think he'd ever not be amazed when he saw her like this, so in control and so passionate. She truly was remarkable to him.

Propelled by his thumping heart and a weightless feeling in his limbs, he continued along the wall until he came to the entrance of the courtyard. Katara didn't notice him, as she was helping a child at the opposite end of the line.

All Aang wanted to do was to run over to her and pull her into his arms, but before he had the chance, he noticed a little boy nearest to him was struggling, his face screwed up in frustration. Aang's features softened and he walked over to the boy.

"Are you having trouble, buddy? Just relax, you're standing a bit too stiffly," Aang advised and gently urged the boy to soften his stance. "Ok, good. Now feel the energy flowing through you and into the water. Like you and the water are one." The boy looked up at Aang with apprehension and Aang nodded encouragingly. Then the boy took in a deep breath and began to move fluidly back and forth. Slowly but surely, the water began to move with him.

"I did it!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up with glee. "I can't believe I did it! Thank you, Avatar Aang!"

At the sound of Aang's name, Katara immediately snapped up from the girl she was helping. Slowly, she turned around to face him, her eyes full of stunned disbelief. As soon as she saw him standing there with his warm, loving smile, she couldn't help but smile back, her whole body filling up with warmth.

Aang smiled at Katara, feeling their connection become stronger as soon as their eyes met. They didn't even need to say anything, it was all there right in front of each other and they knew. Aang knew he was home.

Welcome to my first Avatar fic, woo! It's been a while since I've written a story but I am so in love with the Avatar fandom and the Kataang pairing right now. This first chapter had a lot of background information, sorry, but the story will be moving right along soon! Please keep reading, I think you'll really enjoy the story. Let me know what you think!