Oneshot: The Sweet Scent Of Jasmine

Summary: A Katara-centric oneshot concerning the gang's annual meeting with Aang. Kataang, Sukka.

Note: I hadn't written in a while, so I thought I'd pen down this idea I had in my mind for a while now. If you don't know what I tried to make clear by using Italics, you can always send me a message. Hint: Past tense ;-). Reviews much appreciated, I want to know who I'm writing for! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I don't own the awesomeness that is Avatar: The Last Airbender.

"Katara?"

Katara turned around to see Sokka leaning into the room she was in, so she couldn't see more than his head.

"What's up Sokka?"

"Well, Suki and I are ready to go, and Toph is uuhm.. kinda picking her toes.. ready.. sorta thing. How about you?"

"Oh, just a second, I'm almost finished."

Katara always wanted to look exceptionally well at the anniversary. Still busy with rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe to the status it once had, she didn't have any time to visit Aang. The anniversary allowed her to take a break from her hard work, so it was the only time of the year she could be with him again. Of course, after his victory on Ozai, she visited him a lot. But she realized she couldn't stay with him in the Fire Nation capital for long, because she had to rebuild her home, the place she grew up in, the place she felt she had the responsibility to maintain.

He was training so hard. It was one of the many times Katara would watch Aang and Zuko train their firebending. Aang was and always had been a joyful boy, but he was dead serious when he was training. Even when Zuko was exhausted, Aang wouldn't stop training until he mastered a particular move or technique. He was a whole different person when training, but Katara liked both his playful and serious personalities.

"Aang, I really think you should rest. Those fireballs you're making have become so big, I'm afraid you'll burn this whole town down." She said with a smile.

"I guess you're right. We should go home, it's getting late"

When he stopped and walked towards Katara, he suddenly collapsed.

"Aang!"

"I'm fine Katara. I think I've been pushing myself a little."

"Make that a lot. Come on, you can have a hot bath when we get home." She said when she supported him.

"Thanks, I'm really looking forward to that now."

Katara and Aang always enjoyed each other's presence, in good times and in bad times. This was considered one of the good times, when they had a place to go to and they weren't being hunt down all the time. The fact that she was practically carrying him didn't bother her at all. She would do a lot more if that would mean she could stay with him at all times. But she was afraid that there was nothing she could do when he would finally have to face Ozai.

"Come on Katara, you're dreaming again, we're running late!"

"Sorry!"

She quickly finished her make-up, finalized her look by putting a jasmine flower in her hair and went to the living room where the rest was waiting for her. Apparently Toph had finished picking her toes, a habit she had maintained for all these years. In fact, she hadn't changed one bit, except for her appearance. She was slightly taller and let her hair hang down instead of putting it up. This was an idea from the Earth King, whom she now was a close friend and advisor of, and she liked it because this took her less effort to do her hair. Sokka hadn't changed either, except his face looked a little more rugged, like his father's. Suki was always the same, too. She and Katara had grown very close through the years, because she decided to stay with Sokka in the Southern Water Tribe. Suki and Sokka seemed very happy together, which made Katara happy on one side, but made her miss Aang even more on the other.

They were walking from their room in the reconstructed palace to the lake just next to it. As they got closer to the lake, the crowd grew more dense. Aang had memories of that lake from old times, and he often told the rest of the gang that's the place where he would want to live, if he were to live in the fire nation. A lot of people wanted to meet Aang again, be it water tribe, fire nation or earth kingdom, because they wanted to thank him for ending the war by being at the anniversary. Sokka noticed some tears welling up in his sister's eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah sort of, this just takes me back."

"I see. You miss him a lot, don't you?"

"I really, really do. But I know he's here for us."

Sokka put a comforting arm around his sister.

"I miss him too."

As the final battle drew closer and closer, tensions grew within the gang. Aang was getting nervous, Sokka went through his battle plans over and over again, Suki was annoyed because Sokka gave her less and less attention because of the former and Zuko got nervous too, knowing he would have to face his father and/or his sister. Katara was once more trying to keep the group together.

As she was watching Aang during another training session on a warm evening, she noticed that he was distracted by her presence. Because he normally wasn't, she decided to ask him.

"Hey Aang."

Aang was a little startled because of Katara talking to him during his training. Usually he'd just show off a little for her, and she would just stare in awe.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

"How do you mean?"

"You look a little distracted.."

"Can't argue with that actually. There's a lot on my mind lately. In fact, there's something I really have to ask you."

"You can ask me anything."

He sat next to her on the edge of the fountain.

"I've been wondering, there is this tiny little chance that I might not survive my battle with Ozai, and.."

"Don't say that. You aren't gonna die, I won't let you."

"I know, I know. But what if.. There's something I have to tell you before we face him. Ever since you freed me from the iceberg, I've grown attached to you. A lot. And to be honest, I think I like you more than a normal person does. I.. I love you."

"Aang.. I"

Katara didn't know what to say that quickly. She loved him too, but she couldn't let that affect his destiny to free the world.

"You don't have to love me back Katara, I just had to tell you before we leave."

And with that, he left for their house for the last time before the next invasion, leaving Katara behind who fell to her knees with tears streaming down her face, afraid that she would never see him again.

As they were closing in on Aang, the people recognized the gang and moved out of their way. A lot of people stared at them, too, knowing they were Aang's companions through thick and thin.

The whole fire nation palace was destroyed. Katara ran through the rubble that was left of it, searching for him.

They were close, they could hear the high priest talking. Katara couldn't keep herself from crying and tears started to stream down her cheeks.

She finally saw him, lying under a pile of rubble. She used her waterbending to move the rubble off of him, and sat next to him. It took him all of his strength to say his last words.

"Katara, I did it."

They reached the shore of the lake, where Fire Lord Zuko and the high priest were standing. Long shadows were cast by the crowd in the warm setting sun. The priest stopped talking and let Katara walk towards the tombstone in silence. It was decorated with lots of flowers and candles, and a portrait of Aang.

Knowing his wounds were too severe to heal, she embraced him and cried her lungs out. Even though he was in great pain, Aang managed to smile faintly.

For the fourth year, she took the jasmine flower out of her hair and put it on his grave. She started whispering softly.

"I love you too Aang.."

"..And I still do."