I do not like how the finale left Kataang. So I rewrote it. :) Or at least parts of it. this is Katara's p.o.v. be/c I seem to be channeling her lately. I also got some later ideas from the "Into the Inferno" Wii game. hahaha. enjoy!

I hurt him I know it.

And it's killing me.

I watch him train, day in and day out, with Zuko. The firebender makes him go over every detail, every pose, every exercise again and again. A monotonous routine bent on pushing Aang to the brink as fast as possible.

Because his time is running out.

All of us know it. Sokka plans. Suki practices. Toph pretends not to be scared.

And I sulk around the house, trying to focus on something other than what I said that night during that idiotic play.

Waterbending isn't exactly helpful in blocking out my thoughts. The look on his face clouds my mind.

He was hurt.

And I did it to him.

And then it finally comes out...

All of the anger and hurt and conflict he's been holding in...
It forces its way out and he finally takes it out on us...on me.

And I can understand his reasoning.

He's just as scared, if not more, than all of us combined. And the one person who's always been there to ease his fear wants nothing to do with him...or so he thinks.

Zuko tells me to let my best friend work it out on his own. Screw Zuko.
So here I am, standing outside Aang's door. Waiting. Trying to come up with something to say to him
to make everything better.

But I can't.

For once in my life, I have absolutely no idea what I should say. I know "I'm sorry," would be a good place to start.

I know that I have ruined this friendship both of us have worked so hard to keep. The last couple of days, both of us have been faking it for the sake of everyone else. Trying to hide the anguish only we can detect in each other's eyes. It goes back to Aang being a goofy 12 year old kid, and me being the naïve 14 year old. Both of us hiding behind the façades we used for so long.

I finally decide I have to say something before the sun comes up and I go a whole night without sleeping. My hand shakes as I raise it to push the wooden door open. I'm scared to look.

So many times before, he's run away from the problem, his airbending nature kicking in. But now that the problem is me...

I look to find the room empty, and my heart skips a beat for only a moment, until I notice the dim light flickering across the creaky old floor, casting shadows everywhere. I inhale and step towards its source.

I know he can hear me. I could see him sitting there on the porch when I opened the door. I know he heard me then. He heard me shifting in place before finally stepping in his direction. I also know he knows it's me coming to talk to him, and I pray he stays where he is instead of taking off on his glider.

I have always been amazed how he can hold such rigid posture when he meditates. I follow the blue line that starts from beneath his robes over the crown of his head, ending in an arrow on his forehead. But his back is facing me, and that familiar face of his is too. So I'm not sure what his expression is. I sigh and take those final steps, deciding to stand at the railing surrounding the little porch. I hear him inhale shakily. I bite my lip.

"The moon's beautiful tonight," I say. Princess Yue made the huge white sphere even more awe-inspiring it seems. I chuckle inside, finding it rather ironic how I once knew the moon spirit...

I hear Aang shift in place, but he doesn't come to stand by me. I know it would be a painful reminder of a few nights ago, when we got ourselves into this mess. Or rather... I got us into this mess.

"Yeah, it is," he whispers in reply. I sigh again, trying to figure out how to start. But he does it for me.

"Katara, what do you want?"

This question has double meaning for me. I want this war to be over. I want to jump into your arms and tell you repeatedly that I love you and I was never confused.

But I settle for, "We need to talk." Because we do. And probably not about what he's thinking of.

"Ok..." he sighs, waiting.

I don't turn to face him. I can't do that yet.

"I'm scared, Aang."

This apparently surprises him, because he inhales loudly, and a little too fast. His choking dies down and he composes himself enough to ask,

"Of what?"

I contemplate this. There's a million and one things I'm deathly afraid of, but one sticks out in my
mind.

"Of losing you."

There.
I said it.

It's my deepest fear and I have just laid it out in front of him.

I hear him stand and I see him in my peripheral vision as he leans against the railing, looking out towards the ocean with me.

He doesn't know what to say, because right now, in the calm before the looming, life-changing events about to unfold, there's a need to say exactly the right thing, where there never was before.

"I need you to know something, Aang, before you face Ozai," I say quietly. I see him look at me out of the corner of my eyes, but I don't turn. I still can't face him yet.

"When I'm with you... I'm the happiest I've ever been. Ask Sokka, he'll tell you that before we found you...I never acted like this."

I can see a hint of a smile form at the edge of his mouth.

"When I'm with you, I don't think about my mom, or the war, or the billion other things that worry me. I just think about you."

His breathing is becoming less steady than it was when he was meditating.

"This doesn't just happen when I'm with you, either. I think about you all the time. I can hear your voice, see your smile, feel that genuine warmth you emit when I'm around you."

I look down at my hands, gripping my elbows, holding myself together.

"I know what I'm feeling around you and what I think about you...and none of it has to do with you being like my brother."

He stops breathing. It's so quiet out tonight that I swear I can hear his heart stop too.

"Katara..." It's the first thing he's said in a while.

"I know you're scared and your worried and everything is going to get crazy in the next 2 days, but I-I want to give you some small amount of peace...if you'll let me," I interrupt whatever he was going to say and it feels good to finally get this out. I meet his eyes finally, and there's a light there that was missing for the last couple of days. I know what that light is...it's hope.

Fear, apprehension, and a wealth of other emotions flash across his teenage face. I look down at his hand resting on the smooth railing, the wood worn down from years of ocean wind and sand. His hand is smaller than mine, but I know from experience the power it can wield. I take it, my own hand shaking. I look at our hands and notice that mine isn't much bigger than his. It's a shock to me; it makes me realize how much he really has grown up, and how much we're so alike.

"Aang, you have to promise me that no matter what, you won't run away this time. You'll stay...for me, and let all of us help you. Let me help you. Because... I want to be there for you..."

I look up at him and he's watching me, a blush spreading across his cheeks and down his neck. I smile softly at him. He replies, "I promise, Katara." I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

At least now I knew I'd be able to protect him. I hated not being able to do that.

"Aang, you mean everything to me...and I'm so, so sorry I didn't say it before," I felt my heart rate spike as I tried to say what I needed to , "because I love you..."

I feel him tense up and I hug him, tears threatening my eyes, because I've wanted to say that for a long time, and it feels amazing now that he knows. His arms find their way around my waist, hesitantly.

"Katara...y-y-you love me?" he asks, unbelieving, his breath warming my neck.

I nod. He laughs suddenly, and I pull back, almost ready to slap him.

"I thought...I'm such an idiot, Katara..." he chokes out between giggles. I relax a little.

He sobers up and looks at me with an intensity I've never seen before.

"I love you too," he whispers, smiling that smile he saves only for me.

We look at each other and I know he's a little scared of what he wants to do next...

So I do it.

He sighs contentedly into my mouth and I know I've eased his worry of at least one thing. His mouth is just as warm and inviting as it was when he first kissed me, so long ago when we thought it would be our last chance.

He pulls away, smiling dreamily at me.

"Thanks Katara...you have no idea how much this means to me..." he whispers, because neither of us can breathe at the moment.

I smile again, because his smile has always been contagious.

We stand in each other's arms for what seems like forever, until we're practically falling asleep on our feet. I finally squeeze him tighter one last time and pull away. I've never felt so...complete until now.

But reality comes back and douses the feeling.

Aang has to fight the Fire Lord in two days...

He looks at me trying to decipher my thoughts; I smile before reaching up and tracing my hand down his cheek.

"We need to get to sleep. We're leaving in the morning."

He yawns, his body realizing the time of night it is.

"Ok," he says when he's able.

He hugs me one last time. "I promise I won't leave you Katara," he whispers into my hair.

"Thank you," I reply. We separate and he takes my hand one last time.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

He lets me go and I hear him extinguish the candles and pick up his things, getting ready for bed.

I'm at peace and my dreams are filled with Aang and what we'll do in two days, when the war is over.