Authors Note:

Six years have passed since Ozai was defeated. A small group of Airbenders have come out of hiding and moved into the Air Temples. Toph in in the Earth Kingdom training young Earth Benders, Suki is in Kyoshi doing her job as a Kyoshi warrior. Zuko and Mai are a couple, living in the Fire Nation. He has found his mother, but that is a different story. Aang and Katara are also together as a couple, living in the South Pole with Sokka, Momo, Appa, and Foo Foo Cuddlypoops, Sokka's pet. Sokka and Suki are still together, but they have a long distance relationship. I AM NOT CONCERNED WITH LoK OR THE COMICS AT ALL! If events don't match up with the comics and LoK, tuough cookies. I don't give a damn. Frankly, I havn't read the comics and only know a limited amount about LoK, so once again, I don't give a damn. enjoy you guys! Fav, Follow, and Review! Feel free to request something, I'm all ears.

Avatar: After the Fire

Chapter One: A New Dawn, A New Day

Sunlight filtered through the light blue curtains on the window sill, dancing on a young man's face. The person shifted in his sleep, turning away from the golden light that threatened to wake him. He did not want to wake quite yet, his sleep too blissful.

However, the sun had different ideas. A particularly strong ray shone through a crack in the curtains, filling the room with bright light. The tattooed male stirred, his grey eyes fluttering open. A pair of wide green ones met his sleepy gaze, about two inches from the boy's face.

"EEYAHH!" He shot up, nearly falling off the bed. The bat-lemur chirped, cocking its head to the side as it stared at the boy expectantly. "Grrr… Momo! Don't DO that!" Momo chirped again, racing out the door at the twenty-year-old's outburst. The boy settled back down to a comfortable sitting position against his pillow, rubbing his eyes. He had on a long pair of red pj bottoms on, though no shirt. "This is really starting to get old…" he muttered to himself.

"Aang? You ok?" A girl asked softly, peering into his room. Her bright blue gaze rested on the young man as she waited for an answer.

"Oh, morning Katara. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, grinning at the sight of his dark-haired friend. She was his girlfriend of four years, the four best years of his life. "Sokka come over yet?"

"Not yet," Katara said, entering his room. She sat by him in his bed, hand on his shoulder.

Aang yawned deeply and grinned. "Perfect," he said, "just you and me." Aang leaned over and gave Katara a little peck on the cheek, a big grin on his face.

Katara giggled. "Heh, yah. Now get your lazy butt up and help me with breakfast. It's already 9:30!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Lemme just get a shirt on. South Pole. Cold!" Aang said albeit reluctantly. He slid out of bed and grabbed some clothes, heading to the bathroom to change. He came out about two minutes later, finding Katara still on his bed. "So, Kat, what are we having?" he smiled, holding out his hand to help her up.

Katara took it gratefully. "Hm… I don't know… How about some moon peaches and tea? I can make some komodo sausage for Sokka. You know how he is with meat." She suggested as she got to her feet.

"That sounds good to me! Let's get started," He smiled, leading her out of his room and into the kitchen. Being in the Water Tribe usually means not having exotic foods and such, but being the Avatar means you get benefits like exotic foods, stoves, and many other things from around the world. It also means you get a nice, cozy house instead of the usual igloo or tent.

"I'll go get the sausage while you start a fire," she said, slipping on a pair of gloves and snow boots. It was still early spring, so naturally it would be cold out. After all, it is the South Pole. Katara slipped out the door, walking quickly over to their nicely-carved ice room underground. They kept all their food there, minus the occasionally fruit or something. The frozens were stored a bit deeper into the ground where it always stayed frozen.

Aang had simply nodded before turning to the stove. With a quick flick of a finger a steady flame began burning. He went around the house and lit fires in all the hearths, just for good measure and warmth. Just as he arrived back in the kitchen, Katara came in through the door holding a fairly large package of komodo sausage and a paper bag full of moon peaches. She set the bags on the counter and stripped off her snow frosted gloves and soggy boots. Afterwards she filled a pretty bowl with the peaches and handed one to Momo, who gratefully accepted it, scurrying off to eat it in private.

Soon enough the food had been finished and the tea had been brewed. Aang and Katara began to set the table, filling their plates with moon peaches and sausage. Well, only peaches for Aang, being the vegetarian he was. Momo had snuck another peach too, as well as a sausage link. Just as they sat down to eat, Sokka burst through the door, red faced from the cold but blue eyes bright, as usual.

"Mmm, meat!" he exclaimed. Sokka helped himself to a large plate of sausage and fruit. He poured a generous amount of tea into his cup and plopped down beside Aang, already stuffing his face. "Mmmm… Goob meaf!" he declared through a muffled mouthful of food.

"Well good morning to you, too, Sokka!" Aang said teasingly. "Sleep well?"

"Mm hm! You?" he replied after swallowing his large mouthful. He took a swig of tea and then sat back, taking a deep breath before he decided to eat again.

"Very, that is until Momo decided to get in my face and wake me up!" Aang said, mock-accusation in his voice. Sokka smirked at this.

"Ha! That's what ya get for having a Momo and an Appa! Foo Foo Cuddlypoops barley makes a sound!" He said. During one of his visits to the other nations, he had come across his old friend Foo Foo Cuddlypoops from when he was 15. He decided to keep him.

Katara just grinned at the two men as they joked around like children. She sat down beside Aang and cut a piece of sausage. As she lifted it to her mouth, the succulent smell evaded her nose, causing her stomach to turn over a few times. That's weird! She thought. I love komodo rhino! Since when does it make me sick?! She wondered. Maybe I should stick to the peaches and tea today…

Aang saw a look of confusion and discomfort flicker over Katara's face. "Kat? You ok?" he asked, concern showing on his face.

"Oh, yah. I'm fine. I just don't think my stomach is agreeing with the sausage today…"he smiled reassuringly. She took a large bite of the moon peach.

Soon enough they had finished breakfast and cleared the plates. After Sokka helped with the dishes, he turned to leave.

"Well, off to go fishing! See you two lovebirds later," he grinned. As he turned to go outside, his eyes closed like a child, a big red feathery thing flew into his face. He stumbled backwards, effectively landing on his bottom with a loud THUMP! He shook his head and looked up at the feathery creature perched on his head.

"SQUACK!"

"Hawky! It's you! What are you doing in the South Pole?" Sokka asked, simply delighted. Hawky answered with another loud squack and dropped a scroll into Sokka's hand. It was stamped with the Fire Nation symbol.

"Aang! Katara! It's a message from Zuko!" he exclaimed. He unrolled the scroll and read its contents.

Dear Sokka, Aang, and Katara,

Mai and I are celebrating our wedding in one month's time. We wish for you to attend our wonderful celebration. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Zuko and Mai

"Woah. Zuko is getting married?! Never thought I'd see the day…" Sokka said a surprised grin on his face.

"So, Aang, are we gunna go?" Katara asked, knowing full well what the answer would be. She just wanted to check because,

"Uh, YEAH WE ARE! GO ZUKO!" Aang yelled, scaring the now-returning Momo into another room. "Uh, sorry Momo… Anyway, we'll set off in two weeks. Sound good?"

Katara and Sokka both nodded their head in agreement. Everyone was in a great mood, the day passing by fairly quickly. The next week passed my in a haze, everyone talking and laughing like always. But Aang seemed to be hiding something...

Aang stood at the door way to Katara's room. He was dressed in some nice clothes and held a boquet of flowers in one hand. There was a small little something in one of his pockets, but he wouldn't tell what is was. They were going out to eat that night at a local fancy resurant.

"You ready to go, Kat?"

"Just a sec, Aang!" Katara called out. A minute later, Katara came out. She was dressed in a wispy blue dress and silver high heels. Her long dark brown hair fell over her shoulders, shiny against her soft tan skin. Her blue eyes seemed brighter than usual, and her lips were rosy with lipstick. She looked stunning, and Aang could only stare.

"You look gorgeous! I- I mean, not that you don't always look gorgeous, but tonight you look axtra gorgeous! And I-" Aang was cut off as Katara leaned in and kissed him.

"Come on Aang, lets go!"