A/n: I am so sorry! I just realized I have a ton of messages in my inbox! I usually use the mobile version of this site and usually that's just to shift through stories, I rarely visit my own profile, so usually messages go unread for a month. I feel terrible doing that and hopefully that will change! I just have to remember to check my inbox more often. Anyways, read this entire oneshot. It's hard to understand if you don't. I'm still in the process of tying some loose ends of Distance within my head, but hopefully there will be an update tomorrow! Thank you! Please Review!
God bless!
Dislclaimer: I don't own "The Legend of Korra".
"Bumi, when will you learn?"
Aang chuckled at the exasperated look that appeared on his wife's tanned features, her cerulean eyes flickering with slight annoyance at their middle child's crazy antics.
They watched as Bumi yet again took a swig of the drink in his hand, his body lurching slightly to the side as the shock of the burning liquid sloshed fluidly down his throat. Every time he took a sip, it looked as if he was drinking for the first time again.
"I can't believe he ended up being a drinker," Aang murmured softly as he laid his hand gently on Katara's shoulder, her own palm coming up to rest above his, "I thought we raised him better than that."
"Certain events really change people, Aang. Bumi is one of those people. He's a lot like Sokka. Though he likes to face problems head on, with matters of the heart, he tends to run away from any emotion that pop up."
"How did I end up marrying such a smart woman?" Aang's mouth twitched up into a grin as he gently moved his hands to her waist, turning her around so that she was encircled in his arms, looking up into his stormy eyes, "Surely such a woman wouldn't think twice about marrying the twelve year old I once was."
Katara giggled softly, rolling her eyes in good humor, "Even back then, I somehow knew my heart would always be safe with you."
The Avatar's eyes darkened slightly at that, but he soon regained his composure.
"Now, on to Tenzin."
They glanced to the side where their airbending son sat, a paper in his hands, eyes warily scanning its headlines. His brow furrowed deeply as he read something that wasn't to his liking. Sighing with deep resignation, he pushed the paper aside and sat with his head in his hands.
"I know how he feels."
Katara glanced up at Aang's features, noticing the anguish settling there, "It's a big responsibility, isn't it?"
"Life's a big responsibility, Katara. No matter if you are the Avatar or if you are one of the only airbenders on the planet, it's going to be rough."
His wife nodded softly, placing her head on his chest as he squeezed her just a bit tighter in his already firm grasp, she didn't mind though.
"I have faith in him."
Katara smiled into the autumn fabric of his robes, "I do too."
They stood for a moment longer, watching quietly as their son continued to rub at his forehead, trying desperately to calm himself. The parents turned from him and focused on their eldest child, Kya.
"She never changes."
Katara laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, "She never has."
Kya sat on the floor, playing with a young girl, humming a song her parents had sang to her during the days of her childhood. The woman wore robes styled like the one's from the Northern Water Tribe.
"It doesn't surprise me that she's a healer."
His wife scoffed quietly, pulling back from him and looking up with one brow raised, "It doesn't surprise anyone. The girl cried one day because she accidently killed a bug. She ran in crying and you had to console her for hours. Of course she isn't going to become some kind of warrior."
With his arms still wrapped around her, Aang rolled his eyes good naturedly and pulled her to him again, "Yeah, I guess that was obvious."
They turned from their daughter.
Katara snuggled closer to him, hands bunching up the fabric of his robes on his back as she tried desperately to cling to him even tighter, "We did good, Aang. I'm proud of them. They are all going through difficult times, but I love them nonetheless."
Aang held on to her with just as much determination, his dark beard scratching her forhead gently. She didn't mind though. It was actually wlecomed.
"I still need you, Aang."
"I'm here."
His wife sighed softly, bravely holding back the tears that threatened to leak from her eyes, "It's so different. She's different. The kids are different. The world is different."
"The world will remain in balance as long as the Avatar is there."
The man looked down at his wife then, grey eyes staring into her vibrant depths of blue, "And you will be fine. You have to be. For me, Katara. For them. For the world. But most importantly, you have to be strong for her. She's going to need you."
Warm liquid began to spill from the woman's eyes. Aang lifted a pale finger to wipe the moisture away, "Please don't leave me with the memory of your tears. Please smile so that I can hold on to that until I see you again."
Without saying a word, Katara lifted herself on to her tiptoes, grasping hold of her husband's shoulders. Her lips crashed on to his as her tears continued to fall. As the man returned the kiss, she realized that another set of tears were blending in with her's. His.
When they separated, they stayed only mere breaths a part, both taking in as much as they could of the other.
"How's that for something to hold on to?"
A warm tear slid from the man's eye, his face shifting forward slightly so that he could lovingly nuzzle his nose against his wife's, "That's much better."
"I'm glad."
The air around them suddenly became heavy, causing both to look at each other with regret.
"I guess, it's time to say goodbye."
A new round of tears began to fall down the pale contours of Katara's cheeks as Aang kissed her softly on the forehead, his beard scratching the sensitive skin there.
"It's never goodbye. Unless you have forgotten already, you're my forever girl. I will be there when you awaken. I promise."
And with that, Aang was gone and the world was covered in darkness.
Katara was jerked awake, eyes popping open to be met with the familiar surroundings of a cold, plain room. The pale moonlight shone through the curtains pulled to the side of her window. The cold within the room caused her bones to ache as the snow fell softly to the white floor of the South Pole outside of the compound.
It hit her. She was back in reality. She was old, again. She was alone again.
Looking down, she felt a small body of warmth next to her and soon realized that Korra had somehow found her way into her room. The small, six year old had been having nightmares for the past few weeks. What they were about, she wouldn't say, but Korra had found comfort in her waterbending sifu.
Aang had kept his promise.
Tucking the blanket around the young Avatar, Katara sighed softly. Her companion's eyes blearily popped open at the sudden movement. When Korra's eyes had finally seemed to focus, her features contorted into a highly confused expression.
"Sifu Katara?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Why are you crying?"
The older woman hadn't even realized the moisture that still clung to her cheeks, much like the way she had held on to Aang in her dream.
But the question of whether it had been a dream or not was at the front of her mind right now, considering there were foreign tears that continued to mingle with her's. Refusing to soak into her skin just yet.
They were his.
"I just had a dream, Korra."
The little girl's small pigtails bobbled as she turned over on to her stomach to get a clearer view of the waterbending master, "Was it a nightmare?"
A gentle smile appeared on Katara's features.
"I don't think so."