This is a modern fic dedicated to my dad whom I miss very much and wish he was still here.
Disclaimer: ATLA is one of the many things that are not mine, but my broken heart is.
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They met in kindergarten. He always noticed a certain light in her eyes.
"Uncle Gyatso!" the boy said excitedly.
"Yes, Aang?" answered the legal tutor of the little boy
"You know the girl that arrived today? Why does she have some kind of light in her eyes?" asked the innocent boy
"When you see a light in someone else's eyes, that means he or she's happy."
The young girl's name was Katara.
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Two years later…
Everyday in school, Aang would notice how Katara's mother would drop off and pick up her daughter from school. But one day, followed by many others, he would notice that it was always her father that would kiss her goodbye or wait for her after the final bell rang. Even when he went to her house to play with her, Katara's mother was never there. One day, he decided to ask Katara's father one day as he waited for his daughter to gather up her things after school.
"Mister, Mister!" he yelled, pushing through a few of the other students who were running toward their parents.
"Yes, Aang?" Hakoda asked.
"Where is Katara's mom?" Aang asked, seeing the man frown.
"She's gone." He answered solemnly.
"Where'd she go?" he asked innocently.
"She… she went to a better place…" The older man looked down sadly before Katara appeared from the crowd.
At that time, Aang didn't know what Hakoda meant by that, but Aang did notice the fact that since then, the light in Katara's eyes seemed to disappear.
Aang and Katara stayed best friends throughout their school years. Aang had helped her mend her heart when Jet broke up with her. He was always there for her, and she was there for him.
During their high school years, Aang had started to develop a crush on his friend. Fortunately, he was able to hide it well…
The senior prom was quickly approaching and Aang was determined to ask Katara to the dance, but he never got much of an opportunity since they didn't have too much time to talk during school. Finally, just days before, Aang found the chance.
"Hey, Katara," Aang called out in the hallway as his friend passed him by.
"Hey, Aang!" she turned around and went up to him. "What's up?"
"Um, I was wondering… Do you… uh, do you have a prom date by any chance?"
"No," she said, "Why do you ask?"
"Well… I was just wondering… Um, I mean, you don't have to but…"
"Aang, I don't have time. I have class in five minutes." Katara said as she began to walk past Aang. Before she could go too far, Aang grabbed her wrist.
"Katara, I would be honoured if you would go to the prom with me." Aang said, looking her into the eye.
She smiled at him. "Of course I'll go, Aang." She said, glancing at her watch. "But I really need to get going to class now."
"Oh, okay. Bye!" he said.
Just for a moment, right before Katara left, Aang could swear he saw that spark in her eyes when she said she'd go with him…
The rest of the week went as usual, however there were a few times the two shared quick glances with each other, turning away when one caught the other's eye.
On the night of the prom, Aang had arrived at Katara's house at about 7:30. He went up to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Sokka, Katara's brother answered. "Hi Aang," he said. "Come on in."
"Thanks Sokka." He said as he walked into the door and was led to the living room. "Is Katara ready?"
"No, but it shouldn't be too much longer." Sokka said. "Why don't you have a seat?"
"Okay." Aang said, sitting down on one of the couches.
It wasn't but a few minutes before Katara came out to meet her prom date. She was wearing a beautiful blue silk dress with the necklace that once belonged to her mother.
"Wow," Aang couldn't help but blush as he stared at the young woman before him. "You look great!"
"Thank you… You don't look too bad yourself." She said, surveying him in his black tuxedo with a white bow tie around his neck.
"Thanks." Aang said, still unable to get rid of the red that rose to his cheeks. "Well, let's get going."
When they arrived, at the dance, they met with a few of their friends and started talking before they all went out onto the dance floor, taking breaks every few minutes to grab some food at the buffet.
A few hours later, the dance was coming to an end, and the last song of the night was about to be played.
"Thanks everyone for being here tonight!" the leader of the band said. "Now, why don't you go find your special someone for one last dance?"
The couple smiled at one another before Aang's arms went around Katara's hips, while her hands were around his neck. They moved slowly on the dance floor as the music played. In their minds, it was just them out on the floor. No one else was around. Just the two of them… All too soon, the song ended, leaving Aang and Katara standing still, looking into each other's eyes. Both of them noticed how close their lips were to each other, but neither tried to stop it as their eyes closed ever so slowly, and their lips finally met for a passionate kiss.
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A few years later…
Aang and Katara had just moved in together. They've been dating since the night of their senior prom. Currently, Katara was reading a newspaper at the kitchen table, unaware that Aang was staring at her.
Katara finally looked up and put her paper aside. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, no. It's not that. I just… noticed something." Aang said, not taking his eyes off of her.
"What is it?" she asked him.
"You have kind of a light in your eyes…"
"A light?" she questioned.
"Yes, a light." He nodded. "Gyatso once told me that if there's a light in another person's eye, it meant that person was happy. I remember when we were young you had lost that light when your mom died… But, now you have it back."
"Thanks to you," she put a hand on his shoulder. "If you weren't there for me, I don't think I would have that light. You filled the void left by my mother." She said before getting up, leaning down towards Aang and kissing him softly on the lips.
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Thank you very much for reading. Thanks to Summer Sweetheart for beta reading this story. Please review. It means a lot.