So this was originally an idea over at LAF. We had the idea to start a fanfic contest about Katara standing on a cliff. This is my entry. If you want details about the competition, go here.
Trusting You
The deep, bellowing roar of Appa overpowered the sound of koala sheep bleating on the elevated island of Kokoro in the fire nation. The fluffy, white monster landed with a quaking thud near the edge of a great cliff, causing the koala sheep to retreat to another part of the island. Appa was lugging two passengers as he was habitually accustomed to: his master, Aang, and his master's girlfriend, Katara, the latter of whom jumped off the bison and onto the crunchy grass below. She was, perhaps, eight feet away from the edge of the ridge?
"Aang, why did you bring us back here?" Questioned Katara, looking around the island and recognizing it from previous adventures.
"You'll see." Aang responded, "I'm gonna take Appa to find a patch of food for him. Stay here and I'll be back soon, k?"
"Alright," Katara shrugged. She didn't understand what was going on, but she trusted Aang, and she could tell that he was excited about something. So she stayed, simply waiting for Aang to return. She walked to the peak of the cliff which cut harshly to a straight drop dipping down two or three hundred feet to the rocky shore of the ocean. She looked out over the water, evoking memories of the great stress that her and her closest friends had experienced on this island.
This island, the island of Kokoro, was the official rendezvous point for the invasion force that had been assembled to invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. Katara flashed back to her time spent here with Aang, and how panicked he was. She hated seeing him petrified to the point of insomnia, especially when she attempted everything in her power to soothe him. Despite the fact that everything she tried failed to uplift his spirits, in her heart she was always captivated by his acceptance of all her offers to attempt to assist him. He trusted her, and to her, it meant more than he knew.
The wind flowed through her hair. A slight mist from the ocean below in combination with the gentle breeze gave Katara mild goosebumps. The mist and the breeze: it reminded her of Aang. She considered the way she had acted after the time they spent on Kokoro Island the first time, and how she secluded her emotions and kept them from Aang. She cursed herself for making such a mistake, especially for doing it for selfish reasons, when she knew that Aang loved her. She was afraid to lose him. And so she put their relationship off. How wonderful, though, at the end of all strife, when she kissed him that sunset evening. Everything was worth the anguish for just that one moment. His eyes, his face, his lips, his cheeks, his nose, his arrow... He was perfect in every way. And she loved him. Her entire purpose for existence felt complete when she saw Aang jump for joy after she kissed him. He was such a dork, and she loved that about him. That same night she dreamt of the many memories she hoped they would have together in the future, forgetting old ones, and looking to the future with optimism, hoping for many wonderful events to take place that they could share together. And so they did.
Her first memory of their relationship, aside from that beautiful, sunset kiss of course, was Sokka's reaction. They walked back into the Jasmine Dragon holding hands, yet somehow Sokka didn't notice at all. Of course, everyone else did, and they responded as expected. "Way to go, Twinkle-Toes!" Caused Aang to blush madly. "It's about time," came from Zuko. Sokka just concentrated on his drawing, ignoring everyone else, and Aang and Katara sat down on the couch next to each other. For Katara, nothing was better than enjoying a peaceful evening after the war, especially with Aang. So they just sat quietly on the couch, awaiting Sokka to notice. He had to figure out some time, so they figured that they should just tell him right off the bat. They listened to others share their stories, remaining quiet themselves for the most part. Katara laid her head on Aang's shoulder, and that's what caused Sokka to notice. He looked up every now and then from his 'artwork,' but as soon as he saw Katara laying her head on Aang, he stood up and spoke with a curiously suspicious voice, "What are you doing, Katara?" She just smiled and wrapped her arms around Aang. Sokka started to walk towards the new couple, but Suki stopped him and sat him back in his chair, whispering something to him. Who could imagine what he would have done if Suki hadn't have stopped him, but she apparently talked some sense into him.
A few days later, Aang started acting strange. Katara wasn't sure why, so she asked him. His response was one of the sweetest things. "Well, I, uh-" He started. He fumble around with words, but it was easy enough to decipher that he was trying to ask Katara out on a date. "Would you like to get dinner?" He quickly spoke, having enough of his silliness. She remembered hooking her arm around his and telling him that she would love to. Poor Aang was so nervous. He wanted to make her happy on their first date, but she could feel him shaking as they sat down in the booth. She took his hand in hers and said, "Don't be so nervous." He smiled and kissed her, but of course, ten minutes later, he was still shaking, which in turn caused him to spill his bowl of soup all over the both of them. She just laughed as he bent the soup out of their clothes and back into the bowl. After a few dates he was completely comfortable, and happy as ever. Never had she seen him more happy in the years she had known him.
That is, until Momo died. It was about a month and a half after they had officially started dating. They tried to take him to the veterinarian, but he died on the way. Aang was on the border-line of depression, and Katara was the only one that kept him from crossing that line. She was there for him. Love is never truly gone though, as Guru Pathik would say. Momo was lost, but much was found after that. The same week that Momo died, Katara and Aang received word from Zuko that he had located and reunited with his mother! And following that good news, a month later, they were even more uplifted with the news of life: Suki was expecting, and Katara was a to-be Aunt! Aang had always loved kids. Deep down he was one himself! So this was great news to him. Granted, he grew up so much from those days during the war, but he always made time for fun. Aang said something about wanting to be an uncle, and how amazing it would be, only to get and oddly humorous look from Katara. She considered what he meant by that... if he said that because he wanted to be an uncle, or if he wanted to be... a husband.
At the moment she was snapped out of all these amazing memories by a gust of upward wind breezing past her, carrying an orange figure somewhere in its midst. Aang flew up from the cliff and landed right next to her, closed his glider, and smiled at her as he walked up next to her.
"Hey," he muttered cautiously, with a slight blush as he took her hand in his.
"Hi," she said. "What are we doing here?"
"Well, I thought we deserved a romantic vacation." He answered, wrapping his arms around her waist. She laughed mockingly.
"Romantic? How is this place romantic?" Katara waved her arm in the direction of the island, memories of the invasion written all over the place. Aang turned her body back to face him, and leaned his forehead onto hers.
"Because that," he whispered, then pointed out, off the cliff and into the ocean. "is where we had our first kiss." Katara's mouth opened slightly to say something, but she cut herself off and just let out a quick breath in the form of a laugh, smiling. She looked back at Aang, who was smiling like such a goofball she couldn't help but continue laughing.
"What?" Aang asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just love you, that's all." Katara replied, kissing him lightly on those silly lips of his. Aang blushed, but then did something that Katara would have never predicted... instead of kissing her back, he removed his hands from her hips and pulled away from the kiss. A look of confusion, and almost hurt, came over her face, wondering why he hadn't wished to receive her kiss.
"I love you too, Katara." He said, taking a small step back with one foot, and reaching behind his back with his right arm. It quickly dawned on her what he was doing as soon as the foot that had stepped back began to kneel down, and Aang pulled out a glistening necklace, smooth as could be, coated in some sort of /shining/ gloss. She only saw the light reflect off of the stone before she looked back up to Aang, who she was far more anxious to pay attention to at the moment than the necklace. Aang began to speak, clearly and solemnly; it was obvious he had been practicing.
"I've never trusted anyone as much as I trust you, Katara. And I love you with every ounce of my being. Please, Katara, will you marry me?" She jumped upon him as quickly as she could, hugging him as tight as possible, then kissed him so passionately there would never be any possibility of a doubtful answer.
"Yes, yes, I will, Aang! Yes! A thousand times yes!" Katara declared, joy pouring out of each shaking word of hers. Aang handed her the necklace and walked around to her side, then showed her the details.
"This side if representative of me. The air nomads." Engraved in a bright yellow stone all over were swirls, twisting and intertwining with each other, and it matched the same color of the fabric that would hold it tight to Katara's neck. Aang then flipped the necklace over, revealing the opposite side of the ribbon to be blue, and the other side of the pendant to be a blue substance, engraved with the insignia of the water tribe. "And this side is representative of you. The Water Tribe."
She looked at him with a continually-growing smile, then handed him the necklace. She turned around, waiting for him to do the honors. Katara saw his arms come over her head, his hands then moving around her neck. She reached back and pulled her hair up, slightly teasing Aang with her hair's scent by 'accidentally' rubbing it over Aang's nose as she pulled it to the side. They both giggled, Aang picking up on the joking gesture. He fasted the lock on the back side with the water tribe facing forward.
"You can alternate it on each side every day if you want." He said with a smile, turning her back towards him. She remained quiet, enjoying their time here. Katara had completely forgotten everything: the invasion, the war, the roar of the water below, the cliff, everything. This very moment meant everything to her. But Aang interrupted it by stepping back... again.
"I trust you. With everything in me." He said as he came to a stop a few feet away from her. "Do you trust me?" He questioned.
"Of course!" She replied quickly. He then continued on to twirl his glider up in the air, opening it. Extending a hand in her direction, he asked one more time. "Do you trust me?"
She smiled and started at him, laughing. "You're so cheesy, Aang."
"Oh come on, I've rehearsed this hundreds of times." He poked at her.
"Oh, sorry." Katara answered with a dose of sarcasm. She continued with a slightly over-dramatic tone. "Let me rephrase... I trust you with all my soul, Aang. Every ounce of my being, every corner of my mind... I trust you."
Aang just chuckled and motioned for her to hurry up and take his hand. She quickly complied, and as soon as their hands clasped together, Aang pulled her close to himself.
"Hold on." Were the last words she heard. She hugged Aang's body tightly around his chest, then jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist. With a powerful gust of wind, the couple flew over the edge of the cliff and off into the sunset, many more trials of their trust awaiting them in the near and far future, and many memories to be made.
As for this cliff, it was left on it's own for many years after. The waters of the shore beat against the edges of the rocks. The thought of Kokoro Island had once been a disturbing remembrance to Aang and Katara. But no, not any more. Today, this was changed. Today, fate met destiny, and the memories caused when these two forces meet are strong enough to overpower any nightmare, any illusion, any horrors, and replace them with dreams and visions of wonder, perceptions of bliss, fantasies of festivity, and realities of love.