Kisses

Our first kiss was strange, a little awkward. I was new to it, and for the first time he took the lead. I remember his nose brushing against mine and the warmth of his hands on my arms as he held me close. The first time he confessed his feelings. The first time I admitted mine. Though we were in the middle of war and he was going to face the Firelord, in that moment it was just us. A bald monk in love and the blind girl whose eyes he opened.

Our second kiss happened the moment I knew he was safe. I jumped off the airship and when I felt the rhythm of his heartbeat I felt a heavy weight lift from my chest. He never stood a chance. I ran towards him and threw myself into his arms, not caring if Snoozles or anyone else was watching. The ache dissolved as I crashed my lips into his. He was taken by surprise, but he soon answered the feelings I conveyed through that kiss. When he finally pulled away I could tell without feeling the vibrations that his heart and mine beat together.

Over the past year I learned there are different kind of kisses. Like the awkward warmth of our first kiss. Or the ones we shared in quiet corners of the Fire Nation Palace the weeks after the war ended. But the one you gave me before you rang the doorbell told me that you love me and asking me to be brave. Brave enough to face the parents that refused to see the real me, the me that you accepted and love.

My hands shake a little and I try to hide it in the folds of the dress that Katara and my mother picked out. I can feel everyone in the next room, waiting. Waiting for me. I take a deep breath and focus on the heartbeat I recognize from all the years I've know him. The one who saw me for the first time. The one who knows me better then I do myself. The one who surprised me for the first time six months ago when he took my hand and asked me the most important question that I never saw coming. With a nod to the servants I sense near the doors open and I slowly begin my walk. Despite the aisle being rather short it seems to last forever and I can feel his eyes on me, eyes I've never seen and never will. I'm surprised when he grabs me and dips me before kissing me. I blush from his cheesiness and punch him for being a dork, but he knows how I really feel.