I was lost in a sea of dark. Every single way I turned led to nothing, nothing more the black emptiness…as far as I could see, anyway. I tried to move, to run, to scream for help-- to scream for Aang, my beloved, for whom I was afraid was trapped with me. When I strained to inch my way in any direction, my body froze, as if someone was holding me there, my feet weighed down by lead and my arms heavy with the restraint of chains. It was so similar to that of blood bending, something I never, ever, wanted to experience again.
Tears had begun to spill over the lids of my eyes.
I wanted out of here! I wanted out now!
Suddenly, the air to my throat stopped flowing. I couldn't breathe! I was breaking down into a panic. I tried to scream for Aang again, but the sound dissipated before it left my lips, the cries of help and alarm dissolving on my tongue. This place was so frightening. I had no idea what to do. What if Aang was lost here with me? . . .
What if we weren't lost at all?
What if this wasn't just some realm of nothingness, of lost, of emptiness, of oppression?
What if this wasn't a place at all?
What if we were . . .
dead?
No! No! It couldn't be! The tears that rolled from my cheeks sped up, stinging my eyes and making small pools at my feet. What was happening? I didn't want to die! And I definitely didn't want Aang to be sharing this fate with me. No matter where I looked or turned, I didn't see him. He must've survived. Oh, I was so glad we shared that final kiss! I was so glad that he held me as we fell to the ground. I was so glad that he loved me too. He was worth dying for.
Slowly, as the darkness fogged my mind and numbed my fingers to my toes, my eyes fell heavy. Maybe it wasn't so bad to die. I just wished I could've been with Aang a little longer.
Suddenly, a drop of water splattered onto my cheek. Then another. Small little droplets of water were fluttering down onto my face. Could it rain in this darkness? …in this world that I was lost to? I forced my eyes upward and saw a radiant, white, shining light, hovering over my body like a spotlight of some sort.
And that's when I heard the echoes.
"Katara! Katara, please! Oh, say something, Katara! Say anything! PLEASE!"
Aang! It was Aang's voice! He was calling for me! I tried to shout, but only got the same results as before. What was I going to do?! What if Aang didn't find me?! What if I never escaped this place?
I was so much more scared now. As I slowly curled into myself, listening to Aang's distant pleas, an odd feeling came over me. My heavy, red, puffy eyes opened to find myself ascending from the floor, rising up, up, up into the blinding light that had shone down upon me, and, the next thing I knew, I was staring into a beam of sunlight that glared down through the trees.
There was a sobbing sound very close by. Lifting my head slowly, I saw Aang's head pressed into my collarbone, whimpering my name softly.
I couldn't help but smile. I was okay. I was alive! And Aang brought me through.
"Oh, Aang!" I breathed, sitting up, prying him up with me and keeping his body pressed to mine in a tight embrace. When I pulled back to see his face, he was wide eyed and pale. All of the color, even the blue of his arrow, drained from his complexion. But, by and by, a smile stretched over his lips, the tears in his eyes slowing and soon coming to a stop.
"Katara! You're okay!" he chirped, grabbing my head, his fingers knotting into my hair and pulling me into a deep, loving kiss.
This was a new sort of kiss. When Aang pulled me to him, I was trying to pull in a gasp of breath, so when his lips caught mine, they were parted, but Aang didn't seem to notice. But I sure did, not that I didn't like it or anything; I was just blushing so hard that I couldn't really concentrate on the kissing. But as I settled more into the kiss, I noticed that the angle of Aang's mouth had mimicked mine, his lips slightly parted as well, soft puffs of his warm breath hitting my teeth. When we both pulled back, our mouths made this small smacking sound. We were both pink in the face which made us laugh.
His hand found mine as I asked, "W-what happened?"
Aang shifted his eyes away and let out a soft sigh before he told the tale. "Well, you remember us falling?"
I nodded. Of course I remembered, how could I forget; even if I had fallen unconscious?
"Well," he continued softly as he stroked my hand with his thumb. "I had nearly passed out, but your voice kept me going. Just before we hit the ground, I bent the biggest air current I could to cushion our fall. We both blacked out, but I woke up a few hours before you had."
So that was it. Aang had saved us both. I was alive because of him. Not that that was very unusual, but it was still pretty miraculous
"Hey! Katara! Please! Don't..."
As I stared at him, his face became blurred and my cheeks grew warm. At first, I thought I was passing out again, but that's when I felt the rivers of tears running from my eyes, streaking my cheeks. He pulled me to him, my face resting into the skin of his shoulder. My arms found his torso and kept me close. I could feel his gentle touch in my hair. He was brushing through it, patting it down and whispering sweet nothings into my ear, making a smile twitch up onto my face. It flickered up like firelight, just out of nowhere, or was it always there? I wasn't really sure; all I knew was that whatever I was feeling, Aang could brighten my mood…like my own personal ray of sunshine.
"You know that you don't have to be so brave all the time," he breathed into my ear as he kissed my temple, trying his hardest to get my tears to slow. Look, they weren't tears of sadness, not of joy either. I just felt like crying for some reason. Maybe it was my gratefulness for Aang rescuing me or saving our lives. Or maybe it was just the fact that I was still with him, here, tucked so neatly away in his arms. I honestly couldn't tell.
"I know," I replied, wiping my eyes. "But . . . I'm just so used to it: being strong for Sokka and GranGran, and you, too. I don't want to seem like a defenseless little girl." My tone was of utmost seriousness, but my eyes were shyly adverted away, and yet, Aang caught himself in a fit of chuckles.
I looked at him, puzzlement swirling in my eyes.
He brushed the remaining water from beneath my sockets with his thumb, his eyes half lidded, smiling. "Trust me, Katara," he murmured, burying his nose deep into the locks of my hair and inhaling slowly. "You don't need to prove how strong you are to anyone, especially me."
My lips parted to speak, but words were hesitant. I just...couldn't think of anything to say. He was right, I had nothing to prove...but, still, I couldn't help it. I mean, Aang, he was just so...ugh! strong, and brave, and loving, and bright, and bubbly, and everything that I tried so very hard to be.
My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip and chewed. He was watching my expression change, and he knew what I was thinking. He knew that my mind was blank, that I had no come-backs. That made him grin a cocky, smug, and seductive grin.
It just wasn't fair.
My lip pouted out as words finally struck me.
"I know," I grumbled and he put his arms around me with a breathy chuckle.
"I love you, Katara."
And now, just hearing him say that, it just proved to me that being strong right now...well, it just wasn't necessary. I melted, along with my heart, into his arms. My head slumped against his shoulder and I folded into his arms, nestled against his chest. "I love you too," I said. "so much."
He gave me a warm, slight grin, and gently caressed my hair. It was just the littlest things he did that made butterflies surge all through. Ugh! Just listen to me! I sounded like a little school girl in love! Well...I didn't know about the little school girl part, but the rest was totally accurate.
I opened my mouth to speak again, only to have Aang's dusty, brackish finger to press to my lips, keeping them pinned together. He flashed me a flirtatiously disapproving smile, his eyes full of warmth, laughter -- the components that I fell head over heels for -- and just shook his head.

"Shhh," he hushed as he held me, rocking me gently in his arms like the calm roll of the tide, another small mannerism I don't think I could ever live without. It was just what I needed. I obliged to his…well, 'command', remaining silent as the time rolled by, the trauma draining from our senses.
To be quite honest, I'm not really sure what happened next. I guess I must've fallen asleep because, the next thing I knew, it was dark. I awoke slowly, stretching my muscles at about the same rate, blinking against the bright dance of a fire at my side. That must've been why I hadn't felt cold, why I hadn't noticed Aang's embrace had been removed. This alarmed me. I sat up with a start, looking this way then that, lucky that I hadn't given myself whiplash.

He was no where to be seen.

I jumped to my feet, nearly falling back on my heels shortly afterward, my head spinning with vertigo. Leveling myself against a tree, I tried to settle my fluttering pulse. Fear was taking over me. Where was Aang? Had he been taken? Did we land in Fire Nation territory? This couldn't be happening.
With burning lungs, I inhaled. "Aang!" I shouted, swiveling around on my heels. Nothing. All I saw was darkness. As I prepared another sharp breath, I felt a scratchy touch upon my shoulder.
My legs began to buckle; I could feel myself growing weak.
"Katara!" a voiced yelled. His voice. My love. His strong arms were around me, holding me up. He stared down at me, worried as can be.
"It's just me, Katara! Don't be scared!"
Tears stung my eyes. Slipping from his grasp and dropping to my knees, my hand over my mouth, I began to cry. I was so embarrassed! Why couldn't I keep my composure? Up until now, Aang always seemed so proud of how strong I was; and up until now, I believed it myself. Everything Sokka had scolded me about was true. I'm just a little girl. I should obey people instead of fight them. But...I don't know what's wrong with me, why I can't just settle down and do that. Suddenly, Dad's voice ran through my head. It was a distant statement, something I hadn't heard in years, but, yet, still remembered clearly, "She's a stubborn one. Just like her mother."
My quivering lips smoothed into a smile. Just like my mother. That's why I fought -- to be like her.
"Katara!" Aang was shrieking, shaking my shoulders. He looked concerned, terrified, actually. My vision was blurred from the hot, salty tears dripping from my lashes. I wiped my eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice much softer now. He was trying to relax me; I could tell by the way his tone caressed me, just as his hands trailing up and down my arms were.
I nodded then lifted my wrist. "I think I burned myself on the fire when I fell," said I, flexing my pink, glossy wound.
He eyed it carefully.
"Hold still," he instructed. I obeyed, deciding that, though I may be hard-headed, I was still controllable.
Aang was gentle with my wrist, which didn't really surprise me. He was true to his element; when he speaks, it's fluent like a breeze; when he's angry, he can be rough like a gale; when he holds me, his fingers are like sweet, warm, soft breezes. I'd love to describe how he kisses, but that's a secret kept for me…not that I could find the words, anyhow.
Bending water up, he hovered it over my throbbing arm. "Ready?"
I nodded, and he did the same. Then, he set to work.
I had only had to heal myself a handful of times, so I wasn't as used to it as others may have been, but Aang worked slowly, skillfully, so it was bearable.
When I sucked in my breath with a grimace, he rested his temple on my shoulder and whispered hushing words into my neck. Afraid I might recoil despite his assurances, he tried to make everything as painless as possible. Just the thought of him caring so much about me melted the pain away.
Soon, it was over. My skin was revived to normal. I turned my wrist once over, then, again before throwing myself onto him, pecking kisses all about his face. Aang beamed, laughed, and secured me by the waist. He wouldn't let up.
"Aang!" I squeaked when he began to tickle at my sides.
His grip remained.
"Sorry, Katara," he cooed, grinning coyly, "but you put yourself into this position." And his fingers continued to play.
I threshed and wiggled until we both fell over. We were facing each other, our noses touching, our bodies laying side by side on the cool earth. Our eyes were locked, sparks flying between our heated gazes. My heart was fluttering out of control beneath the cage of my ribs. All the while, time seemed to slow.
And then, I said the most peculiar thing.
"Aang," came the flowing words, my arms snaking up around his neck, "make love to me."
The boy merely stared a moment, then, he furrowed his thin eyebrows. He sat up and leered at me, trying to read my expression, his eyes full of questions. With pursed lips, he breathed a puzzled, "Do...what?"
I looked straight back at him, shocked that I could still look him in the eye. I could feel color rushing into my face. My mouth opened and closed mechanically, but for the longest time, I couldn't find words.
At last, I muttered a sheepish, "W-wouldn't you want...to?"
My love, the Avatar, quirked his head and shifted his eyes. Back and forth, back and forth; like brownish-gray ping-pong balls. I noticed him starting to blush.
"Listen," he began, and I felt my heart lurch into my throat. "I know this sounds dumb...but..." he swallowed several times, squeezed his eyes shut, and confessed it all. "I've heard a lot of people say that but... Ihavenoideawhatitmeans."
The rush of words at the end made my mind spin. Secretly, though, I was relieved. Not knowing was better than not wanting.

Aang was looking away, obviously ashamed of himself. "You must think I'm such a stupid little kid."
To what I'm sure was Aang's amazement, I didn't laugh. Oh, no, on the contrary, I was rather confused.
"You...don't know how to make love?" There was a pause, then, Aang shook his head, his hair swaying back and forth over his eyes. I flashed him half a smile.
"Nope," Aang clarified, popping the sound of the, 'P,' for emphasis, shaking his head onward. "Whenever I asked Gyatso about it, he always told me that the new children were brought by the great bison named, 'Stork,'" He nodded to confirm his explanation and, then, continued. "and, up until Hope was born while crossing Serpent's Pass, that's what I've always believed."
I couldn't believe it! He was so clueless! But that naive little smile on his face only made me love his innocence just as much as I loved the rest of him. But, what shocked me more than all of that was the words he muttered next.
"But, Katara...would you...would...uhm..."
When I looked into his smoky eyes, they were turned away, the firelight illuminating the pink in his cheeks.
"Would you...show me?" he finally choked, meeting my gaze.
If my eyes had gone any wider, they would have fallen from their sockets, right there into the dirt. Show him, as in...have sex with him? Well -- make love, in our case. I loved Aang, more than he would ever understand. But if he wasn't ready, and he was just curious...there was no way.
"Aang...I...you...you want me t-...I just...uhm..."
But then his porcelain hands found my own. The warmth of his skin made a shiver rush through my arms. He was smiling now. It was like he could read my thoughts. And well, that was just as embarrassing as anything else. My cheeks were so hot, I thought I might have just broken out into a fever for what had happened next; after taking my steady hands to his, he led them to the side of his neck where he held them there a second longer than he needed to. Then, he took hold of my waist and went in for a kiss that literally took my breath away. It was just like any other kiss -- it made me melt the same way, my heart flutter the same old way, and make a certain zap sizzle through my veins. But what was so different about this kiss was that new sparks, unbelievable sparks were starting to ignite.