Snow roared loudly outside as the young avatar worked away in the candlelit tent in the Southern Water Tribe village. The arts had never been his forte, but this was near torture. He'd found the perfect stone, a swirling mix of pearly white and sky blue, but it had been a lumpy block when he'd found it and accuracy with his scalpel wasn't something that any of his past avatar lives could teach him (not even the Water Tribe ones; believe me, he tried).
The knife slipped again on the icy stone and dug into the table. It took Aang a minute before he could manage to work on the now cloud-shaped stone that could fit in the palm of his hand again. For the past week he'd been whittling away at the rock, getting it to look just right. He'd tried to drag Sokka into helping him, but the second-in-command of the Southern Water Tribe had much more on his hands to do than help his lovesick friend design a betrothment necklace for his sister.
Sighing so loudly that he nearly blew his candle out, Aang picked up the stone that he'd made to look like a poofy cloud, with two swirls in the center. He quickly strung it on a shimmering dark blue ribbon that he'd purchased in the Northern Water Tribe, and held it to the light. The avatar swallowed deeply and tried to calm his trembling hands. He was going to do it; he was going to ask her.
Quickly, the bald young man peered his head out of the tent, holding the necklace behind his back. He quickly scanned the village, and spotted her nearby, trying to help some of the younger children mend a fire.
"Katara!" Aang called, stepping out of the tent, immediately struck by a chilling wind. The young woman looked up and smiled at him, saying something briefly to the children before walking over.
"What is it, Aang?" she asked, smiling warmly like she always did around him. That smile still made him blush.
"Well… I…" Aang hesitated, looking at the snow and then back up at Katara. "I need to ask you something."
"Yes?" she asked, giggling a little at his nervousness.
Aang took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. Those sparkling blue eyes as clear as the sky on a sunny day in the Southern Air Temple. Those eyes that had been the first things he'd seen after 100 years in an iceberg. Those eyes that knew more about him than he knew about himself.
"I," he started pulling out the necklace, holding one end of the ribbon in each of his hands, so that she could see the cloud stone dangling in the center. "I love you, Katara. And I want you to be my wife."
Katara's hand flew to her mouth and tears sprung in her eyes. She reached out and grasped the necklace in her hand, rubbing the smooth edges that had taken forever to carve. "You made this, Aang? It's beautiful," she whispered.
"Yeah, I was hoping that you'd like it," Aang said.
She smiled again, and kissed him before saying, "I love it. And I love you. And I'd love to be your wife."