Okay this is one of my first one-shots for the Avatar fandom from a few months back.
It takes place right after the episode "The puppetmaster" in Book 3 of The Last Airbender.
Hope you guys find it at least decent XD
- Clary Chase
Aang woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of broken sobs.
He turned and found Sokka and Toph snoring loudly at his sides, but the other place was oddly empty.
Sitting up he glanced over at the cliff and he easily made out the slender silhoutte against the pale light of the moon.
Sighing, he threw a blanket on his shoulder and made his way towards Katara.
She was so lost in her desperation that she didn't even hear him approaching.
Her hair was completely down, messy bangs flying in the night breeze.
She was shivering and he carefully placed the blanket on her bare shoulders.
She gasped and flinched away, almost falling off the cliff.
Quick as always, Aang made a wall of air and pushed her back on the grass.
Her eyes were full of tears when she glanced up at him.
"What are you doing up at this hour?" she asked, probably hoping to sound hard but failing miserably.
Aang plopped down next to her, letting his legs hang down the cliff.
"I could ask you the same question" he said.
Katara wiped away her tears hastily but he had already seen them anyway.
"I wasn't tired" she snapped.
She started to tear grass from the ground in a brutal way and Aang took her wrists gently.
Katara let her head fall, her dark hair hiding her expression.
"Katara, I'm here" he reassured her "Talk to me"
She shook her head and Aang felt her tears falling on his own hands.
"I can't..." she managed to say.
"What can't you do?"
"I can't talk about this" she avoided his gaze.
"Now you're really freaking me out"
She sighed "The invasion will be just in a few days. I'm supposed to help you and support you, not give you something more to worry about"
He smiled fondly at her and leaned back on his palms "I think not thinking about the Fire Lord for a while will just make me feel better"
Her gaze was murderous as she squinted her blue eyes at him.
He gulped "H-hey if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay! Just don't kill me yet! I still need to save the world"
Katara dropped her gaze once again.
"It's... about... bloodbending"
Aang's heart sank a little.
"What about it?" he asked with uncertainty.
She looked at the sea below them with narrowed eyes as if it had turned into blood.
"I didn't want to be able to use it. I was forced. Now I'm a monster" her voice was low and her features ghostly pale in the moonlight.
"It's not always a bad thing" he said.
She suddenly jumped on her feet "Oh you think so?!" she snapped at him "Then try to manipulate a person, no matter how awful that person is, by using their own blood, then tell me what if feels like! Because for me it surely feels horrible!"
Aang looked at her silently, unable to speak.
Just like she had stood up, Katara dropped down once again, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
He looked down, a little ashamed.
"I'm sorry" he murmured.
She closed her eyes "No I am sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. You were just trying to help me"
"Well I'm not good at cheering up" he admitted fidgeting with his bandana "You're the one who always cheers me up. And you do great"
A little smile pulled at her lips.
Despite the dark he saw the faint blush coloring her cheeks.
The color matched her red Fire Nation clothes, which he found her absolutely beautiful in.
Watching her sitting alone at the wooden table in the cave the night of the party with his 'school-mates' had made his admiration grow even more.
She had looked like some sort of spirit, gorgeous and unreacheble.
Seeing guys older than him watching her with wanting eyes had made him more jealous than ever.
But in the end, he was the one who could make her smile, even if just a little bit like in that moment.
His fingers seemed to move on their own as they reached over and intertwined with her slender ones.
She glanced at him through her eyelashes and bit her lip.
He cocked his head to one side "You should sleep" he said.
"I can't" she whispered "I keep seeing blood and that witch"
"I can help" he offered, trying to sound sure of himself.
For a moment she held her breath and he almost wanted to slap himself for asking such a stupid thing.
But then her body, way bigger than his, was snuggling into his side.
She rested her head in the crook of his neck and he narrowed his eyes as her hands came to rest on his chest.
She smelled of fresh water, like always, and he leaned his own head atop of her dark hair.
"Thank you, Aang" she murmured "I love you"
Aang smiled "Sleep"
It didn't take long for her to fall asleep then, her arms around his waist.
He watched her sleep all night, and when sunrise came, he allowed himself to finally fall asleep, dreaming that Katara's 'I love you' had another meaning.