It was only after they'd left the village that Aang remembered why he'd gone off to the volcano in the first place, and that he hadn't even been able to take it with him when they fled. He still regretted the sight of the flower burning up in that lava.
He knew he didn't have to give Katara that Panda Lily, but his heart told him he had to give her something. Thinking fast, he glanced towards the side of the road. A lone crocus poked its way out of the grass; Aang quickly reached out to pick it, then ran to catch up with his friends before they noticed he was lagging behind.
"Katara!" he called, climbing up onto Appa and sitting beside her.
"Yeah, Aang?"
He blushed, holding the flower out to her with a shaky hand.
"Here...I-I'd wanted to get you a Panda Lily, but the volcano started going crazy, and we had to get out of there," he stammered. Katara blinked, her cheeks flushing red when she realized what he was saying.
"So that's why you and Sokka left so suddenly..."
"I also wanted to say, I'm sorry for being so...y'know, aloof, I guess I'm not very good at it, even though-"
"Don't." She smiled, taking the crocus and tucking it behind her ear. "You were very sweet to give me a flower, even if it's not a Panda Lily. And it was even sweeter of you to sacrifice Sokka's fishing line to make me a necklace." Ignoring her brother's pained groan, she leaned over to press a kiss to Aang's cheek. "Thank you."
Blush deepening, Aang silently reached out and took her hand; she responded in kind by lacing their fingers together as Appa continued to fly along to their next destination.