A missing moment from the finale that I've been itching to write a oneshot about.
Disclaimer: Hi everyone, I created Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now excuse me, I'm about to be sued by Bryke.
Waiting. I was beginning to realize how much I hated it. I could deal with waiting in lines or waiting for the sun to rise, but this was different. I was anxiously awaiting the safe return of my brother, Toph, Suki, and Aang. It was agonizing. My mind jumped from one horrible possibility to the next. What if they hadn't made it in time? What if they were hurt, or worse, dead?
My thoughts jumped to Aang, who I hadn't seen since he stormed out on us. I was extremely worried about him. I didn't even know if he had fought the Fire Lord at all, but if he had, had he had the guts to kill him? Or had he come off worse?
I turned my head sideways and saw Zuko, who was sitting a step higher than me. We were sitting on the steps of the Fire Nation Palace. He said we didn't have to worry about securing it, since all the guards had been banished by Azula. He turned and looked at me, easily recognizing the worry written all over my face.
"They'll be fine, Katara." he said.
"How can you be so sure? What if-?" I questioned, about to voice all of my worries to him, but he cut me off.
"They'll be fine." he repeated, "Besides, worrying isn't going to help them. All we can do is wait."
"You're right. But what about Aang? What if he couldn't beat the Fire Lord?" I asked him.
He looked at me for a moment, studying my expression of anxiety and fear. "You love him, don't you?" he finally asked.
"What? I-I-" I said, stuttering, as a pink tinge appeared on my cheeks. My heart beat faster. Was it really that obvious? I thought to myself. I thought I had hidden it pretty well.
"Everyone can see it. Even Sokka knows, though he pretends not to." he said, then added, "Aang loves you too, you know. You can tell by the way he looks at you."
I was trying to think of something to say, but I didn't have to. The sky suddenly lit up, half of it a dark, sinister orange, and the other half a pure, innocent blue. Zuko, who had become unusually interested in something on the ground, was staring in awe at the light. A fresh wave of worry washed over me, and I feared that the light had something to do with Aang.
The blue light began to shrink, and my fear grew. The orange light began to overtake the sky. To me, Aang was the blue light, pure and innocent, and the Fire Lord was the orange light, dark, and evil. The orange continued to grow, until there was only the tiniest sliver of blue left, and even that continued to shrink. It nearly disappeared for a split second, and I shot to my feet, out of my mind with fear for Aang.
Then suddenly, and inexplicably, the blue light took over, dissipating the orange as it lit up the sky. I shielded my eyes for a brief moment, before the light disappeared and the sky returned to normal. I heaved a huge sigh of relief.
I turned, and took my spot on the stairs below Zuko. I felt calm for the briefest of moments before the worry set in again. I might have been wrong about the light, and I still didn't know how Aang was, and if he was injured or not.
We sat there for almost an hour. Zuko tried numerous times to tell me that everything would be alright, but I brushed him off. I wouldn't be alright until they returned, safe and sound. We watched as the comet disappeared into the distant sky, and the darkness set in. I suddenly saw an airship a little ways ahead of us. I hadn't seen it earlier because it was nighttime, but now it was rapidly approaching.
"Is that a Fire Nation airship?" I asked Zuko.
"Yeah, it is." he replied, "I think it's them."
Them? As in the rest of our friends? "How do you know?"
"It's against regulation to fly this close to the capital. Sokka wouldn't know that." he replied, a smirk tugging at his lips. My heart leapt with joy. It might be them! The people I had been worrying over for the past hour!
The airship continued to come closer, until it began to descend. It landed in the immense space in front of the palace. I turned, and began to help Zuko up. I had healed the life-threatening part, but there would still be pain. He grabbed my shoulder to steady himself, and then looked over at me. I glanced back, preparing myself.
I saw three figures emerge from the airship, and my spirits dropped a considerable amount. There was supposed to be four. And it looked like the one in the middle was being supported by the other two.
They came towards us, and after a few agonizing moments, I saw their faces. It was Sokka, supported by Toph and Suki. His leg was bandaged, and I guessed he had broken it. But where was Aang?
"Where's Aang?" I asked, frantically searching to see if he had emerged after them. I couldn't see anything.
"Katara, he's-" Sokka began.
"Sokka! Where is he?" I asked, more forcefully this time.
"He's right back there." Sokka said, pointing over his shoulder. I saw a dark figure exit the airship, and begin making their way towards our group. The moonlight hit their face and I finally saw Aang.
"Aang!" I yelled, running towards him. I opened my arms wide and enveloped him in a hug. I felt his arms wrap around me, and I smiled, finally at peace. We pulled away, and I took in his appearance, looking for injuries. He was shirtless, which caused a blush I tried very hard to hide. He definitely wasn't the little twelve-year-old we found in the iceberg anymore.
My forehead creased as I realized he was favoring his left leg, and he had a few burns scattered about his body. Overall, he just looked extremely tired and in need of rest. Despite all of that, he was grinning from ear to ear.
He was home.
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