This is pretty much a preview of a fic I may or may not continue writing. This is my first fic, and it has to do with ships that I do not support, but the idea popped into my head after reading the boards on after watching DoBS. Some people seem so sure that somehow Katara and Zuko will end up together and all that jazz...well, I began to wonder who Aang would end up with if that, by some small chance, happened. That's when I thought, "OnJi!" (though. she is not mentioned- yet...) So, yes, that is how this little fic-let was born. Oh, and this is set about two years after the end of the war, so Aang is about 15, Katara 17, Toph 15, Sokka 19, and so on and so forth. The Aang had to travel around the world for a couple of years after the war to free cities and people, rebuild and bring peace, and all that...Think of it as the reconstruction period after the American Civil War. The war was over, but there was still a period of time in which people had to get accustomed to the change and the nation had to be rebuilt.
A/N: I wasn't sure if I was really keeping the characters in character after awhile, so I kind of gave up on keeping them in character. Sorry about that. And yes, I know I made some errors. ItalicAang's thoughts. Boldemphasis on words.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, and like your average Kataanger I shall make a comment about my ship. If I did own Avatar: The Last Airbender, I would have made no room for doubt or questions before, during, and after the Aang and Katara kiss in DoBS. it would have been blatantly clear that Aang's feelings were reciprocated.
And now, please R&R.
The war was over.
Over….
Aang kept repeating that word again and again in his head. It was an amazing concept, he thought. No longer did he have the fate of the world in his hands. Millions of futures didn't revolve around his success or failure. He was free of that now, and Spirits it felt good!
He was free to relax for awhile. To pursue some alone time with- Katara.
She had been in his peripheral vision the entire evening, but now, he could no longer avoid looking at her. There she stood with the light of the ballroom making her features glow, smiling softly at the crowd before her, looking prettier than he had ever seen her. The pale, muscular arm around her waist brought a frown to Aang's boyish features.
The new fire lord stood proudly at her side, grinning broadly at the many people congratulating him on his new position and his new lady friend. His scar no longer marked him with dishonor, but with strength and respect. Zuko. I've won the war, but I've lost her, Aang thought to himself as he absent mindedly engaged in conversation with a group of Earth Kingdom girls, his mind still on the loss of his first love. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," he said aloud just after one of the girls had finished telling him the story of her boyfriend leaving her for a Fire Nation girl he met after the war. "Yes, Avatar, I suppose you're right," the girl said, looking at him curiously. Her head moved in the direction of Katara and Zuko standing together. "You would know about that, wouldn't you, now." Aang was pulled out of his thoughts and looked at her questioningly, "Pardon?" Her friends looked between the two, sensing a moment they did not want to witness coming up, they stepped away to talk to a few Water Tribe warriors.The young woman looked at Aang sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Avatar. It's just a bit obvious to most everyone here, excluding your water tribe friend herself, that her engagement to Fire lord Zuko has left you heartbroken. " Aang blushed lightly and massaged his temples with his forefingers. "Am I really that obvious," he asked her. She smiled at him, "Yes. Don't beat yourself over it, though. No one saw that engagement coming. No one. You have all the right in the world to be heartbroken." His gray eyes only dimmed at her words But I should have seen it coming! and he looked down at his feet. She tapped his shoulder, and his grey eyes met her brown ones, "You also have all the right in the world to move on, Avatar. She may have been your first love, but she doesn't have to be your only."
"Thank you, er…" he paused, scrunching his face, trying to remember her name. "Ti Ann," she replied to his expression, "I never introduced myself. I'm Ti Ann, of the Bei Fong family. I believe my cousin Toph has been traveling with you?"
Aang face palmed himself and chuckled. "Ah, yes, I should have seen the resemblance between you and your cousin. It's nice to meet you, Ti Ann, and thank you for your words of advice. I hope I can put them to use." He looked to the young woman that did, in fact, bear a strong resemblance to Toph. Ti Ann only smiled and turned to join her friends. Aang, already deep in thought, hardly noticed the loss of her presence. Maybe she's right. Katara was the first girl I ever loved, and I always thought she'd be the only one. Maybe, just maybe I'll fi- "Aang?"
A familiar voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to find Toph 'looking' in his general direction. "Oh, er, hey Toph. Sorry, I was distracted. Is there something you need?" His earth bending master and close friend only shook her head, "Are you ready to give that speech, Twinkle Toes?" Speech? He had completely forgotten that being the Avatar meant giving a speech at the ball celebrating the second anniversary of the end of a hundred year war. Of course, he thought. "Speech. That's right, just give me a minute or two to…erm…to go over it…?" Though Toph was blind she could clearly picture the expression of a boy lying through his teeth. "You forgot, didn't you," she asked him, finding herself quite amused by his slip. Aang scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had picked up long ago, "Well, I wouldn't necessarily say I forgot. It's more like….," Toph gave him a pointed look, "Okay, I forgot. It doesn't matter though, I'll do just fine. Better than Sokka has, at least."
Toph grinned at the memory of Sokka trying to give a speech in front of the Water Tribe warriors and Earth Kingdom battalion that had gathered to fight before the day of black sun. "Speaking of that old swordsman, where is he," Aang asked, his eyes searching the groups of people gathered, trying to spot his best friend. Toph's grin faltered and her voice came out small, "He with Suki." Aang put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Toph, I'm sure there is someone else for you. In fact, I'm sure he's right in this room." Aang glanced around the room and set his eyes on Teo, who had been staring fixedly at Aang and Toph until he realized Aang had seen him. "I really doubt that, Twinkle Toes, but thanks for trying. Now, get up to that stage and give your speech already!" She shoved him a bit in the wrong direction. "Right, okay," he quickly turned and walked up to the stage at the far end of the ball room.
"Ahem!" The sound of the young man's voice brought silence over those gathered in the ballroom. Everyone paused their conversations, stopped what they were doing and looked up at the Avatar. Expectant, critical eyes watched him. "Erm, as most of you know, I am Avatar Aang. I'll try not to take up too much of your time, I just want to say a few words before this evening ends," his voice came out a lot calmer and mature than he felt at the moment, he searched the crowd for familiar faces and found Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Katara all looking up at him with reassuring smiles, "First, I'd like to bring up three very important people. Toph? Sokka? Katara, would you guys please come up here." His three companions gave each other questioning looks, but walked up to the stage anyway. Thanks guys, he thanked silently.
Breathing deeply as Katara mounted the steps and joined Toph and Sokka beside him, Aang began his speech.
"Thank you all for being here tonight. I would never have been able to help end the war had it not been for all your trust, and the guidance and friendship of the three people beside me. They have been my friends, my family. Without them, as my teachers and confidants, I would not have been able to help you all, to have the will to fight for yours and their freedom. I fought long and hard to end that hundred year war, but without all of you and those before us, I would have never made it to this point. I'm sorry for all you had to endure, and for all you lost. But tonight is the start of a new era for all three nations. Hopefully, one day there will be four nations once again living in peace and harmony. For now, we must all work together to join the three we do have and assure our children a safe, peaceful future. Thank you all for being here tonight. For trusting me when I was just a naïve kid mastering the elements. For never giving up hope in not only the Avatar, but in Aang as well." Aang bowed and turned to his friends as everyone broke out in applause. Toph and Sokka immediately wrapped their arms around Aang and whispered quiet words of congratulations to him. Katara stood back, waiting for a moment alone with her best friend, her eyes never leaving Aang.
Sokka and Toph ended their moment with Aang and stepped forward on the stage to address the crowd. Aang looked up, his eyes meeting Katara's for the first time since she had told him of her engagement to Zuko. He felt a sudden jolt run through him, though he couldn't quite place the emotion that it filled him with, he knew something between them was different.
"Katara I-" "Aang, I-" They both began at once, just as they had the day Aang had confessed his feelings toward her. A chuckle escaped Aang's lips as Katara's face took on a bemused expression. "What is it, Aang?" He sighed, I knew I would have to do this sometime. Why am I so nervous about it now? Now, when I know for sure that she and I can never be. Now that there is no mystery to our futures, what is there to lose? Besides the best friendship in the history of this world? "Aang? Are you okay," her concerned voice broke through his train of thought. He looked at her, his eyes shinning with confidence, "Yes, I'm fine now." Her head cocked to the side at his comment. "What were you going to tell me, Katara?" "Oh…Well, I just…I wanted to know…Are you okay with my engagement to Zuko? I mean, I understand if you're not. I just…if you don't want me to, I won't, you know. Not if you don't think I should." Uncertainty and anticipation were etched in her voice. I can stop her. She's giving me the chance to stop her. I could tell her that I want her to marry me, to be in my arms tonight. No. I can't... He shook his head kindly and looked right into her eyes. He could tell she was confused and left uncertain about this turn of events; it was clear in her eyes, written all over her face, mingling in her words. But he could not fix that for her, not with his own desires. "No, Katara." She looked at him, waiting for him to continue, fully prepared for him to tell her that he would not condone her marriage to Zuko, that instead, she should marry him. "It is not my choice whether or not you marry Zuko. That choice is yours. You already know what I want, and this has nothing to do with that. What do you want?" Katara's brilliant blue eyes welled up with tears as she threw her arms around the young Avatar. She knew how hard it must have been for him to say that to her, for him to truly mean it.
He was stood quite still for the first few seconds, but could not resist hugging his best friend. "Thank you, Aang," she whispered into the crook of his neck, "Thank you so much." Aang only nodded and let go of her. Her arms dropped to her sides and she stepped back from him, her eyes found his and welled up once again with tears. She could see the sadness and disappointment he had been trying to hide so clearly now in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Aang," she looked down in shame, and when she looked up he had walked off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.
A few people, namely the younger members attending the ball, had seen Aang and Katara's display and shook their heads in discontentment. No one had expected the war to end in such a big bang. Aang had truly defeated the firelord and the firelord's followers, but in doing so, had nearly killed himself. Those standing by Aang that fateful night- Sokka, Katara, Toph, Haru, Teo, The Duke, and Zuko- had not expected everything to happen so quickly. One minute Aang had rushed into the palace without his friends to face Fire lord Ozai, the next there was a massive explosion that sent the entire Palace City into chaos. The events still played vividly in the minds of all who had been there.
Flashback
'The young warriors ran stealthily through the Palace city, Zuko and Aang leading the way. Aang stopped abruptly as they neared the back of the fire lord's palace. His friends stopped and gave him a questioning look. "Aang, what's wrong," Katara's concerned voice broke through the thick silence of the Palace City at night. He shook his head, "You all need to stay here. Somewhere safe. This fight is my own, and I don't want any of you in the way."
10 minutes later
"Aang, you don't have to be so brave. I didn't lead you here so that you would have to face my father on your own. You have these friends that care and want to be there. So why don't you let them face this with you?" Zuko's voice came out rough and angry. "No, Zuko. This battle is mine. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if any of you got hurt because of me. Stay out here." Aang began to walk away, but Zuko reached out and stopped him. Aang turned to him, his eyes shinning with tears, "Zuko, take care of them for me. Take care of Katara. Don't let her follow me into this, please." Zuko had never seen anyone look so torn before, let alone the Avatar. He looked back at Katara who looked as if she was ready to run after Aang and face Ozai with him. The nod he gave the Avatar was solemn and honest.
45 minutes later
They had been waiting anxiously behind the palace walls for Aang to come out and declare his victory. Haru, Teo and The Duke had gone to release the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom prisoners while Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and Toph waited. And waited. Katara was growing impatient. "Something is wrong. I'm going after him." She began to run in the direction Aang had entered the palace through...
To be continued...? IDK, you tell me. I'll only continue with this fic if people like it. If not, it's okay. I'll just cry for a few hours and tear everything that I have ever written apart. lol Review if you want to...but please don't flame me! Thanks for reading.
