In sickness…

Aang coughed yet again, his whole body shaking as they all stringed out. Katara ran instantly to his side, raising her canteen to his lips until he had drunken enough water.

"Thank you, Katara," he mumbled feebly, eyes half lidded and head supported by her gentle hands.

"Think nothing of it," Katara spoke softly, as if speaking any louder would cause some sort of disaster.

Aang smiled faintly and closed his eyes, drifting off into unsettled sleep.

Katara sighed, removing her hand from under his head so he could rest comfortably on the pillow. Her hand instead wandered to his, grasping it desperately. She was working off of hope, and it was running out fast.

Aang had been sick for at least a week now, and it had only been getting worse. It had started out with him being more tired than usual, not his usual get-up-and-go self. Then, he started taking frequent naps, and then came the coughs, then the fever. Katara was angry at herself for just passing it off as a mere cold. If she had suspected it sooner, maybe she could have prevented it. But now all she could do was hope that it would only get better, and try to help as much as she can.

Aang groaned in his sleep, then attempted to turn over but failed and settled with slumping into his previous position.

Katara wrung a cloth out of a bowl of water and placed it on Aang's forehead. He winced at the coldness and dampness, but eventually settled back into his dream world.

As Katara stared at him, she wondered what kind of nightmare Aang was having this time. He always had trouble with dreams. Being the Avatar of course caused stress and would induce nightmares, but with the fever, they were ten times worse. Aang always woke up screaming and crying, which took up energy, with made him even sicker. This whole deal stressed Katara out; she just wanted to make him feel better.

Katara realized a while back that she had special feelings for Aang. Not just the usual friendship bond, nor the brother/sister relationship. This was true, head-over-heels, death defying love. She felt stupid for never telling Aang, and she made a vow not to until he got better. If he… left, then she would feel terrible. However, she would feel equally terrible if she never got the chance to tell him how she felt. Plus, if he liked her back, maybe the positivity would help him heal. That was known to be effective.

The thought that Aang could just go off and die any moment send terrified chills up and down Katara's spine. She couldn't stand life without Aang, and neither could the rest of the world. The Avatar was the keeper of the world, but Aang was the keeper of her heart. He couldn't just leave her.

Katara noticed Aang's face start twisting painfully, and she braced herself for what would happen next…

Aang bolted straight up, screaming his lungs off, cloth falling off his forehead, and tears welling up in his eyes. He turned to Katara, stared at her wide-eyed, and then lunged at her open arms into a hug.

Katara heard his sobs muffled in her shoulder as she stroked his back gently.

"There, there, it was just a dream," she comforted. "Would you like to talk about it."

Aang tried to control his sobbing before he said shakily, "I… I had a d-dream that y-you… that you… d-died!"

Katara's heart swelled. "Aang, that's never going to happen, I swear."

"H-how do y-you…know?"

"Because…" Katara wasn't sure if she should say it or not. "Because I love you, Aang. I'll never abandon you."

Aang tensed up under her. His head popped up to meet her gaze.

"Do you mean that?"

"Every word," she promised.

Aang smiled faintly, tears continuing to fall from his eyes. Katara could tell he was worn out, so she placed him back onto his pillow.

Aang yawned, and turned over.

"I love you, too," he mumbled before drifting off into the first peaceful dream since his sickness. It included him and Katara and a very romantic sunset.

Katara smiled as she caught his last sentence. She bent down and softly kissed his forehead.

"I will never let you down, Aang."

In health…

Aang swirled around Katara on his air ball joyfully, laughing manically. Katara was laughing as well, a picnic basket slung over her shoulder.

They were walking through a peaceful forest. Aang had spotted a beautiful stop up ahead and they were planning a picnic.

"It's not too far up ahead!" Aang yelled to Katara from his air scooter, skimming ahead.

"I'll be right there!" Katara yelled back, picking up her pace.

She started on a sprint, laughing her way there. She threw her head back in laughter, feeling the wind caress her body, Aang's element; her new boyfriend's element.

They started dating three weeks ago, around the same time Aang got over his fever. It ended not too long after Katara professed her love. Positivity did work, after all; and Katara was positive they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Aang, although carefree and fun loving, was quite the romantic.

Katara finally caught up to Aang, and got a glimpse of their picnic area.

"Wow," she breathed as she saw the view.

It was right on a cliff overlooking the ocean, topped off with the most amazing view of the sunset.

"I knew you'd like it!" Aang smiled as he set down the picnic blanket and Katara sat down, taking out the food.

As Aang sat down Katara turned and gave him a sweet kiss.

"Well, I do," she told him. "I like it very much!"

Aang blushed and started eating a peach that Katara packed.

Author's Note: Since only one person responded to my romantic story, here's a romantic aangst for all you Aang haters. XD Just kidding!