"I'm not coming out." I was getting tired of her lack of self-worth. Can't she see what I see?"I want to see. I know that it looks great on you!" I heard her pout from the other side of the door. "Fine", she muttered. The door unlocked and slowly opened. Out came Katara, in a long flowing dress. It was a dark red, embellished with silver. "I told you that I look bad." I quickly shook my head. "You look fantastic Katara. Honest." I wanted to say that she looked amazing. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Stunning. Hot. But of course, I got red as a tomato once more, and gave her the safe truth. Perfect. Looking back on it now, I was an idiot. Why couldn't I say how I felt? It was as if my mouth and tongue were incapable of forming the correct words. Something internally kept stopping me. Was it the fear of rejection? The fear of ruining our friendship? I'm still not too sure what it was.
My hormones were acting up at this time. I never wanted to caress her as much as I did then. Gosh, was Katara an incredible young lady. So beautiful, strong, intelligent. Sexy. And yet she couldn't convince herself that she looked good in a dress. That still perplexes me to this very day.
"We aren't leaving until you are satisfied", I told her from the other side of the door. Her next dress of choice was even better than the last. It was a lighter blue, with a plummeting neck line. Her eyes are up there, I had to remind myself. This dress was shorter than the other one to. It showed off her beautiful toned legs from her years of waterbending. This dress was the one.
"Ok Katara, I like this one best. It's the one." Her face brightened up. "Really?" Finally, she was more enthusiastic. Blue was always more her color. "Oh yeah, it fits you perfectly. All eyes will be on you." Especially mine. "Well, I do like how it's blue. But is it too revealing?" I gulped. I could feel the hotness in my cheeks once more. "No, of course not. I mean, it reveals just enough...not too much though..just the right amount." Smooth. Katara laughed good naturedly at my rambling. "Ok, Aang. This is the one then." We proceeded to pay for the dress. It was expensive, but Katara always dresses nice for these kinds of occasions. This time it happened to be Zuko and Mai's wedding. I almost couldn't believe that this day had finally come. It was just surprising how long it took the two to agree to get married. Zuko was almost twenty one by the time he had married Mai. Those two were obviously in no rush.
This day made me feel so anxious about my own future. I loved Katara with all my heart. I knew she had some feelings for me. But was it enough to spend her life with me? I was never sure. Obviously my love for her blossomed after the war ended, but Katara was always the type that was difficult to read. I always wondered if she felt the same way that I felt about her.
Zuko and Mai had never looked so cheerful in the years I had known them. Mai was actually smiling. It was a bizarre sight for sure. Someday I wanted to feel that happiness, hopefully with Katara. I took her by the hand and danced with her, in harmony with the music in the background. She looked beautiful in the new dress, her hair down in curls with those signature loops. I was glad that Katara had never changed.
The wedding had come to its closure. Zuko and Mai's guests began to flock home before it had got too late. We gave them our goodbyes and headed towards home. "That was a beautiful wedding." said Katara warmly. "Yeah, they did a good job setting that up." "Hmm, it makes me look forward to our own." I looked over into her eyes. I wasn't sure if I had misheard her. I prayed that I hadn't. "Really?" I replied. She nodded and leaned on my shoulder. Two years later, I'm sitting with my wife Katara, reminiscing on the days of youth and innocence. Reflecting on the day when I asked her to marry me. Remembering when she had found her white dress; the one. Recalling that special kind of happiness that you rarely feel.