Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.
(A/N): Hello! Here's a oneshot that haunted me in my dreams until I wrote it. It's pretty cute, pretty sweet. I'm gonna drown you in fluff again, mwahaha! And this is my failing attempt at trying to write something just a little funny. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! ... I...Love... You... guys... THERE I SAID IT! :D I should mention this, but Lyralocke's fan fic "Much Better" sparked my interest and inspired me to write this. Oh come on, who doesn't love a jealous Aang?
In honor of Lyralocke.
Winning Hearts.
He was fourteen. Fourteen turning fifteen, actually, and she just turned sixteen. Sixteen was the age that kind of changed everything, or nothing. For example, a girl's personality can change, or her perspective on things can change, her attitude can change, and most importantly, her heart could change. Or, nothing would change at all. See, if one wasn't aware of the Southern Water Tribe cultures and rules, it mentions that a young woman is of legal marrying age at sixteen. So basically, it was a girl thing, maybe even a guy thing. Once you turn sixteen, you go on an all-out hunt searching for the right one.
In simpler words, Katara flirts, flirts, and flirts. It's blind date, after date, after date. Which means, guy, after, guy, after guy. That equaled a sad Aang, after jealous Aang, after sad Aang. So Aang thought, what if you already knew the one before you turned sixteen? He already knew Katara was the one for him. He didn't need to be sixteen, so why did Katara keep doing this to him? Why wouldn't Katara realize that he was the one for her? Aang stared into the boring, old walls of the homely Earth Kingdom hotel.
It was annoying actually, she didn't even remember their names. Somehow, though, he knew that his name was the only name on her lips at night. She deserved someone who stayed, not people who kept pulling away. Aang was perfectly capable of staying with her. He knew that she thought about him as much as he thought about her. No, Katara wasn't like this. Katara isn't being the Katara Aang knew. She was being the opposite of who she always was. She was being immature, selfish, flirtatious, and so shallow. So not Katara. He needed to find the old Katara, and get her to realize that he's what she needed. First, he needed to wait until she got home from her double date with Suki and Sokka.
That fact annoyed him too. Why did Sokka allow this madness? Really, if he was strict about Katara and him being together, then why on earth did he allow guy, after guy, after guy, to win her heart? This was crazy, and the saddest part of it all is that the guys didn't understand. Winning hearts wasn't what you were supposed to do, it was something else... At least Toph agreed with him. The blind earthbender got a little tired of Katara ranting about her night.
Aang's head perked up in a split second when he heard a door open. It was Katara, back from her stupid date. Sokka and Suki must have stayed a little longer. Great, she's probably gonna brag about how good it went... He thought. Aang stood up wand walked to the front door to greet her, reluctantly anyway. Katara entered the hotel and looked profoundly and extremely beautiful, not that she needed to go on a date to look that beautiful all the time. She was perfect the way she was. Toph followed Aang to the front door.
"You better do something about this, Twinkle toes. It's getting annoying..."Toph hissed. Aang nodded.
"I think I will..."He whispered back.
"Hey, Aang! Hi, Toph. How was your night?" Katara asked brightly. Wow, it was like she was a completely different person.
"It was awesome, Sugar Queen. How about yours? I suppose it was the night of your life." Toph replied sarcastically. She was getting tired of this, so she walked back to her room and slammed the door shut.
"It was great, actually!" Katara replied, but a look in her eyes were screaming something else.
"She's lying!" Toph called out from her room. Aang raised his eyebrow in suspicion.
"Okay, fine. It was one of the worst dates of my life." Katara admitted while looking down in sadness.
"In my honest opinion, I think it was completely self-inflicted," Aang scoffed.
"I beg your pardon?" Katara replied, offended.
"You're the one who goes on blind dates every night! Nobody promised you that every single one was going to be picture perfect." Aang explained. Katara took a step closer, but Aang stood his ground and didn't move an inch.
"Well, excuse me for at least trying to find the right guy! My dad expects me to find a guy who wins my heart. Someone who I deserve..." Katara's expression softened a little, but she was still really mad at the Airbender standing in front of her at the moment.
"I'm right here, Katara! You don't need to be sixteen to know who you love. And you definitely don't need to be seeing random guys everyday. You're not going to find the right guy by dating every single bachelor in Ba Sing Se!" Aang almost yelled. The two heard Toph laugh from her room. Katara opened her mouth to protest, but Aang interrupted her.
"I know I don't deserve you, but I'm also not trying to win your heart." Aang said. Katara's eyes grew misty all of a sudden.
"Then what are you trying to do, Aang?" she asked softly. Aang paused, careful of what to say next.
"I'm trying to get you to take mine. But if you still want to keep looking, then I won't get in your way." Aang sighed in defeat, slowly walking back to his room. Abruptly, he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back slowly. He turned around to face a smiling Katara. The Katara he knew and loved.
"You're right. It's you." Katara sighed. Aang raised his eyebrow quizzically.
"What?" Aang answered cluelessly.
"You won my heart. It's you, I knew I loved you all along. That's why none of the guys were right for me. I love you, Aang." Katara said, half smiling. Aang didn't need to reply, he knew the answer was written all over him, his eyes, his face. Aang came closer and hugged Katara. No, it wasn't a friendship hug, or a make-up hug. It was something a whole lot more. Everything made perfect sense again, like the world was finally in balance. It was bliss, paradise. Katara and Aang felt completely safe in each others arms.
Katara pulled away. Slowly, they closed their eyes and leaned in for a kiss they would never forget. Katara put her arms around Aang's neck like always, and Aang put his arms around her waist, stroking her back just a little. Now all they had to do was lean in. They went closer, and closer, until their lips were brushing against each other, feeling the hot, steady breathing.
The door opened once more, and a full, happy Sokka emerged, followed by a smiling Suki. They separated faster than Sokka could blink.
"The meat was great! It was so juicy, it had the perfect consistency, and the sauce was totally to die for! It wasn't too spicy, but it was enough to make my taste buds tingle!" Sokka barged in the door, interrupting the pair. Aang sighed with exasperation, and Katara was just blushing like a complete fool.
"I told you, Sokka. It was just barbecued cow hippo." Suki rolled her eyes. Toph must have knew what happened, because the group heard another loud chuckle coming from Toph's room.
"I'm sorry, did I walk in on something?" Aang slapped his forehead.
Oh, Sokka. You always did have the ability to interrupt at the most inappropriate times!