She really is beautiful.
Of course, she's always been lovely to him, but Earth Kingdom clothing suits her. It provides an interesting contrast- dark skin and tribal hair beads against hues of green and yellow.
The fact that her outfit tightly clings to her curves is an added bonus
Mentally, Aang slaps himself. He didn't come out here to ogle Katara as she leans against the balcony railing, watching the sky fade into a murky pink. She's standing stark still- how long has she been out here for?
"Hi," he says, cringing at the lameness of the greeting but unable to think of anything better.
She spins around, guard up, then visibly relaxes when she sees who it is. "Hi," she replies with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, which are rimmed with purple. Healing and treaty signing and fighting with politicians that have sticks up their asses must be taking its toll. "What are you doing out here? Sokka's attempts at drawing can't be that bad."
"He's made Suki into a firebender- that's enough for me." No- this isn't the right time for humor, feeble as it is. "I wanted to say... I'm sorry," he blurts out. There. At least she knows his purpose.
If she's surprised, she doesn't outwardly show it. "Why?" she asks in a deliberately cool tone. He knows it isn't a true question.
"I shouldn't have kissed you when you said you weren't ready." His face is beginning to burn. How stupid was he back at Ember Island? He'd believed that completely inaccurate play and trampled all over Katara's boundaries in the process. She has every right to stay mad at him for a long, long time.
"No, you shouldn't have," she agrees. "There was a war on. We had more important things to worry about than who was together with who. But I didn't have to run off like I did. I knew you hadn't meant to hurt me."
"I wasn't trying to, I swear. It's just... we kissed before the invasion, and then Zuko joined and we didn't have time to talk, and I then I guess I kind of jumped to conclusions."
They're silent for a while, but somehow the space between them isn't awkward. "I didn't tell you the truth that night," she finally says. "I thought that if you lost, it wouldn't be as painful if I had pushed you away. When Azula almost killed you in Ba Sing Se..." her voice trails off. "I don't think I'd be able to live through that again. Pretty selfish, huh?" She releases a bitter sort of laugh- it floats out beyond the clouds. He can hear years worth of vulnerability and battles and broken promises in that laugh.
"You're the opposite of selfish!" he loudly protests. In fact, she leans too far in the other direction. "You don't have to be strong for me all the time," he adds, determined to make this clear. "I'm not going to break or anything."
"No. You won't." Then she swivels around and he forgets about the approaching twilight, because there's a genuine sort of smile on her face, almost like the rising sun. I forgive you, she seems to be saying, everything's okay between us.
Suddenly, before he can even register what's happening, her hands are planted on his shoulders, she's leaning in, her lips are pressed against his.
This isn't a peck, or an all-too-brief kiss like the one they shared in the Cave of Two Lovers. Her mouth is warmer and wetter than he expected and he can feel the raised surface of her tongue as it collides with his own and his arms are encircling her waist and spirits, it's as though sparks are going off deep inside his skull.
A hundred years (or perhaps a few minutes) later, they break apart, panting slightly. He's grinning like a loon, on the verge of a happy panic attack, and he doesn't care if he's showing it.
"I'm heading inside," Katara says, uncharacteristically mirthful. "I don't even want think of how Sokka's portrayed me." She brushes his fingertips for a moment, then heads towards the direction of the teashop.
Aang still remains, examining the horizon. Nine months ago, he woke up in Katara's arms. If only he had known how important she would become to him.
It won't always be easy. It never has been, with them. But the monks used to say that nothing effortless is worth having.
He turns and follows in Katara's wake- he can hear the chortling and mock arguments from here. The first stars are beginning to emerge.
A/N: Am I the only one who was dissatisfied with the original scene? The last time we see Katara and Aang interact without other people around, it's during the play, and we all know how that turned out. In my opinion, both of them needed to talk that one out, but all we get is a kiss at the end, which was certainly very sweet but left me wishing for more. YMMV on everything, of course.
The title is from Lions!- Lights.