The warmest of hearts in the coldest of countries
The sun shined brightly despite the early hour as Appa landed near the gate to the Southern Water Tribe, and the passengers on his back stirred sleepily. They had opted to keep flying during the night since they just wanted to get there as fast as possible, and they had trusted Appa's sense of direction enough to all sleep soundly. Not that they would have been to much help, had they been awake – none of them recognized the new village that had emerged from the snow since they had left so very long ago.
The Avatar nudged the still-sleeping waterbender in his arms, while Sokka shot them both a freezing glare, and Katara reluctantly started to get up. She felt no desire to leave her pleasant dreamland and the arms of her lover. Since their talk on the mountain over a week ago they had become much closer physically as though a mental barrier, the existence of which they hadn't even registered, had disappeared. Now they were almost always in some contact with each other – holding hands, hugging or simply a hand on the back. The night after they left Kyoshi Island and their guest house rooms, Katara had gone to where Aang was lying with his back against Appa and laid down next to him. Without hesitation the avatar had brought an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, until her head had rested on his chest. The whole scene had rewarded the most shocked stare from Sokka, already in his sleeping bag, and they could tell that he had been about to yell at them for it. For some reason though, he had stopped, shrugged and turned around to pull Sukki toward him much like Aang had done. Since then Katara and Aang had slept innocently in each other's arms, miraculously without any protestations beside the occasional glare.
While they were jumping down from Appa they heard a shout behind them. A young boy had spotted them from the village wall, and his loud shouts of "it's the avatar, the avatar is here" were quickly making the villagers come running to the gates. One man didn't stop at the gates like the villagers and was instead running towards the gang and an elderly lady was walking as quickly as she could after him – Hakoda and Gran Gran were coming. The next five minutes was a flurry of hugs and kisses for the gang and even more hugs and kisses and "I'm so happy you're alright" for the two water tribe children. Eventually they calmed down and Hakoda led the group back into the village, where the tribe members greeted them just as warmly. Sokka and Katara were surrounded by smiling faces and embraces, Toph and Suki were cheered and received countless claps of the back, and Aang was treated with respectful reverence, almost as though he was the water or moon spirit. Looking at him and seeing his discomfort Katara released herself from her fellow tribesmen and made her way to the avatar's side. Grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together she leaned in and kissed him right on the corner of his mouth, making their relationship clear and resulting in a collective gasp from the villagers. Smiling, Katara stayed by Aang's side as the shocked crowd muttered, and before long the avatar was receiving cheers and wolf whistles, their display having effectively broken the unnecessary reverence from before. When the crowd started to calm down the gang joined the lovers, bringing Hakoda and Gran Gran with them. An elderly man also joined them, placing himself beside Gran Gran with a hand on her shoulder. Pakku smiled as Katara released Aang's hand to throw her arms around him in a tight embrace, and hugged her back in return.
"I'm glad to see you and your brother made it safe through the comet, Katara," he smiled and she took a step back, grinning at him, "and that you've kept the rest of you safe as well. I'm proud you've been my student."
The tribe members pulled the gang around on a tour of the new village. Gone were the tents and the sad little village wall. In its stead were large igloos with more than one room and the wall, now twice as high as a man, had several guard towers and was being patrolled by Hakoda's proud warriors. The size of the village had expanded dramatically. It still wasn't as large as their northern sister city, but it wasn't small either. Pakku explained that he had brought with him many water benders from the north to rebuild the southern tribe, and many had decided to stay in the south along with their families. This, coupled with the return of Hakoda, Bato and their warriors had effectively tripled the population compared to when Sokka and Katara had left. Inside the large ring wall four roads started from the four gates, and met each other right in the middle of the middle of the village. Here a relatively large square had emerged centered around an ice sculpture of Pakku's own creation. It was a proud thing, resembling a water bender and a warrior back to back in attack poses, ready to face anything coming their way. It was a testament to the spirit of the water tribes, Pakku explained, the spirit that had kept them alive during a hundred years of war and helped them succeed in the end.
The rest of the day they spend exploring the village, and for the water tribe kids, catching up with their tribe members. Dinner became a loud affair, since Hadoka decided to have a feast to celebrate the return of his kids and their friends, and everyone threw themselves at the improvised celebrations. Members of the water tribes have made their home in a cold and unforgiving territory, but they always seem to try to negate the coldness of their home with the warmth of their hearts, and since the end of the war you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more welcoming towards strangers. Their laughter could be contagious and tonight their collective happiness was simply radiating.
Aang was thoroughly enjoying himself this night. The people were friendly, the food was not entirely incompatible with his stomach and Katara seemed happier than ever. They had talked and danced a lot during the evening, but for now he was happy to watch her chat with some of the villagers she hadn't seen since they left. He was so occupied with observing her smile and laugh that he didn't even notice Gran Gran was standing beside him before she cleared her throat and started to talk, giving him a shock in the process.
"Oh, hello Aang," she said smiling, "I was wondering if I could talk to you a little. That is, if you have the time of course." When he nodded she turned around and walked towards one the new igloos, and Aang absentmindedly wondered if it was her new home. Inside she directed him to a sit on a bench near the blissfully burning fireplace and sat down next to him. Immediately she started to talk.
"I wanted to talk to you," she said, "about Katara. And I thought that maybe you wanted to talk to me to?"
"I… yeah, I have some questions," he admitted.
"I'm glad that you and my granddaughter got together. I suspected as much, and you both seem happier now. You and Katara deserve a little more happiness in your lives. Tell me, what do you think of her?"
"Oh, she's positively wonderful," he exclaimed, "she's so brave and funny and smart and… beautiful. She means so much to me; I don't think I could have made it through if she hadn't stayed with me during the war."
"So you've been together quite some time now?" Kanna inquired.
"Well, not really. Only since the end of the war," he admitted, "but I kept hoping she would be with me, and just the thought of her being somewhere in this world, alive, whether or not she was with me, well it gave me another, extremely good reason to save it."
"So you love her?" Kanna asked him quietly.
"I… yes, I do. Even though I know we are both so young, " his face serious, "I don't believe that what I feel is anything else but love."
"Does she love you back?" she asked him, now with a curious tone.
"I believe so. We… she told me so."
"Good," Kanna nodded. For a time they were quiet, both lost in thoughts.
"Can… can I ask you something?" Aang asked the older woman nervously. She turned her blue eyes to him and voiced a 'of course'. Gulping, Aang started to talk.
"Well, me and Katara has been talking about some… stuff. I would really like to know what you," he sank, "think."
"Go on," she said, and after a slight hesitation Aang told her about his and Katara's earlier conversations. He told her about his feelings for Katara and his confusion concerning the strength of them, about how he desired to see his necklace around Katara's neck, how he desired to have her and to have the whole world see her as his – something he knew was improper for someone at his age. Not once during his confession did Kanna say anything or in any way interrupt him. When he finally stopped Kanna rested an arm on his shoulder, causing him to look her up at her. She looked eyes with him and took a deep breath, and Aang couldn't help but fear for the worst.
"Being the Avatar is a terrible burden," she started, voice serious, "and being the Avatar's love is, in some ways, just as hard. I know that nothing is normal about the Avatar's life, not even his feelings, and certainly not his responsibilities. You, Aang, have responsibilities and burdens that no other Avatar has ever faced before, and because of her relationship with you, they involve my granddaughter too. But you are honest with her and let her decide for herself, and for that I am grateful, "a smile had crept into her voice and on her face, "I can't really give you any advice, Aang, but I don't think that's what you're looking for. Therefore, I'll just give you my blessing."
Smiling like crazy Aang reached over and pulled the old woman into a hug, before bolting out of the door, back to the party, and back to Katara.
Later Kanna would tug gently at Hakoda's arm and when he leaned down she would whisper a few words in his ear, words that would make him smile, even long after.
"He's going to make a great Avatar, don't you worry about that, my boy. And he's going to be an even greater partner to our Katara, I am sure of it."
A/N: And once again it took me way too long to update... but here it is, chapter 4 :) I'm actually half-way pleased by this chapter myself, so I'm looking forward to hear your opinions... One more chapter to go, and then the story's done - and I promise it won't take so long to update :) As always, please review, I simply love'em :P
