I'm going out of town so I didn't have time to look over this. I'm not sure where it came from. It started as a different story and kinda just took on a life of its own. I enjoyed writing it though and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Please leave a review when you finish!

"Aang

"Aang. Hold still."

"But-"

"Hold still."

"Okay."

Katara stared at the hole with a frown and placed the needle in between her teeth temporarily.

"Um… Katara?"

"Ow! Aang!" She pulled the needle from between her teeth and rubbed the spot on her lip with a forefinger. "I told you not to move."

"Sorry." He turned around quickly and placed his hands on his knees.

"Aang…"

"Uh… yeah?" he answered. Nervous at her tone.

"You moved again."

Aang stayed silent, afraid that somehow he would move if he spoke.

Katara bit her lip in concentration and stared at the hole. "I don't know how I'm supposed to sew this up. I thought you were supposed to be practicing." She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "…He could have hurt you."

Katara had spent a few minutes trying to sew up the hole in the wrap around Aang's back. Apparently Zuko and Aang had been practicing and somehow Aang had ended up with a hole in the fabric. Katara had healed the slight burn on his back, then bended the water out and was now sewing up the material on his clothes.

"It wasn't his fault." Aang protested. "I got in the way."

"Why are you protecting him?" she asked somewhat testily. "Aang, I'm sewing up a hole in your shirt and I even had to heal a burn."

Aang was silent but after a moment Aang yelped, and Katara looked around his front to see another burn on the front of his shirt. "Aang, what did you just do?"

"N-Nothing." He stuttered flinging his hand as though to throw something off.

"Aang you're burnt again."

"I am not!"

Katara faltered. The hand that had been outstretched fell back to her side.

Aang flailed his hands in an attempt to explaining himself. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry."

"It's… okay." She said softly. "Just let me see it."

Aang dropped his hands, and Katara walked around and sat in front of him pulling at the burnt fabric. "You burnt yourself." She whispered in disbelief.

Aang didn't say anything. Only stared guiltily at his lap as Katara began to open her water sack.

"Why?" she asked.

"I didn't mean to." He whispered.

Katara hesitated with the water. "Then what happened?"

"I just felt…" he paused and took a shuddering breath. "…angry."

"Then how did you get it on your back?" she asked suspiciously.

Aang shrugged and stayed mute.

"Aang." He rose his gaze to meet hers and looked back down again. This time Aang placed her hand under Aang's chin and tilted it up. "Who were you angry at?"

Aang's mouth opened and shut almost immediately. After a moment probably spent choosing the best words he opened his mouth and whispered barely above breath, "Me."

"Aang." So many 'Aang's'. And this one sounded so accusing. He had always loved the way his name sounded in her mouth. But this was so different.

"Why?" she repeated.

There was no way that he could look at her now. "I already told you. I was angry."

"At yourself?" she asked in disbelief. "How could you be angry at yourself?"

His hands clenched into fists on his knees. "Because."

"Because why?"

"Just because!"

"Aang."

"S-Stop that."

Katara heard the way his voice shook with suppressed emotions. He was really hurting.

"Because… Because I ran away! I let everyone die! Because I never have enough courage to do what I'm supposed to do! Because-Because I always mess up! Because-"

"Aang!" Katara cut him off in mid rant and stared at him with a face he couldn't really understand before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him. "How can you say that? How can you say any of that?"

Aang shook in her arms. "Because it's true."

"No. It's not." Katara suddenly realized that's Aang's muscles were twitching and shuddering beneath her. "Aang?" She pulled back carefully and placed her hand on his shoulder before gently pulling the wrap away, showing more burn marks over his chest. "Oh…." She couldn't even finish the sentence. She opened her water skin and bended the water to his chest where she placed her hands and began her healing. Luckily there were no scars. This had just started recently. Since he had learned fire-bending. Tears pricked her eyes but she tried to force them down. "Oh Aang…. How could you do this?"

She looked up to his face to find him wincing and forcing down tears. "I-I'm sorry."

Katara was almost done when Aang finally gave up and collapsed onto her with tears running down his face. "Katara, I miss them so much!"

Katara's eyes widened and she suddenly understood. He meant the air nomads. At some degree, he blamed himself for their death.

She wrapped her arms back around him. "Aang, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is." he sobbed. "I just left. I could've helped. I'm no more an avatar now than I was then. I could've ended this before it even started. Hundreds of people have died since then because I was too scared. It's my fault."

"Aang." Katara pulled him from her and held him at arms length. "First of all, you are more of an avatar now. You didn't even know the elements then and you had just found out. You needed time to get used to it. You didn't start this war and you didn't kill the people. It's not your fault…. Do you understand?"

Aang's mouth opened but no words came out.

"Do you understand? It wasn't your fault." She repeated firmly.

Aang was still mute. He couldn't truthfully say that he understood.

"Besides…" she pulled the water out and placed it on him with waterbending again, gently gliding her hands over his chest. "It may sound selfish but… we would have never met."

"That's true."

She was surprised that Aang finally said something.

"Yes. It is." she said quietly. "Aang, you could have hurt yourself." She finished finally.

"I know." He whispered.

"So why were you doing it? I understand that you're hurting but I don't understand why you would hurt yourself more."

"I was just mad at myself."

"So you were… punishing yourself?"

Aang shrugged. "Sorta."

"Well, I think you've been punished enough." She said bluntly. "I think we should have our healing sessions more often too."

Aang shuffled uncomfortably and stared down at her. "Yeah. Maybe."

"There's no maybe about it. Every night."

Aang's mouth fell open. "Every night? Katara, it's not like it used to be. I don't need it as much now."

Katara made a meaningful look at his chest as she targeted another burn. "Obviously you do."

"Oh…"

"Yeah. Oh."

"Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Katara looked up in surprise and then went back to healing. "Well, you're welcome. Now turn around so I can get your back."

Aang nodded and obliged by switching positions and Katara started healing the burn on his back.

Aang let out a sigh of contentment and began relaxing into her. It felt good to have the burns washed away, to not have to worry about them any more. He was being healed in more ways than one. Katara's fingered glided over the skin on his back, targeting the burn above the one from the fire nation princess.

"Promise me you won't do it again Aang."

"I…"

"Promise me Aang."

Aang remained silent and she sighed. "I have enough reason to worry about you as it is without this."

"I promise." He muttered.

"What?"

"I promise." He repeated.

"Good. Now turn around again."

Aang did so. He was able to relax now. His short secret was now out, and he could concentrate more on the feel of Katara's hands running over his chest. The only thing that was bothering him now was that Katara had seen what he had been doing to himself. He had already felt terrible about it but how could Katara ever return his feelings after seeing that on top of everything else?

Katara was still running her fingers over the burns, about to commence the healing when Aang's hands folded over hers.

"Aang?" she asked looking up. When she saw his face she stopped talking. The look was strange. She could recall seeing it before but… it was slightly different. She looked back and forth between his eyes, trying to find out exactly what this look meant.

Aang took a deep breath and opened his mouth, then closed it and dropped her hand. "Sorry." He muttered, looking towards the ground.

"Um…" Katara brushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear and licked her lips nervously. "It's okay."

Aang followed her actions with a dry mouth. Katara looked up and he blushed, turning to the side.

Katara pulled up the cloth and stared at the hole in the material. "I'm not sure I can sew this up."

"It's okay." Aang mumbled.

"Maybe I can put a patch over it."

"No. It's alright."

"Well, do you have any more shirts?'

"It's not exactly a shirt. But… no."

"Then I'll have to fix it."

"You don't have too."

"Aang."

"Okay."

Katara held the material and stood up, starting towards where they slept. She could find something to patch with in her bag. As she started walking Aang instinctively reached out a hand and grabbed her wrist. "Katara?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I…I was just wondering…. Does this…I mean what I did…. Do you…um…"

"No. It's okay. Just don't do it again. Alright?"

"Alright." He said quietly. He dropped Katara's hand with a slight smile. "Thank you Katara."

"You're welcome Aang."

Aang's heart was thudding as she walked away. He squirmed until he couldn't hold back anymore and ran towards her. "Katara?"

"Yeah?" she asked. "I really should get this thing pat…" she didn't continue. She couldn't. Because Aang's lips were sufficiently covering hers, rendering all speech useless.

She stayed completely silent. The shock kept her completely still until Aang pulled away. He stared at her for a moment then bit his lip and backed up. "I'm sorry. I-I just."

"Aang." Aang looked up nervously with his heart thudding in his chest.

She smiled slightly at his face and then leaned forward, leaving a small kiss on his lips.

Once she had melodramatically rendered him speechless, she pulled back, smiled, and started to walk away.

Aang watched her go stiffly, leaving his mouth hanging open and hungry for more.

She turned to him with a smile "Remember. Healing session. Tonight. Go it?"

Aang nodded numbly, and Katara continued walking.

Aang placed a hand to his shoulder. "Katara!"

"Hmm?" she asked, turning once again. "I… You…You missed a spot."

Katara let out an amused smirk. "Really?"

Aang nodded and gulped nervously.

"Then we better do that healing soon."

Aang smiled, much more thrilled about a "healing" than he should be.

Sorry it's so long and I know I'm going to get strange review regaurding what Aang did. I just had this strange spur of the moment sort of thing and wondered how this would turn out. I enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Now you know what's coming...

...Please Review!!