Katara sat in her car, hesitating in the parking lot outside the coffee shop. She'd turned the engine off but the keys still dangled from the ignition. It was raining and she didn't have an umbrella.

It was impulse as much as anything that made her text him that morning, and almost as soon as she hit send she wished she could take it back, or that he would ignore her, or tell her no. Instead, he agreed to meet her for coffee. Even with a few days to think about it, she still had no idea what she was going to say to him. She stared out her office window that morning and thought about Aang, and all she knew for sure was that she wanted to see him.

The afternoon passed quickly and feeling too anxious to wait it out at home, she left work a bit early and went to the gym to use the pool.

Katara liked the straightforwardness of being in the water, the purpose. She liked the simplicity of swimming laps, the satisfaction of exhausting herself. She sometimes thought the only truly useful thing she'd taken away from high school was her time with the swim team, where she learned to escape from stress into the single-mindedness of the pool.

In the shower, tired and washing the chlorine out of her hair, she thought about her last serious boyfriend, about the last text he sent her. It was days before their anniversary and he told her he was breaking up with her. When she asked why he replied, "Do you even realize we haven't seen each other in two weeks?" She hadn't but was not surprised, either.

She thought of her mother.

Standing in front of her open locker, Katara found she had not brought a change of clothing in her gym bag. She debated going back home to change out of the suit she'd worn to work. She had time. In the end she elected not to.

It was 5:56.

She used her jacket to shield herself from the rain and hurried into the coffee shop.

Aang sat at a table in the corner; Katara couldn't recall ever seeing him dressed so casually in public. In jeans and an orange hooded sweatshirt he looked younger and more vulnerable, somehow. His hood was pulled up and speckled with rain that had already begun to dry, his foot bouncing nervously. He stopped when he saw she'd walked in, rubbing his palms on his thighs, and stood when she approached.

"Hi," she said, offering an awkward smile. He returned it, looking equally out of sorts. He gestured to his umbrella beside him on the floor.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he suggested.

"Sure."

They had to walk close together for both of them to stay beneath the umbrella. Katara kept her hands shoved into her pockets. They walked aimlessly, down the hill away from the coffee shop, toward a nearby park. They had taken nighttime strolls in this neighborhood before - Aang's house was only a few miles away and they had walked to dinner at Narook's a couple of times - so there was a familiar quality to their route. The rain was steady but it was warm and the air smelled like wet grass.

"I'm sorry I left without saying anything on Sunday," she said, "I sort of panicked."

"It's okay."

"And I'm sorry I never responded to your text," she went on, "I…I didn't know what to say."

Aang shook his head, "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing for that. That was too big to drop on you over a text. I don't know what I expected you to say, anyway. I should have called or something." He glanced at her, "I wasn't sure you would pick up."

She nodded. He was quiet and she could tell he was waiting for her to respond. She took a deep breath.

"Why did you cancel your appointments for this week?" she asked.

Aang hesitated. Privately, he thought the better question was why he felt the need to tell her he'd done it. It seemed like an important gesture at the time but in hindsight it felt a little like an ultimatum.

"I didn't mean to pressure you or anything," he explained, "I just wanted to give us both some breathing room."

"That doesn't really answer my question," she said.

He frowned slightly, brow furrowed, "Doesn't it?"

She shrugged, "You could have made time to talk to me without clearing your entire week. So why do it?" Her tone wasn't accusing, just curious, as if she didn't expect him to have an answer. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Probably the same reason you panicked on Sunday morning." he mused. She nodded, looking down at the sidewalk.

They reached the end of the block and rounded the corner, making their way slowly around the perimeter of the empty park. The baseball diamond was muddy and Katara reached out to drag her hand along the chain link fence as they passed, water dripping from her fingertips.

"You said you wanted to talk. Talk to me," Aang said quietly.

"I am," she replied, though her tone was clipped. He shook his head but remained silent. Katara flicked the water from her fingers and returned her hand to her pocket.

There was a large, leafy tree in the corner of the park and it was dry underneath. She stopped and leaned against the trunk. Aang closed the umbrella and stood on the dry patch of sidewalk, facing her. He put his empty hand in his pocket. The sun was still out but it was overcast and the light where they were standing was poor.

"Sorry," she muttered, "I'm a little rusty at this sort of thing."

He sighed, "Yeah, me too. I didn't mean to leave things so vague with you on Saturday."

She ran her fingers nervously through her hair, "Say what you wanted to say that night, then," she suggested, her voice small.

Aang hunched his shoulders a little, biting the inside of his lip, hand sneaking beneath his hood to rub the back of his neck nervously. He thought about it, his eyes downcast and unfocused, trying to recall what he could from those drowsy, vulnerable moments just before he'd fallen asleep. When he finally spoke, his gaze was still distant but his voice was clear and firm.

"I haven't felt this way about someone in a long time," he said. He straightened and looked into her eyes again, "And I spend so much time presenting this - " he gestured toward himself with a sweeping motion across his chest, "All this external stuff. I didn't realize how lonely I was." Afraid of how needy this sounded, he looked away from her and back, embarrassed. Apology softened his voice when he spoke next.

"Listen, if the other night meant nothing to you, that's fine. We're both adults." His gaze was penetrating and sad, "I might have completely misread this situation. Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there."

Katara understood what he was doing immediately, that he was giving her an out. Part of her was grateful and wanted to seize the dishonesty of it. She imagined doing it and the flimsy transparency of the lie made her uncomfortable even in her own head. She licked her lips, opened her mouth to speak and closed it again. Her face felt hot and resentment flared in her chest, though she wasn't sure at what, exactly.

"You know," she grumbled, "this is why I started seeing you to begin with. To avoid conversations like this."

He frowned, "Just because you avoid talking about your feelings doesn't mean they aren't there." She rolled her eyes but he went on, his voice edged in frustration, "You told me the first time I worked with you how hard it is for you to connect with people. I know what it's like to lose people you care about and - "

"Oh, stop. Why would you even bring that up?"

"Because that's what this is about, Katara!" he countered, having finally lost his patience. He sounded crestfallen, as if this should have been obvious. Aang gestured outward, into the open air. "You throw yourself into your work to fill a void and then use it as an excuse. Because it's easier than admitting you're scared."

She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him.

"You are so out of line right now I can't even - "

"Katara, I've been there," he said, cutting her off. He sounded tired, "Believe me. If I hadn't hurt my knee I might still be there."

She huffed out a frustrated breath and put her hands behind her back, leaning against them, the bark of the tree rough on her palms. Frowning, she looked past him, out toward the street. The rain was falling harder and the breeze was growing cool. Her jacket was still damp and she was starting to get chilly. She found herself wishing they'd stayed indoors and curled her fingers around her upper arms, hugging herself.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "About all of this."

He shook his head, "I'm not. I mean," he put his hand back into his pocket, "I'm sorry things got so screwed up between us but I'm not sorry we spent the night together. I'm not sorry about anything that happened that night." He glanced behind him, at the rain falling into the road. "It's really coming down. Should we head back?" he asked. She nodded.

Under the umbrella once more, they began making their way out of the park. They had just reached the sidewalk that bordered the road when the wind kicked up. Katara shivered. Aang glanced at her and stopped, turning to face her. He held the umbrella out toward her.

"Hold this, please," he said.

She took the umbrella from him, his fingers brushing hers. It was the first time he'd touched her since Saturday night. He unzipped his sweatshirt and pulled it off. She was about to rebuff him when he put his arms around her to drape it over her shoulders. It was warm and smelled like him and he pulled up the hood onto her head with a small, affectionate smile. He took the umbrella back from her.

"Thanks," she said softly, slipping her arms into the sleeves. She put her hands in the pockets to pull the sweatshirt closed around herself, "Aren't you going to be cold?" He was only wearing a t shirt and she could see goosebumps on his arms.

He shrugged, "We don't have far to walk."

She looked up at him, into his soft grey eyes. He'd been so honest with her, he always had. The least she could do was return the favor, even if it hurt him.

"I like you, too," she blurted. It sounded so juvenile that she smiled, simultaneously embarrassed by her choice of words and relieved to have made some sort of declarative statement, finally. Aang chuckled, running his hand bashfully over his head.

"Okay," he said, nodding slowly. Her smile faltered and he tilted his head slightly, watching her, waiting.

"You're a sweet guy, Aang. And I do really like you, but - "

" - but what I do for a living is a problem," he finished for her.

She bit her lip, "I know it's not fair to you. It's just, if my partners at the firm found out, it would be a disaster. And that's not even getting to how I would deal with it personally."

"I understand," he said with a sigh of resignation, "I wouldn't expect you to risk your career for someone you've only known a couple of months. I know how important your work is to you." A moment of silence passed between them and he cleared his throat, "What if I quit?"

Speculation that this offer was coming had not prepared her for actually hearing it. She wasn't sure what surprised her more: the question itself or how reserved he sounded when he asked it. She balked.

"Aang, I don't…Isn't your work important to you?"

He looked up toward the umbrella above them, "It's fulfilling and I'm making a lot of money. But it's also exhausting. And isolating."

A rueful smile flashed across her face, "And illegal," she put in. He let out a weary sigh.

"Don't even get me started on what a pain in the ass that part of it is." He gestured to her, "You worked hard to get where you are today. All I did was - " he stopped short, his cheeks reddening, "Anyway. I think what I do is important but I have to admit, cancelling my whole week was kind of a relief. I'm ready for a break. And if things don't work out between us, there's nothing to stop me from going back to it."

Katara was still a little stunned, "What would you do about your other clients?"

He rubbed his jaw, considering, "I'd be making a lot of calls tomorrow, I guess. Some of them already have other people they work with besides me. The ones who don't, well…I have a few people I can recommend who I trust." He frowned, "It would be a hard day."

"And then what?"

"Well," he said slowly, "The trainers at my gym have been offering to rent me some space to do massage there. I could do that. I have some money set aside, I can afford to take a little time and figure it out."

She shook her head, "I can't ask you to do this for me," she said.

"You're not asking me to do anything," he said, "I'm offering to do it and I wouldn't be offering if I didn't mean it." He held his free hand out at his side, "Don't you want to know? I'd really like to see where this goes." Her gaze dropped away from his and he sighed heavily.

"Tell me what you're thinking. Please," he urged gently. She made a little frustrated sound and looked up at him.

"I don't want to turn your life upside-down, Aang," she pleaded.

They stared at each other without speaking. He reached out and caught her hand in his, looking down as he ran his thumb across her knuckles. When he spoke again his voice was low.

"Katara, I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. But I'd rather take a risk and find out than do nothing and never know."

Their eyes met again. Everything seemed so quiet, suddenly. The coffee shop up the street was bustling with people and the traffic was a few paces away but they were the only people standing on the corner.

Katara stepped forward and kissed him. It took a split second for him to respond and the umbrella listed slightly to the side before he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She pressed her palms against his chest. When they broke the kiss, he opened his eyes to look down at her. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized how hard his was pounding.

"You're right," she confessed in a whisper, "I'm scared."

"Yeah," he breathed. "Me, too."

She kissed him again. The rain fell around them.

xXXx

Katara woke to the chirping of the alarm on her phone. She rose up to her side on her elbow and shut it off, then laid back with a tiny groan of protest, slinging her arm over her face. She permitted herself a few seconds to sulk before she turned her head to look at the other side of the bed.

Aang slept beside her. Her alarm hadn't woken him and as she looked at him, she thought about Sunday morning, just a few days prior. She got carefully out of bed and tiptoed out of the room to the bathroom, taking her phone with her.

He was still asleep when she returned, slipping beneath the blankets again. She moved closer to him, laying across his arm and tucking herself into his warmth, her head resting on his shoulder. He stirred and pulled her closer.

"What time is it?" he asked, his voice low and groggy.

"Six," she replied. He let out a soft grunt and kissed her forehead, then reached over the side of the bed for the bottle of water he always kept there.

"Do you have time to stay for breakfast? I can throw something together." He took a drink and passed the bottle to her. She swallowed a mouthful of water and grinned mischievously, propping herself up on her elbow so that she could see his face.

"Actually, I just left a message for our secretary and told her I'm going to be in late today."

He arched a suggestive eyebrow, "Oh, really? Do you have plans for the morning?"

"Well, I was hoping to spend it in bed with my boyfriend but I certainly didn't tell her that." She rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling, stretching lazily.

Aang gave a surprised chuckle, then shifted onto his side and buried his face in her neck, "How specific are these plans, exactly?" he murmured against her skin. She sighed and curled into him.

"To be honest, the only thing specific I had in mind was getting breakfast later at that diner by my place," she teased.

He groaned appreciatively, "The one with the good cinnamon rolls? I'm in."

She laughed as he nipped gently at her shoulder, "If you need some direction I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Great," he said, kissing his way down to her sternum, "I'm all yours."