Okay, first off, thank you guys for the comments once again. You fans out there keep me going, and I really enjoy writing this stuff out there for you too. Also to answer a question for Bookworm5509-the plan was for him to go back when Ozai was out of him, but things have changed now that the Guru is gone. Guru Pathik told him to go to Ba Sing Se, which he did, but he was going to find Iroh since he was in the town. When he didn't, he went to the fire nation, but decided to visit Zuko while he was there. And now that there is a War Meeting, he seems to believe that maybe this is where he is suppose to be after all. The Guru also told him that he will need his friends, and that they will need him too, so that's also another hint.
And also, sorry for my grammar and spelling ahead of time. It's really hard to catch errors sometimes, when chapters are this looooooooooooong.
Anywho, I hope you guys like this one, it's the longest so far. Sometimes I can't find the write spot to stop, so I keep writting until I'm content with the ending. I don't own anything of Avatar again. Now, back to the story!
The first thing that Zuko made Aang do, was wash himself off. If he hadn't have known who Aang was, he would have considered him a beggar from the streets, who just happened to have a nice looking sword on his back. The Monk enjoyed the long luxurious bath, and was happy to finally be cleaned at long last after his journey. Zuko then got him some pants, and a silk robe to wrap around his body. When that was finally dried and dressed, Zuko and the Avatar began their questions.
Not much had changed in this place to Aang; everything still smelled like fire, and the heat was a little unbearable, but he seemed to manage for now. The Airbender was starving from his long and hard journey, but he restrained himself from asking if he could eat. It had been so long since he had a real conversation with a person, who wasn't always trying to teach him a lesson on something. But that was exactly what Aang missed the most from Guru Pathik. Now, he didn't know what to do, or where to go, but he seemed to be needed at this war meeting that was coming quickly.
They both sat in a room that was once Zuko's Prince Chambers, which actually seemed to fit his personality perfectly. Zuko was leaning up against a small desk, while Aang sat on the footsteps leading up to the giant bed covered in red.
"So you're telling me" Zuko said crossing his arms, "that you have been in the Earth Nation for the past year and half?"
Aang nodded, "Yes. The Guru seemed to think it was the perfect place for me to train, meditate, and learn about life."
"What sort of training?" he asked curiously. This is was one of those questions that the Airbender didn't want to answer, because he didn't want them to be constantly worrying about him, or becoming afraid of him.
"More than anything, it was like a spiritual journey. He wanted to show me a better way to control the Avatar." Which wasn't the whole truth, but he didn't lie about it.
The scarred up boy still wasn't convinced, "But you have already mastered the Avatar State, or at least that's what you said once."
The Monk looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Zuko, don't make me lie to you." He said leaning forward on his knees.
The Fire Lord shrugged, as he unfolded his arms "What do you expect me to say Aang? You ran off, you didn't say goodbye, no message to tell us you safe, or even a hint that you were still alive. So don't lie to me Aang!" he yelled.
The Airbender was a little frightened at his reaction. He knew that he had hurt a lot of people, but Zuko made it seem much worse than he could fathom. If Zuko was reacting like this, Aang couldn't imagine how it was going to be with everyone else…especially a certain Waterbender.
The Avatar sighed and closed his eyes as he said, "The only thing I can tell you, is that I did it to protect you." Aang looked back at him, "All of you."
The Firebender shook his head, and was beginning to get angry now. "It's not good enough. Everything that you did, was not for our protection! You always have another choice, and you chose to run, just like you did with the Air Nomads!"
Aang cringed back at that memory, and was surprised that he would play that card on him, but he knew he was made. And he deserved it. "You're right Zuko." He said with a heavy heart towards his people, "I did run. And it ended up costing everybody a war that lasted a hundred years, and many deaths that I could have helped prevent. But what I chose to do was different."
The tattooed boy looked up at Zuko, who had fire burning in his golden eyes as he waited for an answer. Then Aang whispered, "I chose to stay. And it ended up costing me everything, because I was selfish."
Zuko looked at the man before him, as he sat on those stairs, starring up at him through those gray eyes his. He had learned how to read people, and he could see so much pain and struggle in those sleepy eyes, but he was still mad.
"What are you talking about?" he asked anyway.
"A long time ago, the Avatar's told me that I had to leave. It was for something that I won't say, but I refused them. And for the consequences, I hurt everyone that became my family." Aang said looking at his hand, "So I didn't have a choice anymore when I saw what I did. They told me I couldn't have anyone there to be with me, for your safety. Only the Guru could help me with this situation that I'm in."
The Fire Lord took into consideration of what happened that night, and how it had changed them all. But it still didn't give him the reason to run, and not say anything to them.
"You still could have chosen something else." the Firebender said, with a little less anger in his voice.
Aang looked up from his hands and back to his friend, and then he calmly said, "I never choseto be the Avatar, Zuko. This isn't the kind of life I wanted. You of all people should know what it's like to make difficult choices. No matter what decision you make, it will always affect the people closest to you."
The Monk paused to take a breath, and continued, "No matter what, the ripples of our verdicts will pass through others whether it's right or wrong. For me, I made the right judgment when I left. But at the same time it was wrong, because it hurt the only family I had left in this world."
The golden eyed man had never thought of it like that before. For three years his purpose in life was to hunt down the Avatar, and take back his honor. He had disappointed Iroh, and hurt many others along the way, because he thought that that was right to him. And now that he is Fire Lord, he has tried to do the right thing every time, even though it wasn't always the best choice. He would listen to his advisers, the Generals, and Iroh as well when he was around. But it still seemed like Aang could have done something different still.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were at least okay?" the Firebender asked in a much more calm tone.
This question was easy for Aang, but hard to answer, "Because I knew you guys wouldn't stop looking for me, if I told you where I was. And it would be harder on me too, because it's possible that I would have told you where I was." The Airbender shook his head, "I couldn't let that happen…not with the training I was doing."
The corner of Zuko's eye caught the bright crescent moon that was in the night sky, and he continued to look at it, as the room became to be silenced. "Maybe Aang did know what he was doing"he thought to himself, he just wished that the Monk would tell him what he did the entire year and a half he was gone. But for now though, he knew Aang wasn't going to answer the most important questions, at least not tonight.
The Fire Lord looked back at the young man, who had his head down in shame and torment at what he just said. He felt really bad for wailing on his friend, and only making it worse for him.
Zuko decided to change the subject to help lighten the mood, "Mai and I got married."
Aang looked up at his older friend, and gave him a sincere half smile, "That's great Zuko. I always knew that you two would make it in the end."
Zuko gave him a smile back and leaned off of the small desk, and walked over towards Aang. He sat next to him, with space between them and said, "You know, we, umm, we tried to wait for you. But…"
Aang finished the sentence for him with a heavy, "But I was gone."
The Firebender nodded, "Yea. I was going to make you my best man, ya know."
The Monk was shocked at this. He couldn't believe that he would have chosen him to be his best man. And it made it all the more worse for Aang that he couldn't be there to see their beautiful wedding.
"Oh yea? Who did you choose instead?" he asked curiously.
This made Zuko's smile disappear, "Sokka."
The Airbender smiled at the Firebender's upset face, "How did he do?"
Zuko took a deep breath in and then let it out, "He was good, until the wedding was over with, and he decided to give a toast.Which turned out to be a disaster, especially after telling everyone that I would hunt you guys day and night, and that Mai was with Azula hunting us down. He had obviously tried to make it funny, but all you heard was silence and coughing."
Aang laughed, "You can always depend on Sokka to tell horrible jokes all day, but that's just who he is." he said, remembering all their adventures together, and Sokka who tried so hard to be funny. "How is he doing?"
Zuko leaned back on his elbows, "Good. He and Suki are engaged too, but there's one problem; Sokka hasn't made a betrothal necklace from Suki yet."
This caught the Airbender off guard, "Yet?" he emphasized.
"Yea. Suki was leaving to go back to the Kyoshi Warriors, and finish her training. It would take up to six months, and Sokka just couldn't live without her. So right before she left, he asked her to marry him, and she did…oddly enough. Toph says that she will never understand why any girl would want to be with Sokka for the rest of their miserable life."
Aang laughed lightly, recalling that she had a small crush on him after staying with them for so long. "How is the Blind Bandit these days?" Aang asked.
"You mean, besides the part of her hitting people, acting tough and being as much sarcastic as she can?" Zuko said describing her, and smiled, "She seems to be good too. She's really turning out to be a beautiful girl, whom Tao refuses to quit on." Zuko said, and saw the confused look on Aang's face, and continued, "Toph refuses to go out with Tao, even thought they are literally perfect for each other. But Tao still pursues her, and it doesn't seem that he will give up."
Aang nodded, "I hope he doesn't. Toph may be a tough rock, but she has definitely got a soft spot for Tao. At least when I left, she seemed to anyway." The room became silent, when the Monk's mentioned his leaving. But luckily enough, his stomach growled loud enough, to avoid the silence, and change the subject.
Zuko lifted an eyebrow, "Guess your appetite hasn't changed either." he asked rhetorically, and got up. He went to the sliding door, and asked the guard that was posted to get him lots of fruit, a huge bowl of spicy vegetarian noodles, and a loaf of bread. The gray eyed boy's mouth began to water at the sound of the delicious food that would soon be heading to his way.
After sitting for so long, Aang's body was beginning to cramp up, so he decided to get up and stretch his sore muscles. He was glad to know that everyone's life had moved on without him, and it saddened him that he missed special events that he should have been there for. Now, there was only one person left that he truly wanted to know about, and she had long chocolate hair, and ocean blue eyes.
Zuko shut the door, and saw Aang standing there, examining the walls around him. He couldn't believe how tall he had gotten for a fourteen year old. Zuko had grown too, but it seemed like Aang caught up with him anyways. However, from what he had learned, just about every Avatar was very tall. He no longer had the body of a little boy, but of a young man's now.
The Firebender knew who he was going to ask about next, and it was going to ache him when he asked. In the beginning, he kind of wanted him to suffer, but after learning some things about his disappearance, he didn't want to make it any worse.
He tried to help keep his mind off of her, "Appa and Momo seem to be doing good too. They eat just about everything in my palace, and they also know how to damage this place up too."
Aang's eyes got big at the mention of his long lost friends. "Wait! They are here?"
Zuko smiled, "Yea. Been here for a couple of weeks now, and your Bison has like ten stomachs to feed!"
Aang laughed like a little kid, "That's because he's a ten ton Bison! And I can't imagine Momo letting Appa beating him when it comes to food!"
The Fire Lord leaned against the wall next to the sliding door, and smiled, "Yea. That little Lemur has caused me some trouble in finding things he's not suppose to. And there seems to be bits of his fur in the food as well, so be careful when you eat it."
Again the Monk laughed, and then he though, "If Appa and Momo are here…then that means that Sokka and Katara are too!"
The Airbender was about to ask his next question, but it was interrupted when a big tray of food came out of the sliding door. Zuko thanked the server, walked over to Aang, and handed him the tray. The Avatar dug into the food, starting with a big bite of bread that he didn't chew all the way, and swallowed it, feeling the sharp points of the bread going down his stomach. Then he went for the soup, and it made his eyes water at how spicy it was. He finished off with the last moon peach, and drank the rest of water that was in a golden cup.
When he finished, he laid down on the floor, and burped loudly at his satisfied stomach. Luckily, it seemed to wake no one up. The monk was still hungry, but he was content with his stomach for right now. It felt nice to be back. Then again so much had changed, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know about Katara…but he had to know.
"How is Katara?" Aang asked hopeful.
Zuko closed his eyes, wishing he didn't have to tell him this, but he was going to know about it sooner or later. "She's…umm, she's doing great too. She teaches kids waterbending at her home, and her grandfather says she is by far the best Waterbending Master he has ever seen. Greater than he ever was at that age, he once told me."
This made Aang smile, he was glad that everything was well with Katara, and that her waterbending had grown stronger. "That's awesome! I'm glad to hear that she is teaching kids now. She has always liked kids, and it seems like the perfect job for her. Is she here? Are they all here for this war meeting?"
The Firebender folded his arms again, "Yea, they are actually. But, Aang I need to tell you something…it's about Katara."
The Monk sat up from the floor, and looked at Zuko. When he saw the emotion in his eyes, he knew he was going to say something he wasn't going to like.
"Katara…is kind of…with someone now…" the Firebender said slowly, and regretfully.
Aang all of the sudden felt sick, as his chest tightened up so much that he felt like he couldn't breath. The Monk was waiting for Ozai to spring up at his reaction, but instead he didn't, and Aang was thankful. Especially, since he seemed to always attack when he saw a weak spot, and he didn't. This made Aang a little happy, because he didn't want to explain what was going on with him.
The Airbender still couldn't believe it. Katara. With. Someone. Else.Aang never thought in his entire life, that those words would be in the same sentence. He truly thought that she would have waited for him, but at the same time, he knew it was a risk. The Monk thought that their love for each other would have kept her going, but he had been gone too long, and it was too late. The Guru was right. Because he didn't tell Katara how he felt, he gained nothing…nothing but pain and torment now. He thought about her every single day of every second, no matter if he was awake or asleep, he was constantly thinking of her. And how he was going to at long last tell her that he loved her, but now, now he can never. She was no longer his.
Zuko could see his friend being crushed at this news, and he tried to help a little. "They just recently got together. For a long time, she refused to be with anyone. But Higen has been her friend since he arrived at the Southern Water Tribe, and I was just as surprised when she finally said yes to him."
Aang shot his eyes up, "She's not…I mean, they aren't…?" The Monk just couldn't say the word without throwing up.
But Zuko finished it for him, "No. They aren't engaged, but Sokka has told me that he has been making one for her."
The tattooed boy then asked, "Does Sokka approve?"
The Fire Lord sighed, "In a way. He says he's not bad, and his waterbending it pretty good too."
Aang just didn't know what to say. A part of him wanted to scream, while the other side was building up with rage. The demon inside of Aang was still not attacking him, and it seemed to scare him all the more now. Aang and Guru Pathik thought that they had this spirit all figured out, but they were both wrong. Suddenly, he felt the warmth of the sun rising on his back, and it helped calm the storm brewing inside of him.
The Monk got up slowly turning his back to Zuko, and facing the sun heat now. With a hoarse voice, he said "That's…great. I'm happy to know that she has found. Someone. She deserves that much." Aang could feel his eyes watering, and he was happy that Zuko couldn't see them as he wiped them away. The room became silent, with nothing but Aang's heart beating slowly against him.
After some time, the Airbender couldn't take this awkward silence anymore, "Umm," he said, and then he faked laugh, "you said Appa and Momo were here?"
Zuko knew he wasn't taking this news well at all, and he felt great remorse for telling this to Aang. "Yea, they are in the back sleeping probably, but Momo is with Katara."
"At least Momo was able to keep his word to me."he thought to himself. "Thanks Zuko." And then he bowed, "Do you think you could get me some clothes? I don't think I want to go out in Earth Kingdom stuff."
The Firebender sighed, "Yea. I'll make sure that they give you something. Anything in particular Aang?" he asked, hoping to lighten his mood a bit.
"The Fire Nations school uniform, and the clothes you used to wear when you taught me Fire." Aang said, and walked outside, leaving Zuko to do what he needed to do.
Once he heard the door shut, the Monk fell to the knees, with one hand over his eyes as he squeezed his temple, and the arm holding him up. This time, he couldn't hold back his tears, as they showered through the cracks of his fingers. Without even realizing it, Aang was digging his fingers into the rough stones, which caused his fingers to begin bleeding. And that was when Ozai attacked.
His body became like an inferno, as it coursed through his veins. This time, though, Aang didn't do anything. He just let the demon run wild inside of him, doing whatever it wanted to him. Aang could feel the evil slowly taking over his muscles, and gaining territory in his spirit. The rage and pain was growing stronger, and he still didn't do anything. Until a woman's voice, which he had never heard before, say "Don't give up yet."
Aang opened his eyes instantly, as if realizing what was going on for the first time. He then began his stomach routine, using his chi to help. He didn't know how far the spirit had gotten in him, but he could tell it was close to his heart, because he was losing control of the good in him. When his chi was able to bring him down a little bit, he started to think of the necklace that was now in his bag. He did just as the Guru had taught him, and Ozai began dying away, but still fighting strong, as if he just tasted first chance at freedom. Finally, the Monk took one deep breath in through his nose, and feeling the evil spirit moving somewhere else as he let the air from his lungs go.
He opened his eyes slowly at the world around him, and saw that he spend only minutes fighting the demon, judging by the half risen sun. To him though, it always felt like hours. It was amazing how after some minutes battling a spirit, it would make it seem like he just fought an army single handily. Aang grabbed onto the ledge with his right hand, and pulled himself up. He breathed in the warm fresh air one more time, and went back inside. He could see the two pairs of clothing on his bed, folded neatly. He went over to outfits, and began putting them on. It was nice to have clothes that could actually fit him, without having tons of holes, and rips in them.
Aang decided to wear the gray pants from the school, as well as the black long sleeved under shirt with red stripes down the side. He cut off the part of the shirt, where it would normally cover the arrows on his hands. He then put on Maroon tunic on that went was just above his knees, and had gold lining on the outside. He tied the golden belt around him, and was about to put on the new head band, but instead he left it on the bed.
Aang went to his bag, dug through all of clothes, until he found the worn out Fire School headband he always wore. He could see the some of the sweat marks that were stained on it now, and it was no longer a dark red, but a faded color instead. Aang then got the stuff to cover up his tattoos, and rubbed it on his hands, and then his forehead underneath is shaggy hair. The Monk took the old headband, and smiled as he tied it around his head, proud to wear something of the past. He then got his pearl sword, and swung it on his right shoulder.
The Monk picked up his clothes old Earth Kingdom pants, and searched its pockets for the Guru's letter and Katara's necklace. He placed the necklace in his left pocket, and the creased letter in his other. The Airbender put on the black shoes that went up his calf, hid his bag and glider under the bed, and left the room.
He walked through the Palace, asking the servant where the backyard was. She gave him directions, and he walked that way. By about this time the sun was finally over the land line, and it was shining bright. He walked the court of stones that were on top of the green grass, passing through many fountains that blew fire out instead of water. And some did have water flowing out of them too, surprisingly.
Aang continued on and came to some stairs that he walked down. When he finally reached the bottom, he saw a big ball of fur just sitting, and looking up at the sky, like he was waiting for him to return. Tears of joy started to roll down his face, as he ran towards his best friend.
"Appa!" he yelled, and then the Bison's ears perked up at his name. It turned his head, and then his eyes big brown eyes got big at Aang running towards him. The Monk jumped on his forehead, like he always did, and hugged his Spirit Guide. Joy came rushing out of the Monk, like it did when he found Appa in Ba Sing Se. It had been so long since they saw each other then, and now, it seemed like it had been forever.
"I missed you buddy!" he said into his fur and squeezing his hug tighter on Appa. The Bison closed his eyes, as he felt the presence of his best friend. Happy memories came rushing into their minds, as they connected to each other once again. Their bond for one another was still strong, even after he had been gone for so long.
After a few minutes of Aang hugging his friend and all of the tears had finally stopped, he let go. When he landed on the ground, Appa pushed him down on the ground and began licking him constantly. The kid laugh came out of Aang as it echoed through the halls of the palace, and he didn't care who heard. Finally Appa moved off him, when he was satisfied of Aang being covered in his slobber from head to toe. The Monk got up, and could feel the drool slipping off of him, and then he airbended it off of himself.
Suddenly, the Monk could feel vibration of walking footsteps heading in his. They weren't ordinary footsteps, but they were graceful and womanly. Aang knew exactly who it was, and he turned back to Appa quickly, who had so much euphoria in him now.
"Appa," the Airbender said quickly, "start growling at me!" The Bison cocked his head sideways, giving him a confused look.
"Please boy!" Aang begged, "Please!" Then Appa got into a fighting crouch, and started growling at Aang, like he was his enemy. The Monk started backing away slowly, with his hands up to his shoulders surrendering.
"Hey!" he heard the woman with the Angels voice screaming at him, "Get away from him!"
Aang didn't turn his head, but continued to keep backing up slowly. Then the woman came running towards Appa, and began to calm him down. She started talking to him, while Aang looked up at the Goddess before him. She still wore her Water Tribe Warriors outfit, which still made her look so stunning, as well as her two water pouches that wrapped to her back side. Her long chocolate hair was still down to her hips, with her hair half up. He could still see that she still wore her hair loopies, due to the small breeze that was blowing.
When Katara had finally calmed Appa down, she handed him two watermelons, which he ate reluctantly. The Waterbender petted the Bison's head, and turned around. The Monk swore that his heart stopped beating for a few seconds, and then it went crazy all sudden. As if it had finally awakened. She looked the exact same as she did when he left her, but she had grown too a little bit too. Katara's eyes were still filled with the love that only her blue ocean eyes could fill, her skin looked just as smooth and soft as he remembered, and her voice was still like honey to him. The feeling of free falling with her came back much stronger than he could have ever fathomed.
Katara turned to the boy, who was messing with Appa and was about to yell, but she stopped herself as she looked up at him. He looked like he was about her age, if not a year older, and he was by far the most gorgeous guy she had ever laid eyes on for a Fire Nation guy. Instantly, Aang came back into her mind, as she saw those stormy gray eyes that no one seemed to have. His features were that of a strong warrior, but also someone who didn't sleep a whole lot, due to the purple bags under his eyes. The Waterbender head was just under his chin, and he had the body of a lean looking man. She studied his face, and then caught a small scar on his left cheek, and for a second she thought it was truly him, but he was missing one important key; blue arrowed tattoos. She looked at his hands, and saw that the bottom of his black, red striped sleeve cut off at the wrist, revealing hands with no arrows on top of them.
Aang could sense the two elements forming in the betrothal necklace, and feeling the weight of it getting heavier in his left pocket. He gulped at the amazing woman before him, as they both continued to stare at each other. The Monk blinked, as he got out of his trance that Katara had put him under, and decided to introduce himself.
"Hi." he said as casually as he could, feeling his cheeks burning "Umm, my name is…Kuzon." and then he held out his hand. He hated to lie to her, but after learning that she was with someone else, he just couldn't say his name.
Katara was shocked at the way his voice sounded. It was deep, and yet still had a kid inside of it as well. She couldn't believe that his name was Kuzon, especially after learningthat he and Aang used be best friend once upon a time. "What a coincidence." she thought to herself, as she continued to stare up at him. She quickly put away thoughts of Aang, as she had practiced, and shook his hand. They were rough against her soft skin, but it sent goose bumps up her arm.
"I'm, Katara." She finally said after waiting so long to answer his question, and still holding his hand, "Umm, why did you go near Appa?" the Waterbender asked, pointing back with her left thumb.
Aang let go of her hand, not wanting her to feel his pulse racing, "I-I've never seen a Bison up close before, and I have a natural curiosity." Then he gave her a shrug with a goofy smile, "Guess I went a little too close, because he started growling at me."
Katara knew that this was definitely not Aang, because Appa would be licking him all over. But at the same time, she still couldn't get the thought of this being him. "Yea. He doesn't always take well to strangers, but he's a big ball of loving fur." she said with a side smile.
Aang couldn't help but smile back at her, "I'm sure he is…maybe he just doesn't like me?"
Katara looked back at the Bison, and back at Kuzon, "He'll get used to you. It's not everyday he has guys like you coming by. He's great with kids though."
Aang put his hands in his pocket, and started rubbing Katara's necklace with his thumb, "I guess me and him will be seeing a lot of each other than. I'm still intrigued by him."
Again the Waterbender smiled, "Yes, he truly is." she said, and then the silence kicked in again. Usually, she didn't mind the silence, but it was different with a stranger…a stranger who looked so much like her lost Airbender.
The Monk turned sideways, and said, "I'm about to get some breakfast. You want to come?"
The Waterbender gave him a gentle grin, "I was just heading there actually. I'm sure the rest of the gang will be there too." she said, and they both started walking towards the dinning room.
Aang had to act like he didn't know what she was talking about when she mentioned his friends, and he asked, "So who is this gang?"
Katara looked up at a painting that was to her left, that had a Lion Turtle in it, and then said, "They are my friends, and great warriors. Some are benders, while others are 'ordinary' as my brother would put it."
The Airbender laughed through his nose, "That is quite a gang. Who are all of the benders?"
"Well there is Fire Lord Zuko, who you obviously know, a blind Earthbender named Toph, me as a Waterbender, and then another Waterbender named Higen." she said, and looked up at Kuzon, who was now clenching his jaw, and making the muscles stand out on his cheeks.
It was a good thing Aang kept his hands in his pocket, because he was squeezing them so hard that the blood circulation stopped flowing. The Monk closed his eyes and sighed, and tried to change to another question, "A blind Earthbender, huh? Doesn't sound like a good advantage to me?"
Katara could tell that this guy was struggling with something, but she decided to ignore it, "Don't say that to Toph. She may be blind, but she is the greatest Earthbender you will ever see. Did you know she invented Metalbending?"
The gray eyed boy gave her a shocking, surprised look, "No way! She's the one Earthbenders have been talking about!"
The blue eyed girl gave him a strange look, "How do you know what the Earthbenders have said?"
Aang's eyes got big at his stupid answer. He hated lying to her, and the Monks had taught him to never do this, but he desperately needed to. "When the Fire Nation took over Omashu, my families moved over there, and we began our new life. I heard a lot of rumors of an Earthbender doing this, but I never knew it was the blind girl?"
By about this time they had at long last reached the dinning hall, and everyone was chowing down. To the Monks left, there was Toph, Tao, Suki, Sokka, and then to his right Iroh, Mai, Zuko, a guy he guessed was Higen, and one more empty cushion for Katara. Everyone looked the same to Aang, and then again some of them had grown taller too, and became very pretty.
Katara decided to introduce the man next to her, "Kuzon, this is Toph, Tao, Suki, Sokka, Iroh, Mai, Zuko, and Higen. Gang, this is Kuzon."
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and looked at Kuzon, as if they were seeing a ghost. Sokka's mouth hanging open, as his chewed up food began coming out of it. Aang didn't like this attention, and decided to bow to them in the Fire Nations way. "It's an honor to meet you all." he managed to say.
Higen stood up, and held his hand out to Aang. Higen was a little bit shorter than he was, he had blue eyes as well, with his black hair up in a wolf tail, like Sokka's, and wore Water clothes as well. He was a good looking fellow, who seemed…nice.
The Monk grabbed his arm and shook it, "Kuzon. Nice to meet you." he said, as he tried to control himself.
Higen let go of Kuzon arm, while the new member of the group put his left arm on Katara's shoulder. Aang caught the redness in her cheeks, but they were not out of love, but embarrassment almost. Then Higen pecked Katara on the lips, which made Aang really mad.
The blue eyed girl wrapped her arm around his hip and said, "Kuzon this is…, umm, this-this is…" she stuttered. She didn't know why it was so hard for her to say that Higen was her boyfriend, but she just couldn't say it when she saw the look in his eyes after Higen kissed her.
Higen waited for a second and then finished for her; "I'm her boyfriend." he smiled at Aang. And then he guided Katara back to her seat, and sat next to her on the right.
The Monk sat on the floor at the head of the table, next to Toph and Katara. He looked up at Zuko, who was trying to figure out what happened, but Aang shook his head at him. The table was silent, as they continued to eat. Then one of the server girls came by and asked for what he wanted to eat.
Aang thought about this, and decided to get something that Katara would hopefully recognize. "I'll have a big bowl of fruit salad, two loafs of bread with honey oozing out of them, and fried cinnamon puffs with strawberries on the inside, and a nice cool cup of watermelon juice please." The young girl smiled, and bowed to him. The Monk looked over at Katara from the corner of his eye and saw the look on her face, it was a face of remembrance. Because that was exactly what she had made for him, the morning when they went to the Northern Air Temple two days before his birthday. But then, he forgot that he couldn't be a vegetarian in front of her, so he added one last thing.
"Oh!" he yelled at the girl who was about to turn, "I'll also have some cowpig bacon as well please?" and again the girl nodded as she continued on her way. Once Aang said the bacon part, everyone went back to eating. Toph, however, kept starring at Katara, and probably trying to listen to his heat beat.
"Why can't I feel his heart?"Toph asked herself. She had never once had this problem with anyone. Everyone has a heart…it was like he was too light for her to feel vibrations.
"So tell me Kuzon," Tao began, "how do you know Zuko?" he asked as he put another bite of green egg in his mouth.
Aang looked at Zuko, and didn't know what to say. Zuko's eyes got bit too, so the Monk continued to make it up. "I met Zuko before he was banished, and we kind of became friends. And then when I heard he was Fire Lord, I just had to come see him." The Monk looked at Toph, who was still seemedto be starring at Katara, and then she went back to eating her rice.
This time Mai spoke up, "I don't seem to remember you mentioning him Zuko?" she said with no curiosity at all.
Zuko clenched his jaw at his wife, as everyone else waited for an answer. Zuko however was not good at lying around Toph, "Guess it kind of slipped my mind when I was banished. Kuzon and I met just a few months before everything happened, and he just came back last night to see me."
"Strange."Toph thought again, "Part of him is lying, while the other is the truth…"
"So he's the one that came over in the middle of the night?" she asked with yawn.
Aang decided to step in, "Yea, and I'm really sorry about that, but a tragedy happened to someone I cared about, and he ended up passing away. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I came back here. Hoping he would remember me."
The Waterbender was heartbroken at this, "I'm so sorry Kuzon." she said with much sympathy in her voice. And then her hand went up to her Mothers necklace, as if making sure it was still there.
The Monk shrugged sadly, "Its okay. He taught me all he could in the life that he had with me. He was a good man." he said referring to Guru Pathik.
By about this time Aang's food came out, fresh and hot on the tray. He started eating with much indulgence, but it was nothingcompared to Katara's breakfast. The Airbender had only eaten a few hours ago, but it seemed a lot longer than that to him.
"You're a Master swordsman too Kuzon?" Sokka asked with a mouthful of food in his mouth.
The Airbender he swallowed a mixture of fruit in his mouth, and laughed a little, which made Katara look at him again. "I'm not a Master, but I was taught a while back how to handle a blade."
"Great!" said Toph suddenly, "Now he can actually beat someone, who can't bend!"
Sokka got mad as always, but Suki calmed him down. "Actually, umm Tough." he said on purpose, to throw them off.
"It's Toph." Tao said a little aggravated.
Aang smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Toph. But I am actually a Firebender. I may not be the absolute best, but Zuko and I seemed to be at neck and neck when we were kids."
Iroh spoke up for the first time, "A lot can happen in four years. He has indeed come a long way from what he used to be."
The Monk nodded, "Your right, but I'm sure I can catch up." he said towards Zuko, who continued to put food in his mouth and not say a word. They all proceeded to eating the rest of their breakfast, asking 'Kuzon' many questions. It was tough for Aang, but he did pretty well at keeping up with everything that was thrown his way. After finally finishing his vegetarian meal, he looked at the disgusting cowpig bacon, and when no one was looking at him, he threw the bacon under the low table, airbending it quietly to the floor.
Then out of nowhere Momo flew through the opened windows, and slammed into Aang's head, hugging him. The Monk fell to the floor, using his kid laugh as the little Lemur began licking all over his face.
Katara laughed a little too, which surprised everyone. They all listened to her, and then everyone else joined in. The Waterbender lovedKuzon's laugh, because it reminded her somuch of the twelve year Airbender she once knew.
"Hey little guy!" Aang said as he continued to laugh, and pet him. It was so good to see that Momo hadn't changed at all. He was still the loving little Lemur he left. Then Momo stopped licking when he smelt the food, and jumped onto the table where Aang's tray was, and began licking the leftovers of his bowl.
The dark skinned girl reached over and grabbed Momo, "No Momo, you know better than that." she said in a motherly tone. And then she gave the Lemur a bowl or purple berries that he ate with much joy.
The Avatar got up, and wiped his face off as looked back at the little Lemur. He reached over and started petting him, without realizing how close his hand was to Katara's arm. Aang looked up, and locked eyes with Katara. Those blue eyes of hers sucked out every amount of fear, pain, and anger that was in him, to only leave him breathless. Suddenly his cheeks began to redden, and he pulled back quickly, looking away, while Katara did the same.
Everyone seemed to watching his every move, and it was really making him nervous. So he decided to lighten up the mood, "So Sokka, you going to help train me with the sword or not?"
Instantly, Sokka looked up at him and said, "You sure you're up for this Firebender? I just so happen to be the best warrior in my village."
"With a population of one person." Toph said with a sense of humor, which made Tao snicker at the little joke, as did everyone else.
Aang smiled and drank the rest of his watermelon juice, "I'd still like to learn what I can from a Master, if you don't mind?" the Monk said luring him in to take the bait.
Sokka looked at Suki, who smiled and nodded at him. The pony tail guy smiled and kissed her on the lips, and turned back to Kuzon, "We'll start on a beginners level, Sport."
Toph again got sarcastic, "I'm pretty sure that that's the only level you've mastered, Mr. Boomerang!"
Sokka was ready to pulverize Toph for that remark; he had come a long way from being just an ordinary swordsman. He had been practicing for hour's everyday, trying to find balance with his sword. Then he saw Kuzon stand up, with only smiled on his face.
"Then lets go!" the Airbender said. And they both ran out the door swords in hand, and ready to fight. Everyone else followed them too, with Katara and Higen as the last ones. Higen put his arm around Katara and began walking her out, but before they left, the Waterbender looked down at Kuzon's plate, and found no bacon on the plate. The girl sighed again, and walked out to see the fight, with her brother and Kuzon.
Sokka was very impressed with Kuzon's way of the sword, as they continued to duel each other. All of his moves were flawless, and graceful, as if he was one with the sword almost. But more than anything, he loved the white sword that he had, and wished he had 'Space Sword' with him now. He knew no other weapon could match to it, but then again, Kuzon's might actually do the job.
The pony tailed guy could see that the Firebender was getting tired, and he used it to his advantage. They were jumping around everywhere, and swinging left and right of each other. For the entire hour, they were neck and until Sokka hit the sword out of Kuzon's hand. The pearl sword went flying to Aang's left, where he heard it, but didn't look away from his friend.
They were both breathing hard, and sweating like crazy. Sokka was about to win and decided to ask anyways, "Give up?"
Aang got in his stance, and gave him a small smile, "No way!"
Sokka went charging at him, like he was about to stab him, and the Monk ran towards the wall behind him, that wasn't far at all. When he got to the wall, with Sokka inches away, Aang ran up the wall in three steps, and saw the look on Sokka's face when he jumped off the stone wall and landing on his shoulders. The Airbender wrapped his legs around Sokka's back, squeezed his legs around his back, and with all of his weight, Aang threw his himself back, landing on his hands, and throwing Sokka with his leg strength.
"Ah!" Sokka screamed in the air, and landing in the white water fountain, that had red fish swimming around in it. As soon as Aang was on his feet, he dashed towards his sword, sliding into dirt, and grabbing it as he got up. When Sokka came up for air, he unfortunately had a fish wiggling in his mouth. He immediately spat it out in disgust, and then felt a hot shiny sword under his neck.
The boomerang guy looked at smiling Firebender and said regretfully, "I yield Kuzon."
Aang laughed a little, put his sword back in his sheath, and held his hand out for Sokka to grab. As much as a sore loser as Sokka was, he accepted the helpful hand that pulled him out of the water. The Avatar also grabbed Sokka's sword in the water, and handed it to him with a smile.
"You got lucky Fire Boy." Sokka said, and pointed his wet finger at him, "Next time, you're mine." Aang patted him on the shoulder with grin, and then another fish popped out of his shirt, which made the Monk giggle quietly. Seeing that Sokka's Karma still wasn't all that great to him.
Then everyone walked over towards the two duelers, and praised them both for a wonderful entertainment. Suki gave Sokka a kiss on the cheek, telling him what a great Master he was going to be. The Boomerang guy grinned, as he realized that he was luckiest man, loser or winner, because he was engaged to the girl in his arms.
"Wow," Toph said sarcastically, "didn't think Flamio here could beat you at your own game Sokka!"
Now it was Sokka's turn to get defensive, "Sneaky wall climbing attacks don't count!" he yelled, as his face started to turn red with anger.
But everyone laughed at him anyways. Tao shook Aang's hand, telling him he did a great job, and he hoped to see manymore sword fights. Toph came up and punched Aang hard, "Not bad for a newbie. Let's see how well you do against an Earthbender!" and then she walked off with Tao. Sokka and Suki had already left, as they continued making out and walking at the same time. Which proved to be quite difficult to do, as he watched them both ran into things, and finally disappeared. The Airbender was happy to see them together like that and wished he could have that too.
The Monk looked over at Katara, and could see that they were the only two left standing in the courtyard now, which made him cheerful. Aang looked around to make sure, and could only see the dirt that was still flying around from their duel. The Airbender realized how dirty he must look right now, but the Waterbender didn't seem to care at all. Katara looked a little nervous as she looked at him, and began playing with her hair that was hanging off of her right shoulder. He smiled at her, and went back to the fountain, where he splashed water on his face, trying to wipe the dirt off, while enjoying coolness of water that roll down into his clothes, and hair. Aang then took off his sword, and sat on the edge of the fountain, letting the water drip off of his face, and onto the sheath that laid across his thighs.
"You know," Katara said breaking the silence as she started walking toward him, "my brother will want rematches until he wins. You up for that challenge?"
Aang kind of laughed, and spit salty water out of his mouth, "I guess I am. You should know that your brother is a great fighter, and he's definitely not a quitter." he smiled up at her, "I admire that about him." The Monk meant what he said, but wished things were different.
The Waterbender just couldn't get over the fact that Kuzon could be Aang's twin, if he did have one. In so manyways they were the exact same, but he didn't have the tattoos to show. "Yea." she said, and sat next to Kuzon, giving them space between each other, "He's a good brother."
The Airbender's pulse was racing now, as they sat just a few feet away. He wanted nothing more than to tell her that he was back, but after seeing her with Higen, it just didn't seem right for him to come back into her life…but was he already doing it with a different name? Aang wished Guru Pathik was here to help him, he just felt so lost without him.
"Kuzon?" Katara asked for the third time.
"Huh-what?" he asked confused.
"I said we are all heading to the water that is below the mountain, do you want to come? I mean it's a pretty good walk, but we all figured we could have some more fun before the war meeting tomorrow." She said, as her imagination began to visualize Kuzon without a shirt on, and again, she blushed. Katara was happy he didn't see this, as he gazed at his black sheath.
Aang desperately wanted to, but the mixture that the Guru made for him, didn't mix well with water. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't. "I wish I could, but I'm pretty exhausted right now, and I think I need some sleep. You guys have fun."
This made the dark skinned girl a little sad, and she didn't know why. She didn't even know this guy, but when she was around him, she got those same butterflies when she was free falling with Aang. It was almost as if a ghost of him was sent there to torture her, because she was with Higen. Her father, Chief Hakoda, had always liked Higen, but he knew her heart still belonged to someone else. He always told her that as much as he wanted her to be with someone, he wanted her to be happy. But 'happiness' was no longer apart of her life…except around Kuzon now.
She looked back into Kuzon's gray eyes, and could see that he wasn't lying about being tired. The purple under his eyes had darkened more, and he seemed a little too tense when he was around her. "Okay, well you know where to find us if you change your mind." Katara said, hoping that he would, and she gave him a warm smile, as she walked off.
Aang watched her disappear into the palace, and restrained himself from running after the intoxicating woman of his dreams. This was becoming far more difficult with the lies he was creating, and he didn't like this sense of life. She had obviously moved on, and there was nothing he could do to change that. Even if he did tell her, she would hate him morethan the way Zuko reacted when he came back. The Monk wished he could bend time back, but in the end he would have still left to protect the ones he loved.
OooooOooooOoooo
The gang was having a blast at the beach near the mountain, even though it was a long way to get down the mountain, it was totally worth it. And it was nice to see Zuko and Mai get some sun, or sort of. Those two just stayed under an umbrella and kept making out with each other, not caring about who was watching. Sokka and Higen were wrestling in the water, while Tao and Toph were having competitions in sand castles, which Toph seemed to always win being a Sandbender now. Tao was mad that he wouldn't win, and instead he would tell her what a beautiful Sandbender she was, which made her always get pink cheeks.
Suki and Katara were both drying up their fun in the water, and getting their tan going. She and Suki had actually become pretty close to each other, since she came back from Kyoshi Island. The Kyoshi Warrior had become like a sister to her, and they talked about everything. Sometimes it was good, and other times, it was hard because she knew who she was thinking about.
Suki looked over at Katara who didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything in particular, but kept looking around like she was hoping for someone to pop up. Even though she wouldn't confess it upfront, she could tell by the look on her face that she was thinking of a certain Firebender. She started to notice a change in the dark skinned girl, and could see that he was already having an effect on her. Kuzon was literally the spitting image of Aang, but he was not the Airbender that they all missed.
"It's a pity Kuzon couldn't have showed up." Suki said, with her eyes closed and feeling the rays of the sun on her face, "I think he could have really enjoyed himself."
Katara looked over at Suki, "Yea, it would have been nice to get to know his fun side." she said.
Suki peeked over at the Waterbender, and saw her cheeks redden a little, and knew she meant something else by it. "You know, for a Firebender, he's pretty cute if you ask me."
The dark skinned girl smiled, "Actually he is." she said out loud. He was more than cute though, he was dazzling. The whole time at the table, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him, and it only made things worse when Higen was around. He was a nice guy, and good looking, but he was nothingwhen compared to Kuzon. Her mind had been trying to put images together as she began to wonder what he would look like with his shirt off again, and then all of the heat in her body rushed up to her face.
Suki saw this, and proclaimed quietly with a smile, "You like him don't you?"
"What?" Katara screamed automatically at Suki, and couldn't believe she would say that. "No, I don't even know him. And besides, I'm with Higen now!"
The short auburn hair girl gave her a halfhearted smile, "You can be with someone, and still like, or even love someone else." she said trying to get her point across. Suki knew from the beginning that she and Higen wouldn't last long, because no one could everbeat out Aang.
Katara's jaws tightened, knowing that what she said was true. Even though she was with Higen, she already liked Kuzon after spending just a few hours with him, but she still loved Aang. It sounded so stupid when she put it in that order and she wondered if she did even have something for Higen? Yes, he was a good friend to her when she needed a shoulder to cry on and was such a sweet guy, but was it enough to be with him?
When she went back to her home village, there ended up being a lot more young men there than the last time she was there. They were constantly asking her to go out with them, asking her hand in marriage, and they didn't stop. When she met Higen, he was a bit shy, but he was very nice to her, and when he asked if they could be together, she said yes. Now that she truly pondered about it, why did she say yes?
The Waterbender sighed, "It doesn't matter. Higen is a nice guy."
"But do you even like him?" she asked straight off.
Katara was silent, as she thought about it. There was no answer that came into her head, but a big blank. Luckily, Sokka timing was perfect as always. Higen was told by Sokka to throw water at everyone, which made everyone mad.
Sokka yelled at the top of his lungs, "Couples fight!" and ran to Suki as fast as he could, but ended up get swallowed by water from Higen bending a wave over him.
The Waterbender was happy to separate from Suki, and teamed up with Higen as they fought against each other. They all fought back at each other with their fighting and bending skills, until they were too tired bend or fight anymore. It was a fun day.
OooooOooooOoooo
Aang was starring up at the moon again, like he always did every night. The gang had been back for a few hours, and decided to eat, but he really wasn't that hungry. He was sitting on the railing, with one leg stretched out, and the other up while his arm rested on knee. His head leaned against the stone column, with a piece of paper in his hand. He had been up there for a while, just listening rock hoppers down below. He was exhausted from the day, especially after Katara left; he had decided to play Hide and Explode with some kids from the Fire Nation School, which his team ended up winning. He loved being a little kid, and it helped him think that he was just a normal person with no problems.
The Monk looked back down at the Guru's letter, and read it all over again. The paper was so creased, that the words were beginning to fade, but he had every word memorized already. To him, it was just reassurance that everything he did, wasn't for nothing. He also hoped to find something else in the letter that the Guru Pathik left for him, but he never found it. Aang hadn't even noticed that he was being watched, until a certain Waterbender came up to him, with a tray of food.
As soon Aang saw her, she noticed that he put some sort of paper in his pocket as quickly as he could. But she didn't seem to think anything of it at the time, and just decided to put the food near his feet.
Aang gave her a warm smile, "Thanks Katara." he said looking down at the mixture of veggies and meat near his feet. "You didn't have to do this you know?" he said rolling off the edge, and picked up the bowl of noodles with spices in it.
Katara didn't know why she did this for him, but more than anything, she really wanted to see Kuzon again. "It's not a big deal. I just figured you might be a little hungry, especially since you decided not to sleep." she said, looking down at his dirty clothes, and even a little bit of dirt on his breathtaking face.
The Airbender looked at her weirdly, and then looked down to where her eyes were examining. He saw all of the dirt and mud that was on his clothes. Aang had completely forgotten to change, but it was late and the last person he expected to see was Katara.
"There's a perfectly good reason why I'm…" the gray eyed boy said as he looked at his clothes, "like this."
"Really?" Katara said, trying to hold back her smile as she folded her arms, "I'd love to hear it then."
"Yea…you see," Aang began quickly, giving her a dopey smile, "I decided to take a walk towards the beach but, but I ended up falling into some mud."
The Waterbender gave him a funny look, "Mmhmm, really? And how did parts of your clothes get burned then?" she said trying not to laugh, as she saw the boy struggling to tell her this lie.
"Umm, my clothes…they were burned because I had a…" Aang knew this was the worst lie in the history of lies, but he could tell that she was playing along with him, "I had to stop a dragon from terrorizing the town. I mean I just couldn't go back to the house and change out of my clothes, so I ended up getting burned to a crisp. Luckily I saved the town, but my clothes weren't."
Katara saw Kuzon smiling, and she couldn't help but smile back, "You know, dragon have been extinct." But Katara knew that they really weren't, "You are the worst liar ever Kuzon!"
Aang laughed, and agreed with her. He then set the bowl of noodles back on the tray, and put his arm on the edge, and leaned forward, "Fine. I went to go play hide and explode with some kids. I know that may seem a little childish, but I like being a kid sometimes." he said truthfully.
The dark skinned girl laughed quietly, as she joined him, giving them a small amount of space this time between them, "See? That wasn't so hard to say now was it?" she said sarcastically while looking at him.
Kuzon looked upon the Goddess and said shyly, "Actually it kind of was. I feel embarrassed to tell you that I still play around like a little kid."
Again, she smirked at him, "It's not that bad for someone of your age to do that every once in a while."
Aang raised an eyebrow at her, "How old do you think I am?"
Katara shrugged, "My guess is sixteen or even seventeen?" And when she said those numbers, she saw a twinkle in his eyes, like she just gave him an amazing compliment.
The Airbender laughed, "I'm flattered that you think I'm that old, but I'm…" And then he stopped himself. Should he actually tell her the truth of how old he was, especially after seeing the way she kept looking at him, like she was trying to figure something out? But he decided against lying to her, and said, "I'm actually only fourteen."
When Katara heard that number, her eyes got huge. "He's fourteen?"she thought to herself. There was absolutely no way he was that age! She had seen plenty of fourteen year old's at her village, who kept hitting on her, and Kuzon didn't look anywhere near that age. He is the same age as Aang would be today, and again, she was becoming more curious at this mysterious Firebender, and it was driving her crazy. This seemed to be more than just coincidence that he looked like Aang, had his laugh, his name is Kuzon, stormy gray eyes, and he is fourteen. It just didn't make any sense how this couldn't be HIM! But like she had figured out when she first met him, he didn't have the tattoos, but he did have a lot of scars similar to Aang's?
The Monk could tell that her mind was processing everything that she had learned today, and he wondered if she already knew it was him. "You look a little surprised Katara, are you okay?
"What?" she said.
Aang laughed through his nose, "Great, now I feel really do feel embarrassed! I wish that I just went along with the age you thought I was." he said, trying help bring her out of her whirl winded mind. The Monk raised himself off his arms, and used his hands to hold him up now.
"No!" Katara yelled a little more than necessary, "I'm just, shockedthat your only fourteen. You act more mature than my brother, and that's why I kind of assumed it." The Waterbender got off of her arms too, and leaned her back spine against the railing as she looked down at Kuzon. She loved his long dark hair, and how it moved against the wind. Even the old headband seemed to make him look even more majestic to her.
Aang grinned, "Tell me then, would it have given me better odds if I wanted to be with you?" he asked, and then realized his mistake.
Suddenly, Katara's cheeks turned red, and she turned away from his face. She couldn't believe he just said that, and it only made the butterflies in her stomach worsen. He may only be fourteen, but he was very mature and apparently pretty bold too.
The Avatar wished that he hadn't said that, especially now that she was with someone else. "I'm sorry" he said, looking at the floor between his arms, and then he looked back up at her, as she had already turned her head back at him, "I didn't mean to say that. Sometimes I say things I shouldn't, and I know you have a boyfriend. I'm really sorry." Which he meant, but at the same time, he didn't. Aang tried to give her the sad puppy eyes he used to give her, and it put a smile on her face.
"That doesn't work on me anymore Kuzon, but I'll forgive you. Higen and I…umm," she began, and gave him a small fake laugh, "we are together, but then again I'm not sure?" Katara didn't know why she was telling this to him, but it was so easy for her to talk to him. Maybe it was just because he looked like Aang?
"Well, for what it's worth," he said, making it as sincere as possible, "he's a very lucky man. And he seems to really like you too." Aang gripped onto the stoned rail, and made them crack under his hands, but not loud enough for Katara to hear.
The Waterbender smiled, "Thanks Kuzon." She could tell that he meant it, but at the same time he didn't. But then again, maybe she wasn't good at reading people like she thought she was, so Katara just brushed off that last thought she had.
Aang loved the way she looked under the moon light. It was part of her culture, and it only made her skin look so flawless. Her eyes looked like the color of his tattoos, instead of the dark blue ocean, and her long brown hair was even darker than ever. Words just couldn't conjure up the way she looked to him.
"Well I better get going, it's getting late, and Higen will be looking for me soon." She finally said, and pushed off the stone railing by leaning her body weight forward. Kuzon followed her motion, and got off of the edge. When he removed his hands, he could see the cracks in the stones, which his hands caused. They walked across his room, and to his door. She slid it open, and was about to close it, but Aang stopped the sliding door.
He then looked deep into those blue eyes of the Waterbender, and then he became speechless all of the sudden, and Katara couldn't stop looking at him either. It was like he was allowing her to see deep into his soul, which made her face inch closer to his.
The blue eyed girl continued to stare at him, and started store every movement his face would make as he looked at her in an amazing way. She saw his jaw clenched as he gulped quietly, "Katara" he breathed warmly on her face that sent chills up her spine, and inching closer to her face. "I…" he began, and she waited to hear what he wanted to say, as he left her hanging at his one lettered sentence.
Aang realized how close they were, and leaned back to give them both some breathing room. He sighed, saying "Goodnight." and then slid the door shut.
Katara sighed in relief too, as he shut the door. But she wasn't sure if it was relief of them not kissing, or that she wished that they had. "Goodnight." she finally said loud enough for only him to hear, and started walking back to the gang, in a daze.
When Aang could no longer hear the footsteps, he went to the wall, and started banging his head. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"he thought as he continued to bang his head. Finally after a few minutes, he placed his forehead back on cold stone wall looking down, and leaned against it. His hands reached into his pocket, and pulled out Katara's necklace. He stared at the inscription, "Love is brightest in the dark" and rubbed the engraving with his thumb, feeling the dip in every word that was there on the clear sphere element.
"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." he said out loud to himself painfully, as he thought of all that he had learned about Katara today. He just didn't know what to do, even though his heart wanted to tell her the truth, but his mind told him it wasn't a good idea since she was with Higen now. It was all so confusing to him, and he just wished someone could tell him what to do in a situation like this. Then a silent tear ran down his face, landing on the necklace he held in his left palm.
So Aang is going to stay a secret it seems like, or at least for now he will. It will be interesting to see how much longer he can hold out without one of his friends finding out about it somehow, or learning it from Zuko. I chose Kuzon's name, because Aang wanted a name he could relate to, just like he did at the school. And just to be clear, Higen is NOT the same guy as Hide from the Fire Nation, just in case you were confused. Higen was never mentioned in the show, so he's just made up.
So I know this probably wasn't the Kataang you wanted, but it was still fun writing if for you guys.
Okay, now that you have read it, please take a second, and review me, or ask questions. I ALWAYS read them! I hope to have another chapter up by Monday or Tuesday. Peace and Love Avatar Fans!