A/N: Drat, sorry I kinda spaced-out on uploading the other parts!

DC: I do not own A:TLA

Decisions

There he was, so naïve, so carefree, so happy, so completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

Aang stared at his past self from around a corner, he was lucky to find him alone. He tip-toed up from behind him trying to not alert his past self of his presence. He gulped. Well, this was it. Oh, spirits! Please someone give him a sign if this was good or bad.

He lifted his hand; all he had to do was tap this past self's shoulder. Hopefully, he wouldn't faint...or scream.

But before Aang could do that, apparently someone had snuck up from behind him, because the next thing he knew, he had someone's hand over his mouth silencing him and pulling him back around the corner.

Aang relaxed once he realized it was Sokka. Sokka put a finger against his lip, a gesture to Aang to keep quiet, then he nodded as a way to tell Aang to follow him.

They found a secluded room; they sat in silence looking at one another waiting for someone to say the first word.

"I was kind of wondering when you would get here," said Aang. He had a feeling Sokka would try and stop him, that or beat him up for breaking his sister's heart. Aang really hoped he wasn't going to do that.

"Well, I would have been here sooner, but I kind of got lost in all those secret tunnels," Sokka groaned. "Oh, great! Now I have that stupid song in my head!"

"What song?" said Aang.

"Some stupid song your future self was singing, when we were in the future," said Sokka.

Well, that seemed to lighten the tension.

"And I was also busy picking up the pieces of my sister's shattered heart," he added.

Aang winced. The tension was back.

"You can't do this Aang," said Sokka. "My sister truly cares for you and you're hurting her."

Aang jerked his head up. "Don't you think it hurts me too!" he choked out. "I hate this!" he yelled in frustration. "The biggest mistake of my life is staring me right in the face! They're completely oblivious to what fate has in store for them."

"No, you're wrong," said Sokka. "If you leave Katara, that will be your biggest mistake."

Aang sniffed his nose. "All I want to do is just fall into her arms and forget everything, but I can't! I have to sacrifice my own happiness, for everyone else's happiness—for her happiness. I want her to be happy, for you guys to have your mom back."

"You make her happy," said Sokka. "Aang you may be the Avatar and have given the world hope, but you've given me hope for my sister, you make her smile."

"She will find someone else that makes her smile," Aang said forced.

"Aang, have you thought about what could happen if you go through with this? If you do convince your past self to stay and stop the war from ever happening?" said Sokka without waiting for a reply. "Gran-Gran once told me that this war had brought a lot of pain, but that it also had brought a lot of happiness."

Aang looked up at Sokka like he was out of his mind. How could a war bring happiness?

"I didn't completely understand it at the time, I thought Gran-Gran was having one of her old moments," said Sokka continuing. "She said this war had made her look at her life, and all the people suffering, it gave her strength to fight against the customs of her tribe and so she left for the Southern Water Tribe and met my grandfather there and then my father was born. He then met my mother and had Katara and I. She said if it wasn't for the war, she probably wouldn't have had a second thought about it and just would have gone through with her arranged marriage and that she would have missed out on having the unbound joy of having us as grandchildren."

Aang gapped at him completely stunned.

"What if your choice changes things?" Sokka paused. "Katara and I could possibly not exist."

Aang really didn't need to think about it long, he would rather die than have something like that possibly happen. "You know Sokka," he said with a gentle smile. "You're pretty wise."

Sokka shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I keep telling people that, but no one believes me."

Aang stared down at the floor and sighed. "Do you think she'll forgive me?"

Sokka was silent, which worried Aang. "Sokka?" he said worried.

"Yeah...sure," said Sokka not sounding very convincing. "Just make sure she's not near any bodies of water."

The moment Katara saw Aang enter the room with Sokka, she crossed her arms and turned her back to him.

Aang gulped, he glanced at Sokka then took a step towards her. "Katara?" he said sounding uneasy. Her reply was dead silence. "I'm sorry!" he choked out. "I was an idiot, I just thought that...if I stayed it would make everyone happy. I know how much you miss your mother, I always kind of thought it was my fault because I wasn't there to stop the war. I just thought this was my chance to fix everything, but I had all these thoughts...but I wasn't really thinking at all." Aang sighed, she was still giving him the cold shoulder, she was never going to speak to him again. "And...and...I just wanted you to know," he sighed, "that...I...I...love you."

He then heard a soft cry and before he knew it Katara was in his arms sobbing. He relaxed and tried to intake her warm and scent, but she pulled away all too soon.

Katara pounded her fists against his chest, while she sobbed. "YOU LEFT ME! YOU JUST LEFT ME! DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME! EVER AGAIN! OR I WILL FREEZE YOU IN A BALL OF ICE MYSELF!"

Aang rubbed his chest wincing. "I'm sorry...I promise I won't."

Katara threw her arms around him again. "Then...I forgive you," she pulled back with a gentle smile.

Aang smiled so widely it looked as it would crack his face. He held out his hand to her. "Come with me," he said. "I want to show you something."

Aang and Katara walked hand in hand down the empty corridors of the Southern Air Temple.

"What if someone sees us?" whispered Katara.

"Don't worry, they won't be out for another hour," Aang said. "Almost everyone is having a meditation session now."

Aang lead Katara outside, and kept walking until they came upon a garden. The grass was a vivid green lightly swaying in the breeze. A small waterfall trickled down some rocks into a pond of fish where lily pads floated on top. All around were brilliant colors and aromas of flowers scattered around. Looking out you could see for miles as if you were sitting on top of world.

"It's so beautiful," breathed Katara.

"Yes," said Aang with a sad look in his eyes," it...was," he paused. "I loved coming here, especially at night you could see the moon so clearly it was almost as if you could touch it, and the stars...they were endless."

Katara looked at Aang, she could feel his grief. "Maybe after the war, we can go back to the Southern Air Temple and replant the garden, I know it won't be exactly the same but..."

Aang smiled gently at her. "Can we sit down for a bit?"

"Sure," she said, as they laid down in the grass together and stared up at the sky.

Aang closed his eyes trying to capture this moment of tranquility. It was perfect—Katara's hand in his, no war, no troubles, the air nomads, this place, this moment.

Aang sighed. "I always kind of wondered how it would have been if you were born in this time and we met here. I would have shown you so many things in this time, the peace I once knew. Maybe if I had met you in this time, I think I could have handled being the Avatar."

"We did meet, and that's all that matters," said Katara, "and you are showing me, right now."

Aang sat up, he was afraid it would be harder to leave if he didn't. "I guess I should go to the room of Avatars," he said halfheartedly. "To try to speak with Roku to get back home."

"Aang, before you try and contact Roku to find a way back home," said Katara. "I know what Sokka said, but I believe we were sent here for a reason," she paused. "I think you need to go see him."

Aang squinted his eyes in confusion. "Go see him?" he repeated.

"Go see him," Katara said, looking Aang straight in the eye, sending him a message written within the depths of her eyes. "Say good-bye."

Aang's eyes widened, his pupils constricted with dread. "No!" he cried out. "No, I can't see him!" he said, his voice thick with emotion as he began shaking his head franticly. "I can't face him!" his voice cracked. "I can't!"

Katara put a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Go," she whispered.