Alright guys, final chapter….or is it? :P

I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who added this story to their favorites, followed it, or reviewed it over the years. All your support was greatly appreciated. I'm very thankful for old and new readers who stuck with me as I wrote this story. I believe this story really shows the progress I've made over the years and I'm really happy that I got to write this and especially happy that I'm able to finish it. Thanks once again and enjoy the chapter. : )

Disclaimer: Avatar isn't mine.

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Katara's POV

After we'd gotten Azula wrapped up and locked down, an eerie silence spread over the land and everything was so…calm. My heart was pounding in my chest in fear, anxious as to what's happening now and what will happen next. I paced the length of the courtyard in front of the steps, biting my lip in anticipation.

"Katara," Zuko's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Look."

I turned to him and my eyes followed the length of his finger to the sky where an airship was flying straight towards us.

"Should we prepare to fight?"

He shook his head. "I don't…think so."

The airship began closing in and it became very apparent that they weren't going to cause us any harm as Aang's figure became visible on the ships catwalks. My heart leapt in excitement and happiness and I had to stop myself from running to them before they even landed. Once they had landed though, I took off at full speed towards Aang.

"Humph," He groaned, staggering at little on weak knees as I barreled into his arms.

I squeezed him so tight it might have been hurting him a bit, but I didn't care and he didn't seem to either as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me full against him. After a few minutes we pulled back just enough to push our lips together.

"How could you just disappear like that, you big jerk?!" I cried out as we pulled apart and playfully slapped his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to! I slept walked….onto a Lion Turtle," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck shamelessly.

"What's a Lion Turtle?" Toph asked as she exited the airship

Aang opened his mouth to reply when Sokka came tumbling down the ramp with four guys following behind him; an older man, a boy around our age in a wheel chair, a preteen aged boy and a very large man behind him. "Who are they?"

"Oh! Katara, this is The Mechanist, Teo, The Duke, and Pipsqueak," Sokka pointed to each individual as he said their name. "Guys, this is my sister, Katara."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Teo commented.

The one they called The Duke turned to Teo and whispered something or should I say attempted to whisper because everyone could still hear what he was saying. "Man, his sister is hot!"

Aang pulled me closer to him, eyeing The Duke angrily while Sokka cried out in disgust. "Hey gross! That's my sister you're talking about!"

I rolled my eyes at their foolishness and trying not to blush at The Duke's comment while the hand on my waist gave me a good squeeze. I looked up at Aang, at the unforgettable smile on his face and smiled myself as I said the words that I'd been longing to say and that he'd been longing to hear.

"It's over, it's finally over."

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The days before Zuko's coronation literally flew by. Everyone was buzzing around with excitement as people from all over the world traveled to the Fire Nation to watch Zuko be crowned Fire Lord. None of us had time to relax and heal after Sozin's comet passed with all the craziness that followed. When the day finally came though, it was a day that I'm sure nobody would forget.

"Katara, come on!" Sokka yelled through the door. "We're going to be late."

"I'm coming!"

With steady hands, I secured my mother's necklace around my neck and took one last look at my new clothes in the mirror before going out in the hallway and meeting up with my brother. Sokka smiled wide as he took in my attire.

"Good to see you back in water tribe gear, little sis," his hands ruffled my hair as he spoke.

I pushed his hand away, but smiled still the same. "You too, jerk."

It really did feel good to wear the colors and style of my nation as a proud waterbender, especially on a day such as that one. The two of us walked side by side, aimlessly chit-chatting as we made our way through the corridors and out to the courtyard. We were getting close when Sokka suddenly stopped and pulled me to a halt.

"What are you doing? I thought you said we're going to be late."

"I just said that so you'd hurry up," he laughed. "There's somebody that wants to see you first."

Confused, I followed him down a long hallway and stood beside him as he knocked on a large door to our right. We waited a few minutes before a middle-aged water tribe man opened the door. It took me a moment before I realized who he was, standing right before me.

"Dad?"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him and help on tightly. "Katara," he choked out through a sob, bringing his arms around me. Hot tears stream down my face as I press my face to his chest, reveling in his comforting embrace. Everything about him was foreign, but completely familiar at the same time. He was speaking into my shoulder about how he thought I was dead and that he'd failed me and more heart-breaking words that I couldn't bear to hear.

"No, don't say those things," I cried. "We're back together now and that's all that matters."

After a few more minutes, we dried up our tears and began to talk about everything and anything as we made our way to the courtyard with Sokka. I filled him in on my life in the Fire Nation and working at the prison and meeting Aang and all our other adventures.

"So you and Aang have become quite close I hear," my dad said with a small smile.

Immediately I stared daggers into Sokka's soul and he just smirked at me before turning to Dad. "Yeah, they're in looooovvveee. It's really gross."

"Shut up Sokka!" I punched him in the arm.

"What?!" He screeched. "It's the truth."

"There's no need to be ashamed, Katara," Dad reassured me. "Aang is a fine young man. He's someone I wouldn't mind calling family someday."

"I'm not ashamed," I replied, blushing. "I just don't enjoy being the butt of Sokka's lame quips."

"Hey!"

Dad laughed. "You two seem to be getting along as normal."

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Zuko's POV

I struggled with my royal garb as I prepared for one of the most important moments of my life. I could have asked a few servants for some help, but I told everyone I wanted to prepare alone for something so important. In reality I just didn't feel like having a bunch of strangers pulling and tugging at me while I tried to prep myself.

"Need some help?"

My head whipped around to the figure standing in the door way. "Mai!"

She moved to me and grabbed the ties of my outfit, securing them to my body. "They let you out of prison?"

"Well, it does kind of help when your uncle is the warden," she replied flatly. "But it also doesn't hurt that the new Fire Lord is your boyfriend."

I smiled. "Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"

Her arms snaked their way around my neck as she smiled up at me. "I think it means that I kind of like you."

Grinning, I leaned down and kissed her lips gently, relishing in her sweet tongue and soft features. When we pulled away, she pushed her finger into my chest.

"But don't ever break up with me again."

I chuckled and nodded before pulling her against my chest.

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Aang's POV

"Aang."

I turned around to see Zuko standing in the doorway, dressed to the tee in royal Fire Nation garb and looking more than ready to accept the role as Fire Lord. Offering him a friendly smile, I stepped towards him.

"I know I've done a lot of bad things in the past and I've hurt you and the people you cared about dearly, but I truly hope that you can forgive me, if not for the sake of this country, for the sake of Katara." He placed his hand before me for a respectful shake.

I chuckled lightly, rubbing my freshly shaved head nervously and grasped his hand. "I'm forgiving you for the sake of myself. I'm saddened to say that I lost my way a bit in regards to the monk way of living throughout this war and I'm ashamed that I allowed myself to harbor so many angry and begrudged feelings towards you. The monks always believed that it was better to forgive and that vengeance did no good for either party. I'm sorry for treating you with such hostility over the years, Zuko. I hope it's you that can forgive me."

Zuko looked kind of shocked at my remission, but covered it up easily with the friendliest smile he could manage. "I forgive you, I guess."

"So, I guess this means we're…friends?"

I laughed at his hesitant words. "Sure…friends it is."

We shook hands once more before it was time to go. I followed behind him as we made our way to the pavilion that sat before the few hundred people there to celebrate this great day in history. Everyone watched in awe as Zuko was crowned Fire Lord and listened intently to his speech. He mentioned me and I stepped forward as everyone applauded and screamed their gratitude. My eyes searched the crowd, finding many familiar faces before settling on the one face I was dying to rush to. I could tell she was a little shocked at my lack of hair, but it didn't seem to bother her too much as she met my eyes.

Katara…

Without her, we might have never made it as far as we did. We probably would have been stuck in that prison as Ozai took over the world. I smiled brightly at her and she smiled back even brighter with tears gleaming in her eyes as she placed her hand on her father's shoulder. It made me happy to know that they'd finally reunited after all these years.

Everything was finally coming together so perfectly and though it saddened me to know that Kami and Takashi couldn't be here, I knew that they were watching over us all in the spirit world.

Once the ceremony was finished and people started to disperse, things got kind of hectic and confusing. In the end, I got separated from Zuko and ended up roaming the halls of the palace in search for some kind of familiar face.

"Ugh! Who thought that decorating every single hall in this place to look exactly the same was ever a good idea?!"

"Aang!" A voice cried out before someone grabbed the back of my robes and yanked me into a small dark room.

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Katara's POV

"Hey Toph," I said, catching up to the earthbender as she made her way down another hallway of the palace. "Do you know where Aang is? I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"Weird," she said slowly. "I can't find Sokka either."

I eyed her wearily, sensing that this couldn't be good and we turned down another hallway.

"Wait, did you hear that?" She asked.

"No, what?"

She turned and pointed to a door to our right before placing her head against the door. "I've found our idiots."

Following her lead, I pressed my ear against the wood of the door and listened for the voices of my brother and boyfriend.

"Do you think she'll like it?"

"Definitely! It's beautiful!"

"It's pretty well crafted, did you make it yourself?"

"Yep, took a couple of months, but it's finally finished."

I turned to Toph, confused and whispered. "What are they talking about?"

The blind girl just shrugged her shoulders and listened harder. There was some shuffling and their words became mumbled and it was clear to both of us that they were moving to open the door. We quickly scattered away and disappeared around the corner just as they exited the room. They gave each other a firm hug and said something to each other before going their separate ways, Sokka down the hall and Aang heading straight for us. We pretended to be walking away in the same direction as him and he didn't seem too suspicious when he yelled after us.

"Hey Katara, Toph!" He called. "Wait up!"

We stopped and turned to look at him as if we hadn't just been eavesdropping. This was the first time I'd seen him since the coronation ceremony and I couldn't resist rubbing his freshly shaved head.

"I can't say I'm not going to miss your hair, but the shave look really suits you."

He smiled sweetly and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Glad to know you still find me hot."

"Who said I find you hot?" I challenged jokingly.

Aang was just about to reply when Toph spoke up, making her presence known. "Alright, I think I'm going to leave you two love birds alone before start drooling all over each other."

She pushed us aside and headed in the direction Sokka had disappeared to.

"So, what's our next plan of action, Mr. Avatar?"

Aang rubbed his chin, pondering his options. "I'm thinking…Ba Sing Se."

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When Aang said Ba Sing Se, he wasn't kidding. Within the next few days we arrived in the big city on Appa at a quaint little house that was provided to us by the White Lotus society who had stepped in to take responsibility for the city and its citizens until either the old king could be found or a new one was appointed. Most of our time was spent relaxing and recovering in that house, but sometimes we'd go up to Iroh's tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon and help out and just chill for a while.

On our last night in Ba Sing Se, Iroh invited us all to the shop to join together one last time before we all went our separate ways; Zuko and Mai back to the Fire Nation, Sokka and I to the Southern Water tribe, and Toph to her home before meeting back up with Sokka in the Earth Kingdom while Aang planned to stay in Ba Sing Se for just a couple more weeks before meeting back up with me in a month or so.

It was crazy to think that it was all over, that we'd done it; we'd stopped Ozai and stopped the war. Just a few months ago I was still a prison guard with no idea who I was or where I'd come from and now I've been reunited with my family and met knew friends and even found love.

We'd come so far and gotten so close, almost like a little family and now we were all parting ways, growing up and moving on. I mean, I knew that we'd see each other throughout the years, but it'd never be like it was, ever again. It was kind of sad, but I completely ready to take on the world and make a difference with my waterbending.

"I can't believe this is our last night together," I said sadly as we all sipped our tea.

"Hey! No sad moments!" Sokka cried, looking up from his painting. "This is going supposed to be a great day!"

I laughed and shook my head as he went back to painting, moving his brush furiously over the paper. "What are you doing over there anyway?"

"I'm trying to capture the moment! I wanted to do a painting so we'd always remember the good times together."

We all moved around behind him to get a better look at the picture. Needless to say, Sokka wasn't much of an artist and all of us had our complaints, but in the end it was a very sweet gesture.

"Okay, my hair is not that spikey," Zuko commented.

"I look like a man," Mai said dryly.

"I tried the best I could alright," Sokka said exasperated before storming off with Toph in tow. "I'd like to see one of you paint something better!"

As my brother took off towards the front of the building, claiming they were going for a walk, I noticed that Aang was gone. I later found him looking over the balcony out back, watching the sun set. I approached him slowly, appearing beside him with a smile on my face as I slipped my hand into his.

"Hey," he spoke wispily.

"Hey."

He squeezed my hand gently as he spoke. "Are you excited to go back to the South Pole?"

"Definitely," I said, smiling. "I'm going to miss you though."

"It'll only be for a month or so," he reassured me. "But I'm going to miss you too."

I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I can't believe all of this."

"Me neither."

"Not too long ago I was stuck in the Fire Nation with no hope of every getting out," I smiled up at him. "But you changed that."

He shook his head. "No, you changed that. Without you, we never would have escaped and we'd have never been able to save the world in enough time."

I blushed. "Thanks Aang."

"No, thank you Katara."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We leaned in and kissed each other slowly at first, but our lips began to move more forcefully as our arms wrapped around each other. It was a bittersweet moment as his arms squeezed my waist gently and I kind of wanted to cry at the finality of the moment. It wasn't until Aang pulled away and brushed tears from my face that I realized I was actually crying.

"Hey, shh," he soothed me. "It's okay, it's only a month."

"No," I shook my head. "I'm not crying because I'm leaving; I'm crying because it's over. It's all over."

"Don't say that," he whispered. "It's not all over, we've got our whole lives ahead of us."

He wiped my tears away and pulled me against his chest when suddenly Sokka and Toph came sprinting towards us, hand in hand.

"We're getting married!"

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That's it you guys, that's the end! Unless you guys would like a prologue of sorts involving the wedding? Yes, no, maybe so?

Until next time,

Kataang1234