And after that, when he saw her things were different.
It seemed like forever ago he got hit in the back by lightning. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks it was all a dream, until he moves and the black spot on his back throbs, telling him it was for real.
Its nights like these, when he's doubting reality and himself, he crawls over to where Katara lays by her brother, and pokes her awake.
When Katara feels Aang prodding her, she wills herself awake and folds her arms around him, for she knows what this midnight visit is about, as it has been happening for weeks now.
And after the lightning, when she holds him things are different.
He still loves the feel of her arms around him, but it no longer sends butterflies through his stomach. Now it makes him feel like he's finally safe, like when he was little, and his mother held him and sang him to sleep.
But, sometimes this isn't enough. Sometimes Aang can remember little bits of how he used to feel about Katara before Azula's attack. Whenever he catches a fleeting memory of this wonderful feeling, he'll stare at Katara long and hard, just like he used to, and if she catches his eye and looks back at him that hole in his back hurts so bad it's as if he was struck all over again.
And so this is how life went, for a very long while until Aang slipped on some of Appa's fur one day and lost his balance, headed straight for the ground. He would've airbended himself back up, if Katara hadn't caught him first.
He hadn't been expecting it, so it really wasn't his fault he ended up crashing into her, their foreheads knocking and mouths colliding.
He still isn't sure that smashing into Katara could count as a kiss, but whatever you call it, his lips were up against hers and he felt his mind snapping, like a crack in the ice or a lamp broken in half. His thoughts were blurred and dismissed, and his emotions took over, and the familiar warm feeling in his chest was spread on thick like butter.
Suddenly, Katara and his mother were in two very different categories.
And she'll still hold him after a nightmare, and pick him up when he falls down, and keep him safe whenever she can.
But after that, when he watches her, his back doesn't hurt anymore, and neither does his heart.
Note: This was written for the whole "Aang has to give up Katara" bit. But mostly, it was written because I always wanted to start a story with "And" simply for the joy of breaking grammatical rules. Take that, English language!
And, yes, Invaderk, that little "lamp broken in half" was for your amusement, consider it a thanks for picking me up out of the dumps, and helping me get to a slightly less-dumpy place.
I hate lamps, especially ones that break easily.