Chapter 35: Losing Sleep

The stars overhead that sparkled in the dead of night shown down on Aang as he watched silently from his perch. He couldn't sleep as usual, so he had gotten up and sat outside his tent to stare at the open sky like he had done so many other times before.

'Am I really here right now?'

They had all come such a long way in every sense of the word. They had journeyed far that day, mentally they had all matured so much since his awakening, skill sets had improved, physically they were all turning into adults, positionally they were all of the highest of importance. Yet, where were they now? On a rock ledge twenty feet from the beach on an unknown island in tents.

'So, 4 years after the war and I'm camping out again'

Toph was still single at the age of 17 and perfectly fine with it, Sokka and Suki were both 20 and content with dating, Zuko who was 21 and Mai who was 20 were soon going to be celebrating 3 years of marriage and Katara… Aang smiled only a little. Katara was now 19 and still by his side. They were too busy to go beyond boyfriend and girlfriend and although some nights he'd wish things were more serious he knew it wasn't their time yet. Aang was 117 years old and in charge of the worlds path to a lasting peace.

And from everything they had all worked towards, Aang still found himself on an unknown island, battered up, and wondering if it was all going to be worth it.

'What am I doing?'

"Hey you," Katara whispered as she sat down next to him.

"What are you doing up?" Aang asked. It had to be early. Sunrise would be in a few hours but he was more startled with the fact he hadn't heard her get up.

"I could ask the same of you?"

Aang looked from Katara's concerned face and back to the night sky. He had no answer for her. This sort of meeting between them had almost become a ritual over the years. It seemed like every few months Aang would be faced with something that would bug him enough to keep him up at night and Katara could never sleep when he couldn't.

She knew he felt like he wasn't doing his job by leaving the world to be on this island but she also knew that there was a reason they needed to be there even if she herself didn't know what it was yet.

"At least we can be sure of one thing," Katara suddenly said. She waited for Aang to turn his attention back to her. His gaze was so distant.

"Iroh was right. This place is different in many ways. What place do you know of where Earth and Water benders live together?"

Aang then realized what she said. "Wow, you're right. I have to admit that was a surprise."

"Ya, if we'd known that maybe we wouldn't have had to say I was a non bender."

Aang winced a little. "Katara, I'm sorry you have to hide like this-"

"It's okay… Bonzu," she said in playful way. "Well we are all making sacrifices. At least we know we can trust Iroh and it'll be all settled in the end. For now we should go back to bed and think just how cool it is that two elements are living together without huge political problems!"

Aang couldn't help but smile for her. She was right, again. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

"Alright, I'll get some sleep," he consented willingly as he got up. Tomorrow was fastly approaching and he knew it was going to be a long one.

Dawn was just around the corner and it would certainly start out with a bang… at least for one person on the island.

Hello. This is just a quick insert between two long chapters. I was about to tack this at the beginning of my next chapter but thought you'd all appreciate it more if I just post this little bit rather than making you wait for the longer bit. Thanks for pointing out my Zuko/Lee mistake in the last chapter. I fixed the one I found. If you see any other mistakes feel free and point them out! ;) Till next time…