Hey, everyone! This is my longest chapter yet: over 2,000 words! I worked darn hard on it, so enjoy! (PS: I do not own ATLA)
One afternoon, Aang and Katara were taking a leisurely stroll through the streets of Ba Sing Se. Toph was asleep and Sokka and Suki were out on a date, so the young couple had decided to get out of the house for a while since there was nothing else to do.
They were passing a cabbage cart when, all of a sudden, Katara bumped into the counter. The counter collapsed, sending the cabbages bouncing to the ground.
The merchant turned red with fury. "Gah, my cabbages!" he shouted. "You're going to have to pay for that!"
Katara was mortified. "Oh, my goodness!" she uttered. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to…"
As Katara tried to talk to the merchant, Aang happened to catch something in the corner of his eye. A young woman across the street had dropped her handbag! The lady, wearing a purple kimono, walked right away, completely unaware of the bag she had dropped.
Aang decided to help her out and slipped away from Katara's tangle with the cabbage merchant, completely unnoticed. He picked up the handbag and walked a ways up the street until he found the owner of the dropped accessory.
He tapped her politely on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he said politely.
The lady turned, and Aang was surprised to see that she appeared to be about his age. She was an inch or two taller than he was and had dark brown eyes.
She smiled amiably at him. "Yes?" Then, she gasped, recognizing the arrow on his head. "Oh, you're—you're Avatar Aang! Wow! Um…how can I help you?"
Aang held out the handbag. "I think you dropped this."
"Oh! My purse." She took the bag. "Thank you. Silly me…that's never happened before. Good thing you came along, Avat—"
"Just trying to help," Aang said with a little smile, cutting her off before the hero worship set in. "And…call me Aang. And you are…?"
"Xiǎoqì," the girl replied. "Thanks again, Aang."
"No problem." Aang turned to walk back to Katara, but he was shocked to feel a pair of hands on his shoulders turn him around. Suddenly, he was face-to-face with Xiǎoqì.
"Wait," she replied. "I want to thank you properly." With that she put her lips on his.
Aang's eyes widened and he pulled away immediately. "What the heck—"
"Aang?"
Oh, boy. That was a voice he did not want to hear right now. He turned slowly in dread to face a shocked Katara.
"Aang, how could you?!" the Waterbender yelled.
"O-oh, no," Xiǎoqì stammered, "Aang, you never told me—OH!"
THWACK!
Water made contact with skin, leaving a red mark on Aang's face. Katara had water-whipped him!
"I—I can't believe you!" she roared. "After all we've been through! I've done everything for you, and you thank me by cheating on me!"
Tears welled up in Aang's eyes. "Katara, I-I didn't—"
"Enough!" Katara screamed. "I'm leaving. Goodbye, Aang—I hope you two will be very happy together!" She stormed away, hurt, toward the Gaang's favorite restaurant.
Xiǎoqì spoke. "Aang, I—"
"Save it." Pretty sure he'd just been dumped, in public no less, Aang ran home as fast as he could, tears streaming down his face.
Katara entered the restaurant in a mess of tears, being seated by the host at a random table.
By some incredible stroke of luck, the table next to hers happened to hold Sokka and Suki, the prior looking oddly at the next table over. That crying girl sort of looked like—
"Katara?" he called out.
The girl looked up. "S-Sokka?"
"Why are you crying? And why don't I see Aang with you?"
"Sokka, he—he…" She stopped herself, not wanting to announce it to the entire restaurant. She walked up to Sokka and said quietly, "He cheated on me!"
"He what?!" Sokka shrieked. "That little—I'll kill him! I'll—"
"Wait!" Suki intervened. "Katara, are you sure? That's an awfully big thing to accuse someone of."
Katara groaned. "What do you mean, 'am I sure?' Suki, I just watched him kiss another girl!"
Suki sighed. "That…that's pretty bad. But are you sure he kissed her? That she didn't kiss him?"
"What difference does it make?" Katara asked.
"Well, maybe it wasn't his fault!" Suki replied. "I mean, this is Aang we're talking about! Do you really not trust him?"
"No, not after seeing what I just saw." Katara shook her head.
"What'd you do?" Sokka asked his sister.
Katara looked away. "I…I water-whipped him."
"Oh, the poor kid!" Suki gasped. "He's probably crying his eyes out right now. Katara!"
"Good!" Sokka and Katara said in unison.
"No, not good!" Suki responded. "Look…I still trust Aang. I don't think someone as sweet and caring as him would go and kiss the first girl he sees on the street!"
"If you love Aang so much, why aren't you with him, then?" Sokka shot.
"Because I love you more, you buffoon!" Suki said, raising her voice. "But Aang is still my friend, and I know he wouldn't do something like that. I think it's only fair that we hear both sides of the story!" She stood up,
"Suki, where are you going?" Sokka asked, sighing exasperatedly.
"Home," the Kyoshi warrior replied, "to see what Aang has to say about this."
Yes, Aang had cried. But he had no more tears left. He just…couldn't cry anymore. Maybe…maybe he and Katara just weren't meant to be. Shame, really. That was a year of his life he'd never get back, plus another trying to woo her.
He heard a knock on his door. "Aang? Can I come in?"
"S-Suki?" he stammered, sniffling. "P-please. I need a f-friend right now."
Suki opened the door and looked at the poor Avatar. His whole face was red and raw and lined with tearstains. He was shaking uncontrollably and looked as though he were about to shatter into a million pieces.
"A-are you…okay?" she asked hesitantly.
He sighed shakily. "I-I'm b-better than I th-thought I would b-be."
"Really? Well…you don't look too good," she said.
"Gee, thanks!" Not what Aang needed to hear.
"I'm sorry!" Suki quickly apologized. "I…I'm just being honest with you. Look, it's tough, being in your situation."
"How would you know?" Aang retorted counterproductively, gritting his teeth. "Sokka's all you've ever had!"
"How do you know that?" she asked, surprised.
"That's what he tells me!" he replied.
Suki sighed. "Look, Aang…Katara told me what happened. Is…is it true?"
"No!" Aang spat angrily. "I would never do something like that! That stupid girl—"
"Okay, okay." Suki patted him on the back soothingly. "Calm down. Tell me what happened."
He inhaled deeply. "Okay. We were at the market…Katara knocked over some cabbages…the merchant yelled at her. Some girl dropped a bag, so I gave it back to her. She kissed me to 'thank me properly.' But I pulled away right when we touched, and…that's when Katara showed up."
"Honest?" Suki raised an eyebrow.
"Completely." Aang raised his right hand.
Suki sighed again. "Oh, I knew you'd never do something like that. I'm so sorry this happened to you…oh, my gosh! Your face!"
A red streak cut across his left cheek, not bleeding, but still an awful thing to see. "I know," he said. "It didn't really hurt more than her leaving me did. It only bled a little bit."
Suki gave him a comforting hug. "Everything's going to be okay, Aang. I'm sure if Katara hears the truth, she'll understand."
"Thanks, Suki. You're a good friend." One last fear fell down his cheek.
She smiled. "Just trying to help."
A bit later, Katara headed home by herself, leaving Sokka alone at the restaurant. Maybe Suki was right. After all, this was Aang. It just didn't seem in his nature to be a cheater. He was cute, but he wasn't exactly a player.
The Waterbender opened the front door of her home with a decision to make. Should she talk to Aang and risk confirming his unfaithfulness? Or should she never speak to him again and and never know—maybe he didn't do anything wrong.
She sighed frustratedly. She'd never know without talking to him. So she went down the hallway and was surprised to see his bedroom door open. He was meditating.
She walked over and tapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his meditation. "Aang?"
The boy opened his eyes but didn't look up. "Are you here to yell at me? I guess I deserve—"
"Don't," she stopped him. She knelt down behind him. "Tell me something. What happened today?"
"You don't know?" he scoffed. "You dumped me because I was making out with another girl, that's what happened. Did you hit your head or something?"
"Look, Aang, don't make this harder than it has to be," Katara said pleadingly. "Please…I need to know. If you want someone else, if I'm not good enough for you, just tell me. And be honest. I'm…not mad at you anymore. I just need you to tell me what happened."
He took a deep breath. "There was a girl across the street from that cabbage cart…she dropped her bag. A-and I went to…r-return it to her. I gave it to her and…started to leave, but she…she turned me around, a-and the next thing I kn-knew—"
"How can I believe you?" Katara asked. "How do I know you're telling the truth? I'm not Toph."
Aang spun around to look at her, and his face nearly broke Katara's heart. Tears were once again dripping from his eyes, his whole face was red and raw, and there was a gash across his cheek.
"I…Aang, I…" Katara couldn't find the right words to say. How could she have been so stupid?! Aang would never cheat on her! What had she been thinking? She reached out to touch his uninjured cheek, but to her dismay, he shied away. What had she done?
Finally, she gained the strength to speak in complete sentences. "Aang…I-I'm so sorry. I…I was so wrong. I should have trusted you…"
"I just can't believe this…" He looked away from her as he wiped away the last of his tears. "I-I would never do something like that to you."
"Are you…mad at me?"
"W-well, I'm not happy…"
"Can you forgive me?"
He looked back at her. "I don't know. I really don't know. How can I forgive you and be with you if you don't trust me?"
"I didn't say anything about being—"
He cut her off. "Isn't that what you want?"
She sighed. "Yes, of course, but…if you forgive me and we're still friends, that's all that matters.
He thought for a minute. "Okay. I need you to tell me something. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, with my life," she said quickly.
He raised his eyebrows. "And how can I believe you? I'm not Toph, either."
"No, but I am."
Sure enough, Toph was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "And you two are making me sick. Twinkle Toes would never do something like that to you! And you think I'M blind! Let me tell you, Sugar Queen…if you're lying, I'll Earthbend you to the moon and back."
Katara sighed again. "Aang, I was wrong…I acted like a complete jerk, and I was stupid not to trust you. I'm really sorry, and I—"
"Katara, please just answer me. Do you trust me?"
Katara nodded "Absolutely."
"She's telling the truth," Toph said.
Aang threw his arms around Katara. "Then, I forgive you."
"And my work here is done," Toph declared. She walked away in satisfaction.
Suki came up to the doorway to check on Aang. "Aang, are you okay?"
What she saw made her smile. Katara was smiling contently in Aang's arms, eyes closed in comfort.
"We're fine," Aang said. Thanks, Suki. For everything." He grinned from ear to ear.
Suki nodded. "You're welcome."
Katara looked up at Aang. "So…friends again?"
Aang brushed a lock of hair away from the Waterbender's eyes. "More than friends." And with that, he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
Suki beamed. "Aww…enjoy each other, guys." She closed the door and walked off.
And as their kiss deepened, Aang and Katara both decided that they hated cabbage.
