Katara wanted to stay with Zuko in the snow as long as possible. Seeing him in her home was a wonderful feeling; the two parts of her so different coming together at last. But she couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. Whenever she looked at Zuko, she saw Aang's face as she told him. The heartbreak in his eyes.

She took a deep breath, and stepped forward. She wanted the comfort of Zuko's hand in hers, but if Aang saw that, he would know before she could tell him. She couldn't let that happen.

As they moved into town, Zuko held her pace from behind her. Many of the villagers looked up from what they were doing to watch her. It was the day of the wedding, and she had barely made it back.

Aang, she guessed, would be either in the temple, or in his house. She could picture him there; meditating perhaps. Had he discovered she was gone? A part of her wanted him to be looking for her, wondering where she was. But she didn't want to be that selfish. It would be easier for him if he had thought she was capable of this...if he could blame it all on her.

She paused outside his house. Even in the snow, she could smell Aang. The scent of fur, and hay, and wind. Appa, who had been following them, plopped down in his spot and started munching on the hay. Katara tried to smile at the familiar sight; Appa right outside Aang's house, waiting for his best friend to walk out. The guilt of taking Appa sunk in. It was wrong to use his best friend to leave him.

Zuko's hand warmed her shoulder, and she turned to look up at him, but his expression was withholding. She followed his gaze to see the temple; decorated in ice sculptures; symbols of her and Aang coming together.

Her heartbeat picked up, and she was tempted to run in the other direction. But Zuko gripped her shoulder tighter, and she took a deep breath. She laid her fingers over his, and nodded, letting him know she was alright. He released, and they moved as a unit to the temple.

On the steps, she looked down at herself. Green silk worn and torn by travel; stained by mud and frozen in several places. She pulled her shawl tighter over her body.

She stood in the entryway, knowing with certainty Aang was inside. She swallowed.

"Zuko," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"You should...stay here."

She could feel him straighten up defensively.

"I...I thought we were going to do this together. I thought that's what you told Sokka."

She turned and faced him, not meeting his eyes. She kept her head low, so her eyes were just level with his chest. She was desperate to wean into his arms and allow them to shelter her as she listened to his heart...but now she needed to be strong on her own. She could rely on his strength later.

"I told him I wouldn't be alone. And I won't be, because you're here. But...but I owe it to Aang to speak to him alone. He shouldn't feel ganged up on."

She still couldn't let herself look up at his face in fear she would lose herself and forget why she was here.

"If you're sure...but I'll wait right here. If you need anything, call for me. Do you promise? If you need me, I'll come."

She couldn't avoid his face anymore. He had leaned down to meet her eyes so she would promise him truthfully.

She allowed herself ten seconds of golden beauty.

"I promise," she said with a smile.

Before she could fall into the lull of his embrace, or the desperate need to feel his lips against hers, she whipped herself around, and entered the temple.

As she walked, she focused on the sounds of crunching snow beneath her feet. It was a waning focus, as the snow slowly dissolved with each step. When only soft sounds met her feet, she stopped to admire her surroundings.

Soft rugs of various blues beneath her feet; bluebell flowers entwined with red and gold ribbons decorated every pole and wall. At the front of the temple, a sculpture of the moon showered pale light upon everyone close by. She moved closer, seeing a figure in the corner of her eye.

He was, as she guessed, meditating. His back was straight as a board; perfect posture as always. Moonlight bounced off his bald head, the sheen dulled by his tattoo.

He was not yet dressed for the wedding, instead he was in his usual garb, red and yellow. But there was something in his hands that made him look like one of the decorations on the wall.

She stepped closer, terrified he would look over his shoulder at any moment. Her heart broke at the recognition of the bluebell in his fingers. She still wanted to run, and seeing him here, in the place they were supposed to weave their life together forever...it wasn't helping. She didn't feel afraid anymore. She just felt cruel. She was about to rip the heart out of someone she loved with the worth of the world.

He breathed evenly, and she decided not to disrupt him, but to watch. To wait. To savor every last moment she had with him before she hurt him.

Finally, after what felt to her like moments, but what was truly closer to an hour, he took a deep breath that lasted longer than his others, and opened his eyes. First, his head leaned down to gaze at the flower between his fingers. Then he shook his head and stood.

Katara remained as still as an undisturbed body of water. Then he turned, and everything inside her seized up.

His eyes were the same familiar, cozy grey. They widened in surprise, and before she could stop him, he dropped the flower, and threw his arms around her.

"Katara," he whispered against her, "I was so worried about you."

Her voice was caught in her throat against the warmth and familiarity of his arms.

"Sokka told me you had left to get something, and he was going after you to help you find it but...it just didn't seem like you to leave so close to the wedding."

He pulled away from her, and pressed his hand against her cheek.

"Are you okay?"

She swallowed, her eyes watering.

"I'm...I'm okay," she replied, her voice breaking.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "You look like you're hurting. Did something happen?"

The concern in his eyes and voice was just hurting her more. She could see protectiveness overtaking his features, and she stared into his eyes, remembering as she looked at him in the past. She had begged herself to see something deeper; to believe he was more than just her friend. She compelled herself to look at him and convince herself to love him more. That was the problem. She had already loved him as much as she could. Forcing herself into romance had taken the life out of her to give him what she believed he needed from her.

"Aang," she said, brushing his hand from her cheek, "I'm not okay. I need to tell you something."

He lowered his hand, and she looked away. With her other hand, she nervously combed some of her hair from her eyes.

"I...I can't marry you."

She thought she could hear shattering in the air. Certainly something was buzzing around her brain.

"You...you have to know," she began, pushing herself to look up and regretting it. The shattering she heard was his face. He looked broken. She looked away, forcing herself to continue. "You have to know I love you, Aang. I do. I always have but it's taken me a long time to realize that I just...I just don't love you in the way you want me to."

He started to speak, but broke off in stutters, so she continued on.

"After the war ended, I was so happy, and so thankful I had you. I cared about you more than anyone else. Because I...I couldn't imagine a world without you Aang, and I still can't." Her face was wet. Was she crying? She couldn't tell anymore. "The world needs you. And I'm sorry I can't be the person you want me to be, because I've tried so hard to deserve you but everyday...everyday it just feels like I'm lying to you and lying to myself...and I hope you blame me. I don't deserve you, and I'm not sure anyone does. But I know that you deserve someone who looks at you the way you look at them."

She held his gaze, no matter how much it hurt. It didn't matter much; she could hardly see through all the blurriness blocking out the details from his face. "You deserve someone who loves you the way you do them. I can't deny you that anymore. I've been so afraid to lose you, that I've held on as long as I could but...I've been dying inside with this lie." She wanted to bury her face in her hands. Her hair had fallen back into her face, and as she reached to wrench it back behind her ear, Aang did it for her.

His thumbs caught her tears and gently smeared them away. Then before she could stop him, he held her against him. Wetness dripped down her back. He was crying too.

"Katara," he said softly, his voice breaking, "you could never lose me. I'm sorry you've been in so much pain. I wish...I should have seen it." Her arms tightened around him.

He lifted his head from hers, and she looked up at him. He tried to smile, but he was red faced, and his eyes were puffy. "I can't imagine a world without you in it either." He swallowed. "I've loved you as long as I can remember knowing you. But Katara...I'm sorry you've felt that you had to love me back."

"I do love you," she interrupted, "it's just-"

"-not the way I want you to," he finished. He released her, and she felt isolated and alone as his gaze left hers.

"You are very important to me, Katara," Aang began, "and I can't live a life without you in it. If that means we can only be friends, then I understand. And I can do that," he continued, his voice breaking, "I just...I need some time to adjust." He looked to her for reassurance and she nodded. "I don't know when things can go back to...the way they were. It hurts to look at you," he croaked, "but they will. Someday."

She reached out to take his hand, and he held hers. It felt like a long time they just stood there, in the moonlight, holding onto the memories of each other with all they had, knowing they would not be the same when they broke apart.

Finally, he pulled away, looked at her one last time, and walked to the door.

She couldn't turn and watch him. It would hurt too much. She was already starting to sob; curling over to stop her body from shaking.

As she fell to her knees, her eyes landed on the fallen bluebell inches in front of her.

She took it from the floor, and held it against her heart, just as Aang had done before he released it. So much blue in such a small space.