Author Note: Hello! I'm so sorry for this wait! With school, and overtime at work, it's been a crazy few weeks. Also, I want to make sure this chapter is PERFECT! But you guys… we did it. This is it. I have absolutely LOVED writing this! I am kind of sad that it's coming to an end, but I am so happy with how this went! And, like I mentioned, I will be writing more Kataang fics soon! Be on the lookout for a series of one shots – I already have some ideas for those (although I cannot promise those will come out super soon! With school on the schedule now, I'm finding it way harder to write these as often as I have been in the past!)

Without further ado – THE PROPOSAL!

The Southern Water Tribe

"I'm telling you, Aang, Katara loves you enough that if you wanted to give her a betrothal necklace, she would probably wear it."

Sokka, Hakoda, and Aang had retreated to Tyla and Noquan's house once more. After thanking them nearly one hundred times, Aang agreed to use their kitchen table so the three of them could come up with a plan.

"Sokka, I wouldn't dream of trying to replace her mother's necklace. I know how much it means to her."

"Aang," Hakoda spoke up, "you never told us what the Air Nomad traditions were. Maybe you could incorporate both. Since you are from two different nations."

Aang sighed, placed his hands on his face, and shook his head. "Air Nomads don't really get married. I think I might be one of the first ones. My culture doesn't follow the common family traditions the other nations do. We are raised by monks. I never even knew my parents."

"But," Sokka spoke up this time, "surely people loved each other? There had to be couples and such?"

"Yes, Sokka, but no one got married. Air Nomads don't believe in laws like that. We followed more of a 'love who you love, do what you want to do' philosophy." Aang looked down at his hands, feeling overwhelmed. "I think that's why I don't know what to do. I love Katara so much, and I want to marry her. I don't know anything about marriage, or proposals, or anything, really. I'm out of my comfort zone."

"Do Air Nomads have any traditions for just, love? Flowers, big gestures, anything?"

"Well," Aang replied, "they did this one thing. When you professed your love for someone, you get down on one knee, and would usually do some kind of Airbending."

"That's it," Sokka shouted, waving a hand in the air, "you need to get down on one knee, and do an Airbending trick!"

"But Sokka," Aand said, feeling a little hopeless, "that's just Air Nomad traditions. I already told you, I want to do something she will love. She doesn't know those customs. She wouldn't understand what was going on."

"Sokka might actually be on to something, Aang," Hakoda interjected, "instead of an 'airbending trick', you could present her with a gift. And it could be something Water Tribe."

"Okay, so, if I do that," Aang said, in his normal hopeless tone, "what am I going to give her? I already decided not to give her a betrothal necklace."

The three men sat in silence, all in deep thought. Sokka placed a hand on his chin, raising an eyebrow. He mirrored his father, who sat in nearly the same exact position. Aang, however, laid his head on the table, feeling a bit defeated. The pressure of making it perfect for Katara was starting to truly get to him. She deserved the world. Why couldn't he figure it out?

"I've got it!" Sokka yelled, which made Aang and Hakoda jump, startled. "Give her a betrothal armlet!"

"I don't know Sokka.."

"Come one, it's perfect! You're a creative kid, remember that necklace you made her? When Zuko took the actual one? You can make an armlet! And present it on one knee! And she will love it!"

Aang lifted his head. This didn't sound like a terrible idea..

"Sokka, I think you're on to something," Hakoda chimed in, "Aang, we can help you carve a betrothal armlet. That way, it's similar to Water Tribe traditions, but you don't have to ask her to replace Kya's necklace."

"That's it," Sokka spoke rather loudly, "Aang, you're lucky you have two Water Tribe geniuses to help you. Where would you be without us?"

"And you're sure she will like this?"

"Aang, if I know my sister at all, she won't care how you do it. She loves you. You could show up and say 'marry me', and she would say yes."

This caused Aang to feel relief wash over him. It was a good plan, and he felt Katara would love it. He smiled as the three of them stood up, Aang pulling them into a group hug. Sokka protested as usual, but went with it anyway. "I knew I could count on you guys."

The Next Morning

Katara walked around her father's new home. It was early, and Sokka and Hakoda were still sleeping. They had been out late last night, and Katara had fallen asleep before they had gotten back. She sighed as she remembered the conversation she had with Sokka the night before. Sokka had been out looking for food, when he came busting in, announcing that he ran into a "friend" and would be joining them for dinner that night. Katara didn't think much about it, until she went to bed and both of them were still gone. She felt they might be up to something..

"Morning sis," Sokka's groggy voice came from behind her, breaking her from her thoughts. "Sleep well?"

"Better than you, it seems," Katara responded, with a harsher tone then she intended.

Sokka shrugged, obviously not phased by her sass. "Dad and I decided to get some much needed father-son time," he replied sleepily. "We saw some family friends, but ended up just hanging out, just the two of us. It was nice."

Katara placed her hands on her hips. "Well, did the two of you forget that today is an early meeting? It starts in about two hours. And you both need to be well rested!"

"We will be fine," Sokka shook his head, "you need to stop worrying about us."

"I'm not worried, Sokka," she sighed as she continued, "but if today's meeting goes well, we could be done. Which means we can go back to Ba Sing Se. Which means-"

"I know, I know," Sokka interrupted, "you miss your boyfriend. I get it. Well, hopefully you will see him soon."

"Well, let's hope for your sake you and dad don't fall asleep! If we end up stuck here for a few more days because you two decided to stay up all night, and I don't get to see Aang soon, I won't be a happy camper."

"Hey, once upon a time you were perfectly content with just me. What happened?" Sokka asked this with a slightly offended look in his face.

Katara paused as her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. She knew Sokka would make fun of her for saying it, but she couldn't help it. She quietly, but very matter-of-factly stated, "what happened, is I fell in love."

There was silence. Katara didn't know how Sokka would respond to that. She felt it was pretty obvious she and Aang were in love, but for the sake of Sokka's "oogies", she and Aang agreed to try and keep the "I love you's" between the two of them. But to Katara's surprise, Sokka didn't make a weird face, or act grossed out. Instead, a small smile crept across his face. Then, he walked over to Katara, and gave her a hug.

"Sokka," Katara said with confusion in her voice, "are you feeling okay? You're usually grossed out when I talk about it."

Sokka released her, then threw his hands in the air. "I guess, as you and Aang get older, the less gross it feels. I've seen the two of you grow up, and have seen how your love has grown as well. I guess it feels less gross, and more, well, cute."

Katara's eyes grew wide at the sudden maturity in Sokka's words. "Even though I'm still your little sister?"

"Yes, even though you're my little sister. I guess I've given some thought to all of the other guys you could have dated. And well, I guess I'm just really happy it's Aang. The protective big brother in me is happy you're with someone I can trust."

This caused Katara to return the favor and she brought her brother into a big hug. He protested for a moment this time, but after a few seconds, he gave up and let his little sister cling to him.

"Okay, okay, I get it, we love each other, how nice."

Katara rolled her eyes as they released. "And for a minute I thought you were growing more mature." She laughed as she walked into the kitchen to start making some food. "Sokka, will you please wake dad up? Breakfast will be ready soon."

"Yeah, you got it, sis."

Later That Day

"I'm telling you, Chief Hakoda, ever since the issues with the North were taken care of, our people have been thriving. We do not need the North's help any more! We are fine on our own."

"While I think Tokana has a point, Chief Hakoda, I still believe taking their help is a good idea. We've rebuilt a lot, but we still have a long ways to go. If they want to help, why not take it?

"Noquan," Tokana shouted back, "do you not remember what happened the last time we took the North's help? What if that happens again?"

"I-"

"Gentleman," Hakoda said, one hand rubbing his forehead. "We aren't going to get anywhere if we can't even speak nicely to each other. Let's take a fifteen minute break to clear our heads. We will resume soon."

The group of people all stood from their chairs at the round table as the recess was called.

Katara, Sokka and Hakoda all walked into the hallway. "This isn't going to finish up today, is it," Katara said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She longed to hug the man she loved. This was, believe it or not, the longest time they had spent apart. And her heart ached.

"I'm afraid not, Katara," Hakoda sadly said as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know you're missing Aang."

A single tear fell from Katara's eye. If she had known this was the state of the tribe, she would have had Aang come with her. "It's okay, dad," she said, wiping her eye. "He's the avatar. I need to be able to spend time away from him. This is good practice."

The three of them sat on a bench in silence for a while. Not another word was said for the rest of the recess. Hakoda and Sokka exchanged looks from behind Katara's head, which luckily, she didn't notice.

"We should get back in there," Hakoda said as he stood, motioning for his kids to follow him.

Once again, the group of people sat around the table. Katara took a deep breath, hoping, praying that it would end soon…

Knock..Knock..Knock..

The group all paused what they were doing. "Chief Hakoda," Noquan said, an eyebrow raised. "Are you expecting anyone today?"

Hakoda ran through the plan in his head. This was not when Aang was supposed to surprise her..

Knock..Knock..Knock..

"Well, someone see who it is!"

Sokka stood up, choosing to do it himself. He felt confusion wash over him. "This is not the plan, Aang.."

He opened the door. As he did so, his mouth hung wide open. This was the last person he expected to see in the whole world.

"Zuko? What are you doing here?"

The young Fire Lord stood at the door, dressed for the cold weather, but still looking exceptionally freezing. "Sokka, can I please come in? I've been walking around in the snow for far too long. It took me forever to find this. No one knew how to help me."

"Sorry, yeah sure! Come on in!"

"Lord Zuko," Hakoda said as he stood up. "What do we have this pleasure?"

The rest of the group of Water Tribe officials all looked at Zuko, thoroughly shocked to see the Fire Lord in their presence.

"Chief Hakoda," Zuko began, "I do apologize for barging in like this. But I was wondering if I might have a word with you? It is of utmost importance."

Hakoda nodded and motioned to the hallway. The two of them made their way to a small room.

"Is there something wrong, Lord Zuko? These meetings have nothing to do with the Fire Nation…"

Zuko raised his hand. "Please, call me Zuko. And I'm here because I know what Aang is planning. And I want to be there for my friends. And I brought Toph. But she is still in my air ship. She doesn't love coming down here, since she can't see with her feet. Suki and Mai are here too. I'm sorry I didn't send a messenger hawk. I was worried Katara might see it and it would ruin Aang's surprise."

Hakoda smiled and bowed to Zuko. "Thank you so much for coming. I know this will mean a lot to Aang. Do you have a cover story? Since Katara is in the meeting. We need to finish before Aang can propose tonight."

Zuko sighed. "The only thing I could come up with, was just a routine check on the other nations. I actually want to be doing that. What my nation did to everyone during the war is something I have to clean up. I want to show all the nations that I am here to help."

Hakoda raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess that should do. And it is actually a good idea, I think!"

"Thanks, Chief Hakoda."

The two men walked back to the room of curios Water Tribe members. "Members of the counsel," Hakoda said as him and Zuko took some seats, "Fire Lord Zuko is here to show support for the Water Tribe," he turned to Zuko, "Lord Zuko, would you like to explain the reason you are here?"

"Yes, thank you Chief Hakoda," Zuko began, "I have been working up ways to help the other nations. My people oppressed the other nations for far too long. And all though I may not be able to fix everything that happened, I want to do my best to earn the trust of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. So, I will be visiting the other nations in hopes to help in any way that I can."

"That's very kind of you, Lord Zuko," Hakoda replied. "Do we have any questions for the Fire Lord?"

A Few Hours Later

"That… got us nowhere," Katara sadly said as she walked out of the building. "I guess we are going to be here a few more days."

"Hey," Sokka replied, "at least Zuko is here now! It's practically a reunion!"

Katara rolled her eyes and looked at Zuko. "Well, it's all well and fun that you're here, but you're one of the main reasons that meeting went no where. And now I have to wait even longer to see my boyfriend!" There was a hint of sarcasm in Katara's voice, but Zuko flinched all the same. He knew Katara trusted him, but to be quite honest, he was still a little scared of her.

"I'm sorry, Katara," he said, "I wasn't aware that today was such an important meeting."

"Well, tonight we can relax anyway! Because tonight is the festival!"

"What festival?" Zuko asked.

"It's a festival that they are throwing for us," Katara said quietly. "It's a little embarrassing, if you ask me. I don't know why our tribe feels the need to do this."

"Come on Katara," Sokka said enthusiastically, placing an arm around Katara's shoulders, "it will be fun! And it's all for us! What could be better?"

"I'm just saying. We don't need people gawking at us all night. It's weird."

Zuko decided to change to subject. "Sokka, you should come to my air ship with me. I have a surprise!"

"You two go, I'm going home to relax before tonight."

Sokka and Zuko waved to Katara as the three parted. Once she was out of view, Zuko turned to Sokka. "So what is the plan?"

Sokka smiled. "Oh wait till you hear, Katara is going to be so surprised!"

"Well, on that note, I actually do have a surprise for you, Sokka."

The two of them were approaching Zuko's air ship. "Ohhh, what kind of surprise?"

The door opened as Sokka asked this question. Zuko smirked, knowing Sokka was going to be very happy to see the people he brought with him.

"SUKI!"

"Hi, Sokka!"

"What are you doing here?" Sokka yelled this as he embraced Suki tightly.

"Zuko invited me!"

Sokka brought her into a passionate kiss. "Oh I missed you."

"Okay, okay," came another familiar voice from the ship, "now I'm gonna say it. Oogies!"

"Toph! You're here too!"

"Of course I'm here! I wasn't gonna miss Twinkle Toes proposing to Sugar Queen for anything!"

"Now it is a real reunion!"

The Festival

The festival was loud and lively. There was live music, dancing, festival games, and fun. Small children ran about, with toys they had won, laughing and having a great time. Katara was sitting on a bench at a table. She was wearing her regular snow jacket, but her hair was completely down and flowy. She also opted to wear a little more makeup than usual, since tonight was a special night. Since the arrival of Zuko, Katara had barely seen Sokka. It wasn't until later when she found out that Suki had joined on Zuko's trip, and ever since her arrival, she and Sokka were inseparable. While Katara was happy for them, considering they hadn't seen each other for months, it made her ache even more to be in Aang's embrace. "Calm down Katara," she thought as she laughed at herself. "It hasn't even been a week. Surely you can handle a few more days without your boyfriend."

As much as she forced herself to think this, it didn't make her feel any better. She loved him so much, every moment spent away from him felt like a lifetime.

"Katara," shouted Sokka from one of the games, noticing his sister sitting alone at a table, "what are you doing over there? Come play a game and stop feeling sorry for yourself! You'll see your boyfriend soon."

Katara grimaced. Of course Sokka could tell that's what she was thinking about. "I wasn't thinking about Aang, Sokka, I-"

"Oh, please sis," Sokka interrupted, "don't lie to me. It's okay, I understand you miss him. But you can't just ignore this awesome festival!"

Suki walked up and grabbed Katara by the hand. "Come on, Katara," she said softly with a smile. "Let's have some fun!"

Katara couldn't help but let a smile escape her lips. "I'm sorry I'm so boring! Okay, yes lets have some fun!"

Without another word, Suki brought Katara near the music, where a group of people were dancing to the lively music. Suki grabbed Katara's hands and the two friends twirled in a circle to the beat of the music, smiling and laughing. Sokka stood off to the side, slightly jealous that his girlfriend left him behind to cheer up his sister.

This successfully cheered Katara up. The rest of the night flew by. A few Water Tribe members made speeches, thanking Sokka and Katara for being hometown heroes. Even a few small children got up on stage and giggled about, telling the crowd how they hoped they would be as cool as them when they grew up. Katara was nervous that she would be embarrassed by all of the worship, but instead, she just felt very loved. After a few hours, the crowds thinned out, leaving Katara, Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Mai and Hakoda sitting around a fire near the wooden stage, sharing some of their favorite stories. Katara felt very content and happy. The music still played on, with only a few young couples left, still dancing the night away.

Katara was snapped out of her thoughts, however, when Toph entered the stage, and the music stopped. Why was Toph here? As Toph did this, Zuko got on stage as well. Followed by Mai, Hakoda, and Suki. Confused, Katara looked over to her brother – only to find that he was no longer sitting next to her, but also walking to the stage.

"Katara, would you come over here, please?"

Confused, and now feeling a little more embarrassed, as what was left of the crowd all turned their heads to look at her, she got up, and walked to the open area in front of the wooden stage. She looked up, thankful for all of her friends and family. Why were they all there? What was going on?

And then they parted ways on the stage, revealing the person she longed so much for over the past few days. Katara's eyes grew wide as she saw Aang. He was dressed in his winter clothes, looking taller and more regal than ever. His face held a sweet, yet slightly nervous smile.

Katara's eyes filled with tears as he made his way off the stage towards her. "Aang? What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer at first. As she finished her question, he pulled her into a long kiss. A kiss that both had been longing for over the past few days. It would have gone on forever if they could, but they both pulled away, staring into each other's eyes. "Katara," Aang whispered, his nose pressed against hers. Tears also filled his eyes. His hands were placed lovingly on her back. Katara could feel them tremble as they embraced.

Pulling away a little bit, she looked at Aang, a hint of worry in her eyes. "Aang, you're shaking. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, now pulling back a bit, taking Katara's hands. He stared at them a little, then spoke again, "Katara, I.. love you so much."

"I love you too, Aang," Katara replied, still looking and feeling quite confused. "But you still haven't told me why you're here.."

Katara trailed off. Aang had let go of one hand and was pulling something out of his pocket. He kept it inside his hand, then he spoke again. "Katara, ever since the day you and Sokka got me out of that iceberg, my life has changed. Through everything that happened after – realizing it had been so long, learning the fate of my people, losing Appa, almost dying – and then winning the war – well, you were what always kept me going. You were my light, my north star, what kept me fighting every day. Every day with you, is my own personal fairytale. You have shown me the greatest love I have ever felt. And I never want to let go of that."

Katara's eyes continued to fill with tears. Then, Aang knelt down on one knee. Katara looked down at him, wanting to kneel with him, but before she did, Aang spoke again. "This is what Air Nomads do when they profess love to one another." He then opened his hand, to show an armlet, similar to the necklace she already wore, with a charm carved with the Air Nation symbol. "I know, in the Water Tribe, you would get a betrothal necklace. But, we are different. We are from two different nations, so I think it's only fitting this be a little different."

Katara listened with wide eyes, beginning to realize what he was doing. He held out the armlet now, a sly smile on his face, which caused Katara's heart to flutter. "I love you so much. I want to spend every day with you. I want to grow old with you. Katara…. will you marry me?"

She stared at him, tears now rolling down her cheeks, but now, a wide, bright smile stretched across her face. Without thinking, Katara grabbed on to Aang, pulling him up to his feet once again, and kissed him. Aang was surprised by this action at first, but quickly melted into it. He still held the Betrothal Armlet in his hand, but his other hand caressed her cheek as they kissed. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, holding him so tight, she thought she might never let go.

After a couple moments, she released. Staring into his sparkling grey eyes, she smiled.

"YES!" She shouted as loud and enthusiastically as she could before kissing him once more. The rest of the group erupted into cheers and jumping, Suki and Mai both wiped tears from their cheeks.

Aang took the armlet in his hand and tenderly placed it around Katara's arm. It twinkled in the lights, matching the twinkle in her deep blue eyes. They went in for one more kiss, before relaxing into a tight hug, enjoying each other's presence.

"I love you, my forever girl," Aang whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, and will for every day of the rest of my life."

Author Note: GUYS, I'm crying! I love them so so much, and I just felt super emotional writing this. I decided to make the "down on one knee" thing an air nomad tradition, as since this is a different universe, why not? I felt this would be the last chapter… but I'm feeling an epilogue might be on the table..

Thank you all SO much for the follows, likes, and reviews! I will never stop writing about Avatar. I love the characters so much, and love Kataang even more! Thanks so much guys!