When they realized it was love

It was a sunny afternoon in Ba Sing Se, a couple of weeks after the passing of sozin's comet. Aang was sitting in the living room of the house in the upper ring that the gaang was staying at. He was reflecting and thinking of a question that he had had for the past day or so. The question was simple: "when had they realized that the feelings they had for one another were love? "

"They" of course being him and his best friend and now girlfriend katara. The answer of the question was obvious for him. He developed a crush for the water tribe girl the second he laid eyes on her after being freed from the iceberg. But the moment his feelings for her went from being a crush to love was when he unlocked his air chakra at the Eastern Air temple. When he realized that the love of his entire nation was reborn into his teacher, best friend and confidant, he had realized that his feelings for her were pure love. He knew the answer to the question. What he did not know and what he was curious about was when katara realized her feelings for him were love. They had only been a couple for a week or so and he didn't want to pressure her or to rush things. Being with katara had been the best time of his life and he didn't want to ruin it. But he was really curious as to what her answer to the question would be, so he decided he was going to ask her whenever he saw her.

He wouldn't have to wait long, as the waterbender had just entered the house.

"Hey Katara!" Aang greeted. "Hey Aang!" she responded. They hugged and Aang looked at her with a nervous gaze.

"Katara, can i ask you a question?" he asked. "Sure, what is it?" She responded. "This may sound weird" He continued "but i wanted to ask you when was the moment you realized your feelings for me where love?" She looked confused so Aang continued to try to explain himself. "What I mean is, when did your feelings for me change from just friendship to something more? I was curious but if you don't want to answer then…" Katara laughed, finding his nervousness adorable.

"Aang, it's ok" she said as she put a hand on his shoulder "You worry too much". She then started to think of an answer. "I guess i had never thought of that, i don't really know what to say". She continued thinking quietly with Aang waiting for her answer. "Ok, so let me explain." she said.

"At the beginning of our travels, i couldn't see you as anything but a friend. But there was always something else there that I saw in you, but I'm not sure if it was immediately love since then." She looked at Aang, who nodded to her to continue talking. "It wasn't until we reached aunt Wu's village that something changed. When she read my fortune, she claimed that i was going to marry a very powerful bender"

"Oh yeah, i remember it!" Aang interrupted.

"Huh? But it was only aunt Wu and me, how can you remember what she said to me?" Katara asked.

Aang felt the heat rushing to his cheeks and as he mentally slapped himself, he awkwardly tried to change the subject. "Oh, heh, nothing, i, uhmm… Continue what you were saying!"

Katara suspiciously looked at him and then continued. "alright i guess" she also added a mental note to herself to ask him to elaborate more on it later before continuing. "so, as I was saying, I was told that I would marry a very powerful bender. I didn't immediately think of you, but after you stopped that volcano, sokka commented that you were a really powerful bender. And after that, I started seeing you in a different light."

"so that's when you realized you had feelings for me?" Aang asked. "yes, but i don't think that was love yet." Katara replied.

For the next few months in our travels, my feelings for you only grew stronger, even if I hadn't realized it at the moment. That's why I proposed we kissed at the cave of two lovers and why I genuinely felt hurt when you rejected my advances."

Aang cringed as he remembered his poor response and wording as Katara continued.

"But after we kissed in the cave, I became even more sure that I wanted you to be more than just my best friend. It was really beautiful. One may think that that was THE moment i realized i loved you. But that wasn't it."

"so, when was the moment?" Aang asked. "when Azula killed you" Katara simply replied.

Aang wasn't sure what to respond to that, so he simply told her to continue. And so she did.

"After you, well, died, I felt so destroyed and terrified it could only be compared to when my mother died. And when i realized the power of the grief i was feeling, i realized my feelings for you where the strongest i had ever felt for anyone. And when you woke up, I felt incredibly relieved and happy! But, i also felt scared."

Katara's face dropped and she continued melancholically. "I saw you die, and after that, i felt scared to be with you despite the fact that i knew i loved you. I felt so afraid of losing you again, it would have killed me. So I didn't want to be with you until the war was over. But i still loved you, and my feelings for you and the fear of losing you again made me confused. It only got worse when we kissed at the invasion and when you kissed me at the play."

Aang now felt incredibly guilty for all the confusion he brought her and he was about to apologize when katara continued.

"But I never lost hope in you. Despite my fear, I always knew that you were going to triumph and we could be together. And now, the war is over. And the confusion in my mind has been clear since. I love you"

Aang, with small tears of happiness in his eyes, couldn't hold it anymore. He got up to her and kissed her. A kiss so full of passion, emotion, and most important of all, love. They kissed for a full minute and then they separated. "I love you too" Aang said

They both laughed and shared a long hug.

"Thanks for answering my question Katara." Aang said. "no problem." she replied. They smiled at each other and then Katara spoke again.

"And what about you? When did you realize you loved me?"

"Well, my answer is a bit simpler"

Well, thanks for reading everyone! This is my first story but i think it turned out pretty good. Review please! Thank you and God bless

-Danny