"She hasn't been herself these past few days" Sokka explained to Aang. They sat on the outer edge if their camp in a remote part of the Fire Nation. The group as a whole had unanimously elected to remain far away from any settlements where they could following the encounter with Hama. It seemed to somewhat comfort Katara, but she was still clearly affected by the events that night.

"I know" Aang replied, downcast. He had been there for her that night when she had asked for him to stay with her. Since then, however, she had gone the opposite direction. Craving solitude rather than closeness, she distanced herself from her friends and refused to practice with Aang. It was a familiar scene to Sokka, but his efforts to help her were largely shut down. It hurt Aang. She was distancing herself from him as well and it was killing him. Not just to see her in such a depressive state, but also because he needed her, as did they all, and she wasn't in a state to give. He missed her greatly and felt like a failure for a friend to have let her slip this far. He needed his friend back.

"Can you go talk to her for me?" Sokka requested. Her pseudo absence had affected them all. They all realised now how much they all needed Katara. Aang's love for her only grew as she gradually abstained from them all. It was like a malignant, painful tumour in his heart yet in the end, he wouldn't trade her for the world.

"Me? What could I do?" Aang didn't know why he fought it. Perhaps to try to hide his feelings from Katara's older brother. In reality he wanted nothing more than to go comfort her. He just didn't know if she would accept it or be mad at him for waiting so long, or even simply for showing up, or if Sokka would shun him for being completely smitten by his younger sister.

"She doesn't tell me this stuff anymore!" Sokka exasperated. Since they had left their home to join Aang and his quest, he had observed Katara becoming more and more reliant on the airbender, rather than her older brother. He didn't miss Aang's reliance on her, either. "I was there for her when Mom died and when you-" he cut himself off. Looking away and sighing, he continued, "Recently she's only ever talked to you when she's down. Just go talk to her, for me, please? She's already shot me down."

Sokka's confession surprised him. Maybe he knew more about his feelings and maybe even hers too than Aang thought. "Alright" he resigned, still apprehensive as to whether or not it was a good idea.

"Thanks, man" Sokka patted the younger boy's back. "Good luck in there."

Aang began his way back to their camp, while Sokka stayed, sharpening his sword. It was a humid evening, thus both boys went bare chested. He wondered if Katara would feel uncomfortable if he entered her tent like that.

Katara had only gone to her tent a half hour ago, a lot earlier than usual. Aang had a feeling she was doing anything but sleeping, going by the dark and menacing bags under her eyes.

He went up to her tent and crouched outside it, hoping that Toph was far enough away from him so that she couldn't hear his erratic heartbeat. "Katara?" he whispered softly, hoping she was awake.

The waterbender in the tent heard her name called from outside, and stilled. If she remained quiet enough, perhaps whoever was outside would go away.

Aang repeated her name and knocked on her tent with a this time Katara recognised him. It would be so much easier to reject Toph or Sokka, but saying no to Aang, the one person she had been wanting to talk with anyway, was not going to happen. She bit her inner cheek and told him to come in, blushing as she realised his chest was uncovered. "Is everything alright?" she asked him, covering up her own anguish.

"I'm okay, Katara" Aang told her. "But I think you know I'm not here for me, or because something happened to someone else. Is everything okay with you?"

Katara looked away. Of course he'd notice, he's Aang! They had spent so much time together travelling, and even taking plenty of time alone together. She should've known he'd notice it, no matter how hard she'd try to hide it all from them. It was the main reason she'd stayed inside so much.

At this point she hasn't spoken for almost a minute, looking down at the ground between them. Aang grew worried, wondering if he had impeded upon her privacy and if she was very uncomfortable in his presence.

"Sorry" she suddenly blurted.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"For- well, worrying you" she replied hesitantly.

"I'd rather be worried than you be sad" he said, his voice gentle. It amazed him sometimes the lengths he would go to for his friends, Katara in particular.

He had stated the obvious, but Katara was still surprised. 'So he really does know' Katara thought. Her attempts at keeping her feelings hidden had failed.

Aang caught her shocked demeanor. "What?" he asked her, gently placing a hand in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry" she apologised again. "I just don't know where to start, and it's a lot and I don't want to be a burden..." she trailed off, rambling.

"Woah, Katara" he stopped her rant. He moved his hand from her shoulder and interlaced their fingers. "You're not a burden on me. Or Sokka or Toph. You're my best friend."

His declarations continued to shock her. They had never labelled their relationship before, though she was undeniably closest to Aang. She smiled, though internally she felt as if it was a somewhat incomplete description of their relationship. "And you're mine." She knew her admission felt like so much more than mere friendship.

"Tell me what's wrong" he interrupted her happy thoughts of them together.

She sighed. "Well, ever since we left Hama's village..." she glanced to meet his gaze. He had known this was bothering her. "I don't know" she repeated. "This probably makes no sense, but... I feel like a firebender."

The answer did make sense to him. "Because... you hate them, and they're evil?" She nodded. "Katara, not all firebenders are bad! I bet most are actually okay. You shouldn't think of yourself like that."

"But it's true!" she argued. "By becoming a bloodbender, I now have the power to do as much damage as the firebenders do. You saw what Hama did. It's only use is for evil."

"Katara, that power is in all of us. Just like firebenders have the power to do good." Katara wasn't convinced. Aang sighed. "Did you know, using airbending, I can control the air within your body? I could suffocate you, or anyone really, in a matter of seconds. That power is within all of us, even the peaceful airbenders. Your ability to bend something doesn't define you." Aang had been told of the dangers of airbending, and why it was such a disciplined art. Truthfully, the somber reality of airbending scared him, but he did not let it define him. The monks had taught him that. "And if you don't believe me, you've seen me in the Avatar state... it really brings out the dark side of me."

"Aang, you're not dark-"

"And neither are you!" he reasoned with her. "That's my point. If being able to do all this, or having been in the Avatar state doesn't make me a bad person then bloodbending doesn't make you a bad one either. You haven't used it for evil like Hama did. You saved my life, again!"

She really hated it when he was right. Every part of her wanted to reject his reasoning, but she found that there was nothing she could say that proved him wrong. Other than her. "What if I am a bad person?"

"How could you suggest that?" he guffawed, incredulous. "Katara, we've been travelling together for so long now, I know you so well. You are not a bad person. You're amazing! You help me out more than you know sometimes." Katara still felt hesitant. "There's more, isn't there?"

"It's stupid."

"I've said worse" he joked.

She sighed. "It feels like I'm... afraid of the moon now. And that I'm afraid to waterbend in case I hurt someone."

"Is that why you've been avoiding waterbending with me?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't apologise" he smiled warmly at her. "Come on. I've got an idea."

Katara raised her eyebrows in confusion, but went along with it. If there was anyone in the world she could trust, especially right now, it was Aang. His ideas of fun had always intrigued her, and had a unique way of making people feel good. He tugged on her hand as he rose, taking her with him as he exited the tent together. He knew Toph would be suspicious by now.

With Katara avoiding waterbending lessons, Aang had taken to doing them on his own. He had found a

shallow lake nearby upon landing in the area that he used for his practice. Their hands remained interlaced as Aang led her through the dark woods, the sun now long under the horizon. Katara had never been afraid of the dark, she had seen much worse. The sight of the moon, however, made her wary. She could feel the moon spirit's power invigorating her, and all of a sudden she was hyperaware of Aang's presence. She could hurt him with her powers. Why wasn't he afraid of her?

The forest gave way after a few minutes to a clearing. A small, flowery meadow was proceeded by a large lake, right in the heart of the forest. The moon's glint off the water's surface created a beautiful effect.

The waterbender looked at Aang for confirmation, and he smiled, lulling her towards the water's edge. The tall grass and flowers tickled their bare feet and calves as they rolled up their pants to avoid soakage.

"Just waterbending?" Katara asked. "I'm not sure how this is supposed to help..."

"Just follow my lead" he continued smiling.

They took sparring positions, the moves starting off basic, bending the water and rotating around each other. It was incredibly easy, Katara found, to mimic and follow Aang as he twirled and played with the water in ornate patterns around their bodies. He began moving, grabbing her hand. Katara realised that what they were doing was more than just waterbending. She recalled the moves they performed from the night they shared an intimate dance at the cave party. Her heart soared at the realisation. This time they really were alone, and nothing could really stop them from making the move they had both wanted to that night.

They alternated from closeness to distance, as Aang twirled her around in the lake, sending water in all directions. Each time Aang pulled away from Katara, she felt saddened by the lack of close contact.

They danced around each other, following each other's cues and bending the water around them. Katara realised she needed this. A reminder that waterbending was a form of art, beautiful and immaculate. With Aang's help she realised it was also fun. It was the most she'd had in a while.

Their routine continued, their steps and even heartbeats completely in sync. They circled each other one more time, before Aang dipped her in his arms. This time it wasn't such a surprise for Katara. They stood there, in each others arms silently for a few moments, their faces were once again mere centimeters apart, and Katara felt herself moving to finally do what she had restrained herself from doing during their previous dance. They unconsciously began leaning into each other, as Katara shifted her hands to support her movement. ' Maybe if I just...'

"Wow!" cheered two voices from the side. "Nice performance, guys." Sokka was just as enthralled by their performance as he was the first time. Although he was completely supportive of their future relationship, he would not have them openly flaunting a relationship as they travelled so intimately together. He could deal with it being in the background for now.

Aang instinctively let go of Katara, letting her fall back into the shallow water, again sending ripples throughout the lake. She scowled at the boy she had just thought about kissing. Toph and Sokka merely laughed at his antics, as Aang blushed awkwardly, helping Katara up. "Sorry" he chuckled nervously as Katara bent the water out of her.

"Almost as good as the original!" Sokka continued to praise, eager to make them both forget the moment they almost had. Despite all of that, though, he was immensely grateful for Aang. It looked like Katara had enjoyed herself for a little while. He supposed he might've felt the same way the first time he met the airbender if he hadn't been so stuck up.

Aang and Katara removed themselves from the water to awkwardly join their friends. As they walked back to camp, Sokka clapped Aang's shoulder. "Thanks for that, Aang" he said honestly. "You've really helped her you know."

"Ah, it was really nothing" the younger boy laughed off. He really didn't want to talk about what had just occurred with Katara's brother. If he found out how he felt...

"Seriously. I mean it when I said she hasn't been as happy as this since before Mom died. She doesn't talk to me about this kind of thing anymore... so just do me a favour and take care of her, alright? She says she doesn't need help or anything and she doesn't but it's nice to have support" he said, thinking longingly of Suki. She has been the last person to make him feel good since Yue's death.

"Alright, Sokka" he assured his friend. "I'll make sure of it."