Author's Note:

Hey readers! I'm so sorry this chapter update took so long, but I hope you'll be excited to know that I realized I have so many more ideas for where to take this, and will hopefully release more chapters after this one very soon! Let me know what you all think! I am very excited about the new content I'll be making for this community, and it will all be about filling in the gaps between the finale and the tea shop in Ba Sing Se, and between then and the events of the Promise. Love this community! Feel free to leave a review or message me. I value all of your feedback!

A dying gust of air swept pathetically through lychee nut bushes and lightly brushed the moisture from the farmer's cheek as he plucked small white camelias from the base of his plants and tucked them into a deteriorating wicker basket. He looked at the pale blue sky and wiped his forehead. Slim, light clouds floated in the high noon and he stood up, his knees groaning. This heat will ruin the harvest this year, better hope our savings will last.

He opened the door to his small home and walked to the cupboard, grabbed a tea kettle, and filled it with water as he set the basket on the counter.

"I wish this heat would quit, none of our lychee nuts will survive the summer." His wife poked her head around the corner.

"You better hope it doesn't. The heat is a sign of the Comet. It means we'll win the war." The farmer closed his eyes in realization and set the now full kettle on the stove top. His wife turned and bowed to their saturated portrait of Fire Lord Ozai.

"Well, let's hope it ends quickly then." He firebent the burners to life.

Aang grabbed his staff and walked into the hallway when he heard Toph yelling at Katara through her door. He tried to slip away but felt Toph's hand grab his glider and he stopped.

"You better fix this Twinkle Toes. I can't stand all of this angsty mush between you two." Aang smiled awkwardly and took his staff back.

"Yeah, haha. I'll try." Toph got in his face and put a finger in his chest.

"No. You will fix this." Aang felt a chill travel the length of his arms and down his back. She shoved past him and walked down the hallway. He breathed out and faced Katara's door, hoping she would walk out, but at the same time hoping she would not. Before he had time to prepare himself, the knob turned, and she stepped into the hallway. Katara stopped and Aang looked up at her. Her opal eyes were bending the breath away from his lungs, the sweat from his body, as her beauty overwhelmed him. The words he had always wanted to tell her nearly slipped from his tongue, but he swallowed them.

Minutes seemed to pass in the tension, neither speaking. Why is he just standing there? I'm not going to wait forever for him to apologize. She put her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"Oh, haha. Er, nothing, just checking to see if you were ready is all." Aang shook his head.

"Of course I am. Let's get this over with." She rolled her eyes and stormed away.

Aang winced as her heels slapped on the wood planks and he followed slowly behind.

Sparse clouds were chased away by the orange setting of the sun as it launched its last rays across the evening, settling bright amber tones over the palm trees and volcanic stone of the ravine as the group silently made their way to the base of the cliffs. Exchanging only brief glances, they descended and Sokka clumsily sauntered to a rock outcropping to explain the drill.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but that was extremely awkward. Can we try to be productive tonight without drama getting in the way?" He swung his head at Katara and Aang, both looking away.

"Ok. What we're going to do is a little thing I'm calling the training gauntlet." Aang raised an eyebrow. "You'll run through this narrow path, Aang, and the rest of us will attack you as you pass by."

"Easy enough." Sokka squinted at him.

"Not so fast. If you get knocked down, hit, or you get off the path, you have to start over. And we're doing this until you make it through." Aang gulped while the others shook their heads. This was usually Katara's cue to encourage them all, but she was staring at the beach. The silence dragged on as Sokka waited for the group to respond to him.

"Well, if no one has any questions let's get going!" He stepped off the rock and ran off to hide in the ravine. The others followed suit, leaving Aang behind. Katara walked slowly to her position and Aang could see the sadness pressing on her shoulders. He wanted more than anything to reach out and hold her, let her know how sorry he was, but every time he spoke, he messed it up. I don't know if I'll ever fix this.

"Ready Aang? Go!" He closed his eyes and breathed in, setting his right foot behind him, and putting all his body pressure on his left. Once Sokka muttered the last words he relinquished the weight and set off in a dead sprint. Small air currents threatened to slow his pace but using a similar bending technique to the one he used with his glider he was able to cut through the air and increase his speed.

As he picked up speed and entered the ravine Sokka slid down a hill to his left and jumped in front of him, blocking the path. He unsheathed his sword and swung it over his head then jabbed at Aang's stomach. Aang slid under the first swing and ducked around the jab, twisting and landing in a horse stance. He flicked his wrist and sent Sokka flying with a pillar of earth. As he turned to begin running again, Suki had crept behind him and was inches away from landing a roundhouse kick to Aang's chin before he leaned back and spun around her. Suki brought her leg down and turned, sending three quick punches at Aang as he circled around her. He leaned his neck around the first two but was caught off-guard by the third which he side-stepped and blew a gust of air at her, sending her into Sokka. Aang deeply sucked in a gulp of air as he started jogging down the path once more.

Sweat dripped down his chin in a stream from his forehead and his joints squealed with every footstep. I never realized how much I needed Katara's warm-up yoga before. Droplets hung from his eyebrows and stung his eyes as they fell. He took one large breath and continued.

Zuko waited for Aang around the next corner, maintaining a strict traditional firebending stance. Aang ducked around the corner and Zuko snapped both of his fists forward and turned them, sending twin spiral flames at the spot where Aang had been standing. Aang covered himself in a dense alcove of earth and broke out of it by sending a stone hurtling towards Zuko. Zuko spun himself around the stone and leapt into the air, kicking small fire bursts towards Aang as he ran along the ground. Landing on a higher ledge, Zuko sent a blast just ahead of Aang, catching the airbender off-balance. Nearly falling, Aang desperately scrambled away from the fragmented rock, but was unable to flee before Zuko sent another rapid flurry of fire towards him. Using a basic form, he deflected the blasts and stood with his hands outstretched, the left before the right. As he waited for Zuko to make his next move, a rumbling shook Aang's feet and he jumped away from a large spike created by Toph. Aang could hear her maniacal laughter from across the divide. He leapt over the spike and Zuko sent another stream of fire his way as he jumped down from the ledge. As Aang ran to Toph's position she flicked her wrists frenetically, sending eight stone pillars out of the ravine floor. Aang dodged between them as they erupted from the ground, vaulting two and jumping off a third. Toph heard his uneven heartbeat and the interrupted, shaggy breaths coming from his lungs. He's distracted. Good. Time to teach baldy another lesson. Waiting for Aang to land in front of the final pillar, Toph sent another earthen spike towards an unsuspecting Aang.

"Ah!" He bent a gust of air under his feet as he launched himself over the stone, letting it slam into the pursuing Zuko.

"Oof. Hey!" Zuko skidded on the ground and clutched his stomach.

"Sorry Sifu Hotman!" Toph threw a boulder from atop the ravine.

"Take it head on Twinkle Toes!" Aang grimaced and shattered the rock with an outstretched fist. He gathered a stone gauntlet around his fist to counter Toph, but a crack of a whip echoed in his ear and he spun around to see a silent Katara in the middle of an advanced variation on the Water Whip.

He locked eyes with her, and she did with him. Aang dropped his gauntlet and Katara relaxed her water. They looked at their feet as a sadness crept onto their brows. Katara looked up at him as he faced away from her. Why does this have to hurt so badly? Just doing this right now, I can't think about anything else and I know he can't either. We used to have such a good flow, now it's shut down. He looked up and she was staring out at the water again.

"Stay focused you two!" Zuko launched a wall of fire towards Aang and he surrounded himself in a ball of swirling water that doused the flames. Katara nonchalantly covered herself in ice and stepped through unscathed, bending it away from her and sending it back into her pouch. Aang launched a weak gust of air at Zuko as he ran towards him.

"I am focused!" He slid and kicked a short burst at Aang who barely redirected it in time to dodge the quicksand Toph created under his feet.

"Then why are you holding back?" Aang furrowed his brow and silently side-stepped the line of jagged rocks Toph created behind him, grabbing one of the large stones with one hand as he spun and threw it at Zuko, sending him into the wall of the ravine. Flipping into the air Aang twisted and gathered a tunnel of wind that he launched at Toph, tossing her off her feet. Katara launched another whip at Aang as he landed, which he grabbed from the air and sent it careening back, but as he was about to finish the move, he locked eyes with Katara again. Tears were welling in them, and her shoulders were drooping. He let go of the water and walked over to her.

"What's wrong Katara?" She glared at him through glassy eyes.

"Nothing I want to talk to you about."

"Why?"

"You know why! Stop acting like you didn't do anything to ruin today or yesterday." The words stung and Aang could not contain his immaturity.

"Well, what do you want me to do? Travel back in time and change it? Believe me, I wish I could have Katara." He let the words slip venomously out of his mouth and instantly regretted it.

"Wait—Katara, I'm sorry—" Sokka was running up and spun Aang around by his shoulder.

"Aang I don't really know what to say to you. You're hardly ever like this. But Katara? You're always the focused one. What's gotten into you two? The Comet is just a few weeks away!" He was seething as Aang cowered under his perched eyebrows. Suki grabbed Sokka's hand.

"Come on Sokka…"

"What? They ruined this session. You guys need to get over whatever is going on between you two. And it better be now." Zuko and Toph brushed dirt off their shoulders as they walked up.

"I honestly don't even know why we do these things if it's never productive." Zuko sighed and crossed his arms.

"Why am I even here at all? This was all just time-wasting nonsense. I'm going inside." Toph bent herself out of the ravine while Zuko followed her.

"I'm going too. Figure this out you guys." Zuko glared at Aang and nodded his head to Katara as he walked away. Sokka kept his frown leveled at the two, ambivalent to the departure of Zuko and Toph. Neither of them spoke. Sokka let out an extensive breathy sigh and rolled his eyes.

"I can't handle this. C'mon Suki." Sokka turned on his heel and briskly walked out of the training grounds. Suki made eye contact with Katara and pointed her chin towards Aang as she followed Sokka back to the house.

The two shifted uneasily, the ocean spraying soft vapor on their skin as they stood close to the beach. Katara could feel her anger pulsing in her chest, the frustration burning her cheeks. But behind that she was hurting. Aang's words had stung her, and she wanted him to know that. At the same time, she never wanted their relationship to come to the point where they could not even speak or look at one another. All I want to do is go back to that stupid cave and dance again and be in love, fly back to Ba Sing Se and walk the streets at night while we look at the heavens, but we can't. Not yet. Not when we can't even do anything around each other. I know I must've hurt him, I just wish he would stop running away.

She stroked a strand of her hair and turned to him. He was kicking the dust and his shoulders were drooping.

"Aang, I…" He looked up at her. The gray of his irises told her the million places they would go and the days they would spend together, her words caught in her throat as his pupils dilated and she caught a sliver of the boy she fell in love with before peek from behind his gray curtains.

"What?" The boy fearfully dove back behind the immaturity and secrecy, leaving her cold and isolated. She looked away once more.

"Nothing."

Aang had seen the bright eyes of the hopeful girl who took him from the iceberg as they locked gazes, but his stomach dropped when he thought of the night before. Common sense told him to move on, but the uncertainty of not being with Katara was a venom to his inner balance. He looked away, and her words dropped his stomach to the floor. Her dejected arms hung loosely and he grimaced.

"See you at dinner, I guess." He opened his glider and flew away. Tears formed but he quickly drew them away, as he landed quietly at the house, making his way to his room and shutting the door. He gathered the loose sheets from his shattered bed and threw them on the floor in a heap. Collapsing into them he closed his eyes and tried to keep his mind away from Katara.

She watched him as he took off, similar tears forming and trickling down her jaw. Katara wished she knew how to fix their friendship, but nothing was working. Maybe we can't be friends after all this. And the thought itself drew a bout of sobs from her chest. Losing Aang in Ba Sing Se was one thing, but to lose his friendship would be unbearable. She knelt to the ground as the tears dried and she let in gulps of fresh air. I'll just go to bed early tonight. She picked herself up and slowly made her way to her room.

The light was beginning to fade on the horizon and Zuko took the teapot off of the stove. He set it on an aluminum tray with a stack of porcelain cups with a gold fire emblem on one side and a White Lotus pai sho tile on the other. Gifts from Uncle to my father. Obviously never used. He washed out the dust from the cups and dried them with a small flame from his hand and set them on the tray once more.

Sokka was pacing furiously as Zuko walked into the courtyard where everyone except Katara and Aang were gathered. He handed out the cups and filled them slowly.

"I can't believe them! We only have so many precious moments left before the Comet and they're quibbling like old seal turtles! I can't take this anymore." Without pausing he reached over and grabbed the cup Zuko had served himself and took a swig.

"Hey!" Sokka looked at him and shrugged, taking another drink. Zuko rolled his eyes and sent a small blast at Sokka's hand.

"Ow! Hey I thought you were giving it to me!"

"Whatever." Zuko poured himself another cup.

"Sokka, try to calm down a bit." Suki grabbed his arm.

"Trying! But how is Aang even going to try to take on the firelord if he never focuses when we train? And how can we rely on Katara if she doesn't either?" The others looked at each other and back to Sokka. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I should tell you something." Zuko leaned forward and rubbed his face then set his arms on his knees.

Sokka kept his eyebrow raised but motioned for him to continue by sitting down.

"Remember when Aang and Katara disappeared the other night at the play?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well Aang told Katara he liked her, or something like that." Sokka leaned back.

"Whoa…"

"And I guess Katara didn't feel the same way." Sokka sat back up and shook his head.

"I guess that makes sense. I've noticed him looking at her weird a few times, but I always thought it was just a one-time crush. Now I get it… But Katara has been downright weird ever since that night. What's with her?" Suki looked at Toph and Toph shrugged.

"She's grumpy because she likes him too." Zuko and Sokka's eyes darted to the blind earthbender.

"Wait what?" Zuko raised his eyebrow.

"But I thought…" Sokka rubbed his head.

"Well we didn't want to say too much. But I guess it's out now," Suki nudged Toph. "She was just scared of what it would mean for their friendship, and how close it is to when he'll face Ozai."

They stared at Sokka as he covered his mouth with his fist and closed his eyes. After two minutes he grinned and smacked his forehead.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before! Of course they like each other. With all the romantic cave shenanigans and the kisses on the cheek, I guess it makes sense they would be into each other." He paused. "But obviously their dynamic is not working right now."

"You said it. I can't handle all this drama." Toph stuck out her tongue and laid on her back.

"I know!" Zuko stood.

"We have to get them to talk about it and figure things out." Suki set her cup down. They looked at Sokka again as he brought his fist to his chin.

"Oo! I know. You guys tell Katara you want to have a girls night on the beach, and me and Zuko will tell Aang we're going to look for melons or something. Then, when they're both in position… boom!"

"Boom?" Suki grinned.

"Yes! Toph earthbends them onto a pillar and they'll be forced to talk."

"But Aang can earthbend Sokka."

"I know, that's why we'll have Toph metalbend their hands together!"

Suki exchanged a glance with Zuko and Toph nodded.

"That's actually not a terrible idea Sokka." Zuko picked up the empty cups.

"Thank you. It feels good to be appreciated." Suki rolled her eyes and put her head on his shoulder.

"Don't get used to it Captain Boomerang." Toph held her sides as a cackle erupted from her lips and Zuko chuckled quietly. Sokka glared at them but Suki smirked and kissed him on the cheek.

"How come we haven't been to any romantic caves yet?" Sokka smiled and kissed her.

"Was the Western Air Temple not romantic enough for you?"

"That doesn't count Sokka."

"I know! Don't worry, once we've defeated the Fire Lord I'll take you to every romantic cave in the world. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like too many caves." Toph sat up and smirked while Suki laughed.

"That's sweet Sokka." She kissed him on the cheek as Zuko returned.

"So when are we doing this?" He crossed his arms.

"Right now. We can't waste any more time and risk having them being distracted when the Comet comes."

"Okay." Sokka walked over to the window facing the tide and studied the terrain. "Let's trap them right there." He pointed at a small cluster of rocks in the middle of the beach and grinned.

"And where should we meet at?" Suki walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We should come from the forest and when I give the signal you earthbend them Toph."

"Sounds good to me. We can also make sure Katara wears those Fire Nation bracelets so I can metalbend them together." Sokka rubbed his hands together and smirked.

"This is all coming together perfectly." Suki and Zuko rolled their eyes.

"Alright let's get this over with." Zuko and Sokka's steps echoed on the antique wooden planks of the hallway as they made their way to Aang's room. Suki looked over to Toph.

"You want to grab some mochi and bring some to Katara? I saw Sokka hiding it in the kitchen." Toph jumped up.

"Yes of course! We better bring extra or I'll eat it all." They laughed and opened the kitchen door.