This chapter is dedicated to ZukoEsEstupido.

Sokka led the group over the Avatar Bridge. They appeared in the townhouse practice gym, where Suki was doing her evening tai chi. After a round of hugs, they all went into the kitchen to debrief.

The group sat around the table, sharing a cup of chamomile while taking turns telling Suki the whole story of their trip to the spirit world and triumph over Mother Maggot and her children. Suki was an appreciative audience, marveling at her friends' ingenuity and courage.

"Were you worried sick about us?" Sokka wondered, stroking his girlfriend's arm solicitously.

"Well, I did guess that you had all gone into the spirit world together. The giant hole in the backyard was a big clue." She answered wryly. "And Jun happened to be in town, so I went to her with a pile of dirty laundry, and she told me none of you were in this world. The Order's spirit expert told me all I could do was wait. If you had taken much longer, I would have gathered a few brothers from the Order and flown Appa back to that portal on top of the mountain. But I figured you would be fine. You made it back once before." She shrugged. "I kind of wish I could have gone with you all, though. The spirit world sounds amazing!"

"Next time you can come along, Suki! Maybe we can all go together on a spirit world vacation someday!" Aang promised enthusiastically, then remembered what needed to happen before they did that. "Um, after I finish taking care of Mother Maggot with Kuruk, that is. And I'm not in a rush to do that."

"That's understandable," Zuko answered, raising an eyebrow at Aang. "But don't leave it too long."

"Of course not," Aang looked down into his teacup, hoping someone would change the subject.

"Well, I'm beat." Toph stood and stretched. "I never guessed energy-bending was so exhausting. Sleep well, gumflappers!" She headed towards the spare bedroom.

"I'm going to bed, too. Good night, guys." Steeling herself to be bold, Katara looked straight at Aang for a long moment before she turned to climb the staircase.

The airbender started to leave for Appa's stable out of habit, but Zuko took him by the shoulders and spun him back around, vehemently pointing at the stairs.

"That was an invitation, you idiot!" He hissed in his ear.

Sokka had purposely turned his back. Suki gave Aang a wink.

Full of nerves, he walked upstairs. If she didn't want him around, he supposed he could pretend he was just changing his clothes and washing up, and beat a quick retreat to Appa. They did have two separate bedrooms, after all. They had always shared them both indiscriminately, but there was plenty of space on the third floor, so that she wouldn't have to feel as if he were encroaching upon her.

Katara had left her bedroom door propped wide open, the airbender noted. He took off his shoes and shirt and brushed his teeth in his own room. Then he stepped out into the hallway between their rooms to say goodnight. Through the doorway, he saw her sitting at her vanity, taking her hair down. When she glimpsed him in the mirror, she turned around on her stool.

"Last night, you seemed pretty eager to talk. Do you want to do that now?" She offered. She wanted to make good on her promise, to do her part to be brave and reach out first. Though she wasn't sure how it would go, or even what she wanted, she owed him that much.

The idea of hashing out their relationship now was so overwhelming to Aang that it made all the exhaustion of the last three days hit him all at once. Surely they both needed a little time to think and recover from their spirit world journey first. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, I'm pretty tired." He admitted.

She smiled and sighed. "Me, too. We can talk later. Whenever you want to." She thought she caught him cast a longing glance at her bed, and it gave her an idea. Something that might make them both feel better. "Would you like to sleep in here?" She asked, trying her best to be nonchalant, even as her cheeks reddened, revealing her nerves.

His mouth dropped open, but he couldn't speak.

"I mean, just sleep." She clarified, recalling saying the same thing on her birthday a couple of years ago. The dependency she had hoped to avoid that night had long been established; she had slept poorly for the weeks they had spent apart, and felt certain he had, too, though he'd always said Appa's fur was softer than any sheets. She also remembered disapproving of the way Sokka and Suki had jumped right back into bed as soon as they got back together after their separation, and accepted that this invitation might make her a hypocrite. If touch was a shortcut, they both seemed too weary to go the long way at the moment. But what made her most worried now was the possibility that she had been wrong about what he wanted, and her invitation was unwelcome. Though imposing herself on him was the last thing she had intended, his lengthening hesitation made it seem increasingly likely that she'd just done exactly that. She prepared to swallow her humiliation and take it back.

Aang blinked and caught his breath. "Sure." He knew he was incapable of refusing himself any chance for contact with her, especially if lying with him would make her feel better. It didn't matter if it only hurt him more in the long run. Her offer gave him hope: obviously she wouldn't suggest such a thing if she knew for certain they would never get back together. But he also felt wary about it, unsure where she meant tonight's boundary to be, and so he instinctively held back, to try to protect them both from rushing in.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. They continued bustling through their bedtime routine, much the way they always had before, pretending not to feel consumed by self consciousness. This felt so much more strange and solemn than the first time they had slept together. Finally he lay down on the right side of the bed, his normal side. He stayed near the edge, to give her plenty of space, even though the mattress had a bit of a dip in the middle, from the way their combined weight had made it sag. She lay down too, on her back. Eyes wide, he stared up at the ceiling. He was so electrified by her closeness that he was sure he wouldn't sleep at all.

Katara was afraid she'd made a horrible mistake, suggesting they sleep together again so quickly. It felt wrong to lie here next to him, disconnected like this, even lonelier than the many times she'd cried herself to sleep missing him. Then she reminded herself that he had probably felt the same all of those weeks, and was understandably too worried about her reaction to try to bridge the gap between them now. So she had to be the one to do it.

She gathered her courage and took a leap. Her hand touched his, under the covers. Through the darkness she saw him looking back at her, eyes full of questions.

"Come here. Please." she implored him.

Immediately, Aang scooted closer and opened his arms to her. As she moved toward him as well, she turned away, while pulling his arm around her middle, so that her back rested against his chest. It was one of their regular sleeping positions, curling around each other, back to front in parallel. As they settled in, both felt their doubts and fears concerning this night melt away, though they still had plenty about everything else. It was like they were returning home.

"Is this ok?" He asked, to be certain, heart in his throat.

"Mmhm. Thanks," Katara murmured, already falling asleep.

Thrilled with gratitude and relief, he moved even closer, his nose sniffing the wondrous scent of her hair. She was so much softer than he remembered. His whole body relaxed and soon he was sleeping deeper and more peacefully than he had in weeks.

Katara woke enveloped in comfort. Her back was coated in the most exquisite warmth. She had never felt so secure and cherished. A familiar tattooed arm was draped around her waist, underneath her own arm. Surely she was dreaming.

She turned toward the warmth behind her. Aang was there, his expression awake, open, and unsure, looking at her as if a little bit afraid she was about to begin yelling at him. The fear she had caused in his guileless eyes caused her to burst into tears.

As soon as she started crying, he pulled her to him for a hug. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and pressed her gently to his chest, while they both lay on their sides, facing each other.

"I..….was…...so…...scared!" She wept brokenly into his neck.

"I know, sweetie. I was scared, too." He whispered, soothing her with his voice and shifting her a bit closer.

"I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. She had so much to apologize for - for stabbing him and twisting the knife, as Toph had put it, for the cold distance she had put between them, for her repeated rejections of his olive branches, for that weird, desperate moment with Zuko. But she wasn't coherent enough to express herself at the moment, and her sense of guilt only fed her hysteria.

"I'm sorry, too." He responded immediately, though he knew it was not the moment for detailed expressions of regret. He focused on calming her. "Shh. We don't have to talk now." He told her. His voice was the most gentle and reassuring sound she had ever heard. "Just let it all out."

"It hurt so much!" She was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"It did." He acknowledged, his own breath catching. "But I'm here now. I've got you."

They held each other tightly, as they both purged some of the negative emotion that had consumed them for the past six weeks. When her crying slowed and quieted, he pulled apart to look into her face, wiping under her eyes with his thumbs. He searched her eyes for permission to kiss her tears away, but she withdrew from his gaze, burying her face in his chest. Too happy to be holding her to feel discontented with her retreat, he stroked her hair, combing it with his fingers. They both felt as thankful and relieved as if they had just survived a bloody battle.

Katara and Aang came down the steps together, so late for breakfast that the others had already eaten almost everything. Sokka pretended not to have noticed the fact that they had both slept on the third floor for the first time since Aang's disappearance.

Zuko saw a smirk stealing onto Toph's face and grabbed her arm. "Don't you dare say a word," he whispered urgently in her ear. He was afraid teasing from the earthbender would scare away whatever tentative truce had been struck between the two.

"I'm due at the hospital." Katara said awkwardly to the group, hiding her face from them, in case her red-rimmed eyes gave her away. She grabbed a piece of fruit and left as quickly as she could. "See you all later."

"I need to leave today, too." Zuko announced after the door closed behind the waterbender. "I'm about to go up to my ambassador's house and see if I can commandeer his airship. If not, I'll have to head to the harbor to find out when the next ship for the Fire Nation leaves."

"You should take Appa!" Aang told him brightly. "That would be way faster!"

"Are you sure?" He had anticipated his friend's offer, since he had made it before, but hadn't wanted to presume, knowing how much Aang hated to be separated from his bison.

"Of course! He can just fly right back after a day or two of rest. He knows the way."

Zuko picked up his bag from under the table. "I'm already packed."

"Goodbye, buddy! We'll be waiting for news of the big engagement!" Sokka came over to say farewell, and Suki and Toph followed suit. Then Aang led the firebender out to Appa's stable.

"Well?" Zuko asked, as soon as they were away from Sokka.

"We just slept."

"In the same bed?"

"Yeah." A dreamy smile came over Aang's face. "She let me hold her all night."

"That's great!"

"It was. In the morning she cried, though. I think it was something she needed to get out, so that means it was good. At least she let me be the one to comfort her instead of….you and Sokka."

Zuko nodded. "That's right. That's as it should be. I'm glad you two are back on track. Maybe not totally made up yet, but I'm sure you'll get there soon enough. Just do everything that made her fall in love with you the first time, and it'll happen again. Kuruk said you have a year or so to…..get back to where you were before."

"I guess so."

"If you can't get her to 'bind you to the world' by then, I'll have to tell her." Zuko warned. "You can't let this happen again."

"I understand. I can't ask you all to go to the spirit world to rescue me again. That would be too much. You'll be a newlywed; you won't want to leave Mai."

"Here's hoping."

"Thank you so much, Zuko." The young men hugged.

Then Aang gave him a boost onto Appa's head. "Take this Hotman to the Fire Nation, buddy. Katara didn't get to tell you goodbye," he realized, looking up at his friend as he got ready to take flight.

"That's ok. You can tell her for me." The firebender felt grateful for the way he had grown closer to Katara through this adventure, but he felt they had already said to each other everything they needed to. He was too focused on the journey ahead, and what he would need to say to Mai, to spare a thought for the waterbender.

Aang nodded, patting his furry friend's nose. "Fly fast, Appa!" He waved at his two companions until they were just a speck in the sky.

Author's Note: In case it's not clear, Aang and Katara are not quite back together YET. They still need to have that talk.

Next chapter: Zuko's Homecoming