Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or its characters.

59

The phone rang just as her shirt was hitting the floor, and Sokka let out an audible groan. "You're seriously going to answer that? Right now?"

"It's Song," Suki explained, holding the phone up for him to see. "I haven't heard from her in two weeks." She answered it with an eager grin, her voice fading as she glided from the room.

Sokka flopped back down, his eyes trailing downward. "Sorry, bud," he said to his groin. "We were out-voted."

Just then, Suki emitted a shriek that sent him leaping off the bed in shock. "What is it?" he asked, sprinting into the living room. "What's wrong?"

But Suki ignored him, one hand over her mouth, the phone still pressed against her ear. "Are you serious?! That's amazing! Tell me everything... don't leave anything out!"

"It's cool... 'what's wrong' is more of a rhetorical question anyway," he grumbled as he sat down on the couch.

Suki shot him an irritated look. "Hold on, Song, Sokka's being a big fucking baby." She pressed her phone against her chest. "Nothing is wrong. Song is engaged."

"To Haru?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

"Who else?"

"Well, I didn't know," he complained. "We haven't seen them in a while. But that's pretty cool."

Suki pulled the phone back to her ear. "Sokka's excited for you guys. You guys need to come over as soon as possible, so we can celebrate." She grinned. "Tomorrow night, then. I'm so fucking excited. Bring the wine."

The gray light of morning was still filtering down from the tree tops when Katara emerged from the tent, stifling a yawn. Aang had re-lit the fire, and sat in a folding chair, warming some breakfast pastries.

Katara let out a little laugh. "I've never seen breakfast pastries as campfire-food."

"Well, I don't really eat eggs or bacon, so..." he shrugged, grinning. "But I did bring some for you, if you wanted it. They're over in the cooler."

"That was thoughtful, but that breakfast pastry is calling my name." She settled down in the chair next to him. "I'm so glad you brought me here," she said after a while. "This has been really special. Hands down, my favorite date ever."

A soft blush tinged his cheeks pink. "Thanks. It means a lot to me that you love it here. This place is pretty important to me."

"I can imagine. Ancient forests have a sort of mystical quality to them."

"It's not just that," he said slowly. "Since I found out about this place a couple years ago, I've always come here for... healing, I guess. For big things, or little things." He looked at her, and she felt the gray piercing through her. "This is one of the very few times I've come here to just be. I'm glad it was with you."

She smiled warmly at him, and pulled her flannel jacket more tightly around herself. "What were you healing from, before? If you don't mind my asking."

"Lots of things," he answered. "Sometimes, it was just... the drag of doing the same thing over and over. I don't think I was meant to stay in the same place all the time, doing the same thing every day. I want something new and distant, but that's not always a possibility. So I come here to recenter." Using a thin, sturdy stick, he stoked the fire, and soft flames rose a little higher. "Sometimes, it was big things. The homelessness, break-ups... the anniversary of my father's death."

She frowned. "I didn't know your father had passed," she said softly.

"I guess he wasn't my father, exactly," Aang explained. "But, Gyatso raised me. He passed away when I was twelve. You and Sokka are some of the few people I know who could possibly understand, because of your mother."

Katara nodded, sharing her silent understanding.

"I went into the system after that, and I never had a place to just be myself." He smiled almost wanly at her. "You know me- I love people, and hoarding 'stuff' has never been of any significance to me. But after six years in the system, I lost my sense of self, a bit, I think." He looked around. "Its taken a while to find it again, but coming here always helped. Coming here... and finding you."

It was a throwaway line, that last little sentence, said softly, as if he wasn't sure that he really wanted her to hear it. But she did. Standing, she made her way around the fire to kneel by his side. Enveloping his hand in hers, she rested her forehead against his. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I know that sort of thing is hard to talk about."

"Its not that hard," he said. "Not with you, anyway."

He held her eyes, and she held his, and something passed between them that she knew she wouldn't be able to put words to. Suki would ask her about it, and the words would stick to the tip of her tongue. It was only her and Aang, and no one else would understand. And then the moment passed, and he shook himself a little bit, and she was momentarily reminded of a dog emerging from water. She laughed a little, pulling his face towards hers to give him a soft kiss.

"I brought the mood down a bit, there," he said, blushing. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"I didn't bring you hear to dump my history on you," he continued. "I brought you here to let you know that I want to share my future with you. We've had some hiccups. I'm sorry for the part I played in them. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that again."

She smiled at him. "You couldn't. Not now. You know all my secrets -you've also seen me fall fifty feet after passing out from my fear of heights, and you didn't even tell anyone. You're too perfect, so you're stuck with me."

"I'm far from perfect," he said dryly.

"You are to me."

A/N: I hope the kataang camping trip was satisfying. Back to the real fake world for them

Also thank you, guest reviewer 'Zuko Sucks'. I appreciate your objective-ness and candid review.