A knock woke Aang from his not so peaceful slumber. It was a long day and it was nearly impossible for him to achieve the deep sleep he needed. Begrudgingly, he got out of his bed, threw on his night robe, and trudged his way to the door. Instead of some Water Tribe nobleman like he was expecting, it was Katara. When he got a good look at her, his heart sank.

Her hair was as messy as he had ever seen it, the bags under her eyes indicated that sleep had eluded her, and for the first time since the two had known each other, he could smell her body odor. Despite those qualities, she was stillI the most beautiful woman in the world to him. But once he saw the tears streaming down her face, his confusion to why she was standing in front of him in the middle of the night, turned to worry.

"Katara? Is everything-"

That was all he could get out before her lips were on his. He had wondered for years what it would feel like when their lips met properly. After the debacle of the Ember Island Players, he assumed that this would never happen again. She tasted exactly like he imagined, so… Katara.

He had made the long trip to the Southern Water Tribe to be there for Sokka and Katara as the 10th anniversary of their mother's death had arrived. His efforts to gauge how Katara was feeling all went up in smoke as each time he attempted to talk to her, she made some lame excuse to avoid any conversation about how she was feeling. Now that she was here with her slim frame pressed up against him in the middle of the night in her disheveled state, he knew exactly what she was feeling.

A tiny part of him just wanted to let Katara have her way with him for the night. With his teenage hormones going bezerk over the beautiful girl draped all over him, it wouldn't be all that difficult to just let his brain go blank. However, there was no way he could look himself in the mirror if he took advantage of Katara in her current state. She needed a friend; not a lover.

Carefully, he pushed her off of him. It killed him to see that this gesture only added to the pain she was feeling, as despite how dark it was, her eyes were practically screaming in agony. He was almost relieved when her confusion and utter sadness turned into anger at him.

In normal circumstances, the things she was yelling at him might have reduced him to a puddle of tears. Having his feelings for her be weaponized to insult him hurt, but they didn't hurt nearly as much as seeing his best friend like this. So he stood tall and proud as Katara continued her verbal onslaught while he patiently waited for his moment to comfort her.

When the storm ended and Katara was left panting for breath, he seized the moment to wrap his arms around her. Despite her not returning the hug and feeling how tense she was, he knew it was helping. Eventually, the ragged breaths became softer and softer and he could feel the tension she had within her release little by little until she crumpled into his embrace.

"I'm sorry," she muttered weakly against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. "It's alright, I'll always be here for you."

A/N: Next part will be released tomorrow :)