A/N: Not sure what's happened to me lately with all the frequent updates, which is a good thing! Let's hope it continues. Well, here it is…
Aang's POV:
My eyes flutter open and I slowly become aware of the shallow throbbing from my stomach.
"Aang, you're awake." The gentle exclamation makes me tilt my head slightly to the source of the familiar voice, to find Katara hovering over me with a semi-relieved expression.
"Hey Katara." I croak out and soon enough I'm presented with a glass of water which I sip at greedily. "Where is everyone?" I ask when my throat feels quenched.
"They're outside, keeping an eye on the rebels. How are you feeling?" I exhale slowly at Katara's response, relieved that this whole mess has finally come to an end. Then I'm hit with a sudden realisation, 'Katara sensed it!' I breathe in deeply to calm my nerves before answering.
"I'll be alright." But Katara sighs in irritation at my evasive answer.
"How long was I out?" I ask quickly in an attempt to change the subject and to delay the obvious question that I know is dying to leave her lips.
"Just a couple of hours." Silence ensues and I fill the awkwardness settling in between us. Finally, Katara moves to sit on the edge of my bed, her gaze on me is firm.
"Aang." I shrink back at her demanding tone, Katara must have noticed as her shoulders slump slightly and her eyes soften. "You know you can stop hiding things now." I flinch at her hurt tone.
"I know." I voice quietly but make no attempt to continue.
"I sensed something odd when I was healing you." My eyebrows raise slightly at her direct approach and I feel my thoughts running 50 miles an hour to come up with a suitable response.
"Odd how?" I finally settle on saying. 'Best to see how much she actually knows, maybe it's nothing.' But as I watch Katara's disappointed gaze on me, I get the feeling I already know the answer.
"Are you really going to make me say it?" Katara pauses, but my silence is answer enough. "Aang your stomach...it's like it's...gone or well a big chunk of it is missing. I can't really explain it." I bite the inside of my cheek hard when I hear her spot on assessment. 'Who was I kidding? Katara's the best healer in the world, of course she'll know everything.' My expression must have given away the truth as my Sifu shifts closer to me, her eyes concerned. "What happened?" Finally I release a sigh, knowing that I can't hide it from her forever. 'Besides I never did answer her question at Kyoshi Island truthfully,' my brain annoyingly supplies.
"You know on Kyoshi Island you asked me how badly injured I was? Well I didn't tell you how badly I was hurt in my gut." I breathe in deeply to force the images away, reminding myself I've already told Toph, but for some reason telling Katara is just so much harder. "I dumbly was so caught up in turning to face the assassins who slashed my back that I didn't notice the earth move beneath me. Before I knew it I found myself on the ground in numbing pain and a sharp diagonal rock spear had emerged from the ground. I remember trying to get up but I just couldn't move and the assassins surrounded me. I brought a hand to my stomach where I felt the pain and it came red, so very red..." I shake my head, pulling myself out of that horrific moment and I become aware of Katara's hand on mine.
"Aang...you don't have to say anymore." I shake my head again but in refusal, wanting to just say the story and get it over with.
"Yon Yu bent down beside me and grabbed my collar, I thought that was the end. The last thing I remember before passing out was hearing the sound of someone running and a loud thud. When I came to, Kyla told me what the damage was. That's why I can't eat more than I do." I finish off solemnly, relieved that I managed to get the whole thing out with minimal flashbacks. My relief quickly turns into confusion when I find myself suddenly engulfed in a warm solid presence. My arms are faster than my brain as they encircle around this warm presence that I numbly realise is Katara as I feel her shoulders tremble under my touch. "Katara?" I ask in worry and try to pull her off so I can see her face but she remains steadfast, arms encircled around me. "Hey it's ok, I'm ok." I comfort, my words soft, but Katara tightens the embrace slightly, mindful of my injury. She releases me a moment later, one hand remains on my shoulder and the other wiping away a tear.
"I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around." She teases lightly, but her half smile doesn't reach her eyes.
"The way I see it, it's a two way road. That's what friendship is."
"Always the wise one." My Sifu comments as her smile widens slightly.
"Hardly wise, just maybe a bit enlightened?" I say with a shrug, but Katara's face returns to its sombre expression.
"That wasn't the first time was it? This has happened before. Azula wasn't lying was she?" I bite my lip at Katara's serious statement, knowing that she's not really asking, but rather just wanting confirmation. I glance away from her.
"Azula wasn't lying. I've had some bad run-ins, but that one was the worst." I voice just above a whisper and the Master Waterbender's hand returns to mine.
"And what she said about the scars?" Katara inquires softly, her hand squeezing mine in comfort.
"All true." I mumble and suddenly I feel the need to crawl into a ball, but knowing I can't do that with my recent injury I opt for releasing my Sifu's hand, crossing my legs and hunching up my shoulders.
"I had my suspicions." I blink at that and lift my head to lock eyes with her.
"What. How?" I breathe out with a befuddled expression.
"Well there was the fact that you refused to change when we Waterbended. You've never been shy before so that was a big hint. But the real hint was this..." I watch as Katara breaks off and reaches her hand towards me, before I can question her actions I feel the brush of her fingertips across my barely exposed collar bone. My mind flashes in memory of me shattering a rock thrown at me by an assassin, one of the shards embedding there. I blink and shake my head, my hand goes to that small mark as Katara pulls back.
"Oh. I forgot about that one." I breathe out slowly, feeling the raised skin as Katara frowns.
"You know there's nothing to be ashamed of." I snort at my Sifu's words and pull away from her, leaving her hand hovering in mid-air before slowing resting back in her lap.
"Easy for you to say, you don't have to see them every day! You don't have to remember each and every single painful memory that's associated with them." I bite out heatedly.
"That could've been avoided if you just talked to us." The Master Waterbender cries out but I shake my head stubbornly.
"This could've been avoided if you didn't run off with Zuko and forget I existed!" I retort acidly, but I bite my tongue as soon as the words shoot out. I drop my eyes in shame and embarrassment, 'I shouldn't have said that.'
"Aang..." But my Sifu just trails off, the hurt in her tone is obvious even to the blind.
"Forget I said that. That was...out of line." I mumble and I cross my arms over my chest.
"You know I would never hurt you." Katara settles on saying in a whisper.
"Could've fooled me. You spent more and more time with Zuko and I might be oblivious, but even I could tell how little time you wanted to spend with me. I just faded into the background and became this third wheel. Suddenly I became unimportant to you." I shake my head fiercely, 'dumb, dumb, dumb-brain why did I just say that?! I closed this wound ages ago; I don't need to re-open it.'
"Aang that's not true!" Despite Katara's denial, I can sense the guilt leaking into her voice.
"Forget I said anything. It was years ago and I'm over it."
Katara's POV:
My eyes scan over the young Airbender and I can tell he's definitely not over it.
"But..." I start but his desperate grey orbs look up to me.
"Please." He pleads and against my better judgement I decide to drop it, at least for now. 'I can't believe he thought that he was unimportant. How long had he felt like that after the war's end? Did I push him that far away?' I bite my tongue to stop my silent questions from tumbling out. 'Everything is awkward enough as it is; we don't need to add this drama on top of it, but I'm beginning to realise how much of a role I played in Aang's disappearance.' I bite my lip hard in guilt. 'I drove him away, I said I would be his family and I just drove him away.' I take a deep breath to calm the gnawing feeling in my gut and decide to address the previous issue we were discussing.
"Fine, I'll drop it for now, but we will have to talk about it sometime." I pause but Aang makes no move to reply. "Anyway, your scars are a part of you and they just add a new layer to who you are. You shouldn't let it bother you and you shouldn't be afraid to show them." I say sincerely, hoping to get through to him, but the young Avatar shakes his head vigorously.
"They're hideous Katara. You wouldn't want to see them." My heart twists at his self-pitying tone, but I refrain from lending a comforting hand, not wanting him to pull away from me again and not wanting to admit to myself how much it had hurt, 'we were so close and now we are miles apart.'
"Why don't you let me decide that? I've seen you at your worst Aang, a few scars aren't going to bother me." I say as convincingly as possible, but the young Airbender's shoulders just slump.
"I don't want you to see them. They aren't just a few, they're everywhere. It's not like that time at the catacombs."
"But why?" I insist, keen to find out why does it bother him so much.
"Because...because of lots of reasons! I don't want you to be hurt on my behalf, I don't want you to pity me or think I'm hideous." My jaws drop open at Aang's confession. 'I can understand his first reason, it was painful just to hear him recounting his injury. But his other two reasons are just ridiculous!'
"Aang, have I ever pitied you?" I ask calmly at which he releases a sigh.
"No."
"So why will I start now? I respect you and despite everything that's happened you will always be my best friend. My life without you in it is a lonely existence." I comment sincerely, as I fight off the heat that threatens to rise to my cheeks, 'I've never been good at talking about my feelings platonic or otherwise, but for Aang's sake I'll just have to bear with it.' This time it's Aang's turn to drop his jaw as he gapes at me and red begins dusting his cheeks which I take as my que to continue. "And I don't care about what you look like; I've never cared. It's what's inside that matters." I finish off and wait for the young Avatar's response.
"I'm sorry that I assumed you'll pity me, of course you wouldn't; my mind is just making up all these outrageous scenarios. And...my life has been really empty without you and the gang in it. I missed you all. But Katara I can't show you them. I just can't, ok?" I furrow my eyebrows at his words.
"But I still don't understand why? Hiding them is only going to widen the distance between us and I don't want that, I want for us to go back to how we were." I say earnestly, hoping I can convey how much he means to me with my pleading eyes and words. I watch as he heaves a sigh and eyes me carefully.
"I'll think about it."
"But..." I open in protest before being swiftly cut off.
"I promise I'll try, but...I'm not ready yet. Can we settle on that?" I glance away in disagreement but release a small breath in surrender.
"Fine." I get up from my seat and dust the wrinkles from my clothes. "I'll go and get you a small bite to eat, you must be hungry." I say without catching his eye and I move out of his reach just as he stretches his hand out for me and I hear his shallow whisper of my name. I pretend to not have heard it and quickly leave the room, not wanting to start another argument.
'Why can't he see that I'm on his side? I want what's best for him and hiding himself isn't going to heal him mentally. How can he not believe me when I say I don't care what he looks like? Why does that even bother him?' I fume silently until a thought stops me in my tracks 'what if...if he still has feelings for me then that might explain why he's so embarrassed of himself.' I frown at that thought. 'No, I lost my chance with him, he couldn't still care about me that way, could he?' I chew on my lip when I remember the conversation we had during our walk to Kyoshi Lake. I shake my head, 'I'm not going to think about this. I need to first build our friendship back up and get him to open up about everything so that he can heal and move on.' With a definite nod at my plan of action, I make my way to the Palace Kitchens.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a bit of a short one (a rarity for me) but felt that it was the best way to end it. Thanks again a million for the reviews, you guys are the best!
10/9/19
