*I don't own ATLA, sue me (jk please don't)

What's happening to me? Katara wondered anxiously as they flew across the endless, cloudless sky on Appa's back. A series of trying events had recently befallen the young travelers, their latest hurdle being the Cave of Two Lovers. They had successfully—and miraculously—passed through it, in order to cross the mountain separating them from their destination: the city of Omashu in the Earth Kingdom.

Which had been a terrible disappointment, now that the city was occupied by the Fire Nation, and Aang was once again left without an Earthbending teacher. Time was running out, and the culmination of negative thoughts took Katara to a place in her mind she knew better than to indulge.

So she thought some more about the Cave of Two Lovers. She'd thought about it almost nonstop, actually. There was just so much to unpack in the few short minutes it had all occurred. Right now was a good time to think about it. Aang was sitting at the reins on Appa's head, guiding him, and Sokka was taking his second nap that day. So in the silence and the solace, Katara's mind returned to the cave. She and Aang were trapped together. The torch was burning out, as was their hope of making it out of there alive.

Then she'd opened her big mouth before her brain could tell her not to, and said they should kiss. Yes, she knew why she'd said it, sorta. But then again, she didn't blame him for being completely horrified; she'd given no thought to how the suggestion would come across, only that it lined up with the stories told in pictures on the walls.

She'd called it a crazy idea. Crazy. Then got belligerent with him for essentially agreeing with her. How could I have expected him to be on board after deeming my own idea ridiculous? Maybe some part of her had hoped to hear, "way to think outside the box, Katara," or "that just might work, Katara—pucker up!" But it was obvious now that the response she wanted should never have been the one to expect. All he'd said was what she'd led him to think. And besides, when had kissing ever gotten people out of life-or-death situations before?

I felt safe with him, Katara recalled bitterly. I didn't think he would judge me. But her convictions had fallen through. As it always did when she pondered this moment, Aang's reaction came back to mind. And despite the fact that everything had turned out okay, it chipped off a little piece of her heart each time she remembered it.

At first, she was angry when he'd been so quick to dismiss her idea, downright insulted by what he'd said. But the anger was merely a front for the embarrassment, the humiliation of being shot down with barely a second thought. She should have known, should have been more prepared. Sure, him saying no was always the worst case scenario, but she hadn't imagined it would cut so deep.

"I mean, if it was a choice between kissing you and dying…" Dying. To him, she was one step up from dying. Try as she might, Katara couldn't justify his words, couldn't twist them into anything remotely flattering. They still stung as much as when he'd first said them, despite the moment essentially being left behind in the cave.

"I'm saying I'd rather kiss you than die, that's a compliment!" That was his closer, etched into her mind, and she felt it pretty much defined her place in his own.

He'd kiss her if he absolutely had to—that much was clear. But Katara felt differently. She realized, in the cave…

She would kiss him even if dying wasn't part of the situation at all. And she didn't know what to do about that feeling. Could hardly even bring herself to dwell on it, especially since there were much more important things going on for the three of them that needed her full and immediate attention. And, of course, she was nearly positive the feeling wasn't mutual. Why waste her time and energy if it just wasn't worth it?

Still, after all that, they did kiss. Kinda. In the brief mercy of the dark, right before the crystals lighting their way out had revealed themselves. It was more like a brush on the lips, but Katara remembered it as if it had lasted longer than half a second. His lips were soft. They tasted like the wind. He was tense, and so was she. No other parts of them made contact besides their lips. Katara had pulled away first, hoping to feel more in control, and it did sort of have that effect. She didn't…dislike kissing him; she might even do it again, if, y'know, it weren't for the fact that the only thing she outranked, apparently, was death itself.

She wondered if he'd made any observations about her in that half second.

Katara found this to be true: if the darkness had lasted any longer, she truly had no idea what she would have done. Yes, she was hurt, and yes, she was embarrassed…and yet, she relished the instant of time their lips had touched. But half a second was too short. Too short to know anything for certain.

She had forgiven him, but Katara didn't see the pain inflicted by his words fading anytime soon. And for the first time since she'd stopped and thought about what had transpired between them, she knew why.

As she gazed out at the sprawling land below them, so small from up so high, it finally dawned on Katara why it had hurt so much to be rejected by Aang in the first place.

Because she saw him, every day, and he saw her, but in the cave? That was the first time she'd wanted to be seen, really seen, by him, in a way she'd never wanted to be seen by anyone else in all her life.

She wanted him to look at her, not like a big sister or a babysitter or even a plain old friend. She wanted him to look at her the way her father had looked at her mother in times past, and the way Shu looked at Oma in the days of their forbidden romance. Wanted him just to even consider the possibility.

Was that so much to ask?

Katara pinned her gaze on the cerulean path tattooed up the back of his head. Even now, she wished he would turn around; look at her, and see her—the way she was starting to see him.

A/N: This episode was so iconic (I still belt out SECRET TUNNELLLLL every chance I get). If I'm being completely honest, I didn't start shipping Aang and Katara until I watched this episode, and suddenly I just…saw the light (like they did, literally). And that is how OTPs are born ;)