A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Updates will happen more regularly going forward. To respond to a recent review, no, this fic isn't abandoned because I only ship Suki and Aang together now. Although I do have one chapter of that subject out that you can check out if you want :). Enjoy!

The day had finally come for Katara and Sokka to depart the Southern Water Tribe. The siblings spent a total of seven days back home and were ready to get back to their life in Republic City. While the goodbyes weren't as tearful when she first departed the Southern Water Tribe a few months ago, the emotions were certainly high.

"It feels like we were in this situation not too long ago," Hakoda said as he and Katara watched Sokka comically struggle to get their luggage on top of Appa, who for whatever reason was being difficult to work with.

Katara gave a hum of agreement as she tightened her coat over herself. It put into perspective just how much had happened in such little time. From embarking on the journey to Republic City, to reconnecting with Aang, to coming back to the South Pole because of her grandmother, a lot of life was packed into a few short months. It also reminded her that it was time to tell her father about a certain someone.

"Dad," she started while nervously tugging her hair. "Before we head off, there is something I should tell you."

His eyes shifted towards her and the smile faded to something more neutral as he anticipated that whatever news Katara was about to drop on him was significant. "Sure honey, what is it?"

"Aang and I are dating," she spat out quickly.

She mentally kicked herself as she wanted to fluff him up a bit before revealing the news. Maybe tell him how she met this cute guy who treats her well and has been dating this guy for the past few months and then finally drop the hammer. While she didn't need his approval, she knew that he had a significant interest in that aspect in her life as he wanted her to find the same happiness he had with her mother.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression and as the seconds ticked on, she started to worry that he wasn't so keen with the idea that she was with Aang. Was it because he wasn't Water Tribe? Because he was the Avatar?

"Does he make you happy?" he finally asked.

"More than anyone," she responded instantly.

His face softened and he smiled at her. "Then he makes me happy too."

She couldn't help herself but pull her father into a hug that she was sure would suffocate him if it went on too long.

"Have you thought about what being with Aang long term means for you?" he asked hesitantly when she pried herself off him.

"I have," she admitted timidly. "But that is something a long way down the road and when the time comes, we'll talk about it. Aang would never intentionally make me feel uncomfortable in our relationship and I'm confident that we'll work through the challenges that will come up. Until then, we're content with where we're at."

Hakoda gave his daughter a bemused smile. "You really like him, don't you?"

"I do," she said and narrowed her eyes at him trying to decipher what he was getting at. "Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not," he immediately replied. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

Hakoda sighed knowing what he was about to say would be all that popular. "Aang's a good-looking young man, a natural charmer, exotic, and not to mention the Avatar. I wouldn't be shocked if this was something not too serious yet. And I have no problem with that by the way."

She was about to tell him off about how he would even consider that, but he did have a point, somewhat. Katara wasn't oblivious to all the women and even some of the men who looked at Aang and would kill for the opportunity to pounce on him.

"I get what you're trying to say, but I can tell you right now this is not just a fling," she said in a firm tone.

Hakoda let out a small chuckle at his daughter's rigid remark. "Is there something funny about that statement?" she demanded.

"Sokka told me the exact same thing about this Suki girl he's seeing."

She looked at Sokka who was still struggling to get everything on Appa and her posture softened drastically. Based on watching their interactions together as a couple, she wasn't surprised at all to hear that her brother mentioned Suki to their dad.

"Did he tell you about what he has planned in Republic City?"

"He has," he said with a hint of sadness that Katara could barely make out. "If being the City Attorney in Republic City is what he wants, then I have zero issues with it. Although, if I'm being honest, it hurts a little that both of my kids will no longer live here. But knowing you guys are doing what you wanna do more than makes up for it. And I really am happy about you and Aang. I just need to be a dad and look at things from an objective standpoint sometimes."

"You ready Katara?" Sokka asked with a panted breath on top of Appa's head ready to take off.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second," she replied and hugged her father once again. "Goodbye dad."

"Goodbye sweetheart."

The atmosphere was significantly brighter on the way back. Instead of tension filled silence, Katara and Sokka were back to their usual dynamic. It also didn't hurt that instead of traveling into the bitter cold, they were traveling towards warmth.

After a few days of flying, they finally saw the outskirts of Republic City. The sun was just about the set and the city couldn't have looked any more beautiful. Out of nowhere though, Appa let out a loud roar and shifted directions so quickly that it caused Katara to catapult to the opposite side of the saddle.

"Are you trying to kill us!" she shrieked to her brother while holding onto the edge of the saddle for dear life.

"It's not me! I can't control him right now!" he shouted back as he likely would have been launched off Appa altogether had he not had a tight grip on the reins.

Katara closed her eyes as there was nothing to do but pray that whatever Appa was doing wouldn't get them all killed. He was traveling so fast that it felt like her ears were going to pop right off her head. Just as she felt like she was about to lose her grip and plumet to her death, Appa landed abruptly causing her to fly towards the front of the saddle and nearly slam into Sokka. When she regained her bearings, she heard the familiar laughter of her favorite airbender.

"Hey buddy, miss me?" came a voice she immediately recognized as Aang's.

Katara peered at the scene below her as Appa straddled his massive frame over Aang and licked him relentlessly as if he was trying to put out a fire. Poor Aang couldn't have been comfortable at all in the position he was in, but reuniting with his sky bison after a week apart more than made up for the discomfort he had to be experiencing.

"Alright buddy, I think that's enough," he said with a chuckle as he gently pushed Appa away from him.

When he stood up, his eyes met Katara's and she instantly felt the warmth radiating from them that she missed so dearly. The little smile from him that followed made her stomach do summersaults. Unfortunately, their little moment they were showing didn't go unnoticed by her brother.

"Ahem!" Sokka coughed and went out of his way not to look at the murderous glare his sister was sending his way.

"You're back!" Aang finally said to break the awkwardness. "I hope your time back home helped the two of you."

"It did," Sokka responded as he jumped onto the ground and was followed by Katara. "There's no way we would've gotten back in time if it weren't for Appa. I'm not sure how we can ever repay you."

"There's no need," Aang insisted. "This was important for both of you and you're important to me, so this was an easy decision. And if there is anyone you should be thanking, it's Appa."

"Quit be so nice Aang," Katara chimed in with playful anger in her voice. "We're going to do something nice for you and that's that."

"Yes ma'am," Aang said and teasingly gave her a formal bow.

"Um Aang, where exactly are we?" Sokka asked, looking around at his surroundings.

Katara hadn't really considered that at all given all her attention was focused on surviving the landing and staring at Aang. Wherever they were was extremely familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. The one thing that did catch her eye was a massive building that looked unlike anything she had ever seen before. The building had to have been at least nine stories tall and shaped like a tower. It looked like it was plucked out of the fairy tales that Gran Gran used to tell her before bedtime.

"You're standing on the world's newest Air Temple!" Aang responded proudly. "Or at least it will be in the coming months. Katara knows this place as simply my island, but not too long after settling down in Republic City, the idea of having an Air Temple here felt like the perfect way to complete everything this city represents."

"So why wait this long to get this place up and running?" Sokka asked. "I'm sure you didn't need permission."

"I finalized the plans for the layout about a week ago. I was going to tell you guys before everything went down, but I figured you had more important things to worry about. Anyways, there had to have been at least a dozen drafts before I finally decided that this place is never going to be perfect and picked the one that was the most practical. Since then, I've been building the main temple with the help from some of the city's best earthbenders. Once we're done with this, we'll add a meditation area, dormitories for any Acolytes that would want to live here, and anything else we need to make this place a fully functional Air Temple!"

Katara was in complete awe of the temple. As breathtaking the island was by itself, the temple that was built made it 100 times better. The thought of a fully functioning Air Temple was an exciting prospect to her and she couldn't wait to see how everything turned out once it was finished. Not to mention what a fully functional Air Temple would mean for Aang. She was able to experience something similar herself by being one of the pillars in bringing the Southern Water Tribe back to its former glory.

"It looks like we got some company."

Katara and Sokka whirled around only to see Toph walking up to their little group.

"I'm sorry about… you know," Toph said uncomfortably once she reached them. It was clear that the blind earthbender wasn't the best at this sort of thing, but the sentiment was there.

"Thanks Toph," Katara replied and gave a little nod of gratitude only to realize Toph wouldn't be able to see it.

"I'm assuming you're here helping with the construction of the temple?" Sokka asked.

Toph scoffed. "Helping?! I'm practically doing all the work around here."

"Stop acting like I had to twist an arm and a leg to get you down here," Aang countered. The playful gleam in his eyes was unmistakable. "I've never seen Toph be more passionate about something in the 10 years I've known her. It warms my heart that one of my dearest friends would take so much pride in helping me- Oww!"

A rock slamming into Aang's shin prevented him from continuing his teasing praise of Toph. But Katara wasn't oblivious to the redness in Toph's cheeks or the tiniest hint of a smile that was betraying her displeasure of Aang's choice of words.

"As much as I want to pummel my 'dear friend' here, the real reason I came is because dinner is ready. You guys are more than welcome to join."

"I don't know Toph," Aang said. "They just had a long trip and maybe…"

"Are you kidding!?" Sokka interrupted. "I'm starving. Let's go!"

With a little nod with her head, Toph gestured the three of them to follow her to what Katara presumed was a little picnic area with the other earthbenders that had been helping with the construction of the temple. Before she could begin to follow her brother and Toph, a strong pair of hands grasped firmly around her waist from behind her. She probably would've elbowed the perpetrator in the gut had she not seen the blue arrows on his hands. Instead, she opted to melt into Aang's arms.

"Sorry," he mumbled into her hair. "I just had to touch you. Does that make me weird?"

"Yeah, it kinda does." She paused and placed her hands on top of his. "But I like weird."

"Good," he said and Katara could literally feel the smile from his mouth against her hair. "Because I'm as weird as they come."

"As much as I'd like to stay like this forever, we should probably catch up before my brother cries about oogies again."

"I can always pull out the Avatar card on him."

"Something tells me that doesn't work with Toph."

"It definitely doesn't," he replied with a laugh. He shifted her around so they were now face to face. "But she doesn't mind the oogies."

"Well in that case…"

Katara leaned in and let out a contented sigh when their lips met. It hadn't been very long, but Katara missed the comfort of being with Aang much more than she probably should. When they pulled apart, she let out a giggle when she saw the goofiest grin spread across his face.

"I missed that," he said. "And I missed you. I'm glad you're back. How did things go back home? Honestly."

"I think as good as it could have gone," she replied truthfully. "It sucks, but saying goodbye and being with my family definitely made things easier. And having you in my life makes everything easier."

After some condolences from her colleagues at the Council, it was business as usual for Katara. One thing about Republic City was that for better or worse, the city never stopped moving. There was no transition time as her first few days back as she was swamped with meetings and catching up on the things that she fell behind on. It felt good though and helped her get back into the flow of things.

Although, she would be lying if she said that another meeting with the dreaded cabbage merchant was doing her temper any favors. She talked to other members of the council about the man and they sadly informed her it was best to humor him as he was vital to the economy. He had practically monopolized the cabbage industry and putting up with his nonsense was worth it to keep him happy. At some point though, Katara had to draw a line in the sand.

"Sir, I understand you are not fond of the Avatar, but as I've said in our previous meetings, there is nothing that can be done. I think it's best for all of us if you just dropped this and continued your successful cabbage business."

"Of course you say that. You're just like the rest of them," he growled. "Am I the only one who cares about justice around here?!"

He abruptly stood up and stormed out. Katara let out a groan and slumped in her chair.

"Rough meeting?"

Katara looked up and saw Jin with her usual smile on her face. "What do you think?" she responded dryly.

"Well, I think I might have something that might cheer you up."

Katara's ears perked up at that, but that interest was turned into confusion when Jin presented a newspaper in front of her.

"You think the Republic City Times is supposed to cheer me up?"

"I think the big story will. It's written by Koko."

"I don't read her stories," Katara replied sourly while rolling her eyes. When she looked up and saw Jin's 'I know you're lying' smirk, she conceded. "Ok, maybe I glance at them every so often."

Jin let out a snort at Katara's obvious attempt to lie. "Just give it a read," she offered and handed her the paper.

Katara let out a dramatic sigh as she grabbed the paper. She hated to admit to herself that she always read Koko's gossip stories, begrudgingly of course. Koko was quite talented as a writer and despite her stories being mostly bullshit, it kept Katara entertained throughout. But her stories were usually buried towards the back where only the gossip hounds like herself would be able to read them. Why would today's issue be on the front page? Her breath hitched when she saw a big drawing of Aang on the front page and a headline that read Avatar Aang's Love Revealed!

"Enjoy," came Jin's amused voice as Katara heard a thud from the door closing.

Katara put the paper on her desk as confusion welled up inside her. How could this be getting out now? They were so careful not to draw any attention to their attractiveness to each other when out in public. Was it from the celebration? An Avatar fanatic spying on Aang? She must've been trying to solve this puzzle for at least 15 minutes before she gave up.

But then it hit her that maybe this wasn't so bad that this was getting out. Sooner or later, the world would know. Her feelings for Aang were a lot more cemented than they were when they first started dating and dealing with having their relationship being in the public eye would be a lot more manageable.

She glanced at the clock and realized that there was a council meeting that was about to start. Because this story was on the front page, she knew the council would be aware of it. Most of the small talk revolved around whatever was in the paper, and she knew there would be plenty of chatter about today's big story. With that in mind, she marched her way over to the meeting room.

"I'd like to say a few words," Katara announced while barging in. She took a quick glance at everyone and saw all council members present minus Aang.

"I assume everyone has read today's paper?" she asked rhetorically. "I know the author of today's front page story is into gossip, but I can confirm to you all that it's true."

The reaction she got was not what she was expecting. In fact, there was no reaction. Each member looked at her if she didn't say anything at all and as each second ticked by, she was starting to believe she hadn't.

"With all due respect," Zhi, the Fire Nation Councilman, finally spoke up, "I'm certain just about every word is completely false."

Katara's jaw dropped so far and fast she was sure it would smack against the floor. Here she was in the flesh confirming that she and Aang were in a relationship and Zhi had the audacity to say that it wasn't true at all.

"With not that much respect," she spat venomously, "I'm certain that it is true. I would know better than you."

More confusion was littered across their faces as all the council members looked at each other as if Katara was speaking a different language.

"And how exactly are you certain?" Zhi questioned.

Before she could respond, none other than Aang walked through the door with a platter of food.

"Hey everyone!" he said cheerfully, "Jin gave me some snacks to pass out so if you'd like one you can just-"

He was silenced by Katara grabbing his face and smashing their lips together. She didn't feel Aang responding very much or really at all, but she wanted to leave no doubt whatsoever they were together, so she kissed him far longer than necessary.

"You see," she said a bit breathlessly as she grabbed Aang's hand in her own. "Aang and I are together."

Her big smile turned into a frown when the entire room erupted in laughter. She glanced at Aang who was also just as confused and still holding the platter which was now empty to the snacks being dropped to the floor.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked as calmly as possible. She wasn't sure if she wanted to explode on all of them for how insensitive they were being or start bawling that they thought the idea of her and Aang being together as the most ludicrous thing they had ever heard of.

"Why don't we reconvene after lunch," Gisha suggested recovering from her laughter. She stood up and was followed by the remaining council members.

"Congratulations by the way," she said to Katara and Aang. "Although I don't think we needed a newspaper to figure out that something was building between the two of you."

One by one, each of the Council members filed out of the meeting room leaving a stunned Aang and Katara alone.

"Not that I mind," Aang said, "but what made now the right time to tell them about us?"

Now it was Katara's turn to look like someone was speaking a different language. "Am I going crazy or something!? Our relationship was just outed in the front page and I just wanted to confirm that what was written on there was the truth to the Council."

Aang looked at her with the same blank expression that the other Council members had. But then it him. "Did you read the story?"

"Yes. Well, actually no I didn't," she admitted. "It was too embarrassing for me to read Koko's take on our relationship."

"Oh Katara." He started laughing hysterically just as the other Council members did.

"What's so fucking funny!?"

"The story that was published had nothing to do with us." He grabbed an extra copy of the paper from the table and handed it to her. "Read the first few sentences."

It's no secret that Avatar Aang is the most eligible bachelor in the entire world. Many of us have wondered why he hasn't been taken yet. Well, I can tell you why. He is taken and that person he is with is so obvious that I want to strangle myself for not putting the pieces together sooner! As much as I want to amp up the reveal like I normally do, I just can't do it with a story this big. Avatar Aang is with… Firelord Zuko!

"Huh?!"

Katara reread the last sentence a dozen times before she looked at Aang who was looking at her with a bemused smile. She continued reading it and got to the part about how he and Zuko had this elaborate love scheme that had Mai being a decorative piece to trance around while the Avatar and the Firelord frolocked their passionate love behind closed doors.

"So you're telling me that I made an ass out of myself and exposed our relationship to the Council all because I didn't bother to read the first paragraph of this stupid story?"

"Pretty much," he teasingly agreed.

Katara collapsed onto the nearest chair in complete bewilderment. She felt Aang place a kiss on the top of her head which didn't help calm her down one bit. "You're adorable when you're frustrated with yourself, you know that?"

"Now what?" she pondered. "I just totally messed everything up."

"You didn't mess anything up. Like Gisha said, it wasn't like this was some shock to everyone."

That did surprise Katara. Sure, it was no secret that she and Aang had become great friends and transitioning that into a romantic relationship wouldn't be some huge leap, but something must have happened for them to be aware of what was going on.

"You think Jin might have said something?"

"I doubt it," Aang replied as he took a seat beside her. "I know Jin isn't exactly someone that seems likely to keep secrets on the hush hush but she is a woman of her word and she told us that she wouldn't say anything."

"Then how else would they be on to us? We've been careful enough not to drop any hints."

"Well…" he started sheepishly.

Katara's eyes narrowed at Aang's uneasiness. "You know, don't you?" she probed. "Spill it."

"Fine," he conceded. "The first time it happened was when...,"

"Are we done here, Councilwoman Katara?" Aang asked while straightening out his collar.

"I believe so Avatar Aang," came the waterbender's husky reply. "Although, I think we'll have to continue this 'meeting' later tonight. We didn't get to fully examine my proposal. Do you think you can swing by my place?"

"Hmm. I was supposed to spend some time with my girlfriend tonight, but I think she'd understand that this matter demands my full attention."

"I think she will too," she replied wickedly. "Whenever I tell my boyfriend that I need Avatar Aang for 'business purposes', he understands."

"Why is you saying Avatar Aang so sexy?" he asked, breaking the role play they had going on.

The smile that spread across her face was quickly replaced by something more playfully stern. "That type of language isn't appropriate in the workplace is it? I'd appreciate it if you would act a little more professional around here. Is that understood?" She paused and looked him up and down seductively. "Avatar Aang."

The seductive drawl in her voice made his mouth water and uttered him speechless. With a simple nod, he opted to leave as any more conversation with the evil seductress in front of him would make him useless for the rest of the day. As his back turned though, he felt a hand slap his ass firmly. He decided not to give Katara the satisfaction of getting the upper hand on him and continued the short trek to the door.

Once the door closed behind him, he let out a massive breath he didn't realize he was holding. His heartbeat was through the roof and he needed to calm down before doing anything. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone.

"Everything alright Aang?"

Aang looked in horror as Gisha was standing directly in front of him. Gisha was a sweet old woman that Aang had considered a dear friend. But right now, the thought of airbending her just hard enough against the nearest wall to knock her unconscious to save what was about to be a very uncomfortable conversation was tempting.

"I-I'm fine," he responded in what hopefully came across as sounding fine. "Why-why wouldn't I be?

"Your sweating, your cheeks are flushed, and your breathing is ragged." she responded flatly.

"Really?" He took his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, but that made matters worse as he was now much more aware he was sweating profusely. "That's odd. I was just in Katara's office-, umm…"

"Yes, what exactly were you doing in her office? You seem to be spending a lot of time in there lately and there isn't as much chatter in there as before."

Aang continued to fumble any coherent response as he scratched the back of his neck nervously in hopes that would somehow reveal a suitable answer. "We just do stuff…" When he saw one of Gisha's eyebrows raise, he realized he used the wrong choice of words. "I meant we just talk about stuff! Katara and I don't do that kind of stuff here."

"I see."

Aang shook his head once he realized what he said. "Wait no that's not what I meant either! We don't do that kind of stuff anywhere! We're not like that at all! And- And." With a sigh, Aang knew there was no hope in salvaging this situation. "Can we just pretend like this conversation never happened?"

"I think that would be wise."

"Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut!?" she asked without bothering to hide her frustration. "You stop by everyone's office all the time. They would've believed you. Sure, sometimes when you come to my office there are some extracurricular activities, but it's not like anyone would have any idea about what's going on."

"That's the thing, I know what's going on. And when I come out and one of the council members sees me, I feel exactly how I felt when I got caught stealing fruit pies back when I was a kid. I have this intense need to try and explain myself and in doing that, I sputter nonsense and make everything worse."

Katara pinched the bridge of nose with the frustration of her sometimes stupid boyfriend bubbling. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have they been on to us!?" she demanded.

"Probably not too long after Jin found out," he said with a cringe knowing the explosion that was waiting for him.

"That long?!" she shrieked and nearly fell out of her chair. "Why didn't you say anything? "

"Because there was kind of an unspoken agreement between the other council members and myself."

"Oh really?" she said as she sat up straighter and crossed her arms. "Please enlighten me all about this unspoken agreement that apparently wasn't any of my concern."

Aang rubbing the back of his neck signified to Katara that whatever "reason" he was about to give wasn't going to be something she'd remotely buy.

"Umm… It was basically one of those things where they knew that I knew that they knew what was going on and we both decided to just leave it at that."

"I'm not going to even pretend to understand what you're trying to say. But even if I did, it still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me that they already knew."

"Maybe I should have," he admitted. "But, I don't really regret keeping my mouth shut."

"Why?"

"I liked the thrill."

"How could you get a thrill if they already knew?"

"Because I could tell you got a thrill and you liked that feeling. That was enough for me."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Why do you have to make it so difficult for me to be mad at you?"

"Look, it really isn't a big deal that they know or don't know. What matters to me is that you're happy."

"I am happy," she said quickly and placed one of her hands over his. "Very happy. I just feel that we're in a weird spot right now in our relationship."

"I think I know what you mean. I'm tired of containing myself around you whenever we are out in public. If your ok with it, I want to announce to everyone that we are a couple."

"Yes," she replied eagerly in an instant. "But how?"

"I'll think of something." He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Aren't you a little embarrassed by this? Not the part about you being into men," she quickly clarified. "But just in general? A lot of people are going to think this is true."

"Not really," he responded with a shrug. "People say all kinds of things about me that aren't true. Especially Koko. I just try to have fun with it. For years people have assumed Toph and I have been in a secret relationship, but as you can probably tell, that couldn't be further from the truth."

"Is there any truth in this?" she asked curiously, picking up the paper.

"With me and Zuko?!" he said with a snort. "I don't think Zuko would be my type even if I was interested in men."

"I don't know," she joked with a playful smirk. "You did hit on his mother. I don't think it's too far-fetched for me to think it's possible that you have made a pass at him."

She tried not to giggle at the glare he shot her but she couldn't help herself.

"Don't even get me started on that subject."