A/N: Hey guys. This fic was inspired by some questions that popped into my mind by recently watching the finale of the show. Has anyone ever noticed how after EIP, Aang and Katara don't seem to be awkward around each other at all other than when Aang is upset about everyone telling him he has to kill Ozai? Or how Aang seemed to know that Katara was going to kiss him, even though the two apparently hadn't confessed their feelings to each other yet as is evidenced by the beginning of "The Promise"? I know EIP was a filler episode, but it left me thinking about what could have happened in between, and this was made. Also, is it just me or does anyone else think that it's a bit of a jump for the two to share closed-mouth kisses and then suddenly just jump to being able to know how to make out at the last scene in the show? Well, this is also my attempt to remedy that, or at least show how they could have made that next step closer to the full make out. And I should also mention that this one-shot was partially inspired by "Hiding" by Lyralocke. Anyway, hope you guys are all staying safe. God bless!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.


Aang couldn't help but sigh in frustration as he flopped down onto his bed. How could he have been so stupid? Maybe it was because of that stupid play. Between his character being played by a girl and being insulted by Toph, not to mention the "Katara only thinking of him as a little brother" scene, he had felt so emasculated and vulnerable that he had done something incredibly stupid. Something that he very much wished that he could take back.

He had never intended to force himself onto Katara on that balcony, the only thing he really had wanted was to know how she felt for him. And, having been told that she was confused, he had thought that a kiss would help her to make up her mind. Unfortunately for him, however, it had appeared to have the opposite effect. Katara had withdrawn, understandably upset with him, and had run away, leaving him in the aftermath of his poor thinking.

The last thing he ever wanted to do was cause Katara any kind of discomfort or pain. As much as he was scared that he wouldn't make it out alive from the battle with Ozai, he would rather die in the battle than intentionally hurt her in any way. He just wished that she knew that. If there was some way he could make it up to her, he would, but he was nearly certain that she didn't want anything to do with him right now.

Letting out another sigh of frustration, he grabbed his pillow and screamed into it, hoping to have some kind of ease of guilt and pain as he felt the memory of her running away replay in his mind. Truly, he had been stupid, but as much as he wanted her to love him, it was the not knowing that was killing him inside. If he could just get an answer, then at least his uncertainty would be dissolved. He would very likely be heartbroken, but he was already pretty hurt as it was.

There were several things over the course of their journey that had led him to believe that Katara might have reciprocated his feelings. The kiss she gave him in thanks for getting her necklace back from Zuko, even if he had joked and said that Zuko had asked him to be sure he got it to her, which she had playfully played along with. And of course there was the Cave of Two Lovers where they had shared their first ever kiss, not to mention that she had been the one to suggest it in the first place. Though this made him doubt whether she truly did think of him as a brother or not, as he very much doubted that if she had been stuck with Sokka in the cave, that she would suggest the two of them kissing. Truly, if she had thought of Aang as her brother, why would she suggest kissing a brother? Even if she had explained it to be a theory of how they could get out of there, he couldn't quite see her suggesting such a thing with her actual brother. Frankly, he was almost certain that Katara would rather be stuck down in the cave than have to kiss her brother on the lips.

Not to mention the completely unnecessary way she had helped him correct his waterbending stance not long before they had come across the happily singing nomads. She easily could have stood in front of him and shown him what to do, but she had instead decided to get about as close to him as she could. This certainly had made him scratch his head at what was going through her mind.

Then, when they had arrived in Ba Sing Se and were trying to sneak into the palace to meet the earth king, he remembered well that he had called her beautiful, only to get a flick on his forehead from Sokka. What had surprised him more, however, had been the joyful look on her face as she had attempted to reply, only to be stopped by Toph. Even now, he wished he could have known what Katara was going to say to him.

And then there was the time when they had gotten the earth king's support and had to go their separate ways when he had been about to tell her how he felt, only to be interrupted by Sokka. There always seemed to be something getting in the way of him telling her how he felt, and now he wasn't sure if he should be glad that he never had gotten to or to be upset that he had been prevented from being able to at almost every turn.

At any rate, though he had been once again prevented from confessing his feelings, Katara had taken him by surprise and given him a parting gift. The hug he could easily write off as her being the affectionate girl that she was, but the long kiss on the cheek that had followed was completely unnecessary. It was because of this, in fact, that he had been confident that Katara did appear to reciprocate his feelings.

Then of course there was the time that they spent aboard the Fire Navy ship. Katara, who was naturally affectionate and kind, had appeared to be overjoyed at his awakening. So much so that she appeared possessive over him, keeping her hands on him often and even going as far as to take his face in her hand as he had looked at her with deep gratitude for saving his life.

Not long after there was the Fire Nation dance where, with a confidence that he hadn't allowed himself to feel since the last time he had been in the Fire Nation with his friend Kuzon, he had asked her to dance. She had been very obviously nervous at first, but then he had noticed her nervousness be replaced with excitement and joy as they danced, and she had even sported a blush when he had told her to not worry about the other people in the room. Truly, to him at least, it was just them in that moment.

Of course, the kiss on the cheek she had given him as they flew away on Appa certainly hadn't helped his case, either. As despite the fact that he knew Katara was an affectionate person, she could have easily thanked him without one, serving to make him think that maybe just maybe she had reciprocated his feelings.

Finally, there was the kiss on the submarines just before the invasion began. It was clear that he had taken her by surprise with that kiss, but considering that she hadn't pulled away and the blush that lingered on her cheeks as she looked at him afterwards, he had taken that to mean that she had liked it. Though he supposed now that she could have just gone with it to spare his feelings before what was supposed to be his big battle with Ozai.

At any rate, because of all of these things, he had felt fairly confident that she did feel the same as he did. But now, he wasn't even sure what to think. Katara had claimed to be confused, and though it had seemed like there were many signs from her that she did feel the same, he had no idea where to go from here.

But, he knew that if nothing else, that he at the very least owed an apology to her. He truly had not meant to force himself on her, and would never want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way. His only intention had been to hopefully help her decide.

Resolving in his mind that he would apologize to her about it tomorrow, the young airbender put his pillow back under his head and closed his eyes, ready to go to sleep when he heard a knock on the door. He became quite surprised when he found a familiar pair of ocean blue eyes looking at him through a crack in the door. "Aang? Are you awake?"

Finding himself in shock that she even wanted to talk to him, he sat up quickly and nodded. "Yeah, I am. Come in," he invited, watching as she slowly did so before shutting the door behind her. Although he was glad to see that she didn't hate his guts, he couldn't help but be curious as to why she was here. He had thought that at the very least she wouldn't talk to him until the morning. "Is everything alright?" he asked in concern.

Katara gave him a tired smile, a sad look in her eyes as she sat down next to him. "I'm okay," she assured him, a hesitant look on her face as she looked down at her lap. "I just wanted to talk to you about… what happened tonight."

Feeling shame overcome him at this, he sighed and looked down. "Right. That," he muttered sadly. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to look back up at her, even if his still quite sad mind could only think about how beautiful she looked at the moment. "Look, Katara, I just want to say I'm sorry. I was never trying to force myself on you, I-"

"I know," Katara gently shushed him, making him surprised as he found her finger against his lips before his gaze followed it back up to its owner as she withdrew it. "I understand. You were just trying to help me decide how I felt about you."

Being happy that she seemed to understand, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, making her smile just a little as she saw the weight fall off his shoulders from that. "I really am sorry, though," he added sincerely, making Katara's smile grow a little more as she looked at him.

"It's okay, Aang," she reassured him as she looked down at the space between them, moving imperceptibly closer to him as she felt the awkwardness between them start to melt. "I understand what you were thinking, and I'm sorry that I freaked out on you like I did."

Not believing his ears, Aang looked at her in clear surprise, wondering why she was apologizing to him. "Katara, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who messed up." He looked down sadly as his voice took on a more discouraged tone. "Besides, I'm the one who was stupid enough to think that you would ever think of me as anything more than a friend or a brother."

Seeing the pain in his eyes, Katara took a deep breath and let it out, knowing that now more than ever she had to tell him the truth. "Yeah, about that…" Katara began with a nervous laugh as she glanced at him before looking back down. "I may not have been totally honest with you earlier."

Once again becoming surprised by this, Aang looked over at her and saw her beautiful features taking on a look of guilt, and he didn't dare let his hopes get up and asked. "What do you mean?"

Being reluctant about this, as she would have to be careful with how she worded this so she didn't reveal the real reason why she had run away from him earlier during that disastrous conversation, she thought about how to begin with this for a few moments before saying. "Look, I really don't want to go into details and that's not what I'm here for. What I am here for is to clear the air." Looking over at him, she could see the look of confusion on his face and, feeling bad for putting him through all of this, decided to just be honest. "I'm not confused."

Becoming once again quite surprised by this, Aang nearly sputtered out. "Y-you're not?"

"No, I'm not," she affirmed, part of her wanting to laugh by the look of pure shock on his face as he appeared to be hanging on her every word, but she knew better. Now was not the time for laughter. Right now, she needed to explain to him just enough to help him feel better while keeping him in the dark about just why she had freaked out. She knew that if he knew why she had, that he would lose all confidence in himself, and that was something the world, nor she, could afford. "I know exactly how I feel about you."

Utter silence filled the room, the only acknowledgement she got that Aang had understood her words being the way his mouth kept moving like he wanted to say something, but couldn't. Again, she felt the urge to laugh, but held it back as she continued. "Earlier, when you confronted me about why we weren't together, you surprised me. And though I won't tell you why yet, I freaked out and ran away. Which I shouldn't have, and for that I'm sorry."

"Katara, you don't-"

"I know, but I want to," she politely interrupted him as she looked at him, her pride being the last thing on her mind as she saw the pain in his eyes as she confessed. "And I want to let you know that I don't love you like a brother."

If Aang had been surprised before, he was absolutely shell-shocked now, his mind grinding to a halt as he looked back at her. "You… you don't? Really?"

"Really," Katara assured him with a small smile, making him smile back for a moment before his face slackened again as he thought of something else.

"Oh, you don't love me like a brother, but you love me as a friend, right?" he asked sadly, his eyes downcast as he looked down at his lap. "I'm still just "a sweet little guy. Just like Momo", huh?"

Her eyes closing in shame and regret that she had ever said that, she let out a sigh and took his face in her hand, forcing him to look up at her as she looked into his eyes and told him the truth. "I do love you as a friend, Aang, but… What I feel for you isn't just friendship."

Feeling his heartbeat skyrocket as he heard her words, he couldn't keep his jaw from dropping to the ground, and this time Katara couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her mouth as she saw this, only serving to make his heart beat faster. "Really?" he asked in disbelief, desperately hoping that he wasn't dreaming that this was happening.

"Really," she promised as she looked at him endearingly, her eyes becoming sad as she remembered just why she had freaked out earlier, and why she had to hide some of the details from him. Seeing that he was about to ask her another question, she quickly put a finger to his lips and gave him a serious look. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Aang, but they're going to have to wait." Removing her finger from his lips, she then continued. "The reason I told you this is because I know how badly I hurt you, and I don't want there to be anything bad between us in case…" she trailed off, a look of great sadness returning to her eyes as she tried not to think about what might happen in the future.

"In case what?" Aang asked quietly, noticing the sadness on her beautiful features, but not understanding what was going through her mind in the slightest.

Feeling her fear grow as she worried that he would figure out what was going through her mind, she quickly replied. "It's not important. What is important is that you know that I care about you. A lot," she told him with another sad look as she tried not to show him how worried she was, taking a deep breath to settle herself before she continued. "I just wanted you to know that what I feel for you isn't just friendship, and it definitely isn't brotherly love."

Aang, feeling overjoyed that she did actually care for him, began. "Katara, I-"

"Not now, Aang. Not here," she told him as she gently interrupted him, making him surprised as he saw that she was serious. "I wasn't lying earlier when I said it wasn't the right time." Taking his hands in hers, she savored the feeling of them and tried to commit the feeling to memory, knowing that this might be the last time she would get to do this. "First, we have to get through this war. Once we win and everything has settled down, I'll tell you everything that you want to know, and I'll let you finish that thought. For now, we need to focus on the war.``

Resisting the urge to cry as she thought about what might happen in the near future, she took another deep breath and looked back up to him, seeing the surprise and confusion on his face. But, after a few moments of silence between them, Aang seemed to understand what she was telling him and he reluctantly nodded. "You're right. As much as I want to be with you, I can at least be happy knowing that you don't just love me as a friend or like a brother," he told her, making her give him a grateful smile as she saw that he wasn't going to argue with her over it.

She wanted to be with him, too, but the truth was that she couldn't bear the thought of losing him as it was. And if she spent the remaining time they had being together before he fought the Fire Lord and lost, the hurt would be so much worse. As selfish as she knew that it was, she couldn't allow herself to get any closer to him. Not until he had won and came back to her. Like he always did.

Not allowing herself to think anymore about what might happen, she instead wrapped him in a hug, which he gladly returned. The two unknown lovers held each other tightly, feeling relieved that they had gotten these things off their chests. And now, Aang had hope that, once the war was won and everything had settled down, he would finally be able to be with Katara.

Though the two knew well that they could hold each other all night, Katara reluctantly let him go as a question came to Aang's mind. "How will I know when it's the right time?" he asked curiously.

At this, she gave him a sad smile, doing her best not to make him aware of the doubt in her mind that he would make it back. She knew that he could do it, but she knew just how dangerous Ozai really was. And she knew that there was a good chance that he wouldn't make it back. If he knew that she was worried that he wouldn't make it, he would lose all confidence in himself, and she couldn't allow that. He would need it for his battle with the Fire Lord. But, knowing that she couldn't let him know that she thought this, she answered. "I'll tell you when it is. And then we can start back up where we left off."

Taking his face in her hand again, she started bringing his lips closer, making Aang's heartbeat speed up as he wondered if she was doing what he thought she was doing. "But until then," she breathed as they got within inches of each other, peering into each other's eyes deeply as they felt their eyes begin to close. "This will have to do."

Closing the rest of the distance between them, Katara let out a sigh as she felt her head swim like it did whenever they kissed, being relieved that she was at least able to get one more kiss from him. But, although she had meant it to just be a short kiss, she became surprised as Aang took hold of the back of her head and brought her closer, increasing the pressure on their lips. What surprised her even more, however, was the way he kissed her.

Before this moment, the only kisses she had ever received from him were closed-mouth kisses, one being her first kiss in the Cave of Two Lovers and the other being on the submarine before the invasion. But this kiss was far different from the other ones they had shared. This one was filled with passion and longing, and though she hadn't meant for it to be quite like this, she couldn't help but respond with equal vigor as their lips moved quickly against each other. She hadn't even known that people could kiss like this.

After what felt like an eternity and yet no time at all, Katara quickly realized that she was running out of breath and reluctantly broke from the kiss, keeping a hand on Aang's chest to keep him at bay when he instinctively tried to continue where they left off. "Easy there, Aang," she told him while trying desperately to catch her breath, a heavy blush on her cheeks as she looked at him. Where he had learned to do that, she had no clue, though she supposed that it could have been something to do with him being the Avatar.

Laughing breathlessly in embarrassment as he realized that he might have taken a little too far, he became relieved as Katara gave him a soft smile. "You're a lot better at that than I am."

"Thanks," he grinned back at her, the two staring into each other's eyes as silence fell between them once more. Though he still wished that he could spend what time he had left before his fight being with her, he knew that he was happy that he could at least know that she cared for him as more than a friend or a brother. Considering the way she had kissed him back, he now knew that to be a fact. And now he had something to look forward to after everything had settled down if he won.

Feeling sadness overcome her as she realized that this might be the last time she got to spend time with him like this, she pushed it down and gave him a small smile. "Goodnight, Aang," she whispered to him as she got up, opening the door and stopping as she heard him whisper back.

"Goodnight, Katara."

Glancing over her shoulder and smiling at him, she finally closed the door behind her, leaving Aang alone. Feeling joy swell up inside of him, he used some subtle airbending to jump onto his feet and do a little happy dance. Not only had Katara told him that she didn't love him as a brother or just as a friend, but they had kissed.

He knew that there was a good chance that it might be the last kiss he ever got from her, but if that was the case, then he was content. All he had ever wanted was to know that she did feel the same, and he had even gotten one more amazing kiss from her before his fate would be decided.

And although he was still worried about his upcoming battle with the Fire Lord, especially when he still wasn't sure how he could defeat him without taking his life, he felt better knowing that if he made it through this war, Katara would be waiting for him. And then they truly could pick up where they left off.

True to her word, once the ragtag group of kids had helped win the war, brought balance to the world, and helped Aang with his Avatar duties as the Fire Nation made peace with the other nations and ushered in a new era of love and peace, Katara indeed told Aang that it was the right time as they relaxed at Iroh's tea shop in her own way. Truly, she had kept her promise, as they picked right back up where they had left off. Here, with all their friends and family, they had been about to figure out what they meant to each other had it not been for her stupid brother.

But now they had the rest of their lives to be with each other in a peaceful world that they created, and they would enjoy every second of it being together. Whatever trials and tribulations would come their way, they knew they could weather the storm as long as they had each other.

Not the end…

A/N: Just a little side note, I wanted to make it known that the only reason I didn't have them tell each other about their actual feelings is because of the beginning of "The Promise" comic where Katara says they figured out what they meant to each other. Or were about to, anyway, before Sokka of course. If it hadn't been for this line, I absolutely would have, but I did so in the interest of keeping it parallel to canon, as this is my headcanon. Hope you guys enjoyed!