Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. I don't know if I would either- I wouldn't do justice to the show.

A/N: Alright, so I thought about it a little more, and have decided to revise this fanfic! I'm going to turn this into a collection of short little one-shots dedicated to the loving AangxKatara pairing! I also thought, yes, my previous statement about American-anime was a bit broad, but in more ways than one, I still go by it. I don't like American-Anime, in general. Avatar became an exception. And, don't get me wrong, I know a LOT of Japanese-anime that is crappy, so no, I don't automatically think that all Japanese Anime is better ) I just kinda think we're copying them (the STYLE and mannerisms, not the concept of animation…). But anyways, yes, Avatar is one of my favorite shows, and it always will be- unless the series gets destroyed (knock on wood!) Anyways, here is it- the first is "Silent Dreams", which I've revised a bit. The first half is all the same- but I've changed the latter half up. The rest will come later. Enjoy!

Silent Dreams

He was swimming through nothingness. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there, or if he would ever get out. All he knew was that it was freezing- the air from his lungs was slowly seeping out, crushed underneath this weight he couldn't fathom. The cold was unbearable. He wanted to scream, but it was useless- no one could hear him. All that would escape from his mouth would be bubbles, concealing his cries and masking them in their prismatic cells. In the horizon he could see a body- a silhouette of majesty, clothed in robes and ornamental pieces, tall and mighty.

It was an Avatar.

He slowly made his way toward the figure- his imminent destiny. Entities began to swirl around him, creatures of different colors, with soulful and ethereal eyes. One was silver, another blue, then green, and finally red. They looked like birds almost to him, singing softly in their angelic tones, curling intricately around his limbs and torso. They were aiding him in his journey to the figure in the distance, but no matter how far he swam, the more distant the figure grew. Hope was slowly being drained from him; he couldn't reach it! No matter how hard he tried, or how long he swam, he couldn't reach his goal. All hope and life was nearly gone, until he looked up and light seared his eyes. Another golden creature, though completely different than the others, swam up in front of him. Its eyes seemed to smile at him, as its light began to eat the nothingness around him. Slowly, it reached out its hand toward him, and he took it. He knew this creature would aid him. As soon as his fingers touched it, they were engulfed in a furious flash of Light.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Aang slowly opened his eyes, and the familiar campsite played out before him. Instead of yawning wildly like he always does when he wakes up (one of many of his last-ditch efforts to remain a child in this unforgiving world) he remained quiet, listening to the sounds of the dark and the insects going about their business, unaware of the events going on in the macroscopic world. Aang silently rolled onto his back, the night sky opening wildly out before him. He studied the stars and picked out constellations, relishing the quiet and taking time to mull over his thoughts.

He'd had this dream now almost every night. It was the same thing, every time, and he was still trying to make sense of it. He hadn't told Sokka or Katara about it, for fear of them worrying it was some premonition, even though the young Avatar knew what it really was. It wasn't a vision at all- just a product of his thoughts. He could analyze ever second of it.

The figure in the background was the symbol for an Avatar- Aang's destiny. He knew that. The nothingness he swam through was probably reminiscent of the ocean he was trapped in for a hundred years. The creatures that aided him were the elements- the silver one was Air, the blue Water, green was Earth, and red had to be Fire. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't reach the Avatar, which reflected his fears of not being able to complete his destiny. He knew all that. It was a relative Avatar's Nightmare he was having.

What he didn't understand, however, was the golden creature. That had always been there to help him in the end, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Was it another element? He couldn't imagine what other element that could be bended. That was the only other thing it could be, and he would soon find out what element it could be. Unless….the creature was a person.

He was brought back to reality by a loud snore; he turned over and saw Sokka noisily fussing around in his sleep. After a moment it passed, and he fell back into submission. Aang stifled a snicker, and turned onto his other side. Appa was off in the distance; a deep rumbling told him the bison was asleep. He then saw Momo curled up in a ball on Appa's head, his chest rising and falling with each breath. Aang smiled and rolled back onto his back, when out of the corner of his eye he saw something move.

He turned his head in the direction of the campfire, which was about fifteen feet away from the sleeping group. His heart leapt for a second when he saw Katara, quietly stoking the fire with a stick, yawning slightly and settling back down for night watch. The boy smiled softly to himself, his body going warm with thoughts of the Water Tribe girl. She looked beautiful at night- not like she didn't in the daytime, but there was something about how the way the moonlight played across her face that made her exceptional during the dark hours. Aang suddenly blushed when she glanced over in his direction, but to his great relief she smiled and went back to her work.

He felt like just laying back down and falling back asleep, but the remnants of his dreams still haunted him, and he discovered that he was shivering from the cold. He thought this a great excuse, as he bended the air around him to lift himself up and found himself walking over to the campfire. He sat across her, the fire between them, "Hey Katara."

She smiled warmly at him, and Aang discovered that the smile seemed to warm him more than the fire did.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Aang was silent for a moment, and finally shook his head, "No…Just thought you'd like some company."

She smiled again, making Aang twitch slightly, "That's sweet of you, Aang."

They sat in mutual silence, either staring at the fire or at the stars. Aang, at first, thought the quiet a little awkward, but after a few minutes of studying the girl, he soon realized how much he enjoyed her presence, and how comforting it was. The last remnants of his dream still haunted him, but soon they were overpowered by her warmth. He nearly forgot about the nightmares, as the quiet took over him. He wasn't dozing- it was the closest you could come to it, though.

"What did you dream about?"

He was brought back to reality by Katara's voice; he glanced at her for a minute, "Nothing. Just a stupid dream."

She cocked her head slightly, "Well, it must have been more than nothing, or else you wouldn't be here right now."

Aang glanced over at her; the way she read him was almost amazing sometimes. He wished he could confide in her all of the fears his dream had left behind with him. He wanted to tell her everything; how scared and unsure he was about himself and the future. He wanted her to know every little thing he thought right now. But he didn't tell her. He didn't think he ever could. Katara and Sokka always had heralded him as such a powerful air bender and Avatar. In truth, he didn't want to dampen their image of him, and make them think he was just a scared little boy. Even he didn't like to admit it.

I'm just a kid he would always find himself thinking. It wasn't fair; none of it. Why did he have to be the only one to save the world? He had a set amount of time to learn how to master all the elements, but there was no one to teach him how to be the Anchor between the human and spirit world. No one to teach him how to resolve conflicts that involved the lives of people; conflicts that Bending couldn't fix. It was just so unfair!

Sometimes he wished he was still back in the iceberg; still asleep after a hundred years, and no chance of ever waking up again. He recalled the sleep too- so deep and serene, the kind you never want to wake up from, the kind that is so comforting and calming you wish you could keep your eyes closed forever…

But then he remembered what it was like when he woke up- opening his eyes to the most beautiful thing he had ever seen before, her arms wrapped tightly and warmly around him- warmer that any fire or light could ever be. He remembered her smiling at him so softly, her face lighting up brighter than the sun, but with a dark beauty almost like that of the moon. She was as amazing as the moon. And Aang knew he wouldn't give his freedom from being the Avatar if it had meant not ever meeting Katara and waking up from a century in her arms.

He looked at her now and smiled, "Don't worry about it Katara."

Katara stoked the flame with a stick, and looked up to say something to Aang when she suddenly stopped. Across from her the Avatar sat with a small smile on his face, tears pouring down from his gray-steel eyes. She held her breath, concern written all over her face, "Aang!" she whispered, "What's wrong..?"

He sniffed, but the tears kept coming, although his smile never faltered. Katara felt her heart wrench in two- she'd never seen Aang so broken-looking before. He was always so optimistic and strong- there were very few times he'd actually broken down and looked sad- she didn't think she's ever seen him cry before. She didn't dare move, "Aang, please, tell me what wrong…"

His voice came out as barely a whisper, cracking slightly as he fought to keep from sobbing, "Don't worry Katara…I'm ok…"

They were silent for a long time, sound coming only from the crackling fire and the sound of distant water. When nothing happened and the tears didn't stop, Katara stood solemnly and walked right over to the Avatar. He looked up at her eyes glinting in the light, and she sat down on her knees in front of him, her eyes on the same level as his. He stared at her for a long time, neither of them speaking. Aang felt like her beautiful azure eyes were staring into his soul, staring right into his core, and she was suddenly filled with all the knowledge and worries he hadn't told the others. He felt himself crumble underneath those eyes. With a slight catch in his gasp, he lunged forward and seized Katara around the waist, crying into her chest, tears staining the white fur of her longcoat. She slowly wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face into the side of his smooth neck, smelling strangely of the Earth. It was comforting. She felt tears brimming in her own eyes, and grabbed onto Aang tightly as his cries were muffled by her coat's fur. She'd never seen him so broken. She wished she could use her healing abilities to cover whatever wound was causing him so much pain- but she didn't think her power worked on souls. Whatever was hurting Aang so much was deeper than any physical wound she could ever fathom. But she wanted to try. She wanted to try and understand- but Aang was the only one who could decide that. She lifted her head and rubbed her cheek against his, whispering into his ear.

"You're not alone…"

She pulled back from him and took his face in her hands; her olive-tone contrasted beautifully with the milky white of his face. She smiled at him, her azure eyes brimming with moon-lit tears, "You're not alone…" she repeated to him, now slightly above a whisper.

His eyes were red from crying so much now, but his steel eyes were wildly lit. They stared into each other for a long time, until Aang finally wiped his own tears and face. He reached up and put his hand on her cheek, bending the water of her un-fallen tears and tossing them into the fire.

"Don't cry Katara," he said, rising up so he could take her fully in his arms.

She wrapped around him, resting her cheek against his lean chest, "I can't help it," she whispered, closing her eyes, "whenever I see you cry…"

He pulled slightly away from her, looking down at her with a warm smile, "Get some sleep Katara. I'll keep watch the rest of the night."

She looked up at him and wiped her face. She made to stand, but suddenly stopped, as if reconsidering getting back up. Then, with a small voice she asked, "…Can I stay with you Aang?"

He looked at her, his face filled with some emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on. Aang now stared at her with some feeling he didn't know, for two people so innocent could not understand their body's way of saying that they cared for each other. Aang had been born a monk, and had not been allowed interaction with girls, therefore he was lacking in the knowledge of how to realize any kind of impure thought. But, if he was capable of understanding, he could have kissed Katara now, and fully taken in her soft lips that he could only dream about. But, that was if his body had had any kind of impure thought. Soon the feeling passed, and he smiled at the water bender, "Sure Katara."

They sat by the fire, the young girl curled up against the air bender, snuggling against the side of his neck that smelled like the Earth. Aang rested his cheek against the top of her head, and suddenly found himself talking, about what, he didn't quite know.

"You don't have to cry Katara, because I won't anymore. Someday, this world will be beautiful again. And that always gives me hope. Even though it destroys, with fire always comes Life. You'll see, someday Katara. When that day comes, I'll even take you through the sky, and just maybe through the stars."

Sleep's clutches were taking hold of her, but Katara managed to say, "..You've been through the stars..?"

He smiled, "Of course. That's why I'm taking you."

They sat there, underneath a sky that could never be understood, nor reached no matter how high you jumped. They sat under the gaze of the Moon, who had guided them for so long now, though they hadn't realized it yet. The Last air bender, cradling an older water tribe girl, whose destinies were solemnly intertwined. Soon, daylight would come, and they would continue on their journey with no consequence. It would be the next day that Aang would finally realize who the golden creature in his dream was.