Well… it certainly has been a while. Apologies again for the long wait, I'm beating myself up for it too. The past few months have kept me busy and I finally have the time to write once again. Thanks to those who checked in to see how I was, it was much appreciated and really made my day! I'm perfectly fine, and I have every intention of seeing this story through to the end. Just a heads up, I may not be able to update regularly in the coming weeks, but I will do my best to write good and timely chapters going forward. Enjoy and thanks for all the support!
The ride to the outpost was uneventful. Even the sky was clear, for which Aang was very thankful. A well-earned break from the hell they fought through at Remagen, he figured. He had even enjoyed conversing with the old German man, or "Oppa hunne" as the sergeant had come to call him. On their way to offload him, Aang had found out the man could speak English, which made their conversation easier.
"I joined the Volkssturm five weeks ago, you know. At first, it was simply because our soldiers kept coming back in worse and worse conditions. I figure, maybe I can do something to help. But, I never liked the Nazis. They are the reason our sons and brothers die! And many more are still persuaded by their propaganda. It hurts me to see my country like this, you know? And when I let my voice be heard, when I spoke out, I was persecuted. The younger ones wanted me hanged, said I did not care for the country or the Fuhrer. But the Oberst, the Colonel, shared my thoughts. He gave me a weapon and a pat on the back and sent me off into the forest before the rest of the men tore me to pieces."
To Aang, this was an eye opener. He had thought all the Germans were back. At least, that was what all the posters and film reels back home told him. But they were wrong. They were humans, just like him, and there were those among them who chose not to be on the wrong side of history. Aang was about to voice his thoughts when the older man continued.
" I was quite lucky to get as far as I did, being someone my age. I thought my time was up when I saw you and your men pass by, but you took mercy on me. If only my fellow countrymen shared the same sentiment."
Aang looked over to the man as he took a sip from his canteen. "We may be at war, but my guardian taught me to honor my elders, not shoot them," he joked with the man, to which he was greeted with a hearty laughter.
"Well then, you have certainly been raised properly, young man." The man smiled at Aang, a smile that reminded him even more of the humanity his enemy had. He returned his smile and offered another piece from his pack of rations.
"You know, I had a son like you. His name was Hans. Tall, polite, very handsome like you. He practically had all the women in the town lining up to be courted by him!" The elderly man and Aang shared another laugh before he went on.
"But only one girl ever seemed to catch his attention: Emma, one of our neighbor's daughters. She was the most beautiful girl in town, or at least that's what Han's always told me!"
Aang chuckled at the thought of this young man being so lovestruck, so much like him.
"I'll bet she was, if your son was so enraptured by her. Did they ever end up together?"
The old man dawned a mournful look on his face, and looked up to the sky before finally responding.
"Sadly, no. She ended up marrying the man down the street from us, and not long after that, my boy joined the army. He always told me he wanted to serve, but I knew he really joined to get away from her. He couldn't bear the thought of being near her any longer."
"Where is Hans now?"
"My son died a year ago, fighting the Russians in the East. His captain sent us the letter confirming it, along with his condolences and Han's personal belongings."
The old man paused, and looked to Aang, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I can only hope you haven't resigned yourself to the same fate."
Aang looked at him questioningly, and opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Before Emma married, you should've seen how Hans was around her. Always finding a reason to talk to her, be with her, to feel her presence with him. He was so set on being with her. And after the fact, he always had this look in his eyes, a look that I see in your eyes now. Eyes that had known what it felt like to love, only to lose it without warning. I see the love in your eyes, the way you stare up at the sky and the way you smile. You have known what it is to love, and I fear like my son, you try to shun it and reserve yourself for worse things."
Aang felt personally attacked. This man was presuming to know everything about him, without even having known him before this moment. But (and he would never admit this), the man was right.
"What are you trying to say here?"
"My son gave up on his love, or rather, the chance to experience it. He could've found another girl, learned to live with the fact that Emma simply wasn't meant to be his. But he became bitter, cold, like his life had lost all color. He went to war because he felt death to be a more forgiving fate than heartbreak."
"To anyone else, you may look like a normal soldier, a man with a gun ready to kill at a moment's notice. But to me, you are like my son. A young man who feels lost, who feels he deserves nothing but to die and be forgotten."
Aang had to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out, and he nodded for the man to continue.
"What I'm trying to say here, my boy, is that I lost my son because he felt like he was empty. But you, you have the biggest potential. This war, this fighting, it all means nothing to those of us who have known the sweeter things in life. I can see you have loved in your life, and that love may still be out there for you. If you live to see the end of this bloodshed, I hope you return home and find it waiting for you with open arms."
Aang was, once again, speechless.
Despite his misgivings with the man's declarations, Aang opted to go with a less offended response.
"I hope you find the same when all of this is over."
The two smiled at each other one last time, before the sergeant turned back towards them and the tank ground to a halt.
"Hey kid, time to say your goodbyes! This is your stop, grandpa."
The old man just nodded as Aang helped him off the tank, and before they parted ways, he reached into his coat pocket and extended his hand to Aang. He passed the unknown object into Aang's hand and balled it into a fist.
"When you get home, give this to her. I feel it has been with me far too long, and I think a man like you is well deserving of it."
With that, Aang handed him over to the MPs for processing, and they walked off as Aang waved him off. He opened up his hand to reveal a flower. Edelweiss. The true mark of a soldier. He pinned the small flower to his jacket collar, and pondered the man's last words to him.
Two things he couldn't have been more unsure of: If he could ever be strong enough to return to her, or if he even would. He didn't have much time to think however, as the sergeant called his attention once more.
"Mount up, Aang! We're getting in gear here."
"Yes, sergeant."
Aang hopped onto Punisher, and manned his position as the column began to move along. Zuko looked over to him and away from his periscope. Not a good idea,
Aang thought, since he was supposed to be
the damn tank. As Zuko was about to speak, Aang quickly beat him to it.
"Keep your eyes on the road, hotman! Jeez!"
Zuko's eyes went wide. He turned his attention back to the periscope, but not before saying what he had planned.
"You'll get through this, Aang. I'll make sure of it."
"What are you talking about now?" Aang said without looking, actually paying attention to his job, unlike someone.
"You may not think so, but I know she's going to be miserable without you. I'll get your sorry ass back to her if I have to swim across the Atlantic with you over my shoulder."
They both laughed at this, and Aang felt something swell in his chest. Be it hope or fear, he didn't know. But he did know, this war wouldn't be so bad with his brother watching his six.
"I'd say thank you, but we'll both be frozen before we even get close to home."
They chuckled once more, before Sergeant Kelden called out to both of them.
"Did I end up with a bunch of comedians for a tank crew?"
The two responded with a "no sarge", not without smirking to themselves.
The sergeant smiled to himself, glad to know his men still held onto some sanity in all of this bullshit. "Real shame, I'm sure the Krauts would've loved you pair of jokers."
Grady and Preacher snickered to themselves, and the Sergeant laughed as well. Aang and Zuko kept their eyes forward, but were each grateful to have Sergeant Kelden leading their tank. Aang had a question in the back of his mind, and he thought it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Sarge?"
"Yeah kid?"
"Where exactly are we headed?"
The rest of the crew looked to wardaddy, as if they all had the same question on their hands.
"The Krauts are being engaged in the Ruhr valley, and we have the honor of cutting the bastards off from behind and pushing them back towards our boys on the other side of the pocket. We'll take the town of Ahlen, and then advance on Hamm just a few miles southeast, cutting off their retreat."
"How many Germans?" Preacher asked from his position at the gunner's seat.
"Enough for all the firepower we've got."
This answer seemed to suffice, and the tank was once again silent. Aang hoped that if they were surrounded, the Germans would give up, but war has a way of getting your hopes up, then sucker-punching you in the gut. No one said a word, but the thought was the same for all of them.
We're really in for it now.
Meanwhile Back Home
Their house was quieter than usual. A bit darker too, save for the open curtain pouring in sunlight from the outside. Appa and Momo were sleeping on the couch, and all of it threatened to distract Katara from the reality of her situation. Everything looked fine; she had returned to work once she had made a full recovery, she never forgot to feed Appa and Momo, and she still spent time with her brother and their friends. To any passerby, her life would appear anything but abnormal. But she knew better than any stranger did. Nothing felt fine, and therein lies her problem. She would stay in bed as long as she wanted, seeing as he was no longer around to coerce her into consciousness in the early morning hours. Often, she ate alone at dinner table. Appa and Momo gave her much more attention, but only because he wasn't around to give them more attention than was probably necessary. Nothing was the same, because he was gone.
A tear was inching closer to falling on her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away and took a deep breath.
It had been almost a month since she had woken from her coma, and the same amount of time since she first heard Aang had left. Then, returning to an empty house, finding a letter waiting for her instead of him. Suki had eventually shown her the last letter Aang had written overseas. Her reaction to the letter had been less than dignified, mind you, but imagine having to see someone you love beat themselves up in writing. It had made her all the more helpless, seeing as there was nothing she could do but read it over and over and over.
She felt like a broken record, repeating the same thoughts in her head endlessly. Ask anyone in town, and they would tell you just how well off Katara was on her own. She was smart, responsible, and constantly at the top of her game. When she met Aang, this of course didn't change, but it was as if he amplified the best things about her by 100. He supported her, nurtured her, and never left her side after the day they entered the others' life.
Which was exactly why she couldn't fucking understand how stupid Aang was being right now.
He had a steady job that kept him from fighting, and friends to support him, and she would've been there for him too if he hadn't acted so rashly. But no, he had left, the damage was done. Yet another thought on her mind that seemed more and more present everyday. Katara thought she could forgive him, but in the past few weeks, she doubted whether she should.
On one hand, Aang was the kindest, most gentle soul she had come across. He was considerate, patient, understanding, charming, funny. Sometimes she thought the spirits had literally dropped him from the sky into her arms. And on the other hand, he was the Aang that acted like he was missing a functioning brain whenever he was around Sokka, the Aang that got frustrated and confused, the Aang that left.
She wasn't sure which Aang she knew anymore. He had never done anything like this before.
Car accidents aren't exactly commonplace either.
Okay, that's a fair point, but spirits alive, did he have a death wish? It was an accident, quite literally unintentional, and he would rather be subject to gunfire and bombing than work things out with her?!
It outraged her to no end. She leaned forward and put her face into her hands. Oh, if only things weren't so complicated. She thought of how things could have gone differently. If they hadn't gotten into that accident, or if they hadn't gone to the party at all, or maybe if this damn war never even happened, and he had no excuse to go. Surely he would've stayed, right? She sighed, frustrated with the fact that now, she wasn't sure if he would or would not. Before she could ponder further, Appa began tugging on her pajamas.
Katara sat up to pet him. "No worries, Appa. I would not dare deprive you of your morning walk." She smiled softly at the dog, and then to Momo, who was sleeping on the windowsill.
She got up and walked towards her room to get ready for the day, whatever it might hold.
…
As Appa pulled on the leash, Katara struggled to keep him controlled. After all this time, she still wasn't used to the jolt of strength he got whenever he was excited. As much as her mind was troubled, Katara had to admit it was actually a pleasant day. It was fairly warm, so far it hadn't rained, and she was wearing her favorite outfit: a light blue dress with white polka dots, her mother's necklace draped around her neck, and her comfiest pair of flats. Her hair had been done in a simple bun, with her signature hair loopies ever present. If she wasn't feeling all that good, she supposed looking good would have to suffice. Soon enough, they had reached the dog park, and Katara let Appa off his leash and shut the gate behind him. As she watched him play with the other pets, a voice called out to her from behind.
"Katara?"
Shit, Haru.
Haru had liked Katara since they were teenagers, and like his quite unattractive beard, had stuck with him well into adulthood. She had rejected Haru more times than she cared to keep track of, but his resolve seemed as strong as the first time he had attempted to court her.
She relaxed her shoulders, and turned to Haru, donning a polite, yet lackluster smile when they were face to face. "Hello, Haru."
"Fancy seeing you here, didn't know you liked dogs."
"Well, seeing as I walk Appa here every morning, it's safe to say I like dogs."
Haru seemed to pick up on his lame attempt at small talk, and tried to pick himself back up.
"Oh y-yeah, forgot about Appa." He chuckled, to which Katara only cleared her throat.
A few seconds passed before Haru spoke again. "So, how have you been?"
"You know, the usual."
He must've been hoping for a more specific answer, because he fell silent once again before finally recovering.
"I hope you're feeling well since the accident, and you know…"
"Since Aang left? Yeah, I've just been real peachy."
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
"Nothing to be sorry about."
"I mean it though, I know what you must be going through right now and-"
"Alright Haru, let's cut the crap. Did you come here just to give me a therapy session, or is there some ulterior motive here?"
"I, uh, I-I was just wondering if you'd like some coffee, my treat-"
"Haru, how many times do I have to say it?! I don't want to date you, and even if Aang isn't here, it doesn't give you any reason to feel like you need to step in and take his place."
"It's just a cup of coffee, Katara! You know, Suki and Toph said you barely leave the house besides to walk Appa or go to work. And like you said, Aang isn't even here. Everybody's gotta live, why don't you do the same? "
Katara thought about this long and hard, before finally caving.
"If I'm not mistaken, you said your treat."
"Of course! It'd be my pleasure."
sigh.
"Alright, lead the way."
If she got nothing out of this, she would at least have a fresh cup of coffee.
I went back and corrected all the errors. Hopefully it's good to go now. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it! Feels good to be back, and we're back in full force! Happy late Thanksgiving!