A/N. So, I'll come back after the holidays! Everyone a merry Christmas, and a very good New Year, filled with better news than the last two years!
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender
As Katara closed the door behind her, Aang let out a sigh. How could he, after all that had happened, ask her to put herself on the line? No… He wouldn't do that. Couldn't do that.
The Invasion plan was not bad… But the Earth Kingdom was gone… And who would do the fighting in that case? His friends… and their families. How could he ask people to sacrifice what was left of their families?
How could he ask Sokka and Katara to put the life of their remaining parent in danger… It was already because of him that they had no mother anymore… And how could he ask them to sacrifice their father? Even if Aang didn't particularly like the man at this moment, he wouldn't wish him to be injured, or worse…
Aang sighed, running a hand through his hair. Spirits, how he hated that. He hadn't had hair since he was three years old. The wind didn't gently pass over his skin, and it felt itchy and weird!
He walked over to the bed, sitting down. He had to think this over. The best way to make sure no one got hurt was taking out the Fire Lord… alone. Sokka had been right, the invasion would be the best choice… If Aang needed an army. But he had accessed the Avatar State in the Crystal Catacombs… So why not again? And now, he would watch his back. He would make sure there was no more deaths because of his failures…
"Avatar Aang?" A voice sounded behind the door. No one of his friends called him by his title. That had to be one of the water tribesmen. Spirits, how he hated to be called that. He was not worthy of that title, or of the responsibility that brought with it…
"Come in." He sighed. Of course, the tribesmen would be no different from any other people.
Let's get a look at the Avatar!
To his surprise, it was Hakoda who entered, and he seemed… nervous? No, rather, he seemed pissed. Really angry. Not the shouting and raving kind. The sort of anger that made you calm and collected. The man walked to the chair standing at the desk and sat down.
"How stupid are you actually?" Hakoda spoke softly, looking directly at him.
"Eh… what do you mean?" Spirits, what was this?
"First of all, you make my children worry sick for you. And when you finally do wake up, you manage to behave like a first-class asshole. So, I repeat my question. How stupid are you?" The man bent, and put his elbows to his knees, clasping his hand between his knees. Still looking with that angry, steady gaze at him…
"I'm sorry if it looks like that… I may have a history with being unkind while people are trying to help…" Aang answered. He knew that each time something happened to him, he had a tendency to shut people out… And he had promised Katara not to do that again… After the birth of Hope, in that canyon outside of Ba Sing Se…
"You don't get to be sorry for this. Sokka is too kind with you, and Katara is a mess, but doesn't want to make you hate her, so says nothing. And even Toph behaves too nice with you. You may be in need for someone who will tell you the truth."
Spirits… That man was right. He had not been told what had happened exactly… At least, not in a true way.
"So let me begin. You will not interrupt, you will not contradict. You will listen." The man waited, looking at him. Aang just nodded. What choice did he have?
"When your friends came to my camp, I learned exactly how much my daughter loves you. She may not have told you this, but the first three days, she didn't sleep. She didn't eat. There were only two things that Katara did. Healing you and cursing Azula. She didn't stop. We tried to make her stop, but nothing we tried would make her leave your side."
Each sentence made Aang feel worse… Katara had… She had been worried for him… Those dark rings under her eyes… the weight loss… That had been because of him.
"Katara was a mess. She had episodes. Where pure rage and anger took control. For you. Because you had been killed. And really, there was no predicting what she would do next. We even began to avoid her, in fear of being impaled! You don't even want to know what happened when we took the ship. Do you hear me? You don't get to feel sorry for yourself, because the world thinks you are dead."
Katara had… she had killed. That much was clear. The mention of taking the ship was too specific. There would have been a fight, and there would have been deaths. But the way Hakoda spoke about how Katara had behaved during that fight. It made Aang's heart ache. Not because she had killed. He would not stop people from drastic measures in a fight, if it couldn't be avoided…. But the way Hakoda had said it. She had killed, and not just to save herself.
"The world may think you are dead, but they lost the Avatar. Who cares? They get reborn. But your friends lost a companion. A brother. A lover. Those are not easily replaceable." The icy blue eyes seemed to drill into his own…
Wait… a lover?
Shit.
"Yes, I know about that. No need to look at me like that, Avatar Aang." Hakoda sighed, "That is the other part of my talk. For now, we stay on this topic. Your friends would do anything for you. The least you can do is the same thing. So, you will stay a secret, because you being alive and ready to fight is the only advantage we will have."
It was not wrong… but how could Aang accept that? He knew what had happened to the world when it didn't have the Avatar for a century… And now, at their hour of greatest need… How could he abandon them now?
"I just don't want people to get killed because of my failures." The airbender sighed.
"People get killed every day. It is not something you can avoid. This town where we are docked, it is under Fire Nation occupation. Apparently, it had a pirate problem. And now, their corpses hang over the harbour. That is life, you can't change that. You can't take responsibility for everything."
Yeah… Sokka had told him the same thing after discovering the Southern Air Temple, all those months ago…
"As for taking responsibility for your actions, that is something I want to discuss with you." Hakoda stood up, turned his back to him, and looked out of the window.
"When you came to my camp to talk with me regarding Katara… Why didn't you tell me she loves you?"
Wait… what?
"I… I knew there was something… but I didn't mean to presume… She hadn't said it to me. So… I didn't want to say it in case… in case she didn't feel as strongly as I did…" Aang explained, feeling stupid. Of course, she had the same kind of feelings for him as he had for her… Otherwise, that what had happened in the barn wouldn't have transpired…
"Well, I can assure you that that is not a problem. I only saw this kind of love once before. And let me tell you, the way you are acting now, it is only hurting her. I know you are trying to protect them. But let this be a warning. I tried to do the same, to keep them out of harm's way. Six years later, I have my children fighting in this war, and they hate me. So, don't make the same mistake." Hakoda turned around, walking towards him.
"I don't know what has exactly happened between you two, but I know that you and her have talked and said some things that are meaningful. So, for her sake, get your head out of your ass, and behave like an adult. Katara needs you."
Why would she need him… He had been a failure… He had come to Ba Sing Se to save her, and he had not even managed that… Aang looked down to the ground, not willing to meet Hakoda's eyes. How could he?
The Chief apparanlty didn't care, for he took Aang's chin in his hand and forced him to look up. The contact surprised him. Only his friends touched him. Otherwise, people would always walk around him in a little semi-circle, as if he was radiating, I'm the Avatar, look at me.
Hakoda extended his arm towards him.
"Come on. If you don't believe me, let my men tell you. Or at least, listen to them."
Aang grabbed the chief's arm and was pulled up. As he hobbled, with the help of Hakoda and his own staff towards the door, he had to ask.
"Why are you trying to help me?" Why was this man, whom Aang had only caused problems, trying to show him what had actually happened?
"I'm trying to help my children Avatar Aang. And I believe I'll have to count you to those in some time… If we win." Hakoda answered, but it seemed as if it pained him. As they walked through the corridor, Aang understood.
"You are afraid what will happen to them if we lose the invasion…"
"Aren't you? Why else would you not like the invasion? Everyone is putting all their hopes on Sokka's plan, because his crazy plans have worked until now." The chief explained.
"Yeah, I know the feeling… How can he think this is a good plan, to sacrifice his family and friends so that I can take out Ozai?" That had been the whole problem, in Aang's eyes.
"Sokka wants to end the war, as do all the others. As do I. As do you I suspect." Hakoda sighed, opening the door to the outside they arrived on the deck, the older water tribe warrior turned around.
"You will not leave the ship, you stay on the deck. If someone says to hide, you hide. If someone asks you to hide your tattoos, you do it. No contradictions." Then, the chief walked off.
And Aang listened. He listened to each tribesmen. And what he heard, chilled him to the bone.
An older man, Gilak, told him about the first night. How his friends had arrived, in despair about him… How Aang had looked, covered in blood… How Katara had not left his side…
Bato explained to him how Sokka had forced the tribe into protecting him… Because of what he had done for the village on the South Pole… Why? It had been the only logical choice… There was no need to be repaid for such a trivial thing…
A young idiot, Alqaok, spoke about how the tribesmen had bets going on, to see who would crack first, Hakoda or Katara… Apparently, there had been a fight, and Hakoda had been trying to fix that since then… And had failed so far…
An ancient man, Kranook, told him about how Katara had been acting way too friendly with Aang… That she had slept in the same room, and that it was really not appropriate. The airbender realized at once what he had done last night… He had effectively kicked Katara out of her own room… Spirits…
As he made the rounds, asking the tribesmen about the weeks that he had been unconscious, Aang realized how much his friends had suffered… How much Katara done… Spirits, he felt guilty about shutting her out… His problem was… laughable, in comparison with hers. What would he have done in her situation? The same probably. If she had been unconscious for three weeks… He would have destroyed anyone in his path.
Aang managed to get back to Hakoda, who had been standing close to the door, watching him.
"So?"
"I… I need to apologize to her, don't I?"
"Damn right. So, Avatar Aang, now I need to do something else. Come inside." Hakoda gestured, and the airbender followed. What else could he do?
They made their way back to the room where Aang had woken up. As Hakoda closed the door, Aang turned around, facing the man.
"Why did we need to go here?"
"Because I don't want my warriors gossiping more than they already do." Hakoda extended both arms. Nodding his head towards the airbender.
"Come here."
Aang walked over, feeling apprehensive. What was this about?
"Put your hands on my forearms." The chief explained, showing him the gesture Aang needed to copy. He put his staff against the wall, and did as he was told. What was this?
"Has Katara ever told you what this is?" The older man asked.
"Ehm…. No… What are we doing exactly?"
"The permission ceremony."
The… permission… ceremony? Did he hear this right?
"Are… Are you sure?" He had to ask.
"No, but you and Katara are, so who am I to try and stop it? No, Katara has made it quite clear that I have no say in the matter, and I prefer to at least do this."
"So… How does it work?" Aang wondered. It was quite foreign. With the Air Nomads, you didn't need permission from anyone… It was free and without rules… Except those the couple would give themselves.
"You say why you want to court my daughter, and I tell you what I want of this relationship. That is all. The contact is needed to bond this promise in the presence of the spirits." Hakoda explained.
Spirits, this sounded patriarchal…
"I… I love her. The Air Nomads had a saying for confessing your love… My heart belongs to her… She is my everything, my eternal love… My Katara…"
Aang saw the small smile on Hakoda's face. Oh… This seemed promising.
"I would do anything for her… All I am, it's hers… It has been hers since I woke up from the iceberg…"
Hakoda sighed, but it didn't sound angry or irritated.
"Avatar Aang…" The chief began.
"Aang. This is mine, not my past lives."
"Sorry… Aang. I have my doubts about the future, but not about what she feels for you. I still don't know you, but both my children love you. And that is enough for me. You have my permission."
After those words, Hakoda released his arms, and Aang sighed. This was what he had wanted. He turned around, walked to the bed and sat down.
"And now what?" he asked the older man.
"Now… Well, we'll have to gather the warriors and your friends from all over the Earth Kingdom. Sokka gave me a list… But well, it seems they are everywhere. The best choice it to get those Swamp people, my son told me they are waterbenders. They could help with the ship, and make it go faster I suppose." Hakoda sighed, standing next to the door.
"Watch out for Huu, he is a pantless kind of person." Aang smiled at the memory of the kind Swamp man.
"Excuse me?" Hakoda raised an eyebrow, but Aang recognized the look. Sokka looked exactly like that when he found something amusing but tried to hide it.
"You'll see."
"You are talking like you won't be there with us." Hakoda said, and Aang felt the eyes of the man fix him.
"I… I think I know what to do." The idea had been forming in Aang's head, but after meeting all these water tribesmen… How could he not? They had spoken about their families… And Aang knew what the loss of a father or, at least, a father figure, meant. No. He couldn't let that happen.
"Well… Don't act rashly. Speak to Katara, please." With those words, the chief left the room, leaving Aang alone, and in darkness.
Katara had done so much for him… The tribesmen had told him. She had never left his side, only for short breaks… For three whole weeks, she had been at his side day and night… Not once wavering from her wake. Spirits… Her current state was thanks to him…
At that moment, he took a decision. Aang knew perfectly well it was a horrible, stupid idea… They were miles away from the Fire Nation coast… But… But if he managed to get there… Then it could mean the end of the war, and a chance for them… to have real, normal life. He could give her that.
Quietly taking his staff, he looked around the room. His eye fell on his chest, and the airbender walked towards it. Crouching in front of it, he opened it.
The scrolls were a mess, and most of his belongings had clearly been taken out of the chest several times, because they were not at their usual place. As he rummaged through it, Aang realized that it was not logical… He had not seen anyone with their own belongings… What was his chest doing here?
When he found the pouch he had been hiding in his own pocket before… before the Crystal Catacombs… Aang tried to think logically. If Katara had opened it… She would know immediately what it meant… It was the stone he had taken from the Eastern Air Temple, the stone he had been planning to carve and give to her…
Taking the toolkit from the chest, with the pouch, he let them slide inside the pocket of the trousers he had clearly been given by someone in the Water Tribe… He would carve it while resting…
While he flew towards the Fire Nation Capital.
To take out Fire Lord Ozai. Kill him? Capture him? He didn't know…
"To Roku's island first. Then I'll see." The airbender spoke softly to himself.
Aang opened the door, looking from left to right. There was no one in sight…
He quietly made his way to the deck, making sure he wasn't seen. He planned to jump down into the water, swim with the help of airbending to a place where he could take off without being noticed. Aang knew that is an airbender was seen taking off this ship… Well, that would mean death and despair for all these people.
And he couldn't do that… not again.
"Avatar?" a voice came from behind him as soon as he had made his way to the back of the deck. He groaned. He had been careless… Of course, there would be someone keeping watch. Turning around, he saw it was the young warrior Alqaok. Oh… Yay.
"Hey… I just wanted to look around a bit… maybe find a place to relax." He tried to sound nonchalant, and if the young warrior had known him any better, he would surely have seen right through it.
"I actually wanted to talk to you." The man sat down on the railing, waving to the wall in front of him.
Spirits, no… Aang just wanted to get quietly off the ship. He stayed standing, he didn't want to sit down and have a lengthy talk with him.
"About?" When young men had said those words to him the past few months, it was mostly to ask about Katara. And he felt this wasn't any different.
"There are rumours about you and the Chief's daughter."
Spirits, of course.
"Rumours?" He asked. Of course this was going to end poorly.
"Yes, that you and her are an item. I overheard Katara and that blind girl talk about it." The man smiled. But Aang realized what that meant.
"You mean you have been spying on her."
"Not spying, just listening. And I wanted to ask you for myself." Alqaok smiled yet again.
"It is none of your business, I won't discuss it with you." Aang sighed. Why was this always the question these idiots asked him? If they wanted to be shot down by Katara, they should at least ask her themselves.
"So it is true. Pity. How is she?" The man grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
Spirits.
"Just leave before I lose my temper." Aang groaned.
"All right, all right, no need to be so prudish, I won't judge." Alqaok walked away, but before he was out of earshot, the young man looked over his shoulder, "The Chief is wrong to give you permission."
Aang tried to remain calm. This idiot had listened to their conversation! How… How dared he! What right did he have to get into his affairs!
Breathe. No need to get angry, there are more important things to worry about…
He waited for the water tribe warrior to get out of sight, and jumped over the railing, into the water below.
Answers :
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : God, I'm so sorry, I had forgotten to answer you yesterday! Yeah, Aang has been stomping nicely on Katara's dreams. But don't worry, he'll make it up! But it will take some time I suppose! Thank you, hope you also have a nice holiday season!
Chinmay : Yeah, Aang needed this rude talk. A least now he knows about the facts, he will talk to Katara, and hopefully apologize! For Book 1, I'm thinking about it actually! To show the developing crushes of both of them could be interesting!
Bay45220 : That talk will have to wait for some chapters, but it will be there, don't worry!
Dividedbyzero-0 : Did you expect it to be Hakoda who would kick some sense into Aang?
Rak : Yeah, I really felt for Katara while writing this lol! Thank you, have a good Christmas!
To all readers, a merry Christmas!