A/N. Hey ! So, the headband episode begins!

Otherwise, I removed a comment from a guest who was asking to review his or her story. I don't accept that, and will remove any comments that go in that direction. If you want to review feel free, but respect the writer and review their story. As do I with stories of other people.

Thanks, and sorry for the small outburst!

I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.

"Where to now?"

That had been the question on everyone's mind since they had woken up, Katara knew. Toph was just the first to openly acknowledge it. They could not stay on this barren rock, with only fires and lava as company. No, they should move on. But where? The Fire Nation was not as gigantic as the Earth Kingdom, but still, it was the second-largest nation in the world. And the most difficult to travel in.

Even if most considered the Water Tribes as savages, Katara had had lessons, by the village's elders. She knew geography as well as any person. And the Fire Nation consisted of nearly a hundred islands, large and small… And to it, Sozin, Azulon and Ozai had added much.

Sozin had officially incorporated the territories north and south of the main island into the Fire Nation. Those had been the mountains and valleys of the Air Nomads of the Southern and Western Air Temple… And Azulon had, at the end of his life, begun the procedures to add the western coast of the Earth Kingdom in his empire. Ozai had finished it, so that now, the official territory of the Fire Nation was not only the main islands, but also many other lands.

They were eating a cold breakfast, in the light of the rising sun. Katara saw how her brother was bent over a map, one that their father had given them before they left.

"How about this island? Jirsha?" Sokka showed it to Aang, who had been sitting next to her.

"Oh no, not there! Jirsha is only jungle and mosquitos. No thanks." The airbender laughed. Spirits, it was good to hear that sound after so many weeks… And to hear it again, it made her shiver in delight. Katara had not known how good it was to hear it, again and again. When she had heard the laughter that night, when Toph had scolded them, she had nearly wept with joy. That was the sound she had missed. Those weeks had shown her that Aang was the life and spirit of their group. As much as she loved the others, it was the airbender who made everything fun and interesting…

"What about this one then?" Her brother showed them all the maps, all the while pointing at the largest of the eastern group of islands. On the map, it stated that the island was called Kirashi, and that is had an actual town.

"Oh! Yes! It is so nice there! I had a friend from there, Kuzon! He and I were best of friends, together with Bumi!" Aang sounded very happy about visiting the place, but Katara did see the slight apprehension in his eyes. And she knew of what he was afraid. That the place had changed while he had been frozen… And how could it not?

Aang had mentioned the Fire Nation from before the war several times, but never in great detail. Just details. He had said there had been festivals, songs and dancing. That the Fire Nation had some of the greatest artists and cultural events in the whole world. And, not loud enough for Sokka to hear, he had told her once that he had loved, and still loved, the Fire Nation.

Katara could not imagine that. For her, the Fire Nation was everything she hated. Oppression, violence and destruction. The Fire Nation didn't seem so culturally refined to her, otherwise, they would never have destroyed other civilizations… But Aang had known this country before the world went up in flames… So, maybe he was right? Maybe she should at least try and see for herself?

"Well, everyone in favour of this?" Sokka asked, and Katara nodded, while Toph shrugged. They began to load the saddle once more. The waterbender was tying the sleeping bag that she had used when Toph appeared next to her.

"When we get there, you might want to have a conversation with Aang, without me or your brother there. I presume correctly, don't I?" The usually teasing edge in her voice was gone, to be replaced by a sweeter one.

"Maybe…" Katara could feel a small blush rush to her cheeks. Spirits… only talking about the possibility made her go weak-legged.

"In that case, let's find a place where that is possible, without informing dear Sokka. You know what he told me yesterday? That he was sure nothing would happen between you two, except some chaste kisses. Because you are both too shy." The earthbender explained, while bending down to grab a fistful of black sand. Katara saw how she was rubbing the fine particles between her fingers.

"He said that?" The waterbender was surprised. Her brother had never wanted to know things like this about her, always acting like an immature baby whenever she had talked about something with her gran.

"Yeah, I told him that he may be very wrong. But I didn't tell him about the book… Or that you already did things…" The teasing edge as back in force now.

Katara tried to stay as still as possible. She knew perfectly well what Toph was doing. The blind girl was trying to know what had happened. The waterbender had not told anyone about the barn, and the only person, who knew for sure, except Aang and her that was, was her father… And she wanted it to stay that way. For the moment at least.

"Thanks." That was no lie, nor was it confirming anything about… the other things. She heard how Toph chuckled, and quickly went to put the sleeping bag on the saddle. It was not necessary to discuss these things… At least, not while she and Aang were not… actively doing that. At least, there had been a talk, and one that had made her think of the ones they had in the Earth kingdom, under the starry night skies… That had been nice, trying to decipher the other's feelings and emotions without actually talking about it.

But this night, they had talked about them. Aang had not said the words she craved to hear again… But he had confirmed that he had said them. And that he was still feeling the same. And she had also said that her feelings hadn't changed.

But she knew that she had to take the first step now… At least, the step towards saying that she loved him. Katara wanted to say it desperately, to let him know that she didn't just like him or felt something else. No, she loved him.

Appa took off not long after that. As the island receded in the distance, Katara turned to her brother, who was steering the bison.

"Could you warn me when we approach an island or something? Appa is too easily recognizable, we would need to hide him. Maybe if we manipulate a cloud, like at Aunt Wu…" She spoke. Katara knew that she and Aang could do that. And it would permit her to see if his bending had taken a hit by his wounds. She knew he had been able to fly to Roku's Island, but she hadn't seen it for herself. And to know if his healing was a least complete enough, she would have to see it.

"Yeah, great idea! We don't want to be seen in enemy territory!" Sokka answered, with his I know important stuff voice. Spirits… She hoped he wouldn't act like that for the whole two months.

The waterbender huffed, sitting down on the saddle. The new one was different from the old one. The first had been decorated with Air Nomad symbols all along the edge. And even if this one was clearly inspired by the old one, the symbols here were those of the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom. Air Nomad wind symbols could also be seen, but there were wave patterns and earth symbols too. The only Nation missing was those of the firebenders.

"Hey…" A voice came from next to her, and, turning around, she saw that Aang had moved from the back of the saddle towards her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Toph making a movement with her hand. Her index and thumb, making a circle, while another… Oh Spirits!

"I know the town on the island pretty well… There was a square where there was always music… would you… like to go there? With me I mean!" He stumbled over the words, trying to say them as fast as possible, but making pauses in between them.

Had he… just asked her to go dancing? She hadn't done that in ages. And the last time had been when her grandmother had been singing a song. She had been thirteen! Feeling her face heat up, Katara nodded quickly. Aang smiled hesitantly, while quietly backing away. It was so weird to see him subdued. In normal times, the airbender had always moved around on the saddle if he didn't steer Appa. Katara remembered how he had been dancing on the edge of the saddle once.

But now, he was sitting quite still, looking over the saddle and at the ocean beneath them.

"Are you alright?" She asked, aloud this time, so that the others could also hear them. If there was something bothering him, she preferred him to say it so everyone.

"Yeah… Was just thinking about the last time I flew here. It was two or three months before I froze. I was going to visit Kuzon. He told me that his dad had been called up for military service. I didn't understand at the time, but I found it weird. The Fire Nation had never called up the reserves… And when I asked Gyatso about it when I got home, he told me not to worry about that. But I could see in his eyes that there was something wrong. Now I know what was." Aang sighed.

Oh… Spirits. One of his best friends' parents had actively taken part in the extermination of the Air Nomads… Maybe not by choice, but still. That would hurt… Katara was also surprised that the airbender was speaking openly about his past. He had never done that before, except with her. Had she lost that now?

"You don't know if he did anything." Toph spoke, turning het head in the direction of Aang.

"I don't. But it is still a possibility. Kuzon's father, Jiru, was nice. He took us fishing once. Even though I didn't partake, it was still nice to be treated like that. And to think that he would have participated… It breaks my heart. He like the Air Nomads. I just hope… I hope that the Fire Nation has not changed too much in reality…"

And that was the core of his problem, Katara supposed. If she was assuming correctly, Aang had spent much time in the Fire Nation before the war. And he had liked the people. So, he was afraid that some of his childhood memories would be tainted with new memories.

And Katara was afraid that it would indeed be the case. Foreigners were not permitted inside the main islands, so no one knew exactly what happened there. How the people lived…

"Coast in sight, please make sure we are not seen!" Sokka shouted from Appa's head, and Katara got up, as did Aang she saw. Luckily for them, there were some clouds in the morning sky. There was also a thick fog around the coast that was indeed coming closer and closer.

Katara felt the humidity in the air as they flew through one of the clouds. They had done this once, at Aunt Wu. The trick was only to make the humidity follow them. Aang would then try and keep the humidity in the shape of a cloud by bending the air around them in a sort of cocoon.

Katara moved her hands around, pulling the fine particle of water in the air towards them. She saw how Aang was making a movement with his left hand, that she recognized as the airbending motion to keep air together, in a sort of ball.

At least, his bending seemed alright, and not damaged at all. That was good!

Katara heard Toph grumble, and looking at the earthbender, she saw how the blind girl was shivering and pulling the cloak she had taken from the ship around her. Spirits, they had forgotten to tell her about the temperature drop… In the cloud, it quickly got very cold, and the earthebender was clearly not dressed for these kinds of temperatures…

"Sorry Toph, it will get better once we land. The day is going to be warm, you will dry up quickly!" She spoke.

"Is it normal that my clothes are as wet as you are when you see Twinkletoes? Spirits, a little bit of a warning would have been nice. It feels like you dropped me in a bucket of ice water." The small girl grumbled unhappily. But luckily, not hard enough for either Aang or Sokka to hear.

"If you are going to protest like that, I will." Katara muttered. Why was she being teased like this? She had not heard Toph joke about these things with Aang. Surely, she did, as the blind girl had done it before, but still, it was always the same joke.

Oh haha, Katara and Aang want to screw each other.

It was not like that! It was so much more. But Toph didn't seem to understand that… Or she did and chose to ignore it in favour of rather immature jokes.

Suddenly, the waterbender felt the soft thud of paws on gravel. They had landed in the first inhabited place of the Fire Nation. No turning back now. They were inside enemy territory, and it was a world none of them knew. Toph had not even stepped a foot outside of Gaoling for most of her life, she and her brother had only travelled the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes… And Aang, well, he had been here, but his knowledge was kind of outdated.

As Katara released the cloud, at the same time as Aang did, the air around them cleared. It was still early, an hour or so after daybreak, and the mist still hung around them on this small bay. Sokka had chosen well. The cliffs on either side were high enough that no one in their right mind would climb them, and there was a small cave entrance, facing the sea. Perfect place to stay hidden.

And then, her brother went into paranoia mode. He immediately jumped behind a rock, looking over it with caution.

"Great job with the cloud camo but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud who knows how to keep its mouth shut!"

Of course. Katara had heard it on Appa. Sokka was going to act like he was on a stealth mission. But of course, two months like that would be horrible. She felt Momo land on her shoulder, and Toph coming to stand next to her, while Aang stood there, watching her brother with mirthful eyes.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to let a bird hear us and turn us is…" The blind girl rolled her eyes, and they watched as Sokka looked suspioucly at a small group of birds sitting on the rock next to him.

"Those are enemy birds." He stated.

Yep, her brother had gone quite mad. The cave seemed dry enough from a distance… Better that they went inside there then stand in the open, with their mismatching clothes and Appa, who would attract attention, for sure…

Katara began to walk, followed by Aang and Toph. Sokka was still looking suspiciously around, as if from any of those rocks, a whole Fire Nation army would appear. Of course, it didn't, and they reached the cave in complete safety.

Behind her, Appa grumbled softly, seeing the cave. The waterbender heard Aang whisper some words to the bison, and, seemingly without too much problem, Appa entered the cave, but she saw that he stayed near the entrance, where he could see the outside world.

"Well, this is it! This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins! Hiding in cave… after cave… after cave…"

Oh, Tui and La, no! Katara refused to do that! She was not going to spend two months of her life in a dark, gloomy cave! It was not what they had agreed on! They would hide in plain sight, to look at what the Fire Nation was now! That was the deal! She had not gone from one metal prison to be stuck inside a rock prison.

And… Had Sokka forgotten the fact that they would need food? And water? And clothes, food for Appa, medicines, salves? Yeah, knowing her brother, he had probably forgotten all about that.

"Sokka, we don't need to become cave people." She shuddered. There had been some people in the Southern Water Tribe who had preferred to live in caves along the shores. Those had never been… friendly folk.

"We just need some other clothes." She continued. Yeah… That was really necessary… Toph was wearing a red shirt and black trousers, just as Katara was, but otherwise, they hadn't taken… Well, other items that could be useful, like bindings and so on. And Katara wasn't planning on wearing the same for two months, no thanks!

Her brother was still wearing the uniform of a naval firebender, which was also quite dangerous. The little they knew about the Fire Nation was enough to know what happened to deserters. And Aang… Well, he was the worst of them all. Just those blue pants she had borrowed from her father, and that red robe was not hiding the fact he was not wearing a shirt, only some dirty bandages. And his tattoos didn't help…

"Yeah, blending in is better than hiding away! We will be less suspicious!" Aang stepped forward. Well, about being suspicious, Katara didn't know. Toph and the airbender could pass Fire Nation citizens, but her brother and she herself? That would probably be harder…

"And how do you propose we" Sokka moved his hand from himself to her, "would disguise ourselves as Fire Nation?"

Katara saw the smile on Aang's face.

"Simple! Just say your parents is from Parza Island! They have the same complexion as you two do!"

Oh… That made things much simpler… Very much so.

"We will be much safer outside this cave then inside, trust me. The Fire Nation frowns upon homeless people!" Aang smiled, explaining. Oh, Katara saw how much he liked this, being back on the route and seeing the places he had known before…

"Plus, they have real food out there… Because let's be honest, these cave hoppers are only fit for Momo…" Toph sighed, sitting down on a rock, while indeed, the lemur was chasing some white insects around the cave.

"Alright, I see your point… Let's get some clothes." Sokka admitted his defeat.

Well, that would be easier said than done Katara supposed. How in the name of the Spirits were they supposed to get clothes? As she had thought before, their current clothes didn't permit them to just walk into town and buy some new ones…

"Let's get out of here after unpacking and look around a bit." Her brother suggested. It was the only logical choice, and the one they needed to do. Sokka got going on removing the saddle straps from underneath Appa, which was a good idea. If they stayed here for some days, the least they could do was making the bison comfortable…

She herself made her way to Aang.

"When we get new clothes… Maybe get something that hides your tattoos?" She hated to ask, to remind him. But she needed to be sure that he would do it.

"I will Katara, it is only hiding them… It is not like they are gone." He smiled.

Oh spirits… He didn't know… He didn't know about the scar…

"Ehm… About that… I… I did what I could when I was healing you… But the wound you had… I couldn't remove the scar. The tattoo on your back…" Katara couldn't go on.

"Oh… Well, it doesn't matter! It is not like it is gone! I still earned them, and I have that." She felt a hand on her cheek, lifting up her face. And in his eyes, she saw only understanding. No accusation or something like that. For the first time in weeks… It felt like the person she was talking to about her failing and problems… understood. And didn't judge or made excuses.

It was having Aang back. The normal, caring Aang, who never blamed someone of anything. Aang who understood her.

And now, they could finally get going on with their lives…

Answers :

Kalaong : Oh, the smooth ad flirty Aang is coming… And it is glorious to write that scen, I love it so much

TheLastSoulBender : Oh thank you very much, that means so much coming from such a writer as yourself!

CoyoteLemon : Oh Hakoda was wrong, but I loved writing his speech, even if he regretted it later! And maybe the smut is coming… Because indeed, Aang has a debt to pay!

Gabriela N. Gonzalez : Yeah, the anguish is finally over (for the moment!) and now we move on to… other stuff lol! And Toph is just a gem!

Rak : Yeah, that episode is just what you need on a rainy day like this one! And Aang is going to do so much these coming chapters!

Bay45220 : Oh, but that is why she is there, to tease and joke and stop our dear Aang and Katara from doing stupid things lol!

Again, sorry for the outburst in the beginning!