Note: Originally posted on ao3 on February 2021 for Kataang Valentine's Bash. The prompt pair is clouds and storm.

TW: unwanted advances. (However, it is not graphic and nor does it go far.)

Part I: Clouds

When Katara was twelve years old, Avatar Roku died a hero's death saving his village from an erupting volcano. She remembered the somber experience, coming together because of the passing of the old Avatar. Ceremonies had been held throughout the world for two weeks, and the Fire Nation especially had the grandest one from what she had heard. It made sense considering that thsi cycle's Avatar had been from the Fire Nation and a dear friend of Fire Lord Sozin himself.

The Southern Water Tribe had their own remembrance ceremony. The candles had been lit; the empty canoe had been released onto the ocean as they watched from far away on the floes. The soft beating of the drums as they resounded on the vast tundra and through the capital city was something Katara would not soon forget.

She had felt a little ashamed because she knew that she should not have been so excited to see her best friend on an occasion like that one. Aang had visited because his mentor and guardian, Monk Gyatso, needed a change in scenery. At least, that was what her mother, Chief Kya, had told her and her older brother Sokka. Her father, Hakoda, was good friends with the man, and in turn he and his charge were friends with their whole family.

She did not know who convinced whom when Gyatso and Aang arrived on their shores. Nana, Gyatso's flying bison, carried them on her back, and Appa who was Aang's, followed them at their side. Appa was such a little creature in comparison to Nana, and Katara had always thought him adorable.

She had bounced up from her chores, ready to greet them. She had tried to school her face to be a little more serious, but she could not help but crack a smile when she had spotted Aang. She was not reprimanded though. How could she be, when Gyatso smiled at the same time they did? He was such a kindly elder with laugh lines around his gray eyes and his droopy face with his white mustache that reached just past his chin. He had blue arrow tattoos that Aang did not yet have at the age of ten, but they both shared the same clothing color palate that matched the season of autumn, and of course, the lack of hair.

As the days went on during their visit that time, she noticed that Hakoda had done all he could to distract Gyatso. Avatar Roku had been a close friend to Gyatso after all. They had grown up together and learned airbending together. It had got her thinking that maybe she could comfort Aang too. She knew that Aang had known Roku as an uncle figure that appeared in his life, even if it was not often.

The thing she remembered about the entire ordeal was not the times they wandered the capital in a daze, not the moments when they went to the stables out back to feed Appa and Nana, but what Aang had said to her when she asked if he was sad about it all. About losing Roku.

"I'm a little sad but…Gyatso is sadder," he had told her with that shy smile of his.

After, he had taken out his wooden pan flute and played a cheerful tune. He wanted to lift everyone's spirits, he told her. The way the wind blew through the instrument made her feel like she was flying.

That was the day that Katara realized that Aang was selfless. He was like the clouds on a sunny day, the kind that gave just the right amount of soft shade. He was familiar, comforting, the opposite to her stormy, passionate personality. But still, she began to love him. Little by little, as much as a child could understand what that meant.

She did not remember when they had met, only that he was always there. Perhaps she had seen him one day as a toddler, trudging through the snowfall. Maybe they had found each other on the docks when Gyatso landed his bison. All she knew was that for as long as she could remember, Aang had been a part of their family, and he had played with her and her brother throughout their childhoods.

Now, two years after that day, she was looking forward to seeing him again. She had last seen him weeks ago when he and some of his peers had gone down to the Southern Water Tribe to trade for woven baskets. She had quite enjoyed the lychees that they had brought with them. They were so sweet and tangy, even if the seed in the middle could be frustrating to eat around.

This time, he was coming because two years after the passing of the previous Avatar also meant that it was time to search for the new one. The next in the cycle was supposed to be an airbender from one of the temples, but rumor had it that the Avatar had already been found. Leaders from the Air Nomads' Council of Elders from the four temples were to go to the other nations to inform them officially that the Avatar had been discovered. But as tradition, their name and location were not revealed until the new Avatar's sixteenth birthday.

Because the Southern Air Temple was so close to the Southern Water Tribe, Gyatso and some other representatives were chosen to be the message bearers to the chief. Naturally, Aang was permitted to tag along. He could travel alone now because he was twelve and at the age where this rite was bestowed upon the airbenders, but still too young to remain separate from his guardian for long. However, Katara supposed it would not have mattered either way. Wherever Gyatso went, Aang did too. She was simply happy that he had chosen to return to her.

"Well, hello there, Princess Katara," said a voice from behind her. She turned around with some sort of giddy shock only to meet his brilliant silver eyes. The icy blue walls of the chief's palace—though 'palace' was a strong word for it when the Northern Water Tribe boasted a much larger residence—reflected on his face, making him look as if he were an ethereal spirit.

Aang was ginning at her, just as bright in his orange and yellow acolyte robes as ever. He was proud to be an Air Nomad from the Southern Air Temple, their closest neighbors besides Kyoshi Island. He came to her as always, a jovial cloud gliding in the sky over the sea.

He was still bald, like all the monks, but unlike the other children his age, he already had his airbending master tattoos. They were cerulean arrows that trailed his limbs and chi paths, ending on his forehead. She had wished to go to his mastery ceremony, but it was an intimate experience that was only held at the temples. This was the first time she had seen him with them, and just looking at the way he stood there made him look so foreign. It made her blush.

"P-Princess?!" she sputtered out, ignoring the heat that settled in her cheeks. She pointed an indignant finger at his face. "What? Should I call you Master Aang now?"

Instead of being as annoyed as she wanted him to be, Aang laughed. "No," he replied as he continued to chuckle in between breaths, "but it would be pretty funny!"

She passed the oval window that framed the city outside and crashed into him. Her arms encircled his neck. He was a few inches shorter than her, but he fit against her just fine.

"Twelve years old and already a master? Monk Gyatso must be so proud of you!" she exclaimed. She pulled back; her arms still draped on his shoulders. "I can't believe it. You look like a whole different person."

Aang's cheeks turned a light pink as he separated from her. He rubbed that back of his head. "I hope that's a good thing?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

"Of course, it is!" she laughed. "I hope I can be a master waterbender soon. I need to catch up to you."

"From what Sokka just told me at the pier, he thinks that you will," he replied. His eyes sparkled when he looked at her. "I think that you will too."

Katara laughed softly, stepping closer to him so that they could walk side-by-side. They were both still smiling as they traveled down the hallway.

The ice of the chief's home and palace was white like fresh snow, and only seemed to glow with the light of the rising sun behind the walls. Intricate carvings and totems lined the passages, but they were not over imposing. Each of them was dedicated to different nature spirits: the ocean, the moon, the hunt, spirits that traversed in the mountains, and even the ones that shape-changed. Aang had always appreciated them. She liked that he did.

The door to the meeting chamber appeared before them. It was in a round room. A hearth sat in the center and furs from arctic animals were carefully placed on the ground along with cushions. Behind the fireside sat her mother. She was tall for a woman of her tribe, but that only enhanced her elegant features. Katara had her mother's clear blue eyes, and Sokka had her regal facial structure. Her hair matched Katara's chestnut, but in a darker shade, and it was braided back and away from her face. She had the attire of a leader. A yellow full moon was sewn to the front of her parka.

Sokka had come, and of course Hakoda did as well. They had matching Warriors' Wolf Tails tied into their hair, but their father's was more grown out and met his beard. Both of them were sitting to Kya's left. A seat was kept empty to Kya's right. Katara situated herself there, trying to make herself comfortable.

Monk Gyatso and a small delegation of two other Air Nomads sat together along the edge of the hearth. One of them had a particularly bushy unibrow, and the other seemed to be missing his two front teeth. Aang joined them.

It was his first meeting. Since he earned his tattoos, the Elders had eyed him as a potential Council member to fill their future ranks. He had grumbled enough about it to her through his letters.

Katara tried to ready herself to be formal, but as she and Aang were across from each other, it was difficult to do so. She, Sokka, and Aang were not old enough to participate in political affairs, but when they each turned twelve, it was acceptable to let them attend. After all, Sokka and Katara were the son and daughter of the chief. Both of them would grow into positions of leadership.

Anyone could become chief in the Southern Water Tribe, but the title often remained within a certain circle of families. Outside of the circle, she and her brother were pronounced the heirs. It came down to respect, not age, nor gender. Kya was a distinguished head of their tribe, and a powerful waterbender. Thus, when she had children of her own, she and Sokka were closely scrutinized.

She and her brother were both leaders in their own way, and this trait had only flourished over time. But it turned out that Sokka wanted to be more like their father: a warrior and a hunter. Katara, on the other hand, inherited Kya's waterbending. She wanted to defend her tribe, but she also wanted to heal. She wanted to be like Kya.

Seeing this, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the members of her family. There was a saying that her father repeated often, a saying that he had passed on to she and Sokka, and perhaps had inspired both of them.

"The men of our tribe are leaders of the hunt, and the women are leaders of the people," he said whenever he admired Kya as she conducted her duties.

Katara wanted to listen, to learn. She wanted to be a compassionate chief like her mother.

Kya raised her head, nodding to the delegates. "Well, shall we begin, Monk Pasang?" she asked.

The monk with the unibrow agreed, bent somewhat forward on his cushion. He appeared unfazed by the animal skins that were lain around him. Katara was always impressed by the amount of acceptance an Air Nomad had when confronted by a different culture, especially one that willingly hunted prey as part of their livelihood. An Air Nomad never ate meat, and never dared harm a living thing. Even the use of airbending was not meant for attack, but to defend only when circumstances were dire. She admired their acts of peace.

"Yes, of course," Pasang said. He cleared his throat. "I, Monk Pasang of the Southern Air Temple bring with me some of my Council…Monks Tashi and Gyatso."

"We welcome you to the Southern Water Tribe capital," replied Kya with a bow of her head.

There was a pause, a shift in the room. Tashi was the one to speak next. His voice was like stepping on gravel, grinding and squeaky. "As you have heard, the Avatar has been found."

The silence that came after was thick. There was no shock in it, but trepidation. As if there had to be more than that.

Gyatso glanced upward from his spot next to Aang, a resolute expression on his wrinkled face. "We would like to request that when the time comes, the Southern Water Tribe will agree to train them," he spoke. His gaze lingered on Katara for a second, and then passed over her to meet Kya's. "We have seen that the waterbenders of your tribe have been well taught, and we believe that the Avatar would do well to learn from your people."

Katara saw the shocked expressions that both her father and brother had. Kya had kept herself composed, but she could see the subtle change in the way she arched her back. Maybe it was something like surprise, or even pride. She certainly felt the same.

"It would be an honor to have one of our own be the Avatar's master," she replied.

Katara spent the rest of the meeting concentrating on the way her mother spoke with confidence, how they talked about various accords and trade. They exchanged additional pleasantries, and even joked. When Tashi nodded off and almost fell backward, she had to stifle a laugh when Aang mimicked him.

From then on, all she could think about was going outside to waltz in the snowflakes that had started to drift down from the sky just beyond the single window. She wanted to show Aang how quickly she could make an ice sled, how much more fun it would be to use his airbending to make them go faster.

It must have been another hour before they were let out. Sokka mumbled something about wanting a big lunch, but Katara found herself being dragged into the courtyard with Aang holding her hand. He was grinning, and she was laughing for no other reason than that they could finally spend some time together.

"Do you want to go penguin sledding with me?" he asked, bouncing on the heels of his feet.

She giggled into her mittens. "Let's go!" she exclaimed.

The two of them spent all afternoon on the slopes, chasing penguin otters with fish used as bait to lure them in. They slid down the same hills they did when they were younger, chortling loudly with every twist and turn.

When they were tired of running after the creatures, she started a snowball fight. She knew she would win, of course. She was the waterbender. But it was fun to let him believe he could, just for a moment.

"Race you to the palace!" yelled Aang over his shoulder when the sun started to dip below the mountains.

"Not fair!" she shouted back. "Airbenders always win!"

"Waterbenders should stop complaining about it!"

She admitted that she might have cheated by making the ice sled that she had wanted to show him anyway. Still, she did not beat him, but the way he brightened when she caught up was a sunbeam refracting on the snow. She would never forget how he looked then.

Katara was sixteen and Aang was fourteen when it happened.

Sixteen was the traditional marriageable age of the Water Tribes, but it was not as strictly enforced in the Southern Tribe as it was in the Northern Tribe. For most, the idea of marriage at such a young age was seen as archaic. Even a promise of marriage early on was less common than it was in their sister tribe. Though, it was not unheard of.

Oftentimes, it would happen with more prominent families who tended to adhere to tradition. Even more so with the family of the chief. With that kind of prior knowledge, she should have seen it coming.

"What do you mean I'm getting marriage proposals, Gran Gran?" she moaned one evening as she and her family were finishing a pot of stewed sea prunes. She scoffed. "I haven't heard from anyone."

Her grandmother was very much like her in that she was stubborn and independent. She was Hakoda's mother, but she much resembled Kya when it came to getting her point across. Though some said that Katara was the spitting image of her.

"Exactly what I said, Katara," informed her grandmother. "You're getting proposals, and a lot of them. Some even from the Northern Water Tribe."

"There's no way I'm marrying someone from the Northern Tribe! They just want a good wife who never speaks and doesn't use her waterbending for anything other than healing, and they probably just want to marry me because I'm an heir," she retorted with a frown. She placed her near-empty bowl down. She pointed to her brother. "Sokka's not married yet, and he's seventeen! How come it matters only if I get married?"

"Hey!" shouted Sokka, indignant. He had a spoonful of sea prunes bulging from his cheek. He swallowed the whole thing, coughing in the process. Then, he aimed his spoon in her direction. "You became a master waterbender at fourteen, and I happen to be really good looking. I'm sure we both could find our matches if we wanted."

"So, you're saying that you don't have any promising traits other than your looks?" Katara teased.

Sokka growled. "I'm saying that we're both good prospects, and that I chose to not marry until later." He sat up, preening. "I want to have a go 'round, you know?"

Katara gagged, and Hakoda guffawed. Kya did not look much too pleased.

"Well, I'm not marrying anyone that I don't even know," said Katara. "I'm not marrying until I want to either."

That was supposed to be it. She expected a hard time from her grandmother, and at first, she did receive a lot of grievances about not following tradition for a few weeks after her birthday.

Her mother was good about letting her come to her own conclusions, but even Kya had to accept that there were certain traditions they had to pretend to adhere to. She received scroll after scroll, men from all over the tribe asked for Katara's hand. Some of them were bold enough to ask for her directly. Sokka gave her so much grief about it, that Katara wanted to pull her braid out every time he waggled his eyebrows at an approaching bachelor.

But none of them impressed her.

For some reason, she kept comparing them all to Aang. She started to think about him more and more. She had noticed how he had grown taller than her, how his voice deepened, how much more defined his features became. She saw him gradually as he changed. He was not the little boy he once was, but someone else. Someone she could be with.

Even so, nothing stopped them from approaching. Out of all of suitors that came for her, Tulok was the most persistent. Somehow, he knew her schedule. He followed her to the healing huts. He observed as she taught classes for beginner waterbenders. His presence was unpleasant, often a thorn in her side.

Tulok was from a prominent family of warriors, and he was the only waterbender in his household. He was talented and excelled at combat waterbending, but he was not yet a master. He was larger than her brother, and more muscular. His hair always remained up, and he had narrow eyes that made him look like he was always scheming.

"You should nudge your foot a little to the left, Katara," he told her as she was practicing the water whip at the communal fountain. "That way, your stance will be steadier." He never called her 'Master'.

She had executed the move perfectly without his help, and she told him so.

"Ah, I'm just trying to give you some pointers," he went on. "I'm going to be your husband, right?"

"No," Katara said, using the same tendril of water to shove him away. "No one is going to be my husband."

Katara turned away, storming off into the sunset. Yet, she did not see Tulok shift after she had forced him away. Something cold and hard wrapped around her waist. Frozen and locked there like a shackle. She spun toward Tulok, gasping in disbelief as he trapped her wrists and hands in ice as well.

They were soon forced together, chest to chest. She was too shocked to move, too utterly disgusted to realized that she needed to try to bend her way out of his grip. Her hands were clasped to her, cold in the ice that entrapped them. He tilted forward, crashing his chapped lips to hers and grazing her teeth with the tip of his tongue. She tried to squirm away, tried to move, move, move. She was better than this, she told herself. She had to be.

He bit her bottom lip and she screamed into his caress. There was a familiar tug in her gut as she pushed her energy outward. The ice around her hands started to melt. The belt around her waist crackled with each step backward she made. She slammed into the wall of a building.

She wondered why no one could see her.

The ice broke. She pushed him away. And then, without any prompting, Tulok was blown off his feet and slammed into the ground on the opposite end of the courtyard. He groaned.

Everything must have happened in seconds, but it felt like an eternity. She was on her knees. Her hands were shaking, and every part of her felt violated. She curled into herself, heaving an exhale. A shadow appeared before her and a pair of scuffed brown boots.

The shadow crouched before her, and a voice came, familiar and comforting, and like the shade of clouds on a too-hot day. "Are you okay?" Aang asked. He did not place a hand on her. "Do you…want me to help you?"

When she did not respond, he added, "I can leave…if you want."

Aang started to stand. Without thinking, her hand shot out to grip onto the fabric of his trousers. He returned to his previous position.

"Stay," she whispered. She finally looked him in the eye. Her vision was blurry. She could not see him well enough. She swiped at her cheeks and a warm liquid coated her palms. She had not realized she was crying. "Please, Aang," she begged. "Take me home."

Only then when she had reached out to him did he take her hand.

They did not speak for a long while, not even when they reached the doorstep of the palace and he had led her to her bedroom. She was grateful that her brother was out hunting, and that everyone else was busy for the day. They were not supposed to meet again until supper.

"Thanks," she said after a beat of silence. "I'm glad you came."

She heard him sigh, then he fidgeted with something. He lifted an object and presented it to her. "I…wanted to stop by. It's been almost two months since your birthday, but I was so busy training the younger kids that I…well…" He took a deep breath. "I wanted to give this to you in person. Sixteen is important."

She lifted her eyes and with careful fingers, grasped onto the gift he gave her. "A pan flute," she observed.

"I know that you like to hear me play so…I thought I would make you one," he stuttered out. "You know, so you could hear the same music even when I'm not there to play for you."

For the first time that night, she smiled.

"Thank you, Aang," she said with earnest. "For everything. I really am glad you came."

She was the one that moved first. She put her arms around his torso, pressing her face into his shoulder. She was not sure if he cared that her tears stained his robes, but all that she knew was that he was there and that he saw her. That was what mattered.

Aang saw her.

"I don't…think I can watch you be…engaged to someone like that," he said in a course murmur next to her ear. "Someone should deserve you."

Katara thought that there was only one person that did.

Her mother had abdicated her seat as chief to her when she was twenty-two. Kya, while not elderly or ailing, said that she wanted to focus more on teaching waterbending at the school. She had said that Katara was more than ready to take over, to lead, and it was luck that the rest of the tribe agreed.

Around the same time, she had received a letter from Aang:

Katara,

I have news! I've been chosen to teach the Avatar advanced airbending techniques to finish her training. I wondered why Gyatso wasn't chosen, but he insists that they chose me for a reason, whatever that means.

The Avatar has been told her identity early, but I'm not sure why the Elders decided this was a good idea. They would only be ten, too young to know. Gyatso says that everything happens for a reason, and that the Elders have their motives for telling her who she is.

I wonder what Avatar Amrita is like. I hope I can be a good teacher.

Aang

She was glad for him and knew that Aang would do well even without her telling him so. The two of them had started to move forward in their lives, and she started to wonder what that all meant.

Katara was nervous. She was young and did not have much experience outside of what she had studied and observed. But the people trusted her. She tried to emulate what Kya taught her: to be loyal, brave, and true to herself. "These are the most important things to remember as chief," Kya had said. "Loyalty to your tribe, bravery to lead your people, and true to your beliefs."

Katara made sure to remember these things on her first trip as chief outside the Southern Water Tribe. She had been invited to attend a trade agreement signing in Omashu. As the new chief, she decided it was best to come herself. Sokka would normally be her second-in-command, but Kya thought that it would be good to expose him to a grand delegation such as this one. Kya retained her chief duties for the few weeks until they returned.

"And with that, the agreement is renewed!" rejoiced King Bumi at the head of the table. At only twenty, the eccentric Earth Kingdom monarch rose to the throne after a sickness crippled his mother who had been the reigning queen. Still, that did not seem to deter him from being exactly who he was. "Let's party!"

Katara saw the representatives from different nations milling about the room, exiting in groups. She waved to the delegate for the Northern Water Tribe, and after a short greeting, she and Sokka left the room.

They had to change for the formal event that would happen that night. She had opted to wear a blue dress trimmed with white fur and long sleeves that dropped just past her wrists. Sokka had on a buttoned vest with similar trimmings.

"I don't know if I want to go to this thing," complained Sokka. "Wearing this suit feels so…uncomfortable."

"Oh, just enjoy the free meat skewers," Katara laughed.

"You know what, you're right, little sister."

She and Sokka wandered in opposite directions in the ballroom. Scones of glowing green stones lit the hall on adorned pillars. There were buffet tables covered with silver platters of food. She spotted the dessert. She was about to pick out a delicious-looking custard tart when a pale hand bumped into hers.

She startled. "I'm sorry—"

Her mouth parted when she saw Aang standing before her. He was a head taller than her. He had filled out well over the years, and the clothes he wore only accentuated his stature. He wore the traditional colors of the Air Nomads, but this set was made for special occasions. He had a column of neat, twisted buttons that ran down his chest, each clasped together. His high collar was slightly bent outward and stood out against the red sash that was draped across his shoulders down to the waistband of his loose, yellow pants.

He was handsome. So handsome. She could not think of anything else as she struggled to find the words to greet him.

"Katara," she said in that boyish way of his. He gulped. "Wow."

She felt the corner of her mouth quirk. "Wow?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, eyes wide. "Wow. You're so beautiful."

She looked away, hoping that he would not see the blush rise rapidly on her face. She could feel it burning through her skin.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she stumbled. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well…since I'm one of the Avatar's masters now…"

There was an awkward moment of silence before one of them was composed enough to say anything. "Well," said Aang, "if you're not going to eat that…"

"Oh, go ahead," she remarked.

He ended up splitting the tart with her. She enjoyed the sweet taste on her tongue. The custard was exquisite.

In minutes, he had asked her to dance. The trilling tune of the erhu filtered through the background. The bells that accompanied the strings rang like droplets hitting glass on a rainy day. It was as if all of that had disappeared when they were so close.

She should have been comfortable as she moved with him, for they had danced together before. However, for some reason, this time was different. She could feel the beating of her heart, the touch of his fingers to her bare skin. It tingled like a fever, a gentle touch that left her wanting. There was a string between them that brought them ever closer, tying them together.

The way he pursed his lips distracted her, the way his tongue peaked out to wet them sent a thrill through her. His hand moved up her back. She watched his eyes as he silently asked for her permission. She let him, and then it was as if something between them snapped.

She did not know how it happened, but they were in the gardens as the jasmine flowers bloomed, and then the guest wing, and then her room. The humidity from outside peppered her skin, slickened her hair on the nape of her neck.

The door shut behind him, a resounding thud that sounded final and inviting at the same time. They stared at each other, and Katara felt the bulbs of electricity fizzle at each touch of their hands, each inch they came nearer.

"I um…wanted to tell you…" he started, phrases leaving his mouth like a stream of unconscious thought. He stopped only to angle his head downward until his chin was brushing against her brow, and then time slowed.

It was as if her spirit had left her, all the wandering interruptions that might have clouded her head dissipated. He was close. So close. Their breaths intermingled, hot against her cheek and between them. It was fast when it happened, steady, alluring. She did not know what to say or how to act, only to move on instinct.

Aang collided against her and she to him. His hands were on her hips, fingers entangled in her hair until it was knotted and undone. Her arms were around him, grazing his back, searching for his ear to whisper into, and the planes of his face.

She pushed up against the edge of the bed, her knees buckling until she fell onto it, and he was on top of her. Her mouth was hot against his, a seething, smoldering in her belly guiding her. When she breathed, he breathed with her.

He collapsed beside her.

Her shoulder was exposed. His clothes were disheveled. There was intensity that brought them together, a temptation to go further. They turned to each other almost at the same moment.

She trailed her finger on his neck, and the vein there pulsed and tensed under her touch. She opened her mouth to speak, and then—

"I love you," she and Aang both said at the same time.

They were laughing, then. Entwined in limbs and happiness. It had taken them too long to get to this point. Years too long. But it was easy now as she saw him outlined by the silvery light of the moon that streamed through the windowpane. It was the simplest thing to admit that she cherished him more than he knew.

"Aang," she started, laying her head into the crook of his neck, "what if we…married?"

She could feel him staring at her.

She started to wring her wrists and squirm. "I mean…I know it's not very traditional. In fact, it's not traditional at all! But um…I figured since we're not very traditional anyway and…wait. Am I assuming? I'm not assuming, am I? I just…well…"

He kissed her forehead. "Yes," he said against her and smiled. He let her lips brush against his again before he continued. "Amrita just has a few years left of training. Two at most. After that…"

"Okay," she agreed. "After that."

When they melded together, she was reminded of how he drifted toward her. Like the clouds. He talked to her about his student, how she was charming and reminded him of her as a child. She told him of her worries of being chief of her tribe, and he encouraged her to believe in herself. It would be difficult, she knew, for a chief to love a man from a different nation. But the Air Nomads were a people that loved and accepted, and she thought that if she had Aang with her, she could be like that too.

"Should I make you a betrothal necklace?" he joked.

She chuckled. "No," said Katara, seeing the evening stars reflect from behind the moon, "all I need is your promise."

"That, you'll always have."