The Promise

An Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic by Jon Turner

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the property of Nickelodeon. I am simply responsible for this fanfiction.


Chapter 1: Aang Alone

"Right now I'm just a little confused."

The words kept on echoing through Aang's mind over and over again as he and his friends left the theater. That day, the young Avatar and his friends had gone to see the Ember Island Players' production of "The Boy in the Iceberg." But it turned out to be an even bigger mistake than any of them thought possible. Zuko had warned them that the play would probably be terrible, as he had seen the company's previous productions, all of which were quite poor. As it turned out, Zuko had reason to be skeptical. The show was indeed an embarrassment. All of the adventures that Aang and his friends had gone through were portrayed with total exaggeration and to the point of parody. And it had ended with Aang being defeated by Fire Lord Ozai, whom Aang would have to fight in several days time, for Sozin's comet would approach. On that day, Ozai would use its power to decimate the world they all knew and loved.

However, that wasn't the reason why Aang was so troubled that night. It was something else entirely. There was a scene in the play which had disturbed him dearly. In the play, Katara, the girl he had grown to love so much, loudly declared that she had feelings for Zuko, and only thought of Aang as a brother. A brother! As insulting as the play had been to his own character, that scene alone was enough to cause Aang so much misery. All throughout their travels, he and Katara had felt something for each other—a special bond. They had become more than just friends. And she had fallen in love with him—Aang just believed she had. But what if he had been deluding himself about it all along? What if she had fallen for Zuko instead? He was so upset about it, that not even Katara's own words that it was just a play could cheer him up.

But things only got worse when Aang tried to ask Katara about her feelings for him. He was desperate to know if she loved him or not. But Katara's answer had disappointed him greatly. She had told him that now was not the time for such questions. After all, they were in the middle of a war. Not only that, but Katara admitted she didn't know when would be the right time for them to talk about it. She told him she was confused.

Confused? What did she mean, "confused?" Aang couldn't make sense of what she was saying. They had shared two kisses — one at the Cave of Lovers, and one just before the Invasion. Aang wanted to tell her that he would never be confused about her, and how much she meant to him. But he couldn't. He was too shy. So instead he decided to kiss her. Perhaps that way he could convey his feelings to her in a way that words couldn't. The problem was, when he tried, Katara not only got upset, she walked out on him. Aang felt like a total idiot, wondering why he even bothered in the first place. Now he was more troubled than ever.

When everyone strode into the Firelord's summer home for the night, Aang sat alone on the beach. His mind was still awash with turmoil. He couldn't understand why Katara had been so confused, or why he did what he did. All he wanted was an answer, and instead, he had been turned down. That it happened on the same evening that they had gone to see such a horrible play made it even worse. As he sat there, trying to make sense of it all, he heard footsteps approach.

"Aang?"

Aang looked up. To his disappointment, it wasn't Katara. It was Zuko. Aang was surprised. He had never expected the Fire Lord's son, of all people, to be concerned about him. But things were different now. Zuko was their ally, not their enemy. The teen who had once hunted him had proven himself to be a loyal companion and redeemed himself for his past mistakes. He had earned Aang's trust.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Zuko asked. "What are you doing out here alone? And why are you so sad?"

Aang didn't say anything for a moment. He had to know what was going on between the girl he loved and the Fire Lord's son. Finally, he replied, "Zuko… is it true… that Katara considers you her boyfriend?"

"What?!" Zuko asked, appalled. "What in the world would make you think that? I don't love Katara. And she didn't even like me. Up until yesterday, she hated me."

"But in the play…"

All at once, Zuko understood. Aang was talking about that particular scene. "Oh. I get it."

Zuko lowered his head, trying to think about what to say, but fortunately for Aang, he didn't have to wait for too long.

"Aang, I was just as upset by that scene as you were. It was so embarrassing. Nothing like that ever happened between Katara and me at all. The play had it all wrong. Katara never came onto me that way. And she hasn't done so even now."

Aang was surprised by this. Could it be that he had taken that scene the wrong way?

"I'm curious, though. Why were you so upset?"

Then Aang told Zuko about what happened between him and Katara. Zuko listened carefully, taking in everything Aang was saying. After he finished, Zuko answered.

"That's rough, buddy."

That barely cheered Aang up. He wasn't sure what Zuko was going to say next.

Zuko sat beside him on the beach. "But Aang, I think Katara's trying to tell you that you need to think about what's more important right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it, Aang. We're still in the middle of a crisis. The comet's gonna come in three days, and you know what my father's gonna do when that happens. My dad is a very, very dangerous person, and he will be difficult to defeat. And only you have a chance against him. That is what you need to focus on."

Aang didn't say a word. He still looked very upset. So Zuko tried another approach.

"I know how you feel, Aang. I wish I could patch things up with Mai, too."

"Who's Mai?"

"She's my girlfriend—or rather, she was my girlfriend."

Aang looked at Zuko quizzically.

"I broke her heart when I deserted the Fire Nation to join your cause. And I felt bad about that, and I would very much like to make it up to her. But I can't. Not right now anyway."

"How come?" Aang asked.

"Well, you know why," Zuko explained. "I couldn't just let my father succeed. And I realized how wrong I was to want his respect. That's why I chose to leave."

Aang's expression turned into one of thoughtfulness.

"You know, I would very much like for Mai to take me back, but I'm not gonna even try that until we've finished things with Dad." Zuko went on. "I feel like it's the same with you and Katara. I know she means a lot to you, but you can't let your feelings for her get in the way of your responsibilities. There isn't much time left until the comet comes."

"What should I do?" Aang asked.

"Like I said, I think you need to focus on stopping my father. Otherwise there won't be a world for you or Katara to find love in. Or any of us to live in. I know this is painful, but I would suggest putting this incident out of your mind and focus on the real task at hand."

Aang looked very sad. But he knew that Zuko was probably right.

Zuko gently grasped his shoulder. "I'm not very good at this, but… I hope I managed to straighten things out for you."

Aang nodded. "Thank you."

Zuko smiled. "You should come back inside. You don't want to keep everybody worried about you, do you?"

"Maybe later. I need to think about this."

"Okay then, good night." Zuko got up and walked back toward the house.

"Good night," Aang barely whispered. He turned back to the sea. He sat down on the sand, cross-legged, and closed his eyes. He had to meditate and get his mind back into focus. As nice as it was to know that Katara wasn't in love with Zuko after all, he couldn't afford to worry about that. And if Katara wanted him to focus on ending the war, then that's what he would do.

But what if Katara really only thought of him as a brother after all? What if he had been misreading her? It wasn't long until that thought began to trouble him, too. If it was, then why did he even kiss her before the invasion to begin with? Why did he believe that he, a 12-year-old (or rather, 112-year-old), had any chance of having a relationship with a girl two years older than him? Especially one who was mostly mothering him? After all, he had seen Katara once become fascinated with an older boy, Jet, the leader of the Freedom Fighters… at least until he turned out to be anything but charming. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way?

No, Aang couldn't think about that right now. He had to put such thoughts out of his mind. Yet it was difficult. He had lost so much throughout his life, and he didn't want to lose her, too. But what if he already had? Perhaps Guru Pathik was right—he would have to let her go. It was something he was very much against. However, if Katara never thought of him as anything more than a brother, and if he had crossed the line both times he kissed her, then perhaps it was just as well. He had to forget about it.

What Aang didn't know was that at that same moment, Katara was thinking about him, too.