(Aang's pov)
The war is finally over. The world can finally start to heal and not live in fear. It's crazy to think that less than a year ago I was still trapped in an iceberg and I didn't even know it. So much has changed in the past year. I woke up to the overwhelming fact that a war has been going on for one-hundred years, and I could've been there to stop it before it even started. I met two water tribe kids who changed my life for the better. I traveled the world with them and met so many people along the way. I became a fully realized avatar and helped saved the world with my friends.
It's safe to say that my life really did change overnight, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Reflecting on the balcony on Iroh's tea shop, I look towards the scenery in front of me. The sunset shinning over Ba Sing Se sums up the perfect ending to this dark and destructive period.
As I am calmly reflecting on the events of the past year, Katara joins me on the balcony. I am instantly caught off guard by her beauty that definitely surpasses that of the sunset in front of us. Katara is not only breathtakingly beautiful on the outside, but is also on the inside. She has always been there for me for the past year, and I am eternally grateful for all that she has done for me. It's hard to put into words just how much this girl means to me. She not only saved in the crystal catacombs from Azula's lightening, but she saved me from that iceberg a year ago.
That is one of the many reasons why I fell in love with this girl. She constantly puts other's needs before her's and does everything she can to help those in need. As the avatar I can relate to this, but it's admiring to see this quality in Katara too. Ever since I've met Katara she has saved me every single day and will continue to just by existing.
Katara looks over at me with this look on her face. I have seen this look before; after the battle at the North Pole when the fire nation attacked, Katara gave me this same look. Its a look that simply says "I'm proud of you". Nothing has to be said between us to understand what we both are thinking.
Before I know it Katara is pulling me in for a hug, which I gladly accept and hug back with just as much emotion. As I'm in her arms all I can think is "can I stay here forever?".
After a while we pull away and marvel over the sunset that is now almost gone. There is a silence between us as we look and reflect on the sky, but it's a calming, almost needed silence.
After a few seconds, I notice that Katara is now facing me. As I turn toward her I notice this glimmer in her eyes that I have never noticed before. They're normally sweet and bright with her piercing, ocean blue eyes. In this moment, as notice they are almost showing me a level of honesty and trust I have never experienced with her before.
Suddenly there is an understanding between the both of us. In this moment we realized just how much we mean to each other.
As Katara is leaning in all I can think about is how everything that has occurred this past year has lead up to this. We both agreed to focus on ending the war before dealing with our relationship, but now that we war is over we both can give each other our full, undivided attention.
Our lips finally touch and all of our emotions are poured into each other. Passion, trust, and most importantly, love is what this kiss means between us. There's a spark between the two of us that intensifies with even more passion as we continue.
As we are kissing I can't help me think "wow this girl means everything to me". This kiss finally allowed us to show each other just how much we both mean to each other.
I never want this kiss to end, but all good things must come to an end. Just as we were about to pull away Sokka comes strolling out onto the balcony.
"Hey guys wha-AHHHH" screams Sokka as he jumps and looks between Katara and I obviously wanting some sort of explanation. I quickly pull apart from Katara in an attempt to make this less awkward for the three of us, but I immediately miss feeling of Katara in my arms.
"Sokka, have you ever heard of knocking? Aang and I were having a special moment out here right before you came and messed it all up" Katara says with crossed arms and a glare towards her brother.
"First of all you're suppose to knock before you go inside, not outside. And secondly as my sister you are forbidden from giving me any oogies by shoving your love life in my face".
At this point Katara's face reddens with anger as she charges toward her brother, leaving me standing there awkwardly in the back as I watch the two siblings argue.
"Aang and I were having a PRIVATE moment and we were not shoving it in your face! How about you learn to give us some privacy just like we learned to give you and Suki privacy" Katara fires back.
"We are in a public place so there is no privacy here Katara! If you didn't want me to see you two sucking each other's faces off then you would've been considerate and done it someplace else"!
I stare in shock as the two continue to bicker. Katara officially snaps at Sokka's comment and now yells at him "Oh that's it! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE SAYING I'M THE INCONSIDERATE ONE? HOW ABOUT YOU AND SUKI THAT ONE NIGHT IN THE TENT?"
"YOU HEARD THAT? WHY WERE YOU LISTENING?" Sokka defends back
"ITS KINDA HARD NOT TO WHEN YOU GUYS ARE SO LOUD! I SURPRISED THE FIRE NATION DIDN'T ATTACK US THAT NIGHT CAUSE YOU WERE SO LOUD YOU ALMOST BLEW OUR COVER!"
If I have learned anything in my travels this past years it's that when these two fight they won't stop until one admits they're wrong, which very rarely happens in the first place. I decide to interfere and stop this whole debacle before all of Ba Sing Se hears.
"Ummm Sokka?" I say hesitantly not knowing where I stand with him anymore. I mean after all we are best friends but I did just kiss his sister. I have always felt that he has been supportive of our relationship, but you never know with Sokka.
"Time out! Yeah Aang?" Sokka says while holding his hand in Katara's face.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your argument, but what did you come out here to tell us about?" I say reluctantly hoping not to get screamed at like Katara.
"Oh ya I almost forgot!" he says while glaring at his sister. "Zuko offered us room to stay in his palace for a few weeks while we figure out our next moves. We're leaving on Appa soon so you two should probably wrap this up".
"Thats nice of Zuko! Thanks for telling us. We'll be out in a minute" I yell to Sokka as he storms off back into the quiet tea shop.
"Well that was interesting. Sorry about that." Katara blushes as she turns back towards me once Sokka is gone.
"It's alright. I'm use to you guys arguing anyway so this was just a normal day for me" I say back.
"Hey what about our kiss? This has not been just another normal day" Katara says with her hands on her hips. At first I thought she was upset at my comment, but after I noticed the smirk on her lips I realized she was just messing around with me; so I decided to mess around with her back.
Suddenly I got this burst of confidence that came out of nowhere, but I decided to roll with it and see how Katara reacts. "Well we have kissed two other times before today, so I guess you could say it's a normal day for us" I winked back at her.
"Wrong! We kissed three times before this. Did you really forget?" She looks down at the ground avoiding my eye contact as she asks a little hurt, but tried not to show it even though I noticed.
"I don't like to count the night of the Ember Island play. It was wrong of me to kiss you after you told me you were confused" I confessed. "I never really did get to officially apologize for that. I'm sorry Katara. I kissed you without your consent and that's not the person I want to be. I hope you can accept my apology" I sadly state to her while looking down at the ground.
I glance up to see tears welling up in Katara's eyes as she hugs me tightly. "Aang you don't have to apologize. I confused you and I'm sorry I put you through that. I thought we moved on past that night. I don't want you to be sad and feel bad about your actions that night". After a minute of us judging holding each other Katara pulls away slowly.
Katara reaches up towards the collar on my robe and fixes it while looking sadly into my eyes. I hate seeing her cry and I hate knowing that I caused it. Not knowing what to do next, I slowly lean forward and lay a gentle kiss on her lips. I pull away and lean my forehead against here's. We stay like this for a while, just holding each other with a feeling of understanding about that whole situation. We both learned from it and have decided to put that behind us.
Suddenly I remember that Sokka told us we were leaving soon and reluctantly pull back from Katara's grip. She looks at me clearly confused but then I remind her about what Sokka said.
"Oh I guess we should be going now. We don't want to keep the others waiting" Katara responds while taking my hand and walking back into the tea shop.
As we both entered Iroh's hand in hand we notice that it is empty beside Iroh. He is cleaning off the tables and shutting down for the night. He notices our presence and turns towards us smiling with a knowing look.
"The others are already outside ready to leave. Thank you for stopping by and celebrating this special day with my nephew. It really meant a lot to him to have his closest friends with him" Iroh says to Katara and I.
"Thank you Iroh for your hospitality this evening. The tea was great"!
"It's a new recipe I discovered while experimenting with flavors yesterday" Iroh replied with a smile. "Can I give you two some advice?" He asks us.
We look at each other slightly confused but I nod to Iroh telling him to continue. "As the avatar and the last southern water bender master you two will face many obstacles in your relationship. Just remember that the couples that are meant to be are the ones who go through everything that is meant to tear them apart and come out even stronger than they were before."
Katara and I thank and say our goodbyes to Iroh and leave the tea shop still hand in hand. I know that it shouldn't mean that much especially because we've know each other for so long, but I can't help but marvel over this new feeling between us. I really get to just walk hand in hand with Katara and she hopefully feels that same way. It's silly but it's important to me for Katara to know how much she means to me.
As we reach Appa the others are finishing packing up Appa's saddle. I don't think anyone has noticed we're standing here yet because they are all engulfed in their own separate conversations. Zuko is talking about his uncle's new tea flavor that he loves while Mai listens close by. Suki and Toph are humorously watching Sokka struggle to tie the rest of the supples to Appa's saddle.
Noticing that we'll be taking off soon, I grab Katara in my arms and air bend us quickly up into Appa's saddle. Katara blushes as I set her down and thanks me with a kiss on the cheek. This causes me to blush now, but I turn away so she can't see it.
"Hey Twinkle Toes, why is your heart beating so fast?" Toph smirks over at me as she yells for everyone to hear. "I bet it has something to do with Sugar Queen over there doesn't it?" At this moment I'm blushing even more thanks to Toph.
"Aw Aang, you don't have to be nervous around me anymore" Katara says sincerely while looking into my eyes.
"Wait! Did something happen between you two?" Zuko asks from across Appa genuinely confused as to what is going on.
I sigh and say "This is gonna be a long ride back..."
