As the gaang sleeps soundly on Appa, the sun begins to rise above the horizon. The long flight to the South Pole has caused everyone to become slightly irritable with each other. After Katara became very annoyed with her brother's lengthy speech about how his inventions were going to change the world and Toph threatening to throw someone overboard if they didn't shut up, Aang decided it was best for everyone to get some rest before arriving at the Southern Water Tribe.
Due to him being an early riser Aang was the first one up amongst the group. He noticed how early it was and decided not to bother the others and let them sleep. Aang slowly walked onto Appa's head and began his morning meditation.
Aang tried to clear his head and focus on his breathing but something was stopping him. He thought back to the explosion the other day near the fire nation capital. Without having any explanation as what may have caused the explosion Zuko insisted that Aang dropped the worrying and allowed him to take care of it. Of course he had no evidence that could prove there was anything out of the ordinary but he had a suspicion that this was a much larger issue then what Zuko tried to convince him.
"All those people are either hurt or lost their homes now all because I didn't get there faster" Aang thought to himself. He knew deep down that no one saw the attack coming but as the avatar it is his duty to protect and help everyone whenever they are in need. He has always struggled with knowing that a lot of people have and may continue to get hurt due to every decision he makes.
Giving up on the idea of meditating Aang slouched back and opened his eyes to see the icy landscape of the Southern Water Tribe in the distance. Aang smiled to himself knowing that his second home is right in front of him.
Growing up in the Southern Air temple was an amazing experience for Aang, but after he was saved from the iceberg he always felt a special connection to this place. It reminded him of when he began his journey towards saving the world and where he met Katara.
With the landscape coming closer Aang decided to wake everyone up in hopes of landing soon. Sokka let out a groan for being woken up way too early while Katara leaned over the side of Appa to marvel at her home.
Leaving the Southern Water Tribe was one of the hardest things Katara has ever done. While it was a difficult decision to leave her friends and family behind she hasn't doubted her decision for even a minute. Not only has she traveled the world, mastered water bending, and helped put an end to the century long war, but she also fell in love with the man who was by her side the whole time.
Finally after a weeks long journey Appa landed on the snow covered ground. He let out a loud noise in celebration that he can now rest for a bit.
"You did a good job buddy. Remind me later to give you the biggest barrel of hay I can tonight" Aang said to Appa while petting his head as a thank you.
Quickly Katara rushed over to Aang and grabed his hand, pulling him away from Appa while saying. "Come on Aang! Let's go see where my dad is. He would love to see you again."
"Yeah it's fine. Allow Suki and I to unpack all of our supplies. It's not like I wanted to see my dad anyway" Sokka yelled sarcastically to the couple while they ran off.
"They'll be back. Besides it's not like you have a lot to grab anyway. It's mainly just Katara's stuff" Toph stated while leaning against a building.
Sokka glared at the young girl before responding with "You could help us you know. I would really appreciate it for once."
"Why would I do that when you could just do all the work instead?" responded a brutally honest Toph.
Katara rushed over to her father's office in hopes that he would be there. A lot has changed since she had left, but she had got a basic rundown of how things have changed due to her letters from her father.
"Dad where are you?" a hopefully Katara yelled out. A few seconds later a man emerged from behind an office door with the biggest smile on his face.
"Katara, I've missed you so much" Hakoda reached out to his daughter and pulled her into a hug. As the two shared a moment Aang came running into the room full speed and almost knocked into them before realizing they were there.
"How is it that an airbender can't keep up with you?" Aang struggled to get out between gasping for air.
Katara chuckled at his childlike behavior before pulling away from her dad. She walked over to Aang and ushered him over to where her father was standing.
"Aang you remember my dad."
"Of course. It's nice to see you again chief Hakoda" replied Aang while reaching out to shake his hand. This action was a little weird for Aang because air nomads normally bow to each other for greetings, but he knew that this was how the water tribe people greeted each other and did this in respect to their culture.
Hakoda smiled at the young boy. "It's a pleasure to have you here Aang. Please, make yourself at home."
Hakoda sighed while continuing. "I would love to catch up with you two but I'm expecting a meeting with a councilman soon. Come by for dinner tonight with your brother so we can all catch up."
The two nodded and soon exited out into the snowy weather. "So what should we do today since we are free until dinner?"
"We could go penguin sledding" Aang cheekily responded before running off into the snowy hills.
Katara rolled her eyes before yelling "Hey wait for me! Remember I am the master at catching otter penguins." Katara laughed while running after him.
While the young couple spent the rest of the day laughing and sledding, Sokka showed Suki around the village. This was the first time Suki has seen the Southern Water Tribe so she was very excited to see where Sokka grew up.
"And here is where I first learned how to fish" Sokka boasted. "My dad and I spent the entire day out here until I caught one. Too bad it was the middle of winter because by the time we got back I couldn't feel my toes. I thought I lost a least three of them."
Suki chuckled at her boyfriend's imagery before calmly saying "I can see that you and your dad are really close. I remember how determined you were back at the boiling rock to save him." Suki said with a smile on her face.
"Sometimes I wish I was that close with my dad. Growing up he would come see my mom and I every few months, but as I got older he stopped coming. He's probably stopped thinking about me by now." Suki recollected while looking at her feet.
Sensing the sudden changed in her attitude, Sokka grabbed his girlfriend's hand which cause her to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry that you have the relationship you do with you dad. He doesn't know what of an amazing and hardworking daughter he's missing out on."
Tears filled her eyes as she looked into his ocean blue ones. She could sense how honest he was in what he said which caused her to pull him into a tight hug.
"Thank you Sokka. I'm sorry for getting all mushy on you. I try not to talk about my dad so this was strange for me" Suki said with a little chuckle in her voice.
Sokka pulled away just enough to look into her eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "Don't apologize. You should always feel comfortable talking to me about these things. I'm always here for you Suki, don't forget it."
Suki closed the gap between them by softly placing her lips on his. She passionately kissed him, letting him know how much she loves him and that she is grateful he is in her life.
Later the gaang sat down to have dinner with Hakoda, gran gran, and master Pakku. They all enjoyed each other's presence and caught up with each other. Gran gran told them how her and Pakku just recently got married while master Pakku informed everyone that he started teaching the young children who moved down to the south him with. Hakoda briefly discussed how he has been busy with rebuilding the south after the destruction from the war.
Wanting to know more about his children's travels Hakoda asked "so what have you guys been up to since the war has ended. I see that you're still traveling the world."
"Well Aang has to go back to Ba Sing Se in two weeks in order to start preparations with Zuko and Earth King Kuei" Katara explained.
"So I'm guessing you and your brother will be leaving with the avatar. It's a shame, you two just got here" said gran gran with a sad look on her face.
Katara shrugged solemnly. "I missed you too gran gran but this is not only important for Aang but for the world. I wish we could stay but we'll be cal again soon to visit."
Aang looked around at the table and saw all the somber faces. "I can't be the reason Katara and Sokka's family is separated again" Aang thought to himself. He wouldn't let his selfish needs of wanting Katara with him to jeopardize her family's relationship.
"Actually I could just go by myself if you wanted to spend more time with your family. There probably wouldn't be much for you two to do anyway while I'm stuck in meetings all day" Aang confessed hoping to bring some relief to everyone.
Katara snapped her head towards Aang in shock before shutting down this offer real fast. "There is no way I'm leaving you Aang. Who knows how long those meetings will take before you're able to leave Ba Sing Se again. I don't want to be away from you for that long" confessed Katara while holding Aang's hand.
Noticing the exchange between these two Hakoda leaned towards his son to whisper "is there something going on between them?"
Sokka nodded slightly letting him know his observation was correct. "They're dating now and although I approve it can be very annoying at times, especially on the flight here" he said while remembering the two not being able to leave each other alone.
Hakoda toke a second to absorb this information but ultimately was very accepting on his daughter's newfound relationship. He looked back on a few months ago when they came to his fleet after escaping Ba Sing Se. Katara was so involved in healing and helping Aang recover that he knew something has going on between the two of them. At first he wasn't sure how to feel about his daughter's fascination with a boy, but when Aang awoke from his coma he soon realized he had nothing to worry about. From the moment they met Aang was not only respectful towards him but also his daughter. Being the avatar also allowed him to feel safe with knowing that Katara would be protected. As a father he knew that there was not much more he could ask for and was very happy for the two.
Wanting to help fix the situation at hand Hakoda spoke up. "Katara, you know how much I love you and miss spending time with you. All those years at sea has caused our relationship to suffer, but it is now your and Sokka's job to help Aang."
Katara runs over to her father to hug him. "I love you too dad. Thank you for being so supportive of our crazy lives now" said Katara with a light chuckle.
Hakoda grinned and reminded the children "the South wills always be here for whenever you want to visit. All of you are welcomed here whenever."
Suki smiled while thinking about how the south is now her home along with Kyoshi Island. Even though she hasn't known him for long, she can't help but feel as if Hakoda can maybe one day fill the void that her father has yet to fill.
Wanting to lighten the mood from all the heartfelt confessions Toph exclaimed "no offense but I'm never coming back here again unless I absolutely have to. I can't see a thing with the boots on."
The room filled with laughter from everyone, even gran gran. As dinner came to an end the youngest stayed up a little longer to chat before heading off to bed.
Right before Katara crawled into bed she popped her head out into the hall in hopes that Aang was still awake. When she saw the candle still lit in his room she strolled to his room to see him getting ready for bed.
"Thank you" said Katara startling Aang in the process who did not know she was there.
Aang motioned for her to enter while scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. "Thank you for what exactly?"
Katara smiled slightly. "For everything. Coming here with me. Spending dinner with my family. Penguin sledding with me today" said the last comment with a little chuckle.
Aang pulled her into a hug and the two of them embraced in each other's arms.
"And of course for you always being you" Katara added while pulling back to look into Aang's eyes while still remaining in his arms.
Aang smiled and lightly grabbed her chin with his right hand to pull her into a kiss. Katara wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. It was a simple, sweet kiss to show how much they love and appreciate each other.
As they separated Aang smirked and teasingly said "well aren't you loving tonight."
"Oh so you're complaining?" Katara teased back with her hands on her hips.
"No I'm not complaining. It's just a little different and I like it" Aang confessed.
Katara smiled again before saying "well lover boy it's past our bed times so goodnight."
"Goodnight" Aang said while watching Katara walk back to her room.
With everyone settled into bed they all fell asleep dreaming about what the next day will offer them.
~ meanwhile ~
"You said she'll be arriving here in about two weeks?" a woman asked the man in the earth kingdom uniform.
"Yes the avatar will begin his meeting with the earth king and fire lord at the time. That's when she'll be lacking his protection and you can go after the girl while I figure out how to get the avatar" he responded with a slight smirk and an evil look in his eye.
The woman grinned while walking over to the underground cell that was holding a few prisoners. "Wonderful. In the meantime allow me to practice my skills. She definitely is a fight so I will need to be in my best shape if I want to take her down for good."
