Chapter 9: Trouble
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Disclaimer I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aang felt himself breathing heavily as he dodged a rock, a pillar of fire, and a water whip all at once. Over the last few months, his sifus had been training him hard, teaching him everything that he would need to know for when he eventually stepped into his role as the Avatar. Though he hoped that this wouldn't be any time soon, he knew that he had to be prepared for whenever it was his time, and had spent what time he could training.
Waterbending had been the easiest for him to learn, given that waterbending was a lot like airbending. Firebending proved to be a little more difficult for him to learn, as he had not had an easy time concentrating with the rather boring lessons that Zuko had started him off with, but he eventually had managed to get the hang of it. Earthbending, however, was a different story.
As Katara had explained to him when he had been struggling with it, he had been an airbender his whole life, and earth was the opposite of his natural element, making it much harder for him to understand it than usual. It certainly didn't help that Toph basically tried to beat him into being an earthbender, but after a little while with some advice from Katara, she figured out a way to get Aang to figure it out. Even if it damaged her pride a little bit from admitting that Katara had been right.
Despite the hard process of getting used to earthbending, he found himself excited to learn all the elements. Airbending would always be his favored element, but the other three proved to be useful as well, especially while they hunted down other pirate ships.
Normally, he would want to hide his identity as the Avatar, but considering that Katara's mission was to hunt down the pirates they would be attacking, he figured that it was safe to say that they wouldn't survive to tell anyone else of who he really was.
Not that he would ever be the one to kill them, of course. He would help them disable the ship, and even the enemy pirates, but he would never be the one to kill them. If there was one thing he knew, he would not allow their blood to be on his hands.
Snapping himself out of these thoughts, he looked just in time to see a big wave come at him, reaching his hands out to it as he took control of its will and sent it back to the sender. Using the ability that Toph had taught him, he felt a boulder come out of the ground and be shot at him, dodging it at the last second as he jumped into the air and flipped it over his head back at Toph.
"Not bad, Twinkle Toes!" she called to him as she stopped it in place and broke it into tiny pieces. "But let's see if you can handle this!"
Aang's eyes widened as she threw up a wall and started shooting the small pieces out of a small slot in the wall, using some quick movements and a little airbending to dodge them until it reached the last one. With the last one coming right at him, he punched it and sent it back faster than anyone but Toph could see. Unfortunately for her, however, she hadn't quite expected this, and did not react fast enough before it crashed through her earth wall and knocked her to the ground.
The young airbender didn't get to enjoy this victory for long, however, as he soon felt heat coming from behind him and just barely managed to jump out of the way as some flames zoomed past him.
"Come on, Avatar! Show me some firebending!" Zuko ordered as he kicked a few flames at him.
Aang broke the flames with his hands and decided to grant his sifu's request, doing a sweep with his leg as he went to the ground, sending a small wave of fire that went straight for Zuko. Zuko easily jumped above this with ease, thinking that this was child's play, but became surprised as he saw Aang in the air shooting a large burst of fire at him.
He tried to get into a good stance to stop it, but he too was unable to do so in time, and ended up getting knocked back into a nearby palm tree.
With two of his sifus taken care of, he then turned to his last remaining sifu, who was currently holding some water in her hands. Though as he watched her, she didn't appear to be doing anything, making him confused. Why wasn't she attacking him?
Then, he saw it. The large tidal wave that was coming towards him. It was big enough to wipe out the small island that they were currently on. What was she thinking?
Deciding that it didn't matter, he quickly got into the right position and managed to stop it in its tracks, forcing it to go back down to join the rest of the water beneath it. Letting out a sigh of relief, he then remembered that his sifu had been in front of him not long ago, but was no longer there.
His eyes widening as he felt a presence behind him, he turned around just in time as Katara took some water and froze him in place, making him sigh and droop as he saw that he had lossed.
Katara smirked as she walked up to him. "Well, you're definitely getting better, but you can't let yourself get distracted, Aang. If someone wanting to hurt you did what I did, you'd-" she cut herself off, not wanting to think of that possibility.
"Aye, you're probably right," he agreed, though he felt as if he hadn't been given much choice with the large wave that had been sent at him. To his surprise, she walked up the rest of the way and gave him a kiss, smirking as she pulled away.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it," she murmured to him before giving him another kiss and releasing the water around him, allowing him to get back to the ground as he instantly tried to warm himself up. "But you're doing pretty good for someone who's only had a few months' training."
"Yeah, you could say that," Zuko grumped as he came walking over to them while rubbing his head, clearly having gotten a bit of a bruising from his crash into the tree. "I'm going to need an ice pack."
"Quit your bellyaching, Hothead," Toph groaned as she came walking over to them, though Aang and Katara noticed that she too was rubbing her head. "You didn't have a rock come shooting back at you and smack you in the face."
Aang rubbed his neck sheepishly and gave them both an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mates. I didn't mean to let it get like that."
"It's fine, Aang," Katara assured him, despite the fact that she hadn't been harmed during their training session. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"For once, I agree with Sugar Queen," Toph spoke up as she finally stopped rubbing her head and smiled. "Even though you had a rough patch at the beginning, you're starting to get it down, Twinkle Toes. If you keep this up, you could master Earth bending in another few months."
"At this rate, he could master Fire bending in two months," Zuko added, making Aang smile as he saw that he was truly making good progress in his learning.
"Let's take this one day at a time, guys," Katara decided to speak up as Aang thought about all that he had learned so far. "I want Aang to learn all that we can teach him."
"And why is that?" Zuko asked with a raised brow.
"He's the Avatar. When the world needs him, I want him to be ready," was her only reply, making all three of them look at her doubtfully.
To her not so surprise, it was Toph who voiced her suspicions. "Yeah right, Sugar Queen. What's the real reason?"
Seeing that she wasn't going to get out of it, she sighed and decided that it would be best to tell them the truth. "While I do want him to be ready, if we help him master all of the elements, can you imagine how powerful we'll be?" she asked them excitedly. "We're already the best pirate crew in the world, but with a fully trained Avatar on our side? We'd be unstoppable."
"Yeah, but I think you're forgetting that we need to keep Twinkle Toes' identity a secret," Toph reminded her.
"I know that, Toph," Katara frowned at her friend. "The only people who will know besides us are the people who won't be able to tell anyone else."
"Makes sense," Zuko mused as he thought about it. "But still, what if another ship comes by and sees him bending more than one element?"
"Aye, that's actually a good question," Aang nodded his agreement as he spoke up and looked at his girlfriend. "I won't attack the innocent."
"Of course we won't," Katara assured him with a smile as she took his hand in hers. "If someone does see it, we'll try to bribe them for their silence. If not… then we'll just have to see what happens." She shrugged a little as she thought about it. "Worst comes to worst, the world will find out who the Avatar is."
Aang, despite knowing that this would eventually happen, couldn't help but frown a little as he thought about his future. He wanted to be a pirate for at least a little while longer, and though he knew that he would have to begin his Avatar duties sooner rather than later, he couldn't help but wish that he could just be a pirate for the rest of his life.
But, knowing that this wasn't possible and knowing that he wouldn't allow himself to do something so selfish, he decided to not think about it, knowing that it wouldn't do him any good to do so. "Aye, you're right," he finally agreed out loud as he squeezed her hand. "Well, we've spent enough time training for today. How about we get back to the ship and find some more ships to plunder?"
"Aye, that's a good idea," Katara smiled back at him, pulling him along with her as she started making the way back to the ship, making Aang laugh as she practically dragged him towards it.
"Gross," Toph grimaced as she watched the two go.
Zuko couldn't help but snicker as he noticed this. "What, you got a problem with them?"
"No, but I'm not exactly a fan of seeing people get all lovey-dovey," she informed before shaking her head and making her way to the ship. "Now come on, we better get on board before they leave without us."
A few hours later, the crew found themselves in the middle of the sea, having hunted down a few pirate ships that had been on Katara's list and being satisfied with the loot they had gained from their raids. Because of this good day, Katara had seen fit to throw a real party for the crew, one where everyone could get as drunk as they pleased and dance to their hearts' content.
She figured that they had earned it, especially after the last raid of theirs had left a few of their crew wounded. Of course, she had healed their injuries, but nothing boosted a pirate's morale like beer and a good time.
And so she found herself sitting down next to Aang at a table across from Sokka, Toph, Iroh, Zuko and Mai as she watched her crew have fun around her. Aang had already asked her to dance, but much like her, he wanted to get some beer into him before he let loose.
"You guys sure know how to throw a party," Aang grinned as he took another sip of his beer, making Katara laugh as she heard this.
"Aang, I think you've been here long enough to know that you're a part of the team now," she told him, making him smile as he looked at her.
"Well, I could always decide that I want to go get my own ship," he teased at her, making her eyes widen as she realized that he was right. He had spent a fair amount of time with the crew, and the condition of their deal was that once he had been with them for long enough, he could have the choice of whether he stayed or not.
The thought of him leaving now was nearly unbearable. Not only because he was a great Quartermaster, but because she couldn't imagine her life without him. Over the last few months, the two had grown quite close, and Katara did not want to lose that. Aang meant the world to her, and if he decided to go out on his own now, she didn't know how she would be able to continue on.
Aang, seeing the worried look on her face and remembering what he had just said, put a hand on hers as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Katara, I'm not going anywhere."
"Really?" Katara couldn't help but ask hopefully with a hint of desperation that she would never admit to.
"Of course," Aang couldn't help but chuckle as he saw her instantly relax. "I love the crew and am proud to be a part of it." And I love you, he added in his mind, knowing that he wasn't ready to tell her it yet lest he scare her off.
It was clear to him that they both liked each other, but he had no idea whether she loved him or not. Although he didn't know how he knew it, he knew without a doubt that he loved her. She was the most amazing woman he had ever met, and he couldn't begin to say how proud he was to be her boyfriend.
But, until he could summon the courage to tell her how he truly felt about her, he was content with how they were. As long as he got to be with her, then that was all that mattered.
Katara couldn't help but let out a noticeable sigh of relief, making him smile as he saw that she truly had been relieved that he wouldn't be going anywhere. "Good," she smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "Because I would be really sad if you did go away."
"Oh, I know. All of that power at your disposal, I'm sure anyone would miss me when I was gone," he half-joked, making Katara frown as she saw that he didn't seem to think that she would actually miss him. Knowing that she couldn't allow him to continue thinking this, she took his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the eyes.
"Aang, you mean so much more to me than your powers," she whispered to him, not caring that Sokka and Toph were grimacing from the other end of the table. "Your powers aren't what I-" she cut herself off, coming dangerously close to saying 'love' instead of 'like'. "Like about you. You're smart, funny, sweet, strong, and the most amazing person I've ever met. So don't think that I only like you because you're the Avatar, okay?"
After a few moments of silence, a smile came onto his face, seeing that she was serious and being happy about it. "Aye, I think I can do that," he finally replied, making her smile as she gave him another kiss and stood up.
"Come on, let's go dance," she ordered with a smile as she took his hand and started dragging him towards the dance floor, making him laugh along the way as she did so.
"Can I just say oogies?" Sokka shuddered as he tried not to think about the mushy scene he had just witnessed from his sister and his best friend.
Toph snorted and smirked at him. "What's the problem, Snoozles? Don't like seeing your sister getting mushy with Twinkle Toes?"
"Hey, I'm not the only one!" he reminded her, having seen the grimace on her face just a few moments ago. "At least I have an excuse. She's my sister. It's gross."
"Anything mushy is gross to me," she informed him as she cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to tease you about it."
Rolling his eyes at his friend, he looked over to see the couple dancing, seeing his sister laughing and smiling as Aang twirled her around. Though he certainly couldn't help but be grossed out whenever he saw his little sister be flirty with his best friend, he was happy that she had found someone. Ever since their parents had died, she had been on a rapid decline, which had only gotten worse when their Gran Gran had died as well. But, now with Aang in her life, she seemed to be going back to normal. Back to the Katara he had known his whole life.
And if that meant that he would have to be grossed out every once in a while, then he supposed that he would just have to swallow the puke that threatened to come out whenever he saw them like that.
Aang smiled as he twirled her around. He loved being able to dance with her, especially when he saw just how much she enjoyed it. He didn't know if she had ever danced before she had met him, but whether she had or not, she did rather well at it.
Pulling her back against him, he leaned into her ear and smiled as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Having fun yet?"
Some not unpleasant shivers went down her spine as she felt his hot breath on her ear, making him smile as he noticed this as she looked up at him with a shy smile on her face. "I am. How about you?"
"Anytime I'm with you is fun to me," he told her simply, making her smile as she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You're cheesy," she teased, making him laugh.
"I know," he admitted, making her laugh in turn as she smiled warmly at him before giving him a kiss.
"Good thing I like cheesy," she murmured to him as she put her face against his chest, making him smile as he enjoyed having her close.
Aang.
Blinking in surprise, he looked around the room, but saw nothing. No one was even looking at him at the moment, making him wonder if he was losing his mind. After a few moments of silence, he decided that he had just imagined it and closed his eyes as he held her.
Aang.
His eyes shot open at this, making him blink wildly as he looked around the room, but he was surprised to find that no one had said anything. None that he could see, at least. They all appeared to be busy doing other things than trying to talk to him.
"Aang?" Katara murmured as she looked up at him, having noticed that he had stopped swaying to the soft music that was playing.
Snapping out of his surprise, he knew that he couldn't let her keep looking confused, and instead placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Sorry. I just thought I heard something," he murmured back to her, making her sigh in contentment as she put her head back on his chest.
Aang. We need to talk.
His eyes widening once more as he heard the voice more clearly than ever, he looked up from Katara's head and was shocked to see what appeared to be an old man a few feet away. He was dressed in Fire Nation robes, had a long, white beard and had his hair in a top knot. Though Aang noticed that he seemed to be… not there. He could see his crewmates through the man's outline, and couldn't help but be frightened by this.
What really frightened him was what happened next.
The man spoke to him, but with every word he said, his mouth never moved, making Aang scared and confused as he wondered why this spirit wanted to talk to him. And yet… this man seemed almost… familiar.
We must speak. Only when your mind is at peace will we be able to communicate. Go. And with that, the spirit disappeared, making Aang blink in surprise again as he witnessed this. What had just happened?
Feeling so confused as to what had just happened, the poor airbender could only stand still, not sure of what to think from what had just happened. Katara seemed to notice this, and looking up at him, saw the look on his face and asked worriedly. "Aang, are you okay?"
It took him a few moments to answer, but when he did, he cleared his throat and sighed. "I don't know," he admitted honestly.
"Well, what's wrong?"
The young airbender remained silent for a few more moments, wondering if she was going to think that he was crazy for what he was about to tell her, but if anyone could help him with this, it was her. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just get it out.
"I… saw something."
Katara couldn't help but raise a brow at him, her face showing the confusion that she felt. "What did you see?" she finally asked.
"An old man. He kept talking to me, saying that we needed to talk," he explained as he tried to remember what exactly had happened. "And he seemed… familiar."
"Familiar?" Katara couldn't help but ask in surprise, to which he nodded. She remained silent for a few moments as she thought about it when an idea came to mind. "Do you think it might have something to do with you being the Avatar?"
"Maybe…" Aang mused as he thought it over.
"Well, whatever it was, it sounds like you need to talk to him, whoever he is," she decided as she looked up at him. "Did he say anything else?"
It took him a few moments of thinking about it, but then he finally remembered what he had told him. "He said that to talk to him, I would have to be 'at peace'. What does that mean?"
Katara thought about this for a few moments, and remembering that he was an airbender, thought of something that he somehow hadn't. "Wait, don't airbenders meditate?"
"Yeah, but I haven't in a long time," he shrugged as he rubbed his head. "Why?"
"The man said you have to 'be at peace', right?" she told him, making his eyes widen in realization.
"You're right. I must have to meditate!" he exclaimed, making everyone in the room look at him as he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
Once they all stopped looking at him, he looked back down to Katara. "I need to meditate, and I need a quiet place to do it."
"You can use my cabin. Come on!" she grabbed his hand and started dragging him away, making Sokka and Toph share a look of surprise as they saw their friends run out of the room.
"Where are they going?" Sokka couldn't help but ask with a raised brow.
Toph snorted and kicked her feet up on the table, making him grimace as he saw her dirty feet. "Like I would know." Rolling his eyes, he looked back to the place they had last been and couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
Not long later, the couple found themselves in Katara's cabin, the doors closed and locked to make sure that no one would be interrupting them as they got things set up for his meditation. Luckily, Katara had a few candles that she could place around the room, serving the dual purpose of making the place peaceful and for helping him be calmed by their fragrant scent.
She also had a little mat that he would be able to use, which he found himself currently sitting on as he crossed his legs and put his fists together, just as his parents had taught him to do from what felt like so many years ago.
Once Katara finished lighting the last of the candles, she walked over to Aang and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him smile as he peeked an eye open to look at her. "Take your time, Aang. And remember to keep your breathing steady."
"How do you know about meditation?" Aang couldn't help but ask curiously.
"When we were little and Sokka was annoying me, a friend of my Gran Gran's was an airbender, and she taught me how to meditate," she explained, making him laugh a little as he heard this.
"Makes sense," he agreed with a smile. "Well, maybe we should meditate together sometime."
Katara couldn't help but smile back at him. "I'd like that. But, for now, you need to focus," she ordered as she walked behind him to sit on her bed. "If you need me, I'll be right here."
Smiling as he heard this, he took a deep breath and forced himself to focus, knowing that the sooner this was over with, the better. At first, he found himself distracted. Not only because he had a hard time focusing most of the time, but also because he knew that the most beautiful girl in the world was right behind him. But, after a little while of taking steady breaths and allowing his mind to stop thinking, he finally slipped into a meditative state, making Katara gasp as his eyes opened, revealing them to be a blank white.
Aang couldn't help but blink rapidly in surprise as he looked around his surroundings. Just moments ago he had been on the ship in Katara's room, and now he was in a place he had never been before. It was rather exotic looking, at least compared to the places he had seen, despite the fact that they saw many exotic places along their travels.
Deciding that standing there wouldn't do him any good, he started walking around and looking for the old man who had been talking to him, but being disgruntled to not find him anywhere. After a little while of searching and finding nothing, he found himself beside a pool. He then looked down at it, not sure what to do next when he accidentally kicked a pebble into the water, making it ripple until it changed his image, making him gasp as he saw the old man staring back at him.
"Hello, Aang," he greeted him with a smile, popping up out of the water until he stood in front of him, making Aang take a step back in shock of what had just happened. "What took you so long?"
The poor airbender could only blink in surprise as he stared at the man before him, not understanding in the slightest what was going on. "Um… I got stuck in traffic?" he asked more than answered jokingly, trying to make things lighter as was his natural reflex in a situation like this.
To his relief, the old man just laughed, making him start to ease more as he saw that there wasn't anything to worry about. "Yes, I imagine in a way you did. So, we have much to talk about, young Avatar. I am-"
"Avatar Roku," Aang interrupted him, blinking in surprise again as he saw that he had already known. "How did I know that?"
"All will be explained in time," Roku promised him. "Now, I see you have a lot of questions, so let me see if I can't help you. Ask whatever you would like."
After a few moments of thought, Aang decided to ask the most pressing question on his mind. "Why me? Why am I the Avatar? Why not someone else?"
"Well, to answer that question, I suppose I'll have to start with what exactly the Avatar is," Roku mused as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "The Avatar was made to keep the peace between the four nations of the world. At the beginning, there was the spirit of light, Ravaa, who joined with a mortal named Wan, who became the first Avatar. The union of their spirits became what is known as the Avatar spirit."
Although Aang was trying to wrap his mind around all this, he still found he wanted to understand more, and motioned for Roku to continue. "Upon the death of the first Avatar, the Avatar spirit entered the reincarnation cycle and chose its next successor, and has done so for thousands of years."
"So the Avatar spirit chose me?" Aang couldn't help but sputter out in surprise, watching as Roku laughed heartily and nodded. "Why me?"
"I do not know," Roku admitted as he thought about it. "What I do know is that the Avatar spirit does not make decisions lightly, and must have chosen you for a reason."
Not feeling fully satisfied with this answer, but understanding that Roku couldn't answer everything for him, he decided to move onto the next question. "So, what should I do? I love being a pirate, Avatar Roku. And I love my life on the seas."
"You are the Avatar, Aang," Roku reminded him gently. "The world needs its Avatar, and the Avatar must put the needs of the world above his own needs."
"But that's not fair! I didn't ask to be the Avatar!" Aang objected with a frown.
"No, you didn't," Roku admitted. "But neither did I when I was alive." Aang looked down, knowing that he was right as Roku put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know this path is not easy, Aang, but the Avatar spirit chose you for a reason. You can do this, young one."
Taking a deep breath, he let out and looked up to him, a new look of resolve in his eyes as he nodded his agreement. "You're right. So, what should I do next?"
"Continue your training with the elements," Roku advised him. "Once you have mastered them, you will be ready."
"Ready?" Aang asked in confusion with a raised brow. "Ready for what?"
"That is why I called you here," Roku told him with a bit of a frown. "There is something happening, something that only the Avatar can stop before it is too late."
Aang frowned a little at hearing this, not liking the sound of this as it would mean that he wouldn't have as much time to live the life he loved while he could. But, knowing that there wasn't much he could do about it, he said. "What's going on?"
"The Fire Nation has always been ambitious," Roku began as a vision circulated through Aang's head of a man sitting on a throne surrounded by fire. "But the Fire Lord in charge now is planning horrible things. If he is not stopped, the world will be engulfed in war."
The vision shifted, changing to show the palace where the Fire Lord was located. "You must master the four elements and reconcile with who you truly are. Only then will you be ready to face him. But be warned. Fire Lord Ozai will not be defeated easily. You will need someone who has experience with the royal palace."
Aang frowned thoughtfully on this for a few moments before his eyes widened in realization. "Zuko! Zuko can help me."
"Indeed, young Avatar," Roku nodded his approval. "Now go. There is not much time until Ozai puts his plans to action. You must defeat the Fire Lord by Summer's end."
And with that, Roku disappeared, making Aang's eyes widen as he saw him disappear into nothingness before feeling himself be whisked away up into the air.
Katara gasped a little as she watched Aang, seeing his eyes change to that same blank white that he had when he rescued her from the kraken. Not much really scared or surprised her anymore, but she had never seen someone's eyes get like that, and she couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by it.
Seeing that he wasn't moving, she became curious as she wondered if he could hear her. "Aang?" she spoke aloud, but was met with no response. Curiosity overcame her as she noticed this, and decided to try something as she got off of her bed and walked over to him. Knowing that this was silly, but wanting to see if it would do anything, she waved her hand in front of his face a few times, but he didn't budge.
"So, he can't hear or see me," she murmured to herself, thinking of what she could do with that. There were many things that she wanted to do. For instance, she would be rather happy with taking his shirt off and admiring the muscles that lay underneath it. She also would be quite happy if she could run her fingers through his soft hair, but she felt as if that would be creepy, even if he wouldn't know that she had done so when he got back from wherever he had gone.
Then it hit her. There was one thing that she had been wanting to tell him over the last few months that she was too scared to tell him yet. Despite the fact that they had known each other for a little time, Katara had developed strong feelings for Aang. So strong that she believed herself to be in love with him, but she had been hesitant to tell him lest she scare him away. She knew that he liked her and wanted to be with her as she did him, but she had no idea if his feelings matched hers in strength.
Regardless, this would be the perfect chance for her to tell him how she felt, even if he wouldn't actually hear it. Though she supposed that this could be a practice test for when she eventually told him. Feeling satisfied with this reasoning, she got up from her bed and sat down in front of him, crossing her legs the same way he had as she looked at him.
Again, she couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by the unnatural glowing eyes that were looking back at her, but she had a good feeling that it was only temporary. After all, his glowing eyes had faded when he had gotten out of… whatever that was.
Deciding that it didn't matter, she forced herself to stop thinking about it and to focus on what was on her mind, not knowing how much time she had left before she would miss her chance. "Hey, Aang," she laughed awkwardly as she tried to start her confession. "I know you can't hear me, which is probably a good thing right now, but… I just wanted to tell you something."
Biting her lip nervously, even though she knew that this was stupid since he couldn't hear her, she let out a shaky breath and looked up into his still glowing eyes. "I've felt alone in my life for a long time. Don't get me wrong, Sokka's a good brother most of the time, and Toph is a good friend when she's not bragging, but ever since my parents died, I just have felt… lost."
She paused, choosing her words carefully as she looked down at her feet and then back up to him. "But that changed when I met you. For the first time in a long time, you made me laugh and smile, and you showed me how to have some fun." She chuckled a little as she remembered their dance. "And you even got me to dance again, which I honestly didn't think that I would ever do."
Taking a deep breath, even though she knew that there was no real reason to be nervous, she looked back up at him and looked into his eyes, almost wishing that she could be looking into the gray ones that she loved. "What I'm trying to say is that you've become very important to me, Aang. I never thought that I would ever feel this way, but… I do. And with us being together for the last few months, and even though I know it's really early to be saying this, I can't deny what I'm feeling." She paused as she searched his face, making sure that he wasn't back just yet before she went for the finishing line.
"So what I'm trying to say is that… I love you, Aang."
Her confession was met with no response, making her equally relieved and disappointed as she noticed this, but she knew that it was for the best. There was another time and place for her to tell him how she really felt, and this was not that time.
"Well, that's all I have to say, so… thanks for listening I guess," she laughed a little, not sure why she was still talking to him. Looking at him again, she couldn't help but feel drawn to his lips, noticing that they were just waiting there for her.
Knowing that this wasn't wise, but also knowing that kissing him wouldn't make him run away if he did come back, she scooted a little closer to him and pressed her lips to his, relishing in the taste that she had already gotten used to, and yet still craved it like she hadn't had it in years.
To her surprise, his lips moved against hers, making her eyes shoot open as she looked to see that his eyes were no longer open, but closed. Seeing that he was back, but not wanting to end their kiss just yet, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, making him smile as he grabbed the back of her head and brought her closer as well.
After about a minute or so of them kissing, they reluctantly parted for breath and stared at each other, their heavy breathing being the only sound in the quiet room.
"What was that for?" Aang's breathless laugh finally interrupted the silence between them, making her blush a little as she shrugged.
"I was bored," was her only reply, making them both laugh as they stood up from the ground. "So, how did it go? Did you figure out what was going on?"
"Yeah, I did," Aang admitted, his smile turning to a frown as he thought about it. "We've got some trouble."
A confused look overtook Katara's face at this. "What do you mean?"
"I'll explain everything later," he promised her. "But right now we need to go talk to Zuko."
"Zuko? Why do we need to talk to him?" she couldn't help but ask, not understanding in the slightest what was going on.
"Trust me, Kat. I'll tell you everything when we're there," he repeated himself as he took her hand and started walking towards the doors, unlocking it and opening it quickly, knowing that they needed to figure this out as quickly as possible.
"Okay," Katara finally agreed, though the confused look on her face didn't change until she thought of something. "Um… you didn't hear anything I said when you were… wherever you were, did you?"
Aang looked up at the ceiling, as if he was trying to see into his mind, but finally shook his head. "No, I didn't. Why?"
"Oh, no reason," she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief before waving for him to follow. "Come on. Let's get going."
Watching her finally walk out of the room, he waited until he was sure that he couldn't see her and smiled to himself, pulling out something from his pocket as he looked at it closely, admiring the way it shined in the sunlight. He hadn't been intending to give it to her for a while, but this new discovery just might have helped things go a little faster.
Putting it back into his pocket, he couldn't help but smile again, feeling happy despite what Avatar Roku had just told him. After all, despite the danger that lay ahead of him, he had heard something that was far more important to him than a date with destiny. Now with renewed joy, he checked his pocket to make sure the item was there one more time before following the woman he loved, looking forward to what the future would bring.
"Now, tell me, gentleman. How much pain can you take?" Azula sneered at her prisoners. Despite the fact that she quite enjoyed sinking every pirate ship that she came across, she had soon realized how long her mission would take if she didn't try to find out which ship her target was on, and had decided to question on of the pirate ships who had been in her area.
The pirates remained silent, frowns littering their faces as they refused to meet her eyes. Seeing this, she lifted one of their heads and forced them to look at her. "I'm only after information, you dimwits. If you tell me what I want to know, I'll leave your ship alone."
Though they were hesitant, they could see that this was the best option that they were going to get, and decided to give in. "Fine," the captain finally spoke up as he looked up to her, feeling the rope that had been used to tie him up start to cut off his circulation. "What do you want to know?"
"I'm looking for a firebender," Azula began as she walked in front of what remained of the crew. "One who has been on the run from the Fire Nation for some time now. Does that ring any bells?"
"Lass, most pirates are runaways. You're going to have to be more specific," the captain snorted, making Azula roll her eyes as she crouched down to level with them.
"He's got long, dark brown hair and a scar on the left side of his face," Azula supplied for them, watching as most of the crew didn't speak up. All except for one, who immediately took her interest as he spoke up.
"Was it a burn mark?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Aye, I think I've seen the man you're looking for."
"Which ship did he stow away on?" Azula questioned him.
"I don't rightly know," he admitted as he thought about it. "The ship didn't have a name. The only thing that made it different from any other pirate ship was the flag. It had a tidal wave going behind a skull and crossbones."
Azula smiled wickedly, finally having gotten what she wanted after months of searching. "Thank you. I am grateful," she told them before walking back towards her own ship. "Guards, make the pirates walk the plank."
"What?!" the captain asked in surprise as the guards walked over to them and started bringing them over to the edge of the ship. "But we helped you! You promised us that you would leave us alone!"
"Actually, I promised that I would leave your ship alone," Azula smirked evilly as she looked back at them before resuming her walk back. "And I intend on keeping my promise."
The pirates all hurled curses at her as she walked away, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, they were already dead. Now that she knew what she was looking for, they had outlived their usefulness.
Her smirk never dropping as her guards came back to the ship, she called for them to get going, knowing just what she was looking for and looking forward to her upcoming family reunion.
