Misunderstanding
It was a normal day in Ba Sing Se. The sun was nice and bright and warmed the people below it. There were almost no clouds in sight and it was a perfect day to be outside. Sokka and Suki were at home in Ba Sing Se preparing for a picnic they were going to have at Lake Laogai. Toph went to spar with the so-called "best" earthbenders in the city. Zuko was busy doing paper work with the help of Iroh in his tea shop. Katara and Aang were on a walk with their fingers laced together. They were simply enjoying each others company and stopped at a nearby fountain where they would throw in a silver piece and make a wish
"What did you wish for?" Aang said with a smile on his face
"I can't tell you or else it won't come true." Katara knew this wouldn't satisfy the airbender, but she liked to tease him a bit.
"Oh come on just tell me." he said while wrapping his right hand around Katara's waist and bringing her closer.
"I wished that a certain someone would take me out on a date soon." Aang knew that she was talking about him and brought her in for a deep and passionate kiss. After a few minutes of kissing they both withdrew and looked into each other's eyes.
"I think I might just prove you wrong because that wish is definitely going to happen." Katara laughed and rested her head on Aang's shoulder
"Then I am one lucky girl." Aang's body language agreed with Katara and they sat for the next half hour just enjoying each other's presence while watching some kids play near the water fountain. Then Aang heard Katara's stomach grumble and he looked at her to see that she was slightly blushing out of embarrassment and he decided to tease her a bit.
"Sounds like Sokka's appetite runs in the family." He said laughing.
"Oh shush up… being a master waterbender is very demanding and requires much fuel." It was the best comeback Katara could come up with. She was still a little embarrassed, but she knew Aang never judged her so she got over it.
"If you say so, but come on let's go to the market and get some food to cook for dinner. Since my beautiful master waterbender is low on fuel." Katara rolled her eyes and gave him a smile. He returned the smile back and stood up offering his hand so she could hold it while they walked towards the market. After a while of buying food Katara excused herself from Aang to go to the restroom.
"Aang, I need to go to the restroom and meet back here in 10." The waterbender let go of Aang's hand and headed to the restroom. Aang went to check out some more fruit then heard a loud gasp behind him.
"Hey! Get back here! Give me my daughter's purse back!" Aang turned around to see a middle aged woman pointing at a man who was running down an alley with her purse. Aang, being the great guy he was, quickly jumped onto his air scooter and went after the man. Once he caught up with the man he quickly earthbended his feet so he couldn't run anymore. This caused the man to drop the purse and brace for his fall. Aang grabbed the purse and handcuffed the man with rocks. Similar to how the Dai Li arrest people. The airbender released his feet and brought him to his feet.
"Come on man, stealing? That's low." Aang was disappointed in the man. The man grunted and sighed in defeat. He didn't say anything while on the way back to return the purse to its rightful owner.
"Here you go ma'am. This guy will no longer steal from anyone again." He said while looking at the man who was looking down in embarrassment and defeat.
"Thank you so much Avatar. I-I don't know how to repay you" The middle aged woman was so grateful and wanted to repay Aang for his actions. Two earth kingdom guards came to arrest the man for his crimes. As the guards walked away with the thief Aang looked at the woman with a small smile on his face.
"You're welcome, and there is no need to repay me. It is my job as the Avatar." Aang was the most humble guy in the world. If any other guy was the Avatar they would most likely use it to fuel their ego and get all the attention. But Aang was different and that is one of the reasons why Katara loved him so much.
"Nonsense, it means more than you know that you saved this purse. It was the last thing my husband gave to my daughter before he passed away. I have to repay you somehow. How about dinner tonight at my house?." Aang felt bad about her husband passing away, but he felt even better for saving the middle aged woman her daughters purse.
"I would love to come eat dinner tonight, but my girlfriend and I already have plans to make dinner. Maybe some other time." This woman was really nice and he couldn't pass up on her offer because he knew Katara would enjoy this woman's hospitality.
"I'm also sorry to hear about you hus-" He was cut off when a girl, who was around Katara's age, walked up to the woman and started speaking with a little excitement in her voice.
"Hey mom can I see my purse real quick I want to buy this bracelet that is super cute"
The young woman didn't notice the Avatar's presence until the mom introduced him to her.
"Sure, but first I want you to meet the Avatar, he just saved your purse when a thief stole it from me." Aang looked at her with a face that said its-no-big-deal.
"Really? I almost lost my purse? Oh spirits thank you!, thank you!, thank you!" The young woman was extremely thankful because it was the last thing she had from her father. She had the same connection to that purse as Katara with her mother's necklace. "How can I repay you for this?"
"Your mother invited me to have dinner, not today though i'm busy, but in the future for sure." He was so happy that he made this small family happy. It meant everything to him and he loved being the Avatar because of it.
"Oh okay. Well I will be looking forward to having dinner with you." Aang gave her a quick smile.
"Me too, well I have to get going. See you later." Aang turned around and started leaving, but he stopped because he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around and felt a pair of lips on his. He was in shock and he knew that they weren't Katara's so he pulled back immediately to see that it was the girl who he was just talking to.
"My mom thanked you by inviting you to dinner and this is my thank you to you." Aang was frozen and furious. He didn't know what to say, but he was for sure not going to have dinner with her family anymore. Before Aang could give her a piece of his mind, stuff hit the fan.
"A-Aang how could you! Well I hope she makes you happier than I did! I-I can't believe you would cheat on me!. We're DONE!" Katara did not see the whole situation because if she did then her reaction would be much different. But in Katara's mind all she saw was Aang kissing another girl and that is all she needed to be furious with him. Katara started to run away and her eyes began to water. "I thought he loved me. I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together. But I guess I am not enough for him." She thought to herself while running away crying.
"Katara no! Come back! This is a huge misunderstanding, please come back!" He looked at the lady who just caused this whole mess and shot her the dirtiest glare imaginable. The girl immediately regretted her decision to kiss him and tried to make this right.
"I am sorry I didn't know you ha-" She was cut off by a very angry and sad Aang
"Save it." He quickly jumped on his air scooter to catch up with Katara and once he did he tried to explain himself.
"Katara let me explain! Please listen to me!" He begged for her to listen. He needed to explain that this was a huge misunderstanding. He grabbed her shoulder which caused her to slow down to a walk. She turned around and when Aang saw her eyes it broke his heart. She was in so much pain and range and sadness.
"No! I saw what I saw!.." She let out a little whimper, "I guess wishes don't come true if you tell someone!" She yelled at him and began to run back home again, crying her eyes out.
"Katara no! Let me expl-" He was cut off and felt a sharp pain on his left cheek.
"Leave me alone!" Katara water whipped him out of anger and returned running and crying. Aang didn't know what to do and stood there in shock. "Did Katara just break up with me? Over this?! This is a huge misunderstanding. UGH! Why do bad things happen to good people?" The realization hit him like a rock. He felt a sharp pain in his heart and began to cry uncontrollably. He never felt pain like this before. It was ten times worse than getting shot with Azula's lighting. He knew he had to make things right so he started walking home at a slow pace because he knew he needed to give Katara some time to calm down or else he would be water whipped again. On the way home he thought about the best way to tell Katara that all of this was a misunderstanding. "What am I going to say? I really hope we can still be together... I mean I did nothing wrong and that's the truth! This can't be the end of us!... But what if it is?" Aang continued crying again. The love of his life broke up with him and he knew he would never ever find a girl that is half as sweet, loving, caring, and beautiful as Katara.
One he arrived at the house he wiped away his tears and took a deep breath. He walked over to Katara's room and knocked on the door. There was no response, he knocked again and called out her name.
"Katara are you in there? Please I just want to talk... I'm coming in." He opened the door and saw that no one was there. He looked around and found no traces of Katara. He groaned in frustration and flopped on her bed. He instantly smelled her amazing scent and began to cry again. "She always smells so good. I miss her scent so much. I want things to go back to the way they were."
Meanwhile
After Katara water whipped Aang she ran back to the house. However on the way back she ran into Sokka and Suki. They both notice that something was wrong because she was crying uncontrollably.
"Katara are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?" asked Sokka. Instantly his protective brother came out because something or someone really hurt her.
"A-Aang cheated o-on me" Both Sokka and Suki were shocked. Aang would be the last person in the world to be unfaithful. However, Sokka became furious and demanded to know where he was.
"WHAT?! Where is he?! I am going to make him wish he never cheated!" Sokka was fuming at this point. Suki never seen Sokka so angry
"I-I don't k-know, but I-I never want to see h-him again!" Suki brought Katara into a hug to calm her down. After 10 minutes she finally stopped crying and Suki took this as an opportunity to ask what exactly happened.
"What happened? This is kind of hard to believe because Aang is such a nice guy." Suki asked
"Well he isn't a nice guy!" Katara almost began to cry again but she stopped herself. "I went to the restroom and when I came out I saw him kissing another girl." Suki was shocked because it was cold hard proof of Aang's unfaithfulness.
"I am so sorry Katara." She brought her into another hug. "Aang doesn't deserve you. You will find another guy who will treat you right." Suki's comforting words seemed to help Katara a little. They remained hugging for what seemed to be 5 minutes. Katara broke the hug and looked around to see Sokka was nowhere in sight.
"Where is Sokka?" Katara asked.
"I don't know," Suki responded. They both started thinking about where Sokka could be. Then it hit them.
"Oh no" Suki and Katara realized why Sokka wasn't with them anymore and began running back home because it was most likely the place where Sokka was unleashing his wrath on Aang.
Meanwhile
Sokka didn't know where Aang was, but home was the first place he would look. "I'm going to kill that little air-brat! I don't care if the world needs its Avatar! No one breaks my little sister's heart!
When he arrived at the house he busted the door down and yelled for the heartbreaker
"AANG!? WHERE ARE YOU? YOU ARE GOING TO PAY" Sokka ran to Aang's room and found no one. He didn't give up and saw that Katara's room door was opened. He ran towards the room and entered. He found the broken Airbender scared out of his mind. Sokka lunged toward him and yelled.
"YOU CHEATED ON MY LITTLE SISTER" Aang instantly curled up into a ball to protect himself.
"No! Sokka I would never cheat on Katara! This is all a misunderstanding!." His words didn't matter because Sokka grabbed him and slammed him on the floor. Aang put his arms around his head and his knees to his chest. He prepared for Sokka's wrath, but he soon realized that it would be no use. Sokka began kicking him over and over as hard as he could. Aang grunted in pain and pleaded for him to stop.
"P-please stop. OW! Ugh! AHH! I can explain!." His word fell on deaf ears. Aang felt his ribs crack under the force Sokka was unleashing on him. Aang began to cry, but not because of his injuries, but because he knew he would never be Katara's boyfriend again. With this realization he didn't care that Sokka was beating him senseless. The pain of his heart hurt more than any injury Sokka could inflict. He was so hurt that he no longer tried to protect himself. He just laid there with tears in his eyes and accepted his punishment. "I deserve this," He thought to himself. After Sokka grew tired of kicking him he curled his fists and began punching Aang's face because he was no longer protecting himself. However, Aang didn't react at all because he knew that Sokka's punches and kicks were like tickles compared to his pain in his heart.
Meanwhile
"Sokka is going to kill Aang if we don't stop him!" Suki told Katara. Although Katara was hurt from Aang's actions. She didn't want him to die. On their way back Suki and Katara ran into Zuko and Toph.
"What is going on? Why are you running?" Toph and Zuko said at the same time.
"There's no time to explain. Just come with us." Toph and Zuko didn't hesitate and ran with them to help in any way they could.
Once the four entered the house they heard the huffing and puffing of Sokka. They all started walking towards the source of the noise. Until Suki stopped Katara.
"Wait, I think you should wait outside until Sokka and Aang to calm down and then we can hear Aang's side of the story. Even though he clearly cheated, we still should hear what he has to say." Katara knew Suki was right and stubbornly agreed.
Suki, Toph, and Zuko all entered the room and were mortified at what they were witnessing. Sokka was literally beating Aang senseless and if he didn't stop, the next avatar will be born in the next few days. Zuko and Suki pried Sokka off of Aang and Toph earthbent his limbs in the ground so he couldn't move.
"What happened!? Why are you beating Aang to death?!" Zuko asked
"Because he broke my sister's heart! He cheated on her!" Sokka yelled. Both Toph and Zuko were surprised and turned to Aang who was trying to sit up. Zuko went to help Aang and noticed his injuries. He felt his broken ribs and began to worry.
"Aang you're bleeding! And your ribs are broken! And you have a black eye!" Zuko said. Aang shoved Zuko's hands off of him.
"I don't care about my injuries!" when he fully sat up he groaned, "Ughh..Ow... My injuries will heal, but my heart will forever be broken." Aang meant every word he said. He would never find love like he did with Katara. However, There was a fat seal-elephant in the room and it needed to be addressed. Toph took it upon herself to address it.
"Is that true, Aang? Did you cheat on Katara?" Toph asked him and gave him a look that said you-better-not-lie.
"No! I would never cheat on Katara! I love her!" claimed Aang
"Liar!" Sokka yelled back
"He is not lying. He is telling the truth." It was times like this Aang was grateful that Toph could tell if people were telling the truth or not.
"See I am telling the truth! I was trying to tell you that this whole situation was a huge misunderstanding!" Aang didn't mean to yell but he had so many emotions in him that it had to come out somehow.
"So… what actually happened?" Suki asked, feeling guilty that she ever believed Aang would be unfaithful.
"A thief stole a purse from this older lady and I chased him and returned it to her. She wanted to thank me for saving her daughters purse by cooking dinner for me. I accepted and that's when her daughter showed up." Aang paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "The daughter was thankful that I saved her purse and when I said my goodbyes and turned around and felt her hand on my shoulder. I turned back around and she immediately kissed me with no warning. I pulled back and was about to yell at her, but that's when Katara showed up and she only saw us kissing. So she thought I cheated on her" Aang looked down at his feet and felt like he was about to start crying again. Zuko, Sokka and Suki all looked at Toph to confirm he was telling the truth. She nodded and confirmed that he was indeed telling the truth.
The room was silent and the room was filled with tension and uneasiness. After a few minutes Aang broke the silence.
"This was one big misunderstanding, but now Katara hates me and I don't know if she will ever want us to be together again." Aang began to cry and felt arms wrap around him. He looked up to find Suki.
"She will understand, and she will forgive you... Tomorrow you two are going to be laughing about this whole situation. Trust me." Aang felt hopeful again, but he wasn't convinced.
"Where is Katara. I have to talk to her." Aang asked.
"She's outside. I'll tell her that you want to talk and we will give you guys some privacy." Suki stated. Toph released Sokka from his trap and they all went to go get Katara while Aang waited patiently. "I really hope she understands or else I don't know what to do. I am lost without her." He thought to himself
Sokka, Toph, and Zuko sat on the couch and were silent. They didn't know what to say or do. Sokka looked down at his fists and saw that they were bruised. "How could I do that to my best friend? I should have asked for his side of the story before I did anything." Sokka felt incredibly guilty and tears began to fill his eyes. "I am the worst best friend ever. Now Aang would never forgive me. I mean who would? I almost killed him!" Zuko saw how depressed and sad Sokka was and he had a pretty idea why.
"Sokka, he will forgive you, don't worry." Sokka looked up at him and wasn't convinced.
"You don't know that. I really messed up." Zuko sighed and he knew exactly what to say
"I literally chased Aang around the world trying to kill him or capture him and he forgave me. I am pretty sure he will forgive you for this." Sokka laughed a little and he couldn't argue with Zuko's logic. It was in Aang's philosophy to forgive. This made Sokka feel a lot better.
"Can't argue with that… thanks Zuko." Zuko nodded and watched Katara walk in the house and he saw her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"Aang is ready to talk, but you need to know that he didn't cheat on you." Katara looked up and wiped away her tears.
"W-What do you mean?" Katara was relieved, but a little skeptical at Suki's claim.
"The whole thing was a huge misunderstanding. And we know he is telling the truth because Toph said so." Katara was overwhelmed with joy and instantly hugged Suki.
"Oh my really?… I'm so happy! I didn't know what I would do without him." Suki returned the hug, but broke off shortly after.
"I'm glad, now go back there and kiss each other senseless." Katara laughed. But she was still curious about what actually happened.
"So what really happened?" Suki began telling the same story Aang told the gaang. Katara felt so guilty and bad because Aang was just being a nice guy and she put him through an emotional rollercoaster for doing his duty as the Avatar. Once Suki finished Katara looked down at her feet and felt the tears return to her eyes.
"I broke up with him because of that? Oh my… What if he doesn't want to be my boyfriend anymore?" Suki brought Katara into yet another hug.
"He asked me the exact same question. Don't worry, he wants to be with you as much as you want to be with him." Katara relaxed and let a smile form on her face. She was so relieved and ready to make this right.
"Thanks Suki." she released from the hug and started walking to her room. As she entered she noticed Aang's injuries. She instantly ran over to him and started to feel his ribs and face.
"Oh Aang. Sokka did this to you?! He's going to pay for what he did to you!" Aang was surprised that she was no longer angry and was in a much happier mood. Katara began to take off his shirt to examine his injuries further, but Aang stopped her and looked into her blue eyes.
"You're not mad anymore?" He asked
"No, Suki told me it was a huge misunderstanding and that you never cheated on me." Katara felt guilty because she was the cause of his injuries, "I am so sorry I didn't listen to you earlier you were just doing your duty as the Avatar. I shouldn't have jumped to any conclusions. It's all that stupid girl's fault" She looked down in guilt, but Aang lifted her head up with his hand and looked into her blue eyes.
"It's okay. I forgive you and it is her fault." he leaned in for a kiss and she gladly returned it. After a few minutes of kissing they both broke off and looked into each other's eyes. He noticed that Katara was still looking guilty and put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Promise me one thing." Katara looked at him with a curious look
"Promise that you will forgive yourself." She paused for a moment before responding,
"I promise." She looked into his gray eyes and she couldn't help but notice that they were swollen from Sokka's wrath. She needed to make up for her mistakes and decided to heal them right away.
"At least let me heal your injuries." Katara began to get up to get water, but Aang grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.
"Katara, you already healed me." Katara was confused. He had broken ribs and a black eye that said otherwise.
"I think Sokka gave you a concussion." Aang chuckled and looked at her with a soft smile.
"My injuries would have healed eventually, but my heart would remain broken forever. You healed my heart to what it is supposed to be and that is what matters." Katara felt tears in her eyes and she felt guilty for thinking Aang could ever be unfaithful to her. She loved him so much and he loved her so much.
"Oh Aang stop it. You're going to make me cry." She blushed and leaned in for another kiss. This kiss lasted about 5 minutes. The passion and love behind this kiss was insane. They both broke off the kiss and cuddled together. After an hour of enjoying each other's company Aang began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Katara asked with a smile on her face. His laugh was always contagious
"I was just thinking about all the reasons cheating on you is literaly the most idiotic thing I can do." Katara chuckled and wondered what those reasons are.
"You're right, it is the stupidest thing you or I can do... I am curious though, what are those reasons?" Aang gave her a soft smile that melted her heart.
"Well you know the obvious reasons, but I found a new reason." He looked down at his broken ribs, "This was a huge misunderstanding and look at me. Imagine if I actually did cheat on you. Sokka would have definitely killed me." Katara laughed, but instantly felt guilty again.
"Aang I am so, so sor-" Aang put his finger on her lips and cut her off.
"You promised. I already forgave you. All you have to do is forgive yourself." Katara gave him a smile and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're right. I'll forgive myself." She breathed in his wonderful scent.
"I love you" she said
"I love you too" another 30 mounties passed before Katara's stomach demanded food. Aang began to laugh when he remembered what happened earlier that day.
"I guess we didn't get a chance to cook dinner." Katara blushed and hated her stomach for being so loud.
"I guess not. Come on let's go cook dinner. I'm starving." Katara got up and helped Aang stand up. He groaned a little, but the pain went away at Katara's touch. They both walked out of her room to find the whole gaang waiting in the living room.
"Aang and I are going to cook dinner." They all nodded in agreement. However, before Aang could go help Katara, Sokka stopped him.
"Aang… I-I just wanted to apologize for my actions. I should have heard your side of the story before jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry" Sokka felt the urge to cry again. He felt so bad for what he did to Aang and he couldn't stop himself from shedding a few tears.
"I accept your apology and I forgive you." Aang brought him into a hug, but it couldn't be as long as they wanted due to Aang's injuries. Sokka was so relieved that Aang had forgiven him, but he still felt bad for what he had done.
"I will do you a favor to make up for what I did. You name it and I will do it." Aang smiled
"Okay, I want you to forgive yourself" Sokka was surprised. Aang could have said to dress up as a girl for a whole week, but he didn't.
"But I-" he was cut off by Aang's laughter
"You and Katara truly are brother and sister." Everyone looked at Aang with a confused look and waited for him to explain.
"You both have a very difficult time forgiving yourselves." Aang said while looking back at Katara who was blushing a little, "I already forgiven both of you, now all you have to do is forgive yourself." Sokka was so grateful for having Aang as a best friend. He sighed in content and smiled a bit.
"Okay, I will" Aang smiled and went to help Katara with dinner
"Aang?" Katara asked
"Yes?"
"I love you so much."
"I love you more" Katara leaned in for a kiss and Aang returned it eagerly. Now that this whole misunderstanding was behind them. They could resume their old lives again.
"Hey! Sugar Queen! Twinkles Toes! We are hungry too!" Toph was just teasing, but everyone was hungry. Katara and Aang broke their kiss and blushed. They began cooking and they both thought to themselves, "I guess telling someone your wish will make it become true, not the other way around" They both had a huge smile on their face and were grateful that things were back to normal.
The end