It was the second Harmony Festival, the second anniversary of the fall of Ozai. The azure sky was clear, the air was crisp, and the orange Sun was blazing its way toward the horizon. The celebration was going off without a hitch. It was going so well, in fact, that it was held over into its second day. Seems the people couldn't get enough of celebrating an anniversary of their freedom.

The Harmony Festival is a celebration of peace and diversity, but its attendees were largely Fire Nation. This continued to baffle Team Avatar, who assumed most of the nation would still be loyal to the previous Fire Lord and his politics. A lot can change in the space of two years, but it would be understandable if the citizens had not quite adjusted to the younger Fire Lord and his benevolent way. It would take a lot longer than two years to smooth over a century of tyranny.

The members of Team Avatar were now two years older and ten years wiser. Sokka and Suki had been tending to the Earth Kingdom, helping rebuild the kingdom and implement new security measures with Ty Lee and the other Kyoshi Warriors. Aang, Katara, and Toph had been spending considerable time in the Fire Nation, trying to hold the country together as it adjusted to its new rule. Zuko had been hard at work restructuring political and military policy. He had considered creating a peace army to aid the most war-torn areas, but his friends convinced him it might not be well-received. "Knock-knock, hi, I know I wanted to kill you before, but I'm here to help you now," Aang had commented.

Cheerful chatter filled the air around them as day melted into night. Aang heaved a sigh as he spied the full moon beginning to rise. As moonlight crowned the darkness, the flora of the night started to wake and release their scents. When the breeze picked up, it carried with it the playful and delicate scents of fire lilies mixed with robust ceremonial incense. There was nothing more perfect than this. He knew she must say "yes."

The teenage Avatar fumbled in his robes and carefully withdrew a little cloth pouch. He checked on Katara out of the corner of his eye. The beautiful waterbender was immersed in the crowd, surrounded by eager young citizens who could never tire of hearing about her adventures. Anxiety started to trickle into Aang's heart—it would only be a short time before Fire Lord Zuko would deliver his closing speech, the celebration would conclude, and the young Avatar would have missed the opportunity to propose to the love of his life.

"Aang!" The Southern Water Tribe girl was heading towards him. "There are some kids here who would really love to hear your stories."

"Katara!" he almost yelped. He lunged forward and took her hand with a nervous grin. "I'll meet them later. There's something we have to do first."

"Okay," she replied hesitantly, spotting a glimmer of fear in his eyes and wondering whether she should be excited or wary. Katara let the airbender lead her away from the crowd to the far end of the palace gardens. They came to a decorated bench placed under the open sky, with a trellis of fire lilies behind them and a sparkling pond ahead. Brilliant moonlight danced on the surface of the water. Katara breathed a sigh as she gazed.

Aang studied her as she closed her eyes and allowed him a moment alone with his panic. He fumbled with his thoughts, struggling to figure out the proper way to do this. "Katara," he said, rousing her. She fixed her sapphire eyes on him. The Avatar reached out from behind and presented her with a cloth pouch. "What's this?" asked Katara with a puzzled look.

He left it in her hand as he gingerly untied the pouch, then pulled out a carved necklace and held it up to her.

"Aang...?" the waterbender started, holding his gaze and trying not to look at the necklace. Her heart beat hard in her chest; she was sure she could even feel it in her throat. Katara tried her best to appear baffled, but she knew exactly where this was going.

Aang held out the betrothal necklace, with smooth wooden beads and an intricately carved crescent moon, from which a crimson tassel hung. "Katara," he began in an unsteady voice, "I feel like I've waited my whole life to say this, and I can't wait another minute. I love you with all my heart. I know we're meant to be together."

Katara found herself in a daze, taken aback by the beauty and detail of the necklace and the heartfelt gesture behind she looked back to Aang and traced the next words his lips made, fear shot through her veins like ice water.

"Katara, will you marry me?"

She was sure her heart must have stopped. Marriage...! Katara ceased to hear anything but those five words humming through her mind like an angry buzzard-wasp. She was frozen, unable to think or respond for many long minutes. Marriage...?!

Katara loved Aang. They were best friends. They went through hell and back together, lived and laughed and fought and won for each other. But...marriage? That was something else entirely. That was a universe away from them. She loved him, but...

"Aang," she said when she finally mustered a voice, "I can't do this." She placed the necklace in his hands and folded his fingers around it. She held her hand atop his for a moment and squeezed. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Aang."

Katara saw the light leave his eyes when Aang stared down at their hands. Just as his face started to wrench into grief, an obscure expression glazed over. He pulled his hand out from hers and let his arm drop to his side. Aang wouldn't spare another look at her as he picked up his glider and walked out of the palace gardens. A few minutes later, Katara saw his silhouette pass over the full moon, dragging a small cloud over it and dimming the night. She threw her gaze back down and sighed, wiping a falling tear. After a few more moments, she stood up, brushed off her skirt, and continued back into the crowd.

"Hey, where's Twinkletoes?" asked Toph when Katara fell in beside her. "Zuko's about to start."

She heard a deep sigh from the waterbender. "He's...out for a walk."

"Now is when he takes a walk?" Toph started to ask, but caught herself when she noticed the stress in Katara's voice and ground vibrations. She detected anxiety and a hint of deception, but decided against pressing the matter. She'll find out sooner or later.

The crowd roared when Zuko ascended the stage, then quickly fell silent with anticipation. She heard the rustling of the scroll and the clearing of his throat. After the first few sentences, Toph tuned it out. It was the same speech he gave last year, and would probably be the same the next. Zuko had many strengths, but creativity was not one of them.

All the buzzwords hit Toph's ear: "peace," "love," "balance." She'd heard them enough times coming from Aang. Sometimes it still surprised her to hear them come from Zuko. He repeated his promises that the Fire Nation would atone for its sins and would never return to tyranny. He highlighted the progress they'd made thus far and the milestones they've yet to achieve. Toph started tuning back in when she could hear the Fire Lord reaching his conclusion. She couldn't help but smile when the passion in his voice took her back in time to the end of the war. It was their little gang that was responsible for ending a war that had been waged for a hundred years, while no adults could even make a dent in it. Toph gave a sigh of nostalgic satisfaction. Somehow, that felt like a lifetime ago.

Suddenly, her wistful mind snapped back to reality when Toph noticed some distinct vibrations through the ground. While the crowd had mostly been standing in one place, she felt a few jerking steps stealthily weaving their way through. The earthbender threw her senses into the ground to focus on the footsteps. They were light and agile, barely detectable were it not for their rapid movements that drew her attention. They were now such a distance away that she couldn't tell how many there were, but it seemed like more kept coming. Toph did notice they all had one thing in common: they were all darting towards the stage.