Chapter 9: Love and War

Hey guys! Sorry for this quick ending and that the last chapter was kind of rushed, but although I was planning on doing ten chapters for this story, I decided that it would be better if I finished it up in this. So thank you guys for keeping up with this story and I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The soldiers jumped down from the catwalk as two groups of soldiers came from each side of the spies, ready to slaughter them all. This wasn't what any of them had really been expecting to happen, though they supposed they should have. No mission ever went perfectly, and a mission as important as this would certainly be no exception.

Time slowed down as Aang regained his bearings from his shock and watched his enemies move. One of the most important lessons he had learned from his agency: Defense is the best offense. The only way you can fight is if you stay alive, and with so many soldiers coming at him, he realized just how right they were. The only way there were all going to survive was if they were careful.

He snuck a quick look at his friends, somewhat proud to see that they were all ready for the battle. Although there was some fear in their eyes, he knew that they could do this. After all, they made it this far. Nothing was going to stop them now. And there was no way he was going to let anyone hurt Katara.

As the soldiers finally reached them, time went back to normal as the sounds of war clashed. The hundreds of soldiers, though seeming to be overwhelming, proved not as difficult as he had imagined. The advantage of being engulfed in a crowd of soldiers was that there were so many, it was hard to distinguish the difference between their fellow soldiers and their enemies. Although their camouflage was no longer working, they still were in black clothes in a dark room as well. Aang knew these advantages would help them survive.

One of the advantages, Aang had noticed, was that the soldiers who attempted to attack them usually ended up killing their comrades, making their work easier as they cut a path through the soldiers. Aang knew that this would be difficult, but he had faith in his team. After all, this wasn't his first fight surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.

"Watch out!"

Looking behind him in surprise, he saw that a soldier was attempting to sneak up on him, but had been caught red-handed. Aang made short work of him, stabbing him in the heart before he kicked him into a few soldiers, making a sort of domino line fall before his eyes.

Sokka and Toph were holding their own. Toph with sending boulders at her enemies and Sokka stabbed and sliced his way through the waves of soldiers. Occasionally working together. Sokka started to grow tired from their fight, but Toph had never felt more alive. Though she wasn't insane, she had to admit she was enjoying this. She was born for battle, and this was one of the most epic fights she had ever been in.

Katara sliced her way through the soldiers with her water to get back to Aang, wanting to be near him in case anything happened. She knew Aang was powerful, but she also knew that he was mortal. One wrong slice could have him on the brink of death, and she wanted to be close to him to heal him as quickly as she could.

"Are you okay, Kat?" he asked over the loudness of war that had surrounded them.

"I'm okay," she told him before turning her water into an ice spear and doing a large sweep around them, killing the guards that were struck by her spear and sending those behind them reeling backwards. "Just was hoping we wouldn't have to have this kind of fight."

"Yeah, me neither," he agreed as he started some lightning in his fingertips and shot soldiers while stabbing and slicing with his sword. "But the sooner we're done with these guys, the sooner we can destroy the machine."

The machine started up, making everyone pause in their fighting as they looked over to the source of the sound. Ozai stood at the center of the machine while Azula was busy fighting Zuko and Suki who had quickly burned their share of enemies to ashes. As they all watched, Ozai smiled triumphantly. "The machine has been activated! Once it is finished, it will create a storm deadly enough to end the world. Then, out of the ashes, a new world will arise! And I will be ruler of all!"

Unfortunately for him, Momo and Appa had sensed that Aang was in danger and came to help, crashing into him and sending him down to the ground. Appa morphed into a lion and growled at him, but he simply got up and into a defensive position. "You will die, too, you… animals!" he yelled defiantly before he proceeded to throw flames at them.

Aang smiled at the sight of his 'pets' and resumed the fight with more vigor, though he was starting to worry. That machine was activated, but he knew it was no simple feat to make a storm. Even with his power, it would take time, so he knew there was some time for him to help take out more soldiers.

"Why won't you just die, brother?" Azula asked annoyedly as she tried to shoot some lightning at him. He easily dodged it and sent some enhanced flames at her, but she just broke it like it was nothing. "Even with the best technology in the world, you are still a weakling, Zuzu," she tutted disappointedly. "I would have expected more, but you are just like Uncle. Weak!" she yelled as she shot a flame at him. "A pushover! Alone!"

Sokka tripped her from behind, sending her crashing to the ground as he and Toph had finished with their amount of soldiers. "No. He's not alone. He's got us," he told her as he attempted to stab her, but she grabbed his sword with her legs and sent him flying across the room. Toph would have laughed if it wasn't her boyfriend, and in doing so, Azula had made Toph very angry. Summoning the biggest boulder she could muster, she condensed it into body armor and got into a fighting position.

"You'll pay for that," she warned Azula, fury blazing in her eyes like a wildfire.

Azula just yawned uncaringly, obviously not threatened by Toph. A mistake she would soon pay for with her life, Toph thought. "If you say so." Not wasting another second, Toph launched forward at inhuman speed and tried to knock Azula off her feet, but Azula simply jumped out of the way, once again yawning. "Come on. I thought you wanted to kill me," Azula smiled evilly as she made sure to keep an eye on her brother and his girlfriend.

"Oh, you're going to die alright!" Toph shouted as she charged her again. Azula smirked, ready to jump again, but this time, Toph didn't give her the chance. Not expecting Toph to hold her down, Toph sunk her into the ground before she rammed her head on, sending Azula flying back into the machine.

Meanwhile, the machine kept building with power. Aang recognized these sounds as the beginning of a thunderstorm. If he could stop it soon, it might only produce a small thunderstorm. But there were still many guards around them, and he didn't want to leave Katara to fight on her own. Everyone else was busy trying to take down Azula, but the storm was becoming larger and more dangerous by the second.

"How much time do you think before it becomes a doomsday storm?" Katara asked as she impaled a soldier and ripped the spear out before kicking him back into another soldier who had also been impaled.

"Not much longer!" he admitted as he stabbed another guard. There wasn't much time left, and there were still too many soldiers. Knowing what he had to do, he looked over his shoulder at Katara. "Get behind me." She did as she was told and fended the soldiers off with her spear while Aang took a deep breath, slowly opening his eyes to reveal a piercing white glow that made Katara gasp before his eyes returned to normal.

With one sweep of his hand, he knocked all of the remaining soldiers off of their feet with a strong gust of wind and locked them into place with earth. Once he was satisfied that they were incapacitated, he channeled some lightning into his fingers and spread it out in all directions, instantly frying all of the remaining soldiers. When the dust had settled, all that remained was Ozai and Azula.

They weren't sure who to go for. Azula was dangerous, but Ozai was the mastermind behind all of this. But, as Aang watched his friends start to get the upper hand on the insane firebender, he decided that the storm needed to be stopped.

"Come on! We need to shut this thing down before the storm gets worse!" he yelled to Katara who nodded and followed him to where Appa and Momo were tag teaming Ozai. When Appa wasn't swipe at him with his vicious claws, Momo was swooping down on him and attempting to rip his throat out with his razor sharp talons.

"Will you beasts leave me alone?" Ozai asked in annoyance as he attempted to shoot some fire at them, but Appa and Momo were fireproof. The only thing that was keeping him alive was the fact that he did well at dodging their strikes.

With this distraction, Aang attempted to sneak up on Ozai to quickly take his life, but Ozai's years of training as a spy had served him well, alerting him to his enemies' presence as they came to him.

Aang tried and failed to stab Ozai in the throat, but Ozai had anticipated this and stepped out of the way, much to the frustrated Peacekeeper's annoyance. Another slice sent Ozai back a few steps, but he still remained unscathed, smirking evilly.

"You can't kill me. I will destroy this world, and we will start anew. Without the likes of you!" he yelled as he shot some flames at Aang who cut them with his blade. "To stop me!" he finished gleefully.

However, he had forgotten that Aang wasn't alone. While he was distracted, Katara took the opportunity and snuck up on him, hoping to quickly take his life, but Ozai wasn't going to go down that easily. Hearing footsteps behind him, Ozai stopped his attack on Aang and turned around quickly to kick Katara away from him, making her land against the wall of the machine, slumped forward with her eyes closed.

Aang's fury had never been so strong. She can't be. No, no, no. She can't be… He couldn't control himself anymore. Ozai had hurt the girl he loved, and he would be made to suffer. His eyes shut of their own accord before slowly opening to reveal the furious, blank white eyes of the Peacekeeper. Ozai gasped as he saw what he had unleashed, knowing his doom was guaranteed.

Everyone on the other side of the room stopped what they were doing as they watched the hateful Peacekeeper rise on a ball of air, which, with some other elements combined, began to make a thunderstorm of its own, flickering with unrestrained energy as the thunder rolled. Even louder than the storm that was in the machine.

"Uh oh," Sokka gulped as he saw his friend. Wait a minute. Where's Katara? He became even more worried as he looked for her and saw that she was leaning against the wall. His breath caught in his throat, fearing the worst, but after a few moments, Katara's eyes slowly fluttered open, trying desperately to regain her bearings as the sound of Aang's personal storm grew until Ozai was surrounded by the clouds that Aang had created.

"Ozai!" The Peacekeeper snarled with all the fury that he could handle without completely losing it. "You will die!"

Ozai's eyes widened in fear and, in a poor attempt to run, made a dash for the exit. The Peacekeeper would not suffer him to live, and reached out with a tendril of pure electricity to bring him back before he sunk him down in Earth, leaving him completely defenseless.

"No! Please!" Ozai begged, seeing the unrelenting vengeance that had consumed the Peacekeeper. "Spare me!" Aang answered by flicking his hand down, sending a large bolt of lightning at him.

"No!" Azula yelled as she jumped and received the lightning bolt before crashing into the machine, some of the electricity going into the machine. The extra voltage became too much for the machine, and it slowly shut down until all that was left was the storm that it had created. The storm was released as Azula took her last breath, glaring hatefully at her brother before her eyes slowly dimmed.

Everyone stood there for a second, wondering what had just happened before the angry Peacekeeper and the storm met. Taking the storm's will as his own, he made it stronger until it started ripping the place apart. Ozai began to become hopeful, thinking that maybe his daughter's sacrifice was enough for his enemy, but that proved to be wrong when a large bolt of lightning struck him in his heart, leaving him gasping for air before his eyes finally dimmed.

Katara had finally regained her bearings and was looking around at the situation before her. Her friends were all staring at Aang, except for Toph who couldn't see, in shock, but that didn't stop Toph from having a shocked look on her face. Looking over at the raging storm, she knew they didn't have much time left before the storm took them if they didn't get out of there. But there was one problem: Aang was still very angry.

"Aang!" Katara called up to him as the storm only grew stronger under his command. "Aang! We need to get out of here!" He didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the storm that he was concentrating on. Katara became worried. What if he was stuck like this? What if they couldn't get him out of… whatever this was? Her breathing became quick as her panic grew. "Aang! Please!" she nearly begged with tears starting to fall down, not wanting to think about the possibility of never having her love returned to her.

Her words finally reached him, breaking through his fury and straight to his heart, finally enabling him to let go of his anger. Taking a deep breath, the Peacekeeper slowly floated back to the ground, landing badly as the air dropped him onto his knees.

"Aang!" Katara yelled with tears of relief as she ran over to him and hugged him tightly, feeling very happy that he had come back to her.

A little groan escaped his mouth before he opened his eyes to look at her. "K-katara?" he asked tiredly, feeling all of his energy drained.

"Aang!" she whispered happily as she squeezed him tighter. Despite being completely out of it, he instinctively hugged her back, soaking in the comfort her presence gave him. Their hug would have continued if the storm hadn't gotten worse. A loud whining sound came from the center, reminding them that they needed to get out of there.

"Come on!" Sokka yelled at them as he gestured for them to follow. "We need to get out of here!"

Katara and Aang looked at each other and nodded before they started running, not daring to look back as the storm started to tear apart the bunker piece by piece. Making their way back up, they were relieved to see that what had remained of the soldiers had wisely fled, knowing that staying would be their doom.

Though they didn't have time to mess around, Aang couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer volume of the storm as it slowly rose to the surface. And it wouldn't have been as strong as it was if he hadn't gotten involved. But that worried him. Had he made it too strong? What if he had helped accomplish what he had meant to stop?

"Aang! Come on!"

He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that he was just standing there and quickly ran to catch up with his love, wanting to make sure that he was around to make sure that nothing happened to her. Even if it cost him his life, he would make sure that she survived.

The storm kept submerging from the bunker, making even the Island itself start to shake from the power of the violent storm. Aang knew what was going to happen if they didn't get off the island, and he knew what they had to do.

"Come on!" he yelled to his friends as he grabbed Katara's hand and picked up his pace, practically dragging her with him. "We need to get to the jet before the island sinks!" Appa and Momo were fairly close by, following their master closely to make sure that he was alright.

"This just had to happen, didn't it?" Sokka grumbled to himself as he ran, feeling his energy start to drain. "Stupid Peacekeeper. Stupid corrupt Fire Agency guy. Stupid storm that's probably going to kill us."

Toph smacked him on the back of his head, making him run a little faster as he rubbed it. "Stay focused, Snoozles! You can complain all you want when we're out of here!"

Sokka would have shot back at her had the situation not been so dire, but he knew that now was not the time for it. Everyone continued running where Aang was leading, knowing that this was their only chance of survival as the storm finally fully came out of the bunker, making the waves become restless and lightning to strike at anything that it could touch.

It wasn't long before they reached the base where Aang had parked the jet, but he had forgotten where exactly he put it. One of the problems, he found, with jets that could be turned invisible was that he didn't have a scanner to be able to remind him where he had put it.

"Everyone split up! We need to find the jet!" Aang told them as he started fumbling around through the heavy torrents of rain that was pouring down.

"Really?" Sokka asked in annoyance. "You just had to hide your only means of escape, didn't you?"

Katara smacked him on the back of the head this time and glared at him. "Later, Sokka! We have more important things to worry about!"

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Sokka nodded and started fumbling around blindly for the invisible jet, hoping that they would find it before it was too late. After a few minutes of searching, just as they were about to give up, Sokka's head crashed into something metallic, leaving a large bruise on his forehead.

"Ow!

Katara would have laughed if things weren't as desperate as they were. "Sokka found it! Let's go!" she yelled over the sounds of the raging storm. Aang quickly took out his keys and unlocked it, making it come back into view as they all ran for it.

Aang and Katara took the pilot seats while everyone else tried to find some seating in the back, eventually settling with the guys on the ground and the girls on the seats.

There was a problem, however. The jet was not responding as Aang hoped it would. The storm was causing magnetic interference with it, making the jet unable to start up.

"Come on!" Aang yelled as he tried to start it up, then again, then again, and again until he stopped in frustration. Knowing this was their last chance, he looked up to the skies and in his mind said, Please God, help us get out of here. Taking a deep breath, he attempted one last time and it started up, amazing him as the engine roared to life. He sat there in shock for a moment, feeling surprised that God had answered him so quickly.

"What are you waiting for?" Sokka shouted over the growing noises of the storm as it continued to rage across the island. "Let's go!"

Snapping out of his shock, Aang nodded and grabbed the controls, making the jet lift off the ground as he prepared to fly away as he thought of something. What if they left and the storm didn't stop at the island? What if it moved on to other islands? Maybe even to a large landmass? Knowing he couldn't let that happen, he moved the jet so that it was close enough for him to the storm.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked over the wind and rain that the storm had kicked up, making the jet rock with every moment they drew closer. Aang didn't respond and concentrated his focus on the storm, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes before opening them, revealing a flash of unearthly light as he made a motion with his hands out to it. After a few moments of concentration, the storm stopped moving and remained perfectly in place, making everyone look at him in amazement as slumped back against his chair.

"Okay," he said weakly as he started putting in coordinations for his agency. "Let's get out of here."

"How did you do that?" Katara asked in amazement as she watched the island start to sink from the full weight of the storm come down on it.

"It wasn't easy," he replied tiredly as he leaned back in his chair. "But the storm will stay there until it runs out all of its energy. No one will use that island ever again." The jet was silent as it zoomed off into the night, leaving the area as the last remains of the island finally sank underneath the sea.

The rest of the trip was silent as they made their way back. This mission had taken its toll on them, and they all spent their time reflecting on all that had happened. If not on the troubles they had, then in Katara's case, the trouble that there could be. Now that she and Aang were together, she knew his agency wouldn't approve. They might even attempt to kill her, and possibly Aang for not following his orders. But she knew this had to be done, even if it meant she died. Looking over to her left, she looked to see Aang fast asleep, smiling a little at how peaceful he looked. Taking control of the storm had worn him out, and she had decided that it would be best if he had his nap.

The smile that came to her face as she watched her love made her not be worried anymore. Just as she had felt when she had first seen his face, she was not worried then about her potential death. She had gotten to be with Aang, however temporary, and that would be enough for her if she had to die that day. That would always be enough for her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was talking quietly in the back, doing their best not to disturb their leaders.

"I can't believe we made it out of there alive," Suki whispered as she leaned against Zuko, feeling comforted with his arms tightly wound against her.

"I know. I really thought we were going to die in there," Zuko admitted with a shaky breath, recalling his fear that consumed him not too long ago. As he thought about his potential death, he was reminded of his sister and father. Although he was a little sad, he knew that this was for the best. If they were insane enough to try to wipe out the rest of the world just to rule it, then he knew it was for the best that they hadn't survived. Still, he felt a little alone. They were still his family, insane or not, after all. But he knew that he still had his friends and Iroh, so he knew that he would be okay.

"Yeah, me too," Sokka agreed with a little yawn as Toph slumbered against his chest, making him chuckle a little as her breath tickled his throat. "But we made it out and that's what's important."

They both nodded in response and remained silent, continuing their thoughts as they watched the night sky above them.

Before long, they were almost at their destination as Katara slowly woke up from a loud beep! From the main control panel. Shaking her head a little, she looked at it and saw that they were about to land. "Aang," she shook him a little, hoping he would just wake up. Fortunately for her, Aang was a light sleeper and woke up instantly.

"Huh?" his eyes shot open as he stared at the beautiful girl before him, making him amazed that such an amazing girl like her could ever love him. "Hey, Kat," he greeted her with a yawn. "What's going on?"

"We're almost at your base," Katara informed him with a soft smile, feeling her nervousness start to get her again, but she shrugged it off. Whatever happens would happen, and she knew that there was little to nothing she could do about it.

Aang slowly nodded and watched as the jet reached the top of the mountain, hovering above the hangar doors as it opened to let them in. Taking her hand in his, he gave her a reassuring squeeze and looked into her eyes, making Katara surprised that she knew what he was saying to her. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. She nodded, knowing that he would do anything to protect her.

The jet finally landed in the hangar as the group opened the door to find several Winds ready for them.

"Aang!" Gyatso called with a happy smile, relieved to see his ward alive and well. "I take it you completed your mission?"

Aang smiled and walked up to give him a hug. "Yes we did." He looked down before he pulled away to look Gyatso in the eye. "But we couldn't have done it on our own."

Gyatso looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Aang?" Looking back at the jet, Zuko and Suki had stepped out, but the other three had wisely remained inside.

"Come on out, guys!" he called them as he braced himself for his fellow Agents' reactions as Sokka, Toph, and Katara slowly exited the jet, making the Wind agents around him gasp before getting into a defensive position. Gyatso simply remained still, no emotion on his face as he looked at the newcomers.

"Who are these people, Aang?" Gyatso finally questioned him, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

Aang took a deep, shaky breath before he walked over to them. "These are the other agents that were also sent on the mission," he explained before walking over to stand next to Katara. "And this is 'The Wave'.

One of the Wind agents gasped and glared at him, which Aang recognized as one of the members of the council. "You were charged with ending her, not bringing her back here! She needs to die!" he yelled. "Kill her! Now!"

"No!" Aang yelled back as he took Katara's hand in his, making everyone, including Gyatso gasp. "She didn't do anything wrong. Or, at least not on purpose," he amended. "It was a mistake." He looked at his love and she understood what he was asking of her.

She nodded and moved up a little to address them all, feeling a little fear settle in her as she saw the many weapons that could easily take her life, but she shook it off and spoke. "Look. I know that I attacked one of your agents, and I am truly sorry," she told them, catching them by surprise. "It was a mistake. I was on a mission and we were being hunted by enemy soldiers. I wasn't expecting any friendlies to be nearby and made the mistake of assuming that it was an enemy soldier." She took a deep breath and let go of Aang's hand before sinking to her knees in front of them, making Aang worried. "If you still wish for my death, then so be it. I won't stop you."

The Wind agents stood there in utter shock, not expecting this girl to apologize, let alone surrender herself, but Aang wouldn't have it. He wouldn't let them harm the girl he loved, even if it cost him everything.

"She's not our enemy!" Aang argued as he saw the unsure expressions on their faces. "She made a mistake, and she feels horrible about it." He turned to his mentor and for all purposes father figure. "Gyatso, I love her. She didn't mean to attack us, and she deeply regrets it. Please," he almost begged with the saddest eyes Gyatso had ever seen him, even more sad than when he had thought about his deceased parents.

Taking a deep breath, Gyatso looked from his charge to the young lady before him before he looked back at Aang. "Very well. She may live."

The other council member looked at him incredulously. "Hold on just a moment-"

"No! This is not up for debate!" Gyatso interrupted him before he could go any further. "We might be a council, but I am the oldest council member. I have the power by the right of our founders to make this decision." He turned back to his ward with a soft smile. "She may live."

Aang sighed heavily in relief and hugged Gyatso. "Thank you," he murmured, completely relieved to know that Katara could live. He wouldn't have let her die, but he had been prepared to flee from his agency.

Gyatso gave him a smile before he turned back to address the Winds' who had joined to see how things would turn out. "The betrayer has apologized and explained herself. Because of this, the alliance between the Winds and the Water Agency is revived. We are once again friends," he told them before looking over to Katara with a smile.

Katara smiled back and hugged him. "Thank you, Gyatso."

"It's no problem, my dear," he assured her with a chuckle as he hugged her back. "It would have been a waste of a secret message if you had died in the end, wouldn't it?"

Katara gasped as she pulled back to look at him. "You were the one who sent the message?"

Laughing again, he nodded as he looked at her. "Yes I did. Your father saved my life years ago, and I promised to repay him one day. Just tell him that we are now even," he joked, making her and Aang laugh a little.

"Oh, don't worry, I will," she promised before she turned to look at Aang. He was smiling happily, feeling on top of the world that he didn't have to betray his agency or lose the girl that he loved. Without another word, Katara walked over to him and pulled him into a loving kiss, making him smile against her lips as he kissed her back.

"Oogies!" Sokka shuddered as he covered his own eyes. "Will you two quit it?" Katara smirked against Aang's lips and kissed him even more passionately just to get back at her brother, who felt puke rising at the back of his throat. "Whatever," he grumbled before his mood brightened again. "Let's celebrate!"

"He is right!" Gyatso agreed as he looked at his fellow agents. "These people have saved the world. Now we must celebrate! Go prepare a feast! They will be honored for completing their mission!" Everyone cheered as they walked out of the hanger, ready to have some fun and relax after a long, stressful mission.

A few hours later, it was late evening and everyone was enjoying themselves at the celebratory party that the Winds had put on for them. Everyone except for Aang, that was. Not that he didn't like to party, but he needed a little time to himself. After everything that had happened, he needed some silence at his favorite place in the world: The top of the agency. There he could breathe in the fresh mountain air and contemplate his thoughts. It had been his favorite ever since he was a kid, where Gyatso had shown him. And it had the most beautiful view of the night sky he had ever seen.

"Hey."

Turning around quickly, he was surprised to see a smiling Katara come walking up to him. "Is everything okay?" she asked in concern.

"Of course it is," he responded with a big smile as he kissed her cheek, making her unwillingly blush. "We saved the world!" Glancing at her, he smiled and kissed her lips. "Besides, you're here with me, so how could it get any better than this?"

"Oh shut up," Katara shoved him playfully, unable to hide the wide smile on her face. They both chose to sit down and look up as the stars appeared in the night sky, reminding him of how much he loved being up there. At how high up they were, it felt like they could reach out and touch them.

"So much has changed, hasn't it?"

He looked over at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged and leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling completely at ease with him while watching the night stars. "Well, I never thought I would wind up here." She laughed a little. "I thought that you would end up killing me, not telling me that you love me."

He laughed a little and kissed her head. "I'd much rather kiss you than kill you," he joked, making her laugh even more before she sighed in contentment.

"That's not all that I mean though," she told him as she looked up at the stars. "Me and you… we're different. Our agencies don't usually intermingle romantically."

"We're not the only ones," he reminded her, alluding to her brother and their friends.

"I know," she assured him with a small smile. "But that's just what I mean. With us all being together, we're starting something new. Something that the world's never seen before."

He smiled and took her hand in his, enjoying the soft feeling of her skin on his. "Something better," he added with a content sigh. "Just as the world grows, we need to grow too. The last thing the world needs to be is divided, and us being together is proof of it. Everything is better when we all stand together."

"Yeah, we are, aren't we?" she asked with a yawn as she felt herself being lulled to sleep by their perfectly synced heartbeats. "I love you, Aang," she murmured as her eyes drooped closed.

He kissed her head and felt his eyes close as well. "I love you too, Katara." And as they slowly fell into their slumber, they knew that as long as they stuck together, as long as the agencies learned by their example, that everything would be okay. They both finally fell asleep, content with the fac that the world would prosper because of their love.

Hey guys! Just wanted to apologize if this seemed rushed at all. It honestly might have been, I can't quite tell anymore, but I hope you guys enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to getting started on some other projects of mine. Starting with the continuation of Late Night Drinks! If you enjoyed that story, keep an eye out for it, because I will be continuing it soon. Anyway, thank you guys for reading and the reviews and I'll talk to you all later!