Hey everyone, long time no see. Sorry for my break; at least it was shorter than my last one. Anyway, this chapter shows a side of Aang that we have not yet seen: his fears. By the way, I just figured out how to type directly to FanFiction, so I am ecstatic!
I do not, I repeat, DO NOT, own Avatar: the Last Airbender, much to my dismay...
Much to Katara's despair, she awoke to see Aang missing from the couch they had fallen asleep on.
What, did he decide to go to his bed instead of snuggle with me or something? she wondered, slowly getting up to look for him.
She didn't have to look very far, for when she peered out the window, she saw him violently throwing pebbles into the stream that ran beside the house.
She walked slowly over to him. "Aang-?"
He cut her off. "Katara, I know you only want to help, but I would really appreciate it if you...please go away." He said the last part softer, tossing another pebble into the stream.
She didn't listen to him, instead placing a hand on his shoulder. "Aren't you cold?" she asked, shivering in the November air.
He shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, ironically coldly. "I just have a lot on my mind right now," he continued, softening a bit.
"Care to share?" Katara coaxed.
"I..." It's not that Aang didn't want to share; he just didn't want Katara to think he was vulnerable or weak.
"C'mon, you can tell me anything," she pressed. "Don't you know that?"
He nodded, biting his tongue. He could faintly make out a metallic taste in his mouth from biting it so often lately.
"Aang, please talk to me," she pleaded.
"Katara, I'm fine," he insisted as another pebble left his arm and splashed into the water.
"I know you're not," she said sternly. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." She laughed cynically, grabbing the pebble Aang was about to chuck out of his hand and tossing it into the bushes. "Throwing pebbles at the poor fish in the stream isn't going to help you, either."
Aang groaned and decided to cave. "Katara...I'm scared."
Katara was mildly surprised. "Of what?"
"Myself," was his reply. He hurled a rather large pebble into the water rather hard, and the splash was enough to wet his feet.
She shivered. "Aang, you and I both know you wouldn't hurt a fly." She wrenched another pebble out from between Aang's fingers. "But you're going to hurt the fish if you keep throwing pebbles."
"Exactly. I hurt others when I get too careless. I can't control myself and it drives me insane! And I'm afraid that eventually, i'll do something really stupid that I can't fix, and-"
Katara smiled, shook her head, and kissed the babbling boy she had come to love.
They pulled away after a brief five seconds, and Aang was utterly confused. "Why did you-?"
"You're overreacting," she told him, giggling, "like you always do."
"O-overreacting?" Aang was still confused.
"Yes. Aang, you're the gentlest person I know," she said. "You're kind, sweet, and caring, and you always put others before yourself, and-"
"Katara..." Aang moaned in protest, blushing. "That's nice of you, but how does that explain my carelessness. I killed that buzzard-wasp. I burned you. And...I almost killed you!"
Katara sighed. "Who cares about that? I don't, it's not your fault." She paused for a minute, and leaned over to kiss Aang's cheek.
"Just remember, if you ever get out of control...I'll always be there for you."
Aang finally smiled. Maybe he was overreacting...
