Hi, all. I have another chapter for you. Hope you enjoy it! (Don't own anything but the clothes on my back, people.)
It was a calm morning in Ba Sing Se.
The Avatar and his friends were eating breakfast in the kitchen of their large home in the Upper Ring of the city.
As Aang was munching on his orange, he noticed that Katara was very quiet. She hadn't said a word since she'd gotten up. She had barely touched her food, and she was starting to worry Aang.
He turned to her and was shocked to see tears in her eyes. "Katara, are you—?"
But before he could finish, Katara got up from the table and left the kitchen, crying.
"What's with her?" Suki asked, turning to Sokka.
Sokka shrugged. "I don't know."
Toph, who had been sitting quietly to that point, suggested, "Maybe she's on her time—"
"Toph!" the entire group shouted.
Aang turned as red as the apple in Suki's hand. "I-I'm gonna go talk to her." He got up from the table and walked down the hallway, assuming Katara was in her room.
When he got to her bedroom, he was mildly surprised to find the door open and the room empty.
So he decided to look outside. He searched the back of the house, and he found Katara sitting at the edge of the stream that they had made for Waterbending.
Aang walked up to the stream and sat next to her. Tentatively, he took hold of her hand. "Are you okay?"
Katara let out a sad, shaky sigh and refused to face him. "I don't…want to talk about it."
"I think you do," Aang coaxed gently. "I know that you know, that you'll feel better. That's what you tell me."
"It's too personal," she said, sniffling.
"Oh…I understand," he said respectfully. But he couldn't help but feel curious. "You don't have to answer me, but…does this have anything to do with me?"
Katara sighed again, feeling that Aang deserved to know. "Y-yes," she replied.
He touched her cheek and gently turned her head so they faced each other.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" he asked. "Maybe I can help you."
She looked away. "Aang, I know you mean well…but please, I need to be alone right now.
"Okay," he said, "but if you change your mind, you can always talk to me."
The rest of the day was rather bleak. Usually, Aang and Katara would go on an afternoon walk, but Katara was not in the mood for it. She wasn't talking to anyone, and she wasn't doing anything other than sitting near the stream.
Aang watched her from afar for hours, but nothing changed.
Occasionally, Katara would burst out sobbing openly, and every time Aang saw this, his chest would hurt. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't bear to see her this way.
Dinnertime rolled around and Katara was still crying by the stream, so Aang offered to cook for the group.
"No, no, Aang," Suki said. "That's nice of you, but I can handle it. Why don't you go talk to Katara?"
"She…doesn't want to talk to me," Aang replied. "I tried, but she said it was personal…I don't want to intrude."
"Aang, you're the only one she'll open up to," Suki told him. "Go talk to her."
He sighed in defeat and walked outside to the stream. "Katara…"
Katara had stopped crying and was now sitting calmly, her head in her hands. Shaky sighs were coming from the distressed Waterbender.
When Aang reached Katara, he put both his hands on her shoulders.
"A-Aang? What do you want?" she asked.
He spun her around. "I want to know what's bothering you."
"I told you, it's—" Katara was cut off.
"Personal, I know," Aang said. "But you aren't going to make whatever it is go away by detaching yourself from the group."
She sniffles. "Aang, I really don't want to—"
He raised his hands in defense. "Okay. But I'm not leaving until you do."
Tears started again flowing down her cheeks. "Aang, you're wasting your time. This isn't important."
"If it isn't so important," he retorted, "then why are you crying so hard? Why are you refusing help? Don't you know what this is doing to me? I can't stand to see you like this, Katara. It's killing me!" Tears formed in his eyes, too, but he didn't care.
"Don't yell at me!" she sobbed, breaking free of his grip and beginning to storm away.
Aang took a long, deep, frustrated breath. "Katara, I love you, more than anyone or anything. Seeing you cry makes me so upset, to the point where I want to cry with you. I really want to help you, and take all your pain away…if I had the choice, I would do it in a heartbeat."
Katara stopped dead in her tracks. "You did."
"Excuse me?"
