Hey, everyone! You didn't think I'd leave you with a cliffhanger, did you? Enjoy Part II!

No, I don't own Avatar: The LastAirbender.


"Excuse me?"

Aang was confused. What was Katara talking about? If he had actually taken away all the pain she had been suffering through all day, why was she still crying? Why hadn't she even looked at him all day?"

"Don't you remember what happened…a year ago today?" Katara asked.

"Uhh…no," he replied, confused.

She took a shaky breath. "I-it was so scary, Aang." She clung to him.

"Katara, I don't know what you're talking ab—"

"Y-you were…gone," she whimpered. "I-I never felt so scared…in my life."

"What are you—" And then, Aang remembered.

Crystal catacombs. Aang and Katara were battling Prince Zuko, Princess Azula and the Dai Li. Unfortunately, the heroes were losing the encounter, so Aang had decided to resort to the Avatar State.

The Avatar barricaded himself within a crystal pyramid, where he meditated and unlocked the chakra necessary for him to voluntarily trigger the powerful Avatar State.

But as he rose into the air, Princess Azula extended her index and middle fingers, an evil smirk plastered on her malicious face.

Before Katara knew it, she was racing to catch the smoking, falling Aang. And as she propelled them away from the underground battlefield, Katara had feared the worst for Aang…

"Oh, my gosh," Aang breathed. "That was the day I—"

"Don't say it…" Katara told him.

"But, Katara, I'm okay," he assured, "thanks to you. I'm perfectly fine."

"I know," she said shakily. "B-but if I hadn't been there…you could've—you could've—"

"Don't think about that," Aang said. "You were there." He wrapped his arm around her waist. "And I'm right here."

"I-I just c-can't help it," Katara stammered. "Aang…the last time I had felt so scared and sad…was when my mother died. You're…everything to me."

"I…am?" Aang's eyes widened a bit. Had she really cared about him that much, even then?

She finally looked up at him. "Of course you are," she told him, bringing a hand to his cheek. "If I'd lost you back there…if you had never come back to me…I don't know what the world would have done." She paused. "What would I have done?"

He brought his hand up to hers and laced their fingers together. "You would have found a way to win the war…and you would have fallen in love with someone, and you would have been happy." He kissed her cheek.

"But I wouldn't have been happy," she insisted, "without you."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I'm here," Aang said. "And I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

And then, for the first time that day, Katara's lips curved up into a small smile.

Aang smiled back. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better," Katara replied, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. "Thank you…"

"Anytime," he said. Still hugging her, he stood them up and pressed his lips to hers for a brief couple of seconds.

When he pulled away, he started to walk her back inside. "Come on, dinner's getting cold."

"Wait," Katara said.

They stopped moving. Aang looked at her with an interested expression on her face.

Katara smiled a little shyly (which Aang thought was a bit abnormal for her). "I'm just really, really glad that you're still here. You make me so happy, and…" She hugged him. "…I love you."

Naturally, Aang happily returned her embrace. "I love you, too."

"Please…don't ever leave, Aang," she told him.

He grinned from ear to ear.

"Never."