Back again. Enjoy, but please forgive the corny ending.

As always, I do not own ATLA.


Aang hated waking up early to go to meetings. Often, he and Zuko would be gone before anyone else in the palace was awake, and he hated the fact that he couldn't spend time with the rest of his friends until the evenings, when he was exhausted. But there was one thing that the young Avatar liked about being up so early, and that was watching the sunrise. He would sit in the garden every morning, by the turtle-duck pond, and watch the orange sun slowly peek out from below the horizon. It was a great setting to simply think, about his life, about his friends, about Katara—usually about Katara—about anything that didn't have to do with the state of the world. That would come later (as in, ten minutes before the start of the meetings).

This particular morning, though, Aang found someone else sitting in his special thinking place, and it wasn't Zuko. No, it was Katara, clad in a soft satin robe and tossing little chunks of bread int the pond for the turtle-ducks to eat. She looked up upon hearing footsteps and, upon seeing Aang, smiled. "Hey," she said simply, patting the spot next to her on the bench.

"Hi," he replied. "You're up early."

She shrugged. "I saw you here through my window yesterday and thought maybe you'd be back today."

"I come here every morning," he said, sitting next to her. "I like to watch the sunrise. It gives me some time to just think."

"What about?" she asked curiously.

Even in the dim light of dawn, Aang's blush was clearly visible. "Well, uh…you, mostly," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Katara blushed also. "Yeah?"

A shy smile came to his face. "This may sound dumb, but honestly, the sun reminds me of you in a way. Before it rises, everything is dark and cold. But once it does rise, it warms and brightens everything up. Like you do to me."

Aww. A warm grin spread across her features. "Aang, you're sweet," she told him. "I never knew you thought about me that way."

He was about to say, I've thought about you in any possible way you can think of, but upon second thought, that sounded perverted. But it was, shamefully, true. Boys will be boys.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he simply smiled wider and said, "It's true. You always make me so happy, Katara, you have no idea."

She seriously considered just grabbing him by the collar of his robes and showering him with dozens kisses. But she fought the urge, feeling it would ruin the simplicity of the moment. So instead she simply rested her head on his shoulder, smiling at the small gasp he gave from the intimate contact. Even though it had been nearly a month since they'd first gotten together, she loved that she still had such a strong effect on him.

Aang swallowed hard, blush reforming. He was still really jittery when it came to physical manifestations of their relationship, and Katara found it completely adorable (he, however, found it a little unsettling). He had it so bad for this girl. Just a simple hug was completely subduing him—how was she always able to make him feel this way? He felt…pliable. Mushy.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked after a few seconds, snapping Aang out of his lovesick trance.

He blinked, heartbeat still not fully under control. "O-oh, yeah, sorry. I was just…thinking."

"About me?" she inferred.

ALL THE TIME. No, don't be cheesy, stupid! "That's awfully vain of you, Katara," he chided teasingly, a silly smile on his face. "What makes you think that?"

"I know you, Aang." She smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Rolling his eyes, the Airbender surrendered. "Okay, okay. Yes, I was thinking about you."

"You always do that," she stated. "You're the Avatar…don't you have the state of the world to worry about? That's a little more important than daydreaming about me, isn't it?"

You are my world. He mentally slapped himself for thinking so sappily and shook his head. "I come out here to get away from all that chaos. It's my escape, you know?" He gestured all around him. "Look at this beautiful garden, at the beautiful sunrise in front of us. There are no problems here, just peace and quiet. Nothing to worry about." Then he paused, a goofy smile flashing across his features. "Besides, I'm twelve, and a boy. Aren't I supposed to be daydreaming about girls?"

They laughed, their echo resonating pleasantly around the picturesque garden setting.

"But, anyway," Aang continued, "I was thinking about not just you, but…what you do to me." His soft smile faded and morphed into an anxious, uncertain expression. "It's hard to explain, but you don't just make me happy. You make me…nervous."

"Oh. Is that…bad?" She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around her. Was she doing something wrong?

"N-no, not…entirely. I just don't know what I'm doing. It's all new to me." He chuckled in spite of himself. "I-I don't really know how to act around you anymore. You always seem to know what to say, or what to do, and I just feel awkward."

Katara giggled. "Actually, Aang, I have no idea how to handle myself, either. I don't know what made you think I did." She detached herself from Aang so she could look at him when he answered.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you're a lot more…composed than I am. You just seem so…sure, and I feel like a puddle of mush whenever I'm around you. It's kind of embarrassing. It's like the sun again—if you're exposed to it for too long, you get all red and…sweaty."

"I think you're overthinking all this," she said with a small laugh, snaking an arm across his shoulders in an attempt to put his nerves at ease. "I know how you feel. Things are different between us. I think we just need some time to get more comfortable about all this."

"Yeah, you're right. It's hard, though," Aang replied. "I mean, you're…you. You're so kind, and caring, and beautiful, and…it's hard to measure up to all that."

Katara blushed again. "Thanks, Aang, that's sweet, but…you don't have to measure up to anything. I love you just the way you are." She kissed him briefly on the lips to emphasize her point.

His eyes initially widened at the loving gesture, but soon enough, he relaxed, closing them and melting submissively into her arms. Her taste, her scent, her mere presence overwhelmed his senses, filling his heart with a bubbly warmth that could only be described as true, unconditional love. And, much like the warmth he was now feeling on his back from the rising sun, it brightened his whole day.