Hello, readers! In case you hadn't noticed, there have been some changes made around here. I've removed some of the weaker material from a few years ago. Sorry for anyone who actually enjoyed them…I just couldn't stand them. I had to get rid of them; I hope you understand.

Anyway, enough of that. This chapter is…interesting. I like it, but I'm not sure if I like it, you know? You guys can be the judge. Or…judges, I guess.


Time passed, the frantic activity following the end of the war gradually slowing in the ensuing weeks. An official peace treaty between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes had been signed and approved by Avatar Aang after six arduous weeks of negotiating. No such agreement had come from the Earth Kingdom, whose king was planning his own notion to restore balance to the world.

In the meantime, life in Ba Sing Se was coming together quite nicely. Aang and his friends had been given a large house by the Earth King himself as a display of gratitude for the kids' integral role at bringing a century of carnage to an end. The house was located a short distance away from the Jasmine Dragon, which was reclaimed by Iroh and had regained the unofficial title of the city's best tea shop. The young heroes found themselves at the Jasmine Dragon quite often because of its close proximity, and they had made quite a few memories there—especially in the cases of Aang and Katara (of course).

Life was good. Aang had his daily meetings with the Earth King and his cabinet of delegates, but (unlike the meetings in the Fire Nation immediately following the war) the schedule was accommodating to the Avatar's age and ability to remain focused throughout the negotiations. There was no waking up before sunrise and being up until midnight. The atmosphere was productive and respectful—even friendly—to Aang's surprise and relief.

What was even better was that the young Airbender wasn't required to attend every single meeting. King Kuei, unlike all the stuffy Fire Nation diplomats, knew that some smaller issues could be solved without the help of the Avatar. So, every so often, for the first time in over a hundred years, Aang was completely happy. The world was at peace, he had mastered all four elements, he had even won the heart of the girl he loved…he had no problems.

Well…almost. Being twelve, nearly thirteen, years old meant that certain biological processes were beginning to take place. His voice, while still high and childlike most of the time, occasionally broke and made him sound like a possum-rat. He was starting to smell funny at the end of the day—and not funny in a good way. One morning, he even noticed a small hair above his upper lip, which he quickly shaved away with the tool he previously had only used on his scalp. There are other details that I should probably spare you on, so we won't discuss them, but to make a long story short, Aang was growing up, and not very gracefully.

Frightened by these new things happening to him, Aang shied away from Katara in the couple of weeks leading up to his thirteenth birthday. Of course, this did not go without notice from the girl, but she brushed it off as him being busy with important political business he'd rather not trouble her with. Which was partially true, but she didn't know the whole story.

Aang definitely knew why his body was tormenting him, but that didn't make it any less scary. What if someone got too close to him after he came home from a stressful day of meetings? What if his voice cracked in the middle of an important speech during a meeting? And worse, he hadn't kissed Katara for a whole week since the lip-hair incident! (Actually, that created even, um…bigger problems, but, again, I'll spare you the details.)

So, he simply avoided everyone. He would stay in his room most of the time he was home, and whatever he did, he didn't dare get too close to anyone.

This kept up until the actual day of his birthday. Kuei had been kind enough to give Aang the day off, leaving the boy to what he thought would be a day spent locked up in his room all day. And, for a while, it turned out to be that way. He woke up, bathed, ate breakfast, and retreated to his bedroom, where he read over a rough outline of the proposed "Harmony Restoration Movement" for an hour or two, before a loud knock on his door made him jump.

"Hey, Twinkletoes! You've been holed up in there for weeks on end! Now, come out here before I break this door down!"

"U-uh, hold on a second, Toph," Aang replied hesitantly, not wanting to be amongst his friends who would probably ridicule him, but not wanting to have to fix his bedroom door. Thinking quickly, he came up with a poorly planned excuse. "I'm…changing my clothes."

The blind girl snorted. "No, you aren't! I can't see you, but I can see you, remember?" Oh, right. Seismic sense. Wait, did that mean that she could see him when he was changing his clothes? "Come on, your guardian angel here wants to make sure you're still alive," Toph said. "Do I have to smash this door into a million pieces and drag you out here myself?"

No…no, she definitely didn't need to do that. He stood up and walked toward the door before remembering the paper he had in his hands. He decided he should probably put that away so it doesn't get lost. "All right, Toph, just let me—"

BLAM!

The door then split in two and fell down to the floor, revealing Toph in an Earthbending stance and a large rock protruding from the floor.

"So you broke down the door anyway…then what was the point in trying to get me to open it myself?" Aang asked, a bit annoyed at the blind girl.

"There wasn't one. I just like to break things." She smiled proudly.


Aang walked into the main room of the house and was greeted with a loud, "SURPRISE!" that nearly knocked him over. Orange and yellow streamers were put up all around the room, and along with the usual quartet of friends he lived with, King Bumi, Chief Hakoda, Iroh, Zuko, Pipsqueak, and The Duke were all present.

A surprise party? Aang hadn't been told of a—oh, wait…that was the whole point. "Oh, wow…thanks a lot, you guys! I didn't think my birthday was that big a deal. Actually, none of the Air Nomads did."

"Well, luckily for you, we're not Air Nomads," Sokka replied, clapping a hand excitedly on the younger boy's shoulder. "So let's party! Happy birthday, buddy!"

Aang smiled at his friend's enthusiastic reply, saying, "Thanks, Sokka," before the inevitable thought of, Oh, no, can he smell me sweating right now? popped into his head. He gulped, knowing that this was going to be a long day.

Well, he wasn't sure how, but Aang managed to make it to sunset without anyone pointing out the small hair he could feel on his chin if he put his hand on it, or telling him how awful he smelled, or making fun of how squeaky his voice was. He had actually managed to have some fun. Even if the Air Nomads didn't celebrate birthdays, Aang decided that there was no harm in it. So he had a good time joking and playing games with his friends. Though he still kept his distance from Katara. In the back of his mind, he knew what was going on with himself and he definitely didn't want her taking notice. But by nightfall, the Waterbender had enough of him avoiding her, so she came up behind him and grabbed at his hand.

Spinning around, Aang smiled and said, "What's—o-oh, hi, Katara."

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Are you okay?"

No, no I'm not! I'm sweating like a boarcupine and I know you can smell it! "Yeah, fine," he replied quickly, hoping she would leave him be so he could get back to joking around with Teo.

"Um…can we talk? Outside?" she requested. Oh, that was not what Aang wanted to hear.

Not wanting to bring unnecessary attention to himself, the Airbender sighed. "Okay, sure."

When the pair reached the front porch of the house, where they were alone, Katara immediately said, "Something's up with you. Why are you avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you?" Maybe playing dumb would get her off his back? As much as he missed her, she couldn't know his secret—it'd surely freak her out!

"Yes, avoiding me. I'm not mad at you, Aang, I'm worried. Is there something you're afraid to tell me?" she prompted.

Yes! But don't tell her that! "Well…" No, you idiot, now she knows something's up!

"It's okay, Aang. I'm not going to laugh at you or tell anyone if it's a secret or anything. You can tell me," she coaxed.

"O-okay." He took a deep breath before deciding to stop stalling and get it over with. "Do you think I smell bad?"

Perplexed, Katara made an odd face and leaned close to him. "No, you smell like you. Why would you think—?"

"Because I fee—" His voice cracked, producing a frequency he was sure only Appa would find pleasing. "Ah! That too!"

"Aang, what are you talking about?" she asked. "You're making no—oh." Smelling bad, voice cracks, anxiety…right. Katara realized exactly what Aang was spazzing out about. She willed herself not to laugh as she looked at the poor boy's crimson face and simply said, "I know what the problem is."

He gulped. "Y-you do?"

She nodded. "Trust me, you're not alone. I'm sure the monks must have had a talk with you about puberty, right?"

Just the sound of the word made Aang cringe. Yes, he had learned about that dreadful word. He nodded miserably.

"Look, Aang. Everyone goes through what you're going through," Katara explained to him.

"I know, but that doesn't make it any easier!" he replied. "All these weird things are happening to me. I sound like a door hinge that needs oil, I have hair on my face that wasn't there before, and sometimes I smell like Sokka's dirty laundry! Doesn't that make you want to stay far away from me?"

"No," she replied simply. "Sokka went through it, too, and he still is. You're only just starting, so you're still learning how to manage it. I understand completely, and so does everybody else. You have nothing to worry about."

"So…you don't think I'm weird or gross or something?" Aang asked, still a little uneasy.

"No, Aang, I think you're perfect." Yes, it was cheesy, but Katara knew with all her heart it was true. She put her hands on his shoulders. "Want to know something else?"

Having been put at ease a bit, he smiled. "Sure, what?"

She put her forehead against his, making him blush adorably at the intimate contact. His eyes were directly level with hers. He sure grew fast! "You're as tall as I am now," she told him.

"O-oh…yeah, you're right." Maybe this growing up thing wasn't as bad as Aang had made it out to be.

Pressing her lips to his, Katara realized to her delight that she no longer had to bend down to kiss him.

After a few seconds, Aang pulled away. "I like that…no more standing on my toes to reach you."

Giggling, Katara replied, "Aw, but I'm gonna miss that. You were so cute!"

He feigned hurt, pouting. "You mean, I'm not cute anymore?"

"Nope." The girl turned around and walked back inside, calling after him, "Come on, you have presents to open!"

Aang's face was pricelessly dumbstruck. "Not even a little?"


How many times do I have to tell you I don't own this show? Don't you think after 60 chapters of disclaimers, it's implied!?