Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Author's Note: I just wanted to mention that I watched the 4 new episodes of Kim Possible over the weekend, and I have to say that Kim and Ron are very cute as a couple, and their relationship allows the writers to pursue some plot lines that wouldn't be possible otherwise. I'm really happy with Disney for sort of bucking the television trend and keeping them together. Anyway, I'm glad people liked the last line of the previous chapter. I thought about adding a little bit after that, but I decided it was best left the way it was. This is a companion piece to Chapter 15, inspired by Tech-Man's use of the word "wound" in his review.

Tale of Tech-Man

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
--I Corinthians 13:13

"What do you think they're talking about?" Aang asked. Katara followed his gaze to where Sokka and Toph were sitting on the beach.

"I don't know," she answered, returning her attention to her patient. "To be honest, I can't really think about anything but you." Aang's eyes flickered back to meet hers, but he didn't seem to have any response to this.

"Let me see that wound," Katara commanded, trying to be clinical. She turned Aang over to view the burn left by the lightning that had nearly killed him. He didn't resist, and his lack of interest troubled her. "I might be able to heal it, but it won't be easy. And I don't think your tattoo will ever be the same."

"Just leave it," Aang said flatly.

"What? Why?"

"It'll be a reminder of my failure," he replied, turning back over. He gave her a small smile, but there was no humor in it. "Zuko has his scar; now I have mine."

"Don't compare yourself to him," she snapped, a little more harshly than she'd intended. "Ever." Aang looked startled at her vehemence. Something that might have been jealousy flickered across his face, but it was gone before Katara could be sure.

"What exactly happened between you two?" Aang wondered aloud.

"Nothing. I thought, maybe…but I've never been more wrong."

Aang studied her carefully, biting his lip as he considered something.

"His uncle said there was good in him," he offered. "He's a very wise man; maybe he was right."

"You don't understand! I almost used the spirit water to heal Zuko's scar! If I had, then I wouldn't have – you'd be –" Katara broke off, throwing her arms around him. He felt so frail in her arms that she found herself bursting into tears. Again. She'd probably cried more in the last two days than in the previous year, and while she hated herself for it, she couldn't seem to help it. "Promise me I'll never have to see you like that again."

Aang's hands had been stroking her hair and back consolingly, but they abruptly stopped, clutching at her convulsively instead.

"You know I can't promise that," he murmured. When she pulled away to look at him, his gray eyes looked suddenly ancient, weighted down with the dreadful burdens he carried, and that probably broke her heart more than anything else.

"I know," she agreed. "But…I almost lost you. I don't know if I can go through that again. Aang…I love you." Somewhat ironically, Katara's fear of not getting the chance to say this to him gave her the courage to do it. She wasn't sure how long it had been true, at least in this particular way, but when she had watched Aang fall from Azula's strike, there had been no more room for doubt. A flurry of emotions chased each other through Aang's eyes before settling on love and, oddly enough, guilt.

"I love you, too, more than you'll ever know," he admitted quietly. He looked away. "Maybe more than I should."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't master the Avatar state because I couldn't give you up. I put my feelings above everything else. This is all my fault." Tears began running down his face as Katara struggled to comprehend what he was telling her. He'd placed her above the world? A fresh wave of crying started for her, too, but she managed to keep her voice steady when she spoke.

"I don't understand all of this, but love isn't a weakness, Aang. Love kept me going after my mother died – remembering the love of my mom and dad, even when they were gone, and sharing love with Sokka and Gran-Gran and, eventually, with you. If you don't deserve some love in your life, who does? You've already lost nearly everything. Why would anyone want to take any more from you? I don't want to live in a world so cosmically unjust!" Finally running out of words, she fell silent. Aang had returned his gaze to her, and she saw his eyes fill with a new strength and determination.

"You're right, Katara," he said, sitting up straight. "Even the guru said that love is a source of power. Maybe I misunderstood something. I don't want to lose you, either. I love you."

Smiling through her tears, Katara bent to hug Aang again and planted a kiss on his cheek, but somehow, that wasn't enough this time. Shifting a little, she touched her lips to his. Although she would never be able to remember the sensation later, she had the undeniable feeling of something clicking into place, something that had been planned for a long time. When she broke the kiss, she moved to sit beside him.

"I believe in you," she told him. "As long as you're still here, and you can still love, I think there's hope."

"You know, Iroh told me I was wise to choose love and happiness over power," Aang remarked, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Like you said, he's a very wise man."

--

Author's note: I probably wrote enough dialogue for three scenes like this, so I re-wrote it several times in my quest to decide which parts to keep and which to cut. I actually cried while drafting Katara's long speech, so I hope my readers find it moving, too.

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Thank you to IGAF-kun and Dakyu for reviewing Chapter 16.

White Fuzzy Ears: Okay, seriously, I don't have the faintest idea what I said that led you to say the things you did in your last couple of reviews, and I'm really not following. Maybe you need to get more sleep?

MormonMaiden: I have no problem sharing you with Sokka.

SnakeEyes16: Yeah, I don't really know how Maiko will play out in the series, but I have to believe it was introduced for a reason. I actually had a lot of fun writing these.

Tech-Man: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you were pleased by this one that you inspired.

Kumori Doragon: I'm finding the supporting characters like Mai quite fun to play with specifically because the show leaves a lot open to your imagination. It's so interesting to think about what might be going on inside her head.

Kimbalynn616: Well, yeah, Serpent's Pass, plus the finale, like where Toph wrapped her arms around Sokka's arm riding Appa, and how she used earthbending to push Ty Lee away from him later.

Chaos Overlord: I'm really glad you've enjoyed this series, but I'm afraid you'll have to look to someone else for Tokka make-outs. I'm trying to keep all of this within the context of where the show is right now, and I just can't see Sokka really being interested in Toph until she's older. He's shown a preference for older women thus far.

Avatarwolf: Yes, Mai was excited. It had to happen some time?

Aangtheavatar: I know what you mean…Sokka/boomerang? How about Earth King/Bosco? Actually, I don't object too strenuously to any ship that doesn't contradict Kataang, although I'm not really into the yaoi/yuri stuff (slash).