Title: The Cycle Continues
Author: Selu
Topic: The war is over, however not without some sacrifices.
Rating: T
Pairings: Implied Zutara, with some one-sided Kataang
Warnings: Character death
Disclaimer: I'm still working on the ownership thing.
I wanted to be there for her so much.
I couldn't, but he could. She had been there for me since we first met at the South Pole. She was like no one I had ever seen before. It seems like so long ago. Oh, how we had grown up! From the time we went penguin sledding, to the Battle where everything was finished, to the blood beneath me, to the tears streaming down her cheeks as she looks over my broken body, everything has changed. She did love me, just not in the way I loved her, or the way she loves him. As she looks over me, she reminds me of the pain I experienced when she told me that she loved me, but as a friend. I don't hate her, though, no, I don't even hate Zuko. I wish the best for both of them; I just wish it could have been me. "Aang," she chokes out over her tears. It hurts to reply but I need to say good-bye.
"Shh," I croon, "It's okay. I'll be reincarnated. Maybe we'll see each other again." I know how slim the chances are, but I need to comfort her. She doesn't believe it either; she just shakes her head back and forth. "Can you do something for me Katara?"
"Anything Aang."
"Smile for me." Through her tears, a weak smile emerges. Even though the pain is unbearable, I smile back. I don't want to remember her like this; I want to remember her happy and smiling. "Thank you Katara." I see her smile as the pain slowly fades away, with a kind of soft darkness replacing it.