Yay! It's finally updated!
My apologies for the very late update, but after the last chapter, I had writers block on this one. I didn't know how to stretch everything I had said about the ring into a whole chapter. And I don't know enough about girls' hair-styling techniques or perception into the female psyche to have a lot of writing on Katara, either. I needed a quick break to brainstorm.
So to make it up to my readers, this chapter is longer than usual.
While I was on my 'break,' I wrote some other things to spread some ideas out and keep people entertained. 'The Life of a Monk' and 'Kataang Purge: The Drabbles' If you haven't read them yet, go do that now.
And here's some more randomness for you. Avatar Roku. 'Roku' means 'six' in Japanese. The first time Roku is a major character is in 'The Winter Solstice (part 1)' And that episode just so happened to be the 6th time the show aired, if you take into consideration that the first 2 episodes aired on the same night. Coincidence? Maybe…
Some of you might not like this, but I found it necessary. I'm not writing out Aang making the ring. I tried, and it was one of the reasons I haven't updated. It was… difficult. So 2 hours have gone by, and Aang's finishing up the ring and getting ready for the big night.
Still don't own it, but if I ever come across a large inheritance, it will be mine!
Ch.18
After about two long hours and lots of earthbending and chiseling, Aang had nearly completed his gift for Katara. He was in the process of solidifying the filling for the engraving. He had to do it at a slow pace, and he couldn't attempt to freeze it or it would crack and melt.
Once he was satisfied with his work, (and seeing how it was for Katara, 'satisfaction' meant 'perfection') he placed the ring in his sash (I noticed that's where he puts money) and began heading back towards the camp. A thought crossed his mind and he got sidetracked. He decided to make a quick detour through the field full of Panda Lilies.
I never actually got to give one of the lilies to her… She tackled me to the ground before she took it from me… I guess I'll give her 2 gifts instead of 1.
Aang made his way back to the field and carefully selected a small bunch of the rare flowers. When he believed that the bouquet looked well enough, he started returning to the campsite. Every step he took, he began getting more and more nervous. He was constantly checking his appearance, constantly checking to see if his ring was still in his sash, constantly checking to make sure that all the lilies had all their petals and that the stems weren't being crushed in his grip.
By the time he was back at the campsite, he was sweating bullets. He even laughed quietly to himself about it. The way Katara affected him… Even when he had nothing to worry about. Okay, so maybe there was something to worry about. Along with the ring, Aang was planning on asking Katara something very important. (Not marriage, that's unrealistic) And he was terribly afraid of what her answer would be. His mind told him not to worry. He himself couldn't be more scared in his life.
He reached the edge of the campsite, and then remembered that Katara had wanted to take a bath. He found it safest to ask if she was decent before he got any closer.
"Um, Katara?" He called out. "Is it alright to come in?"
"Yes, Aang. It's okay." Aang heard her from somewhere near their tent. Aang took a few more steps, and quickly adjusted his collar to be straight. He took a deep breath and held the flowers up. He stepped out into the campsite. Whatever good his deep breath did was just lost.
Aang gasped and went wide-eyed at seeing Katara standing before the tent, and another sparkly moment (fortuneteller episode) occurred in Aang's mind. It was the first time he had really ever seen Katara in a different hair style, and it was working for her. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back and shoulders in a light wave, the color of her hair accented by the shine of the setting sun. Aang stood there and completely forgot everything he planned out. The only thing he could say was the only thing on his mind.
"Wow…" Aang was still gaping, mouth hanging slightly open.
Katara smiled at his reaction. "Is 'wow' good?"
"Very… Good…" Aang tried to force himself out of talking like a dead guy. "You look amazing!"
Katara couldn't help but grin. She began walking forward to greet him with a kiss, but stopped when she saw the small bouquet in his hands.
"Flowers? Aren't you old fashioned…" She asked, the large smile still gracing her face.
"Well, what'd you expect? I'm over a hundred years old." They laughed together then shared a kiss. It had only been a couple of hours since they last saw each other but they both agreed in their minds that it had been far too long.
When they pulled away, Katara took the flowers, but not before Aang picked one out of the bunch and placed it in her hair. He took a moment to admire her, wondering what it was that he did that made him so lucky as to have this opportunity, to finally tell her how he felt, and to have her feel the same way. There must have been a great spirit that liked him…
"You're so beautiful." He sounded so serious that it startled Katara. He could be so far beyond his years at times… Even for 113.
"And you're so handsome." Katara put every ounce of meaning and sincerity behind those words. She saw him get a little smile at the compliment, and she smiled in return. They kissed briefly again.
When they pulled apart, Aang took both of Katara's hands in his own.
"Well, the sun is setting and the night awaits. Shall we begin the festivities?"
"What are we celebrating?"
Aang smiled. "Love. Friendship. Each other."
Katara smiled widely and threw her arms around Aang. Aang wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You're way too much of a romantic, you know that?"
Aang smiled again. "As long as I'm not a hopeless one."
The couple laughed together once more. Aang walked over to a large pile of wood that the two had collected earlier that day.
"Umm, Katara? Could you step out of the camp for a minute? I, uhhh, I want to light the fire."
Katara was about to protest, about to say that he didn't have to be worried about firebending around her. Just as she was opening her mouth to speak, Aang gave her a sad, pleading face.
"Please, Katara. I just… I want to be sure that I don't hurt you again. It still scares me to firebend around you. What happened that day… I can't forget it. Please. Just step out for a minute."
"Aang… You don't have to be scared. I forgave you a long time ago. And if you hadn't burned me, I would never have learned how to heal."
"That doesn't make it better. It was just a side effect. I can't let myself hurt you again. This is already too big a step. I vowed to never firebend again, and I was planning on keeping that vow."
"Aang, if you don't-."
"Please Katara!" He yelped. "I know you mean well, but stop! Every time I think of firebending, I remember the look that you had on your face when I accidentally burnt you. You looked so scared and hurt… After you ran off, I wanted Sokka to beat my face in. I felt so terrible about what happened… I never want that to happen again. So, please. If I'm gonna firebend, I don't want you to be anywhere near it." Aang was pretty much near tears now. His voice was getting shaky towards the end.
"Aang… It's okay…"
"No, it's not okay. When I saw that I had hurt you, I felt like I wanted to die. It was so hard seeing you cry like that because of me… You were so scared that you ran away… You were running away from me. Remember that I already had feelings for you by then. I meant what I said about not firebending anymore. If I have to choose between fulfilling my destiny as the Avatar and making sure that you are never in that much pain again, I'm choosing the second one."
"Aang, you can't ignore your destiny because you're afraid of hurting me."
"I can try. It's true that I have a duty to the whole world. But I also have a duty to you. And you beat the rest of the world hands-down. So what don't you understand? The part where I love you too much to risk having you in that much pain again, or the part where I love you so much that I won't allow you to be in that much pain again?"
"You can't put me before the rest of the world, Aang. You have a war to end. You're the Avatar. If I accidentally hurt you during waterbending practice I wouldn't give up on waterbending."
Aang sighed. "Katara… You didn't see your face. You were so scared. You were scared of me. I asked you to trust me with your life. And you did. You left your home to come with me. And what did I do? I betrayed that trust. I hurt you. And I hurt you badly. I wanted you to yell at me or scream at me. I wanted you to water whip me face. I deserved everything that you and Sokka could have thrown at me. But you didn't. I got to go without any punishment and I shouldn't have. What I did wasn't right and it's still on my conscience. I'm still dealing with it and I'm still making up for it. I can't handle putting you through all that pain and fear again. I love you too much to do that."
"Aang…"
"Katara, we shouldn't argue. Tonight was supposed to be a good night, remember? So let's let it be what it was supposed to be. Now, do I light the fire or don't I?"
Katara looked at him for a moment. Not angry, not disbelievingly, but concerned. She knew that Aang had some problems with firebending but he had never told her why or to what extent. Now that she knew, Aang didn't want to discuss it. She thought that he had gotten over the worst part of it, but it was made apparent to her that there were long-term effects involved. She nodded and retreated to the edge of the campsite. Aang waited and made sure she was well out of harms way before he began.
Aang turned to face the pile of wood. He had no idea how this would work, but he had to give it a shot. He focused on his breathing and looked at his hand. Soon enough a flame appeared in his palm. He clenched his fist and punched towards the pile of wood.
-BANG!-
Large fireball, explosion, sharp pieces of wood went flying in all directions.
Katara gasped when she heard it. "Aang!" She cried out, running towards where he was lying on the ground. He began to pick himself up. He got on his feet before Katara got to him. He was grasping his lower arm.
"That's why I didn't want you around here…" He said through gritted teeth when she got to him, obviously in pain. He let go of his arm, revealing a slab of wood embedded in it. Katara winced when she saw it. Aang grasped it and pulled it out fast.
"Didn't that hurt?" Katara asked, wondering how he could have pulled that out of his arm without even making a sound.
"Yes, very much." Aang said, still gritting his teeth.
Katara bended some water out of the nearby stream and it wrapped around her hand like a glove. It began to glow lightly. She began to move it towards his wound, but he forced it back.
"Katara, no. This one's gonna heal on its own." He said. He bent down and tore a piece of fabric off of his pants leg. He wrapped it around his arm and tied it tightly, making sure that there was plenty of pressure being applied to the wound.
Katara was surprised that he pushed her hand back. "Why?"
"I need this. You healed my arm the day that I hurt you. I'm not gonna let you heal this. I told you, I need to make up for putting you through all that pain and fear."
"Putting yourself through pain isn't going to fix anything."
"Probably not. But I told you that I deserved punishment. Now I'm getting it. Don't worry. It's not that bad of a wound." Aang moved his arm around to test out his bandage. It fit well. "I'm sorry I pushed your hand away. But you have to understand. I need this. I owe it to you and I owe it to myself."
Katara was quiet for some time. "You're going to have to firebend around me eventually. You're gonna have to face this issue."
Aang looked at her. Katara looked into his eyes; they always seemed to tell what his mouth wasn't saying.
When she looked, she saw a great pain. Not a physical one, but an emotional one. A psychological one. It seemed like burning her had done more damage to him than he said. Perhaps it was because it couldn't be said. She herself couldn't find a word to describe what such a pain could be described as.
"I know I'll have to. But I'm not ready yet. Master Jeong Jeong tried to tell me I wasn't ready. But I didn't listen. I'm listening now."
Aang looked away, wondering if he should say the next thing on his mind.
"Are… Are we still doing the date? This was kinda like our first argument and…"
Katara laughed pretty loudly when she heard him. "Of course we are. In case you forgot, I love you, too. One stupid fight won't change that."
Aang smiled and kissed her softly. She was beginning to return the kiss when Aang pulled away.
"Not yet. You said you were building up the mood for tonight. So wait for tonight. It'll make it more enjoyable."
"Mmmm, it is 'tonight'."
Aang smiled. "It is, isn't it? But, wait. Since we have no fire, looks like we need another place to go. C'mon."
Aang extended his non-bandaged arm for her to take his hand. She did and he led her through the island until she could hear the crashing of waves.
"I found this place while I was waiting for you to finish up with your bath. I figured that we could have a pretty good view from here."
They pushed through the last grouping of trees. Aang looked at Katara, waiting for a reaction. A smile made its way onto her face.
"This place is beautiful…" Aang had led her to the western side of the island, to an amazing beach. The sand was soft and white, the clear blue waves crashed onto the shore, and the setting sun could be seen on the horizon.
"Yeah… I thought we could watch the sunset here. It looked so pretty… It reminded me of you."
Katara smiled at the unexpected compliment and sat down, pulling Aang with her. On his way down he stumbled and fell over, landing with him on top of Katara.
"Well, you get to work fast, don't you?" She joked.
"If you like it that way." He responded seriously. He got off of her and sat next to her. He remembered that he still had to give her the ring.
"Katara? I need to ask you something…" He started out rather shyly.
"What is it, Aang?"
"I, uh, I realize that I really haven't asked you this formally yet… And truth be told, I'm kinda nervous…"
"About what?"
Aang took a deep breath and pulled the ring out of his sash. He placed it in his hand and closed it, making sure that Katara didn't see it. He took her hand and gazed into her beautiful azure eyes.
He struggled with the pain but forced himself to take Katara's hand with his other, wounded, arm.
"Katara…" He held out his other hand in-front of her and slowly opened it. Katara saw the ring and her breathing hitched.
"… Would you be my girlfriend?"
Yay! Happiness and stuff! And the best part, I know how to follow this up so I'll be able to update earlier! Yay!
So are you happy? I updated. I know, it took me long enough. But the important thing is that it's up, right? Right.
Review time! Yay! I like 'yay'!