A/N: Let's see… where did we leave off? Oh… that's right…

He smiled up at her, "I'm glad you like it." He could feel himself being drawn to her, his heart thundering in his chest and his throat dry as a bone. Her mouth was so close to his that he could taste it, her breath sweet and hot on his lips. She leaned into him, only a space of breath separating them…

Moondance

His breath caught in his throat, heart racing in anticipation, every cell in his body jittering with his anxiousness. He closed his eyes, ready to finish the small amount of space that was separating her lips from his.

But when he felt Katara's body stiffen in shock on top of him and heard her gasp sharp and dry, he opened his eyes right as she screamed…

"Aang! Lookout!"

A brief look of confusion raced across his face before he leaned his head upwards to see what it was Katara was so focused on that had caused her sudden change in composure.

He had to bite his tongue not to curse out loud as his eyes met with Avatar Yangchen's stony gaze. "Hold on!" he instructed as he veered the glider up and over the tall statue, narrowly missing his previous life's memorial.

Katara grimaced, burying her face once again into the soft yellow fabric of Aang's tunic. It wasn't until she felt her boots reconnect with the stability of solid ground that she dared to loosen her grip or open her eyes.

"Katara…" Aang closed his glider and placed his hands on her shoulders steadily, "I'm so sorry. I should have been paying attention." He paused, nervous for her reaction.

A grin made it back into his features as he heard her chuckle and then look up at him with a smile. "At least one of us was!" She jabbed his side jokingly as she moved out of arms, trying very hard to hide the blush of her cheeks.

Aang laughed nervously, "Sorry. I guess I got… distracted." He grinned, only serving to deepen the blush she wore as she smiled back at him.

A rather awkward silence followed, in which they both averted their gazes from each other abruptly. Aang suddenly found his feet to be very interesting as Katara's eyes stayed situated on her hands. She jumped slightly when she heard the same chattering sound that had started their adventure earlier. Soon her curiosity outweighed her embarrassment and she peered into the opening of the archways that lined the courtyard where they had landed. "Aang, is that-?"

"It's kind of weird huh?" he asked suddenly, cutting off her thought. He must have noticed her scanning eyes, because before she knew it, he was walking towards one of the buildings near them, "The first time I heard it I thought I was dreaming."

"What is it?" She asked, moving to follow him. He turned and motioned for her stop before she could take a step.

"Just stay there," he instructed with a smile, "You'll see…"

Katara sighed, knowing better than to intercede with what he obviously wanted to be a surprise. Had she known better, she would swear he had this whole thing planned out…

Aang disappeared into the shadows of the old monastery, and only then did she take the time to let out a slow even breath and rid her cheeks of their crimson color. Even without the pulling of the moon's power, the glider experience had been almost celestial. Her arms wrapped around Aang's body, the wind in her hair, the beauty that surrounded them…

"Close your eyes!" Aang's voice broke her thoughts, and she shifted her position.

"What?! Why?" she called back, peering into the opening. She could just make out Aang's silhouette. It looked like he was carrying something…

"Just do it!" he laughed, calling back.

"Aang!" she whined halfheartedly. "First you tell me to open my eyes, and now you want them closed?! I wish you'd just make up your mind!" She joked as she did as she was told, closing her eyes and covering them with her hands to emphasis her point. "There, they're closed!"

She sighed as she heard footsteps approaching. They stopped abruptly right in front of her. "Hold out your hands," he told her softly.

She gave him a 'whatever-you-say' look and, again, did as she was told, waiting for who-knows-what to be placed in her hands. She felt him reposition her hands they way he wanted them, and then paused, "You ready?"

"Ready for what, Aang? Honestly, is this really necessary-"

Her words died off abruptly as she felt Aang drop a soft, furry, moving object into her outstretched hands. She gasped, a smile spreading across her face as she popped her eyes open almost immediately.

"Aang! It's… it's…"

"It's a baby lemur," he finished for her with a smile in his eyes as he looked down on the resting animal.

Katara was at a loose for words. She could only smile, tears springing to her eyes as she looked at Aang with an awe of wonder. There was something about him that changed - almost softened - as he looked down on the tiny creature.

Hope. She could see it in his eyes and it was something that he hadn't always had when they were kids. It was something that she frequently had to instill in him as he took on the duty of saving their world and mastering the elements. But as he looked down at this tiny being in her arms, his eyes shown brightly with hope, his smile only adding to that light.

"Aang…" she started, for the sake of saying something. But she soon discovered she didn't really know what to follow with…

Aang didn't take his eyes off the sleeping lemur as he spoke quietly. "I had thought they were extinct. I thought that Momo was the last one. All those years I searched…" he paused to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in the back of his throat. "I was so sure that after Momo… was gone… that a flying lemur would just be something you read about in a history book."

Along with the Airbenders… Katara thought forlornly. Aang didn't say it, but she knew he was thinking it as well.

Suddenly, he met her eyes with his own, "But I was wrong Katara. There were more. Hiding in the shadows, out of plain sight… They were here all along!" He smiled, causing her to do the same. "Momo found them in one of the temple's dormitories when we were here one summer working. Just think…" he paused, turning his eyes to the temple skies and then back to her, "If the lemurs made it, maybe there's sky bison hiding somewhere too! Maybe-"

"Maybe you're people are hiding with them," she finished for him as she found her voice once more. She met his enthusiastic smile with understanding. "This is amazing Aang! I would have never dreamt it to be possible." She sighed, looking down at the baby lemur, "But here it is…"

"Here it is…" Aang repeated her sentiments as he followed her gaze and turned his eyes back to the baby lemur.

Aang couldn't remember a time in his life that he had been so happy or felt so complete. The day had gone a little off his original plan - the impromptu gliding and near-crashing was case in point – but for the most part, it seemed that perhaps Sokka did know what he was talking about when he said it had to be something special. Katara's worried frown and distant eyes that started their trip had been easily replaced with an excited smile and almost youthful expression.

Sokka's idea of taking Katara to a place she would never forget had blossomed into what was quickly becoming a perfect scene for a confession of love. Aang had instantly thought of the Southern Air Temple as the perfect locale, and after Sokka suggested he take her somewhere romantic and enchanting, he couldn't think of a better place than the wildflower field near the wind-pipe tower. He was so anxious for what was to unfold that he had to constantly remind himself to breathe, lest he suffocate in his own anxiety.

But all it took was one look at the starry eyed reflection of Katara's smile as they entered the bloomy meadow, and every nerve unraveled into smiles and charm…

"Oh wow…" Katara breathed in a hush of her own voice. "I never knew so many colors existed!"

Aang smiled for the countless time at the look of wonderment in her eyes. "The monks used to say there's a flower here for every color of the rainbow."

It seemed that perhaps the monks were right… For in the acres of blooms that covered the lush meadow, the various shades of oranges, blues, reds, pinks, greens, every color Katara had ever dreamed of, reflected off the setting sun's rays and beamed with radiating brilliance. Each flower seemed to change color as the sun sank lower and lower against the horizon, giving the allusion of constant movement of shades, an ocean of color. The breeze that wafted through the field only added to the surreal feel of the meadow…

Katara turned to Aang, laughing. "How do you do it?" she asked suddenly.

"Do what?" he shrugged his shoulders in question, though he was fairly sure what her curious eyes were asking him.

"This!" she laughed, twirling in a circle with her arms outstretched. "How do you keep doing this?!"

Aang smiled affectionately at her as he watched her continue to laugh and spin. Suddenly, he grabbed one of her hands and twirled her into his body. Katara shrieked with laughter as the back of her shoulder flung against his chest.

"Aang," Katara sighed in content before turning her eyes up to his, "This is just so… unbelievable!"

"Unbelievable?" Aang asked with a boyish grin before twirling her back out the other direction.

"I keep thinking that this must all be a dream," she said with a smile in her eyes. "It's all just so… perfect." She paused to narrow her gaze at him, "You had this entire thing planned out, didn't you?" she teased.

Aang grinned before dropping her hand. "Would it be any less perfect if I did?" he asked with a slyness he didn't often use as he started walking towards the center of the field.

Katara smirked, shaking her head slowly as she followed him. Suddenly, a familiar bloom caught her eye. Aang continued walking on ahead of her as she bent down to inspect the flower in question. She instantly recognized it as the mysterious addition to the moonlily bouquet Aang had left in her office. With timid fingers, she picked the bloom from its stem and held it up to her nose, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar scent of the white pedals with the blue border. The blue border that Aang said had reminded him of her eyes...

"Aang?!" she called out as she stood up, offering the flower up so that he could see it. "What is this one called?"

Aang smiled with a gentle blush as he recognized the flower she held, "I think the monks called that one 'Ocean Spray'."

She reflected his smile, blinking back her emotions as she tucked the flower into her hair. "I think it's my favorite," she said as she walked towards him, grabbing his hand in hers and squeezing it affectionately as she planted a small kiss on his cheek. "I never told you thank you for the flowers you gave me."

She hesitated, giving him ample time to feel the heat of her lips against his cheek again. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, sending a shiver from his skull to his tailbone.

Aang swallowed his hesitancy, "You're welcome," he whispered back, fully aware of the fluttering butterflies that were suddenly occupying his stomach.

The setting sun had sunk low enough into the horizon that Katara's skin was practically glowing with an eerie mix of tan from the sun and ethereal silver from the moon. Suddenly, he remembered the first reason he had even brought her into the field and a huge grin spread across his face in excitement.

"Katara," he started eagerly, startling her from her thoughts. "Do you remember the first time I brought you here…" he paused long enough for Katara to nod. "You told Sokka that he was lucky enough to be one of the few 'outsiders' to see the Southern Air Temple."

Katara chuckled, "As always, his stomach was the only thing on his mind."

Aang nodded with his own chuckle before continuing with a more subdued expression, "You were right, you know. When I was growing up here, most of this mountainside was considered sacred land."

Katara nodded understandingly before gasping lightly and looking down at her feet.

Aang laughed, "Don't worry. You're more than qualified…" She opened her mouth to object, but he continued on before she could intercede, his eyes turned back towards the air temple. "There used to be a… well, I guess you could call it a tradition." He turned back down to her, changing his train of thought. "Did you know that every day at sunset, there's a change of the winds that signals the moon spirit that night has fallen?"

Katara nodded faintly with a thoughtful expression, "My Gran Gran used to tell me something about it… She used to say that without the wind, we would loose the moon."

"She was right." Aang grabbed her other hand so that she was standing right in front of him, "Just as the sun disappears, the winds change their course and if you're really still and quiet…" he paused, his words soft and careful as he continued "…sometimes you can hear the wind telling the moon to shine."

Katara smiled at the thought, and looked up to Aang's soft somber features. She had almost forgotten how intuitive he was to these sorts of things, and she opened her mouth to tell him so. However, the distant sound of a low steady ring suddenly caught on the breeze and interrupted her sentiments.

As the ring got louder, she looked up to Aang quizzically. He had his eyes closed and was smiling a reminiscent smile. He must have felt her gaze, because he suddenly explained, "It's wind pipes. The monks built them as a part of the temple to signal the passing of the winds. Everyday at sunset I used to come here as a kid and listen to them."

Katara smiled with a new understanding as the chimes got louder still and began changing tones. She noticed that sometime in the past minute or so, the sun had completely disappeared below the mountainous ridges that encased the small meadow. "The music is beautiful. I've never heard anything like them."

Aang opened his eyes and grinned, "That's why I brought you here. This is the first time I've listened to them with someone else." Suddenly, still holding both of her hands, he spun her around so that her back was to his chest and her arms were crisscrossed in front of her. His hands still clasped hers tightly as they found a comfortable spot on her hips. He drew a deep shaky breath and whispered in her ear, "And I wanted it to be you."

Katara sighed and melted into his arms with a smile she didn't know she was wearing. She could feel his heart beating methodically against her back, and it almost seemed to thump in time to hers that raced in her own ribcage. Suddenly, she realized that they were swaying back and forth slightly, as if dancing.

Aang breathed deeply once more, looking up the sky just in time to see the moon come to life and light the meadow in a cool pale glow as the dying sun's orange light dissipated around them. As the chimes died off as well, he closed his eyes and bowed his head so that his mouth was close to her ear. With a short prayer that he wouldn't forget the words to the song that Sokka had spent all day teaching him, he started singing softly:

"Under stars and the moon

I can hear your heart's tune.

Will you give me just a chance?

As the soft gentle breeze

Pulls the leaves from the trees

Can I have this last moondance?"

Katara gasped softly, and turned her face up to meet his with a smile. Although his voice was shaky and quiet, the words of the lullaby hushed in her ear and she instantly recognized the tune of her mother's song. An image of her mother's face, obscure but beautiful, blanketed her mind before it was instantly replaced with a picture of her and Aang sitting by the hearth at her house, watching the fire and making small talk. Suddenly, she remembered she had been humming the tune to that very song the first night he was back before she had realized that she wasn't alone in the room… Unshed tears collected under closed eyelids as she suddenly understood the meaning of "tears of joy".

Aang suddenly spun her back around and with a charm and confidence neither of them knew he possessed, he guided her hands around his neck and put his comfortably back on her hips. With a soft smile in his eyes, he leaned his forehead against hers and started swaying back and forth in their previous dance. Katara smiled and struggled to find her voice as she accompanied him in the last two verses…

"Under a dark midnight sky

With the moonlight in your eyes

I am yours and you are mine

In my arms you will be

Like the sky and the sea

And share this moondance with me."

The last word rang clean and clear in the night sky as Aang stopped leading the dance and brought one hand to her chin. With the stars blanketing the nigh sky and nothing but the sound of the wind on the flowers, he gently lifted her chin and brushed his lips across hers in a soft kiss.

He drew a deep breath. "Katara…" he hesitated so that he could open his eyes and look into hers, grey skies meeting ocean blue, "…I love you," he whispered against her mouth as his hand moved up her jaw line.

He instantly felt every cell in Katara's body lighten and relax into him, almost deflate, as if she had been waiting for him to say those words for years before she took her next breath. With a soft sweep of his hand, he brushed his palm against her cheek as his fingers found their way into her hairline. "I've waited so long to tell you this," he whispered, his breath soft and warm on her face. "I love you Katara."

It was only after he paused long enough to breath normal again that he realized she hadn't said anything yet. His palm was wet and he could feel her unbroken sobs racking in her chest. "Katara?" he asked hesitantly as he pulled his forehead from hers and lifted her gaze to his.

Her eyes were bright with the night's reflection on unshed tears and her cheeks warm and red. The smile she wore didn't match the spilt tears that were staining salty paths down her cheeks. "Aang…" she paused to breathe as Aang brought his hands to her face and wiped her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "It's been… so hard," she whispered. "You left. You left me and you promised to come back."

Aang's expression easily conveyed his guilt and regret, "Katara, I'm s-"

Katara's finger against his lips stopped him from apologizing again, "No. Please don't. Don't apologize." Aang nodded, though a little confused, as she brought her finger from his mouth. "You were only doing what you thought was right."

She paused to collect herself and swallow the lump in her throat, "I was so lost without you, Aang. I couldn't explain it. It was like a part of me was missing… Everyday you didn't come was another day that you were gone. For six years I just went through the motions of living, not really knowing if I would ever see you again…" The tears sprang back to her eyes at the painful memories. "It was almost unbearable…"

Aang nodded sympathetically, remembering his own lonely nights and swollen eyes. "Katara, being away from you was the hardest thing I ever had to do," he smiled as an attempt to lighten the mood. "And I've saved the world!"

Katara returned his smile as the light found its way back into her eyes. "I didn't understand it then. I didn't understand why I felt so empty all those years. Even being back home with my family and friends, I felt so alone… It wasn't until you came back that I realized..."

She brought a hand to his face, cupping his cheek in her palm. "I'm in love with you, Aang."

Upon hearing those words spoken with such resounding emotion, Aang instantly pulled Katara into him, planting his lips against hers in a wave of passion and fortitude. She was surprised at first by his boldness, but immediately matched the motion of her lips with his as they shared a lover's embrace under a blanket of stars.

A/N: Sappy? Yes. But oh well! I like it! I did something I haven't done in a long time for this chapter, I wrote song lyrics. I wish there was a way for you to hear the tune in my head that I wrote them to, but that would require mind reading (and that's dangerous territory!) :)

Anywho… thanks for reading and don't forget to review!! Next chapter will be the wedding and will probably be the last chap.