Aang approached the main entrance of the Fire Nation palace. He was glad that Sokka, Suki, and Toph had let Katara greet him alone first. They understood that he needed her right now. He needed the girl he loved. He opened the door of the main foyer.
"Aang."
Aang watched his name fall from her lips. He saw Katara's ocean-blue eyes deepen to sapphire and begin to shine as tears overcame them. He watched the girl he loved freeze in place, rigid with what appeared to be shock. Aang looked longingly at the trembling lips that he so desperately wished he could kiss.
"Uhm, hi, Katara," he said and cautiously began moving toward her. He was lucky to have quick reflexes because if he hadn't braced himself, Katara's lunge toward him would have knocked him to the floor. Tears dampened Aang's neck.
Still relatively surprised by Katara's tackle hug, Aang took a moment to wrap his arms where they comfortably fit around her waist. He was contented to hold her in his arms, cooing and comforting her, though the sobs that wracked her body were rather disconcerting. He rubbed his thumb against her side while his other hand resided on the back on her head.
"Shh…It's okay, Katara." She raised her blue eyes to meet his gray ones.
"It is not okay," she managed to say through her sobs, "You could have died, Aang. You could've died and then I never could have told you…" Her words trailed off and she buried her face into Aang's shoulder, sobbing again.
"It's alright," Aang said, "I'm here. I'm perfectly fine. You can tell me." Aang chanced a kiss to her temple, all the while hoping that Katara would tell him that she was in love with him. It was far-fetched after what had happened at Ember Island, but his hopes of wooing her remained alive.
Katara looked up at him again, blinking away the tears. She managed a small smile. "I'm a mess," she half-heartedly laughed, wiping some of the tears from her eyes. Her head fell to Aang's shoulder once again. "I was just so worried about you, Aang, and I was upset because I didn't like how we left things," Aang's heart fluttered with hope. Perhaps having Katara's love was not so far-fetched of an idea. "I mean, I was shouting at you the last time we spoke!" Oh, she was talking about that argument.
"Katara, you know that doesn't matter. You know how I feel about you. You could feed me to a platypus-bear and I'd still love you."
Aang gasped and panicked. He didn't know how those words managed to fly through his lips. Oops, he thought, I kind of just told Katara that I loved her. He bit down on his lip hard. "Katara, I…"
"I know," Katara said as Aang began his explanation. Katara kissed Aang's cheek and Aang's cheeks reddened as he hugged her tighter. Aang breathed more slowly, practically holding his breath in the hope she would instantly reciprocate his feelings. He felt her take a quick breath, as if she were going to speak.
"We should get you to bed," she said. Aang's heart fell.
"Yeah, okay," he replied half-heartedly. All he really wanted to do was stand her in her arms. "You should get some sleep too, Katara."
"Come on," she bade him. A happy grin took the place of her tears but her eyes remained swollen and red. She untangled herself from Aang's embrace and grabbed a hand instead.
"Wait," Aang demanded before she could start to lead him away.
"What?" Katara asked. Worrying crossed her face. With a deep breath and a stroke of courage, Aang immediately took her waist and sealed his mouth to hers. Aang rejoiced as Katara leaned into his embrace and the kiss. As they parted, Katara studied his face. "Aang, I…"
"I know." Aang said with an air of confidence. Katara's willingness to kiss him proved it. She did have feelings for him and now that the war was basically over, she had no validity to reject him.
"Come on, Katara. Let's go." He offered his hand. With a smile, she ignored it and wrapped an arm around his waist instead.
"Lead the way, Mr. Avatar."
