A/N: Wow! You all love this one so much! Thanks for all the reviews everyone. I love you all, you have no idea how much those reviews mean to me! here is chapter two that was very much requested! hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Bryke owns it all.

The moment the two stepped through the door, the whole place seemed to stop what they were doing and stare at her and the Avatar. He seemed unphased, she thought to herself that this must be normal for him everywhere he went. She was absolutely not used to the attention and became shy, letting him lead them to a table that was far away from people. She let go of his arm as he pulled out the chair for her, giving him a small bow of respect as she sat down, then he sat across from her. Everyone was still staring and it was making her uncomfortable, as Aang could tell.

"They'll stop looking in a few seconds." He said softly, trying to encourage a conversation to bloom between them once more. She engaged him.

"How are you so calm?" She asked, her eyes darting around and giving little stare-offs to the few who still dared to look.

"I'm not. I just don't care about them right now. I'm not out to dinner with them, I'm here with you. So you're my focus." He said so simply, completely unashamed of how he sounded.

She blushed and met his eyes, silver crashing into ocean blue, and it was like the rest of the world didn't matter. She wondered if he had this effect on all women while he wondered how she was single, completely captivated by her beauty... how that blush along her dark skin made her look unreal, like she was a painting. She wasn't looking away from him this time, feeling a pull toward him she had never felt toward anyone before.

"I hear you go through this a lot." He said with a smirk.

"Go through what?' She asked, lost.

"Being set up with strange men on dates."

Buttermoths took flight in her stomach and her blush deepened. She blinked in disbelief. "Do you count this as a date?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know later." He said with another smug smirk. She wondered if he was this smooth and quirky at the same time all the time.

"You'll be surprised to know how many people we have in common."

"Really? Like who?" She asked, amused at the fact that anything could connect them.

"Zuko was my firebending master. Toph my earthbending master. Pakku was my waterbending master..." He trailed off, knowing her connection to all three.

"That's right. Pakku trained you shortly before he moved back down to the southern watertribe and then I became his new apprentice... it seems something you said made him change his life for the better..." She said softly.

"I didn't appreciate that the fighting side of waterbending was limited only to men. I found that sexist and unfair. Just as much as men were not taught to heal, something I still can't do."

"Well, I became a Master at 14, in both healing and waterbending." She smiled, proud of her accomplishment.

"I know. From what I hear, you are the best healer in the world, and the most powerful waterbender there is..." He said, looking her over curiously. She didn't take compliments well and she looked down at her menu. "I would love to see you bend sometime." She blushed again and laughed nervously.

"It's nothing for you to see. You're the master of all four elements... what could my bending possibly look like to you?" She said shyly, folding her hands in front of her.

"Katara..." She looked up at his voice, loving the sound of her own name coming from his lips. "When someone bends, they are showing the world who they are, especially when they give it all they have. I want to see you bend because I want to see who you really are. Your spirit is shown through doing what you love doing. And from what I've been told about you, nothing makes you happier than waterbending..." She was dumbfounded that he would even be interested in her and giggled a little.

"What other lies has Zuko told you about me?"

"It's not a lie. I can tell when people are lying." She said and folded his arms.

"Ah, so you know Toph's trick. Very clever..."

"It's not a trick. It's just another form of earthbending. For example, your heart rate hasn't slowed down since the moment you realized who Zuko was setting you up with."

Her heart dropped and she looked completely embarrassed, her heart only pounding faster. He laughed and leaned forward, putting his arms on the table.

"Please don't be embarrassed, if it makes you feel any better, my heart is racing every time I look at you." There it was again, a genuine statement that he should be ashamed of but wasn't.

She closed her eyes shut and shook her head a little, feeling childish. She opened her eyes again and looked to him.

"Okay, so tell me more about you, since you know so much about me. The person behind the title. Tell me about Aang."

"Like what? That's pretty vague."

As she was about to ask a waiter came up to them and asked what they would like. Katara piped up first, unable to take her eyes off of him again. "One order of arctic hen with a bowl of five flavor soup please, and he'll have the dumplings with rice."

He didn't acknowledge their waiter but smiled to her. "Ordering for me? That's not very traditional." He laughed. His smile was infectious.

"I know what most of the air acolytes eat here and that's what they say is the best."

"When Zuko left me in your care, you must take that literally."And with that he gave a nod to the waiter, who departed and left them to talk.

"Favorite color?"

"Right now it's blue." He said before he could stop himself. "You?"

"Silver." She answered automatically. They both blushed as they looked at each other's eyes. Aang thought to himself that this was most definitely a date.

"What about those tattoos? They must have a story." She pried, being nosy.

"It's the mark of an airbending master. The pattern follows the flow of chi through my body. The one from my head goes down my back and splits into two separate ones that run down my legs to the top of my feet."

"That must have hurt..." She said, showing a caring tone she hadn't for him before.

"I was fine. They gave me some special tea for the pain. These tattoos are very important to my culture. Any pain I did feel was worth it."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

"Wow... that's amazing. You beat me by two years.

"Well, the whole Avatar thing didn't hurt. I even invented a new airbending move. I'll show it to you sometime." He said with a smile, curious to know more about her. "What do you do for fun around here?"

"You mean when I'm not being forced to date people I don't know and not in meeting?" She said with a laugh and he smiled, chuckling a little. She thought about it and came up with a pathetic answer. "Honestly not much. I stay home mostly. Usually Toph and my brother are busy."

"That's probably why Zuko is so desperate to find someone for you. You have no idea how much he worries about you, Katara. It's probably half of what we talk about."

"I don't need him to worry. I can take care of myself. Wait, how long have these conversations about me been going on?"

"Oh, I'd say a few months..." He said and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling bad for ratting out his friend.

"Oh no... and to you of all people!" She said and motioned to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean why would the Avatar care if a friend of a friend is having dating issues! I mean, come on! That's the last thing you need to worry about." She said and hung her head in embarrassment, letting her hands fall flat on the table. He slipped his hand on top of one of hers. She opened her eyes to look at their touching hands, feeling her own heart race again.

"I care because Zuko is very close to me. He is one of my very best friends, and you are one of his closest friends, Katara. Anyone that important to Zuko must be worth my time. I've been wanting to meet you for a while..." He gazed into her eyes and put his on her hand on her open one, holding both of her hands. She looked back at him, feeling buttermoths in her stomach again. She wondered how he was so charming and real at the same time. Before she could respond their food arrived and they broke hands, letting their plates be laid out before them. She let out a puff of air, blowing some stray strands of hair out of her face. They both looked happy about their dinners and dug in. It was a little while before one of them spoke again.

"These are some of the best dumplings I've ever had. They remind me of home."

"See? When someone is left in my care, I don't disappoint."

"No, you don't." He said softly, giving her a look that made clear the double meaning of his words.

She swallowed a piece of hen hard and smiled at him, a little nervous. She was usually so calm at these dates Zuko set up. She couldn't figure out if it was because she was out with the Avatar... or if it was just Aang being himself. Either way she couldn't help but feel very drawn to him. Everything about him was welcoming. He was so handsome, nice, playful... and she was actually enjoying herself. She put her chop sticks down and leaned forward.

"So... what exactly do you have in mind with this constriction project of yours?"

He shook his head with his mouth full, chewing and swallowing half a dumpling before speaking, minding his manners. "No more can be said until tomorrow. You'll have to wait just like everyone else. I'm sorry."

She pouted and it almost broke his heart, seeing a frown on such a beautiful face.

"Please, don't do that. It will be worth the wait I promise. Let's just talk about us while no one knows I'm in town. Who knows if we'll get a chance like this again."

The thought struck her and somehow it hurt, that fact that this may be the only time they have together. She was confused by the pain. She barely knew him, yet she was growing attached to him very quickly. "You're right... tell me three things that not everyone knows about you, but that you're willing to share."

He thought for a moment, getting another dumpling in and a few groupings of rice before answering. "Alright... I am a very good cook, I like to watch the stars when traveling on Appa, and... I never wanted to be the Avatar..." He said the last one very quietly, stuffing another dumpling into his mouth and washing it back with some tea.

She didn't know how to respond. She was floored. "How could you not want to be the most powerful person on the planet?"

He sighed and folded his hands in his lap. "Because it was a huge responsibility to put on just one person... I just wanted to be a simple kid like all my friends... but everything changed when they told me... everyone saw me as a different person, they didn't see Aang anymore."

She saw the sadness in his eyes and felt bad for even asking. "Aang, I'm so sorry. I won't bring it up again."

"No, I'm sorry. We're supposed to be having fun and I had to bring up something... displeasing." he said and took another swig of tea. She wrapped her hand around his this time.

"We're getting to know each other... everyone has pain. Some more than others..." She said softly and lovingly, gripping his hand. He smiled meekly and looked to her eyes again.

"Katara, you are everything Zuko described and more..." He smiled again and put his cup down, slipping the hand she didn't grasp into his robes and leaving 10 large gold pieces on the table, plenty to cover their meal and give a very generous tip. "Why don't you show me more of the city?" He said standing up, letting go of her hand and waiting for her. She nodded and stood up, taking his arm again as they left the little restaurant. Once outside he reached into his robes again, pulling out a little Appa shaped whistle and blowing into it. It was closer to 6pm now, the sky getting darker.

"What's that?" Katara asked, still hanging on his arm.

"A bison whistle." he said, putting back into his robes.

"Does it really work? I didn't hear a thing." She said with a small laugh. As soon as the words came out of her mouth the giant bison appeared with a roar, coming down and landing in front of them.

"That answer your question?" Aang replied with a laugh, leading her over to him.

"I can show you around without flying..."

"But it will be much faster and a much better view." He said and airbent himself onto the back of Appa's head, holding out a hand for her. "I'll go slower this time, I make you an Avatar promise."

"I bet you said the same thing to the last girl you dropped too." She said and took his hand anyway, letting her body be pulled up next to his.

"I have never dropped anyone! Especially not a girl." He said, a little offended.

"Probably because she was smart enough not to get on!" She poked him in the chest, expecting him to laugh.

"No, you're the first to ride on Appa..." He said, mildly embarrassed.

"Really? What about Toph?" She asked, unbelieving.

"She refused to go where she couldn't see..."

"No fangirls?"

"Appa is special to me. He's my companion, not my chafer. I don't let just anyone ride with me... besides, I don't exactly like fangirls. They're nice and all, but they just want to be with me because I'm the Avatar, not because of who I really am." He said and looked over to her, gauging her response. She was touched and felt privileged, wrapping her arm around his.

"Let's go then. I'll show you everything from the sky." She said with a big smile, hoping to make him happy too. She did and he loved the feel of her arm around his, taking the reins and saying the words that launched them into the sky. Katara's grip grew tighter around his arm, still out of fear, but laughed this time instead of shrieking, waiting for them to be up high enough before starting to point and name buildings and areas. He looked to her, and saw her mouth moving, but all he heard was the blood pounding in his ears from their close contact. After they circled the city for the fourth time, about an hour later, he interrupted her.

"Where do you live?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Over there, at the edge of Yue Bay. The one with the blue roof. It's not too far from a great inn, just over there, the big one with a red and gold roof." She said and pointed accordingly. "In my opinion, that's where you should stay. It's not the most fancy, but you strike me as a low key and humble kind of guy."

He nodded and took her down to her home, landing just outside her blue wooden door.

"It's getting late. You should rest for the meeting tomorrow." He said and slipped off Appa, holding a hand out to her which she was quick to take, letting him help her down. She smiled and didn't let go of his hand as they walked the short walk from the road to her door. When they reached their destination she smiled up at him.

"How old are you Aang?"

"Technically, 120. But 20 if that creeps you out."

"Ah, that explains why you want to get rest so early in the evening."

"You should too, it's what a responsible leader of this city should do."

She laughed and shook her head. She wasn't exactly known to be the stay up late at night type either, but this was early even for her.

"I'll see you tomorrow..." He smiled and grabbed her shoulders, leaning down and giving her a very soft but sensual kiss on the lips. She eagerly returned his kiss, feeling how warm and gentle he was. His head was spinning, he couldn't believe he was actually kissing what seemed to be the girl of his dreams. And suddenly his lips were gone. She opened her eyes and he was already on top of Appa, ready to sail off into the night. She smiled, a little flustered, and turned the knob to go into her house, but the calling of his voice stopped her.

"Katara... thank you for a wonderful first date." He said with a grin and was off, flying to the inn where he would stay that night. Her heart quivered and she barely got into her house and the door closed properly before his words hit her correctly.

"Wait, what do you mean 'first'?" She asked out loud to her dark empty house.