A/N: WOW! You guys love this story so much more than New Journey. But I'm sorry, I need to work on both. I can't choose between my children like that! Smutty teens or fluffy adults, you choose! Anyway! Here is the next installment, hope you love it. I have decided that while this is going to stay fluffy for a while, it's ultimately going to end up mature rated, so teens, enjoy it while it lasts. And oh dear god... it might seem like the fluff will never end! Okay, I'll shut up now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing... but if I could own something, it would be Bolin. For myself. Read on, read on.

A loud knocking was what woke Katara up the next morning. She tossed and turned, trying to wake up fully, tangling herself in the sheets as the knock came again, louder this time. She groaned and crawled out of bed, her feet smacking against the wooden floor as she made her way from her bedroom, down the hallway and finally to the front door. The knocking began again and she interrupted it by flinging the door open. The morning sunlight blinded her for a moment and she couldn't see who was at her door.

"Do you know what time it is?" She asked, annoyed as her eyes tried to adjust to the light, the outline of a tall man coming together. She held her hand up to block the sun and a face came into focus. A face she instantly recognized and felt awful for being rude.

"Sorry, I'm a morning person. I didn't know if you were one or not..." Aang said and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He had been anxious to see her again, but not like this; with her hair around her in a wild but beautiful mane, and dressed in a silvery blue night gown edged with navy lace that was much too short to be seen in public, gripping her curves and not leaving much to the imagination... almost like liquid moonlight was painted onto her body. It took everything Aang had to look away from her, turning to the side.

"I just wanted to give you a ride to the council meeting, but I can see that you're not ready to go anywhere yet..." He said with a blush, using as much self control as he had to not look back at the scene that would forever be burned into his mind. Katara, who was half asleep, didn't realize what was wrong with this picture until she felt the cool morning breeze touch her exposed upper thighs. She made a little squeak and held her nightgown down, crossing her legs. She felt so embarrassed, but she also didn't want to slam the door in his face. She left the doorway and walked swiftly around the corner, shouting behind her.

"Please come in Aang. It won't take me long to get ready."

He did as she asked, walking through the door. "Are you sure? I can just leave right now if you want. I should have realized..."

"No. I'm sure! Just give me about five minutes and I'll be ready. Promise!" She called from the bedroom, panicking at the thought of letting him leave when she wanted to see him so badly, especially after last night.

He closed the door behind him and walked slowly through her living room. It was cozy, with a few pelts on the wall to remind her of home. There was a black picture frame on the wall with what looked like a pendant that drew his attention. He stepped up to it to get a better look and a pang of jealousy went through him. It wasn't just any pendant; it was an engagement necklace, as was the custom in either watertribe as he had learned through his travels. It was confusing to him why she would have one... and yet have her friends would set her up on dates. He thought about it a little more and realized that it was in a frame, so she wasn't wearing it regularly. Maybe it was a token of a lost love she kept as a memento for herself. That thought brought Aang more distress, the fact that she might still have feelings for another man somewhere out there in the world. He sighed and fiddled with the small vase in his hands that he had brought her, it holding a single flower. He had been holding it behind his back to surprise her, but she surprised him first. Aang continued to walk through the room, examining all of her wall hangings. There was a portrait of her standing next to a man, his arm around her shoulders. They looked very happy together, smiling as if from a joke they had just heard. The man was of watertribe decent, just like her. He wondered if this had been the man to make that necklace for her. He looked nice enough, fairly handsome, strong and tall. His hair was shaved on the sides and longer on top, pulled into a short pony tail. He wondered if she had been very happy with him and what caused the end of that era.

He heard her come out of bedroom and turned to her, smiling as he always did every time he saw her. Her hair was combed out, partially pulled back into a bun with her signature twin hair loops coming from the front of her hairline and pinned into the bun. She was dressed in similar robes as she had been the previous day, ocean blue today to match her eyes with a dark brown leather piece across her middle.

"Sorry. I'm ready now." She smiled and looked to his hands. "What's that?"

"Hmm? Oh. I brought this for you." He said handing her the skinny vase. She looked at the flower in awe. She had never seen a flower like this. It was so beautiful, white petals that curled on the ends outlined in black.

"Aang, it's so beautiful. What kind of flower is that?" She said and placed it on the little table in the middle of the room.

"It's a Panda Lily. Not very common in this area. Took me forever to find a vendor that had some." He said with a smile.

"How long have you been up?"

"Um... well... I didn't exactly go to sleep..." He said sheepishly. His head had been spinning too much and his heart just wouldn't stop racing. He hadn't been able to calm down from their amazing date and the kiss that ended it all.

"Oh Aang, that's not healthy." She said and took a step towards him, concerned.

"I'm fine, honestly. I'll take a nap after the meeting."

"Well thank you for the beautiful rare flower, it's very sweet." She said and kissed him on the cheek, making him grin from ear to ear. He looked around the room and as his eyes found the portrait his happiness was drained quickly.

"Can I ask you something, Katara?"

"Of course."

"Who is the man in that picture with you?"

"Hmm?" She said and followed his eyes to the right picture. "Oh, that's Sokka. Word is that he's going to take a place on the council when he's done dealing with everything back home. The rebuilding of the southern tribe is taking quite a while."

"So would you say that you two are close?" He asked, prying.

"Very close. I love him very much. I know I annoy him sometimes with my motherly ways, but we've always had each other's backs. It's hard being up here while he's so far away..." She said with a sad smile and looked to him, seeing a look of discomfort come across his face. "Aang what's wrong?"

"Is he the one who made you that necklace over there?" He asked softly, feeling like his whole world was crumbling down.

"What? No! That would be disgusting. Aang, Sokka is my brother!"

"Oh. Then who made you that engagement necklace?"

"Pakku."

"What?" He said and gave her a shocked look. She laughed and walked over to the necklace, touching the frame.

"Pakku originally made this necklace for my gran gran. Kanna passed it down to my mother, Kya, who passed it down to me just before I lost her in a fire nation raid. I keep it as a memorial to my mother. I used to wear it all the time, but the ribbon started to fray and I was worried about it getting destroyed, so I framed it, that way I can look to it and think of her."

Aang felt relieved and happy that he didn't have any competition, but felt sorrow for her.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I hadn't realized the war had effected you so personally. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to stop it before that happened..."

"Aang, don't blame yourself. The war was not your fault..." She said and took his hand, trying to comfort him through the pain that was clearly written on his face. " Come on, someone insisted I get up at this early hour for a reason. Let's go." She said and pulled him towards the door.

He nodded and followed, walking through the door with her. Once outside she turned and closed the door, locking it behind them. He took her hand, never getting used to the feel of her soft skin against his, and led her to Appa who had been faithfully waiting for them. They climbed up and she wrapped her arm around his. This was becoming routine very quickly and he was okay with that. They took off toward city hall, taking their time getting there. It was on the other side of the city but they were surely going to be the first to arrive. As they came to the building, they landed on the roof, Appa laying down on his belly with a loud groan. the two slopped off his head and she stumbled a bit, Aang catching her and holding her close for a second as they laughed a little. When they parted, she looked to Appa.

"Will he be alright up here?"

"Katara, it's a beautiful spring day. I think he'll be fine. Besides, I kept him up most of the night with my rants so he'll probably be sleeping through the whole meeting."

"Rants? About what?"

"Don't you worry about that. Let's go down to the main hall." He said, walking toward the roof access door. She followed and dropped the subject. He seemed to like keeping things form her and that just made her all the more curious. Yet there was a pull there. Something that held her to him. Something that made him the center of her attention. She couldn't figure it out. he held the door for her and she started down the stairwell, taking a couple turned and then finally getting down to the main level, the hall opening up into a large room with the half circle of chairs at the head. Aang and Katara looked around and they were indeed alone.

"No one's here yet... I guess the other council members aren't morning people either." Aang said and chuckled, looking to her.

"Aang, It's seven. Our meeting isn't until nine, but people will start showing up around eight. So we've got an hour to ourselves, before people start to realize you're here and want to talk to you." A little flame of jealousy burned inside of her at the thought of his attention being elsewhere, not being able to be together. She wasn't sure where that was coming from... she had only known him for a day. Aang rolled his eyes at her words. It wasn't that he didn't like people. It was just always the same; he would be given respect of the highest order, people would fawn over him and make him feel a little uncomfortable. He was a pretty humble guy so the attention was hard. He understood his responsibility to the world and why so many people held him on a pedestal, it just never settled well with him completely.

"Come sit with me." He said and motioned to the other chairs where civilians would sit in on meetings. She smiled and followed. He pulled out a chair for her again, being such a gentleman, and then sat next to her, turning his chair towards her as she sat on the side of hers, facing him. Their eyes met and they both smiled. She could stare at his eyes all day.

"So, can you give me a little bit about what you will be asking of the council?"

"You are impatient." He smirked at her, sitting back in his chair.

"No I'm not. Just curious. You're a tease."

"I'm a tease? Who answered the door half naked?" He said, making them both blush.

"Yeah sorry about that...I don't get visitors often. And when I do they are either other girls or my brother. But you woke me up too early, I get confused when I'm tired." She tried to defend and he reached across the space between them, taking her hands. Both hearts fluttered as he held her hands in his tenderly, as if he were holding something precious. He was admiring the contrast of their skin tones while she was examining his arrows on the back of each hand. They sat there like that for a what seemed like an eternity before her eyes traveled from their hands up to his face. Buttermoths flew in her stomach when she realized he had been staring at her, but couldn't take her eyes off of him. There was a silent tension between them. You could almost hear the ropes of destiny tying them together. She could certainly feel it. Feel like something about him was so different in such a way that she would know him for a long time. He felt the pull as he stared into her eyes. Her never ending ocean blue eyes that he would happily drown in. The more he looked at her the harder it was for him to bite back the word vomit that was about to erupt.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked so softly it was almost a whisper.

She nodded.

"You are absolutely the most beautiful woman I have ever met and will ever hope to meet. And I'm not just saying that. I've been holding that in since the moment I saw you."

She blushed furiously, not used to such deep adoration from anyone, especially not someone like him. She tried to play off her awkward feeling with a joke.

"Did you feel this way before or after this morning?" She said with a small chuckle but he didn't smile. One hand came up to cup her cheek.

"Katara, I mean it. You are absolutely breathtaking. And I'm an Airbender. It's kind of hard to stop me breathing." He said with a little smirk. She smiled and leaned into his hand, loving his tender touch.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me. I'd tell you likewise, but I'm sure you hear it all the time." She said and looked down, her heart racing. His hand cupped her chin so their eyes met again.

"I don't care what they think of me because they don't matter to me on a personal level. Not like you do. I'd like to know how you see me." He said and gave her a soft look, trying to coax it out of her. Now it was her turn to have word vomit. She tried to hold back but a lot more spilled out than she had planned.

"I think you are incredibly handsome, insanely charming, kind, sweet, a little daring, and a very genuine person." She said a little too quickly and he dropped his hand from her face, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? All that from just one day?"

"Yes. And I know this is going to sound completely ridiculous and selfish, but I am not looking forward to the after the meeting because I won't get to spend any more time with you. You'll be swamped by not just the council but also civilians. And I know they need your attention. You're the Avatar; you belong to everyone."

"It's not ridiculous. That's how I feel about you. I just want more time with you. To get to know you even better. I know it sounds bad that I want to just slack off my duties and just spend time with you, especially since we've known each other for such a short period of time."

"I know what you mean. I'm feeling that way too..." She said and her head felt light.

"I know it's going to be hard once everyone knows I'm here but I promise, I will make time for you. I'll find a way."

"I have no right to steal you away like that. I'm not your girlfriend or wife or anything... we're not together. We're just friends..." She said sadly and the grip on her hands tightened. Rather than being hurt by her words he smirked and looked into her eyes.

"You are a terrible liar." He said smoothly and she blushed, giving her skin that color he loved. Feeling how heavy their conversation had gotten, he tried to lighten it up.

"Back to questions, just like last night. Favorite fruit?"

"Strawberries. You?"

"Moon peaches."

They talked about likes and dislikes for an hour before someone entered the hall through the large wooden doors. He dropped her hands at the sound of someone approaching and turned to see who it was. He didn't have to wait long before a comment came across the room.

"Oh good Katara, you didn't leave this one frozen in the bay. I was a little worried about your fate Aang, I have to admit." Zuko said and walked over to them, resting a hand on his shoulder. She smiled at Zuko and Aang chuckled.

"I can't imagine our sweet Katara would ever do such a thing." Aang said, looking up to his friend.

"Don't let her fool you. If you get on her bad side, she'll snuff you out. Or at least drench you."

"Not if I can bend it back." He challenged her, making her raise an eyebrow curiously.

"That's true. I've never set her up with a waterbender before. Maybe I'll try that next time."

"I don't think you will have to set her up again." He said and stood, pushing his chair in. "She's perfectly capable of finding someone on her own." A wide smile spread across his face as he gave her a knowing look, making her smile and return his gaze. Their silent conversation put Zuko at ease. Aang faced Zuko and turned a little more serious. "There are a few things I'd like to talk to you about before the other members arrive, walk with me?"

"Of course." He replied and they walked to the far corner of the room, leaving Katara alone. She stood and made her way over to her chair on the council, sitting down and letting her heartbeat slow down. Something about Aang drove her heart completely wild and she knew he could tell, which made it all the more embarrassing. She felt like a teenager again, letting a crush settle into her heart and allowing her thoughts to completely revolve around someone she has known for less than twenty-four hours. She never got Aang back again before the meeting started. One by one the hall filled up with civilians and council members alike, Aang taking his seat in the front row just before the meeting began. He looked to her and his attention was caught, both locked in another gaze where silver crashed into sapphire. Nothing could seem to separate them, even the distance between them was an illusion. As the meeting began, his name was mentioned and most people looked to him, but his eyes were only on her. He was listening, but wouldn't want to miss a second of her beauty if he could help it. When it came time for him to come forth and speak, their long hold on each other's faces finally had to be broken. He stood before the council and a hush came over the entire room, of which was packed, standing room only.

"Respected leaders of Republic City... though the hundred year war has been over for a few years now, it has left scars in this world that may take centuries to heal. This new nation was made with the idea that benders and nonbenders of every nation could live in peace and security together as we grow together becoming one people. The people of the United Republic. However there is a missing piece to this puzzle. I am the only reprehensive of the Air nomads, the only one who can teach people my culture and try and restore that fourth piece to this great nation. There are people dwelling in this city called Air Acolytes. They are not benders but have a deep respect for my culture and want to carry on the Air Nomad traditions. However, one cannot learn the ways of my people by living in the busy city. There needs to be a place within the United Republic for them to learn the ways of my people, to truly become Air Nomads."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Avatar Aang?" Asked Councilman Tao.

"There is large rocky island in Yue bay that is not currently being used for anything. I purpose that you allow me to take that island and build the only Air Temple to be in the United Republic. A place where myself and the Air Acolytes can study the ways of my people, grow our own food, live like I did so many years ago, and hopefully, someday, train airbending."

You could hear a pin drop. Not a word was said. The council members looked to each other and Katara was in awe. She loved the idea. Especially knowing how happy it would make him. Some council members were not keen on the idea however, but were not wanting to deny the Avatar anything. Tao was one of these people who did not like the idea of the air nation receiving such special treatment.

"Alright, we'll put it to a vote. All members for the air temple construction?" Tao asked, thinking many were on his side. He was surprised when five out of seven hands raised, one of theme Katara's. He frowned and counted the hands. Sighing, he looked to Aang and nodded.

"Looks like you are going to be one busy Avatar. Your proposal is approved."

Aang smiled and bowed deeply before them, folding his hands out before him.

"Thank you for this incredible opportunity for both me and my people."

With that, the head councilman hammered his gavel and adjourned the meeting. Katara almost jumped out of her seat, getting up very quickly and walking over to him. He looked to her with a smile and held out his arms for her, embracing like old friends. She laughed a little and he let go, holding her by the shoulders.

"This is going to be so amazing! I can't wait for you to get started. I know you must be so happy right now." She said with a smile.

"I am happy. I'm ecstatic! I actually get to build an air temple. Thank you for your vote Katara, it means a lot to me." He was so caught up in his emotions that he leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek, forgetting he was in public. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the two. She blushed and looked around at everyone.

"Aang... everyone is staring..." She said, a little embarrassed but hear heart was pounding at the edges of her ribcage.

"I could care less right now. I don't care what people think. I'm just so happy I could burst!" He smiled and let go of her shoulders, Zuko coming up to them.

"Glad you two are getting along so well. Just try to keep it out of the public eye unless you want talk of you two spreading throughout the city."

Aang laughed a little and placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Thank you for the advice on the best way to approach them. I think it really helped."

"Tao is right though, you have a lot of work ahead of you. Do you have an architect ready for the project?"

"I actually have the plans drawn up already. There is going to be the main temple, men and women's dormitories, a dining hall, a library, a greenhouse, airbending training area, a pavilion for meditation, caves for Appa to sleep in, and of course the part that I will live in."

"You were not going to take no for an answer, were you?" Zuko said and shook his head.

"Asking permission was merely a formality. It's not like they could stop me."

Katara laughed and folded her arms. "You mean you were going to do it anyway?"

"Yes. It's my duty to restore balance back to the world. This is the piece that the world is missing, whether people want to admit it or not."

At this point people were starting to come up to Aang and ask him questions about the construction project, coming between him and Katara. Quickly he was swamped with people asking him a thousand questions and Katara excused herself, feeling a little sad but she had known this was coming. She walked out the doors into the sunlight, starting to make her way home. It took her the better part of an hour to finally get home, but it wasn't like she wasn't used to walking. Though flying wasn't her favorite, it was much faster... and it was with him. No sooner had she gotten in the door did a knock come from the other side. She turned and opened the blue door and smiled. There he was.

"Well that was fast. I just got home."

"I know, I'm sorry. I barely got away from all of them just now."

"It's alright, I knew this would happen."

"No, I mean I'm sorry I didn't get to do this."

He took her face tenderly in his hands and leaned down, giving her the most loving kiss she had ever received. She didn't hesitate, feeling a flame light inside of her and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Their lips melted together and it was like time stood still. When he finally broke the kiss he slipped his hands down to her arms and held her gently, both of them blushing deeply.

"That's what I actually wanted to do earlier."

"Probably for the best you didn't do that while everyone was watching." She said, feeling like her heart was going to explode. He just smiled and took her hand in his.

"I know I am going to be very busy over the next coming months, but I promise to make time for you. We haven't had our second date yet."

She smiled and looked up to him, probably the happiest girl in the world.

"I look forward to it."

"I have to go but I hopefully I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned down and gave her another quick peck on the lips before walking away to Appa, waiting on the paved street. She watched him fly off and closed the door leaning against it breathlessly. She had what was probably the silliest grin on her face and she giggled a bit, letting her heart take flight completely. She looked around the room and saw the panda lily, a sweet memento of him and the time she spent with him so far. She took a book off of a book shelf that had empty pages and took the flower, pressing it in the pages so she would always remember this flower and that day that had come with it. The day she admitted to herself that she was entirely in love.