Sorry all. I've been a quite busy with work and family issues. And my job is finished for the rest of the summer so I'll have more time to update. Woo hoo!

Aang smiled at the sounds of rustling plants and the soft padding of feet. Katara was approaching, the full moon was high in the dark sky, and the knowledge that he would be seeing his love sent his heart racing. He could feel the cold from the stone bench he was laying on seep through his clothing, causing him to give an involuntary shiver.

"Katara…" He called out to the soft rustling of foliage in a loud whisper. Her properly clothed form emerged from the depths of a bush, and Aang smiled at the stray leaf that had nestled itself among the waves of her hair. She gave a frustrated sigh as she dusted the twigs and leaves off of her sleeves.

"I have no idea how you got here without stumbling around as much as I did…" she began, eyeing his tidy appearance, "but you sure know how to pick a private spot." Aang sat up from his position, making room for the water tribe girl. The light from the nearly full moon hanging above them gave her features a pale glow and he resisted the urge to kiss her all over.

"It's just one of my many talents." He replied with a childish grin, resting an arm around her shoulder. As Katara leaned her head over onto his shoulder, he took to the chance to snatch the leaf out of her hair and stuff it into his pocket. She let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion and contentment, and Aang could've sworn she instantly became lighter, less weighed down by the world. The garden they had met each other in was enchanting, peaceful, and somewhat cleansing, the avatar had to admit. The flowers surrounding them were clamped closed for the night but graceful vines circled every grand tree, and an untouched stream meandered between the plants.

Aang could see Katara's fingers twitching and fidgeting. The moon was nearly full, fuelling her need to waterbend, her want to control her element.

"I've got an important question to ask you…" he began, releasing his hold on her shoulders and kneeling in front of her. Katara suppressed a giggle at the sight of him on his knee, the moonlight reflecting off of his bald head. His large grey eyes laughed along with her and he gently began to remove her shoes.

"Would you…" he stood up, removing his own shoes, "join me in a waterbending session?" She laughed at the seriousness of his face and gave an enthusiastic nod. The two of them stepped into the stream, the water barely reaching the middle of their calves. The water was surprisingly cold and Katara could see Aang's toes curling in the mud in response. Powered by the mysterious forces of the moon, Katara heaved a large orb of water from the stream, gracefully weaving her arms through the air. The water orb shimmered in the moonlight, and if you looked through it, the deep greens of the surrounding plant life were magnified. Katara playfully darted the water between Aang's legs and around his waist. But just as he was about to raise his arms into a stance and seize control of the water, he was fully splashed in the face, the orb of water no longer. Trying to blink through the running water seeping between his eyelids, he blindly groped around, attempting to reach for the waterbender.

It was easy to find her; he wrapped his arms around her form that was bent over in loud laughter. He found himself chuckling too as he finally rubbed the water from his eyes and waterbended the moisture from his clothing. Katara's hair smelled clean and flowery. Or was it the surrounding plant life? Aang couldn't be sure.

They stood together, once their laughter ceased, Aang's lean arms draped around her thin waist and his chin resting on her shoulder. A snake-bird flew over head, it's hissing being the only sound the two could hear. The water began to settle as they stood still together, and Katara bit her lip. The moment was so tender and serene; in the past she would have never been able to imagine herself in such a sincere embrace.

"Aang?"

"Katara." She compromised her position so that she was facing him, his arms still anchoring her towards his waist.

"I've got to go back to the South Pole."

"WATER! I NEED WATER!!"

"Would you STOP SCREAMING IN MY EARS?! I'M BLIND, NOT DEAF!"

"Why does all Fire Nation food have to be so HOT?!" The grand dining room doors rattled at the intensity of Toph and Sokka's shouts, servants franticly rushing in and out of the room, desperate to quiet the demanding diners. Toph and Sokka sat beside each other on one side of a very long, messy table. Half-eaten platters of food littered every space on the table. The napkin tucked in the collar of Sokka's shirt did little to catch the onslaught of crumbs and hot sauces. Toph ate neatly, but generously, never quite able to shake the horrendous table manners that had been drilled into her from a young age. Between the two of them, they ate enough to feed half a nation, never failing to irritate their servers with their rambunctious banter.

Toph laughed open-mouthed at the sounds of her water tribe companion sucking in his breath as he swallowed a spoonful of hot stew. His desperate shouts for water began again as the blind girl continued to laugh at his apparent pain. Her toes wiggled at the vibrations of a very miffed servant stomping towards the table and slamming a pitcher of water onto the surface. Sokka simply ignored the rudeness and began to gulp at the liquid. There was silence as Toph bit into a loaf of bread and Sokka's swallowing could barely be heard.

With the few moments of peaceful silence the earthbender was granted, she began to think, for perhaps the second time that day about the moment. The moment, being when she had dangled from Sokka's finger tips, her entire future dangling along with her. Now, Toph was not the type to dwell on things. She was not the type to initiate false hope. But the near-death experience that had taken place during Aang's fight against Ozai had left her a bit shaken. It barely showed on the outside as she continued to be her rough and tumble old self. The fact that she had depended on such an air-headed oblivious teenage boy for more than a second was appalling. Why had he bothered? If she had been lost, if would only be seen as a shame. The world would have lost one of its best earthbenders but Sokka's world would barely be affected. He had beautiful Suki, his perfect sister, a dad that was immensely proud of him and so on. The harsh blind girl barely fit into the picture, only because she had pushed herself in to serve her purpose to the avatar.

It had been quite a few minutes since Sokka had recovered from his burning tongue and as he leaned back in his chair, digesting, he noticed the muteness that had taken over Toph. She stared blankly at the edge of the table with cloudy eyes and her hands clenching the edge of the seat. He noted with a small smile that her petite feet barely reached the ground. What could she possibly be thinking about? It was about time for one of her rude comments to break the silence.

Toph started at the feeling of an elbow poking her in the ribs. She felt fuzzy, the chair wasn't a good recipient to the vibrations around her and she had been in her thoughts.

"Too shy to ask for another serving all of sudden?" She asked, attempting a smirk and her comment wasn't as sharp as it was meant to sound. Sokka's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He pointed a dramatic finger in her face.

"What are you thinking about?"

"None of your business." She replied curtly and turning her head the other way.

"It is since we've spent the last ten hours together."

"You've been keeping track?" Toph sounded smug but Sokka could've been positive the tips of her ears had tinted pink.

"It could've been less but someone decided to give me a rude awakening by sending me flying through palace's roof!" He was standing now, his pointer finger stretching to the ceiling.

"No use wasting a day off in bed."

"I don't see a problem with that."

"Yeah, well, I don't see at all."

"What's THAT got to do with anything?!" Sokka's tone was incredulous. He watched Toph cross her arms.

"Everything." She mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He was immensely frustrated. Toph was being such…a girl. Uncooperative, mysterious and just plain confusing.

"Forget it. I was just thinking about stupid stuff. Don't think about it." She turned back towards the table and felt around in a bowl of fruit. Her eyes were closed, uncaring.

The water tribe warrior beside her stood for a few moments longer, his mind swimming with confusion. Their brief argument hung in the air and Sokka reluctantly sunk back in his chair, reaching for a nearby bottle of alcohol. A guard standing at the doors of the dining room grunted disapprovingly but Sokka ignored him. He poured a thick violet liquid into his cup, filling it half way but just as he was about to take a sip of the drink, Toph spoke up.

"You could've let go y'know."

Never had he coughed and hacked so violently as the drink burned at his throat.

Katara felt Aang's grip on her tighten slightly as if she was his.

Which, she was.

"Back? To the South Pole?" He whispered sadly into her hair. He couldn't go with her, she knew. He had many duties to fulfill here in the Fire Nation. He would be tied mainly to this land for several years. The reassurance of the glowing moon beckoned her to go on.

"I think something's wrong with Gran Gran." She admitted. "She hasn't contacted or sent any letters for awhile. Even at her busiest she never fails to tell me how she and the village are. I'm worried. But I'm sure it's a misunderstanding, so I'm going by myself, Sokka will stay." She had been mulling over how to say what she wanted to say but things just flowed so easily from her mind to her mouth with Aang.

"You can ride Appa." He said, turning her to face him. "Zuko will have to deal with me not being able to travel too far for awhile." He smiled, reluctant that his near future meant letting her go, even for a few days. "But you have to promise to be safe! Just because Ozai has gone down, doesn't mean his followers aren't still lurking around." He warned. "I know they are."

Katara nodded, trying to seem as convincing as possible. She began to step back, creating space between them. She waterbended a swirling snake of water from the surface of the stream, passing the form towards Aang's ready stance. They were silent, rotating the snake of stream water between them and she took the time to note Aang's changes since she had found him more than a year ago. When his grey eyes first looked into hers, they were blank. Innocent and childish, yes, but waiting to be darkened by the evils he would face as the avatar. A year later, his eyes were the same light grey, but behind them, there was a cloudy mess of painful memories, agonizing realizations. There was a mystery, they told a story.

His head was round and bald as always but the fuzz grew back faster now, and his jaw had become for angular and defined. He still had so much time to grow, although he had aged so much in the time he and Katara had been together.

His shameless laughter showed itself less often now. Perhaps not due to the passage of time, but because there was less worth laughing about now. Of course he has saved the nations, defeated a nearly unstoppable tyrant, but it had merely intensified the realization that the world needed him. Counted on him to do what the rest of them couldn't.

At times, Katara could see the voice of his former self childishly asking, Why? But as she would see his gaze catching her own, he would answer it himself, unbeknownst to her.

Because of Fate. Because of her.

Yeah, I know. The last part was mushy. And yeah, I neglected Zuko. I gotta stop with them empty promises. x)

And of COURSE I had to mention Toph's near-death experience involving Sokka. Doesn't every Tokka or slight Tokka fic do so?

I'm thinking of doing just a full-blown Tokka/Kataang postwar story but that may not happen either.

And don't worry, Zuko and Suki haven't been forgotten.

Unfortunately, their day off will be coming to a close soon. Then comes the serious stuff.

Please review/criticize .

-Sarah