Aang turned and left the podium, walking tall and positively beaming with his own quiet, personal contentment. As soon as he was out of the public view, Katara burst out of the alcove and threw herself into his arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and clutched her to him, holding her closer than he had ever felt before. Katara buried her face into his shoulder, her fingers gripping the folds of his robe as though she were desperate to never let him go.
'I am so proud of you, Aang,' she said, her voice slightly muffled by the material. 'You really did it, you saved everyone!'
And she leaned back to look at him right in the face, her eyes shining with tears. His face was the same one she had seen in the iceberg, the same eyes she had known to be full of laughter, full of pain, full of anger and fear; she had known him for so long and yet she looked at him now with a different perception.
'I couldn't have done it without you,' he said, his big eyes burning with sincerity. 'You were amazing – all of this,' he waved his hand in the direction of the crowd, 'isn't for me, or for Zuko. It's for all of us and our achievement. I wouldn't even have made it out of the iceberg if it wasn't for you, Katara.'
They looked at each other for a moment, both pairs of eyes, silver and blue, burning with the deepest love that had been growing for what felt like forever.
'I love you, Katara,' said Aang fearlessly, without a single trace of hesitation. 'I have always loved you, right from the moment I saw your face.'
She couldn't fight the smile that coloured her cheeks pink.
'I love you, too, Aang,' she said, and every fragment of her being knew it to be true.
She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his, and he kissed her back and never wanted to let her go.