Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson.

Author's Note: It was definitely time for a Kataang. This could really be from either perspective, but I already did Katara's point of view. The time is sort of non-specific, but I envisioned it probably happening between Bitter Work and The Library.

Til There Was You

There were bells on the hill,
But I never heard them ringing.

No, I never heard them at all,
Til there was you.

Aang was sitting on a narrow rock plateau high above their campsite, one leg stretched out and the other pulled close to his body. His hands were folded on his bended knee, and he was resting his chin on top of them, watching the first light of dawn appear.

Aang reflected on how the addition of a single person in your life could completely change your outlook. From the first time he laid eyes on Katara, it seemed he was questioning everything. The first thing he thought was: could anything so beautiful possibly be real? This was quickly followed by other questions. Had the sky always been that blue? Was the air always this clean and fresh? Had riding on Appa's head ever been this much fun, even when he wasn't flying?

Aang's strange rediscovery of the world continued as they traveled through the Earth Kingdom. Even though he had already been to many of the places they visited, he was sure that the colors had never been so vivid or the birdsongs so enjoyable.

There were birds in the sky,
But I never saw them winging.
No, I never saw them at all,
Til there was you.

Aang thought that the best times he'd shared with his new friends were before he realized that he was working against a deadline. In spite of facing the Fire Nation and finding the horrible truth of what had happened at the Southern Air Temple, those few weeks while they were leisurely making their way northward had been downright idyllic compared with the panic that had followed. Back then, even Sokka could occasionally be persuaded to sit down and watch a sunset, and Aang and Katara could find the time to lie on their backs and follow the progress of a flock of birds.

There had been one additional moment during their trip to the North Pole that shone brightly in Aang's memory. Katara's experience with gliding at the Northern Air Temple had allowed her to share in the joy of flight. Aang realized then that he had come to take the ability to fly for granted. He'd been able to do it for so long that he just saw it as a way of getting from one place to another. Hearing Katara exclaim over her first solo flight, though, even if it was only riding on the natural air currents, reminded Aang of his feelings on learning to fly. He might not have thought about it consciously, but he hadn't ever thought he would be able to share that with anyone.

And there was music,
And there were wonderful roses,
They tell me, in sweet fragrant meadows
Of dawn and dew.

Even now, watching the sun come slowly up over the horizon, Aang was sure he heard ethereal music from somewhere. As many times as he had watched the sunrise since first being trained to wake before dawn, that had never happened until after he met Katara.

Aang turned to look at their camp. Katara was moving around now, and she came down to the stream to run through some morning waterbending exercises. Aang's breath hitched in his throat as he watched her move. She never failed to have this effect on him, and it was amazing he'd made progress in his lessons with her as quickly as he had. His desire to impress her, when balanced against his attraction, was probably the only thing that made this possible.

There was love all around,
But I never heard it singing.
No, I never heard it at all,
Til there was you.

It hadn't taken Aang very long to realize that he loved Katara or to believe that the feeling had begun with the first time he looked into her eyes. He didn't know whether his certainty came from something in his upbringing or from some sense of his past lives, who had experienced this before. He supposed it didn't really matter.

Katara caught sight of him and waved. He waved back and glided down to join her.

"What were you doing up there?" she asked curiously.

"Watching the sunrise," Aang shrugged. "And thinking."

"Thinking about what?" she pursued. Aang considered for only a moment before he answered.

"I was just thinking how I glad I am that you found me."

"Me, too." Katara smiled at him before looking away and actually blushing a little. It suddenly occurred to Aang that her statement, like his before it, said very little but could cover a great deal. For the first time, he began to entertain the possibility that Katara was finding the place where Aang lived – continuously walking the line between telling the truth and revealing too much.

There was love all around,
But I never heard it singing.
No, I never heard it at all,
Til there was you.

Just two beats later, though, Katara was admonishing Aang to eat something so they could get started on the day's lessons, leaving Aang to wonder if he'd just imagined everything.

However, when they went back to the stream to get started, Katara paused, tilting her head as though looking intently at something.

"Is it just me, or does the morning sun look prettier on the water than it used to?" she mused thoughtfully. Aang froze; the observation was so similar to what he had been thinking earlier. Besides, she almost sounded like she was talking to herself.

"Yeah. Yeah, it does," he replied carefully. Katara abruptly shook herself and moved on to the lesson, but Aang couldn't help the little lurch his heart gave, even if he had to set it aside for the moment. Maybe he could finally allow himself to hope, at least cautiously. Who knew? He might even find the right time to tell her. Eventually.

--

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Avatarwolf, Strix Moonwing, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, and honorary member SnakeEyes16.

Author's Note: Wow, that's a really short song. I didn't realize how few lyrics it had until I went to write them down. I don't have any more ideas for Boys & Girls, so if you have anything, let me know. I'm also still taking suggestions for this collection.

Review responses:

frozenheat: Sorry I missed you last time! Totally my fault. Yeah, Iroh is definitely…unique.

MormonMaiden: Well, not so much dialogue this time. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, as I was partly using your suggestion.

SnakeEyes16: I share your anxiety about Iroh. You're completely right about him never seeming embarrassed about anything. I haven't decided whether that's just the way he is, or if he's simply lived through so much that nothing bothers him anymore.

Kumori Doragon: Ah, well, no one can bat 1.000. Did this Kataang sort of get you back in your comfort zone?

Kimbalynn616: You and MormonMaiden seem to agree there should be more Iroh fiction. He certainly is fun to write.

Snows Of Yester-Year: I guess the last chapter was funnier than I thought. Thanks!