Okay, here's chapter two and the next part in Aang and Katara's pre-dating.

And just as a side note, no, there won't be an updating schedule for this story, since it's all bonus material, it'll just be when the inspiration hits me. I have a number of chapters I want to have up before the start of part 5 to FWR, but after that, it'll just be whenever I get an idea and get around to writing it. I'll try not to let this story get cobwebs, though.

As Far As Parties Go

It was the night of the coronation, and precisely a week after the Ozai had been defeated.

Katara was a little worried, though. She had seemed to come to an epiphany, that afternoon. Her and Aang weren't exactly on the same terms as they always were, but things were slowly getting better. In a way, Katara didn't understand why they were even saying they weren't dating, because every moment they were together Katara felt like it was an awkward first date.

They'd stutter into a conversation about something stupid like the weather or how much things have changed until even that conversation couldn't save them, then it was the even more awkward silence before the darting eyes and lingering "so," were too much to handle and they made up some lame excuse to be called away.

It bugged her, because the entire time Katara could feel herself sweating, she could tell Aang was nervous as well, but she could also tell that he was just trying not to screw up and say something stupid, but Katara always felt like she was going to faint. Being around him was like a huge pressure was on her; the weight of unsaid words and feelings pushed down on her and made her breathing hitch and her mind foggy. She knew the power of his love was getting to her and it was only a matter of time before she was completely head over heels in love—if she already wasn't—to the point where she would just blurt it out without warning. She wanted to tell him something every time they were together but couldn't find the words or the willpower to actually go on with what her mind kept telling her to do. And the result always ended in him eventually walking away and her beating herself up about it.

But that afternoon during Zuko's coronation, when she saw Aang standing there and being cheered for she felt a sudden rush of affection and love for him. In her mind, she saw the Aang she had found in the iceberg standing beside him, the two of them seemed in such contrast, and such a difference that made her eyes water. It seemed as if Aang looked straight at her and her heart skipped a beat when his eyes settled on hers, she blushed madly, and she was pretty sure that was moment she had always heard about.

The moment when she realized she was in love.

And it was a rush that didn't fade even as the night came.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

There was a party that night, as well, in celebration of the end of the war and the start, finally, of a new era.

"So, are you going?" Katara had asked Aang wistfully before the party.

"Um, yeah," Aang answered, knowing very well that she was just trying to start conversation. "Are you?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Cool."

"I-I guess I'll see you there." Aang said, his eyes beginning to dart again.

"Yeah," Katara smiled, and blushing so that Aang smiled as well. He made a bold move then and reached out to grab her hand. Her breath hitched again as she felt his skin against her hand. It was warm and inviting, and she knew that she loved him then. She wanted him, and she wanted him to know. She just didn't know how to tell him. It seemed incredibly simple, to tell someone you loved them, but when she opened her mouth, she got nothing.

"I'll save you a dance." Aang told her softly.

"Okay," Katara agreed with a deeper blush, and Aang squeezed her hand before letting go. Katara felt the loss of his warmth—even if it was just his hand—and she tugged at his shirt. He turned back to face her, a slight look of surprise on his face. "Um…I…I'm glad things are good between us."

Aang gave her a wide smile. "I'm glad too." He said and before he could blink Katara grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her arms, she held him tightly, and exhaled against his shoulder, as if she came to some kind of relief when she felt his arms encircle her waist.

The hug lasted longer than most, but they had gone too long without being in each other's arms, and there was too much build up for a quick embrace. Even if it was just a week since Aang had hugged her in the infirmary, the two hadn't hugged regularly in so long it seemed. They sank into each other, loving the feeling and never wanting to separate, but as soon as Sokka's voice, wondering where Katara was, entered the room they sprang apart, followed by Sokka's laughing of course.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The party seemed to go off pretty well, nothing but people relieved to finally have all four nations together at last. Zuko gave a welcome speech before the music began to play and everyone milled about smiling, drinking, and looking genuinely happy. Zuko smiled at the progress. Mai came beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You seemed unusually smiley lately," Mai teased and Zuko bent over to kiss her cheek.

"Well, what do you expect? Everything's turning out so well, and I finally feel….calm."

"You, calm? I don't believe it."

"Get used to it," He told her and scooped her by her waist against him, Mai laughed a little and leaned against his chest. "Dance with me?"

"Of course…Fire Lord."

Aang smiled as he looked over at the happy couple. He'd been friends with Zuko for only a short period of time, but he was a little taken aback by seeing him interact with Mai, for some reason seeing him with Mai made him happy and little weird all at once. He still smiled though, and almost instinctively his eyes searched for Katara.

Things were better with them, and he finally felt like the two of them might be able to get somewhere, of course he was relieved that they were friends, and if Katara decided that friends was all she wanted to be then he'd support her, but he felt something from her that he couldn't ignore, and he knew that she couldn't ignore it for too much longer either.

He found her, talking to Toph—who seemed a little flustered—and walked over to the two girls.

"Don't we look nice," Aang commented towards both of them and both Toph and Katara acknowledged his comment with a smile. "I'm still saving you a dance, Katara."

"Good…I look forward to it."

"Okay, I'll find you after Zuko stops introducing me to all these royal guys." Aang sighed, seeing Zuko and Mai walking up to him with someone else even as he spoke, and Katara laughed.

"Okay, okay, go meet your people…I'll be waiting." Katara smiled and shooed him away before the Fire Lord made it towards her.

"I'll be looking," He commented back and, in yet another bold move, Aang bent down and placed a kiss on Katara's cheek. He knew that that particular move was super risky, but when he pulled back and only saw Katara's red cheek and wistful smile he knew that he was in a good place with her.

They were close…he could feel it.

"Ah, Avatar Aang, what a pleasant honor to met you," A man by the name of Hon Tai Mori greeted and bowed to Aang, Aang could only bow respectfully back and looked over at Zuko with the glare that clearly asked "how many more of these guys do I have to see?"

"I'm Hon Tai Mori of the Tai Mori fortune."

"They've owned mostly all the companies in the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom for centuries." Mai explained. "They're considered to be the richest family besides the Fire Lord and the Earth King in the world."

"Wow," Aang tried to sound interested. "That's…really….amazing. It's an honor to meet you too, Mr. Tai Mori."

"Indeed," Hon said. "Oh, where are my manors, this is my wife, Lin Shi, my daughter Sung, and my son Suo." And as Hon introduced them they all nodded in respect to the Avatar.

As Aang stood and listened to Hon and Zuko babbled on about recent property figures and how the end of the war would open new gates for even more cross nation business, Aang was glad when he found the first chance to excuse himself. But he didn't get off so easy.

"Oh, Avatar Aang, I do have a small favor to ask." Hon called Aang just as he was slipping away.

"Yes, Mr. Tai Mori?"

"Would you be so kind as to share the next dance with my daughter Sung? She's so helplessly shy and I know it would mean a lot to her."

"Oh, well," Aang stuttered, looking over his shoulder to see Katara still sitting, he knew she was waiting for him and that being in a big fancy part such as this one wasn't exactly her scene. But then he looked over at Zuko who was giving him a firm look and he sighed. "I'd be honored to." Aang answered and walked over to Sung robotically, holding out his hand.

Sung blushed deeply and took Aang's hand.

"T-thank you, Avatar." Aang gave her a smile and led her over to the floor, trying to be more in the crowd so Katara couldn't spot him.

"So, Avatar Aang…are…are you seeing anyone?"

"Well…not technically…" Aang answered truthfully. "But…in a way…yes."

"Oh…" Sung exclaimed quietly. "Well, I'm sorry my father made you dance with me."

"No, no, it's fine; I'm honored to share a dance with you." Aang told her genuinely, and gave her and extra twirl within the dance steps. Sung just giggled a little, and as Aang looked at her he could tell that she was obviously at least a good year younger than her. In a way, she almost reminded him of Toph (though mostly in the looks category since in no way, shape, or form would Toph ever be caught giggling).

Over by the food table is where Katara sat, next to Toph still. Though as the music lingered and Katara lost sight of Aang over with Zuko her eyes wandered on the dance floor, shocked to find that Aang was there, dancing….with another girl.

Her heart broke.

He was sharing the dance he promised her with someone else.

"So you noticed huh?" Toph mentioned, and Katara knew that Toph was referring to how she already knew Aang was dancing with another girl. "I wonder who that girl is."

"Yeah, me too." Katara said with a glare and followed the two on the floor for as long as she could stand before she couldn't stand it anymore. Standing furiously and stomping out.

"Hey, aren't you at least gonna bust his chops about it?" Toph called out.

"Why bother?" Katara yelled, but the shakiness in her voice was enough to confirm that she was feeling more sadness than anger. "He can dance with every girl in here, I don't care."

"Katara…" Toph called again, but the water bender just kept walking.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It wasn't until the party was over when Katara realized she had been outside simply staring at the moon for two hours. All the guests had past her by as they left, and even Sokka and Suki tried to get her to come home with them, but she stubbornly refused.

That is, until she heard the familiar steps of none other than Aang coming towards her. She was torn on whether to stay and listen to him or just get up from her leaning position on the balcony and not speak to him until her feelings had calmed down. But it was too late, he had already said her name, and the second she heard his voice, she was completely at his mercy.

Her eyes closed.

"Please don't talk to me, Aang."

"Look, I talked to Toph and I know you're mad, but you have to believe me, I didn't ask Sung to dance willingly."

"Oh, so her name is Sung? Wow, you two must be really close."

"Katara, there's nothing to be jealous about, I promise you."

"And what makes you think I'm so jealous?" Katara spat at him stubbornly. "Get over yourself."

"Katara," Aang sighed, and slowly made his way closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning his head onto her shoulder, and trying to sooth her by stroking her other shoulder. "I would never do that…never."

"We're not a couple," Katara told him and pushed his warmth away from her. "You can do whatever you want."

Aang stared at her long enough that Katara began to get the butterflies again. They were sharp, just as before, and it made her wince, and just as she turned around Aang wasn't there anymore.

And then she heard music.

The music had long since stopped since the party was well over, so it was odd to hear it start up again, and then she saw Aang's shadow come over her again and she looked up at him slowly. She looked tired and drained, for more reasons than one, and he gave her the purest smile he could as he extended his hand.

"Aang…." Katara sighed.

"Take my hand." He told her, looking more worried than anything else, worried that that line wouldn't work on her twice. But apparently…it did. She gave him a smile that she tried not to show as she slipped her hand gracefully into his and Aang led her to the empty dance floor. He placed a hand on her waist and the other stayed in her other hand, Katara just followed suit, trying to move with him as he twirled her around, but she soon discovered that moving in unison with Aang was almost as easy as breathing. It was so natural to her.

"How did you get the band to play another song?" Katara asked.

"'Anything for the Avatar'," Aang told her. "At least, that's what they said."

"Oh," Katara said before looking down at her feet, her blush returning and the butterflies retuning, but without the sharpness this time.

"I'm so sorry Katara, I shouldn't have danced with Sung, I should've just said no."

"No, I shouldn't have acted like a jealous girlfriend…I'm sorry too."

"We…both made mistakes tonight, I guess." Aang told her, releasing her hand to perk her chin up so he could look at him. "But, I told you I love you Katara...and I meant it, so I'm not going to go and fall for the first other girl who shows me interest…you have to trust me on that one."

"I know…I just keep thinking that…if-if I don't say something soon then….then you're going to leave me."

"I told you I'd wait for your answer…I'm prepared to wait as long as it takes, Katara…you're worth it."

"I don't know if I am…"

Aang cupped her cheek, stopping their dance altogether and looking deeply into her eyes. "You are Katara…you're worth everything." He told her and, in his third bold move of the night, Aang pulled her towards him and laid a soft kiss on her lips.

The kiss was short, short enough to get the point across that it was her he wanted, but not too lingering to make her uncomfortable. And as much as he wanted to stand there and kiss her breathless, he pulled away accordingly.

Katara looked at him, dumbfound and very out of breath even after the short kiss, before she let out a relaxed sigh and dove further into his arms, burying her head in his shoulder and breathing in a broken manner as if she were working up to cry any moment. Aang just stroked her hair lovingly and kissed her temple for good measure.

"I'm always going to be here for you Katara…I promise."

"I'll always be here too…I-I don't want to leave you Aang…not ever."

"You don't have to." Aang said as he pulled her back, enough to look at him closely in the eyes. He stroked the side of her face gently before leaning up on his toes to plant a kiss on her forehead. He mentally slapped himself for still being shorter than her, even though he knew it was something he couldn't fix.

And just as if Katara could read his mind, she noted. "You know Aang…I think you've gotten taller."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The morning the followed was just as odd as the night.

Katara was a little jetlagged after her and Aang's dance. He grabbed her hand afterwards and walked her home before kissing her cheek and telling her good night. But she couldn't take her mind off the fact that she still couldn't tell what they were.

She knew very well that friends didn't hold hand and kiss each other good night, but then again, they had never really said that they were a boyfriend or girlfriend of any kind. There was no confession or anything…just kind words, short kisses, and a dance.

Katara still smiled and touched her lips fondly none the less as she woke up that morning. She found Aang walking to the breakfast area of the palace as she opened her door and he turned and smiled at her.

"Good morning." He greeted with a smile mixed with his 'just waking up' yawn. Katara offered him the same greeting and the two shared a lazy embrace.

"So…" Katara lingered.

"So…you going to breakfast?"

"Yeah…you?"

"Yeah….you wanna go eat together?" Aang asked.

"Sure," Katara reached out and grabbed Aang's hand, happy when she felt him squeeze her fingers lovingly.

Katara knew that the confession would come eventually…but, for the moment, she was happy as they were.

Awkward and in love.

Alright, y'all…one more chapter in the Aang/Katara prologue coming up next, so stay tuned.

And as for the fact that the prefix "Mr." is used, I've heard the characters in Avatar use the word Mr. many times, so I figured it was alright.

And as another side note related to FWR, this chapter won't be the last time we see the Tai Mori family.

Review Responses:

Ethan6: Thanks, and glad to know you're following FWR as well.

Kimjun2: Thanks, glad to see you outside the FWR world (XP)

EpicBacons: Thank you, and don't worry, I will make more.

Kataanger476: Yay? I'm glad you're so excited, and I hope you liked this chapter, I know FWR can't always get to be as Kataangy as I'd like, so I thought I could have this side story to make any other Kataang related stories that might not be in the plot. And you'll have to wait until February for the next chapter of FWR, but hopefully this will hold you until then.

Hmweasley: Thanks, and wait no more for the next chapter.

Kataang4ever14: Awwww, thanks, I'm glad you like this bonus idea. And I just felt like in FWR that Aang and Katara were already kind of settled and stuff, but that I never really showed that development between Katara being as "confused" as she was on Ember Island and the kiss at the end of the series. Which, of course, is essential to their overall relationship. And, as I already mentioned, I'm really not going to have a fixed update schedule on this story since it's all pretty random. Some chapters will continue into other chapters and some will stand alone, so no fixed schedule. But, I have a certain number of chapter I want to have updated before FWR is updated, so those will all definitely be updated before February.

Thanks for the reviews guys and girls.

Next Chapter: The Kiss