What is it with me and waiting three weeks? Oh well, I'm sorry, but to make it up to you, here's an extra long chapter! Enjoy!
Jokermask18: And it's all my fault that he got that way...oh well! :)
KingKey980: Yeah, he should be a little less paranoid in this chapter, but it's a long road to recovery. Thanks for reviewing!
Avatarlover123: Thanks! Who needs Valentine's Day when I could write fanfiction..heheheh...FOREVER ALONE!
kira97: Glad to see that you weren't shriveled up in a corner for so long! Enjoy the chapter!
Mz topsy turvy: I don't mind the negatives. It wasn't my favorite chapter either. I'm thinking 25 to 30 chapters, but we'll see. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's a whole lot more cheerful. :)
Avatarelements03: Wow...9 out of 10? Thanks! As for your story idea..I like it! I can't really do holidays (I don't think the Avatar universe has the same holidays as us), but what if I did a story where each chapter they celebrated a different anniversary, like 1-year anniversary, then maybe 10th, you know. :)
squek squek: :) Uh...about updating soon...will you take this longer chapter as apology? I'm actually pretty proud of this one, so hopefully you'll like it too. Thanks for reviewing!
prettyshon10: Patience is a virtue, young grasshopper. Um...sorry you had to read that. Anyhow, yes, Aang's trust will be hard to gain, but Team Avatar is helping him take babysteps. We'll see how long it takes, if it ever happens. Thanks for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I still don't own A: TLA, but I'm working on it. Excuse me while I make a phone call...hopefully this is Bryke's real number this time.
Aang was not in a good mood.
Really, they should have expected this. Who would like being surrounded by people that make his head throb like there's no tomorrow, won't leave him alone for a second, and treat him like he's an extremely fragile ill person? No, Aang was not in a good mood, and nothing they did could make him feel any better.
This was the topic of Katara's conversation with Toph as they walked around the palace grounds.
"Ugh, I don't know what made me think having Aang back was magically going to fix everything!" Katara exclaimed, rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Actually, Sugar Queen," Katara sent Toph a glare at the nickname, but of course, Toph didn't see, "if you think about it, he's not really 'back'."
"You think I don't know that?!" Katara growled.
Toph shrugged, "I'm just saying."
"Yeah, well, what do you propose we do about it, Miss Know-It-All?" Katara wasn't in a very good mood either.
"You know him better than I do! What do you think we should do, Miss Grouch-All-Day?" Okay, no one was in a good mood.
"That's just it, Toph! I don't know him that well anymore! I could read the old him like a book, a book where I could predict the ending. Now, I can't even find the book on the shelf!"
"Stop it with the book metaphors."
"Sorry, but really! I barely know him anymore! He's not the same person."
Toph paused, and then said slowly, "Well...if you don't know him, get know him."
Katara stared at Toph for awhile before finally saying, "What do you mean, 'get to know him'?"
"I mean just what I said. He's never going to let us in if we don't know anything about him! So, we've got to get to know him."
Katara thought it over for a second, "That's actually a really good idea, Toph, but…how am I - I mean, how are we supposed to get to know him?"
"That's for you to figure out, Sugar Queen," Katara didn't even bother glaring at Toph for the nickname - she was a too busy brainstorming.
The airbender in question was currently lying in his bed, staring dully up at the ceiling. He'd just had a rather one-sided discussion with….Sokka? Yes, he was pretty sure Sokka was the older boy's name.
Anyway, the conversation had done nothing to lift Aang's spirits. Sokka had ended up leaving the room without making any progress, and feeling very awkward. Aang didn't mind being alone, though. He couldn't think of anyone he wanted to talk to.
Still, he was starting to feel rather lonely. He couldn't help it, he was an extravert, which meant that sitting around with no one to talk to practically drained his energy. He need someone to have a stimulating conversation with, but he didn't have anyone. No one could understand what he was going through, however angst-filled that statement was. He was alone.
A knock on his door interrupted Aang's thoughts. He sighed, "Come in."
In entered….the girl who preferred to go by Katara, even though Aang could have sworn it was Namika. Oh well, in entered Katara.
"Hello, Aang," she said, beaming at him. Aang didn't understand how she could be so happy - he was feeling miserable.
"Hi," he replied distantly, though this time he actually wasn't trying to be rude. He was just lost in thought at the moment.
Not put out in the slightest, Katara said, "There's a very important day coming up."
Actually taking interest in the conversation now, though he tried not to show it, Aang raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"In case you've forgotten, all airbenders celebrate their birthday on the last day of autumn, and that's in two days. Well, since you're an airbender…"
Aang wasn't sure that he was an airbender, but as he couldn't remember when his actual birthday was, he figured he might as well celebrate when Katara said to.
"So, I'll be thirteen in two days."
"Well, chances are you're probably already thirteen, but no airbender knows when they were actually born, so yes, we're going to wait for two days before we say you aren't twelve."
"Technically, I'll be one hundred and thirteen."
Katara laughed. That had always been a common joke between her and Aang, but then she remembered - Aang wasn't sure if he was the Avatar. He shouldn't remember that he was frozen in an iceberg.
"Er...and what do you mean by that?" Katara asked uncomfortably, though there was still a bit of hope in her voice.
Aang blinked. What did he mean by that? It had just slipped out. He wasn't even sure why. It had just seemed natural. The question was, why had it seemed so natural?
Sensing that Aang wasn't about to answer, Katara changed the subject, "Anyhow, I thought that for your birthday, we could eat some fruit pie, have a cake, tell some stories, open presents, and then go for a ride on Appa."
"Appa?" Aang asked. Katara nearly facepalmed. Of course Aang wouldn't know who Appa was.
"A fl-I mean, my pet," Katara wasn't sure how well the young monk would react when he learned that Appa was a flying bison. Probably rather shocked.
Aang shrugged, "Okay, I guess. I mean, it'd be a shame to not celebrate my birthday."
Katara beamed at Aang, who pretended not to notice. He didn't know what to make of the overwhelming amount of affection he was receiving from Katara.
"Oh, and what stories are you planning on telling?" Aang asked.
"Uh, well I was going to tell you about myself, and the others, of course," Katara didn't know how much it would help, but perhaps telling stories of Team Avatar's past adventures would help Aang. Of course, she wouldn't tell Aang that he was a huge part of the stories. She knew better than to force anything on the Avatar.
"Well, goodbye, Aang," Katara sent him a warm smile before moving to leave the room.
Aang, for the first time in a while, let a small smile grace his features. This was the first time that someone wasn't trying to "cure him." It was sort of nice to be treated like more than a fragile patient.
"Goodbye," he said, and lay back down. Though his sleep would be plagued by nightmares -just this once -, he knew he would have something nice to wake up to.
Two days later…
"Suki!" squealed a very enthusiastic Sokka, rushing over to his girlfriend.
"Sokka!" Suki grinned widely, kissing Southern Water Tribe warrior on the cheek.
"I'll never understand what you see in him," said Toph, shaking her head.
"He's an idiot, true, but he's a cute idiot."
"Aw, thanks, Suki! Wait...HEY!" Sokka then rounded on Toph, "Your evil ways are contagious!"
Katara, deciding to prevent the fight before it started, chose this moment to speak to Suki, "Hi, Suki! Glad you could make it."
"Yeah, well, it's not everyday you get to celebrate someone's one hundred and thirteenth birthday. I had to come," Suki's voice then became more serious, "How is he, by the way?"
Katara sighed, "Not good, but that's what this party is for. Still, you have to understand, he's not...the same."
"That's pretty obvious."
"I know, I just don't want you to be startled when you see him. I know I was."
Suki hugged Katara in an effort to comfort her, and then she dropped her voice to where only Katara could hear her, "I know this must be hard. How are you?"
"Coping," Katara responded, trying not to speak in a dull monotone. She knew from talking to Aang that monotone wasn't exactly comforting.
"Is it time to get Aang?" asked Zuko, sitting by Mai at the table.
"I guess so," said Katara, "I'll go get him."
"You sit down. Let me go get him," Ty Lee said, leaving no room for argument. Katara reluctantly nodded before taking a seat beside Mai. Maybe Ty Lee's cheerfulness will be good for Aang, she reassured herself.
Ty Lee skipped all the way to Aang's room, save for the times when she would do a random cartwheel. When she arrived, she knocked on Aang's door, happily calling out, "It's time for your party!"
Inside his room, Aang wondered who it was outside his door. She sounded familiar, though Aang wasn't sure how. Pushing the thoughts aside, he got up and opened the door.
Immediately he was pulled into a hug by an impossibly cheerful Ty Lee. She didn't seem phased by the fact that he was an emotional wreck.
"Hi! Come on! Oh, you're going to love this party. There aren't many decorations...but it doesn't matter! Looks aren't everything. Oh, and the cake, it's absolutely amazing! I can't wait for you to see it!" squealed the bubbly Ty Lee as she dragged Aang to the party. The two startled everyone when they zoomed into room. Ty Lee plopped Aang into the chair on the nearest end of the table, which had balloons tied to it. Katara wasn't very pleased to see that Aang was on the other end of the table. She really should have taken the seat next to him.
When everyone had gotten over their shock, all - except for Aang - yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Suki and Ty Lee sat on either side of Aang, who was rather pleased by this arrangement. He didn't think he could take sitting by Katara, Toph(?), Sokka, or Zuko. Iroh smiled, handed out the fruitpie, ad poured everyone a cup of tea.
Aang licked his lips, and, not bothering to wait for anyone else, dug in. The others followed his example. The food tasted delicious, and soon everyone had burned through the fruit pie and the cake. It was a pleasant meal. Everyone had a nice time catching up, and it almost felt like things were back to normal, like nothing had ever changed in the first place. Almost.
Even Aang seemed to be having a good time. No one tried to talk to him about...what had happened. It was just a nice, friendly meal. No one even mentioned anything about what Aang had gone through.
Present time came and went (all Aang had received were books, as that had been all he wanted. Books would keep those long hours by himself entertaining), and then it was story time.
The stories everyone told him were absolutely amazing. The Sun Warriors, the Cave of Two Lovers (Katara had blushed considerably all throughout the story), a Spirit Library, traveling to the Spirit World...it was all so amazing! Such entertaining adventures everyone else had had…Aang felt a little jealous.
Finally, it was time for the ride on Appa. Zuko, Katara, Toph, and Sokka led the way to the enormous flying bison, anticipating Aang's response. It was actually Appa who responded first. Eyes zeroing in on his human companion, Appa ran forward and tackled Aang to the ground, licking the boy like a giant, overgrown puppy. Aang, for one, was more than a little startled.
"Um…" he looked to the others for help.
"Appa, remember, we talked about how Aang would respond to this," Katara said gently to the bison. Appa didn't seem to notice, though. He and his boy were finally reunited, and nothing would separate them again.
Everyone looked worriedly down at Aang, but to their surprise, after a moment or two, the airbender had started to laugh.
"All right, get off me, buddy," he said, and the bison moved aside. Covered in bison drool, Aang beamed at Appa, "You really are a friendly guy, aren't you? Like a gentle giant." Laughing happily, Aang stroked Appa on the head, before turning to the rest of Team Avatar.
"I don't know about you, but I like him."
The group smiled, and everyone took their places on Appa, Aang subconsciously using his airbending to get on. Suddenly, something came over Aang.
"Er," he bit his lip, looking at Sokka, who had taken rider's position, "can I do it?"
"Uh…I don't know…" Sokka looked at the others.
"Are you sure you know how?" Katara asked.
"I'd like to give it a shot," said Aang, and he switched places with an unsure Sokka. Taking Appa's reigns, Aang thought for a moment, and then, as naturally as breathing, Aang said, "Okay, Appa! Yip! Yip!"
The bison soared into the air, and everyone, minus Toph, stared at Aang in shocked. Aang himself was shocked. How did he know how to fly this giant bison?
The ride was a peaceful one. Aang had known exactly how to fly Appa, and was actually humming happily. His general bad mood had dissipated, replaced with cheerfulness and boundless energy. The birthday party and meeting Appa had made his spirits soar. It was a startling change, but Team Avatar, all of Team Avatar, welcomed it.
"I'll come back and see you tomorrow, buddy," Aang promised Appa, petting the bison.
"I'll go clean up the table. Toph, do you think you could-"
"Of course, Sugar Queen," turning to Aang, the earthbender said, "Come on, Twinkletoes, it's my turn to babysit you."
Aang grimaced at the term "babysit," but didn't object to being guided to his room.
"So, how was it?" Toph asked.
"Er, it was nice, I guess," said Aang. Yes, he was happy, but he wasn't really in the mood for a deep conversation.
"Come on, you can do better than that."
"Fine, I actually kind of liked it," Aang admitted.
"Like we couldn't tell," said Toph, "but seriously, why won't you talk to us more?"
Aang sighed. All day he had been thrilled to escaped reality, now it was time to face the emotional conversation. Luckily for him, Toph didn't do emotions very well.
"Just tell me what you're thinking," said Toph.
"I'm thinking that I really don't want to have this conversation."
"Well, too bad," Toph replied curtly, "spill it."
"Um...well…" Aang wasn't sure where to start. He didn't even want to start.
"It's a simple question. Why don't you trust us?" They were now standing just outside of Aang's room, but Aang didn't go inside. He stood facing the Blind Bandit, unsure of how to answer her question.
"Look...it's hard to answer that. It's hard to trust you. I don't know if I can answer your question...not yet. Could you just...give me a little time?"
Toph sighed, "How much time?"
"Enough for me to trust you again," said Aang, walking into his room.
"All right, if that's what you need," Toph said.
Aang smiled slightly and turned back to the earthbender, "Thanks...Toph." He closed the door.
It hit Toph like a tidal wave, sneaking up on her like a snake in the grass. Aang had just called her by her name. Hadn't, months ago, she been called "Lin" for the first time? Wasn't that the same day that she had vowed to cure Aang? And now that Aang had finally taken that first little step, it felt like a huge milestone. Toph had more confidence than she had had in a long while.
Well, it looked like Aang was finally starting to heal.