My hand hovers from the cold metal door, wondering if I should knock or just barge in. It's Aang, Katara. I'm sure he wouldn't care. I quietly push the door open, an obnoxious squeaking noise emitting from the movement. I peer inside, and a sigh of happiness waves over me. There he was, sitting on the small bed, with his legs crossed and his arms placed delicately in his lap. His back was revealed and my eyes followed his tattoo from the top of his head to where it broke from the scar in the center of his back. I couldn't see his face, since he was facing the wall. I took a deep breath and stepped inside, shutting the metal door behind me. He still didn't budge, but suddenly, he spoke.
"I'm coming, Sokka. Please, just let me sit here for a little while longer. I need time to think."
My breath catches as I hear his voice. It sounded so…different. My head begins thumping and I hear my breathing go faster. What is wrong with me? It's just Aang.
"Think about what?" I quietly say, leaning on the metal door.
He jumps at the sound of my voice and quickly turns around, his eyes finding mine.
"Katara!" He says, his cheeks turning a deep scarlet color. He stands up, looking towards me, his eyes full of joy. My eyes begin to water, the tears slowly falling down my cheeks. My legs begin moving, and I throw myself into his arms, burying my face into the crook of his neck. My cries become louder, as all the emotions I felt only moments ago come rushing back. His hands gently caress by lower back, slowly moving up and down, comforting me. I feel his breath in my hair and he tries to soothe me.
"Shh…it's okay, Katara. I'm all right." His hands rest on my hips, pulling me tighter to lengthen the hug. My breath catches at this gesture, and I feel my face getting hot, but I don't dare release my grip around his neck.
"I thought I lost you." I say, my voice shaking with sobs.
"You never lost me." He says, tightening his hands even more, sliding them around my waist.
We stay like that for a few minutes, until my sobbing quelled to small, short breaths. I felt his grip slowly release me, and I lean back, keeping my hands on his neck. He gives me a small smile, and brings one of his hands that were resting on my hips to my face, wiping away the last of my tears. I slowly slide myself out of his grip and slump on the bed. I lower my head and the tears begin to flow out again. He sits down next to me and brings his fingers under my chin, pushing my head up to meet his gaze. He keeps on trying to wipe my tears away, but they don't stop. He rips off a piece of what was left of his air nomad garment and dabs my face.
"Aang… I... I'm so sorry." I say, releasing more tears from my eyes. He raises his eyebrows at me, obviously confused.
"What in the spirits could you be sorry for?" He says, putting both of his hands on my shoulders. I open my mouth to explain only to be silenced by his voice.
"No Katara. Stop apologizing. I should be the one to apologize. It was wrong for what I did to you. I shouldn't have forced you to make a decision about me. I will accept anything you decide, whether I like it or not, as long as you're happy. That alone is good enough for me." He says sternly, never releasing his gaze. His hands travel from my shoulders to my cheeks, wiping the rest of my tears dry. "Please…stop crying. I am not worth you crying over."
I slap his hands away. "How could you say that? How could you possibly think you aren't worth my tears?" I yell, my voice breaking. Aang's eyes widen in surprise of my outburst. I angrily stand up and begin pacing the room. I feel his eyes following my every move.
"No one is forcing me into any decisions! I can figure them out myself!" I say, angrily huffing and puffing around the room. I hear Aang sigh and start to say something, but I quickly begin talking again, interrupting him.
"Do you know what you've put me through Aang? Do you have any idea what you do to me?" I say, my voice getting even louder. He looked up at me sheepishly, as if he committed a crime. He looked so innocent, so sweet. I scowl at him and raise my arms angrily in the air.
"You always disappear. Every single time. Why do you always leave me when I am at my emotional breaking point? Ba Sing Se, the Fire Navy ship, the Invasion, and then few days ago, on Ember Island! Do you have any idea what that does to me Aang, do you?"
He quickly shakes his head, looking up at me with his eyes wide open.
"And then you go and say that you aren't worth my tears! You are my tears! The only reason I've shed a tear in these last months were because of you!"
He looks down at the ground silently, waiting for me to finish.
"I cried every single night you were gone from when we were on Ember Island to right now. It hasn't stopped. And I hate it. I hate feeling upset, and sad all the time. I'm…so tired. I just want to be happy." I say, my loud voice turning into a small whisper. He looks up at me, tears forming in his own eyes now. The cuts and bruises began to show prominently across his chest and I slump down back in front of him, putting my head in my hands again. I feel the tears burn my eyes once more and I look up at him, to purposely show him my tears.
"I'm…so…sorry Katara. I hope you never cry over me again. I promise, I won't let you. Please. Stop." Aang says, his hands once again reaching for my cheek again. I turn away and wipe them off myself. His hands fall and rest on his lap. He begins nervously playing with his fingers, when I grab his hands with my own to stop his fidgeting. I give him a small smile and entwine my fingers with his.
"I really have no idea why I said that to you." I quietly say.
"Said what?" He says, still looking down at our hands. He begins moving his thumb lightly across mine.
"That I was confused. The only thing I was confused about was how the war would turn out." I say, still looking at him, studying his facial expressions very closely.
He releases one of his hands from mine and brings it to my hair, which was messily hanging over my shoulder. He plays with it, twirling the strands in between his fingers. My heart flips inside my chest and I close my eyes and sigh. He quickly stops and pulls his hand back, his face glowing red. I smile and reach for that same hand and intertwine it with mine again.
"And now that the war is over…I am not really confused anymore. About anything." I shyly look into his eyes, hoping he caught on. He looks at me with wide eyes, and smiles, wiping his tears with his bare shoulder.
"I never meant to leave you… I didn't know that I upset you so much. I promise, I'll never leave you again, except if you ask me to. As soon as you tell me to go, I'll be gone, until you say you want me back. Unless you say forever, because then I'll do that too." He says, looking down at our hands. I gasp at his words and he winces, waiting for me to explode at his words. I stay silent for a few seconds, thinking of a clever response.
"What if I told you to go right now? What if I was so angry with you, I said I never wanted to see you ever again? Would you really go?" I whispered. He stayed quiet too long for my liking and I began biting my bottom lip.
"If it was what you wanted, yes." He says quietly.
"Even if it hurts you?" I ask.
"Even if it kills me. As long as you're happy." He says. He begins stroking his thumb across mine again.
"Aang…" I begin to say, only to have him interrupt me.
"Do you…want me to go? Forever?" He says, his small voice cracking with pain.
I frown at him, releasing my hands from his and crossing them across my chest. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" I say, my voice shaking with anger.
"What…no? Yes?" He says, anxiously tapping his fingers on his leg.
"I said that I just want to be happy! Every time you disappeared, or ran away, or left me I was depressed and angry and hurt. Do you want me to feel like that forever?" I say, my eyes glaring into his.
"What! No! Never!" He says, swiftly grabbing my hands and pulling me close towards him, our faces a mere few inches away from each other. "I…I was just confused with the q-question! You asked me about leaving a-and… I wasn't sure how to respond and I just-."
"Aang. Stop." I say, not releasing his stare from my own. Our breathing was in sync, and our lips were so close that I could feel his breath on mine. He begins to argue again, but I tune out his rambling. I look deep into his gray eyes and see my own reflection. He was still talking, saying something about leaving and seeing me happy would be enough for him. For the love of spirits, he really is clueless. I come back to reality only to hear him talking still.
"-And if it was the only way to show you how much I love you, then I'll be content." He stops and looks at me, waiting for me to show some emotion to what he just said. What he just said. My breath catches.
"You love me?" I say, my eyes widening in shock. I felt my heart swell in my chest, and I was afraid it was going to burst. This is the moment Katara. Do it now!
His lips purse together and his cheeks turn crimson. "Uh…what…I…uh. That's all you… you…took from what I said? Because I…I…said a lot of other…uh…important stuff and I-."
I quickly close my eyes and soon the small gap that was between us closes, with my lips smashing onto his. I hear a little sound come from the back of his throat that sounded like a squeak, and then quickly, another sound replaces it. Humming. Our lips move softly against one another, and I feel him anxiously shake his hands free of my own to swiftly wrap around my waist. I smile into the kiss, which was slowly starting to get deeper, our heads turning in the right directions. I move my empty hands from his lap to the back of his neck and head, gently tracing his tattoo there. He hums a little louder, pushing himself close towards me, smiling into the kiss as well. We shift from our uncomfortable sitting positions and lay down on our sides, each of our hands pushing each other closer, completely closing the remaining space between us. I felt myself running out of air, but I ignored it, too engrossed in our kiss to care about anything else. I opened my mouth slightly, letting my tongue gently glide across his lower lip, hoping to gain entrance into the young Avatar's timid mouth, as well as find some air. He hums again and slowly opens his mouth, giving way to my tongue. I open my mouth as well, and he shyly explores my mouth with his tongue, twisting it expertly that makes me shudder. One of his hands moves from my waist to the base of my head, knotting them in my hair. He pulls me closer, deepening the kiss even more, putting his other hand on the small of my back. I hum against his lips and slowly pull away, exhausted and clearly out of breath.
I open my eyes to see him staring at me with his own, which were wide and full of surprise and confusion. I shut my eyes again and begin to softly kiss him under his chin, just below his ear. He laughs immaturely and brushes his hands through my strewn out hair.
"What was that for?" He sighs.
"Mmmm?" I say, continuing to lightly kiss him on his jawline, slowly going back up to his cheek. I linger on his cheek for a few moments, only to return to his lips, pecking them slowly at first, and then dragging out a few longer kissers, with him complying.
"Hmm…Katara." He says into my lips. "This is…well…"
"Aang…Shh…" I say, closing his mouth with my own.
I feel him reluctantly pull away and sigh.
"I'm so…confused. I kissed you on the balcony during the play and…well…you weren't like this." He says, looking directly into my eyes.
"Ugh, don't talk about that stupid play." I say, returning my lips to his jawline. He gives me a nervous laugh and brings my face up to his, our noses touching.
"Regardless of that stupid, stupid play, what made you…suddenly get…un…confused?" He says, his lips so close to mine I can hardly stand it.
I sigh and sit up, running my hand through my messy hair. I let out a shy giggle, realizing what just happened. I look down at Aang, who was now sprawled out on the bed with the goofiest grin I've seen plastered on his face. He looks up at me and smiles even wider. His face was a deep red, from being both exasperated and slightly taken aback at the same time. He airbends himself up so he is on his feet, and offers a hand down to me.
"We can talk more later. Now I think it's best we get off this airship. I'm pretty sure they are going to wonder what we've been up to… and I don't really want to explain it to Sokka." He says, grabbing my hand.
I giggle as he pulls me up weightlessly, and he swiftly airbends the metal door open. I take his hand and we slowly make our way down the dark hallway towards the ramp opening. I stop in my tracks and pull Aang with me, a little bit back deeper in the hallway again.
"Wait." I say, as I put my hands around his neck one more time. "Just in case we don't get any alone time in the next few days…" I gently push my body against him, feeling his back hit the cold metal wall. Our lips meet quickly, and he grabs my waist and pulls me closer. We kiss until we run out of air and reluctantly separate. He smiles and takes my hand in his, and we make our way out of the airship.