Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters.
Well, here we go again. Due to the advice that another writer pointed out to me on this website, I'm going to be making these scenes much longer and more detailed. Wish me luck!
-Ardala91
"Things do not change: we change." -Henry Thoreau
"I missed you," a tender voice said, "Did you forget?...I feared you weren't coming back. I loved you." Aang shook his head as he considered saying these things to her as she approached. What was he suppose to say? She'd left, not him! 'That was because she was needed elsewhere,' he told himself sternly, 'and she's back now and that's all that matters.'
Katara had changed since he'd last seen her. Her eyes were burdened with new experiences and she carried herself with an air he didn't even know existed. Where was the girl he'd fallen in love with? What had happened? He embraced her hug warmly and felt her eyes observe him without revealing anything. "I missed you," she whispered in his ear. He held her for the longest moment. What could he say, the actual truth? He hadn't seen her for over two years now and…
"I missed you too," he responded thickly, backing up out of the hug. "Katara…we need to talk."
Her eyes shifted about uncomfortably and Aang could have sworn he saw… "Yeah, we do," she assented quietly. She lifted her face to observe him with respect, but was that defeat in her eyes..? "You've changed," she stated, "A lot."
Aang swallowed. Why was it suddenly hard for him to breath? "I know."
She tilted her head. "I have too. Does that bother you?"
"Not entirely," he defended himself, "We just need time to-"
"Fall in love again," she finished for him, "but we might not be able." Her cobalt eyes read his own like an open book and Aang saw her, a glimpse of the girl he'd loved. "And you don't think we can."