A/N: Let me know what you think! For those of you who reviewed, thank you so much! And no, I don't own Avatar!
If you had told them everything, then why on earth would they hate me? Those words continued to run through Katara's head as she stared after the Avatar. Just moments ago he had said those mysterious words, and when she looked at him confused he gave her a disgusted look before walking away. Dazed she slowly made her way back to the table sinking into her chair, unaware that Hideo was looking at her oddly.
"Katara?" He finally said, taking her hand in his. "Are you okay?"
Not wanting to raise questions she turned to Hideo, a happy smile on her face. "Of course dear, why wouldn't I be?"
He continued to study her, "you just looked upset, that's all."
"Oh I wasn't expecting the Avatar to be here. I haven't seen him in a long time and I'm upset with him for keeping his distance from us all." She lied easily, since after all, it was partly true.
"So he's an old friend of yours?" He questioned, making Katara nervous. Very few knew her relationship with the Avatar was more than friendly, something she wanted to keep from Hideo, merely to prevent any questions.
"Yes, Hideo he's an old friend."
Without responding Hideo took the wine pitcher and filled his glass. He took a measured sip before turning to Katara once more. "If he's an old friend, then why don't you call him by his name?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
With an amused expression he leaned close to her. "My dear, you called him the Avatar."
"Oh did I?" She laughed lightly, "well I meant to say Aang." She said with a smile, trying not to let Hideo see how much just saying his name affected her. Luckily it was at that moment that Zuko declared that dinner was served, and the bustle of the servants and the happy chatter of the crowd made it much too loud to continue their conversation. Without realizing it Katara began to look through the food being served, trying to see if there was enough vegetarian dishes for Aang to choose from.
"What are you looking for?" Hideo's question brought her back to where she was.
"Nothing!" She replied, unable to resist glancing over at Aang who was seated next to Zuko, "Nothing at all." She whispered.
He couldn't help himself. Throughout the evening his eyes kept drifting back to her. She was so beautiful, and she danced as if she were water bending, bringing to his mind the image of her in nothing but swim wear. Chasing the image from his mind he tried to bring back the anger that had made it possible to keep his distance from her all this time. Hey we all missed you! Oh and don't worry, I told them all about our breakup and they don't hate you or anything, so you didn't really have to stay away for so long, great right? Her words repeated themselves in his head. He had seen the fear in her eyes when Sokka had approached him, she had thrown herself at him to keep him from telling the truth, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from embracing her. She probably knew he still cared for her, and she used that to her advantage. And yet he could find no traces of anger, not right now when she was just across the room from him. He watched her dance with the man that, if what Zuko had told him was correct, was going to marry her in just two months. He watched as the man tried his best to keep up with Katara, Aang felt a smug smile spread on his face when Katara tried to be patient and wait for him. He really should show the man just how it was done. Besides, he reasoned, I've already danced with others, even Toph, it would look odd if the only person I didn't dance with was Katara. He continued to lie to himself as he headed towards the water bender.
The song ended and Katara stepped back from Hideo gratefully. She loved dancing and lately she had tried to pull Hideo into more complex moves, that unfortunately, he just didn't get. He gave her a sheepish look which caused her to laugh, she was still laughing when she felt a touch at her shoulder, turning she felt the smile drop from her face.
"May I have this dance?" He was smiling, but his voice was cold.
"Um," Katara glanced nervously at Hideo who nodded his head that it was okay, "yes you may."
Easily Aang swept her into his arms just as the next song started up, his hands firmly at her waist.
"We really have missed you." She said once they were on the floor, and at first she didn't think he would respond as they made there way around, dancing easily with each other.
"Did you really expect me to come back after everything that happened?" he finally said, his voice sharp.
She looked up at him and almost flinched at the hard look in his eyes. "Not at first, but what about Sokka and Toph? Just because you ended it with me doesn't mean they had to suffer."
He swung her around in an elaborate dance move before pulling her back to his side and leaning down so her face was merely inches from hers, "You know exactly why I didn't come back!" And then the room was filled with clapping as the song ended and Aang released her before walking away. With tears in her eyes she stared after the Avatar, unaware that Hideo was staring at her, his heart heavy with the knowledge that his fiancée had, and probably still, loved the Avatar.
Carefully the young man urged the giant bison to land next to the Igloo, his eyes were filled with worry as he made his way into the siblings home.
"Katara?" he called nervously. He stepped further into the home and looked around, not seeing anyone. Had something happened to her? He had returned from his trip earlier than planned after a month went by without hearing from her, and now he was worried that he had waited too long. As he searched the rooms he absentmindedly touched the smooth stone that resided in a pouch around his neck, it wasn't until the last room however that he found what he was looking for.
Aang woke up with a gasp before annoyance took over, he was sick of that memory waking him up even three years after it took place. He had thought it finally went away since it had been months since he had last had it, but then again, due to recent events it wasn't that hard to guess just why it resurfaced. Knowing he wouldn't never get any sleep now he threw on some clothes and headed out the door. He was grateful for Zuko to have offered him lodgings for the duration of his stay, and even more grateful that it was so close to a rive, since the pull of the moon was encouraging him to find peace through water bending. He walked into the cool river, letting himself relax as he listened to the noises of nature, enjoy the feel of the moonlight on his skin. After a moment he reached from the pouch that was hanging around his neck, with trembling fingers he opened it and pulled out the smooth stone. It lay flat on his palm, the engravings glinting up at him. Silently he traced the images, one of the air nomads, the other of the water tribe.
"I didn't know you were seeing someone." The quite voice caused Aang to jump as he whirled to face the person.
Katara put her hands in the air, "I didn't mean to scare you."
"What do you want?" He asked, the words harsher than he intended as he roughly shoved the stone back into the pouch.
"Nothing, I was just saying that I didn't know you were seeing someone," when he looked at her oddly she pointed at the pouch around his neck. "That was a betrothal necklace wasn't it?"
"You shouldn't be out here at night." was his reply.
Katara glared at him, "I always come out here at night, if you must know."
"Well you shouldn't, it's not safe." He shot back.
"I'm not a child Aang."
He turned and looked her up and down before meeting her shocked expression. "I know that all too well Katara."
"What is wrong with you?" She demanded, eyes blazing as she strode forward. "You've been acting like a total jerk since you've gotten here, if anything it should be the other way around!"
"Oh is that so?"
"Yes!" she hissed. "You dumped me, and I covered for you!"
"You covered for yourself Katara! You didn't want Sokka to know what kind of woman his little sister grew up to be!" His voice was a mask of anger as he looked at her.
"What?" the word was a shocked whisper. "That's why you did this? That's why you left me?"
"Come on Katara, did you really think I broke it off because of distance?" He scoffed.
"But I-but it wasn't my fault." She stumbled. "I mean part of it was my fault, but you can't just blame me. You were just as much a part of it as I was."
"You honestly believe that?" He demanded. "You were old enough to know better!"
Katara felt shame burn through her as she looked down. "I thought you were going to love me, no matter what."
"Well you were wrong." He snapped, throwing one last disgusted look at her before leaving the river, and Katara behind him. As he made his way back to the palace he took several deep breaths to calm down, but still unable to understand why Katara had thought he would stay with her after he had seen her cheating on him.
Katara slowly fell to her knees in pain as Aang walked away. Her hair fell over her shoulders and covered her face as she wept. She had had no idea that a night she cherished was the same one that had forever ended her relationship with the man she loved. As tears continued to run down her face, she allowed her mind to wander back to that night.
"I've missed you so much Aang." She whispered shyly from her perch on his bed.
Smiling he sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. "I missed you too, more than you know."
Unable to hold back, he leaned forward until his lips met hers, heard her gasp of pleasure and kissed her deeper, loving the taste of her and hating the Avatar duties that kept him from her for so long. Wrapping a hand in her hair he guided her down on the bed, his body gently covering hers as he continued to kiss her. With a moan Katara pulled him closer to her, not wanting any space between them. Hotly Aang grasped the thigh that was now draped across his back and then bit back a gasp as she began messing the the buttons on his pants. He grabbed her hand to stop her, but when he looked her in the eyes she meet his gaze with determination.
"I love you Aang, and I want to be with you."
"Were not married." He managed to remind her, a difficult feat considering where her hand had just been.
"That doesn't matter to me," she said firmly, " all that matters is that we love each other." Sensing his hesitation she sighed, "if you don't feel comfortable Aang then we wont, okay? If you want to wait until were mar-"
"No, your right." He interrupted her. "All that matters is that we love each other." And then they were both ripping off clothing, throwing them on the floor in their haste to get to each other, eager to be complete, body and soul.
She had always thought that Aang had been okay with the decision to make love even though they weren't married, but apparently she was wrong. He had blamed her for that night, he had broken her heart over it and refused to believe that he was a part of the decision. Was she older? Yes, but he knew what was going on and was more than able to make decisions on his own. How was it fair that he blamed her? How was it fair that after everything they had been through he shows up randomly and ends it, with the only reason being that they were apart for too long? Unable to make sense of anything she continued to weep, unaware of the dark figures that were forming behind her.