I would like to thank you all for the comments, and for reading, your feedback is appreciated :D I would also like to thank my beta readers for their help.

Our story continues after our last chapter left off. Any similarities to other fan fictions are purely unintentional.

Book 4 – Air

Chapter 2 – The Promise

Even though the trip to Toph's parent's house was only a few hours away, Aang did his best to make the trip take longer as to throw off Toph's suspicions that they were on their way to her home. Even though he knew it would be good for his friend to get along better with her parents a part of him just wanted to relax and sit on a beach with Katara and for one week just let the problems of the world melt away with her in his arms. Aang's attention was brought back to reality when from behind him he heard;

"We've been flying for hours, aren't we there yet?" Toph said.

"I see it just ahead, just another minute or two." Katara responded.

Meanwhile Aang was preparing himself. He knew as soon as they landed and Toph jumped down from Appa, she would realize this wasn't Ember Island. He flicked Appa's reigns and started their descent. He was landing them in the same garden where they first met Toph, which now seems like so long ago. Appa landed with a slight thud, and sure enough Toph leaped out of the saddle saying.

"Helloooo, Ember Island," she landed on the ground creating a mini crater, then she screamed, "GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE, SO I CAN PUMMEL YOU TWINKLE TOES!"

Aang knowing full well this was coming said as quickly as he could, "Take it easy Toph, and let us explain!"

"No, you lied, you said we were getting away from everything, not coming here!" she snapped back.

Aang looked towards Katara and whispered to her, "How about a little backup, this was your idea after all!"

"Quit your whimpering and get down here, what, afraid of fighting a blind girl?" Toph said while slamming her foot into the ground bringing up a medium sized boulder.

Katara jumped down from Appa and landed next to Toph and said, "This was my idea Toph, and before you attack me just listen, remember when we wrote that letter to your parents, and remember how much you missed them? Well at least try and give them another chance, if it doesn't work, then we'll pack up and leave."

"Fine, but don't hold your breath, I doubt they've changed" Toph replied as she made her way to the house.

The Bei Fongs were already waiting at the entrance to their home. They saw the bison coming towards their home and hoped that their little girl was with the Avatar. Toph already knew her parents were there, and it was weird when they saw her, both of her parent's heart beats increased, this had never happened before, were they truly happy to see her? Toph's mother came running towards her and fell to her knees to give her a big hug. "You're finally home, sweetie, we've missed you so much."

"Yeah enough to send two amateurs to try and kidnap me and take me home." Toph said without much expression.

Toph's father who had joined them said, "That was wrong of me to do Toph, and I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get hurt."

This was a shock, he was telling the truth, he was sorry, well maybe this trip wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Zuko remembered the last time he stood in front of a door like this, it was when he first came back to the Fire Nation, but it was his uncle that was behind that door, but not this time. He pushed the door aside, and walked into the room. It was dark in the room, despite it being midday outside, he searched the cell, and he knew he was in there, he hadn't escaped, and then he saw a figure slumped up against the back wall.

"So, come again for a little chat have we?" Ozai said with obvious disgust in his voice. "I was beginning to think that you had forgotten me."

"I'll never forget what you did to me," Zuko started, "I came here to find out if you have an answer for my question."

"And what question would that be?" Ozai said still not making eye contact with his son, even though Zuko was staring at him.

"Don't try and be elusive father, you know the question, where is my mother?"

"Why do you want to know? She's a traitor after all." Ozai said smiling, "Even if she were to come back she committed treason against our nation, and you know the penalty for that."

Zuko knew what the penalty was, it was death, but remembering what his uncle taught him, he breathed in deeply and responded, "That treason was against the old Fire Nation, we have a new one here and she will be welcomed back, so tell me, where is she?"

Ozai finally turned to face him, seeing the anger in his eyes, even though it was towards him, it somehow filled him with power, though he didn't know how or why. "I know where she used to be."

"Don't play games with me father!" Zuko said angrily.

"It's no game, I put her on a ship that took her to the edge of the Earth Kingdom, they dropped her off and came back home, after that I never had contact with her."

A part of Zuko believed him, while another said he was lying and just trying to toy with him as usual, but once he looked into his father's eyes, he knew he was telling the truth, for some reason or another, he actually loved her, it wasn't a lie. "Then tell me, where was she dropped off?" Zuko said calmly.

Ozai pointed to a map that Zuko had unrolled during his last sentence and he said, "Here."

Supper at the Beifongs was delicious, the evening was filled with tales of their exploits in the Fire Nation, to Sokka and Zuko's prison break of Suki, to which during they shared a few kisses which made Toph sick to her stomach, to ending with the battle of Aang and the Fire lord and Toph's work on the air ships.

"But you were so high off the ground, what if you fell?" Toph's mother stammered.

"Everything was fine mom, Sokka was with me and he'd never let anything happen to me right Sokka?"

Sokka only gave a thumbs up as his mouth was filled with food, and his attention was more on Momo who was trying to steal his food. Everyone laughed even Toph's parents. After supper was finished Aang and Katara were quick to excuse themselves and they headed outside into the garden, Sokka was about to follow them, when Suki held him back and took him to the other side of the house arguing with him.

"But she's my little sister, I can't leave them alone," came Sokka's voice from the other room.

"They're not children anymore Sokka, you can't protect everyone!" Suki's words were right but it brought back a terrible memory for Sokka, and she knew it, she regretted saying the words and said, "Sokka I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Just leave me alone." Sokka stormed outside towards the barn where Appa was sleeping.

"Do those two always fight?" Toph's mother said to Toph.

"For the most part, but they usually make up, but I'm not sure, he seems really upset." Toph replied but still facing towards the barn.

"But how can you tell? I mean you can't see him," Toph's mother started but was cut off by Toph;

"I can't see the way you do mom, I can't tell what people really look like but I can tell their emotions, and if they're lying through the vibrations in the ground."

"That's impressive," It came from Toph's father who had joined them, "And to think we never knew that you never did need escorts to help you in the village, why did you put up with them?"

"Well you never asked me before, you always assumed I was a helpless girl and you never listened to me." Tears were starting to swell up in her eyes but she didn't know why.

"Well we will do our best to make up for it now, if you'll let us."

"Thanks mom," she punched both of her parents in their arm adding, "That's how I show affection." They all smiled.

"Hey buddy," Sokka said as he entered the barn, Appa rose his head up from the hay he was eating and gave a small grunt as if to say "Hey". He sat down on a barrel beside Appa, his mind was racing, and his thoughts were going back to that incident almost 2 years ago now, back at the North Pole, where he lost her, Yue. Maybe Suki was right, maybe he couldn't protect anyone, maybe he wasn't as great of a warrior that he hoped to be. He was trying to play out different scenarios in his head, what if he had stopped Zhao from killing the moon spirit, maybe she'd still be alive, but would he have went with Aang and Katara or stayed there? Would she have come with them on their journey? Could she still have died? It was beginning to give him a headache when he heard a voice from the door.

"What's the matter gloomy gus?" Toph said standing in the doorway.

"Oh hey Toph," Sokka looked up at her and saw that she was smiling, for some reason, it brought a small grin to his face.

"If you're sick, I think I know why, next time you may want to chew your food more before you swallow it," Toph said as she sat down beside him punching him in the arm.

Sokka let out a little laugh, "Nah, I'm not sick, the food was great! It's just, other things..."

"Like what kind of other things?" Toph could tell this was a touchy subject but she wanted to know.

"Well like maybe I'm not a great warrior, or even a good swordsman, I mean I lost my sword, there's probably a rule against that, and any girl I get close to either dies or goes to jail." Sokka started.

"Well hold on there a minute, first off I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't have held on to me back on that airship, also we took out all the airships because of your plan, you don't give yourself enough credit." Toph could feel that her words were helping. "What's this really about Sokka?"

"I think Suki wants more out of our relationship, and I'm afraid to lose her so I don't want to go any further." Sokka said while hanging his head down, "I know it's not something you want to hear but there you have it." Sokka was prepared for Toph to start laughing and calling him a baby, but she didn't do any of that instead she said,

"So is that why you hate it when Aang and Katara go off?"

"I guess that's part of the reason, maybe they were destined for each other, and maybe Suki thinks we're supposed to be, but I don't really know." Sokka looked towards Toph, even though she had mud and dirt on her clothes for some reason, to him now he finally started to realize that she was a pretty girl. Toph sensed that his heart rate increased a little and did her best not to blush, maybe she did like him.

"Well for starters I'd say just leave the two love birds alone, for one Aang's a lot more powerful than all of us, and two, your sister can be deadly if you get her angry." Toph added laughing. Sokka joined in, and agreed with her. Toph reached down to her sack and said, "Plus I've got something here that'll cheer you up."

"BOOMERANG! You do come back!" Sokka said with obvious joy, without even saying anything he reached over and grabbed Toph and hugged her. Even though she didn't really like hugging much, except for group hugs, she liked this one.

"Thanks for the talk Toph, I can't wait to go and show Suki!" Sokka ran off towards the house, leaving Toph with Appa. Appa let out a grunt, and Toph replied, "Yeah he's an idiot."

They were sitting underneath a tree, Aang with his back resting on the tree, and Katara sitting in between his legs, her head resting on his shoulder. Thanks to Toph's training he could feel both of their heart beats, they were both beating slightly faster than normal. Katara was staring up at the sky, it was clear, and all the stars could be seen, even the moon, but tonight it was a crescent moon.

"Aang? When was it that you realized you loved me?" Katara said softly, still staring up at the sky.

"Well when I first saw you out of the iceberg, I thought you were really pretty," Aang started and Katara giggled at his comment, "but I think I knew I first loved you when we were stuck in that cave, and even more so when I went through my training with Guru Pathik. How about you?"

"My feelings started to grow after our cave adventure, but the moment I realized I loved you was when we were in Ba Sing Se, in the crystal catacombs, when you...fell. I thought I had lost you and would never get to tell you." As she said those words, Katara grabbed Aang's arms and pulled them around her making him hold her tightly.

"So when I kissed you during that play, I guess that was a dumb move?" Aang said.

"Dumb yes, but even though I said I was confused, I was glad you did, it let me know that you still cared for me." Katara said looking at him with a longing in her eyes.

The time for words were over, Aang moved his head closer to hers, and their lips where almost touching, it was driving Katara mad, so she pushed her head towards his, kissing him with a fiery passion. Her hands moved from being around his arms to going around his shoulders and interlocking them behind his neck. In response he moved his hands further down her back and pulled her closer to him, with that motion, Katara let out a small moan, increasing both of their passion. Both of their mouths opened at the same time allowing their tongues free roam in each other's mouths. They had never kissed in such a way before, but it somehow felt right. Aang's hands started to move up and down her back caressing her, his right hand went a further down and went passed her lower back and was starting to rest over her butt, for some reason this seemed to increase Katara's desire for him, her hands went from being behind his head to roaming his body, she was about to put her hand underneath his robe when he stopped her. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked him through heavy breaths.

"No, no it's nothing like that, I really liked it," as he knew by a strange feeling in his lower body, but luckily it was dark and she didn't notice. "But I wanted to ask you something before we take this any further."

"Sure Aang, what is it?" Katara was looking at him now and could tell he was a bit embarrassed, though she wasn't sure why.

"Well my people, we were nomads, and free spirits, while some of us wouldn't settle with one person, some of us did, we would make a bond with that person, that nothing could break, and no matter where the other person was, would could sense if they were in danger."

To Katara this sounded like something very important for him and asked, "How do we make this bond?"

Aang was happy to hear she wanted to but, he felt it only right to explain everything. "This isn't some kind of tradition or custom, the bond is real, and can only be made by two people that love each other, and it can never be broken." Aang had a serious tone, but that didn't matter to Katara, she knew what it meant.

"I understand Aang, it's like marriage, except we wouldn't be married right?" Katara said bluntly

Aang surprised at her question said, "Um, well yes, something like that, but I know that we're both still young, but I know that I love you and don't want anyone else, and I don't want to pressure you into it..." he wasn't able to finish his sentence, Katara had grabbed him and kissed him.

"I want to do this for you Aang." Not only was this the answer he had hoped for but looking at her against a starry sky made her look even more beautiful.

Aang had explained how this would work, they both sat facing each other in a meditative position, seeing as how Katara wasn't an Air Nomad and didn't know the ceremony, Aang was going to have to guide her through it.

"Katara, I want you to clear your mind, release everything from your thoughts, the only thing you have to focus on is me, and the sound of my voice." Katara had her eyes shut and her body felt strange like it was tingling all over, she opened her eyes, but somehow knew that she wasn't in her body anymore, she seemed to be sitting in darkness, then all of a sudden across from her Aang appeared. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Now I want you to focus on your heartbeat, let its sound fill your ears."

Katara focused and she could hear her heart beating, it was beating faster than normal. She was able to hear Aang's voice over her heart.

"Now focus on my heart beating."

This next part was difficult for his heart was calm and hers was fast paced, but she was able to clearly hear both.

"Now we must make both of our hearts beat together." She heard Aang's voice over the noise.

She wasn't sure about this next part how could she make two sounds into one, but she had to try, she used all her strength to slow her heart down, she could hear Aang's heart, still calmly beating, hers was slowing down as well. It seemed as if she would never be able to get them as one, and was beginning to get frustrated, when she heard his voice again, "Katara, just relax." She didn't realize it but she was tense, she let her muscles relax and her heart slowed more, until now it seemed that only one heart was beating, at that realization, something happened, a bright light filled the darkness.

"There is one last part to this union, it's to promise that you will never break this bond, and will love me for all time."

Katara looked into his gray eyes and said,

"I promise that for as long as I live and even after I'm gone that I will always love you, Aang."

"I promise that for as long as I live and after I'm reborn, I will stay with you, for all time Katara."

It seemed like she was falling, back to the ground, but she couldn't see anything below her, then she saw her body and felt as if she was entering back into it.

She opened her eyes to see she was back in the garden, Aang sitting across from her and smiling. She knew something was different. She could feel Aang's presence but not with her hands but with her spirit. This is incredible, she thought to herself. He reached towards her and said,

"This bond can never be broken, never let anyone tell you different."

Katara smiled with tears in her eyes, she knew this was just the start of something incredible, she pulled him close and kissed him, but now this kiss was different, not only were their physical bodies in sync but their spirits as well.