Author's Note: And just why would Katara choose Aang?

Katara stared at him from across the campfire, taking mental notes about his physical appearance and his manner. She had been doing that often lately, cataloging every thought and feeling in the fear that Aang would not make it out of the final battle with the Fire Lord. She loved him and she often spent quiet moments making sure that she remembered every feature, every gesture, and every nuance.

Aang wasn't conventionally handsome, not like the dashing Jet had been. He didn't have the mysterious good looks of the Fire Prince or even, Katara grudgingly admitted to herself, the rugged handsomeness of her brother.

Instead the young Avatar's features were still softened by the roundness of his face, the hard lines and angles of adulthood had not worked themselves into the planes of his jaw line and cheeks.

He had no hair, still looked like a child in many ways both in face and body, and next to every other young man Katara had met he was almost scrawny. She was even taller than he was by a couple of inches, but she had noticed over the past couple of months that the difference in their heights had grown smaller.

So what was it about Aang that made her want no other?

She had been swept off her feet by Jet and fell head over heals for the romance of a freedom fighting boy and his home high in the trees. She had felt a stirring of pity and the hope of change in the Fire Prince, the young man's sad gold-tinted eyes causing an ache in her heart. It was then that she realized he was less an enemy and more like someone who needed a friend.

But she wanted neither of them.

Aang looked up from his dinner and grinned at her, his storm gray eyes shining in the firelight. The waterbender's heart skipped a beat and she smiled back at him. His face might still be childlike, but she adored his smile and the way it could light up a room. He had beautiful eyes and was charming and sweet and she loved him for it. Aang brought out her good qualities and forgave her the bad ones. He could make her laugh and could make her weep when his eyes filled with pain. The young Avatar could make Katara forget her responsibilities and return to the happier times of her youth.

Aang made her feel complete, like he was the missing piece to her puzzle. And no other could give her that.