The official almanac of the day had predicted it would storm that night. It hadn't. It was sunny all day and night, with only pockets of fluffy clouds to frame the sun in crystal blue. The pamphlets were rarely wrong, so believing the heavens were going to open up on them, Aang decided to change their plans for their date to an indoor activity. Well, in the flurry of papers and trade agreements, he'd forgotten to tell Katara.
"Hey Toph," Aang said finding the Earthbender practicing in the Upper Ring, after an hour of waiting for Katara at the restaurant. "Have you seen Katara?"
He'd panicked. He'd feared the worst. He assumed thugs or gangs held her for ransom, she fell off a cliff or into a pit of snakes.
"No, I haven't seen anyone," she responded, cheekily.
"I'm serious Toph, she was supposed to meet me," he said.
"No, you were supposed to meet her," Toph corrected, "She waited for probably an hour at the zoo before she went home. That's where I found her about to turn the kitchen into a waterfall."
"The zoo? But—oh."
He hadn't told her, trusting that stupid pamphlet about weather patterns, he'd made the reservations for two. And in the bustle of his day, suddenly Katara was on his backburner in the wake of a rebellion in the coal miner guild and the third possible assassination attempt this year for the Fire Lord.
"Let me know when it's safe to come back to the house, Twinkle Toes," Toph said as if she were talking to man on the execution block.
Aang slunked his way through the Upper Ring, cursing the bright and vibrant stars shinning above thanks to no single cloud in the sky. He couldn't even imagine, Katara must have been embarrassed, and angry, and ready to kill him. He imagined that red face she would always get when infuriated, he hoped never to be on the receiving end of it. But when he opened the door, he realized he was wrong.
"Katara, please let me explain!" he shouted first, arms ready to defend himself but she just stood there, hands on her hips staring a hole right between his eyes.
"Thirty seconds, go."
"I got this weather report pamphlet that said it was supposed to storm tonight so I decided to quickly make reservations for a dinner instead so we wouldn't get rained and I got dressed up and it was going to be great but then after an hour I realized I…forgot to tell you," he said and braced.
She just shook her head.
"I appreciate the thought Aang, but not a half complete thought," she said, crossing her arms.
"Katara, I did everything so we'd have a great evening, I made the reservations, and got dressed up, and—"
"Yes, you did all those things but you forgot one detail."
Katara was not usually one to think of herself, in fact in most situations Sokka or Aang had to remind her that mattered too, that she should sleep or eat. But in this moment, she was very, very aware that she'd been misplaced.
"I'm sorry, there was just—there is this huge revolt happening in the miner's guild, and Zuko got another threatening letter. And we're still finding remnants of the Dai Li…"
She looked, however, unmoved. In fact, she looked hurt.
"Three years ago," she began, "You were preparing to facedown an entire army alone, you were going to challenge a psycho to a duel, all alone. You were being forced to gain a mastery of all the elements in less than a year, you never lost sight of your friends and family then," she said.
"Katara, that's not fair," he said, "I've got a burden none of you have—"
"We helped you carry it Aang! I taught you Waterbending, Toph taught you Earth, Sokka kept us all safe and on the right track. We were pulled all over the world to help. We all carried that burden," she said dangerously.
"Katara, I'm sorry."
This hadn't been the first time and he knew her explosion was a long time coming. He's forgotten her birthday until about noon that day because he'd been up all night trying to cut down the wording on a new law for the Fire Nation. He'd lost a gift she'd given him for his own birthday after he got into a fight with a local gang.
She just walked away, mumbling something about getting changed and Aang wanted to smack himself. The more he wanted to tell her she was overreacting and being unfair, the more he knew she'd get angry. He'd once been willing to give up the world just so he wouldn't lose her, how could he possibly be forgetting her now? But maybe that was her point, now, was a different time.
He wondered if she feared marrying him, what uncertainty that would entail, would he miss their children's births or birthdays or holidays with them? He feared for that too.
"Give her a minute to calm down, Sugar Queen never stays mad at you for long," Toph said, out on the front porch of the house.
"I guess—wait, she's been mad at me before?"
"Every couple argues Twinkle Toes," Toph yawned, "But I'd really like to sleep soon so get this one over quick please."
Aang waited in the downstairs living room for Katara return. When she did she was in a robe, under which hid her sleeping clothes. She looked more tired than angry now as she sat down in the chair and tapped a single finger on her left hand against the arm of the chair.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I really, really am. You know I don't do it on purpose."
"I know," she said, "And I know I was being unfair earlier—"
"You weren't, you were—"
She placed a hand to his mouth and inched her face closer. He got quiet.
"I was being unfair. I'm not saying I'm just going be okay with every time you being the Avatar ruins our plans or leaves me spending the day or night alone," she said, "But being…being your girlfriend isn't easy Aang."
He must have looked as hurt as she felt because a flash of panic fell over her face and then retreated like a wave. She sat forward more, placing a hand on his face and another on his shoulder.
"That doesn't mean it's not worth it Aang," she said quieter, "After all we went through, I want this more than anything, and probably more than you knew. But that doesn't mean it's easy."
"I just assumed it could work," he shrugged, sitting back.
"It can, Aang and it does. But sometimes being in different countries and having a world to rebuild is going to come first—for both of us—and it's just, it won't be easy," she said.
Aang had assumed they'd be together and that was the end of it. He was naïve about relationships. He watched Mai and Zuko argue and make up often and swore that would never be him and Katara. He observed Sokka and Suki mesh together almost perfectly. But it was communication, and attention, and a give and take. Relationships, in short, were work.
"You were right," he said. She tilted her head in a silent question, "I once did pick you over the world. I should be doing that more often."
"Aang that was a stupid thing for me to say, nothing good ever comes from an Avatar choosing someone first," she said. And Aang thought of Kuruk, his life destroyed because Koh stole his wife, or Roku, blind to Sozin's plans while he raised a family.
"No," he challenged, "The Avatar is human. If I want a family, they come first."
"Where they can," she amended him.
He was silent and she took that for agreement. They leaned forward at the same time and kissed lightly as a silent apology.
"Toph will be happy," Aang said.
"Yes she will be," Toph herself said, pushing a door open loudly and walking in. "Goodnight weirdos."
Katara rolled her eyes and kissed him again. This time they broke for a flash from outside and a crack from the sky that rumbled the house. Aang wanted to scream and Katara broke out into uncontrollable laughter at how red his face became.
"Well, it did storm after all," he said.
"We can still have that date you know."
And they spent the night cooking in the kitchen, dodging Toph's angry glares every time she'd wake up to get water or use the bathroom. They laughed and played Pai Sho and watched the rain come down outside until finally falling asleep just before dawn. All in all, the storm was worth it after all.