2.5

He sat on a bench in the garden, wanting to linger a little longer. This place with simple wooden buildings, endless flowers, and old trees had been his home for all of his life. While for most, home had a mom and dad, he had a family built on the bonds at an old monastery in the south. The afternoon sun began dipping west. As day transitioned into night, so was this part of his life.

The leaves shook as a spring breeze blew. He breathed deep, trying to store every detail that what would be his old life because honestly, everything was changing too quickly and made his head spin. After admitting his lies to his mentor, it only took an hour to pack up all of his belongings with Gyatso's help, but Aang never had many things. Though the room he had since he was a child had always been plain, it was now empty and eerie. Packing was the easy part, he realized. The hard part was saying good-bye.

The little ones didn't take it well–didn't understand why he was leaving as it was all too sudden. In the last moments of wearing familiar orange and yellow robes, he tried his best to comfort little faces covered in snot and tears. The older boys took it much easier as men were always leaving, but he could tell that they didn't believe that his absence would be permanent. Some men left, some always found their way back. But he wouldn't be like those before him who took their vows only to renounce them to take them again. This was goodbye after all.

While he felt touched by how much the little boys and his peers would miss him, saying goodbye to all of his teachers and the elders hurt the most. Teacher Choden, a man known for his calm demeanor, hugged him tight and whispered a choked out goodbye. Then there was Monk Milu, the man who taught him how to play the flute, only shook his hand, but gave him a parting gift: the wooden flute his father made and Milu's most prized possession. Some mentors hugged and cried just like the little ones while some were still furious at him because they still considered it to be too rash of a decision. When it came to say goodbye to the High Abbott, his stomach was in knots due to the argument from the morning.

"You'll always have a place here," the usually grumpy monk said. He pulled him into an awkward hug, "So, don't forget this is your home." But there was no anger or falsehood in his voice, just the tender feelings the man always tried to hide.

Most of his goodbyes were said and Aang sat waiting for his ride. Though he was relieved to start over, change was daunting. He traded in robes for a simple orange t-shirt and jeans, but it was slightly uncomfortable. But some things didn't change, like Gyatso's warm smile as he joined him on the bench.

"You're going to have ask Bumi to take you shopping for new duds when you get to the city," he fussed. "That shirt is so out of fashion."

Aang looked down at the shirt in question, he asked defensively, "What's wrong with this shirt? Katara bought me this shirt–"

"Aang, she bought you that shirt when you were seventeen. I'm surprised it still fits!"

The young man let out an exasperated sigh, "What do you know about fashion? You've been wearing robes for over forty years now!"

Gyatso let out a belly laugh, "I'm more attuned with pop culture than you think!"

Under his breath, he could only mutter, "No kidding." Recently, he learned that his mentor had a very popular blog–he didn't even have a blog!

Checking his phone for the time, Aang realized that his ride would be there any minute. Both men started walking towards the parking lot to go wait by his few belongings. Silence wasn't unusual between them, but it only reminded him how real his choice was now. There would be no Gyatso to welcome him home where he was going.

The old man wrapped an arm around his shoulders as they walked, "This isn't goodbye, Aang."

His throat became thick and all the feelings from the morning came rushing back, "Then why does it feel like it is?"

"Because change is scary, but I'm so proud of you, my child. So proud." He saw his mentor wipe a tear from his eye, but they kept walking to the pick up area.

Aang nodded his head a silent thank you, "Do you think I can do this?"

With watery eyes, but a grin, he nodded, "You're going to do great things." Wiping his eyes again, he cleared his voice, "Anyway, I'm going to call the Order's culture group. We have a department with our government in the city and maybe I can get you an internship there."

Aang's jaw dropped, "That would be amazing. Thank you."

They didn't stand long in the parking lot as Bumi's green truck came into view, honking to signal his arrival. Despite that it was short notice, he was thankful that Bumi was able to pick him up. But, it seemed like he wasn't alone.

Aang started walking over to them, but he was definitely in a better mood, "Kuzon, I didn't know you were coming!"

As Kuzon and Bumi slid out of the truck laughing. Bumi mocked hurt, but his smile never faded, "Hey, I'm the one who dropped my plans to come get you! Where is my big hello?"

Aang laughed with them and grabbed both of them into a big hug, "Seriously guys–you're like my best buds. Thanks for coming all the way out here to come get me."

Kuzon smoothed his black hair and shot a mischievous look over at Bumi, "You know we were wondering exactly why you called us…"

Bumi tried not to laugh, but he failed and snorted, "Yeah, dad! How come you couldn't just call mom and have her pick you up."

Aang's face turned red, "I was going to tell Katara later…" Quickly, he added, "By the way, don't call Katara and me that–we're not your parents!"

His friends exchanged another look between the two of them, yet he couldn't exactly figure out what they were scheming. As they started to put his suitcase and a few boxes in the bed of the truck, Kuzon casually dropped, "Oh yeah, Aang. I have something to tell you."

Putting the last box in the bed, he asked, but he had a feeling he wouldn't like it, "What?"

"I just texted Katara with news about your new bachelor status."

He did what? His eyes went wide and his heart dropped. This was not good. He already had a plan on how he was going to break the news to Katara, but Kuzon just had to play pull this trick on him...

Before Aang could yell at his friends, his phone went off–ringing with Katara's ringtone. Gyatso barked out another laugh, "You'd better answer that, boy. Hopefully, she won't be too upset."

Despite that his life really was changing, it was good to know that somethings would always remain the same. He still had friends who cared about him and a family waiting to welcome him home. Plus, it didn't hurt to know that Katara still fussed over him in an instant. Just because his life was changing didn't mean that his relationships needed to be forgotten. And for that, he smiled.

"Hi, Katara. Don't panic–everything is fine–"

Sorry for the bit of the break everyone. Writing my first nsfw piece really took it out of me about a week and a half ago and I also needed to repair my laptop :( but all is good. Chapter three will be up sometime later this week!