Chapter 7: Together
AN: Thank you all so much for the reviews lately! You have made my week! I was so scared when I first posted this story, and the fact that even one person enjoys it has made it all worth it!
Back to happiness! This was personally my favorite chapter to write, so I hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
Katara sighed as she felt the air push against her. They had been flying non-stop for four days straight now, slowly making their way from the Southern Air Temple to Ba Sing Se. Normally the traveling days wouldn't be too bad, but these four days were miserable for their crew. When they travel, Sokka and Aang are usually cracking jokes back and forth between each other, and Aang would always tell stories to help pass time.
This time was different.
Aang hardly spoke a word during the first two days. The airbender hardly seemed there at all, his face barely showing emotion, all life seemingly gone from his body. In fact, most of the flight he was curled up against Katara sleeping. Not that she minded the physical intimacy of it all, but she was growing increasingly worried for Aang.
Back at the Serpent's Pass so long ago, it was obvious that he was hiding his emotion. This time, he wasn't hiding any emotion, he just didn't have any to show. What made things worse was Katara felt the same way. She was heartbroken seeing Aang in such an emotional state, and it was as clear as day that the weight of the world was heavily weighing upon the Avatar's shoulders.
Yet, she could do nothing to help it. All she could do was hold the airbender close to her, and not let him go. She absolutely hated this feeling. Katara had prided herself on being the rock of the group, always being there for anyone else to lean on. Whenever someone had a problem in the past, she would always find some way to help them feel better. Now, here Aang was, in a state of depression, and there was nothing she could do about it. It made her feel powerless.
Sokka and Toph desperately tried helping the situation, cracking jokes and pulling pranks on each other to try to bring out the humor from the group, but nothing seemed to help. By the third day, Aang started to seem to pay attention to more things, but only spoke when he was absolutely needed. Something was clearly bothering Aang, and it hurt Katara that he wasn't confiding his problems to her. She had always been the first person that he would open up to, and it hurt her so much to see him in so much pain.
The fourth day came, and they were slowly making their way across the Earth Kingdom. Most of the day was spent crossing the Si Wong Desert, and they were set to arrive in Ba Sing Se the next day. Aang was slowly starting to perk up more, making small talk in conversations and planning out what the group would be doing when they arrived in the Earth Kingdom Capital. Katara, however, was feeling herself become more and more distant. She felt like a failure. All she wanted was for Aang to be happy, yet clearly the Avatar was far from it. The memories from the Southern Air Temple played repeatedly in her head, torturing her with the sight of Aang in so much pain.
The group eventually decided they would be stopping in Serpent's Pass for the night, before making the final trek to Ba Sing Se in the morning. When they landed, Aang was curled up against her with his head in her lap, sleeping off his pain. Aang had rarely slept when they were on their journey to stop Ozai the past 9 months. Since the Southern Air Temple however, he was sleeping 12 hours a day. The entire group was worried for him, none more than Katara. As Appa landed on the rocky cliffs below, Katara couldn't help but take in the view of the ocean that stood before them.
It reminded her of the last time that they had made their way through this treacherous place. Aang was extremely distant from the group and she had to rely on her own strength to help get the group through the tough times, especially when they all were missing Appa. Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Katara knew that she was going to have to rely on her strength again to help get Aang to Ba Sing Se. She couldn't let the others know that she was hurting. She refused to look weak in this situation.
Toph, Suki, and Sokka started to clear their belongings off of Appa as they went to set up camp. Katara chose to sit there with Aang for a while longer, letting the airbender rest. As Sokka grabbed the final sleeping bag, he shot a look of concern towards Aang and Katara before shaking his head and dropping to the ground below. Katara sighed as she slowly ran her finger across Aang's head, trying to soothe him while he slept.
Her feelings were strong for him, and it hurt her so much to see him in so much pain. She wanted nothing more than to take on some of the burden he was feeling at the moment. To embrace him and let him know that everything was okay. Remind him that she wanted to be by his side for the rest of his life. That she thought of him as more than a friend, despite her awful interaction with him at the Ember Island Theater.
Aang interrupted her thoughts as he started to stir against her, and his eyes slowly fluttered open. She tried to hide her disappointment when his eyes remained even-keeled, when all she wanted was to see them dance and sparkle again. "Hey there, sleepyhead," she whispered, trying to make the situation a little more lighthearted. "We've reached camp for the night, but I thought I would let you sleep a little longer since you seemed so comfortable."
She was met with a nod as Aang stretched his body, taking in his surroundings. He then turned his head back to her and raised an eyebrow. "Are we at the Serpent's Pass?" Katara could only nod back at him, frowning when his face sulked when he realized how he had been acting the last time they had been here. "Would you like to go for a walk with me?" Aang then asked, his voice soft, but there was a slight expression of comfort in there.
Katara's face lit up, as Aang was finally requesting to do an activity other than sleep or eat since they had left the Southern Air Temple. They slowly made their way off of Appa, letting the others know that they were going to explore the area. They walked in silence for a while, with Aang leading the way. Though he made no indication, it seemed like he knew where he wanted to go.
After about 5 minutes or so in comfortable silence, they finally reached their destination. They had reached the cliff's edge, poking out to have a beautiful view of the ocean. Katara recognized it as the spot where she had approached Aang, trying to get him to show any sort of emotion. The spot where he had turned her down. The two of them looked out into the horizon for a short period of time, before Aang did something that shocked her.
Out of the blue, Aang took her and wrapped his arms around her waist, gently bringing her into an embrace. She let out a sigh of content as she returned the hug, holding him as tightly as she possibly could against her. Almost immediately, she felt the protective walls that she put up tear down around her, and the tears that were forming in her eyes made their way down her cheek. Aang had responded by softly rubbing his hand across her back, and he changed his position so she could fully lean into him.
Soon, the tears that she had turned into sobs, and she sunk her head into his shoulder in embarrassment. As if knowing exactly what to do, Aang slowly brought the both of them down slowly down to the ground so he could cradle her in his arms. He silently rocked her back and forth as he continued to rub her back in a soothing manner. Katara wasn't even sure why her emotions were so strong, but she was content to stay in this position forever. Aang eventually moved one of his hands to gently stroke the back of her head as she sobbed, and he leaned his forehead to press against hers to increase the intimacy of the moment.
Katara's tears slowly faded away after a few minutes, but Aang remained in this position, continuing to soothe her to the best of his ability. Her body had relaxed and melted into his, and she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of being taken care of for once. Aang didn't stop his motions at all, but chose for this moment to ask his question. "What's wrong, Katara?" His voice was soft, gentle, and brought instant comfort to her. It was a tone that she hadn't seen before in the airbender, but she was so appreciative that he was using it now.
She sniffed, trying to bring the right words to her mind to match the intense emotions she was facing right now. Coming up with multiple phrases, she couldn't decide on a good response. Knowing that he was still waiting on a response, she said the next thing that came to her mind, even though it was the last thing that she wanted to say. "You broke my heart, Aang."
Katara felt his body tense up against her. He still kept her in his arms, but he moved his head back to create separation between them. His head was hung in shame as he closed his eyes, pain forming across his face. "I'm so sorry, Katara. I never meant to hurt you." The voice that came out of him was purely against everything she knew about him. His voice was soft, weak, and scared as he spoke, but he chose to continue. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Katara took a deep breath. She knew that this conversation would bring pain back to the both of them, but she also recognized that this was something that they needed to talk about. "Aang . . . the way you reacted at the Southern Air Temple . . . it was so scary. You could barely breathe, and I could feel the pain that you were experiencing. I'd never seen you like that before, it was terrifying to experience, and it hurt me to see you that way."
Silence then followed that statement as both of them took time to gather their emotions. Aang let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry, Katara. I never meant to hurt you. It kills me that I caused you so much pain. Ever since our failed invasion on the Day of the Black Sun, I had been holding my emotions together and shoving it deep down in order to face our challenges with somewhat of a level head. But, when I saw Gyatso . . ." Aang shuddered as he lowered his head. "All those emotions came back to me at once, and I guess I snapped."
Katara felt the tears well back up in her eyes as she stared back with concern to Aang. "Why didn't you tell me, Aang? You always came to me before when you had issues. What made you choose to avoid confiding in me then?"
Once again, a soft silence came over them as Aang pondered how he would respond to the statement. Katara knew something was up when he then lifted his head and stared into her eyes, his face taking on a serious expression. "Things were weird between us then . . . I had kissed you at the invasion and we kind of avoided each other." Katara sank her head in shame at that moment. She knew he was being nice, it wasn't him avoiding her at that moment, it was the other way around. She listened as Aang continued, "Once Zuko joined us and we were all taken away on his field trips, I just felt that there was a distance growing between us. Then . . . the play happened . . . and well . . . I felt that I was the last person that you would want to possibly talk to at that point."
Katara lost it at the end of his statement. Her tears gushed faster than before, and Aang immediately took her back into his embrace, working towards comforting the waterbender again. She gladly accepted it, but felt a sense of shame rise into her body. Why do I deserve this comfort? I was the one who caused him this pain. As she sobbed, she desperately wanted to fix the situation. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you Aang," she croaked out. "I don't know how you even consider me a friend after that!"
She became more confused when she felt a smile creep against her. "I think you're forgetting that there was a jerk of an airbender who also played a part in that equation." He spoke softly, but evenly, a comforting tone wringing through his words. "One who was accusing you and not considering your feelings, and then made the stupidest mistake of kissing you without your consent. Katara, I'm so sorry for how I acted at that play. You had every right to respond the way you did."
Katara felt herself relax into his embrace for a little while, her sobs slowly disappearing into gentle tears running down her face. They sat in each other's warmth, both taking in the apology that they had mentioned to each other. Katara closed her eyes and winced as she squeaked out, "I still let you down, Aang. You needed me at the Southern Air Temple and I could do nothing to help you. I felt so powerless and weak."
Aang responded by taking two fingers, lifting her chin so she could meet his gaze. For the first time, his eyes were speaking to her again. His eyes sparkled with a sense of comfort and affection, but also a sense of confidence. "Listen to me, Katara." He started, his voice even and his tone serious. "You are the strongest person on this planet. Your resolve to take care of and fight for the people you love is what makes you the greatest person on this planet. You won us this war, Katara. Without you, our group would have crumbled, and I would have been lost. At the Southern Air Temple, you did more than enough for me, you stuck with me and were there for me. That's all I needed."
She threw her arms around his neck in response, wanting to feel as close to him as possible. She couldn't begin to believe how this perfect person was there for her, and continued to treat her this well after all of her shortcomings. She drank in his words as he continued. "You told me that it's okay to not be okay. I'm not sure if I'll ever be okay, Katara. But, I know that I'm content and happy when I'm with you, and I would do anything to keep you by me for the rest of my life."
The two stared into each other's eyes, feeling closer than they ever had with each other. Of course, this moment was short and sweet as the earth moved below them with a rumble.
"Come on, Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen, it's been dark for half an hour now. Come to bed!" Toph shrieked. The two of them sighed once again, still taking a few moments to separate from their trance. Katara wouldn't let the night end without kissing Aang on the cheek first, content with the blush that immediately formed after.
Aang sighed. It had been a few hours since they landed in Ba Sing Se, and he was immediately pulled aside to head off into a meeting. He wasn't even sure what this meeting would be about, or who it was with. To his pleasant surprise, he noticed General Gun Ji walking towards him. The general took a bow to acknowledge his presence, and Aang swiftly bowed with respect in return.
"Greetings, Aang. Did you have a good visit to the Southern Air Temple?" The General's expression was soft, showing understanding that there must have been pain that went along with the visit.
"It was a good visit overall." Aang admitted, "It was tough to properly say goodbye to some of my closest friends, but it was something that I found necessary to do." The General nodded, a solemn expression forming over his face.
"I want to send you my own condolences for what happened, Aang. From what I have heard about the Air Nomads, they seemed like wonderful people. To know the atrocities that my nation has caused . . . brings me a lot of pain." Aang only responded with a nod and quick murmur of appreciation. "On a brighter subject, our militia is growing quickly in numbers, would you like to come see it?"
This brought a smile to Aang's face. For once, there was a group from all nations working together for the subject of peace. "I would love to, General Gun Ji." The two of them walked into the Earth Kingdom Palace, and sight before him had Aang's jaw dropping open. The army had at least 50 people in it. He recognized at least 15 different waterbenders, and there had to have been 20 different earthbenders and firebenders respectively to add on top of it. Currently, they were all working together to restore some of the damage that had happened during the White Lotus's siege of Ba Sing Se.
The General let out a hearty laugh at Aang's reaction. "Isn't it wonderful, Aang? For once, we have a group of people committed towards peace. These warriors were not even hesitant about joining our cause, and I suspect that our group's numbers will double within the next week!" The General stroked his beard as he looked thoughtfully at Aang. "This is all happening, thanks to you, Avatar Aang. They were more than happy to join the cause for such a noble hero."
Aang flushed in response, before putting his hand up. "I appreciate the recognition, General Gun Ji, but my friends played just as much of a part in stopping the war as I did. So, what are the next steps for the militia now that we have solid numbers?"
The General nodded in his response about recognizing his friends before moving on to answer Aang's question. "We plan to stay in Ba Sing Se for a little while. There are still plenty of former Fire Nation soldiers here, and we want to make sure that there isn't a rebellion that comes up among them. Plus, there are still quite a few wounded from the battle that took place here on the Comet. Our group looks to aid them and see if we can do anything to help with the healing."
Aang took a moment to let the plans sink in, before letting a smile come across his face. "Master Katara is a wonderful healer, the best in the world in fact. I will bring her back over tomorrow and we would be happy to aid in the healing efforts." With this, the General's face broke out in a grin and he let out a hearty laugh. His laugh was infectious, immediately bringing a smile and a chuckle out of Aang.
"That would be wonderful, Aang. Thank you! Though, I must ask, what is the relationship between you and the waterbender?" This comment quickly erased Aang's smile as he quickly fumbled for an answer. When he was met with the General's expression of understanding, he decided he could be honest with him.
"I'm not sure, General Gun Ji. I would love nothing more than to be in a relationship with her, and before I thought she didn't reciprocate my feelings. Lately though, we've had a ton of moments where we get really close to each other, but something always comes in and stops it before it materializes." Aang let out a shrug as his expression turned into a frown. "I would love nothing more than to be with her, but I also don't want to rush her."
The General nodded, before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well, Avatar, I can't give you too much advice on the subject, but I do know this. Life is too short, especially with the war we've been having, to play a game of "what if." If you believe that both of you would potentially want a relationship, talk about it! The worst that can happen is that you both agree that you need more time."
Aang nodded, flashing his signature grin, and then gave a respectful bow in return. "Thank you for the advice, General Gun Ji. I look forward to returning tomorrow with Master Katara to help with the healing efforts. If you would please excuse me, our group is having a get together at the Jasmine Dragon that I am already late for."
General Gun Ji responded with his own bow and smile. "My pleasure, Aang. Go get her!'
The group of friends laughed and laughed as they enjoyed their time together at the Jasmine Dragon, celebrating their victory as a whole group for the first time. Zuko and Mai had even come, with Zuko being in Ba Sing Se for business for the next two weeks. For the first time since leaving the Southern Air Temple, Aang felt content. The pain and emptiness was still there in his heart from losing his family in the Air Nomads. But, he had a new family now. One that would love him and stick with him, even through his shortcomings and mistakes.
"Zuko, stop moving! I'm trying to capture the moment. I wanted to do a painting, so we always remember the good times together." Sokka said. Katra walked over to his side and smiled.
"That's very thoughtful of you, Sokka!" She suddenly gasped, looking annoyed. "Wait, why did you give me Momo's ears?" The rest of the group besides Aang got up to look at the painting that Suko had made.
"Those are your hair loopies!" Sokka exclaimed! Aang smiled as he watched his new family bicker with each other about Sokka's painting. Overwhelmed, he needed to catch a quick breather, and stepped outside to the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon. Giving a quick pet to Appa, he thanked his companion for all the work that he had done for him and his crew this past year, before making his way to the railing and enjoying the view.
Ba Sing Se was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was just setting, painting the sky with a soft orange color, the city shining below. As he got lost in the beauty of the view, he heard footsteps creeping up behind him. When he finally looked over, he saw Katara staring back at him, a blush forming on her cheeks. She looks beautiful in that dress.
Katara silently sent a message between them. I'm tired of being interrupted. Aang smiled back at her, and the two brought each other in for a soft, but warm embrace. They took this moment to reflect on the journey that they had been through, together. The world had asked far too much from these two kids, but they had delivered on their unspoken promise. Through that, they had grown to love and care for each other.
Silently, they broke their embrace, and enjoyed the city view in front of them. The peace that rested over the world was beautiful, and for the first time since they have met each other, they could really just sit back and enjoy the moment. This was stopped when Katara turned towards Aang, causing him to turn towards her. Looking into her eyes, she sent one last message, clear as day.
I'm ready to start a new journey together.
Before Aang could even explode in happiness, he noticed Katara's eyes close. Instinctively, he closed his eyes back and two worlds finally became one as her lips connected with his. All of their turmoil, emotions, and worries were thrown out the window as they enjoyed the feeling that only the two of them could provide. Katara wrapped her arms around his neck as he brought his around her waist, pulling them together. Their kiss deepened, and for the moment, there was no war, there was no awful event at the play, there was no worry about how the other person felt.
Now, they had each other, and nothing in the world could possibly stop them.