Chapter 1: Reunion

AN: Here's to a new adventure! I have never written a story like this before. My goal is to write some new stuff to add to the shows plot, but also revisit some "moments" that happened in the show and rewrite them in what I think would be a better way. I apologize if the story sometimes doesn't make sense or there are grammar mistakes. I just learned English two years ago, and it is my second language. I tried my best to proof read, but sometimes it's hard to find your own mistakes. I hope youenjoy!

It was over.

After 100 years of war, tyranny from the fire nation, an entire nation of airbenders erased, there was the Avatar. One who had disappeared from the world, leaving it in a war-torn, unbalanced mess, only to reappear and challenge Fire Lord Ozai on that fateful day of the comet. This time, the Avatar had won. The 12 year old lay peacefully in the back of the captured Fire Nation airship with his friends, now family in Toph, Suki, and Sokka. He watched with a tired smile as the three friends recounted to him what the battle was like from their point of view, celebrating their victory with one another. Of course, there was one last thing to complete their victory, as their airship carried quite the important cargo- the defeated Fire Lord himself. Aang, the now fully realized Avatar, should be the happiest person on the planet right now. However, there was one thing- one person, on his mind.

Katara.

Aang still didn't quite understand how this Southern Water Tribe girl who had released him from his fate in the iceberg 9 months ago had such an effect on him. There was something about her- her radiating sapphire eyes, how her scent gave off the ocean breeze, and how no matter what, she was always there for him. The smile that had grown on Aang's face quickly turned into worry as he thought about the impending situation. The group of friends had informed him that Katara had gone off with Zuko to face off with Azula once and for all. The worry Aang had really wasn't placed for the waterbender's safety; she was the most accomplished waterbender out there and her skills far outmatched his own in that respective bending style. No - he was worried about what their interaction would be like when they REACHED the Fire Nation. Aang was in the middle of wincing about that fateful night at the Ember Island Theatre, when he heard footsteps approaching him. He glanced up to look at Sokka approaching him, still hobbling around, as he had most certainly broken his leg in their battle.

"She's going to be alright, you know." The Southern Water Tribe Warrior said softly, a look of concern towards Aang. This was a highly unusual demeanor for his character, as he was always the first one to be cracking jokes or making fun of a situation.

Aang used the remaining strength he had to gently pull down his friend, now almost brother, next to him. He took a deep breath, trying to gather his emotions before responding. "I know Sokka, but . . . what if she doesn't want to see me?" The immediate snort that followed wasn't exactly comforting.

"I know you are the Avatar who just saved the world and all, and on any day you could kick my butt . . ." the warrior began, "but you sure are a big doofus sometimes."

"What! What do you mean?"

"She does, you know . . ." Sokka finally said, turning towards Aang, and placing his right hand on his shoulder. Aang was trying to take this all in, he never really had this serious of a conversation before with him. "She does what?" he asked, the confusion clearly spread across his face.

"She loves you." It took three simple words for Aang's jaw to drop open. The words that normally would have brought him the most joy in the world now delivered pain and self doubt. He closed his eyes and shook his head down at the ground, slowly building up the courage to look Sokka in the eyes. With a whisper, he let out "How do you know?"

"Love is obvious when you witness it from the outside, but it's hard to see when you're the one experiencing it." Aang stared blankly at Sokka, mesmerized how this man had so much wisdom to share, before letting the words that he actually spoke truly hit him. Could it be true? Could he and Katara actually share the same feelings with each other, just too blind to see it by their own clouded emotions?

"I never got to truly thank you, Aang."

"Sokka . . . I've told you thousands of times, you have had just as much a role in this war as any of the rest of-"

"No, listen." The warrior had put a hand up to signify that he wanted to continue. "Before we found you in the iceberg, I didn't even know who my sister was anymore. When we first lost Mom, I could see a part of her childhood disappear before her, but when Dad left to fight in the war?" Sokka just closed his eyes as pain washed over his face. "She was completely gone. She forced herself to grow up even though she didn't have to. In her mind, she was just trying to help out in the village, but in reality, she was just trying to survive." Sokka looked up at Aang and met his eyes, showing his gratitude. "Then, we met you. I slowly watched my sister find herself again. I got to watch her laugh, and most importantly, learn to be a kid again. But you didn't do just that for her Aang. Because of you, I watched her become a bending master, I watched my sister become a woman of self-confidence, and lastly, I watched the hope that she had in you turn into feelings of affection, trust, and love."

Aang felt the gentle warmth from the tears slowly rushing down his face. He never had done any of these things on purpose for Katara, he just saw it as the right thing to do for the person he cared about most. He didn't know how to respond to the warrior, what could you say to that? Fortunately, he didn't have to. He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder as he watched the warrior-turned-brother use him as support to get up, before starting to head back to the others.

"Get some rest, Aang. We still have a few hours before we get to the Fire Nation Palace, and you'll have a long night ahead of you." Aang didn't need to be asked twice. As he closed his eyes, he replayed his interaction with Sokka over and over, letting the happiness drift himself into sleep.

Katara had been pacing back and forth for 15 minutes now, but to her, it felt like an eternity. She and Zuko had been victorious, and ever since their triumphant victory, she's had to play her least favorite game- waiting.

"Aang . . . please come back." she whispered to herself. As much as she tried to get the thought of the monk out of her head, she couldn't. In fact, this entire week he has been on her mind. Ever since that stupid play. . . That stupid play. Looking back at it even a week later, she still has a hard time wondering how everyone had gotten so upset over it. The play was so comically wrong that they should have been laughing the entire time. Instead . . . she shuddered.

Instead the person that you love put their heart out on a platter and you took it and stomped on it. Now, she was being harsh on herself. Aang was clearly not himself either, and it had led him to show a side of himself that she wasn't fond of. But still . . . ever since that night that she had broken his heart, she wanted nothing more than to fix it. Then, just when she felt that things were starting to become "normal" again, they yelled at each other about Ozai followed by Aang's disappearance.

The more she thought about it, it really was admirable that Aang refused to kill Ozai. Even with the state of the world looming, and the enemy being one that deserved it more than anybody else . . . Aang still stuck true to his character. That's what she loved about him. Love . . . I really am in love with him, aren't I? She wasn't given the chance to ponder that thought any longer, as out from the clouds of the red tainted sky came an airship, heading directly towards them. "Zuko, wake up, someone's here" she hissed at the sleeping figure behind her, taking out her water pouch and getting into a defensive stance, just in case. She heard the Prince behind her scrambling to his feet, but she paid no attention to him. Her focus was on the ship, now landing in the palace square in front of them.

The tension began to grow as it landed, and the door began to open. Cautiously, Katara took a couple of steps towards the airship. The tension quickly broke however, when she heard an all-to-familiar voice yell, "WE DID IT!" Katara laughed as she saw her brother's head pop out of the craft, but laughter immediately turned into concern when she saw him try to hobble out of the craft, holding his injured leg.

"SOKKA!" she yelled, running towards him as fast as he could. The two siblings collided together in a tight embrace. They may bicker with each other a lot, but at the end of the day it was undeniable that these two loved each other. "What happened to your leg?" Katara immediately asked, full of concern.

"Oh you know . . . fell off an airship and saved Toph, just the normal day of a hero."

"Who would have known that Snoozles had it in him, am I right Sugar Queen?" came a voice from inside the airship. Out stepped Toph, laughing at her snide remark, followed by Suki. The group quickly came together for a group hug. At the moment, Katara couldn't feel happier. But then she realized something . . . the group was missing something, not something-someone.

"Where's Aang?" Katara said, her face suddenly full of concern. Her brother was quick to answer.

"Relax Katara, Aang's in the back of the ship, he's just sleeping as he –" Katara didn't even listen to the rest of the sentence as she rushed forward into the door of the airship, quickly looking around for the person she so desperately needed to see. She came to a sudden stop when her eyes found exactly what it was looking for. Aang lied on the ground, sleeping in a peaceful bliss, but his body looked the exact opposite. Aang was covered with cuts, marks, burns, and bruises from head to toe, and it was clear that his battle was not one that was won easily.

"AANG!" she shouted as she rushed forward, throwing herself gently to the ground and placing his body so that she was in her arms. She tightly held the Avatar against her as she began to feel the slow, sudden movements of him waking up. Soon enough, his gray eyes were staring right back at her, giving off a light sparkle under the dim lighting. "Aang I'm so glad you're okay . . ." Katara began. She could feel herself shaking, slowly letting her sobs escape her as she buried her head into his shoulder. He felt his grip on her slightly tighten, as he moved one hand up and down her back slowly as he used the other hand to gently play with her hair.

"I'm glad you're safe too, Katara." Aang responded with a whisper. He calmly held her against him, letting her get all of her emotions out. After a minute or so, he could feel her body start to calm. He took two fingers and gently raised her chin so he could look into her beautiful, ocean blue eyes. These were the same eyes that he saw when he woke up at the iceberg, and he would never get tired of becoming lost in their beauty. "I missed you, Katara," was all he could let out, with a smile.

"I missed you too, Aang. I'm so sorry! The way that we left each other . . . it would have killed me if you didn't come back, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself!" Katara began to tear up again, lightly resting her forehead on Aang's.

"I'm sorry too. The way that I treated you this past week . . . from the theater to now . . . I've been a real jerk. Honestly, I thought you wouldn't want to see me when I arrived."

"Aang . . . don't say that. The way I treated you at the theater was wrong, too. I wasn't confused. I was selfish, and I was denying myself of any attachment or feelings because I was scared. I couldn't lose you again. But . . . when you disappeared, it made me realize something. "Aang, I –"

Suddenly, they were cut off with Toph coming into the airship. "Make up with Sugar Queen later, Twinkletoes. We have to take the Loser Lord to prison."

Aang gave a soft smile. Katara and him had surely become masters of unfortunate timing. He quickly pulled her into a hug before gingerly standing up, wincing in pain. "We'll finish this conversation later" he gently instructed. As he began to walk out of the ship and attend to his duties, he couldn't help but smile to himself. For the first time since coming out of the iceberg, everything was going to be okay.