Katara looked just as beautiful as Aang remembered. The old feelings he thought he had lost for the waterbender came rushing back at him.
She stepped back, a hand cupped over her mouth. She thought she was prepared to meet him again, maybe even give him a piece of her mind, but now that he was here right in front of her, she froze.
"Katara..."
He looked so different that Katara didn't recognize him at first. In fact, if it wasn't for the blue-arrowed tattoo on his forehead peeking through his hair, she would've denied it was him.
His usual round face was now sharp, his previously chubby cheeks and jawline were chiseled, and he had grown hair.
His jet-black hair complemented his fine features perfectly, though Katara didn't know how to feel about him hiding his arrows. She had always found his tattoos beautiful.
Physically, he looked better than ever. He was a lot taller than before. She couldn't see his body properly since the cloak he wore covered most of it, but she could tell he had filled out.
All in all, he looked really good.
Neither one of them moved for a few seconds, both were too busy drinking the other's appearance in.
Everyone but Suki watched nervously as Aang's face remained impassive. They had all expected Aang to at least be a little happy at the sight of them.
Had he really changed that much?
But then a familiar grin broke across the airbender's face, to everyone's relief. He rushed toward Katara, using a little bit of airbending to speed up.
Aang crashed into her, his arms coming around her to scoop her up into a tight embrace.
Katara nearly gasped when she felt his warmth for the first time in three years, and as much as she tried she couldn't resist the urge to melt into his arms.
Oh how she had missed his touch and smell.
Their bodies were pressed tightly close together, both of them trying to soak in as much as they could of each other.
Aang was the first to break the silence.
"I'm so happy to see you, Katara." He spoke into her ear softly, making her gasp quietly at the deep sound. "I was so scared when I heard... you have no idea."
Aang pulled back from the hug, examining her. "You're not hurt, are you?"
Katara shook her head, clearing her throat. "No.. I'm okay, thanks to you." she whispered, smiling shyly.
He grinned again, his chest feeling lighter, and pulled her back in for a hug. His chin resting on the top of her head.
Katara leaned her head on his chest, feeling content.
Sokka's eye twitched, watching the scene. He was about to run up to the airbender to exchange a few words or fists for touching his sister when Suki stopped her, shaking her head.
"Not now, Sokka. Let them have this moment." She spoke firmly.
The Kyoshi Warrior couldn't hide the smile that had appeared on her face. Seeing the two embracing like that warmed her heart.
Suki was the only one that had seen both of them suffer from the seperation, she had seen both of them at their lowest.
The first year after Aang had left, Katara looked lifeless like a shell of her former self. The two years after that were a lot better, Katara regained most of her old self but it was never the same.
Aang's absence affected the waterbender greatly, Suki could see it.
Everytime his name was mentioned in the tribe Suki could see her wince noticably. Everyone had to walk on eggshells around her and made sure to never mention the Avatar.
As for Aang, these past few days Suki traveled with him showed her that he suffered too. It wasn't very clear at first, but as time went on she noticed his fatigue and exhaustion like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in ages. And just like Katara he overall looked less energetic and happy.
They needed this, both of them. She'd be damned if she let Sokka ruin this.
Toph had her arms crossed. She looked unbothered, but on the inside her heart was hammering in excitement.
Aang's heartbeat felt so familiar and comforting to the earthbender. His feet weren't as light as they used to be but other than that it was so similar to what it was back then.
She missed him and his company as much as she hated to admit it. Aang had given her the opportunity to leave her parents and really start living life, the way she always dreamed of doing.
Even though Toph had never shown it, she truly was grateful for everything Aang had done for her. She didn't even want to think about what her life would be like without him.
Zuko smiled a little too, eyes darting across the clearing every now and then, on the lookout for their enemy.
Where was he? Who was he? Did Aang already deal with him?
He had so many questions for the Avatar but knew better than to interrupt right now.
A harsh wind blew across the clearing, blowing the leaves of the trees and their clothes. Aang and Katara were still locked in an embrace.
The airbender's body was shaking in relief. She was here right in front of him, alive and well.
He never wanted risk losing her again.
He never wanted to let go again.
Aang was running his fingers through her hair when the waterbender's eyes finally flew open, mind catching up to her heart.
She pushed him away harshly and took multiple steps back.
No. As good as it felt to be in his arms, as good as his touch felt, she wasn't going to have her heart broken. Not again.
Aang stepped back in shock. He looked a little hurt but mostly shocked. "Katara?"
Katara had to stop herself from jumping into his arms again, instead she looked away from him.
"I can't Aang... we can't..."
Before anything else could happen a fiery figure burst through the forest, and in less than a second Malik landed between the two, flickers of flame trailing behind him, and sent a powerful kick to the airbender's abdomen.
"Aang!" He couldn't hear who had shouted his name, he was too busy keeling over at the sudden pain.
His wide eyes snapped to Malik.
"You're quite confident, aren't you? Taking your attention off me like that." Malik sneered and grabbed the airbender by his neck, jumping forward at full speed he sent them both flying in the forest, away from everyone else.
Aang grunted in pain when Malik's hand that was tightly wrapped around his throat burned and squeezed.
They crashed through several trees, his body taking all the impact.
When they finally stopped, Malik dropped Aang's limp body to the ground. The airbender felt like his entire body was on fire, from inside out.
He got up, stumbling slightly as Malik approached him.
He kicked twice, sending two massive streams of fire at the Avatar. Aang jumped away from the first one and ducked just in time for the second. However, before he could regain his footing Malik was already in front of him and blew him away with a strong blast of fire.
Aang managed to shield himself from most of the damage with his own firebending but was still flung from the force of it.
He quickly got up and this time he didn't wait for Malik to make the first move, instead he leaped forward , fists encased with air and attacked the spirit.
Malik dodged and blocked the first few before he started throwing his own.
They traded blows for a minute but it quickly became clear that Aang was slowing down, his movements were sluggish and slow due to his entire body being in pain and it became worse with each hit he received.
Malik found an opening and kicked him in the stomach, hard.
The airbender coughed and stooped, clutching his stomach in pain, but the spirit did not relent, He grabbed the teen by the front of his cloak and threw him against the nearest tree.
Aang's body smacked against the tree before he slid down back against it, helplessly watching as Malik neared him, he could do nothing but track his movements with blurry eyes.
Malik stared down at him, lips twitching a tiny bit at the teen's struggle, and stabbed his spear on Aang's arm.
Aang bit back a scream. His mind reeled in pain, and his left arm burned.
Malik grinned, satisfied. He could cut through the Avatar's organs like butter if he wanted to, but he needed to keep him alive for now.
Instead he pressed the Avatar against the tree-trunk with his foot.
"This fight is over."
I'll have to enter the Avatar state or I'll die here. Aang thought, gnashing his teeth hard. I can't let that happen, the others still need my help.
He shut his eyes, ready to use his last resort when the pressure suddenly subdued and he heard grunting.
Opening his eyes, he watched mouth agape, as Zuko was crouching above the fiery spirit, holding him down with his own flaming limbs.
"Zuko.." Aang croaked out, head lolling back. He still felt immense pain all over his body.
Zuko's hands and feet that were engulfed in his own fire held the man down, he was making sure to keep his body from touching the spirit's so he didn't get burnt.
The Firelord was holding down the much stronger bender with all his strength.
"Aang! I can't hold him down for long!" Zuko shouted, sweating bullets as the spirit fought back.
"Get off me!" Malik roared, overpowering and throwing Zuko away. The fire surrounding his body seemed to get brighter and more intense.
Zuko rolled away, distancing himself from the burning spirit.
Malik got up but was instantly met by a violent gust of wind, sending him tumbling again. Aang stood there, stumbling and just barely standing but looking determined.
"Thanks Zuko, you're a life saver." He murmured, grateful for the opening Zuko had given him.
I've got to use the Avatar State now.
Aang closed his eyes, body slumping slightly, making Zuko's eyes widen in alarm.
The spirit rushed toward the unmoving airbender, intending to deal the final blow to the weakened Avatar.
"Hey, don't just stand there idiot! He's closing in on you!" Zuko screamed, voice mixed with fear and anger.
Just as he finished screaming, Aang's eyes snapped open, glowing brightly. Malik's eyes widened. His arm was outstretched, his spear inches away from the Avatar's face but it was too late.
Zuko watched in disbelief as the air surrounding Aang was so strong it stopped the spirit from advancing.
Aang seized the spear from Malik's hand and easily broke it in half.
The glow disappeared from Aang's eyes but he still felt the power of his past lives flowing through his veins.
He smacked his palms together, causing the surrounding air to explode like a bomb. Malik flew back from the force of the explosion but managed to balance himself by shooting two enormously powerful bursts of flames behind him.
Aang drew out large amounts of water from the air, formed them into massive icicles and shot them at Malik.
The spirit spun around, massive waves of flames leaving his body and crashing onto the icicles, melting them instantly.
Aang drew out water again, this time forming water jets and shot them at the Spirit. Malik disappeared before he could get hit, bursting in flickers of flame.
Aang's wide eyes darted around. He vanished.
How was that possible?
His body tensed when he felt an attack coming from behind him. Quickly turning around, he blocked the massive fire stream with an even bigger water wave, before countering with an equally powerful fire attack.
Zuko covered his face with his arms as the two battled, eyes widening. The area they were in was completely covered in either fire or water, the surrounding trees were all destroyed and burnt down.
Aang stood in the middle of the area, defending and deflecting Malik's attacks as the spirit moved swiftly around, appearing and disappearing in flickers of fire.
This was the craziest battle Zuko had seen. The spirit moved around with such great speed The Firelord could barely keep up.
Malik's speed overwhelmed even the Avatar. The only reason Aang could keep up was because of his seismic sense.
He made a mental note to thank Toph.
From the outside perspective it looked like Aang was only defending because he was struggling, but he was actually trying to memorize Malik's movement pattern so he could send a well timed attack.
He defended himself from Malik's attacks and sent a few back to keep the spirit busy.
Few minutes of defending and deflecting later, he finally saw an opening. He focused on his seismic sense and acted.
His eyes glowed again before he formed two large, fierce water jets with all his might and shot them at the spirit.
Malik's smile dropped as soon as he realized what the airbender was doing. He tried to stop, but it was already too late.
He quickly and desperately created a fire shield, surrounding him.
He had to give credit where credit was due, the Avatar surprised him. Not that it mattered, he was confident that his fire would block the attack completely.
His smug smirk was immediately wiped off his face when the water smashed through the fire and crashed into him, the impact sending him flying.
Zuko gaped at Aang's back. When had he gotten this powerful?
Malik coughed up blood, before letting out a chuckle. Zuko and Aang exhanged a confused glance.
"I never knew the Avatar had this much power." He marveled, getting up with some difficulty.
Aang glared at him. He sped toward Malik with enhanced speed, using airbending, and shot two huge blasts of air at him.
Malik didn't expect Aang's speed to increase so suddenly and was flung deeper into the forest, far away from the two benders.
As soon as Malik was gone Aang's legs buckled. He dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.
Zuko shook the shock off his system and ran up to the airbender, eyebrows creased in worry.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
He cleared his throat when he saw the look on Zuko's face. "Just a little exhausted. Only big attacks work on him and each attack is taking a lot out of me." He explained, not mentioning his heavy fatigue from lack of sleep.
The firebender sat next to him, eyes stuck to where Malik was a moment ago. "He's not done yet, is he?"
"No way, but I hit him hard enough to buy us some time."
"How are we gonna beat him though, you look like you're about to pass out and I'm no match for him."
Aang swallowed through a lump, fingers digging into the ground. Zuko was right, he was exhausted.
He didn't know if he could keep up the intensity of his attacks for much longer.
His eyes glanced to his torn cloak, a thoughtful look coming onto his face, before his face lit up.
Zuko raised an eyebrow as a slow grin spread across the younger man's lips.
"I just thought of something crazy we could try." Aang's eyes met Zuko's. "But I need your help to make it work."
"Oh boy..."
He shook his head in anger. Damn that airbender. If he sent him flying one more time Malik would make sure to cook him in the most painful way known to man.
He flew back to where the Avatar and Firelord were, but when he made it back he saw only The Avatar.
"So you sent the Firelord away, did you?" He chuckled, as he neared the cloaked figure. He had put his hood up and was looking down, hiding his face from Malik.
"Saving his life. That's very smart of you." He ran at the cloaked figure only to stop in shock when the boy lifted his head.
Instead of seeing a pair of silver eyes he saw pair of golden ones, similar to his own.
"Firelord?" his confusion quickly transformed into anger when he saw the man smirk. "You wanna get killed that badly?"
When Zuko didn't answer and kept staring at him in amusement, Malik growled and leaped at him, intending to end his life with his strongest attack when he was stopped by a grinning Avatar.
He had shot up from under the ground, between the two and landed a devastating, air enhanced blow to Malik's chin, sending him flying up.
"Surprise!" Aang bent down a little, putting as much air as he could to the bottom of his feet before jumping up to meet the spirit in the air.
He shot powerful water bullets his way and a sharp slice of air. Malik could only defend himself from the water bullets, the slice of air hit him in the chest, cutting him.
His mouth fell open in a silent scream. The fire cloak surrounding his body disappeared, leaving him in a normal torn red cloak.
Aang wasn't done yet. He used his firebending to propel himself up in the air, gritting his teeth, he focused on firebending with all his limbs at the same time. It wasn't something he had done often, but he made it work.
He flew toward Malik, crashing into him and sending them both falling down.
Whilst in the air, he turned around and pressed his knees onto the spirit's back before entering the Avatar State once again.
He raised both his hands upward and shot powerful blasts of air from his fists toward the sky, making them fall down with greater force.
Malik screamed for the first time ever when his body made contact with the ground. He felt unimaginable agony, it felt like his whole body tore apart.
Aang jumped off of him when he saw the spirit had stopped moving, taking steps back from the unmoving body.
He had done it.
The spirit was finally down.
He was ready to collapse in relief when Malik's fingers twitched.
Aang groaned, wobbling a little. "Just how much can you take?"
Malik rose his head, glaring deep into the airbender's eyes. "I could take your attacks all day."
Aang's jaw clenched as he looked down at the struggling spirit. "I guess I should expect no less from the fire spirit."
Malik's mouth dropped open in surprise, before he smirked. "So you know."
"When I entered the Avatar State I gained all the information about you from my past lives."
Malik slowly got up. Aang's eyes never left his as he continued speaking. "I know that you can heal yourself by the use of your firebending."
"You knowing about my power won't change anything." The fire cloak returned, surrounding his body. "I'll make sure you die, then take your power for myself. It's better in my hands."
"I can't let you do that." Aang shook his head. "Not when it puts my friends' lives in danger."
Aang ignored the man's scoff and looked around the area they were in. His face lit up when he saw a body of water behind him.
"How convenient." He pointed behind him but Malik looked uninterested.
The Fire spirit charged at the Avatar, planning to finally end the fight. Aang sighed before he also ran at the spirit, meeting him in the middle.
Zuko ran back to the clearing once Aang and the strange firebender disappeared from his sight. He took off the torn cloak and threw it away as he ran.
He trusted Aang to take care of the rest.
When he got back to the clearing he saw the others finishing up their fights. Toph flung two earth disks knocking out the last opponent and clapped her hands.
"That was the last one."
Sokka sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat off his face. "Finally. It seemed to never end, they just kept coming."
Katara and Suki looked up when they heard footsteps coming toward them.
"Zuko!" Katara was the first one to speak up. "How was he?" she bit her lip nervously.
Zuko winced inwardly. How was he gonna explain the state he had found Aang in.
"He was fine. I helped him create an opening and he sent the guy flying." He forced a smile. Deciding not to mention the part where Aang's arm got stabbed and he was laying on the ground in pain.
"I'm sure he'll be fine." He waved it off. There was no need to worry her even more. After seeing what the Avatar was capable of, Zuko had full trust in his abilities to win.
Katara nodded, feeling relieved but the worry never left her eyes.
Suki looked at the others, frowning. "Shouldn't we go help him?"
Katara perked up but Sokka and Zuko shook their heads.
"Absolutely not."
"No, we'd just get in the way. This is a fight he has to deal with on his own as the Avatar."
Suki glared at Sokka before nodding reluctantly at Zuko.
Katara grabbed Sokka harshly by his ear, making him squeak. "Ow, OW-"
"Sokka. I get that you hate Aang right now but even you wouldn't want him to die so quit saying stuff like that!" She tightened her grip painfully on his ear. "Got it?"
She released his ear when he started nodding fervently. Sokka rubbed his reddening ear, muttering curses under his breath.
Toph threw her head back and cackled. "Hahaha! You haven't changed a bit, meathead."
Sokka scowled at her. "Shut up, Toph!"
"Both of you shut up!" Suki snapped, balling her fists. "Now's not the time to argue."
Both of them went quiet, Suki sat down with a grunt. They all followed her, sitting down and letting out loud sighs.
Toph laid down, picking at her nose.
Katara was sat, wringing her hands nervously. She was fighting the impulse to run and go find Aang by herself.
They heard a series of loud explosions from far away. Katara flinched.
"So, who is the guy Aang's fighting anyway and why did he attack your tribe?" Toph questioned, partly because she was curious and partly so it would take their attention away from what was happening.
Zuko put a hand on his chin in thought. "I'm not sure who he was exactly but he's very powerful and the way he bends fire is unlike anything I've ever seen." He frowned. "I didn't even know it was possible to use the element that way."
Suki nodded, recalling when he burst through the forest, body engulfed in flames.
Sokka glanced at Katara who had gone quiet and ran a tired hand down his face. Since she wasn't going to speak up he had to do it.
"He wants the Avatar spirit to himself."
"What?!" Zuko sputtered, sitting up straight.
"He must be a spirit himself since he wants to do something like that." Katara continued, following Sokka's train of thought.
Zuko was staring at the floor, eyes widening by the second as a realization washed over him. "Agni."
"Huh?"
Zuko looked up when he felt everyone's eyes boring through him. "Agni, the Fire spirit. It has to be him."
Katara gasped. "What does the Fire spirit want with Aang?"
"Maybe he holds a grudge over the Avatar or something?" Sokka guessed thoughtfully.
You better not die here Aang or I'll never forgive you. She thought bitterly.
If he died now, she didn't know what she'd do.
Aang narrowly avoided a giant stream of fire and jumped up high. He gathered as much water as he could whilst in the air and shot water jets at the spirit.
Malik rolled away from the attacks and jumped up, shooting multiple strong fire blasts at the airbender's.
Aang pulled his forearms close together, creating an air barrier that stopped the blasts.
They landed on the ground, both of them breathing heavily.
Malik was tired. He couldn't even flicker around anymore, it wasted too much of his energy and stamina.
His body was a lot weaker here in the physical world.
Aang was in a really bad shape too, he was fatigued and had burns all over his body. The adrenaline was the only thing keeping him up at this point.
He needed to end this fight quickly.
Deciding to go all out, Aang started unleashing all four elements at Malik. First fire, streams, lashes, blasts, bombs which Malik had no problem blocking.
Next he used earthbending, slabs, spikes, discs, massive boulders, walls. Pretty much everything he could find and use he threw at Malik.
Malik had more difficulty in blocking the earth attacks but it still wasn't enough.
Aang switched to waterbending. Water bullets, waves, jets, ice spikes. All of them, one after another in an attempt to overwhelm the firebender.
The jet of water slipped through the spirit's defence, hitting Malik and making him fall on his back from the force of the attack, feeling dazed.
Aang gave him no time to recover. Entering the Avatar State, he leaped above the spirit, cupping his mouth and blew a big, sharp gust of wind straight at him.
Malik yelled in pain, as the air pressed him down so hard that the ground below him started breaking.
His fire cloak disappeared leaving him vulnerable. Aang fell down, landing beside the spirit and mounted him, trapping his limbs.
Aang panted heavily, sweat drops rolling down his face. He had him where he wanted now. He squeezed his fists, making earth lock around Malik's limbs, just to make sure.
"It's over Malik." He ignored the hateful glare the weakened spirit shot him. "I'm sorry, but I've got no other choice but to end your life. " He finished, voice hard as steel. He couldn't let this spirit roam free. He had to do this, he had to take away a life once more.
Aang drew his hand back, using all his energy he had left to gather as much water from the river as he could and made the strongest water gauntlet he could manage. Malik was already weakened so this attack would finish the spirit for good.
Aang was sure of it.
"I'm sorry." He repeated, genuinely apologetic. Malik didn't respond, only glared at him.
Aang swallowed through a lump as he stared down at Malik. His hand was shaking a little.
For the safety of the world and for the safety of his friends.
Hardening his resolve, he brought down his fist, ready to end the Spirit's life for good.
To his horror, before his water gauntlet could reach Malik, a fresh wave of Fire, ten times more intense than ever before, surrounded the spirit's body and he broke free from the cuffs with ease, grasping the shocked airbender's arm.
Malik easily snuffed out his water gauntlet, before twisting his hand and breaking it with a loud pop.
Aang threw his head back and let out a raw, pain-filled scream. His voice carrying through the forest.
Malik didn't let go and his body seemed to get stronger, brighter, the fire growing more and more intense at a rapid pace.
He was still grasping Aang's arm, refusing to let go. At this point Aang couldn't even feel his arm anymore, it had gone completely numb.
Aang looked down at the spirit in fear. "Wha- AHHH!" he cried out again when the heat rose from Malik's body, touching his own.
"W-What's going on- where are you getting this much power?!" Aang stuttered with fear in his eyes. This was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was crazy.
The fire around Malik's body was so bright that Aang could barely see the wicked smile on his face. "This is the true power of Agni. The physical world was suppressing my powers all this time, this is the real me."
Aang's eyes grew wide in alarm but Malik continued. "I'm using all my power, draining my life force. Soon my body will explode, taking you out with me."
Aang desperately drew his other fist back to punch at the hand that was holding his arm.
"That's no use. It's over!" All the fire surrounding Malik rushed together, compressing, and the last thing that was seen was the widening of Aang's eyes before Agni's entire body exploded.
BOOM!
Katara jolted when another explosion, ten times louder than the previous ones occured out of nowhere. She whirled her head around, seeing a massive explosion that swallowed one fourth of the forest.
"What was that?!" Suki screamed, face pale. Toph shot up from the ground, her face unusually serious as she stomped her feet onto the earth.
Zuko and Sokka glanced at eachother in horror.
Katara watched Toph's eyebrows furrow in concentration before her eyes widened to the size of Appa.
A shudder ran through the waterbender's body but before she could voice her fears, she heard Sokka yell.
"Look!"
They all looked where Sokka was pointing, seeing a body flying uncontrollably through the air. Zuko's mouth dropped open when he realized who it was, but Toph was the one that screamed out.
"That's Aang!"
They watched in horror as Aang's body didn't slow down, the airbender was plummeting down, disappearing from their sights, likely crashing onto the forest grounds somewhere.
Katara looked aghast, fat tears were rolling down her face as she bolted, running before the others could even come in terms with what happened.
Suki shook her head, getting up and running behind Katara, the rest looked at each other, gulping, before following the two.
Aang stared at the darkening sky as he laid deep in the forest, trying to ignore his damaged arm. It had gone completely numb anyway.
He had managed to punch Malik's hand hard enough to free his trapped arm with the use of his Avatar State at the very last second, then jumped as far away as he could with the use of his airbending.
Aang had never been more thankful for his past lives for granting him enough power to get out fast enough and for his airbending powers than he was right now.
He was so tired. He struggled to even move his body, it was like his back was glued to the ground.
He only had his pants on, everything else got burnt in the battle.
Just like three years ago when he fought Ozai.
Aang chuckled weakly.
It was always the firebenders that wanted to rip his head off. What had he ever done to that element to deserve such hatred from it.
Nonetheless, it was over now.
He felt really happy and hopeful but one emotion easily rose above others, relief. He felt so damn relieved. Malik was gone, he and his friends were gonna be fine now.
No one was threatening their lives anymore.
His happy thoughts were interrupted by bunch of footsteps rapidly closing on him and his eyes moved toward the sound.
When he saw who they were he gasped and used all his remaining strength to sit up and lean against a tree. The entire Gaang were running toward him, Katara running ahead of everyone.
They let out a collective sigh of relief when they saw the airbender alive and well.
"Guys. We did it!" He grinned happily, relieved to see them.
Zuko and Suki were the only ones grinning with him, the rest stayed silent which confused the airbender. They had just saved their two friends and defeated an evil spirit, yet they looked like somebody had just died.
Katara was too busy eyeing him up and down, she bit her lip in worry as her alert eyes looked for any serious injuries.
Aang looked at her, feeling a little tense under her stare.
"Where are you hurt?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.
Everywhere. Aang wanted to say but the look on her face stopped him. Why was she acting so cold toward him? "I'm fine Katara don't worry about it."
Katara glared at him sharply. "Just tell me where you're injured, Aang!" she yelled.
Aang swallowed, feeling hurt but didn't show it. He silently held up his arm that was burnt and broken. Katara's bottom lip trembled slightly before her face slipped back to cold indifference.
She drew out water and started working on it.
When she was done healing his arm, she pulled out her shoulder bag and took out some bandages.
Even though her face was hard, her actions were gentle. She softly wrapped the bandages around his arm.
As soon as Katara finished, her eyes searched his body for any more injuries. She held back a shudder when she saw the bruises and blood all over on his stomach and chest.
Suppressing her emotions, she healed up all the cuts and bruises she could, before bandaging his body.
The tension in the air was so heavy you could cut it, as everyone watched Katara heal Aang in silence.
When she was done she leaned back, a sigh of relief leaving her lips. Aang opened his mouth to say something but Katara suddenly stood up and started walking away wordlessly.
Aang clenched his fists in frustration, finally having enough of her attitude. "Hey, where're you going?!"
When she didn't stop Aang turned to face the others, dumbfounded, only to receive a punch in the face from Sokka.
"Ouch." he deadpanned, staring at Sokka blankly. "What the hell was that for?"
"You're lucky you're already injured or I would've done a lot worse."
"Don't ever come near my sister again, Aang!" He spat his name out in disgust, before he too walked away.
Suki shot Aang an apologetic look, before running after her boyfriend to calm him down, leaving only Zuko and Toph with the airbender.
Why. Aang wanted to scream it out, but kept it to himself, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.
Toph huffed in irritation when she saw the airbender's confusion.
"I gotta say, you've gotten a hell of a lot stronger, Aang. But you're still just as clueless as ever." Aang stared blankly at Toph's retreating form as he finally realized what was going on.
So that's what it was about. They were mad at him for leaving.
With everything that was going on, Aang hadn't thought about it at all. He had assumed they understood the reason he left and forgave him.
Aang shut his eyes, holding back tears.
He felt his chest burn. "How could I be so dumb to assume everything was gonna go back to how they were..."
His head snapped to the last member of the group, eyes darkening.
"What, aren't you gonna leave me too?" he spat out, voice filled with contempt.
Zuko stared at him impassively for a moment before he chuckled warmly. "C'mere dumbass." He spoke softly, pulling the stunned Avatar to his feet by his undamaged arm.
Aang's lips trembled, the anger leaving his face as he stared at Zuko, his face showing vulnerability for the first time since he was a child.
"Zuko... don't you hate me too?" His voice cracked, a sob escaping his lips. He felt so broken and tired, both physically and mentally.
He was so tired of constantly hiding and holding back his emotions.
"Don't be stupid." Zuko murmured and pulled the younger man into a tight hug. Aang broke down, face buried on Zuko's shoulder.
Heavy sobs racked his entire body as he finally stopped holding everything back.
"T-They hate me, Zuko. What have I done..."
"I thought that staying alone would make me happier and would help me heal, but instead It made things worse, I feel so damn tired and I'm so sick of being alone!" He was gripping onto Zuko for dear life as he poured his heart out.
"Now the people I considered my family hate me!"
Zuko rubbed small circles on Aang's back, a little awkwardly, not used to comforting anyone but Mai.
"Hey." he started, voice unusually soft as he felt his shirt getting wet. It hurt Zuko seeing Aang like this, he hadn't known the boy for long but for the time he had known him, he had always been so strong.
The airbender had easily suffered the most out of everyone he knew yet he stayed the happiest out of everyone. He had every reason to grow bitter and resentful but instead he chose to always look at things positively.
How could someone so strong lose it like this.
"They don't hate you, none of them hate you." He stated with conviction.
Aang pulled back from the hug, eyes bloodshot. "You're lying!" He shook the firebender. "Didn't you just see how they acted toward me? They hate me. Sokka even punched me!"
Zuko grabbed his trembling hands, softly pushing them away. "You think Katara hates you?"
Aang winced at the waterbender's name but nodded.
"She doesn't hate you" He stated matter-of-factly and continued to explain before Aang could interject.
"Who's injuries did she heal first, huh? Who's injuries was she the most worried about? Suki was limping the whole time. My hands-" Zuko held up his burnt hands. "are burnt, and guess who she ran to before even considering healing any of us."
Aang looked at him in shock. "You mean..?"
Zuko nodded, grinning. "It's not too late to make it up to them. They're still your friends."
A sly smirk appeared on Zuko's lips when Aang's gaze dropped to his feet. "Katara still loves you, you know."
"Wha- what are you talking about!" He yelled, drawing back from the firebender and stared at him incredously.
The Firelord burst out in laughter at his expression.
A genuine smile pulled at Aang's lips when he heard the older boy laugh. It was rare to hear Zuko laugh.
The Avatar hugged his friend. "Thanks, Zuko."
Zuko hugged him back, smiling.
After a moment of hugging, Zuko pushed the airbender away from him half-heartedly.
"Alright enough of that." He grumbled, making Aang laugh.
"Still not the type to show emotions, eh?" He teased, making Zuko huff and look away, but the small smile never left his face.
Aang laughed again, his chest feeling lighter.
Zuko punched him on the shoulder, forgetting he was still fatigued and injured.
"Idiot."
Aang screeched as he lost his balance. He was falling face first toward the forest ground but managed to blow a sharp gust of wind out of his mouth just in time to correct his balance.
He whirled his head around to face Zuko when he heard the other boy burst out in laughter. "Not funny! I almost hit my face on that rock because of you!" He fumed, pointing a finger at the older boy in accusation.
"Oh c'mon, toughen up it was just a light slap on the shoulder." The firebender said, trying and failing to hold back his chuckles.
Aang grumbled under his breath. "Whatever, moron"
"Idiot." Zuko shot back.
Aang was about to retort when his face suddenly fell.
"Wait a second... Momo?" He gasped dramatically. "WHERE IS MOMO?!" he had his hand on his face. "I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT MOMO!"
Zuko shook his head, slapping the airbender on the back of his head. "Like I said... IDIOT!"
Said lemur was currently beside their makeshift home back at the Lion Turtle, shooting a death glare at his owner's sleeping bag.
Aang laughed, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "Oh well, we should probably start heading back to the others, huh?"
"Yeah." Zuko agreed, but waited for Aang to start walking first.
The airbender started moving, albeit with great difficulty since he was sore all over.
He looked back at the firebender, noticing he still hadn't moved. "You coming, hotman?"
Zuko glared at his back. "Don't call me that!"
Slowly, they started walking back to the mansion where the others were likely waiting for them.
Zuko glanced at Aang as they walked, the airbender looked like he was one gust of wind away from collapsing.
"You want me to help you?" Zuko offered.
Aang raised an eyebrow. "Help me how?"
"I could carry you."
"What? No way!"
"Why not?" Zuko deadpanned. "You're walking slower than my dead grandmother."
Aang glared at his bluntness. "Let me injure your whole body then we can see how well you'd walk."
"... So you don't want me to carry you?"
"No way. I'm not being carried by another guy, it's too embarrassing."
Zuko shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"..."
"..."
Aang groaned. "Okay fine! But only for a little bit."
Zuko smirked triumphantly.
It is finally done! 7000 words! You guys have no idea how long it took me to write this chapter, I kept changing it and changing it until I was finally happy with it. I hope you guys enjoyed it, please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Some feedback would be awesome.
Next chapter comes out in less than a week, I already have it written.