Sorry I if I kept a lot of ya'll waiting. Trying to transition into a new career and it takes up a lot of my time. I hope I can get back to writing chapters for this story at a more quicker pace.

Hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

As expected the shopping district was packed. Goods from around the world were sold to customers hailing from the middle and upper rings of Ba Sing Se. Katara and Toph strolled around the crowded area. The water bender holding on to her friend, making sure she would not run away from the trip. She looked around and awed at the clothing merchants were selling. Katara had seen clothes from the earth and fire nation and hoped to find a vendor selling anything from the water tribe.

"Ugh", Toph groaned, "there is way too many people here for my liking. Remind me why we're here again."

"You know why Toph! You were the one who suggested getting new clothes that would knock Aang off his feet", Katara replied.

"I know but I didn't think you would drag me here against my will. Need I remind you that I am still blind? I can't help you pick out clothes to wear. Wouldn't it have been better to have Suki come instead?"

"Suki is coming. She just wanted to get through her morning training first and said she would meet up with us here", Katara answered, "and it's not like you had anything planned today so why not come with me?"

"You don't know if I would have had plans or not", Toph said with an annoyed tone. Katara stopped and looked back to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you have any plans today?"

"…no", Toph reluctantly said.

"That's what I thought", Katara smirked and began moving towards one store that held blue fabric in their display window. She let go of the earth bender and grabbed hold of the fabric. It was a long sleeve dress, the end of the skirt ending above her knees when she held it against herself.

"Toph how doe—…" Katara stopped herself but Toph had already knew what she was going to say.

"I should just start wearing a sign to remind you all", Toph said with a deadpanned tone.

"Well I think it would look lovely on you Katara."

The girls turned around to see Kano, Suna, and Sato walking towards them.

"Nice to see you three again", Katara greeted, her nerves spiking as she remembered her conversation with Kano at the party.

"Glad you're back on your feet girls", Toph smirked, "I hope you two are ready for your next lesson."

"Looking forward to it", Sato answered with a nervous smile.

"Great. Get ready to push past your limits", Toph said.

"Can't wait…" Suna muttered and massaged her biceps, remembering how sore they were after the first training session. Kano placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her friend and glanced back at Katara.

"I never got to hear your answer the last time we spoke. Have you come to a decision yet?"

'Straight to the point', Katara thought. Before she could say anything, Toph took the liberty of speaking for her.

"Sugar Queen accepts your challenge and spoiler warning, my girl here is going to win!"

"Confident are we?" Kano crossed her arms and grinned.

"You got that right. Don't be too disappointed when you lose", Toph replied with her hands on her hip.

"Sorry Sifu, but Kano is going to be the one to win over Aang", Sato spoke up, "its best not to get your hopes up."

"We don't have any reason to worry", said a voice from behind. Suki had finally arrived and stood at Katara's right while Toph remained on her left. She nodded towards her friends and continued, "Katara was Aang's first love after all."

Kano scoffed, "First love huh? And how did that go for him exactly?"

Katara narrowed her eyes at her as Kano continued on, "unlike Katara, I knew how I felt about Aang from the beginning. I'm sure he's aware as well."

Katara could say that Aang already knew of her feelings for him but it wouldn't mean anything since he had rejected her. She was figured it was best to keep that knowledge hidden from her rival.

"I made a mistake", she admitted, "but I plan to rectify that. I love Aang so I accept your challenge Kano. I am not losing him to you."

"Gosh you're pretty when you're determined", Kano remarked as she bit her lip. She stuck her arm out to Katara, "may the best woman win."

Katara reached out and and grabbed hold of Kano's forearm. Kano returned the gesture and grasped Katara's forearm. The two water benders shook on it. The challenge had become official.

"Safe to assume you two will be helping her?" Suna asked Suki and Toph.

"Yup", Toph responded.

"Guess you and Sato will be doing the same for Kano", Suki replied.

"Of course." Sato said, "sorry Sifu Toph, but Kano comes first for us."

"I can respect that", Toph smiled.

Both Katara and Kano let go. The latter keeping her smile as Katara watched her with an steel gaze. Kano nodded back at her friends and the three turned their way to exit the store. She glanced back at Katara and waved.

"See you around Master Katara."

"Sure. Until next time girls", Katara smiled. Kano and her friends left the store, leaving the three to themselves.

"That's what I'm talking about sweetness!" Toph patted her hand against Katara's back, "way to stand your ground there."

"Yeah, that was hardcore on your part" Suki agreed.

"Thanks you two" Katara smiled, "I'll admit Kano did strike a nerve."

"I'll bet", Suki replied and placed her hand on Katara's shoulder, "by the way I had a chat with Aang after you two left."

"Is he still mad at you?" Katara wondered.

The Kyoshi warrior shook her head, "Fortunately, he isn't but he's still upset over the situation…" Suki went on going over her conversation with the air bender as they all walked out and sat down at a fountain at the center of the area.

"You think you managed to get through to him?" Toph wondered.

Suki nodded, "He said that he would but he needs time to think it over."

"I appreciate you putting in a good word for me Suki", Katara said.

"Have you thought of a plan yet?" Suki asked.

"I'm still brainstorming ideas. I just need to think of how I can prove to Aang that I genuinely love him." She knew Aang was more upset that Zuko had to be the one to point out her true feelings and could understand why Aang would be cautious with her. As much as she hated to admit it, Aang was right to be distrusting of her. Sometimes action spoke louder than words ever could.

"If we wanna get ahead of Kano then we need to be quick", Toph stated, "We know Aang is aware Kano likes him and she has put the moves on him before. It's likely she'll press harder this time."

"That's true. Difference now is that Aang is aware of Katara's feelings despite how it happened. We just need to be quick with our approach."

"We need to remember that Kano is going to be getting help from her friends too", Katara added.

"I'm sure we can handle them. Maybe we should get Sokka and Zuko in on this too", Toph suggested.

"Sokka could help but I don't want to involve Zuko. We're friends but I can't ask for help from my ex-boyfriend. If I'm going to prove my feelings for Aang then it has to be without Zuko's help. Besides he already has to fix his relationship with Mai", Katara countered.

Suki clapped her hands and stood up, "alright that's enough talking. We need to start shopping for a dress that will knock Aang off his feet."

"Oooooh yeah, I'd love to help out with that but my feet are sore. I was thinking you and Katara go ahead without me", Toph said, hoping they would go without her.

"Not an option", both Suki and Katara exclaimed as they pulled her up and dragged her to the nearest fabric store.

"Monkey feathers", Toph groaned.

During his flight to the palace, the air bender pondered over what the Kyoshi warrior had said to him earlier. It seemed no matter what he said to Suki, she was still insistent that he hear Katara out. However, her words did strike a chord in him.

'You have always been willing to hear others out even when they didn't deserve it. You even gave Ozai a chance to turn back.'

'Why not Katara? The two of you have been through so much together, isn't that reason enough to give her a benefit of a doubt?'

Aang knew deep down she had a point. He had always been one to give others a chance to do better, to redeem themselves. He always saw the good in others. Zuko was a good example despite what happened later on with him and Katara. In the end it was always his first instinct to trust others to become better. So why was he so hesitant with Katara?

She had never done anything to hurt him and always looked out for his best interest. They were best friends after all. At least they were before he had left. Before he ran away again.

He let out a deep sigh as he began his descent. 'Do I really know what I want? Ugh! I've already told Katara that I just want to be friends. I said that to the others and even my own past lives! Just how much clearer do I need to be? But then again the more I think about it…the more I actually consider it. I love Katara but every time I think about her, I see her with Zuko. Just what am I supposed to to do? A part of me wants to give her another chance but the other…is too scared of being burned again.'

The air bender decided that he would take more time thinking everything over as he planted his feet on the ground. As of now he would see what Kuei wanted. The royal guards guiding him towards the throne room where King Kuei sat with Bosco at his side.

"Good to see you again Avatar Aang. I trust you have received my request", Kuei greeted him.

Aang bowed his head, "I have your majesty. You required my assistance?"

"Yes, I am afraid there are some troubling reports from a few villages south of Ba Sing Se. My administration has received word that a number of villagers have gone missing and no one seems to know as to why. I was hoping that maybe you and your friends could resolve this matter for me if it's not too much for me to ask", Kuei explained.

'People going missing? Maybe it's a spirit like Hei Bai.' Aang nodded his head, "Sure. I'll make sure to look into the matter with my friends."

"Perfect", Kuei smiled as he stood up and walked towards the air bender, "with that out of the way then we can discuss a more personal matter. Come with me Aang."

Aang followed the king through the left side door of the throne room and entered a private office. Stepping into the room, he could see a large window at the end of the room. In front of the window was a single couch, currently occupied by Kuei's fiancé, Tomoe. She stood up at their arrival, "it is good to see you again Aang. I trust you and your friends had fun at the party."

"Nice to see you again as well. The party was certainly a blast", Aang replied. Despite the aftermath of the party turning into such a conundrum.

Kuei took his place at his fiancé's side and sat down, "Do you remember what we discussed during our last meeting at the party?"

"Yeah…my "date with the Avatar" arrangement", Aang answered, unsure of where this was going.

"Yes. As I told you before, I had my own experience with women throwing themselves at me but I never really went into details. The noble families these women belonged to were just as adamant as they were. However Tomoe had overheard them speaking about something troublesome at the party."

Aang glanced at Tomoe, "like what exactly?"

"Now that Kuei and I are engaged they have decided to focus their sights on you. They wish to wed their daughters to you and give birth to the next generation of air benders", she responded and sat back down on the couch.

"Aw monkey-feathers", Aang groaned, his shoulders slumped.

"As soon as she told me, I felt that it was in your best interest to be warned ahead of time Aang. I have had to deal with these nobles for years and they can be quite…aggressive with their approach. I can't tell you how many time's I've had to run and hide from them since I was your age. Last I heard, they have teenage and adult daughters whom they are ready to marry off to you", Kuei stated.

'Just great. As if my personal life wasn't already complicated.' The air bender was thankful to King Kuei and Tomoe. "I appreciate the heads up. Anyone in particular that I should be weary of?"

Kuei and Tomoe quickly glanced at one another and turned back to him. "Watch out for the Suya clan. Jian Suya is someone you should watch out for. He is a very stubborn man. The type of man who will not hesitate to use others if it means reaching his goal. Long Feng, despite his selfish intentions, was the one barrier between Jian and I."

Aang decided he would heed Kuei's warning and be on the lookout for Jian and the rest of the nobles that would come after him. They all just wanted their own personal connection to the Avatar. With how Kuei described them, they were no different from Mira, a past date who had managed to get under his skin and was only interested in his status as Avatar along with becoming the mother of a new generation of air benders.

"Thanks to the both of you I will be prepared to deal with him or anyone else. Again, I really appreciate the warning", Aang smiled.

"You're welcome. As I've said before, you are young with quite a long life to live. What you're looking for can come from somewhere you would least expect it. Eventually you will find your way with love just as I have", Kuei said as he glanced at his fiancé and held her hand. Tomoe grinned at him. Aang smiled softly as he watched the two of them gazing at one another lovingly.

"I should get going. My friends and I will make sure to find the missing villagers as soon as possible", Aang said and bowed his head.

"I'm glad to hear it", Kuei replied and pointed his thumb to the window behind the couch, "I would suggest you fly out with glider from here. I have it on good authority to believe that Jian has his people keeping an eye for you here."

"Really? Would he even know I'm here?" Aang asked.

"Just trust me on this. It does not hurt to be cautious my friend", Kuei insisted.

Aang decided to take Kuei's word at face value, walking to the window and opening it. He bid the king and his fiancé farewell before leaping out and soaring high into the open blue sky. He groaned again as he went over the discussion with Kuei and Tomoe in his mind. Not only did he need to find the missing villagers, he would have to worry about power hungry nobles coming after him for marriage. 'And here I thought my life would get better after ending the war. I'll just have to deal with this the best way I can.'

Flying through the sky, Aang made the decision to talk to his friends about the missing villagers first. That would be his first priority. Everything else would just have to remain in the back of his mind until then.

Eventually, he landed back at Iroh's home. At that moment, Sokka had stepped out of the front door and stopped when he noticed Aang. Neither saying anything for the moment as the air bender glared, remembering how he had attacked him the night before. Sokka walked towards him and extended his hand out to him.

"Listen…I'm sorry for how I acted before. With what I pulled at the party with you and my sister…also for attacking you the way I did. You know how I get when it comes to Katara and when I saw her crying, all I saw was red. I wasn't thinking about how you were feeling and I should have known better because of everything that's happened", the water tribe warrior stated.

Aang's eyes widened, not expecting this sudden apology from Sokka. Regardless, he shook the hand offered to him.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt Katara but I was only doing what I felt was the right choice for me."

"I understand that. I just want her to be happy…for both of you to be happy."

"And there is nothing wrong with that but you can't just force me to run back to her after everything that's happened. Let's not talk about this anymore and just move on. Kuei nee—"

"TWINKLE-TOES! You're finally back."

Aang winced at Toph's loud voice. His earth bending master marched out to him and grabbed hold of his robes. Before he could say anything, she dragged Aang back into the house and shoved him into his room.

"Whats going on Toph?"

"You've got a date tonight that's whats going on. Hope you didn't expect Kano to be your last blind date", Toph replied, "Now change into this new outfit I got you. The colors should be right up your alley."

"The blind dates aren't important right now. Kuei told m—"

"Blah Blah Blah! Just shut it and change into your new fancy outfit Twinkle-Toes", Toph ordered, slamming his bedroom door.

He stared at the door as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Shaking his head, Aang turned to his bed where he noticed a freshly folded set of clothes. The colors were reminiscent of his usual air nomad robes. He picked up a dark orange long sleeve shirt with golden colored buttons below the collar. The fabric itself was thin so it was perfect to wear under warm weather. Putting the shirt to a side, he looked down and noticed yellow colored pants and a folded red shawl.

'Did Toph really pick this out for me?'

Aang decided to just go along with whatever his friend had planned for him and changed into his new clothes. Looking in the mirror, he had to admit that he was rather impressed with how he looked in his new outfit. The shirt clung to his body in a way that felt comfortable to him. The pants fit in nicely like the usual he had worn, comfortable and lightweight. The red shawl draped around his shoulders. The shawl felt similar to the one he had worn before it was burned and beyond saving.

What Aang loved most about his new threads was that they still made him feel like the Air Nomad he was. He grinned at his reflection when a knock came at his door.

"Come in", Aang called out. Suki stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She smiled softly once she noticed he put on his new clothes.

"Oh Aang you look amazing!" She complimented.

"Thanks", Aang replied, "Remind to me thank Toph. I would have never thought Toph would know to get an outfit like this made for me."

Suki raised an eyebrow, "Toph didn't pick that for you. She's blind so she wouldn't really know."

"If Toph didn't then who did?" Aang asked, confused. Before Suki could answer him, the blind bandit came running back into his room.

"Alright Princess Twinkle-Toes, your royal carriage awaits you. Get moving!"

"Don't call me that!" Aang retorted. Toph ignored him and dragged him out again. He knew she was a bossy person but he couldn't help but think Toph was being extra bossy today. Once they were out of the house, she pushed him towards the carriage.

"Just a heads up, you're going to a different restaurant."

"Did something happen with the Badgermole Diner?"

"Nope."

"Then how come I'm not going there?"

"You ask too many questions" Toph replied and pushed Aang into the carriage.

"I feel like I have to when it comes to you", Aang murmured.

"I bet" Toph smirked, closing the carriage on him. She waved him off as the carriage took off towards its destination. Aang sat back and decided to just go along with whatever blind date Toph had planned for him. He would rather focused on the mission he was given but it seemed that it would have to wait for later.

A half hour passed until the carriage arrived at the designated location. Stepping out he looked up at the restaurants name at the front of the building.

World's Delight

That certainly sounded fancy in his opinion. He waved off his carriage and stepped inside. A waitress recognizing him from his bald head and tattoo immediately took him a reserved table at the center of the building. Aang took his seat as the waitress handed him the menu.

"We were made aware of your blind date by Master Beifong. Please let me know if there is anything we can do for you."

Aang nodded his head and the waitress took her leave. He made note of the decorations in the restaurant. Each wall had been painted with the colors of the three bending nations with the exception a blank white space on the the right. As if there was a missing puzzle to the empty space. A stark reminder of where his nation stood in the current climate of the world.

Empty.

He frowned at the constant reminder of where he, himself, stood in the world. With the back of his hand, Aang wiped his eyes. This wasn't the time for him to think of his fallen people. Not when he was supposed to meet with someone for a date. Even if he didn't choose to be there. Unfortunately, he couldn't help himself as the tears would not leave him be. His sorrow would not wither away.

"I know it's blank for now but I promise you it won't stay that way forever Aang." A voice said from behind them as the air bender felt a hand on his left shoulder. He would have recognized that voice from anywhere.

He glanced up. Gray eyes meeting with blue.

"Katara…"

As always, please leave a review. It helps motivate me to keep writing. I have the next few chapters outlined and just need time to get on it when I can. Have a good day.