A/N: My first fic in the realm of ATLA. Despite being a big supporter of Kataang, I feel it's just criminal how few fics there are for this underrated pairing of Aang x On Ji. 'The Headband' is probably my favourite episode of the whole series.

Hope you enjoy this fic and my On Ji characterisation!

Chapter 1: Kuzon

The seaside town of Lu'an stirred up old memories in Aang. After finding a good spot to leave Appa and momo in a nearby forest, He decided to try and find a place to stay for the night.

Don't get him wrong, he still loved being the Avatar, but on this particular day, he was in a reflective mood. He'd been working with Guru Pathik for a while, trying to further hone his connection to his Avatar spirit, and one of the things that always helped him was some alone time.

Deciding that he was content in his own thoughts and didn't need an extravagant reception, he changed his robes for common fire nation clothes and put on a headband.

Wandering the streets like this had been his favourite thing to do after ending the war, and it still was. Knowing that the lives of common people in every nation were better now was one thing, but actually seeing it for himself was another.

He was heading to the fire nation capital to see Zuko and attend some meetings, but was running a a day ahead of schedule. So he'd decided to stop over at a town that he and his friends had journeyed through during that summer when they'd ended the war.

Seeing these familiar sights made him nostalgic for the team avatar days, and he smiled as he remembered the goofy stuff they'd gotten up to here, like donning fire nation outfits and him accidentally enrolling in a fire nation school.

He had come to this particular town once again after the war, just to pay back that man for taking all the clothes without asking. He knew it might not have been that important in the grand scheme of things, but he'd wanted to do it anyway.

The man was completely grateful for the fact that the Avatar had visited his home, and said that the money wasn't at all necessary.

That him ending the war and restoring the fire nation's honor was payment enough.

Aang thanked him for the consideration and for the meal he had offered.

Now, he passed the school he'd once enrolled at, and he couldn't help but peek in at the kids playing in the grounds outside.

Mixed amongst all the fire nation kids were a number of earth kingdom children, noticeable with their different uniforms. Even the odd water tribe one- though they were still rare in the fire nation.

It warmed his heart to see the new generation intermixing and growing up in a peaceful world. The world that he and his friends had helped create.

His meandering walk eventually made him reach a building of interest. The library.

It was a low building but fairly large for this town. As he entered, the hustle and bustle of the outside gave way to a comforting quiet, the musty smell of books.

There were a lot of shelves alright. Just the Fire nation history section was a whole room. He was pleased to see the small but growing newly installed section, containing actual literature from the other nations, instead of the manufactured fire nation propaganda of the olden days.

As he browsed through some archives, a few works caught his eye. Some books and scrolls from a hundred years ago! Right around the time he'd first visited the fire nation, and met his friend Kuzon.

Smiling at the memory, something suddenly occurred to him. He'd never actually found out what happened to Kuzon. He'd been too busy ending the war on their last visit here, and he thought that one of his oldest friendships deserved some closure.

Bumi still being with him was a rare blessing, but he knew the odds were against him of his fire nation friend still being around. But perhaps he had family that was? So much could've happened in a hundred years.

Aang knew just his first name and the rough place he'd been from. Finding more information won't be that easy, as Aang didn't even know where to begin.

Perhaps a local would be able to help. He went up to the information counter, where a young girl was leaning back in a chair, absently browsing through one of those new-fangled magazines.

"Excuse me miss, I'd like to find out some information about someone from a long time ago- can you help direct me to the…"

He trailed off as he saw the way she was looking at him. Eyes wide and lips in an 'o' shape.

There was no way he'd been recognised with this disguise!

He sighed, ready to give the whole "Yes I am indeed the Avatar" speech but the next words out of her mouth completely floored him.

"Kuzon"

"Uh- yes I was about to ask about him but how did you-" had he mumbled the word to himself and she'd overheard? Seemed unlikely but then-

"You're Kuzon, right?"

Aang took a few seconds before he caught on. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it! This was the town where he'd gone to the school and it had been five years but still… it was her.

The very same girl who'd been nice to him during the entire three days of his schooling life. Her name came to him instantly. "On ji" Aang replied.

"Y-You remembered?" she asked, with a slight blush rising to her cheeks. Aang nodded.

She stood up, looking at him from top to bottom. "Where on earth have you been?! I asked around everywhere for you! I even inquired about you to people from the colonies but I couldn't figure out which one you were from and-" she suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry for rambling- I'm not- I mean I didn't look that hard for you…"

She looked away shyly and Aang felt like he was seeing her for the first time. Her chocolate brown hair was up in a ponytail and she was taller, coming upto his chin, standing there in her maroon work dress that came down to her knees, with black leggings.

Aang managed to stop staring and find his voice. "I can't believe you still remember me… I mean, I was probably the shortest enrolled student in fire nation history…"

"Well… it's not everyday that a kid throws a dance party in a cave… some of those kids were dancing for weeks afterwards, back then"

Aang laughed. "I suppose that's true. I didn't think it would've made much of a difference"

On ji shook her head. "You sure did, Kuzon"

Aang opened his mouth to correct her but then closed it. He had decided this would be an incognito trip until he met up with Zuko. But this was a friend… and he had no reason to lie to her again. There wasn't a war going on this time.

"I'm glad. As for why I disappeared for five years… do you want to grab some lunch with me? This will take a while to explain" he said without thinking.

On Ji's brows lifted at his suggestion. He realised how it forward sounded and wanted to clarify it but before he could, she replied, "My break is in fifteen minutes. I'll meet you out front."

Any words of correction died in his throat. Why did the idea of spending more time with this particular girl made his chest feel all funny all of a sudden, he had no clue.

On Ji's fire flakes went largely ignored on her plate as she absorbed the mountain load of information that he'd just dropped on her.

"So your real name is Aang… and you're the Avatar… Agni, I don't believe it… you're Avatar Aang"

Aang rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry I lied to you about who I was. I had a lot going on back then"

On Ji shook her head. "It's not your fault… if anything, I should be apologising… my nation hurt you so much…"

That took him a second to process. All throughout his travels, he'd had countless people thank him for everything he'd done, but this was the first time someone had apologised.

"It's not your fault On Ji… you weren't even alive when most of it happened. You were the first person here one who treated me like a human when I arrived here for the first time during the war. Even though I was just an 'Earth colony slob' to everyone else."

"I was just being nice to a new friend. You know, if your explanation hadn't been so monumental as being the Avatar and all, I definitely wouldn't have forgiven you for going away for so long" she smirked.

"Oh well…" Aang didn't know quite how to reply to that, nor did he know why his face felt hot whenever he looked into her large brown eyes.

"So Kuz- I mean, Aang," she started, still getting used to his real name, "What brought you to Lu'an again, and the library of all places?"

"Well… I told you I picked the Kuzon because that was the name of my friend in the fire nation, a hundred years ago. I met him completely by chance during my travels… kind of like I met you…" Aang smiled.

"So you wanted to know more about him?"

Aang nodded, a bit sadly. "I know I probably won't get to meet him again… but I wanted to find out his story… about his life."

A soft hand covered his, and he looked up to see her looking determined. "Don't worry. I'll help you Aang."

"You will?"

"Of course. You helped me and the other kids break away from those archaic notions about discipline and honour. It's the least I can do for my friend."

Aang's signature smile returned then. "Alright, so here is everything I know:"

"Follow me!" On Ji said, leading Aang down some winding roads until they reached a large brick building, with an ornate arching door.

"This is the town hall. My older brother works here. He might be able to look through some old records from that time"

Aang nodded. It was as good a place to start as any.

It was busy inside, and Aang knew why. Fire lord Zuko's new policies were slowly healing the scars of the Hundred Years' War.

Lu'an in particular, being a port city, meant that a lot of precious artifacts were passing through here. Ones acquired by the Fire nation from the Earth kingdom and the Water tribes over the previous decades were slowly being identified and returned to their original owners.

A group of curators from Ba Sing Se were in spirited discussions with the town mayor.

On Ji smiled when she noticed Aang pause, and ended up standing and waiting for him as he peered around the busy room.

Her brother noticed her then as he came up the corridor with an arm full of files.

"Hey Sis, what're you doing here?"

Gen Ji had his sister's brown hair and eyes, but he was nearly a head taller than her, standing at Aang's stature.

"Oh! Good we found you. I'm just helping my… friend here-" she looked questioningly at Aang, trying to ascertain if he wanted her to tell her brother about his identity.

Aang nodded.

"Can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Uhh- sure" he said a bit confused, but On Ji ushered him into a back room filled with tall shelves, and gestured for Aang to follow them in.

"You're Avatar Aang?!" he exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Just Aang is fine" the Avatar replied cheerfully. "Nice to meet you"

Gen Ji looked at his sister for help, and then back at Aang. "This is…" he bowed. "I'm honored"

Aang grinned. "The honor is all mine. On Ji said you're the person to go to for all things about this town's history."

"Well… my sister does tend to play up my knowledge. But I'll be happy to help if I can."

Aang told him everything he remembered about Kuzon, which would have been more helpful if things hadn't changed so much in a hundred years. The small seaside town Aang remembered was now a decently sized port city.

But still, Gen Ji spared no efforts, combing through map after map until they finally found one from the time period Aang had last visited.

Aang almost had tears in his eyes as he laid eyes on the crudely hand drawn map, the streets and buildings from all that time back.

He recognised a large pond that he remembered meeting Kuzon at. The water body had long since dried up but it was present in this map.

"This pond… it was an hour or so walk from his house…"

"Do you remember anything about that day? Perhaps the direction of the sunset?" On Ji pressed.

Aang thought about it. "I kind of remember him telling me how firebenders get their power from the sun- he pointed at it as the sun set behind some large trees across the lake…"

"Meaning that his house would be one hour east of the pond!" On Ji smiled wide, making Aang bashfully avert his gaze. "Which puts it…"

She traced a path with her finger until they reached a little clearing in the woods north of the old town. "Around here"

"That's not too far!" Aang exclaimed. "I'll go out and try to hail a carriage"

After thanking Genji profusely, Aang left, and On Ji hung back, just to ask her brother what he was constantly smirking about.

She regretted that decision instantly.

"This is the boy you were pining for back then at school?

"N-No!" she sputtered, but the way her face was turning red gave her away. "I just mentioned him once or twice!"

"Huh? I seem to remember you going on and on for weeks about this 'mystery boy' from the colonies and his dancing skills and what not- that was the Avatar?!"

On Ji sighed. "Yes. But I didn't knew it at the time. No one did"

"Wow. I knew my know-it-all sister had high standards but still, the Avatar?"

"Shut up! It's not like that!" she stomped away, failing to ignore the feeling of her thumping heart at her brother's words. She had actually forgotten how smitten she had been back then, even for a capricious thirteen year old girl.

Five long years and she'd tried to suppress those inexplicable feelings all the while, knowing that they would only bring her sadness, with him being long gone, with no hope of ever finding him.

Catching up with Aang now and looking at his kind smile- his relentless optimism despite the unfathomable amount of sadness and heartbreak he'd already experienced at his young age- it made her realise it hadn't just been a schoolgirl crush back then.

Perhaps some part of her had always known. Known that he was much more special than anyone knew.

In a way, that had been the start of her new path. The one that diverged from an ideal fire-nation girl to someone who wanted to, who actually wanted to see things from the other perspective, rather than the ideals that she'd blindly been taught all her life.

When Fire lord Zuko had taken the throne mere months later, it was as if the Fire nation had entered the world for the first time.

Suddenly, new cultures and thoughts and ideas were invigorating her monotonous life. Her world wasn't limited to that bleak drudgery of discipline and honour.

She'd wanted to start expressing herself more, she'd wanted to see the world. Wanted to see what life was like outside her nation.

And most of all-

Now that she had somehow found him again, she didn't want to let him go a second time.

She knew it was foolish to even dream about it. He was the Avatar. He had numerous duties all over the world, he knew important world leaders personally and they looked to him for guidance- an eighteen- or hundred and eighteen- year old monk who was seemingly wiser than most old men of this age.

Meanwhile, she was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family from an ordinary town- she wasn't even a bender. He had surely met dozens of worthier girls on his travels. She even remembered an older girl that he had seemed close to.

All roads lead to disappointment, it's better to not even think about it, she thought glumly.

He was kind to me because he's kind to everyone. It's just who he is. Falling for someone like that is… it's only natural.

She knew that he'd be gone again from her life soon, perhaps even today. She knew that their time together was short, that this second chance had been a gift.

He had thrown a dance party in a cave, had taught those kids to break free and have fun- he'd gotten away with it- he had saved the world and he'd had fun doing it.

He had faced the most powerful man in the world and he'd won.

If he could do all that, then perhaps… perhaps an ordinary girl like herself could be brave too.

They ran into an unexpected problem. The clearing was gone. Or to be more precise, the entire woods were.

The outskirts of the town were now somewhere in the center of this city. With hardly any physical landmarks to guide them, it took a lot of circling but they did manage to narrow down the area to a block of old-looking houses.

"Do any of these look familiar?" On Ji asked.

"I don't think so… even the oldest of these houses has to be at most fifty years old."

"You said Kuzon was the son of a palace official, right?"

"Uh-huh"

"Then his family must've been well off. Let's start going around these houses and ask about him"

"Umm… I'm not really…" Aang was reluctant to start knocking on random doors, as he knew he'd inevitably get recognised and then he'd have to spend the rest of the evening trying to escape the crowd.

On Ji realised this too. "You can stay behind me. Let me do the asking"

"I- Thank you" Aang said, grateful for her understanding.

She tugged him by the hand from house to house, and spoke to the locals with remarkable grace and poise. Aang couldn't help but be impressed, and he'd been talking to people all his life.

Eventually, they ran out of houses with no success. Tired and weary, Aang's cheerfulness had long gone.

"It's okay. Thank you for trying On Ji. I mean it-"

That was the first time he saw the usually calm girl's angry face. "Don't tell me you're giving up already?!"

Aang looked surprised. It had been a long day for both of them, and he was half-expecting her to jump at the opportunity to get back to her life.

"But what else can we do?"

On Ji crossed her arms. "Did you give up that easily after failing at the day of black sun?"

Aang fell silent. "Not… well… no"

On Ji smirked. "Well, then I'm not letting you give up today either."

She glanced over at a little diner around the corner. "Come on, you'll feel better after getting some food in your system"

She headed inside without even waiting for his answer, and Aang just chuckled to himself, wondering how he'd gotten himself into this situation, before following her in.

"Mmm. This is great" Aang said through a mouthful of his veggie burger.

On Ji grinned. "Told you you'd feel better"

As he'd gotten his order, the old man running the diner had smiled warmly at them both and Aang had the sudden realisation as they ate- did they… look like a couple?! On a date?

Needless to say, a 'date' was an experience that the Avatar had not had so far.

His palms felt unnecessarily sweaty as On Ji regaled him of the time she'd dumped a boy named Hide after a mere one week of dating him.

Stop freaking out! She's just a girl! an old classmate!

"Y-Yeah. Wow"

On Ji narrowed her eyes. "Were you even listening?"

"I kinda zoned out" Aang admitted.

On Ji rolled her eyes. But she didn't seem upset. "I don't blame you. Ugh- why am I even talking about that jerk? So over it."

Aang looked at her. "So… did you date anyone after… I mean a-after him"

Aang had hoped it was casual enough but she was smiling when she said, "No Aang. I've never had a real boyfriend"

"Oh" Aang replied, trying to stop his shoulders from perking up.

"What about you, Avatar? I'm sure you have no shortage of admirers"

Aang blushed. "It's not- it's not like that…"

On Ji couldn't help it. "What about- that girl from back then…? the one with the blue eyes?"

"Katara?"

On Ji nodded. "I'm guessing she wasn't Fire nation either?"

"Right. She was my water-bending master, and the daughter of the Chief of the Southern water tribe.

On Ji nodded, but felt her heart sinking. His master? she was Water tribe royalty as well? How could she ever hope to compete with someone like-

"We're just friends" Aang interrupted, looking sincerely at her. "There was a time when I thought we could be more… but things didn't work out that way. We had different paths in life. I made my peace with it a long time ago"

She was still looking down at the table until Aang took her fingers in his hand, make her look up in surprise.

"Being here now… I don't regret a single thing about it"

His face felt hot again but he knew he wanted to tell her that, and seeing the way her eyes sparkled then made it undoubtedly worth it.

When Aang went to the counter to pay for the meal, he got a completely unexpected reply.

"I'd be a fool to take money from you- it is my honor to be of service, young Avatar"

On ji was just as surprised as Aang was.

"How did you-"

The man smiled. "You don't get to be my age without learning a thing or two."

Aang raised his eyebrows, making him chuckle wryly. "That, and I overheard you sayin' something about having a waterbending master but you lit the candle on your table with firebending"

Aang was competely impressed by his perceptiveness. He intorduced himself as Hong.

"So, what brings you and the lovely young lady here?"

On Ji jumped in, hoping he could help them. She had barely started explaining when the man gasped. "Kuzon? Haven't heard that name in ages!"

Aang's eyes widened. "The Kuzon who had bronze eyes and a round face- born a hundred and twenty odd years ago- You knew him?"

"Of course! I used ta' play Pai sho with him back when I was a wee lad! He wiped the floor with me though- he was my cultural studies professor"

On Ji jumped with joy, before stopping, realising the way Aang's eyes were welling up.

"Is… is he…"

Hong looked down. "I'm sorry, son. That was a long time ago…"

Aang had known it was coming, but it didn't make a difference. He'd barely begun to break down into tears when he was embraced by someone warm and he didn't even protest, he just cried against them, sobbing into what he later realised was On Ji's shoulder.

"it's ok, It'll be okay" she cooed as she rubbed his head. The tears poured out of him in waves, as if he'd reopened his grief chakra somehow.

When he pulled away, On Ji was wiping at his tears with her hands, not letting him feel embarrassed for his emotions at all.

The old man layed a comforting hand on his shoulder too. "He was a good man, my son. If it makes you feel any better, I'd say that he lived a life longer and happier than most"

It did make him feel better, and eventually, he managed to compose himself enough to get the full story from him.

Afterwards, Hong closed his shop up early and led him and On Ji down a lot of winding roads until they reached a large, ornate looking house by the river.

Soon after, the three of them were sitting with an older woman, probably in her late eighties.

Aang took off his headband then, and told her everything.

Her wrinkled face teared up, as Aang regaled the old soul of the time he'd spent with her father, a hundred years ago. The memory of the time he and Kuzon had saved a dragon egg from poachers, high up in the nearby mountains. That time they had ventured into the forest searching for saber-tooth moose lions.

Kuzon's youngest daughter was now a great-grandmother herself, and she couldn't believe her ears as she'd realised that this young boy had once been the same age as her father.

It seemed like her childhood felt a thing of the distant past, but the way he spoke to her about Kuzon like it was yesterday, seemed like something hardly possible.

In turn, she told him about Kuzon's later life and family. How he'd never once forgotten about his Air Nomad friend from a lifetime ago. The way he had grieved when he'd learnt about Sozin's attacks, not even knowing that his friend had been the Avatar.

Thinking about it now, Aang realised that a part of him had always seen the good in Zuko, because he sincerely believed that no nation was truly evil- and it was Kuzon who'd made him realise that.

Without even knowing it, his friend from the Fire nation had also helped end the war in a way, a hundred years later.

All the while Aang spoke with the elderly woman, On Ji and Hong just listened in awe, barely holding it together themselves.

On Ji was the only one here who had never even known Kuzon, yet she could feel a fraction of what Aang was feeling, and that was enough for her to be full of emotion.

Even after becoming a fully realised avatar, Aang had never forgotten his past, not even after a century. The fame and the glory seemed to not matter to him, compared to being able to give a daughter a few fond memories about her father's childhood.

The old woman's youthfulness came back to her in her laughter when Aang demonstrated airbending to her, making the air swirl around the room.

He even introduced himself to the rest of the family, giggling endlessly when Kuzon's one year old great-great grandson climbed all over his bald head. A bit of waterbending thrown into the mix and the children were all oohs and ahhs.

He is so good with children, On Ji thought with envy. She could hardly manage to wrangle any of them into her arms.

By the time they finally departed after thanking Hong and everyone else and promising to keep in touch, Aang was all smiles and On Ji's heart seemed near bursting with happiness for him.

It was nighttime by now and she insisted he come spend the night with her family. Aang was reluctant, not wanting to be a bother, but he finally accepted her offer once he realised she wasn't gonna change her mind.

Bringing a boy home unannounced like this was sure to get her in trouble, but she hoped her parents would understand after she explained the situation.

That, and she just couldn't bear to say goodbye like this. It simply wasn't an option.

Her parents were more accommodating than she'd expected, and she guessed him being the Avatar didn't hurt either. The way her mom had looked at her funny though… maybe Gen ji had given them a heads up earlier.

She helped set up the spare room for him, and ended up sitting with him as they talked late into the night.

He gave her a detailed account of his travels in the Fire nation, both before and after his time in the iceberg. In turn, she told him all about her life which she thought was nothing interesting compared to his, but he listened with just as much interest as she had.

Even after turning in to sleep, she couldn't contain her giddyness. When she'd woken up this morning, getting ready to go to work on just another ordinary summer day, the last thing she'd expected was getting to spend a whole day with the boy she'd admired for so long.

She had finally drifted off sometime later, but had woken up from the slightest sound- like a door opening-

Still half asleep- it was dark outside- she quickly put her hair up in a ponytail and poked her head outside her bedroom.

She heard it again. Footsteps.

Without hesitating, she burst into his room- right as he was about to leave through the balcony- glider already in hand-

She didn't understand.

"You're… you're leaving?" she asked, confused.

Aang looked at her guiltily. "The capital is still two days away On Ji… I'm afraid I have already spent up all of my extra time…"

On Ji looked devastated. "You weren't even gonna say goodbye?"

Aang looked down again with a pained expression. "I didn't want to bother you any more than I already had… taking advantage of my Avatar title and intruding on your life-"

"Aang." She looked at him knowingly.

"I was- I was thinking last night… I was- worried. A lot of the Fire nation still doesn't approve of me… the way I brought down Ozai… everyone here loathed the Avatar for a hundred years… I didn't want you… to think it over with a calm head and finally realise I am not just a boy you met once… but the one who you've been taught all your life to hate-"

"Do I look like it matters to me?" On Ji interrupted. "I told you earlier. I didn't help you because you're the Avatar. I helped you because you were my friend. If anyone here that still hates you due to that nonsense propaganda- that's their problem- not yours. You're the one who brought balance to the world- who has given our nation a chance to atone for our sins- I should be thanking you Aang. Don't just leave like that before even giving me the chance to properly do so…"

Aang felt his eyes well up then, same as hers. "I need to travel to the Southern water tribe after my meeting in the capital and help them rebuild- and Guru Pathik is awaiting me afterwards for the next steps in my training…"

I won't be able to come back anytime soon, no matter how much I want to.

Even with Appa on his side, it still took him weeks or even months to travel between these far away lands.

There was so much that he wanted to say to her, and so much she wanted to tell him back. She spoke up first.

"When you told me yesterday that you were the Avatar… I was worried you'd shun me for being Fire nation- for being your enemy…"

"That's not true On Ji. You're not my enemy. I do not have any enemies. Even Zuko is my true friend now, and we managed to see eye to eye even after he tried to capture me numerous times."

The way he casually talked about the Fire lord was so… Aang. She had to remind herself that this humble monk was in fact the most powerful person on the planet.

"Do you really have to go?" she tried one last time.

Aang hated making her feel this way. Even after they'd shared their insecurities with each other, neither had the courage to share their true feelings as well, both of them worried that the other wouldn't feel the same.

And Aang had people depending on him still. "I really do On ji."

He opened his arms before she could start crying. She crossed the distance in two steps and sank into his embrace, feeling his soft airbender robes against her cheek.

"Will you write to me?" she murmured against his neck.

Aang could hardly believe his ears. The girl that he had feared would want nothing to do with him after today- she wanted him to-

"Of course I will." Aang breathed, squeezing her closer to convey what he couldn't say in words.

She finally extricated herself from the hug and sniffled up at him. "Now go"

Before I change my mind and decide to keep you here.

He smiled at her and wiped a stray tear from her cheek, before whipping open his glider, pointing it towards the brightening eastern sky.

"Goodbye On Ji. I'm glad I met you again"

"I'm glad I met you too."

With a gust of airbending, he launched off into the sky then, leaving the brown haired girl gaze longingly after him from the balcony.

She watched him fly away until he became a speck, until she couldn't see him anymore.

This isn't the end. She told herself, willing herself to have faith in her feelings.

It may just be the beginning.

A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought! :D There is one more chapter after this which I will post soon! Thanks for reading.

-Gravitybeam