Day 4: Post-Battle Reunion

Summary: KW 2024 Day 4: Post-Battle Reunion. Continuation of Day 2: Protectiveness/Bodyguard. In which Avatar Aang is really, truly, absolutely, horrifically terrible at not falling for the pretty waterbender in his personal guard detail. (But maybe it's okay, because maybe she's fallen for him too.)

Word Count: 3.9k

A/N: Welcome to Day 4! This picks up right where Day 2 left off and is definitely a little more kataangsty, but enjoy!

Katara had felt fear before.

She had felt fear when the black snow had come, the ash tainting the village's water supply for days after, when her mother had told her to find her father, at the screams of the Chief when they had returned to the igloo that fateful day.

She had felt fear when her father and the men of their tribe had gone off to war four years later, expressions stoic underneath layers of war paint as they kissed their crying wives and children goodbye, possibly for the last time, when the boats left with every last steel or bone blade in the village, when Sokka and her looked at each other as they sailed off, unsure of what to do next.

She had felt fear when she saw that foreboding soot in the snow two years after that, when a Fire Nation ship had come to her village again promising nothing but death and destruction, when an angry scarred man had grabbed her grandmother and threatened her village, searching for a man, a myth, who hadn't been seen in a century.

She had felt fear when her brother and Aang left the room with the other council members leaving her to deal with some dozen firebenders on her own with a limited water supply, when she had realized that their attacks were aiming to kill, when she felt the static crackle of lightning mere inches from her face before knocking the man out.

She had felt fear before. And that was why she was certain this new feeling overtaking her body was not fear.

Too late.

She wouldn't have time to stop the attack.

He was too late.

The airbender rushed forward with superhuman speed, time slowing down as the blue glow of the lightning flooded the room.

This couldn't be it, he thought. There were too many words left unsaid, too many feelings he'd never get to confess, too many late-night conversations they'd never get to have, too many thoughts and hopes and dreams and fears they'd never get to tell each other.

This couldn't be it.

Katara's head snapped forward when she heard him yell her name.

Fear, anxiety, dread, panic, flooded her brain. He could be hurt or trapped or dying or worse, all because she wasn't there to protect him. Why hadn't she been there to protect him?

She turned just in time to see the blood draining from his face, his expression one of pure terror. His legs began moving so fast that they morphed into a blur of brown and gold and orange. It would've been beautiful, she would think later, if she hadn't been so scared. He punched a blast of air beneath him as his body flew into the air.

Then she blinked, and everything changed.

He tried to catch it with his hands, to redirect it away from them back to their attackers. He tried.

He hoped she knew he tried.

But the force of it was too much. His fingers were too unpracticed with the technique. All those days of blowing off firebending training with Sifu Hotman really did come back to bite, huh?

He turned his head to smile at her when the blue of the lightning became too bright to look at. He wanted her beautiful pools of cerulean to be the last thing he saw, and he wanted the last she saw of him to be happy.

Aang heard it before he felt it, the crackle of the lightning already drowning his ears with noise when his body began buzzing and convulsing. His muscles spasmed as the electricity coursed through his veins, exciting every last nerve ending and pain receptor.

He couldn't tell quite when he finally hit the ground, but he managed to keep his eyes open as he did, his vision blurring and his head swimming.

"Katara," he tried to say, the words unable to escape his lips. "I-"

The last things he saw were the tears in her eyes before everything faded to black.

She screamed, Sokka would tell her later.

She was sure it had happened, but she had no memory of it. Everything went fuzzy after she saw Aang get hit.

He said that she screamed so loud that he'd been able to hear it from the tunnel Aang had earthbent, through meters of stone and cement. An ungodly scream, an inhuman scream, a scream that would haunt him till the day he died, though he'd sworn to never mention that part.

She hadn't felt fear when he fell. Fear was different, familiar in a way, a pit in her stomach that she could cure with enough confidence and enough planning.

She had felt fear before. And that was why she was certain this new feeling overtaking her body was not fear.

This was some unholy concoction of terror, of pain, of grief, of rage. This was a feeling that consumed her very being, filled her veins with adrenaline, flooded her muscles with an energy, a fervor, she didn't know she was capable of.

Her stare was blank, her cheeks wet with hot tears. She heard the wind-up of a blast of fire, and, instinctively, she raised her hands to defend herself. It was not water that she bent. She squeezed her fists, and the attackers stopped, limbs contorting. When she collapsed to her knees, so too did they fall, dead.

Sea salt and strawberries.

Aang frowned. Last time he was in the Spirit World, it smelled more foresty, more earthy, more, well, spirity. Did they remodel?

He forced his eyes open and was immediately met with an ocean of brown- soft wisps flooding his vision that were almost thread-like. In fact, it looked an awful lot like Katara's hair. Actually, it smelled a lot like Katara's hair too. Wait a minute…

"Katara?"

The waterbender jolted awake at the sound of her name, taking the chestnut waves Aang had been staring at with her as she sat up. Her hands darted to cover her mouth when she saw his open eyes. He was alive, spirits, he was alive.

"Aang!"

She moved to hug him but hesitated. The airbender followed her gaze to his chest, where he had strips of white gauze criss-crossing to cover his torso. Bandages, he realized.

She enveloped him in a gentle embrace, making sure to keep her arms around his shoulders as he nestled his head in the crook of her neck. With great effort, he managed to lift his right arm and wrap it around her waist in a half-hug. Had his arms always been so heavy?

"I thought I lost you," she whispered. Her soft palm paused its gentle rubbing of his head. "I thought you died."

"I thought I was going to die," he murmured back, his grip on her waist tightening. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and he craned his neck to look up at her. "You saved me, didn't you? You healed me."

Katara nodded. "After you fell." She narrowed her eyes. "You weren't awake during that. What do you remember?"

The airbender shrugged. "You. Lightning. A lot of pain. You crying. Nothing after that." He saw her eyes widen for the briefest of moments. "I just figured that recovering from a lightning strike is supposed to hurt a lot more than this." He gave her a small smile, but it was met with a frown.

"You shouldn't have done that."

He looked at her quizzically as she pulled away from him. "Shouldn't have done what?"

"Shouldn't have jumped in the middle," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You could've died."

The airbender pursed his lips, slightly annoyed. "I could've died, had you not been there. But you were, and you definitely would've died if I hadn't done something."

Katara scoffed, her arms wrapping protectively around her torso. "You didn't know that, though. You said it yourself- you thought you were going to die. It's my job to protect you, Aang. I know the risks that come with that. You shouldn't hav-"

"And I knew the risks that came with what I did, Katara! They were risks I was willing to take because I l- because I care about you." Hurt and annoyance filled his expression as she turned his back to him.

He rolled his eyes. "You know, the Air Nomads usually say 'thank you' and, you know, actually make eye contact when someone saves their life."

She whipped around to face him, irate. "I cannot believe you!" She huffed loudly. "You know what? Fine! Thank you for saving my life! Thank you for doing the most stupid thing imaginable! Thank you for not letting me do my job! Thank you for risking the life of the most important person in the world, the only hope we have of world peace!"

Her nostrils flared and her nails dug into her fists, but he wasn't backing down either.

"Real heartfelt," he deadpanned. "Why are you acting like I did something wrong, Katara?"

"Because you did! It's my job to protect you, not the other way around, and for good reason! Did you even think about the international implications if you died? Everything wou-"

"Don't give me that job bullshit," he snapped. "We both know this isn't about international politics, and this stopped being a bodyguard-boss dynamic months ago. We protect each other, help each other, save each other."

"Not at the expense of your life! Of all the irresponsible-"

"Why can't you accept that I care about you? That I knew the risks and was willing to die? Why don't y-"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T LOSE YOU!"

Aang's eyes widened at the outburst, the tears welling up in Katara's eyes not going unnoticed by him.

"Because I can't lose you," she repeated, quieter this time as she struggled to choke out the words. "Because I wouldn't know how to live with myself if you died, even less so if you died because of me."

Aang grabbed her hand before she could walk away, pulling her to him with all the strength he could muster. He reached up to move a lock of hair out of her face and cupped her cheek with his palm, rough and callused from years of training.

Katara froze under his touch, each breath shaky and unsure. She felt him wipe away the tears from her face before he used his other hand to intertwine their fingers.

"Why do you think I took the lightning for you?" he murmured, his silver gaze pleading desperately with her blue one. "Because I can't lose you either. Because I don't want to live in a world without you in it." He gulped. "Because I love you, Katara."

The waterbender stiffened at the last phrase, immediately pulling away from Aang as she shook her head fervently.

"No," she whispered as she took a step back. "You can't."

"Why not?"

"You don't know what I did, Aang," she choked out, tears freely flowing down her face. "You don't know what I did after you- You can't- I can't-"

Without another word, she ran out.

Knock, knock!

"Come in."

The airbender turned his head as the door opened, eyes narrowing at the influx of light into the room.

"I, uh, brought you dinner," Zuko's raspy voice sounded. "Why is it so dark in here?" With a flick of his wrist, the candles against the walls became lit, flooding the space with a golden glow.

"Oh. Thanks."

"You doing alright, Aang?" the firebender asked as he set the tray down on the bedside table.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Just an argument with Katara. We both got mad, and she just stormed out of here."

Zuko's eyes widened, suddenly noticing the waterbender's absence. "She actually left this room?"

Aang frowned. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"It's just-" he paused, chewing on his lip. "How long do you think you were out?"

The airbender shrugged. "A few hours? Maybe a day or two? All I remember is the fight and then waking up to Katara's hair."

Zuko gave him a serious look. "You were out for ten days."

"TEN DAYS?"

He winced at the volume of Aang's outburst, continuing nevertheless. "The whole time, Katara refused to leave your side. She left for maybe an hour max each day, just to shower and eat, and even then, only because Sokka and I made her. I mean, she actually made us strongarm Kuei into giving an executive order extending visiting hours for you specifically just so that she could stay here with you."

Aang was silent, processing what Zuko had just said.

"Take me to see her."

The firebender groaned, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is it even worth it to explain to you the many ways in which Katara will kill both of us for letting you get out of bed?"

"Nope!"

Zuko sighed at Aang's cheery expression and begrudgingly wrapped his arm under his shoulder, supporting the man's weight as he stood up fully for the first time in days.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked, noticing Aang's gritted teeth and tightened jaw.

"I'll be fine," he muttered.

Slowly but surely, the two hobbled down to the lobby of the infirmary, where Sokka and Katara were sitting on cushioned wooden chairs and discussing something in hushed tones.

"Aang?" the warrior's voice sounded when he saw the two. "What are you doing out of your room?"

Katara's head snapped around to look at them, immediately rushing to take Zuko's place supporting his weight.

"Aang, what are you doing?" she asked softly, concern glimmering in her eyes. "You need to rest, take it easy. You're not ready to start walking around yet."

"Not until we talk, Katara. Please." His stormy gray eyes were pleading, his voice soft and desperate.

The waterbender chewed on her lip, unsure of what to do.

"Okay, but only if you let me take you back to your room."

"Deal."

The two slowly made their way back, with Katara shooting a glare at Zuko when she heard him mutter, 'So all of that was for nothing?!' under his breath as they left. Gently, she helped Aang sit back down on his bed, his legs dangling over the edge, and took her place next to him, crisscrossing her legs.

"Tell me what you were doing that night."

Aang raised an eyebrow at her quizzically, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I already know what you're going to ask me, so let me ask this first." He opened his mouth to protest but paused seeing the distress in her eyes. "What were you doing that night, the night before the battle? What didn't you want me to see?"

The airbender gave her a small, hopeless smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Love letters," he whispered. "Love letters confessing to you how I felt, what you meant to me. Love letters I wasn't sure if I was ready for you to read. Love letters I needed to write because my emotions felt like they were going to burst right out of me if I didn't."

Tears again began welling up in her eyes as a sob escaped her lips, her body shuddering with each breath she took.

Aang turned away from her and tried to force back the moisture forming in his eyes. What reaction had he expected, honestly? She was Katara- beautiful, loving, fierce Katara. How could he even think that she would return his feelings? They were best friends, only best friends, and now he had changed that forever.

"I understand that you don't feel the same," he said after a long silence. "I just don't want this to impact our friendship. You're still my best friend, Katara. No matter what, I want to have you in my life in whichever way you're willing to have me."

She shook her head and turned to look at him. "That's the problem, Aang."

He winced, bracing for the worst.

"Because I love you too."

Aang inhaled sharply as he forgot how to breathe, which was quite concerning as an airbender. He stared at her blankly, replaying her words in his head to make sure he hadn't misheard or imagined them.

"But I don't deserve you," she whispered. "The things I did… You don't understand."

He took her hands in his and pressed kisses to each of her knuckles and palms.

"Then help me understand," he pleaded. "Help me understand what outlandish thing you seem to think could make me love you any less."

"I killed them."

He said nothing, opting instead to squeeze her fingers, allowing her to continue.

"After you fell, I- I don't know what came over me. The last three firebenders around us, I killed them."

"They were attacking us, Katara. It was self-defense!"

She shook her head and refused to meet his gaze, snatching her hands away from his- his beautiful, pure, loving hands. She refused to taint them with hers.

"It wasn't waterbending," she murmured. Katara looked down at her palms- her blood-stained, dangerous, evil palms, palms unworthy of him. "It was different. It was like I could feel the blood in their veins, manipulate their bodies, their limbs."

"Bloodbending," Aang realized. "I've only heard rumors of it being possible, and even then only by powerful waterbenders under a full moon."

"I'm a monster, Aang. I could've stopped. I should've stopped, but I didn't." She pulled her knees up to hug them, burying her face in the fabric of her leggings. "You deserve better."

The airbender paused for a moment, a tense silence passing between the two as he processed the implications of her words. Then,

"Could you have stopped?" he asked, tilting his head. "If I had thought that I'd lost you, Katara… spirits, I don't even want to think of what would've happened, but I wouldn't have been in control at that point."

"I should've stopped," she muttered obstinately.

"Would you have been able to stop them if you hadn't?" he continued, ignoring her response. "From what it looked like to me, you were almost out of water. You would've been shaken from thinking that you lost me- distracted, inattentive. You wouldn't have had the ability to dodge or block another attack."

Katara tilted her chin upwards to look at him, his stormy gaze peering into her soul. "What are you trying to say, Aang?"

He smiled and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"What I'm trying to say is that you're Katara- brave, loving, loyal Katara. You're a fighter, but you're also a healer, a protector. You have the purest heart of anyone I've ever met, with the ferocity of a mother sabertooth-moose-lion guarding her young. You're Katara- my best friend, the woman I love, the woman I would die for without hesitation."

He took her hands in hers and again pressed kisses to both her palms.

"You say these hands make you a monster. I say you did what you had to do to protect yourself, to protect both of us. You haven't brought death or destruction- you've brought healing and life."

He shifted his position again, this time to press his forehead to hers.

"You say you don't deserve me. I say I don't think I could ever deserve you, the person who's saved my life time and time again, the person who spreads so much love and good everywhere she goes. I don't care what you've convinced yourself of. I love you, Katara. I don't want anyone else."

Tears welled in her eyes again, whether sad or happy neither she nor Aang could tell.

"How can you be so sure? How can you be so… convinced that I'm such a good person?"

Aang shrugged. "Call it a bit of Avatar wisdom." She chuckled, wiping away the moisture in her eyes. "But in all seriousness, it's because I know you, Katara. I know what's in your heart." He shot her a small grin. "You couldn't be evil if you tried. Promise me you'll tell yourself that until you believe it? And when you can't, you'll come to me so that I can make you believe it?"

She nodded, returning his smile and squeezing his hands appreciatively. "I promise. But you have to promise me something too."

"Anything."

"Promise me that you won't ever do something that stupid again, Aang," she whispered. "Promise me that you won't risk your life for me like that."

"I can't make a promise I won't keep," Aang said, shaking his head. "But I can promise that I'll always come back to you, that you'll always have me, no matter what."

Katara sighed and gave him a small smile, this time certain that the hot streaks down the sides of her face were out of joy, not pain.

"I think I can live with that."

Would she have preferred him to stick to her promise? Of course, but she wouldn't have promised him that either. The world without him had no color, no life, no spirit. She couldn't blame him for feeling the same way.

Without another word, she swept him up into a kiss, her hands gripping the back of his neck as his lost themselves in her hair. It was a kiss of love, of desperation, of too many months of yearning, but mostly of relief, sweet relief, that they were both there and alive and breathing and that everything was going to be okay.

"I love you," she whispered as they broke apart, chests heaving and cheeks flushed. Aang gave her a crooked grin, the crooked grin that he knew drove her crazy, and nuzzled the side of her face.

"Say it again."

Katara chuckled and cupped his face with her hands, pressing a gentle kiss to his nose. "I love you." She pressed another to his cheek. "I love you." And another to his forehead. "I love- oh!"

Her last sentence was interrupted by the airbender pulling her into another kiss, this time his hands electing to caress her jaw and the side of her face while hers moved to his shoulders and the back of his head.

"I love you too," he mumbled against her lips. "So much."

Neither could stop smiling as they separated. The golden glow of the candles illuminated the hard lines of Aang's face in a way that ran shivers down Katara's spine, and the moonlight beginning to stream through the window made him sigh with how it highlighted the blue of her eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured after a few minutes of warm silence. "For saving me, for putting up with my temper, for reassuring and comforting me." She tilted her neck to press the softest of kisses to the tip of the arrow on his head. "For loving me."

Aang smirked. "See now that is a much better thank you for the guy who saved your life."

Katara scoffed, rolling her eyes as she playfully pushed him away, unable to stifle a grin.

He laughed as he pulled her back towards him, returning her kiss with one on her nose.

"But always, Katara. Always."

The two sighed in unison and leaned against each other, warmth spreading through their chests at each other's loving touches. The outside world seemed to fade away as they breathed together, their heartbeats synchronizing as one.

They were alive, they were reminded with each simultaneous inhale. They were alive, and they were together, and maybe nothing else had to matter as long as they had each other.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

A/N: Fin! I hoped you all enjoyed that one as much as I enjoyed writing it and I will see you tomorrow!