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He was missing. He was missing and there was nothing she could do about it except hope that he came back in time. They each had their jobs to do and she couldn’t let her worry hold her back. Azula was going to put up a hell of a fight and Katara needed to be on the top of her game. Aang would do the right thing, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he would. He was probably just on a spirit journey like Sokka said. She hoped this journey would find him a way to defeat the Fire Lord without killing him.
She knew Aang and she knew that if he was forced to kill the Fire Lord, he'd also be killing a part of himself. He was raised a monk, heck, he was even a vegetarian. Killing another living thing, even if it was a monster like Ozai, would destroy him. The poor boy had already been through so much more than any child needed to go through. Well, no, that wasn’t right, he wasn’t a boy anymore, regardless of his childlike wonder. He’d been made a man the moment they’d named him Avatar and started training him to kill.
He deserved better, that’s all, and he deserved to find a way to stop the Fire Lord that wouldn’t go against every fiber of his being. Appa was flying fast towards the Fire Nation Palace and Katara should have been worrying about their inevitable fight with Azula but all she could think about was Aang. She wished they’d been able to say good-bye, their opponents today were more than formidable and there was no guarantee they would be walking away from these battles. She needed him to know how she felt. How much she loved him.
She needed him to know that she wasn’t confused anymore. She knew what she felt and what she wanted and what she wanted was to be with him always, in any capacity that Aang would allow. Katara longed to kiss him suddenly, and not like their first few clumsy kisses but a real kiss, with both parties knowing that the other truly wanted it. She could die today and never get to experience that.
So Katara decided that she wouldn’t die, it just wasn't an option. She and Zuko would defeat Azula and then she’d be on her way back to the Earth Kingdom to find Aang and her family. They were all going to make it, each and every last one of them.
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The battle had been over for a few hours and Katara had done her best not to leave Aang’s side. There had been much to figure out once the gang had finally touched down in Ba Sing Se with the defeated Fire Lord, but the Order of the White Lotus had been there to help them through everything. Now, they were inside the palace in their respective rooms they were assigned and Katara was buzzing out of her skin. She’d been happy to change and wash off all of the dirt that had clung to her, but all she could think about was Aang. She needed to see him and make sure he was ok.
The rest of them had been given single individual rooms along a big hallway, but they’d given Aang an entire suite. She walked towards his quarters and knocked on the door to no answer. She pushed into the first room, which had a short table and big fluffy chairs and took a guess as to which of the three other doors Aang was behind. Katara chose the one to her right and knocked softly before slowly pushing on the gnarled wood.
Aang was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, his bare shoulders shaking lightly. He was still covered in a thin layer of grime and she hated to think that he’d been in here crying while she had been taking a bath. Katara sat down next to him gingerly, as if the slightest vibration would startle him, and put a hand on his shoulder. When she made contact with his skin he pulled his head out of his hands and looked at her.
The pain in his eyes broke her heart and the tear tracks leading down his cheeks brought tears to her own eyes. “It’s over now Aang, you did it,” She put a hand up to his face and cupped his cheek, swiping away the water with her thumb, “You did it and we’re all here, every one of us is still in one piece.”
“I thought I was going to die, for real this time, and I hadn’t even gotten to say good-bye to you.” He brought his hand up to grasp hers and the emotion in his eyes burned through her. “I love you Katara, more than anything in this world. I think about you and I have the strength to get me through anything. That strength you give me is the reason I’m still sitting here now. He had me, in the beginning of our fight he had me, and I was so scared until I thought of you and how you never give up on anything. Suddenly, it was like nothing could defeat me.”
“Aang I-” she cut herself off and by the droop of his face she could tell that he had taken her hesitance as rejection.
“It’s ok.” He said, “I didn’t expect you to feel the same way I just had to tell you, just had to get it out there.”
“Aang, no, just wait. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to say this, but I suppose no amount of preparations would ever be good enough so I guess I’ll just spit it out. Last time you asked me how I felt I told you that I was confused, and I guess maybe I was, but the real reason was that I was scared. You’re the Avatar, your destiny was always to fight the Fire Lord and even though I knew how powerful a bender you were my brain kept whispering, what if. What if you died. I’d already lost the person I had cared about most in the world and it broke me. Then I found you, and you quickly became my new favorite person. How would I have survived if I told you I loved you and then you died?
Looking at it now I can see how stupid of a mindset that was. And then today, not being able to see you before the battle to say good-bye...all I could think about was you, and how much I would regret it if I never got to tell you how much I love you.”
Aang’s eyes were wide as she sucked in a much needed breath. He didn’t move for a second but a hesitant smile grew across his face, “You really mean it?”
“I really, really do.” She smiled back at him and then unable to contain herself, Katara grabbed his face and moved it closer to her own. A blush grew on Aang’s face, flushing down his neck and onto his chest and he was just so beautiful. She looked him in the eyes and leaned forward and when her lips were but a breath away from his Katara said,“I’m going to kiss you now.”