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Dancing.
To many, the word was insignificant and meant nothing.
To others, the word was simply a pastime, a hobby, something to be done just for fun.
To Katara and Aang, it was the entirety of their relationship summed up in a single, deceptively unassuming word.
When Katara saw Aang dancing with On Ji in the cave that night, it ignited a flame of jealousy inside her, making her question if a friend was all Aang was to her.
Later that night, when she was the one dancing with Aang, more sparks flew, only this time, they were sparks of passion, nonetheless also making her question what she and Aang were.
The first date Aang ever took Katara on had dancing.
The two were 13 and 15, respectively, and while they technically were dating, they hadn't been on a date.
Fed up with it, the airbender decided to take his girlfriend around Ba Sing Se, just to sightsee as neither had really gotten the chance while frantically traveling the world and trying to get Aang to master all the elements.
On their little sightseeing trip, the two happened to come across a newly opened Water Tribe restaurant (which Aang had planned for and intentionally steered their course there) and ate dinner there, the familiar atmosphere making Katara feel more at ease, which led to her enthusiastically thanking her boyfriend with kisses.
As they headed back to their house back in the upper ring, near the palace, the two heard music, upbeat and lively music which they soon found, was a couples' street dancing competition.
At first, Katara just watched in amazement at the skills and various types of dances from all over the world on display, not wanting to take part in any of it. However, at Aang's insistence- along with him giving her the look of a sad, lost puppy- the waterbender gave in and agreed to competing.
Of course, once the crowd saw who else was dancing, the other dancers made way for the couple, all eyes glued on them, making Katara blush and duck her head down.
Feeling a strong sense of deja vu as the music came on, Aang held his hand out to Katara.
"Take my hand."
The waterbender grinned at the familiar line and did as he said, standing up.
"Okay."
As Katara stood up and looked around at everyone's gazes directed at them, a knot began to form in her stomach.
"Aang, everyone's watching..."
"Don't worry about them; it's just you and me right now."
Together, they raised their hands up in the same pose as the start of their dance in the cave, which seemed so long ago, yet was only a handful of months prior.
The two kicked and flipped, twisting and turning, only making one small change to their first 'Kataango' (as Sokka had dubbed it), which was actually kissing instead of almost kissing.
When they had finally finished, panting and breathing hard, they heard the crowd cheer loudly, praising their performance.
The judges announced that they had won, much to their delight, and gave them the tickets for a free dance class at one of the city's top institutes.
Afterwards, they headed home on the monorail, holding hands and leaning against one another in a comfortable silence.
"Aang?"
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For giving me a first date that I'll never forget."
The couple made up from the first fight they ever had by dancing.
Katara looked up from her shoes as she saw Aang's hand reach out to her, staring at it as if it had grown three heads.
"Come on, love. Just one d-"
"Don't."
Katara shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself as she avoided his gaze.
"One dance?" he pleaded again. "Just one, I promise."
He held his hand out to her, desperation in his eyes.
The waterbender sighed.
"One, and only one," she said, taking his hand and standing up.
As a new song started, Aang put one of his arms around his frustrated girlfriend's waist, holding and swaying her to the music.
"You can't avoid me forever."
"Watch me."
The airbender sighed, saying nothing in response.
He thought about when all of this had started; that single, stupid afternoon that had caused this entire mess, their first fight as a couple.
Did he and Katara argue about other things? Sure, but those were petty, small, like what they should have for dinner or which was the superior fruit: mangoes or strawberries (Aang swore to the spirits it was mangoes, despite Katara's fervent protests about strawberries being better). They had never had a fight as serious as this, one that couldn't be solved with a simple 'I'm sorry'.
It had all started on a fairly typical afternoon; the birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and Aang was teaching the Air Acolytes about Air Nomad customs, particularly the food.
Was it really his fault that he had lost track of time and ended up missing his and Katara's date at the Jasmine Dragon completely, which ended up with marching into the clubhouse, irate, and seeing a handful of the female Air Acolytes fawning over some of the airbending tricks he was showing them, grabbing his arms and 'practically drooling', as Katara had put it so eloquently?
Nonetheless, since that fateful day five days earlier, the waterbender had refused to talk to him, avoiding him as much as she could, and not bothering to listen to his side of the story, despite his attempts to appease her, which brings us to the present, at one of King Kuei's balls, where Aang, once again, was trying to talk to his girlfriend (unsuccessfully... so far).
"Do you love me?" he asked softly after a long silence between the two, the smallest part of him scared that her answer wouldn't be what he wanted it to be.
"I don't see what that has to do with anything."
Aang huffed in exasperation, ceasing his dancing completely, before grabbing Katara's hand and taking her into one of the palace's many hallways.
"I'll ask you again, do you love me? Because if you don't, then I'd rather not waste my time and energy on a lost cause."
The airbender turned away from her, grabbing at his non-existent hair and trying to force himself to calm down.
Meanwhile, Katara was in shock. Aang had never been so upright and blunt with her and, while she knew she was being overly unfair and harsh to him the past few days, she was still surprised at how much hurt was in his voice as he uttered his words.
"I do," she whispered, Aang barely hearing it.
"You do what?"
The waterbender wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's torso from behind, holding onto him tightly.
"I do love you."
Katara felt Aang take her hand in his tentatively, as if expecting to be rebuked, and in that moment, all Katara wanted to do was to cry and tell him how sorry she was for her cruelty, that she had stopped being mad three days ago, and that the only reason she was so mean was because of how hurt and embarrassed she felt sitting in the Jasmine Dragon for over an hour in a booth for two, looking like a pathetic, heartbroken fool.
Of course, although 'sorry' was on the tip of her tongue, Katara didn't know how to put all of that into words, so she said the next best thing that came to mind.
"Dance with me?" she whispered softly.
The airbender slowly turned around, gazing into her eyes, reading the unspoken apology ever present, and held her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
And they swayed there.
And then they didn't, merely holding and comforting each other.
"I'm sorry, for everything," Katara whispered, cupping Aang's cheek and smiling softly when he leaned into it.
"I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to leave you there," he replied, kissing her forehead.
"I know. And I didn't mean to be so mean to you, really. I love you, Aang."
The airbender smiled softly and kissed her, deeply.
"I love you, too, sweetie."
And of course, Aang and Katara started the new, most important chapter of their lives with a dance: their marriage.
Katara giggled happily as her new husband carried her bridal-style (after all, she was a bride) to the dance floor.
The waterbender had never thought of herself as one that giggled, but Aang brought out the most interesting things in her.
"Shall we?" he asked gallantly, outstretching his arm.
Yet again, Katara giggled, taking his hand with equally as much grandeur as they began their first dance as husband and wife.
As the music played in the background, the waterbender found herself not so much elegantly dancing as much as leaning against her husband's chest and swaying to the beat.
"Katara?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"We're married," the airbender said giddily, dropping a kiss to the top of his new wife's (oh, how he loved calling her that) head.
Katara grinned, pecking her husband on the lips.
"Yes, yes we are. At least, mostly."
Aang quirked an eyebrow in response, twirling Katara around as the song continued.
"Mostly?"
The waterbender blushed, her eyes darting around for any listening ears.
"Technically," she started softly, turning as Aang twirled her yet again, "we're not officially married until we... consummate, by Southern Water Tribe tradition."
"Oh."
Aang starting blushing just as much as his wife, his cheeks, however, much more tomato-esque than the magenta hue of his wife's face.
"Well," he smirked deviously, his hands venturing lower than he waist while he whispered into his wife's ear, "at least the last part will be the most relaxing and fun, don't you agree?"
"Oh shush," Katara swatted at him half-heartedly, hoping that neither her father nor brother were anywhere close by to hear their suggestive banter.
As the song drew to a close, the couple gave each other a long, languid kiss, leaving them both aching for the moment where they wouldn't have to hold back anymore.
Katara sighed contently against her husband as they sat, sipping from their glasses of sparkling apple cider.
"I love you, my husband," she said, scrunching her nose up as she called him her husband.
The airbender chuckled, capturing her lips with his own.
"I love you, too, my wife, my Forever Girl, I love you, too."