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After the fireworks, Aang and his friends rode Appa back to the Jasmine Dragon, where they went off to sleep, happy but exhausted. Katara lingered in the hallway until she and Aang were alone outside their bedroom doors.
She took his hand and gave him a shy smile. "Where were we before my brother interrupted us?" She asked coyly.
His heart soaring, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. They continued the gentle exploration they'd begun on the balcony at sunset, tasting and testing each others' mouths with tender alacrity. As soon as their lips came apart for longer than an instant, Aang breathed, "I love you, Katara."
She pulled away a little, and when his eyes opened, he saw that she wasn't smiling. Her expression was one of dismay and nervousness, not unlike the one she'd worn after that ill-advised kiss on Ember Island. "I'm sorry, Aang. I really liked that, but I think I'm not there yet." She explained.
"Oh." His face fell, too, and Aang dropped his arms from around her, squaring his shoulders. He seemed to be bracing himself for bad news. "You just want to be friends then?"
"No! I mean, I do want to be your friend, I always want to be your best friend...and I also want to kiss you."
"Oh!" He looked a little happier. "But you don't..."
"I don't know if I do." Katara clarified. "I just know I want to be with you and see where this leads. Can you give me some time?"
"Of course!" He took her hands, filled with relief. "I don't want to push you like I did the night of the play. I promise I won't say it again until you want me to."
"No, I don't want you to stop yourself from saying anything you feel. I liked hearing it. I just don't want to hurt you by not saying it back."
"That won't hurt me." Aang assured her. "Especially now that I don't expect it."
"I think you should just say it whenever you feel it. Hearing it might help me to feel it too."
"Then I might never say anything else!" He enthused.
She smiled modestly and looked down at their clasped hands. "Thank you for loving me. It's a little overwhelming."
"I can't help it. You're such an amazing person. And it's overwhelming to me too, that you wanted to kiss me and to be with me. Does this mean I'm your boyfriend?" He ventured.
"I think I'd like that."
He kissed her again, thrilled that this was allowed. "Good night, girlfriend." His eyes twinkled at her.
"Good night, sweetie," she responded, smiling at him as she closed the crack in her door.
In the days and weeks that followed, Aang told Katara that he loved her whenever the spirit moved him, which ended up being about every other day. Any time the words came to his lips, he did nothing to prevent them from spilling out. She responded with a smile, or a kiss, or a simple "Thank you."
Once, several weeks after the end of the war, while riding on Appa's head together, she asked him curiously, "How did you know you loved me?" She thought it was possible that she might love him by now, but it was a new feeling, and she wasn't sure about it.
"I knew I was attracted to you, you're my best friend, I'd do anything to keep you safe, I think you're wonderful, I want to be with you all the time and to kiss you." He listed easily.
"I feel all of those things too. Are you sure there's not more to it?" She asked.
"Maybe there is, but I don't know how to put it into words." He shrugged. "Part of it might be that I'm happy to be with you even if you don't love me. Even if you never do."
"Don't say that." She shook her head. "I think I will."
"Oh, I hope you do. Someday." He wrapped his arm around her waist. "But I'm also content now. I've got the prettiest, sweetest girlfriend in the world."
"I'm happy too. You're a pretty good boyfriend yourself." She put her head on his shoulder.
Several days later, Aang and Katara took an afternoon off from ferrying people from the colonies back to the Fire Nation, and spent the time at the beach, swimming and waterbending, playing in the surf like the kids they still were.
They stood waist deep in the water, splashing each other, when he was overcome with her beauty again, her hair lengthened by wetness, the rich color of her brown skin against her white bathing suit, her eyes just the color of the water. She was so full of life, so strong, so fun. Though they were in the middle of a game, he couldn't resist saying it one more time, "I love you, Katara."
She had been using a water whip to reach around and tap him on the shoulders from behind; at his words she let it drop. "I know. You make me feel so loved." She responded, all playfulness suddenly gone.
He nodded stoutly. "Good. I want you to feel it." They were silent for a moment, staring at each other over the water, a little more than arms length apart. Gathering his courage, he went on, almost defiantly, "I feel loved too. Even if you don't, or if you're not ready to say it yet, I feel it anyway. I think I always have. You're so good to me, and we're so close. Do you think it's possible that you're just...overthinking it?"
"I've wondered that myself," she replied thoughtfully. "I've thought that maybe I should try it out and see if I can tell from how it feels when I say it, but I didn't want to...play with your feelings like that."
"It's ok! You can try it," Aang said eagerly, moving a step closer through the water. "It won't bother me if you have to take it back."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded encouragement.
Katara squared herself to face him, looking directly in his eyes. She swallowed, then inhaled deeply. "I love you, Aang," she said firmly.
He closed his eyes for a second to breathe it in, as his grin deepened. He played the sound of her words in his head a few times, trying to cement them there in memory forever. "Well?" He asked, when he realized how much time had passed. "How does it feel?"
She squinted at him, tilting her head to the side. "It feels...normal. Like saying I'm a waterbender, or Appa is big, or my brother is annoying."
He laughed. "A simple truth. That's how it feels for me too."
"It's true, then?" she asked in wonder. "I love you," she tried it again, so that he took her into his arms and touched his forehead to hers.
"Oh, Katara, you've made me so happy," he murmured, brushing her cheek with his palm before smoothing his fingers over her wet hair.
"I've got some catching up to do," she quipped. Seeing his happiness made her feel guilty for withholding this joy from him. Her uncertainty now felt ridiculous in retrospect. "I'm sorry I took so long."
"Shh," Aang put a finger over her lips. "We're in love."
She smiled. "Yes, we are. I'm in love with my best friend."
He sighed in contentment, "Oh, me too."
Then suddenly neither of them could seem to decide which was the more satisfying way for Katara to use her mouth: speaking those words or kissing. They settled on letting Aang be the one to kiss her, all over her face and neck, while she chanted her love reverently, thrilling them both. The couple stayed there kissing in the water until the tide came in, knocking them off their feet and pushing them back toward shore, where the rest of their lives awaited them.