Chapter Text
Katara felt her eyes tingle
She opened them slowly
Her shock, admittedly blunted by her recent slumber, made her shoot up into a sitting position.
There was a blue sky above her.
As she raised her head from her laying place, she realized the lightness of her movements. Nothing had hurt her, the command to get up was executed fast and steady by her body. For the first time in many years she felt as light as a feather. As she stood up, another wave of shock washed over her.
She was on a hill in the middle of a beautiful moonlilies field that spanned across the horizon.
It’s a dream she amended mentally. Who could blame her for such a statement?
Katara decided that if this was a dream then she will use it to it’s fullest.
She ran, wind blasting through her hair. The sun was shining brightly, the blue flowers around her moved along the breeze imitating the moves of waves. She ran and ran, her moves less and less gentle.
Katara wanted to cry, half because of the happiness of experiencing the joy of running again after many years, half because this was all just a dream.
A very realistic, immersive dream.
As she stopped her mad dash, hands on her knees, gasping for air, she couldn’t help but acknowledge how real everything had felt. Everything made perfect sense, the field around her remained linear and she felt every single sensation that she normally would.
Her lungs prickled, the wind smashed lightly against her, the softness of her robes constantly brushed against her skin, the wonderful scent of the moonlilies danced in her nostrils.
Everything felt so… real
She felt a minuscule amount of hope enter her mind
What if it wasn’t just a dream?
Katara would probably theorize and speculate on her situation, and surely, reach a decisive conclusion at some point
She would, if not for the sudden appearance of a small dot on the horizon, contrasting strongly against the beautiful blue flowers and skies around her
An orange dot
Surprised, Katara began walking towards the new point of interest.
After a moment, she realized that the dot was moving towards her.
Quickly.
As another few seconds passed, Katara observed another thing
It was a human
A human dressed in an orange robe
Her heartbeat fastened even more
This couldn’t possibly be…
She ran
Her lungs protested, but she didn’t care. Just the slight chance that it somehow may be him was enough for her to suppress her body’s demands, just for a moment.
Closing the distance between her and that person, she noticed more and more details
The yellow elements of his clothing, the bald head, and the…
She stopped, her eyes already forming tears
The faint, blue line on his forehead
Katara practically flew
She ran faster than she ran for her father on the day her mother was killed, she ran faster than she moved when Aang was hit with lighting by Azula under the Ba Sing Se. Her body screamed at her in protest but she didn’t care.
As she approached him, she already felt tears pour thickly from her eyes. This couldn’t be dream, this had to be real.
Finally, when she was close enough to notice his face, she bursted out crying, for she had ultimately confirmed what she had hoped she’d see
Aang
Katara didn’t even question the fact that he was young again, it was the last thing she cared about at the moment. It is Aang, it is Aang, it is A-
She kept repeating that mantra until she slammed against him in a crushing hug, immediately kissing him frantically, as if it was the last thing she’d ever do. Oxygen for her lungs could wait, for she was infinitely more busier.
It is Aang
Tears of happiness poured from their eyes, eyes that remained open for the duration of the kiss. She felt like she was experiencing every single emotion she has ever felt, every single piece of her mind and soul screaming.
They were a mess, gasping desperately for air, kissing, tears mixing, but they didn’t care
They collapsed on the ground, still kissing.
Only after a few minutes, Katara straddled him and took his face in her hands. He looked at her with a look of the purest amazement. Katara didn’t think she could love him more before, but at this moment, just by looking him in the eyes she felt like she would die a hundred times for him if he asked her to. She squeezed his cheeks, trying to prove to herself that he was real
„Hello Katara. Would you like to go penguin sledding with me?” he said, his voice trembling and his words adorably distorted because of her hold on his face. His chin was shaking and thick streams of water were flowing from his eyes onto the soft ground below them, but judging by the look on his face, he was happier than ever.
She let go of his cheeks and laid her head on his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. As his hand moved up and down on her back, steadily as ever, the other one hugged her waist. She poured all of her longing and grief she experienced after his passing into his tunic, every next tear shed accustoming her to the fact that he was laying alive, just beneath her hips.
After a few long moments, Katara spoke, still gasping and sobbing in between words
„I thought I’d never meet you again”
She felt Aang tighten his hug
But suddenly, a horrible, treacherous thought has reawakened in her mind, and she couldn’t help but quickly blurt
„Is it a dream? Aang, is it just a dream?!”
She raised her head quickly from his chest to look him in the face, dread filling her heart.
She looked at him, needing the answer, feeling as if her very existence was dependent on the answer. But no, her horror was unnecessary. He was still there, smiling warmly at her
„It’s not a dream sweetie. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere”
There was a million questions she wanted to ask him, but her emotions took the better of her. She placed what felt like (and maybe was?) a hundred fleeting pecks on his cheeks, his nose, his lips and his forehead. Aang just kept his hands on her back and her waist, moving them slowly, as if he knew that they didn’t have to hurry.
„I missed you” he whispered „so, so much”
Finally, after ages of showing each other affection, Katara managed to get out of Aang’s tight embrace and sit on his lap, proceeding to ask him a question lingering in her mind for some time now
„Aang, sweetie, where are we?”
He glanced at her, still laying on the ground. His eyes were full of compassion and a bit… sad?
A moment passed
„Katara… you passed away”
Silence followed for a few moments
Katara bit her lower lip thoughtfully and her eyes trailed off into the distance
„So this place…” she started absent mindly
„… is the place of rest, sweetheart” Aang finished her sentence softly
She stared at the sky for a bit, but just for a moment. The presence of her husband and the lively scenery didn’t make it easy to be melancholic for long, and it’s not like she didn’t expect her passing. She was a healer, she knew the signs of a human organism failing, so she also knew months prior that her days are very limited. The revelation of her death wasn’t that surprising to her
She smiled ever so slightly
„So I get to stay with you?”
„Of course.” he smiled back and got up into a sitting position
„I promised myself I will be calm and all… but how are our kids? And how are you?” he blurted, a bit of desperation creeping into his voice.
Katara giggled. She knew her husband wasn’t the type to be nonchalant for too long
„The kids are doing great. Especially Tenzin, he’s a bit grumpy as always but you’d be so proud of him! He did an amazing job for these 3 years without you…” she paused, digesting her own words
„Without you…”
Katara’s eyes became distant.
Aang covered her hand with his own and brushed her cheek with the other
„I’m so sorry Katara…”
She closed her eyes and breathed out, calming herself down, the memories of his passing cascading down on her
„The day you died… it was the worst day of my life. I felt like I’ve died too, and all that remained was… was an empty shell.”
She felt his arms wrap around her once again, squeezing her hard
„It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here…” he whispered into her ear
A tear ran down her cheek and a smile appeared on her face
They hugged in silence for a while
„So what have you been doing when you were gone?” she asked, still in their mutual embrace
He pushed himself away gently and smirked at her
„Well, I made a few new friends and reunited with old ones, missed you, wrote a poem about you that I scrapped, visited these fields every day, dreaming about you being here… seriously Katara, couldn’t you have joined me here earlier?”
She answered his monologue with a similar smirk
„Oh, so you wish I would have died earlier, sweetie?” she teased
Aang blushed out of embarrassment and quickly blurted „no, no, t-that’s not what I meant, I-… oh okay, yes, maybe just a little…” he finished as his eyes trailed off on the ground
Katara laughed and kissed his cheek
„I missed you too, Aang”
Hours upon hours of talking, teasing, bantering, gossiping, crying and kissing followed. Aang has remained strangely vague about this place, a strange smirk appearing on his lips every so often
Finally, when Katara reacquainted herself to the presence of her soulmate enough to be able to think about other things than him, she finally realized something
„Wait… if this is the place where people go after they pass away, then… is Sokka here?”
That strange smirk appeared on Aang’s face again
„I wanted you to figure it out on your own. There’s Sokka, yes… but there’s also someone you probably miss the most in the world right now”
…
Oh
Katara’s entire existence halted to a stop
„M-mom?” she asked as if she was on the verge of tears
„She missed you nearly as much as I did. She’s a lovely woman you know…” Aang said and smiled, completely unaffected by her shock
She was here? Katara could talk to her?
„Where is she?!” Katara blurted desperately
„She’s with the rest of the family” Aang answered happily „let’s go see them.”