Kataang-First Snow

Aang shifted nervously on Appa as they sailed towards the Southern Water Tribe. Katara hadn’t seen her family since she left during the war-almost a year now-and she had been longing to see them. Not to mention she was approaching her sixteenth winter. Hopefully she would be with them unlike the previous year she hadn’t been due to Avatar related matters.

That wasn’t the cause for his nerves though. He had tried so hard to tell her how he felt and each time something happened to prevent him from saying anything. The closest he had was the panda lily he found for her. But, he chickened out on what to say and just tossed the flower at her before flying away. This time would be different, he promised himself. This time he wouldn’t follow Sokka’s advice.

As they landed, Katara gasped at the difference of when they last left the water tribe. A snow waste land had miraculously turned into a white Palace of wonderland. “It’s beautiful!” She cried out. “Even better than the Northern Water Tribe.”

“It is.” Aang nodded in agreement. Though he swore he would be impartial towards all nations, he had to agree this was just about the most spectacular sight he’d ever seen. What impressed him more so was how many people he saw. Where as they started with maybe twenty grew to hundreds. People ran down the streets, laughing and playing.

As soon as Katara jumped off of Appa, she was bombarded with greetings from those around. Her father grabbed her for a hug, her brother stood next to her, and the rest crowded around her to welcome her back to the Tribe. Aang smiled at how at ease Katara seemed. Of course, this also meant he wasn’t able to talk to her privately as he wanted to. One glance and he knew he wouldn’t be alone with her this entire visit.

“… I can’t wait for you guys to see Aang.” Katara smiled at her father and looked for Aang. “Aang? Aang, where are you? Aang? Aa-” She stopped as soon as she saw him in the distance walking with his head down. Her smile quickly faded into a frown and she started to head towards him, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll go after him Katara. I think I may need to talk with him.” Hakoda smiled, walking on before Katara could nod.

“Come on Katara. Let’s get you back inside before it snows.” Hakoda heard Sokka’s voice in the distance. No doubt followed by pulling her into her room and a protest by Katara herself.

~~

Aang sat by the water, watching the icebergs float along. The penguins stayed around him, eventually falling asleep where they were as the night started to come.

“Don’t tell me you’re ready to leave.” Hakoda smirked.

“Oh, no sir.” Aang stood quickly. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know. I’m just teasing you.” He paused, taking a moment to look at the sunset. “Tell me something. Why are you out here with the penguins when you could be inside with my daughter?”

“Oh. It’s just…” Aang shifted his eyes back and forth. “It’s just… I…”

“One of those moments?”

Aang looked up at Hakoda with a surprised expression. How could he possibly know? Aang tried to form words, but nothing came from his mouth. He blamed it on the cold.

“Don’t worry. We all have a moment like that. Don’t let it get to you. If she loves you the way I think she does, you’ll have nothing to worry about when you tell her.”

“I’ve tried so many times though. I can’t seem to get it right. I want it to be perfect. I want to tell her how much she means to me, how much I care for her, but mostly just tell her I love her. I can’t even say those words though.” Aang kicked the snow in disappointment.

“Did Katara ever tell you how Kaya and I met?”

“No. She didn’t.”

“I was a fool. I tried so many times to get her just to look at me. When it came time to tell her how I felt, I froze. Literally. I became nervous just thinking about her. How in the world could I talk to her?”

“What did you do?”

“I found out, sometimes you don’t always have to say ‘I love you’ to say you love them.” Hakoda closed his eyes as the sun faded away. “It’s getting late son. We better head in soon. Tonight will be the first snow of the season. It’s never a pleasant thing.”

Aang watched Hakoda walk away as he stood there more confused than before. “How can you tell someone you love them without saying it?” He sighed as he asked the nearest penguin. “This makes no sense whatsoever.”

The young Avatar stayed out for a while under the stars thinking about what Hakoda said. Just when he thought about giving up on it all, a snow flake fell on his nose. A simple snow flake turning into several that fell upon him, covering him and the ground. “Tell them without saying it…” He closed his eyes as the snow tickled his face, letting it all sink in. “I think I’ve got it.”

~~

In the morning, Katara woke up and still hadn’t heard from Aang. She started to worry something happened to him or he left her.

“Good morning Katara.”

“Good morning dad.” She half-smiled. “Have you seen Aang?”

“I think he’s outside.” Hakoda had a sly grin on his face as he walked out of the room.

Katara ran outside in the bitter cold snow, calling his name. She looked up in the sky and gasped. All night he had taken the time to write he loved her in the clouds. “Aang…” A tear formed in her eye.

“I tried to tell you so many times. None of them seemed to fit. None of them seemed to work for you.” Aang leaned in, his head hovering over hers. “I wanted to tell you how much I want you more than anything. Ever since I saw you, I loved you. I will always love you. I love you Katara.”

She sniffed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I know you do Aang. I’ve always known.” She kissed his lips. “As I’ve always loved you. And I will always love you.”