Chapter 10

A/N: I wanted to have one more fluffy chapter before I get into the more complex fighting chapters so here you go. Sorry it took so long but inspiration struck for another story and I had to jump on that. I promise I haven't quit on this one and I'm really starting to enjoy writing again. I'll have the next chapter out sooner, I promise. After you're done reading this you should go check out my other story. It's pretty different from this one but I really like it and if you like Kataang, I'm sure you'd like it too. Let me know what you think and thanks for sticking around!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters!

————————————————————————

"You just agreed to it just like that! What are you thinking, I know that you two are that stupid, " Katara yelled, pointing at Sokka and Zuko who were hiding sheepishly in the corner as they cowered behind their girlfriends, "but come on Aang, really?"

After Aang had agreed to fight in the tournament, the boys agreed they would tell Katara but wouldn't tell her the real reason Aang was so adamant about participating. As an Air Nomad and the Avatar, Aang wasn't one for revenge, but this was different. Was it really revenge if he deserved it. After his first problem with Jet, Katara had made him promise to not do anything because she didn't like to see him like that. He had reluctantly agreed, and somehow Jet found out about that promise and used it to his own advantage. Albeit less frequently, Jet continued his advances towards Katara. Aang knew Katara could protect and stand up for herself but that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. Up until now Aang was stuck, if he stayed back then Jet would keep pushing forward, but if he fought back he would be breaking his promise to Katara. This opportunity was perfect and he couldn't just pass it up. Now he just had to find a way to convince Katara that it would be okay.

"What? I think it would be fun, If I'm careful then no one will find out!"He explained to her, taking one of her hands in his and placing his other on her shoulder.

"No, this is stupid and I won't have any part of it!" She yelled before ripping her hand from his grasp and storming off out of the room. Aang took both hands and slapped them to his face, started rubbing his eyes, and let out a deep sigh. Everyone in the room began to look at each other in an awkward silence.

"Well that could have gone better!" Toph said as she plopped down on the couch putting her feet on the table.

Sokka walked over to Aang and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be fine. Just give her some time." Aang just nodded.

"So can I get a rundown on this whole thing real quick?" Aang asked, trying to get his mind off of Katara for a moment.

"Yeah, so it starts in a week and runs for four days. The first day is the kickoff of the festival. The second day is the actual festival, there will be vendors and games and lots of food. The third day is the Warrior's banquet, everyone fighting in the tournament will be called forward and honored by the school, this is when this is when parents and leaders and stuff arrive. The final day is the tournament, it's a single elimination, bracket style tournament. After the final match there is a big party to crown the Warrior Champion." Zuko told him, emphasizing certain points about each day.

"Wow,so this is like a big deal!" Aang thought out loud. He had heard of the Four Nations Warrior Tournament but had no clue it was this big of a deal that it warranted its own festival.

"To be crowned Warrior Champion is a HUGE accomplishment!" Sokka told him. "It won't be easy, even for you, we should probably start training soon."

"Well you guys can start that tomorrow, after all tomorrow is Saturday. It's getting late, we should all get some sleep." Suki told them, checking her watch to see the time.

There was a chorus of agreement as everyone went their separate ways. Aang took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of board shorts and a white t-shirt before laying down. He rolled over, closed his eyes, and fell asleep. About an hour after falling asleep he was awoken by a vibration from his phone on the nightstand next to his bed, he groaned before sitting up to grab his phone.

Suki: Hey, Katara's not back yet and I'm starting to get worried...

It was nearly midnight, why wasn't Katara back by now, was all he could think to himself.

Aang: I'll find her

He slowly stood up and sleepily stumbled out the door making sure not to wake his snoring roommates. He walked for what felt like hours until he found her. She was curled up on one of the public chairs on the school's beach. He figured she had come out here to blow off some steam by waterbending and had gotten tired out. He walked over and knelt down in front of her, she didn't wake up and he admired how peaceful she looked while sleeping. Not wanting to disturb her peace he carefully and quietly scooped her up and held her in his arms bridal style. She subconsciously snuggled into his chest as he carried her back home, not that he minded. Even if she was currently mad at him, he would never complain about being close to her. Arealization hit him as he carried her, a realization that he should have noticed long before. Even if they had only been together for a short period of time, he knew what he felt. He was in love. With this new discovery in mind he carried her up the steps and down the hallway. When he got to her door, he used his food to lightly tap on it. A couple of seconds later, Suki opened the door and smiled at the scene in front of her. She stepped out of the way as Aang walked in. He carried her over to her bed and laid her down on top of it. He pulled up her blankets and tucked her in, before leaning down and whispering, "Goodnight, Sweetie. I love you." He lightly placed a kiss on her forehead and stood back up.

"Thanks, Aang" Suki told him as she walked him out.

"Anytime, Night Suki." He told her as he reached for his own doorknob.

"Night, Aang."

With that, he opened his door and went inside. He headed straight for his bed and passed out as soon as he hit the mattress, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He knew that tomorrow was going to be a very long and very painful day. For now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

————————————————————————

Aang awoke to the blinding sunlight reflecting straight into his eyes. He groaned and tried to roll back over but just couldn't fall back asleep. Realizing laying there was pointless, he decided to just get up and start his day. He did as he does every morning and sat on the windowsill to begin to mediate. After several minutes of meditation to clear his mind he stood up, kicked off his converse and slid on a pair of running shoes. He grabbed a pen and sticky note and wrote

'Gone for a run, be back soon -Aang'

He stuck it on the door and headed out. Once outside the building he started his run. As an Airbender not only was he naturally really fast, but he could control his breathing to allow him to run longer distances without tiring, so that's what he did.

————————————————————————

Katara woke to the sound of footsteps in her room. Grumbling she rolled over to face her wall but soon realized it was pointless as two more pairs of footsteps joined in the sound. She turned back over and opened her eyes to find Toph sliding on a pair of dark green converse, Mai pulling a balck hoodie over her head, and Suki finishing up her makeup.

"Mornin' Sugar Queen." Toph said when she felt Katara's heartbeat change to signify she had woken up.

"Where are you guys going at 9am on a Saturday?" She asked, slightly annoyed,but mainly just curious.

"We promised the boys we would help them train for the tournament." Mai told her in her typical dry fashion.
"Oh." Was all Katara said in response. Suki noticed Katara's upset expression and told the other girls to head out without her. They just shrugged and walked out the door. Suki walked over to Katara's bed and sat down next to the waterbender.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Suki asked her. Knowing exactly why she was upset.

"Does he realize, how stupid this is? How stupid he has to be to think this is a good idea." Katara said, letting out all of her anger.

"Katara, I've known you long enough to know that's not why you're really upset. So, why are you really upset?" She told her in a calm, and worried tone.

Katara was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't want to see him get hurt, Suki. I can't watch him risk his life for a stupid competition. I just don't get it, it's like he doesn't even care about me."

Suki just chuckled, while Katara shot her a confused glance. "Oh, that's funny. A couple things. One, you are worried about him getting hurt but you seem to forget that he's literally the most powerful bender on the planet. Two, this competition isn't stupid to him. Three, and most importantly, you claim that he doesn't care about you but do you don't even know what happened last night."

"What are you talking about?' Katara asked, a little annoyed at the fact that Suki was right.

"Last night after you stormed out, we all went our separate ways and went to bed. I woke up and realized you still weren't back and got worried so I text Aang. He woke up, got out of bed, and walked around in the dark for an hour to find you. He found you asleep on the beach, carried you all the way back here, laid you down and tucked you into bed. He did that for nothing in return and never once complained about it. A guy who doesn't care about you would have gone back to sleep. Aang did it because he loves you and frankly he deserves better than you doubting that because he wants to compete in a tournament. Even if it is stupid, its important to him. I get how you feel, trust me, Sokka is competing in the same tournament but I'm supporting him because it's important to him, Aang deserved nothing less." Suki finished her rant and stood up but before she could walk away Katara caught her wrist and stared up at her with tears in her eyes.

Finally she choked out, "You really think Aang loves me?"

"I know so. He said it himself last night after he tucked you in." She told the teary eyed waterbender. Katara's grip loosened and Suki walked towards the door.

She grabbed the doorknob and turned back to Katara and said, "If you decide you want to support your boyfriend, we'll be in the boy's room." She walked out and left the teary eyed waterbender alone with her thoughts. Suki was right, Aang was nothing but perfect to her all the time. He had never done anything to hurt her, and here she was yelling at him for wanting to have fun. She realized right then and there what Aang meant to her, She loved him and she needed him to know. She pushed away all her thoughts of anger and embraced a new feeling, a feeling of contentment. She loved him and he loved her and she never needed anything more than that.

She quickly stood up and got dressed. She threw on a pair of Navy blue workout pants, with a White t-shirt, and a pair of white tennis shoes. She put her hair up in a ponytail and put in her classic hair loopies. Taking a deep breath she crossed the hall, and walked into the boy's room.

Everyone looked towards the door and smiled when they saw Katara.

"Glad you came around!" Sokka told his sister, standing up to give her a hug.

"Well, you can thank your girlfriend for talking some sense into me." She told him with a smile before realizing who was missing. "Where's Aang?"

"He went for a run. We were gonna head out but you can stay here and wait for him if you want to." Zuko told her as he stood up from his spot on the couch. Katara agreed and the group walked out leaving Katara alone again.

About 20 minutes passed before Katara heard the door open, she stood up and quickly ran over to the hallway. Aang turned around and noticed she was standing there but before he could say anything she leapt towards him, grabbed his face and gave him a passionate kiss. He melted into the kiss and they stayed like that for several minutes before lack of air forces them apart. Katara hugged him tight. Aang returned the embrace and chuckled before saying, "What's gotten into you?"

"Aang... I love you and I'm so sorry that I wasn't supportive of your decision and..." Before she could finish her sentence she was cut off by another passionate kiss by Aang. This time it was her turn to sink into it.

After a minute they pulled away and tested their foreheads against one another and Aang said, "Katara, I love you too." They fell into another hug and just held each other for a while. Finally Katara pulled away from the hug.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door saying, "Now come on you have a Tournament to train for!" He just laughed and followed her out the door.

To Be Continued...