Disclaimer: I don't have any association with ATLA or any of the characters. I promise.

Nightmares were like a brazen war of the mind; fighting for your life and running until your bare feet burn into the rocky ground. It was a haunting experience that would stay with said person for years and years to come, even after the situation was over and done with.

Gray eyes would flutter shut once everyone else was fast asleep, succumbing to slumber and finding themselves in tranquil dreams that provided bright promises of the future. But, no. Not for young monk. Instead there were embers shrouding around his lean form as well as flames reaching out for the pale skin of his arms and licking at his ankles.

Shrieks would awaken the other peacefully sleeping forms, their groans low and their murmurs near-silent. Neither of them were angry with the lad.-Of course not, how could they be? They were fully aware of how tortured he had been since the realization that he would have to face the Firelord, and by himself at that. Each and every passing day went and came with the thought that the final battle was soon to come.

There were only a few days and nights left until the Avatar would face his ultimate challenge. Only a few days and nights until he discovers whether or not his training had paid off. Just a few days until he finds himself within Katara's arms, either alive or dead.

Tonight was no different.

Dark crescents formed beneath pale features, his rigid form curling up upon the small sleeping mat. Soft snores echoed around him, and a few feet away was Katara's form. Gray eyes squint slightly, whether from exhaustion or concentration, at the way her lithe chest would rise and steadily fall. Pale lips quirk into a weak smile at the sight as he muses the thought that at least between the two of them, that she was okay. She was fine, and that was enough for him.

Spirits-one of the only reasons that the young man had maintained his consciousness was because of the water tribe girl. She was his moon at night, lulling him to sleep, and his burning sun during the day, keeping him awake. Without her, he would have given up and succumbed to his inner demons that day he finally rose from the iceberg. Katara was the spark to his numb heart after she had broken the ice, in a literal sense, and freed him from the fortress of his mind.

Brows furrow upon the sight of her body shivering, and he even opens his mouth to respond to it only for his lips to press firmly together. Instead he finds a frown upon his face and it remains there for a moment until the latter shifts once more, but this time to face him directly. An embarrassed flush paints his pale cheeks as he averts their locked gaze to stare anywhere but her face.

"Aang?" Her voice is barely above a whisper as she attempts to attract his attention. "I know you're awake, and I know that you were staring at me." Came her voice once more making him instantaneously glance back at her until their gazes locked once more.

"O-oh.. You noticed that?" He mentally face-palms as he splutters for a more suitable, normal responsible. "I-I mean.. No, I wasn't. Why would I being staring at you, Katara?" Because that was apparently better than further embarrassing himself.

Pink lips twist into a tiny frown upon the hearing the statement, looking almost disappointed by it. "Oh. I just thought-Never mind." What was she supposed to say?

Cue the awkward lapse of silence between the two as they both attempt to recollect their ever rampant thoughts. The pair finds their gazes shifting elsewhere as the silence continues, awaiting the latter to open their mouth and speak.

"So..." Aang starts as he shifts upon the makeshift mat, maneuvering his elbow firmly onto it and resting his head upon his hand. "I'm guessing you couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Cerulean eyes downcast to the ground beneath her, her form shivering once more beneath the thin blanket adorning her. "Yeah.. I kinda had a nightmare actually." When she glances up, her eyes reflect how startled she had been during her dream, as if she were reliving it in that moment.

Concern etches upon the younger's face upon hearing this and he finds himself perking up in alert. He untangles from his blanket entirely, opting to sit up on his mat and criss-cross his legs. "Yeah, me too. Well, no, I was actually avoiding one." He admits himself as he watches the numerous emotions dance across her countenance. "Wanna talk about it, Katara?"

Lips part to respond, clearly hesitating, before they find themselves sealed shut. Her brunette head shakes instead in a clear indication that she preferred not to speak about what had occurred, for it would only make the situation a reality. She was frightened, yes, but she wasn't fond of allowing others that knowledge. She had always felt like the rock of the group, held a responsibility that entitled her to be the glue that made sure that they all stuck together. Who was she to admit her weaknesses?

"Oh. Okay then." Silence lapses once more between the two but it was one that wasn't uncomfortable in the least.

After a moment of Aang toying with the material of his blanket and Katara collecting her thoughts, she opted to speak. "Hey Aang, can I ask you something?"

The Air Nomad jerks his head rapidly in her direction and nods vigorously. "Of course, Katara, you can tell me anything." And she could because she could always trust him, trust him to do the right thing.

It was her turn to flush scarlet, contrasting greatly against her mocha skin. "I was just wondering... If it would be okay if we could, uh-" Tanned hands are motioning this way and that, pointing to his mat and her own, just trying to make sense of what she was displaying. "Sleep together?"

His lips form an 'o' shape at the query and he can feel his insides bubbling with the familiar warmth that Katara had always given him. Unfortunately, it was as if Momo had captured his tongue within his clutches, preventing him from speaking the words he had so desperately wished to utter.

"-It was a stupid idea. Forget it." With that she had gathered her blanket and thrown it haphazardly over her form, turning on her opposing side so she wasn't facing the bender.

All too quickly he was face-palming and murmuring to himself about how stupid he was, about how idiotic he must be to not be able to speak. "N-no, it's just-We've never done that before." A soft sigh escapes his lips as he crawls along the frigid ground towards her, tugging his own blanket along with him. He breaches her mat and climbs beneath the blanket to join her, simultaneously fixing their blankets upon their bodies.

"I'm not going to make you do anything that you don't wanna do, Aang." Comes her simple response as she feels her form go rigid at the feel of his warmth radiating behind her. She naturally shifts into the soft contours of his body, despite her words, and finds herself releasing an outstretched yawn.

"But you're not." He says all too quickly as he ignores the peculiar tightening of his undergarments, find himself gulping deeply. "I really don't mind." Really-he didn't mind at all. In fact: he had many pleasant dreams about his arms encasing her, and whispering promises in her ear that no harm would ever come onto her as long as he had air in his lungs.

Satisfaction was evident within her soft hum as she huddles closer towards the lad, gently pressing more into the warmth that he provided her. "You were dying, Aang." She breathes into the brisk night air, seeing her breath reflect before her. "You were dying and I couldn't save you. My powers-they didn't work. I was trying so hard but my stupid power just wouldn't work." Her voice was beginning to waver as she spoke about the dream that had haunted her, a sniffle echoing from between her quivering her lips. "I tried everything, but you weren't breathing. Why weren't you breathing?"

Warm, pale hands find their way around her cooler frame, pulling her close against the feel of his bare chest. He nuzzles his cold nose into her hair and shushes her silently. "But I am breathing." His voice is as soft and sacharrine as its ever been, reassuring her that he was there with her. "I'm here, Katara, in the flesh." Her body is trembling against his, and there he was; the most powerful being on the planet but powerless to stop the beautiful girl from spewing her element.

"But what if you're not here, Aang? What if one day I wake up and you're not there?" Her cool hand reaches for his warm one that was wrapped around her waist, lacing their fingers tightly together. When he doesn't respond initially she gives his hand a gentle squeeze, urging him to speak.

"That won't happen." He replies simply as he offers her hand a squeeze of his own. Her luscious locks tickle his nose whenever he speaks, his nose crinkling at the sensation. "And don't say 'what if,' because there is no 'what if.' I promise to you, Katara, that there won't be a day that goes by that I won't be by your side. I swear on the Spirits." Which was something he probably shouldn't do but he desired to offer her solace, desperate to see her smile once more.

"But-"

"No buts, Katara." He replies sternly as he brushes his small thumb along the smooth skin of the latter's hand. "You believe in me, don't you?" The current situation made him a bit hesitant to ask but he did so nonetheless.

"Of course, Aang, why wouldn't I?" Her soft sniffling echoing through the silence, her trembling form calming against his chest.

"Then believe that I'll come back? Because I will, I will come back. And the first person I'll want to see is you." And he was saying this as confidently as he could because even he, the great Avatar, was nervous about the upcoming battle.

She goes quiet for a moment as she thinks about the declarations he has just made. She sniffles once more before she shifts within his arms so she's face-to-face with him, her face splotchy and cerulean eyes tinted with red. "Promise?" It was more of a squeak than anything else.

"Of course, Katara." Gray eyes meet cerulean and he swears that his heart is thudding so loud that the latter can hear it. "Plus if I didn't come back, who else would laugh at Sokka's lame jokes?"

A soft giggle escapes her lips at the comment and she finds herself wrapping her slender arms around the lad's form. "You're right, because they're definitely not funny."

"Shh. Don't let Sokka hear you say that." He warns playfully as he releases a soft chuckle of his own, breath fanning into the brunette's face and smelling faintly of the calming tea he had drunken earlier.

Before she can comprehend what she's doing, she blocks everything else out to press a warm and tender kiss to his lips. For a moment their lips just rest against the other's, nothing unlike what had occurred before. After half a heartbeat she withdraws and buries her face within the latter's neck, peppering warm kisses here and there upon his jugular. "Thank you, Aang."

"Hey, I'm the Avatar. It's what I do."

Did you like it? Please tell me you liked it? Because I wrote this a few weeks ago, but figured it wasn't good enough to post. Blahhhh. x