WARNING

(little radioactive sign)

CONTAINS MORE FLUFF THAN TWO SHEDDING BUNNIES HAVING A PILLOW FIGHT IN A COTTON BALL FACTORY!

You have been warned...

Side 1 of Zach's personality:

Yay! I love fluff.

Side 2:

Ahh, forget love, let's just kick some Firebender butts!

Side 1:

(slaps Side 2) YOU DIDN'T MEAN THAT. (twitches)

Chapter 1

God, she was beautiful. Every time she so much as Waterbended the dampness out of her hair after taking a swim, actually, at any point in time he wasn't daydreaming or Bending, Aang was staring at Katara. He sat, high in the trees, on a protruding branch, reasoning with himself over his deep infatuation with her. The moon shone brightly that night, though veiled by a wispy cape of cloud. He sighed. There was no way she could feel the same for him. Besides, he couldn't let a crush get in the way of his duties, and his destiny. He shivered. Or could he...? He knew then that it would be no use trying to shake off his feelings, especially that one he got whenever she looked at him face-to-face: warm, toasty, like being filled to the brim with hot, sweet Jasmine tea, that seemed to put pressure on his heart, shoulders, and entire chest at once, along with that funny sensation one gets when jumping off a high cliff into water below; fluttery, dizzy, all intertwining to create a very enjoyable sensation. Was it love? How could he tell? He was just a thirteen-year-old kid, he knew nothing about love. Or did he? But what else could it be?

"Aang?" A soft voice called through the trees, some twenty yards away. He was jerked out of his reverie by the sound of his most beloved friend. His most cherished voice. The very sound made his heart flutter and almost made him pass out from breathing so quickly. "Aang? What are you doing out so late? I saw you weren't in your bag, so set out to look for you. Aang?" He still had not responded. Katara nimbly swung herself through the branches to sit by the little Airbender. Or was he so little anymore? Just four months ago, when they had met, and Katara had pulled him out of the iceberg, he had been ever happy-go-lucky, always trotting about and amusing everybody, curious, and quick to both wit and humour. Now her best friend was amazingly secluded and recluse-like, hiding away at night much more often than expected of one in his place. She understood meditating alone every now and again, just to shake off the stress of being the Avatar, but he was starting to scare her. True, he was practicing harder than ever, and had gained a full three inches on her, to rest about one inch below her, and was becoming more muscled, thinner, and had gained endurance. Her friend was growing up too fast, and she wanted to stop it. She had not been so oblivious to his obsessive stares as Sokka and Toph liked to tell her. In fact, she had caught herself staring back just the other day...

"Yes, Katara?" Now it was her turn to be jerked out of silent thought as he finally noticed her presence. She looked over at him, not a foot away on the branch, staring at the stars.

"I've been worried about you lately, Aang. What's bothering you? You've been sneaking off much too often as of late. I won't let you go until you tell me what's bothering you. I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. We have all been through too much together to keep secrets." She paused, and waited, as Aang's eyebrows furrowed. Just as she was about to repeat the question, much more forcibly, he replied, in a hoarse voice.

"It's just that, lately, there's been so much going on, I don't know what to do. Appa has been captured, we're always fighting with Azula and Ty-Lee and Mae, and I just want it to all be peaceful again. I don't want to be the Avatar. I wish I was just a normal kid, with a normal life, Bending with the Monks, and staying with friends, without having to constantly be putting them in danger. I just wish it would all stop. I wanna be normal." He pulled his legs up tighter against his body. At this, Katara's eyes glistened, and she felt as if she would burst into tears, as the monk looked ready to do. But she wiped her eyes, and grabbed his jaw with one hand, turning him to face her.

"Aang. I know how you're feeling right now - I'd be overwhelmed too. But there's one thing you should know. I never want to hear you say you wished you weren't the Avatar ever again. You've helped so many people, saved so many leaves, and held peace, all of your own free will. You should be proud of yourself. Plus, being the Avatar doesn't mean you can't still have friends that are caring for you, and love you. And if you weren't the Avatar, I never would have found you in that iceberg, you wouldn't have been in it at all, and I would never have met you. I care too much for you to see you depressed."

Aang seemed to sigh, then suddenly pulled Katara into a warm embrace. He shifted slightly, pulling away, and added, in barely more than a whisper, "You're right. And another thing if I wasn't the Avatar: " She shifted uncomfortably on the branch. "I would never have met you." He smiled, and slipped off the branch. She jumped off after him, and they both lightly walked back to the camp, Aang now smiling but still looking slightly occupied. Katara didn't notice. She slipped back into her bag, and fell asleep staring at the Airbender as he curled up in his own bag, a happy grin on his face that she had not seen for many weeks, to match her own.

Aaaah, fluffy goodness. Dunn'it make you just wanna sit on the couch and watch every episode of Avatar with romance in it while eating raw cookie dough? I sure want to after writing it.

Rate and review please! Go easy, this is my first fanfic, and I've never written fluff before. And yes, I am a guy. And I'm not ashamed to admit I like fluff.

GO KATAANG! Up in next chapter: more fluff, and some action to go with it!