ETA 02.01.13- Image Art: Almost Kiss - Taang by *tissine

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own ATLA.

AN: I just finished watching Avatar a few months ago. At first, I thought, okay, cool, Aang likes Katara, I can dig it, I guess. But then! Then, I saw The Swamp! And I wondered, who is this girl? And I found myself waiting and waiting and when The Blind Bandit came around, I thought, this is it! But it wasn't. Not really. And Book 2 finished and I knew that it would happen in Book 3. It had to! But it didn't. And Book 3 finished and I was left…wanting more. More Taangy goodness, that is. So this happened. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Oh, and this is my first Avatar fic, please be nice! =)

Warning: When I say I'm beginning where the show ended, I mean literally. So, that means some Kataang in this chapter. Probably the next one, too.

So much had happened. A lot bad. More of it good. All of it memorable. But this, this was the happiest moment of Aang's life.

The tranquil sounds of the once again liberated Ba Sing Se were all around him. A rare warm early winter breeze blew by. And, best of all, Katara was in his arms, kissing him. There was no doubt in his mind he would go through everything he had all over again if it meant reaching this pinnacle.

Katara pulled away and held him at arm's length. She took a deep breath and began to say what she'd been preparing for and dreading the last few days, "I love you, Aang—"

His eyes lit up and he replied instantly, "I love you, too, Katara!"

"—I always will," she continued, ignoring his outburst. There was a sadness in her voice he almost missed because he was just so happy he felt he would burst, but he caught enough to ask about it.

"...What's wrong?" he asked, his smile still in place. He couldn't imagine anything bothering her. He had defeated Ozai. The war was over. They had accomplished everything they set out to do over a year ago. His smile faded and fell when he looked closely at her expression. He had been overjoyed when she came out to the balcony and embraced him, he had not bothered to consider why.

She was trying to say something and was having trouble with it. The concern in her face was at odds with every emotion he was feeling and he couldn't understand what could possibly be responsible for the tears threatening to fall from her beautiful blue eyes.

"Aang…"

"Katara, what is it?"

"I'm leaving," she finally said and he felt his chest begin to cave in on itself.

"But why?" he begged.

She pulled away from him completely and wouldn't look him in the eye.

"We still have work to do," she stated simply. Then added in a whisper, "There's still so much I want to do…"

Slowly, afraid she'd pull away further, he reached for her hand. "Then, we'll do it together."

Her hand was soft and cool and smooth, like her lips had been. He couldn't help the smile that erupted from his face at the thought. She had kissed him. This time, Katara kissed him.

"Defeating Ozai was only the beginning, Aang. Now, we have to rebuild everything he destroyed."

The young Avatar had not stopped to look past ending the Fire Lord's reign, but it made sense that after a war, a rebuilding period was necessary. Zuko had said as much. It was part of restoring balance to the world after all.

"Of course," he said, "I'll help."

"No, Aang, you won't."

Again, that feeling in his chest…

"Why not?" he asked, trying not to sound like a child and failing.

"You'll have to go on your Avatar journey soon. To become a fully realized Avatar, you said so yourself."

"Yes, but—"

She didn't let him finish. "You'll be gone for a long time, Aang. Five, ten years. Maybe more. Avatar Ruko was gone for twelve, wasn't he?"

Aang nodded, "Yes, but he had to learn all three types of bending from the beginning. I already know them. I only need to perfect them and master the Avatar state."

She looked away from him. Another soft breeze blew though this time it left him feeling cold.

"I don't know…" Katara looked down at her hands. Her gaze rose to meet his, then fell to her hands again. "I don't know if I can…"

He knew then what she was trying to say. Why she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I wouldn't ask you to wait for me, Katara," he said in all honesty. He didn't add that he never imagined he would have to.

"It's just…" she looked away. Her eyes found Zuko… she thought of Jet…

"So much can happen in that amount of time. Look at all we've done in a little over a year!"

It hit him then, crushing his heart like a komodo rhino stampede would anything in its path. She had not come to him so they could begin their life together, she had come to say goodbye. Aang thought he would cry. He felt the pain wash over him like a tidal wave and he was sure he would drown. Clinging to his glider for support, he reached for the railing with his other hand to ensure he didn't crumble to the floor.

As he looked out at the city again, he tried to control his breathing. Desperately trying to keep his chest from caving in. Why was this happening? Why was she doing this? She was supposed to be his forever girl!

The problem was she didn't want to be.

"I understand," he lied, his head hung low, his voice barely a whisper. He didn't understand. How could he?

She took a step towards him and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Aang…"

He wanted to flinch at her touch, but he forced himself to stay in place. "It's okay, Katara."

His voice was so resigned, so deflated, she almost took it all back. Almost, but she did not. She cared about him too much to continue giving him false hope.

"Aang, look at me," she said, her tone resolute.

He didn't. He couldn't.

She reached for his chin and gently guided him to face her.

"Aang, please."

He turned, then. His grey eyes bore into her and for a moment she felt the pain she had inflicted upon him. It didn't matter that she never intended to hurt him, she had.

"You mean so much to me, Aang," she whispered.

"Then why didn't you tell me before?" he asked, his eyes glued to the floor once again. He couldn't look at her. "You knew how I felt about you…how I feel..."

She let her hand fall to her side and turned away from him. "I was afraid of hurting you."

"That's not why," he accused. "You needed me to defeat Ozai! And now that I have…" he couldn't finish.

"Aang, no, that's not it!"

"Sure feels like it…" he mumbled.

Katara sighed, "I thought…I hoped I could make myself feel for you what you feel…" He looked up at her, his eyes full of tears. "I do love you," she said.

"Yeah, like you love Sokka," Aang replied, turning from her completely. He looked over at his friends inside the Jasmine Dragon. They gathered around Sokka's drawing still, teasing each other, laughing. Toph said something and they laughed louder. He wondered if he would ever laugh again.

"Aang."

"It's okay, Katara. I just want to be by myself."

The glider opened at his side and he jumped over the railing.

The waterbender didn't try to stop him, she watched him go. If it was possible, she felt worse now than she had before. Wasn't the truth supposed to be liberating?

Heavy, purposeful footsteps approached and she wiped her eyes dry.

"You tell him, Sweetness?"

Katara turned to Toph.

"Yes," she replied, "I did."

"He'll get over it," Toph said. Her words carried an assurance she herself didn't feel. The airbender's heart had nearly stopped beating when he finally understood exactly what Sugar Queen was saying.

Katara watched Aang disappear from sight and turned to head back inside. "I hope you're right."

Toph remained out in the balcony. She hoped she was right, too.

…

Aang returned late to the inn alongside the Jasmine Dragon expecting all his friends had gone to sleep. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. As silently as only he could manage, he reached his room. Once inside its confines, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it.

"Where you been, Twinkletoes?"

"Toph!" he cried, startled. "What are you doing here?"

He could hear her sitting up.

"Ty Lee arrived after you ran off. All the spare rooms were taken, so I let her have mine."

"You volunteered your room?" he asked suspiciously. No one, not even someone in his distraught state, would ever believe that.

"Yup, got a problem with that?"

His robes rustled and she figured he was removing the extra layers.

"I don't need you checking up on me, Sifu Toph!" he spit out, hoping she'd get mad enough to leave him alone.

She simply shrugged. "Didn't say I was."

"I'm fine," he stated, throwing down the clothes on the floor between them. They made very little noise. That only frustrated him more.

"You sure sound fine," Toph replied, her voice dripping sarcasm.

"Good 'cause I am!"

They both knew he was lying. There was no need to point it out.

"Well, great," she shrugged instead and laid back down again. She wasn't going to force him. This time. After all, there were other ways to get to him to talk. "Quit your complaining then and go to sleep."

She heard him slump down to the floor where he stood near the door and lean his head against the wall. He brought his knees up close to his chest and rested his elbows on them. His shallow breathing at odds with his erratic heartbeat were all she heard for some time.

Toph turned on her side to face him. Even when she realized that nothing would come of the little—what on earth was it anyway?—well, whatever she felt towards Sokka, she was sure she never experienced something like Aang was feeling now.

"Sifu Toph? You asleep?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

"Yeah. You?"

He smiled to himself. She could almost feel the warmth of his smile across the room. But just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

"Does…everybody know?" he asked. "About what happened."

"Only me and Sokka," she replied, "But, then, he probably told Suki. And lately, everywhere Suki is, Ty Lee isn't too far behind…so, if she found out…? Yeah, I'd say everybody knows."

He groaned.

She was tempted to go over and sit next to him, but she kept her distance choosing to remain a few feet away on the bed.

He didn't care that they all knew. It wouldn't even bother him all that much that they would look at him with pity in their eyes come morning, but…

"It just…it feels like it was…all a lie. Like none of it was real. I imagined it and she was…using me," he said, forcing the words out. Saying it out loud felt worse than thinking them as he flew over Ba Sing Se. "Like it was only a way to keep me in line or something."

"Maybe it was."

Aang moved to stand.

"Sit down and listen," Toph nearly yelled. "You need to hear this." She wasn't about to let him run off again.

He exhaled loudly and sat back down.

"Sugar Queen didn't say this, okay, but I've been around the two of you long enough that I know you both pretty well."

He made a noise that sounded like he agreed. Toph continued.

"I don't think she did it on purpose. It's just the way things happened. You needed to keep focused on something, or someone. She needed to have something to look forward to after the war. It was a way to help you both through all this," she waved her hands around. "If it helps, she really did try," Toph finished. She didn't add that Aang's presence never affected Katara like Katara's did him. Or like others affected her. Jet would send her heartbeat into a tailspin and lately Sparky seemed to have a similar effect. But those facts weren't hers to reveal.

"Why couldn't she wait a little longer?" he asked. "Why did she tell me now?"

"Would you prefer she didn't?" Toph countered. "Would you prefer she let you go on your Avatar journey for who knows how long and all that while let you believe she was going to be waiting when you got back?"

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"No, you don't," Toph argued. This time she did move to sit next to him. "She's your friend, Twinkletoes—"

"But I don't want her to be my friend!" he cut her off.

"Well, you're lucky she is! Someone else might have let you leave without saying a word. Sugar Queen — Katara — risked the awkward, painful situation because she knew she had to be honest with you. You shouldn't blame her for that."

His voice was tiny when he spoke. "I don't."

"Good, 'cause it took a lot of guts. I'm surprised she actually did it."

"I know," he sighed, and he was being honest. "It just…hurts. So much."

Toph didn't do the comforting thing, it just wasn't her. But punching him would probably make the tears fall faster and she didn't want to deal with an overly weepy Avatar. So, she reached for his hand instead.

Almost immediately after, he leaned his head against her shoulder. His tears fell along her shirt the moment he did so.

"I know it doesn't seem like it now," her voice was unusually soft, "but it'll pass."

He closed his eyes. "Promise?" he asked in a shaky breath.

She squeezed his hand, "Promise."

Aang squeezed her hand, too, a silent thank you for being there with him.

They sat there together quietly in the dark. When his heartbeat's steady rhythm returned, Toph assumed he had finally fallen asleep. She eased her hand out of his and tried to stand, but he snatched her hand back to him.

"You leaving?"

"Guess not," she sighed. Seems she was stuck there a while longer. "But don't get too comfortable."

"I should have seen this coming," he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"Katara told me she was confused."

"When?" she asked.

"During that…that play," he narrowed his brows in irritation.

Toph smiled, "I loved that play!"

He lifted his head from her shoulder. She couldn't see the face he made, of course, but she could feel him glaring at her.

"What? I did. It was awesome! Except the ending, but whatever, things didn't happen like that anyway."

"For you maybe. I still can't believe I was played by a woman!"

Toph laughed, "Do we need to have this discussion again, Twinkletoes? Feminine side, remember? You have it."

"You know, it doesn't help that you call me that," he complained, but she heard the laughter in his voice. She'd take a complaining Avatar over a crying one any day.

"Don't pretend you don't like it," she smirked.

He smiled, pulling her hand onto his lap. "I won't."

Aang was playing with her fingers absently and she wanted to yank her hand away. Enough with the touching already!

Toph cleared her throat. "Did she just say it out of the blue? Sugar Queen, I mean. Did you ask? Gimme the whole story, Twinkles," she urged trying not to think about her hand in both of his.

"I told her I thought we'd be together after we invaded the Fire Nation. She said she was confused and that it wasn't the right time. And then, I kissed her."

"Whoa, really? What did she do?"

Aang sighed, "She got mad at me and went back inside with the rest of you."

Toph could feel him getting sad all over again.

"I kissed Suki once," she said, knowing that if nothing else, the surprise would distract him a while.

"What!? Really? Why?" he asked. She knew his eyes were wide. His heartbeat quickened as well.

It had not been very funny when it happened, but she could laugh at it now. Well, sort of.

"It was while we were trying to cross the Serpent's Pass to get into Ba Sing Se."

"You kissed Suki?"

"I was about to drown and she saved me," Toph shrugged. "I thought she was Snoozles, actually. Can't say it was my finest moment."

"So you go around kissing everyone that saves you?" he teased, a grin on his face. Picturing Toph as a damsel in distress was funny. Very funny. She'd probably hit him just for thinking it.

"You mean you don't?" she yawned and he didn't need to see her expression to know she wasn't taking the conversation seriously anymore, "But you wouldn't know seeing as I've never needed you to save me!"

"Hey! I have too!" he argued as he thought back to their time together. He had, hadn't he? They'd all saved each other at one point or another… Wait, she thought Suki was Sokka? That's why she kissed the Kyoshi Warrior!? Toph couldn't… Not…Sokka!

The young monk turned to her. The room was completely dark and he couldn't see any part of her. What if she did like Sokka? It shouldn't bother him. It didn't, he decided. But there was a strange nagging feeling in the back of his mind that said otherwise.

"So," he let go of her hand and crossed his arms over his chest to keep from reaching out again. "You and Sokka?"

"Eh," Toph replied, "It's old news." She blushed nonetheless, but not enough that anyone would have noticed even in daylight. "Kids stuff," she added dismissing it with a wave of her hand.

"That was only weeks ago," he deadpanned.

She shrugged. This was good, she thought. As long as he's not moping around anymore…

"What do you want me to tell you, Twinkletoes? It happened. Now, it's done with."

"Did you guys…?" Aang couldn't finish the question. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

"Hey, why not?" she argued. Not that there was much to tell, but still. She'd put up with his sorry stories since joining the team. "I listened to you."

He couldn't tell if she was joking around or not, but she had a point.

"You're right," he agreed, taking her hand in his once more. She had listened to him. On more than one occasion. Spirits, she let him cry on her shoulder! Literally. He could be there for her, too. "So what's your story, Sifu Toph?"

"No story," she laughed. "Man, you're so easy!"

But he wasn't laughing. "Well, if there's ever a story to tell," he said, squeezing her hand again, "I'll be here to listen."

"Ah, don't go getting soft on me now, Twinkletoes," she took her hand back and punched him. "I was just starting to like it here next to you."