A/N: Haha, more Zukaang. Except this one is going on in Aang's head for a change. ;P

Note: Um, this takes place some time after the series' end. So… spoilers for the whole series? I guess? Lulz. :'D

Warning: Shounen-ai and yaoi, ohhhh yeahhhhz. I meant for this to be sweet and cute, but it turned into something involving extremely sexual situations. Damn my dirty mind, ne? Unless you like smut like I do, huhuhu. ;3

EDIT: now without typos, since I finally bothered to beta myself! LOLOLOL.

I'm lying here, in the room of an inn at Toph's hometown while visiting said earthbender and her boyfriend, Teo – a happy couple bound by two things, the common factors of their disabilities and their love of adventure – and I can't help thinking as I gaze out the window from my bed that I wish that I had someone to love, too. Like they do.

I used to have someone, but… Well, she and I… drifted apart.

I sigh to myself.

I don't know when it started, really. All I can remember is quite literally waking up one day and thinking, 'I don't love Katara like I used to.'

It isn't that my love for her went away, or changed. In actuality, I just woke up after a rather puzzling dream and realized: I don't like Katara romantically, I like her like a dear friend, or even a sibling- or mother-figure. That's why I kissed her so many times: each one had been a test, mainly to myself, to see if I wanted it or not, if it was right or not.

And one day, I finally understood that it isn't right, and that I shouldn't lead her on any longer. But over a year had already passed since the end of the war, so I became unsure as to how to break it to her that I didn't want this.

It took time. Slowly, I became less affectionate towards her, and made each touch friendly instead of loving. I never knew much about loving touches to begin with anyhow, so the change wasn't too drastic. But Katara knows me well enough to catch the changes. And then, eventually, she asked me: "Do you want to split up, Aang?"

I sighed, regretful, but nodded. "Yeah. I hope you don't hate me for it, but I don't know what I was thinking; I was young, but I'm older now, and…" I had drifted off, but she got the idea.

She had smiled, but I could tell that it was slightly forced. "I can't say I didn't see this coming, because then I'd be lying. I wasn't sure how long we would last, Aang, since I was so hesitant at first. And, I think… I think I only gave in because I didn't want to hurt you. But I can't say, either, that I hadn't gotten used to it and learned to like it, because then I'd be lying again." A single tear slid down her cheek, and I sympathized with her pain, and hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Katara."

"Don't be," she sighed, and pulled away. "It's not your fault. We're better as friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

She had shrugged, and at the time, I thought that I should have said something better, something more solid to reassure her. "Well, I hope we find somebody else that will make the other happier," she grinned, and as beautiful as the waterbender was, she looked less so when she forced her smiles like that.

"We have plenty of time for that to happen," I said, trying to cheer her. I patted her arm. "Right? I mean, I just turned fifteen, and you're almost seventeen, right? We're still young."

She had nodded, but the conversation didn't last much longer. I could tell that I had truly wounded her heart, and I felt guilty about it. But some time has passed now, and it is as though 'we' had never happened. Katara is back to her old self, and flirts here and there with some guys, and even tried going out with one for a while. So I know that she will be fine.

But I'm not sure who I want, or where I should go, seeing as how not many people need the Avatar's help after the world rebuilt itself. I mean, there are always options for me, I suppose; if I only looked. What ever happened to Meng, or the other girls we've met along the way? I could look for them. I could try to get so know some or at least one of them.

And yet… I don't want any of those girls. But I do know that I miss having somebody close to me like that, someone to bring into my arms, chest to chest, or chest to back; someone to plant a kiss on, someone who keeps me connected to this Earth. I'm afraid that if I don't find somebody soon, I'll drift away like some of the other airbending monks before me.

Honestly, I don't want that to happen. I don't want to simply float away, my heart disconnected from the world. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be safe. But how can I obtain the safety I so desire? I crave that security, that worldly possession of a person. It had felt nice, when I had had it in my grasp. And I want it back.

Frustrated, I get out of bed and pace over to the window, and underneath the stars there is a stable. I can spot Appa's horned head from here, and behind me, Momo senses my movement and makes a noise as he stirs from sleep to blink his wide, green eyes at me. I bring a finger to my lips and shush him. Smiling oddly, I say to the lemur, "Let's go tell Toph and Teo goodbye, Momo. I have someone else that I want to visit."

It is the way of the Air Nomad, isn't it? To move around, as unpredictable as the wind, and just as far-reaching in ones travels. I might be the last one, but damn it if I'm not going to continue some of the Air people's nomadic ways. And I say 'some' because I just swore. Even if mentally, swearing isn't very proper for a monk. But hey, the world has changed.

I've changed.

So I pack up my things and head over to Toph's house, her parents long-since forgiving and apologetic and understanding thanks to the letter Toph sent them before the eclipse, and since her fame after the war's end. She is still awake, like I predicted, and I tell her goodbye.

"Where are you going this time, Twinkle Toes?" she wants to know. She grins and punches me lightly in the arm, her forms of affection hardly altered, even if she has a boyfriend.

"I'm not sure," I shrug. "I'm just restless. I might go see Sokka and Suki on Kyoshi Island, but I'm thinking I might go see Zuko instead. It's been an extremely long time since I've seen him."

Toph crosses her arms; her way of pouting. "Got that right. Poor Sparky is so busy as the Fire Lord that he hardly has time for us anymore, which is totally boring." And that, I know, is her way of saying that she misses Zuko as well. She sighs, her tone dropping a hair lower. "I mean, he and I started off kind of rough, but now we're like siblings. He's the only big brother I've ever known."

I smile, always happy to see Toph's softer side. She acts like a tomboy through and through, but she is still a girl. I give her a quick one-armed hug around her shoulders. "I'll definitely go see him, then. And I'll tell him how much you –"

"Don't you dare!" she laughs, and she turns our little embrace into a headlock, but it's half-hearted. She releases me, brushes her bangs out of her face, and says, "Just kidding. Two years ago I wouldn't have let you tell him, but I don't care anymore. Sparky can know that I miss him. He should know that all of us miss him, Mister Head-Honcho Hothead."

I laugh at that one; it's a new nickname, and it suits the old Zuko that we remember. It makes me wonder if he is still that way. "Anyway, tell Teo goodbye for me. I'm going to leave tonight, because like I said, I'm getting restless."

Toph smiles as she leans back on her palms. "You're an odd one, Aang. What's the matter? Do you miss the fighting so much that you can't sit still for too long?"

"Look who's talking!" I tease, because we both know that The Blind Bandit is in no way a retired Earth Rumble fighter.

"Okay, okay, you got me there. Still, it surprises me that you can't seem to relax."

Her remark doesn't faze me. I shrug again. "I'm a nomad, what do you expect? Besides, after Katara and I broke up, traveling is all I feel like doing."

My earthbending teacher temporarily gets a sad expression on her face. "It must be lonely."

I'm glad that she can't see the wince my face involuntarily makes. "Not really. I have Appa and Momo."

But I know that she didn't mean company-wise, she meant romantically. Which is true; I am lonely in love, since I have nobody at the moment. But I don't mind it so much, because I have a feeling that things will change soon enough.

"Anyway," I say as I stand up and move to the window where Appa is waiting outside of, "I'll see you again soon, Toph. Be well."

She grins and sends a wave, knowing by the sound of my voice that I am not within reach to touch. "Goodbye. And don't be too long!"

"I won't!" I say as I dash out the window and run across her yard to my pet bison. I hop on his head, Momo peering down at me from the saddle, empty except for a few of my possessions and the lemur himself.

And then I'm off, headed in the direction of the Fire Nation.