And yet another story from me, as is the usual around these parts. :P Spent a long while on this, so I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and don't forget to review! :D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it. I also do not own "The Promise" story, which is written by Gene Yang, and is also the property of Mike and Bryan. I am simply help to spread the news of the upcoming story and do not take any responsibilty for the development of the story itself; I am only going off of what is known thus far.

Flawed Ideals

Aang's impatient feet paced back and forth across the compacted soil, yielding under his uncontrolled Earthbending, sinking very slightly as he repeated his endless worrying pace. Soon the earth was up to his ankles, though the Avatar didn't seem to notice. He kept rubbing his frantic palms over his bald head, straining to keep his prodigious arrow from flying off with the Sparrow-Keets, his eyebrows furrowed with great anxiety and stress, teeth grit in utter frustration.

"Seriously, Twinkle Toes," called Toph from the campfire, her feet propped up on a small rock and her arms casually folded behind her head, "you've been pacing like that for an hour already. Give it a break, why don't ya?" Aang's only response was an irritated growl to the heavens, rubbing his eyes to try and clear his speeding mind, the stars above him stubbornly refusing him to give him the answers he sought.

"Toph's got a point," commented Sokka, who was sitting cross-legged next to the blind Earthbender. Raising a hand in point, he added, "You just need to relax." Katara, who was sitting opposite her brother, merely nodded her affirmation, her dazzling sapphire eyes staring worriedly at her boyfriend, her face heavy with concern. She had been watching him this whole time, never once daring to take her eyes off him for even a moment, even when Appa and Momo had flown off looking for a meal to eat. Ever since his confrontation with Zuko in Yu Dao, Aang had become much more stressed than she had ever seen him this past year.

"Relax?" snapped Aang, whirling on the Water Tribe warrior, speaking for the first time in an over an hour and stopping his pacing. "How am I supposed to relax at a time like this?"

"Whoa, buddy," defensively said Sokka with peacefully raised palms. "Calm down. I was just saying that you're majorly freaking us out right now with this whole angry attitude you've got going on."

"Especially me," softly said Katara, her words just quiet enough to waft towards Aang's ears, making him relax just a minute fraction. Standing up from her spot, she walked over to Aang and took hold of his hands, forcing him to look her in the eye, making him see the hurt that she concealed behind those ocean-blue spheres. "Please, sweetie," she begged him, "tell us why you're so upset."

Aang tried to suppress the urge to indignantly scoff, but it failed in the end. "You know exactly why I'm upset, Katara." With an icy tone, he added, "It's because of Zuko." His current disdain towards the Fire Lord was prevalent in his tone, making Katara's heart convulse with pain at the firmness and rigid sternness in his normally optimistic and quirky voice.

"I know you're mad at Zuko," kindly said Katara, "but that's not what you're upset about. Why are you really upset? What is it that's causing you to be so angry and hurt?" She tenderly cupped his face in her palms, her eyes aching as she pleadingly said, "Please, sweetie…please tell us why."

Unable to take the pained look in her eyes, Aang tore himself away from her, taking a few firm steps before stopping and looking up at the night sky with hopeless, demanding eyes, his fists clenched in both anger and impatience. He tried to take a few deep, cleansing breathes to calm himself, but nothing seemed to quell the raging storm of his emotions, which were running rampant through his entire being with all the fury of the Avatar State.

Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he forcibly said, "It's not fair…we went through so much to end the Hundred Year War, and it's all going to be for nothing because of Zuko."

"Aang," said Katara as she took a soft step towards him, holding a hand to her chest to keep her racing heart under control, "you know Zuko isn't going to back down from his position on the colonies that easily. He feels that the lives of his own people are a very big priority to both himself and to the Fire Nation."

"That's not the point, Katara!" angrily spat Aang as he spun around to face her, feeling her heart twinge with pain through his Earthbending senses.

"Hey!" suddenly said Sokka from the fire, his voice taking on an authoritative tone. Seeing Aang look over at him, he firmly said, "Don't you snap at my sister like that, mister, or I may have to beat some sense into you with Mr. Boomerang." To emphasize his point, he unsheathed his signature weapon, holding it as if he were about to conk the Avatar on the head with it. The cyan steel glinted in the fire light, showing off its brilliance to the darkness around them.

Deciding to ignore Sokka's threat, Aang turned around and looked back at the stars, his roiling gray eyes staring accusingly at each and every white dot. "For once in my life," he flatly said, "I thought that things would work out the way they should: defeating Fire Lord Ozai, ending the Hundred Year War, finally getting together with Katara," – his girlfriend blushed at this part – "coming up with a plan to restore peace to the world, and just…having things work out to the point where we wouldn't have to fight anymore, wouldn't have to endanger the world anymore."

"Trust me, Aang," said Toph as she blew a bang out of her face, her sightless eyes staring endlessly at the stars above, "life almost never works out the way you want it to. The world's one messed up place, that much we know, but it's our job to fix it, and there's still going to be a lot of struggles to go through, especially with what's happening now with Sparky and the colonies."

"Wow, Toph," jokingly chuckled Sokka, "I never thought I'd see you go all philosophical on us. Maybe you should resort to using your brain more often- OUCH!" Toph, being her natural self, had punched the meat-headed Water Tribesman in the arm.

"Shut up," mumbled Toph, narrowing her pale irises at the sky above.

"Sorry," muttered Sokka as he rubbed his arm, wincing at the bruise that was already forming.

"If that's the case, Toph," angrily said Aang, his voice increasing in pitch as his rant continued, "my life is meant to be nothing but one misery after another." Throwing his arms up in frustration, he furiously shouted, "Zuko just doesn't get it! The four nations have to stay separate, otherwise the entire world is going to fall apart! If the Fire Nation occupies the Earth Kingdom, how can there be any peace?"

"That's why we're going to see the Earth King," said Katara in a placating tone, trying her hardest to calm down Aang. "If we can work out something between him and Zuko, then there won't be any need for a war over the colonies."

"But what if it doesn't work, Katara?" demanded Aang, whirling around towards her with hard-set and raging eyes, which made her yelp out of surprise and fear. "If we fail, then we're right back where we started! Nothing will have changed, and this time around I'll have to kill Zuko! Do you have any idea of how much stress that puts me under, knowing that it's up to me to end Zuko if another war breaks out?"

"Of course we do, Aang," calmly said Katara, "and that's why we're not going to leave you, not now or ever."

"Just one thing, Aang," perked up Sokka from the campfire. "Just why do you think that the four nations have to stay separate? I mean, look at us: Katara and I are from the Southern Water Tribe, Toph's from the Earth Kingdom, you're from the Southern Air Temple, and Zuko's the Fire Lord. You can't get any more mixed than us, so why force the world to be separate when we're together?"

"Sokka actually has a point for once," smirked Toph, earning her a dirty look from Sokka.

Aang looked back up at the sky, his eyes unceasing in their unrelenting fury. "Sokka," he decidedly said, "it's because, as the Avatar, it's my duty to ensure that the four nations stay separate in order for harmony and peace to succeed. Nothing can ever mix, otherwise the very fabric of the world itself might turn into something that'll spiral out of control; the Fire Nation colonies are proof of this. If one nation occupies another, there can never be any peace."

"So…" slowly said Sokka as he thoughtfully held his chin, "what you're saying is that the nations can't mix under any circumstances?"

Sokka's question enraged Aang beyond the breaking point, making his anger pour forth like a torrential waterfall, losing all control of his being and soul as his tattoos sprung to life with pure white light. "YES!" Aang bellowed, his voice mixed with an ancient chorus of a thousand voices, the wind whipping furiously around him in a large sphere. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF?"

"Aang, calm down!" pleaded Katara, holding her arms in front of her as if to ward off the Avatar's rage. The campfire was immediately snuffed out, leaving Team Avatar in darkness and cowering before the enraged Aang, whose brilliant light illuminated them all. Toph planted her feet on the ground, raising up a rock wall in front of her and Sokka to block the wind. "You've gone into the Avatar State!"

"I DON'T CARE!" screamed Aang, his amplified voice echoing to the far horizon. "THE MIXING OF NATIONS IS AN ATTROCITY, AND I'M SICK OF IT! NOTHING CAN MIX: CULTURES, IDEAS, PEOPLE, NOTHING! NOT EVEN LOVE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MIX! IT SHOULD BE FORBIDDEN FOR SOMEONE OF ONE NATION TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A PERSON FROM ANOTHER NATION! IT'S COMPLETELY, TOTALLY, IMPOSSIBLY WRONG!"

Even through the storm of Aang's anger, Katara heard each and every word that Aang said, including the wrongness of a person of one nation falling in love with a person from another nation. Her eyes went wide, tears springing to life as she felt her heart smash into tiny, stabbing shards of pain and anguish, every fiber of her being feeling betrayed by Aang's words. What he had said was so insensitive, so uncaring that she hardly dared believe that they had come from his mouth, and yet they had. Feeling the mournful droplets stream down her face, she brokenly said, "Aang-"

"WHAT?" monstrously roared Aang, spinning around so fast that a stream of air broke off of his sphere and slammed into Katara, knocking her down to the ground with a crashing thud. Sokka and Toph both gasped at Aang's violent assault, hardly believing that he, of all people, would lash out so blindly and violently at Katara. Through glowing eyes, Aang snarled at Katara, the primal beast of his rage and fury consuming every part of him.

Through her blinding pain and muffling tears, Katara slowly stood up, clutching at her midsection as she hissed in agony, sobs breaking through the veil of her sorrow as she fearfully looked up at Aang. His face was twisted into a snarling scowl, his entire being tense with fury and irritable rage. The Avatar's wrath seemed to die at her broken gaze, her face full of twisted pain and confusion and utter betrayal, and his wind sphere disappeared along with the white glow of his ethereal power. Aang stared in horror at what he had done, realizing the things that he had said in his enhanced state, instantly regretting every single word. "Katara, I'm-"

"So that's how you really feel?" softly sobbed Katara, an unceasing veil of tears coating her agonized face, her voice full of accusation and hurt. "That it's impossible for us to be together?"

"No!" quickly protested Aang, his eyes wide with shock, his heart slamming headlong into his ribcage. "T-That wasn't me, Katara! I just lost control of my emotions, and-"

"Leave me alone, Aang!" shrieked Katara, spinning around and running down towards the nearby lake, her broken sobs echoing into the night.

"Katara!" He started to take off after her, but the earth underneath him erupted with sudden life, ensnaring him up to his neck in a cone of stone. "What the-" He looked over at the campfire, seeing Toph in a wide horse stance, her right arm held in a clawed uppercut. Realizing that his Earthbending Sifu had trapped him, Aang struggled against the stone, desperate to use his own Earthbending but failing against the will that Toph held over her own earth. "Let me go!" he demanded. "I need to talk to Katara!"

"I think you've done enough talking for one night, Aang," coldly said Sokka, walking over to Aang with deadly intensity in his sharp blue eyes. He stopped right in front of Aang's face, which paled at the hunter-like irises that glared down at him. "How could you?"

"I'm sorry!" insisted Aang, feeling Katara grow ever more distant from him with each step that she took, his heart tearing apart with unimaginable anguish. "I didn't mean any of that!"

"You can never take words back, Aang," firmly stated Sokka, giving the Avatar one last cold, piercing glance before running in the direction of the lake, desperate to go comfort his baby sister.

"Sokka, wait!" uselessly called out Aang. "I'm sorry!" The Water Tribe warrior simply ignored Aang, continuing on his quest to ensure Katara's wellbeing. Aang held his head down, closing his eyes and letting his shame take hold of his heart. Sparkling tears trailed down his face as he sadly murmured, "I'm sorry…"

Sokka found Katara on a small peninsula that jutted out into the lake, crouched down by the water and pressing glowing hands against her midsection, choked sobs intermingling with gasps and animalistic hisses of pain. He immediately dropped down to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder and asking, "Are you all right, Katara?" Her tears shone in the healing light that enveloped her hands, making the droplets shine like mournful diamonds on her skin.

"Just some internal bruising," she managed to gasp out, doubling over and hissing again as the pain increased, her sobs refusing to stop assaulting her shattered heart. Sokka could only watch on in silence, unable to help his sister in the healing process due to the fact that he wasn't a Waterbender. Finally, after several pain-filled minutes, Katara collapsed against the ground, her water falling away as the healing light died, leaving the Waterbender to heavily pant from her efforts.

As Sokka helped Katara up onto her knees, he concernedly asked, "Are you sure you're all right? You don't look so hot." Katara's only response was to throw her arms around her brother's neck, burying her wailing mouth into his shoulder as she poured out her sorrow. Sokka wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace, patting her back as he gently whispered, "It's gonna be okay, sis. Just let it all out."

"How…how could Aang say something so mean?" miserably asked Katara, her cracked voice muffled against the fabric of her brother's tunic. "How could he even say something like that?"

"To be honest, Katara," sighed Sokka, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the bald-headed jerk wasn't on his way to try and hurt his sister again, "I have no idea." Narrowing his eyes back at the dark horizon he had just come from, he added, "But what I do know is that Jerkbender said something really insensitive, and now you're here crying like…like the day Mom died…" His voice trailed off, his steely eyes softening as he remembered that Katara hadn't cried this hard since that awful day. Realizing the scale of the suffering in Katara's heart, he looked back at her and said, "But now I'm here to protect you from him. He can't hurt you, not anymore."

Katara continued to weep against him, her arms tightening against him and never wanting to let go for fear of falling to the despair and desolation that now filled her soul. "He didn't mean it, Sokka," she sobbed, though her tone didn't make it sound very convincing. "I mean, how could he? He…he loves me, doesn't he?" After the vicious verbal assault that Aang had unleashed, even her heart was beginning to doubt what he felt towards her. Was everything they shared this past year, this wonderful, blissful year with the most amazing boy in the world, a complete and utter lie conjured up by her heart to make the future seem brighter when only darkness awaited her?

"After a speech like the one he gave us," firmly said Sokka, not even caring if his outrage towards the Avatar was getting out of control, "I might start having doubts about that." Katara let out a painful scream at his statement, one that made his skin crawl with discomfort and prickle with uneasiness. "But I'll always love you, Katara," comfortingly soothed Sokka, running his fingers through her hair in attempt to calm her down. "I'll never leave you; not now, not ever."

"Why, Aang?" Katara moaned into Sokka's shoulder, her begging voice lost to only her and her kin, leaving the silent night to wonder what she was truly going through. "Why…?"

"How could I do this, Toph?" dejectedly asked Aang, his tears littering his stone prison and making it glitter in the low moonlight. "How…how could I hurt Katara like that? How…?"

"Maybe because you're letting all this Avatar stuff get to your head, you idiot!" shouted Toph, getting up in Aang's face and staring him down with unseeing eyes, forcing him to look up and acknowledge her presence. "Look, I get the whole idea of keeping the nations separate and getting the colonies to leave, but I think that you're taking that idea way too far!"

"But it's my job, Toph," moaned Aang. "I'm supposed to restore harmony by keeping the nations separate, not leave them mixed like they are now."

Toph scoffed, putting her hands on her hips as she firmly asked, "Have you even considered what the Harmony Restoration Movement is doing to the people of the colonies, Twinkle Toes? Don't you think that the Fire Nation citizens have loved ones who are Earth Kingdom denizens?"

"Wait," sniffed Aang, "I thought you said you supported the colonies leaving the Earth Kingdom? Remember, back when we were leaving Yu Dao, you said that Zuko knew what he was doing was wrong? You even said that the colonies had to go."

"Look, Aang," snapped Toph, "I'm totally with you when it comes to removing the colonies, but just consider Zuko's side of the argument as I'm presenting it. Yes, what he's doing is wrong, but I think I understand where he's coming from. I'm trying to see this thing from both sides, okay?"

Aang merely groaned and rested his chin on his stone prison, his tears still sliding down his face as he remembered the betrayed look on Katara's face. "Now you're not making any sense…"

"Speak for yourself!" exclaimed Toph, throwing her arms up into the air. "If I were one of the people living in the colonies, I'd be pretty mad at you too for wanting to take me from my home! I've lived in Yu Dao long enough to know most of the people there, even Mayor Morishita and his family, so I know what they're going through."

"Toph," sighed Aang, "either you support the Harmony Restoration Movement or you don't. Which is it?"

"I support it, okay?" impatiently screamed Toph. "Sure, people will get mad at us for uprooting them from their homes, and I may feel bad about us doing that, but it has to be done! Like I said before, the colonies have to go! I'm one-hundred percent with Team Avatar in getting rid of the colonies, but you need to just shut your stupid blabbing air-hole for five minutes and seriously take a look at what you've done to your girlfriend! Either you get to thinking right now, or I'll smash your face in with a rock! Got it?"

Aang's only response was mournful, contemplative silence.

"Good," firmly nodded Toph, satisfied with her work. She plopped herself down in front of the rock cone, saying, "Whenever you're ready to go make up to Sugar Queen, just tell me." Aang simply closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his head arrow glowing bright white again. Feeling a cosmic energy flood Aang's being, Toph readied herself in case he was trying to use the Avatar State again, but Aang didn't move a single muscle. "Huh," she muttered to herself, "he must be talking to one of his past lives." Laying back against the cool grass, she said to herself, "I knew things were bad, but that bad? Geesh."

"You wanted to speak to me, Aang?" asked Avatar Roku, his transparent blue being shining very ghost-like in the darkness around them.

"Yes, Avatar Roku," sighed Aang, holding his head down in dejection. "I've done a terrible thing; I've broken Katara's heart."

"Aang," kindly said Roku, "just because you are the Avatar does not mean that you must isolate the four nations from one another. Yes, territories of one nation cannot encroach those of another, but does not mean that the people and ideas of those respective nations cannot mix." Gesturing to Aang, he added, "Just look at yourself and Katara: she's a Waterbender from the South Pole, and you're an Air Nomad Avatar, the last Airbender in the entire world. Despite your different backgrounds, you love each other like no other two people in the entire world."

"I was upset when I said that love from separate nations could never mix," protested Aang, looking back up at Roku. "I mean, look at Yu Dao's Mayor, Morishita: both his wife and daughter are Earthbenders, even though he's a Fire Nation citizen."

"Exactly," nodded Roku. "As an embodiment of the four nations, the Avatar can love anyone from any nation. And, as the Avatar, you must learn to understand that there is one thing that not even you can bend: the hearts and wills of people. You have a great hand in shaping their destinies, but you cannot make them decide who they fall in love with, who they will marry, or how they will live their lives. Yes, you wield massive influence as the Avatar, but you must understand that not even you can stop certain things from happening."

Aang closed his eyes and hung his head down, feeling ashamed at his own ignorance and stubbornness. Taking pity on Aang, Roku kindly said, "Do what you think is right, Aang, but never forget this wisdom I have offered you. You control your own destiny, but it can still be shaped by those you keep closest to you, including Katara."

"I can't lose her, Roku. I just can't…not after everything she's done for me…"

"Then go to her, Aang," said Roku, fading into the gloom around them. "Go to her, and make amends..."

Aang's eyes snapped open, the ethereal glow of his tattoo dying as he grounded himself in the mortal world. "Back already?" asked Toph, seeming slightly irritated that she didn't get to relax from her little tirade at Aang. The blind Earthbender stood up and brushed herself as she said, "That was quick."

"I need to see Katara," calmly said Aang, knowing what he had to do. Toph nodded, stomping her foot and thrusting her arms apart, tearing Aang's prison asunder.

"This way," said Toph, gesturing for Aang to follow her. She turned around and walked in the direction of the lake, the Avatar close on her heels. Aang's heart was full of apprehension and anxiety, wondering if he could even salvage his relationship with Katara after what he had done. They found the siblings right where they had been the entire time, sitting on the tiny lake peninsula, Katara wrapped up in her brother's arms while Sokka spoke soothing words to his ailing sister.

Sokka noticed the two of them coming and immediately stood up, planting himself between them and Katara as Aang got closer. Sokka pointed his boomerang at Aang, making him stop as he commandingly said, "Don't even think about it, Aang. You're not coming anywhere near my sister."

Aang peacefully held up his hands, patiently saying, "Sokka, I just came to talk to Katara."

"How 'bout you talk to my boomerang instead, Jerkbender?" growled Sokka, cocking his arm back in preparation of throwing his favorite weapon. Aang braced himself, waiting for Sokka to strike him down with all of his brotherly rage.

"Sokka, wait," suddenly intervened Katara, her hand shooting up and grabbing her brother's dangling arm, forcing him to look down at her. Katara's fractured eyes were full of pleading as she said, "Let Aang through. I…I want to talk to him." Sokka glanced back at Aang, his arm still cocked back for several moments, but at last he sheathed his boomerang.

"Fine," he angrily muttered, leaving his sister's side and making his way towards Toph, roughly bumping into Aang's shoulder as he walked past the Avatar. Aang merely took the hostile gesture in stride, knowing that he fully deserved it, though he still rubbed his sore shoulder as he walked over to Katara, still feeling Sokka's glaring eyes repeatedly stabbing into his back.

Katara tucked her knees into her chest, holding onto her legs as she sadly gazed down at the lapping water, not even acknowledging Aang as he sat next to her, taking care not to overstep his boundaries by sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with her. An air of awkwardness and uneasiness seemed thick between the two of them, leaving both of them unable to find the right words to vocalize what their hearts were saying, unable to bring solace to the other by any sort of reconciling action.

Summoning up his courage and praying for the best, Aang took a deep breath and looked at her as he said, "Katara, I'm-"

"Did you mean it?" she simply asked, only the lingering traces of sadness and wanting left in her shaky tone. Aang quieted himself, letting her finish her thoughts, giving her all the time she needed, heavily resisting the urge to just hug her and mercilessly beg for her forgiveness. "Did you mean it when you said that two people of different nations could never love one another?"

Aang glanced down to his right, watching the push and pull of the lake below him, thinking of how things had come to this. "No…" he quietly said, just soft enough for both of them to hear. "I…I was just so angry and frustrated when I said that." He looked back at her with a helpless expression as he said, "You know how I am when I get upset: I say and think things I don't mean, things I normally would never say or think of."

Seeing her still silently staring at the water, he sighed, closing his eyes and bowing low to the ground, planting his arrow into the soil as he bowed before her. "Katara," he sincerely said, "sometimes I'm wrong in the way I think. I'm not a perfect person; I have my faults and shortcomings at times, and at those times you may think way less of me than you normally would. What I said about two people of different nations not being able to love each other was wrong, plain and simple. While it may be my job to keep the nations separate, I can't keep the hearts of two lovers away from each other."

His sadness overwhelming him, he sobbed into the dirt as he painfully said, "Just like I can't keep myself away from you. Katara, you're the reason why I didn't kill Zuko in Yu Dao. You make me think clearly when I'm lost to the darkness of my own anger and rage. When I'm lost in the madness of everything, you're the one thing that makes everything seem right again. Without you, I'd fall apart and die. Without you, I'm an Eagle-Hawk without wings. Without you…I'm nothing. I don't expect you to forgive me, but know that I truly am sorry about everything I said. I don't care if you would have come from the South Pole, the North Pole, the Earth Kingdom or even the Fire Nation; I love you for what's on the inside, not what's on the outside."

Katara said nothing as Aang went through his apology, though her body did indeed react to his words: her heart began aching with pain at the truthfulness behind his words; tears streaked her face, her eyes closed as she took in each and everything Aang said; she hugged her knees closer to her chest, trying to contain herself before she threw herself against Aang in a mighty hug and telling him how much she really did appreciate his kind-hearted apology.

Sokka, on the other hand, was still indignant towards Aang, crossing his arms in front of his chest and angrily huffing, "Sweet-talk her all you want, Aang. She's not going to listen." Toph, who was standing next to him, scowled at his comment and roughly elbowed him in the gut. "Ow!" exclaimed Sokka, glaring down at Toph with hard-set eyes. "What was that for, Toph?"

"He's telling the truth, you moron," lowly growled Toph, her pale eyes narrowed down to near-thin slits. "Plus, Katara really is listening to what he's saying. The way her body's reacting is proof of that." Her eyes returned to normal as she said, "They're going to kiss and make up, I just know it."

"Whatever," grumbled Sokka, still wanting to bean the Avatar on the head a dozen times with his prized boomerang for having hurt Katara. His anger subsided for a moment, considering the fact that Toph could sense that Aang was telling the truth in his apology. He glanced off to his right, thinking that maybe, just maybe, Aang really was sorry about everything he had done to Katara. He and Aang were best buds, after all, and best buds stuck together through thick and thin. He glanced back over to Toph and said, "Ten gold pieces says that they kiss and make up in ten minutes."

Toph cocked her head a little, as if making calculations in her head. "I say twenty gold pieces in less than three."

"You're on." Sokka returned his attention to Aang and Katara, desperately hoping that the two of them could settle their differences soon and get back to being their oogie selves.

"Please, Katara," begged Aang, gripping the gritty soil with his aching fingers, "if I have to say it once, I'll say it a million times: I'm the biggest idiot in the world, and I'm sorry that I hurt you both physically and emotionally. What I did was completely wrong, and all I ask for is your forgiveness. Please, Katara…please…I'm sorry…"

Even though Katara truly did appreciate Aang's apology and wanted nothing more than to whole-heartedly give him her forgiveness, she still remembered the unstoppable rage and burning anger in Aang's glowing eyes, that vicious scowl that remained embedded in her mind. He hadn't meant to strike her down with his gust of air; it happened as a result of his loss of control, but it still scared her all the same to see him so brutally and forcefully turn on her, even if it wasn't intentional. But now, sobbing into the dirt with his entire heart, was the same boy she had come to love and care about, all traces of raging anger gone from his being, leaving only regret and total shame behind for what he had done to her. He was still her Aang, flaws and all.

Katara took in a shuddering breath, shakily wiping away her tears as she tried to compose herself. She looked over at Aang, lowering herself onto her knees and gently picking up Aang's head, slowly bringing his face up to level with hers. Fresh tears leaked down her face when she saw the grimy tears that clung to Aang's cheeks, his eyes red and puffy from his crying. "Aang…" she quietly said, her fingers trembling against his skin, "can you promise me something?"

"Anything, Katara," assured Aang. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

Katara smiled sweetly at his words, her cheeks flushing just a tiny bit. "Promise me that you'll never think of me in just terms of my nationality. Promise me that you'll look past all that, that you'll remember the culture that made me who I am today, and that you'll always see me for who I really am, not where I come from."

"I promise, Katara," earnestly said Aang, sincerely meaning his promise to the girl who meant everything to him. "From now until the day I die, I promise to do what you have asked me." Katara couldn't help but smile even harder at Aang's promise, feeling appreciative tears slide down her face as she stared at Aang.

"Then I forgive you…" she whispered, leaning in close and pressing her lips to his, pouring out her love for him in such a way that words alone could not convey her message. Aang eagerly returned the kiss, his heart alight with the thrilling knowledge that all had been mended with his girlfriend. Katara likewise felt her own heart flutter with love, knowing that she and Aang would survive this night after all.

Toph victoriously smirked, holding an open palm up towards Sokka as she smugly said, "I think I'll take those gold pieces now." Sokka mumbled something incoherent as he dug a small pouch out of his pocket, money he had been saving for a rainy day (which, in his case, was a day that he ran out of meat), and glumly dropped it into Toph's hand. The blind Earthbender deposited the spare change into her pocket, fondly patting her newfound money with great appreciation.

Aang and Katara separated from their kiss, loving smiles irremovably plastered onto their faces and grateful tears shining bright on their cheeks. "I can't thank you enough for forgiving me, sweetie," appreciatively said Aang, leaning in again to lightly peck her nose.

Katara mirthfully chuckled as she rested her forehead against his, her heart light as a feather now that she and Aang were whole again. "Just try not to hit me so hard next time, okay? You really gave me some nasty internal bruising from that gust of wind while you were in the Avatar State."

"Trust me, Katara," seriously said Aang, "there won't be a next time like that. I've learned my lesson, and I don't intend to make the same mistake again."

"Good," smiled Katara.

The firmness in Aang's eyes faded away as he nervously laughed and said, "Though I do feel really bad about hitting you so hard. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine now, sweetie," assured Katara.

"Are you sure?" quirked Aang with a mischievous smirk.

"Yes, I am," chuckled Katara.

"Okay, we get it!" suddenly cut in Sokka, causing the young couple to look over at him with confusion. Gesturing to both Aang and Katara in turn, he said, "He says something sweet and sappy, she says something sweet and sappy. He kisses you, she kisses you. He chuckles and says something charming, she giggles and says how sweet it is." He threw his arms over his head as he shouted, "Enough with the oogies already! A guy can only take so much!"

"Just ignore him," said Toph as she punched Sokka's shoudler, making him yelp out of surprise and rub his arm. Placing a hand on her chest, she added, "I, for one, am totally glad that you two actually made up."

"That's because you're immune to oogies," reasoned Sokka as he crossed his arms, staring sardonically down at Toph.

"Whatever," dismissed Toph with a wave of her hand, turning around and making her way back towards the campsite.

"Hey," called Sokka after Toph, "you're not leaving me here alone with these oogiefiers!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing now!" Toph shouted over her shoulder.

Sokka smiled down at Aang and Katara and said, "But seriously, you two, I'm really glad that you two are okay again." Aang and Katara smiled their appreciation to Sokka, who gave them a wink before he ran off after Toph, shouting, "And I want my bag of gold pieces back!"

"Too bad, Snoozles!" laughed Toph, now breaking into a run in order to keep away from Sokka.

As Sokka and Toph disappeared over the horizon, Aang confusedly looked over at Katara and asked, "Why would Toph have Sokka's gold bag?"

"It's best if we don't find out," reasoned Katara, turning back to face Aang as she smiled. Aang likewise smiled as his eyes locked with hers, seeing her love for him shine even brighter than ever before in her amazing eyes. The two young teens embraced one another, letting only their physical proximity speak for them, not needing any words to express how grateful they were to be together in this way.

Of course, there were only a few words that had relevance in this situation.

"I love you, sweetie," whispered Katara, smiling even wider as she tightened her grip on Aang.

"I love you too, sweetie," quietly replied Aang, gently kissing the side of her head as he smiled, knowing that no matter what hardships and challenges would hurl themselves at them, they would always persevere as long as they had each other.

Aaaaand end on cheesy Kataang note! Oh come on, what'd ya expect from me? We all know that Kataangst can't last forever. :P

(Additional note added on 1/12): Hey, guys, um...I just wanted to ask something of you all. This goes for avid fans and readers of mine to perhaps someone who's just now reading this and discovering who I am, um...do you all think I have a firm grasp on the characters in my stories? OK, so this question really applies more to long-time fans of mine, but I want your honest opinion: do I do the characters any justice? I know this seems weird, coming from me, but I just gotta know.

Do I make Aang the loveable yet noble Avatar that he is? Do I make Katara the motherly figure and fierce fighter that she is? Do I make Sokka the comedic genius and brillant sometimes-genius that he is? Do I make Toph the snarky, kick-butt, no-nonsense girl that she is? Do I make Zuko the honorable, sometimes-awkward-and-clumsy yet all-around likeable guy that he is? Do I make any of the characters from the Avatar universe, major or minor, seem like what they truly are in the show?

I don't know why, but I feel a little dogged by the competition that I'm facing on this site. Of course, I know that there are way better authors than me out there, but I like to think that I've got a very firm handle on the characters. What I'm asking from you, my fanbase, is to judge me based on what you've seen. Do I hold a candle to the awesome blazing firestorm of awesomeness that is these characters? Does how I portray them stick close to the canon characters, or have I made any sort of little deviations that would take away from your enjoyment of them?

What I'm trying to say is, do you all think that I've done a good job with the characters? I'd like your honest opinions, no holding back. If you feel like I'm a huge dodo-head for messing up a particular character in any of my stories, go ahead and bash it on me with everything you've got. I swear that I'll try to improve. Thanks in advance for your cooperation, and have a pleasant evening.

(End additional note)

Oh, and one more thing:

BUY THE BOOK, AND SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE WHO STRIVE SO HARD TO BRING THIS INCREDIBLE STORY TO US.