DISCLAIMER: All recognizable material belongs to Mike Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko. I make no profit from this in any way, shape, or form.

A/N: Edits made 5/16/2013.

Growing up in the South Pole was stifling. Her brother's entire demeanor was riddled with misogyny, her grandmother was strict and overbearing, and her father had dropped everything - all but abandoning his remaining family - to avenge her mother's murder. The village she lived in was so pitifully small that Katara could barely breathe. The doldrums of everyday life made her want to scream. The only thing that kept her going at all was the belief, the hope, in the Avatar's return. She clung to it firmly, to the point of pigheadedness. She refused to believe they would be left to fend for themselves against a lost cause.

And then he was there. She didn't miss the irony in the fact that this entire time, the savior that she'd been dreaming of was quite literally less than a day's walk from where she slept every night. It would have been upsetting that someone hadn't found him sooner if not for her complete and utter relief that he had been found at all. So what if he was untrained? That could be fixed. Aang could save the world, if for no other reason than because he had to.

Naturally, as she and her brother traveled with him across the world, a unique bond began to form. He was a hero, but he was also her best friend. Before she knew it, the light that shone through him had begun to pierce the darkness that had always pervaded her life; some weight had fallen from her shoulders because of it. He made her happy; not the happiness she had to fake at home, but real, genuine joy.

Admittedly, her temper sometimes got the best of her. She snapped at him. She was a hormonal teenager, pent up with frustration; there were times when it couldn't be helped. Apologies came fast and furious when she hurt him – it was awful seeing those big, brown eyes widen in shock and pain, knowing she'd caused it. But he had a very forgiving, gentle nature, and he would never let their friendship suffer any permanent damage.

When their small family stumbled upon the people who took residence in what should have been an empty temple, he was initially furious with them for desecrating something so sacred to him. But in time his anger subsided, tempered by their efforts to care for what had been left behind by the people he loved. Katara watched them glide through the air, and though it was really only a shadow of what the art of airbending once was, she was nonetheless awestruck at the beauty of it. She didn't quite understand how it happened, but somehow she found herself on the ledge, perched and ready to jump, with nothing but what amounted to sticks and cloth to hold her up. She stood frozen until she was pushed, and into the air she went.

It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. After a few moments of riding a solid current, she determined that the glider wasn't going to let her fall, and the terror faded, the exhilaration taking over completely. She could hardly wrap her brain around it - she was flying. Really, truly flying. Of course, the bug that caught in her throat ruined the moment, and she had to land to get help and stop choking. But the few moments she'd spent in the air, she decided, were quite possibly the best of her young life. She could understand why her best friend spent so much time in the clouds.

Time passed, and adventures such as the great flying escapade faded into the background. There were more important things to worry about now. New enemies, shifting loyalties, and additions to the family required all of her energy and focus. Gone were the days where she could relax, spend time with her family, leisurely practice her bending. Their days were now filled with battle tactics, backup plans, and above all, training. Surviving and existence took precedence over all else. And before she knew it, the comet was upon them, and everyone was frazzled with worry and anxiety. Being Team Mom meant that everyone's worries were her own, and personal problems had to be turned off. For the sake of the world, she had to put her selfishness aside. She had to be there support her loved ones, especially the young Avatar who needed her now. Though sometimes, she caught herself wondering who needed the other more.

Somehow, they all made it out alive. Everyone she loved was still breathing, though they'd all acquired a fresh batch of scars, and the enemy had fallen. For the first time in over a century, the world was safe. Husbands who had fought in sleepless armies could go home to their families. Mothers's hearts could be at ease once more, allowed to see their soldier boys again. Katara's own family could sleep well at night, all fear of imminent doom erased. And Katara was finally free to examine her heart and act on her own feelings, whatever they may be.

As the young Avatar completed her Firebending training, Katara felt oddly saddened. Her husband really had passed, and his new form was his polar opposite. She felt as though nothing of him had survived in this reincarnation, and watching the girl display such joy at easily mastering the harshest of elements - what had been Aang's least favorite, and a great cause of distress and struggle in his life - made her feel as though she'd lost him all over again.

But, she reminded herself, she could appreciate what he had brought to her life while he'd been in it. She was, quite literally, back where she had begun – at home in the depths of the South Pole. Because of the Avatar, because of her husband, she was no longer plagued with the same demons that she had as a girl. She was freer, lighter, than she had been all those years ago. Aang had given her breath when she was suffocating, and he taught her how to fly when she felt like she would drown.