One word prompt: Delicate
aang….won’t take it well.
she already knows this, but somehow, the walk to her best friend’s room still feels like a walk to her own execution.
the western air temple is large, vacant, and terribly difficult to find if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for. so it’s perfect for their annual gaang reunions. normally, katara enjoys the temple’s serene atmosphere and peaceful ambiance, but now? she just wishes it wasn’t so damn quiet.
aang’s door is already cracked open like an ominous invitation. she does him the courtesy of knocking anyways.
“come in.”
he’s sitting at his desk penning some official avatar document or other.
“homework?” she teases lightly to mask her unease.
“oh you know, just a bunch of old guys asking for my advice. same as usual.” he scribbles one last line, then sets the brush down and turns to give her his full attention.
those wide grey eyes always seem to strike a familiar, tender chord in her, and she swallows thickly around her guilt. it’s the same guilt she felt when she’d broken up with him all those years ago. for a moment, she contemplates faking a laugh and chickening out, but remembers how he’d appreciated her honesty before (no matter how painful) and opts to rip the bandaid off as gently as she can.
“i wanted to talk to you about something,” she says. “something serious.”
he blinks, nods, and slides off his chair to sit cross legged on the floor. she sits across from him and takes a deep breath.
“it’s…look,” she struggles to find the right words, despite having thought this through a million times already. she tries again, “first, i want you to know that i love you, very much. the last thing i want to do is hurt you, or make you feel uncomfortable.”
aang just nods again, ever-patient. “i appreciate that.”
katara wrings her hands subconsciously, feeling sick to her stomach, but she forces herself to look him in the eye. “i’ll understand if you’re upset or if you need some space. but this is really important to me, and i don’t want it to come from anyone else.”
“okay.”
“okay…”
his cherubim face has filled out since their childhood days—cheekbones angled and jaw covered in light stubble. she doesn’t think she can do this. she doesn’t think he can handle—
“is this about you and zuko?”
katara nearly chokes, teeth accidentally biting into her cheek hard enough to bleed. “huh?”
aang only scratches the back of his head in a gesture so boyish she could swear she sees a glimpse of his past self. “well, you know. you and zuko. dating.”
she splutters. “how—who told you?”
he gives her a dry look and sighs. “i’m not blind, katara. uh, no offense to toph…”
she can’t stop staring at him. surely, he wouldn’t be so calm about this? surely, this is a surprise? shit, her relationship with zuko was a surprise to her.
eventually, she chooses not to look the gift horse too close in the mouth. “when did you find out?”
aang hums, “i suspected something was going on last winter solstice when you both spent the whole dinner arguing about where sokka and suki should get married. but toph told me she was pretty sure it was nothing.”
“since all the way back then?!”
“yeah, well…” he gives her a sheepish grin, “we dated for three years, katara. you think i don’t know what you look like when you’re flirting?”
katara feels her cheeks heat up, though his loose shoulders and amused tone immediately soothe the worst of her worries.
aang’s a terrible liar. always has been. she would know if he was uncomfortable.
she still asks, though, because she would hate for anything to be broken between them due to her own cowardice.
“i’m alright. really, katara,” is what he answers. then, “is this why you’ve been so jittery since we all got here?”
“well, yeah,” she says defensively. “it’s not exactly an easy thing to bring up with your ex.”
“did you think i would break?”
she studies him carefully, then admits, “i don’t know.”
aang just laughs, and the sound is as free as he’s always been. a part of her finally relaxes, eased by his wide smile and twinkling eyes. “don’t worry so much about me. i love you and zuko both. and even if your happiness doesn’t include me, that’s okay. i just want you to follow what feels right. that’s all i’ve ever wanted.”
her nose stings with emotion and she gives him her best, watery smile. “oh, aang, my happiness will always include you. why do you think i wanted to be the one to tell you about it?”
he just stands and holds his arms out wide. she clambers to her feet and folds into his hug, head now fitting neatly under his chin thanks to the seven extra inches he sprouted after the war.
when he lets her go, his eyes shine with his own tears. “not that you ever actually needed it…but you have my blessing.”
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