Avatar the Last Airbender: Final Destination

Chapter 1: The Western Air Temple

"It's getting dark out, Katara, you should come inside before it gets too cold."

"Don't worry about me, Aang, I can handle the cold."

"Alright. Sokka said he wants to talk to you whenever you come back inside."

"I'll be there."

Aang walked back inside the temple he was residing in. The gang had revisited the Western Air Temple in between sessions of reconstruction. Ever since the end of the war, villages across the world had reached out to the young avatar in search of help. It was rewarding to travel with his friends again. The villages welcomed them with open arms when they landed. It almost reminded him of the celebrations thrown whenever he spent his first weeks traveling on Kyoshi Island. They had easily restored hundred of towns in the five years after the war, but sometimes even the avatar needs a break. They thought of heading towards Ember Island but Aang could only think of his testing days before facing Ozai when he was there.

Aang heard the door to the temple close and turned to see Katara following him in. He smiled at her and the two walked towards the Great Room located in the center of the temple. There sat Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Haru. Sokka was hunched over a map and barely heard the two of them walk in.

"What's this about?" Katara broke the silence.

"Our next move. I know you wanted a break, Aang, but this city hasn't had any help from outside forces and it's still completely demolished," Sokka said.

"Where's the village at?" Aang asked.

"It's the town of Gaipan. It was completely flooded towards the tail end of the war. It's at the western edge of the Earth Kingdom. We most likely flew right over it on the way to the Northern Water Tribe."

"So then what's the plan?" Katara asked.

"We should pack Appa and leave the temple within the next two days. It'll take us nearly three days to reach the village and to begin restoring it," Sokka said.

"I guess we should all get some sleep then," Katara responded.

The group nodded in agreement and began to file out of the room leaving Sokka and Aang over the map.

"Hey, Aang, have you noticed anything peculiar about Katara lately?"

"You mean her acting extremely odd and distant? Yes."

"Well I mean, have you and her talked about anything lately that might have upset her? Particularly your future together?"

"How can we Sokka? I mean we travel so much and we're always busy in the villages. It's like it was before the war, there's no time for anything but our mission."

Sokka held his hands up in defense, "All right, man I was just asking, but maybe you should try."

Aang sat in his room thinking about what Sokka had said to him. Katara had been acting strange lately but Aang wasn't sure why. Come to think of it, she had been acting this way for almost a week now. He sighed and laid back. Her words to him in Ba Sing Se floated back to him. After they shared a breath taking kiss on the balcony, he thought they would be together. For two days afterwards they had shared light touches and secret kisses when they were alone. For some reason though, Katara seemed....different.

"Katara, what's bothering you?" Aang asked.

"Nothing, Aang, don't worry about me," she smiled.

"Katara, I know something's bothering you. Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's just...I know there's a lot going on right now. We've been on this incredible journey together and I'm just not sure what to expect. I think maybe we should wait to...pursue us once we've settled down a bit from this war. " She looked down at her hands. Katara looked afraid of what he might have said. Aang just looked at her. The way her hair fell over her shoulder with one single strand in her face. The way her eyes were gleaming in the faintest way. The same eyes that greeted him when he was awakened from his hundred year slumber.

"I understand, Katara."

Katara looked up at him immediately shocked by his words. He had waited for so long and she knew it. She feared that he would be angry with her for still not being ready. He was the avatar and here she was turning him down again. Turning him down from something she desperately wanted herself. She knew the world had to come first for Aang. He had just proven himself and it would be a while before he could begin a "normal" life for an avatar.

Aang snapped back to his room. He was still laying in his bed thinking of that moment. It had been five years and his heart still ached for her. Being with her every day tested his willpower as an avatar. She was beautiful and she knew it but her heart for helping others is what kept Aang infatuated. Girls threw themselves at the avatar but their intentions were clear. Fame. Being the avatar's girl was what they wanted. Katara was different. She knew and cared about the young man behind the title of "Avatar Aang". Aang knew it wasn't the time but he was a growing boy. He cared about Katara more than anyone in the world but he was beginning to have needs that he couldn't ask her to fulfill. He closed his eyes and rolled onto his side.

He thought about the way they practiced waterbending just weeks after leaving the North Pole. She was a new master but a master nonetheless. He thought of the way she would laugh when she'd manage to soak him and pull him under the water. He smiled to himself, the smile then turning into a smirk when he thought of her in just her bindings. Soaking wet. Aang stopped his thoughts and instantly felt guilty for thinking of Katara in such a way when he knew he couldn't have her. He changed his thoughts to his younger days with Monk Gyatso in the Southern Air Temple. Gyatso didn't have to worry about when he'd get the girl, Aang thought. With that in mind he fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys, I'm still new to this writing thing but I love ATLA fanfic! Please comment or message me and let me know what you think. Don't forget to give it a star!