And that was when the branch snapped.

Aang wanted to scream, but no words came out. One second they were there, on the highest branch of the banyan tree, and he was about to confess, and the next second, his feet came out from under him and they were falling. The vines and undergrowth of the tree slowed their fall a little bit, so Katara managed to grab hold of a lower branch with both hands, but it was a thin one. Aang reached out for something, anything that he could hold onto, before realizing that he was the AVATAR, the friggin' master of all four elements. He used airbending to propel himself towards a thick vine near where Katara was. He grabbed a hold of it, and for the moment they weren't going to die. 

"Katara I'm sorry," he said, frantically trying to think of a way out.

"Don't be," Katara said, "I was the one who wanted to go to the top. If I weren't holding on for dear life I could try to bend the water in the vines, but I think that's off the table for now." Aang nodded. Then, two things happened at once. First, Katara's water bottle, which was on the part of the branch that hadn't snapped off, started plummeting towards them. The cap was still off, so precious water hurdled in their direction. Aang propelled it towards Katara, who managed to let go of the branch with one hand, and freeze her other hand to the branch so she couldn't let go.

"Let me just catch my breath and then I can try something else," Katara said, breathing heavily. Then, just as Aang realized he had dropped his letter when they fell, a piece of paper fluttered down, right into Katara's free hand. 

This can't be happening, HOW is this happening?! Was it fate? Karma? Could fate and karma just wait until they weren't going to DIE?!!!

"For Katara," she muttered, "Aang did you write this?" Aang didn't know how Katara was so calm when she was hanging from a spindly tree branch, but it was happening. And worse, she seemed to be skimming through the letter. Aang could almost hear the words as she read them to herself.

Dear Katara, the past seven months have been the best of my life, and that is mostly because of you...

"Katara we need to find a way out of this!"

I was so nervous and scared when I first got here, but from the moment I first saw you, you helped me, you showed me the way without even knowing me. 

"Katara, if you let go, I can create an air cushion, like I did with the picnic basket!"

There have definitely been some highs and lows this year, but we did it together, and sometimes I feel like it's you and me against the world. I guess what I'm trying to say is...

"Katara, please listen to me!"

I love you Katara, I always have, and I always will. 

"Katara?" Her eyes focused again, "We'll jump on three. Ok?" She nodded. "One. Two. Three!"

~~~

Suki pulled Sokka into the storage room, and closed the door behind her. 

"What do we do?" she whispered as the footsteps grew louder and louder." Sokka thought for a moment then said, "We just have to find a way out. I think the money's a lost cause." Suki took out her phone and found a group chat with the five of them. 

,she haphazardly texted. 

"Ty Lee, what do you think I should wear for the party tonight," Azula asked. 

"I don't know." Sokka could tell that they were in the movie room. Ty Lee didn't seem to be her usual cheery self, judging by the tone of her voice, "I don't really want to go to the party," she said. They heard Azula sigh.

"And why is that?"

"Well, I have a track meet in a few days and I don't want to be hungover this weekend-"

"It's about Mai, isn't it." There was a pause.

"Yeah."

"I don't even know why you're beating yourself up about it," Azula said, "You two are complete opposites and you're better off without her." Ty Lee started crying.

Well someone's sensitive. 

"Hey, don't cry. How about we... watch a Disney movie." Ty Lee sniffled.

"The little mermaid?" Azula groaned.

"Fine." The movie room's booming surround sound was enough to muffle Sokka and Suki's voices, so they could talk quietly, but Sokka didn't expect what Suki was going to say next.

"Sokka I need to tell you something important." Even though the lights were off, he could tell that she was nervous about something. 

"What is it?" 

"Well a few days ago," Suki's voice was just above a whisper, "I got a letter in the mail. I've been accepted into Kyoshi University, with a full scholarship." It took Sokka a moment to process. 

"Suki... Suki that's amazing. Kyoshi University, that's a really good school."

"It was an offer I couldn't refuse," Suki said, "I'm sorry Sokka."

"Sorry? Why would you be- Oh. It's really far away, isn't it."

"Yeah." They sat in the dark in silence for a while.

"We're not through, are we?"

"Through? Oh! Sokka of course not," Suki's voice was a little louder now, "Of course I still want to be with you. We can call, and video chat, and I'm coming back home at every chance I get." Sokka breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Kyoshi has actually been on my list of colleges to attend," he said, "And you know I'm going to try my damnedest to get a scholarship there." 

"Azula, did you hear something." Suddenly, everything came crashing down, "I think it came from the storage room." Sokka held his breath as he heard footsteps coming closer. Even though Part of Your World was playing in the background, it was still terrifying. Don't come in here, don't come in here. They were in the very back of the room, hidden behind two cardboard boxes. Sokka heard the knob turn, and the room was about to be flooded with light when the doorbell rang. 

"It doesn't look like there's anything in here, but we can check after I see who's at the door," Azula said, and the footsteps slowly faded away. Sokka and Suki glanced at each other, too terrified to move or breath or do anything.

"That was too close," Sokka choked out when he got the courage to speak again, "I can't believe someone rang the doorbell." Suki shook her head.

"I don't think that was a coincidence," she said just as Ty Lee's voice rang out.

"Mai?! What are you doing here?"

~~~

After all his bad luck that day, Aang didn't think that the air cushion would work, but thankfully and surprisingly, it did. He and Katara fell onto what felt like an invisible bouncy castle of air, before plopping unceremoniously to the ground. Aang immediately sat up, and after a moment, Katara did the same. They were sitting in the grass, inches from each other, and it was more awkward than when Zuko asked to sit with them, which was saying something. 

"So that letter..."

"I wrote it," Aang admitted, "I was going to tell you, but the branch..."

"I understand." Aang sighed.

"I feel so stupid, I'm sorry." There was a pause, "If you want to pretend this never happened, we can, but, do you... feel the same way?" For a moment all there was was the silence of the valley. The occasional trill of a robin, the rustle of the leaves in the slight breeze. Then Katara slowly leaned in, millimetre by millimetre, centimetre by centimetre, until their lips touched. Aang couldn't breath. Why couldn't he breath? There was nothing else to do but kiss her back. The kiss was soft, short and sweet, and both of their hearts seemed to be racing in tandem when they pulled away.

"Does that answer your question? Katara said shyly, before kissing him on the cheek, "Aang, I feel the same way." Aang exhaled a sigh of relief that he felt like he had been holding for the whole year.

"So... do you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked, trying to break the awkwardness. Katara burst out laughing.

"What do you think?" she asked, before taking his hand and running, where they were running to, Aang didn't know. He doubted Katara even knew, but at least they'd be together. 

~~~

Thanks for Reading! I know this chapter was pretty cheesy, but there was just no way not to make Aang and Katara cheesy.