Heart Broken

Chapter 2

Two weeks since Aang made his decision, he had recovered from his injuries. He never looked forward to his healing sessions with Katara. Despite knowing about her secret relationship with Zuko, he still loved her and because of that love, it filled him with anguish being around her. Even though he was in pain, he didn't let it show. It was a time of celebration and he did not want to bring anyone down because of his personal problem.

Katara was happy to see him and help him heal. She would always talk to him during those healing sessions. The two of them talked about their battles, reminisced over memories they shared, and what they would do from now on. She and Zuko had still yet to tell their friends about their secret relationship. She was glad Zuko gave her more time to be ready, but she dreaded it. Katara was conflicted because she knew the news would hurt Aang. There had already been distance between them for awhile before the war ended. She feared that she would make things worse between them. At the beginning of the healing sessions, Katara had felt something was off with Aang but had figured that he was still mentally drained after saving the world.

The air bender, once fully recovered, went back to work on his Avatar duties. With Ozai and Azula finally taken down and locked up, the fire nation needed a new leader and Zuko would take on the reins. Aang knew he that his presence would be needed for the coronation. The world needed to see the new fire lord and the avatar together to show a new beginning for a world without war. To his friends and the world, the avatar was nothing but smiles and laughter, but he wasn't on the inside. He just wanted to take Appa and Momo and fly away from there.

As much as Aang loved Katara, he still wanted her to be happy even if it meant being with Zuko instead of him. When he thought of leaving at first, he felt that maybe he could have been being selfish.

'Maybe I'm being too rash about this. Who am I to say who Katara should love? It isn't like she and I still can't be friends. For all I know maybe he'll be better for her than I could ever be', he thought to himself.

He had figured he should at least take time to meditate and think about whether he could still stay. But over the days, he just couldn't find it in himself to stop the hurt he was feeling. He had seen the way Katara and Zuko were looking at each other and still felt the splitting pain in his chest. He had wanted to run away and cry somewhere, and he hated himself for it. Aang had thought that he was being childish, but he didn't know what to do. He already knew that just by leaving he was running away again. Just like he did after he overheard the monks talking about separating him and Gyatso. Just like he did when he found out the world thought he was dead after being stuck by Azula. If he left then he would just be running away again but it will be because he could not handle seeing the girl of his dreams with someone else. Zuko was still his friend and he didn't want to hurt him or Katara by even trying to break them up. Aang did not have it in him to do that to his friends. He had to go...it was for the best. For him and Katara.

A day after Zuko's coronation, Aang decided to leave that night. It just so happens that Katara finally decided to tell her friends the truth about her and Zuko. They had been meeting in secret still until then, but she knew that they could not keep it up forever.

'Despite how he feels, I will still need to make it clear to Aang that I will always care for him no matter what.' The water bender thought to herself.

The gang were together in the living room, talking and laughing. Momo laid on Aang's lap, he stayed by his side a lot since their last night on Ember Island and was the only one that saw how Aang really was when he wasn't with his friends. Momo may have never understood everything but he did know that his friend was hurt and was hurt because of the water bending girl and the fire bending boy. So he stayed by his side to comfort him when he looked like he needed it.