"It's more complicated than that," he said, hesitantly, as he phased in and out of eye contact. "A-and it might be hard for you to believe."

He remembered the first time he had met Katara and lied about being the Avatar. How she accepted him when not thinking he was the Avatar and then again when knowing he was the Avatar who lied about who he was. But his first meeting with this Katara, as well as Sokka's guess about who she was, they left their mark on him. He was afraid of being judged this time. So he trailed off at the end of that sentence and hoped for a second wind.