#a:tla fanfiction

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Eternally Yours [Kataang] - Part 2

Hey lovely readers!!

Better late than never, right? haha 

Lemme just skip the part where I make excuses for my tardy updates and apologise for my lateness instead! I hope the wait was worth it. Here's the link to my AO3 if you’d rather read Part 2 over there or if you wanna leave any comments/kudos (which would be much appreciated <3)

Part 1 - The Ceremony

Part 2 - The Reception [THIS PART]

Part 3 - The Wedding Night

SUMMARY: Katara and Aang journey to the Southern Water Tribe where they finally eternalise their love

GENRE (for the series as a whole): Wedding fluff, a dash of rom com, a dash of angst cause why not, and eventual smut hehe -- this chapter has some serious fluffy themes (and a tiny bit of sexual tension cause who doesn't love that???)

WARNINGS: tooth rotting, super emotional fluff and grandiose professions of love. Don't tell me I didn’t warn you!!!

without further adieu, LETS GET INTO IT YEOOOOOO

Eventually, the loving couple had to snap back to reality and the celebrations continued with gusto.

The reception was held in the City Hall ballroom which had a magnificent tiled floor and high ceilings reminiscent of the Earth King’s palace. There were intricately woven tapestries made from different shades of blue, white and black decorating all four walls, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and bathing the cool-toned room in the warm glow of candlelight. Fur rugs were placed around the perimeter of the room with two steps leading down to the main dance floor. At the head of the hall sat a long, horizontal table with pillows seating all the guests who stayed for the reception, a generous spread of food covering almost every inch of the surface and a collective chatter filling the space and giving way to a wonderful atmosphere the bride and groom couldn’t be more pleased about. Everyone was eating happily, the food going down a treat (especially for Sokka who was speaking to his wife through full mouthfuls and Toph got a little help from Suki when it came to plating up her food since she still couldn’t see as well as usual. Zuko and Mai seemed pleasantly surprised by the Water Tribe cuisine with plates piled high. Maybe if Aang hadn’t been so engrossed in his wife and her habit of feeding him a little bit of everything off of her plate then he would have noticed the Fire Nation couple digging into the sea prunes and he would have questioned reality itself. The Avatar was halfway done chewing the noodles Katara had fed him a moment ago and she was already sitting up on her knees holding something else up to his mouth between her chopsticks.

“Try this!” She encouraged happily, but Aang leaned back out of the way with a laugh muffled by the food in his mouth, fighting to swallow it fast for the new bite she wanted to feed to him. Katara didn’t even seem to be aware of how eager she seemed and her husband found it extremely endearing. Once he was ready, he accepted her gesture enthusiastically only to find after a few chews that the feeling doubled, his eyes growing wide and locking on his wife’s in elation at the way the rich, sweet and impossibly familiar flavour exploded on his tongue. He couldn’t understand how it was possible, but the way Katara was biting her lip to hide her smile (and failing miserably in the end) told him this was the real deal.

He hurriedly swallowed the food to confirm his own suspicions. "No way!"

“Yes, way.” She replied, feeling proud.

“How in the spirit world did I miss the egg custard tarts?!” His eyes started to dart around the table to look for his newfound desire, his wife laughing at his boyish excitement that hadn't diminished from his personality at all throughout the years.

“You missed these, too.” Katara added as she reached over the table and picked up another dessert he’d completely missed, placing it on his plate with a cocky-looking smirk. “I may have pulled a few strings…” she explained, though what she didn’t tell him was that ‘pulling a few strings’ actually just meant not taking no for an answer when she raised her suggestions to the chef. Needless to say, Katara got what she wanted. She watched him look down at the dessert, first with bemusement and then with a child-like wonder that never seemed to leave his eyes the longer she watched him.

“Fruit pies?!” Aang gaped down at the tart in utter shock and then at her before picking it up and taking a massive bite without any hesitation. She couldn’t help the way her heart fluttered with pure joy at the way his face lit up. All because of one simple thing from his distant past — distant, but never forgotten. He shut his eyes in delight as he ate slowly, almost laughing to himself because he couldn’t believe just how much the dessert reminded him of his home back in the Southern Air Temple. When he looked over at her with smiling, crinkled eyes, Katara was overwhelmed with that feeling again -- the realisation that she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life finding ways to make him this happy. When he finished his bite, he reached out to cup Katara’s face in his hands with a shake of his head, as if in disbelief.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Said her husband with all the reverence he could muster, his thumb caressing her cheek, and for some reason, being praised this way for something so small made her turn bashful.

“Oh, I don’t know... I’m sorry they aren’t exactly the same. I wish I could have gotten the recipe from you but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” She explained with rosy cheeks but the Avatar dismissed her worries immediately.

“The chef nailed it!” He exclaimed excitedly. “It tastes just how I remember.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah! And… I know it’s just food, but…” Aang drifted off in thought for a brief moment, memories from his distant childhood, Monk Gyatso, the home he wasn’t able to protect. A frown weighed down his brows, but he didn’t feel as sad anymore. Just... nostalgic. Katara held his hand to her face and watched him, a look full of love. Until his grey eyes lifted back up to her sincere gaze. “Little reminders like this? The fact you care about where I come from and that you make the effort to remember these things? I don’t know… it might be silly, but it means so much to me, Katara. More than you know.”

Katara softened when she realised how vulnerable he seemed to be at that moment, confessing how deeply her small act had actually moved him. She shook her head. “That’s not silly at all.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a little silly.” He laughed to himself, and she joined in, but it wasn’t from a place of humour, rather, it was from a place of companionship. Whatever he felt, she felt. Whatever they did now, they’d do together.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll keep doing silly things like this if it makes you feel appreciated.” She said, gently tugging his hand down from her face to hold it tight, peering into his silver eyes that were locked onto hers. “I care so much about who you are and where you come from, sweetie. Maybe I don’t show you enough…”

It was out of place for Aang to flash her that flirty smile of his, yet he did it anyway. There was a shift in the atmosphere, Katara cocking a brow at him. “Well, you’ve got tonight to really show me how much you care.”

“Aang!” She chastised him with a laugh, playfully giving his knee a slap. “You’re such an idiot!”

“You married this idiot.” He chuckled, squeezing her hand once before letting go and going back to his plate to pick up some of the fruit pie. He turned back to Katara with a mischievous smirk on his face. “It’s my turn now.”

“To what?” She asked, crossing her arms in mock defiance, though he was already reaching for her face with the piece of tart in hand.

“Say ‘ahh'!”

Katara was about to fall into fits of giggles at how goofy he was being, but she managed to do as he asked regardless, her husband grinning wide as he fed her the piece, the two of them fumbling when crumbs dropped onto her lap, the water bender laughing past her full mouth and Aang smiling so wide with his hearty chuckle that his eyes crinkled at the edges. He wiped the dab of cream from the corner of her mouth with his thumb and sucked it off himself, still watching intently for her verdict. She chewed, eyes growing wider as the flavours exploded, and as she nodded in delight, Aang felt elated.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”

His wife nodded again enthusiastically, humming around the mouthful happily with a hand over her mouth. Aang took a mouthful of the tart himself before breaking some more off for her and playfully moving to feed her again, imitating Katara’s eager actions from earlier. She seemed to find it funny, leaning back to avoid him while fighting against the laugh that bubbled up in her chest lest the food fell out of her mouth. That would have been extremely embarrassing. She knew he was teasing her about her eagerness to feed him earlier and all she could think about was how cute he was being. The second she swallowed her mouthful, she was trying to avoid the second bite, though her reluctance held no weight at all. Especially when she took a hold of his wrist and took the piece of the tart into her mouth from his fingers herself. “‘Fanks” she mumbled through the mouthful before eating happily, swiping away the crumbs on her dress.

“You’re welcome.” He chuckled back. Watching her enjoy the food from his culture truly filled Aang with so much joy. Yes, it may have been silly, the two of them playing around like kids, but that didn't make the sweet moment any less meaningful to him.

They ate until they were full to the brim. They talked and laughed together until their sides hurt. They revelled in being in love together, in making each other so happy they couldn’t remember what it felt like to be sad. It was as if no one else was around them, just like the moment they kissed during the ceremony. Any of their friends watching them could see just how besotted Aang and Katara were with one another. How perfect they were for each other. And even though that was enough of a display, Aang had prepared a speech for his wife in accordance with the Southern wedding tradition. An attempt to put into words how deeply he felt for her, to let it be known to anyone who listened, to let Katara know in a way he never had before. Finally being able to present their love for one another so openly was a relieving thing, a gratifying thing. He couldn’t wait to be able to walk down the street and kiss her for everyone to see without fear of being judged, he wanted everyone to hear the true depth of their bond without shame.

The sudden tapping of a glass to get everyone's attention was the one thing that stole the married couple's focus away from each other. Katara looked to her right to see none other than her brother standing up at the table.

“Oh, spirits…” she sighed, glancing at Aang and seeing the way he pursed his lips to hide a smile. One she was highly suspicious of. What does he know that I don't?

“Sorry, sorry! Hi... Can everyone stop eating for a sec? Yep, hello. Uh…” The Water Tribe warrior cleared his throat, sharing a brief look with Aang who gave his friend an encouraging nod. “Don't worry. I’m not going to take up too much of your time. I just have a few words I’d like to say.” The whole table went stark silent save a few coughs, and though Sokka hadn’t been the greatest at public speaking in the past, being a new member of the council in Republic City really helped him out. He looked confident and sure of himself with a glass of rice wine and a crumpled piece of paper in his hand that he’d written his speech on in scribbled writing. He gestured to his sister with his hand and she tensed up in anticipation of what was to come. “Katara didn’t know I was going to do this, but… hate to break it to you, sis, your boyfriend— er… husband now, I guess," he chuckled, "— did.”

Katara gasped, lightly hitting Aang's thigh with the back of her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

All the Airbender did was shrug with an amused smile, Katara’s head snapping back to her brother. The surprise was written all over her face.

“We all knew you wouldn’t be hot on the idea, so... Aang and I thought it best to keep it a secret from you." Katara was about to protest, but he waved her off before she could get a single syllable out. "I know what you’re thinking, but I promise I’m not going to dish out any juicy secrets about you and Aang in front of our dad—“ Katara flushed red. Hakoda cleared his throat and took an awkward sip of his wine. “— but what kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t say something at my little sister's wedding?!”

“Sokka... you really don't have to.” Katara voiced.

“Well. I’m here now! There’s no going back.” He laughed, a few of the other guests chuckling along with him, and then he took a deep breath, turning to face the married couple fully with a serious expression that was so uncharacteristic of him that it made Katara feel a little... worried, to say the least. “Look. I’ve known you my whole life Katara, and I’ve known Aang a pretty long time, too. I’ve watched the two of you grow up, I’ve seen you both on your best and worst days, and honestly? From what I can remember, it seems like most of the good days happened when the two of you were together.” That shocked the bride. In a good way. She felt her heart glow at her brother’s unexpectedly kind words, her hand subconsciously reaching for Aang’s to hold tight. Hearing her brother speak so sincerely was so touching. “Look. I know I’ve been a pain at times, complaining about all the oogies you two give me - and believe me, I’m still not over it—“

“He’s really not.” Came Aang’s humourous reply that had everyone laughing together, though Sokka was still completely serious.

The warrior pointed a stern finger in Aang's direction. “And I’d prefer not to get the oogies more than I need to, Aang—!“ But he very quickly remembered now was not the time, the warrior taking in a slow breath, reeling it in. “Sorry... That’s beside the point... What I wanted to say was that... yeah, you two might be super cheesy to be around with all your oogies and constant lovey-dovey-ness…" Katara was about to tell him off again, but his face took on a softness that stopped her right in her tracks. "But you’re also so in love that I know anyone, anywhere can see it from a mile away… and I can’t imagine anyone in the world who would be better for Katara other than Aang. And you too, Aang. You deserve each other. You make each other better people... and I think that’s really wonderful to see.” He almost looked like he was going to cry, and that hit Katara in the chest where it hurt. “Look… I’m really happy for you both and—“ a crack in his voice gave way to the true emotions he felt, but he fought hard to continue, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “I know that goes for everyone else sitting here today. And I also know for sure that you guys will carry this happiness with you for the rest of your lives.” His voice was thick with the weight of unshed tears, though, with a quick clear of his throat and a wet-sounding sniff, he raised his glass with a trembling grin, trying to hide it under the gaze of his friends and family. “So, let’s drink to that! To Katara and Aang!”

“To Katara and Aang!” Everyone around the table cheered in unison, the sound of glasses clinking filling the space. Katara picked up her own glass, turning in her spot to grin at her husband, watching him do the same.

“To us.” She whispered.

“To us.” He repeated, dinging their glasses and taking a sip. Then Katara was turning back around, grabbing her brother's attention.

“Hey, Sokka?”

He peaked his head around to the side. “Yeah?”

“That was actually very sweet. Thanks for going easy on us.”

Sokka chuckled. “You know, it really wasn’t easy... but you’re welcome.” The warrior winked and got comfortable again in his seat.

Then the next thing, Aang had his hand on her back, her head turning to question him with a raised brow.

“Do you mind if I go next?”

Her chest heaved with the deep breath she took. Katara knew Aang was going to say a speech. It was a tradition for the groom to say a few words so she expected as much, and though she’d told Aang he didn’t have to if he didn’t want to, the Avatar seemed to be excited about the idea. A part of her was nervous for him, though the other part made her heart race in anticipation to know what he was going to say. When she looked at him, the soft smile he gave her made butterflies come to life in her stomach. “Of course.” She nodded. But just as he was about to stand up, she took a hold of his wrist to grab his attention again. “Hey, sweetie?”

“Yeah?”

She gave him one last stern look. “You better go easy on me, too.”

Aang laughed heartily at that. “I can’t make any promises.”

She reached out to pinch his side playfully, but he got out of the way in time, an amused grin on his face that she mirrored without even realising. He swiftly got to his feet, a fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat once before beginning, his wife taking a deep and composing breath for both him and herself. She really didn’t want to cry again, but chances were that he’d tug on her heartstrings without mercy, what with the tender ways he so often voiced his love to her. The spirits only knew how she would make it out of this alive.

“Hey everyone. Um… My speech is a little longer than Sokka’s, so… apologies in advance.” All eyes around the table dutifully turned to the avatar, the silence jarring but affecting his wife more than it affected him. “Firstly, I uh… I wanted to thank everyone for coming today and for helping to make this day so wonderful. To the people of the Southern Water Tribe, thank you for allowing us to celebrate our marriage in your home and for cooking us all such a delicious meal. And Hakoda, I wanted to thank you again for giving us your blessing. It truly means the world to us. And most importantly, to my beautiful wife…” He looked down at her, and it felt like all the nerves she was burdened by melted away like snow under the sun. All that was there was him, speaking from his heart. Speaking only to her. “Katara… you are the girl of my dreams. You have been since the moment I laid eyes on you. And after everything we’ve been through together, all the times throughout my life with you that I lay awake and thought about it… really thought about it… I honestly began to believe that we are fated to be. That we always have been. It was you who found me in the ice, you who helped me to accept my responsibility as the Avatar, you who was the only one who could bring me out of the Avatar state back when things were a lot more complicated, and it was you who saved my life. Not only in Ba Sing Se all those years ago, but in a million different ways, every day. Literally and figuratively, you have been saving me, and you don’t even know it. We have so many memories together, so many battles and milestones faced hand in hand. Yet, even without all those things, tying me to you, and you to me, I always would have fallen for you. How could I ever not fall for you? The first time was when I was 12 and I woke up to the face of a goddess. The second time was when you reminded me it was okay to hope, to care, to feel again when I didn’t want to feel at all… the third was on the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon, and every other time afterwards seems… infinite. Because I’ve fallen for you harder every day since then. I think today probably hurt the most.” The Avatar laughed, a hand at the back of his head, the rest of the guests laughing a little though it was short-lived, silence descending again as Aang locked eyes with his wife once more. “Katara… there are no words I can use to describe the person that I see when I look at you, but, for you, today... I at least have to try.”

“Aang…” she choked out as her lip trembled, tears swimming in her eyes as all the emotions from the day and from their lives together seemed to rise to the surface, and Aang was getting down on his knees in front of her, to be there for her, in an instant. Seeing her like that got to him more than anything. He would drop everything in a millisecond for her.

“Please don’t cry, sweetie… I’ll cry, too, and then I won’t be able to finish my speech.” He half-pleaded with a watery smile to lighten the mood and Katara let out a breathy laugh. He was goofy even in the middle of one of the most heartfelt, beautiful confessions she could have ever imagined coming from his lips. One that she knew would turn her into a mess by the end, no doubt. Aang took in a calming breath that Katara copied as if by second nature. He shut his eyes for a moment of composure before continuing, his voice soft yet so assured. “When I look at you, Katara… I can’t even begin to fathom the fact someone as beautiful as you could want to make a life with me. Every day, when you so much as smile at me, I feel like the luckiest man alive… and the best part is that your beauty reaches a depth within you that I’m still exploring to this day, a beauty that will never fail to enrapture me, blind me, but also make me see the world for what it truly is, people for who they are and the wonder all around us. To pick a few out of an endless list of the beautiful qualities you possess, Katara, you are the most selfless person I have ever come to know, the most caring soul I have ever had the privilege of connecting with, and the bravest, strongest, most talented person I’ve met. It goes without saying that I could sit here talking about you forever, going over every little thing that I love about you, but we’ve got the rest of our lives together for that… and I kind of want to keep some things to myself.” Katara laughed at that, Aang flashing her a smile before continuing soon after. “The point is... I love you endlessly. I always have. I always will… and, well… this part is a little random, but bear with me for a second.” He stroked her cheek and she nodded, tears spilling from her eyes only to be wiped away by him the second he spotted them. Keeping her cheeks dry. Never letting them stain her perfect skin. “I never used to believe in the word impossible. It simply wasn’t in my nature to think anything in this world could be out of reach… until I met you. Until I fell in love with you, Katara. Now, I’ve come to realise exactly what the word means to me: it is impossible for me not to love you… life without you would be impossible… and lastly, I couldn’t be the person I am today, the Avatar I am today, without you. See… the one thing about being with you, sweetie, is that you make the impossible, possible. So I can’t wait to see what our life together brings… and I can’t wait to see what you make possible. Thank you: for being who you are, for loving me, for choosing me. I’ll never be able to repay you for all of the wonders you bring to my life, but I promise. I will try my hardest until the day I die... and maybe even after that if I can.” He finished with what was meant to be a light joke, but Katara simply couldn’t hold it together anymore, Aang’s face dropping ever so slightly at the sight of the love of his life succumbing fully to her tears as her lips downturned. He leaned in, a delicate frown pulling down on his brows to tell her again in the simplest terms. “I love you, Katara. Forever.”

“Oh, Aang…” she choked with a sob and immediately moved forward to wrap her arms around him. Aang required no thought to hold her to him tightly as she shook, wiping his own tears from his cheeks with the heel of his hand. He tried to smile at the other guests one last time only to find there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. All faces were turned to them in what looked like some kind of awe. The wonderment that a love like this could exist in the world.

He cleared his throat, still holding Katara to him as he finished. “To my wife.” He locked eyes in passing with Hakoda who gave him a firm nod. One that said he believed every word. That he trusted him to be what his daughter needed. Always.

“To Katara.” The guests repeated, everyone except Aang and Katara taking a drink. His hands rubbed slowly up and down her back, almost feeling bad for reducing the love of his life to tears with his speech. Then again, when he thought about it, he was crying as well, and he could safely say his tears came from a happy place. Happiness brought by the reality of having her in his life forever, happiness that she loved him, too. Happiness in the act of sitting here and holding her for as long as she needed.

She mumbled something into his shoulder, though it was indiscernible. “Sorry, sweetie, what did you say?” He asked with a rough voice.

“I said—“ she choked out, pulling back to grip his parka with her trembling hands, “I said I'm sorry that I'm-- I'm such a mess.” Katara sniffed, though Aang just shook his head.

“You’re not a mess... I just hope those are happy tears.” Aang let out with the breath of a light-hearted laugh, Katara joining in despite her fragile state. He always managed to make her feel better.

“They are. Really happy tears.” She replied with a weak smile, gripping the fabric tighter. “I just wasn’t expecting that. You kinda... caught me off guard.”

The Avatar immediately became insecure. “Sorry… Was it too much?”

“No!” She was quick to dismiss him. “That’s not what I meant at all, sweetie. That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard… I’ve never felt so loved in my whole life, Aang... I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the one who’s lucky.” He countered, but she shook her head, sliding her hands to the back of his neck.

“No, Aang. I barely even know where to begin to explain how much you mean to me. Not like you just did.” She explained, shaking her head. In truth, Katara had planned to surprise him with her own speech, but after that, she felt there was no way she could hold it together. She didn’t even feel as though she’d skimmed the tip of the iceberg with what she’d written in comparison to the art that was his choice of words. Katara couldn’t help but feel like he’d be underwhelmed with what she had to say -- even though she knew deep down that he would never think so pettily about her. It was hard not to feel insecure after hearing poetry straight from the soul, dedicated to her and only her.

“You don’t need to." he assured with a soft frown. "I know you love me, too.”

“I do. So much.” The water bender nodded earnestly, but even that small morsel of support from him had the urge to cry creeping up on her so fast again that she pulled him into another hug to hide in his shoulder, trying to breathe slowly and deeply, to control the pesky waterworks that just wouldn’t let her be. Aang held her without question, yet again. Until she felt calm enough to pull back and press a soft kiss to his lips. He smiled, wiping her cheeks for her again gently. That action was an untimely reminder of how unkempt her appearance must have been, an annoyed little groan leaving her lips. “I need Suki to help fix my make-up again.” She complained, staring down into his lap as if to try to hide her face with quiet little sniffs. All the while Aang stared at her in adoration. There was no way he would let his love feel insecure like this. He raised his hand to lift her chin up with his knuckle, grey locking fiercely on glistening blue. Perfect.

“You're ravishing, Katara.”

“Sweetie… thank you.” A compliment like that flustered her to no end, the water bender taking his hand from her chin to hold it tight as she stared deeply into his eyes. “You have no idea how much I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie. So much.” Aang whispered back, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. He didn’t even care about the watching guests, he only cared about Katara. When Aang was writing his speech, he imagined Katara would be the one holding him in the end, so this was certainly a surprising turn of events. Though, knowing she loved him just as much meant the entire world to him. Never would he grow tired of ensuring she felt like the most loved person in existence. Because that's what she was.

She was his, and he was hers.

The guests gradually and hesitantly fell back into conversation with some time, though the atmosphere had really taken a more mellow turn ever since the Avatar lay his soul out on the line for everyone to see. It took a little while for Katara to completely regain her composure, and when she finally did, she and Aang fell into gentle conversation. The remaining food was cleared away soon enough and the band began to set up for the real party to commence. Katara eventually made her way to Suki, the pair going to the washroom where she helped her to fix the smudges around her eyes and cheeks in a matter of minutes. Suki couldn’t stop gushing about Aang’s speech and how heart-melting it was to hear him talk about her in such a way, being so vulnerable with his emotions in order to profess his undying love. Everyone seemed to be very moved by his words, though Katara expected no less from her love - Aang had always had a way with words, it had been obvious for as long as she had known him. She could feel all of his emotion poured into every single letter and thus poured into every fibre of her being just by listening. At times, she couldn’t understand how she deserved him, but she knew that was a sabotaging thought. Katara felt for him just as deeply — sometimes, she thought, even more so.

When they returned to the ballroom, upbeat music filled the grandiose space and every guest was up and on their feet dancing to the rhythm together in couples. Suki spotted Sokka throwing some very interesting shapes with Toph of all people and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the hilarious sight.

“Oh, I’ve gotta get in on that. You coming, Kat?”

Katara searched the room for the familiar red and orange usually standing out among all the blue, but she couldn’t seem to find him. “…No. You go ahead. I’ll just wait here.”

“Alright. I’m sure he’ll turn up soon.” She squeezed her arm in reassurance.

Suki skipped down the stairs, her husband very cutely picking her up by the waist and spinning her around, the sight really heartwarming to the waterbender, and then all three of them were dancing together in a way that was slightly off tune, but that didn’t matter when she saw the joyful looks on their faces. Katara could feel that joy spread within her own chest while watching her friends have fun like no one was watching.

“Waiting for me?” Aang’s voice by her ear made her jump around with a surprised gasp.

“Spirits!” Her prankster of a husband laughed with his whole chest, the sound traitorously pushing a smile onto her lips. “You scared me, Aang!”

“Sorry, sweetie,” he chuckled, “I just couldn’t resist.”

“Where were you anyway?” She asked with her hands on her hips.

“I went to check on Appa and Momo. They’re pretty happy with all the fruit I brought them.”

“That’s sweet.” She cooed. “I still feel bad that they’re stuck in the stable while we’re all living it up.”

“Nah. Don’t worry.” Aang shrugged. “It’s warm in there, and Momo seems pretty chatty tonight.”

Katara giggled at the mental image. “He’s probably filling Appa in on plenty of gossip.”

“Oh, definitely. Plus, we can check on them together before going to bed.” He finished with a completely innocent smile. One that contradicted Katara’s immediate thoughts at the mere mention of going to bed with him tonight.

It felt as though her chest became hollow for a millisecond. Heat flushed her body before she even had time to fight it off, her cheeks flushed red, no doubt. but she tried to play it cool. “Yeah! Sure!”

"Great." Aang seemed none-the-wiser, though she knew him better than that. He arched a suspicious brow at her as he reached forward, taking her hands to lead her back down the steps descending to the dance floor with one vital goal in mind. “The night’s not over yet, though.”

“Oh, really? What else could we possibly do?” She feigned confusion, letting him lead her into the moving crowd with a strong idea as to where this was going.

“Oh, I dunno… maybe we could show these guys how it’s really done.” Smirked the air bender, linking their fingers together, looking down at her with the quirk of a brow. “Wha’d’ya say, sweetie?”

“I say… that’s a great idea.” Katara grinned, leaning up to peck him on the lips before Aang swiftly pulled back and twirled her around in a circle, her cheeks puffing up with her joyous laughter as they fell into step without a second thought.

They danced together to whatever music played with ease, a few guests watching and clapping along as they moved as if two parts of one whole.

Dancing together came as natural to the couple as breathing whether it be a complex step sequence or a simple ballroom dance they’d learned throughout the multitude of balls and galas they'd attended over the years. They truly were a marvel to watch. It showed how close they were, how in tune with each other’s bodies and minds they had become — dancing was simply another language of love mastered between them. Their energy was completely infectious to everyone around them on the dance floor, and soon song after song had played and not a single person could bear to sit down and miss out on the fun.

Hours passed. The tempo of the music had gradually slowed with time giving way to a softness that nestled itself deeply into the hearts of those who listened. Due to the late hour, a few men and women of the Tribe, including Kanna who had given the married couple a parting embrace, returned home for the night. Of those who remained, a handful of people nestled wine in their hands and chatted in small groups off to the side while the majority were in pairs on the dance floor, swaying in time with the relaxing melody. Toph sat on the sidelines with a glass of sake, the image of her friends blurry in her mind but sweet nonetheless.

Sokka and Suki were laughing quietly with one another, reminiscing about their own wedding as he held her hand and waist, comically leading her around in waltzing circles just so he could hear that snort he loved so much. They were in their own joyous bubble, Sokka’s goofy actions driven only slightly by the alcohol he’d consumed. Suki found him hilarious (despite the fact she was stone-cold sober). Zuko and Mai, to what would have been the whole gaang’s surprise, if they had all been paying attention, were dancing, too. Mai’s left hand was intertwined with Zuko’s right, her other hand nestled on his shoulder and his holding her waist. They held each other just as Suki and Sokka did, though there was a stark contrast in energy. The Fire Lady lay her head on the Fire Lord’s chest as they swayed to the melody, their faces the picture of contentment.

Then there were Aang and Katara, the newlyweds who couldn’t seem to go a moment without touching. Couldn't bear to have any space between them at all. She had her hands around his neck, fingertips absentmindedly tracing innocent lines up and down the path of his tattoo, up the back of his neck, over the base of his skull and unknowingly sending addictive chills across every inch of his skin. His hands lay comfortably at her lower back, the side of his jaw resting against the side of her head just above her ear. They moved so slowly to the music that they almost appeared to be standing still in an embrace, their eyes closed as they simply savoured the feeling of being in each other's arms.

Aang was almost in a trance while holding her close like this.

They could feel how their heartbeats were synchronised, finding home and comfort in each other’s scent. Katara was lavender and eucalyptus carried on a sea breeze. She was refreshing… sumptuous… too hard to resist as he turned his nose only slightly into her hair, taking in a deep, life-giving breath. And to Katara, Aang carried with him the scent of fresh air, the high altitude of the mountains he came from. It made her dizzy. Maybe his nomadic nature was to blame for the way in which the smell of him changed depending on where he was in the world, but it always held that undercurrent of his natural born element that rendered her light-headed. There was also something else - something sweet like cherry blossom, something heady she couldn’t put her finger on. It was an aroma she yearned to fill her lungs with. Where she stood now, every breath she took was Aang, and she found herself dreading the moment they parted. At that thought, she leaned forward to bury her nose in the crook of his neck, arms wrapped tight around his shoulders as if to never let him go.

“I want this moment to last forever...” She murmured softly into his shoulder, her breath tickling his skin.

“It doesn’t have to end.” He whispered back. The feather-light brush of his right palm moving up from her lower back to the space between her shoulder blades made a delightful shiver race up her back, over her arms and legs, to the tips of her fingers and toes. She hugged him tighter, feeling that urge to hold him as close as possible invade every cell in her body. A moment of silence passed between them, savouring the feelings that now coursed through their blood. But it wasn't long before he spoke again. “Are you tired?” Asked her husband, voice breathy. The sound tickled her ears. Especially since the implications he made with such a question were by no means lost on her.

“Not at all,” Katara replied against his throat with a parting kiss, his wife leaning back to gaze up at him and his eyes that were full of reverence. The movement made his hands slip down to the base of her spine again. Daring as she was, the slightest quirk of her mauve lips did not serve to surprise him. “Are you thinking about turning in for the night already, sweetie?”

“Well…” A bashful smirk spread unwillingly across his face. “Now that you mention it…”

Katara let out a tinkering laugh, one that wasn’t there for humour's sake. One that was there to let him know she could see right through him. “So, it was me who put the idea in your head, huh?”

“Hey," Aang chuckled, "don’t blame me? I just asked if you were tired.” He defended, keeping up his facade of innocence that she could see right through.

“And I said I’m not.” Came her sassy remark. “Were you hoping I was so you could take me to bed?”

Aang flashed her a devious smirk. “Not really… You gave me the exact answer I was hoping for.” His voice was low, a timbre that didn’t fail to shake Katara to her core when he used it on her. Quicker than she’d had time to contemplate, she felt disarmed, too aware of his hands now roaming around her sides, travelling lower to hold onto her hips.

“Are you tired?” She blurted quickly (though she really wanted to flirt back. It's not her fault his sudden brazen nature took her completely off guard).

Aang just shook his head with that same smirk staying put. As she looked up into his eyes now, they were slowly exploring her features, lingering too long on her lips, and she found that familiar silver of his had darkened ever so slightly. She swallowed hard past the lump of anticipation lodged in her throat. Breathing shallow.

The silence only seemed to electrify the current of tension rapidly building between them the longer he stared at her like that. When she caught the bobbing of his Adam's apple, her heartbeat seemed to drop between her legs.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Then his eyes were back on hers. Hard. Unwavering. With an innocent smile to match that felt so out of place at that moment that Katara wondered for a split second whether she’d jumped the gun. “I just... I can’t get over how beautiful you look.”

“Is that all?” She asked mischievously, and Aang had to chuckle.

“Look at me again and tell me if you think that’s all.”

“Hmm… Let’s see…” Katara decided to play along, tilting her head to look him up and down slowly before landing firmly on his sharp gaze, her own smirk playing on her lips, enjoying this flirty back and forth immensely. “No. There’s definitely something else playing on your mind.”

He cocked a brow. “You think so?”

“I know so.” She countered, taking the chance to push him a little further with the slide of her palms down his chest, his rib cage. “Care for an example?” Down over his abdomen— before he caught her wrists in his grasp to stop her from going any further. She huffed as he shook his head with an exasperated laugh, carefully placing her hands back on his shoulders where it was safe. Proper.

“I think that sort of thing can wait till we’re in private" Aang chastised with an arched brow, knowing at the same time that he was not an innocent bystander in this game. Aang knew just as well as she did how intentional his words and actions had been. Especially now when he lowered his hands to her hips again and pulled her closer, making her heart race so fast she felt light-headed. “Which could be now... if you want?” The words came out in a whisper only for her, a slight hesitance only she could pick up on.

Now her eyes were flickering between his lips and his dark gaze. It was a look she hadn’t quite gotten used to yet, but it was one Aang had really grown into the past year. He’d grown in a number of ways, one of which being his confidence when it came to letting his desire for her be known straight up. So, she did him one better. Gave him a taste of his own medicine. Her eyes were on his lips with an eager nod. “I do." She licked her lips. "I want that.”

“You do?” And Aang never failed to look a little shocked. Every time. As if he couldn’t believe she wanted him back. Though it was getting less and less with time and experience.

“Aang, yes." She gave with the breath of a laugh. "Don't look so surprised.”

“I can’t help it.” He grinned cheekily, hands pulling her closer by her waist this time, pressing her body flush to his - yet another contradiction to his portrayed innocence - and then he leaned in close, staring into her eyes deeply, and whispered. “You’re just too good to be true, Katara.”

Her face flushed with heat, a coy smile now playing on her lips. “Aang… don’t say that.”

“No, really! Pinch me. I honestly feel like I’m dreaming.”

“Spirits! You’re so cheesy sometimes!” Katara laughed, infecting him with the sound and making him join in heartily. Soon they were lost in their eye contact once again, the corners of her eyes were crinkled from the force of her smile and Aang thought she was glowing. “But hey... I can do you one better than a pinch…?” Her husband was already grinning like a Cheshire Cat as she pulled him down to her smiling mouth, the two of them giggling like besotted teenagers trying to steal a kiss in hiding. It was a smiling peck, and then their lips slotted together perfectly and she felt like she was on top of the world. He took her top lip between his own, and then the bottom, sucking so gently but hands holding tight. The contrast seemed to make sparks fly between them. The need they felt for one another was finally breaking through. Until they couldn't hold back any longer. Katara had no choice but to hold onto him tighter as they kissed, and as a result, he moved to wrap his arms around her waist, his taller stature making her bend backwards slightly as they kissed deeply, firmly, their bodies flush and filling with a suffocating heat that made their loins ache.

This was by no means enough for them.

She wanted to be kissed deeper. He wanted to kiss her deeper. And as they came to stand straight once again, with every intention of pulling away, she rebelled, parting her lips against his to kiss him again. This time with the tantalising brush of her tongue across his lower lip, sucking on the sensitive flesh just as he had done to her. A groan erupted from Aang's chest, the sound finding a pathway that led straight between his wife’s legs and all she could think about now was how badly she wanted to hear him properly. To drive him crazy. As much as she wanted to give in to her desires right then and there, they were in public. Katara was barely in her right mind, but Aang seemed to remember where they were, regretfully pulling back from her, only to create space where their lips once met. Their bodies were still flush, faces inches apart. It was not what they wanted, but rather what they needed to do lest they lose all semblance of control in front of everyone. Spirits, her breath was already running away from her and she hadn't even tasted him yet.

They stood there. Locked in embrace with short breaths and eyes shut. Intense was the word that came to mind.

“Still think you’re dreaming?” She whispered against his mouth, fingers digging into the back of his neck, eyes still shut.

And she felt as he shook his head. “Definitely not."

Katara let out the breath of a laugh, slowly opening her eyes to see he was already gazing down at her with naked desire swimming in the depths. Her heart flipped in her chest.

"I think we should go.”

Katara gladly agreed. "I think so, too.”

#ok wow I got emotional writing a lot of this not gonna lie #i love them so damn much #kataangtag #kataang #kataang fanfic #kataang wedding #fluff #Smut #atla #a:tla #a:tla fanfiction #atla fanfic #fanfiction #avatar: the last airbender #post series #aang #katara #aang x katara #sokka #Zuko #mai #suki #toph #maiko #sukka #hakoda

[waterbenderkat]

Meet Hageshi and Bhava, the two main characters from my upcoming A:TLA fic “Hageshi: Daughter of Fire”.

The main characters and couple of the story (The Avatar always gets the girl 😉), Hageshi is the female fire bending Avatar before Szeto. She’s Japanese inspired and an ace lesbian. Bhava is Afro- Indian (Ghanan- Indian specifically), and an air nomad, as well as pan ace.

I am so excited to start this fic next year, and to share Hageshi’s story with you all.

Characters and cover drawn by Henar & Iria of @ilikeyoucatradora!

#avatar #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #avatar hageshi #hageshi: daughter of fire #avatar fic #a:tla fic #avatar fanfiction #a:tla fanfiction #avatar fanart #a:tla fanart #air nomad #fire nation #waterbenderkat

[the-uncanny-dag]

Because the live action Avatar: the Last Airbender is dropping today, I'm here to tell you that everyone in this fandom will be better off spending their time reading How I Became Yours by Jackie Diaz, the My Immortal of A:tLA. You can also download the whole thing off Archive.org if color commentary in the tags of the rehost blog is not your thing

#please don't waste your time on the show #at this point being disappointed in live action adaptations of books and cartoons is like losing at chess to a parrot #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #live action atla #fanfiction #how i became yours #zutara #taang

[zukkaoru]

i'll always be at home with you

“What happened?”

Zuko shrugs helplessly. Even if he could speak, the only explanation he has is pathetic. What is there to say? The light was too bright and looked a little too much like the fire in my father’s hand before he burned my face? It sounds ridiculous even to Zuko.

(And he knows, he knows, there’s more to it than that. But if he reduces his issues to trivial little troubles, he can assure himself they won’t plague him forever.)

while visiting iroh and azula in ba sing se, zuko experiences sensory overload. azula and sokka are there to help him through.

🔥post-canon ; engaged zukka 🔥written for @blu3berrydraws for the @atlawintersolstice exchange

🔥read on ao3🔥

#id in alt text #i hope you enjoy!!💞 i had fun writing this; it had been too long since i'd written for my boys #and i'm vv excited that i can finally share it!! #atla winter solstice #zukka #atla #zuko #sokka #azula #sokka x zuko #a:tla #avatar: the last airbender #fanfiction #fanfic #grace's writing tag

[arcadialedger]

Happy Pan Awareness Day to my pan OC’s!

💖💛💙

Wisty, Aasfa, Bhava and Abja— all drawn by @ilikeyoucatradora!

All are pansexual and SPOP OC’s from my fic except Bhava (bottom left) who is from my A:TLA fic and panromantic asexual.

#pansexual #pan #my oc’s #pansexual awareness day #pan visibility day #queer #lgbtq+ #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #spop #avatar #a:tla #oc’s #fanfic #fanfiction #fanart #spop fanart #she ra fanart #avatar fanart #a:tla fanart #the arcadia ledger

[sparkygurly227]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar) Characters: Katara (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) Additional Tags: Turtleducks (Avatar), Zuko is stressed but Katara takes care of him Series: Part 33 of SparkyGurl's Multifandom 100 ways to say I Love You Summary:

Multifandom 100 ways to say I love you

#33 - Zuko x Katara - Close Your Eyes And Hold Out Your Hands

#zuko x katara #zutara #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #fanfiction #100 ways to say i love you

[theunredeemable]

Writing Commisions open once again!

Hello y'all! It's been a while hasn't it? I do need to get better about updating this blog when I actually write things, and wouldn't you know I have done! I even managed to finally finish Chapter 5 of Surprise, Surprise!

What may not surprise you though is that I still remain in financial difficulty. Living alone and working in another city is difficult, and I'm trying to find something that either pays more or is closer to home (preferably both). In the mean time, my writing commissions are once again open!

It'll be the usual prices, which I'll list again below. And as always, if i do end up going over the paid amount I will not charge you extra (I won't complain if you want to give more though :3)

1,000 words: £20

3,000 words: £60

5,000 words: £100

Things i’m willing to write: 

I'm on a RWBY kick and would prefer to write that, but in terms of fandom the list now includes:

-RWBY -She-Ra -Gravity Falls -Final Fantasy 14 -Dungeons and Dragons -K/DA -Avater: The Last Airbender (This one I may be pickier on if you desire it)

If there is something else you want feel free to ask, and I can see if it's something I know about and feel comfortable attempting!

Obviously I am open to writing NSFW! I've got very few no no's on this, but for ease I am not willing to write scat, filth, hyper, vore, or underage. Anything else, ask and I'll see.

Continuations: Is there a one shot i did you want to see a new chapter/follow up on? I’m open to talk about them.

Posting:

The commissioner will get first read of the final product after it goes through edits and beta reading, and can request any changes. Afterwards I’d like to post them up on AO3, followed by Tumblr a week later. (actual posting to Tumblr may vary)

To contact me for comissions email me at [email protected], or through the messaging systems here. I also have a Discord available upon request if people find that easier.

Multiple slots open!

#commissions #the writer behind the words #fanfiction commissions #rwby #gravity falls #K/DA #FFXIV #she ra pop #fanficftion #a:tla

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

[Image ID: Troped Mini Events Avatar: The Last Airbender /.End ID]

TROPED: ATLA — Round One!

Welcome to the First Round of our TROPED Mini Event! We are so excited to host a two-round event for Avatar: The Last Airbender!!! If you’re new to TROPED, you can find a little more info on how our events work here! We have hosted multiple events, and we’re so excited to break into another new fandom with you! The mods for this challenge are @thelittlefanpire and @dylanobrienisbatman, and our personal DM’s as well as the ask box on this blog are always open to questions, comments, or concerns!

For Round 1, please write us a fic that includes:

Theme: Modernized Canon

Trope 1: Found Family

Trope 2: Fugitive AU

Trope 3: Handcuffed together

Trope 4: Countdown/Deadline

More in depth definitions of the theme and tropes can be found here! Please take a look at this document, as there will be extra information you NEED to know regarding how to use the tropes, plus all the rules, and if you have questions don’t hesitate to ask!

HOW IT WORKS:

TROPED is pretty simple! This is a fully anonymous fanfic event where anyone can join at any time! We have provided the prompt above (four tropes + a theme) and you have a 7 day writing period to write the fics! All fics are submitted to our AO3 collections, which are specific to each event! After the writing period has ended, we host a community voting period where anyone can vote, based on a few categories that are announced at the beginning of each event (we generally include Best Use of Tropes, Best Use of Theme, Best Overall (Tropes + Theme), and then some bonus polls!) Once the voting has ended, we reveal the authors of the fics and announce the winners!

For these events, there will be two rounds each, which are separate from one another. You do not need to write in the first round to write for the second, and you are not obligated to write for the second round if you write for the first! We will reveal the authors at the end of each individual round!

A more detailed explanation of how our events work can be found on our FAQs page!

For this event, all fics are to be submitted to this AO3 Collection!

A tutorial on how to submit your fics can be found in the first three steps of this post! You do not need to input multiple chapters for this event, but follow the general steps on how to include a fic in our collections! For this event, the collection name is 'TROPED_AtLA'!! If you have any questions, or would like a tutorial specific to this event, let us know, we'd be happy to make one!

TIMELINE

ROUND ONE

R1 Writing Period: September 4th (12:00am EST) - September 10th (03:00am PST / 06:00am EST)

R1 Voting Period: September 11th (12:00am EST) - September 13th (11:59pm EST)

R1 Winners: September 14th!

ROUND TWO

R2 Writing Period: September 15th (12:00am EST) - September 21st (03:00am PST / 06:00am EST)

R2 Voting Period: September 22nd (12:00am EST) - September 24th (11:59pm EST)

R2 Winners: September 25th!

*All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST) unless otherwise specified! Times are subject to change due to potential writing extensions.

RULES:

Don’t forget the rules! Please keep to the chosen fandom (Avatar: The Last Airbender), include ALL the tropes, and follow the theme! You will be disqualified if you don’t! 10k word count max! Also, no smut. no incest. no underage. no negativity.

The General Rules for all TROEPD events can be found here and more event-specific rules in the Google Doc can be found here.

LINKS:

The AO3 collection can be found here, and the name of the collection that should be entered when submit your fic is ‘TROPED_AtLA’ !!

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TROPED_AtLA

Trope/Theme Explanations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TRJN5GnEg8CFWbHpF13WKAElb-pOJZEucsEIkwKMRjY/edit

No sign-ups necessary! Follow along here on Tumblr, the TROPED Twitter, or our Discord Server for more information on the event! We will release the prompts in those places and then everyone is free to start writing!!! We are super excited to see what you guys create!

Remember that if you have any questions at all, including whether something would fit our trope requirements, would violate one of the rules, or anything at all, please don’t hesitate to contact us at @dylanobrienisbatman or @thelittlefanpire we are here to help!

#troped: atla #troped minis: atla #avatar: the last airbender #atla fanfiction #round 1: modernized Canon #troped minis #a:tla

[justsomewritingblog]

Avatar:TLA (Part 5)

Request:  None

Requested By:  Nobody

Pairing:  Zuko x reader

Summary:  The Storm and The Blue Spirit

Warnings:  none?

A/N:  Repost!

Word Count:  3K+  (Someone needs to stop me)

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

You were jolted awake by a pressure on your stomach.  You sat upright and looked to your friends, who were all sitting up as well.  Sokka held his boomerang and his knife sleepily.

“Did we get captured again?”  He asked.

“It’s nothing.  I just had a bad dream.”  Aang confessed.  “Go back to sleep.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.”  Sokka said, rolling over.

“Are you alright, Aang?”  Katara asked the boy.  He was curled into a ball, laying back on the ground.

“I’m okay.”

“You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately.  You wanna tell me about it?”

“I think I just need some rest.”

At this, Sokka sat back up.  “You guys wanna hear about my dream?”

Katara shot him a glare.  Sokka laid back down.

“That’s okay.  I didn’t want to talk about it anyway.”

You patted his shoulder.

“Later.”  You assured.  Katara laid back down as well, seeing as Aang wasn’t going to say anything.  You sighed, now wide awake, and realizing you weren’t going to get anymore sleep, stood and packed your sleeping bag, before walking away.

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

When you got back to camp, Katara was walking up Appa’s tail, remarking about how they needed food.

“Guys, wait.  This was in my dream.”  Sokka started.  You raised an eyebrow as you threw the rest of the stuff on Appa’s saddle before climbing up as well.  “We shouldn’t go to the market.”

“What happened in your dream?”  Katara asked.

“Food eats people!  Also, Momo could talk.”  He turned to the lemur.  “You said some very unkind things.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that Sokka’s dreams can’t predict the future.”  You said, sitting down.  Sokka crossed his arms, a sour look on his face.  “Aw, cheer up.  We’re going to get food!”  You exclaimed, hoping to raise his spirits.  Sokka remained stoic.  You rolled your eyes and crawled forward.  “Sokka, don’t make me tickle you.”

“Pfft.  I’m not ticklish.”  He said, arms still crossed.

“Yes you are.  In fact, he’s-”

Sokka rushed to his sister and placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her.  You laughed as Appa rose into the sky, per Aang’s request.

~~~~~~~~~

Appa had landed in a spot where you dock boats.  You all scrambled off in search for food.  The town was small, made in the side of a mountain.  Sokka, Katara and Aang were searching food, while you were wandering around, looking for anything that might be useful.  Finding nothing, you made your way back to where you last saw them.

“Sokka, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”  Aang voiced.  “Look at the sky.”

“I said I was gonna do this job.”  Sokka said, halting his movements.  He was taking things below the deck of a ship.

“Job?  What’s going on?”  You asked.

“Sokka took a job so we can have some money.  But it looks like there’s about to be a storm.”  Katara explained.  You looked up and noticed the dark clouds that were rolling in.

“I can’t back out just because of some bad weather.”  Sokka continued.

“The boy with the tattoos has some sense.”  An old woman voiced.  “You should listen to him.”

“Boy with tattoos?”  The old man on the ship asked as he stopped his movements as well.  “Airbender tattoos.  Well I’ll be a hog-monkey’s uncle.  You’re the Avatar, ain’t ya?”

“That’s right.”  Katara assured, proud.  She and Aang both smiled.

“Well don’t be so smiley about it.”  The old man said, a frown on his face.  You saw where this was going and took a protective step in front of Aang.  “The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years!  You turned your back on the world.”

“Don’t yell at him!  Aang would never turn his back on anyone!”  Katara defended, stepping forward as well.

“Oh, he wouldn’t, huh?  Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering.”

“Aang is the bravest person I know.  He has done nothing but help people and save lives since I met him.”  Katara informed.  “It’s not his fault he disappeared, right Aang?”

She turned around, but Aang was backing away.

“Aang?  What’s wrong?”  She asked.  Aang said nothing as he opened his glider and flew away.

“That’s right!  Keep flying!”  The old man said.

“You’re a horrible old man!”  Katara told him, climbing on Appa.  “Appa, yip yip.”  Appa flew up, and splashed the old man in the process.  Sokka emerged from below deck.

“Hey, they left without saying goodbye.”  You ignored him and turned to his employer.

“You are awful!  He’s twelve!  Do you think he wanted to abandon people!?  What would that get him!?”  You shouted.  The water around you rocked viciously, splashing against the docks.  “He already has barely any self-esteem, and you’re going to destroy him!”  You shouted.  The water had raised into a big wave that towered above you.  It remained still, however.  The man was silent, with fear, as he stared at you and the water you’ve bended that you were unaware of.

“Sokka, good luck.”  You muttered, turning to leave.  The wave crashed down on the man, soaking him further, before sliding off the dock, back into the rest of the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~

You followed the old woman to the cave where Aang, Katara, Appa and Momo were sitting.

“Help!”  She shouted.  “Oh, please help!”

Katara rushed forward and took her by the arm, bringing her further inside the cave.  “It’s okay, you’re safe.”  She assured.

“But my husband isn’t.”

“What do you mean?  Where’s Sokka?”

“They haven’t returned.  They should have been back by now.”  The woman explained.  Katara had taken her to the fire, but you remained just outside the cave, watching the stormy seas.  “This storm is becoming a typhoon!  They’re caught out at sea!”

You took in a shaky breath.

“I’m going to find them.”  Aang assured.

“I’m going with you.”  Katara told him.

“I’m staying here.”  The woman said, sitting by the fire.  They moved Appa so he was just inside the cave.

“We’ll be back soon.  I promise.”  Aang told the woman.  You all mounted Appa and flew into the storm.

~~~~~~~~~

The rain was absolutely dreadful, and it was painful against your skin.  You could barely see.  You turned.

“Katara, do you think we’d be able to make a sort of water shield around Appa?”  You asked her.

“Maybe.  I’ve never done it before.”

“Neither have I, but it’s worth a shot.”

She nodded and you both set to work.  You and Katara moved your arms in sync, and created a water wall, blocking the rain from Appa.  You both kept moving as you smiled.

“Great job, Katara!”

“We’re doing it!”

“Good job, guys!”  Aang praised.  You and Katara kept working until something caught your eye.  You saw a ship, with smoke emerging from it.  You didn’t see what kind of ship it was, your vision was so filled with water, you could barely tell it was a ship.  You only knew that it wasn’t Sokka.  You lost focus, and the shield you and Katara made faltered and dissipated, water now pouring atop you.  You made a decision.  A stupid decision.  You turned to Aang.

“Keep going!!”  You shouted before jumping off Appa.

“What is she doing!?”  Aang asked.

“I don’t know!”  Katara answered.  They continued to fly anyway, much to your relief.  You bent the water just a tad and landed on the edge of the ship, your hands being the only thing keeping you from plunging into the water.  You pulled yourself up and fell onto the boat, rolling slightly.  You gasped when you saw who stood above deck.

Prince Zuko, his Uncle Iroh, and a few other men, presumably his crew.  You swallowed thickly and quickly stood.  They were clearly taken aback by your presence as well, but you managed to get past your shock and panic.

“Do you need any help?”  You asked, voice shaky.  The entire crew shared confused expressions.

“Why would you help us?”  Zuko asked bitterly.

“Judging by the smoke coming from your ship, you were hit.”

“It was just a little lightning.”

“And you’re in trouble.”

“And you think you’re not?”  Zuko asked, taking a threatening step forward.  You took a small step back.

“It crossed my mind.”  You admitted, but keeping on a mostly strong façade.  He saw through it, you knew, but you didn’t fall apart and that’s all that matters.  “Please let me help you.”  You pleaded.  Iroh placed his hand on Zuko’s shoulder.

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?”  The prince asked, still wary.  You thought for a moment.

“I suppose you don’t.  But judging by the smoke, there’s a fire, and last time I checked, water puts out fire.”  You told him, bending some ocean water into an orb just above your hand.  Zuko watched you for several moments, while everyone else watched Zuko, awaiting his orders.

“Very well.  Follow me.”  He told you.  You let out a breath of relief and took a few steps toward him until he spun around.  “But if you do anything that’s suspicious, do not underestimate my rage.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ve seen it.”  You remarked, crossing your arms, hoping the action would somehow protect you if needed.  He scowled at you before turning around, beginning to walk away.  You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, and jogged lightly to keep up with his long paces.  Iroh watched you follow his nephew until you disappeared from view.  He stroked his beard.

“Very interesting.”  He mused.

~~~~~~~~

Zuko led you into a smoky room, and gestured at the destroyed piece of machinery.  You slowed your breathing and focused on the massive body of water around you.  Water soon came floating into the room, before you splashed it on the fire.  It only took a few minutes before the fire was out.  You shot the unused water back off the boat before turning to Zuko.

“I recommend getting this to shore as quickly as possible.  I would try to help you, but I don’t think my bending’s that strong.”  You admitted.  “Still, I could give it a shot.”  You mused, stepping out and above deck again.  You coughed a few times while walking to the back of the ship.  Iroh noticed this and followed you.

You felt a presence behind you and you whipped around, being met with Iroh reaching out to you.  You barely flinched as he placed the back of his hand on your forehead.

“You’re not afraid of me?”  He asked, noticing this.

“Should I be?”

“Probably.”

You smiled.  “I-I know you were a great General, and still are a great firebender, but you also seem to be a great Uncle.  I’m not frightened of an Uncle who simply wants what’s best for his nephew.”  You shrugged, knowing that your confession was a little odd.  Iroh simply smiled.

“I appreciate the compliments.  You are catching a fever.”  He informed.  You smirked.

“And apparently, for others as well.”

“You have been out in the cold and rain for too long.  You need to get inside.”  He advised.  You backed away slightly.

“I can’t.  You guys are in danger.  It’s just a stupid fever.  I’ll be fine.”  You assured.  Iroh raised an eyebrow, but smiled.  “Where do you want to go?  There was a village, not too far away, but it’s small, and I think they might not take this well.”

Iroh paused.  “I’ll go ask the Prince, and come back with an answer.”  He said, turning to leave.  Without looking behind him, he called out to you.  “Go inside!  You can work when I come back!”

You smiled fondly and made your way inside.  You were immediately warmed by the heated pipes running all throughout the ship.  But the look of the gray metal everywhere did nothing to settle your nerves.  It didn’t help that the corridors and hallways weren’t very big.  You would see a couple firenation flags here and there, but other than that, the ship was pretty empty.

You leaned against a wall, not wanting to sit and let your guard down, and began thinking.  I wonder if they’ve found Sokka, you thought.  I wonder if they’re okay.  You chewed your bottom lip in concern.

~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean, you just left her!?!”  Sokka yelled.

“She said to keep going!”  Aang tried to defend himself, still fighting through the storm.

“Keep going?  Keep going!?  You shouldn’t have let her do it!”

“Sokka, she was concerned for you.  She clearly had something she wanted to do.”

“I was on a boat!  She’s probably still splashing around in the water, assuming she hasn’t already died!”

“She’s a waterbender!  I’m sure she’s alright.”

“Is she that strong of a bender that she can stop raging seas?”  Sokka asked, arms crossed.  Aang and Katara shared panicked looks.

~~~~~~~~~~

Iroh walked toward you and told you that they wanted to head in the eye of the storm.  You nodded and emerged from below deck, made your way to the back of the ship again, and began to work.  You moved the water, turning the boat.  Iroh stood and watched you while Zuko was next to him, leaning on the wall, observing as well.  Though, he had a frown on his face.

“Why is she doing this?”

“Because we were in trouble.  She wanted to help.”

“But, why Uncle?  We’ve done nothing for her to deserve this.  Why should she help us when we’ve done nothing but track her and her friends down?”

“Perhaps she cares more about life, than holding grudges.”  Iroh remarked, before heading inside.  Zuko continued to watch as you pushed and pulled the water, giving the ship some speed.  You had been doing this for several minutes when you felt a hand on your shoulder.  You spun around, and startled, you stopped moving the water.

“Are you alright?  You’ve been doing this for almost an hour.”

“An hour?”  You asked Iroh before casting your gaze back out to sea.  “It only felt like minutes.  I guess I was so focused-”

“Come and take a rest.  Have some tea.”

“Some…..tea?”

“Of course.  Come below deck.”

You looked up, pondering your choices when something caught your eye.  It was a big, white object, floating in the dark sky.  Your eyes lit up.

“Appa.”  You whispered.

“What was that?”  Iroh asked.  You turned to him.

“Look.  I have to leave, my friends are here.  Don’t tell the Prince?”  You pleaded.  Iroh smiled.

“When you first passed, he let the Avatar go.”  He informed.  You froze.

“He….what?”  You heard shouting and looked up, seeing Appa was closer.  You looked back to Iroh.  “Can I take a raincheck?  I’d love to have tea with you some time.”

Iroh nodded.  “Of course.”

“Safe trip!”  You wished as you bended the water, pushing you into the air.  You landed on Appa, only to be tackled by everyone in a hug.  You laughed before looking down, waving at Iroh.  He waved back as Zuko came out.  He looked to his Uncle and looked up, watching Appa fly away.  You waved at him too, and using your bending, gave their ship one last push.  They vanished from view.

“Who were you waving at?”  Katara asked.

“Just some people I helped out.”  You told her.

“How dare you jump off!  Do you realize you could have been killed!?”  Sokka scolded.

“I’m fine, Sokka.  I see you are, too.  I was only doing my duties as a decent human being, and helping some stranded people.”

“Who was on the ship?”  Aang asked.  You debated for a short time, before quickly coming up with an answer.

“Nobody we know.  Just some people that had their boat struck with lightning.  I put out the fire, and helped push them closer to shore.”  You informed.

“Just as long as you’re okay.”  Aang said.  You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, relived they bought it.  Heaven knows what they’d do it they found out you’d helped the enemy.

~~~~~~~~~~

You had been flying for about a day when you reached a city carved into a mountain.  Sokka had come down with a dreadful fever because of the storm, and you weren’t too far behind him.  Appa had taken shelter inside an old building, and you and Sokka were laying on the large creature’s legs.

Sokka laid in his sleeping bag, coughing up a storm.  Katara placed a cloth on his forehead.  “This should bring your fever down.”  She told him.  You began hacking up a storm as well as she prepared another cloth for you.

“I’m dying for real.”  You muttered.

“You know what I love about Appa the most?”  Sokka asked.  “His sense of humor.”

“That’s nice.  I’ll tell him.”  Katara assured, placing the rag on your forehead.  Appa made a growling noise in response and Sokka laughed.

“Classic Appa.”  He observed.  Aang walked over.

“How are they doing?”  He inquired.

“Not good.”  She answered.  “Being out in that storm really did a number on them.”  She explained.

“I couldn’t find any gingerroot for the tea.”  Aang informed.  “But I found a map.  There’s an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain.”  He said, looking outside.  “We can probably find a cure for them there.”

At this, you let out a large sneeze.  You groaned loudly.  “Just let me die.”  You pleaded.  “I’m half-way there, anyway.”

Katara turned back to the Avatar.  “Aang, they’re in no condition to travel.  They just need more rest.  I’m sure they’ll be better by tomorrow.”  She had just managed to finish what she was saying when she started coughing.

“Not you, too.”  Aang observed, sounding defeated.

“Great.  Now we’re all dying.”  You mused.

“Relax.  It was just a little cough.  I’m fi-” She informed, before breaking into another fit.

“That’s how Sokka started yesterday.  And Y/n right after.  Now look at Sokka.  He thinks he’s an earthbender!”

You turned and Sokka was, indeed, flailing his arms about.  “Take that, you, rock.”

“A few more hours and you’ll be talking nonsense, too.  I’m going to find some medicine.”  The young Avatar informed, rolling up the map and picking up his glider.  He walked to the edge of the building just as lightning stuck in the distance.  He stood there for a moment before leaning his glider against the wall.

“Maybe it’d be safer if I go on foot.”  He turned to Momo and Appa.  “Take care of them, guys.”  He instructed.  Appa made a little roar and Momo purred, Sokka laughing again.

“You guys are killing me.”  He announced.  You rolled your eyes.  Aang watched with sorrow and pity before jumping off the side of the building and out of sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Katara was now laying down with you and her brother.  “Katara, please.  Water.”  Sokka pleaded.

“Listen carefully, Momo.  I need you to take this to the river and fill it with water.  Got it?”  She instructed the lemur.  He took her canteen and flew away.

~~~~~~~~~~

You weren’t sure how long you had been asleep, but when you cracked your eyes open, there were several things around you.  Katara was explaining to Momo that they needed water.  You groaned.

“He doesn’t speak English, Katara.”  You muttered, rolling over.

“I know.  But you’d think that-”

“Do you want me to go?  We’re all in agony, and if we keep going like this, we’ll never get water.”

“No, Y/n.  He can do it.”

You groaned and you leaned back, falling asleep again.

~~~~~~~~~

You awoke again and it was dark.  The ruins had become more cluttered, and Momo had just placed a crown on Katara’s head.

“Oh, forget it.”  She told the lemur, rolling over.  You had to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”  You replied, crawling out of your sleeping bag.

“Where are you going?”  She asked, voice dry.

“I’m just stretching.  It’s so warm in here.”  You noted, dragging your feet to the edge of the building.  You inhaled deeply through your nose, and you silently thanked the cool rain for hitting you.  It was now dark, and there was still no sign of your airbender friend.

“Aang, please hurry.”  You heard Katara mutter.

“Who’s this Aang kid you keep talking about, your highness?”  Sokka asked his sister, noting the crown on her head.  You bit back a laugh.  You were just thankful that you didn’t get delusional when you got sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was daybreak when you awoke again.  You were leaning on the pillar, when Aang trudged in and stuck frozen frogs in Sokka and Katara’s mouths.  He stuck one in your mouth as well.

“Suck on these.  They’ll make you feel better.”  He muttered, collapsing on Appa’s tail.  His clothes where ripped and covered with mud.

“Aang.”  Sokka said, sucking on the frozen frog.  “How was your trip?  Did you make any new friends?”

“No.”  Aang answered sadly.  “I don’t think I did.”  He rolled over, facing away from the group.  You perked up at this.  Had he met someone?  You were just about to ask about it when the frog in your mouth started to wiggle.

“Mm.  These are tasty.”  Sokka noted.  You spat the frog out of your mouth and gagged.  Sokka and Katara did the same, though Katara cried out.

“Great.  Now I’m gonna vomit.”  You muttered.  Sokka began wiping his tongue on Appa’s fur in a desperate attempt to get the slime of the frog off.  “You know frog’s carry diseases, right?”  You asked the airbender.  He didn’t respond.  You got over your disgust about the frogs quickly as you made your way over to him.  You placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Aang?  You alright?”

“I’m okay.”

You didn’t believe him, but didn’t press the matter.  You instead laid down next to him and pulled him into you, hugging him from behind.  He barely moved. You looked down at the boy and gave him a reassuring squeeze, hoping he’ll feel your love and support through such a simple action.

“Get some rest, Aang.”

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

A/n:  Repost!

#Avatar: The Last Airbender #Avatar: The Last Airbender x reader #A:TLA #A:TLA x reader #x reader #reader #reader insert #Zuko x reader #my works #Mara's works #fanfiction

[azulamakesmeblank]

Eternally Yours [Kataang] - Part 1

Hey lovely readers!!

The is the first of three parts for my take on Katara and Aang’s wedding! I posted this on my AO3 if you wanna check it out over there. Please excuse any inaccuracies when it comes to the wedding ceremony, I am by no means an expert and have absolutely no idea how a water tribe wedding would really be lol 

I wanna thank my good friend @atypicalkataangist​ for beta reading this fic for me, its been a challenge and I definitely couldn’t have done it without him!

Plan is to post each part weekly, but things may change cause uni is a bitch lol, i’ll link them below for easy access!

Part 1 - The Ceremony [THIS PART]

Part 2 - The Reception

Part 3 - The Wedding Night

SUMMARY: Katara and Aang journey to the Southern Water Tribe where they finally eternalise their love

GENRE (for the series as a whole): Wedding fluff, romantic comedy, little dash of angst cause you know that's my personality at this point, and of course eventual and explicit smut to finish it all off hehe

WARNINGS: none for this part (except for the conversations concerning a dead parent aka katara’s mom)

So without further adieu, I give you Kataang finally tying the knot!

The most peculiar thing about this day was the state of the sky. Where in the past a love-struck, teenage Katara, daydreaming about this momentous day any chance she got, had imagined crystal blue so like the colour of the glaciers of the North Pole and a blindingly bright sun hanging right in the middle, today she stared up at a sky scattered with opaque grey clouds giving way to uneven splotches and slivers of aegean blue, the sun hiding in limbo between day and night. It wouldn’t be long till the light faded further and even the clouds became invisible against twilight’s dominant hue. Not even the stars would be able to break through. Maybe a couple here or there, but Katara wasn’t holding out hope. One thing that did shine like a beacon against the darkness, her head tipped up to the sky, was a snowflake.

Since leaving the South Pole with Aang around three years ago, Katara hadn’t seen snow once (one of the many perks of living so close to the equator). But now she was back - for a very important reason - and after four days of no snowfall, today was the day mother nature let loose. Katara smiled as the microscopic lattice of ice landed on her cheek and melted, a multitude more falling around her, no doubt.

One thing the weather and the sky didn’t emulate, under any circumstance, was her mood. The woman couldn’t be any more elated than she was now while thinking about what was to come.

Katara took a slow breath, her eyes drifting to a close as she savoured the last moments of peace and calm and quiet, because any second now, the attention of her friends, her Gran-Gran and other women from her family would be on her.

In a matter of hours, Katara’s life would be forever changed.

“Hey! Sugar queen!”

Katara jolted at the volume of her friend's voice, looking over her shoulder and instantly covering her hand with her mouth when the urge to laugh at Toph’s exaggerated attire almost won. For spirit’s sake, she looked like a penguin wrapped in two of the thickest snow-leopard parkas the south had to offer! Only the centre of her stern face peaked through the fluffy hood and her thick fringe, her silhouette stark against the light shining from gran-gran’s hut out onto the streets. Who could blame Katara? It was too funny not to laugh.

“Mind coming inside so we can get this show over with already?”

“Show?” Katara scoffed with the breath of a laugh, too used to her friend's antics now to actually take her complaints personally. “Did you forget I’m not the only one getting dressed up tonight, Toph?”

“That’s my point, sweetness. Sooner you get in there, the sooner I get out.”

“Alright, fine. You’ve got a point.” The waterbender acquiesced, making her way to the bundled-up earthbender who was completely shielded from the snow now floating down around them both.

“As always.” Came Toph's smug reply as they made their way over to the hut and the warm glow of a fire from the inside. “But uh… wanna tell me why you were all alone out here?”

“No reason.” Katara shrugged, truthful with her reply. “Just thinking. I guess I always imagined this day a little differently.”

“Uh… is that a bad thing?” Toph asked, emotional sensitivity far from her strong suit in serious conversations, but she always tried. And katara had to hand it to her - she’d definitely gotten better over the years.

“Not at all. I think… I’m glad. It kind of feels like a clue as to what my life is going to be like from now on.” She explained, her tone quiet and calm. “Every day, around every single corner, I’m going to find the unexpected.”

“Well, that sounds like a real hoot. But can we please get inside? I’m sick of not seeing anything in these dumb shoes.”

Katara laughed again. “I hate to break it to you Toph, but unless you want to get frost-bite on your feet, then you’re going to have to wear shoes for the rest of the night.”

“I know that! Let a girl dream, would ya?” Toph exclaimed, walking on with determination through the door to Gran-Gran’s hut (and straight to the fire) with Katara on her heel, shaking her head at her friend's temperamental ways no matter the situation. She didn’t expect her to have any sort of emotional response from Toph to her mini confession, but that didn’t perturb her at all. What did, however, was the immediate attention of the other women on her the second she walked through the door, those blue eyes of hers blowing wide as all five heads turned to her. It was as if they’d locked on their target. They called her name in greeting, getting up from where they sat in the main living area to immediately crowd her with high energy and a list of things to do. All the voices and words kind of blended into one, but they were of little to no importance to her anyway, so her replies came out on auto-pilot, all of her attention now narrowed in on the rapid beat of the heart.

It made sense that they would be so thrilled — these women hadn’t been so closely involved in a wedding as grand as this one in their entire lives, they’d only heard stories — and after watching her grow up during the midst of a war, Katara had almost become like a daughter to some of them. To her, however, they were people she scarcely knew.

“Hey, beautiful!” Came a familiar voice from behind, cutting through all the chaos and flooding the waterbender with relief.

Katara whipped around to face her, beaming from ear to ear. “Suki!”

“It’s so great to see you!” She chimed back as they hugged tightly. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t be, you’re not. I’m so relieved you’re here, seriously.” Katara mumbled into Suki’s shoulder, pulling her a little tighter before letting her go. The mahogany-haired woman pulled back, holding Katara by her shoulders with a loving smile.

“You know I would have walked all the way here if I had to.” She rubbed the water bender’s back comfortably, watching glancing around the hut and finding a strangely toph-shaped lump by the fire. She investigated the shape with a narrow gaze. “Toph… is that you?” Suki called out and the lump seemed to shift, the earthbender turning her head around slightly to acknowledge the warrior.

“Sure is, honey. I’d come get a better look at you but hearing your voice will have to do. I’m not moving an inch.”

Suki and Katara let out an amused chuckle together and pulled back from their embrace to share a caring look. “Sounds like Toph is super glad to see me, too.” Joked the warrior light-heartedly.

“I think this whole ‘wearing shoes’ thing is making her a little cranky.”

“I heard that!” Called the so-called cranky earth bender.

“I know you did, Toph, it’s not like you’re far away.”

Toph tutted, wrapping her arms around her knees to murmur something Katara wasn’t sure she wanted to hear, yet she just shook her head fondly, setting her attention back on Suki and taking the warrior’s hands, squeezing tightly. “I really appreciate you doing this, Suki, thank you.”

“Oh, please! It’s my pleasure!” Suki assured her confidently. “After everything you did to help me when Sokka and we got married, this is nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Urged Katara. “I mean it.”

“Kat... you’re too sweet.” Suki pouted, lifting her hand to nudge the water bender’s chin with her knuckle fondly. “And you already look so pretty! How is your skin so flawless?!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that… but I did start using this new moisturising balm!”

They fell into a trivial conversation about different products they both swore by for skin care and along the way, Katara ended up leading her to the make-shift make-up station set up on the opposite side of the room. She took her seat, Suki unloading all of her make-up supplies onto the vanity. Katara had the odd cosmetic back home in Republic City, but she’d never really found an interest in the practice like Suki had. She never really felt pressure to wear any, anyway. Especially when Aang seemed to find her captivating in either sense. He always snubbed out even the slightest notion of insecurity that crept up on her from time to time.

Suki came up behind her to begin pulling her hair back from her face and tying it in a loose ponytail, their eyes meeting in the mirror. “I’ve got a few ideas I wanna run by you before we get started.”

“Fire away!” Katara said with enthusiasm. “You’re the expert, after all.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.” Suki blushed.

“I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it was true.” Exclaimed the waterbender.

Suki gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Kat. And really, I was thinking something simple overall… some warm-toned colour on your lids will really bring out your eyes. But not too much, I promise.”

“Yeah, whatever you think suits me.” She nodded.

“And I’ve got this gorgeous lipstick that’ll be the perfect shade for you!”

“Sounds perfect.” Katara easily complied.

“You sure?” Suki quizzed.

The waterbender nodded with a gentle smile. “I’m sure! But hey, what do you think about my hair?” Katara queried with a delicate frown between her brows. “Should I keep it down, or just go with my regular braid?”

“Hmm…” Suki thought on it as she looked at Katara’s reflection in the mirror, “Let’s make that decision once you’re dressed, what do you think?” Suki cocked an excited brow.

“I guess your right.” Katara agreed, though when she took her next breath, her exhale shook a little, alerting Suki and making a worried frown crease between her brows.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m just…” she sighed, trying to calm the beating of her heart that seemed to come out of nowhere every now and again, “I guess I’m just a little overwhelmed now that it’s finally happening.”

It’s not that the waterbender was scared to get married to Aang, it was the more trivial worries that sent her body into fight or flight mode. Thing’s like all the people who would be watching her walk down the aisle, saying her vows and making sure she didn’t forget anything, how everyone in gran-gran’s hut was here for her. Katara had never been one to crumble under pressure and yet a few pairs of eyes on her today made her nerves surge out of control. It was all felt so public in her mind, so grand, and so she couldn’t help feeling extremely relieved that they’d decided to have a more private ceremony in the South Pole. The bride-to-be could feel her nerves rising unchecked while preparing to get married in front of fifty-odd people, let alone hundreds or thousands in Republic City like it was initially meant to be. Only the spirits knew what would have become of her if that had been the case.

“Katara,” Suki soothed, walking around the chair to hold her face in her hands, “I felt just like you do right now. The best advice I have for you is to think about what all this means, what you’re going to find when you’re dressed and ready, and, most importantly, who’s going to be waiting for you.” Suki smirked playfully before raising a brow. “And believe me, from what I’ve heard, you’re not the only one feeling a little nervous.” Katara’s cheeks blushed at the indirect mention of Aang and his state of mind. She hadn’t seen him for almost three days thanks to marriage traditions in the South, so she didn't have a clue how her Fiancé was fairing. Katara had had half a mind to expect Aang to sneak into her room one of the nights prior, but he’d been surprisingly vigilant and disciplined when it came to sticking close to her tribe’s wedding customs. She was thoroughly impressed by his determination, but she missed him dearly, and she couldn’t wait to finally see him again. “These nerves you’re feeling right now? They’re good nerves, I’m telling you.”

Katara frowned delicately. “Are you sure?”

“I promise.” Suki nodded earnestly. “But let me ask you something… How do you honestly feel? Under all those nerves. When you think about marrying him, what do you feel?”

“I feel…” Katara contemplated all the emotions swirling through her body and her brain, and it all encompassed one core feeling that was so strong that she was beaming before she even spoke the word out loud. “I feel excited. Really excited.”

“See? That’s it. Just focus on that feeling, okay? Nothing else.”

Katara sighed a breath, trying to focus like she said and already feeling those heavy nerves that weighed down her chest slowly morphing into butterflies. “Okay. Good nerves... I’ve got this.”

“Of course you do, girl! Let’s get you ready.” Suki smiled sweetly, leaning in to press a kiss to Katara’s cheek before going to the vanity and gathering a few of her make-up supplies. The second the first featherlight touch of a brush was felt on Katara’s face, the gravity of the situation really began to solidify in her mind.

A few streets down in Hakoda’s home, the Avatar paced the length of the living room with Momo perched atop his shoulder, the lemur letting out little chirps every time the young man sharply switched his direction. Back and forth, back and forth, over and over again as his mind raced faster than he could ever try to keep up with.

What if he was late? Sure, he has dressed already and had been for the past hour and, yes, he’d made sure every last bit of stubble had been shaved clean off his jaw and his head, but what if something got in the way? What if he needed to use the bathroom again? What if he tripped on the walk to the venue and ruined his clothes? What if she didn’t like what he was wearing? What if—?

“Aang!” Yelled Sokka as he whipped the Avatar around to look at him (or rather look a little up at him - Aang had shot up like a Banyan-Grove tree over the past year alone) and the warrior couldn’t ignore the storm of worry swirling in the Avatar’s grey eyes. “Snap out of it!" He ordered, shaking him by his shoulders and finally pulling the Avatar from his inner turmoil. "Spirits, Aang... it’s like the invasion all over again.”

Problem was, that inner turmoil was now being projected outwardly, Aang's face twisted in worry. “No it isn’t, Sokka! There’s so much more at stake here and I can’t mess up! I can’t! Don’t you get it?!”

“No. I don’t. None of us gets it.” Sokka emphasised with a gesture to Zuko and Hakoda, the only other two men in the room who nodded their agreement. “You’ve gotta tell us what’s got you so worried so we can help you, Aang.”

The Avatar let out a defeated sort of sound, a mix between a scoff and a laugh, as he shrugged out of Sokka’s hold. “What doesn’t have me worried is an easier question to answer. So much could go wrong tonight, Sokka, the list is literally endless! I-I might be late! Or I might mess up my clothes or I could trip and fall on my way there! And, better yet, I could get there and Katara might realise what a big mistake she’s making and that she can’t be with me because I’m the Avatar and she deserves more than I can give her and... and—“

“Now, hold on there, son—“

“No, Hakoda… I-I’m sorry. I know you gave us your blessing but… but what if she changes her mind? What if she realises that a life with me isn’t what she wants? I can't help thinking the worst! I can't--”

Hakoda stormed right to the young man whose face was the image of anxiety, eyes glassy and telling the Chieftan that the worry and insecurity he felt was indeed very, very real. He grabbed him by the shoulder tightly, giving it a hard squeeze while locking his eyes hard on the grey irises of the Avatar, boring into his soul. “Aang, you listen to me. Alright? You are one of the wisest men I have ever come to know in my life. I know you would never make a decision as final as this one unless you knew without a doubt it was the right one… and I may not see my Daughter as much as I would like to, but... after every moment I have spent with her since the war ended, there is one thing I am completely sure of... and that is her love for you.”

Those words from Hakoda seemed to break through the trepidation that had been drowning the Avatar in what ifs and worst-case scenarios. That knot between his brow seemed to loosen just a little, and he found himself wanting to know what else his soon-to-be father-in-law had to say.

“Her love is deep for you, Aang. I have no doubt that those feelings will last forever. I promise you that there is nothing for Katara to change her mind about tonight, because she made her mind up about you a long time ago and I don’t think anything - not even you - could convince her to decide otherwise.” Every word that had come from Hakoda’s mouth was fully genuine, soothing the pointless distress that had been sending Aang out of his mind. The core reason why Hakoda’s speech had calmed Aang so easily was that every word was rooted in truth... every word was inherently easy for him to believe. Because in the very core of his being, he knew Katara loved him as much as he loved her. “Do you hear me, Aang?”

The Avatar bowed his head, taking in a slow, deep breath before giving a clear, calm answer. “Yes, Chief Hakoda.”

“I’m sure you know even better than I do that my daughter can be… pretty stubborn.” That unexpected comment made Aang laugh, and Hakoda flashed him a smile, glad to see he had gotten through to him in the end. “She’s just as stubborn about you. Deep down, you know there is nothing to worry about. Don’t you, son?”

Aang nodded his head, taking in another breath as he let the words truly sink in, to replace the negativity with the truth of love and commitment. Love that Katara and Aang felt for each other. Commitment that they would soon promise to keep. “I do. I know you’re right. Spirits… Thank you, Hakoda. Truly. I know I was being irrational… I just… I can’t help but worry.”

“Which is pretty dumb,” Sokka chimed in, “my sister adores you. She did say yes when you proposed, didn’t she? Or did I make that up and this whole wedding thing is actually a dream?”

Aang couldn’t help the brief flash of a smile that brightened his features the second the memory flashed in his mind. The beach. Him down on one knee. Katara crying tears of joy as she said yes too many times for Aang to count. “No... she definitely said yes.”

“Exactly!” Sokka chuckled with a sharp elbow nudge to Aang’s arm. “Stop being a jerk!”

“I’m sorry! You know how I get when I’m stressed— hey!”

Sokka swiftly pulled the Avatar into a head-lock.

“Oh, we know. Idiot.” Teased the soon-to-be brother-in-law after his attack, Momo flying off to instead perch himself atop Zuko’s head. There was a brief moment of silence where all three men stared at the Fire Lord lounging by the fireplace who had been silent for the entire exchange and was silent now as well. The look on his face, however, gave away how utterly unamused he was at the lemur currently messing up his hair. The three men suddenly laughed altogether at Zuko’s chagrin, Sokka’s headlock quickly dissolving into a friendly arm around Aang’s shoulder.

Zuko huffed out a sigh. “Are you all going to stand there and laugh or is someone going to get this thing off of me?”

“Alright, alright... Momo, come on,” Aang chuckled, stretching out his arm for the lemur to land on, “leave his Royal grumpiness alone.”

None but Sokka seemed to find that joke hilarious by the sound of his guffaw, and despite it all, Momo stayed right where he was as Zuko begrudgingly sipped at his drink, a far lighter atmosphere ironically taking over the space.

* * *

A few hours had passed and everyone was dressed and ready. It may have taken a little more effort to get Toph into her bridesmaid’s gown. Still, anyone could see the earth bender secretly enjoyed it - especially when all the Water Tribe women paid her compliments, telling her how pretty she looked. There seemed to be the constant ghost of a smile on her face.

That was nothing compared to how the room erupted with aws of praise the second Katara entered the living room area in her bridal attire.

“Oh, Katara!”

“Wow! You look like a princess!”

“Such a beautiful young woman.”

“The most gorgeous bride!”

“Oh, spirits… if only Kya could see her now.”

“Stunning! Absolutely stunning!”

“Your mother would be so delighted!”

“Kya would be so proud.”

The constant voices and eyes on her began to blur and mould together into one, all the while she continued to be pleasant, to give kind smiles and grateful nods as if she was listening.

Really? On the inside? Katara was trying her damnedest to keep it together.

The compliments she could handle. Yes. But the mere mention of her mother? No. Even after years of making peace with her loss, of fighting to think only happy things when her mother came to mind, just the simple comparison between her and her dead mother on a day as important as this sent her backwards. Way back. Suddenly that wound was fresh and bleeding and she was 8 years old all over again.

Thank the spirits for Toph's shoeless state on the rug right now, because if it weren’t for her feeling the spike in Katara’s heartbeat and the way her breathing became rapid, Katara was sure she would’ve broken down in front of everyone.

“All right everyone, let’s quit the chatter and skedaddle, yeah? Give the girl some space.” Her headstrong demand earned a few shocked gasps from other women in the hut, yet still, they did as she said and dispersed, clearing a path for the earth bender to stand by her best friend’s side. Toph was always good at that, and Katara couldn’t be more grateful. “Yo, Suki. Wanna weigh in over here?”

“I’m fine. I’m okay.” Katara assured her friend, though it was harder to keep the tears from filling her eyes when she saw the look on Suki’s face and even Kanna's as she made her way over. “I-I’m fine.” She tried again, yet this time her voice shook.

“What happened?” Suki asked with a gentle hand on Katara's back. “Did someone say something?”

“Katara, sweetheart,” Kanna soothed, taking the girl’s hands into her own. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing! I-I’m fine!” The waterbender tried to smile through her pain, though her eyes glistened. “Spirits, I don’t want to cry! I’m happy! Really!”

Suki rubbed her friend's back. “Hey, we can fix your make-up, it’s no big deal if you need to cry.”

Katara sighed, frustrated with herself. “I know, I know… I'll be fine. And Toph… thanks for that.”

The earth bender smiled, but she could still feel the pounding of the water benders heart. “Don’t sweat it, sugar queen.”

Kanna caressed the backs of Katara's hands with her thumbs, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. “Are you having second thoughts, dear?”

“Spirit’s, no!” The girl exclaimed with a tinge of defence in her tone. “It’s nothing like that, I just… I can’t help wishing… that… that mom was here.” She thought she had her walls up high and sturdy, yet the second she confessed her worries aloud, acknowledged the absence of Kya outright, her lip trembled and Kanna realised the depth of the situation. Especially when a tear dripped down her face of its own accord. Katara hastily wiped it away.

“Oh, Katara.” Breathed Kanna in understanding, pulling the waterbender down into a hug which she reciprocated as if reaching for a lifeline. The dam broke loose at that moment and the sobs poured from her lips, uncontrolled. It was only then that she realised the root of all her worries throughout the day, suppressed until the second she heard her mother's name. Suki and Toph’s faces were both marred with sympathetic frowns as they listened to the heartbreaking sound of their friend crying, wishing they could take her pain away. Especially on such a happy day.

“She was supposed to be here with me, gran-gran… she was meant to help me get ready, she was meant to be here watching me walk down the aisle!” Katara sobbed, trying her damnedest to hold in the tears, but they just wouldn’t stop. Suki tentatively reached out to lay a hand on Katara’s shoulder, hoping to give her friend the support she needed in some way. Just being there for her was enough, but her friend's still wished they could do more.

“Shh… it’s alright Katara... I know that Kya is gone… But she will be with you for as long as you remember her, honey… your mother is in your blood. She is in your heart and in your thoughts. Kya lives inside you, through you, and that is how sh wi'll be there with you as you walk down the aisle. She lives on in your memory, in the love you feel for her, and even in your face. You have reminded me so much of Kya today, and although it may hurt a great deal to remember what I have lost - what we have lost - I find myself feeling… grateful that I can look at you today and feel her presence through you.” The older woman smiled, tears filling her own eyes as she hugged her granddaughter tighter once more. When they parted from their embrace, Kanna reached up to dab away the wet streaks that stained Katara’s cheeks gently, wishing to sooth the scars that had opened once again.

Katara sniffed wetly, taking Kanna's hand and giving her a weak smile. Even though the absence of her mother brought so much grief, hearing her Grandmother speak so positively was enough to dull the pain. “That was so beautiful, Gran-gran… I know this must be hard for you too and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you say such a thing. This is a happy day with nothing to be sorry about, do you understand?”

Katara nodded, letting herself believe without guilt that today was in fact a joyous day. One her mother would have been ecstatic about. “Yes, gran-gran. I know.”

“That’s my girl.” Kanna smiled carefully, giving Katara’s face one last caress with her wrinkled palm. “Now let your dear friend Suki fix up your make-up. It’s almost time to go.”

The water bender felt a wave of anticipation flood her body, her chest heaving with the deep breath she took.

“There’s barely anything to fix, anyways. You look beautiful as always, Katara.” Suki grinned, hand stroking her back in a gesture of comfort that Katara deeply appreciated.

“I would say the same,” blurted the earth bender, “but you know I can’t see shit—“

“Toph! Language!” Gasped the old woman.

“Oops.” She got out without laughing by some miracle. Katara and Suki snickered at Toph getting told off for once -- usually her colourful tongue was accepted without question, but not in front of gran-gran. “Sorry, Kanna. Won’t happen again!”

“Better not, young lady. A wedding is no place for such language.”

“Gran-gran,” Katara lightly chastised through a chuckle, “Toph gets it. She won’t do it again.”

The earth bender lay a palm on her chest and put on her best act of innocence. “I’m usually not such a potty mouth, I swear.”

“She’s really not, Gran-gran” Suki added, even as Katara and Suki shared knowing looks that Kanna didn’t catch.

“Well… alright then. I’ll go see to it that Anika and the other women are ready to go.” She walked off. “Don’t take too long now. I’m sure Hakoda will be leaving soon.”

“We won’t,” Suki assured the older woman before guiding Katara back to the vanity chair. “Really, it's only your under-eyes and cheeks that need a little fixing, other than that you’re perfect!”

“Suki… You really think so?”

“Of course.” Suki beamed as she hugged her friend gently from the side so as to not mess up her hair. “I love what you did with your hair, and I think Aang is going to love it, too.”

At the mention of her fiancé, Katara’s body flushed, a giddy sort of smile fighting its way onto her mauve-tinted lips. “I really hope so.”

“Oh, we know so, sweetness.” Smirked the blunt earth bender. “Twinkles can’t get enough of you any other day. I wouldn’t be surprised if he passes out the second he sees you tonight.”

“How would you know?” Katara teased. “Thought you couldn’t see shit?”

Suki laughed as she worked away at Katara’s face, a light atmosphere between the three of them. “Oh, I get to feel enough vibrations anytime I’m around you two, and, let me tell you, I’m not sure his heart can take much more.”

Katara blushed hard at that tidbit of information which she knew was quite obviously exaggerated, but it still made her feel good to know his heart still fluttered when he saw her. There was no denying that her's does, too.

Suddenly any and all unwanted thoughts and feelings gave way to that excitement once again, and Katara took Suki’s advice, grabbing onto the emotion and holding it as tight as she could. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, and finally, it seemed like she was starting to truly believe her own thoughts. That conclusion was massively relieving.

* * *

“So, Appa’s already down there.” Sokka ticked off with one finger.

“Yep.” Chimed Aang.

“And we've got Momo.”

“Right here.” Zuko muttered, the lemur chirping from his shoulder as though he knew he was being talked about.

“What about you, Aang, you all set?”

“Yeah. I’m ready.” The avatar answered with a shaky breath, Sokka clocking the sound and giving him a slap to his back (that hurt his hand more than it hurt Aang).

“Enough with the nerves! You’ve got this, Aang!”

“I never would have thought a wedding would scare the Avatar this much.” Zuko unhelpfully commented though Aang found the humour in his words as always, chuckling in self-deprecation.

“Yeah, well… I guess the Avatar can be a bit of a wimp sometimes.”

Zuko gave his friend a shrug and a careful look that made Aang think he was getting at something else. “Or maybe you’re just scared about the whole consummation thing--“

“UGH! OOGIES!” Sokka yelled and slammed his hands against his ears, much like how he did when he was younger.

“For Agni’s sake— Sokka, you know it’s going to happen and you know that’s probably why he’s so nervous—!“

“I DON'T HEAR YOU! LA LA LA LA LA…—!”

“Yeah… about that, Zuko…” started Aang, his hand rubbing at the back of his head. He was nervous, there was no denying it, but he also couldn’t find the courage to broach the subject with his friends. Aang tried to will himself to talk about it now that the opportunity was right in front of him, though just when he was about to let his concerns loose, looking across at Zuko to see his golden irises full of concern, the Avatar found himself chickening out. “Don’t talk about that kind of stuff in front of Sokka.” He gave his friend a sheepish grin and Zuko could only roll his eyes in response.

"Okay, fine." Scoffed the Fire Lord. "But trust me, Aang, there’s nothing to be scared of. Just—”

���ARE YOU DONE?!”

Aang patted Sokka on the back and he finally dropped his hands from his ears. Aang didn’t really want to talk about it, either. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Sokka carefully lifted his hands from his ears, staring at Aang in distrust.

“We didn’t even say anything, Sokka.” Laughed Aang.

“Whatever.” The warrior droned with an unbothered wave of his hand, back to his busy-body self. “Let’s keep it moving! We’ve got a tight schedule to follow. Dad left like ten minutes ago so that means Katara will be there soon! And Aang, you said so yourself, you can’t be late, so…—”

Aang and Zuko shared a meaningful look, the two of them laughing silently at the idea that their Water Tribe friend, no matter how many years went on, would never change.

* * *

The venue for the ceremony was outside in a beautiful courtyard with a fountain in the centre, and, thankfully, Katara noticed that the snow from earlier had stopped. The woman tipped her head up to see the sky how she had predicted it to be earlier - clouds opaque and blending into the night sky, blocking hundreds of stars as well as the moon, though Yue’s glow still seemed to create a halo of light through the patches that were sparse enough. The South Pole city silhouette was speckled with golden squares and rectangles of firelight shining through the windows of peoples’ homes. In its own right, the landscape was beautiful. Though still, she found herself clinging onto her father’s arm as if for dear life.

From where they were just outside the courtyard, Katara could hear the murmur of her close family, friends, and a few other people from the tribe who were invited by her grandmother simply because they had known Katara when she was growing up. She was so grateful that her friends had made the trip all the way to the south pole to celebrate her wedding. Even Mai was able to make the journey with Zuko, though they would be leaving early enough the next day to get back to their duties in the Fire Nation.

The whole thing was just so daunting regardless of the fact there weren’t a lot of people attending as she’d initially anticipated after deciding to marry the Avatar. If they’d had the wedding in the United Republic of Nations like they’d been expected to, then Katara knew the crowd probably would have spread indefinitely, full of strangers and faces she’d never seen before in her life simply trying to catch a glimpse of the avatar and the heroes of the hundred-year war. Katara was relieved to hear that Aang wanted to limit their guest list, too, giving way to a more intimate celebration with only those she knew and trusted. That’s also the reason why they decided to have the ceremony at night - the later the ceremony, the fewer people up and about to nosy in on what was the most important day of Katara and Aang’s lives so far.

The bride and her father were waiting patiently for the entry music to begin playing, Katara like a coiled spring. Her gloved fingers drummed incessantly at her father's arm with sheer impatience, anticipation and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was literally raring to go, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a pounding heart during which one thought kept creeping up in her brain.

What in the spirit realm was taking them so long?

Katara let out a heaving sigh, making her father laugh at her impatience. “Relax. It’s only been a few minutes.”

“I can’t deal with the waiting.” She huffed.

Hakoda gave his daughter a teasing smile. “I know. I’m sure Aang feels the same way.”

“Yeah.” Sighed the young woman, feeling her face heat up and her heart race because after three days apart, they were finally going to see each other again. She prayed to the spirits that the band would get on with it already and just—

The first tune of traditional Water Tribe wedding music began playing, Katara feeling both surprised and pleased at the timing of it all. Relieved as she was, the rustle of clothes and feet as the whole courtyard of guests stood in waiting for her entrance made her heart skip a million beats at once.

“Spirit’s…” her voice shook. “I don’t know if I can do this, dad.”

“Sure you can,” Hakoda reassured his daughter, genuinely believing what he was telling her, pressing a kiss to the side of her temple as if to press the words there forever. “You’re my Daughter. You can do anything.”

Katara stared up at her dad and he gave her this melancholic smile. That one look was enough for Katara to understand that this moment was an intensely happy and sad moment for him all at the same time. “Dad…”

“And you know, the best part of this is that you won’t have to do it alone. You’ve got Aang to do it with you, and I have absolutely no doubts that he won’t do anything and everything in his power to make you the happiest you can possibly be.”

Now Katara’s face was beaming with a smile brighter than the stars if they had been visible above, a face filled with more genuine joy than Hakoda could have ever dreamed about seeing on his daughter's face. “Of course, he will, dad, I love him. I can't thank you enough for giving us your blessing.”

“It was a no brainer, really." he chuckled. "I can’t think of anyone more deserving of my daughter than the Avatar.”

“The Avatar…?” she chastised him with a playful nudge, her father laughing heartily.

“Okay, sorry. Aang. Even if he wasn’t the Avatar.”

“That sounds better.” Approved the water bender with a squeeze of her father's arm.

She sighed, looking ahead to the archway on the right of them and tensed up with a slow and even breath in and out. “Should we get moving?”

Katara nodded after a slight second of hesitance, swallowing down past the lump in her throat and willing herself to make peace with her trepidation. To realise, once she got passed this part, all that was left to do was trust in love. “Yeah. I think I’ve kept him waiting long enough.”

Hakoda released a low chuckle. “You’re just like your mother… guess I’ll have to give Aang some advice myself. Come on.”

And instead of feeling like she could cry at the mention of Kya, Katara felt a smile as it grew wider on her lips at the idea of Aang and her father bonding. Soon her dad was leading her straight to the arch wall, curtained with hanging blue flowers that drifted in the gentle breeze. One more calming breath that failed to slow the hammering of the bride's heart against her ribcage, a signalling look to her father, and they were stepping through the waterfall of petals and into the courtyard.

If Katara thought her heart couldn’t beat any harder, she was wrong.

Every single guest in the courtyard was standing on their feet and facing her and her dad. She felt the anxiety rise up her body, flooding her limbs, settling into her stomach like a swirling storm of terror that made the urge to run seem like a good idea. She could barely even hear the music with the way the sound of her blood rushing drowned out her ears, though her dad held her tighter, grounded her.

That was until she looked straight ahead and saw him.

Then it was him grounding her.

The sight of Aang alone was enough for Katara to feel her nerves dissolve and melt away, dripping off of her body like water off a turtle-ducks shell. She felt loved, and she felt whole again knowing that only a short walk forward would bring them back together again at last, where they belonged. Where they were meant to be. Together.

Hakoda started walking and Katara followed his lead without thinking at all. No one except Aang held her attention in the entire courtyard and nothing could possibly threaten her focus. All of the guests were watching her, in awe of her beauty, while she watched Aang, completely tunnel-visioned. The closer she got to him, the more she saw of him, and consequently the easier it was for her to see how handsome he looked. She couldn’t help the way her eyes wandered, trying to take all of him in.

Aang wore his traditional colours - orange, red, yellow and brown - though they had adapted his regular robes to withstand the cold of the South Pole and fit in with the Southern traditions. He wore a high-necked tunic with long sleeves, his red cape draping over his shoulders. His trousers and shoes were the same, his clothes looking exactly how a typical Water Tribe man’s attire on a wedding day would except for the colours, and Katara felt so grateful to realise he had intertwined their cultures together. Aang looked incredible, the water bender shaking her head at him as if to say ‘how dare you show up here looking like this’, but when her gaze landed on his face, she realised he’d beat her to it. The groom couldn’t decide between staring at her face in awe or giving her another once-over, just for good measure. She giggled quietly to herself at the look of wonder on his face as he committed everything about her to memory without shame.

Though Aang wasn’t the only one staring in awe at the bride, and for good reason, at that.

Katara was wearing an indigo and white wedding gown. The neckline was high and tight-fitting, the sleeves long and gradually widening down the length of her arm, the sleeve cuffs draping down to her knees. The bodice was made of thick fabric but moulded to her torso, flaring at her hips and creating a long train of fabric that trailed behind her along the ice floor as she walked. Every hem was lined with white fur, and delicate patterns of embroidery coloured white and sky blue accented the bottoms of the skirt and the sleeves, making the dress unlike any other. Katara would rather compare the blue colour to Aang’s tattoos, however. That is why she asked for the design, after all — the swirls in the stitching were meant to represent his born element. Even how she styled her hair was decided with her fiancé in mind. Half of her hair was styled in a tidy bun with two pins holding it in place, azure gems hanging from the accessory and of course with her hair loops securely in place. The rest of her hair hung in thick waves down over her back, Katara knowing that Aang would love all of those details. To top it all off, she had matching dangling gold and blue crystal earrings with her betrothal necklace sitting pride of place above the dress’s collar, complimenting her outfit in perfect harmony as it glittered in the lantern lights flanking the aisle.

The closer she got to him, the wider both their smiles grew, and all of a sudden, she found that they had fallen into each other's eyes instead, a silent conversation passing between them that only they could decipher. Only a few steps later and she could see her love in full detail, could find the shape of the fire light flickering within his grey eyes.

“Aang.”

“Cheif Hakoda.” Aang nodded once, reaching out for Hakoda to place Katara’s right hand into the Avatar’s left palm.

“I trust you to look after her, Aang,” the older man spoke only to Aang, separate from the traditional ceremony that was moments from commencing. “Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t ever let you or Katara down. You have my word.” Aang gave him a short bow.

Hakoda nodded, giving Aang a genuine smile in parting. Though he didn’t leave before giving his daughter one last kiss on the forehead before making his way to his seat, finally leaving Katara and Aang alone together at the altar side by side at the base of the fountain.

Aang intertwined their fingers, pulling her captivating blue eyes to gaze up at him with unadulterated adoration swimming in their depths.

“Hey, sweetie,” Katara whispered with the squeeze of his hand.

“Hi, sweetie.” He whispered back.

“You’re looking very handsome.” Teased the girl with the ghost of a smirk, though when she heard the common chuckle of a few of her friends in the crowd, she realised with sheer mortification that the music had already stopped and everyone had heard. Her head slowly turned to the guests and her cheeks burned when she saw a multitude of grinning faces. “Oh, spirits…” Katara sighed, gripping Aang’s hand tight and turning her back to the guests to stand by his side, making him chuckle by her side.

“Hey. Don’t worry about anyone else.” Her love whispered by her ear in reassurance.

It’s just you and me.

Katara was transported back to the war, to the party they threw in that Fire Nation cave, and she was forgetting all about her embarrassment, glancing up at him with a playful smirk.

“It’s just you and me, right?” She said under her breath.

“Right.” A knowing smile tugged at Aang lips as he reminisced as well.

But before they could continue their banter, the Shaman was calling for their and the guest’s attention.

The wedding ceremonies in the South were almost entirely composed of a set of pre-determined speeches and blessings, right down to their wedding vows. It was tradition and had been for centuries now. Everyone involved knew where to stand, what to do, what to say, how to respond — it was a rehearsed set of events, for lack of a better word, though that didn’t dull the emotions brought about when marrying two people. All those directly involved had been well versed on the happenings during the ceremony, each person well aware of the part they had to play. And once every step was complete, they would be married and the real celebrations could finally begin. But with this inside knowledge came impatience. Now, Katara and Aang found themselves on edge for a different reason — they wanted time to speed up so they could just be married already.

The rustle of guests taking their seats at the Shaman’s gesture echoed in the open space and brought the couple to attention... except, the elder’s whole introductory speech mostly went over both their heads. Especially Katara’s since she kept getting distracted with every brush of Aang’s thumb across the back of her gloved hand. She hated that a piece of fabric separated his skin from hers, and after so many days apart, the couple were understandably becoming restless. Though for the sake of her culture and their morals, they tried their best to listen. It may have taken an enormous amount of willpower, but finally, she focused in on the Shaman's voice.

“… loved ones and the spirits above, bear witness today as we join Aang of the Southern Air temple and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe together in sacred matrimony. I call upon the bridesmaids and the groomsmen to give their blessings.”

Suki, Toph, Sokka and Zuko made their way to the alter and stood in front of the couple to be married. A few smiles were exchanged here and there before the shaman started to speak once more.

“If you would all please repeat after me to bestow your blessings upon the bride and groom… We call upon the great spirits Tui and La to bless the marital union between Aang and Katara.”

“We call upon the great spirits Tui and La to bless the marital union between Aang and Katara.” Spoke their friends in unison.

“We ask that their ancestors watch over their life together and protect the sacred bond between them.”

Again, they repeated, though Katara noticed the glistening of her brother's eyes and their gazes locked for a moment. A moment long enough that she felt her breath catch in her throat.

“We promise to support Aang and Katara on their eternal journey together,”

Their friends repeated the shaman’s words dutifully and with genuine promise, Aang squeezing Katara’s hand as they listened, feeling how much their friends meant what they said.

“And we will bear witness as love, care, and respect strengthens the bond of their relationship.”

Surprising everyone, Sokka was silently crying as he spoke and Katara couldn’t stop it as her eyes began to fill with tears as well. She rarely saw her brother cry, and for that reason, it was as if she could feel what he was feeling. Aang noticed right away, his other hand reaching for her cheek to gently wipe away a stray tear that made it's way down her cheek.

“We bless this marriage.”

“We bless this marriage.” Finished their friends with loving smiles.

“Thank you, guys.” Aang bowed and Katara copied him as part of their rehearsed response, though she was afraid that if she tried to speak, more tears would fall, so she kept silent.

“The bridesmaids and groomsmen can now return to their seats.” Instructed the Shaman with a bow of his own. Suki gave the couple a wide smile before guiding Toph back down to their seats on the left behind Katara and Zuko went right back to his seat behind Aang, leading the way for Sokka to follow, but before her brother could go, Katara reached out in front of Aang to grab his hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t cry, Sokka.” She begged with a trembling voice.

“Don’t worry!” He choked, smiling through the tears at his little sister. “These are the happiest tears ever! You guys… you really deserve each other. Really.”

“Sokka… you don’t know how much that means to me. To us.” Katara whimpered.

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m fine.” He sniffed, squeezing her hand. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” The warrior whispered as he slipped his hand from hers, giving them both a thumbs up that the couple managed to laugh, the warrior swiftly returning to his seat.

“Are you alright?” Asked Aang softly, and Katara gave him a short nod in reply. She just grabbed his hand tighter, leaning more into his side as the Shaman cleared his throat, ready to continue with the ceremony.

“The blessings of Aang and Katara’s loved one’s have been received, and by the grace of the spirits, I recognise the promises made by Sokka, Zuko, Toph and Suki to be strong and true. Now, I ask the bride and groom to honour their love and commitment to one another through the exchange of vows. If the groom would like to proceed.” With a gesture to Aang from the older man, Aang took a slow breath in and out before turning around to face Katara, taking her other hand in his, and he found himself utterly captivated by her beauty the instant he looked at her. Dazed. She was almost glowing.

“Wow…”

The guests laughed at his dreamy sigh and so too did Katara, bushing at his flattery. A sheepish smile graced the Avatar’s lips as he addressed the crowd.

“Sorry… I just can’t believe this is happening.”

“Me neither!” Joked Toph in a manner that served to dissolve any of Aang’s leftover nerves about speaking in front of everyone thanks to the light-hearted laughter that had risen among the guests. He realised at that one, singular moment how very human this was. If everyone felt comfortable enough to laugh with his friend, then he knew without a doubt that he could do this. This was easy.

Aang cleared his throat, turning his attention back to his bride, his grey irises full of adoration as they darted between her oceanic depths. He caressed the backs of her gloved hands, trying to gather his thoughts, to order them. To remember what he was meant to say. “Katara… I…”

“You’ve got this.” She whispered only to him, and his heart fluttered, the girl of his dreams squeezing his hands in a bid to send him support. To give him strength - and, of course it, worked. From then on, the vows he learned but meant with all his heart came easy to him. He barely even had to think, now that he remembered what all of this was for. Who this was for. Katara. The love of his life.

“Katara… I promise to be your shelter, protecting you from all that threatens to do harm. I promise to love you for all that you are, no matter the circumstances we may find ourselves in… I promise to be what you need. In sickness, in health. In good times, and in bad. You will never feel coldness, for my heart will keep you warm. You will never feel lonely, for my soul is forever bound to yours. To the spirits I pray that our bond will only ever grow stronger, and that as two people in love, leading one life together, we will become the best versions of ourselves. As your husband, Katara, I ask for your trust that I will fulfil every promise I make today” Aang squeezed Katara’s hands, finally breathing easy now that he got his vow out smoothly. Though the sight of Katara smiling up at him with starry eyes made the man feel the urge to just pull her against his chest.

“I trust you, Aang.” Came her response, and Aang couldn’t help but beam… because this was it. They were so, so close now.

“And if the bride could now proceed with her vows.”

Katara tightened her grip on Aang’s hands, staring up at him as it really, truly dawned on her that this man, his eyes glittering in the golden firelight, was going to be her husband at last. The joy was written all over her face. Smiling was something held the capacity to avoid, infectious to every person that watched. She took a deep breath and let the words flow like water, too. “Aang. I promise to be your shelter, protecting you from all that threatens to do harm. I promise to love you for all that you are, no matter the circumstances we may find ourselves in. I promise to be what you need. In sickness… in health… in good times, and in bad. You will never feel coldness, for my heart will keep you warm. You will never feel lonely—“ Her voice shook, the weight of the truth in everything she was saying to him now blocking her throat and pushing up, her eyes stinging as they threatened to fill with tears.

This was more than just a wedding vow. Every single word came from the bottom of her heart. Thinking about how lonely Aang must have felt finding out about his people always played on her mind, and now, being able to promise him he would never feel loneliness like that again, made her feel a wave of relief.

Her eyes shut tight to try and fight off the urge to cry, but then she felt Aang as he leaned in, resting his forehead against hers as if to reassure her that he was there for her, too. That she herself was not alone. If she was worried about anyone other than her love, then she would have heard murmurs from the guests who watched with heavy hearts, but all that mattered to her was him. “I’m sorry—” She choked out.

“No…” he whispered. “Take your time, sweetie. It's not like i’m not going anywhere.” Aang tried to joke, and surprisingly it landed.

Katara let out the breath of a laugh despite her tears. “Yeah. Better not be.”

Aang laughed quietly with her, waiting with her, breathing with her. They could have stood like that forever, but whether they liked it or not, she had to finish her vows, so she willed herself to be strong. Katara nuzzled her nose against his once and pulled back with a sniff to continue at last (to Toph's delight - not being able to see properly was really getting in the way, though under it all, she had to say even she was moved).

“I promise that you will never feel lonely, for my soul is forever bound to yours… to the spirits, I pray that our bond will only ever grow stronger, and that as two people in love, leading one life together, we will become the best versions of ourselves. As your wife, Aang, I ask for your trust that I will fulfil every promise I make today.” The ocean of her eyes translated every emotion she felt for him and Aang knew without question that he trusted her with every fibre of his being. He always had and always will.

Aang spoke from his heart when he gave his response, sealing their vows at last. “I trust you, Katara. Always.”

A wide, toothy grin spread across Katara’s face, radiating so much joy that Aang physically felt it in his chest.

“Then I call upon Hakoda, the Head Chieftan of the Southern Watertribe and the father of the bride, to bring the ceremonial paint. Katara, if you could remove one of your gloves.”

The couple reluctantly loosened their grip on each other's hands and Katara carefully tugged off her glove. Hakoda came up to take the place of the Shaman, holding a shallow bowl of paint that automatically transported Aang back to one of the most shameful moments in his life. Though today, this paint would symbolise a memory of love and trust.

“Aang, paint the Mark of the Trusted on Katara’s forehead.”

The Avatar dipped his thumb into the navy blue paint held by Hakoda and then held Katara’s face with his free hand, carefully smearing a horizontal curved line on her forehead, giving her a sheepish smile that gave away the memory he was reminiscing on. She pursed her lips, trying not to laugh as Aang wiped the excess off of his thumb with a cloth Hakoda gave him. The two men shared a brief smile and then the attention was on Katara.

“Katara, paint the Mark of the Trusted on Aang’s forehead.”

The water bender dipped her thumb into the paint and without her having to ask, Aang leaned down the slightest to make it easier for her. She painted the mark of the trusted across the bottom of his arrow carefully and gave him a playful wink when he finished. Aang straightened up, fighting back a laugh, and after Katara cleaned the pad of her thumb, she pulled on her glove and they held hands once again, sharing this excited little look because they were almost there. Only a little more to go.

“Thank you, Chief Hakoda.” Said the officiant, sending the Head Chieftan down to his seat with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Katara smiled at her dad briefly as he went before turning her attention back to the shaman with Aang, a piece of long fabric resting in his palms. “This ceremonial marriage cloth has been used to wed water tribe men and women for hundreds of years,” he announced while wrapping the frayed-edged white cloth around Aang and Kataras joined hands three times. “Today, this cloth is used for the first time in history to join a person from the water tribe and a person from the Air Nation. Today proves that love transcends the barriers of all nations and cultures. Aang, Katara, are you prepared to begin your lives together as husband and wife?”

“We are.” The couple said confidently in unison.

“If anyone present has any reason to object to this marriage, please speak now.”

Katara and Aang briefly looked at the guests and saw nothing but smiling faces, so, relieved, they grinned back at each other, Katara practically bouncing on her feet.

“Very well. Then… with the power bestowed upon me by the spirits, I bless this union and declare you both Husband and Wife…” Katara and Aang were lost in each other, the former chomping at the bit and the latter grinning so hard his cheeks must have been burning. “I invite you to seal your promise with a—“

Katara stood on her tiptoes and crashed her lips against Aang without waiting a single second longer.

“Kiss.” The shaman finished with a laugh and the whole crowd of guests fell into laughter together. Though that laughter quickly turned into claps and cheers of celebration for the newlyweds.

“Finally!” Cheered Toph, both happy for her friends and glad the blurry ceremony was over, though Suki didn’t even have the heart to tell her off. She was too happy for her friends who were lost in one another at the altar, sealing their love like nobody was watching. It was adorable. And it was one hell of a long time coming.

“Ugh! I can’t deal with the oogies!” Exclaimed Sokka in what sounded like irritation… sort of. That is if it weren’t for the obvious way he was trying to conceal his tears. Zuko could see right through the Water Tribe warrior after years of knowing him.

Well, actually... it was the wet trails staining his cheeks that gave it away, but the Fire Lord was too stubborn to admit that.

“Are they ever gonna stop?!” Croaked the warrior even as he clapped.

“You’re one to talk, Sokka,” replied Zuko with a laugh, still clapping for his friends. “Last I remember, you and Suki ran into the reception time with that kiss.”

“Oh whatever. This is different.” He huffed, though the wet sniffs were still coming one after another and all Zuko could do was shake his head in amusement.

A few of the Water Tribe warriors suddenly began to ululate together in celebration of the union, the guests all getting to their feet as the cheers grew in volume. It truly was a beautiful night, one that would never be forgotten for those lucky enough to be a witness.

When Aang and Katara softly parted from each other, it was like the world suddenly solidified around them again and only then had they finally noticed the commotion. For a moment, as they kissed, it was only Aang and Katara in the world. Only her lips pressed against his.

A boyish look of awe passed over Aang’s face when he heard the Tribe’s celebratory calls. The way his wide eyes captured the moment endeared his wife to no end. “That’s so cool! I’ve never heard anything like it!”

“I haven’t heard it since I was a kid.” She answered him back with similar awe in her tone. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah! But… not as amazing as this.” He cheesily replied, eyes glittering as he shook his head in what seemed like disbelief. He couldn't believe it. It all felt like a dream come true. “We really did it, sweetie.” Grinned Aang, his smile infectious to Katara. Then he turned his attention to his animal companion, pure delight written all over his face. "We did it, Appa!"

The beast roared in response, Katara grinning up at him, feeling charmed by him all over again. He smiled brightly down at her, those blue orbs of hers wide and enamoured with him.

“We really did it, Aang.” She repeated wistfully. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Aang professed deeply, ready to lean into another kiss when she suddenly let go of his hands and passed the ceremonial cloth over to the shaman’s clapping hands. Initially, he was bemused at the impulsive action, but the moment she looked back up at him with mischief glistening in her eyes, sliding her hands up his chest, Aang realised there was absolutely nothing to worry about. She smirked at him deviously. “Now. Would my husband care to give me a proper kiss?”

“Oh, absolutely. Anything for my wife.” Aang grinned, reaching to hold her face in his hands and leaning in to slot his lips between hers slowly, savouring her as if they had all the time in the world. Katara hummed into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him even closer. They moved in perfect synchrony, passion and love fueling every brush of their lips. Aang's hands dropped to her waist, pulling her flush against him as they kissed like no one was watching and without a care in the world. It just felt too good to hold each other again. They poured all their love into the lip-lock, starting their journey together exactly how they meant to go on.

Not even a loud growl from Appa or Momo flying over to land on Aangs shoulder brought the couple out of their hypnotic state. As far as Aang and Katara were concerned, the reception could start without them and they’d have no complaints.

Being in each other's embrace was all that they needed.

#kataangtag #kataang #kataang fanfic #kataang wedding #fluff #Smut #atla #a:tla fanfiction #atla fanfic #fanfiction #avatar: the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #Zuko #suki #toph #hakoda #this is the sweetest thing I've ever written #got a bit carried away lmao oops

[smollucy]

So basically I'm trying to write a ATLA fanfic but if Azula defeated Ozai and became Phoenix Queen 😈😈😈

"The Phoenix Queen (A ATLA work) " by LucyTheTerrrrrrrible on Wattpad https://www.wattpad.com/story/363779365?utm_source=android&utm_medium=com.tumblr&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details_button&wp_uname=LucyTheTerrrrrrrible

#avatar the last airbender #atla #a:tla #atla azula #atla fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #wattpad #wattpad writer

[peony-pearl]

Clay in the Kiln - Chapter 2

Chapter 1

_________________

The golden dusk shone down upon the streets in radiant swathes, illuminating the cobbles as the shadows became stretched in the sunset. A large crowd was beginning to exit a dome-shaped building, loudly chattering amongst themselves. In the middle ring of the city, a play recounting the life and times of the 51st Earth King had ended.

Among the crowd, two women traveled together; one was still lost in the play.

"I could definitely watch that again tomorrow."

"Lady Haruka," her maid, Fen, said worriedly. "Come on, let's get you home. I don't like being this close to the lower ring."

"I wish I could be on stage," Haruka said dreamily.

But almost as soon as Haruka's suspension of disbelief had begun unraveling, it was altogether severed when a distant crash was heard towards the wall miles away - signs of the continued siege. Fen hadn't heard it; and neither had many others.

"Look, there's a carriage, we can be home by sundown," Fen said, not noticing the sound; but just as she turned towards her mistress, she gasped at the sight of her running down the street.

"Haruka?" Fen called. She lifted her elegant dress as she followed her mistress. In front of her, Haruka rushed further towards the sounds; further and further, all the way just past the border into the lower ring. "Haruka! You need to get back home! We shouldn't have come out this late to begin with!"

Haruka turned towards her maid, and she looked up at the clouds, which were becoming heavy with grayish purple shadows. She seemed reluctant to leave just yet.

"... Just let me do this."

"We need to go home! We're way beyond the border your parents enforced!" Fen protested, weakly pulling out a worn map that had a very clear mark as to how far Haruka was 'allowed' to travel.

Haruka searched relentlessly until she found an empty alleyway between two of the taller buildings in the neighborhood, and she chose this spot to climb.

"I won't be long; I just want to try and see."

Fen watched as Haruka loosened up before pressing her hands against the stone of one of the buildings. She looked over to the other beside it, gauging the distance. She shifted her footing before making a leap up the first building, and with a quick gesture, she was vaulted across the alley as an outcropping of stone burst out to help her jump. Her hands then sunk into the stone of where she landed, and she mirrored her first leap, several times over, hopping from wall to wall until she finally scaled to the rooftop, able to look out to the streets, which were becoming more empty as the sky was beginning to turn crimson and lavender.

She waited; listening; cupping her ears and closing her eyes, trying to block out any other sound. The wall was still so much taller than where she stood; and the outer wall was so far away; but occasionally she could hear something, like distant thunder. She was drawn to the sound. So many thoughts swirling together that didn't seem to mix with the emotions she felt.

Ultimately she asked one question.

Was Seung safe?

"Haruka!"

Haruka jumped as Fen's cry was becoming anxious. She peered down to see Fen's eyes glued towards a certain direction, her body language becoming increasingly panicked.

Haruka slid down the wall of the building with her bending and she ran towards Fen, able to see what was frightening her. A band of men approaching; each of them holding something that glinted in the early moonlight.

"Get behind me," Haruka said. Fen gasped as her mistress stepped forward to confront the group. "Gentlemen," she said with fake saccharine dripping from her words.

"Ma'am," the man at the front of the group 'greeted'. "You ladies lost?"

"Oh no," Haruka smiled. "Just visiting."

"Ahh; I see. You enjoying the sights? What's a rich girl like you got to come and look at around here? The boarded up windows? The kids begging for scraps?"

Haruka's smile waned, but she kept a calm visage; the elegance of a lady.

"My business is strictly private; my apologies."

"Oh, well excuse me, my lady. I didn't mean to interfere with your business; but I'm about to make it my business to cut that smug look off your face!"

A knife shone from the light of a nearby lantern, and Haruka acted quickly. One foot braced the ground while she stomped the other, squaring her shoulders and lunging a piece of the road square into the man's face.

He fell backward, the knife clattering to the street as he clutched his nose, screaming as blood began to pool onto the ground.

One of his buddies quickly retaliated. "Swine!" He screamed, pulling out a knife and throwing it before Haruka could dodge. It skimmed her shoulder, stinging as it split her skin. She felt warm blood ooze down her arm, but she didn't hesitate to slam her heel into the ground, and she pulled back her arms to sink the second man into the ground. With another slamming step, Haruka raised her arms, trapping the rest of the gang within two slabs of stone, sandwiching them together as they screamed.

Haruka turned, grabbing Fen. "Hold on!"

Fen gasped as Haruka's feet slid upon the road underneath her, using her powers to make a quick escape.

The houses changed shape as they traveled through the town, and Haruka's pace slowed down as they had well outrun their assailants. Within the middle ring, Haruka used the shroud of night to hide her wound as she and Fen found a carriage to take them back to the inner ring. By the time the moon was high, they'd arrived home, and Haruka paid the coachman generously.

Haruka turned to look upon her large, handsome house.

Large. Handsome.

Empty.

She heaved an empty sighed.

Haruka entered with Fen at her heels. Turning on an oil lamp, Haruka checked on her maid. "I'm sorry; I should have left when you suggested it."

Fen nodded. "I'm fine; but you're hurt."

Haruka looked at the cut on her shoulder, the once bright red blood now becoming dark burgundy, which had now stained her fine dress.

"I'm fine; it's not too deep."

Fen clicked her tongue as she led Haruka further into the house. After a wash, Fen was patching up Haruka's wound.

"What would Seung say? He'd be so worried if he knew what happened!" She chastised her mistress.

"Well; he's not going to," Haruka said, looking at Fen.

Fen bit her lip. "You know I don't divulge in business that isn't mine to tell. But I can't control what he notices, Haruka. You know as well as I do that man never skims details. This will take time to heal; how will you hide it?"

"With clothes. Seung hasn't seen further than my upper arms yet. He's a good boy," she smiled.

Fen applied the bandages with silent concern. She looked up, her worried brown eyes meeting Haruka's green, which softened as she felt Fen's worry for her.

"You're right, Fen. But I'm not abiding by that old map my parents gave you anymore."

"Haruka-"

"I'm on borrowed time." Haruka looked at her hands. "I'll be married when the Siege ends. Being engaged, I'm not solely in the care of my parents anymore, but I'm also not under Seung's thumb just yet. I finally have the time to pursue what I want."

Her parents, two middle class citizens that had discovered a hidden trove of jewels in a compartment under their home. They donated the find to the royal museum, and became upper class citizens in a matter of weeks.

Haruka went from being an independent young lady, already honing her formidable earthbending, to a being akin to a stray hair that needed to be combed into place. With the sudden influx of money, she saw so many opportunities open up to her. She'd begged her parents to let her pursue something; anything. Poetry, theater, music... please, anything!

But instead, she was told to stay home. Lest her behavior cause them to lose everything, then what chances would she have for the things she enjoyed?

She remained quiet for the hope that they would relent one day, enjoying the splendor of a maintained house, exquisite garb, and the finest education.

All within a handsome, empty home. All while they spent most of their days and nights enjoying their new wealth, leaving her in the company of her maids.

It had been fifteen years; Haruka was now twenty-five; and all of that waiting and patience had only led to one thing - her arranged engagement to Seung, who had proposed to her parents. She'd only spoken to him once before; she noticed his emerald eyes remained fixated on her - but his emerald never met her jade; instead, he glanced so intently upon the alabaster of her hands, the blush of her cheeks and the rose of her lips.

A week later she was informed of her engagement.

And was told to continue to sit pretty.

And then the siege commenced.

With her parents off on their continued fun, and her fiance on the front lines, Haruka saw a thinning window of opportunity to be who she wanted before her marriage. And she was willing to do anything to make the time count.

When she would ask herself if Seung was safe, a bitter, but triumphant, thought only she could harbor would ask her: Why care about him?

No. She had to care. If she wanted to continue to have any chance at her dreams, she had to care.

But what she would give to just be the young, independent girl living in a modest home, getting her knees scraped and laughing too loud with old friends.

She was willing to do anything to put an identity to her name.

________________

Chapter 3

#Avatar: The Last Airbender #A:TLA #A:TLA fanfiction #my writing

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

Betrayal For Love

read on AO3

~1k, Lu Ten/Original Earth Kingdom General, M-rating, Pre-Canon

Summary: Before his death, Lu Ten fell for an enemy of the Fire Nation Army: an Earth Kingdom general and the most beautiful woman there was.

#atla #avatar #avatar: the last airbender #lu ten atla #lu ten #earth kingdom #fire nation #a:tla #atla fanfic #atla fandom #avatar fandom #avatar fanfiction

[juana-the-iguana]

Just some shameless self promotion:

At first Toph was happy when she heard that Sokka and Suki broke up.

#toph #suki #sokka #a:tla #l:ok #fanfiction

[districtunrest]

talk some more about "all you have is your fire"! :)

Great title BTW!

thank you!! the full title is, all you have is your fire (and the place you need to reach)

it's my one and only a:tla fic that I have been picking away at for years. this is the potential tagline for it:

Sokka's haiku flows effortlessly, albeit dejectedly. "We found Zuko's mom / His family is so weird / I want to go home." or, Ozai directs Zuko and his friends on the search for Ursa.

so, um. I realize the concept is kinda bonkers and hard to pull off respectfully. I have no idea if someone has done it already (I don't read much avatar fic besides like, the most popular post-canon zutara stories) but if they have, please let me know so I don't have to write it, lol. but the concept just grabbed me, how it could be exploratory of dynamic characters/relationships without giving redemption where it's not due or wanted.

the story picks up right after Zuko asks Ozai where his mother is, and completely ignores the comics' answer concerning Ursa from there. the Gaang is pulled along because they're not on board with this mission setup AT ALL but Zuko is hellbent on going, as is Ozai; ergo. Aang, however, goes on his own journey. among other things, he's been having weird dreams. so has Ozai.

#wip asks #a:tla #fanfiction

[the-uncanny-dag]

Does anybody know where I can read How I Became Yours: Rise of the Agni Army? The original comic made me obsessed & I want my seconds, also MySpace images don't load for some reason

#idk what is it about ancient trashy fanfics that compels me so strongly #a:tla #avatar: the last airbender #fanfiction #webcomic #how i became yours