Happy Zutara Week, everyone! Man, the year goes by fast.

For the last two years, all my Zutara Week entries have had a running theme in addition to the prompts. In 2014 the theme was 'alternate universe'. In 2015, the theme was 'Hitchcock movies'. This year's theme is 'weddings and proposals'. So all my entries this year will feature a different kind of marriage or proposal trope. From accidental marriage to a now or never proposal. I hope you all enjoy them and have a wonderful week buried in Zutara awesomeness.

Let's begin!

"So where are we going again?"

Katara swerved around a street lamp as Zuko's fervor in dragging her to wherever they were going almost caused her to smack into it.

"It's a surprise," Zuko said for the hundredth time. That had not been a good enough answer the first time, so she didn't know why he thought it would work now.

"Why can't you just tell me what the surprise is?" she asked. She then had to dodge a blind man standing on the curb. "At least give me a hint."

"It's something special," said Zuko. "Something you'll like."

"Oh, that helps."

"Just come on."

He wasn't really giving her a choice in the matter. Katara had stopped trying to pry his fingers off her wrist. His grip was too strong and he made it clear as he led them around another corner that he wouldn't be letting up any time soon. Wherever he was taking her, in the dead of night while everyone else was fast asleep like they should have been, had better be spectacular. If not, the first thing he'd be getting was a face full of water, following closely by a very stern talking to.

And then he could walk back alone.

It would serve him right.

"I still don't understand why we couldn't do this during the day," Katara muttered.

"It's better at night. We'll have more privacy." His steps faltered as he spoke, as if he didn't realize how that could be interpreted until the words were already out of his mouth.

Katara resisted the urge to smile, but it was hard not to. It was no secret to her that her boyfriend was handsome. Even if he wasn't the Fire Lord, she'd probably have to deal with at least a few crazies thinking they could steal him away from her. But handsome as he was, he was even more adorable, especially blushing like this.

"I thought we said we weren't ready for that," she remarked. She couldn't help it. She had to prod him at least a little.

"Th-that's not what we're doing. This is something different."

He hid his face in the shadows, as if that would help him keep up an enigmatic, mysterious air. They moved along to a more lively area. Some people did stay up this late after all. Most of them were on the curb, bunched together and singing drunkenly over a fire. They called out to Zuko and Katara like old friends. Katara feared for a moment that they'd been recognized, but then the group gave a passing beggar woman the same jovial greeting.

They moved away from the festivities. The springy string music soon faded as the crickets returned to serenade them. The woods were deeper this far out, the trees tall and lush with leaves. Waves crashed against the shore over a cliffside. The full moon shined overhead in a cloudless sky. It was invigorating to be so close to her element, more connected to it then she would be for the rest of the month. Zuko kept to the path least shaded, and Katara sighed happily in the moonlight. She squeezed Zuko's hand and the heat of his skin warmed her. If she had it her way, they'd be in bed right now, Katara in her nightclothes and Zuko bare chested, so that she could press into his muscled form and let the fire deep within him wash over her.

"We're almost there," he said. "Just a little further."

The cliff's edge was in view, jutting out of the mountainside like a gnarled finger. It didn't look sturdy enough to hold their weight, but Zuko was unconcerned as he brought them all the way to the top, just short of the narrow tip and certain death. The nearest tree was all the way behind them, and a flock of birds rested on the branches, their eyes following the couple.

"Is this it?" Katara asked. She didn't mean to sound insensitive, but it was really late and the temperature dropped significantly at this altitude.

"This is a place my mother used to bring me when we vacationed here," Zuko said. "She'd bring me here on the full moon, and she'd tell me the story of how my great great grandfather proposed to my great great grandmother right here on this cliff. She said that a den of dragons used to live nearby, and that night, all the dragons came out to fly together. My grandmother called it the most romantic night of her life, and she spent years embroidering a tapestry of the dragons to capture the moment. She died before she could finish it, but my mother's family has kept it ever since."

"That's a beautiful story," Katara said. She took Zuko by the hand, rubbing his knuckles.

"That's why I wanted to do this here," said Zuko. He took a deep breath. "Katara, you are the most incredible person I've ever known, and I know that we got off to a rough start all those years ago, and sometimes, I can't believe that you've really forgiven me for what I've done."

'It's all in the past,' she wanted to say, but she couldn't. Her throat had closed and her lungs constricted. She knew what was about to happen and it made her heart race with excitement.

"So, I wanted to do this somewhere special, even though I don't think any dragons will be coming…" Katara giggled, less at what he said and more at the way he said it. "I still want this to be a night we'll never forget."

He dug through his pocket, and what he withdrew was closed up in his fist, but for a strip of dark blue ribbon hanging out from between his thumb and index finger.

"I made this for you," he said, "because I want to be with you like this forever. I want to ask you, Katara, if you would be my-"

Two things happened at once. Zuko's hands were shaky and moist, and the betrothal necklace slipped between sweaty fingers to land on the ground. The thud was drowned out by a shrill screech right by their ears. One of the birds must have abandoned its flock and come to get a closer look at them. The shine of the necklace as it hit the ground drove it into a frenzy. It took off into the air, the smooth blue stone clasped in its talons. Zuko's jaw fell and he stood frozen long enough for the bird to gain some distance.

"Get back here!" Zuko took off in a dead run, faster than Katara ever knew he was capable of. "I worked for two weeks to carve that! You stupid bird!"

He chased it out of sight, and Katara took off after him. She caught him trying to climb a tree deep in the woods, where the bird had taken up residence on one of the tallest branches. It looked down on them, the necklace dangling from its mouth, eyes wide and red. Its head was tilted, almost like it was mocking them.

Zuko growled and summoned a fireball, but the flames were prematurely dowsed when Katara wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"He'll probably drop it," she said. "Just give him a minute."

"If he doesn't, I'm burning this tree to the ground."

Katara rolled her eyes. She moved in front of him, her hands on his chest as she stood up on tiptoes.

"Just so you know," she whispered in his ear, "my answer is yes."

His shoulders slumped and he gawked at her. His palm was open and ready for another burst of fire, and it was a good thing it was, as the bird got bored and released the necklace into the safety of Zuko's hand.

The story they'd tell their children about this night wouldn't be very romantic, and it wouldn't include any dragons, but as Zuko had hoped, it would be memorable.