Thank you for all the positive comments, everyone! They're really encouraging. :)
2: Momentous
Don't panic! Seriously, don't panic. It's gonna be fine. Do that fancy yoga breathing you always try and make me do when I'm freaking out about something. Go like this: breathe iiiiiiiiiiiiiin… breathe ooooooooout. Breathe iiiin… and then breathe out. In… and out. In… and… out…
Wow this stuff really is relaxing. I drooled. Check it out!
Hey! Stop it! No droolbending on your wedding day! It's not bridal!
Okay, so you're still panicking. Guess I shouldn't have said bridal? Whoa I said it again! My fault. Totally my fault. I guess it's kind of natural that you're freaking out a little and I am completely not helping here. From now on, words like bride, bridal, groom, wedding, marriage, and lifetime commitment are forbidden. I'm not even going to mention writing your own vows.
Huh! I didn't know "turning green" was a real thing.
So what, who cares if this is the most important wedding in history? You two are great together. What's a little international scrutiny when you and Zuko can go ninja and give stealth wedgies to anyone who tries something funny? The whole world might be watching, but it's watching with healthy respect and fear.
Yeah, you know what this occasion calls for? Shots. Definitely shots. Didn't Toph give you one of those bottles of baijiu her family makes? Wait, nevermind. Found it. Let me get some glasses. You sit down and breathe into this bag for a while. There we go. Two tall cups of "calm down you're only getting married to the grumpiest dude in the world, it's not a big deal, just relax already." We'll take it together. For solidarity.
Ready? On three. One! Two! Three!
EEYOW! This schist's incredible! You've gotta hand it to the Bei Fongs. They don't take gneiss flavor for granite!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha, granite. I kill me. Hey, put that pillow down!
Here, give me your cup. That should be enough to take the edge off. What? No! I've seen you pass out after one mai tai! Aang could drink you under the table! Because I say so! Because I'm your big brother and you're my baby sister and if you fall down drunk in the middle of your vows I'll never forgive myself! And neither would you!
See? Logic. Let me drink for you. This way, you get distracted from your jitters by watching me get super drunk, and I feel better about this whole "you marrying Zuko thing."
Why? It's weird! He's like, my best friend! When we hang out we give each other bro hugs and talk about manly stuff like hunting and shopping and old girlfriends. And you're my sister, so we can't talk about you like men, because that's just super weird. I mean, it's not like you can talk to Suki about me, right?
Right?
Right, Katara!
I need another drink.
Okay, okay, I won't. Ugh. But only because it's your special day and you're a very special lady.
…you really are special, you know. You're smart and tough and super nice when you're not yelling and bossing people around.
Hey, that's a compliment! I've never met anyone else who was so good at putting herself in charge! You take care of everyone. It's just something you do. Even when we were kids you took care of me. When I think about that sometimes it honestly blows me away. I was the older one. It should have been me taking care of you, not building that flimsy watchtower and "protecting" the village. Just because it wasn't manly to make stewed seal jerky doesn't mean I shouldn't have tried. I could have at least swept the igloo every once in a while.
But I didn't. You did. You took care of all of us. Me and Dad, then Aang and Toph and everyone. I don't know if I ever thanked you for it.
Don't cry! You're going to make me cry! If we're both crying they're going to think we were cutting a bunch of onions before the wedding and they'll think that it's some kind of quaint Water Tribe thing and I'll have to spend all night explaining that we don't cut onions before weddings we just get all sappy and feelings-y. I don't want to have to explain that to everyone! I want to get drunk and dance and eat a whole goat-buffalo! Plus if I'm stuck telling the Marquis of Fireflakes about Water Tribe wedding customs I'm never going to get a chance to compare my new sword to Piandao's!
HA! I saw that. You smiled. I made you smile. Success: Sokka style. Krackapow!
All right. You've convinced me. One more drink.
Raise your glass. Come on, it'll be fun. I'm gonna make a toast. Trust me, you won't regret this.
Ahem. Here's to my bossy sister and my grumpy friend: I don't know how it works, but when they're together, she's less bossy and he's less grumpy. They keep each other in line, they don't let each other face their problems alone, and they even laugh sometimes. For Zuko, that's a real triumph. The guy never thought he'd be happy. Then my sister came along and proved him wrong.
She tends to do that.
Ready…
...set…
...drink!
