Hey peeps, sorry for the long wait. But here you go – an update for you now ^_^ Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please review. And thanks to everybody who reviewed the last two chapters ;)
Read, review and enjoy!
3. Revealing the Secret
"Wakey, wakey! C'mon, sleepyhead, get up!"
Katara sighed and opened her eyes, "But I'm so tired!"
"You can sleep tonight, and sleep in tomorrow! C'mon!" Zuko tried to pull her out of the bed. "I wanna marry you!"
Katara laughed, "Alright, alright!" She sat up. "I'm up."
Zuko smiled at her and kissed her quickly on the lips, "I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled. She kissed him back and then got out of the bed. "Alright, you need to disappear now. Remember, we aren't meant to see each other before the wedding!" she winked at him.
Zuko smiled, "I know. Just make sure you don't go back to sleep."
"I won't," she promised as he left. With that, she got her dress and headed for Suki's room.
"Go on! Get out of here; you're breaking tradition!" she laughed as she kicked Sokka out of the room.
"No, no, no, one more kiss, c'mon, one more –"
The Kyoshian planted the juiciest kiss Katara had ever seen on her brother's lips and Sokka smiled.
"I love you."
"I love you too, now get out!" Suki literally pushed him out of the door and shut it behind him.
"Bye!" he called. The girls listened to his footsteps fade away down the corridor before they did or said anything.
"Katara! It's today! We're getting married today!" Suki jumped up and down.
"I know! Finally!" The girls flung their arms around each other and hugged tightly. "I'm so happy!"
"Me too."
"And just think; tonight…" Katara put a hand on her belly. "Tonight, we tell them," she whispered.
Suki had tears in her eyes, "I know. This is going to be so, so wonderful!"
"I know! Now, we didn't arrange to meet here for no reason. Let's get ready for our big day!"
Suki nodded, "Alright, you brought your dress?"
"Check!" Katara held up the garment still in its box. "Have you got yours?"
"Check!" Suki indicated to the bed.
"Did you bring your hairbrush?"
"Check!" Katara held up the brush. "And you'll have yours somewhere in here."
"You bet."
There was a knock on the door.
"Password?" Suki asked, leaning up against the door.
"Happy place!" three voices rang.
Suki opened the door and Ty Lee, Mai and Toph slipped into the room, shutting the door firmly behind them. Suki locked it.
"Alright, we're all here!" Ty Lee chimed.
"Did everyone bring what they're going to wear?" Katara asked.
"Yep!"
"Sure did."
"Right here!"
The three new girls held up a bag each which Katara knew must be containing their clothes.
"Alright, we'll get dressed first," Suki decided. "No point doing makeup or hair until clothes are on or it'll all get wrecked!"
The girls all found a flat surface area in the room to empty out their bags; they all used the bed.
They sorted their dresses out from the rest of the content and double checked to make sure every part of it was in tact.
They all ditched their night gowns and sleeping clothes that were hidden under their quickly donned bathrobes and shawls. Pulling the garments over their heads, they helped each other lace up in the back and make everything fit the way it was suppose to.
Katara adjusted the bow around her waist at the same time as Suki and both girls started laughing.
"Wow, Mai that looks really nice!" Ty Lee gasped at her friend's dress.
"My mum made it," she informed the acrobat.
"Cute."
"Mai, do a cat walk!" Suki urged.
"No way!" Mai almost laughed.
"Well, at least turn around slowly for us to see," Katara asked of her.
Smiling a little, Mai slowly turned around on the spot while the other girls looked at her outfit.
It was a silky dress. It was made of a dark reddish purple material. It flowed gently with her body and draped to the ground. The top was made to gather at certain points at the front around the low-cut collar. But the dress was still modest. The sleeves came three quarters of the way down her arms and hung loosely. It was a beautiful outfit and all three girls were sure they would never get to see her wear it again.
"Oh! It's gorgeous!" Katara sighed.
"Thanks, your wedding dresses are cute too," Mai returned the comment.
"Thanks," Katara and Suki both said.
"Hey, Ty Lee, what's that you're wearing? Wow, that's pretty!" Katara pointed out the acrobat's clothes.
"Hey, thanks!" Ty Lee smiled widely as she twirled on the spot and put her hands on her hips.
Her dress was pink – no surprises there. It was a singlet-sleeve dress with a low-cut v neck. But just as Mai's dress, it was still modest. The pink material dropped to a point just below her knees and when Ty Lee twirled, the material puffed out and flew up just above her knees.
It was adorable and cute and it suited the girl perfectly.
"Toph, what do you think?" Ty Lee asked, twirling again.
"I'd give you my opinion, but I'm blind," the earthbender smiled.
"Oh… right, sorry," Ty Lee apologized.
"Don't worry. But… be honest; how do I look?"
Toph nervously showed off her clothes to the other girls.
It was a green dress. The bottom half was crimped in a pattern. At first, it looked like a singlet-top, but there were golden sleeves attached to the dress that came down to her elbows. The dress was not low cut and the skirt of it came right down to her feet.
"Toph, you look great!" Katara smiled.
"Yea, it looks gorgeous on you," Ty Lee chirped.
"You've got nothing to worry about," Mai and Suki assured her.
Toph smiled with relief, "Thanks."
The girls quickly did a very small amount of make up on each other and then their hair.
When they were finished, Mai's hair was out and only had a black ribbon with a bow being used as a headband to keep it back. Ty Lee had parted her hair into two ponytails that hung over her shoulders. Toph's black hair was loose, except for two small braids that acted like a headband and joined with a clip at the back of her head, beneath the blanket of loose hair it held back. Katara and Suki were both wearing their hair completely loose. The brown curves curled and flicked about their shoulders and back and shaped their faces.
"I think we're ready," Suki smiled.
"I think we are," Katara nodded.
The others nodded in agreement. With that, they headed down to where they were supposed to be waiting.
"Do I look alright?" Sokka asked nervously.
"Dude, you look fine!" Zuko almost laughed at the boy.
"Sokka, you really need to stop worrying," Aang sighed. "You sound like a girl."
Zuko scoffed and grinned smartly. "Alright, how do we look?" he asked, confidence in his voice.
Sokka looked the Fire Lord and the Avatar up and down and nodded with a smile, "Very classy!"
"Great… oh Sokka, I told you not to touch your ponytail!" Zuko sighed indignantly and he forced the Water Tribe boy to sit down again.
"Sorry, it just felt funny…"
"Well now it looks funny." Zuko quickly but neatly redid Sokka's ponytail. Smiling at his work, he checked his own hair.
"It looks fine, Zuko," Sokka assured him.
"Hey, how does my hair look?" Aang smirked, running a hand over his arrow tattoo.
Sokka started laughing hysterically.
"You're just lucky that you're not getting married today, kido!"
The Avatar laughed and smiled at the two husbands-to-be.
"So, how do you both feel?" he asked.
"Nervous," they both said immediately.
"And happy, of course!" Zuko quickly added.
"Oh, yea! But that goes without mention," Sokka laughed.
"Right… well, can you guys wait to marry those girls or what?!"
'No way! I wanna go marry Katara right now!" Zuko would have laughed if the statement hadn't been true.
Both older boys saw Aang's face drop for a second – only for a second! – and decided not to say anything.
There was an awkward silence in the room for a moment, before Aang spoke again.
"You're really lucky, Zuko," he mumbled.
Pity growing in his heart, the Fire Lord put a hand on Aang's shoulder, "Cheer up, buddy. Don't worry; you'll find someone!"
Aang smiled sadly.
"Yea, Aang, you shouldn't have any trouble winning a girl; you're the Avatar!"
Aang and Zuko both started laughing.
"Thanks, guys."
Zuko and Sokka smiled at Aang, "Don't mention it."
"It's not like it's the first time I've encouraged you with girls; now, just remember what I taught you when we were at Aunt Wu's village!" Sokka reminded him.
Sokka turned to examine himself in a mirror once more and Zuko leaned over to Aang.
"Uh… what did he teach you in this Aunt Wu's village?" he whispered.
Aang sighed and shook his head, "I'll tell you some other time."
The door suddenly opened, "Are you boys ready?" Hakoda and Iroh asked, sticking their heads around the corner.
"You bet!" Sokka laughed as he bounded over to his father and hugged him tightly, "You have no idea how excited I am! Or… maybe you do; you did marry Mum after all," he shrugged.
"Well, I know I've never been this excited in my whole life," Zuko commented, trying not to let loose the butterflies in his stomach.
Aang stayed silent.
"Alright, boys, I think it's about time you came down to the parlor. The wedding is going to start any moment now. The girls are already ready for you," Iroh winked at his nephew and Zuko hoped to the gods that he would be able to keep his hands off his fiancée until they were behind closed doors.
Sokka and Zuko followed the two older men out of the room.
Aang looked at himself in the mirror for a moment.
Today's the day. After this… I know I already don't have a chance with her, but after this, I'll have lost her forever. I'll have lost her to him…
Aang had to fight back the tears threatening his eyes.
Katara was happy and that was all that mattered to him. As much as it tore him apart inside to know that she wouldn't be with him, he promised himself that he would support her through this and learn to let her go.
Taking a deep breath, Aang followed his friends out of the room and ran to catch up with them.
Suki and Katara stood in an awkward silence as they waited anxiously for their queue to enter the ballroom that had been transformed into a church.
Katara's inner thoughts were of the last time she remembered this room being transformed into a church for the sake of a marriage… also the first time she remembered. It had been just a few months ago, while the summer had been young.
Now moving into autumn, she found that it wasn't quite as bright as it had been all that time ago, when Azula had been the bride who was sacrificing her freedom to give them a chance to defeat the Fire Lord. In the end, Azula had given up her life.
Katara gulped hard as she remembered that day. It had been the day Zuko had broken her heart and he had almost not been able to heal it. But he had chased her back home, just to be with her.
Her thoughts moving on, she remembered the day Zuko had shown up at the Southern Water Tribe. She had been so torn, she had wanted to die. She didn't want him back because she didn't want him to break her heart again. But in the end, he had gotten through to her and she had given in.
Katara had given herself to him that day.
And that day, although neither of them had known it, she had fallen pregnant with his baby.
Her train of thoughts moving along once again, her stomach squirmed in a mixture of delight and nervousness as she thought about what would happen that night. She was going to tell him. After two and a half months, her secret would finally be out to more than just Toph and Suki.
"Girls," a bridesmaid whispered; it was a Kyoshi Warrior. "It's time."
With that, the two brides took a deep breath and followed the precession into the church.
Standing either side of the altar were Sokka and Zuko.
As the girls stepped into the room, Sokka and the Fire Lord felt as though everything was going in slow motion. The elegant girls gracefully approached them, smiles on their faces and eyes shining with love.
Sokka gently let out a held breath and Zuko tried to relax his tense body.
After what seemed like forever, Katara was at the Fire Lord's side and Suki stood at Sokka's.
Each of the girls gave their very soon-to-be husband a look in the eye to let them know that they were ready and that they would always be there for them.
The priest stepped forward and, with a smile, he opened the wedding.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of… three families," he quickly double checked to make sure he'd calculated right. Yes, there were four people getting married; two couples. But he had to keep in mind that one from each couple was related and therefore, only equaled one family between them.
A few of the guests giggled quietly and the four up the front of the church couldn't even keep the smiles off their faces.
"Yes… um… moving on, today, as well as joining three families, we are also joining three nations. And with the uniting of three of the four nations, we can –"
Zuko wasn't even paying attention to the man in front of him; he couldn't stop staring at Katara.
So beautiful… so soft… so loving… so warm…
Sokka's case was that of the Fire Lord's; he just couldn't take his eyes off his fiancée. To him, Suki was the perfect distraction from anything.
I know you'll always be there. I know you love me. And I will never stop loving you.
She could feel his gaze set on her. She wanted to look at him too, but she had to make sure that at least one of them was listening to the priest.
Suki thought deeply of the man standing next to her.
Sokka, you're so strong. I love you so much. I know that you'll always catch me when I fall.
Katara knew that Sokka couldn't get his eyes off Suki.
She grinned to herself as she realized that Zuko wasn't acting much differently towards her. She could tell from a sidelong glance that he was entranced by her.
Zuko… I could never tell you how much I love you. It's simply something that could never be expressed in words. But you already know how much I love you; I've shown you before and you've shown me how much you love me too. You hold me tight and never let go. We can be together forever…
Forever…
Forever was a long, long time, but this was love and Katara knew it was real.
"Do you, Katara, take Zuko to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to hold, through health and sickness, till death, do you part?"
Katara only just realized that they had already come to the end of the ceremony. Taking in a deep breath and not hesitating for a second, she answered, "I do."
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zuko smiling widely at her.
"Do you, Suki, take Sokka to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to hold, through health and sickness, till death, do you part?" the priest turned to the other couple.
"I do," Suki grinned, tears of joy gleaming in her eyes.
As the priest turned back to Zuko, she realized that she had watery eyes as well.
"Do you, Zuko, take Katara to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, through health and sickness, till death, do you part?"
Zuko opened his mouth, but it took him a moment to find his voice, "I do."
He had tears in his eyes too and Katara felt something well up inside of her, wanting him to say so much more. But she knew that now wasn't the time; he'd say more, but later.
"Do you, Sokka, take Suki to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, through health and sickness, till death, do you part?" the priest once again turned to the opposite couple.
A comical grin on his face, Sokka cleared his throat and spoke directly to the girl next to him. "I do."
Suki's face lit up and she smiled widely at him.
Katara felt Zuko slip his hand into hears.
"If anyone has any objections to these couples being wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Aang fidgeted in his seat, but tried to cover it up. He noticed Mai, in the row in front of him, also fidget a little bit. He knew what she was thinking; it was exactly what was going through his mind.
Neither of them wanted to be there at that moment. Although they had promised themselves that they would learn to let go of the ones they loved, they would have given anything not to be there at that moment.
Windu bit his lip, hard.
He didn't want to have to watch this. It was tearing him apart to watch another man take Katara for his own.
Not for long; I'll get my revenge for this soon.
He smirked as he went over his plans once more in his head.
The priest smiled, "In that case, without further ado, I now pronounce you husband and wife," he turned to Zuko and Katara. "And husband and wife," he turned to Sokka and Suki. "You may now kiss."
Without a moment of hesitation, Katara flung her arms around Zuko's neck and he pressed his lips against hers.
Suki turned to Sokka and in less than a second, her soft lips were pressed gently to his. They kissed tenderly but passionately.
Zuko pulled Katara towards him and held her tight, wishing that he would never have to let go. This was the happiest moment of his life.
Sokka held Suki close to him as he remembered what his father had told him to do. He started playing with a lock of her hair, gently twirling it around one of his fingers and gently made her lean backwards slightly, keeping her up with his other hand.
When Zuko and Katara broke apart, they looked each other in the eyes.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," the waterbender smiled.
Sokka whispered to Suki while they were still lip locked, "I love you."
Suki giggled as she kissed her husband, "I love you too."
Everyone who was in the vicinity started clapping and cheering wildly; one of the guests from Kyoshi had a foaming mouth and was waving his arms around wildly.
The priest smiled happily at everyone in front of him and put his hands up to silence them.
"Now, the couples must sign the certificate, to make their marriages official!"
There were two certificates laid out on the altar, each with a brush next to them.
Zuko and Sokka went first, picking up the brushes, dipping it in the ink and writing their names neatly on the line.
With a smile, Zuko turned and passed the brush to Katara and Sokka passed his to Suki.
On the certificate that Zuko had written on, Katara imprinted her name. Suki brushed her name onto the same certificate as Sokka.
With a sigh, the girls put the brushes down; they were finally married to the one's they loved most.
Azula let another tear fall into the well as she watched the marriage.
"Don't cry, sweetie," Ursa whispered, putting a hand on the Fire Princess Spirit's shoulder, although, she wasn't sure if Azula was crying with joy from seeing her brother finally with the one he loves, or because of what was going to happen next.
By the time Zuko, Katara, Sokka and Suki had finally escaped the crowd of people who had attended their wedding, the sun was on its descent.
"Alright, Katara, I think it's time we gave the boys our wedding presents!" Suki smiled slyly.
Katara smirked, trying not to let her excitement overflow her, "Alright."
With that, Suki led Sokka away to their room and Katara took Zuko by the hand and led him to theirs.
"So, when do I get my present?" Katara asked sweetly, eyeing him gently.
"Tonight; you're going to have to be patient. But what did you get for me?" Zuko asked her, suspiciously.
Katara's insides squirmed with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
"Zuko…" she whispered as she drew up close to him. She waited a moment to build up a bit of suspense. "I'm pregnant."
The Fire Lord felt his heart freeze in his chest.
…What… did you just… say…?
Zuko looked in dumbfound shock at his new wife. When he could finally move his body again, all he could do was blink.
"Zuko?" Katara asked, panic starting to flood through her body, no… he doesn't like this…
"K-Katara… did you just say that… you're…pregnant…?" he croaked as he tired to make sure he hadn't misheard.
Katara bit her lip and nodded, her heart falling apart and tears threatening to spill.
Zuko noticed the worried look on her face and it took him a moment to respond to it. At first, all he could do was stare, dumbfound, at Katara as he tried to force the idea to settle in.
A fat tear dripped down Katara's cheek and she lowered her head.
"I should have known it wasn't what you wanted," she sobbed as she turned away.
Zuko felt the hairs on his head stand on ends and his belly did a flip-flop. He shook his head to rid himself of dumbness.
"Whoa… wait… uh… Katara…"
She was really crying and she was really crying heavily.
"Katara!" Zuko shook his shock away. "Katara! You're… I'm… we're…"
She turned her teary face to look at him. He had a smile spread across his face and tears in his eyes. But not tears of sorrow or disappointment; they were tears of joy.
"Z-Zuko?"
"Katara…" He put his hands on either side of her face so that she couldn't look away from him. She looked him right in the eye as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.
Katara smiled, "So… y-you're… happy?"
"KATARA! HOW CAN I NOT BE HAPPY?!" he shouted with glee.
Before Katara could do anything more, he pulled her towards him and pushed his lips so firmly against hers that she was sure they would never be able to pull apart again.
She closed her eyes and kissed him back, wrapping her arms tightly around him and pulling him closer.
Suddenly, Zuko lifted her up bridal style and carried her over to the bed. He lay her down on the soft blankets and slowly moved over her. Of course, it wasn't like he needed to force himself into any position; she was practically pulling him on top of her.
After what felt like an eternity, Zuko sat up and Katara let him get off her. He rolled over to lie at her side and pulled her into a hug. Her head rested just under his chin as he stroked her hair and what was exposed of her arms.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? How long have you known?" he asked her as he tickled her gently.
Katara laughed, "I've known for about a month. Or… at least… I've had an inkling about it for about a month. I only decided it was definite… with a bit of help from Suki… just a couple of days ago. I didn't tell you because… well, I wanted to make it your wedding surprise."
He smiled at her with starry eyes, holding her tighter and tighter with each second.
"Wait… didn't you and Suki get me and Sokka the same presents?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Wait… so, does that mean… Suki's…?" He gave her a look of doubt. "Pregnant?"
Katara smiled cheekily, "Yes, she is."
Zuko's face cracked into a wide smile, "Boy, is Sokka going to be pleased or what?!"
They both started laughing.
"You're joking," Sokka looked blankly at Suki.
"Nope!" she smiled, shoulders back, chin out. She was a girl with big business and she was going to present it properly and without shame. But the way Sokka was reacting to the news of her pregnancy so far wasn't what she had been hoping for.
"You're joking," he repeated for what must have been the thousandth time.
Suki slumped on the inside, but did she dare let her disappointment show to her new husband?
"No, Sokka" Her voice dropped without her meaning for it to. It made it completely obvious to Sokka that she was getting upset. "I'm not joking. I'm pregnant."
She looked at him in worry for a moment, hoping for him to do something… anything that would show her that he was happy by this news.
And her wish came true.
"Suki! This is great!" He pulled her into a hug and held her tight. "You have no idea how happy I am!"
He kissed her passionately on the lips and she returned the favour.
"You do know what else this means, right?" she asked, pulling back a bit to speak.
Sokka looked at her in confusion and shrugged.
Suki laughed softly and smiled at him, "Me and Katara had the same gifts for our new hubbies. Which means…" Suki trailed off in the hope that Sokka would be able to finish her sentence.
Sokka looked around, hoping something in their bedroom would give him the answer he needed to give Suki. He found nothing and turned back to his wife, shrugging.
Suki sighed and laughed at the same time, "Oh Sokka! It means she's pregnant too!"
Sokka's eyes grew wide immediately.
"What?! What have she and Zuko been up to then?!" he demanded to know.
But he remembered the day that Zuko had arrived at the Southern Water Tribe. He remembered what he knew had been happening in Katara's room after she had forgiven him.
"Oh… my…" He gaped, eyes wide and jaw hitting the floor.
Suki laughed, "You're not much better!" She pulled up to him and he smiled at her contently, holding her waist.
"I love you, Suki."
"I love you too."
"Alright," Zuko said after a long, comfortable silence. "I think we're going to be parents!"
"I think you're about right," Katara giggled as they sat up together.
"I also think it's time we headed down to the celebration. Dinner will be happening soon."
Katara nodded and they both got off the bed and made themselves presentable.
Katara brushed her hair to get rid of the tangles it had earned by making out with the Fire Lord. He quickly checked that both of them were wearing their clothes properly. He had to readjust the ribbon around Katara's waist to make sure it didn't look suspicious.
"I love you," she whispered, quickly pecking him on the cheek.
"I love you too," he smiled.
And they all live happily ever after. The end!
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Just kidding, alright? The end already?! As if! I think bloody well not! This is just the beginning folks. Don't go anywhere because the real action begins next chapter!
Apologies for making you all put up with the fluff and girly wedding preparation and all that talk about makeup and dresses and all that shit… but it was worth it, promise. And it won't happen again… or at least I'm not planning for it to.
So there, review and SERIOULY, I WAS ONLY KIDDING ABOUT IT BEING THE END! IT'S NOT! And seriously, review!
Oh, and JOIN TEAM ZUTARA!