Chapter 20

Wedding Plans

Katara was tired. Since Gran-gran's arrival life was a whirlwind of activities the few spare moments she had taken in the past to enjoy with her friends were long gone. She woke up, she ate, she went to lesson, she had lunch, she was kidnapped by Gran-gran, and the ending alternated between her passing out at the end of her interrogation or her snagging some dinner and then passing out. Gran-gran was on a mission and no one was to stand in her way. Katara had been dragged all around the city looking for a conductor who knew both Fire Nation and Water Tribe ballads. Sokka had been dragged into the planning after Gran-gran heard about his beach party. Since the wedding would be outside she had liked his idea of the transparent silk hanging from columns across the sky. She decided it would be especially beautiful to have the wedding at night. Katara's father had been entirely too battered from his last tongue lashing from Gran-gran to argue.

Some of the fire nation wasn't very happy that the wedding wouldn't be held under the rising sun but Gran-gran had silenced them all with the fact that if her granddaughter had to adhere to all their other traditions for the rest of her life they could suck it up and let her get married under the full moon. Katara wasn't quite sure the details of that battle but she was sure Gran-gran hadn't spared anyone her ire over the situation. There were still some noble fire nation men who flinched when Gran-gran turned her steely blue gaze on them. She wasn't here to compromise, she was here to make her granddaughter's wedding a memorable and enjoyable event.

Rare flowers were being imported in from the North Pole to be added to the chapel garden. This too had caused some issues as the flowers were struggling to survive in the completely opposite climate of the fire nation. Gran-gran had narrowed her eyes at the gardeners and told them to figure it out. It was her goal to make everything a nice blend of cultures and that included the atmosphere. Katara had peaked into the garden where the ceremony would be held and she could already see they'd begun working on it. They'd return it to its usual state afterwards but for now it was to be a wedding haven. There were smooth pillars that had been raised up by some earth benders. The process of draping silk from them had already been started and they were beginning to twine the flowers around the columns.

Katara had gazed at the space between the columns trying to picture the ice sculptures and bowls of raging flames that were alternate in the windows the columns created. That too was Gran-gran's idea only no one had quite figured out how the ice sculptures were going to be kept from melting. Katara assumed Pakku would probably ask some water benders from his tribe to keep an eye on them during the wedding and some fire benders would tend to the flames to keep them from raging to wild and free.

She could see where the velvet aisle way would be that she was to walk up because there had been trenches dug on either side of where the velvet would lay. Eventually someone would fill the trenches with water and then light a line of oil in a single line down both trenches to make the water appear as if it were burning. Gran-gran said it would have a beautiful effect.

Before leaving, every time Katara would gaze at the chapel's gazebo where she would exchange her vows. Eventually it would be lined with flowers and silk. There were tall vases in the grass on either side of the stairway that she would come up that would eventually hold a mix of fire lilies and water lilies. If nothing else it all sounded extremely beautiful to Katara but it was exhausting getting it all prepared.

Tonight's planning would cover dessert. Gran-gran had consulted with Iroh over the banquet food, drinks, and minor deserts but Gran-gran wanted Katara and Zuko to decide on personal favorite desserts.

Katara was leaning back against the couch trying not to look as bored and agitated as she felt. She and Gran-gran were waiting for Zuko with the what was supposed to be the Fire Nation's best baker looking nervously at Gran-gran. Katara wanted to throw something at Zuko when he finally strolled in not looking particularly sorry that he was late. He apologized to Gran-gran but it did nothing for Katara's mood. She wanted to go to bed.

"Well good, you're finally here. I was beginning to think I'd see my grave before you showed up." Was Gran-gran's brisk response to his apology.

Zuko just slid into the seat next to Katara looking rather tired himself. She immediately felt bad for him. He was probably just as tired as she was having sat through meetings all day being hounded about the problems of his nation and the other two remaining ones. He was currently being held responsible for the well being of three nations just because his father had been a power hungry war monger.

"Well now that you're here, I've asked around and have come to the conclusion that everyone likes cake. So you'll have a cake made to your liking as a representation of your blending cultures during the dinner."

"Why do we want to be represented by cake?" Zuko asked.

"Because it says you played a part in some aspect of the wedding planning." Gran-gran snapped at him.

"Right." He mumbled sinking down in his seat.

"Now tell me children, what is your favorite kind of cake?" Gran-gran asked.

"Chocolate." Katara and Zuko said simultaneously.

"Looks like we have something in common after all." Zuko muttered.

"Right." Gran-gran said turning to the baker. "Make the main cake chocolate, but we'll also need a lemon cake for us elderly people, a white cake for the children, perhaps a red velvet for the picky ones, and a marble cake just in case there's someone out there who doesn't like the others."

"What about the people who don't like cake?" Katara asked.

"There will be other desserts Katara but you're right they probably won't feel very special not getting a special order dessert. Excellent first step to thinking about the people." Gran-gran congratulated.

"Yes, thank Kami or we'd of had a dessert emergency." Zuko said, rolling his eyes. Katara hit him in the stomach as he chuckled to himself.

"We do marzipan sculptures as well." The baker offered.

"Excellent." Gran-gran replied. "We want five done. One for each of the four nations' symbols and one of the fire nation and water nation symbols combined."

The baker scrawled down notes.

"Now back to the cakes." Gran-gran said. "He's brought along some drawings of cakes they've done in the past, you'll need to decide what you want the cakes to look like. There's five of them so make sure they're all different and keep in mind that your chocolate one will be the biggest."

Katara nodded and Zuko just sighed as he looked down at the drawing before him.

"Well, first off just surprise us with the chocolate cake." Katara said after she and Zuko, well more her than Zuko, briefly discussed the cakes. "We think the red velvet one should have several tiers and a fountain of wine coming up out of it. The white cake one should, if at all possible, be shaped like the palace, The lemon one can just be your basic wedding cake and the marble cake should look like the chapel gazebo."

"Wonderful choices." Gran-gran beamed as the baker wrote it all down.

She and the baker went off talking leaving Katara and Zuko alone. Perhaps it was the delirium of exhaustion but neither thought as they just stretched out and collapsed on the soft cushy couch they'd been sharing. Because Zuko had dropped first he had claimed the back of the couch and Katara was more so on than off but falling off the couch wasn't exactly eliminated from the list of concerns that should be on her mind. Not caring for the moment that it was Zuko, she turned on her side and lay closer to him, with her head on his shoulder.

He looked down at her and opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

"Shut up. I'm tired and if I go back to my room I'm sure someone will come find me to bother me about something else so I'm staying here hoping they'll forget about me for a moment." She said.

"My feelings exactly." Zuko grinned, relaxing back. If she didn't mind sharing the couch for a moment. He was too tired to even bother venturing to the recesses of his mind which stored all the questions about his developing feelings for her. He was comfortable right now with her laying there and he didn't feel like picking a fight or making it awkward. Instead he closed his eyes and laid his head back.

"You're ridiculously warm, did you know that? Are you feeling alright?" Katara asked, sitting up for a moment. She wasn't opposed to the heat since she was normally very cool due to being a water bender but usually being that warm meant you were sick.

"I'm fine, Katara. I'm a firebender. I'm always warm." He smirked.

"Oh, right, dumb question." She was silent for a moment and then asked, "Are you doing that on purpose then?"

"Doing what?"

"Being warm."

"Do you have a problem with my body temperature?" He asked, blinking his eyes open at her.

"No, it's rather comfortable actually." She blushed. "I was just curious about the whole firebending things that aren't fire, like one of my bathing attendants can heat the bath just by sticking her hand in it. I was wondering if you're just always hot like that or if you were making yourself hot."

"I am purposely regulating my body heat to this temperature. It's the temperature I'm most comfortable at."

"Oh, well that's nice to know. That must really come in handy when you travel."

"It does." He yawned.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you were trying to take a nap."

"It's fine." He murmured as he closed his eyes again and shifted a bit to get more comfortable.

She lay beside him for a moment, head propped up on her arm, studying his face. He looked very peaceful right now. His face was softened from its usual empty mask or scowl if he was annoyed. The deep v-neck of his shirt exposed some of his chest as it rose and fell in a steady pattern. She glanced at his face to make sure he wasn't staring at her and then she tentatively brought her hand up to his chest and let it rest lightly over his heart. She was entranced by the warmth that flooded her skin from the contact with him and the strong steady beat of his heart. She didn't know why but she liked the feel of it, the soothing pace was comforting. She removed her hand and pressed her ear to his heart next. She smiled to herself feeling warm and safe listening to the beat.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his arms move.

"Relax." He chuckled, as he wrapped his arms loosely around her. "It's more comfortable this way."

She looked up at his face to see he hadn't opened his eyes when he spoke. He'd just turned his head to the side and gone back to looking at peace. She bit her lip. Shouldn't this be more awkward? Shouldn't it feel wrong, weird, and in no way comfortable? But somehow it was comfortable, somehow she felt like she just fit here, perfectly. She puzzled over it for a moment and let her finger tips trace the curve of the bicep currently before her. It should be wrong but it felt oddly right and she was getting nowhere questioning it so why not just go to sleep and worry about it later. A large part of her liked that idea. She sighed as she snuggled in against his chest and stopped fighting it in her head. She was going to have to get used to being with him at some point, why not start now?

- -

Katara awoke some time later, still in his arms. They had shifted some in their sleep and were now both laying on their sides facing each other. She was surprised she hadn't fallen of the couch in her sleep. He was still knocked out, so she took the opportunity to survey his face again. Sitting up on one arm she gazed down at him. He looked so handsome to her, even with the scar. She let her fingers venture up to his face and brush his bangs back before tracing the edges of the scar with her finger tips. She traced up to the side of his face and then trailed her fingers over his jaw line. He had a strong defined jaw line and Katara found she liked that about him. A part of her brain whispered to kiss him and she drew her hand sharply back as if burned. Where had that thought come from? These sudden voices were really starting to make her crazy. If she started listening to the crazy things running around her head she might begin to think she had crush on him or something and that was just ridiculous, right?

Her gaze fell on his lips and her mind instantly flashed back to their first kiss. She blushed at the memory of how much she'd enjoyed that and how embarrassed she was afterwards. Was it really that ridiculous to want to kiss him again? If she did it now, it'd be more on her terms. She narrowed her eyes surveying his face again to be certain he was sleeping. His breathing was still slow and deep and his lashes only gently fluttered against his pale cheeks. She decided to be brave and slowly leaned down, closing her eyes, and then gently brushed her lips against his. She sat back for a moment, eyes closed, mulling over the feel of him. His lips were soft and warm and she felt gooey and warm now as she thought about kissing him in the future. She could steal kisses from him at breakfast and when they were in the courtyard. He'd kiss her before they went to sleep and she could snuggle up against him as she had earlier today.

She hugged herself feeling warm and happy at the dream marriage she'd cooked up in her head. In a perfect world where they had no other concerns maybe they could make this work. But this wasn't a perfect world and he'd be busy with work and would probably be missing Mai. After all, they had been in love and Mai probably knew so much more than she did about relationships and being pretty and elegant all the time. She probably knew how to hold Zuko's interest and would know when to fight and when to be submissive. Unlike Mai, Katara would have to blunder through the months until she found her fit in Zuko's life. It would probably be difficult but it was getting harder and harder to deny that a part of her wanted to be here with him, like this.

A/N: I discovered the most amazingly sweet fanfiction today. It's called 'Warmth' and it definitely inspired the ending of this chapter (It's in my favorites if you want to read it). So I apologize to those of you out there who were looking for more torrid love affair kisses. We're getting there, I promise.