Chapter 50

The big day finally arrived four whole months following the double proposals at the Republic City hospital. Azula's long recovery had delayed their plans somewhat, as it had taken her nearly three months to get back into shape, but everyone had been happy to wait until she recovered fully. After that, they had all returned to the Fire Nation, and the organizing effort could truly begin. As the big day inched ever closer, Katara found herself becoming increasingly anxious and nervous, and at some point she had brought it up in a conversation with Azula. Zuko's sister had confessed also being a bag of nerves, and since that day, the two girls had gone about their preparations together, supporting one another and forging a closer bond in the process.

Still, to say that the preparations had proceeded without a hitch, would be a complete understatement. On the eve of the big day a near disaster had struck when Zuko and Azula's mother arrived at the palace. Even though Azula had been warned in advance, she had still snapped upon seeing their mother, and had come close to attacking her, Zuko and Sokka having to restrain Azula. They had then brought Sokka's bride back to her quarters, while a shaken up Katara had spent the night together with an equally distraught Ursa. Getting next to no sleep was hardly the ideal preparation for what promised to be an extremely difficult and tiring day ahead of them all.

Katara felt rather sorry for Zuko and Sokka, as they had the most difficult task of them all, having to stay with Azula throughout the night and try to calm her down. Still, Katara felt proud and encouraged upon hearing that Zuko had managed to avoid outright ordering Azula to behave, or even worse, threaten her with the manacles. Across many hours of coaxing and convincing, together with Sokka they had managed to talk Azula into cooperating, and Zuko's sister had eventually agreed that it didn't matter if she still harbored hatred and distrust towards Ursa, she could set that aside to avoid ruining her marriage plans, something she had been greatly looking forward to.

Understandably, Sokka had been badly shaken upon seeing the ferocity and anger Azula displayed towards her own mother. Still, when Katara had discreetly asked him whether he was starting to have second thoughts about Azula being ready for something like marriage, Sokka had remained steadfast in his conviction that Azula needed him, especially now more than ever. Katara had never felt more proud of her brother than at that moment.

In the end, they had all somehow survived this agonizing wait for the eve of their big day. Katara and Azula had tried to have breakfast together, which was mostly them just trying to cope with their nervousness, while failing to actually eat anything, Katara also doing her best to further reassure Azula that she had nothing to fear from her mother, no insidious manipulation nor dark plots, promising that she, Zuko and Sokka would stay resolutely by her side throughout the entire experience.

By the midday, the servants had showed up to begin the painstaking process of getting two extremely fidgety and anxious young women prepared for the upcoming ceremony. At least the visit to the palace spa had helped them both calm their nerves somewhat, and many hours later, all prettied up and sealed in their elaborate wedding gowns, the two blushing brides were finally ready to be brought to the throne room where the wedding ceremony would take place.

Katara's wedding dress was not too dissimilar to her consort's robes, it simply had more of everything. She had still firmly insisted on retaining all the elements that traced her roots to the Southern Water Tribe, and furthermore, she had demanded that the veil of her wedding dress was also blue. Azula's very similar dress was more in line with the Fire Nation tradition, all bright and fiery crimson with moderate amount of gold trimming and a red veil. They both wore elaborate matching golden diadems, but while Katara's was adorned with sapphires, Azula's was lined with large rubies.

Now, as they both stood on the threshold of the throne room, waiting for the servants to usher them in, Azula slipped her hand into Katara's giving her and encouraging squeeze, smiling when Katara squeezed her back. The doors finally opened and they were paraded through the absolutely packed throne room to a large fanfare by the royal orchestra. The large hall was so full, there literally was no place for a needle to drop. The whole throne room was decorated with such splendor that the shine of it all nearly blinded Katara. The red carpets were sinking in the scattered petals of fire lilies and the aroma of the flowers together with the perfume from the packed crowd of the Fire Nation nobility created such an overpowering odor that Katara's already dizzy head was sent spinning and she seriously began to worry about not making it all the way to the pedestal and fainting along the way. Fortunately, Azula seemed to be having just as much trouble and she wisely decided to support Katara by taking her hand as they walked down the aisle.

Even with the crowds so packed, Katara could see many familiar and beloved faces in attendance. With Malina having given birth to a son two months earlier, her father was accompanied by Bato, his second in command and literally an uncle to both Katara and Sokka, both of them dressed in traditional Water Tribe warrior outfits. She could see Noren, holding Kiyi on his shoulders, and Ursa slightly behind them, making sure that Azula didn't have another one of her episodes. Uncle Iroh was there as well, beaming with pride as the two brides passed by him. Suki and Ty Lee, both dressed in garish dresses and attending as closest friends instead of bodyguards, blew kisses at them as they both walked past. And Toph had made it as well, looking radiant in her green Earth Kingdom dress, making Katara marvel at just how much she had grown over the past year, now at least an inch taller than her or Azula. The only one of their friends who was not in attendance was Aang, the Avatar responding to his wedding invitation by claiming that there was simply too much work to be done at Republic City for him to attend, a poor excuse that had left Katara feeling rather hurt.

Finally, Katara and Azula reached the pedestal and were brought up the steps to stand next to their respective grooms. Katara had to admit that Sokka cut a very dashing figure in the traditional Water Tribe ceremonial armor, together with a long flowing fur-lined blue cloak. As for Zuko... well, for Katara, he would have been the most handsome in the world even if he was wearing dirty rags, but today he truly cut a most impressive figure. The shoulders of his imposing royal robe appeared particularly spiky, and the royal insignia fastened into his top knot appeared to shine particularly bright.

Katara felt intensely relieved when the High Fire Sage eventually began the wedding ceremony, and even then, she found herself absolutely incapable of following the Fire Sage's words. She had not eaten a single morsel the entire day, feeling nauseous even thinking about food, she was feeling incredibly thirsty and overheated in this poorly ventilated hall, and the overpowering odor surrounding her were giving the poor waterbender an intense headache and making her feel like she could faint at any moment. In order to avoid such an outcome, Katara did the only thing she could think of, grabbing Zuko's hand and holding on tightly, not giving a damn whether she broke any protocol or not.

By the time the High Sage was finally done with his far too long speech, Katara saw Sokka finally lift Azula's veil, and the couple sealed their vows with a passionate kiss, making Katara's heart flutter with happiness and anticipation of her own happy moment. Soon enough, the High Sage moved towards her and Zuko, and with horror, Katara realized that the old man would once again repeat the far too long ceremonial speech that he had just tortured them with once already. Everything became a blur for Katara, and she completely lost all awareness of what was happening, only coming back to her senses when a slightly amused Zuko lifted her veil and leaned in to claim her lips in a passionate kiss to seal their union. Katara clung on to him gratefully, not just because of how passionate their kiss was, but also because by now she was having great difficulties at remaining upright, and she wanted to use the opportunity to preserve her strength by leaning against him. Still, despite the difficult ordeal, she could not deny feeling like the luckiest woman in the world, especially when the chants to the good health of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Katara reached her ears, coming loud and clear from the packed crowd of observers.

Katara had no idea whether the ceremony continued past the exchange of their vows, for later she had very little recollection of what had followed, feeling utterly dazed. She had this vague memory of Zuko escorting her away from the packed throne room, and then some time later, Katara came to and realized that she had been seated at the end of a table in one of the large guest halls of the palace, with an elaborate feast served for only the closest family and friends, as well as some select dignitaries and noblemen who were too influential to spurn. With some food and drink in her belly, and finally some air to breathe, Katara began to feel like a normal human being once again, able to take in and enjoy the feast in their honor.

Zuko sat at the end of the table next to her, with Azula and Sokka to his right. Iroh sat on the other side of Katara, with Hakoda and Bato slightly further down the aisle, Toph, Suki and Ty Lee on the opposite side of the table to Katara. Ursa, Noren and Kiyi had been seated towards the further end of the table, where Ursa would be out of the immediate line of sight from Azula, but truth be told, Zuko's sister appeared well composed, despite how mentally exhausting the day had been for them all. Azula was busy joking, trading playful jabs with Sokka, and had even tried to start a food fight, only stopping when Zuko had given her a disapproving frown.

"So, Toph," Katara began, having finished gorging on the amazing delicacies on offer. "Even you couldn't talk Aang into attending?"

"Nah, old Twinkletoes can be really stubborn when he sets his mind onto something," Toph shrugged. "I straight up told him that he was being an idiot. Usually that gets his attention, but not this time. Well, I tried."

"That's alright, Toph," Zuko told the earthbender. "But how come you came alone? The invitation said plus one, remember?" he added teasingly.

"Ha, very funny," Toph stuck her tongue out at Zuko.

"I bet it's not for the lack of suitors," Katara laughed. "Every time we see you, Toph, you have somehow become even prettier."

"Pfft, flatterer," Toph chuckled. "Yeah, the thing is, not a lot of guys can handle my unique, sunny personality. But that's alright," she waved her hand. "For now I'm more interested in other things, anyway. Obviously, I'm really glad you guys finally got hitched. And whoa, Sokka and Azula, that was a lightning blast from clear skies when I found out, but... congratulations, I guess."

"Thanks, Toph, you're the best!" Sokka cried out drunkenly at their old friend, both him and Azula going through their wine much too quickly.

"What sort of things are you up to now, Toph?" Zuko inquired.

"Eh, dad's running me ragged with all sorts of projects in Republic City," Toph shrugged. "He's got this idea that my metalbenders should become something like a police force for the United Republic capital. I'm still not sold on the idea, but I'm not sure he's going to let go of it easily."

"As long as this police is nothing like the Dai Li, it sounds like a good idea," Katara remarked.

"Well... the idea is that it wouldn't be a secret police, you know," Toph snorted. "It would be an institution that's actually accountable to people."

"I think you should do it, Toph," Zuko said encouragingly, but their earthbender friend remained silent on the topic.

"Well, I think it was a lovely and really touching ceremony," Ty Lee spoke up once the conversation had died down a little. She and Suki were both wearing matching outfits, loose robes over wide pants, in style similar to how Mai had used to dress, but their robes were in more garish colors, Ty Lee's favoring bright orange and pink, while Suki's was slightly muted Earth Kingdom green combined with the red of the Fire Nation.

"Trust me, the ceremony was incredibly painful," Zuko shuddered at the memory. "I was genuinely afraid that Katara would faint at some point."

"I was sure I would faint, yes," Katara nodded. "But we got through that painful bit, and now we can enjoy the real fun with our friends and family. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best part of the wedding."

"Well, I'm pretty sure your best part of the wedding will be when you finally manage to sneak off to your own quarters," Suki pointed out, making both Zuko and Katara blush, the new Fire Lady feeling a pleasant tingle coursing through her body at the tantalizing thoughts that Suki's words had immediately inspired.

"You're probably right, but it's a little early for that," Zuko grinned, giving Katara a highly promising wink.

"So, when are you finally going to propose to me, Suki?" Ty Lee blurted out suddenly, making Suki bite deep into her chopstick from the surprise.

"Wait, what?" she gave her girlfriend an incredulous stare. "Why is it always me who has to take the initiative? You want to get hitched, you can propose to me yourself."

"Ha! Well, maybe I will!" Ty Lee stuck out a defiant tongue at her lover.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to that then!" Suki glared back at her.

"I just think it would be really neat to be properly together," Ty Lee mused, reaching out to pour herself some more wine. "Then we could maybe adopt one of the many kids orphaned by the war. Do you have any idea how full the Caldera City orphanages still are? It's really awful!"

"Ty Lee! This isn't a conversation to have at the wedding feast table! What brought this on?" Suki chided her girlfriend, though in all honesty, to Katara it also seemed that she was looking very wistful at Ty Lee's words.

"I'm sorry... I think it was brought on by watching that ceremony," Ty Lee sniffed, wiping away a few stray tears. "Sorry, I'm getting all emotional..."

"I think the two of you definitely have something to talk about later in private," Zuko suggested with an encouraging smile.

"I could not agree more," Suki nodded, reaching out to hug the sniffling Ty Lee. "I had no idea you felt that way, love."

"I had no idea either... like I said, it was probably the ceremony," Ty Lee replied. "Anyway, let's distract ourselves... dance with me?" she asked. The royal musicians were playing soft, romantic tunes in the background, perfect for slow dancing, and with plenty of room in the hall left to be used as a dance floor, some of the guests had already made good on the opportunity, and now Ty Lee and Suki went to join them, Sokka and Azula quickly taking cue and following.

"You two should join the others on the dance floor," Iroh urged, turning to Katara. "But before you do so, let me just tell you how proud I am of you in particular, Katara."

"Umm... thank you, Uncle Iroh, but... why?" Katara blushed.

"I know Zuko was feeling miserable in the aftermath of the summit, and I could not find the right words to set his mind at ease," Iroh explained. "But what I could not achieve, you did, Katara. What I hoped would happen, has happened, and nothing could make me more proud. With your union now properly formalized, you have grown so much that you do not need my advice anymore."

"That might be so, uncle, but it doesn't mean that we don't want your advice," Zuko pointed out. "I hope that we will continue to benefit from it for many years to come."

"I could not agree more with Zuko," Katara nodded earnestly.

"Your union makes an old man very pleased," Iroh smiled broadly. "And seeing Azula so carefree and happy... I am so relieved that Ozai did not succeed in destroying you both. Now, both you and Azula can look forward to a bright future together with loving partners, to realizing your full potential and living free from the cursed shadow cast by your wretched father."

"You have played a larger part in making this happen than you might realize, uncle," Zuko smiled at him, Katara nodding along tearfully. "I would not be here today without your help, and I most certainly wouldn't have been able to help Azula."

"Maybe so, Zuko, maybe so," Iroh conceded reluctantly. "But now, go dance and be merry. This night belongs to you, children."

"Shall we, Katara?" Zuko smiled, holding out his hand for her.

"Of course, but let me just have a brief chat with my father before we do so," Katara replied.

"Perfect, I can have a talk with mother, see how she's feeling," Zuko nodded at her as they both rose and headed over to their parents.

"Hey dad... and great to see you as well, Bato," Katara greeted with a smile as she stood next to where her father and his best friend sat. "Are you enjoying yourselves?" she asked.

"Thank you, Katara, we truly are," Bato replied with a smile. "That ceremony was a bit too much for a simple Water Tribe Warrior, but this... now this is a feast I can enjoy!"

"Good to hear, Bato," Katara smiled at him, then turning to her father. "How's Malina and little Mika doing, dad?" she asked.

"They're both doing fine, Malina just gets exhausted very quickly," Hakoda replied. "But they're both looking forward to your visit. I presume those plans haven't changed?"

"No, we'll be heading to the South Pole in two months, don't you worry about that," Katara replied, eager to meet her little half-brother. Katara was very glad to see her father in a good mood, though she couldn't help but notice that occasionally he shot a worried glance at the dance floor, where Sokka held Azula close to his chest. "You must have been pretty shocked when Sokka gave you the news," she suddenly realized.

"You could say that, daughter," Hakoda shook his head in disbelief. "I'm just... a little confused, I suppose. You know it was not easy for me to accept your relationship with the Fire Lord... and he was the nice one in their family. When I learned about my son and the princess who tried to kill us far more times than her brother, and didn't really show much remorse about that at any point... I really didn't know what to think."

"Let me guess, dad... you had one of your patented talks with Sokka as well," Katara frowned.

"Uh... I might have, yes," Hakoda conceded reluctantly.

"And how did that go?" Katara asked, already knowing the answer.

"About as well as with you, daughter," her father admitted.

"And do you know why that is?" Katara pressed.

"Because I have very stubborn children?" Hakoda tried with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Very funny," Katara rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you the real reason, father. You will not be able to influence our decisions because when you left the Tribe to go to war, you trusted us to fend for ourselves even when we were frighteningly young. But now that we are fully grown, you suddenly don't trust us to know what's best for us?"

"I think she's got you there, Chief," Bato pointed out, laughing when Hakoda squirmed uncomfortably.

"Father, Sokka will be twenty one shortly, and I'm nineteen," Katara said sternly.

"And very formidable for someone who's only nineteen," Hakoda admitted with grudging respect.

"My point is that we are old enough to know what's best for ourselves, father," Katara finished. "You need to finally accept that."

"I... really need to accept that, yes," Hakoda conceded, knowing he had no more arguments to defend himself with. "You're absolutely correct, Katara. I will take your words to heart, I promise."

"Good, I ask for nothing else, dad," Katara smiled at him.

"But now scoot, my dear, I believe Zuko is getting impatient and wants to steal you away," Hakoda nodded at the Fire Lord, standing a little behind Katara and waiting patiently. "Go, enjoy your first night as a married couple. It's supposed to be very special."

"It already is," Katara smiled, allowing Zuko to take her hand and lead her over to the other dancers. They melded together easily, starting to move as one to the wistful melodies conjured by the musicians, Katara resting her head against Zuko's shoulder as they held each other tightly.

"Happy?" Zuko whispered to her.

"The happiest," she whispered back.

"I intend to make you even happier once we can sneak out and make it back to our quarters," Zuko's voice took on a teasing tone.

"I'm... looking forward to that, but it might be a little early to try and sneak off," Katara replied, even though she wanted nothing more than that. To feel him close while dancing was wonderful, certainly, but she craved an even more intimate touch, to feel his skin against hers, to rejoice in his strength as he claimed her as his, to look into his face as he finally surrendered himself to his pleasure, never before making sure that she had been adequately satisfied first... Katara wanted to experience all of it with her husband, and more, so much more.

They kept on slow dancing for a long while, often exchanging smiles with Azula, Sokka, Ty Lee and Suki as they danced past one another, fully enjoying themselves. As the others began to return to the table, Zuko and Katara also slowly came to a halt. "Shall we join the others?" Zuko asked quietly.

"Sure, but I think I first need a visit to the ladies to freshen up a little," Katara winked at him.

"Hmm, well, I should probably do something similar," he nodded as they parted.

A few minutes later, Katara emerged from the ladies' room, feeling much more refreshed, surprised when she nearly ran into Ursa, waiting for her in the hallway. "Ursa! How can I help, please don't tell me something is up with Azula?" she asked worriedly.

"No, my daughter is acting very calm and normal tonight," Ursa replied with a bittersweet smile. "I actually came to intercept you... while at the same time, Noren went after Zuko."

"Oh? What are you up to now?" Katara wondered, feeling curious.

"Merely offering you a way to escape the feast and enjoy yourselves back at your quarters," Ursa smiled softly. "Zuko is probably on his way there by now. You can join him if you wish to."

"I..." Do I wish to? Oh, you have no idea, Ursa... I'm dying to join him! "I hope the guests won't be offended?" she still had to ask.

"They would completely understand, Katara," Ursa smiled. "Now go. Make my boy the happiest young man in the Fire Nation, like only you can."

"Thank you, Ursa. You're the best mother in law a girl could hope for," Katara exclaimed gratefully, quickly embracing the older woman and then immediately setting into a run down the hallway, back towards the royal quarters.

The High Sage may have declared them to be husband and wife, but to truly feel that way, Katara knew she needed Zuko to conquer her, to claim her as his own. And she was determined to make that happen... as many times as their bodies would cooperate on this, their wedding night.

A/N: The story rating will change to M with the next chapter, reason for that being: newlyweds.