Disclaimer: The Avatar world and characters belong to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
I'm a law student and since Zuko is part of the royal family, I think he can't just accept that he is married simply because he's wearing a ring! That's why the last chapter was a bit focused on the particulars of their wedding certificate and the fire nation registries.
Now, onwards with the fluff and drama!
"Less than a few minutes, Your Highness," The old man admitted. "I sent one of my servers out to fetch them when you walked in through the door. I'd like you to know it's not personal, Your Highness, I like you both. But it'd be treason if I didn't turn you in."
"We need to go," Zuko hissed, grabbing Katara by the forearm and dragging her away. She shrugged herself out of his grip, resenting his bossy tone, but Katara matched the speed of Zuko's footsteps; she had gleaned from his conversation with the barman that they were in danger, and she understood that that was more important than her pride.
"Good luck with the marriage!" The old man called as they fled the tavern. Zuko began to move even faster, half running through the street without trying to draw any more attention to themselves.
There were several inns on the small island, which was probably why they hadn't been found and arrested last night; they'd been able to blend into the crowd of drunken people who were recently married.
Zuko explained to Katara about the names and what that meant for their covers as they tried to subtly run back to the Inn. Katara listened in stunned silence, stumbling next to him, whilst both of them continuously looked over their shoulders to see if they were being followed.
Katara had dreamed of her wedding day for years while she was growing up, using it as a distraction from the war. She had dreamed of marrying another powerful waterbender, and having a loving marriage with lots of children running around in a safe, stable, and ever-growing Southern Water Tribe.
She had never imagined a marriage like this.
Zuko and Katara rushed through the lobby of the inn, waving at the receptionist before barging up the stairs and into the room of Aang, Sokka and Toph.
"Get up!" Zuko shouted. "Guards will be here any minute! We need to go!"
"Sparky's right" Toph confirmed to the group, frowning as she pulled herself out of bed. "There are guards arriving in reception right now."
Aang and Sokka sprang up from the floor - at least, as much as hungover teenagers can spring up from the floor when adrenaline begins to shoot through their veins. Everyone turned to face the tiny window in the corner of the room.
Toph shifted into an earthbending stance, and Katara felt the room shake slightly as the earth outside the inn moved under Toph's control, crashing against the building wall at the younger girl's actions. Toph hopped up onto the window ledge and disappeared from view, using her bending to gracefully slide down her make-shift slope and step off of it with ease. Aang followed suit, using his airbending to soften his landing at the bottom of the slope. Katara followed next, halfway down the slide when Sokka started shouting.
"Let's go!" Sokka screamed as guards bustled into their room. Zuko threw a flaming arc in the direction of the guards in an attempt to keep them at bay.
Sokka grabbed Zuko as flames shot towards the guards, yanking him out of the window. Together they fell down the slide with as much finesse as a hog-monkey in a china shop. Guards appeared at the window, scanning for the group. Toph immediately bent the slide back into the ground to stop the guards from following suit.
The boys hit the end of the slide with an ungraceful thump, crashing into the group. Sokka managed to fall into Zuko, who in turn fell onto Katara, accidentally grabbing her waist and tackling her to the ground before he could balance himself. He was momentarily winded, as he had managed to turn their bodies so that his back took the impact of their fall onto the hard ground.
Katara glared daggers at him, their faces inches apart. "Let go of me!" she hissed, pushing at his chest to make him release his arms, which were protectively wrapped around around her.
Sokka helped her off the ground, and Zuko pushed himself up. As a group, they ran out of the alleyway and down a few streets before some guards spotted them, continuing the chase. Only half of the guards seemed to be firebenders, so Katara used the water from a nearby fountain to freeze the non-benders to the ground.
The remaining guards in pursuit were no match for Aang, Zuko, Katara and Toph. Aang had spent the previous night with a hood up to cover his tatoos, but now, with their covers blown, he used his air bending to push the guards even further behind them. Sokka cursed himself for leaving his space sword and boomerang back at the air temple. They kept running, keen to not stop for a proper fight in case more guards arrived.
One of the most annoying things about the entire chase was that Zuko still couldn't focus. The marriage was real. Zuko was actually married to Katara. One thought in particular kept creeping back into his head: if he became the Fire Lord, did that mean Katara would become the Fire Lady?
It was a stupid thought, of course - Katara hated Zuko and the Fire Nation, she would never willingly lead them.
The group ran for their lives, finally reaching the edge of the town and the outskirts of the island where they had hidden Appa.
"Time to go, buddy," Aang said to Appa as everyone frantically climbed onto the sky bison. "Yip yip!"
They pulled up into the sky, safely away from the danger below, and began heading back to the Western Air Temple Mountains.
Everyone sat quietly, trying to catch their breath.
"Did you guys pick up lunch?" Sokka asked hopefully.
Zuko and Katara both glared at him.
"What were we thinking!?" Zuko shouted. "We risked everything going there and letting our guard down! The fate of the world rests on Aang's shoulders - what if he'd been caught?"
"Listen, Sparky. You were just as much a part of the partying as the rest of us," Toph shot back. "I didn't see you complaining last night!"
"It was stupid and reckless!" Katara ranted, turning to Zuko to angrily point at him. "And you were the one helping buy everyone drinks last night, which makes you responsible for what happened!"
"So was Sokka!" Zuko defended, crossing his arms and scowling.
"Hey!" Sokka protested. "I'm not the one who suggested we drank whiskey." He pointed dramatically at Toph. "Where did you learn to drink like that anyway!?"
Toph shrugged. "Earth Rumble after parties."
"Guys, I think everyone's tired and feeling ill. We shouldn't fight with each other," Aang suggested.
"Sure thing, Twinkletoes, but these two are particularly snappy today," Toph stated dryly. "Why is that?"
Zuko and Katara paused, flushing red. Toph felt their hearts, which had begun to calm down once the chase was over, hammering violently in their chests again.
Katara turned to her brother. "Sokka…"
She wanted to close the small gap between them to crawl into her brother's arms. She so badly wanted to hug Sokka, and have him make her problems go away.
Katara took a deep breath, telling herself that she wasn't a little girl anymore; she couldn't wish and cry her mistakes away. That wasn't how the world worked. She had to face that she and Zuko had messed up, and she had to do that by admitting what had happened.
It was easier to admit the truth to Sokka from across the small distance; Katara wouldn't be able to handle it if he cringed away from her in rejection. Everyone waited in tense silence while Katara stared at Sokka, and then looked down at her hands in defeat.
"Me and Zuko got married," Katara admitted quietly. She looked back up at Sokka, gingerly waving her left hand at him as proof.
"What!?" Sokka's voice screeched into the sky.
