A/N: Hey all! I just had one quick comment. I have gotten a lot of question/comments/concerns about my reason for picking Haru/Toph pairing (not on this site though, you have all been amazing reviewers). It is very unusual and I wanted to set the record straight a little. Just so everyone knows, if you haven't read my profile, I actually prefer Taang shipping. But in this story I could not imagine Aang every really finding a mate (as this was written before the series final shows). I felt that he would more likely follow the monks example and supposedly remain unmarried. That being said I didn't want Toph to be alone! So I gave her the next best thing. I hope that clears things up a little!

The walls of Ba Sing Se rose up before her and she abandoned her riding animal for a nice walk. The Walls were bended before her eyes and she stared at the beauty of the city. She walked with her retinue and she saw as many people stopped and watched the Water Tribe procession. Today she was not Princess Katara of the Fire Nation; she would be Princess Katara of the Arctic City. A small smile lit up her lips as the thought of it and wearing blue once more.

They proceeded to the castle where Toph was waiting eagerly for them with Haru.

"Katara!" She screamed. Katara ran to embrace her as Sokka and Haru exchanged greetings.

"Oh Toph you look so beautiful."

"Well of course I do sugar queen! It is my wedding after all!" Katara laughed at the use of her old childhood nickname. When they had met at the council there had been no time for pleasantries and Toph had not been able to come to her wedding. In fact no one had been able to make it besides her father and brother, who had left at the completion of it. She wondered if it had anything to do with their distaste for the Fire Nation or its prince.

Preparations were put into order as the wedding was only a few weeks away. The days flew by quickly as Toph demanded her attention. She needed Katara's eyes to help her pick out fabrics for her dress and other such things. Katara was only too happy to help since she had missed the chance to prepare for her own wedding. She found herself thinking of Zuko a lot more than she thought she would have been.

At night when she had nothing to do she would lay awake and dig through her trunks to find her crown. She was glad it was there. It reminded her of Zuko and his kindness and his warmth. She found herself a lot colder at night without the hot firebender beside her. She wondered if other women who married firebenders felt this way, missing the warmth of their husband's body. Other thoughts circled her head as the wedding grew closer and closer.

A day before the wedding, Katara and Toph were making some last moment preparations. Katara was deep in thought as she stared out of the window into the beautiful city of Ba Sing Se.

"What's up Sugar Queen? You've been thinking all morning." Katara jumped back into reality and turned to look at Toph whose blind eyes regarded her curiously.

"Just thinking about a lot of things." She said quietly. Toph looked around and she knew the earthbender was gauging how far everyone else was from them. They were quite alone in their little room.

"Like what? Zuko maybe?" Katara felt her heart skip a beat and she turned hastily to see if the earthbender caught it. Although Toph made no move she knew she must have.

"Yes."

"There is something different about you Katara, but I can't place it. Do you love him?"

"I don't know. All of this happened so fast. I don't know what to think anymore." Her thoughts went back to the Southern Air Temple and she remembered how it had been Toph that had come up with the idea of her marriage first. She turned to Toph suddenly intent on knowing why.

"Save your breath Sugar Queen, I know what you're going to say. You want to know why I picked you for Zuko. Logically speaking it was the best choice, you two had known each other but there was more. You may not have realized it, but I did. Aang was not going to come back for you, ever and you had fooled yourself into thinking he was. Another thing too, when we were younger I knew you and Zuko had some connection. Whether it was just physical I don't know but every time you two came close to each other it was like your hearts were having a drum marathon. When we were at the council you were too busy thinking about Aang to realize Zuko was watching you and he was definitely thinking about you. Even if you could never have come to love him, you would have been happy. He would have treated you well and I had hoped you wouldn't be so depressed anymore." Katara suddenly stood feeling the anger burning through her. She knew Toph could feel it but the earthbender did not make a move.

"How dare you! Didn't you have any consideration for my feelings? Or did you only care about how Zuko felt? I was miserable for a month because of this! Do you realize what could have happened? You put my feelings in jeopardy all so Zuko could have his queen. I thought we were friends!" Toph suddenly stood up.

"We are and trust me Katara you would have waited your whole life for Aang and at the end of it you would have realized what a miserable waste of time it was. I did you a favor! I wanted to see you happy and I knew you would never make a move unless someone pushed you into it. Face it Katara you had every right and reason to say no at the meeting, but you didn't. You made your own choice! Don't blame this on me because you can be happy with another man besides Aang. Life moves on Katara, why haven't you?" Toph stormed out of the room leaving Katara speechless.

She couldn't believe how Toph had been so angry, but she knew there was a ring of truth to those words. Aang would never have come for her and she would have wasted her whole life waiting for him. She thought back to Zuko and how kind he was to her and it made her consider if she was indeed falling in love with him.

Did Toph make the right decision for her? She had to take the night to think about it. But one thing was for sure. She was happier than she had been in years with Zuko. Would that make it worth it in the end?

She sought Toph out the next day, ashamed at how she had reacted to her best friend. Toph was waiting for her and looked up when she came in.

"Toph, I'm sorry for everything. I really was foolish to believe Aang would come for me one day and I am happy with Zuko. Seems like you've got a little match-maker streak." Toph grinned at her and lifted up her dress.

"Come here and help me put on my dress. I'm getting married today!" Katara's thoughts were suddenly forgotten in the excitement of the moment. She had so many preparations to make and she had to make sure Toph was ready.

Toph looked beautiful in her cream colored dress. It was made with soft linen and it was supported by a green sash she wore about her waist. The border of her gown was also the unmistakable design of the Earth Kingdom. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Even though she was blind she did not need any assistance walking down the aisle. Her gown was long enough to hide her bare feet which allowed her to feel the vibrations in the ground.

During the wedding she found herself looking around to see if Aang had come. He was nowhere to be found and she wondered what it was that kept him so distant from everyone. She mentally scolded herself on her distant feelings for him. She had to get over him, there was just no use pining over what could never be.

The ceremony was long and beautiful. All the nobles from all around the world wished the new couple health and happiness. Katara was pushed to the back as everyone clambered forward to seek favor with the newlyweds.

She looked around and saw her brother come up to her. He looked pleased with himself. Katara shook her head at seeing the old Sokka hidden somewhere deep beneath the warrior. On his hip he swung his famous black sword and as he swayed it moved in accordance with him.

"Wasn't it a nice wedding? I hope Haru was pleased with all the preparations." She murmured just inducing into idle talk.

"Ya, with a wife like Toph I don't know how he couldn't be please, but I would not want to be him for all the money in the world." She elbowed him for his joke about Toph. There had always been a sarcastic tension between the two and apparently that was another thing that hadn't changed.

"It's so weird, you know, looking back on when we were kids. Who would have ever thought things would have ended up this way?" Sokka snorted. She looked at him and dared him to mention something about her marriage. He just arched an eyebrow and shook his head, unwilling to argue with his sister.

"Well I just received word from dad and he would like you to come home for a bit, if your prince can bear for you to be gone that is." She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and nearly leapt into her brother's arms. She would be going home but just as quickly as her smile came it quickly faded.

"I will have to inform Zuko of my change of plans." For some reason writing a letter to Zuko informing him she would not be returning for a while was not on the top things of her fun things to do list.

"I'm sure he won't mind you being gone for a little while longer. After all he does get to see you for the rest of his life, another month won't kill him." She punched Sokka playfully and he smiled and turned whistling happily off.

Within a few days time, Katara would be going home and as reluctant as she was to leave Toph and Haru she couldn't help feeling exhilarated at seeing the ice and snow of her homeland. It was where her father and Gran-Gran were, where her people were.

It was home.

She went to her room and sighed sitting down to write her letter to Zuko. She first began to scribble asking for permission to travel home. Finally she scratched it out and grabbed another parchment. She did not need to ask for permission to go home. He was not the Fire Lord yet, he was her equal. She would go home without his permission and he would just have to deal with it.

Iroh sat patiently sipping his tea, contentedly. No matter what Zuko said tea was very relaxing to the old man. With nothing else to do but watch after his nephew, life was leisurely for the retired firebender.

Iroh was Fire Lord in name only. Zuko saw to the responsibilities of the kingdom. At one time it had kept his mind occupied from thoughts of his father and sister after the war. But now it fueled him. The deep care and effort he extended to his nation was overwhelming. Few realized the extent to which it stretched, but Iroh knew. His nephew had been born to help restore balance and he put his whole heart and effort into it.

Lately he exercised more time than usual on managing the nation. The times Zuko did show up for dinner he was quiet and contemplative and would finish his food quickly to resume his work.

In all honesty some of the work could easily be placed in the hands of an assistant or other attendant but the thoughts clouding Zuko's mind made him work harder to suppress them.

He had been anxious since the day Katara had left. But it wasn't necessarily her leaving as just her that occupied his mind. She made him happier than he had been in a long while and he had done everything possible to make her happy with the situation. He hadn't realized how just opening up to her could have changed their relationship so drastically.

"Sir, a message has arrived from Ba Sing Se." A guard stood at attention outside the doors to Zuko's study. He had just come out after working the entire day. He took the parchment in his hands and the guard disappeared. He opened the scroll as he headed towards the dining hall.

Dear Prince Zuko,

The wedding between Toph and Haru has taken place and as previously intended I would have arranged to return to the Fire Nation. However, my father has extended an invitation for me to return to the South Pole for a period of six weeks. I will have all the provisions and transportation necessary for my travels and stay, so no further possessions are required. I hope this news comes as no distress to either you or Fir Lord Iroh, but at the receiving of this letter I will have already been in route to the South Pole.

Best wishes,

Princess Katara

Zuko's eyes scanned over the contents of Katara's letter. It was very straight forward and direct, without any hint of emotional attachment. He felt his anger build up inside of him and the fringes of the paper began to burn. He had reached the dining hall and Iroh spoke up as soon as he entered.

"Nephew, have you heard from Katara." Zuko released the crisping paper on to the table and walked away angrily.

Iroh bent over and picked up the letter trying to burn out the edges so he could still read what was written. Once that was accomplished he looked at the letter and he shook his head wearily as he finished. He spoke out loud almost to himself.

"There will be no living with him until she returns."

Zuko couldn't believe the audacity of Katara to inform him of her change of plans without asking for approval first. Whether he realized it or not, his anger was not due to her straightforward declaration of her independence, but more so due to the cold appeal of the letter and what was worse, the delayed time she would be gone. The latter hurt Zuko the most. He would miss her surely but it was more than that. His mind couldn't wrap around the concept that the reason she was going to the South Pole was to stay away. It was the simple fact that the letter sounded as if she did want to return to the Fire Nation or to him.