Chapter 13

The Party (finally)

Katara couldn't believe she was thinking it but she was so glad Sokka had started that food fight a couple of days ago. Since then, everyone had seemed to forget about fighting and was actually getting involved in helping with the preparations. They had wasted away a week finalizing plans on their beach party and from what Katara had heard it was sometime tonight. She felt a little put out as she noticed her brother rounding up everyone but her and having short meeting with them all. He was so busy it his party that he hardly seemed to have time for her right now and she felt almost like wasn't a part of it since no one had asked for her help or input since the original plans way back before this whole mess started. While her friends had been busy they hadn't been completely neglecting her either, each made a point to try helping Katara with her fire nation studies or attempted to offer her some wisdom that usually ended up making her look ridiculous not regal. However, they could laugh about it and so she was happy enough.

The moon was just beginning to peek through the clouds and shine down on her as she wandered the dimly lit hallways. The palace was oddly quiet even for at night. Usually someone was running around causing a ruckus now that they were all friends again. Maybe the party had started without her, maybe she was invited because they thought she was too busy for them. A sad sigh escaped her as she suddenly felt more alone than ever. She was beginning to head towards her room when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning she saw Sokka standing before her.

"Hey Katara, I've been looking for you everywhere." Sokka wore an ecstatic grin as he spoke.

"Really? I thought you were at your party." Katara said avoiding his eye.

"Well it's not much of a party without you." He grinned grabbing her hand and hauling her out of the palace with him. "Come on. You're going to love this."

The clouds had recovered the moon by the time they reached the beach and everything was pitch black.

"Uh, Sokka. I hate to burst your bubble but there's nothing out here." Katara said.

"Shh, just wait. It's going to be great." Sokka's voice sounded with anticipation.

A few minutes later, Katara heard other voices drawing closer as Sokka let go of her hand.

"Wait, where are you going?" Katara asked her brother.

"It doesn't matter. Just wait here."

"Sokka!" Katara shouted.

"Mai, where are we going? It's late and I've got a headache." Zuko's voice invaded her ears.

"Just shut up and come on, this wasn't my idea so just go with it. Now stand here." Mai said.

Katara felt another body near hers and assumed it was either Mai or Zuko.

"Hello?" She called out tentatively.

"Oh, Katara. I see you got dragged out here too." Zuko groused.
"Yep."

"So is this the part where we're brutally murdered by our scorned exes?"

"I was brought out here by my brother actually…"

"Oh, so never mind, that nixes that scenario."

"Yeah."

"FIRE BENDERS NOW!" Sokka's voice called out in the dark.

On instinct Katara ducked as flames shot out from every direction, lighting up the sky and the entire beach. Huge sand columns had been constructed probably by Toph and long sloping half tubes filled with oil blazed with life as the flames struck the oil. Torches lined the beach as well and they too now danced with flames allowing Katara to take in the silk hangings draped form column to column providing a thin veil over the beach. The moon had passed back out from behind the clouds and was now shining through the veils creating a silvery canopy. Stars were beginning to appear like fairy lights sparkling high above them. The smell of roasting food suddenly filled the night and music began to play. Katara smiled as the sound of waves lapping against the beach reached her ears and she saw the dance floor had been defined by a mote dug around it.

It was a beautiful sight to behold. Silky see through tents had been set up with tables and chairs draped in red cloth, little gold candles blazed in the center of each. Upon closer inspection, Katara would find that each candle sat on top of a small mirror that reflected the sky back up around the candles. She smiled at the beautiful decor and turned briefly to Zuko was struggling with containing a smile of his own. She wanted to laugh at his attempt at stoicism at a time like this. Everyone was dressed beautifully in their best fire nation beach party attire.

"Happy Engagement…Party…Thing" Sokka shouted from somewhere.

Katara followed the sound of his voice and dashed over to her brother to hug him.

"Sokka it's beautiful. Thank you. Thank you everyone actually." Katara beamed looking around at the mix of people before her. All of her friends were there, a large group of fire nation teens she'd never seen, and various council members that had been friendly to her.

"LET'S PARTY!" Sokka cried, grabbing Suki's hand and whirling her onto the dance floor.

"Yeah!" Ty Lee cried grabbing Haru and Toph by the hands and running towards the dance floor with them. Toph grabbed Teo's hand and dragged him, wheelchair and all towards the dance floor. If she had to go so did he.

Katara was about to ask Zuko if he wanted to dance since the party was for them but she noticed Mai standing by herself watching her friends dance and Katara didn't really see the harm in them dancing so instead she shoved Zuko over towards the fire nation girl with a grin. 'Dance with her.' She mouthed. He rolled his eyes and blushed but then seconds later he too was on the dance floor with Mai.

Katara smiled watching her friends. Everyone looked so happy and carefree. Things were finally somewhat the way they were supposed to be, at least for a moment. She was preparing to head over to the tables to select a better vantage point to watch from when a blushing Aang appeared at her side.

"Want to dance Katara?" He asked bashfully.

She shrugged. "Why not?"

She took his hand and ran off towards the dancing at the music, a jubilant smile on her face.

-

Zuko's eyes widened as he suddenly noticed Katara on the dance floor. He'd seen her laughing and smiling plenty of time but right now, with the moon light glancing off her skin, her hair flying carefree and wild through the wind, and her hands us in the air in a blissful abandon he'd never thought she was more beautiful. Her face was alive with joy and peace, her body moved in a natural sway to the beat of the drums and she was light on her feet as she moved in time with the young airbender. It was sheer ludicrous but for a moment a flash of jealousy raced through him at the thought of her with the airbender. He shook the thought away. That was madness, he wasn't interested in Katara and it wasn't like she could be with the avatar anyway. What was this silliness? Mai gave him a knowing look as she followed his gaze to Katara.

"What?" He frowned at her look.

"I didn't say a thing." Mai hummed, spinning in a graceful arch beneath his arm. She, too, was looking extraordinarily beautiful in the moon light.

"You were thinking something thought." Zuko pressed.

"Nothing of importance."

"Mai."

"Just that like it or not, you're a very possessive person Zuko. You might even like her just a little bit."

"No, I don't."

Mai's movements were slightly hypnotic as she held his gaze, saying nothing.

'I do not like Katara.'

- -

The dancing continued until Sokka announced their would be a sand sculpture competition and the judges would be Zuko, Katara, Mai and Ty Lee. Some people stayed on the dance floor but many joined the group in their expedition to a large expanse of beach where the arenas had been drawn for each person or team's creation. Those who didn't have the ability to bend were allowed to start right away on their sculptures and those who did had to wait until the judges approached them. The closest to Katara and Zuko was Aang who was looking at his sand making all sorts of faces as he thought of what he wanted to make.

"Any day now twinkle toes, some of us would like our chance thank you very much." Toph called from up the beach.

"Oh, right, sorry." Aang blushed and then drew back his hands as if preparing to direct an orchestra. After some unique arm movements Aang threw his hands up and then brought them down in a flourish. The sand rose up in a tidal wave and when it settled there was a giant Momo towering over the group.

"Check out my Momo." Aang grinned as the little lemur hopped up onto his shoulder to stare wide eyed at the enormous version of himself.

A scribe followed behind Zuko and his party taking down the scores they assigned to the sculptures. Aang got a 7 from Zuko and Mai, an 8 from Katara, and a 9 from Ty Lee who was fascinated by sandbending.

"Again, with the pets." Toph sighed, shaking her head. "Let me show you how it's really done."

Toph cracked her knuckles, spit on each palm, smacked them together and rubbed them for a moment then threw her hands up in the air and brought them down in a grand swoosh. The sand instantly parted revealing a very accurate sculpture of the fire nation palace.

"Woah!" Ty Lee cried giving it an immediate 10.

"Uh, it's nice." Aang frowned, spotting a miniature Katara and Zuko standing in the courtyard of the palace. "Those figures weren't really necessary though."

"It's an engagement party, it makes it look more like a gift." Toph smirked.

Zuko and Katara gave her creation a 9 and Mai maintained her 7s.

"Beat that Sokka." Toph challenged.

"You bet we will." Sokka gave her a wild grin as he and Suki finished slapping wet sand on their creation. Suki added some leaves for decoration and then the two stopped with a grand, "Ta da!"

"Um…what is that?" Zuko asked, trying to capture an image out of the two deformed blobbed behind the proud couple.

"What are you talking about? It's us." Sokka hollered, pulling Suki into a hugging pose that the sand was supposed to represent.

The side Suki had been working on looked somewhat male and human but Sokka's attempt at her looked just as bad at the one on Ember Island. The only improvement was that this time Sokka had added leaves for hair so that they at least knew where the head was.

Zuko coughed a quiet 6 to his scribe, Katara nodded in agreement about the 6, Mai gave them a 7 and Ty Lee thought the attempt was cute so she gave them an 8.

"Hey!" Sokka pouted. Suki pat him on the back with a smile.

"I like it, Sokka." She said, kissing him on the cheek. Forgetting his disappointment, he swooped her into a jubilant kiss.

"I'm still in the lead." Toph cheered as Haru began his sculpture. He moved in graceful sweeps until a lovely girl stood beside him. He bowed to the judges as they inspected his piece.

"Who is it?" Katara asked as she gazed at the almost familiar features.

"Um..no one." Haru blushed.

"It kind of looks like Ty Lee, doesn't it?" Mai said, cocking her head and scrutinizing her friend and then the sculpture.

"It's me!" Ty Lee blushed, a happy grin on her face.

"No, it's not." Haru said hurriedly, rapidly shaking his head.

"Don't lie. Now that Mai's mentioned it, it does look an awful lot like Ty Lee." Zuko grinned.

"It's not Ty Lee." Haru blushed, mortified by the situation.

"How cute." Katara laughed.

"I give it a perfect 10!" Ty Lee announced.

Katara gave it a 9 for the cuteness of the idea. Mai raised her vote to an 8 and Zuko matched Katara with a 9.

Some of the fire nation teens had joined in the competition and had made various things such as common fire nation animals, castles, and people they knew. The judges deliberated on each peace and finally came together as they seemed to be finished.

"That's all right?" Katara asked. No one responded, so they turned to the scribe to finish figuring the numbers. "All right, so the winner is…"

"Not so fast there, missy." King Bumi came flying in. "Eeeeeheeheehehehee. It's not over just yet. Someone's got to represent the old people here."

"Look we made a white lotus." Iroh called, proudly waving at the creation between himself and Pakku.

"Ehehehe. That's nothing. Watch this" Bumi cried. He performed a crazed little dance bending the sand of all the sculptures that had been made. He was snorting and laughing and everyone else was running from the sand storm he was creating.

"Hey! Stop, this is vandalism." Sokka cried watching his and Suki's sculpture disappear. Suki grabbed his hand and dragged in into a tent to hide form the sand as he continued shouting and waving his fists.

"BEHOLD!" Bumi finally cried with a sudden thrust of his hands all the sand settled. Everyone came peeking out of their hiding places to see what he created and gasped at the masterpiece before them. King Bumi had turned the beach into a detailed map of all four nations. Members of the white lotus blossom stood at the capitol of each nation and Aang was in the center sitting on an air ball.

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Bumi grinned at their gob smacked faces. Everyone just stared wide eyed and speechless.

"I…uh…well, there's just really no comparison, no words…" Katara stammered.

"I think King Bumi wins." Ty Lee finally whispered.

Everyone just nodded, still staring in awe.

"So what now?" Toph finally asked. She had gotten bored of the staring fasts since she couldn't see it and feeling it's creation was enough of a thrill but short lived. She had made a mental note to challenge King Bumi later now that she knew what he could do.

"I know. It's not a sand sculpture but…" Teo pulled a lever on his wheelchair and soared off into the sky. Katara stared in a amazement as the smoke released created a picture in the sky just as he had done once before. He looped and arced and seemed to be having a great time before he finally came down and made a proud gesture up at his creation.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"That's really cool looking." Haru complimented.

"Yeah, actually, it really is." Sokka grinned as he looked up at the intertwined symbols of the fire nation and the water tribes. It was an elegant display of waves coiled with fire.

"It'd be a great symbol for the peace treaty don't you think." Teo smiled. "The whole fire and water thing."

"Cool idea." Sokka agreed.

Aang said nothing as his eyes slid over to Katara who was staring up at the sky. Her eyes were sparkling and a slight smile of wonderment danced across her lips. Zuko stood near her an equally content look on his face. His shoulders drooped sadly, as the reality of the reason for this party came back to him. He'd almost been having fun, too.

"Well is it really that amazing?" Toph demanded.

"Yeah, you should see…" Teo blushed again. "Nevermind."

Haru's eyes lit up and he whispered something in Teo's ear.

"Good idea." Teo grinned as he zoomed up into the sky again. There was a chorus of ahs as he descended.

"What? What'd you draw now?" Toph demanded.

"He drew you." Sokka smiled.

"You look beautiful, Toph." Katara beamed.

Toph smiled at Teo who had settled himself beside her. She blushed feeling everyone's eyes on her.

"Thanks." She blurted out punching him in the arm.

"Aw, Toph, you're blushing." Sokka cooed.

"No, I'm not." Toph cried.

"I think you are." Sokka teased.

"Shut up!" Toph blushed more, kicking water up at him.

"WATER FIGHT!" Sokka cried, diving in and sending a huge splash at Toph. She shrieked as she was drenched and proceeded to dash into the water after him.

"Suki, I need back up." Sokka cried.

"Time to rescue my boyfriend again." Suki laughed following the other two into the water.

"No fair, Toph needs back up." Teo shouted.

"I'm going in!" Haru cried.

"Me too!" Ty Lee laughed joining in.

Katara couldn't resist pushing Zuko into the water since he was standing right beside her. He looked astonished at her daring when he resurfaced and she quickly dunked him back in before he could retaliate. Ty Lee had grabbed Mai's hand and tugged her into the water as well. Soon anyone who had been left on the beach was tugged in by someone and had joined the fray. Everyone that is, except for Aang. Katara was the first to notice he hadn't joined in and it brought a frown to her face.

"What are you waiting for Aang. Come on, the water's great." She called. He hesitated for a moment so Katara built up a wave and sent it after him. Aang couldn't stay on the sidelines feeling sorry for himself with Katara looking so cute out there giggling at his soaking form. Instead of sulking some more he drew back then ran as fast as he could towards the water and cannon balled in right next to Katara making sure she caught the full brunt of the splash that followed him.

Katara laughed and screamed as she was splashed and splashed back at the others. Zuko had yet to give up on punishing her for dragging him into this so he caught her by the waist, picked her up and lifted her high over his head then threw her back in.

Katara screamed with delightful outrage as she came back up. She swam around behind him and jumped on his back yanking backwards sending them both crashing back into the water. When they came up they were separated by others battling in the water and were momentarily distracted from their fight.

Sokka pelted Katara with water and she fought back with water whips. Pakku had decided to make things more interesting by occasionally building up huge waves that would crash over the entire party. He chuckled with Iroh, Jeong Jeong, and Piando from the beach as they watched the young ones play. Bumi was near them as well adding to the chaos by occasionally shifting the sand under everyone's feet causing them to scream and splash about to regain their footing. He laughed wildly at their reactions every time he did it.

Katara was laughing like in a carefree abandon. She was having the time of her life playing in her element with all her friends. The full moon made her feel so alive and energetic. She couldn't begin to think of ways to thank Sokka and everyone else for all of this. It was exactly what she needed to take her mind off of everything. Unfortunately, she had taken her mind off of the fight for too long and was caught completely off guard as Zuko tackled her into the waves again. They'd been so close to the edge of the water that they'd crashed down onto the beach laughing and wrestling for dominance. His wet hair dripped down onto her face and she could feel the gritty sand sticking to her back but she didn't care. He looked amazing above her like that, arms flexing as he struggled to hold her down, face determined, and hair wild. His guard weakened for a moment as he took in the sight of the beautiful girl below him. Her hair was splayed across the sand, her face was laughing, and her cheeks flushed. Her hands were gripping his biceps and she was squirming in an attempt to throw him off. She looked amazing to him right now, even covered in sand in drenched clothes. He'd lost himself in gazing at her and let out a shocked sound as her feet came into contact with his chest pushing him off, followed by her pouncing on him and pinning him to the beach.

"Ha ha ha, I win." She announced.

"That's what you think." He laughed, tugging on her arm sending her crashing back into the shallow water and soggy sand. They shrieked and laughed as they tumbled through the waves, enjoying life the way it should be.

- -

Everyone was holding back yawns and moving more sluggishly now as they'd ended the water fight. Getting the sand off of them they'd taken up various posts trying to dry themselves off. Some people had taken to eating now and others had gone back to dancing. A few were still playing in the ways.

Katara sat with Mai and Ty Lee, quietly eating and enjoying the beauty of the night. Sokka and Suki sat in a far corner cuddling and feeding each other. Toph was reclining between Haru and Teo talking about other parties they'd been too. Aang was on the beach playing with Momo and some fire nation kids.

Tonight had been a good night…or at least it was until she saw them, a group of pretty fire nation girls giggling and batting their eyelashes at Zuko who was just trying to get something to eat from the buffet tables.

"Well, they certainly aren't shameful about wanting a place at court." Mai sniffed.

"A place at court? What kind of position could they get acting flirty and stupid like that?" Katara asked.

"I suppose they think they'll become mistresses and be showered with gifts." Mai said rolling her eyes.

"What?" Katara snapped.

"Don't worry Katara, Zuzu has way too much respect for women to even entertain the thought. He's an honorable guy." Ty Lee smiled.

"Then why doesn't he just send them away." Katara growled.

"I don't know, maybe he finds them amusing." Mai shrugged.

"Well, I don't. It's insulting." Katara said, crossing her arms.

"There's nothing you can do about it really. There will be tons of women who come to court hoping to sway the Fire Lord's interest to get themselves a ruby or two. It's irritating but that's court life, and it'll probably be worse for you than most since everyone knows this is an arranged marriage that neither of you wanted." Mai explained.

"And his father was notorious for taking women, among other things." Ty Lee added.

"Well, he's not going to entertain their flirtations, not if I put a stop to it now." Katara said standing up. "I won't tolerate it in the future so I might as well make my opinion known now."

"Katara, that's…" Ty Lee sighed, because Katara had already marched over to Zuko. "That's really not a good idea."

"No, it's really not." Mai sighed.

"Should we go stop her?" Ty Lee asked.

"No, they're going to have to sort these kinds of issues out sooner or later. I just hope Zuko can contain his temper as I doubt she's just going to back down at a word from him."

"This is going to be bad isn't it."

"Probably." Mai shrugged and continued eating despite Ty Lee's worried looks.

A/N: Alright guys, I am in desperate need of assistance. I NEED YOUR HELP! I hate to just rush up to the wedding but I am pretty much out of fun-festive ideas for interesting things to happen in the month prior to the wedding. If you have any ideas, suggestions, scenes you'd like to see added, PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know. It can even be a half baked idea, my little sister and I will turn it into something. Yes, Katara needs an engagement ring, I have an idea of what it should look like but am still trying to work out a scene in which she receives it, eventually Gran-gran is going to show up, but beyond that I am looking to you for suggestions for a couple of chapters. So please, please, please, review with ideas. I will keep brainstorming but if no one comes up with anything we might just have to fast forward to the wedding and other issues which await the gaang.