A/N: Well this took a little longer if only because I kept sleeping this week instead of writing.
Disclaimer: I don't own.
There were a few secrets Katara kept hidden deep down. Not that she was ashamed of them, more that they were her's to keep and didn't really feel like sharing. Her biggest one? She hated shopping. Almost to the point of loathing it but not quite. She hadn't always known this: the South Pole didn't have shops but when she had to start shopping for things like food and thread she quickly became annoyed and started hating the whole process. It didn't help that Sokka loved it.
Now that Ursa had dragged her out shopping and kept talking about the rest of her life, Katara had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at the kind woman.
"Don't you think this is lovely?" Ursa asked holding up a deep red robe. "I think the color would look amazing on you."
"Uh, sure. Don't you think this is a bit much?"
Ursa shook her head. "Not at all dear. You're going to need a full wardrobe."
"It just seems a little much for only having to be here for three months."
Ursa lowered the robe she was hold up to Katara. "No you're not," she said calmly.
Katara put her hands on her hips. "Yes I am, you know as well as I do that Zuko and I are getting an annulment and then I'm going to go home."
Ursa rolled her eyes. "Oh Katara that's not going to happen."
"Yes it is!" Katara said as she stomped her foot. "And there's nothing you can do to stop us!"
"You and Zuko can say that all you want but in three months when it comes time to sign that piece of paper neither of you is going to want to do that and then I can plan your big wedding."
Katara stared at her current mother-in-law and tried to think of a good comeback. "I, you, well, no that's not going to happen," she finished sternly.
Ursa brushed a stray hair out of Katara's face. "I've watched you two dance around each other for the past two years. You make each other happy."
"But we were seeing other people and I'm sure Zuko has mentioned the one time-"
"Of course he has but you know that he's a huge idiot sometimes. So you can keep thinking that you're going to be gone in three months and I'll keep planning and we'll see who's right," she said with a smile. "Now let's see, you're going to need some more undergarments as well as some sleepwear. Doesn't this silk look lovely?"
Katara glared at the (admittedly nice and not Zuko's shirt) sleep attire. This whole thing just reminded her how much she hated shopping.
Katara wasn't back when the Fire Sages presented Zuko with the marriage contract. He was absolutely glad of this fact too. "You cannot call her Katara of the Frozen Southern Water Tribe!"
"Why not, My Lord?" The Head Sage asked.
"Because you refer to me as the 'Illustrious and Honorable Fire Lord Zuko, son of former Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa' and you couldn't even have been bothered to ask who Katara's parents are?" He shouted.
"I didn't think she would notice."
"You're going to rewrite this and she's going to be Master Waterbender Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, daughter of Chief Hakoda and Kya, now passed," he said in a deathly calm voice.
"Should I add princess to her title like the Northern Water Tribe?"
Zuko grit his teeth. "I don't think she'd appreciate that...and take out the part of how she's marrying into the most advanced Nation and how she's going to be saved from the cold, semi-inhabitable block of ice she grew up on."
"As you wish, Your Highness," The Head Sage said with a bow, his tone dripping with false sincerity.
After he left Zuko mumbled, "One of these days I'm going to have to figure out how to get a whole new batch of Fire Sages."
As her feet hit the familiar ground of her parent's house Toph suppressed a shudder. She was back and, while this was slightly voluntary, she wasn't thrilled.
"Miss Toph," one of the gardeners began, "and Avatar Aang. You're parents aren't expecting you."
"Yeah, I know but here Twinkletoes and I are. We were passing through and figured we should visit."
"I'm sure your parents will be thrilled," he told her.
"Thrilled isn't exactly the word I'd use but it's close enough."
She felt Aang scurry to catch up with her. "What did you mean by that?"
"Oh, well, I haven't really spoken to my parents in awhile so this will be a kind of surprise."
"You should really try writing to them," Aang replied.
"I'll get right on that after learning how to read," she said snidely.
"Right, sorry."
Toph pushed open the front doors to her house and shouted "I'm here" as loud as she could. She felt her father's strong footsteps quickly followed by her mother's light prancing.
"Toph, baby," Poppy Beifong said as she enveloped Toph in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Me too," she said (and for once didn't make a comment about her mother's choice of words).
"Avatar Aang, good to see you again too," Lao Beifong said.
"Thanks you too. Sorry to barge in like this."
"No trouble no trouble," Lao reassured the slightly blushing Avatar.
"We're kind of tired so can we catch up at dinner?" Toph asked. This was the truth, at least in her case as she'd spent the night plotting rather than sleeping.
"Of course, I'll have the butler show you to your rooms," Poppy said as she finally let her daughter go.
"Er, Mom, I haven't been home in over a year, isn't my room kind of dirty?"
"Not at all, I keep it ready just in case you come home," Poppy said. Toph didn't know how to respond her her mother's words.
Dinner was how Toph remembered it. There were requests for people to blow on her food until she screamed she could do it herself. Somethings apparently never changed. Even if you did invent metalbending and helped take down an entire fleet of airships with super charged firebenders bent on burning down everything in sight.
But Toph had already put her plan into motion. She'd made a decoy cup last night. The real one was safely hidden in her bag in her room while the fake one was currently in front her her with tea in it. She waited and listened. Soon her father had Aang talking about all the different trade trends he could think of (which was a lot of Aang trying to figure out what that was). She quickly took an exaggerated sip, so much so that her mother noticed with a huff. Toph then carefully put the cup on the table and used her bending to switch her's and Aang's cup.
Then it happened. Aang drank from the cup and as if on cue Poppy exclaimed "you took a sip from Toph's cup!"
Aang looked down at the offending piece of chin and spit out the remaining liquid in his mouth. "Toph why were you using this cup?!"
She played dumb. "What's so special about it?"
"It's the Foggy Swamp marriage cup!"
"Monkeyfeathers! I just asked for it to be cleaned!" Which was true, but she also knew that she had said she was fond of the item so that it would be placed in front of her for dinner.
"Toph what does the Avatar mean by 'marriage cup?'" Her ever proper father asked.
"Well, see, if you drink from the cup and then a boy does after you you're married according to the traditions of the Foggy Swamp. We got it because our friends accidentally did it and now that we know how to correct it we just have to wait for the full moon to drink out of it to be unmarried."
"Do you have to?" Her mother blurted out as her father said "what friends?"
Toph let her mother's comment slide and replied "Zuko and Katara."
"The Fire Lord? Toph you never mentioned you were also friends with the Fire Lord," her father chided. She could almost hear the thoughts in his head.
"That's not really important Dad but yes-"
"You two should stay awhile," Poppy chimed in. "I'm sure we can catch up and maybe you can rethink this whole marriage thing."
"Really Mrs. Beifong, we should probably get going and let our friends know about this, not to mention do it ourselves," Aang pleaded.
"Nonsense," Lao said. "You two should stay for at least a few days. To think my daughter is now married to the Avatar and friends with the Fire Lord."
The sound of Aang's head hitting the table made Toph smile.
"Your mother is crazy!" Katara accused when Zuko finally stumbled into his bedroom. It took a moment for his brain to process 'Katara in his room' and then, once remembering the night before accepting it, processing 'Katara in his room in a rather short dress thing that was red' with the conclusion that he really, really liked her in that.
"Sorry what?" He asked.
"She thinks we're not going to get an annulment thing because she thinks neither of us is going to want to sign it in three months and that we're secretly in love or something and it all makes about as much sense as trying to make snow stop falling!" She paced as she ranted and Zuko definitely noticed how the garment rode up a little as she walked.
"Yes, entirely crazy," he mumbled as he took out his topknot and shock his hair out.
She stopped pacing and glared at him. "Don't tell me you are secretly in love with them," she accused.
He rolled his eyes. "That's just stupid."
She nodded. "Of course. And I'm not secretly in love with you, by the way."
"Good then it won't be hard for either of us to sign the paper in three months."
"Not at all."
"I'm glad we agree. I'm going to go change and then tell you about the first draft of our marriage contract."
"Was the word ice used?"
"No, but close."
"Maybe we can let them pretend we want to stay married, just for a little."
Zuko sighed. "That would just fuel my mother's and uncle's suspicions."
"You're no fun."
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