The sun rose over the islands, as the majority of the wedding party huddled together by a repurposed Fire Nation warship. Or maybe it was just a new vessel. Aang could never tell the fire nation ships apart, save the ones that were made of metal instead of wood. He could spot some of the differences right away, regardless of if the ship was repurposed from war or created entirely for peace. The edges of the ship were gilded with gold, or at least a very shiny copper. Strings of fire lilies hung from the mast, creating a canopy of red over the boat. Zuko and Mai held hands on the stern as they stared out to the small crowd.
Next to Aang, Sokka and Suki held hands (and a baby). "Hey! King Sparky! Are you going to give a speech or something, or can we just come on up? Suki and I need to set baby Aang down before he wakes up!"
Suki elbowed Sokka in the ribs, and turned to whisper to him. Aang caught a "-yelling is gonna do that instead" before Sokka had the decency to look a little ashamed. Mai cracked a rare smile and waved the entire group inside. The whole party started to walk up the ramp. Suki and Sokka and their baby, with Katara trailing behind. Seeing her, Aang decided to be the last one to board. Iroh, laughing and joking with Mai's parents and brother, took the lead and tottered up the ramp. Aang looked around and met Ty Lee's eyes as she searched for someone, probably the same person Aang was looking for.
Toph let out a loud yawn and gently leaned onto Aang's back. Whether it was to urge him to move forwards or if she simply found a nice place to rest, Aang couldn't tell. Regardless, he didn't budge. He knew that Azula wanted to be part of this entire thing, so he had to wait. He needed to wait.
He turned to Ty Lee again, this time on purpose, and made sure that she could see what he was thinking. Luckily, she had always been very intuitive.
He raised his eyebrow, in an unmistakable question. She told you she would be here too, didn't she?
Ty Lee let out a small embarrassed smile. Not out loud, but I was hoping. But if she told you, then she's definitely going to be here.
Aang bit the inside of his lips in thought. Maybe she changed her mind? If she didn't feel up to it?
Her eyes narrowed a little. Is it rude if we go without her? Is it rude if we just assume she's going to be here and wait for her?
Aang tilted his head at her. She seemed like she was looking forward to it yesterday? Is there some place she could be hiding out in that you could find her?
Her eyes rolled at him conspiratorially. If she really were hiding somewhere in order to not be here, I wouldn't be able to drag her here.
Toph started to gently raise her head and lightly slam it into his back. Can we go in yet, or are we waiting out here in the heat forever?
A dryly sardonic voice came from above. "Are you two going to stand out here all day? Or are you simply hoping that the dragons will come to you? It could happen, you should try it out."
Ty Lee let out a squeal and made her way to the top of the ship, grabbing onto the juttings and railings of the ship and flipping her way between the floors before finally landing on top of a very uncomfortable Azula. While squirming and trying to extricate herself from a very affectionate Ty Lee, she toppled over out of eyesight, accompanied by crashes and even louder squeals. Aang took his cue and walked forwards, fulfilling his desire to be the last one onboard.
Toph, having fallen asleep, gently fell onto the ground.
The ship was much too large for all of them. Even with the crew and support staff, the ship felt a little empty. Lights flickered around empty corridors, and as a result, everyone huddled into a small room in the front. Aang couldn't imagine this having been their plan, but Zuko and Mai looked more pleased than he had ever seen them. Zuko sat on a tasseled pillow, chatting with Mai's parent's while holding Tom-Tom, Mai's brother, with one arm. Mai silently played a one-armed game of Pai Sho with Iroh.
Aang spotted Katara out of the corner of his eye, then snapped his head to the other direction. Ty Lee was talking Azula's head off while Azula and Toph traded tired looks. Both of them looked pleased though. It would be nice, Aang thought, to join a pile like that, listening to Ty Lee's voice while just existing. He started to make his way over before being called by another voice.
"Hey! Aang! We saved you a seat!" Sokka called over to him, and Aang jolted from his thoughts. His voice was much too cheery as he answered back.
"Of course!"
It surprised Aang how much of a conversation he could get through without acknowledging a third of the people he was talking to. A quarter, if the baby which had been shoved into his lap counted. Whenever he had to turn his head away from Sokka to look to his left, he kept his eyes glazed and his face reactionless. Suki and Sokka would talk with him, and he would talk back. Suki and Sokka would talk to Katara and she would talk back. Plus, the baby was sleeping and no trouble at all. Aang figured he only had to spend a bit more time and then he could go off to . . . just not be there.
Sokka and Suki had very efficiently made the transition into new parents. They were great at telling stories about their baby which Aang was confident no one else would be interested in.
"And little Aangy just learned the coolest new thing! It all happened a couple of weeks ago! It. Was. Amazing! We were just listening along to our favourite song-"
Sokka cut in. "-her favourite song-"
"- and he started doing the cutest thing! I can't believe how smart he is! I know they say all mothers think this, but I know he's more developed than the other babies his age!"
Aang was usually content to just ignore the incredibly uncomfortable presence from his left and just allow Suki to keep talking, but he had to ask. "What exactly did he do?"
"Didn't I tell you? He was listening to the horn part, and he started clapping along! The rhythmic capabilities of Aang are untapped! He's going to be a very famous musician someday!"
"He . . . can clap?"
"Yeah," Sokka added, definitely looking less impressed than Suki. "But he's actually pretty good at it." Sokka looked dejected for a moment before lighting up. "Let's show you! Come on, Aang! The baby, not you!"
The baby in Aang's arms, reacting to his name possibly, woke up and immediately began to wail. Sheepishly, Sokka took the baby and stood up. "I guess it might've been wiser to just let him sleep. Suki, let's take care of him? You guys don't move, we'll be right back." He took Suki by the hand and made his way through the halls, leaving Aang to sit down with Katara.
It would be too awkward if he got up and left, and too awkward if he just sat there and said nothing. Unfortunately, it would probably kill him if he looked in her direction or said anything at all, so he sat in uncomfortable silence.
It was strange how loud his heart beat when there was nothing else to listen to. Aang would have thought that the background noises of conversation would be louder than something he normally didn't notice, but he would've been wrong. He thought about it for a couple seconds before he started to feel a bit of burning in his chest and realized he had stopped breathing. Then he had to ask himself another series of questions. Was it even worth it to breathe anymore? Since it had clearly been a few hours since he had taken a breath, could he safely breathe without gasping? He took a risk and breathed in for a solid fifteen seconds before choking on nothing.
"Are you okay?" Katara reacted instinctively, breaking the silence. Or maybe it was his coughing breaking the silence. He had caught his breath again, and before he could think too hard about responding, he already had.
"I'm fine." He was not fine. Aside from having that tickle in his throat which he knew would lead to more coughing in seconds, he was flooded with awkwardness. He managed to look right over her shoulder for another few seconds before looking right at the table. Sokka and Suki showed no signs of coming back.
The sound of his heartbeat was growing louder and louder, until being broken by Katara deciding to speak again. "So . . . what have you been up to?"
Aang began to wonder if it was possible to feel his own blood rushing in his veins, or if that was just his mind. He didn't know at all how to act. "I've been doing . . . uh . . . Avatar stuff?"
"That's great to hear! I'm happy for you!" He hadn't heard that voice in a while. After hearing the tone, he realized how much he had missed it. Her voice was still sweet and careful and made him feel appreciated. But this time, there was also an unmistakable sense of dread. His smile stayed tight and he wanted to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, running would've been the height of rudeness.
"What have you been up to?" He didn't care. This was just how conversation went, or so he remembered.
"I've been working with my dad, helping to build up the southern water tribe again. It's been fantastic. We have cities again! And infrastructure! Just like the North!" HEr eyes shone with excitement, and Aang was tempted to join in the feeling. The next thing she said shut down whatever he was feeling. "And he - he even started seeing someone." She gave him a questioning look, as if she could see the gears grinding in his head. She was seeing someone new too. He could just tell.
"Good, good for him. He . . . he should be happy, good." He nodded much too quickly, and as if he had planned it, Sokka and Suki took the moment to return. Like getting struck by lightning, Aang found the perfect thing to say. "I'll let you guys get back to it." Genius.
He stood up, and without looking back, dove into the conversation Ty Lee was having with herself, and zoned out until dinner.
The days spent on the wedding boat were some of the most interesting of Aang's life. He wouldn't have believed it, all those years ago, that he would be wandering a Fire Nation ship without a care in the world. More than that, he didn't expect that he would be relieved to see the faces of Zuko or Azula, and would start dreading the face of Katara. But he managed to get through the journey without any major incidents, and the ship finally docked on the northern island of the Sun Warriors.
Aang and Zuko had been up to the island many times in the past few years, establishing diplomatic ties between the two nations of firebenders. However, he hadn't seen the dragons since the first time he and Zuko had stumbled into their temple.
Stepping onto the beach, the Firelord and Sun Warrior Chief bowed to each other and exchanged pleasantries. Off to the side, the Sun Priests gave Aang a lesson on what he was required to do as the betrotheds' spiritual advisor. In order to get the blessing of the dragons, a blessing that the Fire Nation hadn't had for over a hundred years, Aang would have to argue that Zuko and Mai weren't going to be like the last generation of Fire Nation royalty. Zuko and Mai apparently had nothing to do with the argument, and just had to show up to a ceremony afterwards (or not, if Aang failed).
Aang climbed the steps alone all the way to the top. Offering up his arms to his sides, he called out for Ran and Shaw, and was once again bathed upon by the multicoloured flames. He smiled, remembering the last time he was up there, and they bared their teeth in return.
"Young one, do you remember the bending form you showed us last time? That was in fact the only reason we did not eat you." The dragons' eyes sparkled with mirth, and Aang let out a laugh. It was nice talking to someone that wasn't on a boat, even if it were a pair of dragons who almost killed him once.
"A little, but I added more spins? I thought it needed some flare." The flames around him pulsed violet and blue, and he decided he didn't have to make up a fire/air bending form on the spot.
"I have heard rumors that the little prince is asking for our blessing. Again." Ran snorted out a puff of smoke.
"I mean, you know him, you've seen him. Can you just give it?" It was fun teasing the dragons a little bit. Aang thought about how he was more comfortable talking to dragons and spirits than other people for a second, then decided to let it go before he thought about it too much.
"The last time one of us gave a blessing to a firelord, it did not end very well." The walls of fire pulsed dark purples, ugly colours.
"But it's Zuko! He's a good guy. And we ended the war and everything." Aang wondered if they had even heard yet. Although they had heard that Zuko was coming, that could have just been because that would affect them? Aang had no idea.
"And yet, there are still only two of us. Regardless, the blessing we give is not based on goodness. We judge based off our own scales. As you know, fire is the element of change, and-"
"Water."
"-and, what? No, fire is the element of change."
"Water is? I'm the avatar, I would know. Plus, wasn't it you guys who said that fire was the element of life?"
"What is life if not constant change?" Shaw looked as pleased with himself as a dragon could be.
"But water's more change than fire? Water to ice to steam to water again, change." Aang had studied all the texts. Fire was anger and rage, and sometimes life and warmth, but not change.
"If it can always go back, what is the point of change at all? The reason water can be ice and steam and back again isn't because it changes. It's because it never does. Water is always water, even when it is ice. The changes caused by fire stay. That is the heart of change."
Aang wanted to argue, but he didn't have any reasoning to back up his rejection of their philosophy. "I will consider your thoughts. But what does this have to do with the Fire Lord's wedding?"
"Isn't it clear, young avatar? Have your Fire Prince and his betrothed shown change? Are they people we can be proud of?" This was definitely a riddle, or something of the sort. Aang had gotten good at this, the art of abstract thoughts.
"Well, Zuko used to be a bad guy, and now he's a good guy. Mai was pretty much a bad guy too, and she's good now. Is that good enough?" The fire continued to swirl, so Aang continued to talk. "When I first met Zuko, he had a shaved head, or at least most of it. Now he has more hair. And Mai has less knives. Probably because she doesn't need to shave his head anymore." Aang wasn't sure if that was funny, because the dragons had no reaction.
"They have been changed, but are they change? Have they an effect on others? Can we be proud of them?"
Aang had to think, letting silence hang in the air for a couple of seconds before he spoke. "His sister, her friend. I think they changed her. She used to be . . . different. Like how he was but much much worse. And she's better now. I think she'll stay better too."
The two of them smiled again, revealing rows of pristine white fangs. Or maybe this was a threat. "And you, have you been changed by them as well?"
Aang had to think much longer on this one. He thought of all the time he had spent with Zuko most of all, but also the few conversations he had had with Mai. The two of them were good together, but they had also been good to him. Even though they were busy, even though he was often off on expeditions he couldn't tell anyone about, they were good. Without a hint of guile, Aang could offer up his best concession. "Not yet. But I have no doubt they will."
The dragons blazed out a blast of coloured flame, signaling something to the Sun Warriors below. Then everyone started to move, hustling and bustling and beginning the procession. Aang didn't remember the blessing ceremony much. The engaged were bathed in rainbow flames, and Aang was sure that speeches were made, but not by him. Instead, Aang sat between Toph and Azula, nodding off every so often, only to be woken up by gentle and not so gentle nudges. After a round of clapping, which probably signalled the end of the ceremony, Aang succumbed to sleep.
He woke up on a boat, already going back. Everyone was gone, presumably in rooms, leaving him laying on a couch. Luckily, someone had graciously left him a robe to drape over himself as a makeshift blanket. He felt it up and turned it towards the moonlight for him to see whose it was. All he could see was the red and gold.
Author's note: I'm dedicating this chapter to the nice kid who wrote a review, despite the fact that it had been over a month since I last updated. I'm not even sure why you're still reading, because whenever I find a fanfiction that hasn't been updated in 3 week, and it's not completed, I just assume that the author gave up. This chapter is longer than any of the others, and it might be because of the delay. It might also not be. Just to let you guys know, I've made my decision on the final ship. However, I'm not telling you. Also, not sure if you guys could tell, but I have no idea what a boat is (or a ship).