Fire and Water (A Zutara Fanfiction)

The Wedding

It had been almost a full year since the defeat of Firelord Ozai, and all was well. Zuko was the new Firelord, and Katara had secured the position of the Water Bending Master, and was visited by thousands of eager fans wanting to learn her secrets, or to simply sit and listen as she recounted the thrilling tale of her journey with Aang.

Aang himself, of course, was still the Avatar. Young as he was, he was now responsible for keeping the world balanced and safe. But his responsibilities never kept him from having fun, and he was often seen entertaining the young children with his endless air tricks.

But today, the group was very busy preparing for the wedding of the two lovers, Sokka and Suki.

The two had chosen a small field just outside Kyoshi Island to have their wedding. It was just an ordinary grassy field, and some had questioned the choice when they heard it, as Sokka and Suki could've gotten married at a number of beautiful locations.

But no one questioned it now, after Katara had appointed herself as their wedding planner. Under her watchful eye, three hundred seats were carefully laid out in front of a huge alter, which Toph had personally bended, and engraved the names of the bride and groom in surprisingly beautiful handwriting. When asked how she knew how to write, she simply answered 'a master never shares her secrets'.

In addition to the beautiful alter, Zuko firebent the words Till Death Do We Part in the air above the alter.

Katara herself had sculpted a huge ice sculpture of Sokka and Suki, both wearing armor with swords held loosely at their sides, looking lovingly into one another's eyes. Katara was just putting the finishing touches up when Zuko came over.

"There's no way anyone could possibly look that lovestruck in real life." he said in his raspy voice, looking up at the statues. Katara frowned, "Do you even know Sokka and Suki?"

Zuko laughed, "well, anyway. You did a good job."

"Thanks." Katara smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up at the praise. "I think this wedding is really coming together."

Zuko nodded. "Um, so I heard something about everyone giving speeches?" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What?" Katara turned on him, eyes wide. "No one told me! I think that the wedding planner should know if anyone's going to make changes to the wedding! There are things that need to be done for speeches, and I don't know what I would say!"

"Whoa, relax." Zuko reached out and touched her shoulder. "Aang just thought it would be funny for me to get up and talk about the time I almost walked in on Sokka and Suki."

"Oh. I see." Katara bit her lip.

"But if it adds more work for you, I won't do it. I was already thinking I didn't want to get up in front of everyone. I'm not big on public speeches." Zuko said. Katara looked up into his calm golden eyes, and didn't quite understand the intense look in them. All she knew was that it made her heart all fluttery for some reason.

"No, it would be funny. It doesn't add that much work, I'd just have to talk with the serving crew about when the courses are served." Katara forced herself to look away from his eyes. Zuko seemed to remember that he still had his hand on her shoulder, and awkwardly removed it. Katara bit her lip, trying not to show her disappointment.

"Alright, glad we sorted that out," Zuko chuckled nervously. "Well, I um, I better get going to help with some of the fireworks."

"Right," Katara said. "Have fun!" she called as Zuko started moving toward a group of excited looking firebenders clustered around a crate of fireworks. "You too!" he turned and waved.

"Have fun?" Katara muttered to herself. "Could you honestly sound more stupid?"

"KATARA!" Toph yelled, and Katara turned to see her laying on the ground with both arms and legs wrapped around the ice sculpture, which was now melting quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Katara waved her hands, pulling up all the water that had dripped onto the ground and freezing it back onto the statue. "I was distracted."

Toph got up and brushed her hands on her pants, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "No kidding."

She walked over to Katara. "Fire Boy is looking hot today." she elbowed Katara in the ribs, "Get it? Hot?"

"Ha ha, hilarious." Katara rolled her eyes despite the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "We're just friends."

"I'm just saying, Sokka and Suki were 'just friends' too." Toph winked and gestured to the wedding decorations. "And look where they ended up. It could be you two next."

"Why don't you go do something useful instead of standing here keeping me from working?" Katara nudged Toph's shoulder, but on the inside, she was smiling. She couldn't help but picture the same wedding, but for two different people... she glanced back at Zuko, who was busy trying to help a young Fire Nation boy figure out how to properly light the fireworks. Her heart swelled.

"Maybe." she whispered so no one could hear.

A\N I am a huge Zutara shipper as you've probably realized by now! I don't expect anyone to read this, as it's just a couple short stories I'm writing whenever I feel like it.