Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Duty Versus Love ❯ The Wedding ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

LES: Special thanks to the books “Avatar: The Last Airbender-The Lost Scrolls” for giving me the info I need to uncomplicate this fiction work. As you probably could guess by Katara's rant a little while back, I've been trying to work out the genetics of Bending. I've been agonizing over the identity of Aang's parents… whether or not they were Benders. That info could vastly change the possibilities of Aang's children later in the fic. Thank God the Lost Scrolls solved that mystery! No, they don't tell you who Aang's parents were, but they do say that, unlike the other nations, the Air Nomads didn't have any non-benders. Every Air Nomad was also an Airbender. Therefore, Aang's parents were both Airbenders! Hazzah! That means I can figure this thing out! Maybe I'll go into depth about my genetics theory later.
 
Chapter VI: The Wedding
 
That late Winter morning dawned unusually bright and clear, the perfect day to celebrate an Avatar's wedding. However, not all was as peaceful as the weather.
Aang hadn't slept all night, and he looked almost as bad as he did six years ago when he went almost seventy-two hours without sleep. The only difference was he wasn't having hallucinations worthy of cactus juice. Of course, today felt like one big hallucination anyway.
It didn't help that Katara was absent from the room either. The Water Tribe had an old tradition that the bride and groom not see each other for a full twenty-four hours before the wedding, to ward off bad luck. But, having not seen Katara since yesterday morning was only serving to fry his nerves more.
His surroundings, as always, mimicked his moods. Near-by torches burned brighter as he passed, ice and water melted and turned to steam, and he was causing a miniature wind storm around his body.
Sokka walked into the room, staring at Aang. “Um… did you realize that you're floating?” He asked.
Aang looked down and realized that he was, indeed, floating several inches off the ground. He had Airbended himself right off the ground.
He also noticed that his tattoos were glowing slightly, a dim glow that was barely visible in the morning sun.
Aang closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Since mastering the Avatar State, it became rarer for him to slip into a stress-induced rage via the Avatar State, but it could still happen. The deep breathing excises calmed his spirit down. He stopped floating and his Airbender tattoos stopped glowing.
“Are you okay, Aang? You seem a little stressed?”
“Stress?” Aang began sarcastically. “What reason could I possibly have for being stressed? Today's just a normal day. It's not like I'm getting married today!”
“Hmm… looks like we have a classic case of pre-wedding jitters.” Sokka said. “You want me to go get Toph for a de-stessifying?”
Aang shook his head instantly. He had been `de-stressified' by Toph before, and the process turned his body shades of bruising purple that he hadn't seen on his skin since his tattooing ceremony. He was in no hurry to repeat the experience, especially on his wedding day when he didn't have Katara to heal him.
“Fine. You want to talk about it?” Sokka asked.
Aang glanced at Sokka to make sure he hadn't broken out the old fake mustache and beard he used while pretending to be Aang's father and psychiatrist in the Fire Nation years ago.
“It's just…” Aang paused. He couldn't say enough how he really didn't want to talk to Sokka about what was bothering him. “There's a lot of… expectations on a wedding night. I'm just worried that I won't… uh… `measure up'.”
“Oh!” Sokka began, and then he looked at Aang in shock. “Wait a second, are you telling me you're still a virgin?!?”
“I was raised by monks.” Aang said.
“I know, but geez… you and my sister have been sleeping in the same room since we got here! Just what have you two been doing all this time?”
“Just that… sleeping.” Aang confessed.
Sokka sighed, rubbing his temples. “I can't believe I'm talking to you about this… Listen, Aang, no matter what those monks told you, your body all ready has all the instincts about sex that you'll need to know. What you need to do is stop thinking for five seconds and let your body do what feels right. There isn't a `right way' to have sex. Just do what feels right, and you'll do fine.”
“Thanks, Sokka. I know that this was hard for you.” Aang said.
“No problem.” Sokka said sarcastically. “I just love to give sex advice that I know is going to be used on my little sister tonight. Great.”
“Well, I'm still thankful.” Aang said.
“Just shut up, Mister Avatar.” Sokka said. “And get dressed. If I let you miss your wedding, Katara will kill me. And the Suki would kill her and you'd kill Suki.”
“Wouldn't that be a wedding day disaster?” Aang commented.
Sokka threw Aang's Avatar robes in his face. “I'm serious. Get dressed.”
Aang quickly set to work untangling his robes. Katara had decided that the traditional Water Tribe wedding garments didn't look nearly as good on him as his Avatar robes, so that was what he was going to wear. Not that anyone minded. It was just another reminder to everyone that the Avatar was marrying into the Southern Water Tribe.
“Sokka, do you remember the day we met?” Aang asked suddenly as he pulled on his pants, tying the sash around his waist with practiced ease.
“Of course I remember that day.” Sokka said. “My entire life changed that day.”
“Well, I remember that day too.” Aang said. “You hated me. You didn't believe a word I said. You called me a spy for the Fire Navy and banished me from the Southern Water Tribe.”
“Oh yeah… I remember that.” Sokka said.
Aang put on his robes and tied it in place with a series of complicated knots. “Well, could you have imagined that I'd be here one day, about to marry into the tribe that once banished me?”
Sokka waved him off. “You take things too seriously. I didn't know you were the Avatar back then. Banishing an Avatar just isn't done. It would upset the whole `balance of the world' thing.” Sokka put an arm around Aang's shoulder. “Look, back then, you were an annoying kid. You did get on my nerves a lot. So, yes, I didn't like you all that much. But now, you're like the brother I never had.”
Aang laughed. “You're only saying that because I grew out of my childishness.”
“Not true! You still act like a child sometimes.” Sokka laughed and Aang joined in.
~~~~~~~~~~
On the other side of the Palace, Katara screamed in shock. She had woken up early, and simply lay in bed for a while, soaking in her joy that today was her wedding day. She almost couldn't believe that in a few short hours, she was going to be marrying the same boy she found trapped in an iceberg six years ago, the Avatar. Back then, she mostly viewed him as a child, but over the course of the next year, she grew to love him. A love that was still strong six years later.
She finally managed to convince herself that she needed to get up and get ready. She got up and moved over to the mirror, gazed at her reflection, and then screamed.
An instant later, Suki and Toph rushed into the room. They had been on their way to help Katara when they heard her scream. “Katara, what's wrong?” Suki asked breathlessly.
“I have a pimple!” Katara sounded horrified.
Suki and Toph instantly burst out laughing. “Well, should I go tell Twinkletoes that the wedding is off because you have a pimple?” Toph asked sarcastically.
“This just isn't any pimple!” Katara turned to face Suki. “It's monstrous! And it's right in the middle of my forehead!”
Suki could indeed see the inflamed skin from across the room. “Calm down, Katara. It's not that big of a deal. Everyone gets pimples on their wedding day. It's like a big cosmic practical joke. I had a huge one on my nose when I married Sokka, remember?”
Katara did remember. Suki had woken up with a pimple so large that it seemed to have a life of its own. She had to cake on her make-up almost as thick as her Kyoshi Warrior face paint to hide it.
“And, you know what, Sokka didn't care. He thought it was funny. And Aang won't care either.”
“You're… right.” Katara admitted. “I've waited too long for this day to let it be ruined by a pimple.”
“And if that is all that goes wrong today, you should count yourself lucky.” Suki said. “Here, let me help you cover that up.” She moved over to Katara, organizing the make-up she brought with her.
“So… you nervous?” Toph asked. “I heard that Twinkletoes is beside himself.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. The usual stuff that happens when he's nervous.” Suki said. “Torches exploding, turning any water in the vicinity into steam, and causing miniature tornadoes everywhere he goes.”
“At least there's no Earth here for him to cause earthquakes.” Toph commented.
Katara sighed. “I'm… a little nervous. But I'm mostly excited!”
“Perfect.” Suki said, as she began to expertly apply the make-up to Katara's face, paying special attention to her forehead. “It's normal to be a little nervous when you're getting married.”
“Well… I'm not as nervous about the wedding as I am of… after.” Katara confessed.
“Oh, wait! Does that mean you and Aang haven't done… that?” Suki asked.
“Spirits, Suki, you're married and you can't even say the word `sex'.” Toph commented.
“Uh… yeah… sex.” Suki confirmed. “So, you two haven't…?”
“We've done stuff.” Katara said. “But we haven't, you know, taken the final step.”
“Had sex! Had sex!” Toph interrupted. “What is it with you two and euphemisms?”
Katara glared at Toph, who couldn't see it. “Fine. Aang and I haven't had sex! He wanted to wait until after we were married.”
“I always pegged Aang as a softie.” Toph said.
“It's not that. It's about this whole `rebuild the Air Nomad nation' plan. He said that he can't even promise me his body, so he promised me that our first time would be when we were man and wife. It's really important to him.”
“Well… I suppose that makes a little sense… a little.” Toph said.
“I'm okay with waiting, really.” Katara said. “But I hope that I don't disappoint him.”
“Look. Aang has been in love with you since he was twelve. There's no way he's lost his virginity.” Toph said. “Like he could really tell bad sex from good sex, anyway.”
“No man can tell bad sex from good sex.” Suki laughed.
The girls had a good laugh over that.
~~~~~~~~~~
The wedding would be surprisingly small, considering the groom was the Avatar. Only their family, friends, and several high-ranking Water Tribe families would attend.
Aang felt bad about purposefully not inviting Zuko and some of his friends in the Earth Kingdom, but it was necessary. He was afraid that if word got to certain high-ranking officials about his wedding, someone would be sent to try and stop it.
If that happened, he probably would enter the Avatar State in a rage, which hadn't happened to him in years. Aang would make the announcement at the Spring Equinox diplomatic meeting in the Earth Kingdome next week. By then, it would be far too late for anyone to object his choice in wife.
Aang was nervously adjusting and readjusting his clothes while Chief Hakoda and Sokka checked on the final preparations, while he mentally recited all the procedures that went with a Water Tribe wedding.
He thought he had gotten out of his nervous fidgety stage once he passed puberty, but all his nervous twitchiness was back with a vengeance.
After what seemed an eternity, Sokka came back into the small room. “Everything's set. Are you ready, Aang?”
Aang sighed deeply. “Yes.”
Sokka led Aang into a hallway that led to the Water Tribe's Temple. The Temple wasn't a spiritual hotspot like the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole, but Aang didn't want to get married at a spiritual hotspot anyway. He had lingering fears from one of his past lives, Avatar Kuruk. Avatar Kuruk had fallen in love with a Water Tribe girl, and they were to be married at the Spirit Oasis. But, on the wedding day, a powerful spirit named Koh stole her into the Spirit World. As far as Aang knew, Avatar Kuruk spent the rest of his long days mourning her. Aang didn't want to live through the mistakes of his past lives. So they were getting married during the day when the Solstice was months away, when the physical world and the spiritual worlds were furthest apart.
Sokka entered the Temple's sanctuary first, and then motioned for Aang to enter. When he did, he made sure to keep his eyes firmly fixed ahead. It was especially difficult knowing that Katara had also entered the room a few feet to his right.
Hakoda had told him beforehand that it was very important that he not look to the side or, even worse, backwards during the ceremony. Looking ahead symbolized his ready and willingness to start a new life with his bride. Looking elsewhere symbolized an uncertain heart. He had heard many stories of weddings dissolved on the spot because of a careless glance.
So he fixed his eyes on the man ahead of him, Hakoda. He approached the Water Tribe Chieftain and bowed low, and spoke rehearsed lines.
“Chief Hakoda of the Water Tribe: I, Avatar Aang, wish to take your daughter as my wife. Will you accept me as her husband?”
Hakoda bowed back. “Avatar Aang, I accept you as my daughter's husband. Take her hand and be happy.”
At this point in the ceremony, Katara would have asked a similar question of Aang's parents. But Aang's parents had been dead for a century, so the Water Tribe's Shaman who was overseeing the ceremony allowed that part to be skipped over. It was mostly a formality anyway. Betrothal necklaces were usually only given with the family's consent.
Only now that he had Hakoda's permission could Aang turn and face Katara, which he did.
Aang had never seen her look as beautiful as she did at that moment, wearing a richly detailed Water Tribe wedding dress, which was light blue and embroidered with images of the moon and sea. Sure, her make-up was caked on a little thicker than Aang would have liked, but that seemed a minor complaint compared to the goddess before him.
He smiled at her and she grinned back softly. They approached each other and clasped their hands between them.
The Shaman began to speak. “May the Great Spirits bare witness to this union of Avatar Aang of the Air Nomad nation and Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.” The Shaman pulled from his robes three different colored ribbons. He selected the deep blue one and tied it around Aang and Katara's hands. “The Spirit of the Ocean, the Bringer of Life. May the love you share remain as deep and vast as the ocean itself.” The Shaman tied the silver ribbon around their fists. “The Spirit of the Moon, the Bringer of Power. May your love glow as bright as the moon itself.” The last ribbon was not a usual part of the Water Tribe wedding ceremony, but had been added for Aang's benefit. The third ribbon was white, and it too was tied around their hands. “The Spirit of Air, the Bringer of Change and Freedom. May your love be as ceaseless and boundless as the wind itself.” The Shaman paused, as if waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. “The Great Spirits of the Ocean, Moon, and Air have borne witness to this union. Are there any here who think these two should not be joined by the bounds of marriage?”
The Shaman paused longer, and Aang resisted the urge to look at the audience. Several long seconds passed, but no one spoke up.
“The union between Avatar Aang and Princess Katara has been approved by their families, their peers, and the Spirits.” The Shaman said. “I now pronounce you husband and wife!”
And, just like that, Aang and Katara were married.
Aang couldn't resist any longer. Now that the strict structure of the Water Tribe wedding ceremony was over, he kissed her.
The Temple filled with applause and wolf-whistles as the oblivious coupe kissed each other passionately.
They pulled apart slowly, giving each other a second, smaller kiss. And then they turned and faced the crowd and their applause.
Katara almost started laughing out loud when she saw that her brother was teary-eyed in the front row. Aang saw it too and he actually started giggling. They walked down into the crowd together and were instantly ambushed by a small army of well-wishers. Sokka managed to fight his way through the crowd to get to his sister; he embraced her and told her how happy he was for her.
Toph punched her way through the crowd towards Aang. “Hey, congrats, Twinkletoes!”
“Thanks, Toph.” Aang said, quickly getting his shoulder out of Toph's line of fire. She tended to show affection with a rather strong punch to the shoulder that could easily knock him down because of the slight build of his Airbender body.
“So, where's the food?” Toph asked brightly.
Everyone laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~
The food was in the banquet hall, which was filled with a lot more people than had been attendance at the ceremony. And there was more food and more frivolity. Weddings always put everyone in a festive mood, and the Water Tribe was no exception.
It made Aang's heart ache a little, since it brought back memories of his people. In the Air Nomad nation, weddings were a big deal. The festivities following a wedding in the Air Nomad nation sometimes lasted days… even weeks.
The last time they were in the banquet hall, they sat just to the side of the Chief, but today, Aang and Katara were at the head of the hall together. Everyone else in the hall was seated so they had a respectable distance between themselves and their neighbors. But to show that they were the newlyweds, their seats were so close together that their thighs were touching.
Katara shyly leaned into Aang's chest. “Today was absolutely perfect, wasn't it, my husband?”
Aang's painful memories of his lost people faded away as Katara leaned against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist. “It certainly was, my wife.” He replied.
“Aang, do you remember Aunt Woo's village?” Katara asked suddenly.
“The one we saved from the volcano?” Aang clarified.
Katara laughed. “You were the one who did the saving. But, yes, that's the one. I never told you what Aunt Woo said to me during my reading. She predicted that I would marry…”
“A very powerful Bender.” Aang finished automatically. How he kept those words in his heart when he was a boy! Katara glared at him, and Aang laughed a little. “Yes, I did eavesdrop.” He confessed. “But I did sort of have an interest in knowing the future of your love life.”
Katara laughed. “Yes, I suppose you did. She told me that I would marry a powerful Bender. But, at first, I didn't connect it to you. I still saw you as a child. But then when you stopped that volcano single-handedly, Sokka mentioned what a powerful Bender you were. That's when I seriously considered that you were the Bender Aunt Woo predicted I would marry. Well, her prediction came true. Not only did I marry a powerful Bender. I married the most powerful Bender in the world.” She paused, apparently lost in memories. “Wait a minute… didn't you tell me that I would find out what she told you about?”
“It's a funny story.” Aang said. “At first, she only told me that I would be involved in a great battle that would determine the fate of the world. But then I told her I wanted to know about my love life. She told me if I followed my heart, I would be with the one I love.”
“Well, that did come true.”
“There was no love in my fortune, Katara. Aunt Woo made that up to make me feel better.” Aang said. “But she also said that, like we reshaped the clouds, I had the ability to reshape my destiny. So I did.”
“Yes, you did.” Katara kissed him. They watched some of the couples dancing stiffly while they ate some of the food that had been set before them. After a few minutes, Katara spoke again. “Hey, Aang, why don't you go show these old stiffs how an Airbender dances?”
The Air Nomads really had been the perfect dancers. The fleet-footedness, agility, and grace that learning Airbending gave them translated perfectly into dance. Aang had proven that years ago at the Fire Nation dance party. He had those goofy-kid dances, but he could also hold his own in any ballroom on the planet.
Aang smiled at her. “Only if you'll come with me.”
Katara smiled and stood with him. They were the center of attention again, everyone in the hall waited to see what they were going to do. The realization came when they stopped in the middle of the dance floor, getting in classic waltz position.
As they began dancing, Katara got the strongest sense of déjà-vu. Everyone in the hall was staring at them as she danced in Aang's arms. She smiled at her new husband. “Everyone's staring.”
Aang smiled back at her. “Don't worry about them.” He replied. “It's just you and me right now.”
“You and me.” Katara repeated, resting her head against Aang's chest for a moment. And then she pulled away and their dance really began.
It was very similar to their dance in the Fire Nation except with less acrobatics. It still left those in the hall speechless; especially at Aang, who could execute even the most difficult moves flawlessly. Watching him flawlessly turn Martial Arts into a beautiful dance was exhilarating.
He really proved to them that Airbenders were still the best dancers in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the reception went off without a hitch, unless you count Sokka getting drunk and telling everyone in a loud voice every embarrassing story that Aang wanted to take to the grave: like his foray into cross-dressing and the numerous stalkers he picked up on his travels.
But, other than that, things went perfectly.
Towards the end, Aang and Katara got antsy, so Katara stood to address the crowd. “Thank you all for joining us to celebrate this joyous day. We want you to continue to enjoy this good food and good company. Aang and I are going…”
“Bow-chicka-wow-wow!” Someone cat-called. A glance confirmed who. Of course it was Toph. Everyone laughed while the newlyweds blushed.
“Well, anyway…” Katara began again, blushing. “Aang and I will be going now. Please enjoy yourselves.”
They managed to almost get to the door before they were accosted by Sokka, Suki, and Toph. “Hey, where is your room, anyway?” Suki asked urgently.
Aang stared at her, confused. “On the other side of the palace. Why?”
“Because virgins never know how to keep quiet.” Sokka said drunkenly. “But since you two are on the other side of the palace, we won't have to listen to you… hopefully.”
“Listen, you guys…” Aang said quickly to get over his embarrassment. “Don't get too hung-over. We're leaving tomorrow.”
“Where're we going?” Sokka asked.
“Ba Sing Se.” Aang said patiently. “The Spring Equinox meeting is coming soon. We'll have to fly fast to get there on time.”
“Gotcha, Captain Arrowhead.” Sokka said drunkenly.
Aang sighed heavily as he followed Katara out of the room.
 
LES: Sorry about the crappy dance scene. Most of the characters I write for, I can get away with them not knowing how to dance. So I can get away with the whole `swaying on the spot' thing. But Aang can dance. I can't dance, and I can't fake that I know how to dance. Let me put it this way, if I attended the Fire Nation dance, I would be doing the Sprinkler like that one fat kid. So, yeah, no awesome dance scenes from me.