Aang and Katara are getting married. Little do they now how tough marriage can actually get, though. When tough situations begin to arise, will their marriage survive? Will they get through it? Will their love prevail?

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter 1: The Wedding

It was the biggest day of their lives: Their wedding day.

Katara was 16 and Aang was 14. It was only a few months ago that Aang had proposed to Katara on her birthday and asked her father for her hand in marriage. The customs of the water tribe declared that a man had to be at least 15 to propose but Aang had proposed early. His main reason for doing so rather than waiting was because he didn't want another man to steal Katara. Katara was perhaps the most gorgeous woman in the whole tribe, and the daughter of the chief to boot. That and being a master waterbender attracted a lot of men who would have loved to court her, and several planned to ask her hand in marriage on her sixteenth birthday. Hakoda, Katara's father, knew that Aang was the one she loved, but even as chief he couldn't turn down the proposals of others solely because Aang wasn't of age to marry. That could lower the moral of his people and taint his reputation as a leader. Knowing this, Aang asked Hakoda despite being only fourteen. Knowing Aang was the only one Katara would ever love, Hakoda gladly gave his blessing, using the fact the Aang was the Avatar and that such a union was a great thing for the tribe as a loophole to the whole age thing.

The wedding took place outside. Aang stood at the end of the aisle, dressed in light blue wedding robes. It was similar to his Avatar robes, but with water tribe designs. He watched as Katara walked down the aisle, dressed in a beautiful wedding gown. It was a dark blue, several shades darker than her traditional water tribe robe, and went all the way down to her ankles with a slit on the side that went up to her knees. Her hair was braided back in her traditional style along with her hair loopies, and she had a single flower in her hair tucked behind her left ear. She wore no makeup; Southern Water Tribes traditions said that a woman should present herself to her husband without any beauty enhancements of the skin or perfume. She was to display her natural beauty to her partner in life, not luring him with cosmetic attraction. This was why Aang wore no cologne.

Aang watched Katara as she was slowly escorted down the carpet by her father. This was another part of the Southern Water Tribe customs. This whole wedding was following the traditions of the water tribe. There were no cultural customs when it came to weddings in the Air Nomad culture, so Aang and Katara both agreed to have a water tribe wedding. It was even taking place in the Southern water tribe, which was where Aang and Katara would be living as husband and wife. Katara had always thought that Aang would want to live at the Southern Air Temple, the place of his people, but this was not the case. My people are no longer here, He had said. I don't want us to live in a deserted, isolated area that feels so lifeless. You deserve better, Katara. Of course, they would make trips to the temples every so often to clean them up and restore them for the next generation of Air Nomads, but their permanent home would be the Southern Water Tribe.

Being that Katara was the daughter of the chief of the water tribe, many people of the tribe were in attendance. At least half of the tribe's population, Hakoda had guessed. And it was no longer a small village. Between many people from the northern tribes moving here and the discovery of some long lost villages in the south, the place had become quite the city. Not as big as the northern water tribe, but still quite large. Katara brought most of the tribe here, and Aang, being the Avatar, had attracted many people worldwide to the wedding, largely politicians, rulers, royal subjects, and high class families. In the front row were their family and closest friends, with the exception of Sokka, who was part of the ceremony. Even though Sokka was having the damndest time letting Katara grow up, he had agreed to be part of the ceremony, with the motivation of his sister's death threats if he didn't.

Katara was finally at Aang's side. Hakoda, Katara's father and chief of the Southern Water Tribe held her arm to Aang, who gladly took Katara's hand as she extended her other hand for him to take as well. They stood there, hand-in-hand, looking in each others eyes with love and passion. Master Pakku stood in front of them. He was the one who would wed them. That decision had boiled down to Bumi, Iroh, or Pakku. Eventually they decided on Pakku, because after all, he was now Katara's grandfather.

"I stand here before you, in the name of the Moon and the Ocean," Pakku spoke to the audience, "To wed this couple in the name of the great spirits Tui and La. The wedding is powerful tradition centuries old. It is a joyous occasion that contains the very moment when a man and a woman proclaim their love before their friends, before their family, and most importantly, before the spirits, who blessed us with life itself.

Pakku was speaking directly from Tui and La: The Tides of Life, The holy book of the water tribes written over a thousand years ago.

"Just like the opposites of push and pull create the tides, the opposites of man and woman create the ultimate union of love that is called marriage, proving that opposites indeed create balance within one another; a balance without which we could not live. Everybody here stands witness to this moment of miracle, where Tui and La's example blesses these two as they prepare to take the journey of life together from now on.

Now Pakku's words were more directly focused toward the very couple getting married.

"From this day forward you will face each day together. You will laugh together and cry together. Celebrate together and mourn together. All of the tribulations of one will become the tribulations of the other. Every problem that you face you will face together. You are a team, and only by working together will you succeed. Separated the most trivial of issues can overcome you, but united you can survive the greatest challenges that life presents."

Pakku turned his attention turned the crowd now.

"If anybody here does not believe that these two can find balance and harmony within each other, please address your concerns before the spirits now."

No one spoke. Some of the men who hoped that it would be them wedding the beautiful water tribe girl thought of objecting, but figured doing so would only result in their own death by Katara's hands.

"Then repeat after me as we bless this couple."

Every phase that Pakku said was echoed by the wedding crowd in unison.

"On this day…", "On this day."

"At this very moment…", "At this very moment."

"We give our blessing…", "We give our blessing."

"To the couple before us…", "To the couple before us."

"And wish upon them…", "And wish upon them."

"The blessings of the spirits…", "The blessings of the spirits."

"As they journey through life…", "As they journey through life."

"Together as one…", "Together as one."

Pakku now directly addressed the Katara. "Katara, do you take Avatar Aang as your husband before the spirits? Do you vow to love and comfort him, to laugh and cry with him, through times both good and bad, in times of both sickness and health, until death separates you?"

"I do." Katara said without hesitation, smiling as she did.

Now Pakku addressed Aang directly. "Aang, do you take Lady Katara as your wife before the spirits? Do you vow to love and comfort her, to laugh and cry with her, through times both good and bad, in times of both sickness and health, until death separates you?"

Aang flashed the same smile that Katara had as he replied "I do."

Pakku turned to address Sokka. "The second flower, please."

Sokka walked up to Aang and handed him a flower identical to the one that Katara had tucked in her hair. Aang took it with the utmost gentle care.

"Aang, would you place the flower on the other side of Katara's hair?" Pakku instructed.

Aang did so, gently placing it behind her right ear. This minor act was symbolic of the women making the transition from single to married. Rather than using a ring or some other jewel, the act was performed with an actual specimen of nature.

"In the names of the spirits, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Aang and Katara embraced each other fiercely and kissed. It was a kiss full of passion and energy. The entire audience erupted into applause and cheers, with some whistles and cat calls coming from the younger generations, such as Toph. They kissed for about half a minute, though to them it seemed like an eternity. They finally pulled away but kept their eyes fixated on each other.

"I love you, Katara," Aang spoke. "You have no idea how happy you have made me."

Katara giggled and replied, "I love you just the same. I'm so glad you proposed early."

Well, the ceremony went off without a hitch. Now it was time for the reception. "Now that we have witnessed this wedding, let us celebrate!" Pakku declared. "Everyone be at the royal palace within the hour."

Talk about celebrations. This would a party if there ever was one. The entire main hall of the palace had been reserved for the reception. When all the guests had arrived and taken their seats, dinner was served, and Hakoda stood up to address the audience. "A toast," he said, "To my daughter and my son-in-law!" Everyone raised their wine glasses and toasted the newlyweds as they kissed again, earning more whistles from their friends.

Aang and Katara's family sat with them at the grand table, along with Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe and the Earth King, who had returned from his self-imposed exile. Dinner consisted of penguin meat, blubbered seal jerky, seasoned fish, and of course, stewed sea prunes. Since Aang was a vegetarian, Katara had made sure ahead of time that he would have his own specially prepared meal, consisting of vegetables and berries. And despite being only 14, Aang drank wine like everyone else. The legal age was 15, but Hakoda had assured the young Avatar that there would be no consequences for enjoying a little indulgence on his wedding; so long has he didn't take it too far. For the most part everyone ate dinner without too much chatter. Sokka was a bit of an exception, gobbling down his penguin meat and seal jerky like a cave man with matching noises. That was, until Katara gave him the look and said "Can you at least be a gentleman on my wedding day?" Suki, who was sitting next to him, also gave him a glare. After that he was as proper as one could get… at least as far as eating. Aang and Katara kept kissing in between bites of their dinner. This earned some "Aws" from their friends, although Sokka was disgusted. Married or not, he couldn't tolerate this of his baby sister. Towards the end of dinner he actually sounded his disgust and tried to separate them from each other. The only thing that saved him from Katara's wrath was that Suki slapped him hard across the face and instructed him to behave like a good little boy.

As soon as the feast was finished the dancing commenced. Of course the newlyweds had the honor of the first dance per tradition. Aang happily extended his hand out to his wife. "May I have this dance, my love?" Katara blushed and smiled. Such the sweet man, he was. "Of course, my husband," was her response and they quickly got onto the dance floor in the middle of the grand hall. They performed a very elaborate and stunning dance similar to their first dance in the fire caves 2 years ago. This time there weren't any acrobatics or flips because it wouldn't really be possible in the wedding clothes that they wore, but it still oozed passion and energy. Katara echoed the words that Aang had told her in the caves. "Just you and me right now." Since they had been dating, Aang had taught Katara many dancing styles that he learned a hundred years ago. Now they were displayed before a grand audience. Everybody was astonished at how fluent they were, moving in perfect sync with each other. Even Sokka was blown away, commenting "Yeah, they've proven they're in harmony." The dance ended with a dip, and Aang's lips met Katara's for another kiss. Of course, this earned a thunderous applause from their guests.

After this, everybody flooded out onto the dance floor. Music was provided by the same band that performed during that night in the fire nation cave. Now Katara was to dance with her father, then her brother, then Pakku. Given that Aang had no blood relatives, Suki, Toph, and Kanna agreed to dance with him so he wouldn't be stuck dancing with some random girls. The dancing went on for about an hour before it was time for dessert. Dessert consisted of moon peach pies and chocolate cake (both of which used recipes that Katara had created. An amazing cook, she was.) Many people weren't as focused on eating as they were focused on watching Aang and Katara feed each other cake and share the same bite of pie which would end with their lips kissing. That was how Katara and Aang ate their whole dessert. Whether they looked silly or stupid, they didn't care. They were married and in love. After dessert it was time for another round of dancing. This time, however, it started with a conga line. Aang started with Katara behind him, and people formed behind them until almost everyone was moving in the line. The only ones that didn't join were those that were too stuffed from all the food, or the ones that were piss-ass drunk off of the wine and champagne that was being served at the open bar. That group was mostly the single guys that wanted Katara, or the crazed avatar fan girls whose dreams had been crushed. They'd all come hoping to see the couple not follow through, but the ceremony had been successful. Thus, they all came to the reception for one thing: Free booze. And now most of them were so trashed they'd probably have to be escorted home by the guards.

One man actually got the balls to take action, largely thanks to generous amounts of alcohol. Shortly after the conga line disbanded he marched up to Aang, who was slow dancing with Katara, and grabbed him by his robes, getting in his face.

"You son of a bitch, first letting the world rot for a hundred years and then stealing the best hottie in town. I oughta-",

but he was cut off when the very girl he meant yanked him off of her husband and decked him right in the mouth, knocking his drunk behind to the floor. With amazing speed the Suki and Ty lee were there, picking up the drunken man and restraining him by the arms.

"What do you want done with him?" Suki asked.

Katara thought for a second before deciding. "Have him thrown in the jail chambers for the rest of the night." Suki and Ty lee dragged the limp, drunk man over to the guards, who handled the rest.

The man had been loud enough to draw everyone's attention. Everyone was frozen for a moment before Aang spoke up. "Come everybody; let's not let that show ruin the night." With that he took Katara's hand and they resumed dancing. Eventually everybody forgot the incident and the fun resumed.

"You know Aang," Katara whispered into his ear, "I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day." With that she kissed his cheek.

Aang couldn't help but smile. "What about that little incident that just happened?"

Katara giggled. "I'm actually glad that happened. Now everybody knows what will happen if they mess with my Aangy."

"You are truly an amazing woman, did you know that? You picked me even though everyone thought you were crazy." He asked as he kissed her. He had to look up to kiss since she was in high heels. He had not grown much taller since that day in Bah Sing Se when they shared that passionate kiss in the sunset. He was only about an inch taller than her. He had been told his growth was likely stunted by his time in the iceberg; such physical or emotional traumas could hinder one's growth. That hadn't helped his self-confidence much when they began dating. Being younger than her already got him a lot of teasing. Being shorter than her earned some insults from people who didn't know what she saw in him, and just as many girls as guys did it. Now that he was finally taller than her, albeit not by much, a lot of the teasing had stopped.

Katara laughed. "You know Aang; you've matured well and become quite the handsome man since then. Now we get to tease them, because I happen to know many of them regret the things they said."

"Ah! That's why they are draining our alcohol reserves. I thought the bar was just spiked with cactus juice." Aang said.

This earned a laugh from Katara. "By the way, Aang, you haven't had too much yourself, have you?"

"Only 3 glasses since the festivities started. Other than that I had water. What about you?"

"About the same, give or take a little."

"Why do you ask, Katara?"

She leaned in closer to make sure nobody heard them. "Because you have to stay sober. The real fun happens later tonight, remember?" She answered seductively.

Suddenly it felt quite warm.

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