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i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us - taylor swift
She finds herself wandering the dark corridors of the Fire Nation palace while he sits on a grassy knoll under the midnight sky. Their wedding is tomorrow and tradition says that they must not see their betrothed until they are to meet at the altar.
But Katara and Zuko break traditions like it’s customary to do so.
So she tiptoes out into the garden where she knows he’s sitting and sees his dark hair waving through the air. He turns to look at her with a small smile, her presence like a sixth sense. She reaches him and sits between his legs, hands tangling with each other while the stars blink in the sky. They sit in each other’s presence as the gentle breeze dances across their skin.
“If I told you I was scared, would you judge me?” he murmurs, and Katara cranes her neck to face the man she loves, her eyebrow quirked in amusement at his question.
“I think the Fire Sages judge you enough if you ask me,” she answers, and Zuko rolls his eyes. “Aw, come on Zuko, we’re getting married tomorrow,” she taps his nose gently. “You get to spend the rest of your life with me, what’s so scary about that?”
“You know what I mean,” Zuko sighs, pulling Katara closer to his chest. “We’re having two weddings in two different countries, with two groups of people who have every reason not to trust me.” Katara squeezes his hand in reassurance.
“The only thing that makes this all okay is the fact that I’ll be spending the rest of my life with you."
“So what’s scaring you?” She asks and leans further back into Zuko’s chest, her eyes focused on the moon that shines a spotlight on them. He takes a deep breath and wonders how he got so lucky to be able to love someone as fierce and kind as Katara.
“Tradition, having to see you conform to Fire Nation propriety, having to listen to people tell me that the woman I love isn’t worth her title.” Zuko rests his forehead on Katara’s shoulder, tightening his arms around her waist.
Katara sighs and leans her cheek against his head. The same fears are intruding her thoughts and it disturbs the quiet peace their love brings her. Zuko’s advisors bring daily reminders that their love is untraditional, breaking the customs that the Fire Nation upholds. They both want to be great leaders, but they both know that no matter how hard they try, their love continues to be a question to those they will govern.
But through the fears and the doubts, Katara and Zuko know that their love is stronger than any tradition and any obstacle that dares to tear them apart.
“To hell tradition, we’ll make our own,” she whispers, and he grunts in approval. “Look at us right now, we’re breaking tradition as we speak.” She breathes out a small laugh, and nudges his head with her shoulder. He looks at her with his eyes of molten gold and the urge to give up her life for him overwhelms her.
“We’ll eat fire flakes and sea prunes every first of the month,” he suggests, and she laughs. She wiggles out of his hold and turns to face him, her hands lean on his thighs.
“We’ll choose one day every couple of months to hide from the sages and the advisors,” Katara offers, grinning. “That’ll freak them out.”
Zuko laughs and Katara thanks the spirits that he’s hers.
“We’ll visit your home to see the Southern Lights no matter the occasion, just when we feel like it.”
“We’ll put on disguises and celebrate our birthdays in the villages.”
“We’ll get the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit to visit the neglected colonies every once in a while.”
“We’ll decorate the Palace every Winter Solstice, no matter what the Sages say.”
Zuko’s smile doesn’t leave his face as he leans in and presses his lips to Katara’s, breathing in the smell of sea breeze and lavender. He thinks he can stay in this moment with her forever.
Their wedding is tomorrow and tradition laces every aspect of their relationship. But while the stars shine in the sky and the light of the moon brightens with their embrace, their love grows stronger and winds itself in every law and rule that dictates their every move.
The sages find them right as the moon begins its descent and their disapproval is ignored, for in a few hours they will become one.
Katara marries Zuko on a sunny Summer day in the Fire Nation. Zuko marries Katara during a gentle Winter snow in the Southern Water Tribe.
She is dressed in reds and golds and wears a crescent crown atop her head. He is robed in ceruleans and whites and a blue ribbon adorns his neck.
Their friends and family laugh and cheer and cry. It is a union of new beginnings, and their first kiss as a married couple paints a new era of peace in the world.
Their love is untraditional and defies every custom laid out by their ancestors. But Zuko and Katara break traditions like it’s customary to do so.