Note: Okay, this is a modern day one-shot, Aang is five, Toph is five, Katara is seven, Sokka is eight, and Zuko is nine. Hope you like it, it's based off my friend and her family, and a memory of a while back when my best friend (a little boy 2 years younger than me…freaky, huh?) and I decided to get married. At the time he was five and I was seven…so, yeah. If you have any questions ask, and please review.

If you enjoy this and want me to make more, please send me a review saying so, and I will write more of the tiny gang's adventures.

Marriage

The sun was just making its way into the sky when Gyatso heard the soft padding of Aang's footsteps pass his room. The door was creaked open and a small face appeared, round and beaming, shouting "Wake-up, wake-up", though his voice was barley above a whisper because he had just gotten up himself.

Gyatso sat up and nodded his head, smiling. "I'm up, Aang. Go downstairs and get out your cereal, and I'll be down in a minute to pour the milk"

It was Sunday, and that meant couples got in free to the old theater, so Gyatso was usually stuck babysitting. Not that he minded it, in fact he loved the company, but his favorite were the sweet siblings from across the street, Katara and Sokka. They were Aang's favorite, too, seeing as how he begged for them to come over every Sunday.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed by the time Gyatso had pulled on his robe (although he had left his job preaching at the church to move to the suburbs with Aang a few years ago, he still found pants restricting) and made his way downstairs. He passed through the living room and entered the kitchen, not surprised to find that five-year old Aang, despite orders, had impatiently poured his own milk into the overflowing bowl of cheerios.

Gyatso pulled a tattered rag from a nearby drawer and turned it over in his hands, searching for a spot that was not already splattered or stained from previous Aang-spills-something experiences. He mopped up the milk before patting Aang on the head and retreating to the living room to watch a much anticipated Dr. Phil marathon, leaving Aang to finish his cereal in silence.

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"Unca, Unca-Unca-Unca Gyatso…"

Seeing his uncle focused in the direction of the T.V., Aang walked over and, in an attempt to get Gyatso's attention, proceeded to do a strange little jig while blocking the screen.

'Aang must have gotten into the sugar again…' Gyatso thought absently as the five-year-old wagged the spoon assertively.

"Unca, it's time, huh- isn't it?"

"Un-cle, Aang. I'm Uncle Gyatso"

Aang just pouted and popped the spoon into his mouth.

"Alright, Aang, give me the spoon and go upstairs to change into your day clothes, and Sokka and Katara will be here soon, okay?"

There was a vigorous nod from the boy, and he practically threw the spoon at the couch as he scampered toward the stairs. Footsteps accompanied delighted chants of "Sokka and Katara Sokka and Kataraaaa" until a small thump was heard, and silence rang through the home.

Gyatso turned toward the stairway and smiled. "Careful of that last step, it's lose"

A grunt was heard as Aang picked himself up and raced down the hall with a quick "yeah I know" ringing after him.

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A ding-dong at the door sent Aang bolting through the archway and passed Gyatso's relaxed form seated on the couch, watching his fourth episode of Dr. Phil. It was right in front of the door Aang stood fidgeting, a huge grin spread across his face.

"They're here!"

Gyatso stood and walked over, craning his neck at a very odd angle so that his eyes stayed on the T.V. screen a few moments longer. Commercial break started and, seizing the opportunity, Gyatso opened the door and smiled, his mustache lifting and curling about.

"Ah, Gyatso, we have our little ones here for drop-off." Hakoda said, clapping him on the back a little harder than necessary.

"Thank you so much for doing this, we really appreciate it. We should get back from the cinema by four, but we might stop for dinner, so we should pick them up at five-thirty at the latest." Hakoda's wife smiled and leaned down to her children, whispering something about staying on their best behavior, before ushering them in the house.

Goodbyes were said and waves were exchanged as the couple walked down the driveway and got into the car, but the children seemed more that ready to be away from the watchful eye of their parents.

"Katara!" Aang exclaimed as she pulled him into a tight hug. He offered Sokka a smile that the older boy gladly returned, but Aang was smarter than to expect a hug from him.

Gyatso then announced it was lunchtime ("Boy, you kids must be starving. Let's hurry up and make some sandwiches before the commercials end. Let's see, Aang and Katara want peanut butter and jelly with the crusts cut off, and yes, Sokka, I know, I'll make yours with all the lunch meat I can find. ") and the four made their way into the kitchen.

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Sokka, Katara, and Aang ate their sandwiches on the coffee table in the play room. It was connected to the kitchen, had a sliding door that led to the backyard, and was topped of with a long leather couch and a huge television. It came as no surprise it was Sokka's favorite room in the house, so most of their time was spent there.

At the moment Sokka was the only one watching the T.V., having downed two baloney sandwiches and working on his third while Aang and Katara giggled about something next to him. Spongebob Squarepants had just ended, and was followed by a commercial for Avatar: The Last Airbender up next, but Sokka quickly grabbed the remote and switched the T.V. off, mumbling something about how weird that Avatar show was.

There was a long silence after Katara and Aang's giggles and whispers died down, and the only thing heard was the munching of sandwiches, and Gyatso's voice off in the distance ("You rock, Dr. Phil!").

Finally Katara set her sandwich down and looked at her friend. "Hey Aang?" she said, as Sokka wiped a smudge of peanut butter from her cheek.

"Yeah?" he mumbled through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Wanna get married?"

Aang gulped really loud, Sokka suspected it wasn't because of the food.

"What?"

"Let's get married" Katara declared, grinning at Aang and patting Sokka's back as he choked a little on his milk.

Aang looked from Katara to her brother, who at the moment was laughing into his baloney.

"Um, right now?"

Katara nodded, and Aang smiled back at her. "Okay, Katara. Let's get married."

Just then the doorbell rang and, figuring a certain Uncle was too wrapped up in his talk show, Sokka got up to answer it.

Sokka opened the door to reveal a crinkly old woman with large hair and far too much make-up.

"Uh…Gyatso, it's for you."

Gyatso slowly made his way to the door, and took the appearance of the strange-looking woman in a stride.

"Well, Nanny Margaret, it's…erm, lovely to see you. What brings you here?"

The Nanny grunted. "The child's parents are out shopping again. I figure it's a great time for me to head down to that new bar downtown, mind watching her?" Before Gyatso could even respond she slipped him a twenty and tugged the child out from behind her. The little girl was shoved inside, and Nanny Margaret mentioned something about "keeping it between you and me" and then left.

It took Sokka half a minute and a double-take before realized who this little girl in the frilly dress and pink hair ribbons was. "Toph?!"

"My Nanny left me, didn't she?"

"Uh, yeah" Sokka responded, grabbing the blind girl's hand and leading her into the playroom. "But on the bright side, you're just in time for the wedding…"

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"MEEEOWWW!"

Zuko dropped the lighter he had been playing with and stared in horror. Snapping out of his trance he searched frantically for some sort of liquid to calm the flames, but Zuko realized it was too late; he had set Azula's cat on fire.

How many times would he have to be told not to snoop in his dad's room? If he hadn't ventured in he would've never found the lighter, and Fluffy would still be taking her nap. As he looked around the room Zuko saw a long-necked bottle full of clear juice, uncorked it, and poured it on the cat.

Bad idea. The flames leapt higher (oh yeah, didn't they learn that in school… liquor makes fires worse…) and the feline screeched so loud he was sure the whole block had heard it. Then came his dad's booming voice ("What was that noise? Did it come from my room?") soon followed by Azula's whiney call ("Fluffy?!").

The minute he heard boots stomping up the staircase Zuko panicked further, slid open the window and plunged through without a second thought. He landed on the sloping rooftop and, knocking loose a few random tiles as he went, skidded down, the whole time wondering exactly why his father's room had to be on the second story.

He would've made it, too, landing skillfully on the stacked cushions of the patio furniture, if he hadn't gotten his foot caught on the gutter, throwing him off-balance and sending him crashing through the giant umbrella instead.

The boy groaned and picked himself up off the wooden picnic table he had landed on, to see the sunlight pouring in through the Zuko-shaped hole in the green umbrella.

"As if I hadn't done enough damage already…."

His aching back was suddenly the least of his worries when Zuko heard his father entering the room.

"Holy hell, is that cat on fire? And why is my vodka empty?! ZUKO!!!"

Without even glancing behind him Zuko took off running toward the fence, if he remembered correctly one of the boards was loose, and he could squeeze through and hide for a while in the neighbor's backyard for a while.

You know, just until his dad –and the cat- cooled off.

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"So, Sugar Queen" –Katara winced at the nickname- "Sokka tells me you and the little bald guy are getting married." Toph took a seat in the grassy backyard despite her formal attire, smiled her I-know-everything smile, and proved she had developed her obnoxious personality at a very young age.

Katara smiled widely and nodded, then turned over to where Aang sat in the vegetable garden, digging for worms. "We sure are…" she cupped her small hands on either side of her mouth so Aang could hear her, "Isn't that right, Aang!"

"Yeah, uh-huh" Aang mumbled absently as his fingers wrapped around a fat earthworm that he sneakily dropped into the open bag of Sokka's favorite gummy candies.

Toph smirked at Katara (though her sightless eyes were trained on a bush across the yard) as she began to fiddle with the pink ribbons that adorned her hair. "I always knew this day would come" the young girl announced as she wrestled the first ribbon from her matted pigtails.

Katara dropped the twig she had been drawing in the dirt with and started helping the blind girl with her hair. "Toph, you met us last Thursday."

Toph just laughed loudly and chucked a ribbon across the yard. "Yes, but even during those two hours I played with you at the park, you made it pretty obvious."

Sokka came back over to the group, fiddling with the zipper to his jeans. He finally pulled it up, smiling triumphantly, before noticing Aang and Katara's strange looks.

"Oh, um, I had a lot of milk at lunch, and I didn't want to go inside and disturb Gyatso and the Phil Marathon…." Sokka glanced warily at his friends, and then pointed around the corner of the house he had walked out from moments before. "Just…don't go over there, okay?"

Toph started to laugh while Katara scrunched her nose in disgust and busied herself in Toph's hair. Sokka didn't need to ask twice.

The older boy sat next to Aang and picked up his bag of lifesaver gummies. Digging his hand in the bag Sokka started talking about something, though no one was listening. Aang, Katara, and Toph were all focusing instead on a strange rustling noise coming from a large bush across the yard.

Sokka turned his attention to the bush as well; not noticing when he picked up the worm Aang had planted in his candy and raised it to his mouth.

Zuko had managed to slip through the loose board in the fence, but he now found himself stuck in a jungle of bushes. As he made his way to crawl through, a large twig snagged the back pocket of his kaki pants and ripped the entire pocket right off.

As if his day couldn't get any worse.

Finally Zuko saw a light at the end of the large bushy tunnel, and made his way to it. After a bit of pushing, he rolled out into the open yard, and suddenly wished he stayed at home to face his father.

The four children in the backyard with him (he hadn't counted on the neighbors being in their backyard) were all reacting to his appearance differently. The small girl off to the side (he could tell she was blind by the vacant filmy look in her eyes) looked annoyed, while the older girl grooming her (Zuko noted the two looked similar to the pictures of monkeys picking bugs off each other he had seen in National Geographic) jumped around screaming things like "The bush birthed a child!".

There were also two boys in the yard. The smallest one flashed him a smile before walking over to the screaming girl and attempting to calm her down. The older boy (he almost looked familiar) was…eating a worm?

"Zuko?! What are you doing h- AUGH! IS THIS A WORM?!"

Zuko looked over at worm boy (so familiar), who was currently throwing up some stuff that looked like worm parts, milk, and a whole lot of bologna.

"How do you know my name?"

The boy made a strange noise deep in his throat, and looked downright insulted. He fluffed his tiny ponytail before addressing Zuko. "How can you not remember me? I played one-on-one basketball with you!"

That's where Zuko had seen the boy before. It was Sokka, the child who had challenged him on the playground. Zuko smirked at him "Ah, yes, you're the eight-year-old who wouldn't stop crying when I beat you."

Sokka looked petrified. "I-I…."

Aang turned to Sokka, a mixture of surprise and amusement on his face. "He beat you, and you cried?"

Toph smiled promptly. "And he ate worm."

Katara giggled and Zuko outright laughed, but after the laughter wore off a silence followed.

No one could really explain it, but they could feel it. A very powerful feeling came when they all stood there together, Zuko on one half of the yard, the remaining three on the other.

Aang finally broke the silence with his grin, and walked over to where Zuko stood. "I don't know what you're doing here, but you can stay if you want."

"Um…" Zuko wasn't used to being treated so kindly, but there was no way he was going back home for a while. "Okay" he said, walking over toward the other kids "Thanks…"

Right as Zuko began to think he could actually like these kids (except, possibly, for worm boy) he had to go and turn around, and reveal his missing pocket.

Of all the days to wear his rocket ship underwear…

Everyone laughed at him (even the blind one!), but after a bit the screaming girl (who had since ceased her screaming) hushed them, and in an attempt to make Zuko feel better, told them of how Sokka had a pair exactly like those.

Well, at least they weren't laughing at him anymore.

Trying to change the subject, Sokka gestured to Katara and Aang and asked "So Zuko, you staying for their wedding?"

"Wedding?" Those children couldn't have been older than seven! But, Zuko was still in hiding from his father, and he didn't want to take any chances of offending these people and getting kicked out of their backyard. "Yes, of course I'm staying! I err..." he gulped and his face twisted with the effort "I love um, weddings."

"Good" Katara said, clapping her hands together. "Alright, Toph" she continued, looking at the younger girl, who had successfully covered herself in dirt and messed up her once fanciful hair, "You can be my Maid of Honor!"

Toph screeched ('Just like the cat' Zuko thought) out of disgust, and flailed her arms, staring at the direction Katara's voice had come from. "What?! No way am I going to be your maid!"

Katara giggled a little and said "No, Toph, the Maid of Honor is like, well, she's basically the Bride's best friend."

Aang's mouth fell open as Katara said this, and he dropped the worm he was about to stick down Sokka's shirt. His eyes welled up with tears as he stared at Katara "But, I thought I was your best friend!"

"Oh, Aang, you are, but you can't be the Maid of Honor, you're the Groom" Katara said, touching him tenderly on the arm.

"Groom?" Aang asked, tilting his head to the side out of confusion.

Zuko stepped up, feeling confident in his answer to Aang's question. "You know, groom, as in, what the monkeys are doing when they pick the bugs out of their fur. Kind of like when she (he pointed to Katara) was picking around in the other girl's hair."

Toph made another catlike screech of disgust, before stomping over to where she heard Zuko's voice, and screaming "I am not a monkey!" She made to back this up with a hard thump to his back, but due to her shortness and lack of sight, she ended up slapping him right on his little nine-year-old butt.

Zuko jumped away from the tiny girl, his hands flying down to cover his booty, trying to protect himself from any more of Toph's, um… surprise attacks. He then turned, wide-eyes, to the rest of the group.

"Oh, um" Katara said, trying to hold back laughter "It's not what it looks like- she, uh-"

Sokka, who had been quiet until now decided to speak up. "She's blind"

Zuko seemed to accept this answer, though he had retreated to the other side of the middle of the garden, a safe distance from Toph.

Shaking off everything that had just happened, Katara turned back to Toph and explained that she just had to be the Maid of Honor, because the wedding she and Sokka went to last year had one, and that was the best wedding ever!

Toph just huffed and refused to play such a degrading, girly part (she missed the strange look Zuko shot her that seemed to ask 'You hate girly, and you're wearing that dress?') She insisted on playing a better part, something important.

Sokka tapped his chin thoughtfully, and spoke aloud some of his thoughts. "Well, I guess the most important part is the dude who stands in front of the couple (even though they were getting married, Katara still blushed when Sokka referred to her and Aang as a couple) and reads out the vows for the Bride and Groom to repeat, but you couldn't do th-"

"I'll do it!" Toph announced triumphantly. She scurried over to the patio where she remembered stepping on a book on her way out earlier that afternoon. She picked the book up and opened it.

"Toph, you can't do that job, you're kind of, you know, blind." Sokka fidgeted; obviously sorry he had brought it up.

"I can read this just fine!" she shouted defensively.

Zuko began to laugh, and Sokka slapped a palm to his forehead. Aang, taking pity on Toph, walked over to where she stood, "Um, Toph, you're kind of holding it…" He took the book from her hands, and flipped it before handing it back to her "Upside down" he whispered, as if there was one other person who hadn't already noticed it.

"Well then," Toph started, kicking Aang into place by a sharp jab in the thigh (considering Toph's bad aim, Aang fleetingly wondered if she had been trying to hit him in a much more…tender spot).

Katara grabbed a bunch of grass and a few dandelions that Aang had given to her earlier that day, and explained to Sokka he would walk her down the….patio, but he would also be doubling as the Best Man.

At this Toph smirked and obnoxiously informed Zuko what part that left him. "Well, Rocket Pants, looks like you're gonna be the Maid."

"Of Honor" Katara supplied helpfully; as she pushed the boys out onto the patio and motioned for them to start walking. (A/N: Zuko finally regains his honor! XD)

There was just one problem; they were doing it all wrong! Zuko was shuffling and looking down, and both boys were totally out of sync with the music Katara was humming. Soon she couldn't take it anymore, and interrupted everything to march over and show them the right way to do it.

A few minutes later Sokka and Zuko were walking down the patio, arms linked, and mirroring each other's steps as they walked in tune with the music. Before they reached the end, Zuko leaned over to Sokka and whispered "If you ever tell anyone about this, then the whole school learns about the worm thing."

Sokka smiled nervously as he dropped Zuko off to the right of where Katara was to stand, and rushed back to get Katara before she threw a hissy fit. Sokka's "You gotta deal" was carried to Zuko on the wind.

Sokka quickly marched Katara down the patio, and dropped her off by Aang, before taking his place next to the boy.

"Hey," He nudged Aang, whispering "That's my sister".

As a warning or a gesture of pride, Aang would never know.

"Alrighty" Toph began, trying to make her voice as low and manly as a five-year-old-girl could "Do you guys…you know, wanna get married and stuff?"

"I do"

"I do"

"Mmm-kay then," Toph continued, pretending to look over the book, before shutting it rather loudly. "I guess it's time for the rings"

Aang brightened and reached a hand into his pocket, then pulled it out again to reveal two small, ring-shaped lifesaver gummy candies.

Aang smiled proudly as he held them. "I took them from Sokka's candy before I stuck the worm in there.

"Hey, you stole my cand- WAIT! YOU PUT THE WORM IN THE BAG!" Aang could see the vein popping on Sokka's forehead. "Katara! Your little hubby over here made me eat worm! I think you should reconsider your-"

"Shush Sokka!" Katara scolded, before turning back to Aang "Sorta busy right now, I'm getting maaaried" she cooed, stretching out the last word and flicking her hand out in front of her with a girlish charm that made Aang grin stupidly.

"I got you the blue one, cause blue's your favorite" Aang bragged, as he slid the stretchy gummy on her finger.

"You're sooo sweet!" Katara praised as she stuck the yellow one on his finger.

"Yes, yes, we're all so very sweet" Toph said, wagging the book in the air. "Well, that pretty much is all… Twinkle Toes, you may kiss the Sugar Queen."

A bit of an awkward silence followed, that everyone seemed to notice except Toph. Neither Aang or Katara knew exactly what to do here; it was obviously a part they hadn't exactly thought about.

Sokka's words still ringing in his ears, Aang leaned over, a blush covering him right down to his neck, and pressed his lips to her cheek.

He pulled away and looked to the side, smiling sheepishly, and still a deep shade of red. Katara noticed Sokka seemed okay with a peck on the cheek, and Toph (although she couldn't see the kiss) seemed quite satisfied, and she could detect the smallest of smiles of Zuko's face. So, everyone was happy… but…

Without really thinking at all, Katara grabbed Aang's arm and jerked him toward her. With this sudden movement Aang's head snapped up, and Katara quickly placed her lips on his for half a second, and then moved her head back to look at Aang, before she pulled him into a tight hug.

Over Aang's shoulder she could see her brother, mouth hanging open in shock, and she was vaguely aware of Toph's laughter somewhere behind her, but she was sharply aware of the beat of Aang's heart. She tugged him a little closer and smiled as she carelessly threw the bouquet…which happened to land right in Zuko's hands.

Zuko looked down at the flowers he held in his hands, startled, and remembered that he had read somewhere that catching the bouquet meant you were next to get married. He looked over to his left and saw that one of the flowers had landed in Toph's hair…

Zuko screeched like the cat and dropped the flowers like they were on fire.

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Sixteen years later, at Aang and Katara's wedding, things were different.

Sure, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko were all V.I.P.'s, but this time they had a real priest read real vows from the real bible instead of a five-year-old's picture book, and Toph was coaxed into being the Maid of Honor (though the position was offered to Zuko, first).

Sokka was still the best man, but this time as he walked toward the alter Toph was on his arm, not Zuko, and the night was absolutely worm-free. This time Aang could hear Sokka cry as he watched his father walk Katara down the aisle (no longer a concrete patio) and Aang almost cried himself when Sokka told him, "Hey, that woman is my sister", and he could tell his friend was filled with nothing but pride.

When they got married Aang wore a tuxedo instead of his red dinosaur shirt, and Katara was dressed in a lovely gown instead of those pink and green overalls, but Aang thought she looked beautiful either way. The rings were made out of silver and gold instead of candy, and Katara's bouquet was full of lilies instead of grass, and when told he could kiss the bride, Aang made no hesitation to pull her to him.

And in the front row of the benches, two seats were empty. They were reserved for the spirits of Katara's mother, and a certain Un-cle Gyatso, who was now residing in heaven where Dr. Phil was on non-stop, but Aang was sure he would float on down during commercial breaks to watch the wedding, with a blessing for Aang and Katara, and three bologna sandwiches for Sokka.

And sometime during the reception the five friends will get together and remember the sunny day spent in Aang's backyard, and pretend they've moved on from silly memories like that.

But Aang always had a sense of humor, which is why they had pre-ordered Zuko's dessert: A Baked Alaska set on Fire and in the shape of a certain cat, and a glass of vodka to wash it down.

And even though so many things changed, others did not. Toph still used the nicknames Twinkle Toes, Sugar Queen, Snoozles, and Rocket Pants. Sokka still ate too much, and carried bags of candy around with him to snack on; although after a certain incident involving a worm, he lost his taste for lifesaver gummies.

And Zuko was still always in the wrong place at the wrong time; walking through a crowd of women of his way to the bathroom he managed to get knocked on the head by the bouquet, sending him to the floor where his much-too-tightly-tailored pants split wide open, right at the pocket's seam.