Hello there! It has been a few weeks and I've been itching to post something, but between work, wedding planning, and the mentoring program I support…I've been too tired to write anything worthwhile. Finally had some time, so now I have two one-shots in the works. You can expect those in the next couple of weeks, along with another one or two additions to this drabble series.

Anyway, thanks for clicking and reading! I wrote this one without giving it a full read-through, so I hope it flows smoothly.

Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer:

I do not own ATLA or any of its characters. If I did, this would not be a fanfiction, it would have been part of the show.

Kanna laughed with delight as she watched her granddaughter spin across the dance floor with the Avatar. The light blue of Katara's wedding gown flowed like soft ocean waves as the new bride danced with her groom. In the warm summer night of Kyoshi Island with only lanterns and the stars lighting their evening, the Avatar's arrows seemed to take on a soft glow each time he brought the master waterbender into his arms.

The couple was quite apparently in their own world, with everyone else just a spectator.

Nevertheless, their immense happiness radiated off of them like heat from a furnace, touching everyone in range. It made Kanna's very Spirit warm.

"They look so happy, don't they? Who'd have thought that we'd be here," Hakoda's deep voice rumbled from right next to her.

A little surprised to be pulled out of her thoughts, it took her a second to absorb his words. She could hear traces of nostalgia lingering in his tone.

Kanna looked at her son silently, recalling the feeling of giving a child away to their chosen partner. Happiness aside, there was always an inevitable tinge of sadness and loss.

She studied his eyes.

Perhaps the feeling permeated even more so after having experienced terrible losses leading up to the occasion.

"Mmm," she agreed finally, "They've always had that contented way around each other."

Hakoda put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as they continued to watch the pair spin about the dance floor. It was almost mesmerizing.

Kanna had never seen elation more pure than in their eyes throughout that day. In fact, their smiles were so broad, she thought their faces might not be able to contain them for much longer.

In a flash, her mind flew back to a time when her granddaughter was grief-stricken, a long period where Kanna and Hakoda wondered if they would ever see the light of happiness shine in her eyes again. Those were painful memories made worse by the feeling of helplessness that had overwhelmed the water tribe matriarch at times. The beautiful smile Kya had passed down to Katara had almost been twice lost.

Until a small boy with bright blue tattoos and an even brighter smile to match came along. Yes, that kind and ebullient spirit of his was contagious.

She thought back to the expression on Katara's face the day she had introduced Aang to the tribe.

Kanna watched Katara run to everyone in their small tribe to request that they gather to meet her new friend. An airbender named Aang.

The grandmother had eyed her quietly from the group as she enthusiastically pulled the boy with blue tattoos out from his tent, more eager about introducing him than she had been about anything in so long,

With a delighted smile on her face and a hand on his back, she had gestured to the group.

Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang.

That smile had remained plastered on Katara's face the entire time she watched Aang.

And later, as Kanna had protested her granddaughter's sudden attachment to him, Katara had made a declaration that even she would not grasp the full meaning of until months later.

He's special, I can tell.

"Special indeed," Kanna mumbled to herself.

Hakoda must have caught it because he glanced at her and nodded with an approving smile on his face.

Of course, there were smiles all around tonight. It was a joyous occasion after having had so many tragic ones. They were gathered with friends and family to celebrate the union of two of the world's most recognizable heroes. Kanna would be hard-pressed to find a naysayer to the marriage.

She knew there had been some whispers about the pair. While some thought it might have been the fame and heroism that caused her granddaughter to fall in love with the Avatar, Kanna would readily argue against that notion.

"Hey Dad, Gran-Gran," Sokka's voice came as he squeezed himself between his father and grandmother, draping an arm over each of their shoulders.

"So, when do we think these two will be done putting on their show? It's been a long day and I am starving! Being the groom's honored man is a lot of work!"

Hakoda laughed heartily while Kanna regarded her grandson with mild amusement. As much as he had grown, he still carried remnants of the inexperienced teenage boy who had taken on the responsibility of protecting his sister on her journey into the unknown.

Now taller than his father, Sokka only shrugged and leaned more heavily on the two as he continued to watch his younger sister and new brother-in-law dance under the starlight. There was a glint of pride in his eyes.

The two children who had once needed her so much were quite grown up now. Really, they had grown up a long time ago.

"Be patient, Sokka. Let your sister have her moment," Kanna chided with only mild sternness.

Just then, the newlyweds ended their dance and took a bow. They were beaming as they walked hand-in-hand towards their family. Katara looked so much like her mother as she approached them, it made Kanna ache. She glanced at her son, wondering if he saw it too.

"What a pair," she said wistfully.

Kanna had not wanted to accept it at first, fearing the hurt or loss that might ensue should she let her only granddaughter be swept away by the twelve-year-old untrained Avatar. But the Spirits had pushed and set their case before her. Kanna had had no other choice than to trust what she was seeing.

It was possibly in the way Katara had looked at the then young airbender with such wonder, amazement, and something the elderly Southern Water Tribe matriarch could not quite put into words at the time. Perhaps it stood out most in the way Katara defied her tribe simply to go off on an adventure with the boy she had only just met. Or perhaps in the level of trust for a small, strange boy that made her smile and laugh more than she had in years.

Looking back, it was everything that those things all demonstrated that made the case. Aang brought out a part of Katara, awoke something within her that had been dormant for far too long before they had met. At that point, Kanna had never seen her granddaughter so happy and hopeful than she had in those first few days. The Spirits had signaled to her then that this boy would not be a passing fixture in any of their lives.

Yes, she knew when Katara prepared to venture away from her tribe to follow him that they might be here someday, watching the two benders celebrate their union as a married couple despite the century of tragedies between them. They were bound to each other by destiny.

As the years passed and the love between the two grew from what some might call young love to a genuine everlasting love, there was no questioning the wedding that would eventually come.

And now, watching them together, she knew that the Spirits had been right.

"Hey guys," Katara said as she and Aang reached them.

"Why do you all look so deep in thought," Aang examined his new family curiously.

"Nope, that's just Sokka's hungry look, Sweetie," Katara laughed.

The Avatar, who once had to look up at them, was now towering above even Sokka. His muted orange and yellow robes swayed as he threw his head back and laughed. He brought Katara's hand up to his lips, kissing it sweetly before turning to them all again. The beaming smile on her granddaughter's face did not go unnoticed by Kanna.

"You're right let us eat! C'mon family. We've kept you waiting almost as long as I was in that iceberg!"

Yes, the Spirits had been correct.

The sparkle of happiness in Aang's eyes matched the one shining in Katara's as she watched him lead the way to the buffet table full of food.

Thanks for reading! Review, send feedback, be on the lookout for the next few things I'll post.

Until next time, readers! 😊