Korra sucked in a deep breath, gazing at herself in the mirror of her dressing room. She hardly recognized the reflection looking back at her. Sure, she had dressed up for formal affairs before, but never something this big. Never her own wedding. The gown she wore was elegant and flowing, blue in color with a crisp white trim, and an intricate pattern of laces along the back. Her hair, when it was finished, would be tied up in the back with a traditional Water Tribe headpiece, while the sides had already been tied together in a pair of short braids. The betrothal necklace wrapped in place around her throat, its platinum lotus pendant gleaming in the light. Familiar or not, the woman staring back at her was more beautiful than she'd ever thought she could be.

"I can't believe this is happening," she said, with a shuddering exhale. "I'm getting married today. Oh wow, I'm so nervous." She held a hand to her stomach, and turned her gaze to the other women in the room, namely Senna, Pema, and Katara. "Were you all this nervous when you got married?"

"Nervous, excited, sick to my stomach..." Pema mused, watching from her seat nearby. "Really, I almost threw up before I went out there. Fortunately, Katara was there to help settle my stomach."

Katara offered a chuckle, as she worked to tie all the laces on Korra's dress in place. "I haven't seen anyone that nervous since I got married. Only difference was, I didn't have a master healer on hand to ease my nerves. My brother tried to calm me with some bad jokes, but I'm pretty sure that just made it worse."

"Your father and I had a much smaller wedding, so I can't say I was that nervous." Senna looked up from her work on Korra's hair to give her daughter a smile in the mirror. "I think I was more afraid than anything. I came from a small family, I was an only child, I had no idea what else I was going to do with my life, and my parents didn't approve of Tonraq at the time, so it was pretty terrifying."

Korra raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Wait, are you saying you and Dad eloped?"

"More or less, yes," her mother replied, with a soft laugh.

"Ooh, how romantic," Pema said. "Good for you, not letting anything get in the way of your love."

"Oh, my parents came around eventually," Senna said, "but they were furious for a while. It certainly made family holidays intense."

"Ha, I can imagine," Korra chuckled. She watched herself in the mirror a moment longer, before glancing back towards Katara. "How's the dress coming?"

The old woman hummed a quiet breath. "Almost have it finished. You had to go with the complex laces, didn't you?"

"Heh, sorry. I just really liked this gown."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Katara assured, flashing a gentle smile. "Just giving you a hard time."

A knock sounded on the door. When it opened, Zhu Li poked her head inside. "Are we almost ready in here? We start in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, we'll be ready," Korra replied. "Thanks for helping to organize everything, by the way."

Zhu Li offered a soft smile. "Just doing my part." With a parting nod, she ducked back out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Senna finished her daughter's hair, and made her way around front to give Korra a loving smile. "I think the real question is: are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said, curling her lips into an excited grin. "So, so ready."

Senna breathed deep, wrapping her arms tight around her daughter. "I love you, Honey."

Korra hugged her mother warmly in return. "I love you, too, Mom."


Kuvira steadied her nerves with a deep, calming breath. In and out, easy does it. Ever since waking that morning, she'd been jittery and on edge. That anxiety had only increased when she put on her gown and stepped in front of the mirror. Staring at herself now, she forced a hand against her gut and cringed. Her stomach churned, as if fighting against her in mock defiance. Spirits, what was wrong with her? This was the biggest day of her life, and she couldn't settle herself no matter how hard she tried. She could prepare herself for speeches in front of thousands of people with little trouble, and yet getting ready for her own wedding brought her to a nervous mess.

"It's a rather simple dress, isn't it?" said a chiding voice, calling her from her thoughts. Azula lounged against the couch on the far wall, dressed in a short red and gold dress of distinctive Fire Nation style. She was one of three others in the room, along with Baatar Sr., Opal, and Toph. "If it were me, I'd have gone with something more elegant and regal. Not something so... plain. Red, too. Definitely red."

Kuvira quirked a brow into the mirror. Her own wedding gown, while not extravagant, was of a deep Zaofu green, embroidered with an intricate flower design along the bodice. It flowed down to her ankles, clinging tight around her legs to show off her figure, before finally billowing outward at her feet. With a smirk, she focused on Azula's reflection. "Planning for the future, are you?"

"What?" Azula stiffened upright on the couch. "N-no, don't be ridiculous. I was just saying."

Kuvira's smirk grew wider. "Sure you were."

Azula folded her arms tight over her chest and looked away with a huff. "I don't need this."

"I think the dress looks wonderful," Opal said, giving her sister a smile in the mirror. Her fingers worked delicately to wrap Kuvira's hair in a long, elegant braid, complete with white flowers stuck in the back. "It's perfect."

"You look beautiful," Baatar said, with a warm smile of his own. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," she replied, lips curling brightly. "Dad."

"Well, I think she looks great too," Toph declared, with a firm nod. "And the dress."

Azula shot her a quizzical glare. "What are you babbling about? You can't see at all."

"Well gee, thanks for reminding me, I'd completely forgotten," the old earthbender muttered, with a roll of her blind eyes. "I know that, obviously. That's the whole point of the joke! I see finding a heart didn't necessarily lead to you finding a sense of humor."

"Excuse me," Azula shot back. "I have an excellent sense of humor."

"Oh really? Then say something funny. Go ahead, I'll wait."

"Okay, I will! Um..."Azula paused momentarily, scratching her head in thought. When an idea came to her, she looked up with an eager smile, and her tone shifted with excitement. "Alright, who can shave thirty times a day and still have a beard?" She allowed a brief pause to linger, and then, with a humorous laugh, blurted out the punchline. "A barber!"

Toph deadpanned, her blind stare pointed in Azula's general direction. "Hilarious."

Azula's expression darkened with frustration at the old woman's clear distaste. "You just don't appreciate a good joke! Kanna told me that one, and I'll have you know that she has a remarkable sense of humor."

"Hmph, well clearly none of it rubbed off on you," Toph muttered.

Azula gripped the arm of the couch tightly, glowering at the old earthbender. "Why you..."

"You really love her, don't you?" Kuvira said, quickly interjecting herself into the conversation before things got out of hand. "Kanna, I mean."

Azula glanced at the matriarch, calmly settling herself back into her seat. "Well, yes, of course I do. She's a wonderful child."

"Alright, I'm almost finished here," Opal said, as she set down Kuvira's completed braid. She reached for a pair of pins and began pulling up a little on the back of the gown. "Just a minute and that problem we had with the back sagging down shouldn't happen again."

"Thank you, Opal." Kuvira heaved out another anxious breath. "Wow, I am nervous."

"I remember how nervous I was before my wedding," Baatar said, with a wistful sigh. "Sweaty palms, my stomach doing flip flops, but when I saw Suyin walking down that aisle, it all went away. After that, I was just... happy. So happy."

Cold, distant sorrow rooted in the center of Kuvira's gut. Suyin wouldn't be here for the wedding. Hadn't been there already, for Opal's before that. She should have been there, and yet fate had dictated otherwise. Kuvira forced the sorrow away, lifting warmth back into her chest with another deep breath. This was a day for joy, not for grief. Spirits knew, Suyin would only scold her if she started sulking now.

A knock on the door called her attention away from the mirror. The door opened, revealing Varrick on the other side. "Knock, knock, people! You almost ready in here or what? We got a schedule to stick to, and as it stands we're already two minutes behind!"

"Almost," Opal assured. "We'll be out in a minute."

"Make it thirty seconds!" Varrick countered. "We don't want to keep the guests waiting. Oh, and uh, you got a visitor out here, but make it quick!"

Varrick stepped out of the doorway, making room for the visitor he'd mentioned. When Kuvira saw who it was, her heart leaped into her throat with an audible gasp.

"Hello, Kuvira." Baatar Jr. entered the room slowly, awkwardly tugging at the sleeve of his suit as he waited for her to respond.

"Baatar?" It was all she could think to say at first. After everything that had happened between them, and especially after the last time they'd spoken, Baatar was the last person she would have expected to attend her wedding. "You... you came?"

"Yes, I did," he replied. "Can we, uh... Can we talk?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she said, still rooted by her shock. Turning to the others, she added, "Could you give us the room for a minute?" She waited patiently for the room to clear out, leaving only herself and her former fiancé. When they were gone, she turned to Baatar and inhaled a deep breath. "I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Honestly, I didn't expect to be here," he replied, "but there are some things I wanted to get off my chest."

"What kinds of things?"

"Kuvira, I..." Baatar closed his eyes, and bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry for what I said the last time we spoke. I was angry, and it came out harsher than I meant."

Kuvira eased a gentle sigh. "It's not like I didn't deserve it. I hurt you more than I can ever make up for, and just saying I'm sorry will never make it better. I am sorry, though. For everything."

"I know." Baatar rubbed a hand against his forehead, a visible expression of regret creeping onto his face. "After Mother died, I tried to blame you for that too. I tried to tell myself it was your fault, even though I knew it wasn't. I was just looking for more reasons to hate you, to be angry at you. Now, I... It's been seven years, Kuvira. I don't have the energy to be angry anymore." He removed his hand and looked up to meet her gaze. "What I'm trying to say is... can we start over? I'd like it if we could at least be friends again."

A slow, subtle smile curled its way across Kuvira's face. In that moment, one final, crushing weight lifted from her shoulders, one she hadn't even known was there. One final regret, at long last relieved. "I'd like that too. Thank you, Baatar."

The door burst open again a second later, and Varrick poked his head back in. "Come on, folks, let's go! We're four minutes behind schedule now!" He disappeared again, slamming the door shut behind himself.

Baatar gave a quick look back at the door, before focusing on Kuvira. "So, are you ready?"

"Yeah," she said, with a firm nod. "I am."


The grand hall of the Southern Water Tribe Palace had been carefully rearranged for the wedding ceremony, with rows and rows of chairs set up on either side of a single aisle cutting down the center of the chamber, complete with a long blue carpet. Wedding guests sat in eager anticipation of the ceremony about to begin, exceptions being those standing on either side of the ice-carved archway at the end of the aisle. Asami, Opal, Azula, Eska, and Jinora, the wedding's bridesmaids, stood on the left side, while Mako, Bolin, Anraq, Wing, Wei, and Huan, the wedding's bridesmen, stood on the other side. Katara stood at the center directly beneath the archway, patiently waiting as the ceremony's officiant.

When the music hit, everyone's attention turned to watch the rear entrance of the hall. Korra appeared first, with her father at her side. Tonraq took his daughter by the arm, gave her a loving smile, and led her down the aisle towards the archway. Korra beamed a bright smile the entire way down the aisle, a smile that never left her face even as her father gave her away in front of the archway and joined the other guests.

Her smile only grew warmer when the music hit a new note, and her bride appeared at the end of the hall. The guests turned again to the entrance of the hall, where Kuvira made her way down the aisle with Baatar Sr. at her side. Neither woman took their eyes off the other. When Kuvira made it to the end of the aisle, and both brides stood across from each other beneath the archway, they gazed deep into each other's eyes and reached out to hold hands.

When both brides were in position and the music settled down, Katara cleared her throat and looked out at the guests in attendance. "Family and friends, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the joining of Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe, and Kuvira Beifong, matriarch of Zaofu, in marriage. With love and commitment, they have decided to dedicate themselves to each other and spend the rest of their days as loving wives."

Korra tightened her fingers against Kuvira's. Not once did they look away from each other. Not once did their smiles leave their faces.

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time in exactly the same way, from moment to moment," Katara stated. "Such is an impossibility, and even a lie to pretend to, and yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its change. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity, but what we fail to realize is that the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity, in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern."

Katara's smile brightened, as she looked back and forth between the two brides. "Avatar Korra, Matriarch Kuvira, today you choose each other before your family and friends, to begin your life together as two separate halves of a greater whole. For all the tomorrows that follow, you will choose each other over and again, in the privacy of your hearts. Let your love and friendship guide you, as you learn and grow together. Experience the wonders of the world, even as patience and wisdom calm the restless nature. Through your partnership, triumph over the challenges in your path. Through the comfort of loving arms, may you always find a safe place to call home."

Kuvira squeezed Korra's hands and shuddered out a nervous breath. This was it. The moment drew nearer now. These would be her last few seconds as an unmarried woman, and spirits be damned if she wasn't both excited and terrified all at once. Of all the things she had ever done in her life, this would be by far the biggest and most important. As fiercely as her nerves raged, she pressed on against them. She was ready for this. More than ready. As long as she had Korra by her side, she could triumph over anything.

"Now, for the vows." Katara pulled out a small slip of paper to read from, and turned to Korra. "Do you, Korra, take Kuvira to be your wife, in equal love, as a mirror for your true self, as a partner on your journey to honor and to cherish, in sorrow and in joy, till death do you part?"

Korra breathed in deep and widened her smile. "I do."

Katara shifted focus to Kuvira. "And do you, Kuvira, promise to always be there for Korra, to shelter and hold your love as the most precious gift in your life? Do you promise to be truthful and honor her, to care for her always and stand by her in times of sorrow and joy, as her beloved wife?"

"I do." The words flowed out of her mouth before she even realized she had said them, and any nerves still lingering in her body eased gently with relief.

"Then I now pronounce you lawfully wedded wives," Katara said, as she took a step to the side. "You may kiss the bride."

Kuvira moved forward, cupping her hands around Korra's cheeks. They gazed at each other a moment longer before leaning close and joining their lips together in their first kiss as a married couple. Pure joy tore through Kuvira's entire being, lifting her spirit to the sky and back. They held the kiss for as long as possible, deep and tender in their embrace. Somewhere in the background, distant and muffled in her mind, she heard the guests break out into applause and excited whistling. She barely heard them. As far as she was concerned right now, there was only Korra.

There was only her wife.


Early next week, Kuvira and Korra would be leaving on their honeymoon, intent on touring around the Earth Republic for a while, maybe making their way up to Ba Sing Se. In the meantime, the newly married couple enjoyed the aftermath of a passionate wedding night together. They both lay on their side, Kuvira with her back pressed up against Korra's front, and Korra with her arms wrapped around her wife's waist. While Korra was fast asleep at this point, Kuvira drifted on the cusp of slumber and still partially awake. Awake enough to hear the knocking on their bedroom door.

At first, Kuvira's half-asleep mind assumed the noise to be the beginnings of a dream, as sleep crept in to take her for the night. The knock came again, louder this time. Definitely not a dream. With a tired yawn, she opened her eyes and muttered softly to herself. A third knock. Confusion and irritation compelled her out of bed. Who in spirits name could that be at this hour? This was their wedding night. Anyone with any sense should know well enough to leave them alone until tomorrow.

The knock came a fourth time before Kuvira finally woke herself up enough to grab a robe and wrap it over her body. A deep yawn billowed out of her throat, as she made her way to the door. A fifth knock, this one more urgent than the others.

"I'm coming, hold on," she muttered, reaching for the handle. Putting on her best annoyed expression, she flung the door open and glared at the figure standing before her. Whoever this was, she would be sure to make them regret disturbing her on her wedding night. "Do you have any idea what time—?"

Her words froze in choked silence, cutting out with a frail whisper. She knew this figure. Oh, spirits, how she knew her. The woman looked different than how Kuvira remembered her. Younger, in fact, her once gray hair now a deep, jet black, while any wrinkles or other age lines had smoothed out and vanished. Late twenties or early thirties, perhaps. Certainly not her mid-fifties, as she had been the last time Kuvira saw her. Younger indeed, but unmistakable all the same.

"Hello, Kuvira," the woman said, in a sweet, familiar voice, although the tone was not as rough as it once had been, a bit higher pitched and more energetic. More youthful.

"Su...?" Kuvira uttered, her voice cracking out in a shrill squeak.

Suyin Beifong cocked her hips to the side and flashed an acknowledging smirk. "I'm not too late for the wedding, am I?"