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The rain pitter-pattered on the Royal Palace’s rooftop. The sound of the raindrops was muffled by soft giggling.
“Someone’s bored, huh?” Katara asked, putting down the book she was reading.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Zuko replied, holding baby Kya in his arms. “She definitely wants to go outside. I don’t think we can keep her entertained for much longer.”
The Fire Lady got up from the loveseat she had been resting on. She headed to the bed where the other two were playing.
Sundays were the quieter days for the pair of first-time parents. Between running an entire Nation and dealing with South Pole´s businesses, raising a little one took up most of their time. They loved it that way, making sure their girl got all the attention she deserved. Weekends were almost exclusively reserved for her. Kya adored spending most of her afternoons by the turtleduck pond. But rainy days meant staying inside for at least a while. And the tiny princess wasn't exactly a fan of it.
Sitting down next to her husband and their daughter, Katara softly poked the little girl’s nose.
“You just wanted mommy’s attention, didn’t you?”
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Kya giggled some more.
“Hey!” The Fire Lord exclaimed. “She’s having the time of her life with me.”
“I know, I know, I’m just teasing you,” she said, placing a quick kiss on his cheek.
Zuko gifted her a tender smile in return. “How was your reading session?” he asked.
“Good, but I was already missing you two.”
He held Kya as he glided her through the air, her soft laughter brightening up the entire room. “Well, I think it’s safe to say we’ve both missed you too.”
“You know, for a future waterbender, she doesn’t seem to love the rain that much.”
“Keep dreaming about it,” Zuko laughed. “This little troublemaker has ‘firebender’ written all over.”
Katara gently took the baby from his arms, giving her a warm hug. Kya was smiling from ear to ear, clearly loving the way her parents bickered for her attention.
“You know Sokka is almost rooting for her to be a non-bender, right? He wants to get his chance to teach her how to use a boomerang, fan, and sword.”
“I’m not surprised, he and Suki are the coolest yet craziest uncles ever. But trust me, my gut says she’ll be one unstoppable firebender. Look at her cute little fiery eyes.”
“Mmm, we’ll see about that,” Katara replied. “I can’t believe her first birthday is only about a month and a half away.”
“She’s grown too fast. Don’t even get me started on what my mom and Kiyi have already planned for the party.”
“We shouldn’t sleep on the invitations, by the way, I’m sure Suki and Sokka would love to choose their greatest outfits in advance.”
“Oh, Agni. Wait until Azula realizes Kiyi was looking forward to getting matching dresses with her. That should be fun to watch.”
Little Kya seemed to have her own ideas for the birthday party, as she interrupted them with some opinionated babbling.
“Alright, alright, sweetie, we hear you,” Katara said. “We know you’re bored inside.”
“See? She had us both right here and still complains,” Zuko remarked with a playful smirk.
“You know, I think I might have an idea.” She put the girl back into her father’s arms.
Zuko simply smiled, a curious frown framing his face as he held his daughter.
“Look, Kya, check out what mommy can do,” Katara said as she bent a tad of water out of the glass that rested on her nightstand.
The little girl’s eyes widened as she watched her mom form a tiny water heart in the air, only to disassemble it and have the stream of liquid do a full circle around her before going back to its place. Kya even clapped a bit, giggling and extending her hands to Katara. Her mother took her back into her arms, giving her a little bunny kiss.
“Well, that seemed to entertain her enough,” Zuko cheered. “Though it’s not fair, you know I can’t just firebend around like that.”
“I sense some jealousy there, Kya. Daddy’s afraid I’m going to be your absolute favorite after today.”
The princess mumbled in response, trying to get her hands into her mother’s hair loops. They were one of her favorite things to hold into her little fingers. Always catching her attention and causing Katara to try and convince her to please give her poor hair a break.
“Oh, come on! You know I’m her favorite,” Zuko complained, chuckling. “Let’s see what I can do.”
“Heard that, Kya? I’ve got a competition now!” Katara laughed, sitting the baby on her lap. “Come on, darling, your ladies are waiting.”
“Alright, don’t you two get your hopes too up. It’s going to be the simplest trick in history,” Zuko said as he grabbed a nearby candle.
He held it in his hands, standing up at a cautious distance from the girls. When they were both looking, he put off the flame only to ignite it again a couple of seconds later. He repeated the move a few times, calling Kya’s attention.
“Princess, look here!” he exclaimed. “Where’s the flame? Did it disappear? Nop! Here it is!”
Their daughter just kept giggling, eyes wide open as she watched the flame come and go, softly clapping from her mom’s lap. Zuko wore a bright grin on his face, Kya was his ultimate weak spot. Well, along with his wife, of course. He couldn’t be happier with the little family they had forged together.
“Your trick wasn’t so bad!” Katara exclaimed once he was finished. “My water heart was just a million times cuter, that’s all.”
“And here I was, thinking you loved me,” Zuko raised a brow. “Oh, what a fool.”
“ Shut up, you know I do.” Katara rolled her eyes as she made a playful smile.
“Kya, please know your father does love your mom. It’s not my fault she doesn’t feel the same way,” he joked as he kneeled onto the bed, leaning onto his elbows to stick his tongue out to his wife.
“Oh Agni, what has fatherhood done to this man?” Katara swooned. “I love you, silly.”
Making sure to have Kya firmly secured into her arms, she leaned up to him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. The two young parents maintained eye contact for a tender moment after it. Everything about the gesture was utterly affectionate.
“I love you too,” Zuko replied. “That’s much better, I think I even have the strength to outdo you with one final trick,” he said as he got back on his feet.
“And the Fire Lord strikes again!” Katara laughed.
He took a couple of extra steps back before igniting a tiny flame on one of his hands. Smirking, he did the same thing on the other. Then, he started juggling the two flames, adding a third one once he felt more confident. Kya’s eyes reflected the light from the small flames as she cheered on her dad with some graceful babbling.
“Wow, wow, getting competitive, huh?” The Fire Lady teased.
With a simple wrist movement, she redirected the water from the glass to put out the flames Zuko was juggling with.
“That’s cheating,” he complained, plummeting to the bed and poking Kya’s nose. “Come here, princess, give your poor dad some love.”
The little girl answered with some loud giggling, eager to nestle into her father’s arms.
“Alright, I think I know how to settle this once and for all,” Katara stated, giving Zuko a pinch on his cheek. “I’ll have to warn you, though, I’m definitely winning this funny little contest we’ve got going on.”
“Katara, sometimes I do wonder which one of us is more competitive,” he said as he made a sarcastic smirk.
“Both. I think both is your best bet,” she replied. “So, ready to be defeated?”
“Defeated in entertaining our infant daughter? Yeah, I think I can live with it.”
“Great, then get up. We need to be closer to the window.”
“Got that, little one?” Zuko said to Kya as he stood up, holding her in his arms. “Mommy is going to put on a show for us.”
Once the three of them were by the window, Katara opened it. The smell of rain invaded the room. It was a cloudy day outside, with the rainwater still pouring down all over the garden.
“Sweetie you pay attention to mom, alright? I´m gonna show you waterbending is the best.”
“Sh, Kya, don’t let her tricks convince you.” Zuko grinned.
Katara stuck her hands out the window, a light frown caused by her concentration made its way to her face. Smiling, she tilted her head to make the other two look outside.
It had ceased raining around them, a thousand little raindrops rested static in the air, stopped by her will.
Kya started clapping, extending her arms to point to the outside. She was loving it. Babbling, she seemed to ask if it meant they would finally go outside.
“No, no, princess,” Katara laughed, allowing the rain to keep falling back from the sky. “It’s a waterbending move, it hasn’t actually stopped raining.”
The little girl pouted at the negative, clearly eager to be able to play by the pond.
As she closed the window, Katara gave Zuko a triumphant smile.
“I won, right?” she asked.
Sitting down on the bed, with Kya back on his lap, the Fire Lord let out a soft laugh.
“You win, my lady,” he replied. “Now come here and let me hug you, you know my firebending is handy when it comes to keeping you warm. We don’t want you catching a cold, don’t we?” A playful smirk framed his face.
“ Fine , if you insist,” Katara complied, cuddling in bed with the two of them. “But you know I entertained Kya the most.”
“We all know that. Stopping the rain was a dream come true for her,” he said as he placed a tender kiss on her lips.
All that bending had left the two young parents in the mood for a nap. Placing the baby princess in the middle of them, they played with her until she finally fell asleep. Once they were sure she wouldn’t wake up from the sound of the rain, they resolved to let their eyes fall heavy too. Not before sharing an exhausted yet loving look. They had succeeded at entertaining their little one.
The three of them stayed in bed for most of what remained of the stormy evening. In the end, little Kya had been the actual winner. With her parent’s efforts to amuse her with their little bending competition, spending an afternoon inside hadn’t been boring at all. It was a fact, Sundays were becoming her favorite.