Work Text:
When the first letter, sealed with the Fire Lord’s insignia pressed into crimson wax, mentioning a dragon was sent to Katara, she had originally imagined the large beasts that Aang had described after his life-changing field trip with Zuko.
Somehow, it had slipped her mind that those original firebending masters had to be babies at some point. And the tiny, scaly thing wrapped around Zuko’s neck and shoulders like a reptilian scarf was very much a baby.
It was another of the regular trips to the Southern Water Tribe — which were suspiciously increasing in frequency soon after Katara and Zuko opened up about their relationship — when Katara got to meet the baby dragon for the first time.
“His name is Druk,” Zuko introduced. Katara removed one of her gloves to allow Druk to sniff at her fingers.
“Is he not cold?” she asked, then giggled at a thin tongue flicking at her skin.
“Honestly, he might be doing a better job at keeping me warm than myself,” Zuko chuckled. Druk continued his exploration of Katara by leaping into the sleeve of her parka. For such a tiny body, the wave of heat that traveled from Druk through Katara was immense. “Hey! Out!” Zuko called. Druk obeyed, wiggling out of the sleeve and returning to his previous perch, but his large gold eyes were fixed on Katara.
“Aww, the little fire noodle likes me!” Katara cooed. Druk huffed a puff of smoke in response and Zuko could only pout.
Katara was surprised that after her initial introduction to Druk, finally asking Zuko out on a date, and being officially together nearing three years, Druk had barely grown in that time.
“The Sun Warriors said that dragons will typically age quite slowly at first,” Zuko explained after she voiced her worries. “The chief said Druk would likely remain a baby for several more years. After that, though, he said to prepare for a lot of shedding.”
Katara patted the dragon’s tiny head with two of her fingers as he made himself comfortable on her lap. “I guess you’ll still be our little noodle for a long time.”
The Sun Warrior chief was right. Katara was well into the third trimester of her first pregnancy, after four years of dating and one year of marriage, and all Druk has accomplished in growth were an inch or two in length and a rounder tummy from Zuko spoiling him with treats throughout the day.
Never mind that Katara also took part in the same spoiling.
With Druk still being a baby, Zuko began to worry as Katara’s belly grew about how Druk would react to the infant that will eventually be brought into this world.
“Dragons were supposedly very possessive of what they considered theirs. What if there is the off-chance that Druk won’t even consider the baby?” Zuko sat behind his wife, his warm hand resting on the swell of her stomach as Katara leaned against his chest.
“Well, he could still learn to imprint on the baby, right? Is that something we could teach him?” Katara asked, her fingers intertwining with Zuko’s as she held his hand. Before Zuko could respond, a slightly wet, warm nose poked at their joined hands. Looking down, Katara watched as Druk sniffed at their hands and, ever so slowly, turn to stare at her belly.
Even as a baby, Druk’s claws were incredibly sharp. But Katara had not felt a single prick as Druk gently laid a paw on Katara’s belly, his nose continuing to sniff at it. Finally, his gold eyes looked up to meet Katara’s eyes and held her gaze for what could have only been a minute before Druk yawned and curled up into a ball, resting against her stomach. Even as Druk fell asleep, his body continued to warm Katara’s belly.
“Well… I guess Noodle gave us an answer,” Katara chuckled. She reached as best as she could to stroke two of her fingers down the line of fur along Druk’s back. His tiny body rumbled in pleasure at the gesture.
“Good,” Zuko sighed, clearly relieved. Then it was as if Katara could feel the smirk on his face without having to turn around and see it. “But I guess with the way he’s acting already, you’re no longer his favorite.”
“Oh? And are you finally admitting you weren’t Druk’s favorite since he first met me?” Katara teased. Displeased at being woken up, Druk softly nipped at her and Zuko’s fingers before flying away with a huff.