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“The kitchen is out of papaya.”
Zuko can’t help but quirk up a smile at his wife. Cruel, really, considering it was so upsetting that she came to him crying over it, but adorable because Katara used to hate papaya. There were a lot of things about his wife that had changed throughout the duration of her pregnancy.
Once averse to Fire Nation food and how spicy things tended to be, he, more often than not, caught her red-handed eating fire flakes and other treats, claiming that it was the only thing that made the debilitating nausea and morning sickness that left her bedridden for her first trimester subside.
He shakes his head, pulling her into his chest as he wraps his arms around her. “But, you hate papaya, my love.”
Katara sniffles. “Yes, but your spawn doesn’t.” Then, she looks up at him, pouting with full lips that became even fuller as a result of her pregnancy, the big blue eyes he drowns in shiny with unshed tears. “So, can we plant a papaya tree in the garden? The doctor said our baby is the size of a papaya now.”
Zuko grins, then places a kiss on her forehead. “Sweetheart, we can plant an entire grove of them for you and our little papaya.”
Later, when Crown Prince Tulok becomes of age, it’s Zuko that tries not to sob when he reminisces about his firstborn being their little papaya at his crowning ceremony.
***
The second time Katara comes to him crying, it’s when he’s holding court in the throne room.
Early in the afternoon, he is less surprised to see his pregnant wife and Fire Lady still in her robe, nightgown, and slippers, because of course, his daughter-of-the-moon wife was still in the bed they shared at 11 am, especially given her current condition. The nightgown was much shorter on her body now due to the growing belly underneath, and really, he probably should’ve been scandalized by the amount of thigh she was showing, but, while she is beautiful and gorgeous, carrying his child so well, all he can focus on is her sobs.
The flames lit behind him jump in intensity as anger surges through his veins because who is making Katara upset? Who has dared to say something so offensive that she’s taken full advantage of being the exception to his every rule, including the one that specifically says he is not to be interrupted, and walked in unannounced? It only adds insult to injury that the guards stationed at the door look horrified – and mildly amused.
He’s up on his feet and walking to her in a matter of seconds, willing himself to keep his temper at bay as the protective and territorial instincts that are only heightened now that she’s with child, his heir, scream at him to find who or what did it and fix it, making them pay.
That is, until he gets a good look at her face, sees the melted chocolate on the sides of her mouth, and she cries, “Did you leave chocolate with a sweet chili marshmallow fluff center on my pillow? That is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
When she requested it last night, he told her there was no such thing as chocolate with a sweet chili marshmallow fluff center.
Then, Katara asked him what’s the point of being the Fire Lord if he couldn’t make that happen. Apparently, “ruling this country we call home and undoing generations of death and destruction is the point” was not a suitable answer if the way she huffed and rolled over on her side with her back facing towards him was any indication.
So, he woke up even earlier than usual to make a trip to the market and purchase the peppers she likes – not too ripe so they’re losing the flavor, but not too, unripe either, somewhere in the middle so the heat level is just right, so the head chef can make a special, custom sweet chili marshmallow fluff for the chocolate he made with Ember Island cacao beans. It’s no longer unusual to see the Fire Lord out and about running his own errands like a regular citizen.
Zuko would like to believe that taking a comet-enhanced lightning bolt for her, as well as marrying her, and putting a baby in her belly was the nicest thing ever done for her, but considering how she often yells at him “any fool could ejaculate in a woman and make a baby, it’s not that impressive,” even though the greatest waterbender in the world letting him do this to her is the impressive part, he just laughs and pulls her into a kiss right in front of council, advisors, and everyone else that’s important.
It almost turns into something else, and he has half a mind to take her back to bed and lick the chocolate off her face, and perhaps, other parts of her body, and then, Katara gags, pushing him away as she runs off.
It’s then he remembers that they have an audience and he laughs. “Hormones.” He says with a shake of his head.
***
The third time, they’re having lunch in his private garden.
“Any day now, little guy.” Katara grumbles, looking down at her belly. With so much of their lives a public affair, from Zuko writing tea recommendations for the newspaper, to restaurants posting the most requested meals from the Fire Lady due to her cravings, to gossip columns speculating how exactly the Fire Lord is keeping the romance alive while navigating being the ruler of a country and impending fatherhood, they decided to keep the gender between their friends and family. Although people seemed more concerned about which element the baby would bend than whether it’ll be a girl or a boy.
At 37 weeks along, Katara’s at the point where she can no longer see her own feet, making the simplest things such as shaving her legs, putting on her shoes, and getting out of bed a process.
But, as uncomfortable and tiring as it is, she doesn’t mind because even though it takes them a little longer now to get ready in the morning because he’s helping her out of bed, going as fast or slow as she’s up for that day, moisturizing the parts of her body she can no longer reach, easing her into chairs, and fastening the sandals that don’t hurt her swollen feet, he does it all with a smile on his face. He’s the Fire Lord – people are supposed to serve and cater to him, and yet, he caters to her, making sure she never touches a door handle, carries something too heavy, or goes without her cravings for too long.
And on days when the physical weight of being pregnant and the emotional pain of going through her first pregnancy without her mother there to guide her is taking a toll on her, he’s there to provide comfort, solid and steady like hard earth, with the warmth of a firebender.
Honestly, Katara was carrying it so well, because Zuko was there. He was determined not to make the same mistakes his father did, and he used that fear to drive him to do and be better.
“Don’t rush my seed.” Zuko teases. “Good things take time to grow.”
Katara rolls her eyes. “I don’t recall planting them taking time.”
Zuko scoffs. “That’s because I was the one doing much of the work while you laid there like a good girl.”
His wife is typically very active, whether she’s over or underneath him, but sometimes, when the pleasure is too much and all she can say is “honey, please,” as he takes her apart just to put her back together again, he watches his headstrong, beautiful, and determined wife that loves to challenge and provoke him, turn into a submissive little princess.
She turns her head in his direction to look at him. “In my defense,” She starts to whisper against his lips. “It’s kind of hard to do much of anything besides enjoy the ride when you’re doing that and rasping sweet nothings in my ear.”
He leans forward, closing the distance between them to place a kiss on her lips, pulling her bottom lip in between his teeth, enlisting a soft whimper from her.
“Mhmm, yeah, I definitely remember this part.”
“Yeah?” Zuko rasps, cupping her chin to hold her in place.
Katara goes to wrap her arms around his neck. “How could I forget, Fire Lord-awwww.”
He blinks in confusion. Aw? He’s not trying to be cute, or adorable. It’s been a while since they slept together. After the morning sickness finally wore off, although he quickly realized that it wasn’t solely a morning thing, with him often finding her clutching the edge of a toilet in the middle of the day, her skin flushed and pale, or dried-up vomit on the sheets in he morning, Katara only had a few weeks of peace before her body started changing, and thus, so did her feelings about herself and her appearance.
There were a few moments here and there where Katara wanted to do nothing more than make sweet love, and he was more than happy to oblige, even if it left him feeling tired and drained, like he wasn’t good for anything except what was in between his legs, but for the most part, the thought of her own husband was more revolting than pleasant these days.
“Aw?”
Her face crumples as her bottom lip juts out. “The baby turtleducks are following their mama around the pond.” She sniffles. “It’s so cute.”
Zuko shakes his head, laughing as he pulls her into him. “And in a few weeks, we’ll have one of our own.”
***
When their child is born, taking his first breath into the midwife’s waiting arms, it’s not Katara that cries.
In fact, Katara is more calm and composed for someone who was in labor for just under 12 hours, the intensity of her contractions and how close they were to each other barely giving her time to rest and relax in between, than he is, as his hands shake when the midwife hands him the ulu to cut the cord.
“Congratulations, my lady.” She nods in Zuko’s direction. “My Lord. You have a beautiful baby boy.”
Zuko feels his heart skip a beat over his wife being acknowledged first, because it makes him think of how nervous, fearful he was, leading up to their marriage, afraid that he was dragging Katara down with him onto a sinking ship. Then, Katara smiles at him; it’s a smile that he later begins to associate with his son, a special, warm grin reserved just for him, glowing with pride, and dewy, her skin slick with sweat. “Get up here and join us so you can hold your son.”
After several “Is this okay?,” and “I’m not hurting you, am I?," he carefully maneuvers himself onto the bed, sitting next to her as she laid propped up against a mountain of pillows. He blocks out the attendants diligently cleaning up the mess around them when Katara shifts and gently places their son into his arms because all he can think about is how honored he feels knowing that this magnificent woman chose him to be her person and bore him a child, not just a heir, but a piece of him and her. Then, the tiny baby who will later be named Tulok, a strong Water Tribe name for a Fire Nation Prince, opens his eyes, ones that mirror his own, and a sob spills out of the Fire Lord’s throat.
“Hi, baby boy. I’m your dad. And I love you and your mom so much.”