Birth Of Fire

Beauty and the Beast

Sakka and Suki were at the house faster than instant noodles, and as soon as Toph opened the door to let them in, they were barging into the house in search of the new addition to the family.

After a quick greeting to Katara who took Nilah from Suki's arms, the married couple rushed into the bedroom where Aang was resting with wide smiles.

Aang was lying in bed, the little bundle of joy in his arms and wrapped in a blue blanket with the airbenders finger in it's mouth. Zuko was lying in bed right next to them with his arm around the upright avatar, and his face buried in his mate's neck as he watched their child feed.

Aang had slept for a few hours, but after a small feeding by Zuko, the Airbender was feeling much better with the rest that he has had. Everyone in the house had been taking good care of him, feeding him, getting him water, fluffing his pillows, etc. Meanwhile, his body felt exhausted, and though he was better than before, his lower half was still in pain and it was hard to move too much.

Both Zuko and Aang knew that they really had their work cut out for them if the last couple hours were anything to go by. The baby had done everything from poop and cry, to fall asleep and wake up in a hungry rage that had startled Aang from his sleep recovery. The baby had proven to be temperamental when it came to how he fed. Apparently, if Aang and Zuko did not take turns feeding their blood to the baby, then he would pitch a fit.

Suki put a hand over her mouth as Sakka came over with the happiest grin on his face. They both seemed starstruck at the image in front of them, and Aang smiled at them in greeting.

The baby seemed to be swimming through the border between feeding and sleeping as if it currently couldn't decide which it would rather be doing. Everyone just stared down at him fondly, adoring the chubby cheeks and the closed eyes that were much too big for his face.

"What did you decide to name him?" Suki asked in a soft whisper, not wanting to disturb the precious little on.

Aang smiled up at the married couple, "His name is Eran."

"He's beautiful isn't he?" Katara asked as she quietly walked in the room.

"He has Zuko's eyes! But he looks just like you, Aang." Suki said.

Zuko noticed then that Aang's eyes appeared to be dropping. The grey in his irises getting smaller and smaller the more tired he got. The air bender made a small noise as he yawned, and Zuko gently took the dozing baby from his arms. "Get some sleep, Aang."

The monk nodded with a sleepy grin, and everyone left the room.

After Aang had the baby, he no longer needed to have routine feedings from his mate, and he was healthy with just normal human food again. There was nothing to worry about anymore; everyone was out of danger, the baby was healthy, Aang was healing great, and they now had a new member in their family.

Aang and Zuko were both grateful for everyone, grateful that they all chose to help protect them. Neither of the two immortals thought they would have lasted so long without Katara, Toph, or Sakka and Suki. Neither would Sango and Minho without all of them.

After feeding Eren and giving the newborn to Katara for a nap, Zuko went back to Aang's bed and climbed in with him. Slowly and gently so he didn't disturb the sleeping airbender, he put an arm around his slim shoulders and rested there. He didn't need sleep, but it was still nice to lay in bed with his mate. Protecting him, comforting him, and loving him all at the same time.

Questions flooded his mind though. How would the baby grow up? Would he need human food? Would he only feed on blood? How would he age? Would he be safe going out in public?

They were really in for a long and difficult ride, but he was ready and willing to face it.

...

Hehe... super short.. my bad. It was taking so long to get a chapter out, so I wanted to give y'all something to let you know that this isn't abandoned. It's just not a priority so updates will be slow.

There will be a little drama in the next chapter, time skipping a few months right into the fun. So look forward to that. Hopefully it won't take half a year to get out. I'll try to keep it in the three month range at least.

Hope you enjoyed