Avatar: Un trésor fragile
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Character/Pairing: Katara/Aang
Author's Note: Written for 31_days: 27 Feb, “The world is tiny; the heart's enormous.” The title comes from a quote from Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Il me semblait porter un trésor fragile.” (It seemed to me as though I was carrying a fragile treasure.)
Warnings: Unbeta'd and rather fluffy (heh, babyfic, of course it's fluffy).
Summary: Aang finds that as his world grows smaller, his heart grows larger.
Un trésor fragile
Soft noises from the sleeping bundle drew Aang in. His daughter was barely a week old, but already he found himself reacting to the tiniest noises. She seemed to be all right, though, shifting in her blankets and clutching them in her tiny fist. For several minutes, Aang found himself absorbed in watching her slumber. He tucked a stray foot back into the blankets and lost himself in thought.
When Katara had told him, months ago, that they were finally going to be parents, he had been thrilled but also worried. The world would look to this child as the continuation of the Airbenders, but what if it wasn't an Airbender? What if it wasn't a bender at all? The entire world would be disappointed. It was so much to put on one tiny child's shoulders before it was even born. Aang had been afraid that, instead of being seen as a blessing, any child of his that couldn't Airbend would be seen as a curse, a waste of an opportunity. (“He should never have married that Waterbender,” they would say.)
After a few days, he had confessed his worries to his wife, expecting her to think they were silly, but instead of laughing, Katara had looked him in the eye and told him seriously that no matter what the world thought, their child would be loved, and that was what mattered.
It was still too early to tell if Kya was an Airbender or not, but he knew Katara had been right. It didn't matter. No matter what happened, and no matter how the world saw her, he and Katara and all their friends would show her nothing but love. Already he was finding that he loved this tiny, amazing person as much as he had ever loved anyone in his life, and for the rest of her life she would know it.
With this thought, he reached out and stroked the top of his daughter's head, where dark hair was beginning to grow. His hand traveled down her soft cheek and stopped under her chin. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then stood and turned to find his wife standing in the doorway, silently watching him.
“How did I know I'd find you here?” she said quietly, with a laugh. She moved across the small room and embraced him.
“How long were you standing there?” Aang asked, resting his head on hers.
“A few minutes,” Katara replied, looking up at him. “I was watching you. What were you thinking about?”
“How much I love you and our baby,” Aang replied.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Katara said, smiling, as she kissed him.
They stayed like that, embracing each other, kissing deeply, for what seemed like forever and yet not long enough, and Aang was suddenly reminded of exactly how Kya had come into existence.
As though thinking of her had caused her to react, the infant woke and began to make small noises, trying to work her way out of the blankets. The two drew apart, and Katara bent down to pick up their daughter, speaking softly to her.
Aang knew there was a world out there depending on him to keep it in balance, to provide a new generation of Airbenders so that the cycle would not be broken, but in that instant all he could see were the faces of the two women that he loved above all else, the two women who comprised his own tiny, perfect world.
Spoilers: None
Character/Pairing: Katara/Aang
Author's Note: Written for 31_days: 27 Feb, “The world is tiny; the heart's enormous.” The title comes from a quote from Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Il me semblait porter un trésor fragile.” (It seemed to me as though I was carrying a fragile treasure.)
Warnings: Unbeta'd and rather fluffy (heh, babyfic, of course it's fluffy).
Summary: Aang finds that as his world grows smaller, his heart grows larger.
Un trésor fragile
Soft noises from the sleeping bundle drew Aang in. His daughter was barely a week old, but already he found himself reacting to the tiniest noises. She seemed to be all right, though, shifting in her blankets and clutching them in her tiny fist. For several minutes, Aang found himself absorbed in watching her slumber. He tucked a stray foot back into the blankets and lost himself in thought.
When Katara had told him, months ago, that they were finally going to be parents, he had been thrilled but also worried. The world would look to this child as the continuation of the Airbenders, but what if it wasn't an Airbender? What if it wasn't a bender at all? The entire world would be disappointed. It was so much to put on one tiny child's shoulders before it was even born. Aang had been afraid that, instead of being seen as a blessing, any child of his that couldn't Airbend would be seen as a curse, a waste of an opportunity. (“He should never have married that Waterbender,” they would say.)
After a few days, he had confessed his worries to his wife, expecting her to think they were silly, but instead of laughing, Katara had looked him in the eye and told him seriously that no matter what the world thought, their child would be loved, and that was what mattered.
It was still too early to tell if Kya was an Airbender or not, but he knew Katara had been right. It didn't matter. No matter what happened, and no matter how the world saw her, he and Katara and all their friends would show her nothing but love. Already he was finding that he loved this tiny, amazing person as much as he had ever loved anyone in his life, and for the rest of her life she would know it.
With this thought, he reached out and stroked the top of his daughter's head, where dark hair was beginning to grow. His hand traveled down her soft cheek and stopped under her chin. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then stood and turned to find his wife standing in the doorway, silently watching him.
“How did I know I'd find you here?” she said quietly, with a laugh. She moved across the small room and embraced him.
“How long were you standing there?” Aang asked, resting his head on hers.
“A few minutes,” Katara replied, looking up at him. “I was watching you. What were you thinking about?”
“How much I love you and our baby,” Aang replied.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Katara said, smiling, as she kissed him.
They stayed like that, embracing each other, kissing deeply, for what seemed like forever and yet not long enough, and Aang was suddenly reminded of exactly how Kya had come into existence.
As though thinking of her had caused her to react, the infant woke and began to make small noises, trying to work her way out of the blankets. The two drew apart, and Katara bent down to pick up their daughter, speaking softly to her.
Aang knew there was a world out there depending on him to keep it in balance, to provide a new generation of Airbenders so that the cycle would not be broken, but in that instant all he could see were the faces of the two women that he loved above all else, the two women who comprised his own tiny, perfect world.