"Mama! Mama!" Zuko cringed at Solis' shrill, demanding cries. He wished that he had listened to Aang when she told him not to touch the big, golden egg-shaped stone. But no. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation couldn't listen to the Avatar. He just had to pick up the stone, which turned out to actually be an egg, and which had, of course, hatched in his hands. Two pairs of golden eyes had peered out at him, blinked once or twice, then one had squeaked 'Ma-Mama?' The other had quickly followed suit, and the more Zuko tried to convince them otherwise, the more they seemed to believe it. Then one of them spotted Aang, and had promptly decided that she was 'Papa'. The Sun Chief had shown up shortly after that, and declared that they were both truly stuck. Those hadn't been his exact words, but close enough.
Zuko abandoned his attempts to meditate and looked crankily at Solis. The tiny red dragonet failed to notice his excitement as his whole body quivered in excitement. "What?"
"Mama! Papa showed me a new game, come see, come see!" Zuko sighed and climbed to his feet. It was easier to just go along with whatever they wanted than to fight it. Agni knew the dragonets always won in the end, anyway. He followed Solis as he skittered across the floor towards the door. Aang was in the next room, tossing Qui Lo up in the air, then using Airbending to slow her fall and cause her to twirl slowly as she fell. Solis scampered over to Aang and demanded his turn. She smiled at him.
"Have Mama play with you. You already had your turn, let your sister have hers." The little blue dragonet squealed with delight as the Airbender tossed her higher than the time before.
"Me?" Zuko said. Aang looked at him in annoyance.
"Yes, Your Highness. You." Great. Aang was angry at him. She only used his title when she was angry.
"But I can't Airbend!" Her look was pitying.
"You can't pick up a tiny baby dragon, throw into the air, and catch him? The sheer novelty of Mama spending time with him outside of mealtime, bath time, and bedtime will be more than enough to make up for the lack of Airbending." Zuko flushed with embarrassment. She had a point- Zuko was distant with the dragonets, forcing Aang to do most of the parenting, on top of trying to master Earth-and Waterbending, and learn Firebending. She still didn't need to be so sarcastic about it, though. He sat down and began mimicking her actions with Qui Lo, lifting Solis, tossing him gently into the air, and catching him, careful to mind his claws. Those claws were tiny, but razor sharp. After a few times, he began to relax and toss Solis higher. The little dragon squealed and squirmed in delight before becoming bored with the game and curling up in Zuko's lap. Qui Lo noticed and abandoned Aang to scamper over to curl up on his lap beside her brother. Aang smiled to see them together.
Zuko's heart did a flip when Aang smiled. She was gorgeous. Big gray eyes with thick lashes, delicate arching eyebrows, soft full petal-pink lips, waist-length straight dark-brown hair, worn combed back from her tattooed forehead into a loose braid, and long coltish limbs. She moved with a natural easy grace that was mesmerizing. She wore a mishmash of Fire Nation clothes, and the remains of her novice robes, draped over her shoulders, orange over her left and yellow over her right, tied at the opposite hip. The rags hinted at her slender figure in a way Zuko found enthralling. She was perfect, the most beautiful girl the prince had ever seen. And, naturally, she had a crush on Sokka. Of course she was in love with somebody else. That was just how Zuko's luck went. He did feel a certain smug satisfaction, however, when he considered that it was him, not Sokka, who slept close enough to feel her breath brush his cheek. He had the dragonets to thank for that. They refused to sleep unless they able to touch both Mama and Papa at all times. So the two of them curled up, dragonets between them, on Zuko's narrow cot in the room he'd been given when he was first accepted into the group. Katara had thrown a hissy fit the first time, worried that Zuko was going to rape Aang or otherwise harm the precious Avatar. Aang had calmed Katara by assuring her that if Zuko tried anything she'd Earthbend him into the canyon. She needn't have worried. As much as Zuko loved Aang, as much as he wanted her, she was twelve years old. Zuko refused to go farther than kissing with a twelve year old.
Zuko gazed up at the stars, lost in thought. He heard the dragonets begin to cry as they realized that Mama's warmth was missing, but he didn't budge from his spot. Aang's soft footfalls brushed across the floor as she padded out, carrying the little ones in her arms. Settling beside him, close enough that their thighs were touching, she guided the babies so that they were lying half on his lap, half on hers.
"Copper for your thoughts?"