His knuckles were white and sweaty, his breath shallow, his heart racing. He tapped his foot impatiently outside the birthing room and thought he heard the door crack open. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up. But it was just his imagination. The door stayed firmly shut.
He sighed and his eyes lowered to his feet. It had been hours. How long can these things take? Eventually his vision blurred and his eyes drifted shut.
He awoke to a soft hand shaking his shoulder gently. "Lee?" His eyes blinked open and then widened. "Is-is…is?" Lee stuttered out and the old nurse chuckled. She nodded her head and he jumped up excitedly. He rushed into the room and his heart softened at the sight before him. His beautiful wife beamed at the new baby wriggling in her arms.
"Su…" He started to say but he couldn't find the words to finish. The little baby cooed softly and Su's face melted tiredly.
"It's a boy." Confirmed the familiar nurse who came in after him. "I checked him out, he seems healthy. A little smaller than I would have liked, but healthy all the same." She grinned at the new parents in front of her. "I'll leave you to it then." She exited the room leaving Lee and Su alone with the new addition.
Lee watched his wife and son from the doorway happily. "You can come closer. He won't bite." She giggled at him and he stumbled over to his new family. Su patted the spot beside her on the bed indicating for him to sit. He did so hesitantly and peeked into his wife's arms at his son. He was pretty small.
"C-can I hold him?" He asked cautiously. Su smiled softly and handed the small bundle over to her husband. Lee held him awkwardly and the baby started to whimper. Lee frowned and looked up desperately at his wife. She rolled her eyes playfully and adjusted his arms so the baby's head was in the crook of his elbow. He settled down quickly and cooed happily. Lee let out a sigh of relief.
"He needs a name." Su mentioned as Lee held one of their son's tiny hands.
"He should have a strong, earthbending name." He said without looking up.
"Earthbending? What makes you so sure he'll be an earthbender?" Su asked her husband curiously.
"He has my eyes, my hair, my nose…he's bound to have gotten some genes from you. I think he's an earthbender." Lee said wondrously and held his new son up to get a better look at him.
"As long as you're sure." Su smiled warmly and let her gaze fall on their son. "What about naming him after your father?"
Lee shook his head. "He's an earthbender. My father was a--"
" 'Choo!" The baby sneezed and a burst of flame shot towards his father who managed to duck just in time.
"-firebender." He finished lamely and Su chuckled at him.
"What about Huo?" She suggested.
Lee shook his head again. "Who names their kid Huo?" He asked skeptically.
"You." She raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's too short." Lee frowned. "We need something longer. With more than one syllable, unlike us. Lee, Su and Huo? It doesn't sound right. We need it to sound…manly. Yes, very manly. Like…Huo…Xu! Or…uh…Jin! Or…erm…"
Su shushed him. "Don't hurt yourself." She smirked and motioned for Lee to pass her the baby. Once she had him back in her arms, she kissed him on the forehead. "I like the sound of Huo Jin." She told her husband as she gazed into the baby's sleepy eyes.
"Lee, Su and Huo Jin." Lee grinned. "Sounds perfect."
"Welcome to the world, Huo Jin." Su said softly as he drifted off to sleep in her arms.
"Dad! Dad! Da-ad!" Huo Jin jumped up and down excitedly. "Can we go play in the woods? I wanna go play in the woods. Me an' Zumo, we went yesterday and we had fun! We played in the river, and with sticks and in the trees…" He listed off and Lee closed his eyes tiredly. A lot had been going on in their small Fire Nation colony. Rumors were spreading about a ragtag army attacking their neighboring colonies and the fact that nothing has happened here yet left him uneasy.
He glanced down into his son's expectant eyes. Lee sighed. "Only for a little while. I still have a lot to do." As Governor of their small village, he always had something to do. When Huo Jin was only a year old, he had been appointed Governor of the Fire Nation in this small village he grew up in. Though it was a Fire Nation colony, there were few Firebenders and if anything, there were more earthbenders.
Almost 60 years ago, there were two separate settlements; a new Fire Nation colony and a humble Earth Kingdom village. Though their two nations were at war, the trade between them flourished and the citizens were familiar and kind to one another. Eventually, the outskirts of towns began to mix, and the Governor and Mayor decided that the two villages would become one. There was little hostility between them then, and there was little now. There was the occasional drunken spat between elements but nothing serious. The Fire Nation paid little attention to this mingled colony, but if they had, Lee was sure they would not be happy.
"C'mon Dad! I wanna go!" Huo Jin pulled on his sleeve in excitement.
Lee gave his son a weak smile. "Alright. Let's go say goodbye to your mother, and then we'll go." He suggested and Huo Jin took off like an airbender towards Su's room.
He paused in the doorway. His mother was lying in her large bed with the sheets pulled tightly around her. Huo Jin jumped when she let out a rattled cough and felt his father's comforting hand on his shoulder. Lee led his son to his wife's bedside and placed his free hand on her forehead.
"We're going out for awhile. We're going to explore the forest." Lee told her and glanced down at his son who immediately forgot about his mother's sickness and started rambling off about his previous adventures and what he and his father were going to do. Su smiled as Huo told her and placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. He grinned up at her.
"You've got a busy day ahead of you. You'd best get going." She smiled fondly at the young boy as he dragged Lee out of the room.
Once the two were in the forest, they lost themselves in their games of war and pirates. Huo Jin was always the hero and the Captain, while Lee happily played the part of the villain. Eventually, Lee began to tire and suggested heading back. Huo Jin however, protested loudly and his father agreed to let him stay for a little while longer at the very out edges of the forest, near to their village.
Lee walked tiredly back to the house and Huo picked up a stick and pretended to be sword fighting. Living in a peaceful, diverse community, Huo Jin knew little of the war and did not know who his nation's foes were supposed to be so he contented himself with fighting bandits and thieves.
The sky began to darken slowly and Huo Jin kept fighting, He'd practiced the various stances Lee had taught him and even tried perfecting his aim. He knew his father would come get him when it was time to go home so he didn't worry about being out too late. After jabbing a few trees with his small branch he finally became tired and sat by the small creek that flowed through his village and the forest.
"That was impressive. With some practice, you could become a master." A low deep hearted voice boomed from behind him and Huo Jin's shoulders froze up in fear.
So what did you think? Oh, Huo Jin means Fire metal. I thought it fit. Now who could be that large booming voice be? Lol. It's pretty obvious.
Tell me what you think! And if you get the chance, check out it's companion fic! (Night of the Comet, just thought I'd remind you. xP )
Emily