Too Quiet

Zuko tugged at the royal headpiece, sliding it out and letting his hair fall to his shoulders as he tucked the small ornament in one pocket. He sighed tiredly, pausing outside the door to the family quarters. Rain beat on the roof, and he could hear a quiet crackle from behind the wooden door that led to their sitting room. A few quiet giggles trickled into the hallway.

He finally smiled a bit; even after a day like this, those sounds never failed to brighten his spirits.

Pushing the door open slowly, he peaked inside. The boys were playing happily on the floor while Suki sat with a sleeping Izumi in her lap by the fire. Stepping carefully through the minefield of wooden blocks, he leaned over the back of the couch and kissed his wife's temple.

"You're home," Suki breathed sweetly, reaching up to touch his hand. "Must have had a full agenda at council meeting today."

"You know we don't get half as much done without you," he grinned, walking around to sit beside them.

She smiled tiredly. "Sorry I missed it today. I just...couldn't leave Mimi," she said, looking back down at their daughter. She looked a little paler than normal, little beads of sweat dotting her forehead.

Zuko frowned. "I hate seeing her sick," he said anxiously. "…When will she get better?"

Suki nearly laughed. "It's barely been a day, Zuko. I bet she'll be back to herself in another day or two."

Zuko nodded, still pouting as Izumi opened her eyes. She looked at him absently for a long moment before reaching up to be held.

He took her quickly and pulled her against his shoulder. "No more feeling sick, okay kiddo?" he told her.

"Okay…Daddy," she breathed, head nodding against his shoulder as she fell back asleep.

Suki nestled against his opposite side as they stared into the dying fire. Zuko sent a fresh blast of flames into the pit, filling the room with a warm glow before lacing his fingers with hers. Instead of draining his energy as it had seemed to do all day, the gentle patter of rain on the roof was suddenly comforting.

"This is nice," he whispered. "It's so calm…and quiet."

Suddenly, the two of them looked at each other, wide-eyed. "Too quiet," they said in unison. Peaking over the back of the couch, they stared into an empty room.

Zuko cursed quietly. Though the boys were only crawling, the Fire Lord already knew that their silence meant one thing: they were getting into something they weren't supposed to.

"Those little buggers," Zuko huffed, laying a sleeping Izumi down on the couch and following Suki as she swept the rooms in search for them. "Iroh! Lu Ten!" he whispered harshly, peeking beneath beds and behind doorways as Suki did the same.

After several minutes of searching, Zuko looked up to see her standing at the door to their room, shoulders shaking as she beckoned him over. Moving beside her, he looked inside.

Two little greenish gold-eyed babies sat on the floor beside his nightstand, the cabinet thrown open (I locked that! Zuko thought indignantly) and a jar of fire gummies torn open between them. The candies scattered the floor, sticky red juice covering fingers and dripping down mouths and shirts as the boys took turns stuffing chubby fists inside the open jar. A moment later, Lu Ten looked over, eyes growing wide as he realized they'd been caught. Iroh followed suit, adults and children locked in a silent staring contest.

The boys reacted first, suddenly and simultaneously shoving as many of the remaining gummies in their mouths as possible while they still had the chance.

Zuko followed Suki as they rushed over and started digging candies from each baby's mouth. He could barely focus on what he was doing, however, seeing as he was roaring with laughter.

"Z-Zuko! We c-can't…laugh," Suki scolded him, even as she barely contained her own giggles.

"I'm…s-sorry," he said, biting his lip in an effort to stop. "You're—you're in big…BIG trouble, buddy," he tried to say sternly, turning Iroh around to face him. The boy started licking his fingers, indifferent to the threat. Needless to say, they both lost it again.

It was several minutes later when they finally calmed down. "How did they even know it was in there?" Suki asked in amazement.

"How did they get in is the question—I know I locked it," Zuko said, looking over at the open cupboard. He pouted a little, realizing they'd all but depleted his midnight stash.

"Well, I know one thing," Suki said, raising a brow as she looked at him. "They won't be needing dinner tonight."

A/N – So I nearly trashed this one but thought, eh, what the heck I'll post it! I've got several others I started so hopefully I can get them up here soon. I love you for reading and extra hugs to those leaving reviews on this and my other works (especially you guests since I can't reply to you directly – thanks so much!).