-The Castaway- Ficlets

by Raven Hallowryn

This is a collection of short shorts I've written for my Amorra fanfiction "The Castaway" when I need to blow off steam. Not to be taken too seriously. Mostly requested fluff prompts for now but you never know what my hands might type out in the future. BEWARE OF SPOILERS FOR THE MAIN FIC.

11. The Boys

"Castaway" Ficlet 11: The Boys

(for deliriossaborvainilla

No idea why I wrote this, someone suggested a birth fic and another person wanted more of the boys so I ended inspired to write this because headcanons (and the last ficlet). This is both filled with family fluff, failed attempts of comic-relief, profanity, a little drama and it's kinda graphic in some points since it's about childbirth. And there's twins, lots of twins.

Huge one-shot- 8,884k words. Enjoy.)

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

As usual Korra had impeccable timing, they were on their way to the South Pole with Nilak when it all started… It was supposed to be their last visit for a while because the Avatar's belly was huge and round and she was supposed to deliver in a month and a half and after that they wouldn't be doing much travelling for some time and Korra was paranoid with the idea that she needed to see her parents before the twins came along.

Noatak understood the urgency- everything had been going well for all intents and purposes, in fact other than the fact that they were surprised by two babies instead of one the whole pregnancy had just been going too well and things going as expected was not something they were used to so Korra was afraid, she was scared that something fatal might happen with this delivery and she wanted to see her parents one last time if it happened… Except she didn't get a chance because their small discreet ship was preparing to dock in the South Pole, still two hours away from the capital city for safety reasons, when the contractions started.

"It's too early… Too damn early!" The Avatar kept hissing out in mingled rage and pain whenever she felt the constricting jab of a contraction. It reminded Noatak eerily of a day when she had said the same words- the day Nilak was born.

A little girl with periwinkle eyes was clinging to his arm shyly as Naga started pulling them along in a sleigh right after they disembarked, the contractions were still quite far apart so they hoped they might make it to the city in time if the polar bear dog really ran.

"Daddy, what's wrong with mama?" Nilak asked a little frightened after a long stretch of silence punctuated only by the Avatar's harsh breathing and the pop of her joints whenever she tried to flex the tension off her limbs.

"She's hurting a little, Nilak." He explained softly. "But she will ok, it's just your little siblings saying it's time to come out."

"They're coming to today?" The six year old brightened up with excitement but just then Korra winced and lurched forward a little breathless, cursing under her breath and attracting Nilak's worried attention. "Does it hurt a lot, mama? Can I help?"

"It's ok. Just… Just be a good girl and do what daddy says, ok?" Korra forced the words out through grit teeth but Nilak refused to move away and started to nervously rub her mother's belly.

"Be good, don't hurt mama." The child admonished towards the Avatar's belly, attempting to lecture the unborn babies inside.

"They aren't doing it on purpose, sweetheart." The masked man pet the girl's hair and instructed her to sit in front of him and watch the snow that was starting to fall around them while he encouraged Korra to breathe and stay calm.

Mother and daughter obeyed but Nilak was obviously too distressed to stay quiet and kept asking what the babies were doing and when they were going to come. Noatak was patient and answered all her questions to the best of his ability while he checked the horizon- they could already see homes dotted around in the white icy landscape of the tundra and the towers of the capital loomed ahead like tiny needles.

"How… How much longer?" Korra asked with a pinched expression, curling in on herself. It wasn't nearly as painful as she had expected and she was used to pain but she was pretty sure she was going to start screaming a string of profanities soon and she didn't want to do it in front of her daughter.

"If we keep up this pace? Around half an hour I think." Noatak replied as calmly as possible. He looked at her and although the mask shielded him, she could see the concern in his pale eyes. "How are you doing so far?"

"I've had worse." She retorted through grit teeth in an attempt to reassure him. Truthfully the pain was just an annoying thrum on her lower back until a contraction came every so often like a stab to her lower abdomen with a rusty blade but even that lasted only a couple of minutes at most, the problem was that the interval between those stabs was shortening at an alarming rate.

"Ok, once we're there it shouldn't be long before we reach the palace. Everything will be alright." He was trying to convince himself and Nilak more than her.

The Avatar nodded and tried to lean back and just breathe out the pain while Nilak once again shot all sorts of awkward questions at her father, apparently the girl was determined to understand the mechanics of childbirth, most likely because she wanted to know exactly what was happening and how she could help- Nilak had always been like that ever since she started to talk but as sweet as it was most days, right then it was seriously distracting and a little irritating.

Time dragged on and the snow over them became harsher as the wind picked up, threatening to turn the snowfall into a violent blizzard very fast but Naga wasn't affected by the weather, she seemed to sense the urgency in the air and kept running without letting the wind and snow slow her down, the polar bear dog could probably have moved even faster but that would have meant a bumpy ride and that was the last thing they needed.

"We're almost there, just another few minutes." Noatak announced, now focused on guiding Naga in the right direction towards the royal home.

"Mama? Are you cold?" Nilak asked softly, holding up her travel blanket that she wanted to take off her scrawny shoulder and drape on the woman from the moment she saw Korra tremble but it wasn't the temperature that was making the Avatar shake so she tried to refuse.

"Well, I…" Korra paused her reply and groaned in discomfort as a liquid stain started to appear on her slacks, spreading through the cloth and dripping slightly. "Shit."

Nilak pouted disapprovingly at her mother's potty-mouth and tugged on her father's sleeve, pointing at the stain on the Avatar's clothes, she clearly thought it was something else.

"Your water just broke." There was a note of panic in Noatak's voice when the girl caught his attention.

"Thank you for that brilliant assessment, Captain Obvious!" Korra snapped angrily at him because her mood was souring very quickly- the annoying throb of pain, the constant dread and the fear that they might have a repeat of Nilak's birth were all things that stressed her and it became annoying very fast but just then the sleigh jolted as they started moving up the streets towards the palace.

There were people everywhere but they were all rushing and scuttling away to hide indoors before the blizzard caught them out in the open. Despite the pain and dread, Korra slouched in her seat and Noatak pulled his hood more securely around his mask, the last thing they needed was for people to start recognizing the Avatar and making a fuss about it when they were in such a hurry.

They were stopped at the palace gates because Noatak looked as suspicious as always but he finally revealed his masked face and announced the Avatar's arrival, begging them to stop delaying and let them get inside and once they were he hoisted Korra out of the sleigh and carried her out, ordering the closest person to go get a healer immediately.

Tonraq and Senna weren't around because the visitors had arrived early but a room was provided at once and in less than five minutes, Noatak was depositing the Avatar in bed and fretting over her though Korra seemed more concerned about Nilak and Naga at that exact moment which was unnecessary because the child had stuck to them like glue and Naga was always well taken care of in the South Pole.

Korra was starting to swear again so Noatak asked Nilak to sit outside by the door and warn them when her grandparents arrived, the girl obeyed albeit reluctantly and as soon as the door closed behind her the Avatar was shouting in pain and frustration.

"Damn it! Oh fuck…!" She took a shaky breath and tried to sit upright. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" The last scream punctuated a rather sharp jab that left her breathless and unfortunately it was at that exact moment that Senna walked through the door.

"Korra! What sort of language… Wait, what's…?" The woman started to ask in confusing but saw her daughter hunched over her abdomen with her hair slipping from its tails and perspiration dewing on her brow and everything made sense. "You've called a healer, right?" Senna shot the question at Noatak who was frozen in place next to the bed in obvious anxiety.

"Yes." He replied shakily but with hard won calm. "Her water broke a few minutes ago when we were entering town."

"Alright, my grandbabies are coming." Senna took a breath and although she looked overexcited and hyperactive all of the sudden, she moved closer to her daughter. "Let's get you ready."

Korra didn't argue, she was too busy keeping her cool to make any remarks as her mother stripped her and slipped a loose tunic over her before propping her hips over a bunch of pillows and covering her in a warm fuzzy blanket. They were just about done when the Avatar started screaming angry profanities again in complaint towards another contraction.

Noatak started to inch towards the door, he need to breathe before he started running around like a lost little boy, he needed a few quiet moments to calm down before he started panicking and showing weakness; he couldn't show weakness at that moment, not when Korra needed him. He also wanted to check on Nilak out of habit and worry.

"Don't you dare walk out that door, you son-of-a-bitch!" Korra shouted just as his hand reached for the knob.

"I was only going to check for news on the healer." He defended nervously.

"I don't care! You sit your ass right next to me this instant before I…" She hissed as another contraction hit, they were so close now that she could no longer time the intervals between them properly. "Fuck!"

"You alright?" He asked with concern as he promptly and nervously obeyed and sat next to her again.

"I'm in motherfucking labor! What do you think?!" She shouted in his face, totally losing her composure.

"I meant-…" Noatak began but she cut him off.

"I know what you meant!" Korra snapped, swallowing large gulps of air as she forcefully grabbed his hand for comfort. "I want Katara."

"Honey, she's too far. She'll never make it in time." Senna replied softly and kindly, she also neglected to mention that the blizzard was picking up and making any travel impossible so getting the old master would prove considerably hard.

"I want Katara! Or Kya!" The Avatar repeated in a demanding shout. It wasn't just her mood or selfishness, Korra was actually scared something strange might happen so she wanted the best and most trustworthy healer to be there.

"I'll call for them but don't try to wait, let the babies come." Senna instructed and then kissed her daughter's forehead before slipping out of the room to send the message to the elderly Katara and to check on Nilak.

As soon as the older woman was out of the room Korra was screaming and pulling Noatak to her by the collar of his clothes with a lip-curling snarl and sparks on her breath.

"I'm going to fucking kill you for this!" She threatened in considerable pain, any other person would have cowered in fear.

"No, you're not." He dismissed as calmly as he could. He knew she was just venting her pain, well, at least he hoped that was the case and that she wouldn't really hurt him but with Korra one could never be too sure.

"Yes, I am! I hate you!" She growled but the sound ended in a whimper.

"No, you don't. And if you kill me you'll have to change all those diapers by yourself." He pointed out with a touch of edgy humor.

"Shit!" She frowned at the realization that he was right.

"Literally." The masked man chuckled.

"Stop trying to be funny!" She shouted enraged and tried to curl up on herself. "How the hell did I let you talk me into this?!"

"It was your idea!" He objected at once. "You were the one desperate to give Nilak a sibling at all costs."

"You should have talked me out of it, useless jerk!"

"Fine, fine. Yell at me later, right now focus on…" His words were cut off by a rather loud string of profanities spilling out from her mouth.

"As coarse as ever I see." A new male voice spoke from the door. It was Desna, he still looked the same as always to her only taller now that he was in his twenties, actually he was now taller than her and his sister wasn't that far behind either which always made Korra feel small and awkward next to them and that annoyed her because she used to like being the tall one next to them.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Korra shouted in both surprise and frustration.

"Why would we not be present in a most auspicious day for our bloodline, cousin?" A new voice joined, one whose cold bored tone could almost be mistaken with sarcasm.

"We're in the bloody South Pole!" The Avatar snapped back.

"Precisely." Eska deadpanned.

"Just a portal away from home." Desna added.

"How did you even know…?" Korra began.

"To be perfectly honest we came to visit uncle on official business, we just happen to have heard of the situation from aunt Senna." The male twin clarified.

"Mind if we watch?" Eska enquired, already waltzing in and making herself at home. "The birth of twins is relevant to our interests."

"Yes, I mind!" The Avatar gestured angrily at the door. "Get the fuck out! I'm not a circus attraction!"

"Perhaps our cousin feels self-conscious about her current state?" Desna glanced at his sister blankly. "I understand that some women dislike showing their inelegant side in such situations, though considering this is Avatar Korra I believe someone like her would simply dislike showing moments of weakness?"

"There is no need to be insecure, we don't think highly enough of her to care about any spectacle she might put on." Eska replied carelessly.

"I'm right here, you little jerks!" Korra resented that they spoke as if she couldn't hear them.

"If you'd be so kind to wait outside with everyone else, we'd appreciate it." Noatak finally stepped in, he was under the impression that Korra's cousins were trying to distract her from the pain despite their bored demeanor but she was getting a bit too upset and he'd rather avoid seeing her stress levels escalate.

"And here I thought you needed a healer." Eska commented absently, pointing at herself at the same time that Desna pointed at himself as well.

"Since when are you damn healers?" Korra grumbled, gripping Noatak's hand suddenly as a spike of pain caused her to groan and break into a sweat. "You're a fucking two-sided well-oiled war machine."

Eska simply stared in silence but after the Avatar managed to catch her breath the female twin tilted her head as if examining her at a distance and then deigned them with an answer, at least for her part of the matter. "I'm a female, a waterbender and a Northern Water Triber."

It did make sense, in terms of bending Eska and Desna were as far from traditional as humanly possible as far as the North Pole was concerned but Eska was indeed a waterbending chieftain of the North so it was only expected that she had been trained as a healer and if Eska had done something then it was only natural that Desna had followed the same path and learned the same skills, add to that they were part of the handful of benders that Korra considered the best waterbenders alive it just made sense that they would be the most qualified to help.

"Whatever! I don't care, just go aw-…" Korra didn't finish because she had to grit her teeth against another stab of pain, this one actually tore the breath right out of her and Noatak could hear the crack of his fingers under the force of her grip but didn't dare let go. The contractions were starting to last longer than the intervals between them.

Eska completely ignored the words and approached the bed, flipping up the blanket unceremoniously and forcing the Avatar's legs apart for an educated look at the situation. She didn't seem impressed but she also didn't appear to find anything bad enough that was worth commenting on.

"How do you even live with this?" Desna asked Noatak in a bored monotone as he watched Korra complain and let out yet another litany of profanities that would have made a sailor blush.

"…With patience." Noatak replied, trying to sound more relaxed than he actually felt.

"Noatak!" Korra shouted, pulling him closer again and shaking him angrily. "Do something! It feels like I'm getting fucking mauled by a polar bear from inside out!"

"…Don't exaggerate." The masked man pleaded anxiously although his hand was already over the curve of her belly to ascertain that everything was alright with his sensing, luckily nothing unusual seemed to be happening but the situation was making him sweat behind the mask almost as much as she was.

"I thought after being bloodbent on multiple occasions, facing certain death and having your soul forcefully ripped out of your body, having a child would be trifle for the great Avatar." Eska commented a little scornfully but bent some water from her water-skin and froze it into chips that she guided into her cousin's mouth.

"Shut up! What would you know? You've never had and never will have a kid because you're too much of a scary bitch for anyone to be brave enough to sleep with you!" Korra ranted out in a single breath but she did have to admit to herself that chewing on the ice chips did help soothe her a little and slake her thirst, her throat was pretty parched from all the shouting after all.

"I do not understand the relevance of your retort." The other woman wasn't offended, just vaguely curious and strangely flattered for some reason.

"I believe she is trying to imply that you cannot comprehend her pain by using a demeaning reference to your assumed lack of sexual experience." Desna clarified.

"I see. Well, cousin, such a topic is unrelated to this situation but if you must know I do have suitable experience, I simply have not found the adequate mate to sire offspring with." Eska replied with a slight shadow of a smirk, once again Noatak was under the impression that this whole conversation was a ruse to distract the Avatar from the agony that felt like her inwards attempting to turn inside out.

"HA! I…" Korra hissed and swallowed large gulps of air as another wave of pain passed but the banter was indeed distracting her. "…I can't even begin imagine who'd be crazy enough to sleep with a morose monster queen like you that has her twin on her heels twenty-four hours a day!"

"You'd be surprised, cousin." Desna was the one to reply, usually he would be fiercely protective of his sister and offended by any insult towards her but at that moment he appeared vaguely amused. "I believe your friend Bolin could tell you a story or two in that department."

"How would you know?" Korra snapped at the male twin and then grimaced. "Wait, don't answer. Knowing how you two are, you probably even share sex partners."

"What an amusing assumption on your part." Eska did titter this time and her turtleduck laughter was as disconcerting as ever.

"Aren't you supposed to get angry?! For fucks sake, somebody kick the soulless twins out of here!" The Avatar's remark and obvious frustration actually answered the reason why the twins were not taking offense in the least- they all knew this wasn't really Korra talking, it was the pain that tore down all her verbal filters and replaced them with a prickly need to be belligerent and fight tooth and nail to make everyone as miserable as she felt.

"And here I was enjoying this bonding moment." Eska made no move to actually leave despite her not-so-sarcastic words.

"Yes, despite being kin we always lacked such a basic privilege throughout our infancy." Desna stated with nostalgic look on his usually dreary face.

"Perhaps we should, as the colloquialism puts it, make up for lost time?" The female twin suggested.

"Why would you even… I killed your dad! Why do you insist on talking to me?!" Korra's shouting tone was aggressive and angry and meant to push them away but in reality she was simply confused by them.

"…Eska, am I correct in assuming that our cousin is under the misconception that we still dwell on the matter of that man's demise?" Desna enquired towards his sister, once again they spoke as if nobody else was there.

"Yes, she seems to fear some sort of retaliation." The other retorted a little uninterested.

"I don't fear anything! Not from you!" The Avatar shouted in outrage but it wasn't the anger raising her voice, it was the fact that she was now stuck in a state of repetitive contractions with no interval and the jagged pain was making it hard to breathe and talk without yelling.

"I believe she simply doesn't understand why you'd want to relate to her now." Noatak explained while he combed Korra's hair away from her perspired face with his fingers.

"Sister, would this story be appropriate for such a situation?" Desna asked distantly and this time he was the one to feed Korra some ice chips that she crushed viciously between her teeth.

"Later, Desna. At the moment it seems our next cousin is about ready to make its debut into the world." Eska announced, sitting comfortably at the foot of the bed to assist the delivery.

"No… Not you…" Korra let out the strangled complaint. She wanted another healer, it didn't even have to be Katara, anyone would have done except for Eska but a minute later the thought of refusing just went flying out of her head as she pulled Noatak to her again, now clinging to his arm in bruising grip as the pain escalated the new levels accompanied by the most innerving stretching sensation.

"Korra, breathe." Noatak reminded her that she was holding her breath but did not move away. "Deep breaths, in through the nose and out through…"

"SHOVE YOUR FUCKING BREATHING UP YOUR ASS!" The Avatar bellowed and shook him aggressively, nearly tearing his clothes. "THIS ALL YOUR FAULT! I HATE YOU! WHY DID I LET YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

"Cousin, please focus on the task at hand." Eska rolled her eyes and smacked the Avatar's knee for attention. "I shouldn't need to say this but you need to push whenever a new contraction comes."

"SHUT UP, DEMON BITCH FROM THE ICE PLANES!" Korra snapped back, shaking Noatak again but screaming at her cousin; nonetheless she did heed the advice and pushed with each wave of pain even though her body didn't really let her do otherwise anyway.

"My, my, her insults get more intriguing with each passing minute." Desna remarked.

"GO SUCK ON A GREASEBERRY BRAMBLE, SQUINTY EYED BASTARD!" The Avatar shot at the male twin with equal rage before she tossed her head back and just shouted nothing in particular with her back arching as she pushed with all her might.

"Breathe." Noatak murmured close to her and caressed her abdomen both for comfort and to make sure nothing was going wrong. "Breathe, it will all be over soon. You'll be ok, I promise."

"I hate you! Spirits, I fucking hate you right now!" Korra tried to shout but the words came out in desperate whimpers, she was panting heavily and on the verge of tears, clinging tighter to him than ever. "Help me… Don't let go…"

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." The masked man assured her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders for support. "No matter how much you shoo me away."

She screamed again, roared actually, her hair was sticking to her perspired face and flickers of flame were sparking from her breath, even the walls themselves seemed to tremble slightly for a second.

"Head is out. Just one more long push." Eska instructed bluntly, there was a glow of water on her hands and she appeared to be using water-healing to try and make things easier.

"You can do this, just a little more." Noatak encouraged but Korra was panting and shaking her head in despair.

"I… I can't! It hurts!" She whined, practically burning his hand as hers heated up with uncontrolled firebending. He never even flinched though, not wanting to distract her.

"Yes, you can. You are the Avatar and you've survived worse." He traced her thigh slowly and gently, caressing the tattoo there, the reminder of her strength. "You've conquered much greater pain, I know you can do this."

Korra took a deep shaky breath and the nodded mutely and unwilling, gritting her teeth while her face twisted with visceral pain and sweat dripped down her skin and stained her tunic. She rode the next wave of agony with a muffled roar, pushing and tensing so much that the room shook from wayward bending again.

At last the shrieking cries of an infant pierced the air and the Avatar sagged, panting rapidly and closing her eyes for a moment to try to recover her bearings. Noatak murmured that it was over and he was proud of her as he rubbed her shoulders quietly but his burned hand stung and his nerves were jittery, he also kept trying to sneak a peek at the baby that Eska seemed to be tending to with water-healing and simple waterbending alike- never would Noatak have imagined that someday he'd be so glad to have a bender tend to his loved ones, it still often gave him mixed feelings to see casual unnecessary bending, then again he hadn't expected to fall in love with the Avatar either.

"The infant is male." Eska stated dully and handed the baby to her brother who wrapped the child in warm grey cloth. "Quite healthy as well."

Desna moved over to them and handed the shrieking baby unceremoniously to Noatak since Korra was still shaky and catching her breath, he then stepped back and watched them with vague interest while Eska appeared to merely wait for the next round.

Noatak accepted the boy, albeit nervously and with clammy trembling hands, and looked at his firstborn son that he held securely in his arms.

This baby was completely different from what he remembered Nilak being- he was bigger, plump and rosy with plenty of hair and dark skin. It took a minute but as he rocked and murmured the child slowly stopped wailing and calmed down just enough to allow a more careful examination, the boy was Korra's spitting image down the last detail or at least so it seemed for now, only the eyes were impossible to determine since they were still firmly shut against the light.

"Take that thing off." Korra croaked out the sulky demand, gesturing at Noatak's face and accepting more ice chips from one of the twins, sucking on them tiredly as she looked up at Noatak. "How… How is he?"

"He's just like you, therefore he is perfect." The former equalist announced as he slipped off the mask he had forgotten he was wearing to reveal a wobbly smile, he refused to show it but he was on the verge of tears and had to clear his throat quickly to hide emotion in his voice as he glanced back down at the little boy.

"Show me." She raised her hands making greedy grabby motions to reach the baby and ignoring the dull pain still throbbing in her lower body.

Noatak chuckled and placed the child in her lap, uncovering the cloth that so they could examine every inch of the infant and make sure everything was as it should be. Korra appeared to be fascinated with the boy's little toes and fingers and traced his tiny nose with a tired smile.

"Worth the effort." The Avatar chuckled and swaddled the child carefully.

"I must say I agree with your companion. This infant certainly does bear a striking resemblance to you." Desna commented casually, glancing at the boy. "Do you have a name yet?"

"Actually…" Korra trailed off and snarled, handing the child back to his father before she started to instinctively curl into herself as much as she could. "Shit, it's starting again."

"Yes, it is." Eska agreed with a small amount of interest, she appeared to find Korra's suffering and rage mildly amusing in this setting. "Considering the lack of an expelled placenta and the shortness of this interval I believe it's safe to announce that your twins will be identical."

"Unlike us." Desna added automatically and inexpressively even though neither Noatak nor Korra had ever seen two people more identical than Eska and Desna, if it were not for their genders and the recent minor changes in bone structure in the last few years nobody would ever be able to tell them apart.

Korra cringed at the unnecessary details and at the half-sore and half-soggy sensation she had below the waist but she nodded and chose to forfeit a reply so she could focus on breathing and preparing herself for a second round of torture, it helped that Noatak had let Desna take the baby while he returned to rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to kneed away some of the strain growing in her body all over again.

«Please let this one come faster.» She thought with rising panic. «Please let it be normal too.»

"You're forgetting to breathe again." Noatak admonished softly in her ear, gently pulling her hair away from her face and pinning it back.

"Shut up, I know that!" Korra barked with renewed anger, forcing herself to suck in a breath as another stab of pain lacerated her body from the inside out.

"I'm just trying to help." He defended and offered some ice chips himself just to appease her. "Do you need anything?"

"I need you to stop mothering me!" She spat but accepted the ice and chewed on it indignantly, she was more irritated by his nervous concern than by any actual action. "It's irritating, you sound like…" She trailed off as she remembered Nilak, who often got overbearing enough in her worry to talk non-stop and grind her mother's gears.

"Korra? Are you alright?" Noatak asked when she froze mid-sentence.

"Nilak. Where's Nilak? Why hasn't anyone else come yet?" She asked in sudden dread, panicking for no reason other than her shaky nerves.

"They are all waiting outside, cousin." Desna explained. "You were so busy screaming that you completely disregarded the matter and never let us explain that we took responsibility for helping you, we are quite confident in our skills and we were the closest competent healers after all so aunt Senna entrusted us with the task."

"Yes, too many people in a birthing room is always a mess." Eska added sullenly. "In fact, he shouldn't be in here either." She gestured at Noatak.

"He stays!" Korra snapped at once, clinging to the former equalist and pulling him close with such sudden force that he stumbled clumsily and fell onto the bed with her.

"I wasn't suggesting otherwise." The female twin appeared unaffected. "Merely commenting on the unorthodox nature of the situation."

"Korra, calm down." Noatak pried her hand from him arm and held it gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You better not because I will murder you if you so much as set a foot out that door!" The Avatar threatened with a snarl and her eyes closed when her body started to mechanically push with the jagged stab of agony whether she liked it or not. At least she was getting her wish- this birth was moving at a much faster rate than the previous one.

"Yes, yes, we've been through this already." He smiled softly and caressed her hair with the hand that wasn't clutched in hers and that then rested on her belly, still making sure everything was alright. "If you kill me you'll be up to your elbows in diapers and baby spittle with no one to help you."

Korra made a sound that could have been sarcastic laughter but wobbled down into pained sobs, she was starting to lack the energy to hurtle insults and just remembering to breathe was sapping away her strength, not to mention that the contractions were now coming in a permanent loop that merely gave her seconds of interval between them, seconds that were precious to catch her breath because the rest of the time she was pushing and grunting so hard without sucking in enough air to the point that black spots starting dancing in her eyesight.

"Don't rush it." Eska bossed in her usual monotone.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, BITCH!" The Avatar snapped and screamed breathlessly.

Eska was right though- the kid was coming faster but, impatient as she was, she was trying to rush it anyway because she could feel her energy sapping away and she was afraid she would run out of steam halfway. The mere thought of how tired she felt made her panic and if she had been breathing shallowly before then now she was outright gasping and unable to get any air amidst the fear and excruciating ache.

"Korra." Noatak tried to grab her attention because he could feel her terror as well as her heartbeat slowing rather than speeding in response to it, all because she was starting to black out from lack of oxygen. "Korra! Breathe, damn it." He ordered a bit too harshly but it got through to her.

She wanted to pant in short rapid spurts but he forced her to take slower deep breaths and to stop trying to rush the push, the Avatar obeyed grudgingly until the dark clouds on her vision cleared up and she noticed the glow of water-healing in Eska's hands again.

She wanted to yell at them all and make them understand how awful she felt, she wanted to attack them and vent all that torture and rage- Desna for just standing watching with that irritating blank expression, Noatak for getting her pregnant in the first place and now looking so anxious when she needed him to be a rock, and Eska for just because she was the crazy Spirits-damned Eska and got her on Korra's nerves for every reason. And yet even though she had all the insults lined up in her head she didn't have enough strength to think properly and articulate the words and ended up just screaming for the sake of screaming with her tense body arching and lurching forward with each push.

"Last stretch. One more push, Korra." Noatak said in her ear, she was aware that Eska was speaking too but her own pained cries were drowning out any words that were spoken from more than a foot away.

"FUCK YOU!" She snarled out. "FUCK… I think I'm dying…" She gasped out, trying to gather just enough strength for that final shove as tears streamed down her face though for once she didn't care that she was crying.

"No, you're not." The former equalist corrected strictly, he wiped away the tears and pat her cheek when she started to sag again and nearly faint again. "I know you're tired but it's almost over, just a little more and then you can rest all you want."

"That's…easy…for you…to say…" She forced the words out through grit teeth, unconsciously fighting the instinct to push. "You're not…the one forcing…two humans out…of your body…"

"No, I'm not and I respect you immensely for having the strength and courage to do this." He assured with urgency and raw sincerity in every word. "But I swear you'll be alright, just hang on a little longer and once this is over we'll have two beautiful children and I'll do anything you want."

"…Anything?" She hissed out the word dangerously, already gulping down a huge swallow of air and blinking away more tears as she accepted the incentive.

"Anything whatsoever." Noatak promised.

Korra nodded, because she didn't have time to answer- she didn't even think about it and just exerted all her remained energy in the last long grueling push, ignoring the way sparks danced around her skin and Noatak's fingers cracked under her grip once more. She held her breath again but only stopped when the high-pitched wails of the second baby rang through the air and her body gave up on her completely and slumped down onto the bed; there was still pain, there was still a nagging pinch on her lower abdomen as her body attempted to expel whatever afterbirth remained but after all that agony it felt like nothing more than minor discomfort and all her muscles relaxed suddenly so that she felt boneless and nearly paralyzed with exhaustion.

"As expected, you have another son." Eska confirmed as she finished cleaning and check up on the shrieking infant before she turned to water-heal the Avatar while Desna wrapped the baby and handed it over to Noatak.

They had been right, the second baby was exactly like his brother in every way, like two carbon copies of one another, the only difference Noatak could find was that the second one seemed smaller but only by a very tiny margin that was easy to overlook, he was also louder.

Nonetheless he couldn't stop staring at the child because the little male miniature version of Korra was simply too stunning and perfect in every way and made him want to hug the child to his chest and never let go and yet he was overwhelmed by the simple fact that these children were his, they were his sons, the children he had never even dreamed of having but that completed him and filled him with glee and pride like no other as well as the terrified dread of failing them in some way... And he was pretty sure Korra felt the exact same way.

"Noatak?" Korra called out tiredly and he remembered that she hadn't seen their second son yet.

He carried the child to her and set it on her lap before helping her prop herself up with pillows because she was too exhausted to sit on her own. To him she looked beautiful, even flushed and panting, even perspired and with tangled hair sticking out in odd angles, even shaky and weak and having spewed all sorts of obscenities and insults, the twenty-four year old Avatar looked perfect and glowing in his eyes.

The second boy was still wailing but Korra didn't seemed to mind and traced every corner of him with complete fascination while Noatak picked up the now quiet first boy and brought him over as well so they could look at them together.

"They really are identical." Korra murmured hoarsely, sucking on more ice chips one of her cousins supplied. "How will we ever tell them apart?"

"And beautiful." Noatak added before he answered her question. "We will manage somehow."

"Do I know how to cook 'em or what?" She Avatar bragged, petting both babies with pride.

"They are indeed satisfactory to carry our family heritage." Eska commented approvingly.

"You've done well, cousin." Desna complimented and Korra was pretty sure it was the first time she ever got a compliment from either cousin.

"Er… Thanks?" She was so surprised that she didn't know whether to feel touched or irked. She chose the former. "And thank you for helping."

"Yes, you have our gratitude." Noatak stated as well.

"I still don't get why you're being so nice to me." Korra muttered. "It's just because I had twins like you are, isn't it?"

"I believe it's time for that story?" Desna looked at his sister after a brief pause.

"An abbreviated form perhaps." Eska concurred with a curt nod.

"Cousin, as children we were never allowed to interact with you because your parents feared our father would use any relationship we struck up to his advantage, they feared father would attempt to reach you through us. We were also isolated from other children since not many were allowed around the royal twins and our father raised us strictly and with an iron fist, our only moments of pleasant and totally free interaction with people of the same age were our rare letters to you and the vague hellos at festivals." Desna explained in a relaxed monotone. Korra was sure he had never spoken so much in one go before.

"In short we may not be the most socially perceptive or extroverted people but we do appreciate you, otherwise we would never even acknowledge you as kin." Eska added as if it were stupidly obvious.

"And now that our father is gone and we are free to do as we please we would certainly enjoy the chance to bond with what family we have left, particularly the only one in our generation." Desna stated with a pointed stare at the Avatar.

"You." Eska explained unnecessarily.

"You always were pretty different in your letters… A lot less formal and definitely less annoying." Korra mused, being so tired and exhilarated was tearing down her defenses. She had always wondered which was the most honest side of the twins- the spoken one or the written one. "So… You want to be my friends?"

"Family." Eska corrected.

"We already are family." The Avatar rolled her eyes.

"No, we are related by blood. That and actual acceptance within a family appear to be very different things." Desna replied.

"Or so we are told by uncle Tonraq." Eska completed for her brother.

"I guess if you can still like me after what I did to your dad then I can forgive you for trying to kill me that one time… And for being so annoying… And creepy…" Korra trailed off awkwardly, too tired to be stubborn and too grateful after these two helped her in such a delicate situation to actually argue.

"Make no mistake- we do not plan on changing for your convenience, we merely want the chance to interact with you and yours and in turn we will overlook your own inadequacies." Eska retorted haughtily but a lot less coldly.

"I guess that's family… Gotta get along when we can, flaws and all." The Avatar shrugged, still focused on her sons while immersed in the conversation.

"I'd say that sums the situation." Desna agreed.

"The children have quieted, shall we give the others the news?" Eska changed the subject, pointing at the door.

"Yeah, I guess." Korra nodded.

"Do they have names yet?" The female twin enquired, hoping to announce the boys by their proper names.

"Actually we never managed to reach a consensus on the matter." Noatak picked up the explanation where Korra had left off earlier. Truth be told, there had been a few rowdy fights over the name picking this time, everyone seemed to have an opinion and nobody seemed to agree with one another- Korra and Noatak had actually had a shouting match because a friendly discussion about the names spiraled rather stupidly out of control.

"Any suggestions?" The Avatar asked, hoping she wouldn't regret giving her cousins the opening… Well, maybe this was the olive branch they need to make peace for good.

Eska and Desna delayed announcing the birth for a moment and approached the bed to examine the newborns intently, they were silent for a long time as they stared at the squirming babies and then exchanged a look between themselves.

"Kalle." Eska named, pointing at the first boy since she was a firstborn twin herself.

"Korei." Desna suggested without a shadow of a doubt, pointing at the second baby.

"Huh." The Avatar made a surprised sound and tested the names for a moment, rolling them on her tongue. "Kalle… Means 'strong man', right? And Korei… Not sure what it means but it sounds kinda like my name. I actually like these."

"Korei means 'trickster' or 'fox Spirit', referring to the seekers of knowledge." Desna explained briefly.

"I do like the sound of those names as well, they are much better than our previous options." Noatak offered his input, perhaps the matter could be settled without yet another argument and since it was an outside suggestion there was no need for any side to fight for the privilege of naming the boys.

"Shall we go with those?" Korra looked up at her lover with a tired smile, she was too exhausted to think too deeply about this.

"We promised Nilak she could help chose." He reminded her softly.

"Alright, let's see what she thinks of these names then." She nodded and turned to her cousins. "Could you call her?"

Eska and Desna nodded and once again headed for the door, they stepped outside quietly and as blank as always but before they could speak a loud and frantic familiar voice was addressing them.

"Eska, Desna! You've been in there forever and the screaming stopped long ago. What the hell is going on?!" Tonraq appear to be half-panicked and had been pacing the hallway for some time now.

"Fear not, uncle. You have two healthy grandsons." Desna announced.

"I do?" Tonraq's tone changed into dumbfounded excitement at once but when Senna cleared her throat he corrected himself- "I mean, we do?"

"Everything went well?" Senna asked hopefully.

"There was a complicated moment at some point but there is nothing negative to remark on. It was a successful birth." Eska replied vaguely while Desna spotted Nilak sitting on the floor just outside the door and playing nervously with something in her hands.

"Little cub, your parents are calling for you." The male twin crouched down to speak to the child and Nilak perked up at once and scrambled to her feet, making a dash for the room before anyone could stop her.

"Mama! Daddy!" The little girl tried to fling herself onto the bed but Noatak caught her in time to stop the move and picked her up as if she were no heavier than a snowflake.

"Careful, darling." He admonished the child softly. "Mama is still sore, no roughhousing."

"Daddy, is mama ok now? She looks sick. Are you sick, mama?" Nilak's attention ping-ponged between her parents, demanding answers before she caught a glimpse of the children on her mother's lap. "Are those the babies?"

"Mama is just tired. I promise I just need to rest." Korra answered the first question with a drowsy smile.

"And yes, those are your baby brothers." Noatak added in reply to the other query. He set her down on the edge of the bed so she could see the boys.

"Can I hold them?" The six year old begged expectantly.

"Not yet, sweetheart, they are too small. But you can pet them." The scarred man exemplified by petting her long braided hair tenderly.

Nilak pouted but she did carefully pet the little chubby cheeks of the boys with a curious touch. "They look the same."

"They are identical twins, they are supposed to look the same." Her father explained lightly.

"Will they be like cousin Eska and cousin Desna? Will they dress and act the same too?" Nilak looked intensely curious and nodded at the Avatar's cousins that were still at the door giving Senna and Tonraq a summary of the delivery in order to stall them for a while so Nilak could bond with her siblings.

"We don't know, darling. That's up to them, they might even grow up to act completely different from one another." Noatak stated with a smile.

"Or not." Korra chuckled but placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Nilak, we need your help."

"Yes, mama?" The girl blinked her huge droopy lilac eyes with abject curiosity.

"Eska and Desna chose some nice names for the babies but we want to know if you like them." The Avatar pointed at the boys for emphasis.

"What names?" Nilak appeared to snap into a cute sort of business mode at once, she took the matter very seriously.

"Kalle and Korei."

"Um…" Nilak pursed her lips with a hand on her chin as she thought, her brows scrunched into a little V that was quite like Korra's focused expression. "Ummmm….. Yes, I like. Can I call them Kal and Rei?"

"If you want." Korra nodded.

"Hello, Kal and Rei. I'm Nilak and I'm your big sister." The girl stood on the bed to look down at the two baby boys, shielding them from the light in the room, she spoke cheerfully and tickled the palms of their little hands because she was just as fascinated by the tiny fingers as Korra was.

"I guess they have names." The Avatar grinned at Noatak and he smiled back with a short nod of agreement.

The former equalist felt like the smile had been stapled on his face and he could not get it off because it had become, without a doubt, the happiest day of his life and nothing was able to shadow that joy.

"I made this for them." Nilak jiggled two braided suede bracelets, one was indigo and the other was mottled cobalt. That had been how she had spent her time while sitting outside the door with her grandparents.

"Oh, look." Korra chuckled at Noatak and nodded at the little gifts. "A way to tell them apart."

The bracelets were too big so the Avatar helped the six year old make anklets out of them instead- the indigo one for Kalle's left ankle and the cobalt one for Korei's right. Nilak looked immensely proud of her work and Korra kissed the girl's cheek lovingly with a tender thank you.

"Look, mama, they have eyes like daddy." The girl announced suddenly, by shielding the boys from the light of the chandelier she had encouraged them to open their eyes a little and although they had the same chatoyant eye-shape as Korra, they did indeed have very pale ice blue irises though flecked by miniscule dots of amber around the pupil.

"So they do have a little Noatak in them!" Korra smirked teasingly. "Oh well, it will have to do."

"Is that a complaint I hear?" Noatak sat close to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her waist. He had never liked his eyes because they were too much like his father's but if he could associate them to his sons instead then he was pretty sure he could learn to love the trait very quickly.

"Maybe. What are you gonna do about it?" She stuck out her tongue playfully and leaned into the embrace.

"Always cheeky, my little Avatar." Noatak took the cue and, as had become their unique habit, he captured her tongue between his lips and kissed her lovingly.

"Ew… Look, Kal, Rei, mama and daddy do that a lot so don't be afraid of the oogies." Nilak whispered at the boys that were just looking around clueless and starting to fuss.

Korra had to break the kiss because she burst out laughing at the child's icky tone and couldn't remain serious, as for Noatak her leaned to Nilak and kissed her nose, calling her jealous and watching her pout again.

"Where are my grandbabies? Let me see my boys!" Tonraq finally managed to burst into the room when Senna had all the information she wanted and the twins had no way to stall further, or the interest to do so anyway.

"Right here, Chief." Korra called with a smile and repositioned the chubby little boys in her lap. "Meet Kalle and Korei."

"Korra, they look just like you!" Senna pointed out happily with a nostalgic smile.

"Which is why they are so adorable." Tonraq's first reaction was to gape and then to grin with pride and hug his daughter in congratulations.

"Of course." The Avatar replied smugly, hugging back before she let the man pick one of the babies up while her mother took the other.

"Getting a little conceited, aren't you, my love?" Noatak chuckled and leaned close to nuzzle her neck affectionately while Nilak sat on his lap. He also whispered in his lover's ear. "Thank you… They are perfect."

"I earned it." Korra replied cockily but smiled at his murmured remark and looked at him with drowsy eyes while everyone else swooned over the babies. "Speaking of which, about that promise to do anything I say…"

~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~

(Author's Note: I'm aware that in real life most babies are born with blue eyes and only acquire the real permanent hue of their irises after a few months but that does not seem to be the case in the Avatar Universe so I am disregarding this fun fact.

Also, Anningan and Malina are still Noatak's apprentices at this point and are delighted by the news of another set of twins to relate to.)