"Castaway" Ficlet 21: 1100th Review Reward- Birthday
(I started writing this ficlet a long time ago but never finished, then MalexisSomerholic mentioned this idea (and others that I might salvage someday) as the reward for the 1100th review and I just got inspired to add a little more to it and now I finally finished.
I still plan to write the ideas given for the other hundredth review rewards but I want to do so after the main story is over due to certain reasons, I only wrote this one now because I had already started it before it was even suggested and other people seemed interested too and I figured it was worth finishing for everyone's sake.
So… For MalexisSomerholic.
Summary: Happy birthday, Noatak.
3,338 words. Enjoy.)
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He heard the footsteps crunching over dry leaves before they even reached the door, he felt their presence long before they even came close to the house and he knew exactly who it was, after all they were never adept at hiding their presence and he'd recognize the sound of Korra's proud stride anywhere. It was time to put away his book, there would be no more time or quiet to read once they arrived and it was getting late anyway, in fact he had begun to wonder where they had been all morning.
The lock clicked and the door opened to let in a storm of sound, the twins had always been noisy but lately they had grown fond of shouting their words on top of the ruckus they made running around, it was probably because their best friend in the whole wide world was slowly going deaf and the four year olds weren't so good at adjusting to such a change so Noatak didn't mind, he was just glad they weren't fighting like so many siblings often did.
Not far behind came Korra, she was yelling at the boys to quiet down which ironically just added more noise to the confusion. She looked lovely in her messy sort of way, her hair was too long for her tastes again and she had gone back to ponytails which reminded him fondly of when he first laid eyes on her over twelve years before… She wore a cobalt sleeveless tunic with white wave embroidery over baggy navy pants, her grey boots dragged sand into the house and she was carrying a suspiciously large box in her hands.
Nilak was the only quiet one in the scene, the eleven year old was the last one to come inside as discreet as always and trying to blend into the background in her plain long sleeved lilac top, navy slacks and a washed out blue overskirt while carrying a simple paper bag; she tried to go unnoticed not out of discomfort but because she just preferred to watch and take things in in her own attentive way. She was smiling slightly, it was that little grin of someone that knows something that other people don't, a grin Korra often claimed came from him, and it looked lovely on her little face that had begun to plump up lately.
Noatak was just about to enquire where they had been when the twins interrupted his train of thought by jumping onto the couch and tackling him enthusiastically, the former revolutionist was quite used to the roughhousing and caught the boys effortlessly but it felt strange to be in their spotlight all of the sudden as they tried to crawl all over him, both wanting to get his full attention and speaking right in his face.
"Daddy, daddy!" Screamed Kalle, pulling on Noatak's clothes to get him to listen.
"We got cake!" Korei shouted for his part, bouncing excitedly on his father's lap as both boys started talking loudly and animatedly over each other, tossing out a jumble of facts about how they had been in town with Korra and Nilak and brought home cake and who knows what else for some reason.
"Alright, alright, calm down, you two." The Avatar admonished, laughing slightly and still holding the large square box in her hands.
"What exactly is the source of all this excitement?" Noatak enquired although he was quite certain he could guess the answer. "If it's about cake, I could just as well have baked one here if you asked."
"Actually, no, you couldn't." Korra rolled her eyes haughtily. "How sad is it if you have to bake your own birthday cake?"
"Excuse me?" One of his brows rose into an expression of disapproval just as the Avatar tossed off the lid of the box unceremoniously to reveal a fairly large dome-shaped cake covered in a generous amount of white and red frosting with golden moon-peach slices and red candles all around it.
"Happy birthday, Noatak." Korra smirked and placed a soft peck on his lips before she set the cake down next to them.
"What?" It was more of a reflexive exclamation than a question and his lips tightened ever so slightly in disapproval. "Korra, I told you, I don't want…"
"Oh, yeah!" Korei spoke right over him in reaction to his mother's words, the four year old smacked his twin's arm and, in unison, they let out a resounding- "Happy birthday!"
"…Thank you, boys." As much as he wanted to argue with Korra he couldn't do the same with the children that looked up at him with large expectant eyes.
The two kids hugged him, each one competing with the other over who hugged the biggest expanse of their father's body but he wrapped his arms around both and planted equal kisses on their foreheads as a gesture of gratitude and affection. As much as Noatak disliked celebrating his birthday and remembering how much older he was than Korra, he couldn't help but feel a swell of happiness in face of those innocent expressions and happy words from the children.
"Go get the gifts." Korra shooed the twins off him.
"OK!" The reply came shouted in unison once more, their identical faces lit up as if recalling something particularly exciting and they ran upstairs in their clumsy childish gait.
"Gifts?" The curiosity in Noatak's tone was laced with frustration once again.
"Meelo kinda helped them make something, Pema thought it was a good idea." The Avatar shrugged off the topic.
"Happy birthday, daddy." Nilak suddenly piped in, having silently moved to the opposite side of Korra and reached out to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, Nilak." The reply came more naturally and honestly this time and he held the girl in his arms though he also gave her a suspicious look. "You're in on this ambush too?"
"It was her idea in the first place." Korra teased.
"…" Noatak wasn't sure what to say to that, his attention waved from the cake to the two women next to him. He wondered if there was even any point in arguing anymore, if Korra kept ignoring his protests after a decade then what were the odds that she would ever listen? "How many times do I have to say that I don't want to celebrate my…"
"Well, you're going to whether you like it or not." Nilak interrupted bossily and plopped the paper bag she had onto his lap. There was a flash of colorful wrapping paper within it. "Here. For you."
"Now, I wonder where you got that attitude from?" The former revolutionist chuckled slightly, examining the small package but still reluctant to accept it or open it.
"She's right, it's not fair that you're the only one skipping out." Korra added for good measure, pouting ever so slightly. "Besides, you can argue all you want but I know you looooove birthday cake."
He really couldn't argue on that account seeing as Korra was well aware of his weakness for sweets, a fondness that their children had inherited to an almost eerie level.
Korra seemed to take an overblown amount of pleasure in celebrating this dull day a week and a half after the Autumnal equinox, he never really understood why it was so important, but then again he liked paying attention to her on the date of her birth, he liked celebrating her existence so he logically assumed she felt the same way about his birthday… It was just a pity that he couldn't feel the same.
"That so?" Noatak couldn't help but snicker at the sheer amount of sass he was receiving from both women.
"Yeah. I for one am happy you were born. How would I ever live without you?" Korra added the last part in a tone of mockery but with a gentle honesty in the way she looked at him.
«You wouldn't have said any of that twelve years ago.» He thought to himself, fleetingly recalling how much they had hated each other during the Equalist War as he still did every once in a while… He glanced at the two women next to him and the boys that rushed down the stairs and, in a brief moment of serenity, he realized that, all things considered, he was glad everything had changed so much. He really didn't want to imagine where he would be had he continued in the path of Amon, partially because he could have died and partially because he could have won and after all those years neither option was particularly appealing anymore.
"Thank you." The reply finally came out with fully honesty.
"That's it? I bust out a romantic line like that and you just say thank you?" The Avatar crossed her arms and sulked ever so slightly.
"What else were you expecting?" Noatak chuckled, once again he was willing to bet he knew the answer.
"Mom's right, you can do better than that." Nilak stated while she waved at the twins to hurry up, they seemed to be arguing in whispers now that they had reached the bottom of the stairs.
"He's just grumpy because he doesn't want to get old." Korra explained as she pinched her lover's cheek jokingly.
"I am old." He replied very matter-of-factly.
"Bullsh-…" Korra coughed to censor herself with a glance at the boys before she continued. "I mean, nonsense, you're still the man I fell for. Just a little greyer, is all."
"…" He hesitated to reply while she ruffled his hair, in the end he said nothing and merely looked at her with a stoic expression, trying to determine whether or not to be happy for her comment.
"What's wrong? You can't seriously be mad that we remembered." The Avatar tossed her hands in the air in frustration.
"Quite the contrary." The reply was out before he really thought it through but it was true- he was no longer upset, just too proud to know how to react. "I simply don't know what to say."
"Same as every year. What ever happened to your attention-loving silver tongue?" Korra shook her head and poked his cheek mockingly.
"I wonder that myself." He stated in all honesty.
"You should have gotten used to this by now." Nilak reprimanded. "In fact, you should get used to it because you have years and years and many many birthdays ahead to endure."
"Let's hope so." Noatak graced his daughter with a soft smile and he did truly hope she was right.
"Hey, what are you two waiting for? If you don't hurry we'll have the cake without you." Korra called for the twins, they had their backs turned and still argued in low voices.
Whatever the argument was, they chose to put it aside and ran over to Noatak, practically tripping over themselves to hold up their presents- Kalle's was colorful finger painting of Noatak with what appeared to be a huge candle next to him on top of a little blob that could be a purple cake, there were also plenty stars and moons all over the place and stick figures of the twins themselves; Korei gift was a big panel of poster paper with a noddle collage shaped like a face and by the position of abundant splashes of glitter Noatak deduced it was supposed to be his likeness with the sparkly dust in place of his scars. There was also a big rudimentary handmade clay cup painted sloppily in red and black and likely to leak if any liquid was actually poured in it, it seemed to be what they had been arguing over but ultimately presented as a gift from the two of them.
He had no words, it wasn't the gifts themselves that touched him, it was the amount of patience and effort that went into them, especially coming from two boys did not have the ability to stay still for more than five minutes. Noatak accepted the offerings and pulled both his sons onto his lap, between raspberry kisses, laughter and ticklishness, he showered them with an amount of affection that nobody outside that house would ever believe him capable of.
Next, Nilak insisted that he finally open her gift, Noatak expected a book since it was usually what Nilak chose to give every year and from the shape of the present that he fished from her paper bag he assumed he was right… But he wasn't.
Once the unwrapped he saw that there was indeed a tome inside but it was no novel of any sort, it was a leather-bound ledger and the real gift was actually what came with it- an elegant long narrow box that contained a glass ink pot and a beautifully elaborate pen carved in dark wood and tipped as well as sculpted over in a mix of metallic hues of gold, copper and silver shaped into an intricate design. It was simply unique.
"Do you like it?" The young girl asked, biting her lower lip anxiously.
"Of course I do." Noatak assured, pulling his daughter into a reassuring embrace that in turn made the boys hop down from his lap to play on the rug. "I'd love anything you give me but this is particularly impressive, sweetheart."
"I'm glad." Nilak smiled shyly but it was also a sneaky and victorious expression.
"That's pretty damn awesome. Kinda makes my gift feel boring now." Korra, who sat precariously on the arm of the couch, pouted in an exaggerated way but she was clearly just being playful.
"You didn't know about this?" The former equalist was surprised by her reaction. After all, who else could have helped Nilak obtain such a present?
"Nope, she didn't even let me help." The Avatar pointed out, poking her daughter's side in a teasing manner. "Little miss independent."
"Then how did you find this, Nilak?" He wondered with vague curiosity.
"Uncle Liu gave me the idea and aunt Asami told me where to find the right store." The girl mumbled a little awkwardly, probably upset for not being able to claim sole credit on the matter.
"Speaking of which…" Korra suddenly appeared to remember something and placed the small package she had been carrying along with the cake box on his lap. "There you go. Those are from the Temple."
Noatak gave a ghost a of a smirk because even though this day tended to be celebrated only by the inhabitants of the house and even though Korra and the kids were the ones that insisted on it, the Avatar often made it her mission to remind all their other acquaintances of the occasion just to make sure Noatak got some positive attention. In his opinion it was a pointless gesture but he couldn't deny that it was nice to be remembered every so often and to see the effort she put into the celebration.
The package from the Air Temple contained traditional celebratory treats of Air Nomad culture- fruit tarts. Tenzin's children, most of which were no longer young enough to be called children, also made sure to send birthday wishes in their letters from wherever they were travelling to at the moment with the exception of Rohan who had always felt intimidated by Noatak but insisted on sending slightly more interesting tokens which this year meant he had sent a book, one of the current popular picks in Republic City's bookstores.
Truth be told, Noatak had been getting gifts all throughout week thanks to Korra's reminders to everyone, even though he pretended it wasn't a big deal. Bolin had sent tickets to the premiere of a new mover, apparently it was supposed to be a big deal because it was meant to test out a new technique that gave color to the motion pictures; Mako always just sent the same boring little card out of minimal politeness that was more for Korra's sake then Noatak's but, as had become habit in the past few years, it came tacked onto an elaborate box containing a fancy scarf that was a present from the former prince Wu, a man that took up any opportunity give presents; Asami had sent a simple bottle of cologne that he had actually enjoyed more than he cared to admit; Liu had left a rather fine spice liqueur in his office at the academy but said no more about the matter; Anningan and Malina had showed up that very morning with a large box of rock candy from Omashu since they had visited the area on their way back from the North Pole; Tani and Chintak had given him a box of pastries from a popular shop near their parlor; Lin Beifong didn't do gifts but Skoochy had sent a card in the name of the whole household; Suyin and Baatar had sent little bobbing metallic trinkets all the way from Zaofu, they were becoming a bit of a local craft and turning into tradition, Korra actually had a few peppered around the house.
All in all, there was no lack of attention but none of those tokens compared to the noodle portrait, the drawings, the clay cup and the pen, nothing was more important or more heartfelt than to Noatak than those little symbols of affection he received that very moment from the children that were his pride and joy.
"How very considerate of them." Noatak commented, holding up a mouthwatering cream and plumberry tart that was one of Pema's specialties before wrapping it up again and handing it along with the others to the twins with a simple order that they carry them to the kitchen. Once the boys were on their way, he glanced at the Avatar. "However, you mentioned a gift of yours?"
"You'll get it later." Korra smirked mischievously.
"Oh? How come?" He was surprised she wasn't trying to show off and outdo everyone else already.
"Because…" She leaned closer and slipped onto his lap to whisper huskily in his ear- "You'll have to wait until my clothes come off to see it."
"I can hardly wait." Noatak announced with a charming smile, his imagination already reeling with the possibilities.
"Hardly being the key word." The Avatar teased lecherously and laughed much too loudly.
Nilak cleared her throat, obviously picking up on the inappropriate atmosphere and nodding towards the birthday cake to change the subject, she was indicating that the twins were about to shove their gluttonous little hands into the frosting.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Korra called out before grabbing both boys from behind and pulling them away from the cake. "What do you think you're doing?"
"We just wanted to taste!" Said Kalle defensively.
"Yeah, to see if it's good!" Added Korei cheekily.
"Lunch first." Noatak announced, repressing an amused grin.
"But daddy…!" Both twins complained in unison.
"Maybe just a little bit." Korra conceded, eyeing the cake rather hungrily herself and giving Noatak a hopeful look.
"No, not even a little bit. You'll all spoil your appetite." Noatak countered right away and covered the confection despite the complaints and pouts all around him. He then carried the box to kitchen but glanced back and asked- "Who wants to help me make lunch?"
It was a dangerous question, all of the children immediately perked up and ran to the kitchen but their excitement to help meant there would probably be a mess to clean up afterwards when ingredients started to spill, food fights began, klutzy little hands misshaped things, energetic voices demanded incompatible flavors and began experimenting and confections started to get 'sampled' ahead of time. Yet, none of it mattered because to Noatak such a scenario was both amusing and endearing and soon he was delegating simple tasks to boys while teaching Nilak to make egg wraps as the Avatar sat on the counter making tea and keeping a close eye on the sweets.
It might not be romantic, it might not be fancy or organized, it might not be ideal, but for Noatak it was as good a birthday as it could possibly be.