I Don't Own Avatar the Last Airbender
I was tired, well, beyond tired really. The last week had no been kind to me, pulling double and some times triple shifts meant that my free time to sleep wasn't exactly the best or most healthy thing to do but I did it all the same, the only silver lining was that I knew that the kids were being looked over while I spent about sixteen hours a day working along with Inaru who worked about two thirds of my own shifts.
Of course the kids complained a bit but they seemed to know that this was necessary and hopefully would be over sooner rather than later. We had the funds for the house now at least which honestly made it worth it to me. It was a bit closer than I would have liked to rent out the place we had already been staying in which had been very crampt and honestly not the best in terms of condition.
Not to mention the costs to pay for food or the six of us hadn't been the cheapest either, but that just meant a few more hours to work to compensate for it, which I did. I think I was stressing the man who gave me the job out with how many times I had asked for extra hours. I know I did because he had come up to me not to long ago and asked about why I was working so hard.
After I had explained that it was for my family however, he didn't bother to question me but he did ask me to try and get more sleep in with how much I was working but I kind of ignored that bit of advice. I'll be able to sleep a lot easier now that the building in front of us is in my name for the next month. It should be easy to get the funds in time with a full month. We managed to get it in under six days so a full month shouldn't be that bad right? I can think about it later, but for right now-
"Alright everyone, some of us are going to have to pair up on rooms, there is six of us and only three bedrooms, one of which isn't really that big. Inaru, you can have that one, Rina and Ran you two can have the next one and me, Bou, and Bahi can all share the master bed room with the kids getting the bed and I can sleep on the weirdly over sized couch in there. Any questions?" No one seemed to have any, but Inaru did have something to say.
"Go to sleep, I'm sure the kids won't mind if you use the bed for the first night" I thought about arguing against that but as she said that I was suddenly so much more aware of the heavy feeling behind my eyes. Looking over to my two kids, they gave me nods of agreement. I felt my mouth open to protest but before I could think of something, a yawn had taken the opportunity to reveal itself.
I thought it over again for a brief moment before sighing and giving them a nod before heading off to the master bed room, absently glancing at some of the walls for a moment before walking into the room, looking over its traditional Earth Kingdom decor before kicking my sandles off then unceremoniously flopped down onto the bed, falling asleep around the same time my head hit the pillow.
Inaru Pov
Thankfully he took my advice and didn't argue and just went and past out on the bed. I remember what seemed like so long ago, he use to be so stubborn to the advice of others. If he didn't figure it out himself then he would ignore it until he could come to the same conclusion. He was still like that really, I remember telling him multiple times to take more breaks or let me take more shifts for him but he would always refuse.
Its an interesting difference, he's more open to help but he's still the same person under it all, I could tell. With how long I've known him, I'm sure he thinks he's changed a lot more but really he's mostly the same, perhaps more patient and not as violent but the base of his personality is still the same. Always trying to do what he thinks is right, and will fight tooth and nail for what he cares for.
I remember a time when I was younger when I didn't understand that and honestly thought he was terrifying, watching him burn down homes and villages, killing without remorse. But he never liked killing, I remember walking in on him having a break down once, he confessed he hated it, but he still did it. I never understood why until later on, after I had thought he had died.
He cared that much about our nation that he put aside his own health, his own ideals, his own life, to protect it, to fight for it. Now that protectiveness is in something else, the two kids that I was looking at right now as they stared into the master bedroom, whispering to themselves as they watched their dad sleep. And wasn't that just a shock, my old Captain, a teen that was three years younger than I am, had to kids, both who were now in their double digits of age.
He was right to joke about feeling old, because I sure as heck feel it sometimes, just looking at them interact. In the beginning I had no idea how I was going to interact with them, barely knowing what to say, and then one day we just seemed to come to an understanding. It was just a click that I don't really remember happening, we were just talking and suddenly everything just seemed so much easier to say.
And that's all that happened, from three the three of us talked and then talked some more and over time I got use to it all. I remember back in the military it was much harder to talk to people, everyone was so serious, even Sho back then, though he had to be. Now, it was just so starkly different, it felt like a whole other life times really... I wonder if that's how Sho feels about all this?
Looking up a bit from the two kids forms to the man I had watched grow up along side me, as he absently snored into the pillow his face was mashed into, I couldn't help but feel it was accurate. A new life, a new family that I had found. I remember my mother still at home, awaiting my payments for her treatments, I still sent them of course, I will always do so, she was my only family left... At least she use to be.
It's was links like that which reminded me that this wasn't a whole new life, I still had memories of the people I had killed, I still had the nightmares about it, I still get flashes of burning bodies when I watch Sho practice. It wasn't a truly new life, but it was a new start, one that I don't think I would ever trade for anything.
Ran Pov
The fire guy was asleep, I know his name is Sho but I like fire guy more, it's better than Sho and a lot more accurate, of course Rina still berated me about that, saying I couldn't call him that here. I didn't really get why but she seemed serious so I won't, out loud. I can think about whatever in my head and Rina never seems to notice, it's cool. It's like my own little safe place.
Though I don't really like staying in here to long, it gets boring, which usually means I should go find someone to talk to, that always seemed to help but right now I was to busy running around this new house thingy that apparently fire guy and Inaru got for us. It was massive! It reminded me a bit of our old place, I know that Rina doesn't like it when I bring it up but she can't hear me right now so I thought about it anyway.
The only difference is that there were two more kids here, I think, I don't remember the last place to well, besides the tables that I always tried to climb on and that nice open area where I could lay down and look at the sky... I wonder what happened to that old place, I remember Rina pulling me away from it a long time ago but I don't really remember why, I wonder why?
I would ask but then Rina would get sad again, it was hard to tell some times, since she always kind of looks the same but I can tell! I think that's called being observant. As I thought about the strange and long word I absently bumped into a wall, which caused me to giggle a tad as I looked around the area that I had found myself in. It looked around the same as the big room we had walked into by the door to the house thingy, but it had a bunch of seats.
So I did the first thing that came to mind and jumped on one of them and sat down happily humming to myself at the action being to easy. I remember back at the old place that it was really hard to jump up onto some of the seat and chairs, this place was already better in my opinion! There are nice and easy chairs, other kids to play with, I have my older sis, and we even have two adults watching over us, it was like... What's the word? Family! That's it, it's like a family. I like that word. It feels nice to think about.
Bahi
Dad was sleeping, which was good, he over worked himself to much I swear! If I could I would force him to sleep more often but I still couldn't even hit him yet! I wish he wasn't so awesome! He doesn't even need to bend to bet us though, and me and Buo are pretty awesome ourselves, so I'm sure he'll be fine, but I don't like the bags that seem to show up when he doesn't sleep for a while. It reminds me of when we met him.
Buo doesn't remember it but I do, and I wish I didn't. The fires and the shouting, the fear and panic, the crying and screaming. They kept coming back over and over again whenever I slept but Dad always managed to convince me to go back to sleep and they never show up again after he helps me. I wish I could do that for him. He called them nightmares, and I know he gets them to, but no matter how much I try to help it never seems to help as much. He always gets those bags afterwards.
I wish they would just go away, so I'm happy he was sleeping at the moment as me and my brother talked between ourselves as we watched as he slept, just to make sure he wasn't faking on us. He needed sleep, just like we did, and he always made sure we rested, so it only makes sense that we do the same to him right? I think so and Buo agrees and if two of us are in agreement then we can't be wrong!
Though this reminded me of when we met him, Dad was different back then, he was a lot more quiet, and he slept a lot more, I didn't like that. I'm happy he's more like this now, I'm happy he's our Dad. I love him, and my brother, and even the other three... I don't remember if I had a family before this, but if I had to guess then this one must be better! If I can't remember them then that just means that this one is just so much better! Becuase my Dad is the best. I'm so happy he found us.
Sho
Waking up was interesting as I cracked my neck as I walked out of the room I had seemingly spent most of the day in as I looked around a moment before looking over to a nearby window and noting the sight of the rising sun. I really slept throughout a whole freaking day didn't I? I must have been a lot more tired than I thought I was, that was just crazy.
Shaking my head, I turned and walked out of the hallway, into the main room and looked around for a moment, before leaning to the side a bit, to rest my shoulder against a nearby wall as I took in the sight before me. Inaru was talking to Buo, Bahi, and Ran, who all were happily talking back to her with excitement clear on their faces as Rina looked on with the fainest of smiles pulled on her face as she listened into the conversation.
I didn't want to interrupt this moment, it was just so whole, looking at it, I could see perfectly my entire family right before my eyes. It was...nice to say the least.
"Dad!" I blinked as I was brought out of my thoughts as I looked back and saw Bahi and Buo waving me over. I couldn't help but laugh and nod to them as I walked over to them and sat down next to the two on the floor and smiled as Buo hugged himself into my side while Bahi turned back and continued to talk to Ran and Inaru. As I wrapped an arm around my son as I looked around as they all talked and shared this moment with each other for a long while, just enjoying this moment of pure family energy that seemed to soak the air. My family.
And with that I'm done with the week of daily posts, I have no idea what the hell my mind is doing at the moment as I'm torn between like seven things at the moment so I kind of just sped ran this chapter out in like forty-some minutes and so here it is, isn't that neat. Anyway, I made this so that if I don't ever post on this story again it can at least have something of a solid ending, with everyone at this point having a time where they had the pov focused on them. Anyway, See ya.