Sunlight filtered through the curtains of their bedroom, but even Aang didn't stir. He and Katara were sprawled on their bed, limbs heavy with exhaustion, with a teething Tenzin between them, still half-latched onto his mother's breast. His eyes were closed, but if his parents dared to move him even the slightest bit, he would wail and wake his siblings and the chaos would begin again. They'd learned this the hard way—twice—during the night.
Tenzin had shown signs of teething for weeks but everything had come to a head the previous day, and he'd been inconsolable. None of their other children had been this distraught at the eruption of their teeth, and Aang and Katara were at a loss. They tried everything. Katara had kept a steady supply of ice wrapped in cloth for him to chew on and numb his aching gums, but it only lasted so long. She'd tried mixing some herbs for pain relief. Aang had offered him all his favorite toys, including a special Air Nomad teething pendant he had carved for him (just as he had for their other children). When Katara's herbal pain relief wore off they tried a traditional Air Nomad remedy—a paste made from flowers that grew among the Patola mountains. They both took turns carrying him everywhere swaddled against their bodies as they went about their duties for the day, but nothing worked.
Tenzin hadn't napped for more than ten minutes straight, either, which only worsened his mood. The only thing that seemed to help for any period of time was nursing. The suction gave him some relief, and the skin-to-skin contact offered comfort, but he didn't always want the milk that came with it, and he kept spitting out the fake rubber nipple she offered, which he had previously taken to with gusto.
When nighttime came, Tenzin was still unable to sleep. He tossed and turned; every movement inciting a new round of screams from his tiny body. His temperature was rising, and Katara had taken him out of bed at one point to give him a lukewarm bath. When his screams woke Kya, she wandered into her parents' room, rubbing her eyes with chubby little fists, asking what was wrong with the baby.
"He's just getting his teeth in," Katara explained gently while she bounced and rocked a fussy, nursing Tenzin. "It can hurt quite a bit, though, and crying is the only way he can tell us something's wrong. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot we can do to make him feel better."
"You didn't like getting your teeth in, either, Penguin," Aang chuckled sleepily from beside Katara before getting up to walk Kya back to her room. Katara could hear his joints popping as he stretched. "Bumi kept asking if he could sleep outside so he wouldn't hear you cry. I'm sorry you got woken up. Do you want another story or a cuddle?"
"Yes, pease, Daddy" she mumbled as Aang scooped her up. "Feel better, Tenzy," Kya called in concern over Aang's shoulder. Despite her exhaustion, Katara smiled at them as they walked out the door and down the hall. At some point Aang had returned and they had both fallen into a fitful semblance of sleep, creating a protective nest with their bodies around their youngest son.
Now, Katara's heavy eyelids fluttered open out of habit (and against her will); this was the time in the morning when Tenzin normally woke for the day, demanding to nurse and unable to fall back to sleep. Her stomach grumbled. Even though Tenzin showed no signs of stirring after such a long, sleepless night, and she knew he needed the sleep, her body wasn't going to allow her that luxury, it seemed.
Her stomach complained again, louder this time, and she heard Aang inhale sharply. Even with his eyes still closed, she could see that he was waking up. Every muscle in his body flexed and stretched as minimally as possible so as not to wake Tenzin, and his face started to scrunch up to block out the sun that was shining directly onto his face. Finally, he sighed heavily and peeked one eye open.
He smiled when he saw Katara staring back at him. They didn't often get these early morning moments together anymore, now that they were parents. Bumi, Kya, and especially Tenzin were early risers like their father (although Bumi had become less-so as he grew older), so it was rare for Katara to wake before one of the children. Instead, she woke to them, immediately having to put on her mom hat and get right to work with Aang to keep them safe and fed and learning and in line. So she cautiously stretched and breathed in the silence.
Until her stomach growled a third time.
Aang stifled his laugh with his hand, and ever-so-slowly crept out of the bed. "I'll go get you something to eat," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "You're going to need to eat everything in the kitchen after all the nursing Tenzin did last night."
Katara chuckled and nodded in agreement, looking at the sleeping infant. His breathing had evened out significantly in the last few hours, and he seemed to finally be in a deep enough sleep that she could try to move away from him. "Can you hand me Tenzin's pacifier?" she asked quietly. He reached over to the bedside table and passed it to her. She smiled at him in thanks as he tiptoed out the door, cushioning his steps with airbending even more than usual.
Nervously, Katara slid her finger along Tenzin's lip to unlatch him from her breast and quickly replaced her own nipple with the rubber one in his mouth. He pouted a little, but his eyes remained closed (thank the Spirits), and soon enough he settled back to sleep. He had really worn himself out.
As silently as possible, Katara got up from the bed and changed her clothes, and did a quick wash-up with her bending water without leaving the room so she could make sure Tenzin didn't roll off the bed. She breathed a sigh of relief at no longer smelling of sour milk—at least for the next couple of hours. She had just finished combing her hair when Aang walked in with a plate of cut fruit, some jook, and tea to share, and a bag of seal jerky for Katara on a stone tray.
"Thank you," she whispered, standing up to kiss his cheek as he set the tray down on her vanity. Aang wrapped his arms around her, wordlessly trying to offer her some strength after such a depleting day, with no restorative sleep.
Katara found herself melting into his embrace for a long moment, as the sparrowkeets sang their morning song outside their window. She inhaled his comforting scent one more time before separating to sit down to her morning feast.
Aang gathered a few cushions and they made a makeshift table out of her vanity stool as they sat cross-legged on the floor, eating quietly together. Katara couldn't remember the last time they'd shared breakfast, just the two of them.
"Where are Bumi and Kya?" she asked suddenly. They were usually up by now.
"Still asleep," Aang said, laughing softly when Katara's eyes widened dramatically. "I checked on them while the jook was cooking—I think they got about as much sleep as we did last night, with all of Tenzin's crying."
"Ugh, you're right. Hopefully they'll sleep late and catch up on their rest."
Aang nodded as he took another bite of his breakfast. They sat in near silence for a long time as they finished their food and tea. Only the sounds of their spoons scraping the bottoms of their bowls, the clank of the teacups when they set them back on the tray, and the sparrowkeets in the background filled the air. Occasionally Tenzin would snuffle and whine, but he remained thankfully, blessedly asleep.
When they finished their meal, Katara scooted around to lean against Aang, keeping her eye on Tenzin. Aang wrapped his arm around her and squeezed gently. Now that they had three kids to take care of, it was even harder to find time and energy to reconnect like this, but Katara could always feel his love for her in his touch. Even if their only interaction for the day was when he kissed her goodbye before going off to a day of meetings, it never felt routine or normal; his kiss was always so full of his feelings for her. His hand on her back could take her out of the moment and remind her just how much he cherished her.
It wasn't uncommon for the two of them to communicate through touch this way, especially since they'd become parents. A certain look and a squeeze of the hip could say "I want you" more deeply than words ever had. A gentle hand to the face could say "I'm worried about you" more clearly. A hug could say so many things, depending on the tightness, the length, where they put their hands…
In this moment, Katara could feel Aang's touch saying something like, "that was hard, but we made it."
Katara nuzzled her head into his chest to say, "I don't know if I could have made it without you."
Aang's chest shook as he laughed silently in agreement; he knew he couldn't have made it without her. Through almost anything in this life. He pressed another kiss to the top of her head.
Despite their lack of sleep, this quiet moment together recharged them, as the other's presence always had. During the war, just having Katara by his side gave Aang strength and hope. Aang's presence did the same for Katara. So when the sounds of Bumi clanging around in the kitchen looking for breakfast reached their ears, and when Kya stumbled sleepily out of her room, and when Tenzin's cries filled the air again… they knew they could handle it—all of it—as long as they were together.
