ZW 2013 Day 6: Soothe

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Zuko, Master of Names and Childrearing

Zuko is on parenting duty for the night.

The screeching echoes into their bedroom, and Katara responds with a small, plaintive whimper.

"I'll get him," Zuko mumbles, and he kisses her cheek lightly as he drags himself out of bed. Katara smiles sleepily at him and burrows deeper into the sheets, curling her body around his pillow. Their baby screams again, and Zuko leaves his wife and moves into their makeshift nursery-the real nursery is still in the opposite wing of the palace. He bends over the baby's crib and lifts his son, whose cries quiet as Zuko holds him to his chest. "Shhhh…"

The baby whimpers a little, but it's small, more of a passing back into sleep and less a threat of more cries. "We need to find you a name," Zuko murmurs, rocking back and forth on his heels. "What about Kosekose? Since you cry so much."

Clearly, his son is not amused. Dark eyelashes flutter and gold eyes glance up at him, eyebrows slowly curling into a frown.

"Okay, okay, not that."

This baby is only a week old. He has no idea what Zuko is saying to him. Right? He'll have to ask Katara about that in the morning, especially after she made him play the tsungi horn every night for 6 months. Child development something.

"Your mom thinks you should be Iroh."

No response.

"He's only been gone a year. I'm not ready."

Baby is sleeping again, soft breaths brushing Zuko's chest like feathers. It's strangely comforting.

"Are you Iroh?"

It occurs to Zuko that he should really stop talking to things that can't talk back. Babies. Badger frogs.

They never give him any answers anyway.

His mind is soothed somewhat when he crawls back into bed and wrests his pillow from Katara, who reaches for him and wraps herself around his body, holding him tightly. "He's 'sleep?"

"Mhm," he replies, letting himself drift off, and he dreams of Uncle.

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A/N: Happy Zutara week! Obviously, I'm 6 years behind, but I'll catch up someday.