Pairing: Zuko and Suki
Rating: K+

It was now the normal, the morning routine for the royal couple that had become common place in the past four weeks since Zarra had come. It had been a sudden and somewhat violent change. Pulling them out of their carefree lives into something that was driven by what she needed of them. It was exhausting; more so than either of them thought it would be. Their friends assured them that it would stop after a while. That she would sleep thought the night and not require constant attention. Until that day came this was the reality of their life and their morning routine.

Zuko was standing in the shower asleep, his head resting on the tile wall. He had gotten two, maybe three hours of sleep total. It was part of the deal. He got up with the baby at night, attending to her every need. Suki got the daytime. She was still healing from giving birth and needed as much rest as she could get. Zarra was more active at night, so Zuko took that shift.

He jerked himself awake, his eyes opening as he realized where he was. He sighed heavily, finishing his shower before getting out. He dried quickly before putting on some simple pants and walking back into the bedroom. He grabbed a comb from the cluttered dresser, running it thought his hair as he turned to the bed and to his two girls.

Suki was watching Zuko silently from the bed, a tired smile on her face. She was on her side, their infant daughter laying next to her as she was being nursed. He dropped the comb from his hair, letting it fall to the floor as he watched them. He would never get used to watching them, he did not see how he could. He walked over to his side of the bed, slowly climbing in and laying down next to her with the baby between them.

Zuko pressed his lips to his wife's forehead in a tired, open mouth kissed. She was warm. Perhaps from a slight fervor or from just having woken up. It was a welcoming sensation on his dry lips. He pulled away from Suki, moving his lips to Zarra's head. Nothing on this earth could touch his heart quite like his infant daughter. She was an extension of everything that was good about him in a package that was a small version of his beloved wife.

What was there not to love?

Suki laid her head down on the pillow as she rubbed Zarra's back with the side of her thumb. "You should take the day off." She breathed in what was little more than a whisper. Zuko pulled away from Zarra, rolling onto his back as he rubbed his eyes. "You need rest." She was speaking just as much to him as she was herself at this point in time, feeling the overwhelming exhaustion pressing down on her.

The baby pulled away from her mother's breast, grunting lightly. Suki's attention went to her, rolling her on her back and rubbing her tiny stomach. "I got it," Zuko mumbled, reaching over and rubbing her in the same way that Suki had just done.

A smile dances across her lips, as she fixed her silk robe on herself. She was so sore, all over, always.

Zarra's hands came up to her face, her tiny arms holding her father's hand in place. She sucked on her bottom lip and opened her eyes, looking up at him with curious look on her face. Seeing those honey eyes drew a soft gasp from Zuko. "I tend to forget about the long nights when I see those eyes."

She looked at her love as she combed her hair with her fingers, "What?"

"It's true." Zuko pulled away from Zarra's stomach, only to slip his strong hand under her. With one fluid motion he scooped her up into his hand and placed her, stomach down, onto his broad, bare, chest. The baby drew her knees and arms in, curling into a fetal position. He let his head fall back onto the soft pillow behind him while he ran his fingers along her spine.

Suki could not help but chuckle. She reached out and rubbed Zarra's tiny back. The skin warm under her mother's careful touch. "I will tell them you are not feeling well." He replied with a long sigh, closing his eyes. Suki leaned in and kissed her husband tenderly on the side of his thin lips.

"I love you." Zuko whispered.

She smiled softly, slowly pulling herself away from her small family and out of the big bed. She figured that she had at least an hour before Zarra would wake up needing something. It was just enough time to bathe and get something to eat. She covered herself with a thicker, longer, deep red robe lined in green. She tied the sash around her waist as looked back at Zuko and Zarra on the bed.

Suki wanted more than anything to craw back into bed with them, curling up next to Zuko's broad frame. She sighed lightly, pulling her hair back with a small band that was on the dresser. She always did what he needed her to, usually without him even having to ask. He needed to rest, and she would make sure he had that. She left the room silently, leaving the warmth of their bedroom for the coldness of the palace halls.