Writer's Note: Hahaha, what? I don't know where this came from, either. These fics seem to just...attack me when I'm feeling particularly emotional, and in the end I still never really know why. Especially with this one. I mean, come on: kids? What? I don't even like kids. But then this little arrogant yellow-eyed brat popped up into my head fully-formed and I was like, crap, what the hell? So that's what this is. If it's something of an interest, I'll write more.

Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers.

The first time his daughter shoved her finger up Zuko's nose, he knew that he adored her

Kaida – Little Dragon – was just like her mother in so many ways. She was sneaky, loved staring at shiny, sharp objects, and was very fussy about her impossibly straight hair.

She also was very much like her father as well. She was whiny, loved to shout, had a short fuse, and loved to play with turtle-ducks.

Her yellow eyes were sharp and narrow, taking in everything around her and learning as fast as she could. Her lips were often the victims of thoughtful biting when she was confused or puzzled by something. Her small, chubby body was often draped in the red robes of Fire Nation royalty, robes that were too big for her and that she ends up tripping on – hemming them were useless, as the moment they did, she outgrew them and needed new ones.

At first, Zuko walked on eggshells around Kaida. She was, in appearance, tiny and fragile, and so impressionable at that age; he knew this, he would never forget this. He always tried to keep himself a little bit aloof from her, always afraid that, somehow, even if he acted in the best of interests, he would end up corrupting her without meaning to. It was his greatest fear, one that ate away at him.

But one day, Kaida, who had been sitting with Mai under the shade of the tree next to the turtle-duck pond, got to her feet and walked over to Zuko, who was on the opposite end, sitting nervously away from them in case he said something stupid, and sat down next to him. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, worried, and she looked up and back at him, obviously curious about her father, this man who was always on the edges of her life.

And then her finger went up his nose, and he squealed and veered backwards, and she shrieked with delight and amusement, and that broke the wall between them for good. And since then, much to Mai's delight as well as Kaida's, Zuko seemed to transform into a whole other person, a real father, and it was a good change.

He played games with her, games he barely remembered from his own childhood, games that had a shadow of fear and confusion back then. These feelings were instantly replaced when he shared them with his daughter, instead giving him both joy and awe at how these simplest of things could bring such amusement and happiness in his life. Her whole being was fascinating to him, fascinating in a way that he knew he would never tire of.

The first time she tripped and scratched her knee on the garden pathway, she bit her lip and squinted her eyes against the pain, her hands clenched against the stone. Mai had watched her fight instinct that told her to cry – and win – and realised that perhaps this child of theirs was made of stronger stuff than they could have ever guessed.

The first time she met Tyana, Katara and Aang's oldest child, she spent the first five minutes eyeing the girl closely before saying a word, despite the older girl's constant chattering. Then, when Tyana wouldn't shut up, no matter how many times her new playmate opened her mouth to add her own opinion, Kaida took matters into her own hands.

The two girls were sitting together in front of the pond, the springtime sun a little too hot for Tyana's liking, something she made sure that Kaida understood as well.

"I'm not used to how hot it can be here," she said, her voice thick with the agony that she clearly felt from the humidity of the day. "At home, even in the summer, it's much cooler than your springtime."

Kaida opened her mouth, wanting to say, It's not always this hot; there are days that it can be bitterly cold! But apparently Tyana wasn't done.

"I mean, I don't get how you can stand it," she said, fanning herself with one hand, the other pushing a few stray locks of short, thick brown hair away from her face. "You're in those long, long robes, everything except your face is covered, and you aren't even sweating! And here I am in short sleeves and pants and I can barely breathe!"

Kaida started to say, These robes are actually really light, and really, it's not that bad, especially in the shade. But, again, she was cut off. And nothing, absolutely nothing bothered Kaida more than being unable to speak her mind.

"I don't even know how you can be awake during this kind of heat- Hey!"

Kaida had had enough. She leapt to her feet, gritted her teeth, and just lunged at the older girl, her left fist soaring forward as if being led towards Tyana's face by a string.

This was how Mai and Zuko, as well as Aang and Katara, learned that the heir to the Fire Nation throne, despite her smaller size, also had a mean left hook. Oddly, much like her own father, Tyana – despite the black eye – took it all in stride and thought it was the most hysterical thing in the world.

She was lying on her back, her limbs akimbo and limp, and despite her closed eyes, she was laughing and laughing, practically crying from it. Kaida stood over her, her lips twitching, torn between finishing the job and joining in on the laughter.

And that was how Kaida was able to get past Tyana's faux pas and consider her worthy of her attention, which resulted in the first friendship between the younger generation – despite how shaky it could occasionally get.

A prime example was when Tyana dared to mention Zuko's scar.

They were lying in the court yard, listening to the sounds of the fountain nearby, when Tyana ventured into uncharted waters.

"Kaida, why is your dad...you know..." and here she waved a hand in front of her left eye. "All weird right here?"

Kaida rolled her eyes, swallowing hard the rude word she wanted to reply with. Instead, she said, "He's not. He's fine. Your dad has weird marks all over his body."

Tyana sat up, her grey-blue eyes ablaze. "My dad is not weird! Those are tattoos, and they represent a sacred and ancient cultural advancement in the art of airbending!"

Kaida waved a hand at her. "Blah, blah, blah," was her reply.

Tyana smiled meanly. "Your dad is weird because, I dunno, it looks like something threw up on his eye!"

Kaida sat up this time. "Take it back, or I'll pop you one."

Tyana jutted out her chin. "I dare you to."

Needless to say, Tyana ended up with another black eye.

Kaida, however, would never admit it, but she, too, was curious about Zuko's scar, the one that she had grown up seeing and thus had always thought that it was normal. She tried a couple of times to muster up the courage to ask Zuko, but she always lost the courage for some reason. Instead, one day, she asked her mother.

Mai was sitting before her vanity mirror, brushing out her hair to get the night's knots out, when Kaida snuck in and tiptoed over to her side. With anyone else, she would have gone undetected until the last minute, but with Mai, that was always impossible. The moment she was about to leapt out and scare Mai, she was stopped by, "Morning, Kaida. You're up early."

Pouting, Kaida eased out of her hiding place and over to Mai's side. Mai was smirking slightly, and she reached forward and ruffled Kaida's short cap of hair affectionately. "You can't fool a master, sweetie," she said affectionately, "but you're getting better. I'm sure your father won't see you coming."

Kaida's eyes lit up at the thought of scaring the daylights out of Zuko, which instantly cheered her up. However, she was unable to forget the reason why she was there. "Mom, why does Dad have a scar on his eye?"

Mai's hands faltered a bit in her brushing, and her mouth tightened, but to Kaida's surprise, she didn't try to change the subject or to chastise her for bringing it up. Instead, setting the brush down, Mai told her the story, carefully omitting some of the more disturbing details. By the end, Kaida's eyes were wide, and her lips were full of bite marks.

Mai reached forward and stroked Kaida's hair softly. Kaida blinked slowly. "Does it hurt him still?" she asked him finally.

Mai shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe you could ask him?"

It took Kaida a long time, but finally, she did.

Zuko blinked in surprise, his eyes widening a little. He looked at Kaida, right in the eyes, and said, very softly, "Sometimes." And then he smiled a little, his large hand covering the top of her head like a hat. "But not so much anymore."