One-shot XXV: Adoption

That night, Aang was getting himself ready to go on a date with Zuko, it sounded weird to call it that way, even if they had been married for a long time but Aang kept calling their romantic evenings that way and that specific day he wanted to go to the theatre and have dinner somewhere nice. That day, all his plans were indoors, although maybe he would manage to make them have a romantic moment in the upcoming rain. They got into their car without really talking much, they had low music and just enjoyed each other's company, until Aang heard something weird, it sounded like a baby crying.

"Stop the car" Aang yelled scaring his husband "I heard something" he got out feeling the first drops of water fall on him, he approached to an abandoned building, he knew it had been an orphanage that had recently been moved to another side of the city. On the stairs there was a basket where the crying came from. The closer he got, it sounded like two little voices, until he was in front of the basket, he confirmed that there were two little babies who did not seem to be more than three months old, they had a little hair black on their heads and they were crying loudly "It's okay, it's okay" Aang murmured as if the children understood him even though they did not stop crying. As he could he took them into his arms and almost immediately they calmed down "you were scared. It's okay, nothing will happen to you"

"I think we have to cancel the date" Zuko said looking at the babies "we have to call the police"

"First I want to see that they're okay," Aang said, placing the babies back in the basket, who began to get restless when they felt they were back there "you have to go to a pharmacy, you know, buy diapers, wet tissues, bottles and milk. After I know they're okay, we'll call the police"

Aang took the basket in his arms, listening to the babies crying again, hoping it would not rain harder, he walked to the car and with Zuko's help he got into the back with them. Aang lulled the children to sleep, at least it seemed like they had not been alone for long.

Zuko decided that the best thing would be for Aang to take the children home to check on them while he went to get everything they needed. They did so, Aang took the babies to the bedroom that he and Zuko shared and Zuko ran as fast as he could back to the street.

After a stressful trip to the mall where he was seen as a poor new father, he was able to get back home with everything Aang had asked for, even taking the trouble to buy the babies a new outfit. Zuko almost felt like a true new father, though he constantly reminded himself that he was not like that, he knew that it was almost impossible for them to let them adopt them and there always more limits on gay couples. He entered his house trying to make as little noise as possible, he approached to the door, he heard Aang humming a song he did not recognize but he thought he had heard before, he peeked out a bit and saw one of the babies asleep in bed while Aang was sitting next to it cooing the other.

"I wish I was selfish and could take care of them myself" he murmured to himself, caressing the baby's small hand, he was cooing over and the baby who seemed to be sleeping held Aang's hand tightly as if afraid that he would abandon him "it's not fair, supposedly you can't love someone so much without knowing them"

Aang put the little baby on the bed, immediately looking for his sister and snuggling closer to her, but when Aang tried to free his hand, the baby started making faces as if he was going to cry again. Zuko looked as Aang approached to kiss the boy's head and it seemed to him that he was talking to calm him down.

Zuko did not have the courage to enter to the bedroom, he knew that if he did, he would ruin that little family atmosphere, even if it was not real it hurt him to put an end to it. Aang had not touched on the subject recently, but he knew that what Aang wanted most was what everyone could have: a family, a family like the ones on TV. They already had stable jobs, a big, equipped house for a perfect family: enough bedrooms, a studio, a big kitchen, and a beautiful garden; they also had a dog and a cat, but Zuko knew that this fantasy included children, even if Aang didn't say it out loud Zuko knew him well enough to see his face full of love and longing when he saw families with little children laughing and running around their parents.

"And if we are selfish?" he dared to enter on the bedroom, Aang turned to see him and Zuko broke his heart to see that he was holding back his tears "we can try to adopt them, we have everything: this house, stable well paid jobs; besides, you didn't have like a diploma in pedagogy and you worked in that kindergarten for years"

"I don't know. Do you have any idea how hard it is to adopt?"

"When have trifles like that stopped us?" Zuko walked over to sit on the bed next to his husband "it's not going to be easy; I'm not saying it will be. But coincidences like these don't happen twice"

"You're right, we'll try. I'll dress them up and then we'll talk to start all the adoption red tape."

"We're a team. You know it's always well to have a lawyer close by, I'll do everything I could to be able to adopt them" Zuko said as confidently as possible, although in general, Aang was the more positive of the two, there were certain circumstances that overwhelmed him, and he needed some support to think positive. Aang went to hug his husband tightly.

"Thank you" was all he murmured without letting go Zuko.

"We will have kids; it almost feels as if they were ours. They even look a bit like you."

"I think they look more like you."

The two laughed and went to attend to the babies properly, they changed them completely, fed them before letting them sleep again, they had decided that it was too late to go to the police and report the discovery of the babies, besides, they wanted to enjoy their fantasy a little more, at least for that night. Actually, Aang noticed that the babies seemed to calm down when he or Zuko took them in their arms as if they had recognized them as their parents.

"Have you thought of a name?" Zuko asked in the middle of the night after the babies woke up because they were hungry. He kept cooing the girl who was about to fall back asleep "they didn't have any letters or anything that said the children had names, so I thought you already had one in mind"

"Yes, I thought of one. I like Tenzin for this little guy. I think it has something to do with wisdom, I don't remember, but my father liked that name because he wanted to have many grandchildren" he said, nodding to the little boy in his arms who was trying to take the bottle between his hands "and to her, I like Izumi-

"Izumi is cute. It means calmness or spring."

"We will be a big family, my little Izumi and Tenzin."

Although the adoption was a problem, they had to verify many times that they were suitable people, ask for help from acquaintances and family to verify it, before the babies were one year old, they were officially the couple's children, although they felt that way from the moment they found them. They had not even been able to keep the babies away from the couple for a long time because they would not stop crying if they did not feel one of their parents close.

And so, the sleepless nights began and the purchase of many parenting books for Aang and Zuko, but they did not regret anything, they were more than happy starting the family that they wanted so much.