Azula had once thought that being struck by lightning had been the worst pain she would ever be in. Well...childbirth certainly made a lighting strike feel like a pin prick. There she was in her and Sung's shared bedroom. Her night gown lifted for all to see in a very unlady like fashion as June held her bent left leg down on the bed, and Naomi held her right. Mother Honoka kneeling between her legs.
A year had passed since that beautiful wedding in the Garden. The year had been by no means perfect, her and Sung had their little arguments like any married couple, often over petty grievances. But no matter how mad the two were at each other they never ended the day angry, their last words to each other every night were always "I love you." Their marriage wasn't a perfect one, but no marriage was. Azula was happy.
"Keep pushing." Mother Honoka said soft yet sternly. Keep pushing?! Goddess she had been pushing for what felt like all night, was the kid ever going to get here? That was certainly Sung's child coming into the word, only a Yang would be that stubborn.
Azula did as she was told screaming as loud as she could as it felt like she was getting ripped apart, a flash of lightning lighting up the night sky from a nearby window as if the heavens themselves were sharing in her pain. Azula was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her as she turned her head to look at Sung's nightstand. On that nightstand in a small frame was their wedding photo. A black and white image that people thousands of years ago no doubt would have thought stole their soul when the picture was taken.
Technology was advancing faster now than it had ever done during the Hundred Year War, with the camera came trains, actual steam locomotives that were so fast that it could get a person from one end of the Earth Kingdom to the other in a manner of days instead of weeks. Sung had his misgivings about this so called "new age of science" as it was called. But he had relented somewhat, he had bought a camera. All around the halls of this castle, black and white Photos hung from Family vacations to Ember Island, pictures of her and him standing atop the wall of Ba Sing Se, pictures from when Zuko and Mai had welcomed their daughter izumi into the world, even a rather "professional" photo of Sung wearing a Republic Generals uniform, he had been asked directly by Zuko to serve a term as Commander and Chief of the United Republic's Armed Forces and help with its construction. He had hated every moment of it, but as a Yang when his Fire Lord called he answered.
Something all those pictures shared however regardless of their location was each person in those photographs had a warm smile. A not so perfect family making the best of it.
"Sung!" Azula cried out loudly as another contraction hit her so hard she wanted to cry. Goddess this child was relentless. Just get here already please! She had gone into labor a rather gruesome ten hours ago, Sung had left the day before to give a lecture on the cause and effect of war on a population over an extended period of time, at the Fire Nation Royal Academy, Sung hadn't wanted to leave with Azula so far along in her pregnancy...but Azula to her newly formed chagrin had told him that she would be okay, that he'd be back long before their little bundle of joy came. Oh Goddess how wrong she was now.
"He's coming." Naomi tried to reassure her, gently patting her on the knee.
"Naomi." The muffled voice of Nikkō said from behind a sliding door behind Mother Honoka. "I-is Azula okay?" Even through the waves of pain she was feeling Azula could hear the worry in her voice as clear as day.
"She's fine Nikkō." Naomi called back. "Everything is fine."
"I need you to keep pushing Azula." Mother Honoka said.
"I-I don't know if I can." Azula said weakly.
"You can do it." Naomi said, flashing her a warm smile. "You're a Yang, when we set our minds to something we do it."
Azula inhaled and exhaled sharply, trying to summon her strength. How quickly she was losing that battle. But still she pushed, her body quickly reminding her that she hadn't made a wise choice as she let out a scream so loud her voice broke. Through that screaming she could hear rain falling hard on the Castle roof, thunder rolling.
"I see the head!" Mother Honoka said excitedly. "Alright Lady Azula...I'm going to need you to do one more big push." Please, please let it be one more. She wanted this to be over.
There was a sudden crashing of what sounded like plates shattering down the hall followed by a scream. "Sorry!" She could hear Sung call for a ways away. Oh thank the Goddess he made it! "My wife's having a baby!" A few seconds later the sliding door opened and Sung stood in the doorway, drenched from the down pour as he stepped into the room. He had a look of horror on his face. "By the Goddess is it supposed to look like that?!"
*
Sung immediately wished he hadn't said anything as he received a scowl from both June and Naomi for his comment. "Of course it's supposed to look like that!" Naomi said rather bluntly. "What kind of question is that?"
"Sorry." Sung replied as he walked around the bedroom and kneeled beside Azula. Her face was red, drenched in sweat and pain painted across her face. "How are you feeling?" Sung asked.
"Like I'm pushing a baby out of me!" Azula screamed at him. "You did this to me!"
Sung wasn't exactly sure how all of this was his fault, he seemed to recall there being two people there the night they...well what happened didn't matter that much, but he wasn't stupid enough to say that thought out loud. Instead he took her hand, Azula squeezing it as hard as she could. "I shouldn't have left." Sung said. "I just had this bad feeling that if I left I'd miss it."
Azula looked at him with those beautiful ember eyes of hers and flashed a small but very pain filled smile. "Y-you're here now." She said. "You made it just in time. Th-The baby is coming."
Sung didn't know why but...he was scared. This was a new experience for him, he was scared about being a father, scared weather he would make the right choices when raising their son...or daughter, he didn't mind the gender that much. But then he thought about Nikkō, he and Naomi had been raising her since she was three years old and Nikkō was well on her way into becoming a fine young woman. Sung wasn't sure he was entirely ready for what trials would happen next...but he knew he and Azula could face whatever came their way.
Azula inhaled sharply, somehow her grip around his hands tightening even more, her body tensing up. Then there was strain in her voice as she let out a blood curdling scream the likes of which Sung had never heard before and had nothing to compare it to. "Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing." Mother Honoka said, excitement in her voice. Then...the tiny cries of an infant filled the room. "It's a boy!" Mother Honoka said. Standing up to expose a tiny bundle wrapped in a red blanket.
Sung stood up, a lump in his throat as he walked over to her. His arms out streched. Mother Honoka smiled as she handed Sung...his son. In his arms that tiny little thing felt like the heaviest object he had ever held, he could see a tiny wrinkled face. "Happy birthday...son. Welcome home" Sung said softly. he looked around the room now, at all of the important and strong women in his life all smiling in some form or another. "Looks like you and me are outnumbered." He said with a laugh as he returned to Azula's side
Azula immediately shot her hands out and gently took the baby holding it to her chest. At that moment the babies cries stopped, as if he knew it was his mother that held him. His eyes shot open and Sung saw the most perfect set of ember eyes he had ever seen. "H-he's perfect." Azula said with a gasp.
"He has his mothers eyes." Sung said as he gently brushed a hand over the baby's cheek. How soft his skin was.
"No doubt he'll have his fathers heart." Azula said with a tired laugh. "I just hope he isn't as stubborn as you are."
"If he is then we're in trouble." Sung laughed. So much had changed in a years time. Countries were actually talking to each other, the Republic was officially an independent nation, the Fire Nation was beginning to flourish, Sun Dao was stronger than it had ever been before. Azula had quickly become a valued member of his House...no of their House. It was thanks to her brilliant organization and project planning skills that right here in Ajio a hospital was being built that would cater to Veterans. Actually cater to them, not like that false bill of goods that Kurn had put together.
Sung may be Lord of Sun Dao but without Azula he would be nothing, he liked to joke that she was the true power behind his throne...she didn't see the humor in it. But with Azula taking on more and more of what had been Naomi's responsibilities voluntarily, Naomi had finally been able to focus on her own happiness, the rumor mill was hard at work that some time in the near future Naomi would be asking June to marry her. Sung was happy for both of them.
"What should we name him?" Sung asked.
Azula looked at him now. "I was thinking...how does." She paused for a moment, looking to their son, his tiny ember eyes transfixed on her. "How does Nozomi sound?"
Sung smiled. "It sounds perfect."
The sliding door opened and Naomi beckoned Nikkō inside, the girl looked so nervous...but at the same time she looked excited as she walked across the room, standing beside Sung as she looked at little Nozomi. "Nikkō." Azula said weakly. "This is Nozomi, your nephew."
Nikkō had a twinkle in her eyes now. "He's so tiny." She said with a gasp. She then looked at Sung. "C-can I hold him?"
"Of course you can." Azula answered for him with a smile. She passed Nozomi to Sung.
"Support his head." Sung gently explained to Nikkō. Carefully laying him in her arms.
Nikkō had a huge smile on her face now as Nozomi looked up at her. "He's...so cute." She said with a tiny laugh. Nozomi however didn't seem to enjoy the compliment because his tiny face scrunched up and then he began to cry loudly. Nikkō went pale in the face and looked around the room like she was carrying a live bomb. "W-what did I do?" She asked in a pleading tone.
Naomi laughed. "You didn't do anything, babies just cry a lot, it's the only way they know how to communicate until they learn how to talk."
"W-well how do I get him to stop." Nikkō said now.
Sung looked at Azula now, a tried smile still on her face. "You sure you still want two more?" He asked with a laugh.
"I'm sure." Azula giggled. "But let's figure out how Nozomi works before we try for another one."
Again Sung knew that the road ahead of them would be full of bumps, road blocks, and back tracks but the life he had now, it was ten...no twenty times better than it had been when the Hundred Year war ended. He wouldn't trade anything about his life now. And if he had to do all of this over again the exact same way, he would.