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Lin was sleeping peacefully, enjoying a dream about things she certainly wouldn’t recall later when a gradual pressure increased tenfold to a sharp pain around her nipple that was, thankfully, concealed by her tank top.
With a yelp, the alpha jolted awake, startling her pup so severely that the brief shock Korra experienced quickly devolved into a trembling bottom lip and watery eyes. Scooping her up as fast as possible, the woman made to rub her back and purr.
Warm, little hands pawed her neck and shoulders as the baby appeared to endure a lengthy internal debate on whether or not her sire had done enough to prevent a breakdown. The past few days had witnessed her daughter waking in a bit of a mood, likely due to some passing cold the alpha mused, as she expertly set about checking if Korra required any changing. Squeaks and slobbery grunts conveyed her disproval throughout.
Luckily, the short nap they’d enjoyed hadn’t resulted in any additional reasons for the fussy babe to complain. Lin observed the tears teetering on the edges of wet lashes that she hurriedly kissed away. “Shhhh, it’s okay, I promise.” She assured, humming, and swaying in an effort to avoid the fallout that seemed to be rapidly spiraling towards them despite her best efforts.
Absolutely nothing pacified her daughter, and it wasn’t long at all before the first shriek rang painfully in her ears. Scrambling, the sire managed to locate a pacifier lost in the blankets. “I’m sorry! It’s okay, it’s okay. There we go. See?” Feeling small limbs wiggle excitedly, she almost sighed in relief. Almost.
The pup spat it out, stared at Lin for a tense second, and screamed at the top of her lungs. Reluctant to admit defeat, she kicked off the sheets tangled around her ankles, made a beeline for the kitchen, and quickly warmed a bottle. Korra was less than amused with the dupe.
The alpha wasn’t sure why, but her little girl remained quite averse to formula. Though she’d managed to successfully feed her earlier, even if it did require a bit of persistence, Kya had warned that she’d been even more finnicky of late and to expect some issues. “Just come find me if you need to; you know I don’t mind.”
Her wife had given her an out, Lin knew as much, but the idea that she couldn’t help at all really did pain the woman. Her daughter’s rising displeasure derailed the pity party she wanted to throw herself. She internally cursed herself before caving to the demanding infant. Carefully, she sprinted through the house looking for her mate.
Luckily, she didn’t have to search for long. Bursting into the nursery, both she and Korra instantly settled in the omega’s presence. Early afternoon light gave the room bathed in pastels an otherworldly glow. Their parents had gone out of their way to ensure that the littlest member of the combined families was surrounded by creativity and peace that reflected the various cultures to which she belonged.
It had truly amazed Kya, at the time, that Azula created such a realistic sky of soft blues and greys with hundreds of small lights painstakingly drilled into the ceiling in clusters of stars that twinkled at night and dimmed during the day. The handmade cloud lamps, engineered by her Uncle Sokka, hung suspended just a bit lower were the real sellers for her, personally.
Returning home their first night back, the older woman had lain beneath them on the plush furs and rugs from their mothers’ homelands and lost herself in the serenity. The solid furniture had been hand-crafted by Aang. He’d repurposed what had served all three of his own children into a unique arrangement of muted browns that so perfectly complimented the abundant colors surrounding them.
The space had been her wife’s favored getaway since before they’d stopped co-sleeping with their daughter. Her mate’s sentiments hadn’t changed much, Lin noted, as she marveled at her inverted lover in the Shirshasana pose on a yoga mat near Korra’s crib.
For her part, Kya was unfazed by the interruption. Even upside down, she could plainly see the distress on her alpha’s face while she frantically attempted to keep their baby from wiggling free. “I’m sorry. She’s just not happy with me right now.” The younger woman confessed, hesitantly debating whether she should come closer or not.
She’d seen her wife execute various feats throughout their years, but the headstand always appeared rather precarious to her. “It’s okay, bring her over.” The omega insisted. She did so slowly, lowering herself and walking on her knees to close much of the remaining distance.
The reduced separation helped, if only minutely. “She doesn’t want her pacifier, she’s dry, she won’t eat even though she bit me earlier, I have no idea what to do.” Lin admitted dejectedly.
Suppressing a chuckle, Kya explained, “I think she’s growing. Mom said some babies get like this; more needy and reluctant all at once. If you untuck my shirt, we can see if she’s up for it.”
The younger woman gaped. “What if you fall?!”
Rolling her eyes, the elder responded, “First of all, I won’t. Secondly, I’ve already done this with her before when you weren’t here. Now, if anything happens, you can catch me.”
Lin briefly weighed her options but decided that her fear wasn’t worth the risk of continued auditory agony. Reaching forward, she meticulously pulled the silky fabric free from the spandex waistband and watched it pool around Kya’s neck.
Rearranging it out of the way, she inched closer to help Korra into position. At six-months-old, she was adept at sitting up, but without a brace behind the omega, the alpha wasn’t willing to take any chances.
Extending her legs in a V-shape about her wife’s frame, she guided their pup to a breast and hovered her hands on either side of her as she leaned instinctively into her mom’s bosom. Just in case we have to execute a hasty pick-and-roll out the way. The bronze woman felt her daughter latch on, and relief claimed them both.
The agitation melted away from the baby in seconds, as did the uncomfortable tension the mother had been experiencing since first hearing the cries echo down the hall. The three remained silent, only the excited chirps of the birds outside and the exhales that followed every few swallows filled the space around them.
Tiny fingers twisted a loose tendril of her hair with surprising gentleness causing the omega to smile brightly at her daughter whose tears were finally drying of their own volition. Lin sighed and allowed herself to feel grateful that her racing heart was given the chance to calm.
Eventually, Kya broke the silence. “Can you take her for a second? I’m done now.” Her lover complied, using a thumb to gently break the seal of their baby’s mouth. Immediately, Korra started to protest.
Luckily for them both, the mother folded herself forward once the two were out of the way. Rolling her shoulders, she crawled towards them and insisted, “Get comfortable.” Recognizing the intention, the alpha repositioned herself against a giant teddy bear Bumi had insisted their daughter needed. She had to concede, privately of course, that it was quite suitable for cuddling.
The taller woman removed her shirt entirely and curled into Lin’s lap before taking hold of their disgruntled child. With a hiss she accepted the hurried reattachment that may have been a minor form of punishment for having disturbed her in the first place, and then for having had the audacity to have kept her waiting.
“There.” She cooed, nosing the tufts of soft hair atop Korra’s head. She relaxed back into her lover who was simply grateful for a beat of calm in the storm affectionately known as: parenthood. While it had taken the younger woman a while to accept it as a blessing rather than a personal deficit, she truly loved watching Kya take the reigns when she veered off track.
Bright eyes stared up at her just over a soft, caramel shoulder and she couldn’t help but smile. Korra’s concentrating brows smoothed with every suckle until all of her worries and angst slipped away. The shorter woman wrapped her left arm around her lover to gently skate a finger over their pup’s forehead.
She became transfixed with the motion while unwittingly lulling the babe to sleep. Kya hummed contentedly, smiling to herself at the simplicity of it all. It wasn’t hard for her to remember longing for moments like these but left only to imagine a reality that would not come to fruition.
They’d been denied time and time again. In fact, that distinct pain was so numbing that they simply stopped trying. A chasm ripped right open because her body betrayed her more often than not. A part of her, a carefully concealed and rarely acknowledged piece of her very soul knew that this is what was meant to be.
With her mate, of course, they’d been destined at first glance. But also, with this baby. The one who seemed to gravitate to her sire more, displaying the makings of her temper and impatience. The one whose cry could make her weep, and yet the very same who made life worth it.
Spirits, she loved this. Strong arms cradling her while she afforded the same to the life they’d created. A dribble of milk borne from her own blood resting on a twitching lower lip that still pulled into an all-too-similar grin under the careful attention of the woman who loved them so much that she stayed through it all.
Suffice to say that Kya knew pain of varying sorts, but she also knew boundless forms of joy. Right there, in the tranquil space created just for them by others who wanted nothing more than to nurture that joy until it became eternal; she felt all the right things realign as they did every single moment that she was blessed to see it.
“Lin?” She whispered.
“Hmm?” The gentle rumble thrilling her bare skin.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”