"

"C'mon, Su, just repeat after me. Da-da."

"She's not going to do it, Snoozles."

Sokka studiously ignored his wife; instead, focusing his attention on the toddler before him. Her eyes searched his face, a smile making its way onto her face. Instead of obeying her father, however, the child began making unintelligible noises, waving her arms about and scooting towards her crouched father.

"No, no, no – you have to say Da-da first!" He crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the snickers of Toph and Lin from behind him. They had been going about this routine for weeks now: they would pick the children up from Aang and Katara's, come home to dinner, and Sokka would attempt making Suyin say his name.

The one year-old never budged, much to Toph's pleasure and Sokka's irritation.

"Lin was saying my name at ten months," Sokka whined, dragging a hand through his hair as the chubby toddler made her determined way to Sokka. She crawled slowly, the smile never leaving her lips, and he had to refrain from picking her up and crushing her against her chest. "Why can't you do it, Su?" She pulled herself onto his knee, her fingers grasping onto the fabric of his pajama bottoms.

"Maybe Su doesn't want to say your name?" Toph suggested idly from her position on their couch. Sokka aimed a missed glare at his wife, but Lin didn't miss it; she gave him a smug look, her small body tucked against Toph's. "Y'know, Sokka, kids learn at different paces and all that jazz. Didn't you read the parenting book Katara gave you?"

Sokka grumbled, placing the bouncing toddler onto his lap. "I read the important stuff, like what I should do when you pop her out," he informed Toph. "Did you read it?"

"Every word," Toph deadpanned.

Ignoring his momentary idiocy, Sokka focused on his daughter. Raising her so that they were nose-to-nose, he muttered, "Don't make Daddy look like a fool, Su. If you say Da-da for me one time, I promise to let you eat all the jerky you want tomorrow."

"Hey," Lin objected, "that's not fair!"

Sokka stuck his tongue out at the dark-haired girl before turning back to Su. The toddler kicked and giggled, but no intelligible words came out of her mouth.

He sighed, ignoring the giggles from his personal peanut gallery.

…

"Lin's put to bed," Toph sighed, walking into their kitchen, her hands reached to find Su's highchair before she carefully extracted the toddler. "And I think it's about time this little monster gets a little shut-eye." She bounced the gurgling toddler on her hip, ruffling Suyin's curls. "What d'you say, Da-da?" Toph snickered.

Sokka dutifully ignored his wife, continuing to wash the dishes. He heard Toph come up beside him – he didn't have to glance at her to know that she was giving him her best shit-eating grin. "Do you remember what Lin's first word was?"

He ignored her.

"'Cause I remember. It was mama, wasn't it?"

"Hmph."

"Are you pouting on me?" He could hear the smirk in her voice. Damn her. A small hand reached out to grasp his sweatshirt and Sokka glanced down to see Suyin beaming up at him. "Sokka, the kid can't help how she learns or when she learns, you've gotta be pa – "

"Shit."

The knife he was washing left a smooth cut on his thumb before he slung it into the sink and yelped, springing backward. "Shit, shit, shit, shit." He continued to curse, bouncing on his feet before he grabbed a paper towel, holding it against his bleeding thumb.

"Did you just cut yourself?" Toph asked, her tone incredulous. Her milky eyes were wide, holding a confused Suyin against her chest. "Honestly, Sokka?"

"Thit."

The two adults turned their attention to the toddler in Toph's arms. She was clapping her hands gleefully, drool running down her chin as she happily proclaimed, "Thit! Thit!"

Sokka stared at his daughter with a mixture of worry and awe.

Toph burst out laughing.

"Our daughter's first word is shit," she breathed. "Oh, my God, it's shit."

"Thit!"

"No, no, no! It can't be!" His injury forgotten, Sokka shook his head, aiming a finger at Suyin. "You are grounded for life." Toph continued to laugh. "Toph, this isn't funny. Her first word isn't supposed to be a curse word! It's supposed to be Dada," he whined.

Toph held Suyin against her, aiming a kiss atop the child's forehead. "This is perfect," she breathed, ignoring her husband's pain. "Just wait until I tell Katara."

Sokka opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a single word –

"Thit."