Artwork by: caroline-draws-stuff - Thank you so much! It's so cute.

Chapter 1: Awkwardness

Boy was he in for it this time. Yep, he had really gone and messed things up. Sokka had certainly gotten himself into quite the bind. Literally. He was strapped down to a chair, tied at the ankles and wrists, with a potato sack over his head. He had no idea where he was or who he'd be facing.

Why had he gone and run his mouth off like that? In this part of town, the seedy underbelly of the Fire Nation… he really should have used better judgment. He was an outsider who had asked one too many questions, the consequences of which could be deadly.

A group of young women, all cloaked in black, had apprehended him at the pub, dragged him to some hideout, and tied him down. They said they'd leave his fate to "the boss", whoever that was. Probably some evil, power-hungry crime lord. All he knew was that the women had referred to "the boss" as a "she". Long ago, this insight would have eased his apprehension. But now, the better half of a decade after his run-in with the Kyoshi warriors, he knew better. His anxiety was at an all-time high as he waited in the dark.

"Well, well, well…"

A voice shot through the silence like a spear. All his hairs stood on end.

"…what have we here?"

All of a sudden, Sokka felt a hand on the top of his head. The sack that had been masking his sight was abruptly ripped off and he came face-to-face with a glowing fist of blue flames. He recognized the fire immediately. Had he not been so anxious, he probably would have recognized her voice too. Shifting his gaze, he peered up into Azula's molten yellow eyes.

"Sokka?" she asked, her face twisting with confusion.

"A-Azula," he stuttered. "It's, uhhh, been a while…" An uncomfortable smile crept across his cheeks.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

One of her minions called out from the back of the dingy hideout. "Do you know this man?"

"Why, yes." Azula kept her eyes on Sokka, her hand still alit with flames. "The water peasant and I go way back." She smirked. "Zirin, why don't you and the others go and give me and my old friend some privacy?"

"Ehhh, you really don't have to – " Sokka interjected.

"We have so much catching up to do." Her smirk widened.

Zirin nodded with a silent understanding.

Sokka watched as the other girls in black left the room. "Great. And now we're alone." He stole a quick glance around the hideout. "So… how've you been?" The question couldn't have sounded more disingenuous.

"My girls didn't bring you here so we could exchange idle pleasantries."

"Right, right…" He sighed and looked down, tapping his foot on the stone tiles beneath him. "Well, this is awkward."

"What is?"

"Well I didn't come here looking for you, but now that I know where you are, I'm going to have to turn you in to your brother."

She laughed dismissively. "Is that so?"

"Yeah… I mean, he's been looking for you for a while – "

"You know what I think?" she interrupted. "I think it would be pretty difficult for a corpse to inform my dear brother of my whereabouts." Without warning, she lunged forward, setting her foot on the chair between Sokka's legs and bringing her fire closer to his face.

"L-Let's not get carried away now – "

"Let's get one thing straight." She glared into his eyes. "The next time I see Fire Lord Zuzu, it will be of my own accord, got it?"

"G-Got it. Loud and clear."

"Good." Her voice softened a bit. "So tell me, snow peasant, what are you doing here in my neck of the woods?"

"Oh, you know, j-just doing some sightseeing…"

She intensified her blue flames.

"Okay, okay, geesh." He gulped. "You know, it would be easier for me to talk if there wasn't so much fire near my skin."

Frowning and rolling her eyes, she quenched her flames. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you."

"Well? Why are you here?" she barked. "I hear you've been going around asking questions."

"I-I'm looking for something."

"Something or someone?"

"Something," he assured. "I swear I wasn't looking for you."

"So you say."

"I mean it! I… I'm looking for something I lost during the war. My space sword."

"Space sword," she repeated, cocking her head slightly to the side to study his face.

"D-Does your foot really need to be so close to my crotch?" Sokka was surprised to see the firebender smile, and not one of her signature smirks, but something gentler.

"Relax." She took her foot off the chair, standing up straight. "I believe you."

He arched his eyebrows. What kind of game was she playing? "Really…?"

"Really." She bent down to untie the ropes around his ankles. "You did seem genuinely surprised to see me. And I think a smart boy like you would have come up with a better lie than 'looking for your space sword'."

Sokka was lost for words. Was she really just going to let him go? And did she really think he was smart?

"Why do you believe your sword to be here of all places?" She began working on the ropes binding his wrists.

"I heard the black market was the best place to go for rare or valuable items, or at the very least for obtaining information."

"I see." She finished untying him and stood up.

"I-Is that all?" He shifted his eyes, briefly considering attacking the firebender and carting her off to the royal palace, however, he knew better than to fight Azula one-on-one, especially on her own turf. "Can I… leave?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed. "My girls will escort you out, blindfolded of course. I can't have you finding out the exact location of my hideaway now can I?"

"Guess not. Well… see ya, I guess." He turned to leave, expecting some sort of catch. There was no way Azula would let him off the hook so easily. Just as he was about to reach the door, he heard her call out for him.

"Sokka…"

He knew it.

"This 'space sword' of yours… it wouldn't so happen to have a jet-black blade, now would it?"

"Y-Yes!" he bleated, snapping around. "Have you seen it?! Is it here?!"

"No," she answered nonchalantly. "And no."

He lowered his voice. "But you know where it is, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"As a matter of fact…" She paused, smirking slyly. "I do."