And I've returned! With a short-term fic, I'd say XD It's not bound to be updated too often, because it doesn't have a huge storyline... but I hope you enjoy it just as much as you've liked everything else so far ^^ Once more we're in the same timeline that I used in The Reason, The Origins Of Pro-Bending and Break In, but I'm going to warn you guys that in future fics, I'm not bound to stay in this particular story ^^U I used to think I'd never stray from this storyline since I wrote it to show Sokkla could happen within the canon Avatarverse despite how unlikely it seems on a first glance, but I already proved that point and I'm dying to write more and more Sokkla magic! XD
I have tons of ideas for other storylines, but so far I'm unsure as of which one to post... not to mention my life is getting way busier now _ So I decided to publish this small side story that will tell you what I didn't have time to explain properly in The Reason: How They All Reacted.
It was supposed to be How They All Found Out but you already saw how Aang, Katara and Toph found out XD So... the theme is the way many characters will face our favorite couple's union XD Who knows what this fic will lead me to eventually... but for now, enjoy the Prologue and I'll try to update soon ^^ hope you like it! Reviews are most welcome, as usual XD Enjoy!
Night had already fallen by the time the two of them decided to head back to the Royal Palace. Hand in hand they had walked together until they reached her room, and by the time they had, they were reluctant to separate again.
"Do you have to go?" asked Azula, intertwining her fingers with his.
"I guess I do" muttered Sokka, kissing her brow "But don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow morning as soon as I get up"
"You'd better" she said, closing in and letting her head rest on his chest again.
She'd never felt such joy in her life. Maybe she had been happy once or twice during her childhood, but none of that compared to the sheer glee she felt just by knowing she was loved by the man who held her closely, the man she had fallen in love with as well...
"I still can't believe this" said Sokka, grinning "It's amazing... but unbelievable anyway"
Azula chuckled and nodded slightly
"Never in my life would I have imagined I'd find my happiness next to a peasant such as yourself" she said, and even though it was a cruel comment, she said it with such sweetness that Sokka didn't even notice she had called him a peasant
"Nor would I have thought the all-mighty Princess Azula would think of me as a potential partner, to say the least" said Sokka, hugging her tightly "I'm completely sure nobody else would have imagined this could happen either..."
"They can jump off a cliff if they don't want to see us together" said Azula, caressing his chest "Unless, by any chance, you're willing to let the opinions of others to influence yours..."
"Not a chance" he said, shaking his head "I want to be with you with every fiber of my being. If they don't like it, they can whine as much as they want, but I'm not letting go of you ever again"
Azula smiled uncontrollably after hearing him comply with what she wished to hear him say. She snuggled even closer to him, making Sokka grin as well... but there was actually a trace of doubt on his face, and he took Azula by surprise when he finally breached the subject...
"Nonetheless... We really should think about telling the people we care about of our relationship"
Azula pulled away drastically, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"What?"
"Don't get me wrong" said Sokka, laughing as he caressed her hair gently "I meant what I said about not letting go of you no matter what, but even so, we really should tell them of what's going between us now"
Azula grimaced in irritation. Sure she loved him... but there were a few things she most definitely wouldn't want to do, and briefing the world about her relationship with him was a high ranked item within that list.
"Come on, Azula, don't give me that look" he said, patting her on the head.
"I understand you have an army of acquaintances you'd like to inform of our new relationship, but I don't owe anyone an explanation, and neither do you. They can find out through their own means."
"I figured you'd respond like this" said Sokka, sighing dramatically "The thing is... if Ty Lee were to become involved with someone, she'd tell you right away, wouldn't she?"
"It's likely, yes... but I'm not like her, I have no intentions to boast around about being in love, I find it unnecessary."
"Well, maybe I'm the one who feels the urge to tell others, then." he stated proudly, annoying the Princess.
"I'm starting to regret this..."she lied, making him laugh.
"Okay, okay, let me rephrase myself" muttered Sokka "In every friendly relationship, you're supposed to share important events with your friends, especially those about new romantic involvements. I found out about Aang and Katara in quite a bad way, to be honest..."
"How?" asked Azula, raising an eyebrow.
"I caught them in the middle of kissing when we were at Iroh's teashop, and believe me, it wasn't something fun for me to watch. It would have been much better if they'd told me they were going to start a relationship before I ran into them doing something like that..."
"You talk as if you thought kissing was disgusting..." said Azula, eyeing him with interest
"It's disgusting when you're watching your sister sharing saliva with one of your best friends" replied Sokka bitterly.
"I guess I can understand how you feel" said Azula "I found myself interrupting Mai and Zuko's kisses several times, it was really awkward for me witness them and they hardly cared at all if their public display of affection annoyed others..."
"Which is why we should tell people about our relationship" said Sokka "I know you'll probably feel inclined to give Zuko payback for all the awkwardness, but we should show them we're far more thoughtful than they are, which automatically makes us of higher category than them!"
"Your final statement hardly makes any sense, in my opinion. If we tell anyone about this, they'll try to talk us out of being a couple, they're not going to care if we're thoughtful or not. And yes, they deserve payback, both Zuko and your sister"
"And what better payback than telling them about this in our own terms?" he asked, holding her by the waist "Think about it..."
Azula sighed, thoughtful. She truly felt no motivation to explain anything to anyone, but she was indebted to her brother, he'd held her as she cried not too long ago... maybe a way to reward him for his services would be to inform him about her brand new relationship...
"What exactly do you have in mind, then?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow
"Nothing so far, to be honest" said Sokka, smiling "I just want for the two of us to reach an agreement in the first place. Can we tell others about this, or do you refuse completely to do so?"
He caressed her cheek when he finished posing his question, making her forget about her pride in a heartbeat.
"My head begs me to take the second option, but I guess I'll choose the first one regardless..." she decided, and he grinned enthusiastically at her.
"Thank you" he said, and Azula found herself smiling too "Now... who should we tell first?"
"Do we have to decide that too?" she asked, hoping to change the subject somehow.
"I think we should" said Sokka "After all, aren't you the one who keeps telling me not to forget about tiny details?"
Azula knew he was playing her, but she couldn't deny he was right.
"You're surprisingly smooth for a peasant, you know?"
"I do my best" he declared, proudly
"Very well, let's figure this out. By the time we break the news to Zuko, we should have someone else to back us up"
"Ty Lee could do that" suggested Sokka "Before finding you, I ran into her, and even though she looked real mad at me for all the grief I'd caused you, she seemed really happy when I told her I wanted to be with you"
"So... she knows about us already?" muttered Azula
"She doesn't know you accepted me" stated Sokka, grinning "But when I told her I loved you she began rooting for me right away"
"It's not hard to believe" said Azula "She is the type to ravish in fairytale-like love stories"
"You think this is a fairytale love?" asked Sokka, smirking at her
"The Princess falls in love with a Peasant" she muttered "How cheesier could it get?"
Sokka chuckled and caressed her cheek kindly
"Yeah, it's corny... but it mustn't bother you so much if you signed up despite that" he said
"Wrong" muttered Azula, drawing closer "I actually signed up hoping for that"
Her words and body language beckoned him to lean down and hold her close as their lips joined together again. Their hearts basked in the feeling, their entire bodies thrived with joy, and their souls soared as they seemed to become one thanks to the contact, thanks to that kiss...
It felt like only seconds had passed when they separated, eager for air. They both smiled and kept their foreheads pressed to each other
"So... we'll have Ty Lee as support?" asked Sokka, but Azula grimaced at the thought.
"We could use her... but I don't know of how much help she will be. As a matter of fact, Zuko might go on a rampage and the fewer victims on his way, the better for everyone"
"Gee, now you're thinking about the well-being of everyone... this I didn't see coming" he said smiling
"Not of everyone, I'll say" Azula added "However, I don't think we need to worry much about Zuko... your sister seems to be a bigger threat. You get along with Zuko, but she hates everything about me, to say the least"
"So you think we don't need back-up to face Zuko... but we do with Katara, huh? Well, I didn't really draw out plans for telling her at all... I mean, she was bound to find out at some point, but not so soon..."
"Then I assume you mean we have time to let somebody else in on it before we break it out to her, in hopes they will stand on our side much like you expected from Ty Lee with Zuko. Who do you have in mind?"
Sokka frowned and meditated for a second until he found an answer
"I'm thinking Toph is a good candidate for that. If we told Aang, he'd never be able to keep the secret without her noticing, and I don't think Zuko would stand for us at all. Fact is, he'd probably be counting on Katara to beat us up and force us to break up"
"You believe the blind girl be fine with this?" asked Azula, doubtful
"She'll think I'm insane, but she'll probably think we're a good combination because you'll have no problems in beating me up whenever you feel like it"
"Huh, sounds like a plan..." smirked Azula, making Sokka pout
"Hey!"
"Okay, only if you ask for it" she said, laughing
Sokka should have been offended, but hearing her laugh so carelessly was such a sight to behold that he couldn't do anything but beam as she looked up at him
"W-what are you smiling at?" she asked, surprised
"You, of course" he said, so direct and sincerely that she found herself blushing uncontrollably.
"There's a limit to how much sweetness I can stand..." she muttered, trying to hide she was actually happy at his previous response.
"Oh, sorry" he said, chuckling "It's been too much to take during these few hours, right?"
"Maybe" said Azula, since she truthfully didn't wish for his romantic advances to cease
"I get it, too much sugar can make you sick" said Sokka chuckling "See you tomorrow, I guess..."
"Uh... so we're telling Zuko? We're telling him tomorrow?" asked Azula
"I guess... and I can send a letter to Toph tomorrow morning as well" suggested Sokka
"A letter? She's blind, Sokka" muttered Azula, smirking at his genius solution
"She's got students who can read aloud for her" said Sokka
"So her students are going to find out about us before your sister does...?" she asked, and Sokka shrugged
"It's not the conventional take upon these matters, but can you blame me? Katara will kill us both when she finds out"
"She'll become even more unreasonable if she discovers you told others before telling her"
"And that's the reason why we'll tell her when Aang's there, so he can soothe her if she flips out. If things get out of hand, we can make a run for it, commandeer Appa and leave before she gets a chance to kill us" he said cheerfully, making her chuckle
"Seems like you thought things through for once" she said, and he smiled proudly
"Have I impressed you?" asked Sokka
"You have, even though I hate to admit it. And I'm not just talking about your plans when I say that"
"What are you talking about, then?"
She set her head on his shoulder, her face against the base of his neck as she whispered an answer, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.
"I'm talking about everything you've done lately... everything I've learned about you. All those things that made me fall in love with you... because I wouldn't have grown interested in you at all if you hadn't impressed me in the first place"
Sokka chuckled and smiled gently at the girl in his arms
"I'll never understand how a beautiful princess like you fell in love with a dumb peasant like me"
"You can spend the rest of your life trying to understand it, then" she muttered "As long as that's the plan you have in mind, of course..."
"Nothing would make me happier than that" he said, lifting her chin and joining his lips with hers yet again.
Their bodies were pressed together against each other in perfect harmony, as if they had been made to complement each other in every possible way. Azula held onto his shirt as he cradled her in his arms surrounding her waist and the contact between them urged them to continue touching, continue merging their souls together to become one entity...
As usual, the need for air forced Azula to withdraw. As the firebender she was, being breathless caused her slight anguish, and despite how she loved feeling his lips against hers, she recoiled slightly and panted, her hand caressing his cheek lovingly
"See you tomorrow?" he asked, smiling between his own gasps for breath
She nodded and pecked his lips one last time; he caught hers and kissed her softly, making her swoon and beam with joy when they finally parted
"See you..." she muttered, and she exerted all her willpower to step away from him.
Sokka let go of her waist reluctantly, feeling slightly at a loss when the contact between them ceased, but the way she glanced at him when she walked inside her room gave him more than enough to cut across his mild despair and grin happily, feeling complete even when they were parting for the night. Azula smiled at him with sweetness, something that she wasn't used to doing, something she thought she was unable to do...
"Bye..." she whispered, and Sokka waved clumsily at her
"See you, Azula..." he replied, and she closed the door behind her, despite she was completely unwilling to distance herself from him, but she knew she would see him the next day...
She started laughing uncontrollably, basking in the joy of her finally realized love. Even if he wasn't with her right now, he had promised to be by her side from now on... and that was more than she ever expected. She had never felt so fulfilled in her life... and to think she used to disdain people who fell in love, calling them fools, claiming they were simply unable to live alone... was she like that now? Was she a fool depending on others to obtain her happiness? She hated to think she had been wrong... but truth to be told, she didn't think she had been. She was unable to live without Sokka anymore, and she was also a fool to have fallen for such a crazed peasant... but being a fool had never been so appealing, so enjoyable, so thrilling. She dropped on her bed, a huge smile spreading on her features, as she closed her eyes waiting for sleep to take over her so that she could meet the man she loved once again...
Sokka returned to his room, smiling non-stop. The last expression he had seen on the face of the beautiful princess had mesmerized him completely. And to think she was his girl now... He beamed and struck a proud fist in the air, feeling accomplished. Azula was his... and he was hers, too. He did insist that they had to tell others about it, but their opinions were completely irrelevant to him. He loved her with all his heart, and he couldn't even picture his life without her anymore. And if his friends and family disagreed with their union, they would have to deal with it, because he wouldn't let go of her ever again.
They would have to deal with it... but how exactly would they?
