Sokkla Week Day 1: Comfort
Azula sat on the steps of the coronation plaza, gazing at the grounds that once hosted an overpowered, overemotional Agni Kai.
She sent a huge blast of fire his way, flipping in mid-air and letting the flame blossom towards Zuko, but her brother intercepted the move, parting it down the middle to form two symmetric blasts that bypassed him.
The symmetry of the move gave it away as a waterbending technique. Azula pursed her lips, thinking of the waterbender that had beaten her in the end. It hurt her to think that her brother would end up marrying the girl who had shamed and humiliated her. Once Katara becomes Fire Lady, she would be in a higher position than Azula…and once her brother has an heir…she would be worthless.
Zuko blasted fireball after fireball, missing her as she jetted around him in a circle. As she approached furiously, he lowered himself and kicked out, his fire sweeping out toward her. It tripped her, and she went flipped through the air, hitting the ground multiple times before rolling to a halt, pain wracking her body. Her hair had become undone, and the strands fell into her face. She struggled up, panting, vision hazy.
"No lightning today?" Zuko taunted. "What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?" He got into the stance she had seen Iroh take, once.
Physical and emotional pain roiled together and she snarled, "oh, I'll show you lightning!"
She remembered the smell of ozone as the bright bluish white electricity arced, crackled, and hissed around her, waiting to be unleashed. She remembered how painful it had felt, not the usual cold and precise blast, but a maelstrom of emotions barring the flawless execution of the perfected art.
Yin and yang separated, and power filled her veins. Her head pounded as the lightning singed and burnt her, giving her a warning to send it off before it backfired and exploded in her face.
She looked at Zuko with narrowed eyes, and vaguely registered his stance.
She looked into his enraged golden eyes.
She couldn't do it. No matter how much she hated him…or how much she wanted him to die…she couldn't do it by her own hands. She could leave him to father, or let him drown in the hot water at the Boiling Rock, but she couldn't finish him off herself.
The lightning spat at her, and she squinted with pain.
She glanced sideways.
The waterbender stood at the ready.
She pulled the lightning together and sent it straight towards the girl, relieving herself of the raw energy, and finding a target she would not regret harming.
Azula drew her knees up and hugged her legs, seeing the scene happen in front of her as if she was watching it as an outsider.
The rest faded into a blur, and Azula let the overwhelming emotions and the insanity of power take her over. It was easier that way.
She saw herself charging at Katara, mad laughter spilling from her lips, and cringed, tears filling her eyes. She held them in stubbornly.
There was blue everywhere, the harsh colour lighting up the orange skies. She was a machine, driven by hate and hurt, unleashing her fury upon the waterbender.
All she remembered afterwards was the feeling of water enclosing her…the feeling of drowning. She couldn't remember the rest of the battle, just that somehow Katara managed to beat her and chain her up.
She remembered spewing fire like a wild beast, screaming and crying, and the tears flowed down her face. Her breath hitched, and a sob tore out of her throat.
She didn't know how long she kneeled on the cold grate, wet and miserable, her hands still behind her back, making her shoulders ache.
Footsteps greeted her ears, and she sniffled, wiping her tears on her sleeves.
She heard someone walking her way.
"Azula…" A masculine voice said softly.
"Azula." The voice was familiar. Her eyes widened. Wasn't it…what's his name…Sokka?
"What do you want?" She rasped, her voice hoarse from all the screaming. It was him. His sister beat her. He was involved in the Boiling Rock breakout.
"What?" She mumbled. The man in blue sat down next to her.
"Are you alright?" Sokka's voice was hesitant. Azula looked up and met blue eyes, the same shade as Katara's wrathful ones. She shrunk back unconsciously, her mind replaying the way the water robbed her of all her air.
He walked around her and put a hand on her shackles.
"I'm going to free you of this, okay? But don't do anything." He warned.
Azula slumped, too tired to argue. Her knees ached as well, and her back hurt from this position. "Alright." She whispered defeatedly. Even if she wanted to bend…she was too worn out. Sozin's Comet had passed, leaving her feeling drained and tired—wanting to collapse into her bed and sleep.
"Whacha thinkin' about?" Sokka asked casually. Azula didn't respond.
When the chains finally fell off, she tried to haul herself up, onto to fall back down on the metal grate, bruising her cheek. She cried out involuntarily, and gritted her teeth. She placed her hands on the grate, pushing herself up, and gasped when a pair of hands gripped her waist and pulled her up.
"Come on, Azu." Sokka said softly, seeing her wet eyes. "Don't think about it too much." He put an arm around her shoulder.
She flushed. "Get off me." She snarled.
Azula blushed a lovely shade of red. "I'm not." She denied.
"It's obvious you were thinking about the battle." Sokka said.
"I'm thinking about what happened after the battle." Azula informed him with a watery smile. "I still haven't said thank you." She said softly.
"Just trying to help." Sokka said, righting her. "Look, I don't know what they're going to do to you after this, but Katara voted in favour of putting you in prison with your father."
Azula didn't speak.
"Zuko voted that, too." He said quietly.
"Of course." Azula said, taking a step forward to nowhere. He caught her arm.
"Aang and I voted for house-arrest." He said. Azula turned in surprise. The corner of his lips tugged up. "The vote had to be unanimous. They didn't think anyone would vote otherwise." He was smiling now.
"You don't need to." Sokka said, picking her up. She yelped as he dumped her in his lap. "I got my reward." He said, pecking her lips. Azula looked away, blushing again.
"Sokka…" She said. "Why…why did you…what do you even see in me?" She asked.
"But…why?" Azula asked, completely befuddled. "Don't you remember what I did to you at the Boiling Rock?"
Sokka's face tightened. "I do." He said. "But I have to learn to forgive. Just as my sister accepted Zuko, I'll learn to accept you."
"You have no reason to." Azula said.
"You were just a girl." Sokka said. "Lost, confused…unloved." He said, gauging her reaction. She smiled wearily. "You were betrayed by your closest friends…used by your father…"
She laid her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.
"But now I'm here, Azula. I love you. I fell in love with you when you opened up to me…when you showed me that you were more than what everyone saw you as." He said, wiping the last of the moisture in her eyes carefully. "And that's enough for me."
"Maybe I don't." Sokka regarded her quietly.
She smiled at him. "I love you too, Sokka." She kissed him again. "Thanks for taking care of me."
"But give me one."
And she did.