Author's Note: This chapter goes out to any Sokkla fans reading this story :D
Chapter 3: Detective Sokka Reporting for Duty
The following morning…
"Shit," the princess scowled, noticing all the hickies and bruises her brother left on her usually flawless skin.
"Wow, Zuko really did a number on you," Ty Lee gaped, looking at Azula's reflection in the mirror.
"This is a disaster. How can I possibly conceal these hideous marks?"
Ty Lee stood up from the princess's bed and walked behind her apprehensive friend. "Nothing a little makeup can't fix!" Growing up with six sisters and spending many years as a circus performer was proving useful in this situation. The acrobat began to work her magic, mixing various creams and powders to create the perfect concealer to match Azula's fair skin. But before she could start applying her concoction, an unexpected visitor burst into the princess's bedroom.
"Good morning, friends!" Sokka chimed. "Whoa. Azula. You look… errrr… like you had a fun night." He finished the sentence with a big, fake smile.
"I did what I had to do," Azula coolly asserted.
"I don't know, Princess. I think you may have enjoyed yourself a little too much," Sokka poked.
Azula flashed him her trademark death stare as Ty Lee covered the princess's neck and shoulders in concealer.
"Hey! I'm not blaming you. Zuko's a handsome guy," the swordsman playfully confessed.
"I have an idea… why don't YOU sleep with him next time?" Azula hissed.
Ty Lee finished Azula's makeup and took a step back to inspect her work. "Hmmm… you may want to consider wearing your hair down today," she said sheepishly.
The princess started brushing her long, silky black hair but was interrupted by the sound of incoherent shouting down the hall. "Ah. Zuzu must have just woken up."
Stacked like a nosey totem pole, Azula, Ty Lee, and Sokka all pressed their ears up against the bedroom door, careful not to miss any of the action.
"No… no… NO! THIS CAN'T BE!" Zuko roared, while attempting to search every room in the Fire Nation Palace. "WHERE IS SHE?"
Zuko's friends, who had all spent the night in the Palace, could not continue sleeping through all the screaming. The first brave soul to confront the desperate Fire Lord was none other than Toph Beifong.
"What are you yammering on about so damn early in the morning? You're waking everybody up!" Toph yelled.
"Toph! Did you happen to see a woman leave the Palace in the middle of the night?"
"Maybe… why don't you describe her to me?" she questioned sarcastically, waving her hand above and below her eyes.
"Right… sorry," Zuko blushed, walking past the blind earthbender to peer into more rooms. "I don't understand… WHY WOULD SHE LEAVE?" Now far beyond outraged, the Fire Lord starting hurling bursts of orange fire down the hallway.
Suki, who had made the professional decision to keep being Zuko's bodyguard even after he broke her heart, caught up to the fuming Fire Lord. "Who knows? Perhaps she's heard about your playboy reputation and thought she was just another one of your many one-night-stands," the Kyoshi warrior bitterly piped in.
"Do I really have a bad reputation?" Zuko inquired ignorantly.
Katara yawned as she exited one of the guest bedrooms. "I hate to break it to you, but even the ladies in the Southern Water Tribe have heard about your…indiscretions. You are the Fire Lord. You're in the public eye. People are going to talk."
Zuko froze with panic. "Oh no… but… but… she was different. She had to have known – I asked her to spend the night with me!" he cried.
"What was so different about her?" queried the blue-eyed waterbender. She was concerned for her friend, but was also rather disgusted by the blatant disrespect for woman he had demonstrated for the past four years. If there had ever been a time she was considering pursuing a relationship with him, his behavior confirmed that she had made the right decision in choosing Aang.
"EVERYTHING!" wailed the Fire Lord. "She was perfect. Beautiful, witty, mysterious, graceful… we just… got each other. I've never felt connected to anyone like this before."
"Oh really?" Mai had stepped out from her guest room to join the conversation. Although she had moved on from her ex-boyfriend many years ago, this comment came as a huge slap in the face.
"Uhhhh… besides you of course…" Zuko tentatively offered.
"Whatever, Zuko. It doesn't matter anymore," Mai retorted, turning her attention to her boyfriend, who had pulled her in for a good-morning hug.
Although Aang was also annoyed with Zuko's abhorrent behavior, he decided to fulfill his Avatar duties and offer his assistance. "Maybe we can help find her! Katara and I aren't leaving for the Eastern Air Temple until tomorrow morning. If we split up into groups, we can cover a lot of ground. I'm sure we can solve the case of the vanishing mystery woman by nightfall!" Aang beamed optimistically.
Upon hearing the words "solve the case", Sokka couldn't resist barging into the discussion. Without warning, the swordsman opened Azula's bedroom door, causing Azula and Ty Lee to fall to their knees in the doorway. The two girls glared at him as they stood up.
Sokka cleared his throat. "As many of you may know, I am known in some regions of the world as being an expert detective."
"Whoa, back up a second, super sleuth," Suki mused, raising an eyebrow at Sokka. "Did you sleep with Azula AND Ty Lee last night?!"
The trio answered immediately, simultaneously delivering three different responses.
"Yeah!" Sokka lied, giving two thumbs up.
"No!" Azula shot, her arms crossed contemptuously.
"Maybe…" Ty Lee hinted, biting her index finger.
Everyone but Katara burst out laughing.
"But in all seriousness, what is going on with you and Azula?" the waterbender directed at her brother with hostile blue eyes.
Silence fell over the gang – it was the question that most piqued everyone's curiosity.
"Hmmm… you know, we never really defined our relationship," Azula started. "Well, we are friends…"
"Friends who like to get naked and sweaty! Together!" Sokka added.
Azula laughed at the mixture of uncomfortable, grossed-out, and oddly approving expressions sweeping across the group's faces.
"But when did this start?" Katara interrogated. "I thought you hated her."
"Remember when I went to visit Iroh after Suki exchanged me for this asshole?" Sokka pointed at Zuko. "Azula and I kind of got reacquainted. People change you know." He smiled affectionately at the princess.
Azula blushed and gave Sokka a kiss on the cheek, but this touching moment was quickly interrupted by a livid waterbender.
"THAT WAS NEARLY FOUR YEARS AGO! WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM US?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd be so interested in my sex life!"
"Plus, it was way more fun this way," Azula sneered.
Zuko callously cut in, "Okay, okay, can we all accept that Sokka and Azula are fucking and move on to more pressing matters? Like finding the dangerously hot woman who gave me the best sex of my LIFE last night?"
Everyone groaned.
"If we're going to help you find her, you're going to have to give us a little information," Aang noted.
"Well… I don't know her name, and she never took off her mask… but she had intense, unforgettable golden eyes, black hair, and a sexy smile. And she's a firebender!" Zuko relayed.
"Okay, that's something. About how tall was she?" Aang questioned.
Zuko quickly scanned his female friends, his eyes landing on his sister. "About Azula's height… but a little taller."
"Idiot," thought the princess.
"So on the shorter side," Aang remarked. "Zuko, are you certain you'd be able to identify her if you saw her again?"
"Positive. No one could match her beauty," assured the Fire Lord, oblivious to the fact that he was offending every female in the hall.
Sokka could not contain himself and erupted into a fit of laughter over his friend's stupidity.
"I'm sorry, is my angst amusing to you?" Zuko angrily directed at Sokka.
"Oh no… of course not…"
"Then what exactly is so funny?"
"I… uh… farted, sir Fire Lord sir."
The gang joined in on Sokka's laughter.
"Hah, that is pretty funny," Zuko agreed, snickering and reflexively taking a couple of steps away from the swordsman.
Sokka recovered, suddenly adopting a more authoritative attitude. "Here's what's going to happen. We're going to split up into teams to search for Zuko's late-night lover. Then we'll all meet back here after sundown, and whichever team finds her wins! Zuko will owe the members of the winning team a favor, which can be redeemed at any time without question. Do you agree to these terms, Fire Lord?"
"Yes, of course! I'd be beyond grateful. I will grant any request, no matter how obscene. I swear it on my honor. I don't mean to get ahead of myself, but this woman could potentially be my future Fire Lady."
"I highly doubt that," Azula thought, an amused smile gracing her features.
"Right… well before I split everyone into teams, anyone who is not interested in participating should probably leave now," Sokka continued.
Suki, Mai, and Kei Lo left the hallway.
"Okay, then let's see… Katara and Aang will be Team Hurricane, Toph and Ty Lee will be Team Watermelon, and Azula and I will be Team Firesword!"
"What about me?" Haru chimed in, looking mildly aggravated.
Everyone turned to face their forgotten ally. Indeed, Haru had been standing out in the hall with the rest of the group the entire time.
"Uh… you can join Team Watermelon I guess," Sokka ruled. "LET'S GO!"
Team Hurricane was the first to dash out of the Palace. Aang and Katara were quite confident that they would win since they had Appa and thus could travel more than the others. Team Watermelon was next to leave. Ty Lee, knowing full well who Zuko's mystery woman was, decided to play along and have a fun day gallivanting about with Toph and Haru. The first stop for Team Firesword was with the Fire Lord himself.
Sokka began to pantomime stroking an invisible long beard with his thumb and index finger. "Zuko, if I'm going to perform my top-notch detective work, I'm going to require a few items…"
"You look ridiculous," Azula playfully mocked, observing the blue-eyed swordsman seated next to her in the palanquin.
"If by 'ridiculous' you mean 'devilishly handsome', then I heartily concur," Sokka quipped.
"Where was Zuko even able to find this stuff?" the princess queried, suspiciously eyeing the oddly shaped hat and magnifying glass monocle that Sokka currently adorned.
"You'd be surprised by all the strange things Zuko keeps hidden in his bedroom…"
Azula shook her head, looking down at her boots. "I don't even want to know…" The princess suddenly became panic-stricken as she looked up at Sokka, who was blowing bubbles from a long, dragon-shaped pipe. "GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! Spirits know WHERE that's been, if it belongs to my promiscuous brother!"
"Mmmmm…" Sokka teased, licking his lips. "Zuko's butthole…"
Azula couldn't help but laugh. No one could ever make her laugh the way Sokka did.
"I bet you want to give me a BIG kiss right now, don't you?" Sokka continued to jest, pursing out his lips and leaning toward the princess.
"I know you're kidding right now, but…" Azula leaned in closer to the swordsman, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips softly to his.
Sokka placed his hand on the back of the princess's head, pulling her in closer as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues swirled gently in each other's mouths. Sokka rested his hand on Azula's upper thigh, slowly working his way up between her legs.
"Stop," Azula pleaded, breaking the kiss and pushing his hand away. "We're in public – we need to be proper."
"I know, I know. Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Sokka smirked.
"You can have me all to yourself tonight," the princess purred. "You can do anything you want to me."
"Anything?" he grinned wolfishly.
Azula nodded with a naughty gleam in her yellow eyes. The palanquin came to a halt.
"Ready for our date, Princess?" Sokka thanked the palanquin bearers and pulled Azula by the hand onto the spirited streets of the Fire Nation Capital City.
"What exactly do you have planned, Detective Sokka?"
"First, I'm going to treat you to the Fire Nation's finest STREET MEAT!"
"What am I getting myself into?" the princess thought with a smile as the pair made their way toward Sokka's favorite street vendor.
"Four kebabs please!" the swordsman ordered.
"What kind of meat, uh, Detective?" asked the vendor, quizzically eyeing Sokka's strange attire.
"Any kind! Surprise us!" Sokka exchanged the appropriate amount of Water Tribe currency for the meat kebabs.
Both Azula and Sokka were ravenously hungry, but the princess took her time eating her kebab, which she conceded was rather tasty, while the swordsman demolished all three of his in under a minute. After Azula finished eating, Sokka led her into an obscure clothing store.
"These clothes and accessories are not exactly my style…" the princess criticized, walking hesitantly around from wrack to wrack.
"I know! But I want to dress you up as my little sidekick, if that's alright with you." Sokka beamed.
"What an honor," Azula complied, fully aware that no one would be able to recognize her with her hair down and without her royal headpiece.
When Sokka completed the princess's sidekick ensemble, she left the store wearing a larger, sillier hat than her date, fake thick-rimmed glasses, an obnoxiously heavy pocket watch that was nothing but a small sundial, and a kilt that entirely clashed with the rest of her outfit. The duo did not think twice about the weird glances they were eliciting from passersby.
Sokka could hear the faint sound of music playing in the distance. "Do you hear that? Let's find out where it's coming from!" he shouted, leading Azula by the hand down the street.
The two followed their ears until they discovered a street quartet enthusiastically playing an eclectic array of intricately handmade instruments. Although the quartet drew a decent-sized audience, no one was dancing. Naturally, Sokka broke the ice, jumping in front of the crowd and shaking his hips to the beat of the song. He then extended his hand toward the princess, who, to his surprise, instantly took his hand and jumped right in. Four years in University had prepared her well for this type of shenanigans, though she was usually quite inebriated every time she danced like an idiot in front of a crowd. Soon the whole audience joined in on the fun and started dancing their hearts out in the hot summer sun.
After the couple worked up a light sweat, the swordsman frisked Azula away to the next stop of their date, a pristine and tranquil spa.
"After all that dancing, I think you deserve a massage," Sokka declared.
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Azula demurred, pointing to the bruises on her shoulders from her brother's dirty work the night before. "Plus, I can get a massage for free at the Palace almost any time I want."
"But I'd like to treat you to a massage!" he insisted. "How about just a foot and leg rub?"
"That sounds delightful," the princess smiled. "And what about yourself?"
"I actually have a quick errand to run," Sokka said mysteriously. "Don't you worry about a thing – I'll be back before your rub is over."
"Okay…" Azula replied, raising her eyebrows with skepticism.
Sokka spoke to the spa receptionist, gave Azula a kiss on the forehead, and then disappeared into the streets.
Azula was led to a dim candlelit room that smelled of lavender. The masseuse handed the princess a white, luxurious bathrobe and asked her to remove her clothes while she waited outside. After Azula exchanged her clothes for the bathrobe, the masseuse reentered the room and instructed the princess to have a seat on the heated, black leather chair in the center of the room. She sat as the masseuse pulled over a footbath and another chair to face the princess. Azula slowly exhaled with relaxation as she dipped her feet into the hot, steamy footbath, which was filled with rose petals.
"Your only responsibility right now is to close your eyes, relax, and clear your head," the masseuse soothed as she took the princess's right foot from the bath, setting it gently in a towel on her lap. "Your boyfriend already gave the strict order not to make small-talk."
"He is not my boyfriend," Azula corrected with a hint of laughter, although she did not exactly mind the sound of that. "But thank you."
The masseuse smiled, applying pressure to the princess's foot. Azula fell into a deep state of relaxation, allowing her mind to drift aimlessly. She thought of Sokka's charismatic grin and the unique way he looked at her with his deep blue eyes; how he smelled like a winter forest the first time they were intimate; the thousands of times he made her laugh; the epic University prank war she and Kori started against other students in their dorm; how she missed her mixed-nation roommate and the adventures she must be having on her post-graduation trip to the Northern Water Tribe with Sneers; the fruity and herbal scent of the Jasmine Dragon; playing Pai Sho with Uncle and losing every time; her sleepover parties with Ty Lee and Mai where they would stay up all night talking about boys; all the times Ty Lee braided her hair so they could be "twins"; the pride in her father's eyes the first time he saw her shoot lightning; her family vacations to Ember Island; the way she and Zuko would take turns dunking each other in the ocean…
Thirty minutes later, her massage was over, leaving Azula feeling refreshed and energetic as she redressed. She thanked her masseuse and tipped her generously. As promised, Sokka was waiting for her in the lobby.
"How was your massage, Princess?"
"Lovely. Thank you, Detective."
"We have one final stop to make before the sun sets," Sokka informed, extending his elbow for the princess to hold.
The two walked arm-in-arm over to a small building, behind which was a large field with several deflated hot air balloons.
"This will be our ride back to the Palace, milady," Sokka stated proudly. "Our balloon comes fully equipped with a bottle of fire wine…and a technician."
A man had stepped outside to start inflating one of the larger hot air balloons.
"Company policy," Sokka grumbled into Azula's ear.
"We can just ignore him," the princess muttered.
The technician signaled to the pair that it was time to depart. Sokka and Azula made their way over to the balloon, where they were helped in by the technician. The sun was just beginning to set as they took off for the Palace, painting the sky with a warm palette of reds, oranges, and yellows beneath fluffy purple clouds.
"Sokka, this date has been absolutely perfect," Azula breathed, pouring herself a glass of fire wine.
"Perfect date for the perfect woman," he purred, reaching for the bottle. After pouring himself a glass, he slipped an arm around Azula's waist as she gazed over the side of the balloon.
The two sipped their wine while watching the sun dip lower into the sky, with Azula's upper back pressed to Sokka's lower chest.
"I have one more little surprise for you," the swordsman revealed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small jewelry box.
Azula's eyes alit, flickering various shades of amber as she opened the box. Inside was a necklace with tiny gold spheres outlining the chain with a sparkling ruby gem dangling in the center. It was certainly not as lavish as her royal jewelry, but it was tasteful and captured her personality. And coming from Sokka, it instantly became her most precious piece of jewelry.
"Sokka! It's beautiful! I love it!" she gushed, turning around to pull him in for a hug.
He turned her back around so he could clasp the necklace around her neck, the gem falling right beneath her collarbone. She turned back to show him her appreciation by kissing him deeply. They kissed and kissed as the sky changed from its warm palette to a cooler one. Before long, things started to get heated between the two. Hands groped, tongues danced, hips grinded, hearts raced, breaths shortened.
"I want to take you right here, Princess," Sokka growled.
"Please don't," the technician pleaded, shifting uncomfortably.
Azula and Sokka giggled as they cooled down, the Palace just coming into view.
"Tonight," Azula whispered seductively. "I promise."
Upon landing in the Palace courtyard, Azula and Sokka sprinted to the princess's bedroom, but not for reasons of carnal pleasure. Azula had to get ready for the big reveal, where she would finally let her brother unmask his mystery woman. Sokka helped her change into the red midi dress from the night before, and then the princess began to fix up her makeup while she waited for Ty Lee to return to help style her hair.
"I have to make this quick – Toph and Haru think I'm in the restroom!" Ty Lee blurted, entering Azula's bedroom unannounced. The acrobat started brushing the princess's hair while narrating her day's adventures with her friends. They had spent the day searching the northeastern region of the Fire Nation, which dually served as a way for Toph to earn some quick cash by showing off her metalbending on the streets. After Ty Lee finished styling Azula's hair, she slid out the door to rejoin Team Watermelon.
Upon adorning her black mask, Azula looked identical to the way she looked the previous night, except for some partially concealed bruises on her neck and shoulders. She exhaled slowly, not quite sure if she was ready to ruin her brother's life.
Sokka, sensing her hesitance, decided to offer some words of encouragement. "You can do this, Zula. Remember how he sent you away almost immediately after you returned? How he never bothered to visit you or even write to you? How he stole my girlfriend without batting an eye and then dumped her within months? You need to do this for you, for me, and on behalf of all the girls he's used and discarded over the past four years."
"You're right," Azula snarled, her blood boiling. She stepped over to her full-length mirror, an evil smirk creeping across her face. "Payback's a bitch."
Zuko anxiously awaited his friends' return in the throne room, orange and red fire flickering chaotically behind him, matching his unease. Before any of the teams arrived, Suki, Mai, and Kei Lo decided to join the potential excitement, curious to see which team would win. Suki and Mai not-so-secretly hoped that none of the teams would succeed. Team Watermelon entered first.
"Sorry, Sparky," Toph delivered without empathy. "We couldn't find your girl, but if no one else finds her, we can get so shitfaced tonight that you'll forget all about her."
"Thank you for trying, friends," Zuko sighed, the fire behind him growing dimmer.
Team Hurricane entered next, looks of despair plaguing their faces.
"We scoured nearly all of the Fire Nation islands, but to no avail," Aang reported. "But we did find a seashell that looks exactly like Momo!" Aang presented the shell to the Fire Lord.
"Huh. This actually does look like Momo," Zuko mused, handing the shell back to Aang.
"Don't give up hope just yet," Katara chirped. "Sokka is very resourceful – if anyone's going to find her, it's him."
"Damn right it is!" Sokka announced triumphantly as he made his way into the throne room.
"You found her?!" The fire behind Zuko surged. The Fire Lord did not even notice that his sister was not with Sokka.
"May I present to you, your mystery woman!" Sokka gestured grandiosely to the entryway.
As Azula slowly approached her brother, locking eyes with him, fire began to spread around the periphery of the throne room, illuminating the chamber with every color of the visible spectrum. Zuko stood from the throne and walked toward his sister as if a magnet were pulling him forward.
"It's you," he trembled, his hands quivering as he took Azula's hands in his own. "I don't know what you've heard about me, but I can assure you, I am willing to drop my selfish behavior if it means getting to know you better. Please give me that chance."
Azula smiled at him, slowly nodding her head. His golden eyes blazed into her all-too-similar eyes as he reached behind her head to take off her mask.
"May I?" he queried.
"Yes," she whispered.
Zuko removed her mask, letting it fall to the floor. "A – AZULA?!"
"Still think I can be your Fire Lady, Zuzu?" she smirked menacingly.
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" he shouted, turning to face his friend from the Southern Water Tribe. "Sokka, did you find her or not?"
"Oh, that's her alright," Sokka assured. "Allow me to present Exhibit A." Sokka took a damp washcloth from his back pocket and wiped the concealer off Azula's neck and shoulders, exposing the marks Zuko left on her.
Everyone in the throne room gasped, except for Zuko who was still deep in denial.
"Anyone could have done that!" snapped Zuko.
"Exhibit B is a testimony from the princess herself."
"Hmmm… let's see. First, you pushed me up against your bedroom door. You kissed me, removed my dress, groped me, and teased me over my black lacey panties," Azula recounted. "Sound familiar?"
Zuko glared at her in burning silence.
"Okay, I'll continue then. You finger fucked me, ordered me to strip off my underwear, and then so generously went down on me…"
"WHAT?!" Mai screamed. "Are you kidding me?! It took Zuko EIGHT FUCKING MONTHS before he did that to me, and even then, he complained about it!"
"You're lucky he did it to you at all!" Suki cried in anger.
"…and then you fucked me hard against the door," Azula finished, mimicking Zuko's glare.
As uncomfortable silence swept over the room like a dark cloud, Zuko was inundated by a tidal wave of feelings. Shock, disgust, rage, embarrassment, desire, guilt, anguish, lust, hatred, and confusion were just the tip of the emotional iceberg. The Fire Lord did not want to believe his ears, but deep down, he knew that Azula was indeed his dream girl from the night before. He wanted to scream, to cry, to strangle his sister, to bend her over his knee and give her a spanking she'd never forget – he shook his head to stop his mind from going further.
The searing silence was untastefully broken by Toph, who exploded into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, causing her to fall to the floor. "Well I certainly didn't see THAT coming!" she cackled. "Man, Sparky, how could you not recognize your own sister?!"
Maybe it was due to the immense awkwardness of the situation, or maybe it was because Zuko was finally getting what he deserved, but the whole group, minus Katara, joined in on the laughter.
Toph stood up and walked over to Azula, catching the princess off guard by vigorously shaking her hand. "I don't know you that well, but I like you!"
"Thank you, Toph," Azula laughed.
Suki and Mai approached Azula while Sokka walked over to Ty Lee to give her a congratulatory high-five.
"What you did is undoubtedly heinous and beyond disturbing, but the look on Zuko's face makes it totally worth it!" Mai approved, placing a hand on her former friend's shoulder. "Perhaps we can rectify our friendship after all," she thought.
"Yeah! What a brilliant plan, Azula. Zuko definitely had it coming," Suki added, with a newfound respect for the princess.
"Good one, Azula!" Haru called out with an uneasy smile. Although he was utterly revolted with this revelation, it seemed that more of his friends were on Azula's side. Because he had been excluded from so many of Team Avatar's social events, he desperately sought every opportunity to try to fit in.
"Uh… thanks," the princess replied, not recognizing the man with the tacky moustache.
"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Katara bellowed, shifting her narrowed eyes across the room at Azula's supporters. "How could any of you side with her? What she did was pure evil – she'll NEVER change!" She marched furiously up to Sokka and Ty Lee. "And you two KNEW about this?! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!"
Ty Lee squared off with the waterbender. "Azula is my best friend! I'd do ANYTHING for her!"
Sokka attempted to break up the fight, stepping in between the two girls. "Seriously Katara, lighten up! Zuko made his bed, and now he has to lie in it, or in this case, his sister."
"Have you forgotten that we're siblings too? What if I did this to you? I bet you wouldn't be laughing then!"
"Don't be gross, Katara! What's wrong with you?"
She turned her attention to Aang, who was being a little too quiet. "Aang, help me out here!"
"Sorry Katara, I'm going to practice neutral jing on this one for now," Aang shrugged, not sure of how he felt about the ordeal. On one hand, he hated to see Zuko in so much pain, but on the other hand, Zuko's hedonistic lifestyle completely contradicted that of the monks who raised him. Not to mention the countless distraught women he'd seen ushered out of the Fire Nation Palace.
Katara crossed her arms and huffed, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Finally, Zuko spoke, his voice barely audible. "Why?" he asked, looking up at his sister with self-pity. "Why would you do this to me?"
Azula took a few steps toward her brother. She pulled him in for a hug, coiling her arms around his neck. Zuko neither reciprocated nor pulled away from her, as he was too emotionally overwhelmed to do anything beyond breathe.
"Oh, brother dearest," she cooed. "We're going to have a lot more sex before you get your answer."
Princess Azula exited the throne room, leaving a trail of dumbfounded expressions, a smug swordsman, and a cackling earthbender, in her wake.
Author's Notes:
(1) I know many of you want Sokkla lemons. Don't worry – they're coming. Please be patient!
(2) There will be a lemon in the next chapter : )
(3) Your comments truly mean a lot to me.
