Sokkla is Painful for Zuko

"So let me get this straight," Zuko said with a flat tone. "You two hooked up but then decided to just be friends, and then you both separately had a thing with Jet which set off a competition for him, but you ultimately decided that neither of you wanted Jet, you wanted to be with each other, and now you're standing here in my room holding hands and expecting me to give you my support?"

Sokka and Azula exchanged smiles and then looked back at the fuming Fire Lord.

"That about sums it up," Sokka answered with a confident nod.

"Well you don't have it!"

"Zuzu, please," Azula scoffed, rolling her eyes. "There's no need to be so dramatic."

He ignored his sister, turning all his attention to the friend he was currently considering writing off. "What ever happened to, 'Zuko, you're my best friend and if you don't want me dating your sister then I won't!'?"

"Ew, you asked for his permission?" Azula asked Sokka with disapproval.

"Yes, and I regret that now."

"So what?" Zuko angrily shrugged. "Your word meant nothing?"

Sokka sighed. "I meant it at the time, but then I decided to follow the advice a wise Avatar once told me: follow my heart – "

"Wise Avatar?!" Zuko cut in with a sardonic laugh. "You mean the one who just spent the last three months trying to teach Appa to tap dance?!"

"Hey, Appa's made some improvements! He's got fancy feet!"

Zuko sighed melodramatically, covering his head with his hands.

"I don't get why you're making such a big deal out of this, brother." Azula pouted. "It's almost like you want me to be unhappy or something… oh wait, that's right, that's exactly what you want!"

"Now who's being dramatic?" Zuko challenged.

Azula glared at him.

"And it is a big deal," he continued. "This changes everything. Now I have to rethink the entire bodyguard arrangement and the best way to help with the situation up north."

Sokka spoke up. "Well I can help you with – "

"And this," Zuko interrupted, pointing at the new couple's joined hands, "or any public displays of affection cannot legally happen in front of me."

"Legally?" Azula laughed, mockingly. "What are you going to have me arrested? Again?"

"Separate now!" he demanded.

Sokka and Azula let go of the other's hand and scootched a foot away from each other.

"You know what? Not good enough. Azula, you're dismissed. I need to talk to Sokka alone."

Sokka gulped.

"Fine. You're unpleasant to be around anyway." Azula shot her brother a dirty look before leaving his room.

"Can I just say real quick before you go off on me, how sorry I am for going back on my word?" Sokka squeaked apologetically. "I know this news can't be easy for you. T-That's why we decided to tell you before we told everyone else."

"Relax. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not…?"

"No. I'm just under a lot of pressure right now." Zuko took a deep breath. "The entire world expects me to keep Azula in line, but everything I do just seems to backfire with her. Clearly giving Azula a bodyguard was a huge mistake. I mean first you, then Jet – "

"And you're probably pretty jealous about the Jet thing, am I right?" he teased.

"No!" Zuko shouted a little too defensively. "Well, I don't know. Maybe a little." He chuckled.

Sokka laughed.

"I guess I just never foresaw any of this happening. Especially with you."

"Well I didn't see it coming either!"

"I think I just have to get used to the idea of you two together."

Sokka smiled.

"But let me make one thing clear." Zuko's eyes turned dark. "If you break her heart, I will destroy you. Got it?"

"Got it," Sokka yipped, straightening his posture.

"Either she dumps you or you marry her."

"Isn't it a little too early to be talking about – "

Zuko shot him down with a harsh glare.

"I mean, um." Sokka cleared his throat. "You'd really be okay with the possibility of me marrying your sister one day?"

"Well…" Zuko looked down, embarrassed. "That would make us brothers-in-law."

"Awww, bro!" Sokka exclaimed, throwing his arms around the sulking Fire Lord.

"Okay, okay." Zuko gave him a quick hug back. "That's enough."

"Hey, Sokka's here!" Aang greeted upon seeing his wolf-tailed friend enter the dining room.

Toph scrunched up her nose. "I thought I smelled something funny."

"Har har." Sokka took a seat at the foot of the table, next to his girlfriend who already had a plate prepared for him.

"Is everything okay?" Katara asked her brother. "You're not usually late to breakfast."

"I had some, ummm – "

"Tummy trouble?" Toph guessed, smirking.

" – issues to settle with Zuko. Which reminds me… I-I have an announcement to make." Sokka stood up from the table. "Katara. Aang." Looking at his friends, he sighed. "I won't be coming home with you tomorrow. I've decided to stay in the Fire Nation – "

"But didn't we agree – " Katara interrupted.

" – because… Azula and I decided to give the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing a shot."

"Hey that's great!" Ty Lee cheered, smiling from ear to ear.

"Yeah, way to go, Snoozles!"

"Congratulations," Mai nodded.

"You make a good team," Aang said quickly under his breath, not wanting to upset his fiancée.

Katara was quiet for a moment, seemingly frozen in place. "What's everyone staring at me for?!" She looked at the opposite end of the table. "Suki? Jet? Do you have anything to say about this?"

"I already knew," Jet replied.

"And I don't care," Suki said, smiling coyly at Jet.

"Oh great, so I'm the only one who has a problem with this?!" Katara huffed.

Sokka quickly sat back down.

"No, Zuzu's pretty upset too," Azula smirked. "But that's just icing on the cake."

"You stay out of this," Katara barked at the firebender before turning her attention to her brother. "And what, are you suddenly not gay anymore?!"

"Katara…" Aang placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to soothe her wrath.

"I decided not to put a label on it," Sokka shrugged. "I like Azula and that's that. Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I do! You know I want what's best for you, but – "

"But what?!"

"But Azula can't be trusted," Katara snarled. "For Spirits' sake, she hasn't even acknowledged what she did to Aang!"

"Azula has done more than enough to – "

"It's okay, Sokka," Azula cut in. "She's right." She looked over remorsefully at Aang and took a deep breath. "It's years too late, but I truly am sorry for hurting you during the war. For what it's worth, I'm really happy you're alive. And you know I mean this because I never apologize."

"It's true," Mai added.

"Apology accepted!" Aang smiled, reaching across the table to shake her hand.

Azula returned the smile, shaking the Avatar's tattooed hand.

"Well that's great, but you still haven't won me over," Katara muttered.

"Hey, let's toast to the new couple!" Ty Lee celebrated, holding up her tea mug.

The rest of the group followed suit, minus Katara and Suki who held onto their mugs begrudgingly. But before Ty Lee could continue, Zuko stepped into the dining room.

"Hey, Zuko!" Aang called. "Just in time!"

"Celebrating something, are we? Well not so fast."

Everyone solemnly put down their mugs, except Ty Lee who took a sip.

"What? I'm drinking anyway."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "That's just tea…"

"Yeah, Iroh's special tea!" Toph grinned.

"The tea leaves are fermented," Mai whispered to the Fire Lord.

"Yes… I am well aware of Uncle's special tea." He shook his head. "Anyway… there are going to be some big changes around here. So long as everyone agrees to them."

The group waited for him elaborate.

"First, I would like to ask the Kyoshi warriors to resume their original posts as bodyguards in the royal palace."

Ty Lee smiled. "Works for me. That way I'll get to spend more time with Mai and Azula!"

"Whatever you need, Zuko," Suki graciously agreed.

"Thank you," he acknowledged. "I would also like to ask Jet to stay in the palace, as an invited guest."

"Why…?" Mai asked suspiciously.

"Because after everything the Fire Nation put him through, he deserves to live in luxury for a bit."

"I'm not gonna argue with you there," Jet said smugly.

"Good. Now as for the situation up north," Zuko continued, "I've already asked the rest of the Freedom Fighters for their support in case the conflict gets ugly again, and they've agreed to help."

"That's great, Zuko, but…" Aang looked concerned. "…I think we're going to need more help than that. Hakoda is still recovering from his injury – "

"Yes, I've thought of that, and I have come up with a solution I hope will work for everybody." He paused for dramatic effect. "As of today, I'm officially ending Azula's house arrest." He flashed his sister a mischievous smile.

Azula crossed her arms. "What's the catch, Zuzu?"

"You will accompany Aang, Katara, and presumably Sokka to the South Pole where you will aid in amending the relationship between the sister tribes. You will respond directly to Katara, who will act as your direct supervisor. I may not be able to keep you in line here, but I know Katara certainly can."

Azula's mouth fell open as Katara smirked.

"Katara, do you agree to this?" Zuko asked.

"With pleasure," she sneered.

"Excellent." Zuko grinned triumphantly, turning to Azula. "House arrest was clearly not working out, and I honestly couldn't think of a better punishment for you than sending you to the freezing tundra."

"Yippee," Azula groaned sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Looks like I'm finally part of Team Avatar."

"Welcome to the – " Aang started before Katara cut him off.

"Not so fast. You'll have to earn it." Katara smiled softly at Azula.

The princess smiled back at her.

"Well if everyone's happy with these changes…" Zuko quickly poured himself a cup of tea. "…then let's toast to the new couple." He held up his mug. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"So… how do you feel about moving to the South Pole?" Sokka asked, watching Azula frantically pack her suitcase.

"I have nothing to wear!"

"Hey, we can buy you some perma-winter clothes when we get there."

"Okay…"

"Well, I'm excited to show you around," he smiled. "You'll finally get to see where I grew up, though, it looks quite different now with all the renovations."

"Looking forward to it," she said quietly.

"Really? Because… you don't seem like it."

"It's not that," she sighed. "I am excited about seeing where you grew up, and I'm definitely thrilled to be leaving the palace, but… I don't know, I guess I'm just nervous."

"About what?" He looked at her with concern.

"About meeting your family. Your dad, your gran-gran… what if they don't like me?"

"Azula…" He got up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "They're gonna love you. You have nothing to worry about."

"It's just… I've never been part of a loving, stable family before, and I don't want to mess things up."

"Well you've certainly managed to win me over, and even Katara seems like she's warming up to you – "

"Verdict's still out on that one."

" – and once my family sees how happy you make me, they'll welcome you with open arms, I just know it."

She smiled warmly up at him, gazing into his blue eyes. "Okay… just, don't let me freeze to death down there, you got it?"

"Azula, Azula," he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a big bear hug. He rested his head on top of hers. "With me by your side, I'll always be there to keep you warm."