Chapter 7: Epilogue
It had been challenging at first, learning the ropes, both figuratively and literally. Flight was no child's play and it was affected by numerous factors that could either improve their odds for a better flight or hamper them entirely. There was no flying in bad weather, it went without saying, and they would also ensure not to glide when it was too windy, for the currents could easily sweep them away from their chosen path whenever they chose to. Protective clothing and outerwear were a must, just as well: no matter how well-prepared they might be, crash landings could happen at any given moment if something or another failed, and they'd do best to avoid any serious injuries in those cases.
Fortunately, accidents had grown more uncommon as time passed, as they perfected and improved the glider well beyond what the Mechanist had originally designed. It could bring two people to the air now, streaking across the sky as the wind toyed with their hair, filling their lungs with the delightful scent of true freedom.
Azula could never have enough of that addictive sensation. She closed her eyes and relaxed, letting her head rest against Sokka's shoulder: his arms were wrapped around her waist, though he could cling to the vehicle instead, if he required further stability as he sat behind her. Azula knew, of course, that it wasn't stability he sought anymore, not when his fingers nudged her gently, teasingly, his thumbs stroking in soft circles above her hips.
"You're beautiful," he whispered in her ear: compliments that had certainly made her blush when their relationship had begun now brought a proud, yet heartfelt smile to her face…
Well, a little blush too, even now. Years of gliding together through the sky, as well as navigating through the currents of their relationship, hadn't rendered Azula immune to Sokka's charms.
Nor would she have wished it any other way. His bad jokes, his utter lack of shame, his flirtatiousness, they had all become a part of her life. Something she couldn't envision living without. At first it frightened her. Everything with Sokka was fresh and new and so very different from the blur and panic her life had been before.
He brought her clarity, and provided a steady hand to find the strength within herself. Maybe she could have achieved it all with enough time to master herself, but his aid surely expedited the process immeasurably.
The glider dipped a bit as Sokka's hands roamed dangerously up and down her thighs. It wasn't the first time that he had pushed his luck in such a ridiculous manner, nor did she think it would be the last. She swatted one of his hands away good naturedly before righting the glider back on a safe path.
Azula turned to him quickly, confident in her navigation to scold him, but found herself falling short at the sly grin on his features.
Decidedly it was time to land this glider before she got them both into a crash that would render his legs as useless as her own. It wasn't exactly easy to keep her attention on her navigation with the man trying his hardest to be a distraction.
"Landing so soon?" he asked as if he didn't know exactly what he was doing. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"What of it?" She waved her hand dismissively.
"I suppose that it is hard to fly when you have such a dashing fellow for a co-pilot." His hands roamed up and down her sides.
She gave him another eye roll and muttered, "He thinks that he is anyways."
He pressed a kiss to the crook of her neck. Somehow she could never seem to truly get used to it. To loving touches and to romantic words of adoration. Somehow they still managed to bring at least a small touch of pink to her cheeks and she wished that it wouldn't. She was starting to think that it was simply one more quirk of her personality - a perpetual state of feeling flustered at even the smallest of his affections.
He scooped her up. "Where do you want to go?"
She pointed towards a brightly colored maple, its vivid red leaves flashing themselves at her, beckoning her to come to them. "That looks like a nice spot." A pretty place for idle conversation and whatever may follow.
He seemed to think something over. "Can we try something?"
She furrowed her brows, trying to keep a deeper blush from her cheeks. "Try what, Sokka."
"I'm going to put you down and I want you to try to stand."
"Sokka, you know that I can't."
"I also know that sometimes you kick me in your sleep."
Azula frowned. "Sokka that's...it's not possible."
"Have you considered that maybe it is? Maybe you're...I don't know, overthinking things and creating some sort of...blockage?"
"Sokka…" she muttered uncertainly.
"Can we try it, please? I'll be here to hold you upright if you can't do it on your own."
Azula bit the inside of her lip and finally nodded.
"Alright, ready?" Very carefully he lowered her. She felt her feet touch the ground. At first it was mostly Sokka doing all of the work. Sokka, holding her upright. The sensation of standing, even if not on her own, was still so very foreign. It almost didn't feel right anymore. It put a sensation in her legs, something like a tingle, perhaps, a faint soreness.
He held her there for a very long time. She thought that, at some point, he might have loosened his hold. Her heart leapt when she felt his hands slide away from her waist. She only had time for an abrupt and startled, "Sokka no!" He took a good step back.
She braced herself for the fall, tightly pinching her eyes shut. Sokka might have been charming and sweet, but in the time they had been together she learned very quickly he had a bad habit of doing stupid things. Letting her go when she still clearly needed the support? Absolutely stupid. She would teach him a lesson one way or another.
Her upper body tensed up, fingers balling into fists. She was already anticipating the pain, how sore her body would feel once it hit the dirt.
And yet she felt no pain. She didn't feel the ground at all. All she felt was the soft breeze against her skin as the leaves from the tree behind her rustled in the wind. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw the rolling green hills stretched out before her. Her gaze drifted to her arms next, extended outward like she was balancing on a tightrope. Her eyes widened as she relaxed her arms and she slowly looked down at her feet, not wanting to risk bending over to lose her balance.
And there they were. Her feet were firmly placed on the ground. Through the lingering numbness and sensation of pins pricking at her legs, Azula could feel her muscles flex at the sensation of standing on their own.
Was this really happening?
"Spirits, Azula. You're like this tree," Sokka gasped, patting the trunk of the maple. He looked as surprised as she felt. "Not even a breeze is going to blow you over."
Her heart was caught in her throat, choking back a sudden, strange urge to cry out something unintelligible. Even her eyes felt puffy and watery as she ran a finger under one.
"... Sokka," she spoke as calmly as she could.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Tell me this is happening."
He cocked his head to one side. "What do you-"
"Tell me…" She gulped, clearing her throat as she ran a hand hastily over her eyes. "Tell me this is happening. Am I-"
"Yes," he nodded his head, taking a step closer to her. "Yes, this is really happening."
She was breathing heavily through her nose, nostrils flared as she tried to rein in her composure. She wasn't expecting this at all. After a few years of incremental progress where she would relearn to stand and take small steps, to find her balance again with help from others… was she really standing on her own? She didn't even know how long she had been standing like this unsupported.
She took a deep breath, calming her nerves and finding her composure, as if preparing to bend fire as part of her training. There was only one way to find out.
Azula turned to Sokka, who was already standing close to her side, arms extended to her front and back, ready to catch her if she fell. He knew what she wanted to do.
"All right, just like we've always done. Take it slow, one baby step at a time. The ground is a little uneven, so try not to overexert yourself," he said.
"Yes. I can… feel it somewhat. The ground below me."
"And your back? Is it in pain? Do you feel like you're going to fall over?"
"No. It's like balancing with one foot off the ground... but I will manage."
Sokka had a dubious look to him when she said that, but he nodded his head firmly. "All right then. Take your first step. Nice and slow."
She nodded, gritting her teeth with newfound determination. "Let's do this," she muttered to herself. She was timid at first, slowly testing the waters by gliding one foot out in front of her, keeping both affixed to the ground as much as she could. A blissful gasp escaped her lips at the success of her first attempt.
"That's it! You're doing it!"
"I can't believe it." Her eyes filled with hot tears. "After all this time…"
"Come on, keep going. I've got you."
A warm smile spread across her cheeks as she slid her back foot across the ground to meet her front foot. It wasn't exactly a "step", but even being able to stand up on her own and move around was nothing short of a miracle. She had almost completely forgotten what it felt like to be up on her own two feet. Suddenly, all the dreams she kept tucked away in the deep crevices of her imagination seemed like possibilities. Dancing with Sokka at their wedding, chasing their kids around in the yard, having a friendly spar with Katara… firebending. What it would feel like to blast fire out of her feet once again! With her head reeling from all the excitement, she dared to take a real step. She quickly dried her eyes and looked ahead with grit.
Using all her strength, she picked her right leg up off the ground. Her balance was shaken, yet she didn't fall, nor did she need Sokka's help. She stumbled forward, planting her foot firmly down on the grass.
"Azula!" Sokka beamed with encouragement. "You did it! I knew you could - "
And then she repeated the process with her other leg. Sure her gait was wobbly, but she was walking. She was actually walking.
There had been signs of progress here and there: the therapeutic massages she received frequently had pushed her recovery forward, and Sokka had always ensured to help her continue working out with her legs even though she could barely feel them, performing several exercises, helping her flex and stretch them, all meant to prepare her, gradually, for this moment. It hadn't been the first attempt to see if she could stand on her own over the last years, even over the last months… but with life moving along inexorably, and her strength and willpower returning just as well, it seemed whatever she had needed to finally reclaim control of her whole body had been achieved, at last.
What had it been, she wondered? Was it the slowly-dawning awareness that she could continue to live her life freely, even if her legs were still barely usable? Was it the distractions, thinking of something else other than her condition, that had helped her reach this moment? She still remembered Katara's claims that she was fully healed, physically - claims she had sustained upon every healing session, for Sokka had insisted on attempting a few more in case Katara found something she had missed before - , and even Sokka's friend Teo had said it was entirely possible her condition would be more of a matter of a mental block, especially after she started regaining some feeling in her legs. So why now? How…?
She gazed at her feet in wonderment as she managed to take her first steps in what felt like an eternity… but then she raised her eyes towards Sokka's: genuine, blissful pride would shine through that tender azure gaze. It wasn't the pride she had known in her youth, the pride of a father who saw her as an undefeatable weapon that only needed further honing… it was the pride of an ally who had been happy to offer her his strength until she found her own once more. It was selfless… it was genuine. All her old fears that he might abandon her once she regained her legs' functions went forgotten easily under those tender blue eyes.
She didn't need to hold his hand anymore. She didn't need him to push her and wheel her places. She didn't need him to hoist her in his arms and carry her anywhere…
She didn't, strictly, need any of those things, physically, anymore. She was no longer cornered into needing somebody to lean on… no. The truth was that her needs had changed in nature, for she still needed him because her heart longed for his closeness, for his companionship. Maybe she could stand on her own at last: she found she wanted to stand by his side, holding his hand, all the same.
So she stretched her hand forward, and Sokka wasted no time intertwining their fingers; his heartfelt smile was accompanied by tears on the corners of his eyes. He had been there for her through every moment of hardship, and just by standing beside her, he had made her life beautiful. She guessed it would still take a few more months to adjust, perhaps even more years until she could recreate the bending feats she could perform before taking that severe injury to her back… but now that a new chapter of her life was set to begin, she knew she wanted him in it.
"Thank you," she said, softly, and Sokka laughed softly, nodding upon stepping closer to Azula "Thank you, Sokka. I couldn't have done this without you." Azula's voice now was more firm as she stared directly into his sapphire eyes.
Sokka laughed lightly, an innocent smile crept across his face. It was an expression she had come to learn well. It so very often meant he was about to say something endearing and heartfelt that would shatter her into a million little pieces before his strong steady presence would rebuild her into a more complete and whole person.
"You always could have done this, Princess. I've just been… you know. Somebody to lean on."
Azula rolled her eyes at the terrible pun as she balanced herself in his arms. "I guess there are myriad places and people worse to lean on." She struggled sometimes to express fully what she felt for this water tribesman, but other times he made it so very simple for her to convey her feelings.
"I'm glad that I'm the least reprehensible then." He squeezed her a little more tightly as his arms wrapped around her waist.
Azula groaned, partly at his response and partly at herself for struggling to say just what she wanted to say. "Why do you have to put it that way? You're not reprehensible to me."
"I know." He kissed her cheek softly, the warmth of his touch lingering pleasantly on her skin. "I just like to hear you say nice things about me."
"Perhaps there is one nice thing I can say then," she summoned her courage. Her head felt lighter as she turned slowly to meet his gaze. Although she had her balance back, Azula was wobbly, the feelings welling in her heart making her feel dizzy behind her stoic visage. She had struggled to find the right words to express herself, just as she struggled to gain her legs back. She didn't want to struggle with this feeling anymore.
And as she leaned in closer to Sokka she whispered into his ear something that she would never have thought she could say. Three simple little words. And it all came pouring out.
She stared at him apprehensively. His eyes were wide and his expression spoke volumes as to his surprise. Her fingers tightened into fists of worry as the world seemed to come to a standstill around her.
"Am I wrong to feel that way about you?" she asked. Bravely she waited for an answer, desperately trying to prop up her wilting spirit for every painful moment that passed without a reply. She had never said this to him in the time they had been close to each other. Was it wrong to put into words what she felt for so long?
Warm lips quickly pressed against her own with electrifying urgency as a hand slipped behind her head, deepening the kiss. She nearly lost her balance then and there, but it only made her want to squeeze her arms tightly around Sokka. She responded eagerly, a sudden passion swelling through her that made her feel as though she were flying.
Sokka pulled his lips away from her. "No. I love you too, Azula."
They stayed in each other's embrace under the maple tree as the clouds rolled by overhead and the long grass swayed in the wind around the glider. Neither said a word, instead simply basking in the gentle glow of the sun. If there was a paradise somewhere in the world, it could not have felt as blissful to Azula.