Chapter 46: R & R, part 2
As far as fantasies went, sharing a long, steamy shower session with a hot girl was one of Sokka's fantasies that he had harboured for quite a while, but never really got a chance to fully act out. Sure, he had sampled some of what the Fire Nation had to offer in college but it was always a quick and short affair, lasting as long as the hot water was running in the gym showers. Thus, he relegated such fantasies as such, mere fantasies.
Never once would he imagine that one day he would be having such a session with the princess of the Fire Nation, much less having her purring in his lap as he massaged and worked her long silken tresses. Every so often, he would plant a kiss on her neck or shoulder blade, but mostly he worked on her hair, content to bask in her presence as the steam from the shower and the water evaporating off her skin gave it a sensual atmosphere.
Once done, he flipped her tresses to the front, pumped some more soap and lathered it on her back in circles, scrubbing and massaging his way down to the small of her back. Seeing her scars was one thing, but actually touching them was a whole different ball game. Putting away his questions lest he ruin the mood, he picked up his pace and continued to work her back. Feeling him undo a particularly large knot in her muscles, Azula let out a low moan and arched her back. In that moment, Sokka' eyes caught a glimpse of her glistening naked body, her taut stomach and firm breasts making his blood rush southwards and face heat up.
Seizing the moment, Sokka locked his lips with her at an off-angle. Much to his dismay, it was all too quickly broken as Azula tilted herself forward to allow Sokka to continue his task. Shrugging, he continued to work on her back in quiet contemplation. Privately he wondered if she felt his semi-stiff member press into her when she leaned back but figured if she didn't make a fuss, there was no need to raise it.
"What's on your mind Sokka? You're pretty quiet."
"A lot of things. Like you, for instance. Now would you like to turn around so the shower can wash off the soap?"
"Sounds like a ploy just so you can stare at my body."
"Well, that's just a bonus."
"Must be hard isn't it, to resist the urge to take me when I'm oh so wet and naked in your lap." she teased, slowly turning around to let the water wash off the suds.
"If you were any other girl, you'd have been pressed up against the wall by now getting pounded. But you're not, so it's not that hard. Besides, I don't think now is the right time, to be honest." he replied, his attention focused on the tiles rather than her eyes.
Tilting his chin up to face her, she asked "What's wrong?"
"I-I don't know how to explain, it just feels like it is. Sorry if it doesn't make sense or answer your question."
"Let me guess, you feel guilty for letting your sister get hurt while you were away and you feel like you should have done something to prevent that. Am I right?"
"Don't you? After what they did to Kiyi?"
"I do to some extent, but I don't let it fester in my mind. The more you let it fester, the more distracted you will be. In this line, being distracted means you'll be the first one to be killed, no two ways about it. Call me what you want, but that's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way."
"I guess. But still….I can't help but think, what if it was you instead my sister? What-what if they-Spirits it's too horrible to think about it." he spilled, before enveloping her in a tight hug, as if she would disappear and softly sobbed into her chest, muttering "I can't lose you too, I can't." like a mantra.
Not knowing what or how to react, Azula could only stroke his back and return his hug. Never once would she have ever thought that it would be her turn one day to be a support for Sokka to lean on when in most cases, Sokka was the one she could go to and rely on for emotional support. After what seemed like an eternity, Sokka finally let go. If he expected cold unfeeling gold to stare back at him, he was surprised to find instead two pools of warm soft honey staring back at him with concern and love.
"Sorry, I just-"
"There's no need to apologize. You've always been my shoulder to lean on, it's time I did the same for you." she replied, placing a finger on his lips.
"Now let's get out of the shower, unless you want to be all wrinkly and shit."
Turning off the shower, she pulled Sokka up to his feet and grabbed two towels, handing one over to Sokka. While Azula was brushing her hair, Sokka wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her temple, before nuzzling her with his nose.
"You smell so good, firefly."
"Do I now? Tell me, what do I smell like?" she replied, her voice sounding like a love drunk schoolgirl.
"Like ripe, fresh cherries and warm sea breezes. I just can't get enough of you."
"Good to know I'll always leave you wanting more. That way you wouldn't want to go anywhere else."
"Why would I settle for lesser when I've got the best of the best right here in my arms?" he replied, giving her a soft kiss on the neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. Yawning, he declared he was going to bed first, leaving her to finish washing up. Laying on his side, he heard the click of the bathroom switch and the slight creak of the door, before a rustling of bedsheets and blankets signalled that Azula had climbed into bed as well.
Hugging him from behind, Azula intertwined her legs with his and rested her face on his bare back, before letting out soft, contented noises. Feeling her body pressed flush against his skin, Sokka asked "Am I dreaming, or you're really wearing nothing but your panties?"
"I guess you'll find out tomorrow morning." she breathed in his ear, sending a pleasant tingle down his spine. "Now go to sleep."
"Yes mommy."
"Good boy."
In the office space, Zuko and Ursa were on the line with some of the crew left back in Pirate's Pier, making sure their day to day operations weren't too impacted by their absence. Despite the matriarch's relatively laissez-faire approach to day to day operations, letting her lieutenants and managers run as they see fit, some decisions needed her stamp of approval or judgment call before proceeding.
Furthermore, while the logistics crew had been just about able to keep up with the twin requests from Ursa's own organizational needs as well as the Blue Spirit's own customer base, some routes were only serviceable because of Zuko's connections, which he loathed to share with anyone else seeing that he viewed it as his and his alone. Besides, there was only so much contraband one could overlook before their competence as customs officials were called into question.
On top of all this, the other factions had sensed that there was now a temporary power vacuum in the matriarch's absence and were now poised to grab more turf for themselves before she came back.
While all this was happening, Aang monitored the channels, making sure there was no one eavesdropping on their conversation. Sure, their transmissions were on a secure and triple encrypted channel but someone scanning the airwaves would be bound to notice the high volume of signals in and outbound this late in the night. Given the embassy's proximity to other diplomatic compounds, it was safe to assume that everyone was listening to everybody, regardless of how cordially they might act in front of each other.
Fiddling with the sweeps for the fifth time that night, Aang was beginning to grow extremely bored of listening to the same old voices and wished he wasn't such a tech wizard so he could spend time with Katara and Kiyi. Telling himself he'll definitely hang up the earphones and find the two girls if he heard the old copper rant one more time about youngsters and the old days, he dialled in a sweep when he picked up some radio chatter that had him on edge. Keeping one ear on the conversation, he motioned to Zuko and Ursa to stop what it was they were doing and listen to this instead.
"This better be worth it."
"Just listen."
"Is the ambush point set?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Make sure there is no one left alive. But if any of the girls live, well, do whatever is you want with them."
"Even your own daughter, sir?"
"I have no daughter."
"What do we do with the Wolves, sir. The pack is growing restless, they have not seen their leader nor their barons and baronesses for some time. I fear they might decide to turn on us."
"Then exterminate them. Their usefulness as a distraction has come to an unfortunate end. Has our facility in Nuktuk finished loading that ship?"
"They are now waiting for the green light to make way for Hanyang."
"Tell them as soon as the money is transferred, they will be authorized to sail."
"Yes sir."
"You'd think they do it?"
"If they've got the balls to launch an attack on a government building, they've got balls to hit us as soon as we exit the embassy. Which means someone told them we were staying here instead of our safehouse."
"Not necessary, it could have been that some lookout reported it to a cell leader, who passed it up the chain. Not every threat is an insider threat." Ursa countered. "All the same, I want you to be ready in case they really have an ambush set up outside, though I doubt they are that amateurish and stupid to try a spectacular outside the embassy. Now go and rest, you'll need all your wits about you should the attack materialize."
"Let them know to up their guard on the way here."
"On it."
Opening the door to the bedroom quietly to not wake Kiyi up, Zuko was surprised to see her huddled in a corner sobbing. Leaning down in front of her, he asked "Kiki, it's me. What's wrong?"
Leaning out to hold her, Kiyi instead sobbed "Get away from me!" and flailed, kicking and punching. Grabbing a hold of her arms, he pulled her into a hug and whispered "It's okay, you're safe now Kiki, I'm here." over and over like a mantra.
Realising her mistake, she sobbed even harder, staining his shirt with her tears. "So-sorry Zuzu, I-I thought you were-were-"
"Shh, you don't have to explain."
"How-how do you deal with it? The nightmares? Every time I close my eyes I see him there in the corner of the room."
"I-I don't know Kiki, only that it gets easier to deal with over time. I'm sorry I can't help you."
"N-no, it's-it's fine. I-I have to learn to be a big girl now, like Azzie."
"It's okay to ask for help. We're family. And family means we take care of each other. Just wake me up if you can't sleep. I'll stay up with you all night if I have too."
"Thank you Zuzu."
"No need to thank me, looking out for the younger siblings is my job. Even if they are as annoying as Azula. Now rest up Kiki. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."