Underneath Starlit Skies: Sokkla Saturdays 2021

by Seyary-Minamoto

In every world, under any circumstances, Azula and Sokka won't ever settle for being star-crossed lovers: they shall rearrange the stars themselves if that's what it takes to protect and bask in every bright future that awaits them. Collection of oneshot entries for the Sokkla Saturdays 2021 event.

2. Chapter 2: Meeting the in-laws

A/N:

This week's prompt is a direct sequel to my last year entry for the day 3 prompt of "Arranged Marriage." Feel free to reread it first before checking this one out, or read it for the first time, as the case may be!

And now, on with the main event!

---

The ship's gentle, swaying motions carried them back to the very island they had escaped from. Tension and uncertainties alike arose in Azula's heart upon glimpsing the silhouette of the Fire Nation Capital ahead… she swallowed hard, tapping the railing of the ship with her fingertip, the nail scraping the smooth wood.

She noticed footsteps behind her, but only turned her head slightly before confirming who they belonged to. A light redness crept over her cheeks as a smile spread over her face, inevitably: her future husband stepped up to stand beside her, placing a hand on her lower back as he released a deep sigh.

"The city's pretty beautiful, I can't deny that," he said, smiling at her. "You don't begrudge me for taking you away from this, or do you?"

"You? If I should resent anyone for it, it should be our families for setting us up to marry each other, as you already know," Azula returned the smile. "And I'm not quite sure that I do resent them for it anymore, although, well…"

"Although?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, nudging her gently. Azula grimaced as she glanced over the water.

Many ships traveled to and from the Capital on any given day, but at the moment, more of them were docking in rather than sailing away. So many guests, and surely countless lurkers, wanted to witness a royal wedding… people were traveling to the Fire Nation from all over the world. Her soon-to-be husband had proven a far more agreeable match than she had ever anticipated… the fuss, however, seemed poised to wreak havoc on her nerves. Marrying someone, in front of so many people, especially someone she did like…?

Yet her main concern, right now, wasn't the massive crowd, or the rumors and talk that her escapade with Sokka might result in. Instead, she raked the nearby ships with her gaze, failing to recognize any longboats like the one they currently rode on, or the royal ships of her family's private use…

"Aren't you a little worried about, well…?" Azula started, grimacing. Sokka sighed, already having suspected the path her thoughts had taken her to.

"Our respective mothers? Yeah, well… yeah," he admitted. Azula groaned, dropping her head against his shoulder.

"No idea what yours is like. Guess I'll find out soon enough, but mine…" Azula sighed, shaking her head. "Part of why I looked forward to running away and never coming back was the chance to flee from her."

"Did you really mean to never see your mom again…?" Sokka asked, softly. Azula shrugged.

"Maybe not never, but… not until she stopped hating me for disrupting her plans for me, at least," she said. "I guess, now that we did choose each other, I feel differently about things… but I'm not sure I'm ready to face her yet."

"Well… hopefully she's the type who likes to save face and act fancy in public," Sokka suggested, with a light smirk. "If so, as long as we're in public places, she won't be able to shout much at you, if that's what you're afraid of."

"Hmm… I'm not sure if afraid is the right word, but I'm certainly expecting to hear 'you disappoint me, young lady', or something along those lines," Azula said, faking a deeper, pompous voice upon imitating her mother. Sokka chuckled and shook his head. "Is yours less dangerous than that?"

"For sure. My mom was… well, almost on my side, I'd say," Sokka whispered. "She didn't think it made a lot of sense to force me into a marriage I didn't want, but she agreed to cooperating with this whole scheme as long as I was allowed to back down if I really didn't want to do it. I had the feeling your dad and my dad would end up getting their way, though… so I ran away anyhow. She might not be very happy I did that, but she shouldn't mind it much, since we're coming back together…"

"I'll have to hope you're right about that. I can't pretend I have a clue as to what I'll do to impress my in-laws, and it's more urgent for me to do so than for you to do the same thing, right?" Azula pointed out, glancing at him nonchalantly. "I'll be moving to the South Pole with you and your family, after all…"

"Well, yeah, I guess that's the plan," Sokka bit his lip. "Are you uncomfortable with it?"

"Not sure. Not really. No idea," Azula admitted, with a shrug. Sokka chuckled, and Azula's heart jolted pleasantly upon hearing him laugh.

"We'll live in a palace too, you know? Just, an ice one, but I promise it's not as cold as you probably think it will be…"

"You promised you'd do something about it, if it was," Azula said. Sokka chuckled: his arms encircled her waist, and Azula angled her head back so her lips would be a mere breath away from his. "Though you also said we could travel often, if the cold got to me…"

"And I stand by that. I know we've barely known each other for a few days, but… is it too forward of me to say I want to make sure you have the best of times throughout our marriage?"

"Hmm… depends on what, exactly, you mean by that," Azula taunted him, with a growing smirk. Sokka chuckled, and before he knew it, he had succumbed to the urge to join her in another bright, blissful kiss…

A kiss that was interrupted, just when it was heating up, by the sound of a clearing throat.

Azula flinched, recognizing her father's voice. Her cheeks were alight with a blush as she turned her face away from Sokka, who was newly bashful now, too. Before he could turn around and beg Prince Ozai not to fling him overboard for kissing his daughter without permission – a ridiculous notion, considering not only that he'd already done something far more damning than kissing her, but that they were meant to be married within a week, too – the laughter of Chief Hakoda drifted towards him, and Sokka could only grin awkwardly as his father stepped up first, throwing an arm around his son's shoulders.

"Romancing your soon-to-be-wife again, I see? Not bad at all, Sokka! Just… you know, don't do it too often when Ozai's around," he said, in a hushed voice, by Sokka's ear. His son grinned awkwardly but nodded.

"I wasn't really… well, we weren't quite trying to… uh, well, never mind," Sokka mumbled, shyly.

"Oh, don't be all coy with me, my boy! I'm happy for you two, I always knew you were the perfect match!" Hakoda declared, patting Azula's shoulder gently next. "I guess we should've had you two meeting at much younger age, maybe that way we wouldn't have had to arrange a marriage at all, and you would've chosen to marry each other anyway…"

"Or maybe we would have butted heads since we were children and decided we would never so much as consider marrying each other…" Azula said, with a taunting smile directed at Sokka, who scoffed dismissively.

"No way! Not unless that was just a cover for our obvious feelings for each other, and we would just keep acting like idiots because we thought our affections were unrequited…" Sokka rambled, dramatically: Hakoda laughed at Sokka's acting, and Azula smiled too as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction her father's voice had come from.

He and Hakoda had been at the other end of the longboat's deck, arguing about the logistics of the wedding, when she had stepped out of the cabin to watch as the Fire Nation mainland came closer. As much as she hoped she'd grow used to the Water Tribe, she certainly would miss her homeland, or so she expected… but maybe she'd miss her father, most of all. He had watched over her since her childhood, shielded her from many expectations, taken care of her even when he didn't need to – while there were servants and nannies available, Ozai had often wanted to take a personal role in looking after his daughter. From what little Ursa shared about the past, it seemed he hadn't always been this way… but finding Avatar Aang in his youth and becoming a main factor in helping the world change, alongside his friends from the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, had affected Ozai considerably, making him a much more affectionate man than he had been in his youth, if still reserved and difficult to approach.

His discomfort over her relationship with Sokka was amusing in its own way… but Azula's heart couldn't help but ache with uncertainty, as she wondered if she had let him down, to some degree, with her choices. Perhaps he had hoped for better from her… perhaps she had disappointed him. Or perhaps he would miss her too, every bit as much as she would miss him.

"Alright, then, alright…" Hakoda smiled, squeezing Azula's shoulder and bringing her back to reality. "If things go as planned when we set out to find you kids, your brother and my daughter should greet us at the port. I believe Katara will be in charge of escorting you both back to the Palace, and I think Ozai will go, too? Isn't that right, Ozai?"

The Prince had approached along with Hakoda once he had noticed his daughter and her future husband were, once again, far too cuddly for his tastes. His intent to make them uncomfortable would go nowhere, he suspected, but if he could avoid watching that boy sticking his tongue down his daughter's throat, he'd be all the happier for it. He hummed a positive response to Hakoda, staring at Sokka intently.

"Hakoda says Katara is the more responsible member of the family. All the better, if so: she shall keep you in check, Prince Sokka, while I do the same when it comes to Azula," he determined. Azula sighed but shrugged in defeat as Sokka grinned awkwardly.

"And Zuko will stay with Chief Hakoda?" Azula asked, puzzled.

"Yes, we will await the returning ship that was meant to carry your mothers to Fire Fountain City," Hakoda said, nodding sagely. "Prince Lu Ten and Bato ought to be returning too, we sent birds to everyone, so… as long as everything remains on course, the two of you shall meet all your in-laws by tonight!"

Azula offered Hakoda a tight-lipped grin in response: she wasn't sure why she felt so nervous about this prospect, though she was relieved to find Sokka shared her apprehension, and far more visibly, at that.

"You mean… even Fire Lord Iroh will be there?" Sokka asked, with an awkward smile.

"Oh, yeah. I know you'll think he's some daunting big bad guy, but he's not nearly as intimidating as his little brother," Hakoda smirked at Ozai, who scowled in his direction. "See?"

"I'm not sure that he won't be intimidating if he's upset because I, well… took off with his niece when I wasn't supposed to," Sokka pointed out, with a grimace. "In fact… I bet everyone's bound to think we're idiots."

"A risk you exposed yourself to from the beginning of your amusing scheme," Ozai blurted out, shamelessly. Sokka winced. "Had you thought twice of it, nobody would be judging either of you."

Azula sighed but nodded in agreement, as Sokka shrugged, lowering his head in surrender. Hakoda shot his best friend a meaningful glare, only for Ozai to respond to it with a dismissive shrug.

The longboat sailed smoothly through the waters of the bay, finally docking in a privileged, golden pier intended for the Royal Family's use. The busy port didn't help Azula's confidence much: being in the spotlight might not have been a problem if only she hadn't felt as though the entire nation would judge her for her completely ridiculous choice of eloping with the very man she was meant to marry. Her brother's judgmental and amused stare didn't help at all in those regards after she and Sokka disembarked, following Hakoda and Ozai.

"Ah, we made it, you two! It's all fixed now, all plans are back on track," Hakoda laughed, stepping up to clap Zuko's shoulder gently and hug Katara to his chest. The waterbender's attention, however, was set on her brother, who smiled awkwardly as he waved at her.

"You're… you seriously couldn't have done anything more stupid!" Katara roared, pulling out of Hakoda's arms and stomping up to her brother. "Sokka, you dumbass, you…! Were you seriously trying to get away from all this?! You know how much work went into all this planning and everything that…!"

"Now, now, Katara, you don't have to be so harsh…" Hakoda started, but Ozai huffed.

"By all means, let her. You were right to say she's the more reasonable of the four of them, so far," Ozai declared. Zuko, meanwhile, smiled at the chagrin on his sister's face.

"No need to be so upset, Azula: I'm the one staying behind with his judgmental comments after the wedding's done, not you," he said, stepping up to her. Azula scoffed in his direction. "Why so defensive now?"

"Why else? You're never in such a good mood. Clearly, you just want to poke fun at me," Azula said, with a dry grin. Zuko smirked and shrugged.

"Can you blame me? You've spent all our lives being the perfect daughter, and now you're breaking out of that mold in the flashiest way you could think of…"

"Hey, now…" Sokka said, stepping up to wrap an arm around Azula's shoulders: Zuko's brow drew together, surprised by the unexpected closeness between the two. "What's the big problem if she runs off with her future husband? I can't see how she's any less perfect for that. If she'd been running away with someone else, now, that would be a worrisome thing…"

"Or if you had," Azula pointed out, with an awkward grin. Sokka nodded solemnly.

"Can you even imagine?"

"Perish the thought!" Azula responded dramatically to Sokka's own exaggerated antics. Before them, Katara and Zuko seemed utterly clueless over what they were witnessing.

"Uh… wow. Okay, then. My condolences, Princess Katara, seeing as you'll have to endure this sort of stuff in your home for much longer than I will…" Zuko said, with a courteous smile at Katara that she couldn't seem to reciprocate.

"You two… just a minute, now. You two ran away, together?" she asked, eyes wide. "You… what?! Why?! That doesn't make any sense…!"

"Isn't it perfect?" Hakoda smiled, clapping both Katara and Zuko's shoulders gently. "Who'd have thought your siblings were so well-suited for each other!"

"Not me… but he does have a look about him that suggests he's as crazy as she is," Zuko admitted, staring at Sokka pointedly. The Water Tribe Prince grinned madly, squeezing Azula against himself: she wasn't entirely sure why she let him do so, but she didn't protest against the gesture anyway.

"Well, then… we're not about to stay in this pier forever, are we?" Ozai said, pointedly. "Princess Katara, Prince Sokka, Princess Azula… off we go."

"Zuko and I will wait for the others here, promised thing!" Hakoda said, smiling brightly as Ozai led the way to the carriages that awaited them.

Katara didn't move right away: her gaze settled on Azula now, and the firebender felt weighed and measured by her sister-in-law. She wanted to return the favor, she really did… but her position, right against Sokka's flank, surely lent Katara every right to be utterly judgmental.

"You seriously ran off with Sokka, then? You didn't run on your own, and our dads found you each in a different place, somehow…?"

"Uh, no," Sokka answered, as Azula shook her head.

"We happened to be reckless enough to flee at the same time, not knowing we were becoming co-conspirators when we were, in a manner of speaking, running away from each other," Azula said, with a dry smile. "I know this isn't the best first-impression, but…"

"Well, it doesn't have to be. You're marrying Sokka, not me, so whatever first-impressions we have don't really matter," Katara pointed out, with a weak smile. "Still… I hope you guys won't do anything like this again. Seriously, mom was so worried, Sokka, and… and your mom was, well…"

"About to set the whole nation on fire over my great choices? Heh. I can imagine." Azula grinned dryly. Katara shrugged.

"In her defense, she was very gracious when she retired after hearing the news and found a room in which she, uh, may have screamed into every pillow until your dad went to soothe her," Katara explained, as the three of them started on their way down the pier. Azula grimaced, and Sokka squeezed her shoulder gently. "But, hey, she'll be happy enough to know you two get along so well now. What's there to protest over if you're both apparently perfect for each other?"

Sokka smiled warmly at Azula, who returned the gesture a lot more shyly. Katara caught them from the corner of her eyes, and she smiled subtly, too. However furious she was at Sokka, she had mainly been distraught over how difficult it would be to live with a chaotic, forced marriage where both sides were utterly disgusted with each other. A firebender would struggle adapting to life in the South Pole already, and it would only be worse if she had to cope with a bad marriage, too… but it seemed, if anything, that in running away, they had started off with the right foot. If anything, Katara worried now about wholly different things: just how happy were those two, truly? Was her father right to say they'd be perfect together? Would she become an aunt far faster than she anticipated she might? It was entirely possible that she would…

Ozai scowled from his seat as the other three climbed on the carriage quickly: his hand darted to catch Azula's, pulling her to sit by his side, ensuring that Sokka would share his seat with his sister instead. The Water Tribe Prince smiled awkwardly but accepted the Fire Nation Prince's conditions, hoping to avert his gaze from the firebender throughout the whole trip. Meanwhile, Azula shrank in her spot beside Ozai, shooting occasional glances in his direction.

"When… when you said Uncle Iroh was up in arms about this, what did you mean, exactly?" she asked, softly, once the carriage was already in motion. "Did he blame you for this, or…?"

"I may have… exaggerated matters, slightly," Ozai confessed. Azula's eyes narrowed. "It seemed the right thing to say, at the time."

"Because that way you could punish me further for disrupting all your plans for my future?" Azula asked, pointedly. Ozai shrugged.

"I had the feeling you would show no remorse otherwise. Though you showed none anyways. It makes no matter in the end: he seemed irritated that the strengthened alliance with the Water Tribe might not come to pass, but he had other things to focus on regardless. I'm in no trouble, not beyond wondering if I may have made a terrible mistake by listening to Hakoda. Which, as it happens, is a mistake I've made countless times, over and over, for as long as I've known him."

"Well, Dad speaks really highly of you," Katara said, with a good-mannered smile. "He kept telling Sokka he would have a great father-in-law, and I bet Sokka can see as much already! Right, Sokka?"

Katara's words, whether truthful or not, seemed to open a dangerous door: Sokka grimaced, trying to smile at Ozai, but failing to do so. The truth was, he could certainly appreciate that the man cared about his daughter, but his relationship with Prince Ozai, he feared, would never be entirely positive. Cordiality was, in all likelihood, the best he could ever aspire to.

"I would be surprised if that's so. Surely he must have given you a list of conversational topics to bring up just to annoy me," Ozai said, bitterly. Despite herself, Azula smiled as Sokka shook his head eagerly.

"He didn't, if that makes you feel any better," Sokka said, grinning weakly. "Look, I know we acted out, but… I think we'll be good now. Right, Azula?"

"Well, as long as they don't come up with any ideas more twisted than the ones they already have, I believe so," Azula nodded. Ozai raised an eyebrow, judgmentally, and Azula smiled in his direction.

"As it is, you'll be joining the Water Tribe upon marrying this boy. You'd best grow used to changes and learn how to adapt quickly. Otherwise, you may not be prepared for the challenges that loom ahead of you, Azula."

"Well, we'll do our best to make things easier for her," Katara reassured Ozai, though he only grunted softly in response.

"I'll do my best, Father," Azula said, nodding in his direction.

"In a sense, I'd like to ask you to honor the Fire Nation once you're gone, and to ensure to garner their utmost respect…" Ozai said, glancing out of the window. "And yet, when I consider it will be Hakoda handling whatever mischief comes to your mind, instead of me, I wonder if I should be encouraging you instead…"

Sokka laughed awkwardly, and Katara grimaced as she weighed the Prince's words with uncertainty. While she had heard Hakoda talk about Ozai in a teasing manner, it never had occurred to her that he might have a kindred spirit, in a way, in the legendary firebender who had helped end the war. It seemed theirs was a friendship cemented in shared experiences and relentless teasing of each other, as far as she could tell.

Azula eyed her father intently too, surprised by his nonchalance. He had seemed quite furious when he had found them in Ember Island, and he certainly had said some things that had brought her to fear she had disappointed him, for the first time ever… yet now she found that, perhaps, he wasn't quite that disappointed after all. Her father, it seemed, was resigned… maybe he didn't want her to go at all, even if he had been convinced that it would be necessary and better for everyone. Maybe he wanted to be upset simply to hide the loneliness he'd feel when his youngest child was gone…

Azula swallowed hard, letting her gaze travel out the window too. She would miss her father for sure… she would miss her nation, too. She had never been that outgoing, and she certainly hadn't experienced the city's more casual days the way many other people did. Right now, for instance, the Capital of the Fire Nation was in the throes of celebration over her impending nuptials. Where she might have been displeased about it a few days ago, finding it ridiculous and distasteful that they would celebrate her union with a total stranger, today she caught sight of their enthusiasm and she realized there were many remarkable experiences she had missed on, so far. Maybe, she reasoned, what she'd miss the most would be the chances she'd wasted throughout the years she had been here. She'd do better, hopefully, once she lived in the Water Tribe… something told her Sokka wasn't the type who would sit out in occasions of revelry, to name one thing. He had presented himself as a man of action, and if he truly was one, she would be sure to have an eventful life by his side, once they were properly married… it was an exciting enough thought, now that she truly had a relationship with her future husband. Even so, being torn away from the only world she'd ever known wouldn't be easy for the Princess.

The Royal Palace welcomed them once their carriage finally wheeled into its premises: Katara appeared delighted with the magnificent building, though Sokka found it eerie, befitting the old rule of Fire Lord Azulon, rather than that of his son. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself – the Seventy-Five Years' War had left behind a complicated legacy already, but the Fire Nation was well on its way to making amends for the harm it had caused all across the world. Even if he hadn't witnessed those days directly, his father's stories and many books had painted a vivid enough picture of the darkness that had enveloped the world until Avatar Aang had reappeared.

Ozai ensured they followed him through the Palace's corridors. Sokka watched his surroundings with interest as Katara politely asked Ozai a few questions regarding the ornate vases that she found so quaint, or the embellishing paintings that decorated the walls. Distracted as he was by the waterbender's chatter, he couldn't realize the young couple behind him walked hand-in-hand.

"Is… your Palace back home anything like this?" Azula asked, almost shyly. Sokka blinked blankly but shook his head.

"I mean, it is a pretty big place, but it's a lot brighter than this. Doesn't have that strange, ominous feeling that… u-uh, not trying to say it isn't cool, Azula, it's just…"

"Oh, it was designed for that purpose. Don't sugarcoat matters just to appeal to me," Azula smirked, and Sokka chuckled at her honesty. "Then I take it your Palace wasn't designed to scare anyone away?"

"No, I don't think so. But it is pretty beautiful, I think…" Sokka said, biting his lip. "Though, well, if you want to redecorate it and make it more intimidating, I'll support you through it, for sure…!"

"What a dutiful husband you'll be, if so," Azula smiled, squeezing his hand gently: Sokka's cheeks flushed with delight, dazed by the prospect of soon calling her his wife, too.

They had to let go of each other quickly, though, once they reached Sokka's intended room: he smiled awkwardly at Ozai, who leveled him with a pointed glare.

"You two will behave yourselves now. No more strange escapades. Like I said earlier… it won't be within my power to stop you from doing anything foolish once you're husband and wife," Ozai said, raising a finger as he eyed both Azula and Sokka meaningfully. "But until then, you will do as you're told and not cause unnecessary trouble. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Father," Azula said, dutifully, as Sokka nodded promptly. Katara eyed them both with a crooked eyebrow as Ozai sighed, hands on his hips.

"Wait in your respective rooms until your mothers arrive, if you would," he said.

"Will you go back to the port to fetch them, or…?" Azula asked. Ozai shook his head.

"No… I will go take a nap," Ozai said, bluntly: she hadn't noticed the light bags under her father's eyes, a most unbecoming feature that certainly didn't seem suit the man who typically groomed himself to perfection on a daily basis. "Your amusing escapade cost me a few hours of rest. Send for me once your mother arrives, Azula."

"Yes, Father," Azula nodded, bowing her head respectfully in Ozai's direction.

He walked away without another word, leaving the three young adults to watch him go. Once he was out of earshot, however, Katara turned a suspicious gaze to her brother and his fiancée.

"Not that it's any of my business… but this story of your little attempt to flee from the wedding only gets weirder and weirder by the minute," she said, eyeing them skeptically. Sokka grinned awkwardly. "I don't know what that warning was about, but…"

"You have nothing to worry about," Azula said, with a smile that Sokka found suspicious immediately. "I'll do as my father said and go to my room. In truth, we could use more sleep, too."

"Yeah… won't be very nice for us to look tired at our own wedding ceremony, heh," Sokka smiled. Azula grinned back at him and nodded before glancing at Katara.

"You know the way to your room from here?"

"Oh, yeah. I had a chance to settle in yesterday, before I found out about, well, all this," Katara answered, with a shrug. Azula nodded.

"In that case… I'll see you both later, I suppose," she whispered: her gaze lingered on Sokka's for a moment, and she offered him a quick, earnest smile before walking away.

Sokka could only watch her, enthralled and entranced, a slow smile spreading over his face too. Oh, she was beautiful. He didn't want her to go anywhere, not at all, but her dark hair flowed elegantly in the wind as she walked away, too…

"Ehem. Still there, big brother?"

"Woah! Uh, yeah. I'm… yeah," Sokka swallowed hard, blushing as Katara eyed him skeptically. She huffed, shaking her head.

"I don't think I dislike her, just so you know. I expected much, much worse. I was ready to hate her on your behalf, even?" she said, with a shrug. "But you… you seem to be completely smitten, so I guess I have no reason to despise her anymore, do I?"

"U-uh, well, um… you don't, no," Sokka said, with a nervous grin. Katara's eyes narrowed.

"Sokka? What happened while you two were on the run, exactly…?"

"What? Uh, heh! You know what? I just realized I haven't bathed at all since I took off! I smell of ship cellar, haha! What'd you know! I'll be off to my room now, yep, bye!"

"Sokka! Are you serious?! You literally just met her…!"

"And I was going to marry her even before I met her, so what's the big deal?" he said, smiling far more earnestly as he pushed the door open and entered his room. Katara smiled disapprovingly, arms folded over her chest as he grinned back at her.

"You two are either the worst combination ever, or the best one. Guess I'll only know for sure once we're in the South Pole…" she determined, smiling as she took off, down the corridor.

Sokka sighed as he closed his bedroom's door. A giddy feeling seemed to bound and twirl inside his gut at the thought of returning to the South Pole as a married man. They would have a second ceremony there, of course… but the first one would happen in the Fire Nation as a manner of courtesy towards Princess Azula, as she would be the one relocating to a new nation after their wedding. Perhaps Sokka shouldn't be so eager to think about the great days that should await them by the time they returned to the Water Tribe… perhaps he was being stupid, idealizing Azula beyond reason because they had hit it off wonderfully over the past few days. Maybe she'd have weird habits, or worse yet, maybe she'd find his habits weird and decide he was a completely unforgivable husband for that. He should ground himself, stop being so foolish and giddy and needy and…

Oh, but he really liked her. She had been thrilling from the very first moment, and getting to see her, to know her better, this time as their real selves, only spurred his excitement further. He wanted to understand her… and he hoped she'd want the same with him, too. It was a true miracle that their parents had the sense to suggest a marriage alliance through the two of them… had Hakoda chosen to have Katara marrying Zuko, or even the much older Prince Lu Ten, instead of Sokka and Azula, he would have likely fallen in love with the Princess anyway upon first meeting her, and then they would have had to elope for real…

He chuckled, guessing he ought to appreciate that reality had turned out as it had. He marched into his room's bathroom, delighted by the sophistication of the facilities – he made a mental note to ask Prince Ozai, or even Fire Lord Iroh, to let him know who was responsible for the shower system. Implementing something like that in the South Pole might be tricky, but he hoped it could be done…

He took a proper shower, rinsing off the filth of days on the road, and he felt much more refreshed upon getting out, tying a towel around his waist, meaning to return to the bedroom to find a spare set of clothes…

He yelped upon opening the bathroom door to find he wasn't alone anymore.

Azula stood in the center of his room, and she had her back to him again, though in this case, it seemed it was a deliberate, conscious choice. Her shoulders shook softly, as her hands settled on her hips.

"I'm only facing the wall because I don't think I should be quite so bold as to walk in on you wearing nothing, which, going by your little squeal, might just be the case…"

"Well, I… I have a towel around my waist? But hey, weren't you supposed to wait in your room? Weren't we both supposed to behave ourselves now…?" Sokka asked: on one hand, he wanted no trouble with Fire Lord Ozai. On the other one, though… oh, he did want to be alone with Azula for a few hours, perhaps for whole days if he could do so. He had so much he wanted to talk about with her, so many questions to ask… and then there were many things they could do that required no words, too. His throat ran dry when that thought materialized in his mind.

"We were, but… I didn't really want to," Azula admitted, with a careless shrug: by the tone of her voice, he could tell she was smiling. "Would you rather I left?"

"No! I mean… well, only if you want to, of course. Which I guess you don't, or you wouldn't be here in the first place," Sokka smiled a little. "Just, uh… wait while I dress up again. I guess you can break your father's rules only to a fault, right…?"

"Heh, well, I wasn't planning on pouncing on you as soon as I could, if you were worried about that," Azula responded. Sokka snickered.

"Worried? Looking forward to it, is more like it…"

She bit back a smile that still slipped past the corners of her mouth. She heard as Sokka rummaged through his bags, as the rustling sound of fabrics indicated he was getting dressed. She waited patiently until he cleared his throat, nervous.

"You can turn around now. No need to be scared of my very manly body anymore," he said, smirking. Azula huffed, turning indeed as she smirked at him.

"Scared? Enthralled is more like it," she admitted shamelessly, and Sokka grinned at her words.

Her enthrallment became even more apparent now that his hair wasn't tied up anymore. No matter if his wolf's tail suited him perfectly, the way those deep brown locks framed his face gave her pause immediately, and her heart picked up speed at the sight of him this way, no matter if he was dressed again, in far more elegant clothes than the ones he'd worn before.

"Well, uh… I figure you had a reason to visit me so suddenly?" Sokka asked, smiling a little as he stepped closer to Azula. "Is it to warn me about your mother again, or…?"

"No, well… I guess I could prepare you better for facing her, if need be," Azula admitted. "But I just… I wanted to ask if your father ever seemed, uh, a particularly smart man to you."

"What? Well, sure! Why do you ask? Did your dad say he wasn't smart?" Sokka pouted, and Azula shook her head.

"That's not it, and well, clearly our fathers will badmouth each other in one breath and defend each other to death with the next one," Azula said, with a shrug. "Theirs seems to be that kind of friendship. But I mean… my father is acting strangely. It's just… hard to believe he'd be so mellow about all of this, considering I could have been running off with a total stranger who could have proven to be a lot less agreeable than you…"

"Oh? So… wait, are you wondering if maybe my dad pulled the strings behind our escape, somehow?" Sokka asked, puzzled. Azula shrugged.

"I can't imagine mine coming up with a scheme like this one, but… I don't know about yours," she admitted. Sokka hummed, tapping his chin with a finger.

"To be honest… he could have. He might have," Sokka admitted, biting his lip. "You think maybe he always meant for us to try to get away together…?"

"At least, to a degree," Azula said. "Maybe they wanted to give us a chance to meet for ourselves and see… well, what they had already suspected could come from a relationship between us?"

"Huh. Well, I'll say it was a good plan, if that's really what it was," Sokka pointed out, with a growing smile. "We weren't aware of it at all, and even if they led us to each other, it's not like we were pressured to make the choices we made. In fact… your dad seems pretty pissed that we went that far after knowing each other for a very short time, heh."

"He does, but if it bothers him, he shouldn't have agreed to letting me marry someone at all," Azula smirked. "What, exactly, would he have expected would happen between a husband and a wife, anyway?"

"As far as I can tell, he's just always going to see you as his kid, so maybe that makes things harder for him," Sokka smiled sympathetically. "But yeah, I do think my dad could have come up with this. Does it change anything for you, though, if that's the case? Because, well… I don't think it does for me. I still like you… way more than I ever meant to like you."

"So do I. Way more than I ever meant to," Azula agreed, grinning. "I just wanted to run the idea by you, anyway. Wasn't sure if you'd be happy about it or not, but to be frank, I had no idea how to react to this possibility anyway. If we're that predictable for our parents… well, it's our own fault, I suppose, isn't it?"

"One way to look at it, I guess," Sokka smiled. "I do wish we'd had a chance to do things the right way, though. Your parents were arranged to marry too, weren't they?"

"They were," Azula admitted, nodding. "Though it definitely seems they fell in love at some point throughout the end of the war, long before they married properly."

"Well, then, that means they ought to understand this feeling anyway," Sokka smiled, reaching out to take Azula's hand gently. "I suppose we can have everything we've missed out on after the wedding, like going out on dates in places a lot less uncomfortable than the cellar of a cargo ship, for instance…"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Azula mirrored his expression as Sokka chuckled. "Though… well, if you think about it, we still have a little less than a week ahead. Don't you think, maybe…?"

"Maybe what?"

"We could try doing it, to a fault? Dating, I mean… like other people do," Azula shrugged. Sokka's eyes widened at her suggestion.

"Uh… wow. How?" he asked, puzzled. "I'd be all for it if it's possible, but… isn't your dad going to be mad if we try doing anything other than staying in our rooms and reflecting on our misdeeds, or whatever he wanted us to do…?"

"Well, he did say he was going to take a nap until our mothers returned, right?" Azula said, a devious spark glinting in her eyes. Sokka's reluctance and caution went up in flames at the sight of such a delightfully wicked expression on his future wife's face. "As long as we come back here before he wakes up again, we should be safe enough…"

"You sure…?" Sokka said, with a playful, growing smile. "Won't we be playing a very dangerous game if we do this…?"

"Now, now, are you really scared of your father-in-law?" Azula smirked, stepping up to Sokka, hands falling over his strong arms. Sokka gulped, cheeks aflame again as he wanted nothing but to kiss her until they were breathless. "Not like you'll have to see much of him after this week ends anyway. By then… well, you'll have me to yourself, as far as I can tell."

"I will, won't I?" Sokka smiled, dazed. "Goodness. I… I can't believe I actually look forward to this. How did this go from the worst idea ever to the best one in a matter of days, Azula?"

"Beats me, but I find it perfectly agreeable, don't you?" Azula asked, teasingly. Sokka chuckled, pulling her in by wrapping his arms around her waist again.

"Alright, then. We'll be careful… maybe we can hide our identities, to a fault?" he suggested. "And we could go check out that festival, right? The one we rode past on our way here?"

"They're celebrating our upcoming nuptials, if you must know…" Azula explained, smirking. "Which makes me wonder… shouldn't we be there to celebrate with them, just as well?"

"A very good question for sure," Sokka grinned. "I can think of a good answer for it, myself."

"So can I," Azula replied: she leaned closer, and Sokka did the same.

Their lips met in the middle, in a delightful, enjoyable exchange that only seemed to be the appetizer for the countless kisses they would exchange in the future… even the countless kisses they meant to exchange throughout the rest of that day. It had become so easy, so natural to do this… if they disguised themselves properly, they would be able to do it too, as many times as they cared to, through their second date, since their initial escape counted for the first one, it seemed…

They exchanged a teasing smile, a genuine laugh once their kiss ended: they had much to prepare for, many stalls and presentations to see, and they would do best to get started with them soon, if they didn't want Ozai to catch them doing anything out of bounds until it was already done…

---

Zuko heaved out a sigh as he watched Lu Ten's carriage vanishing in the harbor's many busy streets. He had known his cousin and Bato, Chief Hakoda's right-hand-man had taken off a few hours after the first two ships – those carrying either of his parents – had set sail. Yet he couldn't help but be astonished, even now, over the remarkable speed and versatility of the Water Tribe longboats, as opposed to his nation's more mechanic means of travel: he had genuinely expected his mother to arrive well before his cousin did, and yet the opposite thing had happened, instead.

"Well, they shouldn't be long now, Prince Zuko," Hakoda said, with a reassuring smile and a few claps on the young man's shoulder. "There's some incoming Fire Nation ships there, right? Surely Ursa and Kya are in one of them."

"Yeah, I can't tell yet from this distance, but I hope so," Zuko nodded. "I'm impressed by your people's ships, though. Guess it wouldn't take Azula too long to come visit, if she ever wants to…"

"You'll miss your sister, won't you?" asked Hakoda. Zuko smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe. But don't tell her I said that, though. It'll go up to her head," he said, with amusement. Hakoda laughed, clapping his shoulder again.

"Oh, siblings and their clashes…" he said, shaking his head. "I never had any siblings, myself, but Sokka and Katara are much like that, too. They'd protect each other fiercely against anyone that tries to harm them… but two seconds later they'll be at each other's throats over whatever ridiculous reason you can think of. Uncanny relationships, I'd say… kind of like mine and your father's, come to think of it! But as long as you still care about each other, you can butt heads all you like, I say."

"Seems about right," Zuko smiled: he focused on the scenery again, though, and his eyes brightened upon recognizing the prow of an incoming ship. "Oh, I think that's them!"

"Ah, finally!" Hakoda grinned, patting Zuko's shoulder again as they stepped deeper into the pier.

After around ten minutes, the ship had docked safely: Zuko smiled brightly, waiting for Ursa to disembark, but the first regal woman to do so wasn't his mother.

"Oh, you waited for me!" exclaimed Kya, in a dramatic voice, when her eyes locked on Hakoda's, just as the sailors were setting up the ramp for her to disembark. The Water Tribe's Chief spread his arms in a gesture as dramatic as his wife's words, and Zuko watched their strange exchange with increasing confusion and amusement alike.

"I swore I would! For as long as we were apart, you would never leave my mind, not for a second!" Hakoda responded, and Kya gasped as she placed a hand over her chest.

"Oh, my brave, handsome Chief…!"

"And my beautiful, powerful Chieftainess, returned to me at last, after… two days!"

"And what long two days they were!" she continued, before finally sprinting down the ramp in a hurry.

Zuko stepped back instinctively, still surprised and amused by the playful demeanor of the Water Tribe couple: Kya raced as fast as she could, leaping into Hakoda's arms, and he spun her in circles, hoisting her up as he laughed in blissful delight.

"Ah, I do want to joke around, but it's true that I did miss you too much," Hakoda admitted, between laughter, burying his face in Kya's shoulder. She laughed too, her arms wrapped around Hakoda's neck.

"Well, now I'm back and you don't have to miss me, dear. Finally, this wild, mad ordeal is over," she declared, with a bright smile. Hakoda pulled back, finally setting her down, beaming just as proudly at her. "And…?"

"And I'm pretty sure he fell in love with her at first sight," Hakoda answered, at which Kya snorted and laughed harder yet.

"Oh, unbelievable!" she pressed her face to Hakoda's chest, chuckling powerfully as he laughed with her. "I was ready to defend that boy from his father's wicked schemes, I was…! But I guess there's no need for it now, is there?"

"Fortunately, it seems so," Hakoda answered.

The sounds of new, certain footsteps upon the ramp caused Hakoda and Kya to step back, instinctively: Kya's traveling companion stepped down the ramp too, and this time Zuko moved closer, grinning at his mother.

"Mother…" Zuko was delighted to find that, while she seemed exhausted, Ursa still had the strength to offer him a smile of her own as she embraced her son gently.

"Ah, there you are, Zuko. Thank you for receiving us," she said, squeezing him tightly before pulling away. "And thank you as well, Chief Hakoda. Though I do wonder if I should thank you at all… Kya has implied all of this may have been your doing?"

"U-uh, well… eh, maybe so," Hakoda acknowledged, with an awkward grin. He kept one arm around Kya's waist, though he was inevitably nervous under Ursa's scrutiny: handling Ozai was one thing, but Ursa somehow had an even more regal atmosphere to herself than her husband did, despite he was the one born to royal blood.

"Your doing?" Zuko repeated, puzzled, as he pulled out of his mother's embrace to stare at Hakoda. "I thought… didn't they run away? Did you send them away together?"

"Oh, not quite. I directed them, you could say, set the stage so that they'd find allies in each other, realize how much common ground they might have, all that," Hakoda explained, with a shrug. "Then things did get slightly out of hand, true… but I'm fairly certain they're getting along better than anticipated by now."

"Well, it's good news if your son fell for my daughter on first sight, if true," Ursa said, evidencing she'd been able to hear their conversation even when she had been aboard the ship, still. "But do you have any idea if my daughter feels the same way?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure she likes him more than she wanted to," Zuko blurted out, surprising Ursa. "He hugged her when they disembarked, right in front of me, and yeah, maybe she was self-conscious about it, but she didn't seem uncomfortable. They joked around kind of like… like you two did, just now."

Hakoda and Kya exchanged a cheerful, complicit grin when Zuko gestured at them. If the young couple resembled them at all, there was no doubt to be had that their future would be full of happiness, perhaps beyond what either of the two future spouses could imagine.

"Are you certain of this, then? Isn't it some sort of second ploy to escape from their responsibilities and the arrangement of their marriage?" Ursa asked, with a weary sigh. "I know I may sound paranoid, but when it comes to Azula… I just can't ever let my guard down. She outsmarts me even if I don't let it down at all… it's worse yet if I take things for granted."

"Uh, well… I suppose you'll see for yourself just how well-matched they are, once we get a move on," Hakoda suggested, with a shy smile. Telling Ursa that her daughter had spent two nights with his son, and that Ozai already had strong suspicions regarding what had happened between them, wouldn't be a good idea. Perhaps it would be best for Ursa to learn the truth after she saw the surprisingly strong bond between their respective children… that is, if she learned of it at all.

"Ah, you're right, of course," Ursa said, nodding positively: another regal carriage awaited them, and Zuko guided his mother towards it gently. "We shall not waste any more time. We must go to the Palace, at once. Though, Chief Hakoda, if you could catch us up regarding how you found them, I would certainly appreciate it."

"Oh… sure," Hakoda grinned, though the expression on his face soured once Ursa and Zuko took off down the pier, leaving him behind with an amused Kya.

"You're keeping something to yourself, my dear… aren't you?" she asked, with a sing-song voice. He grimaced.

"Well, let's just say… if anything, Princess Ursa might just be cross upon discovering her daughter likes our son a little too much, if anything?" Hakoda said. Kya raised her eyebrows.

"He's not the only one infatuated, then?" she asked, amused.

"Ozai probably has a massive migraine after catching them kissing far more times than his heart was prepared to witness," Hakoda admitted, and Kya giggled as she covered her mouth with a hand. "Like I said… they like each other. Maybe more than I expected them to. I thought it would take them some time to warm up to one another, but… damn. At this point it seems this wedding will be a guaranteed success."

"I certainly hope so," Kya smiled, taking Hakoda's arm as he led her down the pier, to the carriage Ursa was already climbing onto. "With any luck, we have already seen the most chaotic moments leading up to this wedding, and we'll have nothing but smooth sailing in the days ahead…"

Hakoda nodded in agreement, pressing a quick kiss to Kya's head. Yes, he wanted to believe she was right… though now, when the sun was setting, the streets would be a pandemonium all on their own, even if the kids behaved themselves. Had Crown Prince Lu Ten and Bato even made it through the thickening crowds, upon heading to the Palace shortly before they did…?

---

"Wow, I can barely believe we made it past the gates," Lu Ten laughed, casting a glance at the Palace walls once he and the Water Tribe Chief's advisor climbed off their carriage. "I had no idea people were this wild over royal weddings…"

"I suppose you must have been far too busy with preparations for your own to see the celebrations?" Bato asked. Lu Ten shrugged, turning towards him.

"More like sulking in my room because I didn't want to do it?" he answered, with a weak grin. "Ah, well, that's not important anyway. I'll go check on Azula, hopefully she's already come to terms with having to marry your Prince… though, knowing her, she might just be furious that she couldn't outrun her father."

"I suspect Prince Sokka may feel similarly… but as much as that may worry me, I'll be retiring to my own rooms for now," Bato sighed. Lu Ten offered him a sympathetic smile.

"You're a very skilled sailor, if I'm allowed to say so," he said. "Thank you for your hard work at captaining our ship, even if it turned out the trip was for nothing, after all…"

"Thank you for accompanying me," Bato said, smiling reassuringly. "I'll see you by dinner, I expect."

Lu Ten nodded, and Bato walked away. The Crown Prince glanced at the wild crowds outside the Palace walls anew, a slow smile spreading over his face as he listened to the music that drifted through the air, at the scent of fried food and spices, the laughter and cheering voices… perhaps that these occasions brought such joy to their people should be a silver lining to be found in the unpleasantness of being forced to marry someone you didn't love, or someone you didn't know at all.

"If only we were allowed to have fun with them, though, the silver lining would be all the better," he reasoned, pouting a little as he marched into the Palace. "Bet Dad would agree with me…"

Fire Lord Iroh faced an uphill battle in his tenure at the head of the Fire Nation: while he had to implement change, he couldn't do so as freely and easily as he would have liked. The end of the war had been chaotic for their people, and even now, Fire Lord Iroh struggled, at times, with setting apart right and wrong upon choosing what course to follow. A very careful, delicate balance had to be kept in order to maintain peace between all nations, and within the Fire Nation itself… and so, Lu Ten had seldom asked him to subvert expectations, or to fight back against tradition, even in small and simple ways. Doing so could indeed break that balance… so it would be up to Lu Ten to take advantage of his father's hard work, one day, to build a stronger balance while letting go of countless outdated precepts, such as marriage arrangement, that might just do more harm than good, in the long run.

He hoped that wouldn't be the case this time, considering the marriage in question symbolized a step forward in the direction of peace and growth… even if it came at the cost of his cousin's happiness. He wasn't sure he could condone the stomping of Azula's will, even if he feared he had no choice but to accept it, in the end…

He breathed out slowly upon reaching his cousin's room: he knocked gently before calling for her.

"Azula? It's me, I'm back now," he said, biting his lip. "I know you're bound to be really upset about how things turned out, but… if you want to talk, I'm here. Believe me, I know how you must be feeling…"

"Ah! Prince Lu Ten?"

A voice he'd only grown acquainted with only recently cut across his words. Lu Ten turned quickly to find Princess Katara was approaching him down the corridor, her blue eyes glinting with hope. He raised an eyebrow at the unexpected expression on the young woman's face.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. Katara slowed down upon reaching him, breathing heavily after having raced across the Palace corridors in a hurry.

"She's… she's there, right?" she asked him, with a weak smile. "Princess Azula, I mean. She's in her room, right?"

"Uh… I suppose?" Lu Ten said, frowning as he glanced at the door again. "I was talking to her, but… she didn't answer, actually."

"She… didn't?" Katara repeated, and her hopefulness suddenly shifted into dread. Lu Ten grimaced.

"Is your brother missing again, by any chance?" he asked, an awkward smile on his face. Katara's own, joyful grin had faded into a frown instead… and then a snarl.

"Those… those two! Ugh! I don't understand anything! I thought they were getting along! Was it all an act?! I…! I don't get it. Oh, I don't get it, and if Prince Ozai finds out they ran away again…!"

"Okay, okay, just a moment now… maybe she's just napping! Maybe Prince Sokka is just eating in the kitchens…!"

"I checked there first. Nothing."

"Huh. Damn. Okay, well, I'll check my cousin's room first, anyhow," Lu Ten smiled awkwardly.

He'd never open the door without permission, under any other circumstances… but if Azula was in trouble again, it wouldn't be good news for anyone. So, he turned the doorknob, pushed the door inside, and called her anew…

"Azula? You in there, little dragon?" he asked, his voice high-pitched in his nervousness…

He spoke to nothingness, however. In a matter of instants, it was plain and clear that the room was deserted.

"Oh, shit," he gave up quickly, rushing inside the room as Katara vociferated all sorts of curses in the corridor.

He checked the bathroom, the adjacent dining room, the closet… and he found nothing. She was nowhere around: his cousin, clever and devious, had escaped from her wedding, yet again.

"Okay… okay. Let's take it easy, alright…?" Lu Ten told Katara, biting his lip. "We'll go find them. It won't be easy, especially today… the people are a little enthusiastic about their celebrations. But we'll track them down before my uncle wakes up again, alright?"

"I'm going to be sick" Katara grimaced, shaking her head before nodding quickly in Lu Ten's direction "Yes, please. The sooner we track them down, the better. Ugh, why does he have to be such an idiot…?!"

Lu Ten smiled awkwardly, guessing this wouldn't be the best way to bond with the girl who would likely become his in-law within the next week. Yet the situation was urgent and complicated, and… well, maybe there was a part of him that wanted Azula to get away with it, to run away again now that her father had neglected to keep an eye on her. Maybe letting her do this wouldn't be that terrible, all around…

Maybe he could even help her with her grand escape, if he took Katara on a likely goose chase that would yield next to no results, if it yielded any at all.

"She must have taken advantage of how busy the streets are right now, actually," Lu Ten reasoned. "They both must have thought about that. It won't make it easy to find them… but I think it's our best bet, Princess Katara."

"Then lead the way. If we track them down quickly, we can put this mess to rest and make sure they DON'T do anything stupid ever again," Katara huffed. Lu Ten smiled and nodded.

"Alright, then! Follow me!"

The older prince guided his new acquaintance through the Palace's corridors skillfully: Katara still cursed under her breath as they ran, but Lu Ten's eyes gleamed with hope. Surely his cousin had a much bigger, better plan in mind than anything he could anticipate…

---

The colorful sights across the city took the two young adults by surprise as they entered the main streets of the Capital: Azula had cleverly devised a perfect route through which they escaped the Palace, avoiding all detection so far. Hand-in-hand with Sokka, the pair had marched casually through the streets, clad in servant uniforms at first – then, Azula had guided Sokka into a nearby clothing store, and they had changed into less suspicious attire before their date began properly.

"There's so many people, damn…" Sokka laughed, glancing around himself in amazement: it was dusk already, and the bright lanterns only seemed to enhance the beauty of the scenery before them.

"Too many, maybe," Azula said, inching closer to Sokka so she could avoid a pair of boys, rushing around, playing at chasing each other and disregarding the people they'd bump into in the thick crowd.

"If you really think so, the Water Tribe should sit well with you. It's definitely not this crowded," Sokka said. Azula smiled fondly at his words.

"Sounds about right for me, then," she whispered. Much like a lot of things about the Water Tribe seemed just about right for her… especially the man whose hand she held, still.

"Do you want to do anything in particular, or should we just look around?" Sokka asked. "I figure you'd know what the best sorts of games would be, or the best foods…"

"Well, hypothetically, I should, but… as you may be able to imagine, princesses aren't exactly allowed to partake in the fun of commoners," Azula said, with a dry grin. Sokka scoffed.

"For real? That's nonsense. What's the point of being a royal if you can't have fun whenever you want to?" he huffed. "I mean, I've been away from home for long periods, true… but I remember playing with all the kids of my tribe without caring if they were royal or commoners. Would've meant I would be stuck with my sister alone, otherwise… and that would have been a mess, for sure. She already lacks patience to deal with me on any given day, worse yet if I happened to be the only person our age she could meet…"

"Heh, well, guess that explains to you why Zuko and I don't get along so well," Azula smiled a little. "Though… I do get along with cousin Lu Ten. The Crown Prince, I mean…"

"I've only seen him a few times," Sokka said, intrigued: the Crown Prince was the direct heir to his father, much as Sokka was the direct heir of Hakoda. If Azula got along with him, Sokka suspected his own opinion of the older prince would be favorable too. "Hmm, come to think of it, you and I get along, too. Looks like you'll always have good relationships with heirs to thrones…"

"Huh," Azula scoffed, looking at him skeptically. "That makes me sound like some sort of gold-digger, purposefully building bonds between myself and those with the most power…"

"What? Hey, now, I didn't mean it like that!" Sokka flinched. "I mean, if you were a gold-digger, you'd definitely be better off staying here! Me and my family, sure, we are royals, but I bet you guys have at least twice as much money as we do…"

"That so? Then are you the gold-digger, for marrying me?" Azula asked, with a growing smirk. Sokka's jaw dropped.

"Did you just take offense only to… to turn that offense around right back at me?" Sokka asked, eyes wide "Why, you… you clever, devious lady, Princess Azula…"

"You had your perfect chance to make fun of me for being a gold-digger too, not my fault you didn't take it," Azula chuckled, her previous, feigned outrage well and truly gone by now. Sokka smirked slightly, bumping her hip with his own.

"I see how it is, then. Next time I see a chance to make fun of you, I'm taking it. You've been warned," he said. Azula snickered.

"Good. Now we're on the same page, for sure," she smiled, squeezing his hand and dropping her head gently on his shoulder.

It wouldn't be easy to poke fun of the young woman by his side, Sokka reasoned, for his heart raced whenever she came any closer to him, and he wanted to do nothing but hold her, right then and there… but they were supposed to be on a date. They would have chances on top of chances to cuddle and hold each other in the future, if he was lucky… for now, they were meant to enjoy this festival properly. Thus, he did his best to focus on their packed surroundings… until his attention was caught, not by anything within sight, but by the odor of a delicious, meat-based dish he couldn't pinpoint immediately.

"Wow, that smells amazing…" he said, eyes wide.

"Guess you've been in the Fire Nation for a while, but you haven't had your fill of Fire Nation food yet?" Azula asked. Sokka shook his head rapidly.

"You guys have amazing stuff here. I'm going to make my dad import lots of Fire Nation food once we go back home, I vow it," Sokka declared, and Azula laughed at his very agreeable decision. "Now, though… can we go find out where that scent's coming from?"

"It might be tricky to narrow it down… but something tells me you wouldn't be opposed to trying out every single food stall in this festival," Azula smiled. Sokka grinned wildly.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked. Azula shrugged.

"Not originally, but if you mean to make it one…" she said, smirking. Sokka snickered, and he ferried Azula towards the nearest food stall, at once.

She had brought plenty of money for their escapade, perhaps more than necessary, yet now Sokka was determined to taste every possible kind of traditional Fire Nation food in existence, and she would be happy to fulfill his wishes. They saw as much of the festival as they could, trying out each dish, enjoying the various, intense flavors that left Sokka dazed more often than not. It seemed to him that the Fire Nation cuisine was devoid of all understanding of moderation, always seeking to draw out the very best out of each dish, as well as each drink they tried out. They wandered across more than just food stalls: they watched a few games, participated in others, laughed at the results, and carried on basking in the best the Fire Nation could offer in that festival. Sokka's smile warmed as he held Azula against his chest while they watched a firebending display together, enjoying the show as well as the accompanying music, a fast-paced rhythmic tune that played on par with the illusionist's work.

"Guess you're going to miss all this, huh?" he asked, softly. Azula snorted, glancing at him with amusement.

"I'd miss it all the more if I'd actually experienced it more often than I actually have. It's the first time I've seen all this, like I already told you…"

"I know, I just thought… well, it is your people," he said, softly. Azula hummed, closing her eyes as she let her head rest gently against his shoulder. "And this is the only world you know."

"It is… but I think I'd like to know more about what extends beyond this archipelago," Azula admitted: his arms held her from behind, and she clung to his embrace blissfully. "Might be I will miss it more than I imagine, but for now… for now I'm willing to broaden my horizons. Ready for you to broaden them for me, even."

"You sure?" Sokka asked with a playful smile. Azula smiled back, pecking his lips quickly.

"No idea why you're even asking, when you already have done exactly that," she whispered: his warm smile sent the most delightfully fuzzy sensations through her own system too.

To think that now she wanted this wedding to be finalized solely so she could get to know Sokka properly, thoroughly, taking her time just as he took his to understand each other perfectly… how things had taken such a turn so quickly, she had no idea, but Azula certainly thanked her luck profusely upon finding her future husband would prove to be an ideal match for her, just when she had dreaded the exact opposite thing…

"And now, for my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!"

The voice of the firebending illusionist broke the tender moment shared by the young couple. Both Azula and Sokka glanced at the man with sharp features and long dark hair: he scoured the audience with his gaze, ignoring most the people who jumped and cheered, raising their hands as high as they could in hopes of catching his attention.

"Is he really that good a firebender?" Sokka asked, amused. "I can't say I know a lot of firebenders, myself… though I guess I do now that I'm going to be part of your family, huh?"

"You do. You're holding one now, as you may have been told," Azula teased him. Sokka grinned brightly. "This is entertainment, though. Firebending in this sort of situation is safe, perhaps even too tame and simple, I'd say…"

"You'd do much better, then?" Sokka asked, amused. Azula smirked and shrugged.

"Guess I'll show you one day, it's probably a crime that I haven't given you even the slightest firebending demonstra-…"

"Aha! You there, young lady! Care to join me onstage?"

Sokka tensed up, and Azula turned her head towards the performer once more: indeed, the man's eyes were set on her. She had to hold back the urge to laugh as she responded:

"Oh, I don't think you want me to…"

"Don't be shy! Come on, come on up! You'll be safe and sound, you'll see!"

Sokka grimaced, but Azula no longer contained her amusement. She glanced back at Sokka, smirking slightly.

"Guess I'll give you that firebending demonstration a little earlier than expected, huh?"

"Azula…" he called for her, biting his lip. She smiled fondly at him, patting his chest before climbing onto the stage, among cheers and clapping.

Couldn't anyone recognize her? Was it perhaps so dark already that her features weren't so easily discerned by the audienceonce she climbed onstage? Or was it most these people didn't know what their Princess looked like, to begin with? Sokka was mystified upon pondering as much. He gazed around himself, puzzled, hoping nobody would be able to recognize her indeed… otherwise, word about her presence in the festival might reach the Palace, and then Prince Ozai would have even more reasons to be cross with them. The less attention they garnered, the better… and yet the idea of witnessing Azula's firebending prowess was undeniably appealing. Oh, was he a fool for looking forward to this…?

"This next trick is called 'taming the dragon', and this young lady shall be the captured princess." the man explained, leading Azula to a chair and fastening a fabric around her body, tying her to the backrest. "I've done this thousands of times, all throughout the festivals in the Fire Nation and beyond! So, rest assured, I can handle the heat!"

He roared the last words, and right afterwards, the fire burning in the four tall torches that lined his stage flowed out of their containers, joining together to form, indeed, what appeared to be a wingless, fire-based dragon. It was the performer's best trick, and it caused countless people to watch, amazed and dazed, as the dragon danced elegantly in the air. Even the carriage that currently attempted to find its path to the Palace was privy to the extraordinary sight, and Zuko raised an eyebrow as he watched it intently.

"That looks pretty neat, eh?" Hakoda smiled at him: the woman by Zuko's side, however, wasn't in the mood to be impressed by firebending.

"Goodness, there's far too many people. We won't make any more progress, at this rate!" Ursa exclaimed, frustrated. Kya smiled sadly, reaching out to clasp her friend's hand, across their seats.

"There, there. Maybe we should forsake the carriage and go on foot…"

"On foot?" Ursa repeated, surprised by the rather simple and natural conclusion Kya had reached. The Water Tribe woman shrugged, offering her a casual smile. "Well, that… that could be somewhat troubling. It is a lot of people anyway, so…"

"You needn't worry, Zuko and I can ensure nobody squishes you and Kya," Hakoda smiled.

"Oh… oh, if you're all sure, then I suppose it may be for the best…" Ursa said, glancing at her fellow passengers with uncertainty.

Before she knew it, she had joined the masses in the middle of the road, after night had fallen. The Palace loomed ahead, not that far away at all, and that firebending display stood at a short distance from its gates. They made their way through the thick crowds, hoping to reach the doors… when a speck of blue fire, blazing brightly in the night, caught Ursa's attention.

"What was…?" she blurted out, freezing on the spot, just as Zuko shielded her from the oncoming hordes of people.

"Mother? What is it?" Zuko asked.

He recognized the glacial expression on Ursa's face immediately: something was wrong. And in all likelihood, it had something to do with Azula.

"Zuko…?" she said, raising her hand towards the firebending demonstration. Her son turned around, just as the Water Tribe's chief and his wife stopped beside them. "Am I seeing things… or is that blue fire?"

In the center of that stage, a young woman in casual robes had burned effortlessly through the fabric that had contained her in her chair: now, to the absolute shock of her audience, she had wrestled the dragon out of the firebending illusionist's control, and she twirled it in an incredible, impeccable display of skill that saw even the showman gawking in utter amazement. Enthralled, Sokka's voice was the loudest among the cheers, and he clapped and hooted while watching the elegant, extraordinary motions of his future wife. Her control over firebending was uncanny, and Sokka could only admire her further for it…

After several twirls, after even better developing the dragon's shape and features, Azula finally had her fill: she cast the dragon into the sky with a powerful blast and, when it was overcharged with firebending, the dragon seemed to explode. Confetti rained upon the stage and its public: people cheered even louder now, as she bowed in the most pompous way possible while nodding graciously at the shocked illusionist, as though thanking him for the opportunity he had offered her, without his awareness. The man had fallen to his knees, slack-jawed, and he couldn't say anything at all as Azula climbed down the stage and rushed into Sokka's waiting arms.

"Hell, you didn't tell me your fire was blue! Wow! That was… wow!" he exclaimed, as she laughed with delightful abandon. "Girl, you're incredible!"

"Am I, really?" she laughed, pleased by his positive reaction. He grinned wildly and nodded.

"That was beautiful. You're beautiful," he determined, beaming as he leaned down to kiss her willfully.

Azula relented, wrapping her arms around his neck as she laughed into their kiss: she had always taken pride in her bending, but knowing Sokka had been dazzled by her ability, by the power she could wield… it sent shivers of the best kind down her spine, and she swayed in his arms as the sounds of music nearby instensified. It was a drumming rhythm, one with which she felt an overpowering need to join Sokka in a dance… for he was already starting to shift at its beat. Their kiss only broke so they could surrender to that new, unexpected urge, laughing again as they twirled together underneath a sky dotted with countless stars, as their feet moved rapidly together. Even if the illusionist remained dazzled – as did many people around them, who had only heard occasional rumors of the Princess's uncanny firebending abilities and couldn't quite be sure if this girl was, indeed, the Princess herself –, the music had continued… and some people even joined in on the dancing, thrilled by the invigorating firebending trick they'd witnessed moments ago.

And so, they danced, and laughed, and spun in circles before winding up completely wrapped around each other again: Prince Sokka and Princess Azula, devoted to each other completely, were once again caught in a kiss as impassioned and powerful as the bending Azula had shown moments ago, as the flavors of each meal they'd tasted… as the remarkable spirit of the Fire Nation, which Sokka matched perfectly with no shortage of passion and strength of his own. In that moment, whatever doubts Azula could have felt faded to the background: this was what she wanted. This was the future she would choose, even if she had a thousand choices ahead. This man, his willful affection, his relentless passion for her…

It was probably too soon to think she might love him, but the thought came to mind, all the same.

He was smiling brightly when they parted, dizzy after the excitement over Azula's hijacking of the illusionist's performance and after the long, fulfilling kisses they had exchanged…

Then his smile faded quickly, and the beautiful brown of his skin paled suddenly when his eyes rose above Azula's head.

Even before turning around, Azula's stomach sank at the not-so-agreeable expression on her lover's face. Had her father caught them, by any chance? Had his nap ended so soon, and her display of blue firebending had drawn him to their position easily? Or would it be anything worse, such as Fire Lord Iroh himself, determining she had shamed their family with her behavior, or…?

None of the possibilities that crossed her mind could have prepared her for the sheer panic she felt upon turning around and finding that the most daunting adult figure in her life was the one standing behind her, with a flabbergasted Zuko by her side, as well as Sokka's apparently approving parents, a few steps behind them.

Yet the steel glare of Ursa's eyes bore into her daughter with such power the Princess almost staggered into Sokka's arms. Frozen where they both stood, they dreaded they had just gotten themselves into a worse sort of trouble than the one they'd stirred up when they ran away at first…

---

The Palace room seemed to be moments away from becoming the perfect setting for a monumental catastrophe: the arguing voices flinging responsibility left and right –predominantly pinning it on both the frequently escaping prince and princess – could probably be heard even past the walls of the Palace, where the festival continued to rage and increase in excitement and intensity. How Azula wished she could be there now, rather than here… Sokka's hand slipped into hers, and she watched the gesture with hopelessness as she held her head up with her other hand.

They sat together on one couch, silently awaiting judgment as everyone discussed the happenings with changing spirits so far. Lu Ten and Katara had returned to the Palace just when things had seemed to be about to calm down, and then their voices had joined the others, too.

Yet what worried Azula the most was Ursa's uncharacteristic silence. Ozai couldn't seem to stop blaming Hakoda, at which Kya frequently intervened to scold Ozai promptly, and Lu Ten and Katara were more and more confused at every turn. Zuko attempted to explain and, from his words, Azula managed to gleam that her earlier suspicions had been accurate: their parents had engineered things to give her and Sokka a chance to escape, initially… or, rather, Hakoda had, with Kya and Ozai's knowledge. Ursa had been kept out of it, and it seemed the only thing that could get Ozai to stop growling at Hakoda was realizing his wife would surely turn her rage on him for neglecting to explain the situation to her, despite having known what was going on all along.

"So… okay. They ran away together, and just now they weren't running away but just… having fun?" Lu Ten tried to recap, glancing at the two culprits with uncertainty. "And you two don't hate each other after all and aren't against getting married, in the end?"

"Well… no. Not anymore, we're not…" Sokka mumbled quietly, speaking for the first time in what felt like hours.

"Oh, please… and now you'll hold hands and act all civil and proper, you two?" Ozai scoffed, his eyebrow twitching persistently. "I already had warned you: you could do whatever you pleased after this wedding had been finished and your choices were no longer a potential danger for either of our nations! And yet you still acted out, like fools, and ran amok in that festival when you said you would stay put…!"

"If it's any help, we did intend to go back to the Palace afterwards, but… come on. What's the point of them holding that sort of big fun festival if the very people they're honoring won't even get to be part of it?" Sokka blurted out, unthinking. He only regretted the words when Ozai's twitching appeared to worsen, and yet…

"Hey, now. He has the right idea, actually," Lu Ten said, with an agreeable nod: Ozai shot him a disbelieving glare. "What? I thought so too, you know? If I'd had a chance to go out and have fun the way our people did, maybe my wedding wouldn't have felt like such a drag. If these two had the guts to do it when I didn't, well, all the more power to them, I say."

"All the more power? Really? As it is, I'd sooner say they should be stripped of all power altogether after these sorts of stunts," Ozai scowled. "Hakoda should pass over his son and make his daughter his heir…"

"Well, great, because that's what you wanted to do with yours and make Azula the heir, meaning, you'd be stuck with Azula and Sokka here while I…!" Hakoda pointed out, with a vicious smirk that garnered Ozai's horrified fury once again.

"That's not what I…! Hakoda!"

"You wanted to WHAT?!" Zuko exclaimed, eyes wide: Ozai winced and eyed his son warily. "Really, then? You were just going to pass me over…why, exactly?"

"I wasn't going to…! I never said I'd…! Hakoda, I'm going to murder you!"

"The thousandth time you say those words and it hasn't happened once. Your track record of believability sure leaves much to be desired, Prince Ozai…" Hakoda said, playfully, as Ozai raised a fist, coated with fire he couldn't seem to suppress…

"Ozai."

The whole room fell silent, immediately, when Ursa's voice rang in it.

She sat opposite to Azula and Sokka, though at a fair distance from the two. Everyone else remained on their feet, though Kya stood behind Ursa, a placating hand on the Princess Consort's shoulder. The thunderous rage in her eyes earlier had seemed to recede, somehow… and yet Azula only found that even more terrifying than before, just as Ozai did.

"Ursa, I know I failed you, I should have done better," Ozai said, gritting his teeth as he bowed his head in her direction. "From this point on, I'll ensure the two of them are watched, day in and day out, until the wedding ceremo-…"

"No need for that. We are all adults here," Ursa said, so coldly Ozai felt as though he'd frozen over under her dismissive words. "As far as I can tell, all your arguing and bickering will get us nowhere."

"I… I'm sorry," Ozai said, bowing his head even lower yet.

Ursa held complete control of the atmosphere in the room right now, and it seemed she had chosen to make it as oppressive as possible. She scrutinized both Azula and Sokka intently, but where the soon-to-be-married couple felt the urge to cower from her glare at first, they soon responded to it with earnest stares, instead.

"I suppose it is my turn to try and reason with this situation," Ursa said, crossing her legs elegantly. "You… ran off, upon finding a golden opportunity to do so. Upon escaping, you bumped into each other right when the final carriage, or what you believed was the final one, arrived at the carriage stop. You traveled together to the port, and in the process, you forged an alliance to help each other run away… while unaware of each other's identities?"

"We… had our suspicions, since our situation was so similar," Sokka admitted, and Azula nodded. "But we pretended to be different people anyway, yes."

"Then, you stowed away on a ship, without knowing where it would take you? And by sheer chance, it wound up in Ember Island?"

"They stopped a few times before reaching Ember Island, but that was where it docked when the sailors found us," Azula confirmed.

"And so, the two of you were later found in our family's villa in Ember Island on the second morning since your escape, by Chief Hakoda and my own husband…" Ursa said, with a dry smile. "By then, you had bonded so strongly across two days as to change your mind about your upcoming nuptials and no longer wished to run away… and when you seemed to have fled the Palace once more, it was only for the sake of enjoying yourselves in the commoners' festival?"

The two of them nodded again. Ursa breathed deeply and released the air in a very slow manner. While that form of breathing suggested she was relaxing, Azula knew better than to assume as much blindly… as did everyone in the room, it seemed. Even Zuko, ever in Ursa's good graces, seemed nervous of his mother's reaction next…

"Just to clarify, then… you two no longer have any objections to this marriage?" Ursa asked. Sokka swallowed hard and shook his head.

"After getting to know Azula… I don't think I could ever object to it again," he said. "Had you guys just brought us together without any plans to arrange us in marriage, I probably would have fallen for her on first sight anyway and whisked her away to elope with me, if she wanted me too…"

"And I would have wanted you to," Azula said, squeezing his hand gently. Sokka smiled fondly at her as Azula turned to her mother, her heart drumming in her chest. "I… I know I've said things. I know I protested, and I found it unfair that you wanted me to marry someone I barely knew… I still think I deserved the chance to choose, as did he. But even if we had no idea Chief Hakoda had set things up for us to escape as we did… even then, we did choose each other, in our own way, when we thought we were escaping together to freedom. It's still, I guess, not the best way to go about this… the same result could have been achieved, like Sokka said, without arranging our marriage at all, as far as I can tell. But even if I'd have liked to have known Sokka better, and for longer than I have so far, I… I accept your work to arrange our marriage now. And… I apologize, too, for the trouble we caused. If it's any good saying as much anymore…"

"You… apologize?" Ursa repeated. Azula's eyebrow twitched, much like her father's did. "Now that's new… here I thought you were proud of your choices. Of having escaped, since it meant rebellion against a system you don't believe in, of having determined this young man is worthy of you by your own standards, rather than by abiding by what's expected of you…"

"I… I'm not sorry for any of that," Azula huffed. "But I am sorry for causing that much trouble anyway. Granted, I did want to cause trouble, in a vindictive sort of way, when I first ran away, but… that wasn't our intent today. We really meant to go back to the Palace before anyone important realized we'd escaped…"

"Anyone important, meaning… not me?" Katara asked, with a dry grin. Azula grimaced.

"Well, I did hope, if you or Lu Ten or even Zuko realized we were gone, you'd have tried to find us without alerting anyone else…" Azula pointed out, at which Sokka chimed in.

"Which is exactly what you did, so she wasn't wrong to expect that," Sokka raised his head, as good as proud of Azula. His pride seemed to freeze once Ursa raised an eyebrow judgmentally in his direction. "W-well, for the record… I'm sorry we caused trouble this time, too. But, uh, we'll… try to behave ourselves. From this point onwards."

"You won't try: you'll succeed," Ozai growled, glaring at Sokka. "No more reckless escapades of any nature. Both of you will be kept under watch for the next few days until…"

"Oh, please. I already said you don't need to exaggerate like this, Ozai, really."

Both Azula and Sokka froze in place when Ursa waved a dismissive hand in Ozai's direction. Again, the woman had effortlessly directed everyone's attention to herself, commanding such authority her regal husband fell silent immediately.

"E… Exaggerate?" Azula repeated, staring at Ursa with unease. "Is this the part where you blow me away by… by deciding I didn't do anything unforgivable, despite I thought this would be the very last straw for you, or are you about to say you have even worse plans in mind than what Father just said…?"

The smile that spread over Ursa's face almost made Azula's heart stop… the laughter that tumbled from her lips seemed poised to do so, just as well. Her mother… laughing? That couldn't be right. That couldn't be happening. Surely, she was moments away from saying she was disowned and disgraced, and this marriage wouldn't be happening at all because Azula was no longer part of the family after her many misdemeanors…

"Oh, you are impossible, child," Ursa chuckled, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "How have you managed to weave a net of mischief so intricate and complicated that, once it comes down to it, it seems you've done nothing wrong at all?"

"I… what?" Azula blinked blankly. Ursa sighed, gazing between the two young adults before her.

"I wanted you to accept this marriage. I believed Hakoda when he said you two might be a good match. I pressed Ozai to accept the arrangement," Ursa recited, raising her eyebrows. "Then, of course, you retaliated and rebelled. And yet now… you're not simply agreeing to marry this young man out of a sense of responsibility and duty, but it seems you actually have developed affection for each other. Perhaps you are much too reckless, but if I really think about it… why should anyone be upset when you're not only doing what we wanted you to do, but doing it out of your own volition and convictions, too?"

"T-then you're… you're not angry?" Azula gasped: her whole world seemed to fall apart and, just so, rebuild itself upon hearing her mother's unusually sensible words. This had to be a joke of some sort, it just had to be…

But Ursa's smile had seldom been so warm in her direction before. She wasn't disappointed, she was… she was pleased with this outcome. Maybe she was proud of her, even.

"Now then, this being said… do make sure to notify the Palace staff if you decide to go gallivanting in the festival again," Ursa said, raising a hand pointedly. "At the very least, take a few guards with you…"

"But…! It's not appropriate for a Princess to partake in that sort of revelry," Ozai interrupted, and Ursa eyed him skeptically. "The festival is for the commoners, she should be…"

"She should be preparing to marry her husband, yes. As far as I can tell, they're simply going about it in a different way than most of us did," Ursa finished, startling Ozai. "Is it untraditional? As were all your actions during the war, as is the very notion of arranging a marriage between a Princess of our lineage and a Prince of a foreign nation. Maybe I'm simply too tired to be up in arms about this anymore, Ozai, dear… but I see no point in arguing or fighting about who's to blame over what, or what's the appropriate way to do anything, when we're finally getting the outcome we were in pursuit of all along."

"Besides… Water Tribe people aren't that uptight about mingling with commoners," Azula chimed in, startling Ozai. "Sokka told me so. Therefore… if I'm to prepare for living my life in the South Pole, perhaps this is a proper way to do so."

"A good point," Kya said, smiling fondly at her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "And that they keep escaping together can only be a good thing, right? Not to mention they appear to be perfectly happy with each other, too."

"Perfectly…? Ugh," Ozai scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. Ursa rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting the feeling the biggest protestor to this whole scheme is actually you, Ozai. If you didn't want your daughter to marry your best friend's son, you should have refused the match in the first place."

"Wouldn't have mattered much, though. The minute we'd met, even if under other circumstances…" Sokka said, grinning at Azula, who smiled warmly, if bashfully, in his direction.

"I didn't…! I'm not…! Oh, curse you all…" he scoffed, marching to the door in a clear sign of surrender. Ursa raised her eyebrows with a proud smirk, letting her husband march off without making the slightest move to stop him.

"I'll handle him later, never mind your father, Azula," Ursa said. Her daughter eyed her with uncertainty, and Ursa smiled with unusual fondness at her. "Maybe you're right to say we should have gone about it differently, child… but if you are truly happy, then I can take some form of relief in knowing I didn't make a terrible mistake by approving of this engagement, altogether."

"Hell, you're damn lucky all around, Azula," Lu Ten laughed, hands on his hips. "My wife would never want to escape into the city festivals with me, not even if I begged her to. All I can hope for is that we'll learn to live with each other… while you two seem to be pretty damn happy already and you've only known each other for three days, now?"

"We really are lucky, if you think about it that way…" Sokka said, smiling at Azula. She bit her lip and shrugged.

"Guess it's not that bad, letting others have a say upon which path we should follow," she said. "Though, admittedly, if you guys suggest anything that sounds really stupid, we're not doing it."

"Yeah, we're not doing it," Sokka snickered in agreement. Azula smiled in complicity, and Ursa sighed, though she smiled too.

"You may wish to make us regret this match by tormenting the rest of us in whatever ways you may think of but, just so you know…" she said, rising to her feet. "As long as you're both happy, any consequences that might befall the rest of us will just have to be dealt with when the time comes."

Her words, and her surprisingly agreeable reactions, had taken Azula by surprise completely. She raised her gaze towards her mother, an unusual burst of gratitude blooming inside her heart…

A noisy sound of stumbling footsteps outside the room revealed that Ozai had just returned, and a most unbecoming scowl graced his face. The reason for it, of course, stepped through the threshold moments later, with a grin so joyful it seemed to glisten just as brightly as the five-pronged crown on his head.

"Then it is done?! There will be a wedding?!" Fire Lord Iroh exclaimed, with a ferocious smile across his face.

"Yes, Fire Lord Iroh. We will have a wedding, as agreed upon by the bride and groom," Ursa said, turning to her own brother-in-law as Iroh cackled, stepping inside the room and making his way towards Sokka.

"Magnificent! Oh, I can't wait for the party…!"

"Of course you can't…" Azula grumbled under her breath, as Iroh shook Sokka's hand most excitedly, causing his arm to wobble awkwardly in the process.

"Have you met all of your in-laws yet, young man?! I'm Iroh, the bride's uncle! Also the Fire Lord, but that's secondary here, isn't it?"

"Right," Sokka smiled awkwardly, as Iroh yanked him to his feet, forcefully.

"And this is my son, Lu Ten! Your, uh, cousin-in-law! Lu Ten, welcome the young man to our family!"

"You're seriously introducing him to a lot of people who have been in this room with him for hours, now?" Azula asked, skeptical, as Iroh huffed in her direction.

"Come on, now, Princess Azula! You should introduce yourself to your own new in-laws, too!"

Azula buried her face in her hand as the Fire Lord's jolly mood shifted the tide of the arguments and agreements alike. Before anyone knew it, the room was alight with laughter, much as the festivals outside had been… and as much as it was quite ridiculous, in Azula's opinion, to get proper introductions at such a late stage, she eventually succumbed to it, and just as her family welcomed Sokka – albeit most begrudgingly, in Ozai's case –, his own welcomed Azula as well. When Kya embraced her warmly, and Ursa did the same with Sokka, the eyes of the two future spouses met again, and they shared a complicit smile: their worlds, their lives, had suddenly grown much larger when they had collided together… and now they were ready to face all the changes, grow together and learn everything they needed to, in order to become the best lifelong partners they could hope to be for each other.