(Author's Note at the end)

The moment was interrupted when Hawkey flew into their tree house. As always, he had bad news.

Hawkey is always sent by an Agent D., a friend and intermediary. They "met" before their first mission by coincidence. It was the start of ongoing missions for Azula and Sokka. He was a secret genius agent, finding out about anything going wrong in the capital.

Azula and Sokka wanted to meet Agent D. several times. But every time Agent D. cancelled because he has too many things to do and never came. Sokka was extremely disappointed at that.

"Somebody broke into the festival warehouse and stole all the lights for the evening"

Azula was holding the letter in her hand, with Sokka taking a look from behind. They didn't need to talk. Both of them knew what to do, so Azula ran to the palace to dress up into her armor and Sokka got into the house to dress into his.

They met in front of the warehouse.

"So, how did they get in here?" asked Sokka. They were sneaking into the warehouse, just in case someone was still in there "It's not like anyone has a key to one of the most important places in the capital"

"I'm not sure, but someone who is familiar with this place must have showed them how to get inside" Azula replied.

She felt Sokka's look behind her and turned her head to him. Indeed, he gave her a serious look and she knew what he was thinking.

"Sokka, we are not going to jump to conclusions without having any evidence"

"I'm just saying Azula! Who else could it be other than Kenai? He was the only stranger helping to prepare for the festivals!"

Azula huffed and kept walking slowly, with Sokka close behind her.

Honestly, she thought it could be Kenai too, but why? Why would he do that?

Sokka obviously didn't trust him. From the beginning he was jealous. Kenai was interested in her, that much was clear, for everyone could see it. But she wasn't.

These days she wondered if she would ever meet a man and fall in love. She imagined the guy she would love, would fall in love with her too. Years ago she had a crush on Chan once. Other than that, the only man in her life was Sokka. It always has been him, for he was her best friend.

But something was changing. Even if she was trying to stop her thoughts wandering to the possibility, something was changing, especially today. He was always protective and cared deeply for her, as she cared for him too.

But why was he hurt this time? Why was he giving her that look? Why was he scared? Was it just because he didn't trust him or because he thought their friendship would end? Or was it much more than that? She never liked assuming things, yet there where question marks inside her head. Was Sokka by any chance in...

A loud noise startled her out of her thoughts.

"What was that?" Sokka moved in front of Azula immediately.

She smiled at his protectiveness.

Sokka forgot the noise when he saw her giving him that soft look.

Since when did her smiles warmed his heart this much? Since when did the look of those beautiful eyes hurt him?

Azula's smile vanished and she looked away.

"Azula" Sokka started, but his sentence was interrupted when Azula looked surprised at someone and called a name he hated so much.

"Kenai?"

Kenai looked ashamed and said "I need to tell you guys something"

Sokka held back the urge to punch him. Why was he appearing out of nowhere in such a moment?

"All I want to say is, I am sorry" Kenai said.

He admitted that he and some friends tried to boycott the festivals. But when he met Azula and her friends, he changed his mind. He started liking the people here and the capital.

The soldiers and festival workers went to the place Kenai told them to bring back the lights.

The princess was thinking about what to do with Kenai now. He was clearly regretting it. What would their friends think about this action? They'd wait and see.

Everything seemed to fare well for the evening except the worry for the lights. Students of the Fire Nation Academy prepared a ball and that was what they needed the lights for.

Azula planned to go to the ball with her friends too. Many of them had dates with their partners. She hadn't... neither did Sokka.

She felt a hand pulling at her arm.

"Azula..." Sokka looked at her.

"Azula, you know how deeply I care for you. I always did since we met for the first time" he smiled sadly, remembering the best moment of his life.

Azula smiled too.

"I... I want you to know, that no matter what happens, I will always be there for you" he continued "I will use anything in my power to keep you happy and safe, to support you through all of your decisions as long as you really want it"

What was Azula supposed to say now?

"Because that's what a best friend should do right?" he continued saying and tightened his hand around her arm while closing his eyes.

"Even if..." he couldn't say that could he? Was it his rightful place to tell her, that it hurt him too much to imagine her with another man?

He felt Azula's hand grabbing his away from her arm and intertwined their fingers.

"Sokka" she said.

He opened his eyes and looked confused.

"It's been a long time since we last ate at 'Capital Nacho's' together" she said smiling.

Sokka looked surprised and started smiling too.

"But before we do that, we need to go somewhere else" she pulled at his hand, and he was even more confused now.

"Come with me" and they started running together.

The ball took place at the academy grounds. An amazing view, with romantic light shining through the darkness.

Everyone gathered there. Mai wondered if Azula and Sokka would come to the ball too.

Just as she thought about them the crowd let out a loud gasp.

Silence.

At first, she thought something bad happened. But then she saw what shocked the crowd when she looked at the entrance.

Azula, in a beautiful dress. Sokka in a nice suit.

Hand in hand and a light blush on their faces.

Mai smiled at that. Katara was shocked.

The silence finally broke when the crazy one of the group shouted:

"Yeah, finally!" Toph jumped out of her chair.

After her cheering, the whole crowd clapped and smiled at the new arrivals. Everyone secretly knew that someday this big friendship would turn into romance.

Momo pushed Azula and Sokka closer.

Sokka gathered more confidence and leaded Azula to the dance ground, where the crowd made space for them.

Her heart was beating faster than normal. She felt like everyone could hear it.

At the beginning they were shy and unsure while dancing, but after looking into each other's eyes, things felt easier.

Sokka put her hands onto his shoulders now and his own on her waist, pulling her a bit closer.

He could feel her scent.

Others at the ball started dancing too.

Sokka was sure: he fell in love with her. Not today, not yesterday and also not two weeks ago.

He has been in love with her for far longer than he realized. Azula tried to find out if this was what falling in love felt like. For it felt right.

Both of them didn't give enough credits to their feelings. Why? Because they've always been together, and believed they'd stay together forever. None of them thought the other would walk away from the other's life. And they didn't even want to imagine that possibility ever.

But they knew now. This was more than a friendship. This was true love.

Instinctively, both of them came even closer and closed their eyes slowly. The dance turned into a hug, the meaningful kiss sweetening their moment and gifting their souls with the best warmth ever.

They were officially Sokkla now.

A/N: I couldn't settle for a name for Wade, so he is Agent D. for now. Hopefully, when I work more on the original fic "Only You & Me", things will make more sense.

This is the immadiate continuation of my last entry from last year's Sokkla Saturday's and part of my newest fic "Only You & Me" KP AU, as you can find in my profile. Hope you enjoyed it.=))