Chapter 7: Winter

The morning after is bittersweet. Hakoda cooks her breakfast, which accompanies the obligatory "where do we go from here" talk, where they ultimately decide it would probably best for everyone if they cut off all romantic ties and went back to being friends and colleagues. It would be selfish for them to start some sort of relationship. Too many people would object, and it isn't worth potentially upsetting people, namely Katara and Sokka. This decision is mostly brought on by Hakoda, but Azula does not disagree. Especially during a time when she wants to redeem herself in the eyes of the world, she does not want to stir the pot. Not to mention that her stay in the Southern Water Tribe is temporary and she'll soon be heading back to the Fire Nation. She also isn't sure she even wants a boyfriend. She mostly just wants someone to keep her company, and if that means having Hakoda as a friend, she'll gladly take it.

At least she'll always carry the memory of sleeping in late and waking up in Hakoda's arms. That's something that will help her get through the Water Tribe winter. It eases her sleep come nighttime, getting to imagine being held by Hakoda. His warmth, his scent. She'd be foolish not to acknowledge having feelings for him, but to what extent she feels for him exactly…? She doesn't know. She's never felt like this about anyone before. The lack of experience just leaves her confused.

As for his feelings for her, she is fairly confident he holds a soft spot for her in his heart. He does care for her, he has said as much, and that is enough for her. Exchanging flirty smiles with him at work in the office… that's just the thing that gets her through her day. And even though they'd already spent a night together, she can't deny the lingering tension between them. She can't possibly be imagining that. She can feel it burning in his eyes when he looks at her. His gaze never fails to bring a blush to her cheeks.

Since she and Hakoda have deliberately cut back on seeing each other outside of work, and Suki has returned to the Fire Nation, Azula finds more time to resume her friend dates with Sokka. Yes, everything appears to have gone back to normal, but appearances aren't always as they seem. Hanging out with Sokka knowing full well what she did with Hakoda adds a new layer of thrill to their interactions, like she could slip at any time with this juicy secret of hers. Of course, she'll never tell him. She's always been good at keeping secrets after all. Not to mention that she can't afford to risk her friendship with him.

Keeping the secret has also done wonders for the times she is forced to interact with Katara. Having this over Katara, even if she is blissfully unaware, is simply delicious. Anytime Katara tries to instigate something, Azula can calmly back away from a confrontation with a smile on her face, just repeating "I slept with your dad" in her head. Azula's lack of will to fight seems to annoy Katara even more, as if Katara isn't getting under her skin at all or perhaps Azula has finally become the more mature of the two. If there's one thing Azula loves, it's getting to come off as being the bigger person even when she knows she isn't. Just thinking about it brings a smile to her face.

The sound of a notebook slamming shut snaps Azula out of daydreaming and back to the present. She realizes she hadn't been paying much attention at all. This has been one of the most boring, pedantic meetings she's attended. She looks over at Hakoda who seems equally relieved they can finally end their long workday. They leave the conference room and head back to the office to collect their belongings.

"Well," Azula sighs, "that's an hour of our lives we'll never get back."

Hakoda laughs. "Tell me about it. I thought they'd never stop talking."

"Too many men with highly inflated egos all talking over each other is a recipe for ineffectiveness. Their lack of organization was astounding. If I were in charge, we could have had that meeting in all of ten minutes."

"I believe it."

Hakoda files into the office after Azula. She hears a click on the door after he closes it behind him. It seems he's locked it.

She looks at him puzzled. "What are you doing?"

"It's late… everyone's gone home."

She's not following. "Yes, and…?"

"And…" He looks down for a second and then back up at her. "I can't stop thinking about you."

Her stomach drops. She doesn't know how to react. After everything they talked about, how can he just spring this on her like this?! Of course, she can't stop thinking about him either…

"What do you expect me to do with this information exactly?" She sounds angrier than she is.

"I don't know." He shakes his head. "What do you want to do?"

"What do you want?" she questions, crossing her arms.

"Well…" He chuckles, smirking slightly.

"Out with it." She narrows her eyes.

"What I really want is to fuck you right here on your desk."

Her heart stops in her chest. Her breathing hitches. Her lips part but nothing eloquent comes out. "I… w-well… I…" Well at least she managed to get a few more words out than Hakoda had when she paid her late-night visit to him.

His smirk widens as he takes a few daring steps closer to her. "I think we're on the same page. Wouldn't you agree?"

She looks up into his blue eyes and shrugs coyly. "Perhaps…"

"Ooh," he says, feigning disappointment. "That doesn't sound like an enthusiastic yes…" He's standing a breath away from her.

She huffs with frustration. Her heart is pounding. Spirits, damn it. She hates how weak she is for this man. "I want what you want, Hakoda."

"Well in that case…" He grins wolfishly before capturing her lips with a heated kiss.

She melts into him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. He slides his hands down to her waist. Without breaking the kiss, he picks her up and sits her down on her desk. She instinctively wraps her legs around his hips and pulls him closer to her. It doesn't take long before she feels him stiffening through his pants, which only fuels her own arousal. Kissing him fervently, she rolls her hips against his growing manhood, keeping him flush up against her with her legs.

She moans softly as he breaks the kiss to explore other parts of her body with his mouth. He kisses down her jawline and down her neck, licking and sucking the delicate skin hard enough to leave a mark. She can't help but groan out loud upon feeling his teeth on her collarbone. He doesn't stop there. He continues kissing her down her chest over her clothes, nestling his head in her cleavage for a moment before kissing down her stomach and lower still. He tugs at the hem of her pants beneath her tunic, running a finger along the inside of her underwear. Getting the hint, she immediately slides forward on her desk. In one swift motion, he wrenches her pants and underwear off of her, leaving them pooled around her ankles. Then, smirking wickedly, he kneels on the floor in front of her. She watches his head disappear beneath her tunic.

She momentarily feels self-conscious as she wonders what on earth he could possibly be doing down there, but as soon as she feels his mouth on her most sensitive area, all caution is tossed aside. "Ohhh, spirits," she moans out in sheer pleasure, placing a hand on his head and bucking her hips up to meet his mouth.

His tongue runs wild on her, lapping her up, consuming her. She's never known pleasure like this in her life. She's not sure if this is something commonly practiced or maybe just something they do down south, but it doesn't matter. All she knows is she never wants him to stop. She feels his mouth on her clit, sucking and licking, savoring her. Her hips jolt at the euphoric sensation. Her breath releases in short gasps as she grinds herself against his mouth, gripping onto her desk. Soon, the pressure building inside of her becomes too much for her to bear. Her legs begin to quiver around his head, and he keeps licking her and licking her until she can no longer stand it.

"NGHHHH," she groans out loud, throwing her head back as his mouth brings her to orgasm. She pants, rocking her hips gently as she rides out the blissful waves.

He pulls his head out from beneath her tunic, short of breath. "You taste so fucking good," he says smirking before wiping his mouth. "I really want to do that to you again, but…" He stands up, his own arousal clear from the giant tent in his pants. "…I need you right now."

She smiles mischievously up at him. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Their lips crash as he climbs on top of her on her desk.

That day sparks a new normal. From then on, they find themselves making excuses to "work late" and hook up in the office. Sometimes they even challenge each other by initiating things in the middle of the workday with some friendly under-the-desk activities. It certainly isn't every day, but it happens more often than not. They have a hard time keeping their hands off each other.

Over time, the line between casually hooking up and having a romantic relationship begins to blur. Of course, they can't and don't go out on dates. But Hakoda lets Azula know he's thinking of her throughout the day by occasionally giving her small gifts, usually chocolate. Sometimes Azula invites herself over to Hakoda's house for "dessert". Her late-night visits are definitely noticed by some of the staff at the inn, but there's no way for them to know who she's visiting. Hakoda never comes to the inn. That's a strict rule.

She spends most nights with him. It's gotten to the point where she keeps some of her clothes at his place. But they never go into the office together, which isn't a difficult rule to follow as Azula naturally wakes up far earlier than Hakoda. On non-workdays, she lingers in bed with him a little longer than she normally would. She has become used to falling asleep with Hakoda wrapped around her. And on the nights she spends alone in her room at the inn, she finds herself snuggling with the giant stuffed otter penguin Hakoda won for her at the festival.

They never talk about what any of this means for them. The feelings are there, that much is obvious, but they've never defined their relationship. It's best not to. While they may do just about everything a couple would do, Azula does not call him her boyfriend, nor does she think of him as one. It would be dangerous to go down this road, knowing she'll be leaving him in a matter of time. Her work in the Southern Water Tribe is wrapping up. Leaving their relationship as is without any sort of label helps take the pressure off and avoid heartache in the future. As long as they can keep their dirty little secret hidden from the world, they can just enjoy their time together.

However, secrets always have a way of coming out. For Azula and Hakoda, this would happen on the morning of his birthday.

It's a lazy, sunny morning. Azula wants to be up and get her day started, but Hakoda tempts her to stay in bed a little longer with a massage. She can't possibly refuse. It's been a long time since she's been able to enjoy the amenities at the Fire Nation palace spa. He's good at it too. He knows exactly where to apply pressure to relieve her tension. She sighs and relaxes into the mattress.

Her senses are roused when she hears something at the front door, or at least she thinks she hears something. "Do you hear that?" she asks Hakoda, who's sitting on top of her while he rubs her back.

"Yeah…" He momentarily pauses his massage to get a better listen. It's completely silent. "Must be the wind," he shrugs, resuming his handiwork.

Azula lets it go. However, her peace is disrupted once again when the bedroom door is flown open without warning. Absolute panic washes over her.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!" Sokka, Katara, and Aang shout simultaneously, barging into the room, each with a food platter in hand. Within a second, their faces fall and a series of obscenities, sounds of utter disgust, and incoherent speech fly through the air.

Hakoda, who has a habit of sleeping in his underwear, instantly rolls off Azula, and they both scramble to cover themselves with the blanket.

"What is going on here?!" Katara demands, her face red with anger.

"I think it's pretty obvious what's going on…" Sokka says. Azula has never seen him look so uncomfortable before.

Aang is probably the least affected, but he offers his support to Katara by placing a hand on her back.

"Really, Dad?! Her?!" Katara questions. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Katara, please try to calm down – "

"Calm down?! Calm down?! How can you expect me to calm down when you're…" She can't even finish the sentence. Instead she just scrunches her face in revulsion.

"I know this may seem a bit… unorthodox, but it's really not a big – "

"How long has this been going on?"

Hakoda suddenly looks guilty. "Since the night of the Glacier Spirits Festival…"

Sokka's mouth drops open.

Katara's eyes double in size. "That long?! Are you serious?! Tell me you're joking, tell me you did not celebrate Sokka's engagement by jumping into bed with…" Her eyes fall on Azula, full of contempt. "…that."

Azula clenches her jaw, fighting back the urge to say something she'd surely regret.

"It wasn't like that!"

"Then what is it like?" Sokka asks, his voice unexpectedly calm. "Are you, like, a couple?"

Hakoda looks at Azula for help, but she has none to offer. She just shrugs and lightly shakes her head.

"Not… not exactly," he starts to answer. "We're just…"

"We're just having fun," Azula finishes for him.

"You don't get to talk!" Katara screams at her. A vein in her forehead threatens to burst. "This is all your fault!"

"Why, because your father isn't old enough to make his own decisions?" Azula taunts.

"Because you did this on purpose to mess with me! I know you did!"

Azula rolls her eyes. "This had nothing to do with you."

"Yeah, right!" The platter in Katara's hand rattles and shakes against her very pregnant belly as she continues screaming. "Knowing you, you've been planning this since day one – "

"You mean the day you threatened me? The day you told me I 'better watch my step' and that I'm 'powerless' against you?"

"Exactly! You did this because you wanted so desperately to have power over me!" Katara accused.

Azula laughs dismissively. "You really think I'd seduce your father just to have power over you? Well… actually that does sound like something I would do, but I can assure you in good faith that that was never the plan. In fact, you're the one who's been pulling dirty tricks on me since I got here. And I'm not just talking about setting Ty Lee up with that earthbender, I know you've been sending people into the office to spy on me at work too."

"Is this true, Katara?" Hakoda asks.

"Are you really taking her side?!"

Hakoda sighs. "It's not about taking sides, it's about – " He cuts himself off. "Come to think of it, one of the new janitors did look awfully familiar… he was one of your waterbending students wearing a fake moustache, wasn't he."

"So what?" Katara scowls. "It's not like I would have ever done something this cruel."

"What, seduce my father?" Azula asks with a snide laugh. "Well, it's not like you're his type anyway."

Sokka can't help but snicker at the remark.

"You find this funny?" Katara snaps at her brother.

"A bit," he says with a shrug.

She glares at him.

"What? I just don't think this is really that big of a deal. I mean, yeah, it's a little weird, well, very weird, but at the end of the day, I think Dad should do whatever makes him – okay, poor choice of words there – I think Dad should be with whoever makes him happy. And if that's Azula, then so be it. Who are we to get in the way of his happiness?"

"His children!" Katara shouts. "You really don't think we should get a say in this?! What if – what if – what if they got married?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Hakoda cut in. "No one said anything about getting married."

"That would make Azula our stepmom!" Katara continued, enraged. "You could really live with that?"

Azula chuckled at the thought.

"Well…" Sokka thought for a moment. "…you raise a valid point."

"See?" she sneers. "Then why aren't you as upset about this as I am?!"

"Because." Sokka takes a deep breath. "I think I would have done the same thing in his position – again, poor choice of words – I mean, in his shoes."

"Well, aren't you just two of a kind?!"

The room grows suffocatingly silent for a moment.

"Katara," Aang says calmly. "I think you should step out and get some air. All this stress and screaming isn't good for you. I think – "

"Yeah, is that what you think?!" Katara cuts him off. "Well you know what I think?!" Her tone grows quieter. "I think my water just broke."

Another heavy fog of silence falls over them, but this time when it lifts, the fowl mood has completely reversed.

"Katara!" Aang beams. "You're going to be a mom!"

"You're going to be a dad!"

Aang and Katara share a deep, jubilant kiss.

"What about me?!" Sokka asks. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

They break the kiss, laughing.

"Come on," Aang says, "let's get you to the hospital." He sets his platter down on Hakoda's nightstand and then takes Katara's from her and does the same.

"Okay. Okay, let's do this!" Katara smiles sweetly at Hakoda. "Gotta run! Happy birthday, Dad!"

"Yes, yes, get out of here!" Hakoda says, grinning from ear to ear. "We'll meet you at the hospital – "

Aang grimaces at Hakoda and makes a throat cutting gesture with his hand.

" – I mean, I'll meet you at the hospital. Just me."

Azula is far from offended by this.

Aang gives him a thumbs up.

"I love you!" Hakoda shouts after his daughter.

"Love you too, Dad!"

Sokka swiftly sets his food tray down. "Yeah, so we cooked you a birthday breakfast, but – "

"It's okay," Hakoda cuts in. "Just make sure your sister gets to the hospital safely. I'll be there soon. Thank you for breakfast."

"See you there! Happy birthday!" Sokka flies out of the room.

Azula looks over at Hakoda, who looks unexpectedly worried. "What's wrong?"

He shakes his head. "The baby's early…"

"Hakoda…" Azula places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "The baby is in the womb of a natural healer. It will be fine."

He nods. "Yeah… you're right."

"And look at the bright side. Now you and your grandchild will get to share a birthday."

"I guess that's true," he chuckles.

"Now, come on! Get dressed and get going already!"

He kisses her on the forehead before jumping out of bed. He proceeds to move at lightning speed as he dresses and grooms himself.

"I… I didn't know it was your birthday, by the way. I-I didn't get you anything. Sorry."

"That's okay. You can make it up to me later." He gives her a playful wink.

She blushes. "One more thing… since you're leaving – "

"I already know where this is going, and yes, you can eat my birthday breakfast."

"Thank you," she smiles.

He finishes getting ready. "Well, I'm off!"

"Get out of here, grandpa," she teases.

"Oof. I don't know if I like the sound of that…"

"You will."

"It doesn't scare you off?"

"Not at all," she assures. "Now go! Your daughter needs you."

He leans in for a quick kiss and then darts out of the room.

"Happy birthday!" she calls after him. She barely makes out a "thank you" before hearing the front door slam shut.

What a morning.

Azula sighs and smiles to herself before helping herself to the breakfast Katara, Sokka, and Aang prepared, trying to process everything that just happened. She thinks a lot about what Katara said, how she accused Azula of seducing Hakoda just to have power over her. It was a preposterous notion of course. Azula never had any such intention. But… looking back, Katara was kind of the one who incidentally set them up. If Katara hadn't found a date for Ty Lee to take to the Glacier Spirits Festival, then Azula wouldn't have gone to the festival with Hakoda. Ty Lee wouldn't have noticed their chemistry, and Azula would probably still be unaware there was anything between them. Who knew Katara was such a matchmaker?

Azula had never intended to get revenge on Katara, but the end result is still the same: she got back at her in one of the worst ways possible. If revenge truly is a dish best served cold, then this one would taste just as delicious as the savory breakfast she's eating.