Bodyguard

"You're kidding, right?"

Zuko looked down nervously.

"Tell me you're joking."

"It's for your own good!"

The princess rolled her eyes, dipping her head back with exasperation. "I don't need a babysitter!"

"A bodyguard is hardly a babysitter, Azula." He lowered his voice, trying his best to reason with his irritated sister. "It doesn't have to be a big – "

"Why are you doing this to me?" she interrupted, staring intently into the Fire Lord's eyes. "Are you trying to make me feel even more like a prisoner in this Spiritsforsaken palace than I already do?"

"Well, you are on house arrest…"

She chose to ignore his valid point. "I mean seriously Zuko, isn't it bad enough Mother has taken it upon herself to babysit every single little interaction I have with Kiyi? And to top it all off, I'm not even allowed to go outdoors!"

Zuko sighed with frustration. "You did set Kiyi's doll on fire – "

"Yeah, well, Adori had some very unladylike things to say!"

" – which, by the way, is exactly the reason why you lost outdoor privileges."

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tried to cool down a bit. "Why him?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Why Sokka of all people?"

"Why not?" he shrugged. "You don't think he's a skilled fighter?"

"He is, but it just doesn't make any sense, Zuzu. You know I'd kick his sorry Water Tribe butt in a fight any day – how can you expect him to protect me?"

"Just think of him as a first line of defense. Or a human shield. Besides, it's only temporary until we can get some more reinforcements."

"I don't see why we need any guards at all. We can handle ourselves."

"We all need to sleep sometimes, Azula. I've already suffered several assassination attempts since becoming Fire Lord, and to be perfectly blunt, you're a bit more of a controversial figure than I am."

The princess opened her mouth to interject, but her brother kept talking.

"People aren't exactly thrilled you're back in the palace. They think we were too lenient with you. And with the Kyoshi Warriors leaving to help settle the conflict between the sister tribes, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"But why isn't Sokka going with them? The conflict is far more pertinent to him after all."

"Things are still pretty awkward between him and Suki. Their breakup wasn't exactly the cleanest…"

Azula sighed with defeat, plopping down on the foot of her mattress. "I really don't have a say in the matter, do I?"

Zuko shook his head. "I'm afraid this is nonnegotiable."

"Fine," she muttered.

Zuko gave her a sympathetic smile.

She met his smile with a wry smirk. "But don't expect me to make things easy for him."

Sokka felt mildly apprehensive on his way over to the Fire Nation palace, though he was determined to put on a brave face and show no fear. He knew any sign of weakness would not be acceptable in the fierce eyes of the firebending prodigy. If he was going to be an effective bodyguard, he would need to learn to trust her, or at the very least tolerate her, as well as gain her trust. A challenging feat indeed.

By the time he got to the palace and finished dining and schmoozing with his buddy Zuko, Azula was in her chambers having some tea before bed. After a deep breath and a mental pep talk, he confidently knocked on her door.

She answered in a burgundy and gold sleeping robe, steaming teacup in hand. "Why, has the water boy finally come to grace me with his noble presence?"

"Good to see you too, Azula. It's, uh, been a while." His voice cracked a bit at the end, chipping away the façade of bravado. Sokka didn't anticipate feeling this nervous around her.

"It most certainly has." She took a slow sip of her tea, purposely not contributing to the conversation to make him sweat.

"So…" He smiled uneasily. "How've you been?"

"Just peachy," she said dryly.

"Okay…"

She held his gaze while maintaining the silence, loving the discomforting effect she was having on him.

"Wha – Whatchya been up to?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that," she hummed innocently before abruptly changing her saccharine tone. "If you haven't noticed I've been kept under house arrest the past few months, where my dear brother, the almighty Edge Lord himself, has recently decreed that getting to feel the sun on my face is too great a luxury, what do you think I've been up to?!"

He shifted his eyes toward the floor. "Right…"

"What are you hoping to achieve here, Sokka? Do you really want to stand here engaging in meaningless small talk? Do you really think you can charm your way into some sort of friendship?"

"Well – "

"Shall I just invite you into my room right now so we can give each other makeovers and gab about our schoolgirl crushes?"

"Actually that sounds delightful," he managed to squeak out.

"Look, Sokka. Let's just cut to the chase." She took a step closer, making direct eye contact with him. "I neither want nor need a bodyguard, and you don't want to be here. So let's just agree to – "

"I want to be here."

She paused, squinting her eyes with distrust. "Why? Why did you agree to this?"

"Why do you think?"

"As a favor to Zuko."

"Well, that's part of it. But… I also felt like I owed it to you. Along with an apology."

Azula stared at him, unsure if she should believe her ears. "Go on…"

"You saved my life once. When we were looking for your mother and we got attacked by those vines – "

"Yes, I recall."

"– and even after that, I failed to give you the benefit of the doubt when you dropped that incriminating letter about Zuko's legitimacy as the rightful heir. Aang said you dropped it on purpose and I disagreed, but now that I've learned how you singlehandedly took down the New Ozai Society and turned Zuko into a hero, albeit with questionable methods, I can see that you've changed. And I'm sorry for doubting you."

She was quiet for a moment as she contemplated his words, surprised and a bit offput by how much sentiment they were invoking. "I knew there was a reason why your friends consider you the smart one of the group."

He chuckled, smiling softly at her. "So do you think we can put the past behind us and move on?"

"We'll see," she said with a playful smirk.

Sokka took this as a win, recognizing that this was as good of an answer as he could get.

"Well, this princess needs her beauty rest, so if you don't mind…"

"By all means," he tipped his head down as a gesture of respect. "Sleep well, Azula."

She smiled politely at him before closing the door behind her.

Sokka leaned his back against the door, sighing with relief. He felt confident for the first time in a long while, believing that they had gotten off on the right foot. Being the night owl-bat that he was, he paced the hallway several times until the fatigue from his travel became too overpowering. Then he sat down next to Azula's door and closed his eyes. Having once been a fairly sound sleeper, Sokka had trained himself to become more sensitive to the sounds around him as he prepared to be the princess's bodyguard. He was sure he'd wake up in a flash if something threatening were to happen.

Night came and went without a hitch. Sokka awoke feeling fully rested. But something was off. Azula's bedroom door was still closed, and he was positive she hadn't left her room. He knew she was early to rise and had expected to wake up to the sound of her door opening. Something definitely wasn't right. He knocked on her door. No answer. "Azula?" he called. No answer. He threw open her door with urgency, the color in his face draining at the sight.

Azula was gone.