Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender
-xXx-043. Opposites (set a year after the finale)
She'd become quiet, he noticed. Isolated. Whenever there was a large gathering of people she would withdrawn into herself. Not that she was any better whenever she was alone.
When the Avatar took away her firebending, it was almost as if he'd taken away her reason for living. Zuko had to have maids attend to her for everything. She never fed herself. She refused to do any physical exercise. She simply sat around waiting to die.
Now she was a totally different person. The polar opposite of who she once was, and it hurt Sokka to know that he played a part in her becoming who she is now.
He slowly approached the Princess and took a seat next to her. She didn't move, she never even acknowledged his presence. They simply sat there in the silence of the library.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry that they took away your bending, I'm sorry that nobody realizes how badly that affected you, and I'm sorry that there's nothing I can do to help."
They sat there in silence for a long while. Their steady breathing the only sounds being made. He was starting to believe that she didn't even hear him.
"I promise," Sokka started. "I promise that I'll try my best to make it up to you."
Azula turned her head to look at Sokka. Her eyes were almost blank, practically void of any emotion. For the first time in a long while she spoke.
"Why?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and raspy from months of silence.
"Because nobody deserves to have everything taken from them," he answered. "You aren't a monster, and you deserve to be treated like a human being."
He couldn't explain why, but in that moment Sokka wrapped his arms around the broken princess. He felt her tears begin to soak through his clothes. When he felt Azula return the hug, he knew that what he was doing was right.
-xXx-044. Opinions (set several months after Opposites)
Everyone looked at her with derision. They wouldn't say anything to her face, but she knew what they were thinking. What was the Fire Nation Princess doing wearing the colors of the Water Tribes. Especially at the Fire Lord's one year wedding anniversary party.
She didn't care though. Let them prattle on with their ridicule. The only opinion that mattered to her was his. A smile broke out on her face when she saw him. She quickly made her way towards the young man and enveloped him in a tight embrace.
"Sokka, I've missed you," she said happily.
Sokka returned the hug and smiled. In the months since he started spending time with the princess, she really opened up to him. Her skin was no longer sickly pale, she'd been eating regularly, and most importantly, there was life in her eyes again.
When they separated, Sokka took a moment to take in Azula's appearance. He had to admit, the blue of her dress really brought out the color in her eyes.
"I like your dress," he complimented.
"Good," she said playfully. "If you didn't, I'd have to hurt you."
They shared a brief laugh before Azula grabbed a hold of Sokka's hand.
"Come, dance with me," she ordered. Sokka laughed at the princess' eagerness and allowed himself to be dragged to the dance floor. For the remainder of the evening the two danced together. The strange looks they received from the rest of the crowd went unnoticed. As far as Sokka and Azula were concerned, they were the only ones in the room.
-xXx-045. Prejudice (set before Respect from my Sokkla Week)
Azula wandered through the Fire Nation Palace angrily. She was bored and sought something to alleviate her tedium. That left her options to be very limited.
Zuko was too busy with political meetings to pester (not that it was much of a choice). She flat out refused to bother Mai (she still held a grudge against that traitor). The servants would coddle her too much no matter what she decided to do with them (ever since her therapy everyone figured she was made of glass).
She let out a huff of irritation before leaning on a pillar. That was when she saw him; Sokka. Since he was the official liaison for the Southern Water Tribe, Azula saw him quite often. Because of that, she made a game out of bothering him. It brought her a great deal of satisfaction.
The Princess quickly made her way through the palace to meet up with the Water Tribesman. By the time she found the young man he'd already entered the throne room to meet with Zuko.
Azula sighed in frustration. Nothing seemed to go her way. Resigning herself to waiting, the Princess stood near the entrance for what felt like ages.
It was almost sundown by the time Sokka left the throne room. When they made eye contact, however, Azula broke into a wicked grin. He attempted to ignore the princess and simply walked past her.
Azula quickly fell into step with the Water Tribesman. She had to admit that it was rather adorable that Sokka thought he could give her the cold shoulder.
"Hello peasant," she greeted. The young man returned the greeting with a grunt of disapproval.
"I'm not a peasant," he corrected. "As of today I'm officially the Ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe."
"That's cute," she said mockingly. "You think you're important enough to represent your group of barbarians."
"We aren't barbarians," Sokka replied angrily. "If you'd look past your prejudice for five minutes, you'd see that the world isn't as uncivilized as you make it out to be."
"You mean like those Earth Kingdom rubes?" she asked rhetorically. She could see his anger building. "I hardly consider that civilized. I see it more as a group of children playing house."
She stopped suddenly and flashed a wicked grin.
"Oh wait, you married one of those rubes didn't you? How has the sow been these days?"
"My wife is no sow," Sokka stated angrily. He took a step towards the princess and looked down on her. Azula would admit he was rather intimidating. He was almost a full head taller than she and almost twice as broad. She could see the hate burning in his eyes. It needed to burn brighter.
"You're right," she corrected. Sokka seemed to relax a little at the comment. He should have known better. "That would be insulting to the pigs."
That's when it happened. Sokka's large hand quickly grabbed hold of her shoulder and shoved her hard against the wall. Her eyes went wide at the sudden pain, but felt lucky that her head didn't receive injury. She could see his lips moving but she didn't hear anything. She was too focused on his eyes. They burned with a flame that seemed familiar to her. It was intense, more intense than any pyre she'd seen.
Her heart began beating faster. It felt as if it would break through her chest at any second. The princess wouldn't admit it, but she enjoyed the feeling. For a moment she wondered if she could somehow feel the heat in Sokka's eyes. She wanted that fire; to feel it's fervent warmth.
Without warning her hands shot out and grabbed onto Sokka's shirt. Before the young ambassador could even react, Azula pressed her lips firmly against his, her tongue immediately shooting out to wrestle with his. She found it bizarre that a man from the Water Tribes could possess such an intense fire deep within him. She wanted more. The princess wrapped her arms around the young man's neck, deepening the kiss.
As suddenly as the kiss started, Sokka ended it. He pushed away from the princess and regained his bearings. He spared a moment to glance at the princess. She was breathing heavily, her face was flushed, and a delicate finger traced against her bottom lip.
She felt it; the heat that had long since been taken from her. The fire that gave her life once again flowing through her veins. A wicked grin grew on her lips. She looked at the water-tribesman, or rather the flame in his eyes. For a long while they remained locked in each other's gaze, oblivious to the world around them.
The sound of footsteps brought them out of their shared daze. Sokka's attention immediately shot to the end of the hallway to see Zuko with an entourage of servants. The princess took this opportunity to quickly slink away to regain her composure. She quickly made her way towards her room, hoping that no one noticed.
She couldn't believe what she'd just done. To kiss that barbarian was bad enough, yet that fact that she took pleasure from the action was all the worse. Her fingers lightly brushed against her bottom lip, remembering the feeling of Sokka's. It shamed her to feel her cheeks warming, and yet she smiled at the notion of feeling that fire again.
Azula giggled in mischief at the prospect of future endeavors with the young Ambassador.
-xXx-
A/N: Yeah, I wasn't expecting to take this long updating. First writer's block, then job hunting, and then actually having a job. So yeah. Hopefully this update is worth the long wait. Also, a big thanks to BoogieBoy for sending me the most awesome PM ever. And a very late happy birthday to lotusunset!