"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sokka asked when the three of them found themselves standing outside of the door of a house in a remote village of The Fire Nation.

"No" Azula answered almost too bluntly, staring at the door in fear.

"Well by now whoever's in there has probably noticed that people are standing outside of their house so it's now or never" Sokka said which did not help Azula in the least.

She was about to knock, but before she did she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a few coins and handed them to Sokka.

"Why don't you take Mika into town? Go get something to eat?" She suggested; Mika was standing there with them, being quiet for once in her life.

"What? Azula we're not-" he began to protest but Azula cut him off.

"I know you want to help me, but this IS something I have to do alone" she insisted and Sokka nodded before reluctantly taking the coins in one hand and Mika's hand in the other.

"We'll meet you back here before sunset," he agreed, "come on Mika" he said to the little girl who obediently followed him, but not before hugging her mother goodbye.

With a smile Azula watched them go before she took a deep breath, turned back around, and knocked.

It was a minute or two before the door opened to reveal a young woman with her brown hair pinned up in a messy bun, the skirt of her red and pink dress was tattered and the sleeves were cut in a tank top style. Azula did find it odd that the woman's right eye appeared to be fogged over, but all the same she instantly recognized her as Cara.

It seemed that Cara recognized Azula as well, as her jaw hung open ever so slightly at the sight of the nervous woman before her and eyes went just wide enough to show her surprise.

"Uh hey" she finally stuttered out

"Hi Cara" Azula greeted softly, her eyes downcast as Cara sifted awkwardly in the doorway.

"Uh, do you want to come in?" She offered but Azula shook her head

"No I just want to apologize," she explained before finally meeting Cara's gaze, "I am so sorry for what I did to Bao. I never meant, I never meant to hurt him." She began to cry, she didn't want to but how could she not? She was standing here discussing a horrible day, which she had just been forced to relive, she was more than a little upset right now.

Cara had always been more than willing to comfort her surrogate big sister, though the older girl had often refused her help. But she was still willing as ever to offer it and rushed from the doorway and embraced her 'sister' in a tight hug.

"It's ok" she confidently assured as she buried her fingers in Azula's hair. "It's ok," she said again before pulling back, "but why did you run away?" She asked

"I just couldn't face you guys," Azula admitted, but Cara still looked confused. "When I heard you crying, I knew Bao was dead and-" she began to explain but Cara cut her off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. You thought Bao died?" She questioned and this time it was Azula's turn to be confused. "Oh spirits Azula you actually thought that?" She questioned again, unable to process what she was hearing.

"Cara his entire body was burned-" Azula started, almost not wanting to believe what Cara's shock was implying.

"Yeah but you got him home fast enough!" She exclaimed

"But I heard you crying" Azula nearly pleaded with her, she couldn't take this type of sick joke.

Cara seemed to be thinking back to the afternoon so long ago, and finally a look of realization dawned her features.

"Yeah well you'd cry too if a panicking nine-year-old splashed acid in your eye, I still can't see out of it by the way." She explained, demonstrating her blindness by closing her left eye and waving a hand in front of her right. "Nothing" She added.

"Wait so Bao?" Azula now dared to ask; this just couldn't be a joke.

"No!" Cara exclaimed, still unable to believe what Azula so clearly had all these years. "Come inside, not much has changed around here, it's still the three of us." Cara encouraged as she led Azula into the house.

To be honest Azula was almost just as surprised to hear Rafela was still alive, and these were thoughts that Cara must have read.

"That old woman just doesn't quit," she mumbled.

"That old woman heard that!" A raspy old voice came from the back room of the house and was soon followed by Rafela hobbling into the kitchen; she now used a cane to walk but that aside she hadn't changed a bit. "If I went and kicked the bucket you kids would be living in a Moo-sow sty! You only ever clean when I ask you to because you're both content with wallowing in your own filth!" The old woman continued to scold; Azula couldn't help but think back to her days here when she was on the receiving end of Rafela's wrath.

"Hey if you haven't noticed we have a visitor" Cara commented but Rafela huffed.

"You're the one who's blind Cara not me, I can see her. But whether she lives here or not she's still family, and therefor I don't have to wait for her to leave before I start giving you a hard time." Rafela replied with a snarky hint to her voice before her face melted into a complete smile.

"It's good to see you again Azula" she said, then made her way over to her oldest foster daughter and gave her a hug. "So what brings you back here?" She questioned and Cara smirked.

"Apparently a faulty confession to murder" she remarked.

Sokka and Mika returned to the house before Bao returned home from the farm down the road where he worked during the day, so of course Cara and Rafela convinced the three to stay for dinner.

"Are you kidding me? You've been beating yourself up for the past twelve years for nothing?" Sokka questioned once he heard the story.

"Apparently" Azula answered with a smile, she still couldn't believe it.

Sokka just shook his head "you really do love to make things complicated don't you?" He asked sarcastically and Azula chuckled. She was going to say something else but that was when the door opened.

A young man walked through the door, he was a scrawny man but his muscles were well defined. He wore long pants and an open vest that exposed the scars running along his abs and arms, there were also a few on his legs and face. For the second time today Azula thought she was seeing a ghost, but this time it was real. Bao noticed their company immediately, but paid no mind to Sokka and Mika, his eyes were locked on Azula.

"You're back" he finally managed to say, her disbelieving gaze matched his as the two, ever so slowly, drew closer to each other.

"Bao" a small voice finally broke the silence, but it was not Azula's. It was Cara's voice, her pleading voice.

Bao gave her a sideways glance of acknowledgment but in doing so he noticed the scars on Azula's forearms, and memories came flooding back to him.

Pain. Intense pain. That was all he could feel. He wanted to stop Jong; no one was supposed to hurt his sister. But he didn't even think that Azula would defend herself. She unleashed a ring of fire, one more powerful than he had ever seen before. At first he was in awe, but then the fire reached him. It engulfed his body and he screamed. All he could see was flames and Azula running for him. She extended her arms towards him but then quickly yanked them back, which was when Bao remembered what to do when on fire. He hit the ground and began rolling around until he felt something underneath him and he was off the ground. He remembered bouncing up and down, he felt himself leaning against something, but then he blacked out.

He couldn't help but stare at Azula's scars, that was how he got home, she picked him up and ran.

"You got burned that day?" He asked, all of the anger he had harbored towards Azula dying away.

Azula ran a hand over some of her scars and nodded, "I thought I'd killed you," she confessed and the next thing she knew Bao had her wrapped in a hug.

She returned the hug gratefully, even letting a tear slip, as she reached up and ran her fingers through Bao's short brown hair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him but he just pulled away with a smile and shook his head.

"Don't be" he said then gently grabbed her arm, "looks like we're even" he said.

They flew back to Republic City that night, Sokka never getting his way and stopping in Hira'a. Though Azula did promise him that he could tag along this summer when she and Mika went so he took that, he just wanted to make sure she'd go.

"Well all in all I'd say this mission was a success," he said as they flew home. He was steering again while Mika and Azula occupied the saddle, though Mika had fallen asleep hours ago.

"Thank you" Azula said softly

Sokka turned around with a smile, "Azula the amount of times you've said that-" he began to tease but she cut him off.

"And I'm going to keep saying it" she said seriously, her voice was still kind and her face happy but Sokka could tell that she didn't want to be argued with. "Look you know what I've been through, so someone being nice to me isn't something I take for granted, someone doing what you've done is just so much more than I deserve." She said and Sokka climbed up onto the saddle, momentarily leaving Appa fly solo.

He crawled over next to Azula, and she didn't push him away. She didn't look at him either; she was embarrassed and kept her eyes fixated on her feet until she felt Sokka's fingers on her chin, lifting her head to look at him.

"You've done a lot of bad. But you've also done a lot of good, and in my opinion at least your good outweighs your bad, big time." He assured her, for a moment the two of them were lost in a world all there own and in that moment they kissed.

Kissing Azula, Sokka noted, was something he never would've imagined himself doing. But it felt so right. She wasn't the person she used to be, she was twice as strong as that person and every time he held her he could feel her guard coming down little by little. Now he could sense that those walls were almost completely down, and he loved it.

"So before all this I seem to recall asking you to go out with me" He playfully reminded when Azula pulled away, she just smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine" she agreed before kissing him again.

"So Mika's ok?" Aang asked when Sokka and Azula returned with a seemingly improved Mika.

"Yeah, she's gonna be fine. Thanks again for letting us barrow Appa" Sokka replied

"No problem" Aang said and when he was sure Azula was out of earshot he continued, "so not to pry but you and Azula…" Aang trailed off knowingly.

"You've been talking to Toph haven't you?" Sokka frowned but Aang only held his hands in mockery surrender.

"Hey I just want the story straight, I know she has a tendency to exaggerate on your love life." The air bender explained but his brother-in-law couldn't help but smirk.

"Well for once I think she just might be right," he said.

"Hey you're back, how's the kid?" Zan asked when Azula walked into the bar later that night.

"Fine she's with Sokka. Look I just came down here to apologize for taking off so suddenly-" Azula began but her friend only chuckled and cut her off.

"Azula it's fine, Lao's a reasonable guy and if you've got a chance to save your kid's life, well we would've killed you for not taking it." He said and Azula nodded in understanding.

"Thanks" she said as her friend cracked a smile.

"No problem, now speaking of your buddy Sokka-" Zan started to suggest but this time it was Azula's turn to cut HIM off.

"I took him up on his offer," she said smugly and Zan almost froze with surprise.

"Really?" He asked

"Really" she confirmed.

"So you're actually going out with the guy?" He asked and Azula nodded.

"He's even coming with me this summer when I go visit my mother" she gloated and Zan set down the bottle he was holding and walked out from behind the bar.

"Lao! Come here, you owe me some money!" He shouted as he walked through the crowded bar, leaving his friend alone to laugh silently to herself.

"You can stop lying mommy," Mika said from where she sat rocking back and forth on the footboard of the bed a few nights later.

"Mika what am I lying about?" Azula asked somewhat playfully as she stood in front of the room's small mirror, trying to do her hair.

"About you and Sokka going on a date" Mika accused knowingly. Her mother had said that she was going out with Sokka tonight, and although she claimed it was as nothing more than friends, Mika knew better.

She's not as dumb as her mother apparently thinks, because she has picked up on all the little signs since they returned home. First there was the fact that her mom wasn't calling Sokka an idiot, then there was when her mom didn't argue yesterday morning when she picked her up from Sokka's apartment and Sokka asked her to stay for breakfast. Finally, Mika had decided that her mommy and Sokka were officially more than friends when while waiting impatiently at the end of the building's hallway she had seen Sokka kiss her mother goodbye.

"It's not a date Mika" Azula insisted.

"Is there another word for it then?" Mika questioned sarcastically.

"Cute" Azula remarked, Unamused by her daughter's comment.

Mika smirked but knew better than to press the matter, so she changed the topic, though not entirely.

"So when am I supposed to be going with Bumi?" She asked

"Before I leave" Azula answered, obviously her daughter needed a babysitter and even more obviously Sokka wasn't an option. However Sokka apparently thought of that before he even asked her out and talked Aang into bringing Mika along with him and Bumi to the pro-bending match they were going to see, a new sport that was beginning to grow in popularity.

Just then a knock came echoing through the apartment, "speaking of your friend" Azula said as she finished tying her hair into a half up half down style and she went to answer the door.

Sokka didn't know why he was so nervous, he couldn't remember ever being this nervous about a first date before. A part of him still couldn't believe this was happening. There were a lot of things in his life he couldn't believe he had done or seen, most of having been after he met Aang, but having fallen in love with Azula was still a shock to him. He knocked on the door to her apartment and when she opened it any confidence he had diminished. Azula was wearing a sleeveless red dress with a turned down collar and dark maroon pants underneath. Her hair was done in a half up half down style, a nice change from her usual ponytail. All in all she looked beautiful, despite the somewhat nervous expression on her face.

"Wow, you look great" Sokka finally managed to get out and she blushed, some of her nerves vanishing.

"Thanks" she said and with a sudden, childish, grin Sokka held out his hand.

"Shall we?" He asked and Azula couldn't help but laugh as she took his hand and let him lead her out of the building.