Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

64. Chapter 64: Ember Island 3

"You did well today in your training, Azula," said Lo.

"You will master this new bending form in no time," said Li.

Azula smiled proudly as she walked down the Palace's halls with the two old ladies. Of course she would master this form soon: she was the most talented child to be born in the Fire Nation for centuries, her father had said so last night. She made him proud, she was his heir and he didn't care if she was a monster…

"I'm hungry," she said as she stopped by one of the gardens, and she turned to look firmly at her caretakers. "I'm tired from training. Get some snacks for me."

"But… You can't have snacks right before lunch, Azula," said the two old ladies.

"Oh, yeah? If you forgot, I'm a Princess. If I want snacks, you should get them for me. My father will be very angry if you don't do as I say..." Azula said.

Lo and Li didn't believe any father would be angry to know his daughter had been stopped from snacking before meals, yet the Princess had a point indeed. Ozai wasn't known for being a reasonable man, and he might grow furious if he knew they had refused his daughter. Perhaps they could leave to fulfill Azula's request, yet take so long with it that the child would be called for lunch before they could bring her the snacks.

It seemed a reasonable enough plan, a plan they conveyed to one another through a simple glance. They bowed before Azula and took their leave without further protest, which pleased the child. Giving out commands, and having them obeyed, filled her with a sense of fulfillment she relished in, and it further convinced her that she truly was her father's heir.

But there was someone didn't agree with that notion.

"I am Father's heir," Zuko declared suddenly, almost startling Azula. She hadn't noticed he had approached her in the Palace's corridor once Lo and Li were out of earshot.

"Oh? Why would he say it's me, then?" Azula said, turning to smirk at him.

"He… he just made a mistake," said Zuko, frowning. "He knows I'm his heir. I'm the oldest. I'm a boy! You can't be his heir, no matter what!"

"You can tell Father that," said Azula, still smiling proudly. "But he doesn't think so."

Zuko gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The way his sister smirked so proudly made him angry beyond belief… because she had no reason to be so proud. Why did their father love her better? What trait did she have that he lacked? She was two years younger than him, and granted she was a skilled bender, but that didn't mean he wasn't one as well! The same blood flowed through their veins, so what made her a more suitable heir for Ozai than Zuko was?

"It's not fair," he said, glaring at her. "It's not fair! What makes you so special?!"

"What…? That father doesn't want you as his heir isn't fair?" Azula asked, growing irritated. Well, if Zuko's loving mother thought her daughter was a monster, it didn't seem so unfair that Ozai would disregard Zuko as he did… "It's fair alright, even if you don't know why it is. I'm stronger, I'm smarter and I'm better than you at everything. He wants me to be his heir because you're always running to mom and begging her to show you the turtleducks…"

"W-what? I… I don't run to mom!" Zuko exclaimed, blushing.

"And then you say I'm the liar…" said Azula, smirking again.

Being called a liar didn't sit well with Zuko. He yelled and lifted a fist towards his sister, a fist that brought orange flames with it. Azula jumped back instinctively and looked at Zuko in surprise. So, this was how he wanted it, then…? He actually was going to bend at her? Well, two could play this game…

Never before had they fought one another like this. Azula was smaller, but that only seemed to be an advantage, for it made her quicker than her older brother. Zuko's movements weren't fluent, he didn't shift easily from one stance to the next, whereas Azula's fire seemed to obey her every move. She deflected his fire and evaded it, and Zuko sought to do the same about hers, but when Azula kicked an array of fire towards her brother, he found himself tripping with his own feet.

Zuko struggled to regain his balance, but Azula's hand reached out to his chest and she gripped his shirt, keeping him from falling with one hand while she got ready to shoot out a fire blast with the other one…

"AZULA!"

The scream was all too familiar, but terrifying for the child nonetheless. Her grip around Zuko's shirt was released instantly, but it was already too late. Ursa stood at the end of the hallway, looking at her in utmost indignation. Azula looked at her in dread, wide-eyed, while Zuko fell on his butt, embarrassed and bitter over the way his fight with his sister had ended.

Ursa was paralyzed as she assimilated what Azula had just done. Her eyes shone with fury and disbelief, and Azula could only step back. Well, now she had really done it… now nothing would change her mother's mind. It wouldn't matter that Zuko had attacked first, that if he really were stronger than her, he would have been the one attempting to strike her with his fire… no, it didn't matter, because all that would matter to Ursa was that Azula had been about to hurt her son.

The only thing that mattered was that Azula had proved, once again, that she truly was a monster.

The young Princess gritted her teeth, turned on her heels and ran away from her mother yet again, ignoring her angry commands for her to get back to her immediately. She couldn't go back. She wouldn't go back. She couldn't see her mother again. All she could do was run and cry in despair as she realized Lu Ten had been wrong about her… as she realized her mother was right. She was a monster…

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt someone taking his seat next to her, between her and Zuko.

"Fire flakes?" Sokka asked, beaming as he offered Azula the snacks.

Ah… snacks. Lo and Li never brought them for her, not on that occasion nor at any other. A Princess had to eat properly, and it wouldn't do her good to snack between meals… Azula would have rolled her eyes upon that thought if she hadn't thought Sokka would take it as a rejection. She didn't smile either, though. She simply stretched a hand towards his bag of food and took some fire flakes in her hand, hoping the lack of proper spicing would give her a reason to complain over something other than her mother.

It sure didn't help that she had been sitting next to Zuko while Sokka went to get food. It was likely that his presence had triggered her memories again. And she didn't want them triggered, she wanted them gone for good…

"Uh… can I ask why the three of us are sitting behind those two?" Sokka asked, frowning. "I don't approve of this seating order."

"You should approve of it," said Azula, sighing as she looked down at Haru and Ty Lee, who occupied the bench in front of theirs on the balcony. "This way we can kick their seats if they get obnoxious and stop paying attention to the play. If she dragged me here for it, I'll make sure she doesn't miss a single detail of what happens on that stage."

"You won't have to kick my chair, that's too mean…" Ty Lee said from the front bench, pouting. Azula simply glared at her, eyebrows raised, daring Ty Lee to talk back to her again. The threat managed to silence Ty Lee effectively.

"Gotta say that's a good idea," said Sokka, smirking at Azula before turning towards Zuko with the fire flakes. "You want some?"

"We just ate," growled Zuko. Azula rolled her eyes.

"Gee, alright, Mr. Mood-killer," said Sokka, grimacing. "Here I thought this was the cool bench…"

"Not a chance it could be that cool if Zuko's sitting on it too, you know," said Azula, shrugging.

Zuko might have retorted something, probably related again to the relationship he was certain didn't exist between Sokka and Azula, yet the lights on the stage were switched on at that moment, and all eyes drifted towards the play that was about to start.

"Uh… say, what exactly is this supposed to be about?" Sokka asked, leaning towards Azula ever so slightly. She rolled her eyes again, for the umpteenth time today.

"If you watch it, you might find out," she said, glaring at him.

"But if they're really as bad as you say they are, they'll probably suck at the play, don't you think? It should be fun to criticize and judge them along with you!"

Azula couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief, but she smiled weakly. If he really wanted to hear her criticism, he surely would once the play was past its opening scenes. It was good to know she would have someone to condemn the performance with.

"The story revolves around a powerful deity, the Dragon Emperor," said Azula. "He is arrogant and foolish at the beginning of the story, relishing always in his own greatness and never caring for anyone other than himself. There is another dragon who had always loved him, but, since he only cared for himself, the Dragon Emperor hardly ever spared a thought towards her. His problems begin when a dark Water Spirit, spiteful over an old squabble with the Emperor, found a magical way to turn the Emperor into a mortal being so he could take revenge on him. So, with the help of the dragon who loved him, the Emperor struggles to regain his true form and defeat the spirit that wronged him."

"Heh…" said Sokka, munching fire flakes as he listened intently to Azula. "Sounds like a classic story of some sort."

"It's a play based off an old Fire Nation folk's tale," said Azula, shrugging as the actors stepped into the stage and began their performance. "And… ugh, they're already ruining it" she whispered, shaking her head. Sokka frowned and leaned towards her, trying not to speak too loudly.

"Why? What's wrong about that?" Sokka asked.

"Look, this very scene is meant to portray why the Dragon Emperor's selfishness earns him the disdain of the other dragons…" Azula muttered at him, gesturing towards the stage as she spoke softly.

Sokka found himself unable to keep track of what she was saying after a short moment. He wasn't paying any attention to the play either, all he did was look at her as she talked about the Ember Island Players' mistakes. He smiled as he detailed her face carefully, the way her mouth moved as she talked, the way her brow became furrowed and her eyes glared down at the stage with disapproval and contempt…

"That seems to be a very exaggerated Water Spirit…" muttered Zuko, frowning and pulling Sokka out of his daze when he spoke.

"Well, I suppose you'd know, expert Water Spirit as you were…" said Azula, unable to hold back a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess I would," Zuko retorted, bitterly.

"Huh?" Sokka asked, looking from one to the other rapidly. "What's that about? Was Zuko in a play?"

"What? Of course not!" said Zuko, looking at Sokka as though he had lost his mind. "Azula and I… when we were young we'd play at being the Dragon Emperor and the Water Spirit, and Azula would never fail to be the Dragon Emperor."

"You can't deny the role suited me best," said Azula, shrugging. "And it would even suit me better nowadays."

Zuko groaned and rolled his eyes at that. He was sick and tired of Azula's superior attitude… he had been sick of it for ages. His entire childhood he had spent it under her shadow when it should have been the other way around. She got her away with whatever she wanted more times than not, she had their father supporting her with most anything, and she had her way even while at play. Not once did he have the chance to play at being the Dragon Emperor. She was the younger sister, he had to be nice to her even when she wasn't nice to him…

There was only one thing in his childhood that Azula hadn't ruined: his mother. He had always feared she would cease to love him, all the same as his father had, when Azula grew older… but no, Ursa had always remained by his side. She had taught him much, and helped him grow into the man he was today. She had raised him almost by herself, since Ozai had cast him aside to focus completely on Azula once she had proven to be better than him at nearly anything.

But that had never mattered to Ursa. She didn't care who was the most talented child: she had loved him unconditionally, for he had been her son. She had believed in him, she was the only person who had ever granted him lasting happiness… and then she had disappeared. She wasn't with him anymore, much like nobody else was.

Iroh had insisted that he would always stand by Zuko to support him. He had told Zuko that he had friends who loved and cared for him. But did he really have them? Iroh only thought of Zuko as his own because Lu Ten was gone. Ty Lee had asked him to come to this trip, but all along she had been drooling over Haru and she hardly paid him any attention at all. Mai had forgotten about him and married another man. His father kept choosing Azula over him, as always… and Kyoshi's Heir had vanished without a trace, for she likely didn't want anything to do with him either.

Ursa was the only person who had ever loved him for who he was, to the point of asking him to never lose sight of his true self as her last wish. But who was he? She didn't want him to forget who he was, but that was easier said than done. She thought he was someone who didn't give up even when things were hard, but he had given up on finding the Avatar. So who was he now? Had he disappointed his mother completely? Would she be ashamed of him if she knew…? No, hopefully not. For she loved him. She always had. She promised she always would.

He bent forward and rubbed his forehead with his fingers, incapable of watching more of the play. He thought it would be good to remember his mother by watching this performance, but the memories were far more painful than they were enjoyable. Every time she had smiled to him, every time she had told him to let his sister be the Dragon Emperor this time…

Azula could only glower at her brother in silence when she saw him move. She grew stiff and her hand balled into a fist on her lap, for she knew just what Zuko was doing to himself while watching the play. It was the same thing she had been doing to herself, after all. What she had been doing for a whole week now. She couldn't keep her mind from drifting towards her mother either as the Dragon Emperor and the Water Spirit fought for the first time on stage.

But her thoughts couldn't have been more different from Zuko's. In her mind, her mother was nowhere close to a heroine. She thought Azula to be a monster… she always had, she always would. She had always hated Azula, favored her brother over her and never given Azula any of the care she had given Zuko, not even when Azula and Zuko played at being the Dragon Emperor and Water Spirit. Ursa would always hug Zuko and tell him he could be the Spirit this time around, that it wouldn't make her like him any less. And what of Azula? She played the hero, the one she was supposed to root for. And yet Ursa never had. She would never support Azula, no matter the situation… and why? Wasn't she her daughter, just as Zuko was her son? Why was it that Azula was never hugged, that she was never the one Ursa laughed with, that she had never even heard her say she loved her…?

Sokka noticed Azula growing tense next to him. She had turned her face away from the play, but her expression wasn't that of someone disappointed with a bad performance. No… she was upset, genuinely upset, over something he couldn't understand. It was the same expression from back when they were at the Arena. What was the matter?

He took her by surprise when he placed his hand atop hers. She blinked and turned to look at him, expecting him to withdraw it immediately, but he didn't. There was something in his eyes… concern, was it? Why was he looking at her like this? Was it that easy to notice she was troubled? Was it so easy for him to see she still didn't want to accept she was a monster?

"You alright?" he asked, frowning a little.

"I…" she said, not knowing how to respond to his intense gaze.

Yet she didn't have a chance to respond. Zuko suddenly stood up, taking the entire group by surprise when he did. Sokka's hand moved away from Azula's as he turned to look at the Prince, who was gritting his teeth as he turned to leave the balcony even though the play had only just begun.

"Zuko?" Ty Lee called, as Zuko stormed out through the hallway. "Zuko!"

There was no answer to her calls. Haru had turned as well, just as confused over whatever had upset Zuko as Ty Lee and Sokka were. But Azula knew. Azula understood why he had stormed off. She knew why he couldn't bear watch another second of this wretched play…

"What was that about?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We… we should probably go after him," said Ty Lee, standing up.

"Zuko knows Ember Island well enough, Ty Lee," Azula stated coldly. "You needn't fear he'll get lost in the dark…"

"But Azula…" said Ty Lee, grimacing. "He wouldn't have stormed off unless there was something wrong with him."

"Maybe he needed to go to the bathroom," said Azula, shrugging. "Why worry so much about Zuko, Ty Lee, really? Didn't you want to enjoy the play?"

"I don't think I'll enjoy it if I'm worried he might go do something stupid…" said Ty Lee, gulping. "We should go find him."

"What?" said Azula, glaring at Ty Lee.

"Azula, he's your brother," said Ty Lee, looking at her reproachfully. "You should care if he's distressed over something."

And who cared when she was distressed over something, too? Azula's bitter thoughts accompanied her glare at Ty Lee. Hardly anyone had cared in the slightest if she was upset, angry or sad. She didn't need anyone's assistance to get over her problems, so why should she help Zuko overcome his?

"I… I want to watch the play, but not like this," said Ty Lee, walking towards the doorway. "Let's find Zuko."

Haru followed her immediately, and Sokka gulped. He looked at Azula worriedly: clearly, there was something bothering her just as well as something bothered Zuko. Was it they were each other's reasons to be upset? If that were the case, the wisest thing might be to keep them separated. Maybe he ought to stay here in the theater with her…

But Azula rolled her eyes and huffed angrily, standing up swiftly and motioning Sokka to do the same.

"Come on," she said, annoyed.

"But… Azula, are you…?"

"I'm fine," she spat back at him before he could finish his sentence. "Get moving, I said."

Her authoritarian tone startled him. She hadn't spoken to him like this ever since they had been stranded in the forest. It was the exact same tone with which she had deemed him an eyesore when he had come to apologize to her after his fight with the Savage Hook. Her eyes even had the same cold quality to them as they had back then… even though they gleamed like raging fire. Curiously, Azula had always held an odd balance between fire and ice within herself.

Sokka didn't understand why she was forcing herself to do something she didn't want to do. Ty Lee would likely be able to take care of Zuko on her own… and Haru could help her if she needed any assistance. If Zuko was upset about something, about anything, all logic told Sokka that Azula wouldn't be able to help him. And if Azula was upset about something, there was hardly any chance that helping Zuko would help her in turn.

But it seemed that logic wouldn't stop her. Maybe she was trying to pretend there was nothing wrong with her, that she needed nobody's attention, much unlike Zuko.

She passed Sokka by, her brow contracted in a deep frown as she left the balcony as well. Sokka gulped and walked after her, far more worried about Azula than he was about her brother…

It took them longer than expected to find Zuko. Azula had suspected he might have headed towards their family's old house in Ember Island, but to her relief, the gates of the house were closed and barred when they approached it, as they had been for the last thirteen years. He couldn't have come in here if that was the case.

Yet not long after that, they spotted a lonely figure by the empty beach, sitting on the sand while staring off towards the dark sea. The group had headed towards him, guided by the streets' lanterns until they reached the shore, where the only light that gleamed was that of the moon in the night sky. They reached Zuko silently, and nobody spoke a word until Ty Lee approached and knelt beside him.

"Zuko…" she muttered, noticing he was far sadder than he was angry. "Are you alright, Zuko?"

"I just stormed out of a theater and you ask if I'm alright?" he retorted with sarcasm, unwilling to look at Ty Lee.

"You don't have to be so mean, we're just trying to help you," said Ty Lee, as Haru approached as well. Sokka kept some distance, and Azula stood even farther behind him, glaring daggers at her brother's back.

"I don't want any help," Zuko grunted. "I… I just need to be left alone."

"Well, good. Let's leave," said Azula, unwilling to waste another moment with this.

"Azula…" Ty Lee said reproachfully, looking at her before turning towards Zuko once more. "Zuko, please, if there's something wrong you can just tell us!"

"Well, why do you care?!" Zuko exclaimed. "It's not like it really concerns anyone but me!"

"But Zuko, we're your friends! Of course we care!" said Ty Lee, a hand on his shoulder. "If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here for you… but we are. So please… let us help you, Zuko."

"Help?" he repeated, gritting his teeth. Would it really help to tell her anything? Would it be any use to open up to Ty Lee? Opening up to Iroh hadn't worked out so badly… could it be the same this time around? "You can't help me…"

"At least I can try," she said, biting her lip.

"I doubt you can do anything, Ty Lee," he said, shaking his head as he finally gave in to her pleas. "It's not like you can bring my mother back…"

"Z-Zuko…" she said, gulping.

Sokka frowned as he looked at Zuko in confusion. Was this about their mother…? Then… was that the reason Azula was so angry?

"I… I thought remembering her might help…" he said, gritting his teeth and lowering his head. "The play… i-it should have been fun to watch it, to remember how it was when she took us to the theater, but the only thing I can feel is loneliness! I… I can't stop feeling miserable, she's been gone for too long… I just miss her…"

Azula's anger could only increase upon hearing Zuko talk. It seemed he was about to cry. Well, perfect. There it was again, just as it had been when they were children. He would cry and earn everyone's attention, because his problems and his pain were so hard to bear he just had to dump them onto everyone else, even if nobody else cared. For she sure didn't care. She didn't care if he missed his perfect, wonderful, loving mother. She'd never had a mother of the sort, so this way he might understand what it felt like to be Azula. He might understand what it was like to be abandoned by those who should have loved him most…

"It's okay to miss her, Zuko…" said Ty Lee. "There's nothing wrong with that at all. And it's better if you just tell us about it, I'm sure… keeping everything inside won't help you."

Azula had to hold back the urge to laugh as she turned away from Zuko, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Keeping things inside? Zuko wasn't keeping anything inside! He was showering the world with his sorrows constantly, day by day, never moving on, never progressing with his life. He was too busy burdening everyone else with his own problems to even realize others had their own hardships to bear… ah, but he didn't care, did he? He was the one who needed all the attention, the one who needed to be loved and cared for…

"I… I just feel so alone, I… I failed her, Ty Lee. She… she told me not to forget who I was. It was the last thing she said to me, when she said goodbye…"

Azula turned upon that and looked at Zuko with indignation.

"What…?" she muttered, her voice shaking.

"S-she told me never to forget who I was…" Zuko said. "It was the last thing she ever said to me, and…"

"Wait just a moment, Zuko…" Azula said, stepping towards him. "What's that supposed to mean? She said… she said goodbye to you? Really?"

"She came into my room… the very night when she left," Zuko replied, sighing. "I didn't think it was a goodbye, so I just fell asleep again… I didn't realize it was the last time I'd see her…"

"But she… she went into your room," said Azula, stepping back again, gritting her teeth as she felt the weight of the world crashing down upon her with this new revelation. "Of course she would have…"

"She's the only person who had ever loved me for who I was," said Zuko, gritting his teeth. "And… and I don't know what to do. She'd be so disappointed in me if she saw me now…"

"No, I'm sure she wouldn't be," said Ty Lee, biting her lip.

"No, she wouldn't be, Zuko," Azula agreed, with a dangerous smile that only served to conceal her hurt and fury.

Sokka looked at her worriedly, knowing now that his guess must have been spot on. Now that her fury had changed in nature, he realized he had never seen Azula like this. There was something about her that seemed out of place, perhaps… as if something had snapped inside her. It was even worse than when she had lost the spark in her eyes back when their relationship had fallen apart…

"I assure you, our mother would never be disappointed in you," she said, seeking to conceal her bitterness but failing at it. "I thought you were aware of that. You'd never let her down, no matter what you did. So why would you think you would have this time? Obviously, if she were here, she would have hugged you and said that your failures mean nothing to her, that her love for you will linger forever."

Zuko glanced towards her for a moment, with a scowl. Azula simply met his gaze with anger while Ty Lee grimaced.

"Azula, please…" she said Ty Lee, at which Azula twitched.

"What? Isn't that what he wants to hear?" Azula retorted angrily.

"It's not the time to be snarky like that… a-and there's no need to be so upset!" Ty Lee said, looking at Azula warily now.

"No… of course not," said Azula, glaring at Ty Lee and Zuko. There was no need for her to be so upset… ah, but Zuko had every right to be upset, didn't he? This was like a sick, twisted joke, truly… "You know what? I'm… I'm done with this. I can't even watch this. By all means, go ahead and bawl your eyes out, Zuko, I'm not ruining your parade… but I sure as hell am not joining it either."

"Azula…" Sokka said, as she turned around and stormed away through the beach in anger. "AZULA!"

"Let her go," said Zuko angrily, as Azula climbed the steps towards the streets again. Sokka didn't listen, though, for he continued calling out for the Princess. But she ignored him all the same.

"Uh…" said Ty Lee, standing up and looking towards where Azula had just vanished. Oh, she ought to apologize to Azula, but something told her approaching her right now wouldn't end well for her.

"This isn't good," muttered Haru, gulping. This definitely wasn't the idea he had of a fun trip… who knew a prince and princess would have such problems?

"We should go after her," said Sokka, gritting his teeth. "Something has been bothering her for a while now, I don't know what it is, but…"

"Never mind her," said Zuko, standing up and glancing towards the sea before turning towards Sokka. "Let her leave, it's not like it matters. She's perfect after all… this sort of stuff is beneath her."

"What…?" said Sokka, turning towards Zuko and staring at him in disbelief.

"She can't feel any empathy for someone in pain, that's the way she's always been," said Zuko. "She'd hurt the turtle ducks in the Palace's pond and she wouldn't feel a thing. Maybe she's just selfish. Maybe she just doesn't care about anyone but herself. Just let her leave, she just can't watch how people with real emotions behave, it just makes her too uncomfortable to…"

Zuko's speech was interrupted drastically, in a way nobody expected it to be.

One of Sokka's hands had gone to Zuko's shirt, with which he pulled him towards him. The other hand was pressed into a tight fist, which struck Zuko's jaw so powerfully that the Prince fell over into the sand upon the force of the impact.

"ZUKO!" Ty Lee exclaimed as he collapsed on the sand.

Haru looked at Sokka in shock, but his expression soon turned to fear when he saw the anger in Sokka's features now. Never before had he seen his friend as furious as he was now.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Zuko shouted, a hand going to his new injury as Ty Lee tried to help him sit up.

"That's what I ought to say, you asshole!" Sokka snarled at Zuko. His wrath was such that Zuko seemed to freeze, unable to find it in him to respond to the gladiator. "How dare you…? How can you say such things about your own sister?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I… it's the truth, nothing more than that…!" grunted Zuko, rubbing his jaw.

"The truth?! You're… you're unbelievable," said Sokka, shaking his head. "You don't even know her! How dare you talk about her as if you understood anything about her?! You have no idea what that girl has been through!"

"And you have no idea what I've been through!" Zuko shouted back.

"Oh, yeah? I'm pretty sure EVERYONE knows what you've been through, Zuko!" Sokka yelled. "The Fire Lord's son, got burned and disowned by his father, spent ten years at sea trying to find the Avatar and failed! The girl he hoped to marry one day went with another guy and now he's left with nothing! Tell me, did I miss anything?!"

Zuko recoiled at that. He looked at Sokka with some fear now, not knowing if he ought to be ashamed now or if he should press on…

"And what do you know about your sister?!" Sokka shouted. "Do you have the slightest clue of how many hardships she has endured?! Can you even begin to imagine what sort of battles she's had to fight to keep others from stepping all over her?! Do you have a clue of what sort of pain your sister has endured in silence, simply because she'd rather keep all her problems to herself than trouble others with them?! No, you don't! And you know why you don't?! Because you're too busy burdening everyone with your own crap to even spare a thought her way that isn't full of envy and spite!"

Zuko stared at Sokka in shock, the pulsating pain in his jaw increasing with every passing second.

"Don't you dare judge her!" Sokka shouted stepping towards Zuko and grabbing him by the shirt again to pull him up. "And don't you dare call her selfish! You… you really should be ashamed of yourself…"

With that, he dropped Zuko to the ground again. The Prince could only look at him with the same dumbfounded expression on his face.

"She's your sister," Sokka grunted, his teeth gritted. "Your only sister. Yeah, sisters can be a pain in the ass to their older brothers, but that doesn't make them any less their siblings. And as an older brother, your parents tell you to put your needs aside for your sister's. They'll tell you to protect her, to watch over her, to make sure she's safe! That's what an older brother should do! That's what you should be for her!"

"But she's…"

"She's difficult?! Why, how long did it take you to figure that out?! Hell, of course she is! But don't you think that might be because you've spent your entire life thinking only about yourself and never about her?! When was the last time you ever did something for her sake, Zuko?! Tell me! When was the last time you put your needs aside for hers?! When was the last time you talked properly with her?! When was the last time you asked her how she was doing simply because you CARE?!"

Zuko looked helpless now. Haru and Ty Lee were also looking at Sokka with utter disbelief, never having seen him as angry as he was now.

"Ah, but… maybe you just don't," said Sokka, his glare becoming even colder as he looked at Zuko with disdain. "Maybe you're too busy thinking about your own problems to realize she has a fair share of her own… who is really the selfish one, I wonder?"

"I…" Zuko mumbled, wishing he could defend himself somehow but failing to find the means. That terrifying azure glare kept him from thinking straight.

"You've got no right, Zuko… no right at all," grunted Sokka, shaking his head. "Don't you dare judge your sister. You don't know anything about her. Do her a favor and grow up so that you can begin acting like the brother she deserves, will you?"

"S-Sokka…" Ty Lee whispered, but Sokka turned on his heels and left, following the very same path Azula had walked earlier. Ty Lee looked down at Zuko again, aghast to see his jaw was swelling. "Oh, Zuko…"

But Zuko was in such a state of shock he couldn't react just yet. What Sokka had said had been far more hurtful than the punch… and it was hurtful because behind those words there was truth, far more truth than he dared acknowledge. Maybe Azula hadn't been the perfect sister to him… but he wasn't a perfect brother either. And that was something he couldn't blame her for. Maybe she was difficult… but maybe he hadn't tried as hard as he could have. Maybe his mother had been wrong to think he was someone who always tried his very best… he never had when it came to Azula.

---

She ran fast, and yet it wasn't fast enough. The consequences of her actions would catch up to her, she had always known they would. Her mother wouldn't let this go, she wouldn't listen to anything she had to say… all Azula could do was run and hope Ursa never found her.

She took a sharp turn around a corner and glanced up long enough just to see she had come in the right direction. She confirmed it when she saw him standing there, speaking solemnly to his father and other generals that had just come out of a war meeting. Azula dropped her head again and moved quickly past all the men before finally reaching Prince Ozai.

Ozai was startled when he felt a pair of small arms wrapping around his leg. He looked down and saw, with utter astonishment, that it was none other than his daughter, who seemed was crying inconsolably for some reason he couldn't fathom. But he was certain the sight of a child in tears would displease Azulon… and as he predicted, it did.

"What is the meaning of this, Ozai?" Azulon asked, his furrowed brow contracting even more so.

"I can't presume to know, Father," Ozai replied, unsure of what to do. Should he push Azula away, to keep from incurring in his father's wrath, or should he address whatever it was that had made his daughter cry?

"Then go find out," grunted Azulon, shaking a hand as though to give the matter no importance. "Get that tearful girl out of my sight."

"I'll make sure she doesn't cry on the next opportunity you see her," Ozai declared, as he pulled Azula away. "You have my word, Father."

"You'd best not make promises you cannot keep…" grunted Azulon, leering at Azula one last time before turning towards a nearby general to speak with him.

Ozai ignored his father's words and he took Azula away, towards the higher levels of the Palace. He needed to know what it was that had made his child cry in this way, and soon enough he did, once they were both within an empty room, safely outside anyone's earshot. Azula poured everything out as soon as he beckoned her to explain the reasoning behind her tears, and she looked up at her father in hopelessness once she was finished. If there was anyone left in the Palace who could be her ally, it would be her father…

But to her dismay, her father seemed to think this was a bad joke, for he had smiled at her with disdain once she had finished talking. Now she regretted having spoken…

"Is this truly why you wept, Azula?" he said, shaking his head. "This is no matter to cry about, child."

"But… b-but mom thinks I'm a monster, and…" she gasped, tears still streaming down her face.

"What of it, Azula?" Ozai asked, taking her by surprise. "What is so wrong with being a monster, I wonder? Why should you be so scared, so unwilling to be one? Azula… there's only one explanation for Ursa's behavior towards you: she fears you."

"S-she… she fears me?" Azula repeated.

"Of course. She knows you're powerful. She doesn't know how to keep you in line, so she's afraid," said Ozai, smiling. "She's afraid you'll become greater and stronger than anyone before you. She fears… because she is weak. And so is Zuko. But you, my daughter, you are not weak."

"I'm not…" Azula agreed. "I'm talented, I'm strong, I…"

"You are better than they could ever dream to be," Ozai declared. "Take pleasure in that, Azula. Take pride in your strength. Don't hide it behind tears and flights… don't run away from anyone ever again, Azula. Don't lower your head before them, for you are a Princess. You are my heir, as I already said yesterday. They are the ones who bow their heads before you. Ah… and don't cry. Sorrows only weigh on you. Sorrows only make you weak. You cannot be weak if you're to take my place in the world one day, Azula. You cannot be weak if you will become Fire Lord."

"I… I'll become Fire Lord?" Azula asked, surprised. "How?"

"Why, once I die, you shall succeed me on the throne, of course," said Ozai, smirking. "You don't believe your grandfather will be around forever, do you?"

"No, but… uncle Iroh…"

"Never mind your uncle. He hasn't got what it takes to rule, everybody knows it," said Ozai, frowning. "The crown will pass on to me… and then to you, when you're ready. But I will not let my crown be placed on the head of a girl who cries and runs away. My heir must be strong, resilient, proud… my heir will be capable of anything, Azula. Do you believe you can you do that?"

"I… I think so," she said, biting her lip.

"No more insecurities, then," he said. "No need to fear anything, Azula. The entire world exists solely to answer to you. And you fear your mother will see you as a monster? Why, then, let your mother see everything you're capable of. Let her see that you are the most powerful firebender ever born in the Fire Nation. Let her scold you and tell you to hold back, but never abide by her demands. You needn't let anyone hold you back."

"But then she'll… what if she punishes me?" Azula asked.

"Why, I had assumed you were clever enough not to let her catch you," said Ozai, smirking. "If you don't want to be told off… then be smart about your methods, be careful about what you do. Defy her, but don't let her realize you're defying her. Smirk whenever she gives you a command: play with her, toy with her mind. You can do this and much more, Azula. You are superior to your mother, superior to Zuko… you have nothing to fear from them. If your mother dares say another word against you, she will have to answer to me."

"She will?" Azula asked, surprised. "Then… about what happened just now…"

"If she dares to accuse you of attacking your brother, I shall tell her the very story you just told me," said Ozai, smiling. "And it matters not if she chooses not to believe it. We both know the truth, Azula…"

"I didn't start it," Azula said, and Ozai chuckled.

"No, Azula. We both know the truth above that, the one I've just told you. You're superior. You're better than her. You needn't cry over her, over anyone or anything, for it is only her fear which makes her treat you as she does. It is only fear that leads her to believe you are a monster. Prove to her that you don't care if she calls you a monster… Prove to her just how much of a monster you can be. Teach her a lesson she will never forget. Show her who holds the true power in your relationship…"

It took a moment for Ozai's words to sink into Azula's young mind, but eventually, they did.

And from that day onwards, she was no longer the child who fled from her mother's lectures. She didn't hide her tears as she sought solace in the darkness, as far from Ursa as possible… no. From that day onwards, Azula smiled at her mother, for she knew she held a power her mother didn't possess. She knew her father was on her side. She knew she would become Fire Lord one day.

She knew that everyone around her feared her. She knew her powers existed for the sake of exploiting that fear. She knew she was meant for greatness, and she knew emotions could hold her back from it if she let herself be swayed by them. From that day onwards, Princess Azula shut her heart away completely. No longer did she care for her brother's boasts of his great deeds, for she knew she was destined for something superior than whatever he could hope to accomplish. No longer did she cry before her grandfather, nor did he dismiss her as though she disgusted him. No more tears left her eyes for years on end, for she wouldn't allow them to.

Even when the notice of Lu Ten's death arrived, Azula did not cry. A part of her heart still wished he would return one day to let her mother know Azula wasn't a monster, a part of her heart she had kept buried deep inside herself… but it was only a small part, she had made sure of that, and she refused to let her sadness show. And why should she be sad? He had broken the promise he had made to her. He had said he would come back to tell Ursa that Azula was no monster… but it was too late now. He would never return. Ursa would never know her daughter wasn't actually a monster…

And for that, she could only begrudge him. For that, she could only be angry. She deserved better… and thus she concluded she could trust no one. She wouldn't trust anyone anymore, anyone but her father. He was the only one who had believed in her. He had turned her into the powerful leader and bender she was shaping up to be. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could matter.

Not even that her mother vanished without a trace shortly after Lu Ten died could matter. That the woman hadn't even said goodbye to her was irrelevant. It didn't matter just how much her heart hurt when she thought about Ursa, it didn't matter that at night she might dream of sitting beside her by the turtle duck pond, as she often did with Zuko… for said dreams would never become a reality. Her mother had left… she had left and Azula didn't know why. But she didn't have to know why. No longer would Ursa hold her back anymore. She was free to release her full potential and become what her father wanted her to be. Those lingering feelings of pain were only a hindrance. And she couldn't allow them to fester within her heart. Everything had been for the best, she knew it was so. Crying at night was wrong, it was stupid, it was something Zuko would do. Not her. She was strong. She couldn't let herself be weak. She was to become Fire Lord one day…

Azula stumbled as she made her way through the house Ty Lee had rented. It was quite dark inside, so it was hard to make out the shapes, especially when her eyes were blurry and unfocused because of the tears she refused to shed. She walked through the vestibule and towards the living room. She reached the nearest window and placed her hands on the windowsill, her long nails digging into the wood as her chest heaved. She needed to calm down. She couldn't let her emotions get the better of her, not now, not ever… her father told her those emotions were futile, useless, and he always made sure to remind her of it. Emotions only led to weakness… and she couldn't be weak. She couldn't let herself cry another tear over her mother, not anymore. She had better things to concern herself with, the only hope she should still hold towards her mother should be for the woman to remain gone…

She heard sounds behind her, and she turned around quickly. No… nobody should have followed her. They should have remained with Zuko, comforting him as he wept because he missed his mom… why would anyone come after her?

But when she saw who it was that had come, she surprised herself by not being surprised at all. Of course he would have come… of course he would make the brilliant decision to follow her when she was most troubled. She couldn't face him like this… especially not him.

"Azula…" Sokka whispered, as he closed the house's door behind him, the door Azula had left wide open when she had barged inside. "I'm glad you came here, for a moment I didn't know where you might have…"

"Go… go away," she said, glaring at him menacingly. Sokka stopped on his tracks upon the viciousness on her voice.

"Azula?" he said, confused, as he walked towards her by the window. "What is…?"

"Go away, I said! Leave me! Go cradle Zuko in your arms, he clearly needs someone to do that now that his dear loving mother isn't here anymore, so just…!"

"What the…? Hell, no!" said Sokka, grimacing. "Why on earth would I want to cradle Zuko in my arms? Azula, what are you…?"

"Just LEAVE!" she exclaimed, and it wasn't until then that Sokka saw the tears on her eyes.

He froze on his spot, only a few feet away from her. The look on his eyes was that of concern… but to Azula it looked like fear. Well, perfect. Now Sokka feared her as well, even though he had never feared her before. But naturally, he would be afraid… he was finally seeing the monster she hid behind that apparently perfect exterior…

"Azula…" he said, still unmoving.

"Get out of here, Sokka, if you know what's good for you," she grunted, her glare as fierce as ever.

"Azula, come on, I… what's the matter? Can't you tell me what…?"

"No, I can't," Azula muttered. "And you're not going to help me. Nobody can help me. Get out of here."

"I… I came here for you, Azula," he said, frowning. "I came to…"

"To do what, exactly?!" Azula exclaimed, as her invisible mask finally fell off her face so that he would finally see the real Azula. "To watch how I fall apart for no apparent reason?! Well, you see, Sokka, I've always been broken inside! From the very beginning, I've been broken! You never knew it, you never saw me for what I really was, but I've always been broken! And she knew it! She saw me for the monster I really am!"

"What the…? Monster?" Sokka repeated, puzzled. "Azula, what…?"

"My own mother…" she said, shaking now. The tears began streaming down her face, even though she willed them not to. She couldn't cry. She shouldn't cry. It was wrong. Her father had said so enough times, so why should she? "… She said so herself, she… she believed I was a monster. She… she would ask what was wrong with me, she would yell at me… because she knew I was a monster. Because she saw the truth behind everything, she… she knew I was a monster."

Sokka couldn't utter a single word. He hadn't seen Azula cry in quite a long time… and even though this time it wasn't because of him that she wept, all he wanted to do was to erase those tears. To exchange her sadness for happiness. But how?

"It's why she wouldn't say goodbye, you see…" said Azula, now laughing nervously as her shoulders shook. "It's why she didn't care for me. It's why… why Zuko's mother was such a sweet, loving woman, while mine was strict and unloving… because… because no matter how I tried to impress her, how I sought to gain her attention one way or another, it… it wouldn't work because I was… because I was a monster. I am one. I've… I've always been one."

Sokka gritted his teeth now. How could Azula say these words…? How could she speak of herself like this? Why had her mother said such a thing about her…?

"And Lu Ten knew it…" Azula said, her head going down as she found herself sobbing now. "He knew it! He… he promised he would change her mind… he… he said he would talk to Mother, he would tell her… he would make her see I wasn't what she thought I was… but then… but then he died in Ba Sing Se, and for the longest time I never even… I never even mourned him, because… because I was angry, because he hadn't returned to tell mother that I… I … I was just… It was so much easier to be angry than sad, it was so much easier because I didn't want to miss him… but in the end, that's just… that's just what makes me a monster, isn't it? Maybe… m-maybe that's why he couldn't come back… because he couldn't tell Mother… he couldn't tell her I wasn't a monster, for it would have been a lie…"

Her cousin, the one who had been buried in a hill at Ba Sing Se… Sokka looked at Azula worriedly, as she fell silent for a moment, her crying so violent now she couldn't say another word. He made to approach, and this time she didn't send him away… but soon enough she was speaking again.

"And I know… I know I shouldn't cry. I feel so… so stupid," she said, shaking her head. "What does it matter what she thought? What did it matter if Lu Ten… if Lu Ten didn't return? What does it matter if she's gone?! It doesn't! She's… she's better off away from me! I don't… I don't want her… I don't need her… I don't deserve her…"

"Azula…"

"W-what mother would hate her own child?" Azula asked, shuddering. "What sort of a mother could ever…? She loved Zuko so much, so… so it's obvious the problem was always… the problem was always me… and I shouldn't cry about it, because I know it! I… I know I've brought this upon myself. I know crying won't help me… if anything, it only renders me helpless. I can't cry anymore about her, I shouldn't… Father… Father says emotions are weakness, Father… he thinks I shouldn't care… he always thought I shouldn't care… but why can't I stop caring? Why… why can't I stop crying?"

She tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but it was impossible, for they wouldn't stop flowing. She hugged herself and lowered her head, wishing to conceal her crying even though it was too late to do so. He had seen her… he had heard her. After all this time thinking she didn't want Sokka to know the truth about her, now he did, and all because she had started rambling. Why had she said any of this to him? What did she think she would accomplish by telling him anything? She had accomplished nothing. Now he knew she was a monster… and soon enough he would leave her, all the same as her mother had, all the same as Lu Ten had…

But instead of walking away from her, as Azula had expected him to, Sokka strode towards her. His arms surrounded her suddenly, and before she knew it she was crying on his chest, her nails now clawing at his clothes as she sobbed desperately, uncontrollably, in his arms.

Sokka held her closely, his head atop hers as he rubbed her back gently. None of what she had said made any sense to him. There was no way he could believe it… no way he could believe she was a monster. Not after everything they'd been through, not after he had come to know her as well as he did.

But now he understood why Zuko had spoken of his sister as he had. Now he understood why Azula always pushed people away even when they genuinely cared about her… it was because she thought herself unlovable. She thought she was a monster. At some point in her life she had actually decided to believe she was one, so that nobody would ever come close enough to see her for who she truly was. It was why she couldn't pardon herself any weaknesses… why she didn't wish to feel, why she had shut herself away from her emotions. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do it. She couldn't stop feeling. If anything, the tears she was shedding right now were proof of it. Azula was incredibly smart and calculating… but not when it came to herself, it seemed to Sokka.

She clutched at him as though she might fall to pieces if she didn't hold on. His arms were around her all the same, to keep her together, to show her that this time she wasn't alone… all her life she had been alone, all along there had been no one who would stand beside her in either the best and worst moments of her life. And she had always kept everything inside because she thought her emotions were a waste. Her father wouldn't approve of her tears… he would believe that his daughter was weak for caring about what her mother had thought. And thus, Azula herself had come to think she had no right to cry about this. She didn't think anyone would understand why she wept… she didn't want anyone to understand it either, for they would think she was just like Zuko.

And Azula could only think she truly was as weak as her brother now. She was pressed against Sokka, crying her heart out because her mother thought she was a monster… she was shameful, really. He'd likely think she was stupid for weeping over something as ridiculous as this. At the very least Zuko had a scar across his face, it was acceptable to cry about that, surely. But her mother deeming her a monster… it was stupid. What sort of a fool would suffer over this?

She didn't want him to judge her… especially, not him. Anyone else could do it, but not Sokka. She had no idea what he was to her… for he sure wasn't just her gladiator, but she didn't really understand what the nature of their relationship was. Nevertheless, she didn't want to lose him. She didn't want him to lose the image he had of her and surely, after this, he must have lost it. As he held her while she cried over something so stupid, all the respect he had ever held for her would have faded into oblivion…

Azula forced herself to stop crying on him, taking deep breaths in hopes to calm down. It had been enough weakness for now. She couldn't let her grief consume her…

The touch of his hand on her face startled her. She glanced at it, through her watery eyes, and realized his thumb was wiping away her tears. What was he doing…? Why wipe her tears, what on earth…?

"Sokka… what are you…?" she muttered, but she was brusquely interrupted when it wasn't only his thumbs on her cheeks.

His lips pressed against hers gently, keeping her from saying anything else. Now she shivered, but for a completely different reason. Why was he kissing her…? Didn't he hear what she had told him? She was a monster! She couldn't be loved, not even by her own mother! What did he think he was doing?

"S-Sokka, you…" she said again, when he pulled away briefly. When he saw she would still try to talk, he silenced her with another kiss.

She couldn't respond, baffled as she was. Nothing she had said was worth kissing her for… what was it with him? What the hell was wrong with Sokka? Why should he want to kiss her right now, when she was such a mess? She was disheveled, emotionally wrecked and crying uncontrollably, and yet he was kissing her. What the hell was he trying to accomplish?

After a few more kisses, she found she didn't care about what he was trying to do. Even though she was miserable and upset, the thrill of excitement as he kissed her was still there. If he really was going to do this, then maybe she should go along with it… The hands that had been clutching at his clothes with despair now moved up to his chest. Sokka feared for an instant that she might push him away, but she didn't. She still wasn't responding to his kisses, but it didn't seem she was going to fight them anymore…

Sokka held her face in his hands gently as his lips caressed her cheeks now. Azula was breathing heavily as she felt him kiss her face, wiping away her tears through different means now. She had stopped crying, but probably only because she was too astonished to know how to react to Sokka's actions. She closed her eyes tightly, and after she did, he kissed her eyelids. She shivered almost violently now, gripping him again to keep him close to her, as though he were the only real thing in the world.

She gasped, and Sokka didn't know if she was about to say something else, but he didn't really want her to. He didn't want her to question his motives, his motions, his kisses… and he was sure she would, as soon as he gave her a chance to speak. But he wasn't planning on giving her one.

His lips found hers again, but now it was his turn to be surprised when she actually returned his kiss, even if only weakly. His arms went around her, and he held her as closely as he could while still kissing her softly. Azula's arms reached out to surround his neck, bringing him lower as she sought out more of the gentle touch of his lips. She didn't know why she needed it, all she knew was that she did. Whatever he was planning didn't matter… chances were he wasn't planning anything at all, Sokka always made up everything on the spot… surely what he was doing now was also an improvisation. He probably only wanted to make her feel better, and this was the best idea he'd had.

It surprised Azula to think he was actually succeeding. She wished she could kiss him back with the enthusiasm the act deserved, but she couldn't stop shivering, either because of her violent crying earlier or because she was kissing Sokka right now. One of her hands went to the side of his face and slid down his neck… and there she found the scars she had left on him during their very first encounter. How was he kissing her now when she had hurt him as many times as she had…? Why was he kissing her when he knew what a monster she was?

She didn't understand it. She couldn't even begin to understand it, and she was certain she never would. This man had never made any sense to her. Maybe that was the reason why she had become smitten with him in the first place. She simply couldn't read him, even when she always claimed she could. She would have never expected this day to end with him kissing her while holding her so intimately, in a way she had never been held before, not even by him. It was as if he prized her above all else… as if he…

No, that was folly. She was a monster. She couldn't be loved.

But these kisses seemed determined to prove otherwise. Sokka wasn't being desperate or wild, as he had been in the past. No, this time there was something really different in the way he was kissing her… something Azula couldn't put her finger on. Or perhaps she could put her finger on it, but she refused to do so. She couldn't fill her mind with pointless hopes, as she had when Lu Ten had promised to talk to her mother… she couldn't be so stupid as to think Sokka might love her. It made no sense for him to like her in the first place, how could she even hope for something more than that? He was just comforting her, that was all there was to it…

Which was more than anyone else had done for her as of late. The last time someone had held her while she wept was Lu Ten, when he had found her under the statue… for her father hadn't accepted her tears. He had told her to discard them. She was meant for greatness. She couldn't cry.

But Sokka didn't seem to care if she was meant for greatness or not. He was kissing her, holding her, replacing her everlasting sadness with something she could barely begin to understand…

Sokka's arms released her briefly and he leaned down, surprising her when he lifted her gently, one arm on her back and the other one under her legs. Sokka leaned down on her face to kiss her lips once more and Azula returned the gesture slightly more enthusiastically now, a hand on the side of his head while she caressed his neck with the other.

She had no idea where he was taking her, but for some reason, she couldn't care less. She guessed he had decided they had to move before the others returned to find them like this… surely Ty Lee would do anything to cash her bet if she saw them this time. But for some reason, Azula couldn't bring herself to care. That Ty Lee earned money at her expense or not was completely unimportant. All that mattered right now was that she was being held by him once again, and her lips were united with his. She didn't understand why he would kiss a monster… but she meant to make the most out of it for as long as it lasted.

Sokka climbed the stairs with some difficulty, trying not to stop kissing her while doing so. He reached a room Azula couldn't quite recognize at first, busy kissing him back as she was, but after a moment she realized it was hers. Sokka shut the door by pushing it with a foot, and he proceeded to carry Azula towards her mattress.

He placed her atop it gently, lowering her as carefully as possible. Azula's arms were around his neck again when he placed her on the bed, and she refused to shift them until she was certain Sokka wasn't planning on pulling away. He sat beside her, leaning down so that his lips could still move against hers. His hands were on her sides now, while her legs flexed as though she was hoping to trap him with them all the same as she had with her arms.

They exchanged more kisses as Sokka pressed down on her, until he finally pulled away… but not completely, to Azula's relief. She was gasping for breath as she looked at him in disbelief, still incapable of reasoning through what had just happened between them… what this meant for the two of them.

"Azula…" he said, tracing her face gently with his fingers, as if he as well needed reassuring that she was real, that this was more than just a dream. "Azula…"

"Sokka," she muttered back, her voice raspy after crying as she had. "Why… what the hell, Sokka? You… what was… what was all of this for?"

"You have to ask?" he said, with a weak smile.

"Of course I do, you… you moron…" she muttered, her hand caressing his cheek gently as if to counter the harshness of her words.

"I thought it was obvious," he replied, his forehead against hers. "But maybe it is… I guess you already know, really."

"You're… taking advantage of me?" Azula asked, and upon Sokka's indignant reaction she actually found the strength to smile.

"Hell, no!" he exclaimed. "Really, though… Azula, the things you said down there…"

"Are stupid, I know," Azula replied, her smile fading away again. "It's stupid for me to suffer over…"

"It's not stupid, Azula," Sokka interrupted her, looking at her earnestly. "It's anything but stupid."

She fell silent upon that, looking in his clear blue eyes with surprise.

"I… I never imagined you were holding something like this inside you," he said. "Well… I knew you had some pretty big secrets, that's not new. But this… that you actually think you're a monster? Azula…"

"What? You're not going to say… you're not going to say it's not true," Azula muttered, lowering her gaze.

"No, it's not."

Azula looked up at him once more, her heart racing within her chest as she gazed at him in shock.

"Azula… I have no idea what the hell was wrong with your mother," he said, shaking his head. "And yeah, I probably shouldn't talk like this about someone I don't even know, let alone your mother, but… but she has to be insane if she really thought you were a monster."

"Wha-…? But… Sokka, I…"

"You're an unusual person, Azula," Sokka said, his fingers caressing her face. "You're a lot more than what most people are used to. Not everyone knows how to react to someone who is, well, everything you are. You're beautiful, talented, smart beyond belief… and you have a knack for accomplishing every little thing you've set out to do. Are those the traits of a monster, I wonder?"

"Y-you don't understand, Sokka…" Azula said, shaking her head. "All along, when I was a child, I was a menace. I'd do… I'd do things my mother couldn't even bear look at, I…"

"Like what, pray tell?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… I set those turtleducks on fire once…"

"Uh, yeah, that's kinda how I'd cook roast duck, and if that alone made you a monster then I think nearly everyone would be one…"

"I'm serious!" Azula exclaimed, startling him. "She… she saw me doing that, and she said I was a monster…"

"Uh… did you burn them because you found an unbelievable pleasure in burning them, I wonder? Did you thrive in the way they churned up in your flames? Did you kill them?"

"I… I didn't," Azula muttered. "I was just trying to train, but… the animal got in the way."

"Oh… I see now," said Sokka. "And your mother thought you were a monster because of a mistake like that one?"

"I… I would often set things on fire when I was younger, I didn't know how to control my powers that well…" Azula said, shaking her head.

"That's hardly your fault," said Sokka, frowning. "You'd learn to control them in time, as you have."

"I'd always hurt Zuko, one way or another," Azula said now, gritting her teeth. "Be it physically or… or through my words, I'd always hurt him. And I enjoyed it."

"Seems to me like you still do," said Sokka, shrugging. "How did you hurt him, then? Did you mutilate an arm of his? Ah, don't tell me, are you the one who scarred him and not your father?"

"What…? Of course not, I…"

"Then you burned him at times?" Sokka asked raising an eyebrow. "You pushed him? You laughed when he did something stupid?"

"I… did," Azula muttered this time.

"Why, then that sounds just like what my sister would do to me. Just, she'd freeze me or throw water at me instead of burning me," said Sokka, smiling. "And nobody ever called her a monster for that."

"It's… it's not that simple, Sokka," Azula muttered, gritting her teeth. "You don't understand…"

"What don't I understand?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I weren't one… then why did she… why did she love Zuko, if she didn't love me?" Azula asked. "If… if she could love him as she did, then there had to be something wrong with me, there has to be something about me that just…"

"I beg to differ," said Sokka, his forehead against hers. "If I could just go find your mother and force her to explain herself, I would. Maybe that way we both would come to figure out why she called you a monster… why she hurt you as she did. Because I see no sense in it, not in asking what was wrong with you, nor in calling you a monster. If anything, it makes me wonder if the monster might have actually been her."

"But that's…" Azula said, looking at him in despair. "I'm not… Sokka, I'm not what you think I am. I'm really not… I'm really not as good as you believe I am".

"Huh? Are you trying to convince me you can be cruel, mean and vicious?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. "As if you needed to! I believe I saw just how cruel you can be when we first met, remember?"

"I…" Azula muttered, her hand on the scars on his neck again. "I did this to you, and yet…"

"And yet here I am, telling you you're a better person than you ever thought you were," said Sokka, smiling. "Azula… you're not half as bad as you think you are. You've just pretended to be bad for so long you've ended up buying into your own pretense."

"B-but…" Azula said, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily.

"These feelings you said before that you shouldn't be feeling?" Sokka asked, caressing her hair. "These useless emotions? The ones you said your father told you to cast away because they made you weak?"

"Y-yeah…?"

"Well, they're vouching for me, girl," he said, smiling. "They're saying I'm right, Azula. And they say your mother and every other idiot in the world who dares call you a monster is wrong. That you can feel this so strongly, that you can't hold back the tears, that you can't help but care about what your mother thought of you… it's all proof that you're not a monster, Azula. And that you can't chase these feelings away, that you can't leave them behind even when you've tried your very best to do so, proves that you can't be a monster."

His hand was cupping her cheek now, and he smiled ever so kindly at her.

"You're not a monster, Azula. A monster wouldn't care," he said, before kissing her brow.

"B-but…" she gasped, shaking her head. "T-then… why did she think…? Why has everyone just left, if I'm not…? Why…? Why didn't my own mother love me, if I'm really not a monster, Sokka? Why…?"

"I…" he said, at a loss for words this time. The helplessness in her eyes was that of a child being scolded for something she didn't do. "I don't know, Azula. I'm sorry… I can't even begin to make sense out of that. I… I'm not going to say she must have loved you on some degree, I don't know her and I really don't know if she did or didn't. But… but even if she didn't, Azula, don't make the mistake to think that you can't be loved just because she only loved Zuko."

"And what am I supposed to think, then?" Azula asked, gritting her teeth as her tears threatened to slip out of her eyes again. "What am I supposed to…?"

"Azula, you're… you're amazing, alright?" said Sokka, caressing her face as she looked up at him. "Maybe your mother didn't see it… but that doesn't mean others can't. That doesn't mean others can't come to love you if you just let them."

"Really?" she asked, trying to sound skeptical, but her tone came across as insecure instead.

"Really," said Sokka, his forehead against hers again. "Really. You… you deserve to be loved, of course you do. By… by some guy who is as amazing as you are. There's got to be someone worthy of you someplace, I'm sure… someone you'll be able to love back all the same. He's out there, I'm sure… and you'll find him one day."

"Right…" said Azula, now lowering her gaze. So, it wasn't him, then… it wouldn't be him. He didn't want to be the one who loved her… the one she would love back.

"But seeing as he's not here yet…" he said, making her look up at him again. "Seeing as… as you haven't found him, then… then maybe I can try to show you, if only for tonight, that… that you are more than deserving of love. You can be loved, Azula, so much you can't even begin to imagine it…"

"You'll… you're going to show me?" Azula asked, her eyes widening. "What are you…?"

"I know I… I know I'm definitely not worthy of you," Sokka said, with a weak smile. "I know well enough that you deserve better than me. But, if… if you'll have me, then… then I'll love you, if only for tonight."

Azula stared at him in utter disbelief. He had actually said…? Had he actually said he would love her? Did he even know nobody had ever said such a thing to her before?

The tears began streaming down her face again, but before Sokka could dare do anything about them, her hands reached up for his face and she brought their lips together again, passionately, powerfully, with a kiss completely different to all the kisses they had exchanged tonight.

Sokka closed his eyes as their tongues met, as Azula put everything she had into this kiss. His arms surrounded her as he responded eagerly as well, taken by surprise by her initiative. She sought to reach out to him, to be closer to him than she had ever been before, and she pulled him down so their bodies would be in perfect contact. No longer could he sit on the bed, she had made him climb atop it without asking… though she didn't need to ask at all. Being this close to her was everything he could have ever wanted… but no. This wasn't about what he wanted. This was about what Azula needed. Anything he might wish for came last, and he wanted it to remain that way. She was all that mattered, be it tonight or tomorrow or at any point in time. He loved her, and for once, he was free to show her he did.

His hand reached up to her face and wiped the tears that she had been unable to suppress yet again. Her hands moved over his body, caressing him in ways she had never touched him before. He was all hers for one night… even if it was only for one night. She could claim him tonight, forget all about what held her back in the past, because it was Sokka… and he had said he loved her. He would love her for tonight…

"S-say it again…" she muttered against his lips, as he continued kissing her face. "Sokka…"

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, and she smiled. The tears wouldn't stop, it seemed, but it didn't matter. For once, she didn't care if she was crying. All she could think of was that he had said he loved her yet again… "I love you, Azula."

Her chest seemed ablaze with fire she couldn't bend… a fire she had never known until now. She could only kiss his face as well, shutting her eyes tight as she willed the tears to stop. It was a single night… a single night with a man she should have never had a chance with. For once they had a real opportunity together… for once she could forget all the prejudices, all the nonsense that had held her back in the past. There was no point in clinging onto those things now, not anymore…

Her legs went around his waist, to his surprise, and she locked her ankles in place as she found his lips with hers again. She craved him desperately, even though he was right in front of her, gifting her with every caress she had never known she needed. Every contact between them said more than their words ever could. His hands stroked her skin gently, his lips kissed her mouth and his tongue darted out to seek hers. She could only feel herself coming undone in his arms, as she tried to become his in every possible way…

She lifted her head and allowed him freedom to move down to her neck, an opportunity Sokka grasped as soon as it was presented to him. Azula gritted her teeth, trying to keep from moaning when he kissed her sensitive skin. He knew what he was doing, naturally… Azula wouldn't have expected any less from him. She couldn't keep track of how many times his name escaped her lips as she enjoyed the pleasure his mouth was providing her with. His breath was warm on her body… and she could feel his erection in his pants. It would seem she wasn't the only one who was becoming too excited over this sudden turn of events.

Sokka couldn't have enough of her, he had always known as much. He should have never had any of her, for starters… that she would be underneath him, as he brushed her skin with his lips, was so much more than he should have ever been granted. Her legs had brought him down on her, and he could sense her warmth with his own body. It seemed she wanted more than this, even…

But he couldn't do it. It wasn't that he didn't want to, for there was nothing he desired more than her. If he could have his way, he would love every inch of her body… but it would be a death sentence, for both of them. And Azula knew it too. So if she only stopped being so alluring without even meaning to… if she stopped trying to break his resolve with her every moan…

Sokka moved to the side of her neck, and Azula turned in the mattress, her legs locked around him to move him with her. They were on their sides now, and his lips continued delighting her as her hands traveled over his back and chest. She couldn't stop touching him, couldn't pull away even if she wanted to… she needed him like this, closer to her than anyone had ever been before. She felt safe in his arms, safer than ever… because he didn't think she was a monster. Because he loved her, even if he would only do so for one night. And it was none other than him… it was Sokka who kissed her, who held her so intimately, so closely…

She moved her head down again, at which Sokka moved away from her neck. But she didn't give his lips any chance to rest, for she pressed hers against them again once their heads were level again. Sokka closed his eyes and enjoyed the kiss to the fullest, his hands stroking her waist until hers clutched them. He didn't know what she sought to do, and he almost gasped in surprise when she led his hands to her chest, inviting him to touch her as daringly as he had when they had first kissed all those months ago. Oh, at this rate he wouldn't be able to endure any more of this…

His hands cupped her breasts and his erection could only grow as he touched her. He continued kissing her, but he had to move his hands away soon or else he wouldn't be able to stop himself. This wasn't about what he needed, he reminded himself yet again… this was about Azula, and she had endured enough pain as it was for him to add a broken maidenhood to it all. It didn't matter if he had to put up with a wasted hard-on… it was better than to take a step he doubted Azula wanted to take just yet. Nobody would ever know she had kissed him as passionately as she had tonight, and nobody would know she had been touched by him… but there would be no going back from surrendering her virginity to him. And as he had told her before, he knew he wasn't the right man for her even if he wished he were. She deserved better. And maybe he could become a better man… but he definitely wouldn't be one if he deflowered her tonight.

He had promised to love her for tonight… so when morning came, this would only be a memory. And it had better be a memory that couldn't bring with it the terrible consequences of taking her virginity.

His right hand reached up to her neck and he pulled her closer, his kiss deepening. His left hand still caressed her breast, to reassure her that it wasn't that he didn't wish to do it… but he couldn't pull through with what she wanted. Not tonight. She deserved much better than what he could give her.

His left arm soon moved towards her waist and pulled her close again. Azula's legs remained locked around him, and their lips were still moving together, their tongues finding each other, her hands on his chest as he embraced her ever so tightly.

Azula panted when their kiss was broken off. She looked at him longingly, wondering if he really wouldn't pull through with this… would it be for better or for worse that he wouldn't? Probably on the next morning she would think it was the former… at the moment it seemed to be the latter. Didn't he want her? Didn't he realize he was the only man who had ever loved her? She would much rather give herself entirely to him, if only for tonight, than to keep herself pure and untainted until she had married one of her father's noblemen…

But the noticeable stiffness of his cock told her otherwise. Yes, he wanted her, just as he had back when she had kissed him in the waiting room at the Grand Royal Dome. But this time around she wouldn't whisper anything spiteful into his ear… he had free rein, but he was choosing not to carry on, even when he really wanted to.

Azula had forgotten everything that had ever held her back, but he couldn't do it. She couldn't have cared less if Zuko barged into the room now and found them tangled around each other in this intimate embrace, but Sokka hadn't lost sight of what would happen if they were found. And that was why he wouldn't pull through… it wasn't because she wasn't worth it, or because she was undesirable, or because she was unlovable…

He kissed her brow and hugged her tightly, her head going to his chest. They both breathed heavily, their chests heaving as one. Sokka found himself inhaling the scent of her hair as she caressed his torso, almost shyly now. Her priorities were returning slowly to her mind, and now she was slightly ashamed of how far they had come… but she didn't want to pull away. She wanted to stay close to him, just as they were, from now on and forever… if she could freeze time, she would have done it now. She would have made this night eternal, for it was the one night Sokka would love her…

She lifted her head towards him, and she was slightly surprised to find him smiling down towards her. Never before had the sight of his grin made her feel so elated. She reached up to him, caressing his lips with her own coyly, almost insecurely… and he responded yet again with ardor, with desire, with love…

"Say it again…" she whispered against him, and he kissed her before complying.

"I love you, Azula," he said, his hug tightening as he said the words. "I… I really do, Azula, I…"

She silenced him by kissing him again. She didn't want to hear him say he couldn't love her for more than just tonight… she didn't want to consider that maybe he would have confessed his love would actually last longer than that. She didn't want to hear anything that made her think about the future… all she wanted was their present, the here and now, she wanted to belong to him even if he hadn't claimed her completely.

"I love you… I love you…" he muttered between their kisses, as though saying it once wouldn't be enough to convey the depth of what he felt for her. As if he was trying to say it for all the times he hadn't told her what he felt before. As if he would say it for all the times he might not have a chance to tell her in the future. And Azula only wanted to hear him say those words countless times… she needed to hear them more than she had ever thought she did.

They didn't know for how long they had remained wrapped around each other. The moon was now visible through the only window in the room, a window right next to the bed where they lay, still exchanging kisses and gentle touches.

Exhaustion made its way through them both, though, and Azula's head was throbbing now since she wasn't crying anymore. She gritted her teeth upon the pain and lowered her head, and Sokka kissed her brow yet again.

"My head…" she muttered, and it took him no time to make sense out of what was happening to her.

"It hurts?" he asked. "Maybe… maybe you should get some rest."

"But…" she said, looking at him desperately. Again she met a smile when she saw his face. "I can't just… when I wake, you'll… you'll be gone, and it'll be over…"

Sokka lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"I won't go anywhere," he said, smiling at her. "I did say I'd love you for one night… whether you're awake or asleep, it makes no matter. I'll love you all the same."

"Then you… you'll stay? You…?" Azula asked, and he kissed her lips again.

"I will. So long as you'll have me… I'm yours," he said, making no mention of the time limit deliberately, hoping she might understand what he meant… for it wasn't just for tonight that his heart belonged to her. It had been hers for much longer than that, and it would be hers forevermore, he was sure of it.

Azula closed her eyes again as she kissed him softly. Sokka's fingers intertwined with hers as he returned her affections wholeheartedly, making sure to keep her as close to him as he could. She gripped his clothes with her free hand, grasping him to make sure he really wouldn't leave… and he had said he wouldn't. He wanted to remain with her. Countless others had left her before… and she would have sworn he'd do the same, but he wouldn't do it tonight. For tonight, they would remain in their tight embrace, while feeling they had finally found the place where they belonged…

The curtains rustled gently, and Sokka did nothing but caress her hair as he watched her become drowsier by the minute. Hopefully, that headache would recede soon enough. It was a pity that they both would need to sleep. If only they wouldn't…

"Sokka…" she muttered, with her eyes closed.

"Yeah?" he said, touching her nose with his and smiling.

"Stay… will you really… will you stay?" she asked.

"I thought I'd already promised I would," he said, his grin widening.

"Stay…" she repeated, and Sokka wondered if she was speaking in her sleep or if she was still conscious on some level.

"I will, Azula. I'm yours… I'm completely yours," he said, kissing her brow. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay with you."

She smiled weakly, and he leaned down to kiss her lips anew. The hand that wasn't holding his caressed his face gently.

"Say it again, Sokka… what you said before… say it."

He kissed her one more time, muttering the words she needed to hear one last time before she fell into the sweetest slumber she had ever enjoyed, before she drifted into a sleep where she wouldn't find herself faced with memories of a past that had haunted her until tonight. No… her dreams would be filled with him, and nothing but him. And that was how she wanted them to be, from here on and forever…

"I love you."