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...

245. Chapter 245: The Ultimate Gladiator 16

Only when she shuddered awake did she realize she had been asleep at all. Her head throbbed at the level of her eyes. Twin trails of dried tears gave away that she had wept on the mattress until she had fallen unconscious – who knew if, somehow, she had cried while asleep, too.

But she didn't take note of any of those things, didn't take note of the persistent pain across her left shoulder, or the pangs of hunger in her stomach, for the only pain she seemed capable of recognizing anymore was that ever-growing hole inside her chest. That very pain caused her to almost jump upright on the mattress, frantic even if she could barely remember why… only to find an arm, a hand, draping over her body, as calming kisses were pressed against the back of her head.

"It's okay, Azula. You're safe"

Her heart was racing, just as her breathing was labored and uneven… but those words, spoken with that kind voice, were the most soothing ones she could have hoped to hear: Sokka. It was Sokka. He was holding her… he was alive. He was safe, and that mattered far more than her own safety, for sure.

She drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she tried to make sense of their current situation, of her own anxiety and fear: they were in the Barge, in her cabin. Dim sunlight glowed across the window, to the east. It was still morning, then? It was morning, and he was with her. It was morning…

Azula closed her eyes again, trying to chase away that slowly dawning awareness of what their circumstances were… of what nightmares they had lived through across the last week. Two weeks ago, she would have panicked upon recognizing the sunlight outside, ushering Sokka to leave, to get going at haste or they'd be caught…

Well, they had been caught indeed.

What did it matter if it was morning, at this point?

Sokka's fingers trailed gently over her abdomen, no doubt hoping to soothe her with his motions. She could feel his lips pressing gently against the back of her head, across her scalp, poised to offer her a small shred of tranquility, of peace, for he knew she'd struggle to find either thing in the coming days… in the coming years, more like it. Perhaps in whatever time she had left to live, if anything…

Her fingers reached for his, once again, much as they had last night. Her words would have reached for him as well, had she known what she wanted to say. Why was it so hard to evoke thoughts, to translate them into intelligible conversation lately, when it had never been a challenge before? Even opening her mouth seemed to take every remnant of her strength, so all she dared do with her lips was release a slow sigh.

"You can sleep some more, if you want to" Sokka whispered behind her. Azula clenched up at his suggestion "I'll be right here when you wake up"

"I… I think I'm good" Azula said: she couldn't remember her body being this tired before, truthfully, and yet she didn't want to close her eyes, not for another moment. Not when they ought to be gazing at him, for every instant they had left… and yet even the thought of doing so broke her heart to pieces. She had given herself to fantasies, to dreams, so carelessly last night… to the hopes that this might not be their final journey together. Morning had arrived and all dreams would be left behind in the night, to be reclaimed later… only to be replaced once more by that same unforgiving reality that had broken them only a few days ago "If you need to, though…"

"Been awake for a bit" he answered, once her voice trailed off "I'll rest more later, I figure"

To anyone who was scarcely acquainted with Sokka, his behavior might not seem particularly alarming, or unusual. Perhaps to many of those who did know him, it would seem only adequate for him to sound so humorless, considering the circumstances. For the one who knew him best, though, it wasn't the direct, simple words that sent daggers through her heart: it was that serenity, that gentleness with which he caressed her, with which his kisses offered her peace and calmness she wasn't sure how to accept. He was restraining himself in far more ways than the apparent: he focused on her peace of mind, on not being a burden for her, on not getting in her way anymore.

She was a fool for wishing he would try to get in her way again after he had finally surrendered.

"How are you feeling? Your shoulder any better?" Sokka asked, softly "We might have to ask Jianghuo if he has anything for this sort of swelling… well, whenever you're up for it, of course. Could be we should just… just go find something to eat now, instead"

"You'll need it" Azula said, quietly "You should've… headed downstairs when you woke up. Found some food for yourself…"

"I… I didn't really think of it" Sokka said: she could feel his lips curving into a smile against her skin, but his voice gave away it was a broken smile, in this case "I just…"

He just wanted to stay with her. To hold her, for every second they might have left. Azula's throat closed in at that thought, and she shut her eyes tightly to prevent any tears from escaping them. Enough of this, enough of crying uncontrollably… her emotional outpour was causing her fool of a husband to neglect his own health for her sake, as he often did. The more she cried, the more excuses she'd be giving him to do exactly that. She couldn't let that continue, now, could she?

"You're awake now, though" Sokka said, swallowing hard "Means… I can get food, for the both of us"

"Shouldn't it be me who goes get it…?" Azula asked "I've had more to eat than you did…"

"Did you?" Sokka asked, questioningly. Azula's eyes opened slightly "No offense, Azula, but… I doubt that's true"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Azula said, her narrow eyes turning towards him just as he shifted on the bed: he was smiling again, though, and now that she saw his face her previous reluctance to gaze upon him seemed a complete loss of sense to her. That was the man she had married, the man who had stolen her heart away… the man she wished to wake up with, for every day of her life.

"It means… that I'll question you now about what your last meal was. C'mon, tell me" Sokka asked, leaning close and prodding her nose with his own "Did you have any meals aboard the Barge yet?"

"I… I guess? I don't…"

"You didn't"

"How would you know that?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes. Sokka smirked.

"No tray, no plates left lying about in this room? Did someone come clean up after you while we were sleeping, by any chance?"

Azula raised an eyebrow slowly, though his words certainly were hitting the spot: when had she last eaten at all? Or had anything to drink? She couldn't remember it. Had she eaten at all on the day before? As it was, she only recalled having walked out of her room and made for the now destroyed Royal Dome… if she'd eaten anything at all before that, she certainly had eaten nothing after they'd escaped. It had been too much tension, and she seemed to have started learning from Sokka's terrible habits of neglecting his health and needs in favor of everyone else's…

"That guilty silence means… no" Sokka finished, smiling gently "So I guess I'll go do something about it"

"It shouldn't be you" Azula whispered, as she shifted in bed, lying on her back: Sokka hovered above her, as he often did, and she direly needed him to cut that short distance between them as soon as possible, no matter if her heart might continue breaking with every loving exchange between them "You're badly wounded…"

"You plan on carrying our breakfast tray all by yourself?" Sokka asked, nonchalantly "You're very gallant to offer… but your shoulder's bound to hurt a lot still. I think whatever Jianghuo gave me for the pain is still working pretty well… though I may need a refill on that in a few hours"

"And a change of bandages" Azula finished, reaching out with her right hand to touch the white strips of fabric wrapped around his abdomen. Sokka nodded.

"But until I do need that refill, I can find food for us just fine, Princess" he smiled, leaning closer…

Azula caught his lips with hers, leaning closer, stealing into the exchange with so much more enthusiasm than he had expected, considering she had woken mere moments ago. After the night they had shared, he had braced himself for much more distance from her, even if he had hoped otherwise… but it seemed she wouldn't turn her back on him this time, as she had in the corridor below deck after their argument. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless: whatever time they had left, there was no point in letting their shared moments go to waste with unnecessary squabbles.

Sokka leaned in, ensuring she would rest fully against the bed: her hand slipped around his body, fingers tracing the exposed muscles of his upper back… the light lines that evidenced years of passionate lovemaking, as well. He only pulled away once she was lying properly on the mattress once more, her head resting against the pillow as comfortably as could be.

"Good morning" he said, with a gentle grin "Want anything in particular for breakfast?"

"Can't… think of anything" Azula admitted. Sokka raised his eyebrows.

"Guess that's good… because as you may recall, I'm not all that great at cooking just yet" he smiled awkwardly "I'll go see if I can make us something to eat, then. I'll try not to take long, alright?"

"You…" Azula whispered, holding him in place still, as though unwilling to see him leave at all. Sokka made no movement to leave, despite his words: he wouldn't do so until she let him go, until she decided she was ready for him to walk away "You're sure you're okay with taking off to cook, o-or just… anything, really?"

"Anything?" Sokka asked, quietly. Azula gritted her teeth.

"It's just… I… I mean, well, the guards are…" she started, but it didn't seem she could string her words together properly. A consequence of exhaustion, lack of nourishment, emotional baggage or all three merged together, she didn't know, and frankly she didn't care to find out, either. She only closed her eyes and breathed deeply, hoping Sokka would understand her apprehension without needing her to say another word…

"You… are worried about what they'll say, once they see me?" Sokka asked. Azula gritted her teeth, averting her gaze from his "More than anything, because we… we spent the night together and this time anyone would be aware of it, huh?"

"If they think we're irresponsible fools… well, they wouldn't be wrong, now, would they?" Azula asked, her voice strained "I'm… I'm sure that's the general, world-wide consensus as it is…"

"They might think that. You're afraid they might resent us, huh?" Sokka said, biting his lip "They… they probably should, we all can agree on that, right? But… I did bump into more than just Rui Shi yesterday. Fei Li, Jianghuo and Han didn't seem to be acting any differently… we hadn't spent the night together yet, but they seemed a bit weirded out when Rui Shi told them to leave my luggage down at the dining deck. Probably because they already figured I'd come here…"

"Or because they thought you'd stay in your own cabin…" Azula whispered, eyeing Sokka with uncertainty.

"Heh. Guess I can find out which is the truth if I bump into any of them, then" Sokka said, smiling weakly "Though… you do know, if they're all here, it's because they made the conscious choice to support us, right? Might be they'll regret it, I can't say for sure they never would… we've cost them a lot. But at least at the starting point, they thought we were worth it"

"Are we?" Azula asked: her gaze seemed to say she felt lost, and Sokka's chest ached at the sight of it "Can we… can we guarantee to them that all they're doing for us is worth everything they've sacrificed?"

"No. We can't" Sokka answered, earnestly. Azula gritted her teeth just before Sokka pressed his brow to hers "All we can do is trust in your men, in the loyalty they've always professed for you… and in the belief that most any other path forward would be worse, whether for them or for us. Isn't that how it is?"

Azula gritted her teeth but nodded: she highly doubted Sokka believed that to be true, at this point. Even if he presented himself so submissive now, she kept bracing herself for him to turn the tides on her, to offer her some form of resistance… to seize her and keep her in the South Pole against her will. Perhaps it wasn't quite so against her will if she found herself longing for it, come to think of it…

Still, if he would seem to have understood that most other paths would only worsen the bloodshed and destabilize their world beyond measure, it was all the better for her. She was tired of fighting… she suspected so was he. Perhaps that was the true reason why he wasn't putting up any resistance anymore…

"Still… all the more reason for me to go find breakfast instead of you" Sokka whispered, caressing her hair gently "I can check on them, let you know if they're displeased or disapproving of us in any way…"

"You don't have to do that for me…" Azula said, raising her hand to touch his face. Sokka smiled and kissed her again.

"Might be I want to do things for you. How about that?" he whispered as he pulled away.

She shouldn't have felt helpless when his frame was no longer towering over her… but her chest tightened at his absence, and she gazed at him wistfully as he climbed off their shared bed, retrieving the clothes he'd left scattered within the cabin last night. Being needy and clingy didn't suit her, Azula thought… but even spending a moment away from him seemed so wrong when their time together had an expiration date.

Still, she didn't protest. She didn't say anything at all, knowing Sokka's choice to find food for them was a matter of necessity… a matter of looking after her, as well. He had been right, after all, to say she'd eaten very little ever since the dark night that had changed their lives forever. Wherever one of them lost sight of reality, the other was ready to help them regain sight of it… as always, the smooth flow of their relationship continued to amaze her. It was truly harrowing to ponder however she'd survive in this world without someone to stand beside her as he had, across the past four, almost five years… she'd survived most her life without him, it was true. Back in her teenage years she had wanted to be completely independent, to prove herself to the world that refused to acknowledge her. She had attained that acknowledgement eventually… but her heart truly had yearned for companionship, for understanding, for a different kind of strength than the one she had come to know through her father's teachings. She had found all those things in the man who fastened his sash before her, casting a reassuring glance and smile at her over his shoulder: he hadn't even set foot outside the cabin yet, and she already felt the urge to follow him wherever he might go next.

"I'll be back in a bit, okay?" he said, nodding in her direction "Get more rest if you feel like it"

Oh, she wouldn't feel like it, not without him nearby. Each step he took to the door beckoned her to climb out of bed, to join him, even if she lacked the strength to act on those urges immediately… but then he was out the door, and she hadn't even climbed off the mattress. He smiled again at her from the threshold, closed the cabin's door behind himself, and then he was gone. Gone.

What was the point of him leaving at all, facing the guards on his own, when she could face them with him? She swallowed hard, her fingers trembling as she forced herself to sit up in bed, careless about the covers that rolled down her bare body. Yes, it was possible her guards would resent them… she had expected that, truthfully, when she had come back to her senses in her room in the Palace, back when Rui Shi told her Sokka was still alive. Fei Li and Tai Wei, however, had only seemed sympathetic, remorseful, unwilling to see her enduring such trials. Fei Li had even accompanied her to the Prison Tower… and he most likely had overheard some of her exchanges with Sokka, down to their intimate coupling, which he had nearly interrupted. Who knew if he had tried to stop them when they were halfway there, and they had been far too busy to notice…?

It was simply unacceptable on her part to leave Sokka to deal with it all… that wasn't how their teamwork was supposed to function. Now that their relationship had been exposed… she couldn't hide and cower behind his strong back and leave him to fend off every obstacle and difficulty on his own. He had fought for her just yesterday, facing death head-on… she couldn't retribute him with such cowardice.

She breathed deeply and put forth all her strength, forcing herself off the mattress: that was one step, then. Little by little, she'd catch up with him. He wouldn't have to face this battle alone – he'd have to do so with too many battles he'd see in the future, as would she…

By then, Sokka had already climbed down to the Barge's deck: normally, there would be at least two guards standing watch, while the many sailors worked in the engine and command rooms. Today, the vessel almost appeared deserted. The guards would be quite busy keeping the Barge running, Sokka supposed, as he dared glance across the blue expanse of the ocean and the sky beyond. There was nothing else in sight… nothing but a deep sea that seemed to spread forever. If only it would indeed… if only they could stay adrift at sea, never reaching any destinations, whatsoever…

He withheld his miserable, wishful thoughts as he continued downwards, to the dining deck. He guessed he would be able to prepare a simple meal,as long as they had the right ingredients for it. Should he make enough for the rest of the guards? That would be the least he could do, though they might not appreciate his unrefined cooking… yet with how busy they likely were, and how exhausted, too, they might welcome any support he might offer, even if his skills in the kitchen left much to be desired.

No noise could be heard at the dining deck once he approached it. He breathed deeply as he reached out to the door, pushing it gently, expecting the usually bustling place to be uncharacteristically empty…

Only to find such expectations subverted when he caught sight of four guards, sitting silently at the tables closest to the kitchen area. Yet another guard was hard at work in the kitchen itself: Sokka's eyes widened, as did theirs when they spotted him.

"Oh, Sokka" Fei Li said, waving almost shyly at him "You, uh… came looking for your stuff? We gathered it all on that corner over there, if that's okay…"

"Huh. Thanks" he replied, with an awkward smile the others replicated quickly "Are you guys, uh, taking a break? I thought I'd make breakfast, but…"

"You don't have to, you don't have to" Fei Li said, waving a hand dismissively at Sokka "We, uh… raided your house's storage. Sorry about that, but… it seemed wrong to let all those leftovers go to waste, you know?"

"Wait… you brought all of Song's food?" Sokka asked, blinking blankly "For real?"

"Won't last us the whole trip…" Wuhan said, sitting at the same table as Fei Li, arms crossed over his chest "But at least it will work for the first few days, when the work is roughest"

Sokka nodded, smiling weakly. Well, at least he'd have less to worry about for now, food-wise. He knew, firsthand, that Song's food was always of the best quality… he knew, too, that he wasn't likely to taste it again after this voyage. They had left behind so many people, so many valuable friends… his chest ached as he tightened a fist: if it hurt him this much to think of the last times he'd enjoy any of Song's wonderful meals, he barely wanted to imagine how Rui Shi felt about this.

"You said you wanted breakfast, then?" asked Fei Li "Taro's up to distributing the food right now, so if you just wait a bit, you can have some"

"Uh, I can help him, if he wants…" Sokka said, but Fei Li waved a hand carelessly at him.

"No need, no need" he said "You're all covered in bandages, and you should get them changed soon, right? Jianghuo's probably resting right now, but once he's up he'll take another look at you"

"Then I can help out until he does, can't I?" Sokka asked, with a shrug "We're going to be traveling a while, I might as well make myself useful and helpful here and there…"

"You don't have to, though" Han said, with a sympathetic smile "We're all prepared to deal with the tasks to sail the Barge, you can just focus on recovering…"

"But…" Sokka grimaced, eyeing the four guards in sight with uncertainty "It doesn't seem fair. You guys have been working pretty hard as it is, so…"

"That's our job, though… isn't it?" Shuren said, quiet as he ever was "To serve the Princess… and, well, you're part of that job, as it is…"

"You really think of it that way?" Sokka asked, awkwardly: he could feel the color rising in his cheeks under the guards' scrutinizing stares "T-that… I'm someone you have to serve too?"

"Well, the Princess chose you. In many ways, not just as a gladiator, so…" said Fei Li, with a shrug "It's as if you were, uh, her betrothed! And that'd mean we'd work for you both, see?"

"Her… betrothed" Sokka said, raising an eyebrow with uncertainty. Fei Li eyed him skeptically.

"Whaaat, you're not going to tell us that's too serious or anything, are you?" he said, teasingly "C'mon, Sokka, don't sell yourself short. You two were that committed to each other, weren't you?"

"I… mean, yeah, we were, rather, we are committed…" Sokka mumbled, inevitably blushing further as he breathed deeply "Anyway! Uh, the food, how much longer do you think it'll be before…?"

"Not that long, I'm sure…" said Fei Li, though his eyes were sharp as they settled on Sokka, most incisively "Though, you know, before Taro is done with it… I wanted to ask you something"

"You do?" Sokka swallowed hard, wary, more so when the other guards scoffed at Fei Li.

"Come on! Leave the poor guy alone, he doesn't need you poking his nose in his private business…" Han scolded Fei Li: Shuren glared at him too and Wuhan nodded at Han's words.

"It's just a question! If he doesn't want to answer, he can just… not answer!" Fei Li blushed. Sokka grimaced.

"What… exactly is that question of yours?" Sokka asked, with an awkward grin.

"Just…! W-well, you see, we've been talking, and we were wondering…" Fei Li said, biting his lip in anticipation "When, exactly, did this relationship of yours begin?"

"… Huh?" Sokka blinked blankly: the rest of the guards groaned, just as Taro stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a breakfast tray in each hand.

"What…? Fei Li! We said we weren't going to bother them!" Taro exclaimed, aghast, but Fei Li scoffed.

"I said he can just not answer if he doesn't want to!" Fei Li pouted, his voice squeaky as he folded his arms over his chest "I'm just curious! You know, I always figured something was going on, I just wanted to find out for sure if my guess was right! Is that a crime, really?"

"It's none of your business either way" Wuhan declared, and Fei Li scoffed.

"Don't you guys have any sense of curiosity, whatsoever?"

"We're not gossips, that's what it is" said Shuren, simply. Fei Li scoffed again.

"Ha! As if! We've talked about this a lot of times, Shuren…!"

"Because you brought it up, every time…"

"Not every time! It was Qiang who talked about it back when we heard Sokka had stayed for dinner while the Princess was serving as Fire Lord!" Fei Li squeaked "And it was Tai Wei when we were wondering if their trips back when we were stationed in Ba Sing Se were just romantic getaways! So, there you have it, it wasn't always me!"

"W-wait… you guys were always talking about this?" Sokka asked, a slow, uncertain smile spreading over his face "Like… your whole group?"

"Uh… yeah?" Fei Li said, shrugging carelessly.

The others, at least, had the decency to be flustered, embarrassed, awkward about this revelation. Taro ducked back into the kitchen, bringing more trays with food he'd managed to split in the most even portions possible. However hungry as most the men were, they didn't seem all that inclined to start eating just yet, ashamed over Fei Li's answer to Sokka's question – or just curious, as was Fei Li's case.

"That… is strange. I mean… I'm not exactly insulted or anything, so you guys don't have to look at me like that" Sokka smiled reassuringly at the others "Just… didn't really expect this from you guys. Though, well, I did expect it from Fei Li…"

"Hey! Taro was just as interested in the subject as I was!" Fei Li declared, proudly, prompting Taro to gasp as he set down the third and fourth trays. Sokka snorted, watching the flustered man pouting at his superior – if there was any remnant of rank left between these men, at any rate.

"I…! I still know better than to ask!" Taro said, glancing at Sokka with uncertainty "I'm so sorry, I seriously am sorry, it's just…!"

"He is a snoop and a gossip just like me, that's all!" Fei Li declared, proudly, waving a hand at the rest of the group "As were all of you, jerks"

"All of us?!" Han squeaked, flustered.

"You know it's true!" Fei Li declared, hands on his hips "I remember very well, even now, Han: you thought they got together at some point during our trip to the Northern Air Temple…"

"W-wait, I didn't…!"

"Tai Wei is sure it started when they got stuck in the forest" Fei Li continued, counting with his fingers "Taro thinks it happened a few months after we got promoted, Shuren said maybe on that trip they took without us to the Slate, then Qiang thinks it only happened in the month the Princess spent living outside the Palace, Haoren said that if he had to choose he'd go for our second trip to Ba Sing Se, Wuhan thinks it happened after Jeong Jeong's attack, Jianghuo believed it was after the Princess set the slavery laws in motion…!"

"Seriously? Everyone had a theory?" Sokka asked, amused.

"We did! And I just want to know who was right" Fei Li said, smiling with gleaming eyes "Mine is it happened after you stopped the White Lotus's attack in the Capital! Though I'm sure you guys were holding back for a long time because you had no choice, and I really was sure you'd held back all along, but I guess I was wrong, huh? Still, I'd say you held out for a long time anyway, but you were as good as together since that point! Am I right?"

"Uh… no" Sokka said, with an awkward smile as Fei Li yelped, his excitement crashing to pieces most visibly "I mean… good guesses, all of you? But… no"

"That's not possible!"

It startled Sokka that the one exclaiming such words would be Taro instead of the dismayed Fei Li. Sokka crooked an eyebrow in his direction, and Taro only covered his mouth before ducking back into the kitchen, to fetch yet more trays. Sokka chuckled, inevitably, despite he honestly hadn't thought he'd feel like laughing again… but the fact that Fei Li wasn't the only disappointed guard was astonishing: Han appeared most shocked that his own guess hadn't been correct, while Wuhan was stroking his chin, in deep thought.

"Then… what, was Renkai right?" Fei Li said, scoffing "That feels so weird…"

"W-wait… Renkai?" Sokka repeated, and his amusement vanished quickly: why would he feel nervous upon hearing the spy guard's name mentioned, at this point in time? "He's… he's not here, is he?"

"Oh, no. He… well, Rui Shi didn't seem to think we should trust him enough to bring him with us" Fei Li sighed "I mean, he wasn't the friendliest guy, but I liked him…"

"He was the General's agent, in all likelihood" Sokka said, his eyes narrowing "Azula always thought he'd been assigned to your squad just to keep an eye on her, and the rest of you, by extension. We were, well, more careful once he became part of the squad…"

"Oh, well, I don't know if he was just a spy" Fei Li said, shrugging "But even if he was one, well… he still saved us all, in a strange way"

"What? Renkai did?" Sokka asked, puzzled "How?"

"When the General questioned us… the Fire Lord, too, Renkai answered for us all" Shuren whispered. Sokka's eyes widened "He… he said he believed the Princess had wanted us promoted so she could have the way clear to do whatever she pleased with you"

"Maybe the Fire Lord wasn't convinced by his theory" said Fei Li, sighing "But he took it out on the General anyway, at that point. See, Renkai apparently had reported to him that he thought you two were way too close, and the General didn't make anything of it…"

"He… actually reported it?" Sokka said, and whatever amicable feelings he might have briefly held for the guard were dispelled immediately.

"Yeah… guess that doesn't make you any happier with him, huh?" said Fei Li, biting his lip "Must be why Rui Shi knew he shouldn't come along, might be he really was working with the General to ruin the Princess's life. Still, it's weird, but… if he hadn't reported what he did, and the General hadn't thought it was hogwash…"

"We wouldn't have had an opportunity to help you" Taro finished, as he walked out of the kitchen with more food trays "I don't know if Renkai did it on purpose or not, but… we were lucky to have his help, even if it may not have come from the kindest of places"

"Hmm" Sokka said, breathing deeply and shrugging "Not like it matters much, though, whether he reported anything or not… if the General didn't act on it, his report didn't cause that much trouble. If the General had listened to him at all, it'd have cut our time short far sooner, but as he didn't…"

"Far sooner…?" asked Fei Li, biting his lip "Well, we don't really know when he reported anything, but… wait. You said, before, that you guys were more careful once he came along! Which means… you two got started before he joined our squad! And that means everyone who guessed it happened afterwards were wrong, Renkai included! Ha!"

"Is this really something to celebrate that way…?" Wuhan asked, and Fei Li scoffed.

"It's some vindication, at least! I wasn't that crazy to feel a vibe there when I did!" Fei Li declared, hands on his hips. Sokka chuckled and shook his head.

"No, you weren't wrong about sensing any vibes, if that's what you needed to know" Sokka said, as he stepped closer to the trays Taro had prepared "But that's all I'll say about that. Are these all done, Taro? Can I take them upstairs?"

"Oh… sure! Want help?" he offered "I thought I'd take one to Tai Wei too, but he said he'd eat here on his break. I figure Rui Shi will take over for him as captain while he rests…"

"Great, then" Sokka said, smiling a little "Thanks for the he–…"

"Wait! Rui Shi!"

Fei Li's sudden exclamation startled Sokka and Taro as they were working out which trays to carry upstairs. Fei Li's eyes widened as he pointed at Sokka.

"You asked if we all had a theory… well, that silent, stoic bastard didn't have one" Fei Li said, his eyebrows twitching dangerously "And when we heard this was happening, well… Rui Shi went all-out to help you guys, at once, as though he weren't surprised in the least. Which… makes me think he wasn't. I used to believe, you know, that he was just such an upstanding and exemplary man that no gossip interested him at all…! But you know what I think now?"

"You think… that Rui Shi knew all along and said nothing to you guys" Sokka finished, simply. Fei Li gasped.

"He did! He so did! Oh, I hate him! I can't believe…! Ack, how could he…?! He got a girlfriend, AND he knew about this, and he told no one?! What the heck, I'm going to give him a piece of my…!"

"Fei Li!" Wuhan exclaimed, standing up just to immobilize his fellow guard with a powerful armlock, stopping the childish Fei Li from storming out of the dining deck to find his admired, fellow guard "Don't be ridiculous…!"

"I'm not being ridiculous: he's a jerk! He should've told us from the minute he knew, he knew we would've supported them!" Fei Li squealed, struggling to break out of Wuhan's hold "Imagine how much easier they would've had it if he'd just told us…!"

"Imagine just how much easier the Fire Lord would've had it to hold us all accountable if you had anything to do with this, personally…" Shuren said, carelessly.

"You can't keep a secret even if you try" Han sighed "Especially with something you're invested in"

"B-but I would've kept quiet about something this important! I would have!" Fei Li pouted: at this point, Sokka could only smile and shake his head.

"Calm down, Fei Li" he said "It's way too late to take back… well, literally anything, so don't get so worked up about it. Guess it could've been easier if you guys had known, but it wasn't safe, Azula didn't think it'd be right to drag you all with us if we went down in flames…"

"But we all were fine with going down in flames too…" Fei Li pouted, and Sokka eyed him matter-of-factly.

"Well, all of us except Renkai, probably, but still…" Taro said, tapping his chin. Sokka crooked an eyebrow before glancing at the others.

"I… I mean, well, I get that some of you are reckless too, Fei Li to name one, but…" Sokka said, uneasy "You're seriously telling me all of you were ready to stand by us, even if we were in a secret relationship?"

"Do you really think we'd all be here if that weren't the case?" Han said.

"Rui Shi didn't beg us to help him, if you thought he did" said Shuren, quietly.

"If anything, he gave us a chance to back down" Taro said, smiling a little at Sokka "He said he trusted us all, but that what would come in the future would be very dangerous, and that it was fine if any of us didn't want to go with him…"

"We all chose to join him in helping you. Without a single doubt" Wuhan finished, nodding "Ask the rest of the team… they'll give you the same answer"

Sokka swallowed hard, barely containing a heartfelt smile: it wasn't the first time the camaraderie, the loyalty of these men surprised him in a good way, let alone that it had nearly moved him to tears. He had barely bonded with some of them, and his friendships with the ones he was closer with weren't all that tight – save Rui Shi, naturally. That they would be so loyal, so willing to follow Azula to hell itself if she were headed there… Azula had very little to worry about regarding being resented by the guards for their carelessness. Perhaps, in some ways, resentment was what they deserved… but it wasn't what the third squad of the Imperial Guards would give them, in the end.

"Thank you. All of you" Sokka nodded, as he picked up one of the trays "I… I'm really grateful you guys respect and believe in her as much as you do. She really… she really chose the best guards she could have"

"O-oh, come on, now…" Fei Li said, finally stopping his struggle as he blushed and grinned at the unexpected compliment. Sokka smiled as he raised the tray, and Taro followed suit.

"Say… maybe you can let the Princess know she can eat here whenever she wants to?" Han suggested, with a smile "We'll keep Fei Li on his best behavior, I promise"

"Hey! That's neither here nor there!" Fei Li squeaked, blushing still "A little curiosity isn't that bad, is it? And besides, Sokka would give us more answers than that dang Rui Shi ever would! Oh, I'm still angry… he always said we were crazy! He kept telling us to stop talking nonsense! He must have thought he was so clever, the jerk–… uh, wait, Sokka? You're going already?! B-but I have so many more questions…!"

"Fei Li!" the others growled, and he groaned in defeat in Wuhan's arms.

"I'll see you later, I figure" Sokka chuckled "I've got to find out if you can get any questions answered at all, you know? Azula doesn't particularly love it when I run my mouth about… anything, really"

"Wait, does that mean you told other people about, well, things?! I wanna know too…!"

"Hell, you're so persistent…" Sokka sighed, smiling and shaking his head as he made his way to the dining deck's door "We'll talk later, Fei Li"

"Nooo…!" Fei Li groaned, flopping in Wuhan's arms as Taro, amused, pulled the door open while holding the second tray in one hand…

The two men nearly dropped the trays altogether, with a start:

Fully dressed, with her hair tied in a loose ponytail, Azula had been standing right by the room's threshold, her back resting against the wall, arms folded across her chest.

"A… Azula?!" Sokka gasped. As choked as his voice had been, the guards within the dining deck immediately yelped, jumping to their feet, disregarding food or information alike as they stood steadfast before her, nervous over however her reaction to their indiscretions, if she had overheard them.

"P-Princess…!" Fei Li said, shrinking in place as he bowed towards her, now that Wuhan had let go of him.

No one seemed capable of holding her gaze, not even Sokka, though he definitely hoped he hadn't said anything too harmful or incriminating. Yet even now, when everything was out in the open, it was rather difficult to know what the right boundaries would be, in Azula's opinion.

"I suppose they were taking a break, huh?" Azula said, glancing at Sokka nonchalantly, though there was no sign of spite or intimidation in her voice. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yeah, I think these guys were from the first shift. Most the ones who stayed behind to help us directly are working right now, as far as I can tell" Sokka explained, somewhat nervously "I was just on my way with the food, but… hell, for how long have you been standing there?"

"A while" Azula admitted, raising her eyebrows as she analyzed the scene… the rather awkward scene that, to her surprise, brought a smile to her face "Guess they must have assumed you'd be easier to break than you were, huh?"

"W-we weren't trying to break anything…!" Fei Li squeaked, awkwardly "We just had a few questions, that's all…!"

"Not we, you!" Han huffed.

"As if you didn't want to hear it too, Han!" growled Fei Li, scowling at his fellow guard.

Azula raised an eyebrow at their exchange before glancing at Sokka: he seemed unusually coy, perhaps ashamed of letting himself get caught up in this conversation rather than rushing to her side at haste. She frowned, though, upon glimpsing his hands trembled slightly under the weight of the tray he was holding.

"You shouldn't be carrying this when you're…" Azula said, moving towards him: Sokka gasped and stepped back, unwilling to relinquish the tray to her. Azula's eyebrow twitched "What are you doing?"

"Your shoulder, we said, is in no condition for carrying trays" Sokka said, his voice back to the usual tone of childish stubbornness Azula had grown accustomed to. She snorted, rolling her eyes at his claim, but he was most unwilling to relent despite her exasperation "I was going to bring you your food upstairs, but now that you're here… maybe we can eat here with everyone, right?"

Azula breathed deeply, casting an unusually uncertain glance across the room. The guards were the epitome of guilt… all because they had been talking about her private life as carelessly as they had. If anything, it was a surprise that Fei Li seemed adequately ashamed right now, but she wasn't sure that shame would linger if they stayed in the dining deck.

Truthfully, she hadn't thought she wanted to face any of them yet, not in these circumstances. She had managed to dress up, but she hadn't cared to put on any make-up, and with her shoulder sending jolts of pain whenever she raised her arm, she hadn't taken her time composing her hair fully either. Her appearance was somewhat a mirror of her inner turmoil, she supposed… and she didn't quite enjoy showing unsightly sides of herself to others. Still… her bigger secrets were already known, and no amount of dignity she attempted to preserve now would restore the image of the immaculate Princess who could do no wrong… an image that, apparently, her guards hadn't wanted her to preserve in the first place.

"W-we'll behave…" Fei Li said, pouting a little as he played with his thumbs awkwardly. To his surprised, Azula actually laughed.

"I have a hard time believing that promise, coming from the one who's been most persistent about asking questions and holding Rui Shi accountable for keeping quiet…" Azula said raising her eyebrows. Fei Li pouted "But I guess, if we're already here… might be better to just have breakfast in the dining deck after all"

"You didn't have to come all this way if you didn't want to" Sokka said, though he smiled a little "It's probably better that you did, though. Anyway! Just sit down and get started, you need food urgently, Azula"

"Urgently…?" Azula repeated, though she made to sit before the tray Sokka had set down moments earlier. No, she didn't feel hungry, not particularly… but she ought to eat something right now, anyhow.

"You haven't eaten in hell knows how long, you admitted it" Sokka said, patting her uninjured shoulder carefully before moving to fetch another tray for himself. The guards stood watching them warily, earning themselves yet another amused stare from their charge.

"Are you just going to stand around like that…?" she asked, causing them to flinch as they remembered themselves.

"W-we, uh, have to eat too, yes. We'll do that" Han said, smiling as he sat before one of the trays, while Taro dashed back into the kitchen for more food.

The awkwardness in the deck was palpable, even though Azula could tell, both by the guards' behavior as well as their previous conversation with Sokka, that they weren't uncomfortable over the circumstances. In all likelihood, it was just a matter of being flustered over how Azula had caught them red-handed when they had been gossiping. Sokka smiled reassuringly as he returned to her table with food of his own, though the tense silence in the room seemed to warrant being broken somehow… albeit, at this point, nobody knew how to do so, exactly.

"Well, then… dig in?" Sokka smiled awkwardly. Azula raised an eyebrow but abided by his suggestion… only to close her eyes and sigh once she had brought the dumpling to her lips.

"Song's food, is it…?" she whispered. Sokka nodded.

"They managed to haul it with them on the hot-air balloon. Probably for the better that they did, huh?" he said "Otherwise it… it would've gone to waste. And food this good should never go to waste, right?"

"Right" Azula agreed, breathing deeply as she allowed herself to have yet another taste of an old status quo that would never return again, no matter how she wished it might.

Their brief conversation died down quickly, and silence reigned in the room once more until Azula glanced at the currently paralyzed, most reluctant former captain who stood by another table, eyeing her warily: amused as she had been earlier, now she found herself slightly annoyed.

"Are you really just going to stand there watching us eat?" she asked, bluntly.

"N-no, that's not…! I mean, well, Princess, I…!" Fei Li said, approaching her warily, nervously… until he sighed and bowed his head towards her, remorsefully "I'm just sorry. We should've known better than to… okay, okay, I should've known better than to pester Sokka about anything. I know things aren't all that easy for anyone and I was stupid to act like it was just something to talk about at leisure…"

"Well… it's somewhat amusing for daunting Imperial Guards to be so preoccupied with matters of relationships, I'll give you that" Azula sighed "Not to mention, it's… probably unreasonable of me to drag you all through this madness with me as I have while refusing to give you any answers, isn't it?"

"It is, it… w-wait, it's not! I mean, wait… what?" Fei Li said, blinking blankly as he stared at Azula in astonishment. Sokka, as well, seemed puzzled.

"You mean that?" he asked "So… for once I held my tongue and didn't give away anything valuable, and this time it would've been okay if I had?"

"I… didn't say that" Azula clarified, staring at her lover pointedly. He smirked, despite himself.

"I suppose there are boundaries, huh?" he said. Azula smiled too.

"The problem is you get carried away too easily to recognize any of them. But you did handle yourself surprisingly well this time around, far better than you usually do…"

"Well, now, I did hold my tongue when Sneers was anguished over Kori and all their struggle, whereas you…"

"That's neither here nor there, it's not like I outright told Kori about the things that…"

Azula froze mid-sentence, her eyes on Sokka's, as he smirked somewhat judgmentally, no doubt expecting her to give away far more than she ever should have: Azula closed her mouth again, casting a glance at her left… to find all five guards within the dining deck were staring at her with unabashed curiosity.

"They're worse than Ty Lee" she concluded, shaking her head as she turned to her food again. Sokka chuckled as the guards smiled guiltily… though one of them shamelessly picked up a tray and approached them with a bright, eager smile on his face instead.

"Then, if you really think it's okay… you can tell us for sure when things began, right, right?" Fei Li said, beaming as he took his seat beside Sokka, whose eyebrow twitched at Fei Li's forward behavior "Was I right, Princess?! Sokka says I wasn't, says we were all wrong, actually, but I can't believe that! After such a display of loyalty on his part, after you two fought off the White Lotus and stopped them right before they could escape…! There's no better point for your relationship to begin than that one, I know that for sure!"

"There isn't? Truly?" Azula asked, undeniably amused again.

"I mean, it's fine if it started back in the forest, I guess, but at least I know now that it started before we got promoted!" Fei Li grinned "I'm much more confident now that I know that, so…"

"I… have to say, I'm honestly impressed, Sokka" Azula said, after swallowing a mouthful of boiled vegetables "I always thought we were terrible at hiding, in fact, everyone who found out always told us we were terrible at it, but we mustn't have been that bad if these guys were that clueless…"

Sokka couldn't hold back a cackle of laughter at her observation: Fei Li gasped, her cutting words leaving him in shambles.

"W-wait, so… I'm not even close?! That can't be!" he squeaked "Was it sooner than that?! Don't tell me it was the forest, Tai Wei will be a pain if it was…!"

"Didn't you just say that Sokka told you none of your guesses were correct?" Azula asked, smirking. Fei Li grimaced.

"B-but then… uh, when Sokka lost his first fight?" he asked "That can't be right! No, no, no, it's got to be something else. I'm missing something! Guys, come on, give me a hand here!"

"Wouldn't it be a lot better if you stop trying to guess and just let her tell you, outright?" Taro suggested, smiling awkwardly as he approached: he and the other four guards chose to change their seats and take their places at a nearby table, rather than barging into Sokka and Azula's own, as Fei Li had "That is… if the Princess wants to tell us, of course"

"Hmm…" Azula said, raising her eyebrows enigmatically as Fei Li stared at her insistently.

"I… I'll shut up. I will! It's okay: if I was wrong, I was wrong, so… when was it?" he asked, with an awkward smile.

Azula breathed in, closing her eyes as though struggling to remember the answer to Fei Li's question. Sokka couldn't help but chuckle at her enigmatic behavior, busying himself with his food, allowing the familiar flavor to infuse him with the feeling of still being home, even if every instant they spent at sea took him further away from the now nostalgic house…

"It was actually…" Azula said, carrying the suspense forth for as long as she could, basking in Fei Li's desperation as she did as much… "That time we traveled to Shu Jing, a few years ago. When Sokka had eaten all the Barge's supply of food and we had to restock there"

"W-wait… huh? Huh?!" Fei Li gasped, his jaw dropping "Y-you're saying… one of our least eventful trips? Really?"

"Sorry to disappoint" Azula said, unable to keep from smiling at his reaction over the unexpected answer "Though even if it were anything much more impressive than that, that's all the information you're getting on that front"

"B-but that's just… so normal" Fei Li said, blinking blankly.

"You must have had some really wild fantasies, huh, buddy?" Sokka smirked, shaking his head "But heh, we really did a better job at hiding than we thought if they couldn't tell there was anything different after that trip"

"You two are difficult to judge, you know?" said Taro, smiling awkwardly "We didn't have a thousand different guesses for no reason, after all…"

"But you all agreed that something was happening or would be happening eventually, didn't you?" said Sokka.

"Well, yeah. All of us except the jerk who actually knew best" Fei Li growled, his eyebrow twitching "When did he find out, anyway? I hope you guys got to sneak around under his nose for a long time and embarrassed him because of it…!"

"Eh, he found out as soon as it happened" Sokka admitted, nonchalantly, and Fei Li yelped. Azula, despite herself, couldn't hold back the laughter at Fei Li's indignation.

"What?! You say… he… how?! We couldn't tell there was anything different…!"

"He's just that much more observant than the rest of you, you see…" Azula teased them, causing Sokka to snort and laugh again. Fei Li groaned, hanging his head.

"Doesn't take a lot of observation power to infer something like that if you walk in on two people kissing, though, does it…?" Sokka said, absentmindedly, and Azula shot him a quick glare.

"Ran out of restraint by now, have you?" she asked, as the guards gasped at Sokka's careless confession. He grimaced under Azula's judgment, though he had to brace himself for Fei Li's next outburst, too.

"He walked in on…?! Oh, I can't believe him! And then he kept telling us we were crazy, he did, Princess! Oh, forget the food, I'm gonna go give him a piece of my mind, that jerk…!"

"Fei Li!" Wuhan called him again, forcing the man to freeze on the spot, with just one leg outstretched "He's working still. Go yell at him after the shift changes"

"Oh, so it's fine for him to yell at him by then?" Azula asked, amused.

"He might as well. He kept quiet for so long, he'd have it coming" Han agreed, amusing Azula further.

"You're all… so much more childish than I ever realized you were" she said, prompting most of her guards to blush at her remark "I'm not saying it as a bad thing… though I guess I'm not saying it as a good thing, either"

"I just can't believe he seriously could keep the secret for that long without giving anything away…" pouted Fei Li "I mean, I guess he must have been with Song for a long time too and we just never knew it, right?"

"Eh, nah, if we hadn't given him a proper push, he wouldn't have gotten a move on at all" Sokka said, waving a hand as he gave away information about Rui Shi far more carelessly "They definitely took longer than the two of us…"

"Depends on how you look at it, I suppose" Azula said, surprising Sokka "I mean, if you factor in our first encounter, it took us about three years…"

"Oh, please, the two years after we first met don't count" Sokka said, shaking his head "Either way, if Azula hadn't told Rui Shi to talk things over with Song, he probably would have spent all this time hesitating and doubting and unsure about what to do…"

"I'd like to think he would've found his resolve eventually, but it might have taken him more time anyway" Azula admitted, smiling "Might be it's not me who convinced him, though, but that fortuneteller…"

"Oh, come on, even if he believed everything she said, it's not like Rui Shi had any reason to believe her words rather than your advice…"

"A fortuneteller?" Fei Li gasped, eyes bright with interest "Did you guys meet a fortuneteller? W-wait, you met one with Rui Shi? When?!"

"Uh… back when Jeong Jeong attacked Pohuai Stronghold. Guess you guys should remember that fairly well, huh?" Azula said, with a tight-lipped grin. Odd how time and distance certainly made matters diminish in importance, to a degree: it wasn't as though the horrific events from that dark night no longer disturbed her, but the more recent ordeals they'd faced had certainly proved just as nightmarish, if not more so, than the ones they lived through during that trip.

"Oh… oh, now, but you just said you two were already a thing back then!" Taro gasped, glancing at Sokka and Azula in astonishment "Which means…"

"He wasn't very happy about traveling with us, no…" Azula admitted, smiling a little as Sokka chuckled "Though neither was Sokka, come to think of it"

"What, did he give you guys a hard time?" Fei Li asked, curious.

"Not intentionally, but every common person we bumped into while we were undercover seemed to think Rui Shi was my husband and Sokka our servant" Azula smiled weakly, glancing at Sokka almost apologetically as he groaned, smiling a little as well while the rest of the group gasped in astonishment.

"That… must have been awkward" Fei Li grimaced.

"See, it wasn't all fun and games for Rui Shi either" Sokka smiled "If anything… he probably didn't tell you guys because we've put him through so much trouble that he was sparing you guys from enduring that too"

"Hard to believe, unless he's the entire reason you two could hide so well, even if you say you're no good at hiding at all…" Han mused "Was he the one who hid you all along?"

"Uh… not entirely. Not really?" Sokka smiled awkwardly "I guess he did help many times, but I wouldn't say it was entirely his doing… or was it?"

"I think our ambiguous behavior helped enough on its own, but Rui Shi did help in many ways. Well, to a fault, anyway…" Azula said, with a light scoff.

"To a fault?" asked Fei Li, raising his eyebrows "Did he ever cause you guys trouble instead? Or did he decide to stop helping you at some point…?"

"Well, one time, he… heh, he did something you guys probably will be pretty surprised to hear about" Sokka said, smiling as he glanced at Azula, who bit her lip, stifling a smile of her own "I bet no one ever imagined Rui Shi would be caught playing hooky, but…"

"You helped him, so you're the last person who should be acting like it was all that surprising" Azula reminded him, and Sokka snorted as the others gazed at them in utmost confusion.

"I had a right to be surprised even if I helped him, Azula…" he smiled.

"I disagree. To this day, I disagree, and I'm sure I'll never stop disagreeing…"

"What's this about Rui Shi playing hooky…?" Fei Li asked, narrowing his eyes "This… sounds like the juiciest of all the stories! I've got to hear this one!"

"Oh, you will, alright. It's further proof of how unobservant you lot are, as a matter of fact" Azula said, raising her eyebrows and startling Fei Li.

"W-what?! How come?!" Fei Li squeaked.

"For one whole day, while none of you were the wiser… you had another captain leading you, back when you were still my Royal Guards" Azula said, simply.

All five guards fell silent, horror etched across their faces as they made sense of Azula's last claim: their eyes soon drifted towards Sokka, who chuckled in his seat, unable to mask his guilt in any significant way.

"Woah, just a second now… did you…? Did you trade places with Rui Shi at some point?!" Fei Li squeaked.

"Impossible! Sokka is Sokka, there's no way we wouldn't have noticed…!" Taro gasped, prompting Sokka to laugh harder, leaning on the table as Azula smiled disapprovingly at him.

"I had to coach him into delivering a believable performance, that's the only reason why none of you thought something was off" she said "But in the festival's first day, almost two years ago by now…"

"You know, the one where we ended up checking out the stalls after Azula gave her speech…?" Sokka said, with a nonchalant grin.

Another gasp ran through the group, as all accusatory eyes fell upon the guilty couple. It was inevitable that they would laugh again, more than ever at the astonished betrayal across Fei Li's aghast face.

"It was… it was you? That day, it was you?!" he exclaimed, his jaw dropping.

"The two clever fools thought they'd swap places, mainly because Rui Shi wanted to have a proper date with Song that day" Azula explained "I'd told him he couldn't do it, he was the Captain of my Guards, how could he possibly ditch me on the day of the Parade, of all days? And then he proceeded to conspire with Sokka behind my back, to convince him that they could switch places and everything would be just fine if they did. Of course, Sokka's pretense didn't last very long…"

"It lasted long enough" Sokka laughed "At least until the temple, right?"

"The temple?!" Shuren and Wuhan exclaimed at the same time. Sokka's eyes shifted towards them, and he smiled at the two guards who had accompanied him that day.

"You guys might just remember how that went, huh…?" he said, innocently.

"You were… very harsh on Rui Shi that day" Wuhan said, glancing at Azula "Like there was… bad blood between you? And Rui Shi…"

"Didn't speak much. He didn't want to speak to the Princess, altogether" Shuren finished, blinking blankly "It was because…?"

"Because she would've recognized me in a heartbeat? Yeah, that's right, but she thought, at first, that Rui Shi was just mad at her for not giving him permission to have his happy date with Song" Sokka snickered. Azula rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Your pretense didn't last much longer than the temple, though. That's for sure" she said. Fei Li stroked his chin, frowning.

"But… we were attacked, weren't we?" he said "By… the homeless people, right? And it's not like it was that bad or anything, but I'm pretty sure at one point Rui Shi… r-rather, Sokka, fought back too! Once the palanquin bearers dropped the palanquin, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah, I remember…!"

"Eh. Our first indirect bending incident, huh?" Sokka smiled fondly at Azula, who laughed and covered her face with a hand "That's nostalgic…"

"Indirect bending?" Taro repeated "Wait… what does that mean, exactly?"

"Well, uh, basically she was bending through me?" Sokka said, with an awkward grin as the guards' jaws dropped "It was pretty crazy, can't lie about that…"

"That sounds insane!" squealed Fei Li, shocked "How did you guys do something like that?!"

"Not sure the explanation is within the boundaries of what we can and can't share…" Sokka mumbled, eyeing Azula warily, only for her to fix him with a significant stare "Yeah, guess not"

"What matters is that it paid off and no one was the wiser about our deception" Azula declared "No one could've known he wasn't Rui Shi if he was seen firebending, simple as that"

"I wasn't all that happy when you said maybe we just weren't observant, but… we really weren't observant at all" Han said, eyes wide "We had another captain for a whole day, and we couldn't even tell…"

"You made a very convincing Rui Shi for sure" Fei Li told Sokka, patting his back gently. Sokka smiled.

"All because Azula taught me how to impersonate him properly" he said "Though in some cases it wasn't all that hard to act, such as when she gave me that poetry book…"

"Ah! Did you keep that one, or was it really for Rui Shi?" Fei Li asked, puzzled, glancing between them both "Because, I mean…!"

"Sokka didn't need a book to write ridiculous poetry, he knew enough of how to do it already" Azula said, smirking teasingly at her lover, who pouted at her mischief "I actually picked that gift as a punishment for Rui Shi, I expected you lot would still be reeling over the discovery of his relationship once he returned to his job… but I'm not sure that it worked"

"Just a bit, I guess…" Fei Li said, smiling weakly "We were busy enough with our duties that week that we probably teased Sokka undercover far more than we could tease Rui Shi until after the festivals ended…"

"That's such a shame…" Azula sighed "Though I guess I take comfort in knowing you were more irritating once you finally got to meet Song directly"

"I…! I wasn't that irritating! Was I?" Fei Li said, blinking blankly as the others laughed.

Their laughter covered the sound of footsteps as other men approached the dining deck. Fei Li was pouting awkwardly by the time he caught sight of someone crossing the threshold into the room… and he leapt to his feet immediately once he identified him.

"There he is! The jerk who lied to us all, that's who!" he squeaked awkwardly, charging towards Rui Shi, who shot him a puzzled stare.

"What's gotten into you now…?" he asked, before his eyes focused on the Princess and Sokka: they seemed unexpectedly content now, a rather surprising development considering how utterly miserable they had been the last time Rui Shi had checked on either of them "Ah. You're both here?"

"As you can see" Sokka said, smiling as he waved at him weakly.

"Good, then. Enjoy your breakfast" Rui Shi said, breathing deeply: he had been followed by Tai Wei, who looked exhausted and ready to pass out, but he seemed to prefer finding something to eat before getting any rest.

"We're well out of the usual navigation paths" Tai Wei reported, as Taro scrambled off to find food for the two new arrivals "Not a lot of land anywhere nearby, so not a lot of Fire Nation outposts"

"Any sign of ships, whether in water or air, following us?" Azula asked, her amusement receding upon the change of subject. He shook his head.

"Not so far. I guess we really took them by surprise" he said, with an awkward grin "Anyway, I'll die if I don't eat something now, so…"

"We'll be finished eating in a moment, one of us can take over for you while you're having breakfast…" Han assured him, as Shuren and Wuhan took to eating faster.

"It's alright, I left Qiang in charge for now… Rui Shi's going back there in a bit, too" Tai Wei said, sinking in a chair at another nearby table "He'll be captain of the Barge while I'm getting some rest"

"He needs rest of his own too once in a while, though" Azula said, glancing at Rui Shi, who shook his head and smiled.

"I'm fine still. I'll rest when everyone else has… why do you keep staring at me that way, Fei Li?" Rui Shi finally said, his reassuring grin fading as he glared back at the man who couldn't seem to stop glaring at him.

"Because you knew all along, you jerk! You knew! You were right there, holding their hand throughout their secrecy from day one, and you kept telling us we were completely crazy for saying it looked like they had feelings for each other!" Fei Li exclaimed, pointing at Rui Shi with a threatening, accusatory finger "For all this time, you lied to our faces just like that?! How can you live with yourself, Rui Shi?!"

Rui Shi blinked blankly as he waited for Fei Li's rant to end, as his fellow guard breathed heavily once he was done shouting. After five seconds of silence, Rui Shi finally answered:

"I… live with myself just fine, thank you. And yes, I lied, many times. What of it?" he said, simply, before stepping past Fei Li and moving towards Azula: the former Imperial Guard Captain was left standing still, frozen with his jaw dropped, as his admired officer ignored him "Jianghuo is resting right now, but once he's awake he'll probably want to see you and Sokka again. He needs new bandages, you probably need attention on your own wounds…"

"Alright" Azula said, smirking as she glanced at the dismayed Fei Li, who clearly had expected a much less blunt and forthright response from Rui Shi than that. "You're sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, though?"

"I… I'd do best to push myself as hard as I can" Rui Shi answered, earnestly: his gaze had shifted towards the half-finished food plates before Sokka and Azula, recognizing his lover's work immediately, his heart clenched as he realized he'd still have some more of her cooking, if just for a few more meals… "It's the best way to keep my mind busy, at least. At any rate… food it is"

"Rui Shi…" Fei Li groaned, making to grab his fellow guard's wrist to stop him, but Rui Shi smirked as he sped away too fast for Fei Li to stop him "You owe us answers too! You had Sokka taking your place one time, even…! Do we even know you at all, Rui Shi?!"

"I'm sure you don't, actually" Rui Shi determined, smirking over his shoulder until his gaze settled on Azula and Sokka once more as he slowed his pace "Though I'm surprised you two are giving away your secrets that easily…"

"Eh, that one's pretty harmless, isn't it?" Sokka smiled, shrugging.

"Then I take it you've also confessed that that wasn't the first time you impersonated a Royal Guard?" Rui Shi asked, and Sokka froze as the collective gasp was once more directed towards him "Hmm. Doesn't look like it. Odd"

"I…! W-well, that's, uh…!" Sokka said, grinning awkwardly at the astonished guards.

"You did… what, now?" Tai Wei asked, confused and amused on equal measure.

"No way!" Fei Li gasped "But… then, who did you impersonate?! And when?! How didn't we notice it…?!"

"It's… not that serious, and he didn't do it that often" Azula said, through gritted teeth. Sokka sighed, blushing as he scratched the back of his head.

"Just when we were starting out, really…" he admitted "And I was just using the uniform on occasion, you guys couldn't have known because, uh, well…"

"Because that's how he snuck around to meet with her in secret when he wasn't supposed to" Rui Shi said, bluntly. Sokka and Azula flinched and glared at him.

"Rui Shi…" Azula huffed. He smiled and shrugged.

"We can throw more than enough dirt at each other, Princess: never forget that" he said, with a proud grin, before ducking into the kitchen. Despite the threatening words, the obvious teasing in them could only bring Azula to smile as she shook her head at his bold revelations.

"Woah! S-so you guys just… know each other's worst secrets?! All of them?!" Fei Li gasped, finally reacting and angling himself towards the Princess and Sokka once more "Do share! All of it! I want to torment Rui Shi forever after he lied to us as he did…!"

"Even if he hadn't just threatened to reveal a ton of information as he just did… I would have to say no to that" Azula smiled "I don't think any of us need more stories spreading around… and going by how you all had your own theories on how things started between me and Sokka, perhaps you can just continue to cling to your theories about whatever other questions you wanted us to answer, right?"

"No…! B-but…! Oh, but that's just boring…" Fei Li pouted, sinking on the floor as Tai Wei cleared his throat.

"You should save your energies for your upcoming shift in the engine room" Tai Wei said, with a sing-song voice "You ought to get going there already, as a matter of fact. We may be on the right direction as we are, but we can't leave many stations on the Barge unattended for too long, can we?"

"Ugh, fine, fine! I'll finish my food and then I'll go fume while I pour coal into engines, fine…" Fei Li pouted, clambering back to his seat and promptly eating his meal enthusiastically, more so once he tasted how delicious it was.

No one anticipated how comfortable and easy the atmosphere would become after that strange breakfast on their second day at sea. Where the guards ever held so much distance and respect with Azula, now the distance had shortened, though their respect remained. The curiosity of the most insidious ones wouldn't easily go answered – after a while, Azula and Sokka took to deflecting questions instead, mainly in fear of whatever Rui Shi might reveal if they spoke at leisure about anything involving him –, but by that point, the guards didn't need answers quite so direly anymore. What they needed was the certainty that they'd done the right thing by their Princess… and after she found it in her to laugh again, while playing Mahjong with the guards who were on break, using Fei Li's tile set without permission while he was hard at work, they grew to believe that they had.

In the end, the Princess spent most her day among guards… among friends. As dark as the circumstances were, not having to lead a double-life, not having to hide what Sokka meant to her anymore, proved liberating. No one seemed to judge them: no one seemed to condemn them. For however long as their journey might last, they would taste a freedom of the sorts they had been denied all across their relationship… and they wouldn't waste it, no matter how short-lived that freedom would feel once their days at sea together came to an unwanted end.

---

"The installation of the system you requested will take us a few days, my Lord… but it should be finished soon" the royal blacksmith reported, attempting not to sound choked up as he spoke. If Ozai noticed the conflicted emotions present in his voice, he disregarded them completely.

"I expect the job to be finished within less than a week. Three days, preferably" Ozai snapped back. The blacksmith nodded, bowing his head, unwilling to meet Ozai's eyes "General Shaofeng will supervise these upgrades to the dragon refuge. If he reports any hesitation, any foul play on your part, it will be your head, rather than the dragon's, which shall be sliced cleanly by that blade of yours"

The blacksmith held back a whimper and nodded.

"As you say, my Lord" he spoke submissively.

The Fire Lord didn't call on the royal blacksmith often. The last thing the man had expected, at a time of such turmoil and chaos in the streets, was to receive an official summons, as well as a new, ambitious, dark project to execute by the Fire Lord's demands. He had heard enough rumors in the city… he never thought he'd confirm that maybe some of them were quite close to reality. Yet, if the Fire Lord assigned him a project of this magnitude, there was no doubt that the Crown Princess had done something or another to displease her father… and the inferno that had poured into the skies at the Arena merely the previous day might have had plenty to do with that.

The city was in chaos, though the Domestic Forces had handled most of it as best they could. The houses and buildings near the Grand Royal Dome had been evacuated successfully, though the damage to their structure couldn't be fixed easily. Beyond that, all protests about the Gladiator League's abolishment had died down since fear had silenced them completely. The League's chairman had backed down as well: the entire business had been wiped out, and word had been sent to all Superior League Arenas across Fire Nation territories to close operations at once or face the Fire Lord's wrath. A new era was starting, it seemed, and the Fire Lord's fury certainly heralded nothing good for his people in the coming days.

The blacksmith left the Throne Room just as Admiral Zhao crossed its curtains, too. He was dressed in his full battle regalia, though judging by the distraught expression on his face, he seemed resigned to wind up at the losing end of whatever challenge he'd be confronting next.

"Is everything ready, Admiral?" Ozai asked, sharply. Zhao nodded.

"Four airships are ready, as well as five battleships" he announced.

"They have a head-start on you. A considerable one, at that" Ozai said.

"I'm aware. We will attempt to communicate with other patrolling vessels to track down their trajectory. Whatever the case may be, their likeliest destination is, of course, the South Pole" Zhao said, simply.

"If the vermin survived, it would be" Ozai hissed, his eyes narrowing "See to it you finish the job, if he did. Avenge your fallen gladiator, won't you?"

"I will do my best" Zhao said, breathing deeply "I… I will return with Azula. I vow as much"

"Indeed, you will. That's the entire reason you're being deployed at all, Admiral" Ozai said, darkly "Get going. You have no more time to waste"

"As you command, my Lord" Zhao said, bowing quickly before taking off as well. The curtain rustled after him as he vanished across the archway.

Ozai took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, his deadly glare set on the curtain as it stopped moving. Beside him, hidden in nothingness, a voice spoke quietly.

"Should I join him, Lord Ozai?"

He was tempted to say yes. To request that he saw to it that the gladiator was dead, utterly dead, with no hope of miracle recoveries or unexpected survivals… but a feeling in his gut urged him not to give the order. He needed someone by his side, anyone… and Seethus was certainly a good choice for that. Azula's betrayal, paired with Zhao's departure… he had been left with nothing, with no one in the wake of the Princess's catastrophic actions. Only Seethus was still here… and only Seethus could serve as a reassuring presence, a certainty that he still had some control over his world, when it seemed he was about to lose said control completely.

"You will stay with me. I'll need you close by for the time being, Seethus" Ozai said, bluntly. Seethus nodded.

"It will be as you wish" he decided, and his voice faded into silence anew.

So much had gone sideways within just a few days… and so many questions were left to be answered. Countless people could've known of this… how many had? How many, aside from his treacherous brother, whom no one could locate anymore? The bastard had fled the city, it seemed, he hadn't been seen since he revealed Azula's filthy secret… but he couldn't have been the only one who knew. Azula's guards, certainly, seemed to have known, otherwise they wouldn't have orchestrated the escape plan that had even included the Princess's Barge: the report that the large vessel was missing, that officers who manned the port's barriers had been knocked out and restrained… had he been less focused on his daughter, he might have paid some mind to all the signs of insurrection and acted upon them quickly.

But he had seen red, so all this had escaped his notice… just as he hadn't seen to it that someone kept an eye on the imprisoned dragon, who had probably been freed by those damn treasonous guards. At first, sending a few airships to track down the dragon had almost appeared a simple, if infuriating, matter: learning, however, that the Princess's warship was sailing freely, well past Azulon's Gates, pushed Ozai's hand further. Zhao would lead a retrieval squad and he would bring Princess Azula home: if he failed at his task, Ozai wouldn't limit himself to a small squad next time. The full brunt of as many available ships as he could send, both through water and air, would obliterate the South Pole if need be, until the gladiator was dead and the Princess safely captured and brought back home.

He couldn't do anything else to aid Zhao in his quest at the moment, though: what he could do, after giving out the orders he had and planning ahead for how to keep his daughter in check once she was dragged back to the Fire Nation, was ponder who else had known the truth and turned a blind eye to it. How many people had a chance to put a stop to Azula and hadn't done so? For each fool who had allowed the Princess to get away with her deceit was just as treacherous as the Princess herself.

His golden, harsh eyes glowered as that realization gained solid form within his head. He had to wait for several days, perhaps even weeks, before Zhao could bring back any results. Until then… until then he could take that time to round up all the traitors, one by one, until they confessed their sins or convinced him of their innocence.

When the next Imperial Guard stepped through the curtains of the Throne Room, Ozai gave him an order, without a second thought:

"Bring me the Princess's staff, every single servant assigned to her care over the past four years" he hissed. The guard nodded, bowing his head in Ozai's direction.

"It shall be done, my Lord" he responded, faithfully, yet Ozai raised a hand, to ensure he wouldn't leave before his next command was spoken: the guard waited readily until he uttered it.

"Also… find the ladies Mai and Ty Lee, and bring them to the Palace" he said, his gold eyes cold and unyielding "They have much to answer for"

"At once, my Lord"

---

As resilient as the guards were, many had exhausted most their energies over the days leading to their grand escape. Jianghuo was one of them: he had only woken by mid-afternoon, and he had needed a few hours of preparation to tend to Sokka's wounds and ensure he was healing well. The change of bandages was a long process, one that Azula witnessed fully this time, and as troubled as they had been yesterday in that very same room, it seemed as though all their baggage had been dealt with today, even if the puzzled guard had no idea what had brought about such a vast change. Still, unlike Fei Li, he didn't feel the need to let his curiosity run away with him: he had kept his thoughts and worries to himself, focusing exclusively on his duty to the Princess and her gladiator.

"Alright… I'd say you're doing alright, all things considered" Jianghuo finally declared, as Sokka drained another cup of painkilling liquid "It'll be a few more weeks before the burns are gone, but many of the bruises are paling by now. Some might be gone within a couple of days, if you're lucky"

"Sounds promising" Sokka smiled "Thanks, Jianghuo. Though, before we go… do you have anything to treat swelling? Azula's shoulder, well…"

"Ah, should I take a look at…?" Jianghuo said, turning towards the Princess, who sat by the door: just one glance at her, and although she didn't respond in any visible way, Jianghuo's idea faded immediately "N-no, no, never mind. I suppose I shouldn't"

"You shouldn't?" Azula repeated, raising her eyebrows. Jianghou smiled awkwardly.

"I'll feel out of place if I inspect your shoulder directly, Princess… I'm not even that much of a healer, in the first place" he said "But I do have some ointments that should help, I've used some on Sokka as it is…"

He opened a cabinet, collecting a small box that he offered the Princess once he returned to her. He smiled sympathetically at her as Azula allowed him to place the box on her right hand.

"You can use all of it, if you need to. Just rub it gently over the troubling area and it should help soothe the skin" Jianghuo said "Twice a day should suffice, it was enough when I had a laceration that took an ugly turn…"

"Twice, then… thank you" Azula nodded, and Jianghou grinned again.

"No problem whatsoever, Princess. I hope it helps" he said. Azula nodded as she rose to her feet, and Sokka followed suit, picking up the shirt he'd removed for the health inspection.

"I'm sure it will. Get more rest if you can get away with it… if not, good luck with whatever shift you have to take up right now" Azula said "If any of you need any assistance…"

"We will be fine, Princess. I'm sure the others told you as much already" Jianghuo grinned, as all three of them exited the small room "I'm off to the engine room, then. I'll see you both tomorrow for another checkup"

"Sure. Thanks again, and good luck tonight!" Sokka smiled, waving as Jianghuo walked down the hallway quickly, leaving them behind in the dimly lit corridor.

Azula breathed out slowly, glancing at Sokka's bandaged body, at his unexpectedly strong stance, regardless of his many wounds. The gladiator caught notice of her staring soon enough, naturally.

"Something wrong?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Azula shrugged.

"A lot of things, I guess, but… I'm just surprised you're enduring so many wounds without complaint. I think what Jianghuo gave you is called… midnight nectar?"

"He said so, yeah" Sokka nodded. Azula bit her lip "I suspect it's not used all that often for people who are bound to survive their wounds? The way he talked about it sounded like…"

"Like something popularly used to ease the dying into… smoother deaths, yes" Azula said, closing her eyes "People talk about it as a herald of doom, of a sort, but… it's mainly because it can become a dangerous, addictive substance if someone drinks it too often, for a long period of time. That's why it's used for those without much hope. I'd say… if you're not feeling too awful tomorrow, try to space it out by a day, at least. The last thing you need is winding up addicted to a painkiller, on top of everything else…"

"Yeah, doesn't sound like a good idea if you put it that way" Sokka smiled awkwardly "I'd hope having it two days in a row is fine, though. I'll probably be, uh… pretty boring tonight, otherwise"

"Heh. Is that really what we should be prioritizing?" Azula asked, though she couldn't hold back a weak grin. Sokka smiled guiltily and shrugged.

"I don't see why not" he answered carelessly "Though… we should go upstairs already. The sooner we apply that salve on your shoulder, the better"

"We?" Azula repeated, amused "You're so forward now, husband…"

"Is it a bad thing?" he asked, grinning as well.

That she'd choose to answer him by sliding her hand into his spoke the words she didn't utter directly. Azula closed her eyes briefly and heaved out a sigh before guiding Sokka to the stairs: instead of heading downwards, as Jianghuo had, they walked upwards, to the higher levels of the Barge's tower. They'd already moved Sokka's luggage to Azula's cabin, everything the guards had brought from his house – many sets of his clothes, fortunately, had been part of their haul, enabling him to wear his favored outfits for the rest of their journey. For one final trip, they wouldn't live a lie any longer: Sokka wouldn't have to slink in shadows to spend nights with Azula. It was a small sort of victory or freedom to bask in, almost meaningless in the face of all their struggles, but neither the Princess nor her lover took their small blessings for granted.

Azula would have continued upwards carelessly, on her way to her cabin, if Sokka's hand hadn't tugged at hers when something caught his attention at the landing of the ship's upper deck. Azula raised an eyebrow but relented, walking away from the staircase and standing beside Sokka to figure out what had enraptured her secret husband so profoundly.

One glance at the darkening skies answered the question easily enough: sprawling stars blinked above them, already visible even if the night was still young. They had a few more hours left before actual dinnertime arrived, as far as Azula knew… but the skies were so dark for a reason: they were headed south, and the dark period would soon be in full swing there.

"Shorter days… longer nights?" Azula whispered. Sokka smiled.

"If that means I get to use that as an excuse to stay inside your cabin with you for longer during this trip, I'm good with that" he said, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb "The sky's something else out at sea, isn't it? The stars are so bright here…"

"There… there have to be some stars you can see from the south and the Fire Nation at the same time" Azula whispered, tugging his hand gently. He smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe? Though… I've never really taken my time to map out stars. Could be a good idea to do it now, huh?" he said.

"Do you want to get a better look at them?" she asked, softly.

"Well, your shoulder…"

"It can wait. It has for the past week as it is" she whispered.

"You hadn't tossed anyone out a balcony until yesterday, though" Sokka pointed out, raising his eyebrows: to his delight, the words brought a smile to Azula's face "I didn't have much of a chance to say anything about it until now… but that was incredible. I wish I'd seen how you did it, but I was dying for a chance to tear that piece of shit a new one myself. And then you went and did that all on your own…"

"He deserved worse, but believe it or not, I didn't use too much power. He was simply that easy to deflect" Azula smiled "Either way…"

She didn't take no for an answer, no matter how reasonable Sokka's words might be. He sighed, letting her guide him out into the deck, spacious and empty as it was right now, save for the dragon that napped by the prow. Sokka watched over Azula once she let go of his hand and knelt by Xin Long, checking on him and communicating with him as he rested on the ship's deck. He'd likely take off on occasional trips over the course of the next days, but the lack of any solid ground nearby would likely deter him from spending too long away from the Barge.

"Hmm, I shouldn't have woken you, you say?" Azula smiled, stroking the dragon's hair gently "Sorry about that. I just thought I'd check on you, whether you wanted me to do so or not…"

The dragon grumbled in a supposedly threatening way, but Azula smiled fondly at him instead: soon enough she was hugging his head to her chest, as he whimpered sympathetically and quietly against her.

"I'm alright, Xin. I'm fine" she lied, burying her face in his blue-white hair "We've all seen better days… but we could be facing worse ones just the same, right? It's… it's good that we're not"

Sokka stepped up close to her, gently caressing her hair as he stood beside her. Xin Long groaned in acknowledgement at him, as Azula leaned gently against his leg, for support and comfort alike. She flinched away from him quickly upon remembering he sported a few wounds there as well, though Sokka seemed displeased that their physical contact would be cut short, all injuries forgotten.

"You may not feel much pain, it doesn't mean you're unhurt" Azula told him, raising her eyebrows. Xin Long groaned as well, as though joining Azula's scolding, but he soon pulled away from his rider, closing his eyes as he relaxed on deck "Going back to bed, then?"

Xin Long nodded weakly, his tail flopping against the metal as a response to Azula's question. She smiled, caressing his hair once more.

"Good night then, Xin Long" she whispered, kissing the side of his head before rising back to her feet.

Sokka wrapped an arm around her waist, reeling her close to him in a gentle embrace. Azula breathed deeply and relaxed against his chest – again, she was reminded of his injuries, but this time Sokka was far more ready to keep her close by, pressing his lips to her cheek softly as he held her.

"Playing dangerous games, are you?" she asked. He grinned against her skin.

"Always. Doesn't matter if I win or lose… I just love playing them with you" he stated. Azula couldn't contain a smile, even if one that left her choked up, unsure of what to say.

Sokka didn't seem to need her to say anything else for now, though: he guided her to the very end of the ship, to the large black-and-gold prow, and he held her gently there, his eyes returning to the sky: it was darker yet by now, and the spectacle of the stars above was all the more breathtaking for it.

"I never paid enough attention to the stars…" Sokka whispered, caressing her body gently as he embraced her, her back against his chest "Not until that night, when you decided to surprise me with those birthday fireworks…"

"Heh… you weren't paying that much attention to them by the time the night ended anyway" Azula said, with a weak grin of her own. Sokka chuckled but nodded.

"Yeah… you saw to that, too" he admitted.

"And here I thought you were the one who initiated it…" Azula smirked. Sokka scoffed.

"Are you refusing to acknowledge you seduced me, Azula?" he said. Azula snorted, dropping her head against his shoulder "And here I thought you were proud of it, too…"

"I seduced you? Really?" she chuckled. Sokka snickered, hugging her warmly

"You set up the smoothest bed for us underneath a canopy of stars, said many sweet things, then had your dragon launching fireworks for my birthday… after all that, you're going to pretend you didn't seduce me?" he said, kissing her other cheek now "As if it were something to be ashamed of, to begin with…"

"I'm not ashamed at all, if that's truly what I did…" Azula smiled "It's just funny how we have entirely different perceptions of whatever happens between us…"

"Do we really?" Sokka asked, biting his lip.

"You said many wonderful things that night too" she admitted, closing her eyes and relaxing against him "It's not like I didn't expect us to wind up making love, evidently I hoped for it, but… there was no way I could refrain from it when you said the things you said"

"Well, then… perhaps we just seduced each other" he decided, prompting Azula to laugh again as he smiled warmly at her "That sounds about right, doesn't it?"

"We go at things evenly" Azula smiled, nodding "So I guess that's how it was. Though… you had another fun moment with stars in recent history, you know? You probably forgot about it, but still…"

"What would that be?" Sokka asked, curious "Oh, wait. Was it when I was under the cactus juice influence or something…?"

"You were laughing with the stars because they'd made a joke…" Azula chuckled, and Sokka groaned behind her "When I asked what it was, you said you didn't know but it was rude not to laugh too. I'm sure the stars appreciated your politeness, you know?"

"Every time I think I know just how embarrassing I was that night, you bring up something else about it and I'm back to square one of cringing over my dumbest decisions…" he said, between laughs, just as Azula laughed against him too.

"And I didn't even get into the fact that you asked who was in charge of the stars, because you thought they ought to rearrange them into a portrait of me, somehow…"

"I… okay, now, that actually sounds reasonable, for once. Good call, drunk Sokka!" he smirked, as Azula snorted and turned in his arms "What? It is a good idea!"

"It's ridiculous, and impossible, and… oh, never mind. You're just as silly now as you were that night, cactus juice notwithstanding" Azula smiled, pressing her brow to his as he chuckled while holding her closely.

"If only we could change the stars…" he whispered, his words ringing a deep chord within Azula's heart as she clutched at his shirt gently "I'd gladly leave a mark of our love there too, you know? As we did in the mountains…"

"If there's someone smart, strong and stubborn enough in this world to change the stars… it's certainly you" Azula whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist as she settled against his chest again. Sokka swallowed hard, letting his fingers travel over her hair gently "Whatever you could make of them, I'm sure it would be a spectacle even more beautiful than it already is"

"Heh, maybe… but maybe the only way to make it better would be for us to work together at it, right?" Sokka smiled, rubbing her back "We've been doing art collaborations, after all. We could do one in the sky, no less…"

"No one can accuse us of lacking ambition, for sure" Azula smiled, caressing his chest as Sokka chuckled.

"Would you change the stars with me, then?" he asked, softly.

Again, she found herself in the same dead end as in the previous day… but when she pulled away this time, Sokka relented easily, despite she only did as much to gaze at him. Her golden eyes still gleamed beautifully under those stars, much as his own were filled with the most tender warmth Azula had ever been gazed at with. Her throat constantly closed in over those moments… moments when she found herself fearing, profoundly, what her life might become once she inevitably had to let go of him.

That was what constantly left her speechless, unable to utter words. That damn awareness broke her defenses, leaving her desolate and desperate even if she was still in his arms. Anxiety crept through her, as she wanted to do nothing but cling to him forever, watching the stars above with him every single night…

Sokka's hand rose, caressing her cheek, brushing away the long strand of her unusually disorderly bangs. She couldn't resist the urge to lean in, pressing her lips to his, offering an impulsive answer to his question… an answer he knew how to interpret now, after the heartbreaking night they had shared. He held her closely, breathing her in, basking in the softness of her skin, the power she threw into the kiss, the light trembling of her hands as she clung to him. He trembled as well, but he stood as stalwart as he could, offering her whatever stability he could provide. He wouldn't heal her broken heart with just one kiss… but he could only hope it would help soothe her, if only in some small way.

Their lips broke apart, but Azula didn't dare lower her face, despite she also didn't dare open her eyes. Sokka's fingers trailed over her cheekbone and jaw, taking in her every detail for the umpteenth time… his thumb had to rise to her eyelid to brush away a tear that meant to trickle down her face.

"I…" she gasped, as breathless as she would be if she had been running for hours "I just… hell, I can't even string together a stupid thought, I…"

"Don't beat yourself up about it" Sokka whispered, kissing her brow, only for Azula to shake her head vigorously "You don't need to be so unforgiving with yourself, love. It's… it's only natural to struggle. To have trouble figuring out what to say when you're in pain. We're both dancing around it all, you know? Trying to… to keep all thoughts of the future at bay because acknowledging it hurts too much, right?"

Azula's fingers tightened over his shirt, but she nodded regardless. Sokka swallowed hard: his own tears were burning in his eyes, and he certainly didn't want them to overcome him, not right now. Not when he was holding her still… not when they still had a few more days left. He could cry for the rest of his life once she was gone, if that was truly all he could do… but not right now.

"So… m-maybe we should dance around it even more than we already have" he said, with a light chuckle. Azula frowned a little, finally daring open her puzzled eyes to meet his own "You know… you remember what's the true remedy, right? Whenever things are so difficult that we lose ourselves to grief and sorrow… it happened to you a while ago, happened to me just a few weeks ago as well. You knew just how to push me forward when I was overtaken with fear… how to help me move past what Rhone and his damn spear could've done to you if anything had been different. Remember?"

"I… I just did what you would have, if our roles were reversed…" Azula said "You'd done it before, as you said… back when you took me to those hot springs, and…"

"And gave you the betrothal necklace, yeah" Sokka grinned sadly, but earnestly.

"So… we make new memories?" Azula asked, choked up as she was "Even now, after all this…?"

"Now, because of all this, is why we do it" Sokka whispered, pressing a kiss to her brow.

She nestled in his arms, ready to let him scoop her up in his arms, to lead her wherever he might intend to, deferring to him completely: he took one step, then another… then he returned to where he'd stood before. Again, a step, then another, then back to the first point.

It still took her a moment to reason with the fact that he was dancing with her, quite literally, even if far more calmly than he usually did. She gazed at his feet, difficult as it was to glimpse them when their bodies were pressed together still. He led her gently, easing her into following his steps, into letting go of his shirt as he clasped her hands in his own.

"Feel free to sing a song… if you think this is too ridiculous without music, even now" Sokka smiled, pulling away while still holding her hands.

Despite she had been moments away from breaking, his smooth, clever change of mood certainly proved amenable… she had needed it far more direly than she had expected to. It was so difficult to speak out her thoughts, to convey how utterly terrified she was, to share her fears while listening to his own, too. Yet Sokka always found a way to soothe her… he always found a way to speak to her heart, even without words. A way to bring a smile to her face, even though tears still threatened to slip down her cheeks.

"Maybe… it's not that ridiculous anymore" she replied. Sokka scoffed playfully, a teasing grin on his face.

"Nonsense! You're just saying that so you won't have to sing for me, that's all…" he snickered, and Azula found it in her to laugh again, even if it was laughter accompanied by the expected tears indeed: Sokka leaned closer, stealing a kiss from her lips, swiping away the tears with his thumbs… only to reignite their dancing instants afterwards, finding her hands with his own anew and twirling with her in a slow but goofy manner, true to form, as he ever did.

The sound of her laughter was just as welcome as any song might be, as his own joined hers before long. He had intended, at first, to keep this slow and easy… but now he couldn't resist the urge to dance enthusiastically with her, as he always did: his footsteps picked up speed, and he took to making silly laps around Azula once he released her hands, ever cautious of her shoulder injury. She twirled where she stood, however, in the opposite direction he had moved in, seeking to meet him in the middle of that lap: her arms wrapped around his neck once she caught him, forcing him back into an embrace that he gave himself to gladly, chuckling against her shoulder, nuzzling her neck as he picked her up with whatever strength he had regained, spinning further as he held her closely.

It was but a small moment of happiness… one of many that had comprised their relationship since its very beginnings. They had never taken their love for granted and had very few regrets, to this day… but in a night lit so brightly by the stars, they joined together in heartfelt kisses, once again forgetting themselves, forgetting the world around them, althoughe it continued to spin slowly, unforgiving, towards a future neither one was ready to face.

But they still had the present: they still had the here and now, as they danced underneath brightly blinking stars that seemed to smile upon their love. Their hearts still beat together, their lifeforces were still merged, no matter how broken and tired their bodies might be. For as long as that continued to be the case, for as long as their lives were entwined intimately, bridged through every embrace, every kiss, every sway of their linked bodies, wrapped together as they continued to sway at a beat of their own, it was easier to believe that they would never be truly alone again, for not even a distance of a thousand oceans could ever break apart the love they had nurtured for years.

Every fear, every shred of anxiety, every uncertainty seemed so small, so meaningless when they gazed at each other underneath that dark sky that belonged to them that night. They twirled, swayed, danced and those bright stars seemed to follow them, to swirl together, to promise they might yet change if only the two lovers found the courage and strength to defy the advance of inescapable, inevitable fate…