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...

98. Chapter 98: Giving in 4

Birds chirped outside, bringing Sokka to his senses. He awoke, releasing a soft hum, and he found that most of his body felt completely numb. Nevertheless, he was in the happiest of moods, even though he wasn't entirely sure of why at first. He simply smiled by instinct, even before registering that the reason his body felt as it did was because a dark-haired beauty was lying atop him.

His smile grew wider upon opening his eyes and taking her in. No wonder he had been so blissful: she was here, in his bed, in his arms… it was still a mystery for him that they had come to this somehow. Why, after fighting it for so long, they had both simply followed their instincts and found themselves giving in to one another completely…

His left arm was still functional, so he lifted it and caressed the dark strands of hair that fell upon her face so gracefully. It had to be a sin for her to be so beautiful, he thought… he knew he was the luckiest man in the world, had known so ever since he realized she had feelings for him too, but holding her like this convinced him of it all the more. It was a true miracle, one he would never stop cherishing.

His light touch seemed to be enough to alert her, to his mild disappointment, for he would have liked to continue holding her a little longer. Her eyebrows twitched as her eyes closed tighter, no longer as relaxed as before. She yawned, and Sokka smiled as she shifted atop him. His grin threatened to disappear once she moved, the numbness changing in nature as Azula's weight no longer pressed against him. Still, despite the unpleasant worming sensation under his skin, he smiled as she opened her eyes lazily, looking at his chest with sleepy eyes.

It dawned on him that she might not remembered what was happening anymore, and his easy joy froze on the spot at the thought. It had taken him a brief instant to remember who was sharing his bed, but it might be longer than that for Azula. And she just might change her mind about certain things upon waking up now, no longer intoxicated by the pleasant sensations after sex, no longer as likely to fall prey to her overwhelming emotions…

She raised her head, and he found recognition in her clear eyes. She wasn't upset, it seemed. She was beautiful, as she ever was. Relief washed over him as the blood started to flow properly through his numb body again.

"Hey," he said, his smile genuine again. To his delight, she smiled back.

She leaned close and gave him a gentle kiss. Sokka's hand moved to the back of her head as she sighed. Once she pulled away, she found him still grinning.

"Hi," she whispered, softly. Sokka chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Slept okay?" he asked, and she nodded.

"It was a good nap," she whispered. "But I feel sore all over, truth be told… what about you?"

"Me? I'm somewhat numb, but that's okay," he said, smiling as he cupped her cheek. Azula smiled back at him, her eyes half-lidded and uncharacteristically kind. Sokka's heart sped up by the sight of such gentle expression on her face.

"How could it possibly be okay?" she whispered skeptically before shifting atop him, making to rest beside him instead, but Sokka's arms surrounded her and kept her where she was, to her surprise.

"Azula, I've never woken up this happily in my entire existence," he stated, making her smile. "So any discomfort is next to nothing compared to…"

"That may be so…" she said, leaning in to kiss him softly. "But I'd rather your body remains functional, Sokka. So…"

"Ow…" he whined, to her amusement, as she succeeded in rolling on her side. "Well, that's not fair. I hoped you'd let me hold you a little longer…"

"You've already spent several hours doing just that, you know," she said. "Surely you can spend ten seconds without body contact between us, now, can't you?"

"Uh… nope. You're dead wrong about that, I simply can't," he said, playfully, as he embraced her again. Azula laughed as he kissed her cheek and moved down to her neck, his hands caressing her bare skin.

She indulged in his attentions, despite there was a nagging voice on the back of her head warning her that she shouldn't lose herself in him right now. She had done plenty of that already, before taking her nap. It was time to return to reality.

"Sokka…" she whispered, after a long and deep kiss that had left them both breathless. "I should… get going."

"You must? So soon…?" he mumbled, with a small pout.

Azula smiled and rolled her eyes at him as she slipped out of his arms. He didn't present genuine opposition to it, but he gazed at her with mild disappointment, to Azula's amusement. She sat on the bed, frowning at the discomfort in her pelvic area. She bit her lower lip, steeling herself. She had better get used to that unpleasant sensation, at least until it faded away…

"You okay?" Sokka asked, sitting up and looking at her worriedly. Despite he couldn't see her face, since she had her back towards him, he could still tell something was amiss.

"I'm fine. Just what was to be expected," she said, standing up and looking at him from over her shoulder. "And I'll assume you're enjoying the scenery…"

"Oh, well, there's a lot to enjoy, truly…" he said, smirking as his eyes raked her bottom. Azula rolled her eyes as he chuckled. "But really, if you're hurting too much you shouldn't force yourself to walk around like that. It could be better to lay down for a while longer…"

"I don't think I'll feel fully better in a matter of hours. Realistically speaking, it's just unlikely," she said. "So I'd better act like I'm fine, or else everyone in the Palace will notice that something's wrong with me tonight."

"It's true that they might," he said, nodding, as Azula sighed.

"That being said, I really should get going. It's bound to be quite late already, and they'll start wondering where…" she said, to Sokka's chagrin, but she stopped talking as her gaze drifted towards the small balcony in Sokka's room.

The curtains were drawn, so only a single haze of light drifted through the drapes… a haze of light that did not bring the typical orange tinge of sunset with it.

"Sokka…?" she muttered, a worried frown on her face as she stepped towards the balcony carefully.

"What's the matter?" he asked, climbing off the bed too as Azula pulled the curtain slightly…

… To find that the light touching the Capital city was the unmistakable light of dawn.

Her body was shaken by a loud, panicked gasp, and she backed away, shivering violently, all thoughts of pain and bliss forgotten as she processed the facts. She turned her desperate eyes towards Sokka, pointing at the balcony in horror.

"S-Sokka… it's dawn. It's… it's morning! It wasn't a damn nap, I slept here the whole night!" she exclaimed, as Sokka's confusion turned into a panicked grimace.

"I… shit, I didn't notice. Hell, we really… okay, okay, you have to go," he said, gulping. "I don't want you to, but…"

"Like I have a choice," Azula said, gritting her teeth at the discomfort again when she leaned down to pick up her chest bindings amid the many clothing items scattered on Sokka's bedroom floor. "If I get going right away they might not notice I wasn't home for the night. It's still early, so I could get there for breakfast…"

"Won't it still be suspicious, though?" Sokka asked, gulping as he picked up her clothes, handing Azula her underwear almost unwillingly, but doing so anyways. "If nobody saw you all afternoon…"

"I'll have to come up with some excuse, I don't know," Azula said, shaking her head as she reached for her tunic and shirt. "I might think of something on the spot, I'm good at… that…"

Her sudden change of voice tone alerted Sokka that something was very wrong now. He had been lifting her armor, to set it on his bed, as Azula stared at her red shirt. He looked at her in confusion, but before he could say anything her golden eyes shifted towards him, a dangerous glint in them… as she showed him her shirt, ripped in half.

Sokka's jaw dropped as he was frozen by the realization of what he'd done. He hadn't pondered all the consequences of his actions, ripped clothes included, until then. He couldn't quite help but panic as her golden eyes grew clearer, with an emotion that he knew all too well as rage.

"A-Azula…" he said, gulping as she glared at him.

"Do tell, how the blazes am I supposed to return home with a shirt in this state, right after spending the night here?!" she exclaimed, making no efforts to control her temper outburst as Sokka winced.

"I'm sorry! I didn't…! I wasn't thinking properly at the moment, I didn't realize… hey, I could give you a shirt of my own," he said, and Azula gave a bark of laughter.

"Ah, because wearing your shirts will definitely spare us the trouble of having everyone suspecting what's happening between us! Isn't that right?!" she exclaimed, as she paced towards the bed again, tossing the ripped red shirt against the mattress as she continued to leer at Sokka.

"Listen!" Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "You can go quickly, go to your room while nobody notices, get dressed for real and then you can burn my shirt to get rid of the evidence. I know it's risky, maybe you'll be noticed, but…!"

"Sokka, I will be noticed for certain," Azula snapped, with a twitching eyebrow. "There are guards pacing all around the Palace walls, so unless I went underground, there's no way they…! Wait, I could do that…"

"Right! Those tunnels!" Sokka exclaimed, nodding. "Get inside the Palace that way, and once you're in there…!"

"It's not bound to be that easy but hell, it'll be worth a shot," she said, shaking her head as she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "Get me that shirt, then, will you?"

"Right away," Sokka said, nodding and jumping towards his drawers, rummaging through their content as he tried to find a suitable shirt for the Princess.

"We really keep making a mess of things, don't we? It's just never complicated enough, it can always get worse…" she grumbled as Sokka handed her his shirt.

But just as she was about to clad herself in it, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

Sokka froze cold again as Azula's eyes widened. That was absolutely not good.

Upon hearing the sound, Sokka noticed that he didn't remember having closed the door the previous day, for starters. Had it closed on its own while they slept…? As if.

"We're done for," he said, and Azula looked at him in panic as they both heard the doorknob turning.

The Princess threw herself on the bed instantly, drawing the sheet all over her mostly-naked body before the door swung open. Meanwhile, Sokka had rushed to the door, jumping into the pants he had discarded the previous day and pulling them up just in time as Song bumped the door open with the push of a hip. Her hands were otherwise occupied with a large tray.

"S-Song? What are you doing?!" Sokka asked, his voice betraying his nervousness as he looked at the girl in dread.

Song looked a little tired, but otherwise she didn't seem surprised in the slightest about what she found inside the room. The tray she was carrying was full to the brim with food, a breakfast that smelled wonderfully to Sokka, but he was too concerned with the predicament he and Azula had gotten themselves into to pay much attention to food, for once.

"Morning, Sokka," she said, brightly. "I just thought I'd bring you breakfast, seeing how you skipped dinner completely yesterday…"

"I didn't quite skip, I just had leftovers… see, didn't even bring the tray down to the kitchen, hehe," he said, pointing at the empty tray he had left on his dresser. Song smirked upon seeing it.

"No wonder I couldn't find that one. Well, I'm glad you're keeping your stomach full. Just make sure to leave some for the Princess too, she needs her fair share of food as well…"

Sokka was petrified again at that, his jaw dropping as he failed to find a response to that. So much for thinking they'd have to keep this a secret from Song, first and foremost… if they'd failed here already, Azula would likely conclude they were completely incapable of keeping up with this relationship. The mere thought sank Sokka's heart into a pit of despair, but he couldn't find it in himself to think otherwise. They'd been way over their heads from the moment the bond between them had deepened as it had.

"Y-you… y-you said…"

"Well, now, you don't expect to trick me and pretend it's not her on the bed, do you?" Song said, giggling. "No need to worry, Sokka, I won't tell a soul. Your secret is safe with me. Have breakfast and we'll talk things over when you guys are done. I'll see you downstairs."

"H-ha… huh?" Sokka said, a panicked grimace on his face as Song smiled and entrusted the tray to him without another word.

He should have simply dropped the food and rushed out the door… he wasn't entirely sure he could face Azula's promised wrath right now. She would want to skin him alive, most likely.

He turned on his heels slowly, bracing himself for the wild glare he was sure she'd be sending his way. But as he caught sight of her again, he found she was still under the sheets, twitching.

"Azula…" he whispered, setting the tray on the foot of the bed as he approached her slowly. He placed a hand on her head before drawing back the sheet, finding her staring into nothingness with the most horrified expression he had ever seen on her face. His lips twisted into an awkward grimace.

"We are… absolutely dead now. D-done for…" she said, with a thread of a voice. Sokka gritted his teeth, caressing her hair carefully.

"We're not dead still, but we'll have to talk to Song now, yeah," he said, gulping again. "Gods, this is a mess…"

"It's only getting worse… it's already breakfast time," Azula said, shaking her head against the mattress. "T-the servants will bring me my meal to my room to find… t-to find I'm not there, and that I didn't even sleep in my bed to begin with. Sokka…"

"Shhh, I know it sounds bad but… but we'll think of something," he said, frowning. "Come on, we're both too clever for there to be no solution to this. Just… get something to eat now, regain your energies and we'll make sure Song understands just how important it is for her to keep quiet. Then we'll figure out what to do about the Palace."

"There's nothing to figure, I'll just… never go back," Azula said, with a hysterical smile. Sokka grimaced. "I'll have to pretend I'm dead, change my name and my appearance and hope I'll get by in the wild…"

"You won't have to do that… or at least, let's leave that as a last resort," Sokka muttered, as he surrounded her with his arms and helped her to a sitting position. She winced at the sensation, and he caressed her womb softly as she settled into the position. "You alright?"

"I'm pretty sure that, for the foreseeable future, the answer to that question is most certainly going to be 'no', so you can spare yourself from asking," she said, and Sokka nodded.

"Yep, I guess that's only logical…" he whispered, as he reached for the tray of food. "But still, here. Let's have some food, and then we'll be able to think more clearly. We'll find a solution."

Azula complied, merely because she really didn't have enough energies to argue anymore. The weight of their mistakes dawned on her so powerfully it was almost physically painful. Well, it surely would be physically painful soon enough. Her father would murder her for this, now she was certain of it. She was going to get it…

She didn't make it through half the first dish before shaking her head and standing up, reaching for her clothes and getting dressed in them quickly. Sokka sighed, without much of an appetite of his own, for once. He approached Azula as she slid into his shirt, and he handed her one of his belts, which she tied quickly around her waist as Sokka finished dressing up as well.

"We have no time to waste," she said, shaking her head as she walked to the bedroom door. "We're talking to her this instant."

"Yep, sounds about right," Sokka whispered, as he followed her downstairs.

He really had thought they needed a moment to think things through, but he wasn't sure that would pay off anymore. No ideas were coming to mind, despite his insistence that they'd find a way around this. How the blazes had they both slept so long? If only they had woken at midnight or such, it would have been perfect, for Xin Long could have flown Azula back into the Palace, and the guards would have failed to see him in the dark. But broad daylight would make that impossible. Servants would be treading up and down the Palace by now, and if bad luck kept coming their way, their whispers about the Princess's disappearance would reach the Fire Lord sooner than later…

Sokka clenched his fists, unable to come up with an alternate scenario. Somehow it seemed they'd set themselves up for an outcome that could only result in what Azula kept saying it would…

Song had only just settled down to start her own breakfast in the kitchen when she heard heavy footsteps on the staircase. She gobbled down her first bite in time to spot the Princess entering the kitchen, her brow drawn together in a dangerous frown. There was an obvious streak of fear in her eyes though, plain for Song to see… it wasn't common for the Princess to be so easy to read. This most definitely had taken her out of her comfort zone, Song concluded, as Sokka as well entered the kitchen.

"You're done so fast with the food?" she asked innocently, and Azula grinded her teeth as she stopped at the table, trying to organize her thoughts. Sokka approached from behind her, looking at her worriedly before taking it upon himself to reply to Song.

"Actually, we're not. We just… really need to talk," he said, as Azula breathed out heavily.

"You do realize what's… what's at stake here, don't you?" she said to Song, who blinked and nodded slowly.

"Well, yeah. I'd think you don't need to ask," said Song, smiling. "If you're afraid I'll blab, I won't. I'm not a gossip, and even if I were, everyone I know is aware of what's going on between you two. My social circle is pretty tight, you could say… so it's not like I'm dying to tell anyone. It's an important secret, I understand as much. I won't run out there to tell the entire city about it."

"You… do you swear?" Azula asked, looking at her insistently. "I'm not trying to say I distrust you, Song, but you need to understand…"

"All our futures ride in this, I know," she said, biting her lower lip and nodding. "I'm all in for helping you keep this secret, both for your sake and my own."

"Somehow, having to do that doesn't seem to bother you all that much," said Azula, frowning. "Truthfully, I can't say I know what fate would befall you if this secret were revealed, but it's unlikely to be any better than what you have now. So…"

"Well, that's a given," said Song, with a shrug. "In all honesty, I was very lucky to be hired by you two. I can't say I'm entirely happy about being a slave, but I couldn't have found a better home than here. So even for my own selfish reasons, I'll help you both in whichever way I can."

"Heh… I doubt we're allowed to judge you in regards of selfishness," Azula muttered, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

"So, all's good now?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows and looking at Azula. The Princess sighed and shrugged.

"Honestly, after all the great things that have come my way thanks to you two, I'd be quite an ungrateful person if I did something to harm you," Song said, smiling at them. "If anything, I'm actually… happy for the two of you, so to speak."

"Heh, thanks," Sokka said, blushing a little as he smiled back at the girl. Azula breathed out slowly.

"So, we're trusting you with this, then," said Azula. "Nobody outside of the three of us can know. Not a soul, alright?"

"Uh… well…" said Song, her pleasant smile disappearing briefly. Azula's respite, which had an air of finality to it, dwindled and vanished just as Song's grin did.

"Well what?" she said, looking at Song questioningly. The girl shrunk in her frame, dropping her gaze.

"I just… didn't tell anyone myself, but someone outside of the three of us actually…"

"Wait, someone else knows? How?!" Azula exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at Song with despair. Sokka frowned.

"You said… you said that everyone you're close to already knew," he muttered. "But… but you and the Captain are friendly, aren't you? Song, you don't mean…!"

Azula paled when she read Song's guilty expression: Sokka's guess was spot on. An unwanted and unpleasant shiver shook her body as the healer bit her lip and jumped off her chair, nervous concern in her eyes. Sokka had frozen, his mouth agape as his mind, just like Azula's, raced to the worst possible outcome…

"No, no, no! Don't think of it so badly, he's not going to ruin everything for you two!" she said, waving her hands in front of them. "I mean it!"

"Say what?!" Azula exclaimed, looking at Song in utter disbelief. Song gulped. "How exactly… considering that the ones who ruined everything to begin with were the two of us, I cannot say I follow your logic. Of all people, Rui Shi… if he knows, he's going to…!"

"No, he's not going to rat you out"! Song said, shaking her head energetically. "We'd already talked about this beforehand and he's made up his mind to help you!"

"Curse the world, how could he find out so…?!" Azula exclaimed, a hand going to her forehead before she stopped to look at Song in disbelief and confusion. "Say what? You said he's… made up his mind to help us?"

"I know it sounds unbelievable right now, but just… just listen, okay?" she said.

"We're listening," Sokka said, his eyes wide with confusion now. Rui Shi hadn't been too antagonistic the last time they met, but he still remembered their last argument. What on earth had changed the man's mind?

"See, I'd already talked to him before," said Song. "And in the end, he'd accepted that the best thing he could do was help you two with keeping your relationship a secret. So he dropped by yesterday to deliver some message to you, Princess, but after we realized what was going on, we left the house for a few hours, had a drink so he could relax a little. He was obviously very upset about this, but he seemed defeated more than anything at that point…"

"Defeated, yet meaning to help us regardless?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," said Song, smiling. "He actually came up with an excuse he said he'd use just in case the Princess didn't make it home for the night. We both hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but he planned ahead well enough…"

"Wait, an excuse?" Azula asked, her eyes widening. "W-what… what sort of excuse?"

"Well, after pondering his ideas for a while, he decided he would claim you dropped by to give Sokka a… well, a big punishment for his failure in the Arena," said Song, smiling awkwardly as Sokka grimaced and Azula blinked rapidly in surprise. "The logic is that you didn't come by to deliver the beating sooner because he was still healing, but now he's fine again, so you were going to have him pay for his embarrassing loss against… the Blind Bandit, was it?"

"Y-yeah…" said Sokka, grimacing, and Azula frowned.

"So, then, the excuse is that I spent the entire day and night beating Sokka to a pulp?" she repeated, and Song shrugged and nodded.

"As far as I'm aware, it is," she said. To Song's surprise, Azula smirked.

"Hell… that's not so bad."

"Not so bad? B-but you never do that sort of stuff!" Sokka exclaimed, surprised, and Azula chuckled.

"There would be no better moment to begin doing it than now, would there?" she said, thoughtfully. "As you said, you've fulfilled your potential in regards of strength and that still resulted in a loss against your greatest rival, who is sponsored by my Uncle, no less. You ashamed me in front of him, and in front of Admiral Zhao too, who was enjoying the show… so you deserve to pay dearly for it. It's only logical."

"N-no, it's not," he said, looking at her in disbelief. "People will think you're… well, angry and hysterical, won't they?"

"No, they'll think I'm terrifying and not to be crossed, which will make them stay away from me, lowering the likelihood of anyone noticing that my new aggressiveness towards you conceals something else," she said, smirking. "Now, of course, I shouldn't act overly aggressive all the time, I'd only do it when you make big mistakes that could ruin my reputation… a reputation I have to protect more than ever. So, if you don't want stories to be spread about how I beat you to a pulp for your mistakes, you'll have to figure a way to avoid losing important fights… and you'll also have to avoid doing stupid things in public. All reckless and ridiculous behavior now will result in…"

"In fake beatings, if anything, right?" Sokka asked, looking at her worriedly. Azula smirked again.

"Only if you don't deserve a real one," she said. Sokka grimaced despite blushing at her smile.

"Well, if worst comes to worst and Sokka needs to look beaten up, I can lend him some makeup," Song suggested, and Azula laughed as Sokka sighed.

"I'd rather be covered in makeup than get beaten up, to be honest" he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "So then… does this mean we're covered? There's no need for Azula to rush back right away?"

"Well, we may have an alibi, but that doesn't mean I should stick around for much longer," said Azula, frowning. "I'll have to take off soon either way…"

"Say… why are you wearing one of Sokka's shirts?" Song asked, raising an eyebrow. The shirt's owner blushed deeply at the question, and Azula's cheeks reddened too as she gritted her teeth before answering the question.

"As it happens… he damaged mine in a very unnecessary way," Azula said, glaring at Sokka, who giggled nervously.

"How exactly…?" Song muttered, confused.

"In short, he ripped it in half," Azula said, with a dry grin. Song blushed too now as she looked at Sokka in disbelief. The gladiator refused to meet her gaze, embarrassed. "And I don't think I can go home wearing a ripped shirt, so…"

"Probably not," said Song, tapping her chin with a finger. "But I could help you with that. I'd have to see if I have thread of the same color, but I could probably sew it and…"

"Oh? Yeah! You could do that!" Sokka exclaimed, grinning. "And once you get home you'd probably have to burn it anyways, Azula, because your servants would notice it was mended…"

"But it wouldn't be noticeable right away," Azula mused. "Not when I'm wearing another shirt, and my armor, atop it…"

"How to explain a missing shirt, though?" Sokka asked, and Azula smirked.

"I wouldn't," she said, simply, and Sokka blinked blankly. "If a shirt of mine disappeared, chances are the servants would think it was their fault, not mine. They'd likely assume they misplaced it and then turn the entire Palace upside down looking for it if need be, all while I act blissfully unaware of the entire situation. They would likely have to get another shirt as replacement for the lost one, and once they do, they'd try their hardest to pretend nothing was ever amiss."

"Heh, that's convenient," said Sokka, smiling a little. "So, then you can fix the shirt, Song, and after that…"

"After that I'm going home," Azula said, and Sokka's heart sank to hear the words.

"Yep. You have to," he said, nodding. Song smiled at the sight of his disappointment, but she didn't say anything about it.

"So now…" Azula said, taking a deep breath before heading towards the stairs once more, in order to fetch the shirt Song needed to mend.

Sokka was left to watch her leave, the experience still surreal to him. Wearing his shirt rather suited the Princess, in his opinion…

"Despite all the trouble, I assume you're happy," Song told him, with a smile. Sokka grinned and nodded weakly.

"If anything, I wish it didn't have to end so fast," he said, with a sigh. "But I shouldn't be so greedy, now, should I? It's already more than I ever hoped to have…"

"I'm glad it is," said Song, and Sokka blushed despite his smile lingered. "You two deserve to be happy, after all."

He laughed a little just as Azula reappeared, carrying the ripped red shirt in one hand, the old sheet balled under her free arm.

"Can you fetch the cloth from the bathroom?" she asked Sokka, and he nodded promptly before rushing outside to follow her request.

Song raised a confused eyebrow, unsure as to why the Princess would need a cloth. She could only guess that was Sokka and Azula's business, though, and that she was better off not asking…

"Here," Azula said, handing her the shirt. Song took it and frowned as she tried to figure out what Sokka had done to it, exactly… upon finding the rip she blushed deeply, trying to fight her subconscious' attempt to fill her head with ideas on how the Princess's shirt had ended up like this. "So? Can you fix it?"

"Y-yeah, it's nothing major. But indeed, it will be obvious it was ripped to whoever does your laundry…" she said, and Azula nodded.

"We've said already that I'll burn it. Just do what you can to make it seem as normal as possible. The stitches should be concealed by the rest of my clothes."

"Alright then," said Song, smiling. "I'll see if I have red thread."

"Thanks," Azula whispered, as Song stood up.

"No problem, Princess. I really…"

"It's a big problem, in all honesty," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "But you're still helping despite this might not end well for you, or any of us. So… thank you. And thanks for dealing with the Captain when you did. If not…"

"Well, he wouldn't have done anything that bad, I'm sure," said Song, smiling. "He cares too much about you to do anything you'll never recover from, so…"

"He probably shouldn't care so much, truly, for his own good," said Azula, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "But either way, thanks, Song. This would have been a thousand times worse without your help."

"You're welcome, Princess," she said, grinning as she left the kitchen, crossing paths with Sokka, who returned to Azula with the cloth she requested.

"Alright, what's the plan with all this?" Sokka asked her, once Song was out of earshot.

"We've said plenty of times that I had to burn all the evidence left here, so that's what I'm going to do. Mattress included" Azula said, smirking at him and Sokka pouted.

"Can you at least wait with that one until I get a replacement for it?" he asked.

"I suppose I can. You should probably pretend it's for Song once you go find a new one, though" Azula said, frowning. "If just to keep up appearances. People might buy mattresses every day, but it's better to keep them off track anyhow. Something like this could be potentially suspicious."

"Do you expect someone to follow us so closely to think it's weird for me to get a new mattress just now?" Sokka asked, surprised, and Azula shrugged.

"If someone outside of the three of us and the Captain were to gain any reason to suspect of what happened here, they might find more evidence than we realize if we leave a trail of it in our wake. We must eliminate every suspicious factor we can eliminate, simple as that. So… take at least a week or two before you get a new mattress. For the time being, flipping it should help conceal the stain."

"Yeah, got it. I'll do that," said Sokka, nodding. "So, how are we going to do this?

Azula jerked her head towards the furnace. Sokka frowned

"… Say what?"

"No, I'm not going to cook it, for crying out loud," she said, rolling her eyes as she ripped the cloth from his hands. Sokka chuckled.

"I didn't think you meant to cook it…"

"There will be a lot of smoke when I burn these," Azula said, dumping the fabrics on the oven. "And the best way to make it plain obvious something weird is going on would be by burning them outside or so. If I burn them like this, it can look like your breakfast was burned by the furnace, perhaps, for the smoke will pour out through the house's vents as it would if someone was cooking… or maybe it would look like you're making your smoke bombs, however it is that you make them."

"Huh… that should work," said Sokka, nodding.

"So that would be the plan. Now stand back, because it's going to get hot here. I will control the fire, but it's still not likely to be pleasant for you," said Azula, and Sokka smiled.

"Alright. I'll go… fetch your sword," he said, gulping. The more he thought about Azula's upcoming departure, the more he wondered if he could bring himself to see her off. Even if it was just for a couple of hours, or for a few days, he simply didn't want to put any distance between them. If only matters weren't so serious right now, he would just take her into his arms once again, damn the consequences… but he surprised himself with his self-restraint.

He did as he told Azula he would, retrieving both their weapons from the garden. He smiled despite himself, hardly believing what their fight the previous day had led them to. He shook his head, trying to behave as normally as possible as he fixed the living room now, placing the small table in its proper spot before taking his seat on the couch, both blades next to him. He chanced a glance towards the kitchen, noticing the house felt slightly hotter now. The destruction of the evidence would take some time, he shouldn't push it…

He headed upstairs again, in order to flip the mattress as Azula had told him to. He did his very best at making the bed afterwards, but he felt he hadn't been all that successful. He sighed, thinking Azula wouldn't share it with him tonight… indeed, he was a selfish, reckless man, but he just wanted more of her now. As it always happened to him when it came to Azula, one taste wasn't enough.

He returned downstairs to find the Princess in the living room, rubbing her hands together as she looked at her white sword, sheathed and placed on the couch. Sokka smiled.

"The mattress is flipped," he announced, and she nodded in approval. "And yeah, Wolf's Bane was waiting for you. How did it go with the fire?"

"All reduced to cinders now," Azula declared. "Now we just have to wait for Song to be done with the shirt…"

"And then you'll be off," Sokka said, unable to hold back the disappointment in his voice. Azula looked at him with apprehension.

"I really wish it didn't have to be this way, Sokka," she said. "But it's all or nothing here. If we want this to work, we have to make sacrifices."

"Yeah, I get that, and I agree. Completely," he said, approaching her and smiling. "I just… hell, I'm in too deep, I'm afraid. I don't think I can fathom being separated from you anymore, even if it were for a few hours…"

"You went a week without seeing me before this," said Azula, raising an eyebrow, and Sokka chuckled.

"I was just a little busy being ashamed of myself and feeling unworthy of your very presence," he said, smiling. "I still am unworthy now, of course, but…"

"Oh, after the things you did yesterday, I'm not entirely sure about that," Azula commented, with a smirk and a blush. Sokka raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Wow, you enjoyed it that much, really?" he asked, as she smiled, without meeting his gaze.

"It's safe to say you outdid my expectations," she admitted. "If I could have my way, I'd just… well, not leave this fast. But I think we've already had fortune on our side for too long. Pushing our luck will only end badly."

"True," said Sokka. "But that won't make me miss you any less."

"Good," said Azula, smiling at him. Sokka sighed, lifting a hand towards her cheek.

"It's just… we spent so long dancing around the matter hopelessly, and now I can't help but feel we ought to make up for all the time we wasted," he said, with a chuckle.

"Funny, I thought we'd only danced on the night of the Ball…"

"Heh, aren't you hilarious, Princess," he said, smirking as she looked at him innocently. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Hardly," she said, stepping closer to him and dropping her head on his shoulder. Sokka bit his lip, his arms surrounding Azula as she rested against him. "Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think it was all a waste. Granted I wish we'd done this sooner, but… but I guess it was all necessary, somehow. Had we started this a lot earlier, things could have been far more catastrophic for the both of us."

"I guess so…" said Sokka, sighing as he dropped his head atop hers. "At least we know now that we want the same things, right?"

"Well, if anything we want to avoid the same things," Azula said, with a weak grin. "We don't want to end up dead for this, so it's up to us to prevent that."

"Yeah… It is indeed. I just need a little longer to make my peace with the fact that you'll be gone for now," he said, squeezing her as he dropped his head on her shoulder now. "When do you think you'll have a chance to come back? Or… should I go see you at the Palace?"

"Come see me? I… I doubt that's a good idea," she said, frowning. "I mean, you're allowed to come, if you stop dropping by altogether it might be weird. But for anything to happen between us while we're there would be ill-advised. Too many potential eavesdroppers."

"True," said Sokka, with a defeated sigh as he looked at her. "Hell, this is only getting harder by the minute, isn't it? The more I think about it, the more limited we are by the circumstances."

"I'm Crown Princess now, too, so my time is indeed more limited than before," Azula whispered, biting her lip. "I'll… I'll try to come every day, as I used to for training, but I might not manage to do so. Once your hawk gets back, we can use him to communicate about our encounters if need be. Of course, restrain yourself from sending anything stupid on your notes, because if they were to fall in the wrong hands…"

"I know, I know. I'll save all stupid things I want to say for when I see you in person," he said, and she smiled.

"That should do," she said, nodding.

"We're still going to be apart for quite a while, though… s-say, can't I come with you now?" he asked, and Azula huffed. "I mean, I should probably come! Song already told us the excuse the Captain came up with, but we'll need to confirm it, right? J-just for the sake of keeping all loose ends neatly tied up…"

"Sokka, I could do that on my own," said Azula, smiling. "It will be riskier for you to come along, it would be better if…"

"If I stayed, I know," Sokka said, releasing her from his embrace with a sad grimace. "I get it. I won't be an inconvenien-…"

"No, no, wait…" said Azula, lifting a hand and looking at him with interest. "You really want to come?"

"Uh… I'd like to. Though I don't really want to talk to the Captain, I figure he'll want to kill me on sight," Sokka said, scratching the back of his head. "But I'd rather you don't face him by yourself. Plus, I'm just not ready to say goodbye yet…"

"It's not goodbye forever, you know," said Azula, smiling at him, but the edge of her grin grew a little more mischievous once she finished talking. Sokka looked at her with confusion. "Still…"

"Still what? Azula, you have that look on your face that says you'll make me very sorry for my last request…" he muttered, raising an eyebrow. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing that bad, just a way to reinforce the story the Captain was supposed to feed everyone," said Azula, smirking. "Of course, it'll require for you to accept going through a certain experience that I doubt will be pleasant, but it might make the entire charade more believable… and you won't have to part ways with me that quickly. So, it could be a good thing, in the end, for you to come along…"

"A… good thing?" said Sokka, looking at her skeptically. "The look on your face suggests otherwise…"

"Now, don't you trust me?" Azula asked, her smirk widening as she approached him surrounding his neck with her arms. Sokka felt the blood rushing to his cheeks for the umpteenth time that day.

"I do, more than I should, clearly enough," he said, gulping. "You're a dangerous girl and you know I'm well wrapped around your finger…"

"Ah, well, that is a truly wonderful thing, isn't it? For you to trust me despite knowing you probably shouldn't…" she said, leaning in and kissing him softly. Sokka hummed, his previous concerns almost forgotten completely as he returned the kiss.

"You… you're going to keep taking advantage of my weak points from now on, aren't you?" he asked, and Azula chuckled.

"Just how much will it bother you if I do?" she asked, and he snorted.

"It won't bother me at all, but still…!" he said as she laughed more, her forehead pressed against his. "You've got too much power over me, and it's starting to worry me a little after what you just said. What are you plotting, girl?"

"You'll find out soon. Once Song is done with her sewing anyways," she said, smiling. "How long do you think she'll take with that?"

"Uh… might be a while, I think," said Sokka, shrugging. "Why?"

"I just thought… well, you wanted to make up for our wasted time, didn't you?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Sokka looked at her in astonishment.

"W-wait, but… huh? Y-you mean…"

"We don't have to go all the way," she said. "Might be better to avoid that for now, I'm still somewhat sore, but I figured…"

"Heh… there's other stuff we can do," Sokka said, smiling. "I mean, there's no need for clothes to come off… though if they do I won't complain. You look great in my shirt but even better without it, I must say."

"Hush," she said, with an embarrassed smile as he leaned in to kiss her.

The kiss deepened quickly, their hands moving on the other's body with ease as they lost themselves in the moment. All thoughts of everything that could go wrong were easily forgotten again, as they relished in the brush of their lips, in the blissful sensation born with each caress…

Lost as they were, they ignored the sounds of footsteps upstairs. Song saw them from the top of the stairs, the mended shirt in her hand, and another prominent blush colored her face.

"P-Prin-…" she whispered, hoping to deliver the shirt, but as Azula pressed her body into Sokka's, Song gulped and decided she did not want to interrupt them. "Never mind…"

She returned to her room and busied herself with putting away her sewing gear. The shirt wasn't perfect, but Song thought she had done a decent job with it. She only wanted to make sure it would fit the Princess, but she hadn't quite expected to find the two of them as she had. It was one thing to be aware of the physical relationship between the pair, and yet another one to be a direct witness of it.

Just as she resolved to gather her courage and interrupt them, she heard footsteps climbing the stairs and moving over the hall… towards Sokka's bedroom. She froze and stared at the room with disbelief. Were they serious? Oh, they surely were. The attraction they felt towards one another was really making them reckless, wasn't it?

As she heard them speaking and laughing in the other room, Song decided to head downstairs. Surely there had to be something in the house that could serve as ear plugs.

---

The empty breakfast tray had wound up next to the one from the previous day on the dresser after the two of them had finished it. It didn't take long after finishing the food, though, for them to carry on with what they had started downstairs… and despite Sokka's claims that they could remain clothed, they soon ended up lying in bed fully naked one more time, and their attempt to make up for lost time gained a much naughtier nature quickly. Sokka was knocked out almost instantly after they were finished, and Azula soon followed suit as she relaxed beside him.

Said relaxation came to a sudden end when she woke with a start, sitting up on the bed with wide eyes. No, she couldn't have possibly slept that long this time…

She jumped out of the bed and dressed up hastily again, taking his shirt once more and tying it with his belt over her pants. She chanced a glance at Sokka, finding he was still sleeping soundly, his mouth slightly open. He'd start drooling at this rate, she thought, and she shook her head before rushing outside his room. It couldn't be that late, the light didn't seem all that different… at most it would be mid-morning, right?

Azula walked to Song's room nervously, assuming she would be mending her shirt there. She surely would have heard them if that was the case… they needed to figure a way to resolve that particular problem. It was easy to forget the world existed when passion overwhelmed them, but as soon as her mind started working properly again, she'd regret their recklessness, as she was regretting it now… either she had to learn to keep her sounds in check, or they'd have to think of a way not to bother Song. The girl was already being helpful enough as it was, subjecting her to this nuisance was completely undeserved…

She wasn't in her room, Azula saw, so she hoped to find her downstairs. And indeed, there she was, sitting at the kitchen again, attempting to read a book, it seemed. Azula frowned upon seeing there was something orange sticking out of her ears.

"Song?" she whispered, and the girl jumped.

"Oh! Ah, y-you… y-you guys are done now?" she asked, blushing. Azula couldn't help but grimace, embarrassed.

"Sorry. We didn't plan on things to… to escalate like that," she muttered, gulping. "What time is it?"

"Still before noon," Song replied, with a weak smile. "You lost track of time?"

"I did yesterday, no doubt," Azula muttered, sighing and rubbing an eye with the heel of her hand. "Did you finish the shirt?"

"Yeah, it's all done," said Song, smiling and handing it to Azula, who sighed in relief to see the torn fabric back in one piece.

"Thank you," she said, the words heartfelt. "Both for this and, well… for putting up with us. I know it can't be fun…"

"Oh, well, I managed to get by," said Song, shrugging and smiling. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"I hope so, or else those tomato-carrot chunks in your ears would really have been a complete waste," she commented. Song jumped and blushed again, her hands reaching up to her ears and removing the improvised earplugs.

"Oh, yeah…" she said, with a weak grin. "I didn't have any ear plugs of my own, so I just resorted to chopping up the carrots in hopes the noise might help… didn't help that much, so I stuck these bits in my ears, hehe…"

"Doing that probably wasn't all that handy, though. You've heard every word I've said so far," said Azula, looking at Song skeptically.

"Y-yeah… truly, not that helpful," she confessed, with a defeated shrug. "But I figured it was better to put up with it than to run outside to buy earplugs. It would be potentially suspicious too, right?"

"Indeed," said Azula, biting her lower lip.

"And really, it could have been worse," Song said, laughing a little. "You were chatting for a while, then got very noisy, but then fell silent…"

"We fell asleep, is what it was," Azula admitted. "I guess we were both too relieved that somehow things aren't turning out so badly… but at this rate they just might. I need to get going now"

"Ah, well, make sure to wake him before you go," said Song, smiling. "He'll be miserable and annoying if you don't."

"Actually… he's coming with me," Azula said, with a smirk. Song raised an eyebrow.

"He is?"

"That's right," said Azula, chuckling with malice.

Song gulped, somewhat afraid of what that wicked grin would mean. All along, she had thought Sokka and Azula made quite a nice pair… but right now she couldn't help but think Sokka was in over his head with the Princess.

Only half an hour later, the gladiator was thinking the exact same thing.

"AZULA, STOP THIS! LET ME ON THE SADDLE! AZULA, PLEASE!" he shrieked, as Xin Long carried him through the air with his talons. The Princess snickered, proudly.

"Not after your shameful failures, I won't!" she declared proudly. There was no way of knowing if the people down in the city could hear them, but just in case they could, she was willing to put up a proper act for them. "Toss him, Xin!"

The dragon gurgled with amusement before gathering his strength and throwing Sokka up into the skies. His screams were desperate as he fell, and the dragon caught him again, several feet lower than they had been before.

It had taken them a while to leave the house. Sokka had been beyond relieved when Azula, fully dressed in her royal garb, had woken him with a kiss and told him to get ready. He had fixed her hair, she had helped him into his clothes, and to his surprise she had borrowed Song's makeup indeed. She had given Sokka a set of fake bruises while he asked what her plan was, exactly. She only explained it once they were in the garden, when Xin Long dropped in the grass to take his rider back home.

Sokka had protested initially, until Azula had told him that it was either this or he'd stay home without making a fuss. Sokka seemed most unwilling to comply, but he surrendered eventually, even allowing Azula to use her firebending to burn his clothes a little, without damaging his skin, in order to make the entire pretense more believable.

So now he was being held by the dragon's talons, his hair coming loose after all the twirls and flips he'd done every time Xin Long tossed him, and he was afraid he might throw up all the food he had ingested recently. It only made sense that this would be some sort of divine punishment for his ridiculous request and their great day yesterday. He really should have known better… but it was too late for regrets now. He had made his bed and laid on it, in all possible senses.

Xin Long seemed amused by what was going on, for it wasn't every day that he got to play like this with Sokka. But it was all the more amusing to tease Azula about how things had turned out with her gladiator. The Princess wasn't entirely thrilled about the dragon's relentless mockery of her behavior the previous day, as the dragon picked out his favorite parts of her passionate 'mating' with Sokka and replayed them to her, but she did her best to bear with him as they progressed towards the Palace.

"Are you still there, Sokka?" Azula asked, almost casually, and received a hysterical groan in response.

"I'M GOING TO VOMIT!" he exclaimed, and Azula grimaced.

"Well, that's revolting…" she muttered and patted Xin Long's neck. "No more tossing, then, that's enough."

Xin Long didn't seem to approve of the command, though, and he threw the gladiator in the air one last time, to the man's horror and the rider's surprise.

"Xin!" Azula exclaimed, as the dragon caught Sokka by the foot, chuckling. "I told you to stop it!"

Xin Long only continued to laugh as they approached the refuge, and he dove into it a little faster than he should have. Azula didn't miss on all the glances they received from the soldiers and servants within the Palace. She only hoped this ridiculous charade had worked…

Xin Long hovered above the ground for a moment and dropped Sokka before landing swiftly, giving the gladiator a toothy grin. Sokka looked at him in utter contempt before dropping on his back, his breathing heavy, his eyes unfocused.

"You two are going to kill me, I swear…" he whispered, as Azula approached him.

"Sorry if that was too much," she said, crouching next to him. "I didn't expect you'd end up nauseous, but…"

"T-try getting tossed around by your dragon one of these days, then it'll come as no surprise to you…" he said, his eyes as good as spiraling as he struggled to find his bearings. Azula smiled and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"For what it's worth, your performance might have completely validated our lie, if everything goes as it should have. So, thank you."

"Eh… w-welcome…" he said, still out of sorts.

Azula jumped to her feet when she heard footsteps outside. She proceeded to glare judgmentally at Sokka, pushing him lightly with one foot.

"Get up, will you? Stop moping around and get lost. You're an eyesore," she declared, firmly, but Sokka only groaned in denial as several royal guards appeared at the refuge's door.

"Princess!" exclaimed one of them: Sokka figured it was Taro, by the tone of his voice. "You've returned! And… you brought the gladiator?"

"Oh, he's not here to stay, he's here to fulfill the last stretch of his punishment for being an utterly useless, spineless fool," she stated, startling the two men that had showed up. "Which is of course, to head home from here, on foot, after having been relentlessly tormented by my dragon."

"Why… Rui Shi had said his performance had upset you, but this is…" said the other one, Fei Li, looking at Sokka with concern. The gladiator wasn't capable of focusing his eyes on the Royal Guard's shape, it seemed.

"He did nothing short of shaming me before my uncle, and Admiral Zhao, no less. If anything, that has convinced me that I've given this slave more freedom than he deserved," Azula growled, as Sokka groaned again, struggling to stand up. "So, I mean to discipline him in whichever way seems more effective in order to make him behave as the gladiator I require him to be. Am I clear, Fei Li?"

"A-absolutely, but…" he said, gulping. Azula raised an eyebrow and he froze. "It's nothing, Princess. Do as you wish."

"That's quite what I intended to do, thank you very much…"

"Princess," said a new voice, one that Sokka recognized even faster than Taro. His stomach sank only upon hearing it, and he was afraid Azula's had done the same. She did a better job at concealing it, though. "We were starting to fear you wouldn't ret-… y-you… you brought the gladiator."

"I did indeed," Azula said, nodding firmly. She couldn't waver, even though she feared Rui Shi was likely to disapprove of this sudden turn of events. "He needed to learn one last lesson regarding why he had better not displease me anymore. He is to ponder his very existence as he walks back home after our rather enjoyable dragon ride… right, Sokka?"

"Heh? P-ponder my… my existence?" he repeated, looking at her in dismay. Azula rolled her eyes in exasperation before turning to the royal guard again.

"You had something to talk about with me, didn't you, Captain?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Rui Shi nodded curtly.

"I did, Princess," he said. "But…"

"In private, Captain," she said, before looking at her two other guards. "Your concern for my wellbeing is appreciated, but as you can see, I'm safe and sound. No need to stand around worrying about me anymore."

"None indeed," said Fei Li, nodding before performing a low bow towards the Princess. "We shall inform the other guards of your return as you two speak."

"Go ahead," Azula said, as both Fei Li and Taro made their way to the door.

Once they were gone Azula sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

"That may have been slightly over the top," she admitted, before looking at Sokka worriedly. "Can you stand up?"

"I can… try…" he said, grimacing as he attempted to push himself up by flexing his legs, but his attempt to push himself up only served for him to catapult himself back onto the ground.

"Is he really that disorientated or is this part of the act as well?" Rui Shi inquired, raising an eyebrow as Azula leaned down to help Sokka again.

"He is disorientated because of the act, simply put," she replied, as Rui Shi aided her in their attempt to lift Sokka to his feet. "Are we free to speak here, though?"

"Not quite," Rui Shi admitted. "Many guards were out in the grounds as though expecting to find you somehow by patrolling everywhere. They may be flocking towards the refuge now if they noticed the dragon… which, in all fairness, wasn't hard to do. You were quite noisy and flashy."

"Part of the act as well," Azula said, as Sokka was finally on his feet. She placed a hand on his back to help him keep his balance and he nodded in appreciation.

"S-say, let's come up with a better pretense next time, okay?" he said, as Azula smiled.

"Let's hope there's no next time of this sort, for starters," she replied. "Captain, have you secured a safe room someplace?"

"The basement, through the secret passageway that leads into the South Wing's storage," said Rui Shi, with a sigh. "Not many people frequent it, so…"

"It will work. Let's go," Azula said. "We… we have a lot to discuss."

"That we do," Rui Shi said, with disappointment and steel blended in his voice.

Rui Shi made a good show of shoving and pushing Sokka into the Palace forcefully. The two of them followed Azula towards the hallway where they'd find the passageway Rui Shi had spoken of. Servants and guards alike watched them with disbelief, astounded to see the gladiator being treated so harshly out of the blue. It seemed the Princess's last loss in the Royal Dome had truly angered her…

"I wasn't entirely sure that everyone had believed my explanation," Rui Shi said, closing the secret wall once the three of them were already inside the dark passageway. Sokka had to place a hand on Azula's shoulder to keep track of his bearings. Both Azula and the Captain were familiar with this secret passageway, but he sure wasn't. "So, it may have been a good thing for you to have brought the fool along for this absurd display. It was somewhat uncharacteristic of you, but…"

"Let it be said that the Crown Princess has absolutely no tolerance for failures," Azula said, and Rui Shi actually smiled.

"Well, once you put it that way, perhaps they will buy it after all…" he accepted. It should not be so hard to believe that a new position, especially one as important as the one Azula had been granted, would cause a person to act somewhat chaotically at first, as they tried to fit properly in the new role in question.

"Let's hope," said Azula, stopping as she reached a wooden door.

She pushed it open to reveal a thin staircase with only a little illumination that came from small windows that looked like vents. She led the way downstairs towards the basement, pushing another door open to reveal a rather dusty room, piled with all sorts of vintage furniture and old relics that were no longer in display in the Palace's main halls. It wasn't too filthy, but it was also clear that nobody had cleaned this particular room in quite some time.

"You sure we're safe here?" Sokka asked, looking around with a raised eyebrow as Azula lit the room's lanterns with her bending. His head was still spinning, but he could make sense of his surroundings by now.

"We should be," she whispered. "It's easy enough to hear people approaching this room, and easier yet to hide in the furniture before they come inside, if need be. So, it should be the safest place to hold this conversation within the Palace's premises…"

"It should be… though bringing the gladiator along wasn't necessary for this part," said Rui Shi, frowning at Sokka after taking off his helmet and hood. "It was smart to do so in order to back up the story I fed everyone, but he didn't need to be involved in this conversation."

"Well, it's a matter that concerns all of us. And it's our fault, so… it's only fair for him to be here too," Azula said, shrugging and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Indeed, it is your fault," Rui Shi said, bluntly. Sokka grimaced and Azula sighed.

"We weren't planning for this to happen, Captain, but… but all the same, you're still here, lecturing us," Azula muttered. "I'm grateful for that, believe it or not."

"I have no trouble believing you would be. I could have easily gone to the Fire Lord now, Princess… so you should keep in mind indeed that you're both rather lucky I haven't done as much," he said, taking his seat on a dusty couch as he continued to glare at them. Azula gritted her teeth as Sokka looked at her worriedly.

"Indeed, we are. Is there any price to our luck, then?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Rui Shi sighed.

"There should be. I'm… I'm risking my neck here for you both," Rui Shi growled, shaking his head. "Fact is, I have no idea why I'm doing it. All common sense tells me not to. But…"

"Hence why we're grateful. Fact is, you could have simply left things to run their course without putting up a pretense," Azula said. "We would have been found, and you wouldn't have had to lie about it. But you didn't."

"I didn't. And now I'll have to deal with the consequences," Rui Shi said, dropping against the couch's backrest. "It's too late for me to back down now. I already let you two keep this up for a long time. I should have stopped it when I had the chance."

"No offense, but… I'm not certain you could have stopped it," Azula said. Sokka swallowed.

"Still, thanks for… for not killing me, first of all, and for sticking by us, secondly," said Sokka.

"As long as you don't make me regret it more than I already do, I accept your gratefulness," said Rui Shi, sighing. "You do realize that from here on, you must keep your secret under wraps for as long as can be? Which means you'll have to avoid marriage all the more, Princess. And you must stop being this reckless if you truly mean to keep this a secret. So, no more sleepovers."

"None," Azula said, nodding. "It was an obvious mistake, an accidental one, but a mistake all the same."

"I won't be able to provide a cover for every single weird thing you two decide to do. So, I beg of you, don't force me into doing so," he stated. "It already was overwhelming enough, having to come up with this one. I seriously didn't expect most people to believe it. Fortunately, it seems your glory is preceded by a darker reputation than I realized, Princess…"

"I don't think it's my reputation entirely, it's possibly due to the way most people treat slaves," Azula said. "I've always been a rarity for not being so harsh to Sokka… but taking all the recent circumstances into account, hopefully it has seemed believable enough."

"Still… I assume those bruises aren't real, or are they? Let alone the burns on his clothes…" Rui Shi said, and Sokka shook his head. Rui Shi sighed. "Pity. The next time you wish to pretend to beat this fool up, I will gladly do it for you, Princess."

"Rui Shi…" Azula said, rolling her eyes as Sokka grimaced.

"Do excuse my harshness, I know it isn't appropriate… but then again the entire situation is far from appropriate," the Captain said, raising his eyebrows.

"I agree, but it is what it is now," said Azula. "Something like this was bound to happen sooner than later. In any case, Song claimed you had showed up at the house to deliver some message. I figure that's how you found out…"

"Indeed it is," said Rui Shi, an eyebrow twitching. "I did not want to believe it at first. Song was rushing outside, looking redder than I'd ever seen her. She had realized what was going on with you two, of course… and it didn't take me too long to understand what was happening. She led me away afterwards, helped me talk out my frustrations and decide what we'd do next, depending on what the situation would be once she returned home. I wasn't going to demand for her to stop you two from doing what you were doing, the entire situation is uncomfortable enough for all of us, so I wouldn't force her into such an awkward position… so I had to think quickly, and the punishment was the first cover story I could come up with."

"Well, what you came up with wasn't as bad an idea as it could have been," Azula said. "Though I guess some might be surprised by the thought that I might have spent an entire night torturing Sokka…"

"Seeing the shape he's in, and the way you dragged him here only to 'punish him further', I'd say you dealt with it rather well," said Rui Shi. "But I'll say it again, Princess… avoid this sort of behavior from now on. I can't promise to be able to cover for you on another occasion."

"We'll be less reckless. Or try to be, at least," said Azula.

"But not to the point where you'd stop seeing one another, right?"

"Captain, the damage is done," the Princess said, sighing in defeat. "Even if we broke things off now, I'm still going to be…"

"Deflowered," Rui Shi finished, and Azula blushed.

It was ridiculous, truly, that her accursed virginity would be the source of so much trouble. What she did with her body should be her problem, and hers alone. It shouldn't be something worth getting scolded over by the Captain of her Royal Guards, let alone something worth more than all her accomplishments, or Sokka's very life. She had proven herself repeatedly… why couldn't the world judge her for that, instead of her purity?

"Well, then, you'll have to come up with your own plans in order to be together if you're hell-bent on it indeed," said Rui Shi, shrugging. "It's clear that I cannot stop you. But I won't clean up after your disasters every time either."

"I won't ask you to do so," Azula muttered. "You've been helpful enough as it is, despite you clearly don't want to be."

"I really wish I could be more supportive of this mess, Princess, but I keep seeing myself beheaded for it," said Rui Shi, giving her a sarcastic grin. "I cannot be a nice, encouraging friend and your Captain at the same time. It's as much of a contradiction as a Princess and a slave throwing caution to the wind as you have."

"The world is full of wishful thoughts indeed," Azula said. "I'm not going to ask you to like this, Captain, if anything I'm quite astounded by your loyalty as it is. Any other man would have turned us in right away, once he knew he had nothing to lose."

"Well… that is, indeed, the problem," Rui Shi whispered.

He had more to lose than the Princess realized. As much as it was an unpleasant situation for him, he cared for her wellbeing just as much as he cared for her happiness, it seemed. It was why he doubted he would ever feel right about this… but also why he couldn't tell on them. He was harsh to Sokka, naturally, but even so he had a certain appreciation for the man. His influence on the Princess had been positive on many levels… if only there hadn't been a romantic outcome to all of it, he might even consider the gladiator a good friend. Despite he felt the drive to genuinely beat him to a pulp, he didn't quite want him dead, if mostly for the Princess's sake.

"We'll try to be less messy," Sokka said, lowering his gaze. "For all our sakes. I'm pretty sure we can be stealthier from now on."

"Stealthier, you say? Then I suppose making out on rooftops is ruled out now?" Rui Shi asked, unable to avoid smirking in disbelief. Sokka was the one blushing now as Azula nodded.

"There's no need to take risks like that, not really," she said, sighing. "We'll still see each other as we always did before, for training and such…"

"Training? Really?" Rui Shi said, raising an eyebrow. Sokka gulped as Azula shrugged.

"If we've had training sessions almost on a daily basis for close to a year and nobody thought it was suspicious enough to look into, returning to that routine shouldn't be suspicious either," said Azula.

"I suppose. I'll have to drop by at sunset to make sure you do come home for the night, though," Rui Shi said, raising an eyebrow. Azula looked at him in surprise.

"You'd… you'd do that?" she asked.

"I'll probably have to. If you two are busy 'training', you're likely to make fools of yourselves again. I can't take it easy if we're to avoid complications like the ones we faced today." he said, shrugging. "I'm afraid I don't trust the pair of you to be responsible, especially when you're together."

"It'll probably take a while for us to get our heads on straight," Sokka said, scratching the back of his head as he looked at Azula. "But this would work, right? I guess you won't be able to come by every day anymore, since you've got more responsibilities now, but…"

"We'll just meet whenever it's convenient," Azula said, nodding. "No point in pushing our luck. Also, we have to train for real as well. Else you're really going to be useless in the Arena."

"You should do that indeed," said Rui Shi, standing up. "It would do no good for you to claim you train constantly if his fighting abilities don't attest to that."

"You're right about that, Captain. But there's no need to worry, I'll make sure to have him practice with his boomerang properly until he gets the hang of it," Azula stated, and both Sokka and Rui Shi did a double take at that.

"H-his… boomerang?" Rui Shi repeated, as Sokka pouted, indignant.

"Hey, I can use my boomerang well enough and you know it! Stop saying weird stuff!" he exclaimed, flustered. Azula smirked.

"Well, now, I was talking about your weapon as harmlessly as you speak of my blue fire, so why so defensive all of sudden?"

"Y-your… oh, dear," said Rui Shi. He had a good idea of what the boomerang was supposed to be, but he did not want to know what the blue fire stood for.

"Why? Maybe because you keep saying things to mess me up, like how I was 'lacking in a certain department', or did you conveniently forget that one?" Sokka asked, and now the Captain rolled his eyes.

"I most certainly don't need to hear this," he growled as he made to leave, but before he reached the door he stopped and looked at Azula. "The message, by the way, was that you're expected to attend a war meeting today in the afternoon, Princess. Make certain to be ready for it."

He closed the door behind him and strode away quickly, leaving both Azula and Sokka standing in place, their eyes on the closed door. The Captain's footsteps resounded as he climbed the stairs until he reached the hidden passageway.

"Well, that didn't go so badly until that last bit," Azula said, with a guilty grin. Sokka pouted again.

"Agreed. Though I wasn't happy about how you'll have me 'practice with my boomerang', as if I was so bad at it…"

"Now, in all fairness, you failed to strike Toph's actual chi point. Had you done it, she would have been helpless for a little longer and you might have had a chance to…"

"Oh, sure, that's what you were talking about," Sokka said, looking at her with a disbelieving grin.

"Well, what did you think I was talking about?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, now, you filthy minded snow savage. Everything is an innuendo with you, isn't it?"

"L-like you didn't say it with that intent!" Sokka exclaimed, and Azula smirked, looking at him with false indignation. "You were the one who brought up the blue fire in comparison!"

"Why, that's preposterous. I'm not the type to make innuendos about your rear, believe it or not," she said, with an innocent smile.

"No, but you weren't talking about my rear, or were you?" Sokka asked, stepping towards her and looking down at her with stubbornness. Azula couldn't help but smirk.

"What was I talking about, then?" she asked, her voice rather suggestive.

Sokka opened his mouth to answer but he was left looking at her lips, the words lost before he could so much as think about uttering them. He was in real trouble, no doubt. This mischievous side of Azula was dangerous in ways she didn't realize. Resisting her before had been hard enough, but now she seemed to know exactly how to tempt him into losing himself in her completely.

It came as no surprise that they would be kissing fiercely one second, only for Sokka to lift her and press her into the wall as he continued to devour her eagerly, her legs firmly wrapped around his waist. Their libido was the only thing dictating their actions as they recklessly found themselves in the middle of a desperate tryst once more. The pain Azula still felt upon penetration was quickly replaced by pleasure again, as he stroked her clit with a thumb while thrusting against her, the brush of his head against her walls making her moan erotically. He only hoped the room they were in was so isolated that nobody would hear them…

"Be quiet, Azula…" he whispered, before heaving forth again. Azula cried out again. "Girl, seriously…"

"I can't help it!" she retorted, and Sokka shook his head before smiling.

"Then I guess I'll have to keep your mouth busy, huh?" he said, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, his tongue slipping past her lips and brushing against hers. Azula groaned again, a soft whimper leaving her as he began thrusting more rhythmically.

Her fingers had undone his wolf's tail at this point, and she pulled at his hair as he thrusted deeper inside of her, deeper than he had reached the first time. He held her firmly in place with one arm, still using his free hand to tease her and boost her arousal in all the ways he could, doing his best to make the experience thoroughly enjoyable for her.

His mouth didn't leave hers, and soon he was responding to her moans with some of his own. His legs were threatening to give way beneath him, but he wouldn't let them. No, he had to reach the finish line here, there was no questioning it…

Her nails dug into his scalp, making him wince and pull away from her lips briefly, only for her to attack him with more kisses. His thumb drew circles on her clit, his cock sliding in and out of her with astounding ease by now. She was shivering violently against him, failing to find the strength to continue toying with his hair as his tip brushed that sensitive spot again…

She practically screamed into his mouth as she came, the contractions of her walls making Sokka roll his eyes back in sheer pleasure. He continued to prod at her clit, helping her ride the orgasm to the end, but knowing that it would mean he would come as well in no time…

His release was as explosive as before, prompting him to drop his head on her shoulder as he thrusted urgently, unleashing himself deep inside her. His hips bumped into hers as his aftershocks ended. He panted, lightheaded. Azula sighed, her hands caressing his scalp gently now.

"Did I… hurt you?" she asked, and he chuckled before pressing his lips to what little skin he could find of her neck in that armor.

"You've made me dizzy, that's what you did," he whispered, kissing at first, but switching to sucking on the spot before, and she groaned in delight.

"S-Sokka…" she gasped, and he hummed.

"Yeah… putting you down now…" he replied, shifting his hips back to separate their bodies.

Azula groaned again as she let her legs drop from their position around his waist. They trembled somewhat violently as she stood up now, and Sokka's footing wasn't too steady either. She leaned on him, only for the gladiator to stumble back until they reached the couch where Rui Shi had been sitting earlier. Sokka chuckled as he took her into his arms, his fingers sliding over her long, and now messy, hair as she breathed slowly, nestled comfortably on his lap.

"I should get out of here soon, you realize…" she whispered. "The Captain did say I'm expected at a war meeting, so I'll have to get ready for it…"

"I suppose you must…" Sokka sighed, burying his face in her hair. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"It's going to be in the afternoon, so it will take the rest of my day," Azula said, caressing Sokka's chest. "If it weren't for that…"

"I could've waited for you right here until you were done," Sokka said, smiling. "Heck, I still could…"

"Too risky," Azula said, shaking her head. "Can't break my routine that much by disappearing for no reason two days in a row, it'd be too suspicious."

"We just fucked against the wall, isn't that suspicious?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula snorted.

"We are utterly and hopelessly reckless when we shouldn't be…" she admitted, burying her face in his neck. "We'll have to work on that, you realize…"

"Sure thing, but for now… it's kind of hard to hold back," he said, chuckling and smiling as he held her tight. "Especially when you make weird innuendos about my 'boomerang'… still think I need to train it?"

"Oh, desperately," Azula said, and Sokka rolled his eyes. "You are no use with it, clearly. I'll require you to train your boomerang with me as often as possible…"

"You're going to have to learn to respect Mr. Boomerang eventually, you know?" Sokka said, smirking, as Azula chuckled.

"You'll have to teach me how to respect it, then," she said, pushing herself up a little and smiling defiantly at him before kissing his lips. "But for now, I do have to go, whether we like it or not."

"Well, I know I don't like it, but that's not in discussion, now, is it?" Sokka asked, with a defeated grin. Azula rolled her eyes.

"You got another round just now," she said, standing up. The soreness of her body, and the pain, seemed muffled by the pleasure she had just experienced. "Surely you can function for a couple of hours without me, as you continue to enjoy the thrills of having fucked me against the wall, as you so eloquently put it…"

"You overestimate my ability to live without you, my Princess," he said, grinning and taking her hands in his. Azula smiled and rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're the worst," she said, as he lifted her hands to his face, kissing her fingers softly.

"And you're the best," he told her, with a pleased smirk, prompting Azula to laugh as she pulled away from him.

She leaned down to pick up their discarded belts, and Sokka raised an eyebrow as his eyes raked her body. Just how had he wound up with such a beautiful woman, he'd never understand it. He was smiling goofily when she turned around again, and Azula raised an eyebrow as she realized what he was doing.

"You really like the blue fire, don't you?" she asked, tossing his sash at him as Sokka chuckled.

"Sorry, sorry… I can't seem to stop ogling you," he said, grinning guiltily. Azula smiled back.

"I'll find it flattering for the time being, but make sure not to do the same when we're in public, alright?" she said, fastening her belt in place once more. Sokka sighed and nodded.

"Won't be easy to hold back, but I'll try," he said, standing up and surrounding her with his arms from behind.

Azula relaxed into his embrace, though he released her quickly, his hands moving to her hair as he did his best to fix it to nigh perfection once more. Their action against the wall had left it a little messier than she would be able to justify.

"Make sure to stay here for at least ten minutes after I'm gone. Put out the lights, and make sure to listen well for any sounds outside the passageway before getting out. Leave no evidence, alright?"

"Got it," he said, sighing and placing her hairpiece before her half-knot. "Will I… see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I hope so," Azula said, turning around to face him. His hands moved to rest on her waist.

"Well, hope's something, at the very least," he said, smiling. "I'll miss you."

"We've been apart before, and you've survived, you know?" Azula said, smirking. Sokka sighed "Don't be so dramatic. I'll see you soon."

"Alrighty" he said, surrounding her with his arms one last time. Holding her close as he was, he whispered softly into her ear: "I love you"

Azula's drive to leave decreased instantly with that. Three simple words and he could bring her to her knees… but how could she fight it? He believed she had him wrapped around her finger, but it was evident to her that it was it was a mutual thing.

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, closing her eyes and losing herself in his enthusiastic response. Her arms surrounded his neck as her body pressed into his fully…

"We've got to stop… or else we'll start all over again," she said, with a chuckle. Sokka grinned.

"I'd need to wait a while, but I can't say I'd mind that at all…" he said mischievously, and Azula pecked his lips one last time before disentangling from his embrace.

"You're unbelievable" she said, approaching the door and looking at him with a gentle smile. "I… I'll see you later. Don't stay here all day, alright?"

"I'll try not to," he said, smiling back at her. The way her eyes gleamed was enough to make him weak on the knees again. "Bye, Azula."

"Bye," she whispered, sighing softly before opening the door and sliding through it.

Knowing she would be away from him for longer than a few minutes brought Sokka to sigh deeply as he dropped on the couch once more. He knew he couldn't keep Azula away from her important duties, especially when they had to pretend everything between them was completely normal. And he didn't mean to delay her, or to distract her from her responsibilities… but the forces of attraction that brought them together were far too intense to ignore. It was reckless, it was wrong, but it was unavoidable. He needed to get a grip and he knew it, but when she looked at him as she had just now, all he wanted was to take her into his arms and never let go…

If there was truth to what he'd always been told about love, it was that it would be wonderful and painful simultaneously. He'd thought the pain would refer exclusively to the bad arguments, of which they hadn't lacked… all the conflicts he'd had with Azula had been truly terrible. It was a wonder they had ended up here, in spite of them all. Yet he hadn't thought that there would be this much pain in just being separated from her. He wasn't sure he could return to his room, to the bed they had shared, without her. At least, doing so tonight was unfathomable.

He groaned and stood up, picking up his hair tie and busying himself with composing his wolf's tail again. He had to stop acting like a fool, that was all there was to it. He wasn't a child, he could take it when things didn't go his way. So, if he had to go one day or more without seeing her, he'd bear with it…!

His chest ached at the thought, and he rolled his eyes at himself. His emotions were going to destroy him at this rate.

As his thoughts scrambled through his mind, the door of a wardrobe creaked open. It stood against the wall, just next to where he had pressed Azula as they recklessly engaged in sex once more. Had they bumped into it and caused it to open somehow? He frowned and made to close the door, but he found it was damaged, and thus, impossible to close properly. No wonder it was in the storage…

The content of the closet made him frown, though, as something red caught his eye. He pulled the door open and reached into the wardrobe, drawing a set of red robes from it, an outfit he had seen many times before… they were Royal Guard robes, along with the set of armor and helmet the uniform required.

He blinked blankly, thoroughly confused. Why was this here? Had some Royal Guard outgrown his outfit and dumped it in here? It was odd, to say the least. He frowned, his mind attempting to connect the dots but failing to do so. Something told him there was a reason why these clothes, in a perfectly fine state, would have been left here… but surely the blood hadn't flowed back to his brain properly just yet. Thoughts of Azula were the only thing he could compose properly.

And as he thought about her, the Royal Guard outfit in his hand, an idea came to mind. A very dangerous idea, one he knew Azula might kill him for… but he smirked as he thought that perhaps he wouldn't have to wait a whole day before seeing her again.