The ocean was dark and quiet at night, a pure reflection of the sky above. The only sound to be heard was that of the Barge breaking the waves as it progressed through the open sea, across the Northern Earth Kingdom.
The Princess gazed out from the window of her quarters, the cool breeze brushing against her bare shoulders softly. The sheet she held wrapped around her body didn't do much to keep her warm, but she had meant to check how much progress her ship had made through the night. Depending on how close they were to port, either she would have to send her gladiator back to his cabin right away or they might still enjoy each other's company for a little longer, as long as their destination was still several miles away.
He lay in bed, breathing out slowly now that the excitement had cooled down. His dark brown hair was ruffled and messy after the Princess's hands had slipped between his tresses in the midst of their passionate exchanges. His skin had a few marks she had left on it, but he had made certain to leave quite a few on her as well. His back, as usual, stung a little after she had scratched him with her long nails, but he was growing accustomed to the pain by now: he virtually relished in it.
"Well?" he asked, looking at her questioningly as she rested against the windowsill, squinting through the pavilion tower's large windows.
"It's the middle of the night, I really can't tell if we're close to the northern shores or not," she replied, shrugging. "But we're probably not there just yet. We're still going too fast, we're probably not near our destination just yet."
"Good, then," he said, beaming. "If that's how it is, you should just come back to bed and stop worrying."
"I would stop worrying if I could," said the Princess, smiling. "But as per usual, our fun times will come at a steep price if we're not careful. It's better to be cautious, Sokka."
"Granted it is, but it's also good to make the most of the time we can spend together, right?" he said, smirking and sliding his hands to the back of his head.
Azula rolled her eyes and regarded her opportunist lover with undisguised skepticism. He grinned mischievously in turn; his dark-skinned body was fully exposed to her as he lay comfortably stretched across her bed.
"Besides, aren't you cold standing over there like that?" he said. "The temperatures are quite low around here, after all, and I'm not sure you can handle it, tropical girl…"
"Oh, you think I can't take a little cold?" Azula asked, as he smirked. "It would seem after all this time you really don't know me so well, snow savage."
"Or maybe I'm just that eager to have you in my arms again?" he suggested. Azula rolled her eyes once more but smiled now. To his delight, she moved away from the window and approached the bed, removing the sheet around her body and dropping it atop Sokka's.
"Or maybe the one who was cold was you," she said, smirking as she sat on the bed again. Sokka chuckled.
"Well, if you wanted to warm me up I'd much rather have you atop me than a sheet… it's a lot more effective to heat up through bodily warmth, as you might have noticed by now," he said, smirking as he caressed her waist with a hand. Azula smiled and dropped beside him, pulling the sheet over her body as well and settling against Sokka.
"Wouldn't you like that, savage," she whispered, kissing his shoulder softly. "I seem to remember you were very interested in warming up at the expenses of my naked body once before… it looks like you have a knack for it, don't you?"
"Huh? When did I try that?" he asked, and Azula smirked before looking at him teasingly.
"You're going to forget your daring suggestion back when we were lost in the forest, by any chance?" she asked. "After we were soaked by the rain and the river, you were most eager to take off your clothes…"
Sokka's slow smile broke into full laughter as he finally recalled that occasion: Azula's smirk widened. With a judgmental stare directed straight into his eyes, she propped herself up with her elbows as Sokka smiled guiltily at her.
"I think you said back then that… was it over your dead body? Or 'not in this life'? I can't remember anymore," he said, chuckling. Azula shrugged.
"Either way, I'm not dead, let alone have I reincarnated, so you'll gain no warmth at my expenses, gladiator," she said, proudly, and Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"Are you certain I won't, Princess?" he asked, and Azula shivered. To this day, the way he uttered her title was enough to push her over the edge. Add to that the shameless smirk he gave her, and she felt completely helpless against him. She was growing much fonder of being helpless against him than she had ever meant to be… "I promise I'll make it fun for you too, you know…"
"I am a woman of my word, gladiator. What will it look like if I take back my promises just because you believe you can please me?" she said, as he surrounded her waist with an arm and licked his lips.
"It will look like you've given matters some thought and concluded that taking back your promise…" he said, reaching up to kiss her lips softly before finishing his sentence, "… is worth it."
Azula rolled her eyes but she dropped atop him anyways, a delighted smile on her face. She could hear his heartbeat, bask in his hands' loving caresses, his lips pressing to the top of her head occasionally. She felt fully comfortable lying in bed with him like this, their bodies pressed together intimately. Azula had never been too given to physical contact, or so she had thought… but when it came to Sokka, she craved it. She barely knew how to keep proper distance between them whenever they met outside her room these days. All she wanted was to feel his body next to hers and, seeing how desperate he was to keep her close to him, the feeling had to be mutual.
"It's been getting colder indeed, though," she said. "Not as bad as in your pole, granted, but it's still not comfortable."
"That's because living in a tropical island has rendered you unappreciative of the cycle of the seasons," said Sokka, smirking.
"Yeah, like living in a frozen pole gave you a better grasp of the seasons than what I had," Azula snorted, and Sokka chuckled.
"Alright, granted we only had two periods, but still…" he said, smiling. "You guys have it worse. It's like… summer and hotter summer. That's not good for anyone's health, you know?"
"We deal with it just fine, thank you very much," said Azula, smiling. "It's better than freezing your toes off all year, if anything."
"I beg to differ," said Sokka. "You can dress up thickly if you want to fight the cold, you can stay in your igloo, you can build a fire… there's nothing you can do to fight the extreme heat, on the other hand."
"Of course there is," said Azula, smirking. "When you're cold, you put on more clothes. When you're hot, you take them off. Since when do you think it's better to wear more clothes than less clothes, I wonder? I was under the impression you liked it the other way around…"
Sokka laughed and shook his head, as Azula smiled proudly.
"Okay, okay, you got me there. The less clothes you wear, you specifically, Azula, the happier I will be. Your tropical hell wins."
"Tropical hell, give me a break," said Azula, looking at him skeptically. "You've gotten used to it well enough, haven't you?"
"I suppose, but I did miss feeling chilly at night," he said, smiling. Azula smirked.
"If that's so, then fine. I'll take the sheets for myself, since you clearly won't need them," she stated, rolling off him and into the sheets before Sokka could protest against her decision.
"Hey! That's not what I…! Azula!" he pouted, as she surrounded herself again in the warm fabric, a mischievous grin in her face.
"Come on, you missed feeling chilly, didn't you…?" she said mockingly, as Sokka looked at her with playful determination.
"You're not getting away with this, Princess!" he declared, pushing himself up before lunging at her, struggling to unwrap the covers from around her as she attempted to shove him off her, between laughs.
They rolled on the bed for a while, the sheets wrinkling as they fought over them in a spirited struggle. Azula rolled atop him again, her legs straddling his hips as she held him down forcefully, her fingers laced with his as she pushed him against the mattress.
"Azula…!" Sokka said, readying himself to slip his legs between hers and swap their positions again… but that was when she leaned down to kiss him deeply, and with that alone his fight for the sheet was forgotten as he hummed in approval. He definitely liked this better than fighting.
Once it was clear Sokka wouldn't struggle against her anymore, his hands now slipping out of hers gently, so he could embrace her by the waist, Azula smirked and pulled away, looking at him mischievously once more.
"Looks like I got away with it alright," she whispered, and he sighed in defeat.
"You'd think I'd learn the first time, huh?" he said, as she laughed, her forehead pressed against his before she kissed him again.
"For such a quick learner, you don't seem to learn your ways around me all that easily," she said, dropping atop him once again, as his fingers slid through her smooth dark hair.
"Funny how you couldn't say the same thing ten minutes ago, Princess," he said, smirking. "I've learned my way around your body no problem, haven't I?"
"It looks like that doesn't make you any less weak against me, though," she whispered, pressing her lips to his cheek. Sokka chuckled and looked at her gently.
"You know you're too much for me, Azula. All I can do is accept it and love you more with every day that passes us by…" he said, smirking as she groaned and rolled her eyes once he said words he knew would embarrass her.
"Can you try not to be sickeningly sweet for one night, damn it?" she asked, as he laughed again. "Things were just fine and then you had to start with the mushiness."
"I'm afraid that's my only weapon against you, Azula," he said, nuzzling her neck. "I have to wield it whenever you're getting the better of me."
"So then, until I get used to the mushiness to the point that it doesn't affect me, you'll continue to use it to your benefit whenever you see fit to do so?" she asked, looking at him questioningly and Sokka grinned goofily.
"And even when it doesn't affect you I'm going to keep doing it. Because I need to tell you all those things or I'll explode, as you already know," he said, chuckling and turning on the bed again, so that she would lie below him now. She was rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time when he finished moving, and he couldn't help but laugh as he kissed her neck, prompting her to groan a little.
"You're the worst, damn it," she whispered.
"And you're the best, of course," he replied, his lips pressing against her skin soft and pleasantly.
"We… we shouldn't get started again, it'll be dawn soon and you'll have to go to your cabin before then," she whispered, and Sokka groaned.
"You know, I think I've spent so much time in yours on this trip that I'm hving trouble thinking of my alleged quarters as mine," he said, and Azula smiled. "I've ended up in here every night, after all…"
"And there's nothing wrong with that, now, is there?" she whispered, and he grinned as well.
"Not a single thing," he whispered. "Well, aside from the fact that it makes it increasingly difficult to spend time without you… All I've done these weeks is wait for it to be nighttime
so I can be with you again, you know?"
"I'm impressed. To think that what you most look forward to is being with me instead of breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or a midnight snack… you really must love me," Azula said, sarcastically, and Sokka was the one rolling his eyes now.
"Like you didn't know I do," he said, kissing her jawline now. She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly.
"Still… I feel obligated to warn you that we might have to change our procedure once we reach land," she said, a hand sliding over his back in a gentle caress. "Granted this has been amazing, but there's no way of knowing what things will be like in the Northern Air Temple. Chances are that sneaking around undetected won't be too easy in a new environment."
"No chance they'll let us share rooms, then?" said Sokka, teasingly, before sighing in defeat. "We'll figure something out anyways. They can't keep us apart forever, can they?"
"Well, not forever, but if things get difficult, we shouldn't push our luck," Azula said, eyeing Sokka meaningfully. "So, no sneaking into my room in a guard's uniform for the time being, okay?"
"Heh? Are you sure you don't want me to?" Sokka asked, pouting. "At least I can try that after we've assessed the situation properly, can't I?"
"I'll think about it," Azula said, pointedly, and Sokka sighed.
"I suppose you're not giving in that easily, huh?" he said, moving lower and kissing her collarbone now. "Still, how do things work over there? Is this guy living as a recluse in the Temple? Because if that's how it is…"
"He isn't, from my understanding. I think the Temple has become some sort of unofficial colony," said Azula. "So it won't be just us and the guards, for certain. He's also, uh… apparently quite quirky. I can't say I know much about the man, but what little has been discussed about him during war meetings has implied as much… so be aware that you'll have a rather strange partner this time around."
"He can't be that bad," said Sokka, smiling as he traced circles on Azula's abdomen with his fingers. "What will you be up to while I'm working, though?"
Azula nearly snorted. She had no illusions regarding how hard he'd be working, but it seemed Sokka hadn't noticed that just yet. Either she was truly that much harder to read than he was, or he was no good at reading others at all.
"I'm… not entirely sure," she lied. "I thought I might spend some time with Xin Long, likely. He's thrilled about exploring the Earth Kingdom for a month, so I might join him in his travels if I'm too bored."
"Oh?" said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. "Will you look for other dragons?"
"We might, but it's not a sure thing that we'll find any," Azula said, dismissively.
"I guess not, but… you won't take a long trip, though? I mean, you won't be gone overnight…" said Sokka, and Azula laughed.
"I just told you not to expect us to keep up with this, and here you are, worrying that I might not spend the night with you," she said, looking at him in disbelief. He smiled guiltily.
"What can I say? My days will be spent with some weird quirky guy, and I probably won't see you often because you'll be traveling with Xin Long… I need to know if I'll have a chance to at least kiss you once in a while, Azula."
"Why? You can't function if I don't kiss you on a daily basis?" she asked, smirking, and he nodded enthusiastically, prompting her to laugh softly. "Oh, you're an idiot."
"I'm in love with you, is what I am," he said, grinning and hugging her tightly. Azula sighed against him, her eyes closed as she relaxed in his arms. Sokka dropped on his side, pulling her closer to him as she smiled in his embrace.
"There's another thing you need to keep in mind, by the way. Something you're not likely to take well, actually…" she said, eyeing him with uncertainty. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"What's that?"
"Well… you see, the Air Temples are located in some very steep mountains, right?"
"Yes?"
"Which means farming is, uh, complicated, to say the least," said Azula, and Sokka frowned slowly, uneasy.
"Uh-huh…?"
"Therefore, it's unlikely that they'll have a lot of meat on their tables…" she finished, and his eyes widened in horror.
"N-no meat? No meat?!" he exclaimed, and Azula shrugged.
"I'm not sure if there will be none altogether, but the Air Nomads never really cared to make their homes suitable for cattle. They were vegetarians, as you might know…"
"V-vegetarians? Hell, why would anyone choose to be a vegetarian when meat tastes so good?" he said, grimacing. "The Air Nomads were crazy. What did they eat, if not meat?"
"From my understanding, mostly foods based on fruits. Perhaps a few vegetables," said Azula, and Sokka's jaw dropped.
"How am I supposed to… to eat enough if it's just fruit?! That's never going to fill my stomach!"
"Sokka, I'm afraid NOTHING will ever fill your stomach. Whether it's meat or fruit is irrelevant," said Azula, smirking, as Sokka dropped on the bed, his face contorted in horror as he ran a hand over his hair. If his reaction was to be judged for what it was, Azula had just informed him of the most disturbing news imaginable.
"G-got to make bombs for the Fire Lord and then turns out I can't even eat meat… if I can't meet up with you at night either I might as well just have signed up for the most horrible trip ever," he groaned, as Azula chuckled softly and curled against him.
"You're being ridiculous," she whispered. "Which isn't all that rare coming from you, granted, but still…"
"Azula…" he whined, pouting at her as she caressed his chest.
"Just bear with it, and it'll be over before you know it," she told him. "We'll be back here in no time, and then back home, and you'll be fighting in the Arena again…"
"That last part's not so encouraging," he said, with a raised eyebrow as Azula chuckled.
"I guess not," she said, kissing his cheek. "But just deal with it all one thing at a time. Right now, your most pressing problem is that you should go to your cabin and stop frolicking with me for a couple of hours, so resolve that first and worry about meat or lack thereof later, will you?"
"Meh," said Sokka, pouting. "If this is the last chance I'll have to be with you for around a month, for all I know, then I want to take my time to enjoy the moment properly!"
"Why did I know you were going to say something ridiculous like that?"
"Because you know me so well?" said Sokka, smiling now. Azula smiled and nodded, kissing his shoulder softly.
"Perhaps I shouldn't know you all that well, if you think about it," she said, as Sokka chuckled and hugged her with one arm.
"Probably, but we like to live life dangerously, I guess."
"Oh, not 'we', you do. I was perfectly fine living my life as comfortably as I could. And then you showed up and made a mess of everything without barely even trying," Azula growled, and Sokka chuckled.
"You've enjoyed most of it, though, whether you want to admit it or not."
"And you've enjoyed yourself well enough too, so you'll have to make the sacrifice to stop eating meat for a month or so," said Azula, smiling. "If you manage to endure the vegetarian diet without whining too much, I might try and sneak into your room for a change… well, if it proves any easier than for you to sneak into mine, of course."
"But you'll likely get the better room," said Sokka. "You're the Princess after all, so your bed should be nicer than mine. Your room is always better for escapades!"
Azula rolled her eyes as Sokka grinned. She placed her head on the hollow of his shoulder, an arm surrounding his chest as he played with her hair. She breathed slowly against him, basking in the closeness between them before kissing his cheek once more.
"You really should go by now," she whispered, and Sokka sighed.
"Must I?" he pouted, and she nodded.
"Get some rest, you know you'll get none if you stay here," she said, smiling. "I need it too, having bags under my eyes wouldn't befit me. Especially if those bags are caused by spending the night with some shameless savage who keeps doing as he pleases with me…"
"Hey, you're doing as you please with me too," he pointed out, smiling. "Or is it I need to let you lead once in a while so things can be more balanced between us?"
"Let me lead?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow. "I beg to differ, but I will not have you 'letting' me do anything, I will take what is mine by my own hand, gladiator. Remember, I call the shots here, and I always will."
"Heh, you do in many regards, but…" he said, smirking mischievously.
"Oh, so you call the shots in the bedroom, then?" she asked. "My, my. Someone is getting a little cocky all of sudden, isn't he?"
"I don't think… pfft. Please tell me that pun was not intentional," he said, chuckling. Azula raised her eyebrows and smirked.
"What if it was?"
He roared with laughter now, and Azula couldn't help but chuckle too, dropping on his chest and kissing him softly as he stopped laughing, wiping tears off his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I swear, you are too amazing for me. I don't know how you do it, but…" he said, chuckling a little all the same.
"I've learned how to coax all the reactions I love out of you, that's all there is to it," she said, grinning. Sokka froze at those words, raising an eyebrow slowly.
"You said you… what, now? You love… my reactions?"
"No, I didn't," said Azula, paling a little. Had she really just said that word without thinking? What on earth had gotten into her?
"You… you said that, girl!" he exclaimed, grinning and looking at her enthusiastically. "Hey, come on, why are you denying it? If you love my reactions, then that means you…!"
"It means I hate you. I do. Completely. Now get lost, you have accomplished what was required of you," said Azula, blushing deeply now as she rolled off Sokka's body. She waved her hand towards the door, trying to lift up her walls again before she said something stupid once more.
"B-but Azula…!" said Sokka, laughing as she turned her back on him. He chuckled and shook his head, pressing against her back and kissing the nape of her neck. "Fine, fine. You hate me, then."
"Good to know you get it," she stated, proudly, and Sokka chuckled.
"Well, even if you hate me, I love you," he said, pushing himself up and making Azula roll on her back so he could kiss her lips now.
Azula felt the blood still rushing through her body, concentrating on her face despite she willed it not to. She kissed Sokka back despite her embarrassment, but she could barely believe she had let such a phrase slip out so carelessly. It wasn't something to say lightly, without thinking it through. Granted she hadn't flat-out claimed to love him, but still… that word meant too much for her as it was. Throwing it around at random didn't make any sense… but then again, Sokka was quite an expert at messing with her mind by making her feel at ease. He knew just how to shatter her defenses, and he genuinely accepted her for everything she was once she was fully bare before him. It wasn't all that weird that she would be swayed by the moment as she had been… but she needed to be more careful. Especially around that topic.
"You okay?" he asked her, and she hummed softly. He smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. "Alright, alright. I'm going now, I'm going. But keep in mind that I really don't want to, 'kay?"
Azula actually smiled a little, but she rolled her eyes all the same. Sokka grinned and kissed her lips again before climbing off the bed, taking care to cover her with the sheet afterwards.
Azula sighed as she wrapped the fabric around herself, watching as Sokka gathered his clothes and the guard uniform he had worn to slip less suspiciously into her room. Before dressing up he picked up the thick blanket they had kicked off the bed in the midst of their tryst, and just as he had with the sheet, he covered Azula with it.
"Can't let my Princess go cold, now, can I?" he asked, smiling and kissing the top of her head. Azula smiled a little, but her cheeks remained flushed as she watched Sokka getting dressed.
The skies were growing a little lighter already, as he noticed by glancing out the window. He finished buckling the guard uniform and leaned on Azula to kiss her one last time. To his relief, she cupped his face and returned his affections fully now.
"I'll see you later," he whispered, choosing to keep their farewell at a minimum without repeating the word that had caused her to shut down on him just now. She would likely appreciate it if he didn't make her more uncomfortable than she already was. She nodded and kissed him softly again before he pulled away.
"Bye," she said, as he smiled happily at her, waving almost shyly when he reached the door.
He left her room stealthily, knowing her eyes would be on him until he was out of sight. He kept smiling as he made his way to his cabin, moving slowly and carefully through the shadowy areas of the ship to evade anyone who might be awake at the moment. He never passed anywhere near the engine room, knowing that people were working hard there at all hours of the day and night, but the rest of the ship was usually deserted at the early hours of the morning, save for a few guards tasked with patrolling the ship's deck. Sneaking back into his cabin had never proved complicated, despite he had feared it would be.
As he closed the door behind him, his mind was full of thoughts of Azula, as had been the norm for well over a year now. Yet he couldn't help but think of what she had let slip this time around. She had closed down immediately afterwards as a defensive mechanism, he knew that was all there was to it, but still… that she had genuinely uttered the word 'love' towards him, while being at complete leisure with herself, was as thrilling as it could be. He didn't feel deserving of it, he doubted he ever would, but that was probably the very reason why it meant so much to him in the first place.
He finished folding the guard uniform and tucking it into his pack safely, along with the helmet. He did the same thing systematically every night, hoping to avoid trouble if any random someone walked into his cabin to find a guard's uniform lying around for no reason. They took enough risks as it was, so once his head was clear, which only happened whenever he wasn't around Azula, he did everything he could to cover his tracks.
He dropped on the bed, aching to feel her with him, but comforted by the memory of what they'd enjoyed just now. His elated smile widened as he replayed her words in his mind over and over. She had never told him she loved him, not once, albeit she had admitted to being in love with him already. Though she had only done that under the influence of alcohol, it was true, but Sokka didn't doubt that she had strong feelings for him, otherwise none of this would be happening at all…
It would be wonderful to hear her say the words for real one day, it was undeniable, but Sokka wasn't about to push her to do it. Her actions spoke loud enough regarding what her feelings for him were. Even if she hadn't put it into words, he already knew the truth of how she felt. He would wait as long as necessary until she was at ease again, until confessing her feelings didn't bother her as much as it had this time around.
Still… if everything went according to plan, and Ozai took his rage out on him when he failed on this mission, he had no idea if he'd survive long enough to hear such words from Azula. If things didn't go his way, though, and she somehow discovered what he was up to… well, no doubt she would change her mind about him altogether. She wouldn't trust him anymore, that was for sure, and if she couldn't trust him, no doubt her feelings towards him would change drastically. And of course, he would still face his potential death at Ozai's hands. That was certain to happen whether she understood his intent or not.
The grim thoughts made him swallow hard and drop a hand on his face. Maybe he ought to think of better things instead of worrying about the future. They would reach the edge of the Earth Kingdom's northern mountains by tomorrow, and by the time they arrived at the Temple he would have to worry about everything else… but for now, he would do best to sleep and think of the woman to whom he had given his heart, hoping she might be thinking of him as well.
Sokka was woken abruptly after sleeping for what felt like instants by a loud knocking on his door, along with a voice that announced that breakfast was ready. He groaned as he got dressed before fetching his food, hoping he wouldn't look too tired after the night he had spent with Azula. He sped up on his way to the ship's dining deck when he remembered Azula's warning that there might be no meat in the Air Temple. He had to make the most out of this last breakfast on the ship, there was no other choice.
He went too far and stuffed himself after coming to that conclusion, to no one's surprise: the guards and sailors on the ship were well used to his eating antics by now. After he finished his meal, he wound up rubbing his belly as he paced the deck, a bright smile on his face as he studied the mountains on the ship's right flank. The port should be close enough by now, he reasoned…
He stiffened, though, when he noticed a guard coming his way as he slowed by the ship's railing. He swallowed hard, guessing who it was even before noticing the golden trimmings of his outfit.
"Gladiator," said Rui Shi, and Sokka smiled weakly.
"Captain," he whispered, knowing the man was glaring at him through his mask.
"I commend you for remaining undetected so far. Truth be told, I'm quite impressed you've managed to do as you please for the past two weeks," he said, folding his arms over his chest. "But I advise you not to push your luck once…"
"Yeah, yeah, Azula warned me of the same thing," said Sokka, nodding. "Assess the situation first of all, we'll be in different circumstances, so I can't be rash and thoughtless. Or at least, I shouldn't be."
"You'd better not be," said Rui Shi, scathingly.
"I'm grateful for your silence, you know… really grateful," Sokka said, his voice coated with uncertainty. "But you don't have to threaten me each time you see me, you know? Your attitude might look suspicious too if you're not careful."
"Suspicious how?" said Rui Shi, snorting. "Would people assume you're… well, doing you-know-what with we-know-who, because of how I'm acting? I question it."
"Well, maybe not, but they might misunderstand your intent, perhaps," said Sokka, stroking his stubble thoughtfully. "I mean, I've always been a little closer to Azula than I should be, by all accounts, so if you suddenly get sniffy about it, it can either look like something's different, despite we've tried our best to make things seem normal, or it can look like you're, I don't know, jealous of me all of sudden for no reason!"
Rui Shi only glared at Sokka for that last comment, and Sokka smiled clumsily at him before shrinking in his frame.
"Man, I'm only kidding, no need to get angry like that…" he grumbled, and Rui Shi smacked him on the back of the head. "Hey!"
"I wouldn't dream of being in the situation you're in right now, gladiator," said Rui Shi "Because, unlike you, I still hold some appreciation for my life. So, if you'd be so kind, get those stupid ideas out of your head."
"I didn't really think you were jealous, I'm only saying people might think you are because of the way you're acting around us lately," said Sokka, shrinking in his frame. "I guess they could come up with other ideas as to what's wrong with you, but still… I'd say you should pretend everything's the same as it was, too. It's the best way to keep things inconspicuous."
"You'd think," said Rui Shi, rolling his eyes. "If only I didn't feel the need to keep watch on you both constantly, perhaps I would be able to do as you ask. But as it is, I don't trust either of you around each other. If you try to do anything weird while we're on our way to the Northern Air Temple, I will gladly kick you off the train-tank."
"How many times must I-… uh, the train tank?" said Sokka, blinking blankly. "We're going to take the train-tank?"
"Of course we are. Didn't you ever hear the Air Temples are located deep within the mountains, slave?"
Sokka struggled not to smile at the sound of Azula's voice behind them. He turned slowly, eyeing her insecurely, as his role dictated he should. The Princess stood in her golden armor, caressing her dark dragon's snout gently with a hand, regarding her secret lover with feigned derision.
"I did know that," Sokka said, gulping and pouting a little. "I just had no idea we'd need to take the train-tank again…"
"Why so gloomy? Afraid you'll be stuck in the animal wagon again?" Azula asked, with a smirk. Sokka gritted his teeth.
"I… I won't be, though, will I? I mean, come on, Azula…" he said, looking at her pleadingly. "I know things aren't all that great, you're still mad I messed up against Toph, but come on…!"
Azula raised an eyebrow as his words turned into a pleading silence. Rui Shi stood at one side: other guards on deck were glancing at the exchange between Princess and gladiator, he could tell… yet none gave any signs of suspicion. If anything, they seemed amused to by the gladiator's begging for mercy.
Mercy the Princess didn't intend to grant him, it looked like.
"I'm afraid we don't see eye to eye when it comes to your failures, Sokka," she said, with a curt grin. His pleading shifted to indignation as she said: "Therefore, it will be the mongoose dragon wagon for you."
"B-but…! Oh, seriously, what the hell do I have to do to get you to stop being so mean?!" he growled, as she walked off to the prow, her chuckling dragon beside her.
"If it ever stopped being so much fun I just might get bored of it," she called out as she walked away, and Sokka fumed as she left, folding his arms over his chest angrily.
"Completely unfair, I mean, come on…" he grumbled to himself, as Rui Shi rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What? You think I deserve being stuck with animals again?!"
"I think you're an idiot," said Rui Shi, sighing as Sokka's eyebrow twitched.
"Clearly that is the popular opinion, but that doesn't mean I should be stuck with animals while the rest of you are happy and cozy in a proper wagon, fit for humans!"
"Well, you won't be," said Rui Shi, looking at Sokka matter-of-factly. "Because there are no animals this time, gladiator. It's just the Princess, her guards, and you. So, no, you won't be stuck in the animal wagon. She only said that, clearly, to make you rage like the fool you are."
"O-oh… oh," said Sokka, blinking a few times before smiling awkwardly. "I just thought that, ehehe, well… good to know she was just messing with me!"
"I wish she weren't, honestly," Rui Shi whispered under his breath, and Sokka froze as the Captain walked away, shaking his head slowly as he approached the Princess.
She stood at the front of the ship, watching the horizon eagerly: the port they were headed towards finally was on sight. The Northern Air Temple wasn't far away from this bay, but it would be quite complicated for the train-tank to climb through the steep, craggy mountains that led to their destination. Azula couldn't say she looked forward to riding the train-tank again, but it did seem appropriate to arrive at the Mechanist's doorstep in the machine of the man's own design.
"Are all preparations for the train-tank finished, Captain?" she asked Rui Shi once he stopped by her side, and he nodded.
"Tai Wei is ready to drive it," he confirmed. "It's been a while since we last used it, but hopefully his expertise remains as it was back when we came to the Earth Kingdom around a year ago."
"It better," said Azula, frowning a little before chancing a glance behind her. Sokka stood with his back against the ship's railing… his eyes set on her. She smirked and raised an eyebrow in his direction, and only then did he realize he had been staring at her. Flustered, he gulped and crossed his arms over his chest hastily, trying not to make a fool of himself again.
"You two need to keep yourselves in check, Princess," said Rui Shi, an eyebrow twitching. "I am to assume you kept meeting in secret through our travels…"
"If you are to assume things, then I take it we actually succeeded at keeping it a secret," said Azula, smirking. "But please, Captain, don't talk about this at leisure while others might be within earshot. Wait until we can speak privately if you have anything important to say."
"Well, I didn't mean to say anything you didn't know already," said Rui Shi, frowning. "But seeing how meeting with you in private these days has proved quite complicated, I thought I'd speak to you right now while you weren't, uh, otherwise engaged."
"If your best idea was to talk to me at midnight, no doubt I would be otherwise engaged, whether sleeping or doing anything else," Azula said, skeptically, and Rui Shi gritted his teeth. "All the same, Captain, you needn't worry. I know to keep my distance from him."
"If only I could indeed stop worrying…" Rui Shi muttered to himself, as the ship began slowing in its approach to port.
An hour later, once the ship was secured in the military dock and the train-tank was brought out from within the Barge, the Princess, her gladiator and her guards were ready to set out to the Northern Air Temple. Two of Azula's guards had been tasked with learning how to operate the machine for their previous trip through the Earth Kingdom, and once again they sat at the train-tank's control room, ready to maneuver their way through the mountains skillfully. The rest of them were cooped up in the passenger wagon, which, in Sokka's opinion, was a little too small for his liking.
He had to sit at the far end of the wagon, separated from the Princess by all her guards, to his utter disappointment. He knew he needed to get a grip, but a simple conversation would be harmless, right? Well, going by the obvious glare Rui Shi shot him when he noticed Sokka was glancing towards Azula, maybe it wouldn't be so harmless after all. He sighed and pouted, crossing his arms and staring at the ceiling as the machine began moving, picking up speed as it progressed through the mountains.
"Is there at least some food in here?" he yelled through the train's rattling, and Taro snorted at his suggestion.
"If you try to eat anything in this bumpy ride you're just likely to puke all over yourself!" he told him, and Sokka grimaced.
"Okay, point taken!" So, no food, and no Azula. If this was an omen of what awaited him in the Northern Air Temple, this month promised to be a miserable one.
He still allowed himself to glance at Azula once in a while, if just to appreciate her from a distance. She often looked at her nails, her brow furrowed… he couldn't help but notice again the small crease that appeared between her eyebrows whenever she was lost in thought. He held back the urge to smile and simply sighed, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. He rested on his seat against the back wall, recalling Azula's smiles during their time together that very morning, the way she had wrestled against him for the sheet and kissed him to deliver him an absolute defeat… It was hard to hold back from grinning at that particular memory.
He was afraid he'd have to continue resorting to those good memories to bear with the upcoming month. He had no idea how he'd sabotage the bomb manufacturing just yet, but he guessed he'd find a way once he spent enough time studying his environment and his future colleague. For the time being, he had to hold on to the good times, and hope they wouldn't end as drastically as he dreaded they would.
The trip was long and difficult, as the train-tank had to skirt through dangerous uphill roads. There were no windows through which they could see where they were going, so the passengers were being dragged blindly to their destination, their fates in the hands of the two guards operating the machine. But at long last, the train-tank slowed down, its loud, rattling noise finally disappearing as they came to a halt.
"Wow, I can hear my own thoughts again," said Fei Li, sighing in relief.
"Have we arrived?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. Rui Shi, sitting beside her, shrugged.
"Perhaps we've…" he started, but the train moved again, muffling his attempt to speak when the noise silenced him.
Yet it stopped once more only a brief moment afterwards, and the two guards who operated the train opened the gate of the passenger wagon, ushering the group to get off.
Naturally, Azula was the first one to step down from the train, and her guards followed soon afterwards. She raised an eyebrow as she regarded the area with confusion: they were inside a large room, presumably inside a mountain, judging by its rocky walls. The room itself was full of tools and all sorts of mechanical devices, including several vehicles at the opposite end of the room. She glanced back towards where they had come from, finding there was a mechanical gate closing behind them, keeping them safely inside what had to be the Mechanist's workshop.
"It's been a while since I last saw this one," said a buff man, admiring the train-tank. Sokka raised an eyebrow, climbing off the train-tank and staring at the man intently. "Welcome home, buddy!"
"Welcome home?" he repeated, looking at Taro, who had climbed right before him. "Is he talking to the train-tank?"
"He is. I told you once before, didn't I? The Mechanist designed this machine in the first place," Taro said, and Sokka blinked in realization.
"Hey… that's right," he said, turning to the train once more.
He would be working with the man who had created this vehicle, then. Sokka gulped and wondered just how dangerous the Mechanist might be: Azula had mentioned he was quirky, but as he glanced at the train-tank he could only imagine what kind of man would be ruthless enough to design this deadly machine, with all those spikes and grappling hooks…
"Come on, gladiator. Don't lag behind," Taro told him, and Sokka nodded before bolting after him, allowing the buff man to assess the conditions of the train-tank.
"That guy's not the Mechanist, is he?" he asked Taro, who shrugged.
"I don't think so, but I've never met the man before. I couldn't say," he admitted. "He's likely to have a team of experts working with him, though. I figure this one is just an assistant or a mechanic of some sort."
"Likely," said Sokka, raising his eyebrows with interest before stopping when the rest of the group halted.
They stood before a platform that another presumed mechanic had led them to, one who was talking to Azula and explaining the procedure to lift them to the Temple above them. Sokka gulped as he watched her, trying to pay proper attention to what the man was saying and not just to the beauty of Azula's interested face.
"… So, once you step on, you pull this rope here and the bell upstairs will ring," the man explained. "You will be lifted into the Mechanist's study right afterwards; he should be there to greet you. Do enjoy your stay in the Northern Air Temple!"
"Let's hope we will," said Azula, nodding in his direction before stepping on the platform.
"Uh, shouldn't one of us try that first, Princess?" asked Fei Li, biting his lower lip and looking at Azula uncertainly. Azula raised an eyebrow and looked at him with her trademark unreadable stares, of the kind that could make a grown man like Fei Li shrink in his spot.
"Probably," she conceded, with a smirk, before reaching for the rope the instructor had mentioned, ringing the bell as he had told her to.
The platform where she stood was lifted within an instant, and soon enough the Princess was out of sight, leaving behind a plethora of guards and a gladiator who stared after her with wide eyes.
Azula was lifted through the air and into a wide tunnel above her: there was a small frown on her face as she raised her head towards the small square of light up above. Once she passed through the tunnel's opening she slowed down into what seemed to be a study. The platform halted once it reached the surface, allowing her to step into the room with ease.
It was an organized room, not too spacious, but still with enough room to move around despite the tall stands full of scrolls and books. There were blueprints on a nearby desk, as well as a strange set of candles and several contraptions Azula couldn't identify, let alone could she guess what their functions were. Yet she did spot a wheel engraved to the floor, with a rope set up in a pulley system of some sort… and before the ropes she saw a young man, sitting on a wheeled chair, his legs bandaged, his brown hair messy, with a sprouting beard on his cheeks. Red goggles rested on the top of his head, and his dark eyes were bright and friendly. Azula blinked a few times as he waved at her before pulling on the rope so the platform would return to the room underneath them once again.
"Greetings! I take it you're the Fire Nation Princess?" he said, and Azula nodded with uncertainty.
"That I am… are you the Mechanist?" she asked, and the young man laughed before shaking his head.
"That would be my dad," he said. "I'm Teo, and I'm here to help lift you guys because Dad's a little busy. The heating system he built for the bathhouse got busted and he's rushing all over that right now, but he should be here any moment…"
"Huh. Such lousy timing…"
"I'm sorry he couldn't be here, I thought he'd be done by now but…" said Teo, grimacing a little. "He'd been nervous about your arrival ever since we got word that you were coming, so he's probably a mess right now because he couldn't be here right on time. I do hope you'll forgive him."
"I suppose there's not much harm done, you're here to lift us anyways," Azula agreed. "Besides, at these heights you're bound to need that water heating system rather urgently."
"Yeah, the temperatures here aren't very friendly," said Teo, smiling again as the bell rang for the second time. He pulled the other rope now and he waited briefly for the next arrival. "When the wind blows it can get very cold, but you get used to it after a while."
"I hope that's the case," said Azula, as Rui Shi emerged from the platform now. She nodded towards him and Rui Shi stepped into the floor, and he glanced at Teo in confusion and surprise.
"And where's the Mechanist?" he asked the Princess.
"His son says he'll be here soon, hopefully," said Azula, and Rui Shi nodded.
"Greetings, sir!" said Teo, smiling at Rui Shi as he lowered the platform once again.
The process continued for a while, and soon the room was far too crowded, as men in red filed out of the platform one by one. Teo made certain to greet them all as they came in, though he took a little longer to greet the one person who seemed out of place in this assortment of Royal Guards.
"Oh. You've got to be the gladiator, huh?" he said, smiling at Sokka.
The Water Tribe man maneuvered his way off the platform amongst the guards. He glanced about himself with uncertainty, placing the voice at last when he spotted the man on the wheelchair, and he nodded as an answer to his question.
"And you would be…?" he said, and Teo smiled.
"The Mechanist's son, Teo," said Teo. "He should be here any moment now…"
"Hopefully not that soon," said a guard, Jianghuo, grimacing as the group struggled to keep some space between them.
"Is there anyone else left down there?" Teo asked, and Sokka nodded.
"Just one more, Taro," said Sokka, as he passed through the guards, hoping to make room for the last arrival.
Azula's curiosity had gotten the better of her: she was scanning the blueprints on the table when Sokka not-so-accidentally wound up beside her. She held back from smiling as she sensed him near her. Sokka rested against the table as discreetly as possible, pretending he only stood that close to her because the crowded room didn't allow anyone proper personal space.
Yet he found Azula's hand brushed against his knuckles softly, perhaps just testing the waters for now. The guards were right there, yet everyone was pressed together to a point where physical contact between most of them was practically unavoidable. None would have a clear view of how Sokka's fingers slid between Azula's, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. Azula glanced at him from the corner of her eye, giving his hand a soft squeeze before releasing it. He smiled at her ever so slightly, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Welcome, sir!" Teo exclaimed as the last man was finally brought into the office. Taro had a hard time finding the young man amid the rest of his fellow guards.
"Alright, so what now?" said Fei Li.
"We should probably relocate to somewhere more spacious, this is too cramped to…" said Azula, but before she could finish her sentence, the door swung open brusquely and slammed against the leg of one guard.
"OW!" the guard, Qiang, shouted, rubbing his calf as he jumped on one foot. Everyone turned to the door to find the new arrival was a man in his late forties, standing on the room's threshold. The top of his head was bald, yet plenty of hair grew on the sides and back of his head: it stood on end, defying gravity in an incomprehensible way. His beard was a lot more conventional than his hairstyle, and there was a monocle before his left eye.
"Oh! I am so very sorry, I had hoped you might not be here yet, but alas…!" he said, slapping his forehead with a hand as he addressed the guard he had struck with the door. "Are you alright?"
"I will be, as long as no more doors slam against my leg…" said the guard, grimacing.
"Truly, I am sorry for the blow, and also for my tardiness!" he said, looking now at the group with panicked eyes. "I had hoped to be here by the time of your arrival, Prin-… uh, is the Princess here?"
"Back here," said Azula, sliding through her guards as they squeezed together to make room for her to pass.
"Oh! Welcome, welcome!" said the Mechanist, smiling at the sight of her. He stretched a hand in her direction, but he soon withdrew it and chose to bow instead. Azula's eyebrow rose slowly as she watched him fall to his knees and stretch out his arms in her direction. "It is an honor to have the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation amongst us!"
"Indeed, it should be, though I must say that you needn't press your face to the floor to pay your respects to me." Azula commented, folding her arms over her chest as she continued to watch the Mechanist with confusion but also some amusement. "Clearly you're not educated in Fire Nation etiquette…"
"N-no, I'm afraid not," said the Mechanist, smiling awkwardly and standing up again, making curt bows in Azula's direction. "Do pardon me for my ignorance, I'm afraid things have been a little stressful lately, and that makes me act, uh…"
"Erratically?" Azula suggested.
"Clumsily, probably," said the Mechanist, looking at the guards now. Azula didn't ignore the fear in the man's dark brown eyes: his nervousness had deeper roots than he wanted to let on, clearly. "I do hope your trip was pleasant! O-oh, do pardon me, I should have introduced myself, I'm…!"
"They must have guessed who you are already, Dad," said Teo, chuckling as his father blushed lightly.
"I supposed they must have, huh? W-well, thank you for visiting! I do expect you'll have a good month amongst us. I have made fully certain that the hot water will be running perfectly in the bathhouse, but if any problems arise, let me know!"
"We certainly shall," said Azula, watching the man with interest. It seemed he was now at a loss for what to say. His son sighed and maneuvered his way towards him on his wheelchair, careful not to bump into the guards in the process.
"I think we should give them a tour of the Temple, Dad," he suggested, and the Mechanist brightened immediately by the idea.
"Yes! That would be appropriate, of course," he said, turning to the Princess again and smiling. "You should grow acquainted with the place as quickly as possible, after all. Follow me!"
Azula smirked and did as the Mechanist told her, filing out of the room right after him and Teo. Her guards followed, and amid them walked Sokka as well, all of them silently grateful to step outside of the study's reduced space.
"I do expect our proper entrance platform will be finished by next year," the Mechanist told Azula. "But for the time being, I'm afraid this is the best we have…"
"I suppose the Air Nomads weren't interested in having people entering their Temple on foot," said Azula, and the Mechanist nodded.
"They left quite a lot of interesting things behind, I must say!" he said, raising his uneven eyebrows as he smiled. "But no proper entrances for us non-flying folk, no. Still, we have figured out our own way to inhabit the Temple, despite not being airbenders…"
"It's good that you have," said Azula. "It wouldn't be the first place I'd have considered to install a colony, but it is quite an impressive location, I'll admit."
She spoke the words as the group reached an open courtyard, finding that the landscape offered the sight of a massive mountain range contrasted against a white, cloudy sky. From this place it was easy to see the structure of the Northern Air Temple: towers seemed to sprout from the mountain itself, Azula noticed, affording the Temple the magnificence of a palace. The walls were of faded white, the roofs of green, gabled bricks, the windows large enough for the airbenders of old to jump out of them and fly towards their destinations, whatever they might be.
The guards spread through the courtyard, some curious over the architecture of the place, others interested in the flight of birds that hovered around the mountains. Teo joined them, leaving Azula to listen to the Mechanist's explanations about the Temple while Sokka lingered close by.
"It is quite remarkable, how the air flows so easily through the structures," said the Mechanist, before gesturing at several pipes crisscrossing through the building. Azula was quick to guess those tubes hadn't been there a hundred years ago. "It's what allowed me to come up with a system of quick traveling through the Temple by using hot air! It propels the platforms, like the one you used earlier today, and that way we can reach places faster than by walking. We don't fly like they did, of course, but it's still something, isn't it?"
"It sure is, I must say," Azula whispered, before noticing that a certain member of her retinue was studying the pipes with interest.
"You powered these pipes with hot air yourself?" he asked, looking at the Mechanist with interest. "And then you can give people lifts through the building, just like that? No need for stairs?"
"Why, no, no need for them at all," said the Mechanist, and Sokka whistled in approval. "Are you…?"
"He's the gladiator. The very person who's supposed to work with you this month," Azula said, and the Mechanist stroked his beard.
"You know, you should spread this system through the world. It would come in handy for a lot of people," said Sokka, chuckling. "You could call it, I don't know… ah, yes, lifters! Because the platforms lift you to the next level, right?"
"They should also take you to lower levels, so they're not just for lifting," Azula said, curtly, and Sokka froze.
"W-well, but lifter sounds cool, doesn't it?" he asked, and Azula raised an eyebrow.
"I think I haven't stressed enough times that you're no good at naming things, so please just stop trying altogether, will you?" she said, as Sokka huffed.
"I do come up with good… uh, names," said Sokka, getting sidetracked upon noticing the Mechanist was approaching him, an intense look in his eyes. "Can I help you?"
"Why, I sure hope you can!" said the Mechanist, smiling. "You are the one who will be serving as my personal assistant and development partner for a month, then. Well! I must say, you seem to be rather…"
"Smart?" Sokka said, raising an eyebrow when the Mechanist fell silent in his scrutiny.
"Well, I do hope you are smart, but I was actually thinking you're quite tall," said the Mechanist. Sokka blinked a few times, remembering Azula had mentioned the man was quirky.
"Eh, thanks, I guess?" said Sokka, smiling and shrugging. "Water Tribe people tend to be taller than most, huh?"
"Oh! You're from the Water Tribe, then?" asked the Mechanist, his small eyes wide. "Well, that is impressive! I had never met a Water Tribesman before! Do you hail from the North Pole?"
"The South Pole, actually," Sokka said, and the Mechanist nodded.
"No wonder you are strong and tall if that's so! Well, then, what experience do you have with inventions, if I may ask?"
"Not that much, though I do craft my own smoke bombs," said Sokka, biting his lower lip. "Also, I made a dragon armor, if that counts for something."
"Dragon…?" said the Mechanist, stunned by the revelation before smiling and nodding. "It would seem you shall be a fine assistant, I'm certain!"
Sokka smiled at the man, finding he wasn't half as unpleasant as he had dreaded him to be. Granted his uneven eyebrows were strange, and he had a bad feeling about that wooden contraption strapped to the man's left hand, but he already had the feeling that the Mechanist was a decent man. A strange one, no doubt, but decent all the same.
"Very well, then, if you'd like to see the rest of the Temple…" said the Mechanist, only noticing then that they had gotten sidetracked. Azula's guards were still gazing at the landscape. "… Or perhaps you'd rather watch the gliders instead, like the rest of your group?"
"Gliders?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow, and the Mechanist nodded.
"I came up with many ideas to compensate for our lack of airbending while living here," he said, as the three of them approached the group at the far end of the courtyard. "There were a few gliding devices left behind by the previous occupants of the temple, so when I saw them I naturally tried to recreate them! Only, of course we probably can't use the gliders as well as the airbenders used to, but it has become quite the popular means of transportation around here."
"It looks nifty, if you ask me," said Sokka, nodding approvingly. "You're really one for cool inventions, huh?"
"As long as I have proper inspiration, I suppose I am," said the Mechanist, smiling. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"What was the inspiration for this, I wonder?" she asked, gesturing at the gliders with her head, and the Mechanist pointed at his son, who was currently talking to Rui Shi as he spoke spiritedly of the people gliding over the white clouds.
"When my son lost the ability to walk… I thought I had to find a cure at first, but that never worked out," he explained. "Eventually, when we got here, I thought that perhaps I couldn't help my son walk again, but he might just be able to fly instead. I designed the gliders to fit his chair, first of all. Only when that was successful did I start crafting gliders for everyone else. And to this day, Teo is the best in the whole colony when it comes to soaring through the clouds!"
"You must be very proud," said Sokka, smiling as well. The Mechanist grinned right back.
Defying all expectations, Sokka soon concluded that this experience in the Northern Air Temple would not be quite as dreadful as he had imagined. While the Mechanist was indeed quirky, as he continued to prove while the group visited the installments throughout their colony, he was definitely a good man at heart. Knowing how much he cared about his son, and how hard he was working for his sake, had been enough for Sokka to warm up to the man quickly.
The tour through the Temple continued soon after the quick stop to watch the gliders, and the Princess, her guards and the gladiator were intrigued by everything the Northern Air Temple had to offer. Despite the obvious destruction that had been necessary for the Mechanist to install equipment and create new buildings, most of what they had believed important to the Air Nomad culture had been preserved in a single room. There were many scrolls stored inside it, and Azula couldn't help but feel curious about their content. She didn't attempt to sneak a peek, though: she should have plenty of time to spare for reading those through the coming month.
The bathhouse was wide, and of course, for public use. Azula wasn't too pleased to discover that, but the Mechanist assured her that the place could be vacated for her comfort whenever she demanded for it. There were several other courtyards throughout the Temple, and to the surprise of the visitors, there was a small marketplace as well. Upon glimpsing meat being sold in one of the stands Sokka nearly broke down in tears of joy.
"How did you acquire the meat, though?" Azula asked, as the Mechanist led them to the dining room in the main building. "From my understanding, this isn't the finest place for cattle."
"Oh, it isn't," said the Mechanist. "The family that owns that store actually travels on a weekly basis to buy it in the nearest Earth Kingdom town. Which is why we don't have a lot of it, but we make do with what we have regardless."
"Well, it's better than nothing!" Sokka declared, happily, and Azula glared at him.
"And you'd better not eat all of it, got it?" she said curtly, and he smiled guiltily.
"I'll try not to…" he said, scratching the back of his head.
"An avid meat-eater, is he?" said the Mechanist, smiling. "Hopefully what we have will be enough for you, then. Though I admit, I do feel like we're desecrating this Temple whenever we eat meat, but…"
"Did you read on airbender traditions?" Azula asked the Mechanist, who shook his head.
"Not me, I admit. I actually had little knowledge of them, but Teo and the others took their time to read several scrolls," said the Mechanist. "Of course, if I had read them earlier I might have found some very necessary warnings about a few dangerous places, like that volatile gas reserve below the Temple…"
Azula and Sokka fell silent upon that new revelation. The Mechanist noticed their wary disbelief and swallowed hard before pointing at his eyebrows.
"I could have sworn they wouldn't grow back after I went down there with a torch, but fortunately I was wrong!"
"Volatile gas? Underneath our very feet?" Azula asked, and the Mechanist nodded.
"I do believe it's harmless, so long as you take care not to use fire down there," he said. "So don't fret, I'm certain we'll be fine! Now, shall we head to dinner?"
Azula watched the Mechanist speed ahead, her eyes still wide. Sokka swallowed hard and patted her shoulder as innocently as he could.
"He's been here for a while, if nothing critical has happened to them because of that gas then it might not happen to us either… right?" said Sokka, and Azula swallowed hard.
"I might be a little paranoid after that particular revelation… but I do hope this month ends quickly," she said as they followed the Mechanist.
Dinner helped appease Azula's concerns, despite herself, but mostly because she had a reason to be dissatisfied again: the food's quality was, as expected, far below her standards. Whoever was in charge of cooking had taken no consideration of who they would be cooking for, and so, the dishes weren't particularly extraordinary, let alone tasteful. Unwilling to make a scene, though, Azula didn't complain, but the distaste was plain in her face as she nibbled on boiled cabbage.
Sokka's palate wasn't quite as sophisticated as that of his sponsor, and neither were those of most the guards, yet several of them, like Rui Shi, didn't seem too fond of the meal courses either. It was easy for most of them to ignore the tastelessness, though, for they were quite invested in their conversation with the Mechanist's son, who accompanied them at their table. The Mechanist had picked up his plate and ran off, presumably to his office or perhaps to patch up anything else that might have been malfunctioning as of late.
"So, you can teach us how to glide? Really?" Fei Li asked, his eyes bright with enthusiasm as Teo chuckled.
"It's not that hard," he said. "I'm sure you guys will be great at it in no time."
"That would be really cool!" Sokka exclaimed, beaming as he reached for a bowl of rice. Azula's pointed glare made him flinch. "W-what?"
"They can glide all they want, I have nothing against it," she said, gesturing at her guards with her head. "But you, gladiator, have work to do. You're not about to learn how to glide unless you finish your job earlier than expected."
"B-but…! Oh, meh, always the party pooper," said Sokka, rolling his eyes before continuing with his meal with a prominent scowl.
"You're welcome to join us too, Princess," said Teo, smiling at Azula.
"I'll consider it, I suppose," said Azula, surprised by his offer. "But I'm not all that desperate to fly, I must say…"
"Why's that? Are you uncomfortable with heights?" Teo asked, and several guards, and Sokka as well, snorted at the notion.
"On the contrary, the Princess flies a lot more often than anyone else in our nation had in… well, around thirty years or so," said Rui Shi.
"Oh? That sounds cool! How do you do it, though?" Teo asked, excitedly. Azula smirked.
"If I do join you once you teach my guards, you'll find out for yourself," she said.
"Well, now I'm very curious," said Teo, chuckling. "I do wonder what that means!"
"But say, Princess…" muttered Fei Li, biting his lower lip. "If we're going to learn this, uh… do you think we can, perhaps, loosen up with the etiquette a little bit? I mean… it's probably not going to be comfortable to glide in our uniforms, so…"
Azula raised an eyebrow and regarded the soldier with her piercing stare. Fei Li swallowed hard, unsure if he had stepped into dangerous territories with that innocent request…
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't harm anyone if you don't wear your uniforms for once," said Azula, shrugging, and Fei Li sighed in relief. "We will be staying here for a while, so there's nothing wrong about making ourselves comfortable for as long as we're here."
Her approval surprised the guards in a good way, despite it was over a trivial matter. Azula returned to her meal, seemingly impervious to the smiles on her guards' faces. But Sokka didn't miss out on it. He smiled too, albeit knowing he wouldn't have a chance to join the others in the gliding experience they looked forward to. The guards had expected Azula to refuse the request, since she had been withdrawn and seemingly not in her best mood during the journey to the Northern Air Temple: finding her lenient and easygoing with their requests was rather encouraging for the relieved guards.
It wasn't infrequent for Azula to show some glimpses of kindness to her subjects, Sokka thought, but she only did it in small doses, so long as what they wanted seemed reasonable enough to her. It was likely that her reputation compelled people to see her as a lot more ruthless than she truly was, though. She was successful at practically all her endeavors and known for keeping her distance from most people: the only one who had grown genuinely close to her was Sokka. She had dared open up to him, perhaps because their bond as gladiator and sponsor required it, and Sokka knew how lucky he was for it. He could barely conceive the idea of being as intimidated and scared of Azula as everyone else seemed to be…
Though that didn't mean he had no fears regarding the Princess, but he wasn't afraid of her: he was constantly afraid of hurting her somehow, for he had done so in the past. That she had taken the risk to get involved with him in spite of that amazed him. She was far from a forgiving person, yet she had given him a chance he wasn't certain he deserved. Not when he dreaded things might go downhill between them yet again when this month ran out…
Once she was done eating, the Princess pushed away her empty plate before standing up. Some of her guards made to stand as well, but she lifted a hand to stop them.
"No need for that, especially if you're still eating," she said, looking at Shuren, a guard who had dumped some food on himself when he attempted to stand up hastily.
"You'll be heading to bed now?" Rui Shi inquired, and Azula nodded.
"I will see you all again tomorrow… well, most of you, for certain," she said, her eyes turning to Sokka, who was nibbling on a fruit pie as she looked at him. "I expect you'll be quite busy by then, won't you?"
The malicious smirk that accompanied her words made the guards shrink, though it didn't deter Sokka. He frowned and looked at her defiantly as she raised an eyebrow.
"I will be, but I'm still free to eat for now, right?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"As long as you don't steal food from everyone else's plates, I suppose you are," she said, nodding. "Do enjoy yourself for now. You won't have much time for it later."
Sokka gulped as Azula walked away. He leered at her back as she left, trying not to make it too obvious that he was actually enjoying the view instead of glaring resentfully at her. Some guards seemed sympathetic towards him, so Sokka assumed their pretense of animosity had held up as he returned to his food.
He finished most the available dishes himself as people started to leave the dining room's long tables to head to bed. Some residents of the Temple approached him once he was done enjoying his meal, and they took the plates in order to wash them in the next room.
After that, Sokka wandered through the halls, trying to remember where he'd been told his room was. To his surprise, the hallways were mostly empty: it seemed people would turn in early around here. That made enough sense if he gave it some thought: the temperatures in the area would drop after the sunset, and while the Temple wasn't freezing thanks to the hot-air system, it was still noticeably colder than it had been in broad daylight.
He finally found his room and decided to take his time settling in. He had been granted a room to himself, fortunately enough, for some of the guards had no choice but to bunk together. They didn't seem to mind, but Sokka wouldn't have been too thrilled to share rooms with any of them. He had no problem with the soldiers themselves, albeit he only interacted with a few of them, but he would rather none of them took notice of his secret nightly escapades, and sharing a room with one of them would hinder said escapades greatly.
He frowned as he thought about that, once he had filled the meager closet with what clothes he'd brought with him. His stolen guard uniform remained in the depths of his pack, and he wondered what to do with it. Perhaps there were loose floorboards under which he could hide it? Still, stomping on the floor to find the ideal hiding spot wasn't advisable, at least not while everyone else was already sleeping. Either he'd have to hide it later… or he could, perhaps, wear it now.
A small smirk appeared on his face as he told himself he'd just do surveillance for tonight. He would figure out the easiest way into Azula's quarters, and only if the Temple was truly deserted would he consider paying her a visit…
Upon finding that, indeed, the passageways were all practically empty, Sokka snuck as quietly and inconspicuously as he could towards Azula's room. Sokka cleared his throat as he stopped at her doorstep, glancing around himself warily in case there was anyone nearby. It didn't seem there was, though. Given Azula's status, she had been granted the most comfortable accommodations in the tallest tower of the Temple, and she had the entire floor to herself.
Azula was tying up her hair into its nightly ponytail when she heard the soft knock on the door. Her eyebrow raised slowly as her heartrate picked up speed: could it be him, or was it something a lot less welcome at this untimely hour?
"Yes?" she called out, expectantly. She heard someone clearing their throat behind the door.
"I, uh, came to make certain everything was all right, Princess," said a well-known voice, in a deeper register than usual. Azula snorted. He was wearing the damn uniform again, no doubt, or else he wouldn't talk as he just had, as though attempting to sound like her guards usually did.
"Why, your concern is rather touching," she said again, turning to look at the door with a smirk on her face. "But rest assured, guard of mine, I'm perfectly fine."
"Really? Because I thought that, perhaps, I ought to inspect the room. Y-you know, for leaks and such? This is an old building, and I wouldn't want my Princess to sleep in quarters below her station!"
"Leaks?" she repeated, smiling. "And what would you do about leaks if you found them, if I might inquire?"
"Everything within my power to repair them, of course!" said the falsely deepened voice at the other side of the door. Azula rolled her eyes.
"Do you have even the smallest bit of knowledge as to how to fix a roof, I wonder?" she asked, approaching the door. She could sense Sokka hesitating at the other side.
"W-well, we'll only know if I try, now, won't we?" he said, the false deepening of his voice fading away quickly. Azula laughed.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" she said, with hushed voice. Sokka chuckled as well. "Nobody saw you on your way here?"
"Not at all. The halls are so empty it's almost spooky," he said.
"Really, now? Here I thought you were a little braver than that," said Azula, smirking.
"I'm brave enough to sneak my way up here through those spooky halls, aren't I?" said Sokka. "Are you going to let me in, Princess?"
"I… I'll think about it," she said, smirking with malice.
"Really, now?" he said. "Come on, Azula…"
"I seem to remember I told you we had to be more cautious here," she said, and Sokka pressed his head to the door.
"And as I said, I was cautious and made sure nobody saw me…" he mumbled, and Azula laughed softly before opening the door.
"That's not all there is to caution, you know?"
Sokka nearly stumbled when the door supporting his weight gave way, and Azula watched him regain his balance with amusement.
"I told you that we shouldn't just do this as freely and yet here you are, trying to…" she started, but Sokka crossed the threshold, closed the door quick and silently, and threw his arms around her. She forgot the rest of the sentence she had been uttering as she felt him laugh happily upon having her in his arms once more. "Sokka…"
"Hello," he said, grinning before removing his helmet. Azula smiled.
"Hi. You shouldn't be here," she told him, and he chuckled again.
"Nope, I shouldn't," he agreed, as he loosened the guard's uniform quickly.
"So, you should probably head back to your room as quickly as possible…" she said, smiling as he shrugged off the red robes.
"Yeah, I probably should," he agreed, before reaching for the back of her neck with a hand, pulling her close for a deep kiss.
Azula sighed in bliss, wondering if she was really smiling as stupidly as she thought she was. Her arms moved around his neck, pulling him closer as his hands took to trailing the outline of her body her over her sleeping gown.
"Did I ever mention… that you look amazing with that ponytail?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. Azula laughed against his lips.
"You might have, actually, but there's nothing wrong with saying it again," she said, as he surrounded her waist with his arms and lifted her.
"Well, you really do look amazing with that ponytail," he said, carrying her towards the bed, where he laid her gently, his lips still moving against hers.
"I really don't know how you've gotten away with everything, damn you…" said Azula, her fingers sliding through the short hairs at either side of his head. "You get to eat meat, to work with an alright collaborator, and now this…"
"Not so hard to figure it out, Princess," said Sokka, smirking. "When there's a will, there's a way."
Azula rolled her eyes and kissed him hard, silencing him effectively. There were better things for them to do than talking right now, after all, and she couldn't wait to get started with them. Whether she had showed it or not, she had rather ached to have him with her like this through the day. Despite how reckless it was, she couldn't bring herself to sacrifice the opportunities they had to be together, because no matter how many they had, they just never seemed to be enough…
She succumbed to his touch as easily as she always did, and it took no time for them to join together as one. They were fast asleep right afterwards, in a jumble of limbs, sheets and blankets, their bodies pressed together as they shared their warmth in a cold night that didn't feel all that chilly for the two of them.