Azula lay on her back, her gaze lost on the ceiling. Her fingers slid through Sokka's humid locks of hair: his lips pressed against her body as he cherished her slowly with his hands and mouth. Her legs were still spread open, with him nestled between them; his weight atop her was comfortable for Azula. The pressure on her body was grounding, and, along with the soft caresses he was gifting her with, she felt safer than ever, for some reason. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he was still here, with her…
His latest stunt had angered her at first, but the depths of his despair had floored her. It was mortifying to realize that the one man she had come to love so completely was as broken as he was. And a lot of the strife he had been through, the struggles he had undergone, could be blamed on her, even though Sokka refused to acknowledge it.
He had calmed down, though, and that was the Princess's main priority for now. He wasn't shivering violently anymore, and he was his caring, tender self once again. Feeling his body against hers was an utmost delight, especially after all the unexpected revelations he had made tonight.
Sokka sighed and buried his face between her breasts. Azula smiled a little, assuming his most mischievous side was back too… it took her a moment to realize he had closed his eyes, his ear pressed to her left breast.
"Are you okay?" she whispered. He nodded.
"You have a wonderful heartbeat," he said, kissing her skin just where the palpitations could be felt most powerfully. "Like everything about you, I guess."
"Wasn't my heart made of ice?" Azula asked, with a small smirk. Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Do ice hearts beat, I wonder?"
"Well, the one who said that was the moron who never expected you to thaw his own frozen heart," he said. "You shouldn't take his insults to heart, Princess. That guy's kind of an asshole."
"Really, now?" Azula asked, smiling and surrounding his neck with her arms. "And what am I to make of his love confessions, since his insults can't be taken seriously?"
"You should make sure of their veracity," he suggested, grinning as he pushed himself up to kiss her lips. "If he loves you, he'll endure every challenge you might set up for him."
"Ah, I've played that game before, though not with him," Azula said, smirking. "My guards had to deal with my most outrageous requests a long time ago. I wonder if this so-called asshole can put up with them too."
"On his behalf, I can say he'll try," said Sokka, with a crooked smile.
Azula pulled him closer for a new kiss. Sokka sighed and deepened the contact between them, caressing her body once again. His mouth moved over her face, trailing across her jawline until Sokka dropped his head on her shoulder, breathing slowly.
"I really am the luckiest man in the world," he whispered. Azula bit her lower lip.
"I'm afraid that's debatable," she whispered.
"I doubt it is. I'm the one who gets to be with you," said Sokka. "And believe it or not, I'll endure everything it takes…"
"Everything, really?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka looked back at her. "You do realize what that entails? Because… well, it's not just our lives in peril. There's so much more than that at stake here."
"I know. I know," said Sokka, swallowing hard. "Which is why we resisted for as long as we did. We both have our own obligations with our people, with each other, with ourselves…"
"Then you really understand that? And do you trust that I understand it too?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. Sokka frowned.
"Well… yes," he said. "You're so loyal to the Fire Nation it's uncanny. It's not something that has ever been up to debate…"
"So, it doesn't bother you that I will fight for my nation until my last breath if I must?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "Even if I love you, I have other duties and sometimes… well, often, rather, my obligations and my concern for you will be in conflict. And you're fine with that?"
"Well… I never expected otherwise, frankly," said Sokka, shrugging. "You're the Fire Nation Princess. If someone's going to dedicate herself to the Fire Nation, it's you. You've proven as much already. I never expected you to hold me above your people: what I've had with you is already much more than I ever hoped for, so…"
"If that's so… why did you think I wouldn't understand your interest in your people's wellbeing?" Azula asked. Sokka's eyes widened.
"I didn't think… I just figured… well, I am your gladiator, aren't I?" said Sokka, frowning. "I'm sworn to you in body, heart and soul, so my loyalty should be yours. But… even so, I can't turn my back on my nation. It doesn't matter how much I've adapted to the Fire Nation, or even if I'm so uneasy about returning home, I just… I'll never really be Fire Nation. I can't just sit idly by and do nothing if I hear your father has plans to destroy another nation, especially when he wants to use me to make his plans work. I just can't play blind to it all… but the thing is, you are his daughter, and you are my sponsor. So, isn't standing up to him an affront against you, too?"
"It's an affront against the Fire Nation, sure. But then again, isn't attacking and destroying the Water Tribe an affront against your people as well?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows as she rolled onto her side. Sokka turned too, facing her. "I've never seen my father morally conflicted over who he's damaging with his decisions, to be perfectly honest."
"Can't say I'm surprised to hear that," said Sokka, sighing.
"I know you used to dream of taking down the Fire Nation," said Azula. "And the fact that you don't anymore is already quite a relief for me. But I won't force you to love my nation, or my people, or to feel like you belong there. You probably never will feel fully comfortable in the Fire Nation."
"You might underestimate how much I love you, then," said Sokka, smiling at her. "Despite I'd never dream of becoming a Fire Nation citizen, I still feel some sort of belonging there… though it's all probably because of you."
"Flattering to know," said Azula, with a grin of her own. "But all the same, you're a Water Tribe man through and through."
"Just as you're a Fire Nation Princess to your very core," said Sokka. Azula nodded.
"And our loyalties are things we had better not try to change about one another," she whispered. "Because… it's just not right. You wouldn't be who you are if you discard where you came from. You would stop being strong in the ways you are if I… if anyone were to force you to change."
Sokka squared his jaw as he looked at Azula. She sighed.
"Piandao did warn me about that ages ago, though he mostly said it in regards of your strengths as a gladiator…"
"Huh…" said Sokka. "I think you mentioned something about that, but I can't remember what he told you anymore."
"In short, it was that I shouldn't try to fill your mind with ideas that would change your perception of the world," said Azula. "I guess he was hoping you'd be the only one to exert some influence on me, perhaps. Still… whatever his intentions, he wasn't wrong. And I learned the lesson after we had that falling out not long afterwards, so…"
"He said that after our first fight, was it…?" Sokka asked, thoughtful.
"Yeah, the day some shameless fool decided to dump a water bucket all over himself while I was watching," said Azula, teasingly, leaning closer and prodding his nose with hers. "I sure liked that shower better than the one you took today."
"Sorry again about that." Sokka sighed.
"I only thought about it again when we were chasing the Rhinos," said Azula. "It made sense to me then. I… I don't want to see you as broken as you were back then ever again, you know? I don't want you to feel that way, either. But it's not easy to avoid it, after all. You've got quite a few secrets I can't control, don't you?"
Sokka shrugged, resigned.
"If it makes you feel any better, I wish I didn't have them," he confessed. "I don't want you to worry about me as much as you do, but…"
"It's my job as your sponsor to worry about you, you know," said Azula. "Training you, keeping you well-fed, making sure you get rest, ensuring your mind's not in complete chaos… it's all part of this contract, believe it or not. I can't have you die, for very obvious reasons, and the best way to prevent that is by keeping you in your best shape. And once you add the emotional attachment I've developed for you, on top of it all, I'm all the more unwilling to see you on the verge of death. Your job may be to fight for me, but mine is to protect you, Sokka."
Sokka gritted his teeth, though he gazed at her tenderly. He cupped her cheek with a hand, and she closed her eyes.
"So, I take it you want us to reach an understanding. We'll love each other, but we'll accept that we both have our different set of priorities," said Sokka. Azula nodded and he smiled. "I think it's not that hard an agreement to reach. As I said, I've always known the Fire Nation is vital for you. I'd never try to take that from you."
"Good," said Azula, with a weak smile. Sokka bit his lip.
"There's something a little messy about this, though… because it's fine if we want to respect each other's loyalties, but can we love each other and our respective nations, too?" he whispered, his eyes seeking Azula's to find his unease reflected in hers. "My tribe, they'd… well, I know they wouldn't be happy if they heard I'm involved with you. And you, well…"
"My father would kill you if he knew about us. And, at best, disown me, even if he'd be left with no heirs," said Azula. "So, in a sense, that we love each other… it amounts to treason in anyone else's eyes, doesn't it?"
"I'm afraid so," muttered Sokka. "It doesn't matter what we do, or how much we may accomplish for our people… our bond would render everything null and void for them."
"It really would," said Azula, sighing and pressing her forehead to his. "All the more reason we need to protect our relationship. Like I said, there's too much at stake."
"Yeah, so much that… that sometimes I wonder why you took a chance on me," said Sokka, looking at her in confusion. "I mean… you're the strongest person I know. Even though we've been through a lot, I thought…"
"You thought I'd be able to resist the forces of attraction between us?" said Azula, smiling a little. "I'm afraid I'm not that strong, then. Maybe I could have been, if only… well, if you didn't mean as much to me as you do. If you hadn't said you loved me, and been the very first person to say that to me… I know, my father would be revolted if he heard that I was moved by that, but it's not something I could help. Besides… if it were that bad, why did my feelings for you help me find a new way of firebending?"
"You know, you don't need to make excuses for this with me," said Sokka, grinning. "I'm still elated to know that's why you could use gold fire, and… and I'm still blown away because you said you loved me. It's… it's the greatest feeling. So, if someone's certainly never going to tell you it's a bad thing, it's me."
"Good. Because this is all your fault after all, so you'd better like it as it is, gladiator," said Azula, raising her chin. "You had no right to be irresistible for me."
"Look who's talking," said Sokka, smiling and leaning closer to kiss her lips. Azula sighed as she responded in kind. "But I'm afraid this still doesn't solve our problem, does it?"
"I guess not," she replied, stroking his cheek gently.
"How can we balance our love and our loyalties without losing ourselves in the process?" said Sokka. "Can we avoid having one thing pull us harder than the other…? It sounds a little difficult, doesn't it?"
"Difficult, probably… but it doesn't have to be impossible," said Azula, stroking Sokka's chin now, his stubble brushing against her fingers. "I think you just gave us the answer, after all."
"I did?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. Azula sighed.
"The fact that I'm about to say this should be enough evidence of how much you've messed with my head," she said, trapping the tip of his nose between her index and middle finger and giving it a little squeeze. Sokka smiled as Azula sat up on the bed.
"What do you mean?" said Sokka, pushing himself up with his forearm.
Azula glanced at him, taking in the brightness of his gaze. She reached out to touch his chest gently, her fingers brushing gracefully against his skin.
"Balance," she whispered.
Sokka's eyes widened as Azula bit her lip. She hadn't been wrong: that was genuinely the last thing he would have expected to hear from her.
"Balance?" he repeated, and Azula nodded.
"But not exactly the same concept we used to hold for balance," she whispered. "We're already way past that stage, after all…"
"Then what kind of balance are we talking about?" Sokka asked. "I mean, I was at a loss about what you meant anyways, so… what exactly do you mean, Azula?"
"Well… I wasn't an advocate of balance, as you well know," said Azula. "I frankly didn't understand why the Avatars were tasked with keeping balance between the nations, since the nation division had never been entirely fair. Not to mention, as I'd said, that there used to be all sorts of other benders and they disappeared in time with no Avatar to defend them. Only four elements remained a little over a century ago, and now it's only three. How was balance essential if, despite some groups were exterminated, our world continues existing? Then again… I guess it isn't absolutely essential. The war has proven the world won't explode, nor will everything in it die spontaneously, if the balance between the elements has been broken. So, why did the Avatars protect it so zealously? Why was that their task?"
"Because balance helped keep the nations in harmony," said Sokka. "It was better for the remaining races, the remaining nations, to stop fighting amongst themselves as they always had. Balance was the best answer, the best way to put an end to thousands of years of pointless wars."
"And yet… what kind of balance was it?" said Azula, frowning. "Certainly, the wars and conflicts decreased on some level once the Avatar's figure came into play, but what was the Avatar's way to keep balance? Do you know?"
"Uh, they learned all four kinds of bending," said Sokka, scratching his head. "That's what I know they did, at the very least."
"It's not all they did," Azula said. "They were also meant to keep balance between the human and spirit worlds; they had quite a few duties to handle."
"Right," said Sokka, raising an eyebrow and nodding. "What's wrong with balance the way they kept it, though?"
"Well, to put it bluntly, I'm what's wrong with it," Azula stated, to Sokka's surprise. "Me, the Fire Nation… and I suppose this extends to all those who want to vanquish the Fire Nation now."
"What…?"
"What are we, but products of a system that failed to teach us why balance mattered?" said Azula, raising her eyebrows. Sokka's breath caught in his throat. "It's not that I'm blaming the Avatars for the war my ancestors began. But Sozin started a war for his own purposes: he wanted to gain lands and resources that had been granted to the Earth Kingdom alone. He found no reason to stop and ask for permission, for he felt no need to respect the lands of another nation. They had what he wanted, and he had the power to take it. Why hold back under the belief that balance was necessary? Necessary for whom? Why was it so important?"
Sokka frowned. Azula slid her hand through her hair.
"I'm not saying that what he did was right, Sokka… I'm saying he had no reason to care whether it was right or wrong."
"And the Avatar was meant to give him a class on why you shouldn't be a shitty human being?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows. Azula smiled.
"No. The Avatar was meant to stop and ponder the meaning of the balance he was fighting for," said Azula. Sokka raised an eyebrow and sat up beside her. "Because maybe the type of balance the Avatars were so adamant about wasn't exactly the balance they should have been advocating for."
"Come again?" he asked, and Azula breathed out.
"Well, this won't be easy," she said, swallowing hard. "Let's pretend that Sozin didn't do what he did. Say he sent a missive to the Earth King at the time, requesting for trades and exchanges of goods so he could feed his excessive population. Also requesting some lands, so some Fire Nation people could live there, to solve the problem of overpopulation. What answer do you think the Earth King would have given him?"
"I… suppose he wouldn't have approved of that," said Sokka, frowning.
"No, he wouldn't have. I can't say this for certain, but I think that's one of the reasons why Sozin didn't bother asking for permission and simply set up the first colonies as he pleased," said Azula. She looked at him now, grinding her teeth. "As for your own tribe… did you guys ever endure periods of shortages, perhaps? No food to be found, few resources to keep you warm…"
"Well… we did. Sometimes," said Sokka, frowning. His eyes grew darker again. "I guess the worst of it was when I was a teenager, when my father took the warriors to fight in the war. The only ones who ever went hunting or fishing were me, my sister and a few young women. Providing for the Tribe wasn't easy during those years…"
"I can imagine it wasn't," said Azula. "And there was no help from any external sources, was there? It was just you and your own."
"Yeah. Naturally," said Sokka, shrugging. Azula sighed.
"And there it is, again, the reason why I disagree with the meaning of worldly balance as it has been generally understood during the past millennia," she said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"What other option was there, though?" Sokka asked. "What do you think is better than balance?"
"Why, actual balance, maybe," said Azula, with a sarcastic smile. Sokka looked at her in confusion. "Trading, Sokka. Exchange between different cultures for the sake of their enrichment. How much easier would you have had it if, I don't know, Kyoshi Island had sent your tribe some of the fish they usually hauled in exchange for pelts or furs, for instance?"
Sokka blinked blankly again, though he seemed curious about what Azula was saying. She took that as a good sign.
"If the Earth Kingdom had been willing to grant concessions to either of our nations, we probably would live in a very different world. To put it bluntly, it's unfair that both Tribes are forced to live in poles. The living conditions there are simply too harsh. I understand that the Poles are the best places for waterbenders to use their skills, but what about the non-benders that comprise the majority of any population? How is living in a Pole better for you than living in ripe lands like those of the Earth Kingdom? Why is it that those lands belonged to them, and only to them, despite most of them weren't utilized to their fullest? How is it right that you'd have spent your teenage years freezing, starving, without a chance to have a decent meal… when someone like me must have been eating to her heart's content around the same time, in the Fire Nation Palace?"
"Well… I guess the abysmal difference is because that's how the nations were established. They were divided depending on people's affinities towards their elements," said Sokka. "You can't deny it, can you? Each land suits the nation that settled on it. The Fire Nation is the best place for firebenders to live, the poles work for the waterbenders, the Earth Kingdom continent would be a good location for earthbenders. And the mountains were adequate for Air Nomads, too…"
"Yet you can make a fire anywhere. There's air in every place you mentioned. Nobody can live without water, or without earth under their feet… though I guess the Water Tribes don't exactly have earth under their feet, but you know what I mean," she said. Sokka bit his lip. "You had fire and air back home, didn't you?"
"Yeah," he said, shrugging matter-of-factly. Azula nodded.
"The elements can be found anywhere, it's a fact. Yet, going by the concept of balance we've had for the longest time, we should have stayed in our specific lands, never setting a single foot past the frontiers between the nations, simply because we had more affinity towards them?" Azula asked. Sokka scratched his head.
"Well… I didn't really mean it that way."
"Yet that's what happened, isn't it?" said Azula. Sokka dropped his hand and looked at her in confusion. "We were isolated from one another completely. All nations were to keep to themselves, and never to mingle with the others. The only person who would travel through the nations was the Avatar."
"I guess… but I mean, were there really such specific limits? Was it actually impossible for a Fire Nation citizen to travel to an Air Temple, for instance?"
"I don't think it was impossible. I do think it didn't cross people's minds to do it, though," said Azula, shrugging. "How many Earth Kingdom visitors did you have in your tribe?"
"Eh… none. But in war times you can't really expect…"
"Alright, so were you ever told of stories of better times, when the Southern Water Tribe would mingle with other nations?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka pondered her question briefly before nodding.
"Well, there used to be a festival… but it was just for the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, actually," he said, shrugging. "It stopped when the war began, I think. Other than that, I can't remember anything…"
"Did you ever meet anyone from the Northern Water Tribe? Well, other than that waterbender from the White Lotus, and the Stingray…"
"No, but… well, a kid I used to know was taken there when I was young," said Sokka, frowning. "It was… well, he was taken there after an accident. His parents hoped to heal him there."
"Did you ever see them again?" Azula asked. Sokka shook his head.
"No," he answered, curtly. "As for other visitors to the Northern Water Tribe, my father and the warriors stopped by there during the war. And they saw a lot of the Earth Kingdom, too… but they weren't there to stay anyways. And they didn't bring anyone from the Earth Kingdom with them when they returned, either."
"Of course not," said Azula, sighing. "These ideals of people having specific places where they belong… they've been engraved into our cultures, and despite it all, they make enough sense. I always feel out of my element, quite literally, when I leave the Fire Nation. Nothing is ever as comfortable as my nation is. And I'm sure that's how many others feel, but… what about those who don't feel that way? What about those Fire Nation people who traveled to the Earth Kingdom and found new homes there? What if… what if someone born to the Earth Kingdom discovered the Water Tribe's lifestyle was more appealing for them?"
"It's a bit unlikely, though, isn't it?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "I mean… I've adapted to the Fire Nation, it's true, but that doesn't mean I should give up my roots…"
"You don't have to give them up," Azula said. "But you should have had the right to search for better conditions to live, don't you think? Even if just to survive a lousy winter…"
"Maybe," said Sokka, frowning and sliding his fingers through his hair. "It's just… what do you really think the Avatars should have done, then? You mentioned stablishing trade routes? I mean… that wasn't really up to them, was it?"
"It wasn't. But the Avatar used to be the most powerful entity in our world. A keeper of the peace," said Azula. "How many nation's leaders were intimidated by that powerful figure, I wonder?"
"Probably most of them, if not all of them. Might be that's what the Avatar was good for, to keep them all in line," said Sokka, shrugging.
"So, if they were afraid of facing retribution by the Avatar's hand, how were they supposed to consider that maybe creating trade routes and establishing cultural exchanges was a possibility?" said Azula, intertwining her fingers and setting her hands under her chin, her elbows on her knees. "Any attempts to step out of each nation's boundaries could be taken as a dangerous move to wreck the stability and harmony of the Avatar's brew of balance… which is why, in my opinion, it wasn't actual balance at all. Why should something so important depend on a single person? A single person who would live a normal lifespan, die and reincarnate in a new body, then spend their first twenty years or so in training before being ready to bring balance to the world again. How reliable is this agent of balance when they need to take approximately twenty years off at a time, twenty years during which any nation could destroy the other if they gather their courage… as the Fire Nation did, when it wiped out the Air Nomads?"
Sokka frowned. Azula looked at him with uncertainty.
"It isn't that balance was wrong. It isn't that the Avatar shouldn't have kept harmony between nations, and between the humans and spirits… but rather, that maybe the Avatars' work would have been less difficult if they hadn't relied on their own power, and nothing else, in order to preserve balance. If maybe the Avatars had stopped to consider that, to achieve a stable kind of balance, their duty should have been to teach each nation, or at the very least, their leaders, how to coexist genuinely in the same world. If they had taught them to accept and respect their differences, real progress could have been achieved in a world that was, well… united, basically."
Sokka's eyes widened as Azula spoke. She didn't meet his gaze anymore, though.
"I don't think the Avatars understood their roles all that well. Take Avatar Kyoshi for instance… instead of attempting to placate the threat represented by Chin the Conqueror from the start, she simply withdrew to her corner of the Earth Kingdom, and when he came to claim it, she split off the earth and created Kyoshi Island. I mean… that was the solution, really? She actually chose to split off a piece of the continent over trying to find a productive solution for the war wreaking havoc through the Earth Kingdom. Separation was her immediate preference. The Earth Kingdom had been in chaos during several years, from my understanding… and yet she let it spiral out of control, not doing anything until her village was threatened. Why wasn't she advising the Earth King since before the conflict erupted? Why wasn't she working for the betterment of her very nation? How did the creation of Kyoshi Island aid in keeping balance in the world? If anything, it just served to separate the Earth Kingdom further, to set up more barriers between people."
"I don't know, actually. She must have thought it was the only choice left," said Sokka, biting his lip. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"Making such a choice might not have been necessary at all if the Avatars before her, and Kyoshi herself, had actively worked towards teaching their leaders, or the people, the meaning of balance," said Azula. "Instead of perceiving balance as limits and boundaries, they could have tried to make it about conciliating each nation's differences. I don't deny that maybe setting specific limits would have been helpful at first, but when the Avatars' understanding of balance became a matter of keeping everyone secluded, separated from each other… how much use was that in the long run?
"Look at what the Fire Nation has done… we defied the concept of balance that had been established through ages, believing it didn't matter anymore, because there was nobody to enlighten any of our leaders about why it still mattered. And in our race for progress, we've wound up destroying even our own people and our own lands. That town in Jang Hui… I haven't forgotten what we saw there. It was gruesome. And it was evidence that indeed, the Fire Nation's progress has caused a lot of damage. It's not like I had needed much more evidence at that point, but… it was yet more proof that we are destroying ourselves, too. And it's all in a hopeless pursuit to gain more than we can benefit from, as we are. We've lost so much. And it's all because Sozin, and all those who followed, thought balance was unnecessary. Because they didn't have a reason to respect other nations, since they believed the superiority of the Fire Nation was what mattered most.
"Sometimes I wonder if they were actually afraid that another nation would come to the same conclusions they had, that someone else would choose to question the concept of balance, and that they would decide to trample over the Fire Nation with the power of their mighty armies. I guess if it hadn't been us, it could have been anyone else. The premise of sharing our greatness with the world… well, it was but an irony indeed. But you know what? We… we should share our greatness with the world for real. We all should have, from the very start. And yet we never considered it, because the idea of harmony based on mutual, cultural respect instead of strict boundaries was just that farfetched for everyone…"
"You really think that's possible, though?" Sokka asked, frowning. "Can the Fire Nation simply accept another culture? Because… the last I knew, the Fire Nation had destroyed two cultures, and from my understanding, your father's sights are set on doing the same to the Northern Water Tribe next. It sounds…well, too idealistic, if you ask me."
"Well… try not to storm off on me when I say this," said Azula, with a weak grin. "But the Earth Kingdom culture wasn't entirely destroyed. It was assimilated, even if with the wrong purposes in mind. My father didn't do it for the sake of cultural exchange, no doubt… but we've traveled through these lands, haven't we? And we've seen families, and marriages, like the Morishitas, like Tiang and his wife… they're Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation at once, aren't they?"
Sokka frowned again. Azula sighed.
"I know the war has caused damage we cannot repair even if we try," she said. "I know too many lives have been lost. But… is it that unforgivable for me to think that maybe a few good things came from it all?"
"Unforgivable? No, it isn't… especially considering the examples you're using," said Sokka, smiling a little. "If you were telling me the good thing the war brought was slavery I would have been appalled, likely, but… but you're right in that sense, I guess. Tiang could only find his wife because he took Ba Sing Se, and that's… it's the same as you and me, isn't it? We had a pretty bad first encounter, but without it, and without the good and bad things that followed, we wouldn't have what we have now."
"I do wish most of the pain hadn't been necessary…" said Azula, reaching to touch his hand. "But if you think about it… if Sozin hadn't wrought this war, do you think we would have even met? Is it even likely…? There used to be no cooperation between nations before the war, not from what I've seen in books anyways. Each nation kept to itself. By now, the Fire Nation has assimilated Earth Kindom citizens, and forced a massive number of them into slavery. Ours was never a nation of slavers… but yet it's what it became now. It's yet another thing we ought to change…"
"You really think so?" Sokka asked, his eyes widening. "You'd… you'd abolish slavery?"
"I would, if I could," said Azula. "But I can't yet. Not as I am. It's something my father would refuse to accept, coming from me…"
"But it's still something you'd want to do, once you become Fire Lord," said Sokka. Azula nodded, and he smiled.
"I can try to have certain slavery practices reconsidered, and even terminated…" said Azula, thoughtful. "Such as the Amateur Arenas. Even if they weren't abolished altogether, I'd like to change their system, so the fighters receive more humane treatment. I suppose it wouldn't be easy to convince my father to ponder these matters, but setting standards on the treatment of slaves just might be the one solution he won't refuse to accept immediately."
"That's… that would be amazing," said Sokka, clasping her hand in his. "It really would be, Azula…"
"And even then, it's still not the best thing that could be done, but it's the best I can do so far," she whispered. "So indeed, I would want to change slavery, since I can't stop it altogether, but… but at the same time, the Fire Nation's conquest over the rest of the world has, quite ironically, given people a chance to live in different places, to meet people they never would have found, under normal circumstances. Some, like you, have even learned from these experiences… you're as good as a master swordsman now, after Piandao trained you, and with everything you learned for your fight at the Slate, you're stronger than ever."
"That's true," said Sokka, nodding.
"It's not right that you learned all this only because slavery happened, though," said Azula. "You, and everyone else who's gained something from bonding with those of another nation, shouldn't have had to sacrifice your freedom to do it. I didn't need to make such compromises to obtain benefits from you, and neither do most Fire Nation people who bond with those of other nations. It's just… not right."
"No, it isn't," said Sokka, smiling. "Still… do you wish slavery hadn't happened, but that we would have known each other anyways? That the bonds we've built with those of different cultures could still exist…?"
"The thing is, if the world were to return to what it was before the war, Sokka… then how could you and I be together?" Azula asked, gazing at him remorsefully. Sokka's eyes widened. "There were no mixed families or relationships until the Fire Nation's conquest began. I know it may sound like I'm excusing or glossing over the damage the conquest has done, but…"
"I know what you mean, though. I do," said Sokka, frowning. "It's actually true… my grandmother, she came from the Northern Water Tribe."
"Oh?"
"She told me and my sister about how she fled from the north to avoid marriage," said Sokka, with a small smile. "When she arrived in the South she was welcomed, but she always stood out because of her origins. She married my grandfather, and then had my father… and while he wasn't treated poorly, he was thought not to be good enough for my mother, who was the daughter of the Chief. It took him quite a long courtship, and a lot of efforts, to win her heart and convince the Tribe that he could take up the role of Chief once my other grandfather passed away. It wasn't easy, though…"
"I suppose there may have been interest in preserving the South's cultural values, or so," said Azula, frowning. "Still, they didn't have it easy, despite coming from their sister tribe, no less. Imagine how a Fire Nation citizen would fare in the South Pole…"
"They'd probably never consider having one of them in their midst," said Sokka. "I doubt they'd be that hard on someone from the Earth Kingdom, but they wouldn't be too kind either way."
"Which is precisely what I mean. I really think balance has been misunderstood for being boundaries, limits between people. And… and I know it may sound corny of me to say so, but don't you ever think about how lucky we are?"
"Well, I did just say I was the luckiest man in the world," said Sokka, grinning. Azula smiled too.
"I mean because… if circumstances had been different, maybe we wouldn't have had a chance to be together at all," said Azula. "If there had been no war, a lot of lives would have been saved… and yet we'd still be isolated from one another, most likely. We wouldn't even know the other exists."
"That's the worst-case scenario, though, isn't it? I mean, as son of the Chief, and with you as a Princess…"
"I wouldn't have been in the main branch of the family if there had been no war," Azula pointed out. Sokka blinked. "My uncle wouldn't have lost his son, so it stands to reason to imagine he wouldn't have turned his back on his nation and that he would have taken his father's throne when his time came. So, if you think some sort of political meeting could have been held between our nations, and that by chance we might have met there… well, the odds are you would have met my cousin and not me. As for some arranged marriage, if that's what you were hoping for? Again, unlikely. I've never heard of anyone in the Royal Family marrying outside Fire Nation nobility"
"Huh… so that's the part where your complaints about balance hit us in the gut, huh?" said Sokka, sighing.
"It's stupid, though, that the old understanding of balance forced us to live apart and at such distance from one another… because look at us," said Azula, meeting his gaze. "I've never known someone who can make me feel the things you can. Normally I pulled away from most people, keeping distance from them, but with you I… I can't help but to want to get closer. It's been that way for the longest time…"
"I feel the same way," said Sokka, smiling. "I mean… you make me feel that life is worthwhile. That alone is the most amazing gift I've been given: you're the one who keeps giving me reasons not to give up. So… where would I be without you?"
"I guess you'd still be in your tribe…"
"Or probably dead, after your father sent his troops to annihilate me for taking his lackeys as captives," said Sokka, with a grimace. Azula sighed.
"Yeah… that's likely, to be honest," she whispered.
"I know that a lot of things have gone awry," said Sokka, reaching to caress Azula's face with the back of his hand. "And I know that maybe if anything had gone differently, we might not have this, so… it's why, despite it all, I cherish what we have as much as I do. The mere thought of a life without you… well, I simply imagine I'd spend my years bored, lonely, waiting for a miracle to happen. And if a miracle were to happen in some form other than yours, I think I'd still feel dissatisfied even though I wouldn't know why. Because as it is… well, I can't imagine a life without you. I don't want to."
"I don't want to imagine one without you either," said Azula, kissing his hand. "Don't you ever wonder how many people like us have existed? People who could have found a wonderful partner at the other end of the world… and yet settled for someone they didn't love fully, or perhaps they spent their lives alone, simply because these boundaries existed?"
"I guess it's not just you and me, is it? It's Tiang and his wife, Yu Dao's mayor… it's also Zuko and Suki. And Ty Lee and Haru…" said Sokka, frowning. "Maybe for the rest of the world, sacrificing these relationships would be a small price to pay for peace and harmony, but…"
"It's no peace, Sokka. It's not harmony, not for real. Not when it's as stable as trying to balance a whole building on a spinning wheel," said Azula, shaking her head. "What we used to have was separation, definitions, boxes with labels where you could throw each person depending on what they were. And you and me? We don't share any of those boxes, do we? We're opposites in practically every regard. Yet why is it that nobody else who shares my boxes has resounded with me in the way you do?"
"We've had our clashes, it's true," he whispered. "We really didn't start off well. But… I guess that comes with balance too, doesn't it? We were too different to understand each other right away, but in time…"
"We found a rhythm. A way to coexist without destroying each other," said Azula, smiling. "Despite it all… fire and water might not need to snuff the other out of existence."
"Both our elements are flowing, you know?" said Sokka, raising an eyebrow. "So, I guess we've just found a way to flow around one another. Don't you think?"
Azula laughed softly and pressed her forehead to his. She held his face in place, and his lips found hers for a soft kiss.
"We did go a long time fighting each other, fighting our feelings… and yet nothing has been more gratifying than stopping that struggle and just giving in," said Sokka, kissing her forehead next. "Maybe the world needs to learn from us, huh? To just quit fighting and… and accept one another. Even if it sounds idealistic."
"Maybe it does, but we can still try to make it happen," said Azula, dropping her head on his shoulder. "We can't depend blindly on someone else, expecting them to swing in and fix our problems magically. The Avatar has been gone for over a hundred years, and for all we know, the Avatars may be gone for good by now… maybe it means it's time for the world to learn what balance is and why we need it, instead of waiting for some enforcer to make us behave as he believes proper. An enforcer who would keep us all apart in an attempt to create an unreliable brand of balance."
"Then… does this start with us?" Sokka asked. Azula smiled and cupped his face, her eyes meeting his.
"It already started before us, Sokka," she whispered. "Maybe not in the smoothest way, but it has begun indeed. I guess our role would be to make it work properly, though…"
"So, we're going to change the world?" Sokka asked, smiling. "Into a world where… where the two of us can be together, maybe?"
"Well, the world where we are together already exists," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "The problem is convincing everyone that this isn't as bad an idea as they'll assume it is. But, frankly…"
"Making this a world where we can be together freely is the hardest part. I get it," said Sokka. Azula smiled sympathetically.
"We can still try. If nothing else, once I'm Fire Lord nobody will be able to stop me from being with you if that's what I want," said Azula. "Only, since my father is in good health and I doubt he has any plans to step down from the throne, I suppose we will be free to be together when we're, uh… around seventy, perhaps. Can you wait that long?"
Sokka snorted with laughter, surrounding Azula's waist with his arms as she smiled. He kissed the tip of her nose, still beaming.
"I'd wait forever, and you know it. No matter how old and wrinkly we are," he said. Azula laughed too.
"That's a relief. Though I do hope the Royal Spa will prevent me from getting too many wrinkles…" she reasoned. Sokka laughed again.
"Damn, I love you," he said, hugging her tight and dropping on the bed with her in his arms. Now it was Azula who lay atop him. "You'll be the greatest Fire Lord there's ever been."
"And you'll make a fine Fire Lady, when the time comes."
"A fine what, now?" said Sokka, prompting Azula to laugh again. "Hey, I'm no lady!"
"You needn't say that twice," said Azula, still chuckling. "But I rather enjoy teasing you, my manly man."
"Heh. I am manly. Yep," he said, smiling proudly.
Azula sighed, celebrating internally the return of Sokka's goofier side. She leaned down on him, kissing his lips softly, still smiling as she held his face in her hands.
"But, say… I am a fan of everything you've just said, and I'm glad you want to end slavery, but there's a lot of stuff that could happen when you do that. Some people might not like it," said Sokka, biting his lip. "And also, there's other problems out there, too… you won't give the Earth Kingdom's autonomy back, or would you?"
"As things are now?" said Azula, frowning. "I don't know if that would be a good idea. King Kuei wasn't said to be a good ruler, and Ba Sing Se is thriving in Tiang's control. I don't know if that's the case for all the Earth Kingdom, but I question that withdrawing our hold over their lands would be much help. Granted, it might be the right thing to do, from a moral point of view, but…"
"It's complicated, I know," said Sokka, sighing. "Still, it's something else we have to think about. People deserve the right to keep their cultures, even under Fire Nation rule. Then again, going by what you've said, you don't mean to trample over the Earth Kingdom culture altogether, do you?"
"No, that's not my intent. Not at this point anyways, regardless if I didn't always care for that," she whispered. "I'm aware there are a lot of problems that will need tending to, Sokka. I know it's not just about the things that concern us personally…"
"I figured. I just thought I'd make sure," said Sokka, smiling a little. "There's a lot of people enduring awful circumstances, like the Mechanist, and they don't deserve that. He doesn't deserve that."
"What do you mean, exactly?" said Azula, raising her eyebrows. Sokka bit his lip.
"He told me that the War Minister has been threatening him ever since the Fire Nation army found this place. He offered his services in a desperate plea to protect his people. It's why he's been helping the Fire Nation as he has."
Azula frowned and remained silent for a moment. Sokka waited for her to speak again, though he glanced at her uneasily as he did.
"How did he threaten him? Do you know?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.
"I'm not sure. He mentioned something about destroying their home, I think," he said. "You can ask him for details tomorrow if you need to hear the whole story. All the same, it's just… it's really not fair. He's had to decide between protecting his own and being loyal to his nation. With either decision, he's had to sacrifice something he cared for. And he doesn't deserve that any more than we do. It's affected him in ways I can barely begin to imagine. It's why he spends so long locked in his office, why he's always working… he can barely bear the guilt anymore."
"I'm not surprised to hear that. It's my father's personal brand of manipulation, you see," said Azula, sighing. "He's a master at cornering people through threats: people can either give him what he wants, regardless if they don't want to do it, or they will face a living hell. Naturally, most people choose the first option. The Mechanist did, too."
"It's the same thing he did with this mission, isn't it?" said Sokka. "I didn't have a choice regarding whether I wanted to assist the Mechanist or not. The only choice to be made was whether I'd do it willingly or not… and of course, resisting would have only been futile, right?"
"Right. It would have made this entire situation much worse," said Azula, biting her lip. Sokka sighed.
"You will try to fix this too, though, won't you?" Sokka asked, looking at her eagerly. "Even if you might only have the power to do it when we're seventy…"
Azula smiled and kissed him. Sokka caressed her cheek as she returned his gaze.
"I'll do everything I can to right my nation's wrongs. A lot of things we did were far from ideal, but I will do my best to turn things around without throwing away the good changes we've brought to the world. Because… because we do need balance. The Fire Nation has damaged others and itself by disrupting balance, whether we want to accept that or not… and now look at us. We're assimilating other cultures, relying on people like the Mechanist to accomplish things we can't do ourselves. And after growing so close to you, I can only be horrified by everything I put you through back when we first met… and Xin Long? He's… he's desperate to meet more dragons, and if he never did, it'd be because of what the Fire Nation has done to his kind. There would be nobody else to blame for it."
"Azula…" whispered Sokka, as she sighed.
"I will do my best to change the ways of the world. Even if I don't know how I'll do it yet, but… I do have around fifty years to plan it, don't I?" she said, smiling. Sokka grinned back.
"If someone can do this, it's you. I'm sure of it," he said, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Not on my own, though…" she whispered. He raised an eyebrow as their gazes met again.
"Well, you won't be on your own. I can promise you that," he said, smiling sweetly.
Azula averted her gaze briefly before raising it to meet his again. Sokka intertwined their hands.
"Sokka… about the things you said earlier, regarding your Tribe," Azula started. Sokka swallowed.
"Yeah?"
"I understand you might be nervous about going home, especially because of what's happening between us. They won't take kindly to hear about our bond, even if you don't explain it fully… at least, I can imagine they won't."
"They won't like it, no," said Sokka. "I don't know if I'll manage to make them understand, honestly, but… but I'll try to, at least."
"Good," said Azula, nodding. "So… you still mean to go see them."
Sokka took a deep breath and, after a pause, he nodded too.
"I figured I would, once I'd achieved our goal. It's what we settled on from the start, after all," he muttered.
"And we will achieve it. For certain," she said, with determination. Sokka smiled weakly. "But seeing how uneasy you are about this, I thought maybe things won't have to be exactly as we originally planned. Too much has changed since we first struck our deal, after all, so…"
"So?" Sokka repeated, raising an eyebrow at her shy silence.
"I was merely thinking… I can take you to your Tribe, when all is said and done," she said. "But… you won't have to stay there forever if you don't want to. Whether they accept you as you are now or not… I'll wait for you at the coast, if you still want to go back to the Fire Nation with me. And if you do, then we can…"
"We can stay together," said Sokka, smiling brightly. His eyes had lit up, blazing brighter than Azula had ever seen them before. "The two of us, together, no matter what…"
"And we'd keep true to our original promise, despite it all," said Azula, grinning too, immediately soothed by his own smile. "I would take you home as planned. We're just… altering what comes afterwards, I guess. As long as you want this, of course…"
"What do you mean, as long as I want it?" he said, laughing happily. "There's nothing I'd want more, nothing…!"
Azula laughed as he kissed her eagerly, repeatedly, surrounding her tightly with his arms. She returned each kiss, caressing his arms when he buried his face in her shoulder.
"You're the best part of my life, hands down" he said, smiling still. "Staying with you would be… it'd be so perfect, Azula…"
"I'm glad to hear it," she said, kissing the side of his head. "I… I really did fear what might come once we defeated Zhao's gladiator. I thought that maybe… that we would part ways, forever. And the mere idea was just…"
"Even if we hadn't reached this point, Azula," said Sokka, pulling away and stroking her hair. "Even if we weren't together like this, I wouldn't know how to part ways with you. Being away from you for a month already took more willpower than I knew I had, I can't even imagine saying goodbye forever. I… I can't let it happen. I'll do whatever it takes to stay by your side for as long as we can be together."
"And I'll do whatever it takes to keep you with me. And to keep you safe, too," she said, kissing the palm of his hand. "Which is awfully contradictory, considering what your line of work is, but still…"
"I'm a fortunate gladiator, really. For my sponsor to be so eager to keep me safe, warm, well-fed and happy…" he said, caressing her face. "It's more than I ever dreamt I would have, if I were sponsored."
"Did you ever think it was possible?" Azula asked. Sokka shook his head.
"I figured I'd be long dead before anyone thought to glance my way. I wasn't anything special back then, you know that," said Sokka, with a weak grin.
"You were, in different regards than in physical prowess," said Azula. "And yet now you're special in all regards, seems like…"
"Yeah? I thought I was mostly an idiot, though."
"You are one, but you can put that head of yours to good use when you feel like it," said Azula, smirking and kissing him. "And considering I love you, perhaps I am a bit of an idiot myself…"
"No way you're actually saying that, girl," said Sokka, with wide, horrified eyes. Azula chuckled. "You? An idiot?"
"It's your fault. I didn't even know this side of myself existed," she said, sighing and dropping atop him. "And yet I'm grateful you've brought it out of me. You've made me the happiest I've ever been. So…"
"So, I'll stay with you, in hopes to keep making you the happiest you've ever been," said Sokka his embrace tightening as Azula pulled the sheets and blankets over them with some difficulty.
"Good. Though that was not what I was going to say," she whispered.
"What was it, then?" Sokka asked, and Azula kissed him once more.
"That I'll do my best to make you as much of a happy idiot as I am when I'm around you," she whispered. Sokka grinned.
"You don't even need to try, Princess. I'm a happy idiot simply because you exist," he said kissing her shoulder as they rolled on their sides. "The fact that you've looked my way and thought me worthy of you is still beyond my understanding. Loving you, though, is the best thing I've ever done."
Azula smile warmly and kissed him again, pressing her body against his. Sokka's arms were around her, to hold her close to him through the night.
"Thank you, for saving my life all the time," he whispered. "You keep doing that even if you don't realize it. You did it again today, though I guess this time you could tell…"
"You don't need to thank me. I'm actually doing it for selfish reasons," said Azula, hiding her face in his neck. "I can't fathom surviving in this world without you. It's you and me for good, we've already agreed on that, right? No more wasted time, no more nonsense…"
"No more dishonesty," Sokka said, nodding. "If this is going to last, we need to work for it and give it our all."
"I'm willing to do that," Azula whispered. He smiled.
"So am I."
Azula sighed in relief and lifted her gaze to find his. They joined together in another intimate kiss, their warmth combining through the contact of their bodies. The night slipped away from them slowly, and soon they both relaxed fully in their close embrace.
Despite herself, Azula didn't fall asleep even though her eyelids often seemed to close of their own accord. She continued to caress Sokka's humid hair as she watched him sleep, eased by the sight of his heaving chest, by feeling his heart beating at a regular rhythm. She pressed her lips to his forehead at times, to his cheek, to his own lips, and even if he was unconscious, he responded at times, pecking at her blindly and making her smile. Despite she was exhausted, especially on an emotional level, she couldn't fathom leaving yet. At least not until the night had passed, and she knew she had nothing more to fear. She would remain beside him until light and brightness returned, bringing in a new day to mend what had been broken before. A new day, in which she might not need to dread what the shadows would do to Sokka's heart. She meant to help him fight them in whichever way she could, that was a certainty… at least, until she knew he was strong enough to fight them on his own. She hoped the day would come when she could face her own demons in the same way.
Her inner fire flared with a familiar sensation: dawn was nearing. She breathed deeply, knowing she had better leave before Rui Shi caught her naked in Sokka's bed. She kissed him again, stroking his face with her fingers.
"I love you," she whispered. It was so much easier to say the words earnestly when he was asleep.
Yet he took her by surprise by humming and kissing her back fully now, his grip on her waist growing stronger.
"And I love you…" he said, opening his eyes lazily. Azula smiled.
"Good. But I need to go now, okay?" she said, pressing her forehead to his. Sokka swallowed.
"Right. Rui Shi…" he said, before covering his mouth as the urge to yawn hit him. Azula kissed the back of his hand and climbed off the small bed with some difficulty.
She started gathering her clothes and was taken by surprise when Sokka climbed off the bed behind her. He clasped her shoulders and kissed the back of her head before joining her in fetching her clothing items. Soon he was helping her clad herself in them, indulging in occasional kisses and embraces.
Soon she was in full garb, armored as per usual, while Sokka remained fully naked. She insisted on remediating that, regardless of Sokka's reassurances that it wasn't necessary.
"I just prevented you from freezing to death down there. You're not going to stay naked just so you can get sick, despite my efforts," she said, as she finished tying his belt. Sokka sighed.
"You'll be looking after me constantly after my little stunt, won't you?"
"Until you prove you can take good care of yourself, yes," said Azula, smirking. He smiled.
"Well, it does feel good to be cared for so much," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "You're too kind."
"Only with you, and only once in a blue moon. So… make the most of it," said Azula, cupping his face and kissing him softly.
He leaned down to hug her, and Azula returned the embrace most gladly, her heart warm and relieved: he truly was back to his usual self, as affectionate and loving as he often was. She kissed his shoulder, caressing his back.
"I'll see you in a few hours. Don't do anything stupid in the meantime, okay?" she whispered. He smiled.
"I won't," he said, nodding. "What sort of stupid thing can I do while I sleep?"
"I don't know. Dream about me giving you oral sex, maybe…"
"Come on, Azula, it was a one-time thing…" he said. Azula smirked.
"I know, but one time is all it takes for me to never let it go," she said, kissing him again. "Alright. I'm off, then…"
"Wait," he said, softly.
He cupped her face and kissed her once again, slowly and kindly. Azula closed her eyes and leaned into his body, returning every touch of his lips earnestly. Sokka pressed his forehead to hers once the kiss was over and they were breathless, a small smile on his face.
"I love you," he said, kissing her forehead. "Watch your step in those halls, okay?"
"I will. I'll see you shortly," she said, smiling as she caressed his cheek. After one last peck at his lips, she found the strength to pull away and moved to the door. "And I love you, too…"
Sokka smiled affectionately at that, and Azula laughed softly under her breath before opening the door slowly, focused on taking off to her tower. Sokka watched her leave, wishing he could stop feeling lonely as soon as she was gone. He smiled to himself, though, for she had saved him again. He had never expected to become the man he was now, but he was grateful she was by his side in his worst trials. The shadows could catch up with him, but he knew he could count on Azula to keep him grounded. Despite their differences, they accepted each other completely, and they would always seek to understand one another, no matter how hard it could be at times.
Maybe it wasn't an ideal relationship on many fronts, he reasoned, as he returned to bed. But it could be the strongest relationship if they fought for it as they meant to, if they worked on their bond, on building the trust between them as they had tonight. As long as they did that, no force in the world would ever be strong enough to tear them apart. At least, he hoped as much.
He slipped under the covers, drifting into an uneasy sleep, perhaps because Azula's comforting presence was gone now. Yet he closed his eyes with the firm belief that dawn would bring a better day, and all the days afterwards would be better yet. He would face his fears, accept his shortcomings… and he would strive to find ways to better the world, by Azula's side.
"I'm sorry. I should've thought about what you were going through instead of lashing out at you as I did. Especially when you and I are on the same boat, pretty much."
The Mechanist's small eyes widened as Sokka looked at him earnestly across his desk. The Water Tribe man had paid his office an unexpected visit, now with a drastically different attitude than the one he'd had the previous day. The Mechanist could sense something had changed deep within Sokka, although he wasn't entirely sure of what it was. Yet something about his firm stance and steady eyes told him he wasn't as broken and hopeless as he had been yesterday.
"W-well… I actually didn't expect otherwise. Not when you discovered the truth," said the Mechanist, shrugging. "I've done unforgivable things, Sokka…"
"So have I. I think we all have," he whispered, closing his eyes. "It's why I'm sorry. I often talk without thinking, you know, and… and eventually I realize how many things I've misunderstood. How many assumptions I'd made."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Sokka," said the Mechanist, sighing. "If only I had dared trust you…"
"I didn't trust you either, for that matter," said Sokka, with a weak smile. "We didn't know what we were fighting for, or who we were fighting against."
"And we know now?" The Mechanist asked, looking at Sokka with confusion. To his surprise, Sokka nodded and smiled.
"Yes. We both know what we're fighting for," he said. "And as long as we remember what we need to protect, we won't lose our way."
"But… Sokka, I've caused my own nation's destruction," the Mechanist said. Sokka shook his head.
"No, you didn't. You were threatened into service. You, my friend, aren't the problem," he said, firmly. "It's not you who needs to change."
"Then who does? The Fire Lord? War Minister Qin?" the Mechanist asked. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"I think we'll see in time, won't we?" he said, standing up again. "You won't have to worry, alright? Go back to your son and stop drowning in work. You've done it all for him, after all, so you should spend proper time with him. You should take real breaks, and it's about time you stop tormenting yourself. You don't need to atone for sins that aren't yours."
"Still… what about the bombs?" the Mechanist asked, looking at Sokka with uncertainty. "Won't we still have to work on them? I… I actually tried to think of how to make the Princess's idea work, and maybe it can be done…"
"Huh? Really?" said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. The Mechanist bit his lip.
"I won't send word to the War Minister about it this time, I promise," he whispered. Sokka nodded.
"Good call," he said. The Mechanist swallowed hard.
"I haven't done anything yet, though. I don't really want to, but if the Fire Lord demands it…"
"It's fine," said Sokka, lifting a hand as to appease the worried man. "I won't rage on you for it this time around. But I'll see if we can dodge this problem, though. Maybe we can just…"
The sound of the creaking door startled them both. They turned to look at it, and Sokka's eyes visibly brightened upon seeing Azula standing in the doorway. The Mechanist, on the other hand, was daunted and uneasy by her sudden apparition.
"Morning, to the two of you," she said, curtly. She shot Sokka a glare, which he understood immediately. He had better stop looking at her like the lovestruck fool he was… "I have just received a message from my father."
"Y-your…?" said the Mechanist, paling. Sokka as well grew tense as Azula stepped into the room.
"He had sent it long before you mailed the new designs you've crafted," said Azula. "And he seems to believe the airships will satisfy his purposes, despite I don't quite agree with that notion. Regardless… he wants us to return home now."
She addressed the last part to Sokka specifically. He grinded his teeth and nodded, while the Mechanist sighed in relief behind the desk.
"Truly, then? I won't have to build the bombs anymore? I had already started to come up with a strategy to use the gas, but if you won't need it…"
"It would seem we won't, at least not for the foreseeable future," said Azula, folding her arms over her chest. "I thank you for your services, and… well, if they were ever required again, I do hope you won't have to provide them as you did this time. I'm under the impression you've been enduring harsh treatment by War Minister Qin since several years ago?"
"W-why… well, yes, Princess," said the Mechanist, nervously. "But it's not…"
"It's not acceptable that a man of your talent would be treated this way," said Azula. The Mechanist's eyes widened "Especially when the threats yielded no results. You succeeded in designing these aircrafts once you had Sokka's assistance. The War Minister achieved nothing by terrorizing you, so I will make certain my father has a few words with him about his inefficient methods to obtain results."
"Y-you would…? Wait… what?" said the Mechanist, his eyes widening again. Azula nodded.
"I know it's hard to believe, but I mean what I say," she declared. "I'll see to this myself. If he ever threatens you again into working on projects you're struggling with, send word and I'll put an end to this problem in a more permanent manner. I won't have important Fire Nation allies mistreated at the hands of inept officials."
Sokka couldn't help but smile as Azula spoke, with her characteristic cold tone. He smiled, though, because he was seeing the hope of freedom being born in the Mechanist's uplifted face. The knowledge that he would no longer be terrified into service and submission seemed to be too much to take, for tears started to blink in the corners of his eyes.
"So you won't have to bear with this anymore. I mean to straighten out matters with War Minister Qin," Azula repeated. "You've provided the Fire Nation with grand advancements, and threats are no way to show you the gratitude you deserve."
"I… t-thank you, Princess. Oh, this is just…!" he said, laughing happily as he brought his hands together, a blissful smile on his face. Azula held back a smile of her own, for she had a reputation to maintain. "You really mean this? Oh, it means… it means so much more than I can say! Can I hug…? N-no, of course I can't hug you."
"Yes, please refrain from doing that," said Azula, inching away from the man slowly.
To her mild amusement, the Mechanist laughed and hugged Sokka instead, who was startled at first but smiled soon enough, looking at Azula with confusion. She couldn't hold back her own smile this time as the Mechanist cheered, squeezing Sokka tightly.
"Finally! We'll be free to live here as we please! Oh, you two must come visit whenever you're nearby!" he said, beaming at them both. "You surely travel often to Ba Sing Se, don't you?"
"Not that often, but… maybe we could come again?" Sokka asked, looking at Azula with raised eyebrows. She shrugged.
"Maybe one day, though I doubt we'll stay as long as we did this time," she said. "Still, before we take our leave… which I guess will be tomorrow, since we'll have to pack first, I have something to ask, if you don't mind."
The Mechanist raised his messy eyebrows, uncertain of what Azula would want now, but perfectly willing to hear what she had to say. If she would indeed change his life and give him back the freedom he had once enjoyed while in the Temple, he was more than willing to answer her questions.
"You said you had an accident down wherever the volatile gas is?" Azula asked. He nodded.
"I did, I just walked in there with a torch and… well, it was a pretty bad experience, yes. Why?"
"Did you have a chance to see any of what's down there? If there's anything at all, of course…"
"Why, not really, no. All I can say is that there was a door, which I reinforced afterwards so the gas wouldn't leak. But I didn't see anything, the room is so dark… I did create a lantern that would prevent me from catching fire again, but I have never used it to get inside the room. I'm not sure if I should let myself breathe that volatile gas too long. So… I never investigated thoroughly. Why do you want to know, though?"
"It's… nothing. Just musings and strange theories I enjoy concocting," said Azula, shrugging innocently. "Then, you've never ventured further to discover what might be down there."
"Why, no, but… what could there be down there other than that gas?" the Mechanist asked. Azula bit her lip.
"Answers, maybe. Never mind, though. I was merely asking out of curiosity," said Azula. "Anyways, I'll thank you again for your efforts. I do hope you can use your new aircrafts for your own purposes too: perhaps you can travel to Ba Sing Se and acquire a few goods you can't find around here. Make the most of them, and good luck in your future endeavors."
"Thank you, Princess… truly, thank you," the Mechanist said, smiling at her. Azula nodded in his direction and he bowed. "I am forever in your debt."
"And in debt you shall remain for as long as I can afford it," said Azula, nodding towards him once more. The Mechanist stared at her in confusion as she turned to Sokka. "Pack your things early, alright? We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
"Sure thing," said Sokka, nodding firmly as Azula turned to leave the office.
Sokka sighed happily as she left, glancing at the Mechanist. He patted the man's shoulder, who remained confused still.
"What… what did she mean with that?" he asked Sokka. "She'll keep me in debt…?"
"I think it means she hopes she'll never need to make you return the favor," said Sokka, smiling. "She doesn't want to keep demanding war inventions from you."
The Mechanist's eyes gleamed again. He had to clutch his desk as the surprise shook him fully. Yes, he couldn't take back the damage he had already done… but maybe he wouldn't need to damage anyone else anymore. If this was true, then perhaps the worst was over…
Sokka was surprised when he heard the man sobbing softly. He grimaced and surrounded his shoulders with an arm, as the Mechanist's overflowing emotions poured out between hiccups and soft whispers of gratefulness. Sokka smiled as he rubbed the man's shoulder, understanding just what Azula's kindness truly meant to him.
The two of them had decided that they would change the world's state, that they would fight to see it become a better place. But a simple realization materialized in Sokka's mind as he glanced at the door through which Azula had left: they had started to change the world long before they had decided to do so. The Mechanist was hardly the first person Azula had shown her personal brand of veiled kindness to, and Sokka knew he wouldn't be the last.
"She'll make a pretty great Fire Lord one day, don't you think?" he said. The Mechanist sniffed and nodded most eagerly.
"Oh, that's for certain…" he said, smiling through his tears. "That's for certain."
The day was hectic, as the Princess, her gladiator and her guards took care to pack up once again; the Mechanist's other assistants ensured the train-tank would be ready to take off in the morning. Dinner was almost a grand celebration, as most of the Temple's inhabitants wished them good fortune on their trip. Teo in particular was sad to watch his new friends go, but Fei Li assured him they'd keep in touch whenever he had a chance to write to him.
The night was quite busy, so Sokka and Azula refrained from indulging in their usual clandestine encounters, holding out for that until they were back in the Barge. They said their farewells to the Mechanist again in the morning, just before climbing on the train-tank, and with Tai Wei at the wheel, the vehicle was well on its way down the mountain.
The journey back to the port was slow, but most of the train-tank's passengers were too drowsy to notice. Even the loud rattling of the train wasn't enough to bother them, exhausted as they were after their restless night of preparation for their imminent return home.
It was already noon when they finally reached the port, and it was almost dusk again when Azula's Barge was drifting through the ocean, setting course for the Fire Nation. The Royal Guards had yet to return to protocol, Azula noticed: they had dressed in their uniforms again but were still acting far more leisurely than usual.
The ship's deck emptied after barely half an hour of sailing, for Azula's guards had all headed inside to get proper rest. She wasn't well-rested either – in fact, she hadn't slept much in the past two days –, but she remained on deck with Xin Long: the disheartened dragon had been moping after their unsuccessful trips to find more dragons. Azula sighed and slid her hands through his hair, his large head resting on her lap.
"Maybe they're hiding elsewhere," she whispered. "The world is big enough to hide more than just you, Xin. And if there's a chance that some Air Nomads didn't die by the hands of the Fire Nation's armies, despite that was what we were all told, then maybe there will be dragons out there too."
Xin Long growled, reminding her that she didn't really expect there to be Air Nomads out there. Not after the theory she had concocted, linking the disappeared Air Nomads and the inexplicable gas reserve under the Air Temple…
"It's only a theory. I might be wrong about that. There's no reason the Air Nomads would all die in the same place, and that their bodies would just… decay and turn into some volatile gas that easily," she whispered, gritting her teeth.
"Hell, that's your creepy theory?"
Azula froze upon hearing Sokka's voice behind her. She turned her head slowly, looking at him over her shoulder. He smiled awkwardly at her, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"Terrified by my spooky imagination now, are you?" Azula asked. Sokka chuckled. "I thought you'd be resting by now, though. You probably should get some sleep…"
"I should get some rest, but so should you, Princess," he said, sitting beside her and smiling warmly. "I saw you dozing off in the train-tank earlier. You shouldn't be out here in the cold, especially when you're so tired…"
"So now our roles have switched?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows inquisitively. Sokka chuckled.
"Just for the time being. You can get back to nagging me for being reckless once you've rested."
"Oh, so I nag you, now? That's what I do?"
"W-well…"
He was left to do nothing but laugh when he failed to come up with an answer for her question. She smacked him lightly on the back of his head before ushering Xin Long to let her stand up. The dragon seemed amused by the way Sokka smiled guiltily, rubbing the back of his head where she had hit him.
Sokka was surprised, though, when Azula offered her hand to him without saying a word. He looked up at her, finding she was gazing at him with more kindness than she would permit herself in normal circumstances. He smiled before clasping her hand and pushing himself up to his feet.
"You need to go to bed too, you know," she said.
"Alright, alright, but I'll need someone to cuddle with. Cold nights, you know…" he said, looking at her innocently. Azula smiled sarcastically.
"Why, you can curl up with Xin Long if you'd like. He rather enjoyed squeezing Rui Shi to sleep once before… or maybe you can go to Rui Shi, actually. He'd probably be happy to cuddle with you if it means you won't be with me…"
Sokka snorted and laughed as Azula smirked at him. She bumped her shoulder gently against him before whispering.
"Give it five minutes and be wary. I don't think there's anyone standing guard, but you can never be too careful."
"Gotcha," he said, smiling as Azula slipped past him.
"Good night, Xin. Good night, snow savage."
He chuckled as she walked away, watching the way her hips swayed in the most elegant manner. As ever, he stared after her, and Xin Long decided to headbutt him from behind for it, but he didn't care to stop even then. He was already using up all his willpower not to go after her immediately.
But Sokka joined Azula in her room eventually, as intended. She welcomed him eagerly, kissing him breathlessly as if to make up for all the hours they had spent keeping proper distance from one another.
They fell in the bed, curled around each other, pressed together tightly. Their first trip as more than gladiator and sponsor was at its end, and while it hadn't been perfectly smooth, they felt closer to each other than ever before. And although they knew better than to anticipate the future with the highest hopes, they were still thrilled about whatever might come next: their ultimate challenge, changing the world for the better, had only just begun.