Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

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

130. Chapter 130: Appeasing Azula 2

"Hey… hey. Azula…"

It took her a moment to realize she was being shaken gently, and that a voice called her softly, but with urgency. When she finally registered it, though, she jumped so violently she scared Sokka too.

"Hey! It's okay, it's just me," he said, looking at her with surprise. "Azula? You alright?"

"I… sorry, sorry," she said, her heart racing wildly now. Sokka swallowed hard.

"I'm the one who's sorry, you were sleeping so soundly… but it's starting to get brighter outside," he said, his jaw square as he looked out the window. Azula huffed.

"Of course it is. What a fool," she said, climbing off the bed hastily. Sokka sighed.

"I hope you got some rest after all…" he said, but when he made to climb off the bed, she forced him back to it. "What? Azula…"

"You're not going anywhere. I can return to the Palace just fine by myself," Azula assured him, pushing him down on the bed. Sokka pouted and she cupped his face between her hands. "I love you. Stay put. I'll see you again later."

"You will?" Sokka asked, with a weak smile. "I'll be waiting then. As always."

Azula's hands caressed his face gently. She kissed his lips one last time before parting ways. He lengthened the contact between them, holding her close by the nape of her neck. Azula sighed, unwilling to leave, but knowing she had no choice. She had been reckless enough with this escapade as it was.

She took off without another word, and Sokka merely watched her go, the gentle smile on his face shifting into concern once Azula was out of sight. Some things escaped his observation skills at times, but he knew last night had happened for a reason. Azula had been lurking, sneaking into his cabin constantly ever since they had left Yu Dao, but Sokka had expected that to end once they returned home. It hadn't.

It wasn't, of course, that he didn't want her around. He couldn't possibly be happier about waking up by her side, and if it were up to him, he would continue to do it for the rest of their lives. But this wasn't normal: Azula usually was eager to be by his side, no doubt, but this wasn't merely for the sake of it. Something deeper, more complicated, was at play here and he had known as much for a long time. What they had lived through in the Earth Kingdom would come back to bite them, and it hurt Azula in more ways than it had hurt Sokka, it seemed.

Still, he didn't blame her. He couldn't. Not when he realized that, had the situation been reversed, he would be the paranoid one, unable to let her out of his sight for longer than five minutes. He understood why she kept placing her hand on his chest, right above his heart. He didn't mind it, personally: he loved to be touched by her, no matter the intent of said touch… but he did mind that Azula was as troubled as she was. He had to do something about it. This situation couldn't carry on as it had.

But what to do? How to speak to her about this, when he knew she would likely withdraw even more than she usually did? She still struggled when talking about difficult things with him more often than not, and the fact was that they had spent weeks together at sea, yet she had never spoken aloud about the anguish that brought her to visit him in the middle of the night, not even once. Tonight had been worse than before, even… she was struggling with her feelings, and he knew her well enough to understand why she wouldn't open up to him: she thought he already had enough matters to worry about to burden him with her troubles, too.

He sighed, sinking in the bed and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. There had to be something he could do. Anything to put her mind at ease, once more…

---

She rushed back to her room, closed the trapdoor, rolled the carpet back in place. She cleaned up the sweat that clung to her after her race back home, and she jumped between the sheets again, trying her very hardest to conceal her nocturnal absence. She sighed, hoping she might get a few more hours of sleep, but it wasn't to be. After barely a half-hour, the servants were in her room, to ready her for the day. She gave a good performance, without breaking the illusion of being the perfect princess, not even for an instant. Nobody seemed to notice anything was amiss with her.

But although her servants weren't too observant, she wouldn't be able to drop her guard so fast. Her morning at the Palace wouldn't end as quickly as she had hoped it would: a visit from her father, and his invitation to walk with him through the gardens, distracted her from her preparations to head back to Sokka's house immediately.

"I merely wanted to ensure that you're adapting well to your return home," Ozai explained, as they paced together through the roofed hallways. Imperial Guards followed at a safe distance, keeping up with the Fire Lord's rhythm while watching their surroundings warily.

Azula raised an inquisitive eyebrow towards her father, whose eyes challenged her to speak her mind: she wouldn't fail to rise to said challenge.

"It's the first time you're so concerned about something like that," she said. "Are you sure that's what this is about?"

"Well, what else could it possibly be?" Ozai asked, his arms behind his back. Azula snorted.

"You're making sure I'm not trying to insert myself into the White Lotus investigation," she said. Ozai sighed and shrugged. "I'm afraid I know you too well."

"I admit, I take no pride in my distrust, child," he said. "But you must understand it's for your own good. Those mad rebels have given you enough sorrows for a lifetime. You ought to concern yourself with less stressful matters: for instance, I've already arranged preparations for your birthday feast of this year. I'm sure you were so busy you forgot it was barely a few weeks away…"

"Huh. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Father," she said, smiling a little. Her birthday… it truly felt like such banal, meaningless celebration in the face of the current events. "It's fortunate I came home when I did."

"Indeed. And as you can see, there are other things you could be focusing on rather than worrying about this tiresome matter. I will not see you waste away consumed by concern over the White Lotus," said Ozai. Azula smiled, looking at him in mild disbelief.

"Is this your way to look out for me, then?" she asked. "Making me worry about feasts while you take care of the real problems?"

"You've had far more tastes of real problems than I did until I was around fifteen years older than you, Azula," said Ozai, raising his eyebrows. "I believe you need a break, even if a short one. You have already done much for the Fire Nation."

"So, sitting this one out isn't that grave an offense," said Azula.

"It's not an offense at all, to begin with," Ozai stated. "My father used to send his firstborn and his grandson into danger without thinking twice of it, and that wasn't the wisest idea, now, was it? I'm no such fool, so I will see to your safety, without limiting your possibilities, if I can avoid it."

"I appreciate that very much, Father," Azula said, nodding towards him. Ozai looked at her, his chin raised.

"Let it be known that I see to the Crown Princess's wellbeing," he said. "At any rate, I don't want you to be stressed over your feast either. I have already prepared for it…"

"And you've arranged for all my suitors to come sway me with ridiculously expensive gifts that won't impress me?" Azula asked. Ozai smiled.

"They had to be invited," he said. "Though, of course you won't be impressed. It's in your blood."

"Indeed. I was born and raised in a Palace, of all places," said Azula, looking at Ozai somewhat skeptically. But the look in his eyes gave her pause. "Or… did you mean something else?"

"I…" Ozai said, startled out of a momentary daze by his daughter's question. He swallowed hard and looked away. "I was merely thinking your mother wasn't easily impressed by jewelry either. But of course, for vastly different reasons."

Azula's breath caught in her throat. Her father, willingly speaking about her mother? For the first time, someone had drawn a comparison between Azula and her mother, and it hadn't bothered the Princess. If anything, the comparison itself had failed to sink in, shocked as she was upon hearing her father acknowledging her mother in front of her, after such a long time.

"Either way, I'm sure your suitors will be happy to congratulate you for your twenty-third birthday. And I'm sure you will reject every last one of them, as you usually do," Ozai continued, hoping to change the subject quickly. "I no longer hold hopes to see your wedding happen anytime soon, truth be told. I only hope you're sensible enough to marry before you're no longer fit to carry children."

"I suppose," said Azula, with a weak grin. "Would be a waste if our ever-powerful bloodline died with me, right?"

"Indeed. And since your brother inherited all the worst and none of the best of our family, there is no point in hoping that his potential descendants will be of any use," said Ozai. "That is, of course, if any woman can bear with him long enough to procreate…"

Azula snorted, despite herself. Regardless of her current opinion on Zuko, she found it amusing to hear her father speak of his potential grandchildren and his son's love life this casually.

"Well, you surely don't know it, but he took a girl with him when he left," Azula said. At Ozai's disgusted but inquisitive stare, she specified: "A slave."

"Huh. Well, then, she surely bears with him because she has no choice. I pity her," he said. Azula bit her lip and looked at him with disbelieving amusement.

"I don't imagine he has a lot of luck with romance, but you may be underestimating him," she said. "He did get my friend Mai to fall for him, for whatever reason…"

"Ah, a suitable match she was," said Ozai, sighing. "But Zuko's erratic life certainly had no room for a wife, let alone one like her. Her relationship with her husband has been good, I take it?"

"So far, yes," said Azula, nodding. "Their son is a good child, too, and that's saying something. Not a lot of children are tolerable…"

"I suppose you haven't seen her in some time," said Ozai. "What with being away for almost two months… perhaps you ought to visit her. It would be appropriate."

"I could…" said Azula, looking at him with curiosity. "I guess Admiral Zhao's return has reminded you of the value of keeping in touch with your friends?"

"Perhaps," said Ozai, smirking. "Though I do hope you won't try to train as harshly with your non-bender friends as I do with Zhao."

"I won't," said Azula, nodding. "Well… I suppose it's a thought, then. I'll be out for the day, if you don't need me for anything else."

"As you well know now, I'd rather you spend your time elsewhere, instead of worrying here," he said. "And since you can't distract yourself by training with your gladiator while he's convalescing, this is quite possibly the only way to entertain you, for the time being."

"Oh, of course," said Azula, swallowing hard and smiling weakly. "You're right."

"Hopefully he will recover soon enough," said Ozai. "In the meantime, you can even train with your guards, perhaps. You shouldn't be complacent about your skills, but I don't need to tell you that, of course…"

"I've always strived to follow your example, even when it comes to constant training," said Azula, smiling a little. "Very well, then, I won't get in your way and I'll put your mind at ease. Thank you for this conversation, Father."

"There's no need to thank me," he said, smiling and waving his hand. "Off you go, then."

Azula smiled too and did as she was told. She paced almost absent-mindedly towards the dragon refuge, where Xin Long awaited patiently. He bumped her shoulder with his head, offering her some sorely needed physical contact, and she surrounded his neck with an arm.

"Hi. I missed you too," she said, stroking his hair gently. Xin Long groaned happily. "Care to go for a flight? We could spend some time airborne together, if you'd like. I'm in no real hurry to go anywhere…"

Xin Long seemed puzzled by that, asking Azula why wouldn't she want to rush to see Sokka all of sudden, especially after she'd done it the previous night. Azula's chest stung with the reminder of her actions, and she sighed and looked away from her dragon's golden gaze.

"I shouldn't go see him right away. I'll… probably drop by at Mai's house today instead. My father would rather I spend the day with my friends," said Azula, with a dry smile. Xin Long groaned in confusion. Azula sighed. "I don't know how closely he'll watch my movements. I'm better off doing as he says, at least at first. I can drop by to check on Sokka later today."

Xin Long accepted his rider's decision, but he grew suspicious over whatever might have caused Ozai to act this way. Azula patted his neck, reassuring him as she climbed on the saddle.

"I don't know, he's clearly hiding something. But we should take off now, shouldn't we?" she said, rustling her dragon's mane a little. Xin Long puffed, shaking his mane in a proud gesture before darting out to the sky through one of the windows on the upper levels of the refuge.

They rose high, and only then did Azula dare speak to her dragon freely. She sighed, relaxing over his neck while frowning heavily.

"If he had any suspicions about me and Sokka, he wouldn't be acting so casually," she said. "He would have already punished me, already would have…"

She didn't finish the sentence, as her chest constrained by the mere reminder of what Ozai could do to Sokka if he knew the truth. She swallowed hard, shaking her head and clutching the saddle harder.

"He's too calm. He's trying to get me to relax, and that's not what he'd do if he knew… unless he's trying to set me up?" Azula said. "But I doubt it. Not when he's clearly as outraged over the White Lotus's schemes as I am. I'm sure he's up to something weird, he just doesn't want me involved. It can't be about Sokka and me, not for real…"

Xin Long added that, if that were the case, she could just as easily spend the day with him instead of visiting her friends. Azula shook her head.

"I don't want to lie to my father more than necessary. If he wants me out of the way, he'll probably watch me at first, to make sure I do as he said. And if he noticed I'm heading to Sokka's place when he's indisposed, well… that'd be the best way to make him suspect us, wouldn't it?"

Xin Long seemed to sigh, but he understood Azula's point. She stroked his mane reassuringly as he landed before Mai's doorstep.

"I'll call you again in the afternoon, I suppose," Azula said, as she climbed off his saddle. "Have a fun day chasing squirrel rats or wolf-bats, whatever you like best… but claws off the livestock, okay?"

Xin Long huffed, rolling his eyes. Azula smiled as he turned on his heels and left her before the door. She breathed deeply and stepped up to the doorway, knocking on the wood lightly.

Mai herself answered the door, and to Azula's surprise, her friend's eyes widened upon meeting hers. It wasn't like Mai at all to show that much emotion: it was especially strange for her to reach out her hand to touch Azula's shoulder.

"You're back. You're… you're okay," she said, frowning in concern. Azula gulped and nodded.

"Somehow, yeah," she said. "I take it you've heard stories about what happened?"

"Hideous stories. You wouldn't believe how bad," she said, shaking her head. "Goodness, Ty Lee has been hysterical… you haven't seen her yet, have you?"

"No, your house was closer, so I came here instead," said Azula, shrugging. Mai sighed.

"Well, I can set up a carriage, we can go see her. It's such a relief to see you in one piece," said Mai. "I mean, I knew there was no way anything too awful had happened, it's you after all, but…"

"Truth be told, it was bad enough as it was," said Azula, looking at her matter-of-factly. "And actually, yes, we should go to Ty Lee's place. I'd rather just tell the story once instead of repeating myself for the thousandth time when she asks about it…"

"Agreed," said Mai, breathing deeply and dropping her hand at last. Azula smiled weakly. "It's good to see you, truly. I don't think you'd ever worried us as much as you did this time."

"I don't think I ever gave you as much cause for it, truth be told," she said, as the two of them entered the house: Mai would take Yuudai with them, as she always did. "Even when I was stuck in a forest for a week, nobody heard of it until I was safe again. I suppose it's harder to keep rumors in check when it comes to madmen hunting us down…"

"'Us'?" Mai repeated, raising her eyebrows. "It wasn't… about you specifically?"

Azula sighed and shook her head. Mai's narrow eyes were wide again.

"I'll explain when we get to Ty Lee's," Azula said. Mai gulped and nodded.

Yuudai was curious upon seeing Azula again. He was blurting out random strings of words, some slightly coherent, others not so much, and he had learned how to stand up and walk a few paces by now. He spent the whole carriage trip rambling nonsense to his mother, who had no opportunities to talk to Azula because of him, but the two women didn't mind it so much. Questions would be best saved for once they reached their destination.

Haru answered the door at Ty Lee's house, and he gasped in relief as well upon seeing Azula. The Princess grimaced as she entered the house, wondering if the rumors were actually worse than what she had experienced, if that was possible. Did people assume she had died? Did they think Sokka had? She cringed upon thinking that the second thing had not been too far from the truth…

"Ty Lee!" Haru called, rushing through the house and glancing upstairs. "The Princess is here!"

"What?!" they heard Ty Lee exclaim right back. Azula raised an eyebrow and glanced at Haru questioningly.

"Were you two, by any chance…?" she asked. Haru blushed and shook his head.

"She's just a late sleeper, I went to wake her a while ago, but she said she wanted to sleep in a little longer," he said, shrugging. "But this should be enough to get her out of bed right away."

Almost on cue, Ty Lee showed up at the top of the stairs, her hair a mess, looking as though she had changed into her clothes in a matter of seconds, which she probably had. Her eyes, much like everyone else's, took in Azula's presence for a moment but, unlike everyone else, they were filled with tears in the blink of an eye.

"Azula!" she exclaimed, bolting through the stairs in an acrobatic way that only she could have pulled off. She managed to rush down without tripping, despite she was skipping over multiple steps at a time to reach her friend.

It wasn't every day that Azula accepted Ty Lee's forceful hugs, but she wasn't in the mood to push her off. She gritted her teeth and patted her friend's back, as Ty Lee clutched her in disbelief, tears running down her face.

"You're okay? You are?" she asked, before pulling away and looking at Azula. "Goodness, what on earth happened to you? We heard rumors, so many of them, but…"

"The fact that you're not just worried, but reluctant to believe in rumors, speaks very loudly about how bad they were," said Azula, with a weak smile.

"You were attacked in Yu Dao?" Mai asked. Azula shook her head.

"Not exactly. It's a little more complicated than that," she said. Ty Lee gulped and nodded.

"I'll… make us some tea," she whispered. She could tell this would be a long conversation.

Haru took to distracting Yuudai, something he was remarkably good at, as he juggled for the child with his earthbending skills. Yuudai kept laughing, trying to grab the glass balls Haru was bending, but Haru would always make sure they stayed out of his reach. Meanwhile, the three girls sat by the living room's table, with Azula staring out at the garden Sokka and Haru had always trained at. The last time they had been here came to mind… she breathed deeply, trying to keep her focus on the conversation they were supposed to hold instead of getting distracted by thoughts of him, as usual.

"The story of the attack in Yu Dao is real, but I wasn't there when it happened," Azula started. Mai and Ty Lee stared at her apprehensively. "We had left the city, hoping to aid Pohuai Stronghold, which was being threatened by a Fire Nation traitor, Jeong Jeong, also known as the Deserter. He was behind everything that happened, of course. He had set up the attack to the Stronghold to leave Yu Dao defenseless once reinforcements were sent to the military base. All of it so he could find… so he could find Sokka in the city, that is, if Sokka had stayed there in the first place."

"Sokka?" Ty Lee exclaimed, her eyes wide. Mai swallowed hard, setting down her cup. Azula's words from earlier took a different meaning now. "Why… why Sokka? What exactly…?"

"Huh. So you didn't hear of what happened to him?" Azula said. "I guess rumors travel a lot more clumsily than I gave them credit for…"

"What do you mean? Is he… is he okay?" Ty Lee asked.

"Not quite," Azula admitted, lowering her eyes. "The whole mess happened because Jeong Jeong is a White Lotus leader. He was after him."

"Oh, no. Oh, heavens no…" said Ty Lee, her eyes wide.

"What did he want? Revenge?" Mai asked. Azula shrugged.

"Something like that," said Azula. "On some level, yes. On another, he wanted to prove himself right, by proving to the rest of the White Lotus that Sokka was a fool that got corrupted by the Fire Nation's evil ways, and that he'd never influence me towards being a better leader than my father…"

"What? You mean… they wanted to use him?" Mai asked. Azula nodded.

"They saw him as a pawn in a game he had no idea he was playing. Turns out he has a lot more agency than they ever expected him to," said Azula. "So, since the Deserter couldn't wrap his head around the idea that someone might think the Fire Nation isn't completely rotten, he decided Sokka had to die for it."

"What?" Ty Lee exclaimed. "Please tell me he didn't…!"

"No, he didn't kill him," Azula muttered, closing her eyes. "But not for a lack of trying. I… I almost failed at saving him. If I'd wasted another moment, he could have…"

"Oh, hell… oh, Azula," said Ty Lee, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands. Mai breathed deeply and looked at Azula sternly.

"How is he? How bad was the damage?"

"He's recovering," Azula said, doing her best to remain fully composed, no matter how painful these explanations proved to be. "He was bed-ridden for a time, but he's too weak to move too much, even now. The wound was… well, they were a set of large cuts to his abdomen. It was done by a creature, a shirshu. Jeong Jeong used it so he wouldn't have to finish the job himself, pretty much…"

"Sokka is lucky that he chose to do that," said Mai. Azula frowned. "From what I know, the Deserter is one of the most powerful firebenders there's ever been. Sokka might not have survived at all if…"

"Fair," said Azula, shrugging and shaking her head. "But it was bad enough as it was either way. Jeong Jeong damn near got away with it."

"But… how? I don't understand any of this, weren't you guys in the Stronghold?" Ty Lee asked, grimacing. "How did he find you, how did he even have a chance to do this?"

Azula breathed deeply, and retold the rest of the details for her friends. By the time she was explaining the attack to their carriage, her chest was constrained with fear and anxiety once more, a sensation far too common and terribly familiar for her, at this point in time.

"After I was paralyzed by the beast, I managed to move even if just by crawling," Azula said. "I found him alone, after the creature struck him. He was bleeding, a lot. Too much. I wasted a lot of time panicking, not even thinking for a moment, fool I am, that… that I could have helped him with my fire."

"Wait, by… by cauterizing the wounds?" said Mai. "But cauterization isn't done through direct fire… you'd have needed to heat up metal, or…"

"Turns out gold fire has strange properties," said Azula. Both Mai and Ty Lee stared at her in surprise now. "I didn't think of it right away, but Sokka said he was cold, I conjured fire, when it became gold, a spark fell on his wound. It seemed to help somehow. And since I had no idea what else to do, I used the gold fire to cauterize the wounds directly. Not the healthiest idea, for sure, and I've left him covered in burns again… but he's alive. He made it, somehow."

"That's… that's such good news, but so scary too," said Ty Lee, sniffing and biting back tears. "And you say he's recovering? He'll be better soon, right?"

"I hope," said Azula, shrugging. "It'll be a while before he is, though. He has never taken this much damage, not even when the Blind Bandit pummeled him back in the day…"

"As long as he doesn't do anything crazy, he should be fine in due time," said Mai, sighing. "For now, though, I guess he'll be anemic. That sort of blood loss is hard to make up for."

"Indeed. And even though he's mostly back to eating the way he used to, it's not enough to make up for everything he lost," said Azula, shaking her head. "Anyways, what exactly were the rumors you heard? You were so worried…"

"The story was that they'd attacked Yu Dao and taken you," said Mai, frowning. Azula huffed. "Well, one of the stories, at any rate. There was another story that said you'd taken off to chase after them once they attacked…"

"Some people said you were captured, others said you were dead… it was awful," said Ty Lee, grimacing. "I'd never been so afraid for you before…"

"Well, I guess we were all afraid. For very different reasons," said Azula, sighing. "But I'm fine, as you can see. I'm just…"

"Shaken up," said Mai. "And you have every right to be. Anyone in your position would be."

"But he'll be fine. He's already recovering so… everything will be back to normal soon," Ty Lee said. Azula nodded.

"Not soon enough, I guess, but yes," she said. "And I'd be with him now, but…"

"But?" Mai asked.

"My father has very cleverly pointed out that I can't train with Sokka as he is right now," said Azula, with a sarcastic smile. "So he said I should likely spend my day doing other things, to distract myself from the very stressful matter of discovering what the White Lotus is up to, who they really are, and… well, anything about them."

"That spy you'd mentioned ages ago," said Mai. "You still haven't found them?"

"No. And what's worse, now I have two suspects," said Azula, her sarcastic smile widening as she shook her head and sighed. "It's a pain. We know we have at least one White Lotus agent under our very noses, and who knows how many more members are infiltrating this city, probably masquerading as Honorary Fire Nation citizens. It's not that farfetched that I'd… that I'd worry about what any of them might dare do to Sokka if they find out he's back and badly wounded, right?"

"No, not at all," said Ty Lee, swallowing hard.

"You should assign one of your guards to keep watch over him," Mai suggested. "I know you'd rather do it yourself, but if your father will be keeping a closer eye on you nowadays, you'll have to find another way to protect him."

Azula sighed, but nodded. It was a good plan, the best strategy so far. She'd considered it earlier, although it wasn't until this morning that she had been blasted by her father's reality blow. There was no other choice at this point if she wanted to be sure Sokka would be safe.

"Indeed, I'll have to do that," she whispered. "He's become friends with some of my guards after all. I'm sure some might be fine with checking on him frequently…"

"I'm so sorry all this happened, Azula," said Ty Lee, swallowing hard and looking at her remorsefully. "If you need anything from us, anything at all…"

"Well, I may have to drop by to bother you more often than usual, if just to soothe my father's concerns," said Azula. "But other than that, I don't know what else you could do."

Ty Lee and Mai eyed their friend worriedly. Never before had they seen her as defeated, as miserable, as she was right now. Her concern for Sokka was palpable, and no doubt she was resisting the reckless urges to rush to see him right away. But she couldn't do it, not yet: she had to wait until later, and only visit him briefly, too, so her father's suspicions would be kept at bay. Maybe she would sneak in at night again, if the coast seemed clear… but for now, she couldn't be so reckless in broad daylight.

"How about you train with us, for a change?" said Ty Lee, smiling a little and hoping her idea wouldn't backfire. Azula's brow furrowed a little. "I know it's been forever since we last did, but maybe… maybe that could help you?"

Azula didn't seem to be convinced, not at all… so Ty Lee lowered her head. But to her surprise, the Princess took her teacup and drained it quickly.

"Should help pass the time, at least," she whispered, as a response. Both Mai and Ty Lee were startled after her unexpected answer. "But I get to bend now. You're not getting away with more of those 'no bending' rules as you used to."

"Well, you're way too strong with your bending!" Ty Lee exclaimed. Mai smiled.

"And she's way too strong without it, too. Pick your poison," she told Ty Lee.

To Azula's surprise, Mai's comment actually made her smile. She set down her cup, pushed herself to her feet and her two friends followed; despite her initial reservations, this just might turn out to be a good idea.

Azula couldn't remember the last time the three of them sparred together this way. She did remember the first times, though: they were but children back when Ty Lee learned basics of chi-blocking in a self-defense class, and after successfully blocking Azula's right arm, the Princess, frightened and outraged, responded with an onslaught of firebending with her other limbs. Naturally, the chi-blocking rookie had fled from her friend's attacks, screaming in panic. Mai had been caught in the crossfire too, and in the end Ursa had scolded her limp-armed daughter while her friends made sure their clothes hadn't been charred by the flames.

Mai had developed a penchant for knives when she was a teenager. She frequently conjured them to threaten Azula away from her if she noticed the Princess was mischievously scheming to drag her into another all-out-fight between the three of them. Ty Lee's chi-blocking had improved too in time, and she had lost some of the fear she used to have for Azula's abilities, though not completely. So, even though Mai always complained, the three girls found themselves sparring quite frequently ever since Azula's father had become Fire Lord. It had pleased Ozai back then that Azula would have allies she could count on to continue exploring her potential as a fighter.

Time had changed many things, and as Azula followed her own path, hoping to become a powerful leader, honing her skills through constant, frequent training, her friends had moved on to other pursuits. Mai's relationship with Ruon Jian, along with their growing family, took up most her time, while Ty Lee had been very busy with her circus at first, and then she had tried to lead a low profile life until the Gladiator Business caught her interest. Only after Azula had needed their help with training Sokka had the two girls tested their fighting aptitudes again, and even then, everyone's focus was always on Sokka. Their time of sparring, thus, had seemed a thing of the past until it was revived just now.

Knives flew through the air, bursts of fire rejected them, and efficient stabs to chi-points abounded that afternoon. Ty Lee mostly snuck away from her friends, and Azula and Mai tried their best not to turn their backs on her, but she was rather quick and nimble even after so many years. Mai's agility, surprisingly, had barely changed even after she had spent so long focusing mostly on being a mother: she still could cast knives with expertise, managing to pin Azula to a tree, and cutting Ty Lee's shirt at one point, at which she complained about having to buy a new one.

But much as it had been in the past, Azula remained the more physically able of the three. Even after a bout where she had promised not to firebend, and she had abided by that promise indeed, she had proven she could hold her own just fine against them, even managing to defeat Ty Lee by using one of Mai's knives to stick the girl's braid to one of the walls of her house.

Training and working out always served as a good emotional outlet for Azula, and she was pleased to find it still worked, even now. Although she didn't dare put her gratefulness into words as earnestly as she should have, she was grateful for what Mai and Ty Lee had done for her that day.

"We can do this again whenever you like! Though, don't attack my hair again, that wasn't nice," Ty Lee pouted after the sparring was done, as Haru brushed her locks gently by the house's veranda.

Azula smiled and shrugged as innocently as she could. Mai only smirked as she held her

napping son in her arms.

"If you give me an opening, I'm not about to waste it. It's how it always has been," the Princess responded.

"Yeah, like when you pushed me for cartwheeling better than you?"

"Indeed. How much better were you if a simple push would knock you down so easily?" Azula said, smirking with malice. Mai actually snorted, looking at her friend in disbelief. Ty Lee huffed and shook her head, but she smiled soon enough.

"Your competitiveness is impossible, Azula, really…" she said, with a defeated sigh.

Still, she couldn't be all that mad, as Mai pointed out later: Azula took off on her dragon around mid-afternoon, leaving her two friends behind to ponder the events of the day.

"It's a surprise she could fight so well when burdened with that sort of grief," said Mai. Ty Lee nodded.

"It's why I don't mind if she's being mean. At least, not right now," she said, smiling a little. "She's been through a lot since we last saw her. I'd… I'd never seen her so sad before."

"Neither had I," Mai whispered. "Let's hope this is the saddest we'll ever see her."

Ty Lee nodded. There was little they could do at this point other than hope and wish that their friend's future would have no more anguish of this manner, ever again.

---

Her heart hadn't been troubled for as long as she had been distracted by that sparring session. It seemed her father had been right after all, and she needed to relax and unwind…

but it wasn't long before the training session ended that she'd had the urge, again, to see Sokka and ascertain he was fine. She had taken her leave, still as calmly as possible, but as she rode Xin Long on her way to his house, images of what had happened in the Earth Kingdom flashed in her mind again, worsening at every moment. She gritted her teeth, breathing heavily, ushering Xin Long to fly faster, jumping off his saddle even before he was done landing on Sokka's backyard.

She rushed through the living room, climbed the stairs and hasted past Song's room. His door was there, and she opened it almost brusquely…

And there he was, lying face-up on the bed, sleeping soundly. His bare chest, with the bandages on his lower torso, was in plain sight. She could see it rise and fall with each intake and release of breath: as ever, she sighed in relief and entered the room, regardless of his unconsciousness, the dark grip of those nightmarish images fading from her mind once more.

She sat beside him, caressing his hair gently and brushing it away from his face. He didn't wake up at first, so she continued to do it, but he suddenly jolted up, blinking blankly and staring at her with unfocused eyes.

"A… Azula?" he whispered

"Hey," she said, cupping his face. "Sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry. Though why… why didn't you come earlier?" Sokka asked, frowning and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You usually spend the day here, but since you hadn't, I figured you weren't coming at all…"

"When I can, yes," said Azula. "But as it happens, my father… he seemed to think I had no business visiting you as I usually do. He thinks I use you for training, after all, so if I was to keep him off our trail I couldn't drop by right away."

"Oh. That makes sense," said Sokka, with a weak smile. "And here I thought you were bored of me. But I suppose that's impossible, huh? I am too much fun for you…"

"Huh. I see you've woken full of confidence." said Azula, smiling. "Good to know."

Sokka smiled mischievously, though his eyes were gentle. The Princess's hand found his, linking their fingers.

"It's always great to wake up to see your face, though," he said, breathing deeply as he pushed himself up. Azula jumped.

"No need to move, Sokka, you should just…" she started. Sokka smiled and shook his head.

"I wasn't all that comfortable. Don't worry, though, I'm not so weak anymore. I can sit up without much trouble," he said, squeezing her fingers. "How have you been? Had a good day?"

"I guess. It could have been far worse," Azula admitted, shrugging. "I actually went training with Mai and Ty Lee for the first time in ages. It was my father's idea, he thought I ought to visit them, though… since I didn't want him keeping an eye on what I did, I figured I'd spend most the day with them."

"Huh, I hope you had fun, then," said Sokka, smiling and lifting her hand to kiss her fingers. Azula sighed and moved closer to him. "Though I'll admit, this business with your dad isn't reassuring… why is he keeping such close tabs on what you do, all of sudden?"

"I don't know for sure," Azula admitted. "From the looks of it, he just doesn't want me worrying about the White Lotus anymore. He even brought up my birthday feast as a distraction…"

"Woah! It's… it's true. Your birthday is coming," Sokka said, grimacing. Azula smiled.

"That's not really something to worry about, is it?" she said, caressing his hair. "And if you so much as dare consider building something as insane as Xin Long's armor this time around, I'll strap you down to this bed myself to make sure you can't."

"Oh, we're tying each other up now? Sounds like fun," he said, smiling furtively. "Do I get to tie you up too?"

"Absolutely not," said Azula smiling. Sokka pouted.

"So stingy," he said, shaking his head before sighing. "So, he just wants you distracted. But he thinks I'm no good as a distraction…?"

"I guess?" Azula said. "He thinks all we do is train, and if we're to keep him thinking that…"

"Then you probably can't come to see me as often as you'd like," said Sokka, frowning. "Should you really be here right now, for starters?"

"I… I guess not. But I won't stay here long," she said. "As far as he knows, I'm only checking on you, right? To make sure you got home safely…"

"Right. He'd never know you snuck in here yesterday at night anyways," said Sokka, with a crooked grin. Azula nodded.

"Doing that too often may represent a risk, but… maybe it's the only way we'll spend time together at all at this point. So, I guess I can go now, but tonight…"

"Wait… what?" said Sokka, frowning a little. "Azula…"

"What is it?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow at his troubled expression.

"I certainly enjoy the company, how wouldn't I? But… didn't you just say it's risky to do this often?" he asked. "What if you're needed, for whatever reason, and they don't find you in your room? What if a servant goes inside, too… and they notice you're not there?"

"I… I guess it's not impossible. Still, I have to say, that sort of thing seldom happens…" said Azula. Sokka gulped.

"I'd say you can sneak around once in a while, but doing it every night would be…"

"So, you… you think I shouldn't come see you?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "You think I should just abide by my father's wishes, leave you be until you've healed fully…?"

"It's not about what I want or don't want," Sokka muttered. "But if it were… I just want you safe, and out of trouble. You've already risked a lot, and I don't want you to risk more if just…"

"You're the one who always takes the worst risks," Azula replied, shaking her head. "You just… I get it, alright? I do. I know I shouldn't do this. I've been able to withstand months without seeing you before, why not this time? But…"

Sokka swallowed hard, watching her tense up. Her eyes avoided his.

"Azula…"

"I'm a mess, yes. I… I understand," she said, gritting her teeth. "I'm endangering us both with my recklessness, and I… I shouldn't have. You're right. You're right. I need to get a hold of myself, and…"

"No, no, no! Wait a moment!" Sokka said, clasping her wrist and making sure she wouldn't leave, especially so she wouldn't leave as distraught as she was. Even now, Azula still avoided meeting his eyes. "That's not what I mean. Azula, you're…"

"I'm fine. I will be, I'm fine, I just need…"

"You need to talk to me about what's troubling you," Sokka finally blurted out, frowning. "I… I know you're not alright. I know what alright is for you, and this isn't it. It hasn't been since…"

"I'm sorry, okay? I wish I wasn't acting as I am, I really do," Azula said, as good as snarling now. "If I could stop it, I swear to you I would in a heartbeat, but…"

"But?" Sokka said. Azula swallowed and shook her head.

"This is stupid. It's ridiculous. Why the blazes would I burden you with my pathetic problems when you're…?"

"When I'm what?" Sokka asked, looking at her sternly. Azula still didn't dare look at him. "When I'm the one who almost got killed, is it?"

Azula swallowed hard again. He could feel her trying to inch away, to avoid this conversation, but he wouldn't let her. He breathed deeply.

"We do need to talk about this, Azula. Whenever you're ready, yes, but… we need to," he said. "I'm not saying you're forbidden from coming at night anymore, and I don't… I don't like being away from you anymore than you do. Truth is, I want to help you…"

"I should be the one helping you, not the other way around," Azula snapped, huffing.

"Maybe if I help you, you'll be helping me by letting me help you?" Sokka said, with a weak smile. Azula frowned. "No? Really?"

"That's… strange," she said, looking at him at last. His blue eyes were as beautiful, as inviting as ever. "But I just… I don't think it makes sense. I don't think I should…"

"Look, whatever you need to do, I'm here for you," Sokka said. "If it turns out that… that you can't sleep unless I'm with you, then drop by and I'll be here waiting happily. But, uh, lock up your room properly so nobody can go inside and find you're not there, eh?"

"Heh. I guess that's one way to solve that problem," said Azula, shrugging.

"Maybe… do that tonight," Sokka said. Azula stiffened. "If you don't want to talk things over right now, because you should run back to appease your dad, then we can talk tonight instead. And once we do, we can decide on a course of action from now on. We'll find a way to deal with all these obstacles, Azula. We always do."

"I guess," she whispered, lowering her eyes again. "Are you sure I should come, though? You had a point, earlier…"

"Locking all accesses to your room should be fine for one night," said Sokka, with a gentle smile. "If it's not, you can come up with a false story, maybe? Tell them you went on a midnight trip with Xin Long and it dragged on a little longer than intended? I don't know…"

"Hopefully I'll think of something more believable than that," Azula said, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Sokka pouted.

"It's something, though," he mumbled. She smiled and looked at him with uncertainty.

"So, we're… going to talk things through?" she asked. Sokka nodded.

"It's only right, isn't it?" he whispered. "It's what we keep saying we need to do in these sorts of situations, too. And I get it if you're not comfortable talking about it yet, but… I'd hope you know that I'm not going to be bothered by anything you share with me. Else I would have freaked out about other things you've told me, right?"

"Heh. Maybe I can still scare you off," Azula said, with a slightly defiant smile.

Sokka smiled back, leaning closer to her and kissing her lips softly. Azula sighed, kissing him back gratefully. He was right, of course. He could be trusted. She could tell him anything, she always did… so she could talk about this. Even though it would sound ridiculous, no doubt, to tell him about the image that plagued her mind constantly when he had lived through that nightmare himself… but she would do it. She would do it that night. Voicing it might be what she needed to convince herself of how foolish she was being…

"Seriously, Princess…?" he said, cupping her face. "I don't think anything you do or say will ever make me leave your side. And yes, that's probably a bad idea, all things considered, but it's still true!"

"Is this unconditional love, then?" Azula asked, with a weak smile. "Doesn't matter what I dare say or do…?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you can upset me, and I certainly won't like it if you do some things just to piss me off," said Sokka, raising his eyebrows. "But alas, what's done is done. My heart has been yours for a very long time now, Azula. No arguments or disagreements will change that."

"I sure hope so," she said, sighing and hugging him gently.

He smiled and buried his face in her neck. Her fingers played with his hair, her lips kissing his ear softly as she stayed close to him. Still, every second spent embracing Sokka was one more second at risk of being caught doing what she wasn't supposed to: her father, hopefully, hadn't noticed she was here, but if she didn't want him to find out, she should leave soon.

"Alright… I should go. I really should," Azula whispered, pulling away gently. Sokka sighed, but he smiled reassuringly.

"I'll wait for you tonight, then," he said. She nodded.

"Rest more for now, alright? I don't want you losing sleep, especially when you need your rest as much as you do," she said, cupping his face. Sokka shrugged.

"I'll do what I can. Not so hard to get me to sleep, now, is it?" he said, chuckling and dropping on the mattress. Azula smiled.

"Not usually, no. Just relax," she said, standing up and moving to the door again. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I do hope so," said Sokka, smiling still. "See you in a bit, Azula."

She smiled over her shoulder and nodded before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. She sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips as she headed downstairs. Would this be a good idea at all? She was getting far too used to talking to Sokka about everything that burdened her, she realized. It wasn't a bad thing, but it also wasn't good to depend on him to this degree. He loved her, no doubt… but her attachment to him was what triggered the onslaught of nightmares and traumatic images ever-present in her mind right now. Loving someone seemed to be both a blessing and a curse, in very different ways.

As she pondered those thoughts, she heard two voices in the kitchen. She frowned, wondering who might be keeping Song company today…

A glance inside the room answered the question right away. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped ever so slightly as she watched Rui Shi smiling and holding Song's hand as she talked to him animatedly…

As the trained soldier he was, though, Rui Shi sensed they were being watched and he froze cold when he realized Azula was there. At first, he paled, but soon enough he was blushing instead.

"P-Prin-…" he stuttered. Song blinked and raised her gaze: her face reddened just as much as Rui Shi's did as a slow smile spread over Azula's face.

"Huh. Well, I suppose you resolved your problem for the better, didn't you?" she said. Rui Shi swallowed hard.

"I-I know you may worry that I will neglect my duties, Princess, but I promise…!"

"Actually, I'm sure you won't. You have a new task that I'm sure you'll be happy to fulfill," she said, looking at him somewhat sternly. Rui Shi stiffened.

"Yes?"

"My father has strongly implied that I have no cause to visit my gladiator while he's recovering from his wounds," she said. "Defying him in this matter… it's certainly ill-advised, especially when I stand to lose a lot from doing as much. But I still need someone to keep an eye on Sokka, to make sure he's recovering properly… and since you have a personal reason to stop by at his house, too, I'm sure you won't mind taking up this mission, or would you?"

Rui Shi blinked blankly. Azula stared at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I-I… yes. I think I can do this, yes," he said, nodding. "Um, but then, you're… you don't mind this?"

Song as well looked at Azula, somewhat nervously. The Princess actually smiled skeptically.

"After everything Sokka and I have put you both through, do you really think I'd be that much of a hypocrite?" she said. "Carry on, have your fun. You deserve it."

She waved in a gesture of farewell and walked off to the backyard, leaving the blushing new couple to stare after her. Song smiled, though, and she squeezed Rui Shi's fingers softly.

"Well… we have her approval, right? You did worry about that, but there you go!" she said, beaming. Rui Shi chuckled and nodded, watching as Azula climbed on her dragon's saddle and took off.

"I guess she has a point. They did torment you a lot, didn't they?" he asked, looking at Song. She shook her head.

"I didn't really give them the chance to," she said, with a shrug. "As soon as she arrived, I'd run out of the house to avoid, uh, overhearing anything I didn't want to."

"Still much worse than anything they did to me," said Rui Shi, smiling and pressing his forehead to hers. "You really are too kind, Song."

"Am I?" she asked, laughing and lunging to kiss him softly.

Their tender moment was interrupted, though, by an unexpected sound. Footsteps rushing down the stairs.

"Uh-oh," said Song. Rui Shi frowned, letting go of her hand and moving to the kitchen's entrance just as Sokka showed up at the foot of the stairs at the living room, his eyes wide.

"Her birthday," he said, looking at the guard. Rui Shi froze.

"Yes? It's… in a few weeks?" he said.

"I know! That's why I…! I need to do something…!"

"Sokka, you're in no shape for this nonsense," said Rui Shi. Sokka huffed and shook his head.

"Not true!" he declared. "I'm not building something huge this time, I promise I'll keep it small. But I do have something in mind, something I really want to do for her and… and I need your help, again! How surprising, huh?"

"What now? Do you want to build an armor for her this time?" Song asked, crossing her arms over her chest and grimacing. Sokka shook his head.

"She already has enough armors, no way I'd make a better one than those," he said. "No, what I want is… oh, you just have to buy a few things for me, that's all I need. After that's done, I'll take care of the rest. I promise it won't be anything too tiring for me."

Song and Rui Shi looked at each other in confusion before looking back at Sokka. He gulped.

"Please?"

"Do we really have to?" Rui Shi asked. Sokka bit his lip.

"You can go to the market tomorrow, if you don't want to go today," he said. "But just… I won't ask for anything else. I just need…"

"Okay, okay," said Song sighing and shrugging. "We need to restock on food before dinner, after all. It won't hurt to buy what you need."

Sokka's anxious grimace morphed into an ecstatic smile. Song smiled too, while Rui Shi raised an eyebrow.

"And what exactly is it you need us to buy?"

Sokka rubbed his hands together, his smile changing into a smirk. If he had surprised her last year, he was aiming for blowing her mind this time around…

---

There was no sign of Ozai in the Palace when Azula arrived. She frowned, wondering if she could have spent more time at Sokka's place instead of rushing home as she had: maybe Ozai wasn't keeping watch on her at all. Maybe what she did with her time didn't worry him as much as she had thought it did…

She didn't dare drop her guard completely, though. She'd have to find something else to occupy herself with for at least another week or two, and visit Sokka infrequently, if at all. She had to deal with her birthday celebration, too, so she might as well supervise the remaining preparations for it, if that would give her father some peace of mind…

She pondered all this as she walked to her room, not expecting to find someone standing next to the door. Her eyes widened, taking in the small, unusually defeated shape of the Blind Bandit.

"Toph?" she called. The earthbender raised her head quickly.

"I heard you were home. I… thought we could talk?" she said. Azula shrugged and nodded, stepping towards the red door.

"We can, of course. It's odd to hear you asking so nervously," she said, opening the door and letting Toph inside.

"You really think it is?" Toph said, grimacing in confusion as the princess closed the door behind them. "You don't think that… well, that whatever you went through in Yu Dao was my fault?"

"Uh… no, I didn't quite think that," said Azula, frowning. Toph swallowed hard.

"I told you that Iroh was snooping around, thinking my warning would help keep you guys safe, but instead…"

Azula closed her eyes: Toph's guilt made more sense than she had thought, initially. Had Iroh used her to convince Azula to leave? Had he predicted the situation, sent word to his White Lotus ally, Jeong Jeong…?

It wasn't impossible, no doubt, but it was improbable. Even Iroh couldn't be that much of a puppeteering mastermind.

"As much as I'm touched to see you're as affected by our misfortunes as you are, I think you're going too far," said Azula. "Too many people made mistakes, not just you. There are many others to pin the blame on, and each of us think we're the real reason it happened, so…"

"What, you blame yourself too?" Toph asked, stunned. Azula shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I?" she said, stepping towards her dresser. "My decisions landed us in Jeong Jeong's trap eventually, even if we avoided said trap for a fairly long time. If I'd been more careful, maybe things could have ended differently, too."

"I guess," said Toph, sighing.

"So don't beat yourself up over it, unless… unless you did it consciously?" Azula said, smirking and turning to look at Toph. "Did Iroh tell you to convince us of leaving…?"

"Of course not! If he had, I wouldn't have done it!" Toph exclaimed. Azula chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's not that I trust you, Bandit… it's that I trust your inability and unwillingness to lie," she said. "If you were being manipulated by Iroh at all, you wouldn't have known it. I know you were trying to help us."

"I did a pretty damn shitty job at that, though," she said, huffing and shaking her head. "I'll try not to cause more trouble, I promise. Next time, I'll think things through…"

"I would hope you do, but truly, the risk of being discovered by my uncle is still…" said Azula, breathing deeply and shaking her head. "Never mind. Anyways, did anything change since we were here? Has he said or done anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not really. Still with his letters," said Toph. "But he implied Zuko's crew is coming home soon. I think he's planning to question them when they do."

"I see," said Azula. "So, he's still not making any meaningful moves."

"Literally, nothing," said Toph, shaking her head.

Iroh's patience was suspicious. If only she hadn't thought the Head Sage was another fair candidate of being the spy for the White Lotus, the way Iroh had behaved would have set off every possible red flag by now: he had a motive. All he cared about at this point in his life was his nephew: Azula had ripped him from his side, or at least, that was what Iroh thought. With Zuko potentially lost forever, why wouldn't Iroh want Azula to lose her means to continue proving herself to the world?

No doubt Iroh knew Sokka was what mattered most to Azula, but as long as he didn't suspect of the affair between them, he'd think Sokka mattered only because he was her means of advancement. Iroh thought her too ambitious and lustful for power and glory: he didn't have to know about their relationship to figure out how to destroy Azula, just as Iroh had been destroyed when Zuko left.

Therefore, it wasn't unthinkable: Iroh could have been behind Jeong Jeong's attack, somehow. Azula sighed as she felt a headache coming up. Toph rested against one of the posts of Azula's bed, her arms crossed.

"How is he, though?" the earthbender asked. "And how are you? Did anything… well, really bad happen?"

"Nobody's dead," Azula said, bluntly. "So naturally, it could have been worse. Still, he's not in the best shape, so if you want to stop by his house to apologize, feel free to do it but don't expect him to be too hospitable, I guess."

"I won't mind. Still, don't bother offering me a ride on your dragon so I can apologize, I'll go on foot. I'd rather not fly if I can help it," said Toph, smiling. Azula scoffed.

"Who said anything about giving you a ride?" she said. "Besides, I… probably won't be visiting him often anyways. So, if you do go, send my regards to him."

"Your regards, all your love and care and whatnot," Toph said. Azula smirked.

"Here I thought you weren't being yourself. Made sense that you'd go back to the mockery in no time," she said. "At any rate, stop worrying and blaming yourself for what happened. Many others are far guiltier than you, starting with Jeong Jeong himself. Don't beat yourself up over it anymore."

"Heh. I won't if you say so, then," said Toph, with a weak smile. "Thanks for not holding anything against me. I hope the next time I try to help you is a lot less chaotic than this one."

"You and me both, Bandit," said Azula. Toph smiled and nodded towards her.

"Well then, I'll be off. I'll visit your Dog once in a while, maybe let you know if he's feeling any better…"

"That'll be very appreciated. Have a good night," said Azula.

Toph smiled again, though the unease in her stance betrayed she still felt conflicted about everything. She wasn't the only one who did, though. Azula wasn't about to stop feeling guilty either, regardless of what anyone else might say.

Azula dined alone after Toph left, while trying to ease her mind as the servants hurried around her, carrying food and trays and fixing her room to the best of their ability. She only bathed after eating, and then clad herself in her sleeping gown to get some rest. At least, that was what she pretended to do.

She lay awake in bed for around an hour and a half. By then, she got up and locked the door from the inside before repeating her actions from the previous day. She wasn't led by frantic despair this time, though. She was calmer today for some reason, but she knew the change wouldn't be permanent. Her mind remained ever in disarray: she had no way of predicting when her subconscious would choose to torment her again.

She would have to return before dawn, and she hoped not to do it so clumsily this time around. She breathed deeply before opening the secret trapdoor, and she plunged into the darkness with a quick jump.

Azula didn't rush through the corridors this time. She was grateful for the lack of vigilance in the underground tunnels, but it worried her, too. Anyone with ill-intentions and firebending ability could easily access them and wreak havoc through the Capital, so long as they knew how to traverse the tunnels… She grimaced, hoping her suspicions would be wrong. Hoping that the White Lotus wouldn't try to attack again through the underground tunnels…

It took her around twenty minutes to reach his trapdoor. She opened it carefully and walked to his house quietly in the night. There was no one nearby. It was late, and the distant street was as lonely as ever.

She breathed deeply after she was safely inside the house, and she climbed to the second floor right away. The stairs' floorboards creaked under her weight, but she ignored the sounds and approached Sokka's room, hesitating slightly. While she had been eager to see him, what was she going to say? How would she explain herself reasonably, without sounding as foolish as she knew she would…?

Her doubts were pointless by now: she'd figure it out once she was inside, with him. She shook her head and opened the door, hoping this would end well. As of late, these conversations with Sokka usually did.

Sokka laid in bed, his eyes open, his limbs splayed somewhat lazily over the mattress. A lone candle burned on his shelf, providing the room with a hazy glow. Azula's eyes found his right away, and she relaxed when he smiled warmly at her.

"Well, well. What's a beautiful Princess like you doing in a place like this?" he asked, teasingly. She shook her head and closed the door behind her before walking to his bedside.

"Who knows. Maybe she has lost her way," she replied, enigmatically. "Will you send her home safely?"

"I guess I will, eventually. First, I should make sure the Princess isn't all that disoriented after getting lost, though," he said. Azula sat on the bed, taking Sokka's hand in hers.

"How do you plan on doing that?" she asked. "Any ideas?"

"Well… lying down might help," he said, smiling and patting the space next to him. "There's plenty of room."

Azula smiled and complied, settling against his body, to his left. Her hand went to his heart by instinct, although she hesitated when her fingertips brushed his chest. Sokka simply kissed her brow softly, easing her into touching him in full.

"How are you feeling by now?" Azula asked, her hand moving towards the border of Sokka's bandages instead. He hummed and shrugged.

"Song helped change the bandages after dinner. The balm is pretty helpful, I'll admit," he said. Azula sighed. "Now, really, Azula. You burned me much worse the first time you did it. This is easy-peasy in comparison."

"Oh, really?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Sokka smiled.

"Yep. Seriously, though, I'm feeling better," he said. "Her special diet is truly helping. Though…"

"What?" she whispered. Sokka bit his lip and looked at her furtively.

"I know I made promises yesterday, but I… hell, I have to say this, even if… if you'll think so poorly of me once you find out," he said, sighing. "You'll be so betrayed, horrified by my crime…"

"What?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow as she recognized his overdramatic tone. "You committed a crime regarding her special diet? What did you do, fry your messenger hawk?"

"What?! No! I'd never do that! Poor Hawky!" Sokka pouted. Azula laughed and smiled at him.

"Well then, out with it. What is this mysterious, terrifying betrayal of yours?" she asked, commanding him to be honest through her teasing leer. Sokka bit his lip and sighed.

"Well, according to Song, one of the best foods for regaining my strength happens to be… oh, goodness, you'll never forgive me," he said, shaking his head. Azula snorted.

"Honestly, Sokka, what could be so bad that you'd think I…?" she started, but an idea came to her mind now. Her eyes widened, realization dawning on her face. "Oh, no. You did not…"

"Aaah, I knew you'd be horrified!" Sokka cried out, covering his face with his hands as Azula sat up.

"Goodness, you ate komodo rhino?! Really?!" she asked, her attempt at indignation shifting into laughter soon enough as Sokka groaned in despair.

"And it tasted good! That's the worst part! I'm ashamed…!" he exclaimed, as Azula's laughter brought her to lie down beside him again, her body shivering with the force of her laughs.

"Oh, I knew this would happen. You're such a carnivore that it couldn't be that long before you ate it again…" she finally said, still smiling. "Though I do suppose it must have been a lot better now that it was cooked by someone who knew what she was doing."

"I think that's the trick, really," said Sokka. "I wasn't kidding at all back when I told you I couldn't cook to save anyone's life."

"A lie, since you saved ours," said Azula, with a weak smile. "Though I admit I'm not sure how, since you really are a terrible cook. It's a true wonder we survived that mess of a forest."

"We've really been through a lot, huh?" Sokka whispered. "And after all those learned lessons… I still ended up having komodo rhino liver for dinner again. Though hey, the way Song makes it is actually such an improvement…!"

"Sokka, you may have gotten over the gag reflex upon the mere thought of komodo rhino meat, but I haven't," said Azula, with a sarcastic grin. "Please don't talk about that liver…"

"Hey, it wasn't you who ate it…"

"I watched you eat it. Believe me, it was disturbing."

Sokka snorted and laughed. Azula sighed and shook her head, embracing his chest.

"I haven't touched any rhino meat ever since. I seriously doubt I'll do it again," said Azula. Sokka smiled and shrugged.

"Hey, if you don't have to, there's nothing wrong with that," he said. "But, if you ever need to eat it, ask Song to cook it."

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind," said Azula, kissing his shoulder softly.

Sokka's arm wrapped around her shoulders, enabling him to caress her hair while she relaxed against him. They were quiet for a short time, until Azula broke the silence with a seemingly simple question:

"Have you had any nightmares?"

Sokka closed his eyes. The previous conversation had been a nice ice-breaker, but this was the real reason she was here. The time for amusing anecdotes was over.

"I've had some from time to time, but they've increased recently," he admitted. Azula swallowed hard. "How about you? Have you had any?"

"Any, many…" Azula whispered, pressing her face to his shoulder. "Though it's not just nightmares. I… I guess there's something wrong with me, after all. It doesn't matter what I do, that image is always chasing me. Asleep, awake, it happens either way…"

Sokka gritted his teeth, his caresses of her hair growing gentler despite his tension. His fingertips massaged her scalp, hoping to soothe her a little this way.

"What image, exactly?" he whispered, even though he already could guess the answer. Azula sighed.

"Just… the clearing. You, lying there… I can't get rid of it," she said, closing her eyes. "The only way to keep the thoughts at bay, and even then, it doesn't always shut them out, is being near you. By making sure you're…"

"Making sure I'm still alive and kicking. I get it," said Sokka, biting his lip. Azula sighed again.

"I know I shouldn't be like this; I'm being reckless and causing trouble, and…"

"Now, now. None of that," said Sokka. "I know what all that really means: you think that, since you weren't the one who got her stomach slashed open by Nyla, you aren't allowed to suffer about it, and you should just busy yourself with taking care of me. Right?"

"Something like that, yes," said Azula, with a grimace. "And as predictable as I am, I suppose you'll say I shouldn't feel that way at all…"

"Well, if you already know it, there's not much point in me saying it," said Sokka, with a weak smile. "But… I do want you to know that, if the situation were reversed, I wouldn't be handling it much better than you are."

Azula frowned and looked at him. His eyes were lost in the distance now, staring into space, perhaps imagining the situation that he'd just mentioned. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply again before speaking.

"At this point, though… I think all we can do is accept that it happened the way it did. It happened, and damn, did it suck, but it's over now, Azula. I don't think this is the absolute solution for your problem, but you probably should stop thinking of what could have been, what should have been, or how much worse it might have been…"

"I can't really help it, though," said Azula. "I made mistakes, so many of them, and…"

"And they nearly cost my life? But they didn't," said Sokka, pressing his forehead to hers. "We won't let things come to this again, Azula. I know it's hard to make promises like this, especially since we're in this relationship, but…"

"It didn't happen because of our relationship. Not directly, anyhow," said Azula, looking at him almost remorsefully. "But it was a consequence of your actions from over a year ago. Actions you took because…"

"Because I chose you instead of them," said Sokka, swallowing hard. "But it's still not because of our relationship. As far as they're concerned, I did it because I felt like it, not because I love you or because of how many times we've tumbled under the sheets…"

"I do hope so," said Azula, grimacing. "If they suspected we're together, and they reported that to their spy…"

"Oh. Uh-oh," said Sokka, his eyes wide. "That would be chaotic, but… I don't think I said anything too compromising."

Azula smiled, her hand moving slowly over his chest to stroke his stubble. Sokka bit his lip.

"Anyways, I just want you to know I understand," he said. "I wouldn't be much better than you right now, if you'd been their target instead or something. Your father would have to drag me away from your side with around seven guards if he really wanted to keep us apart…"

"It's almost sweet to hear that," said Azula, smiling more warmly now. Sokka gave her a full grin. "Well… thank you for understanding. You always do, after all. But I just wish that… that I could find a solution for this. A way to stop my mind's torment for good."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that easily," said Sokka, kissing her brow. "Back when… well, when we first met, I had nightmares too. Lots of them on the ship. They only stopped when reality became more horrifying than my dreams. Or maybe they didn't stop at all, but dreaming of you and of taking revenge turned into a welcome thing instead…"

"Considering I caused you that much grief, I think that's a reasonable guess," said Azula. Sokka shrugged.

"Your face was still the most beautiful one I'd seen, regardless of how angry I was. It was nicer than I'd ever admit, recreating it in my mind, instead of watching the way gladiators were forced to kill each other…"

"Huh. I'm surprised to hear that," Azula whispered. Sokka smiled skeptically.

"Surprised, really? Haven't I told you how beautiful you are enough times yet? I mean, I guess I really haven't, but still…"

"I mean, that I'd provide any form of comfort or relief for you back then. Even if just because you wanted to kill me," she said. "But I'm glad I did, for whatever reason it was."

"Now, now, you shouldn't be. I was quite an angry and bitter guy back when you found me again…"

"Indeed, you were, only because of what I did to you."

"Ah, nonsense," said Sokka. Azula smiled. "You still spared me first, then saved me from Hui Yi. You saved me this time, too. Sure, you make mistakes, mistakes that maybe can't be taken back easily. But you still fix them, knowingly or not. You still save me every time, and I know you're relieved that you have."

"Of course I am," Azula replied. "But it's… complicated. I just wish I hadn't put you in any circumstances where you'd be hurt, to begin with."

"Azula, the past is in the past," Sokka whispered, kissing her brow again. "As I said, we'd do best to stop fretting about what we could have done better and accept what we have now. I know it won't be easy, but it probably will let you sleep a lot better once you manage to do it."

"I really can't keep relying on you to keep all my nightmares at bay, can I?" said Azula, sighing. "I do love sleeping beside you, but it's inconvenient for the both of us…"

"I wish we could get away with it," said Sokka. "If things were any different, I'd gladly cuddle you every night while you keep your hand over my heart if you need to. It's just…"

"Too many risks," said Azula, nodding. "It's worked so far, but maybe it is time I stop it. I'd never even needed to hug toys in bed as a child, so this is ridiculous…"

"Huh? You didn't use anything to soothe yourself to sleep as a kid?" Sokka asked. "Not even a doll?"

"A doll?" Azula said, with a snort. "The last one I got was… heh, a gift from my Uncle, actually. I set it on fire."

"You WHAT?!" Sokka asked, his jaw dropping as Azula laughed. "Wait, was it because it was a doll or because it was from him?"

"I suppose it was both?" said Azula, smirking. "What's it to you, anyways?"

"It's just… dolls can be fun, you know," Sokka said, blushing and looking away as Azula snorted and pressed her head to his shoulder, overtaken by laughter again. "What's so funny?!"

"You'd play with dolls? Seriously?" she asked, looking at him in amazement. He only grew more flustered, but he sighed and shook his head in defeat.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want but I was six! I didn't have a lot to do to entertain myself while I was shut inside the igloo during a blizzard!"

"So, you just played with dolls. I get it," said Azula, still chuckling. Sokka pouted.

"I started to learn how to brush hair with dolls, you know? If you have any appreciation for the way I brush yours, you should be grateful to them for it!"

His comment only served to make Azula laugh harder yet, unable to articulate more words. Despite his embarrassment, he joined in on her laughter soon enough, as he held her close and smiled warmly at her. He probably was a fool indeed, but he didn't mind feeling foolish if it would make her laugh like this.

"Ah, goodness, all this concern and all this suffering for your fate…" she finally said, smiling. "And now you're going to dump me for setting your beloved dolls on fire. Seems appropriate."

"Pfft, who said anything about dumping you? Don't be ridiculous," said Sokka, smiling. "You'll have to do a lot worse than that if you want me to dump you."

"Oh? How much worse?" Azula asked. Sokka bit his lip and shrugged.

"Honestly, I can't even imagine anything that might make me do that," he said, smiling. Azula sighed and shifted closer to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I told you to stop loving me that much, didn't I?" she said. "And yet nowadays you keep talking about unconditional love, of all things…"

"Heh, you're to blame for that, Princess," he said, smiling at her. "Stop being so loveable and I might do as you ask."

"Stop being…? How am I loveable, for starters?" Azula said, looking at him with disbelief as he snickered. "Truly, Sokka, some people think I'm crazy but you…"

"What, I'm crazier still?" he said, before leaning in to peck her lips. "Maybe. Crazy about you, to be sure."

"That couldn't be cornier if you tried, you know," she said. He chuckled.

"You just can't cut me any slack, can you?"

"Of course I can't, but you should be fine with that. You said you'd love me no matter what, remember?" Azula teased him. Sokka chuckled and kissed her brow.

"That's right, you troublemaker," he said, slipping an arm around her shoulders and embracing her tightly. "And I always will."

Azula swallowed, glancing up at him as he closed his eyes. He held her tightly, with what strength he could muster. She couldn't keep from wondering if maybe he had needed her these days just as badly as she had needed him.

"I'll always love you, too," she said, kissing his lips softly. He responded sincerely until their lips were apart once more. "No matter what. But…"

"But we need to part ways for a bit?" he said, looking at her sadly now. "I know, I know…"

"You know I'd rather stay, but…" said Azula, sighing and looking at him hopelessly. Sokka smiled.

"That's okay," he said. "I'm sorry we couldn't give your nightmare problem a more final solution, but…"

"But talking about it helped, yes," Azula said, nodding. Sokka smiled.

"I'm glad," he whispered. "Still… you say your mind frequently gives you these unwanted thoughts, right? At any random moment?"

"Uh, yes…"

"And of course, you won't be able to fend them away every time by coming to see me," said Sokka, looking at her thoughtfully. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Your point?"

"Just… wait a moment," he said, smiling and sitting up.

Azula watched him as he stretched an arm over her body, reaching to his nightstand and opening its cabinet. He rummaged through it for a moment until he finally found what he was looking for:

"I can't really stay beside you at all times, as much as I'd love to," said Sokka, offering what he'd found to Azula. "So… even if it's not much consolation, I'm thinking you can take this with you. Whenever your thoughts go astray, you can keep this close by to remember I'm fine, and safe, thanks to you."

Azula took the bone necklace into her hand, recognizing it quickly: she hadn't seen Sokka wearing it in a very long time. She looked at him in surprise.

"Isn't this… one of your last keepsakes from home?" Azula asked. "Along with your weapons? I hadn't seen you wearing it for a while, I wasn't sure if you'd lost it or…"

"Nah, if anything I kept it closer and safer than before," Sokka explained. "I used to wear it all the time in the Amateur League, because I never knew which fight would be my last. Ever since you found me again, I've thought it's best to keep it safe. As you said, it's one of my last reminders of home, but… some wise corny person once said that home was where the heart is, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Azula asked, with a skeptical smile. Sokka beamed and kissed her lips softly.

"You gave me a reason to believe I still had a home to return to, for starters," he said. "Yet my heart has belonged to you for quite some time now, so I guess that means you're my new home. And thus, giving you the necklace means I'm bringing my old and new homes together, huh? Sounds crazy, yes, but I hoped it might help you a little…"

"Huh," said Azula, biting her lip. "So, you're giving me this because I'm your home? Really?"

"Really. Like it or not," said Sokka, smiling and dropping beside her again. "Is it that farfetched?"

"No, it's just… well, we were talking about your Tribe's strange engagement rituals just last night," said Azula, with a weak smile. "Is this some sort of symbol of…?"

"What? No!" Sokka exclaimed immediately, before blushing at Azula's questioning stare. "It… wouldn't work like that. This is a bone necklace, it's not a proper betrothal necklace. Those need to have a pendant on them… besides, I'd be expected to make it myself. I shouldn't give you a necklace my grandmother made for me as a symbol of our engagement."

"Well, if you did it wouldn't be all that far-fetched. You did say your grandmother's engagement necklace was handed down to your sister, even, so maybe your family is reinventing the way these necklaces work," said Azula, with a weak grin.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather do things properly, my insidious Princess," said Sokka, kissing her temples. "Will you keep it, then? Or am I indeed being too nonsensical for you?"

"Oh, you are. No doubt," said Azula, smirking and pressing closer to him. "But I'll take it even so, if you don't mind. I don't really follow your reasoning… but I do understand it's valuable to you. I won't let any harm come to it."

"Why, thank you," said Sokka, smiling in relief. "I was starting to think you were going to throw it back in my face."

"Well, you underestimated the extent of my greed," Azula said, smirking before kissing his lips softly. "Honestly, though… thank you."

"I have no idea if it'll work, but hopefully it will keep your worst thoughts at bay," he said. "Just use it to remember this moment, to remember all the silly things you've laughed about tonight. Remember there's still much to live for, and no time to waste mulling over the past and wishing we had done things differently."

"I'll try, I'll try," she said, pressing her forehead to his. "I love you. I really do…"

"And I love you even more!" Sokka exclaimed, beaming. Azula laughed and shook her head, kissing his lips again.

"I don't think that's possible," she said, caressing his face gently.

She stared at him, her heart ablaze as usual, as she studied every detail on him. His blue, dazzling eyes, his straight and strong nose, his soft lips, his jawline, the stubble on his chin. His cheekbones, his ears, the graceful way his straight hair fell on his face… and the marks, most of them faded, most of them imperceptible, of the wounds he had received in the past. All the scars were faded, except for that cut across his cheek, which was still healing even though it'd no doubt be all better soon. She knew his face… she had memorized it already, but she would look upon it forever, if it were up to her. As she had no idea how long she'd have to endure away from him, she allowed herself the chance to cherish him personally, directly, for one long, tender moment.

"Stay safe. Keep healing," she whispered. "I'll check on you whenever I can."

"I look forward to it," he said, kissing her lips softly once more. "I'll recover so fast we won't even have time to miss each other… or I'll try to do it that way, at least."

"You're adorable and ridiculous at once," said Azula, smiling. Sokka pouted.

"Adorable? Really? I'm a manly man, manly men aren't adorable. "

"You might just not be a manly man, then," she said, smirking. Sokka gasped, offended. "Or you're the single manly exception to that rule? The world may never know…"

"How dare you, Princess…?" he said, shaking his head in outrage. Azula laughed and kissed him again.

"Goodbye, silly," she said. "Thanks for tonight."

"Heh. You're welcome, but I'm still manly even if you deny it," he said. Azula beamed.

"Like you really need to prove it at all, Sokka," she said. "Silly man indeed, insecure after mere teasing…"

"It comes from you, I can't let it slide so easily! Your opinion of me matters, a lot," he said, pouting. Azula sighed, pushing herself up on the bed but positioning her hands on either side of his head. Sokka looked at her wistfully. "Yes…?"

"My opinion of you is that you're silly, adorable, for sure a little foolish… but then you're smart, handsome, strong, clever and who knows what else, too. What I truly think is… it's not fair for you to be all these things, Sokka. If only you were any different, I might have resisted the temptation you posed…"

"I… tempted you? Wait, you still didn't say I was manly…" he said. Azula chuckled and kissed him.

"You're manly, and adorable. Live with it," she said. "I love you. I'll see you later, then. Whenever I can."

"Okay, okay. I love you too," he said, smiling. "I hope I'll be able to conciliate my manliness and cuteness the next time we meet, if that's possible."

Azula laughed again and climbed off the bed. Sokka watched her with longing eyes, but he smiled back encouragingly as she moved to the door, his bone necklace in hand.

"Goodbye. Sleep well," she whispered, stepping through the threshold. Sokka waved weakly.

"You too. I love you," he called out again. Azula's warm smile was enough answer for his words.

As she left, Sokka slumped on the mattress and sighed, feeling a little emptier without her. The sensation was familiar, for he felt it whenever they had to part ways: he knew this was the right way to proceed, but it still hurt knowing he might spend a long time without seeing her again.

He sat up and climbed off the bed, though, not quite sleepy yet, as he'd rested through the day. He approached his dresser, opening one of the cabinets to find carving utensils, a thin, black and soft fabric, and a set of small, round stones. Only one of the stones was blue, and it was still untouched. He wanted to practice as much as he could before working on the real thing.

There was a reason why he hadn't allowed Azula to think his necklace represented a betrothal one, and he was staring at said reason right now. There weren't many solutions for the predicament they were facing: the only idea Sokka had, at this point, was moving forward, towards the future. Maybe once they made new memories, Azula would be able to overcome the recent, darker ones that still plagued her nightmares.

So he picked up one of the gray stones, sat on his dresser's stool, and began carving the symbol of fire into the rock. A smile of anticipation graced his face, as he hoped she would enjoy the next necklace he planned on giving her.