There were many sights to behold that day in the Capital of the Fire Nation. The dormant volcano in which the city stood, the Caldera volcano, scarcely saw activity as it did during the festivals, and no day had more action in the streets than the first one.
The Fire Nation didn't boast of many holidays, and they didn't have an entire week of celebratory days at any other moment of the year. Their certainly wasn't the most festive of nations, but it wouldn't seem to be the case for anyone who saw them during this week. Gold and red decorations brightened every corner of the city, laughter and music flowed through the streets. The scents of food, whether vegetables, meat, noodles or even sweets, permeated the air everywhere. Most streets featured stalls full of flowers, and the many beautiful floral adornments shared their fragrances with their city too.
Almost every stall had stashes of fire lilies: the dominant crimson and gold hues of the festival shone brightly in them, and several people were already purchasing the flowers to give to their loved ones. The enthusiastic atmosphere surrounded everyone: adults would laugh as they chatted while children ran through the streets, playing with their toys or disguising themselves behind the many masks their parents had bought for them in the festival's stalls.
Sokka suspected they would never see every stall, at this rate. There were too many of them, each for different purposes, all brightly decorated and all appealing in their own way. If he had been alone, he would have lost himself easily in the whirlwind of excitement that swirled in the Capital today… but he was as far from alone as he could be, burdened with responsibilities he couldn't be distracted from.
Rui Shi had been very thorough with his notes: Sokka knew exactly what position to take in practically any formation Azula might request as they coursed through the streets. Depending on how thick the crowds might be, she would request for a different one. Right now, as they were in a relatively calm area, they were positioned around her in a wide circle, and Sokka walked at the front of it. A lot of pressure came attached to the role of Guard Captain, and Sokka found he didn't enjoy spearheading this group all that much. If only he could be alone with Azula instead…
But there was no point in dreaming of the impossible, especially since he was supposed to be focusing on the here and now, as a proper guard should. Still, Azula made it very difficult to focus, and not for the usual reasons.
"Ah, that stall near you, Qiang? What is it for?"
"Why, it's only a calligraphy stall, Princess."
"Calligraphy? Interesting. Make them write my name, then."
"Right away, Princess."
Qiang was standing the furthest to the right, just as Jianghuo, another guard, was furthest to the left. They were the main victims to Azula's fickle shopping, but that didn't mean the others weren't frequently affected by it too: the Princess would approach some stalls, inspect them thoroughly and then call one guard, seemingly at random, to ask if there was anything they liked in the stall. The first one to take up the strange challenge was Taro, who had assumed the Princess was asking him to help her pick out an item for herself. Taro had suggested a sophisticated make-up set, and Azula had teased him for his choice before purchasing and gifting it to him. After that, the others knew better than to choose anything they wouldn't want for themselves.
Sokka glanced behind himself, eyeing the curious Princess who waited patiently for the nervous man at the stall to write her name with his best ink. But his gaze went further back, and he smirked behind his helmet at the sight beyond the cluster of Royal Guards.
He had noticed Azula's true intentions at the second or third stall she had stopped at. The noise that had arisen behind them had alarmed him until he understood what was causing it: every stall Azula made any purchases at would be swarmed by customers right afterwards, without fail. It seemed that the Princess's approval of the stall's products meant that business would go strong for at least a few hours.
Her understanding of the wild crowd's behavior was interesting, to say the least. She used her popularity not to boast and feel superior, but to promote the stalls and boost their sales. It wasn't likely that they would visit every stall but, with luck, their participation would make it one of the most successful festivals of all, thanks to Azula's not-so-casual strolling through the city's streets.
The calligraphy was finished and Azula nodded approvingly as Qiang showed her the result. She then proceeded to request one for Wuhan, who seemed startled by her generosity even if he had seen her display it for around an hour now. For the first time since Sokka had taken him and Shuren to Azula's room, the tall Wuhan was showing some sort of emotional response to something. The thought made Sokka chuckle: not only did Azula inspire the common folk, but her guards admired her to no end, too.
"Oh, Princess, do not worry about payment, this is free of charge," said the man at the stall, beaming at her. "It's already an honor to write for our glorious Crown Princess, I couldn't ask for more…"
"Well, don't ask, then," said Azula, smirking. "Let's just say my hand slipped and a few coins fell out of it, instead."
"But Princess…!"
She didn't take no for an answer, just as she hadn't in any of the previous stalls. She set five coins on the counter, and she returned to her position at the center of the circle of guards.
"Off we go," she said, trying to ignore the grateful whimpering behind her.
"T-thank you, Princess! Thank you!"
She smirked as she continued walking with the group: she never anticipated to feel such satisfaction through this procedure. She didn't usually spend the share of the money she earned from Sokka's victories, so this was an ideal opportunity to make the most of her savings.
She could hear the sounds behind her, but she didn't turn to confirm her subtle plan was working. She had hoped her rising popularity would have some use in the long run other than cementing her position as Ozai's heir; promoting stalls was a small service to perform, but one that she could be proud of providing for her people.
Their progress continued, and she stopped at more stalls, purchasing a stuffed toy for Haoren, a new mahjong set for Fei Li and a wall ornament for Han. Upon reaching a stall that sold books, though, she knew exactly who the receiver of the next gift would be.
"Do you happen to have any poetry?" she asked, with a mischievous grin. She could see Sokka tensing up from the corner of her eyes. But the man behind the stall smiled and nodded.
"I do! It's a brilliant anthology, Princess, one you'll be sure to enjoy… uh, wait, you're not actually going to pay, are you…?"
Azula didn't waste time by explaining stall clerks the reason why she kept paying for everything she bought. She simply grinned and set the coins on the stall before returning to her Procession. The stall clerk gasped.
"But Princess…!"
"Rui Shi?" she called, her voice laced with amusement. Sokka turned towards her. "Here you go. Educate yourself with this."
"I… thank you," Sokka said, with an awkward half smile. But while everyone else had received their gifts without any input from the others, it seemed Sokka wasn't destined to get off the hook easily.
"Poetry? For you, Captain?" Fei Li asked. "I didn't know you liked that kind of thing."
"He has always been very cultured, Fei Li," Taro defended him. "It is only right that he would be interested in poetry."
"Oh, this isn't about culture, though," Azula smirked. Sokka gritted his teeth. She wouldn't do this to him, would she…? "This is about him wanting to write poetry for his girlfriend. He should read up, so he can understand what to do, of course. Song won't be very impressed otherwise."
The gasp that shook all guards made Sokka stiffen. He grimaced, wishing he weren't blushing, but he was. He wasn't the one dating Song, he knew as much, but somehow he felt as embarrassed as he would if he were Rui Shi. Perhaps he was getting too deeply involved with the role he was playing…
"Oh, my! Captain, you rascal!" Fei Li laughed. "You have a girlfriend? Are you for real?"
"I-I… t-that doesn't concern you," Sokka retorted, between gritted teeth. His speech was slightly mechanical again, but nobody seemed to care. If anything, they credited it to his nervousness about his relationship's discovery.
"But it does!" Fei Li exclaimed, approaching him. "Come, now, Captain! Tell me everything! Who is she?"
"That name, Song, rings a bell…" said Tai Wei, hands on his hips. Azula sighed while Sokka grew more tense.
"Ah, I suppose it does, but it makes no matter, does it? We have much more to look at, and you have many years ahead of yourselves to torment Rui Shi about his relationship, don't you?" she said, smiling and urging them to take up formation again. "Let's keep moving, shall we?"
Sokka's grimace didn't fade for, once again, he deciphered Azula's intent fairly easily: this was going to be part of Rui Shi's punishment. When he came back to the job, relieved that Azula had allowed him to keep it, he would have to face the teasing and the endless questions from his peers – from Fei Li, most of all – about his relationship with Song. And seeing how private and shy Rui Shi usually was, he wouldn't be likely to enjoy that…
But if that was Azula's intent, then she didn't plan on firing Rui Shi, or did she? Sokka frowned, wondering if she truly would be forgiving towards her captain. If so, he would likely be quite grateful that teasing was the only price to pay for his crazy plan.
Sokka resumed leading the group while deep in thought, but his feet halted again when they found themselves in a heavily crowded street, where people stood in a circle, watching something. Sokka glanced around with uncertainty, wondering if there was a better way through: he found a slightly less crowded area to the right. But once they were already passing through the opening amongst the tightly packed group, Azula called for a halt.
The guards stopped at once, while she frowned and stepped towards whatever was at the center of the crowd. With narrow eyes, she could see, through the thick crowd that stood close together, that there were two more people inside the circle, but they looked awfully disheveled, even filthy. Wary of whatever could be happening, she cleared her throat loudly. The people obstructing her vision jumped out of the way at once upon noticing who she was.
But the ones inside the circle remained undisturbed. They continued speaking with a melodramatic tone, and she raised an eyebrow upon assessing the situation.
"What is life, but to love, to dream, to suffer?" claimed one.
"You speak of vanities, illusions without form!" retorted the other. "The void, the lack of meaning, is all that awaits us. There is no greater design, no destiny for us to be beholden to! Whatever spirits or gods ruled us, they have forsaken us, forsaken me! They are lost to us, and we to them! Life is a failed Pai Sho game!"
Azula raised an eyebrow with confusion as the nearest guard, Han, chuckled softly. She shook her head.
"What on earth is this?" she whispered, and someone within the crowd answered.
"It's experimental theater," said an old man, beaming at her. "There is no script, no guideline: they just improvise! And they're saying they're staying fully in character, to provide the best performance ever, by forgetting their circumstances and surroundings and only focusing on their performance."
"Huh. And that's the best they can do? Really?" Azula asked, with a derisive stare.
The melodramatic men continued their pessimistic improvisation, and their alleged wisdom failed to reach Azula every time. She was about to take her leave, but she caught the eye of one of the actors when she turned on her heels.
"Because I cannot go on like-…!" the oblivious actor rambled on, but instead of following his lead, the other one disrupted their performance immediately.
"Princess Azula!"
She stiffened and glanced at them over her shoulder, surprised to see that the first actor seemed genuinely upset at the other for interrupting the performance. Azula only felt all the more determined to get away after that.
"Greetings," she said, with a dry grin. "Do carry on, then."
"O-oh, thanks!" the second man exclaimed, while the other rolled his eyes before scolding him.
"You're supposed to be completely immersed in the performance, dammit!"
Azula laughed and rolled her eyes as her group resumed movement. The guards spoke amongst themselves, and they were either amused or disturbed by the play, but while she had every right to silence them for talking too much, Azula didn't feel like it, as their comments were entertaining for her, too.
"Well, I wouldn't even call that theater," Tai Wei determined. "It lacked many crucial elements for it to be actual theater."
"It was experimental, though," said Jianghuo, shrugging. "Who are you to deny them their, uh, experiments?"
"It seemed rather artificial, I'll say," said Taro, and Azula laughed. "Are you alright,
Princess?"
"Oh, it's just ironic, seeing as they were trying to make their performance seem more real," said Azula, smirking. "Holding their act in the middle of the street, with a ragged appearance, standing amongst lots of people who, on first glance, wouldn't know that they were acting…"
"Did you find it realistic?" Taro asked.
"Oh, not in the slightest. It's where the irony resides," she smirked. "In their attempt to seem real, they only seem more fabricated. Trying to evade something usually means it will chase you relentlessly until you yield. And if you fight back too strongly, it may just devour you."
Sokka smiled to himself, agreeing with her words. He knew by heart that avoiding things was just as Azula had described it: he had caused them a lot of trouble by avoiding his feelings for Azula, by trying to rid himself of them even when they were unstoppable, for his soul resonated with hers, much like her fire resonated with all flames. Avoiding Jeong Jeong had only resulted in a worse outcome than it might have been if they hadn't tried to outsmart him, too. The image she had painted was far too close to his heart, and he knew she was speaking from her experiences just the same.
It was only right, then, that they would both reflect on what they'd lived through, on the ordeals that had plagued their relationship, both in professional and personal regards, when they came across the next cluster of people. This time, most of them were sitting down, while those standing were by the flanks of the group. At the far end stood a stage of some sort: another play, this time a more traditional one, it seemed. Azula slowed but sighed, doubting it would be worth their time.
"We'll have to take a detour," she said. "Try to go around the crowd, maybe switch to parallel formation so…"
"… But as they headed inside the darkness, a secret was revealed!" the voice of the play's narrator reached them all the way here, for everyone was in reverent silence as they watched it. "Lo and behold, the last of the dragons!"
Azula froze as she heard those words, and only then did she squint to see what the play was. A better glance told her it was a puppet performance, unlike the previous one. But as she detailed the characters in the scene, she found herself at a loss for breath.
There were three puppets on the stage: one, a black dragon. The other, a man dressed in blue. The last one, a girl in gold and red.
"They're not… oh goodness, they are," said Azula, a disbelieving smile spreading over her face. "This is…"
She stepped towards the crowd instinctively, and someone else moved alongside her: she wasn't surprised to find it was Sokka. Her smile shifted into a smirk as she folded her arms and watched the play intently, alongside him.
"Do not fear, my brave gladiator!" the puppet Azula exclaimed. "I will tame this creature!"
"Oh, but is it safe? Are you sure of this, Princess?" puppet Sokka replied, fretting nervously.
"I am the daughter of the Fire Lord. I know no fear! Learn of my bravery and spread word of it throughout the land!"
"I shall do so, Princess!"
Azula held back the urge to laugh, and she glanced at Sokka with amusement. She wished she could see the expression on his face right now: she had no doubt he'd be dumbfounded.
"That's… one very embellished way to portray that," he whispered, without changing his voice. Azula couldn't hold back her laughter completely anymore, a few chuckles escaping from her lips.
"Just look at how self-righteously heroic I am. And Xin Long seems to be terribly docile… no attempts to eat the intruders or set them on fire?"
"They should've found someone to fact-check their script," Sokka said, with amusement as well.
But puppet Azula had succeeded at mounting Xin Long, and together they were shooting fake blue fire all over the scene. The crowd clapped happily at the success, and it wasn't long before the puppet Princess offered her hand to the puppet gladiator.
"Oh, but I cannot come yet!" puppet Sokka cried out. "This is your first flight! You are supposed to fly alone for it!"
"And leave you here in the dark?" puppet Azula asked. "Tempting, but no."
The crowd laughed again, and Sokka tapped his finger on his forearm while Azula looked away pointedly, feigning innocence.
"That's awfully closer to reality, isn't it?" he said.
"I wouldn't say that…" she said, but Sokka chuckled beside her.
"I thought you were more self-aware than that," he said.
The brief window where they spoke to each other as Sokka and Azula ended quickly when they heard the footsteps of the other guards approaching. They stood nearby, entranced by the performance all the same.
"Is this about your life, Princess?" Fei Li asked, his voice betraying his excitement. "You think we're in it?"
"Doubtful. It's a puppet play, Fei Li," said Azula, with a smirk. "It's unlikely that there's enough people behind the stage to properly perform as all members of the Royal Procession."
Fei Li seemed disappointed by that, but they continued to watch the show all the same. The curtains fell when they left the cave, and they were lifted again when they defeated the Rough Rhinos, or half of them, seeing as there were only three members who cried shamefully after their defeat. The public laughed heartily at that, but soon a new act began: the White Lotus's attack to the Capital.
It was clear that the scriptwriters lacked most information regarding all the events they were trying to portray. Azula wasn't shown to be sickly whatsoever, and she defeated the White Lotus fairly easily. Instead of a cavern fight that Sokka won just barely, with the help of a near-unconscious Azula, the fight took place in the middle of the Palace courtyards and it concluded with Azula and Xin Long setting the White Lotus agents on fire. Even though it was a puppet play, Azula visibly cringed at the portrayal of their fight while Sokka tensed up beside her. The crowd, of course, found it hilarious.
"Isn't it, uh, odd…?" Sokka brought up, his voice deepening as the next act commenced. Azula raised her eyebrows at the sight of Ba Sing Se. "That while you and, uh, the gladiator are being portrayed as a wonderous team, there haven't been any gladiator fights whatsoever?"
"I doubt they had the budget to craft the likeness of any Arenas for their backgrounds," said Azula, smirking. "Besides, this doesn't sound like y-… like Sokka's story. It seems to be, well, mine."
"And of course, your story would lack gladiator fights," Sokka said, skeptically, breaking character without a care in the world.
"Well, if they didn't deem them necessary, I suppose it does," Azula said, smiling and shrugging. Sokka huffed.
The play continued as intended, with Azula, Sokka, Iroh and Toph saving the day in Ba Sing Se in very roundabout ways. After that, Sokka finally had a chance to shine in the Slate, despite the spotlight shifted towards Azula anyways. They featured her giving him some sort of pep talk in the middle of the fight, and as though she had channeled her power and glory through him. Instead of the unexpected, chaotic victory Sokka had actually obtained, he had defeated the Millennium Dragon easily here, once Azula's strength was powering him up.
"You should do that sometime," Sokka said, smirking. Azula laughed. "Channel all power that way towards m-… the gladiator."
"Ah… I think I already have," she said, hands on her hips. The memory of how she managed to bend through Sokka's arm was still present on both their minds. But as much as they wanted to talk about it, this wasn't the time or place for it, not with so many people around.
The performance didn't last much longer, though, concluding with Azula's promotion into becoming Crown Princess. Several guard puppets were present on the scene, leading Fei Li to claim he was one of them – surprisingly, other guards argued that it was them, and not Fei Li. Azula only smiled as the crowd clapped, and she sighed and shook her head while turning towards Sokka.
"They had a few facts right, I suppose," she said. "But I do wonder who their sources were. A lot of it was unnecessarily beautified."
"If they want to make you look like an undefeatable heroine, they're not going to show you at your worst," said Sokka, with a shrug.
"And I suppose I ought to be grateful for that," said Azula, smiling weakly. "Showcasing the vulnerabilities of the next Fire Lord is a sure way to make her lose the respect she has worked hard to earn…"
"And then the playwrights would pay a hefty price for their crime…" Sokka whispered with a teasing voice. Azula closed her eyes and smiled.
"Surely they would," she said, before turning towards her other guards. "Well, I do hope you enjoyed the show. Time to move on, though."
"Of course," said Tai Wei, sighing and grabbing Fei Li by the back of his neck so he could set him back into position. "Let's go."
"B-but we should watch it again, from scratch this time!" he exclaimed, even though he knew he wasn't going to get his chance to sit through another full performance.
They were walking away when the crowd's rumors reached the actors, who were walking to the front of the stage to bow before their public. The actor who still had Sokka's puppet in his hand purposefully bumped his shoulder against the one who had Xin Long's puppet, a black dragon that remained suspended on two thin sticks.
"Say, isn't that…?" said the first actor. Xin Long's actor leaned closer.
"What?"
"I mean, over there, don't you see those guys, dressed in red and…?"
Xin Long's actor dropped the puppet just as the director reached them, eyes wide with excitement.
"The Princess! S-she was watching! They told me she smiled!" the director exclaimed. "Our play is…!"
"Is approved by the Princess!" the actor exclaimed, as the other actors rushed towards the director, rejoicing in the news.
The whole crowd exploded in applause again, and some of the guards were tempted to glance back and find out why, but Azula carried on walking. They followed dutifully, heads held high just like hers, as they progressed to one of the less occupied areas of the main streets.
Stalls still had plenty of activity around here, and Azula made sure to purchase a few more goods in them, but one specific stall exuded loneliness. Azula raised an eyebrow as she approached it with firm footing.
The stall in question wasn't like the others: it lacked the traditional counter and signs, featuring instead several small wooden boxes. They were numbered and colored, reaching up to the number of 20, and they were positioned in a circle. Each box had a door, directed towards the center of the circle. In that center stood another wooden structure, perhaps the stump of a tree, carved to serve as a small platform. The roots of the stump extended into the ground, forming what appeared to be several small sleds.
Azula stared at it for a moment, raising an eyebrow with uncertainty while her guards stood behind her. Sokka stepped forward.
"Have you ever seen anything quite like this?" she asked. Sokka shook his head, and her other guards did the same.
The owner of this stall was nowhere to be seen, so Azula continued to study the strange boxes until their return. She waited for the inevitable gasp, and the onslaught of rushed words, once the person responsible showed up…
"O-oh my! Princess? Oh goodness, what brings you around here?"
The voice belonged to a middle-aged woman, who approached hastily and rushed to check that all her boxes were still in place. Azula studied her briefly, taking in her plump appearance and her dark hair, tied in a simple ponytail.
"I've had a look at most the stalls in the city. Yours was next in line," said Azula, simply. The woman's face broke into a wide grin.
"W-well, I hope you'll think my squirrel pigs are a lot of fun, Princess," she said. "This stall, well… I'm not really selling anything, it's just a game I've made up."
"A game?" Azula asked. "For twenty people, give or take?"
"Less than twenty can play it, too," said the woman, smiling. "All you need to do is pick one box. Inside each one is a trained squirrel pig: I've tamed and trained them myself!"
"Have you, now?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows and stepping toward the boxes. "And what happens after we choose one?"
"You'll support your chosen squirrel pig as it seeks the treat at the top of the carved stump," said the woman. "I'll set one there, and once everyone's ready, the gates will open on the count of three! Whichever squirrel pig gets the treat first wins!"
Azula smiled, amused by the game's concept. She glanced back at her guards and smirked.
"Well, all you have to do is pick a box. And, I assume, pay a fee…"
"Oh, no, you're the Princess! I could never…!"
"Hush and take the money," Azula told the woman, offering her a few coins. Her guards followed her lead, each of them giving the woman so many coins she was left in shock for a moment. Happy tears blinked in her eyes after she pocketed them, and she nodded as she fetched the treat for the game.
Azula stared at the boxes, an eyebrow raised. Picking the first one wouldn't be wise, but she didn't want to choose one with a low number. The guards were waiting patiently as she paced around the boxes until she settled for the box with a number two inked brightly across blue paint.
Unsurprisingly, Sokka stepped forward and took the box number three. Azula smirked at him as he stared at his red box, hands on his hips.
"May the best squirrel pig win," he said, as sternly as he could manage. She had to hold back her laughter.
The others picked their own boxes quickly afterwards: Taro stood at the fifth box, Haoren chose the seventh box, and Shuren and Wuhan took the eighth and ninth, respectively. Qiang picked the eleventh, Tai Wei the fifteenth, and Han was on the seventeenth. The last of the group were Jianghuo, with the nineteenth, and Fei Li, who chose the twentieth.
"Very well!" said the stall's owner, after setting up the treat at the stump and leaving the circled enclosure. "There are strings right next to the doors on your boxes, you'll hold them up and wait for my signal before pulling them."
The guards and the Princess obeyed promptly. The rumor of voices and footsteps approached, and Azula smirked, knowing they were doing it again: the group that followed her around would surely jump to play this game right after their round was over.
"Three…" said the woman. "Two… One…! Start!"
Everyone pulled the doors open at unison, and the squirrel pigs poured out immediately. They were small animals, with heads that were half the size of their bodies and snouts that weren't as angular as those of most pigs, but of the same proportions all the same. Each of them had furs of different colors and patterns, along with long, fluffy tails. The color of their collars matched the box they'd left from. Azula kept her eyes on her blue-collared rodent, eyes squinted as it moved towards the stump…
"Oi, oi! What'd you think you're doing?! Don't go back inside!" Fei Li exclaimed, to everyone else's amusement.
"I think mine's taking a… yep. He's taking a dump," said Han, sighing in defeat.
"And mine's chasing Shuren's!" exclaimed Tai Wei, amused. Shuren seemed aghast.
"Get away! Leave him alone!" Shuren cried out, but his demands weren't much use at keeping the creatures off each other.
"Looks like this is a lot more entertaining than one would think," Azula mused, with a smirk. A couple of squirrel pigs had bumped into each other, and given the way they grunted threateningly, they might just start a fight, but hers was moving to the stump rather quickly. "We ought to do this more often."
"This is crazy," said Sokka, amused but watching closely as his squirrel pig moved towards the stump too.
It was only then that they realized the only ones who were remotely close to victory were the two of them. Azula leered at Sokka from the corners of her eyes, and Sokka did the same, albeit unnoticeably.
"I would hope your creature knows better than to steal the treat from mine," Azula said, threateningly. Sokka huffed.
"Stealing would require yours getting to it first, wouldn't it? No way yours is winning, Princess…"
"Well, then, how is it that mine's already climbing the stump?" Azula smirked.
Sokka gritted his teeth as he noticed she was right. Oh, the last thing he needed was for her to rub in his face that she had defeated him even at the squirrel pig wars. Not that he hadn't grown fond of her arrogant boasts, for he knew most of them were playful, but it was one thing to admit defeat when it came to her superiority in fighting, or in studies and knowledge. It was another, far more ridiculous one, to admit it when it came to picking the right or wrong squirrel pig.
"Come on, come on…" said Sokka, as his squirrel pig made his way to another of the carved roots that led up to the top of the stump.
"We should have made a bet of some sort," said Azula, smirking. "I'm not even sure what, Rui Shi, but it would have been fun. Perhaps you would have been in cleaning duties for a month."
"Cleaning…?" Oh. She meant another potential punishment for the real Rui Shi. Sokka snorted. "Well, I could live with that."
"I wonder if you really could, Rui Shi," Azula said, with a knowing smirk. Sokka actually laughed.
But just as he was preparing himself to admit defeat, the unthinkable happened. His squirrel pig rushed up the stump, invigorated all of sudden, while Azula's slowed down…
"Wait, what is he doing? Hey! Thing! Keep moving!" she exclaimed, her confidence shaken all of sudden.
Sokka grinned wildly under his mask. Oh, yes. This was his moment to shine. It was his golden chance, a brilliant opportunity to defeat Azula and rub it in her face for years to come…!
"Go, you little…!" he started, but his sentence went unfinished as his squirrel pig reached the treat…
And moved right past it.
"What? What?!" he exclaimed, forgetting entirely to feign Rui Shi's persona by now. Azula laughed out loud, delighted.
"Oh, I suppose your squirrel pig wasn't nearly as…!"
Her mockery of his creature was interrupted soon enough too, for Sokka's squirrel pig had decided to headbutt hers. And together they had toppled down the stump, wasting their ideal chances to win the game.
"What in the…?" Azula started, watching the tangled squirrel pigs with disbelief.
But she couldn't help herself. It was too ridiculous, too amusing to hold back. She snorted and began laughing, doubling over as Sokka drew his hand to his helmet, laughing beside her as well. As much as they'd almost tasted victory, they both had lost their opportunity by now.
"Okay, okay, but maybe we can still do it!" Sokka said. Azula chuckled.
"You sure? They seem terribly determined to lose," she said, smiling as the squirrel pigs detached and yet started wandering in circles, sniffing but failing to find whatever they were looking for.
"No, no, they were close once before, so I know one of them is going to find its bearings and…!"
"I won?"
Sokka's determined pep talk ended halfway through. Everyone was stunned when they saw a thick squirrel pig at the top of the stump, munching on the treat happily, wagging its fluffy tail.
Taro watched with a happy smile as his orange-collared squirrel pig ate quickly. He glanced at Azula warily for a moment, though, uncertain if he should be rejoicing in his victory…
But the Princess seemed to be in a good enough mood, and she even clapped in his direction, which prompted everyone else to do the same.
"Congratulations, Taro. You made the right choice," she said, smiling at him.
"Yeah, yours wasn't chasing its own tail," complained Jianghuo, shaking his head.
"The one you picked does look a little chubby," pointed out Qiang. "I suppose he's won before, hasn't he?"
"Sometimes, yes. He's quite sharp where food's involved," said the owner of the stall, smiling too as she approached Taro with a bag in her hands. "And now for you, the victor of the day… your reward!"
Taro smiled as he took the small squirrel pig effigy from the woman. He nodded and thanked her gladly, assuring her that it was his honor to have achieved this remarkable victory in such an extraordinary competition.
It was no surprise, of course, that, as soon as they walked away, the crowd that followed them everywhere pooled around the squirrel pig's game. Azula smiled at the owner of the game, watching as she rejoiced in the sudden onslaught of customers.
"Why do you think she didn't have a lot of business?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.
"I've never played that game before. She said it was of her invention. People don't always feel encouraged to jump into the unknown, even if it's just a simple game."
"And yet the unknown doesn't seem to deter you," he said. She smiled.
"If it did, my life would be a lot simpler, wouldn't it?"
It was his turn to smile, wishing as usual that they were alone someplace. That they could experience this entire festival differently, the way so many couples did. He had seen them walking down the streets, holding hands. He had seen several men purchasing fire lilies in stalls, too. He had been sorely tempted to follow their example, hell, he still was. If only Azula got distracted for a short time…
His opportunity arrived at the worst possible moment for Sokka: as the sun was setting, the group found a poetry recital. Azula smirked proudly and strode towards it, and Sokka wished he could have stayed beside her to listen to it all… but he had to act fast, once Azula wasn't paying him much attention.
The Princess hadn't been too invested in the recital, not until a new girl came onto the small stage to deliver her newest haiku. She spoke of dragons, and of the powers of fire: it kept Azula captivated long enough that Sokka could slip away unnoticed.
It wasn't until the fifth girl after that one that Azula realized her left flank was missing one guard. She frowned and glanced around, failing to spot the Captain of her Guards in the crowd.
"Where did Rui Shi take off to?" she asked. Tai Wei shook his head.
"I wasn't watching. Sorry," he said. "Still… it's getting late, Princess. Maybe we should return to the Palace once the recital is over?"
"We'll go once he comes back, then," Azula said.
"As you wish," he said, nodding his head towards her.
They didn't have to wait too long: Sokka showed up again within a few moments, and once he did Azula fixed him with a skeptical glare before conveying orders to her guards to lead her back home. They obeyed, filing out of the crowd as one swarm, making their way to the main streets once more.
"It was probably the most fun day on duty I've ever had," Fei Li said. "I wouldn't mind doing this again."
"It's not bound to happen, not anytime soon, but I wouldn't mind it either," Taro admitted, smiling under his helmet.
The whole group was carrying countless new items, all the products Azula had made them buy, or that she had bought for them. It was an odd sight for a Royal Procession to enter the Palace with so many bags, as though they'd been out shopping as friends. The other guards on duty watched them with uncertainty as they crossed the Palace's gates.
"Well, I hope my father will be pleased by how I obeyed his wishes," Azula said, with a dry grin. "At any rate, you all know your duties for the next few hours. Take up whatever patrols you were assigned to."
"Yes, Princess," they said in unison. Azula nodded as the Procession disbanded in the middle of the Palace courtyard.
But one guard didn't leave her side even now. Azula raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, suspecting he was grinning in that adorable and silly way that he often did.
"I believe I gave you your orders, Captain?" she said. He chuckled.
"You did. And I'll obey, but… can we go somewhere private for a moment?"
"Private. Huh," she said, looking at him with suspecting eyes, but she led the way towards her dragon's refuge all the same.
Xin Long greeted them with a grunt, and Azula smiled as she caressed his long hair. He groaned again, shaking his head proudly.
"What? You know why you weren't supposed to go out there today," she told him. "You're a devoted troublemaker, and you would have scared most the civilians unless you promised to behave, which you didn't. So…"
Xin Long would have pouted, if a dragon could do that. Azula smiled at him, stroking his hair gently as he growled about being left out.
"I'm sorry you couldn't join us. But you do realize it would have been chaotic to have a dragon along, right?"
Xin Long shook his head, his mane fluttering proudly, conveying that a little more chaos would have been just fine. Azula rolled her eyes and smiled before turning towards Sokka.
"Well then, what is it? Want to talk about how insane this day turned out to be? Because honestly, whenever I think about any of it…"
"It's been a lot, hasn't it?" said Sokka, with a weak grin. "I shouldn't have showed up as I did…"
"Yet I got enough fun out of that," Azula said, biting her lower lip as she smirked knowingly. Sokka laughed.
"Yeah, but then you had to bend through me so I wouldn't make Rui Shi look incompetent and…"
"And it's still a real wonder that it worked at all," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "I guessed it could work, theoretically, but I was afraid it wouldn't, and that I'd set you on fire instead. I wanted the flame to materialize where it did, and I concentrated on doing that, but I don't think I merely made it appear there. It really…"
"It really went through me. Somehow," said Sokka, with a confused smile. "It's a first for me, no doubt. Whenever you bend at me, I usually just get burned."
"I suppose that, in some strange way, your chi paths channeled my power. It was my bending, but you were the vehicle of it, so to speak…"
"Well, whatever it was, being a bender for a little while was quite the thrill," said Sokka, smiling brightly. "Is that how you always feel? That strange, built-up fire inside your limbs…"
"Only when I am bending," she said. "It's something you evoke, and not a completely constant thing. But if you want to talk about this at leisure, I'm sure I'll have time after tomorrow's memorials and…"
"Memorials?" Sokka repeated, raising his eyebrows. Azula nodded.
"You don't know the full schedule for the week, do you?" she asked. "Tomorrow we have our traditional Memorial Day. We honor those who have died, our ancestors…"
"Everyone lost to the pointless war…?" Sokka asked, innocently. Azula smiled dryly but nodded.
"Not that they'll ever say it was pointless, but yes," she said. "At any rate, I'm not likely to be busy all day. In fact… well, if you want to spend the day with me again you can drop by the temple tomorrow morning. As yourself, this time."
"That would be great," said Sokka, smiling. "It's a lot easier not to be Rui Shi."
"And you haven't even done that great a job of it," said Azula, smirking. "You've had too many slip-ups."
"Okay, well, I might not have if someone hadn't decided to make out with me in her room…" Sokka said, stepping towards her. "Or invited me onto her palanquin, too."
"In my defense…" said Azula, stopping him with her index finger on his chest as he stood bare inches from where she was. "I wasn't talking about that. I meant while we were with the others, you didn't always make efforts to act like him…"
"Oh, sure, that's what you meant," he said, amused. Azula laughed.
"And thus, you prove your amusing theory incorrect. Looks like guys, such as yourself, are quite prone to perverted assumptions, just as women are."
"After a girl had her way with me like that, it's hard to keep perverted thoughts out of my mind," he said, moving to press his forehead to hers, but Azula inched away from his helmet.
"Um… yeah. Best not do this when you're wearing that," she said. It was his turn to laugh before reaching to caress her arms with gentle rubs.
"Say… can we make a quick escape on Xin Long for a moment?" he said. She raised an eyebrow. "It's not going to take long."
"Right. Because it's so very not suspicious that I'd suddenly ride off into the sunset with the Captain of my Guards? It's one thing to do it with you, everyone's used to it by now, but…"
"It doesn't have to be towards the sunset," said Sokka, his voice betraying that he was pouting. Azula snorted. "Really, though! He can just fly upwards, through the top gates, and go so fast no one will see him. We can go way up, as fast and far as he wants, and that way no one will notice you're not alone. Heck, no one would even see Xin Long if he goes fast enough, right?"
"That's a little too much flattery for the dragon, you know?" Azula said, while Xin Long chuckled mischievously, agreeing with Sokka. "He may not be that fast."
Now Xin Long huffed with indignation. Azula smirked at him but gave Sokka a meaningful stare.
"What are you up to?" she asked. He blushed under his helmet, hoping she wouldn't see the tension of his shoulders.
"Nothing much. But I just doubt we'll be able to say goodbye properly later, right?" he said. "Might as well do it now…"
"Is that so?" said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "Rui Shi's shift ends by nine. You would likely have time to say goodbye by then…"
"Would I? Doubtful," Sokka said, crossing his arms behind his back and glancing away pointedly. Azula smirked.
"It's just rather suspicious that you would vanish in the streets when you did, just as you should have been picking up more tips on how to write poetry, and that you'd ask me just now, at sunset, for a moment in private…"
"Gee, am I really that transparent?" Sokka asked, with a defeated smile. Azula shrugged.
"At times. But after today I know better than to assume you're being straightforward with everything you say and do."
"I still am sorry for all the lying, you know."
"Of course you are," said Azula, smirking as she moved to climb on Xin Long's saddle. "But truthfully, if anything I'm, a little pleased that I'm rubbing off on you like I am. Ty Lee always did claim that couples started picking up each other's habits, so I suppose you've started to pick up mine."
"Yeah, well, you're not that recurrent a liar either way," said Sokka, accepting her hand as she helped him climb after her.
"Or so you'd think. As a reminder, well, you still don't know if I've ever faked my orgasms when…"
"You can claim whatever you want. We both know the truth," he said, fiercely, hands slipping over her flanks and dancing dangerously close to her pelvis. Azula laughed.
"We do. Doesn't mean you didn't buy it for a moment. You wouldn't have panicked so badly if you hadn't," she smirked proudly before ushering Xin Long to fly as intended.
The dragon was faster than ever, as if to prove Azula wrong about her earlier claims. His acceleration through the sky was so fast and sudden that the wind whipping at their faces was almost deafening. Sokka clutched onto the railings of the saddle while Azula grabbed Xin Long's reins: they approached an overhead cloud and tore through it.
"XIN! STOP!"
The dragon slowed down little by little, glancing back at Azula with mischievous amusement. His rider was breathing heavily, and she glared at her dragon.
"Very… funny," she growled. Xin Long chuckled, and so did Sokka behind her.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we weren't seen," said Sokka, caressing her hip with his thumb. "And hey… from this height the sun's still setting."
The crater of the Capital was full of jagged peaks that prevented the people on level with the ground from watching the sunset at this hour. By now, all fire lilies would have been gifted to the right person, traditionally, for the sun had set for them. But after Xin Long's speedy climb through the sky, the Princess and her gladiator could watch as the last sliver of sun sank in the horizon… while shivering, of course. The air currents at these heights were cold and merciless.
"Uh, well, it's great if we weren't seen, but are you going to get it over with already?" Azula asked, with a weak smile. "I don't really look forward to freezing up here, as much as I know you'd likely enjoy it…"
"Sure, the snow savage loves being cold," said Sokka, smirking as he slipped his hand inside his clothes. "But hey, maybe a fire lily will warm you up. Get it? Because it's, uh… fire? Okay, yeah, bad joke, I know…"
But he offered the flower to her nonetheless, and Azula laughed softly as she took it. She shook her head and stared at the gold and red flower while Sokka snuggled against her, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"Care to take off that helmet?" she asked. He hummed.
"Need me to?" he asked.
"Clearly. Kissing a helmet sounds unappealing," she said, smirking at him. Sokka laughed.
The cold breeze around his head was surprisingly refreshing, Sokka found. Wearing so many layers of clothes, along with an armor, had been quite uncomfortable for a man who preferred wearing light clothes in the Fire Nation. The chill in the air was a welcome respite…
But nothing was as much of a welcome respite as the feeling of her lips on his. She leaned back and kissed him, heart pounding in her chest as she recalled one occasion when she had dared do this, while he was unconscious behind her, right after they had vowed to never slip up again… to never be together as they were now.
Such fools they had been to make a promise they could never keep. They had needed time to heal their wounds, but the healing could only lead them back to where they wanted to be. They were magnetic, somehow. Their souls answered to each other, sought out one another instinctively. There had been no fighting their feelings, and they had learned the lesson the hard way.
But that hard way allowed them to be here, kissing passionately as the sun sank in the horizon. Sokka gently tilted Azula's chin towards him, while her hand fisted his hair, the other one holding the fire lily. That flower was, again, something she hadn't thought she'd experience. Again, something she had expected to be deprived from. If she had ever dreamt of receiving one of these flowers, she had swatted the thought away quickly, knowing they would have only been given to her as an obligation by any husband her father forced on her. No one else had given her a fire lily before this day. No one else had reason to.
Only Sokka did. And only Sokka would go to the ends of the earth to make sure her every wishful fantasy would come true. Every depressing thought of how impossible romance would be for her, every pang of jealousy over her friends' far more successful love lives, had been things she had assumed she would endure forever. A monster could not be loved…
But after all this time, it was truly hard to believe she was one. She knew Sokka had helped her see the many errors in her ways, and she had chosen to learn the lessons one by one. She had made a decision today, defied her father in a battle of wills… and she had done so for the sake of the people she would rule over one day. For the sake of all those people, and not only the ones whose support she'd need to seize the throne.
Would a monster do all those things? She didn't think so. She really didn't. There was also the fact that Sokka, the smartest but most stubborn, rebellious man in the world, with the best, kindest heart she had ever known, would love her. He was no fool, even if she claimed otherwise sometimes: his heart was in the right place, and he didn't think she was a monster. He wouldn't have loved her if he thought she was one…
She didn't need more of the romantic gestures she knew he'd keep making. She would gladly accept them every time, but he didn't have to go to such lengths to make her happy. The greatest of all his gestures had been the chance to let her grow, and to stand beside her as she became a better woman than the heartbroken one who had stolen a kiss from him that night. To become someone who no longer believed she would live her life halfway through. She could become a successful leader, the best one the Fire Nation had seen, just like her father wanted her to be: but she meant to do that with the love of her life standing by her side.
She pulled away from the kiss with a smile on her face. Sokka smiled too and clasped her hand in his. She nuzzled his neck, resting against him as his free arm wrapped around her waist.
"I never told you…" she whispered. He raised his eyebrows. "About the first time I kissed you while we were flying."
"Oh?" Sokka said, smirking. "I don't think you need to tell me about it, Princess. I was there, too."
"You were. But you were asleep," she said, smiling. Sokka's eyes widened. "I always chastised you for breaking your promises. Truth is… I broke ours not even an hour after we made it. That promise that we wouldn't seek each other out romantically anymore…?"
"You…?" Sokka said. Azula sighed.
"I know, I should've known better, but… I couldn't control myself," she admitted, slightly abashed. "The things we'd told each other, the truths we had spoken aloud… and that promise, all of it was overwhelming. I couldn't handle the onslaught of emotions that were tearing me apart at the moment. I could pretend I was fine, and I did, for a long time. I did the next morning, I did until you kissed me again at Ty Lee's place, but… just then, when I knew you couldn't see me making my mistakes, I allowed myself to be weak."
"What would you have done if I'd woken up, though?" Sokka asked, chuckling. Azula smiled and shook her head, pressing her forehead to his neck.
"Beats me. Maybe I would've flung myself off Xin Long's back."
"Azula!"
"You asked…"
Sokka laughed, despite his initial indignation, and she joined him soon enough. He leaned in to kiss her again, and she responded softly.
"Odd that you're confessing this just now, though," said Sokka, with a growing smirk. "Does that make us even?"
"Even? About what?"
"You know, me doing something I definitely shouldn't have today. You, breaking a promise that you then made me feel guilty about breaking when I did…"
"In my… sort of defense, I was being self-indulgent, and you never would have known if I wasn't telling you now," she said, turning her face away, but not fast enough for Sokka to miss the way her cheeks were reddening. He laughed.
"That's your defense? Really?" he asked, nuzzling her neck. "What a cruel Princess you are, Azula…"
She smiled as she felt his hands sliding over her body gently. His lips kissed the exposed skin on her neck, moving up to her ear.
"Here I should be outraged by how you were doing unspeakable things to me while I was unconscious…" he said, smirking against her nape. "Something I would have never, ever, done to you…"
"Huh. Never?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows and suspecting he was about to confess something of his own. Sokka laughed.
"That night, when I first told you I loved you, in Ember Island?" he said. She bit her lip and smiled.
"Huh. You said you'd do it for one night, ended up kissing me the next morning anyways."
"And I did it before you woke up, too."
She gasped as he laughed against her, and she looked at him in disbelief as he held her tightly against him.
"How dare you, doing such unspeakable things to me while I was unconscious?" she huffed "I should have you punished."
"Ooh, do tell, what do you have in mind?" he snickered. She laughed, unable to hold up her anger pretense much longer.
"Can't even let me have double standards without giving me one of your witty retorts?" she asked, and he kissed her cheek, beaming.
"It's hard to help it sometimes, I enjoy teasing you this way," he whispered by her ear. "I love you."
She turned her head again, catching his lips in another heartfelt kiss. If only their position was a little more comfortable she would embrace him tightly while their lips brushed together.
"I love you, too," she said, sighing heavily and relaxing with closed eyes against him. "Thanks."
"For the flower?"
"For today," she said. Sokka gave her a crooked smile she couldn't see, still with her eyes closed. "It's by far the best festival day I've ever had, and I had a high bar to compete with, what with last year and the ceremony, and our reckless boat escapade…"
"Heh, and here I thought you hadn't liked that one…"
"If I hadn't liked it, I would have shoved you off in the middle of it" she said, smiling wider. "I was really drunk, but I don't think I did anything I wouldn't have done if I hadn't been. Xin Long showed me everything and… that's what actually scared me back then. I wanted you so badly that I would have done it all over again, this time all the way… and I did, not too long afterwards."
"The consequences scared you, then?" Sokka asked, stroking her hand as Xin Long began moving again, planning on descending again, once the sky was a little darker.
"The consequences, the loss of rational thought, the surge of raw instinctive lust…" she said, with a soft chuckle. "In a way, it wasn't new to me. You've been doing that to me since, well… at least since that mess after your fight with Kyoshi's Heir. But it was stronger than ever, and I knew I couldn't reel it back in. More than that, I knew I didn't want to. I knew this could ruin our lives, if we're ever caught there's no telling what horrors would happen, but…"
"But none have," said Sokka, kissing her ear now. "As bad as it could have been, it hasn't been. We've dealt with all obstacles, fought all our battles, and it's pretty much a year now since we first got physical… and yet we're still here, aren't we?"
"We are," she said, looking at him and smiling warmly.
"And we're better than ever, too," he said, grinning and pressing his forehead to hers. She laughed softly.
"Feels like we only do get better and better," she said, intertwining her fingers with his. "I don't know what sort of life I'd lead without you, and I really don't want to know. The best decision I've ever made… was going back to Hui Yi and choosing you. If I could do things over again, I never would have sent you there in the first place. But as things were, getting you out of there… it really is the best thing I've ever done."
"Well, accepting your deal was my best decision, too," said Sokka, smiling and kissing her brow. "Even if I didn't think so at the time. Damn, it feels like it was another lifetime, doesn't it? How we begrudgingly worked together, bickering, snapping at each other…"
"And here we are now. Two fools in love, after one too many gifts of flowers," she said, laughing. "It's been quite the journey, hasn't it?"
"I'm sure it's going to be an even longer one, too," said Sokka, smiling and holding her closely. "We have so many things to do, so much to live for…"
"We do," said Azula, nodding with certainty. "And we will. We used to be our worst enemies, and we fought each other more often than we fought the real threats against us… but we've stopped doing that. On the most part, anyways."
"And now we're an unstoppable team, too. Yes, we're also fools in love, but still…"
"We can be both things. I think we've proven that," she said. Sokka smiled and nodded again.
"And we'll spend the rest of our lives proving it," he said, gazing into her eyes. Her smile was warmer than before, so warm Sokka's heart tingled pleasantly at the sight of it. Her beauty was ever something to be in awe of.
"Nothing would make me happier," she whispered, her hand reaching up to caress his cheek gently.
They kissed again and again, enough times to lose count and to lose themselves in each other, while Xin Long continued to wait until he could return to the refuge. Once he was satisfied with the darkness of the skies, he dove down again. The lights in the city were brighter than ever as Sokka's grip tightened around Azula's waist, his lips still kissing her ear and temples softly.
"Looks like one heck of a celebration," he said. She smiled and nodded.
"Let's just hope they save the fireworks for a few hours later…" she said. Sokka's eyes widened.
"You don't think one might hit us, do you?"
"With their aim? Who knows…"
Almost on cue, the whistling sound of fireworks reached Azula's ears. It came from the left, and so she ushered Xin Long to move in the opposite direction. It went off at enough distance that they remained safely away from it, and they flew quickly to enter the refuge once again.
The fireworks were barely starting, the lights blazing beautifully in the twilight sky. Azula watched them after dismounting, standing near one of the refuge's gates. The sight of the blend of colors in the sky brought to mind the multi-colored fire she had conjured a year ago for the ceremony. It wasn't the same, but it filled her chest with the same feeling of contentment either way.
Sokka approached, the helmet on his head once more. Azula smiled at him, and he reached down to take her hand as he watched the spectacle around them in pure awe.
"You guys really know how to throw parties when you want to, huh?" he said, watching as the sparks of red and gold spread across the sky.
"If the urge hits us, yes," said Azula, smiling as she leaned closer to him. "People think there's something romantic about watching fireworks as a couple, you know…"
"Do they? And why's that?" Sokka asked, smirking as he draped an arm around her shoulders.
"Who knows. Maybe if we do it long enough, we'll figure it out," she said. Sokka chuckled and agreed with her.
They would have to part ways eventually, they knew as much. But for now, if just for that small moment, they would enjoy each other's company as they continued to gaze at the bright lights in the open sky.
They weren't the only ones watching the fireworks. All over the city, people pointed at the sky and cheered at the sight of the best detonations. The flames spreading and fading in the darkness of twilight were the best way to put an end to the first day of the festivals.
"It's amazing," Song sighed, Rui Shi's hand in hers as they sat under a tree.
Her other hand held the fire lily he had procured for her today. She had thanked him amid blushes and kisses, careless about who saw them or what they might say about their boldness.
Everything had turned out the way it was supposed to be. Even if Rui Shi had worried about whatever had happened to the Royal Procession, the Princess's powerful speech had appeased them both. They had spent most the day avoiding the Princess, unlike her dutiful fans who chased after her and the guards like hounds following their master. Rui Shi's concerns about his future seldom gave him pause, though: he and Song had enjoyed their longest, happiest date so far. The whole day had fully convinced Rui Shi that there was nothing better than the intimacy born from being completely comfortable with someone else.
"Actually, this whole day has been amazing," Song corrected herself, with a small smile.
She turned her head away from the fireworks, and towards Rui Shi. He smiled kindly right back at her.
"It's how I wanted it to be," he said. "I'm glad you've enjoyed it."
"Being with you like this… it can be a little embarrassing," she said, blushing and hiding her face behind a hand. "I know we shouldn't kiss in public, it's not very appropriate, but I couldn't help it sometimes…"
"I wasn't complaining. Neither was anyone else, as far as I could see," Rui Shi said, smiling at her. "Don't worry about what anyone might say. We are well past that point now."
"I suppose we are," said Song, smiling weakly now.
She gazed at him with concern, though, and Rui Shi understood why immediately. He shook his head and cupped her face with a hand.
"Don't think about tomorrow," he said. "Don't think about whatever might happen to me, to us. I've already chosen you above all else, and I'll do that again if asked. If that means I can't go back to my job…"
"I just wish it didn't have to mean that," said Song, lowering her gaze. "But I understand. I just don't want to be someone who gets in the way of your career…"
"My career has been satisfactory so far. I'll gladly give it up if it's what it takes to be with you," he said. "I can find other jobs, you see. I could work in many other ways, even as a private bodyguard for some other nobleman, I don't know…"
"You're really willing to go that far for me?" she asked, biting her lip. Rui Shi nodded and she laughed. "You're… you're far too kind, Rui Shi. You truly are."
"It's the only way I can be honest with myself," he said, taking her hands in his. "If I've learned something after all this time with the Princess and Sokka, it's that they're each other's highest priority. She readily forsakes anything for him, that much is clear. Their relationship inspired me to be forward with you, and to give us the chance we deserved to be together. Inspired as I am… I just want to stay by your side, no matter what."
Song smiled and nodded, lifting his hand to her mouth. She kissed his fingers softly, and he did the same with hers, leading them both to laugh while pressing their foreheads together.
"Rui Shi…" she whispered. He hummed as a response. "I love you."
His chest tightened, as if his heart was about to burst. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. A smile spread across his face slowly, tenderly, and the emotion reflected in his eyes made Song's insecurities vanish instantly. She hadn't said the words before, even if she felt them deeply. But whatever uncertainties she'd held, whether he was ready to hear them or not, were dispelled so easily when his face became the truest reflection of his soul: he hadn't heard those words, spoken to him, in far too long. Fireworks seemed to come alive within him, launched by Song's confession.
"I love you too," he said, with a bright grin, with the conviction of a man who had come to terms with those feelings a long time ago. A man who had only been waiting for the right moment to say them.
Song's fragile smile lingered even as she kissed his lips, puling closer so he could wrap his arms around her waist. Every day with Rui Shi had been better than the last: his presence was enough to brighten every moment, his gentle smile and honesty always overwhelmed her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized she never wanted him to let her go. She never wanted to be torn from his side, and, going by how many things he was willing to sacrifice for her, he didn't want that either.
Their lips separated, but they remained locked in their close embrace. Song smiled shyly, as Rui Shi stroked her cheek.
"I… w-when I asked Sokka what you two were up to, I may have, well… assumed you were after something else," she blurted out. Rui Shi raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" he asked. She blushed brightly.
"Just… there aren't many things you would talk about with Sokka," she said. "That's what I thought, anyways. S-so I just… I kind of figured you wanted some sort of advice for, well…"
Rui Shi raised his eyebrows before blushing as well. Song buried her face in his chest while he blinked blankly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so foul-minded," she said, bashfully. "But I just… I just wanted you to know that, well, if… if you ever want to do something like that, I… I'd be happy for it."
"You would be?" Rui Shi said, his cheeks growing redder by the minute. "Y-you really…?"
"I mean, I just… I just told you I love you," she said, with a soft laugh. "I mean it, Rui Shi. And if there's someone I… I'd ever do that sort of thing with, it's you."
"Song…" he said, swallowing hard and stroking her hair gently. "Well, I certainly hadn't expected it to happen anytime soon. I mean, I… I kind of assumed otherwise…"
"You want us to wait until we get married?" Song asked, with a soft laugh. "That… that's lovely."
"Lovely as in, 'that sounds so wishful and old-fashioned' or lovely as in 'I would very much want to marry you' or…?" Rui Shi asked, swallowing hard. Song laughed again.
"The second one is closer to what I meant, yes," she said, glancing up at him. "I just… I'm committed to you, Rui Shi. I truly am, in every possible way, so… if you ever asked, I'd agree to marry you."
"I… that's…" he said, eyes wide as he smiled brightly. "I think I'm… somewhat overwhelmed now. Sorry, I just… I'm not used to this sort of feeling."
"What feeling?" she asked, placing a hand on his chest. He covered it with his own.
"Bliss, I think," he said, with a soft chuckle. "Then you truly want to be with me for good? To marry me one day?"
"I do," she said, and they both laughed together at her choice of words. "I do, Rui Shi. I… I love you."
"And I love you," he said again, leaning close to kiss her softly. "So much I think my heart can't keep up…"
"Of course it can," said Song, laughing as she pressed her body against his. Rui Shi beamed.
"Well, then… if, well, if we're committed as it is, I mean, maybe… m-maybe it's not too farfetched to break protocol, if just a little. I mean…"
His nervous mumbling only had one possible interpretation, and Song stared at him in amazement as he bit his lower lip and gazed at her hopelessly.
"Or would it be too much?" he said. "That is… maybe you do want to wait until then. Maybe that's what's right, and I'm being a fool to think that…"
"The house will probably still be empty," said Song. Rui Shi blushed. "We… we do have the chance to do this. I-if it's what you really want."
"Oh, no, if it's what you want, Song, I…"
"Well, I do, but I'm not saying this to pressure you or…"
"I'm not pressured at all, I just really to be sure that…"
The two of them rambled together until they both stopped. Their nervous words devolved into laughter and smiles again, as they held each other's hands.
"I wouldn't be a very good partner, I fear," he admitted. "I've never, well… I've never done this before."
"You can't be worse than me. I haven't either," said Song, with a bright smile. He laughed and kissed her lips again.
"I guess we'll find out, then, won't we?" he said, cupping her face. "But… maybe we shouldn't go home."
"Huh? You don't mean… going to the barracks?" she asked, eyes wide. "That would be…"
"No, that's not what I had in mind," he said.
His gaze drifted towards a sign down the street, lit by lanterns and hanging right in front of a large and beautiful house. It took Song a moment to read the sign: the house was an inn. Rui Shi blushed and shrugged.
"I was only thinking that this way you won't have to worry about cleaning or cooking or doing any chores," he whispered. "And if Sokka were to come home, he wouldn't intrude on us…"
"I'd have to explain where I spent the night anyways," said Song, biting her lip.
"We'll have a wider margin of time to decide how to explain by then," he said, kissing her brow. Song laughed softly.
"Well, all things considered, that jerk has been with the Princess for a long time now. He has no right to judge us."
"None indeed," said Rui Shi, smiling and taking her hand in his. "Then… do you really want to do this?"
Song smiled right back and nodded, shifting closer to him and kissing his cheek. Rui Shi bit his lip as their fingers intertwined.
"Let's go," she whispered, gazing into his eyes lovingly.
Fireworks went off through the rest of the night, and the excited crowds in the streets only fell silent well past midnight. But for the two young lovers in that middle-class inn, the sounds went ignored. The blasts in the sky were simply part of a background as they finished the best day of their lives by taking one more step forward in their growing relationship.