"So… we're back" Sokka said, grimacing at the Royal Palace.
Azula stood tensely beside him, a heavy scowl on her face as she regarded her home with more hostility than she had ever expected to muster towards it. She breathed deeply, shook her head and crossed the Palace gates, with Sokka trailing only a few steps behind her.
"I hope this won't take long" Azula said "But it'll be for the best if I meet my father alone… no offense"
"Eh, not like I expected otherwise. You usually keep me away from your dad unless he expressly states he wants to see me" said Sokka, with a crooked grin "Though, do we know for sure that he doesn't want to see me, Princess…?"
"Considering you've been harboring his fugitive daughter for a month, I question he'll be all that amicable towards you" Azula smiled at last, breathing deeply and stopping at the very entrance of the building "Mind waiting around here, then?"
"What, all the way out here? Does this mean you don't want your father to know you came with me altogether?" he smirked, raising his eyebrows as he regarded her with fake indignation "Now, now, are you ashamed of me, Azula…?"
"Beyond ashamed, you cannot possibly imagine how much…" Azula said, sarcastically, as Sokka chuckled "You know why, Sokka. Just… don't cause any trouble. Or too much trouble, as the case may be…"
"I'll be right here, Princess. Unless I find something more interesting to do other than standing here, of course…"
A skeptical glare by his lover brought Sokka to smile guiltily at her. She returned the grin eventually, shaking her head and waving towards him as she restarted her way to her father's office. Not only was it easy to guess Ozai would be there, but she confirmed it with her resonance too. Seethus was nowhere to be found. She didn't know if that was reassuring or worrisome.
Sokka watched her as she walked away, she could feel his gaze upon her. Just for the fun of it, she swayed her hips more noticeably for a few steps before glancing back at him. The dumbstruck blush on his face was priceless, and a very nice distraction from her upcoming ordeal, if just for a few moments.
The Palace was ever her home, even now. Her heart churned upon realizing she had missed the dark, majestic corridors, the marble flooring, the sensation of greatness that filled her completely once she was here. It wouldn't be impossible for her to discard all the luxuries if need be… but the feeling of belonging in this Palace was difficult to shake off after a month of living nomadically between Sokka and Ty Lee's houses.
Two Imperial Guards stood before Ozai's office when she arrived: one of them used to be a member of her Royal Guards. He reacted quickly upon noticing Azula, and after a deep bow he announced her arrival immediately to the Fire Lord.
Ozai allowed her inside his study without any ado; Azula nodded in acknowledgement at Jianghuo before entering the room, coldness spreading inside her body when she finally laid eyes upon her father again. She was nervous… but she was apprehensive, most of all. As much as her heart was racing, it wasn't with the eagerness and anticipation it did around Sokka. If anything, she wanted nothing but to put as much distance between herself and Ozai again as soon as possible.
The guard closed the door behind him, leaving Azula and Ozai with a little more privacy. She didn't take her seat, and Ozai noticed it. He raised his eyes to meet hers, confirming that their rift was far from amended. Her visit became all the more puzzling because of it.
"Crown Princess Azula" he spoke, his tone so docile it was actually alarming. Azula only tensed up further because of it "To what do I owe this visit?"
"I… have joined an event for the Gladiator League" she said, her voice grave even if she wasn't speaking of a complicated subject. The complication was speaking to Ozai at all "I wanted to inform you of it, and request for permission to travel to Ba Sing Se with my assigned guards and Barge"
"An event?" Ozai repeated, raising his eyebrows "What is it this time? Didn't you attend that Pairs Tournament barely a few months ago?"
"This will actually take place in the Terra Jewel" Azula explained, almost mechanically "From the information they provided on their fliers, it seems they want the gladiators and sponsors to gather at the Agrarian Zone in Ba Sing Se before leaving for the northernmost end of the Si Wong Desert together…"
"That's… quite the journey" said Ozai, frowning "How would it be undertaken?"
"I frankly don't know, but I've braved harsh traveling conditions before" Azula shrugged "I could have my dragon fly me there if their plans to reach the Desert aren't as safe and stable as they appear to be"
"Hmm" said Ozai, folding his arms over his chest, but he shrugged soon enough "I suppose, if you believe you can handle it, it's not my place to deny you this trip"
Her heart clenched upon hearing those words. No doubt it was great, he was giving her permission, but… it wasn't his place to deny her this? Just as it hadn't been hers to deny him the serial murders committed by Seethus?
"Thank you, Father" she said, closing her eyes and bowing her head towards him "I'll inform Captain Fei Li myself"
"Azula…" he called her, upon noticing she was about to leave. The Princess froze, most unwillingly "You do realize that, regardless of whatever conflicts we may have, this is still your home, don't you?"
She glanced at her father, her emotions betraying her now. She had managed to remain stoic through their conversation, but by now the mask of impassiveness had broken entirely. There were very few people who could trigger her emotional responses with ease… but Ozai was certainly amongst them.
"I… I know that" she replied, wishing her words were lies. Wishing she hadn't felt the sense of belonging she did upon entering the Palace.
"Then, perhaps, you should consider returning home" said Ozai, breathing deeply "If you do not wish to partake in any pleasantries with me, I will accept that. But, all things considered…"
"I'm not ready yet" Azula blurted out. Ozai frowned "I… can't stop thinking about him. I can't stop resonating to make sure he's not near me. I…"
"Seethus won't harm you, Azula" Ozai interrupted her "He is not a violent man by nature. He merely does what I ask him to. And if you fear I would ask him to hurt you, torment you, be that as it may… then perhaps it is time for you to remember, child, that I am not just your Fire Lord. I am your father, too. I do not wish harm upon you"
"I remember as much, Father" Azula said, gritting her teeth "I never thought you did. I just… I can't feel at ease when I know he could be lurking anywhere"
"He's the one who doesn't feel at ease around you, from what I understand" said Ozai, with a small smile. Azula raised an eyebrow "You're the first person who can counter his fire completely, to the point of nullifying it. He's, quite possibly, scared of you"
"I question that" Azula said, lowering her eyes "But I suppose if you're right I'll try to make the most of that"
"He won't seek you out unless I ask him to. And I see no reason to do such a thing" Ozai stated, simply. Azula nodded "I suppose you'll be going on that trip now, so even if you came home now it would be briefly… but perhaps you can consider returning to your chambers once you're back"
"Perhaps" Azula said, nodding cautiously "I'll think about it, if nothing else"
"It's all I can ask" Ozai said, before waving his hand in her direction "Off you go, then. Wherever it is you go to these days"
Azula bowed her head carefully towards Ozai before turning on her heels and leaving without another word. No doubt Ozai wouldn't be pleased by her behavior, especially after he had shown himself so complacent and understanding… the thought gave her pause. Her father was many things, but eager to please others? Certainly not. He had lived his life without abiding by anyone's wishes but his own, always refusing to face the consequences for his actions. Why would he be any different when it came to Azula, especially considering he had been so adamant and set in his ways back when she had confronted him in the Throne Room?
His words echoed in her mind again. He wasn't just her Fire Lord… he was her father. What on earth did that mean? Her fists trembled ever so slightly as she pondered the possibilities: the likeliest one was that he sought to manipulate her, thoroughly. The unlikeliest, of course, was that he genuinely cared for her and wanted to breathe new life into their bond by extending a friendly hand towards her.
But if that was the case, she had no intention of taking it.
She had been lost in her thoughts, allowing her feet to guide her on their own accord, when she found Sokka in the same corridor she'd left him in. Only, he wasn't alone anymore.
"Admiral?" she called Zhao, surprising the man as he spoke with Sokka. Azula frowned upon noticing Sokka didn't look half as upbeat as before, which was strange. She had known all along that he was forcing himself to be cheerful in hopes to lighten Azula's burdens: it was easy to assume Zhao was responsible for the radical change. Why, though?
"Ah, Princess. Your gladiator here was telling me you were requesting your father's permission to attend Gladiator Brawl?" he asked. There was a tinge of anxiety in the Admiral's countenance.
"I was indeed" she said, nodding.
"How did it go?" Sokka asked, looking at her apprehensively. The chagrin in his face was unsettling. What on earth had Zhao said that might upset him so much?
"He's allowed it. We'll be headed to the Earth Kingdom within a few days" she answered earnestly.
Zhao breathed deeply, and Sokka closed his eyes, fists clenched. Azula watched the two of them with confusion, wondering if they'd say something on their own, determined to make them talk if they didn't.
"Well? Why are you asking, if I may, Admiral?" Azula blurted out "And why are you both reacting like these are terrible news?"
"I overheard Aonu yesterday, after he left the Grand Royal Dome, arguing with his gladiator… about how he'd join Gladiator Brawl too" said Zhao. Azula's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?" she said.
"I returned to the Dome to check if he had signed up for it, and I found he had" Zhao finished "I take it he's finally trying his luck at courting you, then? His persistence seems to indicate as much…"
"H-he… he was, but I… I told him to wait until after the Brawl" Azula snarled, fury filling her gradually but powerfully "What on earth is wrong with him?! That bastard, he…!"
"All things considered, we… we didn't stop to think he could easily join the Brawl too" Sokka muttered Azula fixed him with a skeptical scowl "It doesn't make him any less invasive or creepy, no kidding, but… he's not breaking any rules, is he?"
"No, he's merely going to take advantage of the confusion in the Brawl to defeat you before you can so much as make out your bearings" Azula snapped "He's not breaking any rules, sure, he's only proving he's utterly dishonorable… and yes, I dodged his initial challenge, so perhaps I'm dishonorable too, but this is…!"
"I can understand your outrage, Princess…" said Zhao, raising a hand with his palm towards her. Azula glared at him in disbelief "But… I think you can turn this to your advantage. I realize it may seem impossible right now, but…"
"How could it be advantageous for us?" Azula asked, looking at Zhao in disbelief "I have no idea how many fighters will be there. I already expected the Brawl to be one of the toughest events we've joined so far, and now the second-best gladiator of the League will join it too?"
"Indeed, he shall. And so shall the first" Zhao declared.
His words gave both Azula and Sokka pause. The gladiator had kept his head low, despair gnawing away at him faster than a drill tearing into a rock at full speed. But he gazed up at Zhao in utter confusion now, discovering his sponsor bore the same flabbergasted look on her face.
"What did you just say…?" Azula said, her voice small now as the magnitude of Zhao's decision seemed to crush her. The Admiral smirked, though.
"If Aonu won't play fair, you needn't do it either" Zhao declared "I will, of course, stay out of it if you wish for it, but as I've told you, I'm involved in the Gladiator League out of duty. I seek to protect your father's best interests through my gladiator's prowess and I certainly need to protect them when it comes to this. As Gladiator Brawl has presented me with the perfect chance to run interference between you and Aonu, why shouldn't I do as much?"
Azula was genuinely speechless by now. Sokka blinked blankly, glancing between both Azula and Zhao as he wondered what the Princess would say. Her expression was unreadable.
"Would it work, though?" Sokka asked "If Combustion Man were to beat the Millennium Dragon, wouldn't we just circle back to square one? Aonu might say it doesn't count as being defeated by me, so…"
"What about if Combustion Man overwhelms the Millennium Dragon, but you sweep in to deliver the finishing blow?" Zhao asked, raising his eyebrows "Yes, it's sneaky and underhanded, but clearly, so is Aonu. I see no problem with this course of action"
"Aonu doesn't have much authority over anything" Azula muttered. Zhao and Sokka turned their attention towards her now "All things considered, snubbing him may be an underhanded, lowly thing to do… but, of all my potential suitors, he's the only one who might not pose much of a problem for my father if we offend him in any way…"
"Woah, really?" Sokka said, looking at Azula in surprise "Azula…"
"Sokka, I can't afford to wind up engaged to Aonu" she said, sternly. Sokka gulped, the steel in her voice and glare giving him pause "And whatever I may have to do to get rid of him, I will. Even if it's… even if it's as wild as joining forces with Combustion Man, of all people"
"Of all people?" Zhao repeated, with a weak grin "You'd think I'm the worst potential partner you could ever find…"
"Considering your gladiator most likely blew up both his arm and his leg with his wild skills, is it really that strange that I'd feel apprehensive about sending my very-much not-fireproof gladiator to fight side by side with him?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Zhao chuckled.
"Well, admittedly, he's a hazard to most people, but he does have his skills under control by now. His arm and leg were merely accidents from childhood" he said, dismissively. Azula grimaced.
"So he really did blow them up himself. I always had imagined as much, but…"
"He's not much of a talker, but he's told me as much, yes" said Zhao "It was reassuring, to a fault. If he hasn't blown up any other limbs since then, it means he has learned to direct his explosive powers correctly"
"No doubt" said Azula, with a skeptical smile.
"So, we're really doing this?" Sokka asked, biting his lip "I mean, it sounds like a good plan, but we need to remember it's not going to be just three fighters in the Brawl…"
"Indeed" said Zhao "Do you expect he won't be able to help you much if others try to engage him in battle?"
"I guess I was thinking we could help each other" Sokka sighed, shaking his head "If I could deal with some of the weaker gladiators, maybe he can do his sparky-sparky-boom thing and blow the rest of them away?"
Azula stared at him in utter disbelief. Sokka blinked blankly upon noticing it, and he shrugged.
"What? Sparky-Sparky-Boom Man would hardly be the worst name I've brought up so far" he smiled at last, and Azula's eyes widened as she covered her mouth with a hand. Zhao merely stared at Sokka with a raised eyebrow.
"No wonder she always looks so exasperated with your antics" Zhao smiled now, shaking his head. Sokka smiled awkwardly.
"Alright, leaving aside all matters of gladiator names worthy of a five-year-old…" Azula said, her voice thin and sarcastic.
"Hey…" Sokka pouted, but Azula ignored him as she stared at Zhao.
"Is there something you want in return for this?" she asked. The Admiral raised his eyebrows.
"Why… if anything, I thought I was the one who was making amends for my past mistakes" he said, with an earnest smile "I caused you such unnecessary trouble when I misunderstood your relationship with your guard. I figured I might be able to atone for it by helping you protect your freedom instead of finding the right husband for you. Or would you rather I…?"
"No, thank you. I prefer this method of atoning, by far" Azula said, with a dry smile that became more genuine after a few moments "This is actually… the best way for you to atone, as far as I can tell. Thank you, Admiral"
"We're not going to be allies for long, I know as much" he smiled "One day you'll be drawing plans to have your gladiator take down mine, but until such day arrives…"
"Until then?" Azula asked, when he paused. Zhao smiled.
"Until then I'd like to support you, rather than hinder you, on your path to greatness" he said "Who knows? Maybe it'd be best if you took over the League, when the time comes. It's a fun hobby, but I can't take it as seriously as you do. If, as people say, you two are the best combination of gladiator and sponsor, no doubt you'd deserve to be at the top of that ranking far more than I do"
Azula blinked a few times, her instincts quickly warning her not to take Zhao's flattery too seriously, but she had no idea how to respond to his words all the same. Upon her silence, Zhao bowed his head in her direction.
"I'll sign up for the Brawl after I visit your father, then" he said "We'll see each other in the Earth Kingdom again, most likely"
"Yes, Admiral. Thank you, again, for your offer. I hope this pays off" said Azula, with an uncertain smile. Zhao nodded.
"We shall work hard to make it so" he declared, before smiling at Sokka "Though you must do your best regardless of my help, of course. It's in your best interests that the Princess remains free to continue sponsoring you as she pleases, after all"
"Right" said Sokka, grinning back "Thanks for this, really. Maybe Azula wouldn't owe you for it, but I probably will"
"We'll see if you do, depending on the fight's outcome" said Zhao, raising his eyebrows.
He bowed one last time towards them before walking off to Ozai's study, following the same corridors Azula had trailed barely a few minutes ago. Sokka watched him go before turning to the Princess, who still looked uneasy.
"Azula…"
"He's been on his best behavior, in general… but I guess I still don't trust him. Not as much as I should, at least" Azula sighed, shaking her head "He wants to help, it seems. It's his duty to do so, even. And yet as soon as he says the wrong thing…"
"What was wrong with what he said?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"He… he said maybe I should take his place in the League" Azula muttered "It sounds so flattering, and yet what I hear is… what I hear is I'd become yet another of my father's executioners. And I'd do so through you, to make matters worse. I… I could never have you killing gladiators just to do my father's bidding…"
"I'd refuse to do that, too" Sokka smiled awkwardly. Azula sighed.
"Then hell knows what we'll do if we're to ever become the top-billed gladiator and sponsor" she said, with a shrug.
Sokka's smile waned at that, but he huffed and pouted soon enough. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"I guess your dad will just have to learn to stop being such a passive-aggressive ass, then" he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Azula smiled in disbelief "It's as simple as that"
"It's not simple at all, but it's no surprise you'd think of it that way" she laughed, before urging him to walk with her out of the Palace's premises again. Sokka did as much, still stubbornly angry at Ozai as he strode through the marble halls with Azula.
Daylight greeted them brightly as they stepped back into the open walkway outside. Azula slowed down, glancing back at the Palace building briefly. Sokka glanced at her over his shoulder.
"How did your meeting with your father go, though? Other than him agreeing to let you go to the Brawl…" he asked, finally. If Zhao hadn't appeared suddenly as he had, he surely would have asked much sooner.
"Nothing noteworthy" Azula muttered, closing her eyes "Though, I guess… he wants me to come home. Probably to keep better tabs on me, or what I do…"
Sokka watched her with uncertainty, waiting for her to be ready to leave. Azula remained silent for a moment, breathing deeply before turning her back on the Palace and facing Sokka.
"Either way, we're free to go, and that's what matters." she said, smiling at him "All that remains for me to do is notify my Imperial Guard squad so we can get ready to go. Granted, it's not going to be easy to shake off Aonu, perhaps it won't be enough to win against him in Gladiator Brawl, but all the same…"
"We'll have to try our best to make him give up here" Sokka said, nodding promptly "And I do mean to. Whatever it takes, I'll… I'll protect you from him"
"As gallant as ever" said Azula, smirking in a teasing way. Sokka smiled back at her "Alright then… shall we find my guards?"
Sokka nodded and followed her lead towards the guards' barracks. He hadn't been there in a while, and the memory of why he had visited the place before brought an awkward smile to his face. He kept up with Azula all the same, though, and he stood by her as she communicated her orders to the Captain of her squad of Imperial Guards.
Azula had teased Sokka, acting as though she weren't taking his determination seriously, but the truth was that she did. She always had intended to be strong enough to deal with all her threats by herself, through her own power alone. If she couldn't deal with them immediately, she'd play the long game and defeat them in time. But right now there was nothing she could do to keep Aonu at bay by herself.
She had an incredible partner, though, one who had defeated terrible odds before and who'd had a remarkable victorious streak over the course of the past year. While she couldn't be certain he would triumph against the Millennium Dragon, and while she was strongly unsettled by the thought of having him in the middle of a battle involving both the two best gladiators of the League, she wanted to believe in him. For, amidst all the people who had been tasked with her protection and defense through her life, Sokka was the one person she trusted completely. And he was the one person with the strongest motivation to protect her, too. They wanted to believe their destinies were intertwined, after all: the only way to ensure that they would remain that way was to fight with everything they had against those who sought to tear them away from each other's side.
Rounds in the Royal Barge were silent and inconsequential, on the most part. Rui Shi had to commend Sokka and Azula for their stealth, seeing as he had never really caught them in the act – not that he had ever intended to, considering how uncomfortable he was by most of what concerned the intimacy of their relationship.
He was one of the three assigned guards on the first night of their journey, and he would have been upholding his duties far more enthusiastically, or as enthusiastically as could be expected from Rui Shi, if only Song hadn't been a guest in the Barge's tower for the second time. He ached to rush to her side, to hold her through the night as he would if he weren't on duty. She would be asleep by now, he guessed… but at least tomorrow they would have a chance to be together again.
All the same, he decided to indulge himself by patrolling the ship's tower, hoping to glimpse a light in her room, any excuse to head upstairs and check on her. Still, he saw nothing as he moved across the prow. He sighed, as good as counting the minutes before his shift was over…
He stepped inside the tower, planning to ensure all was in order in the machine room, but he stopped cold when he noticed there was someone sitting at the foot of the stairs that led up to the tower.
At first, he had almost assumed it was Sokka, for he was the only person he knew lurked in the ship at such hours… but he stopped himself from voicing his suspicions when he noticed the person in question wore the boots from the Imperial Guard uniform. He breathed deeply, readying himself to scold whichever of his slacking comrades he was dealing with… but he froze upon recognizing the man who was dozing off at the stairs.
"Renkai?" he called the man, who jumped immediately at the sound. Rui Shi raised an eyebrow.
"R-Rui Shi? Were you on your way upstairs?" Renkai asked, looking at his colleague warily.
"Not really. I was merely doing my rounds. I'm on shift tonight, as you already know… but you're not, I'm sure of that. My partners tonight were Wuhan and Qiang, not you"
"I… I know that" said Renkai, grimacing "It's just, well… I thought it was for the best"
"You don't trust that we can do our jobs?" Rui Shi asked, skeptical. Renkai groaned but shook his head.
"It's not that, it's just…"
"You're still on with that conspiracy theory, aren't you? About the Princess and the gladiator…" Rui Shi said, frowning. Renkai huffed.
"It's going to be more than that if I catch them. And I will, if I keep this up. I know I will" he said.
"And what if you don't?" Rui Shi asked, eyeing the Imperial Guard with skepticism.
"W-well, that's…"
"You would have wasted your nights chasing after a fantasy rather than getting proper rest, that's what" said Rui Shi, sighing. Renkai groaned "What makes you think they'd act out only on nights you're not on shift? I assume that's why you're doing this, after all…"
"Because I'm the outsider. I'm the one who doesn't belong here" Renkai growled "You know it too. I'm the one they need to watch out for, because…"
"Because the rest of us are either complicit or incapable of putting a stop to them?" Rui Shi completed. Renkai gritted his teeth, averting his gaze "If you're worried about being an outsider, suspecting and judging your peers is probably not the best way to go about finding your place amongst us"
Renkai kept his head down now, and Rui Shi watched him with uncertainty for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.
"As you'd have it, then" he said, making to head downstairs into the ship.
"What would you do if you found them?" Renkai blurted out, bringing Rui Shi to freeze where he stood "I mean… if you were doing your rounds here, and… and you caught them, meeting in secret. What would you do?"
Rui Shi gritted his teeth before turning on his heels to answer the question. Renkai awaited his answer eagerly.
"I would certainly be dead before I could so much as think of informing the Fire Lord" said Rui Shi. Renkai's eyes widened "Do you truly believe the Princess to be innocent and unwilling to stain her hands with the blood of someone who discovers her darkest secrets?"
"T-that, I… I hadn't considered it" said Renkai, blinking and averting his gaze.
"If it wasn't her, it'd be him" said Rui Shi, shrugging "He's killed before, after all. He's a seasoned warrior, capable of steeling himself to commit whatever heinous acts he must. As much as I'm not an average firebender, the Princess far outdoes me in those regards and the gladiator can as good as fight her evenly by now, while being a non-bender. So, frankly…?"
"You'd rather protect yourself?" Renkai asked. Rui Shi closed his eyes.
"If anything is happening… I would sooner not find out. All things considered, the Princess has already proven she is a talented leader and a capable warrior. Being involved with the wrong person would indeed taint her reputation… but it wouldn't affect her skills or her potential leadership in any way, as far as I can tell"
"You truly believe she would be an adept Fire Lord if she mingles with slaves? With… Water Tribe slaves?" Renkai inquired, an eyebrow raised. Rui Shi's eyes narrowed.
"I certainly don't think of slaves as lesser than us, let alone of foreigners" he said. Renkai flinched.
"I… I didn't mean that. I mean, you're not royal, but she…"
"She should know better than I do?" Rui Shi inquired. Renkai gritted his teeth.
"No, that's… no" he said, shaking his head.
"Is it your job to protect the Royal Family, Renkai, or is it to dig up information to disgrace them with?" Rui Shi finished. Renkai fell silent now, unable to hold Rui Shi's gaze again.
Rui Shi hadn't expected to have any sort of confrontations with Renkai anytime soon, and he had blurted out his words without thinking it through. He had always known Renkai was spying on them for the Imperial Guards' General, as had Azula, but they had intended to keep him at bay rather than challenge him over it. He wasn't sure if he had made the right or wrong decision by asking that final question.
"Either way, I…" said Rui Shi, gritting his teeth "I'm going downstairs, then. You should go to bed"
Renkai closed his eyes, clenching a fist but holding his silence this time. Rui Shi moved quickly, heading inside the ship without glancing back again. He hoped, genuinely, that he wouldn't find Renkai still sitting there once he came back upstairs. But he had something rather urgent to do right now…
His heart lurched in his chest when, upon walking through the long corridor below deck, he spotted someone walking in a very awkward way, headed for the same stairs Rui Shi had just climbed down. The shape froze, though, as soon as he saw him. The dimly lit corridor made it difficult for them to recognize each other, but it wasn't long before Rui Shi cut the distance between himself and who he knew could only be Sokka.
"Shit, Rui Shi…" Sokka sighed, when he finally identified the guard. He smiled in relief "I thought you were someone way more dangerous than-… wait, I mean, uh, I was only going for a leak! Just for a little…!"
"Shut up. Don't do it" Rui Shi said, breathing deeply and stopping right in front of Sokka "Renkai's sitting at the stairs, waiting for you or her to head to each other's room so he can catch you in the act"
"Wait, what?" Sokka said, eyes wide "Okay, I knew he had been snooping about, but…"
"He's getting bolder, and much more dangerous both for you and the Princess" Rui Shi said, closing his eyes "For all the love you profess for her… please don't do this. Not tonight"
"I… I won't" said Sokka, with a pained grimace "Ugh, I hate that guy. What's the point of traveling at all if we can't be together…?"
Sokka grumbled under his breath before turning on his heels and skulking on his way to his cabin again. Rui Shi sighed as he watched him go, knowing both Sokka and Azula would be grateful for it, if they genuinely understood the danger Renkai posed for them.
Lying to save the Princess and her illicit relationship wasn't something Rui Shi had thought he'd have to do for a living. If anything, if Renkai had been lurking about back when Rui Shi had first caught the Princess and Sokka kissing on that roof, he probably would have told Renkai everything, both to vent and because he couldn't truly see their relationship as anything but a whim.
But time had proved how wrong his original misconceptions were, and his role as the Princess's protector had become much more complex than it used to be over the past year: he was completely loyal to her, no matter his rank, no matter what guard squad he was assigned to. And that loyalty meant more than just keeping the Princess safe: he trusted her fully, and he would do whatever was necessary to protect everything she found valuable, too.
Sokka was moody even when he discovered he'd have Azula's company during breakfast. After their first shared meal in the dining deck, Azula had taken the habit of joining him for meals at least once a day there. Seeing as he hadn't visited her at night, the Princess had been waiting in the dining deck since early in the morning, when not many sailors or guards were ready to eat yet. She had been eager to see Sokka again, hoping to inquire as to why he hadn't showed up in her cabin, but where she had hoped he was simply too tired to head upstairs, she found a completely different and far less appealing explanation when he took his seat before her.
"He has some nerve" Azula growled, shaking her head as Sokka sighed, his head hung after finishing his explanation "I ought to punish him for this, on some measure. For spreading such false accusations and disrupting other guards' duties, if nothing else…"
"You shouldn't" Sokka muttered "That'd seem too defensive on your part, which would only make things more suspicious…"
"I know. It's why I said I ought to, but I know I can't act as I please either way" she huffed, glaring at her half-finished breakfast. She had lost her appetite by now "And acting upon this would reveal Rui Shi conveyed the information to us right away…"
"Which, again, would be too suspicious. If we weren't hiding anything, he wouldn't have felt the need to tell us that someone was snooping around after us" Sokka said, with a dry grin before groaning in defeat "So? What are we going to do?"
"Nothing, I suppose. Resent him, inevitably" Azula smiled a little, shrugging. Sokka sighed in defeat "And of course…"
"We'll try to behave ourselves and not do anything stupid for the rest of the trip?" he finished. Azula closed her eyes, remaining silent at his question "That sounds incredibly boring. We have weeks of traveling ahead of us…"
"I know. But it'd be the last time we'll travel at all if he ever finds the evidence he's looking for" Azula said, curtly "So, as we would like to avoid that…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Sokka pouted a little, averting his gaze from her.
"All things considered, we've been worse off" said Azula, smiling weakly at him "At least we did spend a whole month together, right?"
"It's still a waste, no matter how you may look at it. It's always a waste not to spend as much time with you as possible" Sokka mumbled, quickly reaching to touch her hand over the table.
The contact didn't linger for long, startled as they were by the sounds of frying pans and boiling pots in the kitchen. All the same, Azula smiled at him, if remorsefully, but knowing, as ever, that they would do what was best. If she had to live without him by her side at all hours for a short time, she'd manage somehow. There was nothing else to be done about it.
It didn't mean, though, that they couldn't be together at all through this journey. And Azula had already come up with an idea on what they'd occupy their time with over the next few weeks before Gladiator Brawl arrived.
"Woah, woah… you're not serious, are you?" Sokka asked, eyes wide as he stood on deck, fully furnished with his armor and weapons.
He was staring at Azula in disbelief, but she wasn't alone: Sokka stood at the center of a circle, surrounded by Azula and six of her guards. The chosen firebenders were off-duty today, and as traveling across the sea could be quite boring often, they had welcomed Azula's invitation to join her in training her gladiator. Wuhan, Shuren, Taro, Han, Qiang and Tai Wei had been warming up on deck when Sokka walked leisurely towards Azula, blissfully unaware of the intense training session she had concocted for his benefit until she finally explained her intentions.
"How would I possibly not be serious?" Azula smirked, waving her sword in circles, a plum of blue fire dancing on her hand "You do realize you might just have to fend off multiple, simultaneous enemies in Gladiator Brawl? You've never trained properly for that kind of situation, and there's no better assortment of firebenders to prepare you for that than us"
The guards chosen to train with him had taken off their helmets, as they often did these days when traveling with Azula. Ever since she had become more lenient with their uniform they all appeared much happier and more comfortable. It was why it hardly surprised Sokka to see them smirking too, echoing the Princess's expression.
"I suppose, but… maybe I should fight two or three of you at once instead of seven?" Sokka suggested. Azula scoffed.
"If we prepare you for the worst possibilities, you'll handle lesser threats better" Azula declared, proudly "While there's no doubt you might face worse odds than seven-to-one, at that point it may just be impossible for them to attack you simultaneously. So I believe this is the right number you should prepare for, yes"
"How thorough of you" Sokka groaned, sighing in defeat "At least try not to go overboard on the first round, okay?"
"Ah, shall we take it easy on you?" Azula asked, with a mocking, sympathetic smile "That's fine. We'll just go overboard on the second round instead"
"Oh, come on!"
"On your guard, gladiator!" the Princess declared, raising her sword in his direction. Sokka grimaced, clenching his own blade and glaring at Azula fiercely.
The Princess was the first to attack, but another guard lunged forth when Azula was shooting a charged fire blast through her sword. Sokka jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the blue fireball… and nearly falling directly into Qiang's waiting attack, too.
Sokka dropped flat on the deck to dodge the fire dagger, lashing out with a kick in Qiang's direction, but the sound of footsteps behind him prompted him to push himself upwards at haste: Wuhan was set in position to launch a barrage of fire at him, and Tai Wei seemed to use his own power to boost his fellow guard's attacks.
There wasn't anything Sokka could do other than release an undignified shout as he covered his face with his armguards and dropped on the deck again. He rolled into a small ball, as though expecting fire to rain on him regardless of his helplessness.
"Uh… I guess he's given up" said Han, blinking as he eyed Sokka with uncertainty "Sad. I didn't even get to attack him yet"
"Alright, perhaps we did go overboard" Azula smiled, walking towards Sokka and dropping Wolf's Bane beside him. He had remained curled in his frame, making himself as small as possible, but he unfurled quickly at the sight of the white blade "Come on, come on. Pick it up and let's go again"
"Wait, so I get to use Wolf's Bane?" Sokka asked, eyes alight with hope. Azula sighed and shrugged.
"Considering you are going to use it in combat either way, it seems a little over-the-top for me to use it in training instead of you" she said, with a weak grin "But that doesn't mean you're going to do that much better, I warn you…"
"Hey, at least it's one way to keep some fire at bay" Sokka smiled, picking up the sword after all.
The sun was setting when Renkai climbed up to the deck – he had been resting properly, for he did have a shift tonight. But where he had expected to find an empty deck, he came across the exact opposite sight.
For a moment he had thought they had a stowaway, and his fellow guards were trying to burn them to a crisp. The sight of a relentless attack of orange fire was unexpected, though blasts of blue poured through the orange at times: all those flames were attacking the same spot with such resilience it was impossible to see who stood at the center of that inferno.
At least, it was impossible at first. Once Renkai stepped forward, hoping to unravel this confusing situation, he caught sight of the dark armor, just as a white blade seemed to slice a fire blast in half. His eyes widened when he took in the gladiator, cutting through the flames with terrifying expertise. He managed to come close enough to one of the guards to tackle him to the floor, before blocking another barrage of fire that washed against him mercilessly.
"Okay, that's one down!" Sokka shouted, smiling proudly but not for long: a blue fireball flew so fast at him that he fell back on the floor, near the same firebender he had tackled moments ago "Hell, Azula!"
The Princess ought to have scolded the gladiator for addressing her in such fashion, or perhaps smirked arrogantly over what she'd done to him. Instead, though, she laughed earnestly, watching as her gladiator rolled away from the guard beside him, avoiding the firebender's fire-coated punch. The Blue Wolf pouted and lunged for the Princess, but even before the rest of the guards could chime in to help her, the Princess had blocked the sword with condensed fire… condensed gold fire. The thickness of the barrier was such that the black sword couldn't cut across it, while the white one struggled with bending the flames out of the way as it always did.
"Oh, now, you were doing so well!" Azula taunted him, her eyes glinting with malice as she unfolded an array of gold fire that Sokka could barely fend off.
"No one in Gladiator Brawl will have gold fire!" he cried out, attacking foolishly with Wolf's Bane while Azula only continued to unleash her unique flames on him "This is uncalled for! This is… unethical!"
"Or maybe this is just fun?" Azula suggested, before exchanging a glance with her guards, standing by as they were. They were quick to get make their move upon her silent command.
"Fun for you, you'll mean, because I… Hey!" Sokka exclaimed, noticing a little too late that he was surrounded. The firebenders had spread out around the struggling pair, and they were ready to strike at Sokka.
Azula stopped her barrage of gold when Sokka had to defend himself from her guards. He swiped most the fire away with Wolf's Bane, but he couldn't seem to get all of it. Sparks reached his fireproof clothes, and he tried to evade them by twisting his body away from the flames… only to wind up with a familiar hand on the nape of his neck. How he longed to feel her touch, skin against skin… just, not in such a manner.
She tripped him easily, pinning him face-down on the deck, a pleased smirk on her face. Without fail, her guards cheered after yet another successful victory for their group. Sokka groaned, faceplanted on the deck as he was. While he certainly enjoyed supplying Azula with any excuse to touch him, the humiliation was quite awkward all the same.
"And that's the tenth round, is it?" she said, smirking "At least you almost disabled one guard at one point, huh?"
"I could've gotten to him! I… I could have!" Sokka pouted, glaring at her over his shoulder after she let go of his neck. She couldn't help but laugh.
"I think we should be grateful you won't face enemies who are as highly trained to fight as a team as my guards are" Azula said, standing upright before extending a hand towards Sokka. He took it while still pouting in her direction.
No guards batted an eyelash over the camaraderie and partnership displayed by the Princess and her gladiator. No one seemed to care that any physical contact between them should be frowned upon, even if it wasn't outright intimate… and yet Renkai thought whatever he was witnessing between them contained more intimacy than any bold gestures of affection. The Princess's smiles were like none he had seen on her face… and while the gladiator was moody now, he felt perfectly comfortable with displaying his feelings before the Princess, even smiling at times as he tried to rebuff her taunts with his own…
Renkai swallowed hard, lowering his gaze. He had an assignment, one he had to fulfill no matter the cost, or at least that was how the General would see it. But while he should be looking into the Princess's other pursuits, nothing was quite as damning as this relationship could be, and he knew it.
What stung Renkai now was the ease with which the other guards behaved around the potentially clandestine couple. They should be aghast for the same reasons Renkai was, disturbed by their closeness… but as far as he could see, no one else cared. To the rest of them, this was natural. This was harmless.
And somehow, it truly was. It was unnerving to acknowledge it, Renkai thought to himself, but it was harmless indeed. Who cared, truly, if the Princess had a secret relationship or not? Why would that affect her ability to rule the Fire Nation, when her time came to do so?
He couldn't bring himself to muster loyalty towards her, not as he was, not after how she had treated him so far… but for now he would withhold his judgment rather than rushing to determine if the Princess was a transgressor of the traditional laws that controlled women and their behavior in their society. At the very least, he would make sure he wasn't misreading the circumstances as he tried to determine the truth in that relationship… and that also included figuring out whether his fellow guards were complicit in it or not. It would certainly take longer than the General wanted it to, but if the General had wanted quick results, he should have thought twice before kicking Renkai out of his office when he had…
The training sessions were recurrent over the course of their trip to Ba Sing Se. By the second afternoon, Song had joined them on deck merely to look after Sokka if the firebenders went overboard. As hard as he fought, and as much as he developed his reflexes as best as he could, Sokka's training bouts with the guards weren't a matter of how whether he could triumph over them or not, but rather, of how many firebenders he could take down before they defeated him.
While Azula was frequently amused by Sokka's frustration at being unable to win against the guards, she reassured him all the same, whenever they had their meals together, that it was no fault of his that he couldn't seem to overpower the extraordinary teamwork between all the firebenders. Her guards had been training together for years, learning how to fight alongside each other and how to develop countless techniques and strategies to enact when crossing paths with dangerous enemies. If he could defeat them easily, Azula would have been tempted to fire them.
All the same, Sokka didn't stop trying his hardest, and he could finally take down around four guards before being defeated on their last night on the Barge. As Song inspected the superficial wounds on the defeated firebenders, though, a new contender stepped forward to take the place of one of his fallen comrades.
"Oh? You want to join in?" Sokka asked Renkai, surprised to spot the firebender standing beside Taro.
"The lineup keeps changing depending on who's on duty each day, right?" Renkai said, raising his eyebrows "I'm off duty today, so… I figured I could give this a shot"
Sokka blinked blankly before shrugging and smiling. He was still far from trusting of Renkai, but he guessed there was no harm in letting the man be part of their training exercise. If he tried anything underhanded, Sokka had no doubts Azula would take action against him immediately.
Though he wondered if she planned on taking action right away, truthfully. She had been talking to Rui Shi, who was currently part of the guard team in the training exercises, and her eyes had narrowed upon noticing Renkai approaching her gladiator. He had never joined them before, and she had been more than pleased for it… was he trying to intrude, or was there no ill-intent from the man for once?
He was different from the rest of the firebenders, they noticed it immediately. Not only because his teamwork with the rest was faulty, to say the least, but his firebending was agile, in quick bursts, rather than large formations of fire. While Sokka had faced many different firebenders in his life, he found Renkai to hold a surprisingly unique firebending style. His flames were no different in quality from the rest of them, but Sokka guessed this was why he had been an Imperial Guard longer than Azula's former squad, without being significantly older or more experienced than the rest of them.
Azula wasn't certain the group would get used to Renkai's aggressive and agile fighting techniques, but within a few rounds, she and her guards had devised ways to work with Renkai all the same. It surprised Renkai that they would adapt so quickly to his firebending method, especially that they would devise the best ways to exploit it to their favor – and to Sokka's disadvantage, too. Despite the time spent figuring out Renkai's style, Sokka hadn't been able to defeat more than two of them by now. His exhaustion was getting the better of him, and he certainly could use a break as it was.
"All things considered… I don't think anything I find in Gladiator Brawl will be worse than this" Sokka said, with a dry grin as he sat on deck, with his elbows on his knees.
Azula smiled back, watching over him as dusk settled around them. The guards were chatting amongst themselves now, tired and ready to rest just as much as Sokka was.
"That was the idea" she said, proudly "While the Millennium Dragon is a remarkable firebender, he's not quite as remarkable as a fully-trained firebending squad like my guards"
"Or like you" Sokka said, smiling a little "Your condensed gold fire is way worse than his"
"Naturally" declared Azula, with a smirk "So, all things considered, you're as sharp and ready as you'll ever be for this, perhaps?"
"Oh, I don't know. I would've rather liked it if I could've taken out more of you guys…" Sokka pouted "Maybe a few more weeks of training and I could've done it"
"Doubtful" said Azula, smiling awkwardly "But it's good you're ambitious, as always. You need your rest now, though"
"Sure, but dinner first" Sokka pouted. Azula shook her head, but she still smiled fondly.
"If the stomach calls, Sokka listens…" she teased. He smiled proudly and nodded, following her to the dining deck as he ever did.
Azula glanced back before going downstairs, though, noticing her guards were happily chatting with Renkai now. He had been as good as a pariah so far, even when he had attempted to get along with the group when he had first been assigned with them… but it seemed his decision to join their training might have made him a few new friends, despite it all. Whether that was for the best or not, it remained to be seen.
The whole group ended up in the dining deck before long, and while they usually preferred to enjoy their meals by themselves, Azula and Sokka welcomed their guards to join them all the same – not only because Renkai was amongst them, but because there would be little intimacy to be enjoyed over dinner when the place was so crowded. The men joked, laughed and chatted happily amongst themselves, creating an atmosphere most unlike what could be found from the majority of the military squads in the Fire Nation. To anyone who didn't know them, it would seem they were merely friends enjoying a good meal.
"Don't get used to the cheeriness, though" Haoren told Renkai, a short time after they'd finished their food "We're a lot broodier on most our meals, we were on our best behavior today"
"Not true!" Fei Li pouted "We're always like this if we eat with the Princess, it's true!"
"Ah, and why's that?" Azula asked, amused, arms folded over her chest as she eyed the Captain with curiosity. Fei Li cleared his throat.
"W-well… we would never want to make your meal uncomfortable, or give you indigestion by being boring and lame, right?" he said, grinning. Azula smirked.
"How thoughtful of you. Thank you" she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, as the others laughed.
Renkai smiled a little, despite himself, and he nodded gratefully when Tai Wei and Jianghuo picked up the many empty plates on the table and made their way to the kitchen with them.
"Who's on duty tonight?" asked Haoren, looking at Fei Li hopelessly "Can I sleep in, or…?"
"You shouldn't be so lazy, Haoren!" Fei Li said, proudly.
"Says the laziest of us all" Haoren retorted, prompting others to chuckle while Fei Li scowled.
"I should give you a shift for that. Oh, well, Taro, Shuren, Jianghuo and me, I guess" he said, shrugging. Haoren finally smiled, relieved "The rest of you, off to bed! Away with you!"
"Even me?" Azula asked, smirking. Fei Li froze.
"W-well, no, I would never presume to give you orders, n-no…"
"If only Rui Shi had been as submissive as that…" Azula sighed dramatically. Rui Shi was sitting at the next table with Song, and he raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement.
"I can't remember giving you any orders" he smiled, looking at her in disbelief.
"Not for a lack of trying" Azula smirked "They weren't orders merely because I always ignored you"
"I suppose that's so" said Rui Shi, smirking back before raising his glass in Azula's direction and downing it slowly. Everyone was amused by their exchange all the same.
One by one, the guards left until only the ones on duty remained on the dining deck. The fact surprised Azula, for she had expected Renkai to lag behind to keep an eye on Azula and Sokka, as he had through the whole trip. Still, she didn't bother getting her hopes up. Her stolen moments with Sokka would have to wait until they returned home, she assumed.
Rui Shi would have accompanied Song to her cabin right away, seeing as he wasn't on duty that night either, but upon noticing Renkai leaving with the others, he told her to go ahead without him. He waited around ten minutes before following the rest of the guards to their shared cabin, finding most of them had tucked in already. And amongst them…
Renkai was asleep, safely covered by his blanket, his breathing easy, his eyelids twitching. Rui Shi frowned, wondering if he was merely pretending… but perhaps today's experience had changed the Imperial Guard somehow. Perhaps he was no longer an intruder amongst them, even if he still wasn't one of them entirely.
Rui Shi slipped back out of the cabin and waited for a few minutes outside, as a precaution. Upon making sure Renkai wouldn't sneak after him, as he might have if it was all a pretense, he allowed his feet to lead him to Sokka's cabin. He knocked on the door gently with his knuckles, and he nodded in acknowledgment when a surprised Sokka opened the door.
"Renkai is in bed, at least for now" he said. Sokka's eyes widened "I don't advise that you stay with her all night, he's been trained much like I was, so…"
"So he doesn't need as many hours of sleep as a normal person does" Sokka finished, biting his lip but nodding and clasping Rui Shi's shoulder with a hand "Thank you, Rui Shi"
"Just… try to keep the noise to a minimum" said Rui Shi, with a small smirk "I'll be two rooms below you, but even then I might overhear you if you're too loud…"
"We'll do our best" said Sokka, smiling. Rui Shi snorted.
"That's not exactly reassuring" he said, glancing back in the direction of the guards' cabin. There was no one in sight still "Come on, then. Let's move fast"
Sokka was as good as an expert at sneaking around the ship by now, a fact Rui Shi wasn't surprised by, but he still appreciated witnessing Sokka in action right now: he blended seamlessly with the right shadows, waiting patiently for any nearby footsteps to fade away before making his move. As clumsy as Sokka seemed to be with many matters, he was surprisingly nimble when he was taking things seriously enough…
"Thanks again, Rui Shi" Sokka said, smiling as they reached Song's door "I'll see you tomorrow"
"We'll reach Ba Sing Se by noon" Rui Shi said, nodding in Sokka's direction "Make your time count"
Sokka nodded and abided by his words immediately, unwilling to waste another second away from Azula. Hopefully she wouldn't be asleep yet, and that way they would enjoy at least one last night before… he didn't want to think about that. He didn't even want to consider things might change for the worse after Gladiator Brawl, but it wasn't easy to escape those concerns after they had been gnawing away at him for weeks as it was.
He knocked on the door promptly, itching to jump inside her room and bed as soon as possible. The confused look on her face was accompanied by hope and relief once she opened the door.
"Sokka?" she said. He slipped inside and closed the door right away.
"Renkai was out of the way for once" he said, looking at her earnestly "I may not be able to stay all night, but…"
He couldn't finish his sentence, but it wasn't as though he really needed to. Not when Azula had thrown her arms around his neck, pulling him close so his lips would brush delightfully against hers.
Within instants, they had returned to each other's arms the way they always longed to be. Their clothes were scattered, their bodies swaying together, their senses overwhelmed by each other in every regard. Their rhythm was frantic at first, but far steadier and stable on the second round, loving and tender on the third. The night drifted past beyond their safe haven in Azula's cabin, despite they hoped time could stop instead. Nothing could slow down the imminent showdown between Sokka and the Millennium Dragon, and the thought was ever present on their minds as they held each other in her bed, their hair scrambled and messy after their wild lovemaking. Azula's forehead rested against Sokka's, one of his hands traveling over her flank, up to her ribs and down to her thigh.
"I really didn't think we'd have another chance for this" Azula said, with a weak grin "I truly hope Renkai wasn't setting us up somehow…"
"I hope so too" said Sokka, with a sad grin "Though… if that's the price to pay for one more night with you, I'll endure it"
"That's nonsense" said Azula, smiling too "There's no price to it, or at least, there shouldn't be. I know I'm certainly not going to charge you for it…"
"You never have, after all" Sokka said, prodding her nose with his own.
"And you certainly take advantage of that, huh?" said Azula, looking at him tenderly, her fingertips trailing over his cheek.
Sokka kissed her again, heartily, devoting himself fully to the exchange and forsaking all the words he had hoped to say to her, if just for now. There was so much they should talk about, so much worth discussing… but all Sokka could think to do right now was to cherish their time together, to give himself to her in heart, body and soul until there was nothing left of him to give. Fear was cutting away at him, in the worst of ways: the mere thought of losing Azula produced vertigo in him, as though he'd lose his footing, his purpose, even his will to live if she was taken away from him the way Aonu hoped to steal her.
The morbid thoughts turned his kiss fragile, weak at the end. Azula pulled away to look at him earnestly, finding his fears plain across his face. He swallowed hard.
"Azula…"
"The last time you fought the Millennium Dragon, we thought you might die" she said, holding off his words for now. He fell silent, far more interested in hearing what she had to say than speaking for himself "We'd just done some unthinkable things to each other on the way to the Slate, and you wanted to say something important to me, just before the fight. I told you not to, as you might recall…"
"You didn't want to hear it" Sokka said, smiling a little "You were so mad…"
"I was, but most of all I guess I was sexually frustrated" Azula smiled too, averting her gaze "I was only that upset because of how much I wanted you, and how aware I was of the reasons why I should never have given myself to you. But I… I was scared, too, of losing you. Stopping you from telling me everything you had left to say, it felt like… like I was giving you a reason to hope for whatever might come after the fight, rather than only focusing on the fight, without seeing beyond it…"
"Yeah, it made sense" Sokka smiled, pressing his forehead to hers.
"I… I don't know what you may want to say to me now" she admitted, her hand seeking his "But I don't want to stop you from saying whatever it is. Just…"
"Yeah?"
"This isn't going to be the end for us, Sokka" she said, looking at him with determination "I don't know if it's irresponsible to say so, but it might be just as irresponsible as it was to… t-to accept your marriage proposal, to make all sorts of plans with you when we can't be certain we'll ever turn them into reality. But… I refuse to believe this is the end for us. We have so much to do, so many promises we've always meant to fulfill, that… I can't even imagine this could be over. I can't…"
Azula closed her eyes just as Sokka embraced her tightly. He breathed in as he rubbed her back gently with his hands, hoping to comfort her somehow.
"I've done my best not to let you down for quite some time now. Strangely, I've succeeded at it as of late" Sokka whispered "So… maybe I will again this time. Maybe"
"Hopefully" Azula convened, nodding promptly.
"If I don't…" he said, but she lifted a hand to his lips, and shook her head.
"If you don't, we'll figure it out later. For now, Sokka… for now, we're the invincible team, okay?" she said, smiling sadly at him "The… the greatest combination of gladiator and sponsor. As we've always been. And no challenge is too great for us to overcome. Not when they truly matter"
Sokka smiled and nodded, caressing her hair gently before kissing her softly. Azula responded, her chest aching as she tried to convey her profound love for him with just the brush of their lips, and the sway of her body against his. But all the time in the world felt like nothing when faced with the dangerous prospect of losing the man she loved. It didn't matter how powerful she was, how talented a bender she could be, how grand a leader she imagined she'd become… all of it paled and withered into nothingness if she lacked the power to keep Sokka by her side.
They were both terrified of what might happen in the Terra Jewel, it was clear. But all they could do to console themselves was fall into each other's arms, hoping the future would be brighter than it promised to be. Hoping no opportunists like Aonu would be able to break the bond they had fought so hard to protect for all these years…
A/N:
The latest (third) installment of the Worst-kept Secret comic is up on my by now, featuring an important glimpse of something that will take place 20 chapters from where we are now... so it's quite spoilery. So, depending on your stance on spoilers and hints of what is yet to come, feel free to read it or ignore it until chapter 187 swings by.
As of right now, the comic is exclusive for my Patrons, but within 6 more days the whole comic will be available for everyone to read (and I intend to post it on my Tumblr blog as well, so if you prefer to read it there, keep an eye out for it next week). The first two installments are also available both on and Tumblr, in case you haven't read them, and both are based on scenes that have indeed happened on the story by now so there's no risk of spoilers in those. At any rate, I hope those of you who check out this budding comic collection will enjoy what we've got so far.