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Hello dearest reader,
I hope you enjoy this fic. It's the first one I've ever written. Reviews/Criticism always encouraged.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of the characters contained within this story.
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As Azula silently made her way to her secret secluded spot on the Ember Island beachfront, she realized that she was not the only one seeking some solitude.
She padded over silently to the outcropping of stones and beach grasses that obscured this particular section of the beach, taking extra care not to alert the lone figure that sat upon a fallen log. A gentle campfire glowed, billowing in the nightly sea winds. A few bottles of cherry blossom wine, some finished and some unopened, lay haphazardly strewn close to them and across the sands. It was a young man, tall and lanky, though the wiry build of his arms in the moonlight belied a more athletic frame underneath. His chestnut brown skin was accentuated by the moonlight that adorned his features, bringing even more of the finer details to the surface. Azula's mind leapt in recognition at the water tribesman that she was surveying, recalling a rather fond memory in which she had decidedly outsmarted not only the oafish peasant and the little blind earthbender that pursued her, but also the Avatar himself underneath the Caldera City catacombs.
What's he doing out here? Azula mused to herself. It did not take long for her to piece the puzzle before her together. He and that Kyoshi warrior were once an item. The poor fool must be lamenting the loss of his ex-girlfriend to dear Zuzu, she thought with bemusement.
In truth, it was why all of Zuko's closest friends were gathered tonight at the Firelord's private estate on Ember Island. They were celebrating the announcement of his engagement to Suki. Naturally, everyone had differing reactions to the news. Katara, unsurprisingly, had to hold back happy tears during the entire announcement. Toph inquired, rather loudly and within earshot of quite a number of guests, whether the couple had already consummated their marriage early, to which both the Firelord and soon-to-be Fire Lady both flushed a deep shade of purple, much to the amusement of the witnessing parties. Even Sokka, whom many had secret concerns that the announcement would wound him deeply, had nothing but warm congratulations to the soon-to-be newlyweds. It was to Zuko's credit that he had prepared for this. He had reached out privately to Sokka two years ago when he and Suki first started seeing each other to ensure that there would be no hard feelings. If there were truly any reservations that Sokka held towards the relationship now, he certainly held them close to his chest.
On the topic of awkward encounters, Azula was not even sure why she was invited to this gathering. Most of the people here in attendance could barely tolerate her presence. A few, namely the water tribe witch, still openly despise her. How Zuko thought that insisting that her "mentally unstable" little sister be invited to the celebration and not have his private estate erupt into violence was beyond her.
"You need to learn to be social with people again. You can't isolate yourself for the rest of your life." Azula recalled Zuko's words to her back at the palace.
"Oh please, Zuzu, I'm nothing if not sociable." Azula's lips formed into a wry smile, flitting her eyes dangerously, "So long as your friends don't start anything, I'm sure that I can be nothing but pleasant."
Zuko simply shook his head in resignation and sighed. These conversations with Azula never end the way he wants. "Well, as long as you don't do anything that we'll all come to regret, please come to the party. It'll be good for you. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself."
She simply scoffed. Casual parties were never her strong suit. Agni knows that the last one she went to ended up in literal flames. While normally she would have rejected Zuko's request completely, on that day, something made her pause and consider it. Perhaps his words finally got through to her. Whether it was an anomaly or a moment of weakness, Azula still does not know.
"I'll consider it."
At the time of that conversation, she was barely even a year out from her asylum stay. Her discharge was a rather informal and trite affair, where she was summarily proclaimed "healed" and unceremoniously shown the front door. Despite this stamp of approval, Azula had known that her father and mother's voices would still occasionally haunt her at times, although to a lesser degree now than that fateful coronation day where she fell from grace. Unbeknownst to the healers, as the voices slowly receded and became less debilitating, she had decided that it was best to keep them in the dark so that she could leave the Agni-forsaken prison/asylum that she had come to call home for too many years.
Ever since she left, her life had yet to return to what Azula would even remotely call "normal". Zuko was kind enough to allow her to stay in her former chambers in the Royal Palace. Azula was pleased to find that many of her personal effects remained untouched, including the shattered mirror, which she promptly had disposed of. As always, the palace servants still catered to her every whim, though the increased furtive glances and terrified stares did not go unnoticed. Yet, aside from those remnants from her past life, she felt like a ghost, a remnant of a regime which no longer existed. Even in her home, she felt out of place, a relic of a time that had come and gone in the world. The war was over and monsters like her simply had no place in a new world of peace and reconstruction. In truth, Azula could not help but isolate herself from a world that was now foreign to her.
Although Zuko would occasionally come by to check on his little sister, he would typically be rapidly shooed away, either by harsh words or a very intentional fireball to the feet. Evidently, the years apart had yet to completely thaw the fear that he still held in his heart for her.
What else was she to do? Zuko expressly forbade her from attending governance meetings. He feared that such a public display would lead to backlash, damaging the already tenuous reputation that the Fire Nation had upon the world's stage. Azula slyly circumvented this by eavesdropping on the summit meetings held at the palace and simply monologuing in her spare time on effective strategies on how to manage whatever topic was germaine for the day. As a citizen of the Fire Nation, she was well within her rights to voice her private opinions and she always made sure that Zuko was within earshot of her ramblings. To her amusement, Zuko caught on rather quickly, occasionally wrapping those strategies up along with his other plans, presenting them as if they were his own. Though they never acknowledged it, she surprisingly felt no animosity towards him for his "theft", as whenever she looked into Zuko's eyes, she knew the truth.
His eyes always told her that he felt silently indebted to her, and that was recognition enough.
And so she spent most of her time secluding herself from prying eyes, focusing the majority of her energy towards retraining all of martial capabilities that had dulled during her stay in the asylum. Progress was slow, and Azula could feel the pent up frustration of lack of progress fester. Every morning and every evening, she drilled her stances and forms to perfection until not even a single hair was out of place. But despite the intense training regime, she had only just begun to recover her signature sapphire flames. The best she was able to muster was the occasional sapphire streaked flame. And, worst of all, it appeared that she had lost all ability to channel lightning. No matter how many times she practiced the technique, no matter how hard she focused on the absolute calm needed for her cold fire, the flow of energy simply refused to redirect to her will. For the past year, every attempt Azula made at lightning ended in nothing but an explosion and more singed training garments. It was then that Azula came to the chilling realization that perhaps she had reached a plateau in her training. Something now stood between her and the path upward. What frustrated Azula the most was that she could not figure out what that "something" was. She refused to be discouraged, continuing to train at such a fervent pace that within a few months, she had regained most of what she had lost.
And yet, something was still missing.
She was snapped out of her idle reverie as the figure before her stirred once more. He had shifted from his seated position, turning now to face the fullness of the moonlight, his attention directed wistfully towards the ephemeral glow of the full moon, taking in the rays as one does as if taking in the sun. As she focused upon his face, Azula noted that his eyes were shut as if in silent prayer. The expression he wore was rather hard to place. The serenity of his countanence seemed to imply a sense of inner peace, and yet his eyes and mouth were slightly down turned, belying an almost melancholic inner struggle. Azula could not help but notice the hidden emotions behind the features of his face. His visage conveyed a sensation that she too had to deal with since her newfound freedom. Though she would never admit it to anyone, Azula knew she was also in a protracted war with similar feelings.
He felt alone.
Gently, she watched Sokka opened his eyes, gingerly taking another swig of the cherry blossom wine. His deep pools of azure remained deep in reflection, the campfire flames dancing silently within them. Suddenly, a throaty chuckle escaped him, a deep husky tone that Azula did not expect at all.
"You know, it's much nicer here by the fire."
Shit, how long has he known that I was here? Her mind instantly became a swirl of thoughts as she scrambled to come up with a viable excuse for spying on him.
As if answering for her, Sokka turned his attention towards the flora that Azula was currently concealed behind, "It's alright, join me. Not like crouching back there is any more comfortable."
She briefly considered fading away into the darkness. But a royal must always face things with pride. Holding her composure, Azula stood up, unceremoniously revealing herself from behind the backdrop. With an edge of grace only royalty could have, she took a seat on the opposite end of the log that Sokka was currently occupying. If there were any doubts in her mind about her next course of action, she made sure not to show it. I underestimated him, his senses are quite good. She made a quick mental note not to fall for his disarmingly oafish outward appearance again.
"I see that you're enjoying the festivities." Azula broke the stalemate with a hint of amusement, gesturing to the assortment of bottles that lay at his feet, "You know my brother invited you here to celebrate with him, right?"
The young man eyed her with exaggerated suspicion, "What d'you mean? I was having a great time with ol' Zuko back at the house." he exclaimed. Sitting this close to him, Azula could see the blush in his cheeks from the alcohol, which stood out even against his darker skin tone. "Plus, I just needed some time to think, y'know?"
A smirk graced her lips, "And here I thought you snow savages were incapable of deep thought." It was an easy dig, one that had its intended effect as the Sokka looked at her in disbelief.
"Hey! I'll have you know, Fire Lily, that I am very much capable of deep thought, thank you very much," he exclaims with an air of indignancy. Whether he felt truly slighted or he was simply playing into his inhibitions, she could not tell for sure, "Back in Shu Jing, Piandao told me that I was "one of the best students he's ever taught."
She was taken aback by such a bold statement. So that explains the ornate sword that lay resting next to him… Azula had heard of the master swordsman that resided in Shu Jing. He was known as a high-minded individual, even in her eyes, who was extremely selective of who he chose to take under this tutelage. Even Zuko had once sought him out, only to be turned away for being "unworthy", much to his chagrin and her amusement. And yet, to think that Piandao would actually choose a foreign peasant over the Prince of his home nation was an unimaginable prospect.
Perhaps he's not as discerning as the stories make him out to be…
"I cannot even begin to fathom what Piandao could have possibly seen in you." she spat out. Was it national pride that was blinding her to his qualities? Or was she simply holding contempt for someone she barely knew?
Well at the very least, he has certainly grown to be easy on the eyes…
Stop that! Azula's inner monologue immediately rebuked, Such weakness! How dare you let this fool distract you!
The voice that came out was not just her own, but an amalgamation of her's and her father's. It was the inner voice that had pushed her to become the perfect weapon, the unflinching warrior best suited for her father's grand plans of conquest. Even now, with all her progress, the voice still continues to tear at her thoughts, leaving nothing in its wake on sleepless nights.
Azula left nothing to chance, expertly diverted the subject of conversation, "Also, "Fire Lily"? You must also have a death wish if your first instinct in addressing me is with insolence." It was cruel and harsh, but not unfamiliar territory for her.
Undeterred, Sokka stood straight up and proceeded to clumsily perform a traditional Fire Nation bow. It was comically horrendous. "Well my most humble apologies, Princess! I promise your royalness that it won't ever happen again." His mockery of her title only served to draw out her ire further.
"What makes you think I won't burn you to a crisp right now?" she snarled menacingly, leering threateningly at the impertinent water tribesman. He stood almost a head taller than her at this point, so she lost any points for intimidation in that regard. But, she tried nonetheless.
When all she got in response was a goofy smile, she was sorely tempted to set him alight, "Because if you really were gonna do it, you would've done it already."
Azula scowled. It was a good point. She would never admit it to him, but it was a good point.
Sokka sat back down, seemingly trying to sober himself up a little, "Okay, okay, I think we got off on the wrong foot… Feet? Anyways, why don't we start from the beginning, huh? Hey, nice to meet you. The name's Sokka. From the Southern Water Tribe. And the lovely lady in blue upstairs was my sister, Katara." He extended his arm to her loosely in a display of cordiality.
"I am already well-acquainted, thank you." Azula replied dismissively, not even making an attempt, "You forget that I was the one chasing after your merry band during the war."
"Hear, hear, I'll drink to that!"
Azula rolls her eyes at his continued drunken buffoonery, "Right…and I'm sure you already know who I am, but for formality's sake, I am Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation."
She found the water tribeman clapping sarcastically in faux applause at her presentation. She cast a withering glare in his direction, stopping his antics immediately, "Oh right, hehe, sorry!" He grinned sheepishly, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess."
The way he rolled his intonation at the word "pleasure" made Azula internally grumble in discomfort, though it wasn't an outright rejection.
"So are you gonna have a drink? After all, I have a feeling we're both here in this spot for the same reason."
There was a hint of intelligent thought in his last sentence that piqued her interest. Curiosity in what he had to say drove her forward more than anything.
"And what would that be?" Azula replied quizzically.
Azure eyes met her pools of gold, "We're both looking for a place to be alone. Where in reality, we deep down want the exact opposite." His words were sagely, but whispered with a softness that threatened to blow away with the breeze.
That certainly got her attention. All facade of superiority melted away and all Azula could do was stare back blankly for a moment. She tactfully recovered her hardened exterior again before responding. "Speak for yourself, savage. How could you possibly know my reasons?" She knew he was right, of course, she just refused to admit it. She was throwing out covering fire to mask her retreat.
He had a knowing smile as he turned back to face the fire, "I'm much more observant than you take me for, Princess Azula." Her name in his mouth felt foreign, like a new word that had never been spoken before. It sent chills down her spine. "Back at the party, I noticed that you pretty much avoided everyone else there. But, when Zuko was making that toast with everyone, with his hand around Suki, I saw you staring. You just couldn't look away." He paused, as if saying those words were just as painful for him to say as they were for her to hear. Was he talking about her, or himself? "What I saw in your eyes wasn't indifference, but longing. Deep down, you want the same thing."
Azula was once again rendered speechless. Never has anyone said anything so brutally honest to her face. At least no one that was still alive. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to break the dam that she had worked so hard to keep up.
It's okay, my child. Emotions are healthy. Learn to embrace them. Ursa was back now, the mother that she never had.
Emotions are weak! You must harden yourself to them in order to be strong. Don't be like your fool of a brother. Ozai snarled, his words sharp as ever.
The two voices continued to war in her mind, as Azula could feel her grasp of the situation slowly dissolve. Why was she even here? He could never understand what she had to live through. He had family and friends that cared for him! Her thoughts wandered to images of Sokka traveling the world with the Avatar, the close knit group that never seemed to falter, even in the face of adversity. She thought back to the older water tribesman from the Boiling Rock that was the spitting image of the man before her. The way that they fought, side by side, father and son, in their escape attempt against all odds was a memory that she could not muster without a hint of bitterness.
And what did she have? A mother who abandoned her and treated her like a rabid creature to be feared. A father who only loved the potential she could bring for his own ends. Mai and Ty Lee, who both turned on her when she least suspected it. Azula still credited the two's betrayal as the beginning of her descent into madness. They even had the gall to remain cordial and friendly to her at the party tonight! She could barely stomach a "hello" before extricating herself from the situation. Can't they see how much pain they had caused her?
The thoughts were too much. Her thoughts were too much. She was reeling, reacting rather than proacting. As such, she fell back to her instincts that her father had honed in her all too well.
"You know NOTHING about what I want, peasant!" She slammed her fists into the log, the campfire erupting into a pluming inferno. Embers exploded in all directions, some scattering amongst the already dried tumbleweeds of grass that caught itself amongst the more rooted grasses. The tinder caught instantly, with small patches of flame bursting to life amongst the weeds.
Shocked into sobriety by Azula's actions, Sokka lept into action immediately, dropping the bottle that was in his hands and immediately moving towards the closest fire, stomping it out with his boot. He scrambled over to the next erupted spot of kindling, expertly unsheathing his sword and cleaving it into the ground, causing a wave of sand to crash into the dunes. The sandwave handily landed on top of the flames, snuffing it out before they had a chance to feed. With surprisingly agility, he managed to put out all the other brush fires in similar fashion before they had truly grown out of control. Azula could not help but be entranced by his sudden display of skill.
For a non-bender, he is quite agile. I suppose you have to be in a world of benders. An unfamiliar feeling began to present itself that Azula had yet to become accustomed to. Was she… impressed by this water tribe savage? Any semblance of anger dissipated from her body at the horrifying thought.
Now breathing heavily and with beads of sweat adorning his face, Sokka sat back down, taking another long swig of the cherry blossom wine. He took one long look at the moon before turning to Azula and proffering the bottle to her.
"I think the night would go a lot smoother if you had a drink, Princess."
She scrunched her nose at him. Azula always saw alcohol as an unnecessary vice, one that took away her absolute control over herself. But, with the way the night was going, she was definitely going to need some help through it.
"I refuse to take a drink with your slobber all over it. Hand me that unopened one."
With a grin, Sokka readily obliged, picking up a second bottle next to his feet and tossing it to her. She caught it gracefully, and gingerly popped the cork off. Seeing no other options, she unceremoniously brought it to her lips and took a long drink. The wine was sweeter than she expected, with accentuated notes of floral and plum. She was surprised at how easy the drink went down without burning, which she had originally expected. She took another swig, much to the bemused surprise of her drinking partner.
"Wow, really trying to dispel the princess image to me, huh?"
She couldn't tell if her cheeks were flushing because of the alcohol or his joke at her expense, "Shut up, you idiot. Do you see any glasses around?"
"From savage to idiot, I must be moving up in the world." he responded with a laugh, drawing a glare of daggers from the Fire Princess. How he managed to live this long with that mouth of his was beyond her.
"Ugh, Agni, you're impossible." she shot back, rolling her eyes at him.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop." Sokka holds his hands up in mock surrender. "You know, I have to admit, you're much more fun to talk to than I assumed when I first saw you tonight."
Azula held a face of faux shock, " Oh Agni forbid that I failed to meet the presumed standards of a snow-brained idiot." Her thoughts came back to his observation from earlier, "Also, who told you that you could ogle me so freely?"
"I didn't mean to, but I just couldn't help it."
"What? Is something wrong with my appearance? Did my makeup smear?"
Sokka burst out into raucous laughter, a deep laugh that reminded Azula of some of the laughter she heard down in the canteen of the Royal Barge when the sailors were on break. "Seriously? I guess no one told you."
"Told me what?"
He took another sip of the wine before leveling her with a steely gaze.
"That you're absolutely gorgeous."
She could feel the heat rush to her face instantly, and she knew that it had nothing to do with the wine. What possessed him to say something like that?! Clearly, the wine was to blame for this, pushing people into saying things that they would normally never say. Azula knew, though, that beneath all the drunken words, there is almost always a kernel of truth within. Her years of gleaning state secrets off of drunk officials told her as much.
He thinks I'm attractive… Another foreign feeling sprang up within her. Satisfaction? Giddiness? The realization made Azula blush even deeper. So much so, that it was impossible at this point for Sokka not to notice.
"What? Has no one ever mentioned that before?"
He's throwing her a lifeline. Her mind is too hazy at this point to not take it.
"No, not from anyone I took seriously." She realizes the mistake in her words too late.
The glint in his eyes told her that he picked up on her slip, "Ah, so you DO value what I say? You take me seriously?" Agni, she just wanted to wipe that look of childish glee off of his face, but her curiosity and the wine kept her entranced with the conversation.
The alcohol was really starting to muddle her thoughts. "Of course I do, we're supposed to be enemies. I already know myself, so in order to defeat my enemies, I need to take them seriously."
Her words make Sokka pause, "Do you really think we're still enemies?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice. Would enemies be sharing drinks next to each other in the front of the campfire? Azula considered his words, not realizing that in the span of the past few minutes, the two had slowly and naturally edged up to each other to the point that their hands were almost touching. Would enemies be sitting together in each other's company like this?
"No, I suppose not, because if we were, you'd be a pile of ashes right now."
"Ah, that's the fiery princess I remember!" Sokka's smile was rather infectious, and Azula could not help but crack a smile as well. "But seriously, NO ONE ever mentioned to you that you're smoking hot? I mean attractiveness speaking."
"Definitely not when you say it like that." Azula wrinkled her nose in disgust at his word choice. She definitely recalled being told that she grew up to be the spitting image of Ursa, who was known for being comely, although in her mind it was more of a disservice than a compliment. "To answer your question. No. No one has." She was feeling more forthcoming tonight than she has ever felt in her life. Normally, she would have left it at that. But with those big azure eyes gazing into her soul, engrossed by her presence, and the warmness of the wine filling her inner heat, she decided for once to give in to honesty.
"My father only valued me for my martial prowess, what I could do to advance his plans. And my mother…all she saw was a monster, so she cared for Zuko instead." She half-expected Sokka to laugh, mock her for her deservingly bad upbringing. But none came. With faltering confidence, she pushed forward, "I never really thought of myself in that way. That was always Ty Lee's thing. There was one time I tried to get to know a guy, an Admiral's son no less. But that went absolutely terrible."
Sokka was silent, engrossed by her words. "What happened?"
"We trashed his beach house and burned the place to the ground." The matter-of-factness in which she stated this surprised both her and Sokka. She was rarely, if ever, this forthcoming.
He regarded her for quite a while, just taking the time to digest her words. Perhaps there is something more human to her than he had previously anticipated.
"Wow, I never knew that, Azula. Thanks for sharing that with me." He stated his words so calmly, He responded earnestly, as if having reflected on every single syllable that she had spoken. "That must've been hard for you." He paused before clarifying, "The childhood stuff I mean, burning that guy's house down must've been pretty easy."
Azula couldn't help but giggle. It was a melodic laugh that surprised Sokka.
"It was quite fun. You should try it sometime." she responded, wiping an errant tear from her eye. Gods, what is going on with me? She pulled herself together before addressing the emotional elephant in the room, "Yes, suffice to say it was…not great." She felt a pang of pain flash through her. How is it possible that in the span of an evening, I've managed to share more of myself to him than anyone else, ever? It was a scary thought, but when she regarded the water tribesman next to her, she didn't feel afraid at all.
She felt…safe.
A lull fell in the conversation.
This time, it was Azula who took the first step. "You know, I could've just put those fires out for you with my bending." she mentions flatly.
Sokka chuckled, a bit of grim countenance now filling his face, "I wasn't sure if you were going to help, so I decided not to take that into account." he mused wistfully, though more with a tone of resignation than contempt, "Plus, I've become pretty good at putting out fires because of your people."
Azula couldn't help but be taken aback by the dark humor. "Well, on behalf of my people, you are most welcome for the opportunity." It was a tongue-in-cheek jibe to cut through the darkness, one that didn't even get a raised eyebrow from Sokka, who looked forlornly into the now quelled campfire flame.
Instinct urged her to speak. "I can tell something is on your mind, Sokka." Her words surprised her. Since when did I become comfortable enough with him to start addressing him by name? This time it was her turn to reach out, "I want you to tell me what it is." While she could have phrased that statement a little less imperiously, it was not as awkward compared to her previous emotional outburst, which made it a bit better in her mind.
Sokka gave her a sad smile, regarding the fire as he spoke, "Well…I'm just thinking about my mother and how much of my life with her that I've missed." He spoke with a heaviness that showed Azula that this was something he held very closely.
She was afraid to ask, but she did it anyway. Damn the consequences.
"What happened to her?"
Sokka audibly gulped, as if trying to swallow the emotions threatening to come out, "It was a long time ago. She was killed in a Fire Nation raid. She lied about being a waterbender to save my sister."
Distance had always given her an air of indifference. Azula had read about her nation's final push to remove any meaningful resistance in the South Pole. They did so by ruthlessly targeting, and exterminating, all waterbenders in the region. At the time, it was an obvious decision to Azula. Why give the enemy the chance of fighting back? Why not permanently cripple an entire nation outright to gain the upper hand? Sozin had done the same with the Air Nomads, which had allowed the Fire Nation to succeed as far as they did.
But here Sokka was. A living example of the consequences of the horrors of Fire Nation doctrine.
She felt her stomach roil as conflicting emotions tore through her. Part of her wished that she had remained indifferent, blindly following her father until the ends of the Earth. Her choices were easier, her consequences bearable.
Now, she was no longer sure if they were bearable at all.
Unknown to her conscious mind, she had reached out, placing her hand gently on top of his.
He freezes at first, the shock of surprise running its course through him. But eventually, he softens up, interlacing his fingers gently with hers. She feels his calloused fingers roughly caress her delicate ones.
"I'm sorry." When genuinely spoken, the words felt foreign to her tongue.
"For what? You weren't the one who killed my mother."
"I'm sorry… because up until now, I haven't even considered trying to make it right."
A sensation bloomed between them, drawing them to regard one another. The two turned to face each other as piercing blue met warm amber. Azula became suddenly aware that the voices were gone, and that the entirety of herself was focused upon the man before her.
"It's getting kinda late, you should head back to get some sl-"
The crashing of her lips to his silences the statement. It was an impetuous move, but for once, Azula didn't care. He sat frozen at first, unsure if she had intended to be so forward, but the sincerity of her lips and the warmness of her breath put all of those doubts to rest. They pushed themselves together gently, feeling the weight of their thoughts melt so that only the physical sensation remained. With a great tenderness, he brought his free hand up to cup her cheek, gently caressing her face and feeling her warmth penetrate through his skin as he deepened the kiss, running his tongue playfully across her lips.
Azula couldn't help but groan in approval at his acceptance. She felt like she was electrified, the energy arcing from her lips and tingling all the way down her spine. It was a pure bliss that she had never experienced before. And she silently promised herself that she would need to seek out this sensation more often, perhaps with a certain water tribesman.
Finally the two withdrew, coming down from the cloud tops that they had just soared to. A look of shock still adorned Sokka's face as he was the first to break the silence.
"If you wanted to stay here, you could've just said so."
"I wanted to make sure you got the message." Azula replied with a mirthful smirk.
"Well, I still wanna hear it from you. Do you want to stay here and watch the sunrise with me?"
Always the artful dodger, Azula retorted playfully, "How would you like me to respond?"
She feels his hand hold hers a little more firmly, as if afraid she would let go, "I would like nothing more right now than for you to say yes." It was direct. It was honest. And for once, she didn't feel like running away from it.
She snuggles up close to him, resting her head tenderly against his shoulder as the pair turn to witness the birth of another day.
"Well then you have your answer."