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This was not as satisfying a mission as Azula would have liked. It was a pure chance that she got wind of what Zuko was up to. She expected this to go rather quickly. That had been a mistake. Cause he was here. Azula had an inclination that there was more than one person stirring trouble, it's not like she believed her idiot of a brother capable of pulling a Boiling Rock infiltration and escape mission successfully. Of course, it had to be him involved as well.
And now they were here, fighting precariously on this gondola above the Boiling Lake. Marvelous.
Azula had no qualms about fighting Zuko, he was not properly trained and weaker in firebending style than her. Even on a moving metal contraption high above boiling water. It was him that was the issue. Azula was no fool. There was little that firebending could do against a thrusting sword at such a short distance. And she hardly had enough space for the footwork needed to overtake it.
She needed a way to throw him off. She already managed to get under his skin once, she just needed to do it again. Using a different method, though. Her old one was currently fighting Ty Lee on the other end of the gondola.
Zuko threw another fist of fire, which she deflected to the side with sharp precision. Just in time to lean back as he swung that sword in her face and almost forced her off the edge of the gondola.
"Really Sokka?" her tone carried that calculated, mocking exasperation, but she let herself savour the way his name rolled off the tip of her tongue. "Swinging steel at me?"
He seemed taken aback for a moment that she addressed him before his brows furrowed in frustration. The first sentence was spoken in a low, barely audible tone, something along the lines of it being meteorite, not steel, before he raised his voice. "You're literally trying to kill us!"
"Why, that's ridiculous, you would have no use being dead." she tilted her head, in mock offense, and pursed her lips in a pout. "But back to your actions. Truly, is this how you wish to treat the mother of your future children?"
Sokka's sword almost fell out of his grip as he choked on air before he managed to string a few letters together. "WHAT?!"
Next to him, Zuko looked repulsed. "Why would you say that?"
It was rather amusing, the way his voice went squeaky as a lizard mouse. And there it was, the distraction she needed. She took advantage of their confusion and bewilderment to take a few steps away from the ledge. There was no signs they took note of it. Sokka was still looking at her with wide eyes, but Zuko simply shook his head vigorously and tried to get back into a fighting stance.
"Enough with this, let's…"
"Wait!" Sokka changed to a one-handed grip on his sword, raising the other one in front of Zuko. "We can't go back to fighting, I can't just let that slide, I need clarification."
Oh, this was so much better than she could have hoped for. And highly amusing.
Zuko looked at Sokka as if he were on the brink of madness and then growled in anger. He turned to Azula, attempting a fierce glare, but it was a rather pathetic attempt at intimidation coming from him. "Stop spouting nonsense!" he shouted. "How would you even know that about the future anyway?"
Well, she didn't, clearly. It had been just the best distraction method she could think of. Sokka was a creature of logic, if she used any more grounded ideas, he would have called her bluff. The right strategy was to focus on something significant enough that would strike a chord, while still being distant and outlandish.
… well, maybe not too outlandish. Sokka looked deliciously good in that guard uniform. And he was rather easy on the eyes. Azula could appreciate a fine specimen when she saw one, her eyesight was fantastic and her taste impeccable. But now was not the time to drift off appreciating the view.
Azula tilted her head, lips curling into a smirk, ready to answer. "A fortune teller told me."
Zuko kept glaring at her. "Do you think we are stu— Sokka? Sokka, what's with that face?"
Now that was intriguing.
Sokka went rather pale, his eyes widening in shock, his grip on his sword going slack almost entirely. His memory of Aunt Wu and her prediction rang so clearly in his mind. A future full of struggle and anguish. Most of it, self-inflicted. That was a bunch of bull shark dung as far as Sokka was concerned, much like fortune telling was in general. There was no way in the Spirit World that some fortune teller told Azula that she would have his children. No. Way. And more importantly… why even was she acting like it didn't bother her? That had to be a sign of something, right? That something was amiss. It isn't as if she Azula out of all people liked him.
On the other side of the gondola, Ty Lee was having a blast. Fighting at large altitudes was fun, but this whole situation was much more so! The Kyoshi girl was so distracted Ty Lee could have chi blocked her five times over and pushed her into the lake. But that would cut the entertainment short, and she certainly did not want that.
"The fortune teller gave her such a nice reading!" Ty Lee lied with a smile, drawing the attention of everyone on the roof of the gondola. "It was like four kids, right, Azula? And the two of you will get married and grow old together. So romantic!"
Zuko looked ready to jump into the lake. The cute Water Tribe boy looked on the verge of a crisis. And the annoying fanless fan girl who seemed to have a bone to pick with Ty Lee — rude, it's not like Ty Lee did much besides beat her friend in a fight and long-term borrow her dress and make up — looked something between distraught, angry, and hurt. Ty Lee bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling. The chaos was so worth it.
There was a ruckus in the gondola under them, lots of noise and some cursing, but everyone promptly ignored it. The whole situation on the roof was far more captivating.
Sokka shook his head, frowning towards the smirking princess. "I don't believe you."
And that's why Azula had a dose of appreciation for him. Of course, he shouldn't believe it, this was deception after all.
"What's so unbelievable about it?"
Sokka closed his mouth as quickly as he opened it, before glaring at her. This was ridiculous. This was stupid. It would never happen in any conceivable world. Sure, Azula was gorgeous — a perfectly objective remark, mind you, it was just factually correct that she was. Sokka certainly did not spend time thinking about the looks she gave him in those tunnels during the Day of the Black Sun. Or think about how warm her body felt so close to his. Absolutely not. That was a ridiculous idea. She was the enemy, beautiful as she might be. And she was just messing with him. She must have no actual interest in him whatsoever.
Azula felt a pleasant shiver go down her spine. Oh, this was similar to that look he gave her in the underground tunnel. Azula had been partial to blue for some years, it was the color of her fire after all. And that burning blue, she could see it in his eyes when he was angry, as she did during the eclipse. There was something so appealing about needling her way under his skin, making him lose composure too.
"Come now, Sokka. You certainly did not mind being up close and personal with me before. Surely you're not getting shy now, are you?"
Sokka's potential answer — and Zuko's wish to hurl himself into the lake — was cut short as the gondola reached its destination.
Azula inhaled sharply, relieved to not have the hazard of falling into boiling water hanging over her head anymore.
The others looked at her warily, expecting a fight. And oh, she will bring one, but not now. Now, they might go. Let them get back to wherever they were hiding, she will follow and unearth their little safe haven.
"Go on. Run off." she kept a drop of derision in her tone. "You got what you came here for. Don't fret too much, I’ll be back soon."
She let the words hang in the air, both threat and promise, as her eyes set on Sokka. The sight of him angry, rattled, and bewildered made her smile. "And maybe I shall catch my future husband then."
Azula settled for crossing her hands behind her back and smirking at him as Zuko dragged him off the gondola and they joined the other prisoners in their little dash to freedom.
They ran as fast as they could, throwing the warden aside and letting him roll into the dirt, until they reached the airship, rushing to put it in motion and get away from the cursed prison. It had been quicker and effective than one would expect, and when they were airborne, on their way back to the Temple, Sokka finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as he slid down against a wall. He had a moment of solitude, trying to get his thought together until a tall figure appeared next to him.
"So," Hakoda began as he slid next to his son. "What was that whole debacle about future children?"
Sokka covered his face with his palms and groaned.