A/N; Hello, my dear simp army- I mean, readers!
Just to be brief, this chapter is kinda more filler fluff - and I promise, it's the last one before Lake Laogai - but I felt it was a necessary step to get the characters where I want them to be. So you know how at the end of the last chapter I said I had some ideas for a few Ba Sing Se oneshots? Yeah, that idea kinda went out the window and turned into this chapter.
As per usual, took a while to get it right blah blah same a/n shit I make in every chapter, honestly why do I even write these anymore. I feel like you probably all know what I'm going to write here anyways.
Now, before we start the ride, I am legally obligated by the Wattpad Anti-Simp Committee™ to remind you all to keep two hands on the phone at all times... so uh yeah do that :)
Azami P.o.V.
"Well, that was pointless," Azami groaned as she slumped back on the couch.
Having just come back from her long-awaited meeting with the Earth King, she accepted that it had basically gone both as well and as poorly as it could've done. Thankfully, there was no offense taken or anything like that, but... well, she had a feeling the gaang wouldn't like what came of the meeting either. Or, rather, what didn't.
It was hard for her to believe they'd already spent a month in the city - and, even more surprising, was how little actually came of that. Outside of her relationship with Sokka, it felt like the days were blending together, with almost no end in sight.
So it wasn't exactly a shock to her when they all swarmed around her almost the second she sat down, no doubt desperate for any positive answers - and her gut wrenched knowing she had nothing to offer them. "Well, what did the king have to say?" Aang asked hopefully. "Does he know where Appa is?"
It hurt her a lot, seeing his fragile expression, especially since she knew her news would crush him - but she wasn't going to lie to him either. They all deserved to know the truth.
"Not in the slightest," she muttered, burying her face in her hands for a moment. "The supposed 'private' meeting was all of about ten minutes long, and supervised by Long Feng the entire time, so I couldn't mention anything about the war. And the one time I was able to ask about Appa, he had nothing to offer in the slightest. No news, no rumors - nothing."
Like she feared, that quickly dampened the moods of the others - both Aang and Sokka seeming crushed. The only two reasons they'd come to the city, and it seemed the King was worthless for both. Any previous doubts about him being Long Feng's puppet had now vanished - in her eyes, at least.
"So the King can't help us, then," Katara accepted miserably. "There goes our chances of having allies for the invasion. And if even the King can't find Appa... what do we do now?"
For some reason, everyone - even Toph - turned to look at Azami, as if she had any answers. In truth, she felt as hopeless as they did right now. But, if they were going to look up to her in this moment - then she wasn't going to give in to her despair. One way or another, they'd find a way through this. They always did.
"We keep looking," she announced, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "We know Appa is somewhere in this city, and we aren't going to give up on him. No matter what."
Like any other day, they decided to split up again and continue searching in pairs, with Aang going alone since he could cover more ground quickly. They were now at roughly three quarters of the lower ring searched - by Azami's estimate, at least - but still nothing.
Today, she'd gone with Sokka (shocker), and despite the group's grim mood, Toph still found a way to joke about the two of them not taking any 'detours' - one that had Sokka turn into a blushing mess once again. Honestly, it was kinda laughable how easy that was to accomplish nowadays, but even after going on several dates together he was still remarkably nervous about the whole thing.
Anyways, while searching the city, she and Sokka searched shops, warehouses, even knocked at people's homes to try and get answers - and their last attempt, which had them wandering a rather empty and nearly abandoned-looking market area, wasn't offering any results.
"Well, that was eventful," Sokka grumbled as they left yet another store. Despite her more hopeful attitude, there was certainly a part of her that agreed with his pessimism, and it was all she could do to discourage it. "Is it just me, or are you starting to think this is a lost cause? What if Appa isn't here at all?"
Azami sighed, struggling harder than ever to stay optimistic. "We know that Long Feng threatened us with his whereabouts, right?" she asked, and he reluctantly nodded. "Then he has to be here somewhere. Empty threats can only go so far, and Long Feng doesn't strike me as the type to bluff."
"So where to, then?" he asked bitterly. "Another abandoned district where more people slam doors in our faces? Maybe this time will be different... just like the last one... and the one before that, and before that-"
Unable to resist, she reached out and gently took his hand in hers, trying to offer any support she could. "Look, I get that this feels hopeless," she tried to assure him. "But we can't give up on Appa. He's here somewhere, I know it."
"I know... we'll find him, it's just taking longer than I expected," he sighed in reluctant agreement, before smiling softly over at her. "Plus, it's not like there hasn't been anything good to come from our time here either."
Azami blushed slightly, but she smiled back - because she had to agree, the past couple of weeks had genuinely been great for her.
"So... I've been thinking," Sokka announced.
Her eyebrows rose in mock horror. "You, thinking?" she gasped. "Spirits, who are you and what have you done with Sokka?"
"Ha ha, very funny," he rolled his eyes, despite the nervous smile that crossed his face. In fact, his whole body posture was looking nervous for some reason now. "But seriously - we've been dating for a few weeks now, and... I mean, I don't want to speak for you, but I, uh... I think, well- you know what, I'm gonna speak for myself here-"
Azami smiled softly at his awkwardness - for some reason, there was something strangely endearing about it. "It works," she offered, and he nodded.
"Yeah, it does," he agreed, now blushing slightly, and the firebender's eyes widened in anticipation, wondering if he was actually about to ask her what she was expecting. "So I was wondering, um... if, you know, you want to of course... if you wanted to be my-"
He paused, tensing up slightly, and Azami groaned, rolling her eyes as she thought he backed out at the last second. "For spirit's sake, Sokka, I'm not going to-"
"Not now," he hissed, and for a moment a flare of anger shot through her - did he want to ask her out or not? If so, this was a pretty horrible way to go about doing it.
As her gaze turned forward, though, her anger and confusion vanished almost immediately, seeing exactly what Sokka had seen.
Standing less than twenty feet from them, were two large, buff guys - one with black and white face paint, and both of them focused completely on her. The one with the face paint, in particular, wasn't just focused - the look on his face suggested something way beyond aggression.
Where they came from, she had no clue - but watever thoughts she'd had about her relationship with Sokka went out the window, replaced by her mind racing to find a way out of here that didn't involve a fight. They didn't have much in the way of weapons on them, and with the Dai Li no doubt watching their every move, she wasn't a fan of their odds.
Easiest solution - just turn around and run the other way.
Sadly for them, that proved easier said than done, as the second Azami turned around she easily spotted the several rough-looking guys heading right at them - and, most notably, they too were glaring daggers straight at her. She wasn't sure what she'd done to piss off this random gang, but clearly she had - and she didn't like where that headed.
Somehow they'd gotten boxed in, with no crowds or anyone nearby, and she didn't even realize until it was too late.
Now standing back to back with one another, she looked over her shoulder to see if Sokka had any ideas - and whatever fleeting hope she had of avoiding what was about to happen instantly vanished when she found Sokka doing the same thing. Their gazes met for only a second, but it was enough time to know what was on each other's minds.
"Run?" he asked.
"Run," she agreed.
Without waiting another second, she grabbed Sokka's hand and the two raced into a nearby side alley. If she still had any doubts, they instantly vanished as she heard the shouts coming from behind them.
Unfortunately for her, she wasn't quite as fast as him, owing to his larger stature, so he ended up making the calls on which way to turn. So rather than getting them back on the streets, where they could hopefully disappear - which is what Azami wanted to do - she instead just ended up following Sokka down a labyrinth of back streets that neither of them knew, and the approaching threat most certainly did.
Which, inevitably, meant they ended up at an L-shaped juncture before long, and they came to a screeching halt as their path was blocked by two large guys. For a moment, Azami thought about doubling back, but that too proved impossible as the other two were coming up behind them.
They were trapped.
If she was being honest with herself, Azami was actually a little nervous. Under normal circumstances, she'd take them all in a heartbeat by herself, and be fairly confident that she could come out on top. She'd dealt with worse odds. But right now, she was severely handicapped, as firebending was completely out of the question. Even if she was allowed to use it in the city, it would still be an insane idea to use it while surrounded by wooden buildings - a lesson she'd already learned the hard way back on Kyoshi.
Seemingly, Sokka came to the same conclusion, as he suddenly pushed her behind him and back into the corner of the juncture while he pulled out his club, having left his machete at home. "Back off!" he yelled at them, swiping a few times with his weapon to get the point across. "I mean it, either you leave us alone or we'll-"
"Do what, exactly?" a voice taunted from their right. One man - presumably, the gang's leader, as his was the face painted with black and white stripes - stepped forward, a sneer twisting his features. "You'll poke us with that little stick of yours?"
Neither Azami nor Sokka said anything in response, the latter only tightening his grip on his weapon. Hesitantly, Azami pulled his boomerang out of it's pouch and tried holding it in both hands like a miniature sword, though she admittedly had no clue what she was doing with it.
"Besides," the leader continued. "We aren't here for you, boy."
If he thought those words were going to help in any way - they didn't. Azami's face blanched as she suddenly realized why they were doing this, and Sokka's face twisted into a snarl. Almost like he was daring them to try anything. "You're not going to touch her," he hissed.
"This fire rat dares to stroll around our city, and she thinks there will be no consequences?" the man spat, lifting his arm to point his dagger straight at her. "We know, and remember, what her family has done. What they still do, to this day."
Sokka's body tensed, but he stood his ground - unwavering in his stance. Honestly, Azami had never seen him get like this before. "That wasn't her," he insisted. "Those were the actions of her father and brother, who, in case you forgot-"
"It doesn't matter!" the man snapped, clearly losing his temper already. "Do you honestly think I care if she directly hurt anyone or not? It wasn't like her nation cared when my daughter did nothing wrong, yet I still had to carry her broken body to this city, just so I could lay her to rest."
The man paused then, his eyes watering slightly before he forcibly shut them. "My family... everyone I loved..." he whispered, his voice breaking - but when his eyes opened again, his gaze held nothing but pain and anger. "The fire nation took my family, who did nothing wrong," he growled. "So I will make one of theirs pay in return."
It was at that moment, then, when all hell broke loose.
Screaming in rage, the leader whipped his arm, throwing the knife straight at them. Not expecting such an action, Azami yelped in shock as she barely ducked in time, the knife scratching along her cheek and taking a small amount of her hair with it. That action basically acted like the opening bell of a match, as two of the others started racing towards them - fortunately unarmed, but nevertheless tall and well-built.
As soon as the first one arrived, Sokka quickly dodged the punch he threw and proceeded to smash the side of his club into the man's head - not enough to knock him out, but certainly enough to send him crashing into the wall. It left their other side open, however, giving the second man a clean shot straight at Azami.
Not waiting for him to reach her, she threw the boomerang at his head - which, in all fairness, it did connect with, though not nearly doing enough to stop him. So, reluctantly, she launched herself forwards to fight, collapsing all of her weight as the man went straight for head, instead kicking her leg out to hit his. The man promptly collapsed, his legs falling out from under him as his body - and head - smashed straight into the ground.
Knowing that he would definitely be out for a while, she stood back up, getting ready to fight the leader - but as she heard a yelp of pain come from behind her, she whipped around in horror, fearing the worst. "Sokka!" she exclaimed, abandoning her focus on the leader as she wanted to help him.
She'd missed what happened to him, and only barely noticed him kneeling on the ground, but it didn't take long for her distraction to catch up with her. Within seconds, she felt a hand grab a fistful of her hair and yank backwards, and she couldn't help the grunt of pain that left her as her head instantly followed, the man's other hand wrapping around her neck.
No matter how much she kicked and struggled against him - even landing a few blows on some rather sensitive areas - his grip remained firm, determined to choke the life out of her. "You think I will make this quick?" the leader growled in her ear, his grip tightening as her vision blackened slightly. She coughed, trying to get more air in her lungs, but the man's hand squeezed even harder, refusing to budge. "My daughter suffered for weeks before she died, because of you and your family. I would be doing you a mercy, giving you even half that-"
After struggling for a while longer - during which she came dangerously close to losing consciousness - Azami finally managed to summon the last of her strength and position herself so that she could drive her elbow straight into his most sensitive area, effectively shutting him up as his grip finally loosened. Not the least bit interested in giving him another second, she took the opportunity to whip her body around as she launched herself up, driving a kick straight into the man's jaw.
They both collapsed almost instantly - the man groaning in pain, while Azami was coughing slightly, trying to regain her breath after having been strangled. The world around her was fuzzy at best, being barely able to even make out the texture of the ground, but only one thought was on her mind - Sokka was hurt, and she had to help him.
As soon as her vision started to clear again, she pulled herself to her feet and looked over to try and find him - only to be met with the surprise of him rushing straight towards her, almost immediately crushing her in a hug.
"S-sokka..." she coughed out, struggling against his tight grip - which wasn't helping how hoarse her voice was from the assault on her neck. "C-can't bre-"
He pulled back almost as fast, before quickly grabbing her hand to drag her along as they left the others behind. "Sorry," he panted. "I just managed to take care of those two guys, but I don't know how long... probably best if we just get out of here."
Still feeling a little weak to protest (not that she intended to), she just followed along with it and let him lead them off towards who-knows-where.
Sokka P.o.V.
It was only after several minutes of panicked racing through the streets of Ba Sing Se when Azami finally begged him to stop for a moment.
One quick glance over her rather dishevelled appearance, and he scolded himself for not taking a break earlier. So, after checking to make sure they hadn't been followed, he pulled her into the first side alley he could find to make sure they were alone and immediately turned to face her.
Now having the chance to properly check for any injuries, he was both a little horrified and relieved at the same time - her hair was a mess, her cheek bleeding and her neck was certainly looking a little raw, but aside from that she seemed alright. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Sokka, I-" she cut herself off as she coughed slightly, her neck clearly still bothering her. "I'm fine, I... I just need a min- wait, what happened to you?"
Her gaze was rather horrified as she gently grabbed both sides of his head, tilting it around. In truth, he didn't know how he looked - just had a feeling it wasn't pretty. "Is it that bad?"
"I- yeah, it honestly is," she admitted, placing a hand on the side of his cheek while her thumb ran over a particularly sensitive area - no doubt, his face was probably bruised rather heavily. One of the many consequences of a six-foot-five guy smashing his fist into your face. "Are you alright?"
He laughed gently, despite her obvious worry - for some reason, he just felt like humor would help right now. "I've been better, but it's not that bad," he grinned confidently, trying to play it off like it wasn't as bad as it was.
Azami pursed her lips, seeming doubtful - but if she had any opposition to his claim, she didn't voice it, instead opting to change the subject. "So, um... about what you were saying before..."
Sokka couldn't help raising his eyebrows in disbelief - she'd just been nearly strangled to death and stabbed, and that was what she was thinking about right now? He certainly wasn't going to complain, though, especially if she was saying yes. "Really?" he asked in surprise, genuinely shocked that she had brought it up. "You actually want to?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but any nervousness he may have felt evaporated as she smirked slightly. "I was just suggesting you finish what you were saying before we were interrupted, I'm not agreeing to anything until you ask me. Remember, Sokka, since I'm not the big, strong man in the relationship, you're the one who has to ask."
"Oh, come on," he protested, his memory immediately recalling the similar line Suki had used to taunt him months ago. Back when he was... much more naive, to say the least. "If you're going to say yes anyways, why do you have to make this hard for me?"
Azami's face shifted into a mocking innocent smile, closing the distance between them just a bit - enough to make him more uncomfortable, though, and he held no illusions that she wasn't relishing in his difficulty with this topic. "Yes to what, Sokka? You haven't actually asked me anything yet."
"You little-" he cut himself off before he could say anything else, but despite the glare he was giving her it was clear the firebender was trying her hardest not to laugh at him right now. Which, somehow, was making him feel even more humiliated. "Fine," he grumbled. "Do you want to be my-"
"I'm sorry, could you speak up?" she asked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling their heads closer together. Every part of his body, despite how much he liked the girl leaning up against him, wanted to bolt, he was so nervous and uncomfortable. "I couldn't quite catch that."
Any part of Sokka that was previously fighting off a blush instantly crumbled, allowing his embarrassment to be shown on full display. Forcing himself to muster his courage, he met her eyes firmly, as if daring her to keep messing around with him. "Do you want to be my girlfriend or not?"
"Hmm..." she wondered, leaning back slightly as if she had to think about it. "As you said, our first few dates have gone well, so..." She paused, sighing rather dramatically as she glanced up at the sky. "Yes, I suppose-"
He didn't even give her a chance finish her sentence before he instantly connected their lips, surprising her for only a second before she leaned into it as well. The kiss didn't last long, both of them soon pulling away, but it was long enough for Azami to have dropped her facade and actually be genuinely smiling at him now.
Meanwhile, Sokka couldn't help the sigh of relief that left him as his body relaxed. "You know, you could've just said that earlier," he complained, though unable to deny the boyish grin that was crossing his face.
Despite of her previous attitude, Azami let out a small laugh as she rested her forehead against his, gazing fondly at him. "I know, but where would be the fun in that?"
In that moment, he didn't care that they were both injured, he didn't care that both of their hair styles were a mess, or that her cheek was bleeding - she was the most beautiful person in the world to him, and his heart soared as they connected again.
When they finally got back home - admittedly a lot later than intended - Katara instantly started fussing over them like the mother hen she is, racing to get their injuries healed as fast as possible so she could then interrogate them about what happened.
It didn't take long to explain, of course, but the whole time Sokka felt rather like he was on trial for committing heinous crimes and was presenting his defense.
The rest of the day continued about as much as he expected - the gaang all eating dinner together, trying to tell some lighthearted stories and keep up the positive mood. After all, it wasn't that hard for him - he had a lot to be happy about right now.
And of course, the day's events ended with the most important thing in his life - the one thing Sokka knew he could always rely on.
Sleep.
Now, under normal circumstances, Sokka had very pleasant dreams. Sometimes, they were rather odd, but nevertheless - he often slept long, deeply and generally speaking, it was usually the best part of his day. Truly, nothing could beat the feeling of a long, good night's sleep.
Tonight, though, that didn't really go according to plan.
Out of nowhere, Sokka suddenly woke up to the sound of soft footsteps outside his room. Nearly bonking his head against the frame of the bed as he got up, he quickly pulled on a t-shirt and pressed his ear against the door, straining his hearing as much as possible to try and figure out what was going on.
He couldn't make out much, but what he could hear was fairly distinct - no doubt about it, someone was walking around the house in the midle of the evening. Initially, he thought it might be some kind of criminals - his mind too sleepy to register how unlikely that was in the upper ring of the city - so he grabbed his boomerang before gently pulling the door open and peeking his head out.
What he expected to find was some random bandit trying to steal money or something. Instead, he just barely managed to see someone walking out the front door, closing it quietly behind them. If he hadn't already been up, he definitely wouldn't have heard it.
Deciding to follow them, Sokka kept his weapon close behind his back while slowly creeping through the house, heading for the same door the person left through. Taking a deep breath, he opened it as quietly as he could and jumped out onto the front porch, whipping his boomerang out, ready to attack. Much to his surprise, though, he didn't see anyone.
Shrugging, he turned to head back inside before his eye caught someone in a dark nightgown, leaning against the porch railing as they gazed up at the moon. Confused, he took a step closer - realizing that it was, indeed, a very specific someone.
"Azami?" he sleepily asked, struggling with a yawn as he startled the firebender slightly, causing her to look over at him in surprise. "W-what are you doing up?"
She seemed a little embarrassed as she glanced down, not meeting his gaze. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"I-it's fine," Sokka yawned, moving to stand next to her, both of them now looking out at the moon again. "I was up anyways."
Azami smirked slightly, though he could tell it was a lot softer than normal. "Really? The great sleeper himself was awake in the dead of night?"
"Hard to believe, I know," he grinned.
To his surprise, she looked over at him again rather fondly before reaching a hand up to run it through the back of his hair. "You know, outside of today, I don't think I've seen you with your hair down like this," she wondered at it. "At least, not in a long time."
"Do you like it?" he asked, genuinely curious.
She smiled sheepishly, pulling her hand back to rest it on the railing again. "Honestly, I kinda do," she admitted. "But then, I wouldn't really be able to call you ponytail if you kept it this way, now would I?"
"I guess I'll just have to keep it up for you then, princess," he grinned, already familiar with her cute reaction to that name - and he wasn't disappointed this time either as she let out a soft whine of protest, her cheeks flushing slightly.
Several minutes passed then without either of them saying much, and Sokka couldn't help taking in her appearance - the slash on her cheek was gone, along with the handprint on her neck, almost as if the day's events hadn't even happened. But a small doubt began gnawing at his gut as he watched Azami's expression slowly fall back into a more solemn one, her eyes almost never leaving the moon as it ever so slowly traced across the sky - and he knew, as per usual, that she was getting lost in her own thoughts.
As the silence continued to envelop them, Sokka couldn't help placing one hand over hers, his thumb gently rubbing against the back of her fingers. "Are you alright?" he asked nervously.
Azami just sighed, lowering her head in defeat as she glanced away from him. "Yeah, I just... I feel like I let everyone down today," she confessed. "We were all waiting for some big moment, some big success from meeting the Earth King, and it amounted to nothing. That, plus the bandits today, and... you know, the usual stuff..."
She didn't have to finish the sentence - by now, he was almost used to the fact that she had nightmares daily.
"What happened this time?" he asked, hoping it might help if she talked through it. "Anything new?"
The firebender shrugged. "Nope, nothing I hadn't already seen before. Losing you, and the rest of the gaang to the Fire Nation, the events at the North Pole... I just don't get why I keep seeing these things. For the first time in months, I feel like I'm happy with where I'm at. I've made peace with my past, we've been dating - and I've loved it - I just... I'd really like a proper night's sleep for once, you know?"
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked softly, wanting more than anything to help her. Azami just shook her head in response, and reluctantly Sokka forced himself to accept the fact that this was something she needed to figure out on her own. He gently wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug as he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.
He felt her sigh as he released her turning to leave. "If you want or need anything, just come ask me," he offered, and she nodded without looking at him. With one last glance up at the moon, he began to head back inside, a feeling of defeat filling him.
"Wait," her voice suddenly called out as he just reached the door handle, and he turned in surprise to meet her gaze. "Can... can I join you? Just for tonight?"
Sokka's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't expected that kind of a request, but he instantly nodded - if it would help her, then he certainly wasn't opposed. "Of course," he replied, and she smiled gently.
The two headed back inside without another word, and before he knew it, they were both in Sokka's room, lying down in his bed as they tried to get comfortable - which, admittedly, was harder than it seemed. Any part of his mind that saw this in the other way, though, he instantly squashed. That wasn't what this was about, and he wasn't trying to make this awkward for her. They'd only just decied to make things official, after all, and he certainly wasn't going to do anything to throw that away.
After a moment, he decided to just do what felt natural and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body closer to his as she rested her head against his chest. They both sighed slightly, relaxing under the warm blanket that covered them.
"Thank you," she whispered, already closing her eyes as she rested her weight against his. A strong feeling of protectiveness washed over him as he gently rubbed her shoulder with his thumb, leaning his head against hers as he already felt sleep starting to overtake him.
A/N; Alright, there ya go - more fluff, yayy...
Honestly, I know I probably seem a little dejected - it's not because I don't like it, or because I think it's a waste or anything - it's just a serious pain to write lol. These last two chapters alone took me about the same amount of time as four chapters did previously, if not longer, which I was definitely not expecting.
Tbh, I'm getting a lot more appreciation for people who write entire fics that's just romance fluff beginning to end - even if it's cliche at times. Or always. You guys know the ones I mean.
Also, btw, if the pacing of the chapter feels a bit weird - I kinda wrote it in different segments and then stitched it together, so honestly this is a bit of a Frankenstein chapter lol.
Farewell, dear simp - until next time.
Oh, and btw, in case anyone's wondering - that guy with the "black and white face paint"? Yeah, that's based on the bandit Korra fights when collecting the Earth Queen's tax money - in case you want a mental picture of what it looks like.