Chapter Text
The idiot was probably already dead.
He somehow, someway blabbed about who he was or—Spirits no—who she was, and he was dead. She would not only have to find his dumb, dead body but also explain to her brother that it wasn’t her fault. That wouldn’t go well. She could already picture Zuko’s face, his hair high and taut in the Fire Lord’s crown. And though her older brother couldn’t hold back an emotion to save his own life—quite literally. Azula had been witness to that more than once—he wouldn’t even be angry with her. He wouldn’t yell or scream, and the idiot would probably even think twice before sending her back into a cell.
He’d be disappointed. Which was infinitely more infuriating.
She fell back at the thought. Her hair was too short, and it rubbed and tickled at her ear as she moved around on the bed. The room was embarrassingly small, unsuitable for anyone of her stature and…no. It was more unsuitable for Sokka. Sokka was…important in this world. He had clout and recognition and the ability to snap and bam. Power. And he didn’t even know how to wield it.
He’d been distant and strange to her, which wouldn’t be entirely off base if he hadn’t been the exact opposite before. Azula reached over the mattress to find the pieces of yuan he had left for her. She hadn’t eaten in a while, and her stomach was starting to grumble from the pain. She slid from the bed, settling her yukata back down and straight, and decided to leave their shared room to find some food.
The Grand Omashu Inn was only grand in size. That was what made it perfect for a mission like this. A quick in and out, shadows amongst the crowd. Why Sokka would ever pretend to actually be him Azula would never understand, but luckily, she was able to quickly think on her feet and lie for the both of them.
It was a bizarre hour—not quite dinner and much too late for lunch—and the common room of the Grand Omashu Inn was no where near full capacity. The tables were long, spanning almost the entire width of the room, with firm rock benches flanking either end. She sat and stiffened at the feel of pure, cold stone on her rear. It wasn’t close to comfortable, but she’d be of no use to anyone if she kept starving herself.
Azula swiftly took out her vial and mixed the fine powder easily into a water cup dropped in front of her by a passing waitress. Her right hand twitched as it came into contact with the smoothed mug. It felt like rocks she would find on the beach. Sanded perfect by waves. Almost reflectingly black. She wondered if waterbending could do this. If earthbending. It was simple and beautiful, and Azula chugged the water inside it before she could ponder it anymore.
“Is that a potion or something?”
There was clearly enough space at the end of her long table. There was even an entirely empty table closer to the door, but still a tall, young man with typical Earth Kingdom eyes sat across from her. Azula settled the stone cup down, but kept her fingers wrapped, nails clicking. “Pardon me?”
“Don’t tell me. You’re a…a witch?” His grin was too wide and sloppy on his face.
A joke then. Azula had enough of that to deal with already. She decided to dismiss him completely. “My boyfriend will be back soon.”
“No pretense at all, huh? Ah, okay.” He scratched his head shakily, and Azula almost felt…bad. He didn’t eye her exposed neck or legs like other men. He didn’t attempt to hold on to some unearned bravado. He was seemingly ridiculous for even thinking that he could have a chance with her, but Azula could admire someone for effort. The stranger echoed her thoughts, “Must be some guy to get someone like you.”
There was a brief flicker of panic that she had been recognized, but the momentary fear left as the guy was suddenly shooed away by a rounded face girl with thickly dyed robes. The man awkwardly moved away, doubly rebuffed, and waved to Azula faintly as he shuffled away from his seat. She felt her eyes drag to him, chest lilting. The strange girl merely huffed across from her. “How annoying. Am I right?”
This was really an incredibly odd situation. Ty Lee had once described Azula of having the same warmness of the South Pole (a comparison she absolutely hated), second in absolute frigidity only to Mai. She had never attracted company before. Why were these fools flocking to her now? She fingered her hair and took a glance at her robes. Something about this must have been too disarming. She really missed the color red.
“Guys like that bother me all the time.” The round-faced girl continued, and Azula swallowed her smirk. She sincerely doubted it. Azula could barely see this girl’s eyes above the blotchy hills of her cheeks.
Azula looked at her nails, prim. “Oh?”
“Yes. I had to save you. Like you need anything like him after coming in with that boyfriend of yours.”
She somehow managed to maintain her composure. The comment was alarming. She had no intention to be noticed, and the fact that she was noticed because of Sokka was well…unsurprising. Though objectively pretty, she should not have stood out that much. She was dressed in green and maybe had a blue robe, but her hair and skin tone could easily blend with the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Her eyes were easily hidden under a ducked head, and no one, not here, knew what the Fire Nation princess looked like anyway.
But Sokka?
Azula felt a heavy air fill her. Sokka was identifiable. No one else here would have his tanned skin, his stupid haircut. The cut of blue eyes and rope of muscles. Azula shifted side to side, avoiding eye contact. The waitress finally came back and settled a thick looking soup in front of Azula with a smaller bowl of plain white rice. She slipped a few yuan on the table. “How nice of you to say.”
“Boyfriend…I wonder who you must be? Dating a hero and all.”
Ah, that word again. Azula nearly cringed under it. She should slap this girl’s rounded cheeks flat on the table and pour her soup in her hair, but no. There was something off about her, something more. The girl laid her hands in front of her and revealed a series of beautifully cut rings. The gems alone were worth a fortune, and the setting looked especially complicated and glamourous. That paired with the rich robes was evidence enough—this girl came from money; this girl did not belong in some shoddy, mainstay inn.
A sharp jolt went through her. This girl had no real reason to be here, and her eyes and interaction with Azula were jarring, unnecessary. Azula took another sip of her water and closed her eyes, imagined her vial coursing through her, her chi ebbing and flowing into calming, calming waves. She didn’t know yet. This could be okay. This girl didn’t look like an assassin. She cracked a shoulder and reopened her eyes. The gaze she met across from her, though ugly, was incredibly coy. And Azula eased herself into a new lie. “He’s not who you think he is.”
“He’s not?”
“No. What would an ambassador be doing with someone like me? We met in Cranefish Town. My father runs a factory down there.”
“You’re a firebender.”
The accusation almost drove her to cruelty and pain, calm shattered. Azula pursed her lips and took a spoon full of her soup, mixing it in with her rice. “I’m sorry?”
“If you’re truly Earth Kingdom…you’d be mixed, and your eyes are too gold not to be a firebender. Unless you want to deny it?”
“I do.”
“Then you’re Fire Nation?”
Azula continued to mix her rice, fear stopping her from taking a bite. This girl didn’t need to be stronger than her for poison. “And why do I have to be either?”
“I’ve just…met people like you. It’s becoming more common, but no one wants to talk about it. You said you’re from the colonies so maybe it’s a hard topic. You know your dad?”
Azula didn’t quite get what she meant. “I said he ran a factory.”
“Right, right. Of course.” The round-faced girl waved her off, whatever empathy in her voice fading. “Look, if you’re a firebender I won’t judge you. In fact, I have a job for you.”
Interesting, but still highly suspicious. “Is this common for you then? Scare off boys and try to recruit the girls they were talking to?”
“Only if they’re firebenders.” She winked a non-existent eye and giggled. “Yeah, this might sound wild, but I can pay you.” She shuffled through her robes and briefly removed a thick wallet. It would be useful to have other income. Sokka could surely get more money but that would be a trace neither of them needed. “And not to be rude, but it looks like you need it. You said that hot boyfriend of yours worked in your dad’s factory? And now you’re both here in this inn…”
“You’re here in this inn.”
“Looking for a firebender. If you’re not one…”
Her heart hammered, pulled at her to lean back and run and just wait for Sokka to come back even though he was taking entirely too long. She was about to do just that when a hand rested on her shoulder. Unconsciously, she felt her body sink under it, relax under its warmth and tight, tight grip. “Whatcha doing down here, Liang?”
Sokka.
Azula exhaled, freneticism dissipating, and an unrealized weight in her bones seemed to subside. Her chi, once peaked, settled back down into her chest, cool and glowing as the man sat next to her and stole a piece of her soup-dipped rice. He smiled, ear-to-ear, and pushed the bowl towards her so that she would eat it. Damn him.
“Being harassed apparently.” She eased against him. It had been awhile since she felt like this…like someone had her back, would support her and her decisions and act with her. Sokka looked down at her briefly but didn’t lean away. His hand slowly raised and hesitantly combed through her hair. She felt the edges of his fingers scrape behind her ear, and she shivered, sparked. “I…um…this girl knows who you really are.”
“Who I really am?”
The round-faced girl leaned on her elbows, unshy. "Couldn’t take the cold and found yourself some nice hot firebender girl?”
Sokka squirmed. “Excuse me?”
“I offered your girlfriend a bit of money. She seems to need it, and you definitely need new clothes too if you even want to bother blending in.”
Azula flicked her hair back, brushing against Sokka’s hand on the back of her neck. “We don’t need…”
“Let’s hear her out, Liang.”
She knocked Sokka’s hand off her and crossed her arms. How dare he!? Azula looked at him, seething. Her skin was warm and rippling. She wanted this girl gone and preferably hurting, but Sokka just placed his hands-on top of hers, rubbing his fingers along her knuckles and the angry, volcanic heat lowered to a simmer, a soft bubble deep in her core.
“I see which half has the brains.” The girl slipped a ring off her engorged fingers and settled it across from them. “Consider this a down payment.”
“And what do you want her to do?” Sokka asked.
“Just meet me.” The girl removed a thick piece of parchment from her robes and slapped it on the table. “After the sun is fully set. If you’re interested, that is.”
“We’re not…”
“We’ll consider it.” His hand tightened, pulsed against her, and she though she wanted to rip into right then and there, she grounded herself into his hand, the chapped, cracking skin. The plump girl merely nodded, satisfied, and bowed lightly before leaving.
Azula removed herself away from Sokka’s side. Her hand still felt unnaturally warm, but she attempted to ignore it. “I don’t know what you think you’re possibly…”
“You should eat.” Sokka perfunctorily ignored her and pushed her rice bowl even closer. She briefly thought he’d spill it on her lap. “I grabbed something on the way back. Should have picked you up something too. This…isn’t the best.”
Sokka had eaten her food and didn’t seem to be dying. Azula placed a hand on her grumbly stomach and ate a spoonful. It was entirely too salty, but it didn’t stop her from swallowing her bowl in nearly three bites. “We agree on that at least.”
“Azula…” Sokka rubbed the back of her head. He kept his voice low, timbre vibrating on her name, and she felt her gaze still on him completely. Sokka had both legs on either side of the bench, dead on with her right side. “That girl is Fui Long’s daughter.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How would you know that?”
“I just spent too much of my life spying on that jerk.” Sokka grabbed and took a big gulp of her water. “They look way too similar.”
It had been at least a year since Azula had seen Fui Long in person. She turned through her memory of any prints or verbal descriptions of his daughter and came up blank. “I suppose they have a similar…bone structure, but you seem more than certain.”
“This too.” Sokka swiped the ring towards them both and picked it up gingerly. “The setting—I almost picked this out for you.” He stammered. “Well, not you…no, I mean, my fake girlfriend who doesn’t…”
“He didn’t sell it to you?”
“No. He said it was just to show his craftmanship. The actual design is reserved for his family.” Sokka relaxed as a bowl of soup and rice was presented to him, waitress winking. “Guess I could eat a little…”
“We have to meet her.” Azula took the ring from him and looked at the elaborate metalwork. It was twisting, vine like band encrusted with the tiniest of rubies. Delicate and beautiful and much to big for Azula’s own fingers. She handed it back to Sokka. “I told her you were a worthless man from the Northern Water Tribe.”
“Ah, so only changed one detail, huh?”
Sokka stretched and funneled food into his mouth. He was indelicate. Monstrous even. But the hearth in the center of the room created flames on his skin, orange, and yellow intensifying the already warm tones. Parts of his hair were loose from the ponytail, framing the angles of his face, the clear blue of his eyes. She felt…she felt…uncomfortable mostly. Too warm and too tight and as if she were made to swallow a hard-boiled egg in one, mighty gulp. He was distracting to look at, and she hated it. That wouldn’t do her any good. And even now, she felt her mouth move carelessly, independently of any sense or diligence. “You’re hardly worthless.”
His spine pulled straight. Bits of soup dripped from his mouth and splattered on the inn’s table. Sokka wiped away the food on his lips. Disgusting, but effective. “I’m…not? I mean, I know I’m not, but you know that?”
“Yes.” She leveled her chi, ignored the hammering of her chest at the eye contact. It felt different, beyond simple discomfort. It felt like a drill tearing through her skin, exposing every inch of her, and Azula wanted to push away from him and that hair and eyes and mouth, but she didn’t. She stood her ground, letting her shoulders fall, and dared to touch him. He didn’t sink away or recoil. His shoulder seemed to bend under her touch, mold against her palm, and her lips curled. “I would say you’re quite the competent partner.”
“That means…something coming from you.” He looked at her hand, biting his lip.
“Something?”
Sokka nodded and moved quickly from the bench to break their contact. His cheeks were slightly red, body exuding more heat. “We should continue this back in the room.” His face contorted, and Azula recognized the emotion easily as panic. “I mean, to plan this more.”
“I know what you mean.” She followed Sokka back up the stairs, taking note of the new tote bag he carried. Azula rolled her eyes at the possibilities. She had no idea the man loved to spend money as much as he did. She should have picked a better sponsor.
No, he’s perfect. The thought was unbidden, unwanted, and Azula paused on the stairs to examine it. Perfect in the way that he, somehow, trusted her. Perfect in the way that he was a warrior and strategist. Perfect in the way that he was an absolute cash cow if needed.
Yes. That was all.
“Liang? Liang!”
She didn’t recognize the name and rubbed her head as Sokka moved back down the stairs. His fingers flitted over her forearm. “You alright?”
“Perfect.”
He laughed. “Of course, you are. Come on.”
The room seemed so much smaller once they are both back inside. Claustrophobic. Caving. Azula tried to create as much distance as possible from him, but Sokka ended up following her to the bed, jumping and spilling the contents of the tote in front of her. She recognized the ingredients immediately.
“Thought you could use some more. It seems to…help you?” He didn’t look at her, but his voice wasn’t disdainful, judging. Another tear ran through her chest.
“It does.” She looked over the herbs, baffled more than anything, and picked up a small, carefully wrapped package. Sokka didn’t stop her, so Azula proceeded in tearing through the thin paper to reveal a pair of glistening teal earrings. The stone wasn’t precious. The metal was almost brittle. They were simple and too large for her liking, and she looked at Sokka in confusion.
“For Katara.” He shrugged, but the nonchalance was absent from the rest of him. “You didn’t…”
“Didn’t what?” Azula snapped.
“Never…never mind. Anyway.” He scooted to be fully on the bed and sat cross-legged. “I can see why you want to kill him.”
“You realized he’s a potential threat to the Royal Family?”
“No.” Sokka cracked his knuckles and removed the cloak from his shoulders, revealing bare arms and collar. Azula looked away as he spoke. “He’s a greedy snail slug. There were pieces in there probably dug up from some back alley that he sold for thousands of yuan. And all the makeup felt like eel oil.” Sokka fell back on her pillow, legs still crossed. “There was an actual couple that came in looking for matching bracelets and he sold them a pair that will break in two days.”
She angled herself to face him, curious at both his anger and his knowledge of jewelry. “I didn’t realize you were such a connoisseur.”
“He claimed he used cold forging. That’s not too different than some of the weapons we made down in my tribe. And between Gran Gran and Katara, I’ve seen a bit of jewelry making.”
“Raised by women.”
“As compared to an evil warlord? I’ll take it.”
Azula elbowed him dangerously close to the inner seam of his pants. Sokka yelped and jutted back to a siting position. She waited to be scolded. To be yelled at or even punched back. But Sokka only smiled and flicked her nose.
“Don’t do that!”
“Sorry, princess. But if you act like a pest…”
“Can we please just…”
“You’re pretty tame.” Sokka commented before falling back on her pillow. “Not saying I dislike it, but…” He shook his head. “Okay, so The Plan. I don’t really have one. The guy seems to care about his family enough to design nice rings for them, but other than that, he only seems to care about money.”
“So, we kidnap his daughter when we meet her tonight and ransom her. He could either offer us information or money.”
She watched him exhale deeply, harshly, his abdomen curving inwards even under the layers of his tunic. “Okay.”
“And we may have to kill him, Sokka.” She spoke slowly so he understood. This wasn’t an empty promise, an extreme circumstance of their reality. Azula would do anything to see her country move past this volatile time, to protect her brother while he still wore the crown. Her nation’s stability, somehow, relied on it. “He’s a threat to Zuko.”
“And you,” Sokka added.
“Yes.” Her chi flickered. “And me. If we don’t properly defang him, I’ll need him dead. You won’t stop me?”
He didn’t answer. Sokka’s breathing quickened, deepened, and the fists at his side flexed and tensed repeatedly. She didn’t understand his turmoil, his hesitation. Sokka himself had called Fui Long a bug. The world would be better without him.
But that was alright. She didn’t need his agreement. Silence—from her experience— was almost always a yes.