I TOLD YOU GUYS I WASN'T GIVING UP ON THIS QUITE YET. I'm just really, really slow, okay. This is the part where stuff starts being a crazy, wild ride until the end so...Yay?

...

Katara had always loved Omashu. It had always held a special place in her heart, being one of the first big cities that she had traveled to with Aang and her brother. That, and how upon their second visit to the ancient city, she and Aang had shared their first, horribly awkward kiss in the caves below.

Which is why she was fighting so hard to protect it.

A few days prior, a riot had broken out over something that, well honestly, Katara wasn't quite sure of all the details. Something about the few remnants of Fire Nation colonists wreaking havoc in the city, disagreements with the Earth Kingdom citizens, cultures clashing.

It seemed a little strange. Things had been so peaceful, nothing had seemed out of place. The city had been prosperous and relatively quiet. It made Katara a little suspicious that something else may have been going on but it was hard to say when she had no time to properly investigate. She was stuck trying to perform damage control, trying to calm people's angered hearts. Every time she thought the riot had been quelled, it seemed like another fight sparked up somewhere, over some other inconsequential issue.

With the armed forces of Omashu, Katara thought that they'd be able to handle themselves and keep things under control. When she started to lose her temper, however, Katara realized that they might benefit from a little backup. The next time she had managed to escape the brawls, she sent a letter to Aang. Hopefully, if he was in Makung already, the message would reach him quickly. In the meantime, Katara hoped that the fighting would dissipate on its own.

p . a . i . n . t

"Sokka, I never took her bending away," Aang said, "Zuko and I discussed it, I was going to but then we decided it'd be cruel. Even with all her crimes, she wasn't Ozai."

"That's," Sokka couldn't speak. He had a feeling. He had always had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that Azula had been lying to him. It felt like everything that had happened between them in the last few months was coming crashing down around him. He had trusted her. He should have known better. She had just been so convincing! With the spark rocks, the genuine regret and sadness that had seemed to plague her whenever firebending was mentioned.

He didn't want to believe it.

"Aang, I don't know what to say, I, I've never seen her bend in the few months I've been here. She always lights fires with spark rocks, I just. I don't know." Sokka was at a loss. He wanted to be angry but he couldn't. On some level, he still thought that she might not be lying. But he had seen those candles turn blue.

To say the least, Sokka was conflicted.

"Do you think she lied?" Aang inquired gently. He wasn't sure how much to prod out of Sokka, as they hadn't seen each other in nearly a year. He didn't want to accidentally say something wrong and send Sokka on another year long journey around the world for asking the wrong questions.

"Sounds like she lied, to me. Princess has never been exactly trustworthy. We should take her back to the Fire Nation or something," Toph, on the other hand, had no qualms with just blurting out whatever came to mind.

"No!" Sokka exclaimed, he wasn't going to just let them take her, "No, she's not up to anything. I think she just...believes that it's gone. For whatever reason. I've seen her fight. Clearly firebending moves just...with no fire."

"You're awfully protective of her," Toph accused, "Are you forgetting what she did to Suki?"

The world that Sokka had been living in was crumbling and reality was smacking him upside the head. Of course he knew, he remembered the Boiling Rock. He remembered how violent Azula was, how cunning and resourceful she could be and it caused adrenaline to immediately surge through his veins. He closed his eyes and remembered all the atrocious things he had seen her do and he just...couldn't regret anything that had happened between them.

He'd guessed that Aang and Toph would have a hard time swallowing how different she was now, even if they had initially been civil with her. He didn't know what to do, what to say. His blue eyes turned towards the ground, like the dirt path would be able to help him find words. Being forced to examine all his feelings for Azula was proving to be difficult. Before Aang and Toph had arrived, things had been so comfortable. A new normal and now he was afraid, so afraid of losing that. Whatever Azula had become for him, he didn't want to lose her.

"Since I came here, she's never given me any reason to doubt her. I think...we need more time. We can't just accuse her without real proof, we should wait," Sokka said finally, rushing to get the words out. Aang and Toph stood silent for a few moments while they mulled Sokka's answer over.

"I agree," Aang said, "From what we've seen of her today, she's been kind of cranky but...she's been peaceful. When she saw us land in the middle of town, she was one of the first people to greet us and she even bought us breakfast." Toph sighed. She didn't want to admit that Aang was being reasonable. She was too stubborn for that.

"I'll have to talk to her. Alone," Sokka said, making sure to clarify that. If there was any chance of getting the truth out of her, having more former enemies around would definitely not be the way to do it.

"So is she your girlfriend or something?" Toph asked, point blank. A horrified expression instantly appeared on Sokka's face. Of course Toph would be the one to ask. He knew that question was inevitably going to come up, Sokka had just been pretending for the last few hours that it wouldn't.

"No!" Was his immediate answer, "We're just friends. Just. Friends."

"Leave it alone, Toph," Aang chuckled, "He'll tell us more when he's ready."

Thankfully, they left it at that. The trio lapsed into much easier conversation topics, making Sokka eternally grateful for Aang's forgiving nature. And for the fact that Katara was notably absent. Also for the best. If she had been here, Sokka knew that they'd still be arguing about Azula.

They ended up at a small restaurant, catching up on the last few months in more detail than letters could convey. Aang's Avatar adventures were always exciting. Toph's metalbending school was doing fantastic. Zuko and Mai were going to get married but they hadn't set a date yet because of, well. Not knowing whether or not Sokka would make it on account of his recent nomadic lifestyle.

"Have you decided to go home, yet?" Aang asked.

"I don't know," Sokka answered, "Nowhere really feels like home anymore, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean, I can never stay in one place for very long," Aang agreed.

Eventually, the conversation steered itself to the reason that Aang and Toph had come to Makung in the first place.

"So tell us what you know about this spirit light?" Aang leaned forward, ready to pay close attention.

"It's strange. Every few days someone sees it. It just floats around the forest. Always a pale, glowing blue. I saw it once and it was just...weird. It doesn't seem to ever bother anyone or cause any trouble but I thought it might be worth you checking into. Y'know. Make sure it isn't an evil spirit biding its time before it attacks the town or something wild," Sokka shrugged.

"What time does it usually appear?"

"It varies. When I saw it, it was definitely the middle of the night, I'd been sleeping and it woke me up. I've heard from others though, that it can appear anytime, as long as it's dark out."

"Huh, then I guess we're gonna have to stay awake all night then?" Aang suggested with a grin. Like this would be some sort of party.

"Anytime we stay up all night, it never ends well," Toph complained, "Seriously, someone's gonna end up with a bad case of rock in the face."

"Katara's not here, you shouldn't have any issues," Sokka pointed out.

"...Fair point," Toph said, "But if this is some sort of light we're looking for, I can't see so…"

Sokka wasn't sure if she was just trying to be funny or honestly trying to get out of tagging along to search for the light.

"You'd still be useful, Toph! What if it gives off some weird vibrations? Sokka and I can't feel that," Aang explained.

"If we plan ahead and go get a little rest now, it shouldn't be an issue to stay up all night, " Sokka suggested. His other two companions agreed and so it was settled. Aang and Toph would go rest at the inn for a few hours while Sokka went back to Azula's. An hour after sunset, they'd meet up at the fountain in the middle of town and hopefully solve the little blue light mystery.

Slowly, Azula opened her eyes. She recognized this nightmare. Recognizing it, however, could not stop it from playing out in her mind. She stood in the middle of her home. The Avatar and all his friends stood before her, smirking. Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee were there as well. There was one new addition to the group, however. Now Sokka stood in front of her, his blue eyes staring down at her. As hard as she tried, she could not read him. There was nothing, his eyes were blank and cold.

"Hush, it'll be over soon," He murmured, reaching out to touch her, only his fingers passed right through her skin. He took a step back. Azula tried to step forward but found she couldn't. There was a wall, an invisible wall surrounding her. She started to pound her fists against it, trying to break through. The group behind Sokka started to snicker at her, their voices growing louder with each passing moment.

"Let me out," Azula yelled, "You can't keep me here!"

"Of course I can," Sokka said, except suddenly it was no longer his voice. A deeper, more sinister, raspy voice had taken it's place, "This is where monsters belong. Where we make them useful again."

Sokka pulled something from his pocket, staring down at her with a sadistic smirk. He blinked and his eyes, those beautiful eyes turned green. He struck his hands together, the spark rocks within them creating a shower of light that fell to the floor. The sparks flooded the room like water, enveloping everything they touched into flames.

Azula's eyes shot open as she desperately gasped for air. She hated these nightmares. She covered her eyes with her hand, the orange sunlight causing the pain in her head to throb. She groaned, not wanting to move but knowing she needed to.

The last thing she remembered before blacking out was Sokka entertaining the Avatar and his little blind friend. She wondered if they were still here. Which would have been awfully rude of them but in her current state, Azula didn't feel like fighting.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and leaned forward, resting her head in her hands, propping her elbows on her knees. Her dark hair fell around her face, creating a convenient curtain that blocked the light.
In the last two days, Azula's life had completely changed and she didn't know how to handle it. Not knowing what to do panicked her. For her entire life, Azula had strived to control everything she could, to have power over anything or anyone that came across her path.

It was quickly becoming apparent that whatever control she'd had was all an illusion.

She had been strong enough to live on knowing that she couldn't remember years of her life. On some level, Azula had accepted that even though she had been so driven to piece the puzzle of nightmares together. It gave her something to strive for, a tangible goal. That one day, in the far off future where she could control her memory and make it come back. But memories were such fickle things.

As were hearts. And Azula wanted to tear hers out of her chest and crush it.

Azula had thought that she could control Sokka. She had always thought that she could keep him at a distance and that he'd never get any closer than she'd allow him to. That had been the only reason that she had agreed to give him lessons. She saw someone, something that she could maybe have some sort of control over. Which, of course, she had been wrong. Azula hated being wrong. It only proved that she was flawed. Someone who was in such complete control of herself could not be flawed. It contradicted everything she saw herself as, everything she wanted to be.

Which brought her to the present moment. How could she have let him in? How had he managed to get so close to her without Azula even realizing it? She had never been with a man before but with Sokka, everything had just felt so right in that moment that she hadn't been able to stop.

She decided that she hated him. For being an imbecile. For making her laugh. For forcing Azula to face the reality that she was just as human as anyone else, subject to all of humanity's temptations.

There was a knock on her door. She lifted her head, her hair parting just enough to see Sokka leaning against her doorframe.

"Hey," he said, "Just wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine," Azula growled. This was the first time they had been alone since last night. She knew this was coming, she only wished that she didn't have to be nursing a migraine.

"I know, just a precaution. Make sure you were still breathing. Can't have you dying on me," Sokka winced. He had such a way with words.

"I'm fine," Azula repeated. "Where are your friends?"

"In town, they're resting. We're going to hunt the spirit light tonight. See what that's all about. Figured it wouldn't be wise to let them take a nap here."

Azula didn't respond, she only stared at him with blank eyes. Between her aching head and frustrated feelings, she wasn't really in a chatty sort of mood.

"I'll...leave you be, then," Sokka sighed, "I left you some water if you want it but uh, yeah. You should get more rest." At that, he slipped out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts once more.

She didn't know if she wanted to risk going back to sleep and having another nightmare or stay awake and be forced to confront her own emotions. In the end, chance of nightmares won out.

….

Before Sokka left to meet up with Aang and Toph again, he had to check on Azula again. He cracked open the door, not wanting to knock and accidentally wake her. Which turned out to be a good call, she was still in bed. He crept into her room and just had to stop for a moment. He didn't want to analyze their relationship, not right now. Sokka just wanted to enjoy it. Not worry about whether or not she had lied to him, he just wanted to lay next to her, run his fingers through her silky hair and try to soothe the pain in her head.

He settled for leaning down and placing a tiny kiss on her forehead. That was innocent enough. A stolen moment for himself, knowing full well that he likely wouldn't get another one for a long while.

Sokka closed the door behind him, biting his lips together. He had an ominous feeling about tonight, like something just wasn't right. He pushed it to the back of his mind, though. Hopefully, his instincts would prove him wrong and the spirit light investigation would just turn into spending more time with his friends before they inevitably got called back to their responsibilities.

Sokka slung a bag of snacks over his shoulder and finally left, walking back into town. He sat on the edge of the fountain, waiting for Aang and Toph. He watched as the water cascaded down, the droplets gently splashing against the bare skin on his arms. He remembered the last time he ended up sitting in this exact spot.

A poignant moment for him, in retrospect, maybe. The night that he and Azula had, albeit somewhat reluctantly, admitted to being friends. Clearly, they were more than that now but…

He pulled a copper piece from his pocket and stared down at it in his palm, as if the tiny scrap of metal would give him some sort of epiphany. When it occurred to him that no such brilliance would strike him, Sokka sighed and closed his eyes, slipping into deep thought.

"I still just want to make this right. I can construct elaborate battle plans like nobody's business but this? I have no idea what to do and I really wish I did. I don't want to lose her because I think that I-"

"You were supposed to take a nap before, not doze off now!" Toph's voice instantly jolted Sokka from his trance.

"Hey now, I've been waiting a long time for you guys to show up. Not my fault it takes Toph a year to wake up," Sokka instantly quipped back, as if nothing troubling had been plaguing him at all.

"She's gotten a lot better about that," Aang defended Toph with a grin.

"Yeah, right," Sokka scoffed, pushing himself to his feet, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"No, see, unlike some people I know, I've matured in my old age. I am perfectly capable of just hopping out of bed with a twinkle in my step these days," Toph snickered.

"Because you're so ancient, Toph," Sokka smirked.

"If anyone's ancient, that'd be me, I'm a hundred and twenty two!" Aang interjected his friends' banter, causing all three to laugh once more. It was good to be among such close friends again. Sokka's future concerning Azula was uncertain but at least he could rest easy in knowing that his relationships with his friends would never change.

"We should head out," Aang said after a moment, allowing ample time for everyone to recover from their bursts of laughter, "Lead the way, Sokka?"

"We've got a long night ahead of us," Sokka nodded, adjusting his pack over his shoulder. He turned towards the forest and took a step forward.

The copper piece fell from his hand and landed in the dirt beside the fountain.