Sokka usually didn't feel bad about his jobs. He needed the money and he usually only conned horrible rich people, they type of people who didn't deserve all the money they had. But this time it was different. He thought conning the spoiled rich Fire Nation brat would be easy. He take her out a few times, get to know her little bit and then once he had a way into the palace he take all of her jewelry and money, anything that looked expensive and he'd be on his way.

That was almost two years ago.

He hadn't expected to fall in love with the princess. He hadn't expected the princess to be as complex as she was. On the surface, Azula seemed as spoiled at they come, bratty, rude, inconsiderate, selfish and materialistic. All of that wrapped up neatly in one breathtaking woman. She wanted the finest clothing, best jewelry and she deserved nothing less than that. And while she showed those traits off to the public, she hid the ones that would have people move mountains for her. Like the fact that she was super smart, and that she was kind, that's she cared about others.. most of the time. The fact that she only acts the way she does to keep people from getting close to her. The facts that while she likes being alone, she wished she had true friends sometimes but it was too hard to drop her persona permanently. Especially after her mother left her.

Sokka had never thought that Azula would mean something to him. At least not when the con started. And he knew now that he couldn't go through with it. That he couldn't break her heart, not now. Not after learning about how troubled she was, not after learning her fears and wants in life. He could never hurt her that way. But he had to go home and figure out what to do, his family was counting on the money he was supposed to be bringing home. His sister would be having a baby soon and he wanted to make sure she would be taken care of. Of course, her husband Aang would be there but it never hurt to be prepared.

He thought about telling Azula about his troubles, not the con of course, but about his money troubles. That way, maybe, he'd be able to keep Azula and help his family as well. Maybe she would understand and he could just go con someone else. And sometimes he thought about coming clean to her, telling her everything and having faith that she would understand. Sure, she would be pissed at first but she would eventually forgive him and learn to trust him again. But that wasn't a risk he wanted to to take.

He sighed as he finished his letter and sealed it in an envelope. This was the main way he kept his family updated on his progress, or lack there of in this situation. He signed the letter off and prepared to take it to the post when Azula came into the room.

"Babe." She says as she approached him, kissing his lips softly.

"Hey baby, how was the meeting with your father?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Terribly boring. I thought of you the whole time." She smiled at him and he grinned.

"Dirty thoughts I hope." He jokes and and she slaps his chest.

"Is that all you think about?" Azula asks with a raised eyebrow and he shrugs.

"Maybe but they're always are about you." He grins and she kisses his lips.

"They better be." Came her reply.

They spent the rest of the morning relaxing with each other. The couple had a special dynamic that no one had ever expected from a common boy and a rich princess. It had always been interesting for people to see them out in public and around the palace. When Azula was pulled away for another meeting, Sokka decided that it was the right one to go mail off his letter. He had told his father that the job the was way more complicated than he could have expected aka he fell in love with her and didn't know what to do. He just hoped to god that Azula never found out his initial true intentions in their relationship.

Azula returned to their room later, in search of her favorite necklace. She had important event she had to do to later and the necklace pulls her outfit together. It was missing from her jewelry boxes and her closet. She checked the floor and under the bed and came up with nothing. She went over to Sokka's drawers to check just in case and was met by a bunch of letters. She knew his family had been struggling and she had planned to surprised him with a trip back home. She cared about him a lot and wanted to make sure that he was okay in life. She had also hoped to meet his family eventually. This was the first boyfriend she had ever been serious about and she didn't want to mess this face up, she wanted to go about it properly. She simply picked up a letter and decided to read it. She hoped he wouldn't be too angry with her.

The letter went as follows:

Sokka,

I hope you're doing well. We miss you dearly and can't wait to see you again. How is the job going? I hope you aren't suffering too much with princess Rich Bitch. I know you said she wasn't that bad last letter but I don't believe you. I hope you're getting close to the end. How much do you think you'll get from her? Enough to never con again? I hope so, I hate sending you away for this, it's a huge risk. But she won't miss the money and she'll probably won't even notice you're gone before she's on to the next guy. I hope to hear from you soon and hopefully you'll be on your way home to us.

With much love and luck, your father.

Azula's crushes the paper, ripping holes in it with her fingernails. Her nails pierced her skin through the paper almost drawing blood and her tears filled her eyes. She had trusted him, she had told him so much about herself and he was playing her. All he wanted was money from her. Like everyone else. He was damn good at his fucking job because she believed every second of it. She looked further in his drawers frantically to find a small bag of her jewelry. She inspected the bag to find the necklace she was looking for and even more precious jewelry she loved. In addition to that, there were more letters from his family, his father and sister. They were all consistent, speaking about a con that he was supposed to pull off. Her body was practically trembling at this point, her heart in shambles. She wanted to kill him, she could kill him but that would break her heart more than what was happening now.

It was nearly perfect timing as Sokka reentered the room with a grin on his face. He was happy to spend the rest of the day with his girlfriend. So was surprised to see her standing over his drawers.

"Zules, what's wrong?" He asked as he approached her and he was met by a slap and a distraught Azula, tears streaming down her face.

"You fucking piece of shit! How could you?" She hits his chest as she cried and Sokka was in too much shock to stop her. When his brain finally put two and two together, he sighed as he backed away from her.

"Azula, I-" He started but the look on her face told him to shut up.

"I trusted you, I told you everything and you were only using me! For something as stupid as money! Something I could have easily given you. Why did you stay for so long? Why didn't you just take what you wanted and ran?" She screams at him and he tries to touch her but she slaps his hand away.

"I fell in love with you." He answers softly, his eyes filled with regret and anguish. She scoffed and glared at him.

"You expect me to believe that shit!" Azula laughs and it was nothing like that beautiful laugh he was used to hearing. This was something sad, something he had never heard before.

"It's the truth! I'll tell you everything right now." He practically pleaded. He had hoping this would never happen because he never wanted her to doubt his love for her. Despite his true intentions he loved her more than anything.

"What! What's the truth? That you've using me from day we've met. That you probably stalked me to meet me. That you've been stealing things from me while you laid in my bed." He can see the emotion start to leave her, her wall being quickly built back up in place. Her voice was cold as he had ever heard it.

"Azula I'm begging you to listen to me."

"I want you out!" She said and Sokka froze.

"No, Zules, please. I'll do anything, anything at all to prove it. To prove that I love you." Sokka is on his knees at this point and Azula turned around, snatching her jewelry out of his drawer before walking to the door. She swiftly opened it and refused to look at him before saying, "I don't ever want to see you again. I'll have your stuff outside the door by tonight." Sokka looked up at her, just hoping to get through to her but she held strong. He sighed before standing and walking over towards the door. He had planted one last kiss on her cheek, revelling in the fact that she didn't push him away before he walked out of the door.

Sokka returned later, when it was dark out to collect his things. He had spent the day beating himself up about what he had done. He was stupid for not throwing away all of those letters away. For thinking he could just hold the jewelry in his drawer like that. The con artist in him was disappointed in how he forget essentials of the job that quickly. He didn't even want to get started on how angry he was at home self for doing that to Azula. He loved her and once he had made that clear he should have told his father. He should have stopped then and found a different way to get the money. There were so many things he should have done to prevent this from happening. During the day, he decided to write a final letter to Azula, hoping to at least get her to understand and hopefully she would at least get some closure.

Sokka approached the door, all of his things placed in bags outside of the door. He sighed as he began to gather his things, he had already found an inn to stay in for the night. Once he had everything, he had slipped the letter under her door, hoping that she wouldn't instantly disregard it. That she would take the time to read it. He quickly left and made his way back to the inn, hoping not to run into anyone.

Azula heard someone approach her door as she was getting ready. As much as she wanted to stay in bed and cry, she had to make her event and put on a brave face. She heard the bags moving and rustling and knew that it had to be Sokka. She sucked in a breath, wishing she could go out there and see him. She listened as he grabbed everything and felt the stab in her heart. It seemed like no matter what she did no one was there to stay. As she was putting on her necklace, she heard something enter the room and noticed a envelope at the foot of her door. She immediately noticed Sokka's handwriting and threw down on her desk. She refused to let him ruin her night.

That was something that seemed inevitable because as she talked to people during the event, her mind went back to that letter. She eventually left early to go back home. She could help but to want to read what he said. When she finally got home, she went straight to the letter, immediately ripping it open.

Zules,

I don't know how to start this but I want you to know that I do love you. No matter my initial intentions were, I fell in love with you. I want to explain why I did what I did and hope that one day you could forgive me for hurting you. I simply wanted to help my family. I won't lie to you, I've done this to others but it quickest way to get the money we needed. I thought I would just get the money and go. I didn't intend hurt you like this. And I know that doesn't make it any better but I want tug to know that I am terribly sorry that I did this to you. You didn't deserve this at all and is do anything to make up for, to gain you're forgiveness. And I don't expect you to ever take me back but I'll never stop loving you. Loving everything about you. I hope that one day you could forgive me, and that you don't write everyone off because of my stupid mistake. You deserve happiness. And while I want to be that person, I get that you can't trust me and that's all my fault. But I'll always be there.

Sokka.

She was in tears by the end of it. Drops staining the paper as she read through his words over and over. She hated the fact that she believed him. That she still believes him after what she learned. But she wouldn't go after him, she couldn't let herself. She refused to do that, she deserved better than someone who only wanted to use her.

And she kept her word for months. She meant what said and didn't reach out to him. And while she did that, her cold, unbreakable persona took over again. She was then again the resident bitch and she took on that character with stride. She hadn't seen Sokka in months and was glad. She didn't want to because she fall back into him and she didn't want to. She couldn't trust herself. So she thought she was seeing things when she saw a dirty, sad looking Sokka outside of an inn on her way to a party.

"Sokka?" She quickly walked over and was met by the same blue eyes that trapped her the first time.

"Zules." He practically jumped on her as he hugged her tightly. Azula sighed as she almost fell into him and his strong comforting arms. "I never thought I'd see you again, not like this." He tells her and she frowns at the sight of him.

"I thought you went home." She says, her voiced cold, almost completely void of emotion.

"Yeah...I wanted to but I couldn't really and-"

"Why didn't you come back?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I….I didn't deserve your help. I didn't deserve anything else from you." He admits and she sighs.

"Come with me." Azula sighed and Sokka's eyes widen in shock.

"No, I'm fine. It won't be too long before I-"

"Come. With. Me." Her voice was firm and he nodded, throwing his bag on his back and walking quietly behind her as she looked to be taking him back to the palace.

"Where are your bodyguards?" Sokka asked as they approached the doors.

"I snuck away from them. I needed to free my mind." She tells him and he frowns.

"I'm s-"

"Don't even start." The princess cut him off and he instantly shut his mouth. The pair made their way to her room and she laid out a towel.

"Go take a shower, you're filthy." She tells him and he nods, taking the towel and going to the bathroom to do as she said.

"What the hell am I doing?" Azula thought as she paced around her room. "He's no good for me. He's no good for anyone. He's nothing but a liar. A liar and a thief, a con artist. He doesn't deserve anything from me." The words swam around her brain as she paced and she frowned.

"Thank you." She was brought out of her reverie by Sokka's voice and she frowned.

"Mhmm." She mumbles before walking toward her closet. She pulled out a shirt and trousers before throwing it at him.

"You still had some of my clothes?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I should have burned them." Was her reply.

"I'll be out of your hair." He told her as he picked up his dirty bag and she grabbed his arm.

"Why?" She asked and he stopped.

"Why?" He responded and she rolled her eyes.

"Why everything you good for nothing savage!" She practically growls, her repressed anger taking over and he sighs.

"Did you read my letter?" He asked and she nods.

"Yes." She almost spat out. The more angry she seemed to get as she looked at him. His hair was longer and he clearly needed a haircut, his beard also grew out and she could tell he was beyond tired. And despite all of the anger she had in her about what he did, she was angry with herself that she still loved him.

"I- I wish I hadn't done it. I'll never could never make up for it but I want you to know that." He tells her and she shakes her head.

"That didn't answer my question." She took him and she sighed.

"My family had always been in trouble with money. And when my mother died, it had just gotten worse. And I happened to be good a tricking people so it was just something I did to bring in extra money. And it was working and we were fine then we weren't. You were supposed to be the last one." He told her and she scoffs.

"Of course I was." She says.

"I was going to tell you. I was trying to find the right time."

"And what did you think was going to happen if you told me. That's I'd say everything was okay and we'd just continue on?" Azula says angrily and he shakes his head.

"No of course not but-"

"You lied to me for two year, you betrayed my trust. You stole from me but because you love me I'm just supposed to accept that?" She shouts and he takes it. He takes all of her anger because it's what he deserves.

"Of course not. I'd never ask you to do that but I didn't want to lose you. Everyday with you was amazing, even in the beginning when all you could call was a snow savage." He tells her and a small chuckle leave her mouth. It wasn't angry but it wasn't happy either.

"I hate you, you know that." She tells him and he can hear the seriousness in her tone.

"I know." Sokka tells her, rubbing the back of his neck.

They sat in that room silently for a while as she tried to figure out how she felt about this. About what he had to say. She looked at him and she still felt her heart yearn for him. She let out a ragged sigh as she began to pace again. It went on like that for a few minutes before Sokka stood up and stopped her. She glared at him as he gripped her arms, his soft eyes practically begging her to stop. A small breath left her mouth and before she knew what was happening she kissed his lips softly. Sokka kissed her back, moving his hands from her arms to her hips as he pulled her closer. They broke apart when they both could barely breath and backed away.

"No…" Azula whispered as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'll...I" Sokka began stuttering and Azula stopped him.

"What did you do to me?" Azula asked, more to herself than to Sokka but he heard her anyways.

"I-"

"No. No matter how angry I am with you, I still want you here. What the hell did you do to me? I would have never cared. I've had people banished for less and I can't seem to shake you. Did you know I was gonna take you home? Right before I found those letters, I had a whole surprise trip planned for you. I would've taken you home and helped your family because I wanted to. That's the only reason I read those stupid letters." She spat out at him. She was avoiding looking him because she knew she'd fall back into his trap. His face dropped at the thought, his girlfriend preparing to do something life changing for him just did her to find out he was using her at some point in their relationship.

He felt as if there was nothing else he could say that could make her feel better, the only thing he could have ever wanted to do. He had to something to get her back, to earn her trust again. He do anything for it.

"Give me one chance!" He said loudly and her head snapped up to loom at him.

"What?"

"Please, give me one last chance to prove my love for you. To prove that everything I told you, I meant it. That I'd do anything for you." Sokka tells her. He was met by silence for a few moments while she started pacing again. It was a long three minutes before she stopped in front of him.

"I...I'll….you can take me on one date Sokka. One date to prove to me wrong. That's all I'm giving you. You're lucky you're not in a dungeon somewhere." She tells him and he smiled at her, a sign that told her she might regret this in the long run. That smile was able to make her do anything. But as she stared at him, she couldn't fight a small turn of her lips.

"I swear to you. I won't let you down." He tells her and he moves closer hoping to kiss her once more but she shakes her head.

"Nope. I'm not doing that again. Not now." Azula tells him and he nods, respecting her space.

"Of course, so I'll see you tomorrow night then." Sokka tells her as he prepares to leave her room and her eyebrow furrows.

"Where are you going?" The princess asks him and he shrugs.

"I...uh… maybe back to the inn, who knows." Was his answer and she sighs.

"I'll let you stay in a guest room. Any date of mine won't be homeless." She tells him.

"Any?" He asks and she nods.

"I could have any guy I wanted whenever I wanted." Azula answers truthfully as they leave her room and head towards the nearest guest room. "I just unfortunately want you." She whispered softly but Sokka would never let her know that he heard her. The pair finally made it to the room and she let him and allowed him to get comfortable.

"Thank you," He tells her as she walks to the door.

"Mhmm." She replies as she walks out.

That night they both laid awake in separate beds hoping that tomorrow night would be a good one. Hoping that everything would work out fine, but that the spirits would work in their favor. Neither of them knew what they were would have done if they hadn't found their way back to each other. Back to the person they loved the most.