Title: In the Clutches of Cloth
Pairings: Sokka/Azula
Rating: R
Word count: 1464
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar and make no money with this. Yeah, I know. Surprise, surprise.
Comment: This was written for the "Sokkla Week" on the Sokka x Azula community on LJ. They got a tag for each day, and this fic was written for the "silk" tag. Setting is post-finale, so if you (for some reason) haven't watched that one yet, there are minor spoilers inside. If you have watched the finale, dive in for some bondage, groping and teasing!

"Wakey wakey, my love..."

"Nnnngh?" Azula asked groggily and shook her head. Something felt wrong, and it took her a moment to figure out what it was. I had been asleep... so why am I not lying in my bed? She realized that she was on her knees, which was most definitely not her usual sleeping position.

Azula started to raise her hand in order to rub her eyes, but she froze when she felt something tightening around her neck. WHAT THE- After a brief moment of hesitation, she frantically raised both hands to get rid of whatever noose had been placed around her neck. This proved to be an almost fatal mistake, however, because the material around her neck immediately tightened and pulled her backwards until her head hit something hard. Even as her air supply was cut off, Azula managed to put two and two together and slowly lowered her hands again. Almost instantly, the strangling ended. Okay, the noose is connected to my wrist shackles. Good to know. She sighed quietly and finally took a look around.

Much to her surprise, she was not in some sort of torture cell. Quite on the contrary - the room was cozy. The walls were decorated with various Fire Nation banners, and she saw typical pieces of furniture that one would expect to find in a bedroom of Fire Nation royalty. Which this room was. In fact, she recognized it to be her own room. Which means that I have been bound to that stupid support beam our idiotic architect had to place in the middle of my room. She grumbled quietly. If the architect hadn't died a decade ago, Azula would have vowed to kill him.

So what else do I know? The Fire Nation Princess - "Fire Lord" would have been a nicer title, but thanks to the... slightly unfortunate events before her coronation, she now had to be grateful to still even have her current title - looked down at herself and gritted her teeth. Okay, I know that I have been STRIPPED NAKED before being bound to the fricken support beam. And there is only one person in this world who would dare to do this to me. "Sokka," she hissed.

"Morning," the young Water Tribe warrior greeted her as he walked into her field of view.

Smug jerk! Azula growled quietly. Sure, he was a strong advocate for my rehabilitation - in more than one way - and then turned out to be a quite capable lover. But that doesn't mean that he's going to get away with THIS!

He gave her a once-over and smirked. "You look lovely, my dear."

"And you look like a pompous ass." She was happy to see his smile fade a bit.

"Well, I guess that your morning robe does look somewhat silly on me," Sokka admitted as he adjusted his outfit. "But it's quite comfortable!" She opened her mouth to fire off another comment about his silly look, but he continued his musing without paying any attention to her attempt to gain the initiative. "It's made out of silk, you know that?"

Azula cocked her head, momentarily forgetting about the noose around her neck. "Yeah, I do. What about it?"

"Same material your bonds are made of." He gave her a silly grin.

"...and?" the royal asked, her patience growing thin.

"Do you remember our last spat?" Sokka now asked, causing Azula to frown deeply. "Last week or so? The one where you ranted about non-Benders and how useless they are?"

She gave him a look. "What does that have to do with the material of-"

"You said that a being a non-Bender is about as idiotic as using silk instead of chains to secure a prisoner." He fished his bubble pipe out of a pocket and put it into his mouth.

Azula groaned and let her head hang down, causing her wrists to be pulled backwards. Didn't I throw this silly thing away? TWICE?

"Well, I decided to test your claim," Sokka told her, sending a few bubbles flying in her direction. "See, it's simple. Just a few lengths of silk around your ankles, wrists and neck. No chains, no padlocks, no steel shackles."

"So to prove that I was right, I just have to break free? And then I can kick your ass while bragging about how I told you so?" Azula raised an eyebrow. I could be out of this within just a few seconds if I felt like it. A simple flick of my wrist, and these lengths of silk turn to ash. Really, so far I've been more or less just playing along to get an overview of the situation... So what's his point? Is there some sort of catch?

"Well, there is one small condition." Sokka reached into his pocket again and took out a relatively large brass ring. It was a design that could be snapped on like a shackle, and Azula noticed a few blunt spikes on the inside.

"What's that?" Azula asked and snickered. "You bought some sort of kinky jewelry from a shady merchant again?"

Sokka chuckled and fastened it around her right upper arm, just above the biceps. The moment the spikes dug into her flesh, Azula shuddered and twitched. She could feel that something was very wrong. "Wha... what did you do...?" she asked weakly, giving him a wide-eyed look.

"This is a gift Ty Lee gave me," Sokka calmly explained, ignoring his lover's quiet pants and gasps. "She figured that I might need a special sort of... protection, just in case that things got out of hand with your Firebending. The bumps on the inside of this ring are placed above certain pressure points, and as long as you wear it, those points will be blocked."

Azula paled when she realized where this was going. "You took my Bending away." She tried to summon her lightning, but something inside her was missing. "YOU SICK BAST-" Her words were cut off when the silken noose once again cut off her air supply. This time however, Azula kept struggling against it like a rabid dog until she almost passed out. Finally, she sank back against the wooden beam, panting quietly.

"Relax, my love," Sokka teased her and dropped to his knees next to her. "All you have to do to get it back is escaping from the very bonds you mocked a few days ago."

She gave him a glare, but deep down, she had calmed down again. It's okay. Don't panic, Azula. You can trust Sokka and Ty Lee, and this isn't permanent. Just his way of making this challenge less trivial, and you know that the make-up sex after this will be wild and merciless. No prisoners, no surrender. And lots of Bending, whether he likes it or not. "I'm going to burn you to a crisp, peasant," she hissed quietly, her eyes meeting his.

Sokka grinned, getting the hint. Azula only called him a peasant whenever she was in a silly mood and wanted to push his buttons. "Feel free to try, princess," he whispered and idly stroked her exposed side.

Azula gritted her teeth and gave him a wild look. Don't moan! Don't give him the satisfaction! But his hands continued to explore her body, taking advantage of her position and her inability to move away from him. The bound princess closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing when one of his hands stroked her left thigh while the other one caressed her neck. Then she felt his hot breath on her lips and blindly leaned forwards to kiss her lover. Bastard, she thought even as she twisted her arms backwards to avoid strangling herself in this position.

Of course, it was worth the effort. Sokka's kisses always were. The young warrior lightly nibbled on her lower lip in that way he knew she loved, and she finally gave him what he wanted: A low moan escaped her throat, and she could feel him smirk.

After what felt like hours, he broke the kiss and got back to his feet. "I'm going to take a bath," he announced and slowly wandered towards the door leading to her private bathroom. After a few steps, he let the morning robe slip to the ground, and Azula bit her lower lip when she realized that he had been naked underneath it. "Feel free to join me once you escape," he said and gave her a confident smile before entering the bathroom.

Azula smirked and rolled her eyes. Who says I want to escape...? she thought and adjusted her position slightly to spread her legs a bit. After all, you may have a point about silk... and about non-Benders...