An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Galvatron & Optimus Prime
Characters: Optimus Prime, Galvatron (Transformers), Cyclonus (Transformers), Jazz (Transformers), Prowl (Transformers), Autobots (Transformers)
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Battle, fight to the death, Eventual Happy Ending, Galvatron & Megatron as brothers
Series: Part 1 of Galvatron's never ending quest to find a nemesis
Summary:
Galvatron, Megatron's even more violent brother, has captured Optimus Prime and demands a duel to the death to see what is it that makes his brothers nemesis so special.
entirely anonymous user here. that tadgh x reader fic was good.... perhaps could u...... write a little fluff, maybe...... for nobody in particular
You bet I can!
Warm Clothes
Tadgh Conneely x Reader Fluff
Rains would pelt the windows in the late evenings; the chill of such tides never worried you. You knew Tadgh would be back and perfectly sound. Always punctual that door opened up and he shuffled inside. Damp. Just damp. Never soaking wet. But always a little cold. He never stopped you from undressing him and helping him redress in something dry and warm, hanging his wet things in front of the fire. The way he smiled was like he had either been caught doing something embarrassing or like he had lost himself in the world of awe and adoration.
You had pushed a cup of tea into Tadgh’s hands. He shared that moment, clutching yours and his together over the mug, his dark gaze watching you intently, closely as he uttered his warm and low “Thank you,” and pressed a warm and tender kiss to your cheek with still cold lips. They did not stay that way for long, heated by the blush that crept into your face. It sent a jittery joy skittering through your body. And that smile came, knowing how pleased he made you.
You both settled in front of the fire, the pattering of rain like the gentle taps of something trying to get into the warmth and security of the cottage. He allowed you the length of his body, arms coveting you like something precious when he did not have his hands occupied with the mug of tea. He would talk about some local story, a tale of something or another or the gossip of the other families sometimes, though he preferred to talk about the stories of the sea and the water, the things that made their homes there. It was like a settling anchor, nestled deep in the silt below as you listened to him regale stories and folklore, the amber flames of the fire warming your bodies. His steady breathing and the feeling of his lungs inhaling and exhaling, the rumble of his chest and the steady tick of his heart. You were safe there. Safer than you’d ever been, settled comfortable in the warning evening against the sturdy warmth of Tadhg Conneely.
At last, a glimpse at IHTBY's sequel. It's not finished, but it's as good a time as any to post the first bit :) hope you all enjoy it! Happy Holidays!
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The monsters were coming down on them in waves, and all their eyes glowed red. All of them were out for blood. All of them meant to destroy the pair in the tunnels.
“I told you we had to go the other way, you idiot!” she shouted, casting wheels of flames repeatedly to rid herself of the threats, but no matter how strong she was, or how many supplies she had, her energy was only going to continue dropping as the snakes, spiders and scorpions rushed to attack them.
“I’m sorry, okay?! Next time I’ll listen to you!” her hero companion yelled back, sweeping his twin swords back and forth, attempting to shove the enemies away through his special techniques, which had the power to blast the creatures off, but new ones always took the places of those he had cast aside.
“Oh, sure, because there’s going to be a next time!” the pyromancer exclaimed.
“You know, this might not be the best moment for sarcasm! Oh, shit, I need potions!”
“I’m running out already!”
“You’re WHAT?! Didn’t you stock up when we were at the village?!”
“Well, sorry if I didn’t think we’d need ninety-nine potions! For crying out loud, we’re better off dead!”
“No, no! Don’t give up on me, we can still…!”
But even though he was advocating for her to carry on fighting, a scorpion struck him with its sting. He was paralyzed, incapable of fighting if only for ten seconds… and ten seconds was all it would take.
“No, no, NOOOOOOO!” Sokka shouted, striking the buttons with unreasonable force, but there was nothing he could do. BoomerAwesome’s HP bar dropped to zero, and his avatar blinked a few times before disappearing.
Sokka grimaced and dropped on his couch’s backrest as his character was reset into the nearest village. He glanced upwards warily, to find Azula was snarling at the screen, doing her best to survive despite he was gone, but the odds weren’t good. She cursed under her breath repeatedly until she huffed in frustration and pushed away from the computer, glaring at him so fiercely he thought she’d burn a hole through his forehead.
“I told you we had to go through the tunnel on the right” she said, slowly, proof she was quite angry “I said it time after time, and yet…”
“Now, I… I know I should have listened, b-but my instincts…!”
“Your instincts were proven wrong, weren’t they?!” Azula exclaimed, exasperated “Ugh, honestly, Sokka! I know it was a fifty-fifty chance, but still! Now we’ve lost all our supplies and all the progress we had made through that blasted cave!”
“I know, I know” Sokka replied, his eyes dropping before he looked at her apologetically “Sorry…?”
Azula’s eyebrow twitched upon the look on his face.
“Sorry… sorry doesn’t fix anything” she muttered, gritting her teeth, trying to remain unaltered despite his expression made her feel like smiling at him “Next time we’re doing what I say, simple as that”
“And what if you fuck up like I did this time?” Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, that’s the thing: I won’t” Azula stated, proudly “Because unlike you, I don’t make decisions things based on my ‘instincts’. I’ll think things through”
“Heh, as you said, it was a fifty-fifty chance” said Sokka, pouting “And that’s how everything goes in that cave. So how are you going to think things through if it’s all on chance?”
“Simple” she said, with a malicious smirk “I’ll send you first, and if you don’t survive, I’ll know I must go the other way. See?”
Sokka was the one glaring at her now, and Azula smiled proudly.
“Oh, I should’ve seen that one coming, huh?” he said, and she shrugged.
“It’s the price to pay for following your instincts, Boom” she declared.
“Well, then, as far as prices go, I think you’ve got to pay one too for being so mean…” he said, cracking his knuckles and standing up, moving over to her side of the table.
“How exactly…?” she said, still smiling but looking at him warily.
She didn’t want to smile at all afterwards, but she broke into full laughter, unwillingly, when he started tickling her. He sat on the couch next to her, reaching for her every weak spot while she tried to push him off her to no avail.
“Stop! Stop it!” she exclaimed, in the middle of her laughs, but he didn’t budge. He smirked at first, proud to make her giggle uncontrollably, but soon enough he was laughing as well as she succumbed to the tickling.
“Who’s laughing now, eh?” he said, as they ended up splayed over the couch, his fingers still dancing over her flanks.
“Stop it, you… damn it, can’t you let me be mad at you for once?” she asked, still laughing.
“Nope” he smiled, nuzzling her neck “How would I ever live with that?”
Months had passed since their fateful discovery of who the other truly was, since that first, unbeknownst to them, date they had shared together. They had spent said months basking in the other’s company, both by going out together and by playing in Dannan, as they always did. Nowadays, Azula would bring her laptop with her to Sokka’s house, where they could play together, in person, and enjoy themselves to the fullest.
They would play in the living room, specifically, on the long coffee table. They placed their laptops back-to-back and sat across the other in the comfortable couches that surrounded the table. At times they would sit side by side, but not when they were undertaking serious missions such as the one they had just wasted. They would have more chances to do it, but it was a time-limited quest. The sooner they finished it, the less pressure there would be.
“Alright… you won’t have to live with that, but I’ll be calling the shots next” Azula declared, looking at him defiantly.
“Ow, boo. Now that’s something I definitely can’t live with” he said, smirking at her before leaning in to kiss her.
Azula smiled despite herself, knowing he would let her lead this time around without question. She suspected he wanted her to fail to get them to the end of the quest, if just so he could throw at her face that she could make mistakes, all the same as he had. Still, if they succeeded, as she was certain they would, then it would be a good thing for both of them.
“Well, that’s too bad for you, because that’s how we’re doing it now” Azula stated, sitting up again, Sokka’s arms draped around her shoulders.
“Fine, then” he said, with a dramatic sigh “Let it not be said I don’t keep my wife satisfied”
“You know, that can be misinterpreted easily” Azula said, giving him a sideways look, and Sokka raised his eyebrows, amused.
“Well, how foul-minded of you, Gil” he exclaimed “I didn’t see that one coming!”
“Oh, please…” she said, rolling her eyes as Sokka shook his head dramatically.
“I married a pervert and I didn’t know it…” he said, as she laughed again.
“You might be glad about it one day, you know?” she replied, and he looked at her with amusement.
“Oh, really? Well, dang, Azula…” he said, as she laughed more and buried her face on his shoulder “Here I thought you were as innocent a girl as humanly possible…”
“Every single time you assume something about me, Sokka, I prove you wrong” she said, smirking “One would think you’d be used to it by now”
The sound of footsteps coming from the stairs made Azula pull away from Sokka instinctively, and he raised an eyebrow at her bashful behavior just as Kya, Sokka’s mother, appeared in the living room, carrying a large box with her. Azula had been coming to Sokka’s house frequently for quite some time now, but she still was somewhat cautious regarding displays of affection in front of Sokka’s parents. She was more than willing to kiss Sokka in school, for she didn’t care what her peers might say, but Hakoda and Kya’s opinions of her, on the other hand, were actually important for Azula.
“Mom?” said Sokka, standing up and walking towards her to help her with the box “What exactly…?”
“Oh, I thought you were busy playing so I didn’t ask for help” she said, smiling at Sokka and afterwards at his girlfriend, who was looking at her with confused eyes “Are you taking a break from the game?”
“Yeah, Sokka got us killed” Azula said, simply, and Sokka pouted while Kya laughed softly.
“Well, you can take that break by helping me with this, if you wish” said Kya, setting the box on the floor. Azula raised an eyebrow and stood up, walking towards the box while Sokka looked at his mother with a grimace.
“Uh, mom, I don’t think so… I mean, Azula is a guest, after all, so it’s not really appropriate for her to help, you know…?”
“A guest? I’ve been coming here almost every day for over four months” Azula said, raising an eyebrow at Sokka, who pouted again.
“Still, it doesn’t mean you should work in this… whatever this is” said Sokka, frowning before turning to his mother “What is this, actually?”
“Oh, Sokka, you promised you’d help me this year” said Kya, looking at her son reproachfully “Don’t act innocent. You know all too well what time of year it is”
Sokka’s eyes lit up upon those words, while Azula was still rather confused.
“I… I did promise, yeah” he said, smiling weakly “But maybe we can postpone it or something? Do it tomorrow? Azula is here today, after all, so…”
“What exactly are we talking about in the first place?” Azula asked, raising an eyebrow “What did you promise, and what are you keeping in that box?”
“Well, it is November 15th already” said Kya, smiling “And it’s the date in which we traditionally set up Christmas decorations in our house”
Azula stared at Kya in surprise, as Sokka smiled at her too, enthusiastic upon the very mention of the word “Christmas”. Azula blinked a few times and smiled weakly, despite herself.
“Huh. So that’s what you’re up to” she said “So early, though? It’s still mid-November…”
“It’s never too early” Sokka said, proudly “But we always do it on November 15th. That way we get to enjoy the Christmas cheer properly!”
“Okay, then” said Azula, with an awkward smile that made Sokka freeze.
“Wait” he said, looking at her worriedly “Don’t tell me… you don’t celebrate Christmas? Is your family Jewish? Because we can have Hanukkah stuff over here too if you want it, right, mom? We don’t mind! Cultural diversity is always good!”
“It’s good to know you’re not opposed to the idea” Azula said, amused “But that’s not it, Sokka”
“Then what is it?” said Kya, worried “You don’t like the holiday season, perhaps?”
“Well, I… wouldn’t exactly put it that way” said Azula, with a grimace “My family has never been one to celebrate Christmas much, is all”
“Really?” said Sokka, surprised “Well, we do celebrate it over here. We set up all the ornaments, and the lights, and keep to the traditions and…”
“Heh, don’t tell me you’re the sort of families that set up so many lights that you end up taking out the power of the entire block” Azula said, teasingly, looking at Sokka with amusement.
“N-no! Well, it only happened one year, it doesn’t happen all the time!” said Sokka, an eyebrow twitching now as Azula laughed.
“As you probably can tell for yourself now, Sokka is a big fan of Christmas” said Kya, surrounding her son’s shoulders with an arm. Sokka chuckled at that “As are all of us. It’s quite a fun season of the year for the family”
“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised” Azula said, smiling “He did seem the type who would get excited over Christmas”
“I just hope you don’t dump him now due to incompatibility, though” said Kya, jokingly, and Sokka looked at Azula, aghast.
“You wouldn’t!” he exclaimed, as she laughed.
“If incompatibility over small things was a reason to break up, I’m pretty sure we would have done it ages ago and for reasons other than Christmas” she said, and Sokka wasn’t quite sure if he should be reassured by that.
“Not like we’re that incompatible, girl…” he said, pouting “We’re the best duo in Dannan, and you know it!”
“Even if your instincts do get us killed, yes, I suppose we are” said Azula, smirking, and Sokka grinned guiltily now.
“Well, then, uh… should we really do this?” he asked his mom “I guess it could be fun to try and get Azula into Christmas spirits, but maybe we can just set things up on the weekend instead…”
“But you two always go out on the weekends anyways” said Kya, raising an eyebrow “All things considered, you actually spend most your time together. If you want to wait until she’s not with you, I think we’ll end up setting the decorations by Christmas Eve instead…”
“Well, that’s what my family does” Azula said, shrugging, and Sokka looked at her in disbelief.
“Say WHAT?!” he exclaimed, his eyebrow twitching “You’re joking, aren’t you? You guys wait till Christmas Eve?!”
“Yeah. I thought it was fairly normal to do that” said Azula, blinking a few times.
“B-but… but when do you go shopping for Christmas presents for your friends and family?” Sokka asked, his eyes wide “And setting up the tree? And how about reading ‘The Night Before Christmas’? And the food, the Christmas feast?! Don’t you guys do that?”
“Well, we don’t read that, no” said Azula, shrugging “My mom handles the food, usually. And she takes care of shopping too, though the matter of presents in our house is probably fairly different from yours. One day my dad decided to sit us down, Zuko and I, because he had to tell us something important, and without further ado he said Santa Claus wasn’t real and that the presents that we’d found under the tree didn’t come from him. So we haven’t had Christmas presents since… since I was four, I think”
“WHAT?!” Sokka said, his jaw dropping as he paled considerably. Kya as well was horrified, her hands on her mouth “Y-you were… four?! Y-your dad told you this when you were FOUR?!”
“Well, yeah. What’s the big deal?” said Azula, frowning and looking at Sokka with confusion “Really, relax. It’s not like he ruined us by doing that… at least, he didn’t ruin me. I had already figured the big legend with the fat guy and the fancy beard made no sense, so…”
“You thought so when you were four?!” Kya asked, baffled.
“Yeah, I mean… how could he possibly visit every single home of every single child in the world in a single night?” she asked, raising her eyebrows “Reindeers that fly, one of them with a glowing red nose to light their way? It all sounded so very ridiculous that I didn’t really believe it, so when dad admitted it was a lie I was almost relieved…”
“B-but Azula, the magic of Christmas…” said Sokka, his eyes tearful as he looked at her in disbelief “You never ever believed in that?”
“Uh… no?”
“Hell… the incompatibility is too strong now. I’m not sure I can handle this” he said, his eyes wide as Azula slapped his shoulder.
“Stop that. Sure, we had different childhoods, so what? It’s not like I lost all my innocence because of this. If you’re worried about me not getting enough gifts, don’t be. My father buys me and Zuko whatever we might ask for, so…”
“B-but that’s not the point!” said Sokka, grimacing “You’ve never experienced the Christmas cheer properly and that’s unacceptable!”
“Oh, and what exactly am I supposed to do about it now?” Azula asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow “You can’t go back in time to convince my parents to share the proper holiday cheer with me, can you?”
“No… but we can have you experience it now!” he said, with a determined smile. Azula’s eyes widened.
“Wait… huh?” she said, as Sokka clasped her shoulders with his hands.
“Azula, you’re about to find out what Christmas is all about!” he declared, to Kya’s approval and Azula’s utter confusion.
“I am?” she said, as Sokka let go of her shoulders.
“You don’t have to work too much, if you don’t want to” he said, grinning “But we’re going to set up Christmas decorations and start spreading Christmas cheer in hopes it infects you!”
Azula looked at her boyfriend with disbelief as he and Kya opened the large box, revealing all sorts of Christmas decorations to place around the house. She wasn’t entirely sure how she’d gone from setting hideous monsters on fire at Dannan to watching Sokka digging through a box for Santa Claus figurines, a toy train and its tracks, and several other Christmas-themed gadgets. But then again, things always had a way to change drastically when it came to her and Sokka. Fortunately, most those changes had been for the better ever since their relationship had begun. Maybe this would be for the better, too. She had never cared much for the Holidays, personally. Her uncle’s Christmas parties annoyed her to no end, and she had little to no interest in Christmas in itself… but perhaps this year she might see what was so special about this particular holiday. Much had changed over the course of a few months… so her stance on Christmas just might change a little, too.
She approached Sokka as Kya left to fetch another box, and she smiled despite herself as he pulled out Santa Claus hats, a bright smile on his face.
“You guys actually have those?” Azula asked, and Sokka chuckled “I hadn’t thought that you guys would be such a Christmas-enthusiast family, but it makes sense that you are…”
“Does it annoy you much?” he asked, as he put on his hat “Because it’s a lot of fun once you get used to it”
“Of course you’d think so. You’re a Christmas enthusiast after all” said Azula, with a smirk. Sokka chuckled and offered wordlessly to put a hat on Azula’s head as well. She paused as she looked at the red hat with uncertainty “Uh… must I?”
“If you’re going to experience Christmas first-hand, Azula, then you must indeed” said Sokka, proudly, as his hands reached out to put the hat in place. Azula grimaced and Sokka chuckled “Come on, don’t be a party pooper. It’ll be fun!”
“So you say” said Azula, but she smiled nonetheless.
The process to set up Christmas decorations took far longer than Azula expected it to, but to her surprise, it was far more enjoyable than she could have imagined it would be. She didn’t doubt that she had only found it so enjoyable because of the company, though. Kya and Sokka’s enthusiasm was as infectious as they had promised it would be, and despite Azula wasn’t about to show it overtly, she soon found herself quite cheerful as well. The colorful sights were rather beautiful, each decoration special in its own way, and watching Sokka and his mother as they debated on where to place everything was quite enjoyable.
She found herself helping them willingly, following Kya’s instructions as she and Sokka set up wreathes in the halls, holly and ivy to be found at every corner of the place. Sokka was beaming happily soon enough as Azula took the initiative at times, opening boxes herself and smiling in surprise as she looked at the decorations within.
“So… you guys have a plastic tree?” Azula asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled the trunk of the fake tree out of a long box. Sokka sighed and shrugged.
“I’ve got no idea what’s worse for the environment, if plastic or real ones, but that’s what we have” he admitted “Getting a real one every year was too expensive, so dad decided we had to cut our losses a couple years ago and we’ve had a plastic one ever since. We use this cool spray to make it smell like it’s real, though, if that counts for anything”
“Heh. So I guess that’s one thing we’ve always had that you guys don’t” said Azula, smirking “Despite my family has never had much holiday spirit, at least we did have real trees every year”
“Oh, really?” said Sokka, raising an eyebrow “Well… that’s good to know, to be honest. I was starting to fear your family was worse than what I’d understood…”
“Could it be worse than it is just because of our lack of Christmas traditions, really?” Azula asked, skeptically, and Sokka smiled.
“Well, I’m actually just relieved that things aren’t that bad for you. Your family can’t be that lousy if you guys still get a proper tree and decorate it together”
“Uh, I didn’t say anything about decorating any trees” Azula pointed out, and Sokka frowned.
“Huh? You just leave it there without any decorations, then?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“No, it’s already decorated” said Azula, and Sokka’s jaw dropped.
“W-wait… you guys buy trees that are already decorated?! Y-you don’t even…?!” he said, looking at her in disbelief as she shrugged, as though it were a completely normal idea for her.
“Dad always chooses one and sends it home a few days before Christmas Eve. He wouldn’t have time to decorate it, mom is… well, you know what she’s like, and Zuko and I usually don’t like to engage in that sort of family nonsense, so in the end it’s more convenient this way, really”
“It’s… it sounds like it’s convenient, Azula, but that’s not right! Heck, now you’ve convinced me, your family is really worse than I feared!”
“Oh, please” said Azula, rolling her eyes, but Sokka shook his head.
“None of that! We are going to set up this tree, young lady, and you will see how much fun it can be!” he said, making his voice hoarse on purpose as he folded his arms over his chest, his frown as determined as it was comical. Azula smiled.
“You are such a pain in the ass, Boom” she said, rolling her eyes. He chuckled a little as he returned to the tree’s box, pulling out the plastic branches that they’d have to attach to the tree’s main body.
As they were building the tree, they heard a key turning at the front door. Both Sokka and Azula glanced at it instinctively to find Hakoda and Katara arriving home, their eyes widening at the sight of the brand new décor in the house, along with the empty boxes they hadn’t put away just yet.
“Ah, just amazing! It looks beautiful, Kya!” Hakoda exclaimed, proudly, before noticing that only Sokka and Azula were nearby. His eyes brightened all the same upon seeing them, though “Oh, hello there, you two! Did Kya make you help, Azula?”
Upon the mention of her brother’s girlfriend, Katara grimaced. She raised an eyebrow and looked at her with some irritation, despite Azula looked far more inoffensive today than ever before. Katara had probably never witnessed a stranger sight than Azula sitting next to Sokka on the floor, building a Christmas tree while wearing a Santa Claus hat.
“Not Kya, it was Sokka’s doing” Azula answered, and Sokka pouted.
“Hey, I said you didn’t have to do much if you didn’t want to, you chose to join me out of your free will!” he declared, prompting her to smile and roll her eyes.
“Then she really did help?” Katara asked, looking at Azula with disbelief “Do you even like Christmas?”
“Not that much, looks like, but it seems she likes me well enough to help us out with this” said Sokka, his childish pout now replaced with a goofy smile. A flustered Azula poked him in the ribs with one of the branches in her hand, making him squeak and inch away from her.
Katara sighed as they argued foolishly, wondering for the umpteenth time how the couple in her living room had become a thing at all. She already knew the story, but to this day it was as good as unbelievable. She had trouble thinking of Azula as anything other than Sokka’s tormentor, even though it had been months since their relationship had begun.
“Oh, you’re home!” Kya exclaimed, appearing at the top of the stairs with yet another box in her arms.
Hakoda beamed as she came down to the first floor, and he took the box from her before setting it down. He swept her into his arms and kissed her happily, to Katara’s embarrassment and discomfort. Kya giggled and smiled at her husband, whose excitement had naturally been caused by the festive decorations.
“So I guess you approve?” Kya asked, when Hakoda finally pulled away, his eyes still bright with cheer.
“Absolutely!” he declared “I should go decorate outside too, now, shouldn’t I?”
“Perhaps you could leave that for another day, it’s late and you must be tired” said Kya, smiling at him and at Katara as well “Welcome home, sweetie. Was school okay?”
“It was fine, noting much to report” said Katara, smiling awkwardly. At least, nothing beyond the obvious discomfort caused by the constant displays of affection between her brother and his girlfriend during the recesses “I was out with Aang for a while, Dad picked me up afterwards…”
“As thoughtful as ever” said Kya, placing her head on Hakoda’s shoulder. The tall man grinned happily and Katara smiled too. At the very least, she had to concede that Sokka’s happiness with Azula reminded her of that dorky grin Hakoda often had whenever he was around Kya.
As Sokka and Azula finished building the tree, Katara placed a few more decorations around the house and Hakoda fetched the last box upstairs. When he returned downstairs he realized there was a familiar Christmas song playing through the speakers of their old stereo system. Kya smiled happily at him as she tapped her foot to the music that she had set up, hoping to entice him with it. Naturally, she succeeded at that: Hakoda swooped in and took her into his arms, twirling her as they started dancing to the tunes, their laughter filling the place along with the music as the three teenagers watched them, two of them with amusement, the other one with embarrassment.
“Oh, please… Mom, Dad, stop that!” said Katara, shaking her head yet smiling anyways as her parents danced “You’re going to break something if you keep dancing like that!”
They didn’t listen to her, though, and they continued to dance cheerfully to Deck the Halls. Katara rolled her eyes and buried her face in a hand, and Sokka chuckled as he watched his parents dancing.
“Do they do that every time?” Azula asked, smiling as well. Sokka nodded.
“And Katara tells them they’ll break something every time. She was right one year, too” said Sokka, with a guilty grin “We had one of those big Christmas snow globes, with figurines of Santa Claus and this snowman in it… and then my dad crashed against it, and that was the end of the line for the snow globe”
“And your sister scolded them for it, of course” Azula said, smirking, and Sokka nodded.
“She takes pride in being the responsible one around here” he said, watching as Katara struggled to create a safe zone around her dancing parents, taking away all objects that they might break if they bumped into them “Which I guess means she’s just the one who’s no fun, huh?”
“Sounds like it” said Azula, still amused, but her smile waned as she watched Kya and Hakoda twirling and laughing together.
It wasn’t often that she would think of her own family while she was around Sokka’s, but for some reason the thought came to her right now. She couldn’t help but think that there was no way she would ever witness her parents being as loving as Sokka’s were… she couldn’t remember ever seeing Ursa and Ozai enjoying each other’s company like this. Despite Katara’s obvious discomfort by watching her parents’ overt displays of affection, she was rather lucky, by Azula’s standards. She’d never been bothered by the same thing when it came to her parents, simply because she couldn’t remember the last time they had been loving towards one another…
“You okay, Azula?” Sokka asked, noticing she had spaced out briefly. Azula blinked a few times and nodded, smiling at him.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I was just… thinking” she said, shrugging. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
“Thinking… that you want to dance too?” he asked, with a mischievous grin. Azula laughed and shook her head.
“Honestly? I’d rather not. We still have to finish this, don’t we?” she asked, pointing at the tree, and Sokka chuckled and nodded.
“We do. I’m a lousy dancer myself anyhow, so I’m glad that’s not what you wanted” he said, as he stood up to fix the top branches of the tree, with Azula’s help.
Hakoda and Kya’s dancing spree ended soon enough, to Katara’s relief, and Kya left to prepare dinner as Sokka and Azula started to set up the tree’s decorations from the last box Hakoda had brought. Katara approached, willing to help out too despite it meant cooperating with Azula, but she knew Azula wasn’t likely to act out right now. Truth to be told, she had become far more docile towards everyone after she had started dating Sokka. Granted she was still rather snarky at school, but even then, things had become a lot less tense than they had been for two years.
The fights for the table at lunch were over by now, and so were the walls between Azula’s group and her brother’s, since they had practically merged into a single one. Mai and Ty Lee had adapted to this change well enough, albeit Mai seemed to dislike the large crowd at times. Regardless, she would usually engage in conversation with either Zuko or Aang, even with Katara once in a while. Ty Lee, on the other hand, had befriended Suki quite quickly, and to most of their surprises, she got along with Toph rather well too.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t too often that all friends were together in the same place… because, quite often, Sokka and Azula would slip away to eat somewhere more private, away from the prying eyes and snarky remarks from their peers. Azula enjoyed making them uncomfortable by being overtly affectionate with Sokka, but she actually enjoyed being alone with him much more than anything else. Given how enthusiastic he usually was about their time alone, it seemed Sokka agreed with that too.
The changes didn’t bother Katara too much, and she was particularly thankful for Sokka and Azula’s thoughtfulness when they decided to head off on their own instead of staying in the crowded table. Yet she couldn’t do anything about them when they were at her house, playing their favorite MMORPG together and either arguing whenever things went wrong in the game, or making out a little too enthusiastically when things went right.
Hence, it was a relief that they would act normally for now, that the three of them could work on setting up the tree without arguing, actually getting along without trouble for once…
Sokka set down the tree stand and placed the plastic tree in its proper place as Azula looked through the box, pulling out small decorative balls of green and red, along with several other hanging ornaments that were a little less conventional. She smiled at the sight of Chewbacca amongst the decorations, wondering whose it was.
“That’s my dad’s” said Sokka, chuckling as he circled the tree, wrapping a long cable with lightbulbs around it “He’s been a fan of Star Wars since forever”
“If it were up to him, the tree would be covered in Star Wars stuff” said Katara, smiling as well as she started hanging the balls in the branches, as soon as Sokka was finished with the placement of the lights.
“Well, it’s a way to keep Christmas diverse, I suppose” said Azula, raising her eyebrows as she placed Chewbacca in a random branch.
Kya smiled as she watched the three teenagers working together, her cellphone at the ready so she could snap a picture once Sokka had stood up. He was crouching on the floor, plugging the lights into a power source to make sure they would work properly. To his relief, it seemed the lights were in a perfects state. They blinked in multiple colors, as they were intended to. Sokka smiled and stood up, beaming proudly at the tree, and then the bright white flash from Kya’s cellphone camera alerted all three teenagers that they were being watched.
“Mom!” Katara exclaimed, as Kya chuckled.
“Come on, it’s a beautiful moment!” she exclaimed, as Sokka laughed as well. Azula simply crooked an eyebrow “I had to take a picture”
“She’s been like that ever since she got her first cellphone with a camera” said Sokka “Can’t stop snapping pictures of everything she thinks we’ll want to remember, but then she forgets she took them in the first place…”
“I do not!” Kya declared, but before she could protest further, she was pulled into an embrace by Hakoda again… who was wearing a very strange hat now “Oh… so you found your mistletoe hat”
“I did indeed!” Hakoda said, proudly “It’s my actual favorite Christmas decoration”
“You like it better than Chewbacca?” Azula asked, smiling and pointing at the tree ornament. Hakoda nodded promptly, to Kya’s approval.
“It’s much sweeter after all” he said, with a soft chuckle before tilting Kya back and kissing her rather dramatically now. Katara struck her forehead with the palm of her hand and returned to decorating the tree as Azula looked away, wishing she weren’t blushing. Sokka only chuckled at the sight, pulling out a Darth Vader ornament now.
Yet as Azula focused again on the tree, along with the others, a projectile flew straight at Sokka’s head, surprising him as it bounced against him.
“Your turn, Sokka!” Hakoda exclaimed, grinning as Kya giggled. Sokka grabbed the mistletoe hat and smiled awkwardly before swapping it for his own hat.
Azula had been busy fixing an ornament when she felt a finger tapping her shoulder. She had been about to ask Sokka what was going on when she turned around to find him wearing the mistletoe hat. She looked at him in disbelief as he smiled goofily, thoroughly enjoying the sight of her flushed cheeks as his parents laughed. Katara groaned and shook her head, moving towards the back of the tree so she wouldn’t have to watch the spectacle that she knew Sokka and Azula would present now.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked, as Sokka shrugged.
“It’s the first time I can wear it for real!” he exclaimed, proudly “Come on, it’s not like we’ve never…”
Azula rolled her eyes before grabbing Sokka’s shirt and pulling him close, cutting him midsentence with a fiery kiss. He grinned into the contact of their lips and hugged Azula as they kissed under the mistletoe hat, to Kya and Hakoda’s approval.
“Please don’t start dancing to the Christmas music now too…” Katara groaned, and she soon wished she hadn’t said the words, or else Sokka probably wouldn’t have started swaying in place at the beat of the songs playing in the stereo still.
Azula couldn’t help but laugh now as he danced clumsily with her. He took her hands into his as his feet moved along with hers in a very strange flow of movements that might not suit the music all that well. It was Hakoda and Kya’s turn to be amused, and Sokka and Azula were blushing yet smiling brightly as they swayed together to the cheerful Christmas songs.
It wasn’t often that Azula stayed for dinner, but Kya insisted that she had to do it this time around, in return for having helped out with the Christmas decorations. The tree was beautiful and bright, with a star shining bright at the very top, which Azula had placed there since she was the guest of honor for today. The house was truly festive right now, with Christmas music still playing softly in the stereo as they ate dinner at the kitchen’s table.
“I do hope you enjoyed yourself today, Azula” Kya said, with a gentle smile. Azula grinned back and nodded, swallowing the bit of steak she had in her fork.
“It was surprisingly fun, I admit it” she said “It seems like you guys know just how to celebrate Christmas… from a month and a half beforehand, perhaps, but you do”
“It’s the best way to enjoy the festivities” said Hakoda, proudly.
“I do hope you won’t get into trouble with your parents for being late today, though” said Kya “You’re not under curfew, are you?”
“Oh, no. They…” said Azula, holding her tongue upon second thought. It wasn’t a good idea to express her views about her parents that openly, at least not to Sokka’s parents “They won’t mind, I think. I’ll explain what happened, they shouldn’t have any problem with it”
“Well, I could give you a ride home, if nothing else” said Hakoda, shrugging “It’s pretty late so it’d be safer this way, right?”
“That… that would be very nice, actually. Thanks” said Azula, with an unusually kind smile. Sokka grinned at the sight of it.
“In fact…” Kya started, biting her lower lip “Maybe there’s more we can do for your family, after having kept you here all day”
“What? Seriously, they don’t mind, they’re…”
“Maybe that’s the case, dear… but I’d very much like to invite them over to our Annual Christmas Party” said Kya, beaming.
Katara raised an eyebrow, Sokka’s mouth turned into a comical ‘o’. Hakoda grinned, and Azula seemed utterly perplex.
“It’s not a lot, don’t expect anything too fancy” she said, between giggles “But we have a lot of fun playing Christmas-themed games, reading The Night Before Christmas just as Sokka mentioned earlier…”
“I read it last year, hehe” said Sokka, smiling “We take turns each year”
“We eat Christmas Ham, too” said Kya, proudly.
“We spend hours in the kitchen working on the whole meal, actually” Katara said, smiling awkwardly “It takes a lot of effort and in the end there’s more leftovers than anything…”
“No way. You get leftovers with Sokka in the house?” Azula asked, smirking skeptically. Sokka chuckled.
“That’s just how much food it is” he said, beaming.
“It would be wonderful to share it with more people this year” said Kya, sighing “I understand if your parents are busy, of course… but it would be a good opportunity to meet them”
The prospect made Azula unexpectedly self-aware. She wasn’t one who’d usually feel embarrassed by her parents, not when her father was the successful CEO he was, not when her mother usually got along with people with ridiculous ease, regardless of Azula’s reservations towards her. But the idea of introducing them to Sokka’s family filled her with uncertainty. How could she introduce her parents with their distant, chaotic marriage to the happiest family she had ever known? Hakoda and Kya would likely be quite disappointed, and she knew her father wasn’t bound to approve of Sokka’s parents just on the basis that they weren’t as rich as he was…
“I’ll… well, I’ll see what can be done” Azula said, biting her lip “I can bring it up, but I don’t know if they have other appointments. When would you hold it, exactly?”
“On Christmas Eve, of course!” said Hakoda, smiling proudly.
“And then when the clock strikes twelve he kisses Mom and they make such a fuss…” Katara sighed, shaking her head. Kya and Hakoda exchanged happy, loving gazes.
“Well, this year you and I should do the same, huh, Azula?” Sokka asked, beaming at her.
Now Azula felt powerfully compelled to agree. She looked at Sokka and smiled gently, knowing that she definitely wanted them to grow old together, to be just as deep in love as Kya and Hakoda still were, once they reached their age. She couldn’t want anything else.
But this meant bringing her parents, though… and that wasn’t something she could feel comfortable with, even if she knew spending Christmas with Sokka would be a thousand times better than doing it as she usually did: staying cooped up in her room, watching whatever TV show struck her fancy and ignoring every single reminder of the holidays if she could get away with it.
She wanted to be with him in Christmas Eve. She really did… even if the price was bringing her parents, too.
“I can… I can try” she said, nodding “I’ll tell them about it. It’s just… well, as I said they might be busy. But, if they were, could I maybe…?”
“Oh, spend Christmas Eve with us anyways?” Hakoda finished. Azula blushed a little “Why, of course! We do love having you around!”
It was obvious that Katara didn’t agree with that statement, and Azula warily glanced at her to see her grimacing in disapproval… but strangely, she didn’t make a face or whisper under her breath that she didn’t want anything to do with Azula. There was no passive-aggressiveness from her of any kind. Either her sister-in-law was warming up to her, or she had something else up her sleeve…? Whatever it was, Azula was surprised and relieved that she wouldn’t protest about Azula’s potential intrusion in her family’s holiday celebration.
“So… I can come anyways? I won’t intrude on your family celebration if I come on my own?” she asked, with a weak smile.
“What? Well, dear, you’re family now!” Kya exclaimed, beaming “I’ve thought of you as family ever since Sokka introduced you, so there’s no intrusion whatsoever. You’re always welcome here”
The words stung hard, in places she didn’t know she had inside her. Maybe this really was what Christmas was about, Azula thought, as she lowered her eyes and smiled, nodding weakly before excusing herself to go to the bathroom quickly.
Sokka watched her, somewhat surprised to see her go, but he turned and looked excitedly at his family again now. Hakoda and Kya beamed at him.
“Thanks, Mom” he said “I would’ve asked eventually if she could come, but I didn’t think you’d suggest it yourself…”
“Oh, but of course I had to!” said Kya, chuckling “It’s so wonderful for you to have this relationship, Sokka. And to think she hasn’t ever experienced Christmas properly…”
“She hadn’t? What do you mean?” Hakoda asked.
“Her father buys a decorated tree every year” said Kya, her eyes wide “They don’t even decorate until Christmas Eve!”
“I think Zuko mentioned that a while back…” Katara mused. Hakoda and Kya looked at her in disbelief “What?”
“Why didn’t you say that sooner?” Hakoda asked, astounded.
“Well, it… never really crossed my mind” Katara said, shrugging “I think I told him that sucked, but he said not to worry about it, so…”
“You should have said something” said Kya, shaking her head “Oh, those poor kids. We should invite Zuko too!”
“We can invite him, though I don’t know if he’ll want to come” said Sokka, chuckling “Knowing him he’ll be annoyed by being around me and Azula for too long…”
“A protective older brother, is he?” Kya asked, but Sokka shook his head.
“More like Sokka and Azula are annoying and obnoxious just to piss him off” said Katara, with a smirk. Sokka chuckled guiltily.
“Well, tell Zuko we made Sokka promise he’d be in his best behavior” said Kya. Sokka pouted “Promise, Sokka”
“Fine, but if we cross any thresholds with mistletoe I’m not holding back!” Sokka said, proudly. Katara rolled her eyes as her parents laughed.
Azula returned, looking somewhat refreshed, and she continued the meal while smiling as Sokka told her more about what she could expect for the party. On top of that, he took the liberty to invite her for Thanksgiving, too. Azula smiled and caressed his hand under the table.
“But, say… since Thanksgiving is soon I guess we’ll only have her as a guest” said Katara “But, um, if we’re going to bring Zuko over for Christmas, could we…?”
“What, dear?” asked Hakoda. Katara bit her lip.
“Invite, uh, others too?” she asked.
“Like Aang?” Sokka asked, munching on the last bit of beef he had left. Katara blushed a little.
“Well, of course! Invite all your friends if you like!” Hakoda exclaimed. Katara froze at that, her eyebrow twitching.
“My… friends. Of course” she said, smiling awkwardly.
“So we’ll have the most crowded Christmas party ever?” Sokka asked, beaming.
“We will, as long as they don’t have their own family celebrations to worry about” said Kya “If they’re free to come, they can absolutely do so”
“So it’ll be like a Christmas party of our lunch table?” Sokka asked, chuckling.
“And with Azula’s parents, if they can come” said Hakoda.
Katara seemed to want to say something, but she held back. Briefly, Azula wondered if it was some sort of protest against Azula’s exclusive treatment… but there was no sign of the usual hostility Katara harbored towards her. Something was strange about her right now, but since it wasn’t bothering her, Azula figured she’d let it slide.
“Oh, these will be holidays to remember! We’ll have to make extra food!” Kya declared, prompting everyone to laugh.
“You said you always have leftovers” said Azula, smiling.
“But with all these people to feed we’ll need to go further!” Kya said, chuckling “Oh, it will be wonderful, for sure!”
Their excitement was quite contagious indeed, but Azula feared she’d feel that excitement dwindling and dying once she returned home. Her family was the complete antithesis to Sokka’s, and she highly doubted Ozai would find this disruption to his routinely traditions as wonderful as Kya did.
Yet Kya was ever enthusiastic about the prospect, and Azula didn’t dare consider letting her down. She would try to ask her family to come, regardless of what the answer would be. She was going to make it clear, though, that she’d be spending the holidays at Sokka’s place regardless of what they wanted. At this point in time, her relationship with him was far more important than any restrictions her parents might want to impose on her.
Then again, they seldom imposed any. At most, she faced her father’s disapproval, but there were hardly any rules she had to abide by. She was sure she’d get away with having a fun Christmas for once, by her adorable boyfriend’s side.
Kya hugged her and thanked her for all her hard work today, just before Hakoda gave Azula the lift home. Azula said not to mention it, for it had hardly been work at all. Katara didn’t quite say goodbye, but for once she had a valid excuse for it in the form of washing the dishes. Sokka would naturally tag along with Azula and Hakoda, so he led her to the garage later, her hand in his.
She sat on the car’s backseat, while Sokka took shotgun and Hakoda drove. Father and son spoke at leisure, mostly about Sokka being allowed to drive Azula by himself the next time, since he had a license he was making no use of. The conversation made Azula smile a little, but she only listened to it wistfully, guessing that was what a normal relationship between father and son would look like.
At last they reached the large three-story brick house where Azula lived, and Hakoda whistled in amazement as he saw it. He knew Azula’s father was a CEO, but he had no idea her family would be this wealthy.
“Well, have a good night, Azula” he said, smiling at her over his shoulder “I hope your parents can make it on Christmas, too. You’ll have a month to get them to come around if they’re not sure”
“I’ll try my best” said Azula, smiling too. Hakoda beamed.
“See you later, then. Tomorrow, likely” he said, looking at Sokka who grinned happily at his dad.
“Good night” Azula said, still smiling as she opened the door and climbed off the car.
Sokka joined her on the sidewalk, and he led her hand in hand to the door. Hakoda innocently gazed out of his window at the passing traffic, giving his son and girlfriend proper privacy.
“Uh… hey, if you don’t want them to come over that’s alright” Sokka said, looking at her empathically “I know things are tricky with your parents and family, so… if you’d rather not invite them at all, we can tell my mom that you did and they said no and…”
“No, no… I’ll try anyways” said Azula. Sokka swallowed “I know it’s weird that I’d be willing to try at all, but… I guess it’s better if I do. They probably will say no anyhow, so that way we won’t have to lie to your parents”
“Well, I’d rather not lie, yeah” said Sokka, smiling a little “Still, do whatever you’re most comfortable with, okay? I don’t want you pressured into anything you don’t want… in fact, if you don’t want this at all…!”
“Could you shut up?” she asked, laughing, as he blushed nervously “I do want to go. Of course I do. It sounds like it’d be the best Christmas ever”
“Really?” Sokka asked, relieved and surprised at once.
“I want to try, if anything” Azula said, shrugging “Hopefully I’ll enjoy it, huh?”
“I… I’m sure you will” Sokka said, grinning “I’ll keep my craziness under control, I promise, so you won’t have to worry about a thing…!”
“Oh, please, like you could possibly do that” she said, smirking and leaning close to hug him “Don’t even worry, dummy. I’d rather you continue to be the silly boy I fell in love with”
“Huh. Even in front of your parents?” Sokka asked, biting his lip. She shrugged.
“Like I care about what they’ll say about you” she said “They could disown me for it and I’d still be with you”
“Heck, that’s romantic but sad. I hope they won’t do that” said Sokka, caressing her back gently “Still, if they do… you can absolutely come live at my place! You saw Mom and Dad like you lots, and Katara wasn’t even that bad today, so…”
“There aren’t any free rooms at your place, though” said Azula, smirking. Sokka blushed “So I guess I’ll have to bunk in with… your sister”
“What?!” Sokka asked, aghast, and Azula laughed “I mean, sure it’s more appropriate, but noooo…”
“You were saying I’m the perv earlier, but you’re already thinking about sleeping with me?” she asked, cupping his face. Sokka giggled guiltily.
“What can I say? We’re both foul-minded” he admitted. She laughed and leaned in to kiss him.
But when they parted Sokka wasn’t quite as playful anymore. He held her close, and he was looking at her somewhat intensely. Azula knew it was weird for him to be serious, but it was weirder still for it to happen so suddenly. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop caressing her gently.
“Say… when you excused yourself” he started. She felt her stomach churn at the question she knew was about to come “What happened? Were you okay?”
“I…” she whispered. Her first instinct was to lie, but she closed her eyes and forced herself not to. She didn’t want to lie to him, not ever. She refused to let dishonesty damage their otherwise perfect relationship “I was a little overwhelmed, yeah. I’m sorry, I…”
“Don’t be” said Sokka, caressing her face “Just… can I ask why?”
“Well it just hit me that… that I’ve never had a family quite like yours” she whispered. Sokka gritted his teeth “I’m so used to mine that… I didn’t really expect yours to be this warm. To hear your parents say I’m welcome, that… that your mother thought of me as part of the family ever since she knew we were together? It just… it meant a lot. I know it sounds dumb, but…”
“It doesn’t sound dumb at all” Sokka said, hugging her tightly and burying his face in her hair. She held onto him just as tightly “I’m sorry you never experienced anything quite like it before… but I’m more than glad that my parents are being so nice to you. I love the idea of you being part of our family…”
“Are you saying you’re going to propose now?” she asked, with a small laugh. Sokka bit his lip.
“Well, now, I didn’t say that but now that you mention it…” he said. She laughed again and pulled away, a few tears blinking in the corners of her eyes.
“We’re still too young. Wait a little longer, okay?” she said. Sokka pouted.
“Like… tomorrow?” he asked, with a playful smile. Azula laughed and kissed him again.
“I love you” she said, pressing her forehead to his. He beamed at her.
“And I love you, too” he said “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Of course” she whispered, and he kissed her again.
They held the kiss longer than any of the ones they’d exchanged today, and Sokka smiled as they parted. He stroked her cheek gently before moving back towards the car, walking backwards so he wouldn’t lose sight of her.
“I’ll be pestering you on Dannan as soon as I get home!” he said, smirking “We still have to get that boomerang!”
“Good lord” said Azula, with a dramatic sigh. She smiled as he chuckled, though, and she opened the door so she could step inside while she watched Sokka and Hakoda pull out.
She sighed once they were gone, and she inevitably allowed her mind to wander towards the future. One day, surely, they’d be able to spend every waking moment together for good… she hated parting from him, even though it had been months of their relationship already. Her love was so strong it seemed about to tear her to shreds whenever they weren’t together. But fortunately, they could text, or chat, or play together even then. That sufficed sometimes.
Still, after what might happen now when she spoke to her parents, she suspected she’d need a good virtual therapy session with Sokka to soothe herself. She had mostly avoided them for the past five years, hardly holding any long conversations with either one of her parents, although she’d certainly been a little less unforgiving with her father. Yet her father was most likely the one who wouldn’t take this well. Her mother might just jump on the chance to put on her ‘mother of the year’ façade in front of Sokka’s family, though… the idea made Azula’s insides churn in a very different way than they had with Sokka earlier.
She made her way inside, climbing the stairs and leaving her backpack in her room. Her family had been in the dining room, she caught sight of them on the corner of her eyes, but they hadn’t been too surprised either to see her arrive at this hour or over her lack of greeting. Surely they expected her to come downstairs just to get food, and maybe they’d greet her then… that is, if they expected her to do so at all. She had been known to sneak downstairs once their dinnertime was over, to eat by herself so she wouldn’t have to put up with them.
But alas, she’d already eaten and she’d be going down to face them anyhow. The thought made her almost wish she could do what Sokka had suggested, and just lie about having told them… but the memory of Kya’s gentle smile and words gave her the last bit of determination she had needed. She had to talk to her parents, even if just to get no for an answer.
Zuko was with them, which was going to be a bigger bother yet, but Azula hoped somewhat wistfully that he wouldn’t cause much trouble. She knew, though, that he wouldn’t simply stay quiet as she spoke with their parents…
“Ah, Azula” her mother said, once her daughter appeared at the dining room’s threshold “There’s more food in the fridge, you can heat it in the microwave…”
“Oh? At Sokka’s house?” she asked, and Azula nodded.
It was beyond strange to talk to her mother, beyond tense, too. She didn’t quite enjoy it, never had. She had to steel herself to get through the whole thing, though…
“You weren’t imposing on them, were you?” Ozai asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula grimaced “Zuko said they’re not a family of means…”
“They may not be like us, Dad, but they’re fine. They tend to cook too much either way” Azula answered, sighing.
Ozai raised an eyebrow but nodded, and he focused on his food again. Zuko glanced at Azula with uncertainty as Ursa sat where she was, not touching her unfinished food. The tension was so ridiculous Azula felt like grabbing Zuko’s empty plate and smashing it on the floor just to make everyone act normal for once. Chances were her mother would just say it was an unfortunate accident, though… Azula huffed. She had a family of automatons.
“Well, if you already ate, what’s up with you?” Zuko asked. Azula’s eyebrow twitched. Was he trying to send her away?
“She might just want to be here for now, Zuko. Don’t be rude” said Ursa, smiling at her son.
Azula’s twitch grew more violent. Oh, sure she wanted to be here, in the most unbearably unpleasant dining scenes of all time. She couldn’t help but compare it to the one she’d enjoyed at Sokka’s house… maybe she ought to lie to her father, claim she was pregnant, and get him to kick her out just so she could go live with Sokka for good. She could hardly stand this.
“Well, he’s not entirely wrong, really. I’m here for a reason” she said.
Those words didn’t help. If anything, Ursa’s eyes widened as though she were afraid Azula was about to declare something terrible. Even Ozai set down his cutlery and looked at his daughter with wary uncertainty. They were acting as though she was carrying a bomb inside her shirt, and even Zuko was starting to sense something was really wrong with all three of them.
“Well… what is it?” he asked his sister. He’d gladly see this tension evaporate so he could have second servings in peace.
Azula bit her lip before breathing out. She could see Ozai growing paler. Oh, dear, he really did think she was going to say she was pregnant. Damn, she wanted to do it just so she could get a good laugh about it later with Sokka… but no. She held back, despite her sense of humor advised otherwise.
“Sokka’s family is a little… well, very different from ours” she said, biting her lip “Today they were setting up their Christmas decorations, actually…”
“Huh. Katara did say they did it ridiculously early some time ago” Zuko reasoned. Ursa and Ozai glanced at him briefly before focusing on Azula again.
“I was helping them with that” Azula explained “I didn’t do anything too complicated, and it was… it wasn’t bad at all. So don’t take it wrongly and assume they were forcing me into some kind of unwanted work…”
“Well, truth be told, you and your brother have been far too sheltered” said Ozai, frowning “You should have a hard day’s work for a change”
“What?!” Zuko exclaimed, his eyes wide. Azula stared at her father in disbelief.
“Did you have a hard day’s work at all through your teenage years?” she asked.
“No. But my point still stands” Ozai said. Azula rolled her eyes.
“Never mind” she said, shaking her head “Anyways, they treated me to dinner to thank me, so that’s why I already ate”
“Well, that’s very nice of them” said Ursa, smiling. Azula nodded, containing her usual urge to disagree with her mother in everything “I hope you thanked them for it”
“Of course I did” said Azula, through gritted teeth “Anyways, that’s not the point. The thing is, we were talking and his mom said… well, she talked about their Annual Christmas Party, which apparently is a lot less formal than it sounds, so don’t get your hopes high, Dad”
“Hmm. I hadn’t, actually” Ozai said, raising an eyebrow. The mere mention of the word Christmas already was a sure way to make him not take something seriously.
“Good. Well, they told me I can come over for it” she said. Ursa’s eyes widened, and Azula was surprised to see she actually seemed disappointed, maybe even upset? Why, though? It wasn’t like their own family’s Christmas celebrations meant a damn thing, did they?
“O-oh. Well, that’s quite sweet of them” said Ursa, smiling somewhat painfully. Azula swallowed hard.
“I mean to go, so I just wanted to establish that… in case any of you want to take up the extended invitation as well” she said.
“Yes, Mother” she said, curtly. Her tone was as cold as ever, but the situation was so uncanny that it hardly bothered Ursa “They wanted you and Dad to be there too. And Zuko. But if you didn’t want to go, that’d be just fine as well…”
Zuko’s jaw dropped, and Ozai finally seemed to be taking the matter more seriously as he eyed his wife carefully. Ursa’s eyes glinted now, though, and Azula clenched her fists.
“So… yeah. That’s what’s going on, that’s what I wanted to say” she said “It’s on Christmas Eve. You can make up your mind about going later, if you don’t know what to think yet”
“Oh, but… it would be so wonderful”
Azula tensed up. Ursa’s voice almost trembled as she spoke. Was she about to cry? The look of utter terror in Azula’s eyes betrayed just how uncomfortable she’d be by that. Why would she cry at all?
“Wonderful? Truly?” Ozai asked her. He seemed just as puzzled by his wife’s reaction as Azula had been.
“I… well, it’s just… we’re never invited to these sorts of things, are we? Not unless they’re related to your work” she said, looking at him almost shyly “It’s never something… small, cozy. I mean, that’s how it would be, surely?”
“It… isn’t likely to be that small” Azula pointed out “There’s bound to be a ton of food, along with more decorations than in a Christmas store, so…”
“That must be quite beautiful” Ursa said, smiling. Azula’s stomach lurched.
Why wasn’t she able to tell herself Ursa was pretending to be excited about this? Why did her reactions move something inside her heart, something she hadn’t known existed until today? Something that was fairly close to that same fiber that Kya and Hakoda had stirred earlier, when they had made it clear that they welcomed her into their family…
It was her mother. Her mother was a liar, a cheater, someone she despised. And still she couldn’t help but stare on in surprise at such a favorable response to Kya’s proposal. Did this really mean so much to her mother?
“Uh… well, I wouldn’t mind going” said Zuko, shrugging “Katara’s going to be there too, right?”
“Sure. You can go sit with her in the corner of the single siblings” Azula teased him. Zuko’s eyebrows twitched as he glared at his sister. Ozai huffed.
“Well, she certainly has a point. One would think that since you’re older, you’d have had a serious relationship sooner than your sister…”
“I-I…! I’m just waiting for the right girl!” Zuko exclaimed bashfully. Ozai looked at him in disbelief “W-what…?”
“Nothing. It’s just typical of you, is all” he said, shaking his head and looking at Azula now “They aren’t just doing this to share the Christmas cheer though, are they?”
Azula swallowed hard and shook her head. Ursa’s enthusiasm froze briefly.
“What do you mean…?” she asked. Azula sighed.
“Well, evidently… his parents wanted to meet you two” she said, looking pointedly at the floor “It was as good a chance as any. So I guess that’s one of the reasons why they asked”
“You guys have dated for like two months and you’re already introducing your parents to each other?” Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula glared at him.
“I guess time moves at a different rate for you than the rest of humanity, brother, but it’s actually been four months. And yes, that’s what people in serious relationships do. Welcome to the real world”
Zuko huffed and folded his arms over his chest. Ozai smirked a little at Azula’s answer to her brother, but strangely, Ursa didn’t come to her son’s rescue. Azula glanced at her again, finding her smiling a little to herself before looking at her daughter.
“And… did they say what we should bring? I mean, it can’t be a Christmas party without…”
“I’ll have my people buy some gifts for everyone in attendance” Ozai said bluntly. Azula froze and looked at him in disbelief “What? It’s what Christmas believers do, isn’t it?”
“I… guess? But after all these years it sounds a bit strange coming from you” she answered earnestly. The remark did seem to hit her father a little harder than intended.
“I also meant… with the food, maybe?” said Ursa “I could make something, or we can buy the ingredients, or I could even get in touch with Sokka’s mother and ask her if she needs any help cooking and…”
“Woah, okay, slow down” Azula said, curtly “I get it, you’re excited, I’ll ask. Knowing them, they may not need that much help, but I’ll just… wait, does this mean you’re going?!”
The realization struck her, hard. They hadn’t rejected the invitation. Ozai hadn’t dismissed the idea immediately. Her mother hadn’t dodged it by claiming to have other things to do. Did they actually want to do this?
“Well, of course. If they’re inviting us it’s only correct to do so” said Ozai, looking at Azula skeptically “Or is it you expected your parents to be rude to your, uh… significant other’s family?”
Azula genuinely snorted. Ozai wasn’t one to use the terms boyfriend and girlfriend, especially not after he met Sokka once when Azula had brought him over to her house for a change. The two hadn’t hit it off whatsoever, but Ozai seemed determined not to give off the worst impression he could. If anything, he was usually in his best behavior possible when he was near Sokka. At least, it was as good as it could get when he was near the boy that, according to Ozai, surely had already deflowered his so very innocent daughter.
“I… I really like the sound of this, Azula” said Ursa, smiling at her “Thank you”
“I… I’m not the one who came up with this” she clarified, unwilling to let her mother even consider that she wanted to spend more time with her “I’m merely a messenger. I just thought I’d say something right away before your schedule got busy with, uh, other events, maybe. So, uh, fine then. Christmas Eve it is. I’ll let Sokka know you’ll be there, then”
The three other members of her family followed her with their gaze as she left the dining room, on her way to her bedroom. She rushed to it, closing the door behind her and wondering how did such surreal experience happen at all. Did her no-nonsense father genuinely agree to attend a happy, careless Christmas party? Did he seriously want to be there?
No, he had actually reacted just as skeptically as ever at the mention of a Christmas party. He had been skeptical even of Kya’s motives, so surely he wasn’t all that stoked, but…
But when Ursa had asked what they should bring, he jumped right away to uncharacteristically offer to buy gifts for everyone. Why? Was it… was it for her? For Ursa’s sake?
