HOME | DD

Description
The great dragon Festival had arrived, and the fire nation
had plenty to celebrate. Their nearing victory through Sozin's
comet was arriving within the next few weeks, and the Fire
Lord had given the nation permission to celebrate a sure
victory and relax with friends and family before they laid waste
to the rest of the world.

Azula was awoken by heavy footsteps of the overweight maid.
She sighed heavily, knowing what would come next.
The footsteps continued around her bed towards her balcony
and there was the unmistakable sound of the large curtains
opening swiftly.  She squinted as the bright sun shone through
the window.  She heard the soft voice of the maid
"I apologize, Princess," the handmaiden stuttered.
Azula always loved it when she could taste the fear emanating
from another, even when fear was unnecessary; especially when
the fear was unnecessary.  She loved it when she could
scare someone just by looking at them. "But the fire lord wishes
you to be present at the dragon's ball tonight," the Maid continued.

Azula pondered this for a moment. Should she go?
Why would she go? All that was there was food, dancing
and ribbons; lots of ribbons, and boys too, with their leering
looks that she longed for. She wouldn't admit it, but she
loved it when boys would look at her and wish that they had
her. She loved to see their crestfallen faces when she declined them.

"Very well, you may tell father that I will be present.
Bring in the others to dress me. That will be all," She said
succinctly. The handmaiden hurried out of her room as
quickly as she could while more maids poured in to dress
Azula in her finest fire nation robes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sokka woke up to the feel of water dripping annoyingly onto
his forehead. It felt like an army of ants walking up and down his face.
Oh, how he wished that he was sleeping back home, in a nice tent
with a few animal skins to warm his body. But no, he was stuck in a
dank, dark cave, waiting until the Dragon's Ball to infiltrate the city
and see if there was another way to get to the Fire Lord before
Sozin's comet arrived. It was perfect. All the citizens and soldiers
alike would be distracted by the festival, allowing him to slip into
the city virtually unnoticed. The festival's guests have to wear masks
as well, making his staying in the city a lot easier.

He had been camping out in the cave for three days.  Three days
to observe the comings and goings of the fire nation civilians
through the front gate of the fire nation capital. He had left
early that morning, donning his beard and fire nation clothes,
and walked right past the guards under the guise of a farmer
selling homemade fire candy at the festival. As soon as he was in,
he went to the nearest store.

"Your best fire nation robes!" he demanded in what he thought
was a very fire nation like way.  After he bought the rich clothes
with money that he had pick pocketed over the years, he changed
in a back alley, took off his beard, let his hair down out of his warrior's
wolf tail and walked towards the palace.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Welcome! Welcome my loyal subjects, to the festival of the dragon!"
The Fire Lord boomed. The crowd cheered as fireworks exploded in
the night sky, creating a canvas of reds and yellows and oranges.
The guests donned their masks, as did the Fire Lord, his daughter,
and his son.  Azula's mask replicated a richly painted red dragon,
rounded and perfectly fit over her near perfect complexion.

Sokka placed his mask squarely over his eyes. His mask resembled
a blue wolf, poised ready to strike. He made his way into the Grand
Dragon Hall where the dancing was held. Maybe he could catch a
few glimpses of the Fire Lord, and maybe find where his chambers were.

Azula made her way down from the large balcony to the
Grand Dragon Hall and sat on her designated throne,
beside her father and brother.  Zuko went off to look for
Mai, saying that he hated parties and was bored.  Azula
had to force herself not to close her eyes for too long;
not to fall asleep.  A boy in a clown face mask stepped
up to the throne. "W-would you do me the h-honor of
a d-d-dance, p-princess?"

She put on her most serious face, while on the inside it
was all she could do to keep from laughing at the boy
fumbling over his words. "I'm sorry, whoever you are,
I don't dance with wannabe clowns who can't pronounce
their names without stuttering."

Now came the moment that she loved, that she relished.
The boy's head sank, and he shrank away into the crowded room.
What? She didn't feel... anything.  In fact, she felt a little
sorry for the boy. WHAT?!?  No, she can't be feeling sorry for him...
she brushed the strange feeling of guilt to the back of her mind;
time to focus on other things.  Then she caught a glimpse
of a boy, a boy in a mask that resembled a blue wolf.
It wasn't the mask that was remarkable or memorable.
No, the mask was mediocre at best. It was the boy's stance.
The way he moved reminded her of someone. She couldn't
put her finger on it, but something was very intriguing about this person.

"Father, I'm just going to go for a little walk," she stated
as she got off her throne and walked down, making her
way towards the boy in the wolf mask.

Sokka saw the movement, saw the princess staring at him.
"Oh no!" he thought, "I've been spotted!" he looked around
for an escape, but there where so many people pouring into
the room, it was almost impossible to get out the door. As he
tried to push through the crowd he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey! I don't think I've seen you here before!"

The Cheerful voice sounded familiar. He turned around to see
a girl dressed in pink with a butterfly mask covering her eyes.
Tai Lee! Sokka put on his best fire nation voice, "why, no. I'm from the,
err, colonies! Yes the colonies and I heard they were having a big party
here and, err, decided to come along!" Tai Lee grabbed his arm
and petted it friendly. A little too friendly to Sokka's liking but he
couldn't blow his cover now.

She peered closely into the eyeholes of the mask. "hey, have
we met before?" Sokka held his breath. She recognised him!
now he really had to go. "Because I think I would remember
a hottie like you." she cooed and giggled flirtatiously.
Yep, that's Tai Lee alright. Sokka breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not this hottie!" Sokka thought proudly to himself, stroking
his already overgrown ego about how well his disguise was working.
Tai Lee batted her eyes at him through her mask
"So, what's your name, cutie?"

"My name? Well, my name is... is..." Sokka looked around
for an answer. He spied a tapestry with the name "lee" signed
in the corner. "Lee!" he said victoriously,and just a little too loud.
"My name is Lee."

"Oh, really?  I'm Tai lee. see? Part of my name is the same as
yours! isn't that just so great?" she giggled hysterically and
hugged him. Sokka laughed weakly, wishing that he could just disappear.

Azula broke through the crowd and spotted Tai lee holding on
to the boy's arm and chatting away flirtatiously. She felt a
twinge of jealousy towards her friend, although she was a
bit confused as to why.  She tried working up her courage.
funny, she could lead Warriors into battle and fight the Avatar,
but she was having trouble mustering up the courage to talk
to a boy? she finally built up enough confidence and walked up
behind the two, tapping the boy on the shoulder. He whipped
around unexpectedly, making Tai Lee giggle even more. "Azula!
Look what you did! You scared the poor boy!" she giggled.
And she was right. The boy seemed frozen on the spot.

The dragon moved in on her prey. "Tai Lee, can you leave
us please?" Azula stated firmly.

"His name is Lee!" Tai Lee whispered to Azula, before giggling
and moving off. "Ok! You two have fun!" Tai lee said as she
cart wheeled away towards another masked boy.

"Remember what Tai Lee taught you about boys." Azula
thought to herself as she turned to the boy.

Sokka was scared stiff.  He imagined he would have looked
somewhat like a wild animal in the path of a fire nation tank
if not for the cheap mask over his face. What would she do?
Take him to a secluded spot and kill him? Or would she publicly
tear off his mask and have the congregation of firebenders
scorch him to death? Or even worse, torture him until he
gave away the location of the Avatar.

"So, your name is Lee, right?" She asked sincerely.

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out!" Sokka laughed
nervously as he breathed a sigh of relief under his mask
and slipped back into his happy-go-lucky self.

"What does Tai lee say to do? ah, yes." The princess
giggled and batted her eyes, surprising herself and
Sokka at how genuine it was. "My name is Azula.
So, what does your family do, Lee?"

"Uhh..." He stuttered, taken aback at how kind she was acting.  "I'm... my dad's a wealthy farmer
in the colonies, so I help his workers out a lot," He improvised.
He knew that some of the richest nobles in the fire nation
colonies where farmers.

"Oh, so that's why your muscles look so... powerful."
Azula said with a wink, reaching out and stroking his bare arm
as she remembered how she had gotten her first kiss; but
she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Sokka had to do a double take. Was she flirting? With HIM?!?
"Oh, this is going to end badly, got to get out," he thought
to himself.  But before he could make a move, the music
started to play for a fast and energetic dance.

"Come, Lee! Dance with me!" Azula grabbed his arm
and lead him into the fray of dancers. He improvised,
copying her steps. After a while he sort of got the hang
of the very formal but very fast dances. Azula found that
for the first time she was actually having fun. With a boy
whose face she had never seen, no less!  She giggled at
his missteps, and even surprised herself by helping him
with the steps. For the first time since the beach, she was
having fun without needing a destruction fix.  She was
actually enjoying herself!

After a while, the music slowed, and red ribbons dropped
down out of the roof, ready for the cultural "Dragon Ribbon Dance."

Each pair had two ribbons attached to each of their hands
with the other end of the ribbon attached to their partner's hands.

As the dance began, the participants bowed to their partner,
and then dance together. The dance resembled something
of a waltz, crossed with a slow tango, weaving together
with the ribbons. "What if she isn't as bad as she appears?
What if she's actually really nice?" Sokka began to think.
"What if her and I...
NO!" he stopped himself. The two masked dancers
came together and made eye contact.  Azula smiled kindly at him,
taking Sokka by surprise. The only smile he had ever seen before
on those lips was one of malice and cunning.

While they danced, Sokka caught himself staring unabashed
into Azula's beautiful golden eyes. Azula stared back at him,
her eyes dancing with joy, and something else, Sokka noted.
Love?
She started to dance closer to him, holding him  tight against
her body. Sokka found himself holding her close to him as well,
enjoying how her body fit perfectly up against his. He had never
done this with Suki... "Suki" The name rang in his head,
like a loud, labored bell. Long and painful. He couldnt do this to
her. He loved Suki. but, with Azula...
He slowed his dancing to a stop and began to unravel the
ribbons from his arms.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked with somewhat of a concerned voice.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry Azula," he started to walk briskly to
the balcony. Azula followed him with concern written on her face.

"Stupid! stupid stupid stupid! This is all wrong. I can't be having
feelings for her! I can't be! Gah, I'm so confused." Sokka thought
to himself as he made his way to the balcony.

"Lee!" Azula called after him. "Lee, please wait!" A twinge of guilt
hit Sokka's chest.  The truth was that he felt something
towards her, and he knew it. They both reach the balcony at
the same time. "Lee, what's wrong?" Azula asked, surprising
herself with her subsequent caring attitude towards this boy.

"Look, my name's not Lee, ok? This isn't right. I'm just really
confused!  Why are you doing this? You've never even seen
my face! And if you did, you wouldn't feel the same way,
i guarentee it." Sokka said in frustration.

Azula, realized that her Lee, the first boy that she has ever
felt anything for, was a boy in a mask; she had never seen
his face before. "I don't care." she said, shocking herself
for the hundredth time that evening. "I don't care if you're
from the colonies. I wouldn't even care if you where a water
tribe peasant! I've never felt anything like this before, ever!
I think... I don't know. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I
might... like you, Lee." both of them could barely breathe.
Then She said the two words Sokka had been afraid of.
"Please stay," she said and took off her mask. She wrapped
the ribbons around Sokka's neck and pulled him closer.
She lifted a hand to his face and slowly lifted his wolf mask.
Sokka's hair flowed out from the mask as he helped her to remove it.

"You... you're..." Azula's world crumbled as she recognized who the
boy really was. Her lips quivered as Sokka's moved towards her.

"Yeah, I know." He said slowly. Acting on impulse rather than
sense, he closed the distance suddenly, kissing her passionately.
He found himself surprised that it could be this easy,
this simple. Azula was also surprised; surprised that she
could feel this way about any boy, let alone a boy that never
revealed his face to her until now, let alone her enemy;
and in one night, no less! She accepted the kiss, kissing
him back with equal vigor. Sokka pulled away from her,
but she refused to let go. He tried to turn away from her,
pleading that she let him go.  Fear crossed his face
for a moment; she was going to blow his cover!
But no, she didn't speak, but instead pulled him in
for another kiss, longer and more passionate then before.

"I..." Azula tried to make a sound, but the noise escaped
her lips too late; Sokka had already gone, leaving Azula to
hold a ribbon gently in her hands. She had let herself go,
she had opened up, and she was ashamed - ashamed to
think that he could ever feel the same about her. She knew
that he hadn't come here for her. The water tribe boy had
come here for something else; possibly to find a way to kill
father.  Falling down on her knees, she stared at the wolf mask
as she silently wept for a love that would never be.

Sokka made his way through the gate, and felt water on his
face; was it raining? He realized that it wasn't water from the
sky, they where tears welling up from his eyes. He wiped
aggressively at his face as he made his way back to the cave.
How could he? How could he do this to his Girlfriend; to Suki?
What would she think of him now? He silently sobbed as he
packed up his belongings, making his journey back to Aang
and his sister's hideout. "What if?" He thought to himself.
"What if, in another world under different circumstance,
we could make it work?" He gripped the ribbon tightly in
desperation and wrapped it around his hand to wipe his
tears with the soft red silk.
A memory of what could never be.

Description
The great dragon Festival had arrived, and the fire nation
had plenty to celebrate. Their nearing victory through Sozin's
comet was arriving within the next few weeks, and the Fire
Lord had given the nation permission to celebrate a sure
victory and relax with friends and family before they laid waste
to the rest of the world.

Azula was awoken by heavy footsteps of the overweight maid.
She sighed heavily, knowing what would come next.
The footsteps continued around her bed towards her balcony
and there was the unmistakable sound of the large curtains
opening swiftly.  She squinted as the bright sun shone through
the window.  She heard the soft voice of the maid
"I apologize, Princess," the handmaiden stuttered.
Azula always loved it when she could taste the fear emanating
from another, even when fear was unnecessary; especially when
the fear was unnecessary.  She loved it when she could
scare someone just by looking at them. "But the fire lord wishes
you to be present at the dragon's ball tonight," the Maid continued.

Azula pondered this for a moment. Should she go?
Why would she go? All that was there was food, dancing
and ribbons; lots of ribbons, and boys too, with their leering
looks that she longed for. She wouldn't admit it, but she
loved it when boys would look at her and wish that they had
her. She loved to see their crestfallen faces when she declined them.

"Very well, you may tell father that I will be present.
Bring in the others to dress me. That will be all," She said
succinctly. The handmaiden hurried out of her room as
quickly as she could while more maids poured in to dress
Azula in her finest fire nation robes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sokka woke up to the feel of water dripping annoyingly onto
his forehead. It felt like an army of ants walking up and down his face.
Oh, how he wished that he was sleeping back home, in a nice tent
with a few animal skins to warm his body. But no, he was stuck in a
dank, dark cave, waiting until the Dragon's Ball to infiltrate the city
and see if there was another way to get to the Fire Lord before
Sozin's comet arrived. It was perfect. All the citizens and soldiers
alike would be distracted by the festival, allowing him to slip into
the city virtually unnoticed. The festival's guests have to wear masks
as well, making his staying in the city a lot easier.

He had been camping out in the cave for three days.  Three days
to observe the comings and goings of the fire nation civilians
through the front gate of the fire nation capital. He had left
early that morning, donning his beard and fire nation clothes,
and walked right past the guards under the guise of a farmer
selling homemade fire candy at the festival. As soon as he was in,
he went to the nearest store.

"Your best fire nation robes!" he demanded in what he thought
was a very fire nation like way.  After he bought the rich clothes
with money that he had pick pocketed over the years, he changed
in a back alley, took off his beard, let his hair down out of his warrior's
wolf tail and walked towards the palace.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Welcome! Welcome my loyal subjects, to the festival of the dragon!"
The Fire Lord boomed. The crowd cheered as fireworks exploded in
the night sky, creating a canvas of reds and yellows and oranges.
The guests donned their masks, as did the Fire Lord, his daughter,
and his son.  Azula's mask replicated a richly painted red dragon,
rounded and perfectly fit over her near perfect complexion.

Sokka placed his mask squarely over his eyes. His mask resembled
a blue wolf, poised ready to strike. He made his way into the Grand
Dragon Hall where the dancing was held. Maybe he could catch a
few glimpses of the Fire Lord, and maybe find where his chambers were.

Azula made her way down from the large balcony to the
Grand Dragon Hall and sat on her designated throne,
beside her father and brother.  Zuko went off to look for
Mai, saying that he hated parties and was bored.  Azula
had to force herself not to close her eyes for too long;
not to fall asleep.  A boy in a clown face mask stepped
up to the throne. "W-would you do me the h-honor of
a d-d-dance, p-princess?"

She put on her most serious face, while on the inside it
was all she could do to keep from laughing at the boy
fumbling over his words. "I'm sorry, whoever you are,
I don't dance with wannabe clowns who can't pronounce
their names without stuttering."

Now came the moment that she loved, that she relished.
The boy's head sank, and he shrank away into the crowded room.
What? She didn't feel... anything.  In fact, she felt a little
sorry for the boy. WHAT?!?  No, she can't be feeling sorry for him...
she brushed the strange feeling of guilt to the back of her mind;
time to focus on other things.  Then she caught a glimpse
of a boy, a boy in a mask that resembled a blue wolf.
It wasn't the mask that was remarkable or memorable.
No, the mask was mediocre at best. It was the boy's stance.
The way he moved reminded her of someone. She couldn't
put her finger on it, but something was very intriguing about this person.

"Father, I'm just going to go for a little walk," she stated
as she got off her throne and walked down, making her
way towards the boy in the wolf mask.

Sokka saw the movement, saw the princess staring at him.
"Oh no!" he thought, "I've been spotted!" he looked around
for an escape, but there where so many people pouring into
the room, it was almost impossible to get out the door. As he
tried to push through the crowd he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey! I don't think I've seen you here before!"

The Cheerful voice sounded familiar. He turned around to see
a girl dressed in pink with a butterfly mask covering her eyes.
Tai Lee! Sokka put on his best fire nation voice, "why, no. I'm from the,
err, colonies! Yes the colonies and I heard they were having a big party
here and, err, decided to come along!" Tai Lee grabbed his arm
and petted it friendly. A little too friendly to Sokka's liking but he
couldn't blow his cover now.

She peered closely into the eyeholes of the mask. "hey, have
we met before?" Sokka held his breath. She recognised him!
now he really had to go. "Because I think I would remember
a hottie like you." she cooed and giggled flirtatiously.
Yep, that's Tai Lee alright. Sokka breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not this hottie!" Sokka thought proudly to himself, stroking
his already overgrown ego about how well his disguise was working.
Tai Lee batted her eyes at him through her mask
"So, what's your name, cutie?"

"My name? Well, my name is... is..." Sokka looked around
for an answer. He spied a tapestry with the name "lee" signed
in the corner. "Lee!" he said victoriously,and just a little too loud.
"My name is Lee."

"Oh, really?  I'm Tai lee. see? Part of my name is the same as
yours! isn't that just so great?" she giggled hysterically and
hugged him. Sokka laughed weakly, wishing that he could just disappear.

Azula broke through the crowd and spotted Tai lee holding on
to the boy's arm and chatting away flirtatiously. She felt a
twinge of jealousy towards her friend, although she was a
bit confused as to why.  She tried working up her courage.
funny, she could lead Warriors into battle and fight the Avatar,
but she was having trouble mustering up the courage to talk
to a boy? she finally built up enough confidence and walked up
behind the two, tapping the boy on the shoulder. He whipped
around unexpectedly, making Tai Lee giggle even more. "Azula!
Look what you did! You scared the poor boy!" she giggled.
And she was right. The boy seemed frozen on the spot.

The dragon moved in on her prey. "Tai Lee, can you leave
us please?" Azula stated firmly.

"His name is Lee!" Tai Lee whispered to Azula, before giggling
and moving off. "Ok! You two have fun!" Tai lee said as she
cart wheeled away towards another masked boy.

"Remember what Tai Lee taught you about boys." Azula
thought to herself as she turned to the boy.

Sokka was scared stiff.  He imagined he would have looked
somewhat like a wild animal in the path of a fire nation tank
if not for the cheap mask over his face. What would she do?
Take him to a secluded spot and kill him? Or would she publicly
tear off his mask and have the congregation of firebenders
scorch him to death? Or even worse, torture him until he
gave away the location of the Avatar.

"So, your name is Lee, right?" She asked sincerely.

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out!" Sokka laughed
nervously as he breathed a sigh of relief under his mask
and slipped back into his happy-go-lucky self.

"What does Tai lee say to do? ah, yes." The princess
giggled and batted her eyes, surprising herself and
Sokka at how genuine it was. "My name is Azula.
So, what does your family do, Lee?"

"Uhh..." He stuttered, taken aback at how kind she was acting.  "I'm... my dad's a wealthy farmer
in the colonies, so I help his workers out a lot," He improvised.
He knew that some of the richest nobles in the fire nation
colonies where farmers.

"Oh, so that's why your muscles look so... powerful."
Azula said with a wink, reaching out and stroking his bare arm
as she remembered how she had gotten her first kiss; but
she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Sokka had to do a double take. Was she flirting? With HIM?!?
"Oh, this is going to end badly, got to get out," he thought
to himself.  But before he could make a move, the music
started to play for a fast and energetic dance.

"Come, Lee! Dance with me!" Azula grabbed his arm
and lead him into the fray of dancers. He improvised,
copying her steps. After a while he sort of got the hang
of the very formal but very fast dances. Azula found that
for the first time she was actually having fun. With a boy
whose face she had never seen, no less!  She giggled at
his missteps, and even surprised herself by helping him
with the steps. For the first time since the beach, she was
having fun without needing a destruction fix.  She was
actually enjoying herself!

After a while, the music slowed, and red ribbons dropped
down out of the roof, ready for the cultural "Dragon Ribbon Dance."

Each pair had two ribbons attached to each of their hands
with the other end of the ribbon attached to their partner's hands.

As the dance began, the participants bowed to their partner,
and then dance together. The dance resembled something
of a waltz, crossed with a slow tango, weaving together
with the ribbons. "What if she isn't as bad as she appears?
What if she's actually really nice?" Sokka began to think.
"What if her and I...
NO!" he stopped himself. The two masked dancers
came together and made eye contact.  Azula smiled kindly at him,
taking Sokka by surprise. The only smile he had ever seen before
on those lips was one of malice and cunning.

While they danced, Sokka caught himself staring unabashed
into Azula's beautiful golden eyes. Azula stared back at him,
her eyes dancing with joy, and something else, Sokka noted.
Love?
She started to dance closer to him, holding him  tight against
her body. Sokka found himself holding her close to him as well,
enjoying how her body fit perfectly up against his. He had never
done this with Suki... "Suki" The name rang in his head,
like a loud, labored bell. Long and painful. He couldnt do this to
her. He loved Suki. but, with Azula...
He slowed his dancing to a stop and began to unravel the
ribbons from his arms.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked with somewhat of a concerned voice.

"I can't do this. I'm sorry Azula," he started to walk briskly to
the balcony. Azula followed him with concern written on her face.

"Stupid! stupid stupid stupid! This is all wrong. I can't be having
feelings for her! I can't be! Gah, I'm so confused." Sokka thought
to himself as he made his way to the balcony.

"Lee!" Azula called after him. "Lee, please wait!" A twinge of guilt
hit Sokka's chest.  The truth was that he felt something
towards her, and he knew it. They both reach the balcony at
the same time. "Lee, what's wrong?" Azula asked, surprising
herself with her subsequent caring attitude towards this boy.

"Look, my name's not Lee, ok? This isn't right. I'm just really
confused!  Why are you doing this? You've never even seen
my face! And if you did, you wouldn't feel the same way,
i guarentee it." Sokka said in frustration.

Azula, realized that her Lee, the first boy that she has ever
felt anything for, was a boy in a mask; she had never seen
his face before. "I don't care." she said, shocking herself
for the hundredth time that evening. "I don't care if you're
from the colonies. I wouldn't even care if you where a water
tribe peasant! I've never felt anything like this before, ever!
I think... I don't know. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think I
might... like you, Lee." both of them could barely breathe.
Then She said the two words Sokka had been afraid of.
"Please stay," she said and took off her mask. She wrapped
the ribbons around Sokka's neck and pulled him closer.
She lifted a hand to his face and slowly lifted his wolf mask.
Sokka's hair flowed out from the mask as he helped her to remove it.

"You... you're..." Azula's world crumbled as she recognized who the
boy really was. Her lips quivered as Sokka's moved towards her.

"Yeah, I know." He said slowly. Acting on impulse rather than
sense, he closed the distance suddenly, kissing her passionately.
He found himself surprised that it could be this easy,
this simple. Azula was also surprised; surprised that she
could feel this way about any boy, let alone a boy that never
revealed his face to her until now, let alone her enemy;
and in one night, no less! She accepted the kiss, kissing
him back with equal vigor. Sokka pulled away from her,
but she refused to let go. He tried to turn away from her,
pleading that she let him go.  Fear crossed his face
for a moment; she was going to blow his cover!
But no, she didn't speak, but instead pulled him in
for another kiss, longer and more passionate then before.

"I..." Azula tried to make a sound, but the noise escaped
her lips too late; Sokka had already gone, leaving Azula to
hold a ribbon gently in her hands. She had let herself go,
she had opened up, and she was ashamed - ashamed to
think that he could ever feel the same about her. She knew
that he hadn't come here for her. The water tribe boy had
come here for something else; possibly to find a way to kill
father.  Falling down on her knees, she stared at the wolf mask
as she silently wept for a love that would never be.

Sokka made his way through the gate, and felt water on his
face; was it raining? He realized that it wasn't water from the
sky, they where tears welling up from his eyes. He wiped
aggressively at his face as he made his way back to the cave.
How could he? How could he do this to his Girlfriend; to Suki?
What would she think of him now? He silently sobbed as he
packed up his belongings, making his journey back to Aang
and his sister's hideout. "What if?" He thought to himself.
"What if, in another world under different circumstance,
we could make it work?" He gripped the ribbon tightly in
desperation and wrapped it around his hand to wipe his
tears with the soft red silk.
A memory of what could never be.