#i have no recollection of buying it and i wasn't even sure if i'd ever played it

[swallowedabug]

Gazpacho : Demon (2014)

Artwork by Antonio Seijas

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Riddle Rosehearts - Bloom Birthday Vignette

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Birthday Party Venue]

Riddle: It's time for the customary interview. I must prepare myself to provide proper responses so as to be a role model to the other students.

Riddle: There is five minutes remaining until it is slated to begin. I wonder if we will be able to start on time…

???: For celebrities like me, it is crucial to be punctual. Although, I cannot say I blame you for your concern.

Riddle: Ah, so you're my presenter, Vil-senpai. It seems this interview should run smoothly.

Vil: Well, aren't you lucky, Riddle? Don't you think having me as your presenter is the best birthday gift one could receive?

Riddle: Fufu, you're right. Thank you, and please be gentle with me.

Vil: Alright, let me start from the beginning… Riddle, Happy Birthday. I'll start the interview now.

Vil: “If you could use flight magic to go anywhere, where would you like to go?”

Riddle: Anywhere while using flight magic, you say…? Given that condition, I believe I would be able to fly back and forth between the Queendom of Roses and Sage's Island.

Vil: If I recall, you're from the Queendom of Roses, yes? Are you looking to take quick day trips back home?

Riddle: Oh, I wouldn't go home, but instead, I'd like to go out to this one ranch.

Vil: A ranch? That's… actually not too surprising, I suppose. You are in the Equestrian club, after all.

Riddle: Come to think of it, I believe they also offered horseback riding lessons… My recollection is from some time ago, so I'm not sure if they still offer it, however.

Vil: Oh, so you've gone before?

Riddle: Yes, during one of my elementary school extra curriculars.

Riddle: It wasn't very far from my hometown, so many of my classmates would visit there on weekends.

Riddle: It seems it was common for them to buy some ice cream from the ice cream vans they had stationed around the ranch…

Riddle: Even when we visited for our extracurricular course, I recall many of my classmates eating that ice cream.

Vil: Well now, it must have been very popular. So, essentially, you wish to once more taste that ice cream from time long past, yes?

Riddle: I've never eaten it. At the time, my mother had forbidden me from having snacks of that sort.

Riddle: So, while I am interested in their ice cream… I would also like to visit the ranch's café.

Vil: Has that café still been in operation since that time?

Riddle: Actually, it opened after I enrolled here at Night Raven College.

Riddle: I saw an advert for it in a magazine that one of my dormmates were reading, so I researched it on the internet…

Riddle: They're really well known for their white and fluffy whipped cream topped sweets, so much so that apparently some customers come from overseas just to try it.

Vil: From overseas, even? That's impressive, especially for a ranch café.

Riddle: I agree. There was even a showcase of their delicious looking sweets on their website as well.

Riddle: Among them, I found the cream tart to look the most appealing… So I have been wanting to eat it someday.

Vil: So, put simply, you wish to go to this ranch and come back without your mom ever finding out? Ahaha! I like it!

Vil: For you of all people to want to secretly snack like this, I guess you've truly embraced the spirit of Night Raven College.

Riddle: That's not…! Ah, no, it probably is just as you've surmised, Vil-senpai.

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Birthday Party Venue]

Vil: NEXT! Here's the next question.

Vil: "What is your best class?"

Riddle: As I always receive a perfect score on my tests, when it comes to grades, I have no obvious strengths or weaknesses.

Riddle: If I must choose one, I suppose I'd choose Practical Magic.

Vil: True, practical application of magic is a very useful skill.

Vil: Although, back when my magic first presented itself, I do remember thinking, that I could do it much faster if I didn't use magic, however.

Riddle: That's understandable. In Heartslabyul, we use our magic for practical application when painting the roses, or transporting our tableware, but…

Riddle: For those who are unsteady when it comes to their magical output and control, they often just do it with their own hands, instead of magic. This is especially true with our inexperienced first years.

Vil: You say that as if you were not like them.

Riddle: That's exactly correct. Before I even enrolled in Night Raven College, I already was capable of casting practical magic our classwork requires us to use.

Riddle: It wouldn't even take me 10 minutes to paint all the roses in our garden red.

Vil: I expect that would be true, especially coming from you. Were you receiving special training before coming here?

Riddle: Yes… My parents are both mages, so I acquired my knowledge through the assignments my mother tasked me.

Vil: I wouldn't know anything about how living as a family of mages would be. I'm curious to know what kind of assignments she gave you.

Riddle: The simpler tasks would be those such as putting away the books I had finished reading or changing my outfit.

Riddle: Let me see, I think it might have been when I was five years old when I once fell asleep from exhaustion in the middle of finishing what had been tasked to me...

Riddle: My mother had come in to check on my progress, and she scolded me fervently. After that, I was given another task to complete.

Vil: I assume your mother simply very earnest when it comes to your education… But she sure does not take it easy on her child, I see.

Riddle: …As I endeavored to complete all my assignments, I could tell that my own abilities were growing bit by bit.

Riddle: I could feel my own motivation surging after I had set a goal for myself, to complete all my assigned tasks before my mother would come to check in on me.

Riddle: I can still clearly remember that proud feeling that coursed through me the first time I was able to achieve that goal.

Vil: Essentially, you were challenging yourself to a speedrun, is that it? I can't help but be impressed by your diligence.

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Birthday Party Venue]

Vil: Alright then, this is your last question.

Vil: “What would you like to do in the coming year?”

Riddle: I would like to improve my cooking skills.

Vil: YOU, COOK!? Rather, I should ask, why did you decide to try to improve that?

Riddle: I have several reasons, but… I suppose the biggest one is that I realized that there is still much I don't know about cooking.

Vil: Well, that is a laudable thing for you to say, a far cry different from your comments earlier. Perhaps you'd elaborate further for me.

Riddle: The other day, I was invited to have lunch with Trey and Cater. They said that Trey was planning on making the food…

Riddle: So I asked them what he was making, and he responded, "I'll just look in the fridge and decide after I see what's available."

Vil: And what did you eat that day, then?

Riddle: The main dish was a cheese omelette. It seems he used the leftover ingredients from when we baked some cheese tarts the day before.

Riddle: We had leftover carrots and raisins from making a carrot cake, and those were tossed into a salad side dish.

Riddle: In addition, he also made soup and dessert for us. All with ingredients that we had in the kitchen.

Vil: For a lunch that was made with whatever was leftover, that sounds as if it was rather splendid.

Riddle: IT ABSOLUTELY WAS.

Riddle: As the food was almost finished, Ace and Deuce showed up, having followed the aroma to see where it was coming from…

Riddle: In the end, it was the five of us eating lunch together that day. Cater, Ace, and Deuce had nothing but praise for the food.

Riddle: I was truly astounded… I never expected such a delicious meal from leftovers like that, let alone multiple courses.

Riddle: I always believed that cooking required one to plan the menu ahead of time and carefully prepare each step and ingredient properly.

Vil: You're not wrong, either. It's actually rather difficult to create dishes on the fly like that without any experience.

Riddle: Trey explained that there many times that he would cook instead of his parents, so he just naturally learned how.

Riddle: When he said that, I came to a realization. It wasn't enough for me to only memorize recipes, but I needed to gain more experience as well.

Riddle: Eventually, once I leave the dormitory and my parent's home, I'll be on my own and I may need to cook for myself.

Riddle: If I am able to use up all my ingredients and seasonings without being wasteful, then it should also reduce the time I would need for shopping.

Riddle: That's why I intend on taking continual Master Chef courses in order to gain that practical know-how.

Vil: I have this feeling that you may find that there will be many challenges when you live alone, much more than just cooking.

Riddle: …What does that mean?

Vil: Well, there's a plethora of things I can think of… But for now, I suppose I'm just extremely curious what kind of interior design you'll end up choosing.

Riddle: My interior design choice, hm. You're right, I would need to assemble a complete set of furniture once I start living alone.

Riddle: If I ever come to purchase any furniture, it would be an honor to receive advice from you, Vil-senpai.

Vil: This concludes the interview. I was able to learn many fascinating things about you.

Vil: Here, take this. This broom has copious amounts of bright red flowers and suits a leading man like yourself well.

Riddle: Thank you very much. Red is a color that symbolizes both Heartslabyul and the Queen of Hearts.

Riddle: If nothing else, it fills me with joy. I shall demonstrate flight skills that is worthy of such a broom.

Vil: What high spirits. Well then, go on now. I look forward to seeing what the Dorm Leader of Heartslabyul can really do.

Riddle: Of course. I absolutely won't disappoint.

Riddle: Flying in the sky is a simple task. I'll show every person gathered here my true ability!

Requested @leonakingscholarship and @agnesmontague.

[voraciouspangolin]

Going through my notes and I stumbled upon this... script I guess? Well, I don't even know if I wrote it, I have no recollection of doing so. But the way it's laid out matches the way I brainstorm ideas so Ig so?

Anyways so it's a script/roughdraft for what I assume was going to be a comic about demoman and his mother

I don't know what to do with it so I'll just leave it here for wayward souls to read if they so choose to do so

It's unfinished but, yeah

Badlands, New Mexico, Demo's Mansion, Morning.

Demo: For the last time mum. I don't have to go to work, it's me morning off.

Mum: "Morning off"? Oh, Lord help me, you've been fired. I knew it.

Demo: *sigh* No, mum. It's just the one mornin'.

Mum: oh, well, that's fine then, I'm sure. I just wish your poor ol' da could take a morning off. From spinnin' in his grave at your idleness!

Demo: I'm holdin' down three jobs, mum.

Mum: Three jobs! Ha! Listen to him! Tavish, your father, god rest him, had twenty six jobs! And he still found the time to teach you the family trade!

Demo: I made five million dollars last year, mum. We live in a mansion.

Mum: Aye, and who told you to buy a bloody mansion, I'd like to know. These're your prime earning years. You're halfway to retirement already. Mark me, boy: No Demoman worth his sulfur ever had an eye in his head past thirty!

Demo: Mm-hm. Tea's up, mum.

Mum: It wasn't easy bringing you up scottish, lad. Lean years. In those days you could bomb mercs all day and still not have enough for a loaf an dozen eggs. That family portrait cost more'n what we paid for the castle! And more than the materials we used t'rig the road with the family recipe for when those arse-faces found out we didna pay for the castle!

Demo: ...(reaching to grab some scrunpy for his own tea)

Mum: Yer da walked fifteen miles in the rain to blow up the queen of england for a nickel!

Demo: I'll get more jobs, mum. I promise.

[ in this panel we see a family photo of the Degroot family from before Demo lost his eye. They are standing in front of a family emblem. It has three bombs and a wide and round bottle of alcohol, with the text "Regionem Caecoru(m? n?) ... Re... Luscus" the portrait is in sharp focus meanwhile the two are out of focus in the foreground. In front of the portrait, there is a small bench, as though someone spent so long looking at it that they found it suitable to bring something to sit on. There is a smaller version of the portrait hung right beneath the paintint. It is carved from a stone slab, with very precise depth and relief etched into the family's features. There is no paint. It is completely featureless apart from the carving. Parts of the portrait seem different in texture, reflecting the light a bit more, as though buffed out. Stray and smeared fingerprints of grease and gunpowder on these smoother areas reveal the source of its polish; the blind woman with a fiery whip in her words spends indefinite amounts of time tracing the stone faces of her son and late husband, dry fingertips with damaged nerve endings struggling to pick up the finer details of the portrait. ]

Mum: I just hate to see you squandering your gifts.

Demo: I know, mum.

[Beat. Mum angles her head towards where she knows her loyal stool sat, in front of that portrait. ]

Mum: [sigh] I miss him, Tavish. Every day.

Demo: ....I know, mum. Bloody hell, me one

Eyelander: pattern welded damascus steel. Harmonically balanced. Slow forged for generations in the bowels of captured english kings. Um, and it's haunted.

[dzpenumbra]

5/8/23

Not the most eventful day, to be honest. I slept decently well. I think I got woken up once or twice by neighbors but got back to sleep okay. Oddly enough, ever since I ditched the earplugs I've been sleeping better. Maybe they were messing with me, idk. So much for trying to like... take preventative measures to practice sleep hygiene. The whole point of doing the earplugs was to get better sleep. I expected this massive night-and-day difference because I was finally getting undisturbed sleep, but naw... it somehow made it worse.

It's been a pretty cool week to be an insomniac, the moonset and sunrise have been syncing up, so I get to look out the window from bed and see the pale blue of morning start to soak the sky as the moon grows larger and yellow on its way down. Very picturesque, very memorable.

So yeah, again... not too much today. I had some dreams about my ex last night. Not my most recent ex (who I broke up with in 2018...), thank god... those dreams are rarely good... But my ex from college, actually. --- There's a duck quacking outside my window... at this hour, that's... not often a good sign... best of luck, buddy. --- After studying my dreams this long, I've started learning a lot of how my subconscious expresses itself symbolically. Despite the brevity of the relationship (that one was only about 8 months) and how... kinda horribly it ended... that relationship usually represents... idealism in a relationship, to me. At a subconscious level, at least. Because the experience of that relationship, for me at the time, was pure idealism. It was "I am so insanely lucky and blessed to have this opportunity". So, despite the blindness that came with that at the time... that's typically what she represents when she pops up in a dream. The focus of an ideal relationship or an ideal partner, even though the girl herself wasn't that in real life at all.

I wish I thought to record the dream, I've started to notice that I don't often journal the "normal" ones or the "good" ones as often as the "surreal" and "bad" ones. But, from my almost empty recollection, it was mostly just like... normal relationship stuff. Going and doing stuff in the world, buying things for the apartment, stuff like that. I remember it feeling very... normal. And that inspired me to hop on the dating app the second I woke up. And I went through everyone available, swiped a few that looked like we might mesh well, and... nothing came of it. As usual. 3 years of this, you think I'd learn by now not to get my hopes up with that.

I'm sure that was on my mind because I was watching a stream last night where the streamer was playing an FMV dating game, and one of the dates in the game was... a bit too close to my current identity. I mean, if you subtracted the kombucha, the veganism, the parents in political office, and the activism... and swapped genders... it wasn't far off from me. And there's one line from it that hit me pretty hard. This chick ran her own business making customized clothing and crafts and stuff, and the guy - on the first date - asked "wow, are you really making enough to do that full-time?" And that just... it's still stuck with me. That's a big insecurity and I have gotten a shit ton of judgment from former "friends" for it. I still don't like telling people what I do for work because of it. What helped me ground myself? The fact that the guy scoffing and rolling his eyes at a practical business like that... plays video games for a living on Twitch.

You can fucking scoff at any job, honestly. You really can, if you really try hard enough. "You answer phones for a living? That doesn't sound hard." "You pick up peoples' garbage? Why don't you just get a better job?" But creatives get shit on the hardest. Because people who have spent fuck-all time actually applying themselves to performative or expressive crafts, who wouldn't set foot on stage or put their art on a wall in front of an audience if you had a loaded gun to their head, just kinda feel like that person is "cheating at life" or something. It's like... if you love what you do, suddenly that means it's not hard... or demanding... or you don't deserve to be compensated for your labor or something. It's mind-blowing. I honestly don't get it. Starting your own cottage industry shop and pursuing your lifelong passion is like... the epitome of the American dream, isn't it? The whole "Land of Opportunity" thing? And yet... these people don't see your career as legitimate unless you're working... for someone else. Unless you're on someone else's payroll. It's very odd. Maybe that's just what they see as the definition of success, maybe they can't even process a freelance or business owner kind of thing. Idk. I've just had my head poisoned by that shit for well over a decade and a half and it sabotaged my future many times, and now I'm looking down the barrel of 37... and I'm just...

Okay, my thoughts are going too fast to keep up with so let me connect a bit here. I drew another ink drawing today - a big chunk of one, at least. I drew until my thumb ached to the bone, until I could feel the tendons in my forearm tight as guitar strings and straining, rubbing against the skin from underneath. I drew for close to 4 hours straight with a pee break and a break to get a banana and come right back. When I'm in the zone, I work until I can't anymore. And then I do more. I don't need money to motivate me to do it. I don't need fame or fortune or sex or drugs. I do it because it's what I'm here to do. And I have dedicated my life to putting as much of my life into that purpose as I possibly can. So... when I have people near me... who are supposed to be in a supportive position... instead of like... helping me connect with others who appreciate what I do, who benefit from my work, who see its importance, who value and support my work and its continued creation.... Instead, these people.. for years... convinced me that my time and efforts, were better suited laboring for someone else. At very least, the majority of my time and labor should be dedicated to someone else. And it really doesn't matter who benefits from it, or what I'm doing. Just literally anything else than what I do. Great support, yeah?

So... yeah, I'm still reeling a bit. That's a raw nerve for me. I took the leap of faith to finally embrace the title of artist again like... 4 years ago? And I'm still plunging. It's scary as shit to dedicate yourself fully to something that people actively tell you will not succeed. That takes a lot of faith. But for me... I mean... What the fuck else am I going to do?! It's what I'm wired to do! It's how I'm wired to function. I swear, I just need someone who knows like... social shit. Networking, gallery connections (?), community connections, shit like that. I'm just no good at that shit. I came from a family that considered their clients their "friends" and their idea of going out and socializing was going out to the same restaurant and ordering the same food and small-talking with the waitress for like 5 minutes while ordering food, while me and my brothers just sat there awkwardly... We barely even went on vacations and shit. I can do social shit, but it takes a lot of oomph and I really have to be in the right headspace. But good fucking lord, it would be so much easier if I had someone in my life who was willing to do that for me, who it actually did come naturally to - or at least... with me.

Ugh, I didn't want to get into that tonight. I did a good job of keeping the stitches in that wound last night, I guess it worked its way out now. My family and "friends" did a fucking number on me with that one. And yeah, I guess slaving away on this drawing for... nothing... nothing more than just another doodle in a notebook... It makes me feel really unvalued. And really unappreciated. And that hurts so bad, because I love doing this work so much, and I really feel like it is worth something. Like the decade and a half I've put into this work is worth supporting. Like this life is one that others can benefit from. But no one really seems to want to. They'd rather go to a "professional", or someone with 2k 5-star ratings, or buy something a computer made, or get an AI to make a cheap imitation for them.

Aaaaaand I'm cutting off this existential crisis right here. A big part of this is the void created when I finish a project. That void being filled with my only work today being a sketch, which... was actually really cool... but just... doesn't feel like it's going to help me get my rent paid. And that, combined with the thousands of chat reactions to a character from the stream last night, it just... it's tinder and a spark. But it's gonna take more than that to stop me. Sorry.

I don't know if I have any good vibes to end this with, honestly, though I could really use them right now. ... I'm overdue for a trip out into the world, honestly. I should go for a walk. Or, better yet, go take my electric board and go skating or something. Wow, I just have a ton of really anxious thoughts swirling around in my head right now... Like "I just don't want to go alone", and "I don't feel safe", shit like that. Over going skating on a sunny Monday. Welcome to trauma and severe anxiety, and depression. Yay.

Okay, well here's something, fuck it. I applied for the new RP server. I'm going to get declined, I guarantee it. Not dooming, I say that because people who have been RPing for years and have a video resume to back it up and paid to have their applications reviewed first? They are getting declined. So... I'm most likely not getting in. But I applied. And I barely felt anxious doing so, so that's a good step. And I didn't feel anxious on the dating app either, which is also good. So, there's some good vibes there. It's frustrating how quickly I can spiral with this shit, and how little it takes to tear apart the seams, but... I'm handling it much better than I used to. The thoughts swirl and poke through, but they don't overwhelm as much, it's not as visceral and emotional, it's just like... loud and overwhelming. But I can put it aside a bit better than I used to, and that's great progress.

[seyaryminamoto]

Leap of Faith: Sokkla Saturdays 2022

Day 2: Each other's firsts

On FF.net//On AO3

Here goes day 2! This time, a standalone new story, and a Modern AU at that. Hope you enjoy!

We need to talk.

Never had he read a more ominous text message.

Sokka winced, covering his face with a hand. Was this really it? Were they, whatever they were, really over, after all this time? He supposed it was guaranteed to happen, in a way… though, with Azula being as she was, he actually expected her to show up one day with a tall, bulky, perfect rich boyfriend, with no recollection of ever having been Sokka's girlfriend… because she wasn't. Technically, she wasn't. He had never asked… neither had she. So, technically… they weren't really together. They never had been.

It was very strange that those thoughts would be comforting in the face of a message that sent cold daggers through his stomach, making him dread that he'd lose her, after all this time.

Still, what was he going to do, beg her to change her mind? To give him a chance? Maybe she had done this simply because he was an indecisive moron, and if that was the case, he certainly had it coming. But somehow, those golden eyes, beautiful as they were, made him feel so self-aware since the very first day they had found his own…

He was scared of rejection. Scared of losing her. Scared of a life without her.

Thus… she was the one who called the shots. She was the one who would determine the actual basis of their relationship, if there was even one to begin with. People constantly assumed they were dating… but he knew the truth, as did Azula: theirs was a casual, no-strings-attached sort of relationship and it always had been. So, whatever she wanted to talk about, he'd have to face it while being as level-headed as he possibly could hope to be.

He answered directly, curtly, without even a smidge of humor. Whatever she wanted, he wasn't sure he cared to lighten the situation somehow. If nothing else, the likely end of their romantic potential was better off mourned properly. She responded quickly, letting him know where they'd meet, and he sighed as he resolved to go to her once his afternoon classes were over.

He marched towards the university campus's basketball courts with his bag slung over one of his heavy shoulders, about half an hour after the sun had set. The local teams didn't train today, so it was the ideal moment to take advantage of the court and play for a few hours, practicing his shots in hopes of perfecting a tricky angle for a three-pointer… he actually expected Azula would be doing exactly that when he arrived, but he found her sitting on a bench right by the court instead. He bit his lip, approaching slowly, unable to help the instinctive fluttering of his stomach at the sight of her, as beautiful as she ever was.

"Hey," he said, simply. She hummed in response, arms folded, legs crossed. "Hope you weren't waiting long."

"Not that long," she said, simply. Sokka breathed deeply.

"Want something to drink?" he asked.

"You're buying?" she responded, immediately. He huffed.

"If you ask nicely…" he said, unable to hold back a smidge of teasing: she finally looked at him, her eyes so skeptical he couldn't possibly defend against their glare. "Okay, fine, gee. Can't even ask nicely indeed, can she? No, no, no…"

"Want me to beg on my hands and knees while we're at it?" she asked. Sokka couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Oh, you think it would be funny?"

"Funny because I don't think that's possible for you. You're too proud to do something like that," Sokka smiled. "Me? Oh, I'd be on my hands and knees for you any day, but that's because I'm a pushover and you're anything but."

"Right," Azula said, raising an eyebrow as Sokka set down his bag on the corner of the bench.

"Well, then, wait here while I get you a… coffee? Tea? Iced tea? Soda? Whatever you…"

"Whatever you'll have will do," Azula said, simply. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Not in the mood for anything specific, then?"

"Not particularly," Azula said.

She sounded nervous… anxious. As though she wanted to get this over with… and as though she wanted to delay it, too. If she really wanted to rush through it, she wouldn't have allowed him to treat her to a drink at all… he eyed her warily before marching up to the closest vending machine, tapping her favorite soda twice before casting a quick glance in her direction: her foot swayed back and forth in a rhythm, she seemed focused… she hadn't brought a basketball with her today even though they were at the court. She liked playing with him whenever they had some time off, this was a frequent meeting spot for them, especially on days when no one else was making use of the sporting facilities…

Sokka gritted his teeth as he focused on his task again. Well, so much for delaying the inevitable. Whatever she wanted, she'd get… he'd see to that. He'd always hoped to do right by her… and if this was what she wanted, he had no right to argue against it.

He returned, handing the cold canned drink wordlessly to Azula. She nodded in his direction as he took his seat beside her. They opened their drinks, they sipped them…

And in all that time, Azula didn't say a word.

"What did you want to talk about?" Sokka asked after he finished over half his drink, unable to mask his misery upon saying those words. Azula grimaced, glancing at him from the corners of her eyes. "I mean, you did ask me here to talk, so… what's up? Want to talk about the weather? Did your basketball get busted and you want to ask me to lend you mine, or…?"

"I… no," Azula huffed, rolling her eyes as Sokka eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you're doing an awful lot of not-talking for someone who wanted to talk," Sokka concluded, and Azula growled softly under her breath. "I'm just saying…"

"You're annoying," Azula retorted, simply. He sighed: there was never any telling what was going through her mind. Was she upset? Was she irritable? Was she actually enjoying this conversation somehow? It was ridiculous that the last thing could be a possibility, and yet that was how difficult it was to read Azula most times.

"Well, what else is new. Been hearing that one from you since we were toddlers," Sokka said, breathing out slowly and relaxing on the bench. She'd talk when she wanted to talk, then. He had nothing to do but wait.

"Why are you…?" Azula said, gritting her teeth and eyeing him with uncertainty. "You're taking everything way too seriously for your standards today."

"Am I not supposed to?" Sokka asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. "Want me to make a joke about our, uh, impending break-up? Because I don't really think I…"

"Our what? Did you just…? Break-up?"

Sokka's stomach dropped, and then his heart seemed to flutter. He raised an eyebrow, glancing at her in foolish hope…

"You… said you wanted to talk?" he said. "I mean… maybe that's not what you meant, but that's what everyone says when they want to break up, as far as I know, so…!"

"If I wanted to break up, I would've just said we're breaking up, I wouldn't have gone about it so roundaboutly…"

"Wait, what?! Through text messages?"

"Why not?"

"But that's…! That's mean," Sokka pouted. Azula shot him a skeptical glare again.

"What else is new? Been hearing that one from you since we were toddlers, too," she ridiculed him, but somehow, Sokka's chest hadn't lost whatever wild hope had taken hold of it, because…

Because she didn't want them to break up. She hadn't called him for that reason. She would have said she wanted to break up, bluntly, if that was what she had been going for… so it wasn't. It wasn't! They weren't over, so that meant…!

"Besides, how can we break up if we're not really…? I mean, we're not actually…" Azula said, with a skeptical smile.

"Oh. That's why it's not a break-up?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula huffed. "You know what? Just clarify this to me: whatever it is we are, it's not over, is it?"

"It's… not," Azula said, glancing at him furtively: Sokka disregarded the trepidation in her eyes as he let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Well, then… heh. I guess I freaked out for no reason," he smiled a little. "Want me to joke around now? Now that I don't think you're dumping me, I can definitely do it much more easily…"

"There's nothing to dump anyway, so… don't be ridiculous," Azula said, shaking her head. Sokka grinned at her.

"Alright, alright. What do you want to talk about, then?" he asked. Azula gritted her teeth, running a hand over her hair as she leaned forward. "Um… did someone die?"

"Of course not."

"Okay. You're not going to transfer to another university?" Sokka asked. Azula let out a soft huff of amusement as he shrugged. "Look, I'm just trying to get through all the possibilities that go through my head right now. Need me to stop guessing?"

"You probably should stop. You're not even close to the right track," Azula said, rolling her eyes as she leaned back again.

"Fine, then. I'll wait for you to say it," Sokka said, with a shrug.

That, he knew, was a dangerous choice to make: it was no secret that Azula's greatest flaws were her stubbornness and pride. Most other problems she faced seemed to stem from those sources, and their conjunction usually resulted in one very particular issue…

Said issue seemed ready to rear its head right then and there as the young woman opened her mouth and closed it again. As she shifted in her seat, breathed deeply, chest heaving as though she had finished running a marathon… and then she settled down again with what could only appear to be a disappointed sigh.

It was no secret for Sokka that she struggled with communicating anything other than solid, logical, blunt facts. She was certainly talented at mocking others, at ridiculing whoever earned her scorn, at unleashing sarcasm at the drop of a hat… but not so much when it came to conveying anything she deemed irrational. Sokka breathed deeply, suspecting immediately that whatever ailed her would be related to feelings… to sentimentality she typically scoffed at whenever she saw it in anyone else. She never failed to ridicule her brother for all his relationship drama, never failed to laugh during so-called emotional moments in romance movies, never failed to roll her eyes at people calling her insensitive for not being moved by a deeply touching scene in a book, a TV show or a heartwarming song…

Sokka had always suspected she wasn't truly immune to what she'd deem sentimentality, but perhaps due to having spent all her life mocking it, she was utterly appalled by becoming just like everyone she had laughed at since childhood…

And that meant she wouldn't talk about any such subjects easily. Hence her numerous attempts to speak, only for her to shut down quickly right afterwards. Zuko had occasionally called Sokka an 'Azula whisperer', as he somehow seemed to read through her when no one else could comprehend her thought process… Sokka, frankly, didn't think he did it all that well, but he certainly did better at it than Zuko, which Sokka thought wasn't saying much. Still, at a lack of a proper answer or a way to read through Azula now, he had to think of another solution, a way to break the deadlock in which she had trapped herself, with no apparent way out.

"Okay…" he said, and she groaned – her reaction came off to him as acute fear of failure now, of having disappointed him, yet again stemming from the pride that seemed to rule her every choice. "I have an idea."

"An idea?" Azula repeated.

"You didn't bring a ball, from what I saw, but I did. Kind of figured I'd challenge you to a game if you really wanted us to break up, see if I could beat you, and if I could… then I'd cajole you into not breaking up with me!" Sokka declared, with a proud grin. Azula's skepticism returned with full strength, and her previous discomfort appeared to dwindle for it.

"If that had been my intent, I wouldn't have agreed to those terms," Azula said, bluntly. Sokka grimaced but sighed.

"I suppose not, but hey, you said that's not what you were after, so… we can play anyway," he said, smiling again. Azula raised an eyebrow. "You're really good with three-pointers, aren't you? How about this: do a couple of throws, I'll stand back-to-back with you, as if I were keeping the opposite team off you… that way you don't have to look at me, and when you throw the ball, you'll gather the impulse to both get a three-pointer and tell me what you wanted to say. How about it?"

"That…" Azula blinked blankly. "That might not work."

"Maybe. But it's bound to be better to have something else to do rather than just fretting about what you want to say," Sokka smiled, leaning down to rummage in his bag and withdraw his personal basketball. "How about it?"

He wasn't surprised when she agreed with a nod– he knew her quirks and her preferences back and forth, and he had known all too well that being in the court, throwing hoops, would be likely to improve her mood when she was troubled. It was the way it had been since their childhood, and that reality hadn't changed much now that they were young adults.

So, once she finished her drink, Sokka handed the ball to Azula and they stepped into the empty court – the campus's night lights allowed them to play for as long as they pleased, even if night had already fallen. Azula stood at the familiar three-points line, dribbling as naturally as ever, while Sokka took a defensive stance behind her, arms outstretched as if he had actual rivals to fend off.

"Alright! I'm keeping them busy!" Sokka declared. Azula snorted, smiling at him from over her shoulder.

"Good for you. Such a good defense against our very intimidating, invisible opponents…" she said. Sokka snickered.

"See how reliable I am? I bet this is why they won't let men and women play on the same official teams, you know? If they did, heh, you and I would have taken every league by storm by now."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Azula smirked, shaking her head.

She dribbled again, then took up the proper stance to throw the ball. A familiar, practiced stance – all her motions had been rehearsed until they had become second nature to her over time. She raised the ball, set on exerting the right strength, the accuracy, every bit of precision and focus…

The ball slid cleanly through the net, and she smirked proudly. Behind her, however, Sokka raised an eyebrow as she walked to pick up the ball that continued to rebound on the court's floor.

"You forgot something."

"I didn't…" Azula started to rebuff him… and then she remembered why she had been throwing a three-pointer in the first place.

She covered her mouth with a hand, shooting Sokka a worried glance before rushing to pick up the ball indeed. She returned to her spot shortly afterwards, and Sokka smiled a little as he up took his defensive stance once more.

"Remember this time…"

"I remember. Don't… don't talk to me," Azula huffed. Sokka had to stifle a chuckle at her bashful tone.

He didn't answer this time. He simply moved from side to side, hearing her breathing, her every single motion as she flexed her knees, as she prepared herself to throw the ball…

It rebounded against the ring, and not a single word left her lips.

Sokka blinked blankly, glancing at her over his shoulder as yet again, she stepped forward to pick up the ball. This time, however, she was blushing crimson.

"It's okay if it didn't get in…" Sokka said, and Azula shook her head.

"Didn't get in just because I was trying to focus on saying the damn thing and I… lost focus on the throw," she said. "Won't happen again."

"You know, you told me I should stop talking, but maybe if I did you'd feel more comfortable," Sokka said, smirking a little. "I could do some sportsy narrations, you know? Of the sort you hate…"

"Don't you dare," Azula hissed. Sokka snickered deviously as she took her position again.

"Well, I won't as long as you say what you need to say in the next throw. How about it?"

"Doesn't suit you to manipulate me and you know it," Azula retorted, dribbling and hoisting the ball again into a throwing position.

She breathed deeply behind him, and Sokka glanced over his shoulder, certain that she'd do it now. Perhaps he'd move around a bit, to genuinely simulate the hecticness of a game… but whatever happened next, she'd certainly share what she had been keeping to herself so far. The threat of hearing Sokka imitate the sports casters Azula couldn't stand – she would click the mute option at once whenever they watched any games– would surely suffice to convince her, she wouldn't hesitate…

He started moving from side to side, waving his arms the way he would have if there had been another team trying to get through his defense and to attack Azula. Behind him, Azula took a deep breath, heart in her throat as she focused both on the ball and her words, the words she needed to convey to him…

She jumped, arms outstretched, and tossed the ball powerfully just as she finally exclaimed what she had called Sokka here for:

"I want to have sex with you!"

The ball rebounded against the board, the inner edge of the ring, and slipped through the net successfully.

Sokka's pretense of a defense crumbled as though he were playing against a very superior enemy, even if there was no one there.

He nearly fell over forward, losing his balance, blinking himself awake from what had to be a ridiculous dream… because she hadn't actually said that, had she? The reason why she had called him here, the thing she wanted to talk about… was this?

He glanced at her in shock over his shoulder to find her frozen on the spot, head bowed in an unequivocal sign of embarrassment. She shrank slowly into herself, though… crouching and hugging her knees to her chest.

"Azula…?"

"Don't…! Fuck, I don't even know why I…! Don't say anything. Just… don't."

Sokka breathed out, watching her helplessly for a moment. His immediate instinct was to try and help her reason her way out of whatever feelings she was experiencing… but perhaps he should give her a moment first. He needed one himself, anyway…

He walked absentmindedly to collect the ball, his heart racing: had she truly called him here to say that? It was hard to fathom, it certainly was the last thing that had crossed his mind… and not because the concept hadn't crossed his mind. Oh, it certainly crossed it often, perhaps often enough that Azula would be disgusted by him for it… but he had never imagined the day would come when she would outright ask for this from him. He wasn't going to bring it up, no, let alone would he have pressured her into it… everything about their relationship had always been shaky, and Sokka had never failed to hesitate at every turn out of fear that she might lose interest in him eventually. The notion that they might reach this point eventually certainly hadn't been ruled out at any point in time… but she had never indicated interest in moving matters along in that direction. Sokka always imagined they'd have to be an established couple before so much as thinking about it… and yet today she had both confirmed that they weren't one, and said she wanted to sleep with him.

She was, without a doubt, the most confusing person he had ever met.

He returned to her, sitting before her this time. She hadn't changed positions at all, and even seemed to tense up further because he sat before her. His hand rose, falling gently upon her head, stroking her hair slowly. She didn't react in any way to his gesture, but he feared she would lash out at him sooner than later… once the stubborn pride kicked in fully, he suspected.

"Azula," he called her, softly. She shuddered, shaking her head impulsively. "It's okay. I heard you. I just… have a few questions."

"Well, I… don't have answers. So… save it," she said, breathing deeply. "Forget what I said, it's not important, it's…"

"It's very important to me," Sokka said: there wasn't even a smidge of humor in his voice, and she tensed up once she noticed as much. "I… I'm not taking this lightly, okay? And neither are you, I can tell. So… how about you tell me what, exactly, brought this about?"

"I… I don't think I can. I don't know, it's just… it's stupid. My head's just full of stupid nonsense, just… it doesn't matter. We don't… we can just go back to our dorms, forget about it, I…"

"I want to play a game."

His statement, so random and confusing, startled her out of her dismissing, self-deprecating reverie. Azula raised her head, eyeing him in perplexity: that he had spoken the words so seriously, with a light frown, rendered her speechless.

"It's an old game… we played it a few times, didn't we?" Sokka said, breathing deeply. "Just… not this way, we didn't. But we can do it now. How about it?"

"What game are you talking about?" Azula asked, frowning warily.

"Truth or dare?"

Azula's jaw dropped. Sokka offered her a weak smile as he raised the ball in her direction.

"This way, you get to boss me around, make me do stupid shit if you want to, while you answer my questions. How about it?"

"I… don't follow. How would we go about it?" Azula asked, eyeing the ball with confusion. "I… you know I pick dare every time, there's no point to playing this game if you want to understand what's going on with me. I mean, I don't understand it either, so…"

"We'll play it this way: if you score… it means dare," Sokka said. Azula frowned. "If you miss, it means truth. In my case, it'll be the other way around. Whenever I score, you get to ask me a question, and if I don't, you can tell me to eat my own shoelaces or whatever you want to…"

"I wouldn't tell you to do that," Azula said, grimacing.

"Right, because then if I dare you to kiss me, it'd be very unhygienic?"

"Exactly."

Sokka smiled before pushing himself up to his feet. His outstretched hand only remained empty for a moment, for Azula rose to her feet as well with his help moments later.

"Want me to start?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged. "You can sabotage me too, you know? Try to block me, steal the ball, make me miss my shot somehow…"

"Sounds like you want a dare after all," Azula said, with a weak grin. Sokka's smile strengthened.

"I don't, but that does mean I get to mess with you when your turn arrives. My shot first, yours next, and we'll keep on taking turns until we get everything off our chests, alright?" he said, rolling the ball around his waist and raising his eyebrows. "Ready yet?"

"Of course," Azula said: her hand darted off to try to steal the basketball, but Sokka defended expertly, dribbling it away from her.

She forced him to pivot on one foot, twirling in a way that forced him further away from the ring: even so, his superior height saw to it that he could still feint to the right and successfully aim a shot, slightly closer to the free-throw line than to the three-pointer one.

The ball bounced on the ring, but it still slid cleanly into the net moments afterwards. Sokka snickered and hooted in proud triumph as Azula huffed, hands on her hips.

"Well, then, what shall it be, my lady?" Sokka asked, bowing pompously towards her. Azula raised an eyebrow at his foolish display.

"I'm tempted to say 'never call me that again', but unfortunately, this isn't a dare," she decided. "Truth, then?"

"Truth, indeed."

"Do you… think what I said is stupid?" she asked, frowning slightly. Sokka huffed.

"Stupid? Like hell it is. It's… it's a big deal. A really big decision and I… I was caught by surprise," Sokka said, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry if I didn't react the way you wanted me to, but…"

"I don't know how I wanted you to react, so don't worry about that," Azula admitted. Sokka picked up the ball, passing it at her by flinging it with a single hand – she caught it smoothly, dribbling slowly.

"I'm curious, if you want to know, and confused… and I'm definitely intrigued by the idea, but I'm way more worried about you than eager to do as you asked, alright?" Sokka said. Azula's eyes widened. "I know you're not exactly in the habit of communicating touchy-feely things with people, you've always hated that… but I really want to know if something bad happened, and if you're doing this for the wrong reasons."

"What are the wrong reasons?" Azula asked, with a weak smile.

"I don't know… being terminally ill and thinking this is your only chance?" Sokka asked, grimacing. "Being pressured into it by annoying people who took to commenting on your personal life and made you feel lesser because you hadn't fucked anyone yet? I don't know…"

"Heh," Azula smiled slightly still, and Sokka grimaced.

"Is it something like that?"

"Not particularly," Azula said, breathing deeply. "But it was your turn to answer, not mine, so…"

"Ugh. Fine," Sokka huffed, marching up to her threateningly.

Azula was ready for him, goading him with a slow dribble that picked up speed only as a taunt: she feinted to the left, then twirled quickly to the right, dashing into the key. Sokka followed, but her head-start ensured that she could speed up faster and deliver a layup that landed perfectly, bounding on the board's square in the right angle to slip through the net. Her relieved smile at the successful score made Sokka shake his head in disbelief.

"Dare, then?" he said. Azula nodded promptly. "Kiss me."

"How predictable," Azula smirked. Sokka shrugged.

"French kiss!" he added: her reaction was a burst of laughter that saw him pouting slightly. "Come on, do you want me to keep making it worse? Because I could! I totally could!"

"You do remember that we've done that a million times already?" Azula shook her head, marching up to Sokka with a slight grin. "You're a dork."

Sokka only had a small window of time to smile before Azula's hands caught his cheeks, pulling him in for a passionate kiss: she didn't waste any time with fulfilling his amendment, too, letting her tongue glide past his lips, taunting and prodding his own. Sokka's arms looped around her waist, and Azula indulged in that moment for much longer than needed – it was just a dare, wasn't it? She could have cut it short quickly after the first contact between their tongues, and yet…

Was she trying to delay matters? To avoid having to fulfill more dares and truths based on their game? Or was she, even, trying to prepare them both for the fulfillment of her earlier request? Sokka stiffened at the thought, and yet Azula kept going – her body leaned into him as she took full command and dominance between them. Sokka's hands rose to her shoulders, wondering if that alone would suffice for her to grow self-aware again… but the truth was that Azula's problems weren't to be found in physical affection. Somehow, they had settled into exchanging kisses of varying depth early enough in their relationship – even touching each other to a certain degree of intimacy had been perfectly feasible, and they had cuddled comfortably countless times, too…

The one real problem between them was verbal communication: on her end, out of her strange stubbornness and pride. On his end, out of fear that she might reject him if he said or did anything she didn't care for. They were perfectly well matched physically, and the kiss that rendered them breathless proved as much.

"Holy shit…" Sokka blurted out once they breathed heavily together. Azula chuckled, her brow against his.

"I've practiced this enough with you that I could go the extra mile with that dare just because. So… you know, make it a challenging one next time," she suggested.

"Uh… yeah, I don't think so. Just score again, I want to do that again…"

Azula laughed, complying even if it was against the terms of their deal and game. It was one way to go about heating up matters between them until they were ready to reach the next level, Sokka supposed… but that wasn't something he would do until he was fully certain that Azula wanted this for the right reasons.

As ever, the kiss ended on her terms – the reason being that tilting her head up caused her contracted neck to hurt, of course, so as ever, reason trampled over emotion entirely. Sokka didn't protest, cheeks healthily flushed as Azula picked up the ball and flung it in his direction.

"Snap out of it or you're going to fail this one," Azula warned him. Sokka giggled carelessly. "Or is it you want to fail, Sokka?"

"Honestly, Azula? I don't really care much about whether I get truth or dare," he said, with a shrug. "Though if I do fail, I hope your dare is…"

"It won't be another kiss. My ideas are much more nefarious than that," Azula declared, sternly. Sokka chuckled.

"I can't wait to find out what they'll be, then," he said, dribbling and walking back as Azula stepped forward, intent on defending properly this time.

He made to throw the ball, though he failed to trick her with another feint: Azula's hand struck the ball powerfully, almost causing him to lose it, so he simply fit his hands around it properly anew before throwing quickly, taking advantage of his superior height to do so…

The ball bounded against the board and, with a simple bounce on the ring, fell back to the ground, beyond the net.

"Heh, how careless and sloppy," Azula smirked. Sokka huffed, hands on his hips. "Now, what to do with you…?"

"Well, now, when you say it that way I actually get kind of excited, Azula," he teased. She scoffed in his direction and rolling her eyes.

"If that's so… then I have the perfect one for you: try to lick… your elbow."

"W-wait, what? Hey! No one can do that!"

"Hence why I said 'try'," Azula smirked.

Sokka pouted, but he raised his arm regardless and stuck his tongue out: it was a foolish sort of dare for sure, and if he had a chance to give Azula a reason to laugh, he'd do so… but he certainly had hoped she was going elsewhere with this dare when she paused at the word 'lick'.

After about two minutes of laughing at Sokka's failures to reach his elbow with the tip of his tongue, regardless of his best effort to do so, Azula finally cut him some slack and considered the dare had been fulfilled. Sokka glared at her sternly as she picked up the ball, and his defense was much more serious this time: without a referee to properly judge them for their choices, Sokka dared even wrap his arms around Azula when she tried to slip past him, a technique he resorted to on occasion to throw off her rhythm and amuse her, too. Even so, she turned around, forcing him to twirl with her as she attempted to throw the ball properly, regardless of his attempts to destabilize her balance…

The ball bounced away from the ring, and Azula's enthusiasm faded at once.

"Uh… oops," Sokka grimaced, releasing her from his grip and standing upright. "We can do it again, I'll be good now…"

"You don't know how to behave yourself, so… don't bother," Azula said, swallowing hard. "It was the point, though, wasn't it? To… to make me talk so, well, just… do it. Why not, right? Just… just ask."

Her devious calm had been replaced by nervous anxiety again. Sokka breathed out slowly, tightening his arms around her waist. Azula shivered, but she didn't shove him off her.

"Do you want me to dare you to do something more dangerous than a kiss next time?"

Azula's eyes widened. She glanced at him over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"Sokka… I'm not a good sport when there's no referee, same as you," she said. "This is your one and only warning: either you ask what you really want to ask, or I'll take your very first question as what you want to know, even if it's a mistake on your part, so…"

"It's not a mistake. It's what I want to ask right now," Sokka said, with a gentle smile. Azula's cheeks flushed slightly. "Well? Should I go for something a little wilder than what we've done so far?"

"I… don't know. Only if you want to," Azula said, blinking blankly. "I mean, obviously there's limits, but… I expect your common sense will see to you understanding that."

"You trust me a lot if that's the case," Sokka chuckled, burying his face in her shoulder. Azula swallowed hard. "But alright… I'll try to think of a wilder dare than a French kiss or an elbow lick."

"That one was mine and it was much more amusing, mind you," Azula said, smirking. Sokka chuckled, pressing his lips quickly to her cheek before pulling away.

"You're too clever," he said, marching up to take the ball, as it was his turn next.

He thought Azula had mumbled something as he walked away, but he didn't catch it properly. He raised an eyebrow before leaning to pick up the ball, and she rushed in to defend the hoop as soon as it was in his hands.

His next shot slid smoothly through the net, thus, Azula had a chance to have a question answered. Sokka waited patiently, unsure of what she might go for, especially as her cheeks were slightly redder over whatever she was thinking of. He raised an eyebrow as Azula finally settled on a question, letting out a deep sigh before blurting it out.

"Had you ever thought about it… before I asked?" she said, without going into specifics. She didn't need to. Sokka huffed.

"I don't know if you want to know."

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"It's a 'way more often than you'll be comfortable with', rather."

The fact that she actually smiled took him by surprise: had she thought about it more often than he had expected her to, too? His own blood rushed upwards as he, yet again, found himself utterly mystified by the countless puzzles Azula ever presented for him.

"You'll have to be more specific," Azula said, and her smile gained a devious edge. Sokka chuckled, hands on his hips.

"You're something else," he said, smiling fondly at her. "Well, then… when we watch any romantic movies you find stupid, I think about it if there's a sex scene. I can't help but be an idiot who imagines us in their place, so…"

"That's very stupid for sure," Azula smiled. Sokka chuckled.

"Happens at random when I look at you, too," he said. Azula raised an eyebrow. "Want me to elaborate? It's hard to, honestly… see, I can be talking with you about something as common as whatever shitty meme compilation video I was watching on Youtube, and then you give me that judgmental smirk of yours and I just…"

"What, really?" Azula laughed. "Every time I judge you? Then that does mean you think about it every single second of the day…"

"Well…! Not every single second, but damn it…!" Sokka blurted out, blushing as Azula chuckled, throwing her head back in relief. "Ack, you just have too much fun at my expenses. Clever, wicked basketball prodigy, you…"

She chuckled still as he picked up the ball and tossed it at her, as good as marking the end of his answers: he had a rather urgent question to ask now, so he'd certainly make sure not to let her score in this round.

Azula attempted to dodge and slip past his defenses, but Sokka appeared to be taking matters much more seriously now: he timed his jump perfectly so his fingertips, if nothing else, would alter the trajectory of the ball… and so, it didn't even hit the board as it dropped on the ground, and Azula glared at him, all amusement gone as Sokka smirked in her direction.

"I hate it when you do that," she said. He shrugged.

"Perks of my teenage growth spurt. We were narrowly the same height once, but…"

"I know we were. And I'm still the better player even if we're not anymore," Azula said, stubbornly. Sokka chuckled.

"And you're still answering me with the truth, even if you are."

Her face twisted into a grimace as she glanced at him… to find him shy and insecure, to a fault. He breathed deeply, however, and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't, uh, find it disgusting that I thought about you in that light for a long time, and way more often than you expected?"

"Disgusting?" Azula repeated. Sokka shrugged.

"You know, men are gross, they're just thinking about sex, they don't care about anything and think with their penises…" Sokka recited. Azula smiled at him.

"Sounds about right, but I've been warned about that since ages ago," she said. Sokka winced. "If anything… I'd have been much more surprised if you'd said it hadn't occurred to you. I mean, we're not exactly… official or anything, but it would have been unflattering if you hadn't wanted to, well…"

"Oh, I want to sleep with you," Sokka said, bluntly. Azula's eyes widened, cheeks flushing. "But… eh, never mind, game on!"

"But what? Hey!" Azula gasped: Sokka grinned as he picked up the ball, dribbling carelessly away from her. "Don't dodge the issue just like that! Sokka!"

"Game on, I said!" Sokka grinned. "Come on, either you stop me or I'll score…!"

He threw the ball. It slid cleanly through the net. Azula eyed him skeptically and Sokka froze on the spot.

"You scored. So… truth, isn't that right?" she smirked. Sokka blinked blankly: "What were you going to say, Sokka? 'But' what?"

"Eh…" Sokka swallowed hard, lowering his hands slowly as he gazed at her with uncertainty. "I just thought… that you matter to me in too many ways, so even if I want this, I want you to be happy and safe far more. So… well, I always figured we weren't ready for that, and that's why we never really tried our luck with it? So… I thought you just didn't want to go for it, and until you did, I was happy enough to just… to be your friend. With, uh, some benefits, I suppose."

"Sounds like you need to switch plans for the full benefits package, huh?" Azula said, with a weak grin. Sokka chuckled at her odd joke.

"Well, if the full package is available for me to switch to…" he said, with a shrug. "I'll gladly do it. But… on your terms. Alright?"

Azula swallowed hard, holding his gaze as he smiled, walking away to pick up the ball and toss it at her. Azula breathed deeply, holding the ball between her hands for a moment that seemed to extent for too long. Sokka stepped up, poking the ball, nudging her through it.

"Hey? Next shot?" he asked.

Azula breathed deeply, glancing at the backboard again. Her fingers trembled before she took a shot, her stance off – the ball bounced off the ring purposefully, and Sokka glanced at her in surprise.

"Azula…"

"Ask what you really want to know," she said, unable to meet his gaze.

Sokka frowned but stepped closer, taking her into his arms so her face would rest upon his chest. He didn't know if he would soothe her by doing this, but he certainly hoped to try.

"What brought this about? Why now?" Sokka asked, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. "For the record, I'm not against it, if you're sure. But…"

"You don't want me doing this for the wrong reasons," Azula finished for him. Sokka nodded promptly.

She breathed deeply, burying her face in his chest – not meeting his eyes, it seemed, helped somewhat. Her inability to speak her mind, to truly verbalize what her feelings were, seemed to be genuinely frustrating for her. She gritted her teeth, clutching Sokka's shirt tightly…

"I… I want to know what it's like," she whispered, simply. Sokka raised an eyebrow, though his hands continued to stroke her hair reassuringly as she spoke. "I want to try it. It's… not much deeper than that. I just don't know how to say this without feeling like an idiot, though, I… I don't know how to move anything forward, I…"

"You're not an idiot for saying what you've said," Sokka whispered. Azula shuddered in his arms.

"I… I judge myself enough for it, even if you don't."

"Why?" he asked, softly. Azula let out a soft laugh.

"Why? B-because… we're not really together, are we? We're not… committed or whatever. We've known each other forever and this is… it's not something we've done before."

"Same was true when we first kissed," Sokka whispered. "But I suppose we had some rather annoying people keeping us locked in a room until we did it, huh?"

"Heh…" Azula swallowed hard, reliving that awkward moment in a party, so many years ago, when a certain friend had deviously schemed to make them kiss for the first time.

"Guess people don't do that anymore once you're an adult. We don't get to hide behind 'they made me do it', now, do we?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.

"We… shouldn't hide behind anything, should we?" she said. Sokka sighed and nodded.

"Honestly, we shouldn't… but I guess maybe we're still too immature to stop doing that," Sokka smiled sadly. Azula shook her head. "We have a lot of baggage and history here, so… if you're worried this could be a mess, well, it's fair enough to worry. You don't have to…"

"I don't… don't want to lose you."

Sokka's eyes widened.

She never said such things without feeling utterly foolish about it afterwards… and, of course, she cringed over her own words a moment after uttering them. Sokka, however, embraced her even more tightly.

"You won't even if we don't do this," Sokka whispered. Azula shook her head. "Azula…"

"W-we're not really… we're not… w-what if someone else shows up and…? W-what if you're a better fit with someone who's not…? Who's not an idiot who can't even say she wants you in her life? I… I…"

"Azula…" Sokka rubbed her back gently as she buried her face in his neck.

"I'm… embarrassing," she blurted out, and Sokka smiled fondly as he shook his head, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. "I sound like a neurotic, idiot girlfriend and I'm not… n-not your girlfriend. Maybe neurotic, and an idiot, though…"

"You're not, but the girlfriend part is… well, questionable," Sokka said, with a weak smile. Azula stiffened in his arms. "I-I mean, well… honestly, I never knew if… if you felt this way about me."

She didn't respond to his words. Sokka breathed deeply, rubbing her back reassuringly again.

"I got lucky that the mean girl who got me in trouble in preschool was my neighbor across the street," Sokka said, with a gentle smile. Azula actually let out a huff of laughter at those words. "Even luckier that she wanted to teach me how to play basketball at the hoop dangling over her garage door… and that she became the best friend I'd ever have. That she became my first crush, too…"

"I was your…?" Azula said. Sokka hummed.

"You're not about to say that's embarrassing, are you?"

"Well… it kind of is."

"Azula!" he squeaked, and she couldn't hold back a much stronger burst of laughter. "Honestly, girl…"

"I'm… somewhat sorry. Teasing you is always fun…" she said. Sokka smiled, shaking his head.

"Can't pretend that wasn't part of why I liked you, so… I forgive your devious teasing, you clever mastermind, you," he said, swaying in place with her. "Thing is… I never really dared ask you if you'd be my girlfriend because something told me you'd just say 'no'."

"I…" Azula stiffened in his arms. Sokka sighed, rubbing her back again.

"My own insecurities are to blame for that one, I suppose… but I just didn't want to come off as a cringeworthy idiot, you know? And the way you scoffed at all romance when we were teenagers, like it was so ridiculous that everyone was falling in and out of love… I suppose I assumed you were simply revolted by the concept of stupid teenage love, and I was afraid you'd just shut me out if I started doing the same things our friends and classmates were up to. That you'd think I was… well, as dumb as all of them too. I wanted to be on your team, you know? The… the cool team, heh. We were too interesting for that sort of thing, felt like…"

"At least, we pretended to be," Azula responded. Sokka smiled and nodded.

"I was okay with not ever being an actual item, you know? Even if you and I never really formalized things and got married and all that stuff… I was fine with it as long as I could still be with you. It felt like I didn't need to ask you if you wanted to be with me that way because, as soon as I started wondering if maybe we should be more, uh, conventional? You'd have one of those strange days when you'd just keep finding chances to pin me to the nearest wall and…"

"Heh. You did the pinning half the time, now…"

"Only if you started it," Sokka chuckled. He could feel her smiling, and his heart soared for it. "I've always… always wanted to do whatever you wanted to do. If you wanted me… then I'd be yours in whatever way you wanted me to be. If I did anything to piss you off… then I'd either fix it or stay out of your way until you were ready to let me in again. All this time, I…"

"You've just done whatever you thought I'd need… and you never really have slowed down to think about what you want, have you?" Azula asked. "Because… you thought I'd reject it. And… you were scared of disappointing me? Of displeasing me?"

"I… was. Still am, actually," Sokka admitted, with a sad smile. "And that's your cue: I'm embarrassing, aren't I?"

"You are," Azula determined. Sokka sighed, accepting the sentence he had already anticipated. "But… so am I."

"Well, that's nice. We can just make fun of each other for being embarrassing all you like," Sokka smiled.

"What do you want, then?" Azula said, swallowing hard. "If… if I'm embarrassing for being an idiot who can't string two words together where… where fucking feelings are concerned, then maybe learning to do it would make me less embarrassing, right?"

"Uh, maybe…?"

"So… so if you're embarrassing for not thinking about yourself and being scared of failure, then… stop being scared and just tell me. W-what… what would you want of me? What would you have us… be?"

Sokka didn't answer immediately. It wasn't a lie that he had never pondered that concept properly… because so far, they were just Sokka and Azula. They were two people whose lives had been intertwined by many coincidences since childhood, and they had gone on to build a friendship on the strangest foundations they could have found. There was no denying their mutual attraction, no lie to be spoken about their genuine affection for each other… so perhaps it was fine for him to be selfish for once. Perhaps he could simply say what he wanted to say… perhaps Azula wanted him to do so: what if she had only been waiting for him all along? What if all her dismissing of the typical teenage romances had simply been a way to hope to appeal to him… to try to show him that what they had was much more important, much deeper than the short-lived relationships that crumbled all around them, at the time?

He swallowed hard. His hands trembled. His lips parted as he leaned over to speak in her ear:

"I… I want to live my life with you. I don't care whatever we label it… but I know I want you. Not… not everyone's as lucky as I was, okay? Getting to… to know the love of your life since you were a kid? That's a goddamn miracle, so…"

Azula's arms tightened around him: it took him a moment to register it, but tears seemed to escape her eyes, filtering through his shirt. His heart pounded hard at the unforeseen emotional reaction of the most emotionally repressed person he had ever known…

"T-that's… so embarrassing…"

She said the words with a thread of a voice, so frayed by tears Sokka couldn't help but laugh as he held her tightly. He pressed another kiss to the top of her head and she continued to cling to him, as though to never let go: had she longed to hear those words for many years? Sokka had no idea if she had. But he had finally voiced them and a weight seemed to have been lifted off his shoulders now. Azula wouldn't let herself cry easily on any given day or moment, Sokka knew, and she'd likely shut herself down at any second now… but he held her anyway until her self-awareness returned, to put an end to her most unusual emotional reaction.

They stood there in comforting silence for about five minutes: Sokka's shirt was drenched by tears, but he disregarded the humidity of the fabric as Azula finally pulled back, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"T-throw… another one," she said. Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Say what?"

"Make another throw," she said, swallowing hard. "Last one of the night. Whatever happens next… is up to you."

Sokka blinked blankly at first, but he shrugged and made his way to pick up the ball again. It seemed Azula wasn't about to defend this time, so he stepped up comfortably to the free-throw line, and he frowned as he pondered what the right choice would be. Truth wouldn't be all that bad anymore, what did he have to lose by now, frankly? He'd told her plenty of truths so far and nothing bad had happened. Dare… it might be some embarrassing thing again, he supposed. Maybe he'd be able to improve her mood that way… but maybe she didn't want him to make his choices for that reason anymore.

Old habits died hard, though.

Sokka breathed deeply and threw the ball.

It arched smoothly on its way down… but it fell short by a few inches. Sokka glanced at Azula with a weak grin as the ball bounded on the ground, rolling towards the bench where he had left his bag.

"Well?" he said. "What's it going to be now?"

Azula's eyes seemed to glow under the campus's night lights. There was a most unusual expression upon her face… a vulnerable one that Sokka guessed meant she would try to say something difficult once more. Whatever dare she had in mind…

"Take me to… well, someplace more private than the dorms," she said, hands shaking as she spoke – it almost pained her to say things she likely found utterly ridiculous, and yet she pushed herself to say them all the same: "I dare you to… to go for it. I dare you to sleep with me."

...

Technically, everything might have begun when Sokka's family moved into the neighborhood – a four-year-old Azula and her six-year-old brother had watched keenly, through the windows as the moving trucks brought in the many boxes that belonged to the new tenants right across the street.

But for Azula and Sokka, the true beginning had taken place a few days later: Hakoda and Kya dropped off Katara and Sokka in the preschool early in the morning, and many other kids arrived later. Sokka, the troublemaker that he was, had stolen a trophy from the ball pit: a singular cerulean ball that he hoped to play with once he made a friend…

And as he glanced about the room, his eyes fell upon her.

She might have been smaller than Katara. Her hair was tidily combed into a small bun, with a fringe framing her delicate face. Sokka's jaw dropped as his attention focused entirely on her, without so much as noticing the boy beside her, who took off to find some of his friends right away, leaving his younger sister behind.

Without thinking twice, Sokka stepped forward. The girl raised her gaze in his direction. He smiled at her, and she didn't smile back.

"Hello," he said, simply. "I'm Sokka."

She didn't answer. She eyed him apprehensively.

He blinked blankly before deciding to take a more proactive approach: he showed her the cerulean ball, his grand trophy, with a proud grin.

Her eyes lit up right away. He snickered happily, and she clasped the ball, taking it from his small hands.

He only realized he wasn't holding it anymore after she smiled with abandon, gazing at the plastic ball as though it were her trophy now, instead…

"It's mine…" Sokka said, reaching out to grab it… but the little girl's smile turned into a scowl, and she refused to hand it over. "It's mine!"

She let out a threatening, angry groan that made Sokka pout: it was his ball! He had taken it from the pit himself, he had wanted to play with her…!

And in attempting to convey that to the girl, quite unsuccessfully, he found himself at the receiving end of a stern scolding by the preschool teacher, who had already told him not to take the balls out from the ball pit… though he wasn't the only one she told off. Azula, too, had been scolded, and she cried bitterly while shooting resentful glares at him. He, of course, returned the favor: he had wanted to be her friend! She was the one who had messed everything up by not sharing that simple, dumb plastic ball, not him…

And so, Azula hated him. And he hated her right back. But as they were children, grudges were complicated and simple in numerous ways: they would have good days at times, and then they would have terrible ones. The teacher's efforts to make them get along would go to waste more often than not, but sometimes, with no effort, she'd find them sitting together, doing their schoolwork perfectly calmly. Nobody could really understand whatever strange dynamic those two had developed, but it seemed to be a strange hostility, a respectful rivalry… at least, on the most part. And that was how everything had been through preschool until finally the two started primary school…

But the greatest change in their relationship happened outside of the school's premises: Sokka had been returning home after school when he heard the sound of a heavy, bouncing basketball across the street. It wasn't too surprising to hear that – he had overheard his mother raving to his father that one of their neighbors was actually a basketball star player, and Sokka had occasionally seen the older members of that family shooting hoops and even playing together by their garage entrance, where their basketball board hung…

But he had never seen the tiniest member of the family, Azula herself, throwing what likely was a very heavy ball for a child her size, all be it in the hopes of scoring at least once.

He approached the house's fence, supporting himself on it and watching as his very stubborn neighbor threw the ball with near frustration: it bounced back at her every time, but it never reached the right height.

"Why don't you stand closer?" he asked, simply: she jumped, glaring at him instinctively as she held the ball to her chest. Sokka huffed. "What? Think I'm going to take it? That's what you did, not me…"

"Shut up," Azula retorted, stubbornly. "You don't know how to play…"

"How do you know I don't know?" Sokka said. "I'm the best in PE in my class!"

"You're not," Azula said, simply, with no more arguments than that. Sokka stuck his tongue out at her.

"At least I'm better than your brother," he said… and to his surprise, she smiled.

"Zuko is a loser," she said, proudly. Sokka couldn't hold back a smile of his own upon hearing her certainty as she said that.

"And you're better than him?" Sokka asked. Azula nodded proudly. "Can you score? Have you done it before?"

Her pause suggested her answer would be a lie. She nodded, instead of speaking, and then turned towards the hoop once more, tossing the ball: yet again, it failed to reach its goal.

"Stand closer," Sokka said. This time, she shot him an awkward glance. "You'll do better if you stand closer."

To his surprise, she listened. The ball rose higher now, and it almost fell on her head once it returned to the ground, but she caught it anyway.

"Is the ball too heavy?" he asked. Azula shook her head. "You sure?"

"It's… fine!" Azula said, tossing it as powerfully as she could: this time she gasped when it went over the ring, bouncing on the board and returning to the ground without going through the hoop.

"Hey! You almost got it!" Sokka exclaimed, infected by her enthusiasm.

She tossed again, and again, and again…

After about twenty-five tries, the ball finally slipped through the net safely.

"You did it!" Sokka cheered, beaming as Azula smiled brightly at him. "You scored! That's so cool, Azula!"

"I… well, yes," she shrugged, picking up the ball…

She tossed it his way, even if the fence stood between them. Sokka gasped as Azula shrugged in his direction, once the ball slowed down right at the closed door of the fence.

"You want to try?" she asked.

Until that moment, he had assumed she'd never let him take anything that she believed was hers. He blinked blankly before smiling and nodding at her offer, and Azula unlocked the fence's door so he could come in to play, too.

They threw the ball for hours, one throw each, even if either of them was likely to try to sneak in one more throw on occasion. Sokka, as it turned out, had even less experience at playing basketball than Azula did… so they simply took to learning how to throw the ball at the backboard together, cheering whenever they scored, pouting whenever they failed…

A shiny, glossy black car suddenly slowed down outside the house, and Sokka winced as he immediately felt the need to run away: Azula's parents had come home already? Was it that late…?

Azula clutched the ball nervously before taking to pushing Sokka out of the car's path, into the front lawn of the house: her mother climbed off the passenger's seat, smiling in their direction before unlocking the garage's fence. Within moments, Azula's father had driven into the parking space safely, and her mother locked the small door again before turning to regard her daughter with a raised eyebrow.

"Training again, I see?" she said. Azula stiffened but nodded. "And?"

"I scored today! I did, Mom!" Azula exclaimed, running up to Ursa with the ball in her hands. "He saw it, you can ask him…!"

"Oh?" Ursa raised her eyebrows, glancing at Sokka next. He winced, immediately bashful, unsure that he would be allowed to be here at all even if he had meant no harm… "You're our neighbor from across the street, aren't you?"

"U-uh, I am. I'm just…" Sokka mumbled, shyly… and then Ursa smiled warmly at them both.

"It's good to meet you directly this way, then. I'm glad Azula made a new friend."

It was a completely confusing concept at first: friends? Were they actually friends? Their relationship so far had been conflict upon conflict… but Azula's mother believed they were friends. So perhaps… perhaps that was what they were.

"Is everything alright?" Azula's father spoke: he had only just climbed off the car, clad in a tidy suit that Sokka gawked at with astonishment. Ursa chuckled, glancing at her husband with a reassuring smile.

"Quite so. It seems Azula has finally scored, dear… both in basketball and in friendship, from the sound of it."

"Hmm," Ozai's eyes fell upon the little boy standing near his daughter. He raised an eyebrow before letting out a deep sigh. "You won't go overboard training them, will you?"

"What, me? Oh, come now, how could I ever…?" Ursa said, with a guilty smile that brought a genuine one from her husband. He shook his head, marching towards the front door… though he ensured to caress Azula's hair gently as he passed beside her.

"Good job, Azula," he said. Her eyes lit up brightly, cheeks flushed with delight as her father went indoors… and as her mother breathed out slowly, gazing at the two children once more.

"I have a good feeling about you two. So… if you don't mind, can you show me how you scored again?"

Azula nodded promptly: she didn't waste time showing her mother her very unprofessional posture and throwing technique, and Ursa laughed fondly as she knelt by her daughter's side, helping correct her hands and legs' positioning, and even giving her a few hints as to what to aim for in order to score. Sokka took mental notes of her advice too, thrilled to throw the ball whenever it fell in his hands, and ready to rejoice if Azula happened to score again…

Being coached by a professional female athlete certainly paid off: where Sokka had been boasting emptily about being at the top of his class in PE before, a few weeks of frequent training sessions with Ursa and Azula had seen him outdoing his classmates quickly, even Zuko, whose few attempts at joining their training sessions had resulted in him storming out in frustration over his sister and Sokka's joint efforts to annoy him. Hence, Sokka wound up befriending Zuko's sister sooner than Zuko, and the bond between them tightened constantly as they grew older and taller, becoming much more capable players and even inspiring several of their newer friends to join their school's basketball team with them.

They spent most afternoons together if they could get away with it, whether training in school or at Azula's house, and while the foundations of their relationship had been a most awkward incident in preschool, by the time Sokka was in third year of middle school, he and Azula were, without a doubt, best friends.

Ty Lee's thirteenth birthday party put that notion to the test in an unforeseen way, though.

"Seven minutes in heaven?" Katara repeated, perplexed by the girl's suggestion. "Isn't that…?"

"A game not suitable for eleven-year-olds!" Ty Lee squealed: Toph left perfectly willingly, making faces of disgust upon knowing what Katara wanted them to do, while Aang whimpered about wanting to stay… but the birthday girl had her own plans in mind.

It was safe to say that the only one genuinely thrilled by the concept of the game was her: half the boys appeared terrified, especially Zuko, while the girls were apprehensive. Ty Lee snickered as she readied herself to draw a boy's name and a girl's name for her mischievous purposes... but she ensured to draw the boy's name, first:

"And our first boy is… Sokka!" she exclaimed: he winced, cheeks flushing at being the very first one to be chosen.

"I don't know if… uh…" Sokka grimaced, eyes flickering from side to side: he glanced at Azula in sheer panic, an unpleasant tug in his chest making him want to tell her he wasn't interested in this nonsense at all, he didn't want to do it, of course not…!

But his bashful, awkward reactions amounted to nothing: Ty Lee tasked the other boys in the group – Zuko, Haru, Jet and Chan – with taking Sokka to another room in Ty Lee's family house, where he would have to wait for his partner to show up. Azula watched him go, a grimaced over her face as she dreaded whatever name Ty Lee would draw next…

"Of course, Katara's not part of this draw, no, sir…" she said, happily. Azula huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she overheard to Sokka's protests, still dragged away by the others.

"Are you sure about this?" Mai asked, crooking an eyebrow. Ty Lee snickered.

"Of course I am!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "It's an ironclad, perfect plan."

"You don't do plans," Azula said, frowning and glancing in her direction. "Every single time I draw up a strategy for the team, you…"

"That's different! This is way more important than a game!" Ty Lee grinned: Azula's eyebrow twitched as she glared at her friend, who turned towards the bowl full of scrambled names once more. "And now… the girl who'll go with Sokka!"

"He's safely tucked away by now, so we're ready to proceed," Chan grinned with unabashed wickedness, as he and the others returned to the room.

"Are we sure about this…?" Haru asked, softly. Ty Lee giggled and nodded promptly.

"This will be perfect! You'll see!" she said. "We can even go wilder and not split boys and girls for the next round…!"

"Wait, really?" Suki asked, eyes wide. Mai huffed.

"Doesn't matter if I get a guy or a girl, I'm not doing any of the crap you want us to," Mai declared, sternly. Ty Lee stuck her tongue out in her direction, but she stuck her hand in the bowl…

And yet Azula paid more attention to the draw this time… noticing that she hadn't simply picked a paper at random. No, she had felt for something, she had taken too long to draw the paper, she… she had marked it, somehow. She was cheating! Whatever she was doing, the draw was illicit and Azula opened her mouth to say as much…

"It's Azula!"

She froze on the spot.

Her intent to reveal Ty Lee's treachery vanished as her friend grinned at her with encouraging glee. Zuko made faces of disgust while Haru seemed relieved – perhaps he assumed Azula wasn't the type to take advantage of the situation, and she wouldn't cause much trouble to the junior high's basketball boys' team captain…

"Come on, then! You know the rules! It's seven minutes of privacy, just for the two of you…!" Ty Lee squealed, setting down the bowl with the rest of the papers as she jumped up and down giddily. "It's exactly what you need!"

"We… what? Why would we need…?! Ty Lee!" Azula huffed as her friend clasped her wrist, dragging her down the corridor of her house: they weren't joined by the other party-goers, providing Ty Lee with a moment to smile knowingly at Azula.

"Come on, you two have had crushes on each other forever! Don't play dumb," she said. Azula scoffed.

"Playing dumb? I… I have no idea what you're talking about," she said: the redness of her cheeks didn't convince Ty Lee of the truthfulness of Azula's claims.

"You're so silly," Ty Lee giggled, stopping at the room Sokka was waiting in. "I'll be back in seven minutes, okay? And if you two haven't done anything…! Then it'll be another seven! You heard me!"

"Are you serious here?" Azula grimaced, as Ty Lee snickered and pulled the door open.

"Dear Sokka…!" she called him: the sound of her voice caused him to wince, and her devious poking of her head through the ajar door caused Sokka to shake his head violently, standing nervously in the small study as he was.

"No, no, no! You're not going to be my first kiss, Ty Lee, so don't you dare…!"

"Aw, your first? Saving it for someone special, are you?" she smirked deviously. "Well… here's your chance!"

She shoved Azula inside the room and closed the door promptly behind her.

Sokka's protests died down immediately at that.

Their eyes met, even in the dimly lit room. They knew they weren't supposed to be there, it was Ty Lee's father's study, and if they so much as tripped over any of his architect's equipment, he would likely kick all of them, Ty Lee included, out of his house for good. But there they were… and there they would stay for another seven minutes, it seemed.

"I… I'm afraid you're, uh, in an awkward situation," Azula said, with a frigid smile. "Ty Lee schemed to do this. I don't know what she got into her head about you and me, but…"

"Uh… w-well, whatever it was, I'm glad it's you," Sokka said, with a gentle grin of his own. "I was kind of worried, really. I mean, the way she talks sounds like she has a crush on just about every guy she meets, and I really hoped not to be one of them… freaked me out for a second that I might be."

"Doesn't seem like it, so… congratulations," Azula said, with a shrug. "Anyway…"

"Anyway?" Sokka raised his eyebrows, meeting her gaze with his own.

"I… guess I just have to warn you that she said she'll keep us locked in here until we do… 'something'," Azula said, rolling her eyes and running a hand over her hair – she had styled it today for some reason. It was Ty Lee's birthday, yes, of course she had to dress appropriately for it… but she had done so more self-consciously than usual. She had genuinely hoped to look good, and not just for the sake of projecting the right image…

Who was she even trying to impress? They were all friends from school, members of the boys and girls' basketball teams. She and Sokka were the captains of each team, the better players in their middle school… they saw each other constantly, trained together, played games against each other and even studied tactics together. If she wanted to impress him, she should have done it by showing him a basketball move he hadn't ever seen before… not simply dressing up, doing her hair, wearing a light perfume, filing and even painting her dumb nails…

Why the hell had she done any of that? Why the hell was she standing right here, in front of him, feeling her heart racing as she told herself that nothing could possibly happen, that nothing would, because he was her friend. He was her best friend. He was her oldest friend. There was simply no way Ty Lee's ridiculous meddling would change any of that…

"So… huh. You mean, if we decide not to do this…" Sokka said, frowning.

"We can always pretend we did so she leaves us alone," Azula said, with a shrug. "How would they know anyway? I can… I can take off some of my lipstick, rub it over your mouth with my hand, how about that?"

"She might notice you're hiding the smear on your hand if you do that," Sokka pointed out. Azula grimaced – idiot that she was, why had she put on noticeable makeup? To think such a foolish choice would bite her in the ass this way…

"Well, then… what do we do?" Azula said, eyeing him warily. "You don't think we should go for it, do you?"

"I… well. I'm not… going to say no if you don't say no, I guess?" Sokka said: his cheeks reddened and Azula frowned at him. "I mean! Well, it is my first kiss, and I suppose it's yours…"

"Of course it is," Azula huffed.

"Well… uh, well, maybe I shouldn't have said anything, then. Guess you're saving it for a big, special moment?" Sokka said, scratching the back of his neck. Azula rolled her eyes. "Or maybe not."

"You know I think that stuff is just… dumb. Okay? It's dumb," Azula said, shaking her head. "People will kiss whoever the hell they want, and some might kiss the same person forever while others kiss every idiot who's willing, so… it's all stupid in the end. I mean… what's even the point of kissing, really? It has to be so… so annoying. So uncomfortable. Like… having your face so close to someone else's? Who wouldn't be grossed out by that?"

"Grossed out… heh, well, I guess. But, well, for the record?" Sokka said, with a weak grin. "I wouldn't be grossed out by your face. Not saying we have to do this! Just… just clarifying one thing I figured was important, nothing more…"

"W-well… I mean, I'm not saying you're gross, just… ugh, this is so stupid," Azula said, shaking her head: her pride was flaring in just about every direction, and her heart was racing because maybe, just maybe, she would kiss him today… and why would that thought make butterflies flutter in her stomach?

"Yeah, well, it is," Sokka said, with a sad smile. "It's fine if you don't want to do it, though. We can just sit here, quietly, and…"

"And wait for Ty Lee's dad to show up?" Azula asked, eyeing Sokka skeptically. He winced.

"Maybe we should escape through the window…" he suggested. Azula snorted.

"You'd really risk a three-story jump to avoid…?"

"To avoid Ty Lee pressuring you into doing something you don't want to do? Well… sure? Don't want me to?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow. Azula grimaced.

"I'm not saying I… I mean, wait. Something I don't want to do? Just me? What the hell does that mean?"

"I mean…!" Sokka's cheeks flushed as he lowered his head. "Well, you know, Ty Lee's been threatening us all with this party the whole week, right? She… she said everyone was going to get kissed one way or another, beats me how she's going to go about making that happen, but… if she does think of any weirder games later, who knows who she's going to try to pair me with? So… you know, not the best-case scenario, but if I'm going to kiss someone for the first time today, I'd rather it's you. I-if you… if you would want that too, of course. Or if you think you could want that? Or… if you'd rather it was me instead of any of those guys, I don't know…"

Azula's chest tightened: he'd rather it was her? It didn't have to mean anything, maybe he just didn't like the other girls much. But there was certainly a possibility that he liked her, particularly, to some degree…

"That's embarrassing," Azula said, averting her gaze from him. Sokka sighed, hanging his head.

"I know, I know, I…"

He raised his eyes to find her cheeks were lit up with a rather unusual blush.

"Azula…?" he blinked a couple of times and she sighed heavily.

"Like I said, people just do this as if it's no big deal, right? Adults do it, and we'll be adults eventually. So… it should be no big deal for us, too. Half the girls in class do nothing but boast about their relationships…" Azula said, rolling her eyes.

"And you've always been so focused on schoolwork and the team that you don't really care for this stuff, right?" Sokka said, with a shy smile. Azula sighed and shrugged.

"I don't see the fuss. And I doubt I will if we do this, anyway, but… you're probably right. If we're going to do this, it's better if it's you."

Her tone, her nonchalance, suggested this didn't mean anything to her. And yet her cheeks were still red, and she kept averting her gaze. Sokka narrowed his eyes as though to scrutinize deeper into her motives, into her words…

"Azula…"

A knock on the door startled them. Azula glanced back at it in sheer panic until a sing-song voice drifted in.

"It's been five minutes…! And it's going to be seven more if I open this door and you two haven't done anything!"

Her devious giggle caused Azula to roll her eyes: yes, these games were utterly idiotic, she grew more convinced of it by the minute. People who wanted relationships should simply get into them and those who didn't shouldn't, and the ones who wanted to kiss others could just kiss whoever wanted to kiss them too… she didn't care about any of that, of course she didn't, and Ty Lee had no right to pressure them this way, but curses…

A stupid, curious part of her wanted to try it, nonetheless.

Sokka breathed deeply as he stepped closer to her – he was half a head taller than her these days. He had always been slightly taller than Azula, but puberty seemed to be doing wonders for his basketball build. He might even become tall enough to dunk the ball one day, Azula thought… maybe he'd grow tall enough to catch the eye of some other tall girl who would appeal to him, too. A strange burst of pride inside her compelled her to believe that stealing Sokka's first kiss would mean that, even if that did happen, this potential girl wouldn't get his everything… a stupid, petty thought, yet one that ensured she stood firmly on her spot, meeting Sokka's eyes.

"She'll come back, so…" he said. Azula gritted her teeth but nodded. "You're really sure this is okay?"

"I have no idea, just… get it over with," Azula said, bashfully. Sokka smiled a little.

"Then… close your eyes."

She did as he asked, trying not to tremble as she felt him moving closer: she felt his breath first, his warm presence moving in, his hands upon her shoulders, and she wanted to turn back and flee…

Then his lips touched hers.

Whatever she had feared before suddenly bloomed into an entirely different feeling. Where he had somehow appeared to overwhelm her with his proximity a moment ago, suddenly it felt as though he belonged exactly where he was, his lips against hers in that tentative, shy manner that she reciprocated softly…

He pulled back, and they opened their eyes.

"T-there. We kissed," Sokka said, his face crimson. Azula swallowed hard and nodded.

"Right. We… we did," she said, lowering her gaze.

It had been a long time since any conversation between them had been so awkward and clumsy… and Azula resolved to change that, raising her head again to look at him: a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips, though he froze on the spot when he had her attention again.

"Don't think the seven minutes are up," she said. Sokka smiled and shrugged.

"Guess not. Otherwise she would've…"

He fell silent when her hand clasped his neck, reeling him closer: now it was Azula who led the charge into their second kiss.

They exchanged no words before the third: it was more than just a brush between their lips this time, a much more active kiss even if still a chaste one. Sokka's hands slid down to Azula's hips, her own arms locked around his neck, and with eyes closed, they gave themselves to a strange, heightened, extended moment of giving in to a simple pleasure of life, something they were certainly glad to be experiencing with each other…

A knock on the door again: Sokka winced, but Azula didn't loosen her hold on him.

"Either you get to it or you get to it, you two, there's no…!" Ty Lee exclaimed, yanking the door open once the seven minutes were up…

She fell silent, abruptly, upon finding the two team captains locked in a surprisingly affectionate embrace. Even from this angle, where Azula's head covered the actual action going on between them, it was clear that they were kissing.

That Ty Lee screamed happily gave away quickly that something was going on in the study. Azula's eager kisses slowed then, and she sighed before rolling her eyes at Ty Lee's reaction. Sokka smiled weakly, finding Azula's cheeks were as red as his felt, too.

"Guess she can't complain, can she?" Sokka said. Azula scoffed.

"Not like it's her business anyway," she said. "We should get out of here, though."

"Uh… right," Sokka gritted his teeth, and Azula clasped his hand.

She didn't guide him back to Ty Lee's bedroom, where the wild birthday girl screamed about what she'd witnessed. She didn't lead him to the living room, where Toph and Aang were playing videogames together, left out of Ty Lee's most thrilling birthday activities but having plenty of fun in their own way.

Instead, Azula led Sokka to the top of the stairs in Ty Lee's grand house, a location distant enough where, with any luck, they wouldn't be bothered. Sokka didn't protest as she urged him to take his seat at the topmost step, and he certainly had no complaints when she found his lips with hers once more.

It never made a lot of sense, as far as Sokka could tell, that someone as blunt in her dismissiveness of relationships would be quite so keen on kissing him ever since that day. It wasn't like it happened every time they met, but it would happen often enough that he'd find himself wondering if it meant they were a couple: he didn't dare bring up the subject, though, unwilling to displease her, unwilling to sound like all the classmates she found so annoying. If he dared say anything corny, she'd be certain to tell him he was embarrassing, maybe even gross, if it was far mushier than she anticipated… but somehow, he always seemed to understand that she didn't quite hate the things he said. Even so, his willingness to test the waters with any serious conversations diminished out of fear of genuinely causing her to think he was a lost cause… she'd said it all along, hadn't she? People kissed because they felt like it. There was no real reason for it to mean more than that…

No real reason why they'd sometimes cuddle while watching TV together, whenever they visited the other's house.

No real reason why they'd wind up making out in the school gym's storage room after putting away their basketball gear for the day.

No real reason why he'd ask her to go with him to prom in high school.

No real reason why she'd ensure to be accepted in the same university he had been scouted by.

They were friends. Closer than friends. They certainly liked each other a fair amount. Perhaps more than friends generally did… but that was it. There were boundaries they had not breached, could not breach, for pride ensured they wouldn't do so…

And yet now, almost ten years after that first kiss, sixteen years since their chaotic first conflict over that singular cerulean ball, they found themselves standing together in a small, cozy hotel room, gazing at each other with undisguised anticipation.

"Well. Step one complete, I guess," Sokka said, swallowing hard. "I… don't really know what we should do next, heh. We should be, uh, getting in the mood?"

"Right. Definitely looks like we're on the right track for that," Azula replied, bitingly. Sokka chuckled, a hand rising to cover his eyes.

"Look, it's not like I can't get in the mood, I definitely can… but I need you to understand this is surreal to me," Sokka said, breathing deeply.

"Losing your virginity is surreal?" Azula asked, amused. Sokka nodded promptly. "Come on…"

"Right, people do this all the time, don't they?" Sokka said, echoing her words from the past, if in different regards. Azula scowled in his direction. "It's what you said when we…"

"I know, Sokka."

"And then we ended up kissing all the time, so…"

"You're not about to say we'll… fuck all the time after this, are you?" Azula huffed, eyeing him skeptically. Sokka shrugged.

"I mean… think about it. This would be our first. We have no idea what we're doing, so… it's like being flung into a basketball game without knowing a single rule," he said. "After a couple of minutes of confusion, you might just start to understand how this goes… but then the coach switches you out because you're making a mess of things and you end up benched the rest of the game, heh."

"That sounds promising," Azula said, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Well, if you let the benched player try again after they get a feel for what they're doing… maybe they'll surprise you?" Sokka said, with a weak grin. "Besides, it's not like we had a clue of what we were doing when we first kissed, we literally figured it out by doing it like… well, a million times, so…"

"A valid argument, I suppose. If… if we're not entirely useless at sex, it's not a terrible idea to do it more than once…" Azula said, lowering her gaze. Sokka breathed deeply and nodded.

"But before we get to it… well, maybe we should talk some more."

"Heh. Now I'm the one who ought to have some crisis over you breaking up with me."

"You don't seriously think I'd ever break up with you, do you?" Sokka smiled fondly at her. "In your words: it's not like…"

"There's anything to break," Azula finished, eyeing him skeptically. He grinned carelessly in her direction. "Ugh, whatever. I… thought we were done talking. You know I'm better at the non-talking stage of things, so get it over with quickly, okay?"

"Well, we'll see if that works out," Sokka said, breathing deeply as he approached the bed.

He sat at the foot of it, taking off his shoes and tossing them aside. For a wild moment, Azula wondered if he wouldn't stop at that, but he did. Her heart raced stupidly – she had seen him in a swimsuit before, it wasn't going to be all that different from seeing him naked, curses...

She joined him by the foot of the bed, doing what he'd done just the same. Then, they sat side by side, in silence.

"Do you… want to play another game with me?" Sokka asked. Azula sighed.

"What kind of game?" she asked, simply.

"A much less amusing one. Might not be a game at all, come to think of it," Sokka admitted, running his hand over his hair.

Azula eyed him with uncertainty, her hands gripping the bedding with more force than necessary: why the hell was she so nervous? Her heart raced so wildly she might grow level-headed from that alone. Was it her own fault for delaying this as much as she had? For never figuring out how to have a reasonable relationship with him? It might be…

"How much do you know about, uh… BDSM?"

His words caused her eyes to widen: she shot him a disbelieving glare, jaw dropping as his face flushed immediately.

"I don't mean we'll do that! J-just…!" Sokka squealed.

"You'd be the masochist if we did. As proven by you asking that question," Azula huffed. Sokka slapped his face with a hand, a couple of chuckles spilling from his lips.

"Sorry. I know that was hard to believe but… listen, I've got as little experience with that as you do, which means none, but I heard that they have something called… a safe word?"

Azula frowned.

"I… do know about that," she said, glancing at him warily. Sokka breathed deeply.

"I'm not thinking about using it for the sake of whatever we'll do in bed… but for other purposes, instead," he said, swallowing hard. "I've gotten used to it, but… I'm starting to think that your embarrassment over all touchy-feely things may be hindering you in ways you never really processed before."

"You're psychoanalyzing me again, are you?" Azula asked, crooking an eyebrow. "Taking that class definitely wasn't a good idea…"

"It was good in the sense that it might help you," Sokka said, letting out a deep breath. "Look… I could tell you right now that I want to date you. That I want to be your boyfriend. That I want to be your husband one day. But I don't because…"

"Because… you think I'd say it's embarrassing?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow: her face heated up merely upon hearing him say those words… and the implication of his hesitation floored her.

"Whenever I do something dumb, whenever I do something more sentimental than you're used to, whenever I praise you in any way that feels too mushy?" Sokka said. "You say it's embarrassing and I don't mind it at all, because heh, maybe I'm embarrassing after all. But… when it comes to serious things, it freaks me out that you might say that. I… I couldn't even fathom doing anything that might actually disgust you with me. And it turns out that, for all I thought I understood you, maybe I didn't understand you as well as I thought I did…"

"You… didn't ask me those things because you thought I'd say you were embarrassing," Azula said. "Then… shit. Have I been, well, hurting you every single time I…?"

"No, that's not what I mean…" Sokka said, with a sad smile, but Azula shook her head.

"I just… ugh. I don't know how to do this, okay?" she said, burying her face in her hands. "I suck at talking about this stuff, you've always known I do, and I'm an idiot for that. But I… I didn't want to hurt you, okay? So if I did… I…"

"Azula…"

"I'm sorry."

She seldom said those words. She certainly didn't say them with that much emotion whenever it happened, either.

Sokka wrapped his arms around her body, reeling her in for a gentle hug: she shook her head, yet again flustered, he knew, over her outburst…

"I'm… such an idiot, I… why the hell am I crying…?"

"You're not an idiot for crying, and see? This is exactly what we need the safe word for."

"S-so I can cry? That's stupid…"

"So I can say things without you immediately calling them stupid… so that you can say things without me making stupid jokes that make you self-aware, afterwards."

This time, his words gave her pause. Azula raised her head, glancing at him in confusion even through her misty eyes. Sokka offered her a sad grin, caressing her face gently.

"It's just an idea. If you don't like it, that's okay… but the point is for it to mean we get to have a safe space, a safe moment. Neither of us judges the other for anything in that moment, okay? We're free to say anything we need to say. Neither one will make light of the situation in any way… neither one will dismiss it as stupid or embarrassing. We can go right back to our usual state afterwards… but while the safe word is in effect, it means we get to say what needs to be said safely. How does that sound?"

"I…" Azula blinked blankly at his proposal, lowering her gaze slowly.

Judging… joking. Those were, truly, their typical responses to everything. Defense mechanisms… Sokka had rambled about those after he took that psychology class, and he spent about a week pinpointing all her defense mechanisms, to which she had only grown even more defensive and she punished him by refusing to kiss him again until he stopped – hence, he stopped. He had made matters into a joke… and she had made it sound stupid when it was anything but.

It should have been frustrating to realize that Sokka had seen through their emotional turmoil and the source of the flaws in their communication so effectively… a part of her, that gnawing, unnerving pride, urged her to be frustrated indeed.

But she wasn't.

It was as though something had clicked inside her heart… as though a possibility she had never thought existed had presented itself right now. She met his eyes again, finding him no less genuine and serious than he had been a moment ago.

"We… we'd choose a safe word? And then use that for… for whenever we want to take things completely seriously?" Azula asked. Sokka nodded slowly. "Doesn't just have to be about… well, what I dared you to do tonight, but about everything?"

"Yep. Anything goes," Sokka said. "If you want to confess that you hate the way I bake pancakes, well… you'd use the safe word and I'd have to listen and accept what you said, no jokes involved, no whining. Okay?"

"Huh… fine. Though you hardly bake the pancakes, you buy the premade mix anyway…" Azula mumbled. Sokka smiled and shook his head.

"No laughing is allowed, either. We're going to show each other so much self-control you'll be shocked it's even possible," Sokka said, caressing her hair. "See… Ty Lee used to ramble about something silly, didn't she? The… love languages, was it?"

"I never paid any attention when she talked about that," Azula confessed. Sokka bit his lip.

"Well, I paid a tiny bit of attention, but I think there's one that…" he said. "Uh… what the hell was it they called it? I mean, it's communication, in short, but still…"

He surprised Azula by pulling up his smartphone, a disgruntled frown on his face as he googled the concept in a rush. Azula smiled, watching his quick scrolling until he finally came across what he had been searching for:

"Aha! There! It was 'words of affirmation', see?" Sokka declared, smiling proudly as he showed the article to Azula. She raised a judgmental eyebrow… and then grimaced at her own instinctive need to judge just about anything that happened around her. She breathed deeply, trying to repress that urge as Sokka spoke. "Basically, it's just… verbal communication of your affection towards someone? Not something hard to grasp as a concept, but not something anyone can do easily. Me? I'm always worried I'll say something that will make you decide I was a waste of your time and that you don't want anything else to do with me…"

"Is that why you were so sure I was going to dump you?" Azula asked.

"Eh… honestly, I've constantly worried about not being good enough for you," Sokka admitted, with a sad smile. "Maybe I was wrong to, but I couldn't really help myself. So… I've basically held back from saying everything I think because every time I assume you might respond poorly to it, I shut my mouth. Whereas you…"

"I find everything embarrassing and I judge everything," Azula recited: even her voice was charged with skepticism she still barely knew how to shake off. "So… when I try to show even a slight amount of emotional investment in something, I… I cringe at myself, frankly. And it's…"

"Don't…"

"It's stupid."

"There's no need to say that, Azula, really," Sokka huffed. Azula sighed. "That's part of the problem, okay? Don't immediately assume everything you do is stupid, because then it's going to be a snowballing problem and we'll never sort it out…"

"Fine, then. I'll try not to, but it's not easy to stop doing it," Azula grimaced. "Anyway… you think we need to communicate and do all the fancy love languages or whatever you called them?"

"Well, I don't think we're messing up much with the others," Sokka said, glancing at Azula with uncertainty. "But see, this one's definitely giving us trouble. I don't think it's wrong for me to assume and state that we care about each other, right? So… it's in our benefit to be more honest about things. About how we feel, about what we want… and what you did today? It's a big step in the right direction, alright? So don't say it's stupid or judge yourself for it… it's actual progress, and what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I suppose…" Azula said. Sokka glanced at her.

"That sounds like there's something."

"Ugh, I don't… I don't even know," Azula said, dropping her face in her hand again. Sokka smiled sadly, shaking his head.

"Boomerang."

She frowned, glancing at him again. He grinned and shrugged in her direction.

"Our safe word. Not something we'd use in common conversation, right? If you don't like it, it can be something else. But if you think it's okay…"

"I… don't know," Azula admitted, eyeing Sokka with uncertainty. He clasped her hand gently.

"Then, once you do know… I'll say the word and you'll tell me whatever you're thinking. I won't judge, I won't laugh, I won't try to make you laugh. We'll be so serious it's going to be unnerving. So…"

Azula breathed out slowly: her hand clasped his, fingers slipping through his own. Her uncertainty lasted for a moment… and then she spoke the word:

"Boomerang."

Sokka nodded. He angled his body towards hers, and Azula kept her eyes focused on his chest: her lips parted, and her racing heart seemed to be about to break out of her ribcage…

"I… I hope it works. The safe word thing," she said. Sokka nodded.

"Me too."

It was a simple confession… but it was a good start.

Azula released a breath, leaning closer to Sokka by instinct. He did the same, so her brow would rest against his.

"I… don't know why I'm like this. I wish I weren't," she admitted, surprising him… but he kept his silence, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "It's like… we could've had it all if I weren't such an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Sokka said, softly. Azula gritted her teeth and sighed.

"It's hard to believe you… but I'll try," she said, trembling lightly.

They settled into silence briefly, still sitting together by the foot of the bed. Nothing seemed to happen… no harm came to either of them for what they'd said. No one had laughed, no one had judged… nothing had happened. It was a strange realization, perhaps akin to what children felt when they finally understood there were no monsters hiding under their bed… Azula shuddered at the thought.

"This is… weird. Nice, but weird," she said. Sokka nodded. "I… don't like being vulnerable. I'm not used to it. Guess maybe… that's the crux of the matter."

"It could be," Sokka agreed.

"What about you?" Azula asked. "How… how do you feel?"

"I'm scared," Sokka admitted. Azula winced lightly upon hearing those words. "Worried that… that this idea might not work and that I'll have to try to figure out some other way to communicate when we need to. But I'm… I'm worried I might fail at coming up with something else, too."

"This isn't failing so far," Azula said. Sokka smiled a little.

"I'm glad," he said. "But I'm still nervous."

"Me too."

They didn't meet each other's eyes as they spoke, their words spoken in intimate whispers conveyed so closely, as though they feared someone might overhear even if they were alone, isolated from the rest of the world right where they sat. Still… it was the most open they had ever felt. The most earnest they had ever been.

"I'm not sure how to get us started with…" Sokka said, swallowing hard. "With what you dared me to do. I really think I'm going to do or say something that won't sit well with you…"

"Like… what?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.

"Maybe… touching something I've never touched before and that you've never said I'm allowed to touch?" he said. "Or saying something too sentimental and…"

"Do you really feel… overly sentimental things about me?" Azula asked. "Maybe… you're as embarrassed about that as I am."

"Am I?" Sokka blinked blankly. "Huh… maybe? I mean, technically… you've been part of my life for so long that I can't help but be too sentimental, honestly. You were my first friend… my first rival, too, considering you stole that ball and…"

"And we were sworn enemies in preschool because of that," Azula smiled. Sokka smiled back.

"Then you were my first kiss… and without my full realization of it at the time, you were my first crush, for sure," he said, softly. Azula shivered. "And now… my first time will be with you, too. But I guess… the sentimental thing I wanted to say is that, even if you hadn't been my first in all those things, you… you'd be the one that mattered. The one that changed my world. The one I'd never want to let go. And… I just went and said it anyway, see? So… guess I'm about to find out if I'd displease you with my sentimentality, heh."

He dared glance at her… to find her eyes swarmed with tears anew. He felt an impulsive urge to comfort her, to take back any words that could have led her to cry… but he couldn't do it. Not right now. Not when that exteriorization of emotion, too, was one to be cherished and respected for everything it was.

He waited as she composed herself. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes, shaking her head, whether at his words or at her own emotional reaction, Sokka didn't know…

"I-is it… cheap to just say that I… I feel that way too?" she said, her voice charged with tears. "I…"

"It's not. You can say whatever you want to say right now," Sokka whispered, raising his head to press a kiss to her brow.

"I…" she said, shivering. "I…"

Whatever she wanted to say now, it seemed she couldn't formulate it yet. Tears threatened to spill again, and she seemed moments away from losing her patience at her own crying…

"Ugh, I…! I hate it when people cry!" Azula exclaimed. "It makes me uncomfortable… probably because I can't handle my own feelings, damn it. Because I don't know how to manage them, h-how to not react explosively to things…! It's so much easier to just… shut the door and pretend nothing affects me. Because when it does, I… I become like this. I don't know how to… how to still be me if I'm crying like an idiot, and I hate it when other people cry…"

"You're not an idiot… no one is for crying," Sokka whispered. "Frankly, nobody with sense likes crying, I'd say. It usually means something isn't right… something needs to be fixed. And it hurts, and it scares you, and it feels wrong in all the worst ways. So… it's fine to hate crying. It doesn't mean you can reject it forever, though… we all need to do it sometimes."

"And the more I refuse to cry, t-the more it will threaten to consume me when I do?" Azula said, breathing out slowly. "I mean, I suppose that's what people say about… about bottling up rage, too? So…"

"It's true for every emotion, I'd assume," Sokka said, rubbing her hands gently again.

"So I should just… stop holding it in? Even if I hate it?" Azula said, sniffing softly. Sokka shrugged.

"You're the one who'll make that choice."

"Do you do it? Crying…?" she asked. Sokka smiled.

"Not as often as I should, either," he said. "We're both a little stubborn about that, sounds like."

"Well… I suppose you understand, then," Azula said, brushing the underside of her nose with a hand before letting out a soft laugh. "Fuck. What a mood for our first time, isn't it?"

"I'd rather we're completely honest with each other on our first time than… well, I don't know, than having some kind of cinematographic sex scene like in movies or TV shows," Sokka said. "I mean… there's too much baggage here for us to treat it that way. We've been together for a while... and I want to think we will stay together for much longer, too. That is... as long as you want us to."

"I want us to," Azula said, softly.

"So… if I asked you to be my girlfriend, would you…?"

She nearly broke the spell of their safe word right then and there, and Sokka smiled at the grimace upon her face. He let out a soft chuckle, pressing a kiss to her brow.

"My partner?" he asked. Azula sighed.

"Sounds… better, I suppose. I'm sorry, I just… can't take 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' seriously. It sounds so… childish, I suppose."

"Okay. We don't have to use that," Sokka said. "But I guess something like 'lover' doesn't really… yeah, well, now you're blushing."

"That one just… it always sounds like it's connected to sex, I suppose," Azula said, rubbing her cheeks bashfully as if that would make the blood relocate elsewhere – when it would likely only make the redness worse instead.

"Fair," Sokka said. "Then… dating. Does it sound weird to say we're dating?"

"Well… maybe not," Azula conceded.

"I could get you an engagement ring, if you want," Sokka smiled. "Then you'd be able to call me your fiancé instead. Maybe that's better than boyfriend?"

"Well… it's somewhat pretentious," Azula said, though she certainly didn't seem to dislike it that badly. Sokka smiled.

"Does the meaning of it feel right, though? Because if it does… does it mean you'd marry me?"

"I…"

Azula froze. The comforting contact between their foreheads ceased as she raised her head to look at him in utmost confusion. His heartfelt, hopeful smile made her heart race even faster… and she couldn't even take back her words. She didn't want to. For once, it didn't matter if it was embarrassing… she didn't want to.

"Am I being too forward, delusional, or…?" he asked, at the sight of that apprehensive expression on her face… but Azula swallowed hard and shook her head.

"Y-you're… not. I… I would probably just… react like an idiot if you asked. Because that's what I always do, but I… I'd like it if you did. I think. I… I wouldn't hate it. I… I wouldn't mind at all, I guess."

"Huh… okay," Sokka smiled, caressing her knuckles gently. "So… how does 'wife' sound to you, then? 'Husband'?"

Her lips parted as she glanced at him again. He smiled a little, offering her a weak shrug.

"I mean, if we went through it, that's what we'd be, so…" he said. "Awful too? Too old, too adult, too…"

"It'd work."

It was Sokka's turn to be utterly flustered when Azula's words took him by surprise. She shivered as their eyes met again, and her hands gripped his even more tightly… but as awkward as it might be to speak, no matter if under the protection of their 'boomerang', she had dared do so all the same.

"I… I think I could do that. Being… your wife. It sounds… a lot better than girlfriend," she said…

And she even managed a small smile. Sokka's eyes widened.

"So… you'd do it?" he asked. "We'd… get married. I mean, it doesn't have to happen soon, but… but that's how you feel? You… you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

Azula made a face – again, it seemed their safe word kept her from saying something she really shouldn't have, so she held herself back and focused again, breathing deeply to convey her thoughts one more time.

"I… never have imagined a future where I wouldn't."

Sokka almost yelped. He covered his mouth with a hand… and it was his turn now to feel his eyes flooding with tears. Azula smiled, perhaps amused to see him being no better than her, in that respect…

"S-see, I don't exteriorize my feelings often either, so I guess that's why I'm… I'm being too emotional now," Sokka said, with a light laugh as he brushed his tears away. "I… I don't know why I never imagined you'd… w-why I always thought you'd just find some better guy and I'd just have to… t-to be the best man at your wedding or something, I don't even know…"

"You even imagined my wedding to someone else?" Azula asked, amused. "Oh, that's enough. 'Boomerang'."

"Oops…"

"Sokka, that's ridiculous," Azula blurted out, chuckling and throwing her head back as she processed his words. "Giving me away at my wedding…! How did you not imagine our wedding instead? You're not trying to say you fantasized with…!"

"Wasn't a fantasy, more like a nightmare!" Sokka squeaked, wiping his tears… though he was infected by her laughter anyway. "I did try to imagine ours, okay, b-but then I just thought that…!"

"That I'd reach the altar and when the officiant asked if I wanted to be your lawful, wedded wife, I'd just say 'that's embarrassing' and everything would fall to pieces?" Azula asked, smiling weakly… though the grin waned quickly. "Though…"

"Wait. No. Don't say you'd actually do that…!" Sokka squealed. Azula grimaced, cheeks flooding with color. "Saying 'I do' isn't that hard! It's even shorter than saying 'that's embarrassing'! Come on, Azula!"

"It's not about how long or short it is, it's just… ugh, we'll need to work through this nonsense so much more than we already have before I'm ready for a proper wedding ceremony. But at least now you know I'm not against it, okay? And I… I would marry you. I would."

"You would," Sokka said, though he eyed her warily: "Though that doesn't mean we're engaged yet because 'I would' implies I have to ask, and that you'll say yes when I do, but that I haven't really done it yet…"

"Sokka…" Azula raised an eyebrow as he stared at her intensely.

"Azula: will you marry me?"

She froze up, and he didn't lose hope even so. It took her a lot of work to speak properly now that the magic of their safe word was gone… but after a soft sigh, and while refusing to hold his gaze, she finally whispered.

"Yes."

An unusual happy gasp left Sokka's lips. Azula raised an eyebrow at the sound as he smiled brightly at her, and her pride flared up again, as it always did… before he let out a relieved laugh, dropping heavily on the mattress, arms outstretched.

"Okay. Okay, that's… that's better," he chuckled. "Though… I suppose it's not completely official yet, not until I get a ring, but I can try to get one! And, uh, maybe I could propose again with all the grandeur that people usually…"

"I would hate it if you did, so don't," Azula said. Sokka pouted. "What? Big, public, pretentious proposals have always made me roll my eyes. It feels like the people planning those are more obsessed with being flashy and showing off their love in public than… well, actually loving the person they're with."

"Huh… well, that is true," Sokka conceded. "And to be fair, I never imagined you'd agree to marry me, so I never imagined what I'd do for a big proposal…"

"You don't have to," Azula said, breathing deeply as she stretched across the bed too, landing with her head upon his arm. "We can… go to a jewelry place together, if you really want us to get a ring. Easier if we get it together so we can be sure it fits, right?"

"Huh… very practical and reasonable," Sokka smiled. "Besides, that way you get to choose whatever design you like and I don't get to fuck up by choosing something you hate."

"Exactly. Though your taste in those things doesn't tend to be tacky, but still… safer this way," Azula said.

She rolled in the mattress, winding up closer to him than before: cuddling wasn't new territory for them, and after all their confessions from moments ago, it was even a comforting necessity for them. The realization brought Sokka to smile, sliding his fingers through her hair.

"Maybe the safe word is more accurate than what I thought it was," he said. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"That… after people who are into BDSM go wild and do whatever they do, it seems they have what they call, uh, aftercare?" Sokka smiled. "We just went on a bend of emotional BDSM, looks like."

"Oh, did we, now?" Azula smiled a little. "Guess that's one way to look at it."

"And now this is our aftercare," Sokka said: his arm locked around Azula as he rolled on his side, so he'd wind up embracing her fully.

Azula nodded, face buried in the comfort of his chest. His lips pressed reassuringly to the top of her head, and a strange feeling seemed to rush through her body as they did…

It wasn't as though she'd never felt safe with Sokka. She certainly felt safer with him than with anyone else. She never had anything to fear with him… for even if he did joke around too much, and she'd be the first to admit it, she liked that about him. She liked more than just that about him, of course… perhaps there wasn't really anything about him that she didn't like.

Which meant that her feelings were certainly much deeper than simply 'liking' him.

She smiled into his chest: maybe she'd be able to say the words eventually, at this rate. Even without the safe word, it seemed that nothing could possibly dampen the moment, nothing could weaken her certainties…

And those certainties compelled her to raise her head, and to join their lips in a warm kiss.

Sokka's arms tightened around her: as ever, it was so much easier to convey their feelings this way than by doing it through words. Her hands cupped his face, keeping him in place as their exchanges deepened… as their bodies rolled together, as words faltered in the face of the emotions they exteriorized in deeply different ways.

Her hand slid under his shirt, tugging it off his body slowly as he climbed atop her. He did the same with her clothes, and she tucked her belly in instinctively, her head thrown back as his lips kissed her sensitive neck. Her legs trapped him in place briefly so her hands could caress his muscular body, product of so many years of constant exercise. His fingers raised her shirt higher still, and the fabric rode up over her body, gradually exposing her to him…

He hesitated only briefly before touching her breasts: Azula ensured it was a brief pause by clasping his hands and pressing them promptly against her chest. His face flushed, but his attempt to apologize for nearly faltering got lost somewhere in the deep kiss she offered him: he kneaded her breasts slowly then, and Azula sighed in delight for it into Sokka's eager lips.

Everything felt right: the slow stripping of each other's bodies, the inexperienced yet successfully arousing caresses, the deepening, thorough kisses. Her sports bra saw to it that he wouldn't even need to worry about undoing a clasp by the time he was ready to remove it, and they acquainted themselves more thoroughly with each other's upper body first, taking as much time as needed to adjust to the intimacy they were accessing together now.

Their hands only dove lower once their hesitation revealed they had the same idea in mind: mutual laughter, followed by more kissing, preceded their newest endeavors. Curiosity and excitement led the way, as each slid a hand into the others' underwear, exploring what had been utterly forbidden territory so far. Little by little, their touch gained more confidence as their curiosity found new purpose… and they kissed fiercely, deeply, as their fingers prodded and rubbed each other's depths, gasps and light moans spilling from their lips as the mounting excitement strengthened further.

Their first releases saw them relaxing in bed for a moment before their sensual exchanges began once more, revamped and strengthened over a first successful climax – though Sokka had been quite perplexed by Azula's, repeatedly asking if she seriously had experienced an orgasm, for he had heard far too many horror stories regarding incompetent men in bed. She had laughed off his concerns… and she had taken his manhood into her palm a second time, pumping it gently to stir him back into a full erection.

She hugged him tightly when he entered her: her rushing excitement saw to it that she wouldn't be as overwhelmed by the new sensation as she could have been. He took his time for her sake, slowing down whenever he felt her tensing up, kissing her reassuringly as she nestled in his arms. Their gradual acquaintance with this level of intimacy compelled them to be as slow as possible, to make certain that they would understand their needs, as well as the other's, as best as could be.

Their hearts raced as their bodies adapted to the excitement, to the thrills rushing across their systems in the mounting arousal that eventually found its peak in Sokka first, in Azula shortly afterwards – he didn't stop until she had attained her own climax, and his determination to do so brought a genuine smile to her face. In other circumstances, that smile would have likely been accompanied by teasing words… but not right now. Not tonight.

They lounged in bed after it ended, still locked in a tight embrace, still exchanging tender kisses as the heat smoothed over their sweaty bodies. But where their kisses had usually been so difficult to gauge, where it had always been clear to Sokka that Azula enjoyed the physical sensation of them, he finally grasped her feelings through each exchange, too. Yet she didn't settle for kisses only, when it came to conveying them…

"Boomerang," she blurted out. Sokka pressed another kiss to her lips.

"Okay," he smiled: the typical insecurities that permeated him didn't even have time to rear their heads, to convince him that she might say something devastating… for she spoke her mind too quickly for them to do so:

"I love you."

Yet again, her words rendered him breathless. His arms tensed around her… and his lips curled into a blissful smile moments afterwards. Azula smiled slightly, too…

She didn't get a response for her confession yet, for Sokka's mouth was far too busy kissing hers for him to admit he felt the same way just yet.

After another round of earnest lovemaking, one in which the shield of their safe word would last until the very final thrust, he finally found the strength in him to speak anew. His genuine blue gaze bore into her own eyes as he hugged her tightly, as she straddled his hips this time, her hair falling as curtains at either side of her face…

"I love you, too."

Azula smiled, hiding her face away from him briefly, even if his hands caressed her hair still…

"Boomerang?" she said, again. Sokka nodded, and she finally dared look at him again, still smiling fondly at him. "That's… that's embarrassing."

Whether she meant it or not, whether she was joking or not, Sokka couldn't hold back a spree of laughter of his own. She collapsed on his chest, and they laughed the rest of the night away, completely enraptured with each other in the blissful, safe space they had finally built together… a place where jokes and judgment were no longer a problem: they knew at last that they had nothing to fear, for they finally understood and accepted the feelings that dwelled in each other's hearts.

[harpyloon]

“ginny, i always want to sleep with you” // hinny

Pairing: Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

W.C: 2.5k+

Summary: Harry Potter is always a blubbering mess when it comes to Ginerva Weasley.

Warnings: pure fluff! sprinkles of angsty angst, squint and you’ll find mentions of war/battle and death. everybody lives AU!

A/N: A fic written for the @harryandginuary Ginuary gift challenge. Happy Ginuary @/gins-potter​ 😍😍😍I hope you ENJOY!!!

Read on AO3

Harry didn't think this through.

After defeating the Dark Lord and winning a wizarding war, he assumed he'd never have to think about anything ever again—at least not for a while. But gazing at her small blinking dot for almost half a year on a rotten piece of parchment apparently made him delusional, because at the moment—months after the battle of Hogwarts—sitting in the kitchen at the Burrow, his longing stare almost bore a hole through Ginny Weasley's face.

His Ginny.

Wincing to himself, Harry prodded on the peas in his plate. His subconscious when it came to Ginny was his greatest enemy and his biggest embarrassment. If anyone even came close to guessing what kind of dreams he had when it came to her... well... He breathed away the flush threatening to creep up his neck.

"More peas, Harry dear?"

Mrs. Weasley peered at him from the head of the table, a frown on her freckled face, "You've hardly eaten anything. Don't think I've noticed how skinny you've been getting again. I'd be having a word with Alastor about your Auror training. Ever since he got back he's been more insufferable—"

Snatching the dish of treacle tart in front of him, Harry filled his plate with a slice.

"I'm up for dessert now actually, Mrs. Weasley, thanks."

This seemed to satisfy her well enough. "Well, I whipped that up just for you so eat up."

He felt a nudge on his knee as Ron leaned in to whisper once Mrs. Weasley was out of earshot, "Save me some, will you? She goes barmy when we touch your treacle tart."

Harry smiled and nodded. Meals at the Burrow he was used to but he knew he'd never get tired of. His Auror training held him back a ton of weekends in the past few months, and being home felt splendid. Of course, he was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but Harry hoped Mr. & Mrs. Weasley knew how grateful he was.

Risking a glance across the table once again, Harry saw Ginny serving herself second helpings of mash. Her favorite, Harry thought. He remembered her hating Madame Pudifoodt's Tea Shop for its lack of savory spreads, the one time they attempted a visit during his sixth year. It ended up turning into a laugh as she snorted at all the snogging instead of actually drinking tea.

"So this is your kind of place, huh?" Ginny teased as she sifted through the menu.

Harry blushed, "Er—you don't like it? I kind of reckoned girls like this place..."

He chuckled nervously as she gave him a pointed look.

"Really, Potter?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he snatched the menu away from her, already standing.

"Three Broomsticks then?"

He knew he'd buy her all the Butterbeers in the world for the smile he earned.

A foot prodded Harry back to the present.

"What, Ron?" he grumbled.

Ron frowned at him. "What'd you mean 'what'"?

"You just—"

Someone coughed loudly across from them.

Both turning, they saw Ginny heaving over her mash, a fist in her mouth. Fred was rubbing her back soothingly beside her.

Harry blinked. It was her. She kicked him.

"Alright there, Gin?" Fred mused. "I told you to take it easy on the potatoes, you crazy woman."

"Do the Harpies know what kind of stomach they'll be feeding once they sign you in?" said George. "I bet you they'll break a sweat once they find out your appetite."

Ginny threw George a withering look after downing a glass of water. "Don't jinx it, you idiot."

"Have you heard back yet, Gin?" Ron asked over a mouth full of pudding.

"More like they haven't heard from Ginny," chuckled Hermione.

All the Weasley brothers gaped. Even Harry.

"What?" sputtered George, "You're making the Holyhead Harpies wait?"

The youngest Weasley scoffed. "I'm not making anyone wait. I was just standing by for the holidays before I give a reply."

"Well, it's the holidays now."

Ginny rolled her eyes and Harry's gut clenched. The mad part of his brain loved it when she did that.

"I am well aware," she said, "If you all are so eager, does anyone want to take my place then?"

Her brothers merely grumbled while Hermione laughed. It's been the talk of the town for a while now, after Ginny received a letter from the Harpies a few months after the beginning of her seventh year. The whole house went completely ballistic, even Hogwarts as well—or so Harry heard.

It took a month to bury the dead from battle and a whole summer to rebuild Hogwarts from the rubble; the Ministry was still in the process of rehabilitation, and the whole wizarding community was yet to heal, licking the wounds that Voldemort left behind. Ginny's Quidditch scouting was the first good news they'd received in a long time.

He didn't get back together with Ginny after the war, and there was no reunion like he'd always imagined in those long nights without her, in search for the Horcruxes. It wasn't as if they both avoided it, there just wasn't any time—time to talk, time alone, time for anything. Everyone had their hands full following the battle, and when things started to fall back into place, they've simply slipped through each other's fingers; Ginny whisked away by the Hogwarts Express, and Harry to the Ministry to begin his training as an Auror.

He considered moving on, especially on days when he'd think about her roaming the halls of Hogwarts, her fiery red hair blazing after her. She'd find someone, he thought bitterly. If she hasn't already.

But they'd written to each other, sparingly, although they did still. Short snippets of their day, what they ate for breakfast, the new set of professors at school, Mad-Eye's torturous lessons; Harry was the first person outside the castle to find out about her Harpies letter.

He caught her eye from across the table and she raised a brow at him as if to say What, Potter?

Chuckling under his breath, Harry shook his head and tapped the bowl of uneaten mash beside his plate. He saved it for her.

Ginny's gaze landed on it and her face lit up. If Harry didn't know any better, her hair seemed to glow even redder. His imagination loved to exaggerate his visuals when it came to her.

He felt a tiny poke on his toe as if to warn him not to react violently—she gave him a look and he pursed his lips, looking back down at his peas and moving them around once again. Then slowly, an ankle wrapped itself around one of his own and rested there.

Harry exhaled slowly, willing his pulse to calm.

He was not over Ginny Weasley at all. Not one bit.

 ----------✿----------

Creeping quietly down the steps, Harry tried his best to avoid the noisy floorboards (that he still didn't memorize to save his life). His two best friends didn't mention anything, but he knew they wanted some alone time. And he certainly didn't want to be around once the candles dimmed and Ron and Hermione started making eyes at each other.

He was almost at the first landing when the door to his left creaked open.

"Hermione?"

"Sorry. It’s me."

Ginny opened the door wider, gazing up at Harry, her face bemused. She was dressed for bed. "They kicked you out already?"

Laughing quietly, he said, “You know they’d never. I volunteered.”

She smiled knowingly. “Of course you did. Well, come on in then.”

Harry stared at her retreating form, clearly confused.

In? In where? In her room? Just the two of them?

Ginny disappeared inside but the door remained open.

Should he knock and ask her what she meant? Should he just go inside? It's not like he hasn't before.

Suddenly, the most recent memory of Ginny's room flashed through his consciousness—his 17th birthday.

"Something to remember me by."

Harry's ears grew hot. He refused to let that specific recollection surface when he wasn't alone, or in the confines of his own quarters. It made his brain go fuzzy.

"Harry?" he heard Ginny's faint voice from inside, then footsteps. She appeared by the door once again. When she saw his face, her brows furrowed. "What happened?"

Harry attempted to clear his throat without sounding like a retching toad. "Er—I'm—" he was sure his face was now as red as her hair, "I was going to take the couch actually," he managed weakly.

"The couch," Ginny said flatly.

He swallowed. "Y-yeah. Downstairs."

The silence was deafening and it stretched on for minutes. Or at least that's what it felt like in Harry's rowdy head. He needed to meditate. Merlin. He was losing it.

Finally, she said, "Okay. Goodnight then."

She gave him a strained smile then quietly shut the door before he could reply.

Harry stood there, mouth hanging open slightly.

Ginny Weasley just invited him inside her bedroom and he refused. He refused. Of all the things in the world that made him a blubbering idiot, it was his best friend's little sister. He always seemed to be dumbfounded whenever she was in the vicinity of his space.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself as he descended the stairs, no longer bothering to mask his footsteps. "Idiot, idiot, idiot."

Harry sulked his way to the living room, his mood most definitely dismal. Girls were a nightmare. He had no idea how their brains ever worked and every time he felt like he finally had a grasp at a situation, he was suddenly ten steps back.

He waved his wand mindlessly over the Weasley's tweed couch and leaned by the fireplace as he watched it transform into a small sofa bed.

Would he wake anyone if he flooed Sirius at this hour? He knew his godfather would still be up at Grimmauld Place, and would doubtlessly jinx him between the eyes if he found out what Harry had just done.

"You're just like James," he heard Sirius' voice say in his head. He never seemed to let this fact go, even when he knew that Harry was well aware of how he was a spitting image of his father. Sirius especially loved to point this out when it came to matters about Ginny.

"Dad actually ended up with Mum didn't he, Sirius," Harry growled under his breath as he settled on his makeshift bed, patting his pillow down with more force than necessary. He was in the mood for a petty fight and he wished his godfather was around for one.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps thumping down the stairs. Harry jostled into a sleeping position at once and took off his glasses, planting himself still in the awful case that Mrs. Weasley found him huddled on their living room couch. She wouldn't have the heart to wake him would she? He didn't want her causing a scene with Ron and Hermione. Harry tried as best as he could to look as wasted as possible, even attempting at a snore.

The footsteps came nearer, and he felt them stop by the door of the living room. He tried to even his breathing.

"Really?"

His eyes shot open.

Sitting up suddenly, he found Ginny standing by the doorway, her arms crossed. Only the dim moonlight illuminated the room, and Harry had to squint before he remembered he took off his glasses. His hands fumbled as he perched them back on, his eyes meeting Ginny's vexed gaze.

"Ginny," he said lamely.

"Are you seeing someone?"

"What?"

Her hair glowed in the dark space, like a warm halo around her head.

"You heard me."

Harry's pulse seemed to be skyrocketing. "Seeing someone? I don— no. No. I'm not seeing anybody at all."

Ginny looked skeptical. "Right."

Almost tripping over his own slippers, Harry barely managed to scramble to his feet in front of the only girl who plagued his dreams. He wanted to embrace her. Could he do that? Was he allowed to, still?

"Ginerva," he was breathless. "You have no idea..." Harry tried to calm his racing heart. Just get the words out, idiot. "You have no idea how much I think about you."

Her eyes gave nothing away as she looked up at him, and only her crossed arms kept the space between them. Harry saw tendrils of her hair stir as he exhaled. He wanted to kiss her.

When she said nothing, he lifted his hand experimentally, waiting for her to flinch or back away. Not sensing rejection yet, Harry trailed his fingers through the wisps of hair by her ear. He could smell her. He held himself from inhaling too deeply.

"Different shampoo?" he murmured.

Ginny sniffed, "Mum tried a different witch brand."

"Hmmm. Jasmine was my favorite."

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

Harry threaded his fingers through her hair, brushing her scalp now, and Ginny leaned into his touch.

He smiled. "But I like this one too."

"We should just share shampoos."

"Good idea."

They were silent for a moment. Just listening to each other breathing while Harry combed his fingers through Ginny's soft hair. The ends were still damp, he noticed.

"I missed you," she said suddenly, quietly. Her eyes were roaming all over his face as if gauging his reaction.

"I missed you too."

"But you don't want to sleep with me."

Harry's cheeks turned pink in the dark as he breathed out a laughed. "Ginny, I always want to sleep with you."

"I meant sleep sleep, you perv!" she pinched his stomach.

Trying to stifle his chuckle so as not to wake the rest of the house, he drew her in, finally bracketing her in his arms. "Ah, well, I mean that too, I guess."

Ginny huffed but melted with his touch. "I will have you know that I've turned down suitors for you, Harry Potter. So if you won't stake your claim, then I'd better take one of them up on their offers."

Harry's gaze narrowed. "Will you, now?"

"Watch me. Apparently, I'm quite popular with the Hufflepuffs—"

He leaned in lightning-quick, aiming for her luscious mouth. She expected it because her eyes closed in instinct, waiting for him to seal the connection. But Harry hovered. He felt the feathered touch of her lips on his but he stayed there, eyes open—trailing over her closed lids, the bridge of her nose, and the aggressive spread of freckles over the expanse of her cheeks.

"May I kiss you?" he asked against her lips.

Ginny's eyes blinked open but she didn't pull away. "Since when have you started asking?"

Harry was glad they were so close that she wouldn't be able to see his neck flush. "Since I let you go once."

This time, she did pull away, but only a tiny fraction. Just enough for him to witness her wrinkle her nose. "So saving the world has made you a complete sap."

She was teasing.

He shrugged, but grinned sheepishly nonetheless, "For you, yeah. I always have been though, haven't I?"

Twirling her arms around his neck and brushing her fingers through his unruly hair, Ginny pressed herself against Harry fully, her face shining with emotion.

"Then snog the living daylights out of me, Harry Potter."

[slade-neko]

Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas

70. Very first game you ever beat? Super Mario 64. I was a mere child on a Sunday morning and ate celebratory pancakes made by my Dad.

Wow, that was long... I get the feeling this was supposed to be a "send me ask with numbers" thing, but answering all at once is more fun.

[sunareii]

WC; 1, 512

suna could only frown deeply at the seemingly bigoted old fart infront of him who continues to create one of the last thing he wanted; a ruckus, and just by the market of all places

he would have shut the man up if he didn't keep cutting off every phrase he has to say. suna is never the yell-type of person if ever in the argument, he thinks shouting at them or throwing a fit will only please them as it could be the reaction some people wanted to see and he's not surely the person to give in.

you're probably confused by this so let me give you a little flashback;

the sun had rose high enough that it wouldn't be called sunrise anymore and yet the two of them, suna and some mysterious girl around his age, proceeds to gaze deeply into each others eyes. if you didn't knew better you'd say it was love at first sight but considering the looks on their faces, i'd say they were judging each other

is the bird nest hair a thing?'

'are those scratches?'

'is she even wearing a bra underneath?'

suna deadpanned at her for a moment before turning his back to her an walked away. he got home momentarily, if you ask me he likely walked to the right directions by chance and suna himself, was also surprised by this involuntary achievement

"oh, rin! great timing, senzo was just about to go to the market just around the street, why don't you go along with him?" suna knew his mother won't give him a choice, don't you just hate it when you're being forced to get to know someone without your approval

anyhow, senzo was already waiting outside the house whereas suna hadn't had the chance to even take off his shoes. they strode on the concrete ground at the side of the street uncomfortably quiet, senzo took on a brave face and opted to have a small talk despite him not being a fan of bootless pleasantries

"so rintarou.. what-what do you like to do for fun?" he asked, stuttering within his sentence, suna stared at him for a second,

'what i like to do for fun? as in with friends or by myself?'

"i like playing volleyball" suna muttered, not that satisfied with his answer, "oh, that explains your great physique then, you like playing sports" senzo whispered feeling a bit fretful, suna examined his body figure and one thing he noticed about them when he saw him was his scrawny structure, lanky unlike him.

"how about you?"

"huh?"

"what do you like to do?"

'he seems to be the type to just play games, explore the media or probably a chess master'

"i like.. uhm.. wa.. ve.. and.. s-swing" senzo murmured as if he was only talking to himself, clearly shamefaced. suna tried to be attentive as he didn't heard him right and thought of anything that sounds like wave or swing..

'swing in the playground maybe? no, swing, swing.. sing?that could be it but what about wave? save? behave? ew, who does that for fun? shave...?'

"you like to sing?" he asked mindlessly, senzo could only stummer and said "what no.. my voice is too shaky for that, i like sewing and weaving.." suna didn't noticed it but senzo tried to sound nonchalant when he told him about his hobbies

'uhh.. is he a grandma?'

"i like all sorts of stuff actually along with photography and gardening, i guess" at that point, senzo couldn't find himself to look at him in the eye and his fathers voice lingers in his head saying;

'always look at people in the eye when talking to them!'

"we're here" senzo informed, it wasn't crowded seeing as it was early in the morning, "you go get the vegetables, we usually buy them from mr. maro it's the one beside the under construction ramen shop just go straight ahead" suna nodded taking the list of things he needs to buy along with the money to pay for it.

senzo took off the right side where the wet market lies, suna was delighted enough that senzo took that part, suna bit his lips harshly as he recollect the time he slipped infront of everyone the last time he went to one and his mother never seems to let him down for it.

later after walking away to go to this mr.maro's shop, he begun to think he had walked past it considering how long he had been walking, he thought deeply if senzo ever said anything about turning anywhere, he eventually reached the other side of the market, he groaned why did he had to find mr. maro when he could just buy from the shop he passed through earlier, that's when he saw the unfinished ramen shop beside him and right next to it was a bunch of greens laid and ready to buy.

except nobody was there he tried calling out but seems no one heard him. he leaned in a light pole just infront of it and rested for a bit,

"hey you!"

"hey!"

"don't ignore me kid!"

suna snapped out of his thoughts and found himself being yelled at from the man who walked speedily towards him, "so it's you!"

suna was beyond confused, was he talking to him? most likely

"you're the one who did this didn't you!" the man had finally reached him and pointed at the car just behind the pole he was leaning on, the car had a big scrape on it

"you're the one who keyed this didn't you! do you think this is funny!?"

'what's funny is humiliating yourself from accusing an innocent person such as me. i don't even have a key'

"i didn't—"

"you'll have to pay for the damage you have done!"

"i didn't even touch—"

"do you know how expensive this car is?"

and that's where our little trip to the past ends, on the present time suna is still in a problematic situation, most of the time he wouldn't let himself get into a tight spot and he seemed to avoid many of those from the twins back at hyogo but of course there's time where the two brothers get the best of him, usually just gets him involve into ridiculous escapades of atsumu and his spitting image or the other way around,

'who was the older miya again?'

"you teenagers are irreverent nowadays, your face says it all!"

"..."

"..."

suna deadpans at the older man infront of him, opening his mouth to finally speak only for the elderly to  cover his words with his owns once more

".. you know for someone-"

"mr. hiroto!"

a voice intervened, a feminine voice to say "daisuke's not even here and what you said your annoying neighbors already moved out, so why do you still wake up at the wrong side of the bed?"

at the shop, the exact shop, the reason he's even there in the first place, there she stood. the same girl from the summit, sunas eyes fixated at her form, her hair better than ever though tired eyes stared back at him briefly, before turning her face at the man who stood discontentedly

"for the last time it's makoto!" mr. hiroto err.. makoto corrected

'he's childish than atsumu' suna mentally snorted at makoto's evident childlike temper

"this guy keyed my car, what kind of reaction were you expecting?"

"your car already had a scratch the night before when i last saw it" she noted holding a figer up whilst taking steps towards them, "this won't take long" she whispers at suna who looked rather puzzled then he already is

"but—"

"this is not up for debate sir, the peacekeeping officers are already here to pick you up" she hushed, the one-sided squabble had come to a close, much to suna's delight and old geezers dismay, she looks at him curiously, not even trying to hide the fact that she's staring at him so intently

suna couldn't figure out what to say and only thank her for the much needed help though he is upset at his ability to handle nonsensical people like the man, speaking of oldie...

"mr. makoto! you again, this is the third time this week!"

suna's head shot up to their direction whereas makoto's having a chat with the officer which apparently another time he's been reported for his disturbance

'so he's a daily reported infernal guy, huh.. '

"hey, sorry about that" the lass who's before him apologized, leading suna having a questionable look "i don't think you have to apologize" she chuckles awkwardly, rubbing her nape uneasily "right.. of course"

without noticing, she already went ahead and fixed her station, suna bought everything he needed rather noiselessly as if they have forgotten they encountered each other on the eve of the sunrise

senzo hironori

height ;  6'1"

weight ; 59 kg

birthday ; december 28, 1994

favorite food ; crepes

current concern ; many of his classmates had laughed at his  'girly' hobbies

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