A.N. So here's the Bitter Work episode chapter finally! I've literally rewritten this chapter about nineteen times (and it's about twice as long as a normal chapter--oops) and still not 100% happy with it, but I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks as always to everyone for reading, voting, and commenting, all of which are thoroughly appreciated!

Azara growled in annoyance, cracking her eyes open into slits as Aang jumped around their campsite, yelling about earthbending. Rolling onto her other side in her sleeping bag, Azara attempted to tune him out and grab a few more minutes of sleep, but her plans were soon derailed by Toph. "Good morning, earthbending student!" Toph announced as she broke apart her earth tent with a loud rumble, the bits of the tent cascading around her.

Azara sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "So much for catching up on sleep," Azara muttered before a yawn escaped her lips.

"Good morning, Sifu Toph," Aang smiled, landing in front of Toph before he bowed to her.

"Hey, you never called me Sifu Katara," Katara pointed out from her position on the ground, causing Aang to turn to her with a sheepish expression.

"Well, if you think I should . . ." Aang trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, before Sokka interrupted him with his crabby grumbling.

"Sorry, Snoozles, we'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can," Toph teased, before slamming her heel into the ground, causing a rock pillar to catapult Sokka and his sleeping bag into the air. He eventually fell to the earth with a thump before jumping up and grumbling to Toph and Aang again. Azara watched him hop away tiredly before standing up and stretching her stiff limbs.

"So what move are you going to teach me first? Rock-a-lanche? The Trembler? Oh, maybe I could learn to make a whirlpool out of land!" Aang suggested, acting out the moves, as Toph walked over and tapped him on the forehead.

"Let's start with move a rock," Toph corrected, causing Azara to chuckle lightly.

"Sounds good, sounds good," Aang nodded before Toph motioned for him to follow her farther into the canyon-like structure. Katara decided to go watch Aang practice his earthbending, while Azara made her way up to the ridge that Sokka had taken refuge on. "Hey, are you okay?" Azara asked, sitting next to him as he straightened up, still in his sleeping bag.

"Just tired," he yawned, before rubbing his eye tiredly. "And wishing that Aang and Toph could have started their training a little later in the day."

"Agreed," Azara chuckled, leaning back on her hands, and smiling over at Sokka. "Though, fair warning, once I start teaching Aang firebending, we'll be waking up at the crack of dawn as well."

"When do you think that'll start? Today is his first earthbending lesson after all," Sokka asked as Azara stared up at the rising sun.

"Soon," Azara sighed, running a hand through her long hair. "He's going to have to face the Fire Lord sooner rather than later, and I'm not sending him out there without at least some firebending under his belt." Sokka glanced over at her as a calm silence settled over them for a moment.

"That's coming up, isn't it?" Sokka muttered, referring to the ever-present threat of the Fire Lord, the war, and the incoming Sozin's Comet. It was weird to him that the same monster that they worried about every day was Azara's father. Minus her occasional fiery temper, there wasn't really any resemblance between Azara and her siblings or the image of the Fire Lord he had in his mind.

"Sooner than I'd like it to be. Well, I've already had two disastrous family reunions over the last month, what's another one?" Azara joked, but the laughter didn't reach her eyes and Sokka didn't crack a smile.

"You know we'll be with you the whole time. No one's facing this alone," Sokka stated, reaching an arm out of his sleeping bag, and placing a hand on Azara's own.

"I know," Azara smiled up at him, squeezing his hand. The calm moment was soon broken, however, as Aang went flying past them and into Appa.

"Rock beats airbender!" Sokka called, causing Azara to chuckle and shake her head.

"I guess earthbending lessons aren't going as smoothly as he had hoped," she spoke, leaning back to absorb more of the morning sun. Sighing in content as she soaked up the warmth of the sun, Azara tilted her chin back. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"Probably hunting. We're running low on meat," Sokka replied, peeling off the upper part of his sleeping bag. "What about you?"

"Wondering if I should watch that unfold . . ." Azara nodded towards Toph, Katara, and Aang. ". . . or just meditate. I've had a lot on my mind lately," she sighed, sitting up and leaning forwards, her forearms resting on her thighs.

Sokka nodded in understanding. "It's been a complicated month," he agreed, glancing back down to Aang and Toph. He hadn't really been expecting to meet Azara's twin sister, mostly because he wasn't aware that she had one. And then their last encounter with Zuko solidified his opinion of Azara's older brother, though he would never say that to her. He just hoped that she realized how dangerous they were before they pulled her down with them.

"That's putting it lightly," she mumbled, her thoughts drifting to her siblings and all the disasters that they had gotten into recently. Getting to her feet, Azara stretched out again before turning to Sokka. "I'm going to meditate but let me know when you get back from hunting," she smiled softly, causing Sokka to smile and nod.

"I will," he promised as Azara turned to leave, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Goodbye, Sokka," she called over her shoulder, her golden irises catching the glare of the morning sun, before turning and walking back down to camp, her long hair swishing side to side behind her as she walked down the ridge.

"Bye," Sokka stuttered out, before clearing his throat and smacking his sternum.

Azara returned to camp and moved about, cleaning up the morning mess, before preparing to meditate. Grabbing her sleeping bag, Azara set it on the ground to give her a softer pad to sit on. Collecting some wood and kindling, Azara made a small fire before sitting cross-legged in front of the growing flame. Holding her hands together in front of her, palms touching, Azara took a deep breath, causing the flame to rise and fall with her breathing. She tried to let the stress melt away and just focus on her breathing, a technique taught to her by her uncle. However, her mind started to drift as she relaxed.

She thought about Azula and how their relationship seemed to have crumbled since she had left the Fire Nation. They had been evenly matched while growing up and would be regularly paired up as sparring buddies to train, but Azara feared that she saw falling behind her twin, which could lead to devastating consequences if she weren't careful.

Azula had been training hard under various masters for the last years, with her now blue flames the clearest indicator of her sister's determination. Azara had trained under Iroh and briefly under Jeong Jeong, but she knew that she needed to focus on refining her firebending skills further if she was going to train Aang and protect her friends from her sister.

Azara's thoughts then drifted to Zuko. Obviously, he was struggling with officially being branded a traitor and losing his princely privileges. He had always been more attached to the idea of returning home to the Fire Nation than she had been, and Azara knew that the option of returning home was no longer attainable for Zuko. That is unless he captured Aang, which she would never let happen. She hoped that Zuko would be able to find peace somewhere in the Earth Kingdom with Iroh.

Iroh. Azara's hands started to shake at the thought of her uncle. Images of her uncle passed out, a deep burn on his chest, shot into her mind. Tensing, Azara began to sweat. She refused to believe that he wouldn't be able to recover from Azula's attack. This was Uncle Iroh. He survived the siege of Ba Sing Se, the Spirit World, and he handled Zuko for over three years now. And she knew that Zuko wouldn't let him die, no matter how dumb and stubborn her older brother had been when he had rejected their help.

But she knew that Iroh's injury unsettled her for another reason. Flashes from the Spirit Oasis burst into her mind, causing her to clench her jaw, her shoulders tensing once more.

Azara ran faster than she had ever run in her life. She saw Zhao winding up his arm, and knew his intended target was the Moon Spirit. The dumb white fish, supposedly one of the most powerful spirits in existence, continued to mindlessly swim in a circle, unperturbed by what was about to occur. Azara didn't know what came over her, but she couldn't sit by and watch the Fire Nation, let alone Zhao of all people, destroy everything. She wasn't even sure she was breathing when she pushed off her foot, thrusting herself in front of the pond.

"No!" she yelled out, more focused on blocking the spirits from Zhao than herself. However, when the fire slice hit her square in the chest, the only thought that filled her mind was pain. Pure white pain. She had been burned plenty of times in her life, but this burn was pure and raw pain. Her body crumpled to the ground, the remaining air leaving her lungs as she naturally curled into a ball, clutching at her chest.

As she clenched her eyes shut, tears dribbling down her cheeks as she tried to breathe through the pain, she felt a soft gloved hand on her shoulder before she was rolled onto her back and held tightly to someone's chest. She cracked her eyes open and though her eyesight was blurred by tears, she could easily see Sokka's concerned expression. "Why? Why would you do that?" he asked sorrowfully as Azara tried to catch her breath properly.

"It's over . . . the Fire Nation . . . lost," Azara wheezed out, tucking her head into Sokka's arm as she struggled to overcome the pain. Clenching her teeth, she closed her eyes as she felt Sokka turn her a little so that Katara could try and heal her. Although the cool water brought her some relief from the pain, Azara knew that she wasn't healing. The pain was simply radiating deeper and deeper into her with every passing second.

It became harder to breath as she could feel herself starting to slip away. More tears came to her eyes as she cried out in pain, Katara moving over a particularly deep part of her wound. "Why would you do that?" Yue questioned mournfully as Azara looked up at her through her eyelashes.

"You were right, Yue . . . we do have duties to our people," Azara explained as she started to lose feeling in her toes. Her breath grew shorter as she managed a small lopsided grin. "I was just doing mine."

"No, you weren't," Sokka argued, causing Azara to look up at him in shock. "You didn't have to do that." Azara could detect the emotion in his voice as he choked over the last few words.

"Someone did," Azara replied as the pain started to fade from her body, but she knew it was not from Katara's healing. "Think of it as repayment for the Fire Nation's actions."

"Stop doing that!" Sokka demanded as Azara's eyes fluttered closed for a moment. "Stop blaming yourself for everything that the stupid Fire Nation has done! You're not like them!" Sokka's voice cracked at the end of the sentence, tears coming to his own eyes as he stared down at the girl that he had previously labeled an enemy.

Azara couldn't help but get choked up at Sokka's words. When she had first joined him, Katara, and Aang, he had denounced her as just another firebender, just another murderer. Opening her eyes, Azara smiled softly despite the pain and cupped his cheek with her hand, relishing in the warmth his skin provided her own. "Sokka, it's going to be okay," she whispered out as he placed his gloved hand over her own smaller one.

"No, it's not," he whimpered out, a tear dropping from his eye. Azara smiled encouragingly and rubbed his cheek with her thumb slowly.

"The Fire Nation," she began, before she found it hard to take a breath. Gasping for air for a moment, Azara turned back to Sokka, her chest heaving. "The Fire Nation will be defeated. The Water Tribe is safe." He'll be safe, she thought to herself. They all will be, she added, staring sadly up at Katara and Yue, who shared a concerned look.

"We still need you," Sokka insisted as Azara smiled sadly up at him, the tears threatening to overflow her eyelids.

"I'm sure you'll find someone else," she replied quietly, rubbing his cheek softly with her thumb again. She didn't know exactly what she was referring to, but the phrase just felt right as it left her lips. Maybe she was referring to a firebending teacher for Aang. Maybe to a friend. Maybe to something else altogether. She didn't have the energy to decide.

"Not like you," Sokka returned as Azara couldn't help but let a few tears drop from her eyes. She could feel her breathing slow down as she continued to lose feeling in her body, from her toes up to her waist. The pain was gone in her chest as she took another shaky breathy. Nearly everything was gone. Even her vision had started to wane as she laid in his arms. All she could focus on was her labored breathing and Sokka's face in front of her.

She could hear him calling out to her, his hand gripping her own, but she didn't squeeze back. Her vision began to finally fade. She tried to fight it, but she could feel herself slipping away. "Sokka . . . I'm sorry . . ." she whispered out, not even sure if he could hear her or if the words had actually managed to escape her lips.

"Azara," a voice called, louder behind her. She could see something glowing bright white out of the corner of her eye but passed it off as a figment of her imagination during her last moments on earth. As her eyes closed for the last time, she focused solely on Sokka's bright blue eyes. A ghost of a smile overtook her before she peacefully slipped away. There was a bright flash of white, before everything went dark.

Azara gasped out as she broke out of the memory, sweat dripping down her face. Taking a deep breath, Azara tried to calm herself down. "You're okay, Azara," she whispered to herself, pushing her hair out of her face as one hand went to her chest involuntarily. "It's just a memory." Taking another deep breath, Azara straightened up and calmed herself down. Since the Spirit Oasis, she had been trying to work through her memories of the event, but it was always easier said than done.

Even though she never wanted to admit it, she knew that she died that day. And she could never piece together what happened while she was gone or what that flash of white had been. Maybe it was just the Spirit World, but she couldn't be sure. She wasn't even sure if there was something that was supposed to be in that void in her memories, but she could never get through that whole event without breaking out of her memories. Sighing, Azara straightened up again and returned to her memories from after she woke up.

Azara released Katara from her hug before turning to Sokka. She smiled softly, slightly choking up, as she noticed the tears in his eyes. Raising her arms, Azara called out to him. Without another word, Sokka rushed forwards and wrapped his arms around her. Azara squeezed him back tightly as tears leaked from her eyes. Sokka buried his face into her hair, taking a shaky breath.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered as Azara held him tighter at the statement, tucking her face into his neck.

"You'll never lose me," she promised, a tear dropping from her own eye. They pulled back from their embrace, Azara reaching up to wipe away a tear from Sokka's cheek, chuckling despite the circumstances. A moment of silence passed between them as she could feel herself start to lean towards him. And she could feel him leaning towards her. Azara didn't think as she tilted her chin up slightly, her lips parting ever so slightly as their faces grew closer and closer.

She was about to close her eyes when Yue flashed into her mind. She stopped herself and pulled back, placing a firm hand on his chest, causing Sokka to pull back as well. No, she couldn't do that to Yue. She didn't want to risk her friendships on a spur of the moment decision. Turning to look back up at Sokka, Azara couldn't help but wonder how soft his lips were.

Azara groaned, covering her face with her hands. How many times had they almost kissed? Azara groaned again, falling onto her back with a grunt. Staring up at the sun, Azara's thoughts drifted back to Sokka. She had stopped their almost kiss at the Spirit Oasis because she had thought it was just a spur of the moment for Sokka, who would just end up running back to Yue. And she hadn't wanted to jeopardize their relationship.

But then they had left the Northern Water Tribe and Sokka honestly didn't seem to miss or crave Yue's presence as much as Azara had expected. Well, that and she and Sokka had nearly kissed multiple times since they had left the North Pole. Her cheeks burned at the thought of the Cave of Two Lovers and how close they had been. She had continuously tried to push it off. They were just two teenagers who were scared about surviving to the next day, that was all it was.

But then after what he had said in Chin Village, and the firm kiss he had planted on her cheek, a short distance from her lips, she knew she couldn't ignore it anymore. She was going to go crazy if she didn't tell him soon.

Sighing, Azara stood up and walked off to try and find Sokka. Azara walked around camp and the surrounding area, but there was still no sign of Sokka despite the sinking sun. Walking over to Momo and Appa, Azara sighed. "Have you guys seen Sokka?" she asked, but both shook their heads and grunted in response. Momo climbed up onto her shoulder and she pet his head reassuringly despite her worry. "Don't worry, Momo, I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

As Azara moved to begin her search again, Katara approached the frazzled looking firebender. "What are you looking for?" Katara questioned, causing Azara to look up at her friend.

"I can't find Sokka anywhere and it's starting to get dark," Azara revealed, causing Katara's eyes to widen in concern.

"He couldn't have wandered off that far," Katara commented, before moving to look for herself. After several more minutes of searching on their own, Katara and Azara reunited. "Anything?" Katara inquired, but Azara shook her head, the two girls sharing similarly worried expressions.

"Maybe Aang and Toph would know?" Azara suggested, spotting Aang and Toph sitting together. Walking side by side with Azara, Katara called out to Aang as they approached the two.

"Hey Aang, have you seen—"

"—Meditating here!" Aang snapped in clear frustration, not even turning around slightly.

"It's important. It's almost sundown and Sokka isn't back yet. I think we should search for him," Katara told Aang, causing him to hump to his feet.

"We'll find him faster if we split up," Aang stated, before they decided to split up and search again. Aang ran off to scout the nearby canyons while Azara and Katara fanned out around camp. As nearly an hour passed, Azara was starting to get really worried.

"Of course, when I finally figure out that I actually like the guy, he decides to disappear," Azara huffed as she looked around another ridge. She was ready to jump down and search another ridge when Katara called out to her.

"Azara, they found him!" Letting out a relieved sigh, Azara spun on her heel and sprinted back to camp. Spotting Sokka, who, although clearly disheveled, was alive and alright.

"You're okay!" she smiled, pulling Sokka into a tight hug. He wrapped his own arms around her before they pulled back.

"The whole time I was in that hole, not knowing if I was going to live or die. It makes a man think about what's really important. I realized—" Sokka started to explain, turning to Azara, his hand resting on his waist, when he was cut off by Aang.

"—Hey Katara, look what I can do!" Aang shouted before bending a rock off a ridge.

"You did it! I knew you would!" Katara praised as Aang raced over to Appa, prepared to demonstrate the same skill to his oldest friend.

"So, what did you realize while you were out there?" Azara asked, looking up at Sokka through her eyelashes as he kept his arm wrapped around her.

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about it," Sokka replied as Azara's eyes widened slightly, her heart rate quickening as she forgot to breathe for a moment.

"There's something I need to tell you as well," Azara stated, causing Sokka to nod.

"Appa, Appa, I can earthbend now! The key is being completely rooted. Physically and mentally unmovable!" Aang stated before Appa licked him, throwing him to the side. The group broke out into laughter at the sight. After the laughter died down, Azara turned back to Sokka.

"Want to meet at the ledge again?" Azara questioned quietly, causing Sokka to nod. She walked quietly back up to the ridge they had talked on this morning, a million possibilities flying through her mind as Sokka fumbled back at camp, hurrying to get his hair back under control. Reaching the ridge, Azara sat facing the setting sun, her feet dangling over the ledge.

She started to swing her legs lightly as she waited for Sokka to return, her heart beating erratically in her chest. She had no idea what Sokka could possibly want to talk to her about privately, but she hoped that she would be able to get her thoughts off her chest with him before they were unceremoniously interrupted once more.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to look back, smiling softly as Sokka approached, his once poufy hair now tamed back into his normal wolf tail. "Hey," he called quietly, moving to sit next to her on the ledge as she patted the earth next to her.

"Hey yourself," Azara returned, before staring ahead and cursing herself internally. 'Hey yourself,' what a stupid thing to say, she thought. Why did she have to go beyond 'hey'? "So . . ." Azara started off, before turning to Sokka. ". . . how was hunting?"

"I tried to grab a sabretooth moose lion cub, but when I jumped down from the tree I was hiding in, I ended up getting stuck in a hole for the rest of the day," Sokka explained sheepishly, causing Azara's eyes to widen as a chuckle slid past her lips.

"The great warrior Sokka, bested by a sabretooth moose lion cub?" she teased as Sokka rubbed the back of his neck.

"Technically, I was bested by the earth," he corrected as Azara scoffed jokingly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Azara smiled as they shared a laugh. However, the laughter would only hold them off from the inevitable for a time. They sat together in comfortable silence for a moment before they turned to each other suddenly. "Sokka—"

"Azara—" they started at the same time, before cutting themselves off. "Sorry, ladies first," Sokka offered, causing Azara to try and swallow down her anxiety.

"Oh, ok," Azara sighed, staring at her hands for a moment before she took a deep breath. Her thoughts were all jumbled together before she spoke, deciding to ease into the conversation. "Today I was meditating and . . . I had a lot to think about," Azara began as Sokka stared at her, listening intently. "And somehow, whenever I meditate, my mind always drifts back to the Spirit Oasis and everything that happened that day."

"You're still having nightmares?" Sokka asked, causing Azara to shrug.

"Not as bad as before," she stated, before casting her eyes downward. "But seeing my uncle like that brought up a lot of suppressed memories, which bought up some suppressed thoughts . . . and feelings." She blushed as she finished her sentence, Sokka waiting patiently for her to continue. He could tell she was obviously nervous by the way she fiddled with her fingers. "After I came back from . . . you know . . . I . . . I, uh . . . I wish I did something a little differently." She winced at how that came out and judging from Sokka's expression, he didn't know where she was going with this.

"What do you mean? What do you regret?" Sokka questioned, his own anxiety rising at Azara's words as he moved closer to her.

"I thought I was being a good friend to you and to Yue, but now . . . I wish I were selfish for just a moment," Azara admitted, turning to Sokka, who still looked confused and increasingly concerned.

"What are you talking about?"

"I convinced myself that I was just a spur of the moment feeling. Maybe just lack of oxygen to the brain. But I was wrong. Because every day, every single time, I just end up in the same spot." Azara took a deep breath before turning to look Sokka in the eye. "Sokka, I . . . I . . ." Azara could feel the words catching in her throat, and perhaps they were blocking her airway as well with how hard she found it to breathe in that moment.

Looking away from him, Azara tried to pull her thoughts together when she felt Sokka's hand on her chin, gently directing her gaze back to him. "Hey," he spoke softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "You can tell me anything, Azara . . . anything." As his fingers lightly traced her jaw before falling back into his lap, Azara wondered how she had held her feelings in for this long.

Her chest heaved lightly as she drew closer to him, the outsides of their thighs touching. Without another word, Azara leaned forwards, eyes closed, and brushed her lips against his own with the lightest of feather touches. Drawing back, fearful of his reaction, Azara's eyes opened again as she felt Sokka's hand on the back of her neck.

A moment of silence passed, their eyes locked in a secret understanding, before both closed their eyes, Sokka pulling Azara to himself and crashing his lips to hers. Azara wrapped an arm around his shoulders, locking them in place. They stayed in that position for a moment, both only focusing on the person right in front of them. Pulling back after a moment, Azara couldn't help the bashful smile and blush that came over her, a similar lovesick smile decorating Sokka's face.

"I like you," Azara finally stated, causing Sokka to chuckle lightly. "That's what I wanted to tell you before we, uh, you know." Sokka moved his hands to cup Azara's face as she bit her lip, partially in embarrassment and partially to stop her own laugh from escaping at the pure absurdity of her timing.

"Well, if it wasn't obvious from before . . . I like you too," Sokka replied teasingly as Azara couldn't help but blush and smile widely.

"I don't know . . . I don't think it was obvious," Azara spoke softly, a challenging look in her eye to accompany her growing smirk.

"No?" Sokka asked, as Azara shook her head. "Well, let me just . . . remind you." Azara smiled as he reconnected their lips, relishing in the moment. She wasn't sure how long they had before Aang or Katara would come looking for them about dinner, but just for a moment, she focused on the present and gave into the tide of emotions that swelled around them. 

A.N. So they finally kissed!!! I hope it was everything you guys were hoping for. I might eventually rewrite the end of this chapter, if I can ever find a song to get the creative juices flowing for it. Which brings me to my questions to all of you:

What songs/other couples do Sokka and Azara remind you of?

I'm looking for some inspiration, and who better to ask than my lovely readers?! Thanks again for reading, commenting, and voting!