A.N. So, here's the epilogue!

As I said before, there's two parts to it. I decided to have one part with children and one without in case people didn't like reading about pregnancy and babies and stuff. The second part has its own separate warning, so please read it before proceeding.

Also, just a general statement for this whole chapter: all characters have reached adulthood/legal age of consent (whatever that is wherever you are or your own comfort level). As such,

Warning: there are suggestive themes, crude humor, and implied/referenced sexual content, but there's nothing actually explicit.

Epilogue (Part 1)

A.N. I wrote this while listening to "Yellow" (Katherine Ho version from Crazy Rich Asians) . . . hint hint. Also, I just fucking love that movie and the music.

I personally set this part around 4-5 years after the finale, which would put Sokka around 19/20 and Azara around 18/19.

Azara yawned as she sat up in bed, stretching out for the day. Slipping out of bed, she pulled her robe around herself before making her way out to the balcony as she normally did. She enjoyed the morning sunshine for a moment before the sound of a squawk interrupted her. A messenger hawk landed beside her, causing Azara to perk up.

"Hey, Hawkey Jr. How're you?" she cooed, scratching his head, before taking out the message from his pack. Unfurling the small scroll, Azara eagerly read over the note before her shoulders quickly sagged. She reread note again, hoping that she had misread it, before sighing, lowering her head.

My Princess,

The negotiations are taking longer than expected. I probably won't be able to leave for a few more days. I know we had that vacation to Ember Island planned, but we might have to reschedule. I'll keep you updated. I love you.

-Your Cactus Brain

"He's going to be late, Hawkey Jr.," she mumbled sadly, the bird nudging her back in response. "It's alright, buddy, we knew it was going to be tentative anyways. Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

Azara dressed for the day before heading down the hall to the Fire Lord's private dining room. Zuko and Uncle were already sitting, discussing something about the agricultural yields, as Azara flopped onto one of the free chairs.

"What's got you in a bad mood this early in the morning?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow at his younger sister.

"Sokka's going to be delayed. Something about negotiations going awry," Azara replied, ripping off a piece of meat for Hawkey Jr. before turning back to her breakfast.

"I know what will perk you up," Iroh stated, causing Zuko and Azara to turn to him. "There's this new tea I'm trying out. Why don't you have some?" Iroh pushed a cup over to Azara, who stared down at it for a minute. "It's supposed to have benefits for your immune system as well."

"Alright," Azara conceded, bringing the cup to her lips. It certainly wasn't the worst tea that she'd ever had, but she wouldn't go so far as to say she liked it. However, the bright look in Uncle's eye convinced her to finish it, albeit begrudgingly.

"So, what do you have planned for today then?" Zuko questioned as Azara set down the cup.

"Well, it's my weekly visit with Azula. Then I have some paperwork to do. Maybe I'll take Sola out for a longer flight. Her wings are growing stronger."

"Actually, I was hoping you would attend a dinner for me," Zuko replied, causing Azara to shoot her brother a look.

"What dinner?"

"Just some new diplomats. I have a ton of meetings today, so I won't be able to greet them myself."

"Fine," Azara sighed, before turning back to her brother. "You owe me though, Zuko."

"What for this time?" Suki asked, walking into the room with Ty Lee right behind her. They were both dressed in their full Kyoshi Warrior ensembles.

"Apparently the Fire Lord is too busy to meet with a few mere diplomats," Azara teased her brother, finishing off her breakfast.

"But I thought you were leaving for Ember Island soon," Suki pointed out, standing beside Zuko as she turned to Azara.

"Plans changed. Sokka's stuck in meetings, so there's really no point in going alone," Azara sighed, before she stood up.

"Oh, that's too bad," Ty Lee agreed, nodding sadly.

"It's alright. Not the first time that plans had to get rescheduled. I'll see you guys around," Azara called to them, before heading out the door, and preparing for her regular visit with Azula.

Once the door shut behind her and the others were sure that she was a safe distance away, they shared smiles. "She has no idea," Ty Lee giggled, jumping around excitedly.

"And it's going to stay that way," Zuko stated, getting up himself. "I'm not listening to Sokka complain about how we ruined his proposal for the rest of our lives."

"When is he supposed to be arriving?" Iroh asked, taking a sip of his own tea.

"Soon. I made it pretty clear in the letters about the narrow window he has while Azara's out with Azula," Suki reported, placing her hands on her hips.

Azara, dressed in her riding clothes, walked out to the stables. Spotting Sola basking in the morning sun, Azara smiled. "Sola," she called in a sing song voice, "I have a present for you." Holding up a slab of meat for the dragon, Azara laughed as Sola quickly slithered over, eager for her present.

Azara tossed the meat out to the dragon, who caught it easily in her mouth. "Ready for our weekly ride?" Azara asked, petting her dragon's side. "You're getting so much better at flying." Sola nuzzled into Azara's side, clearly looking for more meat. "I'll get you something when we get back. Now, come on, let's get you saddled up."

The flight from the Royal Palace to the recovery ward where Azula was being looked after was not long, particularly when you had an energetic dragon as your vehicle. Azara parked Sola in the stables, reminded her to not eat any of her companions in there, before heading inside. She greeted the staff that she passed before making her way into her sister's room.

Knocking lightly on the door, Azara smiled at Azula, who glanced up at her. "I hope you're ready to get your butt whooped at Pai Sho again, sister," Azula stated as Azara walked over to the board. "I will continue to defeat you for all time at this game."

"I think I can manage," Azara replied with a small smile before setting up her pieces.

They played through a few games, though Azula clearly had the upper hand the whole time. "You're not even making this fun anymore," Azula sighed as she won again. "You're not focused."

"Sorry," Azara shrugged as she reset the pieces on the board, "it's just that Sokka was supposed to come, and we haven't seen each other in a month, and I really miss him."

"Oh, right, the buffoon-in-law," Azula muttered distastefully as Azara shook her head.

"What did I tell you about calling him a buffoon? And we're not married."

"Only because he still hasn't found his balls. At this rate, Zuzu will get married before you."

"Now I think you're just being dramatic," Azara teased, sitting up straighter as an attendant brought over some tea for the sisters. Smiling and thanking the attendant, Azara turned back to her sister. "Besides, you know he's horrible with relationships."

"Maybe you should propose to Sokka," Azula suggested with a smirk. "I'm sure he'd say yes. He's pathetically in love with you."

"I joked about it with Aang and Katara, but then Aang freaked out, and told me that he was sure that Sokka wouldn't like it and that I should just wait it out. So, maybe I'll just wait . . . a little longer. Besides, we're still young. We have plenty of time to get married and settle down."

"Perhaps he'll accidentally knock you up and be forced to marry you," Azula joked as they started another game of Pai Sho.

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Ty Lee told me she caught you guys in the—"

"—That was not our fault," Azara interjected, a light blush dusting over her cheeks. "We thought no one would be there. Obviously . . . we were wrong."

"My point exactly," Azula murmured, shooting her sister a look. "Honestly, you two get so dopey around each other. It's utterly disgusting. Zuzu agrees with me."

"Zuzu still doesn't seem to get the fact that I'm not just a little girl anymore," Azara pointed out, moving one of her pieces. "It's why I can't talk about marriage around him. He freaks out every time I bring it up."

"He was always rather dramatic."

"I think it's a family thing."

Unbeknownst to Azara, Zuko, in that moment, was in a very important meeting about her future. Studying the box in front of him, Zuko smiled widely as he turned to Sokka. "I think it looks great. She'll love it."

"I should hope so. I didn't remake it fifteen times with Twinkle Toes for her to not like it," Toph huffed from her seat by the window.

"It was only four times," Sokka corrected, before turning back to Zuko. "I just . . . I wanted it to be perfect."

"I'm sure she'll love it, Sokka."

The pendant wasn't made from shells like other traditional Water Tribe jewelry, but instead carefully molded and colored mineral. Half of the necklace was blue, of the Water Tribe, and the other half was red, of the Fire Nation. The two colors were swirled together in a Yin and Yang fashion. Sokka had managed to carve the symbol of the Water Tribe into the blue part and the symbol of the Fire Nation on the red part. The pendant was pinned to a blue fabric chocker necklace that Katara had helped him pick out with a gold clasp.

"Maybe we could start a jewelry business together," Aang joked, standing on the other side of Sokka.

Azara returned to the Royal Palace right on schedule. About to walk into the stables, Azara was cut off by a smiling Ty Lee. "How was your visit?" she asked, forcing Azara to stop in her tracks.

"It was good," Azara replied, confused as to why another person who regularly visited Azula seemed so interested in her own visit. "Are you alright Ty Lee?"

"Yeah, I just needed to tell you that Suki said that scrolls from some Councilor Takumi came for you."

"Oh, I've been waiting for those," Azara nodded as Sola sniffed the air, nearly pulling Azara over as her head swiveled around. "Sola, what are you doing? It's just the stables."

"I can take her if you want," Ty Lee offered, holding out a hand.

"Are you sure? She's pretty restless for some reason," Azara replied, glancing up at her dragon.

"Yeah, it's no problem! I'll get her some snacks too!"

"That could work," Azara decided before handing over the reins. "You let me know if she misbehaves though, and I'll come back."

"Don't worry, I got it covered." Ty Lee waved to Azara as she walked inside. Turning to the dragon once Azara was gone, Ty Lee shushed her. "Don't ruin the surprise, Sola. Now, come on. I'm sure you want to see Appa."

Azara spent the rest of her afternoon pouring over the scrolls, editing, and revising them as she saw fit. She was completely unaware of the preparations that were going on around the palace, for which Sokka was thankful. The sun had started to go down when a knock came from the door.

"Come in."

Suki poked her head in, free of her usual Kyoshi makeup. "You ready for dinner?"

"Right," Azara sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "I almost forgot."

"That's what I'm here for," Suki replied with a wide smile. Azara got up from her seat and walked with Suki back to her room.

"So, how important are these diplomats? How dressed up do I need to get?"

"I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be formal," Suki stated, causing Azara to frown.

"Well, no wonder Zuko was 'too busy' to attend," she scoffed, shaking her head. "Fine, I guess formal it is then."

With some help from the servants, Azara dressed in a long red dress with gold embellishments on the outer layers and a rather full skirt. Pulling some of her now long hair back into a top knot, Azara brushed out the hair she had decided to leave down. Suki helped her touch up her makeup before she was finally ready to head out.

"Why are we going this way?" Azara asked as Suki led her down one of the side corridors. "It's faster to go the other way."

"Oh, Zuko didn't tell you? They're redoing the carpets that way," Suki lied easily, causing Azara to raise an eyebrow. "Which actually reminds me, I need to go check on something. You can handle the rest of the walk right?"

"Do I know my own way around my childhood home, you mean?" Azara joked before nodding. "See you around, Suki."

Azara walked down the side corridor, humming to herself. Turning a corner, Azara raised an eyebrow as she spotted the gardens decorated with candles. Deciding to check it out, Azara walked into the courtyard, glancing around for anyone else. Entering the center of the gardens, Azara's eyes widened as she noticed more candles and flower petals.

"It's beautiful, right?" Sokka asked from behind her, causing Azara to spin around in surprise. "Of course, not as beautiful as you."

"Sokka!" She rushed forward, jumping into his waiting arms. Sokka laughed as he spun her around carefully before setting her on the ground again. "I thought you were going to be late!"

"Well, I pulled a few strings," Sokka winked, causing Azara's smile to widen.

"I'm glad you did," Azara replied, pulling him down for a kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. And to make up for my absence, I got you this." Sokka pulled out a small square box and handed it over to Azara, who raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Why don't you open it and find out?"

Azara shot him a playful look before fiddling with the clasp on the box. Opening it, Azara lifted the cover off the box, holding her breath in anticipation. But she frowned slightly when all she spotted in the box was a small scroll. Azara shot her boyfriend a confused look.

"A scroll? You got me a scroll?"

"Why don't you read what's on the scroll?"

"Okay, Cactus Brain," she teased, deciding to humor him. Picking the scroll out of the box, Azara broke the seal with her nail. "I swear, Sokka, if this is another hug coupon, I'll . . ." Azara trailed off as she noticed the text on the scroll. "Azara, will you marry me?" she read aloud, her eyes widening in shock as her heart started to beat out of her chest.

Turning to Sokka, she dropped the scroll and box as she spotted him down on one knee. In his hands, he held up another box. Azara gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, my spirits! Wait, is this a joke? If this is a joke, I'm going to dump you so hard—" Azara warned her boyfriend, who laughed at her words.

"—No, no, this isn't a joke. This is real. All of this is real," he promised her. Azara bit her lip, covering her mouth with her hands. "I went over this scenario a thousand times in my head. For years. Had about fifty different plans, four different necklaces, and a thousand words to say. But as soon as I finished this necklace . . . I just couldn't wait any longer. Not even the two days until we were supposed to head to Ember Island. Because I just had to ask you . . ."

With one hand, Sokka opened the box, revealing the betrothal necklace to Azara for the first time. She gasped at the sight, though it was muted by her hands, her golden eyes shining with happy tears as her cheeks started to hurt.

"Azara, will you marry me? And make me the happiest man in this world?"

"Yes, yes, I'll marry you!"

Azara let out a happy laugh as she pulled him up to his feet, happy tears streaming down her cheeks. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him down for an emotional kiss. They held each other tightly for a moment, neither willing to let go of the other. When they broke away for air, they both turned to the necklace again.

"Can I put this on you?"

"Please." Azara held up her hair, allowing Sokka to place the necklace around her neck. Once the clasp at the back was done up, Azara turned back around to face her new fiancé. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Sokka smiled, pulling her into another passionate kiss.

Azara eventually pulled back, resting her hand on his chest. "I have a present for you as well," she flirted, trailing her hand up and down his chest. "How about I do that thing you like where—" Sokka cut her off with a random sound, startling Azara. Shaking her head, she shot him a look. "What's wrong?"

"You might want to hold onto that thought for just a second."

"Why?" Azara asked, frowning.

"Congratulations!" the cheers suddenly echoed as their friends and family walked over.

Azara's eyes widened for a moment, her cheeks turning pink, before she held onto Sokka tighter. "Did I mention that I love you? Because I love you."

"I love you too," he returned with a smile, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Oh, congratulations you two! Gran Gran and Dad will be so happy to hear you finally proposed, Sokka," Katara joked, pulling her brother and Azara into a hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka huffed, pushing his sister off of him. "We get it. I took forever. Ha ha."

"It was worth the wait," Azara assured her fiancé, placing one of her hands against the pendant. The moonlight reflected off of the betrothal necklace and the gold band around her wrist, the cactus charm still resting there years later.

"You better. I didn't work that hard on that necklace for you to not like it," Toph complained, stomping over. Punching Sokka in the arm, Toph pulled back with a smirk on her face. "But I'm happy for you two losers."

"Thanks, Toph. Really warms my heart," Sokka sighed, rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

"There wasn't really a meeting with diplomats, was there?" Azara asked her brother and Suki as they walked over to her.

"Nope," Suki replied, winking at Azara playfully.

"I'm happy for you, sis," Zuko stated, causing Azara to beam and pull him into a tight hug.

"Thanks for not freaking out about me getting engaged, Zuko."

"Oh, he had that freak out months ago," Ty Lee spoke up, waving her hand down.

"Really? When?"

"It was while you guys took that girls trip for the weekend and left us all here," Aang replied, leaning on his staff. "And they were both drunk. Or high. Or both. I can't really remember." When he spotted the look Katara was sending him, Aang quickly amended his statement. "Because I was too busy, uh . . . sleeping? Yeah, sleeping and meditating. Like a good Avatar should."

"Then how did you know about it?" Azara asked, turning to Ty Lee.

"The girls on duty told me about it. Apparently they were very concerned as to why the Fire Lord was crying uncontrollably with the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador."

"Aw, Zuzu," Azara cooed, pinching Zuko's cheeks, though he smacked her hand away. "You were crying over this?"

"Only because your boyfriend drugged me."

"Fiancé," Sokka corrected, leaning over, "and hey, you're the one who challenged me."

Azara shook her head at her brother and fiancé before turning to Uncle. "Congratulations, my niece. I'm glad to see that you've found your happy ending." Iroh smiled, holding out his arms.

"Thank you, Uncle," Azara returned, hugging her surrogate father figure tightly.

After a few more moments of chatting, Sokka suddenly yawned dramatically, wrapping his arm around Azara's waist. "Geez, it's been a really long day. We should probably turn in."

"Oh definitely," Azara agreed, smirking up at her fiancé. "And it's getting pretty late."

"Well, good night!" Sokka called, leading Azara inside.

"Good night!"

Sokka and Azara held hands as they walked calmly back inside the palace, turning the corner for Azara's bedroom. Though, Toph could feel them breaking out into a run as soon as they were out of sight of the others. Giggling and running through the halls together, Sokka and Azara never let go of each other, their cheeks hurting from smiling so hard.

"Well, good work team. Operation Proposal was a success," Aang stated, looking around at the group with a wide smile.

"Yeah, now we can all rest without Sokka freaking out about something for a week," Katara added, wrapping an arm around Aang's waist.

"I don't think they're getting any sleep tonight," Toph joked, crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked. Zuko to reeled back in disgust at the earthbender's words.

"Can we not talk about Sokka and my little sister doing . . . that," Zuko choked out, shaking his head. "I don't want to think about that."

"Then don't," Ty Lee pointed out, shrugging her shoulders innocently.

"Besides, they just got engaged. Let them celebrate however they want," Suki added from beside Zuko.

"You're all just making it worse," Zuko sighed in a deadpan as Toph's smirk widened.

"Azara and Sokka laying in a bed, F-U-C—"

"—TOPH!!" Zuko yelled out, covering his ears with his hands, and glaring over at the blind girl.

"That was unnecessary," Katara sighed, shaking her head.

"But it's true," Toph pointed out as Aang smacked his forehead with his hand.

"I knew that tea was a good idea," Uncle nodded to himself. "I'm too young to be a great uncle." Zuko went a completely darker shade of green at Uncle's words.

"Uncle! Please!"

"What, Zuko? Intimacy is a natural part of any relationship, and it has many forms. Also, your sister is an adult who is about to be married. There's nothing wrong with her and Sokka wanting to express their love in a physical way to each other—"

"—I'm leaving!" Zuko shouted, covering his ears with his hands again. "I'm not listening to anymore of this from you guys!"

"Hey, Zuko, maybe you'll become the Uncle Lord in nine months!"

"Shut up, Toph!"

"Oh, but their babies would be so cute! Could you imagine a mini-Sokka with gold eyes? Oh, or a mini-Azara with blue eyes?"

"Don't encourage her, Ty Lee!"

A.N. Got some inspiration for this chapter from Crazy Rich Asians and B99 cause both proposal scenes just made me so happy. Hope you enjoyed this part!

Also, this is pretty much what I pictured Azara's betrothal necklace looking like (plus the symbols of the Water Tribe and Fire Nation in their respective colors):

(I DO NOT OWN THE IMAGE! Apparently it's an ornament you can buy on Cafe Press)

Epilogue Part 2

A.N. Just a disclaimer—I know absolutely nothing about pregnancy. And the last time I tried to do some research on it, I got weird, targeted ads for five months. So, to avoid that, this is probably just going to be inaccurate.

Warning: pregnancy, mentions of birth (nothing graphic beyond initial water breaking), mentions of breastfeeding, crude humor, and suggestive themes—if you don't like pregnancy or babies, just don't read this

I pictured this happening when Azara and Sokka were somewhere between 24 and 27 (which I don't think is canon compliant with LOK and the Gaang's kids ages but whatever)

Azara sighed as she laid back on the soft grass of one of the courtyards in the Fire Nation Palace. One of her hands was draped protectively over her rather prominent bump. She tried to focus on her breathing as her muscles spasmed again.

"What are you doing?" Azula asked as Azara cracked open an eye to stare over at her sister.

"Trying to get comfortable," she grunted, wiggling around again.

"Shouldn't have gotten knocked up then," Azula replied as she poured some tea for them.

"What did I tell you about using the phrase 'knocked up'?" Azara huffed, struggling to sit up properly again. "It makes it sound like I'm a stupid teenager who got pregnant out of wedlock. We've been married for years."

"Sorry to insult your accidental—"

"—Happy surprise pregnancy," Azara corrected, causing her sister to roll her eyes.

Was she expressly trying to get pregnant at the time it happened? Technically . . . no, even though they were married and had already agreed that they wanted children together. But the universe didn't even give her and Sokka a chance to act like they had been actively trying. Well, they had been actively trying, just . . . not with the intention of getting pregnant.

No, they didn't even get a chance to learn about the pregnancy before their friends and siblings did, all thanks to one earthbender.

Even though everyone had become so incredibly busy with their respective roles and jobs, the extended Team Avatar group always tried to reunite when they could. This time, they had gathered in Ba Sing Se again. Sitting around their temporary residence, the friends reminisced about their teenage years and talked about their futures.

"I'm going to grab some more snacks. Anyone want anything?" Azara offered, getting off of the couch where she had been sitting with Sokka.

"I think we're good!"

As Azara walked towards the kitchen, Toph suddenly jumped to her feet, and pointed at the firebender. "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Azara asked, looking at Toph with an odd expression.

"There's been something off this whole day! And I finally figured it out!" Toph replied, walking over to Azara.

"Figured what out?" Sokka questioned, getting to his feet.

Toph stood next to Azara and planted her foot on the ground, feeling out with her seismic sense again. "There's two heartbeats coming from her!"

"Two heartbeats? Maybe your feet are a little confused," Aang replied. Toph scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You try it out, Twinkle Toes."

Aang got up as well and walked over before feeling out with his seismic sense. His eyes widened when he felt what Toph had already announced—Azara had two heartbeats. "Wow, you're right."

"Of course, I'm right, airhead."

Katara got up this time, bending some water out of her waterskin. She held her hands over Azara's abdomen, before gasping.

"What? What's wrong?" Sokka exclaimed, running over to his wife.

Azara grabbed onto her husband, staring with wide eyes over at Katara. "Am I really?" she whispered to her sister-in-law, gripping the front of Sokka's shirt. Happy tears were building in her eyelids. Katara smiled and nodded. Zuko raised an eyebrow at the scene.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's pregnant, dum dum," Azula scoffed, taking a sip of her tea.

"Pregnant!?" Sokka screeched, turning to his wife. "You're really—there's a baby—you're going to—but we weren't—I'm a—we're going to be—you're really—" Sokka cut himself off by promptly dropping to the ground, completely passed out.

"Alright, who didn't believe me that Snoozles would faint if he ever found out she was pregnant? Pay up!" Toph demanded, holding out her hand.

"You bet on us?" Azara frowned, shooting Toph a look.

"Think of it as payment for all of the things I never asked to feel from—"

"—Okay, okay," Azara conceded, before bending down to check on her husband. "Sokka, sweetheart," she called, shaking his shoulder gently.

"I got it," Katara replied, bending some water down onto her brother.

Sokka shot up immediately, coughing and sputtering. "Enjoy your nap?" Toph taunted, counting the coins in her hand.

"You're pregnant?" Sokka whispered to Azara, who smiled and nodded.

Completely forgetting about everyone else in the room, Sokka pulled Azara to himself, planting an emotional kiss on her lips. He held his wife to his chest, not willing to let her even move an inch out of his grip until he thoroughly showed his wife just how happy he was. Azara giggled as he pulled away to press kisses all over her face.

"We don't need to see a rerun of how it happened," Azula complained from the couch, though Azara knew it was her sister's own way of saying congratulations. Ty Lee and Suki walked over as well, offering their congratulations.

"I didn't even think you guys were trying to have a kid yet," Zuko replied, walking over. Azara and Sokka blanked with all of their friend's eyes on them. Toph burst out laughing, wiping a fake tear from her eye.

"I believe you owe me about five more coins, Twinkle Toes."

"Does it really matter how I refer to your pregnancy?" Azula muttered, handing her sister a cup of tea.

"It does to me and Sokka," Azara replied, taking a sip of her tea.

"Your husband's just a sensitive overprotective spoilsport who's going to have an aneurysm if you break a nail," Azula scoffed, setting the teapot to the side.

"You're just mad he beat you in a Pai Sho—"

"—He cheated!" Azula interjected, causing Azara to roll her eyes.

"I'm not rehashing that with you again," Azara sighed. She held up a hand to stop her sister from launching into the usual tirade about how Azara married a serial Pai Sho cheater.

"Fine. But I stand by statement. He's going to go gray before the baby even comes."

"He's a little stressed," Azara conceded, rubbing the side of her belly where their child was pressing against her skin.

"He freaked out when you went for an early morning walk in the gardens without telling anyone," Azula pointed out, shooting her sister a look from over the top of her teacup.

"I know, I know, but . . . well, this is my first pregnancy, Azula. He's just concerned. And there were a thousand other things going on too. He had plenty of reasons to be stressed."

Azara's pregnancy had been a bit of a rollercoaster. The first trimester, at least once they knew about the baby, went relatively smoothly. Her second trimester was less smooth. Her chi and emotions had been completely out of whack. One second she was ready to rip Sokka's head off for breathing too loud, the next she was crying because not all the turtleducks got bread, and the next she was ready to jump Sokka's bones. It was a very confusing time. And then there were the assassination attempts against the royal family in her third trimester. One of which, they were still investigating.

She couldn't fault Sokka for being at his wits end. She knew he would have moved them to the South Pole if she still had a few months left in her pregnancy and the South Pole was not currently in the dead of winter. But neither of those two things were true, so here they still were in the Fire Nation.

"I understand that, but it's suffocating. And I'm not even the one pregnant!" Azula stated gruffly. "Maybe you should take up Blindy's offer."

"I'm not knocking out my husband!" Azara snapped, leaning back on her hands. "Even if he can get a little much sometimes."

"Fine, fine," Azula muttered, tabling that discussion. For now.

"I'm sure that—" Azara started to say before she was cut off by a sharp pain. Gasping, she dug her hand into the dirt, lowering her head slightly.

"What? What's wrong?" Azula asked, suddenly concerned, and on her feet.

"Nothing," Azara breathed out as the pain started to fade. Resting a hand on her bump, Azara rubbed it as she steadied her breathing. "Just false labor. Muscle spasms."

"False labor?" Azula drew out, raising an eyebrow.

"It's common towards the end of your third trimester," Azara assured her sister. "Besides, this baby still has two weeks left to go."

"We were born early," Azula pointed out, retaking her seat.

"We were twins. We are only expecting one baby. Thankfully," she added, before turning to the Pai Sho board Azula had dragged out to the courtyard. "Why don't we just play some Pai Sho?"

"Only if you're sure you're fine." Azula did not look completely convinced that Azara was alright, but Azara waved off her concerns.

As they played through a game, Toph walked out into the courtyard. "I thought you were supposed to be in the meeting?" Azara asked, looking up from the board.

"Eh, they kept talking about maps and I got bored quickly." Toph sat down in between Azara and Azula, facing the pond in the center of the courtyard. "Besides, it's more of Sokka and Zuko building a stress tower together and Aang trying to calm them down."

"I told you," Azula spoke pointedly at her sister, who rolled her eyes.

"Captain Boomerang's been wound up pretty tight lately. Maybe we should get him some cactus—"

"—No cactus juice!" Azara interjected, shooting Toph a look. "I'm not dealing with him like that right now."

"So, you'd rather deal with stress ball Sokka than high Sokka?"

"Yes, I would because—" Azara clipped off her sentence with a squeak. She groaned as another wave of pain hit her. Toph and Azula were quickly on their feet, but Azara batted their hands away. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just more false labor pains. No need to get all worked up."

"Maybe we should have Sugar Queen look you over," Toph suggested, feeling the vibrations Azara was giving off. "Baby seems rather active."

"Baby is fine," Azara insisted, draping a protective arm around her bump. "And besides, they've been active forever. It's nothing new."

"You're sure?"

"Honestly, you two complain about Sokka being a stress ball and then you act the way you do," Azara grumbled out, sitting up straighter again. "What happened to the whole indifference thing you had about me being pregnant?"

"Well, you're further along now."

"Yes, I noticed," Azara hissed, shooting her sister a look. "But I'm still fine. This baby is not coming for two more weeks. There's no need to stress everyone out about it."

Toph and Azula didn't look like they necessarily believed her, but they sat down anyways. Azara and Azula went back to their Pai Sho game as Toph recounted what they had discussed in the meeting. While Toph and Azula continued to talk about where they thought the insurrectionists could be getting their funding from, Toph felt Azara tense up.

"Azara?" she called, causing Azula to become concerned.

"I'm fine," Azara groaned, curling into herself as another spurt of pain wracked her body.

"They're becoming more regular," Azula pointed out as Azara shot her an amused look.

"So, you did read those pamphlets Sokka gave you," she accused her sister as she remained hunched over. Azula scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're clearly in pain."

"Baby's definitely moving around a lot too," Toph reported, feeling the vibrations again. "Katara told me to come get her if something like this happens."

"Don't bother Katara, she's still exhausted from healing everyone from the last attempt."

"Then maybe Sokka—"

"—No, no, you're going to get him all worked up over nothing again and—"

"—Azara," Azula interjected, shooting her sister a look. "Why are you avoiding it?"

"I'm not avoiding anything," Azara huffed, glaring right back at her sister. "I'm just uncomfortable, okay?"

"That feels a little different from discomfort," Toph spoke up, causing Azara to roll her eyes.

"You two have been spending too much time around my husband," she sighed, working on her breathing.

"How long ago was the last one?" Toph asked Azula, who shrugged.

"A couple of minutes. But they're getting closer to each other," she replied as Azara straightened up, shooting her friend and sister a look.

"I'm fine, okay? It's my body. I'll know if something is—" She finished her sentence with a loud squeak, causing Toph and Azula to rush to her side again.

"Azara? Azara, what's wrong?"

"Did you . . . pee yourself?"

"I don't think so . . ." Azara spoke softly, cradling her bump. "But uh . . . I think my water may have just broke. A little."

Meanwhile, inside the Fire Lord's office, Sokka stared down at a map of the Fire Nation as Zuko paced behind him. "What about these islands?" Sokka asked, pointing down at the map at a cluster of islands almost too small to be actually drawn on it. "They're small and remote but could be a potential hiding place for a group of terrorists."

"Most of those islands are active volcanoes," Zuko argued, standing beside Sokka as they stared down at the map.

"You do realize how many things you guys build into volcanoes, right?" Sokka pointed out as Zuko sighed, clearly exhausted.

"Wherever these guys are hiding, we know it has to have easy access to the ocean. How else are they getting all of these supplies without us knowing about it?" Aang added, standing on the other side of the map.

"Hence, mini remote islands you can barely see on the map," Sokka insisted, as Zuko looked like he was contemplating how to proceed.

"I suppose I could order a routine training exercise in that direction," Zuko conceded, walking around the map again. "That shouldn't raise suspicions, but I want these guys caught. Soon."

"We all agree on that," Aang nodded before the doors to the office burst open loudly, Toph standing in the doorway.

"Do you have to do that every time?" Zuko asked, sounding exasperated.

Toph ignored Zuko and pointed a finger at Sokka. "Captain Boomerang, you're needed with your wife. Her water just broke."

"Her what just what!?" Sokka screeched, running over to Toph. "But we still had two weeks!"

"Hey, why don't you go yell at your kid, then? Maybe they just didn't want to stick to your grand schedule," Toph replied sarcastically as Sokka took off down the halls.

"Thanks, Toph!"

"Oh, so now he thanks me," Toph huffed as Zuko and Aang walked over.

"She's really in labor?" Zuko asked, looking concerned.

"Yep. You're about to be the Uncle Lord."

Azara gasped in pain as another contraction hit, leaning on the wall to steady her breath. "Hey, hey, come on, keep moving," Azula encouraged, a protective arm around her sister's waist. "We're not too far from the birthing suite."

"Where's Sokka?" Azara groaned, resting her head on her hand.

"Toph went to go get him. I'm sure we'll hear him before we see him," Azula replied before trying to tug Azara along. "Now, come on. You're not having this baby in the middle of the hallway. I like to walk on carpets my sister hasn't soiled with her spawn."

"Very funny," Azara sighed, gritting her teeth together as they walked along.

"There you are," Katara gasped, running around the corner, and taking her place on Azara's other side. "When did you water break?"

"A couple minutes ago," Azara replied, leaning on her sister and sister-in-law.

"And how are your contractions?"

"They're getting closer together," she sighed, sweat starting to drip from her brow. "Where's Sokka?" she repeated, looking around for any sign of her husband.

"I'm sure he's on his way," Katara assured Azara as they finally reached the birthing suite.

"I'll go find him," Azula stated, causing Azara to nod. Katara led Azara inside the birthing suite as Azula turned and hurried down the corridor.

It did not take long to find Sokka, who was sprinting like a sabretooth moose lion was chasing him. "Where's Azara?" Sokka yelled out, slowing down as he came up to Azula.

"She's at the birthing suite. Katara's handling it," Azula explained quickly. Sokka nodded, about to turn and run, when Azula grabbed his arm, pulling him around. "Do not stress my sister out more with your spastic energy. Understand?"

"I won't!"

"You will if you run in there like that," Azula huffed, releasing his arm. "And Suki told me you fainted that last time you saw a birth."

"I was fifteen!"

"It doesn't matter, what matters is that if you're walking into that room, you're going to be there for my sister. No fainting, no screaming, no making it about yourself—"

"—I know, I know, can I go see my wife now?" Sokka complained, about to race down the hall again, when Azula yanked him back.

"Look, she's scared, alright? She's terrified, and she won't admit it to me, but maybe she'll admit it to you. So, you need to put aside your fear or whatever other emotions you're feeling, and you need to be there for my sister. Or I'll haul your ass out of that room myself! This is your baby—"

"—I think I know that," Sokka cut Azula off sarcastically clearly antsy to get to his wife's side.

"I'm being serious, Ponytail. She needs you. This baby needs you. You need to be there for them."

"I will," Sokka promised, nodding firmly to his sister-in-law, before turning and sprinting down the hall again.

He finally reached the birthing suite but slowed down before he burst through the doors. Taking a deep breath, Sokka calmed himself down, before opening the doors carefully. Azara was laying down on the bed, withering in pain as Katara tried to soothe her with her waterbending.

"Sokka," Azara called, reaching out for him as soon as she spotted him. Sokka took his cue and rushed over, grabbing her hand, and squeezing it. "The baby's coming."

"I heard," Sokka nodded, smiling reassuringly as Azara bit her lip. "Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. You've got some of the best midwives in the nation here to help you."

"I know," Azara whimpered as Sokka squeezed her hand again.

"And we've gone through a birthing plan a thousand times."

"I know."

"And Katara's here too—"

"—I'm not worried about that!" Azara snapped suddenly, causing everyone in the room to jump. Realizing her outburst, Azara broke down crying as Sokka hurried to console her.

"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong? What are you worried about?" he asked, wiping her tears away from her cheeks.

"What if I'm a horrible mother? What if we have the relationship that my mom and I did growing up? Or worse, what if I become like my father and the—" Azara rambled nervously, until Sokka cut her off.

"—I'm going to stop you right there," Sokka interjected, squeezing her hand. Leaning over, Sokka pressed a kiss to her forehead before speaking. "There's no way in a thousand years you'll ever be like your father, Azara. And you won't be like your mother either, but definitely not your father. I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that."

"But what if the baby hates me? And then what if you hate me because the baby hates me, and I lose everything and—" Azara continued, more tears coming to her eyes.

"—Hey, hey," Sokka whispered, pressing a kiss to Azara's palm. "I could never hate you, Azara. I love you so much I can't even put it properly into words because I wouldn't be able to do it justice. And I know that you're going to be a wonderful mother."

"But how do you know that for certain?" Azara asked, her voice barely audible.

"Because I know you. I've seen you interact with plenty of kids who weren't even yours. You'd tell them all these stories, consoled them when they cried. You were amazing with them." Pressing another kiss to her palm before squeezing her hand, Sokka smiled. "And not just with kids. You're the most selfless, caring, and considerate woman I've ever met. I have no doubt that you'll be an amazing mother for this little one. Our little one."

He could feel the midwives judging him for being there, because he technically wasn't supposed to be there in the birthing suite until after the baby was born according to customs, but no one wanted to fight Azara right now. Or ever. But especially not right now. And Sokka was usually the one to talk her down from her pregnancy-induced murderous tirades.

"And I'm scared too. But we'll do this whole baby thing together. Like we've done everything else the whole time we've been together, okay?"

"Okay," Azara nodded, though she still looked nervous.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Another couple of hours passed as Team Avatar waited for the birth of the first member of their next generation. Katara had eventually joined the group in an adjacent room, leaving it to Sokka and the more experienced midwives to tend to Azara. Sokka had also been warned that if he wasn't helpful, he'd be thrown out, but so far, he seemed to be doing a good job.

"How much longer do you think it'll be?" Toph asked, leaning on a pillar.

"Babies, especially first births, can take a long time to be born," Katara replied, sitting beside Aang as they waited for news.

"How was Azara when you last saw her?" Zuko questioned from his position behind the desk.

"She's better. I think it's good that Sokka's in there with her. She's more relaxed with him there to support her."

"I thought he wasn't allowed in?" Aang spoke up, slightly confused.

"Well, I don't think the midwives wanted to upset Azara more," Katara shrugged, everyone nodding in agreement.

Silence fell over the group before a scream echoed down the hall. "IF YOU TELL ME TO 'JUST BREATHE' ONE MORE FUCKING TIME SOKKA I SWEAR TO AGNI!"

"Well, I don't think the baby's out yet," Azula sighed, leaning her head on her hand.

"WHY DOES THIS CHILD HAVE TO HAVE YOUR FAT HEAD!?"

Toph laughed, shaking her head. "It might be a miracle if Snoozles makes it out of there alive."

"WELL, I HOPE YOU LOVE THE FEELING OF YOUR RIGHT HAND BECAUSE YOU'RE NEVER GETTING ANYWHERE NEAR MY—"

"—Why can she scream so loud?" Zuko sighed, covering his ears to avoid his sister yelling about her birthing process. "It's almost echoing."

"You try pushing a watermelon out of you and then you can complain," Suki replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Before Zuko could retort anything, a shrill cry echoed down the hall. The group gasped, sharing smiles and relieved expressions as the baby's cries continued to emanate from the birthing suite. Sokka and Azara cried themselves as they stared down at their beautiful baby girl, who wiggled against her mother's chest, her loud cries echoing off the walls.

After the midwives cleaned the baby up, Azara held her daughter against her chest again. A wide, tired smile graced her lips. "I can't believe she's ours," Azara breathed out, adjusting her hold on her daughter as the infant suckled from her breast. One of the baby's tiny hands wrapped around Sokka's finger.

"She's so beautiful. Just like her mother," Sokka whispered, pressing a kiss to Azara's shoulder.

"I'm surprised you didn't say she looked squishy," Azara replied, shooting her husband a look.

"I was fifteen for the last time, okay?" Sokka sighed, though a sound from their daughter quickly drew his attention. Resting his head against his wife's, Sokka smiled softly as they stared down at their baby. "I love you so much. Thank you for this . . . all of this."

Azara smiled at his words, running a delicate finger over her daughter's dark curls. "I love you too. Your fat head and all," she joked, sounding rather serene. Trailing her fingers down, she ran her finger over the sparse strands of white on her daughter's head. Even though the rest of the baby's head was covered in dark curls, there were patches of white hair near her forehead.

"Don't know what the white hair means though."

"Maybe we should send a letter to Yue," Azara suggested, glancing out the window at the full moon before turning back to her daughter. "But she was born during a full moon. Maybe that has something to do with it."

One of the midwives walked into the room, a kind smile on her face. "Have you picked a name yet, Princess Azara?"

"No, we haven't," she sighed, turning to look at her husband, who shrugged. Staring down at her daughter, Azara smiled softly as her daughter glanced up at her with bright blue eyes. "What about Mahina?"

"Mahina," Sokka tested out before nodding. "I like that. What does it mean?"

"Moonlight," Azara replied as Sokka smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"It's perfect then."

"Our little Mahina," Azara spoke as the midwife nodded. Azara leaned against Sokka, the two just reveling in the sight of their daughter together.

"You still have visitors outside, Princess Azara. Should I let them in?"

"They're still waiting?" Azara asked, looking surprised. Mahina detached from her breast and started to whimper.

"I got this." Sokka carefully scooped up his daughter and moved to burp her as Katara had shown him a thousand times.

"They can come meet her. They've been waiting for so long, I imagined they all went to bed already," Azara replied, fixing her robe as the midwife nodded.

The door opened quietly, Katara poking her head in first. "How's everything?" she whispered, staring over at Sokka and Azara.

"Come in and see," Sokka returned, carefully sliding off the bed. He adjusted his hold on his daughter as their friends and family walked into the room. As everyone gathered around them, Sokka smiled proudly down at his daughter. "Everyone, meet Mahina. Mahina, this is mostly everyone. You'll meet the rest soon enough."

As Sokka showed off his daughter, Azara smiled and leaned back against her pillows, the exhaustion of the day getting to her. Zuko and Azula stood beside their sister's bed, watching their brother-in-law and niece with amusement.

"I suppose she's not the ugliest baby I've ever seen," Azula conceded, crossing her arms over her chest. Zuko shot his sister a look as Azara rolled her eyes playfully.

"Well, I'm glad you think your niece isn't ugly."

"Mahina, huh?" Zuko asked Azara, who turned to look up at him. "Wasn't that the name of that princess from that story Mom would tell us?" Zuko rubbed his chin as he thought back to the story. "The one where they talked through the moon to find each other again?"

"That's the one," Azara confirmed with a small smile as she watched Sokka and Katara bicker.

"Sokka, I know how to hold a baby. I'm the one who taught you how to hold a baby," Katara reminded her brother with a deadpan expression.

"Still, just make sure you have a good grip on her. She's really small. But not too tight! Don't break my daughter!"

"And he gets worse," Azula commented dryly, causing Azara and Zuko to laugh.

Their friends and family did not stay around too much later. It was already the middle of the night, and everyone wanted to give the new family some well-deserved privacy. And after one last checkup from the midwife, they were finally alone.

Azara held Mahina carefully in her arms, though she was clearly about to fall asleep. Sokka reached over, placing a hand under Mahina's back. "Get some rest. You deserve to sleep."

"Yeah," Azara replied tiredly, handing Mahina off to Sokka. "Though something tells me we won't be getting any uninterrupted sleep for a long time."

"Why don't you try and get ahead of it then and catch up now? I'll put her down," Sokka offered, holding his daughter against his chest.

"I love you," Azara murmured, pressing a tired kiss to her husband's lips. "But wake me if she's hungry. The midwife said it would be every couple of hours."

"I love you too. And we'll be fine. Get some rest. You deserve it."

Azara accepted a peck from Sokka, before sliding down to get more comfortable on the bed. Not even thirty seconds later, she was fast asleep, snoring softly into the pillow. Sokka smiled down at his wife, before turning back to his daughter.

"Just you and me now, Mahina."

He held his daughter to his chest before remembering Katara's advice. Carefully undoing his shirt, he laid Mahina against his bare skin before placing a blanket over her to keep her warm. Mahina sniffled, looking like she wanted to cry, but Sokka rubbed her back, trying to coax her to sleep.

"It's alright, you're alright," he cooed, as Mahina burrowed her head into his chest, preferring the warmth of his body heat to the cooler night air. "Let's let your mom sleep for a bit, okay? You put her through a lot today. Though, I guess it's my fault too." Mahina wiggled slightly, clearly still awake as Sokka rubbed her back again.

"Why don't I tell you a story? Hmm, would that help you to fall asleep?" he suggested. "I have one I think you'll like. We'll call it the Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior. A mouthful I know, but we can't change the name now," Sokka conceded as Mahina yawned again. Smiling softly, Sokka trailed his hand up and down Mahina's back, trying to soothe the infant to sleep. "It's one of my favorites. You should like it too. You're in it, after all. In the latest chapter."

Mahina's breathing started to even out. Sokka smiled, thinking his daughter was about to finally go to bed, when his eyes widened as she grabbed onto his pinky finger with her little hand again. Pushing back the happy tears that were threatening to fall, Sokka rubbed his daughter's back again as he began to tell the story.

"Well, it all started with a boy in an iceberg . . ."

A.N. Mahina means moonlight in Hawaiian. Which I thought was fitting given how much time Azara and Sokka looked at the moon. Her white patches are some residual Moon Spirit magic that trickled down from her mom. I pictured them being right where her hair loopies would go when she was grown up (so she'd have white hair loopies or bangs). And if you hadn't guessed yet, little Mahina's going to be a waterbender.

When I originally came up with the title 'The Dragon Princess and The Wolf Warrior', I always envisioned it as the name of the story that their kids would always ask to hear (How I Met Your Mother if you will). So, that part of the epilogue was a long time coming.

I had several different ideas for kids for Sokka and Azara, but Mahina was the one who was consistently in my plans, so I added her here. I also just absolutely love the idea that Sokka, who started out the series as a sexist dude that didn't care for waterbending, would have a waterbending little girl as his first child. And him asking Katara to teach him how to do all the Water Tribe hairstyles so he can do his daughter's hair loopies for her when she's big enough. And him crying the older she gets because even though she's a waterbender and has blue eyes, she looks so much like her mom. As you can tell, I've had a lot of thoughts on this. 

Also, this part showed a recovered Azula. I always pictured her having a recovery arc more than a redemption arc which mostly involved a Lilo and Stitch type thing where Ty Lee or Azara would spray Azula with water when she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. And I see her as the 'wine aunt' who isn't really child friendly (think the meme where they're like 'so, you want a beer?' 'he's four!') kind of thing, but Sokka and Azara's kids love her anyways.

Well, that's an actual wrap now! Thank you so much for reading my story!