love will lead us all to smithereens, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

A/N: I wrote this for the November Tyzula Renaissance Forum Monthly Oneshot Challenge. Which is a serious mouthful. The title is from "Lean" by The National.

Azula is completely unaware of the silhouette outside of her window.

Her focus is on the words she is weaving for her speech tomorrow. It will be most gracious and riveting and absolutely make her look better than Zuko. She does not particularly consider him to be a threat, but her decision to bring him home was imperfect. He is older than her. He was heir apparent before she was. She needs to be on top of her game.

But that option is snatched away from her when she hears a gentle knock on her window. It makes her heart skip a beat, before the knocking intensifies to the point in which it is probably loud enough to wake her father. She walks across her room and leans against the wall in the shadows.

She begins to light her fingertips before she hears the shadow outside hiss, "Azula, let me in before I die."

The princess sighs, stifles her attack and unlatches the window to allow Ty Lee inside.

"You can't do this. Sneaking in has to be carefully choreographed so as to avoid any unfortunate executions," Azula chastises and Ty Lee briefly pretends to care about that.

"Why does he even care?" Ty Lee whines.

"That doesn't even merit a response," Azula says coolly.

And Ty Lee blushes lightly as she replies, "I'm sorry. I really do just want to be with you. It's so much more fun with the danger."

Azula hesitates as Ty Lee kisses her fiercely on the lips. They sink into the passion of it for a moment, young people exploring this heat for the first time in their lives.

But the princess protests, "Are we only doing this because of the danger? I mean…"

"We're doing this because…" Ty Lee squints at Azula. "Why do we need a reason? You need some danger in your life."

"Like conquering Ba Sing Se? Fighting the Avatar…"

"No. Like sneaking out with your girlfriend to do things in the park."

"I can't do that. I have to finish my speech and my father will notice and Zuko will become Fire Lord, which would be a travesty and we know it ‒" Ty Lee silences her with a kiss.

"Then I'm kidnapping you," she says brightly, seizing Azula by the wrists and hoping not to get her face burned off.

"You want to be executed, don't you?" Azula wishes she did not find this to be so hot.

"Making out with you at the park is worth it." Ty Lee pats Azula's shoulder gently and the princess rolls her eyes at the subsequent giggling of her girlfriend.

"The park then?"

"Anywhere."

"Well… then we could just do it here and you could hide under my bed and leave on time in the morning…"

"Ugh, stop following the rules. Anywhere but here."

"This better be worth it."

Ty Lee kisses her. "It will."

Five years later, a half-broke Azula notices the silhouette outside of her window instantly, but she thinks that she may be imagining it.

She stares at her cuticles, which she has been picking at while tossing and turning. They are bright red and sore. Azula thinks fire might even hurt her fingers if the New Ozai Society or Dai Li come inside to put her out of her misery. Maybe she should just keep trying to sleep.

But that option is before the knocking intensifies to the point in which it is so loud it aggravates her migraine. She rises from her comfortable bed, walks across her room and leans against the wall in the shadows.

Then she sighs, because, "Azula, let me in before I die."

Azula unlatches the window and says, "I'm the one who thought I was dying. A lot of people want me dead, you know."

Ty Lee shrugs as she leaps inside. She looks lovely, Azula notices. She looks like herself and not that Kyoshi Warrior girl.

"You know, Ty Lee," Azula says as she steps aside and allows Ty Lee in from the cold, "I like you better without that make-up."

And Ty Lee blushes lightly as she replies, "I like you better lucid."

Azula hesitates as Ty Lee kisses her fiercely on the lips. They sink into the passion of it for a moment, people who were young and magnificent once feeling that spark again. Maybe the soft lips are familiar, but the butterfly-bees feel new every time.

Azula breaks the kiss, of course. "You can't do this. Not only have you nearly given me a heart attack, but you could wake my brother. Or worse."

"Worse?" Ty Lee cocks an eyebrow.

"You could be charged with treason and executed."

"Zuko isn't your father," Ty Lee protests loudly.

"Different kind of treason." Azula rolls her eyes yet again. Ty Lee cannot believe how difficult the princess is. Doesn't she ever get tired of being cooped up all the time?

"Is sleeping with you always treason somehow?" Ty Lee complains.

"Yes. It's very unfortunate," Azula replies earnestly and Ty Lee grimaces.

"We're leaving," Ty Lee demands and Azula's eyes flash virulently.

"I can't do that. I'm under permanent house arrest," she replies, taking one step back towards her bed.

"Then I'm kidnapping you." Ty Lee seizes Azula by the wrists and hopes not to get her face burned off.