Week 8 prompts: Acceptance or Caught

Chapter 8: Acceptance

First it was her mother. Then the brown-eyed boy. Then Zuzu, the two girls who she mistakenly allowed to join her elite team, and finally her own father. Sooner or later, everybody leaves or betrays. It was a good life lesson. She had been right all along. Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.

The only thing that remained was herself. And she was not herself. Her mind was… not her own. It was turned against her. Poisoned. Mother did this to her. She couldn't stand to see her succeed. She had always been plotting against her.

Nothing she saw was real. It couldn't be real. There was no way she had just been defeated by that filthy waterbending bitch. There was no way, and yet, here she was, unable to move her arms. They were chained behind her. How her shoulders ached, nearly tearing from their sockets as she struggled to get out. Nothing was working. Nothing was real.

Nothing could be trusted. Not the hyperventilation of her chest, not the echoing of her own screams and sobs, not the fire shooting from her mouth. And certainly not Zuzu and the snow peasant looking at her with such pity.

And then there was a third person. Someone familiar. But no, it couldn't be. Her vision was just blurry through all these disgraceful, unrelenting tears. That was all.

But it appeared he was looking at her. He looked just as broken as her scattered, fragmented mind. She could have sworn he was moving toward her, but it was hard to tell. Nothing made sense.

"Don't go near her!" She could hear the waterbender shout.

"She's too dangerous!" She could hear her brother warn.

But the boy didn't listen. He stood before her and fell to his knees. "Azula," he trembled, "It's me. It's Jet."

She quickly shook her head. "No. No, no, no. You're not real. None of this is real." Fire continued to spray from her mouth as she spoke.

"I'm real. Stop firebending and I can prove it to you."

His voice was earnest. Soothing. It had been a long time since she last heard it. But still, Mother had come to her too and she wasn't real. She didn't smell like her perfume – she didn't smell like anything. Her touch was always icy cold on her skin.

"Please, Azula. For me."

She squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath. Tears continued to pour down her cheeks, but the fire ceased. And then… she could feel the boy's arms around her, squeezing her, holding her tight. He smelled like the scent left behind on her pillow. His touch was warm.

He was real.

She dropped her head onto his shoulder.

"I'm here," he whispered, "I've got you. You're safe."

"Jet," she whispered back.

"Yes," he nodded. "It's me." He cupped her cheeks with his hands and touched his forehead to hers, smiling. "Everything's gonna be okay. I'm gonna take care of you. I'm here now."

She wanted to believe him. But nothing was ever that easy.

"WHERE DID YOU TAKE HER?!" He was so angry, he was nearly foaming at the mouth.

"Jet, please calm down." Zuko signaled for his guards to back off. "I had her committed to a high-security asylum. It's not too far away from here – it's just over the – "

"Are you kidding me?! Are you stupid?!" He would have reached for his weapons if he hadn't been surrounded by uneasy guards.

"She's not well! She's getting the care she needs!"

"You have no idea what she needs!" He marched up to the new Fire Lord, staring him straight in the eye. His golden eyes looked like hers. It made his stomach knot. "She needs someone to care for her, someone she trusts."

"Someone like you?"

"Yes! Or even you – you're her brother! You didn't have to send her away from the Palace, you didn't have to abandon her – "

"First off, she does not trust me. Not after I switched sides. And second, I didn't have a choice!"

"Bullshit!"

"I mean it." Zuko lowered his voice. "I'm the Fire Lord now – I'm trying to bring about an era of peace to the world. I have to listen to my people, and… an unstable firebending prodigy walking about freely does not make them feel safe!"

"Then why not put her under house arrest or something?"

"That's not good enough – you know that! She could easily overpower any caretaker and run away."

"I could have been her caregiver. She would never do anything to harm me – "

"I know that." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But the rest of the world wants her locked up, behind bars like Ozai. This seemed like a fair compromise compared to other alternatives! Katara, she suggested I have Aang take away her bending!"

He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Katara was the absolute fucking worst. He could barely believe he once kissed that self-righteous Water Tribe trash, even if he had only done it to manipulate her. It still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Of course I couldn't do that to her."

He nodded, trying his best to understand the position Zuko was in. And he could see in his eyes how difficult this was for him. "Can I at least visit her?"

"You can, but just know… it's going to be really hard to see her." He looked down solemnly at the floor. "She's not the Azula you once knew."

"I know." He tentatively placed his hand on the Fire Lord's shoulder to offer some comfort. Zuko had earned his respect since abandoning his title as Prince and helping the Avatar fight against his own father. And… he figured it couldn't hurt to become friendly with the brother of the girl who took his breath away. "But I won't give up on her. I can make her better."

"I hope you're right." He looked back up at Jet and smiled. "Visiting hours are few and far between. And she'll be fully restrained and closely monitored, but – "

"That's not good enough." Jet shook his head. "Come on, Zuko. You're the Fire Lord now, can't you pull some strings? I can't help her if we're constantly being watched."

"You… you really care about her, don't you?"

"I really do."

"Then I'll do anything in my power to help you help her."

"Well, in that case…" He smirked. "Maybe you can help me out with a little plan."

She hated the island. She hated the asylum. She hated the tedium. Every day was the same. And all the days blended together. Insomnia kept her awake and exhausted, yet her body buzzed with restless energy. She hated being treated like a rabid animal. She hated –

"Azula," the young woman pushing her wheelchair said, "another patient would like to accompany you on your walk today… would you like that?"

"How can you call this a walk when I'm confined to this horrid chair?"

The girl in pink stopped rolling her and walked around to the front. She smiled, making her already kind-looking face appear that much more gentle. "You've been on good behavior lately – I think I can do you one little favor." She bent down and proceeded to unbuckle the restraints on her legs.

This woman must have been up to something. "What's this about?"

"You should get some exercise, Princess," a male voice called from behind her. A voice she recognized.

She turned her head over her shoulder. Her eyes met with his and her stomach dropped. "Jet?"

"It's good to see you – "

"Is he… really there?" she whispered to the orderly.

The woman smiled sweetly at her and nodded.

She looked back up at Jet. "What… What are you doing here?"

"Let's walk," he grinned before helping her out of her chair.

With her arms bound in a straightjacket, she could not stand on her own. But at least she could move her legs. "I can… I can go with him?"

The orderly nodded.

The sand was warm beneath her toes. It reminded her of the shores of Ember Island. For once in a very long time, life didn't seem so bleak.

"Azula, I… I don't even know where to – "

"How are you here?"

He laughed. "Well, you may find this hard to believe, but I'm actually a patient here."

She blinked and looked at him skeptically. "But you're not…"

"Your brother had me admitted. All I had to do was insist I had been brainwashed by the Dai Li. No one really asked any questions after that."

She wasn't sure if she should laugh, yell, smile, cry, or what. "That was foolish."

"Yeah, maybe," he smiled. "But… I couldn't keep away from you any longer."

Her heart stopped. "I… I don't understand. You won the war, you finally have the chance to be free, and I…" She shook her head. "I feel like I don't know anything anymore. Everything I know is wrong. Everything has been a lie."

"I know things must be confusing for you right now…"

"I did everything I was asked to do and more!" Her breath caught as she choked back tears. "And it wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough. And… I'm not good enough for you. You should just move on, forget about me – "

"Azula." He grabbed onto her shoulders and held her in place. "You know I can't do that."

"Try!" He had to try. She was no good for him. He'd be happier without her.

"I did. After we ended things, I tried to forget about you, I really did. But I couldn't! I never stopped thinking about you or caring about you, not even for a second."

"Jet, please. I'm not… right. You can do better, you can find someone – "

"I told you I was crazy about you and nothing could change that, and I meant what I said." He released a frustrated sigh. "This isn't easy for me to talk about, you know."

She smiled for the first time since the war ended. "I know."

He stroked her hair back behind her ear. "Can I give you a hug now?"

She nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her. Not that she could reciprocate. Her arms were still thoroughly restrained in the stupid straightjacket. Nonetheless, it felt good to be in his arms once again. It felt like… home. "I missed you," she whispered into his ear, "And… I'm really happy you're here."

It wasn't exactly easy sneaking into her room that night, but compared to breaking into the Palace, it was a cakewalk.

She was standing barefoot in a fighting stance when he entered, but he knew it wasn't the rattling of her lock that had awoken her. She probably hadn't been sleeping at all.

"Azula, it's me."

She regarded him warily. "I don't know, I don't know."

"I'm real," he insisted, walking carefully toward her. "Can I show you?"

She nodded.

He took her hand and held it to his cheek.

"You're warm," she whispered, smiling faintly.

He smiled back at her and gave the palm of her hand a soft kiss.

"Jet, I…" Her voice was unsteady. She removed her hand from his cheek. "I still don't understand why you're here. Why… Why would you do all of this for me?"

"I told you, I – "

"It just doesn't make any sense." She looked down at her feet. "I lost everything. I have nothing to give you. I have nothing. I am… nothing."

His stomach twisted. "No." He took her hands in his. "Don't ever think that. Hey, look at me."

Slowly, she brought her sorrowful golden eyes up to his.

"Azula, to me… you are everything."

Her lips began to tremble. "It doesn't make sense."

"Well, love doesn't make sense." The words just poured out of him. Now they were out and he couldn't get them back.

She stared at him in shock, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"And I… I love you, damn it." His heart was pounding in his chest. Never in a million years would he have guessed he'd fall in love with a firebender of all people. But the war was over. The Fire Nation was no longer his enemy. And Spirits did he love her.

Tears started spilling down her cheeks. "You can't, you can't, you can't! It's not possible."

He intertwined his fingers with hers and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "It is possible, and I do. And the sooner you can accept that, the sooner we can move on with our lives and be together. Nothing's holding us back anymore, don't you see?"

She was quiet for a while as she considered his words. Her breathing was heavy and her tears were hot against his skin as he wiped them away. Finally she broke the silence. "Why…?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you… love me?"

For so many reasons! Too many to name. "I don't know, Azula," he laughed. "Maybe for the same reason you love me?"

"Well, someone's presumptuous," she laughed through her tears.

"Azula…" He lowered his head and gave her an all-knowing look.

"Fine," she exhaled. She paused and it felt like forever. "I love you too."

He smiled, feeling unexpectedly overwhelmed by the words. "See, was that really so hard?"

"Yes," she smiled back.

Shaking his head and laughing, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him, capturing her lips with a tender, passionate kiss.

She snaked a hand around the back of his head and pressed herself against him, deepening the kiss.

Kissing her again like this was beyond his wildest dreams. He had been so hopeless since they went their separate ways. He never imagined he'd get to touch her like this again. But now that he had her again, he was determined to hold on to her forever.

Somewhere throughout all the kissing and groping, they had made their way over to her bed, where they carelessly fell onto the mattress entwined in each other's embrace.

"I love you, Jet," she breathed against his lips.

"I love you too, Azula." He pressed his lips to hers. "So much."

She pulled her meager blanket up over their shoulders. "Can you stay the night?"

"I can stay until you fall asleep – it would be a tragedy if we got caught."

"Right," she smiled.

"Hey Azula… promise me something, will you?"

"Anything."

He gazed into her eyes, gently stroking her cheek. "Promise me you'll do your best to get better so we can leave this place and be together, okay?"

"Okay, Jet." She softly kissed his knuckles. "I promise."

It didn't take long before exhaustion set in and he watched her peacefully fall asleep in his arms. Running his fingers through her long black hair, he couldn't help but smile at the sleeping beauty. His heart was fluttering in his ribcage. It still seemed unreal, and yet, somehow against all odds, it appeared they were going to get their happy ending after all.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my story! Expect more Jetzula stories from me in the future, including one for Avatar World Week. Please make sure to check out the other stories from the Azula Ship Challenge as well!