Azula never thought herself able to enjoy something as silly as a picnic in a sunny field. She lay back, placing her hands beneath her head. The grass was soft under her toes, the sun warmly kissing her exposed skin. She lifted her left hand to shield her eyes from its brightness.
But then again Aang bought to surface, many things she didn't know she'd like. The airbender himself was one of those things. She turned over onto her side to find herself staring into the boy's wide eyes. He waved, shooting her one of those goofy lopsided smiles.
"Fruit pie?" Aang offered.
Azula considered. "Not hungry."
"But this is a picnic." Aang sat up.
"Maybe for you. For me it's spending quality time outside."
"Oh just eat some of the pie! I made it just for you."
"Are you even a good chef?"
Aang pushed the pie closer to her. "I guess we'll find out.
Azula rolled her eyes, "fine." She sat up. "But if this thing kills me, I assure you that I'll be the most difficult spirit you'll ever have to deal with."
Aang laughed. "Good thing I'm an excellent cook!"
That was just another little something that she liked about Aang; he didn't take her jokes as genuine death threats. He knew when to take her seriously and when to laugh. He was the only one who saw the good in her and the only one who saw the good in her bending. The only one who looked at her blue flames without cringing. He always did seem to see the best in her even when she was truly at her worst.
He helped to bring her out of her darkest moment. He was a patient boy; he'd listened to what everyone else called her "psychotic ramblings" and her nasty, probably racist (she couldn't quite remember) comments. And he used her words to put the pieces together…to help her. That's how she ended up in this field—she must have said something that indicated wanting to travel, perhaps she simply said she wanted to get away from it all. Whatever she had said, she no sooner found herself once again on the back of the bison. This time her destination took her out of the Fire Nation and into the Earth Kingdom.
He'd taken her to many places from the Cave of the Two Lovers (much too sappy for her liking, but Aang enjoyed it) to the River Village and the ruins of Gaipan to where they currently resided; the outskirts of the Farming Village.
He told her that he needed to get away too. That his duty as the Avatar had driven he and Katara apart and he just wasn't feeling like himself. Maybe that's why it was so easy for him to go with her; the happy-go-lucky Avatar that defeated her father could never care for someone like her.
Pushing the thought out of her mind, Azula twirled a blade of grass between her fingers as she tried to determine the flavor of Aang's fruit pie. She detected apples, cherries, and perhaps mangos. There was definitely something else in there too.
"Well, what do you think?" Aang asked.
"It has a very" Azula paused, searching for the right word, "unique flavor."
"So you like it then?"
"I suppose I do." She dropped the blade of grass, watching it flitter down to the picnic blanket.
Apparently watching the grass fall struck a sort of inspiration in the avatar. He plucked a panda lily from the ground and tucked it behind Azula's ear. She speculated that she'd be wearing a crown of them by sunset.
The avatar shot her another cheerful smile, so she kept the flower where he had placed it even though its white petals clashed with the rest of her attire.
"You look cute." He pointed out.
"Not usually the look I go for Avatar." Azula gave him a dismissive hand wave. She picked up glass of watermelon juice. She hadn't really drank the stuff since her last trip to Ember Island.
Aang gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, "if you say so."
Azula smiled briefly. The Avatar's hand brushed over hers. "You okay?" He asked.
"Why would you think that I'm not?"
"Well for starts, you're not insulting me as much today."
"Ha. Ha." Azula rolled her eyes.
"Something on your mind?"
"Something is always on my mind, Avatar." Azula looked down at her wrists, rough and scarred from the chains that had been wrapped around them. She watched Aang run his thumb gently up and down over the scar. He didn't seem to find it as ugly as she did.
He was, after all, the one who always tugged her arm warmers off, rolled her sleeves up, or did whatever he could to uncover the scars.
"They look fine." He'd always insist.
Wrists…what an odd thing to feel insecure about.
"What's on your mind this time?" He asked.
Azula found a cloud and fixed her eyes on it. She let a good few minutes pass before speaking. That's how he always got her to talk; ask a question and say nothing until she felt pressured to fill the silence. "Would you still have…helped me if you hadn't lost Katara."
"I'd still love you, but in a different way." He always seemed to catch her underlying meaning. It was annoying and sweet all at once. "And of course I would have helped you. I helped Zuko didn't I?"
"Yes but Zuko is different. Everyone always seemed to see some good in him. Everyone always felt bad for him. I've always just been—" She cut herself short. She'd been trying to stay away from the word monster, or anything that could fill in its place.
Aang thought for a minute "It's because you're always so strong. You never really let people see that you were hurting so they just…"
"Assumed the worst." Azula cut in.
"Well. I guess. Sort of. But I think they're—Zuko and Ty-Lee especially—at home waiting, expecting you to come back changed. But I don't think you've really changed, I think you've always been like this…"
Azula cut him off again, "like what?"
"Nice, fun to be around, caring. I just think that you didn't like to show it."
She pulled the Avatar closer to her, hugging rather tightly. It was something she found that she'd do often when she felt upset, frightened, or generally distraught. She finally had something…someone to hold. "Perhaps, Avatar."
"You can just call me Aang, you know."
"Avatar." She repeated.
"Okay, Avatar is good too." He looked up at her, pleased to see that her mood had brightened again. He always loved her smile—even when he was with Katara. At the time she would always frown or scowl and when she did smile it was usually full of viciousness. So when she did smile a genuine, happy smile it was one of the most wonderful things he'd seen.
One of those things he'd never get sick of. The way her lips tugged gently upward, the way her smile didn't just stop at her lips but reached her golden eyes.
She was such an expressive person when she wasn't burring herself beneath a mask of some kind.
He felt her hand press harder into his back and her head nuzzle on his shoulder.
"Thank you Avatar." She whispered, pressing her lips to his hear. "This really does mean a lot to me. The trip, the picnic, the talks, all of it." She went quite for a heartbeat. "Maybe it's true, maybe I didn't really want the throne. Maybe I just wanted to be happy." She paused again. "And you make me happy Aang."