Thin Line
An Avatar the Last Airbender one-shot
Zuko and Azula
Author's note: I have no idea what possessed me to write this. Cruel Intentions, perhaps? Written right after I watched "The Boiling Rock".

Zuko reached for a spot on the back of his neck and scratched it. He was lounging on the thin straw mat; he purposely positioned it so it was in view of the moon's beams.

He wondered, sometimes, how he miscalculated something as as far as this. It was his destiny to chase the Avatar. It was his destiny to abandon his kingdom. It was his destiny to teach the Avatar firebending. So then... it was his destiny to end up here, imprisoned? He had no idea what happened to Aang, Katara and all the others. Were they also captured? Or worse...?

Zuko inhaled. The dank, cold air of his cell was creating an unpleasant taste in the back of his throat.

But could he just give up? The comet had already passed; that was the last time he tried to break out with disastrous results. And yet, he was not sent to a cooler (he was not sure if they had one in this particular prison), but rather an isolated room for him to be separated from most of the other prisoners.

However, he could not help but wonder why he was sent to the capital prison and not the Boiling Rock.

Most likely, to separate him from anyone else, in case they could form a coup d'etat.

Zuko could hear footsteps outside in the stone hallway. The door swung open and in stepped a small, familiar figure. She had gold eyes similar to his own, half her hair pulled up with a decorated topknot and robes of fine silk. "Hello, Zu-Zu" were the words that passed through her ruby lips.

In the dark, just like this, she looked like their dear mother. Had she not spoken, he would have believed it too. His dormant reflexes jumped to alert at the sound of her voice. "What are you doing here, Azula?"

"How dare you!" the prison guard exclaimed. "You shall address the Fire Lord by her appropriate title, traitorous scum!"

Azula held her hand up, signaling silence. "Leave us."

The guard obediently bowed and closed the door, leaving the siblings in total seclusion.

Strange, Zuko thought, how events have turned out. Azula, his little sister, daddy's perfect protégé, had manipulated her way onto the throne... a role that was his birthright. And yet, here he was in a prison cell, while she stood before him in royal robes.

Then again, a part of him was not that surprised. "Well?" Zuko stood from his spot and made his way to the bed; a stone slab barely small enough for one person, against the wall, supported by twin chains. "What do you want?"

"Well, I've come to see you, Dear brother," she curled her lips in an evil smile, her eyes narrowing at him, mocking him. "I wanted to make sure you're taken care of. You know, not overly abused, fed on time and whatnot."

"Whatever, Azula. You're here just to wallow in triumph," Zuko leaned forward, elbows resting upon his knees.

She stood tall, directly in front of him; Zuko could clearly see the details of the silk that covered her body. "Oh, don't say that, Zuko," Azula crossed her arms. "I'm just looking out for you, that's all."

"Just like how you looked out for me after Ba Sing Se? By telling our father that I killed the Avatar as insurance to screw me over?"

"You forget by telling him that, you won over Dad's favor."

"Tssh," Zuko tisked. "No, I was just a pawn in your game. But not anymore. I'm not gonna let you have the upper hand."

Suddenly, her hand reached out and grabbed a tight grip around his jaw. He grimaced as her long nails dug into his skin and his cheeks. He could not read her eyes, even as she forced his face to look at her. Moonlight was at her back, darkening her features. "Have you forgotten who's the one in prison? I always have the upper hand, I make sure I do. You know that," she teased, "it's been that way since we were children."

Zuko tried to shake or pull his head free from her grasp but no avail. He could feel her fingertips coming in harder, bruising his jaw muscles under his skin. His hand flew to her wrist, yanking her hand away. At the very same moment, Azula planted her knee in the space between his thighs. Zuko froze and sat up straight, trying to distance himself from his sister. "You really think you could have the upper hand," she dropped her voice to tiny whispers as she leaned forward, holding her face at his eye level, the distance between them only a breath apart.

Zuko felt his mind spin as his heart raced, feeling the heat of her body so close by. He wanted to move but he could not. He felt intoxicated, under the spell of some outside force, holding him back from pushing her out of his personal space. His eyes briefly peered down at his lap; a touch of moonlight reflected off the pale skin of her warm thigh. Zuko swallowed.

"You think you could take it all? You think you can take the Fire Lord?" Azula's lips brushed against his right ear, against his skin all while placing a free hand onto his knee and slowly moving it upward. "Go ahead and try," she hissed, her lips curling into a smile against his skin.

Zuko's system jumped in alarm. He could feel her hand, her hot palm, her long nails, run across his muscles from over his thin linen pants. And as her hand made its slow trek upward, a single word poured out of his thoughts.

Faster.

Zuko felt horrified with himself and yet he could not deny the feeling of anticipation thumping in his ribcage. For a few moments, a thought occurred to him: What if he put his hand on her thigh? Zuko immediately shook his head, scolding himself for entertaining such a thought.

He could not concentrate, not with this proximity... Zuko pulled her aside, using the hand on her wrist. He needed to get out of that position, fast, that position of inferiority. "Don't think I won't, Azula, because I will," he strode to the other side of the cell. "That crown is my birthright and I'm going to take what's rightfully mine. I'm going to take it back and do the right thing with it."

"You mean save the world, bring peace?" she mocked, stepping up towards him. For a brief second, she stepped into the moonlight and then continued her direction to the darker corner of the prison cell, towards him. "Don't be stupid. With Dad as the Phoenix Lord and the Avatar most likely dead, you're just chasing pipe dreams."

Zuko stood up against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Then again, Zuko," Azula continued to take steps closer and closer to her older brother, "Maybe you could beg for forgiveness. I'm sure there's... something that can be done."

Zuko's hands dropped to his sides, freeing them in case he needed them for attack.

"I could help you, if you want me to," Azula smiled at him again, her lips in a cunning smirk. "That is," she stepped up to him, a single hand of hers fiddling with the belt around his waist. Azula was only a few centimeters away from his chest when she titled her head up to look at him in the eye. "That is, if you ask very nicely."

The whole time, Zuko thought she moved like a snake, slithering towards its prey. He tilted his head downwards, meeting her eye to eye. That same feeling of intoxication filled him again; he could not move away. Zuko felt new sensations of anger, determination and something else fester in his gut and his loins. Do not give in... "I won't be manipulated again," he told her. "I'm not your toy."

The smile on her face grew wider, showing a sense of triumph. "Silly Zu-Zu. You are a toy." and Azula pinned him against the cold stone wall with her body, pressing her chest against his. She tilted her head higher so her red lips brushed his jaw line. "A little toy I like to play with..."

Zuko closed his eyes. The way she slithered against him, Zuko had to pull every ounce of willpower to keep his hands against the wall behind him. His mind wandered beyond his control, proposing that based on sensation alone, she may have not been wearing anything else underneath her robes. While a part of him reprimanded himself for having such lewd thoughts, the other part kept praying for it to be true. And the familiar scent of jasmine from her shampoo, mixed with... oolong tea? Tilt his head or not? Let his hands move or hold them still? Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat; he could feel his body rise to the occasion.

And soon his senses were knocked off-balanced. She stepped away from him, the heat between their bodies dropping to his feet. "Guard!" she called and the door opened, revealing the torch-lit hallways. Azula stepped into the doorway before turning over her shoulder and telling her brother, "I'll see you some other time," and let the guard close the door behind her.

Zuko released the breath he did not realize he was holding. His knees bent and he sat himself down on the floor, back against the wall.

He had a sudden craving for a cup of boiling hot oolong tea.