A/N: This was written for the Pro-Bender Challenge.

Task: One member of your pairing tries to surprise the other.

Prompts: (object) a doll, (dialogue) "I said I was sorry, okay!" (location) Omashu

Pairing: Azula/Combustion Man

Standard disclaimers apply. 1,273 words. Is a one-shot.

Azula moved closer to Combustion Man, admiring his arm muscles in the way she always did. He sat there gazing at her delicate features, seemingly wondering how he would make this object he wanted to give her, a good, wonderful thing that she would enjoy beating up as much as he did with things like this.

"I just wanted to tell you that while we're here in Omashu, I don't really want to do anything but bully around a few people and things. That wretched king is taken care of for right now." Azula said, and he grunted in reply.

They had arrived in Omashu only a few days ago but all of them; Azula, himself, Ty Lee, and Mai, had taken care of King Bumi for good and were enjoying themselves in the meantime. Even though he knew he was supposed to be hunting down the Avatar, it was quite relaxing to be with his one, true, evil love, and for her to think the same thing. Slowly, he fingered the object in his hand that he was holding behind his back, wondering how something so delicate was going to survive the beatings he intended Azula to use on it. It was a good payment for any damage he had done to their relationship with each other in the past few months, all of which consisted of giant explosions and burning buildings. A searing pain went through his head suddenly and he caused another building to catch fire, and heard someone yell "My cabbages!" Azula was laughing hysterically.

"Oh, I'm so glad you can just do that, it makes up for lost times! I don't need that building, so don't start worrying." she laughed, and he put an arm around her, not caring if he was gentle or not.

Slowly, he pulled out the object from behind his back. Azula became silent, and he handed it to her, hoping it was good enough for her to be amazed at. She, instead, stared at it in shock, but she didn't seem amazed. He moved closer to her as she examined the object. It was a doll, but better yet, it was in the form of the Avatar. She could beat it whenever she wanted to, if she wanted to cause pain for the Avatar in anyway whatsoever.

As she stared at it, he got the feeling she wasn't happy or amazed, nor was she at all interested.

"You actually bought a doll for me?!" she sounded incredulous. "What do you mean by this? Is this payback for the time I bought you a building to blow up?"

He mulled this over, thinking about that one time she had. He had blown it up, but only in anger and disgust that she would do something like this. He wanted a human to set fire to, not a building, not the one object he always seemed to be blowing up or setting fire to. She had looked amazed after he set fire to it and stormed away, in disgust and anger still. Then another memory came to him, something that seemed far worse than any other, one where he had tried to kill Azula herself.

Flashback

There she stood, in all of her glory, looking incredibly angry and frustrated with him. He had just attempted to get the Avatar, and even though it was her brother who had assigned him, she had always had feelings for him and he wanted to impress her with capturing the Avatar. Instead, all he had managed to do was lose the Avatar again in the process.

"I can't believe you didn't get him!" she said, then, after a moment of thinking, said, "Actually, I can. You were a fool to try and capture him. Zuko is a fool to have sent you out."

He stepped forward, ready to hurt her in any way he could even though it would hurt his heart too badly if he did. He'd never forgive himself. But he wanted to destroy, he wanted to burn, he wanted to hurt. That was what caused him to step forward, and the familiar searing pain went through his head.

"I said I was sorry, okay!" screamed Azula, jumping out of the way at the last minute as he shot fire at her.

He backed off, looking at her, ready to try and hurt her again, ready for anything, wanting so badly to hurt her for insulting him and his failed attempts at capturing or killing the Avatar. Azula was holding that blue light that he did not know the name of but he dreaded it; and she was looking quite furious, her hair falling down in that amazing, hot way, and her eyes glowing in the way that attracted him to her many a time.

Then, he started shooting more fire at her. She had never said sorry; she was only saying that because she wanted to get out of this scenario of a failed attempt at a surprise.

End of Flashback

Azula was watching him with that familiar look in her eyes, the cold, glazed over one, and he stared at her.

"Well, I see no reason for you to give me payback. After all, that was only because I thought you might like the idea of having something to destroy and get your anger out on." she said, and he realized she was still on the topic of the house she had given him. He nodded. "Then that problem's settled and over with."

He nodded again and she moved closer. Suddenly Ty Lee was in front of them, looking just as excited as she always was, with that look he hated. She was too hyper, not enough hatred seemed to be inside of her, and that was the reason he had attracted to Azula. Azula had hatred, she was angry at everything, and she would strike out at random times just like he did.

"I'm going to go find food, is there anything you guys want?" she asked, but Azula, from what he could see, sent a horribly dirty look at Ty Lee who just shrugged and bounced off.

"We are so similar. You and I will dominate the world, I know we can." Azula said, and he saw the blue lightning in her hand. "But why give me a doll when there is the real thing out there?"

Combustion Man shrugged, not really sure why he had gotten her a doll but only knowing that it had something to do with the fact that she needed someone to beat up and since the real thing wasn't there, he had come up with a substitute. Yet the idea of surprising her had been the initial intention and he was slightly angry at her for not accepting it like he wanted her too.

"Are you disappointed? Was it supposed to be a surprise?" she asked. "Because you know I hate surprises. Things need to just come and go as they need to, and I need to know everything that's happening, ever."

He looked at her and knew what she said was true, he knew how she was. If there was a fight down in the south end of the world, Azula would know about it. His girlfriend was just the right type because she knew what to do and was powerful and full of hate. She also was a firebender, but not only that, she was a powerful prodigy that everyone feared. "Just as they should," he thought, "and just as they should to me."