Title: I'm Bored
Author: Looneyluna
Rating: T
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Azula must think I'm an idiot.
I knew exactly what she wanted from me the moment I stepped into her chambers—the former chambers of the Earth King.
Agni, I hated the color green! And badgermoles! I despised that place. Things are looking up now that I'm on my way to the Fire Nation.
"Mai!" she called to me in that lilting, singsong voice of hers, the tone she uses whenever she's getting ready to drop a bomb or ask a huge favor. "I need a favor."
I stood there, disinterested, trimming my nails down to the length of the one I had broken while taking care of that stupid bear. Azula always did have a nasty habit of working out the details of a plan that had gone slightly awry as she went along . I can't believe she put me and the wondernut, Ty Lee, in charge of an empty throne room and a smelly, slobbering bear.
"What is it this time, Azula?" I answered. "Am I to go to the royal stables and shovel ostrich-horse poop?"
Azula chuckled. "No. I already assigned Ty Lee to that particular duty."
Agni, she was such a bitch, but that's what Ty Lee got for trying to teach the bear how to do tricks. I smiled.
Azula motioned for me to sit, so I sat on the bed.
She patted the seat in front of the vanity and mirror. "Sit here."
I rolled my eyes and complied, crossing the room and sitting where she wanted. Azula always did like setting the stage for her little dramas.
She started to unfasten the clips in my hair, and I scowled. Did she have any idea how long it took me to style it? It was five minutes out of my day wasted. I'm not a girlie-girl. I don't like wasting my time on make-up or hair. She gathered a section of my hair in one hand and ran the brush through it, hitting several snags, testament to how little I really do care.
"What do you want, Azula?" I asked, meeting her gaze in the mirror.
Practically tearing my hair out with her rough treatment, Azula went about her task. "I need for you to get close to Zu-Zu. I know that I am asking a lot of you, seeing as he's…scarred now, but I need to keep him in line."
Pulling my cloak on, I ignore the cool wind and approach my newest target. It's almost too easy. Zuko is so conflicted and morose, he makes me look like a ray of sunshine. To be honest, Azula's request wasn't that imposing. I'd always harbored feelings for Zuko.
My feelings had turned into a bizarre obsession after his banishment. After all, I am strange, according to my mother. There's just something about the forbidden that appeals to me. The scar only added to the mystery.
Zuko is standing on deck, staring out at the ocean, his cloak dancing in the wind.
"Aren't you cold?" I ask him.
He gives me a sideways glance. "I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long… over three years since I was home. I wonder what's changed. I wonder how I've changed."
I yawn. "I just asked if you were cold. I didn't ask for your whole life story," I reply, stepping closer to him.
He turns away from me with a pouting scowl. I drape my arm over his shoulder, and I seize the opportunity to get closer to him. I touch his cheek, my fingertips brushing against the leathery flesh of his scar on purpose. I kiss him before he can pull back.
I'm actually disappointed. I had built Zuko up to be more than he actually is, but he's like the rest of us… flawed. He's a fool for siding with Azula. She's just using him.
One thing I know about Azula is this… She plans everything. She leaves no stone unturned.
Poor Zuko. I pity him in a way. Whatever Azula has planned for him isn't going to be pretty.
"Stop worrying," I assure him and walk away, uneasy in the part I am to play in his destruction. I've already taken sides. I won't betray Azula. I'd be a fool to even try.
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FIN