Brown eyes stare at the now King Zuko as he steps into the padded cell his sister has been in for the last five years. The siblings gaze into each other's eyes, both searching for any sign of malice toward the other that would put them on alert. Zuko has visited Azula several times a month for the past five years, but within the past year he has seen a change in his sister's demeanor. She no longer stares at him in disgust when he walks in the room with her title. She no longer calls him every insult in the book and then some. 'Her eyes…they're beautiful when they're not cold and devious,' Zuko thinks to himself. Azula's eyebrow quirks up in confusion, an emotion Zuko has never seen her openly convey. This one action reassures King Zuko of the validity of his decision. He kneels before his sister and personally unlocks her chains.
"Azula, you're free."
"What!?" Sokka and Katara exclaim at the same time. Even though half of a decade has passed, and the group is in their twenties, except for Toph whose turning 18, Sokka and Katara still have their doubts that the once psychotic fire princess can be helped, let alone be set free. Zuko maintains a straight face as Aang and Suki glance uneasily at their significant others, while Toph flinches at the frequency of the water tribe siblings.
"Geez! I'm blind, not deaf!"
Sokka ignores the comment as he starts rambling about crazy fire benders. Katara steps up to Zuko, not bothering to be respectful of royalty since they were in the king's private quarters. "Zuko…are you sure that was a wise decision? I mean yes she's been locked up for years but…"
"Look," Zuko interrupts evenly, "I've seen a change in her within the past year. Her eyes are different, and I know she is too. She's my sister. I know her." Sokka suddenly yells, "What if she's playing you! Her sick twisted way of getting out so she can kill you, take the throne, and take over the world!" The room temperature rises as Zuko gets angry. Toph takes this as her cue to leave, and pats Zuko on the shoulder, which she can now reach, "I'll see you later your majesty. Don't kill him. I wanna at least maim him before I die." After Toph walks out, Suki then grabs Sokka and drags him out also, threatening to take away their 'night activities' in the process.
Katara and Zuko continue to glare at one another, until Aang steps in between them, facing his girlfriend, "I've been visiting Azula for years, and I agree with Zuko." Both Katara and Zuko look at the avatar in surprise. At that moment, Azula steps into Zuko's quarters, having knocked and been ignored. All eyes turn to her as she stands there, slightly stunned and uncomfortable by the sudden attention. Katara huffs and turns to leave, dragging Aang with her, stalking past Azula without as much as a glance. Unbeknownst to her, Aang and Azula stare at each other, noting how much the other has changed. With one yank, Aang is gone. Zuko coughs, drawing his sister's attention to him with a suspicious look, "Did you want something Azula?" She blinks wondering why her heart was feeling funny. Azula hasn't felt anything there in so long…
"Oh yeah…dinner's ready."
Katara drags Aang in her bedroom and slams the door, "I can't believe you agree that Azula should have been let out! Have you forgotten everything she's done!? She nearly killed me!" Aang breathes a sigh and pulls his arm from his girlfriend's grip, "Katara, I love you, but sometimes you overreact. Azula's been locked away for five years straight. Don't you think she's done her time?" "NO!" Katara answers, looking at Aang incredulously, "If you loved me, you'd at least care to understand my point! And it's funny that you think I'm overreacting when my BOYFRIEND, goes to see another WOMAN, who also tried to KILL ME, and doesn't tell me!" Aang just stands there, staring at Katara evenly, lips pressed in a thin line. "Aang, you should leave…" The avatar doesn't move. "LEAVE!" Katara uses the water bending technique that she swore she would never use again. She bends the water in Aang's body and forces him to leave the room. Once he's out, she slams the door and locks it.
"I'm sorry."
Aang whirls around to once again see Azula standing before him. 'She must have heard,' the avatar thinks to himself, seeing the saddened look on the fire princess' face. Once again, they find themselves staring at each other. Azula uses the opportunity to further examine how the avatar has grown. He's now taller than her, lean, with muscle to show for the years of bending. Still bald, he stares into her eyes. 'Just like he said I've changed so has he.' He was no longer the naïve little boy she once chased around the world. He has hardness in his eyes, but also a mature kindness, which Azula found…EXTREMELY sexy. She blinks at the thought, barely able to turn her head to cover the blush. 'My face is hot…and so is he,' Azula's face gets even redder, much to her annoyance.
Aang notices and stares in bewilderment as the fire princess nervously smoothes the wrinkles from her clothing, drawing his attention to her shapely body.
"I'm sorry for causing tension between you and your…girlfriend."
Azula starts walking away. Before Aang could call her back and respond, Katara opens her door and glares at the avatar until Aang looks at her. She looks down the hall just when Azula turns the corner. "Aang, I said leave. You can't just stand here all night waiting for me. I-"
"I'm not standing here waiting for you Katara," Aang interrupts with a sigh, "Goodnight."
Aang walks the fire nation palace and walks into the courtyard to find Azula, staring into the night sky. Aang comes up behind her, and Azula speaks first. "Why did you start visiting me three years ago? All this time I thought I was being paranoid…but it was you this whole time," Azula turns slightly to look at Aang from the corner of her eye, "Wasn't it?"
Aang smiles gently, with a faint blush coming across his cheeks and ears. Azula turns away again, but Aang sees the embarrassed, but cute smirk anyway. "Azula…when we were enemies, I felt sorry for you. You were killing yourself from the inside out trying to please your father. I doubt you ever felt any positive emotions, that didn't come from torturing somebody." Azula flinches at this but says nothing, further proving Aang correct that she has changed. "When you finally snapped at the end of the war, I felt relief. Do you know why?" Azula then turns around fully to face the avatar; her face contorted in a pain that Aang hopes she will never feel again, "No. Why?"
Aang once again gets lost in the young woman's eyes, and with a heavy sigh, steps closer, with his face mere inches from hers, "You had to break, on order to be built back up again." Azula blinks, sending collected tears streaming down her face, as Aang gathers her in a warm hug he's sure she hasn't had in years, if ever.
"You're free to live now."
The sun streams through the palace windows onto Azula and Aang's sleeping forms. The woman is curled into a ball, with Aang's arm strewn protectively across her vulnerable form. They don't notice King Zuko standing a few feet away, with a look of both acceptance and confusion. He turns and walks out quietly. 'Aang will tell me later. I'll let Azula have her peace.'
Author's note: Thanks for reading! This is my first Avatar fanfic, and I wanted it to a little drabble I guess lol. please review. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Maybe...just maybe...I'll make a sequel. It's up to the readers. *shrugs* :-P