Posting this tonight as I shall be busy tomorrow.
Katara is angry. They can see it in every twist, turn, and especially in how the sharp lines of water cut through the air, cloth, and the skin underneath.
Zuko is not quite worried but very strongly concerned.
"Should we stop this?" Aang asks anxiously from beside him.
Throwing a quick glance at his friend, Zuko asks "Who are you more worried about: Katara or Azula?"
Aang gives him a suffering look. "Both. Someone is going to get hurt."
When Sokka yelps from the cloud of steam that washes over him, Toph's giggles break into full fledged guffaws.
Katara hisses and lashes out with a barrage of water whips and ice daggers, all of which evaporate at the blue wall of flame that suddenly springs in their path.
The resulting steam clouds the air making it difficult for Katara to spot her opponent and Azula is upon her before the Water Bender can even turn around.
Katara hits the ground hard. Azula is on top of her pinning her arms behind her.
"Are you about done?" The princess says in a bored voice.
The steam cloud is removed by the gentle movement of air.
"Hardly." Katara bites out, as she struggles against the hold.
Azula smirks and leans over to whisper. "Either end this or I will." The threat is clear and Katara stills underneath her.
"You don't scare me, Azula."
"I never said you were scared. I just told you that I would end this and if that means snapping that pretty neck of yours then I guess Zuko will just have to be disappointed."Katara's blue eyes flicker to the man in question and Azula can see her hesitation. "Be a good girl and behave. You may just make Fire Lady one day."
Katara slumps in defeat and Azula rises off her and steps back.
Zuko is quick to help Katara up while glowering at his sister. "Was that really necessary?"
Azula regards him with an indifferent expression. "She seemed to think it was."
Zuko leads Katara away, throwing the occasional glare over his shoulder at his sibling.
The others wander off now that the excitement is over, save one.
"What started that exactly?" Aang asks curiously.
Azula regards him with the same uninterested look. "She's not my mother and the sooner she learns that the better."
"Oh," Aang says in understanding.
Katara does have the rather annoying habit of trying to mother the group. Some take to it. Well, the males take to it. Having their food cooked, clothes washed, amongst other things has left them feeling happy. The females are less than enthused by the Water Bender's mother hen tendencies to put them to work cooking, cleaning and otherwise.
Azula turns on her heel and walks away until his voice stops her. "You're injured."
She stops in her tracks. One of the water whips had hit her in the back but she hadn't even registered the cut. It must have struck on the already scarred skin. Reaching behind her she frowns at the red drops on her fingers.
"Is it bad?" Azula asks as she smears the crimson liquid between her fingertips, watching it stain her skin.
Aang steps up close. "It's soaking your shirt pretty quick. Doesn't it hurt?"
It doesn't hurt. Probably won't ever really hurt. After feeling the wrath of the Fire Lord on her back, Azula doubts it will ever hurt again.
"I can't even feel it." She says dismissively as she starts to walk off again.
"Hold up," He calls to her as he takes her arm. "Let me have a look. I can heal it you know."
Azula narrows her eyes at him as she pulls away from him. "I'll be fine."
She doesn't miss the hurt expression on his face. "You don't have to keep shutting me out."
He can be so exasperating at times.
"I'm not." She denies at first but relents at the big hopeful gray eyes."It's not something I really want to talk about, okay?"
His eyes soften. "Azula, please let me help you."
On some level, Azula finds it amusing that out of the whole group, her brother included, that it is the Avatar of all people that strives to make her feel like she belongs.
Azula holds his gaze trying to decide if she can trust him, or at least trust him with this.
"Fine, but away from the others." If she has to do this, then she wants as much privacy as possible.
Together they walk to the other side of the lake away from the group. Even though there probably isn't another person around for miles, Azula is reluctant to reveal anything. She hasn't even become accustomed to bathing without keeping most of her clothes on still. Even in the palace Azula rarely, if ever, was completely naked. Eyes were everywhere.
"Could you make one of those earth tents?"
Seeing the wariness in her eyes, Aang assents. Once the tent is up she ducks inside and he follows. The sun is bright enough to light the interior and she turns with her back to him, unlacing her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she lets it drop revealing what she's been hiding.
A sharp inhale of breath is the only sound he makes. Gentle fingers reach out to touch the lashes that streak across her skin. A flare of anger flames inside of him and he draws another deep breath against it.
"Azula, what happened?" He manages to keep a level tone.
Looking over her shoulder, she answers. "I do not want to talk about it."
Aang sighs. "Does Zuko know?"
Turning to face away, Azula is resigned to answer. "He knows. Toph knows something is up, but of course she didn't quite see."
This must be the proof Azula had to show Zuko when she found them. Aang grits his teeth at the realization that the Fire Lord did this.
Focusing on the task at hand, he calls the water to him and soon the blue glow fills the small tent. The cut on her back from Katara's water whip is deep but laced over a series of scars, slicing through the unblemished strips of skin in between. The nerve endings were already dead from the lacerations. It's no surprise Azula didn't feel a thing.
Aang heals the cut easily enough and sets to work on the scarring. While Katara is better at this, he knows Azula won't let the Water Bender anywhere near her.
Azula leans forward, relaxing under his touch. It should feel out of place being half dressed in front of a man she doesn't really know allowing him to touch her but this journey has already been so strange then what is a bit more.
His touch is soft, gentle and if she lets her mind run with it then she can create all sorts of scenarios about just what he can do with those hands.
Her eyes snap open and she shakes herself out of such thoughts. Lust is not something Azula has really experienced before but her previous encounters trying to capture the Avatar started as a spark that has kept growing.
Azula was a little more than relieved to find out that Zuko, not Aang, was the one Katara was interested in. Toph is too young and Suki is, for some strange reason, infatuated with the Water Tribe goof. It seems like weakness to admit to such things even in her own head. A princess does not have time for either romantic or lustful notions but is she really a princess anymore?
Aang focuses hard on smoothing the rough edges of the scars. The pink skin is such a contrast to the white porcelain underneath. This is most certainly not how he had hoped to catch a glimpse of Azula half dressed. Ever since their first meeting he has had a curiosity about the Fire Nation Princess. He had been a bit more than disappointed to discover that she was the daughter of his greatest enemy.
He feels a sense of relief though. Azula at least feels open enough with him to allow this. The scars are tragic. To think that Ozai did this to his own daughter redoubles Aang's desire to defeat the Fire Lord once and for all.
It is slow going though as he is not as good at this as Katara. The pink lines smooth but don't fade away. It took an incredible amount of energy to accomplish that much and energy is not something that Aang lacks in.
Sitting back he observes his handiwork. The scars are better but still stand out against her pale skin. "I'll have to do this a few more times to make them go away completely."
Azula doesn't answer as she pulls her shirt up but she turns to him with sparkling golden eyes and a teasing tone. "You just want to hide with me in a tent half naked again."
Aang laughs, face flushing as he looks away. "Well…"
She tilts her head and looks him up and down and smirks. "I could return the favor. Fire Benders do have rather warm hands."
His eyes turn serious as he considers this. "That might prove useful after Earth Bending with Toph." Toph's approach to teaching often leaves him with a multitude of aches and pains.
Azula licks her lips. "It's a date then; healing in exchange for massage."
They crawl back out into the bright light of day and he collapses the tent.
"I wonder how long before Zuko catches on." She muses as they walk back to camp.
"He doesn't strike me as the protective big brother type. Not like Sokka." There is a hint of doubt in Aang's voice as he slows his pace.
Azula frowns as she glances back towards the direction of camp and the brother in question. "He isn't." But that doesn't mean that Zuko won't decide to get a sense of self righteousness about the Avatar sneaking off with his sister to put their respective bending abilities to use for something other than fighting.
"We'll just have to be extra careful." Aang says with a boost of confidence as he walks past her. "Of course, Toph will know. She knows everything."
Reflecting on this, Azula follows. "Perhaps we can bribe her with something." Her mind is already working on the many different ways to put this to work. Some part of her is very excited at the idea of having him alone again.
Aang stops, turning to face her. "You do realize that Toph wants nothing more than to utterly humiliate and tease other people?"
Azula considers this. "In that case, we better work on your Fire Bending. Zuko seems to have improved in exile."
She walks past him on her way back to camp and he lets his eyes follow. A fight with Zuko may be worth time with Azula.
AN: This would be set before Chapter 1. This will most likely be the last bit of fluff you get too so enjoy.