Hey everyone! Another update. This is fairly short, with some fluff at the end, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
June was never in a good mood. She sat in the bar, drinking a beer and beating up the idiots who thought they could come on to her. She sighed and slammed down her drink as another bozo tried to grab at her. She didn't even get up as she kicked him in the face, sending him flying across the room. The bar was located several miles outside Ba Sing Se, which meant that seedy merchants were constantly passing through and stopping at this little pub.
She always hung out here though, remembering the times the pub had once been a respectable establishment (respectable being a relative term). She remembered meeting the soldier, a firebender on the run. He saw one of the guys trying something with her, she was just sixteen. He punched the man in the face, and threw him out of the pub.
They sat and ate, chatting quietly. He offered to teach her self-defense and she took him up on the offer. He invited her to travel with him, evading the fire nation and training together. She agreed, and she packed a few things in a bag. They rode his shirshu for the rest of the day, setting up a camp by a river. He taught her how to fish, and how to put up a tent. She smiled at him, her hair falling in her face.
They laughed around a small fire, eating and joking. She had left on a whim, but was excited at the idea of traveling with the handsome stranger. Her dad had died not long ago, a bounty hunter. They went to sleep after putting out the fire, and Nyla watched over them. In the morning, Akio (meaning hero/manly) taught her some basic self-defense movements. She struggled with it, but after a few hours got the basics down.
She rode behind the tall firebender after they had packed up their camp, her arms wrapped around his body. He was only eighteen, and didn't believe in the war. He had no choice. But when he got the chance, he left. It was why they decided to travel around, so he wouldn't get caught after abandoning the siege of Ba Sing Se. It went on like this for a while, traveling and training. Eventually, they heard that the siege had ended.
They were settling into their tent, having traveled together for a few weeks. "Akio, do you want to go live in Ba Sing Se?" He looked at her, this strong young woman who had decided to travel with him on an impulse. She had tanned some and her dark hair was pulled back from her face, having grown out during their travels. She had started filling out more and her clothes were getting tight and threadbare.
"Is that what you want, June?" She nodded.
"We could get jobs, work and live a quiet life." She looked down. "I'd like to settle down with you, Akio. I've lived my whole life on the run. I… I love you."
He hugged her. "Then to Ba Sing Se it is. I love you, too, June." They smiled and packed their things, ready to live a quiet life together. On their trip to the great city, they planned to marry, a simple affair and get a small place. They would both work and settle down.
They could see the great wall rising in the distance. Their excitement rose with it. Finally, a place they could just relax and live a happy life. They didn't see the Fire Nation soldiers approach them. The area burst into flames as they attacked the young couple. Akio used his bending to lower it from in front of them and urged Nyla to run faster. June cried as she held on to him. Someone used a whip, and she was ripped off the shirshu's back. She screamed and watched as Akio turned Nyla around, running after her. She watched him jump off his back, and start to fight the men he had fought with a few months earlier.
Nyla paralyzed some of the men, but there were too many for the trio. June watched as they burnt Akio, calling him dreadful names. She cried and they tried to shove her into one of their machines, joking about who would get to do what to her first. Akio heard and fought harder. June felt the whip binding her loosen, and she was able to fight some. Nyla was close, and aided her in getting free. June was grabbed off her back again, this time by a man's arms. She fought her best and Akio ran over, trying to fight for her life, her purity.
He was conjuring flames and throwing them at the men grabbing at her. Soon, earthbenders arrived and the soldiers fled. June knelt over the man she loved. He was severely burned and injured, with cuts and bruises marring his body. Tears flowed down both of their cheeks. "June, take Nyla. Go to Ba Sing Se. Live your life. Please." June lay across the man who died for her. She felt him go still, and did her best to lift him over Nyla.
She asked them to escort them to the pub they had met at. One man led them there, where she was allowed to bury his body in the back yard. She set up a small altar, and cried over his grave. She left with Nyla to Ba Sing Se. After spending a week on the streets, she realized without Akio, it held no appeal to her. She got a job as a bounty hunter, and, with Nyla, she traveled the world searching for criminals, becoming one of the most best fighters around. However, whenever she was not working, she was in the pub, as close to her beloved as she could be.
June sighed as she downed another beer. The owner of the pub was a close friend of her late father's and kept a room for her. She sighed again, and trudged up the stairs to her small room. Her room was sparse, holding only a bed, nightstand and wardrobe. Even her wardrobe only held a few different outfits. Her dearest possession, however, sat on the nightstand. She looked at the younger, happy version of her standing next to Akio.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
They had stopped to camp for the night, after what had felt like days of flying. The Dai Li agents made them tents from the rocks. Azula started a fire for them and they sat around it, trying to relax. Ty Lee was still upset over what she had heard today, but Azula had explained that her nephew was being well taken care of. She sighed and rolled onto her stomach, watching the flames flicker.
The two agents had gone into their tent to get some sleep, and Azula looked at the young lady lying next to her. She still looked trouble and it hurt Azula to know she had hurt Ty Lee. She scooted closer to her, and set her hand on the girl's shoulder. Ty Lee looked up at her and tears glistened in her large eyes.
"Oh, Azula!" She started sobbing and Azula wasn't sure what to do. She thought back to what her mother would do to Zuko when they were children, and she pulled Ty Lee into her lap, resting her head on her shoulder. Ty Lee threw her arms around Azula's neck, crying harder.
Azula hugged her back. "It'll be okay, Ty Lee. I promise." Azula didn't know what she was promising, exactly, but she knew she would do almost anything to make her friend smile. Ty Lee snuggled in closer to her friend, her sobbing slowing down.
Ty Lee looked up at Azula, who wiped the tears off her face. "I'm so sorry. I don't mean to be all emotional. I…" Azula cut her off with a finger placed over her mouth.
"It's… it's okay." Azula started to notice just how close Ty lee's body was to hers. She looked down into the girl's big, brown eyes and decided to follow her instincts. She leaned down, covering Ty Lee's lips with a firm but gentle kiss. Ty Lee gasped, and provided Azula with the opportunity to slide her tongue into the girl's mouth.
Azula had forgotten how wonderful it was to kiss and Ty Lee, who had gotten over her initial shock, let go of her resistance and melted into the kiss. Ty Lee's tongue hesitantly met Azula's and Azula felt herself become damp. Her body softened and the kiss deepened between the two of them. Azula leaned Ty Lee onto the ground, her body covering the acrobat's.
They stopped kissing, both breathing heavily. Azula's hair fell like a curtain around the two of them, creating a world where nothing existed beyond the two of them and the moment. Ty Lee looked into Azula's eyes, softened by desire and something more. She smiled at the girl leaning over her, flashing back to the days they had kissed while traveling, the closest of friends.
Azula's hand hovered above Ty Lee's chest, wanting to touch her, yet wanting approval to do that very thing. Ty Lee's eyes closed and her breath caught, wanting Azula to move her hand closer. She could feel the heat but wanted more, and arched her back against it. Azula's eyes widened in surprise. Even when they had traveled before, they had never done more than kiss. She squeezed gently, provoking a sigh from the acrobat.
Ty Lee felt her clothing restrict her, and realized she was no longer in control of her body. She moaned out Azula's name. Azula paused, however, realizing Ty Lee was no longer thinking things through. Although in the past she would have taken advantage of this, she didn't want to push Ty Lee away anymore. She broke away, her body fighting her.
"Azula?" Ty Lee's voice shook and Azula turned to her with a smile.
"Let's get some sleep, Ty Lee." Azula took her hand and they crawled into their tent, snuggling against each other as they fell asleep.
Alright, so I won't be updating for awhile. There are a few things to let you guys reading this know. So I won't be able to update much this summer. That had been my plan, finish this story this summer, but I left all my notes at my school (in another state) and so all I would be able to do this summer is to make this story much longer and fluffier and I don't like to do that. That being said, I'm going to be working on a different one this summer, so if you enjoy my writing, I'm working on a Zutara story, rated M. So I hope you bear with me while this story takes another long break. I'm sorry and hope you will still be interested come September when I am able to update again.