A/N: CONTENT WARNING: Things get very spicy. VERY. You have been warned. Now I'm the villain in your history. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

Tired

[Winter/Spring 107 AG]

Life is filled with many failures. Little failures that teach us about ourselves and what we're capable of. Larger failures that tell us when we're in over our heads. Every failure is an opportunity to grow, or at least that's what he's told himself. If that's true then tonight is just one large opportunity to grow. Chan Yu finds many opportunities to grow at the bottom of a glass of cactus juice.

He sits alone in the Caldera City bar and reflects on his day. He hasn't been back in the Capital in some months. The Huashi District has been his home recently, although not by choice. The Fire Lord had "chosen" him for a special project to help clear out a nearby island of its wildlife. He'd been selected about a year or so ago, but the real work hadn't picked up until recently. All of this to punish him because he let the bitch slip right out from under him 5 years ago and promptly become the butt of every joke within the halls of the Royal Palace.

Now, instead of giving reports on villages, he finds himself hunting wildlife so the Avatar can 'do something' with the island afterwards. As if the job isn't agony enough, he also has to deal with an annoying animal protectionists organization and one of their particularly vocal, piece of shit activists.

The bar doors swing open and almost as if on cue Eraye herself walks through the door. She says hello and stops to chat with the barkeep. A girl with a hairdresser follows behind her but doesn't speak. She makes idle chat with a few other patrons before she finally notices him in the dark corner. Eyes widening, voice pitching, arms raising, she shouts her surprise.

"Chan Yu! You're back!"

She approaches with her mute friend in tow. "What a pleasant surprise. I thought you were on-sight this week? What are you doing here?"

The gruff older man doesn't reply. He just stares down the golden eyed, blue haired woman. She smiles warmly towards him as she stops at his table. He lifts one eyebrow at her and finally grumbles, "Go away Eraye."

"Oh, there's that sense of humor I love so much!" She replies.

She waves a hand between the two and says, "Chan Yu, this is my associate Iman from up North."

The woman in the face covering simply nods with prayer hands at Chan Yu. All he sees are the gold of her eyes. She is quite tall, towering over the shorter Eraye. The peppy business woman sits down and so does Iman. As she does she tells him, "Thank you for offering us a seat!"

"I didn't."

"'Scuse me! Yes! Two glasses, and top off his as well? Thank you."

"Damn it Eraye, I came here to drink alone, can't you give me even that?"

"Please," she implores him. "Let us share a drink and make amends."

If Chan Yu could get away with it, he would murder Eraye for her ambition. Maybe he will, or maybe he'll pay some criminals to do it for him. The gruff, elder statesman does not object as the waitress refills his glass. Eraye lifts hers up above her head. Iman follows. After a moment, Chan Yu begrudgingly lifts his glass barely an inch off the table.

He speaks low and quickly, "To new opportunities to grow."

Eraye cheers and then all three throw the drinks back.

"C'mon, Chan Yu," Eraye says, hoisting his lumbering arm over her shoulder. "Let's get you out of here."

Iman gets on his other side and they sling his arm over her shoulder as well. His feet drag somewhat as they move towards the exit. The barkeep calls out to them.

"Aye! Era. Is he going to be alright?"

"No problem, Anuma. We're going to get him in a carriage and get him home."

Chan Yu mumbles out, "Screw your birth jack blerg."

"Yes, that's right, Chan, you tell them!" She says cheerfully.

Anuma shouts, "Should I call for some guards to assist?"

"No!" Eraye shouts as they quickly approach the exit. "That won't be necessary!"

Eraye and Iman burst through the doors and stop outside the shop. Eraye lifts a hand up and a carriage down the street moves towards them. It's late in the night and the streets are bustling with people. Yet a grown, muscular man hangs off of two, petite women. A pair of Fire Nation soldiers see this from across the street. They briefly mumble to each other about it. The chances of the man making it home safely aren't promising. They move to assist.

As soon as they step forward, however, out of the shadows another, singular soldier appears. She strides up to the three and asks them what's going on. Eraye assures her it's fine.

"We're just going to get him in a carriage and take him home."

"Ma'am," the female soldier tells them, "This man appears to be dangerously inebriated. I must insist on joining you."

"No!" Eyare shouts, all too quickly. She recovers and says, "That really won't be necessary."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist." She responds.

Eraye hems and haws. Iman eyes her oddly. The carriage stops in front of them, the driver eyeballing the interaction between the soldier and the pedestrians. Many people pass by watching all of this occur, curious about the scene. Eraye finally concedes, "Well, in that case, can you just take him home? It is highly inconvenient for us. We're just a few blocks away and he's all the way outside of town, in the direction of Harbor City."

The driver shouts to them, "Lot of ways to get where he's going."

Eraye provides the address to the soldier driver. The soldier climbs up to the seat beside the driver. Eraye and Iman finally unload him into the back. They shut one door and lock him in, while Eraye holds the last door open a moment. She stares at the old war veteran and frowns. He is barely conscious, his mind adrift in the effects of the copious amounts of cactus juice he'd consumed. She speaks loudly and empathetically.

"Chan Yu. Things haven't always been… easy between us."

His glassy eyes roll over to her as he splays out in the seats. He mumbles, "I can mak't hard."

Eraye looks at Iman and they roll their eyes at each other in response to his comment.

"Well, in any case," she starts to close the door but pauses. "To new opportunities to grow!"

"Tonef oppopotouries t' gre!"

Eraye smiles at this. She shuts the door and locks him in. When she and Iman step back, the carriage kicks and goes caroming off. Iman and Eraye exchange eyes before disappearing into the night to return home themselves.

In the haze of his drunkenness, Chan Yu can hardly keep his eyes open. The horse-drawn carriage carries on and he can hear two people idly chatting with one another. His head hurts like no other and he can hardly move it without it pounding intensely. He vaguely begins to contextualize how long he's been in the seat. He closes his eyes to block out the light and shouts to the front.

"Hey. Hey! Did we have to take a detour? How much further?"

No answer comes, but the two in the front instantly go silent. A few moments pass. Chan Yu groans at their lack of respect. He pushes himself up as much as he can and draws back the curtains. When he does, he's confused. There's no passing city streets or buildings of the Capital. There's an orange hue emanating from somewhere, casting long shadows of a deep and dense forest. He blinks, his eyes straining from the drinks, head still pounding, sensitive to all light. He mumbles to himself.

"What the spirits?"

Before he can get his bearings together, the carriage comes to an abrupt stop. Chan Yu hears two people disembark. He shouts obscenities and disapproval. He pulls on the handle but it's locked from the outside for the riders protection. He asks if they know who he is and threatens them. Suddenly, the door opens. He is a little stunned by the sight. The frame of a fire nation soldier standing before him is outlined by bright orange flames behind her. Even in the darkness, her violet eyes and red hair shine through the night.

"We're here."

With swiftness and strength she reaches in and pulls his upper body. She flings him out of the carriage with ease. He smacks his head on the ground as he tumbles. Moaning as he tries to sit up here notices at last a pair of pointed shoes right in front of him. His eyes drift lazily upwards, and he rises up on his knees. More orange flames in the background providing a silhouette of a woman. She sneers down at him with dark hair and golden eyes. With a devious smile she greets him.

"Welcome to where you're going."

She lifts a foot up to his shoulder and with swiftness she kicks him. He rolls onto his back, but rather than hit the ground he feels himself fall through the sky momentarily. It lasts but a moment before he hits the earth. Chan Yu collects himself and just as he's standing back up he's struck by a number of objects.

He looks up and watches dirt rain down upon him. He screams, "Hey! HEY!"

"Hold." A woman's voice says, barely audible.

"Let me out of here! What are you doing? What's wrong with you?"

The same woman who kicked him now steps forward and peers down at him. He shouts, "Let me out! What are you doing?"

"I'm putting you where you belong, Chan Yu. Like you tried to do to me."

'Like I tried to do to her?'

Chan Yu racks his brain. He doesn't even know this woman. He yells, "What are you talking about? I've never even seen-"

He stops mid-sentence. He's never seen her before but he knowsher.

"It… it can't be. You're… you're… you're…"

"I'm, I'm, I'm," she replies while mocking his voice. "The Dragon Empress."

Azula turns away. The Kemurikage lift their shovels again and rain dirt down upon him. He shouts and yells indiscernibly. Azula shouts to him, "Scream as loud as you want. No one will hear you out here."

Azula strides up to Ruki. "Let Eraye know that it's finished. The reclamation project on that little island is all hers now."

"What do we get for this, Empress?"

"Apart from getting paid? Nothing," she tells her with a shrug. With a smirk forming though she says, "But the Red Lotus gets a detailed map of the Avatar's future home island."

She walks away, the sounds of Chan Yu's cries for help echoing throughout the night. The mission accomplished, she departs the woodland surrounding Caldera and makes way for home

Ty Lee stands defeated.

She looks around the rundown home and sighs in disappointment. She's traveled all this way in the thick of the winter and found nothing. She'd racked her brain and thought this was the only option. One evening in the Fire Lord's Throne Room she had asked Zuko if he still owned the beach house at Ember Island. He assured her that he did, but hadn't been to it in many years.

"This was it," she mumbles to herself.

The house was indeed empty and completely barren. No one had been here in years, maybe even since she had visited when she was 14. Now she's almost 21 and in those seven years so much has changed. She betrayed Azula. The war ended. Fire Lord Zuko. Azula escaped. Azula returned. Azula disappeared. Ty Lee hunted her. And at every turn she has become flustered.

The brunette grows angry and wants to break something. She doesn't. She quiets herself and tries to smooth over her aura. Tries to release the pain in other ways. She does some breathing exercises for a few moments. When she has settled, she turns and walks out of the Fire Lord's home.

"She's here somewhere. She has to be."

Ty Lee heads to the neighbors to do some door-to-door canvassing.

Ty Lee approaches another door, her feet dragging. She's knocked on dozens of doors now. Most have not answered. The ones that have answered don't know anything about a girl, or tell her the description she gives is too bland. She can tell these people are simply too rich to care about their neighbors. It's not like talking to the villagers across the Fire Nation who are clearly protecting Azula the way she protects them. These people know nothing out of ignorance, not omission.

She knocks. She can hear commotion from the inside. After another moment someone finally opens. An adult woman, perhaps another ten years or so older than herself, opens the door. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm sorry but I'm a bit lost and I'm hoping you can help," she lies. She's said it so much now that it practically flows right out of her mouth. "I was supposed to meet a friend at their home but I never got an address."

"Oh dear," the woman says while crossing her arms and leaning against the door. "That's unfortunate."

"Yes, it is," Ty Lee says, feigning disappointment. "I know she lives somewhere around here, but I don't know what house."

"Well maybe I can help. What's her name?"

"Her name is Mai." She lies.

"Hmm. I don't know any Mai's. None that live here anyway."

"I see. Well, she is rather private, it's possible you haven't met her or maybe she didn't give her real name."

"Oh?" The dark haired woman is piqued.

"Yes. She often gives fake names or one's she's made up."

"Could you describe what she looks like?"

"Sure!" Ty Lee grows hopeful. "She is a little shorter than me. She has black hair and bright golden eyes. She's about my age, her birthday-"

"I think I know who you're talking about, actually!"

"You do?" The optimism peaks.

"Yeah. There's a girl, younger than me, probably your age. She bought the old Chan house a few years back. She doesn't come to any socials, she doesn't interact with anyone. Just sits in that old box in the winters and no one ever sees her."

"The old Chan house?" Ty Lee mumbles, her mind racing, her pulse quickening.

"Yeah. She matches the description you gave. Oh so you're one of her friends?"

"Umm, yes. That's right."

"That's good. She's always there alone. I worry. It's no way to live, you know."

Licking her lips, Ty Lee asks, "Can you share that address with me?"

"She locked it, of course she locked it."

Ty Lee let's go of the front door handle. They'd been here before for a party. She knows this place. She knows what's on the other side of the door. She knows what's on the other side of the house. She backs up and looks up. She turns and looks around. There isn't another human within eyesight. She bends at the knee and leaps up. She lands gracefully on the roof.

Ty Lee quickly walks across it, keeping low to avoid being spotted. She arrives on the other side and drops down to a balcony. She reaches for the handle of the sliding door. Sure enough it pulls open and she enters.

There's a sense of fear that is mixed with wonder. She walks through the home and investigates. She's looking for artifacts. Proof. Anything to confirm her belief. Anything to justify coming here and breaking into this house. There are no pictures, which in and of itself feels like proof that it's her. There are no artifacts so it can't be tied to her. Maybe that's just Ty Lee wanting to believe it's her.

The clothes in the closet are ornate and gorgeous. She finds jewelry nicer than any she's ever seen before. She opens a cabinet in the nightstand and finds a switchblade with a red handle. The bathroom has been renovated and now features a massive bathing tub.

"Of course," she mutters to herself upon seeing it.

She gets to the kitchen and when she opens the cabinet it's filled with bottles of cactus juice. Rows and rows of cactus juice. Ty Lee helps herself. She uncorks the bottle and pulls right from it. She wanders around the home, lightly sipping wherever she goes. Part of her wants to celebrate. She's found the Dragon Empress. She'll send a messenger hawk to Zuko and Suki and they'll set a trap and they'll have her in no time. Back behind bars, where she belongs.

Another part of Ty Lee is furious though. There's no real evidence anywhere in the home. No paintings or pictures. No heirlooms or identifiers. Anyone could live in this house. She stands in the kitchen and grows angry. She wonders if she's actually wrong. If this is anyone's home. If Azula has slipped away once again. She wonders how much longer she'll have to search the world before she finally finds her.

With force she chucks the bottle of cactus juice at the wall. It shatters and rains glass down upon the kitchen floor. The liquid spills and runs down the wall. She steams with anger. Groaning, she walks over, leans down, and picks up a large shard of the glass bottle to clean up. She almost doesn't hear in time the turning of a lock on the front door. When the sound registers, Ty Lee feels her soul leap out of her body.

She rushes away, up the stairs, and into the bedroom, carefully and quietly closing the door behind her. The front door finally unlocks and Azula enters her winter home, closing the door and locking it behind her. She throws the keys down and makes straight for her bed. It was an exhausting trip and she just wanted to get some rest and start fresh tomorrow.

She bows her head, closes her eyes, and rubs her temples as she walks through her home. In the bedroom, Ty Lee stands by the closet and quickly attempts to do breathing exercises. She has to try and calm herself down. Control her breathing. Control herself. She opens her eyes and considers making a break for the balcony. Get out before she realizes she's here.

'The Agni damn bottle in the kitchen.'

She'd smashed it in anger. If it is Azula, she'll find it any second and realize there's an intruder. Ty Lee can't leave. She can't go. If she does, Azula will just run again and who knows how many more years will go by before she finds her again. She eyes the nightstand. She quickly opens it, pulls the item out, pockets it, then shuts the cabinet again. She hears a creaking of steps.

Azula smells cactus juice from the kitchen as she walks up the stairs, but she pays it no mind. 'Zirin probably left some out again before we left. Stupid girl. I'll have to punish her for that later.'

She pushes the door to her master bedroom open. Eyes closed previously she opens them and steps into the room. She approaches her bed but stops. Her head tilts to the side as she looks at the balcony sliding door. She thinks briefly about how she never leaves that open. Before she can process it any longer a quiet footstep lands behind her and then she feels two quick jabs to the back.

"Huh!"

For the first time in years, the Dragon Empress is brought to her knees. She falls to the carpeted, bedroom floor. Azula doesn't even bat an eye. She is annoyed, but as she sits on her knees in her bedroom, she knows who did this to her. There's only one person on Earth who could do this.

"Ty Lee? Was that you who left the good cactus juice out in the kitchen? Did you have a party without me?"

The brunette walks around until she stands above the kneeling girl. Her jaw hangs open as she looks down. Her hair is long again, like she hasn't seen in years. Her eyes are just as bright and golden. She simply mumbles, "It's really you. I found you."

Azula can't feel her arms, nor can she feel the fire coursing through her body, but she can certainly feel her legs. She rises up off the ground, slowly, and comes face-to-face with her. Ty Lee's grown a lot over the years. Just as voluptuous as she was before, but now she's slightly taller than Azula. They stand opposed to each other.

"It's really me. So what are you gonna do with me, now that you've found me? All alone in my bedroom?" Azula flirts with her.

Ty Lee doesn't break. She pulls a piece of broken glass from her pocket and holds it up to Azula's neck. "I'm going to kill you."

Azula purses her lips. She stares into those grey eyes. She makes a face at her and then simply strides away, towards the balcony. "Hmm, no you're not."

Ty Lee watches her walk. "Yes, I am."

Azula reaches the door. She uses her feet to slide it shut. Without even looking back she replies, "You're not."

"I am." Ty Lee insists.

"You're not." Azula tells her, turning back around, smiling.

"I am!"

Azula shakes her head and chuckles. "You like me too much."

"Alright listen, just sit down." Ty Lee commands her, gesturing to Azula's makeup table. "I have some things I want to say."

Azula nods and moves to the seat. She sits down without argument, biding her time until her slacken arms can come back and the fire stokes again. Ty Lee sits down opposite of her, on the edge of Azula's bed. She lets out a giant sigh and they stare at one another a second. Ty Lee observes Azula's aura to be raging blue. She huffs.

"I think about you all the time," she confesses. "I think about what you're doing, and who you're doing it with. I think about how you hide in plain sight and how you've accomplished that. I think about what you eat before you kill someone. I think about what you think about as you kill them. I think about how you decide all of your titles and where you originally got all of them. I think about what clothes you wear and how much time you spend on your makeup. I think about what soaps and oils you use to bathe. I think about what happened in your family."

Azula had leaned in as she spoke, entranced by this speech. Mystified that they shared such a similar experience.

"I think about you too," she confesses. "Mostly when I masturbate."

Ty Lee blinks a few times and visibly leans away.

"Sorry, too much information?"

"I just. Not what I was expecting."

Azula nods in acceptance.

"What do you want?" Ty Lee asks her. "Seriously this time. Don't screw with me."

She leans back and shrugs. She looks away and thinks before turning back to the Kyoshi Warrior. "When I first got out, I wanted to control Zuko and make him into the kind of Fire Lord I thought I would be."

Ty Lee nods.

"But now I just want normal stuff. A lasting legacy. Lots of money. A nice life," she looks around. "Good house. Worthwhile work."

She pauses. A flash of her future hits her, or maybe it's the past. She can't tell if it's a premonition or a memory. In a different tone, much softer, she tells her childhood friend.

"Someone to grow old with."

Ty Lee nods absentmindedly. She closes her eyes. She puts the sharp glass shard down on the bed beside her and leans back until she's lying in the bed. Azula watches her go back in disbelief. She had no response to Azula's comment. She put her weapon down. She is lying down, eyes shut, in her bed. Azula is completely surprised. The woman across from her is completely defenseless and splayed out across her bed. She stands up.

She looks down at her and Ty Lee just lies with her eyes closed, her breathing steady. Azula is incredulous. She could kill her right here and now. Ty Lee has surrendered herself to that potential fate. Yet something stops her. Her arms and hands work again, even if she's not sure the firebending is back yet. She reaches down and takes the shard of glass and holds it, uncertain of what to do. Slowly, she decides to just lie down next to her.

Azula lowers herself onto the bed until she's lying beside Ty Lee. She steals a few glances at the girl beside her until she decides to also close her eyes. They lay there for a moment in quiet and silence. Azula can almost hear the lapping of the ocean waves, crashing into the Ember Island shores through the closed doors and walls. It's peaceful, if just for a moment.

Ty Lee breaks the quiet. "I am so Agni damn tired. Aren't you tired?"

She opens her eyes and looks at the raven haired Princess. Azula opens her eyes and looks at the grey eyed friend. Simultaneously they roll on their sides to face each other. Azula lays in the bed, still holding the glass shard.

"Are you going to kill me?" Ty Lee asks, voice nearly breaking.

Azula searches those pools of grey. She shakes her head.

"You promise?"

Memories flash through of the last few years. The hunt and the chase.

"I promise."

She leans backwards, raises her hand over her head, and drops the shard of glass onto the bedroom floor. She leans back towards Ty Lee. She asks her, "What now?"

Ty Lee looks down at her lips. So close. They're only a few inches away. "I don't know."

Azula pursues her. "Do you want to stay for a while?"

"I think I do." Ty Lee bites her lower lip. "But I've never done anything like this before."

"You know," Azula says, scooching closer. "After you get chi blocked you have incredible flexibility."

She rolls on her elbows until she's on top of Ty Lee. Ty Lee gasps a moment and so does Azula. The Dragon Empress feels something in her lower abdomen. It's sharp and painful. She looks down. Ty Lee presses a switchblade with a red handle against her body.

"That's sharp."

"I know."

"You won't."

"I will."

With a few pounds of force, Ty Lee pushes the blade into Azula's abdomen. She lets out an ear piercing scream.

"AHHHH!"

Ty Lee initially takes pleasure in seeing her scream, watching the terror on her face. She envisions Ayon and all the others that Azula has killed in her wake. But the next moment the revenge dream dies as she realizes that she's stabbed her. Her bravado melts away as she comes to grip with the reality of the moment.

"This fucking hurts, Ty Lee!" Azula shouts at her. "I liked you."

"I'm so sorry! Oh my Agni. Oh no. I'm sorry, I'm gonna pull it out!"

"No, don't!"

It's too late. Ty Lee pulls the blade out of her stomach and blood begins gushing out of the open wound. Azula covers the wound with her hands. She screams at her.

"Why did you do that! This is so much worse!"

Azula rolls onto the bed, holding the wound. Ty Lee springs up, yelling. "I'm so sorry! I got you, I've got you, I'm gonna go get-"

Ty Lee runs into the bathroom. She rifles through the belongings, uttering 'shit' under her breath over and over again. She finds a bath towel at last. As she rushes to the door she shouts, "Here!"

A large 'floom' sound fills her ears and the next thing she knows there is a burst of blue fire that blocks her way out of the bathroom. She backs up and screams, "Hey! Hey! I'm trying to help you!"

Before she can approach again, another burst of blue flame rushes at the door. She stands back and shouts, "Stop! I need to help you! Stop it, Azula!"

A few seconds go by. No more fire comes. Ty Lee stays in the bathroom, waiting for it. The lack of fire though scares her. She wonders if Azula is bleeding out or gone unconscious from the loss of blood. She shouts to her, "I'm coming out! I'm coming to help you!"

She slowly, cautiously comes out around the corner. When she does, however, she does not find Azula unconscious on the ground. She doesn't find her bleeding out. She finds nothing.

Azula is simply gone. The switchblade is gone too. The curtains on the balcony door flutter with the wind. She follows out to the balcony and searches for a trail of blood. She finds none. Ty Lee stands completely baffled. It was as if Azula had disappeared amongst the smoke and shadows.

A/N: Heavily inspired by Killing Eve! This chapter's OST is "Issues" by Julia Michaels.

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious