A/N: this chapter contains smut with plot. It's not very explicit, but if you'd rather skip the smut, you won't miss out on much plot. You can skip this chapter and go directly to the next (once it's published). Take care of your reading experience! Also, thank you for all the reviews! Admittedly, I don't know how to use FFnet well, so I don't reply, but you're always welcome to PM me if you'd like to talk about my fic. I reply to comments on Ao3 if you'd prefer that! But just wanted to say I appreciate every single review - thank you so much for them!

The approaching days were filled with preparation upon preparation. Though the total solar eclipse would leave the firebenders incapacitated only for eight minutes (a time Suyin hadn't thought to be significant enough to warrant all this fuss), the military was taking it as a very real concern. Azula was engrossed in preparations – when she was not in a meeting with the Fire Lord and Prince and various generals and captains and other military personnel, she was out in the courtyard training, sometimes with Mai and Ty Lee, or otherwise poring over strategy books. There was much to be arranged, from stationing soldiers to defend the city in the event of an invasion long before the eclipse itself, to evacuating all the townspeople and palace staff to safety, to protecting the Royal Family themselves… There was no detail that went overlooked.

What vulnerability she'd shown that night, nearly a week ago when she'd cried herself raw in Suyin's arms was gone entirely. They hadn't talked about that night. No – the following day came and went just as any other, with no mention of the tears, or embrace, or kiss at all. Admittedly, Suyin had been disappointed – but it wasn't her place to bring it up. Nor to give it any meaning. The princess had come to her in a moment of weakness, seeking comfort. Nothing more, nothing less. She held herself high now, and walked with her usual pride and confidence and no indication that anything was wrong at all. Of no indication that anything had happened between them at all. Then again – there'd barely been time for anything at all. Of course they saw each other plenty, for Suyin helped the princess get dressed and bathe and all that, it seemed that every minute of Azula's life was accounted for now, and as soon as she was finished with one thing, she was off to the next. So no, there hadn't been time for a heartfelt talk since then.

While the military prepared for the invasion, Suyin had her hands full with the wedding. On top of her usual duties of attending to Azula, she'd also taken to arranging things for their imminent relocation to the Earth Kingdom. After all, the wedding would take place only a week after the eclipse – there simply wasn't enough time to leave it until the last minute. Really, Suyin didn't understand why it was planned so soon after this eclipse in the first place – but what complaints she had, she kept to herself and only grumbled them beneath her breath as she worked.

Making an inventory of everything they would have to pack was simple enough; Azula would be taking nearly everything with her, if she so wanted. Buying new things wouldn't be a problem, even in Ba Sing Se, and they could always have something shipped to the Earth Kingdom if need be.

What proved more difficult was scheduling the princess' many appointments with the seamstresses to what best fit her schedule. It was not an easy task when Azula was rightfully preoccupied with preparing for the invasion, but Suyin did have to insist. After all, her wedding wonsam was to be tailored from scratch and the princess' measurements were imperative to making sure it fit right. The sleeves and skirts would be covered in delicate, intricate embroidery all over, beautiful golden and crimson details that should, by all means, take years to finish, had the wedding been planned with the poor seamstresses in mind. As it was, they had a measly four weeks - at most! - for the entire garment, and Azula's lack of cooperation did not help in the slightest.

"You're practically the same size," a seamstress begged Suyin one day, as Azula rushed off to yet another meeting, leaving them with time slipping through their fingertips, "Let's use you. We'll make the adjustments later. We just need to start."

And so Suyin found herself modelling the princess' wedding dress. The seamstresses took to her like women starved, taking her measurements, pinning cloth against cloth against cloth, making some notes to make the chest and hips a little smaller, and so forth. Suyin stood rigid and still, acutely aware that she was wearing what would soon be one of the most expensive pieces of clothing in the world, terrified that she might sneeze and rip something. She'd undressed to her undergarments for the fitting, of course, and all these women touching and prodding her made her flush. She felt ridiculous, and thanks to the mirror in front of her, knew that she looked quite the same as she felt. But if it saved the princess some time – she should be glad she could be of help, she supposed.

A week went by with Azula blowing off the fittings in favour of the military preparations. The seamstresses were close to breaking down in tears and, in a large part, blamed Suyin. She tried to tell them that the princess was stubborn and that she tried to talk her into it just as much as the rest of them, but to no avail.

"Princess," Suyin pleaded one day, with two weeks to go until the invasion, for what felt like the hundredth time as she washed off her makeup for the evening. "The seamstresses are pulling their hair out. You must have a proper fitting."

"I don't have the time," Azula said as she waved her hand dismissively.

"It won't take long. We could arrange it for tomorrow after dinner. You'd be finished before bedtime."

"I have far more pressing matters to take care of," she insisted.

Suyin chewed her lip. It was peculiar – the princess knew very well that the dress had to be made in advance, and so she couldn't understand why she was being so difficult about it. After all, Azula was nothing if not dutiful; it was completely unlike her to abandon any of her responsibilities, or even to delay their completion to such an unstable degree.

"The dress will take time. We can't leave it until the last minute." Suyin frowned as she wiped the last of her lipstick off, "You're being obstinate."

She wouldn't have dared to speak to the princess in such a manner at the beginning of her employment. She wouldn't have even dared to do so a few short months ago. It was hard to tell when things had changed, exactly, but it was evident to her that they were more than princess and handmaid now. They were confidants. Friends, to a degree. They'd kissed. What that meant exactly, Suyin wasn't sure, but she knew that it meant something. There was no way Azula would have done that with just anyone. Even if it had only been a moment of weakness – it meant something that she trusted Suyin enough to want her comfort.

And so the words came easier to her. Not an insult by any means, but reproach. Azula raised her brow. The look she wore would have once withered Suyin's soul, but she knew better than that now. She was displeased, clearly, and maybe surprised, but the look was far from dangerous. She benignly swatted Suyin's hand away and stood up from the chair, turning her back to her. Hugged her arms at the elbows. She was already in her nightgown, her hair tied back into a loose ponytail, winding down for the night.

"I already have so much on my plate as it is," Azula began, "I don't need to fret over the wedding on top of everything else."

Suyin sighed. Of course that was understandable. It seemed like, to her, the princess had to shoulder more than anyone else. A veritable burden, but one she had to carry nonetheless. What else could she tell her?

"I know. But you can't put it out of your mind entirely," Suyin said softly. She took a step towards her, but didn't close the distance entirely. "That's what I'm here for. I'll fret over it for you. I'll make all the preparations. But there are some things I can't do for you. You just have to attend a few fittings. That's all."

"It just– it feels so final," Azula admitted in a haughty tone, but her voice grew softer as she continued; withdrawn and avoiding eye contact. "The dress. The wedding. The wedding night. I don't even– I don't even know what to do. You know– with him."

It was only then that Suyin realised the princess wasn't neglecting her responsibility out of any sense of entitlement or simple unwillingness. She was anxious. Afraid, maybe. She blushed at her insinuation, at the words she refused to say. For a long moment, those very words hung in the silence around them. Suyin was acutely aware that she should say something to fill this awful silence, but she had no idea what to say. Her mind was blank.

"You don't need to do anything," Suyin finally said in a lame attempt at comfort, drawing out each syllable as she did so. "You can– you can let him lead."

Even as she said those words, she knew they were not the ones Azula wanted to hear. Not the answer she wanted to clear up any insecurities. Not the answer she wanted to feel prepared for what would come. Besides – when had Azula ever been satisfied to let another person lead her in anything?

"Lead?" She spluttered, indignant, just as Suyin had expected, "I want to– I need to know what's going to happen. I feel like enough of a fool already. I won't be humiliated on top of everything else–"

Azula looked at Suyin with wild, fretful eyes, even as she cut herself off in her rant. She didn't say the words this time, but Suyin heard them clearly enough. The way she looked at her so closely resembled that from two weeks ago, from when she'd come apart in her arms. From when she so quietly asked her to show her what it was like to be kissed. Even so, to assume any such thing would be completely inappropriate, and Suyin was terrified of overstepping her boundaries. She could feel the beat of her heart in her chest, quickened, like the march of a war drum.

"Princess…" her voice was a whisper despite herself, "What are you…?"

There was no hesitation on Azula's visage as she took a step closer to her. When she spoke, her voice was definitive, commanding, as though Suyin was one of her soldiers.

"Teach me, Su. Do what you will. I'd much rather it be with you."

Her cheeks erupted into a heat that would put any firebender to shame. She could feel the palpitations of her heart in her chest and worried, for a moment, that she would grow light-headed and faint. Her palms prickled. Her tongue felt like cotton in her mouth. To swallow was a challenge greater than it had ever been before. She flexed her fingers.

"I suppose…" Suyin said slowly as she took a step towards Azula, "First, he will embrace you."

Hesitant step followed hesitant step, the space gradually growing smaller and she closed the distance between them. They were standing toe-to-toe now, so close that Suyin could see her lip quiver. Azula had quieted. She looked at Suyin with an expression she couldn't quite decipher, but what anger she'd expressed just moments ago had faded, clearly not directed towards her. It wasn't anger; it wasn't even indignation anymore. It took her a moment to recognise it for what it was: anticipation.

"Embrace you– like this," Suyin breathed.

Slowly, she wrapped her arms around Azula's waist in a way she never had before. Not like the embraces they shared after a period of absence, like when they'd parted after the fight with the Kyoshi Warriors, or when Suyin had travelled home for a week. Those were heartfelt, certainly, but this embrace had within it another layer. And Azula, for her part, didn't push her away, or squirm against her touch. If anything, she stiffened, unsure of how to react, perhaps, but that was it. She didn't put her arms around Suyin in return, she didn't lean into her touch. She only looked at her with wide, clever eyes, and lightly flushed cheeks. And Suyin took that as encouragement enough. She lifted one hand to the princess' cheek, ghosting her fingers over her skin. Tucked behind her ear the lock of hair she always kept loose.

"Then," Suyin continued in a low voice, "he'll tell you that you're beautiful."

The actions and words came easily to her, all things that she herself wished to do or say to the princess. All things that she'd imagined, idly, in bed, sometimes with her hand between her legs. Little indulgent fantasies that she'd never thought could come to fruition. To take on the role of her husband in this role-play wasn't how she'd ever imagined it, but she'd take it. It was more than she'd ever get otherwise, Suyin knew. And with the first barrier broken, she felt herself grow confident, grow eager. Wouldn't it be all right to enjoy it a little?

"And then he will kiss you, like this…"

Suyin felt her heart skip a beat as she leaned in, for the second time in her life, to kiss the princess of her nation. Upon the union of their lips, Azula didn't stiffen and freeze like she had the first time – no, she eased into it. Parted for her. Moulded against her. Her lips were as sweet as she remembered, as lovely as they were in her memories, but this time – more inviting.

Suyin pulled away, only a breadth of a hair, before coming in to kiss her again. She kissed her a little deeper now, though still gently, and savoured the feeling of her lips against hers. She couldn't help it; Azula kissing her back spurred her on. It went like a shock of lightning to her head and down her spine and between her legs, and though she was being very deliberately gentle – she found she couldn't help but kiss her more deeply, more passionately.

"And he'll tell you that you're lovely. The most wonderful girl in the world. And clever, and beautiful, and brave. He'll tell you he can't imagine life without you. And that he loves you more than he thought he could ever love another person–"

"Stop." Azula said, and Suyin immediately broke away.

Had she gone too far-? She felt the blood drain from her face and she mentally cursed herself for having been so careless, for having allowed herself so much leeway. She could barely think straight, but she should have known better than to act on these feelings. But Azula didn't look angry. She didn't push her away. In fact, she looked down and to the side, her gaze trained on the floor in a sort of– what? Shame?

"He won't say that," Azula stated, but there was a hint of something cold in her tone. Of something lonely. For a moment, Suyin thought her voice quivered. "He'll have no sweet words for me."

The look on her face was so forlorn that it pulled at Suyin's heartstrings in a veritable ache. Of course she'd been careless with her words. The Earth King would not be so tender, not when he'd been as strong-armed into this political marriage as the princess. Even if he turned out to be a kind man, surely he would not say those things. Not quite like that. Not with so much love. Maybe all she'd managed to do was make her all the more melancholy.

"I'm sorry. That may be so," Suyin admitted quietly.

It was better to acknowledge it than to try to half-heartedly convince her that this marriage would bring with it love, wasn't it? She didn't know what the right words were any longer. The ones she'd said aloud had been true, in a certain way. Not a reliable reflection of what the Earth King would say, but she'd meant them all the same.

"But might I not say them anyhow, for my own selfish reasons?"

Ever so slightly, Azula flushed. She raised her gaze to meet Suyin's and spoke in a breathy voice, "And what reasons are those?"

"That you hear them said. That I wish to be the one to say them to you. That every word is true, that I've yearned to speak them for longer than you could guess."

Her breath hitched in her throat as she drew it in. There was something so tender in her eyes.

"No," said Azula, and for that split second, Suyin's heart broke. But she continued, "Don't lie to me, Su. Whatever you want to say, you'll speak as yourself. I don't want you to hide behind the construct of my- my husband. Do you understand?"

It was her turn to blush, "Yes, of course. Everything- I've meant every single word I've said."

"You mean it." It was not quite a question, not quite a statement.

"I do."

Even so, it was difficult to say them again, to put those thoughts to voice directly, without the buffer of speaking through a false husband. She wanted to say it again – she wanted to tell Azula that she loved her more than she could imagine, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she came in and kissed her again, and again, and again, until she again felt light-headed.

"Sometimes," Suyin whispered between kisses, "this part lasts for a while. Sometimes, men will keep it short, and skip ahead."

"Skip ahead to what?" Azula questioned in a small voice. She'd been so quiet that now, speaking, it felt as though her voice had taken on a soft, fleece-like quality.

Suyin let out a low hum as she mulled over her words for a moment. Surely she knew a little about what was to happen? She found that the words were thick on her tongue; that she couldn't quite form them. She was too embarrassed to speak them out loud.

"The main event," she finally said. "But, with your permission, princess, I would rather take my time…"

"Yes," Azula murmured, "...I'll allow it."

And so Suyin kissed her again, and again, and again, and her hands trailed down her waist until they found her night robe's sash. She'd dressed her only half an hour ago – it was a little bit funny to her, and Suyin smiled into the kiss.

"Then, he will undress you."

The sash she found without needing to as much as glance down at it; it was her own handiwork and she could have dressed and undressed the princess in the dark. She pulled the bow undone and let the sash fall to the floor. The silk night robe slid down the princess' shoulders, catching at her elbows. She could see how her bare skin prickled with goose-flesh in the sudden cool that came with nakedness.

For all her anxiety, Azula did not look the least bit perturbed at her nakedness. She lowered her arms and allowed her night robe to fall off of her and onto the floor, exposing herself completely. Her clothes pooled like blood at her feet. In the low-lit room, her skin seemed to glow, so much like moonlight personified. She must have long since gotten used to being bare before her handmaid and found no embarrassment in it even now.

The same could not be said for Suyin. It was ridiculous – she was just as used to the princess' nakedness. She'd bathed her only an hour ago. It was almost a year at this point of Suyin dressing and bathing the princess daily. She knew her body as well as she knew her own, every curve, every crevice, every freckle. And she took pride in the professionalism of her work, in how she'd separated herself from her tasks and never once looked upon the vulnerable princess with desire in her eyes.

But context changed everything. It was one thing to bathe her and dress her and another thing entirely to be told she could do as she will and to teach her about what a husband and wife were to do on their wedding night. Was it really a wonder that she felt that sweet knot in her stomach? That she felt it pool and travel down and between her legs?

Azula pulled her out of her thoughts as she pulled the fastening off of Suyin's dress. She, flustered, clutched the cloth to her breast before it could fall off of her shoulders.

"Princess, what are you–"

"Should I not undress my husband in turn?" Azula asked, and there was something of a haughtiness to her tone, something akin to teasing. "Is he to remain clothed?"

"No, but–"

There was no command in her voice, only gentleness, as she said, "I want to look at you, Su. Put your hands down."

Slowly, Suyin released her grasp on her kimono and it slid off of her shoulders. Still in her work clothes, she had on a cotton underlayer as well as her undergarments, and she allowed Azula to take them off of her one by one, aiding her with the trickier fastenings of her undergarments, until she stood before the princess, mirrored in their nakedness.

A part of her thought she would die, engulfed in flame, as Azula drank her in with her eyes. It reminded her, for some reason, of the very first night they met, when Linhua had introduced her to the princess as the new handmaiden. Azula had looked her over then, too, with critical eyes that made Suyin all too aware of all of her imperfections. But the look she wore now was anything but. It was gentle, and tender, and – if Suyin wasn't mistaken – full of a sort of admiration. Adoration. It made her flush more than any look before, for while she was more than comfortable with the princess' nakedness, she could not say the same for her own.

But Azula came close, and put her hand on her waist, and leaned in to kiss her. The touch of skin against skin, Azula's hotter than hers, gave sense to everything, and all of the sudden, Suyin had forgotten her embarrassment. Their breasts touched. Pressed against each other. The kiss made her head spin.

"So?" Azula drawled, "What comes next?"

Suyin swallowed. It was so easy to get lost in this. She could barely think straight. Was this still a lesson? She had to ground her racing thoughts before she could continue.

"He will touch you, like this," she murmured and pulled away from Azula's lips, trailing kisses, instead, down her neck, to her collarbone, to her shoulders.

She had to be gentle, Suyin reminded herself. It would not do to mar the princess' skin at all, much less in the final weeks leading up to her wedding. But it would be so easy. It was so inviting, with Azula arching her neck to allow her access. With her sighing so sweetly in response to her kisses.

The body she knew so well, the skin she'd touched so often, when she bathed her, when she clothed her... it was something else entirely, to touch her with these intentions. Suyin savoured the curve of her waist, and the hollow of her throat, and the swell of her breasts, with every kiss, with every touch. Azula did not push her away – if anything, she only pulled her closer.

"And then," Suyin said, "he will take you to bed."

Gently, she pressed against her body as if to ease her backwards. Azula relented, and took a step back, until she was pressed up against the side of the bed frame. And though Suyin provided her with only a gentle pressure, Azula yielded, and fell back to lie down on it.

Boldly and without waiting for an invitation, Suyin climbed up onto the princess' bed and settled herself to hover above her. She'd only ever allowed herself this indulgence – that is, lying in her bed – when she was alone in the room; she'd never been in her bed with her to see it happen. It was grand and soft, and the silk covers felt like butterflies against her bare skin.

Suyin thought her heart would burst. Azula looked so beautiful beneath her, and so docile, so vulnerable. She always held herself with such pride and confidence – and with very good reason, too! – and the sight of her like this was so delicious, in comparison to her usual intimidating aura. Suyin took great pleasure in knowing that she was the only one who'd ever seen her like this – that the princess trusted her enough, liked her enough, to show her such vulnerability. Well, the thought flickered grimly through Suyin's mind, she wouldn't be the only one to see her like this, but that man hardly counted.

She leaned down to kiss her again, hovering above Azula. Gently, she parted her legs with her knee, and her eager hands trailed down her body. She caressed her thighs, and then, carefully, came to the heat between her legs. She parted her lips, and gently prodded at her opening, and, feeling resistance, retreated. She'd been expecting it, of course, but– more than love-making, this was a lesson.

"Here," she murmured. "He will enter you here."

Suyin did not think she could cross that boundary, that she could take her first blood from her husband. Linhua would be the one to strip the bed of its sheets the morning after the wedding, and though she loved her friend dearly, she knew that the point of that day's gossip would be the blood on the sheets – or the lack thereof. Even though they were to relocate to the Earth Kingdom swiftly after that, Suyin would not leave behind any reason to dishonour the princess, not if she could help it.

"If you aren't properly prepared – that is, sufficiently… wet," Suyin explained gently, "it will hurt. If he does not take care to do so... you must help yourself. Here."

She trailed her hand up higher, until she found the pearl that made Azula gasp and sigh so sweetly. She caressed it, relishing in the pleasure that washed over the princess. It really was a beautiful sight, how she closed her eyes, how she melted into the bed. How her breathing quickened and quivered as she led her to that edge. Suyin, propped up on her elbow, allowed herself the pleasure of diving down to kiss her open, panting mouth. Her breath was hot and heavy and bloomed against her cheek like a fire lily.

"Oh, Su–"

In that moment, she jerked up to catch her lips in her teeth, and Suyin cried out in the sweetest mix of pain and pleasure. Azula grew fervid, and as she squeezed her eyes closed and pressed herself as close against Suyin's busy hand as she possibly could, she leaned down to kiss her, adore her, consume her.

"You pearl," she said in between each hungry kiss, "you pearl, you pearl, you pearl."

"We could run away," Azula murmured.

They lay curled up, both naked and spent, on the princess' bed, beneath the silk covers. The rich material felt like ripples against Suyin's bare skin each time she moved even an inch, both beneath her and above her. The two of them were on their sides, their elbows tucked beneath their own heads, such that they were facing and gazing at each other.

"After the Day of Black Sun," Azula continued. "We could go to your- to Cheojin. To your family. If they'd have me."

Even exhausted, Suyin smiled. Both of her arms ached from the pleasant work. She could smell her lingering scent on her fingers.

"They'd love you. My sister wouldn't let me rest until I'd told her everything about you. And my brother and mother take more pride in my work than I do. You'd be welcomed with open arms."

Azula closed her eyes for a moment, as if she could see the scene before her eyelids, and murmured, "That would be nice."

Silence, for a moment. It was nearing midnight. The princess' room was only aglow with the dim light of an oil candle, but Suyin, having long since adjusted to the dark, could see Azula perfectly. She was beautiful always, but never had she been more beautiful than today, than right now. She watched for the duration of that tender moment the steady rise and fall of her chest beneath the covers, such a contrast to her rapid breathing from just a short while ago. Her brow was unfurrowed, her lips relaxed, and Suyin wanted nothing more than to sleep curled up against her breast, maybe for the rest of her life.

"But they'd look for you there, I think. If we both disappeared. I'd be a suspect. They'd search Cheojin first."

"Somewhere else, then. Somewhere we won't be recognised or found. It doesn't matter where."

Suyin reached out to gently grasp her hand. She eased it open and intertwined their fingers together, and repeated that which she'd told her once before.

"Anywhere you go," Suyin promised, "I'll go with you. Just say the word."

She squeezed her hand. Suyin squeezed back.

They would not run away, Suyin knew. What more, she knew that Azula knew it, too. That these were fanciful thoughts, only idle daydreams. Pleasant reveries that comforted, momentarily, but would not come to any fruition; that would not be acted upon. Azula was the very picture of duty, and she wouldn't turn her back on her country, on her people. On her father. No matter how it pained her to complete it.

Only once they'd wallowed in prolonged silence did Suyin find the courage to bring up what she knew would shatter the pleasant daydream. She spoke softly when she asked it, as though tiptoeing around it would make it any easier to bear.

"Will you attend the fitting tomorrow?"

Azula let out a long, lingering breath before she said, "Very well. But only for you."