A/N: In honor of the week where everyone deals with their unbearable family: this prompt. Also, oh my god, we're at over 700 reviews. That's more than my brain can even comprehend. Thank you so much for all the support and the reviews make my day, each one. Also your prompts are all fantastic. Thank you :)


(Theme Thirty-Eight) Music Night

(as prompted by) GuitarBOSS

"I hate this city," Azula says for the thousandth time. Ty Lee forces a smile but it comes out as more of a grimace.

"We're on a vacation." Ty Lee gestures around at the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, smiling again but not making any progress with her girlfriend. This is almost intolerable; Ty Lee sometimes cannot believe she dates this insufferable downer.

It is a moonlit night in Ba Sing Se, the stars shining in the sky. Despite the size of the city, they are not nearly as blocked out by smog as Caldera. People are walking pleasantly with their friends and family, and music plays gently from one of the shops. Azula hates it. The ambiance makes her nauseous.

"We could have gone somewhere nice," Azula replies bitterly, crossing her arms as they walk up the street. "This city is terrible and it should have been mine."

"Ask for it for your birthday," Ty Lee retorts sharply and Azula's eyes flash wide. She did not expect Ty Lee to react so viciously. "We're going to see your uncle and it's going to be nice."

"He infuriates me, Ty Lee," Azula snaps as they slowly get closer to the Jasmine Dragon. Ty Lee makes a small groaning sound in response. "What? He does. He's frustrating."

"Please be nice. Please. Just for the two weeks we're here. Be nice," Ty Lee says softly and Azula sighs and rolls her eyes. "Please. I'll repay you somehow. Anyway, everybody hates the majority of their family. I fantasize about murdering most of my relatives at family gatherings. Everybody tolerates it."

"Ugh." Azula sticks her nose up in the air but Ty Lee knows she has won.

They arrive at the tea shop to hear music playing. Azula sighs as Ty Lee pushes open the door and finds Iroh surrounded by what must be his friends. They are all Earth Kingdom, to Azula's distaste. The men and two women look up, confused.

"This is my niece and her girlfriend," Iroh says, setting down his instrument on one of the tables and walking to them.

Azula tries feebly to dodge but he wraps her in his arms in a hug. She imagined it would be more halfhearted, but he squeezes her tightly and then does the same to Ty Lee.

"So... what are we interrupting?" Azula purrs as she and Ty Lee are liberated from Uncle's greeting. She looks at him kissing her cheek and restrains herself from burning him again. The memory of the attack in that deserted town satisfies her briefly, calming her tightened chest briefly.

"Music Night," Iroh declares pleasantly and Azula rolls her eyes. "You know... my niece has a beautiful singing voice."

"No I don't," Azula snaps as one of Uncle's friends looks excited at the prospect.

"You know that you do," Iroh says and the one of them who is lying is the predictable one. "I remember when you used to sing as a child."

Azula's nose has turned a deadly shade of red, her eyes narrowed and molten gold. Ty Lee smiles.

"Well, I play the Liuqin," Ty Lee says loudly and Azula glares at her. If looks could kill...

"Sing for us, Azula, please," Uncle says and Azula imagines herself throwing her body over one of the tables and tackling him. Hm, no, perhaps lightning right through the eye.

"For me." Ty Lee bats her eyes with her lips puffed and pouting. Azula examines her, then Uncle's friends. "I will love you forever if you play a song with me. Oh come on, you know that one that was playing in the city the night before we did that coup and I made you dance to it with me and then that night we─"

"My Uncle is in the room... and a bunch of weird peasants," Azula interrupts, her heart skipping a beat as Ty Lee almost finishes her sentence. Uncle does not need to know what happened that night between she and Ty Lee.

Iroh introduces Azula and Ty Lee to his friends; Azula does not retain any of their names. She sits down at a table in the corner as Ty Lee plucks up a Liuqin and starts playing it. Where she was hiding that talent, Azula has no idea. Then again, she likes performing and it only makes sense she would know an instrument.

"Are you going to sing?" Ty Lee asks brightly, looking up from her conversation with an old woman in an expensive green dress. Azula cocks an eyebrow with a sullen expression in response. She turns away and continues reading the menu to avoid drawing attention to herself."Azula, Azula, Azula, Azula, Azula, Azula, Azula. Azula!"

"What?" Azula snaps, setting the menu on fire. Iroh cringes.

"Sing."

Azula sighs, realizes she is not getting out of this, and slowly stands up. She turns to her uncle with a glint in her eyes and says, "A princess surrenders with honor."

It takes him a moment to remember, and he watches her small smirk with brief disappointment.

And so Azula joins in on music night.

She does have a beautiful singing voice, and where she was hiding it, Ty Lee has no idea. In fact, she never even heard Azula sing national anthems or anything. Probably some repressed, traumatic childhood memory Ty Lee does not want to ask about.

Music night was not terrible, Azula decides.


A/N: Very Important Author's Note:

I've never been happy with the title of this. I honestly titled it after the song I was listening to while writing the first drabble, and I've wanted to change it since September, but people, really, really don't like it when I change titles, and I don't like making my readers unhappy. Yet, it physically pains me to see the cringeworthy title and I just need to change it. I'm really sorry; I don't want to upset anybody because I love you all, but it really has to be done.

Title Change! ─I'm changing the title to Chasing the Endless Sunrise after posting this chapter. I won't change the title again after this; I've put a good deal of thought into this new title since Novemberish. It's just really embarrassing to have a fic titled after a recent pop song to me.