Burns And Scars❤️‍🔥

'I did that?'

It's a rhetorical question—she was there and it was her who did it. Still, Azula couldn't help but ask herself this. It all seems so foreign to her now. She's had years to change, and she has changed so much. They both have. She hasn't hurt anyone like that since nor does she wish to hurt anyone like that ever again, especially him.

But that doesn't mean her past doesn't still affect them to this day.

Being the Avatar meant Aang spends a lot of his time traveling. Important work for an Avatar and a comfort for someone coming from Nomads. His travels would often bring him back to the Fire Nation and to Zuko, and by extension, Azula. And that's exactly what's happened today.

Aang likes to meditate first thing in the morning and doing so outside relaxes him. He had been training with his shirt off in the Fire Nation Palace Garden when Azula, being an excellent Firebender raises with the sun, walked past catching a glimpse of the scar on his back.

Aang was standing on one leg, hands together in a traditional Fire Nation meditation position, perfectly balanced, and perfectly at peace. But Azula stayed focused on his scar, wondering how he can be som open about it. Not that she blamed him for being shirtless as it gets hot in the Fire Nation even in the early hours, but for how seemingly easy it was for him to show off his failures like that.

She only realized she had been staring when Aang waved at her, asking her to join him. But as soon as she reached him she wondered if they both regretted it.

It's not at all that Aang's ashamed of his body, but it was the first time he was openly topless around her. Even with years of growth for both of them there was still an uneasy tension between the two, the same tension that had followed them for years. It's gotten smaller over time but never fully disappeared. Which is why Aang still often hesitated to show off parts of his skin when she was near. He suspected it was reasonable since she was the one who caused such a large scar on his back in the first place.

Still, neither of them would say a word about it, which is why the tension never completely went away.

That doesn't mean there weren't times where one of them wanted to speak up, but neither could ever seem to find the right words, even after years of searching, so it often ended in Aang simply asking Azula to join him for a meditation session, avoiding talking altogether.

When they meditated she would periodically open her eyes, trying hard not to give away how she was starring at him, and he knew this already.

They had been working together for some time now, and while Azula was always a natural at reading people, over time Aang had learned to read her as well. He had caught her starring at him before, sometimes he wanted to stare back, but he always opted out by going the easy way and ignoring her eyes instead. Although he'd be lying if he said he didn't sneak in a few looks at her before.

Funny how two talented bender adults such as Aang and Azula could revert back to two kids fumbling around words and become weak at starting conversations. But when mediating they could get along without the need for words.

And so it became a routine, both choosing to sit in silence over being vulnerable. As time when on and they meditated more, she would periodically open her eyes, trying her best not to give away how she was starring at him, all while Aang sits, knowing this already.