honey [azula]

the drill

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

I thought I might find you here

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JUST as Airi expected, Azula tracked her down easily. It was a rather small Fire-Nation controlled port on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, and it was the closest one to where Azula had last been. Still, Airi enjoyed her time in the port. There were little shops dotted across the docks selling a mix of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation trinkets.

Airi had paused at one of the stalls, noticing a necklace that caught her eye. The gem embedded in the woven gold was a firey amber that almost glowed in the afternoon sun. It was the exact shade of Azula's eyes. Despite Airi's promise to herself to not let Azula distract her from the tasks she had at hand, the necklace was pretty. And she couldn't ignore the fact that she enjoyed the tingly feelings in her stomach that always came when she stared at the jewels and imagined that they were the fiery eyes of the princess.

"Pretty necklace," Azula said from behind Airi, startling the girl.

"Sparks and stones, you scared the daylight out of me," Airi breathed, hand on her heart as she recovered from the scare.

"Yes, well, you should have known I would find you here," Azula said matter-of-fairly. "Now come on, Airi. I'm going to end the war for you and you need to be there for me to hand the world to you."

Promises be damned, Airi couldn't help but blush. "Will you put this on for me first?" she asked her voice soft.

Azula said nothing, letting her gentle fingertips graze the skin on the back of Airi's neck as she latched the necklace. "Beautiful," Azula proclaimed, and Airi was not sure if she was talking about the necklace or the girl who wore it. 

In a few short hours, they had met up again with Qin, the war minister who would be working with them in the drill. The hunk of metal was unlike anything Airi had seen before. She had to admit, even if she didn't think it was a particularly good idea to drill into Ba Sing Se, it was an ingenious solution to the impenetrable walls of the city. 

"This drill is a feat of scientific ingenuity and raw destructive power. Once it tunnels through the wall, our troops will storm their city. The Earth Kingdom will finally fall, and you can claim Ba Sing Se in the name of your father. Nothing can stop us," War Minister Qin announced, glancing at Azula from behind the controls of the drill. Azula shifted on her chair slightly at his words, clearly excited by the prospect.

Ty Lee grabbed the periscope. "What about those muscle-y guys down there?"

Qin snatched it from her to look for himself. Airi narrowed her eyes at him. She had no real reason to mistrust and dislike him, but she did anyway. 

"Please," he scoffed. "The drill's metal shell is impervious to any earthbending attack."

Airi pursed her lips. "You do know there is earth inside metal, War Minister Qin?" 

Qin looked at Airi like he thought she was a stupid little girl who didn't know anything. "Our sources tell us that there are no earthbenders capable of bending said earth in the metal."

Before the war minister could continue, Azula stepped in, her eyes burning. She was daring Qin to say another word. "Oh I'm sure it is, War Minister, but just to be on the safe side," she turned to Ty Lee and Mai sharply, "take those men out."

Mai looked relieved as she flipped her dagger. "Finally, something to do."

Ty Lee and Mai both slipped out of the drill, leaving Azula alone with Airi as the war minister stepped outside to check on something. Airi scowled after him as he left. Azula watched her expression, amused. 

"I suppose you think glaring at him will do something?" the princess teased.

Airi pursed her lips, biting back a smile. "It usually does."

"You are right, I suppose," Azula sighed. "You know one day, I'm going to make you kill the people you don't like yourself. Although judging by the look on your face, I think you might just like that idea."

Airi glared out the door where the war minister had left. "I'm perfectly capable of fighting my own battles, you know."

"Oh, I know," Azula said. "You're my little firecracker, aren't you?"

Airi smiled helplessly. "I just prefer to watch you do it for me."

One of Azula's long and perfectly manicured nails traced down the side of Airi's face. "I know you do," Azula replied, smirking at the look on Airi's face. 

"That night on the rooftop," Airi said, biting her lip as she thought about it. "Why'd you ask me to kiss you?"

Azula stared at Airi, dumbfounded. "Because I wanted you to, dummy," she said. "Why else would I ask?" Azula took Airi's hand in her own, her golden eyes staring intensely into Airi's own. "Whatever silly idea you have in your head, stop thinking about it."

Airi nodded and just like she always did, she followed her princess' command.

"Congratulations, crew," War Minister Qin's voice came through the intercom system. "We have made contact with the wall. Prepare the countdown to victory."

Azula turned to Airi, determination spread across her face. "How would you feel about an entire kingdom as a present?"

Airi blushed from head to toe at Azula's whisper. "So long as it's from you, I don't care what kind of present it is."

Azula's fingers traced Airi's lips. "Then let me go get Ba Sing Se for you."

Airi's will crumbled and she gave in. Perhaps she had spent too much time caring about right and wrong when the only thing she needed was in front of her. "Okay," Airi said, giving Azula a small smile before bravely pulling the princess into a short and sweet kiss. "Bring back the world for me, your highness."

Azula's lips twitched triumphantly as she stared at Airi. "As you wish."

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

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written: 8/8 - 8/18 
edited:-
word count: 1094

an: what do you mean I dropped off the face of the earth for like three months? who me? in all seriousness, I am so sorry it took me so long to update this! hopefully, more steady updates coming soon now that life has (fingers crossed) calmed down! hope you enjoyed it all the same :) I do have covid tho so we'll see : D
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