103 AG
"We're really not going to discuss it?" Azula asked, taking advantage of a pause in her conversation with Wen. They were back on foot and walking down a long beach.
"Discuss what?"
"Last night."
"You mean the visit from Dear Old Mom?" he realized, "I don't really have anything more to say about it."
"Any normal person would." she couldn't believe she was bringing up the topic on her own, but for some reason she wanted to. He'd already tried to show her he wouldn't hurt her, but she was yet to offer an explanation for what came over her last night.
"I think we've already established that I'm not just any person. You're not the only one that has unresolved family stuff..."
"Let me try... Your parents didn't really like moving to the Fire Nation for you?"
"You don't get any points for that... That's obvious. I barely remember anything from before the Fire Nation, but they had to leave everyone and everything behind." Wen's words were positive, but his tone was angry.
"They took it out on you?"
"How about if I asked you what the deal was between your mother and you?"
"I have no problem answering that... My mother always hated me because I was naturally more like my father. She thought... Thinks I'm a monster beyond saving." Azula said, diverting her gaze to the sand they were walking on.
"Alright, that's harsh... Yeah, they took it out on me, blamed me. Especially, my mother. Dad would have, too, if he ever talked to me. They both acted like I enjoyed living a lie." Wen chuckled, "You know, Wen's not really my name... It's Kallik. I changed it when coming to the Fire Nation."
"That's horrible." Azula said directly before thinking it through, "What I mean is, I like Wen better. Is that why you didn't change it when you became a captain?"
"I thought about going by Kalli again. But it just felt wrong. All the people I met, all the things I did, I did as Wen. Kalli... It's from a life I could have had."
Azula tried her best to imagine how that situation must feel like, but she was having trouble. Her life was nothing like that. But then something strange happened... Wen's voice shivered a bit on the last word and it sent a cold dagger through her heart. She couldn't understand it, but she could feel it, right in that moment. The pain of it, the cold, the injustice.
It was exactly that unnamable feeling that had her distracted enough she almost didn't realize a knife flew right by her, missing her ear by less than an inch. In the time it took her to turn around, Wen, or should she call him Kalli now, had already engaged their attacker. The man didn't look like he was prepared for the scenario where his shot failed to hit its target, since Wen overpowered him immediately.
"Bounty hunter, looks like it." Wen concluded before searching the body, "You want to bet on which one of us he was after?"
"I..." she was surprised he wasn't even expecting a thank you for leaping to defend her, "I suppose it's me, since that fire last night might have caught his attention."
Wen didn't answer, he just presented the poster he found on the criminal. It was his face on it, although, by Azula's opinion, the drawing failed to capture just how handsome the captain was.
oooooooooo
"That's not good." Wen said, looking into the distance. His eyes were fixated on a giant metal bridge in front of them. Or, more accurate, a giant, collapsed metal bridge.
"Let me guess, we were supposed to cross over that." Azula looked back at the pirate.
"That was the plan, yes."
"So what? There's a port a little further this way, we commandeer a ship and sail it to wherever we need to go." Azula suggested.
"We need more than two people to sail a ship." Wen sat down on the ground to think.
"Then we sneak onboard in the cargo. We can lay low for one night..."
"No, these parts are crawling with smugglers, they'll be checking the cargo."
"We can pose as crew members. We grab some uniforms and just walk in like we belong."
"It would need to be a big ship. Big enough for the captain to not know his whole crew."
After that the two of them searched the whole port from a safe distance, looking for a big enough ship. There was only one that fit their qualifications. The Sea Princess. A luxurious cruise ship for the unnaturally wealthy.
Azula was keeping track of the crew members' comings and goings, looking for a way in when Wen nudged her.
"Look. They seem about our sizes, no?" he gestured to a noble woman and her guard seemingly looking for something not far from them. The few trees gave them the perfect cover, the people were distracted and far enough away for it to work. Azula nodded to signal she was onboard. They walked a bit closer in silence.
"I'll go sweettalk her into showing me their passports." Wen moved in the woman's direction, but Azula stopped him.
"I don't think she'd want to talk to you." she whispered.
"Believe it or not, some women would call me very attractive." he said and saw Azula look him up and down. Of course, she agreed, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction...
"It's not that." Azula wanted to be delicate, but she didn't have much experience sparing others' feelings, "High-born women don't usually let people like you come close to them..."
"I get it. I don't exactly look like a noble." he looked over to the mustached guard, smoking a cigarette, "But I doubt I'm his type."
"I'll go."
"If you're not comfortable flirting, we can just use force to-" Wen didn't even finish his sentence, Azula already let her hair out of her bun and undid a few buttons on her shirt.
She walked out of their hiding place and called for the guard.
"Hey, Mister!" she had the most innocent smile while waving at the poor unsuspecting man, "It looks like I'm lost... Again!"
Azula said every word with such enthusiasm, her smile never wavering. She also brought the pitch of her voice as high as it could get without being painful to hear.
"Where do you need to go, Sweetheart?" Wen honestly didn't like how that man was speaking to fake Azula.
"Today my boss is like I need you to pick up some passports from the port and he doesn't even give me a map or show me what those things look like. It's an impossible mission..." Azula played with a strand of her hair.
"The port's right over there by the sea..." the man pointed.
"Oh, yes, of course! I can be so silly sometimes... Thank you." she touched the man's arm, meaningfully, "But I'll still be in so much trouble if I don't find out what those passports look like..."
"I can show you." the guard offered.
"Oh, could you?! That would be like so humanitarian of you!"
The man smiled back and opened on of the bags he was guarding, taking out two passports. As soon as Azula saw their green color, she swung and knocked the man out with an elbow kick. She took the passports and brought them back to where Wen was hiding.
"When you undo that bun, you really undo that bun..." Wen was smirking in his usual manner.
"Shut up." she handed him the papers and he checked them.
"What have you done to Li?" the noble woman showed up behind them out of nowhere, "I'm calling for help!"
She barely finished her sentence before Azula knocked her out too.
"That was like so humanitarian of you!" Wen mocked and Azula shoved him.
"It's not my fault you guys like them dumb..." she pulled her hair back into a bun.
"That character was really good. How'd you learn that?"
"I went to an all-girls school... Growing up you quickly pick up on which girls get all the attention." she finished buttoning up her shirt.
"We don't all want girls like that." Wen's tone became serious.
"You don't all get girls like that. But you all want them. Admit it, if I was really that girl-"
"Listen, I had girls like that. It feels empty. If your little act was real I wouldn't want her around. I'm looking for something a bit different." he said meaningfully.
"Different how?"
"I'd show you, but I don't think you could handle it." he said and met her golden eyes. She suddenly realized how close they were standing.
"Perhaps you're the one that couldn't handle it." she said not breaking eye contact. She mostly just said it to counter him, but she soon realized it came out sounding like a dare, more than anything else.
Without missing a beat, Wen took a step forward, placing one of his hands on her neck. Azula usually had pretty quick reflexes, but she didn't manage to move or say anything before his lips crashed into hers, their bodies pressed together.
She didn't think he'd go through with it. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to, but she didn't think he would let emotions grab hold of him like that. She was also never so glad to miscalculate something in her life. He was one of the few people left who could genuinely surprise her.
Only after he pulled away did she realize she'd instinctively grabbed onto his shirt during the kiss.
"We should really-" she let go of his shirt and pulled away.
"Yeah, get dressed..." he walked towards the guard, since he had to take his clothes and dress up as him.
Azula looked after him for a moment, before moving behind a tree for cover. She started changing into the noble woman's clothes all the while replaying the kiss in her mind. She'd kissed people before, but nothing like that...
The first one was just to see how it felt. The second time the guy ran right after. This time, this time she actually understood what all the fuss was about. She wouldn't hate the idea of doing that again sometime.
Azula's thoughts were interrupted by a groan from where Wen was changing.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"No, fine." the lying in his voice was audible.
"What now?" she walked out half-dressed to check up on him. His torso was exposed so she could clearly see a big slash on his lower abdomen. He was obviously trying to heal it with his bending, but it didn't seem to be working, judging by the volume of blood.
"It looks worse than it is." he said, "That bounty hunter got me with the knife, but I didn't think it would be a big deal."
"Well, can't you heal it up? We have to go."
"No. Looks like last night was a one-time thing." he gave up and returned the water to his pouch.
"Looks like I'll have to make it better for you." she took a couple of steps forward until she was standing all the way next to him, with her hand on his wound.
Taking the eye contact into consideration, Wen was certain he was in for another kiss.
"And how exac-" Wen's words morphed into a moan, when Azula's hand started burning his skin. It was more effective than a burning piece of metal, but he could have used a warning.
"That's a firebender's version of healing. No bleeding, no infection." she said and moved away to continue her dressing.
"Thanks."
oooooooooo
The Sea Princess was truly extravagant. The inside was so big it was almost possible to forget you were onboard a ship and not at some mansion with a really good ocean view.
As Azula moved from one lavishly decorated room to another, she remembered her days at the palace. Back when she was still treated like the princess she was... Having people waiting on you hand and foot, it was nice, but it was a big giant lie. She realized that when she saw how fast all her people turned their back on her. And it was all the more apparent now, when simply a change of clothes gave it back.
"Enjoying ourselves, Princess?" Wen asked, seeing her looking around curiously, while they were being led to their room.
"Don't let my bags drag across the floor, you provincial scum!" she yelled, seeing a member of the staff was passing by in the hallway and then whispered, "Yeah, a little bit."
Unfortunately, their covers required them to separate for the majority of the trip. Azula, or rather her character, was given her own room while Wen was escorted to the part of the ship reserved for the help.
Azula knew that was how things were done, but it never bothered her. She never thought to question it before. But now that she gave it some thought, it was a bit outrageous to separate people for an almost random reason. Wen wasn't a noble, but he was remarkable, and putting him aside was just... foolish.
After taking that ridiculous Earth Kingdom outfit off, Azula put on a robe provided for her in the room and begun untangling her hair from the improvised hairstyle. She thought she'd be happy finally spending a night in a bed, after two days of this absurd trip. But she wasn't.
Somehow, she'd prefer to spend another sleepless night, watching over Wen or falling asleep with his face being the last thing she saw. There was also just a tiny bit of dread about the events of last night repeating. Azula knew that giving into those thoughts was never good, but she couldn't deny the fact it wasn't impossible.
Then there was a knock on the door.
"I'm not taking visitors at this hour!" she masked her voice to sound higher again.
"It's me." she heard Wen's voice from the other side.
She swiftly opened the door for him, but not before making sure she wasn't smiling because it was becoming a reflex with him involved.
"Come in." she pulled him inside, checking for any witnesses. People could get the wrong idea...
"I'm sorry for risking it by coming here," he started, "but I was put in a joined bedroom with a bunch of other servants and they're real chatty. With that many questions it was just a matter of time before I blew our cover."
"Good call." she said, kind of disappointed his reason for coming wasn't a little more personal.
"Nice room they set you up with." he looked around, "Mind sharing? I'll just take the floor, right here."
"Yeah, of course. I just need to survive through the dance they have planned for me tonight."
"Dance?"
"Yes, apparently this girl that I'm portraying signed herself up for some kind of cruise ship ball later tonight."
"I bet there'll be great food there. Bring back a little tart or something, will you..." Wen said disinterestedly and lied back on the covers of the bed.
"The problem is... We don't dance in the Fire Nation." she said.
"Not even in your royal gatherings and whatnot... Never?"
"I have never danced or witnessed the act in person."
"Alright..." he chuckled, "I guess, I could teach you some Earth Kingdom dances quickly."
He stood up and walked closer to her.
"It's kind of like dueling, but without the punches." he started his lesson.
"Then will my hair get in the way?"
"No, it's fine like that." he actually loved how she looked with her hair down, "No sudden movements like in fighting. Slow and smooth, like water. Give me your right hand and put the left at your hip."
She obeyed, but couldn't help, but feel ridiculous, doing all that jumps and waves for no apparent logical reason. Wen claimed it felt better with music, but she wasn't so sure.
She usually picked things up pretty quick, but at that moment she was a bit distracted, seeing that every one of those moves included some form of physical contact with him. She tried to focus on learning, but her mind just kept fixating on how close their bodies were again.
oooooooooo
"Yes, yes, yes... Absolutely perfect. That was the one." Wen commented, watching Azula's performance from the floor. Spirits, she was beautiful...
"I think I did well with the time we had." she sat down next to him on the floor, "If you really know what you're doing."
"Of course, I do. You have to know Earth Kingdom dances if you want to sneak into anywhere fancy."
"So how did you learn?"
"One of my old girlfriends." he paused, "I was just a kid when I left the Fire Nation, but I can't believe you people never dance. Not even on dates, when no one's watching?"
"I think you actually have to be invited on one to know that..." Azula said and looked down at her lap to straighten her robe.
"Well, you're the princess. You probably had a pretty sweet engagement planned before you could even walk."
"Yes, to this boy named Tak. He was from a good family and we were born in the same week, so our parents agreed on it before we were even one year old."
"Did you ever even meet him or was that reserved for the wedding night?" Wen asked, realizing he might be flirting with the line of what she wanted to share.
"A few times. I think we were eight when we first saw each other, but I always knew I was marrying him, it was just a fact of life."
"Was he at least fun?"
"Imagine the most timid, little boy in existence. A non-bender, all pale and scrawny."
"Oh, no..." Wen chuckled, "What did little Azula do to that poor boy?"
"Only thing little Azula ever wanted to do... Firebended at him. And pulled his hair. And pushed him in the dirt. And told him his parents abandoned him and he had to live with us now."
Azula didn't know what kind of a reaction she expected, but laughing wasn't it.
"To be fair, that last one is kind of his fault for being so gullible." he said.
"That's what I told my mother!"
"So, are you still technically engaged to him?"
"No," Azula's stopped smiling, "Tak was killed in the war. He came to say goodbye to me before going, he went into his first battle and died."
"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, I brought it up." Wen frowned too.
"No... I didn't even like him. And he hated me. He was so terrified when he was around me. I swear he was more afraid of talking to me than going off to war. And I tried to be nice that last time, but even when we were kissing he shook like a leaf..."
"What?" Wen's smile was back.
"We were at that age when everyone was kissing each other, and I wanted to know what it was like. He was going to be my husband anyway, I didn't see the harm in it. But I did have to order him to do it."
Azula stopped when she saw Wen's uneasy expression.
"Relax, I know that was wrong," she continued, "Even I knew it didn't feel right that way."
Azula rarely regretted things that weren't a result of bad reasoning. If it made sense for her to do that with the information she had at the time, then she really didn't have a choice. But for the last few days she found Wen influencing her thoughts and decisions in the most surprising of ways.
"I'm not proud of my first kiss either. This older girl wanted to get back at her boyfriend for cheating on her and I was there, being passably cute."
Azula couldn't imagine Wen at any age being described as just passably cute.
"Well, I employed a change of tactics next time. I was at a party where no one knew who I was, acting like a completely different person and it worked. A guy actually wanted to kiss me, he just ran the moment I started acting like myself again..."
"What an idiot... Tell me that guy got a little taste of you fire too."
"In a way... And that brings us to earlier today."
"Seriously, that's all?"
"I've lived a sheltered and focused life. I had no time for distractions."
"Well, it would take a lot more time for me to summarize my past. There was a time when I thought bedding as many women as I could would make me a man. But if we're talking genuine connections, then we're in the same situation."
"I suppose we're an acquired taste."
"I would call us a delicacy few know how to enjoy. You know... It's all in the eye of the beholder." Wen scooched closer to her and looked right into her eyes, "Azula..."
"Yes?" she responded, focused on his hand that passed through a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
"You were right..." he smiled slightly, keeping his palm on her cheek, "I can't handle it. Would you like to-"
She interrupted by closing the distance between them and Wen adjusted immediatelly.
He was kissing back! Azula simply couldn't believe, after everything she told him, after everything he saw, he still wanted her. She decided to push everything else out of her mind, like their kiss was the only thing in the world. Their lips met gently this time, but slowly the kiss grew deeper. Azula could feel one of his hands on her lower back, pulling her closer, while she let her hands rest on his shoulders.
There was a nervous knock on the door, pulling both of them back to reality.
Wen was the first to remember why they were here, so he stood up and answered the door.
"The Lady was expected at the dance ten minutes ago." the knocker said.
"Listen, here, boy." Wen started, "The Lady will not be attending. She is a bit under the weather due to the motion of the ship."
"Sir, I had no idea..." the man's face showed concern, "If there is anything we can do to help..."
"No need. I'm tending to her, it is not an uncommon occurrence. Off you go."
"Of course, Sir. Do give the Lady our sincerest apologies."
"Will do." Wen said and slammed the door in the man's face. He knew that wasn't according to their plan, but as soon as he turned around and saw Azula's face he knew he made the right call.
"I'm tending to her?" she quoted.
"I believe the best lies are those that hold a little bit of truth."
She stood up and paced towards him, slowly realizing, not only were they definitely admitting their attraction to one another, they were alone in a room with nowhere to be until tomorrow morning.
When she was close enough, Wen placed both his hands on her waist and locked eyes with her.
"You're not just doing this because I'm Princess Azula from your books?" she whispered close to his lips.
"No... We're way past that."
"Good." she must have believed him because she crashed her lips right back onto his after that. Their make out session was incredibly advance for someone who said they only kissed two people prior to this, but Azula seemed extremely motivated and appeared to be pushing them towards the bed.
"Considering you've never-" Wen tried to get in a sentence between kisses.
"Don't think about that. I'm a quick study, it'll be fine." she brushed off his concern.
"Did you maybe change your mind about staying with me then?"
"No." she unbuttoned his shirt in a hurry.
"So we're separating tomorrow... That won't make you feel... Used?"
He wished to all the Spirits he could just shut up, but he had to make sure... He was slowly picking up on the fact that Azula hated confronting her emotions even more than he did, and instead preferred setting fire to things afterwards...
"No... Will it make you feel used?" she smirked.
He answered with a hungry kiss and felt Azula start to undo his belt.
"Slow down..." he whispered into her ear, "You're not gonna say the wrong thing, not gonna scare me away... I'm not going anywhere. Tonight belongs to us."
Azula nodded and they were lying on the bed intertwined in no time.
oooooooooo
134 AG
"Hey, I don't want to hear that!" Zuko interrupted.
"You asked for it." Azula smirked.
"Yeah, but I didn't-"
"You asked me to tell you about how I met my husband. You didn't think there'd be intimate moments? I had his child, Zuko. How did you think that came to be? By talking?"
"Well, no. I just don't want to hear about how my sister-"
"Relax, Zuko. She's messing with you." Mai cut in, obviously entertained by how uncomfortable Zuko was. Judging by her expression, Katara was also having fun.
"Oh, I see... Very funny."
"I'm glad you think so, brother." Azula smiled and continued the story, skipping over any parts that might be... Inappropriate.
oooooooooo
103 AG
After they were done, Wen fell asleep almost immediately, but not before placing a kiss on Azula's forehead and pulling her into his embrace.
She laid there awake, with her head on a sleeping man's chest, contemplating the position she caught herself in. There she was, four years after she lost everything, one year after she was on her own, and she finally thought she understood what people meant to each other. How all one really needed to stay sane was a single person who genuinely wasn't terrible.
This connection she had with this pirate would have sounded insane to her just a week ago, but now all she could think about was how it was about to end before she even got to explore it. Wen already had something to return to, unlike her.
It didn't take long for her to decide she wasn't going to let this go without further research. The best-case scenario for her at this point would be if Wen's crew simply didn't show up. She thought there was a fair chance of that happening on its own, but she still wasn't taking any risks. She was going to make Wen think they left him, no matter what really happened.
The only way she could do that was if she stayed awake and snuck off the ship as soon as they made port. Now that she had a clear objective, she could let herself enjoy the rest of the night by Wen's side.
oooooooooo
Anyway, here you have it...
This romance finally becomes a romance... I could have streatched it out even longer, but I didn't really think it neccessary.
Azula admits she likes a boy, but is not ready to share him.
I know I promised action and violence in the summary and you shall have it, just you wait...
Anyway, if you're enjoying this stay tuned, check out my other stories and, of course, leave a review if you have the time :)