Hot & Cold

Cold: Azula

When your ex-girlfriend still gives you flutter-moths in your chest, what do you do?

You chase her, would be the most romantic answer. I am not the most romantic person, although I do like to think that I can be if the situation requires it. This situation does.

I have to have her, and I have to have her before this ship reaches the docks. If it does not happen before then, I believe I will regret it for the rest of my life. I do not have regrets so far and I do not want to start now.

As I settle in to sleep, I am surprised to see Zuko. He entered so quietly; usually he is louder. Briefly, I wonder if we have reached land already, but then I dismiss the thought. His intentions are obvious; they have to do with Ty Lee.

Maybe she is as treacherous and cold hearted as I believe her to be.

Zuko takes the keys to my cage and opens it. He does not offer any restraints; he just gestures for me to follow him. I cock an eyebrow at him, but I comply nonetheless.

He leads me down the cold hallways to his quarters, and he again gestures wordlessly, this time for me to sit down. Again, I obey without protest.

"You're becoming a man of few words, ZuZu," I say, smirking.

He looks less entertained than I am.

"We're having tea." Zuko nods at the large pot and two small cups. "I want to talk about my wife. She…" He trails off. "She called your name out."

I do not understand at first, narrowing my eyes at my brother. No one could blame me for bursting out laughing when it hits me. It's, it's hysterical.

"During sex?" I manage to eke out.

"Yes. Are you with her?" Zuko growls. It is almost as if he cares about Ty Lee.

"I'm with you in your office right now. I don't see her nearby," I reply.

"Answer the question." His face turns red.

"No. I am not with her. She is married and I am an imprisoned war criminal," I say.

"Do you want to be with her?" he demands. I bite my tongue to keep from lashing out at him.

"She clearly wants to be with me if she's screaming my name while fucking you." My eyes glitter and my lips twitch.

Zuko exhales smoke and I realize how serious this is for him. I never would have thought. Alright, maybe I would have.

"I know you two have spoken, but have you done more than that?" growls my insistent and angry brother. I have not seen him like this in years, and it pleases me.

"Yes," I remorselessly admit. "More than once on this ship. Daily, if we're being—"

Hot tea shoots around the room like a boiling tsunami, accompanied by a loud crash that can only mean Zuko has broken the teapot in one blow. Azula blocks it from hitting her, but he lets it drench his sleeves and hands.

"Stay away from her," he brutally orders.

"She doesn't stay away from me, brother. I cannot leave my cage," I say and he clenches his dripping fists.

"Stay. Away. From. Her." His eyes glisten with a rage that reminds her of father. ZuZu may have time to turn into Ozai just yet.

I know this is pointless now.

"Clearly we won't be having tea. Can I go back to my cell now?"

Zuko glowers and orders his guards to escort me out.

Such a cold gesture.

"I'm freezing tonight," Ty Lee says as she enters the room housing me, and then unlocks my cage. Zuko would want me to stop her, but there is no way I will. "Warm me up please, princess."

"Your husband has asked that I stay away from you," I purr.

"Well, he didn't tell me to stay away from you, so I think we're fine." Ty Lee gives me a devious grin as she starts to strip out of her clothes. She stops halfway through some of the garments due to the icy nighttime air.

I lean back against the wall and wait for her to come to me.

"He won't like this," I say.

"It's just sex, nothing more. There's no love or compassion and he has nothing to worry about," Ty Lee assertively says as she descends on me and kisses my neck.

She shoves up my shirt with her hands brushing against the skin of my thighs. Now that feels good.

The friction between us melts the frigid night.

"We arrive in the morning," Ty Lee says, she sits down outside of the bars restraining me with such a sad expression.

"Oh, you can find other people to have sex with behind your husband's back. Maybe you can visit me in prison," I purr, hoping that antagonizing her will make her hate me and make abandoning this paradise easier.

"No, not like you. I don't know why but you do something to me that I can't…" Ty Lee stares at her feet. I stare at her face.

"I am definitely good in bed, but other people are too. Perhaps not as good as me but you're pretty enough to get close," I say and Ty Lee sighs.

"Do you want me to turn to someone else?" Ty Lee asks and I can see the honesty painted on her face.

"No. Never. I want you to be mine and only mine for eternity, but that is not an option and you should embrace it," I say. She looks heartbroken by the coldness of my words and I hope that will work in my favor.

The idea of her with anyone but me makes a monster inside of me growl, snarl and claw, but I keep it tame, because it will hurt me if I let it get out of control.

"I want you still," Ty Lee whispers.

"Sometimes the person you love most isn't the person you're meant to be with," I say. I try to be cold, I try to keep back my tears, I try to let her know that she means nothing to me when in truth she means everything to me.

"What does that mean?" Ty Lee asks, both angry and bewildered.

"Nothing," I say. "And you are nothing to me. Just a way to hurt my brother and enjoy someone's company while I have the chance."

Ty Lee stares at me.

I can tell she knows I am lying.

Worse yet, I know that I am lying.

She melts the icy façade I work so hard to keep in place.

Ty Lee is everything.

She never was nothing to me.

"I should go. I guess I'll see you later," Ty Lee whispers as she rises and walks into the hallway.

She shuts the door behind her.

I can hear her crying through the thin walls.

We departed from Caldera in one piece, and we arrive at Republic City in pieces.

fin