I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is the property of Nickelodeon/Viacom and any resemblance to their characters and plot lines is entirely coincidental. I will obtain no personal profit from this piece of fan writing.
This is chapter 2 from my story Crimson Tide. Crimson Tide actually features zutara for the most part (well, the introduction and future chapters do, and the confusion of the reviews is understandable). I'm posting the excerpt here because I made chapters 2 and 3, and 5 to a certain extent, with a strong focus on Zuko/Azula. Yeah, in that way.
Anyhow I hope you enjoy.
Fires of Ba Sing Se: The Prince and the Princess
Zuko leaned on the ornate stone balustrade and looked out over the vast city stretching beyond the horizon. The Fire Nation prince was standing on a balcony high up in the royal palace of Ba Sing Se, a part of the maze of ornate chambers which had made up the Earth King's apartments. A bitter smile tugged at Zuko's lips. A Fire Prince in the chambers of the Earth King. The thought never failed to give him a sense of sardonic amusement, especially considering that he was not the only Fire Nation royalty residing in this part of the palace.
The early morning spring wind ruffled his dark hair but Zuko ignored it, keeping his hard golden eyes on the point where the sprawling stone city receded over the horizon. At least something had been gained from coming to this Agni-forsaken place. Fate, or Agni, or both, had brought him here at the right time. His hands tightened on the stone, unconsciously warming it beyond what a normal man could have with the heat of his body alone. Zuko breathed in the spring air sharply. He was back in the running and everything was in reach again. Spring was a time of new life, and this spring was matched within him in a way no past season ever had been. This was his time.
Zuko heard the soft rasp of cloth on stone and turned. Azula stood behind him in the entrance to the balcony, leaning back against the arch of the doorway. Zuko still wondered at how she could seem relaxed and yet regal all at once. Azula luxuriated against the wood of the doorjamb and watched Zuko with penetrating, hooded eyes. She was dressed in a scarlet silk robe that had been discovered only after a significant search; red was not a popular color in the Earth Kingdom capitol. The robe was cut short, falling just above the knee, and tied loosely at the waist, revealing a scandalous view of the creamy white flesh above the princess's breasts. Zuko could see that Azula stood at a slight angle to offer a view of her cleavage where the sides of the robe met and dipped towards the waist sash. Her hair had been let down and was slightly tousled from sleep. Zuko had told her she looked better that way, more relaxed than with her dark tresses tied up in rigid order. Azula had fiercely contested that remark, saying that she preferred to look serious rather than attractive, but she conceded to leave her hair loose on occasion when they were not in public.
After their eyes had met for some moments Azula shifted, facing Zuko directly although still reclining her back against the outer wall of the palace. Her robe was thin and fluttered slightly in the wind as Prince and Princess stared at one another. Azula's light brown eyes were filled with a mixture of predatory hunger and curious interest; while Zuko's bright golden eyes had softened slightly and gazed at his sister with tired acceptance of her presence.
Azula gave a soft smile, more sincere that any she presented for months, and walked solely towards her brother, using one hand to hold the folds of her robe in place. She was barefoot and moved with light, delicate steps. Zuko almost matched the girl's smile; the warrior was gone, for now, and the Fire Nation noble was at the forefront. Azula strode up to the taller man and leaned lightly against his powerful chest.
"I've been looking for you," she purred affectionately and stretched up to kiss him.
Zuko sighed inwardly and bent down enough for her to brush her lips lightly against his cheek. Even when she was not swathed in the veneer of a warrior his sister's moods were strange and changeable. Although, he had to admit, she had been unusually consistent with her affection for the past week. Zuko was sure it was only because the Dai Li coup had succeeded and one of his sister's accomplishments had finally equaled her expectations. He was sure she would return to normal soon. She was Azula, after all.
Zuko sighed openly now "You couldn't have been looking for that long," he said, "It's not like I went more than fifteen paces away."
"Well, I suppose it was more waiting for you," she said with a mischievous glance back at the doorway, "You woke up earlier than usual. I almost felt abandoned."
Hearing her last word Zuko grew colder, stiffening against Azula's presence. "Maybe you know what it feels like now. Being abandoned," he growled, scowling.
"Oh Zuko!" she gasped sympathetically, "You know I didn't mean it that way."
Azula reached up and wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck and pressed closer to his chest. Zuko allowed this but remained completely impassive, standing as straight as a pillar of stone. Azula sensed his indifference and stretched up on her toes and laid her chin on his shoulder with a small sigh.
"Zuko, you know what it is like at court. Everyone always watching, every moment a competition. I told you; I was dragged in by it all and got…carried away. But that's behind us now, we agreed…" she pleaded.
Zuko started to growl a response but stopped himself. He remembered the night after the coup. Azula had crept into his chambers after nightfall and spoken with him. She had explained how she had been wrong about him, to hunt him, how she wanted to put the fighting and ugliness behind them and have a fresh start. Another fresh start, if he properly remembered the time after Mother had disappeared. How she wanted to renew their…relationship.
The Fire Prince softened and drew his arms around Azula's waist. He had been totally alone that night, just like after Mother left. Azula had a knack for seeking him out when he was the most vulnerable. The long months wandering the Earth Kingdom and separating from Uncle had burnt out some of the fire in him. And Azula had never seemed like a sister to him. He wasn't sure what they were together; just something… different. He let his breath ease out and wrapped his arms tighter around the girl. He needed her as much as he hoped she needed him. He hoped she did.
Azula sensed the increase in affection and leaned up, setting her soft lips against Zuko's in a gentle kiss. It had all started after Ursa vanished. One day Zuko, fueled by rage at the loss of his mother, had actually knocked her down in a training bout. After that she had started to see him differently. Beating her, even once, deserved at least a little respect. At the same time she had been begun to notice how isolated she had become by pushing almost everyone away because they didn't meet her extreme standards of perfection. The combination of events had brought Azula to an unaccustomed feeling of sympathy for her lonely brother. It was a year before she left for the Academy and they had begun to spend time together and grew closer. Closer than had been proper, on several occasions. Azula demanded only the best and at that time Zuzu had matched her desires.
When she had left the palace they had grown apart again. In truth, the last seven days had been the most time they had spent together since the autumn morning she had left the palace to attend the Royal Fire Academy. Looking back at the last week Azula was surprised how much she had missed their time together. The conflict which had divided them, competition for the throne, was far away now. Azula smiled. Now she could actually spend time with someone without having to compete for superiority. Although she had come to dislike her brother since starting at the Academy, her dislike had been replaced with respect after the fight in the cavern, respect akin to that when he had knocked her down all those years ago. And now that they were together again…Azula did not know what it was, but everything felt so right. Agni be damned there were worse things in the world and this one was hardly unheard of, especially among royalty.
Zuko leaned into the kiss and they clutched tighter at each other. His mouth was hard against hers, her lips as soft as rose petals from the imperial gardens.
It was not love that had blossomed between them. Nor could it be called lust. There was the warmth of affection in their gazes and caresses, but not the deep devotion of love. There was passion in their kisses, but they did not ache for one another. In truth, Zuko and Azula valued each other with the fondness of close friends rather than the fervor and dedication of lovers. Their physical desire came closer to a wolf's search for a fit mate than the feverish lust between a girl and a boy. They were unlike anything they knew. Both were unsure what would come of their liaison, but that was not important now. Now they were together.
They broke apart, gasping for breath. Azula slid her hand down from Zuko's neck and entwined the fingers of her right hand with his. Tugging lightly she started to pull him towards the doorway, through which lay the sleeping chamber where the two of them stayed.
"It's still early Zuzu," Azula whispered tenderly, saying the nickname with warmth and affection; now a term of endearment instead of a taunt, "come back to bed."
A small, but kind, smile flitted across Zuko's lips. Soon the Prince and the Princess slid back through the entrance to the balcony and into the private room beyond.
Thanks for reading!
If you liked the chapter please feel free to check out the rest of the story under the Zuko/Katara (M) threads. The last update was around the end of September, which puts it somewhere on the top of page two of the search results as of the time of this posting.
If you really enjoyed the story or the pairing (twisted, I know, but very addicting as I have found) please review. Any constructive criticism, comments or suggestions are welcome, and will help me to bring out new material. Incentive and all that.
Thanks