honey [azula]

missed

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

who said you stopped me, darling?

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AIRI was tired of being unconscious, to say the least. To be fair, it was stupid of her to think a piece of driftwood would carry her to safety, particularly when the tides had brought her towards the rocky shores of who knows where. And now she was cold, and her head hurt again, and all the aches and pains that she had just thought she was getting over were back in full force. It made her feel pathetic, weak- not the strong, fierce woman she had been willing herself to become. More importantly, what would Azula think if she was Airi like this?

Azula.

Airi's eyes shot open and she sat up so fast that all the blood drained from her head and she almost passed out again. She faintly remembered hearing Azula's voice, but there was no way... she surely was already in a dream by that point.

"Airi?" The voice was so familiar that it hurt to listen to, the worry in it not going unnoticed. She felt even dizzier as her mind tried to process what was happening. A hand slipped into hers with hesitation. "Are you alright?"

Airi blinked herself back into reality and turned to see Azula sitting in front of her. It was the same girl Airi had grown up with, the one she had learned to fight with, the one she would have died for. Her golden eyes were full of worry and curiosity, her auburn hair still tied back into a knot, the same way she had always done it. She wore a set of armor that was as much about fashion and status as it was about protection. "Azula," Airi finally breathed out, registering that it was Azula's hand in her own. She squeezed the princess' hand and the worry cleared from Azula's eyes.

"I do hope you didn't mean to be so dramatic in our reunion," Azula said, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. "Floating towards the rocks unconscious on a piece of driftwood? And I thought my dear brother was the one with a flair for theatrics."

"Perhaps I picked it up from him, running around cleaning up after his messes all the time," Airi replied, not able to tear her eyes away from the princess' face. Azula's eyebrows furrowed slightly at this.

"I should never have let you be sent away," Azula said. "I'm not one to speak poorly of my father, but I don't think that decision did anyone any good."

Airi smiled sadly. "It's the past, is it not?" she asked. "Here I am, awaiting your command again."

Azula smiled fully, her free hand reaching up to Airi's face to caress her cheek, sending Airi's heart into a frenzy in the process. "I missed you," Azula muttered, her eyes blazing deep into Airi's soul.

Airi's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding out her chest in a constant attempt to reach Azula. "Me too," she said lamely in reply, smiling awkwardly. "It's good to have my best friend back, your highness."

Azula's lips twitched at Airi's statement, though for some reason, the words did not mean the same thing they had three years ago. Perhaps it had truly been distance that had made the heart grow fonder, perhaps it was their newfound maturity, perhaps it was something else, but Airi found herself unable to control the surge of emotions that sent a shiver down her spine from just looking at Azula. "You should rest," Azula ordered. "I can't have the only sane person on this ship giving out on me."

"Of course not," Airi replied. "Who else is going to stop you from killing someone who only potentially deserves it."

Azula smiled sweetly, toying with a slightly damp piece of Airi's hair. "Who said you stopped me, darling?" she whispered, her smile widening before she stood and dropped the still damp piece of hair. Airi watched Azula with fascination, as though it was her first time seeing her every time she saw her. "Rest, Airi." And with that, Airi was alone again, the moment of reunion she had dreamed about for years having had passed, even if the violent thrumming of her heart had not.

Something had definitely changed while Airi was at sea.

The last time she had seen Azula she would definitely get nervous, as though she had a bunch of tiny insects flying around in her stomach. She had always attributed it to the fact that it was the princess, or that Azula could have killed her in one fell swoop if she wanted to. But she had never felt that way around Zuko. He was the prince, even though he was banished, and there were certainly times where he would have thrown her overboard if Iroh hadn't been there. So she had assumed she had gotten over her nerves.

She hadn't. Not only had her stomach buzzed when she had first seen Azula, but her heart had also pounded straight into her throat as though she had swallowed a frog and it had sat there and waited to jump out until Azula left the room and Airi had to take a gasping breath to replace the air if had stolen from her lungs. She didn't think it was nerves anymore.

Airi closed her eyes and sighed shakily as she came to the conclusion that perhaps she had been fighting for years. It was more than friendship that she wanted from Azula. Airi wanted nothing more than to fall in love, not only with a woman but with her best friend, who just so happened to be the princess of the most powerful nation in the world.

And as she drifted off to sleep, obeying the princess' command, Airi knew that there would be no more ignoring it. 

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

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written: 12/5/21
edited:-
word count: 1056

an: reunion! sorry I kept you all waiting for this one so long I had no idea how to end this chapter and went through like four different endings before I decided on this one- which is not perfect, but it's loads better than the other one! I'll try to update soon, but I have finals soon (*cries*) so no promises! 
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