The boredom Azula felt was quickly swept away the moment she spotted them on their way back to the camp.
It had been a few weeks since her brother came to her with the ridiculous proposal to join him and the rest of his friends on a peace tour through the nations. A few weeks of nothing but sneers and jokes on her expenses, of silent guardians looming over her and watchful eyes from everybody following her every move.
The Avatar was persistent to include her in the fun he had on short stops to see animals or visits to citys. He would talk to her and relentlessly try to coax her into opening herself up, even going as far as giving her a small gift one evening. And even though she tried to dismiss him every time, the constant warmth that the Avatar provided was the only thing in her entire live that has made her not feel like a monster. And now she saw him hunched over the shoulder of her brother and the water tribe boy, walking weakly back to the camp with the blind earthbender and the Kyoshi Warrior close behind them.
The water tribe girl that had stayed behind to keep watch over Azula, who Azula got great pleasure in teasing how she could have been the woman besides the most powerful man in the world yet decided not to, rushed to them the moment she saw them. Azula followed her, a bit to fast and worried than she would have admitted herself.
"What happened?" Katara asked as soon as the other where in earshot. Zuko lay Aang carefully down on the ground and looked at the two of them worried. "We got ambushed by 4 benders who spoke about ending the avatars oppression! They poisoned Aang with something, Katara. Can you heal him?"Katara went to work immideatly, drawing water from her pouches she kept on her all the time since Azula joined them. Conjuring a large cover of water, she slowly moved it all over Aangs body.
Azula knelt on the other side of the Avatar and looked her Brother: "How did this happen?"
"Aang was stupid enough to except a drink from a Waterbender that then turned around and attacked all of us with her friends," Sokka said from next to Zuko, "just to get Aang into the Avatar state so the poison would work on him from within. I wonder who would be smart enough to give them that kind of hint?"
"Shut it, Tribe boy! I had nothing to do with it!"
"She's not lying as far as i can tell." Toph said, one hand pressed to the ground. Suki looked sceptical at Toph: "How can you tell? You told me how much of a good liar she is!"
"Yes i did, but nobody can keep a lie out of their heartbeat when it is stressed. And her heart has been racing ever since we entered the clearing."
Before Azula even got time to think about that, the Watertribe girl caught her attention. "I GOT IT!", Katara shouted and pulled a big chunk of a purple liquid out of Aangs throat. He started coughing agressivly and opened his Eyes.
"I'm sorry for making you worried about me, but i dont think that was enough." Katara reacted immideatly, pulling back her Water coating over his body: "No you don't, not today!"
"I'm sorry that we didnt made it work."
"Thats wasn't your fault!"
"I wish we had more time."
Katara began crying but never wavered in her healing efforts.
"Dont say that! Dont ever say that!"
Aang turned his head to look at the 4 bystanders:
"Thank you all for your friendship. I wouldnt have made it this far without you."
Then he looked at Azula kneeling next to him.
"And please, don't give up. You're not a Monster."
A tear escaped Azulas eye. She wiped it away quickly, in disbelieve about the situation.
"Katara, do something! His Heart keeps giving out!" Toph shouted both in anger and dispair.
Heart. Heart stopping. It was a split second that Azulas thoughts went into overdrive. She heard the voices of her Teachers: "You will feel the energy near your Heart, giving it strength, making it beat with a Push. Dont let the energy to close to your heart or that push will turn to silence!"
"Im trying, nothing's working!"
A big shot stops the heart. She has seen it herself, inflicted it on others, even the Avatar. But a smaller charge is fine. What if...
"NOOOO!!!" Katara cried out. She felt his heart gave out. She couldn't quite reach it, repair the damage but not keep it pumping.
"Get away from him." Azula said, sitting up straight, both hands downward. She put all control she had into it, only seperating enough energy as she needed.
"What do you-" Katara was cut of by Zuko grabbing her and pulling her away.
"I maybe know what she is trying to do! I know this is hard, but please let her!"
*A small charge, just enough to get his heart going again!*, Azula thought to herself.
She concentrated, tried to get serenity into her head.
Pictures entered her head, of long nights talking with the Avatar.
Her sharing long buried secrets within her. The feeling of belonging and contentment while they shared a special moment together, even when the entire World would rather see her imprisoned. Or dead.
A small bouquet of Fire lilys, waiting on her bed.
*Please... dont leave me Aang!*
Small sparks where jumping from her outstreched fingers, eager to be unleashed. Azula opened her hands and brought them down onto the Avatars chest. She felt the lighting, small it as may be, stream through the Avatars body. She directed it, kept it centered on his heart and from there on outward.
She felt the muscles under her hands moving and pushed herself away from his body.
Aang jolted up, taking a deep, strained breath. Katara rushed back to his side, the water already flowing around her hands, as the others were closing in on Aang. She couldnt believe what she feld inside Aangs body.
Aang had difficulties forming words. His chest ached.
"Am i dead? What happened? I though i saw..."
Katara deep in concentration, gasped up in relieve.
"You're gonna be ok. I don't know how, but your heart is pumping again!"
"Thats the second time you cheated death, Twinkletoes. You should give us lessons." Toph quippy remark brought a small smile to Aangs face.
"So what happened? Did you use Spirit water again?"
"No, it was actually Azula who-" Katara locked up but Azula was no longer within the group. She locked around and spotted a fire nation boot just as it entered a tent.
"-doesn't matter. What matters is that we have you back!"
Suki was the only one that watched Azula slowly walk away. "So I was right, she does care about him." she said to herself.
[I have been exacpted by AO3 and wanted to start some fic writting. This is a Testrun to see how i do in a smaller space. It is based off of a idea i had a while back.
P.S. oh and uf anybodys interested, here is the original idea:
https://www.tumblr.com/mauricemaverick-blog/757250448440934400/aang-azula-wait-azula-leave-avatar-i-am?source=share
