(𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮) 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙯𝙪𝙡𝙖 𝙝𝙘𝙨!
a/n: thought 'homophobic fire nation banning same-sex relationships' and natla azula and my brain brained. enjoy! .⋆˚࿔𖥔 ݁ ˖𓂃.˖✧˖.𓂃˖ ࣪ ⊹✶°⋆. ✶first rule; tell no one.
✶second rule, do not refer to her as your girlfriend. ever.
✶you are not in love. at least, not to Azula. it is merely a "mutually beneficial relationship", she'll say.
✶for the sake of your own sanity, you'll pretend, too.
✶it's less romantic and moreso didactic - she is more of an orator than a lover, more steel then softness. she was never trained in this, never educated.
✶..and yet, her icy gaze will soften whenever it locks with your own. after particularly taxing meetings, she'll give into your shoulder massages and warm words with a disgruntled sigh, though she never once complains.
✶life in the palace can be cozy, yes - you have 24/7 hour access to the spa, the best chefs, the best books, the softest bed to share.. the list goes on. but there's also tension, power struggles, manipulation and evil eyes around every corner.
✶when she's fresh from court, Azula is crabby beyond belief.
✶it's an unwritten rule that you have to listen to her badmouth those "utterly incorrigble" Generals & Commanders she so dislikes sharing the same air with.
✶"Commander Shiro considers himself an 'intellectual', you see.. and yet, he could not locate the Fortress of Hu Xin upon my pressing! Do you not find that absurd?"
✶kisses from the Princess are few and far between. yours make her feel stupid. a well timed kiss on her cheek - or, agni forbid, her collarbone - will have her steaming. she acts like she doesn't need them, that she is "above such trivalities", yet you kiss her goodbye during a full work-day (i.e; planning how to scorch out the last Earth Kingdom territories) and she'll be in a relatively good mood the rest of the day.
✶you want her to kiss you? earn it. Complimenting her the entire day? Okay. Reorganizing all her books in the bedroom? Fine. Sparring until your joints ache and your knuckles bleed? Now that's more like it!
✶sparring is one of Azula's ways of loving you. she won't firebend, a mercy, but she'll come at you without mercy. one second you're on your feet, the next on your arse with her hand at your throat.
✶smirk. "too slow."
✶above all, Azula's love language are acts of service - incredibly subtle, nearly invisible, but there. when you wake up, tangled in her silky crimson sheets and grogged out, there'll be a single candlewick lit in blue flame, chasing the darkness away. go to the kitchens and the chefs will've already made your favorite dish despite the lack of warning. "Is that so? How perculiar." she'll say innocently upon your next chat. "What a coincidence."
✶On her good days, the 'coincidences' pile up. your pyjamas that need washing? oh, already clean. that shelf you had to dust? spotless.
✶Azula is a woman steeped in contradictions. she'll claim to serve at the pleasure of the Fire Lord while glaring behind his back. she'll say she misses Mai & Ty Lee while pitting them against each other. she'll say you "are but an ant in the scale of something much grander", but keeps you around anyway.
✶one particularly dark night, she'll say you are "ridiculous" as she rests her head on your lap, thick, inky mascara smearing and dribbling down her cheeks - hair tusseled in black, tangled hanks around her face. she'll say she "fell", but the large, reddened handprint against her swollen cheek tells a different story. Ozai's cruelty is never accidental. that was the first - and last - time you cuddled.
✶Azula isn't big on physical affection. her version of a hug is grabbing your shoulder with one hand, patting it stiffly, before trudging off to whatever work awaits her.
✶Azula's posessive in the sense that she wants to be all you think about. In the morning, the afternoon, the night. even when you're in a dingey, dirty tent deep in the Earth Kingdom, in the pipe dream of capturing the Avatar - she'll constantly ask what you think of her. if you even want to be here with her. if you're truly dedicated to the cause and this relationship.
✶it's controlling, it's manipulative, it's wrong. but damn, if it isn't intoxicating.
✶petnames are one-sided. Azula would rather die and be tossed into a volcano than ever call you 'darling', 'sweetheart', 'baby'- ..wait, what did you just call her?
✶azula.exe is malfunctioning
✶when the nights grow frigid and the wind howls, Azula becomes your heater. she's always running warm, and whenever you latch onto her like a drowning woman onto driftwood, she'll tense - before slowly but surely relaxing.
✶"When I become Fire Lord-" she'll say with absolute certainty, voice a low, confident whisper amongst the cruel shadows; "Which I will.. we will no longer have to hide, hm?"
✶…
✶"..You're asleep, aren't you?"
