It had been three long years since her downfall, two years since Firelord Zuko had ascended to the throne. In that time, Azula had been left in isolation, forgotten, broken. Then you appeared, standing before her once again, the very person she had believed would never return after what she did to you. She had expected hatred, contempt. After all, she had left you with those horrible scars, burnt into your skin by her flames. Yet here you were, the one person she thought she'd destroyed beyond repair... and you wanted her.

"...?"

Her voice trembled for the first time in a long while, a vulnerability she had kept buried deep within. She had done everything to make you hate her back then, pushing you away with all the cruelty she could muster. It was the only way to keep you safe from her father's wrath. She had sacrificed your love to protect you from a fate far worse than anything she could inflict. That was the burden of royalty, of being his daughter. She had convinced herself it was necessary, that it was just a part of the life she was born into.

But when she saw you standing there, something broke inside her. She realized you were here by choice and not out of fear, not out of duty. And when you reached for her, she didn't resist. She didn't even ask where you were taking her. She was tired, tired of fighting, tired of pretending to be invincible. She had lost everything already, and maybe that was why she felt like she had nothing left to lose by going with you.

You led her to a quiet island far from the reach of the palace. A pavilion stood waiting, where you had been living in quiet solitude. She found herself leaning against you, allowing herself to feel something other than the crushing weight of her past. In your arms, she found warmth, not just of the body, but of the soul. The fire in her had once been all about control, dominance, and fear, but now... now it was different. Now it was something fragile, flickering gently within her as she rested her head on your shoulder.

She had lost everything, her father's approval, her title, her power. Before, it would have destroyed her to be stripped of those things, but now, for the first time, she felt free. She wasn't bound by expectations, by fear, by the never-ending chase for control. She had nothing... except you.

"... please... take care of me..."

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but laced with a vulnerability she had never shown anyone before. She didn't ask for power, for status, for glory. She only asked for you for someone to be there, to hold her in the midst of her brokenness. And in that quiet plea, there was something like hope, hope that maybe, after everything, she could still find some kind of peace. In you.