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In the soft glow of oil lamps, Azula thumbed through a stack of papers and sighed. The night outside the elegant office seemed to creep just a little closer as she slapped the stack back on her desk and slumped down in her chair."Sycophants and imbeciles," she accused the documents – and yet she made a point of giving each at least a cursory glance. She had gotten to where she was today through noticing potential, seeing connections – and exploiting both ruthlessly."Now this is more like it..." The letter was from a young engineer. His name caught her eye because he had been in her employ previously. Azula started nibbling on a cookie as she scanned the proposal. "...could be promising," she mused while she chewed. She got no further before a door opened to disturb her thoughts."You do know this was the first private home in Republic City with electricity, right? Why do you insist sitting here in the dark with these old lamps?" Shaking her head, Ty Lee strode into the room. If she had any qualms about disturbing Azula's work she did not show it."I prefer the living flames," Azula countered, obviously hoping that an answer would rid her of the intruder. Biting down on another cookie, she noticed she had taken the last one: "Wait... you put these here, didn't you?"Ty Lee met Azula's fierce accusation with a saccharine smile: "You get so cranky if you don't get enough to eat, silly!"Azula's mouth froze into a thin line, unmoving for a good while before she had to concede defeat and swallow the cookie in her mouth."Come on, it's past midnight. You should go to bed.""I'll sleep in the office," came Azula's retort, trying to mask her embarrassment with icy coolness while she not-so-subtly brushed crumbs off her shirt.Ty Lee sighed and rolled her eyes: "That's not what I meant. What's good is this stupid mansion if you're gonna pretend you don't live here?""I don't." Azula's voice was steel, but evasive along the edges. Usually her tone never left any room for debate, but around Ty Lee it was different. "After all, I built it for you."Unwilling to accept any of Azula's excuses, Ty Lee stepped over to lean on the desk: "You come visiting often enough... Well, I guess lately you've just been holed up here all time."The former acrobat huffed and pushed herself away, but her indignation was short-lived. For a moment she would silently stare into the steady flame of one of the oil lamps. Her brow furrowed over distant eyes."Is it because you don't want to sleep with me anymore?" Ty Lee's question was calm, obfuscating the emotional nerve at its core. She found her answer in the other woman's silence: "Why?"Azula's reply was as curt as it was harsh: "You got fat."Even if Ty Lee had wanted to, there was no denying it. After the war, and especially after Azula finally renounced her designs on the Fire Nation throne, the former acrobat had no reason to stay in fighting shape."It's your own fault." It had been while she had tried to comfort Azula in the insane asylum that she had started putting on weight. To be fair she had not exactly trimmed down after they went their separate ways following Azula's surrender either. But after the puffy princess made her comeback, taking advantage of Republic City's rapid expansion, they had sort of drifted together again. This time their peculiar friendship came with some... benefits.Lavish parties. Extravagant dinners for two. A sedentary job designing the products that would conquer the young capital. It was no wonder each year in Republic City seemed to add several inches to Ty Lee's already substantial girth. Those heady days were mostly behind her, but the weight remained: A big gut complimented by plump, gently curving thighs and an ample rear that together gave her a rather rotund appearance."Besides..." Ty Lee's eyelashes fluttered innocently. "You don't hear me going on about how you keep putting on weight." Sly smile on her cherubic face, the former acrobat leaned over to poke Azula's flabby belly."Th-that's not..." Azula protested as Ty Lee's touch sent ripples through her immensely overfed body. Wedged into a chair that bordered on being a loveseat, the puffy princess's posterior was still prodigiousd enough to overflow its perch. Hefty lovehandles were pushed up by these tectonic forces to bulge out from under her top like pale bread dough. Treated to a long afternoon of idle snacking, so did the fat quagmire of her gut, revealing a hefty roll that rivalled Ty Lee's belly in width if not in roundness."It's all these cookies." Plump cheeks furiously red, Azula pushed away the empty plate as she made her indignant excuse."And yet you keep coming over to taste my cooking."Azula's mouth tightened, her ample double chin surging under and around it. "Of course not.""Well you sure don't come here for me!" Ty Lee yelled. Hands on curvaceous hips, she gave Azula an opportunity to refute her claim. To try and smooth things over. But as usual, the princess's inability to handle intimacy would kill any such attempt on her part.Left alone once more, Azula dove back into her work – neatly avoiding having to deal with these messy feelings. All these years and she still could not quite manage around Ty Lee. Studying the young engineer's letter intently, she chased away those unmanageable thoughts with cold analysis and a sense of opportunity.Picking up her pen, Azula made a note: Hiroshi Sato. Good investment.
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Blinking sluggishly, Azula stirred to find herself still sitting in the office chair. She closed her eyes and stretched an aching neck, opening them again to find that someone had tucked her into a blanket after she fell asleep. She could hazard a guess as to who.Unbundling herself was complicated by how tightly her ample form was wedged into her seat. Before she could get the blanket off completely, she was interrupted by the door to the office opening very slowly, tentatively. Running a hand through her messy hair, Azula growled at being intruded upon in such an undignified state.Though hesitant, the visitor would not be fully deterred and a big-eyed little face peeked out from behind the door."Ugh..." Azula exhaled, but it was a sigh of relief more than anything else. If there was someone she could stand being seen by in this state, it would be a child. If not just any child. "What do you want?""Mommy told me to say she's going out. 'When auntie Azula finally wakes up'." Ty Lee's daughter paused to think for a moment: "You are awake, right?"Azula rubbed her eyes as if to confirm for her own benefit whether she was or not. She bit her lip, but eventually she managed stop herself. "Right..." she nodded reluctantly. After all, Ty Lee was under no obligation to tell her where she went on a weekend, nor notify her before going anywhere. And yet..."Sooo... wanna play?" The young girl had found the confidence to slip inside the room and come over to where Azula was seated at her desk now. Obviously more inquisitive than she was bored, she still kept a respectful distance."I'm very busy, Aina..." came the evasive reply. Azula tugged at the blanket, still tucked over her expansive hips, looking for something to busy herself with.Grabbing onto the edge of the desk, Aina peered over it with a thoughtful look on her face. "Is that 'cause you own Republic City?"Azula's sleepy eyes went wide, her hand clenched into a fist around the hem of the blanket. Aina had her full attention now: "Who told you that??"Unfazed by the princess's reaction, the girl shrugged: "Kids in class.""Then they are talking nonsense." Azula affected a façade of supreme calm as she went on – in a patient, if patronizing, tone that might seem surprisingly appropriate for explaining something to a child. But then she was quite used to talking down to people. "In fact, auntie is trying very hard not to."The fallen princess had been left to her own devices on the unspoken condition that she not return to her dominating, power-grabbing ways. However, even two decades later it was still in her nature and she had to fight hard not to give in to these impulses. Her wealth and influence in Republic City was considerable, but she did her best to hide it. And more importantly: not exploit it too much. Anything else would invite unwanted scrutiny that could ruin... things. Still, the usually guarded and paranoid princess found herself quite readily admitting it to this child."Is that 'cause if you don't mom will get mad and then she'll divorce you like Po's mom did with Po's dad?"Odd sounds tumbled from Azula's twitching lips. "Wh-what? Your mother and I aren't married!"Aina seemed to consider this for a moment, lips pursed in thought. "Then... when you and mom do get married... do I call you 'mom' too?"At this, the already pale princess went white as a sheet, looking positively about to faint. "I'm not your mother!" she declared vehemently."Yeeeah but mommy isn't really my mother either..." Aina countered, earnestly owning the fact that she was adopted. Her face broke into a big smile: "But since I love her and she loves me, that means she's my mother after all! Don't you and mommy love each other?""Ugh, I can't believe even a child can put these things into words better than me..." Grabbing her messy hair, Azula tipped her head backwards in frustration. "It's complicated, okay!""It's easy!" Aina countered blithely. Her earnest desire to prove this overcame the apprehensiveness she felt around cold, distant "Auntie Azula". The princess's vast thigh provided easy purchase, hands and feet sinking into malleable chub as she scrambled up.Paralyzed, Azula held up her hands helplessly, staring in shock as this little-person plopped down on her plush belly. Aina gave it a few satisfied pats and looked up with an immensely pleased grin that did little to reassure her blind-sided "auntie".Nodding to herself with great determination on her face, Aina reached over to grab a sheet of paper and smooth it out on the desk. Calligraphy brush clutched in her stubby hand, she began to slap ink across it with gusto. Finding herself unable to intervene, Azula ended up peering over the child's shoulder, curious despite herself.
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Responding to the bell, Ty Lee waddled cheerfully to the front door. It was hard to imagine that she once struggled with that extra weight, the way she all but bounced down the hall. Even two decades and several kilos later, she had more of her youth's grace and spring in her step now than she ever had during her time as Azula's overfed accomplice. Not being constantly stuffed and bursting out of her Kyoshi uniform probably helped."Oh." Ty Lee's optimism faltered when she answered the door. "Hello Azula."More curious than the princess bothering to wait was that she had obviously walked here. Sweat poured from her brow and she had pulled down the neckline of her robe for ventilation, revealing an ample bosom heaving with each laboured breath. It was clear why Azula avoided doing this: It made her feel out of shape and weak, something she still could not accept even after all these years. And so the puffy princess would usually travel by carriage or even automobile – which of course did nothing to help matters as she grew progressively fatter and lazier from lack of exercise."There is something we need to talk about." Somehow Azula was able to appear as regal as ever in Ty Lee's eyes, despite her heavy breathing and how it made her pampered bulk quiver.Ty Lee could not help but appreciate, not so much the physical effort involved, but the toll that coming here like this must have taken on Azula's pride. It gave her the patience to stop herself from simply slamming the door in her face. Instead she replied kindly: "I already told you. I'm happy at the theatre. I'm not going back to the Spark Corporation.""No, I don't care about that." There was a hint of desperation in Azula's voice. "Or, I do but... augh!" Had her firebending not been taken away, Azula would no doubt have reduced the luxurious courtyard garden around them to ash. Taking a deep breath she did manage to calm herself enough to pull out a scroll from her cleavage and hand it over.Unfurled in Ty Lee's hands it formed a crudely cut out paper heart, liberally sprinkled with glitter. Written in big letters it boldly declared: "I low yu"The former acrobat blushed, surprised at first but quickly recovering into a wry smile."Aina, uh... helped..." Azula said sheepishly, clumsily filling the beautiful silence.Unable to keep from laughing, Ty Lee broke into a girlish giggle. Suddenly it was as if the tumultuous Republic City years vanished from her face and for a split second it was the bright-eyed young woman that had first come to the city who appeared before Azula."You know I love you." The melancholy – the loss – in Ty Lee's voice brought back reality, but by now Azula would not be deterred."Isn't that what matters?" the puffy princess said hastily, though her voice betrayed an uncertainty of her own. Her body surged and shook as she stepped forward and reached out to grab Ty Lee's wrist. At the last minute she hesitated and pulled back. For a moment it looked like she was about to turn and leave, but she could not tear her eyes away from Ty Lee's."No... all I've ever done is take." Azula shook her head. "I could conquer Republic City without a second thought, but I can't even get through to you. I just keep making excuses to drive you away."Now Ty Lee grabbed Azula's wrist: "Then stop!""It's complicated," the puffy princess heard herself say, immediately regretting it. Her eyes narrowed, silently chiding herself for using a weak excuse that a mere child had debunked the day before.Despite Azula's hesitation, the fire remained in Ty Lee's eyes. She could not help but be infected by the fierce confidence: "I don't know if I can, but if you let me try... Ty Lee, will you..." Azula swallowed. "...uhm, live together with me?"Ty Lee giggled into her hand and snorted: "Even if I'm old and fat?"Azula accepted the comeback stoically: "You're not the problem. You never deserved the way I treated you.""You'll have plenty of time to make up for it." Ty Lee gave the princess a peck on the cheek before hugging her, face snuggling happily against Azula's pillowy double chin. "Besides," she whispered softly, "you're so hot when you talk about conquering things."One arm on Azula's shoulders, Ty Lee's round belly pushed into her ample form. Unable to reach around all of that puffy princess she had on her hands, she settled for rubbing Azula's malleable midsection: "Who cares if you're not the queen of Republic City. You'll always be the queen of my heart."