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The street was still asleep this early in the morning, the shutters of the shop windows shut tight. Some eyes, though, never shut. Azula kept the brim of her hat down, but not from concern that someone might recognize the former Fire Nation princess. Those fears dissipated long ago, after too many years on the road drew lines on her forehead and around her eyes.The bounty hunter Mi Yuan, however, had a reputation, and with reputations come enemies. This was why her potential client demanded the meeting take place before dawn. Until today Azula had stayed well away from this country her brother and the Avatar had founded, but work elsewhere was slim and the gold this man offered would last her months.The line of stores gave way to a long wall of seamless stone lacking any mortar. Only a single gate allowed entry, and it was chained closed with a heavy padlock. As Azula approached, a familiar voice drifted through it.“This is the best you have to offer, Captain? Buncha lily-livered mudwits that couldn't bend an anthill?”Azula's heart sped up. Unable to help herself, she stopped for a quick peek.The wall encircled a courtyard laid out before a squat, fierce-looking building. A police headquarters. A police force as such was unique to this nation, but it wasn't too different from the old Dai Li, or the Imperial Firebender Guard. Still, Azula had long ago run out of pretty speeches. These days she made sure that where the police were, she wasn't.Except now, because clearly she was becoming an idiot in her old age.Toph yelled more insults at the line of uniformed officers, ending her tirade with, “I gotta take my daughter to school, but I'll be back this afternoon to see if I can't make something out of you lumpheads.”A girl moved into Azula's view then, short like her mother, but where Toph was granite, this girl was steel. She paused and turned slowly toward the gate.Azula didn't stay around long enough to be seen. Job accepted, advance collected, Azula descended the rickety stairs on the outside of the innocuous-looking teahouse. Emerging from the alley and turning right on the main street, she came to an abrupt halt at seeing Toph leaning against a lamppost.“Hey,” the earthbender said, as if only a day had passed since last they saw each other instead of nearly a decade.“What do you want?”“Damn.” Toph pouted. “Ten years and that's the greeting I get?”“I can't linger in the street.” Azula shoved her hat down and took off. This road dead ended onto another; if she made a left it would take her straight out of the city and into the mountains where her camp was.“Come with me,” Toph called behind her, her words just shy of a plea. “Just for a while.”It would be a stupid thing to do. Azula needed to keep a low profile.She turned and walked slowly back. Toph's grin widened with every step. Well, thought Azula while flat on her back, at least I'm not getting dirt in my hair this time.Toph stretched out upon her, pressing every inch of her skin to Azula's body like she was claiming it for her own. Marking her territory. Toph the Conqueror. It almost made Azula laugh, but then Toph kissed her and all her thoughts drifted away like smoke.Until a girl's green eyes flashed in her mind. She gasped out, “Toph, you're married.”“Mmhmm,” Toph murmured into the sensitive place under her ear. The ache in her groin deepened but she refused to be distracted.“You have a child.”Laughter vibrated against the skin of her neck. “Are you about to lecture me on morals?”Azula pursed her lips. “I don't give a shit about that. I'm just too old for drama.”Toph propped herself up on one arm and rested her other hand on her heart. “I swear on the spirits of my dead ancestors that the sex we are about to have will be 100% drama free.”You're a terrible liar, Azula said to her silently, closing her eyes.Moments later she had her fingers tangled in Toph's hair, biting her lip to keep from screaming.“It's okay,” Toph whispered against her thigh. “The walls are soundproof. I built them myself. And I want to hear you scream.”So Azula did. How did I let this happen? Azula asked the ceiling.It thankfully did not respond. Neither did anyone else, outside her head or in it. Not that a certain part of her didn't still lie in her cage, waiting, but Azula had learned over the past ten years that if she never gave in to her urge to burn, that certain part of her became quieter and quieter until she could pretend that she couldn't hear her at all.Toph's head lay on her shoulder, her hair tickling Azula's nose, her mouth within kissing distance of her breast. With one finger she idly played with the firebender's nipple. Azula debated whether to tell her to knock it off or to throw her on her back and grind into her until they were both begging for mercy.“I want a drink,” Toph announced, sliding off the bed. Her breasts swayed as she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle that Azula was all too familiar with. “You want anything?”“Just water.”Toph poured amber liquid into a little crystal glass. “Nothing harder than that?”“I don't drink anymore.”The look on the earthbender's face was respectful. “Good for you.” She tossed the shot back. “Water's in the kitchen.”“Never mind then.” Azula leaned over the bed, grabbed her pants and slid them on.“Off so soon?”Azula swiped at her tunic and shrugged it on. “Yes. I have a job to do.”Toph leaned back against the cabinet, folding her arms. The gesture made her breasts press together and Azula cursed herself for looking. “Are you registered?”She paused in the middle of tying her belt. “What?”“Only registered bounty hunters are allowed to operate within the boundaries of the United Republic. I could arrest you right now.” There was no way Toph could see Azula's face, but something must have tipped her off to the fear rising in her throat. “Relax, I'm just kidding.”“You're hilarious.” Azula touched her hair, frowned at the snarls, and shoved her hat down on her head.“Will you come back?”“Yes, to pick up the rest of my payment after the job's done. You can try to arrest me then, if you think you can find me.”“I don't want to arrest you.” Toph came over and took her hand. Her clouded eyes were aimed at the floor. “I want to see you again.”Azula pulled away. “That's a bad idea.”“Because I'm married?”“No.”“Because I have a kid.”“No.” Irritation flared up in Azula and that was not a good thing. If she became angry, her inner fire wouldn't want to stay inside her, and that only led one place. “Because I don't want to get attached.”Toph turned away, rubbing at her face. She went over to the wardrobe, pulled out a dressing gown of light green silk, and yanked it on. Azula winced at the sound of a tear somewhere in the fabric. “I used to think like you. But freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be.”“I believe we've had a conversation like this before, and I don't feel like having it again.”She spun around and marched out of the room. Halfway to the front door Toph's voice stopped her in her tracks.“What if I left him?”Azula exhaled. “Don't be an idiot. If you're going to divorce your husband, do it because you need to, not because of me.”For a second she waited, but no reply came, so she started moving again. Only when her hand was on the doorknob did Toph say, “I'll always be where you can find me.”Don't do that, Azula wanted to say. Don't waste your life waiting.Instead, she said, “Okay.”Then she opened the door and stepped into the sunlight.