Loyal (Male!Azula X OC)

14: The Fire

Zuko and Azulaan walked side by side toward the three of us as we sat around a fire pit.

Mai smiled sadly at Zuko, "Hey..."

"Where's your new boyfriend?" Zuko interrupted. Mai turned away angrily. Zuko sat next to her with a sigh. "Are you cold?" He put his arm around Mai, but she slapped it away.

Tye Lee smiled. "I'm freezing."

There was a pause before Zuko stood with a smile. "I'll make a fire." He looked up at the mansion on the cliffside they'd come from. "There's plenty of stuff to burn in there."

***

Zuko threw a family portrait into the flames.

"What are you doing?" Tye Lee asked.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"But it's a painting of your family..."

"You think I care?" He crossed his arms.

"I think you do," Tye Lee said.

"You don't know me, so why don't you just mind your own business!" Zuko turned away from him.

Tye Lee looked down and spoke softly. "I know you..."

"No, you don't!" Zuko waved his arm angrily. "You're stuck in your little Tye Lee world, where everything's great all the time."

"Zuko," Mai said, "leave her alone."

Zuko mockingly said, "'I'm so handsome, look at me. I can walk on my hands, whoo!'" Zuko did a hand stand. Tye Lee looked sad. Zuko let himself fall to the sand. "Circus freak!" Azulaan laughed.

"Yes, I'm a circus freak. Go ahead and laugh all you want." He gestured toward Azulaan, who looked away. "You wanna know why I joined the circus?"

Azulaan rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"Do you have any idea what my home life was like, growing up with six brothers who look exactly like me where my only difference is my sexuality?" He stood. "It was like, I didn't even have my own name." He fell to the ground crying. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least, I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment!"

Mai rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Guess that explains why you need 10 boyfriends, too."

Tye Lee looked angrily toward Mai and put his hands on his hips. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Attention issues. You couldn't get enough attention when you were a kid," Mai looked down, "so you're trying to make up for it now."

Tye Lee stepped closer to Mai. "Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for 15 years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray..."

Mai crossed her arms. "I don't believe in auras."

Zuko stood. "Yeah, you don't believe in anything."