Empress Of The Old World {Legend Of Korra}

Last Goodbye

Azula's spirit kept her young. Arriving in the spirit world, her once gray hair had returned to its original black tones. Her golden eyes held a loving gaze as she looked over at the woman who had helped to heal her.

Sukara smiled back as Azula place a hand gently on the side of her face.

"I've missed you so much," Azula said, her voice cracking a little with emotion.

"I spent years looking for you," Sukara told her, placing one arm around Azula's waist and resting her other hand on top of Azula's, "I wanted nothing more than this moment for so long."

Azula smiled at her words as she rested her forehead on Sukara's, "you could've had this for years. If you only you hadn't have left."

"I had to Zu," Sukara sighed, lifting her head so that she could look at her, "you have a family. You were so excited, I couldn't get in the way of that. I couldn't get in the way of your happiness."

"My happiness?" Azula asked, a look of sympathy on her face as she rubbed her thumb across Sukara's cheek.

"Yes, you had people that you loved in the human world," Sukara explained, taking a small enough step back that her hand was still rested on Azula's waist, "I was trapped here. You deserved your second chance with your family."

"How can you be so old, and still be so stupid?" Azula asked, brushing the loose strand behind Sukara's ear and straightening her collar.

Sukara frowned in confusion as she looked down at the fire bender.

"I loved you," Azula explained, pulling Sukara a little closer, "I do love you. Are you telling me that after all this time, it never occurred to you that you were a part of my happiness?"

"Zu I--" Sukara started but Azula didn't let her finish.

"It doesn't matter now," she said softly, "It's a bit late to go back now."

Smiling softly, Azula let Sukara go and began to walk through the trees towards the edge of the field.

"Will you tell me about her?" Azula asked as she looked out at where they used to sit.

"Who?" Sukara asked in return, making her way over to join her.

"The girl that makes you want more than just a stolen moment with me," Azula smiled, she didn't mind that much. She couldn't expect Sukara to only love her for her whole life, not when Sukara's had been so long.

"Who says it's a girl?" Sukara smirked, leaning against a tree.

"How about the fact that never once in 20,000 years worth of stories did you mention having any interest in men," Azula chuckled, turning her head away from the fields.

"Doesn't have to be romantic," Sukara joked, "could be family or something."

"Oh? Do you have kids?" Azula laughed, already knowing the answer just from looking at Sukara's face.

"No," she smiled with a slight shake of her head, "Do you?"

"The man that brought you here, Poto," Azula explained, making a wide smile split across Sukara's face, "he was some orphan kid I met when I first came here. I told him he could stay with me until we found his parents but we never did. So, he never left."

"That's great," Sukara said, knowing that Azula had been happy and had built her own family made Sukara feel so much more at ease. Her happiness was all she wanted.

"You're avoiding my question," Azula said, walking over to Sukara and poking her in the chest, "who is she? Is she prettier than me? Do you love her more than you loved me?"

"That's not fair," Sukara laughed as Azula brought her hands up to trace the lines on Sukara's collar, "and I still love you. I always will."

"So she is prettier than me?"

"Azula."

"Fine," Azula sighed, stroking her fingers up Sukara's neck and ran them along her bottom lip, "does she at least have a name?"

"Kuvira," Sukara said softly, looking down into Azula's eyes.

"The Great Uniter?" Azula exclaimed, surprised to actually know who she was talking about, "do you have a thing for ex-dictators or something?"

"It would seem like it," Sukara laughed with Azula, but then Azula started to cough again.

The weakness she had been feeling while they were talking was starting to take over her. Sukara shot forward to hold her as Azula stopped fighting her knees from giving way.

"Stay, Zu please," Sukara begged, the tears in her eyes began fall down her cheeks, "you can stay here with Iroh. I can help you."

"And make you miss your chance with the great uniter?" she smiled weakly, her breathing shallow and slowing, "I don't think so."

"Then you gotta hold on," Sukara choked, trying to speak through her tears, "just a little bit longer. Your nephew's on his way."

"Tell him I love him for me," she said reaching up and wiping the tears from Sukara's eyes, "and Zuko, all of them. Tell them I love them."

"Tell them yourself," Sukara said, not wanting to let go just yet.

"Please Sukara."

"I'm not ready," Sukara sobbed into Azula's hand.

Azula used the last of her energy to lean up and kiss Sukara one last time, "no one ever is," she whispered against her lips before her spirit disappeared, leaving Sukara holding onto the air as she knelt on the ground.

Her heart broken into a thousand pieces she screamed into the trees turning the whole wood dark. She cried into the ground for a while, knowing that eventually she would have to go back to the human world and face the body.