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you and azula met in a library on a rainy day. it was one of those clichés you hated. you met each other after you bumped into her as her books fell down. she was holding back her anger and kept looking at you with her sharp eyes.
that though, is something you didn’t notice at first since you were preoccupied with picking her books up, and while doing so, you recognized one of the books as one of your works.
when you were done, you shifted your gaze to her while dusting your clothes. you would be lying if you said you just did not see the most beautiful girl you have ever seen. and she's glowering at you. great. she's your type.
you bet you would've been hit with a fist; however, her expression changed after taking a good look at you. she gasped at the realization; it turns out she knew the face of the author of the book she loved so dearly. she then blurted out about how she adores your work, but immediately got her mouth shut after the librarian shushed her.
she then proceeded to say, "damn old hag," which made you snicker.
you two went on with your conversation after and sat next to each other as both of you watched the rain pour down on the busy road through the glass wall. the pitter-patter of the rain served as a good background noise as you got to know each other.
you exchanged questions, and most of them were from azula. she was really eager to know more about her favourite author. you both learned that day that you have many similarities too. you were having a great conversation—perhaps too great—when the librarian asked you to leave after telling you both that you were disturbing the other people in the library. turns out you weren't the only people in the world.
you and azula parted after eating in a nearby cafe, waiting for the rain to stop. you were trying not to watch her too much at that time, and every time your eyes met, you both would shyly smile and go back to sipping your tea and eating your cake. but before you both went on your own ways, you asked for each other’s contacts and made promises that you would meet again.
a few days later, you reached out to her, asking her if she wanted to visit a museum in your town, and she accepted. the date went well, despite her ruining your clothes after her ramen poured onto them when you took her out for food next.
(azula despite herself, was afraid you wouldn't want to see her again, even if it was just as friends, although she knew damn well she wanted more than that.)
both of you went on a few more dates after that and became really good friends. and now you are standing in front of her apartment as you wait for her to open the door, but as her lover this time.
you rocked on your feet while hugging a potted plant on your chest. a few seconds later, azula opened the door with a smile. and when she saw you, she opened the door wider for you as she invited you in. "y/n."
"azula."
you handed her the potted plant as she looked at you and the plant, surprised. "agni," she breathed out. "for me?"
"ahuh."
"it’s a red aglaonema," she laughed as she took it from you and looked at what seemed every inch of the plant, then set it down and squatted in front of it.
"it reminds me of you," you said, copying her and squatting down low to look at the plant. you both definitely look silly right now, geeking out about plants.
you bought it on your way to her apartment after you learned from ty lee and mai that she loves plants, which is why she is always buying one and is surrounded by plants inside her apartment. you could have honestly thought about it but didn’t, despite it being obvious, so you thanked the two for that.
so you bought one, wishing she would love it, and your wish was granted when you saw how her face lit up after seeing the red aglaonema.
azula whipped her head to look at you beside her, eyes wide and mouth opening a little, then immediately looked away to hide the red on her face. "you flirt." you laughed as both of you finally stood up. azula regained her composure as she cleared her throat. "i made your favourite snacks."
"f/f?!" your mouth hangs open as azula nodded and started making her way to her kitchen. you smiled behind her as it was your turn for your face to redden. "she remembered," you mumbled as you followed her.
it was twelve at night when you both sat down on the couch of her living room, surrounded by her indoor plants and soft pillows. her interior was a theme of shades of brown, green, and white, ones that you truly adore and have grown comfortable with and loved over the course of the months you have visited azula.
you both were lying lazily for a few minutes on her couches after a tiring night of eating dinner, playing around her kitchen, and dancing while baking some croissants, taking a bath, cleaning up her kitchen, and eating the said croissants with red wines.
you both decided to play her nintendo switch after, only for you to stop playing and decide staring at her side profile was a better thing to do only a few minutes after starting the game. you studied every part of her face, sinking into every detail she had, like you were planning on painting her later.
you kept on smiling at her like the love-struck idiot you are, and honestly, azula is too.
you watched how her eyebrows creased and how her mouth hung open and closed as she focused on the game. and you prayed. you prayed to whoever was listening to let you stare at her this close once in a while for the rest of your life. you prayed to let you and azula stay together forever. and you prayed to make the two nights you have with azula longer. to make monday, your town, and your job farther from this special moment and place. and to let you live with azula, here by her side, as both of you bask in each other’s presence.
looking at her like this, memories of months ago were brought back. you remembered the first time you saw her. it was weeks before you finally had the courage to talk to her, only to accidentally bump into her after she suddenly turned in your direction.
you first saw her at a very fancy restaurant, eating with her friends. you couldn’t take your eyes off of her after she walked into the place. you thought you were being subtle about your staring, only to be proven wrong by one of her friends, mai.
the first time you met her, she pointed out at your first meeting how she had seen you a few months ago and how she caught you staring at azula like a creep, making you hide yourself after and telling mai that you are not a creep but failing to convince her anyway.
to this day, mai would blackmail you whenever she needed you for something or whenever she deemed it necessary.
after seeing azula at the restaurant, you once again met her at your book signing event. you didn’t expect her to show up, so when you interacted with her, you made a lot of mistakes and stuttered a lot, and you could only wish she didn’t mind. that was also the day you learned her name and the first time you mumbled that name in your sleep with a grin.
you remembered brushing your fingers with her that day too, and how smooth her fingers were. and you also remembered how happy and excited she was and how she hugged the book close to her chest after you signed it, sporting a small smile dancing on her lips.
the third time you saw her was at a library you visited. you saw her choosing books to read on the shelves then. you couldn’t believe it, but you got yourself together and went to the librarian for her information.
and you were so lucky that day that your very close aunt happened to be the librarian, so asking for azula’s identity and about her visits to the library was easy. you found out that she comes in religiously on sunday and learned that she really is a big fan of yours after your aunt told you how she often sees azula read your books even though she's probably done with them. the information made you heart flutter with pride.
you were from another town, quite far from the town azula resides in, but that didn’t stop you from going to the library regularly, always searching for those amber eyes and smooth black hair.
and as those days passed, you never stopped thinking about her. and you also never stopped staring at her, as you kept on looking up at her once in a while while reading your book. your aunt always made fun of you, calling you a creepy little stalker. you only stuck your tongue at her in response.
well, at least you weren't following her home, right?
...right?
you were snapped out of your reminiscing of the past when azula looked at you. you both grinned at each other before she took your hand on hers as she squeezed yours a couple of times. "no wonder why i won, you are staring. again." she furrowed her eyebrows at you as she pinched your forearm playfully.
"you are just too beautiful. it’s distracting." you laced your fingers with her as you raised her hand to kiss at the back of her knuckles.
azula moved closer to you as she gazed at your lips, then onto your eyes. "can i kiss you?" she looked at you expectantly; her face had a light tint of redness on her cheeks as she kept her tiny smile.
you laughed, moving to turn your body towards her so you could face each other properly. you touched her cheek with your free hand as she leaned on it, raising her eyebrows repeatedly in a playful manner, as if encouraging you to say yes. "you know the answer, my love."
you both leaned in as she tilted her head, and both of you closed your eyes. she kissed you on your cheeks, making you open your eyes, only to close them again after she kissed you on the lips.
you both felt the cold wind from the opened window as it prickled your skin while you kissed each other. you both tasted chocolate and mint from one another, both from eating the croissants and from brushing your teeth. you kissed, yet you wanted more. you gently tilted her head so you could meet her eyes.
"thank you for the plant," azula whispered as you felt her breath hit your face. you felt her warmth from her hands on your cheeks and from her cheeks on your palm.
"you’re welcome."
she took your hand into hers once again to press her lips at the back of your palm, returning the gesture you gave her earlier. you kissed her cheeks, also returning the gesture earlier, causing you both to giggle at each other’s silliness.
(if you told azula a year ago, or before she met you, that she's doing this in a relationship, she would've lost her hair in stress. but right now, azula wanted nothing but to stay this close with you. here by her side forever, and she would need nothing else.)
you once again pulled her into a kiss. you kissed as the tv, city lights, and the moon served as your lights in the dark of the peaceful night. you kissed and kissed, and eventually you were broken for gasps of air. you both made silly jokes after that, which left you both giggling like teenagers. you were making plysanties here and there while staring at each other, oblivious to the fact that it’s already three in the morning, while telling each other how your weeks went without each other’s company and stories you haven’t shared before.
"you could live here," azula whispered as you both lay on her couch. "i’d love a company."
"really?" you asked, not really sure if she was serious or not.
(her apartment is big enough for two adults, so she had no problem with you moving in. she had always wanted you to live with her, but you were very busy then, so she thought, perhaps now that you've fixed most of your problems in your home town.
she crosses her fingers, hoping you will finally be able to see each other every day now and not only when your schedules are not packed.)
"really." she looked at you to smile.
you smiled back at her, and your eyes gazed at the ceiling while you thought about her suggestion for a moment. "i could arrange that."
"that’s great," she yawned. "it’s late, we should sleep." she snuggled closer to you, her legs tangled into yours as her arms wrapped around your body. you hummed in agreement and hugged her back.
you two slowly closed your eyes, falling into a deep slumber while cuddling, but not before mumbling goodnights and i love yous and hoping you'd also find each other in your dreams.