A couple of knocks were heard on Ty Lee’s door.
“One second!” she half-shouted slightly tilting her head towards the sound as if the person who had caused it could see but not lifting her head from her paperwork.
The room was quite large with a high ceiling. The fire nation ornaments all over the walls made the room look a monotone shade of red and black, and the wooden desk matching the libraries would’ve been a nice touch if it hadn’t been painted black. Even the leather chair - that was way too big for its use - was depressing. Ty Lee never used it.
She had set pink fluffy pillows she’d had since she started the job on the ground where the window let the sun in.
She never wanted to work there. She was only 15 after all! The adventure and the world’s mysteries called for her, attracted her like a magnet.
Head on hands, arms on the ground, the rest of the body off, feet falling back onto her braid, the young acrobat examined the following page.
Loud knocks were heard once again this time with more grip. And again. And again.
Ty Lee started to get annoyed. “ONE SEC-” and again.
She got up in a hurry, ready to curse the poor soul that didn’t know what was about to hit them.
“For Agni’s sake!” she started opening the door “Are you deaf or-” then cut herself in her momentum recognizing immediately the silhouette that was turning towards face her.
It was her.
She was there.
She was there.
Ty Lee found herself speechless, mouth opening and closing without anything coming out if not air.
She was gorgeous. The topknot was as perfectly done as she'd remembered with the fire nation royalty’s headpiece and two strands of hair contouring her face perfectly. She was wearing the silk uniform she wore under her armor with her two pieced boots (one part for protecting her leg, the other just to cover the feet).
“What? Are you not happy to see me?” the black-haired woman said with the most radiant of smiles. “Oh well. Better get going then. Sorry to have disturbed you, -she bowed- ma’am.”
As she turned around Ty Lee suddenly found the only word she could think of (and it was honestly all she needed).
“Azula!”
She grabbed her wrist to make the other teenager face her and hold her. She held Azula so tightly just in case she would go away again.
She held her as if the world would crumble.
Although her world had just come home.
Azula did the same. She had been waiting for a long time. Each second away from Ty Lee torture. Suddenly hearing a sob from the smaller figure made panic suddenly pass over her.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you okay? Please don’t cry! I didn’t mean to make you cry!”
A soft hand stopped her and warm eyes came to meet hers. She was smiling.
Azula had never seen such beauty.
It was like looking into the bright morning horizon, like gazing into the sun and wanting to go closer. Like Icarus.
Her wings would have burned, her skin melted, she wouldn’t have cared.
“I’m fine. I just,” even her cries were cute “Spirits I just missed you so much!” Ty Lee blurred out and hid her face in the embrace. Holding on tighter - if that was even possible.
+++
It had been decided. Her, Zuko, and Aang would leave in the early morning.
Aang - who was so excited it would’ve hurt Mai if she’d been here - went away to get the most he could pack and some sleep.
As for Azula, she was staring blankly at the floor, mind elsewhere. It’s not that she wasn’t happy, she was! Ecstatic even. But going away meant-
A voice startled her out of the overthinking she was sinking in. She looked up to the amusing sigh of Aang shouting as he went away things at the siblings whom’s places had stayed the same, waiting for his shadow to be gone in the depths of the city.
“Don’t forget to bring camp stuff!” he shouted. “And lighters for the campfire!... Oh, wait. HAHAHA! Never mind! If you guys come the lighter problem is off the table!! And- OUCH!” he hit the street lamp in the middle of the streets.
She and her brother laughed. Zuzu turned to the half-forced smile Azula was offering him.
“You okay ‘Zula?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” she huffed. She hated feeling vulnerable.
Zuko knew that she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, explicitly anyways. But she didn’t have to. He placed a comforting hand on his sister’s shoulder.
“Go be with her.”
She nodded, thankful. And with that, she kissed him on the cheek, started walking towards one of the winding pathways, and said loudly enough for the scarred prince to hear “Dibs on the pack of flaming fire flakes!”
“Wha- You can’t just call dibs on the last pack of flaming fire flakes like that!” he answered, now frustrated.
“Really? Cause I just did!”
*
The office was still a tent at the time. Once inside, it seemed bigger but was still rather small compared to what you often saw in the capital. It was brown and red while being the same color: an awful one. She never understood how she, of all people, could bear it. When Azula entered the tent, all became clear.
Ahh. She thought when she saw the bright colors, the fluffy cousins, and the “zen” space.
Ty Lee was so concentrated on the plans for the new building where her office would take place and employees surrounding her that she didn’t notice Azula standing at the opening of the small structure - if she could even call it that.
“Uhm.” She coughed loudly, trying to make it seem realistic. It sounded so fake that even a sitting turtle-duck could’ve done better.
“Oh! Hey Azula!” Ty Lee said once she noticed the extra body in the tent. “What are you doing here?”
She tried not to get distracted by the five colleagues of her girlfriend staring at her but couldn’t even start a sentence. Don’t these imbeciles know who I am?
She sighed. “Can we talk?” She quickly added, “In private?”
“Sure! Just let me finish up and I’ll be all yours”
Azula almost added a comment like “you already are” or something of the sort to hear the heaven that is Ty Lee’s laughter but didn’t. She couldn’t with all those people around. Besides, she wasn’t the possessive kind. The jealous kind? A little bit, sure. But Possessive? Not really. It was more of an inside joke.
She stared at the workers leaving with the plans, chatting about this and that, not bothered to listen.
“So what’s up?” the chi blockers asked once they were alone.
Azula slowly turned around “What was that all about? Love what you did with the place by the way. It’s so… poofy.” she made a poufing mimic with her hand, mocking what Ty Lee had once done “Poof.”
“Haha” she laughed sarcastically “Well basically we're working on building an office. With walls and everything! And thank you I like it too.”
“But don’t you hate this job? And you’re 14! How in Yangchen’s name does that work out?!”
“We learned how to do this with my sisters. One came up with the idea and my parents decided we all liked it so… It’s boring but it helps out. Right?”
“Right.”
Ty Lee brought the fire nation princess into her embrace, hands over her shoulders. She felt hands confidently and respectfully bringing her closer as well by her waist.
“What did you wanna talk about?”
She kissed her so quickly and softly that Azula was debating if it happened.
She slowly let loose the embrace remembering what she had come all this way to say.
“Oh. Yeah, that.” She saw the confused look on Ty Lee’s face as to why the sudden change of tone and added: “Sit down.” It wasn’t commanded as much as suggested.
They both sat down on the pillows laying on the somehow-managed-to-be-in-a-tent-and-not-get-dirty carpet.
“You’re starting to freak me out. Did something happen? Are you okay?!” she suddenly took Azula’s face with one hand and examined her.
Azula chuckled and took down the hand with hers. “I’m fine.” she hesitated “You remember the Avatar?”
“He’s kinda hard to forget.”
“Yes, well, he sorta, maybe, kinda asked me and Zuko to join him on his trip to master the four elements…? And we might have said yes…? He’s the Avatar! I couldn’t just say no!”
Ty Lee’s mouth dropped. Then closed. Over and over again. They stayed like that for a moment until the other girl broke the silence that felt neverending.
“Can you say something?”
She couldn’t.
“You’re going…”
Azula nodded.
“... and I have to stay..”
She nodded once more, frenetically, fighting an unbearable combat against the tears she was trying to prevent from falling.
Ty Lee said nothing. Her silence was misinterpreted by the teenager in front of her, who started crying, teeth biting her lips not to let out sobs.
She went across the carpet and carefully held Azula. She knew who much she despised being vulnerable and feeling exposed. She heard her weeping, clinging onto the pink-clothed girl. Ty Lee held her tightly, letting tears drop from her own eyes.
“I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?” she paused for a little while, “It’s gonna be okay… It’s gonna be okay” then caressed her hair.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Hey. Hey look at me.” they gazed at each other. Looking deep inside oceans they would both gladly drown in. After a while, she finally added “It will.”
She kissed her on the forehead. Then on the temple. Anywhere she could get her mouth on really. And between kisses, she said the compliments she would only ever tell Azula “you’re the most… -kiss- beautiful -kiss- smartest -kiss- perfect girl in the world.”
And finally, she kissed her on the lips. A long, smooth, calming kiss that felt like forever.
*
They’d slept at Ty Lee’s place. After the emotional mess yesterday, the grey-eyed girl decreed Azula’s house was too far away for her to go back.
They fell asleep in each other's arms - unsurprisingly. When she woke up they had barely moved during the night. The only thing different was the other one awake, tracing the contours of her face ever so gently with her fingers.
Before warning Ty Lee of her consciousness she decided to enjoy the peaceful moment shared by no one else but them.
Down her forehead; to her eyebrows; to her eyes; then her nose; contouring her lips; down her chin; up her jawline; and again.
Azula opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to startle the girl “Hey.” her voice wasn't husky like when she would usually just wake up which giveaway that she hadn’t just woken up.
“Hi,” Ty Lee smiled.
The first thing she did that morning, except feeling the softest hands outline her face was kissing the young woman without caring much for morning breath.
One day, Azula thought, I’m gonna marry her.
One day, Ty Lee thought, I’m gonna marry her.
+++
On Appa’s back, Azula looked at the buildings that seemed smaller from her point of view. She was scrutinizing for the newly built construction where she was supposed to be dropped off.
“There it is!” Toph said.
Everyone turned to watch where she was pointing, only understanding the joke seconds later. They all stared at her with judging eyes.
“That’s what it’ll sound like when one of you spots it.” the blind bandit waved her hand in front of her eyes.
After minutes had passed, Azula found the office. (She remembered the plans)
“There. Drop me there.”
Appa slowed the landing and Zuko spoke up “Say hi to her for me, will you?”
As she jumped off the flying bison she simply answered “No.” “ Say hi to Mai for me.
“No.”
“Well tell both of them hi from me too!” Aang waved with his usual smile.
Once in the corridor, she started getting anxious. What if she’s not there? What if she doesn’t recognize me? What - What am I babbling on about? She realized how dumb she sounded and laughed, scaring the woman passing by, making her think she had hallucinations.
“Miss Lee?” she simply asked.
“D-Down the hall to your right.”
After answering, the woman left in a hurry, looking scared. It must have been more the headpiece than the laughter but it didn’t matter. She was finally going to see Ty Lee.
Once in front of the door, she inhaled loudly, exhaled, and finally, knocked.
*
After an embrace as long as the daofei’s reign, the two girls let go and decided to go outside. They walked down the streets holding hands. It wasn’t like ten months ago, they weren’t as scared to be judged when so close together. Mostly because they hadn’t seen one another in so long. Also this time Azula wasn’t running to her mansion to grab the last pack of flaming fire flakes before Zuko would awake. It was nice.
They were slow on their steps, trying to make the walk as long as humanly possible.
“So how was it? I wanna hear everything!” Ty Lee said the most interested she had been in a while.
“Well, we first went to every place Aang wanted to show us. They were a lOt.” They both chuckled. “Then we went to the North pole for him to find a waterbending teacher that wasn’t going to try and kill us like those Southern water tribe siblings. They kept following us! It was starting to get annoying!”
“Are you guys okay?!”
“We’re fine. I’m here aren’t I?”
Ty Lee hit her with her elbow as she could with her current position, winning her a small laugh at the gesture from Azula.
“Anyways, when that was over we went to Gaoling and found the most unusual girl. She’s twelve and blind. The best earthbender I’ve ever seen somehow. At first, she was a pain in the butt. Overall she kinda grew on me.”
“Awww.”
“Don’t start.” she laughed and changed the subject. “I was meaning to ask. Are you still obliged to stay? At the office I mean. And in general too, I guess.”
Azula bit her upper lip. A nervous tic that didn’t go unnoticed by the girl who now squeezed her hand a little tighter to reassure her.
“I guess not. The contract said ten months. In a week I can go. Why? What’d you have in mind?”
She smiled. If she was still tense, she didn’t show it. “I- Well- Aang still has to learn firebending- and- Zuzu is bringing Mai and- I thought, maybe, that if you wanted to come along for the rest of the trip-”
“Are you serious?!” She screamed. That’s not the casual effect she was originally going for but it would have to do.
“Well,” Azula hesitated “... Yeah?”
“Of course I’ll come!” Ty Lee took her in and bounced in excitement.
They laughed while strangers watched the bizarre scene happen as they crossed paths. The acrobat stopped jumping around to kiss her smiling and giggling girlfriend. Which made the pedestrians even more confused and cramped.
*
The rest of the day was calmer than most of the nights they’d spend while traveling. No one tried to attack them and most importantly, everyone was there.
The Gaang (as Azula liked to call them) departed a week later, waiting for their second newest member. This time they started their trip to the Western Air temple at sundown.
Azula hugged Ty Lee, watching the impressive play performed by the nearly asleep sky from the back of the bison now in the air.
And there, in each other's arms, they were finally home.
END