Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ty Lee found herself standing outside of a pink and blue house, in a full acrobat outfit and a heavy duffel bag slung over her shoulders.

She sighed.

Despite the general cheeriness of the house’s colors, her aura had never been duller.

Life had been going great for Ty Lee for a while now, despite a rocky start. She had been raised in a house with six identical sisters, each with high expectations from their parents. To get away from it all, she ran away and joined the circus. The circus was what changed Ty Lee’s life, she was able to develop her own sense of self and her amazing acrobat abilities. It also didn’t hurt that the circus was full of people who were open to many different ways of life.

Ty Lee wasn’t like that, of course. She was an acrobat, and you had to be a pretty straight and narrow kind of person to pull off the precision of her moves. It didn’t matter that she put so much time into her training that she didn’t have time to date any of her fellow male trapeze artists. Besides, she was pretty sure that Dee and Ruzin only had eyes for each other.

The circus was a travelling one, and that suited Ty Lee best. This way, she could hopefully avoid her parents for a couple of years before becoming old enough to start out on her own. She was preparing to perform her best act of acrobatics yet: balancing across the tightrope on a single, moving hand-held platform while the net below her was set on fire. It was a difficult stunt. She had been practicing every day and today was no different.

Ty Lee had skipped lunch in favor of trying the trick for the first time with fire. Unfortunately, lunch was where all the news of the day was talked about amongst the performers. The biggest news being that her parents had arrived into town to see the show. Nobody told her that they had come, because she had never told anyone why she had joined the circus. They all just assumed it was a surprise visit.

The show was one for the ages, a true heart-stopper. Unfortunately, her parents found her afterwards. They gave her an intense scolding for running away and joining the circus. Lots of “how dare she’s” from her mother and “how could she’s” from her father.

Ty Lee considered herself a fairly perceptive person, especially when it came to other people's auras. Letting her gaze fall soft, she saw that her mother’s aura was a flaming brownish red and her father’s was a faded grey.

Her father sighed before continuing.

“Ty Lee, we love you. And we are concerned that you are being influenced by this unnatural circus, by a way of thinking that just isn’t right. Do you remember when you were younger and you said that you wanted to be a pirate-”

Her mother cut him off.

“Honey, we think you’re a...lesbian.”

The next few minutes swirled by in Ty Lee’s memories, her parents trying to explain all of the early signs they had seen in her life. The dressing up in her father's clothes, always trying to outsmart all of the other local boys, her switch to vegetarianism. She just kept shaking her head, this couldn’t be true, it must be some trick to get her to come back home. Her mother piped in.

“We want to send you somewhere, to get this gay thing sorted out.”

“What? I’m not gay!”

“True Directions will decide that, and you’re going. We already paid for it.”

Her father tried to reason with her.

“It’s only for a few months Lee.”

“There is no way I’m going!”

Ty Lee watched with a doleful look, as her parents drove away, leaving one of their own at the mercy of whatever this house held. She turned to face her welcome party, a stern looking woman in a pink pantsuit and pearls. The stranger greeted her with a thin smile.

“Ty Lee? I’m Ms. Kwan, the leader here at True Directions. Looks like we got you just in time, if you’ll follow me.”

She gestured for Ty Lee to accompany her through the candy pink doors.

She had a thought, and it was kind of silly in retrospect, but it comforted her in the moment.

Maybe there will be more circus folk here.

Chapter Text

There were not more circus folk here.

As they entered the main hallway of the large house, Ms. Kwan was lecturing her about how it was a good thing that Ty Lee was here, and if she had waited another year, she might have been lost to the liberal brainwashing of college.

It wasn’t really a conversation, she didn’t expect Ty Lee to respond back. And for once, Ty Lee didn’t want to talk to someone.

They found themselves in what she presumed to be Ms. Kwan’s office.

“The others arrived yesterday, so I’ll have to get you caught up.”

Ms. Kwan then proceeded to launch into another long lecture about how the program was two months and consisted of five easy (her opinion) steps to complete. Ty Lee was trying to pay attention, but it was hard with such an interesting room to look at. Her eyes wandered to an embroidered sign on the wall that said, in pink, Bless this Fruit. Above those words was a buff man holding a peach.

“Ty Lee?”

She whipped her head around to look up at Ms. Kwan.

“Why don’t we start with the first step, admitting your problem.”

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Yes, you have several. Here.”

She handed Ty Lee a sad looking, dark green, sleeping gown and a pair of slippers

“You will wear this in lieu of that garish performer's garb you seem so comfortable in. You will get real clothes when you admit the real reason why you are here.”
Ty Lee looked glumly at her new uniform, how was she supposed to do cartwheels in this?

“It’s a long path to healing Ty Lee, and you are going to have to fight for it. Let me introduce one of our star soldiers. Katara!”

Ms. Kwan looked past Ty Lee to call in the new girl.

Katara arrived quickly, like she was used to being called upon by Ms. Kwan. She wore a very pretty set of pink clothing, Ty Lee observed. She was wearing a neat button down shirt and matching pink skirt, much better than the clothes Ty Lee had been given. Although the skirt would need something underneath if she was to do her acrobatics.

“When do I get clothes like that?” Ty Lee blurted out.

“When you complete the first step. Now, Katara why don’t you show Ty Lee around and then go meet with the others.”

Ms. Kwan waved them away and Ty Lee had no choice but to follow.

She felt nothing but curiosity for Katara, as this girl might hold some answers to her new environment. She also felt more relaxed around Katara, as if Ms. Kwan somehow made a room very uncomfortable. She piped up, in hopes of making a friend.

“So what’s it like here?”

“It’s great.” Katara responded in a serious tone. “Ok, rise and shine at 7:00 AM, breakfast at 8:00 AM, and don’t you be late because I am nobody's mother here.”

She stopped as if she expected Ty Lee to laugh at the joke, but with her tone, Ty Lee couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

Katara wrinkled her eyebrows and continued.

“Group therapy until lunch, afternoon is for free time, until reorienting exercises. Family therapy on the weekends. You didn’t miss much, really.”

They had arrived at a hot pink door and Ty Lee was filled with anticipation.

“This is where we sleep, but there is no funny business allowed”

Katara opened the door.
Ty Lee was greeted with an overload of pink, even by her standards. Lounging on one of the beds was another girl clad in the pink uniform. She was long and lanky with a heart shaped face and rich amber eyes. There was an intricateness about her complicated hairstyle that signalled that she was from a wealthy family. She wore a bored expression.

“Funny business? As in swearing?”

The girl on the bed quirked her eyebrow in disbelief.

“No, funny business like sex. You get caught here and you’re done.”

Katara huffed and left the room abruptly, leaving Ty Lee and the mystery girl to make extensive eye contact. Or maybe Ty Lee was just staring, she really didn’t know. Her thoughts were a flurry of emotions from embarrassment to curiosity. She managed to break the trance this girl had put on her and follow Katara out.

What Ty Lee missed was how the corner of the girl’s mouth turned up into the slightest of smirks as she turned away.

“Don’t mind Mai, she’s rich.”

Katara said, as if that explained her behavior in the room.

“Step one was easy, everyone has already done it, so you gotta catch up. Now come on, the rest of the group is probably waiting.”

“What’s step one?”

“Admitting you’re a homosexual.”

“Oh.”

“We’re here.”

Ty Lee and Katara were back inside the house and approaching a yellow room.

It was time for group therapy.

Ty Lee stared at the series of faces before her, they weren’t performers from what she could tell, but then again it was hard to distinguish everyone with their uniforms on. These people were her only chance at friends and maybe a way out of here. She better put on her best bubbly Ty Lee and impress them.

Ms. Kwan was also there, looking refreshed and ready to facilitate.

“Alright everyone, please welcome Ty Lee to our group.”

She paused as there was a small amount of applause, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

“Now go ahead and introduce yourselves.”

A small girl, only in stature, stood up. Ty Lee could describe her as, well, tough looking.

“Hi Ty Lee, I’m Toph, I’m a softball player, and I’m a homosexual.”

The next girl was taller that Toph, but gave Ty Lee an uneasy feeling. She would definitely need to know this girl’s aura later. The girl rolled her eyes as she stood.

“I’m Azula, I like pain, and I’m a homosexual.”

A tall boy with a sprouting mustache stood up.

“I’m Haru, I’m a florist, and I’m a uh, a homo-sexual.”

The person to go next was the one Ty Lee had been dreading the most. Mai spoke in an even tone.

“We’ve met.”

Ms. Kwan had an incredulous look on her face.

“Mai!”

She sighed.

“I’m Mai, I like girls.” She turned towards Ms. Kwan and plastered on a small smile.

“And I’m a homosexual.”

Mai kept a careful eye on Ty Lee for the rest of the introductions, mostly waiting to see how Ty Lee would react to the question.

“Aang. Actor, dancer, and-”

The slight boy with the strange, yet beautiful tattoos was interrupted by the small softball player.

“Twinkle toes!”

“Toph! That is enough. One more interruption, and we will have to call your parents.”

That threat seemed to quiet Toph, but she smirked at Aang from her chair.

“And homosexual.” he finished with a flourish, not bothered by Toph’s name calling.

A tall, muscular boy with a ponytail went next.

“Sokka, homosexual varsity wrestler, howya doing?”

He smiled at Ty Lee with a natural charm. She definitely thought that Sokka was the best so far in terms of potential friends.

A skinny kid with a very noticeable burn scar on his face stands up.

“Zuko Fire. I work in retail, and I’m a homosexual.”

He sat down carefully.

“Now Ty Lee, it’s time for your first disclosure. Tell everyone when you first thought you might be a lesbian.”

Ty Lee’s smile faded just for a second, but she quickly forced it back up. Mai took notice.

“I’m not, everybody just thinks I am, I’m not supposed to be here.” She let off a quick laugh.

There is a collective uh-uh of disbelief from the group. Then the questioning starts.

“Didn’t your file say you were a vegetarian?”

“Why did you join the circus of all places?”

“Why have you never had a boyfriend?”

“Hold on, hold on.” Ty Lee said. “I’m a vegetarian because I don’t want to hurt innocent life. I joined the circus for...for its colorful lifestyle! And I never needed a boyfriend, I mean who does?”

Sokka raised his hand confidently.

“I’m a normal person who happens to be a performer. I mean come on, I’m an acrobat!”

Mai glares at Ty Lee. Zuko speaks up.

“Look, every single one of us thought we were normal till we learned that little boys don’t hold hands with other little boys or that little girls better not fall for their best friend. Some of us learn those lessons early...”

He trails off, gesturing to his face, the unsaid louder than the words he just spoke. Sokka continues.

“Most of us think that everyone else thinks just like us, but guess what, they don’t.”

Azula had waited for this exact moment to drop the truth bomb on Ty Lee. She liked seeing the new kid squirm and grapple with the truth of their existence.

“Some girls actually like boys.”

Ty Lee’s mind began to spiral. She thought of Dee and Ruzin, and she could see them kissing each other. She saw herself, working herself to the bone, trying to drive out whatever fluttery feeling she would get when she would see a cute girl in the audience. She saw her parent’s disapproval at her trying to impress her neighborhood friend, Mila, convinced that if she and her were best friends, they could stay together for life.

“I’m a homosexual! I’m a homosexual!” Ty Lee cried out, tears starting to form in her delicate grey eyes.

Ms. Kwan began the round of applause

“Congrats Ty Lee, you have just taken your first step in your True Direction!”

The group surrounded her for a group hug, which to Ty Lee’s defence, felt nice. Only Mai remained seated, she looked at Ty Lee with curious expression.

“I don’t hug.”

Ty Lee had been given her new pink outfit, and while it still wasn’t the same as her acrobat outfit, it was so much better than that green horror.

Dinner was nice, she even got a vegetarian meal, which she wasn’t expecting. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

She sat at a table with most of the rest of the group, only Mai sat by herself.

The conversation moved into how excited some of them were to be straight and how lonely it was to be the only gay kid.

Mai must have been listening, because she spoke out after Sokka said that he couldn’t tell any of his friends.

“Maybe you have the wrong friends.”

Ty Lee frowned and then smiled.

“I think we should all be supporting each other.”

Mai rolled her eyes. But her gaze definitely lingered on Ty Lee longer than necessary.

Bedtime was quiet, just like she suspected, save for Katara trying to get everyone to fall asleep early, because they all had a big day tomorrow.

Ty Lee was awoken by the smell of something burning. She let her gaze fall soft to try to sense who’s aura was awake. The smell was close by and a red and black aura next to her was moving slightly.

Azula.

Something about this girl scared her, so Ty Lee pulled the covers over her head and tried to go back to sleep. She would probably find out what this was about later.

Sometime later that night, Ms. Kwan woke Ty Lee up, apparently she had a phone call from her parents.

Her mother was happy that all that money they spent on the program is going to good use. Her father misses her.

Ty Lee misses them both. But maybe a little less after the day she has had.

Chapter Text

After a restless night, Ty Lee was tired. But the program stopped for no one, and so her day began.

Breakfast was nice. Everyone sat at the same tables that they had sat at for dinner. This meant that everyone sat at one table, while Mai sat by herself. Most of the campers at the big table were pretty chatty, much to Ty Lee’s delight.

“So wait, you and Katara are siblings? And you and Azula are siblings?” Ty Lee questioned, pointing to Sokka, and then Zuko, respectfully.

“Yeah,” Sokka responded, trying to nudge Katara who sat next to him. She moved out of his way and frowned. “Our dad was pretty surprised that both of his kids were gay.”

“I’m not gay,” Katara responded, crossing her arms, “Grandpa Paku got upset that I didn’t want to be a nurse like the rest of the female members in our family. I tried to explain to him that just because I wanted to be a firefighter, didn’t mean that I also couldn’t marry a guy.”

“To be fair sis, Grandpa was also the one who caught you with Yue. I, on the other hand, never got caught with anyone.”

“That’s not fair! I’m trying to get better, and you should want to too.”

Ty Lee interjected.

“I think we all want that here.”

There were nods of agreements from around the table. Mai didn’t say anything.

Katara groaned and then narrowed her eyes at Sokka.

“If mom had been there, Grandpa would have never sent either one of us away!”

The two siblings began bickering with each other, so Ty Lee turned her attention to the other sibling pair. Azula and Zuko both had amber eyes like Mai, but there was a hardness to Azula’s gaze and a brokenness to Zuko’s. Azula was the one to speak on their relationship.

“Yes, I suppose I am related to little Zuzu here. Our family travelled a lot, so I’m surprised that they even took notice that we were different.”

She looked at Zuko, who was staring at his eggs, trying to not be a part of the conversation.

“But then again my brother always had a flair for the dramatic, which was to my advantage I suppose. He always took the heat off me.”

Zuko scowled and dug his fork into the eggs.

“Stop that Azula,” Ty Lee interjected. She could tell that Azula was trying to get a rise out of her brother and the last thing she wanted was the breakfast peace disturbed.

She tried to give Zuko a small smile of comfort from across the table. He lifted his head and smiled back, but the sadness never left his eyes.

The hours of the day flew by.

Group therapy was spent with everyone listening to Haru talking about his involvement with his family’s flower shop. Lunch was disappointing for Ty Lee because there wasn’t a vegetarian option. She decided skipping one meal couldn’t hurt. Besides, she had a new friend in Aang, who had bonded with her over their shared vegetarianism. Free time was spent with most of the group watching Sokka trying to wrestle Toph. They had both bet their future watermelon slices from tomorrow’s lunch on who would win.

Toph won by a landslide.

She was now asking everyone to refer to her as Melon Lord.

It was time for reorienting exercises.

The group was divided by gender: girls with Ms. Kwan, and boys with a man only known as the Warden.

The girls’ first task was to observe Ms. Kwan sweeping and vacuuming. They were then told to try and mimic her technique. Ty Lee was mortified with the demonstration, as everything Ms. Kwan was doing had vague sexual undertones in the motions. She wondered if Ms. Kwan was even aware of what she was doing. Ty Lee turned to the other girls to see their reactions. Azula looked amused, Mai was uncomfortable, and Katara seemed to be making mental notes for later. Ty Lee wondered if the boys were having an easier time.

The boys stood in a huddled mass, trying to not draw the attention of the Warden. He was an intimidating man, even under the blue car. His harsh voice rang out.

“Will someone hand me some more oil?”

Aang quickly scrambled to grab some.

“Ech no, this is car lube,” He tossed the tube aside, nearly hitting Zuko. “Now who knows the first thing about a crankshaft?”

The girls spent the rest of reorienting exercises designing wedding dresses and doing their makeup. Ty Lee was actually pretty good at makeup, good enough that Katara asked for her help. Ms. Kwan observed with approval.

Azula occupied the salon chair in the room where she had convinced Mai to give her a stick and poke tattoo using some of the left-over mascara. Ty Lee had never seen someone get a tattoo before, much less an improvised one. She kept losing focus on Katara’s face and was instead content to watch Mai. Mai, with her meticulous hand movements, was poking the sharp needle into Azula’s skin with precision. Her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated on her task. Ty Lee thought that someone had never looked so perfect.

Azula noticed this staring, and stared right back at Ty Lee as if to try and ward her off.

The boys learned to chop wood and pretended to be soldiers. Zuko almost killed Haru when he accidentally let go of one of the axes. Aang refused to participate in the mock war, he was a staunch believer in non-violence. The Warden didn’t yell at him, like the rest of the group thought he would, instead, he shook his head and made a mark on his clipboard.

The group was now reunited around the unlit campfire, for a special exercise in finding their root.

“Good work today everyone, I was very impressed by some of your efforts.” Ms. Kwan stated.
“Now who is left to report their roots? Aang?”

“Well hotman, I ain't the only one who don’t got no root!”

“Aang. We don’t use nicknames or double negatives here at True Directions. Ty Lee, have you found yours?”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t think of anything.”

Mai raised her head in interest.

“I think you’re too afraid to disclose.”

Ty Lee was taken aback

“Oh really? Well, what’s your root Mai?”

She rolled her eyes.

“You’re deflecting.” She answered in a flat voice, then she sighed. “Whatever...my mother got married in pants.”

The whole group gave a half-hearted applause. Each teen then listed the root that caused them to be gay. Sokka had too many locker room showers with the varsity wrestling team. Katara had been sent to an all girls boarding school. Azula had apparently been born in France.

As if that explained anything, Ty Lee thought.

Zuko’s mom had coddled him too much as a child. Toph’s parents had given her a name that sounded like tough because they had wanted a boy. Haru hadn’t grown up with his dad around.

“Wonderful, now we are all going to learn the best parts about being heterosexual, same-sex friendship! Now everyone pick a partner. They will be your buddy for the rest of camp.”

The teens scrambled to find a suitable match. Sokka looked very happy with Zuko by his side and Zuko was also smiling, but just the smallest amount. That left Haru and Aang to pair, which both of them seemed indifferent about. Azula was trying to catch Mai’s eye, but to Ty Lee’s surprise, Mai went and stood over by her. Ty Lee felt slightly uncomfortable under Azula’s dagger eyes.

The wheels were turning in Azula’s head, there were an odd number of girls, so if she didn’t pick one, she might get stuck by herself. That led her to the unfortunate choice of Toph, who happened to be the closest, but it was better than being alone. Katara was forced to pair up with Ms. Kwan.

Later that evening, after a thankfully vegetarian dinner, Ty Lee found herself face to face with the girl that had both intrigued and confused her the most here. The glow of the firelight cast dark shadows under Mai’s bangs.

Ty Lee held up a card with a woman cooking dinner.

“Well, what do you see?”

“A woman.”

“Come on Mai, what else?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s a mother. Actually she kinda looks like my mother, don’t you think so?” Ty Lee paused to see if Mai would respond. She didn’t. Ty Lee sighed and continued.

“Women have roles, if you learn this, maybe you’ll stop objectifying them. Haven’t you been paying attention to Ms. Kwan?”

“Have you?” She replied.

“Have I what?”

“Stopped objectifying them.” She said with a slight smile on her lips.

Ty Lee was mildly flustered.

“I’m still working on my root!” She said hastily.

Mai turned to gaze off into the woods.

“You’re going to have to work a lot quicker than this to find it. Temptation is everywhere.”

Ty Lee swore she saw Mai’s aura switch from grey to a slight pinkish red.

But maybe it was just a trick of her eyes.

Chapter Text

It was definitely a trick of Ty Lee’s eyes, because the next day Mai’s aura returned to a dull grey.

She saw her at breakfast, but Mai refused to look her in the eyes. Ty Lee grew worried as Mai’s aura continually got stormier as the weekend approached. She tried to talk to her during the reorienting exercises, but Mai only spoke when necessary.

The next day, during free time in the front yard, Ty Lee and Aang were sitting on the front steps in front of the house. She was trying to get Aang’s advice on her situation.

“Well, I don’t know much about Mai, but I am going to try and help you figure this out. You said that she stopped being responsive for no particular reason?”

“Yes, it was like we started bantering two nights ago, and the next day she doesn’t want to talk. It’s like she’s super distant now.”

Aang nodded his head.

“Even before you got hare, I noticed that Mai was the quiet one of our group. Which means you might have to wait till she’s ready to talk about whatever is bothering her. Till then I can teach you a cool dance move I’ve been working on.”

Ty Lee smiled and gave Aang a hug.

“Thanks Aang, I’d love that!”

Ty Lee and Aang got up and went over to some of the open patch of grass in the front yard. Aang began teaching her his favorite dance move, which was called the Kick-Back Slap. She giggled at how silly he looked, flapping his arms and legs about. Aang picked up the pace and Ty Lee began to see that there was also a definite grace to his movements. She picked up the moves easily, as dancing and acrobatics were kindred arts.

Most of the rest of the campers were spread across the front yard. Haru had offered early in his time here to help tend to the greenery out front. Ms. Kwan agreed on the condition that he didn’t just tend to the flowers, as that normally was a woman’s job. Katara had been trying to show Toph how to sew, a one-sided effort, with Toph blatantly refusing Katara’s help. That, however, did not stop Katara from trying. Sokka and Zuko were hanging out under the tree, with Zuko resting his head on Sokka’s broad shoulder. Sokka was rambling on about the last time he had won a wrestling match against a pretty tough opponent. Zuko was paying attention and asking good questions to get Sokka all riled up again.

Azula was picking at her nails and watching Ty Lee, which seemed to be her favorite new habit. There was just something that she couldn’t quite figure about Ty Lee and it drove her crazy.

Mai was missing from free time.

The weekend rolled around quickly. It was time for Ty Lee’s first Family Therapy session.

She found herself alone with her parents for the first time in her life. She should have been happy at all the attention they were giving her and not her sisters, but instead she just felt uncomfortable.

In the room with her and her family was Aang’s foster family, apparently he had lost both of his parents fairly young; Haru’s stern looking mother; and Mai’s parents. Ty Lee didn’t have to give Mai’s parents a second glance to know that they were old money, their green auras said it all.

“And after swimming lessons, we would change in front of each other. So yeah, that’s why I think I am the way that I am.”

Aang concluded, proud of finding his root. Ms. Kwan cleared her throat.

“Aang. That’s what kids do, change in front of each other. All the time in fact. You’re going to have to work harder than this to find your root.”

Haru piped in, to save Aang from further embarrassment.

“I can kinda relate to that Aang, I had a really special friend, Gong, growing up. We did everything together, including swimming down in the river together. I guess we stayed friends too long for everyone’s liking.”

“Oh so that’s what you’re trying to call it,” Haru’s mother protested, “That’s not what I would call it when I found you two in bed together! You bring shame on our family Haru, what would your father say?”

Haru hung his head. He was at a loss for words.

Mai’s father, Ukano spoke.

“Well if that little soap opera is all wrapped up, I would like to ask what the hell are we all doing here anyways. My wife and I paid good money to have our daughter straightened out, but all you folks seem concerned with is sob stories.”

He looked pointedly at Haru and his mother. She glared back. He turned towards an apathetic looking Mai.

“Mai, I hope you’re getting a little bit more out of this program than that fairy over there.”

He gestured at Aang. Mai remained stone faced, her eyes cast downwards. Ms. Kwan replied.

“Sir, I do not find that use of language appropriate!”

Aang looked forlorn.

“No, he’s right, it was a stupid-ass root. I’m never going to know why I am this way.”

“I’ve had enough of this crap,” Ukano stated, “When we get back from Switzerland, you better have this gay thing out of your system.”

Mai nodded.

“You mess up. No college, no car, no trust fund.”

He then shot up angrily and exited the room, Mai’s mom Michi followed him.

Mai quietly followed her parent’s out and watched them drive away. Her expression was unreadable. Fortunately for Ty Lee, she could poke her head out the window of the room and see her aura. It was back to it’s usual grey, the storminess of it was gone.

“Ty Lee?” Ms. Kwan was trying to get her attention. “It’s time to report your root.”

She turned back around, clearly trying to cover the fact that she had just been staring out the window. She put on a cheery voice.

“Yes! I think my root has to do with the fact that I never had a sense of self growing up. I was one of seven identical siblings, so we were always treated as part of a matched set by our parents.”

She looked to her dad.

“You always expected so much of us, but I never once heard that you were proud of me, or any of my sisters individually.”

Tears started to well in her eyes, but she continued to smile through them. She turned towards Ms. Kwan.

“I think that’s what caused me to be this way, I just wanted to be different from my sisters.”

Ms. Kwan nodded approvingly.

“Excellent work Ty Lee, I can’t believe you didn’t bring this up sooner. Additionally, I think you could add some gender roles argument to your root. For example: because your father never gave you any individual attention, you never learned to respect him. So instead, you tried to fill that hole in your life by trying to be your own father figure.”

Ty Lee squinted her eyes at Ms. Kwan’s addition, but didn’t say anything.

“There’s a lot of healing that needs to happen here, so I want you to write a song. It’s very therapeutic to write your feelings down."

Ms. Kwan smiled tightly at everyone.

"All right, that wraps up this session.”

There was a scattered amount of applause from the remaining parents. Most of them wore skeptical expressions.

Saturday's free time had been uneventful so far, that is until a piece of paper in the shape of a lotus landed at Aang’s feet. He looked around to try and see who had thrown it. No luck.

Katara, who he had been talking to, looked at the white lotus.

“What’s that?”

Aang unfolded the note. She tried to read what it said, but Aang held it out of her sight.

“Another way out. Explore alternatives. Live Free, Love Free. Meet our front this Saturday at midnight.”

He smiled at Katara and crumpled up the note, quickly stuffing it in his pocket.

“Nothing, trash.”

Ty Lee had been looking for Mai ever since that explosive Family Therapy session. She found her sitting on some hay bales by the side of the house and twirling a knife between her fingers.

“Aren’t you not supposed to have that?”

“You aren’t going to tell, are you?

“No.”

Ty Lee sat down next to Mai, but Mai leaned away.

“What am I, contagious?”

Mai didn’t respond. Ty Lee then turned her attention to the piece of paper she was carrying. It contained a rudimentary song/spoken-word/chant type thing that could go along with the acrobatic act she had been working on.

“What are you doing?”

“A chant thing for Ms. Kwan, I’m stuck on this.” She pointed to a line.

“What about, ‘Look at me’, then you do a flip, ‘Straight I be.’”

“Hey, that’s really good!”

“You’re lying.”

“No I’m not!”

Mai’s expression changed to be one of disbelief.

“You can’t seriously think this is helping you.”

“I don’t know, this assignment is actually kinda fun. You wanna see my routine that goes with it?”

Mai nodded. Ty Lee began to move in a way that was both unnaturally graceful and beautiful to look at. Her flips were immaculate and at the end of it, she landed on her feet. Mai hid her admiration well, but her eyes were softer. Ty Lee didn’t notice.

“My advice, drop the chant.”

Ty Lee nodded.

“Your parent’s didn’t stay very long.”

“Well, it’s hard to sit that long with a stick up your ass.”

“I’m sure they are just trying to do what’s best for you.”

Mai shook her head.

“You know, I thought this was an act, but you really are sweet as fruit pie, aren’t you? This is bullshit Ty Lee, it doesn’t work. You are who you are. The only trick is to not get caught.”

She sighed, switching which hand was twirling the knife.

“How’d you end up here?”

“I got caught.”

Ty Lee leaned in closer.

“Doing what?”

“I had this friend, I guess we spent a little too much time together.”

“Doing what?”

“What do you think?” She paused “My mother caught us in my room one day and sent me here.”

Ty Lee thought for a moment.

“Were you in love with her?”

Mai stuck her knife in the ground, shifting away from Ty Lee again.

“Does it matter?”

Ty Lee decided to do something impulsive. She tried to grab Mai’s hand, but Mai pulled back.

“Careful, I could get you reported for that.”

Later that night, Ty Lee was having a dreamless sleep, till Mai decided to invade that sleep.

Ty Lee found herself in bed with Mai, their noses touching as they faced each other. Gazing into those amber eyes, she saw the want that she felt reflected back at her. Capturing her lips, she heard Mai sigh. But unlike Mai’s normal sighs of boredom, this one was one of content. Just to hear that noise made Ty Lee’s dream heart flutter. Turning her attention back towards Mai-

*bzt*

Ty Lee turned over in confusion and opened her eyes.

*bzt*

And there she was, Azula, fully awake and shocking herself.

They were each given a personal shocking device to help them ward off impure thoughts. Azula was the only one of them keen to use it.

What was even more shocking is who Azula was looking at.

A sleeping Mai.

Ty Lee put two and two together. It all made sense now, why Azula seemed to hate her and be really possessive over Mai. Azula liked Mai! But what did that mean for her and Mai? She didn’t really know.

Azula hadn’t seen that Ty Lee was awake and watching her, she was too busy with her task.
Knowing that she probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep anymore, Ty Lee used her acrobatic grace to sneak out of the bedroom unnoticed. She intended on just going for a walk to clear her head, but then she heard a noise coming from Ms. Kwan’s office.

Peering into the open room, she could see two bodies moving under the desk. Unsure of what exactly was happening, she moved closer and saw two blue pj uniforms, squirming around on top of each other.

She let out an accidental gasp when she saw who it was.

“Oh my god.” said Sokka as he got off Zuko

“Please don’t tell.” begged Zuko as he stood up.

Sokka and her had become friends, and Zuko was alright, so Ty Lee had no clue why she did what she did next. Maybe Ms. Kwan really was getting to her.

“Oh my god! Ew!”

“Shut up Ty Lee!”

“You’re going to wake the Warden!”

Too late.

“Hey, what the hell is going on in here!”

Ms. Kwan had gotten to her.

“They were kissing!”

“That’s not true!” “Please don’t call my father!”

The Warden frowned.

“Sokka I thought you had what it took, but look at you now. And you, Zuko, your father isn’t going to be happy when he hears about your little incident.”

Zuko gulps.

“I can’t keep both of you in the program, since you can’t seem to keep your hands off each other. Make the decision now, one of you is out and the other is in the doghouse.”

Sokka glared at Ty Lee, she felt like shit. Zuko turned to Sokka with pleading eyes.

“I can’t go home, you know this.”

“I know.” Sokka paused, gathering some inner strength. “I’ll leave.”

“Fine, have it your way. Pack your bags, you’re out tomorrow morning. You,” He pointed to Zuko. “Come with me, you get to see the doghouse now. It’s only for 1 week, and if I catch you again, you’re out too.”

The Warden led Zuko away, and he kept turning back to look at Sokka, his expression was one of silent resolution. He could do one week, especially if it was for Sokka.

The next day at breakfast was rough. Ty Lee sat at a table by herself, save Aang. Nobody else wanted to be near her.

Everyone was mad at Ty Lee for snitching on Sokka and Zuko. It only got worse when Sokka showed up out of uniform to say goodbye.

Katara kept giving death glares at Ty Lee, but she stopped to wish her brother good luck. Sokka turned to look at Ty Lee. His face only held disappointment.

Azula made it a point to threaten Ty Lee in front of everyone, considering how weak she was right now.

“If that little Barbie had ratted on me, heads would have rolled.”

“What, would you have tied her to your bed and zapped her to death?”

Mai retorted, narrowing her eyes. Everyone laughed at her joke. Azula rolled her eyes.

Ty Lee felt her face go flush, Mai had stood up for her! And it felt really nice. Mai turned and gave her the smallest smile.

Ty Lee could swear that her aura had never been pinker.

Chapter Text

It had been officially a week since Sokka had left, and with Zuko out of, according to him, a literal doghouse, the camp had started to feel normal again.

Ty Lee had decided that it wasn’t that bad here, especially since Mai and her had become such good friends. She liked the way that Mai could brighten up the day by giving Ty Lee an eye roll whenever Ms. Kwan said something especially ridiculous. She liked the way that Mai painted her toenails, even if they were now purple, which was their compromise between black and pink. And she really liked it when Mai lightly grasped her forearm during a movie called Heterosexual You. Her fingers ghosted over Ty Lee’s skin so lightly that she shivered. It felt so secretive, so special, like they were the only two people in the room.

The next day, after dinner, Ty Lee and Mai had been assigned to wash dishes together. She was excited to hang out with Mai, because as much time as they got to spend together, they couldn’t talk freely often.

“Do you miss your friends from home?”
“Yeah,” Mai responded sarcastically, “I can’t decide who I miss more, the rich daddy’s boys who just want to flaunt how big their summer home is or the vapid girls who only have one passion in life and are hyper fixated on-”

Mai paused and glanced at Ty Lee, realization dawning in her eyes about what she just implied.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, I know what you mean.”

She let out a breath.

“I didn’t really have any friends either.”

“Really? You and your extroverted personality didn’t have any friends?”

“I guess I had some of the circus people as friends, like Dee and Ruzin, but even they didn’t know everything about me. It was just easier to be friendly, always happy Ty Lee around them.”

Mai took a glass out of Ty Lee’s hand. Even through the rubber gloves, a shiver passed between them.

“That’s rough.”

It was nearing bedtime that same evening and Ty Lee was tired. She arrived at the bedroom dorm and stepped inside. She was surprised to find only Katara passed out in her respective bed, the rest of the beds were empty.

Great, she thought, that means the bathroom will be a nightmare to use.

The bathroom was busy, but not in the way she was expecting.

Mai, Azula and Toph were all gathered around the sink in what were clearly not uniform pjs. Toph wore a white and green baseball tee and khaki shorts, her shoulder length hair pulled up in a practical ponytail. Her feet were bare, but this wasn’t unusual. In the first couple days of the camp, Toph had to explain to Ms. Kwan why she didn’t want to wear shoes.

“You don’t understand, my feet help me see the world. Shoes are useless for me. It’s like putting a blindfold over my eyes. Oh wait that’s literally what you are doing, because I’m blind!”

“A proper young lady’s outfit is never complete without shoes. ”

“You want me to stay? No shoes. Otherwise I’m sure the local newspaper would love to hear how you kicked me out from your program because of my blindness.”

Ms. Kwan sighed in defeat.

“Fine, but you’re wearing that pink headband.”

Azula wore a deep red leather jacket with little metal spikes on the shoulder pads; her pants were ripped, black, skinny jeans and she had Doc Marten boots on her feet. She was applying a thick line of black eyeliner to her upper eyelid.

Mai wore a skin tight, black turtleneck and dark wash, flared jeans. Her fingers were decorated with silver rings of all different sizes and her neck held a little dagger necklace. She wore steel toe combat boots on her feet and her hair was done up in her standard two bun look.

Ty Lee had to pause before she spoke, because Mai looked amazing.

“What’s going on? It’s almost lights out.”

“Shh,” Mai responded. “Get dressed, we are sneaking out tonight. Aang found us a spot.”

“But Ms. Kwan?”

“Forget her. Don’t you want to get out of this boring place for awhile? Get a chance to be yourself?”

“It’s not that bad here, besides we only have 4 weeks left. There is no way I’m getting thrown out now.”

To Ty Lee’s surprise, Azula turned and addressed her with a hard smile.

“Yeah Ty Lee, don’t you want to get out of here for awhile?”

She read Ty Lee’s look of concern.

“Don’t worry, we won’t get caught. Not unless you do something stupid.”

Ty Lee’s face fell.

She couldn’t decide what to do. It sounded like fun, but the way Azula was talking, it also sounded like they could be caught. Ty Lee was proud of the work she had done in the program so far, but she was also missing out on an opportunity to be with Mai. It was hard to decide which of these was more important.

“I don’t think I’ll go.”

Mai’s face stayed neutral.

Azula shrugged and continued.

“Suit yourself, just don’t rat on us to Ms. Kwan, Barbie.”

She flipped her hair before slipping out the door. Toph followed, unconcerned about the drama unfolding in front of her. Mai left last, glancing back at Ty Lee before closing the bathroom door behind her.

Sneaking past Ms. Kwan was easy, but it was figuring out where she was supposed to go that was the hard part. She finally spotted an unmarked black van parked on the side of the house that had not been there during the daytime. Now normally Ty Lee would not get into an unmarked van all by itself, but once she saw Aang with a feather boa trying to climb in the side door, she assumed it was pretty safe.

“Wait for me!” She shouted, once she was a safe distance from the house.

“Oh wait we have one more!”

An unidentified voice from the driver seat of the van responded.

Ty Lee let her eyes adjust to the dark of the van. It was pretty comfortable inside the van, with lots of throw pillows scattered everywhere instead of actual back seats. She counted five of the campers here, not including herself, Mai, Azula, Toph, Aang, and Zuko. So Haru had decided not to come, she thought, that’s too bad, he might have fun wherever we are going. Where were they going?

“It’s about time.”

Mai said with a smirk. Ty Lee scooted closer to her and smiled back, while Azula scowled. She could now see that an older man with a kind face was driving the van. The man peered into the rearview mirror to get a good look at his cargo.

“Hello, I’m Iroh Fire, and this is my nephew Zuko Fire and his sister Azula. Isn’t this great nephew? It is like one big family reunion tonight!”

He laughed a big belly laugh and Ty Lee couldn’t help but smile.

“Uncle! What are you doing here?” questioned Zuko, “When Aang said that he had found us a way out of here, I didn’t expect it to be you. After all these years of my family not speaking to you, why help me now?”

“Zuko, you must understand how difficult you and your sisters’ situation is right now, you are under the careful watch of Ms. Kwan and the Warden, and I cannot simply rescue you. No, the best I can do for you is to show you another path. Your friends too of course.”

He turned around and winked at the group.

Azula tried to get a rise out of Iroh.

“Father wouldn’t approve of this you know. Just wait till he gets down here and hears about all of your foolish antics.”

“Your father has also left you here, same as Zuko, so I would not hold his approval too highly.”

Ty Lee saw Azula’s eye twitch before she quieted down, simmering in her thoughts.

“Hmm, you will all need ID’s, here Zuko, take this one.”

“Wang Fire, Uncle? What kind of name is that?” Zuko asked.

Aang chimed in.

“Fire must be a common last name or something, right? Cause your last name is also Fire.”

“It is where our family is from.”

Iroh answered mysteriously.

He then handed out ID’s to Aang, Azula, Toph, Mai, and Ty Lee. Each had varying degrees of similarities to the person it was supposed to represent.

“Aang, what’s the name on mine?” asked Toph.

“It says Tough Boulder, Toph.”

Ty Lee bent over to examine Toph’s.

“Wait a minute Toph, your ID is for a man, and not just any man, but a super tall, buff man. It doesn’t look like you at all.”

“Are you kidding me? That sounds exactly how I see myself every single day. And I like how mine says Tough, cause it sounds like Toph! You did a good job at matching these old man.”

Iroh smiled at her.

“Hmm,” Mai sighed, “I don’t think I look like mine at all.”

She held up her ID, which had the name: Joo Dee. The woman was much older than Mai and had a bit of a distant look in her eyes.

Ty Lee tried to comfort her.

“It doesn’t matter what your ID looks like Mai, you definitely look older than the rest of us, so they will for sure let you in!”

“Thanks.”

“We’re here,” Iroh stated, “Welcome to the Flaming Dragon.”

Ty Lee was the last one to get out, tentatively following her more adventurous group members to the door. She was a little confused by the name of the place, but her confusion was quickly cleared when her eyes were met with dim colored light and same-sex couples making out in corners of the bar. She turned to Mai for answers.

“You didn’t tell me that you were bringing me to a gay bar!”

Mai sighed as if Ty Lee still didn’t get it. Which to be fair, she still didn’t.

“Where else would we go?”

It was a rhetorical question but Ty Lee’s brows furrowed as if she should be able to find the answer if she thought hard enough. Mai shook her head.

“I’m going to get you a drink.”

“I don’t drink!”

Mai pretended that she didn’t hear her as she walked away, heading towards the bar.

Ty Lee was definitely excited to be around so many new people, and the old Ty Lee would have gone around and tried to make some friends. But she could also hear Ms. Kwan’s words: It’s a long path to healing Ty Lee, and you are going to have to fight for it.

She felt her stomach twist as that sentence kept playing over and over in her head, the flashing colored lights of the bar illuminating each and every single one of her faults. Her excitement turned to fear.

Somehow, through all of it, Ty Lee still knew that she needed to find Mai, so her body began to walk over to the bar as if she was sleepwalking. She caught brief flashes of Aang prancing around on the dance floor with his boa and Zuko in the corner talking with Toph.

“What are you doing?”

Mai had arrived back to where Ty Lee had found herself standing, with two beers in hand.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know, nothing I guess.” Ty Lee stammered out.

An awkward silence fell between them as they stood facing away from each other at the bar. Ty Lee could swear she could feel the heat radiating off Mai, but she was too nervous to check her aura. She took a sip of the beer; it didn’t taste that bad.

Their silence was interrupted by the approach of a very beautiful woman. She had pretty brown hair cut into a long bob, with part of it pulled into a topknot. She looked rather striking with her black crop top and low rise black jeans. Her eyes focused on Ty Lee.

“Hey, do you want to dance?”

Ty Lee felt herself blush, despite her inner turmoil. It felt nice to be wanted by someone. Still, she made herself shake her head.

“Sure she does.”

For some reason, Mai had spoken up and decided what she wanted, which irked Ty Lee.

“No, no I can’t dance.”

The woman’s face fell, but she still gave them both a small smile.

“That’s ok, just thought I’d ask.”

She sauntered away, clearly not too bothered by her rejection.

Mai shook her head before giving Ty Lee a small shove in the direction of the woman

“Really? You’re too good for one dance. One dance with a girl? Go ahead.”

Ty Lee found herself stumbling into the brunette, but thankfully this woman had good reflexes and caught her. The woman peered down at Ty Lee with a look that was full of curiosity.

“Hi, I’m Suki.”

“Hi, I’m Ty Lee and I don’t really dance, but I am an acrobat, so if we were doing this on a high wire, I would be all set. And well, yeah.”

She paused, realizing that she was rambling. She didn’t normally do that. Normally, Ty Lee was pretty good at hiding emotions she didn’t want other people to see.

“That’s ok, I got you.”

Ty Lee and Suki began to sway to the beat, holding each other closely. Mai watched them, but her face didn’t give away much. She suddenly became very aware that Azula had joined her at the bar out of seemingly nowhere. Azula had been waiting for Mai to be alone. She was now staring at her with piercing eyes, curious to see what she would do.

Mai sighed before grabbing Azula’s hand and dragging her out to the dance floor. Azula was grinning. Maybe this will be enough, Mai thought.

It was a pining dance, like that of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Each of the four of them wanting someone, but only a few held who they truly desired. Ty Lee couldn’t keep her eyes off Mai. Mai couldn’t keep her eyes off Ty Lee. Yet their longing looks never seemed to meet, one person always looked away. They all swayed in motion with the music. That was, until the spell broke.

Ty Lee saw Azula’s hand drift down to grab Mai’s ass.

Something snapped inside of her. She found herself pushing Suki away and running for the side door. This night had been too much.

Ty Lee seated herself on top of a couple of old boxes in the back alley, mad at the realization that Mai didn’t like her. She looked up in frustration when she saw Mai approaching her.

“Ty Lee, It’s not what you think.”

“No, I get it now. We came here tonight so you could be yourself.”

Mai shook her head and spoke with a quiet anger.

“I don’t like Azula like that. You don’t understand.”

“Then what’s the truth? I mean what were you even doing in there with Azula if you didn’t like her?”

“That wasn’t anything, I wasn’t doing anything with her.”

Ty Lee huffed.

“It doesn’t matter anyways, it’s none of my business what you want to do.”

“You know what I really want?”

“What?”

“This.”

Mai leaned down and grabbed Ty Lee’s face with a careful intensity and crashed her lips into hers. Ty Lee found herself surprised for just a moment, but her body quickly reacted to the fact that Mai was kissing her. Mai was kissing her. And it felt so right. So much so that Ty Lee wrapped her arms around Mai and told herself that she would never let go.

You’re going to have to fight for it.

Ty Lee pulled away and hung her head in shame.

“I’m not supposed to like you.”

Mai sat down next to her and whispered.

“But?”

“I-, I want to do that again.”

Mai saw the truth in Ty Lee’s eyes and waited, knowing that she needed to do this part herself. Their eyes met, amber and grey. Ty Lee leaned in and connected their lips once more in a flourish of excitement that she hadn’t felt all evening.

Apparently, her newfound excitement was contagious, as Mai responded with a fervor that Ty Lee had never seen before. What started as a tentative kiss quickly grew to something more intense and meaningful. They needed each other. Grasping cheeks, necks, shoulders; trying to hold onto the moment for just a little while longer.

In their own world, they didn’t notice an onlooker from the side doorway.

Azula sneered at the sight, trying to push down the overwhelming feelings of disappointment and heartbreak.

Mai didn’t like her.

No, I don’t need to be thinking about this right now!

Suddenly, Azula felt something click inside of her. She succeeded. Her mind was clear. And she knew how she could still win in this situation.

The drive back to True Directions was quick for Mai and Ty Lee, still living in the bliss that they shared earlier. Ty Lee rested her tired head on Mai’s thin shoulder. Iroh didn’t make much conversation on the way back; everyone seemed too tired to talk anyways.

They all tried to be quiet when they returned to the grounds. Unfortunately for all of them, Mai tripped on a rock while trying to navigate a sleepy Ty Lee back to the dorms. She managed to catch Ty Lee and herself, but not before letting out a small “oof.”

It shouldn’t have been loud enough, but suddenly Aang whisper shouted,

“Shit, Ms. Kwan’s up!”

The group scattered, desperate to make it back into their beds before they were caught. In the flurry of their escape, Mai didn’t notice a little matchbook she had taken from the Flaming Dragon fall from her pocket. A little thing like that shouldn’t matter, right?

The girls managed to sneak into their beds moments before Ms. Kwan swung the door open and pointed a flashlight at each of their faces.

Ty Lee was now more awake than ever. Adrenaline was pounding through her and she tried to keep her breathing even.

To her relief, Ms. Kwan seemed satisfied with her check and left. Not a moment later, Mai crept over to her bed and gave her a good night kiss. Ty Lee smiled, she had actually done it. She had broken a rule and not gotten caught. This felt even better than her many times on the high wire.

She turned to see if she could catch a glimpse of Mai sleeping. Instead she was met with red.

Azula stared her down, her shocking device giving off an ominous, red glow.

Ty Lee wasn’t too concerned as she rolled over, Azula was scary, but she had Mai by her side now. Everything was going to be just fine.