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As moonlight shined onto her face, her eyes started to flutter open. Azula groaned as she settled into awakeness. She felt warm...warmer than her usual inner fire kept her. She felt warm because...there was something warm next to her.
Her eyes open fully, and she turns her head to see Ty Lee, wrapped in crimson silk blankets, asleep and snuggled next to her. The softest, most genuine of smiles, rested on her face. While she still didn’t understand what Ty Lee meant when she talked about auras and all that other spiritual stuff, but if Azula had to guess, she’d guess that the acrobat’s aura was pretty pink right now.
Ty Lee, in her sleep, pulled herself just a bit closer to Azula, making the smallest of sounds as she did so. The firebender tensed...she still wasn’t used to this. She wasn’t used to intimacy.
When Azula pictured her future, this was never what she imagined. She’d always dreamed of battle and war and glory, of leading the Fire Nation into a glorious new era. Her father raised her to be the perfect weapon...it was her destiny to conquer the rest of the world in Ozai’s name.
Or so she thought. She had been realizing that maybe it wasn’t so much of a dream, as it was a “destiny” forced upon her. Her father had raised a monster to be unleashed onto, not a child to be loved and supported. She had been taught that love was a weakness, that the lack of love she felt from the world was a strength .
She was also realizing that she’d been taught to destroy love, whenever it had a chance to get close. As such, up until weeks ago, waking up, entangled in the loving embrace of a partner still wasn’t something she’d ever imagined for herself. She didn’t think she was capable of being... domestic.
She still wasn’t sure.
However, Azula found herself absent-mindedly gently stroking her girlfriend’s chestnut hair. Ty Lee’s hair was so shiny and soft, running her hand through it was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. However, the best part, was how even in her sleep, Ty Lee made the softest of content hums. It made Azula’s heart start to flutter, and a small smile crossed her lips.
Azula had been head-over-heels in love with Ty Lee, for as long as they’d known each other. However, Azula had only realized that was the case within the last year. Ty Lee had known each other for nearly twenty-five years, a quarter of a century and Azula had only deciphered her feelings recently.
But really, once she figured that out, everything made sense. It was why she’d always felt like her best self around Ty Lee -- the girl had always made her feel special and loved. Azula felt more complete when she was around her. It also explained all the rage she felt that night on Ember Island, when Ty Lee was swarmed by all those pretty boys. She was jealous, she just didn’t realize who she was jealous of. Until now.
Still, ten years later, and Ty Lee was somehow her girlfriend.
Somehow.
She felt a pang of guilt form in the pit of her stomach, one that was all-too-familiar at this point. She clenched her fists. Sometimes, it was hard to feel like she deserved any of this.
She could still remember the look on Ty Lee’s face, when she’d ordered the acrobat to be locked away for betraying her. It was so full of hurt and panic and fear. She remembered the way that Ty Lee trembled, whenever she’d accompany Zuko to visit Azula in her cell.
Sometimes, she wondered what would have been different, if she’d figured that aspect of herself sooner. Would she have been able to break away from her family’s toxic cycle sooner? As romantic as it sounded, Azula guessed not. At the end of the day, while her father’s treatment of her provided a good reason for how she’d acted back then, it wasn’t an excuse.
Her actions were her own, no one else's. And she had to live with that.
Azula quickly brought her hand away from Ty Lee’s hair, and sighed. She needed a drink. She started to push herself off the bed, carefully as to not wake up her sleeping girlfriend.
But as she started to rise, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder. She looked down...Ty Lee was holding her arm, eyes still closed. The acrobat groaned, as she started to stir.
“Azula…” Ty Lee asked, her voice light and sleepy, “Where are you going?”
Azula didn’t know how to respond -- of course, her first instinct was to lie. To say she was going to the bathroom or something, something that Ty Lee wouldn’t question. Something that wouldn’t cause Ty Lee to worry.
Lying was still so natural to her -- it was almost a second language. However, she was trying this new thing called “ being honest with your loved-ones”.
Instead, she responded to Ty Lee’s inquiry with silence. She’d gotten pretty good at the not lying part...but she hadn’t quite figured out how to talk honestly.
Ty Lee’s stormy gray eyes opened, locking with Azula’s.
“What’s wrong?” the acrobat asked.
Azula shook her head -- Ty Lee always had the uncanny ability to read her like a book.
“It’s…” she started to say, but stopped. She felt Ty Lee grab her hand, and squeeze. “I still don’t understand why you’re with me. After everything.”
“Because I love you,” Ty Lee’s answer was immediate and firm. Azula felt her stomach flutter, while a blush form on her face.
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand,” Azula replied, “I was awful to you.”
“Yeah, you were,” Ty Lee replied, “But that was back then.”
Ty Lee pushed herself up, now fully awake. She reached out her arms and gently started to massage Azula’s shoulder. A quiet moan escaped Azula’s lips, and her cheeks began to paint themselves pink.
Still, Azula stayed tense, not allowing herself to fall into the comfort of it. Out of habit. Out of guilt.
“So what, you’re just, completely over it?” Azula said skeptically, as she turned her head to face Ty Lee. The acrobat’s face was warm, thoughtful.
“I mean, it’ll always be painful thinking about...it was the worst time of my life. I won’t lie and say you didn’t hurt me,” Ty Lee leaned in closer to Azula, nuzzling her head next to Azula’s. She held her tight, “But these last ten years, you’ve grown so much. I’ve watched you fight every single day to not be that person any more.”
Azula sank into herself, “How do you know I’m not?”
The moment she finished the sentence, she felt Ty Lee place a delicate kiss on her cheek. A whimper escaped her lips, and her blush grew redder with embarrassment.
“I wouldn’t be with you if I ever thought you’d hurt me like that again,” Ty Lee said, “And if I ever thought you would, I’d leave. But…” Ty Lee cups Azula’s head, and gently brushes her thumb against the firebender’s cheek. She brings herself close, barely an inch from Azula’s lips, “I trust you.”
And then, she kisses Azula, gently sucking her bottom lip. Azula’s breath hitched, before she blissfully sinks into the kiss, her body tingling as Ty Lee’s soft lips claimed hers. She reached her hands into Ty Lee’s hair, gently grabbing it as the acrobat gently laid her back down.
When Ty Lee broke the kiss, she was on top of Azula. The acrobat’s eyes sparkled, as she smiled down at Azula. As she gently brushed a strand of loose hair behind the firebender’s ear, Azula felt her heart pound.
“I love you,” she said, and her eyes widened. Never had the statement left her mouth so easily.
Ty Lee’s grin was wide, almost proud.
“I love you too,” as the acrobat replied, she blushed deeply, “My aura is so pink when I’m with you.”
“So are your cheeks,” Azula joked. Ty Lee brought a hand to her cheek, and smile.
“Yeah, I guess they are.”
The moonlight shined onto them, as Ty Lee embraced Azula for another passionate kiss. Azula still didn’t understand why Ty Lee was with her, and maybe she never would. But one thing was for sure -- she loved Ty Lee more than anything in the world, and she would do everything in her power to be deserving of the acrobat’s love.
Everything.