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Azula being distant wasn’t something new for Ty Lee. Despite the years of therapy that had helped her girlfriend manage her emotions, when something wasn’t right, Azula tended to withdraw. However, this time was different. There was no sadness in her expression or trace of the shadows that used to appear in her gaze; on the contrary, there was something new and vibrant, almost like a spark.
Azula spent hours glued to her phone, engrossed in a constant conversation with Katara. Ty Lee knew exactly who she was talking to; she had noticed it for weeks. Katara was Zuko’s best friend’s sister, and they had met at a party organized by him. Ty Lee couldn’t attend because she had a performance, and in her innocent enthusiasm for Azula to make new friends, she had encouraged her to go. After all, her only close friends had always been Ty Lee and Mai. Now, Ty Lee regretted that decision more than she was willing to admit.
It wasn’t a secret that the acrobat had always been jealous, a trait that went back to their high school years when she realized that what she felt for Azula was more than just friendship. Over the years, she had learned to control those impulses, but now her old fears seemed to have awakened with renewed strength.
That night, Ty Lee suggested they watch a movie together. Azula and she had hardly crossed paths all week; when one arrived, the other was already asleep, and the moments to talk had become scarce and fleeting. So, what better than to watch a movie together to end up not really watching the movie?
But that night, the “not watching” the movie felt different. Ty Lee had placed her feet on Azula’s lap and was lying back with her head on a cushion, watching her girlfriend, whose face was illuminated by the glow of the phone screen. Azula barely looked up from the device, absorbed in another conversation. “Who are you talking to?” Ty Lee asked softly, though there was tension in her voice.
Azula barely made a gesture to indicate she hadn’t heard well. With a light touch of her foot on the phone, Ty Lee repeated the question, this time more firmly. “Who needs to talk to you so urgently that you can’t pay attention to me on the only day of the week we have for ourselves?”
“We live together,” Azula replied without taking her eyes off the phone.
Ty Lee withdrew her feet from Azula’s lap and sat up on the couch to look at her directly. “You know what I mean. Who are you talking to?”
The seriousness in her tone made Azula finally set the phone down on the side table. “Katara.”
Ty Lee didn’t show surprise, but she felt something twist inside her. “Is something so important happening that it can’t wait until tomorrow?”
Azula sighed, as if explaining the situation was an unnecessary burden. “She was venting. A patient tried to cross the line with her.”
Ty Lee’s face hardened. She knew Azula was doing the right thing by comforting someone in need, but she couldn’t help the resentment that seeped into her voice. “And since when are you so… considerate?” She had never seen that side of Azula with anyone else. Not with Mai, not with anyone other than herself. And especially not with someone she barely knew.
Azula saw the conflict in Ty Lee’s eyes and gently took her hand, bringing it to her lips. “Ty Lee, it’s all right. I’m just trying to be a good friend, like you told me I should be.”
Ty Lee’s eyes searched Azula’s. She was right, but something didn’t fit, something about that sudden devotion unsettled her. Azula didn’t usually act like that with anyone; she never put someone else before minor matters, at least not before, at least not over her no matter what.
With tenderness, Azula took her face and gave her a soft kiss. Ty Lee accepted it, letting herself be carried away, feeling the warmth of her girlfriend’s lips on hers. The intensity of the kisses began to escalate, bringing a sense of calm to the acrobat. But then, the sound of Azula’s phone broke the moment.
Without thinking, Azula pulled away and looked at the device. Ty Lee felt a surge of anger ignite in her chest and, unable to hold back, she abruptly moved away from her. With her heart pounding and eyes filled with a furious sadness, she got up from the couch and headed to the bedroom. She slammed the door shut, the sound echoing in the silence of their apartment.
Maybe she was overreacting, and Azula was simply being a good friend, but it hurt. And it hurt a lot.
After that argument, Azula had apologized in her own way, with those intense and passionate displays of affection that only she knew how to give. For a while, it was enough to soothe Ty Lee, but in the following days, nothing changed. The distance between them kept growing; Azula seemed to be slipping further and further away, while her bond with Katara grew closer with every moment they shared.
Ty Lee began to notice a pattern. Even when she was home, if Azula left work early and didn’t have urgent cases to attend to, instead of coming back to her, she would often meet Katara for a drink. There were no outright lies, but there wasn’t complete transparency either. Azula never mentioned those plans on her own; only when Ty Lee asked directly would she answer without hesitation and with sincerity. Ty Lee found out about this when, following her intuition, she decided to follow Katara on social media, through shared stories and tagged photos with her girlfriend.
The day Ty Lee decided to confront the situation, she went to Azula’s office unannounced. Azula’s secretary greeted her with typical professionalism, and after a few words over the intercom, she indicated that Ty Lee could go in. When she opened the door, Ty Lee found Azula in her office, clearly ready to leave.
“Did I catch you at a bad time? I thought you weren’t off for another couple of hours.” Ty Lee flashed a sweet smile, trying to conceal the anxiety she felt at being there.
Azula approached and kissed her on the cheek. “I finished early today.”
Wasting no time, Ty Lee wrapped her arms around Azula’s neck, hugging her more tightly than usual. “Then, can we go home and… make the most of those free hours?” Her words slipped into a whisper as she leaned close to Azula’s ear.
Azula returned the gesture with an indulgent smile but gently pulled away, giving her a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I’d love to, but I’ve made plans with Katara. It would be rude to cancel on her.”
The words hit Ty Lee like a bucket of cold water. In all these years, Azula had never turned her down like that. “Since when do you care about that?” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.
Azula frowned, showing a hint of irritation. “I’d remind you that it was you who insisted I make new friends, or have you forgotten?”
“Yes, yes, of course, it was me. But did that include your new friends replacing me?” Ty Lee crossed her arms, her gaze piercing into Azula’s.
“No one is replacing you here,” Azula replied, her tone indicating a limited patience.
“Azula, you just chose to spend the afternoon with Katara instead of sleeping with me.” Ty Lee’s voice cracked, betraying the open wound in her heart.
Azula let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not choosing anyone. I’m just saying I have plans with her.”
“Then you won’t mind if I join?” Ty Lee’s suggestion dropped like a bomb in the room. For a moment, Azula looked surprised.
“What?” Azula’s eyebrow arched in disbelief.
“If these plans are so unbreakable and I miss you, can’t I come along too?” Ty Lee kept her smile, but her eyes were filled with defiance.
“Ty Lee, Katara and I are just friends,” Azula insisted.
“Then what’s the problem?”
The determination in Ty Lee’s eyes was relentless, and Azula knew it. With a bit of resignation, she took her phone from her bag and quickly sent a message to Katara. “Done,” she said, putting the phone away. “Shall we?”
Ty Lee smiled and hooked her arm through Azula’s. She might have been acting childish and paranoid, but at least she’d spend an afternoon with her girlfriend and the friend who seemed to be taking up more and more space in her life. It wasn’t the highest price to pay, right? As they walked together toward the exit, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if she was forcing something that was slipping through her fingers, a flame that, no matter how much she tried to kindle, seemed destined to go out.
Ty Lee wasn’t used to being ignored. For as long as she could remember, she had always stood out; whether at school or anywhere she went, people noticed her for one reason or another. But the attention of the person who mattered most to her was elsewhere, and she couldn’t help but feel increasingly pushed aside.
When she finally came face-to-face with Katara, she was met with impeccable kindness. The doctor, aware of who Ty Lee was, reintroduced herself with a friendly smile, assuring her that it was a pleasure to meet Azula’s girlfriend. However, there was something in her gaze, a spark of uncertainty or perhaps curiosity that went unnoticed by Azula but not by Ty Lee. It was a brief flicker, but enough for the acrobat to catch.
The three of them headed to a cozy café and started chatting. At first, the conversation revolved around trivial topics, shared acquaintances, and work anecdotes, but soon Katara and Azula began to delve into more serious discussions. Katara was a renowned doctor, and Azula was handling a case for one of her clients. Ty Lee, sitting beside them, smiled mechanically and nodded, although she couldn’t hide her boredom. Still, she paid attention to every word and every glance, looking for any sign that would reveal something more than just a simple friendship.
Eventually, Azula got up, announcing she was going to the restroom. Ty Lee seized the moment, feeling the tension in the air as she was left alone with Katara. The doctor held her coffee cup with both hands, as if seeking comfort in the warmth of the porcelain, and seemed nervous about being alone with Ty Lee.
“How did you two become friends?” Ty Lee asked, her tone attempting to sound casual. “I love Azula, but my girlfriend is not the most…approachable person.”
Ty Lee emphasized “my girlfriend” with an intensity that didn’t go unnoticed by the other girl.
Katara, noticing this, took a moment before responding. “She isn’t, not at all. In fact, when we first met, we spent hours arguing.”
The revelation surprised Ty Lee. “And you still decided to be friends?”
Katara let out a soft laugh, but there was a spark of something else in her eyes, something Ty Lee couldn’t quite identify. “Yes, we argued for hours. But at some point, we found common ground… and kept talking until we had to take care of Zuko, who’d gotten so drunk he couldn’t stop vomiting.”
As Katara recounted the anecdote with a smile, Ty Lee watched her with a serious expression, feeling the time ticking away before Azula returned. There was no room for beating around the bush. “Are you sleeping with my girlfriend?” The words came out coldly, laced with a certain anger.
Katara looked at her, visibly taken aback. “What? No. Of course not.”
Ty Lee didn’t relent. “Then, do you like her?”
Katara’s brow furrowed with slight discomfort. “She’s your girlfriend.”
“That’s not what I asked.” Ty Lee’s jaw tensed, and her gaze pierced into Katara’s, demanding an answer.
Katara pressed her lips together, seeming to measure her words. “Azula hasn’t cheated on you with me, and she’s not going to.”
“That wasn’t the question either.”
The two girls stared at each other, neither backing down. “Do you want me to stop being her friend? Is that it?”
“I want you to tell me once and for all if you want to hook up with my girlfriend or not.”
Ty Lee’s voice rose, cracking slightly at the end. Katara seemed to pick up on the tremor in her tone, and the hardness in her eyes softened, as if she suddenly saw not a rival but someone who was hurting.
The change in Katara’s expression made Ty Lee feel a sting of humiliation, an uninvited compassion that made her blood boil. Unable to bear it, she got up from her chair, grabbed her things hurriedly, and headed for the door. As she ran out, Katara’s words were drowned out by the café’s background noise, lost among the chatter of strangers.
Once outside, Ty Lee felt the cold air hit her face and struggled to steady the trembling in her hands. She wasn’t sure if she had achieved anything with that confrontation or if she had merely exposed more of herself than she intended. However, one thing was clear: that moment had laid bare all the cracks in her relationship with Azula. And the worst part was that she wasn’t sure if they could ever be sealed again.
Hours later, Azula showed up at the apartment she shared with Ty Lee. The acrobat was no longer crying, but there was a fragility in her expression, a weariness that weighed heavily in her eyes. Azula, upon entering, watched her from the doorway.
“Ty, can you tell me what happened?” Although her tone wasn’t aggressive, it didn’t show the empathy and patience Ty Lee was used to expecting from her either.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” Ty Lee replied in a dull voice, unable to hold her gaze on her girlfriend.
“Are you really going to lie to me at this point?” Azula dropped her things on the table and sat down at the far end of the couch. The furniture was big enough that, on other occasions, they would have cuddled together on the chaise longue, but this time, a tangible distance separated them. Azula sat at the opposite corner, observing Ty Lee’s distressed figure with a coldness. “What does it matter?”
“What’s this all about? Why did you explode like that?” Azula’s voice remained firm, almost authoritative, but there was a hint of frustration seeping through her words.
“You’ve been distancing yourself from me for months,” Ty Lee shot back, wiping away a tear that slid down her cheek. “I’m losing you… and you’re always talking to her, putting her ahead of me.”
Azula closed her eyes with a sigh. “Ty Lee, I’m not cheating on you with Katara.”
“Can you look me in the eye and tell me you don’t like her?” The question hung in the air, an implicit challenge. Ty Lee scrutinized her with an almost desperate intensity, searching Azula’s gaze for a truth she feared to confirm. “Tell me the truth. What would happen if I weren’t in the picture?”
“What are you talking about?” Azula tried to deflect, but Ty Lee’s insistence trapped her.
“If I weren’t your girlfriend, what would happen between you and Katara?” Ty Lee’s voice trembled, but she did not back down.
“Why are you so obsessed with this?” Azula’s patience was running out, and she got up from the couch as if she needed to put even more space between them.
“Because neither of you is being honest!” The sudden change in Ty Lee’s tone made Azula step back, startled by the intensity. “I know you’re not cheating on me… not physically. But I know you like each other. I’m not an idiot.”
“She’s my friend.”
“No.”
“But it’s true!” Azula insisted, as if those words could seal all the cracks.
“Don’t you dare use that excuse with me,” Ty Lee replied in a hard voice. “That’s not the truth.”
“Of course, it is!” Azula shot back, her tone a mix of anger and self-defense.
“Answer me, Azula. What would happen between you two if I weren’t here?” Ty Lee pressed on.
The question lingered in the air, unanswered. Azula opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Finally, she looked away, unable to offer a convincing denial.
“See? That’s the problem,” Ty Lee murmured bitterly. “You say you love me, but you can’t deny what you feel for her. You are the only one for me, but I’m not the only one for you.”
Ty Lee was crying, and so was Azula. “That’s not—”
“Don’t lie to me, damn it!” Ty Lee approached and took Azula by the shoulders, forcing her to look at her. “At least be honest this time.”
“I don’t want to lose you. You’re so important to me. I love you.”
Ty Lee hugged Azula, and Azula clung to her desperately. “Azula, we can’t keep going like this… I can’t keep going like this.”
“Don’t leave me…” Azula’s voice broke into a desperate whisper.
Azula sounded shattered, which made Ty Lee gently cup her face. “I’m not going to live with that fear, and I’m not going to be someone who tells you not to see her.”
“We’re just friends, nothing has happened.” Azula’s voice was both angry and defeated.
“But it will.” Ty Lee responded, caressing Azula’s cheek with the softness of someone who knows it’s the last time. “Because even if you swear nothing has happened and that it’s true… I know it will. It’s only a matter of time. You like her, and she likes you.”
Those words, their meaning, and Azula’s tear-filled eyes broke Ty Lee completely. Azula looked at her with eyes flooded with tears, as if she finally realized what she was losing. Ty Lee gave her one last kiss, a kiss that closed the years of a solid and loving relationship. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but a seal of acceptance of the inevitable.
After that moment, Ty Lee stood up and headed for the door without looking back. She would collect her things and face Azula on another occasion, maybe when they were both ready to deal with what was left of their relationship. But for now, Ty Lee needed to escape the pain, and all she could do was take out her phone and call Mai.
Months later, Ty Lee was living in her own apartment. The pain of hearing Azula’s name had become a distant echo, less sharp as time passed. Although they had agreed to stay friends, the reality was that they needed that space to rediscover themselves without the constant presence of the other.
Ty Lee didn’t need Mai to confirm that Azula and Katara were together, at least in some way. The clues were evident: in every call Zuko made to Mai that Ty Lee overheard in the background, Katara and Azula’s names often came up together, intertwined in the conversations. As if they now shared a common place where once, only she had been.
“You’re taking this better than I would’ve expected,” Mai remarked one evening as Ty Lee poured the tea in the kitchen.
Ty Lee smiled with a hint of irony. “I’m a pretty mature person, you know?”
Mai raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Are you sure she didn’t cheat on you with her?”
“Yes.” Ty Lee shook her head, though there was a note of sadness in her voice. “Azula would never do that. I left her because… well, because we just couldn’t go on like that.”
“I still love her. I doubt I’ll ever stop, but…” Ty Lee confessed with a sigh that carried all the accumulated weariness of those months. “But I also know that we weren’t working anymore, and they… they have that spark, I guess.”
Mai looked at her silently for a moment. “Aren’t you angry?”
“I was,” Ty Lee admitted, her eyes lost in the swirl of steam rising from the cups. “Maybe I still am. But not in the way you’d think. I don’t hate Azula or Katara… what happened just happened.”
“Ugh, since when did you become such an adult?” Mai grumbled, her tone filled with mock indignation.
Ty Lee let out a soft laugh. “Excuse me? I’ve always been an adult. It’s just that I’m kind.”
“Yeah, right,” Mai replied with a sarcastic smile. “You and Azula were always the epitome of kindness to the rest of the girls.”
“As if you didn’t have a good time with us,” Ty Lee shot her a sidelong glance, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Whatever.” Mai rolled her eyes, but there was a sparkle in them, as if for a moment, they had gone back in time to a simpler era.
The two friends remained silent for a moment, each lost in their thoughts. Ty Lee knew that her pain wouldn’t disappear overnight, but she felt lighter, less weighed down by that mix of love and resentment she had carried for so long. And although the shadow of Azula was still there, it wasn’t the only light in her life.
Mai interrupted her thoughts about Azula and her life in general with a simple question, “Do you know what I found out?”
Ty Lee’s eyes lit up with excitement. “How juicy is the gossip?”
“When have I ever let you down in that?”
Ty Lee let out a small, high-pitched squeal of excitement.
Years later, Azula was finishing her makeup in front of the mirror, her hands trembling slightly. Katara approached from behind, kissed her softly on the crown of her head, and smiled tenderly. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“Of course it will,” Azula replied, attempting to sound firm but failing to convince.
“Uh-huh, sure. Now say it in a way that sounds a little more confident,” Katara teased with a soft laugh.
“Oh, shut up,” Azula grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“I love you,” Katara said, wrapping her arms around Azula’s shoulders. “And I know you two care about each other a lot, even if it’s not in the same way.”
“You know, normal people aren’t so comfortable pushing their girlfriends to meet up with their ex,” Azula replied, frowning, though deep down she felt grateful.
Katara raised an eyebrow, a smile of amusement spreading across her face. “Since when have you and I ever been normal?”
Azula feigned offense. “Excuse me, I am very normal.”
Katara rolled her eyes dramatically. “Sure, whatever you say.”
“Katara…” Azula’s voice turned more serious.
“What?”
“I’m nervous.”
“Who would’ve thought?” Katara joked, but seeing Azula’s expression, she softened her tone. “Look, if it doesn’t work out and you can’t be friends, it will just… continue to be complicated for Mai.”
Azula let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, what a great motivation, right?”
Katara met her gaze with seriousness. “I’m serious, Azula. Having Izumi and having to coordinate her free time between the two of you separately… It’s not easy.”
“That’s hardly an incentive,” Azula replied, turning back to the mirror to add the finishing touches to her makeup.
“Not even for Izumi’s sake?”
Azula narrowed her eyes.“You’re playing dirty.”
Katara gave her a gentle pinch on the arm, but then quickly wrapped her arms around Azula’s neck and kissed her tenderly. “I love you. Have fun, but not too much.”
Azula smiled with a mischievous glint. “Oh, sure, we’ll just have a quick hookup and that’s it.”
“Don’t you dare,” Katara warned, though there was a hint of laughter in her tone.
Azula winked at her and, before pulling away, gave her a kiss and whispered, “I love you.”
“Everything is going to be fine, you’ll see,” Katara reassured her, making Azula nod and gather the courage to head out to where she was meeting Ty Lee.
To Azula’s surprise, when she arrived at the café, Ty Lee was already there, distracted by her phone. Upon seeing her, Ty Lee smiled widely, a genuine and radiant expression that contrasted with the last time they had seen each other years ago.
“Hi! You look great!”
Azula returned the smile sincerely. “And so do you.”
“I know!” Ty Lee replied enthusiastically.
The response made Azula laugh.
“Hey, it’s true. We always look spectacular, no matter what,” Ty Lee said proudly.
“I guess, I can't say you're wrong.”
Azula took a seat, still smiling, and the conversation flowed with an unexpected ease. “How have you been? Mai told me you opened another practice.” asked Ty Lee.
“Less stressed,” Azula admitted. “Katara practically forced me to do it.” Realizing what she had said, she paused for a moment, watching Ty Lee cautiously, but the other showed no sign of discomfort.
“Make sense, you used to stress so much over work,” Ty Lee responded casually, as if mentioning Katara was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Azula looked up with a hint of incredulity. “Doesn’t it seem weird to you?”
Ty Lee shrugged “Maybe a little, but I was serious when I said I wanted to be your friend, and I know what that entails.”
Azula nodded, feeling a strange mix of relief and gratitude. “For the record, I never cheated on you with her.”
“I know. I know you, Azula. Loyalty is sacred to you. You would never have done that.”
“Still, I owe you an apology considering how I behaved with you, so I’m sorry.”
Ty Lee smiled with that ease of hers. “Apology accepted. But don’t expect one from me, because if I could go back, I’d do it all the same. Maybe with different approaches, but I don’t regret it.”
Azula felt a weight lift off her shoulders. “You’re amazing, Ty.”
“I hear that a lot,” Ty Lee replied, but then she remembered something and, clapping her fist into her palm, said, “Oh, and you’re welcome for setting you and Katara up.”
Azula blinked in surprise before starting to laugh, a laughter that was contagious enough to make Ty Lee join in. “I thought this was going to be way more awkward.”
“It’s only weird if we make it weird,” Ty Lee said with a shrug.
“I guess you’re right.”
“Besides, Mai threatened me that we need to be friends again,” Ty Lee added, rolling her eyes with a smile.
“Coincidentally, Katara told me the same thing when I was getting ready to come here.”
Ty Lee leaned forward a bit and asked casually, “Do you live together?” There wasn’t any resentment implied in the question, which made Azula feel even more at ease.
“For a few months now,” Azula confessed, taking a sip of tea. “I never thought I’d find someone messier than you.”
Ty Lee raised an eyebrow, satisfied. “See?! I’m quite the catch.”
“And super modest,” Azula joked.
“Please, don’t deny my identity.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Azula replied, still smiling. “And how about you? Mai never tells me much about you, but I don’t think it’s to protect us. More likely, she’s just lazy.”
“Thank goodness, I thought it was just with me,” Ty Lee said in relief. “I’ve been doing pretty well, actually. I joined a martial arts dojo called ‘The Kyoshi Warriors.’ We have to wear a uniform and some pretty peculiar makeup, but I’m having a blast.”
“Just girls?”
Ty Lee grinned with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Yes, and I’m having a great time.”
“I thought you weren’t into casual flings.”
“I thought so too,” Ty Lee said, shrugging. “But I spent a big part of my life with you, and, well, I’d never tried.”
“Agni! I’ve created a heartbreaker.”
“Excuse me, but I always make it clear I’m not in a serious relationship stage.”
“And things don’t get weird at the dojo?” Azula asked, curious.
“Not at all,” Ty Lee replied confidently. “There are a lot of us, and with good communication. Rather than shunning me, they seek me out.”
Azula observed her with an evaluative expression. “Well, you’re really good.”
“Thank you!” Ty Lee said, settling into her chair with a triumphant air. “Plus, it’s fun.”
The waiter arrived shortly after, they placed their orders, and with tea in hand, they continued chatting until they were eventually kicked out of the café. Any lingering resentment or grudges were left in the past, and the friendship they once had blossomed again with renewed strength.
Mai, of course, had an amazing week because of it.