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Festivals didn't have Azula's best interests at heart. Really, they were all the same to her. Some had fireworks, some had food, some had dances, some had blah blah blah. None of it mattered.
She never cared enough to pay attention—to watch the first flame hit the fuse and see how beautiful the firework bloomed in the sky, or smell how delicious and decadent her nation's traditional food was, or even appreciate the art of the dances, something that was nearly essential to true firebending. At least, that's what the elders say.
The exiled princess couldn't have cared less for it all. Much less now that everything was Zuko-centric, with him being Firelord and all. It annoyed her more than anything, sometimes it even made her mad. It was a constant reminder of how she failed; she lost everything she once had and now her brother gets to have all the glory while she's tossed aside as his "crazy, psychopathic sister" who should've never been let out of the psych ward.
Nevertheless, her lover, Ty Lee, never fails to be able to convince her to come and join the people during these festivals. Ever since their return to the fire nation, Ty Lee had been nothing but eager to be home. She ate nothing but local food, performed traditional dances, and even made silly trinkets and toys that represented their history in a less gruesome way to children.
This festival was no exception to Ty Lee's guilt-tripping. She'd begged Azula for weeks, promising that it'd be the last festival they go to. Azula knew it was a lie, Ty Lee always lied about things like that. But how could she say no to that face? Ty Lee's stupidly beautiful and gorgeous face... She lets her mind wander before the last firework batch was set on fire and they all simultaneously blew up in the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
She hissed, hands instinctively covering her ears as she whipped around. It was instinct, her teeth gritting and grinding against each other out of pure... Emotion. Loud booms have long since frightened the girl after the last agni kai. It was too much, too much to remember, too much to bear alone, too much to—
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here." A soft voice came from admist the crowd. Soft hands wrapped around her wrists, but they did not try to pry her hands away from her ears. Instead, she was pulled closer, and she simply leaned onto this person. Her anchor. Ty Lee.
The shorter girl led Azula away from the main festival and to a nearby food stall for distraction. Not much people other than food stall owners who had the misfortune of missing out on such a beautiful event all for the sake of money. Nevertheless, they sat down and ordered two bowls of ramen.
"You okay now?" Ty Lee whispers, a hand on Azula's shoulder to pull her closer. "I'm perfectly fine." Azula grumbled, but she made no effort to escape. Instead, she leaned into it just like she had prior. "This part is my least favorite of festivals." She turns her head to the sky, watching faint fickles of fireworks land near them. "You hate every part of festivals." Ty Lee chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood as she gave Azula a kiss on the top of her head.
Azula doesn't respond, instead turning her head to look at the pale-faced beauty in front of her. "Aren't you supposed to be with the other Kyoshi warriors?" She points to Ty Lee's current uniform and her face full of makeup. "Yeah, but I love you more than them." She smiles. Azula groaned, looking away with a redness to her cheeks. There was that word again.
Love.
"Whatever." Azula lifted her head from Ty Lee's shoulder as their ramen bowls came out, hot and fresh. Her reaction to such simple words made Ty Lee chuckle, but she didn't tease any further. "Mmm! They always have such good ramen here." Ty Lee exclaims, slurping up her noodles with an obnoxious sssslurp!
Azula's expression showed annoyance, but Ty Lee knew better. The two sat in comfortable silence, occasionally sharing a glance and smile that Azula didn't have the strength to suppress.
Ty Lee graciously took a napkin and dabbed her mouth like a proper noble, one last firework catching her attention before it reminds her of something. "Oh, I also signed up for one of the dances tonight! Care to watch, princess?" The braided girl tilts her head as she invades her girlfriend's personal space, foreheads bumping into each other.
Azula couldn't help but kiss her in that moment. "I'd like to." She admits softly, a little more vulnerable now that it was pretty much just the two of them.
Well...
The food stall owner awkwardly cleared his throat, and Ty Lee giggled (Azula was mortified), apologizing profusely for the scene he had just witnessed. The two paid and walked off together, arms linked as to not get lost in the crowd. It was getting late, but the people didn't rest during times like this.
"Cmonn~ I might be late for my own performance!" For someone in such a hurry, Ty Lee seemed pretty laidback about it. "You know what?" Ty Lee pauses in her tracks, whipping around with a mischievous grin that Azula grew to fear. "Oh no—Ty Lee!" She yelps as her feet are swiftly swooped up from the ground. The princess finds herself in her lover's arms bridal-style and she isn't so sure how to feel about it. "We are in PUBLIC!" Azula groaned, burying her face in Ty Lee’s shoulder despite herself.
Ty Lee smirked, leaning down to kiss her oh-so-romantically before resuming her giggles, bright and uncontrollable.