A/N: This will be a series of one-shots exploring the history of the relationship between the three girls. They are not in chronological order. I'm starting with a scene just after Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal of Azula, and the next part will probably be the young girls meeting and banding together in the Royal Fire Academy. I like this one better, so it's first.
They were led into the building, down multiple flights of stairs, around several corners, and through a long, dark hallway. The guards hadn't bound them, but Mai wasn't thinking about fighting back. She only had one knife left on her, and she wasn't going to waste it on futility. The guards brought them to a cell at the very end of the long corridor and opened the door, hesitating before shoving them inside. Mai took the hint and stepped inside, Ty Lee a few steps behind her. The door clanged shut behind them with an ominous bang, shutting them off from the rest of the world.
It was dark inside. Mai could hear her and Ty Lee's heavy breathing as they stood there for a few second, not reacting. When her breathing calmed and her eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting, she crossed a few steps to the far wall and collapsed on the floor, drawing her knees to her chest and hugging her legs. She would not cry. She would not.
Ty Lee, more hesitant, crossed the cell to sit next to her. Ty Lee sat with her legs straight out, head bowed, leaving a few inches of space between her and Mai. Mai wondered why they hadn't been separated, but Azula's orders hadn't been that specific, after all. Mai swallowed, suddenly feeling guilty that the younger girl was here at all. Ty Lee seemed to sense that and moved closer, wrapping her arms around Mai's neck. The move felt desperate, more like she was clinging to the older girl for support rather than trying to hug her for comfort. Feeling awkward, Mai slid one arm out of the other girl's embrace and placed it around her waist.
They sat like that, Ty Lee trembling and Mai trying not to cry, for a long time, until Mai finally asked the question that had been bugging her.
"Why did you do it?" Why had Ty Lee helped her and defied Azula?
"She was going to kill you," sqeaked Ty Lee. "I couldn't let that happen." Her voice sounded panicky, just like the look on her face before she had attacked the princess.
Mai blinked. She didn't reply, just let the silence hang over them, heavy and oppressive. She didn't know what to say - should she apologize? Offer excuses? Blame it all on Azula? Make one of her deadpan, sarcastic comments to lighten the tension? She couldn't look down at the other girl's face, fearing what she might see there.
"Azula always made sure we were better friends with her than with each other," she finally said, still staring at the stone floor. "What changed?" Mai wondered aloud.
Ty Lee's arms tightened around her, if that were even possible. "She wasn't worth following anymore," Ty Lee said in a muffled voice. Mai realized that her head was buried in Mai's shoulder and her body was shaking.
Mai's throat tightened and she couldn't stop them anymore. Tears flowed thickly from her eyes as she turned and embraced her friend with both arms, sobbing into her shoulder for everything they had lost.