In dim midnight hours their kisses haunt the night. Just like golden eyes haunt Ty Lee while she is awake, and Azula finds herself craving at the worst of times. The secrets of nobles echo in the graveyard called the Fire Nation that they are bound to as shreds of ghosts.
"If your father found out he would kill me." Her voice is light, blithe. It disregards the fact that her life is threatened. She presses her lips against Azula's; frantically, desperately. The motion is intoxicating and deadly.
"I know," responds the haughty princess. Her fingertips stray in the dimly lit bedroom, which Ty Lee is not meant to be inside of. "We don't have to do this."
"I think I would die if I lost you," Ty Lee says breathily and Azula is flattered, her ego stroked by such words.
With smug satisfaction, the princess draws her paramour into her arms and falls back on the bed. They don't take each other in a wild tumble and a shy goodbye. They lie there in the darkness, heated, hearts beating rapidly and almost in tandem.
Almost, almost, as if almost is good enough.
"We're pretending," Azula says in the morning. "It's imaginary. There's nothing here."
Because she is a liar and Ty Lee admits she can't see through it half the time. But Azula disappears to go train, to be forced to train, painfully, passionately by her father. And Ty Lee sometimes mentally throttles Fire Lord Ozai until she can almost feel his bones cracking underneath her strong fingers.
But she isn't a traitor. Love can't... can't make you a traitor.
"I'm sleeping with your daughter."
Their relationship is like cold tea and unraveled cigars. It is, unsatisfying, Ty Lee supposes but she chases after it. Like one time when they were kids they ran across the beach on Ember Island, just chasing the sunset until they were only silhouettes. Running after the sun.
"You can't catch the sunrise. You can't catch steam with your bare hands and..."
,,,
"Hi, princess."
"I don't want to talk to you."
"I just wanted you to know that I'm doing okay."
"Well that makes one of us. And I don't think either of us is interested in your well-being."
"If you ever want to visit you can."
"I don't intend to. I'm stuck here anyway. I'm fairly sure I couldn't get clearance to leave the Fire Nation if I fucked the entire royal army."
"You look nice today."
"I know."
,,,
In the dim midnight hours their kisses haunt the night.
"Why did you run away?" Azula asks, feigning interest because when you've slept with someone that's what you're supposed to do.
"To become who I wanted to be, and not who I was supposed to be." Ty Lee shrugs. Shrugs twice.
"You can't catch the sunrise. You can't catch steam with your bare hands and..."
"That's awfully poetic. I didn't think you were smart enough to come up with something like that."
They kiss. They touch. Azula's fingernails run across Ty Lee's skin and it hurts in the best way.
"Are we the bad guys?"
"No, I think we're just challenged in the area of, er, morality." Azula smirks, the slight twist of her lips that leads on Ty Lee.
"Do you hate your brother?"
"You're asking if I'm going to kill him like father wants."
"I don't know what I'm asking."
"Don't worry so much. You'll get wrinkles."
Azula tackles her onto the mattress. It is utter bliss for an hour or so, but then it's over and they are just there, teenage, helpless girls in the grasp of a secret affair. If anybody knew Azula probably wouldn't be Fire Lord and Ty Lee would be shamed by her family.
"You can't catch the sunrise. You can't catch steam with your bare hands and..."
,,,
"Why are you back?"
"I'm a butterfly-moth and you're the sun."
"Stop saying smart things. It makes you look even dumber."
"Look, I just was thinking since, it's... over now. Maybe we could be together for real."
"And she finally stops beating around the bush. I dunno. I suppose I don't have anything better to do. I'm getting a little sick of being Zu-Zu's pet."
"You would be pretty sexy on a leash."
"What?"
,,,
They hold hands in the courtyard as the sun is setting.
"Sunsets are gross," Azula murmurs. "I hate nighttime."
"Why?" Ty Lee asks, sitting down on the dewy grass.
"The reasons are too numerous to list." Azula smirks, looking strangely satisfied. She purses her lips and glares at the moon with a look that would kill it if it were alive.
"Do you think when the war is over we could be together?" Ty Lee dares to ask. "I mean... after Sozin's Comet."
Azula smiles with her entire mouth. It startles Ty Lee, but it looks kind of like a predator that just caught a rabbit-monkey with a broken ankle.
"Have you ever tried to catch the sunrise, Ty Lee?"