Shiny

Nobody was happy but nobody was sad either.

They just said 'congratulations' as quickly as they could and tried to avoid asking any prying questions. Because it was probably reasonable to think that it was not wise of Azula, that she was not capable, that she could not do this.

Of course, Azula did not care about the responses of people she did not care about. She cared about the response of a person she had vowed never to see again but somehow still managed to think about every single day of her life.

But their promise of permanent separation was going to be solidified today, and Azula knew it. She would be much better off forgetting about Ty Lee. Azula had no need for that awful acrobat to be part of the picture anyway. Her shimmering eyes, her cute lips, her…

Azula paced. Paced, paced, paced like clockwork and it made Zuko want to grab her and tie her to something. He knew she had perhaps earned her right to do that; he knew that the yoyo relationship of his sister and her… whatever Ty Lee was, was always going to hurt and that for some reason they intentionally poured salt on their wounds.

When Ty Lee arrived, they stared at each other silently and Zuko gulped. He stood up, awkwardly announcing himself. His new but perpetual air of prestige and power faltered easily when it came to his sister, and this situation was no exception.

Ty Lee was wearing a beautiful Fire Nation style outfit and Azula did not know why she hated her for it. Azula did not care how the golden fabric shined with the light of the sun or how the deeper red glittered but look more mature.

No, Azula refused to be dazzled. This girl was not worth her time, no matter how she looked in the glow of the sun. Azula probably looked better anyway, right? Or maybe not; she had not slept in some time, beneath her make-up and lip gloss her face was sallow and her lips were chapped.

"You should both be alone somewhere," Zuko said and neither of them protested.

They accepted his offer wordlessly.

Once they were isolated, their heads were filled with a thousand things to say, but none of them felt right.

The moment they sat down in a room with too many windows, Ty Lee made a weird expression. Azula hated looking at this golden gleam on this girl who she hated and she needed someone to draw the curtains. There was no need for her mind to jump to conclusions that this horrid enemy was some kind of knight in shining armor here to rescue her.

No, not at all.

Ty Lee, however, totally had that feeling. As much as she loved the sexy idea of being a damsel in distress, Ty Lee liked the idea of being the knight in shining armor saving the princess. And Azula pretty frequently needed saving, whether she would admit it or not.

They were in silence. Very uncomfortable silence.

"I want to get back together with you," Ty Lee blurted out first and Azula looked like she had just been doused in ice water.

"That is…" Azula knew the right words even if she didn't say them: nonsensical, absurd, undeserving…

"I always imagined this would happen the other way around," Ty Lee said without explaining her crazy statement moments ago. She laughed nervously but Azula could not summon the energy to join her. "Right?"

"No, I don't believe I ever anticipated anything like this," Azula said honestly and Ty Lee cut off her laughter quickly after starting. "I also did not anticipate us dating again."

Ty Lee cocked an eyebrow. "I believe you on the first one, but the second one I don't. We always start dating again, every time. Okay, our last breakup was totally the worst one, but you can't have really thought we wouldn't get back together. I mean, the only reason I anticipated this the other way around is because rebound one night stands are like my only coping mechanism for when you repeatedly break my heart."

"I don't know how to respond to that," Azula said softly and Ty Lee could not believe she rendered Azula speechless. That was probably a victory. "So, why exactly do you think we should continue this cycle?"

"It's not like, so, well, okay, if a cycle goes on long enough at some point something is gonna break it. That's just how cycles work," Ty Lee said brightly.

"You think that this is going to break the cycle," Azula deadpanned and Ty Lee smiled in utter terror and perhaps a little excitement; Azula was not sure for the first time. "I think that this is a terrible idea and…"

"Then why did you invite me here? You could've just sent me a card," Ty Lee said, turning up one palm and leaning in expectantly.

Azula grit her teeth. "I invited you here because…"

Ty Lee grinned with horribly sparkling eyes and shimmering white teeth and such a radiant glow that Azula was supposed to have according to every horrible woman who deserved to be throttled for even making that comment…

"Because?" Ty Lee asked, ripping Azula from her rapture.

And the princess rolled her eyes. "Because I thought I should tell you about this in person."

"Yeah, but I totally found out ahead of time." Ty Lee shrugged. And then she frowned for a flicker of a second. "Do you want to tell me in person? I'll pretend I don't know. I can act so surprised."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Azula!"

"No."

She took a different approach. An approach towards sounding utterly orgasmic, "YES! YES! YES!" and Azula panicked internally.

"Shut up. Shut up; I'll do it. Do not make that kind of sound while people are listening," Azula snarled and Ty Lee laughed.

"I thought so."

"Smug is not attractive."

"So, what is the surprising and important news you want to tell me, princess?"

"I decided that I hated you and wanted to destroy you emotionally and so I had a one night stand with that boy you've always been in love with since we were young and I unfortunately am now having a baby."

"… wait no one told me who the father was!" Ty Lee squealed.

"I just did. You really ought to improve your listening skills if we're going to have a serious relationship."

Ty Lee leaned out of the sunlight, pouting, and now did not sparkle with joy and radiance like before. She was opaque and angry and any glitter in her aura had just been wiped away.

Azula saw Ty Lee's expression and shrugged with a wicked smirk.

"I am still going to go on a date with you tonight. Because I'm going to be your baby's mother whether you like it or not. I will be here at sunset and you will be ready for me," Ty Lee said coldly, her arms crossed, and Azula scoffed.

"You can't tell me what to do. I tell you what to do," Azula snapped, but Ty Lee was already standing up and walking away, further into the shadows that killed her shimmer.

Ty Lee shrugged.

Azula glared after her with a molten gold glint in her eyes.