Chapter I
Monsters

Ty Lee was sitting by Azula's side.

Because nobody else felt the warmth in that monster's touch, and nobody else noticed that little curl of her lip or the flush in her cheeks or the rush of her pulse or those other tiny human traits.

Ty Lee was noticing all of those things right now. And they were beautiful, even in this immensely awkward moment. This day, abandoned by Mai and Zuko, alone together, in awkwardness (because they kissed and oh god no one trained them how to deal with that even if they trained them how to kill a man multiple ways).

Azula broached the topic first, as she should. "Maybe we should talk about what happened."

Ty Lee fumbled for words before she just leaned in and kissed her (and hoped she wasn't going to die because that would be terrible but then again not the worst way to die). She did not have the words to explain that she did not regret it.

Azula didn't kill her. Azula raised her hand to Ty Lee's cheek, drawing her back into the kiss when she faltered and moved away. Ty Lee wrapped her arm around Azula's waist, letting her wrist lay across her lap. The princess's lips moved against hers slowly, and she draped her arms around Ty Lee's neck. Ty Lee shifted, taking a chance and tightening her arm around Azula's waist, sinking back towards the princess's plethora of pillows and hesitantly pulling her down. If they go down, they go down together. They promised that once (but Ty Lee could not remember exactly when).

Princess Azula moved with Ty Lee, her lips hovering against her best friend's (are they still best friends or are they more or are they less or…?) and let Ty Lee lay her down between the acrobat and the wall. Azula seemed about to reconsider and Ty Lee panicked but then she shifted herself closer and their tongues met. The princess whimpered quietly, the sound sucking the air from Ty Lee's lungs, and Ty Lee leaned her body against Azula's, her hips tilting forward.

Ty Lee pulled back, her fingers twitching away from where they'd drifted to her hair.

"What is it?" Azula asked.

"Nothing. I'm sorry. I just started to panic," said Ty Lee.

"Just be calm about this." Azula was anything but calm about this; she was completely shattering to pieces internally, but at least she could hide it like a woman and not a girl.

Their lips brushed together. Ty Lee eased herself towards Azula, deepening the kiss but still letting the princess lead. She feared getting swept up. She feared coming on too strong to someone who felt the absolute need to control everything and everyone.

Ty Lee did not want to lose this.

Azula wound her fingers into Ty Lee's hair, her tongue snaking into her best friend's mouth. Ty Lee slid her free hand over Azula's waist and her fingers worked under the hem of her shirt and she pressed her palm against the soft stretch of skin just above the waist of her pants that had caught Ty Lee's attention so often. She wrapped her arms around Ty Lee, her kisses shifting to Ty Lee's jaw as Ty Lee murmured her name.

She lowered her lips and bit down on Ty Lee's neck. Not hard enough to hurt. Like a monster of the unexplored world softly surveying.

"Can I t-touch…" Ty Lee trailed off, heat rushing to her face.

"Yes," said Azula and Ty Lee was so impressed with her (she always was).

Ty Lee blushed, dropping her face against the crook of Azula's neck, smiling and pressing a kiss to her skin. She shifted her hand, looking down between them and smoothing it over Azula's shirt. Ty Lee began to falter again and Azula grabbed her hand and slid it up under the fabric. Azula arched her back, pressing into Ty Lee's hand as she cupped her breast.

And Ty Lee's fingers shook lightly against her impossibly soft skin.

The door burst open and Azula all but threw Ty Lee to the floor.

"I have to talk to—!" Zuko stopped. Azula thought that perhaps even he—in all his lack of situational awareness—could realize that he served no purpose in life but to fuck absolutely everything up for everyone.

"You can't just burst into people's rooms," Azula said harshly, tugging at the fabric of her shirt. "You're apparently a prince again. Act like it."

"Oh," was the best he could stay.

Ty Lee stayed out of it.

She was not about to step between a beautiful monster and her prey.