Ty Lee laid on her back and absently tossed a rock between her feet, humming a soft tune while she waited for Azula to say something. She could tell by the fire princess's aura that the smoothing magic of the beach hadn't exactly finished with Azula.

No problem. Ty Lee had all the time in the world. Besides, it had been awhile since they had last gotten a chance to be alone like this. Mai and Zuko had left awhile ago, and when Azula had shown no intentions of leaving just yet, Ty Lee opted to stay behind as well, no questions asked.

"Ty Lee, must you hum so incessantly like that while I'm thinking?" Azula said, her voice not nearly as sharp as usual.

Ty Lee giggled. "Sorry, Azula. I didn't know you could hear me." She let the smooth rock drop into the sand and swiftly sat up. For awhile, she watched the waves gently swish against the shore and reveled in the warm breeze that passed like soft breaths. Overall, tonight had been a good night. In fact, the whole day had been fun. From letting those silly boys be nice to her on the beach to playing volleyball with Azula to attending the party with Azula and eventually crashing the party with Azula, Ty Lee had definitely enjoyed herself. She had even taught the princess to play that game that makes helpless boys do nice things for you. Ty Lee smiled at the thought and cast her gaze on Azula, who sat with her arms crossed and stared in the dim embers of the fire pit. Ty Lee hugged her knees to her chest and watched, waiting patiently for the princess's signal. She frowned a bit as she observed Azula's aura unevenly flow around her. It was a brilliant blue, just as brilliant as Azula's firebending, but recently the black spot that had marred it since childhood had spread and distorted the shape. Likewise, Azula became more ferociously determined in her conquests, rivaling her father's ambition in almost every way.

As a result, these quiet moments between Ty Lee and Azula had grown less frequent, especially with the Fire Lord's pressure to capture the Avatar already. The princess could do it, no doubt, but it seemed that the more she exerted her power, the larger that spot grew and the edgier Azula became. But none of that could deter Ty Lee. After all, she knew well enough what made it grow in the first place and she was determined to not be yet another factor in its development.

Someone had to be all smiles for the princess, even if Azula never showed her appreciation in the most obvious manner.

"Don't try to hide it from me, Ty Lee. I can tell you loved being the center of attention at that party. Chan would probably welcome you back with open arms if any piece of his house was still intact."

Ty Lee jumped at the iciness in her voice and cocked her head. "But I wouldn't want to. Everything is more fun when you're around. Besides, he kicked you out and no one should treat the fire princess that way, even if she's kind of in disguise."

Azula sighed and dug her bare feet in the sand. "Please, I know you agree with whatever I say just because I say it. You must also agree with what my mother thinks of me. You just never complain when I tell you what to do."

Of course that was it. When everything else about Azula was stripped away, that was the very thing remaining. In so many ways, it was the start of everything. Ty Lee didn't strictly recall ever hearing Ursa call her daughter a monster, but she had been with Azula on enough of these introspective trips to know that it had to have happened more than once for it to keep surfacing like this.

"Come on, Azula. Why would you think that?"

"You are so fickle. You just love being any place where you can get attention. All those boys loved you. You were having fun and I made you help me destroy that party. You act like you did it out of loyalty, but I know how you really think."

The comment stung Ty Lee just as a similar one had earlier that night, but she kept herself together, reminding herself that everything Azula said right now was coming from that place the black spot on her aura forced her into. Ty Lee had to push through it like she always did.

So, she approached Azula and sat in front of her. "I told you before that you're the prettiest, smartest, most perfect girl in the world. You know I can't lie about that stuff." None of this was actually about the party at all.

Azula turned away. "Of course you're still right about those things, but you make no sense. Not that I'm complaining about your undying loyalty. It's expected, but…"

Smiling, Ty Lee crawled between Azula's legs and straddled her. The princess accommodated her readily enough, resting her hands on Ty Lee's thighs. "You're kidding, right?" Ty Lee said, tilting Azula's head toward her. "I've never ever lied to you, Azula. Not ever." She planted a gentle kiss on Azula's forehead.

"I kissed Chan."

Ty Lee leaned back a little. The statement didn't totally register. "What?"

"I took your advice about laughing at his jokes and it worked, sort of."

"I thought you were just playing a game," Ty Lee said, her voice low and her heart beating fast. Panic threatened to overwhelm her and her chest tightened, but again, she tried to keep herself together. "I didn't think–you know you don't need those boys' attention, right? You know what Mai said isn't true."

Azula sighed. "Like I told you back then, I was jealous. You were literally surrounded by boys all day today from the beach to the party. You make it look like you'll please anyone just for attention and I thought you'd…so I just asked you to tell me the rules of your own game, basically."

Typical Azula, always calculating the best advantage. But Ty Lee couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt. "You wanted revenge for something I didn't even do."

"This is why I don't understand how you're still around."

Ty Lee wrapped her arms around Azula and rested her head on her shoulder. Something twisted and snapped inside of her and she felt the pinkness of her mood fade into a dull red. Then the tears came even though she didn't want them to. Azula would get the wrong idea.

"I can't help but destroy everything around me," said Azula. "Either you can deal with that or you can't."

"No, I'd never leave you. I can't," Ty Lee said, her voice shaking. "You've had too much of that already but–" she couldn't speak anymore. She hated these terrible states that made Azula paranoid enough to protect herself like that, and what hurt the most was knowing that it came from a deep pain that not even Ty Lee could fully understand after all these years.

"But you'll have to eventually. Even you have your limits, Ty Lee. Don't pretend I don't know that you're not as patient as you seem."

"No." Ty Lee took a few deep breaths and then lifted her head. "If the same thing keeps happening to you, of course you'll get worse. I'm always trying to tell you that you're not a monster because how can you be? We're still just kids and I would never do anything like this to you. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" She resumed her crying in earnest. "I didn't leave the circus for nothing. I wish you didn't feel so scared."

At last, Azula returned Ty Lee's embrace and pulled her closer. She gently rubbed Ty Lee's back and Ty Lee relaxed. Even when the tears stopped, Azula kept massaging her back.

"Ty Lee."

"Hmm?"

"I still don't understand. You should be furious with me. You should have stormed off or yelled at me or something."

Ty Lee gave her a small smile. "You don't understand love very well." She ran her fingers through Azula's wavy black hair. It was rare for her to wear it loose like this and it framed her sharp features so nicely. "I guess I don't either because you're right. I should be so mad at you right now." She stared into Azula's golden eyes and felt herself melting. "I just can't ever leave you behind. I know you too well. I know every single thing you've been through. I've heard every story about another family member calling you crazy. I know about the things your mother said to you. I–"

Azula pressed her hand on Ty Lee's chest. "Stop it."

But Azula needed to know and Ty Lee needed to tell her. "Look at me." She knew what Azula feared most. Empty promises. Absolute phrases that then lose their meaning the second Azula becomes too much to handle.

Azula hesitated, so Ty Lee tilted her chin upward. "Listen very, very carefully, okay? Remember that I told you I've never lied to you. I think now it's time for me to actually say this and mean it, so I need you to understand that I'm being totally serious right now." Ty Lee felt a knot in her stomach, which was silly since she had been with Azula for so long. Her heart drummed in her chest and she felt a little faint from the heat, but she had Azula's full attention.

"I love you. All of you. I just want you to be happy. I think a lot of bad things have happened to you and that's not fair. I think too many people have given up on you who shouldn't have."

"Don't," Azula said softly, her eyes losing their typical hardness. "How am I supposed to–what if–"

Ty Lee kissed her passionately, hoping that maybe, finally she had broken through. "No what ifs, okay?"

Azula responded in kind with a desperation Ty Lee hadn't expected, but one that saddened her nonetheless. She broke away from Azula briefly and held her as closely as she could. "I'm not letting you go. Not willingly."

Azula smirked and suddenly leaned forward, pushing Ty Lee on her back. Ty Lee laughed and clung to her, their legs intertwined. "What are you doing?"

"Your devotion is so charming," Azula said and laced her fingers with Ty Lee's. "That's the first time anyone's told me something like that."

"Well, it's true. I've always felt that way, you know?"

Azula didn't say anything. She just returned to kissing the acrobat deeply.

"Do you love me?" Ty Lee said at length.

"I suppose," said Azula, "as much as I can." She sucked on Ty Lee's neck, then kissed her way up to the girl's cheek. Ty Lee giggled and squirmed involuntarily.

"It's true that I'm going crazy, though."

At this, Ty Lee removed her hands from Azula's and wrapped her arms around the princess's waist, pulling her down closer. "But you don't have to, right? You can get better."

"It's slowly consuming me. I want power and nothing more. Everything needs to burn. Everything."

As Azula spoke, her eyes widened and a creepy smile stretched across her face. "The Avatar must die and the Fire Nation must reign supreme for all eternity!"

Ty Lee cupped Azula's face in her hands. "Azula, listen to me."

But Azula's eyes were still wild and she continued her speech. "Every last miserable peasant on this earth will rue the day they resisted the Fire Nation!"

"Azula, stop!"

Azula suddenly shook her head, but her smile remained. "Do you see what I mean?" she said in almost a whisper. "I can't keep it down for much longer."

Ty Lee sighed and returned her hands to Azula's waist. "And there's nothing anyone can do?"

"No. It won't stop. That's why…that's why I need to ask you a favor."

"Anything, babe."

"I don't know how far this will go, but I do know that I won't be able to stop myself, so," she gave Ty Lee a subtle pleading look, but Ty Lee knew how serious she was, "when I reach that point when I won't come back, leave me before I kill you."

The thought almost sent Ty Lee into another panic. "Come on, don't say stuff like that. Please."

"Ty Lee, right now I'm asking you. Don't make me command it of you."

"I don't want to leave you. Not ever."

"I'm telling you this for your own good. You should be shocked I can even manage some empathy at this point. Be grateful, even, that I'm telling you how to survive against me. The sooner you cut yourself off, the better your life will be."

Ty Lee tucked Azula's hair behind her ears. "I can't believe you still don't get it. There isn't a single reason why I'd leave you. Even thinking about it hurts, so don't–don't–"

Azula leaned down and kissed Ty Lee, pressing her entire body against her. It was her typical way of keeping the girl quiet. "Thank you," she said in a short break and kissed her again, this time with more ferocity. Ty Lee let Azula take control, responding just as passionately, savoring every breath from Azula that entered her lungs.

Ty Lee relished these moments–these brief interruptions in the constant battles and war strategies that their lives were slowly becoming. Most of all, Azula was better at expressing herself with actions rather than words. She felt both Azula's strength and her delicacy–her ferocity and her tenderness.

At length, they fell asleep in each other's arms beneath the stars with the waves crashing gently behind them. Ty Lee's head was tucked under Azula's chin and she could hear the princess's steady heartbeat.

Nothing in the world could've made Ty Lee feel pinker.