DISCLAIMER: Avatar isn't mine.
I should be working on "Cycle of Time", but I re-watched "The Beach" today and...yeah.
"Azula, wait."
Ty Lee timidly hung back as Mai and Zuko went up the path, arms linked together as the knife-thrower's head leaned on Zuko's shoulder. The Fire Princess turned back, one sleek eyebrow quirked as moonlight glinted on her piercing golden eyes. "Yes, Ty Lee, what is it?"
The acrobat's breath caught, thinking how the silvery rays made Azula look almost otherworldly, and it took her brain a few seconds to process the query. "Huh? Oh—I, er," she fumbled, "I just wanted to ask you something."
"Well, go on then," Azula snapped when said question was not immediately presented.
"Why do you think you're a monster?" Ty Lee asked softly, studying her friend closely. Azula's reaction was nearly inscrutable, but she knew the young prodigy well enough to catch the way her brows lowered slightly, the tensing of her muscles and the brief flash of her eyes. Azula snorted.
"I don't think, I know. Honestly, Ty Lee, why are you asking something so stupid?"
"Then how do you know?" the acrobat pressed, careful to keep her distance as Azula scowled, blue sparks shooting from a fingertip.
"I don't see how that concerns you," the firebender retorted sharply, giving Ty Lee a look that would make grown men wither. Ty Lee bit her lip but didn't move, and with a frustrated snarl Azula spun around, unleashing a burst of angry blue flame over the water. "It doesn't matter, all right? I just—know. So shut up before I give you a scar to match dear Zuzu's." Both girls knew it was an empty threat; Azula wouldn't hurt Ty Lee on purpose—not in that manner, at least. The princess crossed her arms over her chest, feeling intensely vulnerable all of a sudden. Ty Lee somehow always managed to make that happen. "Go away," she growled, miraculously able to keep her voice strong and commanding.
Her eyes were closed as she took deep breaths of the salty night air, a cool sea breeze whipping her hair about her face. Suddenly a pair of slim, strong arms wrapped around Azula's waist as a warm body pressed against her back. Ty Lee's cheek was propped on Azula's shoulder as the acrobat pressed her lips to the firebender's neck. Azula stiffened; Ty Lee had never disobeyed an order before, much less initiated this sort of…thing. "T—Ty Lee?" Azula stammered, hating and loving the tremor in her voice as she spun around only to find her face mere millimeters from Ty Lee's. The princess' heart thumped wildly as moonlight lit up Ty Lee's grey eyes, illuminating them even more than usual.
"You're not a monster, Azula," Ty Lee murmured, dipping her head to tuck it underneath the other girl's chin. "You can say whatever you want, but I know it isn't true."
"And what makes you so sure?" Azula had meant to sneer, but the words came out as more of an insecure whisper, which was completely mortifying. Ty Lee either didn't notice or didn't care, and Azula felt the acrobat's slim fingers gently working through her sleek black hair. Slowly the princess' tawny eyes slid shut, and her body relaxed into Ty Lee's embrace. Ty Lee smiled, pressing even closer as her short nails gently stroked Azula's scalp.
"Because I know you. You're my 'Zula," Ty Lee said softly, tilting her head up slightly to press a light kiss to the underside of Azula's jaw. The firebender's breath hitched as Ty Lee's lips brushed her soft skin. "Sure, you can be kind of cruel and all, but you're not a monster. If you were, you would never have admitted it."
"Why are you doing this?" Azula drew Ty Lee closer, not even realizing she did so. "Of all people, why me?" Something pricked her eyes, something hot and painful, and she clenched her teeth, willing the weakness away. I will NOT cry. I won't.
Ty Lee smiled and gently slid her hands down the sharp planes of Azula's jaws. "Because," she finally said, leaning her forehead against Azula's, "you're the smartest, prettiest, most perfect girl in the world."
"And you're a fool," Azula grumbled, but she didn't pull away when Ty Lee's lips captured her own.