A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys make my day. Also, see who can spot the reference to Fandomme's Stormbenders. I just couldn't resist.
XXXXX
Interrogation
When she looks in the mirror she thinks her weaknesses are so obvious they must show like cracks on her face. No one in the Senate remarks on her wandering eyes and shaky voice, but sometimes the old men gently clap her on the back when she makes a successful speech or supports a bill they don't oppose. Ty Lee is not a politician, but she is trying harder to learn the ways of ruling nations and redistricting zones and prison reforms so she doesn't look like a bumbling moron before her colleagues.
It doesn't remotely interest her, hence her moments of unfocused gawking, but she is trying so hard not to be pathetic among the wrinkled, wise floor leaders. Youth and beauty set her apart, but the men rarely take her seriously until another of their company pats her on the head to signal it's time to sit down, and uses his booming voice to sway the vote in her stead.
She hates it, but she stays in the Fire Nation and trains with Firebenders and reads dusty scrolls from Zuko's private library to learn more about their history to better their future. Sometimes she and Zuko laugh about stupid laws that she happens to uncover. For example, it is illegal to shoot an arrow from a second story window from noon to dusk in the Southern Pearl Islands, but perfectly fine to shoot at any other time or from any other floor. Ty Lee giggles in the same way she always has, and Zuko gives a half-hearted chuckle. It sometimes makes her sad to think that this is the only part of his heart that remains.
Being an old friend of the Fire Lord's has many perks that come with the title, and Ty Lee is not the kind of girl to pass up an opportunity.
Of course she wants to serve on Mai's committee.
Of course she wants to take the floor for Kyoshi's rights.
Of course, of course, she wants to escort the Fire Lady to her chambers after the meetings adjourn. It must be obvious to the Senators, but they never say a word.
The two women don't always talk when they return to Mai's room, but sometimes they keep a relaxed business air about them, casually discussing the day over a glass of wine. When there is more time and fewer interruptions, they find Mai's bed a more appropriate setting.
Sometimes, Ty Lee can impress Mai with her word-for-word memorization of the law. "When the High Court discovered this obvious conflict of interests, it drew heavy doubts upon the impartiality of the judiciary in the case of General Xiazon, especially among members of the twelfth district of the Eastern Provinces, later renamed the Silver Stone District," she recites in a lover's whisper, and Mai hums with pleasure at how hard she's studied just to be closer to her.
Still, she wishes Mai were more open about their situation. How can she stand living a lie to Zuko's face? To her nation? To her friends?
Ty Lee has a great deal of questions and only one source of answers, and she knows best of all how silent Mai can choose to be. She pulls her armor off, no longer needing her formal regalia, wondering how long she can stand being a second-string Zuko. Naturally, he is better for her tall friend: he is a ruler of nations and liberator of peoples and he's handsome in his somewhat gloomy way. They fit beautifully.
Except their auras don't match. It looks a bit like sludge to Ty Lee's inner eye when they stand side by side, but she's never been one to complain about how people fall in love. No, that's not the right word, but Ty Lee cannot think of a better way to describe them. They fell into place like children in a school line, but love was never a part of that equation.
It must be terrible for her dear Mai.
Her deadline for returning home is creeping closer and closer, but Ty Lee is good at bending things, including rules. She knows that Suki won't send her home if she asks politely and she simply won't go until she knows for sure how Mai feels. She needs to stop dancing around indeterminately like she's grown up doing, and find solid ground to plant her feet. She needs some answers.
She thinks it is better to wait and see than leave without any closure. Kyoshi Island would be perfectly fine without her for a few more weeks.
And not that she will tell a soul, but she can see Mai's aura perk up whenever they're alone together. It is sky-blue when she laughs honestly, and turns a darker, more sapphire color when they kiss in the secret of her room.
Today she is practically glowing with her cobalt light, allowing Ty Lee to lean into her thin body while they talk about nothing in particular, pressed against the red curtains of her office. Mai's fingers absentmindedly paint out little patterns on her skin and they've pressed their foreheads together during their discussion.
Ty Lee says, "He's a goof! I know for a fact that he doesn't write his own speeches because my sister's brother-in-law knows his writer, and he used to go to the academy with his cousin! And to think, everyone is dying to have him compose something for the Rice Festival."
Mai smiles, looping her thumb into Ty Lee's belt, "We should just send him back to the Oyster District."
They laugh quietly for a moment before Mai plants a slow kiss on her cheek. Ty Lee closes her eyes, not willing to lose the wonderful sensation, but soon the air above her face is no longer occupied. When her eyes open, Mai is watching her with a rueful gaze.
Ty Lee asks, "Have you talked to Zuko?"
"No," she turns her face away and the coldness returns to her voice. "He's busy."
Busy, Ty Lee thinks, is another word for hiding. She wastes no more time out of contact with the Fire Lady, melding their bodies together and wrapping her arms around her waist.
"I'll wait for you," she says. "I'll wait forever, even if you never pick me-"
"Stop,"
"You know that, right?" She continues, "I would stay here-"
"Stop it, Ty Lee!" Mai barks out, and the former acrobat feels her back stiffen beneath her robes. "Just stop. I don't want you to make this so easy. I don't deserve it." Mai crosses her arms in front of her chest like a barrier.
"You should walk away and threaten to leave forever," her voice cracks. "You should publicly expose me unless I promise to go with you. You should reduce me to a sniveling mess and throw me before the Senate. Why don't you understand?" Her porcelain skin is flushed red like embers, "You have the upper hand and you're just giving me every chance to hurt you!"
Mai spits out, "You should find someone better than me and give up on the idiot that won't leave her husband. You shouldn't be a … a mistress." She chokes in silence as bitter tears fall away from her steel eyes. She moans, "It's not fair- I'm not being fair to you, so why won't you leave me?"
The answer comes without faltering.
"I can't."
Mai crumbles in defeat, hanging low her black hair and biting her lip so hard that it might bleed.
Ty Lee turns the Fire Lady to face her and sits down in a chair, pulling their bodies closer together. Tall, composed, unyielding Mai is tugging at her collar and burying her shamed head in the base of her neck like a toddler asking forgiveness. This is not the woman that leads the Senate in times of crisis. This is not the woman who could kill an elephant-koi with throwing stars. This is not the woman that Azula would have recruited.
This is Mai, who has given her heart away and suddenly realized that it wasn't to the right person. This is Mai, who feels like she should hang for her lies to the boy she married. This is Mai, who needs Ty Lee but doesn't deserve her kindness and patience.
She cries long and hard into the Kyoshi Warrior, and sits in silence for several minutes when she has exhausted her supply of tears. "Thank you," she flatly says, and they sit together in a little puddle of weakness and deceit.
Ty Lee knows best of all how silent Mai can choose to be, but she is learning to find her answers without needing words.
XXXXX
