Author's Note: Warning – strong limes ahead!
Chapter 25
There was a growing fire in Azula's belly as she pressed Katara's body into the mattress with her own. The waterbender kissed her hungrily, her hands roaming up and down the former princess's bare back. Katara was already half undressed, as she had taken to sleeping in only her underwrappings in the sweltering summer heat. The feel of the girl's skin against hers only served to fuel the firebender's passion, and she found herself wondering why she had stopped Katara from doing this before.
Azula began to trail a line of open mouth kisses along Katara's jaw as her hands worked to remove the girl's breast bindings. Katara's warm breath washed across Azula's neck before her mouth latched onto Azula's earlobe, biting down and suckling. Coherent thought fled the firebender as she gasped at the sensation.
Katara's hands slipped below Azula's waistband then, squeezing the firm flesh of the firebender's backside as she pressed her thigh in between her legs. Azula's eyes rolled back, and she couldn't restrain a low groan of pleasure at the sensation.
"I want you," Katara whispered hotly in her ear, causing the firebender to shiver as she drew her in closer and kissed her again. To be so desired by another person like this made Azula's heart melt and her body pulse.
Across the room, Ty Lee watched the pair through half-closed eyes, her breath coming out a bit heavier than usual. She hadn't really meant to watch, but in the quiet of the night, every rustling of fabric, touching of lips to skin, and gasps and sighs of pleasure seemed to boom inside her mind. She couldn't deny how aroused she was getting from the sounds they were making, and without thinking, she had turned her eyes on her friends' passionate display.
She saw Katara's hands cup Azula's breasts, causing Azula to gasp into the waterbender's mouth. Ty Lee again to tried to stifle a moan at the sight, but this time failed.
But Azula's sharp hearing didn't miss it, the sound temporarily pulling the firebender's attention from Katara. Remembering that they weren't alone, Azula glanced over at Ty Lee's bed, only to find her friend watching them. The acrobat's eyes were still half-closed, and she was softly biting her lower lip. Azula found the expression to be incredibly alluring, and a shot of heat went through her upon discovering Ty Lee's voyeurism.
Their eyes met then, and Ty Lee knew she had been caught. Embarrassed, she looked away, but not before noticing Azula's aura flare out in a deep rose color. Did Azula like that she was watching them? She glanced back, this time trying to show a little more discretion.
Azula's attention was back on Katara now, but there was an added charge now that she knew Ty Lee was watching. Before she could consider why she liked it, Katara licked along the firebender's collarbone. Azula moaned again and brought her mouth to kiss and nip along the soft skin of Katara's throat, causing the waterbender to hum happily in response. Katara's hands dipped lower then, coming to her hips.
"I want you," Katara said again as fingers slipped beneath Azula's waistband and brushed against the course hair between her legs.
Azula gasped. "Wait." It occurred to her that Katara might not be doing this if she knew that Ty Lee was still awake. This was all so new to both of them, and Azula was only beginning to learn what she and Katara both liked when it came to physical intimacy.
"What is it? Am I moving too fast?"
"A little bit," Azula admitted, "but it feels good."
Katara reached up with both hands, cupping Azula's face so she could look at her.
"We can go as slow as you want. There's no rush. It's just hard for me to keep my hands off you. I think you're incredibly beautiful, and I want to show you how much," she explained, leaning up to press her lips to the firebender's—the kiss equal parts tender and passionate—and Azula's heart filled with indescribable joy at Katara's admision.
Azula murmured into the kiss then before deepening it and interlacing her fingers with Katara's and pressing their hands into the mattress. She felt herself getting lost in a haze of passion all over again when she remembered why she had really stopped Katara in the first place.
She broke their kiss, her breathing heavy, and lowered her head to Katara's ear. "I think Ty Lee's awake," she whispered.
Katara glanced over at the acrobat's bed—in the faint candlelight she could tell that Ty Lee's eyes were closed, but her breathing was the dead giveaway that the girl was not, in fact, asleep. Katara blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed and guilty at keeping Ty Lee from much needed rest, but she had honestly thought the girl had fallen asleep.
She bit her lip and looked up at Azula. "I think you're right," she said quietly, still blushing. "Maybe we should turn in for the night." She didn't really want to stop, but she realized it wasn't fair to Ty Lee. After all, she remembered when she was stuck listening to Sokka and Suki the night they crossed the Serpent's Pass. Of course, that was made doubly awkward by the fact that he was her brother.
"Okay," Azula agreed, easing herself off of Katara and coming to sit on the bed. Trying to get herself under control, she grabbed her sleeping tunic and threw it over her head while Katara readjusted her breast bindings.
With a flick of her wrist, Azula extinguished the candles in the room, shrouding the room in darkness. Warm arms snaked around her waist then, pulling her back down to the bed and into an embrace. It took a little while—their desire still ran very high—but eventually they both fell asleep, taking comfort in knowing there would be time later.
Ty Lee didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that they had stopped. She had enjoyed watching them, but she supposed she was kind of intruding in a way—although, Azula hadn't seemed to mind. Maybe there was room for her in the picture after all. She smiled to herself as she too drifted off into sleep.
Sokka eyed Appa's still sleeping form. In his heart he wanted nothing more than to climb atop the flying bison and head straight for the Boiling Rock despite what Azula had said. But his gut knew it was impractical at the moment. For starters, he had no idea where it was exactly, and even if he did, he wasn't sure he could do it—not alone at least.
"Are you alright, Sokka?" he heard Isaye ask from behind him, causing him to jump a bit in surprise.
He let out a breath and relaxed as she stepped beside him. "I'm fine," he lied.
"You're still thinking about going to get Suki, aren't you?" she said knowingly.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I just hate that she's locked up in a Fire Nation prison."
"We don't like it either, but Suki's strong—stronger than the rest of us. That's one of the many reasons she's our leader."
"I know," he said with a hint of pride.
There was a pause in the conversation before Isaye spoke again. "Do you believe that Aang can defeat the Fire Lord?"
"Absolutely."
"When he does, the war will finally end. All the prisoners of war will be released. Suki won't be at the Boiling Rock much longer."
"You're right. It's just hard waiting for that day to come."
"It will be here sooner than you think."
Ty Lee awoke late morning to find herself alone in their room with Katara, who was busy reading a scroll. She shifted in her bed, the rustling of sheets alerting the waterbender.
"Oh, you're awake!" she said, a faint blush tingeing her cheeks red as she put down the scroll and moved over toward the bed. "How are you feeling?"
Ty Lee mentally checked over her body. "A little better than yesterday, but I'm still hurting a bit."
"Do you want some more pain medicine?"
Ty Lee considered it for a moment, and then decided on a better option. "I think just your waterbending should be enough," she said with a smile.
"Alright," Katara said, drawing water to her hands and standing at the head of Ty Lee's bed.
The acrobat let out a sigh of relief as Katara's hands moved across her scalp. "That feels nice," she murmured, feeling the pain recede.
Next Katara moved to the girl's ribs—she wouldn't be able to work on her leg and arm again until the splints came off. She carefully drew Ty Lee's shirt up. There was still some skin discoloration, but the deep purple bruising was long gone.
As Katara worked, Ty Lee found herself wishing that those hands would touch her in other places—with or without the water.
"Listen, Ty Lee," Katara's voice cut into her musings. She hesitated for a moment, but then soldiered on. "I'm sorry if Azula and I disturbed your sleep last night. I got a little carried away."
The waterbender was now blushing a furious shade of red, and Ty Lee couldn't help but giggle in response. "Don't worry about it," she replied playfully. "It didn't bother me."
Katara looked at her doubtfully.
"Seriously, don't worry about it, sweetie," Ty Lee insisted, winking at the other girl.
Katara blinked. "Is she flirting with me?"
The acrobat laughed lightly again and closed her eyes, focusing on their chi mingling together and leaving Katara to wonder what just had happened.
"You're healing much faster than other patients I've had with the same injuries," Jalus remarked as he looked over Ty Lee. "Then again, I've never had the pleasure of working with another healer who was a waterbender."
"Yeah, Katara's helped me a lot," Ty Lee agreed with a smile. "Jalus?" she asked suddenly.
"Hmm?"
"Is there anyway I could go outside?" Ty Lee asked the healer, her large grey eyes imploring. It was killing her to stay confined to one place for so long.
"Of course," he replied kindly. "I'll be right back."
He returned moments later, pushing in a small wheelchair and bringing it up beside her bed. Careful to mind her still healing breaks, he cradled her in his arms and easily lifted her up and into the wheelchair.
"You'll need someone to push you around, but this way you won't have to stay here all the time. Why don't I take you out back?" he said as he began to push her out the door.
"That sounds wonderful," she replied, happy just to be able to breathe fresh air again.
"Is it alright if I leave you here?" Jalus asked as he rolled the wheelchair to a stop beside the bench running along the back of the hut. There was an overhang here that provided shade from the heat of the summer sun.
"This is fine. Thanks, Jalus," she said as her eyes landed on Azula moving through her katas sans fire. The firebender paused in between forms to look over at the acrobat in acknowledgement of the other girl. Ty Lee briefly wondered where everyone else was.
The healer took his leave then while Ty Lee continued to watch her friend go through her forms. It was obvious that she had been going for quite awhile. Ty Lee had watched Azula do them countless times—to the point where she knew them all and the order the firebender would always follow.
Gone were the heavy clothes that Azula had been wearing for most of their trip. Now she was wearing attire much more suitable for training in the summer heat. It also did little hide her newly formed scars on her legs—they peaked out from beneath her cropped pants. The scars on her torso were still hidden, as Azula favored a light sleeveless tunic. Still, Ty Lee was happy to see that Azula was learning to live with her scars instead of being ashamed of them.
"No fire?" she asked as Azula finished her final form.
"No, it's not a good idea," the firebender replied, wiping her brow with a towel. "This is an Earth Kingdom town—they don't like the Fire Nation too much," she frowned, tossing the towel over her shoulder as she walked over to Ty Lee. "Hopefully, that will change soon."
"That would be good. It's always better when people get along," she said with a determined nod. "Are you done training?"
"For now," Azula replied, taking a seat on the bench beside Ty Lee's wheelchair. She grimaced as she took in the sight of her injured friend. It was so strange to see her normally active friend bound like this. "How are you holding up?"
"Alright, I guess," she said with a shrug before brightening a bit. "Katara's really helped me a lot though. She's pretty amazing."
"She is," Azula agreed, a slight smile gracing her lips then as she thought of the waterbender.
"You've really helped a lot too," she said, placing her left hand on top of Azula's and gazing at her adoringly.
Azula didn't know what to say but was glad that she was able to do something to comfort Ty Lee. Then she noticed the acrobat's gaze lingering on her a little longer than usual. There was a hint of something that went beyond adoration in her gray eyes that the firebender couldn't quite place, but it made her heart speed up.
"Can I ask you something, Azula?" the acrobat asked, her tone innocent but her eyes belying another motive.
"You can ask, but I won't promise to give you an answer," Azula replied, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
"When did you know you liked girls?"
"Where are you going with this, Ty Lee?" Azula thought before finally deciding to answer her question and find out. "I don't know really. I suppose it was sometime in the spring that I started to seriously consider it. I just never liked the idea of having a boyfriend or a boy's affections. But you know that already. We talked about it in Ba Sing Se."
Ty Lee nodded and then turned her head on one side. "Was Katara the first girl you were interested in?"
"No," Azula paused, hesitating before deciding to just tell her the truth. "You were."
It felt strange to finally admit that. Her sexuality wasn't really something she often talked about, even with Katara.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Azula huffed. "You were always going on about some boy or another. Besides, there were more important things to worry about at the time, like carrying out the will of my father." She frowned, and Ty Lee looked at her sympathetically. "Or at least it seemed that way." Azula sighed, shaking her head to push those thoughts of her father away.
Ty Lee gently squeezed Azula's hand in a gesture of comfort before letting her fingers lightly playing against the firebender's arm. Soon, her touch became more like a caress. Azula swallowed hard. She was suddenly very aware of Ty Lee, her touch, and how she was reacting to it.
"I thought you liked boys," Azula said a little shakily.
"I do. But I realized I like girls too."
"Since when?"
"Well, I've liked you for awhile actually. I just didn't realize it for what it was until I was watching you and Katara the other night."
"Oh," Azula replied, looking away and blushing slightly, feeling herself grow warm at the memory of what Ty Lee had seen. But then the realization of what the acrobat had just admitted to her sank in, leaving her feeling somewhat confused.
Ty Lee stilled her wandering hand and opted for silence, allowing Azula time to process this information before making her next move.
Azula tried to figure out what would be the right thing to say or do. Ty Lee was, in fact, the person who made her start questioning her sexuality. And her attraction to Ty Lee hadn't ever really gone away—but Azula had always been more content to look rather than act on it. What she felt for Katara was deeper. The waterbender had been there during the most trying time in her life, keeping her from falling apart physically and emotionally. But now that she knew Ty Lee reciprocated her attraction, it changed everything.
"I don't know what to say, Ty Lee," Azula admitted, looking back up at her friend.
"How do you feel about me now?"
"I still find you desirable, but I'm with Katara now, and I don't want to mess that up."
"I don't want you to mess that up either," Ty Lee said sincerely.
"Then why are you telling me this?" she asked, genuinely confused. "You backed off Sokka once you knew about Suki."
"That's true, I did. But Sokka was just a passing fancy."
"And I'm not?"
"No, Azula, you're not," she said, interlacing her fingers with Azula's. "It's different with you. It always has been. You're the princess, and you deserve to be admired."
Desire was plainly showing in Ty Lee's eyes now, and Azula felt herself getting drawn in. The urge to kiss the acrobat was overwhelming. Powerless to stop it, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Ty Lee's.