+Gently Down the Stream+

Azula and Ty Lee sit in an inn room on the morning after their wedding night. They have yet to tell anyone where they went or that they have wed far ahead of schedule. No one in this gross town recognizes the princesses.

And Azula says over tea, "Doing spontaneous things is not as terrible as I always imagined."

Ty Lee smiles, truly content for the first time since she got engaged. Everything has been so stressful. "You never do anything you didn't plan for, do you?"

Azula says, "No, no I don't. I think that wedding was my first."

Ty Lee kisses her. "So, I have an idea for a honeymoon."

"Is it spontaneous and unplanned?"

"Of course it is. It's me." Ty Lee grins ear to ear.

"You were doing a lot of wedding planning."

"And it made me into a horrible and mean person. I'm not a planner." Ty Lee smiles. "So, I wanna steal a rowboat and lie down and see where we end up."

"I am not. . ." Azula sighs. "I hate water. It is not my element."

"We got engaged in water."

"By accident."

"Please give this a try with me. Let's just start our marriage by drifting away together. Nobody can find us. No Zuko or Mai or—"

"I will try it," Azula interrupts. "I like the idea of no one being able to find me."

"We could run away forever if you want."

"I wouldn't mind that, but then I would miss my life of luxury. As someone who has run away from home, it is terrible."

"I ran away from home."

"Yes, and you joined the circus. That is almost as interesting as me, but not quite."

"The circus is really interesting."

Azula smirks and sits down on the inn bed. It is not up for debate.

"I am infinitely more fascinating and exciting than you, which is why you are so lucky to have me. It is fortunate that you decided to make such an impulse decision and got married before I lost it and left you."

"It's really nice of you. I was just passionate about our wedding."

Azula again just smirks and Ty Lee takes her cue to drop the topic.

Ty Lee shrieks when she steps onto the stolen rowboat. The unattended kind seems to be the rickety kind. They, Azula that is, should have predicted this before they raced off to the crystalline mountain lake.

"Isn't it big?" Ty Lee asks as she finally settles down on the boat. Azula remains on the dock, having second thoughts again. It would be more like sixth thoughts. "The lake, not the tiny boat. I can't even see the other side. Who knows where we'll end up?"

"Somewhere on the shores of the lake. It isn't like a river or even a creek. The lake is completely enclosed," replies Azula, at last stepping onto the boat.

She sits down, then Ty Lee lies down, then she pushes on the dock and lies down.

At first, the panic sets in. They both hide it from each other. Ty Lee plasters a smile on her face despite screaming in her head and Azula keeps cold and collected.

"Should we have taken the oars with us?" Ty Lee whispers, setting her head down on Azula's shoulder. She leans in closer to her.

"Did you not take the oars with us?" Azula snaps, starting to jump up, but when the boat rocks, lying back down.

"It's okay, it's okay. No oars, no safety measures. We're just totally taking off into the uncharted waters of this big lake and marriage," Ty Lee says, stroking Azula's hair.

It is embarrassingly soothing.

"I will accept this," Azula says, closing her eyes.

They are in silence for several beautiful minutes.

"Is married life always so perfect?"

Azula opens one eye. "For us?"

"Uh huh."

She closes her eyes again. "It is more likely that Zuko will beat me in an Agni Kai, I will learn your sisters' names, and the sun will literally freeze over than us have a stable and happy marriage. We couldn't even find a stable and happy rowboat."

The sun is too warm on Ty Lee's face for her to stop smiling over that statement.