Sealed With a Kiss

22. Detention

Ty Lee shows up at detention with the knowledge that her parents are going to scream at her or ground her. Her teacher sighs and studies her for a moment, and Ty Lee's gut twists with the sensation of failure. And then the vibrations of the room shift when someone else walks inside and sits down beside Ty Lee.

Azula.

"P-princess?" asks the teacher, looking stunned.

Ty Lee taps her foot for a moment, unable to contain the excitement of Azula coming to bust her out of her temporary prison. But Azula simply clasps her hands on the desk in absolute silence.

"I'm here for detention," Azula says smoothly and Ty Lee squints at her. The teacher looks even more confused than Azula's crush. "Which I was given, and you will respect."

The small underlying threat in the preteen princess's words is enough to make the teacher inhale sharply and force herself to nod. It is a strange occurrence, but she knows far better than to question it. People do disappear these days, after all.

Azula picks at her fingernails. She got in but what comes next she is unsure of. Mai did not specify what she was supposed to do once she snuck into detention with Ty Lee.

Ty Lee sets her chin on her palm, used to this routine. But occasionally her eyes flicker up to Azula.

The door then opens again, and the teacher's eyebrows touch her hairline.

"I'm here for detention," says the mildly defeated voice of a girl with ribbons in her raven hair. Azula's gilded eyes flash like shined jewelry in brief excitement before Ty Lee looks her way and she quickly tries to regain composure.

"You... uh... what did you do?"

"Killed a man." Mai sits down beside Azula as the teacher wonders if she should reprimand the girl for making a snarky comment. But this is far too confusing, so she just studies the tests in front of her. "I'm here to save you," Mai murmurs to Azula. "My parents are going to murder me, so I hope this is worth it."

Azula smirks at her as she glances at Ty Lee.

They share a thousand silent glances, and a thousand more. And those glances speak much, much louder than words.

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23. I Like You Like You

Azula does not make a move as she planned to do. She just sat in detention and was quiet as she gazed at Ty Lee weakly. Ty Lee kept glancing at Azula, her heart fluttering, but she did not know what to say about that.

"Azula," Ty Lee says softly, walking to the princess, "thank you for making my detention less awful."

Even though you're the reason I got it.

They are alone right now; no one is here yet to pick up Azula. And Mai was immediately whisked away by her humiliated mother. Azula and Ty Lee stare at each other as the autumn breeze swirls across the front of the Ladies Academy.

"Well, of course. I am the Crown Princess and I will accept my mistakes," Azula says royally and Ty Lee looks at her with a sheepish grin. "I did get you thrown into detention."

"It was nice." Ty Lee is blushing more fiercely and Azula does not know what to make of it.

"Are you cold?" Azula blurts out and Ty Lee is unsure what to say. "Your cheeks are just... very red. You must be cold."

Ty Lee looks at Azula and thinks about the million glances they shared during detention. The glances that made Ty Lee have hope in her heart about their meerpuppy love for the first time in her entire life.

"The opposite of that, actually," Ty Lee says softly as she scuffles over to Azula. "I... Azula... I like you like you and I've always liked you liked you for my whole life."

She flinches as if something is thrown at her when she sees Azula's poorly masked surprise.

Azula hesitates. "Of course you do. Who wouldn't?"

Breathless for a moment.

Ty Lee looks at her, "You're perfect. And I love you. Will you... be my... girlfriend?"

Azula feels very awkward.

"Yes," Azula says with a curt nod. "Yes, I will accept your offer."

Ty Lee grins, managing to prevent herself from giggling in excitement.

"So you like me like me then?" Ty Lee asks, sidling even closer.

"As your girlfriend, of course I like you like you."

Azula is expressionless. Ty Lee is smiling wider than her own face.

Oh, yes, this is their awkward prepubescent affair.

But Azula is perfect, and Ty Lee is perfect for her, and so they are perfect together.

(Or so they both think)

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24. Confession

"Father," Azula says as she sits down at the very lonely dinner table. He looks up at her, expecting mundane small talk, as is socially acceptable. "I have a girlfriend."

He cannot suppress his laughter at the absurdity. "You're twelve. She's not your girlfriend."

"I would like to go on a date with her, father."

More laughter. Azula wants to melt into the floor in humiliation. She hopes she has not disappointed her father.

"Fine," he agrees, shaking his head slowly.

It is mostly because he just wants to know who on Earth it is that his daughter thinks she loves.

Meerpuppy love has always disgusted him, but he finds it funny and endearing on his beloved daughter.

A well supervised date would not hurt anyone.

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25. A Romantic Walk

"So, you like me?" Ty Lee asks again, for the millionth time today.

They are walking through the gardens of the courtyard on a very supervised date, and the birdsong is occasionally broken by the loud smashing of a woodpecker in the distance.

"I refuse to repeat myself," Azula says sharply and Ty Lee blushes regardless.

Ty Lee's first crush is not the best person. But she is pretty sure that she is destined to one day marry Azula, and to be Fire Lady and to have her babies. Or something like that, even if Azula tries so hard to be cold and not to care.

Azula does nothing romantic; Ty Lee likes to pretend that she does.

It is today that they attempt to share their first kiss. Ty Lee leans in for it, negating Azula's constant desire to be in control. Their lips miss and Ty Lee's damp lower lip streaks across Azula's cheek.

They stare at each other, mortified, and pretend that it never happened.

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26. A Not-So-Grand Finale

"I hope you have fun," Azula says coldly and Ty Lee knows that she wants Ty Lee to know that she is lying.

Ty Lee feels terrible about leaving for the circus. She knows that Mai is moving; but Ty Lee had no idea that Mai would be moving when she decided to pursue her calling. That makes it hurt more, and it hurts even worse when she knows that she is leaving Azula.

Azula was pulled out of school by her father. Their supervised and awkward dates have come to a distinct halt as Ozai focuses on his daughter as an invaluable resource, and considers her blossoming childhood romance to be nothing more than a distraction.

But Ty Lee just looks at her as the people boarding the ship wait for the young woman they are to escort.

"I love you," Ty Lee says softly and Azula pointedly averts her eyes. "And we're going to see each other soon, I promise. You can't get rid of me very easily, if you remember how our friendship started."

Ty Lee smiles when Azula's eyes have a small glint to them as she remembers how they became friends. That was a very long time ago, but Azula does not imagine it is going to be forgotten too easily.

"Maybe I'll come watch a show," Azula says softly and Ty Lee grins.

They stare at each other, having nothing else to say. Azula has never been expressive, and Ty Lee has always been afraid to show sadness. Ty Lee doesn't do sadness, even though her heart is so swollen.

Azula starts to walk away, back to the guards who will escort her back to the forest. She does not even say goodbye. And so Ty Lee reaches forward and grabs her wrist, and then touches their lips together.

The first kiss, the first kiss that they never managed to execute. Azula cannot hide the blush on her cheeks and Ty Lee cannot hide the pounding of her heart as she does something risky.

"Goodbye," Ty Lee says and Azula nods.

"Goodbye," she says, even though that makes her feel like it is so permanent.

Azula leaves then, as quickly as her slender legs can carry her.

Ty Lee studies her feet.

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27. A Lonely Princess

Azula does not very easily fit into her life after Ty Lee and Mai are gone. It is easy for her to go through the motions, to go through the work and effort she has to put into becoming Fire Lord one day.

But she does not think she is ever going to see either of them again.

And that should not bother Azula. She does not have friends and Azula does not need friends.

"Ultimately," her father says and Azula just squints at him, "we're all individual people who need to take our own journeys. They are taking theirs; you can't delay your own."

"I'm better than an individual person," Azula says.

"Of course you are." He looks at her and she tries to act like his advice is helpful to her.

But she does not want them to be individuals who must take their own journeys.

Azula wants Mai and Ty Lee to follow Azula to the ends of the Earth, and Azula does not want to ever take a journey alone.

And that is a weak quality she has to hide at all costs if she wants to have the crown on her head.

.

.

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end part one