Obsessions

38. The Avatar

Azula is sleepless as she plots and connives and demands information. She calls upon the infinite resources, but is very quiet about her true intentions. Ty Lee wonders if she should question her about the fact that she is focused much more on the Avatar than Zuko.

But Ty Lee keeps her mouth shut, because she sure does not have a death wish.

"You look worn out," Ty Lee suggests as she sits down beside Azula. Mai has already gone to bed, and Azula, of course had no problem with that.

"There simply aren't enough hours in the day," Azula says airily with an expression of cold displeasure.

"Maybe if you just focused on Zuko…" Ty Lee begins, but she trails off when Azula gives her a warning look. "Why are you so… like this? Not that you're bad. You're wonderful, but you've grown up a bit too much."

"I have grown up exactly as one would expect me to," Azula states coldly and Ty Lee frowns before replacing her sadness with a grin.

"Well, I support you. Even if we go get the Avatar too."

Ty Lee beams, but Azula ignores her.

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39. Beauty

Ty Lee's beauty ritual is lengthy, but necessary. She wakes much earlier than Azula and Mai in order to look her best during combat. Her bag of make-up was glared at by stodgy generals, but Azula defended it. Ty Lee thinks of it as glamor, but, more often than she should, she realizes that it is camouflage.

Azula is just as obsessed with beauty. But hers does not consist of smooth strokes of make-up brushes, and instead her nails digging deeply into any fault, which she will promptly set out to destroy.

She has so many scars, small, like imperfections in glass that appears smooth unless you look up close.

Ty Lee thinks that scars are more beautiful than smoothness, but Ty Lee is looking in a mirror and covering any of her imperfections as she thinks of it.

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40. Lightning

Learning to bend lightning at a young age has set Azula far apart from the crowd. She is talented, beautiful, great but terrible. Ty Lee likes to watch her train, but Ty Lee thinks perhaps the training is the only clarity and release that Azula gets.

Ty Lee feels that way when she stretches beneath the sunlight, and Ty Lee does that near Azula, so that she can watch the sparkling, beautiful, crackling blue bolts.

Azula notices, but she tries not to get too distracted.

Even if Ty Lee is very distracting.

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41. Success

"Your uncle is wounded. And the Avatar is on the move. We basically won."

"We didn't basically win! There is no such thing as basically winning! There is victory or loss and anything short of victory is loss!" Azula snarls with a flash of fire in her eyes. Azula is very quiet after that outburst, and takes a few deep breaths. "I didn't mean to shout at you."

Ty Lee is more startled by the apology than the offense.

"We'll win in the end. We always do," Ty Lee says fiercely and Azula frowns for a second.

"Not always." She is gone before Ty Lee can ask further.

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43. Attention

"Watch!" Ty Lee shouts again and Mai is about to use her for target practice. "Watch!"

They have just secured those Kyoshi Warriors girls as captives, captives who are certainly not as good as the Avatar. Azula finds them useful nonetheless, or, at least, catching them makes her ego a little less sore.

"Azula, watch her before I gouge your eyes out," Mai whispers and Azula ignores the punishable threat. It is just Mai being Mai and Azula is glad that at least Mai gives her no weird feelings and odd body temperatures.

"I am watching," Azula sighs as she looks at Ty Lee and her stupid fans. "That was good."

"I didn't even start yet!" Ty Lee wails, but Azula does not look up again.

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42. Your Lips

Ty Lee stares at Azula's lips, running her fingers on smooth wood and realizing how her mind has started to think about running her fingers on smooth skin. Azula held her hand, for a split second, as Ty Lee graciously and subserviently helped her over a puddle.

They are now at a fortress, and have received news from Ozai that he would like them to take a detour and head a project, since they are in the area. Something about a drill.

Azula notices Ty Lee staring at her lips, and she notices that she is staring back. The princess is hyperaware of how metallic and dry her lips taste, and she knows Ty Lee would not like that. She would be disgusted. Harshly, Azula realizes that she is thinking about Ty Lee tasting her lips.

This is the worst kind of distraction. The absolute worst.

They sit by the fire silently, both wanting to kiss the other, but too hesitant to make the move.