AN: This chapter is for Tyzula Month, and the next chapter probably will be too.

I Still Love You, Baby

9. Don't Cry

Ty Lee is just walking around, getting ready for bed, when she suddenly feels herself tear up. And then she progressively breaks down for absolutely no reason, sobbing wretchedly. She cannot understand it; perhaps it is something about all of the stress she has been under lately.

She expects to drag herself out of this breakdown herself, but her girlfriend shows up. Ty Lee feels like a despicable person; Azula already has to deal with a crying baby. She does not need a crying girlfriend.

Girlfriend! Ty Lee cannot fathom why Azula has not made more of a commitment! Do they need any more evidence that they are perfect for each other? That they are lost without each other? They have been through so much and Azula still will not marry Ty Lee.

That just makes her cry harder.

Azula kneels beside Ty Lee and tries to figure out how to comfort her.

She ends up saying, "Don't cry," and patting Ty Lee on the shoulder.

It helps, as awkward and cold as it is.

.

10. War

Ty Lee asks out of nowhere one day as she sits in the sun with a baby and a princess, "Do you ever think about the war?"

"Constantly," Azula replies. "It rarely leaves my head. Does it ever enter yours?"

"Mhm. Sometimes." Ty Lee draws her knees to her chest. "Would you have married me if the Fire Nation didn't lose?"

"Well, you broke my heart and betrayed me, so no, probably not." Azula waits for a moment. "Maybe after a few years."

Ty Lee laughs. Then she says, "If that didn't happen. If none of it happened, if everything stayed like we thought it would be when we were kids, would you have married me?"

"Maybe," Azula replies, and she lies down with Izumi on her, letting the sun soak into her skin.

Ty Lee manages not to frown or cry again.

.

11. Vain

As Ty Lee gets dressed, Azula demands, "Put on that dress. I would like you in it."

Ty Lee giggles coyly. "I would like me in it too."

They are vain and they are young and they are stupid and Ty Lee still does not understand why Azula will not marry her.

"Oh, would you?" Azula purrs.

"Yeah. We're such a sexy couple. We're the sexiest couple in all of history," Ty Lee says, meaning every word.

Azula smiles faintly.

"I know it."

Ty Lee puts on the dress Azula likes.

Maybe that will make her marry her.

.

12. Midnight Walk

Azula wakes up Ty Lee in the middle of the night. Ty Lee punches upwards when she is jolted awake from her deep slumber and Azula is forced to dodge the potential blow.

"Get up. I want you to take a walk with me," Azula softly orders, whispering it in Ty Lee's ear.

Ty Lee dizzily sits up. "Are you sure we should go out? It's late and cold and I'm kinda scared because you hate nighttime."

Azula just smirks and asks, "Do you trust me?"

Ty Lee rubs her lips together and wonders if she should lie. She opts to tell the truth because she knows Azula would see right through a falsehood.

"Sometimes," she slowly says.

"Make this one of those times," replies Azula and Ty Lee cannot help but nod. She loves the woman; she could not say no to her if she tried.

They walk together beneath the shimmering stars and the pale moon. The air smells sweet and fragrant like all of the Fire Nation flowers that grow wildly in the metropolitan area, and it feels warm as it brushes against their faces.

"Caldera is so quiet. I guess I came out sometimes this late as a kid but it's been so long. It's as quiet as Kyoshi Island; I didn't know that was possible," Ty Lee gushes, taking Azula's hand. The princess lets her hold on which is progress.

Azula begins to walk. "I sneak out here often. I used to take midnight walks when I was on the run. They helped me clear my head. I prefer the sun, but the stars burn too."

Ty Lee smiles to herself.

She just enjoys the few minutes of silence while they walk side by side through empty streets.

.

13. Mistake

Panicked, Ty Lee begins to ramble, "Maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe we're a mistake. Are we a mistake? Are we? Are we a—"

Azula cuts her off with a kiss.

.

14. Something to Die For

Azula lays Izumi down and turns around to face Ty Lee, whom had been helping with getting the baby to sleep. They operate like a couple, but Ty Lee wonders how much of one they are.

"Would you fight for her?" Ty Lee was about to ask if Ty Lee would fight for their relationship but she was smart enough to change her mind midsentence.

"Of course. She is my child," says Azula. "But I hope I never have to die for her."

"Why? It'd prove you love her," Ty Lee says, hoping she does not sound as much like a fool as she thinks she does.

"In my life, I have had plenty of things to die for. Causes, my pride, my honor, those few people deserving of the privilege of my attention." Azula waits for her point to sink in before she continues. "Now I have something to live for. It's an odd feeling."

"You didn't have things to live for?" Ty Lee asks, cocking her head to the side.

"No. It was amazing every morning when I woke up and I hadn't killed myself," says Azula, her eyes glazing over. She looks through Ty Lee, not at her, which gives the acrobat chills. "I guess I didn't because of something about… tomorrow, and how there always is one."

"I'm glad tomorrows exist then," Ty Lee says, kissing Azula's cheek, then her neck.

Azula steps away and returns to watching her baby.

Ty Lee tries not to mind coming in second.

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15. Unlucky

"She is lucky. My baby is lucky. Luckier than me," says Azula, something she has declared to herself more than once, whenever she fears she has inherited some cruel curse.

Izumi cannot suffer from the same pain the royal family has. She simply cannot.

Azula lies down beside her cradle and murmurs that over and over again.

Ty Lee watches from the doorway, hoping she will not be seen, unable to intervene because she just doesn't know how.

She is not an expert in Azula's illness.

It makes her feel helpless.

Having a baby with Azula makes her feel helpless.

She is lucky for finding Azula; she is unlucky for finding the trouble that comes with the princess as a package deal.

Ty Lee tries to think of words to say but none of them are good enough.

She just watches.

Tries not to cry.

Loves so deeply and madly and truly that she feels like her heart might implode.

But why will Azula not make her the official mother?

Why will Azula not fully claim her?