A/N: Now I've walked through hell for you. What's an adventurer to do? Love and be loved. Read… and review!

Breathless

[Summer 115 AG]

Every time the brunette from the Fire Nation arrives in town, their ritual always starts in the same place.

Azula leaves the door open today. She's done this once before, during another visit. She had just left the door wide open so Ty Lee could walk right in when she arrived. It's a testament to the environment of Lanxi. During the warmer months it's nice enough to just keep the door open, let the breeze blow in, and keep the whole house cool. It's the standard across all but a select few secluded families. Azula used to count herself amongst that grouping. But not anymore.

Today, Azula is occupied with final preparations for her girlfriends' arrival, as well as the big night for all of Lanxi. She's been planning everything for so long. She rehearses everything in her head over and over again. She sits at her writing desk and pours over the papers. The thirty year old woman is so in her head that she doesn't see the figure appear in her doorway.

"Asuna?"

Her head turns to the entrance. She recognizes the figure. She swipes a stray hair out of her face.

"Hey."

She locks eyes with the family grey ones. It takes a moment but she sees something sad and yet serious in them.

"What's wrong?"

Ty Lee breathes in through the nose and holds it. She doesn't want to start a fight. She wants to start the ritual in the same place. Yet traveling all this way has only driven home the thought in her mind. She exhales out through the mouth.

"He deserves to know."

Azula narrows her eyes.

"Ty."

"You weren't there, Asuna," she uses the safe name since the door is still open. "I was there. You have no idea. The pain. The hurt."

Azula stands. She feels the emotional baggage that Ty Lee has been holding in. In her voice and in her eyes. Etched in the very lines on her face. A younger Azula would fight her, argue, and try to explain.

"Okay," she says.

This Azula doesn't do any of that.

"You can't tell him, but if he ever asks, if anyone ever asks," the golden eyed woman pauses.

She simply compromises.

"You can tell them. But only if they ask."

The relief is visible. The love of her life exhales greatly. Ty Lee feels her chakras open up for the first time in months. She smiles wide and then squeals as she launches herself at the smaller woman. Azula's eyes go wide in shock as Ty Lee crashes into her. They fall onto the floor and fall into a fit of giggles.

A sort of peace and calm comes over the brunette with grey eyes. It leaves Ty Lee practically breathless.

Every time the brunette from the Fire Nation arrives in town, their ritual always ends in the same place.

Ty Lee lies in bed, staring up at the familiar ceiling. Azula, unexpectedly, stands up. She tries to control her breathing after a particularly fierce 'ritual.' She makes her way to a hidden corner and unveils her surprise.

"I can't tell you how much time I've spent on this, Ty."

"Hmm?"

Azula approaches with a dead flower. As she crosses into the darkness again though, the flower comes to life. "Lonou and Roland have been helping me with this for a long time. You might recognize from the Palace-"

"Moon Flowers!"

Ty Lee jumps alive, rolling out of bed and quickly coming to Azula's side. She marvels at the pale flower as the former princess hands it to her. The brunette comments, "These were always my favorite! I love them!"

"I know."

Ty Lee raises her head. She looks away from the flowers and to the woman. Azula smirks.

"This is the first, but it won't be the last."

"I don't care what anyone says," Asuna shouts over the room. "I don't trust water benders! Never have, never will!"

"I concur!" Lonou responds.

"Oh come on," Roland groans from his seat.

Quietly, to the woman sitting beside her, Ty Lin tells Alane, "See, I know where that comes from, and I get it, but I don't agree."

"He's a shit healer on top of that. Can't handle anything complicated." Lonou adds.

"He's the only water bender in all of Lanxi!" Roland tries to argue.

"That's true," Ty Lin agrees.

"He's from the South Pole," Azula practically spits out. "You can trust anyone from the south pole."

Alane asks, "Any particular reason for that?"

There's a pause as the room goes quiet. All eyes and ears at the dinner table turn to Asuna. She opens her mouth but doesn't reply right away. She seems stuck in time, unsure of what to say. Finally she offers, "Personal experience."

The group looks around at each other before bursting out in laughter. As the laughter begins to die down Alane proclaims, "Everyone just relax and leave it alone. Haroq will be on sight for my due date and he will be fine and we will all be fine."

Asuna worries but Ty Lin offers assurances, "Absolutely. You will be fine and your baby girl, or baby boy, will be fine."

"Speaking of which, have you all settled on a name?" Asuna inquires.

"We have!" Alane chirps with a curl of her lips.

No other comment comes so Asuna asks, "Well?"

"Well, we're not telling any of you!"

Alane gets a chorus of disgruntled 'boos' in response, but she is unmoved. Lonou gets a large smirk on his face. Seeing this, Ty Lin offers, "I bet we could pull it out of the future father."

He grows gruff and stops smiling and tries to be serious. He huffs and stutters, "N-no, I wouldn't."

The room erupts in laughter again, this time at Lonou's expense. From there the conversation flows on to a new topic. Drinks are had, food is ate, laughs are shared, the sun has set, and the candles are lit by the lone fire bender in Lanxi. The discussion eventually winds back to her incoming guests.

"You don't think they'll get lost in the village?"

"They shouldn't, I gave very clear instructions."

"Oh, of course, therefore it's impossible to still get lost." Ty Lin chides her.

"Sort of like your instructions for this 'talent contest' tonight, yes?" Alane pokes.

Asuna smiles slyly at the matriarch of Lanxi. She asks, "What about it?"

"Well I just think it's an awful lot of work for you and the townsfolk. I'm just wondering what's in it for you? Perhaps a hidden prize?"

Laughing, Asuna replies, "No, of course not. Just pride. Pride for being the most talented, but also pride for all that the people in Lanxi can do. Pride in us."

Alane pursues her, "And you vetted all the performances yourself?"

"Roland and I did, yes."

"That's right, I helped."

Lonoue groans, "Wish you'd included me, Asuna."

Turning her head slightly, Asuna replies, "Roland can actually keep a secret, unlike some people."

There is more laughter at Lonou's expense but he stays level headed as he tries to convince everyone, "I think I could keep your secrets better than you think!"

The group continues to laugh and enjoy conversation. The yarn spins onward for several more minutes before finally there's a knock on the door. Alane rises and approaches. She opens it and a portly, dark skinned man stands opposite of her. He dawns a cautious smile as he asks, "Is this the residence of the Village Elder Lonou, and his wife Alane?"

A thunder of footsteps behind Alane alerts her to step aside. A voice shouts excitedly, "LIN!"

Just as Alane is moving out of the way, a woman with black hair streaks through the doorway and crashes into the man, wrapping him in a bear hug. He welcomes her and holds tight for the first time in many moons. He honestly can't remember ever having this sort of affection from the fire bender.

As if remembering herself, she steps back and adjusts her clothes quickly. She brushes herself off and takes on a more reserved nature. She offers a hand as she says, "Ahem. Apologies."

He likes playfully as he takes her hand and shakes it. "It's good to see you again too, Asuna."

From the dinner table, Ty Lin stands. She slowly approaches the arriving guests. She hardly recognizes this man but she does all the same. The last time she had seen him felt like a lifetime ago. It was sunset at a dock in Baochou. He didn't look much older, but a few more lines upon his face said otherwise. His black eyes turn away from Asuna and come to meet with her grey ones.

"Ms. Ty Lin," he says warmly. "It has been some time, hasn't it?"

"Almost a decade. Over a decade?"

"Almost 9 years to the day, actually."

Ty Lin cocks an eyebrow at this. "I see. Nine years. Lot has changed."

"You could say that." He hums with a smile.

Beside him a woman clears her throat. This draws Lin's attention and he remembers his place. He nearly jumps as he says, "Ah! Yes! Apologies. Ty Lin, Alane, this is my family. My wife, Ai Zhou, my boy, Roka, and my girl, Yuku."

After a moment of silence, Lin puts his hands on the back of his children and prompts them to move forwards. He whispers, "Don't be shy, say hello to Daddy's old friends."

Roka is older and slightly taller, but looks fear stricken. Yuku, holding his hand, seems like she wishes to disappear on the spot, head bowed, afraid to look up. Asuna, Lin, and Alane begin conversing on their own. Ty Lin squats down to be on their level. Roka reluctantly looks her in the eye now. She smiles as she says, "Hello! It's nice to meet you both. Can I ask how old you two are?"

Meekly, Roka offers, "I'm about to turn 9."

After a squeeze in the palm of his hand, Roka offers, "And she's 5."

"Nine! Wow! So I met your father right before you were born."

A voice from above interrupts, "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Ty Lin looks up. She rises and comes face to face with Ai Zhou. Asuna had said she was beautiful but that had been an understatement. She has piercing green eyes, and thick black hair. There's a thin scar line under her left eye and yet it seems to accentuate her appearance, rather than detract from it. Her cheekbones are very high. She has a flat chest and long legs. She smiles widely at the brunette. She says to Ty Lin, "It's also nice to see Asuna again. It's been far too long."

Trying to feel the woman out Ty Lin asks, "Have you known her long?"

"You could say so." Ai Zhou says while dawning a mischievous smile.

The hallway roars with footsteps as the entire household approaches. Asuna announces as she arrives at the doorway, "Alright! Shall we head out?"

There isn't time for agreement or pause, Asuna immediately heads for the door, flings it open, and walks out. Everyone follows suit. As they are leaving, Ty Lin whispers to Ai Zhou, "I'd love to hear more about the Asuna that you knew."

With a light chuckle, Ai Zhou replies in her own whisper, "I could tell quite the tale about the Asuna I once knew."

It's only a four minute walk to the dance hall, where the big production will be held. Nonetheless, in that time, Asuna had fallen back from leading the pack and now walks beside her beloved. They make idle chit chat until the building comes into view. It's subtle, but Ty Lin feels her palm squeeze a little tighter, and a hitch in the breath of Asuna. She stops in place and prevents the organizer from moving forward. The rest of the group keeps going. Asuna turns her golden eyes to the one keeping her still.

When they are alone at last, Ty Lee asks her, "Are you ok?"

Azula tries to smile but it comes across as forced. She looks all around, anywhere but at Ty Lee. She offers, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sensing something more, Ty Lee chides her, "Is the great 'Asuna' actually nervous about something?"

"Leave it alone, Ty." She says weakly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she lies. "You're just so cute when you get flustered."

"I just," Azula starts and then stops, head bowed away.

Ty Lee can tell this is something more serious. She lifts a hand up to her chin and drags the girls face towards her until they're seeing eye to eye. "You just what, Asuna?"

The eye contact is all the reassurance she needs. She smiles, "I just want this to go perfectly."

Ty Lee smiles. She tells her, "If it's something you've planned, then it can only go perfectly."

Azula takes her hand again. She squeezes it. They lean in for a soft peck on the lips. With a smile, they move forward into the dance hall to set up for the talent contest.

An hour or so later, the room is bustling. Villagers throughout Lanxi have arrived and are socializing. Their daily struggles are put aside momentarily as they congregate and drink. Ty Lin approaches Asuna, who is busy micromanaging every aspect of the show. Wrapping an arm around her waist, she leads her away from the host of the talent show. She'd been busy bombarding the poor boy with minute details and notes. He was thankful to have the ring leader pulled away.

"Look at this," Ty Lin whispers as she leads her lover away. "Look at all the people. Look at them. They're carefree and happy. Look at what you've given them!"

"Yes, well," Asuna starts with a huff. "The food wasn't perfectly cooked, and the h'orderves were late, and my Agni there are more people here than I thought there would be."

Taking a sip from her own drink as they come to a stop, Ty Lin offers, "Well, the talent contest may have brought them in, but it's the good, free cactus juice that's keeping them here."

"Who said it was free? Are we not charging for that? I told them-"

"Me. I said it was free, so it's free."

Asuna huffs as Ty Lin giggles. Resigned, she replied, "Well does it have to be the good cactus juice then?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. We don't want people to think we're cheap or don't know how to throw a party."

The two women share a laugh at this in their own little corner of the event. Just as they do though, the young boy who Asuna had previously cornered goes to the front of the room and stands up on a stage. It takes him a moment but he gathers the attention of the crowd. He announces that his name is Fuono and he will be the host for the night. He thanks everyone for joining and encourages them to keep drinking to their heart's content, much to the chagrin of the lone fire bender present. He thanks Lonou, Roland, and Asuna for planning the festivities for everyone. Finally, he welcomes their first performance up to the stage: an earth bender who can bend by singing.

"I need to use the bathroom before this ends, I'll be right back."

Asuna excuses herself and leaves Ty Lee and Alane together in their little corner. Fuono returns to the stage as the applauding comes to an end. He checks his note cards again and then speaks.

"Thank you again to Na Hava, for their thrilling showcase of Lanxi trivia by answering," he checks his notes again. "14 questions in 5 minutes! Wow!"

The crowd gives another half-hearted applause, while the elder Na Hava smiles on proudly from the audience, offering a hand wave to everyone. When that ends again, Fuono announces, "Well, we have one last performance for tonight. But first, while I may have been your host for the night, the entirety of this talent contest came from our very own Asuna, who would like to say a few words!"

The crowd lightheartedly claps as Ty Lin leans to Alane and asks, "I thought she was going to the bathroom?"

Alane doesn't reply. Asuna stands on the stage and addresses the crowd. She motions with her hands as she says, "Thank you so much for coming to what I hope will be the first of many talent contests here at Lanxi's Dance Studio."

There's another round of applause at this that stops Asuna. After a moment she continues, "Lonou, Roland, and I are so excited you could all be with us tonight. I know everyone has been drowning in the cactus juice-"

"Oh yeah!" A particularly inebriated Lanxian shouts, with much laughter in response from everyone present.

Asuna takes a moment to breathe. In through the nose, and then out through the mouth. She starts up again after that moment of silence. "So, before we close our festivities for the night, we have one last performance. Which I will be doing."

The crowd ooh's and ahh's, while Ty Lin turns to Alane. "What? Did you know about this?"

Alane doesn't reply. She just smiles, and then wraps an arm around Ty Lin. She gives a soft squeeze and whispers, "No running away now, dearie."

Asuna shouts over the crowd murmurings, "I'd like to dedicate this to a very special someone in my life."

There is quiet for just a moment. A certain brunette with grey eyes grows bashful. She is surprised and doesn't want to draw any attention. She tries to slink away, further into their dark corner, but Alane keeps her in place. The crowd tries to look around for who Asuna may be talking about.

"Ty Lin!" Asuna shouts, pointing in her direction so everyone can find her.

"Oh my Agni!" Ty Lin mutters under her breath.

"There she is. Right there," Asuna says with much snickering from the audience. "That's her. Can't miss her."

Ty Lin forces a smile, giggle, and waves to the crowd.

"You see," Asuna announces. "A little over a year ago, she told me to, quote, 'write me a poem why don't you?'"

All eyes drag back towards the woman on the stage.

"So I wrote her a poem. It's titled, 'Breathless.'"

She reaches into her pocket and produces a piece of parchment. She unfurls it, scans the page, then curls it back up and sticks it back in her pocket. She steps up on the stage and looks out across the crowd. She recites it from heart.

"The other night I had a dream," she starts. "And I assure it was not all that it seems."

Ty Lin's mind runs wild. She stares in wonder and fear and excitement as she watches Asuna on the stage. The poet continues, "I dreamt I ruled the world. Men would kneel when I said the word."

Lonou hasn't heard this before. Roland hasn't heard this before. Not Alane, not Lin, not Ai Zhou, not anyone. They all stand and watch and listen to every word.

"There was never a fight I'd run from. An empire built from fire and blood."

"All of my enemies were so helpless," she smiles deviously. "As I left every one of them breathless."

There are some snickers from the crowd. Ty Lin realizes that Asuna is not up on the stage. She is watching Azula. She is watching her confess to the crowd. To her. Not to Ty Lin. To Ty Lee.

'What comes next?'

"This dream clung to me for the longest time," she pauses. "So long that I couldn't say goodbye."

"I was just a bird that was caged. The fire burning around me wouldn't fade."

"I thought I held all the strings, but I didn't control anything."

"The dirt piled on me was endless, I was suffocated," she pauses again. She looks out at the audience. "I was breathless."

Ty Lee becomes aware that she's holding her own breath. She tries to breathe but she is captured by the moment.

"But in this dream, there was a girl," Azula looks out at her. They lock eyes for a moment. "She searched for me in every corner of the world."

"She searched until I was found. She wouldn't let me drown."

"She wouldn't let me die. She holds me now when I cry."

The familiar prickle at her eyes stings Ty Lee. She feels the tears forming.

"Forever seeking your forgiveness," Azula says while taking a pause and collecting herself. "For when I tried to leave you breathless."

There are some longer stares at Ty Lin now from the crowd. She pays them no mind. Asuna clears her throat and stands up straight. She continues.

"I am a roaring dragon, descending from the skies. I am a caged bird freed, now watch me fly."

Ty Lee remembers the notepad and the words scribbled. She remembers the nightmare and holding her and all the others. She remembers them all.

"I found treasures at the bottom of the sea. And I am much more than what you see. I am the greatest, it's true. But I'd be nothing, without you."

The tears flow freely from Ty Lee now. Alane squeezes her arm around her and whispers, "Oh Ty Lin. Oh girl, I know."

"No time to dream, now I am restless. Because her love for me leaves me breathless."

Azula takes a breath and for a moment the only sound in the room is the sob from the brunette in the corner. The Asuna before them smiles wide. She gestures once more with her hands.

"The other night I had a dream. And when I woke, I didn't scream. With her by my side, nothing will be the same. The only one who can call me by my name."

Ty Lee blinks and looks up at her. Her Azula.

"She has made a home from my house. She tells me, 'In through the nose, out through the mouth.'"

There's a sly smile on her face as she reaches her ending.

"Breathing techniques to stress less," she says with a pause. She looks all around the room and takes in all of their stares.

"You see, she's teaching me to breathe less."

She stops, then smiles, and finally steps back. The crowd applauds loudly in her honor. Alane holds Ty Lin and provides a shoulder for her to cry on. When Azula steps off the stage, Lin is the first to greet her with a monstrous hug. He whispers just five words to her.

"I'm so proud of you."

A/N: This Chapter's OST is "I Want To Know Your Plans" by Say Anything.

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious