Kyoshi island.

Eleventh day of the second month.

Ty Lee woke up the next morning to find the other bed empty. The dressing gown she had put on a nearby chair was gone as well, so at least Azula was not walking around in just the thin nightdress. Even in summer, the mornings could be very cold on Kyoshi island. She quickly rolled out of her bed and slipped into a pair of brown pants and a loose green shirt which she pulled over her own nightdress.

That was when she heard it from outside the window: the sobbing of a woman. Ty Lee stuck her head out of the window to a view she had never expected to see. Azula was sitting on her knees on the grass with her hands before her face. Her shoulders shook with every sob, and the morning sun shone on her hands, showing them to be moist with tears.

Ty Lee didn't even need to think before she put her hands on the windowsill, lifting herself from the ground and bringing her legs over the rest of her in a graceful arc. Outside the window, her feet found the heavy wooden beam which supported the second floor of the house. Facing the rising sun, she bent her knees and hopped, throwing herself into a forward somersault and touching the ground with bent knees, making almost no sound.

This was not the first time she had used this escape. She shared the house with two other Kyoshi warriors, and even though they were good friends, in the beginning she sneaked out this way to be alone when she missed her old friends. And in this case, it was faster than running down the stairs.

Azula hadn't noticed the acrobatics behind her, and Ty Lee approached her carefully with too much sound.

"Azula?" she whispered as she reached out to put her hand gently on her friend's shoulder.

"I can't wake up Ty Lee. Why can't I wake up?" Azula said in a tone that almost broke Ty Lee.

Azula looked up, her eyes red with tears, making her look like a complete mess. Never before had she been so discomposed in the presence of Ty Lee.

"It's not fair. I know it's all a dream. This can't be real, it's too good to be real. It's only going to hurt more when I wake up the longer I dream."

"Azula," Ty Lee whispered as she knelt, almost choked up completely with tears, "This isn't a dream. I'm really here with you."

She pulled her friend against her. Such a show of affection would have earned her a shove and verbal lashing in the past, as Azula didn't show weakness or affection to anyone. Instead, Azula took Ty Lee in an iron embrace, and her sobs erupted into a loud, heartfelt crying.

"Its all right, I'm here for you Azula," was all Ty Lee could manage to whisper.

*And I will be here as long as you need me,* she thought to herself.

After half an hour, Ty Lee finally managed to coax Azula back inside and up the stairs. After setting her friend on the side of the bed, she got a bowl of water which she warmed quickly on a small fire in the corner, along with a washcloth. She stood before Azula and gently wiped the traces of the tears away, which was calmly allowed. On Azula's face, there was that stare again, deep into infinity that had scared Ty Lee so much in the prison.

"I did all that's within my skill. Her body will be fine, but the rest is going to be up to you Ty Lee."

Katara's words echoed in her mind. Only now, faced with the emotions of her friend, did she realize how difficult this might actually be.

Ty Lee quickly finished cleaning Azula and brought the washcloth over her own face. She would bathe later, when she didn't hear Azula's stomach rumbling anymore. Turning away, Ty Lee returned the bowl to the corner, emptying the contents in a small basin, one of Sokka's ideas to improve the village. It was all collected in a secluded spot, where it could wash into the sea.

"Thank you,"

Ty Lee jumped at the words, turning around to see something that dropped a weight from her chest. The black around Azula had become cracked, with many colors becoming visible. She was in an emotional turmoil, and she was still very close to giving up, but she was no longer completely emotionally broken.

"Let's get you dressed," Ty Lee suggested as she quickly took a few steps to the cabinet against the wall, a smile appearing on her lips. She kept her clothes here, both those from the Earth Kingdom and her Kyoshi uniform, as well as her old pink clothing and some Fire Nation sleepwear she sometimes used. Now, one shelf was filled with Azula's belongings, which Mai had quickly packed and sent along before they had left for the Air Temple.

Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder, seeing Azula in the green and yellow dressing gown.

*Green agrees with her, just like when we were in Ba Sing Se,* she thought to herself as she selected some of her own clothes for her friend. A simple pair of warm pants along with a sweater, with some of her own underwear, and one of Ty Lee's hair ribbons to tie Azula's black hair together. As she returned to the bed, she brought Azula to her feet, and began to help her out of the dressing gown.

Ty Lee led Azula down the main road of the village towards the building that had once been the home of Avatar Kyoshi, and was now used by the Kyoshi Warriors. They usually shared breakfast and dinner, but the other girls wouldn't be back for another week. Ty Lee left the others suddenly when she had a gut feeling that she needed to see Azula. If only she had gotten that feeling sooner.

She almost regretted not using that one certain pressure point on the prison guards. But the year with Suki had taught her not to kill anyone, no matter their misdeed. Besides, now those guards would spend years working hard labor in one of the coldest places in the world.

The simple table in the corner of the training building had been set for two, with some assorted fruit and light food that would be easy for Azula to digest. The pair sat down opposite each other, and Ty Lee filled the plates for the both of them. Azula was still allowing herself to be led along, and now began to eat slowly and methodically, not giving any sign of enjoying the taste.

They ate in silence, until Azula suddenly dropped the piece of pair she had been eating on the plate.

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" Ty Lee asked, putting the slice of bread with honey back on her plate.

"Why did he let me go? I would have killed him in that Agni Kai. Isn't he afraid I might try to come after him again? Then again, why bother. He probably told everyone I was killed, so I have nothing to have. I have nothing left..."

Ty Lee felt the tears creeping up at the corners of her eyes as she quickly got up and stepped around the table, kneeling besides Azula and giving her another hug.

"Don't say that. You have me. I promise you'll always have me, until the end."

The Earth Kingdom.

Ba Sing Se, the middle ring.

Thirteenth day of the second month.

"Three eleven!" a young voice filled with self-assurance filled the air.

In unison, seven right feet hit the ground, causing seven almost perfectly even-sized boulders to pull free from the ground and levitate at shoulder level. Immediately, seven fists shot out and punched the flying boulders and sent them in a horizontal line against a strong wall built at the end of the training ground.

"Four twenty-one!" the commanding voice called out.

The same right feet hit the ground again, this time creating slightly larger boulders. The seven earthbenders jumped into the air and turned in the air, kicking the boulders down towards the wall at a foot above the ground. All except one, the second boulder came late, and hit the ground completely, without even touching the wall.

"Chin, give me twenty!"

The second earthbender dropped himself to the ground, beginning to push himself up. As he reached ten, a slab of stone landed on his back, increasing the difficulty.

From the small platform she had created, Toph looked sternly upon her students. Two of them were talking together, laughing at Chin who was now struggling with the weight Toph had dropped on his shoulders. Toph shifted her foot and stomped her heel on the ground, sending two projectiles at the pair. One of them immediately turned to Toph as her heel hit and deflected the piece of rock coming to his stomach. His friend was less lucky, only managing to turn to Toph because of the action of the other, and he doubled over as the stone hit his stomach.

"Lee, thirty!"

Chin got back to his feet as Lee went to his hands, but this time, none of the teens dared to joke around. They stood perfectly straight, their eyes fixed on a spot on the wall.

"Most impressive. I didn't know you were training the new military," a friendly, old voice said from the gate which led to the streets of the massive city.

"All right, Shien, take over." Toph instructed as she hopped down from her platform, making place for her oldest and most promising student, while she made her way to the finest tea maker in the city.

"You were late again, so I brought the tea to you," Iroh said as he walked up to the self-appointed Greatest Earthbender in the World.

And honestly, she might be right. She could teach others to see through the ground like she did, but none of them had even come close to making a dent in a piece of metal yet.

"You see what I have to teach here," Toph said as way of apology as she kicked the ground near the far side of the courtyard, bringing a pair of chairs and a small table out from the ground.

They sat in silence as Iroh put the cups down and poured the tea. Until they had both finished their first cup, they didn't utter a word, the only sound that of Shien's orders, and admonishment when one of them made a mistake.

"I received a letter from Zuko today," Iroh said when Toph finally put down her cup, and he lifted the teapot to refill it. "He has released Azula under Ty Lee's care. From what I understand, the treatment of prisoners hasn't improved since I was a guest there."

"If he thinks it's smart. Just make sure she doesn't walk into my school," Toph replied in an even tone, not showing much emotion.

"Ah, Lao," Iroh said as Toph felt her mothers footsteps behind her.

Iroh stood in the presence of the lady while Toph created an extra chair. He quickly took another cup from the carrying case he had brought with him, and filled it before sitting down again.

"Thank you Iroh," Lao said with a gracious smile as she lifted the cup and took a small sip. "Toph, we have been offered quite a bit of money if you don't join the Earth Rumble competition this year. Less visitors have been coming lately, because they already know who's going to win. I know they don't rig it anymore, but still,"

Iroh chuckled as he heard about the blatant bribe, sipping from his tea to stop himself. Toph simply shifted a little in her chair as she appeared to think about it.

"Fine, I'll kick the champion's ass next year," she stated finally. "I'm too busy with teaching these losers anyway. Chin, stand up straight!"

Behind her, the young man straightened his shoulders, trembling with fear. Lao and Iroh shared a chuckle as they saw the reaction. Toph might only be fourteen, but the tall, almost adult student was clearly intimidated.

"I should get back to the Jasmine Dragon, Jin is doing well, but she's not as good as Zuko as a manager. I'll send a message when I hear more from Zuko," he promised as he collected the cups and teapot, placing them in the carrying basket. "Toph, Lao," he said with a bow before he left the courtyard, humming an old song.

Kyoshi island.

Eleventh day of the second month.

Azula managed to bring a smile to her lips as Ty Lee dropped into the warm spring, having slipped on the wet rocks above the spring. The water splashed in her face, and she threw an arm up to keep it out of her eyes. She had slept well last night, though when she woke up, she realized she had put her bedsheets on the ground and slept on the hard wooden floor. She took a long time to fall asleep on the soft mattress, but she pretended to sleep because Ty Lee wouldn't sleep before she did.

Ty Lee came back above the water line, coughing a little bit of water while she brushed her long, loose hair from her face.

"I meant to do that," she exclaimed with a wide smile, laughing together with Azula.

It was a long time since she had heard an earnest laugh from her friend, and it was music to her ears. After a minute, she reached to the side of Azula and grabbed a piece of soap and a sponge. Sponges were rare, but they were a reward for the help of the Kyoshi Warriors in stopping a ship of deserted Fire Nation soldiers.

"Turn around," Ty Lee told Azula, who let out a fake resigned sigh and turned to rest her arms on the edge of the spring, laying her cheek on her arms.

"I'm still not sure this isn't all a dream," she said as her smile disappeared in a suddenly sad face, and she looked into the distance.

She was afraid to close her eyes as she felt the sponge on her back, smelling the fragrant soap which Ty Lee spread over her sore back, too afraid that the next time she opened her eyes, she would see those metal bars again.

Ty Lee didn't speak, simply pinching Azula's side with her nails, getting her to jump a little and hearing a soft chuckle.

"Assaulting a member of the royal family, fifteen lashes," Azula whispered as she relaxed a little again. She was awake.

Kyoshi island.

Fifteenth day of the second month.

"You did what?"

Sokka almost hit the roof of the room when Ty Lee told him who was asleep in her room. And despite the humor of Sokka's overreaction, Suki looked sternly at Ty Lee. She would have appreciated it if she had been consulted. She clearly remembered the last time Fire Nation royalty visited the island. And even though she had accepted Zuko as the Fire Lord, and a friend, she also remembered the pain at the hands of Azula at the Boiling Rock.

"Ty Lee, are you sure she isn't a danger?" she finally asked as she looked the girl in the eyes.

Ty Lee nodded furiously, holding the table to prevent herself from jumping up in the defense of her friend.

"I promised Aang just before Katara helped her, that I would stop her if she did anything. But she hasn't used her firebending for so long, I think she's afraid to. It cost her so much in that fight with Zuko," she explained as her voice turned softer with the last words, before looking Sokka in the eyes. "You became best buddies with Zuko, when had hunted you for months. Azula was my best friend since we were five. I'm going to help her, and this place is the best for that. No one in the village bothered her, even when I said who she is."

Sokka finally calmed down a little, being forced to see reason in her words. And besides, Zuko had officially removed her from the line of succession, so she wouldn't be able to take over the Fire Nation even if she wanted to. He looked at Suki, who nodded to him. They had learned to read each others thoughts while fighting, and it extended to this. It helped that they didn't need to argue in front of others, meaning they didn't undermine any authority. A simple shake or nod was enough.

"We trust you Ty Lee. Now, it's late, and we've been on a ship for two days. Sokka and me are going to the hotspring, we'd like some privacy," Suki finally said, getting a set of agreements and wishes of good sleep.

Ty Lee walked into her bedroom to find Azula sitting straight in her bed.

"What did they say?" she asked as Ty Lee sat on the side of her bed.

"They trust my word, and even Sokka agreed this was the best place for you right now."

A held breath escaped Azula's lips. She had expected Suki to throw her in the water, right with the Unagi. She remembered what she had done to get information from the Kyoshi Warrior, and then gleefully tormented Sokka with her words. It felt like another life, centuries ago.

"Thank you Ty Lee, I don't know what I would have done without you. You saved me from that prison, you brought me to Katara, and you hold me whenever I am sad. I never believed mother's stories about angels, but now, here I have one,"

Ty Lee felt tears of joy fill her eyes at those words, but she didn't even get a chance to cry. Azula put her hand around her neck and brought the pair together, their lips pressed deep upon each other. Ty Lee's hands wrapped around her friend's back, bringing their chests together.

"Azula," Ty Lee whispered as she broke the kiss for a moment, "Are you sure about this? I want this, but are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Ty Lee, I would have done this in the hotspring, if your hands hadn't been so good with that sponge. Promise me, you won't leave my reach tonight."

"I promise," Ty Lee whispered as she kissed her friend, her lover, her girlfriend, her lips opened just a bit.

She didn't have to wait long to feel Azula's tongue touch her lips, and she opened her lips willingly. Pressing forward, she pushed Azula to her back onto the pillows. Only once more did they speak, moments before they went to sleep.

"I love you,"