It lives! Sorry for the delay, everyone. This one was written and beta-read ages ago, but I was dithering pretty badly. I'm at that awkward place where I hate everything I write, but I guess the only way to get over that is to write.

This is the one you've (well, I've) been waiting for, Ty Lee and Azula. Some romantic implications, if you squint. "Kittiwings" is totally stolen from Kimberly T.'s review to The Alternative. There is a small reference to that story here, too.

By the way, I'm not making any general advocacy here about the treatment of mental illness, a subject I am thoroughly unqualified to speak about. This is about the specific characters depicted here, nothing more.

I can't thank my beta Amy Raine enough for her thoughtful and skilled comments and edits. Enjoy, and thanks so much for your reviews—they are much appreciated!

4. Devotion

Year One of Firelord Zuko's reign, first moon of Air

She stumbled as she walked through the doorway, as though she had tripped on the threshold. But she never tripped, and there was no threshold at the door. An uncaring cold seemed to waft from the floors and walls, the bare stone singed in places and stark without color or softness. There were no curtains on the barred windows and no carpet on the floor, and even the bare, partly burnt pallet on the floor had no blanket. A set of chains and manacles, two higher up for the arms, two lower for legs, hung empty on one wall; she shivered at the sight of them.

The visitor's gaze then settled almost unwillingly on the figure crouched in the far corner, the stringy black hair that hung down to obscure a pale and wasted face, the fine bones jutting against skin that looked translucent against the maroon of her simple tunic and pants. The liquid amber madness of her eyes peered furtively through her hair, recognizing nothing and no one. They were the eyes of a hurt and hunted animal turned inward on its own torment, upon a nightmare landscape of never-ending pain.

"How..." The visitor's light grey eyes had gone almost black, her pupils dilated from shock. She pressed two fingers to her lips as though to keep something from escaping. For a few moments she squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them wide and fixed them on the patient in the corner, not allowing herself to look away.

"Azula..." Her trembling call was not to the ruined form that occupied the room, but to a memory so recent, yet nearly unimaginable in its distance.. The patient showed no sign of recognizing her own name, just bared her teeth in confused aggression and shrank further away into her corner.

"I tried to tell you, Ty Lee." The long and solemn face of the young woman behind her seemed to float by itself in the dim light of the hallway, above rich but austere clothes and framed by straight, glossy hair. Yao Mai, the Firelord's intended, looked grimly on the specter of the deposed Princess Azula. "It's pretty bad."

"Why doesn't she have any bedsheets?" Ty Lee's voice faltered as she took another step into the bare room, her gaze darting furtively to the pallet and then the chains on the wall before she looked away in horror. .

"She burns them," said a guard who had come with them. He paused and added almost apologetically, with a sideways look at Mai's stony face: "This is one of her quieter days, so we're not using the restraints. His Majesty prefers her to be comfortable whenever possible." Mai did not look mollified, and her fine dark brows furrowed in concern or fear as she looked upon Lee closed her eyes against the answer, against the bare cold room and the reality of the mad figure crouched in the corner. She reopened them and knelt slowly down to Azula's level, her eyes yearning and sorrowful, a shaky smile on her lips.

"Azula," she called again, holding out a hand. "Princess Azula. It's Ty Lee. Remember?"

Azula held out a hand as if in warning, but in a firebender it was much more than a warning. Even in one that had lost her senses. Maybe especially in one that had lost her senses. Mai stepped into the room, a throwing knife instantly in her hand, while the guard tensed and prepared to spring into action.

"No, Mai." Ty Lee held up a hand, still on her knees facing Azula. "I need you both to leave," She turned to look up at her friend, her gaze pleading even as she kept watch on Azula out of the corner of her eye. "Could you... wait at the end of the hallway?" she asked, hesitant."At the steel gate. I want to talk to her alone." Another pause, then she added more quietly: "I need to."

"No," Mai's voice broke briefly. "You didn't see her rampage when Zuko was here."

"I can handle myself," said Ty Lee, her smile tense. "Remember Boiling Rock?" Her voice was forlorn as she looked again at Azula. "Just... just go. Please."

Mai gave Azula a hard look; in the meantime the princess dropped her hand, breathing hard as though even that small gesture had been too much for her. Mai's throat and lips worked as though to say something, and then her eyes flicked to Ty Lee. Mai's fists clenched briefly, then relaxed as she let out an inaudible sigh. She turned to the guard and said curtly: "Let's go."

"Impossible! The regulations don't allow-" the guard spluttered.

"If anyone can handle Azula, it's her." Mai stalked out of the room, all but pushing the man out before her with her presence.

Mai was just outside the door when Ty Lee's voice stopped her. "Mai." Ty Lee's back was to her friend as she spoke. "Did we do this to her?"

"No." Mai answered at once, her voice cold. But her eyes, unseen by her friend, softened in the dim light of the hallway. "She did it to herself." The door closed behind her with cold finality, and the metallic clang of its many locks echoed in the hollow hall.

Ty Lee listened to the footsteps recede before she spoke.

"Are you happy now?"

Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but there was a sharpness there that wasn't there before.

"Was this what it was all for, all that scheming, the manipulation, the lying?"

Azula glowered and made a low growling sound, not meeting Ty Lee's gaze.

"You don't like it." Ty Lee's lips twisted. "Well, how are you going to scare me now, Azula? Set my net on fire again?" She stood and approached a few paces before crouching again to eye level. "But I'm not using a safety net. Not with you."

Azula's breathing quickened as her eyes darted from side to side, looking for an escape. Her eyes were livid, the bloodshot whites showing around the yellow irises.

"Say something!" Azula flinched when Ty Lee raised her voice. "Was this your grand plan? Hiding away from your failure, because Princess Azula is so perfect?" Ty Lee pressed her lips together in an angry line. "Hiding where no one will ever find you again?"

The princess's breath came shallower and quicker; she moved suddenly, trying to bolt out of the way. Ty Lee's eyes narrowed in anger, and she grasped Azula's shoulders before the princess could move away.

"Don't you run from me, Azula." Ty Lee growled in Azula's face, giving her no room to escape, her clear eyes in Azula's clouded ones. "Answer me!"

Azula's answer was fire, drawing her hands to herself and pushing them forward with a roaring jet of blue flame. Ty Lee instantly released Azula and bent back almost double, letting the fire pass over her stomach. She somersaulted backward and sprang to her feet, facing Azula who stood half crouched and ready for a fight, , her training intact after so much was gone.

Azula fired another blast, which Ty Lee sidestepped. As she did so she darted toward Azula instead of away, closing fast. Azula's eyes widened, her hair flying as she sent another burst of fire, trying to repel Ty Lee. But the acrobat was no longer there by the time the blue fire left a singe mark where she had stood.

Too late, Azula looked up to see Ty Lee spinning through the air. The princess held out two fingers shooting blue sparks, but before she could let loose Ty Lee had landed before her, eyes intent, and grabbed her wrists. Azula was slammed back against the wall, arms spread and wrists pinned on either side in Ty Lee's grip.

Azula struggled and strained, a length of chain on the wall rattling as her hand brushed against it, but could not break away. Unable to get into firebending form, her breaths coming in dry sobs and snarls of rage, she took a deep breath The cold air grew even colder as she sucked the warmth from it, and a tangible pressure built up in the air.

Ty Lee did not budge, her face inches from Azula's. "Do it," she said, her eyes filling with angry tears as she set her mouth.

Azula opened her mouth, the heat almost unbearable—then her eyes grew suddenly alert as they met Ty Lee's. She snapped her head to the side as the fire came; a torrent of blue flames shot out, striking the bare floor and dying out to leave behind a black burnt mark.

The princess coughed dryly, smoke coming out of her mouth. She went limp and her legs buckled; Ty Lee quickly let go of her wrists and supported her as she slumped, easing her thin form down to sit against the wall.

"Ty... Lee?" Azula's voice came out hoarse from disuse, and at the sound of it Ty Lee's face lit up even as she blinked back tears. She nodded wordlessly, taking Azula's hand and gripping it tight.

"Why..." her voice cracking, the princess's head lolled back against the wall as she panted in exertion. Her hand tightened convulsively around Ty Lee's.

"I don't know," said Ty Lee, belatedly starting to tremble. "But I'm here. And I'm not going away." She squeezed Azula's hand back.

Azula snorted and smiled the old sardonic smile, as though she had never heard anything so preposterous. She tried to laugh but coughed again, and her eyelids drooped; she was sound asleep by the time the guards and Mai burst in. Ty Lee put a finger to her lips at Mai's implacable face and the weapons of the guards, then turned back to Azula to watch her in her first untroubled and dreamless slumber since her madness.

Year One of Firelord Zuko's reign, second moon of Air

Mai watched, her amusement visible in the way a corner of her lips quirked up, as a mountain of pastel-colored sheets on legs struggled down the hall toward her. "You need some help with that?" she called.

"Mai!" Ty Lee's voice chirped out from behind the pile. "I'm just trying to get these to the hospital."

"That," said Mai, "or you're going into the fabric retail business." She took the top half of the pile, revealing Ty Lee's beaming face. Guards approached, ready to take the burden from her, but the Firelord's betrothed waved them away. The guards followed at a distance as Mai and Ty Lee walked together down the hall, each carrying a pile of sheets.

"Well, they said she burns them," Ty Lee said matter-of-factly. "I wanted to keep some spares around, in storage."

"The hospital has plenty of sheets, Ty Lee," said Mai, looking down with some distaste at the turtleducklings on the pink top sheet of her pile.

"But they're so drab!" Ty Lee giggled. "She should have something cheerful. And who can stay sad with turtleduckies and kittiwings keeping you warm?" She rubbed her face against a soft sheet, where multicolored winged kittens frolicked together against a sky-blue background.

"I don't think she has such a good history with turtleducks or wingcats." Mai shrugged, shifting the sheets in her arms. "Your call. Zuko said you can do what you want... within reason."

"So he'll be okay with the stylist? And makeup?" Ty Lee's eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"I guess that's within reason." Mai looked straight ahead as she walked. "Honestly, the color of her rouge is going to be the last thing on her mind."

"It's about normalcy," said Ty Lee. "I mean, just look at that room." She shuddered, and her eyes darkened though she spoke lightly. "I think I would go crazy in there."

Mai snorted, withholding comment on that. Her expression turned more serious as they approached the exit at the end of the hall. "You don't have to do this," she said in a lower voice. "She has no hold over you anymore."

"I know." Ty Lee's gaze was level over the wingkittens. "I want to."

"Do you?" asked Mai, her face neutral as they emerged from a side entrance into the morning sun. An attendant took the sheets she carried to load them for the trip to the hospital, and she turned to Ty Lee who had been similarly unburdened. "Or does it just feel right to hover around her, because it's what she made you do?"

"I could ask you the same thing," said Ty Lee, a smile on her face and a challenge in her eyes. "Azula always encouraged you to get closer to her brother, and now you're going to marry him. Do you ever wonder about that?"

Mai was silent at that, but the look in her eyes was answer enough. "Don't expect too much," she said instead. "Zuko might be desperate for her to get better, but she has a long way to go—if she ever gets there."

"Aw, thanks. I know that." Ty Lee gave her friend a quick hug, and drew back to look into her eyes. "But you know me. Never say never, right?"

"I know you," Mai agreed quietly.

A servant came up to inform them that they were ready to go; Ty Lee waved to Mai and leapt lightly into the waiting carriage overflowing with blankets and clothes and flowers. Mai watched her go, waving without expression.

"And if she does get better?" she murmured. "What then, Ty?"

"Can you believe it?" Ty Lee worked the nail file, blowing on her friend's nails to clear the dust. "After stringing him along for all those months, she totally went out with Pi Yen instead!"

Azula submitted to the grooming and the gossip without comment, showing no interest or sign of recognition. She had not shown much improvement since that one short moment the month before, though her fits of rage seemed less frequent since Ty Lee's visits. The chains on the wall, unused since the first visit, hung awkwardly next to paintings and wall hangings of beaches at sunset and gardens blooming in a riot of color. Curtains moved in the wind at the barred window, the soft pink of the fabric softening the glare of the sun, and bright rugs covered the stone floor. On the bedsheet laid over the pallet wingkittens batted at air and tumbled and dozed against a pale blue background, floating eternally in a cloudless summer sky.

After finishing up on Azula's nails, Ty Lee moved behind her to start on the princess's hair, freshly cut to shoulder-length and styled in the latest fashion. (The frightened stylist had taken her pay and was long gone from the hospital.) Ty Lee brushed back the dark locks, shining and sleek from a recent wash.

"I'm going to be leaving soon," she told Azula after a few moments of silence. "To Kiyoshi island. There's a lot to do, even though the war's over. Especially since the war's over." Her hands faltered for a few moments as she stared into space, then resumed the brisk, yet gentle brushing.

"But I'll be back before you know it—erm, especially since you don't seem to know much these days." She tittered awkwardly. "That was a joke." She put down the brush and moved swiftly in front of Azula, taking her hands. The princess flinched, but did not break the contact.

"I'll be back really soon, Azula," said Ty Lee, her grey eyes meeting Azula's gold. "And we'll paint our toenails, and talk really late at night—or I will—and I'll give you all the Earth Kingdom news that's fit to share."

Silence followed her words as Azula looked warily at Ty Lee, her hands slack in the other girl's grip and her eyes showing no sign that she understood the words or knew who this person was. In that blank yet hostile gaze something crumpled in Ty Lee's face, and she leaned forward to gather Azula into her arms.

"I wish you'd speak to me again, Azula." Ty Lee's voice broke. "I know Mai thinks I'm crazy but I keep thinking you'll come back to us, and- I don't know where you've gone and it hurts to think how lost you are." She tightened her arms around Azula's unresisting form.

Then Ty Lee stiffened and went very still: Azula had moved slightly, even imperceptibly, and one thin hand came up to rest on Ty Lee's back. Azula patted Ty Lee once, twice, then her hand fell slack and her eyes lost focus as she gazed disinterested around the room.

Ty Lee smiled, though her eyes were sad, and she slowly released Azula. She looked searchingly at the Princess but found no sign, no spark there. "See you again, Azula," she whispered, reaching out to stroke the Princess's hair from her face. Then she lowered her gaze and went to the door. With one look back at Azula she left, unaware that the Princess's gaze lingered on the door for a long time.

"Do you think it's revenge?" Mai asked on one of Ty Lee's return visits, as she helped her friend fold linens to take back to the hospital. "What you're doing?"

"Why would you say that?" Ty Lee asked in round-eyed innocence, setting aside a neatly folded sheet embroidered with fire lilies.

"You get to decide what sheets she sleeps in." Mai waved a hand at the stack. "You decide when to cut her hair, and how. You choose the color of her nails, and the décor in her room." She smoothed a hand down the sheet she just folded. "She used to dictate your life. Now you do the same to her."

"That's actually kind of neat," giggled Ty Lee. "Maybe you're right—this is the best revenge ever!"

Mai rolled her eyes and set her sheet on top of the growing pile. She watched Ty Lee bend down to count the sheets.

"Hey."

"Hmm?" Ty Lee sounded distracted, her fingers moving down the stack, counting under her breath.

"I won't hesitate." Mai ducked her head to look studiously down at the blanket in her lap, her fingers working at a crease to straighten it. "If she becomes a threat to Zuko, I'm not holding back."

They looked up at the same time, their eyes meeting for a moment. Then Ty Lee lunged forward to engulf Mai in a hug. "I know," she said, closing her eyes in contentment. "I think that's why I can do this."

Mai's eyes widened, and then the tension left her as she smiled in amusement and resignation. "Yeah, yeah." She patted Ty Lee on the back and put an arm around her briefly as she let out a small, happy sigh. "Now let's get back to work before we both start bawling."

"Yes, your Highness, ma'am!" Ty Lee straightened and took up another sheet to shake it out, while Mai added hers to the pile of folded sheets. Outside the afternoon was bright and warm, like a blessing.

Next: It may be the happiest ending they can have, or deserve.