Restless:

"You couldn't sleep either?" asked Azula as the door to her room opened a crack, letting in a sliver of fiery orange light from the torches that illuminated the halls outside. Mai had fallen asleep hours ago, but Azula couldn't seem to find any rest.

Ty Lee slipped into the room, her lip quivering. She'd been downcast all day, her whole attitude dampened by the morning incident.

"You'll get in trouble if one of the teachers finds you here," Azula warned her. "Both of us will." She squinted at her friend, who kept her back against the wall. Any second she would start to cry.

"I'm sorry," Ty whispered in order to avoid the strain of holding back her tears.

Azula relented. "What's wrong?" She couldn't imagine what could get the perky pink acrobat so down. Generally all smiles, Ty Lee made pretty look easy and acrobatics look fun. She had a knack for making friends, and despite possessing one of the most terrifying talents Azula had ever encountered, she remained friendly and upbeat.

Ty Lee crumpled to her knees. "I've always struggled with the way I look, with having six identical sisters exactly like me, and it's just…those two girls…they got to me. I didn't feel pretty, I didn't feel unique…" She tugged at her braid. "Not until you talked to me. I've never had anyone compliment me before. I've never had a real friend before, until you. You're the first person who's bothered with the real me. But I still feel…" She couldn't finish, instead burying her face in her hands. Quiet sobs pricked Azula's ears; she recognized the muffled noises from nights she'd spent with her own head buried in her pillow. Of course it had been years since she'd cried herself to sleep, but the memories still haunted her. She couldn't tolerate weakness.

Azula hid her face in her pillow, repressing a sigh. Despite Ty Lee's pathetic display of emotion, it was almost endearing…even sweet. "You shouldn't let what they said get to you," she told the girl. "Those two were losers anyway."

Ty Lee looked up, rubbing her eyes. "I know, but it still hurts to hear it. You're lucky, Zula. You are the prettiest, most perfect girl in the world, and I'm…I'm just not."

Azula rolled over, facing the wall. That's right. She was supposed to be perfect, the pretty little 'princess.' Not even a princess – only the daughter of a prince. That didn't help matters, though. Her father still had expectations for her, and when she upheld them her mother scolded her. But being perfect was in her job description, no matter how hard it was on her. So why was she lying awake in bed at night fretting over her mother and father? They were both pulling her in such different directions…It made being perfect quite…difficult.

"Go back to bed, Ty Lee. You have nothing to worry about. You are pretty, even more than Sky or Jin. So stop worrying."

Ty Lee rose from the floor, her smile halfway back. "You really think so?"

"I said it, didn't I?" About a million times today. Making Ty Lee feel better about herself didn't put Azula in a good mood; she had her own problems to deal with, after all.

Ty Lee rose from the ground, shaking slightly, but smiling. "Thanks, Zula."

Azula pulled the blanket over her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to sleep. Even with Ty Lee gone, peace proved elusive.

A/N: So a little bit about what inspired this (and also sort of the last story). I just imagined Ty Lee having issues when she was younger (possibly stemming from school/bullying) with how she looked because of her identical sisters, and being really insecure with her appearance, so that's where this came from. It's mainly inspired by Ty Lee's comment when fighting the Kyoshi Warriors (she said something along the lines of "You're not prettier than us" or something like that to the Warriors, and it just made me wonder about her because she seemed really angry/bitter, which was unlike her, so I came up with this to explain it).

Also, I was gonna have a sort of Parent Trap/The Beach episode kind of deal where Azula and Ty Lee bonded over wrecking Sky and Jin's room, but decided against it (I'll own up to it...I got lazy and didn't want to write it). But that was an option...who knows, maybe I'll add that later...

Anyway, please read and review!