A/N: This isn't for a prompt/challenge. I just had the idea.

Fear

"Are you scared of her – uhm – illness?" Mai asked out of sheer boredom. She did not know if illness was an appropriate name for criminal insanity, but she thought she had heard it before. Azula would prefer being called the Crazy Princess than be told she was ill. Illness would make her stop being flawless, as she believed that she was.

Ty Lee wrung her hands and tried to act casually. She did not do a very good job of it. She had always thought that babies were pure joy; she never considered how Azula would react to one of her own. Azula already had enough panic attacks that she sucked at hiding.

"Nope. Not at all. Nuuupe. We've got it under control." Ty Lee's sparkling eyes and wide smile were a pathetic effort and not remotely convincing.

Mai could not believe she was saying this, but she was.

"If you two want my help…" It pained her to continue. "I'll help."

That was hard. Mai should get an award for it. All she got was Ty Lee hugging her tightly. And Ty Lee let the sweet moment of Mai being kind linger, because her upcoming conversation with Azula was not going to be fun.

The conversation came three hours after Ty Lee's tea with Mai.

Ty Lee did not know how to set it up properly. She knew Azula was still somehow resisting her involvement, even though Ty Lee was trying as hard as she could to prove she was worthy.

"Can I talk to you about something important?" Ty Lee asked gently, smiling at the princess. Azula shrugged. It was really not looking like a good day for her, and Mai's comments were starting to creep into Ty Lee's veins.

"I will marry you," Azula said and Ty Lee's eyes widened.

"I wasn't—well, I was—but I wasn't going to ask right now."

"You were going to ask eventually. Although, I thought perhaps you were too much of a coward to do it. Of course, I would love to say no, but I don't think either of us are going to do any better," Azula said in such a clinical way that Ty Lee felt disgusting.

She did not want her forever-relationship to feel like a math equation. Yet, Ty Lee would do whatever it took.

"Can we get rings?" Ty Lee asked, forgetting about her concerns. "Beautiful ones. Big ones. I want three—or one really nice one—I don't know, I—"

"Yes. We can get rings. I don't care." Azula picked at her fingernails. "What is it you needed?"

"How are you feeling?" Ty Lee asked and Azula gave her a blank stare. "I mean, really. I'm worried about you and your baby. What if you have some kind of breakdown because of it-her-it-her?"

"I want it." Azula refused to say her again.

Ty Lee frowned. "Yeah, but you aren't really that stable about people you want."

"This is all about our relationship to you. I somehow am the honorable one in a situation for once," Azula said. She was as cold as ever.

Maybe picking out rings would cheer her up.

It sure would cheer Ty Lee up.