Chapter Eight

"Here, Azula. Some medicine. You probably need it." Ty Lee said. Even hung over, Azula couldn't miss the bitterness in Ty Lee's voice. At the moment, she couldn't focus on that though. She rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before she threw up. She'd never felt this sick in her whole life.

"I thought that might happen." Ty Lee said. Azula gurgled miserably, still hearing the unseemly satisfaction in Ty Lee's voice.

"Ugghh…" Azula moaned, getting some water and spitting out the window.
"What's wrong, Ty Lee? You seem upset?" Azula said, closing the blinds to keep the agonizing light out of the house.

"Nothing…" Ty Lee said dismissively, not even looking Azula in the eye.

"Ty Lee, I'm too sick to deal with you being coy. Either tell me what's wrong or stop acting like this." Azula said. It was obvious that Azula still had a sense of entitlement from her time as a princess.

"You want to know what's wrong?" Ty Lee demanded.
"Yes."
"You want me to tell you?"
"I think that was implied from when I said yes. Unless you think someone else can tell me." Azula said, being unnecessarily snippy.

"Fine! I have been nothing if not loyal to you! I put up with your abuse for years! You destroyed my self-esteem! You humiliated me and tortured me at every opportunity! Then after I'd finally put my life together and was making something of myself, helping people like me. Non-benders who deserve to be able to protect themselves from people like you!" Ty Lee snarled, not bothering to keep her voice down, despite Azula's discomfort.

"Then you come crawling back like I owe you a second chance! And spirits help me, I still loved you. So I gave you a second chance! And then the minute a guy you were horny for back when you were batshit insane comes back, you start hanging all over him! You did everything but pull his pants down and suck his dick!" Ty Lee snapped.

"How am I supposed to feel? Was I just some piece of ass for you? Someone that you lowered yourself to being with so you would have a home until you could find the person you really wanted!?" Ty Lee demanded.

"What! No! Of course not!" Azula protested.

"Are you even into women? Or were you faking it all the times we were together! Was it only about torturing me before! Were you ever attracted to me!" Ty Lee yelled, tears stinging her eyes.
"Of course I was… Am! I am attracted to you! I've been over the moon for you since we were ten!" Azula said, her head spinning from the noise and the intensity of the argument.

"Then why! Why would you flirt like that with Osak! Why would you invite him to have sex with you! Why would you even think I would want to have sex with him! And DON'T say it was because you were drunk! Being drunk doesn't make you think things you don't already feel! It just makes you less guarded with what you already think!" Ty Lee snarled.

"I took you in! I forgave you! I gave you a second chance! And this is how you thank me?" Ty Lee demanded. She was so angry at the moment that she was barely thinking. She rarely got this angry. But she felt so embarrassed, scared really that Azula was just using her. Again. That that had been all Azula had ever meant as far as she was concerned.

Unfortunately, attacking Azula like this didn't cause Azula to shrink or apologize. It merely caused her to go back to what she knew.
"You're being far too sensitive, Ty Lee." Azula said, her voice cool and calm, hiding once again the anxiety she felt, only a slight tremor betraying her true emotions.

"Honestly, I was so drunk I probably could barely speak. You had nothing to worry about." Azula said.

Gaslighting. It was one of the ways she stayed on top when she was next in line to be Firelord. And it was exactly the wrong thing to do now.

"I… Oh…" Ty Lee breathed. She was trembling, trying to build up the courage to stand up to Azula, to assert herself again. But seeing Azula like this, once again the cold, calculating princess that she had been, that icy, conniving glint in her stunning golden eyes sent a shiver down Ty Lee's spine.

She couldn't refuse Azula. Azula was in charge. She always had been and Ty Lee was foolish to think anything would ever make them equals.

"Okay. If-if you want to sleep with him, g-go ahead… Just leave me out of it. I have no interest in him." Ty Lee whispered. Azula didn't feel very accomplished, but that smirk, that same arrogant smirk crossed her face as if she had won.

"Come here, Ty Lee." Azula said. It wasn't a request. Ty Lee could tell Azula was giving an order. She nervously approached Azula, still unable to look her in the eye.
"Look at me." Azula commanded. Ty Lee gasped, looking up at Azula, terrified of what she would see, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked in Azula's eyes. They weren't the same eyes that she saw before, that Azula had for so many years.

They were eyes full of fear and doubt. Beneath the hard, cold, calculating glint, she was falling apart again. This was her fault. If she just hadn't questioned Azula, maybe this would have all blown over. Maybe Azula's flirtation with Osak would have just stayed relegated to a one-night thing when she was drunk. But now… Now she had to give Azula permission to have sex with Osak. Tears filled Ty Lee's eyes as she stared Azula in the eye, silently begging her to come around, to try to understand.

"I love you, Ty Lee." Azula whispered, kissing Ty Lee on the lips.

Ty Lee didn't want to kiss Azula. She just wanted to be able to talk about her feelings, for Azula to understand her and apologize rather than try to dominate her.

But maybe that was never going to happen. A Liger couldn't change its stripes and maybe Azula couldn't change who she was inside…

"NO!" Ty Lee protested, shoving Azula off of her.

"What was that?" Azula demanded, a hard edge to her voice.

"I-n-nothing…" Ty Lee breathed.

Azula was falling back into her old ways. But that didn't mean she was beyond change. She had proven that over the nearly month that she had been with her. She had shown that she really was sorry for how she had acted before. Azula did have good in her. And Ty Lee knew how devastated she would be if Azula went and had sex with Osak.

Maybe I have to let her go. See if she comes back on her own. If she does, we can begin the healing process. It will take time, but maybe if I give Azula some space… Maybe in her own way, she needs to test me again, see if I really do trust her.

Ty Lee's thoughts were racing a mile a minute. She felt her heart pounding, her breath coming in pants as she tried to calm herself. Yes. This was what had to happen.

"Go ahead. Have fun with Osak if you want to. I-I'll be here when you get back." Ty Lee said.

"This is a test, isn't it?" Azula asked, her tone cool and calculating, testing the waters.

"No. It's a genuine invitation. I'm giving you permission." Ty Lee said. Despite her trepidation at the thought that Azula might find herself more attracted to Osak, she hoped that this was the right way to go about things. Maybe Osak could shed some light on the situation that Ty Lee herself couldn't do.

"Okay. I'll be back tonight, Ty Lee." Azula cooed, taking Ty Lee's chin lightly, kissing her gently on the lips.

-0-

"Azula. Please, come in." Osak said.

"I wasn't expecting you so early. Clearly you've recovered from your hangover already." Osak said.

"Yeah… Sorry about last night. I'm not usually so unguarded." Azula said.
"That's alright. Would you like some tea? Snacks?" Osak asked. He knew why she was probably there and he wanted to talk to her about it before either of them made any snap decisions.

"Ty Lee gave her blessing on me sleeping with you." Azula said, kissing him eagerly on the lips, running her hand under his shirt, her other hand moving down into his pants.
"Stop. We should… We should just sit and talk first. Let's not rush this." Osak said.

"Oh." Azula said, going over to the couch and sitting down as Osak went to the kitchen and boiled some water. As he began to get the snacks ready, the phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, Ty Lee. I'm glad to hear from you. Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Oh, yeah… Of course I am. Azula wants it. So I want it for her." Ty Lee said, keeping her voice steady and confident as she could.

"You're sure?" Osak asked cautiously. He didn't want to drive a wedge between Azula and Ty Lee.

"Just because I'm not interested in anyone but Azula doesn't mean Azula can't want a little variety." Ty Lee said.

"Be good to her though." Ty Lee said, wondering if she was going too far in supposedly being open to this. Would telling Osak all this mean that she would lose Azula, or that she would become just one of Azula's lovers? She couldn't help being afraid. Feeling her jealousy burning even hotter now.

"Well… If you're sure." Osak said uncertainly. Was it right for him? To have sex with Azula, knowing that he'd been the one taking care of Azula, that he'd been in charge of her once? Was that a breach of trust with her? She said she wanted it. But was what she wanted really sex? Or was this just another example of her misconstruing what she really wanted? He felt confused himself. He wanted to do right by Azula and Ty Lee. But he couldn't help but be a little attracted to Azula himself.

Not enough to really want a relationship. And that was another thing. What if they slept together and she announced that she wanted him to be her partner? Poly relationships were a thing and he didn't have a problem with people who were in them. But he didn't really consider himself poly either. He sighed, finishing the tea and snacks and bringing them out for them to eat.

"Azula… What is it you want out of this?" Osak asked calmly, sitting down.

"Sex. Isn't that obvious?" Azula asked.
"Well… Yes… But I mean… Are you looking for a relationship with me?" Osak asked. Azula thought for a long moment.

"Not really. I can tell that Ty Lee is hoping that this doesn't go any further than this one time. And honestly, I feel like we wouldn't work well as a partnership." Azula said.

She was so cool and logical. He admired that about her, though he wasn't sure that this was what was really best for either of them.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Osak?" Azula asked. Osak hesitated for a long, long moment.
"I'm not sure of anything. You were my patient for quite a while. It's generally frowned upon for a nurse to have sex with a patient. I'm not aware of any cases where a nurse had sex with a former patient. But perhaps the same principle applies." Osak said.

"Hmm… Yes, that does seem like it could at the very least appear problematic." Azula said.
"Still, I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions. If you don't want to sleep with me, I understand. I won't force this on you. That would be very wrong indeed." Azula said.

"So let's finish our tea and decide then what we want." Azula said, taking a sip.

"Ooh! Oh! Hot!" Azula gasped, burning her tongue.
"I'm not a genius like you and even I could have told you it was too soon to start drinking." Osak said passively, taking a bite of some cookies that he'd brought out.

After about ten minutes, Azula took another sip.
"This is good. Uncle would be impressed, I think. Uncle always did put a great deal of stock in teamaking skills." Azula chuckled.
"I'd be happy to take you to his shop one day if Ty Lee is okay with it. I wouldn't want to overstep her boundaries." Azula said.

Azula finished her tea.
"That was good. But I have a feeling this will be even better." Azula teased, sitting on Osak's lap, kissing him on the lips, slowly putting her hand down in his pants. Osak hissed in pleasure as she pulled his pants down, stroking him to hardness, kissing his manhood.

"Mmmmm… A-Ahhh… Azula…" Osak moaned as Azula kissed and licked his length.

As they were doing this, Ty Lee punched the wall, having second thoughts. She hated herself for being so insecure. She wanted to give Azula this chance to realize on her own what was best. But she couldn't just wait around, thinking about all the things Azula might be doing with Osak. She rushed into her clothes and shoes, running at full tilt to Osak's house.

Azula whined lightly as Osak put on a condom, kissing her bare chest lightly, groping her breasts.
"Mmm… You like these, big boy?" Azula teased. Osak nodded, slowly pushing into Azula, thrusting lightly, not wanting to hurt her by being too eager as it were.