Wardrobe Change

When Ty Lee reached their meeting place, Iroh greeted her with a warm smile and an offering of tea. Zuko, on the other hand, just squinted at her. "What are you wearing?" he asked.

Ty Lee had traded her usual bright pink outfit for a black one that somewhat reminded him of June's, though Ty Lee's was looser and girlier and still showed off her midriff.

"What? I thought you said we were traveling in disguise. I love pink, but it's too close to red, I'd stand out." she said, gesturing to Zuko and Iroh's own muted-green Earth Kingdom outfits. She then winked and added, "Besides, I look good in black, don't I?"

"Yes, quite fetching," Uncle Iroh said indulgently, more concerned with his tea-making than looking at either of them.

"And the ribbon?" Zuko asked.

Ty Lee reached up to twirl her finger around the end of a long white ribbon tied in her braid. "I can't wear a red one, and it reminded me of Lan Zhan," she said shamelessly.

"Of course it did," Zuko said, rolling his eyes and going to get more things packed for them to leave.

"Who might that be?" Iroh asked Ty Lee as he finally handed her her tea. "And why would a ribbon remind you of him?"

A question Iroh might regret as Ty Lee lit up at the opportunity to describe the love of her life. "Who? Lan Zhan? He's my husband. His clan has a special ribbon that they always wear on their forehead, but it can't be touched by anyone but family and spouses. He's just the best, he…"

And then Ty Lee proceeded to talk Uncle Iroh's ear off about her Lan Zhan until the tea had long gone cold and Zuko demanded they leave.

She talked even more on the road after that as well.

"If I have to suffer those two's dog food again in this life, I'm taking you down with me," Zuko said to Iroh as his uncle tried and failed to get a word in edgewise.

Iroh was honestly glad when something finally distracted Ty Lee enough to stop singing her husband's praises and resolved to avoid asking again.

Aang blinked as he took in the sight of Mai as they prepared to enter a nearby Earth Kingdom town after leaving Omashu. "Hey, Mai, nice dress," he said, taking in the formal pure white hanfu the girl had changed into.

"Thanks," Mai said, though it was difficult to discern any particular emotion from her voice. "I got it for a funeral."

Aang blinked again at that response. "Er, I'm sorry for your loss?" he said.

"Don't be," Mai said, not looking bothered. "It wasn't anyone I cared about. He was just high enough rank that it would be rude for my family not to go."

"So… why are you wearing it now?" asked Aang, wondering if there was some other occasion he was missing.

"I can't exactly wear clothes that scream Fire Nation if I'm going with you. Almost everything else I have is red," Mai said with a shrug.

"You also looked like you had a lot of black, you don't have to wear white," Aang suggested, knowing that black would be better for travel.

"I want to wear white, it's familiar," was Mai's only response before they heard TomTom start crying, and she left to go care for him.

Aang stared after her in confusion, wondering if it was a girl thing.

Thankfully, Yue saw this and cleared it up with a giggle. "The Gusu Lan Sect, which Lan Wangji was a part of, had the signature color of white for their uniforms," she explained. "If Mai can't wear Fire Nation red, it makes sense she'd prefer her old color instead."

"Oh, okay," Aang said, his curiosity satisfied. Only to be sparked again as another question came to mind. "What was your sect's signature color?" he asked eagerly. "Was it the same as Sokka's? And all the other clans, did they have special colors too?"

Yue smiled patiently and answered all his questions. It was good to have a new little brother to dote on again.

Little did either of them know, Mai had not worn white because it was familiar to her. It was because she hoped it'd be familiar to someone else.

A/N This is short, but I wanted to give Ty Lee and Mai outfits for when they're undercover in the Earth Kingdom. And given that excuse, I couldn't resist putting them back in their signature colors rather than just green, since white and black seem fairly neutral in the Avatar-verse. That, and I couldn't resist making the funeral joke for Mai.

I drew a picture of what they look like, and I'll post it later. Look up Sunnylighter on Tumblr.