"Will you stay with me tonight?" Azula asked, vaguely aware of the fact that her family was watching her.
"I don't know if that's a good idea considering my inj-" the acrobat paused when she noticed the flash of worry on Azula's face.
"Did they not heal you?" The princess asked, her worry turning to concern.
"No, no," Ty Lee assured, "they stitched me up but there were others worse off. I told them to focus on those who needed more attention."
"Of course," Azula sighed, shaking her head.
"But," the acrobat continued, "if you want me to stay with you I can."
"Really?"
"Really."
Azula smiled thinly and tentatively played with the acrobat's long fingers. "You get cleaned up and I'll be in my room shortly. I'm going to say goodnight first."
Ty Lee gave a small nod, and shuffled tiredly down the hallway towards the princess' room while Azula faced her family. They all acted as if they hadn't been watching the interaction, which Azula found somewhat amusing, but she didn't let on that she knew they'd been staring.
"Going to bed?" Kiyi asked, already moving to hug her older sister goodnight.
"I'm tired," Azula sighed, "I haven't slept well lately."
"Then rest up," Kiyi insisted. Azula promised she would before hugging her mother goodnight and giving Ikem a small wave. The princess paused in front of her brother, whose face remained stoic.
"Goodnight Zuko," Azula spoke softly, hesitantly. He said nothing in reply. He only nodded. "Goodnight Mai."
"Goodnight," Mai smiled, "and Kiyi's right. You need sleep."
"Trust me," Azula laughed lightly, "I know."
Having accomplished what she wanted, the princess ventured to her room where she found a rather frustrated acrobat trying to undress.
"This is stupid," Ty Lee groaned, trying to reach back and undo the tie of her shirt. "I was able to put this on and now I can't get it off. My whole body hates me."
"Soreness always sets in the second day and usually in the evening," Azula noted, "would you like help?"
"Please?" The acrobat pouted, giving up.
Nodding, Azula moved behind Ty Lee and easily undid the tie of her shirt. It wasn't one of the usual tops Ty Lee wore, but it was one of the few she didn't have to pull over her head which spared her stitches from tearing. But it wasn't until the acrobat's top came off that Azula began to understand the extent of her injuries.
A series of deep scrapes ran down Ty Lee's spine and the wounds hadn't been properly cleaned or bandaged from what she could tell. "Ty? Did they ever treat your back?"
"Just the more serious injuries," Ty Lee explained.
"Of course," Azula sighed, "sit down. I'll be back."
Ty Lee did as she was told and Azula vanished into the adjoining bathroom before returning with a wooden box. Inside was a slew of first aid supplies.
"You gonna patch me up?" Ty Lee asked.
"I'm going to do more than that. I'm going to take care of you," Azula informed, "since they didn't."
The acrobat sat still as Azula took up a place behind her. She was prepared for the stinging antiseptic, and the cool relief of a damp cloth, or even the pinching of tweezers pulling free pieces of rubble in the wound, but she wasn't prepared for Azula's gentle touches and reassurances. Any wince elicited a swift apology from the princess and a light comforting touch to the small of her back.
"There," Azula sighed, "now, what else is there?"
"Uhm," Ty Lee stood up and carefully pulled down the waistband of her pants, "this."
Azula's eyes widened at the long line of stitches traversing the acrobat's hip bone. Then, with narrowed eyes and a delicate touch, Azula inspected the wound for any flaws in its stitching. "You should cover the stitches so they don't rip."
"Right," Ty Lee nodded.
Azula looked up only to catch sight of the bruising about her acrobat's ribs. Her heart sank. "Does it hurt you to breath?"
"A little," Ty Lee admitted.
Sighing, Azula nodded and inspected the acrobat's shirt. "Don't wear a top tonight. The pressure may feel nice but it's not good for broken ribs to keep them bound up. No binds either."
Ty Lee arched a brow at that but it took a moment for Azula to realize what the acrobat was teasing her for. Once she did though, Azula's cheeks were a vibrant red and hot to the touch.
"I'm kidding Azula," Ty Lee laughed, though she grimaced at the end. "Just teasing."
"I know," Azula assured, but that didn't mean she wouldn't blush at such jokes. "Anyways, I actually think it'll be best if you don't wash up tonight. Just sleep."
"Sleep is good," the acrobat agreed, her eyelids heavy. "Can you bandage my hip before I pass out?"
"Sure," Azula smiled, drawing the acrobat closer and setting to work. The bandaging was neat and precise. Something that was important when it came to speeding up recovery processes. Something Azula never did for herself but would do in a heart beat for the acrobat.
And, though it was brief, her arm flared up in pain. Now that the throbbing pain was no more, and her flesh had scarred, the world found ways to remind her what pain was.
"Are you okay?" Ty Lee worried.
"Yes," Azula nodded, forcing a smile, "it happens on occasion. It's something new. Nerve pain."
"Right," Ty Lee nodded, but her eyes reflected a gentle pity for the princess.
"There," Azula sighed, finishing her work and collecting the first aid box. "Do you-do you need me to help you..."
"Oh, no," the acrobat shook her head, aware of Azula's averted gaze and the insulated ending to her question, "I can manage."
Seeming relieved, Azula left rather quickly and took her time in placing the medical supplies precisely where they'd been before. Only she didn't need to stall for time because upon returning to her room, Azula spotted Ty Lee sound asleep, laying on her stomach, arms tucked beneath a pillow, bare back peeking out over the covers, and her bangs askew. At first she thought it might be a painful position, but upon further consideration, Azula realized it was probably the least painful. With a scraped up back, and broken ribs, sleeping on her side or on her back wasn't much of an option. Either way, Azula was just glad the acrobat wasn't in too much pain.
Giving a fond sigh, Azula moved to tuck the acrobat in properly, prepared for bed herself, and clambered beneath the covers making sure to stay on her side of the mattress. Only she couldn't help looking at the peaceful expression on Ty Lee's face. There was something about it that made Azula's chest ache.
Closing her eyes, the princess tried not to dwell on such things, and welcomed sleep with open arms.
— — —
"I wanted to let you know that Zuko's ordered both our families into the palace," Mai explained, briefly interrupting Kiyi and Ty Lee's painting session. They were attempting to make portraits of each other and it was going precisely how one would expect for the two of them.
"Why?" Kiyi asked, tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of her mouth as she focused.
"Considering the attack in Republic City and a message received this morning that another attack was stopped by Toph, it's a safety precaution. He doesn't want them to be collateral," Mai explained. "I know you had a falling out with your family Ty, but there's not much I can do to change his mind. He's anxious."
"When was this?" Azula asked, having been lounging on the couch and inspecting Kiyi's portrait.
"Sheesh," the acrobat sighed, "a while ago. Not long after you'd just been allowed to stay in the palace. I visited my family just to see how they were doing."
"What happened?" Azula asked, her brow furrowed.
"My mother was ill, my father was drinking, and financially everything was a mess. They couldn't afford to take care of my mother while my sisters were still living at home. I didn't leave on good terms," Ty Lee explained.
"You could have asked us for help-"
"I offered that option to my father," Ty Lee interrupted the princess. "It only made him angrier."
"Done!" Kiyi declared, having lost interest in the conversation a while ago.
"Hmmm, I'm done too," Ty Lee decided. At the same time the two girls flipped their canvases around. For Ty Lee, she'd made Kiyi's nose too small, her eyes a little lopsided, and her ears at an odd angle. For Kiyi, she gave Ty Lee a very narrow chin, forgot eyebrows were part of someone's face, and drew an oversized nearly creepy smile.
The two devolved into giggles as they inspected each other's work. Only Azula's mind was racing. She didn't want to press for details, but she wanted to know what precisely Ty Lee meant by leaving on bad terms.
As far as Azula knew, Ty Lee had always been on relatively good terms with her family, albeit she'd been rather neglected which had led to her joining the circus, but the acrobat had never spoken of them with such...emptiness.
"Messages were sent," Zuko announced, pausing as he entered the room to take in the absurdity of Kiyi and Ty Lee's portraits. "They'll be here by this evening."
"The rooms are ready then?" Mai asked.
"Wait!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "Does this mean Tom Tom is coming?"
"Mhm," Mai smiled.
"I haven't seen him in years!" Ty Lee gasped, turning quickly to Azula, "he's probably super tall now! And a gentleman!"
"I remember when he was a baby," Azula snorted, "but I doubt he'll recognize me."
"He will," Mai promised, "he used to ask about you as a toddler. He was very concerned about your well being despite hardly meeting you. But it's probably because I told him about you. Nice things of course."
"Right," Azula teased.
"Honest," Mai insisted.
"Well, in the mean time, I'll be doing my...job. Running the nation and all of that," Zuko sighed, not sounding enthused at all.
"You could take a break you know," Mai noted, but this only seemed to agitate him.
"I would if I weren't waiting on news from the city," Zuko promised. He gave Mai a kiss on the cheek before quickly leaving the room.
"Is the wedding still on hold?" Azula asked, arching a brow.
"Until he learns to be nice to you and Ty," Mai set her jaw, "then yes."
"Don't pause your life for me," Azula spoke firmly. "I won't have it. You've been planning it for months. I won't be the reason your relationship is strained."
"You're not," Mai assured, "but you're my friends and that's not going to change. He's going to have to get over it and deal with the fact that you can care about whoever you want. If Tom Tom dates another boy and someone looked or talked to him the way Zuko has with the two of you, they'd be stabbed and dead."
"Wow," Kiyi gasped, expression one of awe.
"Not that I encourage murder," Mai frowned to which Kiyi smiled innocently.
"Well, Azula has a point," Ty Lee sighed, "but if that's what you want I won't push you to change your mind."
"Likewise," Azula agreed.
"Thank you," Mai smiled faintly. "Now, how about I get a portrait?"
"Yes," Kiyi grinned, "please, sit. I will make you perfect!"
"She's not half bad," Ty Lee laughed.
"I don't doubt it," Mai smirked.
— — —
"Who the hell are you?" Kiyi asked, turning the corner and running into a pale, lanky, dark haired boy, and nearly spilling her drink.
"Tom Tom," the boy replied, looking quizzically at his older sister who was stifling a laugh.
"Oh. I'm Kiyi," Kiyi explained, taking a long and loud sip from her cup as she walked around the older boy and took her seat at the dinner table.
"She's...interesting," Tom Tom muttered, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck.
"Oh she's wild," Mai smirked.
"Noted," Tom Tom chuckled.
"Tom Tom!" Ty Lee exclaimed, tackling the boy in a hug from behind. His expression lit up immediately and he spun about to hug her back. "You're so tall and handsome and smart looking! How old are you? When was your birthday? I can't believe I don't remember it! What's school been like? What are you studying? Did you-"
"Let him breath," Azula sighed, taking her time to appear in the dining room. Mai's family had arrived early, and truthfully Azula liked that they had. It was less overwhelming.
"I can breath," Tom Tom promised. "But we can talk all about that stuff later. For now, I want food. I am starving."
"Of course you are," Azula smirked, "you're a growing young man. Very...dapper in nature."
"Thank you," Tom Tom smiled, giving a small bow. "It's nice to see you in good spirits."
"Yes, well, don't get used to it. I still have a temper," Azula teased. Tom Tom's grin only widened and he was as endearing as he had been when little.
However, the gentle chatter was slowly consumed by multiple voices and the sounds of a large family making their presence known.
"Sorry for being late," a man called out, stepping into the room followed by the rest of his family. Ty Lee practically disappeared behind Tom Tom not at all looking happy that her family had, indeed, arrived.
"No worries," Zuko smiled, waving aside the remark. "We haven't started eating yet. Come take your seats."
Ty Lee's father nodded, and motioned for his daughters to follow. It had been years since Azula had seen Ty Lee's sisters, and while they looked very similar to the acrobat, much had changed with the passage of time.
What's more, there were a few additional members to the family that Azula hadn't seen before. There was a man, well built, stern looking, and rather handsome with an arm wrapped about the shoulders of Ty Lee's sister Ty Lin.
Then there was the crying infant that another man held, slightly younger than the former, seemingly belonging to Ty Lat. The princess turned to the acrobat with an arched brow but even Ty Lee looked utterly appalled.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked, stepping out from behind Tom Tom and eyeing the two men.
"Ty Lee!" Ty Woo exclaimed, happily hugging her sister though the others seemed less inclined to greet her.
"Hello," the acrobat smiled wearily, briefly returning the hug without taking her eyes off the strange men. "But seriously, who are you?"
"Tanro," the man responded, "Ty Lin's husband."
"Husband?" Ty Lee frowned, turning to her sister, "you're married?!"
"Nearly a year now," Ty Lin replied tentatively.
"And you?" Ty Lee asked the younger man. "Are you Ty Lat's husband?"
"Yes," the man nodded, seeming embarrassed.
"You're married too? Since when? And when did you have a baby?" Ty Lee asked, setting her hands on her hips. It was the first time in ages that Azula had seen her so genuinely angry she was beginning to shake. "Anyone else have any surprises?"
"Calm down," Ty Lee's father snapped, "don't go making a scene."
"I think it's already been made," Kiyi remarked, giving them the stink eye from where she sat.
"Kiyi," Ikem scolded though she pretended to be clueless about what she'd done wrong.
"Can we eat?" Tom Tom asked, timidly breaking the tension.
"Right. Yes," Zuko nodded.
Everyone awkwardly moved to their places but Azula noticed how quick Ty Lee's family was to fill the chairs on one side of the long table leaving her out.
Silence, thicker than any Azula had experienced before, settled over them. It took several minutes before Tom Tom grew too uncomfortable to handle it anymore.
"You wanted to know what I've been studying," He reminded, looking fondly at Ty Lee trying to show that he did, in fact, care about her. "I'm studying geography. It's boring to some people but I like understanding how the land we live on effects our ways of life. It has a very large impact on culture and it's always changing."
"That's boring alright," Kiyi snorted, "but you have a point. There's some interesting aspects to it. Do you have to memorize all that stuff?"
"Unfortunately," Tom Tom laughed.
"So university is going well?" Ty Lee asked, great full for the distraction.
"Yep," Tom Tom nodded, "you know professor Shur? He-"
"She never went to university," Ty Lee's father interjected, "the only one who didn't, actually."
"I didn't exactly have the opportunity," Ty Lee glowered.
"You wouldn't have done well anyways, it saved us the funds," he shrugged, taking a bite of his dinner.
"Right," Ty Lee nodded, looking down at the table.
Part of Azula wanted to smack the man silly, but the other part of her just wanted to get Ty Lee out of the situation because every one of her senses screamed that things would escalate. And they did.
"Oh don't act upset," he laughed, "you would have found a way in if you really wanted the education. Which reminds me, how did you manage to become ambassador? Surely there's a thousand other people more qualified than you."
"Dad-" Ty Lin started but a look from her father cut her short.
"I appointed her," Azula replied coldly, "do you have a problem with that?"
"No," he assured, "I was just...surprised is all. I mean, she doesn't really understand politics does she? No wonder they tried to blow the place up."
"Excuse me?" Azula asked, feeling her chest tighten with anger. "I conquered an entire kingdom when I was fourteen, I read every book I could on politics as a child, I was practically bred for the political atmosphere, and if I think someone is fit for a position then they are. To doubt them is to doubt my authority and I won't stand for that. Am I clear?"
"Yes," Ty Lee's father nodded, but he couldn't find a way to hold his tongue. "It just seems odd that's all. She wasn't the brightest of her sister-"
"Do you not comprehend what you're saying?" Azula asked, aware that everyone had gone quiet and was anxiously watching the interaction. "You're her father and you belittle her like she's not even worth your attention? I don't know what kind of issues you have with her but that doesn't give you the right to act like she's worthless. Father's are supposed to be kind-"
"With all do respect princess, you shouldn't lecture me on what a father is supposed to be when you slept with yours," he replied, eyes narrowed.
In that moment a single speck of dust could have touched a feather and the sound would be comparable to a fleet of battleship canons sounding off.
In milliseconds, Azula was on her feet, hands ablaze, a rage so palpable her eyes seemed to be aflame. Before she could lunge at the cocky son of a bitch, she was picked up and practically dragged from the room.
"Put me down. I'm going to kill him! I swear I'm going to kill him!" She growled, attempting to break free.
"No, Azula, stop." To her surprise, the person who'd taken her away was Ty Lee. "That's my dad."
"So?"
"So, it's no different than you defending yours." The acrobat's eyes were earnest and sad. It was just enough to break through Azula's cloud of rage that she managed to somewhat calm herself .
"I am not going to let him disrespect you-"
"I know," Ty Lee smiled faintly, "and I don't expect you to be kind to him, but please, I-I already feel like I don't belong with them. I didn't think they'd really cut me out of the picture like that."
The acrobat's smile turned into a broken sob. Azula's anger vanished instantly. "I'm sorry Ty. I am."
"They got married, Azula. I wasn't even invited. They didn't even tell me! And I'm an aunt? I would've gone on never knowing if it hadn't been for the stupid explosion! And yeah, I didn't go to university but I-they didn't even offer to let me go when the war ended. I just-I feel like I don't even know them!" The acrobat wiped hurriedly at her eyes. "And I feel stupid for loving them when they don't care about me. Like I should know better, you know? Because I'm used to it."
"You have every right to be angry, and sad, and bitter, and just...upset," Azula talked softly, gently wiping at Ty Lee's cheeks and collecting stray tears on her fingertips, "but if they don't want you then fine, you're part of my family. I don't even remember life without you or Mai in it. Okay? So, you have a family one way or another."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Azula nodded, "okay? You're part of my family. Kiyi loves you, Mai loves you, my mom...well, my mom thinks you and Kiyi shouldn't be alone together because the palace might explode, but that's beside the point. The point is, the people that matter care about you."
"I know," Ty Lee sighed, letting Azula pull her into a hug. "But it still hurts."
"Believe me Ty, I know. I lived my life believing in love that was a lie and feeling like I was unwanted by my mother. It'll hurt, but I had you back then and now you're going to have me. Okay? I won't let you feel alone," Azula promised, aware that her hold on the acrobat was having some sort of calming effect. "Now, dry your eyes. You can cry to me all about it after dinner. For now, you go back out there with your head high. Don't give him any satisfaction understand? That's what he wants."
"Right," Ty Lee nodded, straightening her clothes, and wiping the remaining moisture from her eyes. Azula carefully tucked loose strands of hair back into the acrobat's braid and made sure she looked as unbothered as possible.
"Beautiful," the princess smiled lightly. "Now come on."
"Can I sit by you?" Ty Lee asked.
"Sure," Azula nodded.
"They won't think it's strange?" Ty Lee worried.
"Strange?" Azula scoffed, "Please. Aren't you supposed to sit with your family?"
The princess arched a brow, catching the look of pure affection in the acrobat's eyes, and gave Ty Lee's hand a squeeze. She was finally figuring out how to comfort others, how to be what Ty Lee had always been for her. A friend, a companion, a confident, and, well, family.