i. Azula has been friends with Ty Lee since they were children. Azula has had feelings for Ty Lee since Ty Lee got a boyfriend in seventh grade and told her all about kissing him behind the school. Azula has been waiting for this moment for a year and a half, when she figured out she was going to this academy ( and when she figured out her and Ty Lee would not be attending the same school ). Azula sits next to Ty Lee on her new bed ( this whole boarding school thing does not feel good, especially since the mattress looks 80 years old and Azula can hardly fit all her stuff in the small room she’ll be sharing with three other girls ) in silence. her hand slowly moves closer to Ty’s until they’re touching, and their fingers interlock tightly. she thinks Ty might be crying, but there’s no way Ty is more upset about it than she is. ❝ hey … ❞ she breathes, and when Ty Lee turns her face, she pushes her face forward and they share their first kiss. ii. Ty Lee is running her hands through Azula’s hair after an especially long day. Azula had to deal with taking photos with her father for his magazine, posing with her brother and pretending they love each other. after that she was forced to attend a meeting with her father and pretend she was interested in his political games, and then later eat dinner with her mother and pretend she wasn’t wildly uninterested in what Ursa had been doing lately to try to save their relationship. Ty smells a little like sweat and chalk– to be expected after her all day practices. in the morning, Azula will return to university and Ty will return to her regular regiment of intense workouts, but for now they find solace in the silence. she tries not to think about her early flight and her exams next week. one more year, and they can have this all the time. she closes her eyes and reaches up, tugging Ty’s hand down to press a solid kiss to it. she falls asleep thinking about their future and how she’s going to explain the fact that Ty has a key to this ( borrowed for her summer off ) apartment to her father. iii. it wasn’t an emergency– nothing bad really happened. Azula passed out while in an interview after ( another one of ) her father’s court case was settled, and she was rushed to the hospital. she twitched, her heart racing in her chest. that wasn’t a good thing – this was all related to her arrhythmia. she hates hospitals, the smells the sights the sounds, and most of all the plastic dress she has to wear and the monitors hooked to her arms. she sits in silence until the door bursts open and someone rushes inside. Azula has a momentar panic– is something wrong with her? is this really an emergency? but she hears the sobs and feels strong arms wrap tightly around her, and feels instantly relieved. ❝ I was so worried ! ❞ she hears, and her heart slows down as she buries her face into Ty Lee’s damp, sweet smelling hair. Azula is thinking that she must have been in the shower when she heard it on the news when Ty Lee backs up and grabs her face in her hands. before she can say another word, Azula leans up to kiss her sweetly, giving a sweet smile even though she probably looks like hell. ❝ I’m okay . ❞ she rasps, and folds into Ty Lee’s arms once again. iv. they’re living in America when it happens. Azula wakes up early to get to work, sliding out of bed and out of her girlfriend’s arms. they’ve been together for four years now, sharing this apartment for six months. they have dual citizenship here and back home after much debate – Azula already had citizenship in Japan, and it’s rare to get a triple citizenship, but she did it with her father’s influence. she turns on the news, stretching her arms over her head as she reaches into the closet to find a blouse, and she drops everything in her hands when she hears it. she runs to the television, and Ty’s sitting on the edge of the bed, listening to the celebration. Azula goes to sit next to her and they smile lightly at each other. ❝ So , ❞ Ty Lee says softly, after the announcement is made ( same sex marriage legal in all 50 states ! ) ❝ How about it ? ❞ Azula just smirks, and gets up, going to the bathroom and brushing her teeth, taking her medication, getting dressed, letting the proposal stir in her mind. Ty Lee is standing by the door when she leans in, kissing her forehead, and taking her hand. ❝ Let’s do it then . ❞ Azula replies, ( and though she’s never had a real desire to get married or really felt the need to have those papers signed when they already had each other she feels so happy, so lucky, that she says okay, that they jump in and get married, and she regrets spending the last few years unmarried to the love of her life ) and tells her to pick out her dress. v. Azula can’t breathe. the window is wide and bright, and inside are a dozen little humans all in their beds: some squirming and some still. their hands are interlocked, and her arms are shaking. the nurse walks into the room, and smiles broadly at them. Azula is intensely angry, for some reason, at that dumb smile. she just wants to hold their child, to be a family finally after all this waiting. the nurse walks towards a little bed, and Azula hardly has time to realize that she’s picking up their little girl before she does it. and in a flash they’re standing together, gazing at the face of their daughter. she doesn’t have time to register that Ty Lee has squealed and kissed her cheek, and when they finally bring Akina out to them, Azula tugs on Ty’s hand nervously, kissing it lightly before releasing her hand and reaching out to hold the little girl for the first time, feeling her cheeks get warm and her eyes get wet with tears of joy.
