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Azula sat on the balcony, alone under the starry night sky of Ember Island. Sleep never came easily to the young princess but tonight was worse than usual. As much as she tried to play off how she feels about her mother, it really did get to her at times. Talking to her brother and her friends around the fire had dredged up emotions she had tried to bury long ago and they refused to allow her a moment of peace, even as she lay in bed, trying to drift into a peaceful night’s rest.
It could have been minutes or hours, time meant nothing to Azula once she was ready to retire for the night, or at least to try. Eventually, she could no longer stand to stare at the empty, immutable ceiling above her, so she silently rose, listening carefully to the slow, steady breathing of her roommate, being sure not to rouse her from her sleep, and stepped outside. The cold breeze bit into her arms and legs but she paid it no mind as she sat down, letting her feet dangle off the balcony as she settled on her back, staring at the shining stars.
Despite how nonchalantly she had said it to the others, she meant it when she told them it hurt that her own mother believed she was a monster. As her mind drifted further into places she had not dared think about in years, she could feel her eyes wetting. “I’m alone,” she thought to herself, “maybe it would be okay to… just a little-”
“Azula?” Ty Lee asked, quietly shutting the door behind her as she stepped outside. Azula shot upright, biting back the tears she was about to let fall.
“What are you doing out here?” Azula snarled, expecting the other girl to scurry away and leave her be. She was caught off guard when Ty Lee instead walked over to Azula and sat down beside her.
“I got up to use the bathroom and I noticed you weren’t in bed so I came to find you.” Azula felt something on her hand and snapped her eyes down. It was Ty Lee’s fingers covering her own. She tried to pull her hand away but found that, in truth, she was reluctant. It was oddly… comforting, she decided, peering back towards the stars above. She supposed she would humor Ty Lee. For now. “Are you okay?” Azula furrowed her brow at that.
“Of course I am. Whatever made you think I’m not?”
“After what you said down at the fire, I’m not so sure that you are.”
“Are you joking?” Azula scoffed. “Is this about my mother? I told you, I don’t care about that. I don’t care about her. Everything is perfect just how it is.” Azula wasn’t sure if that was meant to convince Ty Lee or herself.
“Azula, I need you to do something for me.” That was odd. Ty Lee was never one to make demands of her princess. “Well, what do I have to lose?” Azula thought to herself.
“Very well. I’ll go along with this. What do you need?” Azula asked, shifting her gaze between the constellations she could make out.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re okay.”
“What?” Azula asked, incredulously.
“Since I came out here, you haven’t looked me in the eyes one time. If you can look at me and promise you’re okay, I’ll leave.”
“Oh, is that all?” Azula’s confidence wavered, but she remained headstrong nonetheless. “Fine.” Azula turned to face her friend, locking eyes with the beautiful acrobat. She expected her eyes to be mocking or disingenuous but was surprised to find nothing but worry in her friend’s eyes. Her breath caught in her throat momentarily. “Ty Lee,” Azula took a deep breath in, “I promise you” she started, slowly. “I am absolutely-” Azula’s hesitate. She lost her focus on the other girl’s eyes and looked back down to where their hands met.
She had forgotten Ty Lee’s hand was resting on her own until she felt it move as Ty Lee slid her fingers between Azula’s, gently rubbing the side of Azula’s palm with her thumb, delicately squeezing her calloused hand. Something about the simple gesture left cracks in her resolve, ebbing at her will to hide herself from the outside world. She tried to meet Ty Lee’s eyes again, but couldn’t hold it for more than a second.
“I… I have to okay, Ty Lee.” It was taking all of the princess’s willpower not to pull away and yell until the girl went away but she knew that wouldn’t work. Not now, not anymore. “It’s what’s expected of me. I have to be the flawless, powerful, perfect princess of the Fire Nation. It’s who I am, it’s what I am. Perfect.”
She hoped that would be enough to convince Ty Lee to leave her be, to let her be alone as she had always been. Ty Lee pulled her hand back and Azula let out a sigh, both glad it was over, yet already missing the warmth of the fingers interlocked with her own. Her heart nearly stopped when the other girl wrapped her arms tight around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.
“Your dad isn’t here right now, Azula. Nobody is. It’s just me. You don’t need to be perfect here. Please, don’t be perfect, be you.
After a few seconds of sitting slack, Azula managed to raise her arms to Ty Lee’s back, pulling herself tighter. She closed her eyes as she felt herself let out a breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding. Burying her face in Ty Lee’s neck, she felt herself finally break down. After the day’s event’s she had little left effort to give, and in an instant it was all gone. The facade she had cultivated for years around her father, the ruthlessness she had used to get her way whenever she was challenged, all of it washed away in second as her breath hitched and tears began slowly dripping from the corners of her eyes held tightly shut as she kept herself stable by focusing on the sweet, flowery scent of her friend.
For several minutes, the two sat together, all quiet except for Azula’s occasional faint sobs. Finally, the princess broke the deafening silence. “Of course nothing is perfect. Only a fool would think that. If I make one misstep father would toss me out like a piece of common filth, my brother doesn’t like me in the slightest, even my mother hated me for being the monster I am. There’s not a single person in the world who loves me.
Ty Lee slowly ran her fingers up and down Azula’s back, doing her best to keep the sorrowing princess calm. “Azula, that’s not true. I promise, there are people that love you.”
“Oh please. And who would that be?”
“Zuko, for one.” Azula pulled back and looked at Ty Lee questioningly. “Think about it. After everything you’ve done to him, everything you’ve put him through, he still believes you. He doesn’t hate you, he’s your brother. He wants to love you, you just have to let him. Plus there’s Mai. She’s been your friend for years.” Ty Lee lifted one of her arms from Azula’s back and replace it on her shoulder.
“And there’s me.” She slid her hand carefully from Azula’s shoulder up to her neck. “I’m right here. I’m right by your side, Azula. I’m here and I always will be.”
Ty Lee’s eyes felt like they were peering right down into her spirit and Azula could feel her heart pounding like a drum in her ears. She didn’t honestly didn’t know what she was feeling anymore. It was something new, yet somehow still familiar. It was powerful and overwhelming and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“You’re not alone, Azula. You will never be because I love you too. I promise.”
“Do you really mean that? You love me?” Azula wiped a tear from her cheek.
“Of course I do! I meant every word of it.” Ty Lee reached her hand all the way up to Azula’s cheek and brushed a fresh tear clean from her eye.
“Then prove it.” Ty Lee could barely hear Azula because of how quietly she had said it. She didn’t even know if Azula was aware that she had said such a thing, but Azula’s cheeks were already flush. She pulled Azula close with her arm still around her back but kept the other softly caressing Azula’s tear-stained cheek as Ty Lee tilted her head pressed her lips tenderly to Azula’s.
Azula leaned in immediately, reveling in the touch of her friend’s lips on her own. Her arms wrapped tightly around Ty Lee’s waist, holding her closer than she had ever done to another. A pleasant warmth spread through Azula’s being as she felt the heat of the other girl’s body pressing into her own. From her thundering heart, it spread out, reaching from the tips of her toes to her lips still held strong against Ty Lee’s.
She held out for as long as she was able, but Azula was eventually forced to give in to her body’s need for fresh breath and she pulled back from Ty Lee, letting out heaving breathes and trying to steady her heart’s rapid beating. Her eyes slowly drifted open and she was met by Ty Lee, looking like she’d just sprinted a mile, face flush and chest heaving in and out as her lungs reclaimed the cool night air they had been denied for who knows how long.
“I promise,” Ty Lee whispered as she leaned close to Azula’s ear, “You aren’t alone, Azula. I love you.”
It couldn’t have been more than a few short seconds they were apart before Azula dove back in, putting everything she had into the kiss. Ty Lee leaned back on her elbows as Azula pushed her down. Ty Lee let out a small groan as Azula ran her teeth over Ty Lee’s lower lip, tugging lightly on it. Azula wanted more. She wanted to be closer to Ty Lee, but they were already pressed as tightly together as they could be. She didn’t really know what she wanted, but she was determined to get it as her tongue into the acrobat’s mouth, dancing with her own. Her hand snaked down to the other girl’s back and continued making its way down until it was perched on her hip, digging her fingers in. She was so close she could almost feel it. Just a little farther and she would finally be able to-
Ty Lee pushed her off. “Azula, we can’t,” Ty Lee said.
”Oh no. No, no, no, I fucked up! I pushed her too far! I finally had something good and I fucked it up!” Azula began to panic as she sat back on her heels. “I- I’m sorry! What is it? Did I do something wrong? Did I-” She was cut off by Ty Lee putting a finger to her lips, effectively silencing her.
“Hey, it’s okay, I wasn’t finished. We can’t do… more out here. Anyone could find us.” Ty Lee stood up, helping Azula onto her feet. “Come on.” She took Azula’s hand in her own and pulled her back into the cottage, walking on the tips of their toes to be sure they wouldn’t wake Lo and Li or Mai and Zuko as the made their way back to their deserted room. Ty Lee nudged the door shut behind them, jumped onto the bed Azula had earlier claimed as her own, and leaned back.
After her scare earlier, Azula was hesitant. What if she really did push it too far? She never wanted to do anything like that. Ty Lee saw her hesitation and knew she needed to encourage her. She took Azula by the hands and pulled Azula to kneel above her. Azula put her hands to Ty Lee’s sides, not wanting to do anything that might scare her off. Ty Lee took her hand and guided it back to where it had been before they moved out of the chilly night air into the warmth of the cottage, then took her other hand and allowed it to lie just below her breast as she leaned up to give Azula a quick peck.
“Do it, Azula. I know what you want and I want it too.” She reached a hand up to cup Azula’s cheek. “I trust you, I know you won’t do anything to hurt me so please, just do what you want to.” A single tear fell from the princess’s eye, but Ty Lee wiped it away with her thumb.
Azula leaned in close, her cheek all but resting against Ty Lee’s as she said, in a barely audible whisper, “Thank you.”
Her lips were on Ty Lee’s jaw before she had a chance to respond. Ty Lee groaned as she felt Azula leaving a dozen quick kisses on her cheeks and mouth. When she was satisfied with how violently red Ty Lee’s face had become, Azula moved slowly down, taking her sweet time with each and every spot on her neck she touched, pulling lightly with her teeth, leaving her mark on in the soft flesh, then soothing the pain with her tongue, using it to feel for the pulse of the girl below her as it beat, beat, beat, under her ministrations. She felt more alive than she ever had before.
While Azula was busy, Ty Lee slid her hands under her shirt and up her back, digging her nails into Azula’s shoulder blades which only seemed to spur her on. Azula was dotting her collar bone when she reached her hands up to the rim of Ty Lee’s top, gripping it tightly before pulling back to meet her eyes.
“Ty, please.” She tugged on the hem, “I want you so terribly.” Ty Lee leaned up and pulled Azula into a small kiss, much tamer than their last yet no less exhilarating.
“Do it, I want you too,” Ty Lee said, leaning upright and holding her arms in the air as Azula slowly lifted her top. It was almost painfully slow for Ty Lee, feeling every inch of her skin exposed to the air as it was uncovered. When it was finally off Azula dropped it to the floor, leaving Ty Lee’s chest bear. Azula also reached an arm behind Ty Lee and pulled her hair loose, letting the chestnut waves fall around her like a silken curtain, then she guided her back onto the bed. Azula, not wanting to make Ty Lee uncomfortable, undid her own top, sliding it over her head and dropping it beside Ty Lee’s.
Azula looked down the first time and what she saw took her breath away. She had always known Ty Lee to be beautiful (she did have eyes, after all) but this was so much more than she could ever have imagined. Her bust was on the smaller side, it allowed her to easily move quickly and graciously in battle, yet they still appeared supple with her small, pink nipples that Azula couldn’t wait to get her hands on. Azula decided to be patient, however. She wouldn’t just give in to her desires, she was far too disciplined for that. She wanted to make her way there and make every second of it just as enjoyable for her friend as it was for her.
The princess went low, planting a kiss just above the acrobat’s hip and sucked. Ty Lee bit her lip at the feeling but did nothing to stop it. A few minutes later Azula had left a snaking path of red spots across Ty Lee’s stomach and leading up to just below her breast. Azula, resting her chin just above Ty Lee’s naval, looked up and saw her eyes barely holding open. She had clearly enjoyed what Azula had done, so surely she would enjoy what she was about to do even more.
Azula’s lips settled on Ty Lee’s right breast, just below the nipple, as her hand reached slowly to cup the other in her palm. Azula grazed over flesh warm flesh with her teeth but never biting into her sensitive body. Ever so slowly she dragged her tongue in a circle around her areola, never touching her perky nub, driving Ty Lee insane.
Ty Lee’s hand buried itself in Azula’s hair, edging her in just the right direction, and she finally latched on, sucking softly and flicking it with her tongue. She could hardly stifle her faint moans anymore but Azula didn’t care. If anything it was music to her ears. When she tilted her head back a fine string of saliva was drawn between her lip and the breast of the girl bellow. Azula switched her position and prepared to repeat her efforts on Ty Lee’s other side, rubbing the wet nipple back and forth with her thumb.
As Azula brought her head back down, Ty Lee’s other hand worked its way into her hair as well, holding her firmly in place on Ty Lee’s breast. Not that she minded, of course. She was perfectly happy where she was.
For several minutes that was how they stayed, Azula occasionally switching between which breast she was massaging with her hand and which one she was teasing with her tongue. By the time she was satisfied Ty Lee’s nipples were redder and puffier than they had been before.
Moving back down, Azula left kisses around the hem of Ty Lee’s soft night shorts as she hooked her fingers around them. She looked up one last time to be sure Ty Lee wasn’t having second thoughts. She noticed this and nodded quickly once. In a heartbeat, the firebender was pulling away her last coverings. She lifted her legs slightly up to make it easier to get them off, letting Azula push them back down when she was finished, nudging her ankles gently apart.
For a moment the world was still as Ty Lee felt Azula looking up and down her exposed body, illuminated only by the faint light of the moon peering through the window. Her heart skipped a beat and she held her breath in near disbelief of this moment, one she had never imagined would happen outside her dreams, and anxious anticipation of what would come next. Would she be enough for the princess or would she toss her aside like nothing now? A million similar questions buzzed through her head but they were all shattered in an instant when Azula bowed down and brought their mouths together once again as their tongues danced, hidden from the silvery moonlight. She shuddered as she felt Azula’s hand sliding up her thigh, ever closer to the part of herself she had never dared give anyone else, now ripe for the taking. As the two broke for breath, Azula whispered sweetly into her ear, the hand not between her legs nuzzling her cheek.
“I love you as well. I do not know where I would be if not for you but I am certain it wouldn’t be as nice as where I am.” She gasped as she felt one of her fingers finally make contact her most precious area, sliding from the bottom to the top torturously slowly. “On my honor, I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to make this as wonderful a night for you as for myself.”
Their lips were together again but this time it was Ty Lee’s doing, shooting up and putting a hand behind Azula’s neck to pull her back, eyes screwed tightly shut as a single tear of joy and pleasure rolled from her eye, right onto the princess’s hand. Just for now, everything else in the world meant nothing to her. The night breeze and the waves hitting the short were nothing but white noise in her ears. All that mattered was Azula’s finger gliding up and down, back and forth across her entrance. The only other thing she was able to ground herself with was the warm lips against hers and the tongue exploring in her mouth.
She gasped into Azula’s mouth as she felt the finger dip inside of her, shallow at first, but gradually getting deeper, using her own wetness to guide itself through, stopping when she had taken it up to the first knuckle.
“This isn’t too much, is it?”
“Please, more.” Was all her mind could muster up in its dazed, heated state. It was all she wanted in the world at that moment to be whole, to be one with Azula for as long as the night would allow. Before Azula could return to kissing her, Ty Lee saw an opportunity, one she couldn’t ignore. Just as the fiery girl was leaning down Ty Lee pulled her just a little up higher and latched on, earning her a shocked moan but no complaint.
Azula managed to eventually work her way to the second knuckle and then pushed even further, all the while Ty Lee was returning the favor of dotting blemishes around her neck. She could feel how wet Ty Lee was getting and how easy it was now to move her finger in and out so she decided it was time to try something different.
She slid her finger out fully and Ty Lee whimpered at the loss of contact, desperation in her eyes as her head fell back to the pillow. Desperation, however, quickly turned to hunger as Azula brought up her moist finger and stuck it in her mouth. Azula sensually licked her finger clean right in front of Ty Lee.
Azula dragged herself steadily down Ty Lee’s body leaving kisses in her wake, painfully slowly getting closer to the object of her appetite. She pushed Ty Lee’s legs up, spreading her fully and leaving her fully on display in all of her glory. Never in her life had Azula ever thought she would get to be so close to someone else like this, especially someone she thought so enticing and wonderful.
Her excitement was clear as her wetness shone in the dim light as Azula used her thumbs to spread her lips apart. Ty Lee shuddered as the air hit her exposed skin. Azula peppered her thighs with kisses for so long that Ty Lee finally broke.
“Please, Azula. Just do it. I want it, I need it. Please,” She begged, nesting her hand in Azula’s wild hair. The princess was more than happy to oblige, firmly planting her lips on Ty Lee’s opening and pressing her tongue in as deep as it could go. Ty Lee bit hard on her lip, forcing herself not to scream from the unexpected intensity. She bucked her hips as the tongue inside her moved up and down, gathering her sweet nectar as much as it was able.
Meanwhile, Azula was in Heaven. It was absolutely… well, it wasn’t that it tasted good. Far from it, in fact, but she simply didn’t care. No, it wasn’t the taste that was so good, it was how she had gotten it, what she had done to earn it that made it so… exquisite, and she was going to have as much of it as she was able.
She lapped away between strong thighs, letting her prize pool in her mouth before taking it all down with one big gulp, loving the feeling of it sliding down her throat. Occasionally, she would tease out even more by sticking a finger back in as she sucked lightly on her clit, prodding it with her tongue, loving how the clenching muscles felt.
Ty Lee, however, couldn’t have cared less at the moment. Her world was exploding around her and it was all she could do not to crush Azula’s skull with her legs, one hand woven into her hair, the other massaging her own breast. She couldn’t hold her voice anymore. Throaty moans filled Azula’s ears, begging without words for her not to let up.
She was close, she could feel it and she wanted it so she pushed her finger in all the way to her third knuckle and stuck her tongue in as deep as she could, licking the roof of Ty Lee’s opening while her finger moved up and down, drawing out the last bits of pleasure she needed to send her over the blissful edge into heavenly release.
Her whole body went stiff and her vision swam. She was deaf to the shrill sound roaring from her throat as her entire being was flooded with sensation, every nerve firing like a cannon. She held Azula tightly in place as she continued lapping up every drop of essence that spilled out her.
She rode the wave as long as she could but it still had to end eventually, Azula gradually slowing in her efforts until she pulled fully back, both panting in the cold air, Azula’s mouth dripping with Ty Lee’s wetness. Grabbing her own discarded top from the floor she used it to wipe her face clean, then crawled up to be level with Ty Lee, kissing her softly. It wasn’t hungry or desperate like their past ones, it was content, happy. She was happy. More so that she had been for a long time.
“So,” Ty Lee began, pushing Azula back lightly with a hand on her shoulder. “What does this mean? For us, I mean.”
“I…” Azula wasn’t sure how to answer that. As much as she typically loved to have the final say in every matter, to make every important decision herself, she knew that it wasn’t her choice to make. For once, she had to let go, give up control, and let someone else take over. There were plenty of people that Azula had come to trust with her life, but for the first time in her life, she was ready to trust someone with her heart. “I don’t know. I suppose it isn’t up to me, however.” Azula sat back on her heels, folding her hands into her lap. “Whatever you want, I understand.” She closed her eyes, bracing for anything. She was about to find out if this would be one of the best days of her life or one of the worst.
Feeling another pair of hands close around hers made her let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. Ty Lee pressed a kiss delicately to her cheek. “All I want is you, Azula. As long as I have that, I’ll be just fine. Do you wanna… talk about this in the morning?”
“That would be wonderful. It is getting a little cold sitting out like this.”
“Hold on.” Ty Lee leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed her forgotten sleep shorts, pulling them over her legs. Azula had drawn back the covers while she was redressing her lower half and gestured for her to join. Together they crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to their shoulders as they lay side by side, facing each other in the dim glow from the window. Ty Lee pulled Azula close, letting her nuzzle into the crook of her neck, breathing deeply as they both closed their eyes, arms wrapped loosely around each other.
“I love you, Azula. I promise, I always will.”
“On my honor, I will always return.” There the two stayed. Hours passed without either of them waking and hours more where both refused the glaring sun’s call to action. There was no telling what their future would entail or what highs and lows it would bring with it, but for the first time in many years, Azula had hope that it would be bright.