Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Azula, are you ready? We need to leave at the exact changeover time or we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow night to get out on time.” Ty Lee whispered over to her friend in an urgent tone. “Ty I’m literally ready, I was just grabbing the bottles from the hiding spot and making sure they wouldn’t clink in the bag.” she said in a deadpanned tone while motioning to the bag in her left hand. “So everything's ready to go?” Ty Lee questioned, not wanting to miss the very small time slot they had to sneak out of the palace. “No Ty lee, I said I was ready to leave with the bag because I thought it was funny- obviously I’m ready.”
“I’m ignoring the sarcasm right now because we’re in a rush, let's go.”

The conversation ended there as they began to sneak down the corridors of the ancient palace carefully avoiding guards that were leaving for breaks or had been assigned to patrol the corridors. After about 10 minutes of sneaking around they came to their way out for the night, a part of the fence that had been destroyed by azula in training recently that nobody knew to fix. Ty Lee climbed through first, then Azula passed her the bag and climbed out after her.
“So Ty, where is this ‘beautiful spot that we just need to get blackout drunk at’ exactly?”
“Oh ‘zula you’re going to love it. It’s this hill not too far from here with these gorgeous trees,” a small gasp leaves her mouth “and the view of the Fire Nation from there is breathtaking.” Ty Lee remarked with a smile that made Azula’s heart warm and reminded her why she loved this girl so much. “That sounds amazing Ty, but it would be a lot better if you actually took me to it” Azula playfully reminded her friend. “Right, you know how distracted I get when I think of something beautiful; like you, whenever I think of you I completely lose my focus!” she blurted out before realising what she actually said.

“Ty Lee, that is the cringiest thing I've ever heard. Thank you though.” she mumbled the last part of the sentence. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around upon hearing this, “Azula, did you just thank me? Oh my god, deep down you might actually be nice!” Ty Lee giggled as they both began walking again, well Azula was walking, Ty was skipping and doing cartwheels.

“Okay Azula we’re nearly here but I want you to let me cover your eyes and guide you there.” As she said this she stopped in front of Azula and grabbed onto her companion’s arms. “You’re crazy if you think I’m trusting you to lead me to the top of a hill in the middle of the night.” Azula scoffed while saying this, in a joking way though. “Zula pleaseee, I promise not to walk you too close to the edge of the hill, or into a tree.” She pleaded with her friend. “Fine, not because I trust you or anything, I just want to break the drinks out already.” Azula grumbled “Yes!! You’ll love it ‘zula” exclaimed the other girl happily. Ty Lee then ties the headscarf that was around her plait over Azula’s eyes and begins guiding her to the top of the hill.

After a few minutes of Azula just standing there she finally asks “Have you gotten us lost or like left me Ty?” she just giggled in response. “Alright we’re here! I’ll take your blindfold off now ‘zula.” After Azula’s eyes had adjusted to the newfound light she glanced around the hill in shock, Ty Lee had set up candles all around the hill and a blanket with a pillow for each of them. “All you need to do is light them.” She reminded her friend, a look of pure content on her face. “I didn’t do too much did I? Oh I ruined tonight didn’t I, I’m sorry ‘zula. I just thought it would be nice.” Before Ty Lee could continue with her anxious rambles Azula lit the candles and calmed her friend down by reassuring her with the words “Ty, I absolutely love it. How did you have the time to do all this?”

She gazed at Ty Lee with nothing but love, Azula couldn’t admit it but she’d been in love with Ty Lee for a while. She’d been trying to ignore it, but when she did things like this it made it ten times harder to bury. “It’s actually so embarrassing, the second I found it I thought of you and how much you’d love it and I wanted to make it extra special; so I picked everything up from the town and a few things from the castle while you were in a meeting with some politicians or something. I can’t remember what meeting it was but Mai was here with Zuko so I’m guessing it’s politics. Also they are such an insufferable couple sometimes they’re always all over each other.” Azula snorted out a laugh “I know right, I don’t know if they’re more annoying together or apart. But Ty, I love this so much thank you for doing this for me.” “It’s nothing really. But now, let’s get the drinks out!” Ty Lee exclaims with a clap. A small giggle leaves Azula’s lips, but in the back of her mind she’s trying to figure out how to get drunk with this goddess of a woman and not just blatantly confess her feelings. “Zu, did you bring any glasses or just bottles?” Ty Lee’s voice pulled her back out of her thoughts. “I can’t even remember, let me check the bag. Okay, we have one bottle of red, one of white and two plastic cups.” Azula lists as she pulls out each item. “Perfect, what one do u want first?” She responded, clapping her hands at the end of the sentence again, Azula would never admit this to anyone but she actually thought it was endearing when she did this. “Uh, I think I’ll go for white first then maybe have some red later, I’m not a big fan of red wine though.” Azula actually loved red wine, but she knew it was the other girl’s favourite. “Okayy, pass me my cup and the red wine please Zu.”

Chapter Text

Ty Lee was doing everything she could to seem normal, she was exploding with butterflies though. Sitting drinking wine with the straight girl she was secretly in love with was difficult. “Ty, did you hear me?” Azula’s voice shocked her back to reality. “Sorry what did you say, I got distracted by the view. I mean, look at it!” Ty Lee exclaimed while spreading her arms out as a cover to her true thoughts, the view of The Fire Nation’s capital was breathtaking from here though. “It is beautiful isn’t it,” Azula began with a softness in her voice that was almost never heard by anyone other than Ty Lee “as I was saying, do you want another drink- I’m about to pour myself one?” asked Azula, regaining her usual cold mask.

“Oh, that would be nice actually, also when you make it can you put some of both in? I tried it at this party once and it was so good. Thanks ‘zula!” she answers while leaning over to her friend, not breaking eye contact with the girl in front of her. She never wanted to leave this moment, Azula had a genuine smile on her face, even the thought of Azula being actually happy instead of putting on that stoic expression all the time makes her grin from ear to ear. The teenage girl realises she needs to stop herself from leaning any closer and passes Azula the plastic cup. That’s when she notices it. Azula chose these cups purposely; they're pink and red, the colours fading into one another, just like her and Azula.

“Hey ‘zu, these cups are kind of like us, pink and red mixing together. It’s so beautiful.” Looking into her friend’s deep amber eyes for a split second she thought she saw Azula look at her the way she looks at Azula sending shivers down her spine. “Ty, that's why I chose them, I saw them in the little bodega in Ember Island and I thought you’d like them. We’ve just not had the chance to use them yet and I wanted to save them for after we were home. Zuko would’ve said something stupid about it, and Mai would feel left out if I found you a matching gift and not her.” Azula half mumbled, embarrassed that Ty Lee had noticed the small gesture.

By this time Ty Lee was sitting right next to her instead of on the other side of the blanket like before. “Well it’s really sweet Azula, also have you poured that drink yet?” She couldn’t help herself giggle a little bit at Azula getting embarrassed over something so small. “It’s here, a mix of both together, strange, but very Ty Lee.” Azula jokes while passing Ty Lee the cup. They sit talking for a while looking over at the skyline of Royal Caldera City but after a few more drinks the wine had hit both their systems and Ty Lee makes a suggestion. “Azulaaa, can we play this card game I brought with me?” Azula didn’t hear the question, too focused on moving her pillow to the perfect position so she could lean on it comfortably.

Ty Lee took this as an opportunity to really look at Azula and what she was wearing, she hadn’t gotten the chance to without risking her close friend noticing the staring. She was wearing figure hugging pants that flared at the bottom in a deep shade of red and a slightly lighter shirt that looked almost pink, it could pass off as one of Ty Lee’s shirts. She had her hair down, Azula’s hair looked amazing down but she always wore it in a topknot to keep it away from the flames when she was training or fighting. That girl sure knew how to pick a fight. She was so beautiful, especially in moments like this, no people nearby that she had to keep her guard up around (which was nearly everybody), no battle strategizing, just them and the stars.

“So ‘zula, will you?” Ty Lee asked again a few moments after Azula had gotten comfortable, a slight slur at the end of her sentence. “Will I what, Ty?” answered the princess, slightly confused and a bit tipsy. “Play the card game I brought with me, it was in one of the shops I went into while you were in that meeting and I thought it looked fun.” Ty Lee explained with a smile remembering how happy Azula was when she took off the blindfold for a second. “Let's do it! Wait, how do we play?” Azula exclaimed, suddenly interested in this mysterious card game her crush had been drunkenly babbling about. “Right so we shuffle the deck of cards that’s in my pocket then we put it so we can’t see the writing on it and take one off the top. It will give you a question to ask me then I do one for you and we have to be completely honest; it’s made for two people so we shouldn’t have to skip any but we could do a thing so if we skip a question we have to take a shot to make it more fun.”

“Right let’s set it up then Ty, do you want me to shuffle or do you want me to do it?” Azula asked while having a sip of her drink. Ty Lee’s eyes were glued to her lips. “Uhm, yeah you can shuffle them.” she says, handing Azula the cards. “I think it’s going to be really fun.” Azula says, her voice relaxing but also strangely exciting to Ty Lee. The now shuffled cards were placed between the two, their drinks at either side of them.

“So who’s going first?” Azula asked. “I don’t really mind ‘zula, it's up to you.” the other girl replied in a chirpy tone “I guess I will then.” Azula confirmed while picking up the first card. “Tell an embarrassing story that nobody knows.” Azula reads aloud, Ty Lee thinks of an answer for a second. “When I was 13 I ran away to the circus for the day while my dad was working and I met this boy, I can’t remember his name, but we became friends. We spent the entire day touring the circus and at around sunset we sat on this field at the end of the circus and we’d been talking about random stuff then he tried to kiss me. I freaked out so bad that I ended up chi blocking him and running away while he screamed at me saying I was crazy and trying to get help.”

Azula snorted out a laugh at this, the sound was amazing coming from her lips. “I was so embarrassed, but I did scream an apology as I ran off. So I guess it’s not that bad.” Ty Lee giggled as she finished her sentence tears from the amount she was laughing forming in the corners of her eyes. Azula noticed this and wiped them away with her thumbs, a sign of her intoxication, Azula rarely touched people especially while sober. The small touches sent shocks through Ty Lee, she could feel her cheeks reddening after the other girl had let go. “Anyway, it’s time to ask you one ‘zula…” Ty Lee said, putting on an ominous tone. “Wait Lee, before we do that, did your parents ever find out that you snuck off to the circus? And why did you chi block him of all things?” Azula questioned, laughing at the last one. “My parents didn’t even notice I’d left, and I don’t know, it was just instinct. I really didn’t want to kiss him so it felt appropriate at the time, now I realise how stupid it was.” the young chi blocker chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s time for me to give you one.” Ty Lee smiled at her friend, friend, the usually pleasant and accurate word felt sour in her mind. Ty Lee wanted more than that with Azula; she always had it was just harder to push those feelings down on nights like this. “Do your best impression of any of our mutual friends or family.” Azula chuckled at this request, “Oh this is going to be easy.” she said, dragging out the y slightly. The taller girl put her hand over her left eye while making a small grunt sound to prepare her voice to imitate her brother’s “My name is Zuko, I’m the prince of the Fire Nation, or at least I was… I was banished when I was fourteen and now I need to restore my honour by capturing the avatar. Even though as a child I was SHIT at hide and seek, so sending me on this mission was essentially a permanent banishment.” Azula took a swig of her drink after finishing the impression of her older brother.

The sound of Ty Lee’s giggles played in her ears like a sweet melody, all she could do was stare at the beautiful girl in front of her, both forever in a state of longing for the other, unbeknownst to the other’s reciprocated pining. “Okay that was probably the best Zuko impression I've ever seen.” Ty Lee said, covering her mouth with her hand slightly to hide her smile. Noticing this Azula reached over and moved the other girl’s hand “Ty, don’t you dare cover that beautiful smile.” Azula commented, not realising what she said until the words were already out of her mouth. “You think my smile is beautiful?” the gymnast asked, a look of pure love in her eyes. “Ty are you kidding? Everything about you is beautiful, you’re literal perfection. Like, I look at you and all I see is a goddess!” Azula blurted out, the two girls' faces so close that Ty Lee could smell the mix of alcohol and cigarettes on the other’s breath. Not many people knew the crown princess smoked, it would be a massive scandal if it got out, Ty Lee didn’t see why it mattered, it was just a few cigarettes. When Ty Lee realised how close they were she freaked out, her, Ty Lee, this close to Azula, Azula the girl she had been obsessed with since they were 11, and Azula was, complimenting her in a way that made the other girl sound down BAD.

Azula seemed to think she’d made Ty Lee uncomfortable from the words and the lack of space between them and tried to move backwards, at this Ty Lee grabbed the other’s wrist and pulled her closer, their faces now mere inches away from each other. “Ty, what are you doing?” Azula asked in a whisper now almost on top of the girl, looking down to her slightly. “Azula, you’re so beautiful and amazing, I’m sick and tired of hiding how I feel from you.” Ty Lee mutters to the other girl, her heart going a million miles a minute, a thousand thoughts at once telling her this was a bad idea and that Azula meant everything she was saying platonically. She ignored every other thought in her brain other than the one telling her to lean in and kiss Azula.

Their lips touched at long last. The warmth of Azula’s hands that were now pressed firmly on Ty Lee’s waist felt almost as good as the kiss. She raked her hands through the other girl’s ebony hair, feeling glad she can actually hold Azula like this instead of just imagining it, Azula’s hot kiss leaving the girl breathless, she never wanted to leave this moment.

They finally break apart for air, eyes trained on one another, waiting for someone to say something. Azula is the first to speak. “Ty, how long have you felt like that about me?” The question shocks the other girl, taken aback about the fact she never noticed Ty Lee’s blatant pining, even Zuko had caught on by now- ZUKO! She starts to laugh, tears forming in the corner of her eyes from the amount she was laughing. “You’re trying to tell me, you never noticed the fact that I was head over heels in love with you for years. Oh my god Azula, I knew you didn’t always pick up on things like that but- fuck.” She said between fits of giggles. “Okay, you did not show any signs so it’s not my fault. Wait, did you say years?” She says, adding that question quickly at the end. “Zula babe, it was so obvious even your idiot brother noticed.” Ty Lee responded with a grin across her face, she probably wouldn’t be able to stop smiling if she tried. “There’s no way that Zuko caught onto something before I did! I must have been blind or something because if he can see it the entire Fire Nation probably could.” Azula groaned, throwing in a small but lighthearted dig at her brother. Since he had returned to the Fire Nation, he and Azula had really worked on their relationship, she was hesitant to trust him at first but Ty Lee had managed to convince her by talking about how unstoppable of a team they would all be if she could learn to trust him.

“Yeah well, you were never the best at picking up hints either, Ty.” She reminded her friend(??). At this statement the chi blocker lightly whacked Azula with her hand, “I am actually amazing at picking up hints Zu, you just never gave any.” Azula looked at her with an expression of utter shock. “No hints? Ty Lee, have you ever seen me let anyone get anywhere as close to me as you have? Or let anyone else touch me as much as you do? And come on girl, I am always around you, it was so obvious.” There was a slight slur in Azula’s voice, which made Azula’s ‘and come on girl’ comment even more funny. Sassy Azula is Ty Lee's favourite Azula. “All incredibly fair points but I thought I was just being delusional.” Azula cackles at this, “So did I Lee, you’re good don’t worry. Now give me another kiss.” She says tapping a finger on her lips at the end of her sentence. “Because you asked so nicely, I suppose I will.” Ty Lee responds in giggles.

The girls spent the rest of their night overlooking the Fire Nation sharing chaste kisses that always seemed to end too soon while drunkenly talking about how horrifically obvious it now seemed to each other that their feelings were reciprocated. They were just too afraid to make a move.