Chapter Five

"Azula… You've mostly been wearing my clothes for the past week or two. It's not a problem, but we need to get you clothes that were designed for you." Ty Lee said cheerfully. Azula looked away uncertainly, blushing slightly.

"Um… I… Don't have any money… Zuko has all the family's money. And… I couldn't make you spend your money on clothes for me… You've already done more for me than I deserve." She muttered, seeming slightly resentful at how helpless she was.

"Make me? I can write Zuko to reimburse me later if that would make you feel better… But you really do need your own clothes. I'm a bit shorter than you, and…"

"Yeah, yeah… Your boobs are bigger than mine… I get it…" Azula said, scowling.

"Well, regardless, we need to get you some clothes…" Ty Lee said, laughing nervously, not sure how to respond to such a comment.

"Preferably ones that suit you. Clothes off the shelf won't work… We can get them custom made." Ty Lee said, actually excited to be clothes shopping with Azula. I knew your old sizes, but you're so much thinner now. We'll need to have them made with a bit of room to grow, now that you're not starving on a daily basis." Ty Lee said, taking Azula's hand and leading her through the streets of Republic City.

Finally, they made it to a very nice looking store, where Ty Lee pulled Azula, who seemed to still be hesitant into it. Immediately, they were greeted by the clerk.

"Hello, Ty Lee… And who is this lovely young woman?"

"This is Azula… My girlfriend… We're shopping for her today. She just got out from a hospital stay, and well… You know that hospital food… She lost a lot of weight.

"She needs clothes that fit her."

"Ah, of course, of course. Let's take some measurements… We can leave a little space for growth… What were your measurements before you lost so much weight?"

"Um… Ty Lee… I… Don't remember…" Azula whispered urgently. Ty Lee laughed.

"Well… Azula has gotten a little bit taller since she went into the hospital… Maybe an inch at the most…" Ty Lee said, suggesting healthy measurements for the tailor to work with, including her new height. The tailor nodded, writing down the measurements and said that if there was a mistake, that she could easily hem the clothes. Ty Lee thanked her and took Azula to the next store. She needed her own shoes.

Azula had been wearing her old shoes and they still worked, but they were falling apart. They were torn at the seams and the soles were peeling off or were simply completely smoothed down in places.

"Boy… I uh… Haven't gone shopping in at least four years. Republic City really popped up out of nowhere, didn't it?"

"Well… Most of it is stone, so earthbenders were able to build the majority of it. The parts made of wood went up pretty quickly as well. It was a planned city, so it's elegantly designed and all went up at once." Ty Lee said, wrapping her arm around Azula's waist, kissing her reassuringly and taking her into the shoe store, walking right past the front desk.

"Ty Lee! It's been a while." The owner said. Ty Lee smiled back at her.

"It sure has, Leng… How are your daughter's chi blocking lessons going?"

"Oh… We had to take her out… She was going wild with them, using her abilities on people in the city… She almost got arrested once… It was lucky we were able to smooth things over with the families of the victims… The police chief wasn't happy, but he accepted it."

"I'm sorry that my skills were used for such purposes…" Ty Lee said quietly, feeling bad that anyone would abuse their skills like that, especially when it was Ty Lee who taught them the skills.

"Well… We've punished her suitably and she promised not to use them again unless her safety was in danger. Who is this with you?" Leng asked. Ty Lee's brown eyes lit up.

"Oh! This is Azula… My girlfriend." She said, seeming so happy that Azula's tiredness began to evaporate. Ty Lee's energetic aura was having a reviving effect on her.

"She's beautiful… Azula… The Fire Nation princess?"

"Yes… I'm sure you've never heard anything good about me." Azula said, her tiredness returning all at once. Leng laughed.

"Well… I've also never met you… It's not fair to judge someone before you know them… And Ty Lee has good sense… She wouldn't be letting you into her life if she didn't trust you."

"Oh, thank you… I um… Need shoes."

"You certainly do." Leng gasped, looking down at the shredded shoes on Azula's feet. "Those shoes are in shreds. There's no excuse for you to be wearing such things on your feet.

"Did you have an idea of what kind of shoes you wanted?"

"I guess whatever is cheapest…" Azula muttered. Ty Lee was already spending so much time and money on her. It didn't seem right to ask her to spend more than she needed on something that nobody would even be looking at."

"Azula…" Ty Lee said, her eyes going wide. "I promise you, I can afford all of this. My family was wealthy to begin with and with my Chi Blocking schools, I can assure you I'm not short on money. Buy whatever shoes you like… Try on a few pairs… Find something that's comfortable. Please? For me…?" Ty Lee said. Azula sighed. She couldn't refuse Ty Lee when she was making that face, when she was asking like that.

"Thank you, Ty Lee…" Azula said, kissing Ty Lee gently. Ty Lee sighed happily. There was something so satisfying about kissing Azula like this. She had never expected a relationship with Azula to be so fulfilling. When it first started, her relationship hurt, both physically and emotionally. But now, Azula was so gentle, so loving. Ty Lee found that she was crying.

"Ty Lee? What's wrong?" Azula asked. Ty Lee took a deep breath.

"Oh, nothing… I'll explain later… I promise…" She said. Azula nodded and continued trying on different shoes, occasionally standing up and walking around. After about an hour, and at least 100 pairs of shoes later, she showed the owner a pair of shoes.

"These are perfect." The Fire Nation princess said proudly.

Leng nodded and wrote a few numbers down.

"Alright… 100 Yuans… Thank you. Have a great day." Leng said as Ty Lee and Azula left. As the two women left the shop, Azula collapsed on a bench. Ty Lee hurried over to her, sitting down next to her and holding her in her arms.

"Azula… Are you alright?" Ty Lee asked. Azula sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm not ready to be out of the crazy house. I'm still completely insane. I just can't handle the world yet."

"Azula, you weren't insane. You were sick. Just because you were ready to leave doesn't mean that you can handle everything yourself. Even I can't handle everything myself. That's why I have friends and family who care about me and help me when I need it. I've got my family, I've got Mai and Zuko, the Avatar and his friends. And you have me. I'm not going to let you fall. Please just trust me." Ty Lee said.

Azula nodded, leaning into Ty Lee, wanting to be closer to the woman that she loved, the woman that she knew she needed. Suddenly, Azula started.

"Hey… You promised me earlier that you would explain why you were crying?" Azula said. Ty Lee nodded. She had forgotten as well up until just that moment.

She was having fun watching Azula trying on shoes, seeming almost like her old, confident self… But without the anger and cruelty that dominated most of their interactions.

"Right… I was crying because I was happy. Azula, I've always been attracted to you, but I never expected to have a fulfilling relationship with you. I loved you, but…"

"I know… I was never a very good girlfriend, was I? I never expected you to take me back… I… Thank you… For giving me a second chance. I'm not sure I ever even deserved a first." Azula said, seeming terribly insecure. Ty Lee smiled, kissing Azula tenderly on the lips.

"Of course. Your aura was completely different when I saw you again for the first time. You were changed, but lost and scared… I knew you needed me." Ty Lee said. Azula's eyes widened.

"So you took me back because you felt sorry for me!" The Fire Princess demanded furiously, heat radiating from her body. Ty Lee shook her head.

"Of course not. I could understand your pain. I empathized with you, and I wanted to help. I loved you, and I still love you now, Azula. People who love each other help each other."

"I… That's not what I learned."

"You mean from the man who only cared about you so long as you excelled? The man who banished his own son for something as small as speaking out of turn? The man who antagonized you until you were in tears?" Ty Lee asked, her mood souring, thinking of Ozai, who had turned Azula into such a broken young woman.

"Ty Lee… Are these feelings ever going to go away? I've never felt so insecure, so scared. It wasn't until I realized what a monster I was that I understood how much I had hurt those who meant the most to me. You've forgiven me so easily… But I don't understand why. Aren't you afraid I'll start hurting you again?" Azula asked. Ty Lee laughed.

"Of course I'm not. I told you. Your aura gives you away. You wouldn't hurt me. I forgave you because being angry doesn't help me. It doesn't help you. How can you prove yourself if nobody gives you a chance? I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But today, I'm happy with you. I'm glad that you came back. And well, I've wondered if I did the right thing ever since I first betrayed you." Ty Lee said, seeming somber suddenly.

"Ahaha… You definitely did. It was the best thing for me. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize what a good friend you were. I wish it didn't take me losing everything and everyone who mattered to me to realize just how much I had hurt the people around me." Azula said. Ty Lee checked her watch. They had been out for almost the whole afternoon. The young Chi Blocker stood and brought Azula back to the clothing store.

As the two walked in, the owner walked over to them.

"We're just about to close for the evening, but our seamstresses have made up two sets of clothing for Miss Azula. Perhaps you would like to try them on to make sure they're the right size?" The manager asked politely. Azula nodded, taking the clothes and heading into the changing room, coming out a few minutes later, seeming satisfied with them.

"They're perfect. I'm still thinner than I should be. I'll grow into these." She said.

Ty Lee thanked the woman and paid her for the clothes and the two headed out, going back to Ty Lee's home for the night.