A/N: This is one of the edited brief/spontaneous oneshots that I deleted from my main account and am now reposting on my new drabble account.

Happy Endings

Azula looks at her and all Ty Lee can think of is the nightmares. Oceans that burned azure, trees that crumbled to ash as Ty Lee walked past them, flames starting from a net beneath her and engulfing all she loves.

And all Azula does is say, "Do something that interests me, won't you? Slit your wrists or walk on your hands, anything but sit there and stare."

The princess's voice is like a memory from a dream and this is the first time Ty Lee has heard it in ten years. Ten years. A decade since she destroyed a beautiful, fragile thing. And from Azula's pouting lips and cocked eyebrow, she can tell Azula is not as overwhelmed by the situation as Ty Lee is.

"You look nice," Ty Lee says softly and Azula snorts derisively. She laughs slightly, golden eyes sparkling with a hollow amusement.

"I know that I don't." Sharp. Bitter. To the point. There is no glamour or sugar in her purring tone and she does not bother to tack on any kindness. "So what is it you need?"

They are alone. Azula leans against a dusty bookshelf in an archaic library detailing information about Fire Lords and history. Ty Lee is trying not to sneeze from the dust as she stands with her arms crossed, attempting to make herself as small as possible. She wishes she could fade into the fabric of time and just float aimlessly.

She does float aimlessly, most of the time upside down. Trying to fade into motions with fans and trying to erase herself like she did with acrobatics. Made twenty friends to try to forget two of them. Had an excuse for every request for her to come to the Fire Nation.

But one letter, she did not drop into the sea and watch sink. Because it sounded like it could cure her affliction of being incessantly haunted. Azula's sick. Come see her. It sounded urgent. From Mai, who was smart enough to realize that Ty Lee was never going to respond to her correspondence.

And Azula looks sick. Zuko was trying to force her to lie down when Ty Lee arrived. And she burned him. After that, he simply cursed and told her to dig her own grave if she wanted to. Her face is wan, her hair draped around her. But she still fills a room with a lurking fear, and aura of devastation.

Princess Azula the Conqueror of Ba Sing Se.

Ty Lee simply followed her. And there you have it. They wound up in a library, examining each other like two animals in the wild, wondering who will strike first. But instead of teeth and claws it will be with words and old, ripped open wounds.

"I just wanted to see you," Ty Lee offers, struggling to string the individual words together. Azula does not seem to approve of her speechlessness.

"You never came before," Azula says with a small shrug. "I'm not dying or..." Azula shrugs again. Her chin points slightly towards the ceiling, her eyes flickering around when she talks as if she does not care enough to make eye contact. She manages to look dignified in a red kimono robe, coated in a layer of cold sweat that feels like ice water.

"Not dying or anything," Ty Lee attempts to finish, but her words are slightly breathless. "Do you want to go... do something?"

Azula purses her lips, contemplating it. "I don't see why not."

Ty Lee did not expect it to be that easy. But she nods sharply. She isn't sure why Mai insisted that she come. Azula was hurt by Ty Lee more than anybody, and she is sure that the girl who betrayed her and their fledgling love is not who she wants to see while she is ill. The Kyoshi Warrior was expecting to show up and have Azula demand she leave or she would execute her by way of lightning. But she just agreed to a date.

"I'll see you at sunset, then. Go... walk on your hands or whatever it is you do," Azula says slowly, disappearing out of the library. Ty Lee stands there silently for some time, unsure what to make of it. She spent years of her life analyzing Azula, and she thought she was long past that. The people she sleeps with, she spends no time trying to comprehend. Maybe first love is just different. Maybe first love is for fools.

[X]

Azula, in her room, takes a deep breath.

Firebending comes from the breath.

It hurts her lungs, but it soothes her racing heartbeat. Whoever told Ty Lee to come she wants to have executed or banished. She made amends with Mai, somewhat with her brother as much as she both hates and envies him. She is twenty-four and very, very far away from fourteen. She has the maturity and intelligence to not cross people when she cannot follow up like she used to be able to.

She plays with lightning on her fingertips and has not killed someone in years.

So what did she do wrong to deserve this?

Slowly, she opens her armoire and searches through clothes. She burned her wardrobe when she was placed into the care of her brother. She burnt down her bedroom and collapsed into hysterical tears and locked herself in her room for some time. But everything was replaced, painted over. It is new and she is new.

So what did she do wrong to deserve this?

"Azula," comes a voice from the hall. Mai. "Did it go alright? Ty Lee just walked out. She wasn't crying or anything but she didn't look too happy."

"I can't control her emotions. They're her problem."

Silence. "I hate you, Azula."

"I know, Mai." Smirk.

Ty Lee is stunned. She stands, trying not to look ridiculous, in front of the palace, waiting for the princess. She looks incredible. Still... sick. But incredible. Or maybe she always does. Ty Lee does not know.

"You look really pretty, princess," Ty Lee chirps and Azula shrugs again.

"I know I do," she responds smoothly.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Ty Lee inquires and Azula freezes. She looks like a statue. She would be a beautiful statue.

"I'll just vomit it up," Azula says honestly. "Let's go to the pier."

And Ty Lee nods. They do go to the pier. The sun is setting over the Gates of Azulon as Ty Lee examines the merchant ships. It has changed since the war. The people are different too. The fashions are altogether different; her Fire Nation clothes are strange to her. She went into the shops expecting one thing and wound up with entirely another. The buildings are different. Some she recalls are completely gone. When she looked for restaurants to take Azula to, only one remained from her childhood a decade ago.

There is only one constant. Amongst the leaves that change to red and gold in the fall, only to fall off and crumble, there is one evergreen. And that evergreen tree is walking beside Ty Lee.

"I missed you," Ty Lee says and she means it. She grabs Azula's hand and holds it. But she feels slightly queasy when she realizes she can feel bones through her clammy skin. They walk together and Azula hears whispers about her. She always does. "Are they talking about us?"

"Yes," Azula says as a man turns his head and quickly turns away.

"I bet it's because we're so pretty," Ty Lee says feebly and Azula wishes she wouldn't. They sit down on a bench and Azula crumbles slightly, her knees buckling. Ty Lee catches her and Azula grits her teeth.

She does not need her help.

Ty Lee takes a deep breath and says, "I want to talk to you."

"Nothing's stopping you," Azula says, staring at the ocean. It glitters as the moon rises and the sun fades. She hates nighttime. Her body is constricted enough with the onslaught of illness; she does not need to be without the sun and this far away from the palace.

"I've avoided the Fire Nation for a long time now."

"So I've noticed." Truth.

"I want to say I'm sorry."

"I didn't miss you." Lie.

"Oh... uh... I guess that's for the best. Mai told me to come because you were sick. It's kind of masochistic of me to come here after everything that happened."

"It was a very long time ago." Truth.

"I'm sorry, Azula. I'm sorry for everything."

"I am too." Unsure.

Silence. They sit there for a moment, Azula as if on a throne, Ty Lee leaning close so she can feel the heat radiating from the princess's body. Her skin is cold but her body is still warm like the sunlight.

They talk. They don't mention any of the bad times. Not prisons and asylums and drills and wars. Inside jokes have become stories. They delay inevitability with nostalgia as the city stares at their trademark crazy princess and her lesbian lover from days long gone.

"We should go back," Azula says, feeling the fatigue set in over her. She is slightly breathless.

"Whatever you want to do, princess," Ty Lee says and Azula momentarily envisions her as an overly amicable girl with a braid and not the rather intoxicating woman she has become.

"I don't hate you," Azula says abruptly as Ty Lee stands up. She sits for a moment, trying to gather herself. "I never did."

She never could.

She helps Azula to her feet, bowing pointedly to act as if it was a gesture of respect for royalty and not because there was no way Azula was getting up on her own.

"I was in love with you. I'm still in love with you," Ty Lee whispers.

"Well isn't that unfortunate," Azula replies airily and coldly. Ty Lee's protuberant eyes water.

Maybe there are no happy endings.

[X]

Azula steps out of the palanquin and nearly falls on her face. She catches herself with a needlessly showy blast of blue fire. Ty Lee shields her face, but Azula feels significantly better about herself when she is bending.

Because she is strong when she is training. Lightning is powerful. Walking is hard.

"You're certainly a prodigy," is all Ty Lee says as Azula takes her hand. She winds up supporting the princess as they walk into the palace and towards her bedroom.

"I actually took up teaching firebending for a while." Before she got sick.

Ty Lee laughs hysterically. "Children? You teaching children?"

"Mhm," Azula purrs as Ty Lee helps her onto her bed. She sinks into the mattress, enjoying the relief. "It was interesting. I was significantly less insane about it than my father. I never made any of them train on broken glass barefoot."

And Ty Lee runs a fingertip along the scars on Azula's feet. Azula shivers slightly.

"You want to sleep with me, don't you?" Azula purrs and Ty Lee does not know what to say.

At least Ty Lee would call out the right name during sex.

"A little."

"After all you did to me?"

"I said I was sorry," Ty Lee stammers, turning as pink as her dress.

"That doesn't erase guilt," Azula says, pushing herself onto her knees. She crawls to the end of the bed as Ty Lee stands, frightened. "But maybe you can convince me to forgive you."

Her lips touch Azula's. It feels as electric as it did all of those years ago. A ghost falls into a fading star, tearing at her clothes. A fiercer kiss this time and she momentarily fears Azula will snap in half, but their tongues intertwine and Azula's sharp fingernails dig into Ty Lee's skin. One of them draws blood and Ty Lee bites back tears.

Azula tears Ty Lee's clothes from her with surprising ease. Her own, however, she stumbles on. She looks frustrated and hurt and Ty Lee does it for her, covering her with a thousand burning kisses afterwards as some gesture of goodwill.

She's not weak, she's strong.

Her hand slips to Azula's small, round breast. Azula places her fingers behind Ty Lee's back as her nipples harden. Their lips touch. Azula's are dry and taste like blood, Ty Lee's soft and sweet. Azula slips up slightly, her hold weaker momentarily. She feels her breath constricting around her and Ty Lee pushes her onto her back.

Azula closes her eyes and hopes she is not dreaming.

Ty Lee's lips touch her navel and she moans.

She probably is dying or something.

Ty Lee sinks lower and Azula is sure that she must be finally dying and this is her dream as she fades away.

When it is over, when she reaches climax and she digs into Ty Lee before she is too tired and pretends she is just finished so she does not have to admit she is sick, she realizes she is not dreaming.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Azula murmurs, swallowing bile. She feels nauseous as she lies down and tries to calm her racing heart.

Be cool and collected. Don't let her see through the facade.

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Stay then," Azula orders, her voice regal and commanding. It sounds odd coming from a slowly fading body.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to fly?" Ty Lee asks, staring at the ceiling. Azula shrugs.

"I've flown before. It's nothing to write home about," Azula says with a pointed nod. She is shaking like a leaf and Ty Lee holds onto her as if it can stop her from disappearing.

Ty Lee does not have nightmares tonight.

Maybe there are happy endings.

[X]

"Do you ever think about happy endings?" Ty Lee asks, sitting in the courtyard watching Azula practice. She still floats on fire as if her body is not breaking down more and more every day. Her form is perfect. She is perfect and Ty Lee does not plan to leave.

"You ask a lot of questions, huh? Big thinking for someone so dumb." Azula conjures lightning and showily plays with it. Ty Lee smiles slightly at the neon blue light, ignoring the harsh words.

"I always wanted that with you," Ty Lee blurts out, knowing she should not.

Well maybe Ty Lee should not have betrayed Azula. Maybe she should have let Mai and Zuko die. Then she could have her fucking happy ending.

"I don't think it sounds terrible." Truth.

"I want to get married and have one to two children and just be happy." It sounds silly. Especially coming from someone who had four men propose to her in the past five years.

"Good luck with that." Azula releases the lightning and it collides with a tree. It snaps in half.

"Oh," is all Ty Lee can say, watching the fire spread. Azula clenches her fist and the flames fizzle out.

And then she collapses. Ty Lee leaps to her feet and picks her up, hoping it does not anger her. She holds her there for a moment before guiding her to the stone bench. Azula sits down, her eyes livid but the rest of her body neutral and careless.

"I could've helped myself," she snarls and Ty Lee frowns.

Maybe there are no happy endings.

[X]

"One child," Azula says as Ty Lee wakes up. They lie naked together in Azula's bed, after barely speaking for the entire day. They fucked when they fell together at night, and Azula went to sleep silently. But now she is talking. "One child. I'm not having two."

Ty Lee smiles faintly.

"Well, then I think we need a pet."

"Something with fangs."

"I was thinking fur."

"Fur and fangs, final offer."

"Okay, princess."

"Go pick out a dress. We're getting married."

Maybe they'll have a happy ending.

"Zuko, I'm getting married," Azula says sharply. "Prepare a royal wedding."

"I'm not your serv ─ wait, what?" Zuko's eyes widen, his scar stretched across his face. Azula can only shrug.

"I'm marrying Ty Lee. In one week exactly. Now get on it, Fire Lord Zuko," she says, crossing her arms haughtily. Mai nearly chokes on her food.

"She just showed up four days ago and you're going to marry her? You haven't seen her in years," Zuko says, aghast.

"We wasted a lot of time hiding from each other. There's not much left. So do as I say, brother."

"You better do it, Zuko," Mai states, smirking faintly. Azula shoots her a mocking glare.

"Okay, okay. This can't be good publicity for the royal family." But he does it.

[X]

It is a spur of a moment affair. The princess and Ty Lee dressed in red, the impromptu ceremony making their hearts pound.

They both know the happy ending will never truly come to pass. Because while Ty Lee was running from her problems on Kyoshi Island, Azula was running out of time in the Fire Nation.

Princess Azula looks stunning today. Ty Lee cannot stop looking at her. Staring like a fool. Like when she used to watch her change in Ba Sing Se.

There is no one coming for the princess; she made more enemies than friends in her life, even in her quieter days of late. Ty Lee has brought an entire island. And they get married two weeks after Ty Lee saw her for the first time in a decade. It has to be the craziest thing either of them have ever done.

But they do not regret it.

Maybe there are happy endings.

Maybe not. Maybe there isn't a happy ending because infinity is not long enough.

Ty Lee spins around with Azula, guiding her through the dance.

No happy endings.

Infinity is not long enough.