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Honestly, Ty Lee should've known better. Nobody could fool Azula, certainly not herself. Maybe there was a moment of hesitation before Azula had realized, maybe, but she was too good of an actor for Ty Lee to be sure if that was the case. Regardless, the moment the two were alone together, Azula was done playing along.
"When exactly did you intend on filling me in on little this plan of yours?" Azula asked, picking at her nails. To anyone else she would've looked cool and collected, but Ty Lee knew Azula too well for that. She was nervous, and trying to mask her discomfort with disinterest. If Azula was fine, she wouldn't make it a performance
"I mean, you'd figure it out eventually, right?"
"Do you not realize the importance of this alliance? Your family would have provided a direct link to the Kyoshi warriors, and you have ties to Earth Kingdom nobility, which allows the marriage to serve as a symbol of peace without infringing on Earth Kingdom sovereignty." She took a breath. "You've— what, severed that tie to Kyoshi, traded places with your sister? You can't expect this to go unnoticed."
"There's seven of us, nobody's gonna care." Azula was taking this all way too seriously. "Ty Woo has wanted to branch out from the circus lately. She was planning on joining the warriors before the marriage was even a thing. How would anyone know we swapped?"
"Do you not think people might notice? And that when they do, they'll have opinions reflecting the crown, me, you, your family, our nation—"
"They never noticed me anyway," Ty Lee mumbled. "Trust me, they won't now."
"You've interfered with an incredibly important diplomatic event, and you're just hoping they don't notice? From now on, people will be watching you every day for the rest of your life. You'll have to act better than you've ever acted. After all, I could tell within moments."
"Yeah, you're Azula, my crazy-talented best friend. Not the masses of people who never even saw me until yesterday."
"And when one does? What will you do?"
"She's my sister, we look the same, I'll be fine," Ty Lee shrugged. "Look, this doubt is really messing with my aura, okay?"
"Is your aura unbothered by lying?"
"Azula, would you rather be married to me or to her?" Ty Lee asked. For the first time in the conversation, she made eye contact as she spoke. When Azula flinched, Ty Lee pulled back a bit. Azula had never looked quite like this before. Her expression was unreadable, but if it was anyone else, she'd say they were blushing. Her molten-gold eyes glinted with something scarily close to worry. This was strange on Azula's face, but Ty Lee wanted to memorize it anyway. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with the original plan! But you know me, and she always wanted to lay low. All the job really needs is us to show up to things together. Things can be normal, right?" Her hand hesitantly reached for Azula's, and Azula permitted Ty Lee to take it.
She'd expected Azula's hands to be calloused. Similar to how Mai's hands were from her knives, or her own had grown after years and years of ropes and tricks. Instead, the skin was oddly soft and moisturized and warm. Maybe her personality was all edges and bluffs, but Azula's hand were like hot tea on a cold day.
"What about those boys you love flirting with? You'll slip on giving that up, and then it's over."
"Are you kidding?" Ty Lee giggled. "Who said anything about giving up? They're already fun to mess with, and that type loves gay girls." She pitched her voice up. "You're so strong, and if you buy me and my wife drinks, you can watch me kiss her." She shook her head with a smile. "Boys. They're so stupid."
It felt so strange, seeing Azula so unguarded. Ty Lee knew that Azula had changed while she'd been with the Kyoshi Warriors, and that she'd been getting mental health treatment. That didn't make it feel normal for Azula's eyes to grow soft at the word wife. It certainly didn't make it feel less strange when a corner of Azula's mouth twitched, and at one of Ty Lee's jokes, no less. After years of knowing that her best friend had looked down on her, it was alarming to suddenly be seen as an equal. Ty Lee could guess why, though: being able to surprise her would make Azula look at anyone in a new light.
Ty Lee wasn't raised a tactician, but she was raised as Azula's friend, and she could guess how Azula had assumed things would play out. Ozai would have made her marry a man, and she would have made sure the man would give her even more power. She'd said once that she'd like to marry an idiot, so he could be the perfect puppet. When Zuko became Fire Lord, Azula wouldn't have thought to change the plan, given how preoccupied she was. With her current status in the fire nation, she probably would accept a lesser deal than she would've earlier, since she had less power to begin with.
Her whole life, Azula had dismissed her eventual spouse as just another step up the ladder. She hadn't expected it to be someone she could care about or fall for. Ty Lee had just uprooted that expectation, if Azula's sudden softness and worry and expressiveness were an indicator, and the shock had broken some of Azula's walls.
Ugh, she hated thinking that much. Getting in Azula's head was exhausting.
"You're marrying royalty, we don't need their drinks."
"But isn't it fun to see what you can make them do?" She scooted closer to Azula, leaving only a little space between the two.
"I suppose," Azula replied with a smirk. "How does this plan work if you want things to be like they were? Before you took your sister's marriage?"
"I said it can be, if you want that." Ty Lee brushed some of Azula's hair behind an ear.
"You—" For the first time, Azula wasn't sure what to say.
"It wasn't easy to marry you," Ty Lee giggled. "I wouldn't have gone to all this effort if I'd be opposed to a relationship."
"I thought you were just being selfless," Azula joked. "You mean to tell me it's not all just for your sister?"
"Hey, my aura aligned with hers on this. It was the right decision for both of us." Her grin turned soft. "And maybe, for you as well." She closed the inches between her lips and Azula's. Unlike the stiff kiss after their vows, this was something soft and electrifying and real. Ty Lee hated being trapped, hated being seen as one of her siblings, and hated conforming. Yet, despite the oppressive atmosphere of court, and despite this bringing everything she'd hated about her early life back to the surface, she could see it being worth it if it meant being with Azula.
