Second Chances

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The two girls spent the rest of the evening tucked away in Azula's cabin. The princess had no intention of stepping outside so long as the events of the morning were fresh in reporter's minds. That was fine though, she enjoyed playing Pai Sho with the acrobat and learning about her time in republic city.
"It's definitely a different atmosphere. It's familiar in some ways but I feel very aloof," Ty Lee explained, moving one of her pieces after a long moment of contemplation.
"Is it the people?" Azula asked.
"Yes," Ty Lee nodded. "Many of them are friendly and kind. But the older benders and none benders are callous. They do things to spite their own people simply because they want to move on. Because they want a better future. It's stupid if you ask me."
"It must be hard for them," Azula sighed, shifting a piece of her own. "They only knew the world my father and grandfather created. Now, everything that was, all that is,  has been turned upside down. Even if they aren't conscious of their biases, fifty years of collective thinking is hard to re wire."
"But they could at least try," the acrobat frowned. "Some of them are and I'm patient with them. I can tell they want to change but they're afraid too. It's just that so many of them would rather hate than adapt. That's what made the war so horrible in the first place."
"You're right," Azula agreed, "but in time our generation will replace what they knew with what is present. And if anyone can show those stuck in the past how to move on it's you. Don't think I'm not aware how many people still distrust the fire nation. But people trust you and you represent us. There's a reason I wanted you to have this position and not myself. You can shape things in ways I can't."
"You give yourself too little credit," Ty Lee blushed, growing bashful at the compliment.
"No, I'm giving you enough credit. People overlook you. It isn't fair nor is it right. You're smart, and your intelligence is unique," Azula insisted. "It's a shame others don't see that."
Smiling to herself, Ty Lee moved another piece, and their game continued on in silence. Azula won, as usual, but Ty Lee never minded it.
"You're getting better," the princess noted.
"I played with Aang when I could. He's surprisingly good." Ty Lee grinned. "Sokka is horrible though. Toph is blind and she does better than he does."
"That reminds me," Azula smiled faintly, "are you and Sokka close?"
"He took me under his wing, offered me a place to stay. I would have stayed with Aang and Katara but Sokka insisted that was a poor idea considering those two had a ton of business to attend to. He's funny and I think we get along," Ty Lee shrugged.
"I see," Azula nodded. "I thought you would. Is he still in contact with his girlfriend?"
"Suki? Yeah, but it's been difficult. He says it's harder to stay in touch now that republic city is really taking off. I'm not sure how much longer they'll last. I hope they work it out though. They made each other really happy," Ty Lee sighed, frowning in worry. "But maybe he can focus on staying in touch with her a bit more now that you're here. I won't be so much of a bother if I'm showing you around!"
"I don't know how long I'm staying," Azula admitted. "But I suppose a day or two can't hurt."
"Perfect!" The acrobat beamed. "You'll love it I promise."
"I'm sure I will," Azula laughed lightly. "Now it's late and I'm tired. Do you want to stay here or should I escort you back to Sokka's?"
"I'll stay here," Ty Lee decided.
"Alright," Azula nodded, cleaning up their game and setting it aside. She didn't expect Ty Lee to make herself comfortable in the small bed. The last time they'd slept together it had ended horribly. Part of Azula worried, but the logical part of her knew it was a senseless worry. She was a different person now and there were no knives under her pillows.
Climbing beneath the sheets with care, Azula rolled onto her side and noticed that Ty Lee was already sound asleep. The image of the acrobat sleeping with her mouth partially open, one arm draped above her head, and one leg sticking out of the sheets nearly made Azula laugh. Sometimes she forgot how quickly the acrobat could just turn off her brain. She supposed that after a full day of none stop thinking and talking it would be easy to shut down.
"Goodnight Ty Lee," Azula hummed, closing her eyes and letting darkness slip over her mind.
— — —
"Reporters are fast," Sokka winced, holding up the newspaper whose front image was something neither Azula nor Ty Lee expected. It was a picture of yesterday, the two had just made it out of the make shift court room and Azula's hand was still in the acrobat's grasp. The headline wasn't about the new financial decision but SECRET FIRE NATION ROMANCE? MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK.
"That's not even fair!" Ty Lee grumbled. "Azula gets anxious in crowds. I was just trying to make sure she stuck by me."
"You don't have to tell me," Sokka insisted, holding his hands up in defense. "You should have seen the headline they had about me two months ago."
"What was it?" Azula asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Water tribe councilman caught fawning over the avatar. Does his sister know?" Sokka mocked, arching his hands in the air as if making an invisible headline.
"That's the dumbest thing I think I've ever heard," Azula replied, her expression flat.
"Exactly," Sokka snickered, "so I wouldn't take this to heart too much. If it makes you feel better they also accused Toph of not actually being blind."
"You're kidding," Ty Lee frowned, "right?"
"Absolutely not. But thank the spirits she can't read because I tell you that newsroom would be so deep in the ground they'd pop out the other side of the earth," Sokka grinned.
"Well, I appreciate you bringing this to our attention," Azula sighed, passing back the newspaper.
"Of course. Oh! And Katara is insisting on all of us having dinner together. Ty knows where they live so if you want to go you can, but I know you and my sister don't particularly get along," Sokka laughed nervously.
"I'll think about it," Azula promised.
With that, Sokka went on his way, and the two fire nation girls set off towards the inner portions of the developing city.
Here, it was clear that some of the more long term residents had made themselves at home. Stalls and a small market were set up allowing shopkeepers to call the attention of workers as they passed by, kids roamed about in clusters of twos and threes, and even pets scampered across the fairly crowded streets.
"You have to meet Piper," Ty Lee smiled, dragging Azula over to a single stall where a little girl missing both of her front teeth sat looking at a rock with care. "Watcha got there Piper?"
"A geode," the girl replied, "and I'm trying to determine where I ought to crack it open."
"She's incredibly precise. It's impressive," Ty Lee bragged.
"What do you have with you?" Piper countered, momentarily looking away to study Azula.
"A good old friend of mine," Ty Lee smiled, wrapping an arm about Azula's shoulders. "She's never been to the city before so I thought I'd show her around."
"Neat-o," Piper smiled. "Watch this."
Picking up a small chisel and hammer, the little girl settled the stone carefully upon a wooden plank with a spherical hole cut out of it. The rock rested perfectly in the little nest and after one hard tap, the stone split perfectly in half revealing the crystallized insides.
"Impressive," Azula mused, "how did you learn to make the perfect cut?"
"Well, I was always good at breaking things so my parents said I ought to put it to use. Then I started breaking rocks in half and people like when things are perfect so I started selling them. They make good gifts," Piper explained. "You can have this one if you want. It's blue on the inside."
"You don't have-"
"Well it's too late because I'm already giving it to you," Piper interrupted handing over the broken stone excitedly.
"I see why you like her," Azula mused, as Ty Lee took the rock from Azula to examine it.
"Oh hush," the acrobat pouted. "Well Piper, have a good day. We have more exploring to do."
"Have a good day too and watch out for stinky old Linnaeus. He's off his rocker again," Piper's nose wrinkled up in disgust.
"Linnaeus?" Azula asked as she followed Ty Lee once more.
"Old man handing out pamphlets encouraging people to dissolve the city and abandon unity. He calls himself a person interested in human nature but I find him quite pessimistic. He thinks all people are inherently bad," Ty Lee explained.
"We have the potential to be but that doesn't make it so," Azula agreed, earning a smile from the acrobat.
"That's the spirit," Ty Lee laughed. "Now, how about we head over to one of my favorite places for lunch?"
"I can't argue can I? I know nothing of the city," Azula smiled slightly.
"Fair enough," Ty Lee shrugged, skipping ahead as Azula followed closely behind. To the princess it seemed like little had changed. Sure, Ty Lee's position was one of importance but that clearly didn't eliminate the fun loving side she possessed. It was refreshing to see, and frankly Azula didn't want anything different. Let other people think Ty Lee was a little goofy. Who cared? Forcing her to change would be cruel, and Azula wasn't having any of it. If others were thrown off by the acrobat's personality it'd only make political gains that much easier to acquire.
Shaking her head, and thus shaking away her thoughts, Azula finally matched Ty Lee's stride as they rounded a corner and crossed the street. The place Ty Lee loved so much was a small little niche in a wall so to speak, but the homely nature of the place was comforting.
"If it isn't our favorite person," boomed a large man wearing a white stained apron. "And you brought a guest. An esteemed one too!"
"Azula this is Min, Min this is my friend Azula," Ty Lee smiled, introducing the two.
"No introductions needed. I know royalty when I see it. Come sit," Min grinned, shooing them towards a small table. Aside from a handful of other people, the place was relatively empty.
"He seems like a nice gentleman," Azula noted, taking the seat where her back was facing a wall. She'd be lying if she said it didn't make her uncomfortable not being able to see everything in front of her. Let alone leaving her back exposed.
"Oh he is. He tells the funniest stories too. Most are about his cousin," Ty Lee laughed. "He said that his cousin sneezed so hard once, a noodle came out of his nose."
"That's...interesting," Azula murmured, her nose wrinkling in slight disgust.
"Oh it gets better," Ty Lee smirked, "because this was at a wedding. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be?"
"Well, I'm sure he's flattered Min is telling all sorts of folk about it," Azula joked.
"Eh, he probably doesn't know," Ty Lee said, waving a hand flippantly in the air.
"So, what will it be young ladies?" Min asked, stepping up to their table.
"Same as always," Ty Lee smiled warmly. "And whatever you think she'll like best."
"Oh, I know just the thing," Min assured, turning to leave when he paused. "I almost forgot the daily riddle! Meal is on the house if you get it right. It's difficult though so think hard before you answer; 'A man had a bar of lead that weighed 40 lbs., and he divided it into four pieces in such a way as to allow him to weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. What are the weights of the four pieces?"
Ty Lee blinked in confusion. Normally she wasn't too bad at the riddles Min gave, but this one she couldn't do in her head. If anything, she'd need a good hour or so to work it out on paper.
"One, Three, Nine, and...Twenty Seven," Azula replied. Min's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well, you're the first to get it today. Brilliant. How did you do it so quickly?" He wondered, momentarily forgetting his job.
"One is necessary. If you can't weigh one pound the riddle already fails. If you use a two sided scale. You can weigh two pounds by placing a one pound weight on one side and the three pound weight on the other. From there it's a math game that I won't bore you with," Azula explained, bashfully looking away as Min's disbelief only grew.
"Bring her more often," He chuckled, patting Ty Lee on the shoulder, "she's entertaining."
"I'll try," the acrobat laughed.
As Min left to handle his business, Azula cleared her throat and studied the table top with care. "So, is he always so impressed by people?"
"Yes, but I've never seen him so excited. It's adorable. You really impressed him," Ty Lee grinned. "Not everyone is so smart or quick at math. I'd have taken forever and needed multiple sheets of paper."
"It's all in the way you think of things. That's all," Azula mumbled, finding the attention a bit overwhelming. She wasn't used to this sort of atmosphere where people seemed to make a point of emphasizing all she did.
"Hey," Ty Lee frowned, "are you okay?"
"Fine," Azula breathed, "just not used to all of this. That's all. People used to pay attention to me before but it always felt sort of...dissociated. Now it's like that barrier is gone and it's a bit overwhelming."
"Well, if you want I can tell Min-"
"No, it's fine." Azula insisted, suddenly making eye contact. She didn't want to ruin the day for Ty Lee. Not when she'd been so excited to show Azula around. "I'll adapt."
— — —
The food was good, and Min made great company. He was a cheerful person who talked to all of his customers as if he'd known them his whole life. Azula could only imagine how many hours he and Ty Lee had spent talking about senseless things all over a bowl of warm food.
The princess made sure to pay him generously though he insisted it wasn't necessary due to the riddle, but if she was going to pay anyone more than need be it would be a good man who deserved it. Though the food had mellowed Ty Lee's mood, she still walked with a small bounce to her step as they traversed the streets. The lights framing the sidewalks began to flicker on as the evening sun slowly set. Azula hadn't thought they'd spent so much time at Min's, but apparently they had.
"Oh gosh," Ty Lee sighed.
"What is it?" Azula asked, following the acrobat's worried gaze.
"They're back at it again looking for stories," Ty Lee grumbled, trying to switch directions before any of the news reporters caught sight of them. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky.
Like moths to a flame, the news folk flocked about the two in a flurry. Azula was mildly aware of the jostling amongst them but she was bombarded by loud questions and a flashing cameras which caused dots to dance in her line of sight.
"Do you have any comments on the headline?"
Azula barely managed to utter, 'what?' before a new question shot into the air.
"How does the fire lord feel about this development?"
"Any comments?"
"Guys," Ty Lee frowned, "come on, really? I'd be happy to explain if you stopped yelling-"
Still, the chorus of voices didn't stop, and Azula was finding it hard to breathe. She could barely see as every camera flash reset her eyes despite them having adjusted, and her brain couldn't process all of the sensory information coming in at once. She was vaguely aware of her hands shaking quite violently, and grasping desperately for the acrobat's hand in a silent plea for help.
Instinctively, Ty Lee drew Azula closer so their shoulders were touching. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew none of the reporters were going to give up easily.
"I can't be here. If they do something that upsets me I won't be able to stop myself...," Azula whispered, another bright flash destroying her train of thought. All it took was something to trigger her subconscious and a reporter would be on fire.
"Hey!" A loud voice momentarily broke the onslaught of questions. Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder to find Toph strolling down the street with a nice sizable stick in hand.  Why? Ty Lee didn't know, but the sight of the earthbender was enough to make the crowd of reporters nervous. "Leave the nice ladies alone and get out of here. You bunch of idiots can fabricate another storyline alright?"
"But-"
"Blah blah blah," Toph mocked. "Princess has anxiety dumb fucks. Her friend here is just trying to make sure she doesn't incinerate you on accident. But, if you wanna die, keep doing what you're doing cause you're only making things worse. Frankly, I'd love to see one of you go 'poof.'"
"You're bli-"
"Don't say it!" Toph snapped. "It's a figure of speech. Now go before I set you on fire without any firebending."
The crowd grudgingly dispersed.
"Thanks Toph," Ty Lee sighed. "How'd you know about the newspaper?"
"Sokka told me," she shrugged. "Katara's working on reigning these bone heads in. Aang too. It's disturbing the peace."
"What's the stick for?" Ty Lee asked.
"Sometimes I don't feel like bending so I whack them instead," Toph grinned. "Welp, off to Twinkletoes' place. Follow if you'd like."
Without looking back, Toph continued on her way occasionally whacking the stick against a wall for fun.
"You okay?" Ty Lee asked, finally able to look at Azula without being blinded.
"Yes," the princess nodded. "You go on with Toph. I'll find my way back to the ship."
"No," Ty Lee worried, catching Azula by the arm. "If you don't want to go I'll stay with you. It's not a hassle I promise. I'm sorry you got roped into all of that-"
"It's not your fault," Azula interrupted.
"I know," Ty Lee continued, "but I didn't want you to have to worry about other people while you were here. At least for today. And I ruined that by taking you around the city. I'm sorry."
"I'll be fine," Azula insisted, giving the acrobat's hand a squeeze, "go."
Ty Lee lingered for a moment before running after the disappearing earth bender. Azula watched her for a moment before crossing the street and setting off back towards the harbor.
It wasn't that she was trying to shut Ty Lee out, she just needed to be alone with her thoughts. Because as much as she'd hoped the rest of the world hadn't adopted the fire nation's mindset, it had. There were things that should and shouldn't be done. One of those things was holding hands with people you weren't supposed to.
Azula remembered all too clearly the blistered hands of fire nation offenders. It made her skin crawl and she found herself clutching her own hand to her chest as if she'd burned it. Part of her knew things weren't quite the same as they used to be, but no matter how much she began to feel welcome in the world again, she was reminded that it was a lie. There were things about her that people would not and could not forgive. But it left a sour taste in her mouth because they could forgive her war crimes, they could forgive what she'd done to people, to nations, but they could not forgive something she never had a choice in. Something even her father couldn't instill in her.
The thought was crippling, and she fought back tears for the first time in a while. There were times she was reminded that the world was not fair, that it had never been fair, and that it had never loved her enough to try and be fair.