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“Wanna race to the top,” Ty Lee asked, her head tilted back so she could see the top of the twenty foot cliff face. There were plenty of hand and foot holds but it was definitely treacherous as it was on a ninety degree angle, practically straight up into the sky.
She wasn’t really expecting Azula to take her up on the offer, as the Princess was often averse to unnecessary risks where she was involved. She was partial to games full of logic and strategy, where all decisions were calculated and all risk was assumed only after careful deliberation, which Ty Lee abhorred.
The gymnast preferred contests that had an element of recklessness. It was what had drawn her to the circus at such a young age.
Azula wrapped her arms around Ty Lee’s midsection and pulled her back against her front.
Ty Lee relaxed back into the hug and closed her hands over the top of Azula’s.
Azula pressed a kiss to the top of Ty Lee’s head and inhaled slowly, taking in her girlfriend’s scent of cherry blossoms, which was actually her scent because Ty Lee had most recently showered in Azula’s bathroom, which was much larger and nicer than hers at her family’s house. Not that Ty Lee had spent that much time at home recently.
“What would the winner get,” Azula whispered into her ear.
Ty Lee perked up, almost hitting her head against Azula’s chin as she spun around. Azula shifted her hands down to Ty Lee’s bottom, cupping it gently.
“Bragging rights?” Ty Lee asked with a hopeful smile.
Azula tilted her head to the side, thinking.
“No, I don’t think so,” she said.
Ty Lee lifted her arms and wrapped them around Azula’s shoulders, pulling herself closer.
“What do you have in mind, in that case?”
“The loser should have to do something, terrible,” Azula whispered with a smirk.
Ty Lee groaned and buried her head in Azula’s chest.
“Why does everything have to be terrible with you?” She asked.
“Why don’t you pick the terrible thing. Choose what you will be subjected to,” Azula said. “This will make it more fun for me to beat you.”
“If I lose…” Ty Lee thought out loud, “I’ll wash your hair for you just like you like.”
Azula raised an eyebrow.
“Is it really so terrible for you,” she said.
Ty Lee shook her head quickly.
“I don’t wanna pick anything terrible!” She complained. “I like when you are happy you like when I wash your hair anyway. That’s a win-win for both of us!”
“But the point is that someone loses,” Azula pointed out. “One person wins and one loses.”
“I don’t wanna climb the cliff against you anymore, you’ve spoiled the fun,” Ty Lee said, squirming. “Let’s just go back to the picnic blanket. We haven’t eaten the fruit yet.”
Azula let go of her but held onto her hand as she scanned the scenery around the picnic Ty Lee had set up for their date. Her gaze settled on a small river off to the side.
“I got it,” Azula said.
“Got what?” Ty Lee asked, turning back towards her.
“The loser has to jump in the river.”
“What? That’s the easiest way to get sick! We’re really far from home.”
“I’ll just dry you off,” Azula said. “With my fiery kisses,” she added, picking Ty Lee up and spinning her around as she demonstrated by kissing her all over.
Ty Lee giggled as she slid out of Azula’s arms.
“Fine whatever,” she said, walking back to the cliffside. “Are you ready to race, then?”
“Sure,” Azula said, trailing her fingers up it. “Let’s go.”
Azula grabbed an easy hand hold and started using her upper body strength to pull herself up. She tested each grip carefully before placing her weight on it.
Ty Lee watched in wonder for a few moments as her girlfriend used the sheer strength of her insanely muscular arms to lift herself up the face of the cliff, using her feet and legs only for stability.
However, Ty Lee knew she wasn’t as strong as Azula and she decided to employ a different strategy.
Leaping as high as she could, Ty Lee grabbed a hand hold in the rocks and pulled herself against them, sliding her feet into cracks where she could get a good launching surface. Looking up to spot for another hand hold, Ty Lee tensed and launched herself upwards again.
Pausing from her meticulous but evenly paced climb, Azula turned to see what Ty Lee was doing as she heard little grunts of effort.
Just as she did so she watched in horror as Ty Lee’s hand knocked a rock loose and she slid down the rock face a few inches before grabbing something with her other hand.
“Ty!” Azula screamed, her heart rate increasing so much she couldn’t hear anything else.
She held her breath until Ty Lee turned her smiling face towards her girlfriend.
“Worried ‘Zula?” Ty Lee asked, panting slightly at the exertion as she secured herself. “Or are you bragging that you’re up higher than me?”
“I’m only concerned that it won’t be a fair victory if you shatter yourself,” Azula said, trying to keep her voice at a laid back drawl but her worry was betrayed by a slight quiver on the word shatter.
“I can take care of myself,” Ty Lee said, turning to look up. She was about halfway to the top after only four launches. Azula was a little bit above her. Tensing, she got ready to throw herself further up as Azula shook her head lightly and continued to pull herself up, every few seconds throwing a careful glance at her girlfriend.
The next time Ty Lee jumped felt perfect and she reloaded almost immediately, shooting herself up again. However, the handhold’s she’d been aiming for were not as deep as she’d calculated and Ty Lee almost entirely.
Feeling the start of a free fall, Ty Lee kicked her foot forward and made solid contact with the cliff face. She used the motion to propel her back and she launched herself into a half turn and a forwards flip, angling herself towards the grass and landing safely in a somersault a few feet away.
She looked up at the cliff, expecting to see Azula gloating victoriously at the top but was surprised to find that she couldn’t see her girlfriend on the cliff at all.
Instead Azula was flying, and in the wrong direction. Her hands and feet were aflame as she moved with incredible speed to land next to Ty Lee, causing the grass beneath her feet to smoke. She looked furious.
“What are you doing,” Ty Lee said, chuckling lightly as Azula landed next to her, her golden eyes glinting with anger. “You could have won.”
“You said you could take care of yourself and then you fell 15 feet!” Azula said loudly, halfway to a yell.
“I’m fine, though,” Ty Lee said, standing up and spinning around. “It wasn't that high up. No harm no foul!” She added with a giggle.
“You could have gotten hurt!” Azula said, raising her voice.
Ty Lee frowned.
“No need to yell at me,” she said.
Azula scowled at her and muttered, “I shouldn’t have let you do that.”
“You’re not my mother. And even my mother can’t tell me what I can or can’t do. Only I can do that,” Ty Lee said, getting mad herself. “I’m seventeen years old and so are you!”
Her anger faded immediately when she noticed Azula’s eyes were wet.
“‘Zula? Are you okay?” Ty Lee asked, moving forward and taking her girlfriend by the arms gently.
“You could have gotten hurt,” Azula said again, this time much quieter.
“Aw, baby,” Ty Lee said, wrapping her arms around Azula’s midsection and hugging her tightly.
Azula hugged her back, a few tears escaping from her eyes and dropping onto Ty Lee’s shoulder.
“I didn’t realize you cared that much,” Ty Lee said when she pulled away and walked Azula back to their picnic blanket. “I’ve done many dangerous things around you before. Agni, you yourself put me in dozens of unsafe situations during the war,” she said with a lopsided grin.
“This felt different,” Azula said, looking down at the grass.
“Why?” Ty Lee said. “We were just having fun. There was grass on the ground and I’m an exceptional gymnast, if I do say so myself. Remember my final circus performance? That was much scarier.”
“Well at that time…” Azula said. “I didn’t…”
“Didn’t what,” Ty Lee prompted, picking up Azula’s head by her chin. Azula blushed deeply at the forced eye contact.
She was ready for Azula to say that she didn’t know it was dangerous, or that she didn’t realize that wasn’t normal, any of the typical things Azula had commented upon learning since the end of the war.
“I didn’t know I was in love with you,” Azula whispered.
Ty Lee’s hand fell and she blinked at Azula, shocked. That was the first time Azula had said that.
“Y-you what?” Ty Lee asked.
Azula didn’t respond, she just got more and more red and felt as far from regal as she’d ever been, losing hope every second Ty Lee would say she loved her back.
“I love you too,” Ty Lee managed to push out, pressing her forehead against Azula’s.
“Oh,” Azula said softly, letting out a sigh of relief. “Good.”