Laughter rang from inside the Jasmine Dragon as Uncle Iroh told his best tea jokes. Mai stepped onto the balcony with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She set the cup down on the stone railing and looked out at the setting sun. 

"It's beautiful, right?" Ty Lee said as she skipped out onto the balcony. She set her cup next to Mai's and stood next to her, looking out at the sunset. 

"Yeah, it is," Mai agreed, smiling softly. She turned to Ty Lee. "How's Kyoshi Warrior training?" 

"AMAZING!" Ty Lee said enthusiastically. "How's the Fire Lord?" She asked teasingly. 

"He's fine," Mai answered. "Why do you care?" 

"Because you care," Ty Lee said, giggling. "Hey, you're trying to change the subject on me!" 

"No, I'm not," Mai deadpanned. 

"She's lying!" Toph called from inside. 

"Oh shush, rock-reader!" Mai yelled. 

"Hey, I like that nickname," Toph said. "OK, continue whatever you were doing before I kindly put in my way of seeing things!" 

Ty Lee laughed and looked back at the sunset. 

"Do you ever think about... her?" Ty Lee asked quietly. 

"All the time, actually," Mai admitted. "But she's in therapy, so hopefully she's doing better." 

"Yeah," Ty Lee agreed. "I'm still a little scared of her," Ty Lee admitted. "But I still miss 

of what she would do to us if we stopped listening to her. But we were still friends, even though we were scared of the fire." 

"I guess you're right," Mai said. "I do miss her a little." 

"Maybe we could go and see her...?" Ty Lee asked shyly. 

"No," Mai said immediately. "She's still mad at us. I know she is. I don't want her to hurt you. It was too close last time, and I don't want her to move faster this time and hit you. Or me." 

"I'll move as fast as I need to," Ty Lee said. "If she even does try to hurt us." 

"Did I ever say thank you?" Mai asked suddenly. 

"For what?" Ty Lee asked. 

"For saving my life," Mai said. 

"No, I don't think you did," Ty Lee said. "But you don't need to," she added. "You would've stopped Azula if she was going to hit me with lightning, wouldn't you?" 

"I guess I would," Mai said after a moment of thought. "But still," Mai reached out and squeezed Ty Lee's hand. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome," Ty Lee said, smiling. "Now, come on, let's go inside before Sokka eats all of the rice balls." 

"I saved at least one for you girls!" Sokka yelled as they ran inside. "Maybe one and a half. Maybe a quarter." 

They all laughed and joined the others.

About a week later... 

There was a knock on the large doors of Mai's grandparents' mansion. Mai opened the doors and found Fire Lord Zuko standing there. 

"Oh, Zuko!" Mai said, surprised. "Why are you here?" 

"Azula wants to see you," Zuko said. Mai froze. "Both of you." 

"Both of us?" Ty Lee asked, skipping in from the living room. "Like, both, both of us?" 

"Yes, both, both of you," Zuko said. "You don't have to go..." 

"No, let's go," Ty Lee said, linking her arm with Mai's and walking outside. 

"Wait," Mai said. She stopped Ty Lee and pulled her out of the earshot of Zuko. "Ty Lee, are you sure? We don't have to go, and I don't want you to get hurt..." 

"Mai, it's OK," Ty Lee said, smiling reassuringly. "I asked Zuko how she was doing yesterday and he said that she's doing so much better. She might not forgive us, but we can forgive her." 

"If you say so..." Mai said. She turned to Zuko. "Let's go. I have a chariot that we can ride. Thanks, Zuko." 

"Be safe," Zuko said as they stepped inside the carriage. 

A few hours later, Mai and Ty Lee arrived at a large, beautiful building. They stepped out of the carriage and walked to the large doors. Mai reached to open the door but paused right before she touched it. 

"You ready?" Mai asked Ty Lee, looking over at her. Ty Lee took a deep breath and nodded. Mai pushed open the tall doors and they stepped inside.

at them. She ran to them, wrapped her arms around both of them, and held them in a tight embrace. 

"I'm sorry," Azula whispered. "I'm so, so sorry." 

Mai and Ty Lee blinked, surprised. But the shock only lasted for a second. Tears filled Ty Lee's eyes as she wrapped her arms around Azula and squeezed her tightly. 

"It's OK now, Azula," Ty Lee whispered back. "I forgive you." 

"So do I," Mai whispered, a few silent tears tracking down her cheeks. "I forgive you, too." 

Azula loosened her tight grip on them and wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

"I really am sorry," Azula said. "I know I was just so frightening, and you were afraid of me." They walked over to a patch of sunlit grass under a large willow tree. They sat down and Azula took a deep breath. "I was just so afraid that if you girls didn't want to be friends with me anymore, I would be alone. Again. And so, I did the only thing that I knew to do; I used fear. But now I know what's stronger than fear. Love. And I'm just so sorry for all those years that I treated you like things, not like people. I just didn't want anyone to leave me. And Mai, when you told me you loved Zuko more than you feared me, I was just so sad, but my father always told me that emotions showed weakness, and so I just turned it into anger. And then when you, Ty Lee, chi-blocked me, I just couldn't believe that I had lost the only two people in the whole world that I cared about. And then I let my emotions get the better of me."

a blur. I just felt like I couldn't trust anyone anymore, and that I shouldn't have even trusted you two. I barely remember anything after I challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai. All I remember is so many emotions, tangled together—just so much anger and sadness and loneliness and emotions that I can't even describe, all tangled up together in a huge ball of grief. And then I remember chains being wrapped around my wrists. And then I just... lost it. I don't remember anything. Just so much sadness that I didn't know what to do with... It was just... so much. Too much." 

She looked up at Ty Lee and Mai. 

"And then I woke up here. I walked outside, and it was just silent. I looked at the sky, and it was clear. Not a single war balloon in the sky. Not a flicker of flames. Just... nothing. I had never felt peace in my life, and then I finally did. I remember lying on the grass and just watching the sky. Honestly, I was waiting to wake up from it. I was waiting for my father to scream my name and for me to come back to reality, but I never did. And then Zuko came. And he told me everything that had happened... and everything I had done. And then I cried. And I said that I was so sorry for everything I had done, and that I didn't know what had taken over me. I thought Zuko would be mad, but he just cried with me. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through. Ty Lee, I'm sorry for taking you out of the circus. I knew you were really happy there. And Mai, I'm sorry for taking you away from your family."

the Kyoshi Warriors in prison!" 

"Oh, right, you don't know about Ty Lee being a Kyoshi Warrior," Mai said, a small smirk playing on her lips. "Don't worry, you do not want to see Ty Lee in that awful makeup and ugly outfit." 

"Hey!" Ty Lee argued, laughing. "You're just jelly that you don't get to wear the traditional makeup and outfit!" 

"Yeah, no, I'm really not," Mai deadpanned, looking at her nails. 

Azula laughed. Ty Lee's grin widened, and she looked at Azula. 

"Yay!" Ty Lee cheered, giving Azula a quick hug. "That was a real laugh! Not an I'm-evil-and-planning-evil-stuff laugh! It wasn't an I'm-going-completely-crazy laugh either! Yay!" 

"Yay," Mai said. Her voice was completely unenthusiastic, but a small smile played on her lips. 

"Wow, Ty Lee," Azula joked, laughing. "You have different names for my laughs?" 

"No," Ty Lee corrected. "I have very appropriate names for your laughs." 

"That's the same thing," Mai said, chuckling. 

At the end of the day, Mai and Ty Lee stood up to leave. Azula stood up as well and followed them to the doors.

inside. 

"You know what, Azula?" Mai said, looking at her. "Ty Lee and I don't care what you've done. The world might hold a grudge against you and the things you've done, but as long as Ty Lee and I forgive you and we have your back, we don't care what the world thinks about you." 

"What... what are you saying?" Azula asked, her golden eyes full of hope. 

"What we're saying, Azula," Mai began. 

"Is that you're coming home with us," Ty Lee finished, jumping out of the carriage and giving Azula a tight embrace. 

"Thank you for giving me another chance," Azula said, smiling a real, touched smile as she climbed into the carriage and shut the door behind her. Ty Lee patted the seat next to her, smiling up at Azula. Azula laughed and sat next to Ty Lee. She looked at them. "Thank you both." 

"Ugh," Mai said, sticking out her tongue as if she had tasted something sour. "Don't get too mushy. This is the exact reason I brought my daggers." 

"You would never hurt Azula even if you tried!" Ty Lee pointed out. Mai looked at her and sighed.

“So…” Azula said as the carriage rolled along the dirt path. “What’s happened since…everything?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Mai said. Her gaze flicked to Ty Lee and then back to Azula. Mai’s lips curled into a small smirk. “Though, one interesting thing actually did happen…” 

“Mai…” Ty Lee said, glaring at her. 

“What?” Mai said, smiling innocently at Ty Lee. “Anyway, where was I? Right, interesting thing. So, the Gaang introduced Teo to Ty Lee and now their- “ 

“Mai!” Ty Lee yelled, blushing, jumping across the carriage and covering Mai’s mouth with her hand. Azula laughed, looking at them. 

“Dating.” Mai finished, pulling Ty Lee’s hand off her mouth, laughing softly. 

“MAI GUIRTA PALLEN!!” Ty Lee screamed, covering her face with her hands, blushing. Azula clutched her stomach, laughing, leaning against the window for support. 

“Guirta?” Azula said between laughs. “Mai, that is an absolutely dreadful middle  name.” 

"Yeah right.” Mai said, rolling her eyes. “That was a pretty lucky guess.” 

“Do you know my middle name?” Azula asked Ty Lee. 

“I umm…no…?” Ty Lee said, clearing her throat multiple times in a row, her eyes widened and darting back and forth from Mai to Azula. “And if I did…would it be…um, just guessing…Amber? 

“Why, yes, what a good guess,” Azula drawled. “How, out of all odds, did you ‘guess’ my middle name?” 

“I guess I’m just…really lucky?” Ty Lee mumbled, smiling. 

“You are such a bad liar.” Mai said, shaking her head, laughing. 

“But being adorable makes up for that, right?” Ty Lee said, giggling. 

“It does.” Azula laughed. “So, it’s a good thing that you’re cute, or you would never survive.” 

“Well, I already did so ha!” Ty Lee retorted, grinning.

“Oh my gosh, no, no, no, no.” Mai said, shaking her head vigorously. “We are not there yet.” 

“Oh, yes you are!” Ty Lee continued, giggling uncontrollably. “You kiss like, fifty times a day!” Ty Lee teased. Mai groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Ha-ha! Now it’s your  turn to blush!” Ty Lee said, cackling evilly. 

“You,” Mai groaned, her voice muffled by her hands. “Are an absolute menace.” 

“An absolute adorable menace.” Ty Lee corrected. 

“Azula, we’re here.” Mai whispered, gently shaking her awake. 

Azula groaned softly and opened her eyes. She felt something warm curled up against her side. She looked down and saw Ty Lee snuggled up against Azula, her head on Azula’s shoulder. Azula looked back up at Mai and saw that she was watching both of them with a warmth in her eyes that Azula had never seen. Mai looked at Azula and smiled softly, then looked back down at Ty Lee.