Grin and Bear it

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48988300.

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar),
Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Ty Lee (Avatar)
Characters: Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Hurt No Comfort, Angst, nothing else, its just sad honestly, Unrequited
Love, Emotional Hurt, Pining, implied past zukka, but you didnt hear
that from me, no happy ending
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-07-30 Words: 684 Chapters: 1/1
 Grin and Bear it
by stupidslugs

Summary

Long after Mai and Ty Lee break up, Mai marries Zuko.

Ty Lee regrets what could have been.

Notes

this has been sitting in the back of my brain for like two years and i needed it OUT, no matter
how badly i executed it
All Ty Lee had ever wanted was to make people happy. She wanted to see them smile, and
laugh, and be able to enjoy life. And after she met Mai, she found that all she wanted now
was for her to be happy. Just her, the rest of the world be damned. They fell in love. Mai had
confessed to her, and they had a whirlwind romance. Ty Lee even asked her mother for their
heirloom ring.

But something happened. They fought, over something so silly, and decided to get some
space. But the space only grew, until Mai was barely within reach. But Ty Lee just wanted
her to be happy, so she let her slip away. They fell back into old habits, a friendship that had
once been based on assumption of unrequited love, now truly fell into it.

They were friends again, and maybe that was supposed to be enough. She just wanted Mai to
be happy.

So of course, when Mai, the better half of her soul who once thought the same of her, told her
she was engaged, Ty Lee promised herself she would push through. No matter how badly it
hurt to watch, no matter how much she wanted to run away and change her name and live in
the woods alone forever.

She told herself she would grin and bear it, no matter the cost.

And for a while that was easy. She got through every rehearsal, every shower and celebration
with what most would see as ease. She even made it through the ceremony. She cried, a few
stray tears falling from her glassy eyes in a brief moment of weakness, but everyone would
assume they were tears of joy of course.

And of course, she wanted to say something. To throw her bouquet on the ground, and
confess in a rushed frenzy of words- or maybe she just wanted to run and hide, pretend it was
all a dream. But she couldn't. She saw how happy Mai was. She recognized the look of love
that she gave her husband, and she couldn't bring herself to ruin that.

She had to grin and bear it.

She didn't fall apart. Not until the couples first dance. She found herself seeking solace in an
endless stream of champagne glasses, paying no mind to the very concerned waiters. She
couldn't do anything, She couldn't say anything.

And so, she watched. Ty Lee watched as her best friend's hand fell against her new husband's
shoulder, the other reaching up to cup Zuko’s face. She watched as they danced, gliding
across the floor as though it was as easy as breathing. She watched the way Mai twirled in
her gorgeous gown, the way her veil trailed along her back, and the way she smiled like no
one else was there but the two of them. Ty Lee wished she would smile at her like that again.

And then she thought. She thought about what life would be like if she did, if Mai smiled at
her like that for the rest of their lives. If they got matching rings, and found a home with each
other. Maybe they’d have a family, kids, or maybe it’d be just the two of them. Either way, Ty
Lee would be happy with it. as long as Mai was happy, too.
“Ty Lee?” The voice was soft, an unfamiliar comfort to her. She hated how it brought her
back, how it reminded her that this is where she was, that this was her bittersweet reality. She
should be happy, happy to have Mai in her life at all- and happy that Mai was so happy. But
she couldn't bring herself to feel any semblance of joy, not now.

“She isn’t mine,” she muttered, hand clasping at the one on her shoulder. Sokka grabbed it,
and squeezed. She smiled at him, a sad smile that didn’t reach her watery eyes, “but I will
always be hers.”

“I know,” his eyes flicked to the dancing couple, so happy and content with one another, “I
promise. I know.”
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