"Ty Lee!" Azula's voice rang out. "Have you been listening to anything I said?"
"Sorry, Azula," Ty Lee replied, giggling self-consciously. "I was just thinking about someone — something else."
"Someone else, hmm?" Azula murmured curiously. She followed Ty Lee's gaze across the open courtyard to where Aang, Sokka, and Katara were sitting, laughing as they ate their lunches. Her eyes narrowed as they focused on Sokka. "Aren't you ever going to stop lusting after him?" she scolded. "He's already denied you. It's time to move on!" she finished, a bit harshly.
"It's not Sokka," Mai said blankly. Azula turned to look at her friend, startled to remember she'd been staring into space. "Haven't you been paying attention?" Mai droned.
"Of course I have!" Azula protested. When I haven't been plotting my rise to political power, she thought.
Ty Lee shifted in her seat. "I wasn't really looking at anyone in particular…" she began.
Mai ignored her. "Then you must have noticed Ty Lee staring at Aang," she told Azula.
Azula's eyes sparkled dangerously. "Is that true, Ty Lee?" she asked.
"Um …" Ty Lee murmured, "I guess?"
"Do not guess!" Azula said hotly. "Either you have, or you haven't."
"I … have … looked at him. Yeah," Ty Lee admitted.
Azula looked over to Aang's table, just in time to see Toph and Sokka stand up to take their trays to the garbage. Her eyes narrowed as she considered the situation. "Come along, Ty Lee," she said haughtily. "We're going to see what we can make of this."
"But —" Ty Lee cried.
"No buts! If he doesn't act hospitably toward you, he will suffer the consequences." She turned to Mai. "Are you coming?" she asked, as if she didn't already know the answer.
"No," Mai replied, as terse as ever.
"All right, then," Azula replied, unruffled. "I'll be back in a moment."
"Whatever."
Azula grasped Ty Lee's hand and led her, none too slowly or too gently, across to where Aang sat, finishing his wrap and watching the chickadees flitting around the tree nearest him. Azula dug in her heels to come to an abrupt halt just behind Aang's seat, throwing Ty Lee forward. "Hello, Aang," Azula said sweetly.
Aang turned around and looked up at her, fear coming into his eyes. "Hi, Azula," he said cautiously. "Hi, Ty Lee," he added as she peered at him from behind her friend's back.
"Hi!" she cried nervously.
"Aang," Azula began, "it seems to me that you and Ty Lee ought to know each other better. You should have dinner together. Tomorrow night."
"Well … I suppose," Aang replied, trying to work himself free from Azula's intimidation.
"Good. Then it's settled. I'll leave you to work out the details." Without so much as a goodbye, Azula turned her back on the two and walked off haughtily.
Aang and Ty Lee tried to avoid one another's gazes, Aang tugging absentmindedly at his collar as Ty Lee aimed a smile toward his feet. Finally, she spoke up. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she said sheepishly.
"No! No, it's all right," he assured her. "Should we just meet at … at the noodle place, then?"
"Um?" Ty Lee replied, as if she were distracted. "Oh, yeah, that'd be great!" she beamed. "7:30?"
Aang smiled. "I'll see you then."
"Oh — well, bye!" Ty Lee replied, grinning as she sauntered off.
Aang stayed rooted to the spot, gazing unseeingly in Ty Lee's direction. He wasn't sure if a few seconds or two minutes had passed when a punch landed on his forearm, making him flinch.
"You've got a girlfriend, Twinkletoes!" Toph said loudly, her voice slightly singsong.
"It's only a dinner!" Aang protested as he spun to face her. "One dinner!"
Sokka shrugged as he came up from behind Toph. "I dunno, Aang. It starts with one date. You never know where it'll end up. But I'm sure we can't draw any conclusions yet!" he added hastily as Aang flushed.
"Besides," Toph said as she clapped Aang's shoulder, "the date isn't even the best part."
Aang's eyes widened in alarm. "What is?"
Toph grinned. "Wait till Sugar Queen hears about this!"