The next day, Aang and Azula had their daily spar, but this time, Azula was in a mood to win. She wasn't holding back, throwing one strike after another until he surrendered.

"Someone's back in fighting shape," he said with a laugh.

"And don't you forget it," she retorted.

That afternoon, Aang took Katara to the tea lounge where he ordered the jasmine tea with moon peaches.

"Don't you usually get lemon?" she asked.

"I like this tea too." He almost said Azula had introduced it to him, but their excursions were a secret.

The afternoon was a quiet one. It felt like there just wasn't much to talk about. Aang used to never have trouble talking to Katara, but today was strange. Both of them were relieved when they got back to the palace.

While they were gone, Ty Lee had come to visit.

"Zula, how have you been?" The warrior asked her best friend as she hugged her.

"I have a lot of surprising news," she said as they went up to her bedroom.

The acrobat was stunned to learn that Katara was having an affair with Zuko. "Do you think that's why he and Mai broke up?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. It would also explain Zuko's random trips, where he's gone for a week at a time or more, and no one knows where he is."

"When was the last trip?"

"Two months ago."

"That's when Katara came to Kyoshi Island." Ty Lee thought that Katara and Zuko were both better than that. Ty Lee wasn't the most innocent when it came to dating. She stole a boyfriend or two, but never from a friend. "What else is going on?"

"Well, this has all created the perfect backdrop for my BSP."

"You're what?"

"Boyfriend Stealing Plan. While Katara is canoodling with Zuko, I am taking this as an opportunity to seduce Aang."

Ty Lee stared at her to see if she was joking. The princess had her serious face on. Azula seldom expressed an interest in guys. The warrior and Mai had a bet over whether or not she was a lesbian, but here the princess was, plotting to seduce the avatar. She laughed. "Well Mai owes me 20 coins."

Azula quickly got the point. "She thought I was a lesbian? Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"I knew you were just picky when it came to guys. So tell me about this 'BSP,' she said with a chuckle.

"Well, it is quite ingenious. Aang knows about Katara and Zuko, and adorably, albeit foolishly, he wants her anyway. He's flirting with me and spending time with me to make her jealous, giving me the easiest opportunities to make him actually fall for me, and he, being none the wiser, thinks I'm just being a good friend and helping him get her back. Once I have secured his affection, I'll tell him that I like him for real, and he'll leave Katara for me."

The warrior shook her head, but she had a smile. Azula would come up with a master plan to get a boyfriend. "You can never just be simple, can you?"

"What's the fun in that?" Simple worked for girls like Ty Lee. Smile and wear a cute outfit, and guys encircle her. Azula wanted to get the top prize and that would involve better tactics. Ty Lee just drew in a lot of riff raff.

They went downstairs for freezy pops. Azula noticed Aang and Katara returning to the palace. She smirked and started licking her freezy pop provocatively, almost making Ty Lee burst into hysterics.

"Zula, what are you doing?"

"Seduction, my friend. Guess who's right behind me."

Surely enough, Aang's eyes drew to her mouth, watching the cold, phallus shaped pop, enter and leave her rosy lips. He gulped, harsh air going down his throat as the most impure thoughts clouded his mind. He didn't even notice Katara trying to talk to him.

"Aang, are you even listening?" she snapped.

"What? Oh, sorry. What did you say Katara?"

She glared at the princess. "I said did you want to go to Ember's Island while we're here?"

"Sure, that sounds nice. We don't have to go as fugitives this time," he teased.

Katara headed upstairs. Aang was still staring at Azula until the waterbender coughed. He promptly followed her.

"Tell me he wasn't staring at me the whole time," Azula teased Ty Lee.

"You're terrible."

"Don't judge me. You've stolen like 5 boyfriends."

"More like three, and I didn't know the girls at the time."

"What about that water peasant boy?"

"SHHH!" Ty Lee looked around to make sure no one heard that.

"No one's listening, Ty."

"That was just a drunken mistake, one we will never speak of again."

"Is that what you're saying now or is that what you thought then?"

The acrobat didn't answer.

"I don't owe this girl anything, especially the way she's been treating him. To the victor go the spoils, and I will be victorious."

Aang managed to make a reservation for Wednesday night at Cinders and Smoke.

Come Wednesday afternoon however, things were not going according to plan. Aang had just come back from getting flowers for Katara just to find out she was canceling on him.

"You're blowing me off to have a date with Zuko?" Aang snarled.

"It's not a date. The team is going out to dinner to celebrate the new deal with Arnook and he invited me for the work I did. You're free to come."

"Because I want to go out on a date with Zuko and his stuffy advisors." Like his advisors were even showing up.

"Can't you just reschedule?"

Aang groaned, but he said he would try. He was about to leave and go the restaurant when he saw Azula in the hallway.

"Excited for your date?" she asked him, feigning sincerity.

"I was about to see if I could change my reservation. Katara's busy tonight."

"That place books up fast. You might not be able to get in for another two weeks."

Aang growled. By then, he planned on going home. "I don't know what to do anymore. She acts like she's interested sometimes, and other times, I don't exist."

"Well, why don't we go? It's a nice restaurant, and I'm sure she'll regret not going with you."

Why not? If she wanted to spend her time with Zuko, let her. Aang did not have to sit and sulk because of Katara. "The reservation's at seven."

"I'll be ready at 6:30." Azula took the flowers up to her room. She was going on the date. Why did Katara need them?

Azula's plan could not be working any better for her. All she needed was the perfect dress. She searched her closet and found a black silk dress; it was strapless with a heart-shaped neckline and a flowery, lace pattern that went over the waist. It had never been worn and Azula thought it would do just the trick. She summoned her servants. "I am going out to dinner tonight, and I will need your help getting ready. I want to look feminine, inviting but not like a lush."

The servants nodded. They bathed her, shaved her, did her hair in an up-do, keeping it in place with a golden dragon clip. They put a gold and ruby necklace on her, sprayed her perfume and got her into the dress which was so tight, it looked like it had been painted on. She was showing more cleavage than she had expected when she first saw the dress, but her servants insisted she looked classy as always.

Aang wore a white dress shirt with a dark blue dinner jacket and matching pants. He was on his way out when he ran into Katara.

"I'm sorry you had to cancel your reservation. Were they able to give you a new one?"

"I actually didn't cancel. I'm taking Azula."

"You're WHAT?"

"It's just a friendly dinner, Katara. No reason to get jealous." He had a nervous smile as Katara glared at him.

He went to meet the princess downstairs. His jaw dropped, and he choked when he saw her outfit. She made eye contact with him, causing him to blush. "You look great," he said, a bit too enthusiastically for the waterbender's liking.

"Why thank you, Mr. Avatar," she said in a sultry voice. "Shall we?" She took his hand, and they left before Katara could protest.

She stormed over to Zuko. "Did you see your sister's dress?"

"What? No. Why?" Zuko had been reading before she came in. What was she going on about?

"She looks like a harlot."

"Why is she dressed up anyway?"

"AANG'S TAKING HER TO DINNER!"

"Good."

"What? How is that good?"

"You want to make it easy for him when you break up with him. If he likes Azula, he won't take it very hard."

"You want to set up AANG with AZULA!"

"I don't want to do anything, but if they are into each other, what's the big deal? You aren't jealous are you?" Zuko wondered if Katara had other reasons for holding on to the boy.

"Don't be silly," she hissed. "Let's go."

They were going to a different restaurant, one on the other side of town.

When Aang and Azula arrived at their destination, the hostess offered them a private room for them to dine, "to keep you away from all of the fangirls, of course." Aang accepted and they found themselves having an intimate, candlelight dinner. Aang couldn't help but keep his eyes on the princess.

"I've been so rude, forgive me." His eyes kept falling to her cleavage. She looked spectacular.

"I like it when you look at me," she said with a teasing smile.

He blushed and they ordered their appetizers. There was an oyster, stuffed mushroom combination which they shared, giving the Avatar the mushrooms while Azula ate the oysters. "They say oysters are an aphrodisiac," Azula cooed as she bit into them.

"A what?"

"They put people in the mood," she said, more directly.

"Oh!"

The princess had a way of slowly dragging her teeth across the oyster as she ate it, keeping his attention on her mouth. "So how's Operation Kataang going?"

He chuckled at the title. "Uh, we've been spending more time together now, but she's still sneaking around to see Zuko. I went through the tunnels, and she was in his room again last night."

"Maybe you need to practice your seduction skills. Simple things, like light, gentle touches can be enticing," Azula traced his forearm with her fingertips as she said it her eyes, following her fingertips until her gaze met his. His heart skipped a beat.

The waiter refilled their wine. Aang wasn't much of a drinker, but the sommelier paired the wines with their food. Azula said it was a part of the dining experience. The alcohol loosened him up, made him more sensitive to the temperature of the room, which had a slight chill to it.

"You could also do something with your clothes. Sometimes a new outfit is all it takes to catch someone's attention."

"Like you're dress?"

"Exactly. Maybe if I ask nicely, Zuko will let me take you shopping. I know boys don't like such things, but I can make it fun."

"I'm sure you can."

As their dinner went very nicely, Zuko's and Katara's did not. The waterbender was distracted and the Fire Lord took offense. "Am I boring you?"

"No," she said, shaken out of her thoughts. She had seen Aang as a cute little boy, hardly marriage material or even boyfriend material, but lately, she was having second thoughts. Azula looked at him like he was prime rib, and he seemed to revel in the attention. She couldn't believe he was taking her out to a top tier restaurant.

"The food here is very nice," Katara tried to keep her head in the game. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? What if she wasn't sure anymore.

Azula held a strawberry in her mouth and told Aang to take it from her. He leaned in, hovering over her body, enjoying her sweet scent before he bit into the strawberry. He promptly dropped it and it fell on her chest. Without even thinking about it, he reached in to grab it with his mouth, his hot breath on her cleavage, his tongue picking the fruit up before he chewed it. Once he returned to his seat, he realized how intimate the encounter had been. He had to be more careful. Azula wasn't really dating him. This was just to get Katara back. Why was flirting with her so easy?

When they got back to the palace, Azula went to say good night.

"Shouldn't I walk you to your door?" Aang countered, not ready to let her go. They got outside her bedroom door, and before he could say good night, she pinned him to the door, her lips quickly catching his as her body pressed up against him, making him moan into her mouth. He was about to grab her behind when she released him.

"Good night, Mr. Avatar."

Azula quickly went into her bedroom and closed the door. Out of breath, Aang fell on the wall, sliding down it. Now that was a good night kiss. Katara had never kissed him like that.