Late January 104AG

The parties were largely uninvolved in their cases at this point, but their lawyers were hard at work.

They were just beginning to start discovery, which meant they were filing interrogatories (requests for information), discovery requests (requests for evidence), and depositions (interviews of key witnesses).

Yakone's wife's lawyer wanted access to all of Katara's medical records, a list of any and all lovers past and present, a series of questions answered about any pre-existing relationship she had with Yakone, and to depose Sokka, Aang, Fire Lord Zuko, Princess Azula and of course Katara herself, as well as the hospital staff who treated her, the staff who treated Yakone and the police officers who responded to the scene.

Meanwhile, Katara's lawyer sought Yakone's criminal history, information of any allegations of assault or sexual violence, any medical records of his wife that suggested violence or domestic abuse, to depose Yakone's wife, Yakone's former business partner, the bartender at the bar, the doctor who claimed Katara had been negligent and he had already interviewed the other relevant parties.

The allotted time for this was three months and afterwards, they had mandatory settlement conferences before what would be a June trial date. If the case settled, then there would of course, be no trial.

Katara had a meeting with her lawyer to discuss her case. Azula went with her and they were holding hands as they stepped into the office. Right away, her lawyer was curious. "Do I detect a change in relationship status?"

The waterbender blushed. "Yes."

Right away he asked when, where, how, and how serious was their relationship.

"Is all of this necessary?" Katara questioned.

"No, but you have to admit this is like the juiciest story of the year. Azula kills the Avatar. You bring him back to life. She strikes down her brother. You rescue him in what is a David v. Goliath battle. She gets sent away. You have what everyone thinks will be the happily ever after with the Avatar only for her to return to the Crown, for you leave Aang feeling jilted and to run off with the woman who killed him. I can see the headlines now."

Katara folded her arms angrily. Azula only laughed.

"Seriously, every noble is going to want to know about you two."

"Well it's none of their business!"

"Very well. I however have to mention that opposing counsel may see this as bias. Azula is a witness for our case. They will argue that you seduced her to get her to lie on your behalf or perhaps you two cooked up the counterclaim while in bed sharing a cigarette."

"I'm wicked, but I'm not that wicked, but if I were …"

"AZULA!"

"What? Just postulating."

"I think you would have made a fine lawyer."

"Thanks."

"So here's the short of it; they want all your medical records, your entire relationship history, to question you in a deposition and a bunch of other stuff that I won't need you for."

This was so invasive.

"Do we need to turn that all over?" Azula questioned.

"I don't think so. Her mental health records after the attack are germane. The rest of it is not. Your relationship history is irrelevant, except in so far as it could show bias. I will accompany you to the deposition and if I say don't answer, then don't answer."

Katara showed him her teaching schedule and he said he'd find a time for her deposition that didn't interfere with her classes.

After the long afternoon of legal strategy, which was mostly Katara's lawyer talking to Azula while Katara was confused about the whole thing, the Princess suggested they go home, share a hot bath and snuggle. "We can make hot cocoa after."

"Now that sounds delicious."

They walked hand in hand out of the office.

Katara remembered she needed to water her houseplants. She had gotten them after she had returned from the tribe, and if she wasn't more vigilant, they would die. They were on her way to her apartment when Katara saw her brother.

"Sokka?"

"Long time no see," he said as he hugged his sister. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. We just got out from the lawyer's office."

He had almost forgotten about the trial. "How's your case looking?"

"It's too early to say. The lawyer's optimistic, but we haven't exchanged evidence yet. We were actually on our way to my apartment to water my plants."

"We?" He just noticed Azula standing there. She blended into the snow with her fluffy white coat. "You look like a snow bunny," he said to Azula.

"This is what happens when Ty Lee picks out your coat."

Somehow, Sokka wasn't surprised. He went with them back to her apartment where the siblings caught up on what had happened since they saw each other last.

Katara put down her legal papers in her bedroom. Her lawyer would give her a summary of each meeting, so she knew what she (rather Azula) was paying for. His price was steep, but Azula said it was worth it and they could sue for attorney's fees once they won.

Sokka mentioned that Suki would be coming to visit next month. Zuko and Mai are coming, so she's going to lead their security detail.

"You didn't tell me your brother was coming," Katara said to Azula.

She shrugged. "He didn't tell me."

Before Sokka could ask about her boyfriend, there was a knock on the door.

It was Aang, and he was bearing flowers, roses, which were nice, but Katara preferred water lilies.

"What are you doing?" Katara feared he would ask her out again.

"I need to talk to you."

"This isn't a good time." Take a hint!

"But it's important!" Don't you see?

"I haven't seen Sokka in ages." She wanted Aang to leave.

"Can't he wait five minutes?" He'll understand; he's my bro!

"Wait for what?"

Aang asked for Sokka and Azula to give them a minute. Azula was reluctant to leave. She was surprised when Sokka pulled her into Katara's bedroom, too surprised to flambé him.

"What are you doing?"

"It will only take a minute."

"But she doesn't want to talk to him!"

He handed her the flowers. Katara set them on the table.

"I know it's been a long time since we've been together, and I know you started dating someone else, but we have something special. You were my first kiss, my first love, my first everything and I know in my heart we were meant to be together."

"Aang!" Don't you dare!

He got on his knee. "Katara, will you marry me?" he presented her a handmade betrothal necklace that he made in Ba Sing Se.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she screamed.

"What?" she sounded mad.

"What is wrong with you? I dumped you over a year ago. It's going on two years now. I don't love you, not the way you want me to and honestly, it's hard to love you at all given your ridiculous antics. I do not want to marry you. I do not want to carry your airbenders. I refuse to live anywhere with you, and for the last time, we are NEVER! EVER! EVER getting back together."

"Is it because of your new boyfriend?" Was he too late?

"ARE YOU DEAF OR DUMB! It has nothing to do with my new girlfriend. I don't want you. I didn't want you before she came into the picture, and I most certainly don't want you now!"

"Girlfriend?" She doesn't mean …

"Azula is my girlfriend! She …"

Aang got mad. "You lied to me!"

"About what?"

"You said that you two were just friends. That she only spent the night because you had trouble sleeping."

Sokka was hyperventilating. His sister was dating Azula. He was trapped in a bedroom with his sister's lover?

"I wasn't lying. She was just there as a friend. A FRIEND! Someone who is there for me when I was in need. Not someone who tries to control my every move like he's my parent."

"I did everything for YOU! I moved here for you. Appa hates it here but I stayed because you needed me. You wouldn't eat. You wouldn't sleep. You threw temper tantrums all day and crying fits at night. Can't you see how much I love you?"

"No! All I can see is how much you tried to fix me like I was some broken doll that could be held together with adhesive. What I needed was someone who could show me the way so I could put myself together again and that's exactly what Azula did.

She didn't bring therapists into my house or drag me kicking and screaming to appointments. She listened. She gave advice, but left it up to me as to whether or not I wanted to take it. She never forgot that I'm a grown woman who has a right to make my own choices even if they're not the wisest.

I know you were trying to help, and I'm sure I wasn't the easiest person to deal with, but you need to put your energy into someone who can love you back. I've seen half a dozen girls who were smitten with you at one point, but you couldn't see it because you were too busy chasing me. Stop chasing me. Let me go and allow yourself to be loved." She handed him back the flowers and the necklace and sent him on his way.

Aang walked home the long way. He didn't even bother to button his jacket. The cold on the outside was nothing like the ice building in his chest. He got home and incinerated the flowers. How could this be? He saved the world. He died for her. She would have had everything if she had just said yes, but she turned him away for a pot-smoking princess. He didn't even know if two girls could have sex. I mean they could do some stuff, but Azula was definitely at a disadvantage when it came to providing pleasure. How could she not be?

He doubted that he would propose to another water tribe woman, but maybe someone else could use the necklace. He put it in a box. That afternoon, a letter came. It was a request from Yakone's wife's lawyer seeking to schedule a deposition.

Of course, he'd have to testify at Katara's trial. He would have to keep seeing them together, knowing Azula was the one who would share Katara's bed at night, who would go on dates with her. They would probably have a perfect two hearts day together while he was left alone. Azula couldn't even have kids with Katara. What did she see in her? Was it the drugs? It has to be it. Marijuana must make you crazy.

Aang went to the library and started looking for books on the subject matter. "Although marijuana is not physically addictive, it is psychologically compulsive and in high doses can induce paranoia, memory loss, agitation, confusion, and exacerbation of pre-existing or latent mental disorders."

He checked out several books and stayed up half the night reading them. He fell asleep on his desk, his head between the pages.

Now Azula, Katara and Sokka were in Katara's living room. No one was ready to speak. That scene was all together too shocking.

Katara finally did it. She finally told Aang to give up forever and that she was Azula's but this hardly felt like a cause for celebration. For a year and a half, Aang held onto a small light in the dark. He was sure Katara would be his again, but he was oblivious to the problems in their relationship. He just had them thrown in his face within earshot of his ex-girlfriend's new lover and his ex-girlfriend's brother. He must be mortified. Azula couldn't imagine if Ty Lee had dumped Azula in front of a new mate.

Sokka was too confused to say anything. Should he admit that Aang asked him for advice and Sokka told him that if he really loved her, he had to tell her how he felt? He didn't say to propose and he did warn Aang that it might already be too late, but he somehow gave this the go ahead. He didn't mean to trap Katara in the apartment like this. It was by chance that he saw her when he did. He also didn't think that Azula was with Katara or he wouldn't have taken her out of the room. Having her present for this made it all the more horrifying.

They sat there, staring at each other, unable to speak a word.

Katara's hand clumsily reached for Azula's.

Finally Sokka spoke, "So you two are together?"

Azula nodded lazily. Speaking was just too hard right now. She could really go for a fat one.

She got up, without saying where she was going and went into Katara's room. There were papers and enough cannabis for a good joint in her drawer. She rolled one and held a finger to it, lighting it before taking a puff. Her brain was working too hard right now. She needed to slow it down.

Katara took it from her and inhaled. After a couple of puffs she said, "Why is it that I always want to get high after dealing with Aang?"

Azula said, "I have to be high to be in the same room with Iroh. I'd pull out my hair otherwise."

Sokka didn't know what it felt like to get high. Azula put the joint in his mouth without asking. He exhaled. "This tastes funny."

"It's not for the taste, although I like it," Azula said as she smoked some and then handed it to Katara. They went back and forth until it was gone. Katara kissed Azula's face. "So much for our bubble bath and hot cocoa."

"That sounds too normal," Sokka said.

"Gay people can be normal," Azula retorted.

"I meant you."

"Oh right."

"When did you (start seeing my sister)?"

"November," Katara said. "Mid November."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Ty Lee," Azula said.

"My lawyer."

"You told your lawyer before me?"

"He's a busybody."

"Like I'm not!"

"You should have been a lawyer. I'm sure you'd get paid a lot more than working for the council."

"Money's not everything."

"It is nice."

"Why do you work for your brother?"

"What else would I do all day?"

"Don't you get paid for being a princess even if you do nothing?"

"I guess, but I'd be too bored staying at home. It would be my job to play hostess to Zuko's dinner parties. I never liked that kind of stuff. Mai can do that."

"Does she do that?" Katara questioned.

"If not now, she will as Fire Lady." Azula shrugged.

"I didn't think queens had to serve people," Sokka said.

"Everyone serves the king eventually," Azula retorted. "Kings are greedy and seek the support of everyone in their kingdom, it is in their nature, but their greed has its limits. Once you take too much, you lose your sustainability. Eventually, you have nothing, and then a new king takes over. The only other alternative is religion, which has moral principles that the king lacks, but it's too dogmatic. It won't yield to anything. From a religious perspective, better to follow your principles to your extinction than it is to turn back when there's danger."

"Has that ever happened?" Katara questioned.

"The airbenders," Azula said coldly. "Sozin didn't just kill them all without warning, well he didn't warn them directly, but he had been making moves to conquer the world for years. Putting footholds in the Earth Kingdom, sending surveillance ships to spy on the tribes. The signs of war were starting to form 30 years before the genocide, but the Air Nation didn't try to act until they tried to send Aang away at the last minute.

It was already too late. Their ideals were good, but they falsely believed they could escape the greed of the king by building their homes high in the sky. They didn't adapt their beliefs to survive the cruel world that was beneath them, and the King struck them like lava erupting from a believed dormant volcano, which is ironically how Roku died.

You don't serve the king because he is the best of men. Often times he is not even close. You serve him because when you pit greed against idealism, you can sit out and watch 9 times out of ten, but it's the tenth time, where idealism is ready to burn down the whole world just to win. You have to stand up for the king."

Katara didn't agree. "But Ozai didn't turn around. His greed was unlimited."

"He stopped being a king," Azula said quickly. "He became a subscriber to his own religion, ready to turn the world into ash as long as it was his ash. He believed himself to be a god and immune to the fears of mortals like death and it didn't matter how many died as long as he won. A true king knows the cost of doing business and knows when he has run dry.

Those who head a religion, however, make it a positive thing to die for the cause. It shows that the people put their principles above earthly attachments. They rose above the mere sins of man and became a martyr for something bigger and Ozai thought he was the biggest thing there was. He encouraged people to die for him, like the men before him had.

My nation waged war on the world for 100 years because war became a religion. Conquering became morally right and dying in war was a badge of honor. I never feared death, not when I squared off against the Avatar, not when I was held without my bending. It didn't matter if I died, as long as I didn't die a coward. I couldn't turn back, even if it was going to be to my downfall. It seemed better to die in that agni kai against you than admit defeat.

I had to let go of my beliefs, about my country and the world, in order to move forward and have a life worth living. It wasn't easy and it wasn't fun, but when given the choice to serve my brother or stay trapped in my own mind, holding onto a religion that was all but dead, it was the only choice worth taking."

Both Katara and Sokka were disturbed by Azula's position on the war but for different reasons. Katara had looked at Azula as she is now, like her past had been someone else. She hadn't realized that Azula is stuck carrying the pain of her past like an albatross around her neck. She wondered how she could have missed it. How did she keep it buried so deep?

Sokak was horrified by the idea that the airbenders who were murdered were just like the fire nation soldiers who killed them, following their faith to their own destruction without the forethought to realize that there have to be limits to all ideals or else they will extinguish you like a fire. It seemed easy to just blame the war on Sozin. Take him out and it never happened. Was there a more fundamental problem that hasn't been addressed?

Could the world find itself in a new war when a new ideology takes over? Sokka assumed the post-war era was safe, but what if Azula was right? What if all it took was religion to bring everything to chaos again? There were good religions and bad. Not even Azula would argue that the airbenders were amoral. To her, they were just defenseless because their pacifism and their naivety blinded them to the evil that was lurking about. Was evil like that always lurking? Would you have to be paranoid? Could the airbender's way of life truly return? Was it too dangerous?

Sokka wished he could numb his brain. Too many ideas were in it right now. "Do you have anymore weed?"

"We'll have to go across town for that."

The trio left.

Ty Lee was home when they arrived. "Sokka!" she hugged him. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy, but I ran into Katara on the street and it seemed like the time to catch up."

Azula started making the cocoa. Katara filled her pipe. Both were shared amongst the group.

Sokka fell asleep on the couch. Azula drew a sketch of him.

Ty Lee and Katara were talking in the acrobat's room.

"What was Azula like growing up?"

Ty Lee thought before answering. "She was very studious. She was always reading or training. She wanted her father to be proud of her."

"And how was she with other people?"

"She and Zuko were rivals from an early age. Ozai and Azulon favored Azula because of her talent. Ursa and Iroh favored Zuko because according to them, he was kinder and worked harder. I think they both got it wrong. Zuko was talented too, but he got frustrated easily. He struggled with controlling his temper, and he's better, but he still does a little bit. Azula was talented, but she was successful because she knew Ozai and Azulon didn't accept failure. They would only like her if she were a winner, so she couldn't lose. Her coldness was a survival mechanism. She couldn't afford to show how hard it all was.

Most girls play with dolls and have sleepovers and think about getting married. For Azula, all of those things were distractions. She knew what was expected of her, and she knew the price you paid for failing in her family. I think it's no secret that Mai and I were selected to be her friends for political reasons. Every girl our age wanted an invitation to the palace, but none of them knew Azula. They knew she was a princess. That's all that mattered. Sometimes you have to pick between the role you were born into and who you are. Azula didn't know the difference during the war. It was like she had become the icon that her people identify her as. Her sense of self was gone."

Katara had no idea what that was like. She had never had a "role" like that before. Even being the chieftain's daughter, she was just a girl. She cooked and cleaned like the other girls. She had no special treatment or expectation. Joining Aang was a rebellion for her, a chance to learn to fight when only the men could, a chance to show that she could be more than just one of a set. It never really occurred to her before that the people she fought had to fight. That they didn't choose who they would get to be. They just were.

"What's on your mind?" Ty Lee asked her.

"Have you ever heard the term, serve the king?"

Ty Lee nodded. "You're trying to pick apart Azula's mind."

"It's really hard!"

"Oh I know. Azula overthinks everything. She has to justify every choice she makes because they had been questioned her whole life. It's easier to make her decisions into an archetypal lesson instead of just saying, Ozai's a jerk and I don't have to listen to him anymore. I find it easier to understand what she does rather than what she says.

She would never say that she likes her brother, but she's the only one who can find him when he's upset and wonders off. Even Mai can't figure that out and they've been together over three years now. She knows when he's thinking about their mother or when he's convinced that he doesn't have what it takes to be the Fire Lord. She's there for the people she cares about it, and it's easier to see that than it is to understand most anything she says."

"Sometimes, I wonder how a woman with her power chose me of all people, the peasant girl who beat her in a battle."

"That wasn't the Princess," Ty Lee said. "That was Azula. I think you're the first time she ever blatantly ignored her father's teachings."

"Even after she joined Zuko's court?"

"That could have just been a political move, a chance to lie in wait for a coup or something. You are everything she was raised not to pursue, another woman from another nation, one determined to establish peace and harmony in the world. If there was any doubt she'd turn back to the dark side, it's gone. I can't think of a bigger rebellion than that."

Eventually, Sokka woke up. They had dinner. He finally learned what is bibimbap and he was quite a fan.

February 104AG

Zuko had just arrived to participate in negotiations to amend the treaty forming United Republic. Since Azula didn't have the authority to amend the treaty, she was only tasked with making sure the Fire Nation fulfilled its obligations under the current one, he and Mai came to Republic City.

He was just on his way into the office, when a man in somewhat formal looking robes tried to approach him. Suki quickly intervened. "What do you want?"

"I am here to give Zuko a request for a deposition."

"A what?"

"My boss wants to question him as a witness for a lawsuit. We heard he would be here today."

"He can't be questioned now. He has a meeting."

"I know, but can he come in before he leaves?"

"Hand over the papers and we'll be in touch," Mai said.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am." She was 18 for Agni's sake.

He forked them over and sprinted away like a gazelle being chased by a tiger bear.

"I wonder how they knew you'd be here?" Suki questioned.

"There might have been a public notice about the negotiations," Zuko answered.

There was, but they actually found out from Aang. They had deposed him first, who doesn't want to hear from the ex-boyfriend.

He told them what was expected like Katara was going home. The police came to the bar. He said some guy tried to rape her, but he didn't know if she had been raped. They rushed to the hospital. She had been sedated. They couldn't talk to her until morning and she told them their story.

"Azula and Zuko went to get her breakfast," he told the lawyer.

"What happened when they came back?"

"I left to go cheer up other patients and families. I don't know what they said to her."

"And what can you tell us about the relationship between Azula and Zuko and …"

"Oh they're siblings."

"I meant their relationships to Katara."

"Oh, Azula's Katara's girlfriend now."

"What?"

"I found out when I asked Katara to marry me and she said she didn't want to be with me anymore and she was with Azula now. I thought we would be able to get back together since I was there for her from the beginning, but she said I smothered her too much, and she needed someone who treated her like an adult. I think she just lets Katara party too much."

"Does she party a lot?"

"She hasn't told me about any parties, but she has a cannabis prescription. It's for anxiety, but I think it's making her paranoid and giving her memory loss. Why else would she think I'm overbearing and trying to control her life? She doesn't really remember how things happened."

They heard all about Aang's theory on Katara and Azula's relationship. It was just what they had wanted to hear.

"Do you know anything about her relationship with Zuko?"

"They're friends."

"Did they ever date?"

"No. You can ask him yourself. He'll be here next week."

"You've been very helpful Aang."

At least someone appreciated him!