*ayce= all you can eat. It's how my college abbreviated it anyway.
Zuko decided he should spend more time with his sister. He wanted to help her, but she was so weird sometimes. She had already freaked out Suki, and although Sokka was starting to warm to her, he didn't think he should encourage that friendship.
Sokka was a good guy, but he was kind of stupid. He didn't seem to get that Azula liked him and given her mental health, Zuko was worried that she might become fixated on him. Sokka said he dealt with it, but Zuko never asked what he said or what Azula's response had been.
He offered to take Azula to get the best pancakes in town.
"This better be worth getting up so early!"
"It's 10:30."
"On a Sunday. It may as well be 5AM."
He drove her to Lo and Li's Pancake House. It smelled delicious. "I hope this food is as good as it smells."
Suki saw Zuko and waved him over.
He came with Azula.
Suki frowned. "I thought Mai was with you."
"Nice to see you too," Azula said dryly.
"I didn't mean …"
"So Sokka," Azula sat right on his lap. "I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?"
He turned beet red. Not in front of Suki.
"Azula," her brother cautioned. "Wouldn't you be comfortable in your own chair?"
"Oh no. Sokka's like a cuddly couch."
The nervous man giggled until Suki stared at him.
He gently coaxed her into the seat next to him. Azula took the opportunity to undo his fly. He tried to redo it, but she stopped him under the table.
She grinned at Suki. "So I heard you had a job interview. How did it go?"
Sokka had already told Azula that it was basically a setup. They interviewed her so they could say they interviewed a girl for the job. The boss's son had been a shoo in.
"Not as well as I hoped."
"So you bombed it."
"AZULA!"
"I DIDN'T BOMB ANYTHING!"
"Whoa, no need to get angry. I'm sure you'll get another interview soon, won't she Sokka?" Azula started stroking him under the table, making him choke on his coffee.
"Oh yeah. Suki's the best isn't she?"
"Oh yes. She's quite fabulous."
"Why are you mocking me?" Suki questioned. Then she turned to her boyfriend. "And why are you helping her?"
"I was serious," Sokka said with a squeal. Azula might have jerked him extra fast.
"You're making the poor boy nervous."
The waitress came. Her name was Jin.
"I would like a stack of the chocolate chip pancakes, with whipped cream and strawberries and a side of bacon," Azula said quickly. That wasn't even on the menu.
"Sure," Jin said. How the hell do I ring that up?
Sokka got the big boy breakfast with bacon and then got a side of sausage.
Suki got the egg-white omelet, and Zuko got the big boy stack of pancakes.
"So Azula, have you been doing well in school?" Suki asked. "You're in high school, right?"
"I got my GED and I have straight As this semester. If I keep it up, I might be able to be a sophomore next year."
"Wow," Sokka said, a little too enthusiastically for Suki's taste. "I mean, you'll save money on tuition right."
"I would if I had to pay." Her uncle sued the city on Azula's behalf. Iroh had called CPS on Ozai a few times, but the worker never investigated. He forged a document saying no signs of abuse found. The city settled as apart of a larger settlement, which promised reforms to child protective services and part of the deal was free college for Azula.
"You have a scholarship already?"
"Settlement," Azula said coolly. "So Zuzu, have you found a summer job yet?"
"Stop calling me that, and yes, I will be working for Piando."
"What's a Piando?"
"He runs a martial arts school and I will be one of the teachers this summer."
"Oh you get a bunch of snot-nosed brats trying to be the Karate Kid. 'Wax on Wax off,'" Azula retorted.
Sokka chuckled. "I love that movie."
"What?" Suki questioned.
"The Karate Kid," Azula said snidely. "Only the best of the cheesy 80s movies. Isn't that right, Sokka?" She had him on the edge now.
He squeaked a yes before drowning the sounds of his orgasm in coffee.
"You really like coffee," Suki said questioningly.
Azula wiped Sokka up with the napkin and grin. "Maybe he didn't get enough sleep last night. Did you tire him out Suki?"
Suki glared. "That's none of your business."
"No reason to be embarrassed. It is just sex."
"I'm not embarrassed!"
"Mai found a summer job too!" Zuko changed the subject.
"Oh goodie. Maybe I can visit her at work."
"Um, maybe not Azula!"
"Oh it will be fun. I'll bring lunch and we'll gossip about you behind your back."
"NO WAY!"
Azula smirked as she made Zuko squirm for the rest of the meal. He was so flustered by her badgering, he had forgotten all about her strange interactions with Sokka, until Suki reminded him the next day. "What is her problem?"
"She has many, can you be more specific?"
"I mean with Sokka. She was all over him, batting her eyelashes, sitting on his lap."
"She likes to push buttons," Zuko said, unsure if this was the real reason. "If you get upset over it, she'll do it more."
"That's unacceptable."
"I know, but I'm trying. It's just us and after what Ozai did to her, sometimes I have trouble looking at her and holding it all together."
Suki felt bad. "I shouldn't be so jealous."
"It's understandable."
"But that doesn't make it right. Maybe I should try to get to know Azula, on one."
"I bet you two have something in common," he offered.
