"Love game intuition, play the cards with spades to start, and after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart."
"Together, you and I will be the strongest couple in the entire world!" Azula exclaimed, blue fire bursting in her palms. "We will dominate the Earth!"
Chan jumped at the intense heat and broke into a hard fit of laughter. Azula paused, dropping her hands as he clutched his side, wiping his eyes. "Oh wow. You're hilarious."
Azula raised a brow, intrigued. What Ty Lee had suggested she do actually worked? Surprising."You really think so?"
"I do," he said, straightening and coming to close to her again. He could smell her dragon's blood shampoo with a hint of clove. He wrapped a hand around her waist. "So, would you like to continue the tour of the house?"
"Certainly," she said with a smirk, and they paraded back into the party. Boys that had been avoiding her before now ogled in shock and confusion, and girls that had whispered behind her back now glared at her with jealousy. Before slipping into the hallway, Azula glanced at Ty Lee. She was talking to another boy, and in that moment, their eyes locked.
The feeling that Azula had had prior to asking Chan for a tour of the house suddenly swelled up inside her again. The urge to abandon Chan and remove the boy in front of Ty Lee was almost too much to resist, but Chan's insistent pull at her waist kept her from doing so. She thought she saw a glimmer of jealousy in Ty Lee's eyes, but that didn't make any sense, as the girl had been so encouraging to get her to talk to boys. She should be proud, shouldn't she?
"My dad's an admiral, so we of course have the best beach house on Ember Island," Chan said, walking them down the cool, darkened hallway. "Aside from the Fire Lord's of course, but he doesn't come here."
"No, I guess not," Azula replied, knowing the truth and disinterested, instead trying to figure out what the look Ty Lee had given her meant. She didn't even notice that Chan was leading her to one of the bedrooms, opening the door and closing it behind them, his hand still on her waist.
"I hope this is comfortable for you," he said with a smooth smile.
"It will do," Azula replied, ignoring the messy bedspread and dusty floors. Chan placed his other hand on her waist and leaned in, kissing her again. She closed her eyes, and they shuffled over to the bed, the both of them lying down upon it.
What was it that Ty Lee liked about boys? Chan's lips covered hers with slime, his sweaty hands stuck to her skin, and he fumbled to stay balanced and upright. He smelled of beach, cheap sunscreen, and human odor. Was she supposed to be attracted to that? One of his sticky hands reached for her hair, undoing the tie, but getting it tangled.
"Oh, sorry," he said, tugging at it.
Azula winced. "Let me do it."
She tossed the tie aside, letting her hair down as he leaned up and took off his shirt. His sculpted abs gleamed in the mix of moon and fire light. He was strong, Azula observed, and… What else? She didn't get much time to look as he kissed her neck, his hands fumbling for the laces of her dress. His weight pressed down on top of her and she couldn't help but squirm. She didn't like feeling suffocated beneath all of his muscle.
"What's wrong?" he asked, pausing, and seeing her confused face. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"No, no," Azula replied. "Keep… doing what you're doing."
"Okay," he said, sliding the dress off, and when he leaned in again, that's when Azula felt it behind the fabric between his legs. Her eyes widened and she suddenly sat up straight, shoving one hand to his broad chest.
"Listen, Chan," she said. "I… I'm a very particular person. If we're going to do this, I want to do it right."
"Uh… Okay?" he said. "Is… this your first time?"
"No," she said, but even he could see that it was a lie as she crossed her arms, pouting and emphasizing her chest. He chuckled, laying himself beside her, hands reaching around her waist.
"It's okay if it is," he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck. She stiffened as he pressed himself to her backside. She closed her eyes and held her breath. Maybe this was what it was supposed to be like? She had to try. His hands found their way to her chest and his scratchy chin rubbed against her shoulder, but she couldn't help but feel as if he was smothering her. At the same time, she found that there was a fire growing inside her. She closed her eyes, trying to embrace the feeling, really trying. Maybe this is what people meant when they said that love was "passionate and burning"? Perhaps… She could up the ante?
What would Ty Lee do? Would she squeak and giggle? No, she wouldn't do that. She would probably sigh and moan, but Azula was not the type to sigh and moan. Soon enough, Chan was on top of her again. Perhaps… Perhaps she could pretend that this was enjoyable. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, pushing her hips to hers, running her hands through her hair, and…
"What's wrong with you?" he said, pausing again and pulling away.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're thinking of someone else, aren't you?" he accused, eyes narrowing. Azula's own momentarily widened, caught and unaware of her own lie in the making. She hadn't even noticed the difference between kissing him and imagining that she was kissing Ty Lee until he spoke. But… Why was she imagining kissing Ty Lee in the first place? She was pretending to be her, not…
"I know you're thinking of Ruon-Jian," Chan scoffed, pushing himself off of her.
"No I'm not!" Azula shot back. "I'm thinking of you. Only you."
"Right…" Chan frowned, sighed, and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and picking up his shirt again. "I'd like a woman that's interested in me. I'll be back at the party if you change your mind."
"So you're just going to leave me?" Azula whined, trying to sound the way Ty Lee did when she was headed into the war chamber in the middle of a childish game, and grabbed at Chan's wrist. She even imitated the girl's big, puppy-dog eyes and pouting lips. She must have done something wrong about it, though, as Chan stood up, repulsed.
"Uh...I gotta go," he replied with a forced smile, and slammed the door behind him. Azula frowned, holding the red sheets around her, trying to figure out what had just happened. She did everything Ty Lee would have done. She had laughed at his corny jokes, kissed him, and let him touch her. With a frustrated sigh, she stood up and put her clothes back on, wondering if Chan had been with Ty Lee, if it would have been different.
She had to find her. Azula left the room and returned to the party, making wide berth of both Chan and Ruon-Jian, who were now shouting at each other over a broken vase. She rolled her eyes. Zuko's doing, of course, and she walked in between Ty Lee and a boy she had been talking to.
"You gave me false information," Azula said, ignoring the seething boy behind her. "You told me all I had to do to get a boy to like me was smile and laugh a lot at everything he says."
Ty Lee blinked her large, dark eyes in return, momentarily confused, and then smiled. "Oh, Azula, I would never tell you false information! I saw you and Chan go to the bedrooms. Surely, you must have—"
"Well, I didn't. I scared him away. I didn't even do anything horrible to him!"
"Then, what happened?"
"He thought I was thinking of someone else."
"Were you?"
"Yes. No. It's complicated," Azula said all very quickly, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks, but Ty Lee could see it creeping up on her. She didn't get to see the Princess flabbergasted very often.
"So… Who were you thinking of, then?" Ty Lee leaned in close to her and wiggled her eyebrows. "Come on, you can tell me. Was it someone from Ba Sing Se? A soldier back at the palace? Or, ooh, what about someone else at this party?"
"I wasn't thinking of anyone," Azula lied, crossing her arms, but not moving away. She turned her nose up in the air. She wouldn't let Ty Lee see her tell. "It's not like I care, anyways. I don't have time for relationships. I can dominate the Earth by myself."
She cracked an eye open. Ty Lee was still staring at her with a wide, unnerving grin.
"Will you stop staring at me like that?" Azula said, in a voice lower than the one she had been using before, glancing around the room. "People will start to get the wrong idea."
"What do you mean?"
Azula's cheeks reddened. They were not at all on the same wavelength. "This party stinks. Let's get out of here."
"Whatever you say, Azula," Ty Lee replied without missing a beat, and grabbed the Princess' hand, as they usually did. It was hot and sweaty and Ty Lee swore Azula could have burned her on spot, but instead Azula snatched it away from her. Ty Lee continued to grin with mischief. "Gee, Chan must have gotten you really hot tonight, didn't he? It's a shame you didn't go through with it."
"Shut up, Ty Lee."