So here's what happened with everyone else during the performances and after.
Meanwhile
Toph, Ty Lee and Zuko
"Stop squirming." Ty Lee complained as she clamped Zuko's chin in her left hand while she airbrushed the last of the makeup on his face "Do you want me to do this or not?"
"Why do you have to use so much?" he complained "You already covered the scar, that should be enough."
"It has to be even." she said through gritted teeth as she jerked his head back toward her.
Toph folded her arms and leaned in the doorway "It's just a little makeup. Man up."
"What do you mean 'a little makeup'? She's literally painting me over here."
The earthbender felt her way over to the chair and sat down "Please. My mother covers me in the stuff every chance she can get."
Ty Lee looked up "I don't blame her, you're beautiful. I bet you look amazing in makeup."
Toph shrugged "I guess. Macho man over there doesn't think so though."
Zuko tried to turn to where she was, but Ty Lee snattched his head back "I never said you weren't pretty."
"I'm not as pretty as Mai." she crossed her arms across her chest.
The two Fire Nation residents looked over at the earthbender then Ty Lee turned back to Zuko and gave him a disappointed pop on the hand "How rude! Why would you just tell someone something like that."
"I didn't." he said rubbing his hand.
"No, he didn't," Toph defended "he just spent half of our date talking about how great his ex was." she heard another smack and Zuko yell out. She smiled "In his defence I met the girl, she is pretty nice, and a damn good seamstress. I wish I could tell what this thing looks like, cause it feels amazing."
"You look great." the other young lady reassured.
"See, she knows how to treat a girl. You should take lessons from her."
Ty Lee shook her head disapprovingly at Zuko. "Hey Ty, give us a minute."
"I'm done anyway." she walked away, pausing next to Toph and placing a hand lightly on her shoulder "I'll be back for you in a minute Cutie." then she walked out.
Toph's eyes stretched "Did she just flirt with me?"
Zuko shrugged "Not really. That's just the way Ty Lee is. If she likes you, you'll be the first to know."
"Oh."
"Yeah...so, um I wanted to say I'm sorry about talking about Mai the whole time. I'd like to take you out again to make up for it."
Toph waved her hand "Ah, it's all good. You and I both know that was a disaster waiting to happen."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're all hung up on some tall, emo chick, and I'm too awesome for your delicate sensibilities. It would never work."
"I guess you're right." he agreed.
Her tone got a bit somber. "So, are you alright? The last time I saw you, you were kind of in a rough mood."
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just don't like the idea of Ozai being out. If he could do this to me, he really won't give a damn about anyone else."
"Is the place they sent him to better than the place he was?"
It's in the middle of a volcano. They say it's impossible to escape from there."
"That's good."
"I hope so." he said glancing down.
She turned her head more towards him "What do you mean?"
"I mean Ozai has been a model prisoner all these years, and then he tries to escape...why now?"
"Maybe he went stir crazy."
"I hope that's all it is."
Sister Iio, Xing Yee, Xing Ying and King Bumi
"That was absolutely awesome." the young King said as the twins stepped offstage and into the arms of Sister Iio.
"Beautiful girls, just beautiful." the woman said as she stepped back to look at the girls.
"Thanks Mama." the young ladies said together, then Xing Ying turned to the king "and thank you Bumi." she said with a smile and a blush.
Xing Yee smiled and grabbed Iio's hand "Come on Mama. Lets go watch Aang's performance."
"Yes, lets." she took a few steps before she realized the other twin wasn't with her "Aren't you coming Ying?"
"Oh, she'll be along," Yee answered "Won't you."
Xing Ying smiled at her little family "I'm right behind you."
Bumi watched the ladies walk away then he turned to Xing Ying "You look nice. I like your hair."
Her hand went up to her freshly shaven head "Mama said we had to shave it in the traditional way."
"I like it. It's traditional but edgy at the same time."
She smiled at him "Thanks." Xing Ying took in Bumi's purple robes, feathered headpiece and rings on every finger "You look nice."
"Thanks. I just wore it to piss off my advisor." she laughed "He thinks i'm just some crazy kid, like I don't know what I'm doing, but my father taught me well. I'll be glad when my birthday comes and I can get him out of my life."
"He sounds like a pain."
"He is. I see why Kuei pawned him off on my father. Too bad my parents died before they could see what a douche he is."
She didn't want to ask him when his parents died, so instead she asked "How long have you been king?"
"Two years. Some jackass assassinated my folks and now I have a kingdom and two kid brothers to take care of."
"I'm sorry you loss your parents."
"Yeah, me too." he said in a far off way "So, I noticed you call the sister 'Mom'. I thought they could only be guardians."
Xing Ying smiled a bit "Yeah. She's the only family we know. We didn't stay at the temple much when we were little and we started calling her 'Mama' cause thats what the other kids called the woman who took care of them. She just never corrected us. When we finally went back to the temple some of the sisters tried to make us stop, but Mama put her foot down and said we could call her whatever we wanted."
He smiled "That's great. I wish Long Feng was like that with me and my brothers, but everything with him is protocol."
"Maybe nobody has ever shown him love. Perhaps he doesn't know how to give it."
He thought for a second "That makes sense. I mean he basically raised Kuei and that guys a lunatic. I mean a bear is his best friend...a freakin' bear. I love my Flopsy, but I do realize he's a pet." she laughed again, and he smiled at her "Hey, you wanna hang out tomorrow, go get something to eat or something?"
"That would be nice."
Mai, Azula and Kuzon
Kuzon handed Azula the fresh white towel he had waiting for her as she stepped off stage "That was amazing Princess."
"Of course it was." she answered as she took the towel and started dabbing the sweat from her brow "Is my dress ready?"
"Yes Princess. I put it in the large dressing room where Mai was working." he answered as he followed her.
"And is my water cold?"
"Yes Princess."
She glanced over her shoulders "And the candy?" she asked, sure he hadn't gotten it right. Nobody ever did.
"Yes Princess. Pretzel M&Ms in the bottom of the bowl, no yellows, red Skittles, mini Twizzlers, strawberry of course, and plain M&Ms on the top, no browns."
She stopped short "Wron-"
"And," he interrupted "placed in a gallon bag, mixed, and put back into the bowl with Funyuns on the side."
"Uh, yes." she started to walk again "That's perfect." she kept going, still looking forward "Wipe that smug ass smirk off your face."
He wondered how she knew, but only said "Yes Princess."
Azula stopped at the dressing room door and stood with her arms crossed as Kuzon opened the door for her.
"How was it?" Mai asked as her friend walked in.
"Perfection, what else could it be?"
Mai shook her head "Modest as always. How was Aang?"
"He knows better than to make a mistake with me on the stage."
She shook her head "Kuzon, how do you put up with her everyday?"
"Doing my job." he answered simply.
"You're damn good at it, but you need to grow a backbone if you're ever going to date. A woman would walk all over you." the fashion designer said matter-of factly.
"Quite the contrary," he rebutted "I do what I do for the princess because it is my job and I refuse to do less than my best when it comes to employment. However, lets say, hypothetically of course, we were not employee/employer, but boyfriend/girlfriend, then the dynamics would be entirely different."
Mai was intrigued "How so?"
"Well, as this is my job, I do not mind being ordered around by the princess, but a relationship is mutual. I would expect just as much respect as I give."
Azula raised a brow at him "Expect? And lets entertain this little 'if I were dating Azula' game, what would I be able to expect?"
"Well, Princess," he stepped closer to her "If you were with me you could expect to be worshiped,"
"Of course I-"
"Not because of your position." he cut her off in the smoothest version of his particular brand of baraton his could muster "I could care less that you are the princess. I would treat you like a goddess because any woman I was with would deserve nothing less." Azula's eyes softened for a moment "But, alas, I am merely your humble servant." he stepped away and headed to the door "Now, If you don't need anything else, I will step out and allow you to get changed."
A blush crossed Azula's cheeks "Y-yes. I won't take long."
He bowed a bit "Yes Princess." and he walked out.
Mai walked up beside Azula "Damn he's hot."
Azula shot a look at her friend "Oh shut up."
Yue, Sokka, LuTen, Arnook, Hakoda and Iroh
"This has turned out to be a beautiful day." Iroh said as he sipped his tea "It has been a long time coming."
"Yes," Hakoda agreed "I'm sure that the young man has worked very hard to master the elements." he said, nodding toward where Aang was talking to King Kuei.
"Very hard." Arnook agreed. "Pakku would have him out in the courtyard from dusk till dawn."
"I still can't believe that you, Mom and Pakku knew who the Avatar was and no one told me."
Arnook laughed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder "Sorry, but I couldn't tell you." he looked up and saw his daughter and her fiance walking toward him "Ah, Yue, wonderful," he reached out his hand to her "Come, I want you to meet someone." The young couple stepped into the group "Iroh, this is my daughter Yue and her betrothed, Hakoda's son, Sokka."
Iroh smiled politely "Yes, Hakoda introduced us upon my arrival." he turned toward the young people "It's good to see you again."
"You as well." she answered as she and Sokka bowed slightly.
"Now that the announcement is over I suppose we need to start the wedding planning right away, don't we Honey."
"Actually Daddy, Sokka and I need to talk to you and Hakoda about that. Can we?"
"Sure." Arnook said and he turned to the Fire Lord "Excuse us please."
"Of course." Iroh said, then he shot a look at his son and the group walked out of the door.
.~.
The fathers whispered about how precious their children were, walking in front of them hand in hand. What a future they would have together, and the grandchildren. They turned into a empty room.
"So what's this about." Hakoda said happily, "Have you decided where you want to hold the wedding?"
Sokka gritted his teeth, then started talking "Actually Dad, locations aren't an issue." they looked at each other, then back at their fathers "Yue and I won't be getting married."
The two men looked at each other dumbfounded for a while. So long that Yue said "Daddy?"
"What? Why? What happened?" the shocked Chief Arnook asked.
"I met someone Daddy. And I love him."
"No." Arnook said in disbelief "You love Sokka. I've been hearing you say it for years now."
"I do love Sokka, Daddy. He's my best friend in this world, but it's nothing like the love I feel for Lu."
"Lu?" Arnook asked, starting to get angry "What's so important about this Lu? Who is he?"
The door pushed open and the young man walked in "I am LuTen, Chief Arnook, sir." he said as he entered, followed closely by his father, and stood on the other side of the princess "I love your daughter very much and I want to be with her."
Arnook looked at the young man, then at the man behind him "Iroh? This is your son? Did you know about this."
"Yes," he answered "I met your daughter some months ago, but i did not know exactly who she was we arrived."
"Months...this had been going on for months." Arnook said, shaking his head, then he turned and paced.
"Dad. You haven't said anything." Sokka said tentatively.
Hakoda looked at him "I don't know what to say Son. It's your life, it's just...the political ramifications. The tribes were supposed to be united under the two of you...and I, I just thought the two of you were happy."
"Dad we were when we thought that there was no one else out there for us, but we were wrong. Remember what Mom always said about love."
Hakoda's expression softened at the mention of his late wife. "I know."
"I can't ignore that. They love each other." Sokka said looking over at Yue and LuTen with a small smile on his face.
"And you're okay with this?" the chief asked his son.
"Yes Dad. I want her to be happy."
"Well I'm not okay with this." Arnook snapped as he came back to the group "I don't know how you do things in the Fire Nation, but this is not how things are done in the Water Tribe. We honor our commitments." he turned to Iroh "Your son has corrupted my daughter and you allowed it to happen."
Iroh held his calm "I assure you that if i had known that Yue was a betrothed princess I would have advised my son of the problems that could arise, but even then I would not meddle in his lovelife."
"Then that's where we differ." Arnook said harshly and he turned to his daughter "Come along Yue."
She turned her body toward LuTen and placed her hand on his chest "No Daddy. I need you to understand."
"I said come along Yue." he growled.
"Daddy, please. Don't be like this. Hear us out." she said turning quickly toward her father, stumbling slightly as she reached out to him.
LuTen grabbed her by her arms to steady her "Yue, are you feeling alright."
"I'm fine, I just need him to listen to me." she tried to take another step and her knees buckled, this time both young men caught her.
"You're not fine." Sokka said.
"Come on," Luten added "We'll take you back to your room so you can get some rest."
Arnook turned back and saw his daughter being steadied by the two young men "Yue? What's going on?"
"She's not well sir." LuTen answered "Katara says her chi is weak."
"Katara said?" he went to his daughter "How long has this been going on?"
"A couple of months." LuTen said "I told her to tell you earlier, but she thought Yugoda could help her. She didn't want to worry you."
He stooped down in front of his daughter "You should've told me." he said sadly.
"I'm sorry Daddy." she said as she fell onto him weakly for a hug.
He held her. All of a sudden her love for the Fire Nation prince didn't matter "It's okay Honey. We just need to get you better, that's all. What did Katara say?" he asked the young man.
"She said she thinks she can help, but she'll have to go to the spirit oasis at the North Pole to know for sure."
"Then that's what we'll do."
Ozai and Namea
"We must bide our time my friend. All the years of chi blocking has left both of us weak. We must wait, regain our strength, then we will be unstoppable."
Combustion Man just groaned at his cellmate.
"Yes, for far too long we've been kept like animals. They fear us because of our power, but we will show them. You are a great man who has been treated like garbage because people don't understand your unique talents, and I." he huffed and turned his head "I am a true leader relegated to playing second fiddle to a tea loving oaf of a brother merely because he was born first. My plans for my brother were thwarted before, but this time I will succeed."
The larger man grunted.
"You're wondering who stopped my plan?"
He shook his head.
Ozai's eyes narrowed "My own children."