"Mai!" a cheerful voice exclaimed. Ty Lee raced across the room and wrapped her friend in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you! It's been forever!"

Mai stumbled back a few steps as she caught the acrobat who had launched herself at her. The tiniest of smiles dawned on her face.

"It's good to see you too, Ty Lee, but it's only been a couple weeks."

Ty Lee giggled and released her. "I know that, silly, but it feels like it's been forever." She led Mai over to the table and a servant poured the gloomy girl a cup of tea. "So how is everything?"

Mai shrugged. "Oh you know, boring as ever."

"How's Zuko?" she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Mai rolled her eyes, ignoring the bait. "Why don't you ask Azula whenever she finds the time to join us? After all, she's the one who summoned us here yet she's nowhere to be found."

"You know how Azula is, busy all the time. And she didn't summon us. She asked us to visit as her friends."

"Whatever, the point is, she should actually show up or stop wasting our time."

"Wow, Mai, you act as if you've never been a minute late to something before," a voice behind them said.

They turned to see the Princess standing there, hands on her hips, eyebrow cocked in question.

"Azula!" Ty Lee had never been one to remember propriety all that much, but she stopped herself inches from the Princess to quickly bow before enveloping her much the same way she did to Mai.

Azula let a genuine smile grace her features, a fairly uncommon sight for even her two oldest friends. When Ty Lee let her go, she turned her gaze on Mai, who stood from her seat, bowed for a fraction of a second, and then sat back down again.

"What took you so long?" Mai said in lieu of greeting. "You're never late."

Azula brushed off the comment. "I had a meeting that ran longer than I had orignally planned."

Ty Lee tilted her head and stared at her. "There's something off about you, 'Zula. Something...different."

For half a second, Ty Lee thought she saw panic in the Princess's eyes. But that couldn't be right. In all the years she had known her, she had never seen so much as a hair out of place on Azula's head.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Azula said, walking over to the table and snapping her fingers at a servant to pour her some tea. She looked up to find Mai studying her nearly as hard as Ty Lee was.

"No, she's right," Mai said with a frown. "Something's up with you."

"Your aura's the pinkest I've ever seen it," Ty Lee added.

Azula cleared her throat. "Everybody out! Let us enjoy our tea in peace. We'll summon you if we have need of you." she ordered the servants, using her most intimidating voice. Immediately, the room cleared, leaving just the three girls.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "What ostrich-horse kicked you in the ass today?"

"Well if you two are insisting upon talking about this then we can't have any prying eyes or ears around for it. I don't need anything getting back to my father."

Now that was intriguing. Enough so to cause Ty Lee to sit on the edge of her seat. Even Mai perked up. Azula never kept secrets from her father. She practically worshipped the ground he walked on while growing up. So whatever she had to say had to be incredibly damning.

"Spirits, Azula, what is it? Tell us!" Ty Lee was pracitcally vibrating in her seat.

"So you know how I'm having an arranged marriage to someone from the Southern Water Tribe?"

Her friends nodded.

"Well," she took a deep breath, "there have been some...developments with regards to it."

"Stop beating around the bush, Azula," Mai said. She had never known the Princess to be so hesitant. She actually looked nervous. "Just tell us."

"The man I'm to marry—Sokka is his name—he and I...well, let's just say we already knew each other before realizing we were to be married."

Ty Lee scrunched up her face in confusion. " 'Knew each other' as in….?"

Azula pursed her lips and finally decided to come out and say it. "As in we had spent an entire night fucking in his room at an inn."

Ty Lee gasped and Mai's eyes went wide, her jaw dropping. Azula wasn't sure she'd ever seen her friends look so shocked before.

"What?!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"Shhh," Azula hissed, "don't shout. Someone could hear."

"I don't understand," Mai shook her head, "how did…what….?"

The Princess sighed, readying herself for the lengthy explanation. "The night before the Southern Water Tribe delegation was to present itself to us, I snuck out of my room and went into the city. I was just looking to cut loose and maybe rebel against my father a little bit."

Mai scoffed. "You? Rebel against daddy dearest?"

"It's true," she retorted. "Would you love being told what little freedom you already had was about to be stripped from you and you were going to be married off to some foreignor? Like you were worth nothing more than a head of cattle to be traded at will?"

Mai was silent.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway, I had one drink at some tavern I'd stumbled into when this guy came over and started hitting on me. He wasn't all that good at it, but it was kind of charming in its own way. It helped that he was pretty cute too.

"One thing led to another and we went back to his room where he fucked me every which way he possibly could until morning. I snuck back out, went home, and pretty much had to get ready for the day immediately.

"So there I was, exhausted beyond belief and about to meet my betrothed when I same guy I'd spent the night with mixed in the delegation. I thought it was just a weird coincidence, but nope. As luck would have it, he's the son of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and he's the one I'm arranged to married to."

Mai couldn't help it. She laughed."You've got to be kidding."

Azula shook her head. "I couldn't believe it either."

"How'd you take it?" Ty Lee wanted to know. "I mean, you were already mad about the arranged marriage, but this? That's like next level fate right there."

"I wanted to be mad," Azula admitted. "And at first I was. At him for not telling me who he was. At myself for the whole situation I'd created. If I hadn't gone out that night, then I would've never met him until that moment. I was so mad and confused and—"

"But you're not anymore, are you?" Ty Lee interrupted.

Azula looked at her.

"If you were still mad or upset about all this, your aura wouldn't be as shiny and warm as it is right now," she explained. "It'd be dark and dingy and dull."

Azula waved a hand. "You know I don't believe in that type of stuff, Ty Lee."

"But that doesn't make what I said not true. You're happy, that's what's different about you."

"You actually like this guy," Mai added. "I may not read auras or anything, but even a blind man could see the way you've changed. You're less….stuffy. More content."

Azula bit her lip and turned away, contemplating her friends' thoughts. "Is it really that obvious?"

Ty Lee snorted. "Uh, duh. But only to us. Becuase we're your friends and all and we know you so well. We see what everyone else can't."

She didn't know what to say to that. Growing up, she could admit she hadn't been the kindest person to Mai and Ty Lee. She would often get jealous and possessive and hated when she wasn't the center of attention. As she hit her later teenage years, she thankfully grew out of it, becoming a better friend to both of them.

It was true: those two knew her better than almost anyone else. So maybe she didn't have to panic so much about how noticeably "different" she was now. After all, it was hard to find anyone as observant as the three of them. Reading people was their specialty.

"So I'm dying to know," Ty Lee said, interrupting her thoughts. She leaned forward, elbows propped up on the table as she rested her chin in her hands. Her eyes were awash with delight and mischief and Azula was suddenly very afraid of next words to come out of her mouth. "How was it?"

"How was what?" she asked, intentionally playing ignorant.

"The sex, Azula!"

"Ty Lee!"

"What?"

"What did I tell you about keeping your voice down?"

"Oh oops, sorry. But that still doesn't answer my question."

Azula's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. "Ty Lee, I-I'm certain that," she looked around for an excuse, "that Mai doesn't want to hear about that."

Seizing the rare opportunity to torment her, Mai smiled triumphantly. "Actually, I'd love to hear every. Little. Sordid. Detail."

"See?" Ty Lee shot her a pointed look and waggled her eyebrows. "Now spill. I've heard certain things about Water Tribesmen and I wanna know if they're true or not."

Azula was going to wear a hole through her lip before the day was out with the way she kept biting it. Shaking her head, she sighed. "Fine. Let me just say that whatever you've heard about Water Tribesmen...is most definitely true."

Ty Lee squealed with glee and even Mai looked impressed.

"He took me over and over again like...like some kind of savage. He made me come at least a dozen times that night."

"Really," Mai said doubtfully. "Zuko can barely manage twice in a single night."

Azula scrunched her face in disgust. "Ew, don't talk about my brother's sex life."

"Yeah, let's keep talking about Azula's," Ty Lee chimed in. "Did he go down on you?"

She nodded and held up two fingers. "Twice."

Ty Lee whistled in appreciation. "Damn, 'Zula. I bet you can't wait until your wedding night so you can do it again." Azula's brief second of hesitation was all Ty Lee needed to pounce. "No way! You've already done it again, haven't you?" she gasped.

"Maybe one or two...dozen times."

Mai snorted. "No wonder you made the servants leave. Your father's gonna kill you if he finds out about this."

"I know! It's bad enough that I wasn't a virgin even when I met Sokka, but the fact that I'm continuing to sleep with him while we're engaged….He'd kill us both."

"The Fire Lord's beloved daughter definitely won't be the blushing, virgin bride she's supposed to be, huh?"

"Definitely not," she confirmed. "And believe it or not, I actually tried to not sleep with him again after our engagement was announced, but there's just something about him—something so addictive that just makes me lose my head every time I'm around him."

"He's that good?" Mai asked.

"He's that good. And I—"

The door creaking opening suddenly caused all three women to nearly jump out of their skin. A simultaneous quick prayer was sent out that whoever it was, hadn't heard their conversation.

"Where in the world is-oh, sorry!" It was Sokka. "I was just looking for the kitchen, didn't mean to interrupt...whatever it is you ladies are doing."

Azula felt her heart beat faster and slower at the same time. She was relieved it was just Sokka, but on the other hand, it was Sokka, the one who could set her nerves alight with a single glance.

Agni, I'm turning into such a mushy romantic, she thought to herself.

"It's okay, Sokka. We were just talking and having tea."

"Talking about you actually," Ty Lee said, a sly grin on her face.

Sokka swallowed nervously. "All good things I hope."

"Very good things." She batted her eyelashes making Azula frown.

"Ty Lee," she hissed, sending a tiny bolt of lightning towards her friend's arm. She yelped and rubbed the reddened area. "If you could refrain from flirting with my fiancé, that would be lovely."

Sokka's curiosity was piqued now. He stepped farther into the room and shut the door behind him, walking over to Azula and plopping down into the seat next to her.

"And just what kind of things about me were you discussing, Princess?" he smirked, already knowing the answer. His sister would deny it and call him sexist, but he knew that women in groups would gossip about men until their tongues fell out of their heads. It may not happen all the time, but it was often enough.

Azula rolled her eyes. "Nothing you need concern yourself with. Your ego doesn't need any more stroking."

Sokka couldn't fight off the grin. It was just too easy. "Is that the only stroking we're talking about right now?"

Mai let out a full-throated laugh that startled her companions. "Oh I like him. He'll be good for you, Azula. He's got that same feistiness that you do."

"Why thank you...I just realized I don't know your names," Sokka said.

"Mai."

"Ty Lee."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ladies. I'm Sokka."

"And now that everyone's familiar with each other, how about we find you that kitchen you were looking for," Azula said, yanking him to his feet and shuffling him toward the door.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Don't want your friends to tell me everything you told them?"

Azula glared at him. "Call me sweetie again and I'll light you on fire."

"Duly noted," Sokka said. Just as she was about to push him out the door, he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "I'll make sure I give you something to brag about later when I see you tonight. I know I'm just that good."

That fucking bastard had heard them.

The sound of Sokka chuckling echoed throughout the room as he walked out, leaving Azula staring dumbfounded after him.

"Azula?" Ty Lee called. "You okay over there?"

"I think he broke her," Mai observed.

"No, that'll come later tonight," Ty Lee joked.

Trying to gather her wits about her, Azula sagged against the door, breathing deeply. She should be embarrassed by this little display in front of her friends, but she was too wound up to care. It was always amazing with Sokka, but she had a feeling that tonight would be something extra special.

Suddenly she couldn't wait for tonight.