Chapter 111

Despite still being way down in the tournament standings, whole three points behind her father, Azula was in high spirits ahead of her game against Ozai. After her decisive victory over Aang in the previous round, and having witnessed Zuko's remarkable defeat of their father, Azula had been forced to admit that her brother had been correct and they both had been leaning into the teachings of "Guru" Pathik way too hard. Even though Azula knew that there were dangers in allowing her passions and emotions run free, making her more susceptible to Ozai's mind games, she also realized that she couldn't shackle her creativity the way Pathik's techniques forced her to do. Azula realized that in order to succeed in the tournament, she had to stay true to herself and her own style of play, and she would have to rely on all the progress she had made during her therapy sessions. Together with the support of her loving girlfriends, it would have to be enough to defeat her father. Azula only hoped that this realization hadn't come too late, because after her game with Ozai, the tournament would already be at the halfway point.

Azula knew that everyone around her were talking how this was a must win game for her. If she lost to Ozai in this round, she would fall four whole points behind, an almost insurmountable gap. However, should she win the upcoming game, Azula would be only two points behind Ozai for the lead, with ten games left to play. It was still a considerable deficit, but Azula felt confident that she could overcome it. And despite all the pressure to win heaped upon her for this upcoming game, Azula for some inexplicable reason felt relaxed and confident. She was utterly failing to pinpoint a single reason for her surging confidence. The company of her girlfriends, the way they supported her, believed in her and made sure her every need was met, that was all a huge part of it. But even more importantly, Azula believed in herself. When Pathik's technique was not delivering the results even if she was playing reasonably well, Azula had started to become frustrated and angry. But with her game against Aang in the previous round, Azula felt as if she had unshackled and rediscovered herself. Azula was absolutely convinced that she was primed for a spectacular second half of the tournament.

Of course, Azula also had other schemes in mind to derail Ozai's path towards his seventh title. She did not intend to leave it all to the Pai Sho board, and she expected that her father also had something planned for her and Zuko, should he begin to feel threatened. So far, Ozai was in a commanding lead and hadn't felt the need to do anything underhanded, at least not more than what he was already doing to unsettle Azula on every match day, but Azula knew that if the situation in the standings changed, they should expect trouble. The strange assault that Haru Tamang had suffered during the Fire Fountain City qualifying tournament had been attributed to pro Dai Li fanatics, but Azula didn't believe that explanation for a moment. It was telling that the assault had been arranged on the eve of Haru's decisive match against Zhao. Ozai's fingerprints were all over that encounter.

Azula remained in constant contact with Toph in Gaoling, but so far, it seemed that Lao Beifong was just about keeping his act together. Azula realized that she would have to find a way to push Toph's father all the way to the breaking point. Fortunately, Azula had a previously prepared plan in place. Together with some of her old colleagues from the Ba Sing Se Herald, they had prepared an article that was ready to go on the presses as soon as Azula gave the sign. It would be an absolute tearjerker of a piece, interviews with devastated Earth Kingdom mothers, sisters, wives and daughters, lamenting the loss of their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers in the costly conflict for Yu Dao. They had selected the hardest hitting stories and photos for this article and Azula thought the picture of a whole railway wagon loaded with coffins arriving in Ba Sing Se was particularly poignant, and would likely cause great public outcry.

Certainly, publishing such an article was a dangerous undertaking in the era of Dai Li censorship. However, Azula's friends were still willing to go ahead with it, reasoning that they could credibly claim ignorance, because at least according to the rules imposed by the Dai Li themselves, they would be doing nothing wrong. They would not be publishing casualty numbers, or directly criticizing the war or calling for it to stop. They would simply be telling the human tragedy that was the fallout of this conflict, and the Dai Li had never explicitly made it clear that framing the narrative in this way was strictly forbidden. Azula was aware that she was still asking her reporter friends to take a considerable risk, but she felt that it was necessary. If this could push Lao Beifong or someone else involved in the conspiracy to start talking, then the Dai Li would face the sort of backlash that would be hard to come back from.

Of course, this plan of hers required time to deliver results, and being short on time, Azula hoped that she hadn't put her scheme in action too late. Still, there was nothing she could do about it now, other than to do her part and beat her father at the Pai Sho board. As always, prior to the match, Azula made sure to stick with Aang and Zuko to avoid interacting with Ozai or Zhao. Only when the tournament official started the match by pressing the button on the timing clock, did Azula go over and sat down at the table to make her first move.

There had been some debate the day before regarding the choice of opening that Azula should use. Azula had felt so confident that she had been pressing for a particularly aggressive opening, but Yue and Katara had done their best to hold Azula back a little. Since Azula had already gotten burnt once after ignoring the advice of her girlfriends, she had decided to go with the suggestion by Yue and Katara, and that was to use the Kyoshi Defense. In the end, Azula had been swayed by the statistics compiled by Aang, which showed that over the years, her father had enjoyed comparatively poor results whenever his opponent had gone for this opening.

Azula made her opening moves with steady confidence, even if she had been worried about freaking out now that she was not shutting herself down emotionally. Somehow, Ozai's piercing stare still did not seem all that scary or bothersome, making Azula suspect that she had developed natural resistance to it. She felt like she could play with both confidence and unrestrained creativity, and it was helping her gradually win initiative from her father.

Ozai appeared displeased with this development, clearly taken aback by the rise in her level of play. Was he unaware of how she had played against Aang in the previous round? Perhaps Ozai's arrogance was making him blind, because it seemed like he had expected to meet the Azula from several rounds ago, and her aggressiveness was now taking him by surprise. By the thirtieth move, Azula had gained a considerable positional advantage, suffocating any potential counter play from Ozai on both flanks. Azula was still far from victory, however, as the game approached the time limit for the first forty moves, and while running low on time, Ozai made a crucial mistake when retreating with his Orchid tile.

Ozai placed his Orchid on a square where it would be captured by Azula's own Orchid in three moves. Ozai realized his mistake immediately, and he made a move with his hand as if to take the Orchid tile and illegally push it to the safe square, only to then notice that one of the tournament officials had wandered up to their table and was looking down at the board. Ozai quickly removed his hand and allowed the move to stand, a murmur passing through the crowd of gathered spectators, shocked at his gaffe. Azula gave her father an amused smirk, as if to tell him that she knew what he had just tried to attempt. Ozai was absolutely seething at her impertinence, then directing his glare at the frightened looking official who quickly reset their clocks and then hurried away. Azula had a feeling that this was the last time she saw the man officiating at the event.

Three moves later, with his Orchid well and truly lost, even a mad with anger Ozai Nakamura had to admit the futility of his situation. After making his forty third move, Ozai stopped the timing clock and rose to walk away. Azula was more than happy that he hadn't insisted on a handshake. Now that she was not blocking out her emotions, the thought of physical contact with her father felt repulsive to the point of vomiting. Still, the most important thing was that Azula had received additional confirmation that she had rediscovered her best form, and that she was well and truly back in the tournament.

Azula had been so immersed in the contest with her father that she had paid no attention whatsoever to the other games taking place, which probably was for the best. A quick glance revealed that Zuko had destroyed Zhao in less than thirty moves, while Aang was still trying to resist Piandao, but Azula didn't like his chances. Azula knew that after suffering a painful defeat, Ozai never stayed around to talk with the press, even though he was supposed to make himself available. This suited Azula well, because now she didn't have to stick around and wait until Ozai left the press zone. Azula could just head over there, endure the mostly trivial questions, and then be able to finally depart.

And there was a very good reason why Azula couldn't wait to depart the Ember Island Player's theater house. Not only was she eager to celebrate her impressive win with her girlfriends, but they had another reason to party tonight. It was Yue's twenty-fourth birthday and she knew that Katara had made certain plans to celebrate it in style. It was shaping up to be an unforgettable day, and Azula couldn't wait to enjoy the remainder of it.

Yue was in what felt like her best mood for many months. Azula had already produced the best birthday gift that Yue could have ever hoped for by demolishing her father in front of the Ember Island spectators. The three of them had spent most of the afternoon celebrating both Azula's victory and her birthday by opening a couple bottles of wine and making themselves sick by eating unreasonable amounts of chocolate.

Later in the afternoon, their friends began to arrive at their rented cottage, bringing gifts. Yue had been taken by surprise when Katara had declared that the next part of their festivities would be something for girls only, so the three of them together with Suki, Mai and Ty Lee had then headed out, leaving Sokka, Zuko and Aang to chill back at their cottage. Yue had felt a little bad for the boys, but then again, they had plenty of snacks and booze, so it didn't seem that they would die of boredom or starvation. Yue was very intrigued as to what Katara had planned that would not be suitable for the boys, and a quick glance at Azula only told Yue what she already suspected, that Azula was just as confused as she was.

After a walk of roughly twenty minutes, Katara led them to a more secluded part of the island, where a sizable wooden shack stood surrounded by trees and thick shrubbery. This part of the island didn't have a sandy beach, but steps had been carved in the large chunks of basalt leading down to the water. The wooden shack rang a familiar bell to Yue, but she only put the two and two together when she saw a puff of smoke emerging from the chimney atop of the shack.

"Wait a moment," Yue spoke up, looking excitedly at Katara. "Is that a proper wood sauna?" she asked. Katara nodded, grinning broadly.

"I don't think that used to be here before," Azula said, frowning as she gave the sauna a dubious stare.

"Yes, it's quite new, I only found out about it because I asked at that tourism center and they put me in contact with the owners," Katara replied proudly.

"Alright, what's a sauna?" Ty Lee asked, looking confused, and she wasn't the only one to share that look.

"You're going to love this, Ty," Suki grinned. "They've become really popular back on Kyoshi Island. And it explains why you made this a girl's only thing, Katara," she winked at the Water Tribe girl.

"It doesn't explain that at all," Mai argued. She and Ty Lee both clearly had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.

"It does explain it, Mai, because we're going to get naked," Yue grinned, already looking forward to the experience.

"What? You mean like… stripping down all the way?" Azula asked, looking slightly mortified. "I didn't think you have to do that in a sauna."

"Well, Zula, it is the proper way to enjoy a sauna. I really didn't think modesty would be an issue with the boys absent," Katara rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I should have just stayed behind with the boys at the cabin," Azula sulked. Meanwhile, Suki had already gone inside the cabin, followed by Ty Lee. Suki wasted no time in stripping herself bare in the small chamber before the sauna proper, and Ty Lee quickly followed her example, even if she didn't seem to have a clue as to what was actually going to happen.

"Do you really want to ditch me on my birthday, love?" Yue looked at Azula, making doe eyes at her girlfriend.

"Well, no," Azula admitted reluctantly. "I just don't understand why I can't at least remain in my swimsuit," she pouted.

"I'm afraid you have to be naked, Zula," Yue grinned. "It's a cultural thing. You don't want to disrespect the traditions of the Water Tribes on my birthday, right?"

"Azula, you seemed to be quite fascinated by the concept of sauna when I first told you about it back in Cape Kuruk," Katara pointed out. "I just don't understand why you're suddenly making a fuss."

"Well, that was back when we weren't properly together, so I was interested in the concept of sauna because it would have offered an exciting opportunity to-" Azula then froze, realizing what she was about to say and blushing red as a tomato.

Yue and Katara both burst into laughter at that. Mai, who was yet to follow Suki and Ty Lee inside, reacted by slapping a palm across her face. "Wait, you were interested in sauna only because it would have allowed you to check out Katara?" Yue asked, barely holding it together because she found the situation so hilarious.

"Well, it wasn't exactly like that-" Azula tried weakly. "Okay, it was exactly like that," she then admitted, finally deciding to simply own it.

"You can be such an embarrassing dumbass," Mai sighed, shaking her head. "Trust me, Azula, nobody here is interested in checking you out, aside from your own girlfriends and I think they are probably intimately familiar with every square inch of your body already." Now it was the turn of all three girls to blush scarlet at Mai's candid comment.

"Ugh, well, I guess you're right about that," Azula finally relented. "This better be worth it," she added warningly as the four of them piled into the small antechamber. Yue quickly got naked, Mai following her example and eventually so did Azula. Yue then pressed a towel in Azula's hands, and she immediately used it to wrap the piece of cloth around herself to preserve her modesty.

"It's not for wrapping yourself in, Azula," Yue sighed. "You're going to make yourself overheat very quickly if you cover yourself like that."

"What is it for then?" Azula blinked. Mai had taken her own towel, opening the doors to the sauna proper and heading inside to join Suki and Ty Lee, letting a blast of hot air escape and hit them. "Ah, that's hot! You really want me to go in there?" Azula protested.

"I thought you were the one with the fabled Fire Nation resistance to heat," Yue winked at her girlfriend. "Besides, that wasn't even all that hot," she added.

"It really wasn't," Katara nodded. She was still clothed, kneeling in front of the woodstove, peering inside. "I guess we arrived a little later than I had arranged, so the fire has almost died out. Let's hope I can rekindle it," she said, taking a couple of logs from the nearby basket, dropping them into the stove and then gently blowing on the embers. Within moments, the embers began to glow brightly and new flames emerged, licking at the freshly added logs. "There, that should give us some proper heat," Katara nodded with a satisfied smile as she rose back up to her feet and quickly shed her clothes, grabbing her own towel and then herding both Yue and Azula into the sauna proper.

"See, that's how you use a towel in the sauna," Yue told Azula as she pointed at the three girls already inside, fully naked and sitting on top of their towels, laid out on the wooden steps inside of the sauna. Suki and Ty Lee had climbed up on the top step, already breaking out with heavy perspiration, while Mai had perched on the middle step, where the temperature was slightly lower. "It's just for hygienic purpose to absorb sweat, or else you would soak the wood and make it all gross," Yue explained. Azula let out another sigh, removing the towel and remaining fully naked as she followed the example of the others, sitting on top of her towel on the top step next to Yue. Ty Lee turned to Azula and made a teasing little catcall, which earned her an angry glare from Azula.

"Is it really 135F in here?" Azula asked, looking at the wall thermometer. "It doesn't feel that bad."

"135F is low even for children's sauna," Katara laughed. She had remained a little behind, standing next to a large box of rocks by the doors into the sauna. "Hmm, these are still quite hot," she said, having quickly probed one of the rocks with her fingertip. "Yes, this should work," Katara mused, grabbing a ladle full of water from a nearby bucket and tossing the water on the hot rocks, creating an immediate blast of steam.

The three Fire Nation girls immediately let out screams of protest, not having expected such a development. Ty Lee and Azula immediately slid from the top step down to the middle step, where the scalding steam was far more tolerable, Yue, Suki and Katara unable to hide their amusement at the reaction. "How about a warning the next time you attempt to kill us?" Mai frowned at Katara.

"Don't be silly, this is incredibly healthy for you," Katara said, shaking her head. "Can't you feel all your pores starting to open? Trust me, once you get used to this, you're going to want to do it again and again."

"I'm not sure I want to get used to this," Ty Lee whined, Azula nodding in agreement with her.

"Oh, stop your whining," Yue laughed. She then looked at Katara, seeing as her girlfriend was about to climb up to join her on the top step. "Kat, love, could you get some cold drinks for us first? I think these weaklings need them," she added. Of course, weakling or not, staying constantly hydrated was extremely important in a sauna, considering the insane amount of sweat pouring from all of them.

"That's a good idea," Katara nodded. "The icebox next to the porch has beer, cider or water."

"I'll have a beer," Suki said.

"Me too," Ty Lee nodded.

"Ugh, such unrefined choices," Mai complained. "I suppose I'll stick with boring old water." Azula nodded at that, indicating her choice.

"I'm in the mood for cider," Yue decided.

"I'll join you for that," Katara said, stepping outside and returning a while later carrying everyone's drinks on a small wooden tray.

"Hmm… this is actually quite enjoyable with a cold drink," Azula remarked a few minutes later, much to Yue's joy and amusement. Yue was not at all surprised that Suki was immediately into sauna, and she was certain that the Fire Nation girls would also come to love it once they had gotten over the immediate shock of the introduction.

"It's positively lovely," Katara sighed, taking a mouthful of cold cider as beads of perspiration rolled down all over her skin, making it shine. "It's still not as hot as it should be, though."

"What do you mean, it's not hot enough? How hot do you want it to be?" Mai asked, sounding incredulous.

"Well, I can take it as high as up to 190F," Katara replied. "But since it's the first time for some of you, we shouldn't push it past 165F, somewhere around that."

"That still sounds insane to me," Azula said, shaking her head. Yue couldn't stop staring at the way Azula's skin seemed to be positively glowing, drenched in perspiration. "I think I'm starting to get used to it, though," she said, yelping when Katara dipped the ladle into the bucket to toss more water on the rocks and generate more hot steam. "I wish you'd stop doing that!" Azula complained loudly.

"But it's part of the fun," Katara stuck out her tongue at her girlfriend.

"I'm starting to like this," Ty Lee declared, eventually scampering up to the top step again to sit next to Suki. Mai and Azula remained a step lower, still getting used to the heat. "Anyway, how long do we sit in here like this?" she said, taking another swig from her beer bottle.

"Until it starts to become uncomfortable," Katara replied. "For me it's usually fifteen to twenty minutes or so, but it depends on both the temperature and humidity."

"So, you go through all this bother just for fifteen minutes of heavy sweating?" Azula asked incredulously.

Yue burst into laughter at that. "Well, not quite, love," she said, chuckling. "You saw that path carved in the rock, leading down to the water, right?" Azula nodded at that. "Once we've had enough of the sauna, we're going to head outside, run down that path to the beach and throw ourselves in the cold water, preferably screaming like a bunch of crazy amazons. Then we'll swim around for a few minutes, maybe sit around outside for a bit and chill before coming back inside and then repeating the process over and over again."

"Oh, that sounds amazing!" Ty Lee exclaimed, looking really excited. The reactions from both Azula and Mai were still a bit muted, but Yue was sure that they would soon come around to admit their newfound love for sauna. "So, I have to ask something," Ty Lee spoke up again, looking at Yue and Katara.

"Sure, what is it, Ty?" Yue asked.

"Well, since going to sauna involves getting naked and all, I'm curious to know," Ty Lee said. "You guys ever had sex in the sauna?"

Yue and Katara exchanged glances, quietly laughing about Ty Lee's curiosity. "Not really," Yue shook her head. "I mean… sex is physically taxing, perhaps slightly less so with a girl, but still. Doing any physical activities in such a heat is a bit dangerous."

"Yes, as a resident doctor I would not recommend it," Katara added. "It could be too much for your heart to cope with. I mean, this activity isn't completely risk free as it is, but I don't think anyone here has any heart problems, so it should be fine. But that box with a defibrillator outside the shack is there for a reason."

"I'm starting to think I was right the first time," Mai told Azula. "They do mean to kill us."

"Spirits, you two are so ridiculous," Yue laughed, taking another swig of the cider. This was something that Yue really loved about going to sauna. She could drink crazy amounts of booze without getting too drunk, because everything was pretty much immediately purged from her body in the form of perspiration.

"Ridiculous or not, I think I want to go outside now," Azula said, climbing down from the middle step and heading for the doors. Yue could see that Azula was looking a little redder in the face than the rest of them.

"I think it's a good idea to take a dip," Katara agreed. Moments later, they were all running down the path to the beach, yelling like mad, even Azula and Mai joining in, overcome by the occasion. Even if the water was very warm, in the low 70's, because of the heat of the sauna, the temperature difference made the water feel ice cold. They all yelped upon hitting the water, but the discomfort lasted merely seconds before a strangely calming, relaxed sensation kicked in.

"Oh, wow…" Suki gasped, emerging from the water with a blissful look on her face. "This feels amazing, almost like the afterglow following amazing sex."

"Don't be rid-" Azula immediately moved to argue, but then fell silent. "No, you're right, it does feel like that," she was forced to admit with a soft smile on her lips. "I might just grow to like this, you know?"

"It's probably the best thing you Water Tribe barbarians have come up with yet," Mai also seemed to have revised her opinions as she swam lazy laps around them.

"I agree, this is officially awesome," Ty Lee gushed. She was floating around on her back with her chest sticking out above the water, making her appear like some kind of a busty sea goddess.

"I knew they would come around," Yue quietly told Katara, the two of them exchanging knowing grins.

A couple of hours and many trips between the sauna and the beach later, the group of six still didn't feel like quitting. Azula and Mai had at some point completely adjusted to the heat and felt comfortable to join the other girls on the top step. Meanwhile, outside the shack, the pile of empty bottles and cans was building up rapidly and everyone aside from Mai and Azula who were stubbornly sticking with water, were starting to become a bit tipsy. It looked like the reason why they would eventually have to call it a day would be running out of drinks in the cooler.

For the past quarter of an hour, Yue had noticed Katara giving Suki the occasional stare, as if trying to judge how drunk the girl from Kyoshi Island was. Yue had a pretty good idea what was on Katara's mind, and she couldn't deny being curious herself. Eventually, Katara decided to just go for it. "So, Suki…" she began, giving Suki a meaningful stare.

"So, Katara…" Suki drawled back, smiling goofily.

"Well, seeing as we're all tipsy and among friends, there's something I wanted to ask you," Katara began. "What's the deal with you, Sokka and Zuko?" she asked. Yue had to chuckle when Azula appeared more taken aback by that question than Suki. Not that she could blame Azula for being a little oblivious. She had been focusing so hard on Pai Sho for the past few months.

"Oh, you know, they've been great," Suki shrugged.

"Come on, Suki, I know there must be more to that than just being great buddies," Katara urged teasingly.

Suki looked up at Katara, her stare sobering noticeably. "Well," Suki began uneasily. "I might as well tell you, because I know that Sokka and Zuko have discussed the topic with you as well. It concerns their plans for surrogacy."

"Oh…" Katara blinked, looking completely astonished. Yue also felt a little shocked. She certainly hadn't anticipated this answer. Yue and Katara had both thought that Suki had some kind of friends with benefits arrangement with the boys, but Yue had to admit that this also made sense, considering what Sokka and Zuko had been talking about.

"What do they mean by surrogacy?" Ty Lee asked, leaning in closer to Mai.

"Zuko and Sokka want a kid, but they can't have one for obvious reasons, right?" Mai explained, Ty Lee nodding to that. "So, they're apparently looking for a surrogate mom to carry a child for them. I guess Suki is considering doing it?" Mai said. Ty Lee looked very surprised by the news.

"I haven't decided yet," Suki said quickly. "I mean, it's a big decision. And I don't know if I can do that and then just give away all rights to the child I've carried. I want Zuko and Sokka to have this, obviously, but I'm still not sure if it won't be too hard for me to just give it all up. And I've told them all my concerns, so… we've been working on some possible solutions. But I don't want to talk about that just yet, it's way too early. Also, I haven't completely given up hope that there might be peace in Yu Dao and Jet might still come home alive. I know that it's probably stupid to hope, but…"

"You might want to wait with your decision," Azula said thoughtfully. "The fighting in Yu Dao just might come to a halt soon, or at least that's my earnest hope."

"Do you know something the rest of us don't?" Suki asked.

"I don't want to build up false hopes, Suki, but I would urge you to be patient for a while yet," Azula said.

"I don't know," Ty Lee shrugged. "I think you should go for it, Suki. You could do a wonderful thing for Sokka and Zuko." Ty Lee then cringed when three pairs of eyes, Yue, Katara and Azula all turned to glare at her, none of the girls impressed with her transparent attempt of pushing Suki to forget about Jet. "But obviously, you should do what your heart tells you," Ty Lee added hastily, then jumping down from the top step to head out. "Anyway, I think I need another beer."

"I'll go grab some water," Azula said, turning to follow Ty Lee outside. The look she gave her girlfriends implied that Azula was going to have words with Ty Lee. Leaning in slightly against Katara, Yue thought how absurd it was that they had to manage this potentially volatile situation between Ty Lee and Suki when it concerned a guy who unfortunately and most likely was among the depressingly many casualties in Yu Dao.

Still, as the evening slowly came to a close and they began to dress to make their way back to their respective cottages, Yue still felt like she would put this particular birthday celebration among some of her most treasured memories. Besides, if the occasional looks full of promise exchanged between Yue and her girlfriends were anything to go by, the best part of the evening was still yet to come.

"Oh, so that's what a sauna is all about!" Aang exclaimed, sitting on the porch of the cottage rented by Katara, Azula and Yue, listening to Sokka enlightening him and Zuko about this odd Water Tribe tradition.

"I guess I can understand now why the girls didn't want us there," Zuko remarked. "At least they left us plenty to eat and drink," he pointed at the table that had once been laden with snacks and booze. The booze reserves had been severely depleted by Zuko himself together with Sokka, and the snacks had hopelessly lost their encounter with Sokka.

"True," Aang nodded, glancing at the pack of playing cards on the table. "Still, I don't think I can stomach another game of poker."

"Yeah, eating, drinking and playing cards, it's not the most exciting evening, but it works for me," Sokka shrugged. "I know that Katara felt bad about doing something that would leave us out, but the girls deserve this night for themselves, I suppose."

"Sure, I couldn't agree more," Aang said. "I'm happy that they're having so much fun in the sauna. And I mean… some irresponsible sixteen-year-old would probably sneak off to try and ogle them when they're all naked in there, but that's not us. We're mature, dignified, above such base desires."

"You're totally thinking about it, Aang," Sokka pointed out.

"What are you talking about? I only have eyes for my girlfriend!" Aang protested. A while later he let out a deep sigh. "No, you're right, I'm totally thinking about it, but I have to resist the temptation. Also, Mai would literally skewer me. That's a good deterrent to keep in mind."

"Well, cheer up, little buddy," Sokka slapped Aang's shoulder. "If my sister wasn't among that bunch of attractive ladies, I might feel similarly tempted."

"Hey, you're making it sound as if Katara should wear a paper bag over her head," Zuko snorted. "I'll have you know, your sister is a very attractive woman, Sokka."

"You can't say that about my sister! Okay, it's a fight!" Sokka glared drunkenly at his boyfriend. "And you know I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying… Katara is my sister, okay? Besides, what would you say if I told you that I think Azula is kind of hot-"

"Hey, you can't say that about my sister! Take it back, or it really is a fight!" Zuko challenged.

"What, are you saying that your sister is not a looker?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not saying that, but you're talking about my sister!" Zuko protested. "I won't think about her like that!"

"Yeah, I just said literally the same thing about Katara!" Sokka exclaimed. "What are we supposed to be fighting about again?"

"I'm not sure?" Zuko admitted. The two older boys turned towards Aang. "What were we going to fight about, Aang?" Zuko asked.

"Who can remember these things?" Aang shrugged, looking a little perplexed, being stuck with the two guys who had slightly overindulged in the booze, probably because of boredom. "It was probably nothing. Why don't we have more of this delicious birthday cake instead?" he suggested hopefully.

"That sounds good," Sokka was only too happy to agree.

"I know what he's going to say next," Zuko told Aang.

"I'm hungry!" Sokka exclaimed.

"See, I knew it," Zuko added with a mournful sigh.

Next chapter: After the birthday shenanigans, the tournament resumes. Let's see if Azula can maintain her rediscovered form.