A/N: This is the last chapter in the first book of Spring Fever. The next chapter will happen after a time skip (different lengths for the prequel and sequel; the prequel skips to the August after prom and the sequel skips to Azula and Ty Lee's first anniversary). Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying the show.


Chapter Nineteen: Some Hillbilly Slut


The Sunday after prom, Azula is escorted through the front door of her Los Angeles mansion. Zuko sits pretending to read the newspaper, and remarks as soon as he sees her, "Oh, look what's here in the paper," he says, pointing at the pages. "Your obituary."

She shoots him a chilling look that could kill, but he merely laughs. That only serves to irritate her further.

"Don't act like a big shot just because a girl finally laid down out of pity," she snarls at her brother. He just shakes his head with a smug smile.

Azula straightens her back and makes her expression as adorable and innocent as possible when her father walks in.

Ozai growls, "You are my precious daughter, my only child, and how dare you risk your life to impress some hillbilly slut."

Only child, Zuko mouths to himself, rolling his eyes.

"I thought it would be romantic and not involve sex. You said I couldn't do that, so, really, I was following your rules, daddy."

"I'm far too angry for any of that to work on me. You are grounded, you are going to be escorted to school and home and ballet and any other lessons, and if you are even a minute overdue will prolong this sentence, and she is not allowed to step even a toe through this door."

"Yes, daddy," Azula says, smiling. She leans her head to the side so that her eyes sparkle in the light. Zuko suppresses his gag reflex. "I understand that you need to ground me, and I assume she will still love me and respect the boundaries you set."

"I knew you would be reasonable," he says, and Zuko fumes. "You always were the perfect daughter. Now go to your room and do not come out until dinner."

"Yes, daddy." And she strides away, head held high.

Livid, Zuko throws the newspaper at the wall. The tiny thud does not satisfy him; it just earns him a dangerous glare from Ozai.

[X]

Azula texts Ty Lee the situation and within minutes, Ty Lee swings into Azula's bedroom from the window. "I'm technically not breaking any rules; he only said I couldn't come in through the door."

Azula smirks. "Sometimes you are not a complete idiot."

Ty Lee grins. She takes it as a compliment, which Azula always finds hilarious.

"What should we do?" asks Azula.

"We could…" Ty Lee blushes, and then she diverts attention from it. "We could play Mortal Kombat. We do that."

"Yes," Azula agrees, uncertain how she would suggest anything else. She may have stellar leadership skills, but she entered uncharted territory.

Ty Lee sits in the closet while Azula sets up the game. Then, the sound of a drill echoes through the upstairs hallway and Azula jumps up, hushing Ty Lee and quietly shutting her in the closet. She walks forward only to jump back when she watches her door collapse onto the floor.

Of course, thanks to her father and his overprotective bullshit.

"You must admit this is excessive," Azula says, crossing her arms.

"This is parenting," he states coldly, and Azula can only gaze at the huge white door lying on her floor as he walks away.

Ugh. She hates this place.

[X]

The next day at school, while prom gossip buzzes through the hallways, Azula sits in the piano closet with Mai and Ty Lee at lunch. She stares bitterly at her food and cannot bring herself to eat. Why did she act impulsively?

She glances up at Mai. "You have chips?"

"Mhm," halfheartedly replies the sullen girl.

"I'll make you my official best friend if you give them to me."

Ty Lee wails, "But, Azula, I thought I was your best friend."

"Do you have chips?" Azula snaps.

Ty Lee pouts. "No."

"Then goodbye." Azula waves pointedly.

"So, how was Zuko?" asks Ty Lee.

Both Mai and Azula glower at her, at varying intensities.

"Change topics now before I wring your neck," Azula orders.

"I had an idea for an invention last night," Ty Lee says eagerly. Mai and Azula exchange a puzzled glance. "What if there was a bra that came with pockets? They would of course be called Brockets. It would solve the problem of keeping skinny jeans cute but needing extra storage."

Azula and Mai exchange a glance.

[X]

In one of the English rooms before class starts, Mai sits reading a young adult dystopian novel. She seems so engrossed in it, but Azula does not care if she bothers her or not.

"Is that another book about a teenager saving the world?" asks Azula.

"I guess," Mai dryly replies. "I'm mostly just using it so no one will talk to me."

Azula purses her lips, thinking for a moment. She at last says, "I think it's ridiculous that teenagers are always tasked with saving the world because I have met teenagers and they always wait until the absolute last minute to do important things. Like let's say there's a prophecy about an asteroid hitting the Earth and these teenagers have a whole year to get ready and then they would stop the asteroid after it was too late and the asteroid would just blow up and rain down and destroy everything."

Dryly, Mai remarks, "Isn't that the plot to Armageddon?"

Azula scoffs. "No. In Armageddon they stop the asteroid in time because they're responsible adults. You want another analogy? Okay, some teenagers get chosen to go on an important adventure to save the world from a horrible Alien Invasion and they have I don't know a few months but they decide to have love triangles and build sandcastles and then they don't stop the aliens until they've already destroyed like three cities. That's why I find young adult novels ridiculous. The teenagers actually stop the end of the world in a timely fashion."

Mai comments, "But you have a Type A personality and are a teenager."

Azula smirks and her eyelashes flutter. "Yeah. That's true. I would destroy the world in an incredibly timely fashion because I have it together."

"Didn't you mean save the world?" Ty Lee asks, looking up from coloring her notebook rainbow with markers.

Azula smoothly says, "I know what I'm about, Ty Lee."

None of the girls disagree.

Azula adjusts the ribbon in her hair and directs her attention to the beginning lecture.

[X]

At her father's orders, Azula must tolerate an escort of buff bodyguards taking her to ballet practice after school. She stares out the limousine window, livid, playing angry music on her phone, headphones on, ignoring the bodyguards Ozai seems to find necessary. She seriously envies Zuko at the moment. Iroh would not do something like this; he is far too laid back. And mother lets him do whatever he wants.

When Azula gets there, she changes, heads to the barre between her two best friends and dazzles everyone in the room even with the simple warm up.

During their break, Azula, Ty Lee and Mai do their homework in the dressing room. Azula and Ty Lee sit so close together that it makes Mai queasy.

"I'm so sick of bio," Ty Lee wails, throwing her pencil to the floor. "Who cares how a cell divides? It just does."

"Because perhaps you would like to be a doctor one day," Azula remarks, smirking.

"Ha," Mai scoffs.

Ty Lee pouts at her.

"Do you wanna be a doctor?" Ty Lee asks Azula.

"No, of course not. I want to run the Shinohai Empire."

Who would expect anything different? God, her friends are stupid.

Mai glances up from the slides she has been designing for ten minutes. "Do you not find it at all hypocritical that we're doing our biology project on climate change? Your family is kind of responsible for a lot of it."

Ty Lee interjects brightly, "Climate change is super important. I heard the penguins are melting in Antarctica."

Azula and Mai exchange a glance.

The dance instructor calls them in before they can do any more work on their project.

[X]

Azula rests one hand on the barre. Her eyes keep catching those of her costars, the two of them remembering their amazing after prom.

"Ty Lee," she whispers while the ensemble practices, "do you want to come over after this? We have the excuse that we need to practice our pas de deux for the Rite of Spring. My father cannot argue with my extracurricular activities."

"Yes, yes, yes." Ty Lee beams, eyes gleaming. "You're such a genius."

Ty Lee smiles and spins. Azula smugly watches her.

Yes, she thinks to herself, I am a genius.

[X]

Skin coated with cold sweat, Ty Lee walks beside Azula to her house, her ballet bag in hand. Azula confidently punches in the code and steps inside, Ty Lee closely following.

"Why is she walking through the door I forbade her from walking through?" Ozai growls.

"Well, firstly I thought you were working late like you always do, and secondly, because we have to practice. We're the principal dancers in a very important ballet and our instructor asked us to work together after class. I figured you would prefer it here rather than at her house or in some… park or filthy beach."

Ozai remains silent for a moment and Ty Lee feels the strong, animal instinct to hide. Azula stands her ground and he finally nods.

"Because I know your dancing career is important to you," says Ozai.

"I am going to change my clothes and Ty Lee can wait here and watch a show or have a juice box or something," Azula orders. Ty Lee wants to beg for anything else, but she is too afraid to speak as Azula dashes up the stairs.

Slowly, Ty Lee edges to the sofa and sits down.

Ozai occasionally looks up from his work and glares at her, which makes her sweat profusely. He always liked her so much and now it is all ruined.

When Azula finally walks downstairs, she has done her hair and changed into her most attractive dance clothes. Ty Lee does not have to hide her gaze.

"You look so hot," she whispers and Azula smirks.

Ozai regally demands from the other side of the room, "What?"

Ty Lee flinches and blushes. "The weather," she stammers to Azula's father. "The weather is hot, Mr. Shinohai, sir."

"That is what I thought," growls Ozai. "Practice in the yard. Last time you broke one of my priceless guitars."

Azula nods, seizes Ty Lee by the arm, and walks to the garden.

[X]

While Azula runs through her parts beautifully, like an alien too graceful for this planet, Ty Lee pokes her foot at various decorative stones. Azula begins to stretching, which Ty Lee watches for a flicker of a second before she sees a rogue dandelion the gardener missed.

Ty Lee picks up the wishing weed and begins to say softly, "I wish Azula will love me fore—" but she does not finish because she starts screaming. "Bee! Bee! Bee! There's a bee on this dandelion!"

She throws it to the ground and runs into Azula's arms.


Chapter Nineteen: Some Hillbilly Bride


Ty Lee intently gazes into the mirror in the airport bathroom. She wears her absolute cutest sundress from her new post-wedding wardrobe but she still cannot help but criticize herself.

"I look horrible in this outfit. My chocolate mono diet so didn't work. I definitely had a thigh gap in high school."

Azula smoothly replies, "Who cares if you don't have a thigh gap and your thighs touch; I'm going to separate them for you anyway."

Ty Lee bursts out laughing. Once she calms down, she drinks in Azula's beautiful smirk and then asks honestly, "Do you think I could be a model?"

"Do you want to be one?"

"Of course. I mean, unless you still want me to be your secretary."

"No, you were a horrible secretary. Therefore, I see no reason why you can't be a model." Azula makes mental note of the request, because she is going to be the world's best wife, like she is the world's best everything. "You are a Shinohai now and we can be whatever we please."

Ty Lee beams.

[X]

They set foot on Isle Vallencourt, named for Mai's inexplicable favorite movie. Together, they walk over the sand and up the smooth stone walkway leading to the freshly built mansion.

Azula demands, "You are going to carry me, correct?"

"I can," Ty Lee chirps, lifting her up easily by the waist and carrying her as someone of her stature absolutely ought to be. Ty Lee fumbles for the lights while she keeps Azula in her strong arms and sets her down on the crisp white sofa.

"It is not that bad. I feared construction would not be complete and we would end up camping—I shudder at the thought—but my father rushed things. Hopefully by burying slaves underneath the floorboards."

Ty Lee nervously glances down at her feet. Then she looks up and around.

"I've never been able to understand why your dad has the Roman Emperor style thing. Like, your penthouse is kinda Pan-Asian Mod, and your grandfather matches his décor to the location of whichever house it is and your mom has your uncle's eight thousand decorations but your dad is…"

"Fancies himself a Roman Emperor? He finds the Caesars impressive and Mai could not possibly care less about interior decorating."

Ty Lee shrugs. "I just think that it's a weird taste."

"So, dinner and then midnight swim and then wedding night?"

"Okay," Ty Lee says brightly, and they both set out to find the kitchen.

Once they get there, they both have realized the terrifying reality.

Azula sighs, running her nails across the smooth marble countertop, "We have no chef. We will starve to death."

Ty Lee rummages through the fridge and suggests as brightly as possible, "I can make grilled cheese. Like, uh, whatever this fancy one is. Does this kind melt?"

Azula coldly says without looking up, "All cheese melts."

"Then we're in the clear." Ty Lee beams.

Azula smirks back.

Her wife might not be brilliantly intelligent, but she does love her.

[X]

The sun, hot on the bare skin of Azula's back, wakes her in the late morning. She never sleeps this long, but weddings and traveling are both ordeals to be reckoned with. When she opens her eyes, it takes her a moment of disorientation to get her bearings. At the moment, she lies in the crisp white bed on an island with her new wife.

They spend the morning half-dressed and overheated. Azula makes huckleberry coffee while Ty Lee watches some trashy reality show on Hulu.

"You know," pipes up Ty Lee while Azula presses the brew button. "I had so many bridesmaids at our amazing wedding and stuff, but my own sisters have gotten married and not made me a bridesmaid. Why am I never a bridesmaid?"

"Always a bride never a bridesmaid?" Azula mocks, a smirk creeping onto her lips.

"Yes!" Ty Lee exclaims, not noticing the sarcasm. "Why am I never a bridesmaid?"

"It's because you are too pretty," purrs Azula.

More comfortable silence while they sip the sweet, fruity coffee with whipped cream on top and watch movies together. Ty Lee sighs as she scrolls through her phone at various shoes she plans to buy. She says, "I love that you took me to a secluded island but I was really hoping we could go shopping for honeymoon souvenirs we could treasure forever."

Azula contentedly purrs, "Well, worry not because there's a big sale in the bedroom tonight. Clothes will be 100% off."

Ty Lee laughs and Azula notices the whipped cream on her face.

"You have something there," Azula says, and before Ty Lee can reach up and touch her lips, Azula kisses it off.

Ty Lee blushes.

[X]

The next day, they sit outside on the beach, basking in the sun.

"What's something I don't know about you? Something nobody knows?" Ty Lee inquires as she adjusts her sunglasses.

Azula hesitates and finally decides to be honest. "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila on DVD is the best thing I have ever purchased with my vast fortune."

Ty Lee excitedly replies, "Have you ever seen Vanilla Ice Goes Amish?"

They exchange a smile.

[X]

The next day, after plenty of sex and reality television and dessert coffees in the morning, Azula meticulously organizes a dangerous trek into the jungle. A jungle she decides would be perfect to hunt humans in, therefore, perhaps Mai had a point.

"Are you sure you should wear those shoes hiking in a jungle?"

"I wear three inches or I wear nothing."

"I am not lending you mine. Jungles are painful and dangerous barefoot."

"I'm nimble. I'm like Catwoman. I can do anything in heels."

Only ten minutes into their daring and colorful hike, Ty Lee starts bawling about her blisters and the difficult hills, and Azula carries her bridal style back to the manor.

"Azula," Ty Lee says, still sobbing. "This is a horrible vacation. I wish we had just gone to the Bahamas and stayed in a real resort. Being on an island is the worst. Take me home! Why aren't you listening to me? Please take me home!"

Azula purrs, "I'm sorry I don't understand; I don't speak little bitch."

Ty Lee wails. Azula smirks at her and sips her sweet coffee.

Then Ty Lee sniffles and wipes her eyes. "Even though you're insensitive, I still really love you."

Azula sighs and admits, "I really love you too."

It is an almost perfect honeymoon.