CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Homecoming Hell
On a sunny fall morning two days into Azula's complete, miserable punishment for wrecking Ozai's car, she pulls her father aside. For what reason? Because being grounded cannot stop her from scheming against her elder brother.
"Daddy, can I talk to you?" she inquires, smiling innocently at him.
"You're still grounded." He claps her shoulder. "Good talk."
"I know. I just needed to tell you some—"
The doorbell rings, interrupting them.
Ozai opens it and groans when he sees Ty Lee. Azula edges her way into the scene and looks at her father with pleading eyes.
Ty Lee wrings her hands as she says, "Mr. Shinohai, I was just hoping I could ask Azula something and, y'know you took her phone."
"She's grounded," he grunts, narrowing his eyes at Ty Lee.
"It'll be fast." Ty Lee bats her eyelashes. "Please?"
Ozai grinds his teeth and growls, "Five minutes. I'm setting my watch."
"Thank you so much, daddy." Azula steps outside and strides out onto the driveway.
Ty Lee leaps into an embrace and kisses Azula passionately. They crush their lips frantically against each other several times before finally stepping back at arms length apart.
"What do you need to ask me?" inquires Azula, cocking her head to the side.
Ty Lee's eyes sparkle mischievously as she smiles. "Nothing. I just wanted to see you and I had to get past your dad to do it."
"Oh." Azula cannot help but be a tad disappointed. She was hoping for something more interesting than this.
"I can ask you something if you want." Ty Lee bats her eyelashes and smiles.
"Oh?"
"I had a whole big thing planned for tomorrow but I totally suck at patience so, uhm…" Ty Lee takes a deep breath. "Will you be my date to homecoming?"
Azula shrugs. "I can't imagine I would go with anyone else."
Ty Lee bounces up and down three times, grinning and clapping her hands. Azula suppresses a laugh.
"I miss you," says Ty Lee.
Azula kisses her. "We have school, and it's only two weeks. But I kind of like the idea of you missing me. It might make you appreciate me more."
Ty Lee takes Azula's hands in hers and leans in closer.
"I appreciate you more than I, like, appreciate breathing or skin products. I don't know if I can appreciate you more." She kisses Azula on the cheek.
"Well, I suppose we have a chance to find out."
Ozai barks from the porch, interrupting yet another kiss,. "You're grounded for two weeks, not going off to war. Wrap it up."
"I love you," says Ty Lee passionately.
Azula hesitates for a moment before replying, "I'll see you tomorrow at school."
Ty Lee turns away to hide her dejected expression and begins the short walk home. Azula returns into the mansion with her father.
He turns to her and inquires, "What is it you wanted to say?"
"I found something in Zuko's room. Something I felt I had to tell you about so we don't let him destroy his life even further."
"What exactly did you find?" demands Ozai. "Drugs? Liquor?"
"An engagement ring and a practice speech for proposing to Mai at homecoming."
Ozai's eyes flash with rage and Azula loves it. Her brother is so screwed.
"I'll take care of this. Don't worry."
As soon as he walks away to find his son, Azula smirks.
This will be fun.
[X]
Azula is in her bedroom doing math problems when she hears Ozai roaring and Zuko shouting.
She slips quietly to the edge of the stairs to listen in on the fight.
Ozai yells, "I'm not the parent who ran off to Europe with Iroh and dropped you on the doorstep!"
"You're just the parent who abandoned me at the first chance!" Zuko shouts.
"So, you're ruining your life by getting married at eighteen because you want to spite me?"
"I don't think about you enough to come up with plans to spite you. I'm proposing to her because I love her!"
"You propose to that girl, you find somewhere else to live."
Zuko storms out without another word.
Azula smiles and slinks off to finish her homework.
[X]
The two weeks pass more quickly than Zuko and Azula thought they would.
Today, they play basketball on the court in their backyard while Ty Lee and Mai sit on the sidelines watching, Ty Lee with great interest, Mai with absolutely none.
"Get on my level," says Zuko mockingly after an excellent shot.
"Unfortunately, ZuZu, to get on your level I would need a yacht trip to the Mariana Trench and a pair of cinderblock shoes." Azula picks up the ball and smirks at him.
The casual basketball game looks more like a battle to the death when it is Azula and Zuko. Ty Lee gets more excited by the minute while Mai gets more and more bored as they watch them fight for the win with sweaty skin and bared teeth.
Mai is gazing at the leaves on a tree when Zuko interrupts her melancholy.
"This one's for you, babe!" calls out Zuko to Mai as he throws the ball and promptly misses.
Azula starts cackling hysterically as Ty Lee giggles in tandem.
Using his distraction to her advantage, Azula moves in for the win. Her brother huffs sullenly as Ty Lee runs to her, beaming.
"You did it, baby!" exclaims Ty Lee as she jumps gracefully into Azula's arms and wraps her legs around her hips.
"Of course I did."
[X]
The next day, Azula and Ty Lee walk downstairs from her bedroom holding hands. Zuko sits on the sofa watching Netflix.
"Ty Lee and I are getting some McDonalds," purrs Azula as Ty Lee kisses her cheek.
"Oh, bring me some," says Zuko.
Azula laughs mockingly.
"We'll bring you a dead squirrel if we find one on the side of the road."
The two girls cackle as they head to Azula's new car.
[X]
Azula and Ty Lee sit across from each other sipping milkshakes at a garishly red and yellow table.
Ty Lee breaks a brief silence by saying, "I have to get a croissant for you for homecoming."
"A croissant?" Azula blinks.
"Yeah. The flower bracelet."
Azula laughs, and laughs, and laughs as Ty Lee shrinks.
Azula corrects through laughter, "Corsage?"
Ty Lee, a tad embarrassed, hastily changes the subject.
"You look super sexy sipping a drink."
"I always look sexy."
"Are we gonna be the hottest girls at homecoming?"
"I expect so. We're at least the hottest people in this McDonald's. That's something."
They kiss.
[X]
On the afternoon of homecoming, while waiting for Zuko to finish preening before the game and dance, Mai finds herself alone with Ozai Shinohai. It is the last thing she wants after impulsively hooking up with her best friend's father over the summer.
The discomfort is palpable between them.
"I want to know a few things about Azula and Ty Lee."
"And you want me to tell you them?" asks Mai coolly.
"Yes," replies Ozai with complete, commanding confidence.
"What do you want to know?"
"Does Ty Lee treat her with respect?"
"Probably too much of it. She worships the ground Azula walks on."
"Is Ty Lee prone to cheat?"
"Not on Azula."
"How long have they been interested in each other?"
"Since Girl Scouts. Third grade."
"Are they having sex?"
"Yeah."
"Is my daughter happy?" asks Ozai.
"Well, I guess some pit bulls are happy even when they're eating a small child. So, yeah, in that sense Azula is probably happy."
He laughs.
"She takes after me."
"That she does, Mr. Shinohai."
Thankfully, before the conversation goes awry, Zuko comes downstairs and kisses Mai on the cheek.
[X]
Azula gazes longingly at Ty Lee as she leads the cheerleaders on the sidelines of the homecoming football game.
"Eyeing her?" Zuko asks, turning towards his sister.
"She's my girlfriend."
"There are a Hell of a lot of people on these bleacher's who are checking out her tits that aren't in a relationship with her. I wonder how many of them have hit that."
"If you say anything like that about my girlfriend again I will slit your throat while you sleep and get away with it."
"You should see how ridiculous you look when you threaten me," says Zuko. "Like a little girl telling me she's going to strangle me with her jump rope."
Azula huffs. "Maybe I will."
She tries to focus on the game, but jealousy distracts her the entire time.
[X]
Azula and Ty Lee both eagerly joined the Homecoming Planning Committee when it opened. Azula did it for college and social status; Ty Lee did it for her love of parties. They swiftly dragged Mai into the team against her will.
Therefore, shortly after the game they participated in setting up and now have no choice but to get ready in the gym ladies room.
Azula gazes in the mirror as she watches Mai finish her phone call with her boyfriend.
"I don't even know why you're with Zuko," says Azula as she adjusts her eyeliner. "Did you throw a dart at the school yearbook pictures of eligible males and it landed in the trash can?"
"He's actually a great boyfriend," says Mai coldly and Azula rolls her eyes.
"Compared to what? It isn't like you're stable. You're as on and off again as a strobe light at a rave. And trust me, we're all constantly waiting for you to be off for good."
"You're one to talk. My phone battery lasts longer than your flings with Ty Lee."
"Excuse me?" snaps Azula, eyes aflame with rage.
Mai stares at her for a moment, nostrils flaring. And she makes a decision she knows she will not regret.
"I'm sick of dealing with the drama between you two and I'm tired of the fact that you drag me into every mess you get yourself into. Most of all, I'm tired of what a bitch you are even to your so called friends. Cancel my subscription," says Mai coolly, "because I'm over your issues. I'm done being your lipstick minion."
Azula's jaw drops. Ty Lee flinches as if something were thrown at her.
"You can't do that!" snarls Azula.
"I can. And I am."
Mai strides out of the bathroom, letting the door slam behind her.
[X]
Halfway through the lackluster dance, to great fanfare Azula and Ty Lee are crowned the homecoming queens.
They stand side by side, holding hands, expensive dresses shimmering in the spotlights as the headmistress sets the sparkly crowns atop their heads.
They both look as victorious as if they just won the Hunger Games, Mai's betrayal or not.
Azula blows a kiss and smiles at the adoring crowd.
Ty Lee gazes at her for a few moments, deeply in love, but still brokenhearted over Mai.
Azula is one of those people who always has arrogance in her smile, and Ty Lee must admit she loves it.
Ty Lee usually grins so easily, but after losing Mai today, she struggles. Mai is her best friend, but she will always choose Azula.
And it certainly has made her night more miserable than wonderful.
But, difficult as it may be, she forces a bright smile for the cameras.
[X]
Near the end of the dance, a slow song suddenly begins to play and the spotlight falls on Zuko and Mai.
Azula's lips part in shock. She grabs onto Ty Lee for support.
Zuko reaches into his suit pocket and gets down on one knee in front of his girlfriend.
Mai shows no trace of emotion, but that does not deter him.
He opens the ring box, revealing a dazzling choice piece of jewelry.
"Mai, we've had some hard times and probably more to come, but I really feel like we've taken a total U-Turn. Well, maybe not a total U-turn but maybe a really hard right."
"What exactly are you asking?"
"Will you marry me?"
"Sure." Mai shrugs as he puts the ring on her finger.
Azula's jaw drops.
This cannot be happening.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: And Once More Saw the Stars
Azula stares in the mirror before bed, knowing she will be woken up by Zoey countless times during the night but ready to attempt to sleep regardless. Ty Lee stands beside her, brushing her long chestnut hair.
"Just look at the dark circles under my eyes. And my skin!" Azula sighs at the mirror. "This must be what it feels like to be a normal woman."
Ty Lee turns her head away to hide her smile.
Meanwhile, Zoey sleeps under a blanket Ilah made for her. It is embroidered with the family crest: a two headed dragon labeled 'Dracones Indomitus.'
Bunny sneaks in wielding the largest encyclopedia she could find in Azula's study. She examines the blanket in intrigue for a moment before tossing the encyclopedia into the crib. Zoey wails and cries in terror.
Azula and Ty Lee run in and quickly survey the scene. Azula yanks the encyclopedia out of the bed and picks up Zoey to comfort her.
Bunny clasps her hands behind her back and tries to look innocent.
"Bunny! Why would you do that?" Ty Lee exclaims.
"I thought she might want something to read," lies the little girl.
Ty Lee sighs exasperatedly and rubs her temples.
[X]
It is past midnight and Zoey woke up crying. Azula has done everything she knows how to do and the baby has yet to quiet down.
She only stops crying when Azula holds her, and then cries again when Azula sets her down.
"Please be quiet, Zoey," begs Azula, wearily looking into the crib. "I can barely hear myself losing the will to live."
The baby continues to wail.
[X]
At three in the morning, Zoey wakes crying again.
She has the same problem; once disrupted from sleeping or eating, she only stops crying when held by Azula, Ty Lee or Toph.
"Would it be immoral to just crush up a little Xanax and slip it in her bottle?"
"Azula!"
"What? I'm just problem solving."
Ty Lee rolls her eyes and picks up Zoey again.
[X]
The next day, after Azula returns home from a grueling day at work, Azula lies on the sofa, utterly exhausted. Ty Lee stands nearby, scrubbing the counter.
"Ty Lee," calls out Azula without moving, "fetch me a Monster."
"I'm not your maid!" snaps Ty Lee.
Azula blinks, stunned by the boldness. Has the exhaustion truly gotten to Ty Lee so deeply?
"You don't work—"
"I take care of our baby! All day! I clean! I cook! I workout and do like endless beauty stuff to look pretty for you! You should appreciate it!"
"I do!"
"No, no you don't! You expect it from me!"
"Is it so wrong if I expect it?"
"Yes!"
Ty Lee storms away from the kitchen counter. Azula gets up to follow her.
"Ty Lee, you're being unreasonable!"
"I'm going to meet someone," says Ty Lee, whipping on her pink jacket.
"Who?" demands Azula.
"Vincent."
"Vincent who?"
"Vincent Van Gogh Fuck Yourself."
Ty Lee storms out of the penthouse, entire body on fire from rage.
[X]
Azula stands on the balcony a few hours after the fight. Ty Lee walks in and feels heaviness in her heart when she sees her wife.
Ty Lee examines her from afar for a moment.
Azula's Parliament cigarette is on fire in her gleaming fingertips. Her sharp nails dance with shadows and shimmer in the moonlight.
Ty Lee's wife turns around before she can say anything.
"How was your tryst with Vincent Van Gogh Fuck Yourself?"
"I just sat alone in a diner for three hours." Ty Lee tries to shrug but her limbs feel weak with shame and discomfort.
"Tragic," coldly replies Azula.
Ty Lee grimaces and averts her eyes.
To Ty Lee's relief, Azula did not see her lie. The truth is, Ty Lee finally answered one of the calls from Bunny's dad. She agreed to see a lawyer with him in a month's time, but Azula is under too much stress to know that yet.
"Do you need anything? Can I help at all?"
"What do you want from me in return?" asks Azula, lighting another cigarette.
Ty Lee furrows her brow. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Azula scoffs.
"The way I see it, people only do nice things for one of two reasons. Either they want something or they owe something. And you don't owe me at the moment."
"That's not the way the world works," replies Ty Lee, "with everyone keeping score."
"It's the way my world works. I wouldn't do anything for anyone if it weren't for it."
Ty Lee falls silent.
"That's not true. You're a better woman than you think you are."
"You should write fortune cookies."
Ty Lee reaches forward and gently interlaces her fingers with Azula's.
Her hands are colder than ice. Ty Lee frowns.
"How long have you been out here?"
"Since you left. I had to think."
"About what?"
"Everything." Azula pauses and glances up at the smoggy black sky. "I was trying to see the stars."
"It's impossible in this part of the city."
"I know. Humans evolved to guide ourselves by them. Then we made cities that blocked them out." Azula drops her cigarette butt to the streets below. "Maybe that's why everyone feels so lost."
She strides inside and locks herself in her bedroom.
Ty Lee sleeps in the guest room tonight.
[X]
Azula wakes in the middle of the night for once not to Zoey, but to Ty Lee shrieking, "Spider! Huge spider!" at the top of her lungs.
She grumbles as she forces herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she heads to the bathroom.
"Get your hairspray."
Ty Lee ignores her wife's sharp tone and skitters away from the spider to grab it.
When she brings it back, Azula snatches it from her.
She flicks on her lighter and makes a flamethrower from the hairspray, burning the spider to death. It falls into the sink and Ty Lee screeches in horror.
From the other room, Zoey begins to wail.
Another sleepless night.
[X]
As Azula leaves for work, ready for a meeting that may determine her future in Azulon's eyes, "Have a good day!" chirps Aang.
"Don't tell me what to do," snaps Azula, walking out and slamming the door behind her.
Ty Lee turns to Aang. "She doesn't mean it. She's just stressed out about Azulon's announcement. He's having her take over the Weapon's Division today on top of all the stuff she already does. It's like an obvious test."
"Yeah."
Aang still cannot help but to look guilty and dejected.
[X]
Azula arrives at her office to find someone waiting for her.
It is a young man garbed in a dirty blue muscle tea and torn jeans.
She looks his outfit up and down and says coolly, "Can I direct you to the local homeless shelter?"
"Sokka Alonak. I'm the engineer heading the Shinohai Weapon's Division. We have a meeting today about you apparently taking over that sector of Azulon's business."
"You look familiar, Mr. Alonak."
"Call me Sokka. We met when Kya was born. I'm Katara's brother."
"I am shocked Little Miss Pacifist's brother would head the Weapon's Division."
"I was in the military for a few years and loved it but my passion was always engineering. It was a good fit."
"Oh." Azula shows no interest. It does not bother him in the slightest.
"I'm sure Azulon told you I'll be overseeing the transition from here for the next two months."
"He did," coldly replies Azula. "My assistant will give you the tour and aid you in setting up your office."
She points at the door.
"I'll see you at our next meeting on Monday."
Azula sits down at her large, formidable mahogany desk.
"Very well." Pause. "And, Sokka, don't come to work dressed like that again or I will gut you with my acrylics."
He nods, clears his throat, and hastily exits.
[X]
As Ty Lee cleans the kitchen, Aang does his best to help.
After the chatter pauses for a moment, Aang laments, "I don't think Azula wants me around. She gets along with Toph at least but… I know we're overstaying our welcome. I'm really sorry."
"I actually really like having you around. You don't treat me like I'm stupid."
"I don't think anybody treats you like you're stupid. Why would they? You're not stupid."
"Come on, Aang. People treat me like I'm some kind of retarded monkey."
"Well, they shouldn't."
"Thank you."
Ty Lee smiles and returns to washing the dishes.
[X]
The next morning, on Saturday, Ty Lee finds a sleepless Azula smoking while running on the treadmill. Azula only does that when deeply, deeply stressed.
"I'm going to take a shower," says Ty Lee. "Want to join me?"
Azula stops the treadmill, turns to Ty Lee and exhales a plume of smoke. "There's a gun in my closet under my heel collection. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to use it on me."
Ty Lee giggles as Azula seizes her arm and drags her to the master bathroom.
They kiss and laugh as they undress and step into the gigantic stone shower.
Once inside, they barely take their hands off of each other until Ty Lee slips the rose scented body wash onto her wife. She rubs it in, pausing briefly to massage Azula's soft breasts. Her nipples are hard against Ty Lee's hands.
It sets a fire in them both.
They crush their lips together under the waterfall fixture, running their hands over each other's silky, toned bodies.
But the kiss breaks.
Despite the hot water, things suddenly become cold.
"Things aren't the same between us, are they?" asks Ty Lee, frowning faintly.
"No. No they aren't."
Azula steps out of the shower and leaves Ty Lee begins.
[X]
For the rest of the long, tiring day of managing the household and Zoey, Ty Lee spends every free moment scheming.
When she finally finishes the arrangements, she finds Toph and Aang.
"Can y'all watch Bunny and Zoey overnight? I'm taking Azula somewhere."
"No problem," chirps Aang.
"Thanks so much. I owe y'all!"
Ty Lee smiles and hops up and down twice.
[X]
That afternoon, "Where exactly are we going?" demands Azula as soon as they get into the limousine.
"We're going to the airport! I packed your overnight bag for you; don't worry."
"Where are you even taking me?"
"It's a surprise."
"I loathe surprises."
"You'll like this one, I promise."
Azula at first intends to decline, but when she sees the hopeful look in Ty Lee's eyes, she sighs and agrees to play along with whatever this nonsense turns out to be.
[X]
Several quiet hours later, the private jet lands in Hawaii.
They sip champagne in the limousine as they drive through the darkening streets. The women still have so little to say to each other that it makes Ty Lee squirm. Azula grows more uncomfortable and impatient by the minute.
Finally, they arrive at Ty Lee's surprise destination.
Azula peers out of the tinted window. "An observatory? I figured you were more the type to drag me to a Tiki Bar and wake up early to tan on the beach."
"I wanted to take you to where we can see the stars."
Azula is silent for a moment before she smoothly recites, "From there we came outside and once more saw the stars. Dante's Inferno."
They step out of the limousine and Ty Lee hesitantly takes Azula's hand. To her relief, Azula does not shake her away.
They stride inside and find it empty save for the staff.
"I booked it out just for us," explains Ty Lee as they walk into the observatory and sit down right in the middle, slowly leaning back and gazing up.
Ty Lee beams, eyes alight.
Azula tries to hide her slight smile but Ty Lee knows her well enough to notice it.
[X]
Ty Lee points up at the middle of the show.
Azula follows her gesture to lay eyes on Polaris.
"The North Star never moves. Following it is how you know you're going in the right direction and you won't ever be lost. I feel that when I'm with you. You're my North Star."
Azula snorts. "Did you rehearse that?"
Ty Lee blushes and admits with a small giggle, "I might've put it in my phone notes while we were on the plane."
Azula smiles faintly. "Thank you."
"Is that a thank you from Azula Shinohai?"
"Yes, and they are once in a lifetime so revel in it all you like."
They silently gazes up at the galaxy for some time.
Ty Lee turns to Azula, "I love you."
"I love you too."
They kiss passionately under the dim light of a thousand stars.
