Chapter 8: What a Handful

After a week straight of bad weather, Azula began going a bit stir crazy. Of course it had to start storming right after she purchased her new swimsuit she was dying to show off. Rainy day after rainy day, gray sky after gray sky, she missed the feeling of the sun on her skin. She always felt more alive basking in the sunlight.

Perhaps this had been a blessing in disguise. Final exams were right down the road. The rain, while depressing, at least motivated her to stay in and study. Azula could hardly believe it. The spring semester flew by so quickly.

With the sun finally out and a badly needed study break at hand, Azula and her friends decided to hang out in the swimming pool. Inevitably, an overly competitive game of pool volleyball broke out. It was Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee versus Jet, Sokka, Katara, and some new guy Katara recently started dating, an earthbender named Haru. However, much to Azula's chagrin, Sokka had spotted Suki on her way to the library and convinced her to join them for a bit as referee.

The game had started out a close match, but as soon as Azula's team got into a rhythm, it became no contest – her team was wiping the floor with the other. Not only did Azula have a knack for identifying her opponents' weaknesses, but Zuko seemed to intuitively know exactly how to set her up for the perfect shot. She never realized how well she and her brother worked together before now. It was such a shame her screwed up family kept her from having a good relationship with him. Her father had always pitted the two against each other, and Azula, not knowing any better, fed right into it. At least now she and her brother had a chance. They made a pretty good team. She hoped he realized it too.

"That's game!" Suki called from the sideline.

"Alright!" Zuko cheered.

Azula gave him a celebratory high five and a look that read "we definitely carried the team", enjoying the grumbles and groans of the other team's defeat.

Ty Lee threw her arms around Mai and gave her a big hug, causing Mai to stiffen like a board before giving Ty Lee a few uncomfortable pats on the back.

"Hey Suki," Sokka said, swimming to the side of the pool, "are you gonna stick around? The water's fine." He grinned.

Azula frowned. Why did he always want her around?

"Nah," she answered. "I have a date with a sociology paper."

"Damn."

"Next time though! See ya." She walked off.

"Bye, Suki!" the boys on the fencing team called after her.

"So… what should we do now?" Katara asked the group.

"Ooh, ooh! I know!" Ty Lee squealed with excitement. "Let's have a chicken fight!"

Jet smirked. "I'm down."

"What's that?" Mai asked.

"It's a really fun game! You play in teams of two," Ty Lee explained, "where one person sits on the shoulders of their teammate, and then you fight with another team and try to knock them over. Only the person on top can attack though – the person on the bottom just supports the person on their shoulders."

"Sounds fun," Azula said, imagining getting to sit on Sokka's bare shoulders.

"How violent is this game exactly?" Katara questioned.

Ty Lee laughed. "It's not violent."

"Yeah, you can only use your arms," Jet added. "No bending. Obviously."

"Okay… yeah, let's do it!" Katara turned to Haru. "Partner?"

He smiled and took her hand. "Of course."

Ty Lee looked over at Jet, who immediately turned to Mai.

"Mai, p-partner?" he sputtered.

"Me? Really?"

"Yeah… I believe in you."

"Yeah sure, why not?"

Ty Lee started making puppy dog eyes at Sokka, and Azula thought it was game over for her. "Be my partner? Please?"

"Ty, I would, but… I don't think Zuko wants Azula sitting on his shoulders, and vice versa. It would be a little mean to make them do that, don't you think?"

"B-But – " She sighed. "Yeah, fine."

Azula blushed as Sokka swam up next to her. "So, partner?" he asked.

"Thanks for saving me," she smiled, gazing into his blue eyes.

"Ah… it wasn't really about that. Truth is, I wanted to be your partner."

Her stomach did a somersault. What did he just say?! Was this really happening?! She kept her composure as her heart fluttered. "Oh? And why's that?"

"You're feisty. You can take on anyone here."

It wasn't exactly the answer she wanted, but she'd take it. "Well you're not wrong about that."

"Guess that leaves you and me," Ty Lee said, smiling up at Zuko flirtatiously.

"I'll try to contain my joy," he muttered.

The game hadn't even started yet and Azula already felt victorious. Not only was Sokka her partner, but watching Ty Lee get rejected from all the boys was icing on the cake.

It was decided that the first chicken fight round would be Azula and Sokka versus Katara and Haru, the second round would be Mai and Jet versus Ty Lee and Zuko, and then the winning teams of those rounds would compete in the final round.

Jet casually watched the first match, but all he could think about was Mai. She didn't seem to mind being his partner, but she also didn't seem enthusiastic about it. Maybe she'd prefer to be Zuko's partner… or maybe she was just a stoic person. They had clicked so well when they were locked in the art studio, but they hadn't exactly spent a ton of time alone since then. That would have to change if he were going to get anywhere with her. He had never really been one for romance or having girlfriends, one-night stands were more his style, but Mai brought out a softer side of him. An unusual feeling indeed.

The match ended with Katara slipping off Haru's shoulders, leaving Azula and Sokka the victors. Jet planned on facing these two in the final round. There was no way he was going to lose to Zuko and Ty Lee. Those two seemed to have nothing in common. Ty Lee was always so bubbly and energetic, while Zuko was usually brooding and hotheaded.

He helped Mai onto his shoulders in the water. Feeling her legs draped around him was heaven. The look on Azula's face let him know that she was rooting for him. Jet was surprised to see Zuko completely emotionless as Ty Lee slipped onto his shoulders. Yeah, she was kind of annoying sometimes, but damn she was hot in that little bikini of hers, which was almost certainly a size too small. But he wasn't about to let himself get distracted, not with Mai on his back.

The match began and the girls went at it. Jet couldn't really see too much from where he was – he was simply focused on not letting go of Mai and supporting her shifting weight. Zuko actually seemed pretty into it. He always loved a good physical competition. Maybe it was a firebender thing. Ty Lee always made herself seem ditzy and uncoordinated, but the way she was fighting Mai showed off her athleticism. She was surprisingly well-balanced, limber, and strong. Their match lasted longer than the previous, but in the end, Mai fell into the water. Jet held on as long as he could, but it was over. They had lost.

"Wooooo!" Ty Lee triumphantly threw her arms up. "Let's go!" She hugged Zuko tightly.

Mai looked disappointed. Jet hoped it was due to losing the game and not because Zuko and Ty Lee were hugging.

"Sorry we lost," Jet said softly.

"It's fine," Mai shrugged. "You win some, you lose some."

"I think we still did pretty well." He smiled warmly at her.

She smiled back. "Yeah, me too."

After Ty Lee and Zuko took a couple minutes to recover, it was time for them to face off with Azula and Sokka. From the way the teams were staring each other down, Jet could tell this was going to be an exciting match.

"Ready to lose, Zuzu?" Azula taunted.

"You're the one who's going down," he jeered right back.

"We'll see about that."

The girls took their positions on their respective partners' shoulders and the game commenced. It was a heated battle from the get-go. Ty Lee had the natural advantage of being taller and thus having longer arms, but Azula was scrappier and had faster reflexes. All those years of firebending training were sure paying off.

Ty Lee pushed Azula's shoulder hard enough to move her backwards, but Sokka kept her upright. Azula used this to her advantage by turning Ty Lee's forward momentum against her. She grabbed Ty Lee's arm and pulled forward, causing Ty Lee to lean too far and fumble for anything she could grasp. That's when catastrophe struck. Ty Lee grabbed Azula's halter bikini top string and accidentally pulled it.

Oh shit.

Jet knew he had to step in and do something. With the lightning-fast reflexes of an eel-hound, he jumped in from the sidelines and did the first thing he could think of… he reached up and covered Azula's chest with his hands.

Everyone fell silent. Zuko looked physically ill.

Azula screamed. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"What am I doing?! I'm saving you from a world of embarrassment!"

"UGH!"

Sokka slowly sank into the water, letting her off his shoulders while Jet continued to keep her chest covered.

"I'm sorry, Azula…" Ty Lee squeaked, her cheeks red. "It was an accident – "

"I don't want to talk about this. I just want Jet to GET HIS HANDS OFF ME!"

"Yeah? You really want that? Right now?" Jet challenged. "Because I gotta tell you, I don't think your brother would appreciate that view very much."

"I'm going to kill myself," Zuko groaned.

"Not before I kill Jet," Azula muttered.

"How about we get you out of the pool and dressed and then you can kill me, okay?"

Azula sighed, and Jet escorted her out of the pool and into a changing booth where he quickly started retying her bikini top.

"Take your time, why don't you?"

"Well gee, sorry, princess – "

"You must really be enjoying yourself."

"I mean… I've been in worse positions." He chuckled.

She groaned.

"There. Double knotted so it won't happen again."

She spun around to face him, glaring dangerously with those intense yellow eyes. "I can't believe you just groped me like that! In front of everyone!"

"Wh-what's with you? Spirits, I was just trying to be helpful!"

"Yeah? Well, I didn't ask for your help!"

"What was I supposed to do, huh? Just let everyone see your boobs?"

"Yes! No! I don't know, you don't have to act so smug about it."

"It's not like I wanted to touch you like that!"

"Yeah?" she challenged. "The bulge in your swim trunks says otherwise."

Oh no. He was hoping she hadn't noticed that. "Oh, come on. You can't seriously blame me for that, it's just instinct!"

"Sure."

"And besides, how do you know that's not from watching Ty Lee bounce around in that tiny bikini?"

"You're unbelievable!" she screamed in his face.

"Let's get one thing straight – I'd much rather be touching Mai's chest than yours!"

"Yeah, well I'd much rather have Sokka's hands all over my chest than your filthy paws!"

"I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU!" He took a deep breath. "Look, I know it was embarrassing – "

"It's not about that!"

"Okay then, why don't you tell me what your problem is?!"

"What's my problem? My problem is I can't stand it when someone acts like an expert on the stuff that's going on inside my head! I hate it! It pisses me off! You get that, genius?!"

"I don't get it! Do you want me to understand where you're coming from or not?"

"I don't know! I…" She sighed. "I don't expect anyone's ever gonna understand how I really feel. Not really. After all… I don't even understand." Her voice started to break.

"Huh? Wait. What did you just say?"

"Nothing, just forget it. I'm… I'm sorry I overreacted."

"It's okay… are you okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you. For helping me."

"Anytime." He couldn't help but smirk.

She punched him in the arm.

"Yeah, I deserved that."

As they walked slowly back to the pool, Jet couldn't get her words out of his head. After all… I don't even understand. She didn't understand what? Her own feelings? What did she mean by that?

Author's Note: I've been trying to post twice a week for the writing event, but updates will be slower from here on out. I'll try to post once a week, but it may be more like every other week. Thank you for reading!