Chapter 24: Three Days, Two Nights

Although no one had had anything to drink the night of the dance, everyone was groggy and acting slightly hungover the following morning. Azula didn't know what everyone else's excuses were, but personally she did not sleep well the night before. Not after everything that happened.

Fortunately, she had a busy day ahead of her to keep her mind occupied. Today she would be packing up her stuff and heading to Iroh's with her brother for winter break. That's what she would have been doing anyway had it not been for an early morning text message from Sokka summoning the group over for breakfast at the house. Supposedly he and Katara had some big announcement to make.

Jet had been gracious enough to cook for everyone while Zuko supplied everyone with coffee. Though noticeably tired, Sokka and Katara were bubbling with excitement as the group made their way through the pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

"Come on, don't keep us in suspense," Ty Lee whined. "Tell us your news already!"

"Okay, okay," Katara grinned, "but first let me ask you… what are you all doing for winter break?"

The friends looked at each other with puzzled expressions. It was a strange question given that Katara already knew their plans.

Before anyone could answer, Sokka jumped in. "Well, throw those plans out!"

"Or at least postpone them – "

"Because we've got the opportunity of a lifetime!" He paused for dramatic effect.

"Well?" Azula asked.

"Don't ask how, but our dad was able to procure eight all-inclusive passes to a ski resort in the Southern Water Tribe!"

Everyone's eyes went wide.

"No way!" Ty Lee cheered. "And we're invited?!"

"Yep!" Katara answered.

"I know you said not to ask how," Jet said, "but how?"

"Well you know that young woman our dad rescued from the creep who tried to take her home from the bar when she was too drunk?"

"Resulting in his injury," Sokka added.

Azula hadn't heard this story directly from the source, but she remembered Jet telling her the details he'd heard from Katara.

"Well apparently she was supposed to be going to the ski resort for some family vacation, but half of them came down with the flu, so they had to cancel," Katara explained. "And because they gave less than 24 hours' notice, their payment was nonrefundable."

"So they offered it to Dad!" Sokka grinned. "Of course, he's still too weak to go skiing, so he just called and asked if we wanted the passes."

"It's for three days, two nights. The only thing you'd have to cover are your flights, but we'd have a free place to sleep and eat, as long as we're eating at the resort that is. There are two suites, each with two beds – but don't worry, they're king size beds so there's plenty of space."

"So who's in?!"

Ty Lee set down her coffee mug. "Well, I was going to spend some time with my sisters, but looks like they'll have to wait because there's no way I'm going to pass up this opportunity. I'm in!"

Zuko sighed. "We did tell Uncle we would help out in the teashop…"

"Zuzu." Azula gave her brother a disapproving look. "We can see Uncle whenever we want – he's just a short train ride away!"

"Yeah, but we rarely visit."

"Except when you want to borrow his car, which, by the way, I've noticed you've been calling your car…"

"Well now you're making me feel even more guilty!"

"Come on," she pleaded. "Uncle would want us to have fun! He'll understand. Besides, it's only for the first half of winter break…"

"I don't know…"

"What, are you afraid you're gonna be eating my dust on the slopes?" Sokka taunted.

"What?! No way!"

"Guess you'll have to prove it then…"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Zuko conceded. "Let's do this."

"Yes!" Sokka celebrated. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Count me in too," Jet said, adopting a pompous smirk. "I've made more than enough from tips at the café this semester…"

Azula scoffed. "Yeah, from stealing."

"Only from entitled customers! And besides, most of my tips come from my irresistible charm."

"Riiight…"

Zuko turned to his "girlfriend". "Mai, are you gonna go?"

"I'm on the fence," she replied contemplatively. "I promised Mom I'd be home, and I know Tom-Tom was really looking forward to seeing me…"

"Nooo, Mai, you have to come!" Ty Lee cried, suddenly getting emotional. "Y-You have to because… because everything is changing. Sokka, Jet, and Zuko are already halfway done with their junior years, and who knows how busy they'll be as seniors! We'll be going into our junior years soon, and college will be over before we know it! This could be our only chance to do a trip together, and… and I would hate it if we let time go by without us making the most of it."

"Ty…" Mai gave her a concerned look. "I-If it means that much to you that we're all there, then I'll rearrange my plans and – "

"Yay!" Ty Lee got out of her seat to give Mai a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Azula watched Mai and Jet exchange smiles, like they were sharing some sort of secret, but she had no idea what it was about. It annoyed her not to know.

"Who's taking the eighth spot?" Zuko asked. "There are seven of us…"

"Suki, I imagine," Jet sneered. "Don't think I didn't see her sneaking out of the house early this morning…"

Sokka's cheeks turned red, and Azula suddenly lost her appetite.

"Never thought I'd get to see the captain with sex hair, but here we are."

"Yeah, and I gave that to her," Sokka boasted.

"Yeah boy!" Ty Lee gave Sokka a high-five.

Everyone groaned.

"What?" Ty Lee chuckled. "Suki's hot."

"Yeah…" Sokka smiled. "But Suki is not taking the eighth spot. As of this morning, we're officially over."

"What?" Zuko questioned.

"We're splitsville, kaput, finito, done-zo, relationship .exe not found – "

"Yeah, we get it," Katara interrupted, "but weren't you, like, just telling her that you love her?"

"I do love her." He smiled softly. "And she loves me."

Azula wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

"But Suki's moving on to her next big adventure, and neither of us want to do long distance, so that's that. We had a good run, and we're walking away while we're on good terms." Sokka nodded, trying to put on a brave face. "I'll be okay."

Katara gave her brother a weak smile before addressing the rest of the group. "Anyway, I was thinking of offering the eighth spot to Haru, unless anyone has any objections…" She paused, looking around the room.

Azula presumed Katara was waiting for Jet to object, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Okay, great!" she smiled. "So I'll go ahead and take care of arranging the flights for everyone. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, bright and early so make sure you rest up!"

Jet was surprised to find Azula staying behind to help clean up after the rest of the girls left. Usually it was Katara who stayed behind, but he supposed Katara was trying to distance herself from him, and honestly, he couldn't blame her for that.

After all the dishes were clean and put away, Azula pulled Jet aside in the kitchen. "Hey… can we talk?"

"Oooh," Zuko teased. "Someone's in trouble."

"Alone," Azula said through her teeth, dragging Jet toward his bedroom.

Sokka sneered. "Looks like someone's about to get punished..."

"Punished?" Jet smirked. "Didn't know you were into that sorta thing, princess."

She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea." She forced Jet into his room and closed the door behind her.

"Wow, I really must be in trouble," he joked before getting the sense she had something serious to talk about. He wondered if she was about to bring up what maybe almost sorta kinda happened at the dance. "Wait… am I actually in trouble?"

"No. I just…" She sighed. "I've been doing some thinking, and… I think we shouldn't hang out so much at the ski resort."

"What?" he asked, completely taken off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I think we should spend less time together…"

He felt as if he'd been stabbed in the gut. "W-Why? You don't… you don't want to be friends anymore?"

"No, no, no." She ran her hand over her face. "I'm… I'm doing this for you and Mai."

He looked at her, deeply confused.

"I was so stupid," she said, looking down. "I didn't see it. The plan was for me to help you get closer to Mai, but I was always hanging out with you. She got… the wrong idea about us."

"You think… she never gave me a chance because of that?!"

She nodded. "Right now, she has it in her head that I like you. And that you like me…"

"Which is ridiculous," he laughed uncomfortably.

"That's what I said!" She shook her head. "Anyway… I think that maybe Mai wouldn't have agreed to be in a fake relationship with Zuko if she didn't think we had feelings for each other. Mai is a private person, yet she confides in you, that must mean – "

"You've got it all wrong," he cut her off. "Mai definitely doesn't like me that way, I mean she's – " He stopped himself, suddenly realizing that Azula couldn't have known everything Mai had confided in him. "What did Zuko tell you exactly? About their arrangement…"

"Why…?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did Mai tell you?"

"I asked you first."

"Ugh!" She crossed her arms. "Zuko just said he asked Mai to be his pretend girlfriend to impress Ursa. And because she's a good friend, she agreed."

"I see." So Azula didn't know Mai was gay. And he certainly wasn't about to out her. "Yeah that's pretty much what Mai told me too."

"So why are you so convinced Mai doesn't like you that way?"

"You're just gonna have to trust me."

She seemed unsatisfied with that answer.

"And either way, it doesn't matter. I don't have feelings for Mai anymore."

"Oh, really," she said sardonically.

"Really! I know I wasn't entirely convincing when I said I thought I was over her, but now I can say with certainty that I am."

"Hm…" She examined his features, probably trying to assess whether or not he was lying. "Okay. I believe you."

He was relieved to see she seemed more relaxed after that. She could be so intense sometimes, it put him on edge. "Look, I appreciate the thought, but there's no need for us to stop spending time together if your goal was to get Mai and me together. It's never gonna happen. But…" He smirked. "…if you think it would help your chances with Sokka, now that's another story."

"No," she said somberly. "Sokka loves Suki. I know they're 'splitsville' or whatever Sokka called it, but he still loves her and it's going to take him some time to get over that. I don't want to be his rebound or anything, but…" She shifted her eyes. "…I don't know. Do you think it would help if Sokka thought we were… unattached?"

"I really don't know. Sokka loves competition, but at the same time, he wouldn't go after a girl he thought one of his friends liked. Hmm…" He thought for a moment. "How about we try giving each other some space over winter break and see how Sokka reacts to it?"

She looked up into his eyes. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Yeah," he smiled softly. "I've got you."

"Thanks, Jet." She returned the soft smile. "You're a good friend."

"Don't you forget it," he teased.

"Oh, I know how you operate." She gave him a look. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

"You know me so well."

She laughed. "Well, I'll let you get packing. Thanks for helping me out."

He watched her start for the door, only to be surprised when she gave him a hug on the way out. "What's this for?" he asked, hugging her back.

"I don't know. Since we'll be spending some time apart, I just thought…"

"You'd miss me?"

"Something like that," she smiled, breaking the hug. "See you tomorrow."

"See you." He sat down on his mattress as soon as Azula left his room. He knew he was doing the right thing by sacrificing his time with her so she could spend more time with Sokka, but then… why did the thought of them not hanging out at the ski resort make him feel so empty?

The flight was pretty boring overall, which Azula supposed was a good thing. Ty Lee was gabbing away to Katara and Haru, who were sharing a set of headphones and clearly trying to listen to something on Katara's phone, but they were doing their best to be polite and pretend to listen to whatever Ty Lee was going on about. Across the aisle, Zuko was sandwiched between Azula and Mai. Mai was thoroughly engaged drawing in her sketch pad, while Azula and her brother were playing Pai Sho on Zuko's tablet. Seated in front of Azula were Jet, Sokka, and an odd-looking, overweight man who seemed to be eating an ear of corn. To distract themselves from the weird guy with the weirder snack, Jet and Sokka were actively trying to watch the in-flight movie, a suspenseful action film called "The Day of Black Sun".

Azula wondered if Katara had arranged the seats strategically. It would have made more sense to seat Zuko between Mai and Sokka, his best friend, and for Azula to sit next to Jet. Did Katara not want Jet and Azula sitting together? Was this on purpose? Or was Azula reading too much into it? Katara wasn't known for being calculating, but perhaps Azula had been underestimating her.

Halfway through the flight, Azula noticed Sokka fall asleep on Jet's shoulder. She couldn't help but smile. Apparently Zuko thought this was cute too because he started chuckling and grabbed his phone to take a photo. She tried to read Zuko's mind, to figure out whether Zuko would rather be in Jet's position with Sokka sleeping on his shoulder, or in Sokka's position sleeping on Jet. Of course, she didn't know if Zuko even liked Jet or Sokka, but if he did… which one would he like?

Would he like Sokka, the smart, sarcastic, charming in a goofy way, man of science whose smile could brighten even the worst of days? Or Jet, the dark, cunning, charismatic, mysterious bad boy whose chocolate eyes could turn you to ice or set you on fire depending on his mood? Azula sighed as she tried her best to determine who would be the better choice. For Zuko, that is. For Zuko.