Howdy y'all and welcome to chapter 18 of AWTF! Gonna make this A/N short so y'all can read the chapter. Next one is gonna be a funny one. Don't forget Follow, Favorite, and Review. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender!

Azula woke up early. She looked over her shoulder and saw that her boyfriend, the Avatar, was still fast asleep and most likely wasn't getting up for a while. She smiled and sighed quietly to herself. I hate to leave him like this, but I have stuff I need to do. She started to untangle herself from his embrace and successfully got out of bed.

She walked over to her bathroom and quietly took a shower. She washed herself, dried her hair, applied a light amount of makeup, and finally put on her outfit that consisted of loose black track pants and a nice shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

She quietly made her way around the room and grabbed her shoes. She looked back at her boyfriend's sleeping form and lightly smiled. She had decided that he wouldn't be getting trained today or tomorrow due to her needing to "get stuff sorted out."

Once she finished her note, she opened the door to their room and left. She slowly started walking down the hallway which then turned into a large catwalk that was exposed to the open air. Azula stopped when she saw the sun rise through a large opening in the wall.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Azula slightly jumped when she heard the voice. Expecting to be alone at this time of day, she was caught off guard. She looked around and saw Ty Lee next to her with Mai on her other side.

"Yeah," the Princess sighed, leaning on the railing. "It's really pretty."

"You know," Mai said as she turned and faced Azula, who was still watching the sky, "you never would have cared about something as trivial as the sun rising. What changed?"

Azula smirked and let out a slight chuckle. "You're still caught up on this 'me changing' thing, aren't you?" Not hearing a response from her assassin friend, she went on. "Well, I'll be honest with you. Everyday, Aang meditates to the sunset. He says that it's pleasant to settle down your body when the sun sets." She turned back to face her friend. "As you said, I never really cared about it. But Aang does. So now, I guess I care about it too."

Ty Lee smiled at her friend and hugged her lightly. "Aww, Zula, that was really sweet!"

Azula sighed and accepted the hug, but still looked at Mai. "I hope that answered your question."

"You know," Mai said, turning around to look at the ocean and smiling lightly. "It actually did."

"Well, good. Now, stop pestering me about how I'm changing. It's getting annoying and it's starting to bother me."

"Fine. I won't bring it up."

"Good."

The trio continued to look at the open ocean for a few moments until Ty Lee broke the silence with a question.

"Where's Aang?"

"Sleeping," Azula stated bluntly as she started to walk towards the command center that was on the ship.

"Why didn't you wake him up?" Mai asked as she followed her friend.

"He looked peaceful," Azula responded. "And I have something that I needed to talk to you two about." She opened a door and walked into a large wooden room kitted in ornate Fire Nation decorations. It had two large windows on either side of it, which let in the sun's gentle glows. There was a sitting table with four chairs surrounding it. There were also long tables on either side of the room. They had fresh fruits, muffins, and other assorted pastries on them. There were also pitches of water with assorted tea bags.

Azula grabbed a small plate, placed a blueberry muffin and some grapes on it, grabbed a tea cup, and poured some water into it. She watched as Mai grabbed some grapes and cheese with an apple. Ty Lee dove into the pastries.

"I never did ask," Mai noted as she took her seat at the table. "Why aren't soldiers and servants allowed on this floor? Usually we would be served breakfast."

"Well," Azula said as she walked back to the table, placed her now-warm tea and plate of breakfast on it, and sat down. "I wanted to make Aang as comfortable as possible. He wouldn't need a disguise if it were only us up here."

"You know, that actually makes a lot of sense," Ty Lee said as she walked and sat at the table.

"Yeah. Speaking of Aang, what did you want to talk to us about?" Mai asked as she took a bite out of her pastry.

"Well..." Azula said after she took a sip of her tea. "His birthday is tomorrow."

Mai stopped chewing and went wide-eyed while Ty Lee spat out her own tea that she had been drinking.

"WHAT?!" the acrobat exclaimed.

"Yeah," said Azula. "He said it while we were still at the Stronghold." She smirked as she knew that her friends had totally forgotten about his birthday.

"Shit. What are we going to do?" Ty Lee asked while looking back and forth between Azula and Mai.

"It clearly sounds like Azula has a plan for all of this," Mai stated bluntly as she went back to eating her breakfast.

"That's right," Azula responded as she swallowed a piece of her muffin and smiled. "We are expected to be docking at Amarasue today."

"Isn't that the place with the massive market place and is really famous for their cream puffs?" Ty Lee asked while munching on an apple.

"Yes, it is," Azula answered. "That's why the three of us are going to go and get Aang's birthday gifts while he's still on the ship." She surprised both of her friends. She smiled and then took a long sip from her teacup. She watched as her friends processed what she said and then sighed. "What? Did you think I didn't have a plan for his birthday?"

"No," Mai said firmly, who was the first one to break out of the initial shock. "I think it's more that you actually care about Aang enough to get him something for his birthday. I mean, not even four months ago did you want to kill him. Now, you are not only sleeping with him, but training him and buying him gifts."

"I agree with Mai," Ty Lee stated as she finished her plate of food. "But I know that I'm getting him stuff because...well...I want to!"

"Mai, you raise a good point," Azula acknowledged. "I want to get Aang something because he's made me incredibly happy. I've never felt this way towards someone before and I love it. I love that when I'm stressed, I can always count on him to be there for me." She paused to take another sip of her tea. "I've done so many things to him that I feel like getting him a birthday gift is the least I can do for him!" Azula looked at her friends to gauge their reactions once again.

Ty Lee had the largest smile on her face that it began to hurt. She's actually changing. Mai is right! I never thought that this was possible, but she's changing! She was internally screaming but had to keep her emotions under control. "I think that it's a fantastic idea to do this! When can we leave?"

"Well, we should probably head down to the main deck so that we can get off the ship," Azula stated as she got up and stretched a little.

"Shouldn't you tell Aang where we're going?" Mai questioned.

"I mean, I don't think he's awake yet," Azula said as she walked towards the door that led back outside to the catwalk.

"Yeah, but you should still tell him where you are. Remember, Zula, he will get worried when he wakes up and finds that you aren't there," Ty Lee reminded her friend as she got up to follow her.

"Alright," Azula agreed. "We can make a quick stop at my room, but we can't stay for very long! Remember: we have to buy him gifts and figure out a plan for tomorrow."

The trio walked over to her room and opened the door. Azula was the first one to enter the room and noticed that the bed was empty. Immediately, she looked around to see where her beloved was. She looked inside of the bathroom to see if he was there, but found that he wasn't there. Oh, Agni. Not this again.

Azula started to mildly panic, which didn't go unnoticed by her friends, who were watching her from outside of the room.

"Is something wrong, Zula?" Ty Lee asked as she stepped into the room.

"Aang, where are you?" Azula called out as she moved further into the room. She noticed that the balcony door was open and walked out to the balcony to see her boyfriend sitting cross-legged, floating off the ground in a meditation pose.

"Good morning, Princess," he spoke quietly.

"Hey," said Azula. "I went to get breakfast. I didn't want to wake you up, so I just left."

Aang frowned slightly. "It would have been nice if you had told me that you were leaving," he spoke without opening his eyes.

Shit. I probably should have just woken him up. UGH. She internally cursed herself for not thinking about that beforehand. "I'm sorry," she said aloud. "I'll wake you up next time. Also, Mai, Ty, and I have some stuff we need to do once we dock. Will you be okay here alone?"

Aang frowned. He had wanted to help Azula with her mediation today, but knew that once she had a plan, there was no stopping her so he simply let it go. "Sure, that's fine. I'll be here working on something for you when you get back, so have fun!" He stood up from his position and smiled at his girlfriend. He then wrapped her into a hug.

Azula smiled and returned the hug. When Aang released her, she walked out of the room and back to Mai and Ty Lee who were both whispering to each other. "Is there something wrong?" she asked them.

Mai and Ty Lee both shook their heads at the question and continued to follow Azula to the main deck.

"I don't think Aang wanted you to leave," Ty Lee observed, which earned a slight glare from Azula.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well...he sounded a little sad when you left," she explained to her friend.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. And I did interrupt his meditation. So that's probably why he sounded frustrated," Azula reasoned, which earned a nod of agreement from Mai.

"Yeah. I guess you're correct."

The trio soon found themselves standing on the main deck of the ship. There were people moving boxes, soldiers preparing the ship for docking, and even some people who were simply running around doing tasks for people. Azula smiled at the sight of the chaotic order that was her ship. She knew that while it may look like a mess, everyone was doing their job to the best of their ability.

When they felt the ship come to a complete stop and were given the okay to depart, the trio walked off the ship and walked into the busy town that was Amarasue. There were hundreds of shops selling everything from clothing, to exotic foods, to childrens toys, to books. There were cafés, restaurants, bars, taverns, and even a theater. Ty Lee ran ahead of the group and was looking in different stores with the largest smile on her face.

"Well, looks like someone's happy," Mai spoke bluntly, which earned a smirk form Azula.

"I mean, she got really attached to Aang, so it makes sense that she wants to get him gifts for his birthday."

"Yeah. But this is a lot even for her."

"I mean, not really. The last time we went shopping together as a group feels like it was so long ago."

"Wasn't that only, like, two months ago?" Mai asked as she stopped walking and looked inside a shop that sold books.

"Yeah, but it feels like ages ago, you know?" Azula acknowledged as she followed Mai and looked around the store. She spotted a book on the history of Airbenders and decided to purchase it. Mai noticed it and smirked.

"Isn't that a little insensitive for a birthday gift?" she asked while eyeing the book in her hand.

"It's for me, not for him. He already knows this information," Azula answered, which earned a nod from Mai. "Plus, I don't think he really likes to read."

"Are you kidding? What do you think he does all day?" Mai asked, her eyebrow slightly raised.

"I don't know...cook, meditate, and go to the Spirit World," she guessed while looking around the store for a book she thought that he would like.

"He reads, exercises, and studies politics," Mai answered factually while examining a book that she had found.

"Why is he studying politics?" Azula asked while she moved to the cookbook section of the store, Mai close behind her.

"He wants to be informed for when the war ends. Speaking of war, have you talked to him about that?" Mai probed. She knew that the Princess hadn't, but wanted to know what she would say as a result.

Wait, I totally forgot about the war, Azula said to herself. Are we still enemies? Do I even want to fight this war anymore? NO! I am from the Fire Nation. I am the Crowned Princess of the Fire Nation. Of course I am going to fight in this war! Right? What about Aang? Maybe he could join me. Maybe I could join him.

"Azula?"

I mean, would he even consider that? I can't lose him! I promised that I would protect him.

"Azula..."

Jeez, I've already grown attached to him. He's comforting. I can't just let him go like that can I? What will Father do? Oh, FUCK, WHAT'S FATHER GOING TO DO?!

"What is up with the two of them constantly zoning out? Must be a couple things." Mai sighed as a smirk crossed her face.

How am I gonna hide him when we get to the Fir-

Suddenly, Azula was brought from out of her thoughts when she felt a hand slapping her right butt cheek. "OW! WHO THE FUCK JUST SPANKED ME?!" Azula shouted, which earned the attention of everyone in the store. She turned around to see Mai laughing. "Did you just spank me?!" she accused the assassin.

"You weren't moving and you were hogging up the cookbook section of the store. What was I supposed to do?" she asked in a monotone voice as she was still smiling.

"I don't fucking know!" Azula rubbed her butt as it was still stinging. "Why didn't you just tap me or something?"

"Aww, c'mon. Where's the fun in that?" Mai stepped aside and continued to browse the cookbooks.

"Well, NEVER do that again!" Azula affirmed as she angrily picked a desert cookbook and stormed off to purchase the books that she had picked. She looked at the person who was behind the counter and noticed that he wasn't older then she was.

"Will that be all, Miss?" he asked.

"Yes, this will be it for today," she replied while pulling out her money.

"Well in that case, I can see these for fourteen gold pieces," the cashier replied while wrapping the books in brown paper.

"Alright, that's fine." She took out the amount of gold pieces and placed them onto the counter. "Oh, could you wrap them separately? One of them is a birthday gift."

"Sure!" He wrapped all the books separately and then handed them to her. "There you go! I hope you enjoy them!"

She smiled back at him while she walked out of the store and waited for Mai. She looked around the town and smiled sadly. At least this place hasn't been touched by the war. Maybe I could take Aang here tomorrow. Actually, what am I gonna do for him tomorrow? I know I still have my trump card, but other than that I have no plan. With him being the Avatar we can't really take him many places.

As Azula was lost in thought, Ty Lee walked over to Mai who was holding her own gifts for Aang. "Has she always been like this and I'm just now noticing this?"

"No, she hasn't always been like this," Mai observed. "It's mostly just been since she started dating and hanging around Aang."

"Well, how do we get her to stop?"

"I already spanked her and I don't want to get burned alive."

"You spanked her?!"

"Yeah. We were in this bookstore and she wasn't moving, so I took it upon myself to move her."

"Mai, you're crazy." Ty Lee smirked and shook Azula out of her thoughts and smiled. "Let's go! We still have a bunch of stuff that we need to buy for Aang's birthday."

Azula shook her head slightly and blinked. Man, I'm even zoning out like he is. "What more do we need to buy?"

"Well, we need to get him a cake. And some other stuff. Don't you remember the birthday party that we used to throw for you when we were younger?" Ty Lee asked as she started walking.

"Well, not really. Father always wanted me to forget about them, so I did."

"Yes, but remember this is your BOYFRIEND we're talking about. The person who probably hasn't had a birthday party in a hundred years, if at all? Don't you want to do something nice for him?"

Azula turned her head and sighed. "Yes, of course I want to do something nice for him. I just don't know, A, how we are going to get this past the crew of the ship, B, how we are going to make it so that Aang doesn't notice all this stuff being moved to our room, and C, I've never bought a gift for someone."

Man, maybe we should have captured Aang sooner. She's like a totally different person, Mai thought to herself as she watched the exchange between Ty Lee and Azula. I mean, I thought that them getting together was a good idea, but I didn't think that he could mellow her out that much.

Mai continued to observe the girls until they walked into a local bakery. When they first walked in, all they noticed was the sweet aroma of baked goods being made. She lightly licked her lips at all the goods that were on display throughout the store.

Ty Lee looked at both Mai and Azula who were almost salivating at the food in front of them which caused her to sweatdrop and blush. Man, who would have thought that they would be the ones salivating in this store. She walked up to the baker and smiled. "Hi there. Is it possible that you could make us a birthday cake?"

The baker looked at the girl and he smiled at her. "Sure! What flavor would you like?"

"Umm..." she turned around to Azula who was looking at some of the other sweets that were there. "Hey, Zula, what kind of cake would he want?"

"Try lemon. He's been obsessed with them recently," she answered back.

Ty Lee turned back around to the baker who nodded his head. He wrote it down and then looked back up, but not before taking a glance at her mighty rack which she noticed. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. She smirked and leaned on the counter. Her boobs were being pressed against it, causing some cleavage to leak out.

The baker blushed lightly. "Alright, this cake will take around two hours to bake and decorate."

"Did you hear that, Zula?" Ty Lee asked while looking back at her friend who was currently sitting at a table next to Mai. She nodded her head and stood up from her spot.

"Alright, we'll be back then," she stated as she walked towards the exit of the bakery.

The trio continued to shop for gifts for Aang. Ty Lee had gotten him a brand new apron, a new orange cloak with a hood so that he could be in disguise, while also not having to wear a bunch of layers since it gets so hot in the Fire Nation, and a necklace that had a Fire Nation symbol on it. Mai had gotten him some throwing knives to practice with from a local blacksmith, a couple kunai knives, and a book on weaponry. Azula had, surprisingly, gotten him the most amount of stuff. She had gotten him numerous pairs of shorts and exercise wear since he had so little, cookbooks from three different book stores, a new razor so that he could shave his head, and some high quality cookware.

They had decided to call it a day when Azula's stomach started growling. They were now sitting in a restaurant waiting for their food to arrive. Mai was reading one of the books that she had picked up for herself and Ty Lee was people-watching in the restaurant. Azula who had been waiting for their food decided to figure out what they were going to do tomorrow.

"Alright, so what's the plan for tonight and tomorrow?" Azula asked, looking at the two girls.

"What do you mean? We go back to the boat, go to sleep, and then celebrate his birthday," Mai stated plainly.

"No, I understand what she means. She's asking how we are going to surprise him since he lives with her," Ty Lee explained.

"Well, we could get him off of the ship for a couple hours," Mai suggested.

"No, that would be too difficult since he would have to be in disguise." Ty Lee said.

"Wait, what if he went into the Spirit World?" Azula suggested.

"Why would he go there?" Ty Lee asked.

"Well, his body is totally useless when he's there. And he offered to take me there. So I could bring it up to him and that would allow you two to decorate the room and stuff!" Azula said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"You know, that would actually work," Mai responded while she saw her food being brought to her. "The only problem I see is, how are we going to know when you all leave to go to the Spirit World?"

"We'll leave the door unlocked, so just come when it's mid-morning. He usually mediatates in the morning so we should be gone when you come in," Azula explained, which earned head nods from Mai and Ty Lee.

They continued to talk about the plans for tomorrow until they finished eating their food. They paid for the food and returned to the bakery where they got the cake. They walked back to the ship carrying all of the gifts and the cake, receiving some weird looks from people on the ship, but with Azula being there, no one bothered them. They walked up to the hallway, went into Mai and Ty Lee's room, and placed all the gifts into the room, saying their goodbyes. Azula left their room to go into her own.

When she got there, she saw Aang cooking dinner at the stove with his apron on. She smiled at him and went to hug him from behind. She whispered into his ear and smirked. "Hey, how are you doing today?"

Aang, who wasn't paying any attention to anything that was going on, jumped at Azula's touch. He dropped his spoon into the pot of pasta that he was making and groaned. He turned his head and smiled a little at his girlfriend. "Hey. Sorry I've been distracted." He looks at her and tries to put on a brave face.

"Aw, Aang, what's wrong?" Azula released him and went to sit at the table.

"No, it's fine. I'm making spaghetti and meat sauce. Do you want any?" Aang offered her a bowl and smiled. She nodded her head and accepted the pasta. He placed it down in front of her and sat down with his own bowl.

They sat down and ate their food in relative silence. Azula was looking at him slightly confused but shrugged it off. "So, are you excited about your birthday tomorrow?"

Aang immediately perked up and smiled. "You remembered!" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Well, of course I remembered your birthday! Why wouldn't I remember your birthday?" she said as she laughed at her boyfriend.

"Well I mean, you never really seemed that interested in it," he noted as he continued to eat his pasta.

"I'm your girlfriend, Aang! Of course I'm interested in your birthday!" Azula spoke in a caring tone as she finished her food.

"Thanks, Zula! I really appreciate you doing that for me!" Aang said as he, too, finished up his pasta.

"You know, I was thinking...could we possibly go to the Spirit World tomorrow?"

Aang stopped what he was doing and looked at his girlfriend. He then looked slightly pasted her and saw a shadowy hand appear with a thumbs up. I guess the Avatars want her to come, so I can't say no. "Sure! I can take you, but you're gonna have to meditate in order to get there. It takes a lot of concentration and practice. Are you up for it?" he asked as he cleaned the bowls they had used.

Azula smiled to herself and internally screamed. My plans are working! I'm so happy! He's gonna have the best birthday ever! "Sure, Aang! That totally works for me!"

"Shouldn't we invite Mai and Ty Lee?"

"N-no, they usually do their own thing," she stammered, searching far and wide for a reason. "Don't worry, they didn't forget about your birthday either," she added, which earned a nod from Aang.

"Alright," said Aang. "Well, it's late, so I'm gonna head to sleep. I'm gonna need my energy to get both of us to the Spirit World." He walked into the bathroom to change his clothing. Once he got out of the bathroom, he climbed into bed and noticed that his girlfriend was already asleep. I guess she had a jam-packed day. He smiled to himself and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered good night into her ear and then peacefully drifted off to sleep.

It had been two weeks since Zuko woke up and he was slowly starting to accept the fact that he was going to be in a bed for a while. Katara had done the best that she could to keep his spirits high, but it wasn't an easy task.

Katara was sewing clothing with yarn that she had gotten from a market that she flew to using Appa. She had been keeping herself busy by practicing her waterbending, sewing, cooking, and taking care of Zuko.

I wonder if he's awake yet? I hope he is. Then I can show him the pants that I made! She immediately started blushing whenever she thought of Zuko. She had seen him nearly naked numerous times the past few weeks due to how close they were space wise. She would also help him bathe and clean himself since one of his arms was broken, as well as give him daily healing sessions so that it would slightly speed up the recovery time.

She got out of her tent and walked over to his. It wasn't time for her to make lunch yet so she decided to go and check in on him. She walked into his tent and stopped dead in her tracks.

Zuko had decided to get up from his bed. He thought that maybe if he stretched and changed his clothing, he would be able to make himself feel better. He took off his shirt and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Holy shit! Katara exclaimed to herself. Even injured, he's still hot! She looked at him and yelped which got his attention. He looked at her and screamed.

"Holy shit, Katara! What are you doing here?" he yelled as he tried to cover up himself.

She turned around and sighed loudly. "I was just checking in on you! I didn't know that you would be shirtless!"

Zuko sighed and put on his shirt. "Alright, you can look now."

She turned around to face him and immediately blushed. "H-how are you doing?"

"Fine," he stated bluntly, grabbing the crutches that Katara made for him. "My arm is starting to feel better. I can tell."

"That's good!" Katara got up to examine his bandages. "Do you want me to replace them? Or are they still tight?"

"They are still tight," he stated in a cold tone.

Katara sighed and left the room. She had noticed that ever since the incident, Zuko had been acting more distant and cold. She had been trying to make him feel better or give him his space, but it obviously wasn't working.

"Ughh!" She groaned to herself as she was making him lunch. "It's like everything I do, he's just a dick back! Everytime I say something nice, or offer to do something for him, he's just an ass!" She sighed and continued to make his food.

Zuko sighed to himself and sat back down on his bed. He brought out the parchment set that he had Katara get for him when she went to visit the merchants and started practicing his handwriting. Maybe I was too cold to her. I should try to be nicer. It's not her fault I hate her best friend. He smirked when he thought back to the time when he had actually captured Aang and then frowned at the pursuing escape that the Avatar made to escape his clutches.

He grabbed his pen and started writing on his parchment. He started writing with his broken hand first and then after a while switched to his other hand. He had to admit that he was getting much better at writing with both hands.

Katara entered his tent and called out to him to get his attention. "I brought you some food. I hope you like it!" She braced herself for the usual cold shoulder but surprisingly never got it. She looked at Zuko who was looking at the plate of food.

"...thanks..." he said quietly as he took the food and gave her a small smile.

"Y-you're w-welcome!" she stammered as she walked out of the tent and gave a small fist bump.

"Small steps, Zuko." He took a bite out of his food. "Small steps."