CW: references to Ozai acting in a creepy and uncomfortable, but non-physical way.
Chapter 31
Azula was struggling to find a good way to describe what the months following that winter holiday on Ember Island had been like for her. Creepy and uncomfortable seemed liked the closest descriptors, but somehow, they still didn't feel adequate. For years, fear of her father and his wrath had been a constant in Azula's life. And yet, over these past few months, Ozai's attitude towards her had shifted completely. Azula appreciated that she no longer had to fear the beatings, and the constant berating had also become a thing of the past. Instead, her father was now treating her more akin to an actual princess, or… well, Azula didn't know quite what to compare it to, but if she had known, Azula was certain that she wouldn't like it.
The doting was definitely reaching some rather uncomfortable levels. She could appreciate the gifts and the extra cash, especially when Ozai was traveling and she didn't have to show her affectionate gratitude to her father in person. Ozai would also arrange for flowers to be delivered to her, intricate bouquets costing hundreds upon hundreds of yuan. It made Azula feel really weird. Was it normal for a father to give his daughter flowers? Maybe it was normal for her birthday or some important event, sure, but every other day for no reason? That just didn't seem right. Was Ozai trying to tell her something? Did it have something to do with that comment Long Feng had made and Katara had warned her about? Azula was still trying to convince herself that it couldn't be true. Allowing herself to even contemplate this possibility made her absolutely sick to her stomach.
But then, something else had been occurring recently, something that was making Azula even more anxious when it came to her relationship with Ozai. Azula was grateful for being such a light sleeper, because on at least three separate occasions, she had been awakened by the creaking sound of her bedroom doors opening. Azula had successfully pretended to be asleep, while her father had simply stood there on the doorstep of her bedroom, watching her sleep. All that time, Azula had been praying for him not to take that step across the threshold, to remain where he stood, hoping that Ozai would eventually just go away. He had done so on all the previous occasions, but it had left Azula panicking about what she would do if her father had actually approached her. That horrifying possibility made her consider obtaining some means to defend herself with, although the idea of pulling a weapon on her own father still felt deeply wrong to her.
At least there were some slight upsides to the changes in Ozai's attitude towards her. For one, he seemed unwilling to deny most of her requests, as long as they remained within reason. Azula had asked to be given full autonomy over the course of the U18 finals in the Fire Fountain City, and Ozai had agreed in exchange for a promise that she would win the title. Azula had then asked for her car to be ferried over to Shuhon Island so that she could drive around the island and show off to her friends, and Ozai had once again agreed. Azula had cleverly asked for permission to hang out with Yue Taqqiq and Toph Beifong, as well as their friends. She had phrased her question this way because the Taqqiqs and the Beifongs were more acceptable to Ozai than Katara's family, or Agni forbid, Aang's impoverished Air Nation foster family. Again, Ozai had agreed, and this way Azula had secured what she had truly desired, the permission to hang out with Katara as much as they both wanted. She would still have to be careful while out in the public, Azula knew that much. Her father had eyes everywhere. Just because he had agreed to grant her freedom for these two and a half weeks, it didn't mean that he hadn't asked for some of his spies to keep an eye on her.
Still, despite all of these worrying developments in her life, Azula was genuinely happy about the start of another hugely important tournament with the potential to impact the rest of her career. Two and a half weeks away from her father on an amazing Fire Nation resort island, and she got to hang out with Katara and her friends while doing what they all loved the most, namely enjoying some competitive Pai Sho. Yes, Azula was definitely in a very positive frame of mind at the start of this tournament, unlike the year before in Ba Sing Se.
Their phone conversations with Katara had remained a constant part of her life over the past months, and they had kept Azula sane and grounded, while their long distance Pai Sho sparring had sharpened the skills of them both. Katara had been delighted to hear about Azula's successful plot to get rid of Zhao, but she had expressed concern whether this had actually changed anything regarding Ozai's plans to marry Azula off once she came of age. Azula had remained evasive on the topic, continuing to insist that she was handling things with her father (she didn't admit being woefully short in the idea department there, because… why worry Katara?), and that she couldn't discuss Ozai with Katara due to the concerns for her friend's safety, which wasn't even a lie. Still, things with Katara seemed great overall, which was why Azula was currently sitting in her red Spider and heading for the Shuhon International Airport to pick up her Water Tribe friends.
Once at the airport, Azula parked her car and proceed straight for the half of arrivals. The plane from Agna Qel'a had just landed and it would take some time for Yue and Katara to negotiate the passport control and retrieve their luggage, so Azula bought herself an iced lemon tea and a newspaper, sitting down to read as she waited. There was an article about the upcoming U18 finals, discussing all the main favorites and their chances. Azula was pleased to read that nearly all the experts agreed that she was the main favorite, all except one who had reminded everyone how Azula hadn't won anything for three years straight and had basically called her a choker when it came to the big occasion. Azula rolled her eyes at that, refusing to get angry about someone's silly and incorrect opinion. She'd just correct them by letting her results speak for themselves.
Eventually, people began to emerge in the arrival's hall and Azula rose from her seat, starting to look around to make sure she didn't miss Katara and Yue. It didn't take long for Azula to spot them, which honestly was not hard with Yue's striking white hair. The Water Tribe girls were wearing matching short blue fit and flare dresses, their looks making something go all a flutter at the pit of Azula's stomach, but she firmly decided to ignore these sensations. It seemed that Yue had dragged Katara out on a shopping trip before their departure from Agna Qel'a. Their dresses looked fairly expensive and Azula didn't think that Katara would have been able to afford something like that. Considering how the dress made Katara look, she had made good use of Yue's generosity as far as Azula was concerned.
Katara and Yue soon spotted her as well. Katara's immediate reaction was to drop her luggage and rush forward to envelop Azula in a crushing embrace. With the arrival's hall being quite crowded by now, Azula at first felt deeply conscious about such a show of affection, but she then decided not to give a crap about what the others thought. Hugging Katara simply felt too good. Besides, embracing a friend was perfectly normal, as was the unusually rapid beating of her heart when Katara just wouldn't let go of her. Yes, everything is completely normal here, I'm just happy to see a friend.
By the time Katara finally released her, Yue had also joined them, together with Katara's abandoned and forgotten luggage. Azula was just about to offer Yue a handshake, when the other Water Tribe girl surprised Azula by also pulling her into a hug, one that wasn't quite as long and intense as Katara's embrace.
"I can't believe we're all finally back together!" Katara exclaimed, speaking for them all, the three girls sporting broad and excited smiles. Azula still found it a little weird, getting carried away by excitement like that, but she had discovered some time ago that Katara simply had that sort of effect on her. Normally, she would be fighting this rush of emotions tooth and nail, but with Katara here, Azula could do only one thing and that was to go with the flow.
"Well, we're not quite back together yet," Yue pointed out. "The plane from Gaoling won't arrive for another three hours." The plane from Gaoling was bringing Toph and Aang, the Air Nation boy having to navigate some impressive flight connections to make it to the Fire Nation. He had also gone out of his way to pick his flights so that he would spend the final leg of his journey on the same plane with Toph.
"True enough," Katara agreed. "And I suppose we won't quite be back together this year, not the same as before." She turned towards Azula. "I told you before that Sokka wouldn't be coming this year, but turns out that he will be traveling, just not with us. He's coming to hang out with that girl, Suki, who writes for The Harmony Ring."
"Right," Azula nodded. Katara had mentioned something about Yue breaking up with her brother a few months ago. She wasn't sure why Yue still looked a little guilty at the mention of it. Azula liked Sokka well enough, but he was clearly out of Yue's league and she clearly could do better. Still, Azula didn't particularly care about these relationship pitfalls of the others. There were other things on her mind right now. "How about we get out of this crowded airport and be on our way?" she asked.
"That sounds like an excellent idea," Yue agreed and the three of them left the hall of arrivals and made their way to the car park to track down Azula's Spider. "Now that is a classy car, not that I expected anything else," Yue grinned at the sight of the red Alfa Romeo. "And I can't help but to notice that it's a two-seater."
Azula glanced at both Yue and Katara. "I'm sure you two can manage a little bit of squeezing," she shrugged, opening the baggage compartment at the back of the car and helping the two other girls stuff their suitcases safely inside. With all three of them putting some weight on the lid of the baggage compartment, they eventually even managed to close it.
It took Yue and Katara some effort to squeeze into the sole passenger seat and somehow strap the safety belt across the two of them. "This reminds me so much of the squeezing in with Sokka in our old family truck when we were younger," Katara sighed. "This is a lot more tolerable, at least," she added with a small smile directed at Yue.
"Just don't go too fast, Azula," Yue warned as Azula smoothly pulled out of the airport's car park. "This isn't the safest way to travel, I'm sure."
"I wasn't intending to show off or anything," Azula replied, a little huffily. She had totally intended to show off. But perhaps Yue's warning had some merit. She didn't know the roads of Shuhon Island all the well, and the terrain here was very challenging, constant ups and downs accompanied by tricky and mostly blind turns. Getting into an accident would probably enrage Ozai despite how he had acted as of late and besides, she didn't want to endanger these particular passengers. Yes, perhaps it was smarter to take things easy on the drive back to the hotel.
"You've seen the hotel already, right?" Katara asked. "How nice is it?"
"Well, I wouldn't know about your rooms," Azula shrugged. She really had to focus very hard on the road ahead. The rush of emotions from being reunited with her friends was making her feel as if a little buzzed. "But the hotel is at an amazing location and has its own private beach access. And it has the best penthouse suite I've ever had the pleasure staying at."
"Wow, that does sound amazing," Katara's eyes widened with excitement. "I'm sure our rooms will be perfectly lovely as well."
"I think so, too," Yue nodded. "We'll have to find a place where we can all hang out together, though. I would say the beach, but it'll probably be too crowded and distracting for Pai Sho analysis. And I don't think that the Jasmine Dragon has expanded all the way to the Fire Nation."
"Oh no, Iroh would not dare to try that," Azula shook her head. "But we don't need some special place to hang out together. We can use my suite for that."
"You'd let us do that, Azula?" Katara beamed at her broadly. "Aww, you're literally the best! That would be amazing, as long as we don't have to fear your father storming in on us."
"No, he's promised to stay away and he has also given me permission to hang out with all of you," Azula explained, then reaching out to shift the gears, but almost grabbing Katara's thigh instead of the gear stick. She suddenly had this odd feeling in her chest, almost like regret about having failed to touch Katara's soft, chocolate hued skin.
"That's great news, Azula," Yue echoed the other Water Tribe girl's sentiments. "You said previously that it's the best penthouse suite you've ever stayed at. What makes it so good?"
"Ah, I'm glad you asked," Azula smiled as they finally came up to the Fire Fountain City itself. It wasn't a huge metropolis like Caldera City, but it was a huge tourist magnet and it was the spring break, so the streets were quite crowded. Even if the hotel was very close, Azula had to drive very slowly and carefully. "The best part of the suite is the roof access. Imagine the perfect sunbathing location with no peasants bothering you. Oh, and did I mention the swimming pool and the hot tub? I hope you two packed your swimsuits."
"We sure did," Katara replied, exchanging glances with Yue and then bursting into giggles. Azula didn't quite understand what that was all about. It seemed like some private in-joke, and it left her mildly frustrated. "You'll see why we're laughing a little later," Katara smiled at her, as if sensing Azula's frustration. The mild irritation faded almost immediately.
"Alright," Azula smiled briefly at Katara, then returning her attention right back to the road. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the hotel and Azula left her red Spider at the hotel car park. Yue and Katara extracted their luggage from the car's baggage compartment and then they were on their way towards the hotel entrance.
"Oh right, you still have to deal with all that annoying stuff at the reception desk," Azula sighed. "And you probably want to settle into your rooms, too. Why don't you just come up to the penthouse once you're ready?"
"Sounds good," Yue nodded. "Do you want us in our bathing suits?"
Azula blushed lightly from the way Yue had phrased that question. "Uh… yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she replied. "By the way, don't bother bringing sunscreen. I have enough to fill the hot tub with it."
Katara giggled at that comment. "Say, should we leave a note with the receptionist to let Aang and Toph know that we're hanging out with you?" she asked Azula. "That way they will know to join us once they arrive."
"Sure," Azula nodded gladly. "They're welcome to join us anytime." She smiled at the two Water Tribe girls, proceeding towards the elevator and leaving her two friends to settle formalities with the receptionist. "I'll see you two in a bit," she added, disappearing inside the elevator.
Katara was absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to once again hang out with her best friends. Having parted with Yue as they went to settle into their respective hotel rooms, the smile still hadn't left her face good ten minutes later. She had made a cursory exploration of her room and found it to be amazing. She had then diligently unpacked her suitcase, and now she was getting ready to head up to Azula's penthouse suite.
As she was making her preparations, Katara could not help but think back on the events of the past few months in her life, and the lives of her best friends. Where Katara herself was concerned, not much had changed. She had steadied her grades at school that had slipped slightly during the fall, and she was once again on the path of becoming valedictorian. Her Pai Sho had never felt stronger, due to her sparring with both Azula and Yue. In short, she didn't have much to complain about how her own life was unfolding.
When it came to her two best friends, things weren't quite as happy and clear cut. She was still exceptionally close with Yue. Heck, she loved Yue, and honestly, how could she stop now that she knew that Yue had feelings for her as well? But still, the events of the winter holiday had left a mark on their relationship. Katara had not been at all happy with Yue for kissing her in the wake of breaking up with Sokka. What had Yue been thinking? Sure, Katara could understand Yue's explanation that she had been upset and confused, but still… that had been such a terrible idea, even under duress. Over the coming weeks and months, Katara had eventually forgiven Yue for that thoughtless misstep, and the fact that Sokka hadn't remained down for long had helped. In fact, just a month after his breakup with Yue, Sokka had reached out to Suki and they had agreed to give proper dating a try.
Katara still wasn't sure where this left her and Yue. All Katara knew was that she didn't want to be Yue's rebound girl or partner for casual sex. If Yue really cared for her the way Katara cared for Yue, then the only way forward for them was for Yue to walk away from her father. Not that Katara felt that she had any right to demand that Yue gave up everything for her. Yue had to make that decision all by herself, but ever since the winter holidays, the other girl had avoided talking about her feelings during their frequent phone conversations. Katara hoped that they could have an honest and open discussion about all these things at some point during the tournament, even if it carried the potential risk of affecting their play. Still, the air had to be cleared, Katara was certain of it.
But if Katara felt that she had no right to encourage Yue to walk away from the riches of the Taqqiq family, Katara had no such objections about trying to convince Azula to split with her father. The reason for it was simple. Unlike Arnook Taqqiq, Ozai Nakamura was a monster. No wealth in the world could be worth enduring the physical and mental abuse he was putting Azula through. Katara was earnestly concerned of what would eventually become of Azula if she didn't walk away from Ozai's poisonous influence. Frustratingly, getting Azula to talk about these things was harder than squeezing blood from a stone. Azula simply kept insisting that she had the situation under control and that she couldn't share the details with Katara for her own safety. That just left Katara anxious and annoyed. How would Ozai Nakamura even know that Azula had told her something? Again, she was determined to use their time together during the tournament to push Azula towards leaving her father. She wasn't going to sit idly when she could use all this time to help her reluctant friend.
Having finished all the unpacking and settling in, Katara began to prepare for the visit to Azula's penthouse suite, which potentially included swimming and sunbathing. She grabbed her white bikini and stepped into the bathroom, quickly stripping naked and putting on her new swimsuit. It probably wasn't recommended to walk around the hotel in a state of near undress, so Katara quickly found a bathrobe to slip into. She then finished her preparations by removing her makeup and letting her hair all the way down. Satisfied with her appearance, she left the room at the same time as Yue emerged from her room, wearing an identical white bathrobe and grinning mischievously at her.
"Why are you grinning like that?" Katara smiled at her friend.
"I just had an idea about startling Azula a little bit," Yue couldn't stop smiling. "Since she's into girls-"
"She keeps denying that," Katara sighed.
"Yeah, totally unconvincingly, if you ask me," Yue snorted. "Anyway, I thought that once we get up to her suite, we should shed our bathrobes at the exact same moment and just observe her reaction. I think it's going to be hilarious."
Katara couldn't help but feel amused by the suggestion. "Oh, sign me up for that," she nodded. "Flustered Azula is the best Azula, if you ask me. She's so funny when she's embarrassed!"
"I thought you would see it my way," Yue nodded as the two of them entered the elevator and Yue hit the button to take them up to the penthouse. Katara rang the bell and not long after, Azula let them into the spacious apartment. "Whoa, this is really something!" Yue exclaimed, impressed with the splendor surrounding them. Katara had to admit that it was very impressive, although her attention was mostly focused on the stunning red two-piece bikini Azula had slipped into. It suddenly felt as if Azula wasn't going to be the only one left flustered today.
"Why don't you go outside and check the roof?" Azula asked. "I'll be with you in a moment."
The two Water Tribe girls stepped past the sliding glass doors that separated the penthouse suite from the open roof area, ending up at the side of a large swimming pool of turquoise colored water. Next to the swimming pool, there was a bubbling hot tub, large enough for at least six people. At the side of the hot tub, there was a tray with an ice bucket, a bottle inside said bucket and three champagne flutes. It seemed as if Azula had not sat idly and had prepared well for their visit.
"So, what do you think?" Azula asked, joining them outside, sunglasses hiding her amber eyes.
"It's absolutely amazing!" Katara exclaimed. She felt thoroughly impressed. "We're going to have so much fun hanging out with you, Azula, won't we, Yue?" The other Water Tribe girl nodded excitedly at that.
"Good," Azula smiled, appearing satisfied. She walked up to the tray with the ice bucket and pulled out the bottle. "I thought we should kick this tournament off in style. A bottle of Dom Perignon should do the trick." She began to work on opening the champagne bottle. "Feel free to jump into the hot tub, you two."
Yue and Katara walked up to the edge of the hot tub. Yue turned to Katara. "Now," she whispered, the two of them turning to face Azula. "Oh, Azula?" Yue called out. Azula looked up at them, at which point Yue and Katara both let their bathrobes slip from their shoulders and pool at their feet.
Azula froze at the sight and the bottle of Dom Perignon fell from her hands. As it hit the floor tiles, the cork became loose and was expelled from the bottle neck with great speed, whizzing right past Azula's ear and miraculously not hitting her. Azula quickly reached down and grabbed the bottle before any of the precious liquid became spilled. "Are you two trying to kill me?" she hissed, completely red in the face.
"Oh dear, are you alright?" Katara asked, now feeling a little guilty about the prank. On the other hand, the way Azula was blushing so furiously was both amusing and rewarding.
"Of course, I'm alright, why wouldn't I be alright?" Azula huffed, quickly averting her eyes. "Crazy Northern bitches," she added quietly, starting to pour the champagne flutes.
"Did you see that?" Yue giggled. "Even her ears have turned red." Azula steadfastly ignored the comment, focusing on pouring the champagne. "Anyway, let's get in, Kat. Have you been in a hot tub before?"
"Not that I know of," Katara shrugged, carefully following Yue into the bubbling, warm water and settling in next to her friend. "Oh wow… this feels really relaxing," Katara immediately found herself enjoying the sensations.
"Let me know if you want me to change the settings for water temperature," Azula said, bringing a flute of champagne each for her two friends. "Personally, I like it even hotter than I've set it, but I figured that you two would be weaklings."
"Fair enough," Katara laughed. She took a sip of the insanely expensive champagne. It tasted divine.
"I think we would probably want it to be a little cooler," Yue said, a blissful look on her face. "Not because we're weaklings, though. We're Water Tribe and we're not used to such heat. But we can keep the temperature as it is, as a happy compromise."
"Well, aren't you agreeable," Azula grinned, returning with her own flute of champagne and climbing into the hot tub to join them. "By the way, you should see the bar in the suite. Obviously, my father had told the hotel manager to clear out all the alcohol from it, but I bribed two of the waitresses and they smuggled so much booze into the suite that it would take two dozen raging alcoholics to empty it again."
"Azula, you are literally becoming one of my most treasured friends," Yue grinned at the Fire Nation girl.
"I don't think we should indulge in drinking before the actual match days," Katara tried to remain the voice of reason.
"Obviously not, but a bottle of champagne or a couple of wine bottles aren't going to hurt much," Azula shrugged.
"And we can party a little harder in the evening before the off-day," Yue suggested with an eager look on her face.
"We are definitely doing that," Azula nodded, delicately sipping her champagne. "Two and a half weeks of total freedom from my father, from everything. I am so making the best use of it."
"You go, girl," Yue chuckled, high-fiving Azula, a little awkwardly. "So, it all kicks off again tomorrow, eh? Who are we all playing against? I know that for me it's that Fire Nation boy, Kei Lo. Considering that he couldn't even qualify last year, I doubt I'll have much trouble."
"Nah, he's pathetic," Azula sighed, appearing bored. "It's Meng Li for me. I wonder if I could get away with giving her some kind of advantage."
"Don't get too overconfident, you two! Especially you, Azula. I'm surprised to hear you talking like that after what happened last year with Joo Dee in the first round," Katara chided them both.
"Ugh, don't remind me, mom," Azula groaned. Yue giggled at that. "Anyway, Katara, who are you playing against?"
"Kori Morishita," Katara replied. "That's why I don't want to drink too much. She's wildly inconsistent, sure, but on her good days, Kori is actually a threat."
"That's a very good point," Yue nodded. "But you're not going to have a hangover from a little bit of champagne, so don't stress about it, Kat."
"I could not be any less stressed than I am right now, this hot tub is seeing to it with those awesome jets," Katara said, her voice turning into an almost-purr. "The whole experience feels almost org-" she stopped herself just in time, blushing upon realizing what she had been about to say.
"You were about to say organic, weren't you?" Yue laughed at her.
"Oh yes, it's a highly organic experience," Katara chuckled, a little nervously.
"I don't even know what you're going on about, you crazy bitches," Azula laughed, finishing off her champagne. "I need a refill," she climbed out of the hot tub and then brought the whole bucket of ice over to the edge of the hot tub to make it easier to handle future refills.
"So," Yue spoke up a while later, a gleam appearing in her eyes. "I'm sure we're all feeling very confident about winning the tournament this year, right?"
"I feel like this is my year," Katara nodded with certainty.
"In your dreams, Katara," Azula snorted. "I'm so done with losing. But you can have the second spot after me."
"No way," Yue shook her head. "I'm happy for the three of us to stand on the podium, but I'm going to be on the top step, while you two can fight over the lower steps." The two other girls immediately reacted to Yue's words and an argument was about to break out, before Yue stopped it by raising her hand. "Look, I only brought this up because I wanted to propose a bet," she said, looking excited.
"I am never going to shy away from a bet, you should know that," Azula insisted.
"I don't know," Katara looked less certain. "What exactly do you have in mind, Yue?"
"So, I was thinking…" Yue began. "We're all going to attend the after-party this year, right?" Katara and Azula both nodded at that. "How about, if one of us wins the tournament, then the two who didn't win would have to attend the after-party dressed in sexy maid outfits and cater to the whims and desires of the winner. Within reason, of course."
"Hah! You are so on! I have always dreamed of having two sexy Water Tribe servant girls," Azula laughed. She then realized what she had said and almost spat out her champagne, turning red as a beet. "I mean…"
"Haha!" Yue was giggling like mad, elbowing Katara under the water. "It seems like the supposedly straight girl fancies us!"
"It's not like that at all-" Azula began to protest, but Katara cut her off.
"Come on, Azula, you're straight only because your father insists that you should be, and it doesn't really work like that," Katara said, ignoring Azula's silent fuming.
"I agree, Kat, but you haven't said whether you're accepting the bet," Yue teased her.
"I don't know, it seems kind of silly," Katara sighed.
"So, what you're saying is that you are not at all confident about winning the tournament," Azula remarked with a knowing smirk.
"I so am!" Katara insisted. "Alright," she caved with a sigh. "You're on. The bet has been accepted."
Next chapter: We'll cover the first three rounds of the tournament, and take a look at how the relationship dynamic between Azula, Katara and Yue begins to shift.