Chapter 43
It was late Sunday afternoon when the cab carrying Iroh, Katara and Azula pulled up to Iroh Nakamura's Upper Ring residence in Ba Sing Se. The driver got out to help them unload the heavy bags containing all of Azula's recently acquired belongings and then sped off. Between the three of them, they managed to get everything through the gate and up the driveway leading to a fairly large two story house which was still reasonably modest for the Upper Ring. Azula had definitely expected something more impressive considering Iroh's considerable wealth, but she knew that her uncle was somewhat frugal and not too keen on throwing his money around.
With Azula's belongings laid out on the porch, she stepped up to the doors and rang the doorbell, frowning when nobody hurried to open the doors for them. Back in Caldera City, the servants would have already reacted to her arrival and they would have come running to assist without her having to call on them, but here, these Earth Kingdom louts weren't reacting even to her insistent ringing of the doorbell. Azula turned towards Iroh to launch into a tirade of complaints, only then noticing that her uncle was sniggering into his beard, while Katara just looked a little confused about it all. "What?" she snapped at her uncle, quickly becoming annoyed.
"Oh, it's nothing… I'm sorry, niece, you were probably expecting servants to welcome us inside," Iroh said, apologizing even if he still looked amused. He then retrieved a key ring and proceeded to unlock the front door. "I'm afraid you might end up feeling a little disappointed."
"What, you mean that there are no servants?" Azula blinked in astonishment. "This is not a small house. Surely you are not maintaining it all by yourself?"
"There's a cleaning lady who comes by every Tuesday and Friday mornings," Iroh explained. "She also does some basic grocery shopping, just to restock the fridge now and then. That's it. I really don't need large staff here since I mostly spend my time at the Serpent's Lake estate. And even when I'm in Ba Sing Se, I spend most of my time away from the house. Honestly, it will be good to have someone living here permanently. I had started to question the necessity of me even having this estate, and I had already begun exploring options to sell it off."
"I guess it's a good thing that you didn't sell it, Uncle Iroh," Katara smiled.
"Well, even if I had sold it, we would have simply figured out something else for Azula," Iroh smiled back at her. He walked up to one of the shelves in the foyer and picked up another key ring, which he then passed over to Azula. "I've had copies of all the estate keys made just for you, niece."
"Thank you," Azula said. She figured that this was probably a big deal. It meant that she wasn't seen as just a guest in Iroh's house. It made her feel slightly more reassured. "So… let me know if I understand it correctly," she said. "You're not going to be around much, uncle?"
"Well, I'm going to stay for the next week or so and make sure that you're settling in comfortably," Iroh smiled at her.
"I see," Azula nodded. "And there really is no butler or at least a few maids?" Iroh shook his head. "Well, what about a cook? Surely there has to be a cook. Who's going to cook for me?"
"You'll just have to learn to cook for yourself, Azula," Iroh spoke. It didn't seem like he was joking, either. Azula certainly didn't feel like laughing. "Just like you will have to clean your own room, wash your own clothes and generally learn how to take care of yourself."
"But-" Azula wanted to protest, feeling like she was about to tear up. This was so unfair. She didn't know how to do any of these things, and Iroh knew it. He was probably taking so much pleasure in making her feel useless right now.
"Hey, don't stress about it, Azula," Katara spoke up quickly. "I'm going to teach you all of these skills, alright? It's really not hard at all. I'll stop by tomorrow after my lectures and I'll show you a thing or two, how does that sound?"
In all honesty, it sounded quite horrible to Azula. She had no interest in learning these menial tasks that ought to be carried out by those beneath her. But things had changed, hadn't they? She'd have to learn to do all of these demeaning chores by herself, simply in order to survive. There was only one positive in all of this. She'd be learning it all alongside Katara, which was a definite bonus.
"I suppose," Azula replied eventually. She kicked off her new shoes and stepped past the foyer, deeper into the house. To her left, there was a large living space including a fairly modern looking kitchen, a couple of sofas surrounding a large TV set, a turntable with a collection of interesting looking vinyls that Azula made a note to check out later. To her right, there was a corridor leading off to a bathroom and a couple of bedrooms. At the end of the corridor, there was a door leading out to the utility room and the garage housing Iroh's Chevy Corvette. Directly opposite to the foyer, there was a stairway leading up to the second floor.
"I've had the upstairs bedrooms all cleaned and prepared for use, so you can choose whichever of them you prefer, niece," Iroh told her. "Oh, and since there are no servants, you'll just have to take all your stuff upstairs by yourself. I suppose Katara might be kind enough to help, but not this old man. My rheumatism is acting up today, I'm afraid."
"Of course, I'll help," Katara volunteered instantly, tugging on Azula's arm to drag her along. "Let's get to it, Azula," she added with much more enthusiasm than Azula could muster.
"Once you have settled in, please come down and join me in the kitchen," Iroh added before heading off towards the kitchen.
Azula and Katara ended up making two trips upstairs to bring all the belongings up there, piling them down in the corridor while Azula explored the upper floor and made a decision about her bedroom. The house was much smaller than what she was used to, but in all honesty… it wasn't actually that bad. The upstairs had the aforementioned four bedrooms, a separate bathroom, Iroh's work office which didn't look like it was being used very often, and best of all, a game room, featuring more than just Pai Sho boards and tiles. There was also a pool table, a dart board, and several stacks of curious looking board games. Azula started to feel a little more encouraged about possibly not dying from boredom.
"So, which room are you going to choose?" Katara asked.
Azula had already been deep in the process of decision making by the time Katara posed her question. She wanted either of the bedrooms with a view of the garden. It wasn't a huge garden, it didn't even have a pool, but there was a lovely looking terrace where Azula could see herself hanging out with Katara, and the high hedge surrounding the garden offered the coveted privacy. "I'll take the one at the end of the corridor, facing the garden," Azula finally decided.
"Ha, that's the one I would have gone for," Katara smiled at her as they began to drag Azula's newly acquired belongings into her room. Katara then began to unpack all the things and lay everything out in the cupboard shelves or inside the wardrobe. Azula was trying to help, but she only seemed to be getting in Katara's way, feeling rather helpless and overwhelmed. It took them slightly more than half an hour to unpack everything. "There, doesn't that look much better already?" Katara asked, looking at the result of mostly her own effort.
Azula looked around the room. For some reason, she had this feeling as if she was still in a hotel. The room made for a serviceable living space, Azula supposed, but there was nothing about it that made her feel as if this was her room. "It doesn't feel like home, does it?" Katara asked, as if having sensed her thoughts. "I had that with my room at the dorms. It's just… four plain walls, right? But you can make this place feel like home, Azula."
"Can I?" she asked, feeling doubtful. She really wanted to believe Katara, but the sheer amount of changes to her life, and in such a short order, was starting to really overwhelm her. Azula wasn't sure whether she dared to start getting attached to this place, fearing that she might be uprooted in a few days yet again.
"Of course," Katara said, coming to stand next to her and putting an arm around Azula's shoulders. "It's going to take a lot of time, but you'll make this place your own."
As if I have any choice, Azula thought a little bitterly, but then almost immediately regretting such thoughts. She really didn't have any rights to complain. Iroh didn't have to do this for her. Azula didn't want to appear ungrateful, but at the same time, she wasn't sure whether she could manage a public display of gratitude. It just felt too humbling for her to endure. "Uncle wanted to speak with us in the kitchen, didn't he?" Azula asked instead. "Shall we go and have a look at what he's up to?"
Katara agreed with a quick nod and they went back downstairs, heading straight for the kitchen. They found Iroh next to the large kitchen table, busy uncorking a wine bottle before pouring three glasses. There was also a sizeable chocolate cake, three large slices having already been cut and laid out on the plates. "Azula, I know that this is not a joyous occasion by any means," Iroh addressed her with a somber look on his face. "You are going through a very difficult period in your life, where it doesn't feel like there's much to celebrate. But still, I wished us to share this little moment, just to mark what will hopefully be a new and better beginning."
"Thank you," Azula said. Her voice thickened as she swallowed heavily. She really appreciated that Iroh at least seemed to understand what she was dealing with.
"I think it's a lovely gesture," Katara smiled at Iroh as the two girls sat down at the table and Iroh passed them both a slice of cake and a glass of red wine.
"And I know that you are technically not allowed to drink yet, young lady, but… let's just ignore that, shall we?" Iroh winked at Katara. "As I understand, your birthday is fast approaching."
"Next Sunday," Katara smiled. Her smile then faded a little. "The first one I won't spend with my family. The trip back to Cape Kuruk is just too long and expensive."
"Well, I'm sure that Azula will be happy to keep you company," Iroh smiled at her. Azula found herself blushing lightly, managing a timid nod before she dug into the delightfully moist chocolate cake.
"So, tomorrow I have anatomy, biochemistry and genetics," Katara said, after they had been eating the cake and sipping wine in silence for a while. "After that I'll have to prepare some coursework for Tuesday's lectures. But I should be free sometime around six in the evening to come hang out with you," she told Azula.
"Alright," Azula said. Then she thought of something. "Why don't you bring your coursework along? Then you could come here earlier. Also, I could help you with your studies." She shot a look at her uncle. "Would that be alright, uncle, or did you have other plans for me tomorrow?"
"We do have a schedule for tomorrow, Azula, but we should be done early in the afternoon," Iroh smiled at her. "We're going to start by making breakfast. Then I'm going to take you to meet your new therapist. Not for a session as such, just a brief introduction. Afterwards, we're going to stop at the Fire Nation embassy. You'll have to reapply for a new passport. I doubt we could just ask your father to kindly mail your old one to us. Once we're done at the embassy, we'll stop by one of the nearby restaurants and have dinner before coming back here. How does that sound?"
"Alright, I guess," Azula shrugged. Honestly, anything sounded better than just sitting around here in this house that currently felt very far from home. She wanted to be out and about, doing something, instead of being stuck here, alone with her thoughts. Agni knew, she had done plenty of agonizing soul searching at the asylum and it hadn't been fun.
"I think I should start making my way back to the dorms," Katara sighed a while later, as the kitchen wall clock inescapably advanced past nine in the evening. "I need to go over my notes for the genetics lecture one more time, unless I want to get embarrassed again. Ugh, if there's one thing I do not enjoy about my studies then it's definitely genetics."
Azula tried not to show her disappointment as she walked Katara up to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," Azula said simply. She then looked up into Katara's eyes, trembling at the soft stare the other girl was giving her. "And… thanks for coming to Agna Qel'a. You didn't have to, but… I don't know how I would have coped without you being there."
"I'm glad I could help," Katara smiled at her. "Stay strong, Azula. We'll get through this," she said, embracing Azula before turning to walk away.
Azula watched Katara's departure, feeling buoyed by her best friend's words. At that moment, she did feel strong enough to pull through this.
Several weeks passed in Ba Sing Se and Azula found herself slowly settling into her new life. It had been a big adjustment to make and it hadn't always been easy, but with help from Iroh, and especially from Katara, Azula was making tiny steps towards eventually being able to stand on her own two feet.
Iroh had told her to at first focus on the little things and learn to tackle all the chores that were now a part of her life, as much as she might resent them. Nothing illustrated Azula's fall from grace clearer than having to clean her own room, do the dishes, wash her clothes or cook for herself. Out of all these things, Azula found that the kitchen chores bothered her less than the others. Honestly, cooking was even kind of fun. After a couple of weeks of practicing under Katara's guidance, Azula felt like she could handle most of the staple breakfast meals, as well as some of the simpler main courses. Azula hated dealing with raw meat or fish, however, unless it was already prepared so that she only had to throw it on the pan. As a result, most of her meals were vegetarian, unless Katara was there to cook with her. Katara could deal with most meats, but she was particularly adept at handling fish. Azula found watching Katara clean and debone fish both gross and fascinating at the same time. Overall, however, she found cooking a rather relaxing activity, but it was especially fun when she got to do it together with Katara.
Azula liked her other chores far less. The washing machine gave her fits with the crazy sounds it was making. Azula was absolutely freaking out, fearing that it was going to either lift off or explode in her face. Whenever she had any clothes that needed washing, Azula turned the washing machine on and then ran away to put one of Iroh's records on the turntable, cranking volume to the max so that she couldn't hear the devilish sounds coming from the utility room. It truly was a nightmare for her.
Cleaning was also quite stressful. The dusting part was fine with Azula, it was just awfully dull. But the hoover was driving Azula crazy. Iroh had been very patient while showing Azula how to use it. And it really was quite simple… in theory. Azula had still messed up by either pressing the wrong button or yanking the wrong cord, she had no idea what exactly she had done wrong, but a part of the hoover had fallen out, dust and dirt spilling from the bag and turning her room into a disaster zone. When Iroh had come up to investigate, he had found Azula kneeling in the dirt and bawling her eyes out, feeling like the grossest failure of them all, a complete idiot who couldn't figure out even the most basic task of cleaning her own room. That had been absolutely humiliating. She was starting to slowly get used to the hoover, but she still didn't trust the bloody thing.
Azula had also attended a couple of sessions with her new therapist, a woman in her fifties and a Water Tribe expat. Azula hadn't yet made up her mind whether she liked her new therapist or not. She seemed decent so far, which meant that Azula was just about comfortable enough to continue their sessions. Anything she could do to reduce the amount of pills she had to swallow every morning to make herself functional seemed like a worthwhile commitment.
There was a problem in the Fire Nation embassy's handling of her request for passport replacement. There simply was no progress and every time Iroh took her to the embassy, the smug clerks asked her to fill more and more useless forms. Azula was starting to suspect that someone in the embassy was trying to earn brownie points with her father by stalling her request. Iroh hadn't wanted to believe her suspicions at first, but after a few weeks of no progress, he was starting to come over to her side. And this really was a serious problem for Azula, because she needed her passport for so many things, first and foremost for traveling, but also for applying to a college or university. If this truly was a part of her father's petty revenge, then it was certainly effective. Iroh suggested that a way around it would be for her to apply for Earth Kingdom citizenship, but Azula had flown into a rage at the mere suggestion of betraying her homeland. Iroh hadn't brought it up again after that.
Azula found her future prospects seriously hampered by the passport issue. After a couple of weeks spent mostly coming to grips with living alone at Iroh's Ba Sing Se estate, Azula felt like she was ready to take the next step by finding something else to do to make her life feel more worthwhile. Even if she had her passport, Azula had missed the application date to BSSU by more than two months, so she was left out in the cold either way. And the BSSU generally didn't practice additional enrollment in the middle of a study year, so Azula would have to wait until next summer to apply. She was considering applying for some community college courses in January, mostly to keep her mind from becoming idle. Until then, she kept herself intellectually stimulated by helping Katara out with some of the courses with which she struggled, mostly genetics, but also with pharmacology and biochemistry.
She had brought up the subject of a professional Pai Sho career to Iroh, but her uncle had insisted that she keep playing at the junior level for as long as she was eligible. This was a little frustrating, because Azula was about to essentially waste her first year at the U21 level. If she wanted to qualify for the finals in Agna Qel'a, she would have to attend the qualifying tournament in Caldera City in November. She couldn't get there without a passport, and even if she somehow could travel, Azula had to agree with her uncle that right now her returning to the Fire Nation was simply far too dangerous. Ozai would surely jump at the opportunity to somehow ensnare her. She was going to miss the U21 finals, and that thought depressed her a great deal.
Azula had pestered her uncle with the idea of becoming a professional Pai Sho player quite insistently. As far as Azula was concerned, it would have been a great way to keep her skills sharp while also earning some decent yuan. Azula hated the feeling of crippling guilt upon accepting the weekly allowance money from her uncle. She was starting to realize that she would never make full recovery unless she found some way to do without this gift of charity. She already didn't have to pay rent or cover other expenses, like the groceries. The money she got from Iroh was on top of her basic needs having already been met. Playing speed Pai Sho tournaments for quick cash would have been a great way to generate income, but Iroh was adamantly against her pursuing this path. And unfortunately, Iroh's opinion was supported by her therapist, who also thought that playing Pai Sho professionally would put Azula under too heavy mental strain, and that was simply inadvisable at this time. Azula had been left with no choice but to agree.
Katara had also been supportive of the decision for Azula to remain at the junior level. While Katara had been saddened that they wouldn't be playing alongside each other at the upcoming finals, she was excited about the two following years. Azula eventually found herself agreeing with her best friend. Some of their most memorable moments together had happened during the championship finals. Azula didn't want to miss out on creating more memories together with Katara and her friends. She'd remain a junior player, and hopefully the following November it would be safer for her to travel to the Fire Nation for the qualifiers.
Katara's company was still the best thing about Azula's stay in Ba Sing Se. A couple of weeks ago, they had celebrated Katara's eighteenth birthday. Iroh had kindly allowed Katara to spend as much time as she wanted to call her grandmother and father in Cape Kuruk and Sokka in Agna Qel'a. Afterwards, Iroh had taken them out to the best restaurant in Ba Sing Se, and they had absolutely gorged themselves full of the finest dishes before becoming all tipsy and giggly from too much Dom Perignon. It was probably Azula's most treasured moment yet during her stay in Ba Sing Se. Remembering it even weeks later still made her feel… happy? Azula also knew why the memory made her feel that way. It was because Katara had been so obviously happy.
Katara was at the estate every day, coming over as soon as her lectures at the BSSU finished. Azula would diligently help her study, they would keep each other sharp at the Pai Sho board, they would cook together, spend hours in front of the TV set and occasionally go out. Katara would often stay for sleepovers, especially when Iroh was away at his Serpent's Lake estate and could not raise any objections. They were quickly becoming inseparable in a way that scared Azula just a little bit. Katara was starting to mean so much to her that she couldn't help worrying about what would happen to her if for some reason, Katara could no longer be there for her. And yet at the same time, despite her mounting fears, Azula couldn't even begin to consider spending less time with Katara because simply thinking about that hurt.
It was the start of the second week of October when Iroh once again arrived in Ba Sing Se, bringing her the weekly allowance as they sat down in the kitchen for breakfast, her uncle looking very surprised and complimentary about the stack of pancakes she had placed in front of him. "I never doubted for a moment that you would make this place your own, given some time and encouragement," Iroh smiled at her. "You're strong, Azula, so very strong. I never questioned that, even when we were not on speaking terms."
Azula merely listened to her uncle without responding. She was slowly warming up to Iroh and she appreciated how little he intruded in her day to day life. She just wished that she was better at showing her appreciation, but she hoped that her uncle knew that she at least no longer disliked him. "I wanted to ask you something," Azula said instead, deciding to go straight for the heart of the matter. "The money you're giving me," she said, looking at the wad of cash on the table in front of her. "I don't like taking it, uncle. I want to make money myself."
"If this is about playing Pai Sho professionally, then we've already had this discussion, Azula," Iroh frowned. "The answer is still no."
"It's not about Pai Sho. That's not the only way to make money," Azula sighed. "I'm thinking about getting a job." Iroh looked completely taken aback by surprise. "What?" Azula glared at him. "It's what poor people do to get by, right? And if not for your charity, uncle, I'd be the poorest among the poor."
"I am merely surprised, Azula, that is all," Iroh said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I think it's a wonderful and mature aspiration. Have you given any thoughts about what you would like to do?"
"Well… no," Azula admitted. "I was hoping that you might have some suggestions."
"Well, I can always get you a job at one of my teahouses," Iroh suggested. "We are always looking for more additions to our waitstaff."
"Uh, well I suppose I could try that," Azula said uncertainly. "I'm just… you know. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm not exactly… great with people."
Iroh snorted into his tea. "There's definitely some room for improvement, there," he rolled his eyes. "But not taking crap can sometimes be beneficial. I'm not going to sugarcoat the job for you, Azula. Occasionally, you will have to deal with people who are not at all nice. But I don't adhere to the mantra that the customer is always right. There are some customers who should be thrown out of my teahouses and have their asses bruised on the pavement. I don't want my waitresses getting insulted or molested by some assholes. I encourage the girls working for me to stand up against rude customers, but you must remember never to be rude yourself."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Azula perked up. She definitely felt encouraged by Iroh's words. Honestly, her uncle was… actually pretty cool for an old man.
"You'll have long hours, including the occasional afternoon shift," Iroh continued. "That means you'll have less time to spend with Katara at the estate."
Azula frowned, not liking the sound of that. But she still wanted the job. Bringing home some cash of her own was hugely important to her. And this brought her to the other issue she had been thinking about lately. "That's okay, because I had another suggestion to make," Azula said, summoning all the courage she could muster. "Can Katara move in with me, please?" Iroh raised his eyebrow at her. Azula immediately took it as a refusal. "Why not? Look, it just doesn't make sense, alright? You have all these rooms standing unused and gathering dust! Katara deserves to live someplace better than her stinking dorms for everything she's done-"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, niece," Iroh stopped her flow of words, once again raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I didn't say no. Personally, I think it's a great idea. What took you so long to ask, anyway?"
"I… you're okay with this? I can tell Katara?" Azula blurted out. Iroh nodded at her, smiling. Azula almost dashed around the table to give her uncle a hug of gratitude, stopping herself at the last moment. She then blushed heatedly as she looked up at Iroh. "Thank you, uncle. I… really, really appreciate this," was the best she could manage for now.
Katara was lounging on the bed in Azula's room at the estate as a growing sense of curiosity continued to spread throughout her. Right after arriving at the estate directly from the BSSU, Katara had been dragged upstairs to Azula's bedroom and told to wait, Azula promising her that she was in for a couple of surprises. Katara had no idea what Azula might have meant by that, but considering that it was Azula, she really hoped that the surprises were not of the bad sort.
Katara had been lying there for about a quarter of an hour, slowly starting to grow worried as she imagined some of the worst case scenarios regarding this promised surprise, but then she heard a knock on the doors. Katara rose up in the bed, looking on in surprise as Azula entered, her appearance catching Katara utterly unprepared. Azula was wearing the uniform of the Jasmine Dragon teahouse, dominated by the traditional Earth Kingdom greens and browns. The cute little flats were light brown and so were the knee high socks. The brown uniform dress wasn't quite mini, the skirt stopping some three to four inches above the knee. A green apron with the Jasmine Dragon logo in white was worn over the dress. There was also a green headpiece with a smaller company logo. Azula had pulled her hair up into a simple ponytail, and while the uniform was overall a lot more cutesy than it was sexualized, Katara still found Azula's appearance irresistibly hot.
Of course, Katara had always thought that Azula was physically attractive, incredibly so. But she had always been able to just leave it at that, because she had been so distracted by her crush on Yue. But her feelings for Yue were now gradually fading, and new, thrilling and dangerous thoughts involving Azula were starting to become a more and more common occurrence. Seeing Azula rock this fetching Jasmine Dragon uniform definitely made it very hard for Katara to resist catching some serious feelings. One look at Azula dressed like this, and Katara knew that she was in trouble, because she was falling, and boy was she falling hard.
But the timing of it all was just so very bad. She was fresh out of therapy, still getting used to her new medication, still finding her feet in this new and exciting life in Ba Sing Se. Azula was still in therapy, still trying to cope with her new circumstances, and while the threat of her father's influence may have lessened, it hadn't gone away completely. Right now, Azula needed her as a friend. Azula definitely didn't need to deal with the hot mess of conflicting emotions that Katara was suddenly going through.
"Wow," was all that Katara could think to say. Her expression must have spoken volumes, though, because Azula blushed lightly.
"It's not awful, I'll give it that much," her friend nodded. "I just don't like these colors, they're too subdued. I'll have to think of a way to sneak in some red to liven it up a little."
"It's very pretty," Katara smiled, walking up to Azula. "I had no idea you were looking for a job!"
"Yeah, I don't want to survive on Iroh's charity forever," Azula said. "Although… I'm not sure how much a teahouse employee makes, but probably not enough to afford living in an Upper Ring mansion." Katara shook her head at that. Azula still failed to comprehend many aspects of the lower class struggles. "Well, it's meant to be a supplementary income, anyway. And I think it will make me feel… well, better about myself," Azula finished meekly, looking a little embarrassed.
"I think it's a great idea," Katara smiled at the other girl. "You'll have to tell me at which teahouse you end up working at. I'm going to go there for my lunch breaks, and I'll tell all my fellow students to also go there and give you the best tips."
"Right," Azula rolled her eyes at that. Her expression softened immediately, though. "Seriously, Katara… thank you for the support. Even if having a job means that we'll get to hang out less. However, I have a solution for that as well."
"You do?" Katara peered at her curiously.
"I do," Azula nodded. "Come with me," she said, leading Katara into the adjacent bedroom, the other room with a lovely view of the garden. "I spoke to Iroh. This is now your room if you want it. And it comes at no cost."
"What?" Katara gasped, unable to believe her ears. "No… no, I couldn't possibly…"
"Oh," Azula's expression immediately dropped. "I thought you would want… never mind, it was foolish of me to presume," she muttered, her lower lip quivering slightly.
"Oh, I want to accept, Azula, but it just feels too generous," Katara uttered quickly. Azula still looked unhappy, making it an easy decision for Katara. "If you and Iroh are serious about it, then I would be delighted to take you up on this offer, of course."
"You would?" Azula looked at her uncertainly.
"I would," Katara grinned. She impulsively pulled Azula into a hug and lifted the other girl off her feet, spinning her around a full circle. "Sorry, but this just makes me so happy!" she exclaimed, blushing.
"Oh… that's good," Azula managed, also a little red in the face.
"I know!" Katara nodded excitedly. "Just think about the two of us living under the same roof! What could be more awesome than that?"
Azula fell silent for a moment, as if she was seriously considering that question. "You know what, Katara?" she then replied, completely earnestly. "I can't think of a single thing more awesome than that."
Next chapter: It's November and Katara goes to Agna Qel'a to qualify for her first appearance in the U21 finals. Meanwhile, Azula has to deal with not being able to take part in what has been such a large part of her life up to this point.