Chapter 59
"You totally cut off that guy," Katara said, sitting in the passenger seat of the Chevy Corvette and giving Azula a meaningful stare. They were driving through the streets of the Middle Ring, returning home after a visit to a hair and beauty salon, deciding to treat themselves on Azula's day off from work.
"I so did not," her friend spoke with a dismissive look on her face. "It was his own fault, crawling like a snail in traffic. You snooze, you lose."
"That's not how you taught me to drive," Katara pointed out with a cheeky smile. She had finally passed her driving exam after coming back from the summer camp at the Serpent's Lake, and it had only taken her four tries. The first few weeks of August had been quite frantic, but in a good way. Azula and Yue had both received their acceptance letters from the BSSU and had successfully enrolled, Azula to study investigative journalism and Yue to become a middle school teacher.
"Well, I wanted you to pass the exam," Azula shot back, but she was smiling as well. Things had definitely become less tense between them, at least in the sense that they felt more reassured about them both wanting the same thing, which was a serious relationship down the road. Things still felt a bit tense because Katara simply wanted to do a lot of interesting things to Azula in the privacy of her bedroom, and they had agreed to for now keep these urges in check. It was certainly easy to say, but quite frustrating to endure.
"And pass it I did," Katara said. She gave Azula a particularly sweet puppy eyed expression. "All thanks to my amazing tutor," she cooed, making Azula blush hotly. In truth, Azula had been ready to give up on teaching Katara to drive. Katara had then made a clever offhand suggestion that she would ask Yue to teach her instead, and Azula had immediately found her motivation to continue and also developed the necessary patience to stick with Katara. It had paid off in the end.
"Well, obviously," Azula preened, tossing her hair. She then realized that the lights ahead of them were about to change, so she stepped on the gas, but it was already too late, the flickering green switching to yellow. Azula just about managed to hit the brakes. "Ugh, for the love of-" she swore in annoyance.
"What's with the road rage, Zula? We're in no hurry to get home," Katara shook her head.
"It's just annoying," Azula said, turning her head to look at Katara. She was about to say more, but then her expression changed. "What the-" Azula managed, her eyes widening in shock.
Katara turned to look out of the car, but there didn't seem to be anything particularly interesting to see. It was just a regular street in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se with some pedestrians walking about and a shabby looking vagrant girl panhandling at the side of the street. "Azula, the lights are about to change," Katara reminded her when Azula kept staring at something with an intense look of disbelief on her face.
"Forget the lights, I don't believe this," Azula finally exclaimed, much to Katara's shock unhooking the seatbelt and jumping out of the car in the middle of busy traffic. The driver of the car behind them was going berserk, honking his horn like a madman and then almost running Azula over as she dashed around the car.
"Spirits, what is she doing?" Katara exclaimed, quickly unhooking her own seatbelt and jumping into the driver's seat. She managed to get the engine running again and then pulled up to the side of the street, aware that it was not exactly legal to park there, but Azula had left her with few options.
Once Katara had managed to get out of the busy traffic, she started to nervously look around for Azula, worried that perhaps she had spotted something related to the threats Azula still believed Ozai was posing to her. Instead, Katara was astonished to find Azula speaking and gesticulating wildly at the homeless girl. Katara felt even more disturbed when Azula reached down and pulled the reluctant panhandler up to her feet, then starting to drag her towards the car. Katara was at a complete loss at what was happening. This was the last thing she expected Azula would do.
Katara completely froze up when Azula opened the passenger side doors and then pushed the still slightly reluctant beggar girl into the car before getting in herself. The girl in question looked and smelled like she hadn't seen a shower in at least a month, not that Katara would hold it against her, but it simply shocked her that Azula would let anyone this dirty into the car that wasn't even her own. Azula was always very paranoid about something happening to Iroh's car that would get her into trouble, freaking out about the smallest stain, but here she was, accommodating this reluctant looking beggar girl. The car would probably need serious deep cleaning afterwards, but once again, Katara did not want to hold that against this poor girl. As far as she was concerned, nobody should be living like this. It was appalling how little the Earth Kingdom government was willing to do for its citizens who needed some support. The social safety net in the Water Tribes was much stronger when compared to the Earth Kingdom, Katara had learned that much.
"Can you take us home, Katara?" Azula asked in a slightly tense, nervous voice.
"Uh… I guess?" Katara replied. She still felt utterly confused and not in the best frame of mind to drive, but she tried not to show it. She managed to get the car going and took off, rejoining the busy traffic of the Middle Ring. "So," she said as they came up to another traffic light. "You're not going to introduce us?"
"Right, of course," Azula said, still sounding just as tense. "Katara, this is Ty Lee, an old friend of mine, way back in the Fire Nation. Ty Lee, this is Katara, my best friend and housemate."
Ty Lee? Wasn't that the name of Azula's first girlfriend? Katara realized as her anxiety immediately spiked to hit new heights. She then went and stalled the car in the middle of the traffic. With trembling hands, she somehow managed to restart the engine and resumed driving, if it could even be called driving. She was absolutely freaking out right now, literally shaking deep inside and having trouble focusing. Katara probably wouldn't have been able to keep driving if Azula hadn't realized that she was in trouble, and began to guide her for the rest of their way back home.
There was so much that Katara wanted to ask, but she found herself literally unable to speak, she was shaking so badly from an anxiety attack. All she could do was listen to Azula's succinctly spoken orders and get them back home in one piece. Ty Lee hadn't spoken a single word since getting forced into the car and her silence definitely did not help Katara. As soon as they got home, the first thing Azula did was to drag Ty Lee into the shower and then run upstairs to select a fresh set of clothing for her old friend. Katara also dashed upstairs but for a different reason, to pop a couple of Librium pills she had saved up for a crisis into her mouth. This definitely constituted a crisis to Katara.
It didn't help that Yue was away at work and right now Katara had nobody to lean on for support. She was forced to watch Azula fussing over a still reluctant and resentful looking Ty Lee as she finally left the shower and allowed Azula to lead her into the kitchen. Katara stood a little aside, taking her time to subtly scrutinize Ty Lee's appearance now that she was no longer covered in grime and was looking like a normal eighteen year old again. Her short brown hair was very unevenly cut and Katara suspected that she had probably done it herself, most likely with a dull knife instead of proper scissors. Ty Lee had a slightly round face and she didn't have Azula's high cheekbones. Her nose was a little on the small side and slightly upturned, but the most prominent feature of Ty Lee's face were her grey-brown eyes. They were very wide and expressive, almost owlish. All in all, Katara had to admit that even though Ty Lee had obviously fallen onto hard times for many years, she was still a very pretty girl, if in a somewhat unconventional way. This realization did not feel in any way reassuring to Katara.
"Katara, could you make us some tea?" Azula asked her, spurring Katara back into action. She quickly pushed her fears aside and did as she was told. Azula herself retrieved some supplies from the fridge and began making sandwiches. "We're going to get you properly fed, Ty Lee, and then I'll take you upstairs and show you your room," Azula said.
"My what?" Ty Lee asked, sounding taken by complete surprise.
"Her what?" Katara echoed the other girl's question, feeling incredibly tense again. Librium had not kicked in yet and she was having a seriously rough time of it right now.
"Her room," Azula repeated, turning towards Katara. She had a very intense look on her face. "This estate belongs to my uncle, Katara. I think he would be fine letting me use it how I see fit, especially if that meant providing sanctuary to my homeless childhood friend."
Katara flinched, feeling like she had been slapped. Azula had a point, though. Did Katara really expect Azula to leave Ty Lee out on the street to continue surviving by panhandling? That would be a monstrous thing to do. Besides, Azula probably felt guilty and responsible for what had happened to Ty Lee and her family all those many years ago. Azula was doing the right thing here and she needed Katara's support. Katara simply wished that Ty Lee's sudden appearance in their lives wouldn't feel as this grave threat to this relationship they had agreed that they both wanted, but which hadn't become in any way official.
"Of course," Katara replied, forcing herself to smile. "Welcome to the estate, Ty Lee," she managed to smile at Ty Lee as well.
"I guess I'm not being given a choice here," Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "It's always been like that with you, hasn't it, Azula?"
"I'm not letting you back out on the street, if that's what you're asking," Azula replied. "You won't have to go back to that life ever again, Ty Lee. I'm taking care of you now." She looked at Katara, something changing in Azula's expression. "We're taking care of you now, me, Katara and Yue," she amended quickly. Katara felt a little more reassured at that. At least Azula had picked up on the fact that she was obviously freaking out, and she had tried to reassure her. That was something. Maybe she was worrying about nothing.
"Yue? The name rings a very distant bell," Ty Lee mused.
"Both Yue and Katara were my Pai Sho rivals. You probably remember me boasting about having defeated them," Azula smiled at the memory. "Well, I suppose they're still my rivals, but they're now also very dear friends."
"Yes, it's the three of us living here now," Katara added, pouring them each a cup of tea and then distributing the mugs. "Think of this place like a shelter for emotionally scarred teenage girls."
"Hmm," Ty Lee mused thoughtfully. "Maybe I could fit right in."
"Oh, you will," Azula said, placing a plate with perfectly constructed ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches in front of Ty Lee.
"Wow, Azula," Ty Lee gasped, looking down at the sandwiches. "You really have changed, haven't you?"
"You don't know the half of it, Ty," Azula sighed. She then shook her head. "I suppose I'll end up telling you everything, but that is for later. Right now, I want to know what happened to you and your family. I tried to keep track of you through Mai, but we lost all trace of you after your family got evicted. Oh, and speaking of Mai, we should call her later. She'll be delighted to hear from you."
"That would be nice," Ty Lee agreed. Katara remarked that the other girl had quickly lost her reluctance and bitterness. She supposed that it was understandable that Ty Lee had felt a little miffed about seeing Azula at first, even though as far as Katara was concerned, Azula was in no way to blame for what had happened to Ty Lee and her family. That was all down to Ozai Nakamura and nobody else. "Anyway, you wanted to know about my family?" Ty Lee asked, a dark shadow crossing her pretty face. "After we got evicted, my father moved us all to a small town north of Ba Sing Se, a place where life was cheaper. But there were very few opportunities to make money, so he had to take on some of the most back breaking jobs. He even worked in the mines for a while. Mother tried to pitch in working as a seamstress, but she didn't have much luck with that. They tried everything they could to keep the family together, but I was old enough by then to realize that they just couldn't keep us all fed. So, since what happened to my family was my responsibility, I decided to act."
"That's bullshit, Ty," Azula exclaimed angrily. "You know who's to blame for what happened. It's mostly my father, but I am not without blame myself because I was a horny shit for brains who didn't realize she had to be more careful."
"You were only fourteen, Zula. You couldn't have known how your father would react," Katara said softly.
"She knows about what happened?" Ty Lee asked, glancing from Katara to Azula.
"There are no secrets between me and Katara," Azula replied simply. Katara felt an overwhelming warm sensation in her chest from that simple statement.
"Oh," Ty Lee said simply. Her eyes then widened slightly. "Oh, are you guys like…" she spoke, looking at them curiously.
Azula blushed heatedly and Katara suspected that her own cheeks had gone pink as well. "We've been, uh, housemates for almost a year now," Azula replied awkwardly. The warm sensation in Katara's chest dissipated instantly, only for cold dread to return. Sure, they weren't officially together, so maybe it made sense that Azula wasn't going around announcing them as a couple to everyone, Katara wasn't doing that herself, either. But couldn't she just give Ty Lee a hint that they were together, so that Ty Lee didn't get any ideas? Katara suddenly felt petrified by fear yet again. This emotional rollercoaster was draining her and leaving her very lightheaded.
"Uh, okay then," Ty Lee shrugged. She looked a little puzzled before shaking her head. "Anyway, like I said, I decided to act. My parents had way too many mouths to feed, so I tried to solve that problem for them. I left a note and simply walked away, coming back to Ba Sing Se and disappearing among the masses. I hoped to find something here, but in the end, I fell in with a bad crowd. You know, doing petty crime and stuff. Got nailed for shoplifting and spent some time in juvie, that wasn't fun. Not many prospects after that. When I got tossed back out on the street, the things I had to do to survive…" Ty Lee took a deep breath to stop herself from tearing up. "No, I don't particularly want to talk about it. But you can imagine what some people asked in return for a bit of cash, food or a roof over my head."
"Spirits, that's horrible," Katara exclaimed, full of sympathy for the other girl, jealousy or not.
"Damn it, Ty, I'm so sorry," Azula looked devastated. "Never again, do you hear me?"
"Sounds good to me," Ty Lee replied, digging into the sandwich.
"I am going to talk with my uncle and we'll figure out a way to support you, trust me," Azula said. Katara nodded in agreement, then feeling something brushing lightly against her legs. She smiled, noticing that Ran and Shaw had wandered into the kitchen. She bent down to pick up the blue collared cat, starting to pet it and Ran responded with happy purring, cuddling in against her chest. Meanwhile, Shaw jumped on the kitchen table and cautiously approached Ty Lee, though he seemed more interested in investigating her sandwiches than the new visitor herself.
"Oh my gosh, you have cats!" Ty Lee exclaimed. She reached out to pet Shaw, but then stopped, withdrawing her hand with a conflicted, even slightly pained look on her face.
"What's wrong, Ty?" Azula asked, sounding worried. "You don't like cats?"
"I do," Ty Lee replied, sighing. "It's just that… the past few months were really rough. I was stuck with a seriously seedy crowd. On the really bad days when they failed to scrounge even a few yuan, some of the vagrants ended up catching stray cats and… uh, eating them."
"Good grief," Katara paled. Azula looked outraged. "Did you-"
"I was once offered a bite. I was delirious from hunger, so… I tried it. But I just couldn't," Ty Lee was tearing up now, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I ended up retching, not that I had anything to throw up. I still feel guilty for even trying, though."
"The only ones who should feel guilty are those who have created and are supporting a system in which fellow human beings have to resort to eating cats," Azula stated angrily.
"That's very progressive of you, Azula," Katara smiled at the other girl.
"Yes, well… not being out of touch with reality really helps," Azula ranted. "You know how most rich people think that if you have a job then you can't possibly be poor? Well, that's clearly bullshit. I know that most people who have jobs are still pretty damn poor, and it's not because they're not working hard. That argument is bullshit too. If you're working a minimum wage job, then you can double shift all you want until you collapse from exhaustion, but you're still going to be poor anyway."
"Wow, the Azula of old would never say something like that," Ty Lee remarked, quickly wolfing down the last of the sandwiches. "And the old Azula would never make me a sandwich. She wouldn't even know how to. What really happened to you, Azula?" she gave a curious stare to the other Fire Nation girl.
Azula let out a sigh. "I suppose you deserve to know, Ty," she said. "Come on, let's go upstairs and I'll show you your new room. It's right across the hall from mine." Katara was once again starting to panic. The damned Librium was taking too long to kick in. She didn't want to be the jealous and unreasonable bitch, but all she could think of was how easy it would be for Ty Lee to sneak into Azula's bedroom from just across the hall. This was why Katara hated the uncertainty of their secret girlfriend status. It just didn't give her enough reassurance to avoid freaking out in a moment of potential crisis.
"I still think it's kind of crazy that you would do all of this for me, Azula," Ty Lee said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I think it would be crazy if I could help you out and chose not to. Now, come on," Azula said, pushing Ty Lee towards the stairs to the upper floor. She picked Shaw up from the table and turned to follow her old friend. "It's time I told you everything you need to know," she added, turning to look at Katara before leading Ty Lee upstairs.
Katara wondered if that look was supposed to make her feel reassured, as if by everything Azula had meant that she was going to tell Ty Lee about them. Still, Katara was freaking out way too much to feel reassured. She felt like everything around her was suddenly threatening to fall apart. It didn't help that Azula and Ty Lee were all alone upstairs and she was left in the kitchen all on her own, unable to do anything. Why couldn't have Azula just told Ty Lee everything in Katara's presence? Katara thought that she already knew everything there was to know. Maybe Azula didn't want to do that because she would feel too embarrassed when talking about them? Once again, Katara wanted to believe that, but by now her anxiety attack was at its peak, and Katara was hyperventilating and sweating bullets. In her state of elevated anxiety, she had completely failed to notice that she had been petting Ran a little too hard, and the poor kitty began to squirm, eventually hissing at her before making its escape, and that made Katara feel even worse.
Katara had retained enough semblance of rational thought to understand that just sitting around while Azula and Ty Lee talked (and Katara's wild imagination was starting to supply her with images of Azula and Ty Lee more than simply talking) would do her no good. She did the only thing she could think of, and that was to call the Jasmine Dragon teahouse where Yue was working at. Right now, she needed to hear the reassuring voice of her friend, telling her that everything was going to be alright. When Katara finally got through, she was told that Yue had already left. Fortunately, it meant that Yue was on her way home, and hopefully Katara would not have to deal with her panic attack all on her own.
"Well," Azula spoke a little nervously, having finished telling her miserable tale of woe to Ty Lee. "Now you know the full story."
"Wow," Ty Lee looked up at her as they were sitting side by side on the bed. "That's so messed up, Azula. I mean, I knew that your father was very strict, cruel even, but…"
"Yes, I also underestimated the true extent of his fiendishness," Azula said.
"I'm glad you got away, though. You're so much better off being away from him," Ty Lee said, in that familiar direct and simple way of hers. "I don't know if the old Azula would have stopped to help me the way you did."
"I'd like to think that she would, but… I'm not certain about that," Azula sighed.
"Anyway, I still can't believe that this is real," Ty Lee smiled, looking around her room. "I haven't had a room of my own since leaving the Fire Nation. I didn't even have a bed of my own, always having to share with my sisters. And the past few months, the only times I've slept in a bed was when someone picked me up from the street. But there was no benevolence or charity behind that. I had to pay for that kindness with my body." Ty Lee looked deep into her eyes. "Does that bother you, Zula?"
"I hate that you had to do that," Azula replied. "I would never judge you for doing whatever you had to do in order to survive."
"Okay, that's good," Ty Lee looked relieved. "I felt conflicted when you approached me on the street, because I didn't know just how much you had changed. But now I know that you're not helping me because of some ulterior motive. Well, maybe you decided to help me because you felt guilty for what your father did to my family, but I was never really angry with you for that. I hope that you will stop blaming yourself for what happened. Still," Ty Lee gave her a mischievous grin. "I want you to know how grateful I am to you for doing all of this," she said.
What happened next took Azula by complete surprise. Ty Lee was suddenly leaning in and before Azula could react, she was being firmly kissed on the lips. Azula completely froze up from the shock. She wasn't kissing Ty Lee back, but she was also failing to stop her. Eventually, Ty Lee stopped and pulled away, looking at her with a curious expression in her eyes.
"What… are you doing, Ty?" Azula somehow managed to find her voice.
"I'm repaying for kindness the only way I know how to, Azula," Ty Lee smiled at her. Then she frowned slightly. "Was, uh… was what we got up to back in Caldera just a phase?" she asked, probably confused by Azula's lack of responsiveness. "You're no longer into girls?"
"What? Oh… no, I… I tried to straighten myself out, but no luck," Azula stammered. "I'm definitely into girls."
"Oh, okay… it's just that you didn't seem into it," Ty Lee frowned again. "Maybe I just caught you by surprise? Let's try one more time," she leaned in yet again, capturing Azula's lips. Azula did not freeze up this time, however. She placed her hands on Ty Lee's shoulders and gently pushed her away.
"Ty, it's not right. I don't want you to kiss me because you feel indebted to me. It feels very wrong," Azula shook her head.
"Okay," Ty Lee looked a little puzzled. She then flashed a bright grin at Azula. "Can I kiss you just because I want to, then?"
Azula was starting to panic a little. When she had jumped out of the car upon spotting Ty Lee on that street of the Middle Ring, a tiny voice at the back of her mind had whispered to Azula that she was about to create a lot of tension in their household, but she hadn't listened to that voice because getting Ty Lee out of there was the right thing to do and she believed that even now. But Azula was fucking up now and she knew it. She needed to put a stop to it, but how was she supposed to do it without hurting Ty Lee? Hurting Ty Lee again would just about kill Azula, she knew that much.
"Ty, can we please take it a little easy right now?" Azula tried. "We haven't seen each other in five years. Everything just feels too much. I'm really overwhelmed, and I'm sure you are as well. Can we just focus on getting you settled in? I want you to meet Yue, and get to know her and Katara better. Let's not rush anything, okay?"
"Fine by me," Ty Lee shrugged, not looking particularly disappointed. "Don't get me wrong, Zula, I didn't mean anything serious only hours after meeting you again five years later. I'm just saying… I'm happy to fool around whenever you want to. You probably remember me being quite shy and hesitant, but living on the street and being forced to do a lot of unpleasant things will change you quickly. What I'm saying is that I'm pretty open about this stuff. But I can sense that you're still really uptight, even if you have changed in many other ways," Ty Lee grinned at her.
Azula could only laugh nervously in reply. She wanted to deny all the claims Ty Lee was making, but in all honesty, her old friend was spot on. Most other teens in her situation would not hesitate when an insanely hot girl like Katara was so clearly interested in hooking up, whether it was the responsible thing to do or not. Azula could have had Katara many months ago, if only she was bold and irresponsible. If she was more of a player, Azula reckoned she could have probably hooked up with Yue as well, given how much they both had enjoyed it when Yue had kissed her back in the Fire Fountain City. Heck, with some effort, Azula figured that they could have done the whole threesome thing given that there was a serious physical attraction and an ever-growing emotional bond between the three of them. But Azula was not really that kind of a player and she knew that her social awkwardness would always get in the way. She was also deeply committed to staying loyal to Katara, even if they currently weren't even together, at least not officially. And right now, she was doing a miserably poor job at staying loyal to Katara when she was allowing Ty Lee to kiss her like that.
"Anyway!" Azula then declared with forced cheerfulness, rising from the bed. "I think I should let you settle in and rest up for a bit. Yue should be home soon and then we can introduce you two as well. After that, we should go shopping, maybe all four of us. You're going to need a lot of new stuff, just like I did when I first moved in here. Also, I took the liberty of throwing away the old rags you were wearing."
"That sounds good, Azula. Thank you," Ty Lee replied, sounding grateful, even if it looked like she was about to burst into laughter from Azula's awkward topic change. "I could do with a nap, honestly," she said, yawning as she stretched on the bed. Shaw jumped up on the bed and looked eager to settle in next to her. "Oh hey, little buddy," Ty Lee chuckled, petting the affectionate kitty. "You want to stay with me?" She looked up at Azula. "Is that okay?"
"Of course," Azula nodded, smiling. "I'll come up to check on you later, okay?" Ty Lee merely nodded as Azula left the room.
Once outside, Azula let out a heavy sigh and leaned in against the wall. She couldn't understand why she was fucking up so badly with Ty Lee. Azula knew that Ty Lee being here could create tensions, but all she had done had helped to elevate these potential tensions. She had tried to make Ty Lee aware that she and Katara were really close, hoping that the other girl would understand what she had meant. Azula had told Ty Lee about all the things that Katara had done for her, hoping that it would make Katara's feelings for her appear obvious, but it seemed that Ty Lee hadn't gotten the message. So why hadn't Azula just come out and said that she was into Katara?
Well, that would have required Azula to open up and talk about her feelings. She could just about manage that with Katara, but it required a lot of coaxing from the Water Tribe girl. Azula was learning how to open up to Yue, and that was going well, because Yue was patient, understanding and never pushed for more than what Azula was comfortable sharing. But while Azula still held herself partially responsible for what had happened to Ty Lee, the other Fire Nation girl was a past crush from more than four years ago, and it wasn't as if there had been this amazing emotional bond between them when they had both been only fourteen, young and stupid.
And then there was the other reason why Azula was hesitant to tell Ty Lee the truth, the reason that she hated to acknowledge even to herself. Despite her conversation with Katara at the Pai Sho camp, and despite them both constantly trying to reassure each other, despite calling each other secret girlfriends, Azula was aware that she was still asking Katara to wait an inordinate amount of time for her to be ready to have a real relationship. It was very unfair to Katara and she deserved better. As far as Azula was concerned, it was only a matter of time before Katara herself realized that, too. Azula just couldn't force herself to tell Ty Lee that she and Katara would be together in a few months, because she was too terrified that those plans would somehow fall apart because Katara decided that she was done wasting her time waiting on Azula and rightfully left her. Azula still firmly believed that there was a strong possibility of this happening.
With these painful thoughts wracking her mind, Azula slowly proceeded downstairs. She knew that she had to face Katara. They desperately needed to talk about this. It was just that Azula wasn't quite sure what to say. She hadn't been blind to how conflicted Katara had looked about having Ty Lee at the estate. Katara was probably freaking out right now, and it was all down to Azula's failure to communicate like a normal human being. She was such a screw-up. Why was Katara even wasting time on her? She would be doing Katara a favor by hooking up with Ty Lee and letting her Water Tribe friend find someone more deserving. Maybe she could encourage Katara to get back together with Yue, now that nothing stood in their way anymore. Ugh, but that thought alone was killing Azula, it felt so painful.
Azula arrived downstairs and looked around, but she couldn't spot anybody. She did notice Yue's white go-go boots in the foyer, so their friend had returned from her shift at the Jasmine Dragon. Azula walked up to the kitchen window and looked out into the garden, immediately spotting the two Water Tribe girls standing there, embraced. At first, Azula was overcome with an immediate twinge of jealousy, assuming that Katara had already thrown herself at Yue. But then she noticed something else about their embrace. The way Katara's shoulders were shaking… she was crying.
Azula felt like she had been punched in the gut, starting to tear up herself. She really hadn't handled this well at all, and her failures had already led to Katara feeling hurt and upset. Azula knew she had to fix her mistakes… if only she knew how.
Next chapter: So, that was an impressive bit of over-the-top teenage drama, right? Next, we'll take a look at this situation from the POV of Yue and Ty Lee. And we'll also take a look at Zuko's first tournament as a professional Pai Sho player.