Chapter 68

Returning home for winter holidays was something that Katara had been looking forward to most eagerly, but the joy of being reunited with her family became multiplied at least several times by Azula sharing this experience with her. The long trip involving a flight from Ba Sing Se to Agna Qel'a, followed by the tiresome drive up to Cape Kuruk on the northern coast, passed by fairly quickly in banter between her, Azula and Sokka. Katara hadn't even managed to get bored or tired when the familiar sights of her home village appeared in the view.

One of the first things that Katara wanted do was to take a walk down to the shore and examine the lingering environmental damage from the oil spill. They had worked so hard back in September, but in all honesty, what they had achieved in almost an entire week felt like a drop in a rain barrel. At least all the oil wells had been plugged, and the damaged platform in danger of capsizing had been towed away to the nearest scrap yard for dismantling. Katara had hoped that this would spell the end for oil drilling operations near Cape Kuruk, but of course, Nakamura Industries held the rights to carry out their operations and were eager to resume work. The government in Agna Qel'a was trying to stall them, however. Azula had sarcastically commented that their stalling was more due to the upcoming elections in a few months, instead of having actual principles. Katara suspected that her girlfriend was right, as she often was about the ugliest aspects of human society.

Having first been excitedly greeted by Naga, Katara, Sokka and Azula were received just as warmly by Hakoda and Gran-Gran. Hugs were offered and accepted, and Katara was delighted to see Azula partake without any hints of hesitation. They were then ushered into the living room, where Gran-Gran had prepared quite the feast for them. After the long journey, Katara felt quite famished and was eager to dig in and savor the nostalgia of her grandmother's cooking, but before she did so, there was an announcement to make. Seeing as her girlfriend was about to sit down at the table, Katara stopped her and forced Azula to stand next to her.

"So," Katara began with a goofy grin on her face. Azula was squirming next to her, making faces and looking a little uncomfortable under the spotlight. "I'm sure what I'm going to say won't come as a big surprise, but I guess I just wanted to officially introduce you to my girlfriend. This is Azula, and she's honestly kind of amazing," she added, laughing at the incredulous expression on Azula's face.

"I think I speak for us all when I say that we are very happy for you two," Hakoda said, rising from his seat and approaching to embrace them both. "Welcome to the Enuaraq family, Azula. You've done so much for us that I feel more than comfortable entrusting my daughter to you."

"Thank you, s-… uh, Hakoda," Azula managed, looking quite touched. Meanwhile, Katara had noticed that Gran-Gran was starting to tear up at the table, so she walked over to her grandmother to share an embrace full of comfort and happiness. Katara hadn't truly worried about Azula being accepted by her family. She was aware that Azula had already warmed her way into the hearts of her father and grandmother, in her own special Azula way.

"Well then," Hakoda began once they were all seated, about to dig into the Water Tribe delicacies on offer. "I'm guessing that I don't have to climb up to the attic for the air mattress then?" he asked nonchalantly.

"I don't think it's going to be needed, no," Katara blushed, exchanging stares with Azula.

"Please burn the air mattress," Azula said firmly, her deadpan tone eliciting laughter from the rest of them.

"By the way," Hakoda spoke up a while later, after they had been eating mostly in comfortable silence, with only the sounds of a cheesy winter holiday movie running on TV in the background. "You'll be pleased to know that my severance package with Nakamura Industries came through last week. It was really generous, too, far beyond what I was owed."

"Good," Azula nodded, looking relieved. "It means that my father is taking my demands seriously. That bodes well for the future."

"A part of me still can't believe that you went to the Fire Nation to face him," Hakoda said, shaking his head as he looked at Azula. "You are a remarkably brave young woman."

"Yes, what you have done for this family… it can't be put into words," Kanna nodded gratefully. "It must have been very hard to confront your own father."

Azula looked mildly freaked out from all the praise that she was receiving. Even though Hakoda and Kanna hadn't been told exactly what had happened between Azula and her father that had caused this rift between them, it seemed as if they had drawn their own logical conclusions. "It wasn't good, no," Azula admitted quietly. "But I had no choice. It had to be done if I wanted to be with-… um, if I wanted to live my own life free from fear."

Katara chuckled to herself at how Azula had backed out of stating that her biggest reason for facing Ozai was so that she and Katara could be together. Katara wasn't vain enough that she wanted it to be the main reason. Azula's freedom was far more important, anyway. "So, I'm guessing the severance package removes the stress of needing to find a job immediately, right?" Katara asked, wanting to steer the conversation away from Ozai.

"It would have, but that's irrelevant now, because I have a surprise prepared for you," Hakoda replied.

"Oh, let me guess," Sokka grinned. "You managed to land a job at Wang Fire's Spicy Chicken joint?"

"Such disrespect," Hakoda sighed at his son. "I think your old man can do better than that. I now have a job at the Elk Mountain National Park."

"Oh!" Katara exclaimed joyously. "Are you going to be one of the rangers?" Hakoda nodded. "That's amazing! What exactly is it that you'll be doing?"

"Well, in winters, I will be in charge of preparing and maintaining cross-country skiing tracks," Hakoda explained. "Outside of the winter season, I'll be taking care of the hiking trails and the mountain biking tracks."

"That's amazing!" Sokka looked excited. "Hey, do you think we can go to the Elk Mountain tomorrow? Dad, you could show us the best tracks."

"Oh yes, skiing sounds fun," Katara nodded in agreement, despite Azula giving her the most pitiful and desperate stare. As far as Katara was concerned, Azula had actually enjoyed herself last year, despite constantly insisting how she hated skiing. The problem was that Azula disliked everything that she wasn't immediately excellent at. And it wasn't that she was terrible on skis. Azula was in a good physical shape and she possessed excellent body coordination due to both horse riding and fencing in her early teens. However, Katara and Sokka had been almost as if born with skis on their feet. It was unreasonable for Azula to expect herself to immediately be as good as her Water Tribe friends, but that was Azula in a nutshell, the Queen of Unreasonable Expectations, and Katara loved her for it.

"I would love to show you the new trails, but I think we should also ask Azula if she's happy to join in," Hakoda asked, smiling at the girlfriend of his daughter.

Azula was about to speak up, probably to voice her disapproval, but Katara quickly cut her off. "Before you say anything, love, remember… that air mattress can always make its return," Katara winked at her girlfriend.

Azula paused, her eyes widening as she considered her options. "Well," she said in a slightly forced cheerful voice. "I think skiing actually sounds a lot of fun."

"I have to say, this is quite the nice setup you have here, Ty," Mai remarked, sitting at the large kitchen table in the Ba Sing Se estate and enjoying a glass of wine together with Ty Lee. Zuko and Yue were perched at the other end of the table, leaning over a Pai Sho board so that their foreheads occasionally bumped together as they went through Zuko's latest game, a narrow win over one of the many skilled masters based in Ba Sing Se.

"Isn't it just?" Ty Lee grinned happily. Mai felt almost unfamiliar but welcomed warmth at the sight of her old friend smiling. She hadn't actually realized how much she had missed Ty Lee, and how delighted she would be to have her once best friend back in her life. Sure, Ty Lee had been hopelessly smitten with Azula all those years ago, but that had been all about a powerful physical attraction. Ty Lee hadn't dared to share anything too personal with Azula, fearing that the other girl would just use it against her. Mai knew that she was not a great conversationalist, but she was a good listener, which was just what Ty Lee had always needed, someone to listen to her emotional ramblings. Mai hadn't really found any new close friends after being forcefully separated from Ty Lee and Azula, so having them both back in her life meant an awful lot to her.

"I'm glad Azula did this for you," Mai nodded. "It was the main reason why I agreed to put her up at my place when she came to Caldera. I thought she had earned my support."

"Oh, she has definitely earned it," Ty Lee agreed vehemently. "I'm so grateful to Azula for letting me stay here. This is probably the happiest I've ever been in my life… well, the happiest I've been for a long time. I'll be even happier when we manage to track down all of my sisters." Ty Lee had told Mai about her great search, but so far Ty didn't seem to be having much success. Ty Lat had been spotted peddling wares for a pottery vendor at one of the Lower Ring markets, but so far Ty Lee hadn't been able to get any more details other than a couple of vague hints. It didn't look like Ty Lee was about to give up, though. Mai knew that her old friend wasn't a quitter and wouldn't give up until she had found all of her sisters.

"Have you thought about hiring a PI?" Mai asked.

"Uh, what's a pee-aye?" Ty Lee blinked.

"A private investigator," Mai chuckled. "Sure, they're pricey, but as I understood from what Azula told me, you're getting regular payments from her asshole of a father. A good PI might be able to find your sisters for you quickly."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea, thanks Mai," Ty Lee grinned. "I'll keep it in mind. If I don't make any headway soon, I'll see about hiring one of those fancy PI's."

"Well, I hope you manage to find your sisters eventually," Mai said, reaching out for the bottle of wine for a refill. She pointed the bottle towards Ty Lee in a silent offer, but the other girl shook her head.

"Maybe we should save some for Yue and Zuko once they're done," Ty Lee said, looking over to where her girlfriend sat opposite to Zuko, immersed in their analysis of Zuko's game. Unlike Ty Lee who didn't know a thing about Pai Sho, Mai was a passable casual player and seeing that only a few tiles remained in play, she concluded that Zuko and Yue were probably close to finishing.

"Almost done here," Yue replied. Mai was a little surprised that she wasn't quite as lost to the outside world as she looked when sitting at the Pai Sho board. "Give us a minute or two."

In a couple of minutes, Yue and Zuko had everything wrapped up, setting the Pai Sho board aside and coming over to sit with Mai and Ty Lee. Mai poured Yue some wine, but Zuko refused the invitation to drink. "Not during a tournament," he shook his head firmly.

"I'm glad I don't play Pai Sho," Mai rolled her eyes. Ty Lee giggled at that.

"Anyway, Mai, if you don't have any plans for tomorrow," Ty Lee spoke up excitedly. "Maybe you'd like to join the search for my sisters? I have a few leads that I think are worth checking out."

"I suppose we can do that," Mai replied. Going on a wild goose chase through the dirt of the Lower Ring streets wasn't exactly something that appealed to Mai, but she had come to Ba Sing Se with the intent to spend as much time as possible with Ty Lee, and if that meant playing a detective then so be it. She would do almost anything as long as it made Ty happy.

"Do you want me to join you?" Yue asked. "Since all my rich Pai Sho students are away for their own winter holidays, it's not like I have a lot to do around the estate, except for helping Zuko with his prep."

"You don't have to come, babe," Ty Lee smiled at her girlfriend.

"Don't make your girlfriend feel like we don't want her with us, she'll become jealous," Mai smirked. Yue blushed lightly. "You don't have to be jealous, by the way. This might be the International House of Lesbians, but I'm as straight as an arrow. In fact, I was told by reliable sources that there's a cute guy living under the same roof with you lot, so I was hoping to meet him, but alas…"

"Sokka wouldn't be interested in dating you anyway," Zuko suddenly jumped into the conversation, a nervous, slightly irate look on his face.

"Zuko, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yue glared at him.

"I, uh… I just meant that I don't think you're his type, Mai," Zuko tried to save his blushes. "I didn't mean to be insulting or imply that you're not attractive, I mean, you know you are."

"Alright, well, that was interesting," Mai snorted. Zuko's reaction had been pretty incriminating. She had to wonder how much Azula knew about where her own brother's interests lay.

"It was just rude," Yue still looked a bit angry. Mai had to roll her eyes at that reaction. So far, she wasn't all that impressed with Ty Lee's choice in a girlfriend. She was a looker, Mai would be the first to admit that, but she didn't seem to have the personality or the interests that would normally appeal to Ty Lee. And she seemed a bit too rigid and righteous for Mai to find her likable. Perhaps she was selling Yue short here, but while she seemed like a decent person, she also seemed a little boring.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Zuko sighed. "I'm just a little bit more stressed than normally because of the tournament."

"How is the tournament going?" Mai asked. She wasn't really that interested, but she had dated a Pai Sho player in the past. Mai knew that Pai Sho players loved nothing more than to blather on about their achievements.

"Better than I expected, really," Zuko replied. "I think a lot of credit has to go to Yue for the excellent prep she's providing for me. You are even better than advertised, I must say."

"I'm just happy to be of some help," Yue smiled at him.

"If I end up winning any prize money, you're getting 40%," Zuko said.

"I couldn't do that! That's way more than what we had agreed on," Yue protested.

"Yeah, but like I said, you're better than advertised," Zuko insisted.

"Just take the money," Mai shrugged. Some people really took their noble humility way too far, and Yue seemed like the type of bleeding heart to do exactly that.

"Indeed," Zuko nodded. "It's not like I have any chance of holding on to my second place," he said. "I'm playing Piandao tomorrow and after that loss I'll be knocked back to fourth or fifth place."

"Who is this Panda?" Ty Lee asked, looking highly curious. She frowned when the others around the table began to laugh at her question.

"Piandao, not Panda," Zuko grinned. "And he's only the reigning world champion."

"Huh," Ty Lee shrugged. She was as always, adorably unapologetic about her ignorance. "Well, I guess he must be really good then," she added, getting up from her seat and then making her way over to Yue and trying to wriggle in to sit on her lap. Yue stoically tried to accommodate her girlfriend, but she ended up groaning in discomfort. "Uh, have I gained weight?" Ty Lee asked worriedly.

"Not really, these kitchen chairs just aren't well suited for sitting in someone's lap," Yue replied, sounding a little strained.

"Oh," Ty Lee quickly jumped out of Yue's lap. "Let's move to the sofa then." She began to drag Yue towards the living room sofa. Mai rose and followed them, taking the bottle of wine with her. Zuko also rose, but he decided not to join them in the living room.

"I think I'll be off then," he said, heading for the doors. He stopped to look at Yue. "Same time tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course, I'll be home all afternoon," Yue smiled at him. "Make Piandao work for it, okay?" Zuko nodded, stepping into the foyer to get dressed and shortly afterwards the front doors opened and closed again.

"Mhm, this is nice," Ty Lee purred, finally getting her wish as she settled into Yue's lap, then reaching upward and placing a few scattered kisses along Yue's jaw line. Mai smirked to herself and turned away to use the opportunity to refill their glasses with the last remaining drops in the bottle. When she turned back to face the other two, Ty Lee had already escalated the making out, trading full blown kisses with her Water Tribe girlfriend until Yue put a stop to it.

"Cool it, Ty, your friend has come to visit you all the way from the Fire Nation," Yue said with mild reproach in her voice. "Don't make her feel ignored."

"Oh," Ty Lee blushed, looking at Mai. "I'm sorry, Mai."

"Don't worry about it," Mai shrugged. She passed their glasses over to Yue and Ty Lee, taking the third and settling onto the other sofa. "I am not that easily offended," she added. Mai had watched that exchange, wondering about the dynamic of the couple. Mai had been under the impression that Ty Lee liked girls with a bit of a rebellious and dangerous edge, while Yue seemed like the typical white picket fence dream girl. But maybe Ty Lee's horrific experiences surviving the alleys of Lower Ring had changed all that. Mai just wanted the best for her old friend after everything she had been through.

"I've been thinking, Mai," Ty Lee began a while later. Mai felt instantly alarmed. Usually when Ty Lee opened with something like that, it ended up leading to a terrifically bad idea. "Everyone's moving to Ba Sing Se as of late. Maybe I can talk you into doing that as well? There's still one bedroom left to give away at the estate. And it would be downstairs, opposite to Sokka's." Mai noticed Yue rolling her eyes at that.

"Sorry, Ty, but that's not happening," Mai shook her head. "I have a lot of contacts in the Caldera City circles of fashion designers, and no contacts whatsoever in Ba Sing Se. And I don't know if my tastes are compatible with those of the Earth Kingdom public. People here just don't know how to dress with any flair. I fully expect to come back next year and find that wearing burlap sacks is considered the height of fashion. No, I'm sticking to the Fire Nation, sorry."

"Aww," Ty Lee pouted. "Well, I tried," she sighed despondently.

"It was a good effort," Mai chuckled. "Don't worry, though. I'm enjoying my time visiting with you. I'm thinking about making these visits very regular, and hopefully next time I won't get stood up by Azula."

"She couldn't very well refuse to accompany her girlfriend," Yue said defensively.

"I guess," Mai shrugged. "Next time when I'm here again, the three of us will catch up properly. And we'll get all the salacious details about Azula's relationship directly from the source."

"They make such a cute couple with Katara, don't they?" Ty Lee giggled, looking up at Yue. "They're almost as cute as us, right?"

"Yes, almost," Yue smiled patiently, then looking over at Mai. "Careful about how much you tease Azula, though. Don't overdo it."

Mai had to try really hard not to be offended by the advice on how to treat her old childhood friend. "By the way, Zuko's aggressive reaction when I mentioned this Sokka boy?" she said instead, deciding to change the topic. "Is it what I think it is?"

"Huh?" Ty Lee blinked. "What do you mean?"

"It's absolutely what you think it is, Mai," Yue nodded.

"What-what-what?" Ty Lee exclaimed, staring demandingly at her girlfriend. "I don't understand what you two are talking about!"

Yue sighed patiently. "We meant that Zuko likes Sokka, Ty," she explained.

"Yeah?" Ty Lee shrugged. "Well I like Sokka too, but I don't snap at girls who say that he's cute."

"Exactly," Yue nodded. "You're not feeling jealous towards girls who potentially might want to date Sokka."

"No, I'm not jealous, but Zuko isn't a girl-" Ty Lee suddenly froze, her already large eyes widening further as she blinked owlishly. Mai chuckled to herself. She had forgotten how insanely cute Ty Lee looked when she became confused. "Wait, are you saying that Zuko really likes Sokka?" Ty Lee finally put the two and two together.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious," Yue shrugged. Mai had to give it to the white-haired girl. At least she seemed both smart and perceptive.

"Do you think Azula knows?" Mai asked. She tried to imagine how Azula would react to something like that. For some reason, Mai's brain supplied her with the mental image of a steam locomotive going off the rails at a high speed.

"Azula has no idea, all she can think about right now is Katara," Yue grinned. "Besides, I don't know if she would even believe it if I told her. She'd probably assume that I was pulling a prank on her."

"Yeah, I'm kind of thinking you're pulling a prank on me now," Ty Lee nodded. "Zuko likes Sokka? Are you really sure? Just because Zuko is here like almost every day and the two of them are spending so much time hanging out together… oooh! You know, you might be onto something here!" Ty Lee suddenly looked really excited. "Oh goodness, this is so much fun! I wonder if there's something about the estate, some kind of magical aura turning people who live here gay," she mused.

Mai exchanged stares with Yue, the two of them struggling not to laugh. "That's an interesting theory, Ty," Mai snorted. "I promise to let you know if at the end of my two weeks here, the International House of Lesbians has corrupted me as well…"

Katara was truly enjoying her time back in Cape Kuruk, largely because of how well Azula was getting along with her family. Azula could still be a little awkward around people, especially strangers, but she seemed to have lost all of this awkwardness when interacting with Katara's family, and in particular, with Hakoda. On this particular evening, even though it was getting rather late and Katara was starting to become sleepy and ready to retire, Azula was busy upstairs, debating Hakoda on the merits of both conservation and industrialization, and whether a healthy balance between the two could be achieved. It seemed to be a rather lively debate, and even if Azula sometimes loved playing the devil's advocate too much, Katara felt completely confident that at the end of their exchange, Azula and her dad would have only increased respect for each other.

Eager to enjoy a glass of cold milk before bed, Katara snuck downstairs, only then noticing that she wasn't alone there. Sokka was in the living room, his back turned on her, speaking with someone on the phone. It didn't take Katara long to realize who her brother was speaking with, both from the softness in his voice, and from the constant mentions of Pai Sho. Katara smiled to herself and went into the kitchen. She wanted to speak with Sokka afterwards, but she didn't want to listen in on his private phone conversation.

It took Sokka almost ten more minutes to be done with his conversation, and Katara had already enjoyed her glass of milk and also managed to get a little bored. Sokka finally finished talking, standing next to the phone with a slightly faraway look on his face when Katara walked into the living room. Sokka eventually noticed her, appearing a little startled. "How is Zuko?" Katara asked casually. "Are things going well at the tournament?"

"Oh, things are amazing," Sokka immediately broke into a smile. "Can you believe that he managed to force the world champion to a draw? That's crazy good, right? He was so happy about it."

"That is wonderful, and a great achievement," Katara smiled. She kept staring at her brother, her gaze piercing. Sokka soon began to squirm a little. "Sokka?" Katara said, keeping her voice soft and quiet. "You know that you will always have my full and unconditional support, right? And that we agreed… no more secrets between us."

Sokka's face flushed considerably. He appeared really uncomfortable. "I don't-" he began.

"I understand that you might be at the stage where you can't quite admit it to yourself yet," Katara nodded. "I went through it as well. That's why I really want you to talk to me, Sokka. I can help you based on my own experiences."

"It's just that-" Sokka tried, once again silencing himself. "I don't even know, I'm so confused right now," he sighed. "And I also feel so embarrassed. It's just… I don't know, but I feel like I'm disappointing everyone by feeling this way. Dad, Gran-Gran… they expect something else from me, you know?"

"Again, Sokka, I went through feeling the same way," Katara smiled somberly. She could tell that Sokka was at a relatively early stage of accepting this new truth about himself. "Obviously, if I were to tell you that it's okay to feel this way, it wouldn't really help much. You need to get there on your own and that's going to take time. But if you don't try to actively fight it, you'll start to accept it, and then embracing it will feel less and less scary."

"I don't even know if I want to embrace it," Sokka sighed.

"You might not have a choice about that," Katara pointed out. "It's not just about Zuko, Sokka. This is about not lying to yourself."

"Wonderful, just wonderful," Sokka frowned. "What do you suggest that I do about it?"

"I'm guessing you haven't broached this topic with Zuko," Katara said. Sokka shook his head, looking terrified. "I know it seems really scary, but try to start by showing him more affection, more physical contact to see how he reacts to it."

"I doubt that'll go down well," Sokka looked uncertain. "I'm pretty sure Zuko's into girls. He had a steady girl, didn't he?"

"Jin was years ago and he hasn't had anyone since," Katara sighed. "You've had more girlfriends than Zuko has, so he's probably thinking that it proves that you're straight. That's just silly reasoning, okay? It doesn't prove anything."

"Well, I guess you could be right," Sokka admitted. "I'm just… ugh, this could get really embarrassing."

"It's okay to be scared, Sokka," Katara smiled at her brother. "But let me give you one final piece of advice. I've seen the way Zuko sometimes looks at you. Trust me, Sokka. I know that you have a really good chance with Zuko."

"R-really?" Sokka blinked. Katara nodded firmly. Sokka walked up to her and pulled Katara into an embrace. "Thanks, Kat. I probably should have spoken to you about this earlier."

"Don't worry about it, Sokka. I would have pushed for it if I had thought that you were ready to talk," Katara winked at him. "And now I should go and haul my girlfriend off to bed at last. Goodnight, Sokka."

"Night, Kat," Sokka smiled at her, looking a good deal happier than before.

Katara ran upstairs, also feeling happy from having been able to help her brother. She did not hear the voices of her girlfriend and her father, so Katara assumed that they had finished their lively debate. Katara headed straight for her room, walking in just as Azula was undressing and getting ready for bed. "So, did you win that heated exchange?" Katara asked, grinning.

"We agreed to disagree," Azula replied, quickly slipping into her pajamas and Katara wasted no time following her example. "I still feel like I made better points overall than your father, though," Azula added.

"I'm sure you did," Katara also quickly finished getting ready for bed and dove under the covers to join her beloved. It was below minus ten outside, the coldest spell of the winter and even with central heating on the house felt a little chillier than usual. It wasn't chilly under the covers, though. Azula produced body heat like a particularly efficient furnace. "I'm so glad that you're getting along so well with my dad," Katara said as they engaged in their usual bedtime cuddling session.

"Yes, I have been thinking about that, Katara," Azula replied with a very serious look on her face. "The more I think about my upbringing with Ozai, and the way he treated me, the more I realize that I have never actually had a father. At least not in what most would consider a normal way. I… I think I have started to see your father as someone I would have preferred as a parent. Please, don't be angry."

"Why would I be angry?" Katara blinked in confusion.

"Well, I… I thought that maybe you would feel like I was trying to steal your father from you," Azula sighed.

"But that's not what you're doing, love," Katara smiled. "I think it's lovely that you are forging a bond with my dad. I think that understanding normal family dynamics could be really beneficial to your recovery. I'm sure your therapist would agree with that."

"Hmm, I could ask her, I suppose," Azula nodded earnestly.

"See, this is kind of why I'm sometimes pushy about you getting along with Ursa," Katara said. "I think that having a normal mother-daughter relationship will also help you a great deal. Although… I suppose I have something of an ulterior motive, too."

"You do?" Azula seemed surprised. "I didn't think you were capable of having ulterior motives."

Katara laughed at that. "Thank you for the lovely compliment," she said, kissing the tip of Azula's nose. "It's just that… I'll never have my mom back, you see. But it's still a possibility for you, and I just want at least one of us to have their mother in their lives. I guess I'm hoping that by observing you reconnecting with your mother, I could sort of, I don't know, vicariously live out that experience which is otherwise denied to me. I hope that makes sense."

Azula looked thoughtful for a while. "I think it does," she nodded eventually. "Kat, I wouldn't mind if you also spent more time with Ursa and became friends with my mom, if that's what you want… or need."

"Thank you for the offer, Zula, but…" Katara sighed heavily. "The truth is that while I like your mom and I want you to have a good relationship with her, a part of me will probably always resent her for walking away from you."

"We're in the same boat then," Azula smiled bitterly. "It's always there or there about at the back of my mind. And maybe that's okay. Perhaps it should be like that."

"I think that's fine. Your feelings are very valid, and that includes feelings of resentment," Katara replied, leaning in for a quick kiss. "By the way, I just heard news from Sokka. Zuko managed to draw his game with Piandao," she said.

"Oh, that's quite impressive," Azula admitted. "Zuko is probably strutting around and preening like a peacock."

"Well, I think he's entitled to a bit of strutting," Katara giggled. She briefly considering saying more, considering that Azula seemed to be in a good mood. "Have you noticed how much time Sokka and Zuko are spending together?" she asked.

"Yes, it's so weird," Azula nodded. "Your brother must have the patience of a saint to deal with Zuko's constant drama."

Katara had to try really hard to resist rolling her eyes. Azula's occasional lack of self awareness was simply adorable. "I'm starting to wonder, though. What if there's something more than friendship?" she asked.

Azula looked highly incredulous. "I'm sorry, that's just too weird for me to even consider," she said, shaking her head.

"But what if it were true?" Katara wouldn't relent. "How would you feel about it?"

"I don't know?" Azula shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I don't know why you are bringing up something so silly and unlikely. I guess I would be suspicious of Zuko plotting something, and maybe trying to get at me by using your brother?"

Katara sighed at that. "Oh, and are we together because you're plotting something by using me?" she asked. Azula looked horrified. "Obviously, I don't think that, Zula, but-"

"Oh," Azula blinked, appearing thoughtful. "You think I'm being unfair to Zuko."

"Well, all I'm saying is… just try and keep an open mind about our brothers, please. But we don't have to talk about them anymore," Katara said, eager to move on. Fortunately, a couple of particularly soft kisses seemed to distract Azula from thinking about Zuko as well. "What's on your mind now, love?" Katara asked after a brief silence, Azula still looking deep in thought.

"I was just thinking about Yue," Azula replied earnestly.

Katara felt a little surprised, grinning as she sensed an opportunity to tease her girlfriend. "You're in my house, in my bed, with me, but you're thinking about Yue," Katara said, mustering a fake glare.

Azula's eyes widened, and she immediately looked panicky. "I d-didn't meant it like-"

"Relax, Zula," Katara smiled, leaning in to reassure her girlfriend with a quick kiss. "Yue's on my mind a lot as well. Was there a specific reason you were thinking about her, though?"

"Well, I just thought about how much fun we're having here, while she's stuck practicing with Zuko, and that can almost feel like a job, you know?" Azula said.

"That's true," Katara admitted. "But at least she has Ty Lee to distract her."

"Sure, but I suspect that now with Mai visiting them, she has probably monopolized Ty Lee all to herself," Azula said. "I guess I just felt a little bad for Yue."

"That's very sweet and thoughtful of you, love," Katara smiled broadly, her heart swelling as she leaned in for a lingering kiss. "I think you brought up a good point. You know what we should do? We should buy Yue a lovely gift to take back to Ba Sing Se. And something for Ty Lee as well, so that she doesn't become jealous."

"I like that idea, Kat," Azula smiled at her. They spent a few more minutes trading kisses. "Are you, uh… happy with just cuddling tonight?" Azula asked quietly, flushed from all the kissing.

Katara smiled. She loved it so much when Azula was being thoughtful. She also found that she preferred the way Azula liked to take things slow and easy with the physical side of their relationship. Back at her childhood home, being surrounded by her entire family made it a little weird for Katara to go all the way, no matter how much she wanted to. It helped to know that Azula was happy to spend an evening kissing and cuddling without going below the waist. "Cuddling sounds absolutely perfect," Katara whispered, as they proceeded to do just that.

Next chapter: It's April, and time for Katara to defend her U21 title, but this time Azula and Yue are gunning for gold too. Which one of our best girls will claim the title this year?