Chapter 75
The winter holiday party at the International House of Lesbians was in full swing. Usually at this time of year, Azula would have found herself in Cape Kuruk with Katara and Sokka, but they had made a slight change this year. Mai was once again coming to Ba Sing Se for winter holidays, and because Azula had missed her last year, she had managed to talk Katara and Sokka into leaving for the Water Tribes a week later. Of course, she felt bad for making the Enuaraq siblings lose out on the time they spent with their family, but on the other hand, holiday time in Ba Sing Se was a lot of fun, and Sokka wasn't going to complain about getting to spend an extra week with Zuko. Azula had asked Katara whether her brother planned on coming out to the family, but Katara had merely sighed and shaken her head. Apparently Sokka was too terrified about Hakoda being disappointed in him, although Azula had no idea how he had arrived at that conclusion.
Azula cast her gaze at the group playing scrabble in the living room. Initially it had been Jet and Suki challenging Zuko and Sokka, but Ty Lee had also decided to insert herself into the occasion. They seemed to be having a good time and booze was flowing freely, but Katara had already pointed out a few potential problems. First of all, both Ty Lee and Jet were horrible flirts, and they immediately got on like a house on fire, which made both Suki and Yue look just a bit put off. Secondly, Ty Lee had gone for a seriously low-cut blouse with increased risk of spillage. As Ty Lee became tipsier and flirtier, she also became less and less aware of just how much harder she was making it for the others to avoid staring. Zuko and Sokka were doing their best, but Azula had noticed them on occasion turning quite red in the face. Jet, however, just rolled with it, until he was cooled down by Suki glaring daggers at him. It looked like they would soon have to call on Yue to rein her girlfriend in a little.
As far as Azula was convinced, Yue had outdone everyone with her outfit this evening, even the fashion designer among them. Mai had gladly agreed with the assessment, however, stating that Yue's long-sleeved tunic, sparkling fishnets and metallic cap-toe shoes was an ensemble she was definitely going to borrow for future use. Azula had felt rather guilty for becoming distracted by Yue's legs every time she walked past their table, but that guilt had lasted only until she had noticed that Katara was having the exact same reaction towards her fellow Water Tribe girl.
"She really looks incredibly hot tonight," Azula leaned in to whisper in Katara's ear.
Katara blushed, then turning to whisper back to Azula. "She really does," she said. "But let's not make Ty Lee jealous by checking out her girlfriend every time she walks past us."
Azula nodded wordlessly. "I'm sure Ty Lee appreciates Yue's outfit even more than we do," she replied, even if right now Ty Lee seemed to be more appreciative of the way Jet constantly kept checking her out when Suki wasn't watching him like a hawk.
"I hope she does, yes," Katara whispered, still looking concerned. "Speaking of hot girlfriends, you definitely rank at the very top for me," she added, smiling.
Azula grinned, her ego feeling suitably appeased. They had chosen each other's outfits for the evening, and Azula had ended up wearing a red ruffled crop top blouse together with a black navy dress, a rather enticing combination. Katara was wearing a light grey pencil dress together with a blue turtleneck. Azula simply loved it when Katara wore tightly fitting clothes, and she thought that the sway of Katara's hips in the pencil dress was absolutely mesmerizing.
"What are you two whispering about?" Mai glared at them. They were sitting at the large kitchen table, crammed with drinks and snacks, time flowing by fast as they spent it talking about whatever came to their tipsy minds.
"We're talking politics," Azula lied blatantly. "That Yu Dao mess is getting worse and worse, right?"
"You know I don't care about politics, and I won't believe for a moment that you do either," Mai rolled her eyes.
"Well, maybe you should, tough girl," Toph commented, sitting at the table and drinking with them. "After all, you and I, we're officially at war. Aren't you afraid that you might get stranded here in Ba Sing Se if things escalate and they cut off all traffic between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation?"
"Pfft, like the rich assholes running both countries are going to let a small proxy war get in the way of business and making buckets of money," Mai laughed. "You'll see that it's going to remain business as usual between Ba Sing Se and Caldera City, while people in the provinces die."
"That's a very cynical look on things," Katara remarked.
"But sadly, a very realistic one," Azula felt obliged to yet again reality check Katara. Her girlfriend had way too many of these admirable idealistic notions that were going to lead her to disappointment, so Azula felt that it was her duty to inject some realism and temper these blows for Katara. Of course, it worked the other way around, too. Sometimes she assumed bleak outcomes just because it was in her nature to do so, and Katara's point of view made her aware of positive solutions she hadn't even considered before. They really complimented each other so well that way.
"I think that Yu Dao conflict is all one big distraction," Mai shrugged. "Someone's probably getting very rich from it all."
"Oh, you bet," Toph nodded. "My father is in bed with people tied in with the military industrial complex. They're going to make a killing now that the Dai Li have gotten themselves back into shape and are actually doing something."
It had taken a crazy amount of time for the Earth Kingdom's military to organize some kind of response to the Fire Nation incursion. With the sheer size of the Earth Kingdom, organizing was a challenge in itself and often it seemed that the right hand had no idea what the left was up to. But somehow, a response force had been put together and was ready for deployment with the goal to take back Yu Dao and restore Mayor Morishita to his office. There already were reports of fighting taking place in the suburbs, but so far those had been only minor skirmishes.
Azula had to admit that the response of the Fire Nation military had been strategically brilliant. Many of the citizens of Yu Dao had been trying to leave the city as soon as news of the imminent Earth Kingdom pushback leaked. However, the Fire Nation forces were now preventing anyone from leaving. The city was being kept full of desperate civilians, meaning that it would be almost unthinkable for the Earth Kingdom forces to conduct air strikes or artillery shelling, because the civilian casualties would be very high. Obviously, the tactic used by her homeland was dubious in its morality, but Azula knew that the Fire Nation simply lacked the numbers and had to play clever in order to prevail.
"Why are we talking about politics when we're supposed to be partying, anyway?" Katara complained.
"Oh, that was my fault, sorry," Azula quickly apologized. "You're right, Katara. It's not a pleasant topic."
"I think Mai should tell us something about herself and her life," Katara suggested. "It's like… you've been here for three days already, and I still feel like I don't know more about you than before," she pouted, looking at Mai.
"Sorry, I'm terrible when it comes to talking about myself," Mai shrugged. "I'm sure you already know everything there is to know about me in broad strokes. It really helps if I know what exactly you want to know about me."
"Well, you know… gossipy stuff," Katara blushed lightly.
"Katara wants to know if you're into boys or girls, and whether you're currently seeing someone," Toph said with a laugh. "She's always so outwardly polite, even if she's probably the most curious about that stuff," she added. Azula had to agree with that assessment of her girlfriend, even if Katara didn't look too amused by Toph's summary.
"Ah," Mai smirked. "Sorry to disappoint, I'm not on team lesbian or even team bisexual. I like men," she then frowned a little. "But I rarely like the kind of men that my father tries to force on me. He's still pushing for me to marry well, whatever the hell that means."
"There's an easy solution to that, actually," Toph shrugged, emptying her glass of very adult eggnog. "You just need to marry someone else in secret and then drop the news on your parents, and they won't be able to do anything about it. That's what I did."
"Hmm, that's an interesting advice," Azula nodded, deep in thought. It took her a long time before her mind actually registered the other thing that Toph had said. She turned towards her girlfriend, finding Katara sitting there with her eyes wide as saucers. "Haha, Toph," Azula said. "For a moment I thought I heard you saying that you were married."
"That's what I said. What are you, hard of hearing?" Toph rolled her eyes.
"You're having us on, aren't you?" Katara gasped. "You must be! Where's your wedding ring?"
Toph sighed and tugged on the gold chain she was wearing around her neck, pulling it out from under her blouse. Attached to the chain was a fairly impressive gold ring with a large ruby. "Satisfied?" she sighed.
"I don't fucking believe it," Azula shook her head in disbelief.
"Everyone?" Katara called out as she rose from her seat. "Everyone, may I have your attention please?" Toph hid her face in her palms as everyone in the estate suddenly looked up at them. "It has come to our attention that our friend Toph has recently gotten married without telling her friends anything about it," Katara said. She was looking a bit hurt and annoyed, and Azula could understand that. There were things you kept from your friends, and then there was this. "Congratulations may be in order, but so is a round of public shaming," Katara finished. Everyone immediately surrounded the table and began to pepper Toph with questions.
"Aww, our little baby Toph got hitched?" Sokka cooed, clearly annoying Toph. "To whom did you get married?"
"To Teo, obviously," Yue replied instead of Toph.
"This is why I don't tell you anything, guys, you are making way too big of a deal out of everything!" Toph groaned. "Look, Teo is just being an upstanding guy by helping me out."
"Is that why you're never inviting anyone to your posh apartment?" Katara asked. "You're living there with Teo, aren't you?" Toph nodded with a shrug. "I can't believe it, Toph! And nobody knew this for months?"
"Umm," Aang piped up, looking a little ashamed. "I kind of knew. I'm sorry, but Toph made me swear not to tell anyone, and she can be really scary."
"That she can be, indeed," Yue nodded, then turning back towards Toph. "So, is this really just a marriage of convenience? Because I don't really buy that, from the way you and Teo were looking at one another both in Omashu and at the Pai Sho camp."
"Does it really matter?" Toph tried to play it cool and blow Yue off, but even Azula could see through the attempt. "Okay, fine, I actually like him a lot. There, are you happy now?"
"As long as you're happy, Toph, nothing else matters," Katara said. "We're your friends and we'd hate for you to be stuck in a loveless marriage."
"Well, Teo and I are getting along just fine so don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Sugar Queen," Toph snorted. "I suppose now that the cat is out of the bag, I should ask him to join me when I come to hang out with you guys."
"Of course, you should," Yue sighed. "Toph, did you have that poor boy literally locked up for four months at the apartment just because you were too embarrassed to tell us about this?"
"You're making it sound a lot worse than it was," Toph huffed. "Teo is not exactly an outgoing guy. He spent most of his time indoors before we got married, so I'm not going to feel guilty about this. And besides, he agreed to it."
Azula and all the others then spent some time digesting everything they had learned. It was Jet who spoke up next. "So, I obviously don't know your little Pai Sho gang as well as everyone else here does," he began. "But Teo is that Earth Kingdom kid in a wheelchair, right?" There were several nods to confirm this. "Alright, so… in that case, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here who has this question." Azula had a bad feeling that she knew what was coming. "What I want to know is… is he paralyzed from above the waist, or from below the waist?" Jet asked with a drunken grin plastered on his face, earning him groans from everyone around.
Toph got up from her seat, walked over to the grinning Jet and punched him in the stomach, hard. "You asked for it, babe," Suki commented with amusement when Jet was left wheezing, doubled over.
"Obviously, I'm not going to answer that question," Toph growled as she sat back down. "But since I know you guys, and I know that you're going to spin wild theories behind my back and maybe even try to spy on me or whatnot, I'm just going to tell you how it is this once, and then we're never talking about this again. Got it?"
"I'm perfectly fine with it," Azula nodded, all the others echoing her in agreement. Azula had a lot of respect for Toph's commitment to privacy, even if she was no longer interested in going back to her own old ways, keeping things from the others, including Katara. That was no longer her way.
"Okay, so the thing is that I am just not into the physical stuff, you know?" Toph began, unable to keep a blush away from her face. Talking about herself to a group of people, some of whom she didn't know very well, was obviously very hard for her and Azula once again felt mad respect for the younger girl. It did help that they were all pretty full of liquid courage by this point. "I don't like touching, kissing, and I don't really care about sex. Yeah, and don't even think about making comments about how I can't dislike something I haven't tried, because I have. I just didn't care much for it, and it had nothing to do with Teo. I've never really enjoyed the feeling of another person touching me," Toph continued. "And I don't care if you think that there's something wrong with me. Think what you want, but if I ever get the feeling that you pity me, I'm going to break your legs."
"I don't think we have any right to judge you as long as you're both happy with a platonic relationship," Yue remarked.
"Well, it's not completely platonic, just… mostly," Toph corrected her. "But yeah, it works for us. Teo isn't really like other guys with one track mind," she was giving Jet an uncomfortably cold stare as she spoke.
"And how did your parents react to the news?" Mai asked. "I assume they know, because the marriage was intended to get them off your back, right?"
"Oh, I wish I would have been there in person for the conversation, but it was hilarious enough over the phone," Toph laughed. "Of course, my father was shocked and displeased, and he tried to persuade me to rectify this mistake. I simply told him that if he wasn't happy with what I was doing as the sole heir to the Beifong fortunes, he could always hop to it and make a new heir while mother is still at the child bearing age."
"Agni, that is an amazing and brutal comeback," Zuko remarked, looking impressed. Azula smiled at her brother, nodding in agreement.
"I don't think the same method would have worked for me, though," Azula said thoughtfully. "My father would have simply arranged for my spouse of convenience to meet with some untimely accident." Everyone around the table looked a bit uncomfortable at that. Azula almost regretted saying those words, but then Katara slipped a supportive hand in hers, and Azula no longer regretted anything.
"I think my father would have simply disowned me if I had done that," Yue shrugged. "I mean, that is what he always threatened me with, after all."
"I don't know, I think the idea has potential in my case," Mai seemed intrigued. "My parents don't have that kind of hold over me. Mostly they're just being annoying. Besides, Tom-Tom, my younger brother, is the apple of my parent's eyes, so I'm not exactly an heiress or anything."
"Does that mean you're now on prowl for a husband, Mai?" Azula laughed.
"I just love the idea of shocking my parents," Mai smirked. "Too bad there are no available guys here to choose from," she said, having glanced at Jet, Zuko and Sokka in turn.
"Well, there's Aang," Azula said, pointing at the Air Nation youth, busy slicing the large chocolate cake on the nearby kitchen countertop, oblivious to being talked about.
"Oh, he might do. Air Nation, you don't get any more scandalous than that," Mai laughed. Azula really had to wonder just how drunk her friend was to act this way. "Hey, Aang?" she called out to the Air Nation boy as he was carefully heading their way, carrying the chocolate cake. "Want to get married?" Mai asked in an entirely serious tone of voice, causing Aang to drop the cake.
"Oh no!" Katara cried. "Not the cake!"
"Mai, what the hell?" Azula laughed. In all honesty, she wasn't at all upset about the destruction of the cake. Azula had never had much of a sweet tooth, and she hadn't been looking forward to getting stuffed with disgustingly sweet overabundance of chocolate.
"I'm really sorry!" Aang looked upset as well. "But, uh, you can't ask me something like that while I'm carrying a chocolate cake. Of course, I was going to drop it."
"Don't worry about it, Aang, nobody is blaming you," Katara smiled at their friend before giving Mai a rather intense stare.
"You still haven't answered my question, though," Mai pointed out. The entire group was still gathered around the table, some enjoying the spectacle and some feeling sympathy towards Aang's embarrassment. Azula couldn't figure out whether Mai was just messing with Aang, since this wasn't really how Mai usually behaved. Then again, they were all pretty drunk by now.
"Uh, I'm sorry, but it would have to be a no," a very red-faced Aang managed, nervously tugging on his collar as if he was overheating.
"You should know that I don't take well to rejection," Mai glared at him.
"Umm, it's nothing personal, really. I mean, you're obviously stunning, but I just don't know you that well," Aang explained hastily. He had the look of a cornered rabbit, almost like he was hoping for the ground to open up and swallow him.
"That can be sorted. How well do you need to know me, anyway? Because I could be like an open book to you," Mai winked at him.
"Alright, bestie, I think you've tormented the poor guy enough," Ty Lee finally intervened, giggling drunkenly as she wrapped her arm around Mai's shoulders, pouring them both more wine. Aang used the moment to escape, not that Azula could blame him.
"Okay, I need to know if you were being serious just now," Azula asked, looking at Mai as the crowd around them slowly began to disperse again.
"I have no idea," Mai shrugged. "The idea of an Air Nation boyfriend simply amuses me too much, because I know that my father would absolutely lose his mind if he found out. Besides…" Mai looked behind her, winking at Aang as he was speaking with Suki and Zuko. "He's actually kind of cute."
"Right," Azula noted, rolling her eyes. She still didn't know what to make of it all, but she was more certain than before that Mai was simply messing about.
"If you end up hurting Aang in any way, you and I are going to have words, I promise," Katara warned with a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she stared down Mai.
"I promise to be good, Aang's mom," Mai chuckled in response. Azula snorted at that, earning herself a glare from her own girlfriend.
Further conversation was disrupted when Sokka began to mess around with the turntable, and the loud blasting of music announced the start of wild dancing. Suki quickly grabbed Jet and Sokka himself dragged a reluctant looking Zuko out on the living room floor which had been freed up for dancing. Katara gave Azula a hopeful stare, but Azula didn't feel in the mood for dancing, so she quickly grabbed Yue as she was passing by and pawned Katara off on the other Water Tribe girl. Katara didn't look too disappointed by this development. Aang was dancing with Toph to begin with, but Mai quickly intercepted the Air Nation boy and Toph actually looked relieved about getting out of the dancing duty. Ty Lee then tried to talk Azula into dancing, but following Azula's refusal, she had whined to Sokka and Zuko until they had taken pity on her, and now a slightly flustered looking Sokka was dancing with Ty Lee, while Zuko had retreated back into the kitchen, sitting down and observing his boyfriend and Ty Lee with a slightly conflicted look on his face.
"She's not trying to steal your boyfriend, you know," Azula commented, hoping that she had guessed Zuko's trail of thoughts correctly.
Zuko actually jumped at her words. They had dimmed lights in the kitchen and throughout the entire estate, so it seemed that Zuko hadn't actually noticed that he had sat down close to her. Azula wondered if Zuko would have still chosen to sit next to her if he had noticed that she was there. An annoying inner voice told Azula that the answer to that question was a resounding no. "Yeah, I know," Zuko shrugged. "She's a bit annoying though."
"Ty Lee is just a bit of a flirt, she doesn't mean any harm by it," Azula replied. She didn't like Zuko talking smack about her friend like that, although Azula had to admit that Ty Lee was getting slightly out of control. She had drunk too much way too quickly, while the rest of them had taken things more slowly.
"All I'm saying is that Yue better rein her in, but she seems more interested in dancing with your girlfriend," Zuko pointed out.
Azula briefly wondered if Zuko was trying to make her jealous as well. It wasn't going to work, of course. Zuko didn't know that Azula and Katara both loved Yue and that there was no jealousy going around between the three of them. "Oh yes, they're the hottest couple out on the dance floor, if you ask me," Azula replied, hoping to confound Zuko with the answer. Her brother remained silent though, observing the dancers. "Anyway, enough about that," Azula decided. "I heard that you accepted an invitation to the Gaoling Open next month."
"I might have, yes," Zuko said. "What about it?"
"I don't understand why you would," Azula said. "Do you want my advice?"
"Not particularly," Zuko shrugged. "But I suspect you'll dispense it anyway."
Azula felt really annoyed by now. She was actually trying to be helpful, but Zuko was simply being a dick. Maybe he was annoyed by Ty Lee stealing Sokka, and he was taking his annoyance out on her? Well, that was still a dick move. "I'm actually trying to be helpful, you idiot," she snapped irately.
"Alright, fine… I apologize," Zuko sighed. "Please, share your wisdom with me, little sister."
"I just don't understand why you are playing in so many tournaments at the very start of the new cycle, especially when you're off form," Azula shrugged. "You're going to ruin your rating beyond recovery. Just take a few months off, sort out your head, practice and get back into shape. Then come back in the summer and get some good results under your belt."
"Right," Zuko smirked. "You want me to go for it in the summer when you, Katara and Yue are going to hit the pro tour as well. No, thanks, I am not engaging in a reenactment of petty rivalry from our youth."
"But that wasn't-" Azula began, then cutting herself off. No, she wasn't being completely honest with herself or with Zuko. She had been having thoughts about upstaging Zuko and knocking him out of the qualifiers, even if they had been getting along better. The instinct of rivalry was still there, almost as strong as ever. Still, Azula believed that the advice she had given to Zuko was solid. "You know what, just do what you want, Zuko. I don't even care if you fail or not," she added, feeling annoyed.
"I know you don't care," Zuko said, nodding in agreement.
"Ugh, you guys and your drama," Toph piped up, startling the two Nakamura siblings who had forgotten about her sitting there at the table, next to them. "Even then, Zuko, you should realize that Azula just gave you good advice."
"I'm sure she did," Zuko snorted, getting up from the table. "Anyway, I'm going to pry my boyfriend back from Ty Lee's arms, and she better back off," he said decisively, stalking off.
"You two really are like small children, aren't you?" Toph chuckled once Zuko had taken off.
"What the hell did I say that was wrong now?" Azula snapped irately. She was starting to get into a bad mood. In the past, she would have dealt with it by taking her frustrations out on someone else, but being with Katara had made her far more aware of her unhealthy coping mechanisms. "Forget it, Toph," she said in a less confrontational tone of voice, getting up from her seat, having decided to go for a little walk in order to clear her head.
Azula didn't intend to go anywhere far, just a brief quarter of an hour walk around the residential district of the Upper Ring. Even though Katara had looked plenty distracted while happily dancing with Yue, Azula didn't want Katara to become worried if she were to disappear for a longer time without a warning. Just because Azula had reached an agreement with her father, it didn't mean that they could just forget about Ozai altogether. The threat was greatly reduced, but it was still something to keep in mind.
Azula spent most of her walk wondering just why she wasn't in a great mood. At first, Azula was keen on blaming Zuko for it, and she felt justified for feeling this way. Zuko had been really prickly when they had spoken just now, but then again, she knew why Zuko was annoyed, and she was fairly sure that he hadn't been annoyed with her. Azula supposed that it was just the larger group and the more intense socialization that was getting to her a bit. When it was just her, Katara and Yue, they were always on the same wavelength. Adding more and more people was fine up to a point, but after that, certain tensions seemed to emerge. Azula also couldn't help but notice that people who she thought she knew well, behaved slightly differently when interacting with larger groups of people. Azula was still having a hard time adjusting to all these different social situations with which she hadn't been confronted while growing up. It was tough going, but she felt that she was slowly getting better.
Returning to the estate, the first thing Azula saw after closing the gate behind her was Ty Lee and Jet smoking out on the porch. They were also standing quite close to one another. Azula was about to say something as she walked up to them, but then the estate doors opened and Yue emerged from the house. Ty Lee quickly took a step further away from Jet, but Yue didn't seem to be focusing on that, but instead on the cigarette butt Ty Lee had just tossed into the wet grass.
"Seriously, Ty, I thought the rules on smoking were clear," Yue frowned.
"Sorry, babe," Ty Lee looked apologetic. "I thought that only applied to smoking indoors." She noticed Azula walking up to them. "Did I get that wrong again, Azula?" Ty Lee asked her.
Azula felt like Ty Lee was dragging her into a conflict that wasn't necessarily about smoking, and she really didn't appreciate her friend doing that. Even if Azula still felt indebted to Ty Lee and struggled to deny her anything, she was firmly on Yue's side in this. But above all, she simply didn't want to take sides. "Well, that's technically true," she admitted. "Some of the smell is still getting inside, though." Azula truly hated the stench of tobacco. It reminded her so strongly of her father and Zhao chain smoking while tormenting her at the Pai Sho board.
"Exactly, and all the sheets reek of cigarettes, not to mention your breath," Yue added.
"I think they're ganging up on you, Ty Lee," Jet smirked.
"Yeah, I'm starting to feel that way, too," Ty Lee frowned. "Fine, sorry, I'll cut back. You know I normally don't smoke, I just thought that since we're having a party you would be chill about it, but apparently not."
"I kind of tempted her because I didn't want to be smoking out here on my own," Jet confessed. "Sorry about that."
"I'm pretty sure Ty Lee is an adult capable of making her own choices," Yue said sternly. "Although this evening is making me question that a little bit," she added before turning around and walking back inside.
"Meow," Jet snorted. "That girlfriend of yours is a bit too tightly wound up for her own good. Or as we used to say, she has a stick up her-"
"She really doesn't," Ty Lee cut him off quickly. "Maybe I've been a bit of a brat tonight. What do you think, Azula?"
"I don't want to get into this," Azula said, really not wanting to get involved.
"Oh, come on, I thought you of all people could at least give it to me straight," Ty Lee looked at her accusingly.
"Okay, fine," Azula shrugged, starting to get annoyed. "If Katara was getting so friendly and touchy with everyone at the party, I'd probably be pretty annoyed with her, too."
"Oh, is that really what it's about?" Ty Lee laughed. "Honestly, I couldn't imagine that Yue would mind me having some harmless fun after what she got up to with you and Ka-"
"Ty Lee! What the fuck? Watch what you're saying! Are you completely out of your mind?" Azula shouted at her, red faced when she noticed how curious and interested Jet suddenly appeared.
"Uh… right, sorry," Ty Lee appeared to have shrunken a couple of inches, looking embarrassed. "Ha-ha, I don't even know what I was talking about," she added, ignoring the way Jet was facing her with questions burning in his eyes. Ty Lee then quickly fled back inside the estate and Azula followed before Jet could say anything to her.
Azula simply couldn't believe that Ty Lee had come so close to blurting out about their wild escapades in Omashu. In a way, this probably shouldn't have come as a surprise to Azula, because Ty Lee often found it hard to remain discreet, especially when she got drunk. It made it harder to trust her with something deeply personal, and as a result, Azula just couldn't form as powerful and deep bond with her as she had formed with the two Water Tribe girls. And that just felt wrong and sad to Azula, because Ty Lee was not only her first girlfriend, but also her countrywoman. They were supposed to be close and share everything, but how could she when Ty Lee had as good as revealed something so embarrassing to Jet of all people!
Back inside the estate, some of their friends were still busy dancing. Zuko was dancing with Suki, which explained how Jet had been able to steal Ty Lee all to himself outside. Zuko probably would have preferred to dance with Sokka, but he still looked reasonably happy. He seemed to be getting along with Suki, which made sense because Suki had always treated him well and had written very positive articles about his burgeoning Pai Sho career. Next to them, Sokka was dancing with Toph, who actually seemed to be having a good time of it. Azula had always thought of Toph as a kindred spirit, in how she was always reluctant about getting dragged into things, but once she got involved, she actually ended up enjoying herself.
Azula could not see Ty Lee anywhere around the living room, but she spotted Katara and Yue doing some light tidying up around the place. Azula could not help but notice that Katara had a concerned look on her face, so she decided to approach her girlfriend. "What's the matter, Kat?" she asked softly.
"I'm sure it's nothing, but I can't find Aang," Katara replied.
"Probably a silly question, but have you checked his room?" Azula asked. Katara nodded. Azula looked around the place one more time. "Well, I can't spot Mai either. They must have slipped out together at some point," she said, disturbed by how weird those words sounded to her.
Katara frowned. "You know how protective I am of my friends, especially someone as young and inexperienced as Aang," her girlfriend said. "I don't know Mai that well, but she is older and she can be quite cynical and aloof. I'm worried that she might not care whether she hurts Aang or not."
"I'll be honest, Kat, I am not entirely sure what Mai is up to here, but just toying with people and tossing them aside isn't really Mai's modus operandi," Azula replied. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? Aang gets to spend time with an older, gorgeous and more experienced girl. What exactly are you trying to protect him from, again?"
Katara spent a moment deliberating Azula's question. "Umm… you just made me feel really silly, Zula," Katara admitted, blushing a little. "The only answer I can come up with is that I'm trying to protect him from falling in love, and that's so stupid that it made me wince. Alright, fine, I won't worry about that anymore," Katara smiled.
"That's good, because I think I'm finally ready to dance with you," Azula grinned and they went over to join the others. A while later Jet returned to the estate and talked Yue into dancing with him, but then he was intercepted by Suki, leaving Yue to Zuko. "Have you seen where Ty Lee went?" Azula asked as she and Katara danced very close, faces nearly pressed together.
"She came back in and went straight upstairs," Katara replied. "She looked a bit angry. What's going on?"
"Oh, she looked angry? I think we're the ones entitled to feel angry," Azula frowned. Katara looked at her questioningly. "She almost disclosed the truth about what happened in Omashu in front of Jet."
"What?" Katara exclaimed, for a moment forgetting to move and forcing Azula to tug on her elbow to get her moving again. "Why would she do something like that?" Azula shrugged at the question. "I'm wondering," Katara said, looking thoughtful. "And I don't want to make you feel bad or anything, I know you didn't mean anything by what you said last night. We were all a bit drunk."
"Uh, what did I say last night?" Azula blinked. She was not aware of having said any stupid shit the night before.
"Look, we all simply laughed it off at the time, but maybe Ty Lee took it differently and it made her anxious and upset," Katara replied.
"Katara, I literally don't remember what I said, okay?" Azula repeated her question, still feeling confused.
"Oh," Katara blinked. "Well, we were talking about the upcoming U21 finals on Kyoshi Island, and you said that if we happened to share the first place again, we'd have to celebrate it with another threesome. Ty Lee also laughed when you said that, but maybe she actually found it less funny than she let on."
"Uh, why did I say something like that, anyway?" Azula wondered. She hated how even after so much time had passed, she could still be so annoyingly awkward.
"I mean," Katara began, blushing heatedly. "I would never say this within Ty Lee's earshot, but I can totally understand wanting a repeat performance." They both stole glances at Yue, dancing nearby with Zuko, their blushes intensifying.
"No kidding," Azula muttered quietly as they continued to dance. Shortly after, Toph had finally had enough and she excused herself. Yue saw the opportunity to pass Zuko over to Sokka, which was what they had both wanted all along. Azula and Katara continued to dance for a while, but eventually, Azula's feet started to feel a little uncomfortable and she called for a stop. Jet and Suki then took their leave, giving Toph a lift back to her apartment, while Zuko had disappeared together with Sokka, probably doing things in Sokka's room that Azula really tried her best to avoid imagining. There were still no signs of Mai or Aang, but even Katara wasn't going to insist that they stay up and wait for them to return. Katara looked pretty tired, and Azula could understand that, together with Yue they had done the lion's share of party preparations. Azula knew that her girlfriend needed to get some rest.
As they arrived at the top of the stairs, they ran into Yue as she was leaving Ty Lee's room, which was also the room she had been sleeping in as of late. Yue looked more than a little upset as she was about to enter her own rarely used bedroom. "Is everything alright, Yue?" Katara asked. Azula thought it painfully obvious that everything was not alright, but she supposed that it was just one of those conversation starters.
Yue looked up at them both and sighed. "I just hate fighting," she said.
"Want to talk about it?" Katara asked. Yue hesitated, glancing towards the doors to Ty Lee's room.
Azula was perceptive enough to understand the meaning of the gesture. She took Yue by the hand and pulled the Water Tribe girl towards the bedroom she was sharing with Katara. "Come on in, Yue," she said gently. Yue followed her and Katara came in after them, closing the doors.
"Did Ty tell you why she's been so petulant the entire evening?" Katara asked straight away.
"I'm not sure she even knows," Yue shrugged. "I was already upset about the flirting and the smoking, but then she also mentioned that she had as good as told Jet about Omashu? I really lost my patience with her then and there, and… well, I think I was in the right, but I already feel bad about fighting."
"At least Ty Lee doesn't hold grudges," Azula tried to be encouraging. "She'll be happy to make up tomorrow, I'm sure."
"Probably, but will I be happy to make up?" Yue sighed, looking deeply conflicted. "I suspect there's something more deeply rooted here."
"I still think this all goes back to what happened in Omashu," Katara said. "This is what I was afraid would happen, someone getting hurt by what we did."
"All three of us are fine with what happened," Azula replied. She didn't particularly like Katara linking it back to that amazing night in Omashu. Azula wanted to remember it as something special and amazing, not as something that had created problems. "Besides, Ty Lee gave us her permission, so she can't really complain."
"I'm not sure that when Ty Lee made that decision, she truly understood the consequences of what she was agreeing to," Katara sighed.
"Maybe you're right, but should that be considered our fault?" Yue argued. "I think we've been perfectly transparent with how we feel about each other, and Ty Lee has always been fine with it, but now she's suddenly acting like she's jealous. I haven't done anything since Omashu to make her feel like I want to be with someone else instead of her."
"Kat, I also think that when you say that Ty Lee didn't understand what she was agreeing to, you're just saying that she lacks emotional maturity," Azula said, deciding to take Yue's side, even if she never liked going against Katara. "It also means that you hold yourself to a higher standard, because you expect yourself to act with this emotional maturity, while at the same time you don't expect that of Ty Lee? I think you're being unfair to both yourself and to Ty Lee."
Katara frowned, but it seemed like she was unable to find any arguments. "Kat, I'm going to try my best to fix this rift with Ty, I promise," Yue said softly. "But you also have to accept that most relationships have expiry dates. Maybe it's coming up for me and Ty. I hope not, but if we're just fighting and making each other miserable, then perhaps it's time to move on."
"I just don't want to feel guilty about possibly having contributed to your breakup," Katara muttered, looking unhappy.
"There's no way you could possibly be blamed for it, seriously," Yue looked a little exasperated. "Once again you're taking responsibility for something that's not your fault in the slightest."
"She does that all the time," Azula added with a sigh.
"Maybe I'm just overcompensating for you two not being responsible enough," Katara stuck her tongue out at the two other girls. "Seriously, though, I hope that you can fix this with Ty Lee. I hate seeing you two argue." Azula nodded in agreement at that.
"Don't worry, we're going to sort it out first thing tomorrow," Yue smiled. "Anyway, thank you both for support, I really needed this talk," she added, the three of them sharing a tight group hug before Yue left the room.
"It's just too bad that things had to end on a sour note," Katara sighed, sitting down on the bed, Azula perching next to her.
"Well, despite that, I think it was a very successful and enjoyable party," Azula smiled at her girlfriend. "And we can always make sure it ends on a more positive note," she leaned in for a kiss.
"So very tempting," Katara sighed as they eventually parted. "And I do feel a bit horny… but I also feel really exhausted."
"Cuddling is fine too," Azula said. "And who knows, maybe you'll still feel a bit horny come the morning…" Katara laughed out loud and then they were kissing again. As far as Azula was concerned, it was still a hugely satisfying conclusion to an eventful day.
Next chapter: Spring is here and that means taking part in the U21 finals for our three heroines. Let's see how memorable their last appearance at junior level will be.