Chapter 102
Despite having patched things up in the aftermath of her big lie coming out, three months later Azula still didn't feel as if they had managed to return all the way back to how things had stood prior to the incident of her making. Then again, things hadn't been the same even before the lie had come out. Everything had started to spiral downwards when her father had cheated his way to the title of world champion, delivering a cruel blow to Katara from which she had only just recovered, but since she had lost her passion for Pai Sho in the process, Azula was unwilling to see it as a full recovery.
Azula had returned from her tournament in Omashu less than a week ago. She had played better than in the first two outings of this championship cycle, placing third behind Bumi and Long Feng. Azula still didn't feel like she was at her best, and that was an unpleasant surprise because she had been practicing harder than ever before in her life over the past few months. And Azula was starting to suspect where the problem lay. Katara was holding firm on her promise to abstain from being involved in anything Pai Sho related from now on. And while Yue had gone with her to Omashu and had been a great help to Azula, Katara's absence from their prep sessions during the tournament had been keenly felt.
Of course, it wasn't as if Yue hadn't been mad at Azula back in April. Yue had been just as hurt and upset as Katara, even if her rebuke of Azula's transgressions had been more tempered. At least Yue still had some of her passion for Pai Sho left, and she didn't want to join Katara in this complete boycott of Pai Sho related activities, which would have really thrown Azula's preparations under the bus. So, Yue had yet again tried to find the middle ground, making sure that Azula knew that what she had done was completely unacceptable, but continuing to support her Pai Sho endeavors. Yue's help had proved incredibly helpful in Omashu, but things just hadn't felt quite the same without Katara there. They had both missed their girlfriend not only for her Pai Sho input, but also on deeply personal and intimate levels.
The situation as it currently stood was starting to get to Azula quite a bit. The three of them still loved each other and made sure to reaffirm their feelings on regular occasions, but with Katara cutting off the ties that had bound them through their shared love for Pai Sho it still felt as if things had changed. For one, Azula now spent far more time together with Yue than both of them did with Katara, and both Azula and Yue were freaking out about Katara possibly feeling neglected and starting to slip away from them both, even if Katara was adamant that her feelings for her girlfriends hadn't changed. Everything suddenly felt so tense and after years of relative calm, Azula's insecurities were starting to spike yet again. Azula hated her father for having caused this issue in the first place, but she also reserved a heavy dose of self-loathing for herself, because she had magnified the issue through her lies. And the worst part was that both Azula and Yue had no ideas how to solve this issue. Yue had cautiously tried to encourage Katara to do some practice with them again, but Katara had flatly refused.
And it didn't help that Azula felt like she was now asking so much more of Yue alone. April and May had been insane for the white-haired girl. She had been busy with her teacher's practice, catching up with her theory coursework, and practicing Pai Sho with Azula. Yue had rarely slept for more than three to four hours a day, eventually starting to suffer from sleep deprivation. Even worse, she had developed some kind of eating disorder largely because they were always skipping meals while practicing Pai Sho. Katara had dragged Yue to see a dietician she had come to know through her studies and work at the hospital. Yue was then put on a strict schedule of regular meals and both Katara and Azula made sure that she stuck to it. Katara took it upon herself to break up their Pai Sho practice to make sure that they both ate regularly, and Yue had soon begun to show signs of recovery. After such intense couple of months, Yue probably should have taken some time off to simply relax, but since Azula had signed up to an intense tournament schedule over the summer months, Yue had insisted that she would accompany Azula to each and every of her tournaments, and the toll it took on Yue was making Azula feel very guilty, as if she was exploiting her girlfriend.
At least Katara didn't appear unhappy in her life that was now free from Pai Sho. She had really embraced her stay at the hospital, enjoying all the attachments to various specialists as she rounded out her skill set and obtained a more informed viewpoint when it came to choosing her own specialization. The hospital had even offered Katara a temp job over the summer months as a lab assistant, helping with blood work, as some of the regular staff went on their summer vacations. Katara had agreed without much deliberation, which had further reinforced her intent to stay away from anything Pai Sho related.
Azula and Yue had been home for only five days, but in a little more than a week, they would be departing for the next tournament, this one held on Kyoshi Island. Katara would not be accompanying them, and both Azula and Yue were really down about how little time they had lately been getting with their girlfriend. At least they made sure to really dote on Katara while they were back in Ba Sing Se, and they were enjoying a lot of good times together, creating many happy memories, but the thought that Katara was no longer helping them with Pai Sho sat on Azula's mind like a dark cloud.
It was during these two weeks when Azula was back in Ba Sing Se, a certain event occurred that demanded her presence, and also that of Yue and Katara by proxy. Ikem had proposed to Ursa back in March, and her mother had accepted the proposal. It was now the last Saturday of June and the official part of the wedding had just been completed, held on the theatre stage while using the props from the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet. It had been a very touching moment, and it had really appealed to Azula's secret appreciation of over the top romantic theatre drama moments. Azula had only one single reason for bitterness throughout the ceremony, and it was the knowledge that she would probably never experience something like this herself, seriously doubting whether she would be allowed to legally marry another woman during her lifetime. And the fact that Azula wanted to have two wives made everything so much more complicated.
"Your mother looks so beautiful," Katara whispered in her ear as they stood by the stage, looking on as the gathered guests began to mingle and enjoy the more relaxed wedding party. "This is basically telling me that both my girlfriends will remain smoking hot even as we turn into eccentric old ladies," she added with a giggle.
For a moment, Azula experienced an indescribable feeling of relief and happiness that Katara still felt like she wanted to grow old with both her and Yue, and that she wanted this to last forever. It didn't take Azula too long to convince herself that she was probably going to somehow mess it all up, though. "Are you sure you want to stick with me for that long?" she asked, trying to make it sound as if she was making a joke.
"I'm absolutely positive," Katara smiled at her. "I don't think that we have given each other any reasons to reconsider."
Azula felt color draining from her cheeks. "Really, because I thought I had done that already," she said, shifting uncomfortably.
"That was one mistake, Azula," Katara said. "I have let go of it, seriously. I'm not holding onto anything, I promise. How could I, when we did something similar to you and you forgave us?"
"It doesn't feel like you've forgiven me when you won't practice Pai Sho with us, Kat," Azula said quietly.
There was a conflicted look on Katara's face at those words. "I can't help it, Azula. I can't force myself to do something my heart is not in any longer. And I shouldn't force myself, it's not healthy." She let out a heavy sigh, leaning in and softly kissing Azula on the lips. "I still love you so much, Pai Sho or not. I really hope that can be enough." Katara then quickly glanced around, looking like she was desperate for a topic change. "I'm going to get myself a drink, do you want anything?" she asked.
"It's a wedding, champagne is a must," Azula replied, desperately trying to keep it together when Katara turned to leave. Azula was still biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to keep herself from tearing up as Yue came to stand by her side. "Did you hear all of that?" Azula eventually asked.
"Most of it, anyway," Yue nodded. "She's not caving in, is she?" Azula shook her head. "Well, that's Katara for you, stubborn to the last. I guess we have to accept that she's not coming back to Pai Sho and we'll have to somehow work around that."
"Let me now when you've thought of how to do that," Azula sighed. Yue let out a bitter chortle at that as they continued to stand by the stage, watching as it was now being transformed to perform live music for the wedding guests. Azula noticed someone waving at her from across the stage and she instinctively raised her hand to wave back even if she wasn't sure if she recognized who the person waving at her was.
"Who is that strange looking girl?" Yue wondered as well.
"Wait a moment," Azula snapped her fingers in realization. She had been introduced to Ikem's daughter from his first marriage back in April. Kiyi was a bit of a wild spirit and a part of the emerging punk rock movement that was sweeping across the Earth Kingdom. Kiyi had a punk rock band of her own already at the tender age of seventeen, and even if Azula thought that this punk rock was only good for making people's ears bleed, she did like one of the songs by Kiyi's band, but it was mostly because she could imagine how frustrated the Dai Li were by this song called 'Anarchy in Ba Sing Se'.
"Oh my, is that your step sister?" Yue also finally guessed the identity of the younger girl, having been there for one of the meetings with Kiyi. It was no wonder that they could hardly recognize the girl now. When Azula and her girlfriends had run into Kiyi last, she had been wearing torn up clothing, her hair had been styled in frightening spikes making her resemble a stegosaurus, and she had been wearing so much makeup that it would have been fairer to characterize it as full-blown face paint. She was currently dressed far more reasonably for the happy occasion, wearing a lovely white dress, but still, her long dark hair had stripes of white, the amount of dark mascara around her eyes seemed a little excessive, and she was still wearing her heavy Doc Martens under the exquisite evening gown.
"Yes, that's Kiyi," Azula smiled now, waving at her step sister again, giving Kiyi thumbs up. Kiyi responded with a broad grin. "I think she's getting ready to sing for the guests."
"Not some of her punk songs, I hope?" Yue winced.
"Hah, no… definitely not, some more conventional wedding repertoire this time," Azula laughed. "She actually has a great voice, when she's not screaming out the lyrics, so I think we're in for a treat." Azula didn't know Kiyi that well yet, but it seemed that Kiyi was already determined to become good friends with both her and Zuko, and Azula didn't mind that at all. Having discovered that both Azula and Zuko were in gay relationships, Kiyi had decided that they were both incredibly cool and worth getting to know. Kiyi loved everything that challenged establishment and defied accepted societal norms, which made sense since she had been raised by a single parent, an avant-garde actor who didn't exactly held authority in high regard. It was easy to see that Kiyi hadn't known much discipline while growing up, the opposite to Azula's upbringing with Ozai.
As Azula and Yue were milling about near the stage, waiting for the band to set up their instruments, Katara returned with three champagne flutes for them all. She was followed by the happy looking groom and bride, her mother and Ikem looking radiant and full of nervous excitement. "Are you girls having a good time?" Ikem asked, looking at Azula in particular.
"Oh yes, we're doing marvelously well," Azula replied as she took a sip from her champagne flute and smiled back at her supposed stepfather – although Azula had made it perfectly clear that under no circumstances she would ever recognize Ikem as a father figure. It hadn't been intended as an insult, and Azula hoped that it hadn't been taken that way, because she had come to genuinely like Ikem. He was simply a through and through nice guy who made her mother happy and was good for her. Perhaps he wasn't the most driven man in the world, but he did take his acting very seriously, even if he was very chill and laid back in every other way. But judging people solely on their drive and competitiveness was something that Azula no longer did. Ozai had fostered her intensity and Azula knew that she would always remain like that, unable to do anything by half-measures, but she had learned to appreciate people who knew how to take their feet off the gas, and Azula had even come to envy people who clearly knew how to relax better than she did.
"I'm so happy you could all make it," Ursa smiled at the girls. "I hope you're going to stay for the rest of the party. I've been told that Kiyi is going to bring down the roof." She added, waving at Kiyi, looking on at them from the stage. Kiyi responded with a facial expression that could at best be described as a half-smile. Kiyi hadn't taken well to Ursa to begin with, especially when she had learned about Ursa's mental health problems. Things had really escalated when she had yelled at her father about forgetting the ages old advice not to stick his dick in crazy before running out of the apartment and then dropping off the grid for a couple of days. Meeting Azula and Zuko had actually helped Kiyi in accepting Ursa in her life. Kiyi had essentially decided that because Azula and Zuko were so cool, their mother couldn't be all bad, and as a result she had become a lot more accepting towards her father's relationship with Ursa.
"Of course, we're going to stay, Mrs. Noren," Katara replied, grinning as she used Ursa's newly adopted last name. It hadn't been a very hard decision for Ursa to give up the last name of her abusive ex-husband. Azula and Zuko had even discussed possibly doing the same, simply to disassociate with their father, but Azula had in the end decided against it. It seemed like a dishonest thing to do. Azula much preferred if people knew where she had come from, because then they would immediately have a better understanding of the journey she had made. As for Zuko, he had rejected the idea after Azula had pointed out that if he ended up changing his last name, Zuko would also be disrespecting his uncle. Zuko hadn't brought the idea up since then.
"Don't you dare Mrs. Noren me, Katara, you know that it will always remain Ursa for you girls," Ursa laughed back at Katara. With everyone seemingly being in such high spirits, Azula really hated feeling like she couldn't fully share in the happiness just because of the turmoil going on in her personal affairs.
"Well, I thought it was a lovely ceremony, Ursa," Yue said. "You're both looking very fetching on this special day. And don't you worry about us. We're going to have a great time at the party."
"That's good to hear, because I think Kiyi is just about ready to regale us with her voice," Ikem smiled, waving at his daughter. Kiyi waved back, though she didn't look hugely excited. Azula privately doubted whether Kiyi was truly looking forward to the repertoire of traditional wedding songs, something that was as far as possible from the music she was making with her band.
"Oh, and there come the boys," Ursa said, standing a little aside to reveal Zuko, Sokka and Iroh approaching them, dressed sharply in black tuxedos, although Iroh's gut was really hanging out as he walked - or waddled, to be more precise - towards them. Also, Azula had never been a fan of bow-ties, finding them quite ridiculous. What was wrong with a proper tie, anyway?
The band finally began to play during this new round of pleasantry exchange regarding the lovely ceremony. At some point, the main lights were turned off and the stage lights were switched on, leaving the group standing in the dark. Ursa and Ikem soon returned backstage where the main feast was being served, leaving the stage for the band playing live music and those who wished to dance to it. Azula hadn't actually managed to exchange more than a few words with Zuko ever since he had returned from his tournament on Ember Island, and she was eager to find out more details about the event. She didn't want to drown Katara in more Pai Sho talk, however, so she was quite relieved when Yue and Katara made their way onto the stage to join a few other couples eager to dance.
Seeing that Zuko and Sokka were about to join the dancers, Azula actually stood in their path to the stage, effectively blocking them off. "I wanted to know more about your tournament," she said simply upon Zuko and Sokka both giving her slightly perplexed stares. "You can dance all you want later, it's not like I plan to detain you for hours or anything," she sighed.
"Bossing your brother around again?" Sokka asked, playfully shaking his head.
"There's not much to tell," Zuko shrugged. "I guess I was just a bit rusty. I feel like I should have done better, but coming third behind Piandao and Aang, well, there's no shame in that."
"No, I suppose not," Azula nodded. "I guess what I really wanted to ask was about the presence of our father. Did that throw you off in any way?" Ozai hadn't taken part in the tournament himself, but he had been present for some of the publicity events surrounding the tournament to further promote the professional Pai Sho tour. It hadn't escaped Azula's notice that Zuko's worst results had come on the days when Ozai had been in attendance.
Zuko frowned at the question. "I don't know… I don't think so?" he shrugged. "I mean, you can look at my games from those days when father was there and tell me if it seems that I wasn't at my best. I don't think that losing to either Aang or Piandao is that surprising."
"No, I suppose not," Azula admitted. She had actually looked at said games already. It wasn't that Zuko had been playing terribly, but he hadn't been at his sharpest either. There had been a tinge of timidity and indecisiveness weaved into his move selection in the games played on the days when Ozai had been in attendance and that worried Azula. What if this crazy mentally torturous boot camp with "Guru" Pathik wasn't at all helpful and she had sabotaged her relationships with Yue and Katara for nothing, only to find out that she was mentally in a worse place than before? Azula supposed that she would have her answers soon. The Caldera City tournament when she would finally face Ozai was coming up soon, in mid-August.
"What about your own tournament?" Zuko asked her. "It's not like you did so hot yourself. I mean, third place isn't so bad, I suppose."
"Considering the break I took from active play, I'm quite happy," Azula lied. The result on its own may have been acceptable, but her level of play, and just her general state of mind was not where she wanted it to be. Azula had to believe that moving forward her results would improve. Perhaps she would eventually become accustomed working with Yue alone, without Katara, not that it was something Azula wanted to get used to.
"Alright, Azula, whatever you say," Zuko shrugged, looking like he didn't quite believe her. "Can Sokka and I go dancing now?" he asked. Azula stepped aside, letting them make their way onto the stage. Of course, Azula wasn't going to pour her heart out to Zuko about her relationship difficulties. She couldn't help but feel as if her brother knew that not everything was well, and Azula was quite certain that she knew just how he had obtained this knowledge. Even if she and Zuko didn't really talk about their private lives all that much, Katara and Sokka had an entirely different relationship, often over sharing as far as Azula was concerned. Katara had probably let something slip about how not everything was fully settled between them.
As Azula stood there by the stage, watching Yue and Katara slow-dance to one romantic ballad after another, Katara resting her head on Yue's shoulder, Azula began to feel like she was slipping back into that old, poisonous way of thinking about how Yue and Katara would have always been better on their own, without the epic fuck-up that she was. For a good while Azula had been so happy, and she had truly come to believe that she had actually learned how to maintain a working relationship. But then she had unsurprisingly gone and done something incredibly stupid, jeopardizing her own mental health all just to increase her chances of defeating her father at the Pai Sho board. When summarized so succinctly, it really sounded like the most boneheaded decision she had ever made, and it was no wonder that Yue and Katara had been so outraged. Yue had recently told Azula that her biggest problem was that no matter how much she and Katara showered her with love, Azula hadn't really learned how to love herself, truly love herself past all the arrogant and empty posturing about being the greatest at everything.
"It should be a very happy occasion, shouldn't it?" Azula was startled by Iroh's voice nearby, spilling a bit of champagne. Azula had been so overtaken by her own dark thoughts that she had completely missed him walking up to her. "You don't look very happy, niece," he remarked with annoying astuteness. Azula's instinctive response was to feel irritated by the remark. In a way, she really hated how being emotionally more open and comfortable because of her relationship with Katara and Yue had also made it far harder for her to conceal her true feelings and emotions, something that she had been so adept at during her teen years. More and more people were learning how to read her like an open book, and there was a large part of her that still couldn't stand it.
"I'm perfectly happy, uncle, you're imagining things," she replied stiffly, already knowing that she wasn't going to fool Iroh.
"I see," Iroh nodded thoughtfully. "Well, so be it. You know how I was very much against Zuko continuing his training with my friend the Guru, when we went there a few years ago and I saw what it was doing to your brother. To find out that you had sought out my friend all by yourselves, without telling me…"
"I hope you weren't too angry with Zuko, I kind of bullied him into doing it," Azula uttered hastily. She knew how much Zuko valued the support of his uncle, far more than she did these days. Azula was more than willing to make herself the target of Iroh's ire if necessary.
"You don't have to try and cover for Zuko, he's a young man soon to turn twenty-five and he can accept responsibility just fine on his own," Iroh smiled at her. "And I'm not angry at either of you. I'm just worried, Azula. Worried about how much you both seem to want this, but you in particular. That you'd be willing to put yourself through literal torture to achieve your goals… it concerns me deeply."
"I assure you, uncle, whatever is happening right now has nothing to do with Pathik's boot camp," Azula sighed. This obviously wasn't true, but Azula had a feeling that Iroh's words were aimed more at her general mental wellness, not because he was aware of any strains in Azula's relationship with her Water Tribe loves.
"I want to trust you, Azula, but I also have to warn you," Iroh said thoughtfully. Azula could tell that he was trying his best not to sound insufferably preachy, and just about succeeding. "You're getting older, and you'll be twenty-three in a few months. You have to start thinking about the long-term plans in your life. Doing something so dangerous and ill-advised for what seems like a deeply reactionary short-term goal, it's… inadvisable. Let's say that you make it into the finals and defeat your father, which seems to be your strongest motivation. Have you put any thought about what you're going to do after that?"
"Party hard for a few months?" Azula snapped, feeling mildly irritated at Iroh's questioning.
"Don't give me that, niece, glibness doesn't suit you," Iroh frowned at her. "You know what I meant."
Azula did know what Iroh had meant, but truth be told, she didn't have a good answer to the question. She had no idea what she would do if she actually managed to overthrow her father to claim the world title a year from now. Azula supposed that she would bask in the glory, but she already knew that it would soon lose its appeal. She'd have to keep her skills sharp at all times to be able to defend her title two years later, so it would be back to the grind of constant practice. Also, the title of a world champion came with plenty of responsibilities, such as being the face of the professional tour and making plenty of public appearances and working towards promoting the Pai Sho circuit. It would be a lot of hard work, and she would need Yue and Katara at her side, but… Katara had already given up on Pai Sho, and Azula often caught herself thinking that Yue's motivation to persist with the game was wavering as well. Her eyes were lighting up far more intensely when she spoke about her teacher's practice at Madame Macmu-Ling's academy than when they discussed Pai Sho.
In fact, with Katara and Yue cooling on Pai Sho, Azula wasn't even sure how much they cared whether Azula succeeded in this quest of revenge against her father. More and more, Azula began to feel as if her motivations were inherently selfish, and she was the only one who actually cared about defeating Ozai… which further highlighted why Katara and Yue had been so upset about her going through with that mental toughness boot camp. Azula had risked so much for something Katara and Yue didn't even care that much about anymore. She really was quite the fool.
"I don't know, uncle. I don't know, okay?" after a long and thoughtful period of silence, she finally admitted with a sigh. "And I get what you're saying. It's time I started to think about it. And I agree… I really do."
"That's good to hear, Azula," Iroh smiled, giving her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You know, you've made me proud so many times since coming to Ba Sing Se. You've been an inspiration, the way you have reshaped your life. You're very intelligent, and far more sensitive than you would like the others to know." Azula tried to cut Iroh off with an angry exclamation to protest his statement, but Iroh waved her off. "I'm simply trying to tell you that even if I don't know what exactly you're going through right now, I have full confidence that you'll figure it out, but you have to remain open and honest with your girlfriends. Together, you can get through anything, I'm sure of it."
Azula let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Thank you, uncle," she said, feeling grateful. "I think I needed to hear that."
"Good," Iroh grinned at her, then giving her shoulder a light push. "Now scoot," he said, pointing at the stage. "Katara wants to dance with you."
"What?" Azula blinked, looking up at the stage. Indeed, Katara and Yue had parted, and she could see Katara waving at her insistently, beckoning Azula to get on the stage and join her. Azula didn't hesitate for a moment, all but running up on the stage and pulling Katara into her arms as they began to slowly move to Kiyi belting out yet another power ballad.
"It seemed like you were having a rather intense talk with Iroh," Katara spoke quietly as they moved, Katara's hands around Azula's shoulders, Azula holding Katara tightly around the waist. "Is everything good? He didn't upset you?"
Azula was immediately moved by Katara's concern. Even if it was a typical Katara reaction, Azula was sure she would never get enough of her girlfriend's softness and kindness. "He gave me a lot to think about, that's for sure," Azula replied. "I think it was a good talk."
"I'm glad to hear it," Katara sighed softly. "Zula, I really hate it when we… hmm, I don't even know how to say it, because it's not like we fight. It's just that you sometimes look so sad and depressed, even if I keep telling you that I no longer hold any grudges about the whole Pathik thing. I sometimes feel as if you don't trust me when I say that, but I really mean it, and I don't know how to make you believe that I do mean it."
"It's not… really about that," Azula replied uneasily. She hadn't expected that they would be getting into the heart of the matter right there and then, she had honestly thought that Katara simply wanted to dance and enjoy the physical closeness. But maybe this could help clear the air between them. Azula felt her chest bursting with fullness. Azula knew that she was quickly approaching the critical threshold past which keeping things to herself became too unbearable and she was overcome by this powerful urge to simply lay everything out there. Katara and Yue were so good at triggering this urge in her, in a way that nobody else could manage. "I've been thinking a lot about Ty Lee and the Kyoshi Island incident."
Katara suddenly stopped moving to the song, forcing Azula to come to a halt as well. Katara looked into Azula's eyes, appearing surprised. "I'm not sure I understand," Katara admitted.
"We had this falling out with Ty Lee because she felt as if Yue, and all of us, were excluding her from all of our activities, even though it really was just the Pai Sho," Azula tried her best to explain. "But it was simply such a big thing for the three of us. And now it's been me and Yue immersed in Pai Sho for months, while you have stepped aside. I'm just… freaking out that sooner or later you'll feel excluded and ignored as well."
"I see…" Katara said quietly. "I hadn't thought about it that way," she admitted, now also looking a little worried.
"Kat, I didn't mean to alarm you, I can assure you that I love you as much as at any point of our relationship, if not even more," Azula uttered hastily.
"I feel the same way, Zula, but… I think I get what you're saying," Katara said thoughtfully. "All I can say is that I don't feel excluded. I have literally replaced Pai Sho with my work at the hospital, so it's not like I'm hanging around the place, becoming bored and frustrated while you and Yue have all this time to yourselves. But I'll admit, I'm worried that the balance of time we get to spend with each other is changing, and I have no idea how that will affect us long term."
"That's what Iroh encouraged me to think about, the long term," Azula replied. "But I don't know what to do, Kat. How can we make this better? We need to figure out something…"
"And we will, just please don't worry, Zula," Katara whispered, pulling Azula in for the softest and most reassuring of kisses. Kiyi gave a few sharp whistles in the microphone at the sight of them making out on the stage. Once they parted, Katara lowered her head against Azula's chest as they slowly began to move to the tune again. "I have my hospital commitments for the rest of the summer, so I can't help you with the next two tournaments. And just now, I'm not quite ready for Pai Sho yet. But come the fall, I'm going to make an effort to start helping you with prep again. That's a promise."
Azula couldn't believe what she was hearing, barely resisting the urge to cry out with joy. "That would be amazing," she exclaimed, only then realizing something. "Wait… but I don't want you to do it if you really hate Pai Sho. I would feel so guilty for pushing you to do something you dislike so strongly."
"Azula, I don't have such strong feelings towards Pai Sho," Katara replied. "I was just… I don't know, I guess I was trying to move on to what I thought was a new chapter in my life. But maybe I was going about it in the wrong way. Maybe I don't have to cut Pai Sho off so completely."
"As long as you're sure, Kat," Azula spoke quietly.
Katara reached upwards to steal another kiss from her lips. "Oh, trust me, Zula… I'm more than sure."
Next chapter: It's August and we're off to Caldera City, where Azula and Zuko are facing off against Ozai. Let' see if their training with "Guru" Pathik has been of any use.