Chapter 38
4 Years and 8 Months after the Hundred Year War
Republic City
Katara crossed the threshold of their Republic City mansion, feeling tired and yet ultimately deeply satisfied after another long day's work at the city's general hospital. She stopped at the foyer to kick off her shoes and drop off her bag, before stepping further inside the mansion. There was a delicious aroma in the air, wafting towards her from the kitchen, accompanied by sounds generally associated with enthusiastic cooking.
With a smile on her lips, Katara stepped into the kitchen to witness a sight that tugged sharply on her heartstrings. Azula was such a commanding presence in the kitchen every time she decided to cook, which was not often enough for Katara's liking. Still, when Azula did decide to cook, Katara had learned to stay well out of her way, simply sitting by the side and refraining from offering any unsolicited advice. Judging by the results, it was an advice that Azula no longer needed. Months ago, when Azula had first decided that she wanted to master the kitchen, there had been some explosive disasters, but it had only motivated Azula to try harder, and by now the dishes she came up with were usually delicious.
"Zula, I'm home!" Katara called out to her, just on the chance that her girlfriend hadn't heard her entering. Azula always got lost in her own little world every time she was cooking.
The princess turned towards her, a smile blossoming on her lips. "Don't worry, I heard you." She looked absolutely adorable in her homewear, a simple short white top that left her midriff exposed, red pants and matching red sandals, her raven locks pulled back in a loose bun. Thin gold chain stretched around her midriff, a very recent gift from Katara, together with a matching pair of golden anklets. They somehow made Azula look even sexier, if such a thing was even possible. Inspired by the caption on the apron Azula was wearing, Katara happily did as she was instructed and proceeded to kiss the cook by generously smooching Azula's cheek before moving on to share a breathtaking open mouthed kiss.
"Did you get off early from work today?" Katara asked a moment later as she took a seat at the kitchen table, deciding to simply observe her girlfriend work, trying to guess what she was making. It seemed that Katara was in for a seafood evening, and it made her stomach growl with excitement, reminding her that she had barely eaten anything the entire day. From what she could observe, it looked as if the menu for tonight would consist of crab cakes, clam chowder and deep fried mussels. Republic City truly was a haven for any fan of seafood, and Katara was delighted that Azula shared her passion for it. Lately, the princess had also succeeded in weaning Katara on Fire Nation spices, at least in moderate amounts.
"Yes, we were getting nowhere and decided to call for a recess," Azula nodded as she kept working on the dishes, never losing her concentration.
"What was it this time?" Katara asked.
"Oh, you're going to love this," Azula snickered. "Aang and Sokka got into a big row about naming the new district. Neither of them wanted to give in. Apparently, there had once been an Air Nomad shrine where we're putting the new housing development, so Aang really wanted the district name to honor that, but you know what your brother is like, Kat... he just has to come up with a dorky name for everything, and then he sulks and throws a fit when the others don't like it."
"Tell me about it," Katara rolled her eyes. "So, I don't suppose you have played any role in stoking the flames between those two blockheads?"
"Would I do anything like that?" Azula gave her the widest grin of the fakest innocence. "Well, one of my aides might have told me the history about this Air Nomad shrine, and I may have leaked it to the Avatar... while at the same promising Sokka to vote for his proposal."
"I'm sure you promised him your vote in exchange for something," Katara sighed.
"Well, for starters, I got to swap seats with your brother, so that he is now sitting downwind from Aang, which is a win for me," Azula chuckled. "But he already owes me about a dozen unspecified favors anyway. Well, so does everyone on the council, really..."
"You're incorrigible, Zula," Katara laughed, giving her girlfriend a loving stare. Azula had embraced her role of the Fire Nation councilwoman with a great deal of passion and zeal. Politics were in Azula's blood and it took very little time for it to show as Azula ran circles around the other councilmen and played them against each other in a four dimensional game of Pai Sho. The intricate webs that Azula wove meant that the others hardly ever stood a chance, and the Fire Nation usually got a favorable outcome. Katara loved her brother, and she tried to maintain a friendship with Aang, but those two simply were not politicians, and Azula was playing with them all the way. Still, as long as Azula did not do it in a malicious way to hurt anyone or usurp power, Katara saw little harm in letting the princess play out these little schemes of hers. After all, protecting Zuko's interests was Azula's job, and she was being absolutely brilliant at it.
"But you love me for it," Azula winked at her. "Anyway, how was your day, Kat?" she asked before returning her attention to cooking.
"Good, pretty good," Katara replied. "Though I wish the amount of injuries people sustain every day would start to go down," she added with a sigh. Republic City was still undergoing a rapid expansion and there were multiple building projects active around the growing city. Most of Katara's patients in the waterbending ward came from these building sites, people simply getting careless and ignoring any kind of work safety, something she was lobbying for ceaselessly to the city council. Fortunately, with Azula backing her, a legislation was about to be passed any day now.
"Had any bad ones?" Azula asked.
"Yes, we had to give one man over to the surgeons," Katara sighed. "Some of these earthbenders they have working on the housing project are way too inexperienced for the tasks they are assigned, it's absolutely irresponsible! That poor man's leg was crushed so bad that we had no chance... it had to be amputated."
"Ugh, that's nasty," Azula winced. "I'll throw that before the council tomorrow morning. But our Earth Kingdom friend will probably whine about important earthbender jobs and all that rot. I'll find a way to deal with him, just leave it to me."
"Thank you, Zula," Katara smiled. "It's great to have an ally on the council. I just hope that nobody will accuse you of being biased."
"What, biased just because I'm sleeping with you? That's ridiculous," Azula laughed. "Anyway, they wouldn't dare. They haven't dared to bring it up until now." With Azula's help, Katara had already managed to successfully lobby for several pieces of legislation, mostly regarding medical matters, starting with the basic requirement to needing a medical license in order to practice the craft in this newly formed nation. While her proposals probably would have gone through if she had brought them to Aang or Sokka, Katara was delighted about these opportunities to work together with her beloved. Since her initiatives always held popular support, she was very glad that by putting Azula behind them she could help bolster Azula's image among the population, something that had been a problem during their first few months at the city, but now seemed like a thing of the past.
"So, is it done yet?" Katara asked, sounding a little impatient as her stomach began to growl louder and louder. The delicious aroma coming from the stove did not help either. "It looks ready to me," she added hopefully.
"Nearly done," Azula nodded at her. "You want to set up the table?"
"Alright... hmm, this looks rather fancy, let's eat in the dining hall instead of the kitchen," Katara mused thoughtfully. "Also, how about some wine?"
"I insist," Azula nodded with certainty.
"Great... but I'm going to need your help," Katara looked at Azula pleadingly. "You know I'm terrible at remembering which wine goes well with what..."
Azula let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. "Just grab any of the Gaoling whites, they'll do fine," she said, no doubt lamenting Katara's lack of high society aptitude.
"Right, I'll go set up the table then," Katara nodded as she left the kitchen.
Some ten minutes later, they were sitting down at the corner of the large table in the enormous dinner hall of the mansion, capable of easily accommodating fifty people. Having been brought up in conditions where privacy was a rare commodity, Katara often felt a little guilty that the two of them had so much free space which they could rarely put to good use. Then again, when you were best friends with the Fire Lord, and were dating his beautiful sister, perhaps some excesses were to be expected and accepted.
For the next while they ate in silence that was occasionally interrupted by Katara's gushing compliments in appreciation of Azula's cooking. The mussels were so crispy they were to die for, the clam chowder was buttery smooth, and with the right amount of spices that warmed her up pleasantly without burning her tongue, and the crab cakes packed so much flavor that they felt almost like an orgasm in her mouth.
"Shall we polish this off?" Azula asked, pointing at the half-full bottle of wine after they had emptied all the dishes clean out. "Or... did you want us to go out later?"
"Let's just drink it, I was hoping for a quiet stay at home evening with you," Katara smiled at her beloved. Of course, what she had said wasn't exactly true. She was hoping for an evening with Azula, but she didn't want it to be a quiet one. No, she wanted to go down so hard on her girlfriend that her cries of pleasure would have the neighbors calling for the new metalbending police force.
"That suits me just fine, I wasn't really in the mood for going out anyway," Azula nodded at her. Lately, Katara had become a little wary about going out in public, just because of how much attention they had started to attract. At first, the attention had been largely negative towards Azula, and then some three weeks into their stay at the city, the news that they were in a relationship had broken. To say that the city had been in a complete shock would be an understatement. Katara remembered the stunned faces of her work colleagues only too well, but at least the news had finally stopped some of her male colleagues from trying to flirt with her. Azula's wrath was something nobody wanted to face.
Fortunately, soon after the news had broken, the public opinion about Azula and their relationship gradually began to shift. And now, it had shifted all the way to slightly uncomfortable popularity where they could no longer just go out in public without getting recognized and most likely being approached for one reason or another. They had even spotted some curious rumor mongers hanging around their estate, but fortunately it was fenced, with a guardhouse at the gate, and a security detail assigned by Zuko to keep his sister safe and sound.
"I think I'm going to freshen up a little and take a shower," Katara spoke after they had sat around and exchanged some small talk for a while. "Come find me afterwards?" she asked with a teasing wink.
"I will consider that," Azula responded with a wink of her own.
Despite trying to restrain herself, Katara still found herself slightly rushing through her shower. Once she was done, she put on the sexy lingerie, a gift from Azula, throwing a bathrobe over her shoulders, leaving it strategically parted as she lay down on their splendorous queen sized bed, settling into a particularly enticing and seductive pose as she waited for Azula to come upstairs.
When Azula did finally arrive, her first reaction was not exactly what Katara had hoped for. "You won't believe the news I just heard," Azula said excitedly as she entered the room, not reacting to Katara's attempt at being seductive. "One of the guards came up to the estate to inform me that Zuko will be arriving tomorrow afternoon."
"I… did not expect that," Katara blinked. "Of course I'm always happy for his visits, but isn't this a little… weird? He visited only last weekend!"
"I think I'm finally starting to understand what's going on here," Azula smirked, pacing back and forth the room, still too excited to notice Katara's state of semi-undress.
"You're going to tell me all about it, of course," Katara said, sounding a little exasperated.
"Now that I'm thinking about, the past four or five of Zuko's visits haven't coincided with any important political events calling for his attendance, and yet he has always acted like he's being really busy most of the time," Azula spoke knowingly.
"Yes, I have noticed that," Katara admitted. "I thought it was a little odd."
"Also, did you notice that these last few times he was accompanied by only one of his Kyoshi bodyguards?" Azula pointed out. "I also find it particularly interesting how she was always conveniently out of the picture every time Zuko was interacting with us."
"Oh, I see what you mean! That girl is his mistress and they're coming here to spend time together!" Katara realized. "Oh, that has to be Suki, for sure. She probably feels too guilty to face me... and rightly too, I'm going to tell her off so hard for not being honest with Sokka."
"I really don't think Suki is my brother's mystery mistress, Kat," Azula shook her head. "In fact, I have my own suspicions about who it might be..." she mused, continuing to pace around their bedroom, continuing to ignore Katara and leaving her frustrated.
Katara then decided to apply more drastic measures to attract Azula's attention. Their cleaning lady always made sure to leave freshly cut flowers in their bedroom, and Katara now used the liquid in the vase to bend several water tentacles, using them to wrap around Azula and seize the other girl in place.
"Hey, what are you-..." Azula began to protest, but as she realized what Katara was using the water tentacles for, as they gently tugged at her clothes, starting to slowly undress her, the princess quickly ceased all protestations. "Oh..." was all she could manage as Katara used her bending to slowly and teasingly strip her naked, save for the golden chain around her waist and the matching anklets, the tentacles then dragging Azula into the bed, before Katara dismissed them.
"Alright, I have to admit... that was seriously hot," Azula confessed, her cheeks reddening as she lay on her back and looked up into Katara's face looming above her. "I don't think we are doing enough of this hostage role-play..."
"You're being awfully talkative for a hostage," Katara growled, silencing her girlfriend with a hungry kiss as she let her arms roam all over Azula's body, occasionally and teasingly slipping in between Azula's legs, but never remaining there long enough to provide any sort of relief, only teasing the princess more and more. When Katara eventually and reluctantly pulled away from Azula's lips, the princess was left panting in such a beautifully gratifying way that it caused an electrifying spark deep within Katara's core.
The waterbender decided not to waste any more time before claiming her prize. She quickly traced a line of kisses down Azula's breasts, the plane of her stomach, then pushing her thighs wide apart. Sitting at Azula's side, Katara discarded her robe before she leaned in and lowered her head between Azula's legs, starting with a few teasing exploratory licks of her girlfriend's soaked folds. Her mouth then settled over Azula's clit, alternating gentle suction with just the right amount of pressure by the tip of her tongue, enough to hear Azula cry out and shudder under her.
Still, as Katara continued to apply all her care and attention to Azula's swollen clit, the princess clearly did not intend to remain a passive receiver in their encounter. Katara felt Azula's arms wrapping around her waist, the princess insistently pulling Katara on top of her, until she managed to get the waterbender right where she wanted her, with the juncture of her spread legs right above Azula's face. Up until then, Katara had experienced no issues in focusing on pleasuring Azula, but when she felt Azula's clever mouth and tongue starting to explore her through the rapidly soaking cloth of her lacy panties, Katara actually froze and let out a wanton moan at the mind-blowing sensation.
With Azula now pleasuring her back in turn, it became much harder for Katara to maintain her focus, time and again having to withdraw her mouth from Azula's clit to release a soft moan or a whimper. This was where her fingers came in to replace her tongue, starting to work Azula's clit. Now she could freely sob and whimper in pleasure, while never ceasing the sweet payback to Azula, which in turn made it harder and harder for the princess to focus on pleasuring her.
Deciding that Katara needed more intense stimulation, Azula began to tug at Katara's soaked panties, eventually succeeding at pushing them down to her girlfriend's knees. When Azula's tongue latched onto her now exposed clit, Katara let out a shuddering moan, for a moment forgetting to work her fingers against Azula's clit. While until now Azula had been much closer to peaking, Katara suddenly found herself right up there with her princess, struggling to contain the tiny tremors that were starting to rock her frame.
As their passionate lovemaking intensified even further, both girls found themselves unable to use their mouths anymore, too busy with the constantly reciprocated chorus of soft moans and whimpers, restricted to the use of their fingers. Teetering on the edge of a powerful orgasm, this was a race against time that Katara was determined to win, and when at long last Azula's hips began to undulate, trying to lift up from the bed, Azula's body finally unraveled in an explosion of countless tremors. The powerful culmination of her girlfriend, the cries of pleasure tumbling from her mouth, and Azula's fingers still somehow managing to rub her clit, it all proved too much for Katara as well. With a strangled sob, she came undone, crying out her orgasm with her head buried between Azula's legs.
Neither of them moved for the longest time. When Katara finally managed to rear her head, her entire body felt relaxed and limp, protesting against all of her attempts to move. Still, Katara somehow managed to turn herself around in the bed, rolling off from Azula and then settling in tightly against her side, cupping Azula's cheek and turning her girlfriend's head to face her. Katara leaned in and kissed Azula on the lips, catching a taste of her own culmination, and somehow that immediately began to rekindle her arousal.
"How is it possible that every time we have sex it's somehow even more amazing than the previous time?" Azula asked with incredulity.
"I don't know..." Katara sighed happily. "Maybe it's like that for all young couples."
"Oh, I know," Azula's eyes lit up with glee. "Let's ask Zuzu and his mystery mistress when they arrive for the weekend."
"Azula," Katara giggled, shaking her head at the princess. "You truly are incorrigible."