Chapter 39
4 Years and 8 Months after the Hundred Year War
Republic City
Katara woke up suddenly, at first unsure of what was happening, only then becoming aware that it was her girlfriend, trying to shake her awake. "Azula? What's going on?" she asked in a sleepy voice. "What time is it?"
"A few minutes past midnight, you only just fell asleep," Azula replied, insistently trying to pull Katara out of the bed. "Come on, I need to show you something... and let me tell you, this is something you'll definitely want to see. Or hear, perhaps..."
"I still don't understand..." Katara protested, grabbing her blue nightgown and quickly throwing it on, having noticed that Azula was wearing her matching red one. As on most evenings, they had drifted off to sleep naked in each other's arms after passionate lovemaking, but it seemed that tonight Azula hadn't actually bothered trying to fall asleep.
"Just follow me and everything will become clear," Azula cackled, tugging on Katara's arm and pulling her through the corridors of the massive mansion.
"Oh... oh no," Katara suddenly exclaimed when she realized where Azula was leading her, the wing of estate where Zuko had set up his private quarters. "No, we are so not spying on your brother, Zula. That would be just wrong... we can't do that!"
"Oh... that's too bad, because I already spied on him," Azula grinned. She then released Katara's hand and appeared to be heading back to their bedroom. "But if you're not interested then you better follow me back to bed and try not to think about it anymore," she said casually.
"Are you kidding me?" Katara exclaimed incredulously. "You can't just tell me all that and then expect me not to think about it! He was with Suki, wasn't he? Maybe I should actually catch them during their indiscretion..."
Azula nearly bent over laughing. "Agni, Kat... no, for the last time, it's not Suki!"
"Well, who is it then?" Katara demanded, hands on her hips. "Tell me!"
"Nope, you're going to have to see for yourself," Azula shook her head. "My lips are sealed. Gossiping is rude, as you well know," she winked at her frustrated girlfriend. "Or maybe it was Suki, and I'm just pulling your leg."
"Spirits, you can be such a vixen!" Katara glared at Azula. "Fine... I'll go and take a peek... but just one peek! And you're coming with me," she grabbed Azula's hand. "In case we get busted, I want you to be there so that I can tell Zuko how all of this is your fault."
"My fault, is it?" Azula laughed, allowing Katara to drag her over to the doors of Zuko's bedroom. Katara didn't even have to approach the doors up close in order to realize what was happening on the other side. The high pitched cries of a young woman and the softer groans of a young man indicated a particularly steamy encounter taking place in Zuko's quarters.
"Just tell me who that is with him!" Katara demanded in a harsh whisper, unable to guess the identity of Zuko's mistress just from the sounds they were making. It sounded like it could have been Suki, but then again, Katara could easily be mistaken.
"Nope, just do what I did," Azula giggled, pointing at the keyhole.
"Spirits, do you really expect me to fall for the old peeping through the keyhole cliché?" Katara rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm about to do this, but then again... you're not going to tell me who it is, and I need to know whether it is Suki or not."
"I mean, it could very well be Suki, I agree," Azula snickered, way too amused for her own good.
Katara let out a heavy sigh as she approached the doors, leaning down until her eyes were in alignment with the keyhole and she could get a good look inside the room. What she saw, made Katara feel utterly shell-shocked. On the large bed, Zuko had his mistress bent over, her large breasts swaying tantalizingly as he took her with measured thrusts from behind. As Katara regarded the face of Zuko's lover, her soft and full lips parted in a near continuous moan, her wide eyes glazed over in intense pleasure, the waterbender was forced to admit that she had made a terrible mistake in assuming the identity of the mystery mistress, for it wasn't Suki at all. "Spirits..." Katara whispered, taking her time to pull away from the keyhole. "It's Ty Lee! Zuko is with Ty Lee... why didn't I think it could be her?"
"I don't know," Azula shrugged, looking amused. "Why don't you ask her?" she said, striking swiftly before Katara had managed to fully pull away from the keyhole. Having stepped up to Katara from behind with feather-light steps, Azula placed her hand on the door handle and pressed it down, while at the same time giving a hard shove to her girlfriend's backside. With a yelp, Katara became unbalanced and fell forward, tumbling over the doorstep in an undignified heap of utter embarrassment.
On the bed, Ty Lee let out a horrified shriek from the unexpected intrusion, helplessly trying to protect her ruined modesty. It was Zuko who came to her rescue, shielding her body with his before grabbing the duvet and pulling it over them both. Being caught in the act, the frustrated and embarrassed Fire Lord had gone so red in the face, that it made his scar almost impossible to distinguish.
"So!" Azula spoke from the doorway, clearly enjoying the embarrassment of the others way too much. "Lovely evening, everyone?" she added innocently.
"Azula, what the-" Katara exclaimed, failing to put a lid on her immediate instinct to become angry with her girlfriend. Azula must have noticed how angry she looked, because her amusement quickly gave way to absolute horror, her lower lip starting to tremble. For a moment, Katara feared that Azula would turn around and flee. "I don't think you really thought this one through, love," Katara said, managing to calm her voice.
"I just-" Azula began to speak in a trembling voice, then lowering her eyes. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking. That it would be funny? I'm an idiot, alright?"
"It was a mistake, Azula, but then again, we all make mistakes," Katara said, quickly rising to her feet and turning towards Zuko and Ty Lee to apologize. "Spirits, I'm so very sorry for what just happened. Azula and I should have never intruded upon your privacy like that..."
Zuko seemed to have recovered enough to respond. "I... well, I didn't expect this, but... I suppose we should have told you what was really going on. I was being way too secretive about my relationship with Ty Lee and we were just inviting trouble by trying to keep it a secret from you. Ty Lee was just so shy about the whole thing..." Ty Lee had actually broken down in tears by this point, Zuko pulling her into his arms under the duvet and trying to console her.
"Ah, damn it... I'm sorry, Ty Lee... I didn't mean to upset you," Azula sighed upon seeing the other girl tearing up. "It's all my fault, really. I spied on you earlier and then egged Katara on to come over and take a look as well. I didn't realize how immature I was being. Ugh, I'm sorry, that was stupid of me. I'm such an idiot."
"It's not just your fault, Zula," Katara objected. "I really should have been more mature and I shouldn't have played along... I feel like a complete fool now. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you?" She also felt terrible upon seeing Ty Lee so distraught and crying.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Zuko asked soothingly, hugging Ty Lee comfortingly. "I keep telling you, Azula and Katara will be nothing but supportive," he whispered to her, then turning to the embarrassed couple by the doors to his quarters. "For some reason, Ty Lee has this idea that you two will disapprove of us, and I haven't been able to talk her out of this notion," Zuko sighed.
"But that's so silly!" Katara exclaimed. "Ty Lee, why would you think that we would disapprove? Especially after you and Zuko were so supportive towards Azula and me!"
Ty Lee swallowed heavily, finally managing to look up to face the two other girls. "Well, I... I thought Azula would think that I'm not good enough for her brother," she stammered hesitantly. "And Katara... I know that you and Zuko almost got together, so I thought..."
"But we didn't get together, and we both found someone else that we're obviously very happy with," Katara smiled encouragingly. "So, it doesn't upset me that you and Zuko are together, on the contrary, it makes me very happy. I think it's all very sweet."
"Oh, and Ty Lee," Azula said confidently. "You're definitely good enough to date Zuzu. You have my personal seal of approval."
"You... you're too nice... this is all too much..." Ty Lee gasped, starting to cry again. Fortunately, this time they seemed to be tears of happiness and relief as she allowed Zuko to hold her tightly.
"Alright, so that was pretty embarrassing and emotional for us all," Azula spoke up. "I think we should deal with this just as we dealt with that Katara's birthday incident, by getting ourselves utterly smashed on booze."
"I think that's actually a good idea, although I wish you hadn't reminded me of the birthday incident," Katara sighed, rubbing her brow with a pained look on her face.
The incident in question had taken place a month and a half ago, when Azula had arranged a birthday party for her girlfriend, hoping to surprise her. When Katara had arrived home that evening, she had been absolutely exhausted to the point of collapsing after a crazy day at the hospital. It had been so bad that she had completely forgotten that it was her birthday, so when Azula had given her a blindfold, asking her to put it on, Katara had immediately assumed that it was for one of their sexual role-play sessions, starting to undress as she made her way further into the estate. As a result, she had then walked into a room full of birthday guests, wearing nothing but a blindfold and her lacy white underwear, asking Azula where she wanted her.
The reactions from the birthday guests had been spectacular, but Toph's was probably the most memorable, the blind girl absolutely freaking out when the heart rates of so many guests in the hall had gone through the roof, Toph unable to guess the reason for it. At least Katara's father hadn't been present at the party, but Sokka was still complaining about emotional scarring to this very day. Also, some of Katara's work colleagues had formed a very interesting, and in her opinion, quite unfair view of her, thinking that she was some kind of sexual deviant. Worst of all, Aang had been present as well, and after having witnessed her in a semi-naked state, he had all but fled the estate, red in the face. Those remaining had agreed to the plan of getting absolutely shitfaced to forget the incident, and as a result, Katara had no recollection of what had happened at the party afterwards. She had only later heard from Azula that they had gone through all available booze at the estate and some of Katara's work colleagues had ended up making a late night supply run.
All in all, Katara's birthday had been an absolutely memorable event, if maybe not for the reasons that Katara had hoped for. It was certainly the talk of her workplace for the next month, and she was still getting some stares because of it.
"Let's go, Kat, I'll start preparing some drinks in the lounge," Azula suggested.
"Yes, we'll join you in a little bit," Zuko nodded appreciatively. "We just need a little bit of time to... err, clean ourselves up and get dressed," he finished with a blush coloring his cheeks.
In the lounge, Katara decided to simply sit down and distract herself by observing Azula diligently mixing drinks for them all, trying not to think too much about the embarrassing episode from just a few minutes ago. The fact that Ty Lee had become so upset about it all definitely made Katara feel very bad about the whole incident, and when Zuko and Ty Lee finally arrived in the lounge, she could see that the chi-blocker still appeared rather timid and ashamed. Seeing that, Katara immediately got up and walked over to Ty Lee, Azula doing the same. The three of them then shared a tight and supportive three-way hug, Katara and Azula refusing to release Ty Lee until a smile had blossomed on her beautiful lips and she had began to giggle like only Ty Lee could.
"So... how did it happen exactly for you, guys?" Katara asked, once they all had a drink in their hand and had sat down in the lounge.
"Well... when we lost track of you on your way to the North Pole, as time passed I guess I became really worried and miserable," Zuko began to explain. "And Ty Lee must have seen that, so she became very worried about me and... well, now and then she'd just stop by to give me a supportive hug or a smile."
"And then one time when I hugged him, Zuko just up and kissed me on the lips," Ty Lee giggled. "I think we were both completely stunned when that happened."
"I know what happened afterwards," Azula nodded knowingly. "You had to take over, Ty Lee. Zuzu is just too much of an awkward turtleduck to take the initiative with a girl."
"Hey! I resemble that remark," Zuko groused.
"Sure you do, honey," Ty Lee soothed, leaning in to peck him on the cheek, the drink and the supportive attitude of their friends making the girl a lot bolder. "Honestly, I don't rightly remember what happened, but I think our instincts just took over and... things just progressed from there," she blushed prettily.
"Well, I'm very glad that it happened," Katara stated confidently. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just perfect for Zuko, Ty Lee. He can get a bit gloomy at times, and your cheerful optimism is exactly what Zuko needs."
"I'm not that gloomy..." Zuko tried to object, but the others did not seem to be paying him much attention, too engaged in their tipsy girl talk.
"Also, not that I want to cast any shadows or anything, but I have to know, Ty Lee... are you really going to be okay with this role of a mistress?" Katara asked. "To know that Zuko will be married to someone else... it might be very hard."
"I will agree to anything as long as I can make Zuko happy," Ty Lee said earnestly, giving Zuko an utterly devoted and loving stare. "But lately, Zuko's been telling me that he's going to do something that will let him marry me, even if I keep telling him not to do anything crazy. I don't need him taking unnecessary risks."
"I knew it!" Azula pointed an accusing finger at Zuko. "I knew you were plotting something to get out of this arranged marriage. You're just way too honorable to keep a mistress, Zuzu, you were deluding yourself when you thought you could carry on with Ty Lee in such a way."
Zuko let out a deep sigh. "I hate to say it, Zula, but apparently you know me better than I know myself."
"No kidding," Azula rolled her eyes. "So, what exactly are you planning?"
"Nothing too crazy, I assure you, but it is still better that you don't know the details," Zuko smiled at his sister.
"Gah, stop being like that... ugh, so frustrating," Azula sighed. "Maybe we just need to get him really sloshed."
"It's not going to happen, sister," Zuko shook his head.
"Give it a rest, Zula, if Zuko doesn't want to tell, don't needle him," Katara smiled at her sulking girlfriend. "I'm more worried about the mess I've made with Suki. I owe her a massive apology for doubting her devotion to Sokka."
"It was rather funny the way she just could not figure out why you were accusing her of being unfaithful to Sokka," Zuko chuckled. "Of course, when she found out about me and Ty Lee a few months ago, she realized why you were acting like that, Katara."
"But she was still a bit upset that Katara would assume that about her, and that in turn made me feel really guilty, because I could have cleared it all up if I had agreed to tell all our friends about us," Ty Lee said. "At least we can clear it all up now."
"I'll have to apologize to her face to face, but for now a letter will have to do," Katara sighed. "Sometimes I can be really daft about these things."
"I had a feeling that Ty Lee was the mystery mistress all along, but I knew you wouldn't believe me," Azula grinned at Katara.
"You're probably right," Katara admitted. "I'm just so relieved I was wrong. This would have been ten times more awkward if it was Suki sitting there instead of you, Ty Lee."
"I think we're all very satisfied with where we are and what we have," Zuko said, smiling as he raised his glass. "As far as I'm concerned, forget any lack of legal ties, I consider all of you as my family. That's why I'm proposing this toast... to family!"
"To family!" the three girls eagerly echoed him, as laughter and merriment filled the lounge, and it didn't die down until the early hours of the morning.