Chapter 14
Azula yawned, lounging on the bed in the penthouse suite of the sole five-star hotel in Omashu. She let out a startled gasp when Katara suddenly seized her left wrist. Completely unbeknownst to Azula herself, her hand had moved on to the side of her abdomen with the obvious intent to pick at her gunshot wound. "Stop it," Katara glared at her.
"But it still keeps itching!" Azula whined.
"Well, picking at it isn't going to help with that!" Katara lectured. "It's going to make it itch even more."
"It totally helps," Azula pouted. Her recovery from the nearly lethal attempt on her life had been slow and torturous, and even now, a month and a half later, Azula was still feeling the aftereffects. She had been discharged from the hospital on the second week of May, and the three of them had finally been able to book their flight back to Ba Sing Se. Azula still needed to submit herself to plenty of annoying procedures over the next couple of weeks before she was finally given the all clear. The wound still occasionally felt painful and itchy, and the scar was definitely not of the sexy kind, meaning that crop tops were sadly out of the question. Until she was finally able to get a tattoo to cover up the scar, it was also back to the one-piece bathing suit for the upcoming summer, something that didn't make Azula any happier. At least Katara had hinted that perhaps by the time of Azula's birthday in August, she might be ready to get a tattoo.
"It does not," Katara snapped. "You know what helps? That nice arnica cream I got for you." Katara got up to retrieve the jar of cream before rolling up Azula's shirt and proceeding to carefully apply the cream around the scar. "There, isn't that better?"
"No, it's horrible and itches even worse than before," Azula lied. Of course, the arnica cream felt very nice, but she wasn't going to admit that to Katara.
"You are a ridiculous liar. You know that, right?" Katara glared, reaching out and wrapping her hands around Azula's throat, jokingly threatening to strangle her.
"Help, help, I'm being assaulted!" Azula shouted.
At her shouting, Yue rushed out of the adjacent bathroom, still covered with soap as she hastily tried to wrap herself in a towel. "Oh… you were just roleplaying," she realized, sighing and shaking her head.
"Azula is just being ridiculous," Katara sighed. "Apologize to Yue for disturbing her shower, Azula."
"Sorry, Yue," Azula said, feeling a little guilty. "I'm just so bored! This wasn't supposed to be our off-day."
"I know," Yue nodded. "It's annoying when a tournament can't make sure of having a full roster of players."
"It's annoying and unprofessional," Azula agreed. They were referring to what had come to be known as the Bumi Situation. The organizers of the Omashu tournament had thought themselves very clever by giving a wild card to the ancient grandmaster who hadn't played a single game in four years. It was supposed to be a great marketing move to ensure that the tournament was well attended by the local Omashu public, eager to see their old hero for one last outing.
Unfortunately, the move had backfired, when on the very eve of the tournament, Bumi Dhawan had been picked up by the police. He had been found walking down the main city square wearing nothing but a shower cap and fuzzy pink slippers, conversing with a small rubber duck he was carrying in his hand. Bumi was now spending his time with nice people in white overcoats, while the organizers had been left with only eleven players on the roster, with no time to find a replacement for Bumi. This meant that every player would get an extra off-day when they would have been expected to face Bumi. And Yue's extra off-day had come in the very first round, leaving the three of them with not much to do. Yue's second round game was against Hahn, which didn't really demand all that much preparation.
"We could have gone to watch the others play, you know," Katara pointed out logically enough.
"I don't know," Yue shrugged. "It didn't seem like there was anything particularly interesting to see on offer today. Toph and Zuko are going for a draw, as always. And Zhao and Piandao both have guaranteed easy wins. Not much to see, really."
"Agreed, we can get all the game notations in tomorrow's paper anyway," Azula nodded. Toph, Zuko, Zhao and Piandao were Yue's main rivals in this tournament. Bumi would have been a real wild card, because nobody had any idea at what level his game was by now, but it seemed like Bumi had bigger concerns than missing the tournament and Azula privately hoped that the eccentric grandmaster would make a full recovery.
"Well, I was just throwing out ideas," Katara spoke, sounding defensive. "At least I'm not sitting here, unhelpfully whining about how everything is boring."
"There's always the movie theatre," Azula suggested. "You can take a look at what's playing," she added, passing the daily newspaper over to Katara. "I'll even be magnanimous and let you and Yue choose what to see."
"Well, thank you so much," Katara rolled her eyes. She quickly found the list of movies currently playing. "The Evil Dead?" she read, shaking her head. "I think not."
"Not when it's me and Katara picking," Yue nodded in agreement.
"Fire Nation Werewolf in Ba Sing Se?" Katara read, bursting into laughter. "That sounds absolutely ridiculous."
"It does sound funny," Yue giggled. "Azula, is that a comedy?"
"Yes," Azula nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "Yes, that is a very funny comedy."
"Alright, I'm in the mood for something lighthearted," Katara smiled. "Let's watch that."
"Sounds great. Can I get back to my shower now, please? I'm freezing," Yue shuddered.
"No," Azula said.
"What do you mean, no?" Yue asked. "Why not?"
"Because I'm enjoying the view way too much," Azula grinned.
"Ugh, you are impossible!" Yue scowled at her, returning to the backroom. "Kat, you have my permission to strangle her some more."
"Gladly," Katara grinned, resuming her playful assault on Azula. Azula was all too happy to allow Katara to overpower her, because she knew that in a short while their playful fight would escalate into cuddling and light making out. She really did have the best wives. Despite the pain of the surgery aftercare, taking the bullet for Yue was one of the best things Azula had ever done in her life, and she knew she would not hesitate to do it again for either of her wives.
Despite having won her match of the second round easily, Toph did not have a good feeling about the Omashu tournament. For once, Teo had stayed home in Ba Sing Se, her husband not feeling up to traveling. Toph knew that it wasn't fair to expect Teo to accompany her for every tournament, and so she was not at all upset about Teo's decision, but his absence did have a slight knock on Toph's confidence.
Furthermore, instead of joining them in Omashu, Aang had decided to pursue his new crush in Caldera City, which meant that Toph ended up relying on Zuko more than ever. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with that, not after all the battles they'd been in together. Because of Toph's near-sightedness, being out in public was much easier when she was being accompanied by someone. And it turned out that Aang's absence did have its perks, because following his spectacular victory over Piandao in the second round of play, Zuko had taken Toph to a Fire Nation steakhouse to celebrate. This definitely wasn't something that they could get Aang to participate in, but Toph was loving the experience.
"Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself," Zuko commented as Toph tore into her steak, not before slathering it with peppercorn sauce. Toph truly was a big fan of the Fire Nation cuisine, the spicier the better. She prided herself in being able to hang with their Fire Nation friends when weaklings like Katara or Suki cried as soon as their eyes began to water.
"No kidding, this is good stuff. And I see you're not having a bad time yourself," Toph nodded. Zuko had ordered a piece of grilled fish that Toph didn't recognize, and it appeared to be entirely covered with chili flakes. It looked absolutely delicious. "You should win against Piandao more often," Toph laughed.
"I really should, right?" Zuko joined in the laughter. "Let's make a deal, if I beat Zhao, I'll bring you here again."
"But that's in the final round, we'll probably have to do the whole circus with the organizers and there won't be time for restaurant," Toph argued. "Besides, I doubt Zhao will be your most important game, anyway. You should buy me dinner if you end up beating Yue."
"Eh, I don't know about that," Zuko shrugged. "It wouldn't feel right celebrating too much about winning against Yue. She's a friend first and a rival second."
"If you want to think that way, be my guest," Toph snorted. "I know she feels like she has this tournament in the bag already, so forgive me for celebrating at least a little if she trips up."
"Why would Yue think that?" Zuko wondered. "Did she really say something like that? That doesn't sound at all like her."
"Well, maybe not in so many words," Toph admitted. "But I heard her speaking with Azula and Katara. They think that Omashu is some kind of a lucky place for them and they can't fail here." The overheard conversation had made Toph particularly sore because she had never played well in Omashu. In fact, for some reason her results in Omashu were below average, which was annoying because after Gaoling, Omashu was her largest base of support. Toph had no idea what was the cause for her underperforming in Omashu. Teo had once speculated that it might be due to her not taking well to the altitude, and Toph supposed that her husband might have been correct. She did sleep poorly every time she stayed in Omashu.
"Probably because they shared that gold medal here while back in the juniors," Zuko shrugged. "I don't think it'll count for much so many years later."
"Maybe, but there's the power of positive mindset and all that rot, so I think we need to prep extra hard for Snow White here," Toph smirked. "Besides, it's not just because of them sharing the gold medal that they think this is their lucky place."
"I have no idea what you mean," Zuko said, suddenly appearing to be particularly interested in his fish.
"I mean that this is the place where those three nasty bitches banged for the first time," Toph explained, taking cruel delight in inflict some emotional damage on Zuko and watching him turn bright red.
"Shut up, I did not need to hear that," Zuko hissed, shaking his head.
"Well, why do you think I said it?" Toph cackled evilly.
"I take you out for dinner, and this is the treatment I get in return? Remind me why we're friends again?" Zuko scowled.
"Fine, fine, I won't bring it up again," Toph groaned. "I guess you deserve to be spared the torment because this food is just too damn good."
"Yes, Sokka would love this place," Zuko nodded, smiling fondly. "But he'd probably complain about the spices at least a little. He'd say something about them obliterating the true essence of meat or something as corny as that. And we probably couldn't find anything suitable for Kya."
"I'm sure they have a menu for kids," Toph shrugged.
"For Fire Nation kids," Zuko winked at her. "We haven't raised Kya on fire flakes, you know."
"Whatever, just don't raise her a weakling," Toph said.
"She's a tough kid," Zuko smiled. "Lee has a whole inch on her, but she still won't let him push her around. Ah, I miss her so much. And Sokka, too."
"I suppose I miss Teo as well," Toph felt comfortable enough to admit. "But we'll see them again soon. As long as nobody gets shot during this tournament."
"Don't even joke about that," Zuko sighed, shaking his head. "With Zhao present, I guess we can never truly lower our guard. Especially if there's anything to Azula's speculations."
"I actually believe Azula's theory," Toph said. "But I also doubt Zhao will try the same thing again. Who could he possibly dupe into carrying out a hit for him? Everybody except for Joo Dee hates him. And he's too cowardly to do something like that himself."
"You're probably right about that," Zuko admitted. "It's just annoying that he's here at all. And apparently he'll be at the Ember Island tourney as well."
"Well, just take it from me and do the smart thing, pull out of Ember Island," Toph shrugged.
"Are you kidding me?" Zuko gasped. "Sokka and Kya have been looking forward to joining me on Ember Island all year! I've been looking forward to that myself. And Ty, Jin and Lee are going to be there as well. I'm not going to let Zhao's presence spoil our fun."
"Ugh, I must be the only one in the world who doesn't care about Ember Island," Toph groaned. "No wait, Teo doesn't care for it either. I guess that's why we're together."
"You really are a pair," Zuko chuckled. "Anyway, shall we wrap this up?"
"What, no desert?" Toph scowled. "You have no idea how to treat a lady, do you?"
"I don't, Sokka is many things, but he's not exactly a lady," Zuko grinned. "But do you really feel like having a desert after chomping down a monster of a steak? I'm already worried that you might have some kind of a stomach upset tomorrow."
"I'll be just fine," Toph said, letting out a loud burp. Some of the other patrons were probably staring at her, thinking how rude she was being, but Toph didn't give a shit about that. "But yeah, I should probably skip desert. Very well, you may take me back to the hotel. I hear we have some prep to do, or something along those lines."
"Exactly," Zuko smiled as he waved down a waitress to settle the bill. "Tomorrow, you're going to make Zhao regret his decision to come back. And after that, you're buying me a dinner."
"Dream on, big boy… dream on," Toph laughed as they rose to leave the restaurant.
Despite all the recent worries and difficulties, once the Omashu tournament got under way, Katara found herself relaxing and starting to once again enjoy life. Privately, she had kept worrying about Azula's health well after it was logical to do so, but by now these worries were starting to fade. Of course, Azula was still experiencing some discomfort, whining and making a meal out of it, but Katara could tell that it was nothing to be concerned about.
Considering the circumstances in which she had stepped down from her role at the Lower Ring hospital, Katara had lost some of the passion for her chosen profession. Privately, she occasionally entertained thoughts of perhaps not going back even after they had finished helping Yue. Maybe once Yue had won the title, Katara could instead resurrect her own Pai Sho career. The way she had bungled that surgery and the consequences it had brought had given her confidence a severe knock.
However, Katara's actions in the wake of the shooting had changed all of that. Her quick and precise administration of first aid had saved Azula's life. Katara still felt rather embarrassed when she remembered the way in which she had shoved the Fire Nation doctors aside to take control of the surgery, but Katara simply would not trust Azula's life to anyone else but her. The praise she had received from these medical professionals she didn't know and who had every right to be annoyed with her for being so pushy and disrespectful, had restored Katara's confidence in her abilities. She was a good surgeon, and in time she would become even better. But even the best surgeons were prone to making the occasional mistake. Katara was starting to realize that she had been holding herself to an impossible standard and that it was sucking the joy of the profession out of her.
Of course, being back in Omashu was great for some particularly treasured nostalgic reasons. The memories of their first time together certainly saw an uptick in sexual intimacy between the throuple. Katara and Yue always made sure to remember that Azula still had to take things a little easy, so they made sure to be very gentle with their Fire Nation wife. That was hardly a drawback, though, because being soft with Azula was just as fun as being a little rough with Azula.
Yue's level of play was yet another reason to be excited. Katara hadn't expected the Fire Fountain City collapse to have lasting consequences. It was an isolated incident, and even if it had ruined Yue's tournament, it wasn't the kind of traumatic event like Ozai cheating Katara out of her world championship victory. From the way Yue had responded in practice, it was clear that she had put that bad experience behind her and was eager to bounce back from the disappointment. With the extended stay in the Fire Fountain City, their preparations for the Omashu tournament had been short and slightly rushed, but that didn't seem to be slowing Yue down as she once again opened the tournament with a string of victories. Indeed, Yue's performance prompted Katara to bring up the idea of slightly cutting back on the practice going forward. Azula remained a little skeptical about that, but Katara was sure that an excellent result in Omashu would be the best argument to convince Azula.
The fifth round of play featured two massively important games, and Katara couldn't help but feel a tiny bit nervous as she and Azula sat down in the spectator stands to watch Yue take on Zuko, while keeping an eye on Toph facing Piandao. Zuko and Toph were not having their best tournament thus far and they were both in dire need of wins. Aside from their prearranged draw, Zuko had lost more points by drawing with Haru, while Toph had made a bad oversight in her game with Zhao, losing that contest.
"So, do you think she'll come out on top?" Azula asked as the play of the fifth round began.
"I want to say yes," Katara replied. "But I would be lying if I claimed that I wasn't a little worried."
Between the three of them, they had spent several days coming up with a strategy for Zuko. Yue's opponents in the first few rounds had not required too much prep, and so they had spent a lot of time honing in on Zuko. Considering that Zuko didn't seem to be playing to the best of his ability, but Yue was in a rich vein of form, Azula had suggested a daring plan for Yue to go on the attack and try to take Zuko by surprise. Katara and Yue had at first been resistant to this idea, but Azula had managed to win them over. It was now time to see if their plan would pay off or not.
For the plan to work, Yue needed to get off to a fast start, and she needed to fully commit to the plan. They had settled for one of the lesser played gambits that involved an early tile sacrifice, expecting Zuko to reject the sacrifice, and that would enable Yue to gain significant positional advantage. The early part of the game went according to the plan and with ten moves under her belt, Yue looked to have the early advantage against a startled looking Zuko.
"Ugh, I don't want to root against my own brother, but it would really help if he'd make a mistake now," Azula muttered, looking very tense. She was gripping Katara's hand quite hard.
"The winning strategy we have doesn't require Zuko to make mistakes, Zula," Katara smiled. She knew what Azula meant, though. Zuko looked to have been taken by surprise. If he was going to make a mistake it was likely to come now.
Zuko didn't make the mistake they'd been waiting for, though. In fact, he was defending like Katara hadn't seen him defend. By the twentieth move, Yue had made a couple of suboptimal move choices and her attack was threatening to stall, leaving her overstretched.
"I have a feeling that Zuko has been spending a lot of time with uncle at the Serpent Lake," Azula sighed. "It's like he knew that his defensive game would be tested."
"Sneaky of him to keep that under wraps," Katara said.
"Well, we were stuck in the Fire Nation for almost three extra weeks," Azula spoke, sounding a little guilty.
"Stop worrying about that," Katara sighed. "Yue is still going to do this, you'll see."
"I really hope so," Azula nodded. The next dozen or so moves were very nervous. Yue still tried to press the attack, but she was smart enough to realize the danger of Zuko's potential counterattack and she made sure to shore up her position to prevent any surprises. Zuko must have decided that Yue starting to pull her punches meant that the time was ripe for a counterattack, so with the time limit for forty moves approaching, Zuko went on the attack himself.
"I think this is the mistake we've been waiting for," Azula said, shaking her head. "He's being too impatient. It wasn't yet the right time to attack."
"I agree, but Yue still needs to keep it cool," Katara replied. Indeed, it was important that Yue maintained a positive outlook even if her first attack had stalled. If she were to lose her confidence, Zuko's half-cocked offense could still bring her down.
"She'll be cool as ice, you'll see," Azula said, sounding full of confidence. Katara felt a surge of warmth from the amount of love and trust in Azula's voice, a sentiment that Katara shared fully.
Zuko had started his counterattack right before the time limit of forty moves, perhaps hoping that Yue would make a mistake while being short on time. But Yue had managed her resources well, and she had left herself with just enough time to find the optimal moves to counter Zuko's threats. With another hour added for the next forty moves, Yue now had plenty of time to expose Zuko's half-baked offensive plan and reveal its weaknesses, and she began to do so with surgical precision. Soon, Zuko's forces were in full retreat.
"Why did he do that?" Katara asked, trying not to appear too happy as she watched Zuko's position slowly collapsing. "He didn't have to attack just then. He could have just waited."
"Well, that's Zuko for you," Azula shrugged. "He loves to attack. That's his only real weakness, trying to attack when it's not on."
"It felt like he was trying a cheap bluff," Katara said. "Like he expected Yue to lose her head just because he went on the attack."
"Yes, absolutely," Azula nodded. "That rarely works at this level, and not against our wife. You can be sure that he's not going to try that again," Azula added as they watched Zuko eventually resigning the game and shaking Yue's hand.
"She really did it," Katara sighed happily as she shared a joyful embrace with Azula. "This is big, Azula. This is really big."
"Yes, her first win against Zuko after coming back," Azula nodded, also looking very pleased. "There's still room for improvement, but that mental strength? That was impressive."
"Our wife is amazing, I agree," Katara said. The match had been so captivating that she had barely had the time to check the situation in the other games. What she now saw on the large display boards was a pleasant surprise. "And Toph is winning against Piandao? It seems like all the other results are going our way as well."
"It's looking good, but we're in for a very nasty stretch and you know it," Azula said carefully. Katara knew very well what Azula was referring to. Tomorrow, Yue had an easier opponent in Niyok Waska, after that they would have an off day, but then Yue was in for three tough games in a row against Zhao, Toph and Piandao. Her performance in those games was sure to decide whether Yue would win her first tournament after announcing her comeback.
"That's true, but it's still important to celebrate and reward an amazing performance such as this," Katara smiled. "Let's fetch our wife and treat her to something nice."
"Agreed," Azula nodded as they rose to leave. "This truly was a performance to celebrate."
"So," Smellerbee grinned, leaning in against the bar counter at The Last Straw. "What's cooking, Jet? Don't you usually take Mondays off?"
"Not this week," Jet replied sourly. "Figured I'd stick around and help you out."
"With what?" Bee shrugged, gesturing around the pub. Longshot and Pipsqueak were entertaining themselves by playing darts. A group of patrons were smoking around a billiard table. Another, sulkier bunch of war veterans were crowding a table, playing cards. "It's the calmest Monday night in a month. I'm not complaining, but we totally don't need you here."
"And yet this is where I choose to be," Jet shrugged, pouring himself a shot of bourbon. "Really, I'm a social drinker, you know that."
"Sure, sure," Bee grinned. "Hey, Duke, switch the stations, will you?" she called out to their friend, doing some light mopping up of the floor behind the counter. "I don't think anyone's watching these twenty studs chasing a ball around a grassy field."
"Fancy more MASH re-runs?" Jet asked. "It seems that kind of an evening."
"I don't know, there must be something good on one of these stations," Bee replied as Duke kept flipping between the channels. "Ah, there we go!" Bee exclaimed suddenly. "A rousing interview with our favorite bitch of a governor. That means elections must be around the corner."
"Not for another ten months," Duke pointed out.
"Trying to jump out to an early lead, I bet," Bee snorted. "She's such a conniving, manipulative cunt, isn't she?"
"No more than any other politician, probably less so, actually," Jet spoke up, clearly annoyed at Bee's comment. "What do you have against her, anyway?"
"Nothing, actually," Bee grinned. "I don't care about her or any other politician. I just wanted to see if you'll jump to her defense again."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jet glared.
"Nothing, nothing," Bee smirked. "Hey, by the way… do you notice how the caption says the interview is live? Do you see that, Duke? What do you think that means?"
"Well, I presume it means that she's in the studio of the news channel," Duke replied, sounding rather amused.
"Indeed, our slutty bitch of a governor is busy this Monday evening," Smellerbee gave Jet a totally shit eating grin. "And you're working your first Monday evening in over two months."
"Ah, fuck," Jet groaned, finally realizing that he'd been found out. "How long have you known?"
"That you're banging Madame Governor?" Bee grinned. "Oh, not too long, actually. When you left last Monday afternoon, you left behind your wallet, remember?" Jet nodded at that. "Well, we figured that you might need it in the morning, so Longshot offered to bring it over to your place after the end of the shift. The lights were on, but you wouldn't open the door, so Longshot climbed the fire emergency ladder to take a peek-"
"He fucking did not!" Jet exclaimed, turning red in the face.
"Oh, you better believe it," Bee grinned sadistically. "The poor boy was so shocked from what he saw that he might never speak again."
"What do you mean, he might never speak again? Longshot has been a mute since birth!" Jet yelled. Duke was by now howling with laughter.
"You know what was the most hilarious thing about it all?" Bee laughed. "Longshot's explanations of what he had seen in sign language the following morning. That was amazing, wasn't it, Duke?"
"I thought I was going to die," Duke sniggered.
"Hey, why don't we call Longshot over so that he can repeat it one more time," Bee snapped her fingers at the idea.
"Can we not do that?" Jet groaned. "Also, can we just shut up about it all, please? This has nothing to do with you."
"Yeah, but we're your friends, and it's on us to tell you when you're getting entangled into something that's so obviously a bad idea," Bee sighed. "Look, she's like three leagues above all of us. Associating with someone like her will only lead to trouble, okay? You're not a complete idiot, you have to know that, right? I mean, you're not a complete idiot when you're not thinking with your dick."
"I don't see how this could hurt me, Bee," Jet shrugged. "And it probably wouldn't hurt her either. Everyone already believes that she's a complete slut. If this ever gets out, the only thing I would probably have to worry about is her husband showing up to punch me in my good eye. And considering that he's rumored to be a bit of a wet paper towel, I don't have much to be concerned about."
"I guess there's no reasoning with you, is there?" Bee shook her head. "It just seems so dumb. You could have your pick from dozens of other girls who show up at the bar hoping to be noticed by you. What's so special about this bitch?" Bee asked, pointing at the TV screen. Kori was running circles around the reporter trying to pin her down on the rather tricky and divisive immigration issue.
"I think it's the allure of power," Duke commented sagely. "A lot of guys act deeply resentful when a woman is in a position of power, especially a beautiful woman like Kori. But deep down, they all want to possess and tame her. It's like a mix of hatred and obsession."
"Okay…" Jet blinked, giving Duke a sidelong stare. "I don't know what sort of daytime talk shows you've been watching, buddy, but you need to stop." Jet turned back towards Smellerbee. "Look, we all got fucked up by the war in some ways, right? And it kept fucking me up in Ba Sing Se. I should have been happy with Suki, but I couldn't make it work, because… I don't know, a part of me was still stuck here in Yu Dao, and it wouldn't let go. And I came back to deal with that."
"And shagging our sexy governor is a part of your spiritual healing?" Bee gave Jet a skeptical stare.
"Oddly enough… yes," Jet sighed. "Saving Kori and then that night together, those are some of the memories from the war that don't completely suck, you know? Laugh about it as much as you want, Bee, but spending what little time I can get with her? It actually fucking helps. I've been feeling more alive than in years."
"You know what?" Bee said, suddenly appearing a lot more serious. "I've actually noticed that change in you. And it's only because of that I'm not going to call bullshit on your reasoning. Have all the fun you want plowing Madame Governor, I guess," she added with a saucy wink.
"Uh, thanks, Bee," Jet smiled gratefully. "I knew you'd understand. And I promise I'll be careful."
"Sure, sure," Bee rolled her eyes. "If I had a yuan for every time when you said that…"
