Chapter 30

Zuko took a deep breath, savoring the fresh breeze coming in from the Serpent Lake, clearing his lungs and sinuses from the dust of Ba Sing Se. Staying at his uncle's estate during summers was always a joy and something he looked forward to every year. It was his favorite place to come and prep for upcoming tournaments, not just because he found Iroh's insights highly beneficial. During the past few years, his uncle had slowed down considerably, but it didn't change the fact that Iroh's advice and musings about life in general was something that Zuko would always find useful. Spending time with his uncle steadied Zuko and gave him that ever important peace of mind ahead of important tournaments.

It would have been even better if Sokka could have afforded to take a real vacation, but his boyfriend was saving his vacation days for the fall so that he could accompany Zuko to Yu Dao. Still, they had their weekends as well as workday evenings, with Sokka making the slightly longer daily drive from the Serpent's Lake estate to work, instead of staying at their house in Ba Sing Se. It meant that they still got to enjoy plenty of time together, because Zuko made sure to schedule most of his Pai Sho prep around the time when Sokka was at work.

Some logistical challenges still remained, because Ty Lee and Jin had gone on a girl's only vacation to the Ember Island together with Mai and Suki, leaving the kids for Zuko and Sokka to look after. In order to help with Kya and Lee, Zuko had recruited Kiyi into helping him. Kiyi was enjoying the best perk of becoming a teacher, the long summer vacation, so she'd been thrilled to come to the Serpent's Lake estate and spend most of the time working on her tan. Kya and Lee didn't require a tremendous amount of oversight, and Kiyi had proven that she could be a trustworthy nanny who never let the kids too far out of her sight and was good at coming up with all sorts of activities to keep Kya and Lee occupied.

Zuko smiled when his uncle appeared on the upstairs balcony, sitting down with him. The mug of tea in Iroh's hands might as well have been glued there because it seemed almost impossible to catch his uncle without a steaming cup of his favorite beverage. "It's shaping up to be a beautiful day, isn't it?" Iroh remarked with a smile, taking a sip. "I hope you have other plans than Pai Sho for today."

"I do, yes," Zuko nodded. Sokka had allowed him to sleep in on this Saturday morning, and Zuko was taking his time in getting his day up to speed. It was weekend, however, which meant very little Pai Sho and plenty of family time.

"Smart decision," Iroh said approvingly. "We've done some good practicing over the past few days, haven't we?"

"Yes, I feel as sharp as ever before," Zuko agreed, hoping that he could maintain this sharpness until the finals and then throughout the tournament.

"That's what I think as well," Iroh nodded. "I don't see how forcing more prep will help at this point. You're good enough to win the title, Zuko. But in order to do that, the mental side of your game needs to be just as sharp."

"I feel like I'm in a pretty good headspace right now, uncle," Zuko shrugged. "I can't predict how or if that will change once I'm put under pressure."

"True," Iroh said. "I'm not a fan of the methods of my late friend Pathik, as you already know. That training did you no favors back then, and I don't think it has had any positive long-term effects either. It certainly worked for Pathik, but you need to find your own way to conquer your fears, Zuko."

"Such as my crippling fear of failure, you mean?" Zuko laughed uneasily.

"It's something that you need to get to the bottom of, and to conquer," Iroh said, taking another sip of his tea. "You're a proven winner, Zuko. You know that. Over the past ten years, you've won more pro tournaments than anyone else."

Not the ones that really mattered, were the words on Zuko's tongue, but he bit them back. He didn't want to worry his uncle by revealing how bitter he still was about his past failures. "You know, this is why I really wanted Azula in my corner," Zuko instead admitted. "I envy her fearlessness so much. The way she just showed up for the finals and wouldn't allow anything to stop her. I remember that she was four points down at one point in the tournament, but she didn't let that stop her."

"It was impressive, indeed," Iroh agreed. "But Zuko, if you believe that your sister is somehow immune from experiencing fear, then you are gravely mistaken. She has simply learned to manage it better, but that was not always the case."

"Yes, that's what I meant," Zuko said. "I wanted to know how she does that. Because the year she won the title, she must have been under an immense amount of pressure. At the time, I didn't even know that she was planning to retire. But she also wanted to retire as a champion, and that would have heaped even more pressure on her."

"Well, you're not planning to retire anytime soon," Iroh remarked. "You're not under any sort of extra pressure from having a timetable. Isn't that in a way reassuring to know that you'll have plenty of opportunities yet?"

"Not particularly," Zuko sighed. "I feel like I should have won that title already. Perhaps even a couple of times. Sometimes I feel like I've squandered my best years."

"That's just not true, Zuko," Iroh shook his head, appearing a little frustrated. "I won my first title after I had just turned forty. And Piandao didn't win his first title by the time he was well into his fifties. Your best years are still ahead of you, my boy."

"Perhaps," Zuko admitted. "Yes, perhaps I'm just being silly about this. I should probably go and spend time with Sokka and the kids, take my mind off Pai Sho."

"You really should," Iroh spoke firmly. "You often have a tendency to overthink things, Zuko. You need to find a way to clear your mind. Not everything Pathik taught you was harmful and terrible. Meditating is still a great way to center yourself. Especially after a few cups of soothing herbal tea."

"If you mean the soothing tea that made me run to the bathroom every fifteen minutes then I'll pass," Zuko groaned. "It's hard to focus on meditation when my brain is constantly supplying me with various mental images of running water."

"Hmm, you make a good point, nephew," Iroh chuckled amiably. "I don't know how I forgot that dandelion is a powerful diuretic. I should probably adjust my herbal tea mix for meditation."

"One of these days you're going to poison someone, uncle," Zuko snorted, getting up from his seat on the balcony. "Anyway, I'll go find Sokka and the kids. I'm sure they'll have all sorts of ideas on what they want to do today."

Zuko didn't have to search too long for Sokka and the kids. The weather was simply too good to be cooped inside, and Zuko was in no way surprised to find the others in the garden where Sokka and Kiyi were engaged in a fierce game of croquet. Kya and Lee made for passionate spectators, always getting in the way and disrupting the play, engaging in typical behavior for eight-year-olds.

"Hey, stop that! Come over here and watch with me if you can't behave," Zuko said, having noticed Kya trying to poke Kiyi's croquet ball into a more advantageous position, thinking that she was being very subtle. "No interfering with the play," Zuko admonished his daughter for her misguided attempts of helping Kiyi.

"Pshaw, Lee is helping Sokka all the time," Kiyi scoffed. "Girl solid-… something for the win."

"Solidarity," Zuko chuckled. "And we'll make sure that Lee isn't helping Sokka anymore," he added, earning himself a scowl from the young boy. "Not that Sokka needs any help, anyway."

"Oh, shut up," Kiyi said before flipping him off. "My goose isn't cooked yet."

"I know you're good, Kiyi, but you're not on Sokka's level," Zuko laughed back at his stepsister. Kiyi seemed to be having very good time hanging out with them, and Zuko was glad for it. She seemed to be bonding particularly closely with Sokka, and considering that Kiyi was in her between boyfriends' phase, Zuko was a little concerned about Kiyi possibly developing a bit of a crush. It seemed like these concerns were unwarranted, however, because he'd never caught Kiyi flirting or looking wistful, and the bond appeared to be purely platonic.

"Don't talk me up too much," Sokka said. "She's come really close to beating me a few times."

"One of these days, the apprentice will rise to defeat the master," Kiyi cackled before playing a very nice shot that left Sokka in a bind, making him frown.

"So, I don't want to distract either of you from the game, but have you decided on what to do afterwards?" Zuko asked.

"I'm pretty sure that the kids have an idea. You should probably ask them," Sokka grinned, carefully eyeing the croquet balls before lining up to take a shot.

"Sea World!" both Kya and Lee yelled immediately.

"Of course," Zuko groaned. "You're picking the busiest day of the weekend to mix with all the crowds from Ba Sing Se," he sighed. "Why don't Kiyi and I take you both there on Monday. Again," Zuko added. They'd already been to the Sea World amusement park twice during this holiday, but the little brats still hadn't had enough. In their defense, however, they had so far only tried about two thirds of all the available rides and slides, so it wasn't surprising that another visit was high in demand.

"But daddy can't come with us on Monday," Kya objected, pointing at Sokka.

"That's right, I can't join you on Monday," Sokka nodded. "Trying to exclude me from our family time, are you?"

"Never," Zuko shook his head. "I just didn't think you'd want to play sardines with all those sweaty tourists from Ba Sing Se."

Kiyi laughed brightly at that. "We are also sweaty tourists from Ba Sing Se, Zuzu," she grinned. "Staying a couple of weeks at the lake doesn't make you a local, dumdum."

"Ugh, I told both you and Azula not to use that word," Zuko scowled. "Not in front of Kya, anyway." Kiyi seemed very amused by that comment.

"Well, good luck stuffing that genie back into the bottle now," Sokka laughed.

"Yes, good luck with that," Kya nodded with a very serious look on her face. "Dumdum," she added to the laughter of everyone except for Zuko.


Azula tried not to show just how delighted she was when after two weeks of waiting, nobody came forward to claim Druk Jr. as their lost pet. The appearance and mannerisms of Druk Jr. triggered all sorts of nostalgic feelings in her, reminding Azula of her old cat. She and Zuko had both adored the original Druk, and as with everything else, the cat had been the cause of many fights between them. Her father had hated the cat, however, because of Druk's penchant of always getting in the way, almost as if being annoying on purpose.

When Ursa and Zuko had fled Ozai, they had taken Druk with them… or at least that was what Ozai had told her. Suddenly, Azula realized that she had never thought to ask Zuko about that. But perhaps she was better off not knowing. The likelihood that her father would have seen this as an opportunity to simply get rid of her beloved cat and blame it on Zuko and Ursa was simply too great.

The throuple had been passionately united in their unanimous decision to officially adopted Druk Jr., even if over the past two weeks, the black kitten had proven to be a little difficult and frustrating to deal with. Perhaps that was also the reason why Azula felt a kindred spirit in the newest member of their family. At least Druk had quickly taken to the hastily arranged litterbox with only minimal training required, and after a few initial accidents, it seemed like personal hygiene would not be an issue.

Vaccination had been a matter of some debate. Even if Druk Jr. had appeared on their doorstep a little worse for wear, it was clear that he hadn't been a street cat his entire life. Why Druk had been abandoned was impossible to say. Katara speculated that perhaps he'd been taken in by one of the families of Agna Qel'a tourists, renting a cottage on the coast and then just abandoning the kitten after returning to the capital. Since they had no way of knowing Druk's vaccination history, the trio had quickly agreed that even if someone stepped forward to claim Druk, it was safer to start the vaccination course while they were waiting.

The experience at the vet office was something that Azula would not forget anytime soon, and it made the antics of Ran and Shaw feel insignificant in comparison. The twenty-minute-long chase had left the vet nurse with scratched arms and face, the vet himself reduced to tears at his partially destroyed clinic and Azula sighing as she wrote a large cheque for the vet to cover his expenses. In the end, a freshly vaccinated Druk Jr. was chilling in Yue's lap as they made the hour-long drive back to Cape Kuruk.

So, the latest addition to their household was an absolute handful who enjoyed sneaking up on his new owners and giving them a terrible scare. Still, in a way it made Azula appreciate the black kitten even more. After all, she'd been a terrible handful to deal with herself, and to some extent, she still was. Azula felt like she understood Druk Jr. on the kind of a spiritual level that was hard to explain.

"Yue sure is taking her time," Katara sighed, cuddling up more tightly against Azula. It had been yet another tiring but satisfying day spent on Pai Sho practice, physical exercise and herding Druk. Their time in Cape Kuruk was slowly coming to an end, but they were making the best of these final few days, spoiling themselves silly. That was why Yue was currently downstairs fixing a midnight snack for herself and her wives.

"Don't be so impatient," Azula chided affectionately. "Hmm, I wonder where Druk is hiding. It's been a while since I've seen him," she remarked.

"We'll just leave a gap in the doors and he'll sneak in at some point as he usually does," Katara grinned.

"Fair enough," Azula nodded. "I think Yue is coming up the stairs now," she said, having heard Yue's footfall on the stairs. However, moments later, both Azula and Katara heard the sounds of a surprised yelp and a crash just outside their room.

Azula and Katara both jumped out of the bed and raced into the hallway. Yue was sitting in a puddle of spilled milk at the top of the stairs, liberally covered in peanut butter and jelly, surrounded by the sandwiches she had dropped. As Azula and Katara were still taking in the scene of carnage, a sleepy looking Hakoda emerged from his room. "What's going on?" he asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"Druk attacked me at the top of the stairs," Yue groaned. "He came out of nowhere and jumped on my foot. That's why I dropped everything."

"Of course," Azula sighed at Druk Jr., who was busy lapping up some of the spilled milk, not caring about the reproachful stares directed at him.

"Can I just point out something before you all go on about how Druk is a menace?" Hakoda asked. "Yue, perhaps you shouldn't be wearing fuzzy slippers with mice ears. You're just inviting Druk to jump you. And you two," Hakoda pointed at Azula and Katara. "Why are you making your girlfriend carry such a load upstairs? Why can't you just go down to the kitchen and enjoy a midnight snack there like normal people? This is all of your own making. Don't blame your cat for it."

"That's really unfair!" Katara shot back before hesitating and chuckling awkwardly. "Although… maybe there's some truth in it."

"I reluctantly have to agree," Azula sighed. "Thank you, Hakoda."

"Yes, thank you, Hakoda," Yue smiled, despite being covered in peanut butter and jelly. "And sorry about that, Druk," she added, reaching out to scratch the kitten behind the ears. "It wasn't your fault at all. You were just being a good hunter."

"Good, can I go back to sleep now?" Hakoda yawned.

"Of course, dad," Katara said quickly. "Azula, why don't you take Yue to the bathroom and help her get cleaned up. In the meantime, I'll tidy things up here. And after that, let's all go downstairs and have a midnight snack in the kitchen, like normal people. How does that sound?"

Druk let out a loud meow at that, making everyone laugh. "I think that's a yes," Azula smiled.


"Alright!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing her head backwards as she downed another shot. "Who was the naysayer, telling us how we could never hit all the Ember Island clubs in the same night?"

"Do you really have to rub it in?" Mai somehow managed a scowl. By this point of the evening, Mai was so tipsy that she was having real trouble maintaining a frown and it kept dissolving into a slightly goofy grin.

"I do!" Ty Lee stated cheerfully. "Because Ember Island has exactly eleven clubs. Which one of us isn't too pissed to count to eleven? I think I'm too pissed. Eleven comes after twelve, right?"

"It doesn't, goofball," Jin laughed so loud that it made all the patrons at the bar stare at them, not that the drunk foursome cared. "I'll give it a try," she said, starting to count all the nightclub stamps on her hands. Four tries produced four different results, and the others weren't doing much better.

"I got fourteen," Suki announced, having stared at her hands for a while, wondering why she had grown two additional extremities.

"Drunken dumbass," Mai laughed. "It's clearly ten," she stated with all the supreme confidence of a drunkard.

"I saw you lick some of your stamps off when that nice guy at the door in the previous club couldn't find a free spot to stamp," Ty Lee argued. "It should be more than ten."

"Yeah, I'm getting thirteen," Suki said. "I don't know, counting is really hard all of a sudden," she laughed, descending into hiccups.

"Well, why don't we ask the nice bartender to count for us," Jin laughed, reaching over the bar counter and knocking over a bottle of vermouth which the bartender deftly caught before it hit the floor. "Can you count the stamps for us, pretty please?" she begged with an enchanting and very tipsy grin. With Jin leaning slightly over the counter, she was putting a lot on display, so the bartender ended up mostly checking out her cleavage than counting the stamps, but in the end, he announced that Jin had exactly eleven stamps on her hands, one for every prominent nightclub of Ember Island.

"Told you!" Ty Lee cheered. "Mission accomplished!"

"Maybe our mission should now be to get kicked out of every club on Ember Island," Suki suggested drunkenly. Some of the female patrons around the bar were murmuring that kicking these drunken hoes out of this particular club would be a nice start. Unsurprisingly, the bartender and the male patrons at the bar were of a different opinion, finding the tipsy foursome a lot of fun.

"Who would want to kick us out?" Ty Lee pouted. "We're adorable. Everyone loves us," she said. It was certainly true that they had been served plenty of free drinks at almost every club. It had certainly hastened their descent into uninhibited drunkenness.

"Sometimes a little too much," Suki snorted. They had left a few of the previous clubs early because some of the patrons there had come on to them a little too aggressively. They were all very tipsy and scantily clad, which meant that many male patrons saw them as easy prey, but Ty Lee, Jin, Suki and Mai had made sure to always remain together and stick up for one another.

"Yeah, now and then I catch myself wondering if we're being a little irresponsible," Jin cut in, slurring her speech slightly. "But then I remember that Zuko and Sokka are soon going away for six whole weeks. Ty and I will be working hard and also looking after Kya and Lee. I love our kids more than anything in the world, but damn if I'm not going to enjoy my two child-free weeks to the fullest extent!" she said, grabbing Ty Lee's shoulders and pulling her in for a wet and sloppy kiss that took some of the patrons by surprise. Loud cheers and whistles were the dominant reaction, but there was also a disapproving looking minority.

"Alright, knock it off, you two," Mai hissed. The tipsier they became, the harder it was to remain discreet with their affections that clearly revealed the nature of their relationships. It was true that despite the Fire Nation having some of the most oppressive legislation when it came to sexual minorities, most people didn't really care too much either way. Still, it took only one or two homophobes in any of the clubs to ruin the fun. Also, the number of free drinks they received from the other male patrons or the bartender seemed to dry up as soon as they realized that this foursome had the gay.

"Yeah, knock it off, or else we'll have to start paying for our drinks," Suki giggled drunkenly. "And that would be horrible!"

This terrible fate did indeed befall them soon enough, and the tipsy foursome ended up back out on the street, arguing due to their inability to tell time from Ty Lee's pink wristwatch, each of them reading it differently. "It's only a little past midnight," Ty Lee declared, ignoring the fact that her watch clearly indicated that it was a quarter past three in the morning. "It's too early to go back to the cottage."

"Let's start the whole tour of nightclubs all over!" Jin shouted. "Take it from the start one more time, baby!"

"Whoa, hold on there, little Miss Cirrhosis," Suki said, wobbling slightly on her feet. "Mai and I signed up for fun, not for permanent liver damage."

"That's right," Mai nodded. "Why don't we go back to the cottage and continue the party there? We have the booze, we have the hot tub, we have the sexy womenfolk… we have everything we need."

"Mai makes a good point," Jin hiccupped. She leaned closer to Ty Lee. "Hey, do you think we're on for that foursome?"

"Shush!" Ty Lee hushed her girlfriend. "It's not the right time for that, not yet. We need to play our cards right."

"You're aware that Suki and I can hear you, right?" Mai asked, rolling her eyes. She was grinning, though. "Agni, these bitches are so stupid."

"But cute," Suki winked at her girlfriend. "And sexy."

"Did you hear that, Jin?" Ty Lee giggled. "I think the foursome is on. Time to get back to the cottage."

"Awesome!" Jin exclaimed excitedly. "Let's go find a cab and hope the driver will put up with four drunken hoes."

Finding a cab proved rather difficult because most drivers unsurprisingly were not eager to take on the additional risk of getting their car decorated by vomit. The foursome ended up pitching together and overpaying significantly, but in the end, they managed to find a rube willing to take them back to the cottage. By the time they were drunkenly stumbling along the path towards the cottage, the crack of dawn was already appearing in the skies to the east.

"Alright, hot tub party time!" Jin exclaimed once they had arrived, starting to shed her clothes on the lawn in front of the cottage.

"We're getting our swimsuits," Suki declared, steering Mai towards the cottage.

"Same," Ty Lee laughed, grabbing Jin's arm and forcefully dragging her along. A while later, Ty Lee and Jin were back out on the lawn in their respective pink and purple bikinis. Suki and Mai emerged to join them soon after, Suki in Kyoshi green and Mai in Caldera red. "I guess someone should get the hot tub started," Ty Lee said.

"Well, it certainly won't start itself," Suki said. "By the way, have you seen the hot tub that our neighbors have? It's so much bigger than ours, and yet I heard that their cottage rent was the same?"

"That seems very unfair," Mai nodded. "Even more insultingly, they're an elderly couple who don't seem to be using the tub."

"You know what?" Jin exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "Our neighbors went away for a few days, didn't they?"

"Yes, on a weekend trip to Shuhon Island," Ty Lee said. "What are you thinking, Jinny?"

"I'm thinking that we should sneak across the fence and make good use of their hot tub," Jin grinned.

"Jin, you're a genius and I love you," Ty Lee said decisively. "We are totally doing it. I will propel myself over the fence and open the gate for you."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Suki and Mai were both in full agreement, nodding along. It was easier than easy for the former gymnast Ty Lee to launch herself over the low fence. In less than a minute, the group of four ne'er-do-wells were standing in front of their neighbor's hot tub, very pleased with themselves. Ty Lee got the hot tub started, about to follow the example of the others and get in, when she was suddenly struck with another amazing idea.

"Why did we even bother with the swimsuits?" she laughed, standing on the edge of the hot tub. "We're going to bang anyway." Ty Lee decided to go for a little bit of striptease as she removed her swimsuit while sensually rocking her hips and finally slipping into the hot tub with the others. She could tell right away that it wasn't just Jin who had enjoyed that little performance.

"Fair enough," Suki grinned. She fumbled a little while removing her swimsuit, tossing it onto the tiles surrounding the hot tub. Jin and Mai quickly followed her example.

"There, that's so much better," Ty Lee said, moving close enough to Jin that their bodies brushed under the water. The level of excitement for what was to come made the sensation feel particularly stimulating.

"It's been a wild and amazing night," Jin sighed happily. "Too bad it won't last much longer. The nights here on Ember Island are just way too short," she said, watching the light of dawn expanding and growing ever brighter.

"Yeah, we have an hour at most, probably even less before it's fully light outside," Suki nodded, reaching out for one of the two bottles of wine she'd brought over from their cottage. She took a swig straight from the bottle before passing it over to Mai.

"Okay, okay," Ty Lee spoke excitedly once the bottle had reached her. "I was going to say that since we're short on time, let's just get on with the orgy, but maybe we should play some silly fun game as a foreplay. How about each of us tells something embarrassing about themselves? Mai, you start."

"Why me?" Mai asked.

"Uh, because… because we're going in alphabetical order," Ty Lee grinned.

"What?" Mai laughed. "Jin comes before Mai, dumbass."

"I can't put my girl on the spot, can I?" Ty Lee argued.

"By the way, Mai, maybe I'll make sure that you come before Jin," Suki said, a goofy grin on her lips. "Or maybe you'll come together."

"Okay, no more wine for Suki," Mai groaned. "Anyway, what am I supposed to tell you about myself? You already know everything. What would you even find embarrassing?" Mai thought for a while before speaking up again. "Okay, fine, I've got it. The number of people I've slept with is less than five. That's got to be embarrassing, right?"

"Maybe a little," Ty Lee grinned. "Anyway, who wants to go next?" Suki and Jin remained silent. "Alright, I guess I'll go next. Hmm, what to tell… oh, I've got one! Say, you know that saying about putting someone on the pedestal, right?" Suki and Mai nodded while Jin began to crack up. "Yeah, uh, I've been saying that one wrong for years without knowing," Ty Lee admitted.

"Wait, how did you say it?" Suki blinked.

"I once said it wrong within Sokka's earshot and he gave me this stare before asking what the heck even is a peddle stool," Ty Lee giggled. "I don't usually feel stupid when I'm being stupid, but that one time… yeah, Sokka really made me feel dumb without even meaning to."

"That's a pretty fun story," Suki said once she had finished laughing. "I think mine will probably make you cringe more than it will make you laugh. So, way back, after Jet left me for the first time to escape the draft, I eventually got together with this girl at The Harmony Ring, but it didn't work out because I kept calling her Jet when we were having sex. And… unfortunately I also did that to Mai," Suki admitted, wincing.

"Oh, shit!" Ty Lee exclaimed, shaking her head. "That's really bad!"

"To my credit, I've only done it once, and it was many months ago, so I don't think it'll ever happen again," Suki explained.

"She apologized, but we still didn't speak for more than a week," Mai said. "So yes, it better not happen again."

"It won't, I promise," Suki leaned in to give Mai a tender kiss.

"My turn, I guess," Jin finally spoke up. "So, this is a really old story, but it's a pretty bad one, which is why I am not very keen on sharing it. Back in the day when I was still dating Zuko, I wanted to get in good with his mom, so I baked a cake for Ursa's fortieth birthday. Unfortunately, I also put her in a hospital and almost killed her."

"What the… why, what did you do?" Mai gasped. "Was she allergic to something in the cake?"

"You guessed it," Jin sighed. "It was a peanut butter chocolate cake. And Zuko hadn't told me that his mom had a very bad allergy to peanuts. My sweet and thoughtful gesture was a complete disaster. That was actually more than just an embarrassment, that was a very upsetting experience."

"My poor dear," Ty Lee cooed, leaning in to give Jin a tender kiss. She was in no hurry to pull away, deciding that it was time to finally escalate things. Ty Lee let her arms roam freely under the water as she continued to kiss Jin deeply. She broke off the kiss only a good while later, turning her head to see that Suki and Mai had moved on to engage in similarly exciting activities. "Feel free to join us any time, you two," Ty Lee winked, then going back to kissing Jin. She was pleased when a while later, Suki and Mai indeed moved closer. Shortly after, Ty Lee was no longer busy exclusively kissing Jin, and the hands running up and down her body under the water didn't belong just to her long-time girlfriend.

Things were becoming extremely exciting a few minutes later, when Ty Lee opened her eyes and spotted something that immediately startled her. "Hold it, ladies," she called out a warning. "Whoever said that our neighbors had gone away was wrong! Look!" she pointed at the cottage, where the light had come on in one of the upstairs rooms, probably the bedroom of the elderly couple.

"Well, crap," Mai groaned. "Time to leg it?"

"You bet," Suki exclaimed, quickly propelling herself out of the hot tub and then pulling Mai up with her. Ty Lee and Jin also got out quickly. The four drunk and stark-naked women picked up the wine bottles and their scattered bikinis before making a quick and embarrassing dash back to their cottage.

"Maybe they didn't notice anything," Jin said hopefully. "Although… we left the hot tub running, didn't we?"

"Well, I'm not going back there, and nobody else should either," Ty Lee said. "By now, the neighbor has probably come out to investigate. But with any luck, they won't realize that it was us."

"Oh, sure," Mai rolled her eyes. "What about all those wet footprints leading back to our cottage?"

"Umm," Ty Lee hesitated. "Well, let's just deny everything!" she decided. "Anyway, weren't we in the middle of something fun and exciting? How about we get back to that?"

"Sounds good," Suki agreed. "But how about we forget all about the hot tub now and instead just move this exciting fun to the bedroom?" Suki's suggestion was met by universal approval.