Azula's Kitchen Nightmares

by Theodur

This is Avatar: The Last Airbender and Kitchen Nightmares crossover story with Ozai in the role of Gordon Ramsay. That's the story. I don't know what else you want me to say. (Obviously, the story is a bit more than that. It's mostly about Katara and Sokka trying to run a family restaurant and not being very good at it. So, it's basically crack treated kind of seriously.)

18. the daisy chain

Chapter 18 – the daisy chain

The week of Sokka's return to the kitchen was off to a very frustrating start, immediately putting Katara into a bad mood. Tuesday had gone poorly, because even if Sokka had practiced the new dishes throughout the weekend, he was still failing to execute them in a timely manner, causing the kitchen to become backed up. The quality also left something to desire, with Katara and Yue receiving the unpleasant reminders of what it felt like to have customers raging and yelling at them, which was never the right thing to do even if their complaints about the dishes were mostly valid.

Sokka's response to criticism regarding both the speed and quality of his performance merely added to everyone's frustration. Sokka basically told everyone to take a chill pill and simply wait for him to get used to the new menu. Azula's plan of forcing Sokka to give up because of a constant string of failures was quickly backfiring, because Sokka remained annoyingly relaxed about the whole disastrous Tuesday. Azula herself was definitely failing to remain chill. She always started out by giving Sokka advice in a calm and composed way, but within a couple of hours, Azula was yelling and swearing like a sailor, looking dangerously close to popping a vein. So far, Azula's way shorter fuse was proving to be her downfall, and whenever she ran out of patience with Sokka, Azula ended up jumping behind the line to save the kitchen from collapsing completely.

Even though Katara had been worried about Suki, it seemed as if the talk she'd had with Azula the week before was helping Suki remain patient. Still, Katara could see that Suki was mostly going through the motions in her old role of sous-chef, carrying out her tasks with an almost robotic indifference. It pained Katara to see the passion that her friend had for cooking becoming extinguished and she hoped that they could eventually force Sokka to admit the truth that his stubbornness was hurting the restaurant.

Aang's vegan menu options felt like a bright spot at the start of this challenging week, because the customers were definitely responding well to these new introductions to the menu. However, Katara could see that Aang's excitement for his promotion was being overshadowed by this conflict that was making the kitchen dysfunctional. As a result of these bad vibes in the kitchen, both Aang and Toph were keeping very quiet and the overall mood around The Northern Lights was quickly turning sour.

Wednesday lunch service had not gone much better. Sokka had made some tiny improvements from Tuesday, but nowhere near enough to be on the necessary level as he still struggled to combine multiple tickets and relied on Azula to help with that, needing his hand held the way that Suki definitely didn't require. Azula had lasted more than halfway into the service before her nerves gave out and having cussed Sokka out like a seasoned sailor, Azula ended up jumping behind the line once again and they had somehow managed to reach the end of another rocky service.

This had been the last straw for Azula. Setting aside her failure of a plan to wear down Sokka's stubbornness, Azula had dramatically demanded that either Sokka swaps places with Suki for the dinner service, or she was going to walk out altogether. Katara didn't think for a moment that Azula's threat was real, because of how much she cared about winning this competition with her brother. Katara was certain that Sokka didn't believe it either, so she felt both relieved and surprised that Sokka actually agreed to swap places with Suki for the upcoming service that was about to begin.

So, as Katara and Yue were chilling in the dining room, ready to start the service, it came as a surprise to them when Suki suddenly sent them both a text, declaring the highest state of emergency and demanding that both Katara and Yue meet her on the roof terrace immediately. Disregarding the fact that they were supposed to open the restaurant's doors in five minutes, the two Water Tribe girls didn't waste a moment as they dashed upstairs.

"You don't suppose she's finally snapped and stabbed Sokka?" Yue asked nervously as they climbed the stairs.

"I hope not," Katara replied worriedly. "Annoying as he might be, Sokka is still my brother, which means that I would be honor bound to stab Suki, and that would make me very sad."

"I know," Yue agreed quickly. "Maybe she stabbed him in some non-critical spot, like his butt cheek or something," she added as the pair finally emerged on the roof terrace to face an excited looking Suki.

"Shut up, I haven't stabbed anyone," Suki began, speaking very quickly. "But I have the most exciting news ever to share with you. This will blow your mind, girls! This is way more important than the rumors of who Taylor Swift is going to date next! This would be even more important than the news of the Fire Nation deciding to reoccupy the Kiyoshi Island, and coming from me, that's saying something, right?"

"Right," Katara nodded, vibrating with Suki's contagious excitement. "Would you mind telling us what this is about before Yue and I lose our minds?"

"Well, it's about Azula," Suki said, cringing when Yue and Katara both squealed in anticipation. "And I swear, I didn't mean to spy on her-"

"Press X to doubt," Yue cut in, sending both herself and Katara into a laughing fit.

"Oh, shush," Suki glared. "Or I might decide not to share the story, and you don't want to miss out on this." Katara and Yue immediately reacted by summoning their most pleading stares, making Suki give in with a resigned sigh. "Right, so Azula was just standing by herself, fiddling with her phone. I wanted to talk shop with her about the dinner service, so I walked up to her, but she didn't even notice me. She looked pretty exhausted after fighting with Sokka all morning, and also, she was totally fixated on her phone. And well, I happened to catch a glimpse of what she was doing, and you are not going to believe me, but she was using a dating app to arrange a hookup!"

"Hah, I knew that boyfriend story was so fake!" Yue laughed, shaking her head. "Anyway, I can't blame her for needing a distraction after doing battle with Sokka for the second day running."

"I guess," Katara said, for some reason feeling just a little bitter. "I just assumed that Azula would be, I don't know, too classy for Tinder."

"Oh, but here's the kicker, Kat," Suki grinned wickedly. "She wasn't using Tinder. She was using HER."

"Well, that is better, I suppose," Katara said absentmindedly, before the implication of what Suki had just told them registered with her brain. "Wait, did you say HER? The queer dating app?" Suki nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"Yay! I knew it, I fucking knew it!" Yue shouted with joy, bouncing up and down excitedly. "She's so gay! Gay, gay, gay!" she sang before pulling Suki and Katara into a crushing group hug.

"Wait, I agree that this is promising news, but let's not get carried away," Katara was the first to seemingly regain her common sense several minutes later. "We have to remain calm and reasonable about this. We want Azula to hook up with us, not some random bitches on HER, right?"

"Absolutely, which is why we need a clever strategy to make sure that Azula realizes that we're the best option for her," Yue nodded with certainty.

"I think what we need is more information," Suki mused thoughtfully. "Is Azula just hooking up with a random girl on a dating app? Or maybe she has a secret girlfriend that she's keeping in touch with through this app? She was exchanging a lot of texts with this girl, so it almost seemed like she knew her previously."

"Yes, we need to know more, I agree," Katara said firmly. "Just because it would be very disrespectful to assume things about Azula's private life."

"Very true, Kat," Yue nodded. "We shouldn't assume anything. We need to learn everything we can about Azula's private life, but in a very respectful way."

"Well, from what I managed to catch, Azula is planning to see this girl tonight," Suki said. "I was thinking that we should follow Azula on her date."

"Yes!" Yue exclaimed joyfully. "That is exactly the sort of level-headed and rational plan I was about to suggest!"

"Wait… what?" Katara blinked, very confused by what she was hearing. "Isn't your plan essentially to… stalk Azula?"

"What?" Yue asked, her eyes comically wide. "No, why would you use a problematic word like that? We would be doing some totally innocent recon. Think of it as keeping Azula safe in case the date goes sour, okay?"

"That works for me," Suki nodded. "But girl, we're talking late in the evening after the dinner service. You probably can't leave Kya alone, can you?"

Yue's face fell immediately. "No, you're right," she sighed. "And I'm not crazed enough to risk with my daughter's wellbeing while chasing after Azula. I guess I'll have to sit this one out. But Suki," Yue seemed to remember. "Don't you also have that thing with Sokka?"

"What thing with Sokka?" Katara asked quickly.

"Fuck, that's right," Suki swore. "And it's not like I can cancel, we live under the same roof… for now." She then turned to face Katara. "Sokka wanted to have a serious conversation after the dinner service. One that's seriously overdue, were his exact words. I think we'll end up making the breakup official."

"Sorry to hear that, girl," Katara sighed, giving Suki's shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"Well, it's not working, I think everyone has accepted that by now," Suki shrugged. "Still, I guess that also eliminates me from our spy mission. Katara, this is going to be all on you."

"Are you serious?" Katara sputtered. "I'm the one least convinced that this is even a good idea, and yet I will be the only one actually doing it?"

"Yes?" Suki and Yue both said, exchanging amused stares. "Anyway, you're gathering important intel for the group," Suki continued. "Yue and I will be endlessly grateful for everything you end up discovering. Our great chase after Azula is now in your hands, Kat."

"Oh, that's very fair," Katara sighed, shaking her head. She was having serious doubts of whether spying on Azula like this was a good idea, because she was afraid that if Azula was to catch her in the act, she might very well decide to walk out on the restaurant in a fit of anger. Then again, Katara imagined being back at the apartment later in the evening, trying to ignore Suki and Sokka having yet another heated argument while at the same time trying not to think about Azula hooking up with some posh tart at a nightclub… that didn't sound like an enjoyable evening either, so perhaps this whole spying on Azula mission was still the best of her options.

---

With Suki holding the reins, Wednesday's dinner service proved to be the highlight of the week so far. Katara and Yue were having a much better time of it in the dining room because subpar dishes were no longer leaving the kitchen, and the waiting times, while still not great, were definitely improving.

The situation in the kitchen was still a little bit tense, however. Certainly, things were smoother because Suki was now controlling the pace and working on multiple tickets at a time. Still, Sokka was not experienced in the position of the sous chef and try as he might, Sokka kept slowing down the kitchen. Fortunately, Aang had proved himself a capable assistant and had jumped in to help his best friend. Between Aang and Sokka, they had managed to keep the pace up, and for once, Azula didn't need to don the chef's jacket and get her hands dirty.

With Azula subtly sneaking out at the conclusion of the dinner service and Yue leaving early to relieve her babysitter, Katara hoped that their usual post-service hanging out could be cut short. It helped that Sokka seemed determined to have his overdue conversation with Suki, and fortunately Aang quickly got the hint. After Aang and Toph had departed, it was easy for Katara to sneak downstairs for a quick shower, pretty herself up in case she had to follow Azula into some bar or a nightclub, and then sneak out without facing any annoying inquiries from Sokka.

Once outside, Katara quickly got into the car and briefly double checked her appearance before starting the engine. She hardly ever went heavy on the makeup, certainly not to the extent that Azula did, but a few light touches here and there always helped. April was drawing towards a close and the Fire Nation weather had already turned downright summery. Katara had decided to go with the tiny jean shorts that had always made Jet unashamedly stare at her ass all the time. She had paired them up with a matching denim jacket and very flattering blue tube top that made her look like the proverbial party girl.

It was almost a quarter past eleven when Katara pulled up a safe distance from the posh residential building where Azula was renting her apartment. Katara was relieved to see that Azula's car was still parked outside. Given how quick and efficient Azula was in everything she did, Katara had been legitimately worried that Azula would have already gotten ready for her date and left, ruining Katara's mission of espionage.

Katara didn't have to wait long because a couple of minutes after her arrival, a gorgeous looking woman in a sexy pink romper and matching stilettos swiftly walked up to Azula's car and got in. It took several long seconds until Katara's brain was jolted into realizing that the woman in question had actually been Azula, because Katara was so unaccustomed to Azula wearing something that wasn't either bright red or the white chef's jacket. Also, Azula had completely transformed her hair, leaving it all the way down, wild and flowing, making herself very difficult to recognize, which was clearly the intended goal here. Overall, however, Azula's appearance had very heavy DTF vibes, reminding Katara of her mission, and so she quickly started the ignition and set to follow her prey.

Despite having lived in Caldera City for the majority of her life, there were still parts of the large metropolis that Katara didn't know all that well. She knew the downtown well enough when it came to shopping, but when it came to nightlife, Katara felt very much like a confused and out of her depth tourist. She'd done her share of clubbing and partying during her college years, but ever since she'd been drafted to help out at the restaurant full time, there simply hadn't been enough time for partying. Considering how busy the restaurant was all the time, Katara had lost her urge to socialize on her days off. She still wanted to do stuff with her friends and her boyfriend, but most of the time it didn't involve interacting with crowds of strangers.

Katara very nearly lost the sight of Azula as she searched for a free spot in one of the crowded downtown parking lots. Despite it being a Wednesday evening, the city center was still abuzz with activity, and it was very fortunate that Azula had chosen to wear such an easily identifiable outfit, allowing Katara to catch up with her outside the parking lot. Azula was already walking away at her usual frantic pace, making it very hard for Katara to keep up, and she occasionally had to jog for a short distance in order not to lose Azula. Still, considering that Azula had a tendency to often stop and look around, lagging behind was a blessing in disguise. Azula was definitely acting a little paranoid… although, Katara had to admit that since she was actually being followed, maybe it was unfair to describe Azula's constant looking around as paranoid.

After a good deal of walking that involved crossing almost the entire downtown area, Azula finally seemed to have reached her destination, a rather garishly decorated establishment illuminated by blinding pink, purple and bright green neon lights. Before entering, Azula hesitated and quickly turned to look behind her, making Katara dive into a back alley and nearly crash into some garbage bins. Having waited for several long moments with her back pressed against a rough brick wall, Katara dared to peek out, finding the street empty. Deciding that Azula must have entered the establishment, Katara gave herself a couple of moments to steady herself and check her appearance before she followed Azula into the curiously named establishment of Kyoshi's Retreat.

The significance of that name together with the complete absence of men inside the establishment hit Katara very soon after entering. She winced inwardly upon realizing that she had ended up in a busy lesbian bar. The idea had been to not attract attention, but alone and dressed as she was, Katara immediately became worried that she might draw interest from some of the undoubtedly lovely ladies frequenting this place. Still, before she did anything else, Katara had to locate Azula. Looking around for the sexy pink romper, Katara soon managed to spot Azula sitting at one of the tables a little off to the side of the bar counter. Luckily, Azula was sitting with her back towards the bar, and she seemed to be fully immersed in conversing with her date, allowing Katara to relax slightly.

Next on Katara's agenda was to find the most secluded spot from which she could freely observe Azula and her companion. Katara hadn't yet gotten a good look at Azula's date, and she needed a better vantage point to do so. Muttering apologies, Katara pushed her way to the bar, where the bartender lady wearing the full makeup of the Kyoshi Warriors, an all sapphic girl goth rock band that was basically like Kiss only good, quickly took notice of Katara and happily poured her a drink. As Katara took her drink and thanked the friendly bartender, she observed that all the staff at this establishment were wearing the Kyoshi Warrior makeup, making them look very exotic and hot.

Katara had to spend much more time at the bar than she had intended before a table suited to her needs finally freed up and she quickly claimed it for herself. It was a welcome respite from the interest she was drawing not only from the bartender but also from a couple of other girls at the bar. At least now, Katara could finally get a better look at what Azula and her mysterious companion were up to.

Finally getting the opportunity for a better look at Azula's date, Katara felt her chest bursting with an unexpected wave of jealousy at the other woman's stark beauty. She was clearly of local Fire Nation stock, and in some ways, shared many of Azula's features. Her face seemed to be sharper, more angular than Azula's, but Katara didn't dare to stare too closely for more details. She could tell that the woman was older than Azula, perhaps by as much as ten years. At least Katara was sure that she was in her thirties, looking like she could be Azula's sugar mommy, if only Azula needed one.

As Katara continued to sit at her table, drinking one cocktail after another and watching Azula and her date enjoying their conversation, she couldn't stop herself from becoming overcome by growing bitterness. Maybe they had been stupid to think that Azula would notice them when she could hook up with women as beautiful as her date. Or maybe Azula simply was into older women and they didn't stand a chance to begin with. Or maybe Azula was one of those Fire Nation supremacists who only considered hooking up with their own ilk and deep inside she considered the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom immigrants beneath her. Katara cringed, shaking her head and wondering where such unflattering thoughts were even coming from. Azula had never said or done anything that came across as racially motivated, and Katara felt ashamed for letting her bitterness lead her down this path of unfair assumptions.

"Hey, hot stuff," Katara's thoughts were interrupted by a pretty but rather tipsy looking blonde, stopping by her table and giving her a slightly drunken grin. "Want some company?" the blonde offered unsubtly.

"I'm sorry, I'm waiting for someone," Katara replied quickly, giving the blonde merely a side glance as she continued to stare at Azula and her date.

"Sure, for the last half an hour, right?" the blonde winked at her. "Hey, don't feel bad or embarrassed, we've all been stood up at least once in our lives, even I."

"I haven't been stood up," Katara said, trying to ignore the obnoxious blonde. She couldn't let Azula and her date out of her sights. What if she missed something or the pair left while she was humoring this girl who was blatantly trying to hit on her?

"Sure, sure," the blonde grinned, sitting down with her uninvited, much to Katara's annoyance. "So, what's her name?" the blonde asked.

"Azula," Katara replied absentmindedly before catching herself. "Umm, I'm sorry, who's name did you ask me about?"

"Your date's name?" the blonde rolled her eyes. "The one that hasn't stood you up?"

"Oh, her. That would be… err, Yuki," Katara tried to came up with something, but her brain apparently couldn't do better than the cross between Yue and Suki's names.

"Cute name," the blonde looked like she wasn't buying Katara's story, though. Perhaps she was one of those drunks who became annoyingly persistent after several glasses. "So, who's Azula?"

"Azula?" Katara blinked. "She's, uh… she's nobody. I don't even know why I mentioned her."

"Is she one of those girls you've been staring at the whole time?" the blonde whispered conspiringly, leaning closer. "You're being really obvious about it, by the way."

"I'm not staring!" Katara hissed. "Now please, shut up and leave me alone!"

"Hmm, that's not very nice, so… no, I don't think I will," the blonde frowned. "I'm starting to think that maybe you're some kind of creepy stalker. And we don't tolerate stalkers at our nice little bar here, okay? That kind of masculine behavior has no place here."

"I'm not a stalker!" Katara glared at the woman. The heat hitting her cheeks and making her face burn in an obvious display of embarrassment was probably a dead giveaway, though. "Please, I'm asking you again, just leave me alone!"

"So that you can creep on other ladies in what is supposed to be our safe space?" the blonde glared right back. "I don't think so. Maybe you're a jilted ex? How do I know you don't intend to follow and stab them both to death?" The blonde turned towards the bar. "Girls, we've got a creepy stalker right here!" Even though the music in the bar was quite loud, the woman's words still managed to attract the attention of several regulars who were now staring at them with curiosity.

Katara knew that she had to shut this commotion down quickly before it attracted the attention of Azula and her companion. She didn't exactly have many options available to her, so Katara did the first thing she could think of, which was to grab the other woman and then try to silence her by stuffing a napkin down her throat. Unfortunately for Katara, even though the blonde was far tipsier, she was also larger and stronger, trying to shove Katara away as she started to fight back.

Several people were by now on their way to interfere, but Katara and her opponent were already in the middle of a nasty wrestling match which involved plenty of painful yanking on each other's hair. Bottles and glasses went flying as the table ended up being flipped, and by that point, Katara knew that she had successfully made a complete fool of herself and also probably ruined Azula's date night.

It took the combined efforts of both the staff and the bar patrons to eventually separate Katara and her opponent. Being held back by several pairs of hands, Katara kept glaring at the annoying blonde, trying her best not to look in Azula's direction, because she did not want to see the shock, anger and disappointment that would surely be there on Azula's face.

"Hey June," the blonde spoke up, looking at someone pushing their way through the crowd. "This little bitch was spying on you and your date."

Katara cringed visibly as she turned to see Azula's companion emerging from the crowd. Up close, she appeared not only strikingly beautiful, but also cutting a rather imposing and intimidating figure, so Katara figured that she was about to get the snot beaten out of her. "Hey Sally," June replied. She then did something surprising by reaching out and taking Katara's hand. "Also, piss off Sally, and try to remember what I told you about keeping your nose out of my affairs," June told the blonde woman who was gaping at her in shock. June then tugged on Katara's arm, gesturing for the others to release her. "Let the girl go. She's with me," she spoke in a commanding voice.

"W-what are you doing?" Katara whispered in a trembling voice as June led her away.

"Don't panic, I'm doing you a huge favor," June said. She kept a firm grip on Katara's hand, which was probably a good idea, because Katara was seriously considering simply dashing for the door and escaping into the night. Instead, Katara allowed June to lead her over to the table and force her to sit down next to Azula. "I'm going to get you something stronger to drink. You'll probably want to get totally shitfaced after this," June said, leaving Katara sitting with Azula, still unable to look at her friend she had behaved so appallingly towards. The shame of it all quickly became overwhelming and Katara broke down into tears.

"Uh, why are you crying, Kat?" Azula asked, sounding very confused.

"Why am I crying?" Katara repeated incredulously, finally daring to look at Azula through her tears. Strangely enough, Azula didn't appear angry? "Because I'm ashamed of how terribly I've behaved?"

"Hey, who hasn't started a bar fight at least once in their life, am I right?" Azula chuckled, reaching out to pat Katara's hand. "It's not a big deal, I promise."

"I'm not talking about the bar fight!" Katara exclaimed tearily. "I followed… ugh, let's just call it for what it was, I was stalking you!"

"Oh, I suppose you did," Azula admitted after a moment of thought. She still didn't look angry, though. "How did that come about, anyway?"

"Ugh, I'm so embarrassed to even talk about it," Katara sighed. "Suki saw you using the dating app earlier, and she told me and Yue about it. And we just wanted to make sure that you were hooking up… meeting another girl. But Yue and Suki were both busy, so we agreed that I would follow you and-" Katara broke down in a fresh flood of tears.

"Seriously, stop with the waterworks, okay?" Azula said, looking a little frustrated. "Anyway, you're a pretty good sneak, I have to give it to you. I had a feeling that I was being followed, but I didn't spot anyone until just outside the bar entrance. When I saw you enter and realized that it had been you, I was actually quite impressed."

"And you didn't think to confront me or anything?" Katara asked, feeling surprised.

"What would be the point?" Azula shrugged. "You had already discovered my dirty little secret. Besides, I had already reconciled myself with the thought that sooner or later you, Yue and Suki would probably find out the truth. The three of you seem to be unusually invested in my private life."

"Sorry," Katara muttered, lowering her eyes. "It's just that you're, well… fascinating, okay? But we're going to pull back, I promise. I'll make sure that Yue and Suki understand it as well-"

"Why would you want to do that?" Azula shrugged, tossing her hair and looking smugly pleased. "I love the attention."

"You're horrible," Katara laughed through the tears. "You need to stop encouraging me. It is clearly leading to unhealthy behavior, such as me stalking you."

"And what if I told you that I like beautiful women doing crazy and unhealthy things on my behalf?" Azula asked, smirking as she took a lengthy sip through her cocktail straw.

"I would tell you that you're probably very drunk," Katara snorted. Azula's reaction was so befuddling that she had no idea what to make of it. "I can't believe that after catching me stalking you, your reaction is basically… wow, that's hot. What's wrong with you?"

Azula burst into laughter, almost spilling her drink. "I'm sure you've already caught on to some of the things that are very wrong with me," she chuckled. "Trust me, there's more where that came from." She then cocked her head, giving Katara a very curious stare. "But that doesn't seem to… put you off?"

Katara shook her head resolutely. "Sorry, but it just makes you way more fascinating to me," Katara said earnestly. She was going to say more, but at that moment, June returned to the table, placing what looked like Shuhon Island Iced Tea in front of her.

"Well," June smirked as she sat down with them. "You two seem to have cleared everything up."

"I think we simply realized that we're both kind of insane," Katara chuckled uneasily as she took an eager sip of her drink. The iced tea hit her pretty hard, but then again, as June had correctly guessed, it was what she needed. Katara was still burning with embarrassment, wishing that the earth would open up and swallow her, but at the same time, she was intensely grateful to Azula for being so abnormally chill about this whole thing when she definitely was entitled to feel angry. Also, June had saved her from the confrontation with the other patrons, which made her pretty awesome in Katara's eyes.

"Knowing Azula, it kind of tracks that she would be hanging out with someone a bit crazy," June laughed.

"Would it be rude to ask how you know Azula?" Katara asked, feeling emboldened by the drink. June wasn't just stunningly beautiful, she also appeared rather approachable, encouraging Katara to pose her question.

"We met through the dating app," June replied with a shrug. "When was the first time we hooked up, Azula? Two years ago?"

"A little more than two years, actually," Azula corrected June. As far as Katara could tell, Azula wasn't seriously drunk, but she was just tipsy enough to lose her social awkwardness.

"Yes, and over those two years, we've hooked up, I don't know, about a dozen times?" June said.

"Nine times," Azula corrected June again.

"Of course, she would know the exact number," June laughed. "I think she probably keeps some kind of record of her hookups. And she probably also rates them, too. Damn, now I actually want to know how well I stack up against her other regulars."

"You're usually up there at the very top, with a healthy mix of eight and nine out of ten," Azula replied smoothly.

"Now I want to know what I have to do to get the full marks of ten," June laughed.

"Wait, uh, other regulars?" Katara blinked. "Just how many of them are there?"

"It's not exactly a girl in every port kind of thing, Katara," Azula rolled her eyes. "Anyway, are you going to judge me for hooking up?"

"No, I'm just… this isn't a side of you that I ever expected to discover," Katara replied.

"You weren't really supposed to discover it," Azula sighed. "I'm usually better at separating my private life from my job. However, your little restaurant is a very different and special place, and by the nature of my assignment, we end up spending a lot of time together. It's been very hard to avoid becoming very… involved with the entire group."

"We do see ourselves as one big and usually happy family," Katara smiled. "I think we've all started to see you as a part of it."

"I can't deny that I've been enjoying it, too," Azula admitted. "Anyway, I feel like this conversation got sidetracked and I can't remember what we were even talking about."

"You two are adorable," June laughed. "And your restaurant does sound like a great place to work at. Azula said that she has never had such sexy coworkers than at this Northern Lights restaurant."

"She said that, huh?" Katara grinned, watching Azula's face turn deep shade of scarlet. "And what do you do for living, June?" Katara asked, suddenly realizing that she was paying way too much attention to Azula and completely ignoring her gorgeous companion.

"I own a bar," June replied. "But it's not a lesbian bar, I'm afraid. It's a very popular dive down by the harbor, so if you want to hang out with a bunch of old and salty sea dogs, you're welcome to visit Nyla's Tavern at any time."

"Sounds like a place with a lot of character," Katara smiled. "Also, can I just ask… are you open about your sexuality, or are you trying to keep it a secret like Azula?"

"I neither advertise nor hide it, really," June shrugged. "My dad and I have this don't ask, don't tell policy going on, and that's fine with me. It's not something I need to be able to talk to him about, you know? I just need him not to judge me, and that's enough."

"That sounds fair," Katara nodded. She gave Azula a curious stare. "No chance of you having that kind of arrangement with your dad, is there?"

"Fuck no," Azula shook her head, taking a heavy sip of her cocktail before gesturing at a passing server to bring her another one.

"I was afraid you would say that," Katara sighed, regretting to have even brought up Ozai, because Azula's father was definitely one of those topics that seemed to bring conversations to a screeching halt.

"Anyway, moving on from that," Azula said decisively a while later, after she had been delivered a new strawberry daiquiri and she had already taken a few big sips. "I wanted to compliment you on your outfit, Katara. I think it's really cute," Azula said, sounding considerably tipsier by now. "Don't you agree that it's a very cute outfit?" Azula asked, looking at June.

"I definitely agree," June nodded earnestly. Katara shuddered in delight, feeling very warm as she felt two pairs of eyes unashamedly roaming all over her scantily clad body. "Also, a terrible choice if your plan is to infiltrate a lesbian bar all by yourself and you don't want to attract attention," June laughed.

"Well, I had no idea where Azula was heading on her date, but you're not wrong," Katara admitted. She then looked back at Azula. "Speaking of cute outfits… it's not exactly your style, but damn if it's not effective. Also, not very low profile."

"Oh, I didn't want it to be low profile. There's a difference between not being recognized and not being noticed, you know?" Azula grinned. "Because I don't want to be recognized, but I always want to be noticed. You're not wrong about it not being quite my style, though. This whole date was on a very short notice, so I ended up borrowing an outfit from a childhood friend."

"She seems to have great taste," Katara said, feeling curious. Azula had never mentioned having childhood friends before.

"Umm, the jury is still out on that," Azula laughed. "Maybe I'll introduce you at some point and then you can be the judge of that yourself."

"Anyway," June spoke up a while later. "Maybe you two want to finish your drinks and then we can get out of here?"

"Of course," Katara said, trying her best to keep her raging jealousy from rearing its ugly head. Of course, June wanted to get back to her date with Azula. "It's getting late, so definitely time for me to be on my way," she said, noticing the immediate look of disappointment on Azula's face.

"I was sure you'd want to join me and Azula at my place," June suggested with an alluring smile. "I have a feeling that Azula would like that."

"Y-yes," a very red-faced Azula squeaked. "Please, join us, Katara."

Katara felt like the heat that had been slowly building within her throughout this entire conversation suddenly erupted and threatened to consume her wholly. She knew that she was supposed to reject this offer, but at the same time, Katara fully acknowledged that her resolve to do the right thing was very weak and easily subverted. There was just no way she was going to turn down such a tempting offer. "Uh… alright, I'm in," Katara managed, certain that her blush was just as intense as Azula's.

"Glad you agreed," June grinned, looking very pleased with herself. "There's only so much of you two fucking with your eyes that I can take, so I would say it's definitely time for things to get real."

---

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed with her head ringing slightly in the throes of a hangover was not an experience that Katara was very accustomed to. That wasn't to say that it had never happened to her before, but it had been years since it had happened last. Opening her eyes, Katara tried to focus her thoughts, which was not easy with the room spinning gently around her. Her first and immediate regret was having had one too many drinks the previous evening. It probably wasn't going to be her last regret regarding this unplanned hookup, but for now, just focusing on her headache seemed like the most comforting plan.

Katara had woken up all alone in the large bed, with June and Azula already up. Even though Katara was slightly worried that Azula in particular might be having second thoughts about everything that had happened, Katara wasn't planning to hide in June's bedroom until any potential storms blew over. She needed to get up, get out there and face the consequences of their probably ill-considered liaison.

Someone had thoughtfully gathered Katara's clothes in a neat little pile on the nearby chair, which definitely wasn't where these garments had been discarded last night. Just remembering the delightful way in which June and Azula had teamed up to playfully undress her sent a powerful jolt through Katara's very core. The delightful memories of the previous night, one more arousing than the other, began to assault her, distracting Katara as she dressed herself. In the end, Katara was rather grateful to escape the bedroom where everything seemed to remind her about their recent sexual escapades, and those memories made Katara blush heatedly all over when thinking about them.

Katara hadn't paid too much attention to June's modest two room apartment last night. Before she could take a good look around this morning, she heard June calling out her name as soon as she closed the bedroom doors behind her. Katara quickly made her way towards June's voice, entering a cozy looking kitchen. June was wearing her sexy chemise nightwear with an apron around it, smiling at Katara as she pointed at the kitchen island. "I know you're going to say you're not hungry, but you'll want to get all of this down," she smiled, pointing at the grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of orange juice in front of Katara. "It'll help with the hangover."

"Thank you," Katara smiled, sitting down and happily digging in, trying to ignore the slightly nauseating sensations. "Did Azula leave already?" she asked, trying to hide her obvious disappointment.

"No, don't worry, she's in the shower," June smirked. Katara tried to listen in, hearing the sound of running water as well as muffled singing from the bathroom nearby. "So," June continued, facing Katara with an amused stare. "Last night. That was… fun, right?"

"Umm… it certainly was," Katara replied, blushing heatedly.

"I don't know why I thought that it was going to be your first time with a girl, but it clearly wasn't," June continued. "That said, first ever threesome?"

"Yes," Katara admitted. "When I was with Yue… uh, my high school sweetheart, we were thinking about inviting another girl to join us, but the opportunity simply never came up. Also, I just had no idea about the… you know, logistics of a lesbian threesome. I don't know why I was worried that someone would end up feeling left out."

"You are impossibly cute," June laughed, shaking her head. "Well, I'm glad to have introduced you to the concept of the daisy chain. As you may remember from last night, none of us had any reasons to feel left out."

"That's definitely one of the things I don't need to think about right now, but it's also something that will be impossible to forget," Katara gulped, trying to focus on the delicious grilled cheese sandwich in front of her.

"I think all three of us will remember this last night very fondly," June laughed softly. "Also, if you're concerned about Azula having regrets over what happened, then you shouldn't worry," June added a moment later. "She might be a little afraid of what it all means, however, but I'm sure the two of you can talk it out. I honestly didn't think I would ever see Azula so into someone. It's disgustingly cute."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating now," Katara said, even if she desperately hoped that June was not exaggerating.

"Come on, Katara," June gave her a slightly exasperated look. "I woke up in the middle of the night and it took me a moment to realize that you two were going for another round while desperately trying to remain subtle about it," June laughed as Katara turned away in embarrassment. "And you didn't even think to wake me up to join you, so yeah, I would say, you're both seriously into each other."

"Right," Katara remarked lamely, as she heard the bathroom doors opening and closing nearby. A few moments later, Azula stepped into the kitchen, looking impeccable in her borrowed sexy pink romper. "Good morning," Katara greeted her awkwardly.

"Morning," Azula replied with a slightly forced smile. "Umm, June? I don't mean to be rude since this is your apartment, but could you give me a moment alone with Katara?"

"Of course," June nodded, turning to leave. "I need to get properly dressed, anyway."

"Thank you," Azula said, looking grateful as June left them alone in the kitchen. Azula then sat down opposite to Katara, not saying anything for a while. At some point, their eyes met, but Azula quickly looked downward, letting out a heavy sigh. "Agni, I really don't want to have this conversation right now," she groaned.

"We don't have to," Katara suggested hopefully. She was quite certain that she wasn't going to like whatever Azula had to say. "I can pretty much imagine what you're going to say, anyway."

"A tempting suggestion, but I don't want any misunderstandings between us," Azula said, still looking down and avoiding Katara's eyes. "And I don't want you to think that this wasn't fun. It was… definitely some next level fun, compared to what I'm used to," Azula blushed lightly. "It's just that… there's a reason I never do this sort of thing with a coworker, you know? Things can get very messy, and I'm sure none of us want that. So, if we could just-"

"Just leave it at this," Katara finished, trying her hardest not to sound bitter. "Sure, I hear you. It was just a hookup, not a start to something… I don't know, a relationship, right? I mean, who wants that," Katara laughed awkwardly. "We're way too busy saving the restaurant to afford such distractions."

"Well, I'm glad we're both happy with keeping things at that," Azula said, suddenly sounding very stiff, which surprised Katara. Wasn't she just saying what Azula wanted to hear? But now Azula looked annoyed for some reason.

"As you said, it would be for the best if we kept things professional," Katara replied. "Friends?" she asked, offering her hand to Azula.

"Friends," Azula replied, shaking her hand and managing a slightly forced smile. "Also, Katara, please remember that you can't tell anyone about what happened. I hope that's not going to be a problem for you," Azula added, looking a little worried.

"It might be a problem, actually," Katara said. "I don't know how I'm supposed to keep this from Yue and Suki. I mean, Suki already knows that you were planning a date with a girl, and then the three of us planned this spy mission together. Suki and Yue already know the truth, Azula. And even if they didn't know the truth, are you seriously asking me to lie to two of my best friends?" Azula looked very guilty at that, causing Katara's frown to soften.

"Well, no, I wouldn't want to upset your friendships with Suki and Yue," Azula admitted. "I was just thinking that… maybe they don't need to know that we, uh, had sex." Azula blushed adorably at that.

"I don't know about that. It would still require me lying to my friends," Katara sighed. "But when I talk to them, I can try to make sure that everything about this remains with them and doesn't spread."

"Thanks, Katara. I really appreciate that," Azula said, looking both grateful and relieved. "You know how important it is that none of this reaches the ears of my father, right?" Azula continued, still sounding a tad worried. "So, I just want to be perfectly clear that we're good. We are good, aren't we?"

"Of course," Katara smiled, reaching out to affectionally pat Azula's hand. "We're next level good, Azula."

"Alright, that's great to hear," Azula blushed lightly as she reluctantly removed her hand and rose from her seat. "I really should run now, though. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I think it would be for the best if we didn't leave together. I know it's unlikely, but what if someone snaps a picture of us leaving together and it sends the tongues waggling?"

"That just wouldn't do," Katara shook her head.

"Exactly!" Azula agreed happily. "So, please give it a few minutes after I've left before you leave as well, okay?" Katara nodded at that. Azula looked pleased as she walked off to exchange a few words with June before leaving the apartment. Meanwhile, Katara was left alone in the kitchen to try and digest everything that had happened.

With so much on her mind, it was only now that Katara remembered to check her phone, groaning when she noticed how many missed calls and messages had accumulated since last night. Yue and Suki had gone into panic mode and their inquiries about the investigation had turned into calls for missing person search when Katara had failed to respond to their text messages. Katara fired off a quick message to reassure everyone that she was alive and well, wondering just how she had gotten so carried away to not realize that Suki and Sokka would both start to worry after she didn't return home the previous evening. Already, Suki and Yue were replying to her text, bombarding Katara with demands for an explanation. It didn't help that somewhere in that pile of messages, Katara also stumbled upon a text from Suki which informed her that Suki and Sokka had decided to officially end their relationship. Even if by now it was a mere formality, it made Katara feel so much worse when she thought more and more about just what she had done.

So many things often felt like terrible ideas the morning after, and this little affair was starting to feel like one of these terrible ideas to Katara. She was only supposed to spy on Azula and learn more about who she was hooking up with. She definitely wasn't supposed to sleep with Azula. And sure, Katara didn't exactly regret the act itself because it had been the best sex she'd ever had, but Katara also knew that if the roles were reversed and either Yue or Suki had decided to take their shot when it was more or less agreed to be a joint operation, Katara would be pissed at them.

And as good as sex with Azula had been (also June was there too, Katara supposed), Katara still intended to apologize to Yue and Suki, and beg them for forgiveness as humbly as she needed to. She did not want to ruin the most important friendships of her life for what was essentially a one-night stand, because Azula had made it perfectly clear that she wanted to leave their hookup in the past and move on from it. And Katara knew that she had to move on from it as well… she just wasn't sure if she could do it as easily as Azula could.