Chapter 22 – everybody's kissing Azula
The first week of May was a very important one for Azula, and she was eager to get it off to a good start. As everyone got ready for the Tuesday lunch service, Azula did her best to mentally prepare her pitch to Katara and Sokka regarding their new roles. Azula really hoped that both siblings would accept the changes, because if either Katara or Sokka rejected her proposals, Azula had no idea what other roles she could find for the restaurant's owners.
Unfortunately, Azula was also starting this new work week feeling very exhausted and sore, and not because of any fun reasons. On Monday, they had all been recruited into helping Suki with the move to her new apartment. Azula had intended to be the one overseeing the effort without lifting a finger herself, but then Toph had also showed up with the same idea in mind. Azula had briefly contemplated how bad it would look if she ordered a disabled girl do all the heavy lifting while she did nothing except for barking orders, but then she had decided that Katara and the other girls of The Northern Lights would probably disapprove of such a plan, so as a sad little simp, Azula had submitted herself to carrying heavy boxes and furniture all the way up to Suki's third floor apartment.
Interestingly enough, not only had Sokka showed up to help himself, but he had also brought Ty Lee with him, using the opportunity to introduce her to the rest of The Northern Lights crew. Azula wasn't surprised that Ty Lee was warmly welcomed and accepted by the group, despite said group containing not one but two exes of Sokka. Azula had later caught Suki and Yue during a round of gossiping, where they both expressed surprise about Sokka dating a girl who seemed like a bit of a spazz, but Azula didn't feel as if it was said in a mean or derogatory way, because other than that one comment, Yue and Suki had been perfectly nice to Ty Lee. The fact that Ty Lee took on an impressive workload also went a long way in endearing her to the group.
Of course, Suki still had a lot of work over the coming weeks as she settled in, but much to Azula's relief, she had refused any more volunteering offers from her friends. Because of the exhausting move, everyone was moving slowly this morning, wincing, groaning and generally looking in pain. Azula considered her fitness levels to be top notch, but regular jogging didn't exercise the same muscle groups that were used to carry heavy loads up several flights of stairs. Azula's back felt very strained since the moment she had woken up and her arms felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets. It didn't help that Aang had scheduled Tuesday as his second day off and Azula had to put in actual effort as the sous chef to stay in sync with Suki as she called out the orders.
Still, despite everyone suffering a little more than usually, the lunch service seemed to be ticking along nicely… at least, until Yue walked into the kitchen to deliver a new ticket, but doing so with an extremely frustrated expression on her face. "I can't believe that woman," Yue fumed, looking unusually angry for her.
"What woman?" Azula asked, giving Yue a curious and slightly concerned stare.
"Auntie Ashuna," Yue sighed. "She's such a menace."
"What is she complaining about now?" Suki asked as she was busy pan searing a pair of salmon fillets.
"The menu, of course," Yue rolled her eyes. "Apparently she has a desperate craving for cod poached in milk and she's complaining about us taking it off the menu."
"That was one of those dishes Katara kept on the menu just for her, right?" Azula sighed. Katara's willingness to go to extremes to be nice and accommodating was only one of the reasons why she couldn't be trusted as an effective general manager.
"You remember well," Yue snorted. "Anyway, Auntie Ashuna is still out there, crying for her cod and making these snide insinuations about calling Katara and Sokka's gran to complain about them ruining her favorite restaurant."
"Katara should have thrown that old biddy out on her ass a long time ago," Toph shrugged, looking unimpressed. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."
"Why isn't Katara dealing with her now?" Azula asked.
"Sokka called her into the manager's office," Yue explained. "I think they're trying to figure out some details about the payroll."
"I see," Azula remarked. Sokka taking interest in managerial affairs without being prompted to do so seemed like a promising development. Also, this seemed like a fitting moment to speak with the Water Tribe siblings and introduce them to the planned changes, but perhaps first she could do something to help Yue. "Can you hold the fort without me for a while?" Azula asked. "Toph, you can jump in if Suki needs you, right?"
"I'll handle it," Toph replied confidently.
"We should be good, it's not the busiest of services," Suki nodded in agreement.
"Alright, lead the way," Azula told a very surprised looking Yue. "I want to meet this infamous Auntie Ashuna, and maybe also teach you a thing or two about how to handle problematic customers."
"Just remember, you can't get physical with her because Katara will disapprove," Yue warned, still looking very curious as she led Azula out of the kitchen and into the dining room.
"I think you misunderstand my intentions here, dear Yue," Azula shot the other girl a quick grin as they approached a table occupied by an elderly Water Tribe woman. At the first glance, she appeared to have a jolly cheer about her, but to Azula these first impressions also revealed someone with the potential to turn into a total Karen if she didn't get what she wanted.
"Who is this girl, Yue?" Auntie Ashuna looked disapproving as they approached her table. "I asked to speak with Katara."
"Hello, my name is Azula, and I've been recently hired by Katara as a consultant," Azula lied smoothly with a broad and completely insincere smile on her lips. "You must be Auntie Ashuna, Katara's favorite customer. She regrets not being able to attend to your complaint personally, but she has sent me to address your concerns."
"Well… I suppose you will do," Auntie Ashuna looked a little deflated by Azula's flattery. "I just felt like this airhead was not taking me seriously," Ashuna then said, frowning at Yue. Azula grit her teeth, trying to hold back a growing desire to grab this old biddy in a headlock and hold her like that until she apologized to Yue. "I've been coming here for twenty years, ever since the restaurant opened, and I have always been able to order the milk poached cod, a dish that most reminds me of home. And suddenly it's no longer on the menu? What would Kanna say if she knew about this scandal? It's shameful, downright shameful."
"I completely understand your disappointment, Auntie Ashuna," Azula continued bullshitting the old woman. "All of us here at The Northern Lights stand by the quality of our menu and believe that it is superior to the old one. Most of the customers who saw some of their old favorites go have been able to find new favorite dishes from the new menu. But of course, we also understand that in some cases, there's a strong emotional connection not just to dish itself, but to what it represents. I regret that the changes we have introduced have resulted in such a disappointment for you."
"Well… at least you seem to understand why I feel so insulted," Auntie Ashuna sniffed, looking more placated now. "I hope it means that the cod will be back on the menu soon."
"Most certainly not," Azula replied with a perfectly polite smile on her face, managing to hold back laughter at Auntie Ashuna's shocked expression. "I'm afraid that this dish simply is not compatible with the overall theme of the new menu. However, considering that you are one of our most valuable and important customers, I would like to offer a compromise. There's not much I can do during a busy service, but if you were to stop by in an hour's time, I would be delighted to personally prepare a cod poached to perfection for you. I fancy myself something of a reasonably good cook," Azula said, inwardly rolling her eyes.
"Oh, that's… a very kind offer," Auntie Ashuna looked very taken aback. "It's not necessary to go through so much effort, really. I guess I don't want my poached cod that much," she said, looking clearly uncomfortable.
"Nonsense," Azula spoke cheerfully. "Please, come back after the lunch service and let us treat you like the valuable customer you are. I'm sure that Katara would appreciate us taking good care of you."
"Well… if you insist," Auntie Ashuna muttered, looking a little guilty as she made a quick exit from the restaurant.
"Okay, whoa… I thought you were going to snap her neck, not butter her up like that," Yue remarked, giving Azula a slightly stunned stare.
"Listen, in this business, it's very important to know when to chew someone out and when to kiss someone's ass," Azula replied. "This woman is clearly important to Katara, and even if Katara wasn't our friend, it would still be crucial to treat personal friends of our boss with the utmost reverence, right?"
"Sure, that makes sense, I guess," Yue sighed. "I just hate her veiled threats to complain to Kanna and Hakoda if Katara doesn't kiss the ground she walks upon."
"Oh, I understand, this Auntie Ashuna is clearly an insufferable Karen," Azula snorted. "But she could probably spread very damaging word of mouth in the local Water Tribe community if we treated her badly, right? Also, if we butter her up, she's more likely to call Katara's grandmother and praise Katara to her. And finally, she clearly looked guilty for inconveniencing us to serve her after hours. Maybe she'll show up after the service today, but I have a good feeling that in the future, she's going to forget all about her precious cod and whatever other crappy dishes she misses from the old menu."
"Alright, that's seriously clever thinking, Azula," Yue smiled, looking very impressed. "I think I could really benefit from more advice on how to deal with problem customers. You are probably better than anyone at handling them."
"It would be my pleasure to help," Azula nodded. "If you're having trouble with someone, just come to me and I'll give you pointers. But now, I really need to catch up with Katara and Sokka. I'll be at the manager's office if you or anyone else desperately need me," Azula said before heading over to the office.
In the manager's office, Azula found Sokka working on the computer, with Katara standing behind him, her chin planted against her sibling's shoulder. The look on Katara's face clearly indicated that she was stumped. "Well, whichever way you cut it, I think the numbers look promising," Sokka said. "We should be able to put you on a proper payroll soon. And if my sister decides to abandon me and move out, she won't have to live in a shoebox. You might actually be able to afford something nice."
"That would be great," Katara said dreamily. Azula had entered the office so quietly that the siblings still hadn't noticed her. "And don't tell me that you don't want me to move out. You clearly want to have Ty Lee over at your place."
"Only because she doesn't want to invite me to her place," Sokka said. "I really wish I knew what was up with that mysterious roomie of hers."
Azula frowned, having heard Sokka's words. As far as she was aware, Ty Lee was renting her apartment all by herself. Azula couldn't imagine Ty Lee being up to something nefarious, however, so she assumed that whatever was going on was probably some kind of ridiculous misunderstanding. "Just ask her about it, dumbass," Katara chided. "You're being overly respectful again. This is something you can ask her to clarify, it's not one of those subjects you need to be incredibly sensitive about."
"Katara is right," Azula announced herself as she approached the Water Tribe siblings, startling the pair. "Ty Lee doesn't have a deceptive bone in her body. Just ask her firmly and she'll come clean about what's going on. But be ready to hear an extremely silly explanation."
Sokka chuckled at that comment. "Yeah, I'm starting to understand why you would say that," he said. "Anyway, Katara and I have been going over our finances-"
"Sokka has been going over our finances, really," Katara cut him off. "I have been trying to stare these numbers into submission, but for some reason that tactic never works."
"Can we just agree that Sokka has naturally slipped into the role that I have always thought he was most suited for?" Azula asked, pointing at Sokka.
"What are you talking about?" Sokka blinked at her. "I'm just helping out with the payroll."
"Katara, you know what I'm talking about, right?" Azula asked, glancing at Katara and hoping that Katara's pride would not stop her from admitting that Sokka would make for a better general manager than she did.
"I mean… Sokka is clearly better at some of the general manager duties than I am," Katara admitted after a brief pause. "I've always struggled to handle the paperwork. I would like to say that I'm better at working with people, but… I think you made me realize that I often wasn't strict enough, as that whole debacle with Jet showed."
"Hmm," Sokka looked thoughtful. "Well, I actually like crunching the numbers. And since I've been constantly helping Kat with that, I already know what to do there. What else would I have to do as the GM?" he asked, looking at Azula.
"Well, you would have to make sure that health and safety regulations are followed," Azula explained. "You would have to create work schedules for the staff. Hiring would also fall under you, although I would advise you to delegate that to either Suki or Katara. And there are many other important duties that a general manager needs to take care of, controlling the costs, managing inventory, doing marketing and promotions."
"You're a creative guy, Sokka," Katara smirked. "I'd like to see you having a go at promoting us. Let's see if you can do better than my terrible discount coupons that everyone mocked."
"I'm pretty sure I could do better," Sokka said proudly. "Still, I'm not sure. It sounds like something I could do, but at the same time, it feels like a bit of a white-collar job, no? I've never seen myself as one of that crowd."
"You don't have to be that kind of a GM, Sokka," Azula said. "In a small restaurant like this, it wouldn't even make sense. We would need you to be very hands on. What we need is a guy who can crunch numbers, handle all the paperwork, but who can also grab a wrench and fix a pipe that's about to burst. There's nobody else here who fits that profile better than you."
"I'm starting to like what I'm hearing," Sokka hummed thoughtfully. "I'll need to think about it some more, but you're making it sound very tempting."
"In the role of a GM, you'd be almost like a binding agent, holding the entire structure together," Azula decided to go all in with her pitch, keeping in mind how important it was for Sokka to feel as if he was irreplaceable. "Someone who can pitch in anywhere in time of crisis, like the last and most important line of defense. But it's even more important than that. You'd be in charge of charting the direction of the restaurant, just like the captain of a ship."
"Oh, a nautical metaphor! You are so winning me over with that," Sokka laughed. "Alright, fine, I accept. I'll be the GM!"
"You'll do great, Sokka," Katara smiled before giving her brother a big hug.
"Thanks, Kat," Sokka grinned back at her. "Anyway… you're fired," he winked at his sister.
"Hey!" Katara exclaimed, giving Sokka a light shove. "Why are you being such a jerk all of a sudden?"
"I'm not being a jerk," Sokka chuckled. "It's just that you're also still a GM, and we can't have two general managers. So, you need to be fired from your current position and rehired as something else… Azula?" he asked, looking over at Azula.
"Right," Azula nodded, mentally readying her pitch to Katara. "Anyway, I don't think we need to reinvent the wheel here, Kat. For the most of this past month, you have been working alongside Yue and you have clearly enjoyed it."
"True, I like waiting tables and making sure that the customers have a good experience," Katara nodded in agreement. "But you also told me that it isn't a job for the owner, so… I don't understand."
"Well, I don't mean for you to be a waitress," Azula began to explain. "In some parts of the Earth Kingdom, the role I intend for you is called maître d'hôtel or just maître d'. I think it would be very pretentious for us to use that job description, especially when the word hostess already exists."
"A hostess?" Katara frowned. "I thought it was exactly the same as a waitress."
"Not quite," Azula shook her head. "For us it would simply mean a clearer separation of roles between you and Yue. The hostess is primarily responsible for greeting the guests, seating them, handling the reservations and waiting lists, staggering the flow so that the kitchen doesn't get slammed with all the orders at once, helping with conflict resolutions, engaging with the guests and making sure they're happy. You'd be a step above Yue, and if we ended up hiring additional waitstaff, they would all answer directly to you."
"I… suppose I could do that," Katara said thoughtfully, but she didn't look very excited.
"What's wrong? You don't like the idea?" Azula asked nervously. She honestly believed that Katara had the makings of a great hostess, especially with a bit of extra training. "I would also like to teach you and Yue how to serve some of our dishes tableside. That would be another important task for you. And I know this amazing sommelier I wanted to ask about giving you two a lecture on wines."
"Yeah, Kat, Azula's going to teach you how to toss Sozin's salad tableside," Sokka laughed.
"Sokka, that's gross!" both Katara and Azula yelled at him in unison. "Yeah, I'm not tossing Sozin's salad tableside or anywhere else, but I would like to learn how to prepare the dish," Katara said.
"But you're not entirely sold on this role," Azula stated. "Why? I thought you'd be excited."
"I… I just thought that maybe as an owner I should help in a more impactful way," Katara sighed. "I know I'm probably being petty right now, but Sokka will be the new GM and I'll be as good as a waitress-"
"You're not being petty, you're just being ridiculous," Azula snapped, interrupting Katara. "You completely underestimate the importance of an amazing hostess. We already have so many return customers who are enamored with you and Yue, I know that for sure, I see the social media posts of some of our particularly thirsty customers." Katara was blushing deep scarlet at that comment. "Katara, every restaurant needs a face, because it's something that makes people come back almost as much as the quality of the food, and I can't imagine anyone better suited than you for this incredibly important role. We would be complete fools for not making use of your natural charm and beauty to draw in customers. Katara, I can't remember meeting anyone else as charismatic and genuinely warm as you. You would be absolutely perfect for this role of greeting the guests, making them feel welcome and wanting to come back."
Azula stopped talking when she noticed that Katara was staring at her with exceptionally wide eyes. She also seemed to be vibrating slightly. Azula suddenly froze, trying to rewind the words she had said in her head, and only then realizing that the way she had presented her pitch for Katara's new job had come out sounding more than a love letter to Katara. And it clearly hadn't escaped Katara's notice, because she suddenly darted forward, seized Azula by the shoulders and unexpectedly slammed her lips against Azula's.
Shocked, Azula did the only thing that made sense, which was to open herself up to the kiss and really lean into it. Azula had a feeling that neither of them would have done anything to break it if not for Sokka eventually speaking up. "Gross," Sokka said, barely holding back laughter. "Also, gay."
Azula and Katara quickly separated, both of them completely flushed. "Umm, sorry," Katara muttered, looking down at her feet. "It's just… when you said all those nice things about me, it was like something snapped inside me."
"Uh, it's… it's not a big deal… don't worry about it," Azula apologized awkwardly. "Does it… mean you're accepting the position?" she asked.
"I am," Katara smiled shyly. "And I'm looking forward to all the extensive… instruction I'll require," she added, batting her lashes at Azula.
"Umm, sure… well, I'm just relieved that you both ended up agreeing with my proposed changes," Azula managed despite feeling very tongue-tied, the taste of Katara lingering on her lips and making her a little dizzy. "But now, I … uh, I should go," she said, awkwardly turning around and making a quick escape from the manager's office, with Sokka's booming laughter ringing in her ears.
On his way to Ty Lee's place, Sokka couldn't help but feel both excited, but also a little worried. He was happy that Ty Lee had reacted well to his insistence of meeting her problematic roomie, but at the same time, with Ty Lee being such an odd and quirky girl, Sokka was trying to prepare himself for the possibility of being in for a nasty surprise. Given just how wild some of Ty Lee's views were, it wouldn't be beyond the wildest realms of possibility that she had some kind of a romantic relationship with this roomie while somehow deluding herself into thinking that it was acceptable.
Still, Sokka was determined to discover the truth, knowing that otherwise there wasn't a path forward for him and Ty Lee. And Sokka actually was interested in moving forward with this strange Fire Nation girl who was so unlike anyone he'd dated before. Sure, maybe Ty Lee wasn't his match intellectually, but it wasn't as if Yue had been particularly eager to discuss topics of scientific nature, and Suki's interest was also fairly limited. Also, there was something precious about Ty Lee's childlike and genuine curiosity, her earnestness and her spontaneous nature. There was no way of predicting what Ty Lee would think to do next, and Sokka realized that he enjoyed having someone like that in his life to break up the formulaic and predictable patterns.
Ty Lee was quick to respond to Sokka knocking on her doors, letting him in. They had agreed to meet in the afternoon between the services at their respective restaurants, so they were both in a rush. Ty Lee gave Sokka a nervous smile as she welcomed him into her rent apartment, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Alright, he's ready to meet you," Ty Lee told him.
He, hmm? Sokka thought to himself. This was starting to sound ominous. Ty Lee was sharing an apartment with some guy? Yeah, they were probably sleeping together, nothing else would make sense. Still, he had promised to meet this roomie, so Sokka stepped further into the apartment. "Hello, I'm Sok-" he began to introduce himself, only then realizing that the room was empty.
"He's not in there, silly," Ty Lee giggled. "Try the bathroom over here!" she exclaimed, pointing at the bathroom doors.
"You… want me to meet your roomie in the bathroom?" Sokka blinked. Ty Lee nodded firmly. "Uh, alright," Sokka shrugged, heading for the bathroom and stepping inside. Immediately, Sokka found himself staring into the black and beady eyes of someone or something distinctly non-human. The creature was very large and it sat in Ty Lee's bathtub, eyeing him curiously. It then let out an excited bark and leaned towards Sokka, starting to eat his face. Upon further consideration, Sokka then realized that the creature was not eating his face, but instead was licking him with a ridiculously slimy tongue.
"Ty Lee?" Sokka called out. "I would like to know… and I also want to say that never in my life did I imagine ever asking a question like this, but why is there a grown sealion in your bathtub?"
"It's not just any sealion, it's my friend Slippery Pete," Ty Lee beamed, slipping into the very crowded bathroom and giving Slippery Pete an affectionate pat on the head, making the sealion bark happily. "When I fled the Sea World after that horrible fire, I took him with me. I wasn't going to leave him behind to face a grim and uncertain fate," she finished dramatically.
"A grim and uncertain fate, why?" Sokka asked. He noticed that Slippery Pete also looked very sad and teary eyed, almost like he had been taking drama lessons from Ty Lee.
"Well… because Pete and I, we're kind of to blame for that Sea World fire," Ty Lee sighed. "It was a complete accident, though. We were doing our act like normal and it was going perfectly fine, but then someone bumped into me as I was chucking a fish at Pete. The fish then flew off target and when Pete chased after it, he bumped into a fire breather in the middle of his performance. Before we knew what was going on, there was fire everywhere. People got hurt in the panic…"
"I have no idea how anyone could point fingers at you for what happened, though," Sokka frowned. "It seems like a complete accident, a chain of unfortunate events."
"Tell it to the Earth Kingdom authorities," Ty Lee sighed. "We can never go back there because Slippery Pete and I are wanted for arson." Slippery Pete let out a mournful bark at that. "My good friend and I are both wanted criminals," Ty Lee cried, wrapping her arms around the sea lion's neck and giving him an affectionate hug.
"That's, uh, really rough," Sokka offered sympathetically. "But umm, it doesn't explain why Pete has been living in your bathtub?"
"Doesn't it, though?" Ty Lee asked tearfully. "One of my former coworkers texted me that there's a bounty on our heads, Sokka!"
"Okay…" Sokka considered. "I suspect that this former coworker was a jerk just messing with you, but even if they weren't, how would anyone recognize Slippery Pete?"
"What do you mean?" Ty Lee looked confused, and maybe even a little bit offended. "I will always recognize my baby in a crowd of barking sealions."
"Sure, but that's because you two share a special bond," Sokka rallied, refusing to give up. "I can assure you that nobody else will recognize Slippery Pete as a wanted arsonist. Come on, Ty Lee, you know that you can't keep a sealion as a pet, not in a tiny apartment like yours. He deserves to swim freely in the wild. Maybe even get himself a nice girlfriend."
Ty Lee smiled through her tears at that. "Right… no, you're completely right, Sokka," she admitted with a sigh. "I've always known deep inside that I'll have to let Pete go. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone who's… you know, not insane?"
Sokka laughed at that. "Well, in that case, I'll make all the arrangements, and tonight after work we'll bring this good boy to the beach and release him into the wild." Sokka reached out and patted Slippery Pete. "How does that sound, boy?" The sea lion's response to that was more barking and licking of Sokka's face.
Azula was actually relieved that Auntie Ashuna decided to show up for her milk poached cod, because it meant that Azula didn't have to spend the time between the services agonizing about her earlier kiss with Katara. At least now she could distract herself by blowing Auntie Ashuna's socks off by preparing the best milk poached cod she had ever tasted. Of course, it was still essentially fish in milk, so gross by definition, but Azula made sure to elevate the dish as much as possible.
Indeed, Azula truly enjoyed flexing her powers of manipulation on Auntie Ashuna. She made sure to let the old woman know how she had taken a couple of hours out of her day just to make this complicated dish for her, and how it didn't matter that she was going to have a fourteen hour work shift because of it. The extreme amount of ass-kissing paid off immediately, and Azula could see how devastated Auntie Ashuna looked as she slowly gummed down the poached cod that had by now been utterly poisoned by guilt. After Ashuna had finished her meal, she left while uttering constant apologies for burdening Azula with her request and promising to give the new menu a try.
Even if she had been forced to put in an extra effort, Azula felt very pleased in the aftermath of this little distraction. Not only was Auntie Ashuna going to be pleased with Katara, perhaps praising the changes at the restaurant to Katara's father and grandmother, she was also guaranteed to spread positive word of mouth in the local community. It was undeniable truth that ass-kissing under the right circumstances remained one of her most impressive tools of manipulation.
So, the confusing and dangerous kiss with Katara aside, Azula felt like she was having a good day. The Water Tribe siblings had agreed to give their new roles a try, and that was the most important development of them all. Azula felt very confident that both Sokka and Katara were now slotted in their proper positions, and the only remaining concern was that Katara had gone from technically being Sokka's boss to now being subordinate to her older sibling. Azula hoped that Katara would take to it well, but Azula also knew that if she ever ended up in a subordinate role to Zuko, her first step in that position would be to add all the world's strychnine to Zuko's next meal. Certainly, Katara and Sokka actually had a good sibling relationship, but Azula resolved to still tell Sokka not to abuse his status of being in overall charge of the business.
With these organizational matters finally settled, the dinner service on Tuesday evening was humming along nicely. Everyone seemed to be on the same page as the evening progressed, at least until deep into the service when Yue showed up in the kitchen, once again looking upset. "Azula, do you have a moment?" she asked.
"Sure, what is it?" Azula replied. The side dishes for the mains Suki had called out three minutes earlier were coming along nicely and Azula could afford a slight distraction to chat with Yue.
"I'm just looking for advice on how to handle a painful customer," Yue said. "There's this food vlogger out in the dining room, being completely ridiculous, and I can't figure out if I should kiss her ass or grow some spine and get mean, like everyone tells me to."
"Hmm, food vloggers can be tricky to handle," Azula clicked her tongue. "I don't have a one size fits all solution for their type. What is she being dramatic about, anyway?"
"She ordered the salmon special, right?" Yue sighed. "And while I was bringing the salmon up to her, the poached egg slipped off from the bloody fish. That's my mistake, sure, but is it really that big of a deal?"
"Did the egg break?" Azula asked. Yue shook her head. "Well, you haven't really done anything wrong, then. I might have been sloppy when plating and the whole thing was probably a bit unstable," Azula instantly turned into a simp once again, taking the fall for Yue. "Anyway, I best go with you and show you how to deal with an annoying food vlogger. Suki, the sides will be up in two minutes, can you deal with everything yourself?"
"I've got it, don't worry," Toph spoke up, jumping in before Suki could reply.
"Thanks, you're awesome, Toph," Azula spoke gratefully, quickly leaving the kitchen together with Yue. "Alright, tell me which one is the food vlogger, but remember, don't point," Azula said quietly as they entered the dining room.
"She's over there, by the window," Yue said, nodding subtly, but Azula had already identified the culprit.
"Got it," Azula replied. The girl in question looked like one of those insufferable foodies that had taken over social media platforms like TikTok, making insipid videos of the worst kind. Ozai had recently gained more than a million new subscribers by posting reaction videos in which he tore apart some of the worst TikTok food videos. Azula immediately made the decision that this was not a conflict that should be resolved by ass-kissing. This was a conflict that had to be resolved by swift evisceration.
"Here's what we're going to do," Azula said, taking her phone, unlocking it and passing it over to Yue. "Follow me and record everything. I promise that you're in for a treat, my dear."
"Looking forward to it," Yue grinned, quickly getting ready to start recording before following Azula to the complainer's table.
"I understand that you had a complaint," Azula asked the troublesome customer. The haughty and entitled looking girl was definitely a Caldera local in possession of the worst kind of resting bitch face, making her look like she was constantly sucking on a lemon.
"Yes," the girl replied, giving Azula a snide look. "Also, I asked to speak with a manager," she said, looking unimpressed by Azula's chef's jacket.
"I'm responsible for handling customer complaints, so I'm clearly the right person to speak to," Azula replied calmly and professionally. "Again, I ask you, what seems to be the problem?"
"I ordered salmon Benedict," the girl said stiffly. "This is how it was delivered to me," she pointed at the plate. Azula could clearly see that one of the eggs Benedict had slipped off from the salmon fillet. "I'm a very important food blogger. I have more than a hundred thousand followers on TikTok. I wanted to take a nice picture of my plate to post on social media, but I can't take a photo of this." Her face was full of disgust as she looked at her salmon dish.
"How terrible," Azula offered her fake commiserations. "And what would you like us to do?"
"Make me a new dish, obviously," the fake foodie declared. "You can give this to someone else. I haven't touched it," she added insultingly.
"So, even though it's not good enough for you, it should be good enough for everyone else?" Azula asked, wanting to make sure she had heard it correctly. The vlogger gave her a puzzled look, suggesting that she didn't understand what Azula was getting at. "I mean, we can make a new salmon for you, but you'll be paying for both dishes."
"Excuse me?" the girl asked haughtily. "This one is ruined!"
"Has it ever occurred to you to simply take a spoon and move the poached egg back on top of the salmon?" Azula asked.
"I shouldn't have to do that," the vlogger protested. "Besides, it's going to break if I try to move it."
"Only if you're so mentally deficient that you can't use a spoon like a normal person," Azula stated. The girl glared at her before picking up a spoon and making a big spectacle of trying to move the egg, but then clearly intentionally piercing it and making the yolk spill all over the plate.
"I told you it was going to break," the vlogger frowned. "Now you have to make me a new one. Or else, I'm going to post all about it on my social media. My TikTok followers will make sure that your shitty restaurant goes belly up."
"That was a mistake," Azula smirked. "Do you know who I am?"
The girl gave her a very unimpressed stare. "Obviously some kind of a psycho who has stolen a chef's jacket."
"I am Azula Nakamura," Azula stated. "My YouTube channel alone has almost two million subscribers, and I have almost six million followers over all of my social media put together. I could destroy your pathetic little vlog in a heartbeat."
"You're not Azula Nakamura," the vlogger gave her a disbelieving stare. "Azula Nakamura would never be caught in a cheap dive like this."
"Alright, have it your way," Azula laughed. "Yue, my phone, please," she asked, taking her phone back from the blonde waitress. Azula quickly made sure the recording was of decent quality and then hit the button to upload it. "There, you may want to check Azula Nakamura's YouTube channel. She just posted a new video. It's titled 'I destroy the career of a pathetic fake TikTok foodie'."
The vlogger girl looked very concerned now as she quickly checked YouTube and then released a shrill scream that made everyone at the restaurant glare at her in annoyance. "You can't do this to me!" she cried, rising from her seat and looking like she was about to bolt. "You're going to regret this!" the vlogger tried to run for it, only for Azula to roughly grab her hand and force her back into her seat.
"You still haven't paid," Azula growled threateningly. "Yue, the bill, please?"
"With pleasure!" Yue grinned, dashing off and returning moments later with the bill.
The pretentious vlogger had by now lost all of her haughtiness and she looked utterly destroyed as she took out her wallet and retrieved the money with shaking hands. "And a generous tip for the waitress for having to deal with an entitled twat like you," Azula added sternly. The girl looked close to tearing up as she retrieved another tenner and placed it on the table. "And now," Azula said, moving aside and letting the vlogger rise. "Get out, and consider yourself banished from this place. And one last thing," she added, grabbing the girl's hand and squeezing it roughly. "I will take down my video of you, but if your atrocious behavior is ever brought to my attention again, I will reupload it and destroy you for good. Do you understand?" the girl nodded tearfully. "Now get out!" Azula said, watching the vlogger take off, running clumsily on her stiletto heels. Azula was then treated to a rousing round of applause from all the other customers, suggesting that they were all very much aware that the foodie girl had been a real pain in the ass.
"That was amazing," Yue gushed as they both stepped out of the dining room and into the hallway connecting to the kitchen. "The way you handled that girl was just so impressive."
"I had a feeling that you would enjoy that," Azula chuckled.
"Oh, I more than just enjoyed it," Yue said in a husky voice as they both came to a halt in the hallway, facing each other. "I thought it was incredibly hot," Yue whispered with a burning intensity in her deep blue eyes. Mere moments later, Azula found herself pinned against the wall, surprisingly roughly, and then she felt Yue's lips against hers, needy and insistent, kissing her hungrily. Azula would have never expected the kind and gentle Yue to come for her with such aggressive possessiveness, but the fierce kiss was so incredibly arousing that it was making Azula forget that she wasn't supposed to be doing this.
And it definitely was not just any ordinary kiss, either. This was a very deep kiss that threatened to escalate then and there, out in the hallway. Their hands were all over each other, and Azula was aware that she was messing up Yue's uniform something fierce. Azula's chef's jacket had come apart and she had wrapped her right leg around Yue's waist, with Yue's hands all over her thighs, on the verge of starting to animalistically grind against each other. It was only someone speaking up loudly close by that reminded the two women that they were in a very public place and they separated, gasping for air.
"I, uh… I should… go," Azula managed, making sure not to look at Yue, lest her weakness paved way for more unrestrained kissing. Fortunately, Yue made no effort to detain her as Azula turned to quickly flee. She was in no shape to return to the kitchen right away, however, so instead she snuck into one of the storerooms to quickly fix her ruffled appearance before deciding to step out through the back exit to get a little bit of fresh air before heading back inside.
"Everything alright?" Azula was completely taken by surprise when she heard Suki's voice immediately after stepping outside and into the alley. She looked around to spot Suki sitting on an overturned crate with a cigarette in her hand.
"Umm, sure," Azula replied, trying to quickly gather her bearings. "I sent that annoying vlogger packing," she said proudly. Suki grinned at her. "Anyway, is everything under control in the kitchen?" Azula asked.
"Whatever you were doing out there in the dining room seems to have created a little lull in the kitchen," Suki explained. "It gave me just enough time to slip out for a quick cig."
"Fair enough," Azula nodded. "We all need a break now and then," she added, privately thinking that she definitely needed a break from being spontaneously kissed by beautiful women, especially if she was expected to maintain her policy of not mixing her work life with her relationships.
"So, I heard Sokka being really excited about his new position earlier," Suki said. "I don't know how you managed to get him sold on becoming the manager, but I'm glad you did. Not just because I think he'll be good in the role, but also because you just secured me a permanent head chef's position. And I realize I haven't thanked you properly."
"Seriously, it's not a big deal," Azula replied distractedly, looking around for another crate to use for a seat, but then Suki did something surprising by nudging Azula in the back of her right knee, making Azula lose her balance. She flailed for a moment before landing right into Suki's lap. The crate underneath them creaked ominously, but didn't break.
"It's kind of a huge deal for me, though," Suki grinned. "So… I hope this expresses just how grateful I am," she winked before pulling Azula closer. With complete disbelief, Azula found herself being kissed yet again, fiercely and insistently. While Azula was internally debating on whether to pull away and end the kiss, her instincts decided to take over and respond to the kiss in full measure. Azula had no idea how long the kiss would have lasted and where it would have ended if the crate under Suki hadn't given out and with surprised yelps, they ended in a heap on the ground amidst broken splinters of wood.
Azula used the moment to get away, jumping to her feet and dashing back inside the restaurant… only to almost crash into Sokka, walking towards her with his arms outstretched. "Hey, Azula, I just wanted to-"
"Sorry, gotta go!" Azula yelled in panic, sprinting past Sokka. She ran straight for the parking lot, jumped into her car and sped off in a hurry, breaking all possible speed limits.
"What's gotten into her? I just wanted to thank her for my new promotion," Sokka was left shaking his head, looking at Azula's car speeding away down the street. "What a crazy broad. It's not like I wanted to kiss her or anything."
"Spirits, is he heavy or what?" Sokka grunted, pushing a wheelbarrow containing a very relaxed looking sealion in it. They were making slow progress down the path lined with wooden planks, stretching from the parking lot down to the beach. Sokka had chosen one of the more remote beaches a few miles south from Caldera harbor. An hour past midnight, there was nobody around to question him and Ty Lee about a sealion in a wheelbarrow, which was definitely not a common sighting around these parts.
"Well, he is a young and healthy sealion," Ty Lee replied, walking alongside the wheelbarrow. "I can't believe we're doing this!" she gushed. "This is so exciting!"
"It is kind of exciting, I agree," Sokka said. "I never expected to be doing anything as weird as this. I feel like some kind of a sealion smuggler."
"More like a sealion rescuer," Ty Lee laughed. "You're our hero!"
"I like the sound of that. Still, I wouldn't want to do this for a living. It's way too much hard work," Sokka grunted as the wheelbarrow suddenly came to a halt, getting stuck in the sand and refusing to move from the spot. "Oh, come on!" Sokka exclaimed, noticing the problem. The path of wooden planks had come to an end well short of the actual beach. "This is as far as it goes?"
"I guess so," Ty Lee shrugged. "Any ideas?"
"Hmm," Sokka mused. "Sealions are supposedly able to get around perfectly fine on land. Maybe he could walk the rest of the way to the beach?" Still sitting in the stuck wheelbarrow, Slippery Pete gave Sokka a look that could only be described as disgusted. "I guess that's a no," Sokka sighed.
"There's no way, Sokka," Ty Lee shook her head. "I can't even see the water from here. Poor Pete will never find his way if we just leave him here. The sealion poachers will be sure to get him!"
"The sealion poachers?" Sokka wondered. Ty Lee nodded with a very concerned look on her face. "Well… in that case, I suppose we'll just have to carry him. Even if he probably weighs a ton." Slippery Pete barked jovially at that.
"Let's give it a try," Ty Lee agreed. They then spent several minutes trying to lift Slippery Pete, but all of their efforts resulted in failure because Pete was so slippery that they couldn't get a good grip on him. "There's only one way we can do this," Ty Lee eventually announced. "You'll have to carry him piggy-back."
Sokka gave her a skeptical stare. "That's going to break my spine, Ty Lee."
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Ty Lee beamed at him. "I can then grab him by the backside and take some of the weight off you."
Sokka briefly considered the proposition. Obviously, it was insane, but the pleading expression in Ty Lee's eyes signaled his doom. A few minutes later, they were slowly moving towards the beach, carrying a happily barking sealion.
"I feel like I'm probably developing a hernia," Sokka groaned after they had slowly made some fifty yards or so.
"Well, you couldn't have gotten it from me," Ty Lee replied, sounding a little winded. "I had to take a full medical after coming home from the Earth Kingdom and the doctors gave me a perfectly clean bill of health."
"Umm, you're thinking herpes, Ty Lee, not hernia. Those two things aren't really alike," Sokka said. If he wasn't so bogged down by a sealion on his back, he probably would have burst into laughter. "Although, I'm very happy to learn that you don't have herpes."
"I'm also very pleased about that," Ty Lee agreed.
"Alright, I can't carry him any further than this," Sokka said some perhaps hundred yards later, lowering the sealion onto the sand. The threat of hernia was becoming a little too real, and the heavy weight of Slippery Pete was about to snap his spine like a twig.
"Well, at least we're closer to the water, I'm sure Pete can find his way now," Ty Lee said hopefully. Pete still wasn't moving, though, giving Sokka a hopeful stare, clearly wanting to be carried around some more. "Maybe I can encourage him and show him the way? Let me try it," Ty Lee said, taking off towards the shore. She kicked off her sandals and stepped into the water, splashing around for a bit before getting out again and waving at her sealion friend. "Look at all this water, Pete! Come on, buddy, come here and play! You're going to love it!"
Pete eyed Ty Lee for a bit, at first appearing skeptical, but then suddenly taking off, moving towards Ty Lee with surprising speed that made Sokka a little salty for having carried this lazy sack of sealion shit all this way, when he could clearly motor like a speeding semi. "Yes! That's it! Come to mama for one final hug!" Ty Lee cheered. Her arms were wide open as Slippery Pete ran towards her like in one of those moments that seemed right out of family friendly animal movies.
What happened next, wasn't quite out of a wholesome family movie. Instead of meeting Ty Lee in one final hug, Slippery Pete was so excited about the ocean that he simply barreled over Ty Lee, flattening her and disappearing into the dark waves. "Ty Lee!" Sokka cried in alarm as he rushed towards his girlfriend. "Are you alright?"
"Owie?" Ty Lee grinned weakly at him from down in the sand, looking a little bruised, but otherwise fine. Sokka reached out and pulled her back to her feet.
"You know, this is the most insane thing I have ever done for a girl," Sokka admitted, grinning at her.
"Aww," Ty Lee smiled at him. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." Her smile grew a little wicked at that. "Which means that you deserve a reward," Ty Lee said before tackling Sokka onto the sand, straddling him and removing her top in one smooth motion. Sokka decided to simply lay back and enjoy the satisfying conclusion to one of his wildest and most insane days ever… but as his new girlfriend leaned over him and began to passionately kiss him, Sokka decided that perhaps he could do with a bit more craziness in his life.