Chapter 29 – forgetting Zuko Nakamura
The days following Azula and Yue's breakup felt very unusual for the staff of The Northern Lights restaurant. There was no anger or resentment to be felt, but instead the group of friends and coworkers treated each other with extra softness and empathy. Everyone seemed to understand that there were no villains to blame in this situation.
Azula clearly felt like she was the villain, however, because not only did she act very apologetic towards Yue, but she also sent one expensive gift after another to Kya. Yue actually ended up talking about it with Azula and asking her to stop, because in Yue's own words, it wasn't Azula's gifts that Kya wanted, it was Azula herself. This statement, while true, did nothing to make Azula feel less guilty.
Suki, while not taking anyone's side, was acting increasingly protective towards Yue. Even though Yue seemed to be holding up reasonably well, Suki still insisted on helping Yue out with some of her chores, becoming Yue's driver and just being there for her friend, offering a strong shoulder to lean on.
Katara felt a little relieved that Suki had been so quick to jump in and help. Obviously, she would have done the same for Yue, however, Katara found herself in a tricky situation. As much as she wanted the best for Azula and Yue, there was a treacherous and selfish part of her that couldn't stop feeling just a touch jubilant about Azula and Yue's brief romance failing to last. This ugly selfishness made Katara feel very guilty and upset with herself, even if she never allowed these selfish feelings to affect her behavior and she continued to be as supportive as always towards all of her friends.
The others who were not as involved in this drama, were obviously still exposed to its ramifications at the restaurant. In response to all of that, Sokka had simply grunted something about dumb lesbians and their drama before returning to his work and muttering how everyone should just get on with it. Soft-hearted as he was, Aang obviously felt terrible for everyone involved in the drama and went out of his way to try and help in any way he could. Toph had tried to act nonchalant and dismissive at first, but Katara had eventually realized that Toph was actually rather frightened about this drama both tearing up their circle of friends as well as having an adverse effect on the fortunes of the restaurant. Katara had taken Toph aside before Wednesday's dinner service to reassure Toph that the fallout was not as bad as she feared. Katara had been surprised by Toph doing something as unusual as actually thanking her for taking the time to explain.
Perhaps as a testament to the strength of their friendships and the good practices implemented at the restaurant, their operations didn't take a hit due to all this drama. As the group of friends gathered upstairs above the restaurant at the end of Wednesday's service, they were pleased to hear Sokka announcing that they had just matched their record for Wednesday evening earnings, proving that the restaurant was still in fine form.
The mood among the group appeared to be improving as those not expected to drive this evening ended up helping Sokka polish off the opened wine bottles that would otherwise have to be poured out. Katara allowed herself to enjoy a couple of small glasses of white wine, while also drinking generous amount of water, because she still had to make the drive across the city back to her new apartment. Suki was following Katara's example, because she also had to drive, first dropping off Yue and then returning to her apartment. Even though Yue wasn't behind the wheel, she obviously didn't want to return to her daughter being so tipsy that she swayed back and forth. With Aang being an almost complete teetotaler, it was up to Sokka and Toph to do all the heavy lifting, especially considering that Azula had left shortly after the end of the service.
"I didn't realize that we were so dependent on Azula when it came to packing away all this wine," Sokka chuckled, looking at the remaining few bottles that seemed frighteningly full to Katara. "Azula knows that she's still welcome to join us up here, right?"
"I'm pretty sure she knows that," Suki shrugged.
"I've told her that I'm not angry with her more times than I can count," Yue sighed.
"I think she's just feeling very angry with herself," Katara said. Several pairs of eyes turned towards her, expecting her to continue. "This is just speculation, but I suspect that Azula feels too guilty about what happened to hang out with us right now."
"Well, hopefully she stops feeling that way," Aang said, looking downcast. "Azula is our friend and we want her here with us. Maybe we can think of a way to make her feel less guilty?"
"I'm all for it, if anyone can think of a way to do that," Yue said. She glanced quickly at Suki next to her. "But also, I should relieve Kiyi soon, so maybe we could finish our wine and-"
"Of course," Suki nodded quickly, downing all the remaining wine in her glass in one go. "Ready to go," she announced.
"I wasn't rushing you like that!" Yue protested, shaking her head. She then quickly emptied her own glass and rose from her seat. "I guess that's us leaving. See you tomorrow, everyone!"
"See you, girls!" Katara waved at her friends as they disappeared down the stairs. "I should get going myself," Katara said once Yue and Suki had left. "Want me to drop you off, rugrats?" she looked at Aang and Toph.
"What? And let all this delicious wine go to waste? I think not," Toph protested.
Katara, Sokka and Aang all exchanged concerned stares, having realized that Toph was already rather sauced. Sokka quickly put the two almost full bottles away, doing so quietly to make sure that Toph didn't overhear anything suspicious. "Actually, we're on the last bottle, Toph," Sokka then said.
"Aww, seriously?" Toph pouted. "Well… in that case, I guess it's okay if Katara drops us off. I just need a few minutes to finish my drink."
"Good call," Aang nodded approvingly, looking relieved. Katara could imagine that it was probably quite challenging for Aang to deal with Toph when she was so tipsy that she lost all sense of balance. With Toph's disability, being intoxicated definitely put her in an even more vulnerable situation.
"Let's hope that Azula will feel like joining us tomorrow," Sokka said wistfully. "I know she's not going to be with us forever, but it already doesn't feel the same without her. It would be great if we could just go back to the way things were."
"I think we all want that," Katara nodded, feeling a pang of guilt when she realized how selfish her reasons were for wanting to go back to how things used to be. With Azula being so guilt ridden, it seemed to be overriding all the sexual tension between her and Katara. There was no way that Azula was in any mood to reciprocate Katara's flirting, and she was even farther away from entertaining any casual encounters with the girls of The Northern Lights. Obviously, Katara felt terrible for even thinking about hooking up with Azula during this sensitive drama, but her heart had no way of denying what she wanted.
"Tomorrow evening, I'm just going to tackle that flighty bitch if she tries to leave early, and then we're dragging her upstairs with us by force, if necessary," Toph declared drunkenly.
"Sure, we are," Aang rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I think we're ready to leave once Toph has finished her drink."
"Good," Katara nodded. "I think Sokka will want us out of here soon, anyway. Ty Lee is bound to show up any moment now."
"Actually, she's not coming," Sokka replied, checking his phone and frowning slightly. "She just texted me that her friend Mai needs cheering up and they're going to do a pub crawl and get shitfaced. And I guess… that's fair, but I just don't love the late notice. Makes me wonder what's going on with this Mai chick…"
"Ugh," Mai grunted as she watched Jet and Zuko leave the restaurant together, laughing, bro fisting and cracking jokes about spending the evening doing totally no homo stuff like guzzling beer and playing video games. "Who does Zuko think he's fooling at this point?" she sighed. "They're so gay it's painful to watch him still trying to pretend otherwise."
"I hear you, bestie," Ty Lee nodded. Together with Jin, they were mopping up in the dining room, following another successful Wednesday dinner service. "I'm so pissed off at Zuko for treating you like this," Ty Lee said, frowning. "If you wanted to somehow get back at him, I would totally have your back."
"Hmm," Mai mused, perching on one of the dining room tables. "What did you have in mind, Ty?"
"Well, I was thinking about taking a photo of Zuko and Jet being all cuddly and adding a caption 'No Homo, really?' to it," Ty Lee replied. "Then we could send that to Ozai Nakamura and watch a nuclear bomb go off."
"Brutal," Mai chuckled. "However, I'm not that insanely mad at Zuko. Outing that idiot to his asshole father is too low of a blow. Even Azula wouldn't do it, and that's saying something."
"True, I suppose," Ty Lee admitted. "Still, we should do something to cheer you up. How about a girl's night out? Let's go hit the local pubs and get shitfaced, just like we used to in the good old days!"
"A girl's night out?" On Ji asked suddenly, peering out of the kitchen window. "Sing me up for that, please."
"Aren't you like… Team Jet and Zuko? You just had a threesome with them, didn't you?" Mai scowled at her sous-chef. After her little hookup with Zuko and Jet had come to light, Mai had been acting increasingly cold towards On Ji.
"Well… about that," On Ji blushed, looking uncomfortable. "It's kind of embarrassing to talk about, but… Jet and Zuko were all over one another when we hooked up, and they totally ignored me. It was like… I was only there so that they could claim that it wasn't gay, but it totally was. So, I'm actually really annoyed with Zuko and Jet right now."
"Seriously?" Mai shook her head, struggling not to laugh. "Damn, that's… rough. It seems like I was being bitchy to you for no reason. Anyway, you're welcome to come along, On Ji."
"What about me?" Jin asked. "Can I come?"
"Wait, you're also no longer Team Zuko?" Mai gave Jin an inquisitive stare.
"Uh, I don't know… this gay Zuko twist has thrown me for a loop," Jin admitted. "I have no idea what to think about it. Is it just a phase or is it something permanent? I need to be sure about that before I start saving up for a black-market gender reassignment surgery."
"I'm glad we can always count on you for a completely reasonable reaction to any situation, Jin," Ty Lee grinned.
"That's me," Jin replied proudly. "Anyway, until I have all that figured out, I guess I'm temporarily putting my Team Zuko membership on pause. And also, I can't believe that Zuko and Jet would treat my girl On Ji so rudely, like, she totally deserved some nice spit-roasting in that situation. So, I'm totally up for a girl's night out, especially if it involves trash-talking Zuko and Jet."
"I'm also up for it," Ruon-Jian announced, emerging from the office and joining the ladies of The Blue Spirit in the dining room.
"Ruon, you're not a girl," Mai rolled her eyes.
"But I know all the best pubs in the neighborhood," Ruon-Jian replied proudly. "Also, I have all the tips and tricks on how to persuade the local bartenders into giving us discounts. I'm the best Caldera City pub crawl guide you could ever think of!"
Mai exchanged skeptical stares with the other girls before eventually relenting. "Alright… fine," she sighed. "Consider yourself promoted to the status of an honorary girl for the evening. But if this pub crawl doesn't end up being an amazing experience, I'm docking your pay for the next week."
"I promise you won't regret it," Ruon-Jian proudly puffed out his chest. "This pub crawl comes with Ruon-Jian's seal of approval guaranteeing unforgettable experience."
"Okay, okay, that's enough of a sales pitch. Let's just be on our way," Mai shook her head. She looked over at Ty Lee, typing furiously on her phone. "You coming, Ty?" she asked.
"Yeah, just telling Sokka that I'll be home late," Ty Lee replied without looking up. "Go ahead, I'll lock up here and catch up with you. There's no way I'm missing out on a pub crawl with my bestie and my favorite coworkers!"
"So," Zirin Sakai spoke up, seductively batting her eyelashes as she looked at her companion across the table. "Aren't you going to ask me about my stint on the Kyoshi Island?"
"Of course," Azula nodded quickly. "How was Kyoshi Island?" she asked, stifling a yawn. Zirin had spent the past six months doing shows at select Kyoshi Island casinos together with her exotic dance troupe. Azula had been to the Earth Kingdom's most attractive tourist haven plenty of times. Her father owned two restaurants on the island and Azula was regularly dispatched to inspect their operations. Azula was very familiar with the inner workings of the Kyoshi Island and she could very well imagine what performing at one of its casinos would be like.
"Glamorous," Zirin beamed. "Some of the best tips we have ever earned, I swear. Only the Ember Island comes close. Also, one of our girls managed to snag herself a millionaire. Too bad I'm still waiting for mine."
"I'm sure you'll bag one at some point," Azula agreed distractedly. After Zirin had returned to Caldera two days ago, she had reached out to Azula on the dating app just to ask if Azula was still in the Fire Nation. After Azula had responded, a date had been quickly arranged. Azula had spent the past three days feeling buried under crushing guilt over the entire situation with Yue and Kya. She felt like she was due a break from being miserable, and hooking up with someone she didn't have any great emotional attachment to seemed like the perfect distraction.
"You know, Suki is originally from Kyoshi Island," Azula spoke up after a little break in conversation, caused by the waitress delivering them another round of cocktails.
"Ah yes, your amazing sous chef who's as good as some of the chefs in your father's restaurants," Zirin snorted.
"Well, she's our head chef now," Azula corrected her date. "But yes, I would say that with more training, she could be better than most head chefs in the culinary empire of Ozai Nakamura. And it really is remarkable that she's so good considering her upbringing and lack of good education. Did I tell you that she was put through the whole meat grinder of foster care system back in the Earth Kingdom?"
"Yes, you already told me that story an hour ago, Azula," Zirin spoke stiffly.
"Oh," Azula frowned. "I'm sorry. It's just fascinating to me."
"I've also been up to some fascinating adventures since we last spoke," Zirin said. "I should tell you about that one time when the mayor of Kyoshi Island invited us to perform on his birthday, but we had no idea that the birthday party would be on his private yacht. It was the biggest yacht I have ever seen. It even had a swimming pool on the upper deck!"
"Ah, one of those," Azula nodded knowingly. "My father is having a yacht like that built for him, custom specs and everything. I think it has an extra-large swimming pool. You know who would love a swimming pool like that? Yue and Katara. Those Water Tribe girls are totally crazy about water and swimming," Azula said, smiling dreamily.
"Obviously," Zirin groaned. "Why don't you go ahead and tell me some more about what Katara and Yue would like? It's all I've been hearing about for the past hour or so."
"Well, they mostly like wholesome things, but I haven't given up on trying to corrupt them," Azula smiled wistfully. "I think I have a better chance with Katara, though. She already has interest in true crime, so I think I could get her hooked on horror as long as I'm strategic about it. And even though they both at first appear like stereotypical dutiful good girls, they know how to let their hair down and have some fun. I suppose Yue is a bit more grounded, but then again, she has to be, she has her daughter to think about. Katara, on the other hand-"
"Azula, I was being sarcastic," Zirin groaned. "I really don't care. At this point, I already feel like I know everything there is to know about Katara, Yue and Suki."
"You forgot Kya," Azula frowned. "She's very important, too."
"Ah yes, the only preschooler in the whole wide world that you don't find annoying, and also the budding Pai Sho genius," Zirin rolled her eyes.
"That's right," Azula nodded. "Wait, why are you acting so annoyed?" she asked, having realized that Zirin looked like she was not happy with her.
"Because you won't shut up about these three girls you're clearly obsessed with?" Zirin exclaimed, looking very frustrated. "Do you know how a date works, Azula? You're supposed to show at least some interest in your partner and what they've been up to! You're not supposed to give me the extended life stories of your three bloody crushes!"
"But… I already know everything that you've been up to, Zirin," Azula protested. "You're an exotic dancer and I've seen you perform. You've been doing the same thing for the past few months. I'm sorry, but that's just not all that exciting?"
Zirin rose from her seat, looking furious. "Whatever, Azula. Consider yourself blocked on the app." Zirin grabbed her cocktail and splashed it in Azula's face. "Don't try to contact me again, idiot," she snarled, turning to walk away.
"What the fuck is her problem? That was so unbelievably rude," Azula complained, quickly wiping herself down. The other patrons at the bar were giving her amused stares, however, so Azula hastily paid her tab and made herself scarce before someone had decided to take a photo of her disheveled state and upload it on social media.
Out on the street, Azula briefly considered calling an Uber and returning to her apartment. Still, ending the evening this way would feel like a defeat, instead of the distraction she had been seeking, and Azula wasn't in the mood of taking another L. Also, she was feeling rather tipsy and adventurous having enjoyed three cocktails and then having another one thrown in her face.
Obviously, if Azula was going to have any further adventures, she needed a partner in crime because adventuring on her own would just be sad. Azula gave her list of phone contacts a quick combing through. Ty Lee would have been the perfect accomplice on this occasion, but at this point of the evening she was most likely already on top of Sokka. Perhaps Mai would do instead of Ty Lee. Azula decided to send Mai a quick text, feeling disappointed when she got a reply that Mai was busy drinking with her coworkers.
Once again, it seemed like the girls of The Northern Lights were Azula's only hope. Obviously, it was way too early to ask Yue out on a wild night of adventuring, not to mention that there was no way Yue would leave Kya unattended. It was between Suki and Katara, and Azula was already searching for a coin to flip when she remembered that Suki had said something about driving Yue back home. This left Katara as her only option, but if Azula was perfectly honest with herself – and it was a lot easier to be honest now that she was a little sauced – Katara would always be her preferred option anyway.
"Hey, Katara," Azula spoke on the phone after she had decided not to bother with texting. "What are you up to?"
"Azula?" Katara sounded very surprised. "I'm, uh… getting ready for bed?"
"Good, good… great, even," Azula said, trying her best not to slur her speech. "Wanna hang out?"
"Azula, I'm already in my pajamas. I just tucked myself in with a nice book," Katara sighed.
"Wait, is that yes or no?" Azula asked, feeling confused.
"Azula, are you drunk?" Katara asked, sounding concerned.
"What? Pfft, nope," Azula scowled. "It's just that… the night is still young and I want us to hang out. I want to have an adventure." Azula desperately tried to think of something that would capture Katara's interest, snapping her fingers at a brilliant idea. "Have you ever been bowling? I just realized that I've never been to an actual bowling alley. I want us to go bowling, Katara."
"Spirits, you are fucking sloshed," Katara groaned. "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
"I'm on… the corner of… two intersecting streets," Azula managed, struggling to read the street signs.
"Helpful," Katara sighed. "Listen, please remain where you are, okay? Promise me that you won't try to drive under any circumstances, do you hear me? It'll take me some ten minutes to get ready. Please, use that time to find out where you are and send me a text with your location, okay? I'm on my way, Azula."
"Sure, Katara," Azula said. "I'm going to try and find us a bowling alley," she said determinedly after Katara had already disconnected the call.
"All good?" Suki asked, looking up at Yue as she emerged from Kya's room where she had spent the past quarter of an hour putting her daughter to sleep. "It seemed to take less time than yesterday," Suki remarked.
"It did, yes," Yue let out a relieved sounding sigh, sitting down with Suki at the kitchen table. "I hope she's starting to get over the worst of it. I'm such an idiot for not realizing that Kya would really build up the idea of Azula staying with us permanently in her head."
"Just give it another week or so, and I'm sure Kya will be in a good mood again," Suki smiled encouragingly. "And maybe she'll even accept Azula's gifts. I spotted all those boxes in your bedroom."
"Yes, I wasn't going to listen to Kya when she was mad and burn them," Yue chuckled. "Sooner or later, she'll cave and want to play with all that stuff. There's no way she'll be able to resist a genuine Barbie dollhouse for long."
"Agreed," Suki nodded. "So, Kya is starting to cope with what happened, but what about you?" she gave Yue an inquisitive stare.
"Me?" Yue smiled serenely. "I'm not so bad, really." Suki gave her a skeptical look. "Obviously, I'm disappointed and a little depressed, but… I was being honest when I told Azula that I couldn't be angry with her. If anything, I'm really sad for her, the way she's so deep in self-denial," Yue sighed. "And also, I keep reminding myself that Azula is only going to be with us for four more months. I don't want that time to be filled with awkward bitterness and regrets of what could have been. If that's all the time we're going to have with Azula, then I don't want to remember it for that. I'd rather remember it for all the fun we had together."
"That sounds like a… really wise way of looking at things," Suki admitted, feeling both surprised and impressed. "You're way more kind-hearted than I am, by the way," she smiled, reaching out to squeeze Yue's hand. "If I was in your place, I would have been tempted to kick Azula's ass."
"That never entered my mind, really," Yue chuckled ruefully. "But promise not to go all protective on my behalf. I really don't want you to try and kick Azula's ass. She doesn't deserve that."
"Alright, I won't try then," Suki grinned. "I know she didn't mean any harm. Azula is just… pretty woeful at relationships. Or even at understanding normal human emotions. Like earlier today, I caught her talking with Katara about how she wished we could just rewind the tape and go back to our earlier agreement about casual hookups."
"Well, I can't blame her for wanting that," Yue shrugged. "I'd like to go back to that, too. It's just that… I don't know if I can, right? The thought of kissing Azula right now just feels way too painful. I don't want to rip all my wounds open when they've only just began to heal. Maybe give it a few weeks or a month, and we can go back to being casual without it feeling painful, I don't know. They say time heals all wounds, but I don't know if that's even true."
"Maybe you should take some time off work," Suki suggested. "I can't remember when you last went on a vacation. I know it was because money was so tight that you couldn't afford to take time off, but things are better now, aren't they? You could take Kiyi out of the kindergarten for a week and just have some time off with your daughter."
"Hmm… tempting," Yue mused. "I could probably afford it now, too. But the truth is, I love being at the restaurant and hanging out with you and the rest of the group. It's still my favorite place to be despite things being a little awkward with Azula right now."
"Fair enough," Suki admitted. "Just keep that idea in mind, alright?" she said, gently patting Yue's hand.
"I will, Suki," Yue beamed brightly. "And thank you for looking out for me, you're such a dear. But also, you really don't have to sit around all this time while I put Kya to bed. It must be really boring."
"I have ways to occupy myself, don't worry," Suki smiled. She glanced at her phone on the table, her expression sobering slightly. "I've been texting and talking a lot with Mingxia, lately," Suki said.
"Your foster sister?" Yue asked, looking curious. "You haven't mentioned her for a while. What made you reach out?"
"Oh, I was just… talking with Katara, and her name came up," Suki replied a little distractedly. "Anyway, it made me realize that I hadn't spoken with Mingxia in more than a year, so I decided to text her."
"How is Mingxia doing?" Yue asked, looking genuinely curious and also relieved that they were moving on from discussing Azula.
"Not so good, I'm afraid," Suki replied, her expression darkening. "She fears getting evicted from her rent apartment any day now. Her crippling social anxieties limit what jobs she's capable of doing, and she also can't seem to hold onto them for long."
"That's terrible!" Yue gasped. "Is there any way we could help her?"
"We?" Suki smiled at the other girl.
"Well… you know," Yue blushed lightly. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Suki. I thought that went without saying."
"I appreciate that, but honestly, I should be the one helping Mingxia get back on her feet," Suki sighed. Yue gave her an inquisitive stare. "Most of the abuse that Mingxia had to endure from our foster parents happened after I had already left, so…"
"So, you feel guilty for not being there for her?" Yue spoke softly, reaching out and touching Suki's hand. "You're being too hard on yourself, Suki. It's terrible that something like that even happened, but it should have never been on you to protect her. You were barely more than a kid yourself."
"I suppose," Suki sighed, squeezing Yue's hand. "I was really set on that culinary school, though. Mingxia knew it was my dream and she always encouraged me to pursue it. If only she hadn't been forced to stay behind for her senior year in high school, we could have both gotten out together. I had no idea that the abuse would become so bad once I was gone."
"That's terrible," Yue looked very upset. "Maybe you can convince Mingxia to move to the Fire Nation? What if we paid for her ferry ticket?"
"I'm working on that, but seriously, I'm not letting you pay for Mingxia's ticket," Suki protested. "I'm in a much better situation financially than you are. Why are you so desperate to get involved, anyway? Not that I don't appreciate it, but-"
"I'm just looking to pick up a good cause that could serve as a distraction, honestly," Yue admitted.
"Alright, I get that," Suki smiled. "I'm still not letting you help financially, though. But if I can persuade Mingxia to move to Caldera, I'm sure there will be other opportunities to help her. What that girl needs the most is to feel like there are some people in her corner, really."
"I'd be happy to do that for her," Yue nodded, smiling.
"Thanks," Suki said, squeezing Yue's hand again. "You're a pretty amazing friend to have, I hope you know that."
"Right back at you," Yue winked at Suki as they both lost the track of time in more familiar banter that lasted well into the night.
Azula was having quite the entertaining evening, even if not everything had gone her way. After tracking her down, Katara had done some yelling at her, because instead of waiting for Katara at the spot they had agreed upon, Azula had drunkenly wandered off in search of a bowling alley. By some kind of drunkard's luck, she had actually managed to find a bowling alley that was open all night, but she had also made Katara spend an extra half an hour searching for her, freaking out when she couldn't find Azula.
It hadn't been easy to talk Katara into playing bowling half an hour past midnight, especially when Katara was dead set on insisting that Azula was drunk and needed to be brought back to her apartment and thrown into her bed. Still, Azula had somehow managed to convince Katara and they had ended up bowling… or at least, Katara had been bowling, while Azula had mostly made an ass out of herself.
Katara actually knew how to play from her student years and she had tried to give Azula some tips, however, Azula was sobering up way too slowly to pick up any of Katara's advice. Also, all that leaning back and forth during bowling made Azula a little queasy, so the game had ended with Azula throwing up all over her bowling ball. Needless to say, the staff at the bowling alley were less than impressed with Azula, but she had handled the situation by throwing a wad of cash at the staff, after which they had been more than happy to clean up the mess Azula had made.
Azula was a little unclear on what had happened afterwards, but when she eventually sobered up fully, she found herself and Katara strolling through the central park of downtown Caldera, both of them holding cups of steaming hot coffee in their hands. Despite the noise never truly dying down in the city center, it felt like a quiet night. There weren't many other people in the park at this hour, except a few drunken hobos sleeping on or under the benches. The time was quarter past three in the morning, and while the sky was still dark, Azula could see the crack of dawn starting to form at the horizon.
"Are you starting to feel a little better?" Katara asked, her voice soft, but also a tiny bit amused.
"Yes, I think so," Azula nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. "It's been a weird evening, hasn't it?" she chuckled awkwardly.
"You could say that," Katara laughed. Azula was relieved upon sensing that Katara didn't seem annoyed with her. Azula possessed just enough awareness to realize that she must have been a handful to deal with while drunk. "This is nice, though," Katara added, looking at her.
"Yes, it is," Azula agreed, smiling. "Very peaceful. I don't think I've ever been in the central park at this hour. There's something charming about all these colorful characters hanging about the place."
"And speaking of colorful characters," Katara remarked, nodding towards a scrawny looking middle-aged man in a heavy overcoat approaching them. Upon reaching the two young women, he rather predictably threw his coat open and flashed them, proceeding to make enthusiastic pelvic thrusts in their general direction.
"Thank you, but we're really not interested," Azula replied as she removed the lid of the plastic cup and then proceeded to pour scalding coffee all over the flasher's crotch. The man froze, his facial expression changing with his eyes suddenly bulging out of their sockets as he let out a bloodcurdling scream and ran off, crying out in agony.
"Well done," Katara nodded approvingly. She removed the lid of her cup and reached out to pour some of her coffee into Azula's now empty cup. "There, you deserve it."
"Thank you," Azula smiled gratefully, then glancing back at the unfortunate flasher, still screaming somewhere in the distance. "You wonder why they do it, really. Especially with a penis so small," she remarked.
"Who knows," Katara laughed, looking like she was really enjoying herself.
"Anyway, aside from that incident, I maintain that this is really nice," Azula said. "I'm having fun, just hanging out with you."
"Likewise," Katara smiled. "Even if I'm trying not to think of what time it is and that my alarm is scheduled to go off less than four hours from now."
"I'm going to suggest something scandalous," Azula said, having pondered the issue for some time. "Let's skip the lunch service tomorrow and instead sleep in."
Katara mock-gasped. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Azula Nakamura?" she grinned. "Anyway, that sounds like a great idea, but do you even know how to sleep in?" Katara asked.
"I'm not sure," Azula admitted. "I would just turn off my alarm and hope that my biological clock doesn't kick me to wake up at seven in the morning." Katara nodded approvingly. "And sure, laugh it up… it's true that I would never suggest something like skipping work, but I'm trying a lot of new things today. I've bowled for the first time in my life-"
"And threw up on your bowling ball," Katara added unhelpfully. "Seeing that was a first for me, by the way."
"Yes, yes," Azula said impatiently, hoping to move on quickly. "Also, being up past three in the morning of a workday is a new experience for me. Agni, father would disapprove most sternly of my slipping standards," she sighed.
"I suppose he would," Katara frowned. "How does knowing that makes you feel?"
Azula considered Katara's words for a good while. She had expected to feel goosebumps crawling all over her skin from the fear of her father's disapproval, and she was surprised that for once the feeling of terror was strangely absent. "Actually… knowing that my father would disapprove somehow makes it feel even better. More exciting," Azula added, speaking a little nervously and glancing around, as if expecting Ozai Nakamura to jump out from the nearby bushes and scold Azula for her lack of professionalism.
"You realize that this kind of fear of parental disapproval is not exactly normal, right?" Katara asked, carefully eyeing Azula.
"Oh, believe me," Azula laughed nervously. "I know that my family is very messed up. The relationship with my father is just one of many things that's probably not very normal," she shrugged. "Still, I don't believe that your father would just automatically approve of anything you decided to do."
"Obviously not," Katara nodded in agreement. "But I know that my father places mine and Sokka's happiness above any other considerations. Can you say the same about Ozai? When was the last time he asked if you were happy?"
Azula felt a sharp stab in her gut upon realizing the painful answer to Katara's simple question. "He's never asked me that," Azula was forced to admit. "But I don't think it's because he doesn't care," she hurried to explain. "It's just that… my father assumes that happiness comes from fame and success. And he clearly wants me to have that, which means that he wants me to be happy… in his own way."
"Now you're just rationalizing his terrible, and I would go as far as to say, downright abusive parenting," Katara replied heatedly, her temper starting to show. Then her shoulders relaxed slightly and she let out a weary sigh. "Ugh, no, I don't want us to get into an argument about this, not now," she said, much to Azula's relief. "I just wish my dad was here and you could see for yourself what a normal relationship with a parental figure looks like."
"You must really miss your dad," Azula remarked, watching a bittersweet smile forming on Katara's lips.
"Sokka and I haven't seen him since last summer," Katara sighed. "Of course, we see him regularly on our Facetime chats, but I meant in person. But Gran Gran's hip is healing slower than expected, so I don't know when dad will be able to come back to Caldera. I'd love to take a week or two off and hop on a flight North, but I'm not going to do that while the restaurant is still on shaky ground."
"I understand that," Azula nodded. Katara's words had piqued her curiosity and also given her an idea. Azula now felt a little obsessed with the idea of watching Katara and Sokka interact with their father. Also, Katara deserved better than to be cut off from her dad for almost a whole year. Maybe there was a way to persuade Hakoda to come back to the Fire Nation at least for a few days if not a week. Surely, it would be possible to find someone else to look after Katara's grandmother for a short while. And if Hakoda was not willing to leave his mother even for a week, Azula was sure that she could spin a convincing lie to persuade Katara's dad to hurry back to Caldera City. She could claim that the restaurant was about to go belly up or had just burned down, or some other innocuous lie that totally wouldn't lead to ridiculous drama.
"Anyway, there's the car park," Katara said a while later as they reached the end of the pathway. "Are you ready to be taken back to your apartment?"
"I suppose," Azula sighed. "For some reason, I still feel like the night is young and I don't want it to end. We could hang out at my place? Or do a sleepover?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure," Katara said hesitantly. "A sleepover just now might not be a good look."
"Oh," Azula realized, mentally slapping herself. "Well, I didn't mean that kind of sleepover. I have a guest bedroom, after all. Not that I wouldn't want the other kind of sleepover with you, but I totally get what you're saying, I agree that it just wouldn't be a good idea right now, we wouldn't want to hurt more feelings and… and I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"You are," Katara grinned, taking Azula's hand and gently patting it. "Here's what we could do, though. I could drive you home and come up for a cup of tea before we got you all tucked in for the night. And I suppose I could stay for another hour or so and we could talk some more. That sounds like a good compromise to a sleepover, right?"
"It sounds great," Azula nodded happily. "Thanks, Katara. You always have the best suggestions."
"Exactly, I wish people would listen to me more, but at least you have the right idea," Katara laughed, wrapping her arm around Azula's waist as they walked up to Katara's car, still giggling as they drove off into the night.
Mai groaned, rearing her head, having been awakened by a random ray of sunlight, poking in through a gap in the blinds and stabbing her in the eye. She felt very disoriented and the pounding headache did not help Mai get her bearings. The pub crawl with her coworkers had clearly led to overindulging and a nasty hangover that was guaranteed to make Mai's day a challenging one. From what Mai could tell, at least she had ended up in her own bed, but she also felt uncomfortably sticky and overheating, as if trapped in a hot oven.
Reaching out for her phone on the nightstand, Mai discovered an unexpected source of heat – and probably also stickiness – as her arm smacked a warm body lying next to her. With bleary eyes, Mai squinted at the person beside her, groaning inwardly when she realized that it was none other than Ruon-Jian.
So, she had slept with Ruon-Jian. Mai's head fell back on the pillow as she contemplated the consequences of that drunk decision. Zuko would probably fly into a fit of rage even if he was clearly screwing or getting screwed by Jet, but Zuko was also a massive hypocrite who lacked any modicum of introspection. Also, Ruon-Jian was going to be annoyingly smug about it all. Even worse, he might foolishly assume that she was now his girlfriend. Ruon Jian would need to have his self-esteem crushed swiftly in order to be reminded of his proper place.
Sighing, Mai decided that it was time to get out of bed and try to cure her hangover before doing anything else, but she ended up unexpectedly rolling on top of another warm body on the other side of the bed. The person trapped underneath her grunted in displeasure, but failed to wake up, so Mai quickly rolled off of them. It didn't take Mai long to realize that she was boxed in by the naked bodies of On Ji and Ruon Jian, suggesting that the night before had ended up in an orgy of which she had only vague recollections.
Those vague recollections seemed to involve someone else, however, someone other than On Ji or Ruon Jian, making the orgy of the previous night at least a foursome. As Mai was still trying her hardest to remember, she became aware of some sounds and stirring on the floor beside her bed. Someone else was awake and in the process of getting up.
Please don't let it be Ty Lee, please don't let it be Ty Lee, Mai thought to herself frantically. Obviously, her bestie was drop dead gorgeous, but the complications of sleeping with Ty Lee would have been too terrible to deal with. Mai was yet to meet this Sokka Enuaraq fellow, but he seemed like Ty Lee's first decent choice of a partner for a serious relationship, and Mai desperately didn't want to ruin it for her best friend. That was why Mai let out a sigh of relief when instead of Ty Lee, she observed Jin Huang's disheveled hair appearing in her sight, followed by the rest of Jin.
"Thank Agni, it's just you, Jin," Mai said, feeling like she had dodged a massive bullet. Jin blinked owlishly at her. "Well, I was afraid that I might have slept with Ty Lee, which would have been really bad," Mai explained. "But fortunately, it was just you, and I know that sleeping with you isn't going to lead to any serious ramifications because you're literally insane and happy to go along with almost anything."
"I feel like I should object to that characterization," Jin mused, thoughtfully nibbling on her fingertip. "Eh, I really can't, though," she then shrugged cheerfully. "But hey, at least I wasn't the one to say yes to Ruon Jian's marriage proposal."
"Who would do something so stupid?" Mai laughed.
"Uh… you did, sweetheart," Jin pointed out unhelpfully, making Mai groan as her headache intensified immediately. This day was clearly going to be even more challenging than Mai had expected it to be.