Chapter Text
"Well, this definitely feels like a very well-run operation," Ursa Noriko said, looking around the spotless kitchen of The Northern Lights restaurant.
"Indeed, Azula runs a tight ship," Katara chuckled, nodding in agreement. Even though Azula had mentioned that Katara's presence was not necessary, Katara had insisted on joining Azula as she gave her mother a brief tour of the restaurant.
"We all run a tight ship. It's not like I'm implementing some outrageous changes without consulting you and Sokka. You are the owners, after all," Azula shrugged. "But sure, I'll take the credit," she grinned, turning to face her mother. "I'm sure you'll agree that my way of running a restaurant is far superior to Zuko's."
Ursa rolled her eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. "All I can say is that you and Zuko have distinctly different styles of running your business," Ursa said, sounding a little tired. "I'm not going to say that one of you is better than the other. Zuko's way clearly works for him."
"Of course, I knew it was too much to expect any intellectual honesty from you, mother dear," Azula snorted.
"Azula!" Katara glared at her. "Where are your manners?"
"Oh, don't mind her barbs, my dear," Ursa chuckled, patting Katara's hand. "I haven't always been the best mother for my children, so the attitude is not undeserved. But I'm trying to be better as I move forward, and that includes supporting all my children instead of pitting them against each other in a sick and revolting competition. Hopefully with enough time, Azula will realize that she doesn't have to compete for my love, because it will always be there for her, unlike the conditional love of her father."
"I'm sure it's so easy to make yourself sound better than Ozai when you weren't even around to raise me," Azula argued, with admittedly a rather half-hearted defense of her father.
"Don't you think I would have wanted to be there?" Ursa sighed. "You think I could have done battle with Ozai and his army of lawyers? How about some intellectual honesty about that?"
Azula ground her teeth upon realizing that she couldn't really argue Ursa's point. So, instead she turned to face Katara. "See, this is why I didn't want you to tag along," Azula sighed. "Mother and I always end up arguing."
"You really don't have to, though," Katara said, her eyes sad and almost tearful. "I just think it's so depressing. If you only knew what I would do to have my mother here with me, to be able to talk with her. I will never have that luxury of choosing to have a good relationship with my mom because she's never coming back."
"Sorry," Azula muttered, feeling chastised and a little ashamed.
"I didn't mean to make you feel guilty," Katara said quickly. "I just wanted you to know why it pains me to see you arguing with your mom."
"I feel terrible about causing you distress," Ursa said, taking Katara's hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "My daughter and I will be more civil going forward, I promise. Won't we, Azula?"
"Of course," Azula quickly agreed. "Although there's not much going forward, because the tour, such as it was, is over. And I'm sure you have other plans for the day that you're eager to get back to, mother," Azula said.
"So desperate to get rid of me, are you?" Ursa chuckled, while Katara gave Azula a mildly disapproving stare. "It's a rare day off for me, actually. That's why I pestered you into giving me this tour. Spending my day off work by catching up with my oldest daughter and learning what she's been up to was my main plan for the day."
"That's all fine and wonderful, mother, but we have a business to run here and as lovely as entertaining you has been, we really should get back to it, shouldn't we, Katara?" Azula asked hopefully.
"What?" Katara blinked. "No, this is going to be a slow day because of the heatwave, you said so yourself. It's too hot for most people to even go out to eat, right? So, feel free to spend some extra time with your mom."
"Thank you, Katara," Azula ground out, trying to sound at least slightly genuine. She wasn't fooling her mother, though, with Ursa snickering into her palm.
It wasn't even that Azula was terribly opposed to giving Ursa the tour or to spending some time with her mother. It was just that Ursa had picked a particularly bad day for an extended visit, and she had been very relentless in pestering Azula about the tour. Since Azula had already blown Ursa off several times before, she sensed that there was a genuine possibility to really damage the relationship with her mother if she refused again. So, Azula had caved and agreed to show Ursa around on a day when Azula expected a visit from someone very special, an occasion that she was already very nervous about.
Ever since their latest retreat to the forest cottage when Azula had hooked up with Suki, and Katara had enjoyed her little fling with Yue, Azula was feeling increasingly frustrated. Sex with Suki had been very good, but on some level Azula regretted letting it happen because she hadn't realized just how conflicted she would feel about Katara and Yue hooking up. Finding out that the ex-girlfriends had spent the night together had felt bad, and it had also spoiled the memory of her time with Suki.
It hadn't even taken Azula her usual weeks to figure out just why she was feeling so rotten. All it took was a moment of rare honesty for Azula to admit that what she truly wanted was to hook up with Katara. That one night together with Katara and June still constantly lingered on Azula's mind as one of her most cherished memories. But in a way, that one time hadn't satisfied Azula at all, because she'd been forced to share, and what Azula truly wanted was to have Katara all to herself, at least once. The threesome had felt more like an appetizer, but then she had been denied the main meal, and Azula was dying for her full entrée.
So, as Azula was waiting for the forest cottage to become available yet again, she'd been thinking about other ways to do something nice for Katara. And less than a week ago, having accidentally overheard Katara Facetiming with her dad, Azula had been struck by the most genius idea. Katara hadn't seen her dad in over a year and it was obvious that she missed him terribly, in ways that Facetime calls just couldn't satisfy. Now that the restaurant was once again running smoothly and efficiently, Azula felt confident about letting Katara's father see what they had done with the place. So, Azula had looked up Hakoda Enuaraq's e-mail address on Katara's laptop and then she had reached out to him in secret to arrange a surprise visit. So, maybe she'd spun some tall tales to make sure that Hakoda couldn't resist the invitation, but it was all for a good cause. Hakoda would arrive in Caldera City with the afternoon flight, so there was still plenty of time to get rid of her mother, but still, Ursa picking this particular day for her tour was a little unfortunate mostly because of Azula's already frayed nerves.
"So," Azula impatiently picked up the thread of conversation once again. "Was there anything else that you wanted to see, mother?"
"No, I think I've seen all there is to see," Ursa smiled. "I was thinking that we could sit down to a cup of coffee and enjoy the pastries I brought you. And maybe just… I don't know, talk?"
"I suppose that sounds acceptable," Azula nodded. Hakoda wasn't scheduled to arrive for several more hours and surely, she would be able to get rid of Ursa by then, using the start of the lunch service as an excuse.
"Why don't you two go upstairs and sit on the roof terrace? It's lovely up there and you'll have privacy," Katara suggested. "I'll bring you coffee shortly-" Katara was then interrupted by a loud scream coming from the dining room. "What in the world?" Katara blinked, rushing to investigate, Azula hot on her heels.
Upon arriving in the dining room, Azula was treated to a shocking surprise upon seeing Sokka fiercely hugging an older Water Tribe man that could only be none other than Hakoda Enuaraq. "Dad?" Katara asked in a shocked voice, rubbing her eyes as if she was unsure whether she was hallucinating. "Dad!" she then exclaimed, rushing forth to join Sokka and her father in a family group hug.
"But… but you weren't supposed to be here until later in the afternoon," Azula gasped as she watched the family reunion with great confusion.
"I took the liberty of contacting the airline and they were able to exchange my flight to an earlier one," Hakoda said, somehow managing to overhear Azula's muttering over the cheerful exclamations and joyful sobs of his children. "I thought it made sense considering the emergency," Hakoda added unhelpfully.
"What emergency?" Katara immediately pulled away from her father, looking alarmed. "Is it Gran-Gran? Has something happened with our grandmother?" she looked a little panicked.
"Gran-Gran is fine and in good spirits, Katara, please calm down," Hakoda tried to reassure his daughter.
"But who's looking after Gran-Gran if you're here?" Sokka asked, also looking confused.
"Your celebrity consultant over there," Hakoda said, nodding at Azula. "Hired an expensive private nurse to look after Gran-Gran while I'm here. So, please don't worry about your grandmother. She's being looked after far better than I could ever hope to."
"Alright, now I'm even more confused than before," Sokka confessed. "Why is Azula hiring a private nurse for Gran-Gran? Can someone just tell me what's going on here?"
"The young lady isn't just paying for the nurse, she also paid for my flights," Hakoda smiled.
"That still doesn't tell us why she did it," Katara frowned, looking at Azula with a piercing, inquisitive stare. "Azula, do you want to tell us something?" she asked.
"Let's not gang up on Azula, guys," Hakoda said softly. "She's not to blame for being honest and telling me the truth about the state of the restaurant. I understand that you were only trying to save me and your grandmother from worrying about the state of the business."
"What?" Katara gasped. "But… the restaurant is doing really well, dad! I've been sending you all those pictures and videos to show all the changes we've made… we've been thriving!"
"It's true, dad," Sokka nodded. "The restaurant is in the best shape it's been in five years. We're really riding the top of the wave right now."
Now it was Hakoda's turn to look at Azula in confusion. "Well… now I'm the one who doesn't quite understand what's going on here," he said, laughing nervously.
Faced with an array of stern and probing stares, Azula briefly considered her options, among which fleeing or playing dead seemed the most attractive at the moment. She quickly dismissed all these ideas as unfeasible, however, instead blushing and awkwardly shuffling her foot like a chastised nine-year-old. "I… may have dramatically embellished the state of the restaurant in order to provide an added incentive for your visit, Mr. Enuaraq," she confessed.
"That does sound like something my daughter would do," Ursa intervened with an untimely and obnoxious chuckle.
"Ah, you are Azula's mother?" Hakoda turned to look at Ursa. Azula could have sworn that for some reason his eyes lit up slightly. "My apologies for the lack of proper introductions among all this confusion," he said, walking up to Ursa and offering his hand. "Hakoda Enuaraq."
"Ursa Noriko," Ursa smiled, shaking Hakoda's hand and definitely not releasing it quickly enough for Azula's liking. "A pleasure."
"No, the pleasure is all mine," Hakoda grinned. He then turned back towards Azula. "And young lady, if you thought that I needed extra incentive to come and visit my children, then you were greatly mistaken. Still, I am extremely thankful for the nurse and the expensive plane tickets. For that, you have my gratitude."
"Yeah, thanks Azula, you're a good sport," Sokka nodded gratefully. "It's been well over a year since we've last seen dad in person, way too long."
"I am also incredibly thankful," Katara smiled. "Although, we're going to have a little talk later about all these lies and contacting dad behind my back," Katara added, her smile fading slightly as she gave Azula a meaningful stare. "But now, I think we want our dad just to ourselves because we have so many things to catch up on."
"Agreed," Sokka said. "Shall we go upstairs?"
"Have fun catching up," Ursa smiled. "Azula and I will get out of your hair."
"Of course," Hakoda nodded, giving Ursa a slightly wistful stare. "But perhaps you could stop by for a visit tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'd love to," Ursa agreed, smiling broadly as Hakoda, Katara and Sokka proceeded upstairs for a proper family reunion and catching up.
Once the Enuaraqs were gone, Azula allowed the groan she had been withholding to escape her lips. "I think you did a really nice thing there, Azula," Ursa said, looking at Azula with a nasty, patronizing smile on her lips.
"Ugh," Azula grunted. She then glared at her mother. "You know, this is actually all your f-" she then stopped herself before unleashing the meritless accusation at her mother. Blaming Ursa was one of Azula's most common go-to excuses, but right now, she couldn't bring herself to use it, not when the gaffe was so obviously hers. "I feel like such a loser," Azula sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I bet Katara hates me now."
"Don't be ridiculous, my dear," Ursa approached her, patting Azula's hand. "Perhaps Katara is a little mad, but did you see how happy she was to see her father again? Just let her spend some time with her dad, and you'll see that the happiness will override any annoyance she might feel about your… interesting approach to bring Hakoda here."
"Do you really think she won't hate me because of this?" Azula asked hopefully.
"Definitely not," Ursa shook her head. "I can see that Katara likes you a great deal, and she likes you for who you really are… and that definitely includes the occasional awkward and dramatic gesture."
Couple of days into Hakoda's visit and Katara still felt like she was floating on a cloud of pure happiness from having her father where she could speak to him in person and hug him. Even though Hakoda already knew about the changes that had been made to the restaurant, it was a completely different thing to show her dad how everything worked in practice. Katara was delighted to see how impressed her father was upon seeing the restaurant performing as a well-oiled machine during dinner service, and she was further thrilled upon hearing Hakoda's admission that they were operating more efficiently than even during the restaurant's heyday more than a decade ago.
At first, Katara had been full of resolve to give Azula a proper chewing out for the way she had gone behind everyone's backs and used deception to bring Hakoda to Caldera City. But as days passed, Katara's frustrations with Azula gradually faded due to the sheer happiness of being able to spend time with her father. If anything, Katara had come to realize that at its core, Azula's gesture was incredibly sweet, even if her actions could be considered as rather dubious. Katara had already thanked Azula for reuniting her and Sokka with their father, but she was very eager to express her gratitude in much warmer ways following the conclusion of Hakoda's visit.
Of course, Hakoda's sudden appearance had caused a lot of buzz around the restaurant, and it had slightly stressed out some of their friends. While Aang and Toph remained completely chill, Suki and Yue appeared a little tense to begin with, confessing to Katara that they were worried that Hakoda would have a negative view of them because they both had ended their romantic relationships with Sokka. Katara thought that it was a ridiculous concern to even entertain, and the fears of her friends were soon put to rest when Hakoda treated both Suki and Yue with the warmth that Katara assumed as a given coming from her father.
Katara still felt a lump forming in her throat when she remembered the sweet moment on her father's second day of visit when Yue brought Kya with her to the restaurant to properly introduce the girl to her grandfather. Last time Hakoda had met Kya, she had been way too small to remember it, but now she could actually speak to her grandfather and play a few games of Pai Sho with him. Katara knew she would never forget the sight of her father tearing up when facing the adorable little girl who was named in honor of the love of his life.
Surprisingly, the one person stressing the most about Hakoda's visit was Ty Lee. Katara had expected Sokka's new girlfriend to take it in her usual stride, but for some reason she appeared unusually nervous and more scatterbrained than ever. Even Azula, one of Ty Lee's best friends, failed to make sense of this nervousness, eventually speculating that perhaps Ty Lee was so tense because she was desperate to impress Hakoda, which apparently wasn't the way Ty Lee normally operated.
Still, it was a start of yet another busy day at work with more opportunities to show her dad just how well the business was ticking along in his absence. Not wanting to impose on either her or Sokka, Hakoda had decided to stick with the hotel, so Katara now began her mornings by making a slight detour to pick up her father on the way to work. Katara's brain was still operating in a money saving mode from all those years of near-poverty, so she was a little frustrated that Hakoda refused the offer to stay at her apartment, but her father could be an unusually stubborn man and wasn't likely to change his mind.
It was a quarter past ten in the morning when Katara arrived at the hotel lobby where Hakoda greeted her with a much appreciated to-go cup of coffee. "Why don't we sit down for a bit and have a chat before heading out?" her father offered, pointing at the seats on the terrace outside. "It's not as if we're in any hurry, are we?"
"I suppose not," Katara shrugged. "Although, Azula did say that she had some kind of activity planned, and she wanted you and Sokka to be there for it."
"My interest has been piqued," Hakoda admitted with a fond chuckle. "Your celebrity consultant is certainly a force of nature, isn't she?"
"Oh yes, definitely," Katara agreed instantly, smiling softly.
"Is that intensity what you like so much about her?" Hakoda asked, giving her a more serious look.
"Umm," Katara stammered, blushing madly. Was she really about to face the chat about Azula? Katara didn't believe that she had been very obvious with her attraction to the Fire Nation girl, so it seemed unlikely that her father would have noticed anything by himself. It was more likely that someone had mentioned it to him and Katara strongly suspected her blabbermouth of a brother. "I suppose I do like that about her, yes," Katara had no choice but to admit.
"Understandable," Hakoda nodded, smiling. "I think that's something you've always wanted, someone that would challenge you and match your own intensity. Which makes it even more astonishing that you stuck with that no-good ex-boyfriend of yours for so long."
"You don't need to bring up Jet again, dad. He's in the past," Katara sighed. Hakoda had never been a member of Team Jet, but then again, Katara hadn't expected him to be. Jet wasn't the type of boyfriend who scored many points with parents. In fact, parents were more likely to reach for their shotguns to ward Jet off from their daughters and sons.
"Fair," Hakoda nodded. "I won't lie I'm happy to hear that Jet is in the past. And yet, at the same time, even though I have developed a soft spot for Azula already… I'm concerned whether she is the future."
"Dad, you're seriously jumping the gun here, it's not like we're even dating," Katara sighed.
"That's not quite what I meant," Hakoda said patiently. "I'm talking about Azula's future plans and how they might not be compatible with what I suspect are your dreams and wishes."
"How do you know about all of that anyway?" Katara narrowed eyes at her father.
Hakoda blushed slightly. "I have been talking with Azula's mother," he confessed.
"Been talking with her a lot, have you?" Katara frowned. Following her father's invitation, Ursa had stopped by the restaurant on the following day, and then every day since. Katara wasn't exactly a big fan of her dad getting cozy with Azula's mom, even if on a personal level she liked Ursa a great deal.
"Are you insinuating something, daughter?" Hakoda smirked. "I'm merely making a friend, and also, I have to get all the rumors from somewhere because clearly there are certain things that a parent must know but isn't going to learn from his children."
"I don't see how Ursa would be a useful source for rum-" Katara began, stopping when she realized something that made her groan. "Ugh, Kiyi. Of course, Ursa would hear everything from that little gremlin."
"Exactly," Hakoda grinned. "Anyway, I may like Azula, but I'm still worried for you in this situation and I'm sure you can understand why."
Katara sighed. "I suppose because you've heard from Ursa that Azula fully intends to return to her father come September, and you think that I'll be left with a broken heart."
"Isn't that a cause for concern?" Hakoda asked, giving Katara a probing stare.
"Maybe, but that's not going to stop me from… you know, having feelings," Katara shrugged, blushing slightly. "I'm not deluding myself with false hopes that Azula will abandon everything in order to stay here. I want to believe that there's a slim chance that she might do it, but… I'm trying to remain realistic about it, okay?"
"Makes sense, and I'm glad you're keeping things in perspective," Hakoda smiled. "That said, I do hope that Azula will stay. She's a good fit, both with the restaurant and with you."
"Ugh, once again with jumping the gun, and also, stop making me blush," Katara sighed, checking her phone at the faint buzz of an incoming message. "And speaking of Azula, I really ought to take you to the restaurant now before she starts freaking out. Azula doesn't take well to anyone being late."
"I didn't think she would," Hakoda laughed as they made their way to Katara's car, followed by a short drive to The Northern Lights. Once they arrived at the restaurant, Katara was a little perplexed to find the front door locked up, but then another text from Azula directed her towards the back alley. Proceeding towards the back entrance, Katara and Hakoda found the entire restaurant staff, as well as Ursa, Kiyi and Kya having gathered there. There were also some power tools and generous amounts of various supplies, such as plywood and several cans of paint.
"It's about time you two showed up," Azula spoke impatiently following an exchange of morning greetings. "I believe it is long overdue that we corrected a certain error committed during the renovation process," Azula began one of her long-winded explanations. "Something important was stripped from the restaurant-"
"Are we bringing back the microwaves?" Toph wondered aloud.
"No, I am definitely not talking about the microwaves," Azula sighed. "Something else was removed from the restaurant. Since the original inception of this feature was created by Sokka and his father, I thought you two would enjoy the opportunity to work on restoring this missing feature to the restaurant."
"What is she talking about?" Aang whispered, looking around. He wasn't the only one appearing a little confused. Next to Katara, Hakoda also looked clueless.
"Wait… all this plywood, you wouldn't be talking about-" Sokka snapped his fingers in realization, but Katara still managed to beat him to the answer.
"The Seal of Approval!" she exclaimed joyfully, literally bouncing from joy and rushing forward to smother Azula in a fierce hug. "I had almost forgotten about the sign outside missing something very important!"
"Oh, that's true," Sokka grinned, looking at Hakoda. "And we did make that old sign together, didn't we?"
"That we did," Hakoda nodded with a nostalgic sigh. "And I'm guessing that now we'll get to do it again."
"But wait, Azula," Yue spoke up, looking very curious. "You've never brought up the Seal of Approval before. I'm surprised that you would even remember about it."
"Well…" Azula blushed lightly. "It just didn't feel right that my father tore it up for no good reason. And I do remember that you all liked the silly thing," Azula said, her eyes meeting Katara's and lingering for a few faint moments. "Also, it seemed to be a hit with the customers, so I believe it makes sense to bring it back."
"I still can't believe that your father blew up the old seal with a stick of dynamite," Suki shook her head. "That was insane even for him."
"It was certainly a little wild," Azula admitted. "But the seal is making its glorious comeback now, in more ways than one. Check this out, everyone," Azula said, dragging out a box filled with laminated sheets of paper that she quickly distributed to everyone present.
"You had new menus printed?" Sokka wondered. "I like these, they're very posh looking."
"And they have a cute little seal worked into our logo," Katara squealed, hugging Azula again and squeezing her tightly, not caring about some of the looks and smirks they were receiving. "Thank you for this incredibly sweet and thoughtful gesture."
"Umm, you're… very welcome," a very red faced Azula stammered before managing to recompose herself. "Anyway… Sokka, Hakoda, the floor is yours, if you want to get started on the new seal sign. Everyone else, you're welcome to join in and help, provided you're actually helping instead of creating chaos."
"I think Sokka and I have the next step covered," Hakoda rubbed his hands. "But we'll definitely need some help painting the seal. What do you say about that, Kya?" he smiled at his excited looking granddaughter. "This could be a great way of keeping it a family affair and also getting the next generation involved."
"I'll do it!" Kya declared proudly. "Can Kiyi help? And I want mom to join in, too."
"Of course," Hakoda said. "Everyone is welcome to join. Especially you, Yue, for you are and always will be family."
"Thank you, Hakoda," Yue sniffed, wiping away an errant tear escaping across her cheek.
"It makes sense for this to be a real team effort," Ursa smiled, nodding approvingly. "There's such a strong sense of family about this entire place. I've felt it from my first visit here."
"Yes, but not in the same spirit like when some corporate stooge refers to the staff as family because he expects them to work plenty of unpaid overtime," Azula rolled her eyes. "Anyway, much as I approve of this being a total team effort, lunch service is fast approaching and we need another team effort to handle that, so… could I have at least some of you back inside, starting the prep?"
"Sure thing, boss," Aang chirped as he rushed back to the restaurant's kitchen together with Toph and Suki.
Yue was about to follow them back inside, but Katara stopped her, seizing Yue's hand. "I'll set up the dining room on my own, don't worry," Katara smiled. "Just stay out here with Kya and the others."
"Are you sure?" Yue asked, looking uncertain and conflicted.
"Absolutely," Katara spoke firmly. "I just love seeing my dad embracing you and Kya as a part of the family. Which is obviously how I've always seen you both."
"Thanks so much, Kat," Yue sniffed, overcome with emotion as she returned to Kya's side, leaving Katara free to enter the restaurant with Azula following her inside.
"Do you want my help setting up the dining room?" Azula asked hopefully.
"Well, I don't exactly need it, but I'm not going to refuse help," Katara smiled. "It's sweet of you to offer. But not as sweet as the gesture with the Seal of Approval and the menus. That was… genuinely touching. Thank you so much."
"Eh, it was… nothing, really," Azula shrugged awkwardly. "I'm sure it'll pull many new customers."
"I'm sure that was your main motivation," Katara grinned. She then surprised Azula by pulling her into another hug, but this time also generously smooching Azula's cheek in a way that left her blushing furiously. "And rest assured, Azula… the gesture was definitely not nothing."
For the past week or so, Mai had become used to taking care of The Blue Spirit restaurant's finances by working from home. Not only was she no longer exposed to Zuko and Jet's constant chaotic bullshit, the chores only took her between an hour or two every day, leaving her with plenty of time to lazy about and do absolutely nothing. Certainly, a part of her still missed some of the crazy shenanigans that always seemed to surround the restaurant, but Mai hoped that within a few more weeks, this longing would be completely eradicated.
This was less likely to happen now that on this Thursday morning, Mai was back in her little office at The Blue Spirit, only because Ty Lee had requested an emergency face to face meeting. Mai had agreed because she had recently been the reluctant witness of Ty Lee gradually slipping further and further into an insane freakout while trying to impress the father of her current boyfriend, Sokka. Ty Lee had been bombarding Mai's phone with endless texts, asking for advice and exhausting the whole world's supply of crying emojis while whining about how Hakoda Enuaraq probably thought that she was the dumbest ditz in Caldera City.
Mai always hated being in the position where she had to advise people. Because she acted so in control the whole time, people tended to assume that Mai had shit figured out, which couldn't be further from the truth. In rare moments of honesty, Mai admitted to herself that she was kind of a disaster, but fortunately, she was also really good at not thinking about it too much.
With Zuko and On Ji being the only ones present and doing prep in the kitchen, Mai decided to spend her time fruitfully by doing some basic admin stuff, but she was stopped by the discovery that over the past week, Ruon-Jian had turned her workplace into a pigsty. Chocolate wrappers, lollipop sticks and a mountain of crumbs, mostly from Cheetos, littered Mai's workplace. Resolving to murder Ruon-Jian upon his arrival, Mai was forced to do some emergency cleaning before she could even start thinking about work.
Mai was still busy cleaning when someone else entered the restaurant. A very familiar voice spoke up shortly just outside of her office. "You in there, Mai?" Ty Lee asked hopefully.
"Unfortunately," Mai sighed. She had just stepped into a partly melted chocolate candy that had fallen to the floor several days ago, and Ruon-Jian hadn't bothered to pick it up. It wasn't improving Mai's mood any.
"That's awesome," Ty Lee sounded relieved. "Alright, I'm coming in. I need you to tell me what you think about my new look, and I want you to be totally honest," Ty Lee said before entering Mai's office.
"Right…" Mai felt her eyes widening as she took in Ty Lee's unexpected appearance. She had completely redone her hair, swapping the heavy braid for a slightly messy bun with a pencil sticking out from it. Ty Lee wore barely any makeup when compared to her usual style, and a pair of thin framed glasses were hanging from a chain around her neck. Ty Lee was wearing a grey buttoned-up cardigan sweater together with polka-dotted maxi skirt that stretched down to her ankles and almost completely covered the stockings and pumps she was wearing. "Alright, you wanted me to be honest," Mai said. "This librarian look is so not you, Ty Lee."
"Yes!" Ty Lee pumped her fist happily. "That was the goal, thank you so much! I want to appear like the complete opposite of me, so this is clearly working out great!"
"If you say so," Mai sighed. "I still think you've got this strategy to impress your future father-in-law all wrong, though."
"Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that, seeing how you-" Ty Lee began, but she was interrupted by Zuko and Jet emerging from the kitchen at that very moment, arguing and gesticulating wildly.
"Wait, is Mai here?" Zuko suddenly spoke up, coming over to investigate and for some reason actually looking happy to see her. "Welcome back," Zuko smiled awkwardly. "The place just doesn't feel the same without you. And also-" Zuko and Jet both blinked, facing Ty Lee with slightly surprised stares. "What's up with her?" Zuko asked.
"She's trying to impress Hakoda Enuaraq," Mai explained.
"Good luck with that," Jet rolled his eyes. "Maybe try offering him a blowjob instead of whatever it is that you're attempting."
"Is that what you did when you were courting Katara?" Mai quipped. Zuko burst into laughter at the joke, making Jet glare at him. Zuko quickly silenced himself, looking a little guilty.
"Pfft, I didn't waste my time trying to please Hakoda," Jet snorted. "It wouldn't have worked anyway. Once, when I was starting to make some progress with Katara, the old man chased me around the block while wielding a baseball bat with nails in it.
"Valid reaction, to be honest," Mai shrugged.
Zuko laughed again. "What, surely you can't argue with that," he smirked when Jet glared at him again. "Anyway, I don't think it's a bad look, Ty Lee, just very unusual for you," Zuko grinned. "Also, I demand to see how you look with those glasses on."
Ty Lee sighed and placed the glasses on the tip of her nose. "I shouldn't really wear them because they're so strong, they make my head spin," she said.
"I mean, the whole librarian thing is pretty hot," Jet was forced to admit.
"Sure, hypothetically speaking," Zuko nodded, shooting a quick glance towards Mai. "It's just really unusual on Ty Lee. But it's not at all bad." Ty Lee looked rather pleased at the compliments.
"Those look like prescription glasses, Ty Lee," Mai said. "Where did you even get them?"
"Well… a few days ago, one of our customers left her purse behind," Ty Lee said. "She came to fetch it the next day, but I went through it beforehand and decided to keep the glasses."
"You stole our customer's glasses?" Zuko gasped.
"Certainly not!" Ty Lee protested. "It was a well-earned payment for finding her purse. At least I like to think of it that way." Ty Lee then paused, shaking her head. "Anyway, this is a total distraction from what I wanted to talk about," she said, looking at Mai. "I actually wanted to ask you for advice because I realized that you probably have a lot of experience trying to impress Zuko's father, right?"
Mai sighed, exchanging knowing stares with Zuko. "Yes, I remember trying that when Zuko and I had just started dating," Mai sighed, looking at Zuko. "Do you remember how that went?"
"Poorly," Zuko snorted. "Because you didn't realize that my father actually didn't care one bit about who you were as a person, as long as you were a socially acceptable match. The only thing that was going to make him like you was if you spent hours upon hours blowing smoke up his ass."
"And I'm just not the kind of person to do that," Mai shrugged. "So, I very quickly stopped caring about impressing Ozai. I was just there for Zuko, and Ozai tolerated my presence. It was good enough for us both, I suppose."
"Sounds about right to me," Zuko nodded. "Anyway, I don't think Mai can really advise you on this, Ty Lee, because this Hakoda guy is clearly a very different man from my father. But I know that all parents universally hate fake ass bullshit, so I'm not sure the librarian outfit is going to help."
"Shockingly, I agree with Zuko," Mai said, allowing herself a small smile directed at her ex-boyfriend. It had the added satisfying effect of making Jet frown.
"Well… I put so much effort into the outfit, I'm going to give it a try anyway," Ty Lee said with determination.
"Good luck with that," Zuko snorted. "Anyway, we're going to dash out for an hour or two. Jet managed to get my car impounded and we're going to get it back. I hope you'll still be around when we get back, Mai," he added before leaving the office.
"It was so not my fault, that water hydrant was totally obscured by those evil bushes!" Jet protested, following Zuko outside.
"And I should probably get changed into my uniform," Ty Lee said, trying to leave the office but instead walking into a wall.
"For crying out loud," Mai sighed, shaking her head. "Just take off those damned glasses, Ty Lee!"
"Okay, this was a really cool idea to spend the day here," Kiyi grinned, sipping on her mango and passionfruit boba tea. Together with Azula, they were sitting at a table in one of the cafes at the Arcade, which was a part of Caldera City's Museum of Video Games. Azula was having a Frappuccino because she hated boba, and she also couldn't pass the opportunity to annoy the baristas, knowing that they generally disliked making a Frappuccino. "This goes a long way towards making up for completely ruining my birthday," Kiyi added.
"I did not ruin your birthday," Azula immediately protested. "You got the coolest gift ever, remember."
"Okay, sure," Kiyi conceded. "But why did you invite me to hang out on your day off, then?"
"Well… I suppose I wanted to make up for slightly ruining your birthday," Azula admitted.
"Alright, that's better," Kiyi chuckled. "Still, if you wanted to make up to me, you could have let me win at least some of the games," she pouted. Azula had won every arcade game they had tried so far, from Space Invaders and Pac-Man to Donkey Kong and Street Fighter. "Anyway, I can't imagine what it was like, having to actually leave your house and go outside if you wanted to play videogames. That's probably why you have such a big advantage over me."
"Wait, that wasn't my experience growing up, you dolt," Azula frowned. "People who hung out at the arcades are like… in their fifties now. How old do you think I am?"
"Ancient," Kiyi winked. "Anyway, as I was saying, this was a great idea to come here. I'm really enjoying myself."
"Obviously," Azula nodded confidently. "I bet my idea is way better than whatever Zuko thought of to make up for ruining the birthday. If he even did anything at all."
Kiyi opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it just as quickly, pondering for a while before opening it again. "Yeah, I'm not going to say anything, because you're just going to turn it into a ridiculous competition between yourself and Zuko," Kiyi frowned.
"Ugh, you're so boring," Azula sighed. "You're also correct, not that it matters."
"Well, if you're making it up to me, then maybe you should listen to me bitching about something that annoys me," Kiyi said. "I shouldn't have to listen to you bitching about Zuko."
"What do you want to bitch about?" Azula asked.
"Ursa," Kiyi sighed. Azula perked up immediately. Ursa was her second favorite topic to bitch about, even though it was a very distant second following Zuko. "It's so annoying that she finally takes a week off in almost two years, and then she spends it by hanging out at your restaurant every day. All because she's making friends with Katara's dad."
"Yes, it's been sickening to watch," Azula said. For a while, she sat there with a thoughtful look on her face before speaking up again. "You know how everyone keeps telling me that I shouldn't live my life for my father, but for myself? I wonder if we should apply that to Ursa as well."
"Of course not," Kiyi snapped. "Mom needs to dedicate her life to her children, especially to me. That's the kind of commitment everyone makes when they decide to have children."
"You know, that makes a lot of sense," Azula agreed with a nod. "I don't know what came over me to suggest otherwise."
"Anyway, I think it's only fair that I get to interrogate you now," Kiyi said with a demonic grin on her lips. "I want to know if there has been any progress with Katara."
"Uh, what?" Azula blushed, trying to feign ignorance. Kiyi glared at her. "I mean… not particularly? Maybe once Hakoda leaves I will figure out some way to advance my plots and schemes, but while Katara's dad is here, she's too preoccupied to pay attention to me."
"Yeah, right," Kiyi rolled her eyes. "You know that you could easily land your girl if you were just clear and honest about the way you felt for her? It's obvious that she's got it bad for you."
"Being clear and honest?" Azula gasped in shock. "You should know that I don't operate like that, Kiyi."
"Of course not," Kiyi laughed. "You're obviously going for a needlessly overcomplicated plan with very slim chances of success, but with great potential for humorous embarrassment."
Azula thought for a while. "Yes, that seems about right," she eventually admitted. "Anyway, if you're so smart about relationships, you should know why I'm not going in too hard with Katara. I just don't want things to become too serious when I'm going to leave anyway in a few months. I don't want to break her heart the way I did with Yue and Kya."
"Ugh, I guess I get that," Kiyi sighed. "I just seriously don't understand why you'd want to leave. I've never seen you happier than here in Caldera."
Azula's expression darkened slightly. "It's just… ugh, it's pointless for me to even try to explain," Azula sighed. "You don't know the relationship I have with my father, so you wouldn't understand."
"I'm not so sure you understand it either," Kiyi shrugged. "But whatever. I don't want to ruin this awesome afternoon with Ozai talk, that's gross."
"That's probably a good idea," Azula smiled. "But it's not just about me leaving. I also think that if Katara and I became serious, it would hurt Yue again, and I just don't want to add to that."
For some reason, Kiyi burst into laughter, forcing Azula to glare at her younger sibling. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kiyi wheezed, trying to recover. "I guess with how obsessed you've been about Katara, you just haven't noticed that Yue has started to fall more and more for Suki."
"Are you sure?" Azula blinked, looking shocked. "Hmm… it's true that they have been spending a lot of time together. I just thought that Suki was comforting a friend through the heartbreak that I caused."
"Well, maybe it began like that, but I can reassure you that it's so much more by now," Kiyi grinned. "So, don't worry about Yue too much. Actually, if you went after Katara a bit more, maybe that would also finally push Yue and Suki together."
"Hmm… if you're right about that, then this might provide me with an opportunity," Azula mused thoughtfully. "Yes, I feel like the needlessly complicated plan you mentioned earlier just became even more complicated…"