Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Katara slammed a flyer onto the lunch table. “We’re auditioning.”

The cafeteria was bustling with noise and life, unsurprising for a high school. Still, none of that seemed to bother or faze any of the people at the table Katara had approached. It was tucked away in the back corner of the cafeteria, half-hidden in shadows, and slightly isolated from the rest of the cafeteria, but it didn’t matter to Katara. In fact, she was only there for the people sitting at the table.

Sokka sleepily lifted his head up off the table. He had already finished his lunch and was taking a nap before his history class, for which he hadn’t done the homework for.

“Say what now?”

Katara gestured to the piece of paper on the table, a bright blue flyer with the words “Seussical: The Musical” printed clearly in cartoonish letters at the top. It was almost gaudy, the obnoxiousness of the flyer.

“I can’t see,” said Toph. 

Katara sighed. “It’s the school musical! Seussical, the musical! We’re all auditioning, and we are going to get cast in it!”

“Don’t you need to have talent to be in a musical?” Sokka yawned.

Katara scoffed. “I have talent. You’ve just never heard me sing.”

Sokka brushed some crumbs off his obnoxiously patterned hawaiian shirt. “Since when do you want to be in a musical?”

“Since I found out our school did one! You didn’t tell me that we had a drama program?”

Sokka shrugged. “No one ever does the musical because it’s stupid. I was just saving you the time of having to hear about it.”

“I don’t care!” Katara said huffily. “I like musicals, and you’re talented. We’re going to audition.”

Sokka stood up, sighing. “Listen, Katara, I know you’re just a lowly sophomore, but it’s sort of an understood rule that we don’t audition for the school musical. The musical is for weird theater dweebs with pins on their backpack and a Dear Evan Hansen playbill in their binders. If you wanna do a club, join cheerleading or something. Something that’s not totally cringe.”

Katara awkwardly glanced at her own backpack, covered in pins from Hot Topic, and the Hamilton playbill in her own binder, lying on the lunch table next to Sokka’s school-issued mystery meat. “Well, I don’t care. I’m auditioning, and I think you should too. I know Seussical isn’t an...ideal...musical, but we as the cast have the chance to make a mediocre musical great! Besides, you’re a boy, so you’d probably get cast automatically.”

“I don’t sing, sorry. Or dance. Or act,” Sokka said.

“The countless videos of you throwing it back on TikTok say otherwise. Come on, Sokka! What if Toph and Aang agree to audition, too?” Katara gestured to Toph and Aang, sitting nearby. Aang was playing quietly Mariokart on his phone as Toph flicked chicken nuggets at him. 

“They’re in 8th grade! They don’t even go to this school! Why would they audition?” Sokka argued. He sighed. “You don’t understand. Some of us care about our reputation here.”

“I care about my reputation!” Katara said hotly. “I just don’t let my choices be dictated by what other people think!”

“I―that’s not true! I just don’t want to hang out with cringe theater kid freshmen!” Sokka argued.

“Then convince some upperclassmen to audition,” Aang said as-a-matter-of-factly. He said this passively, not thinking much of it, but his comment made both Katara and Sokka freeze.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Katara said. “If I get some popular upperclassmen to sign up, will you audition?”

Sokka sighed, considering Katara’s point for a few moments.. “Fine. I guess.”

Katara’s expression changed into one of determination. “Okay. Bet. I’ll get some upperclassmen to sign up.”

“Good luck with that!” Sokka yelled as Katara got up huffily. 

Chapter Text

Katara sat down with all her things at the very front of the classroom. She had taken Algebra 1 when she was in eighth grade and Geometry her freshman year, so now, she was in Honors Algebra II, surrounded by upperclassmen. Despite having been in that class for almost two months now, she barely knew anyone in the class. There was only one other sophomore in the class with her, a dark-haired girl named Azula who laughed at Katara when she tripped over her backpack in class on the first day. Naturally, Katara didn’t choose to pursue a friendship with her. Most upperclassmen weren’t any nicer, either. Her only friend in the class was a junior named Suki, her brother’s ex-girlfriend.

Suki sat down next to Katara a few moments later. Katara never found out why Sokka and Suki broke up, but she had to assume that it had been her brother’s fault. She couldn’t imagine Suki ever doing something wrong. Straight-A student, an active member of student council, star of the soccer team, and popular, too...Suki had it all. She wasn’t one of those stereotypical mean popular girls that were always the antagonist in movies, either. Suki was genuinely popular because people genuinely liked her. She was charismatic, intelligent, and best of all, friendly. Friendly enough to even be genuine friends with Katara, whose social status was, let’s face it, below average.

“Hey,” Suki said, pulling out her books and pencil case. Katara nodded in acknowledgment, pulling out her own homework and books.

Suddenly, Katara froze. She knew Suki was busy, but she also knew that Suki was always looking for something to boost her college application. Not that she needed it. If any upperclassman was going to join the musical, it would be Suki.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Katara asked.

Suki sighed. “No, I’m not a lesbian. I wish I was, though.”

Katara frowned. “I...no, that’s not what I was going to ask. Can you sing?” 

Suki blinked a couple of times. Even her deep red eyeshadow was perfect. “I don’t know. I’ve never really tried. Why?”

Katara pulled out the flyer for the musical, now slightly more crumpled up. She smoothed it out on Suki’s desk. “I want you to audition for the musical.”

Suki pushed the paper away. “Sorry, I don’t really have the time.”

“Come on, Suki! If you get a lead, you can put it on your college application. It makes you seem more involved in the community.”
Suki still clearly wasn’t convinced. “I don’t sing or dance.”

Katara groaned. “Okay, you don’t even have to be in it! I just want you to audition!” She paused. “Sokka said that he’ll only audition if I get an upperclassman to audition. Apparently, everyone at this school has something against underclassmen!”

Suki took Katara’s hand sympathetically. “Sorry, kid, that’s how it works. Everyone hates underclassmen. But come on, Katara, I’m not going to be a part of your schemes. If Sokka doesn’t want to, then you can’t force him to do it.”

Katara nodded sadly. “I know. But he won’t even give it a chance. I’m worried about him. He barely hangs out with anyone. He always brags about how popular he is, but he’s always sitting with me at lunch, always on his phone by himself. Even if he gets an ensemble role, I think Sokka needs this. He needs friends, and theater is a great way to do that. I can’t stand to see him just hang out with me 24/7. I love him, but I need a break from him sometimes, too!”

Suki considered this for a few moments, examining the paper even closer. “I don’t have to actually do it, right? Just audition.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll think about it.”

The bell rang again, and their class finally started. 

Katara remained anxious for the rest of the period. If Suki accepted, she could easily convince more upperclassmen to join the musical too. Suki’s natural charm and status would convince others to sign up even without her doing anything. Besides, Suki was still a friend of Sokka’s, and he’d surely have a harder time rejecting her. Sokka wouldn’t be able to decline then. However, if Suki rejected Katara’s offer, then her dream of performing alongside Sokka would be over before it even started.

Suki left abruptly after the bell rang. She was hoping to have gotten at least a small indication of Suki’s answer, but her face remained stoic as she packed up her things. Katara began to do the same, until she was stopped by someone―a certain quick-witted golden-eyed girl and the only other sophomore in the class.

“Katara.”

Azula’s voice had a distinct drawl to it that was impossible to ignore. It sent chills down Katara’s spine, like cold water running down her body. She was shorter than Katara, but the sheer aura of power and confidence surrounding her made her seem about seven feet taller. Katara stood up and turned around, putting on her brave face to face Azula.

“Hi.” Katara said, holding her backpack to her chest.

“You were talking to Suki about the musical.”

“Yes, I was.” Katara tried to remain expressionless, even though she wanted to pee her pants with fear at this very moment.

“I want to audition. I need your help.”

Katara did a double take. Out of all the things she expected Azula to say to her at this very moment, this was not one of them.

“What?!” 

Katara was rightly shocked. She barely knew anything about Azula. They had gone to the same middle school, but Azula had always been in advanced and honors classes, while Katara had only been placed in honors classes in eighth grade. Since then, Azula had always seemed cold and distant to her. They had never really gotten the chance to be friends, or even acquaintances, just vague classmates in constant competition with each other. In fact, Katara wasn’t even sure that Azula knew her name. She had never pegged Azula as someone who was into musical theater, but then again, she had never really known Azula in the first place.

“You heard me. I want you to help me audition. I need to get a lead. I need to know how first.”

“I…” Katara was dumbfounded. “There’s no formula to getting leads. I can help you pick out a song, but the rest is up to you.”

“Then do that. I’ll make it worth your time.”

At this, Katara perked up. 

“I know you’re trying to get your brother to join the musical, but he won’t do it without other upperclassmen. I can get you some upperclassmen to audition. My brother is the stage manager, too. If you want to get on his good side, I’m your best bet. Pick out a song for me.”

Katara considered this. “Will you promise not to backstab me if you don’t get a lead?”

“No.”

“Then no deal.” Katara began to walk out of the classroom.

“Wait!” 

Katara heard desperation in Azula’s voice for the first time ever. She froze. Azula sighed.

“I promise not to backstab you.”

Katara turned around. “Alright, then. I’ll help you with your audition.”

For the first time, Katara saw a hint of a smile on Azula’s face. 

“Very well. Here’s my phone number. Text me.”

Azula wrote down her phone number on Katara’s hand before swiftly turning around and walking out of the classroom. Katara quickly followed, satisfied with her progress on her mission.

Meanwhile, Sokka was trying to undo all of Katara’s work. How, he was unsure, but he had to find some way to convince all the juniors and seniors to not audition. 

There were a lot of issues with this. For one, Sokka was mostly known as the class clown. People didn’t really take him that seriously, and he didn’t have that many friends, despite being mostly well-known. He might as well just posted a vague Snapchat about it, as it would’ve had about the same impact. He couldn’t ask teachers to do it, either. His teachers would probably actively encourage Sokka to do the musical, so that wouldn’t work. 

His thoughts were interrupted by Aang tapping on the window with a pencil, trying to get Sokka to notice him. Didn’t that kid ever go to school?

Suddenly, an idea hit him. The upperclassmen were united in the sense that they all hated freshman, and what’s worse than freshman? Eighth graders. No one would join the musical if they knew there would be eighth-graders there, too. He knew he certainly wouldn’t. Now, he just had to figure out a way to convince the drama teacher to let them join…

During his class, he wrote down ideas and tiny messages on post-it notes for how to get out of doing drama. Aang and Toph would surely have no problem with joining, and while English had never been his strong suit, he tried to recall anything he learned about persuasive essays to try to put together a list of reasons why eighth graders should be allowed to join the musical.

It didn’t take Sokka long to find the drama teacher after school in the hallway. He was easily recognizable by his loud, shrill voice, and the jangle of his clothes.

Bumi, the drama teacher, was certainly an...eccentric man. For one, he made all his students call him by his first name, Bumi. Even his school email used his first name, and he didn’t answer when people called him by his last name. Sokka didn’t even know his last name, and he certainly didn’t care enough to find out.

Secondly, Bumi spoke in very cryptic idioms most of the time, so it was nearly impossible to have a conversation with him. Sokka wasn’t sure if it was ironic or real most of the time, and he was fairly sure that none of the idioms he used were even real sayings. He had attended a workshop on Shakespeare his freshman year, led by Bumi, and even Shakespeare was more comprehensible than the garbage that came out of Bumi’s mouth. 

Thirdly, his fashion sense was very terrible, mismatched, and ugly. Not to say that Sokka was a fashion genius, but he was fairly sure that plaid sweatpants, polka-dotted blazers, and novelty t-shirts had never been in style. However, the oddest thing about him was the arsenal of multi-colored crystals he carried in his pockets at all times. No one really knew what they were for, and Sokka didn’t want to find out.

“Bumi!” Sokka called, jogging to catch up to him.

“Good morning, young man!” It was 3 in the afternoon. 

“Hi, Bumi. I wanted to ask you a question,” Sokka said, looking down at his arsenal of mismatched post-its with all the talking points he had prepared.

“Ask away, young sparrow! Remember, wise is the fish who drinks wine, but foolish the one who eats rocks.”

Sokka blinked a few times. He was fairly sure that whatever Bumi had said, it wasn’t a real saying, and even if it was, he didn’t care to decipher it. “I know two eighth-graders who would love to join the high school musical. Can they audition?”

“Why, that wouldn’t be fair to the students here! As they say, a sturdy chair will always outrun an ant!” 

“Even if they were just ensemble?” Sokka pressed.

“No can do. I cannot let them participate. It would be like a bird planting a flower in the ocean.”

Sokka glanced at his post-its. He had to make this work. “What if they were crew? Set crew could always use more people.”

“That is true.” Bumi waved his hand. “They can join as crew, but nothing more! I will see them at rehearsal. Toodle-oo!”

Bumi walked away, and Sokka smiled to himself, satisfied with his accomplishment. No matter what Katara did now, he was one step ahead of her. He briskly made his way out of the hallways to meet up with Katara.

Much to Sokka’s dismay, Katara was beaming, which was certainly not the response he thought she’d have after probably being rejected by upperclassmen all day. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been rejected, and quite the opposite had happened.

“Good news!” Katara skipped up to Sokka, holding the same blue flyer she had presented him at lunch. “I got Suki to sign up for the musical!”

Sokka nearly fell over with surprise. “What?”

“Yeah! I got Suki to sign up for the musical. She said she’s going to audition for Gertrude. I’m going to help her pick an audition song!”

“Are...are we talking about the same Suki here? My ex-girlfriend, Suki? As in the Suki who takes dance and kung fu classes almost every day of the week? How is she going to come to rehearsal when the only thing she cares about is boosting her college application?” Sokka challenged.

“Well, that’s actually why she decided to join. I also got this sophomore girl to join, Azula. Apparently her brother’s a senior and sort of a big deal around there? I don’t know. She said she’d get her friends to join. Either way, you have to sign up now! I got an upperclassman to audition! Now, you!” Katara wagged the flyer in Sokka’s face.

“I...I don’t know, Katara. I’m just not really the performing type,” Sokka said, still trying to salvage his case. Even if Aang and Toph joined, it would be too late. He couldn’t convince Suki to un-sign up. When Suki set her mind to things, she didn’t back down. 

“Okay, you can make any excuse you want, but you’re not going to lie to my face. Everything about you screams performance. Like, remember when we went to see the middle school’s production of ‘Matilda’ and you gave them notes?” 

“Matilda needed to seem more mischievous during ‘Naughty!’” Sokka argued.

“Or when you did that mock trial in fifth grade and you told Yue that she needed to get into character as ‘The Judge?’” 

“She just wasn’t selling me her performance. I refuse to apologize for wanting actors to be their best,” Sokka said huffily.

Katara brushed her hair behind her ears. “Look, like I said, you can make all the excuses you want, but I really do think that you should at least give the musical a shot. Stop worrying about what everyone will think for a change and just do something you’re good at. I know that if you tried, you’d be amazing on stage. It’s in our blood! We’re performers, Sokka. You can’t deny it. I’m signing you up for an audition, and you better show up with a song prepared. Got it?” She wagged her finger at him.

Sokka opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but nothing came out. It was probably a combination of shock and utter defeat that left him dumbfounded. Katara wasted no time in storming off to sign Sokka up for an audition, and Sokka had no choice but to follow Katara. She was right. Sokka considered himself to be naturally charismatic and funny, and his good looks (as well as the fact that he was a boy) would surely aid him if he decided to pursue musical theater. At the end of the day, Sokka didn’t actually have anything against the sophomores, freshmen, and middle schoolers, it was just easier to blame say he wouldn’t join the musical because of them than because he cared too much about what other people thought of him.

Maybe Katara was right, and all Sokka had to do was give the musical a chance.

Katara came back a few moments later. “I signed you up for next Monday at 3:30. They said to bring a headshot, your resume, and sheet music.”

“Resume?! Headshot?! Sheet music?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. You’re going to get a lead.”

“I better, after all the shit they’re asking me to do.”

“Come on, we’re going to miss the bus!”

Chapter Text

Katara sat at the end of Azula’s bed, with sheet music sprawled around her. She flipped through it meticulously, her eyes narrowed and focused in concentration.

Azula’s room was large, but mostly empty. The walls were black, and the floors were made of black marble, so shiny that Katara could see her own reflection in them. Even Azula’s bed, complete with a fluffy red duvet that practically reeked of wealth, felt lonely and cold. There were no pictures on the walls, no decorations, nothing—just a shattered mirror and small vanity and closet.

“Flowers from Hadestown?” Katara asked, holding up the sheet music for it and showing Azula.

“Everyone’s going to do that. Hadestown is for theater kids who think they’re elite when they’re really just a step below basic. Besides, it’s too depressing anyway.” Azula flopped down on her bed, sighing and staring at the ceiling.

Katara was more than shocked when Azula invited her over to help pick music for her audition. She had been under the impression that she would just text her suggestions to Azula, and their transaction would be completed. Azula clearly had more in mind. At first, she considered declining the invitation on the grounds that Azula was terrifying, and Katara was about 80% sure that she’d end the evening with a bucket of pig’s blood dumped on her, but she had accepted against her better judgment. Azula had been surprisingly nice at their last interaction, so maybe Katara just had the impression that she was mean. That’s what she told herself, at least.

Still, the afternoon was going oddly well. Azula was...not terrible? Her house demonstrated that she clearly came from wealth. It wasn’t just Azula’s room that was clearly one of high class. Every square inch of the walls outside Azula’s room was covered in deep red scarves and tapestries, beautiful depictions of Japanese royalty and the upper class. Katara wanted to ask many things about it, what Azula’s parents did for work to afford all of it, and who the paintings on the wall were, but when Katara had inquired slightly, Azula only glared and never responded, so she thought it best not to press for more.

The door creaked open, and Katara’s gaze instantly darted to the door, where a short, stout old man with a grey beard entered Azula’s room, carrying two teacups. “I made tea for you girls! Black tea, your favorite!”

Katara instantly went to thank him for the tea and introduce herself, but Azula got there first. She practically jumped out of her bed to show him out the door.

“Ew, Uncle, get out! We’re working on something!” Azula took the teacups from his hands, then ushered her uncle out of the room quickly. She was quick on her feet and moved gracefully across the floor, like a ballerina. 

“Let me know if you need anything!”

“Just get out!”

“Your uncle?” Katara asked, taking one of the teacups from Azula.

She nodded. “He takes care of me and my brother.”

“Mmh. Good tea,” Katara acknowledged, still immersed in the sheet music in front of her. She wondered why Azula’s caretaker was her uncle instead of her parents, but didn’t ask out of fear that she might hit a nerve. “We agreed on nothing from Hamilton, right?”

“Yes. It’s too overused,” Azula said, sipping her tea.

“How do you feel about ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ from Rent?” Katara asked. The sheet music for that particular song was battered and marked up all over. Clearly, Azula had worked on this song before, and had been quite thorough about it.

“It’s a good song. It’s contemporary, which fits the audition. It’s not overdone, but still well-known. I think it could work, as long as I arrange it a little bit so it’s not a duet anymore. I can ask my brother to arrange the piano part for me,” Azula said, taking the music out of Katara’s hands to examine it.

“Well, that settles it. Do you want to work on it now?” Katara asked.

“My brother has to arrange it first. You can leave now, if you want. I know you don’t like me very much,” Azula said, looking down at the music. 

For a moment, Katara felt sympathetic. She had always thought of Azula being too high and mighty to talk to people, especially her. Now, she was starting to realize that she just didn’t know how to.  

Hopefully, she wouldn’t regret this decision.

“I don’t,” Katara said. “I thought you didn’t like me. You laughed when I tripped over my backpack on the first day of school.”

Azula frowned. “What?”

“On the first day of school, I put my backpack on the floor and went to sharpen my pencil, and I tripped and you laughed. You don’t remember?” 

Azula shook her head. “No, sorry. I don’t hate you, if that’s what you want to hear. I’m just a difficult person.”

That, Katara couldn’t deny. She moved aside more sheet music, scooting closer to Azula. “What say we put all of that behind us? We can paint our nails and watch bootlegs, and...I don’t know. Maybe we can be friends.”

Azula hesitated. Her shoulders tensed up, and for the first time since Katara had known her, she looked small. 

“Alright.”

When they returned to school the next day, Azula smirked at Katara in math class. It was a small moment, just after they finished taking a quiz and they got up at the same time to turn it in, but Katara knew what it meant. That smile would be the first of many, she hoped. 

Auditions crept up on them quickly. Katara had picked out audition songs for Sokka, Azula, Suki, and herself. She only hoped that she hadn’t done so well that they would get roles over her. 

Katara had her eye on the role of Gertrude. Ideally, she’d play Jojo or the Cat in the Hat, the main two characters of the show, but she was too tall to play Jojo and didn’t think she was charismatic to play the Cat in the Hat. Gertrude, on the other hand? A quiet, homely bird (as well as the biggest female role) was right up Katara’s alley. She had picked out “Astonishing” from Little Women to perform and had felt confident in her performance...until she saw who else was auditioning.

Azula had briefly mentioned that her friend would be auditioning as well. However, she had failed to mention that her friend was the most popular girls in the school, a sophomore named Ty Lee. Katara had no idea that Ty Lee was even interested in musical theater, but she was right to feel a little threatened by her. Even if Katara was more talented than Ty Lee, Ty Lee was prettier, and had more stage presence. Katara had to give this audition everything she had in order to beat out Ty Lee. 

There were a couple of other upperclassmen that Katara recognized, Suki’s friends, she figured. Haru, an old friend of Sokka’s, and Teo, a close friend of Aang’s, who was also there for some reason.

“Aang!” Katara grabbed Aang’s wrist, leading him and Toph aside from the group of people in line to audition. “What the hell are you doing here!?”

“Sokka got the drama teacher to let us join crew! We’re here to turn in our resumes for that. Which is great, because they didn’t let Toph join the middle school musical because she’s blind, and I got ensemble, so this is better,” Aang said cheerfully.

“I’m going to try to trick the teachers into thinking that I can see!” Toph said gleefully. “I hope they assign me to costumes.”

Katara sighed. “Can you just please stay out of the way and don’t tell anyone that you don’t go to this school, please? This is a very stressful time for all of us. I don’t need you making this worse.”

“Alright-y-o.”

“And don’t say that.”

“Katara!” Sokka called from across the hallway.

“Stay put. I’m going to help my brother warm up. Don’t embarrass yourselves, or me!” Katara wagged her finger at them, then left to go help Sokka.

“It’s my turn in 15 minutes. What do I do when I go in? Do I just start singing?” Sokka asked. Katara had seldom seen Sokka so anxious. Even when he broke his finger in third grade, he wasn’t even half as nervous as he was then. His nails were bitten down to stubs. Katara vaguely wondered why he was so nervous when he had been claiming that he didn’t want to audition or get a role for the past few days.

“Okay, you go in, and go to hand your resume and headshot to the panel. You answer any questions they ask you as you go to hand your sheet music to the pianist. Be polite to them, and remember that they’re sight reading. You tell them how fast you wanna go by singing softly a little bit of the song. Then, you’ll be asked to slate. Basically, you say your name, your grade, and what song you’re singing. Then, nod to the pianist when you want to start, and go. Got it?”

Sokka blinked. “That’s a lot.” 

“You’ll be fine. They always have a lack of boys. You won’t be cut, even if you suck.”

Sokka took a deep breath. “Thanks. Warm up with me?”

“Sure.”

Katara wished she could say the same for herself, or tell Sokka how nervous she was, but she hid it for his sake. If she cracked, he would fall apart, and her dream would, too. Katara simply wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and went to go warm up with Sokka.

Katara had always been confident in her voice. Since going through puberty, her voice had become easier to control and easier to improve. Katara was constantly forcing her voice to go higher, to support better, to have better pitch, to sing the lowest note. She knew that her voice could get her where she wanted to go. The hard part was getting the rest of her skills to catch up with it. She just had to hope that all the hours of practice would pay off.

Sokka’s audition was before Katara’s. Even though he didn’t really want to do it in the first place, now that he was here, he had an inexplicable urge to try. He racked his mind, trying to remember what Katara told him, humming some scales quietly to make sure that he was completely warmed up.

God, who was he? A week ago, he would’ve probably sang “Happy Birthday” for his audition song, and here he was now, doing vocal warm-ups and playing Zip Zap Zop with Toph and Aang to get rid of the last minute jitters. 

Still, he couldn’t shake off the urge to actually try at his audition. If that made him a theater kid now, then so be it. But Sokka had to do well at this audition. For Katara.

“Sokka? Come in.” A tall, tan, broad man opened the door. Sokka didn’t recognize him, but he assumed that he was either the stage manager or the dance coach. His eyes were worn and kind, and the way he smiled politely at Sokka made him feel a little better.

Sokka handed his resume and headshot to Bumi, who sat at a table at the front of the room. Had Bumi always been that tall? He tried to ignore his increasing feelings of anxiety and simply handed his sheet music to the pianist and gave her the tempo, just like Katara told him.

“Hi. My name is Sokka. I’m a junior. I’ll be singing ‘What’d I Miss’ from Hamilton.”

Sokka knew he could do this. He had practiced it many times throughout the past week, and he knew the song like the back of his hand. All he had to do was let the song out.

He nodded to the pianist, and began singing. He was going to get the role.

Katara could hear Sokka singing from outside the room. Sokka had always been a clear baritone, and a pretty skilled one, at that. It drove Katara up the wall, how Sokka could just sing freely and sound good. She just hoped he didn’t get inside his head too much and screw himself up. If only she could follow her own advice.

“Hey,” Suki said.

Katara looked over at Suki. She was bouncing her leg anxiously. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Sokka’s doing well. You can stop worrying about him, you know,” Suki said. Suki always seemed to know what to say. Katara envied it.

Katara pursed her lips nervously. “I know. I know, he can take care of himself. He could get a role without half trying. It’s just instinct, I guess. How are you doing?”

“A little anxious. I don’t mind if I don’t do well, though. Like you said, I just need to audition. How are you feeling?” Suki asked.

Katara sighed. “Nervous. I’ve heard Azula sing, and Ty Lee is sure to get a role, too. I just want Gertrude so, so badly. There aren’t that many female roles in this show, so I have to beat them out if I want even the slightest chance at a role. I’m not sure if I can do that.”

Suki ruffled Katara’s hair affectionately. “You’ll be fine. The Cat in the Hat and Jojo can be girls. Besides, Gertrude isn’t the only female role. You could play Mayzie.”

“I don’t think I could,” Katara confessed. “Gertrude’s a lot more like me.”

“You’re an actress. Of course you could play Mayzie.” 

“Azula could do it better.”

“Azula can’t play all the roles.” Suki took Katara’s hand. “You’re going to do great. You’ve been preparing for this for years. You’re going to walk in there, and you’re going to kill it. You hear me? Repeat it back to me.”

“I’m going to walk in there, and I’m going to kill it,” Katara said, slightly robotically.

“Great. Now, one more time, with more confidence.”

“I’m going to walk in there, and I’m going to kill it!” Katara repeated, now louder.

“Trust in yourself, okay?” Suki said. Katara nodded.

“Thanks.”

Sokka walked back into the hallways, now finished with his audition. He seemed oddly relieved, for someone who was nearly tearing out his hair a few minutes earlier. Suki ushered Katara towards the door.

“Katara? Come on in.”

Chapter Text

If auditions were stressful, the week after was even worse.

Katara’s audition had gone down without a hitch. Even Suki left feeling confident, and so did most of the people there, except for a couple teary-eyed freshman. Still, Katara couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t going to get cast. She had stayed until Suki’s audition, which was directly after Ty Lee’s. Hearing Ty Lee easily belt out A5s and G5s certainly shook her confidence. She had briefly mentioned it to Sokka, but didn’t want to scare him into quitting, so she didn’t mention it again. In fact, Katara mostly kept to herself for the entire week. She barely even spoke to her new friend, Azula, despite her continuous advances. This continued on for nearly five days before Azula got sick of it.

“Are you avoiding me?” Azula sat down next to Katara at lunch. Sokka cautiously eyed Azula. She had never sat with Katara at lunch, mostly sitting with her own friends.

Katara had never bothered to notice, but as she got closer and closer to Azula, she realized that Azula was weirdly popular, hence, why Azula never sat with Katara at lunch. Azula normally sat surrounded by her other friends, particularly Ty Lee and a junior named Mai. As she observed the three of them closer, Katara realized that those three girls had the entire school wrapped around their finger. 

Of course, the situation wasn’t like Mean Girls or Heathers or anything. There weren’t strict rules about what Azula could or couldn’t do, and Ty Lee and Mai weren’t particularly mean or anything. They were just well-known, and often spent their lunch surrounded by friends, acquaintances, and strangers trying to claw their way to the top of the social totem pole. Azula simply couldn’t be bothered to spend her lunch with Katara, especially since they had only just become friends.

Katara slowly looked up from her book. Azula was sitting cross legged on the table, her black hair spilling over her golden eyes as she leaned over to scold Katara. “I’m not avoiding anyone.”

“I know you’re lying!” Toph called. She was trying to play Animal Crossing with Aang unsuccessfully. 

“Why aren’t you at school?” Katara challenged.

“Why aren’t you talking to anyone?” Toph stuck out her tongue.

“I’m not avoiding anyone,” Katara repeated louder.

“What’s going on with you? Normally you won’t stop talking my ear off about the musical or your day at school. You won’t even look at me in class. Jet got kicked out of the classroom today and you didn’t even look at me!” Azula said hotly. 

Katara was shocked. No one had ever paid such close attention to her like that. No one had even bothered to ask Katara if she was okay after her audition, even though she helped everyone else. Out of all her friends, she would’ve expected maybe Aang or Suki to ask, but certainly not Azula. Katara wasn’t mad about that or anything. She just didn’t want to talk to anyone and scare them into quitting the musical.

“I’m just...disappointed, that’s all,” Katara said after a long pause.

Azula’s brows furrowed. “Disappointed? In what?”

“My audition. I don’t think I’m going to get cast.”

Azula nearly fell off the table at this. “Are you serious?”

“It’s just, I’m still a sophomore and I heard Ty Lee’s audition, and of course, there’s you and Suki, and-”

“Are you dumb?” Azula interrupted.

“What?”

“I said, are you dumb? There’s five female roles in Seussical. Ty Lee can’t play all of them. Besides, she’s hoping to get Mayzie, not Gertrude. The only other junior girl besides Suki is Mai, who does crew instead, so your only competition is basically me, Ty Lee, and Suki. You’re going to get cast. Now, stop avoiding me and start being more confident in yourself. You’re no fun when you’re quiet.”

Granted, while counseling from Azula was certainly ruder than Katara would’ve liked, she was just happy that Azula had cared enough to tell her. No one had ever paid such close attention to Katara like that, not even her own brother. Katara felt a weight lift off her shoulders as Azula finished yelling at her.

Azula wasted no time in leaving after scolding Katara, walking back across the cafeteria to sit with Ty Lee, Mai, and her brother. Katara turned back to Sokka and her book.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it? I talked to you about mine.” Sokka’s eyebrows were raised. He looked slightly hurt.

“I didn’t want to worry you, that’s all.”

“I’m not a child, Katara, you don’t need to shield my feelings like that.”

“I know. I was trying to not scare you into quitting.”

“Why would I be scared? I heard you in there, Katara. If anything, it just made me want to do it more. Seeing you in your element...it’s like you were a different person.” Sokka shook his head, putting his feet up on the table. “It’s incredible. The way you just transform. You can’t make me quit now. I have to be on stage with you.”

After that, the rest of the week went better.

The callback list came out the Monday after auditions. Katara had been checking the bulletin board for the musical every day, and had noticed a white slip of paper pinned to it when she got to school. Not many people were at school, and Sokka had been too sleepy to notice, but Katara wasted no time in dragging him over to see.

Katara’s breath hitched as she scanned over the list.

Her stomach muscles tightened as she saw Sokka’s name under both the Cat in the Hat and Horton the Elephant. Her eyes went past Horton, the Cat in the Hat, and Jojo. Ty Lee had gotten a callback for Jojo.

Katara’s name was written under Gertrude.

The knot in her stomach loosened.

Katara’s name was also under Mayzie and Sour Kangaroo. She didn’t care. She was too happy. Perhaps it was preemptive for her to celebrate, but the fact that she was just given a chance to prove herself was enough.

Suki had been called back for Gertrude, Jojo, and Mrs. Mayor. Azula had been called back for Mayzie and Sour Kangaroo. Ty Lee was up for Mayzie, Gertrude, and Jojo. A couple freshmen had been called back, too, particularly, a girl named Jin. On another nearby sheet was the list for crew. In charge was Azula’s brother, Zuko, and her friend, Mai. Aang and Toph’s names were on it, too. Toph was in charge of sound and Aang was in charge of set. 

“Am...am I dreaming?” Sokka rubbed his eyes, squinting at the list. “I got a callback for the Cat?”

“You’re not dreaming,” Katara said breathily. “Let’s go pick up our music for the callback.”

“Music?”

“It’s a cold read―you know what, I’ll explain later. Let’s go.”

“Out of my way, move-” Azula elbowed her way past Sokka and Katara, her eyes narrowing as she searched for her own name. She crossed her arms and smiled, satisfied with her results. 

“I guess we’re in competition now.” Azula turned to Katara. “Good job. I told you so.”

“I’m just going after Gertrude, though. You can take Mayzie,” Katara said.

“Oh, believe me, I plan on it.”

“It’s not over yet. I still have to beat out Ty Lee, Suki, and some freshman. I already know the songs, but…” Katara sighed. “I want this role more than anything in the world. I have to beat Ty Lee.”

Azula paused for a second. Her golden eyes were sparkling with mischief. “I know more about Ty Lee’s weaknesses than anyone else. Come over after school today. Bring your brother. We can all prepare for callbacks together.”

Katara raised her eyebrows, tilting her head. “Ty Lee’s your friend, isn’t she? Why would you betray her like that?”

“None of your business,” Azula snapped. “Just be there.”

Katara continued to ponder as she walked to class. Did she want the role badly enough to take advice from Azula? How low would she stoop to get this role? Did it even count as foul play? Katara trusted Azula’s judgement when it came to helping her prep for auditions, and she knew it would help, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted the help if it was just going to be lowballing Ty Lee.

That raised a more important question. Why was Azula trying to do Ty Lee dirty? It had only been last week where she had seen them sitting together with Mai and Azula’s brother at lunch. Had something happened between them that Katara hadn’t noticed?

Katara tried to brush it off, recalling her brother’s audition. She wanted to perform with him more than anything else in the world. She just hoped that he didn’t get Horton―it would be embarrassingly awkward if she got Gertrude and they had to play love interests. Maybe going to practice with Azula didn’t have to be playing dirty. It was just practice, that’s all. Katara spent the rest of her day trying to convince herself of this.

After school, she ditched Aang and Toph, taking Sokka and leaving for Azula’s house. She tried not to think about how guilty she felt about it.

Azula’s house was big. Much bigger than their own. Their voices echoed when they sang in the cavernous rooms of her house, and there was so much room, they probably could’ve gotten lost.

Sokka had made a bad joke about it when he had first walked in with Azula and Katara, and neither of them had laughed, but it was starting to become less and less of a joke as Sokka went searching for the kitchen. He had been given some vague instructions by Azula, and then told to scram in the same sentence. He might’ve been attracted to Azula if she wasn’t so terrifying. 

Now, he was mostly just wishing that he had brought his own water bottle.

Even the relatively minimalistic hallways of the house looked regal, decorated with family portraits and artwork. Sokka particularly noticed one of Azula and her brother as children with two adults (who he assumed were their parents). Both their faces were burnt out of the picture. Directly across it, a portrait of a striking young man, maybe a couple years older than Sokka. The intricate Japanese lettering next to it read “Lu Ten.”

Sokka absentmindedly stared at the pictures while wandering the hallways. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering why their faces were burnt and who Lu Ten was when-

“Watch where you’re going, dipshit.”

Sokka stopped abruptly. In front of him stood Azula’s brother, only a couple inches away from him. He gently shoved Sokka aside.

Sokka had only seen him a few times. He wasn’t exactly known to be particularly social or popular, especially in comparison to his sister. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He was mostly known for being an incredibly intelligent student. He even spent most lunch periods in the library. What a nerd.

The other reason Zuko was known was on the left side of his face―his scar.

People had their theories, of course. Some people said it was in a house fire, others said it was just a birthmark. Sokka personally didn’t care enough to theorize about it, but then again, he had never seen Zuko up close.

Even with the scar eating up the side of his face, he was striking. His eyes were a deep gold, obscured only by wild black hair. His skin was porcelain, and clear except for his scar. He looked princely and regal, like someone who clearly came from a high standard of living. Not in the snooty rich kid trust fund baby kind of way. Or, well, maybe a little, but mostly calm and composed. He would’ve looked like a doll, had it not been for the scar.

Sokka stood in silence for a few seconds, utterly in shock at Zuko. When he finally spoke, it was only a meek “sorry.”

Zuko grunted in acknowledgement, pushing past Sokka and continuing down the hallway.

“Wait! I, um, I’m looking for the kitchen. Your sister’s instructions weren’t really that clear,” Sokka said.

He frowned. “You’re friends with my sister? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Not really friends. My sister’s friends with your sister and she brought me along to practice for callbacks,” Sokka explained. If Zuko was just as protective of his sister as Sokka was with his, he would probably be soothed by this information.

Instead, Zuko groaned. “You’re another theater kid?”

“I―no, my sister tricked me into auditioning...you know what, it’s a long story. Where’s the kitchen?”

Zuko sighed. “Follow me. I’m Zuko, by the way.”

“I know. I’m Sokka. I’m auditioning for the Cat in the Hat.”

“I don’t care. I hate theater kids.”

“Aren’t you the stage manager?”

“Why do you think I hate theater kids so much?” Zuko turned around to face Sokka. “Here’s a word of advice, bitchboy. Stay out of my way and don’t be a dick to the crew. I know you’ll get cast because you’re a dude, so I’m warning you now. If you don’t stay on my good side, I can make your life a living hell. I’m a senior and the stage manager, so I can easily get you kicked out. Don’t cross me.”

Sokka blinked. “This is your good side?”

Zuko didn’t laugh.

“Here’s the kitchen,” he said gruffly when they finally arrived. “Will you get lost on your way back to Azula’s room, or do I need to show you the way back, too?”

“I could use some company back. Hey, can I ask you something?” Sokka asked, taking a sip from the glass of water Zuko had handed him.

“No.”

“How’d you get your scar?”

“None of your damn business!” Zuko said hotly. “You know what, you can find your own way back. I’m leaving. Good luck with your audition or whatever.”

Sokka got lost on his way back to Azula’s room. When he finally found it again, Katara’s face was somber and serious. He decided not to ask about what happened when he had left. 

Chapter Text

Callbacks were held a week later. Katara dreaded every second of it.

It wasn’t that Azula had said anything bad about Ty Lee, or explicitly told her what to do to make sure Ty Lee didn’t get the role of Gertrude. No harsh words were exchanged between the two. Azula kept true to her word and only told Katara that Ty Lee struggled in showing any emotions that weren’t happiness, but that Katara struggled with thinking outside the box. Azula merely told Katara that to score the role of Gertrude, she needed to have depth to her character and be creative. It was all perfectly innocent.

It didn’t stop Katara from feeling guilty the whole week. It wasn’t like she was friends with Ty Lee or anything, but she actively tried to avoid Ty Lee in the week between auditions and callbacks. Not that Ty Lee noticed.

Sokka, on the other hand, had been doing the opposite. He figured if he could get close with Azula, Ty Lee, or Mai, they could tell him more about Zuko, particularly about his scar. The way Zuko had become so defensive when Sokka confronted him about it just made him more curious, and Sokka wasted no time in turning on his charm to try to get an answer out of the three girls.

“So, your brother…” Sokka brought up one day, when Azula had come over to talk to Katara at lunch.

Azula’s expression soured. “What about him?” She sneered.

“I was just wondering-”

“About the scar, right? You’ll get the same answer from me as you did from him. None of your damn business.”

Sokka gaped. “He told you?! What a narc! Man, fuck that guy!”

“You didn’t think I’d find out? We might not be that close, but we still talk to each other!”

“I don’t know! I guess I figured that Zuko wouldn’t care enough to tell you,” Sokka said, shrugging.

“Zuko’s used to people being so scared of him that they don’t even ask about it. Do you really think he’d just forget about it?” Azula sighed. “Just don’t ask again. If I catch you poking around in my brother’s business again, I’m telling him to make up some fake screenshots and post your address on Twitter.”

Katara absentmindedly drummed on the table. “Come on, now. That’s just mean.”

“Don’t start singing Hamilton again. I can’t take another rendition of ‘Aaron Burr, Sir,’” Sokka warned Katara, forcing her hand off the table.

“Brrrah! Brrrah! I am Hercules Mulligan, up in it, loving it, heard your mother say-”

“Ugh. Your brother’s right. No more Hamilton,” Azula said, groaning and gently kicking Katara’s arm.

The bell rang a few minutes later. Sokka watched Azula and Katara walk to class together, shoulder to shoulder, still arguing over who was the best cast member of Hamilton. For a moment, it looked as if Katara was going to take Azula’s hand, but Sokka figured that he was just being insane. That would never happen.

Aang and Toph caught up to Sokka in the hallway, just as he thought he was about to escape them. It wasn’t that Sokka disliked Aang and Toph, but they did slow him down a lot, and he already had three tardies and couldn’t afford another.

Sokka groaned as Aang approached him. He was a sweet kid, just very odd. Toph was clinging onto his arm.

“Sorry, my apologies, coming through!” Aang was saying apologetically.

“Move, bitch!” Toph was shouting.

“Guys, I don’t have time for your shenanigans right now. I have to get to class.”

“Oh, okay, we’ll come back later!” Aang said meekly.

“Not my problem!” Toph said at the same time.

Sokka rolled his eyes. Aang and Toph were an unlikely pair of friends, and they contradicted each other in every way, but they made it work somehow. Aang needed someone to help him be more decisive and confident, and Toph needed someone to help her go with the flow. It also helped that Aang was best friends with Toph’s seeing eye dog Appa, and that Aang helped Toph around when Appa wasn’t able to.

“You have ten seconds. Say what you need to tell me or save it for after school,” Sokka said.

“We’re stalking Ty Lee,” Aang blurted out.

“What? Okay, TMI. Ten seconds was too much. Don’t even talk to me after school.”

“Aang, you idiot! That’s not what we’re doing!” Toph sighed. “Katara mentioned to Aang that Azula’s been acting weird around Ty Lee and she’s trying to get Katara to backstab her. She said she was curious and was wondering what was going on between them. Me and Aang are investigating it.”

“But why? Since when do you care about Azula and Ty Lee? You guys don’t even go here?” Now, Sokka was intrigued, and maybe even a little curious.

“Why does anyone do anything? We’re bored and nosy, dipshit.”

“Damn. Did you find anything out yet?” Sokka asked. Toph opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a teacher.

“Sokka Illchuk!” 

Sokka flinched. He recognized the booming voice coming from down the hallway, none other than his APUSH teacher, Pakku. Coincidentally, Sokka was supposed to be sitting down in his APUSH class right now.

“I have to go. We’ll talk later,” Sokka said, ruffling Toph’s hair and giving Aang a fistbump before bolting to class. 

Sokka hadn’t really given it much thought, but now that Toph mentioned it, Katara had been acting odd ever since they met at Azula’s house. Sokka had no idea what happened while he was gone, but he knew that whatever happened had definitely shaken Katara. She couldn’t afford to be nervous for callbacks, which meant that it was up to Sokka, Aang, and Toph to find out what happened between the three girls and resolve the issue.

Now, there were several problems with this. Toph and Aang were both bright kids who took a couple of classes at the high school, but for most of the day, they had to be at the middle school, so they couldn’t investigate during the day. Secondly, Katara and Azula would kill Sokka if they found out he was poking around in their business, and he didn’t doubt that Ty Lee would do the same. Everything had to be kept a secret. Finally, whatever the issue was, it had to be resolved before callbacks, which meant Sokka had about five days to investigate and solve it.

Where to start? Zuko? Sokka disregarded the idea immediately. If Zuko had told Azula that he had asked about his scar, Sokka didn’t doubt that if he asked any prying questions about Azula, he would tell her and the whole operation would be ruined. 

There was another girl in their trio, though. Mai Komatsu, a junior. Sokka had never actually heard her speak, but he knew that she was Zuko’s ex. Maybe it was time to try to seduce Mai into getting information out of her.

He just hoped that he was charming enough to be able to do it before the week was over.

After school, he met up with Toph and Aang again, just outside the school, before Katara got there. Toph pulled him close, yanking him by the collar and forcing him down to her level.

“We found out that Ty Lee is Azula’s ex. They broke up recently and are sort of keeping it all on the DL. I think Azula’s trying to use Katara to get back at Ty Lee.”

Sokka was frozen in sheer shock for a good few seconds. “What?”

“She said that Ty Lee is-” Aang started.

“No, no, I heard perfectly! How did you find out?” Sokka asked.

“Mai runs the GSA. I went to one of the meetings, and we got to talking. She was surprisingly lenient with information. That’s just the beginning of it,” Toph said.

“Oh,” Sokka said, slightly embarrassed. Good thing he hadn’t tried to seduce Mai. “Well, what do we do?”

“We obviously have to stop Azula from convincing Katara to do something bad to Ty Lee!” Aang said immediately.

Sokka hesitated. “Well…”

“What are you thinking, Sokka?” Toph asked.

“Azula wouldn’t ask Katara to outright backstab Ty Lee. Katara wouldn’t do it anyway. Azula might only be giving Katara tips on how to be better than Ty Lee. That’s not bad, right? Besides, I know how much Katara wants this part. It would kill her to see Ty Lee get it over her. I say we let it be.”

“How can you say that, Sokka? You’re just going to let Ty Lee be hurt so your sister can sing a song onstage?” Aang questioned hotly.

“Ty Lee will be fine. She’ll get a role anyway. Katara might not.”

“But-”

“Enough!” Toph shushed Aang and Sokka. “She’s coming! She can’t know about any of this! We have to decide what to do on our own.”

Aang and Sokka quieted down immediately, waving to Katara, who was fastly approaching. Azula was with her, their pinkies hooked and Azula with a sickening grin across her face. It sent chills down Sokka’s spine, like she was clearly up to no good.

“Hi, Katara. Hey, Azula.” Aang greeted Katara and Azula passively and kindly, as he always did. Azula seemed taken aback.

“Who even are you?”

“Azula, these are Aang and Toph. They’re my friends. You’ve seen them at lunch before, right?” Katara asked.

“No, I don’t pay attention to anyone that isn’t you during lunch,” Azula said absentmindedly and brashly. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“Are you two having practice again today?” Sokka asked.

“I think so. Azula helped me yesterday, and now it’s my turn to help her. Do you want to come?” 

Sokka exchanged glances with Toph and Aang, as best as they could considering that Toph couldn’t see.

“Can Toph and Aang come?” Sokka asked. “It’s sort of lonely with just the two of you.”

After a long pause of awkward eye contact between Katara and Azula, Azula sighed.

“Alright. But don’t bother us or my brother. And for fuck’s sake, try not to get lost in my house again.”

The walk to Azula’s house was searingly awkward, not just because Azula and Katara had some sort of newfound tension that hadn’t been there before, and not just because Zuko, who Sokka had previously bothered to ask about his scar, was walking with them. The most awkward part was having Toph and Aang there, particularly when Toph latched onto Azula’s arm, thinking it was Katara.

“Wha―get off me, small child!”

“Well, excuse me for not being able to see who I was grabbing onto!”

“What?”

“I’m blind, stupid!”

“Oh.”

Toph grumbled something about “stupid bitch,” switching to Aang’s arm instead as the group crossed the street.

Zuko was out of sight from the minute they stepped into their home. Sokka hadn’t even noticed that he had left until Toph asked. Katara and Azula wasted no time in leaving them and going to Azula’s room. Soon, it was just Sokka, Toph, and Aang left standing in the black marble hallway.

“So, what’s our plan?” Aang asked.

“I was going to ask you that!” Sokka replied. He sighed. “Look, we don’t really have very many options. Katara won’t believe me if I tell her that Azula’s got twisted motives. Azula wouldn’t listen if we told her to leave Katara alone, and either way, she’d just deny it anyway. There’s nothing left to do except hope Katara makes the right choice.”

“Good afternoon, kids! Are you here for Azula or Zuko?”

A cheerful-looking old man suddenly approached them from out of nowhere. Aang jumped. Toph whirled around to face him. His face was worn, but his eyes were kind. He had a long, grey beard, and a balding head, and he bore a striking resemblance to the portrait of the man labeled Lu Ten in the hallway that Sokka had gotten lost in.

“Both, I guess,” Sokka stammered.

“Nice to meet you! My name is Iroh. I am Azula and Zuko’s uncle.” Iroh extended a hand. Sokka shook it firmly. His hand was warm to the touch.

“Oh! A strong grip. A good handshake is the first indicator of a good man.” Iroh spoke in the same fatherly, metaphorical way that Bumi did, but in a comprehensible way. He was clearly wise beyond his years, and Sokka respected that.

“I’m Sokka. These are Toph and Aang. Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too, young man. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Thanks, sir.”

Iroh turned a corner and disappeared into the cavernous hallways of the mansion. Sokka exchanged glances with Toph and Aang.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Meanwhile, Azula and Katara found themselves sitting in Azula’s room once again, practicing for callbacks.

“-and Sokka didn’t even know what a cold read was. I had to explain to him that we had to sing a portion of one of the songs from the musical. If he gets a role over me, I think it should count as discrimination―hey, are you listening to me?” Katara stopped her ramble to glance over at Azula, who had been oddly quiet the whole time. At least one snarky remark would have normally been made by now.

Azula blinked a few times, looking up from her sheet music. “What?”

Katara sighed. “You’re totally out of it, Azula. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on! Mind your business!” Azula snapped.

“It’s the audition, isn’t it? I told you, Azula―your personality is closest to Mayzie out of all of us auditioning, so I know you’ll kill it-”

“It’s not callbacks. I’m fine,” Azula said through gritted teeth.

“No, you’re not. Azula, tell me what’s wrong. I can help.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Azula repeated.

“Come on, I know something’s-”

“Okay, fine! It’s Ty Lee!” Azula shouted. “I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t feel like you needed to know, but me and Ty Lee broke up two weeks ago. I have to see her again at callbacks, and I don’t want to. I don’t want to see her ever again.”

Katara’s expression softened. She had been expecting Azula to say many things, but that was not one of them. She had no idea that Azula and Ty Lee were dating in the first place, but the more she thought of it, the more it made sense. The shared knowing smiles, the discreet hand-holding, braiding each other's hair―it made sense. Now, the reason why Azula was so eager to give Katara advice on how to destroy Ty Lee at callbacks became imminently clear, as well as the reason Azula had been sitting with Katara at lunch instead. Azula was in pain.

Katara stood up and walked across the room to Azula, wrapping her arms around her. Azula tensed up and for a split second, tried to break away, but Katara kept holding on, and Azula finally melted down in Katara’s arms. She seemed so much smaller now. The fire in her golden eyes was gone, replaced with a newfound melancholiness. 

“I’m sorry, Azula,” Katara whispered. “It ended badly?”

Azula nodded, sniffling a little. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“You don’t have to. You have a friend in me, Azula. You don’t have to hide these things from me. It’s okay to let yourself be sad sometimes. I know Ty Lee meant a lot to you.” Katara wiped away a stray tear on Azula’s cheek.

“Look, you have to go to callbacks. That’s non-optional. You and Ty Lee are up for a lot of the same roles. I need you to redirect all this sadness and anger and pain into your acting instead. Immerse yourself into the character enough, and you won’t even notice Ty Lee,” Katara said.

“Mayzie wouldn’t notice anyone but herself anyway.”

“That’s the right attitude. Let’s get back to rehearsing. Singing is the best remedy for everything.”

Callbacks crept up on everyone suddenly, even though they were expecting it. Katara, Azula, and Sokka spent most of the week preparing for them.

Sokka met up with Aang and Toph in the hallway the day of callbacks. The hallways were busy and bustling as always, making them a good spot to discuss something they would’ve rather kept secret.

“Well? What did Iroh say? You said you’d handle it!” Toph gently punched Sokka in the arm.

“Lower your voices!” Sokka hissed. He leaned in closer to Toph and Aang, bending over so he was their height.

“I don’t think Iroh knew very much. Azula covers her tracks well. As you said, Azula and Ty Lee broke up. But the thing is, Iroh said that Azula broke up with Ty Lee. Azula could’ve been lying to salvage her pride, or Ty Lee could’ve done something to aggravate Azula in order to prompt the breakup. Or Azula’s just batshit crazy. Nothing else seemed relevant to me. He talked a little about Azula’s parents and his son, but nothing super specific or important.”

“So? What did you do? You said you’d take care of it over the weekend!” Toph demanded.

“I’m getting there! I did some digging, scoured Azula’s Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, TikTok, Snapchat, everything. She’s been liking a lot of Tweets about betrayal lately and listened to ‘Cherry Wine’ by Hozier on repeat for like, four hours. I inferred that Azula wasn’t lying and that she broke up with Ty Lee because Ty Lee betrayed her in some way and because their relationship wasn’t very healthy in the first place.” 

“I still don’t care! Azula is still trying to get Katara to screw Ty Lee!” Toph whispered.

“That’s the thing, Toph. I don’t think she is. I think Azula has a crush on Katara.”

Toph’s jaw dropped. Aang’s eyes widened. 

“You’re kidding,” Aang said in disbelief.

“How do you know?” Toph asked.

“Well, first of all, the playlist on Spotify called ‘lesbian music’ filled with Girl in Red, Hozier, 100 Gecs, Kehlani, and Janelle Monae makes a pretty good case for Azula being into girls. Second, have you ever seen Azula hug or hold hands with her friends? Have you ever seen her sitting in Mai’s or Zuko’s lap?”

“I’ve never seen anything,” Toph said.

“I...well, no…” Aang said slowly, now realizing how credible Sokka’s statement was.

“The only person who Azula was even remotely affectionate with was Ty Lee, and it stopped about two weeks ago. Now, count how many times you’ve seen Katara and Azula holding hands in the past few days.”

“So Katara has a crush on Azula too?” Aang asked.

“I don’t know. Katara’s never been really open with her crushes or her sexuality or anything. She’s pretty affectionate with people, too, so if she does have a crush on Azula, there’s no way for me to know.” Sokka sighed and waved his hand. “Either way, I asked Katara what was going on with her and Azula, if Azula was asking her to do anything mean or illegal. She got mad at me, so I can only assume that we have nothing to worry about with Azula.”

“What now, then?” Aang asked. “What do we do?”

“There’s nothing to do, dumbass. There is no issue. Come on, Aang, let’s go,” Toph said, holding onto Aang’s arm and disappearing into the swath of people in the hallway.

Chapter Text

Callbacks were held directly after school that day. About fifteen people, give or take, were told to wait in the auditorium until the characters they were being called back for were announced. They would audition in groups in the choir room. Other people would see their performances, not just the directors. 

Despite everything, Katara found it to be a lot easier to prepare for a callback than an audition. With a callback, she knew exactly which characters to research and embody, and she could be a lot more specific and precise with her interpretations of the music as well as her acting. A regular audition had to be a lot more vague.

Katara had a few callbacks in middle school, but they were nothing like the ones in high school. At the middle school, they all stood in a line across the stage and sang a few bars of the song they were instructed. At the high school, it was like a real callback. They would perform the entirety of their characters’ song, have a short interview, and read a few lines. Even though it was nerve-racking, Katara decided she liked it better this way.

“Those being called back for the Cat in the Hat, please go to the choir room now!” Bumi shouted from the hallway. There were about fifteen of them in the auditorium, mostly freshmen with a few upperclassmen sprinkled in. Some were practicing their lines or their music. Some were just quietly conversing amongst themselves. There was even a group of girls in a corner breaking in their pointe shoes for the dance call, as well as a few people making TikToks in another corner.

“Well, that’s me. Wish me luck,” Sokka said, standing up.

“Break a leg!” Katara waved.

“Thanks!” 

As Sokka and a few other people, both boys and girls, left to audition, Katara paid close attention to Ty Lee and Mai, who were sitting about halfway across the room. Ty Lee was braiding Mai’s long black hair happily while Mai scrolled through Twitter.

“You don’t have to protect me so much. I can deal with my own relationships,” Azula grumbled. Katara hadn’t even noticed that her grip on Azula’s hand had tightened.

“Sorry,” Katara said, letting go of Azula’s hand. “Instinct, I guess. Are you sure you’re alright? Would it help to get into character now?”

“No. I got a callback for Sour Kangaroo, too. If I get into character now, it’ll compromise my performance as Sour Kangaroo. Please.” Azula looked directly at Katara, her eyes apologetic. “Just leave me alone. I can handle myself. Please.”

Katara nodded, focusing herself in the music and the lines once again. She knew them all by heart, but one could never be too prepared. Besides, it gave her something to focus on instead of Azula.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, humming the tune of their respective songs and marking all their movements and gestures gently. 

After Bumi called those auditioning for Horton, Katara spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye jogging towards her. She vaguely recognized the short bob and the lean figure, but didn’t process who it was until she came up to her.

“Suki? What are you doing here?” Katara asked, finally looking up from her music.

“Hi. Sorry I’m late. Have they called Jojo, Gertrude, or Mrs. Mayor yet?” Suki asked breathlessly, sitting down next to Katara.

“I―no, but...I thought you weren’t going to do the musical! I thought you were going to audition, then quit!” Katara’s eyes widened, and rightly so. She was shocked that Suki even considered coming back.

Suki shrugged. “I decided against it. For my college applications,” she added.

“I would’ve helped you prepare if you’d told me you were coming back! Did you learn everything?” Katara asked.

“Yes. I think I’m ready. I just hope I don’t get smoked by everyone else,” Suki admitted.

“Jojo! Where are my Jojos? Come, audition! It’s your turn!” Bumi shouted. 

Suki smiled, squeezing Katara’s hand. “That’s me. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Break a leg!” Katara called.

Ty Lee got up to go audition for Jojo, too. Katara watched Azula’s eyes follow her across the room. Katara couldn’t explain why it gave her a nasty knot in her stomach, but it did. Suddenly, she was a little more nervous than she had been before.

After Jojo, Bumi called for Gertrude.

Katara stood up. A freshman followed as well. They walked to the choir room in silence, neither acknowledging what was about to happen. 

There were seven people in the room―Bumi, as well as the dance teacher, Mr. Piandao, the vocal instructor and pit conductor, June, and the stage technician, Ms. Wu sat at a table in the front, each with clipboards and their resumes and headshots. To the left of the table was the piano, along with the accompanist. Sitting in front of the table were Ty Lee and Suki, already sitting down and prepared to audition. 

“Hello, Gertrudes! Welcome to your callback! As you all know, my name is Bumi, and-” Bumi started one of his unusually long-winded rants before Mr. Piandao cut him off and took charge of the auditions and the speech. Piandao explained that even if they didn’t get this role, they recognized their talent, and he outlined what they were looking for in their interpretation of Gertrude.

“You can start whenever you’re ready, Jin,” Piandao said, nodding to the freshman, Jin.

Jin, the freshman, didn’t do as poorly as Katara had hoped she would. Her voice was stable, despite being a little pitchy, and she did an okay job with the song. Her legs shook the entire time. The poor girl was so nervous, it would likely cost her the role. Katara politely clapped when she was finished, and the directors gave her a few kind notes. Bumi only offered a mysterious metaphor, as usual. The knot in Katara’s stomach slightly loosened. They asked her a few questions about what she would bring to the role, and she answered quietly. They didn’t ask her to read any lines.

“Suki, you can start when you’re ready.”

Suki nodded, taking out a small teal ukulele and strumming the opening chords of the song. Katara’s heart sank. She hadn’t even thought of blocking out the scene that way. She didn’t even know how to play the ukulele. Azula was right about her―she needed to think outside the box. Suki had done that. Katara hadn’t.

“There once was a girl-bird named Gertrude McFuzz…”

Suki’s voice was girlish and sweet, perfect for the role. Katara’s confidence in her own audition only kept dropping as Suki sang. She had spent so much time trying to focus on beating out Ty Lee that she had never even considered Suki a threat. 

Suki finished her audition smoothly. She sat back down, and the directors gave her some notes, but nothing major. She smiled at Katara, and Katara forced herself to smile back. How could she have been so blind?

“So, Suki Sayuri, huh...tell me, why do you think you should get this role?” June asked. Katara tried to read her expression, but June’s permanent frown made it hard to make out if she thought Suki did a good job or not.

“Personally, I don’t think I deserve this role. There are some really talented people in this room that could probably sing and dance this role just as well as I could. However, I...I think I should get this role because Gertrude and I are really similar. Gertrude’s a soft-spoken, humble girl, but at heart, she’s ambitious and caring, like me. If I got this role, I could play it better than anyone because Gertrude is me.”

Piandao and Bumi exchanged glances. June wrote something down. Suki’s gaze remained fixated on the directors, unwavering.

“Can we have you read through some of the lines?” Bumi asked.

Katara looked away. If she kept looking at Suki, she was afraid she might burst into tears. Not everyone got asked to read lines, and getting asked to read through lines wasn’t a guarantee of getting the role, but it sure did give an indication of who the directors were leaning towards.

Katara tuned out Ty Lee’s entire audition. Despite having dreaded every second before Ty Lee’s audition, Suki had worried Katara so much that she couldn’t even listen to Ty Lee sing. She was simply too confused and angry and sad to focus on all of that right now. Katara tried her hardest to get into her Gertrude mindset, but every time she took a breath, all she could think of was the white-hot anger boiling inside of her.

“Katara Illchuk? You can start now,” Piandao said kindly.

Katara took a deep breath, standing up and starting to sing. She performed the song perfectly, and did the exact blocking she had practiced. There wasn’t a single move out of place. She had to get this role. She needed this part. She wasn’t going to stop at anything now. 

“Thank you, Katara. Can we ask you some questions now?” Piandao asked.

Katara nodded and sat down again. She had to get this role.

“What would you bring to this role?” 

“I would bring unmatched skill to this role. I have training in acting, singing, and dancing, and I know this part inside and out. No one has the passion that I have for...Seussical, the Musical.” That last part was a lie. Katara openly disliked Seussical as a musical, but the rest was true. She had to get this role.

“And do you think that’s the most important thing for this role to have?”

“Yes. One hundred percent.”

“Hm.” Piandao paused. “What do you think is Gertrude’s most important quality?”

“Definitely her dedication to Horton. It’s her driving force throughout the whole show, and without that ambition and drive, she wouldn’t be the same Gertrude.” Katara spit out the words quickly. The words felt wrong as soon as they left her mouth, but Katara hadn’t quite gotten that far into her characterization. It was simply the first thing she thought of.

June and Piandao both wrote some things down on their clipboards. They didn’t ask Katara to read lines.

Katara stayed for her audition for Sour Kangaroo. She didn’t care. She barely saw Azula and two other girls enter the room, she was so focused on what had just happened. She could feel the role slipping out from underneath her feet, but she didn’t know what to do to get it back.

Azula tapped her shoulder, forcing Katara back to reality.

“Hey. Break a leg.”

Azula’s warm hand brought back memories that Katara had forgotten in her rage, memories of Azula crying over Ty Lee. Katara straightened her back. She couldn’t afford to be weak right now, not just for the audition, but for Azula. She had to stay strong, no matter what was going on with her.

When Piandao finished giving his usual speech, he nodded to Katara.

“Katara? You’re up for Sour.”

Katara stood up, taking a deep breath and starting to sing. She allowed her rage to fuel her, but also her love for Azula. She had to be strong for Azula. Now was her chance to let it out.

“‘Twas the Sour Kangaroo…”

Katara barely remembered the rest of the audition, and the rest of callbacks, too. It felt as if she was watching someone else maneuver her limbs and her voice, but it wasn’t her. She auditioned for Mayzie directly after, and the dance call was held after all the callbacks were done, too. Katara’s body moved fluidly, like water in a stream. Dancing was second nature for her, and she barely focused during it, still trying to comprehend what had happened.

Azula held Katara’s hand as she walked her home. Katara said nothing.

The next day, Sokka found himself sitting with Aang and Toph at lunch. Katara and Azula had snuck off to God knows where, leaving him alone with Aang and Toph. His gaze drifted over to about halfway across the cafeteria to Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko. Ty Lee was sitting in Mai’s lap, playing with her hair. Zuko was sitting across from them, reading a book.

“Do you think they’re together?” Sokka asked.

Aang looked up from his Switch. “Who?”

“Mai and Ty Lee. Every time I see them, they can’t keep their hands off each other.”

Aang shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s why Ty Lee and Azula broke up.”

Sokka shifted his gaze over to Zuko, who was hunched over a painstakingly neat collection of binders, papers, and books. God, what a nerd. Sokka had done his homework during lunch more times than he’d like to admit, but that was when he was running late and hadn’t done it that morning or the night before. Zuko, on the other hand, seemed to be getting a head start on his homework for today. Who does that? Zuko, apparently.

Sokka hadn’t told anyone the extent of what Iroh had said about Azula and Zuko’s parents. He hadn’t been pressing particularly hard, and he certainly wasn’t aiming to find out about them. Sure, he was curious about Zuko’s scar, but he respected his privacy and didn’t want to tread upon any information that was just too personal. He hadn’t even told Toph and Aang when they asked. However, Sokka couldn’t get Iroh’s words out of his head.

Zuko and Azula’s parents were politicians , he had said. Real hotshot bigwigs, with stakes in just about every company and political group you could think of. Ozai brought home a lot of anger. Zuko was unlucky enough to be there. Ozai made sure that Zuko never forgot who was in charge by...never mind. 

Sokka had tried to not linger on it very much, trying to convince himself that Iroh was just a senile old man who didn’t know what he was talking about. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The way Azula and Zuko had avoided all questions about their parents, the way Zuko had yelled at him when he had asked...he felt bad for asking for more information, and he wished he hadn’t learned about it in the first place. What was he even supposed to do with this information now? Zuko couldn’t know that he knew. But he surely couldn’t just keep it to himself.

“Hey, can you guys keep a secret?” Sokka asked.

Toph perked up, closing her book. Aang tilted his head.

“Yeah. Why?” Aang asked.

“Iroh told me some things that I didn’t mention to you. Things about Azula’s parents…” Sokka shook his head. “But promise me you won’t tell anyone. Zuko would skin me alive if he found out I knew about this. I’m serious, Toph. Don’t laugh. Aang, just...keep your mouth shut, okay? I just need to tell someone, anyone.”

Toph and Aang both nodded solemnly. Sokka sighed and began to speak.

Chapter Text

Katara couldn’t bring herself to check the drama bulletin. She knew that if she checked it, she would be forced to accept the reality that she completely bombed her callback. She couldn’t even pass by that hallway, in fear that she would have to accept what had happened at callbacks. Not that there was anything to check, of course. Almost two weeks passed until finally, the cast list went up.

Bumi put it up in the morning. Katara wouldn’t’ve noticed unless Azula hadn’t dragged her all the way over there to check the casting list. At this point, Katara had lost all confidence that she would get a role. Maybe she wouldn’t even get cast, she thought to herself as Azula pulled her to the drama bulletin.

A whole gaggle of hopeful auditionees followed them, Sokka and Ty Lee among them. Suki was nowhere to be found. Katara sighed. Suki, who was sure to get a part, couldn’t even show her face around here? That, to her, was simply proof that Katara deserved the role more. She cared so much more about this role than anyone else here, even more than Ty Lee and Azula.

Katara was shoved to the back of the crowd as they all huddled around the piece of paper. Katara heard Sokka whoop and yell “Cat in the Hat, bitches!” before running off. Azula eventually let go of Katara’s hand to go see what she had gotten, and walked away with a satisfied expression. Even Ty Lee seemed content with her role. A few freshmen were crying, but within a few minutes, everyone had dispersed. The only one left was Katara.

She walked up to it solemnly, scanning the ensemble section first. Strangely, her name wasn’t there. Her eyes drifted to the leads.

Cat in the Hat - Sokka Illchuk.

Katara smiled. She knew Sokka would do well in his role as the Cat in the Hat. She continued reading.

Jojo - Ty Lee Chou.

That made sense, she thought. Ty Lee was bubbly and creative, just like Jojo. Katara hadn’t really wanted the role of Jojo anyway.

Horton - Haru Kim.

Katara vaguely remembered Haru, one of Sokka’s friends. He was pretty quiet, from what Katara had heard, but his audition had sounded good. 

Gertrude - Suki Sayuri.

Katara expected to feel her heart sinking, or some sort of other awful reaction, but when she saw Suki’s name next to the role she had wanted, she wasn’t surprised or terribly sad, just disappointed. Disappointed in herself for blowing the callback, disappointed in herself for making Suki sign up. Katara didn’t even get the understudy role. She would never get to play Gertrude. Strangely, Katara didn’t cry. She only continued reading the cast list. She would unpack her emotions later, but right now, she didn’t have time for that.

Mayzie - Azula Suzuki.

At least Azula had gotten the role she wanted. Azula had crushed her audition with confidence, and her personality was already similar to Mayzie’s. When Azula got into the role of Mayzie, it wasn’t even acting, it was just Azula.

Mr. Mayor - Teo Lhawang

Mrs. Mayor - Jin Park

Jin, the freshman who was barely able to get through eight bars of her song without stuttering, got a role? Over Katara? Katara knew she had bombed her callback, but was it really that bad?

General - Jet Shin

Katara supposed that made sense, she knew little of Jet, but she knew that he was a headstrong, confident boy, just like the general. Finally, Katara read the last role on the list.

Sour Kangaroo - Katara Illchuk.

Katara blinked a few times, squinting at the paper. That couldn’t be right. Out of all the roles to get, Sour Kangaroo? Katara was expecting one of the Bird Girls, or maybe to not get cast at all, but Sour Kangaroo? Katara was nothing like her. In fact, Katara wasn’t even really a soprano, she was more like a mezzo-soprano to an alto. The Sour Kangaroo was most certainly not that. How could she have gotten this role?

Katara felt someone walk up behind her. She turned around, expecting Azula or Sokka. Instead, she found herself staring at Mr. Piandao and June, the dance teacher and vocal instructor, respectively.

“Oh. Sorry, I was just leaving,” Katara said, trying to push past them. June put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Wait. We wanted to talk to you.”

Katara stopped. Whatever they wanted to say, Katara couldn’t imagine it would be positive.

“During his audition, Sokka told us that the reason he wanted the role of the Cat was because he wanted to be onstage with you. He said you were the only reason he auditioned, and he wanted to make you proud.”

Katara felt her face burning with shame. Sokka had done this for her, to be onstage opposite her, and she wasn’t able to accomplish her own goal. Her own ambition had become her downfall.

“I’m sorry, I really have to go now-” Katara mumbled, but Mr. Piandao stopped her yet again.

“We know you’re disappointed that you didn’t get Gertrude. Sokka mentioned that you wanted that role more than anything in the world. We wanted to tell you that you didn’t get the role, yes, but not for the reason you think,” Piandao said. Katara tilted her head.

“What do you mean? I didn’t get the role because I couldn’t think outside the box and I bombed my callback. That’s all there is to it.”

“Katara, we were the ones who decided on the cast list. We would know.”

“Doesn’t Bumi do it?”

“Partly, sure, but have you ever seen Bumi do anything productive? Why do you think we were at the audition?”

Katara found herself dumbfounded. June and Piandao were sharp-tongued and quick-witted. She couldn’t argue with them.

“Katara, your audition was fantastic. You’re a talented girl. We wanted to see you perform under pressure, and you did it perfectly. It was a great performance, just as good as Suki’s. We never expected you to bring a ukulele in. Your understanding of Gertrude’s character was a little off, but this is high school drama, not Broadway, and we haven’t even started rehearsing. The fact that you had an answer stood out. Your audition was great, and it’s not why we didn’t cast you as Gertrude,” June said. 

Katara couldn’t help but be confused. If her audition was good, then why wouldn’t they have cast her as Gertrude?

“Casting a show is like a puzzle, Katara. Some pieces can go in many different spots. Others don’t. Sokka was one of those pieces. He had to play the Cat in the Hat because if he was cast as Horton, it would limit our options for who could play Gertrude. You wouldn’t’ve even had a chance to be Gertrude if Sokka was Horton. The only other option was Haru, who, as you know, is a senior.”

“Of course I know. I don’t see your point, though. Haru isn’t related to me. I could play his love interest just fine.”

“We know. But we were going to favor someone closer to his age, to make it less weird. Still, that wasn’t what ruled you out as Gertrude,” Piandao interjected.

Katara was becoming increasingly more frustrated. “Then what was it?”

“It was your audition for Sour Kangaroo, actually,” Piandao said softly.

Katara frowned. “What do you mean? I barely remember doing anything at my callback for Sour Kangaroo.”

“Anyone can be sassy. That’s not what we were looking for in Sour. The way you brought a new kind of motherly kindness to the role was something we had never seen before. The minute you started singing, we knew we had found our Sour Kangaroo,” Piandao said. “That’s all we wanted to tell you. You can go now.”

Katara turned around to finally leave. 

“Oh, and one more thing, Katara? Don’t be discouraged by not getting Gertrude. Besides, Sour Kangaroo’s songs are more fun, if you ask me,” June said, winking.

Sokka should’ve been celebrating his role as Cat in the Hat. He should’ve felt happy. Strangely, he didn’t.

Sokka wasn’t upset, or anything. In fact, he was quite proud of himself. He had expected to land one of the Wickersham brothers, at best. Instead, he had gotten one of the lead roles of the show. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to feel really, truly happy without Katara next to him.

“What’s up with you?” Suki asked, sitting down on Sokka’s desk. They were in the same homeroom, and despite Suki being Sokka’s ex, they still remained good friends.

“Nothing’s up. Just a normal day,” Sokka said, twirling his pencil in his hand.

“You got the role of the Cat! Why aren’t you celebrating? I figured you’d be bouncing off the walls by now.” Suki ruffled Sokka’s hair affectionately. 

Sokka sighed. “I just feel bad for Katara. I wish I could talk to her or something, but we’re in different homerooms and I couldn’t find her in the crowd. I just know she’s crushed.”

Suki nodded. “I feel awful, too. It feels like I stole the role from her. I just hope she’s not upset with me.”

“So you’re really gonna stay and play a lead in the musical, huh?” Sokka said, leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah. Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I never had you pegged as the artistic type. I never even knew you could sing or act.”

“There are plenty of things you don’t know about me.”

“I’m quickly learning that.”

Suki slid off Sokka’s desk, standing up. “Don’t worry about Katara too much, by the way. She’s a strong girl. She can deal with her own emotions herself.”

“You too. Katara isn’t a vengeful girl, you know. She really loves you. She might be upset, but it’ll only be at herself.”

Suki smiled slightly at this. “Thanks.”

Katara didn’t speak to Azula or Suki for the entire day, even though they had classes together. Even when they were assigned partners for the day, and Katara was paired off with Suki, Katara only did the work she was assigned in silence.

Suki tried her best to make an effort to strike up some conversation with Katara, but Katara had simply too much on her mind for her to have the mental and emotional space to be able to speak to Suki. Her talk with Piandao and June had made her feel a little bit better, but she was still mourning her loss of the role of Gertrude.

Not that Suki had anything to do with that, of course. Katara knew that Suki probably wasn’t deserving of the silent treatment she was giving her, but how could she just smile and pretend like everything was just peachy? Suki was a constant reminder that Katara had failed to get the one thing that mattered most to her.

Was it shallow? Perhaps. But Katara was a highschool sophomore. So far, this was the most important thing she had ever done. She deserved to be a little shallow after all of this

After a solid thirty minutes of silence, Suki finally slammed down her pencil.

“I can’t do this anymore. Katara, talk to me. Say something. Anything.”

Katara sighed. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice raspy. “What is there to say?”

“I know you’re mad at me, but I never intended it to go that way. I’ll give up the role if you want, I’ll be ensemble-”

“No!” Katara shook her head. “You don’t understand, Suki. It’s not about you. It’s about how I failed my only goal, and you...you’re just a constant reminder of it. There’s nothing you could do or say to make me feel better. I don’t want you to give up the role, especially not out of pity.”

Katara sighed. “I came into this audition wanting the role of Gertrude because it was the biggest female role, other than the Cat and Jojo, which aren’t my typecast. I was being realistic. I set myself realistic goals and expectations: to be the best choice for our show. And I failed. Because of stuff I couldn’t even control!” She looked down. “The worst part is that I can’t even be mad at you. Because you’re perfect for the role, and you’re my friend. I have no one to blame but myself. I failed.”

“Failed? Katara, you got Sour Kangaroo! You didn’t fail. You might’ve not gotten Gertrude, sure, but you didn’t fail. You’ll still be on stage, and you’ll still have a lead. Katara, listen to me.” Suki grabbed Katara by the shoulders. “Katara, you have more raw talent and dedication in your pinky finger than most people have in their entire body. I don’t know jack shit about theater and I can see that. I have no doubt that Bumi can see that too. That’s why he cast you as Sour Kangaroo. I know you’ll do just as good in this role, maybe even better, than you would’ve done in the role of Gertrude.”

“And what if I don’t?” Katara asked. “I went for Gertrude because she’s the most like me. I’m not sassy, or motherly, or overprotective!”

Suki smiled knowingly. “Maybe you’re more like Sour Kangaroo than you think. Just give it a chance, Katara! You’ll do amazing in any role you play. Besides, you got Sour Kangaroo! That’s a big role! That’s a big deal! And even if it wasn’t, you have two more years of high school left to become a legend in the drama program.” Suki took Katara’s hand. “Give this role a chance, please. I want to stand on stage with you, but not if you’re jealous of me the whole time.”

Katara hesitated. Suki was right. According to Piandao and June, she had been just as good as Suki, but she had been better as the Sour Kangaroo. Maybe she really was more like Sour than she had considered. Katara had always considered herself a pretty ordinary person, personality-wise. She never saw herself as having any real defining personality traits. Maybe confidently stepping into her role as Sour Kangaroo could show her more about herself.

Katara wanted to believe Suki. She wanted to be an optimist about this whole scenario, to change her feelings and immediately accept everything. But she just couldn’t. Not now.

“Thanks,” Katara finally said. “I think I need some time to process what happened. I just need some time to myself.”

Suki nodded. “I understand. I’ll be here when you want to talk again.”

Katara, for the first time that day, smiled, before resuming her work. Maybe everything would be okay.

Chapter Text

Katara had been expecting a lot of things for their first rehearsal. What she got was none of them.

Katara knew very little about Bumi, both as a person and as a director. She figured from his eccentricity that he must be some sort of creative genius. Why else would he have been put in charge? However, she quickly realized she was wrong as she walked into the auditorium.

Bumi was sitting at the piano, playing a very loud and out of tune Eric Whitacre song. June, Piandao, and Mrs. Wu were running around, passing out scripts to everyone. None of them seemed to have very much authority. In fact, the group of kids filming TikToks on the stage were louder than all three of them put together. 

The people who seemed the most in-control were an unlikely pair of people―Zuko and Mai.

Katara vaguely knew that they were the stage managers, and Sokka had mentioned how Zuko had threatened him once, but she had never thought that Zuko actually had authority in the theater program. 

Katara vaguely remembered what Azula had said about Zuko on the day Azula had asked Katara for help picking an audition piece.

My brother is the stage manager. If you want to get on his good side, I’m your best bet. I’ll make it worth your time.

“Hey, dipshits!” Zuko shouted, standing on the stage. Almost instantly, the room fell silent. Even Bumi stopped playing the piano. Piandao groaned.

“Zuko, what did I tell you about using that kind of language here?”

“Whatever. We’re starting rehearsal now. Everyone sit down. Lead roles in the first row, Wickersham Brothers, Bird Girls, Yertle, Grinch, and dance captains in the second, and everyone else in the third. Quickly,” Zuko said. For someone with such a soft voice, he spoke firmly and clearly. Piandao and June made their way up to the stage.

“Hi, everyone. Welcome to our first rehearsal for Seussical, the musical! I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, but let me get through everything first, and then I’ll answer questions at the end,” Piandao said.

“For those who don’t know me, I’m Mr. Piandao, the dance coach. You can just call me Piandao. This is Miss Wong, our vocal coach and pit conductor-”

“But please, call me June,” June interrupted.

“-and our stage technician and set designer, Mrs. Wu. Oh, and of course, our director, Bumi!” Piandao gestured to Bumi. Light applause ensured, although clearly, most of the room was unsure if Bumi was deserving of it.

“You guys have been chosen because you’re the best of the best. We did, in fact, cut people this year, so everyone is here because they are talented people. Everyone standing in this room is the cream of the crop, and has the capability to do great things.”

“However, you all should know that this show will get nowhere without hard work and dedication. Musical theater isn’t for the lazy or weak-minded. Any person in this room could be replaced, so while we hope that we don’t have to cut anyone at this stage, we can and will, if anyone here decides that they don’t want to put in the work.”

Piandao went on, talking about the rules they had as well as the general concept of the show. June added her two cents every once in a while, too. Katara expected Bumi to come up and say something, but he never did, only tinkering with the piano quietly throughout Bumi’s speech. Katara’s eyes eventually drifted to Azula, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as she watched Bumi with disgust.

Piandao clapped his hands together. “Before we start anything, I’d love to go around the room and just have everyone say their name, grade, role, and a fun fact about themselves, just so we can get to know each other. I’m sure a lot of you are friends already, and you’ll all definitely bond in the coming weeks, but for our sake, we’ll just go in order. Zuko, would you like to start?”

If looks could kill, Piandao would’ve been impaled on the wall. Clearly, the dirty looks ran in the family. Still, Zuko eventually sighed and went along with it.

“I’m Zuko. The stage manager. I’m a senior.”

“And a fun fact about yourself?” Piandao urged.

“Don’t push it.”

Mai sighed gloomily. “I’m Mai, I’m the co-stage manager. I’m in charge of props, too. I’m a junior. I don’t have a fun fact.”

Mai’s voice was completely monotone. Katara had figured that someone who hung out with Azula and Ty Lee pretty often, she would be a bit peppier. Still, the heavy black makeup and the goth clothing made it pretty obvious that Mai was just like that all the time.

Katara stood up first. “Hi, my name is Katara. I play the Sour Kangaroo, and I’m a sophomore. A fun fact about me is that Sokka is my older brother.”

Just like that, they went around the room, introducing themselves. Once they were done, Piandao continued explaining the rules and customs of theater, as well as playing them some of the music. 

“However,” he said, “today we’re just doing a read-through. No music, no dancing, no blocking, just us reading through the script to get a feel for everything. For Seussical in particular, there aren’t a lot of scenes, because most of the scenes happen during songs. Don’t worry about that now. Just read through it as best as you can. Ty Lee, Sokka...take it away!”

Piandao stepped back and sat down. Zuko and Mai disappeared somewhere into the wings of the stage, along with a couple other kids in crew, including Toph and Aang. Katara focused her gaze on Ty Lee, reading her lines in a bubbly and child-like manner.

“Now, that is a very unusual hat. I wonder what could be under a hat such as that?”

As they tediously read through the script, Katara came to a realization that it barely even mattered if she had gotten Gertrude or not, as barely anyone except for Jojo, the Cat in the Hat, and Horton had lines. She could even see Azula getting anxious after realizing that Mayzie was only in a handful of scenes and songs and altogether not that important. Katara could’ve sworn she saw Zuko laughing at their uneasy expressions in the shadows of the backstage. Still, she tried to remain optimistic as best she could. Seussical was a bad musical, sure, but it can’t be that bad, can it?

The answer was yes, it could be that bad. Katara had beat herself up over her unfortunate characterization of Gertrude in her callback, but the more she read through the script, the more she realized that she had been right all along. Gertrude’s only motive seemed to be Horton, which didn’t reflect very well, considering that all the other female characters (except Jojo) were antagonists. Who the hell wrote this? And more importantly, who picked it?

Even Piandao and June seemed on edge throughout rehearsal. Every once in a while, they’d go whisper amongst themselves, as if they were aware of what was going on. Any normal person would see clearly that Seussical was just a poorly written musical. It just seemed...childish, and outdated, too.

Rehearsal was over at 5 PM sharp. Katara kept waiting for Bumi to say something, to give them instructions or notes, but he did none of the sort. He spent the whole time badly playing the piano and muttering incomprehensible nonsense under his breath.

“That’s going to be it for today’s rehearsal. Great job, everyone. We’ll see you tomorrow in the choir room for vocal practice!” Piandao called as everyone poured out the door, including Bumi himself. 

Katara lingered behind. Sokka, Azula, Zuko, and Mai, stayed behind as well. Katara had so many questions about...well, everything, but particularly Bumi. If anyone could ensure Katara that the production was in good hands, it was Piandao.

“Um...Piandao?” Katara approached him quietly. He was still talking in hushed tones with June and seemed aggravated.

“Oh! Hello, Katara. What can I help you with?” Piandao asked sheepishly.

“Um...well, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll be blunt. What’s up with Bumi?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s the director, but you ran all of today’s rehearsal. Why?”

“Hey! I ran it, too!” June said indignantly.

“Well, yes, but you know what I mean. I just figured that Bumi was a creative guy. Why didn’t he take part in rehearsal, at all?”

Piandao sighed. “Bumi is an...odd person. He has a unique way of directing. He picked out the show, and he’ll help out eventually. I think. I hope.” 

“Why can’t you just be the director?”

Piandao shook his head. “If I could, I would. I don’t have Bumi’s creativity. The man is a genius, he’s just...well, unique. He’s a very free spirited person. It’s very difficult to ground him or get him to do actual work. It’s just easier for everyone if me and June take charge.”

“And about the show…” Katara started.

“It wasn’t our choice,” June interjected. “We rotate. Last year, I picked Legally Blonde. The year before that, Piandao picked the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Before that, Bumi picked Godspell, and so on and so forth. We were shocked, rightly. This is the first time we’ve ever done a show targeted towards children. I figured it must’ve been one hell of a show if we were gonna do it. Today’s read, well…” 

June cleared her throat. “My job is to teach the songs. That’s it. I had never read through the script as a whole. It was...not what I imagined.”

“You and me both,” Katara said sadly. “I knew Seussical wasn’t a good musical, but I never imagined it being this awful.”

Piandao shook his head. “It’s not your job to worry about this. Besides, Bumi always eventually pulls it together. I just hope that he can fix this monstrosity of a show in time.”

Sokka approached Katara, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Can we go now? I wanna go home.”

Katara nodded. “Let’s go.”

After waiting a little while for Zuko to finish yelling at talking to the directors, Katara finally left the auditorium, accompanied by Sokka, Azula, and Zuko. 

Not that Sokka wanted to speak to Zuko at all, or anything, but it was sort of hard to keep his eyes off him. Not in a loving or caring way, of course, just out of curiosity. Especially after what Iroh had confessed to Sokka, it seemed weirder to not stare at him. 

Zuko took out his air pods and glared at Sokka. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Sokka blinked a few times. “No. Sorry.”

“Then stop fucking looking at me. I know I’m beautiful.”

Zuko said this so seriously that Sokka couldn’t help but laugh. Clearly, Zuko hadn’t meant it as a joke, but it was still so unintentionally funny.

“Why are you laughing?” Zuko challenged.

“It was funny.”

Zuko didn’t put his air pods back in, though. Instead, he paused his music and turned to Sokka.

“I guess I should apologize for being a dick to you at my house.”

“Don’t sweat it. I probably deserved it. It’s good to get insulted sometimes. Keeps your ego in check. Or, well, my ego, I guess.”

“I’m serious. I didn’t think you were gonna get a lead. I didn’t think anyone who fooled around so much was capable of that, if I’m honest.”

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment. And what can I say? I guess I’m just naturally talented. But why does it matter if I have a lead or not?”

Zuko shrugged. “It’s just the order of things in drama. The stage manager and the titular lead of the show have the same amount of power when it comes to ordering people around. That’s you. I can’t justifiably make fun of you anymore without disrupting the hierarchy of drama.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really. In fact, it might be best if we-” Zuko cringed. “-worked together.”

“What for? We have directors and stuff. My job is just to play the role.”

“It’s more than that. We need to encourage cast bonding and keep everyone safe and healthy. We need to make sure no fights between cast members happen, and that everyone is learning what they need to learn. We can start with the cast bonding now. I…” Zuko sighed, then hesitated. “...suppose I think you’re talented sometimes?”

Sokka cringed. “No. No. Nope. Take it back. I liked it better when you bullied me.”

For a second, Sokka thought he almost saw Zuko smile, but when he turned back, Zuko’s face was as stoic as ever. 

“Maybe we should team up. Not because I like you or anything. But, you know. Ordering freshmen around is fun,” Sokka said quietly after a long pause.

Zuko nodded. “I think that’s alright. Just be warned, I refuse to deal with your theater kid shenanigans. Sing anything from Hamilton to me and I will curb stomp you.”

Sokka put his hands up. “Hey, man, don’t diss Hamilton. ‘What’d I Miss’ got me the role of the Cat. But I’m not really into that stuff anyway, so I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”

“Oh. Okay then. Good.”

“‘Imma get a scholarship to King’s College, I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish-’” 

“Stop it! I WILL kick your ass!” Zuko did, in fact, throw a punch at Sokka’s left ear, but he dodged it easily, and Zuko lost his balance and almost fell into the street. Sokka grabbed Zuko’s wrist to stop him from falling, cackling with laughter. 

“Yeah, alright, Mr. Tough Guy. Kick my ass indeed. Dude, if you somehow manage to even land a punch on me, I’ll just take it. If you ever catch me slipping, I probably deserved it.”

“Oh, really?” Before Zuko had even finished talking, he swung his right hand at Sokka, hitting him in the left shoulder. Sokka staggered back, letting go of Zuko’s wrist.

“Ow!” Sokka complained loudly, despite not being hit very hard.

“‘Just taking it’ my ass,” Zuko grumbled.

“Can you two shut up back there? You’re interrupting our vibe sesh,” Azula called. 

“Shut up!” Zuko called back.

Sokka and Zuko locked eyes before bursting into laughter. Zuko was certainly a dick, but hey, so was Sokka. An alliance between them might be good for them. By the time Sokka got home, he had almost forgotten about what Iroh said to him about Zuko. 

Almost.

Chapter Text

Rehearsals for the next week were tedious, wearisome work. Seussical was a mostly musical show, so they started learning the music before choreography. June was a good teacher, but Bumi’s counterproductive interjections were pretty distracting. Not only that, but Piandao was out of his depth and couldn’t really help June at all, except by keeping Bumi out of the way.

“Sokka, I need you to sound more animated. You start off great, but by the time we get to the key change, it sounds like you’ve run out of juice. This is only the first number. You have to keep this up. Ty Lee, good job. Now, my leads…” June looked around the room, making eye contact with all the leads.

“This section of the song, The one where Horton starts by saying ‘think of an elephant, up in a tree…’” June looked around the room. “I need you all to stay animated, and to be clear and concise with your diction. The only people I could understand during that part were Azula and Katara.”

“Anyone who has lines by themselves in this song, can you all work on them, please? Ensemble, you have a 15 minute break while they work through this. Zuko, can you keep an eye on them?” June asked. Zuko nodded. Both the ensemble and June got up to leave.

Sokka stood up, walking over to Katara. They were all sitting in the choir room, divided by sections, and Katara sang soprano 2, while Sokka sang baritone, so they weren’t really allowed to collaborate just yet. “Katara! Can you help me? I need someone to tell me if my interpretation of these lines is good.”

“Not now, Sokka, sorry. I need to become more comfortable in my upper range without going into falsetto. I need to go find June. Maybe ask Azula?” Katara said, picking up her script and rushing out of the room.

“Wait, come back,” Zuko said halfheartedly, not looking up from his book.

Sokka turned to Azula, who shook her head.

“Not a chance, bitchboy. Go find someone else.”

Sokka looked around the room, looking for someone else to talk to. Suki and Haru were quietly writing notes in their script together, and Sokka had no intention of approaching Jin and Teo, and Jet kind of scared him. The only other person left was Ty Lee.

Well, they were in Seussical together, weren’t they? Ty Lee played Jojo, so there was no point in avoiding her. He might as well start getting to know her now.

Sokka picked up his script, sitting next to her in the soprano 1 section. “Hey. Do you wanna run our lines in this song together? My sister ran off, and no one else wants to help.”

Ty Lee looked up from her script. Her eyes were a light gray, with long eyelashes and thin eyeliner. “Sure! I’m Ty Lee, but I guess you already knew that. You’re Sokka?”

“Yeah. Should we start from the beginning.”

“Please.”

They ran their lines together for all 15 minutes. Sokka was surprised at how dedicated Ty Lee was. He figured that she had just joined the musical to hang out with Mai, but she seemed genuinely passionate about the role, and embodied Jojo in simply her everyday personality. Despite being bright and bubbly, she was focused, calculative, and intelligent. 

“We changed the lyric here, remember? ‘And a GIRL from that world, who has thinks, just like you.’ Write that in,” Ty Lee instructed.

Sokka scratched out the original words with his pen, writing the new ones in. “Thanks. It’d be a little awkward if I called you a boy right on stage.”

Ty Lee nodded. “So, you and Zuko, huh? I’m glad to see he’s finally found someone. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s been...well, a difficult guy. I never thought anyone would be able to put up with him enough to get to know him.”

Sokka blinked. “Sorry, what?” 

“You and Zuko. You’re together, right?”

“What?! Of course not! I’m straight! I’ve dated girls!” 

Ty Lee’s face went red. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I just...you were so nice to me, and you’re in theater, and then Zuko...I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to assume!”

Sokka didn’t even know how to respond. He had been surrounded by women his entire life. Most of his friends were just Katara’s friends that he had decided to become friends with too, and either way, Katara was a woman, so how could he not be nice to women? Katara would’ve beat his ass if he wasn’t, anyway. He had never really had any cisgender heterosexual male friends, but that was because most cis straight guys were douchebags. Even though Sokka was a cis straight guy. 

Sokka hadn’t even considered that people might start to see him as less heterosexual because he was doing the musical. He was so focused on getting in and getting a role and making Katara proud that he never had time to think about how people’s perception of him might change. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being perceived as gay, actually. He didn’t have anything against gay people, but that couldn’t be him. At least he was pretty sure of that. Right?

Sokka didn’t know what to say because he had never really thought about it. His sexuality, to him, had been sort of a given term. He had never considered he might be anything but straight because he had never considered anything about his sexuality.

He was attracted to girls, he knew that. Or was he? Did he only like Suki and Yue because he felt like he had to? 

He had never been attracted to a guy. Or at least he thought he hadn’t been. Having dreams about kissing Zack Efron was something everyone did. Besides, doing gay stuff and being gay or bi wasn’t the same thing. So it was fine. Right?

Right?

“Hey, Sokka, are you okay? I’m really sorry. Can we go back to rehearsing lines?”

Sokka blinked. “Yeah. Sorry. I just spaced out for a second.”

They ran their lines a few more times before June finally stormed back into the room, Katara at her side doing some vocal exercises. The ensemble soon followed. Sokka’s eyes followed the line of ensemble members before settling on Zuko.

Oh, God. Zuko.

Sokka remembered how he had caught Zuko’s wrist the other day to stop him from falling into the street. He remembered how hot his skin had been on his, the shock he had felt running through his body when he had touched him. He thought about how the first time he met Zuko, how his princely looks had sent him into a brief shock. That wasn’t gay. That was just a dude admiring another dude. Guys are allowed to think that other guys’ lips look kissable even if they’re straight. That’s totally normal. 

“Everyone, stand up! We’re starting from the top, and act like you’re having fun. Smile, or else!” June’s voice snapped Sokka out of his trance. He couldn’t contemplate his sexuality. Not here, not now, maybe not ever. Right now, the only thing he had to do was sing.

After rehearsal, Katara didn’t go to Azula’s house, like she usually did. Instead, she went home with Sokka. He was weirdly quiet today, but Katara paid little attention to it, as she was mostly focused on reading through her lines, hoping to memorize them now so when they went off-book, she was able to hold her weight.

“Hi, dad. Bato,” Katara called as she walked into her house. Sokka instantly made a beeline for his room. Her dad and Bato were sitting on a couch, looking at a home improvement magazine, trying to decide on a paint color they liked. Still, they both greeted Katara warmly and kindly.

“Hi, sweetie. How was your day?” Her dad asked.

Katara dumped her backpack on the couch, still holding her script, phone, and wallet. “Good. I’m gonna go practice outside, okay? I’ll be back soon!”

“Wait, can you take Sokka with you?” Bato called.

“Bye, Bato! See you!” Katara pretended to not hear what Bato said, simply bolting out the door before he could get up and make her take Sokka with her.

However, Katara had no intention of practicing now. Instead, she walked to Suki’s house, just a few houses down. Avoiding her had been difficult in the past few days, since she was not only at rehearsal with her every day, but she was also her neighbor. However, in the past few days, Suki had mostly respected Katara’s choice to stay away from her, like Katara had asked. Now, Katara was ready to change that.

Katara knocked on the door of Suki’s house. Suki had been orphaned at a young age, and currently lived in a group home with a few other girls, so it came to no surprise to Katara when another teenage girl opened the door instead of Suki or her parents.

“Hi, Katara!” A girl with long black hair and green eyes opened the door. “Are you here for Suki?”

“Hi, Chaejin. Yes, is she here right now?” 

“I don’t know, did you bring Sokka?”

Katara could hear a few other girls giggling behind Chaejin. She caught whispers of their conversation.

“Akari, you’re in my personal space bubble!”

“Sokka can get into my personal space bubble, if you know what I’m saying-”

“Can you shut up? She’ll hear us!”

“You’re just mad because you’re a lesbian, Mingxia!”

Katara was starting to wish that she had brought Sokka along with her. She almost turned around to leave, until Suki pushed through the posse of laughing teenage girls and finally stood in front of Katara. “Hi, Katara. Chaejin, can you give us some privacy?”

Chaejin reluctantly nodded, closing the door and leaving Katara and Suki standing outside on their porch.

“Look, I think...I think I’m ready to talk again,” Katara said.

Suki’s face instantly lit up. She threw her arms around her, instantly sinking into a hug. “It sucked being without you. I’m glad you can forgive me.” 

“Forgive you?” Katara pulled away. “Suki, there’s nothing to forgive. You gave it your best shot, and so did I. How could I be upset about that? Besides, June was right. Sour Kangaroo’s songs are more fun. They push me more, both as an actress and as a vocalist. I just...I just want my friend back, okay?”

“You got it. And, uh, sorry about Chaejin and the girls. Most of them don’t like boys, so it’s a real special occasion for the ones that do when Sokka comes around.”

“No worries. When your brother is hot and your friends are attracted to men, you kinda get used to it. So, can we be friends again?”

Suki nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Okay, good, because Sokka’s been acting weird today and I need someone to practice with. You sing soprano 1, right?”

The two sat on Suki’s lawn, running through their lines and songs until the sky darkened and it finally got too cold to stay out. By that time, their throats were raw and their bodies shook with the cold, but for the first time in days, they were just too happy to care about it. Katara went home feeling better for the first time since the cast list had come out. Getrude still wasn’t hers, but for a moment, she thought that she might be starting to be okay with that.

Chapter Text

“Katara?”

It was late, at this point, nearing midnight. Katara was busy memorizing the choreography they had learned for “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think” earlier that day. Katara had always been a night owl, and worked best at night, so she never minded staying up late like that. Sokka was the opposite. Sokka was a heavy sleeper, and was usually in bed by 9. Odd, wasn’t it? People tended to assume that Sokka was a night person and Katara was a morning person, but it was the other way around. That was only one of the reasons that Katara was so surprised to see Sokka this late at night.

Sokka rubbed his eyes. He was holding a stuffed cow and wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt that were way too big for him, and his hair was down. “Can I talk to you?”

Katara had noticed that Sokka had been acting weird lately. She couldn’t exactly place when it had started, but he had been oddly quiet these past few days. He hadn’t even really been talking to Toph and Aang, who were always sure to get a few laughs out of him. However, she had decided not to ask, being preoccupied with Seussical, but also wanting to give him some space. 

Katara put down her script. “Sure. What’s going on?”

Sokka sat down on Katara’s bed, next to her. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“You’re gay, right?”

Katara blinked. “Wow. Okay. Straight to the point, then.”

“But are you, though?”

Katara sighed. “I don’t like labeling my sexuality. I think I like girls more than boys. Sometimes I think I might not like boys at all. I call myself queer or sapphic most of the time. I don’t like to box myself in with one specific label, you know?”

Sokka nodded. “How did you know?”

“I...I’m not really sure, to be honest,” Katara admitted. “No one ever comes out and tells you that you’re gay. When I was young, I didn’t even register my attraction to girls as attraction. I thought I was jealous of them, or I wanted to be their friend really bad. When Dad and Bato got married...I just sort of realized that being gay was allowed. After that, I sort of realized that holy shit, I might be gay, too. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve...been thinking,” Sokka admitted. “Ty Lee asked me if me and Zuko were a couple the other day. I felt so...defensive. For no reason at all. I got to thinking and...I don’t know. I don’t want to say if I’m gay or bi just yet. I want to think it over more. But I just wanted someone else’s insight.”

“So you have a crush on Zuko? Ew.”

“What? No, absolutely not. This is just about my sexuality. I don’t even know if I like guys. I’m just considering the possibility.”

“Sokka. You know I’m always here for you. But if you want more relevant advice, I think you should ask Dad or Bato. It’s just...gay men and gay women have different experiences, you know? Take your time, and don’t feel the need to rush any labels or anything. I’ll be here for you.”

Sokka nodded. “Thanks. I think I’m just gonna…” He started to lie down on Katara’s bed, but she was quick to shove him off.

“I can handle sexuality struggles, but I draw the line at you sleeping in my bed. Get out of my room, dumbass.”

Sokka groaned, but picked himself and his stuffed cow off the floor. “Can you do me a favor and not tell anyone about this? Not even Aang and Toph. Or Dad. Or Azula. I just want to keep this conversation in this room until I’m sure that I’m…”

Sokka’s voice trailed off. Katara nodded. 

“Not a word leaves this room. I promise.”

“Thanks. Night, Katara.”

“Goodnight, Sokka.”

Katara kept her promise to Sokka. She went to school and rehearsal the next day as if nothing had happened. Even when Azula asked about it, she said nothing.

“Hey.” Azula poked Katara’s ribcage. They were standing next to each other for some of the choreography, so while Piandao worked with the ensemble and the dance captains, they were able to chat quietly, despite June and Zuko shooting them dirty looks from in the wings. “Is Sokka...you know?” She made a limp wrist gesture. Katara tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“Does he cuff his jeans? Does he listen to Sweater Weather?”

“What, in the everloving fuck, are you saying?”

“Is he bi, Katara?”

Katara froze for a second. “I don’t know.”

In her defense, this was technically true. Sokka didn’t even seem to know if he was bisexual, so how was Katara supposed to know? Azula seemed to sense Katara’s uneasiness, as she scrunched her nose and leaned into her further.

“Are you sure?”

“Why do you even want to know? It’s none of your business who Sokka wants to date.”

“Am I not allowed to be curious? Jeez. I didn’t realize it’d be such a touchy subject.”

“It’s not a touchy subject! I just don’t know, that’s all. I’ve never asked him. I don’t know what you do with your brother, but we don’t exactly have in-depth conversations with each other about our sexuality.” That was a lie. Azula didn’t need to know that, though.

Azula’s eyes narrowed. She still seemed unsure of Katara, but eventually left the subject alone. Clearly, the subject was not important enough for Azula to keep pressing. Eventually, Piandao called for their attention and they continued rehearsing. Every once in a while, Azula would poke Katara and they’d laugh about something mundane and stupid. 

After the fifth poke, it finally hit Katara.

“Hey,” Azula whispered. “Why does Piandao normally dress like the republican kid in your class who wears a suit every day, but his dance clothes look like he got them from a gas station?”

Katara burst out laughing, mid-song. Thankfully, no one noticed, since it wasn’t her line yet. However, as Azula kept poking her more, she realized how far Azula had come.

Sure, the comment was still a jab at Piandao, but it wasn’t insulting him as a person. Katara remembered how at the very beginning of their friendship, the only word she ever used to describe people was “insufferable.” Granted, Azula still wasn’t nice to people, but she wasn’t the cold girl Katara had started out Seussical with anymore. Katara felt something welling up inside of her, some happiness and pride for Azula that she had never felt for anyone before. Not even Sokka. This was different. For the first time, Katara was impressed and proud of Azula and how far she had come. 

Katara had always been the mom friend, even to Sokka and his friends (although, granted, he didn’t have many) but her motherly instincts had almost always never worked or never been appreciated. Katara worked behind the scenes, supporting her friends in ways that they didn’t even realize. Most of the time, the sheer knowledge that her loved ones were doing okay was enough satisfaction. “Fixing” Azula had never been Katara’s goal in the first place, either, as Katara liked Azula just fine, even before she started to change. However, seeing Azula just completely transform with just a little bit of genuine love and affection made Katara happier than words could describe.

Katara didn’t particularly know what made Azula so cold and harsh originally. She didn’t know what Ty Lee and Mai were like behind closed doors. However, she did know that Azula became a real, genuine friend to her. And Katara knew that she loved whatever version of Azula she got, whether it be the girl she had once been or the girl she was now.

The realization dawned on Katara as she watched Azula laugh at Sokka, who had tripped over Suki’s feet and fallen over.

Holy shit. Katara had a crush on Azula.

Surely, this information probably deserved to be processed and dealt with accordingly, but right now, Katara couldn’t be bothered to think about it. Right now, all she was concerned with was the way that Azula’s black hair shone under the stage lights, the way her slender body twisted and curved gracefully as she danced. Even the way her malicious streak came out when she laughed. 

“You’re so pretty,” Katara mumbled. She hadn’t even noticed she was saying it, it just sort of slipped out. She only noticed when Azula’s face and ears went bright red.

“Um...thanks,” Azula whispered back before going back to singing. “Think of a bird, who flies off on a spree!”

Katara stepped forward to sing her line. “Think of a kangaroo, sour as can be!”

Despite the obvious reasons to be embarrassed, or shy, Katara didn’t feel any of that. She liked Azula. She could admit that now. Of course, she wouldn’t dare say anything to Azula. Azula probably didn’t even like her back. But still, why hide it? Anyone sane would fall for Azula. Katara was now, no exception.

Later, Katara would think back, and think that maybe, she wanted to confess to her. She quickly brushed those thoughts away. That would be insane. Azula surely wouldn’t like her back. Besides, Katara didn’t want to mess up what they already had. Katara was allowed to like her, but confessing to her was simply not an option. 

As Katara fell asleep that night, her thoughts drifted to Azula. She fell asleep thinking of her.

Chapter Text

The next day, they began rehearsing the second number in the show―Horton Hears A Who. While it was a nice number, it was a slow song, and pretty much no one except for Horton had lines in it. All the directors spent most of their time ordering Haru around while everyone else was able to mostly lounge around and do some light character studies. There was little choreography for them to memorize, since Piandao wanted all attention to be on Horton. While Piandao and June clumsily guided Haru across the stage, Katara skipped across the stage to sit next to Azula.

“Hey. Wanna come sit with me and Azula?” Katara asked Sokka, who was lying eagle-spread across the center of the stage.

“Nah. I’m just gonna stay here with Ty Lee and Suki. You go have fun with Azula.” Sokka absentmindedly waved Katara away, then resumed conversing with Ty Lee and Suki. 

“Anyway, so I’m sitting there, the bathroom is covered in water, my boomerang is in the tree, the dog has the hair brush, and I still have half a pie left…”

Katara decided not to stick around to hear the rest of Sokka’s conversation. In the past few days, Sokka had been forced to become friends with Ty Lee. In the choreography for “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think,” Sokka had to pick up Ty Lee near the end of the number. Ty Lee was a gymnast and a dancer, but Sokka definitely needed some extra help with figuring out how to get Ty Lee on his shoulders. A few hours of rehearsals later, and suddenly, Ty Lee and Sokka were talking like old friends.

Katara had spent a good majority of her life trying to get her brother away from her. Katara had always been fiercely independent, especially after their mother died. She wanted to be totally separate from Sokka. She had wanted her own friends, her own interests, her own fashion, her own life for as long as she could remember.

So why was she so upset that Sokka was talking to Ty Lee now?

It was bound to happen. Once you play friends on stage for enough time, it starts happening offstage. Katara knew that, and she was okay with that. Even she had exchanged numbers with Jet, who she had previously disliked, simply because they were on stage together. She had nothing against Ty Lee, or at least she didn’t think she did. Sure, she knew something happened between Ty Lee and Azula, but they were over. Katara had no reason to be jealous of Ty Lee. But she found herself upset.

Could it be that Katara actually liked hanging out with Sokka?

Katara scoffed to herself, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She supposed that she had simply become accustomed to hanging out with him. He always seemed to make things less awkward. She supposed that she had just been missing that lately.

Katara brushed it off, walking over to Azula, who was sitting upstage right. Next to her, sat Mai and Toph.

“Hey. What are you guys doing here? Don’t you have work to do?” Katara asked.

Mai shook her head. “They’re still making the prop list, so I can’t make any props if I don’t know what I’m supposed to be making. And the speakers are being fixed, so Toph can’t work on sound right now.”

“Since when are you two friends?” Katara’s eyes narrowed. She had only spoken to Mai two or three times, and had been wary of her all three times. Azula rarely spoke about Mai, so Katara could only assume the worst.

“We met at GSA a few weeks ago. Toph called me a dyke and told me to move the fuck out of her way. We became friends after that,” Mai said. For a split second, Katara almost saw the corner of her lips curve up into a faint smile. Toph punched Mai in the arm.

“Yeah, Mai’s cool. Lesbian solidarity and shit, you know?”

“Wow. I had no idea. I thought you were dating Zuko,” Katara said. 

“We did for a little while. Until I came out. We’re friends, though. It’s fun ordering freshmen around. No offense, Toph.”

“None taken. I can recognize how kids these days have no respect for anyone.” 

“How long do you think it’ll take for this shitshow of a rehearsal to end?” Azula asked, examining her red acrylic nails.

Katara groaned. “No idea. I know Haru is supposed to be one of the biggest stars of the show, but he’s so bad at his job. If there were any other options, he wouldn’t’ve been cast. He’s just so secluded with his creative choices, you know? Like he doesn’t even care about his character. Just look at him.”

The three of them (minus Toph) turned to look at Haru, who was practicing his elephant mannerisms while Piandao gently coached him through his blocking. They could hear him faintly singing over the murmur of the ensemble and other leads.

Toph frowned. “I’d love to look at him, but I can’t!”

“Oh. Sorry, Toph. He’s just half assing his blocking. I think he’s embarrassed and doesn’t really wanna commit to it. News flash, dipshit, this entire production is embarrassing. You’re not special,” Katara said.

Azula scoffed. “Speak for yourself. My part is fun.”

“Azula, it’s implied that Mayzie got knocked up and then abandoned her kid. Everyone’s part is questionable. You’re no exception.”

“Hey.” 

Katara looked up to see who had spoken. She was shocked to find Zuko standing over the four of them. 

Katara didn’t know much about Zuko, and she honestly wasn’t really interested. It was always searingly awkward being around him, since the only thing they had in common was Azula, and from what she heard from Azula, she and Zuko had an odd relationship. Even Sokka, who had spoken to Zuko a few more times than Katara, seemed relatively uneasy around Zuko.

Honestly, there was a part of Katara that felt a little intimidated by Zuko. He was one of the two seniors in the entire production, and he was the only senior in the crew. He rarely spoke, unless it was to yell at someone. And of course, there was his scar…

Katara had wanted to ask Azula about his scar a few times, but thought it might be disrespectful. Once, when they were having a sleepover, late at night, Azula had confessed that she had been there when Zuko had been given his scar, and that she felt guilty for letting it happen, but she had refused to tell her how he got his scar. Azula seemed to think that his scar was a sign of weakness, but Katara had a hard time seeing how it could be anything other than a mark of strength. It meant that he had survived something, especially with a scar that big. It tended to scare people a little bit, not just Katara. Even Mai and Ty Lee seemed uneasy around him.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be yelling at someone, Prince Idiot?” Mai grumbled. Something was clearly up with them.

Zuko shot her a dirty look. “For your information, I don’t just yell at people. Set crew was doing their job. So I left them alone.”

Mai sighed, then scooted closer to Toph to make some room for Zuko on the floor. Toph frowned.

“You’re being weird. Why?”

“We’re not being weird. I’m just concerned about set crew, that’s all. Since someone can’t seem to keep them under control,” Mai said through gritted teeth.

Azula leaned over to Katara. “Zuko’s been weirdly distracted lately and some of the set crew accidentally ran over some of the costumes from last year. Mai’s upset about it,” she whispered into Katara’s ear, then leaned over to whisper it to Toph, too.

“If you have something to say, Mai, say it to my face,” Zuko shot back.

“Fine. I will. I don’t know why you’re so distracted. You can’t just slack off and let everyone run around. You know damn well that stage crew is just as fucked up as the cast, and they can’t be trusted to run wild. If you can’t handle the responsibility of being stage manager, I’ll gladly take it from you.”

“I’m perfectly fine and competent, thank you very much. I’m not distracted, I was doing something else!” Zuko responded hotly.

“Oh, you mean staring at Sokka? Simp on your own time, idiot! Keep the crew under control! Because you know who gets to clean up your mess? Me! The two main people in costumes are Aang and Longshot, so I have to manage costumes AND props, and yet, you can’t even seem to keep set crew under control.”

Zuko’s ears went bright red. “I don’t simp! And even if I did, it’s none of your business! For your information, I do help out with costumes! I wasn’t staring at Sokka, I was measuring him for his costume. You know, like how you were supposed to tell Aang to do?”

Mai rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You keep telling yourself that. If you’re gonna lie to my face like that, can you at least get the correct measurements for Sokka? You wrote that his head is 3 centimeters in diameter.”

Katara blinked. “I think I’m gonna leave this conversation now. I’m not really sure if I want to hear about you, um...simping...over my brother. That’s kinda nasty. Azula?”

Azula got up. “Bye, losers. Have fun tearing each other apart.”

Katara could hear them still arguing as they walked away together. Checking to make sure that no one was watching, Katara slipped out the backstage door into the hallway and into the girls bathroom. Azula followed soon after. 

“So...that was certainly an odd conversation. I’m not entirely sure I wanted to hear about that,” Katara said, sighing and leaning against one of the sinks.

Azula nodded, pulling out her cell phone. “I don’t know why it’s so weird for me to picture Zuko in a relationship, much less...simping...for someone else.” She shuddered. “I’m the gay one in the family. Zuko’s not allowed to be gay, I’m gay!” 

Katara burst out laughing. “I feel the same way. I’m already the gay cousin, no one else in my family is allowed to be gay.”

“Don’t you have two dads?”

“Yeah…”

The two went on laughing and joking and bantering for a while, until their stomachs hurt and they couldn’t breathe, to the point where Azula’s face was bright red and Katara was doubling over with laughter. Katara only stopped when she caught a glimpse of Azula’s face. Azula tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, Azula?”

“I...it’s stupid, it’s nothing.”

“Well, now you have to tell me.”

“I…” Azula shook her head. “Spirits, you make me happy, Katara.” 

Suddenly, Katara couldn’t breathe for an entirely different reason.

Azula came closer, shyly placing her hand on Katara’s face. And suddenly, Katara lost control, and she was kissing Azula. Her lips were soft, and she tasted of ash and warmth, and Katara found her mind blank for the first time. There was nothing else that mattered in this moment. Not rehearsal, not anything else, just her and Azula, together. 

Azula pulled away to breathe for a moment, and there was a simple unspoken love between them. Nothing needed to be said. They already knew. Katara put her hand on Azula’s cheek and kissed her again. The world could’ve ended around them and Katara wouldn’t’ve cared.

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open and Katara heard Toph’s voice ringing out. Her heart nearly stopped.

“Hey, Katara, they’re running the show from the top. You should probably get onto the stage unless you want Piandao all up on your case. Is Azula there too?”

Katara’s eyes flickered from Toph to Azula, remembering that Toph couldn’t see them. She exhaled deeply in relief, breaking away from Azula.

“Yeah, Azula’s here. We’ll be out in a second.”

“Well, hurry it up! We don’t have all day!”

Katara’s eyes lingered on Azula’s skin for a few more seconds, their foreheads pressed against each other and their hands intertwined. “We should go.”

“Is my lipgloss messed up?”

“A little. I’ll fix it.” Katara dabbed at the corners of Azula’s mouth with a paper towel. “Let’s go.”

When they made their way back to the stage, Mai and Zuko still seemed to be fighting as they watched over the performance from the wings of the stage. Still, Katara couldn’t help but notice that Mai had been right―Zuko’s eyes only seemed to be following Sokka.

Chapter Text

Katara was ecstatic. For several reasons.

The first was obvious―she had kissed Azula. Azula! And more importantly, Azula hadn’t recoiled in disgust. Not that Katara had very much experience with kissing or girls in general, but she had half expected for Azula to run out of the room when they had kissed. But she didn’t. She just kissed back.

Granted, she hadn’t spoken very much to Azula about it yet. She wasn’t really sure what they were or what was appropriate in this situation. Relationships had always been hard for Katara. Her mom and dad had a complicated relationship, especially near the end of her mother’s life, and while dad and Bato loved each other a lot, their relationship wasn’t very typical. Not only that, but Katara had never actually dated anyone. She dated Jet for about two days in the fourth grade, and then kissed Yue once in seventh (but quickly backed off after finding out that Sokka had a crush on Yue too), so Katara had never really had a real relationship. She had no idea what normal people did in situations like these, and she didn’t want to overstep.

But still. Katara had kissed Azula. And Azula had kissed back. And that was enough for Katara, for now.

The second reason why Katara was happy is that they were starting work on “Biggest Blame Fool” in Seussical rehearsal today, Sour Kangaroo’s main theme. Katara had worked on it by herself before, but now, they’d be working on the background vocals and choreography, and for the first time that year, Katara would be the star. It was exactly what she signed up for. Plus, bullying Haru on stage wasn’t a bad deal either. Like every teenage girl, Katara had a lot of pent up anger. What better way to get it out than to fake bully someone on stage?

The third and final reason why Katara was excited was that Toph decided to finally let her meet her girlfriend. Toph was normally incredibly secret about her private life, particularly her romantic endeavors. Katara had only found out Toph was a lesbian through an awful gay joke she made about herself a few months ago. Apparently, Toph had known for years and hadn’t thought it important for anyone to know. Likewise, Katara had found out the night before that Toph had been dating someone for almost three months. After a while of arguing and a strongly worded FaceTime, Toph finally agreed to let Katara meet her girlfriend as long as she agreed to not be weird about it.

“‘Don’t be weird about it,’” Katara muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway of the school. “I’m never weird about things! Why would I be weird about anything?”

“Oh, you’re hella weird about everything. When I told you I liked Suki you wouldn’t stop asking her questions about me, and you just ended up confusing her and almost ruining my chances,” Sokka called.

“Please! As if you had any chance with her in the first place. She’s way out of your league, dumbass.”

“May I remind you that we did actually date?”

“Whatever. I’m just saying, I’m a little offended that Toph doesn’t trust me to meet her girlfriend. I can handle it! Oh, look, there she is! Toph!” Katara called to Toph, who was standing with her mystery girlfriend a little further down the hallway, in the science hallway of the school. She was also accompanied by Aang, who seemed to be making conversation with Toph’s girlfriend.

“Katara. Sokka. Do you remember your promise, Katara?” Toph glared.

“Yes, I promise! I won’t be weird! I’m never weird! I’m so normal, all the time. In fact, I’m so normal, I-”

“You’re being weird,” Sokka interrupted.

“Right. Sorry. So, this is your girlfriend?”

“I’m Yaling. Nice to meet you.”

Yaling was a little taller than Toph, and Asian, with auburn hair pulled back in a low loose ponytail. She was muscular, and maybe a little bit older, but it was hard to tell. A few strands of her hair were pulled out to frame her face, and she had long eyelashes and pink lips. Her voice was clear and deep, and she was wearing a green wrestling outfit.

“Nice to meet you too! I’m Katara. I’m Toph’s best friend.”

“You’re not my best friend. Sokka’s my best friend.”

“I’m your nicest friend.”

“No, Aang’s my nicest friend.”

“I’m your hottest friend.”

“I can’t see. Why would I care if you’re hot?”

“I’m your friend.”

“Eh, jury’s still out.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding!” Toph turned to Yaling, voice hushed. “Sort of.”

“How did you guys meet? You seem so…” Katara was about to say they were “couple-y” but she had to be honest, Toph had never been that kind of person. Katara wasn’t even sure what Toph’s version of dating looked like. And even though Yaling was obviously younger than Katara, she was a little frightened by her. She seemed so serious and composed.

“We’re on the wrestling team together. Yaling beat the crap out of me, and I almost lost. Luckily, my brute strength carried me through. And these guns!” Toph pat her sickly biceps. Katara frowned.

“Since when are you on the wrestling team? Aren’t you blind?”

“Are you saying blind people can’t be wrestlers?”

“No, not at all, but-”

“Mind your business!” Toph snapped. 

“Jeez! Fine!” Katara crossed her arms. “I’m going to go find Azula. You guys have fun. Um, bye.”

“See ya, loser!” Toph called.

Katara wandered around the hallways by herself for a bit, unsure if Azula had already even arrived at school. They hadn’t really spoken since they had kissed, and Katara was anxious to figure out what they were. What if yesterday had been a mistake? Did Azula even like Katara?

“Katara.”

Katara looked up. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed Azula and Zuko standing right in front of her. Azula looked alert and awake, as always, wearing her usual red and black alternative getup. Katara couldn’t say the same for Zuko, who was wearing sweatpants and had a severe case of bedhead.

“Azula.”

“How was your night?” Azula asked curtly. Her eyes met Katara’s with a newfound intensity. Not an angry kind, but rather, one of passion, and maybe even a bit of lust. Katara was a little surprised. She had never seen Azula like that.

“It was fine. Yours?”

“Fine, too.”

The two girls stared at each other for a few moments until Zuko sneezed, interrupting their moment.

“Shut the fuck up!” Azula snapped.

“I just sneezed! Is it illegal to sneeze now?”

“I was doing something!”

“So was I!” 

Azula rolled her eyes. “Come on, Katara. Let’s take this somewhere more private. Somewhere without my STUPID BROTHER!” Azula made sure to say the last part loudly so the entire hallway heard.

Without saying a word to each other, Katara followed Azula into a small storage closet at the end of the hallway. Katara flicked the light switch on and closed the door. Katara looked around to make sure they were alone, but before she could even process what was going on, she found herself pushed up against the wall, Azula’s mouth on hers.

Katara’s eyes widened for a moment, but eventually decided to just kiss back. She found her hands inching up to Azula’s face, and she ran her hand across Azula’s cheekbones as they continued kissing.

Suddenly, the first bell rang, indicating that first period would start in five minutes. Azula broke apart from Katara, breathing heavily.

“I have to get to class,” Azula said breathlessly, reaching for the doorknob. Katara grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Wait! Can we...talk?” Katara asked. “I just...what is this?”

Azula shrugged. “What do you want it to be?”

“I want to be with you.”

Azula seemed taken aback by Katara’s forwardness. But Katara remained true to the promise she had made to herself. If Azula asked, she would be honest about her feelings. And she was. She could never lie to Azula.

“I…” Azula struggled to find the words. For a moment, Katara panicked. Did Azula not want her? 

“I like you, Katara. A lot. I want to be with you, too. But I...I can’t. My family...my father…”

Katara took Azula’s hand. “They don’t have to know. Just be with me. No one has to know but us.”

Azula turned back to Katara, grabbing her other hand. 

“Thank you. Just between us. For now. Until I figure out…”

“Of course.” Katara leaned in, giving Azula a kiss on her flushed cheek. “Have a good day. I’ll see you at rehearsal.”

Katara felt better the rest of the day. She hadn’t ever considered the fact that she might be nervous about performing her song for the first time in front of everyone, and was feeling great about her song until she walked into rehearsal.

Nothing happened, or anything. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least. When Katara walked in, Zuko was whispering something into Sokka’s ear, probably talking shit about the freshmen in stage crew. Ty Lee was sitting in Suki’s lap, watching her play Minecraft. Toph was arm wrestling Aang, and winning, by the looks of it. Haru was pacing and reading over his script, and Teo and Jin were reading over their lines together. Nothing unusual was happening. However, as Katara watched everyone simply go about with their lives, it hit her that they would all be watching her and judging her. Katara didn’t mind performing in front of non-performers―how would they know if she messed up, or didn’t do her best?―but performing in a setting where she would be surrounded by people just as capable as her? Suddenly, Katara felt a lot smaller than she had before.

“Hey! Are you ready for your song today?” Sokka asked, jogging up to Katara.

Katara brushed away her worries, putting on her brave face. “Hell yeah, I am!”

“Sick.”

“I’m gonna talk to Haru about our blocking. I’ll talk to you in a bit. Have fun. Bye!”

Sokka watched Katara walk over to a seemingly anxious Haru before returning to his conversation with Zuko.

“Sorry, what were you saying about Azula?” Sokka whispered.

“Oh. Yeah, Azula and your sister totally made out. They’re not that slick and I’m not as stupid as Azula thinks I am.”

“WHAT?!”

Before Zuko could say anything back, June and Piandao walked in.

“Alright, everyone, we’re starting rehearsal with dance practice today. Ensemble, Wickersham Brothers, Bird Girls, Getrude, Mayzie...did you all learn your parts like we asked you to?” June asked.

A scattered chorus of “yes” echoed back. Piandao clapped his hands together. 

“Great. Katara, Haru, you two are ready, too, right?”

“Yes,” Katara said. Her eyes were focused, but she was bouncing her leg anxiously.

“Yes,” Haru echoed. He looked nervous, too, but was doing a worse job of hiding it.

“Alright. Let’s sing it once through, shall we? Katara, Haru, Wickershams, Bird Girls, Azula, and Suki, feel free to improvise blocking for now. Everyone else, just stay put. Let’s get started.”

The ensemble shuffled into place, and Azula and Suki stood next to each other closer to the side of the room, leaving Katara and Haru in the center. The three bird girls―underclassmen named Smellerbee, Onji, and Song―stood just in front of the ensemble. The Wickersham Brothers―played by two juniors and a freshman named Shoji, Hide, and Pipsqueak―stood next to them. The accompanist played the piano intro to the song, and Sokka watched Katara look down, and look back up, now completely transformed and in character.

“Hmph! Humphed a voice!” 

Katara’s voice rang out clear, like a bell. Sokka had heard her sing many times, but never in this context. It was a little odd, but Katara was good, really good.

“‘Twas the Sour Kangaroo...and the young kangaroo in her pouch said ‘hmph!’ too!”

Katara was a lot shorter than Haru, but when she sang, and as she paced around him menacingly, she seemed like she was eight feet tall. Haru seemed genuinely terrified as Katara ran a fingernail along his jawline.

“Why, that speck is as small as a head on a pin. A person on that? Why, there never has been!” Katara broke into villanical laughter, so chilling that even Sokka felt a spark of fear. 

“You’re the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool, and I don’t care who I tell! Biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool-” Katara pitched her voice up and sang in a squeakier tone to imitate the baby kangaroo, who she was also supposed to be playing. “-and I think so as well! Maybe I’m nasty, maybe I’m cruel, but you’re the biggest blame fool in the Jungle of Nool!”

Katara pushed Haru’s chest gently, not enough to hurt him or anything, and Haru was certainly acting a bit, too, but Haru stumbled back a few paces before getting up to sing.

“It’s true, please believe me! I tell you sincerely! My ears are quite keen, and I heard him quite clearly. I know there’s a person on there, and what’s more―quite likely there’s two, even three, even four!”

Sokka had yet to see much of the Wickersham Brothers. They were only supposed to be featured ensemble members, but there was a reason they were cast. He had to admit, he hadn’t been expecting too much, until Pipsqueak jumped on Shoji’s shoulders, and Hide jumped in front of Haru to sing. Sokka was unsure how much of it was acting, as the ensemble burst into laughter and cheers. 

“Ha! Laughed a voice!” Hide mocked.

“Ha! Laughed some others!” Pipsqueak and Shoji said together.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Laughed the Wickersham Brothers!”

They continued their performance, and Sokka eventually jumped in to say his line, and eventually, Azula and Suki did, too. However, for the most part, everyone just watched Katara. Despite her clear nervousness, she seemed to take up the entire room when she sang, and it was addicting. Even Sokka couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched her. Katara was...weirdly talented.

The only people who didn’t seem fazed were Piandao and June. As they finished their runthrough of the vocals, they simply nodded.

“Good. We’ll fix it up later. Let’s start adding blocking, shall we?”

Sokka stood there in awe for a moment. Most of the ensemble, too. Even Azula seemed a little shaken. None of them had ever seen Katara perform like that. Sure, they had seen snippets of her vocal abilities and of course, her auditions, and her dancing in ensemble numbers, but they had never seen her be the star of a number. It was incredible.

For the first time, Sokka finally understood why they had cast her as Sour Kangaroo. Katara would bring life to any role she was cast as, but Sour Kangaroo had a combination of sassiness and motherly protectiveness that suited Katara in a way that no other role in the show would. Even the song sat comfortably in her vocal range, which would’ve been way too high for any other cast member. Even though Piandao and June had pretty good poker faces, Sokka could tell they knew that, too. Katara held an unmatched passion and raw talent that no one could deny. Perhaps Sour Kangaroo wasn’t her ideal role, nor the biggest one in the show, but when Katara stood on that stage, she made it hers.

Katara walked over to Sokka as the ensemble got up to move to the stage to start dance rehearsal. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “Was that good?”

Sokka nodded.

“That was incredible.”

Chapter Text

After blocking a mini transition scene after “Biggest Blame Fool,” the next musical number was “Here On Who,” which featured only Mr. and Mrs. Mayor and the ensemble. Even though the rest of the leads weren’t exempt from attending rehearsal, they were allowed to mostly relax. So, while the ensemble, Teo, and Jin worked on vocals and choreography, everyone else sat in the hallway, running lines and songs, with Mai, Zuko, Toph, and Aang supervising.

Granted, all of them were on their phones, so their supervision was mediocre at best.

“That sounds like shit,” Zuko said, looking over Sokka’s music over his shoulder. Sokka rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I know, dumbass, that’s why I’m practicing,” Sokka said, trying to hit the note once again and failing miserably. 

Mai reached over to poke Zuko. “Hey. Hey. Wanna make a TikTok?”

“No, I’m busy bullying Sokka.”

“I’ll make the TikTok with you, Mai!” Ty Lee said cheerfully, dropping her script on the floor near Suko and skipping over to Mai. They both left to go film, leaving Sokka, Suki, Katara, Azula, Haru, Jet, Zuko, Toph, and Aang sitting on the floor in the hallway together. The Bird Girls and Wickersham Brothers were quietly practicing their choreography to “Horton Hears A Who” the next hallway over.

Suki smiled as she looked over her script, quietly humming her music and mouthing her lines. Katara frowned, looking over at her. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing’s up. Why do you ask?” Suki replied, trying to hide her grinning.

“You’re weirdly happy. This almost never happens. Did you get laid or something?”

“No. Am I not allowed to just be happy?” Suki asked.

Katara gasped loudly. “You went on a date with someone!”

Suki scoffed. “That’s absurd! I’d never. I told you I was focusing on my grades and I wasn’t gonna date until college!”

“But you’re only like this after dates! I remember when you were dating Sokka, and-”

At this, Zuko perked up, but quickly went back to watching Sokka once Suki cut Katara off.

“Yeah, I know, but I’m just really-”

“Give it up, Suki, I can tell you’re lying!” Toph called.

Suki groaned. “How can you even tell?”

“Well, I can hear your voice waver when you-”

“You know what? I don’t want to know. Fine. Yes. I went on a date, and it went well. Is that what you want to hear?”

Katara broke into a big smile. “You went on a date! That’s amazing! With who?”

Suki blushed. “That’s private.”

“I’m your best friend! I think I deserve to know!” Katara pried. “Pleeeeeeaaaase?”

Suki hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, but do you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Pinkie promise. Cross my heart.”

Suki leaned in to whisper in Katara’s ear. “I went on a date with Ty Lee.”

Katara’s jaw dropped.

“You’re fucking with me. I know you’re fucking with me. You went on a date with-”

“Shhhh! I told you not to tell anyone!” Suki hushed Katara.

Katara nodded. “But...how? Why?”

“Well, she was always really nice to me in my classes. I was talking to her recently about the musical, and we’ve gotten closer over these past few weeks. She mentioned her last girlfriend thought that she was cheating on her with me, and we figured we might as well give it a shot, you know?” 

“That’s great! I’m happy for you. Are you officially dating yet?”

Suki shook her head. “Not yet, but I really like her. I might ask her to be my girlfriend if it keeps going this well.”

“Well, that sounds amazing. I’m so glad you finally found someone worth breaking your ‘no dating’ rule for. Hey, do you wanna run ‘Oh, The Thinks You Can Think’ again?”

“Sure.”

After rehearsal, Katara walked home with Sokka. As they walked together, Katara considered what Suki had said to her about Ty Lee.

Katara had nothing against Ty Lee anymore. The more she got to know her, the more Katara realized that Ty Lee was a truly good person. She was kind, dedicated, cheerful, bubbly, and focused, and while Katara didn’t consider herself to be a particularly good friend of Ty Lee’s, she didn’t see Ty Lee as a threat or a villain anymore. She knew that Ty Lee’s and Azula’s relationship had ended poorly, but she also knew that Sokka and Suki’s relationship didn’t end well either, and they were both good people who Katara trusted. She figured Ty Lee and Azula were both somewhat at fault for their split, or they were just two different people.

She mentioned her last girlfriend thought that she was cheating on her with me, Suki had said.

Azula was Ty Lee’s last girlfriend. Azula had said they ended badly, but she had said she didn’t want to talk about it.

I never want to see her again , Azula had told Katara the week before comebacks.

Katara put two and two together. Azula broke up with Ty Lee because she thought Ty Lee cheated on her with Suki. Azula had never actually lost feelings for Ty Lee, she only dumped her because she thought Ty Lee betrayed her.

Azula had to be over Ty Lee by now, right? It had been a few weeks since the breakup had happened. If Katara told Azula what had actually happened, she probably wouldn’t go back to Ty Lee. She couldn’t. Azula was over Ty Lee.

Still, keeping this information from Azula couldn’t hurt, right?

Katara liked Azula too much to risk this information getting to Azula. Azula could never know about this. The only reason Azula was with Katara was because she couldn’t have Ty Lee. Katara didn’t quite love Azula romantically yet, but she knew that if they continued like this, she would. She couldn’t lose that.

Nobody could know. 

Katara pondered this as she and Sokka walked home together. As per usual, they both went upstairs to their rooms. However, as Sokka went to go to his room, he looked around, making sure no one was there. He then turned to Katara.

“Hey, um, Katara? Would you perhaps be interested in gathering with me in my room for a moment? Privately?”

Katara frowned. Sokka always spoke weirdly formally when he was anxious. Why was he anxious? Sokka didn’t wait for a response, though, grabbing Katara’s wrist and quickly pulling her into his room. He looked around once again, closing the door and lowering his voice.

“Hello, madame. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today.”

“I didn’t. You just grabbed me and started talking.”

“I don’t have time for a history lesson. Listen, remember a while ago when I was questioning my sexuality and you asked me if I had a crush on Zuko? And I said no?”

“I mean, I guess? It was pretty late, and I was pretty tired, so I vaguely remember-”

“Just answer the question!”

“Okay, damn! Yes, I remember!”

“Well, update on that…” Sokka rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Katara blinked for a few seconds, and then gasped, realizing what Sokka was implying.

“You’re joking. You have a crush on Zuko?!”

“Lower your voice, woman! I know, it’s embarrassing! I mean, out of all the great guys I could’ve fallen for, I like Prince Idiot, the ultimate douchebag. What is wrong with me?!” Sokka groaned. Katara stifled a laugh. Sokka gently punched Katara’s shoulder.

“Stop laughing! I’m the only one who can make fun of him!”

Katara pursed her lips, trying not to laugh. “No, I’m not laughing at him, I swear! I am just...wondering why you switched up on him so fast.”

Sokka smiled awkwardly, looking down. “Well...if I’m being honest, I never really switched up on him. I may have just simply...um...stretched the truth on my thoughts about Zuko for the purpose of...denying my sexuality.”

“So you lied, and you did have a crush on him.”

“I...no, what are you...okay, fine! Yes, I lied. I had a crush on him.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Well, is that all you wanted to tell me? I’m not setting you up with Zuko through Azula, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

“What? No. I don’t want you to set me up with him. I’m just going to repress this and hope it goes away. I actually wanted to ask you about something.”

“Can you get it over with? I have stuff to do.”

“Zuko said something funny at rehearsal-”

“Nope, I’m out. I don’t want to hear about this.”

“This has to do with you, I swear! Zuko just happened to say it!” Sokka sighed. “Zuko said something...odd the other day at rehearsal. He said you and Azula made out. Is that true?”

Katara couldn’t even formulate words for a few seconds. How did Zuko find out? Her face went bright red and she began stammering, trying to figure out a way to get herself out of this.

“I...of course I didn’t make out with Azula! She’s my...special friend! I don’t know what Zuko thinks he saw, but whatever it is, it can’t be that!” 

Sokka seemed dubious, and Katara couldn’t blame him. Katara knew Zuko had been around there when she and Azula had kissed in a closet, but she had figured that because the window had a piece of paper taped over it to prevent people from looking in, he couldn’t’ve seen them, nor would he have been paying attention in the first place. How could he have found out?

Katara had to deny it. She had no choice. She personally had no problem with Sokka knowing. Azula was an amazing girl and Katara was proud of her. If anything, Katara was eager to show her off. However, she had promised Azula that no one would know. She couldn’t break her promise to Azula. 

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” Sokka narrowed his eyes.

Katara sighed. There was no way out of it.

“I promised Azula no one would know until she figured out her situation with her family. I didn’t expect Zuko to figure it out.”

Sokka gasped. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, no shit, it was pretty obvious. Look, I’m not ashamed of being with Azula, and I know Azula isn’t ashamed of me, either. Her family is just...dangerous, okay? I can’t have this getting out. It could threaten her physical safety, and that’s the last thing I want. So, you figured it out, but if I see you telling anyone, I’ll make you regret it, okay? And tell Zuko, too. I don’t want him blabbing his mouth. And most importantly, Azula can’t know that you know. Got it?” Katara wagged her finger at Sokka. He meekly nodded.

“You got it, muchacha.” 

“Never say that again.”

“Yeah, okay, valid.”

Chapter Text

For the next few days, rehearsal was a drag for everyone. It came to no surprise when Zuko snapped.

After “Here On Who,” the order of the show went like this. There was a mini scene and a reprise of “Oh, The Thinks You Can Think.” The scene was between Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, Jojo, and the Cat, while the song was just Jojo and the Cat. After that came one of the biggest numbers in the show―”It’s Possible,” which contained the Cat in the Hat, Jojo, the ensemble, and Mr. and Mrs. Mayor at the very end. After that, came “How To Raise A Child,” a duet between Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, and after that “The Military,” which involved Jojo, the General, and the ensemble.

Basically, it wouldn’t be until five numbers later that anyone except for the Whos had any scenes or songs. This was nice at first―Katara got some down time, and Sokka was happily playing his part on stage. But still, five numbers was a lot, and after about four days of working on them nonstop, things started to get sluggish.

“This is exhausting. If I have to hear ‘It’s Possible’ one more time, it’s possible that I’ll punch someone in the face!” Sokka groaned. He was currently taking his five minute break and going to get a drink from the water fountain, accompanied by Katara and Suki.

Katara nodded. “I’ve done all my homework for the next week while sitting down and watching you. You guys kinda suck, by the way.”

“Hey!”

“It’s not your fault. You’re obviously tired, and the ensemble...well, they’re ensemble for a reason. They need to work on their dancing. And I know you and Ty Lee and trying hard to keep the energy up, but you guys look over rehearsed, and really exhausted.”

Suki nodded. “Katara’s right. Ty Lee’s trying to hide it, but she’s tired, and I can tell. Although, I’m not sure if June and Piandao can…”

Sokka nodded, refilling his water bottle. “Crew is tired, too. They have to rehearse carrying out the set pieces, too, but Mai and Zuko...they keep getting pissed at each other. I can see them fighting in the wings. Maybe we should all just not show up to rehearsal tomorrow.”

Katara sighed. “I wish we could. I wish they’d stop making me go to rehearsal on days where I don’t even do anything. It’s gotten so bad I’ve started talking to Jet. And I don’t even hate him that much anymore.”

“Isn’t he a communist?” Suki asked.

“Yes, but that’s not why I hated him. When I first met him, he introduced himself by saying ‘hey, papas.’ He also owns a gas mask and wears it to class sometimes.”

Sokka shook his head. “What a weird kid.”

“ENSEMBLE, CAT, AND JOJO, BE ON STAGE IN THIRTY SECONDS OR YOU HAVE TO DO A PLANK FOR FIVE MINUTES!” Piandao yelled from inside the auditorium. Sokka’s eyes widened.

“Well, I have to go now. Bye! See you after rehearsal!” Sokka waved to them as he jogged back into the auditorium.

Katara leaned against the wall, taking a sip from her water bottle. Suki sat on the floor across from her. “So, how are things going with Ty Lee?”

“Good. I really like her. I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes.”

“That’s great! I’m glad things are going well,” Katara said, and she meant it. Suki had been...well, just happier lately, and if that involved being with Ty Lee, then Katara was happy for her. And of course, there was...the other thing. If Suki was with Ty Lee, then Azula couldn’t go back to Ty Lee if Katara’s plan backfired. Still, either way, Katara was truly happy for Suki. It had been a long time since she had dated anyone, and she deserved it.

“Me too. Ty Lee is so out of my league, too. It’s crazy that she likes me. But that’s enough about me. Is there anything going on with you? A special boy or girl?”

Katara felt her face growing hot. “What do you mean? What did you hear?”

Suki blinked, raising her eyebrows. “I didn’t hear anything, but now that you’ve asked, I’m curious. What do you think I’ve heard?”

“Nothing! It’s just...never mind. Sokka and Zuko like spreading rumors about me, that’s all.”

“What kind of rumors?” Suki pried playfully.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant. But, if you must know...Zuko thinks he saw me with someone. It’s completely untrue, of course. But, you know, news spreads fast. I’d rather you hear it from me than from him.”

“Who?! Where?! What?! Spill!” Suki egged Katara on, tugging at her sleeve.

“I don’t know! He just said he saw me with someone, that’s all. He probably mistook somebody else for me. I promise I’m not seeing anyone,” Katara said firmly 

Suki looked like she was about to object, but was interrupted by Azula jogging in.

“Hey! Come quick! Zuko and Mai are about to fight!” she said, reaching for Katara’s hand. Suki raised her eyebrows, glancing at Katara questioningly. Katara frowned and shook her head, taking Azula’s hand and letting her lead her back into the auditorium and into the audience.

Sure enough, when they came back to the auditorium, Zuko and Mai were going at it, but this fight was different. This wasn’t one of their regular bickerings; they were both standing on the stage screaming at each other, with Piandao and June trying their best to break it up.

“No, but that’s your fucking problem! You don’t care about anything! Sue me for not being an emotionless rock like you are! Some of us are actually human!” Zuko shouted.

“First of all, I do care, you just don’t care enough about me to see, but more importantly, I’m not calling you out for caring too much, I’m calling you out for being a piece of shit, dickhead!” Mai retorted.

“No you think I’m being a piece of shit because I care, and that’s not true. You’re just incapable of feeling anything other than apathy.”

“Really? Because I’m pretty fucking mad right now, wanna push it?”

“I don’t want to fight you, Mai, but if you keep on being a dick to me over something that I can’t control, I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of you.”

Mai laughed. Katara had never even heard her chuckle. Her laugh was bone-chilling. “You know what, pretty boy, I dare you. I’ll stab your last good eye out.”

“What are they even fighting about?” Katara whispered into Azula’s ear. Azula was discreetly recording the entire thing on Snapchat. She shrugged.

“No idea. Zuko isn’t exactly an open book.”

Zuko made some sort of guttural noise, like a bull about to charge. Mai’s comment about his eye was a low blow, and something inside him seemed to snap at this moment. Piandao, who had been struggling to restrain Zuko, was finally tossed aside by him as he lunged to hit Mai. Unfortunately, Mai had been quite prepared for this moment and wasted no time in dodging Zuko’s attacks. Zuko kept on throwing his entire body in her direction, trying to land a punch on her, but Mai’s movements were specific and effective. Zuko couldn’t reach her. Eventually, she just walked off the stage, leaving Piandao and June to try to pin him down as she calmly walked away. Katara watched her leave silently as Azula lowered her phone.

Piandao shakily led a still-furious Zuko off the stage. June clapped her hands together. “Alright, from the top of ‘It’s Possible?’ Katara, can you take Zuko to the guidance counselor for me?” 

Katara nodded, jogging to follow Piandao out. Everyone else lazily moved to their spots for the beginning of “It’s Possible.”

Piandao, Zuko, and Katara all stood outside in the hallway. Piandao still held on to Zuko, who was still panting and breathing angrily. Piandao spoke firmly and calmly.

“Zuko, if I let go of you, will you run?”

“I don’t know,” Zuko growled.

“I won’t let go until you say yes.”

“Fine. I won’t run.”

Piandao released Zuko’s bicep. Zuko kept his word, staying still, his back slightly hunched.

“Follow Katara to the guidance counselor. I’m going to call your uncle to take you home. Your punishment will be whatever the counselor says. I’m very disappointed in you, Zuko.”

Zuko said nothing. Katara hesitantly grabbed Zuko’s forearm, pulling him in the direction of the guidance counselor. Katara remained silent until they turned a corner and were out of Piandao’s view.

“What happened back there?” Katara asked.

“None of your business,” Zuko snapped.

“You told my brother about me and Azula. I think I deserve to know at least a little bit about what happened back there.”

Zuko froze. “Sokka told you that I told him?”

“Well, duh, did you just expect him to keep his mouth shut?”

Zuko softened. “I guess not.” He sighed. “Mai and I have been friends for a very long time. I don’t actually have anything against her being emotionless like that. She’s always been like that, and I’ve always been like this. We’re polar opposites, and that’s why we get along. I feel too much, she feels too little. Most of the time, we just balance each other out.”

“Lately, I’ve been distracted. It doesn’t matter why. Things just happen. Mai can’t seem to comprehend that, that’s all. So she lashes out at me, and I fight back. It’s happening more often these days.”

“Does this distraction have anything to do with Sokka?” Katara asked.

Zuko shook his head. “No. And I’m not lying, either. This is really about something else, and it’s none of your business.” 

Katara considered this for a few moments. “So, Mai is mad at you because you’re distracted, huh? Seems odd for her. Her heart never seems to be in anything she does. I can’t believe she’s mad at you for slacking off.”

“Mai shares different opinions on my situation than me. It’s complicated.”

Katara paused. She didn’t want to pry into Zuko’s personal life, but it seemed to her that Zuko and Mai were just having a regular old friendly disagreement that just got taken too far due to Zuko’s temper and Mai’s willingness to fight him. She couldn’t hold that against either of them, even if she didn’t know the entire story. 

“I’m not going to take you to the guidance counselor,” Katara finally said.

Zuko frowned. “What?”

“I know it’s not really my decision to make, and I’m not particularly interested in knowing about what’s going on with you and Mai, but I genuinely don’t think either of you are at fault here, so I’m going to let you go outside and wait for your uncle there. I’ll tell Piandao that I dropped you off at the guidance counselor and left. If he asks, I’ll deal with the consequences. Whatever is going on with you...if it’s enough to make you lash out at your friend like that, it must be stressful. I don’t need to add to that.”

“I don’t need your permission to go outside. I have my license, too. I can just drive home.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m letting you know that I won’t snitch on you. It’s a nice gesture.”

“It seems like you’re trying to make this into a personal moment when it isn’t one.”

“Can you shut up and let me say what I need to say?” Katara sighed. “Look, I don’t know you very well, but I know you well enough to tell when things are wrong, so whatever’s going on at home...you deal with it, and I’ll cover for you.”

“Okay? Thanks, I guess.”

“Oh, and if you ever tell anyone about me and Azula, and if you ever cause a stir like that in rehearsal again, I will skin you alive. That was not cool, even if you just told Sokka.”

Zuko rubbed his eyes. “What? You and Azula? Oh, right. I told Sokka. Yeah, sorry about that. I’ll keep it to myself. Thanks, Katara. You’re a good kid.”

“You know, you’re not so bad yourself.”

Chapter Text

After a few more long rehearsals of “It’s Possible” and all the scenes and reprises relating to that, plus the song “How To Raise A Child,” a duet between Mr. and Mrs. Mayor (played by Teo and Jin, respectively), rehearsal finally moved to the next big number, a song called “The Military Academy.” Finally, Jet was on stage with the ensemble, and almost everyone else got a break. Even though Katara had already been on break for a while, since she hadn’t had a lot of scenes or anything yet, not having to listen to “It’s Possible” for a while was a much better break than just not having to dance and be on stage and all that.

“So, thoughts on Jet as the General?” Katara asked, leaning against the wall just outside the auditorium. She could still hear them rehearsing from inside, but decided to focus her attention on her friends and sort-of girlfriend surrounding her.

Azula had a sour expression on her face. “He’s a little too into the role if you ask me.”

Sokka nodded. “Agreed. He tried to joust with me in the hallways the other day in between third and fourth period. I don’t even know what jousting is. He had to explain it to me. He’s perfect for the role in all the wrong ways.”

“Yeah, he’d an odd one, that kid,” Zuko said, taking a sip of his water.

“Hey, remind me what you’re doing here? Aren’t you and Mai supposed to be practicing cues with the rest of the stage crew?” Suki asked Zuko. 

“Well, we would, but set crew is painting the set pieces because SOMEONE-” Mai shot a dirty look at Zuko. “-tripped on one of the set pieces and it fell into a can of paint. So, now they have to repaint it.”

“Ah. Very graceful of you,” Sokka said.

“Also, um. I’ve sort of been thinking of this. Me and Haru are the only seniors this year, and it’s sort of a tradition for a senior to host a cast sleepover when we start the second act, and we’re getting kinda close. Um, normally the crew doesn’t participate in this, but I’m one of the only seniors, and I’ve been to Haru’s house, and there is definitely not enough space for all of us. So…” Zuko sighed awkwardly. “I guess this is me inviting all of you. If that’s something you’d be interested in, of course.”

“Am I allowed to say no?” Azula asked. Zuko glared.

Sokka stepped closer to Zuko, ignoring Azula’s sarcastic comments and playfully slapping Zuko on the back. “Hell, yeah! Of course we’ll be there. Give me a date and time and I’ll get people to come. Why don’t you open it to crew, too? It’ll be fun!”

Zuko’s expression brightened. “Yeah. Okay. I will!”

“This’ll be fun!” Suki said excitedly, clasping her hands together. “I’ll bring snacks!”

“I’ll bring the alcohol,” Mai said. Katara frowned.

“Hey, hey. None of that. We’re law-abiding citizens here!” 

Mai scoffed. “Maybe you are, but if I’m spending a whole night with theater kids, I’m going to need something to keep me happy.”

“If you get piss drunk and pass out or something, I’m not taking responsibility for you,” Zuko warned.

“Bitch, please. I can hold my alcohol. If anything, I should be saying that to you. Last time I gave you a sip of my beer, you were tipsy within minutes.” 

Katara gasped. “Zuko! Mai! You’ve had beer before?!”

“Legally, I cannot confirm or deny that statement,” Zuko said. 

Katara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. But no alcohol. If there’s anything illegal, I’m going home. Right, Azula?”

“Well, I’d agree with you, but it’s my house, too. So I can’t go home,” Azula said.

“Oh. Right. Well, that’s the spirit nonetheless!”

“I’ll text you all the information. You guys can relay that information to the ensemble and the crew, right?” Zuko asked.

“You got it,” Suki said.

“Good.”

The rest of the leads (with the exception of Jet, Ty Lee, Jin, Teo, and Haru) continued chatting amongst themselves. While they were all distracted by each other, Katara took Azula’s wrist, slipping away discreetly. They ducked a corner, and continued a bit further down into a stairwell and closed the door.

“Hey,” Katara said breathily, leaning against the wall.

“Hey,” Azula replied. Her face was decorated with a pink flush.

“I just wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” Azula’s voice had the faintest hint of a smile, as if she was holding back laughter.

“I don’t know. Anything. How’s life?”

“Not bad, actually.” Azula said, smirking. “I’m here, but somehow, it doesn’t suck.”

“I’m going to choose to not take offense to that.”

“What?! It was a compliment, I swear.”

Katara took Azula’s hand gently. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Azula rolled her eyes. “You don’t love me, you’re 16.”

“No, I’m serious. I think I am. I loved you before we even started...this...but now...I don’t know. There’s something more that wasn’t there before. I think we complete each other. You’re just...special.”

Azula was clearly trying to hold back her smile, but she couldn’t. Azula smiled fully, with teeth and all. Katara, for the first time, noticed that she has a dimple on one of her cheeks, but not on the other.

“I think I love you too,” Azula said softly. Her voice was gentle and girlish.

For a moment, they stood there in silence. Katara was unsure of what to say after that. She had sort of just blurted out those feelings without thinking, but what was one supposed to say after receiving a love confession? Pog champ? Okay? She had never been through this before.

“That’s kinda gay,” Katara said.

“Shut up,” Azula said, pulling Katara in and kissing her. 

After rehearsal was over, Katara walked back home with Sokka, who complained the entire time about the cold. On any other day, Katara would’ve called him a pussy and bullied him about it, but she was at a loss for words. Azula loved her. She loved her! And Katara loved her back! Katara had always been a girl whose love was considered something easy. She loved all her friends passionately and dearly, but now, this was something different. She had something special with Azula, she knew she did. The world seemed a little rosier now that she knew Azula felt the same way, too.

Despite how happy Katara was, there was a small part of her head that still repeated her worst fears.

You’re a replacement for Ty Lee. 

Katara pushed those thoughts aside. She was too happy to think about that right now, and she wasn’t going to let her own insecurities get in the way of her happiness. She wished she could tell someone, gush to someone about this. Suki would flip out if she heard about this, Katara thought to herself. But more than anything, Katara wanted to show the world that Azula was hers, and that she was Azula’s.

If only Azula’s situation wasn’t so dangerous. Katara could tell Sokka, she supposed, but she wasn’t really interested in discussing her love life with her brother. Plus, his response would probably be “epic,” and that wasn’t the reaction she was looking for. She simply let Sokka keep whining about the cold. 

Katara would never do anything to out Azula or anything. She was born into a quite accepting family, but was well aware that not everyone has that luxury, and even though she loved Azula with every fiber of her being and wanted everyone to see that, her ultimate priority was Azula’s safety. If only there was something she could do.

“Hey, Sokka?” Katara asked. Sokka stopped what he was saying, looking over at Katara.

“What?”

“What do you know about Azula and Zuko’s family?”

Sokka raised his eyebrows, awkwardly looking away. “Whaaaaaaaat? Why would you think I know any more than you do? That’s not true at all…”

“I’m asking you because I know you religiously stalk Zuko’s instagram. I thought that was obvious.”

“I ―psh―why would you even―what are you―how did―yeah, okay. They live with their Uncle Iroh, who’s their dad’s brother.”

“Yeah, no duh, idiot. I meant like, what’s the deal with their parents?”

“Oh. Well, about that…” Sokka sighed. “I can’t find anything on their parents, at all. I found Iroh’s Facebook and everything, and I spent longer than I probably should’ve looking through all his friends and stuff, but there’s nothing. Iroh hasn’t ever even mentioned having a brother on his Facebook.”

Katara furrowed her brows. “That’s odd. Azula mentioned that her parents are really homophobic.”

“Yeah, Zuko said something similar, too. I know they’re not dead or anything because of that. Plus, Iroh doesn’t even have a job. Their money has to come from somewhere. I assume that their parents are always working, but really, I don’t know.”

“Have you tried searching up people with the surname Suzuki? Maybe Iroh and his brother had a falling out or something,” Katara suggested.

“Maybe, but when I tried, I only got results about that violinist, Suzuki. It’s not an uncommon surname. It’d take years for me to find them that way. Maybe they don’t even have a Facebook. Why do you need to know?”

Katara shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to make Azula more comfortable in her sexuality. I thought it might’ve helped if I could’ve talked to her parents or at least scoped out their political beliefs and stuff. But that’s just odd. There’s seriously no trace of her parents?”

Sokka shook his head. “None. The only other thing I was able to find about their family and extended family is that they have a cousin, Lu Ten. Iroh’s son. He died a few years ago, though. Complications related to AIDS.”

“Damn. That sucks for Iroh.” Katara snapped her fingers. “Wait. Lu Ten? That’s the guy in that portrait hanging in that hallway in their house.”

“Yeah, that’s the guy. Iroh loved him a lot.”

“At least Iroh isn’t homophobic, then. Still, Azula’s parents are a different story.” Katara sighed. “This is gonna sound insensitive, but I wish her parents were dead. Then we’d be able to publicly date.”

“You could always just do what I do and listen to Ricky Montgomery on loop for twelve hours,” Sokka offered.

“No thanks. I’m going to actually deal with my problems. Speaking of that, you’re quickly becoming a problem in rehearsal. You need to start pulling your weight in the baritone section, or else I’m going to have to deal with you!” Katara wagged her finger at him.

“Hey! At least I’m not someone who thought they were Soprano 1 until they realized they weren’t good enough for Soprano 1 and had to switch to Soprano 2!”

“How many times do I have to tell you that Soprano 1 isn’t better than Soprano 2, it’s just based on vocal tone and range?!” Katara groaned. They continued bickering over rehearsal the entire rest of the way home. By the time they got home, Sokka and Katara had forgotten all about how cold it was outside.

Chapter Text

hi guys! it's been a while!

i just wanted to give a little explanation as to why this fic is being discontinued even though it's among my more popular ones. also this is gonna be full of theater kid cheesiness so be warned.

i started writing this the summer of 2020. i was a freshman in high school whose musical that year (seussical) had been cancelled. i used this fic to project onto the characters and to get back some of the experience that i had missed because of covid while combining that with my hyperfixation at the time. i still like atla btw!! but ofc yall know how hyperfixations are, you have them for a few months and then they calm down a little bit.

i'm not gonna lie i did consider coming back to this but i have two other fics i'm currently writing plus i'm a junior in hs now, i have a job and im taking 3 ap classes and im the president of two clubs so it's. a little difficult to find time. but most importantly, it's been just over three weeks since my school's musical this year, the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee, closed. (i played olive)

for the first time since i was in middle school, i stood on a stage and performed again. all that longing for a cast i loved and a stage to perform on that i had put into this fic was fulfilled. my life is in a much different place than it was as i was writing this. i don't need to write my own fantasy. i already lived it. 

essentially, i don't really feel inspired to write this anymore because i have no internal conflict to base it off. i hope the readers who enjoyed this won't take this as a "an author is abandoning another fic due to lack of motivation" and rather "i'm happy this author doesn't need to continue this fic because they found happiness elsewhere." idk maybe someday i'll get back to writing it.

until then, thanks for providing my dream a safe space until i could finally live it :)