Chapter Text
Katara loved sleepovers with her friends. When she was in middle school, it had been her, Suki and Toph who would get together at Suki’s house, because she didn’t have a brother or overly strict parents. It was nice to stay up talking with Suki and Toph and play games with them. Plus, it was generally understood that what happens at a slumber party stays at a slumber party, so Katraa got to confide some stuff in them. They were actually the first two people she told about being pansexual. That same night, Toph showed off a mini ace flag she’d bought early that day and the girls laughed at the coincidence.
In high school, they added Ty Lee and Mai to their friend group and they joined the sleepovers. While Katara was hesitant at first because of her iffy history with Ty Lee and Mai, she became pretty quick friends with the two. Ty Lee was sweet and got along with Suki really well, especially after joining the cheerleaders, which Suki led. Mai was finally a person who understood that playing in the mud was gross so Katara quickly counted her as a friend. This year, Suki had told her there would be a small surprise. She told Katara this as they were driving to Suki’s house.
“Did your parents get something for the sleepover?” Katara guessed. Suki’s moms were the best so it wouldn’t shock Katara if they bought makeup, food, stuff for the pool outside, anything.
“No, actually we have someone new joining us.”
“Oh. Who? Song? Jin?” She sort of knew those girls but she hadn’t really spoken to them. Still, they seemed nice and Suki always spoke very highly of them.
Suki winced and opened the door, “Not exactly.”
The second Katara entered she was greeted by a voice she’d known since elementary school, “Water girl.”
Azula.
Katara whipped her head towards the kitchen where Azula sat at the dining room table. A perfect smile on her face and two red bags next to her. She had her hair held up in a proper ponytail, not a single strand was anywhere near her face, and her makeup was applied as perfectly as humanly possible.
“Suki.” Katara snapped.
“Let’s get your stuff.” Suki grabbed Katara’s arm and brought her back out to the car, “I know. I-“
“Azula!” She snapped, “You invited Azula.”
“Kind of.”
“Suki. How could you do think without asking me? You know Azula had my life hell for years. Why did you invite her?”
“Why do you think?”
Katara rolled her eyes, but she knew why. A year ago, Azula and Zuko had to be removed from their father’s custody because of child abuse claims. Zuko had a clear scar over his face but, because Azula was a minor, no one knew about what she had gone through. Rumors spread and, by now, Katara had heard just about everything but she wasn’t sure what exactly was true. A few weeks after the trial, Katara did hear that Iroh had been granted custody of Azula and Zuko, who both took three months off of school.
“Doesn’t surprise me.” She had heard her mother say, “What Ozai did…”
“Have you heard anything concrete?” Hakoda asked.
“Just rumors but I was in the hospital the night Zuko was brought in. It wasn’t good. Apparently security had to restrain his sister because she kept trying to barge her way into his room while doctors were working on him. She finally stopped when the police and CPS arrived but that was because she had to talk to them."
Katara decided not to share that piece of information with anyone.
Their friend group took Zuko in, who apologized for everything he’d done in middle school. However, when Aang tried to talk to Azula she ignored him. It was like that for a few months, she just wanted nothing to do with them. She worked alone, ate alone and spent her days alone.
Zuko said she was having a really hard time adjusting to life with their uncle and Katara could believe that based on how the girl acted. Four months ago, Zuko dragged Azula to a school party where she actually ended up having a lot of fun with their group. Slowly, she started hanging out with them more and more but Katara was still on the fence. Something about Azula made her anxious.
“I do, but I can still object.”
“Your objection is noted but…look I was talking about it with Mai and Ty Lee and they suggested inviting her. Then Ty Lee got the really sad puppy dog eyes and I couldn’t say no.” Katara still glared at her, “Please be nice and I’ll buy you Starbucks.”
“Deal, but she makes one comment about my family and me and my famous bacon and eggs are out of here.”
Suki chuckled, “You got it.”
Katara brought in her stuff inside. The girls all moved upstairs and began unpacking. There was still a few hours left before it got dark which meant they had a few hours to relax in Suki’s pool. Once all the girls got into the swim suits, they headed out to the water.
“Look! I found Naga!” Ty Lee cheered, pulling the inflatable water toy that was shaped like a polar bear towards them, “Where’s Pabu?”
Suki winced, “I didn’t know how to tell you but Pabu was popped during a storm. He never had a chance.” The way Suki told it you’d like she was telling Ty Lee her cat died.
“Nooooooooooooo.” Ty Lee cried.
Everyone laughed at Ty Lee’s overreaction but only Katara seemed to notice Azula being more reluctant to join in. She laughed politely but not sincerely which wasn't entirely odd. Katara had been like that during her first sleepover, but it seemed different with Azula. She didn't get to think on it any further because Toph did a cannonball into the water.
“Toph. Some of us are trying to stay dry.” Mai snapped.
“You brought a bathing suit?”
“Yes.”
“Then you are going to be dunked in this pool at some point.”
“Ha-ha.”
Katara got up from her chair and leaned over, staring at the deep end of the pool. Then she was pushed in. When she resurfaced, she turned towards the person who had pushed her in. Sure enough, it was Azula, who was laughing at her then jumped in herself.
“Relax, Kat. I’m just having fun.” Azula told her.
“I’m not having fun, Azula.” Katara snapped, getting a look from Suki when she crawled out of the pool.
“Play nice.” Suki whispered.
“I don’t like that girl, Suki. You can’t force people to be friends.” Thankfully, Azula was talking with Ty Lee and Mai and no one could hear Katara and Suki’s conversation.
“I’m not asking you to be best friends or for you to act on your crush. I just-“
“Wait. Crush?”
“Come on, Tara. It’s so obvious. You like Azula.”
Katara’s cheeks quickly flushed, “I do not like Azula.”
“When she came out here in her bathing suit, I saw your jaw drop.”
“Someone can look cute and I don’t have to have a crush on them.”
“True, but I did see your jaw drop and you just called Azula cute.”
Katara grumbled under her breath and walked away. She spent the rest of their pool time watching Azula as if waiting for her to do something wrong. The girl swam up to everyone then went to her chair and relaxed.
When the bugs came out, the girls headed inside to start dinner. Usually they just ordered a pizza, but Suki had been wanting to try out a new recipe. She, with Ty Lee and Katara’s help, made them egg rolls and noodles.
“Do you have any duck sauce?” Azula asked.
“Right there.” Suki pointed to the bottle on the table with a smile on her face.
Azula just stared at it. She looked like she was debating the pros and cons of the sauce in her head.
“Here.” Katara grabbed the sauce and gave it to her, “Are you too much of a princess to get it yourself?” She muttered.
“Katara.” Suki whispered, “Please.”
Once they had eaten, knowing they weren’t going anywhere, the girls got in their pajamas. One by one they all found their way into the living room from there where Suki had prepared ice cream for them.
Katara noticed Azula get her ice cream last and she looked almost nervous. The duck sauce was weird enough but ice cream? Maybe it was a thing where she had to be given the food and didn’t feel right taking it? Katara’s mind started to wonder. What if it was a manners thing? That would mean her comment at dinner was-
She stopped spiraling when she saw Azula give her a funny look.
“Are you okay?” Azula asked.
“I’m fine.” Katara smiled. Maybe Suki was right. She should try harder to be nice, “Are you okay? You look like you’re having an inner debate about if you should have any ice cream.” Katara said.
“I’ve never had ice cream.” Azula admitted.
That earned her a look of shock from Katara, “You-….You never had…”
“My father said Zuko and I had to earn the right to sweets and I never did.” To get passed the sad moments, she quickly pointed to Katara’s cone, “What’s that flavor?”
“Chocolate. Can’t go wrong with chocolate.”
“I’ll trust you then.”
“If you’re trusting me then also get the rainbow sprinkles on top. Really good.”
“Okay.”
Although some people were still eating, Suki got started getting up just dance in the living room. While everyone ate, she did Who Run The World.
“And as usual you can’t sing.” Mai smirked.
“I invited you into my home.” Suki fake gasped.
One by one they all went. Although Mai had to be dragged into performing I See The Lights with Ty Lee. Then the girls turned towards Azula and Katara, who had just finished their ice cream.
“I got the perfect song for you two!” Suki cried, pulling them both up towards the tv.
“Suki…”
“Trust me. You’ll both love it and, unlike the rest of us, you both have decent singing voices.”
“Hey!” Toph snapped.
“You know it’s true.” Mai said, “You sound like nails on a chalkboard.”
Suki pressed play and stood back. The familiar beat and lyrics of I Kissed A Girl came on. Katara glared at her friend who only smiled happily.
They did perform the dance and sang along as the game dictated. When it was over, Katara looked at Azula, whose hair has fallen out of her ponytail and was waving gently against her back. Katara could feel her heart start to pick up and her stomach turn to mush.
“Katara?” Suki asked.
“I need to go!” With that she ran to the bathroom.
For a good two minutes, Katara silently yelled at herself in the bathroom for running into the bathroom. The next three minutes were spent trying to figure out what to say to them and Azula. Suki may have been right about her having a crush but that didn’t mean she knew how to deal with it. Should she confess to Azula? Ignore it? Try to get Azula to confess first?
When she stepped out of the bathroom, everyone was sitting in the living room with a movie on. Katara sat on the opposite side of Azula, hoping to attract the least amount of attention from the girl. That didn’t save her from Suki’s look though. It was hard to pin point what emotion Suki was feeling. It looked like she has a mix of guilt, confusion, sadness, and a little bit of anger in there.
“I panicked.” Katara mouthed.
“Tell her that.” Suki mouthed back, pointing her head towards Azula.
The fourteen year old couldn’t bring herself to even move an inch.
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Katara didn’t know when she’d gone to sleep but she must have fallen asleep during the movie because when she woke up the moon was high in the sky.
“What’s going on?” Katara asked, wondering what could have woken her.
Then she saw it, Ty Lee and Mai were kneeling on the floor. They were trying to approach Azula who was huddled up in the corner.
"Azula just woke up screaming and kicked Ty Lee in the stomach trying to get to the other side of the room." Suki explained.
“Zula. You’re okay. You’re with us.” Ty Lee tried.
“No.” Azula mumbled, “He’ll find me. He always finds me. Get away from me!” She screamed the last sentence when Suki tried to reach out for her.
“Look through her suitcase. Maybe she packed something to help with night terrors.” Mai advised.
Katara slowly crept forward, making sure to keep her distance from the scared girl. When Azula’s eyes landed on Katara though, her body launched forward and attached to Katara, making the girl stumble back.
“Azula?” Azula’s arms were wrapped around Katara and she was burying her face in her neck.
“Don’t send me back. Please don’t send me back.” She kept whispered, “I’m trying.”
“What do I do?” Katara whispered.
“Her hair.” Mai mouthed then made a stroking motion.
Katara brought her hand to Azula’s long hair and began stroking it. The effect was almost instant, Azula detached her hands from Katara’s back. She still kept her face pressed into Katara’s neck but she was clearly more relaxed.
“We’ll give you a minute.” Suki whispered.
“Azula? They’re gone.” Katara said once she heard the living room door close.
“I’m sorry.” Azula whispered.
“What?”
“I’m sorry I messed up the sleepover and…and I know you hate me. I-“
“I don’t hate you, Azula. I guess I was just looking for a reason to, but you didn’t do anything wrong tonight.”
“Promise?” She didn’t like how Azula’s voice sounded. The girl always had a level of confidence and power with everything she said. Even a simple food order sounded like a command from a queen when Azula said it. This sounded like a child. A scared child who was asking their friend to confirm a pinky promise.
“I promise.”
For a while, they just sat there. The more Katara stroked Azula’s hair, the calmer she got. Eventually she let go of Katara entirely but didn’t stop leaning against her.
“Can I ask? What was your nightmare about?”
Azula sighed, “You all hated me. Then you told Zuko that I was a freak who couldn’t make any friends and he and uncle wanted nothing to do with me. Uncle threw me out on the streets and that’s when my father came back and dragged me home. Then he…he…” Azula looked physically ill so Katara continued to brush her hand through her hair.
“You’re okay. You’re safe. He can’t get you ever again.”
“He said he would. When they took him away, he told me he’d come back for me. He said I’d never escape him and that when he got out he’d show me what happens to people who talk to the police.” Katara was halfway certain her heart had stopped working when Azula said that.
“Oh.” Katara whispered, “I never knew-“
“No one does. I let the school think whatever they want to. I don’t care what they think about me. Only Mai, Ty Lee and Zuko know the truth about what he did to me and the call I made the night Zuko got burned.”
Katara could sense that Azula was getting more uneasy the longer they talked about her father, “Azula, you don’t have to tell me anything if you’re not ready.”
“I know. I don’t think I’m ready to talk about that yet, but…can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Uncle’s been telling me I should be more open with my feelings and…well…I…”
“Do you wanna go on a date with me?” Katara asked.
“FINALLY!” They heard Suki scream then there was the sound of a light hit.
Azula, ignoring that, looked at her, “You want to go out with me?”
“I do. I wanted to ask you during the dance game but I got too nervous.”
“That’s why you ran away.” Azula whispered.
“Yeah. Sorry.” She admitted.
“It’s okay. I think I would have freak out too.”
Azula fell asleep leaning against Katara. The rest of the girls returned when they were sure things had quieted down again.
The next morning, Azula awoke to find Katara gone. Around her, Ty Lee and Toph were still asleep but Mai, Suki and Katara were awake and in the kitchen. She made her way over to them to find they were making breakfast.
“Morning.” Katara smiled.
“Morning.” Azula smiled back, “What are you making?”
“I’m cooking bacon and eggs. Suki is making pancakes.”
“Sounds delicious. Should I wake Toph and Ty Lee?”
“Don’t worry. Once they smell breakfast they’ll come running.” Katara was proven correct only a few minutes later.
Breakfast was quiet. No one talked about what had happened that night and, for that, Azula was beyond thankful. Following breakfast, she helped Katara and Suki clean up when a car pulled up to Suki’s house and started honking. Azula had asked Zuko to come early in the morning in case the sleepover went badly. Now, she didn’t really want to go but her brother kept honking so she knew she probably should.
“That’s me.” Azula said, grabbing her stuff and starting out just as the car honked again, “I’m coming, Zuzu! You need to relax!”
“Did you have fun?” Zuko asked as Azula tossed her stuff into the back of the car.
Azula shot one final look towards Katara, who was standing at the door, “Yeah. I did.”
Katara watched the car drive away with a smile on her face while Mai and Suki talked inside.
“I give it a week before they’re making out.”
“Mai!”
“I give it two days.”
“Suki!”