Azula's First Date

This takes place after the episode 'The Beach' but before 'The Day of Black Sun.'

This is just for fun; all intellectual properties belong to the creators of Avatar and Nickelodeon.

She shielded her eyes from the glaring light as the door banged open. The guards entered nosily pushing two forms down the stairs to the cells below. They were dressed in the latest fashion for Fire Nation ladies. Ribbons in their hair, and dresses with just the slightest hint of red lace, all tied together with a decorative sash that usually cost more than most people earned in a life time.

The pair were roughly shoved into the cell that was across the hall from her. The guards did a slow spot check of all the other prisoners and then proceeded out of the dungeon with as much noise as possible. The door slammed and the world was returned to darkness and the sounds of despair and imprisonment.

One of the well-dressed new arrivals got up from the floor and smacked the other. "Social experiment my ass!" A very male voice said. "Look where it got us!"

A whimper was the only response as the other, definitely male, prisoner curled up in a ball in the corner.

Her curiosity won out over her better instincts and she crawled over to the bars. "Psst."

"Hmm?" The upset boy in drag looked up at her. "What do you want?"

"What's the matter with him?" She nodded at the man curling up and shaking in the cell corner.

The guy in drag sighed and sat down leaning against the bars. "It all started with a bet, and ended with him doing the most dangerous thing in the world. I suppose we're lucky just to end up here."

She blinked. "What was the bet about?"

"It was about love."

One Week Earlier

Click

"So you're saying you don't believe in love?"

Click

"No. To deny that love exists is to deny the existence of the moon. I'm saying that this illusion of love that poets try to push these days is a wild animal."

Click

The Pai Sho parlor was always a pleasant place. It smelled of cinnamon and that vague scene that is always present in libraries, bookstores, and classrooms during a test. That faint aroma of sweat, dust, and quiet effort, one could bottle it and call it 'eau de intelligence.'

The tables were well made, and the two girls who brought drinks to the old men were cute and kind, giggling properly when the old men made a joking pass at them. The drinks were fresh, the tea was sweet, and they even had those little crackers that just made the entire activity perfection.

It was a good day as well. The tables were all occupied and there was the nice quiet buzz of conversation at all the tables. The only strange thing a casual observer might see would be the two young boys playing a game at a table by the east wall, to a regular of the parlor however, they were as common as clay.

"So you think of love as an untamed beast?" The black haired boy with short hair that seemed to always be in his eyes, his pale hand hovered over the board. A sudden movement and suddenly there was a piece on the board.

Click

"Exactly." The other boy across from him responded eyes locked on the board. He was tall, slightly tan, and had his sandy brown hair tied back in a topknot. "And just as dangerous as well. Look at how many people have destroyed themselves and others in the name of love."

Click

"Fair enough. So, there's no way to fight it?" The black haired boy responded. "We are all hapless victims in the path of love? Rather a bleak view for you Chou."

Click

"Ah, this is only half of my intellectual concept Shi." The other boy responded. "Love cannot be controlled by man, yes. However, there are other elements that can control love, and man can control them. So, in a way a well educated man could be able to guide love to his desiring." Chou took a sip of tea. "There's no way to totally control or predict the behaviors of love, but you can get close."

Click

Shi frowned. "So you say an 'educated man' can use tools to manipulate love?"

Click

"Of course; romance, profiling, gifts. I can't make people fall in love with me. That's impossible, but with my methods I feel like I could successfully date any girl in the fire nation."

Shi and Chou were privileged to say the least, both coming from noble families. They had been taught by private tutors, trained by personal trainers, and allowed all the benefits of life that allowed them to spend their days playing Pai Sho with each other. They would talk with each other, share jokes, swap stories, and often compare theories and viewpoints. More often than not whenever they did that it would invariably end in only one possible way.

"Really? You're so sure about that are you?" Shi smiled. "What are you willing to stake on that idea?"

Click

It would end in a wager.

Chou sat back from the table a bemused look on his face. "Well, that all depends on what you want to have demonstrated." Chou tilted his head back and forth staring at the space above Shi's head. "I could go out on a date with one of the serving girls?"

"Oh please." Shi scoffed. "Far too easy. I'll pick the girl."

"Alright." Chou nodded and then his eyes lit up with revelation. "And when I prove myself an expert in understanding how women behave, you have to dress like one...for a month."

Shi blinked and then nodded. "Same stakes to you if you lose?"

Chou nodded, smiling. "Of course. One date with any girl that you pick."

"You need to get a goodnight kiss from her too."

"What?"

"It's not a proper date if it doesn't end with a kiss, right?" Shi said smiling evilly.

Chou harrumphed and nodded. "Fine, but she has to be around our age. No going out and picking some old crone or a fie year old."

Shi sighed in annoyance and nodded. "Fine. One girl our age, you have to ask her out on a date, have a full date, and end with a goodnight kiss."

Chou nodded. "Winner makes the other wear women's clothes for a month. Also, normal assistance rules apply. You'll be there to help me with the date."

Shi nodded. "No helping, no harming, there as a witness and any directed assistance within reason."

Chou extended his hand. "Sounds fair friend. I have a lovely hat of my grandmothers in mind for you."

Shi grinned and shook it. "Oh and you're going to look lovely in my elder sister's shoes."

Both of them sat back and returned to the game.

"So," Chou said picking up a game piece. "Who's going to be the lucky girl?"

Click

Shi paused to think for a second, and then he remembered what had happened when he had visited Ember Island a few weeks ago. A large smile crept across his face. "Oh, I have the perfect girl in mind, and she's exactly our age."

Click

"Who?"

Click

"Azula."

Click

A long pause. Chou looked up at his good friend Shi. "You mean the Azula who works in the fish market? The one with the squint?" The tone of desperate hope was clear in his voice.

A soft click.

"Nope!" Shi said happily as only someone who has screwed someone over so completely can. "The girl you are going to 'romance' is the great Princess Azula."

Click.

She blinked at the boy across from her. "What made you choose her?"

"Momentary insanity." Shi sighed. "That's how it all started."

"What happened next?"

"The courtship."