InsaneJournal

Who: Ty lee, Azula, Mai, Zuko.
What: The four go out to lunch!
When: A few weeks ago.
Where: A restaurant somewhere.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13, for the most part.
Status: Complete!


Zuko wasn’t sure this was the best idea. Actually, going anywhere with his sister was a terrible idea, let alone going to meet his ex-girlfriend and the girl who claimed she saw auras. And going out to eat with them, where there’d be knives and forks and other potentially deadly weapons to be used against him. Not that he was a coward. He just knew his sister.

“Calm down, Mai isn’t going to stab you on sight.” Azula had her eyes on her phone, flipping through it lazily. They’d just taken over a warehouse from a local gang and she was keeping tabs.

“You obviously don’t remember her.”

Azula rolled her eyes. “So how’s that thing with Hiroshi Sato going?”

“I’m not going to marry some girl who probably doesn’t even want it. She’s probably underage or something.” Zuko rested his elbows on the table. “I’m sure she’s nice.”

Ty Lee had actually worried that she wouldn't recognize her friends over all these years, but Zuko and his grumpy aura were easy to make out. Azula was hiding behind her phone, but she also had a face that Ty would have recognize anywhere. Which was why she bounced up to the table like they hadn't spent a few years apart.

"Guys! Oh my gosh look at you!" Before Zuko could even get a word in, Ty was pulling him up into a hug, "You're so handsomeface now! And ZUULLAAAAA!"

She let Zuko go and bounce over to Azula's chair, "I missed you so much!"

It was just Mai that was missing now, and she'd actually been watching them for a little while. She had no idea what their lives had all been like since they'd separated - Ty Lee seemed unchanged and Zuko had gotten even more handsome, damn him. But in her time she'd become an assassin and the keeper of her boss's secrets. What few he bothered to share with her, anyway.

It was hard to make herself feel like she belonged. But eventually, she knew she'd have to go over there. Not for Zuko's sake, but for the other girls. So she approached the table quietly, and took a seat without a word.

Azula watched with amusement as Ty Lee assaulted Zuko's personal space. It gave her time to prepare for the inevitable hug that she was going to receive. And to really get a good look at Ty Lee. It almost made her icy heart melt. Almost. "You look good," she said in an offhanded manner, squeezing an arm around the other woman. Her touch lingered a few seconds longer than necessary before she let go.

She nodded at Mai when she sat down, then slipped her phone into its boob holster. "Just like old times, mm?"

It was like Azula to slip into the defacto leader role, a fact that bugged Zuko to no end. What's worse, it was exactly like Azula to make sure that Mai would have to sit across from him, so he'd have to stare at her. How had she gotten prettier? Damn her!

He felt, suddenly, not at all like a crimelord and more like an awkward teenager again. "Reminds me of the school cafeteria."

Oh god, I'm an idiot.

Zuko wasn't the only one. Mai was trying not to stare at him, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to act anymore. She was the right hand to one of the most powerful men in the county and here she was, feeling exactly like this was high school all over again.

"Just like old times. If we wait around a little longer Zuko can break up with me in texts again." She said, in her usual deadpan tone.

That tone usually meant that Mai actually cared, but only Ty Lee was good at reading that kind of thing. She glanced at Mai and then back to Azula, and clapped her hands together, "That's so funny. I think he knows better than to do that again! Don't you, Zuko?"

High school. Zuko hated High School. It hadn’t been too terrible, honestly. But he had been a pretty big idiot back then. And he wa still an idiot. Clearly. He grimaced at Mai, then picked up a menu to hide behind look at.

Azula shot a look at her brother. “Oh I’m sure he knows better than to do that again, isn’t that right, Zuzu? How did you break up with the last one?”

Zuko grimaced at the menu. “There wasn’t a break up, it wasn’t a thing.”

“Some slut with a boat,” Azula commented. She was spending more time staring at the two other women. Trying to see what had changed. Mostly.

"My boss sees a slut with a boat sometimes," Mai commented, while grabbing for a menu. "They make all kinds of noises in his office, it's ridiculous. I'm just glad I'm not the one he pays to buff the scratches out of his desk."

Mai didn’t seem to have changed much on the outside. Her bangs were still the same, she still preferred long sleeved shirts and more elegant outfits, and she still bothered with things like nail polish and makeup. It was the way she acted when she thought no one was looking that gave away anything different under the surface.

"OOoo..." Ty lee bounced in her chair a bit and then leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, ready to listen to more. She was clearly entertained, and didn’t seem that much different at all after all these years, "I wonder if it's the same person! Wouldn't that be a coincidence?"

Mai seemed harder. It was an interesting look on her. Azula kind of liked it. Where Ty Lee was still soft (but firm, oh so firm,) Mai had grown out her edges and her claws. Azula decided she couldn’t take her for granted.

“How many loose women with boats can there be, Ty Lee?”

“At least one,” Zuko commented. He lowered the menu, eyeing Mai slightly. He wasn’t going to talk about his sex life in front of his ex. Or his sister. “At least one of us has a sex life.”

"Hey, I have a sex life! I had sex with this one guy a bit ago and then he texted me to tell me he was dead but he got better?" Ty Lee still thought that whole thing was strange, even though she worked in a shop where strange stuff happened all the time.

"I guess I'm just not that interested in sex. What I've had of it wasn't that compelling," Mai added, from behind her menu. She already knew what she was going to order, but the menu gave her cover so that she didn't have to keep looking at Zuko.

Not that she didn't want to look at Zuko. It's just that she didn't want to look at Zuko. Because he'd be looking at her. Or something.

Azula shot a look at Ty Lee, feeling a surge of jealousy that she couldn’t place. Ugh. She did not want to hear about sex lives unless they were mocking Zuko. Fortunately, Mai led right into an opportunity. “I wouldn’t know, sex is always fantastic for me. My brother on the other hand, well I feel so sorry for the women he dates.” She gave Zuko a smile.

Zuko’s mouth had turned into a thin line and he put the menu down. He was ready to order. Or leave. He might just leave before he lost his temper and he was really close to losing his temper. Through gritted teeth, he said. “It was like looking at a mask.”

Ouch. The words might as well have been daggers, Mai felt like she'd been stabbed by them. One of her hands twitched on her menu, like she was resisting the urge to physically hurt someone. Suddenly, the tension at the cafe was so thick it was palpable.

Ty Lee glanced at Mai, then at Zuko, then over at Azula. This wasn't going so well, but it was clear to her that Mai and Zuko were actually really not over anything. At all. Especially each other. She chewed on her lip for a few seconds, while trying to think of a way to change the subject or cut the tension, "You know what might be fun after this? I know a place where we can paintball each other! Yeah, you put on protective gear of course and then you run around this maze of stuff and shoot at each other, but it's not real, it's just little pellets filled with colored paint. They kinda hurt though if you get hit with them."

It was a nice, healthy way to work out the bad violent feelings anyway. She grinned at the three of them and then deferred to the leader of their little clan, "What do you think, Azula?"

Zuko should probably feel bad about that. But it was true. He hadn't known if she'd even enjoyed it. She hadn't even looked at him after. What was he supposed to think?! Zuko's expression only soured further.

Especially as his sister was side-eying him something hard. She was gripping a butter knife with intent to maim, even. But then Ty Lee gave a surprisingly excellent solution. "That's actually a great idea."

Don't sound so surprised, Azula, really.

"I always like making Zuzu get hurt."

"Yeah, that's great. It almost sounds like fun," Mai added, from her spot behind the menu. She finally let it drop to the table, but she refused to make eye contact with Zuko at all, "Ty Lee has good ideas. Remember the time she got us into cheerleading?"

"It was awesome! And we were super popular, and everyone loved us! Even you, Mai!" Ty Lee said, while clapping her hands together with glee. She'd had a great idea and Azula had even said so! The older woman's approval meant a lot to her, even after all these years.

Mai just gave her a dry look in response, and motioned for the waiter.

“We did both have more date offers than we knew what to do with,” Azula said, amusement in her voice. “Well, I knew exactly what to do with most of them. The broken hearts were delicious.” Not that she was the smoothest person in the world, but at least she didn’t compare clothing to battleships, that would be pathetic!

There was another. Offer. Involving another cheerleader. That no one knew about except Mai and there was a generally agreed oath not to talk about it. Azula preferred to think it had never happened.

“Let me guess, you three against me,” Zuko said. Not because he thought he could beat them all, but because he was certain they all wanted to shoot him.

"That wouldn't be fair at all! You and Mai can be on the same team, and me and Azula will team up against you!" Ty lee replied, encouragingly. She knew better than to put Mai and Zuko on opposite teams; They'd just spend the whole time trying to kill each other. If they were on the same team they' have to learn to work together.

"Whatever," came Mai's response. She knew better than to argue. When Ty Lee had it in her head to do something, there was really no changing her mind. The girl even found some way to win Azula over. Though that was no mystery to Mai, she knew damn well that the reason Ty Lee got away with it was because Azula had a thing for her.

She looked over at Azula, and added, "So what have you been up to, your Highness?"

A change in subject was definitely a good idea while they waited to place their orders and get their food.

Azula smirked at being called your highness. In light of her dreams, it made it all the more delicious. They'd felt so real, and that power of fire flooding through her was intoxicating. She wanted more of it.

If she was honest with herself, she wouldn't mind that peace and control. She felt so often like her life was out of her control. Something she'd never admit to anyone. And she didn't have a thing for Ty Lee.

"Boring business things," she replied flippantly.

"We run a restaurant, plus a few other businesses," Zuko added. He was happy for the subject change. "The Burning Blossom Steakhouse makes a mean steak. I handle most of the north and west stuff, Azula works farther south."

"That doesn't sound boring, it sounds delicious! I like steaks, maybe I should have stayed a vegetarian, but I just couldn't do it. A little red meat doesn't really throw your body off too much!" Especially when it was amazingly delicious. Ty Lee used that kind of thing as a treat food. Like today, and the burger she was going to be ordering.

"We should eat there sometime!" She added, cheerfully.

The waiter came over at that point, and there was a pause in the conversation as everyone had their orders taken. Mai opted for something light and clean to eat, a habit she'd never bothered to break herself out of after living for so long in the public eye.

“You went back to meat?” Azula looked shocked. She’d thought that of all the things Ty Lee could have stuck to that that would have been one of them. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, it was like the world was suddenly topsy turvy. “I .. guess we could eat there. Of course we can. We own it.”

She went with something ridiculously spicy.

Zuko just settled on a burger. Not even a special burger, just a boring type of burger. He wasn’t feeling picky. And he didn’t want to add anything more so he brooded in silence.

“I just had to, I love vegetables but it turns out that vegetarianism isn’t really my thing because… because I love cows, Azula. I just love cows so much.” Ty Lee wasn’t ashamed of her shortcomings. And it was good, because now she’d get to eat a steak at their steakhouse.

Somehow Mai knew that she’d get dragged along on that little outing, too, and she couldn’t wait. Really. She was just dying to get a steak at the place that Zuko ran. He didn’t even look like he was capable of running a company, “Of course you can eat at the place you own. Unless it sucks. Does it suck?”

Something felt wrong about the world. Azula sighed. Her own order was a steak so rare it was probably still going to be mooing. At least she didn’t have to feel guilty about eating it in front of Ty Lee. Not that she’d feel guilty. Nope.

“Our chef is really good,” Zuko assured her. “She’s a perfectionist and can do magic with a steak.” Apparently. He’d checked on the reviews. And she was really cute but he wasn’t going to say that in front of Mai or Azula.

“Great. Why don’t we schedule a date next week?” Azula steepled her fingers together, already deciding that she and Ty Lee were going to be conveniently delayed.

"It'll have to be later in the evening, depending on the day," Mai replied. She glanced at Azula and squinted a bit, because it sounded like the other woman was plotting something. And whatever the plot was, she hoped it didn't involve Zuko. Who she had zero emotions about whatsoever. There was no reason why she'd ever want to be in a relationship with Zuko again. Ever.

"I work odd hours. I'm not always available. It depends on what my boss has planned."

Ty Lee raised her eyebrows, "Wow, that sounds like a kind of important job! I shouldn't have too much trouble, myself. I only have a couple evening classes and we can schedule around them!"

Azula nodded her head. “That’s fine. I don’t mind eating too late, and if your job is that important, who am I to interfere?” She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. Though her eyes spent more time on Ty Lee, she finally did look at Mai. “What do you do again?”

Zuko didn’t get a say. It wasn’t anything he disagreed with anyway so there wasn’t a point in trying. “Depends on how late.”

"I kill people for a living," Mai replied, completely deadpan.

Zuko choked on his water.

Azula just stared at her friend, then shrugged her shoulder. “How wonderful that you’re doing something interesting with your life. I always thought you’d end up bitterly married to some ancient creep.” She elbowed her brother. “At least Zuzu has a chance with a sexy girl.”

“What do you really do,” Zuko said.

"I thought I'd end up married to some ancient creep, too. That's what my parents had planned. I disappointed them a few too many times, I guess." Mai shrugged a shoulder, then looked over at Zuko, "I'm a personal assistant. The guy that runs the casino? He's eccentric. He works strange hours and sends me out on errands. Sometimes I play armcandy when he needs an escort somewhere. It's not like THAT, either, before you open your mouth Zuko."

A gasp finally came out of Ty Lee's mouth, who had been silently staring at Mai. It was almost like she believed Mai, but that was just silly. Mai would never kill people for a living, "Oh... Oh! You had me going there, Mai, you really did."

Zuko opened his mouth, then closed it. He actually looked relieved. “Okay I know it’s not like that but what if he takes advantage of you?”

“What do you care?” Azula rolled her eyes in the direction of her brother. “We all got boring. Crimelords Businessmen, assassins personal escorts and…”

She fixated on Ty Lee. She always liked fixating on Ty Lee, “What do you do anyway?”

"He won't take advantage of me. And if he tried, I'd stab him," Mai responded to Zuko's question, even though Azula had cut him off. And she resented the fact that all that Azula had gotten out of that was her role as personal escort. She did far more for Ganon than that.

Of course, a lot of that really did involve killing people. At least she could say later on if they found out that she hadn't been lying.

Ty Lee waited until Mai was done, then smiled at Azula. She liked the fact that the older woman was right across from her, though she wasn't sure why. "I work at a magic shop, where I do things like aura cleansing and helping people with their Feng Shui and stuff, and act as a cashier. And then I teach yoga! Between the two jobs I make enough to have a little apartment and everything. It's nice."

“Good,” Zuko muttered. He resolved to check up on this boss of Mai’s, if for no other reason than to make sure she was treated well.

Personal assistant, escort, same thing. It sounded boring and Azula was disappointed. She would have hoped her friend would have found something more exciting to do. What about all that knife work she used to do. Wasted!

And speaking of wasted. “I’m surprised you hadn’t ended up in a circus.” The yoga made sense in that ‘of course she teaches that’ sort of way. Ty Lee had always tried to get Azula to pay attention to that kind of stuff. She’d even gotten into Yoga herself, though she’d never admit it in front of her brother.

"That's so funny because I remember wanting to do that, or gymnastics or dancing or something... Maybe I should have even done karate championships but that's such a bad way to use martial arts, you know? That's not what they were invented for, it just seems so disrespectful," Ty Lee scrunched her nose up at the thought, then shook her head, "I like where I'm at in life, though. I get to find myself and help other people. I'm thinking of studying Reiki and becoming a masseuse if I ever get that kind of money together!"

Because of course Ty Lee would be into that kind of thing. At least she had ambitions. Mai wasn't really sure she could say the same about herself. In the crime business you did your job well and hoped your boss didn't have you killed. The only way to be more ambitious was to plot to overthrow the guy and take the mantle on yourself. That was too much like work, honestly. And Ganon wasn't the kind of guy you fucked with. He had too much power, she knew that.

She grunted a bit, "Sounds like fun."

Disrespectful. Zuko snorted. Some of the things he’d had to do didn’t quite fall under self-defense. He almost felt ashamed by it, but that was a part of doing business and something his father generally beat into his head. “That’s really a thing?”

“If you need practice,” Azula said. “My shoulders are always sore.” Her face was impassive, but Zuko raised his eyebrows.

A tiny smirk momentarily played across Mai's lips. Azula was being smooth as hell, and she was amused that Zuko hadn't quite figured his sister out.

Ty Lee seemed completely clueless, though, and just nodded her head, "Yeah! Reiki's a real thing! I had this really bad injury once and we had this Reiki master come in... she was just looking for books, but I was curious. I asked her a bunch of questions and she offered me a session. It healed up so fast! And I'll definitely practice on you, Azula! I think there's a required amount of practice time in order to pass."

The scary part was Azula was being smooth as hell. That wasn’t always her thing. Usually she crashed and burned. She rested her chin on her hand as Ty Lee talked, feigning boredom. “I suppose you can practice on me if you wish.”

Zuko just looked between them, and then turned to his newly arrived steak. EXCUSE to NOT TALK? Yes please!

"Yay!" Ty Lee bounced, and clapped her hands together. This was the best lunch ever, now!

She wasn't about to ruin the food with idle chatter while it was so amazingly delicious, either, and Mai was happy to eat her own food in silence. For the moment, at least, the table was at peace.

For the moment. Zuko wasn’t sure how long it would last. Either the peace at the table or the peace between the four of them. It had been several years since they’d seen either girl. A lot had changed. He’d changed. Even Azula wasn’t as much of a terror as she’d been growing up. World class bitch and pathological liar, but it wasn’t like she was a monster.

He shot his sister a worried look. His dreams the past few nights made him doubt that assessment. Reliving the worse part of his childhood was not at all fun.

This day wasn’t going to be much more fun. Except maybe seeing Mai again. He watched her for a moment, eyes darting over her face, before returning to his food. Missed chances.