Zuko thinks that's rough, buddy (fireprincezuko) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-28 00:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, avatar korra, azula, ty lee, zuko |
Who: Azula, Zuko, Ty Lee, Korra
What: Drinking
When: 4/12ish?
Where: Bar / club
Rating: Low. W for kinda weird.
Status: Complete
When his sister invited him to the bar ‘for drinks and fun, Zuzu, what else?’, Zuko could find no real reason to say no. At the very least it got him out of the awkward situation in his new home -- walking in on his naked sister-in-law had been both a rough and trying situation, and so any reason to not have to look her in the eyes was a welcoming one at this point. Drinks, he was sure, could only help.
He stepped into the bar (or was it a club? He could never tell what the difference was, they were all loud) a few minutes later than the time they’d set up to meet and looked around the place with a half-curious expression until he spotted his sister. It was not a shock to see Ty Lee there, either.
Azula was dressed with elegant style - probably not her own style, but she did pay attention to things Rarity had told her. Which was a sore subject right now and half the reason she’d gone out. She waved at Zuko, waggling her fingers playfully. “You made it! And you’re not even late.”
Ty Lee was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a cartoon dinosaur on it, and was of course sitting next to Azula, examining her very pink drink. “Hey! Just you tonight, Zuko?” She liked Draco, but it was nice to be around people from her dreams. Especially with the craziness that was the Fire Nation.
Korra, on the other hand, had a habit of running late. It went along with the fact that she didn’t have a driver’s license or a car, and had to get everywhere by a) foot b) public transit or c) polar bear dog. Azula had invited her out, and to be honest, she’d been looking for a reason to get out of her place, get her mind off of school. Finals were very nearly there and she needed a night to blow off some steam.
Entering the bar, the so-called Avatar looked around for the firebender she’d met once. The girl had been nice enough, and Korra wasn’t averse to making friends. After a few minutes of walking around, searching, sighing and nearly giving up, she saw Azula across the bar. And lifted her hand in a bit of an awkward-looking wave as she approached their table.
“Heeeyyy,” she said, drawing it out. She came to stand beside Zuko, who she gave a look and a small smile (he looked a bit familiar), before turning to Azula. “Finally found you guys.” It was obviously busy and loud, and so she wasn’t going to point that out. But totally why she was late.
“Just me,” Zuko agreed, nodding a greeting at Ty Lee and his sister both before turning to look at the drink special menu. It was probably a bit lame of him, but Zuko tended to prefer everything too-sweet and so generally picked drinks that were a bit-- well. Fruity. Bright red or blue drinks in tall glasses contrasted with his ever-so-serious frown and the dark unmistakable scar on the left half of his face. Probably laughably so.
He turned then, when someone new showed up. He observed the girl in silence for a moment, taking in her blue hair in a high pony tail and eyes - equally blue. He knew of her, of course. They’d spoken on the internet. She was the Avatar. But not his Avatar. If that made sense. “Hello,” he greeted, awkward but earnest. “Zuko, here.”
“Korra!” Azula smiled, actually seeming to give off some sort of genuine happiness at seeing her friend. “This is my big brother, Zuzu. And this..” she glanced at Ty Lee. “is my wife. Ty Lee. Zuzu, Ty Lee? This is the Avatar. An Avatar.” Azula liked having powerful friends.
Ty Lee smiled at Korra, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you! I really like your hair.” She liked bright colors a lot. No doubt she’d be ordering the same girly drinks as Zuko. “I should dye my hair a bright color. Oh, pink!” Because what other color would she dye it?
“Nice to meet you all,” the blue-haired girl said. She slid into the seat beside Zuko’s, leaning over the bar to look at them all. Her eyes opened a bit wider when Azula introduced her as the Avatar, not quite used to being called that yet. Though she’d always been known as such in her dreams, it was a much different world here. She hadn’t had time to process it all yet. Really, she’d just started water and firebending a short time ago. She simply nodded, half-smiling at the comment.
While the others were considering girly drinks, the Avatar ordered a beer. She wasn’t into the fancy, girly stuff -- no fault to anyone who was, just not her style. Taking a sip, she turned to Ty Lee and smiled a little. “Wife, huh? Congratulations.” They couldn’t be much older, if not younger than Korra. It was just weird to see people around your age getting married when you were so not thinking about that. She took another sip of her beer, absently wondering what her firebender was up to tonight. If she could call Mako hers.
“What’s the plan for the night, Zuko?” she asked as she turned to him, knowing that name was far too familiar. Maybe she knew him in her dreams.
Maybe she did. Zuko couldn’t say he’d had the same pleasure. In fact, Zuko couldn’t say anything about his dreams gave him any pleasure at all. But they weren’t talking about that, not really, and he definitely wasn’t going to be the one to start down that road.
His sister and her wife were young -- a few years younger than him, but he had no place making assessments like that considering he’d off and gotten married at the same time they had, practically. To their credit, they were of the Firenation, and that sort of implied brash, quick decisions. He didn’t regret his though, and doubted very highly that Azula or Ty Lee did, either. They looked happy, anyway.
Considering the question, he glanced at his sister, and then down at his fruity drink. It had an umbrella in it, which he frowned at, but did not make an effort to remove. “Get drunk?” He asked, a little lamely; he wasn’t the most social of butterflies. “Talk? Try not to set something on fire, later.” He’d been practicing his own firebending, but much like in his dreams, control was hard won.
“But it’s so fun watching Azula show off, I bet it’s fun watching you too.” Ty Lee chirped, drinking her vivid concoction. It was nice to feel normal again. Lately she’d had a definite lack of cheerfulness, and she didn’t like it at all. Being mopey didn’t suit her, she’d leave that to the professionals.
Azula grinned. She'd love to show off. She was the most advanced here and it filled her with a certain sort of glee. She wanted to teach her brother and Korra. In fact, she announced that, then and there. "I'm going to train you both to firebend like masters. Lightning, blue fire." She wanted to leave her mark.
"Not tonight. Tonight I want to drink."
She noticed that Ty Lee had been a little under lately, and she didn’t know how to fix it. She hoped tonight would help. She still had to make nice with Rarity, herself.
“I’ll try my hardest,” Korra laughed, agreeing with Zuko. She would rather not set something on fire, though she hadn’t had much luck in that department since she’d unlocked that particular element. She wiggled her bottle in a circle for a moment before taking a swig.
At Azula’s mention of teaching her firebending, Korra nodded, though she raised her brow. She wasn’t sure the Avatar could bend lightning, she’d never heard of it before. But she supposed there was always the chance. If you could bend the element, certainly you could bend whatever firebenders could. “I look forward to it,” she agreed, smiling a little. “But another time.” Because tonight was for drinking, and shooting the shit. She looked forward to getting to know others from her dream world, ones who remembered their past lives. At the thought, Korra took a long drink.
As a professional mopey person, Zuko could full well understand that chipper worked better on Ty Lee than any pout did. It mismatched her personality and pink, and he was pleased to see that things had gone back to their own kind of normal for her. Their little group only really needed one person who glowered for no reason, and he didn’t care to be replaced.
“I’d learn. It could be ... fun,” Zuko agreed -- kind of assuming that he’d get into those things anyway, eventually. Surely if Azula could do it, he’d learn how to in his dreams as well, right? Right? Whatever. The point was, Azula had always been a faster learner in some regards. Zuko, on the other hand, might have taken longer, but retained probably a good deal more information. He was clever, but not always immediately. And as Ty Lee noted, it would probably be fun to watch.
Finally, he plucked his umbrella out of his drink, leaving it on the bar to create a sticky mess. “So,” he said, because, well, he felt the need to continue the conversation and not just kill it immediately -- “What’s it like -- to be the Avatar?”
Azula’s hand slipped behind Ty Lee, rubbing up and down her back. With Ozai...gone....she didn’t need to worry about retribution, or so she thought. She could just enjoy this.
It felt very very strange just enjoying something without an ulterior motives or any fears.
Ty Lee snuggled up against Azula, wrapping her arm around her waist. It was nice to be able to snuggle like a normal pair of teenagers, even if they weren’t at all. “Did she replace the bald guy?” Ty Lee asked Azula.
Korra turned her attention to Zuko at his question, but she really didn’t know how to answer that. Part of her wanted to say that it was great, amazing, fantastic even. Another part of her thought it was just plain weird. She supposed it was both.
Letting out a bit of a sigh, she shrugged at the scarred boy and smirked a little. “To be honest? No idea, really,” she admitted. “But in my dreams, it’s pretty fucking awesome.” To put it mildly. She finished her beer and ordered another, because why the fuck not?
Aw crap, it was sort of a competition now. Zuko, for reasons unbeknownst to him, felt the constant need to be on the same number of drinks as anyone else he was drinking with. It did not bode well for the rest of the night, and he didn’t stop to think that either. He ordered a new one, too.
Zuko envied anyone that thought their dreams awesome -- it was something he was not in the same frame of mind about, after all. “Huh.” was all he could think to say, because he really did suck at conversation.
Azula kind of went both ways. She already had enough drink in her to admit it, too. "There are awesome things, and then everything gets worse. I'm waiting for these two to disown me when they dream about what I've done." Not that she'd ever told them any details.
“I’m not crazy about them, actually.” Ty Lee made a silly face and ordered another drink as well. “I don’t even get to bend fire or anything.” She giggled a little, her tiny body and fast metabolism working against her. She was already a tiny bit intoxicated.
“You can take one of mine,” she told Ty Lee. Because apparently four was three more than the usual, and Korra already felt weird enough about it here. She couldn’t imagine adding earth and air to the mix after experiencing fire and water. Being the Avatar in normal California was going to be a challenge, she was sure of it.
Turning, Korra leaned back on the bar and nodded at Zuko. “So, can you firebend here too?” Because Azula had mentioned it, but hadn’t gone into detail.
What Ty Lee didn’t admit was that she was good at chi-blocking. It wasn’t a very well known art, Zuko knew, but one that came in handy around -- well. Benders. He didn’t bother to say so, though. Instead, he nodded to Korra’s question -- even though he was more realistically trying to figure out what exactly Azula was talking about. She’d apologized once before, but had not explained herself much then, either.
“I can,” he said, after a beat. “In a fashion -- it’s kind of... new?” It didn’t stop him opening his hand, palm up and producing a tiny dancing flame there. He’d been practicing quite a bit, lately.
Azula knew. She was far too aware of Ty Lee’s abilities and the strategic advantages they presented. She was also aware of it first hand, a memory she was loathe to think about. She looked at her brother, and bit back a laugh. Barely. She still made a sound, though.
Ty Lee giggled, because A) she was tipsy and everything was funny and B) she knew when Azula was trying not to laugh, and that made her do it instead. It wasn’t her fault at all. Nope. “Awww, it’s so little!”
“Better than I can do, so far,” was all that Korra said to that, amazed that Zuko could produce flame in any sort of controlled sense. All she could do was start it, not control it yet. Azula had better have a fireproof building in mind for training this Avatar.
Choosing instead to not light the entire place on fire, Korra shrugged. And took a long drink of her beer. If Zuko was going to try and keep up, he should probably learn that Korra was not a lightweight.
Zuko frowned deeply at the near snickering of his sister, and Ty Lee’s comment -- the fire flared brightly in his hand before he dispelled it completely. It was clear he was annoyed by that alone, but he said nothing on the topic at all. At the very least, his poor temper would be conducive to faster drinking. Draco was going to have a handful to deal with later tonight, it seemed.
“Well, it is,” Azula couldn’t help but say, before her laughter bubbled over. She waved her hand back and forth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She snickered again.
Ty Lee laughed loudly, holding onto Azula’s waist to keep from falling over. “Oooooh, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Zuko. You’re so cute when you’re mad.” She grinned at him, then gave him a very enthusiastic hug.
Korra felt a bit out of place. Not because they weren’t including her, but because she just didn’t know them well enough yet. She was smirking as the girls had teased Zuko, but when she’d realized he wasn’t happy about it, she frowned. He was a bit of a sulker, wasn’t he?
After Ty Lee had hugged him, Korra put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she assured him. “You’re further along than me. They’ll have someone else to laugh at soon enough.”
If it was possible to frown more deeply, Zuko managed it. Yes. Yes he was a bit of a sulker. But it was better for him to frown than burst out in a complete rage -- so let it be known, ladies, he was trying. There were very few people who knew how to completely deal with his anger and unfortunately for all of them, he’d left Draco at home.
“Shuttup,” he said finally, and contradicted his glare by sipping at his bright pink drink through a neon straw. But then he took a deep breath, rolled his eyes and shrugged. It was all very quick as far as mood changes went. “They won’t laugh at you for your firebending,” he told Korra. “You have the tactical advantage of three other elements.”
“Oh yes, Korra isn’t very far along at all. She can make water slosh,” Azula said, rubbing at her face as she continued to snicker. “But you’ll all get stronger. Even if you couldn’t beat me.” She smirked.
After hugging Zuko Ty Lee went to the bar and got another drink. This one was blue, for a change of pace. She plopped next to Azula again, sipping her drink and listening, for once.
Korra didn’t even begin to take offense at Azula’s comment because, quite frankly, it was true. She wasn’t far along at all. She knew she’d have to be patient, but if she was going to be a freak of nature, she wanted to go all out with it. None of this splish splashing. “Well,” she made a face at Zuko. “In my dreams, I haven’t been able to airbend. Don’t know if that’s ever going to happen. I’m not exactly the most... Spiritual Avatar.” To put it mildly.
Zuko, admittedly, didn’t know a ton about the avatar yet, in general. All of his dreams so far had been only from a certain point in his life where he was still quite young. So he shrugged, drank his drink and considered whether or not Azula would actually beat him in a fight. And then he wondered why he’d even think of something like that. She was annoying, sure, but just like any other little sister was. Sort of. Okay, not really.
“You’re like the opposite of Aang,” Azula explained, sobering up a little. “He was very spiritual, very kind. I did not view him as a very strong boy. I viewed him as weak, easy to manipulate. A child, a target, something to be eliminated because he was in the way. He deserved better than that. To be shot in the back.”
Ty Lee wasn’t very coherent, but by this point she’d reached her limit. She slid off the barstool, wobbling a little. “Hey, doesn’t this club have a pool?”
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Korra responded to Azula, lifting her brows. “Whenever I was compared to Aang, they asked how such a mild-mannered Avatar could have been reincarnated into someone like me.” There was a sigh that followed that, and a hand wave. “I was always compared to him.” And never in a good way. She was always less great than the incarnations that came before.
Watching Ty Lee with a curious expression, Korra glanced to Zuko before finishing her beer. The girl was bright and cheery. The Avatar wasn’t used to that. She ordered another drink and shrugged. “Fancy place if it’s got a pool!”
Zuko wasn’t exactly a heavyweight when it came to drinking, but it was pretty clear his sister...s(?) were better at getting drunk faster. He shrugged, because he didn’t know the avatar from his own dreams and had no input on the subject to give. Instead, he ordered another drink.
“A pool?” he asked, looking a little wary. “You want to go swimming right now?”
“I love this idea!” Azula kissed Ty Lee on the cheek. “Come on. Lets go.” And she started to walk out, grabbing her drink.
Ty Lee grabbed Azula’s free hand and dragged her out into the back patio. There was indeed a pool, and it was a little chilly. Ty Lee didn’t seem to notice that very much.
Korra watched the two girls go, looked at Zuko, shrugged, and then followed them outside. Might as well see what all the fuss was about.
Stepping outside, the blue-haired girl let out a small laugh. Okay, there totally was a pool. Not something you see everyday at the bars she frequented. Also known as the discount “student” establishments. Putting her free hand out once she’d reached the water, she lifted some of it and then let it fall back in. Good to know she could bend while drinking. An interesting notion.
A frightening notion, given the company, actually. Still, Zuko was double fisting his drinks and looked suitably impressed for someone who only had one eyebrow to raise in the first place. He’d never seen waterbending in the real world, either. “Interesting,” he murmured.
Azula laughed, and started to unbutton her blouse. “Last one in gets my next pet named after them. I already have a chinchilla named Zuko.”
Ty Lee was already half naked, and shimmying out of her jeans. “Awwww, I want to name our next pet. Zuko needs a friend!” She jumped into the pool, yelping when she realized how cold it was.
Korra wasn’t about to jump right in. She lifted her free hand and covered her mouth as she laughed. This Ty Lee seemed to bring out a very interesting side of Azula. Turning to Zuko, she raised a brow and smirked. “Does this happen often?”
Zuko just blinked, and then finished off one of his drinks -- setting the empty glass down nearby before starting in on the other one. “Sometimes,” he said, and sounded a little pained about it. On the other hand, if he was the last one in Azula would be forced to have two pets with the same name. Not that he’d known about the first one. “They’re a little -- uh.”
In just her panties and bra (both of which were of course red, and even a little lacy), Azula dove in after Ty Lee. The water was cold, but she didn’t really care. The booze was keeping her warm.
Soon enough Ty Lee was keeping her warm, too. “Mmmm, this is more fun than talking about bending.” Ty Lee noted. Her underwear was pink, and her bra was a nude color so it wouldn’t show under her light colored shirt.
Korra just let out another laugh, shaking her head as she turned to Zuko. “Outgoing?” she offered, taking a swig of her drink. They were having fun, but she had no intention of diving into cold water anytime soon. She’d need a few more beers before then. Speaking of which, she finished her current one off.
“Outgoing,” Zuko agreed with a nod. Because that was a good a word as any without going straight into rude and saying ‘crazy’.
“You could bend the water warmer, you realize,” he said, pointedly to Azula -- although he still made no move to get into the pool. Or undress enough to get into the pool, either.
Azula waved her hand, face too distracted by Ty Lee’s face to really pay attention. She did, after a moment, produce a flame that warmed the water five degrees.
It was still pretty chilly. Ty Lee clung tightly to Azula. “Chickens.”
Korra shrugged. Usually she’d be all for the challenge when she was called a chicken, but she just wasn’t feeling it lately. Maybe she’d lost some of her drive for things like that. Curious. Watching the girls hang out in the water for a long moment, she looked back to Zuko and half-smiled. “So, Zuko,” she began, taking a sip of her beer. “Tell me about yourself. Your sister hasn’t told me much.”
Zuko sucked down half of his new drink in one go -- it was the advantage to his like of all things entirely too sweet. They went down fast. He set it down on the little table next to them and (rolling his eyes), started unbuttoning his shirt. Unlike Korra, he couldn’t back down from a challenge. It just wasn’t him. Still, he’d take his damn time with it.
“Well,” he said, a little blankly. “I’m a firebender. I -- uh. Like to read?” What exactly did she want to know? Zuko kept it all a little close to the vest, and wasn’t sure how to do normal things like opening up via conversation.
Azula giggled. Her brother was the most awkward person alive, and she was enjoying it, almost as much as Ty Lee pressed all against her. She hugged the girl, the alcohol in her system making her not care about appearances. She looked almost peaceful.
Ty Lee cheered when Zuko began undressing. Which made her laugh. “He’s pouty! And it’s funny when he’s mad.” Ty Lee is helpful!
Korra, on the other hand, was not helpful in the least. Though she wasn’t a big fan of bullies, she wasn’t exactly going to stomp her foot and stand up against the teasing. Zuko seemed to be okay with it, ever the sulker, and she didn’t see any reason to risk her friendship with these people.
Feeling a bit awkward as Zuko started removing his clothes, Korra topped off her third drink and pulled out her cell phone. She didn’t really know these people well enough to go swimming with them in the middle of a bar. It was a bit awkward. She was, coincidentally, texting Toph, looking for an excuse to get out of there. And do some free drinking somewhere else. Bars are expensive, man.
Expensive things meant very little to this group. Zuko and Azula in particular were very spoilt in their own right (so long as you looked past the mental and physical abuse they’d taken to be that way). The very idea that someone couldn’t spare the money for drinks was completely beyond them.
Zuko was no fool about how uncomfortable Korra looked, though. Unfortunately, even though he was observant, he didn’t often do things to be very helpful either. Instead, he gave a half apologetic smile before shrugging his shirt off and moving toward the pool.
Luckily for Korra, her phone went off via Toph.
>> HELP
came the lame, obvious response
>> ITS IMPORTANT AND SHIT. ALSO UH IM BLIND.
Azula had intended to just pick up the tab in general. After all, she had been the one to invite people out, so she’d cover that. When she was ready to slip out of the pool. She had an idea. “Korra..Korra! Wave pool!”
Ty Lee let go of Azula long enough to let her convince her friend to play. This didn’t seem to be turning out like Azula had planned. Most things didn’t, when they involved other people.
Korra was about to excuse herself when Azula shouted for a wave pool. Okay, this she could totally do. Grinning, she stepped up closer to the water. With a few arm movements and setting herself into a prepared stance, the water began splashing about. Fairly roughly, too. On the level of a true wave pool. She’d definitely improved.
Just smirking, the Avatar continued that for a little bit, then stepped back and let the water settle itself.
Zuko sat on the edge of the pool -- feet in water and little else -- and watched the waves. It was impressive, actually. He’d never seen a real waterbender before, and this was -- well. Neat? “Wow,” he said, tilting his head a bit like a curious puppy.
It was awesome, and Azula laughed in drunken delight. She climbed out of the pool and wrang her hair out, grinning brightly. “Fake IDs are the best things ever.”
Ty Lee laughed loudly at the waves, and followed Azula out when they were done. “Oh, water bending is awesome! I haven’t even dreamed about water benders, yet!” She grinned at Korra, then shivered and tugged her clothes back on.
Korra placed her hands on her hips, grinning at the group. It was good to get out, and to test out her newfound abilities. She never found the right moments in everyday life. Everyone was just so... Normal. She liked being able to be herself.
“Maybe you’ll dream about me,” Korra ventured, though she knew it was unlikely. If Azula had remember Aang, then the rest of them probably wouldn’t remember her. “Or other waterbenders.”
“Probably,” Zuko said, pulling his feet out of the pool and wondering why he’d taken his shirt off in the first place. “At least the latter.” Azula probably had already. Actually, there was no probably about it. He looked around for his drink, but couldn’t seem to find it.
“Katara and her annoying twerp of a brother,” she wrinkled her nose, and shimmied back into her clothing. Azula didn’t have any nice things to say about Katara, but she thought it would be best to keep them to herself.
“I guess I’ll dream about them later.” Ty Lee hopped up and sat on a table.
“Oh! I know Katara. She was my waterbending master,” Korra said, looking excited when Azula mentioned her. “Though, she was probably a lot older when I met her,” she ventured, drifting off slightly. Thinking on that, she shrugged after a long moment and checked the time on her phone. And the 10 texts that Toph had sent her. Letting out a sigh, the Avatar looked up and half-smiled at the group. “I’ve got to go. Apparently it’s an emergency.”
Zuko was getting the feeling that maybe Azula thought everyone’s brother was annoying. It would certainly clear some things up, that was for sure. He found his shirt again, and gave a nod to Korra even as he put it back on. “Nice meeting you.”
Azula walked up to Korra and gave her a drunken, ecstatic hug. “We should all do something again.” She snapped her fingers, making a spark. “Disneyland.”
“Oh! Yes!” Ty Lee added. More fun things to do would help. “We can all get mouse ears!” She grinned at Zuko, expecting him to sulk about it.
“Disneyland sounds great,” the Avatar said, lifting a hand and waving at the group. She smiled at Zuko and then Ty Lee, said a quick “Nice meeting you,” and grinned at Azula before heading out.