Work Text:
It wasn’t just the way he smiled or the way he laughed. It was the way he smiled at her and the way he laughed only for her. Like he saved it only for when they were alone. And, being roommates, they were alone a lot.
Katara liked to pretend, only every once and a while, that they were married. When she would come home after a hard shift at the hospital and Zuko would have dinner sitting on the table, hot and ready. Or when she would cuddle up next to him when she was cold while watching a movie. Or when she made him breakfast in bed for his birthday. Or when they had breakfast together in general, messy hair and all, smiling from across their cereal. So maybe it was more than every once and a while. But she would never admit that.
But they weren’t married. They weren’t even dating. Because Zuko didn’t like her the way she liked Zuko. Not that he really knew about her feelings for him, but how could he not when it was so obvious. So, what did Katara do? She tried to move on. She dated Haru first, but he didn’t have that bad-boy charm that Zuko did. So, she dated Jet, but he was a little too much bad-boy. The kind that blew smoke in your face and thought it was hot. Not the brooding kind that said, “I would kill for you,” like Zuko. So, she dropped her bad-boy dream and dated Aang. That lasted for two years, but he eventually told her he couldn’t compete with Zuko anymore and broke up with her. She wasn’t even heartbroken.
And that’s how she found herself, single and not yet ready to mingle (unless it was with her hot roommate) on the night before her and Sokka’s 26th birthday. They always spent it together; it was more important than the Solstice to them. And this year it was Katara’s turn to fly out to Sokka. Zuko, not wanting to miss an opportunity to see Sokka, asked to go with her. So, they both bought cheap plane tickets to Kyoshi Island, where Sokka worked as a physical therapist.
It was her, Sokka, (both wearing fake, plastic, blue crowns) and Zuko at the local bar drinking like they were 21. She was wearing a tight, ocean blue dress. It was backless and a V-neck, and she looked amazing. If that didn’t get Zuko going, then she didn’t know what would. Sokka was wearing black jeans and a tank top, showing off his tattoo sleaves. And Zuko, well Zuko looked devilishly handsome in his black skinny jeans and leather jacket. His bangs swept into his golden eyes and his scar (that Katara loved) was on display.
The ground was sticky, and the place smelled like vomit. It was so crowded that Zuko was pressing himself into her causing her to not be able to think of anything besides his smell. If she was brave (or stupid) she would grab his collar and kiss him. But luckily (or unluckily) she was neither of those things.
“3…2…1” Sokka counted down for them, “Drink!”
Katara took her shot of Ice Vodka (her and Sokka’s favorite) and delighted in the icy burn that went down her throat.
“Okay,” Zuko said, looking down at her. She loved that he had to look down, emphasizing their height difference. “I think I’m done for the night.”
“Oh boo,” Katara frowned. “How many times am I gonna turn 26?”
“Oh you’re turning 26?” Zuko said, smirking (giving Katara the urge to kiss him and smack him all at once), “I thought you were turning 12?”
Katara’s frown deepened. “Creepy of you, an adult male, to be living with a twelve-year-old like me.” She quipped back. Living with Zuko was always like this, their witty banter never ending. She never let it on, but she loved it.
“I guess you could say you’re like my daughter.” He joked, reaching out and rubbing his knuckle into her hair, ruining her perfect curls.
“Sokka!” Katara cried, “Zuko is bullying me again.”
Sokka, who didn’t care, called out “Quit your flirting and get me another drink!” This, of course, made Katara turn a lovely shade of pink. Tilting her head down, to make sure Zuko didn’t notice, she went back to the bar.
“Two Arctic Frosts,” Katara said, after calling the bartender over.
“Coming right up,” said the woman across the bar. She was a little taller than Katara, with short brown hair, the front pieces in braids. She had misty grey eyes and taut muscles that rippled while she made Katara her drinks. “You celebratin’ or something?” she asked over the loudness of the bar, pointing to the crown on Katara’s head.
“It’s me and my twin brother’s 26th birthday,” She yelled back.
Recognition filled her eyes, “Oh, you’re Sokka’s sister!”
“That’s me.” Katara bounced on her feet. “How do you know him?”
“Oh, he’s been shamelessly flirting with me every Friday night for the last two months.” She said with a smirk.
That took Katara by surprise. Sokka didn’t flirt with anyone, he wasn’t interested, not after Yue’s death. Katara shook herself out of the painful memory, “Really?” Katara said, doubt written in her voice. The bartender nodded. “I’m Katara.” She said, deciding to introduce herself.
“I know,” the bar tender giggled. “I’m Suki.” She said putting the newly made drinks down in front of Katara.
“Thanks,” she smiled. She watched as someone else called Suki over. Katara grabbed her drinks wiggled her way through the crowd.
The next day, Katara woke up to the smell of seal bacon. She said a silent prayer, thanking Tu and La for not giving her a hangover. She got off of the couch she was sleeping on and waddled her way over the kitchen where Zuko was making breakfast.
Zuko looked up from making her pancakes and frowned, “It was supposed to be breakfast in bed.”
Katara tried to shut off the sappy smile that appeared on her face but failed. She reeled herself from going off into a fantasy of Zuko (her husband) making breakfast for Katara (his wife).
Sokka, who was already munching down on food, interrupted her fantasy by saying “Happy Birthday, little sister,” his mouth full of food.
Katara rolled her eyes. He was born minutes before her and loved to point it out. “Happy Birthday, big brother,” she said, sitting down to join him in eating.
Zuko put a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of her. Saying, “Happy Birthday, Katara,” with a smile.
Taking a bite, she had to hold back a moan. The pancakes were delicious, cinnamony and fluffy. That was one thing she loved about living with Zuko. He knew his way around the kitchen like nobody else she knew. She wolved down the rest of her breakfast like she just got out of the desert. Mumbling a little, “Thank you, Zuko. This was amazing,” when she finished. Zuko beamed at the compliment.
It was times like this that Katara was reminded about Zuko’s upbringing. Zuko looking like the fucking sun when she complimented him showed that he was never given any when he was growing up. Zuko holding her tight when she hugged him after breakfast showed that he wasn’t used to physical reassurance. Katara was, of course, happy to show him as much love as she had inside her, which was a lot.
After breakfast, the three of them curled up on the couch, Sokka already turning on the Xbox. Katara was good at playing. Growing up with Sokka, how could she not be. Instead of wallowing over her mother’s death, she threw all of her free time into beating her brother. Her dad getting deployed? She challenged Sokka every day. Video games were her coping mechanism.
They took turns playing all of Sokka and Katara’s childhood games, Zuko not winning a single one. This wasn’t surprising because Zuko hated video games. He hated the idea of being glued to the TV for any period of time, but especially video games. Katara always chalked it up to his sister beating him too many times in a row. Yet, he still played (for her) for Sokka. Eventually, Zuko gave up and said they should go get some lunch. While Katara’s hands didn’t agree with him, her stomach did, so she relented.
It was Katara’s year to pick the lunch spot, so that’s how they found themselves in a nice little Water Tribe-themed café with a small gift shop in near the front. It sold Water Tribe jewelry, beads and décor.
“Leave it to Katara to pick the girliest place on the whole island.” Sokka groaned when they walked in. Looks like Sokka’s toxic masculinity never went away, Katara thought to herself. Unsurprisingly, Sokka hated all things he deemed “girly.”
“I think it’s… cute,” Zuko said, looking around the shop. “And you’re one to talk, last year you picked a shitty board game café with shitty board games and even shittier food.”
“The tea was good,” Katara said, trying to defend Sokka, without looking up from a set of blue beads she thought would look great in her hair.
“Please, Katara. That tea tasted like hot leave juice.” Zuko said with a pout.
Once they were seated and they got served their food, Katara knew it was time to pounce. Looking over her bowl of Sea Prunes, she said, “So…” with a smirk, “When were you going to tell me about Suki.”
Sokka spit out his food. “Who’s Suki?” He asked, looking to the side.
“Don’t play dumb Sokka. I met her at the bar last night. She said you’ve been flirting with her.” She said in a sing-song voice.
“Don’t look so smug.” Sokka said with a frown. Katara didn’t drop her smirk. “Fine. Fine. You caught me, I’m interested in a girl, you happy?” Sokka snapped.
Katara instantly felt bad. Maybe today wasn’t the day to tease Sokka about girls, not after Yue died five years ago on this day.
Sokka met Yue when he came to visit Katara at the North Pole Institute of Science and Exploration, where Katara was studying nursing. Yue was her roommate. It was no surprise that Sokka fell in love with her when Katara loved her just as much. They started a long-distance relationship, Yue at the North Pole, and Sokka at Caldera University. Long distance was hard for them both, Katara could see that, but they seemed to make it work. Katara was happy to have her best friend as her future sister-in-law and Sokka was happy that Katara and Yue were best friends. It was perfect. That was until Yue flew down to Caldera with Katara for their 21st birthday. Sokka was going to propose. Turns out that Yue had a heart problem that she kept from both of them. She died before they could even make it to the hospital.
Katara pushed down the pain from the unwanted memory. “Look I’m sorry, I just want you to be happy.”
Sokka sighed. “I know.”
And that was that, no more talking about girls for the day. Katara took a sip of water.
Zuko, who was sitting there awkwardly throughout the whole exchange, took one sip of his Sea Prunes and spit them back out again.
Katara laughed so hard that water went out her nose.
The next activity on the list was to go paintballing (Sokka’s choice) and afterward, they went ice skating (Katara’s choice). Zuko tagged along for everything. Even wobbling across the ice like a turtle duck just learning how to walk. Katara made sure to hold Zuko’s hand so he didn’t fall (much to her delight) and thought about what it would be like to hold his hand anytime she wanted. Katara made sure to take as many pictures as humanly possible, much to the annoyance of Sokka (who was more of a live-in-the-moment kind of guy).
Overall, her birthday was just like all the others: perfect, because she was with her two favorite people in the whole world.
When they got back to Sokka’s one-bedroom apartment, Sokka immediately grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey. He poured them all a glass. When the night ended, Zuko whipped out the hideaway bed and turned to Katara.
“Sokka snores,” was all he said.
Katara laid down on the bed, “Come on in,” she said, faking an eye roll. Zuko quickly laid down on the bed and was out like a light. Katara stayed up, fantasies going through her head, about this being their wedding bed, about what it would be like to fall asleep in his arms. About what it would be like to cuddle in bed after sex, whispering I love you and You’re beautiful. Katara has wanted to tell Zuko he’s beautiful every day since she met him.
But they aren’t married. They aren’t even dating. Because Zuko doesn’t love Katara the way Katara loves him.
...
When Sokka went to Caldera University and Katara went to NPISE they promised to call every week. She would tell him about her amazing roommate, Yue, and he would tell her about his awful roommate Chan. They would exchange stories about how they fell asleep during their eight a.m. (Sokka) or how they got the highest score in their class (Katara). They would tell each other about their hardships, like the sexist professor who wouldn’t give Katara an A just because she was a girl, or how it was hard to befriend someone from the Fire Nation when you were Water Tribe.
That’s how Katara knew how important his friendship was with Zuko, especially after Yue’s death. It was their senior year when Sokka called Katara stating that he made a new friend. They both decided to take a poetry class for fun and ended up banding together as the only seniors in the core class. Katara was skeptical at first, especially after Sokka told her that he was the son of the imprisoned president of the Fire Nation. But over time, Katara was excited to meet Sokka’s only real friend in Caldera.
That didn’t mean she was happy when Sokka invited Zuko to come to celebrate the Solstice with them. The Solstice was the only time they spent time as a family. Her dad always found a way to come home and celebrate with them, and now Zuko was going to spoil it.
She sulked the whole plane ride home (from the North to the South Pole), her usual excitement over the Solstice overtaken by jealousy.
That all changed when she saw Zuko for the first time. He was beautiful, perfect jaw line, perfect polished gold eyes. He had a huge scar over his left eye that only enhanced his beauty, in Katara’s opinion, and he had somewhat of a scowl on his face. That changed when he saw her dad, he smiled and bowed, thanking him for allowing him into his home. She later found out that his scowl was just his natural face.
Katara couldn’t stop staring at him the whole first night. And the second night. She wanted to say something to him, but she didn’t know what to say. Instead, she did the exact opposite of saying something, she completely secluded herself and didn’t say a single thing to him. All she did was stare quietly.
Observing is what Katara called it. She was just getting to know him, without asking any questions. She found out several things about him this way. Things that she liked. Like how despite giving off a bad-boy appearance, he didn’t know how to carry on a conversation without being awkward. Like how he had some great one-liners that would have made Katara laugh if she wasn’t so nervous around him. She also found out other things, like how he didn’t like physical touch and that he was terrible at card games. She could feel the beginning of a crush starting to sneak up on her.
“Why are you acting so weird around Zuko,” Sokka confronted her that day. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring at her.
“I’m not acting weird.” Katara denied. She matched Sokka’s stance. She didn’t want Sokka to know about her crush.
“You’re giving him looks and you aren’t speaking to him.” He grunted out. “I know he looks intimidating, but you should give him a chance.”
“I-“ But Katara didn’t know what to say. “Okay,” she relented, deciding that Sokka thinking she was intimidated by him was better than him knowing the truth about her feelings.
Before Katara had a chance to actually talk to Zuko like a normal human being, he took matters into his own hands.
Zuko and Sokka were sitting down in the living room, munching down on Katara’s blueberry cookies, when she decided to sit down and try to have a conversation with him. She was a big girl; she’d never shied away from talking to someone before. Sokka got up, saying he needed to use the restroom, leaving them all by themselves. She took a cookie from the plate on the coffee table and started munching on it, just staring at Zuko. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but Zuko cut her off before she even started.
“Take a picture, it will last longer.” He snapped, his scowl deepening.
Katara was taken aback, she opened her mouth like a fish. Say something she thought something flirty. But Katara, who had only ever learned how to flirt from watching Sokka flirt with Yue, was terrible at flirty. “Do you have the time, because I lost track when I saw you.”
Zuko's mouth dropped. He didn’t say anything for what seemed like forever. Katara went to stand up to go back to her room and lick her wounds from the silent rejection when Zuko started laughing. Katara internally cringed.
“That’s a good one” Zuko managed to get out. “How about this one: If you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber.”
Katara let out a little chuckle. Well, that’s an interesting way of getting rejected she thought. She figured that Zuko didn’t know she was hitting on him, and if he was interested, he would have. They spent the rest of the night trading pickup lines and laughing easily with each other. If anything, it made Katara fall harder.
Talking to Zuko was, surprisingly, easy. Once she got over the initial shock of it all, the banter came easily. They exchanged pickup lines throughout the rest of the trip, as well as playful jabs at the other’s expense. Katara loved it. One day, they were arguing over who was going to cook dinner.
“Well, your cooking must be terrible,” Katara said. Zuko gave her a look that said, real original. “Because you’re from the Fire Nation.” Zuko through his hands up. “And Fire Nation cuisine is terrible.”
“That’s because you haven’t had good Fire Nation cuisine. Now, give me the spatula.” He reached out to grab the spatula she had raised like a weapon. She made a move to hit him with it, but he grabbed it from her. They wrestled with each other, trying to get the spatula out of the other hand.
“There’s no such thing,” Katara grunted out, pulling with all her might. Zuko, winning the battle, triumphantly held the spatula over his head like a trophy. Katara, panting, said, “Besides, I was going to make my famous Seaweed Noodles.”
Zuko looked down at her, “Well, I’m going to make my famous Seaweed Noodles.” He smirked. (Katara both loved and hated it.)
“But… But that’s a Water Tribe dish,” Katara said, breathlessly.
“Oh my god.” Sokka, who witnessed the whole exchange, said. “You guys fight like you’re married.” Katara fought the red blush that crept up her neck. “Why don’t you both cook your famous Seaweed noodles, together.”
And that’s how Katara found out how good Zuko was in the kitchen. She needed to get over him, she decided. But how could she when he gave her a smile the next morning that made her toes curl and her heart stop.
They found an easy rhythm in making dinner together each night. Some nights would be quiet, with them working around each other. Some nights they would find themselves ordering the other around. And others, well, they would take turns doing their new favorite pass-time: pickup lines.
“Do you have a map to your heart? I seem to have lost my way in your kitchen." Katara flirted.
Zuko laughed, “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Yes, it does,” Katara defended, “You’re just too stupid to see the poetry behind it.”
“If I’m stupid, what does that make you.”
“Smart, duh.” Katara stuck her tongue out.
“Wow, I didn’t realize you were so mature,” Zuko said, sarcastically.
“Well, how about you come up with one, wise guy.”
“You must be a baker because you've got all the right buns."
.
“Gross, Zuko.” Katara deadpans. Zuko only laughed.
The day before the solstice, Katara went out shopping. She already had gifts for her father and brother, but she didn’t have one for Zuko. She spent the whole day looking for a perfect gift, one that didn’t give away her growing crush, but one that showed they were really friends.
She found herself in a coffee shop that sold cheesy items. Looking around she found a section of socks with jokes written on them. She left the shop with a gift back and a cup of coffee.
Celebrating the solstice with Zuko was natural. After she got over her jealousy, she realized just how much Zuko fit in with her small family. They spent the day watching old Solstice movies in black and white and playing card games in their pajamas (they could finally play four-person card games, something they haven’t been able to do since the loss of Kya). And when it was time to make dinner, Katara found comfort in not having to do it alone.
After dinner, was Katara’s favorite part of the day, the presents. Not because of what she got, no, but because of the reactions to what she gave. Katara loved giving gifts that showed that she cared. She gave Sokka a metal boomerang to add to his collection, this one having “For endless adventures and happy returns” engraved on it in ancient Water Tongue (a dead language, that her mother insisted they learn.) She gave her dad an embroidered scene from the North Pole, so he could always see where she lived. And finally, she gave Zuko his pair of socks.
“Thanks, Katara,” he said, a little too happily for it to be real.
Katara laughed, “Read them, you idiot. You can read can’t you,” Zuko almost through them at her.
“Are you a sock? Because I think we'd make a great pair,” he read out loud then started laughing loudly.
Hakoda, who seemed fed up with the pickup lines, rolled his eyes. But Sokka, he seemed genuinely surprised at Zuko’s reaction.
The night before she was going to leave, she found out why. She and Sokka stayed up all night playing video games. After beating him three times in a row (after he beat her four times) he turned to her and said, “I’m glad you and Zuko are getting along.”
She smiled at him, “Me too.”
“He smiles more when you’re around.” Katara blushed. “I’ve never heard him laugh so hardly.” Katara didn’t reply, instead setting up the next game.
“Why were you so awkward around him anyway?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. Then, deciding to change the subject, she said, “Wanna see if I can beat you for a fourth time?”
“You’re on,”
When she left to go back to the North Pole, Zuko went to give her a side hug. She stopped him saying, “Real friends don’t give each other awkward side hugs,” and gave him a big polar dog hug.
As soon as she returned, she went and found a man from the Earth Kingdom who was studying biochemistry, Haru. She asked him out and they started dating. But he wasn’t Zuko, nobody was.
...
The flight back home is always the worst part of traveling. You have to go through all the pain of going through an airport, without any of the joy from going on the trip. You have nothing but dread of going back to the harshness of life. Having Zuko with her made it easier. Easier in the sense that it was easy to imagine them coming back from their honeymoon, happy and giddy from being newly married. The only thing missing was kisses on the neck and holding hands.
Azula was picking them up from the airport. Watching Azula and Zuko interact was always interesting because they danced around the fact that they both cared about each other, trying desperately to not show it. Katara, who didn’t have the same hesitations as Zuko, immediately pulled Azula into a hug, thanking her for picking them up. Azula awkwardly patted Katara on the back.
They decided to go out for lunch, Azula’s treat. She wanted to tell them about her new job working as an ambassador. Azula had her eyes on being president, but it would be hard after the Sozin name was dragged through the mud by Ozai. So, to build up a reputation for herself, she beat 500 candidates for the ambassador of the Fire Nation. This allowed her to travel freely across the nations, negotiate for the Fire Nation (cunningly) and show the world that not all Sozins were bad.
Katara could see on Zuko’s face how happy he was for his sister, even though he wouldn’t dare say it out loud.
Katara and Azula chatted about her birthday casually, and soon they finished their meals, and it was time for them to go back to their apartment.
Katara was lucky. Zuko was just as much a clean freak as she was, so their apartment was never dirty. So, when she went to open the fridge to get herself a snack, she was surprised at the stench that reeked through the door.
“You forgot to take the milk out, Z,” Katara scolded.
“No, you forgot to take the milk out,” Zuko retorted, “It was your turn to clean out the fridge.”
Katara hid her smile, it was such a simple thing. Arguing over who’s task was who’s, but she couldn’t help but think that it was such a married couple thing to do. Not a friend thing to do. Maybe she was just lucky.
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes.
“Whatever? K, are you a teenager, or did you just turn 26?” Zuko asked, amused.
“Can you just let me be?” She held her hand out as she threw the milk in a plastic bag to throw away in the apartment’s garbage bin.
Katara felt calm walking down to the garbage bin, it was just so natural between her and Zuko. If only he saw it the way she did. Tu and La, she thought to herself, I really need to get over him.
It was Saturday, the day she went out for breakfast with Azula. It started off a normal day, them going to their favorite café, ordering, and chatting.
Then, Azula did something, very unlike Azula-like, and reached out and held Katara’s hand. They smiled at each other and ate in silence. Katara liked the presence of having a friend who was a girl. She seemed to only be friends with her brother and her roommate, her last girlfriend dying of heart disease, so Katara just chalked up the handholding to Azula wanting to up their physical contact. She had no problem with that.
But after breakfast, Azula walked her back to her apartment, still holding her hand. She turned to Katara and said, “I think it’s time to take our relationship to the next level.”
Katara tilted her head in confusion. Then Azula kissed her. Katara pushed her away, “Azula, I don’t—”
“I knew it,” Azula said, cutting her off.
“What is going on, Zula?” Katara asked, using her nickname.
“I knew you had the hots for one of the Sozin siblings, I just didn’t know which one.”
“So, you thought kissing me was the way to find out. You could have just asked.”
“But where’s the fun in that?” She asked, a twinkle in her eye. “So, how are you going to tell him?”
“Um, I’m not.” Katara deadpanned.
“So, you choose to pine after him for the rest of your life, come on, I know he likes you, too”
“First off, yes. And second off, he doesn’t. And third, how did you know in the first place?”
Azula scoffed, “As if I would tell you.”
Katara rolls her eyes, “And what were you going to do if I kissed you back?”
Azula just laughed.
...
When Katara first met Azula, it was during her first visit to Caldera to see Sokka and Zuko graduate. She was introduced to Zuko’s sister over a celebratory dinner between her, her dad, her brother, Zuko, his sister, and his uncle. She fell in love with Uncle Iroh faster than she had fallen for Zuko himself. She loved his old people's wisdom, which she would never say to his face. She loved how he teased his nephew with ease. She loved how much he loved Zuko, maybe even more than she loved him.
Azula on the other hand, was quiet. She seemed out of place at the dinner table, and so Katara tried to make conversation with her, to make her feel included. After a few one-word answers to all of Katara’s questions, Azula was obviously fed up with her.
“Why don’t you focus on my brother, since he’s the one graduating.” She snapped. Katara was taken aback and turned away from Azula, doing as she was told. She saw the look of disappointment that Zuko gave Azula like she just ruined everything. It made Katara almost mad, because who could ruin Zuko’s day like that? All because she didn’t want to talk, she could have just said so. It became very quiet after that.
It wasn’t until the waitress came back offering dessert, that the table became alive with conversation once again.
Later that night, Katara found out that Azula had BPD, from Zuko.
Azula was a lot nicer to Katara the next day at graduation, though she didn’t bother to apologize for the night before. They sat next to each other and made casual conversation.
Katara smiled when Zuko walked across the stage, and Azula smiled at Katara. They became fast friends after that, telling each other everything that they couldn’t tell their brothers. Well, almost everything. But still, Katara missed having a relationship with a girl her age.
When Katara found out that Azula was secretly dating Mai, Zuko’s ex-girlfriend. She gave her no judgment. Instead, giving her the support she knew she needed. When Azula found out Katara was dating Haru, she told her to break up with him because she obviously wasn’t that into him. (Katara actually listened to her and broke up with him as soon as she went back to the North Pole).
So, Katara knew she could trust Azula when she was looking for a job and came across one in Caldera City. She asked if it was worth it (it was) and if she was looking for a roommate (she wasn’t.) She did, however, trust Azula’s judgment when she said she should ask Zuko. Azula said that the two of them would hit it off as roommates.
Apparently, she told Zuko the same thing because she got a text from him saying Hey, I heard you were applying to Caldera Medical Plaza, looking for a roommate?
Katara loved that Zuko used punctuation when texting. As well as capitalization and not using abbreviations. Just like her.
Something in her knew, that this was the right thing to do. She sent back Do you believe in roomance? Because I think we have it.
And that was the best decision Katara ever made.
Moving in was easy. How could it now be, with Azula (not helping) and Zuko helping? While sitting on the couch, Azula would bark orders at Zuko, Move faster Zu-Zu, not there Zu-Zu, here.
Katara tried to join in, saying, “Be careful with that box, Zu-Zu.”
But Zuko dropped the box, turning to her, and said, “Don’t fucking call me that.” Katara only laughed but didn’t call him that again.
Once they finished bringing all of Katara’s boxes in, they did their classic Katara-Zuko routine of arguing over who got to make dinner.
“But this is my first time in my new apartment.”
“Exactly, you shouldn’t have to cook.”
“But I want to, Z”
Zuko reeled back. “Z?”
“What? You obviously don’t like Zu-Zu.”
“But do we need nicknames?”
“Duh, we’re roommates.” Katara shook her head at him and started to get the pots out from her new cabinets.
“Fine, K, we can have nicknames.” Katara smiled. “But I get to cook.” Her smile dropped. Azula had a twinkle in her eye.
...
“Z! The wi-fi’s out again!”
“Did you try hitting it?” Zuko yelled from down the hall.
Katara hit the router and refreshed her laptop. Nothing happened.
“Yes!” She yelled back.
To her surprise, Zuko came out of his room dressed only in black jeans and wet hair that dripped down his chest. “Did you hit the right spot?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Really K,” he sighed while he took a look at the wi-fi router. He picked it up and hit it on the side. “Try now.” Katara refreshed her laptop. Still, nothing popped up in her inbox. “I thought this was your day off, why are you checking your email.”
“I’m waiting for an email from one of the doctors about a lab report. One of my patients wanted the results as soon as possible.”
“What about the patient portal?”
“Well, it’s not working properly for this patient, so I have to upload the results manually.”
“Isn’t that the secretaries job?”
“To Dr. Zhao, I am the secretary.” Katara sighed, Zhao was the newest doctor hired at CPM and he treated her like scum once he found out she was Water Tribe (her being a woman didn’t help either). She hated working with him.
“Since when do you listen to what that asshole tells you to do?”
“Since we got assigned the same patient.”
“I’m sorry, K.” Zuko, pulled Katara into a hug. Katara calmed down when she breathed in Zuko’s freshly showered scent. But then she realized that she was hugging a shirtless Zuko, and her heartbeat went crazy. She pulled away before he could notice.
“Hey, is your name Wi-Fi? Because I'm really feeling a connection.”
Zuko chuckled, “Do you have a name, or can I call you mine?" He winked. Katara’s breath caught. She stared into his eyes and his were staring right back. Then, he tilted his head in question. He brought his hand up, as if to cup her face, but then her laptop pinged. Katara’s head snapped towards her laptop as she practically leaped to open her email. She had just finished uploading the lab reports when she turned to look back at Zuko, but he was gone.
He didn’t come out again until Katara had finished making and eating her dinner. He was dressed in slacks and a dress shirt. Katara didn’t even know he owned slacks. And… he combed his hair?
“Where are you going, Z?”
“I can’t dress nice for fun? I’m insulted.”
“Zuko, your idea of nice is a leather jacket.”
“What’s wrong with my leather jacket?”
“Exactly, now stop changing the subject and answer the question.”
“I’m going out with a friend from work.”
“Who?”
Zuko was looking in the mirror by the door, “You don't know her.”
"Her?" Katara felt like throwing up her dumplings that she worked so hard to make. Zuko’s laid untouched in the bamboo steamer they shared.
"Jin" he corrected
“Are you going out to dinner? I made you dumplings.”
“Yeah, she asked me to go to her favorite Earth Kingdom Cuisine Restaurant. It’s called Ba Sing Sizzle, or something like that. Apparently, they have good cabbage noodles.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there. It’s kind of far, how are you getting there?”
“She has a car.” Of course she does.
“So, should I just put them in the fridge? You can eat them tomorrow for lunch.”
He walked into the kitchen, “what?”
“I made you dumplings.” He looked over to said dumplings and his face fell.
“Oh, sorry, Katara” (Katara?) “I should have told you I was going out before you made dinner.”
“Well, when are you coming back?”
“I don’t know. Jin wants to take me to her favorite place in Caldera, but you can only appreciate it at night.” Katara looked down and started playing with her shirt, twisting it in her hands. “Don’t wait up, okay.” He kissed her cheek and walked out the door.
Katara went to bed early that night, but she didn’t fall asleep early. Instead, she sat in bed thinking about Zuko’s date. It felt like he was cheating her. (But he wasn’t.) And what about their almost kiss (Chill out Katara, he didn’t even touch you. But he winked, he’s never done that before.) Who is this Jin girl, Katara had never heard of her. (Probably a bitch.) Was she an Engineer like Zuko? (Ugh. She couldn’t compete with that.)
Katara sighed, she needed to stop letting her jealousy tear down other females in STEM. Besides, she was happy for Zuko. (Right?)
After staring at her ceiling for hours, she decided to stare at her clock instead. It was almost 2 am. She sighed again. Rolling onto her side, she closed her eyes, but then she started hearing someone rattle the apartment door. Shit. Zuko wasn’t here. And she could defend herself, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel safer when Zuko was present. She got out of bed and creeped down the hallway. The rattling didn’t stop, but then there was a knock.
Katara slowly walked up to the door, and called out, “Who’s there?”
“Seriously, Katara, who else would it be?”
Katara let out her breath and opened the door. There was Zuko and a girl with brown eyes, brown hair and bangs. She looked kind of plain, if she was being honest. Zuko hugged her, “You didn’t have to wait up for me, babe.”
“I didn’t?” Katara lied, “you woke me up.”
“Oh, sorry.” Zuko said, and then he did the one thing Katara never expected. He kissed her. His lips felt like fire. She was too shocked to actually kiss him back. “Forgive me?”
Understanding donned on her and she nodded, “Of course… babe.”
Zuko turned and faced Jin, who looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her up any second now and gave her a nod and a wave. “Well, thanks for walking me up, have a good night, Jin.” She gave a quick smile, mumbled something and walked away, fast. Zuko walked in and closed the door. “Sorry, K, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She just stared at him.
“Well, it’s late and I have work in the morning. I’m gonna hit the sack,” and just like that he walked away.
Katara didn’t get any sleep that night.
Katara didn’t see Zuko until dinner the next night. She came home from a really rough day to the smells of Five Flavor Soup coming from the kitchen. She hummed and, testing her luck, walked up and kissed Zuko on the cheek. He stilled.
She moved to their small dining table and sat down.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Zhao ordered me around like I was his personal assistant.”
“So, put him in his place.” Zuko walked over with two bowls of soup.
“I can’t, he went to med school. I didn’t.”
“You went to one of the most reputable nursing schools in the world, that has to count for something.”
“Well, it doesn’t.” She said, sighing. “Hey, I have a question.”
“Fire away,” he said, putting a spoonful of soup in his mouth.
“Why do you always make Water Tribe Cuisine, even though you’re Fire Nation?”
“Because you like it.” Katara must have looked shocked, because Zuko quickly said, “Besides if I made Fire Nation cuisine who would clean the toilet after you?”
Katara’s icy glare sent visible shivers down Zuko’s back. “It was one-time Zuko. One!” He laughed and they fell into silence as they ate. But Katara couldn’t get his first reason out of her head, because you like it. What does that mean?
That night, Katara was facetiming Sokka while Zuko was in the shower. She sat on the couch as she was complaining about how one of her patients was treating her, when she heard a female voice in the background calling out to her brother.
“Hold on,” Sokka said as he put himself on mute. But it was too late, Katara knew whose voice that belonged to. Suki.
Sokka unmuted himself, but before Katara could say anything, he interrupted, “I was going to tell you, so don’t get mad at me.”
“I’m not mad,” Katara said, trying (and failing) to hide the smugness in her voice. “I’m happy for you. You’ve been so lonely ever since…” Katara trailed off. Maybe bring up Yue wasn’t the best idea right now.
“Since Yue,” Sokka said. “Yeah, I know. But Suki makes me really happy. I think for the longest time, I was afraid if I dated someone else, it would mean that she wasn’t the one I was supposed to be with. But Suki helped me realize that I was supposed to be with her when I was with her, and it’s perfectly okay for me to move on.”
Katara’s face broke out into a smile. “Good. It sounds like Suki is really good for you.”
“She is. She keeps me in check you know, she even likes that one Water Tribe café you made me go to.”
“She can rein you in and she like Water Tribe Cuisine, she sounds like the total package.” In the background, Katara could hear Suki laugh.
“Yeah, yeah.” Sokka said, waving her off. “Anyway, how’s Zuko?”
Katara paused and hummed. “Zuko’s weird.”
“And what’s new?”
“No, he’s acting funnier than normal.”
Sokka’s eyebrows went up. “Funny how?”
“Well, for one, he kissed me.”
Sokka laughed. “Fucking finally.” Katara looked shocked. “You guys have liked each other for so long, I thought you’d never get together.”
“What are you talking about, Sokka? We aren’t together.” Sokka sighed and mumbled something Katara could hear through the phone. “He kissed me to show that he was unavailable to another girl.”
“He did what, now?”
“It was after he went on a date with a girl, Jin. But I don’t think he realized it was a date and so afterwards she walked him up to his door. I think that she thought that he was going to invite her in, and that Zuko knew it too, so he kissed me. As a way of showing that he was taken.”
“But he isn’t taken?”
“Right.”
Sokka sighed.
The next day, Katara woke up determined. She was going to have a good day and she was going to confront Zuko about the kiss. She made Zuko’s favorite: hotcakes and was going to bring them to him in bed. But when she went to knock on Zuko’s door, it was open and Zuko was gone. He must have left for work already, she thought with a sigh. She was just putting the cakes in the fridge when Zuko walked in the door. In his hand were two coffee cups.
“I got coffee.” He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. She added cheek kissing to the list of things she needed to talk to him about. Really it was just kissing her in general, when did that start?
“I see that.” She said, pulling the hotcakes out of the fridge. “I made hotcakes.”
“I see that.” Zuko replied, teasingly. “What’s the occasion?”
Katara thought over her next words carefully. We need to talk. Sounded to scary, but just because, would lead to more suspicion.
“Because you like them.” Because you like it. That’s what he had said to her, anyway.
“Oh, thanks, K.”
He sat down as she warmed them up in the microwave. Deciding to test the waters, she asked, “So how’s Jin?” Zuko choked on the coffee that he had just taken a sip of. She took the cakes and set them on the table, sitting down.
“She’s doing good, I guess.”
“You guess?” Katara chuckled.
“Well, I think she’s avoiding me now, to be honest.” Katara blushed, thinking about why.
“I wonder why.” She said with a hmph.
Feeling bold she started, ““Why did you—"
At the same time, he said, “Did you tell –-“
“Sorry,” they both mumbled.
“You go first,” Katara said, chickening out.
“Did you tell Sokka that I kissed you?” Zuko asked, shyly. “I’m not mad.”
“I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to.” Katara asked confused.
“Well, now he’s mad at me.”
Katara was now really confused. “I told him about the situation though.”
Zuko sighed, “That probably made it worse, though.”
“Why?” Katara asked, now a little upset at Sokka for budding into her life. “And why did you even kiss me anyway?” Zuko took a bite of his hotcake and groaned with delight. “Zuko, why is my brother mad that you kissed me?” Zuko continued to chew. “We don’t lie to each other, Z.” Zuko looked over at the clock and jumped up.
“Is that the time? I’m going to be late for work.”
“What are you talking about? You never go in this early.”
“Yeah, but I have a special project I’m working on that needs to be finished before lunch.”
“Are you working on it with Jin?”
“Nope,” he replied quickly. “I might be home late tonight, so don’t worry about dinner.” He said while putting on his jacket. “Bye, K, love you,” he called while running out the door.
“Bye?” She called back, but the door was already slammed shut.
She went to bed before Zuko came home.
She didn’t see Zuko for about a week after what Katara had deemed “the hotcake incident.” He was gone before she woke up and he didn’t come home until after she was asleep. She didn’t even know if he was sleeping in the apartment anymore. Until one night, she had enough. She went into his room and sat on his freshly made bed and waited for him to come home.
She must have fallen asleep waiting, because the next thing she knew she was being picked up and carried into her own room. But before Zuko could make it to her room, she squirmed her way out of his arms and fell on the floor.
“What the—” he went to say, but she cut him off.
“No. This has gone on long enough. It’s been a week Zuko. A week since I’ve seen you. Do you know how many leftovers are in our fridge? You know how I feel about a cramped fridge.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to make me dinner every night this week. You volunteered to do that.”
“This isn’t about dinner!”
“Then what is this about?”
“It’s about that stupid kiss!”
Zuko looked down. “You thought it was stupid?”
“What?” Katara asked, confused. She seemed to be confused a lot lately. “No. It’s stupid that it’s tearing us apart. It’s stupid that I haven’t seen my roommate in a week.”
“Is that all I am to you? Your roommate?”
Katara lifted his face off the ground and looked him in the eyes. “You’ve always been more to me than just a roommate.”
They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Katara’s heart was beating so fast she was afraid Zuko might be able to hear it. Then, she felt a sudden wave of courage sweep over her. She grabbed Zuko’s face and kissed him. Except this time, there was no one watching, no anterior motive, she just wanted to.
Zuko took the kiss and ran with it, grabbing her body and pulling her flush against him. He pressed up against all of her and reached down to palm her ass. Katara let out a little groan and moved her hands into his hair, kissing him harder.
Abruptly, Zuko pulled away from her. “We can’t be doing this,” he panted.
Katara felt her heart start to shattered. “What?”
“I just think that it means a little something different for me, than it does for you.”
Katara’s heart didn’t just shatter, it disintegrated. Did Zuko know that she was in love with him? Did he not feel the same way? Katara pushed past him and ran into her room and locked the door.
When she met with Azula for lunch the next day, she told her about what happened. Sighing, Azula replied, “My brother is an idiot.”
Katara cried.
To say that things were awkward between them would be a lie, considering that neither of them could stand being in the same room as the other for more than a couple minutes. (Which was hard considering that they were roommates) But Katara managed. She made sure to make plans with her fellow coworkers each night and would leave early in the mornings. It had been two weeks since she had cooked a meal in her kitchen, too afraid that Zuko would walk in.
She was confused, to say the least, but mostly she was heartbroken. Not only was she rejected by the love of her life, she ruined her most valuable friendship. Is this what getting a divorce feels like? She thought to herself.
No, she stopped herself, we are not fucking married, pull yourself together Katara. She banged her head against the wall. She found herself lucky to be the only one in the back room, usually there were other coworkers, but she was grateful to be alone.
Or at least she thought she was. She felt someone put their hands on her hips and she jumped. Praying that it was Zuko and that he changed his mind about her and showed up at her work in a romantic gesture, she turned around. All of that went out the window as her eyes met cold yellow eyes, instead of the warm ones she was hoping for.
“Having a rough day?” Zhao sneered. “I can fix that,” he whispered into her ear. Before she could think, she punched him right in the nose and ran out of the hospital. She cried all the way home, only stopping to pick up boxes from the store.
And that’s how Zuko found her, packing up all her things into boxes.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He demanded, Katara could see the panic in his eyes.
“Packing.” She said, simply.
“I can see that.” Zuko said slowly, “Why?”
“Well, for one, I’m quitting my job.”
“What?”
“And for two, I just can’t do this anymore.” She was in the middle of packing all of her medical books into a box and Zuko went up and grabbed her hands, stopping her.
“Can’t do what anymore?”
“Umm, are you kidding me right now? Zuko, we barely see each other anymore. And when we do, we don’t talk. It’s like I don’t even have a roommate anymore.”
“And whose fault is that?” Zuko yelled. She had never heard him yell at her before.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She raised her voice to match his.
“It means that you’ve been avoiding me since that night!”
“Because I don’t want to stand around and not talk to you? My bad?” They had never fought like this before. The most they had ever done was playful banter.
“Are you seriously giving me attitude right now? You’re the one leaving!” He was pulling at his hair now.
“Well, you’re the one who had to go and ruin everything by kissing me!”
“Seriously, you don’t have to run away just because we have a little conflict! You don’t have to move out just because you found out I’m in love with you!”
Katara dropped the books that were in her hand.
“What did you just say?”
Zuko suddenly looked nervous. He raised his hand to his neck and said, “About the conflict?”
Katara shook her head. “You’re in love with me?”
Zuko scoffed, “As if it wasn’t obvious.”
Katara was still shaking her head. She stepped towards him and grabbed both his hands. “Not to me.”
Zuko gulped, “Well, it was to everyone else.”
“I’m in love with you, too, was that obvious to you?”
It was Zuko’s turn to shake his head.
Katara smiled, “Well, it was to everyone else.”
They both leaned in, and they both kissed. It was soft and sweet and light. But it wasn’t enough and soon Zuko was kissing her neck and Katara was breathing his name. She was begging, but she didn’t know what she was begging for. She only knew that she wanted it from him. He went to kiss her again, this time picking her up and carrying her to his room. He layed her down on the bed and asked if she wanted this, she responded by kissing him.
She didn’t know how started to take off whose clothes, but soon they were completely naked and running their hands all over each other’s bodies. Katara had wanted this for so long, it almost seemed like a dream, one that she never wanted to end. And when his body moved against hers, so perfectly, she knew that nothing had ever felt more real. And when they lied next to each other, she caressed his face and his scar and she couldn’t stop smiling. And when he leaned in real close and whispered, “They say nothing lasts forever, so will you be my nothing?” she laughed. And they spent the night trading pick up lines and whispering You’re so beautiful and I love you.