When Katara woke up, she was blinded by the sun in her eyes. I'll kill Toph, she thought, thinking that her roommate had opened up the living room window just to smite her. She had no clue, however, how she had gotten to the living in the first place, though.
It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't in the living room at all...or in her flat with Toph..or alone.
She hadn't been aware of the pale, muscular arm draped around her waist until she'd tried and failed to get up out of bed. What the-! Her mind raced as she tried to think back to the night before, a kaleidoscope of memories flooding her thoughts. Only one name became clear in the process.
Zuko.
She had completely forgotten up until this moment about the argument she'd had with Toph the night before and how she'd stormed out of their apartment and headed to Zuko's to rant. She'd forgotten about it all, including how the two of them sat drinking a bottle of deep red wine in record time as they raged about siblings and jobs and parents which eventually turned into confessions about high school romances and long forgotten crushes and could-have-beens. It was now that the memories flew into her brain, like birds flocking together in the sky, of the fierce kiss that resulted from their buzzed state of mind and their new revelations and how that molded into the best sex either of them had had in a long time.
Silently hoping that this was all a dream and she hadn't just told her best friend about her childish high school crush on him and then had sex with him in some drunken fit, Katara turned in the arms of the man beside her only to find him staring back at her wide-eyed.
"Did we just-"
"Yes," he responded, not letting her finish. They both knew what she meant. "We did."
Her eyes shut tight as she sat up, holding the plain white sheets to her naked chest. She cursed under her breath.
"I'd offer you breakfast," he started as he propped himself up on his elbows. "But I'm pretty sure that there's nothing in there." He nodded his head towards his room door.
She looked back at him with a slightly amused look on her face. "We both know that all you consume in coffee and any form of wine or beer," she joked. He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, Katara." They both laughed for a bit before falling into a comfortable silence.
"So..what now?" she asked, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window beside his bed.
Zuko leaned against the headboard and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, we eat."
Katara's POV
Zuko and I drove around in his car for about ten minutes before finally deciding to settle for his favorite dinner which was just a block away from his upscale apartment. The waitress took no interest in taking our order, she was too busy ogling Zuko's roughed up hair and golden eyes.
"I'll have a deluxe breakfast platter with a side of fruit."
"Oh and your drink?" She smiled teasingly at him, even though his eyes were still trained on the menu.
"A cup of coffee will do." Jotting down the order, she began to walk away.
"Uh, excuse me?" I called.
"What?" she scoffed in response, turning around.
"You never took my order!"
The teenager rolled her eyes before cocking her head to the side and shifting her hips to one side of her body. "Well?" Why that impatient little-
"I'll have the pancake breakfast, a side of sausage and I'll have my eggs scrambled. A hot chocolate for my drink with extra whipped cream and I do mean extra, I will send it back and it'll be coming out your paycheck." I rambled on. "Got that?" I finished with a shit-eating grin on my face. She stared at me with bewilderment in her eyes.
"Y-yea!" She perked back up with raised eyebrows drawn onto her caked face. Turning with a 'hmph' she headed back towards the kitchen. I glared in her direction, being shaken from my trance by Zuko's raspy laughter.
"Uh, mind telling me what's so funny?" He chuckled, running a hand through his already messy hair.
"You," he responded. "Tara, she's what like sixteen and works at a diner. You're twenty-one, in med school and already have an internship at a hospital."
"Dude, did you check out during that exchange or something? Toph has a better attitude than that!" He grinned as I rant, using my hands animatedly.
"Nah, I think you're just jealous."
"Oh, whatever," I exclaimed throwing my hands into the air.
Zuko leaned forward signaling for me to do the same. A shiver ran down my spine as his warm breath tickled my ear. "Just remember that you're the one who spent the night in my bed," he rasped.
I could tell that my cheeks were heated before he'd even finished his sentence. I bit my lip to keep my cheap grin from spreading any farther. Okay, so maybe I am a little jealous...
Almost on queue, the waitress, who I now realized was named Jojo, came back with our drinks. "Here you are," she said sweetly to Zuko. The attitude poured back into her face as she turned back towards me. "Extra cream." She left just as quickly as she came to go serve the other tables, but not before pointedly winking to him with a small wave.
It was another five minutes before she returned with our food, practically throwing my plate down in front of me. Her green eyes bore into my blue ones before she whipped her head to Zuko. "Will there be anything else, sir?" she asked dragging out her words in an attempt at seduction.
Zuko looked absolutely annoyed by this. "Yes actually, my wife and I are friends with the manager here, could you ask for him?"
The girl's eyes bugged out of her head, and mine did too for a moment before she bowed her head and rushed to the back.
"What the hell was that?" I asked him, hitting his chest with the back of my hand.
"Relax. You were just ranting about how disrespectful she was right?" I rolled my eyes.
"So what are you gonna-"
"Nephew!" Iroh held his arms out with a warm smile on his face. "Oh and I see you've brought your lovely wife with you." The older man winked at the two, going along with Zuko's tall-tale. Jojo, stood in the background glancing over at us while she served other tables. "To what do I owe the surprise?"
"Oh well remember how we were talking about that new doorman at the office? It turns out he has a really bad attitude and would rather hit on tenants than help them." Iroh's eyes widened as he caught on to what his nephew was telling him.
"Is that so?" Zuko nodded.
"I know that you were really rooting for 'em, but I think he might need a bit more moral training before he's really ready for the job." The man before them nodded, folding his hands together in front of his rounded belly.
"Well then, I'll be sure to give James a stern talking to. Public service is the best service as I like to say. The pleasure of helping others is one of the sweetest life has to offer."
I smiled at his proverb-like words. Iroh always had something wise to say, even when it was just about something as simple as tea. He was headed back towards the counter slipping us a wink and a smile and promising that our meal would be very enjoyable.
Zuko's POV
It was an hour later that we left the diner. Uncle had bought it about two years back with his pension. I told him to spend the money on something nice for himself, like a house or a savings account, but he refused in a polite manner, spewing one of his "Confucius lines" about giving back.
He was selfless like that.
"Zuko, we eat there all the time," Katara started as she buckled her seat belt. "Why didn't you tell me it was Iroh's place?"
I chuckled softly, turning the key in the ignition, the Charger sleek and black and roaring to life. "It never came up." I could already tell that she was rolling her eyes. "Just like it never came up that you had such a huge crush on me in high school."
She scoffed, crossing her arms, a sly grin etching onto her face. "I could say the same for you, Mr. Let's-Play-Candor."
By now we were sitting in the parking garage of my apartment complex. A comfortable silence settled between us as we sat looking at each other.
Amber meeting Carolina blue.
"I meant it, you know." She said sighing and closing her eyes. And from some unknown reserve of confidence, I worked up the nerve to lean over and place a soft kiss on her exposed neck and nibbling on her ear.
"Then maybe you should remind me of just how much you meant it." She looked at me with a new expression on her face, one that I couldn't quite decipher.
Suddenly, she pushed forward lips, soft and plump, colliding with mine and nearly knocking me into the driver's side door.