My submission for the ZK Winter Fest!

Nice prompts: fake dating - cuddling for warmth - cheesy holiday movies

(Modern AU- SFW- Multichap)

Summary:

Katara is in a predicament of not having a boyfriend and Gran Gran is harassing her. She wants to focus on school, not boys. But that isn't a good enough excuse apparently. Caught in a lie that she would bring a boy home…

She brings it up to her lab partner, Zuko, who has become a really good friend and reliable study buddy. He offers to be her fake boyfriend since he doesn't want to go home anyways.

She accepts and they travel from Ba Sing Se University to the south to the world of snow. It's a bit awkward pretending to be lovey dovey but they strangely fall into the roles well…

So well, in fact, it barely feels like acting. Unless… it's not acting anymore?

Prologue

"Katara, dear, are you seeing anyone?"

Katara sighed as she rolled her eyes, grateful this conversation was over the phone as she unlocked her door, keeping the phone tucked in her shoulder as her hands were full with groceries.

She answered, "No, Gran Gran, I told you I'm focusing on my studies. If I want to be a marine biologist, then I've got to focus."

"Well, of course, dear. We want you to study hard and succeed! But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun!" Her grandmother cackled, and Katara felt her face heat up.

"I'm fun." Katara defended herself. She threw the bags of groceries on her table and crossed her arms defiantly. Why did her family always have to tease her like this? They were insufferable.

Gran Gran hummed as if she didn't believe that. "You should really let loose sometime, dear. Sokka managed to keep his grades up and he found a girlfriend. It can't be that hard."

Katara grit her teeth. She hated being compared to her brother. And she hated when her family harassed her about being single. She was barely 20, for La's sake!

She hissed into the phone, "Fine. Then I'll find a boyfriend and bring him home on the next break. Then you'll all stop calling me a stick in the mud!"

"Oh how wonderful! I can't wait to meet him!" Gran Gran exclaimed, utterly unfazed by Katara's irritation. "Talk to you later, snow pea!"

As the line went dead, a horrified feeling settled in as Katara realized what she had done. She had fallen into Gran Gran's plan like a penguin led to the hunter's trap by a fish. That woman knew exactly how to rile her up and she'd gotten exactly what she had wanted.

…And now she needed to find a boyfriend or eat her words. And that wasn't exactly something that Katara Kuruk did.

Katara clenched her fist as she fumbled with the metal clamps for what was probably the fourth time in the last ten minutes. She sighed and set the items down, taking a deep breath. She needed to focus on what her hands were doing, not the little predicament she had fallen into. Gran Gran's words seemed to bounce around in her mind and haunt her. She would hate to come home alone to even more jibing.

"Uh…you alright there, Katara?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled ruefully at her lab-partner-turned-study-buddy-turned-friend. "Sorry, Zuko, I'm just a bit distracted today."

He hummed and took over setting up the apparatus himself. He hesitated awkwardly before mumbling, "Anything you wanna talk about?"

She smiled softly, he was such an awkward guy, especially when it came to earnest discussions about emotions. It was honestly kind of adorable.

"Well…long story short, I told my grandmother I would bring a boyfriend home for the holidays."

Zuko raised his lone eyebrow at her. "You…don't have a boyfriend though, right?"

"Right." She let out a deep sigh, feeling her shoulders sink in pitifully. "And that's the problem. How do you find a good boyfriend to bring home to your family when the holiday break is less than three weeks away?"

He suppressed a smirk. "You can always hire someone from eBay."

"Ew!" She playfully hit his arm and whined, "I am not bringing some creepy internet stranger home!"

"Well, I can go with you, if you want."

Katara lost grip of her pen, watching as it clattered across the desktop. She flushed and met his golden eyes.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks were a lot redder than they were a moment ago. "Like, pretending, of course. If you can't find anyone."

Her lips twitched. "You're volunteering to be my fake boyfriend for Christmas? Like a Hallmark movie?"

He steadily focused on the chemistry outline, gathering the materials they would need. Anything to avoid looking at her, she was sure. "I mean…yeah. Better than going home."

Katara frowned at that. He didn't want to go home for the holidays? She decided not to push that, as she knew Zuko didn't like talking about his family. It was a mystery to her, but curious as she was, it wasn't her place to pry.

Katara watched him begin the experiment. They worked together quietly, taking notes and sharing observations. After almost a year of being lab partners, they could work in unison well. They finished the lab questions and cleaned up, walking out of the lab together as she mulled over his proposal.

Bringing Zuko home would be absolutely perfect. He was a good, respectable young man. He was attractive and studying to be a veterinarian, though he did tell her he was considering switching to psychology or social work. She knew he had a heart for kids in bad situations—she didn't know the full story behind that but she was smart enough to link it to the scar on his face and his bad relationship with his family.

She peeked up at him as they strolled along the sidewalk. "I just might take you up on your offer, if you were being serious."

Zuko chuckled. "I'm very serious. It would be kinda nice to experience a happy holiday break." Katara frowned at him again but he waved off her concern and changed the subject, "Study session tonight?"

"Same time at my place? I'll be there waiting." She nodded, lingering at the crossway where they would separate for their different classes.

Zuko gave her a wide smile and a small wave… Katara let her eyes follow him as he walked away before shaking herself and continuing on. She could mull over this development later, classes came first.