Author's Note: This is just a fun little Zutara drabble. There is a plot, and it will be a novel, but it's not that serious. It was heavily inspired by The Neighborhood's songs, Sweater Weather and Daddy Issues. And all of the chapter titles are based off of song lyrics. I tried to keep them relevant to the chapter/story, but sometimes they're just what sounded good. Also, it's rated M for language, certain mature themes, and some lemon. I wouldn't call it smut, but it's definitely...spicy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or its characters, nor do I own any of the song lyrics used within.
Shout out to my beta/editor, IanTophernicus, for his contributions to this piece!
Chapter One: New Soul
See, I'm a young soul in this very strange world,
Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout what is true and fake.
But why all this hate? Try to communicate.
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make.
"New Soul" by Yael Naim
Shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium…
Her brother tapped her shoulder. Katara pulled the headphone from her ear and looked at her older brother. "Hm?"
He gestured out the windshield at the road ahead of them. "We're almost there. There's the school."
Katara looked. Indeed, they were almost there: she could see the gilded green roofs of Ba Sing Se University rising over the nearby office buildings. The sight caused butterflies to batter the walls of her stomach and Katara quelled them. You needed this, she reminded herself firmly. You're going to be fine.
Sokka looked at his sister. His lips quirked down for a moment before he asked, "You sure it's not too late to get you to change your mind?"
Katara gave him a thin-lipped smile. "We've been over this. If I did that, I would miss a semester. That would put me behind and put my scholarship at risk. I didn't want to change schools either, but there's not much I can do about it. It's for the best."
"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
I don't like it either, Katara thought but didn't say. There was no reason to. She had changed colleges after her freshman year for a good reason. Nothing either of them said was going to change that.
Instead she said, "I'm gonna be fine, Sokka."
Sokka didn't say anything. He turned down Campus Road and suddenly the university loomed over them. Katara swallowed hard and took a slow, deliberate breath. She had almost forgotten how big the campus was—she had been there once, for her interview at the beginning of the summer, after she had made the decision to transfer. She was practically guaranteed acceptance: her 4.0 GPA and extensive list of sports and extracurriculars were impressive, especially to a school like BSSU.
They headed for Katara's dorm building. It was on the far side of campus, which Katara wasn't too happy about. She had opted for early classes so she could work a part-time job after she was done with her extracurriculars and courses, but she could already imagine her mad-dashes across campus when she had snoozed her alarm one too many times.
There was a procession of cars parked in front of the dorms as students moved their belongings to their rooms. She remembered what it had been like last year at Gaoling University: the high-strung excitement of freshmen ready to have a taste of freedom and experience the hype. Katara had been swept up in it herself. That was part of why she was here now.
Sokka maneuvered his Suburban into an empty spot alongside the curb, a fair distance from the doors. He turned in his seat toward Katara, who was currently frozen in place. "Hey." She blinked before she looked up at him. He could see her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she chewed it nervously. "You're gonna kill it here, Tara. You're smart and athletic as all hell. They should be honored to have you."
She offered him a weak smile. "Thanks, Sokka." Katara paused her music and slipped her phone into her backpack, the headphones still plugged into it.
"You know Dad would've given anything to be here, right?"
Katara stiffened for a moment. She gripped the strap of her bag tightly before she looked up at her brother. "Would he, though?" She saw him wince and regretted her words. She let out a breath. "I'm sorry. It's okay. Really. Let's just get my stuff into my room, okay?"
Sokka studied her for a moment before he nodded. "Okay." He slid out of the Suburban.
Katara took one more deep breath before she unbuckled and joined her brother on the pavement, slinging her bag over her shoulder. He opened the trunk. She didn't have much: a few boxes and a few duffel bags of clothing, along with her gym bag, packed with all of her athletic gear.
"Can I just say I'm glad your dorm is on the first floor? I really didn't want to lug all of your books upstairs."
Katara rolled her eyes. "I only brought two boxes of my books with me. And there's an elevator, dumbass."
Sokka put on a look of mock-hurt. "That's not a very nice thing to call your brother who took a day off his weekend—the weekend before he has to start college too, y'know—to bring you all the way up here."
Katara resisted the urge to roll her eyes again as she reached for the first box. "Come on. I told you I didn't mind taking the train."
"For eight hours? Forget it, Katara." Sokka grabbed another box. "Dad would've killed me."
"If Dad cared so much, he would be here," she muttered before she could stop herself.
Sokka paused, the box balanced on his hip. "That's not fair. You know how hard it is for him to come home. We should just be happy he's stationed in the Earth Kingdom, not the Fire Nation."
"Right." She huffed out a breath of hair that blew her bangs off her forehead. "Let's just get this stuff to my dorm, alright? You have a long drive back home."
"Hey, if you think I'm not taking you out for dinner before I leave, you've got another thing coming." He started for the doors. "We'll get your shit to your room, and then we're getting some food. I'm starving."
"You're always starving."
"Exactly."
They walked toward the doors, melting into the throng of students and parents hauling in personal belongings. Katara followed Sokka into the building. She took a moment to take it in: most of the room was occupied by a commons area, with couches and loveseats and a TV. There was a flight of stairs that led up to the second floor. Off to the right was a check-in desk where the RAs and monitors were stationed. Right now a middle-aged woman with an obscenely wide smile sat behind it, watching the incoming students and occasionally pointing them in the direction of their dorms.
"Helloooo," she greeted them in an unnerving singsong voice. "My name is Joo Dee. Do you need help finding your dorm room?"
"I'm in 221," Katara told her.
"Down that hall, then," Joo Dee said, pointing.
"Come on. This box is heavy," Sokka griped as he led Katara through the throng of students toward her dorm hall.
It was rather crowded, with college girls hurrying to deposit their belongings into their room. Katara had, by some stroke of luck, not been assigned a roommate. She and Sokka weaved their way through until they found her door. Katara braced the box against her hip and dug the key out of her pocket and unlocked it. There was a small leaflet taped to her door that fluttered in the air. Katara took it down.
"What's that?" Sokka asked.
"I guess there's some kind of mixer going on tomorrow, put on by one of the sororities."
"Do you think you'll go? It might be a good opportunity to meet people."
Katara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
She opened the door and stepped inside. Katara took it in. It was larger than she expected—much larger than her room at GU. It was shaped like a squat, fat T, with three huge windows. Two narrow beds stood solidly in opposite corners, with a small white dresser waiting to be filled at the foot of each. In the tail of the T were two white desks with swivel chairs. Each had three small shelves fitted above them, with three-shelf cubby organizers next to the desk. The door of the small closet was ajar.
The best feature of the room was the cozy window seat that was haloed in golden sunlight from the window at the bottom of the T.
"Sweet digs," Sokka commented. He set the box down on one of the desks. Katara did the same. "Whatcha think, Tara?"
Katara looked around the room again. "It's nice. Really nice." She looked at him, smiling happily. "And I get all of this to myself. Maybe it won't be so bad."
Her grin widened as he returned the look. "Come on. Let's go get the rest of your shit."
After they had cleared the car and brought the rest of Katara's things to her room, they decided to go out to eat. It wasn't their first time in Ba Sing Se, but it had been a few years since their last, besides the short trip they had taken for Katara's interview. The drive up to the university had been pretty, but Katara had been too preoccupied to focus on the sights.
"Dad said there's a great restaurant in the Lower Tier that sells traditional South Pole food," Sokka told her when they had gotten back into the Suburban. "Will you pull it up on the GPS for me?"
He pulled away from the curb and started toward the street, but a shiny black Challenger with red decals whipped fast around a corner, close enough to nearly hit the front end of the Suburban.
Sokka slammed on his brakes and laid on his horn. "What the fuck?" he shouted. He flipped the driver off.
The Challenger screeched to a stop beside the Suburban. The tinted window rolled down and a gruff voice called out "Got a fucking problem?"
"Watch what you're doing, asshole!" Sokka snapped.
Katara leaned around her brother and caught sight of the driver. He was around Sokka's age. When the driver's gaze met hers, Katara had to press her lips together to stop the gasp that threatened to escape. There was an angry red scar on the left side of his face that stretched from his brow bone to his cheekbone and disappeared into the mess of dark hair on his head. It was clearly a burn, and an old one. It was puckered in some places and shiny in others, with a myriad of shades of pink and red.
"Let's just go, Sokka," Katara muttered to him.
Sokka gave the scarred driver the middle finger again but he reluctantly drove away. Katara watched the Challenger in the side view mirror. It sped through the parking lot and disappeared from her view as she and Sokka left the campus grounds. Soon they were driving down the crowded streets, the jerk in the Challenger forgotten.
The Upper Tier, where the university was located, was the nicest of the three, with looming skyscrapers and big, boxy houses. People drove nice cars or walked down the sidewalks wearing business attire. The Middle Tier was mostly residential, with some boutiques thrown into the mix. The Lower Tier was a helter-skelter mix of houses, apartment buildings, department stores, and warehouses that seemed to trip over each other as they clustered the cramped streets.
Katara was utterly enthralled by the hustle-and-bustle of its atmosphere. It was a lot to take in for a girl who had been living in the small, clean city of Gaoling for the last few years, and it was a stark contrast to the tiny village where she had been born in the South Pole.
At last, Sokka pulled up in front of the restaurant. With the windows down, Katara could smell the sharp aroma of sea prunes and other delicacies from her home that were so hard to come by in the Earth Kingdom. But beneath that was a more pleasant, almost floral aroma. Katara spotted its source: a tea shop located across the street. The green sign above the canopy bore the name 'The Jasmine Dragon' in elaborate gold lettering. She saw a 'Help Wanted' sign in the window and quirked a brow. If they were hiring part-time, that might be a good place to start.
The siblings went inside and were directed into a booth by the window. A waitress brought out the menus and Katara and Sokka skimmed over them.
"Oh man, seaweed noodles and turtle-seal steak? I'm in love with this place already!" Sokka enthused.
"Don't start drooling, Sokka. I don't need you embarrassing me," Katara teased. "Oh look, they have your favorite: sautéed sea urchins."
It was a nice early-dinner with her brother. They ate while they talked about their friends, Sokka's girlfriend, Suki, their upcoming courses and their extracurriculars. This would likely be the last time they saw each other until winter break, almost four months away. Katara would miss Sokka. They had never spent this much time away from each other before, but she knew it was necessary. GU was her past. BSSU was her future.
When they left the restaurant, Katara pointed across the street at the tea shop. "They're hiring. I'm going to go over there and pick up an application."
"Katara, Dad already said he'd send you money," Sokka protested. "Don't you think you have enough on your plate already?"
"You guys need the money." She looked up at him. "My schooling isn't cheap and Dad's already paying for what isn't covered by my scholarships. At least this way I'll have my own pocket money for textbooks and food and stuff."
Sokka sighed, sensing he wouldn't be able to change her mind (stubbornness was one of Katara's main personality traits; once she got an idea in her head, it was nearly impossible to deter her). He watched her walk across the street.
The bell chimed overhead when she opened the door. While the smell outside had been fragrant and appealing, the scent inside the tea shop was invigorating. The rich aromas of tea leaves and freshly-ground coffee coalesced with the smell of baked goods in a way that made her mouth water, despite having just eaten a full meal. Katara stopped just inside and let her eyes fall closed as she deeply inhaled the plethora of smells. When she opened her eyes she spotted a case filled with delicious-looking pastries.
The atmosphere inside was cozy and inviting. Tables and chairs were arranged in the middle of the floor, each adorned with tea candles and floral arrangements. Upon closer inspection, Katara noticed how each arrangement had a corresponding placard, lettered in the same cursive script as the sign outside. One table was festooned with lavender and lemongrass. Another had an intoxicating bowl of rosemary potpourri. A third had an elaborate arrangement of rich hyacinths.
Katara gave a small shake of her head to clear away the smells before she took in the rest of the shop. She saw some comfortable couches and armchairs that lined the edges of the shop and met in the corners. The lighting was low, but not so dim that a bunch of college kids couldn't hold study sessions here, which Katara was sure they did. She wouldn't be surprised if she ended up joining them.
An older, portly gentleman had been bussing a table when Katara walked in. His golden eyes twinkled kindly and his laugh lines showed prominently when he turned a warm smile in her direction.
"Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon," he said in a chipper voice. "I'll be with you in one moment!"
Katara drifted toward the register as her eyes scanned the menu. The Jasmine Dragon's specialty was tea, but there was also an impressive selection of coffee blends and fresh-baked goodies. The lemon-blueberry muffins sounded delightful. Katara made a mental note to herself that she would have to try one the next time she came in.
Suddenly thinking of it, she looked down at herself, hoping her outfit was decent enough to make a good first-impression on a potential place of employment. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a plain blue tank top (Katara had dressed comfortably for the long car ride), and her well-worn Chuck Taylors. It wasn't the outfit she would have worn if she'd known she was going to pick up a job application, but overall, it could have been worse.
There was a girl behind the counter who looked to be around Katara's age. She wondered if the girl went to BSSU too. She was pretty, with a round face and large, sweet eyes, with dark hair nearly as unruly as Katara's own, braided in pigtails that fell over her shoulders.
"Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. What can I get for you today?" The girl's smile was as gentle as her eyes.
Katara smiled back at her. "I was actually hoping to pick up a job application."
The girl brightened. "Oh, sure! Iroh—" She gestured to the older man. "—will help you with that." The smile returned. "I'm Jin."
"Katara. It's nice to meet you."
After a few minutes the older man, Iroh, disappeared through a doorway before coming back out while drying his hands off on his apron. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at Katara.
"Would you like to try one of our specialty teas? We are well known for our boba and jasmine blends."
"Oh, no thank you," Katara said politely. She gestured toward the door. "I saw the 'help wanted' sign and I was hoping to pick up a job application, if you're still hiring."
"Yes, we are!" Iroh reached under the counter and pulled out a thin packet of paper that was stapled together. "Are you a BSSU student?"
"That I am," Katara replied as she took the application. "Are you looking for a part-time worker, by any chance?"
"Yes, we are! Jin here helps me in the mornings, but her classes keep her afternoons and evenings booked out. I'm used to scheduling shifts to fit with BSSU students." He smiled again. "I'm actually looking for a closing-shift worker. Could that work for you?"
Katara couldn't believe her luck. That was exactly what she had been looking for. She smiled brightly. "That would be perfect! I was actually looking for something in the evening."
Iroh chuckled. "Excellent! Why don't you bring that application by tomorrow at say, ten o'clock, and I'll interview you then?"
She nodded excitedly. "Yes, of course! Thank you so much."
He held out his hand. "As you hear, I am Iroh. I own the Jasmine Dragon. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"You as well. I'm Katara." She took the offered hand and watched as it enveloped hers. "I'll be here tomorrow at ten then."
His eyes sparkled with merriment. Katara hoped she got the job. She liked Iroh already. "I'll see you then, Miss Katara."
It took all of her self-control to not skip happily back to the Suburban. She managed it, just barely, but there was no fooling Sokka.
"What, did he hire you on the spot or something?" he asked as she climbed back into the passenger seat.
"No, not exactly, but I've got an interview tomorrow!" Katara bounced up and down in her seat, unable to reign in her glee any longer. "I'm pretty confident I'll get the job. The owner seems like a really nice guy. He said he'd be happy to work with my class schedule!" She hurriedly strapped herself in as she struggled to reign in her excitement,
Sokka offered her a lopsided smile as he pulled back into traffic. "I'm really happy for you, sis. But you better figure out how to get here on the train, though."
"I will." Katara wasn't going to let his pragmatism ruin her good mood. She knew he was happy for her in his own way—being a realist was one of them—and that this was just his way of expressing it. "I should be able to find the routes on Google."
When Sokka dropped her off back in front of her dorm, he surprised her by getting out of the car and wrapping her up in a tight hug. Thankfully, most of the crowds had disappeared. Katara hugged him back. She didn't realize how tightly she was clinging to him until she saw how her fingers had dug into his shoulders.
"I'm gonna miss you, Tara," Sokka said. His voice was thick. "If you need anything, you call me, okay? Or you call Suki."
Katara nodded against his shoulder. She blinked back the unexpected tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm gonna miss you, too." She pulled back and smiled at him. "And I'll call if I need you, promise. Drive safe."
Sokka held her at arm's length. "Take care of yourself, kid."
"You too." She shrugged him off, but she was smiling. "Love you, Sokka."
He slid behind the wheel of the Suburban and shut the door. "Love you too."
Katara watched him until he pulled out of the dorm parking lot and disappeared.
She made her way to her dorm room. Much of the activity had died down. There were some girls hanging out in the commons area, but Katara wasn't in the mood to make new friends just yet. She was tired from the long drive, and the excitement over her prospective interview had fizzled away, leaving her with a feeling of nervous apprehension as she mentally played out the potential outcomes.
Evening was coming on, and she was looking forward to doing some unpacking and arranging her textbooks before she relaxed. She needed to pick out an outfit for the job interview, too.
Overall it had been a good day, even the long car ride with her brother: Sokka had let Katara pick the music (his favorite saying was "driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake-hole") and turned it up loud. The two of them had sung along and had a great time.
Classes started on Monday, so she had time to get her room set up, but Katara was anything if not an overachiever.
And it wasn't like she had anything better to do… She could have joined those girls out in the commons, but Katara was just too tired to be social. There would be plenty of opportunity for that at the mixer tomorrow night. It would be easier to talk to them once she knew if she had gotten the job or not.
She inspected the paper she had found on her door. It was going to be at one of the sorority houses. There was an address at the bottom of the page, and Katara made a mental note to look it up on Google Maps later.
With a sigh, Katara grabbed one of the boxes and pulled it towards her before she opened the top. She found her Bluetooth speaker and connected her phone to it, and dialed up one of her favorite playlists. The first song to come on was "New Soul" from Yael Naim. Katara smiled as she began to fold her clothes into the dresser drawers. It seemed especially fitting for the day.
She sang along as Melanie Martinez and Halsey played and she unpacked. Outside of her room, she could hear the low buzz of conversations and the scuffles and thuds of other girls getting their rooms set up as well.
Katara found herself grateful, once again, that she hadn't been stuck with a roommate. Not that she'd had a bad experience with roommates—that was how she had met Suki, and then Sokka had met her too, and the rest was history—but Katara had grown used to having her own space again when she had been home for the summer. She wasn't ready to give that up yet.
Sure, she was going to miss Suki. She already did miss her. But Katara was going to enjoy the solitude. She wouldn't have an issue with a messy roommate, or a loud roommate when she was trying to study, or one who complained about her music. This was entirely her space, although she probably wasn't going to be there all that much. Between her course load and the prospective new job, Katara was going to be very busy. It was a relief that she wouldn't have to deal with a roommate on top of all of that.
But it was better that way. Idle hands are the devil's workshop was a favorite quote of her Gran-Gran's, and Katara knew that it was true. If she kept herself occupied, there wouldn't be time to get into trouble.
Spirits knew that was the last thing she needed.