Episode 14: The After Party
It was worse than she could have imagined.
Was the entire university shoved into the two-story club?
And worse, Sokka was making them wear party hats.
At least it was dark, the only light falling in colored strobes that shifted with the loud music. They had to practically shout to hear each other at the entrance.
Aang had separated from them to go feed Appa at his nearby apartment just before Zuko and Toph walked in. They were double checking they had the right bracelets for free drinks when a girl in a dark red dress walked up. She said hello to Sokka before turning to Zuko who was helping Katara with her bracelet.
"Finally worked things out with your girlfriend, I see." Jun sipped her punch.
They both blushed.
"She's not my girlfriend," Zuko grunted at the same time Katara insisted, "I'm not his girlfriend!"
Behind her, she vaguely heard Aang say 'pay up' and Toph reply 'not yet, Twinkle Toes.'
"Sounds fun," Jun replied with a smirk. "Anyways, great party, Sokka. Maybe I'll see you later."
Sokka was greeted by a couple more people on their way to the table they'd reserved for the night. He and Zuko ordered from a passing waiter but Suki said she liked watching the drinks be made and dragged Katara with her to the bar.
Getting the bar tender's attention, she said, "I'll have the club special." Suki tapped the counter then turned to Katara expectantly.
"Oh, I don't drink in public," Katara said. "Can I just have a water?"
"Sure," the bartender smiled at her. "Anything for such a pretty water tribe girl."
He winked at her and Katara leaned as far back as she could. He turned to Suki. "We have a new special," he said, his tone marginally less friendly.
"I'll take it, whatever it is." She waved him off. When he was gone, she grumbled, "Well, he noticed you, didn't he?"
"You know I'm not looking for anyone," Katara mumbled, her face burning as he returned to pass her a bottle of water.
"Because you already found someone?" Suki prodded, her eyes obviously indicating the boys seated at the table a little ways away.
Katara blushed deeper, thankful for the dim lighting. "No..."
Accentuated by her make-up and the darkness, Suki's smile was wicked. "You're warming up to him, aren't you?" she teased. "And he cooks, which is a plus. He actually kind of reminds me of your dad, now that I think about it..."
"Suki," Katara lowered her voice, "did you see that cake?"
"I told you." she poked her. "He's Mr. Perfect. Good at everything."
"We talking about Zuko?" Toph asked, hopping onto the barstool at Katara's right. "We make fun of him so much to keep him humble."
"And he can't make jokes," Suki pointed out.
"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, "he's hilarious."
The two girls stared at her for a moment before both bursting into laughter.
"You got it bad, Sugar Queen," Toph said.
"Oh, yeah?" Katara demanded. "What about Suki? She thinks Sokka is funny."
The painted girl immediately stopped laughing, her eyes wide. Katara imagined that under that layer of white she would find a prominent blush.
"Sokka is kind of like the crazy uncle," Toph continued, unaware. "Zuko is more the dad of our group."
Debating, Katara bit her lip. Then decided to ask, "Who's the mom?"
"There's actually a vacancy." Yet again, something was hidden in her grin. Something almost nefarious. "We keep waiting for Sparky to settle down but he's got his nose in books so much he hasn't noticed the fanclub he's accumulated."
Katara thought about the girl from Saturday morning. "Fanclub?"
"Oh yeah." Toph nodded. "Do you know how many regular customers the Jasmine Dragon has because of him? I constantly wonder who are really the blind ones around here."
Katara laughed at the joke even as her stomach squirmed. "And where do you fit in this little family?"
"I'm the adopted one." Toph pumped a fist against her chest.
"And what about me?"
Toph shrugged. "Still to be determined. But I got money on it with Aang."
Katara didn't know what to think about that, but she didn't get long before Toph asked, "What about Aang?"
"What about Aang?" Katara asked. "Like what do I think about you together?"
"Don't make me throw up." She proceeded to pretend to gag. "No. For you."
"Me? And Aang?" Katara laughed, "He's like a little brother to me. I practically raised him."
Her two friends shared a look.
"What?" she demanded.
"Nothing, nothing." Toph waved it off before calling over the bartender and ordering a long island iced tea. Katara watched her carefully.
"I have to ask," she said. "Are you really blind?"
Suki choked into her drink.
Toph's grin was crooked. "Straight shooter, I like it. None of these other lily livers were brave enough to ask right out." She leaned forward to stick her tongue out at Suki. "To answer your question, I am blind, but I can still see in a different way."
Katara sat up. "Really?"
"Yeah, I send out vibrations from my mouth and I read the echoes," she deadpanned.
Katara blinked. "Are you serious? Like sonar?"
Toph burst out laughing. "I can't believe you fell for that! Are you stupid or something?"
Katara grumbled underneath her breath and took another sip of her drink.
Standing next to their reserved table, Zuko took a long swig of his drink. Sokka had been staring at his ex for the past five minutes, going on about how good she looked and that perhaps he should go over and talk to her. Each time he tried, however, he would make it about five steps and then suddenly spin a 180 on his feet to come right back.
"What was that?" Zuko demanded.
"I call it...the boomerang," Sokka said with a sage face as if he'd just dropped the greatest psalm of the century. Zuko fought the urge to growl and strangle his best friend.
He took a deep breath. "Look buddy, I know Yue broke your heart, but I think you may be missing out on some things."
Sokka looked up at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean it might be time to move on...stop mooning over past girlfriends and look at what's right in front of you."
When Sokka continued to look confused Zuko took the initiative of grabbing his roommate's chin and pointing him towards the bar. Laughing next to the other girls stood Suki, her azure eyes sparkling even in the low lights of the club. While Sokka squinted at the three of them, Zuko's eyes caught on something else. Someone else.
Katara was looking at him. There was something...assessing in her eyes. He sent her a questioning look that had her frowning and turning away.
"Toph?" Sokka asked. "She's great and all, but really more like a little sister. In fact, I think she's got a little crush on-"
"Not Toph, Sokka." It was a fight to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Suki."
Sokka looked back over at the girls. "OOOOOOooooOhhh."
Zuko hit his own forehead in exasperation.
"So what? I just-" he waved his arms around like a baby bird testing out flight in the nest- "...go talk to her?"
Zuko frowned, thinking about his experiences with girls. "I am definitely not the person to ask, but I think it will be rather straightforward. I'm pretty sure Suki's had her eyes on you for a while."
Not pretty sure: certain. For a LONG while.
Sokka appeared to be contemplating. "She did kiss me that one time we went to Kyoshi Island together."
Zuko smacked his forehead again before shoving his friend towards the small group of girls.
"Just get over there and try not to mess anything up."
"But I always mess stuff up!" Sokka said, turning back. "It's one of my most endearing qualities!"
"Then be endearing." Zuko forcibly turned him back towards the girls.
"But-" Sokka attempted a second turn.
"Just shut up and get over there." Zuko nudged Sokka again. "And no boomeranging back this time! Stick it out."
As Sokka joined the group, Katara and Toph had the good sense to break away. They started heading towards Zuko. He watched Sokka say something that had Suki crinkling her brow.
Katara frowned at Zuko as they got closer. "Hey, why is your forehead all red?"
Zuko was about to ask what she meant when he heard Sokka's distinct voice carry over the music.
"You know what they could use to fix this place up? A cabbage patch!"
A joke?! And not even a good one! Zuko smacked his forehead and felt it sting as Katara burst out laughing.
"What?" he demanded.
She passed him her half empty bottle of water, still chuckling. "You may want this, I think Sokka is causing you to lose a couple brain cells."
He took the bottle and held the condensed edge against his throbbing temple. He didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that Suki was still smiling.
"It's weird seeing all these people dressed in the old fashion," Katara remarked, her eyes passing over the crowd.
Zuko shrugged, tracing her outfit for the thousandth time that night. "I don't mind it."
"Blech," Toph gagged. "I can't see, but I know what goo-goo eyes sound like. I'm out of here. See you losers later, I'm about to wreck on the dance floor."
"Toph-" Zuko started in a reprimanding tone. Toph turned to face him, "Tsk tsk, have you forgotten? I'm not Toph. I am MELON LORD!"
With a final 'whoop!' she turned and disappeared into the crowd.
"Well that was embarrassing," Katara said beside him.
"Don't let her bother you," he replied, his eyes still searching for the short green girl in the crowd. Someone had to keep an eye on that girl.
"It's not her that bothers me," she grumbled back, "it's all these people."
"Right? I can't even hear myself think." He glared at the mass surrounding them as if each and every person there had deeply offended him.
"Zuko?"
He stopped his search to glance at her.
Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she smiled up at him. "Want to take a walk?"
Maybe this was their thing now, walking places. Zuko didn't mind in the least.
After retrieving their coats from the front, they'd stepped out onto the main road that lead towards the pier.
The sound of the waves crashing against the shore calmed him along with her presence at his side.
"It's nice," she said, stopping to lean against a railing. Zuko paused beside her, looking over the ocean. A dark thought crossed his mind: Haru was somewhere out there.
She pulled him back. "The ocean has always felt like home to me."
He stayed quiet, just listening to her.
"You think it's because I grew up on an island or...something else?" she mused. "Something inexplicable?"
Zuko smiled, glancing up at the moon. "There are a lot of things in life that are inexplicable," he said. "It keeps us questioning and exploring, trying to figure it out. Trying to figure each other out."
"I realized..." She seemed to hesitate. "I never asked you what happened."
Zuko turned his head to look at her. "What do you mean?"
"With your father," she clarified. "What question did you ask?"
He swallowed. Not exactly what he had meant...
Katara threw a rock across the ocean's surface and it bounced three times before disappearing from view. Zuko waited until the next wave had crashed before he found the courage to speak.
"I don't really talk about it. It might seem dumb to you."
She gave him one of her stubborn, indignant looks and he held up his hands in surrender. It always felt like he was losing when it came to her. "That's not what I meant. It's just that..." he sighed and turned back to the lake. "Not everyone understands."
He heard her heave a deep breath before her hand reached out to settle over his. He looked down in surprise, almost disbelieving of the sensitive touch.
"I want to understand," she said quietly. Zuko had to turn away, perhaps she would think he was ashamed but really it was so that she wouldn't see his blush. Keep it together man, we want her to like us. He shook his head and cleared his throat.
"It all started when I was thirteen," he began. "I told my father I wanted to go to college."
Katara's eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"You see, Phoenix children don't go to college," Zuko explained. "Not at my level, at least. We learn from our parents, we have a degree paid for, and then we carry on the industrial reign. But..." His eyes turned up to the stars. "I wanted to learn. I wanted to see if we could be doing anything different. Better. I saw the way the workers were treated...Everything he was teaching me would only continue that, and I knew there had to be other options."
Zuko took another deep breath and Katara squeezed his hand. He resisted the urge to look at her and instead kept his gaze steady over the waves. The memories flooded back and he almost didn't catch himself in time to stop from reaching up to touch his scar. But he couldn't tell her that story. Not yet.
"When I was sixteen, I finally got the courage to speak up and...he told me I was a failure, and that if I couldn't understand what it meant to command respect then I would have to earn it. I was banished from the grounds-"
Katara let off a soft gasp but he continued, mesmerized by his own recounting.
"-I was no longer allowed the amenities of my house. I was sentenced to a faction where I would earn my keep to stay in an extra room at one of the warehouses. I had to raise enough money to go to college on my own and, like I told you before, only when I graduate at the top of my class with honors will I have back my father's respect and acceptance. Only then would I be allowed to return."
Katara's hand squeezed his. "You were only sixteen?"
He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Supposedly, his father wanted him back already. Had he somehow earned it? Just shy of his graduation? Did he even want it anymore? For so long it was all he had strived for...but now?
Zuko clenched his fist. "I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."
Katara placed a gentle hand against his cheek, forcing him to look at her.
"You shouldn't have to earn your father's love," she said. "What he did..." She looked away, apparently too upset to continue.
Zuko didn't really have anything to say either. Why had he agreed to discuss this again? Right...because it was Katara.
"We should probably head back," he said, his voice strained. "Who knows what kind of trouble Sokka has gotten into at this point."
"Ok," Katara said quietly. Their walk back towards the club was much more somber than their walk away had been. He wished he was adept enough to brighten her mood, bring a smile back to her face. What was it that she always did for him?
Walked into the room. Couldn't really do that.
Say something snarky with an undertone of caring? Didn't really seem like the time.
Held his hand.
Zuko looked down to where her fingers were swaying, just a couple centimeters from his own. It would be so simple, so easy, to reach out and grip her small hand in his own. And yet the implications felt anything but simple and easy.
He was debating with himself for so long he hadn't realized they'd arrived back at the club until someone called out to them.
More accurately: called out to her.
"Katara!"
A man was jogging towards them through the throng, waving. Like Zuko, he was dressed as an ancient world fire nation resident, marking him as one of Sokka's guests. Though if Zuko had to guess, he would say that while he himself was dressed as a higher status official, Jet looked like someone you might have found in an outer village.
"I thought I'd find you here," the man said. "Sokka said you were back in town, I've been trying to get a hold of you."
Zuko took a deep breath. She HAD said she was excited to see some old friends...but one look at Katara told him this guy did not fit that category.
"Hi, Jet," she gritted out.
"I can see you're still a little upset about last time," Jet said, passing her a winning smile. "But I promise, I've changed!"
Katara crossed her arms, staring the boy down. Zuko was glad he was on this side of the conversation.
Reluctantly, he took initiative. "Hello," he said, holding out a hand to Jet. "You must be here for the party."
Jet's eyes narrowed on him.
"Who's this, Katara?" He demanded, motioning towards Zuko.
Zuko's eyebrows rose at the affront, but otherwise he didn't react.
"This is Zuko, Sokka's roommate," she said, her anger still very much evident in her tone.
"Are you dating him?" Jet asked.
Why was everyone assuming that? Zuko thought. Not that he particularly minded being mistaken for Katara's boyfriend...
"What's it to you?" Katara shot back.
The new boy stood a little straighter, not even trying to hide the fact that he was sizing Zuko up.
Zuko, in turn, stood straighter and frowned. Who was this kid to try and make him feel inferior? He was a top senior at the University, not to mention he could probably take him in a fight with two hands tied behind his back.
Jet took a deep breath in. "Smells like corporate if you ask me," he said.
"I thought you said you'd changed," Katara replied. "Sounds to me like you're still seeing only what you want to see."
"Katara, I-"
"Don't call me anymore." And with that, she moved around Jet towards their table. Jet seemed about to chase after her when Zuko caught his arm. Stepping closer, he was glad to find himself just a couple of inches taller.
"Don't even think about it," he said. "I believe she asked you to leave her alone."
"Get your hand off me, company trash," Jet hissed.
"You don't know a thing about me," Zuko countered. "So let me share with you-" his hand tightened on the boy's arm- "if you do anything she has asked you not to do, or if you attempt to reach her. I will find out, and you will answer to me."
When he made it to the rest of the group Katara was still fuming. Her arms and legs crossed as she sat glaring at the surface of the table. He sat beside her if only to continue the charade for Jet who was still watching from across the room.
"Nice guy," he commented.
Katara 'hmpf'ed in reply.
"Where did you two sneak off to?" Toph asked. Breathing hard and covered in sweat, she was pounding down glasses of water faster than their waiter could bring them. She must have just stepped off the dance floor.
"Got a little fresh air before the night got too sticky," Zuko replied, grabbing up his abandoned drink to take a sip. "You thinking about stepping outside to cool off?"
"In your dreams, Sparky," she said, slamming a fourth glass onto the table. "I'm just getting started. Old Twinkle Toes is holding my spot."
Zuko twisted in his seat to see Aang was indeed jumping around on the dance floor. The boy had his own style of dance that looked more like a leaf on the wind...or one of those blow-up guys outside of a car dealership. In any case, people were giving him a wide berth.
He turned back to the table just in time to catch Toph letting out a loud burp. Katara and Zuko spoke simultaneously.
"Toph!"
The green clad girl only grinned, standing from her spot to stagger to the dance floor. Zuko was about to step after her when Katara spoke up.
"I'm sorry about Jet," she said. "He just has a way of bringing out the worst in me."
"And we all know that's my job," he teased.
Her frown cracked, just a little. "We used to protest the company together," she said, then blushed. "We were kind of an...item? It sounds so stupid now."
Zuko shrugged. "I think we all have memories we wish would go away."
Katara nodded. "Anyways," she continued, "he kept making bigger and bigger scenes, calling for more action and it stopped being peaceful." She sighed. "Then he targeted a factory."
He remembered that. It had been in the news. They'd found a bomb outside one of the warehouses in the west, but it had never been triggered.
"People work in the factories," she said, her voice like iron. "He could have seriously hurt someone or worse. So I ended things and left. He tried to contact me when I came back but...I didn't have anything to say to him."
Zuko took another gulp of his drink and pursed his lips. "Will you let me know? If he tries to do anything. Sokka and I will help you."
"I don't need your help." She grinned sideways at him. "But thanks, anyway. I'll let you know." Suddenly, her smile dropped and her face paled.
"What?" Zuko turned.
Sokka and Suki were jumping around the counter, swinging on the barstools and laughing like maniacs. It wasn't so strange to see Sokka acting such a fool, but Suki?
A sound near the dancefloor had them turning to see Aang and Toph acting in similar fashions.
"What the-?" Katara was sliding out of the booth. "I'll get Aang and Toph. You get my brother and Suki. Meet you back here?"
"Yeah," he said. She jogged her way over to the dance floor. Just as he was about to head over to try corralling his roommate and his (hopefully) new girlfriend, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, Zuko dropped his glass. The shattering sound was smothered by the pumping music. His nightly ping had just arrived from the Agni Kais. The target? Hakoda.
The city was hunting Sokka and Katara's dad.
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