Chapter 3: Taking the Next Step
Quick responses to reviews:
TR13 Reader: Oh man, I only had one older sister and that was hard enough on me. I don't know how you did it with three of them. There's nothing wrong with liking Twilight, so I wouldn't call it a guilty pleasure. Especially since you had three sisters that obviously made you watch it a lot. Ha. Anyway, what I meant is that I didn't want it to be too much like Twilight. I haven't seen the movies or anything, but I've heard about them from other people and heard that they're a bit cheesy, so I just don't want to make it too much like them. But as long as it has the feel of a supernatural story, that's really all I'm going for with this. With some good Kataang and other pairings mixed in with it as well, of course.
Bay45220: Lol, yep. Seems like it. Thanks.
MrHoodman2132: Ha, no I think I understand ya. Unfortunately, I can't say I did that on purpose. Or I could, but I would be lying, anyway. I just left the ex-girlfriend being general, but I like the way your mind thinks. Thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I haven't spent much time watching or reading these kinds of things either, so I'm kinda winging it as I go along. Hope you continue to enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Two weeks had passed by since Aang had talked to Katara after finding out that he would be permanently staying at his new home, and Aang couldn't deny that he was rather happy that he was being given a chance to actually enjoy a home where he could make friends. And in Katara's case, hopefully he would soon become something more to her than just a friend.
The two so far had only been having small conversations, mostly due to her family calling her away before their talks could last very long, which he still didn't understand. Despite not knowing much about foster families, nor did he know anything of regular families with siblings, he couldn't help but be confused as to why they didn't let them have a lot of alone time.
It wasn't like he was trying to do anything bad. He just wanted to get to know her, and maybe if there was a mutual spark between them, see if they could become something more. But, if her family did know that his intentions were pure, they sure didn't seem to care. This frustrated him a bit, but he supposed he understood where they were coming from. Just as he had told Katara during their talk in the woods, if he had a sister, he would have wanted to protect her as well.
This didn't mean he wouldn't have allowed her to talk to someone, even if it was someone he didn't know, for such a short time. Regardless, he knew that they were just looking out for their sister's well-being, even if he hadn't talked to any of them just yet. Though he had to admit, that was something he didn't really find himself looking forward to if he and Katara did end up going out.
For reasons he couldn't explain, he still didn't have a very good feeling about them. Every time he saw his neighbors, it was like he could sense a strange sort of… darkness emanating from them. Sure, the scarred boy looked rather emo and the girl who looked to be his actual sister certainly didn't look cheery, but the rest of them looked to be normal people. Aang really didn't understand why he didn't have a good feeling when he saw them.
Then again, despite having been undeniably attracted to her, he had once felt the same darkness come from Katara. And though he had not been able to talk to her as much as he would have liked to, he knew enough about her to know that she was not a dark person. Maybe the rest of them were the same. Maybe they had all had some bad experiences that loomed over them.
He could absolutely understand that. Even he had the occasional dark day when he found himself missing his mother and wishing that he could have met her, and more importantly that she hadn't died giving birth to him. It had taken him a long time to stop blaming himself for her death, but he knew better than to keep hanging it over his own head now.
Regardless, he had his own taste of darkness as well, and knew that just because you have dark times did not mean that you were a bad person. Maybe there was another side of her family that he hadn't seen. Even if there wasn't, if he had any intention of trying to be Katara's boyfriend, he knew that he would have to try to get along with them.
Not that he had any clue as to whether Katara thought of him as more than a friend or not. Sure, she had kissed his cheek as they had said their goodbyes after their walk in the woods, but that could have just been her being friendly. He didn't want to get his hopes up on something that he could not justify.
Sighing as he closed his locker, Aang made sure he had his backpack slung over his shoulder and began walking. Making his way outside, he started thinking about Katara again, remembering her beautiful smile and didn't even realize as he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the girl apologized sheepishly as she turned around, making Aang wonder why she was apologizing to him. "I shouldn't have been standing there."
"No, no. It was my fault," Aang quickly told her, not wanting her to think that she had done anything wrong. "I was just thinking and I didn't really look where I was going. Sorry about that." He stuck his hand out to her. "I'm Aang."
"Jin," she replied as she took his hand and shook it. "So, I don't recognize you, Aang. Are you new here?"
"Yeah, I actually am," he laughed as he realized that everyone seemed to know each other in this small town. "I just moved here from Washington about a month ago."
Jin smiled. "Cool! Well, welcome to our little slice of heaven," she said in a clearly joking tone, making him laugh. "So, what were you thinking about?"
Before he could get the chance to respond, a familiar voice called out to him. "Aang!" Turning to see who it was and being relieved to see that it was Katara, his smile grew and he watched as she came walking up to him with her 'family' not far behind.
"Hey, Katara. What's up?" he asked curiously, being happy to see her even though he had talked to her a few hours ago.
"Just thought I'd come and say hi," she smiled back at him, her eyes quickly flicking over to the girl to his right with a hint of jealousy that he couldn't see before refocusing back on him. "Actually, I wanted to see if you maybe wanted to hang out later? Maybe we can go get some coffee at that cafe we were talking about?"
Despite being completely surprised by this sudden invitation, there was no way he was going to pass up a chance to spend more time with her. Especially when this sounded like it might be something like a date. "Yeah, I'd like that," he finally replied after stopping himself from sounding too enthusiastic about it.
Katara's smile grew as she let out a tiny sigh of relief. "Okay. I'll meet you there in an hour?" she asked hopefully, watching as he nodded his agreement. "Good. I'll see you then." Giving him a wave, she started going back to her 'family', but stopped as she remembered something. Turning around, she addressed the girl who had been silent since her arrival. "Jin, right?"
Blinking in surprise that this girl knew her name, Jin responded. "Um, yes. I'm Jin. Do we know each other?" she couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"No, no. I'm sorry, I just overheard you talking to Aang when I was walking here," she informed her, making Jin make an 'o' with her mouth as Katara smiled and gestured to the scarred boy behind her. "Anyway, my foster brother Zuko here was wondering if you wanted to meet him for coffee, too?"
Zuko, not expecting this to happen in the slightest, took on a look of complete surprise and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Jin gave him a bright smile. "Sure! I'd love to!"
"Great!" Katara smiled as well as she looked between the two, trying not to smirk too much as she saw Zuko frozen in shock. "He'll meet you there in an hour. Don't be late!" Walking up to Aang, she gave him a long kiss on the cheek, making him blush as she finally pulled away and smiled at him. "See you soon, Aang."
Jin, being excited for her date, waved goodbye to Zuko and started making her way home to get ready. Aang was still in a bit of a daze from Katara's last kiss, but he managed to pull himself together and wave back to Katara before heading home himself. That left Zuko standing nearly paralyzed in shock as his 'family' all watched him in amusement.
As much as Azula certainly was enjoying seeing her brother like this, she decided to break the silence that had enveloped them as she taunted. "Dear brother, has the cat finally gotten your tongue?"
Finally snapping out of his shock from hearing this, he turned to Katara and glared at her. "What are you doing? You know-"
"I know that you like her, Zuko. And I know that you want her to join us, too. Even if you won't admit it," Katara told him honestly, making him frown and roll his eyes.
"I don't want her to join us," was all he could think to say, earning laughs of clear amusement from his 'family' members.
"Sure, and I'm a donkey," Sokka laughed as he put an arm around Zuko's shoulder, noticing quickly as Katara opened her mouth to speak and interrupted her before she could. "Don't. Just don't."
Everyone but Zuko and Sokka laughed at this, but Zuko still wasn't very happy with Katara. Seeing this, Katara sighed and shook her head at him. "Just give it a chance, Zuko. You already like her. If this works out, maybe you'll finally have found your mate."
"That's not the only reason you set up a date for him, is it?" Toph asked with a raised brow, watching Katara cross her arms over her chest in defiance.
"What? Zuko's wanted to ask her out for a while, even if he won't admit it. I just… took advantage of that and made sure that Aang won't be thinking about her," she reluctantly admitted.
"That's why you set me up on a date?" Zuko asked in surprise, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "Because you didn't want your boyfriend liking another girl?"
"Don't act like you haven't been wanting to go out with her," Katara argued as she rolled her eyes. "This works for both of us."
Shaking his head at his sister, Sokka decided that it was his turn to speak up. "What's gotten into you, lately? You were never like this before."
"She's in her breeding period, Sokka," Suki reminded him, making his eyes widen in realization as he realized that she was right. "Though Sokka's right, Katara. Are you sure you're thinking clearly?"
"Of course I am!" Katara replied instantly, noticing as the others gave her a look of doubt. "Just because I'm in my breeding period doesn't mean I'm going to make bad decisions." Taking a deep breath to settle herself, she put on a reassuring smile. "Look, I'm starting slow with Aang, so don't worry about me. I've got this under control. Okay?" No one objected, and she became satisfied. "Alright. Now, let's get home. Zuko and I have dates tonight."
Everyone laughed as Zuko sighed in frustration, though he had to admit that part of him was certainly excited to meet Jin later. Not that he would ever tell them that. Deciding to put his anger with Katara aside for the moment, he took the lead and began making his way home, finding that he was sort of actually looking forward to his date.
About an hour later, Katara and Zuko found themselves waiting outside the cafe for their dates. Knowing that they were just meeting up for coffee, Katara had chosen to go casual for her choice of clothing. Zuko, however, had not thought about this and had decided to wear a tux, much to his chagrin as Katara teased him about getting ready for his prom date.
Despite not being happy with the teasing, he couldn't deny that he was excited for this date. He wasn't going to admit it out loud, but he had liked Jin ever since he had met her when their family had moved to the town, and though he was very nervous for this date, he was rather glad that he was finally getting a chance to get to know her more.
This didn't mean that he was still very happy with Katara for forcing him on this date, however, and he certainly was going to give her an earful after they had both finished with their dates. It was clear that they both were Alphas in their pack, but he was the leader for a reason, and he was going to make sure that she didn't do anything like that again. Knowing how stubborn his foster sister was, he decided that he was going to try to make sure she didn't do anything like that again.
It wasn't much longer after he had made this decision that Katara's date for the night came into view, some flowers behind his back that he had hoped to conceal from her but was not aware of her inhuman sense of smell that tipped her off to what he had purchased for her. Doing her best not to show that she already knew what was behind her date's back, she kept herself from showing her joy from this gesture as he greeted her.
"Hey, Katara," he smiled as he finally met her by the entrance. "Thanks for inviting me for some coffee. I got you a little something." He then presented the flowers to her, not noticing as Katara put on a look of fake surprise.
Zuko had to give her credit. She was very good at acting like she hadn't already known what was behind his back as she smiled, taking them from him and giving them a big sniff. "Aww. Thank you, Aang," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, making him blush and smile as he decided that the gift had been well worth it. "Shall we?" she invited as she opened the door for him, allowing him to go first before she followed him in.
With that settled, Zuko was left standing there waiting for his date, unable to stop himself from beginning to worry as time passed by. Maybe Jin had decided that she didn't want to go on a date with him after all. Despite not liking the thought of this, he decided that he would accept whatever happened and continued to wait. After a little while of waiting, he was about to give up and go home when he saw something that he hadn't been expecting.
"Hi! I'm so sorry that I'm late," Jin huffed as she came running up to him in a green dress that really caught Zuko's attention. "My mom wouldn't let me leave without taking some pictures," she added in embarrassment as she blushed a little.
Not that Zuko cared. Frankly, he was just happy that she had showed up at all. Clearing his throat, he put on a little smile and replied. "Don't worry about it. Do you want to go inside?"
"Sure," Jin smiled back at him, watching as Zuko opened the door for her before following her in. Closing the door behind him, Zuko took the lead and found them a booth to sit and talk, sitting down in it and taking a look around as Jin took her seat as well. It appeared that Aang and Katara were already enjoying some coffee at a booth on the other side of the cafe as they talked.
"So, thanks for coming," Zuko began awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say since he had never been on a date before. At least, not like this. Things had been quite different the last time he had been on a date. Before everything had changed.
"Thanks for inviting me," Jin smiled at him. "I'm really glad that you asked me here."
"You… you are?" Zuko couldn't help but ask in surprise, earning a giggle from Jin as she nodded.
"I am. I've been wanting to talk to you more since the last time we talked," she confessed, making him smile just a little at her confession. "Though I have to say, you're a pretty hard guy to track down. We even go to the same school and I still can't seem to find you anywhere."
Zuko smiled sheepishly as he thought about all the times he had purposely avoided her to avoid his feelings. Not that he was going to tell her, of course, but certainly seemed silly now. "Yeah, I've been told I'm pretty elusive," he chuckled awkwardly as he looked down at the menu, not knowing what any of the items on the menu actually meant.
Before Jin could respond, the waiter came up to the table and took their order, Zuko deciding to pick a random one on the menu while Jin ordered her favorite drink. With their orders taken, the two began getting to know each other more while Aang and Katara got to know each other as well.
"Wow, I can't believe that you like The Catcher in the Rye," Katara said in amazement as she took a sip of her drink. "Not many people really appreciate books like that these days."
"I know," Aang chuckled as he thought about it. "Well, my dad did always say I was born in the wrong generation. Maybe I'm an old man in a young man's body," he joked, making Katara choke a little on her drink as she listened to him. Quickly becoming concerned, he reached out a hand to her and checked on her. "Katara, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she quickly assured him as she coughed a little more to get it out of her system, giving him a reassuring smile once she finally got herself under control. "Just went down the wrong pipe."
Though Aang still didn't look satisfied with this answer, she became relieved as he decided to move on from it and changed topics. "Okay… If you're sure. So, we both like older books and music. What else do you like?"
"Well," she began thoughtfully as she tried to think about it, wishing that she would have thought about this before their date. A smile grew as she thought of something. "I really like being outside in the Springtime. There's just something about seeing everything come back to life after a long, cold winter. It's just…"
"Beautiful?" Aang filled in for her, making her smile as she nodded. "I think I've gotta agree with you there. I love seeing everything grow. It's like it's a new start for everything. And for everyone. A chance for a new life. A new beginning."
Katara couldn't help but smile fondly at Aang as she listened to him. He really wasn't like anyone she had ever met before. There was such a sense of wonder and a love of life that she had never known anyone else to have. She was glad that she had taken this chance to spend some time getting to know him.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're amazing, Aang?" her mouth let slip before she knew what she had asked, making her blush as she realized what she had done. Luckily for her, Aang thought nothing of it as he shrugged.
"Not really. I never really got to make any friends before because of how much I moved around," he admitted, making Katara frown a little as she saw the pain in his eyes. Deciding not to dwell on his past, he put on a smile and looked back up at her. "But hey, now that I'm staying here, I get to meet people as amazing as you."
Doing her best not to jump him as she felt herself wanting badly to do so, she forced herself to hold back on her urge and instead gave him a grateful smile. "I'm really glad I met you, Aang."
"I'm glad I got to meet you too, Katara," he agreed easily, the two looking into each other's eyes as they both found that they were glad to be here together. After another hour or so of talking about everything they could, Aang remembered that his father had given him something of a curfew and sighed sadly. "It's starting to get late. My dad's expecting me to be home soon. We should probably start heading back."
Katara, finding that she didn't want this to be over yet but understanding that he had commitments that she didn't, smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Would you mind walking me home?"
Unable to hold back a smile at this, Aang replied. "Yeah. I mean, I don't mind," he quickly amended, making her giggle as she saw the look of fear on his face. Fear quickly became replaced with joy as he listened to her melodic laugh, finding that he instantly felt better every time he heard it.
Standing up, he left some money for their drinks along with a nice tip as before offering a hand to her. "Shall we?" Smiling, Katara took his hand and allowed him to help her onto her feet, making sure she had her flowers with her as they began their walk toward home.
Unfortunately for them, the journey home went by far too quickly, as before they even knew it they had arrived at her house. Aang, being ever the gentleman, decided to walk her up to the front door and thought of how to end the night the right way.
"Thanks again for inviting me to coffee," he decided on as he admired her beauty in the starlight. "I had a great time."
"Thanks for coming. I had a great time, too," she smiled back at him, staring into his eyes and being unable to stop herself as she grabbed his face with her hands, bringing the surprised young man into a searing kiss that took him completely by surprise.
Blinking in surprise for a few moments, he decided that he wasn't dreaming that this was happening and closed his eyes, returning her kiss as he set his hands respectfully on her waist. They both let out a content sigh as they finally felt the tension between them dissolve, both being relieved that they had finally gotten to do what they both had been wanting to for some time now.
Finally running out of breath, the two pulled apart and tried to catch their breaths, their eyes closed contentedly as they leaned their foreheads against each other. "Uh… sorry about that," Katara apologized sheepishly as she blushed, refusing to open her eyes out of embarrassment as she realized that was likely very forward of her.
"Don't be," he breathed as he finally decided to open his eyes, watching as hers opened as well with a smile growing on her face. "I think I needed that."
Smiling as she heard this, she gave him another kiss and kept it short, knowing that she couldn't lose herself on him just yet. Once they had split apart, she took a step back and gave him a smile. "Goodnight, Aang."
"Goodnight, Katara," he whispered back to her, making her smile grow as she waved to him before finally making it inside. Once he was sure that she had made it safely in, he couldn't keep a big grin from spreading across his face and decided to go home, feeling the happiest he had been in a long time.
Katara couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she stepped inside, remembering the taste of his lips clearly as she found herself already wishing for more. The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped her out of her reverie, making her blink in surprise as she found her whole family waiting for her in the kitchen.
"And what exactly took so long for you to get home?" Sokka asked with clear unhappiness as he leaned up against the wall opposite of her.
"Sokka, I'm pretty sure you already know what took her so long to come inside," Suki laughed, making him frown as he shook his head.
"Yeah, I know what took so long," he admitted with a look of pure disgust on his face. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to be in denial about it if I can."
Rolling her eyes at her brother, Katara took off her shoes and made her way inside. "Oh relax, Sokka. No one's making you pry into my life," she scolded him, making him roll his eyes as he chose not to reply. "Besides, do you think I'm happy watching my two closest friends fight over you?"
"Hey, we don't fight that much!" Toph spoke up, noticing as Suki nodded her head in agreement with her. "It's not like Snoozle's a prize catch or anything."
"Hey!" Sokka objected indignantly, making the girls except Azula laugh as they saw just how much he had not liked that.
"Oh please. Just be thankful any girls have an interest in you," Azula decided to say as she looked at her nails disinterestedly. "Poor Zuzu over here hadn't been on a date in two hundred years before tonight."
"Thanks, Azula," Zuko hissed at her, but he could tell by the smirk on her face that his anger had no effect on her whatsoever. Deciding that it would be best to take the subject off him, he turned back to Katara. "What took you so long, anyway? Jin and I went home an hour ago."
"Not that it's any of your business," Katara replied as she leaned up against the kitchen counter. "But Aang and I got so busy talking that we didn't notice how much time had passed by. I think the real question you should be asking yourself is why didn't your date with Jin last longer?"
"Her parents make her have a curfew, apparently," he shrugged as he thought about it. He was not one to normally want to talk to people, but Jin was one of the few exceptions that he would have made to this personal preference of his, as he had a great time getting to know her tonight. "Not that it matters. You're being careful, right?"
Frowning a little, Katara sighed and shook her head at him. "I'm not the one you should be worried about, Zuko. I've got this under control."
"I'm not the one in their breeding period right now," Zuko reminded her, making her roll her eyes as she chose not to respond. "Look, I know you're smart and can handle yourself, but I know what it's like when you're in that. If it wasn't for my Uncle finding a way to keep me contained-"
"Yeah, yeah, it would've been bad," Sokka interrupted before he could go into further details. "I don't know about you guys, but I've had enough Oogies for the day. I don't need to hear anything else to give me more." Katara, knowing how childish her brother could be at times, still couldn't help but get annoyed by this but forced herself not to comment on it. "Let's just stop talking about this stuff right now and call it a night."
"Works for me," Toph sighed as she stretched her arms, stifling a yawn as she stood up from her seat. "I'm going to bed. Peace!" she yelled before making her way upstairs.
The rest of them decided that it was time for them to turn in as well, but Katara had other ideas as she waited until they had all gone upstairs before quietly making her way back to the front door. As carefully as she could, she slowly opened the door and hoped that no one would hear her, letting out a sigh of relief as she finally made it outside without anyone noticing.
Or so she had thought.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Her eyes shutting in annoyance as she tried not to curse, she turned around and was not surprised to find that Zuko was standing at the door with his arms crossed.
"I'm going to go watch over Aang, okay?" she decided to be up front with him as she crossed her arms back. "I want to make sure he's safe."
"Watching over him all night isn't going to make him safe," Zuko responded, earning an eye roll from Katara. "What? You don't think I don't want to go watch over Jin? I do, but it's not going to do her any good. Besides, what if he sees you?"
"He won't," she argued back instantly, not willing in the slightest to back down from this. "I'll be quiet and I'll make sure he doesn't see me. I can handle myself, Zuko. I'll be fine."
Seeing that she really wasn't going to back down on this, he let out a sigh of frustration and reluctantly gave in. "Fine. But make sure no one sees you and be back in a few hours."
Deciding that this was the best she was going to get without having to argue more with him, she reluctantly replied. "Okay. I'll be back in a few hours." With that settled, she unleashed her full speed and ran out of sight, leaving Zuko to shake his head at what he had to put up with. Sure, it was obvious that Katara really liked this guy, but she had never acted like this before.
Shaking his head at what he found himself dealing with, he went back inside as Katara finally reached her spot in the tree closest to Aang's window, allowing her a good view into his room. His room was dark and he was already asleep, but she was glad that she would be taking some time to watch over him tonight. There was something very endearing about watching his peaceful face breathe while he slept.
Finding that she wished she could go snuggle with him, she resisted the urge and instead made herself more comfortable in her spot, a smile on her face as she decided that she would watch over him for the rest of the night. Zuko could yell at her all he wanted in the morning. Right now, she was content with where she was. And she had to admit, she was very much looking forward to seeing what would happen next.