A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone who is reading and following this story. This story came to me fully realised and I'm excited for you to see where it leads us.
Update: New chapter will be up this weekend, I haven't abandoned this story, April was just a heavy month for Uni deadlines.
I don't own any of these characters.
Chest
Zuko had found his good mood quickly dashed when he entered his room to find two things that irritated him, the first being that Hahn was still in there laying outstretched on his bed in only a pair of boxers- one of the rare times Zuko had wished he'd lost his sight- and the second being that he'd returned to being his usually slobbish self, a half masticated pizza and several other take out containers were strewn so lovingly across the floor of there room.
As If the obvious assault on his sight hadn't been bad enough it was the assault on his other senses that truly added to the fuel he was burning in his gut. The room smelt like a locker room, sweat and dirty laundry mixing with day-old food, that had also begun to sweat, a very thin scent of perfume - another girl who wouldn't be getting a callback - and surprisingly a floral scent, Zuko could only assume was a weak attempt to cover the smell.
The warm remnants of his weekend disappearing as he took a step further into his room, living with Hahn had long since become an endurance test, spending the night in his room in his uncle's house had reminded him of how much he liked having his own space and how much he disliked Hahn. At least his room was clean and didn't smell like a garbage lined sweat sock, plus he could leave his things around without the fear of Hahn tampering with them.
As usual, he stomped over to the window and pushed it open, the sound of the campus coming to life outside filling the room, he offered his customary glare at Hahn, who was too busy typing away at his phone to see, before he ran his eyes over his bed, making sure Hahn hadn't touched it.
"Morning Roku, I thought you'd dropped out" Hahn spoke as he craned his head to stare at Zuko. Zuko started back, deciding if he should dignify that with a scowl or just continue to stare at him until Hahn got the idea he wasn't in the mood to talk to him. He settled on a scowl, it felt right for their relationship.
"Rough night?" Hahn offered as he returned his eyes to his phone.
Again Zuko stayed silent, he'd only come to his room to change his top and grab his bag for class, he hadn't expected Hahn to still be inside. Part of him wondered if he actually took any classes or if he was just there to serve as next year's cautionary tale. A horror story next year's first years could pass around, an arrogant lay-about who was choked to death by his roommate who snapped due to last night's take away smog.
"Clean up your mess. I'm not getting ant's because you lack basic hygiene" Zuko finally spoke as he moved to his drawers.
The clothes he kept at his uncle's house and the clothes he kept on campus were world's apart in terms of quality. Everything that hung in his closet back home was of a designer brand, almost all of them had been gifts sent from his mother and it was because they were gifts from her that he didn't wear them, didn't want them on his skin. He wanted nothing from her. The only gift she'd ever sent him that he used was his car.
He hadn't been lying, the car was a graduation gift but it wasn't the amazing gesture Katara thought it was. It was just another gift to try and win him back, if he hadn't needed a car he would have just refused it. Iroh had convinced him to keep it, he had said it was a parent's right to spend money on her child, Zuko had thought it was a parents duty to protect her child but either way, he needed a car to get around and she at least owed him this much for leaving him in the 'care' of Ozai.
Ursa still sent him expensive gifts now, clothes, watches, cologne, designer brand items like wallets, belts and sunglasses, all of which he'd left in his room back in his uncle's house. He didn't need all of that so he wouldn't use it, what he had needed was his mother, and no luxury belt would make up for abandoning him.
He let the thought go, he was already annoyed at the state of his dorm, he didn't need to add that grey cloud to the storm he was already brewing. Instead, he pulled out a top with long sleeves, it was cooler today than it had been yesterday but it was still too hot for a jacket, The menial task calming his frayed nerves.
It was only when he changed his top, throwing the one he had been wearing into the laundry basket he wasn't sure Hahn knew existed, that Hahn decided to open his mouth again. With his left side pointed in Hahn's direction he hadn't heard exactly what he'd said, not that he cared too much what the squat slob thought. It was only when he thought he'd caught Katara's name that he turned to glare at him.
"What did you just say?" Zuko asked, his voice probing and his shoulders squared. He couldn't be certain if he had heard her name, but he was certain that if he had Hahn would regret it.
"Hold on a sec-" Hahn said as he lowered his phone from his ear and met Zuko's glare, his lips curved into that smug grin that boiled Zuko's blood. "-I'm on the phone Roku, don't be rude" he added before lifting the phone back to his ear.
Zuko scoffed, he didn't have time for Hahn's games, he had a class to get to and a girlfriend to meet up with. Hopefully, he could get through both of those without murdering Hahn in the process.
Grabbing his bag he left the room, Hahn's laugh penetrating the hallway as he left. He needed a new roommate, Hahn was testing his decision to move onto campus, he'd decided when he transferred that he wouldn't live off his uncle anymore, he was already nineteen by the time he moved back in with him, six months ago, and twenty when his transfer was accepted, four months ago. He had a trust fund he had access to now also, so he did not need to take from Iroh anymore, even if his uncle had repeatedly told him he wasn't taking what was freely given.
He sighed deciding to check on his request again. He'd be lying if he said part of him wasn't debating moving back into his uncle's house, at least that way he knew he could sleep at regular times or take a shower without having to lock the door, that alone was enough to chip away at his resolve.
And if he was being honest with himself, he and Katara could spend time together doing nothing without having to worry they'll be disturbed by her annoying brother or his infuriating roommate. As it stood he had no plans of ever bringing Katara back to his room, not only because it was almost always half a pigsty, but because he wanted Hahn nowhere near her if he could avoid it. He didn't need another reason to hate Hahn, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Hahn would use Katara to get under his skin.
He needed to get to class, he'd already wasted more than enough mental energy on a boy who had none. Walking the campus he arrived at class without incident, he was at least grateful for that.
Lately, he'd been wary of running into Sokka, it was clear he didn't like him all that much, not that they'd ever liked each other much, to begin with, and he didn't have the patience to put up with his lame threats or big mouth. Worse still was Sokka was yet to find out he and Katara were official again and he did not want to have to deal with Sokka's outburst that day.
He loved Katara and Katara loved her brother, which meant he'd have no choice but to interact with him, but it didn't mean he had to do it today. Especially since he finally felt somewhat rested, for the first time since he'd left Caldera, he'd slept well. Peacefully, without nightmares or any of the other horrible flashbacks, he was prone to getting.
He wished he could say it was because he had Katara curled up in his arms, her breath against his collarbone, her slender arms around his middle, her familiar warmth pressed against him - but he knew that wasn't the truth. He'd slept with Katara before and still woke up to a flashback, one moment he was fourteen again throwing a hissy fit over Azula spilling her drink purposefully on the work he'd spent three hours perfecting by hand and the next he was staring into Katara's tearful eyes, her arms wrapped around him as she whispered soothing words.
He remembered that night so clearly, it wasn't that long after he and Karara had started sleeping together, they had been trapped inside due to another summer storm and one thing had led to another and they'd ended up in his bed. She had fallen asleep during a film they'd had in the background and missed the scene where the villain had his face melted off, the clawing at the liquifying flesh and screaming from the actor had unsettled him deeply. He knew it wasn't real, a work of fiction, but the fiction was too close to his horrifying reality. He'd tired the film off and decided to try and sleep the storm away.
It was some hours later that he'd awoken himself to his screams, he'd been reliving that moment again, the moment he was injured. He could still smell the cooking of his face, hear his cries for mercy. Hear his fathers voice… then at some point he could hear Katara. It was faint at first, like a ray of sun breaking through the clouds, she was telling him he was having a nightmare, she sounded scared. He remembered wondering if she was having a nightmare too before his eyes focused and he was back in his room.
His chest was heaving painfully, sweat dripped from him and he was so very hot but couldn't stop shivering as if he were in a blizzard with no jacket. The rain was still pounding so hard against his window and thunder had broken out, fierce enough to rattle the windows in their panes, but all he could hear was Katara's sobs. Feel her slender delicate fingers balled against his back, she was in his lap too but he couldn't remember at one point she'd gotten there.
She's been repeating to him that it was a nightmare and he was safe. The first thing he remembered feeling was an overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment, no one but Iroh knew he suffered from flashbacks, he'd wanted to keep that weakness hidden away from everybody else. He hadn't wanted the world to know he was that broken. And now the one person he wanted to always look strong in front of had seen him at his most vulnerable and she was terrified.
Then came the self-loathing, like an unwanted guest at a wedding, she'd leave him now, because why wouldn't she? Why would anyone purposely choose to be with him? He was ugly and damaged. He had convinced himself it was her deep compassion that had kept her with him during his attack, that once she knew it was over she'd run. Far. But if that was true and that meant that he only had this last chance to hold her so close to him then he'd take it. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his head buried in her chest.
"I'm okay, Kat" he'd spoken so weakly that even he'd been surprised by his voice. She'd gasped as she pulled away from him.
Here it comes… he had thought. Waiting for this beautiful, kind and compassionate girl to end what they'd started.
"Zuko…" she'd whimpered as she'd dropped her forehead onto his, tears had been pouring down her face, she'd cupped his face and melted against him. He'd been shocked. Her touch was too intimate for a breakup, too loving and gentle… then she'd kissed him.
He'd immediately melted into her touch, her wet quaking lips, accepting the comfort he hadn't realised he'd craved so badly. He'd always remembered that night as the night he'd truly fallen in love with her or at least realised he was in love with her, he'd suspected he'd probably fallen in love with her earlier but he could never tell. His feelings for her had been chaos until he'd finally summoned up the courage to kiss her.
He brought himself back to the present, he hadn't been listening at all to what his professor had been saying, and if he was being honest he just wished he'd shut up already. He wanted to see Katara again. He looked at his phone and groaned inwardly, he still had another two hours of class to go. He sighed to himself before he looked to the front of the class, he'd been the one to turn down Katara's idea to skip class so the least he could do was pay attention.
Katara's morning surprise had mirrored her boyfriend's only rather than a messy room and an irritating roommate to walk into. She was met by the deep blue stare of her very furious older brother.
She didn't even bother to be annoyed that Sokka was waiting for her in her room as if they were back home with their Dad and her room was as easily accessible to him as the push of a door. Instead, she met his eyes and sighed, she wasn't even surprised anymore. Sokka could take being the big brother to the extreme sometimes and while on certain occasions she'd been glad for it, most of the time she wasn't.
"Morning Sokka" Katara started knowing there was no getting away from whatever ire he was about to unleash on her, he'd already spied her wearing Zuko's hoodie and could probably smell his shower gel on her too. She knew he'd already made up his mind about what he had thought happened between them, she couldn't even blame him there either. She had wanted that to happen before Jet had bulldozed his way into her thoughts and if she was being honest even Toph, without her sight, would have jumped to that conclusion.
"Oh Morning Tara, nice weather we're having" Sokka spoke in a too light voice that was dripping with sarcasm, that she did find annoying. Dropping her bag she whirled on her brother, hands-on-hips ready to match his ice with her fire. He had no moral high ground to stand on, whether she had sex with Zuko or not, that was her decision to make and he had no damn place to try and dictate who she shared her body with. She doubted he and Suki were holding out until marriage.
"Spit it out, Sokka, I have class" Katara hissed as she narrowed her eyes at her brother, her fury setting her innards on fire as she waited with rapt attention for whatever dumb thing was about to fall out of his mouth.
"Next time you go out for the night can you at least let one of us know you're okay?" Sokka spoke with a sigh as he rose to his feet. She blinked at him.
"Look, It doesn't have to be me, but maybe tell Suki or Yue? At least then I'll know you're all right" he added as he folded his arms over his chest.
Katara blinked at the imposter wearing her brother's face, she opened and closed her mouth before any words could find their way from her throat. She'd expected a screaming match of the gods, she'd fully expected to have to tell her brother to mind his own damn business as well as have to defend her right to be with Zuko. She'd been having the same argument with the men in her life since she was fifteen and she was so tired of having it. On someday's, it felt like her father and brother had some schedule worked out between them about which one would attack her choice of boyfriend that day.
She'd concede that her father had a point about Jet, but that point, however valid it was, came after his other very off the mark points about Zuko and at that time she was done with being told what to do and who she could date. So seeing her brother glaring at her from her bed had rekindled an old fire and this time she was ready to burn down the whole room if it meant she was making her point clear.
Instead, she didn't, she didn't need to. She was met with some normal run-of-the-mill, bog-standard brother worry. It had occurred to her that she had switched her phone off sometimes the day before and never once turned it back on, she didn't bother being mad at herself for forgetting to charge her phone either, she'd had an emotional day and waking up this morning, comfortable in Zuko's big bed and warm arms had meant the last thing she wanted to do was check her phone. Not when her boyfriend's kissable mouth had been less than three inches in front of her and for that, she felt a little guilty.
Her brother would be worried when she didn't come back to her dorm and wasn't picking up the phone either, especially when there had been a storm last night, she'd have been sick with worry if the roles had been reversed. She felt even worse when she remembered she had made Zuko call his uncle for the same reason, to let him know they were safe in his house. The thought should have occurred to her then, but it didn't.
"I'm sorry Sokka, I turned my phone off, I didn't think" Katara replied as she offered him a matching apologetic smile.
"I should apologise too" came his reply. "I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of everyone" Again she was floored, not by his apology because Katara very much felt that was overdue, but because she had fully expected another round or two before he finally realised he was wrong.
"I appreciate it," Katara returned. They stood in comfortable silence, the fire in her veins suitably calmed by her brother's apology.
"Tara? Can I ask you something?" Sokka was the first to break the silence that had fallen over the siblings.
She eyed him for a moment, she could think of a million and one questions Sokka would want to ask her and she could think of a billion questions he could ask her that she wouldn't answer, but the look of sincerity displayed on his face made her nod her reply.
"Did you mean what you said? The other night?" He asked. His blue stare holding hers.
"Yeah, Sokka. I'm in love with him" she spoke softly in her reply, his smiling face entering her mind and causing her chest to pick up and a smile to develop on her lips.
"How do you know?" Sokka asked as his eyes dropped to the ground, something about his wavering stare had caught Katara off guard. She felt something itching at her, a scratch she couldn't reach, shouldn't he already know that answer?
"I just do, I don't know how to explain it" she replied, her eyes searching her brother's for something she wasn't sure she wanted to find. The question made her itchy and not because it was her brother who asked, there was something else to it. She didn't like the look in his eyes, but she also had no idea where to begin answering that question for him.
But she decided she'd try. She wracked her brain hard for an answer. Something that wouldn't embarrass her but would make sense to Sokka. How did she know she loved Zuko? She just did. She knew it in every part of her, but how was she supposed to put that into words? She thought long and hard on the answer before her brain ached with frustration. In all the ways she loved him, for all the reasons she loved, she could only think of one thing that might make sense to him...
"Because I'd walk through fire to protect his smile" She spoke with an unmatchable stare in her azure eyes. Sokka stared at her for a long time before he nodded his reply, he cleared his throat.
"Come on, I'll walk you to class," He said, regaining his confidence.
Once the siblings had left the dorm, Sokka had begun to regale Katara with the tales of his weekend. He'd spent all of Sunday playing video games with his hockey teammates, before getting some take-out. She was finding the story of one of his teammates 'Melon' beating 'igloo' in an arm-wrestling match particularly enthralling, as far as she could fake it when Sokka suddenly looked behind her and waved at someone.
She silently prayed for it to be Suki or someone she knew because Sokka had that many friends she couldn't remember all their names, she especially struggled trying to remember any of his teammates' names because they all seemed to have nicknames that Sokka used more than their actual given names. Her prayers went unanswered as a boy she'd never seen before approached them.
"Hey, Haru" Sokka greeted the tall boy Katara was now learning the name of, she offered him a smile as his eyes met hers.
"Hi, Wang" Haru replied as he offered a smile to Sokka, Katara almost choked on her spit as she turned to face her brother, her eyes wide with amusement.
"Wang?" She asked with amused enthusiasm.
"Wang Fire, it's my screen name" Sokka dropped his eyes to her before offering her a shrug and a grin.
"I'm telling Suki" Katara laughed as she repositioned her bag on her narrow shoulder.
"I'm telling Suki" Sokka mocked back at her in what she assumed was supposed to be her voice but sounded far more regal than she imagined he intended her to. She pointed her chin at him before pulling a tongue.
"Ah, Haru this is my sister Katara, Katara this is Haru" Sokka introduced. Katara found herself grateful to Sokka because she had no idea who this boy was and felt a little awkward not saying anything to him.
"Nice to meet you, Haru" Katara offered.
"Nice to meet you too, Katara" Haru replied with a warm smile which Katara returned. He seemed nice enough, he had a boy next door kind of charm to him and if she was being honest he was cute.
Katara allowed her mind to wander as her brother talked to his friend. She ran her eyes over the campus grounds, a group of girls In matching uniforms all chatting amongst themselves, a couple of guys playing with a football whooping when one caught the ball and jeering when one didn't, a few others sitting in the grass of the quad bathing in the sun. She noted that nobody seemed to care what anyone else was doing or what someone else was wearing. A far cry from high school.
"Tara! Haru was just saying he knows about a great seafood place that sells sea prunes, we should go!" Sokka's excitement pulled her from her absentminded wandering.
Katara perked up at that. She hadn't eaten those since before their Gran-gran had passed away, they were an acquired taste, one her and Sokka had acquired through many long cold winters of hot stewed sea prunes and cartoons at Gran-grans while their Dad was finishing his service in the Navy. Not many other people had acquired that taste so they were a rare find, one Katara was eager to have.
"Really? When?" Katara beamed as she passed her eyes between Sokka and his friend. She didn't notice the blush that appeared on Haru's face as she turned her smile his way.
"We could go tonight?" Haru offered shyly, as he averted his green eyes from her.
"Ah, I can't. I'm meeting my boyfriend after class" she somewhat deflated, immediately feeling guilty for it. She wanted to test these restaurants' sea prunes against the memories of the ones her Gran-gran used to make, but she wanted to see Zuko more, and she highly doubted she could convince him to have dinner with her brother and his friend.
"Wait? Boyfriend? He's your boyfriend now?" Sokka spoke, his voice higher than she liked the sound of. Katara turned to him for a moment wondering where their conversation from twenty minutes ago had gotten to.
"Sokka" Katara warned her arms folding over her chest as she tilted her head at him, eyes narrowing. If he still wanted this fight with her, she was happy to have it, she'd rather it not be in front of half the campus, but if he was going to try her, she was ready to bite back.
"What? I'm just surprised is all, it's hasn't been that long since-" Sokka began.
"-Sokka, I thought we were past this?" Katara cut off as she levelled a hard glare at her brother.
"We are" Sokka sighed as he lifted his hands in defeat.
"Alright then, I have to get to class now" Katara spoke cutting off any possibilities for Sokka to add something that would start an argument. "It was nice meeting you Haru" Katara smiled as she walked off, leaving her brother behind.
The quicker she could get to class the quicker it was over and then she could see Zuko again. She didn't feel like listening as her brother stuck his foot firmly in his mouth.
Katara listened to almost nothing her humanities professor had said, she'd taken notes but she doubted if she read them back they'd be helpful to her, so instead she settled on tapping her pen against her notepad as she watched the clock tick down. She could have sworn it had jumped back several minutes. She was also aware of how annoying she was being to the girl sitting next to her but didn't give it too much thought when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.
Discreetly she pulled her phone out of her pocket to check, she lit up as bright as her phone screen when saw Zuko had texted her. She wasn't surprised that he'd only written one word 'outside', but it got his message across she supposed.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to learn" the girl she'd been annoying for the last three hours hissed. Katara gave her an apologetic smile before slipping her phone back in her pocket, before turning back to the slides in time to see the professor wrapping up.
The next two minutes were annoyingly long for her liking as she tapped her pen with a ferocious impatience. She could feel the eye roll from the girl next to her and feel the force of her eyes burning into her head, but by that time she didn't much care.
Once her professor had dismissed them Katara was the first to bolt out the door, leaving her annoyed classmate behind her as she exited the building, other classes being let out at the same time meant there was a sea of students bustling out of the doors. She scanned the small crowd pouting when her initial search was unsuccessful.
She's debated calling him when she felt a hand slip into hers, the warmth of the palm spreading over hers, that electrified feeling snapping at her skin- she didn't even have to look at him for her body to recognise his. She wiggled her fingers in the spaces between his before she felt a gentle tug on her arm pulling her against him, his scent enveloping her nose in a warm caress.
"Hi, pretty girl" he spoke in his low rasp, his honeyed eyes betraying the smile he wasn't wearing.
"Hi, Outlaw" Katara returned in the space between them, a smile had long since forced itself onto her lips but only grew brighter when he placed a kiss against her forehead.
"Want to go for a drive?" He asked, the tip of his nose giving away the shade of a smile that was forming.
"Bike or Car?" She questioned as she flexed her fingers around his.
"You pick" he replied as he pulled her into his side wrapping his arm around her shoulders like he'd done when they were teens, he felt a sense of warm nostalgia as she melted into him wrapping one of her arms around his waist, their fingers still locked.
"Car, that way I don't have to do any of the work" Came her reply as they started to walk towards the parking lot outside the boy's dorm.
"Lazy" he teased as he turned his head to smile at her. She felt her heart race at the sight.
She had meant what she'd said to Sokka, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to protect his smile. Any of them. Reaching up she placed a kiss on his jaw before she let him lead her to his car.
A/N: Getting some wheels turning on the instadrams here.
R&R