Hi everyone! I'm sorry this took so long! I had quite the trouble writing this scene, but here it is.
I hope you'll enjoy.
I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.
Chapter Twenty
Katara was still pissed at how she had ruined her chance at being greeted with a kiss from Zuko. But he had told someone on the phone he loved them and had said they were the best, and… somehow maybe Katara had felt a little insecure. What if Zuko actually really liked some girl, but couldn't be with her openly, as his father wanted him to be with someone like Katara? For a short moment, she had felt afraid of it, although she hadn't really got why.
Now, sitting in a bus next to Zuko, who was vibrating with nervous energy, squeezing and unsqueezing her hand every minute, she felt more relaxed again. Almost annoyed, actually.
She had made such a drama about her outfit, argued with her mother, asked him what she should wear, had bought something new just for this occasion, and he didn't even say anything! The fact that she wanted him to say something unnerved her a little, but it wasn't like she felt very confident in this look. Since she had moved to Ba Sing Se, she preferred pants and skirts over dresses, and she never wore anything so… plain. What she was wearing was beautiful, of course, but she still felt a little like an innocent, good girl in her blue dress and white flats. Maybe she should have tried the heels. Her hair was up in a messy bun that had cost her half an hour to make it look perfect as she had thought leaving her hair down would only strengthen the air of innocence that surrounded her.
Zuko checked his watch every minute, often biting on his lower lip, and bobbing his right leg up and down. It pretty much drove Katara crazy.
Leaning towards him, she squeezed his side with the hand he didn't use as stress reliever, and hissed "Would you calm down? You're making me crazy with all your fidgeting."
His jaw tightened, as he turned towards her. "I told you we can't be late!"
"But we will be late, and there is nothing we can do about it. Azula might be able to conceal our delay, or not, but we won't know until we're there, so there is no point at getting all worked up now!"
He sucked in a breath, and for a moment his face twisted in a nasty expression, which caused Katara to narrow her eyes and brace herself for an angry retort or even implied insult. She had already seen that Zuko didn't hold back, when he was angry, although she thought that Jet didn't really take the insults hurled his way seriously, as he called Zuko various insults without even feeling anger at him.
But he stilled, furrowed his brow and then groaned, smashing his head against his seat. "I know!"
Katara blinked, feeling surprised at how easily he had let her off.
Whenever Katara had visited him and found him in a state of distress, which was more often than not, and Jet had tried to calm him down, it had only led Zuko to explode. He really still had to work on his aggression problems in Katara's opinion, but so far, he had never exploded on her, always had been thoughtful and pleasant. When she had helped him to prepare the English breakfast on Sunday, and she hadn't cut the tomatoes like he wanted it, his eyebrow had started twitching, but he hadn't said a thing. When Jet later messed up with baking scones, Zuko hadn't held back and had unleashed pent up anger, which a psychologist should look into, on his friend.
Katara knew she had thought badly of Zuko before for being mean to Jet, but there was just no one who could live with that guy and not constantly have to yell at him. After seeing the two of them interact in the apartment, and seeing what all Zuko did and allowed Jet, she was surprised there hadn't been a physical fight yet. But Zuko had told her he was working on not beating up people.
For the longest time of her life, Katara had despised him, and would have seen everything imperfect about him as a reason to hate him, but now? It was different. She had developed some sort of uncaring resistance to Zuko's outbursts. When he had started yelling at Jet on Sunday, she had only rolled her eyes and thought 'Not this again! When will Jet learn?'. For once in her life, she hadn't immediately started bitching about Zuko in her head, but simply accepted something imperfect about him. It felt weird, but that was how she had managed to cope with it.
Zuko had never yelled at her since they started fake dating, and she also hoped he never would, but that was probably wishful thinking. She had already told herself over and over that yelling didn't mean hating people. They had yelled an awful lot at each other in high school, sure, but Katara also yelled frequently at her brother, Toph, and Aang, even when they still had been happy. The other people in the room probably felt the same annoyance at her that she felt every time Zuko yelled at Jet. If it would come to Zuko yelling at her, she would simply yell back.
The problem was that for all the yelling Katara had done in her life, only less than the half of it had yelled back. Her mother yelled and Toph also never kept back in volume. She was used to being yelled at by these people. She knew it didn't mean they didn't love her. But it was different with Zuko. Whenever he had yelled at her, she had known she despised him and he despised her. She didn't despise him anymore, though. She liked him. And she wanted him to like her, too. However, the moment of him yelling at her hadn't come yet.
"Just… think about something else. You can't influence what will happen now, Zuko," she tried gently.
Licking his lips, he nodded. "Yeah… I know that, theoretically. It's just not easy to stay calm."
"It'll be okay. And if it won't, you'll still have me on your side. Or I could take all the blame, and say I kept you waiting, because I still needed to do something," she went on.
He opened his eyes and bent down, smiling at her. "Thanks, Katara. But I wouldn't want you to do that."
They were sitting so close, and suddenly his face was very close, too. Their hands were still intertwined, and if they were a real couple, she would kiss him now, and then snuggle closer to him, but… The problem was that she wanted to kiss him and snuggle closer to him. She didn't think 'I could do that now to make everyone in this bus believe we're a couple', no, her thoughts were 'This would be a perfect moment to kiss him, because he's already so close, and I want him to be closer'. Those were thoughts someone in a fake relationship shouldn't have.
And maybe she was crazy, but the fact he hadn't exploded on her, but that she had managed to calm him down, and that he was now smiling at her, felt so meaningful to her. As if this was reason enough to kiss him. She felt powerful knowing she had calmed him down, as if it were her own, personal super power.
With a nervous laugh, she tried to make these thoughts disappear. "Okay, well, the offer stands."
His smile seemed to soften, his golden gaze reminding her of the sun again, before his eyes roamed down her frame. "You look good, by the way. What you've bought, I mean. It looks pretty on you. Bu-but you don't look good because of it. The dress… and you… look good."
That was probably the most awkward compliment Katara had ever got. Even Aang had been more eloquent. But in its own way, it was still charming, and she felt blood rushing into her cheeks. "Is it good enough for the Volcano Club? The ladies in the shop said it would be okay."
He seemed to suppress a grin, as he bit on his lower lip. "It is good enough, although you still might attract some attention, as most girls our age there… They like to flaunt their wealth, and not in subtle ways. Only families as old as mine do it in a more subtle way. So you're perfectly dressed for them, that I can assure you. Besides, it's just lunch." He shrugged, and Katara wondered if that meant she would have to wear something even fancier for a dinner. She remembered the dinner she had with Ozai and Ursa, and how terribly underdressed she'd been, although she had done that on purpose, wanting to ignite a reaction of disgust towards her. But now, she was actually really concerned if they would like her at Zuko's side.
oOo
When they arrived at the Volcano Club, almost jogging from the bus station, people were glaring disdainfully at them, because they had dared to arrive per bus, while everyone else here had a car. Some of the glares turned sheepish not long after, and Katara suspected the people to have recognised Zuko. Although she wondered how that was possible, because as soon as they were inside, all the young men she saw looked a little like Zuko. They were all wearing dress pants and button down shirts. Some of them even wore braces! Without the vest and jacket, this was probably the lunch look. Then, all the young men were relatively muscular, all had broad shoulders and a broad back, and even their hair was almost all the same. If it was long enough, it was all combed or slicked back. If it was too short for that, they honestly wore a side parting.
Zuko hadn't combed his hair back today, but she suspected he had got a hair cut in the last two days, as he had loudly declared on Sunday while watching Harry Potter that Draco Malfoy was a disgusting kid and he didn't want to have his hair style. Though, Zuko's hair didn't look like it had the last time she had seen him with not combed back hair. It didn't hang loosely into his face, but it looked neater, his fringe not falling over his eyebrows anymore.
A waiter had approached them and told them they could already go to their table, drinks had already been ordered, the glasses only half full.
Katara frowned at that, but looking at Zuko's relieved face, she thought it was probably part of Azula's plan to make it look like they had been there all along. Zuko hurried them over to the large, round table at the centre of the room, and Katara's eyes almost fell out of her head. The fact that the owners of the Volcano Club were faithful royalists was pretty much evident wherever Katara looked. Maybe only their ancestors had been royalists and the current owners hadn't have time to redecorate, but all this gold and red was painfully present. The walls were painted in a light red, the wooden furniture was polished to a brownish red shade, and all the embellishments around the room, as well as the lamps were golden. A lot of potted plants, some blossoming, were scattered around the room, giving it a lighter feeling. But she still felt highly uncomfortable.
The pitiful and contemptible looks she got from everyone certainly didn't help. Zuko had been right. The women her age showed their wealth pretty strongly. It felt like being punched in the face by the most famous and successful designers on earth. There were meaningful Cs, Gs, Ds, Ms, Ls, Vs, and all the other letters all over the room. Not that Katara knew about every one of them, but every letter looked important. Worse was only the fact that they mostly wore sleeveless tops with their hair down, all flouncing around on high heeled shoes, grasping clutches in their hands. It was on the one hand utterly ridiculous to watch these girls, but on the other hand, it only showed Katara how much she didn't belong here.
"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, as they sat down.
She must have looked a little frightened, probably. With raised eyebrows, she pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yeah. Sitting in the middle of old royalist families, all swimming in money, while I'm only pretending… I feel great, Zuko!"
He slid closer to her on the bench, grasping her hand again. "Don't worry. You'll do great." His hand wandered to her knee, squeezing it reassuringly.
She tried to smile at him, as she took off her cardigan, feeling slightly better at having her arms now uncovered. The only problem that this brought with it was her skin colour. Everyone in this whole room was pale, or slightly sun kissed, but her arms were darker than everyone else's. She knew these people here looked down on her people, and she clenched her hands to fists.
Zuko's arm sneaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him, as he pressed his lips to her cheek. "I know it's much, but please do this for me, yeah?"
She sighed. "I wouldn't be here if I wouldn't already know I'll do this. The people here just make me uncomfortable."
"I'll show all of them through all of lunch that we're a couple, and I care about you, alright?" he murmured. "No one will dare to look strangely at you."
She chuckled slightly, unconsciously leaning further towards him. He felt so warm.
Just then, Katara noticed Ozai coming towards them, his face clearly annoyed, as Ursa and Azula walked quickly behind him, Azula keeping on talking about something.
"But he's an absolute incompetent fool, Dad! I want him gone!" she whined.
Ozai sighed. "Fine. I'll fire him. Now stop whining and show yourself from your best side during this lunch. This is very important," he almost hissed at her.
Ursa was watching the two of them with raised eyebrows, before walking around Ozai to greet her son and his girlfriend.
Katara nervously pressed her lips together.
"Zuko!" Ursa stretched one arm out to help him stand, and he immediately greeted her with a bone crushing hug.
She smiled, her chin on his shoulder, and Katara had to smile, too. That was some mother-son love. Ursa had her eyes pressed together, as she ran one hand through Zuko's hair. Her eyes opened again, and she stepped back, pushing him an arm's length away.
"What have you done to your hair, Zuko?" she exclaimed in faux shock.
He smiled sheepishly. "It kind of looked too posh. This looks nicer."
Ursa ruffled his hair again. "You're right. You look like when you were six."
Katara chuckled.
"Muuuuum!"
"Oh, Katara!" Ursa stepped around Zuko, pressing herself between him and the table to get to Katara. She wore a violet wrap dress with long sleeves that ended at her knees, the fabric almost looking like normal t-shirt fabric, but on her it looked like a thousand Yuan dress. "It is so good to see you again. I'm so glad you decided we are not as psychotic as Ozai's ancestors. It's good to see you with Zuko."
Katara hoped there was no hidden insult in her words, and smiled, standing up to shake Ursa's hands, but she enveloped her in a hug, too. Katara wrapped her arms shortly around Ursa, and then looked over at Zuko, smiling. "Well, I never doubted Zuko's psyche, but I couldn't be sure about his family. But I am now."
"Well, it's good to hear that. I must say, you look lovely, Katara. That is such a nice dress." Ursa smiled, before pushing herself between Katara and the table, moving on to the end of the bench and sitting down on a chair next to it.
"Thank you," Katara smiled at Ursa. Well, that had sounded genuine, at least.
Ozai watched her with an unsatisfied look, before his face split in a tight smile, as he greeted Zuko with that handshake/hug men did, and Katara then with two kisses on her cheeks. "Katara! How are you?"
"Fine, thanks. And how are you? Busy with the campaign, I suppose?"
Ozai raised one eyebrow. "That puts it mildly." His voice sounded tired and resigned.
Katara laughed quietly. "Well, I'm sure it'll be all worth it."
He smiled a little at her, before taking his place next to Ursa. None of them wore a jacket, and Katara wondered if there was a place here where people put their jackets and coats, as it was warm enough inside. But in a fancy place as this one here, surely, a worker should have asked them to take their jackets.
Azula greeted Zuko with a hug and two kisses on his cheeks, smacking her lips dramatically loudly. "Mpfwah! Mpfwah!"
She looked a little like all the other girls here, but in a way subtler manner. Her top wasn't sleeveless, and one also couldn't see her stomach or cleavage, but the white blouse was tight, the straight décolleté leaving her shoulders bare, the long sleeves clinging to her thin, but defined arms. The straight, white dress pants, hanging from Azula's hips like a waterfall made the outfit complete. Her hair was up in a chignon, golden earrings dangling from her ears, her lips painted in a blood red colour. To Katara, this still looked, too, like an evening outfit.
Katara felt terribly underdressed and way too innocent looking. She looked like some country girl in her flower dress! Okay, well, that wasn't really true, but in comparison to Azula she might as well be.
Azula nodded at her. "Miss Bossy. Glad to see you left denim in your wardrobe."
Katara's eyes narrowed. "Azula. I see you didn't check on your make up before coming here. There's a smudge of lipstick, did you know? Right there."* She pointed at the left upper side of her lip.
Azula didn't seem to believe her, and rolled her eyes before sitting down next to Zuko. There was still enough space for her on the bench, too.
"Azula! Is that a way to greet your brother's girlfriend?" Ursa scolded.
Azula dramatically rolled her eyes. "I couldn't stand her in high school, and I'm not going to pretend I do now. Honestly, I don't get how you can be a couple." Her cold stare went back to Katara, who had just sat down and slid a little closer to Zuko. "I mean, you hated each other."
Zuko seemed to stiffen next to Katara, and she wondered why he would react like this. Hollywood showed all the time that people who first hate each other often end up as a couple. In her opinion, she didn't think their history would make their relationship now less believable.
"Is that so?" Ozai asked slowly, a calculating glint in his eyes.
Katara chuckled, laying a hand on Zuko's chest. "Yes, well, I thought he was an arrogant idiot who thought too much of himself. Our friends couldn't stand each other, too, so we were swept up in that childish rivalry."
"Yeah. We didn't even really know each other and never really had a reason not to like each other. It was all rather silly and childish," Zuko added, squeezing her hand.
"Oh, well. That sounds plausible," Ursa replied, her face thoughtful.
Katara felt nervous, as she wondered if that piece of information would maybe make this family hate her.
"I remember it a little differently," Azula piped up.
"We really don't need to focus on the past, Zula. Katara and I worked through it. So drop it," Zuko warned his sister, his tone almost a little aggressive.
Katara smirked when she heard him call her "Zula". She had to remember that.
Rolling her eyes, Azula grabbed the menu to choose something and look preoccupied.
"I always like it when people who were enemies once suddenly get along," Ozai commented with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Enemies sounds a bit too serious," Katara chuckled, trying to keep everything nice and friendly.
"Yeah, and like we said… That's over now," Zuko added, wrapping his right arm around her hip, pulling her a bit closer.
A weird feeling ignited behind her navel at his gesture, but she tried not to let it show on her face.
"So, I don't know a lot about the Volcano Club, but it looks really nice," Katara tried to start a new topic. Even though it wasn't true. Okay, apart from the colours and way too rich looking people it looked very beautiful. All held a very elegant style to it, and if Katara would have been a visitor from another country, not knowing what this colour theme meant, then she might have felt better, and then she might have even been astounded.
"Oh, it is!" Ursa exclaimed. "My family has been official members for centuries, back when there were only old men with long beards here, reading philosophy and practising with swords. But my parents have never gone here, and only with Ozai did I come. The food here has a real high quality, the chef was trained in Paris, and even cooked in a five-star-restaurant. But what I like most about the club are the events. Sometimes, they bring dancers, singers, or they even perform a play on stage. The celebration to the Geshi Festival is always grand and beautiful here." She talked with a clear tone of excitement in her voice, her eyes shining with fascination.
Ozai rolled his eyes. "The club is not about celebrations, Ursa. It's to keep old families together. Our ancestors have known almost all of the ancestors of the people in this room. Of course, there are always the new rich people who think they have to be part of the club. But this provides a comfortable and familiar environment for families. There is children day care, several sport clubs, and opportunity to meet friends. If we would have sent Zuko and Azula to a sports club in town, they wouldn't have known anybody, and it's the same with eating here."
"So you're basically afraid to get out of your comfort zone?" Katara bit on her lower lip right after she'd said that. It had sounded critical, way too critical.
Ozai raised one eyebrow, and Ursa pursed her lips. Azula looked like she wanted to laugh, and Katara didn't dare to look at Zuko. How would he react? Was his jaw tensed, and did his nostrils flare the way they did before he exploded?
But in the end, Ursa just shrugged, a small smile on her lips, and Ozai even seemed to chuckle. "You're probably right there, Katara. Most of the people here, and I must say the same about myself, would never think about going to a normal place in town, even though it would be five-stars."
"Humans are slaves of habit, after all," Katara said, smiling, and hoped no one would think she had something against them based on how they didn't like the idea of going anywhere else.
"That is true," Azula commented. "After all, Zuko was so used to dislike you that the moment he got together with you, he still felt so ashamed he couldn't even tell his family."
Katara flinched at those words, and almost missed the flinching of Zuko himself. Why did he flinch? Had he… really… no, there was no need. They weren't really together, after all. Or maybe this was the reason he had felt ashamed. He would have never been interested in her, if it weren't for his father's plan, and maybe he had never wanted to show someone like Katara on his side. She didn't think he was especially appalled by her origin, or social status, but maybe it was more because of their history than she thought? Or he still couldn't stand her personality back then?
"Azula, silence yourself!" Ozai snapped.
She rolled her eyes again in that nonchalant way she did, as if what she had said hadn't had such a great impact on Katara at all.
"Dad knew," Zuko said, in a quiet, but defensive way.
Azula narrowed her eyes at him, and Katara remembered how insulted Azula had seemed on Sunday when she had complained about their father knowing and her not.
"Maybe your reaction to Katara is why I didn't tell you!" Zuko snarled by now.
"Zuko," Ursa said in a warning voice, before forcing a smile on her lips. "We want to enjoy this coming together right now and be happy for Zuko! And until the next time we all see each other, you better get this sorted out!" Her tone held a commanding edge to it, as she gave Zuko and Azula equal narrow glares.
"It's not about Zuko, it's about her!" Azula complained, nodding in Katara's direction.
"Yeah, everyone got you can't stand me…"
Azula rolled her eyes. "Don't be so daft."
"Azula!" Ozai all but roared.
Tables in their close proximity already seemed to have noticed the quarrel, as heads were turning towards them, and their names were suddenly whispered.
"You were a downright bitch to Zuko in high school. I know your family hasn't much money. So for what other reason would you be here than for my family's money?"
Katara's jaw went slack, as her eyes grew wide. Somehow, she felt guilty, because… Well, this was actually the exact reason she was here. She hadn't really liked Zuko when she agreed to do this, but she had known that she didn't dislike him anymore. The guilt she was feeling didn't really make sense. It wasn't like she still couldn't stand Zuko, after all. She liked him, but she wasn't lying to him about her feelings. He didn't think she liked him more than she actually did.
A few moments Katara was just speechless, blinking and shaking her head, before she managed to sort her feelings out. "So you think your brother isn't endearing or loveable enough for me to feel something for him?"
Azula's frown turned into a downright scowl, but before she could reply, or her parents could say anything again, a waiter appeared on their table, looking slightly nervous with a fake smile, his technological device ready to type down their order.
"Ah, the Kasaishis," he greeted them and bowed. "It's great to see you again. I saw you brought a guest… and are more vocal than usual."
Ursa tensed, as her confused and shocked gaze met the waiter in front of them.
Everyone seemed slightly offended, and Katara didn't know what to think about this. She had thought the Kasaishis were respected in this environment. That the waiter was talking to them like this… For a moment she was confused, but she realised the waiter had meant the family was arguing louder than normal because of her presence.
Her hand tightened around Zuko's.
"Well, our family discussions are hardly your business, am I right?" Ozai said coldly, his eyes sharp and one eyebrow slightly raised. In that moment, he reminded Katara a lot of Zuko. It was really almost uncomfortable how similar they looked. If Katara hadn't known how Ozai looked like, and she would have met him saying he was Zuko from the future, she would have believed it.
The waiter flushed pink, before he nodded. "Yes, of course, sir. You're right."
"Not that it's any of your business, but you will see this girl here more often, as she is Zuko's girlfriend, thus part of the family."
It was a very uncomfortable and slightly embarrassing situation, and Katara had no idea how to react in this moment.
The waiter seemed to wrinkle his nose, as he looked at her, and Katara felt hot anger rise up inside of her. How dare this person judge her without knowing her? How dare he judge her simply based on the tone of her skin and origin?
Sometimes, Katara wished the Southern Province and the Northern Province were one country, because then there wouldn't be any other people in it who would make her feel like an alien. With her own people and their sisters and brothers in the North, she felt at home. She felt welcomed and accepted. She liked the capital as a city, and most people here were friendly towards her family and her, but she still felt like an outsider sometimes. It was a strange, subconscious feeling that told her she would never belong. Her skin tone was darker, her eyes were different. She would always look different. That was all what people needed to make someone feel excluded.
"Oh, well. Welcome to the Volcano Club, Miss," the waiter greeted her with a forced smile, and then looked immediately back at Ozai, as if he couldn't stand the sight of her.
"Now, what is your order today, Kasaishi?"
Zuko quickly picked the menu from Azula, who gave him an insulted look to which he hissed "You are always picking the same thing anyway!" before handing the menu to Katara.
"Is there something you'd like?" he whispered in her ear, as Ozai gave his order.
Katara scrunched her nose, opening the menu. "Something which won't be spit on or poisoned would be nice," she muttered darkly, glaring up at the waiter again.
Zuko snorted, and Katara felt a new wave of anger rolling over her. Well, of course he snorted. He didn't know how this felt like!
"They wouldn't dare," he said almost threateningly, and Katara felt slightly appeased.
"Well, they seem to lose fear of your family with me here," she whispered back.
"It's their problem if they're so daft to lose fear of us," he declared in a dramatic manner. "Now pick something."
She shot him a short glare for his commanding tone, before skimming through the menu, looking for fish. She had noticed some weeks ago that fish meals weren't that spicy in comparison to meat meals in the Western Province. She settled for grilled mackerel with sauce, grilled chives and udon noodles.
The entire menu sounded a lot finer than what she read on the menus of the small take away places she liked to go to downtown. Not only that the ingredients were finer and not the typical beef, chicken, shrimps, salmon, or tuna variety, but the offer was larger with a wider range of meat, fish, vegetables, and sides. Some things Katara had never even heard of. But what struck Katara the most were the prices for every meal. It was around five times as much as she would have had to pay for in a normal place downtown. She suspected people didn't only pay for the food, but for the name of the club and the club as well.
Until the food arrived, the conversations turned to Ozai's campaign, how it was going, and how the other candidates were working. Ozai actually proved to look like one of the more sincere and serious candidates. He had an air of professionality about him that the others seemed to lack.
Katara answered a few questions about her studies, her new flat in the dormitory, and also about her family. When she was questioned about her life, she realised that she had no idea what she could tell people what her job was if they asked. It had to be something untraceable. If she told them, she worked in a café, people could easily go there, ask for her, and find out she had lied. She needed a job that would best be performed from her home.
Azula spoke a lot about the new boutique she had found, which had very beautiful dresses. She had gone there thrice and then directly been asked if she would be interested in some free clothes in exchange for some advertisement. Azula planned on getting the clothes on Friday, make a photoshoot on Sunday and post it all on her various social media accounts, mentioning the boutique. It was not the first time this had happened to Azula, as she had managed with her style, constant posts of sports, beauty, food, fashion and whatever Kasaishi Azula deemed worthy of her time to become a real it-girl.
As far as Katara knew, that was the only job Azula had. She probably already did some things for the family business, too, but she didn't seem interested in getting educated the way Zuko was.
Katara tried not to show her distaste of that too much, as she also tried to turn herself into a more tolerant person. She couldn't criticise rich people for being rich, if she didn't at least gave them a chance. Contemning the life style of the rich was easy when you were poor. But giving it a chance to seem like a serious, hard-working job was difficult. Katara wanted to try, though. She tried to understand Azula, her struggles to decide whether to attend the party of an internet millionaire this week-end, or the party of a fellow it-girl.
Yeah, Katara wished those were her worst problems. But she tried. She really did try not to contempt Azula for being rich. But soon, she noticed that Azula being rich wasn't the problem. Azula being incredibly arrogant and self-centred was the problem.
Whenever waiters would walk past them, they shot curious looks towards Katara. Sometimes they were only curious, sometimes contempt, disgust, and more often than not disbelief mixed with it.
When Zuko noticed the looks, he always tightened his grip around her and glared at the bypassing people. She knew he didn't have to do that, as he didn't owe her anything, and he could also just pretend not to see the looks, but he chose to show he was standing on her side. He chose to do it, but he didn't have to, and for some reason it warmed Katara's heart.
When their food arrived, Katara's was missing.
The waiter was shocked and quickly ran back to check up on it, and when he came back, he wringed his hands, clearly feeling nervous, almost frightened. He didn't look at Katara, not even at Ozai when he told them, but at Ursa.
"Th-the food hasn't been prepared, because we're out of mackerel."
Katara scrunched up her nose, not liking that now she had to choose a new meal, whereas the mackerel had seemed so perfect.
"That can't be true," Azula said. "I just saw someone bringing that dish out, and the receiving table ordered their meals after we did." Her eyes seemed to pierce through the waiter like a spear, as she fixed him with her glare.
He gulped, baring his teeth in a nervous smile. "Er, well, that is just what I was told from the kitchen…"
"Then make. The kitchen. Check. Again! Or aren't you aware that a customer should always be informed immediately when an ingredient is missing? You don't just show up with nothing," she said as if the man had failed to sing the alphabet for her.
"Erm… Yes, I shall return to the kitchen. Right away," he added, bowed, and scurried off.
Zuko seemed angered and tense, and the rest of the family also looked as if they were just waiting for a fight.
Katara tried to wave it away. "Ah, it's fine. I'm not that hungry. Go on, you can start."
Ozai gave her a sideway look. "It is not fine at all, Katara. The service of the club should be immaculate."
Ursa nodded in agreement. "Yes. And if they are going to bring your meal with delay, they better reheat ours, or they will face our wrath." She slammed her small fist on the table, but Ozai chuckled and laid his hand on her fist.
"Calm down, darling. It won't be that bad."
Katara bit nervously on her lip, as she glanced up at Zuko. He stared at the opposite side of the room without really focusing on anything, and she could tell that he also had no idea what to do.
When the waiter didn't come back for five minutes, Zuko let out a growl and stood. "I'm going to…"
"You're not going to do anything," Ozai snapped, his eyes wide and brows contorted. The changed, sudden enraged expression on his face surprised and shocked Katara a little.
He took a deep breath. "I'm going to handle this."
"But Father…"
"No, Zuko." Ozai got up and walked away, in the direction where the waiter had gone.
The tension at the table became thicker, and to describe the atmosphere as uncomfortable was probably an understatement.
Katara worried her lip and didn't look at the others. What would Ozai do? She really didn't want to be the cause of a scene or maybe even of the family getting into trouble with the staff.
To Katara's surprise, Ozai didn't reappear with a cook or waiter, but with a man his age, dressed in beige trousers and a white polo shirt. He was looking curiously at her, as Ozai led him towards their table.
"Kazan, this is Katara, my son's girlfriend," he said with a deep breath. "Her food wasn't brought, because apparently, the mackerel is used up. But instead of informing us on this, her meal was simply forgotten." Ozai's voice rose now a bit in his anger. "I will not have this. It can't be that your staff are so lousy as to forget a meal!"
Kazan's eyes were on Katara for a while, before drifting over to Ozai, looking calculatingly at the angered businessman. "I'm sure my staff had their reasons, if they really lied."
Katara wished she could throw her glass of water at that man.
"Reasons?" Zuko snapped, standing up, but Azula pulled him down again, and when he moved to snap at her, too, Katara pulled at his other arm. It really looked like Ozai didn't need any help.
"You will serve this woman a meal, as it is done in a restaurant. The meal she ordered! I don't care about your own simple-minded reasons, but as my son's girlfriend, she's sitting here as our guest, as part of my family, and if you can't accept that, then in the future, we will get our expensive lunch somewhere else.** You don't really want to insult the Kasaishi family." The words were clearly a threat, and Katara sat stiff like a board, overwhelmed with sympathy for this man, but at the same time disbelief. She didn't think badly of Ozai anymore, but she would have never expected him to defend her so vehemently. Maybe this was where Zuko got his temper from.
Kazan narrowed his eyes, his face showing an unhappy expression. It was obvious that he didn't want to respect Katara, but that he didn't want to draw the Kasaishis wrath upon him, either.
Clenching his jaw, he nodded at last.
"And get these meals warm again. We will only eat together," Ozai said, gesturing to the plates on the table.
Snapping his fingers, Kazan turned on his heel and rushed away, as two waiters walked past him, collecting the meals of the Kasaishi family, bowing before retreating.
When Ozai sat again, the whole hall was still silent, and just then did Katara realise that almost everyone had probably watched them. She really wanted to die from mortification. As right as Ozai had been, and as thankful as she was to him, being the centre of the coming gossip was the last thing Katara wanted.
Still, she cleared her throat and bowed to Zuko's father. "Thank you, Ozai. That wouldn't have been necessary. But I really appreciate your effort."
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, before waving her thanks away. "It was nothing. Don't mention it, Katara. That's simply how we do things."
Azula made a noncommittal sound, and glanced around. "You know people have filmed you, right, Dad? This will go viral."
The thought struck Katara, and she nervously glanced at Zuko, as she wondered if Ozai had also done this for his reputation. Parading his son's girlfriend around was surely going to help him winning over the votes of the lower classes or of the Northern and Southern Province, but speaking out for her, defending her in the midst of his own would probably push his popularity to completely new levels. She could already see the video and comments in her mind.
But no one mentioned the campaign, and maybe Katara was just overly suspicious, which was normally not like her, so she pushed the thought away with a shrug.
Zuko groaned. "Oh no. I hate it when we're in the news!"
Ursa chuckled. "Your father is running for president, Zuko. How could you not be in the news?"
Zuko gave her a sheepish look. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing that people will see that I brought Katara to a place where she'd be treated like this," he added with a clenched jaw, his hands curling to fists.
Katara patted his arm. "Honestly, I'm glad you brought me. If you didn't, I would have thought you're ashamed of me," she tried for a lighter, teasing tone.
Zuko turned his face to her, his eyes suddenly serious, soft pools of liquid gold, and Katara's breath caught. "Never," he said quietly, his face looking so sincere as if he meant it. When he kissed her, she wanted to melt into his body, and strangely, she wasn't even surprised. Leaning closer to him had been an instinctual reaction, which had felt completely natural and normal. Although she had kissed him lots of times already, the kisses in public were different.
Her eyes shut immediately, as she held on to his shirt, just for a moment longer revelling in the feeling of his lips on hers, before he pulled back. She kissed him on his nose, what seemed to take him by surprise. He blinked, then flushed a little. She giggled.
"Aw, you're so sweet!" Ursa gushed, and Zuko's eyes widened indignantly.
"Muu-uuum!"
Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know your thoughts!:)
So, for clarification. Ozai did only make such a fuss, because he knew he would be filmed, and then all of Elementia would already think he wasn't prejudiced towards Southeners or Northeners, as his ancestors were.
Kazan simply means volcano in Japanese, that's why I named the owner of the Volcano Club like this. At least, WordHippo says Kazan means volcano.
* a Harry Potter quote from Hermione. One of my favourite ones from her, although it sounds more bitchy in the translation to my language, as there Hermione also says that the dirt on Ron's nose doesn't look nice.
** inspired by my favourite Sandra Bullock quote from The Blind Side, although she says that her salad, and not her lunch is expensive. I'm not sure if she even uses the word "expensive" there, as I never watched the film in English.
I fear Azula and Katara might have seemed a little out of character to some people, but this is just how I imagine Azula to be in such a more normal life. She can openly love and care for her brother, as well as for her mother. Although I always imagine Azula's love for her brother to be more of a possessive love. In a way that she doesn't think a lot about him or his feelings, but mostly just about his surroundings and about what could hurt him or be good for him in her opinion. Azula isn't very manipulative in here, and she would also rather confront Zuko or Katara alone, because then they wouldn't be able to keep their stories aligned. And Katara... Well, on the one hand there are adults with them she wants to impress, so she cannot really openly fight back at Azula. On the other hand, she also doesn't want to play the victim, so she was sassy, acted aloof, or turned Azula's words around. This might seem strange, but think about Katara's ability to support her friends' or brother's aliases without being asked, and without batting an eye. "Hi, I'm June Pippinpaddleopsocopolis. Nice to meet you." or "Sapphire Fire. Nice to meet you." That's why I think Katara could be a great actress who can shoot back fast and presumably without having to think much. She just lives her other character.
And yes, I imagine an Azula in our world and our time to be an it girl. I mean, what else could the most beautiful girl in the Fire Nation, the most powerful and the most perfect teenager from the Avatar World be in our world? When all the girls want to be like her and all the boys want to have her? When her demeanour scares people, but when everyone is admiring her? Of course, Azula would be one of those high class it-girls. Maybe I will give her a model job later, or maybe something else will come to my mind. Maybe you know something that would fit Azula? Let me know what you think.:)
Answers to reviews:
To Smckoy929: Thanks! Well, I actually think their feelings are moving too fast. I have the moment in which they become a real couple planned, and as things are going now, I fear I'll have to write this way sooner than I intended to do, because I cannot leave both of them so oblivious to their own and each other's feelings for that long. Thanks for your feedback on the rating! Well, Zuko said something about Katara's outfit now, right?:) Thanks for reviewing!:D
To IDidn'tSignUp4This: Ha, that's the actual reason why I learned to speak a mix of British and American English. Like you said, at school I learned some of the other varieties, too, but I don't think I'm using any of their words or am pronouncing words the way they do. I didn't know young British people do that, but it surely makes sense. I'm bilingual, too!:) But with French.
To uchihaNaruto247: Oh, it will. But it won't be that bad. Thanks! I was really nervous about the whole Kya thing, and in the beginning I struggled to decide if Kya should even be alive or not, but it is important for the story for her to be alive, so yeah... She's alive. Azula... Oh, that was really hard to write. Ozai who's pretending to be nice, Ursa who doesn't fully trust her husband and can't believe he accepts someone like Katara as their son's girlfriend, but who wants Katara to feel welcome, Azula who can't stand her from high school, mostly because Katara was mean to Zuko, and then Zuko who's nervous because of Ozai and being late, and Katara who's nervous because it feels like sitting in the lion's den, and at the same time she has to pretend to be in love with Zuko. So Azula didn't really provoke Katara, but she surely didn't make things easy for her. There was a lot to focus on for this chapter, so that's also why it got so long and took me so long. Thanks for your review!:D
