Hey everyone! So, I'm sorry I couldn't get this out earlier, but I still had to write it... He... I try to get things to move a little faster, but I also want to keep it detailed and not broad.
In the last chapter, I made two mistakes. Zuko actually met Jin after his eleventh school year, not his tenth, and Katara and Zuko went to Ba Sing Se High School, not Long Feng High School. Maybe Jin went to Long Feng High School, though... I went back and corrected them, but some of you will have already read it...
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think!:)
I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender, nor its characters.
Chapter Twenty-Five
When Zuko woke up on Monday morning, his phone was overflowing with new e-mails. They had all been written to the Kasaishi company, and then they had been sent up to him. The mails were from several magazines and newspapers. Those on celebrities, teenager magazines, and even political ones. Each one wanted an interview with him. Some were asking for Katara, too.
He grimaced, while reading through the mails during breakfast. He wondered what Katara would say to this. He knew he'd told her there would likely have to be interviews, but if she didn't want that, he would just go there by himself. His father would, of course, prefer if the interview would be with Katara, but Zuko wouldn't make her do something she didn't want to. He knew he could technically try to bribe or threaten her with something, hut he didn't want to do that to her. Not again. Not now.
She had become too important, and he couldn't justify certain things anymore. Some time, he would tell her about how he had been responsible for her not finding a job for two months. And he would do everything he could to make it up to her. But only after his father had become president.
Jet came out if his bedroom in a rush, as usual. He grabbed two steamed buns from the table, drank some warm soy milk, said "Morning, Zuko" through one of the buns and was off.
Zuko sighed and leaned back, stretching his legs. He should tell Katara about the interviews. But they still had holidays and she would probably sleep long. Maybe he could text her... Or he could see her later.
She hadn't answered the letter he had left in her flat and hadn't texted or called him at all. He wondered if he'd written something wrong or done something wrong. Maybe he shouldn't have left. But there had been an issue with the company, and since Zuko had been already awake, and had had a bad feeling about leaving the gala so early, he had texted his father he would take care of it. He'd only had to bring his father a file from his office downtown, so it hadn't even been that much.
Or maybe Katara had had a lot to do? She could have met her friends. Or gone to her family.
Zuko face palmed. Of course, Katara had even told him that Sokka and she went to her parents for lunch every Sunday.
Dear Katara,
can you meet me tonight? I'll pick you up. What do you want to do? Cinema, dinner, theatre, etc. Let me know. I'll get the tickets or the reservation or whatever.
Zuko
Scratching the side of his head, he wondered if he should try to make the message nicer. It looked so formal.
He added two emojis, both smiling faces, before he sent the message away.
A smile spread on his lips, as he thought about what tonight would hopefully go like. He'd prefer to have dinner with Katara, since it was easier to talk there. And they could sit in a niche, their thighs pressed together, and he could stroke hers again, this time consciously trying to seduce her. He would keep one arm around her waist, massaging her back, and he would lean close to her, or he could wipe away some crumb from her mouth, and maybe they could share a dessert (with two different spoons of course, although Zuko wondered what that should bring, as his goal was to interchange millions of bacteria with her anyway. And he'd already done that. Okay, so, with one spoon), and what if he could feed her? He imaniged Katara's face, her eyes closed in bliss, her mouth around a spoon, while she groaned quietly, because the dessert would be so good,and then Zuko would pull the spoon slowly from her mouth and it would free itself with a plop sound, and then he would be very aroused (what he actually really was right now), and lean over and ask her if they could leave to have another kind of dessert (he'd heard the expression once in a film, but he thought it was weird, although it seemed fitting in this circumstances; but maybe Katara would also just laugh at him).
Groaning, Zuko twisted in his seat a little, trying to find a comfortable position for his semi-erection. He really hoped this would work tonight. He wanted to kiss Katara again and to touch her again and...
His mobile buzzed.
Hey:D
Yes, I'm free tonight. I'd love to go to the cinema, if that's okay. See you then!:)
Zuko frowned. He wouldn't be able to flirt with Katara and seduce her while staring at a cinema screen. Zuko hated it when people talked in a cinema hall or when they tried to distract him.
He sighed. Maybe he should just suggest for them to sleep in one place because of the paparazzi.
oOo
Zuko came up to Katara's flat again, although she told him he didn't have to.
Since he hadn't said anything more explicit about the cinema, she had put on her newest trousers with a shepherd's check pattern and a t-shirt. She wanted to accept Azula's 'advice' at least a little and had searched through her wardrobe for trousers not made of denim. And hadn't found anything. So today, Katara had shopped a short and a long trouser not made of denim.
She had put her hair in a bun and almost didn't put on any make-up. Just to make her look a little less tired for the cameras. But all in all, she didn't look like someone going on a date. More like someone going on a casual date, because they didn't have to be nervous about it. Yeah, she looked like a girl who knew that Zuko belonged to her, and who didn't have to do anything for it. Or like a girl who didn't want to do anything in order to get Zuko.
She was thinking too much.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door for him and stepped outside.
He looked at her in a nervously friendly way. "Hi."
"Hey." She tried to look neutral, as she smiled a little.
But it was weird. They didn't talk until they were sat in his car, and then it still felt weird.
"So, what did you do yesterday?" Zuko asked. "Did you go to your parents for lunch?"
Surprise flooded her. She couldn't believe he remembered that she'd told him that!
"Yes. Sokka picked me up," she said.
"Mhm. Was it nice?"
"Yeah. Grangran cooked again. But she'll leave the capital tomorrow."
"Oh. When will you see her again?"
"At the end of December. For the winter solstice. It's celebrated highly in my tribe." She fidgeted with her hands. "Actually, you're probably going to be invited, too."
"Me? Why?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because they think you're my boyfriend. It's a family holiday."
"Mh, okay."
"Okay, what?"
"If I'll be invited, I'd like to come."
Katara tried to calm the flutters in her stomach. He had agreed. Well it was mostly for pretence, but still.
They talked about what they had done on Sunday and today – university for both, then Zuko working, and Katara shopping – and then they talked what was expected from them during this term, Katara stressing how glad she was that the summer term was shorter than the winter term.
Zuko had chosen a cinema which was close to the university, which meant it was part of a larger complex. There was also a game centre and a few restaurants in the building.
After parking his car in the car park, they walked towards the cinema together, only thinking about holding hands, when they were already halfway there.
"The film starts in a few minutes," Zuko said. "But I bought our tickets online. Do you want popcorn or something to drink?"
Katara nodded enthusiastically. She couldn't stand watching a film without popcorn. Popcorn was an absolute must, and if she didn't have that, then crisps or cookies were okay, too. She just hoped Zuko wasn't one of those people who couldn't stand loud noises during a film. Katara was no one who talked through films, but popcorn simply belonged to the cinema.
"Yeah, popcorn and coke, please," she told him, as he went to the bar.
Katara looked around the cinema, remembering how Sokka, Aang, and she had gone here a lot about a year ago. Toph had sometimes come along, too, and relied on her hearing sense. She had also searched for the content of the film on the internet before, so she would be able to understand everything at the cinema. But it had never been that thrilling to her. Toph had mostly just enjoyed throwing popcorn at strangers and blaming it on Sokka, as no one would ever blame a blind girl for that.
A smile pulled at Katara's lips, and she wondered if things could go back to how they'd been. Everything had seemed so much better back then. Much easier. But when she really thought about it, she knew it hadn't been perfect either. She had already thought about breaking up with Aang back then, but had feared hurting him. But she had known that she couldn't be happy with him in the long term.
Now, they were moving towards friendship again, and maybe going to the cinema would soon be possible again. But would Sokka want to bring Suki? And should Katara bring Zuko? And worse, would Aang bring Meng?
Katara really hoped Aang would find another girl soon, but not Meng! Everyone but her!
The people in the entrance hall had started to move slightly slower on their way to the cinema halls, and Katara curiously followed their gazes to Zuko.
He was waiting for her popcorn, and the people behind him or next to him in other queues were subtly taking pictures of him.
Katara slowly closed her eyes. Oh, she hoped their seats would be secluded so that no one would bother them during the film.
When Zuko turned around with two drinks and a large bowl of popcorn, he seemed to notice that he had been recognised and started to scowl. Katara quickly walked towards him to take the popcorn off him.
"Thanks," she said.
"You're welcome," he murmured in a distracted manner, bent down to kiss her forehead, and then grabbed her hand to walk towards the cinema halls where they needed to show their tickets.
The film that Zuko had chosen was a good action film. It wasn't too full of action and had some interesting plot twists. The heroes were not only shown in a good light, and although the audience didn't find out a lot about the main characters, they still evoked sympathy.
The ending was great and mind blowing, an even bigger plot twist forming itself.
No one seemed to have noticed who Zuko and Katara were in the hall and they remained seated until everyone else had left.
"Wow, I so not did see that coming! That the reporter had actually been his friend!" Katara cried out. "They really did that well, although there was some information they just thought the audience had, although they hadn't provided it."
"Oh, that was in the first part," Zuko said.
"First part?" Katara asked confused.
"Yes. I thought you'd seen it. It came out when we were still at school."
She shook her head. "No, I also never heard of it before."
Zuko took her hand again, as they made their way through the entrance hall. "I have it on DVD. We can watch it sometime if you'd like."
Katara nodded, squeezing his hand.
Many heads turned in their direction again, as people started to talk enthusiastically to each other. It was hard for Katara not to grimace or cringe under all the attention. Zuko stiffened slightly, when some guy screamed "Vote for Kasaishi!" throughout the hall.
But Zuko simply looked in the direction where the voice had come from, smiled tensely and nodded. Katara was impressed at how he managed all this. Someone with such a temper as his was more likely to explode than to smile.
Zuko suddenly stopped outside of the cinema, glancing at a restaurant. "Do you mind if we'd go there? I didn't have dinner yet and am starving."
Katara, who was full of popcorn, still shook her head. "No, of course not."
They went to the restaurant that looked to be the most expensive one in this building, a sushi place.
A table for two, where they would sit opposite each other, was proposed to them, but Zuko objected, wanting to sit in a niche. The restaurant didn't have any niches. Zuko scowled, his narrowed eyes scanning the room.
Then he pulled one of the chairs to the other side of the small table, the waiter hurrying to rearrange the cutlery and dishes. But the chair was heavy, and Zuko needed to strain himself to keep pushing, and then he almost bumped into the table, until he straightened himself to regain his composure. Katara smiled at his antics. He ran a hand over his shirt, then through his hair, checked that their chairs stood in a right angle to each other, and then stretched out his arm to motion for her to take a seat.
"Zuko, that's not necessary," Katara hissed, pulling on his arm.
"It is," he hissed back.
The waiter stepped back. "You can sit almost as if you were in a niche now." He bowed to Zuko, then to her and hurried off.
Zuko sat down next to Katara, and she looked strangely at him.
"Why did you do that?"
"What do you mean?" He looked guilty.
She rolled her eyes. "It's stupid sitting like this. My knee keeps bumping into your thigh."
"It's because it looks more couply," he said evasively, and Katara vowed to observe him tonight very well.
While Zuko ordered three different sushi plates, Katara decided that she'd like some sashimi. Popcorn made her full, but not really sated her. She still was no fan of raw fish, though. In her tribe, it had always been cooked in some way.
After their drinks had arrived, Zuko leaned closer to her. "I have a question for you."
"What is it?" Katara took a sip of her ginger juice.
She suddenly felt his hand on her thigh, stroking it in a reassuring manner. She cleared her throat.
"I have got several e-mails from newspapers and magazines, asking for an interview with us," Zuko answered.
Katara listened, but she also enjoyed how his hand stroked her thigh. He probably only meant it to be comforting, but it still felt nice.
"Mhm," she said.
"Well, are you willing to give interviews?"
"Er... Can you send me a list with those who asked? How many are they, by the way?"
Zuko shrugged. "A dozen, maybe. Or more."
"What?" Katara shrieked. "I thought about three or four!"
He grimaced. "I'm sorry. This is just... pretty annoying." He took a deep breath. "Okay, the thing is I have to accept all their requests, but you don't. If you go to three or four with me, it'll be okay. I doubt Father can say something against it, if I tell him you didn't feel comfortable with it."
She nodded. "Thank you, Zuko. I think that's the best solution. I wouldn't want to be interviewed so often. But why can't you say no, if you don't want it either?"
He pinched the bridge if his nose. "It's good for Father if I give a lot of interviews. About that, we will definitely have to talk about him in these interviews. That he..." He hesitated there. "... completely accepts you and doesn't care about your origin."
Katara thought that made sense, but she still didn't know if she liked how Zuko just did things he didn't want to just to please his father. Katara knew she would do the same for her father, but Hakoda wouldn't ask so many unpleasant things from her.
"But enough about my father," said Zuko, his voice suddenly oddly hoarse.
Katara cocked her head to the side. His golden eyes were burning into hers with so much intensity that she was reminded of Saturday night.
And his hand on her thigh kept being very distracting. It definitely wandered high up on purpose this time.
"I was wondering how you feel..."
Katara's heart skipped a beat.
"... about me and you..."
The butterflies in her stomach were running amok.
"... repeating what we did at your place." He took a deep breath. "I left you a note, but you never answered it."
She looked away, biting on her lip. Of course, he didn't talk about their feelings. Of course it was just physical.
But she had to admit that she had enjoyed what they'd done immensely. He kissed with so much passion and his hands and body had just felt so good.
She never would have thought that she enjoyed making out with Zuko so much. He had been an emotional rock to her, but once his lips had been on hers, holy moon and ocean god! It hadn't just completely overwhelmed Katara, but in a way also rocked her world. Okay, that sounded cheesy, but she had just been so surprised! Zuko, who barely smiled, or laughed, or made jokes, or showed passion or interest in anything, was apparently very passionate in one area. And no one else was ever going to know about it, if it went Katara's way.
She knew it hadn't only felt good because she liked him. She had wanted to touch his bare torso before, too. And maybe her feelings would return to be physical if they continued this. Or maybe he would develop similar feelings for her. Whatever it was, Katara knew she really wanted to snog him again. She actually wanted more than that. If her feelings weren't confusing her so much, and if they had remained the way they'd been before, she would have definitely had sex with him on Saturday.
She had feelings for him, but she wanted his body, too.
Her hand sneaked high up on his thigh, before grabbing it.
Zuko's eyes widened in surprise.
Katara moved her fingers, not knowing where that confidence came from. She probably wanted to shock him. Or to be better in the fumbling below the table part. If he could distract her this way, then she could do that, too.
She could see from his clenched jaw that he liked how she touched him.
"I'd like to repeat what we did, too," she said lowly, more hoarsely than normal.
He licked his lips, as his hand moved further up.
That's when their food arrived.
Katara drew her hand back, staring at Zuko blushing. It was amazing. He looked completely flustered and didn't look at her when their food was put in front of them.
"Enjoy," their waiter said.
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
As they started to dig in, she wondered where this confidence had just come from. Apparently, Zuko had needed some extra, too, as he had seemed shy about it the moment a third party had come in, but before he had almost been suave. Very sexy.
The way he looked now, though, made it obvious that he thought of it as being just as ridiculous as she thought now, too.
Katara had never before acted this way with a boy that had not been her boyfriend or when she had not been drunk. It was weird. Then again, she had wanted him to react the same way that she had reacted to him. She had wanted to do this as well as him. She had wanted to beat him. And being competitive towards each other was actually normal for them.
But the moment must have been still too weird, as Zuko didn't say anything after. They ate in silence, Katara enjoying her meal, and Zuko eating with perfect manners, but still pretty fast.
He was almost finished when she was.
Zuko asked her if she wanted to have dessert.
She wouldn't mind, but an idea plopped into her mind. A way of definitely beating him, whatever he would say.
She grasped his thigh again and leaned forward. "What if we leave to have dessert at your place?"
For a moment, he looked a little surprised, but then a smile that was almost a grin stretched his lips. "Then I'd count myself lucky."
It was a good answer. Katara had to smile at that. He could count himself lucky to be with her, or he could count himself lucky to having any woman in his bed tonight. Not that there would be much more happening than it already had.
Katara might have not turned her nose up on a mere sexual relationship with someone, but then it had to be the right person for it. Zuko wasn't. He was way too infuriating and endearing.
But maybe Katara was the right woman for him for a sexual relationship only.
Urgh, she needed to stop overthinking things so much. It wasn't like her. Then again, she had never been in a situation as complicated as this. And Katara normally wasn't anyone who had to wonder what the other person felt. Until now, it had always been the boy who approached her first.
After paying the bill, Zuko took her hand again as they walked back to his car.
Katara felt annoyingly excited.
oOo
It felt just as good as it had last time. Even better, a little, because this time Katara wasn't thinking so much. She was able to enjoy herself even more, to enjoy the feelings rushing through her body.
This time, Katara was surer of the motives for this and of her feelings. In the back of her mind, she still thought this was kind of bad because of the way she felt, and it would probably get her into a lot of trouble, but Zuko had a remarkable talent at making her mind shut up.
When he rubbed his erection against her core, and her breasts pressed to his chest, their cheeks touching, Katara couldn't deny that she wanted more. Also physically. She was throwing her head from side to side, not able of thinking anything else than how good it would feel to have him inside of her. Oh, yes, she wanted him to enter her, to move within her, to grab her, to hold her, and to thrust deeply and firmly into her. It was all she could think of. There was still a thought that this was a bad idea, but she really wanted to give a fuck and just lose herself in Zuko's arms. This was definitely a place in which she liked to be.
But he seemed to remember how she told him that she didn't want to have sex. He obviously also had more self-control than her, because he managed to slow down their movements, until it was all soft and sensual. But Katara still felt desperate to be filled, when she sucked his tongue into her mouth. Zuko only answered slowly, lifting up his hips off hers.
She wished she could pull him back down and tell him to just have sex, but she didn't do it.
They lied next to each other in his bed, still panting, only wearing their underpants.
After a while, Zuko began to stretch like a cat in the sun, making a satisfied humming noise. Katara wondered how he could feel so good. They had both just stopped their orgasms from approaching, and yet he was comfortable?!
His eyes were closed, when he turned over and threw an arm over her stomach. He snuggled against her, his face buried in her shoulder.
Oh shit, this felt so good. So normal and nice, and man, she wanted that! She wanted this to be normal.
Katara's stomach did really terrible things to her at Zuko's closeness.
"Is this okay?" he asked, not sounding completely sure, and now she noticed that his body was still tense.
It was more than okay. It really felt... perfect. But she wasn't going to tell him that.
So she just snuggled closer to him and nodded. "Yes, it's okay."
She felt his body relax, and they stayed like that, simply basking in each other's presence, and shortly after Katara had started to comb through Zuko's hair, he fell asleep.
She looked at him and smiled. He looked ridiculously adorable when he was asleep. She could almost see the little boy in him and then wondered how he had looked as a boy. She really needed to see pictures of him.
She pulled the blanket over their bodies, staying with him like this for a few more minutes, stroking his hair, until she got up to get ready for bed.
oOo
Zuko had been summoned to his father's office again. These days, it only had to do with the campaign or with Katara.
This time, it was about both.
Ozai was pleased to hear Zuko had got so many interview requests. He had already expected it and made him a list with topics to definitely speak about, some that were okay, if asked, and one about which he shouldn't talk at all. If Katara would try to answer then, Ozai told him to interrupt her with something very important.
Zuko nodded. That seemed easy enough. Since Katara wasn't really his girlfriend, he could actually send her this list, too, so he wouldn't have to interrupt her. That was not polite.
"I know your term has started again, and I know you've got a lot to do. But there's something you need to do before the summer holidays," Ozai said.
Zuko sat up straighter, frowning. "Of course."
His father smiled in a pleased way. "I want you to get information on Song Wen," said Ozai.
Wen. That was the last name of the head of a large pharmaceutical company named Kaoya. Several other companies belonged to them, too. They sold medicine for any damages of the skin, e.g. burns, rashes, even antidotes against natural poisons, and also had a cosmetic line.
Zuko nodded. "Will we try to approach them with a deal?"
"Yes," Ozai nodded. "Zhilan Wen's daughter Song is our key to that. You will find out everything about her until the summer. The Dongs have invited them to their summer festival as well."
"Does that still happen at the French Riviera?" Zuko asked. He thought it was ridiculous that the Dong family still held these parties and just expected the people from Elementia to follow them all the way to France. When he had been little, they had only needed to get to Ember Island, but the Dongs moved to France, when Zuko was ten, and from then on the Kasaishis went there, too. First, Zuko had hoped that the Dong's move meant he didn't have to see Chan and Ruon Jian anymore, but he had been oh so wrong.
The Dongs' summer party was always about making connections and showing off wealth and power. People were judged, other people were worshipped, others insulted. But everyone wanted to attend, and there were always articles about the party in the magazines later.
Ozai nodded. "We will go, of course. You need to bring Katara, though."
Zuko frowned a little. That almost sounded as if it would be bad or a burden if he brought Katara. Actually, he was relieved that she would be able to accompany him. First, it would keep all the other girls away, second, the party would be way more fun with Katara. And maybe they would be able to leave early to spend some time to themselves. Preferably, in a hotel bed. Spending time with Katara on holiday generally didn't sound like a bad idea to Zuko. How would that be, waking up and falling asleep next to her every day?
"Yes, father," he answered, but he had probably made a mistake. Maybe he hadn't sounded apathetic enough.
Ozai narrowed his eyes. "Don't get too used to your little Southerner. I know you probably tell her how dear she is to you all the time, but remember her purpose." He leaned back in his chair and scratched his chest. "I'm not forbidding you from having a little fun. She's quite nice to look at despite her upbringing. I trust you that you don't get attached to her. After I'll be elected, there will be no place for her here anymore."
Zuko nodded quickly. "I know, Father. I… I wondered how this should happen. If I were to break up with her the public would probably support her, wouldn't they? Maybe then they wouldn't like the Kasaishi family anymore."
"I know. That's why we will make her break up with you. And it will be you with the public's support on their side," Ozai told him, with an almost generous air.
Something felt very wrong in Zuko's stomach. "So Katara will have to make a bad public impression after your election?"
Ozai nodded. "Exactly. That's where Song Wen comes in. But you will get all the other information just in time."
oOo
After the talk with his father, Zuko felt a little sick. He didn't see Katara for longer than a week, claiming that he didn't feel well or had too much work.
And trying to get every piece of information on Song Wen was certainly a lot of work.
But the most important reason of why Zuko was avoiding Katara was because he felt horrible. He didn't know what to think about the whole situation or how to interpret it. He just knew that hearing his father tell him that it was okay to have fun with Katara made him sick.
He wasn't really sure why, but he guessed it had something to so with the fact that he did have fun with Katara. Adult fun. He had fun with her mouth, her hands, and certainly her breasts. He had thought it was okay, just two people enjoying to kiss and touch each other.
In the beginning he hadn't really thought about it, just knew that he wanted her. But now it was a little strange that he had enjoyed this so much. There was a reason why he had never had anything with a girl he hadn't been in love with. Closeness to anyone else made him feel uncomfortable. But he'd taken off his shirt, trusting in Katara's words that she wouldn't touch his back. And he felt so attracted to her, it was the first time this had ever happened.
When he had been with Jin, he had felt attracted to her, too, of course, he had been a teenager, after all, but he had also been very shy about it, not acting, except for when she told him to. And with Mai it had all been shared moments of being annoyed with other people, a shared comprehension of thinking everyone else were idiots, which had led to affection. He had loved Mai differently than Jin. He had felt attracted to Mai, because he had loved her, but this with Katara was something entirely new to him.
Lately, whenever he thought of her, he also thought of kissing and touching her, he thought about her body, how soft her skin was, and how much he really wanted to have her right now. The soft sounds she had made when he had kissed her breasts, and how beautifully her face shown, as she had contorted it in pleasure.
Maybe he really just needed sex. Maybe that was all. But he wouldn't like to do it with anyone else, this he knew.
The problem now was that Zuko was wondering if he was using Katara. Was he treating her like a slut? Katara wasn't the type of woman to be treated like a slut. If he would, he was sure she would call him out on it and probably slap him.
But Zuko still felt bad. His father was already planning to get rid of her, while Zuko used her for his own pleasure, and also to play his girlfriend. To not disappoint his father.
Zuko would have to do something very nice for Katara after all of this was over. Maybe he could buy her a flat. Or a car. Or he'd find her a boyfriend, someone who was worthy of her, who would treat her well, who would love her and who she could love. Since he would have taken more than a year of her time to actually look for a boyfriend.
Katara surely wanted to marry one day and have children. He was keeping her from that. But then he wouldn't get to kiss her anymore. She wouldn't lie in his arms anymore, and they would stop spending so much time together. Would she cook a southern meal for another man, too?
Okay, maybe it would be enough if he bought her a flat.
After a week of avoiding her, he could tell that she became irritated with him. She wanted to be done with the interviews soon, but Zuko had them all scheduled later, so that he could first try to get his head clear again.
Okay, so since Katara got the short end of the deal, he would buy her a flat. Or something equally as useful and impressive and expensive. He would make sure that she was happy. And he needed to talk to her about the last change of their relationship.
Did she feel used?
oOo
Katara looked at the message Zuko had sent her. He was still too busy with work to see her.
She felt anger and indignation rise up inside of her. How dare he? As if he was working so much! He needed to come to uni, too, they could at least have lunch together or just meet for a coffee, they could even go to lectures together!
As she entered a lecture hall, she felt dread running through her body. What if… What if he avoided her, because he had somehow figured out that she liked him?!
Her first reaction was absolute and utter horror, but then she got angry that he would act so childish over it. It's not like she would jump at him or throw heart shaped love letters at him the moment she'd see him! If he figured it out, they could talk about it like adults!
And really, how should he have figured it out?! He had clearly been too busy ogling her breasts. Boys never figured these things out. They were dense like that.
"Hey, Katara!"
Lost in thought, she jumped in surprise when she saw the boy in front of her was Aang. While thinking about Zuko, she had somehow stopped moving in the central aisle and was now standing right next to Aang's seat row.
She blinked, trying to gather her thoughts. "Aang! Hi!"
Meng leaned forward, sitting on Aang's other side, throwing a glare in Katara's direction.
She sighed. Of course, wherever on campus Aang was, Meng was, too.
He smiled at her, genuinely happy to see her and Katara forced herself to act a little more normal.
"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something and…," trailing off, she touched her forehead and grimaced.
"It's okay. Do you want to sit down?" Aang asked.
Katara stilled. They hadn't sat next to each other in lectures since she'd broken up with him. She had thought he would approach her first, as he was the one needing time to heal and to accept things as they were. But she hadn't even thought about it during the last weeks.
Smiling, she nodded. "Yes, thanks."
The smiled he directed at her made it clear to her. Aang was moving on. And she was happy for him that he did.
"Katara! It's so nice to see you again!" Meng exclaimed. The younger girl had a lot of freckles and a slightly upturned nose, which made her look abnormally cute. At least, in Katara's opinion. Just her hair, that stayed away from her head as if it were electrified, gave her a little crazy look. Like some crazy scientist. Meng mostly wore her hair in two plaits.
Katara returned Meng's false smile. "You, too, Meng. You kind of look different. Did you do something with your hair?"
Meng's smile wavered. "No, I didn't. Wow, it must be really a long time that we didn't talk, huh?"
"Mhm." Already fed up with her, Katara turned to Aang. "How are you, Aang? Have you already visited Korra by the way?"
She had completely forgotten that Aang had wanted one of Naga's pups, until he had texted her again last week. So she had told Korra about it, and then sent Korra's contact to Aang.
He grinned. "Yeah, and the puppies were so adorable! They all tried to play with everything, constantly! But Korra says they have to stay with Naga for a little while longer, until I can have one. I think I'm going to name my pup Appa."
"Isn't that the name of one of those sky bison beasts?" Katara asked, remembering something Aang had told her about Mountainer religion.
"Exactly! The sky bison god of friendship and fun is called Appa. His traits are loyalty and love. I thought it fits a dog."
She smiled at him. "It definitely does."
"Isn't that also the mightiest of the sky bison gods?" Meng piped up, sounding smarmy as hell. "Didn't you say he used the manipulation of air to bring fun and joy to the people?" Her voice was higher pitched than normal.
Aang turned to beam at her. "Yes, you remember that?"
"Of course, Aang." Meng laid a hand on his arm. "You're my friend, and I care about you. So of course I listen to what is obviously very important to you."
Katara really wanted to fake a gagging motion. Who talked so sappily?
But Aang probably thought this was normal, as he just continued to grin and said "Thank you."
"Katara, do you want to have a pet?" Meng suddenly asked, almost making it sound like an accusation.
Katara blinked. "Er… I never really thought about it. Maybe later in life?"
Meng twisted her mouth. "I think you should better want one. Your boyfriend is really animal friendly, after all."
Katara contorted her eyebrows. "Aang is not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up months ago!"
Meng rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about Aang. I'm talking about Kasaishi Zuko, your boyfriend." She definitely said these last words louder than she had to.
Katara stiffened. A lot of heads immediately turned towards her.
"Meng knows about you and Zuko?" Aang asked, looking puzzled. "I thought you hadn't talked to each other for ages."
Meng grinned wickedly. "That may be, but I'm able to access the internet, and there's this platform distributing videos," she drawled.
"What video?" Aang asked, his brows contorted and nose scrunched.
Katara rolled her eyes. "Just things about his father's campaign." She tried to make it sound less important.
"So it really is you in the video then?" Meng asked, sounding unsure. "I thought it was you, but I couldn't really know."
Katara smiled. "Well, there are certainly a lot of dark skinned girls called Katara in this city, but yes, that's me. Zuko is my boyfriend," she added with all the pride she could muster. "But how do you know he likes animals?"
She knew he liked them. He had told her about how he'd always wanted a pet when he was little, and how he'd brought home injured animals, but how could Meng know?
"Oh, he said that in this interview in Flamey-O. An issue from last year. There was a whole article about him, since he returned to the capita just last year. And he was shown with horses, dogs, and cats," Meng went on. "He said he wouldn't mind having a farm of animals."
Katara couldn't help heself but started to laugh.
Meng smirked. "What? You don't even know that about your boyfriend?" she asked pointedly.
"No, I knew that. It's just that he might like to have so many animals, but he would never be okay with living on a farm!" She giggled. "He hates dirt."
"Zuko is really an animal guy?" Aang asked, sounding excited. "He could meet Appa, when I have him!"
Katara grinned. "Cool. I'm sure he'd like to."
Meng narrowed her eyes. "You would let him close to your dog? Aang, you're a Mountainer!"
Katara tensed. Why did Meng say that?
Aang frowned. "So? Zuko is my friend, and he likes animals."
To think of Zuko and Aang as friends warmed Katara's heart a little, and she was grateful that Aang had accepted him so easily. But Aang wasn't one to hold grudges the way she did.
Meng stared at him, as if he were crazy. "He can't be your friend! He thinks less of you! Both of you! Don't you know anything about history?"
Anger rose inside of Katara at Meng's words. How dare she? She didn't even know Zuko! How could she accuse him of such a horrible thing?
And sure, Katara had accused him of that once, too, but she had actually known him back then. She had seen how he had got along with everyone except for Aang, Sokka, and her, so she'd had a reason to think about him like that. But Meng?
Aang raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. It's history. Zuko wasn't born then, he didn't commit these crimes. When you get to know him, he's really nice! I'm even thinking about voting for Kasaishi."
Meng's eyes widened. "I can't understand why you're supporting them. They almost wiped out your entire people! And they attacked Katara's people, too!"
Katara's nostrils began to flare, as her eyebrow started to twitch. "We know that, Meng! But Zuko and his family are not their ancestors, and condemning them for things they haven't done is wrong. I'm with Zuko, because I like him, and nothing else!"
Meng sneered. "Sure, and all his money doesn't have anything to do with it, right? Or that he's famous?"
Katara was fuming. How dare that little prat accuse her of being like that! She was not a gold digger! She didn't care the slightest about Zuko's money! Of course, it paid her rent and food at the moment, but these were normal expenses. She would never be with him just to enjoy luxury!
"If I'd be so shallow, I'd rather have him for his looks," she hissed. "As he's very handsome and incredibly sexy. But of course, you'd think about his money first! As someone who looks like him wouldn't even glance in your direction!" she spat.
Aang took a deep breath through his teeth, and Katara could see real hurt in Meng's eyes for a moment. Oh shit, why had she said that? That's not even what Katara really thought! She didn't think Meng could never get the attention of a handsome man. Well, she didn't think that her looks were any hindrance, it was more her personality.
"So you just like him for his looks then? And forget about your family and history just because of some handsome face?!" Meng countered. "You should be ashamed of yourself. I bet your ancestors would be turning in their graves if they knew what you're doing. It's utterly disgusting! The Kasaishis are horrible monsters, and you're sullying yourself with that!"
Katara wanted to slap that girl. She wanted to slap her so hard her head would fall off.
For a moment, she thought of tossing her hair back, grabbing her bag, saying something like "I don't need this" or "This is a waste of time" and simply leaving.
But Katara had never in her life backed down from a fight. She stood and threw herself over Aang at Meng. She slapped the girl in the face.
"Take that back!" she shouted before slapping her again. "He's not a monster, you horrible bitch!"
Meng probed one elbow into Katara's throat, making her wretch, before she pulled violently at Katara's hair, making her scream in pain.
"Guys! Stop! Fighting is not the answer!" she heard Aang beg somewhere behind her. Her legs were still somewhere on his lap or torso, she didn't care.
She just wanted to get the upper hand over Meng. Oh, she was so fed up with that stupid cow! Katara had been nothing but nice, polite, and including to her, knowing to befriend a couple was strange and automatically put one in a third wheel position. She had tried to be Meng's friend very hard, but had slowly come to realise that Meng didn't like her.
She never had. She had not even tried to get to know her, just dismissing her, whatever she said, and instead focusing on Aang. She had spent time with Aang alone, because Katara had not wanted to go, knowing Meng would just ignore her or talk her down.
And Katara was sick of it. She had never said anything against Meng, not to Aang, not to Meng herself. But Katara breaking up with Aang and having Aang all to herself was obviously not enough to calm Meng down.
Now, she needed to talk badly about Katara's new relationship?! About her boyfriend who wasn't really her boyfriend, but Katara liked him and cared about him, and she would not have anyone talk about him like that!
Katara used her head to knock Meng over who fell on the empty seat next to her, but her hands were still painfully dug in Katara's hair. Katara used her elbow to ram it into Meng's rips who howled with pain. Katara quickly scrambled away, and moved out of the seat row.
Meng had got up, too, and followed her. She had an almost murderous look on her face.
"I will not take anything back that I've said! You're just a gold digging whore who doesn't care about morality in the slightest, or you could have at least jumped a decent rich guy. Instead, you took the heir to the fucking Kasaishi throne. Someone who looks down on people like you or Aang. Anyone else besides their rich, perfect friends!" Meng snarled.
No one was trying to keep them apart. Aang had followed them, a worried expression on his face, as he tried to be ready to intervene the moment they would run at each other again. Everyone else was watching with bated breath.
"They are not like that!" Katara shouted. "Zuko's not like that! He doesn't look down on me, and the only reason that I'm with him is his personality! I love the way he is, and it's not my problem that you're too dim-witted or narrow-minded or whatever your condition is called to understand that! You were just always jealous of me!" Katara accused her. "You just always wanted Aang, and you're too insecure to look beyond appearances, so you hate me, because my hair isn't as unruly as yours!"
"Don't say something about my hair!" Meng screeched, as she ran at Katara.
Aang made a motion to grab her, but Meng was too fast.
Katara was ready to welcome her with a punch, as a flash of light distracted her. Was someone taking pictures? Oh no, was someone filming this? This could not land on the internet, never! What would Zuko think? He'd be furious!
She was too distracted to stop Meng, as she crashed her into the wall.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" some people were cheering, but everything seemed blurry and misty.
Katara had hit her head on the wall. She groaned from the pain and saw how Meng wanted to punch her. Forcing herself to move, she lifted her arm to stop the punch, then put one hand on Meng's shoulder, the other one at her waist, put a foot behind Meng's leg and pushed a little.
The girl fell to the floor immediately.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" the voice of one of Katara's professors bellowed through the room. He was trying to get through the crowd to the fighting girls, and Katara had to lean against the wall, as she felt dizzy again.
Meng was rolling onto one side, moaning that her back was broken.
The crowd parted to let the professor through.
Shit, it was Professor Pakku!
Could this day become any worse?
Thank you for reading!:D Please let me know your thoughts!
So, first of all, Zuko wanting to sit in a niche and moving the chair around the table, but struggling to do so was inspired by a scene from "The Duff" with Mae Whitman, the voice of Katara. There, it's Mae who moves the chair around.
Song Wen is meant to be Song. The company's name Kaoya means roast duck, as it was one of the words that came to my mind first, when I thought of Song, as her mother makes roast duck for Zuko and Iroh. In what the company specialises is also inspired by Song's job as a healer. The name Wen means genial, which I thought fits Song quite well. I know Song was not wealthy and definitely did not have a company, but other than Jin, Mai, and Katara, she's the only one who had any connection with Zuko, and I need her in this story because of this. Zhilan, her mother's name, means iris orchid.
So, I already mentioned Meng. But we never got her in here. I, personally, don't have anything against Meng, but I think Katara would come to dislike her with time. Meng is also from the Eastern Province, so she's a little afraid of the Kasaishis, too, and of course, wants Kuei (the Earth King) to win this election.
I don't know if the fight was too much. I guess it could have stayed an argument with only words, but I kind of had Katara's and Toph's mud fight in mind and how Katara had snapped at Pakku to fight her, so it's not unrealistic that Katara would want to fight. However, I don't know if her fighting Meng is realistic. Katara knew what a good fighter Toph was, and Pakku was an old master, so she wasn't afraid of hurting them.
I've been reading some rather silly and funny stories lately, and this fight kind of was one of the results of that. It's over the top, just as the insults are, but then I also thought about it as another little thing that would cause disturbances in this story...
So, Professor Pakku shows up... He is not (yet) with Grangran in here, that is all that I can tell you right now.
Also, please be patient with Zuko. He has to realise what a horrible and abusive father Ozai is while at the same time working out his feelings for Katara. This takes a while. I don't wanna make him look like a jerk, he's just a little oblivious right now.
Answers to reviews:
To Smckoy929: Yeah, I thought it would be a little too early right now. And then I would also have to write about them as a happy couple for quite too long, because the next story arc is still a little away... But I can't say anything more.
To uchihaNaruto247: You really think so? Thanks. While I read my own make out scenes, I'm more like a critic, and so I always worry they are not stimulating enough. There are scars on Zuko's back, but no one has ever seen them, apart from Shuyi, the man who took care of Zuko after this happened, Ozai, and Iroh, no one knows this happened. And Zuko doesn't have phantom pains, he's just worried that Katara would feel the scars. She'll find out, though.
To IDidn'tSignUp4This: Haha!:D well, then I already gave you the answers.
To KatMora606: ¡Muchas gracias!: D Sí, el sexo hubiera arruinado un poco la dulzura de los personajes juntos. Zuko llegará a eso. Él es un poco inconsciente y también sigue siendo leal a Ozai, pero no tardará más :) No hablo espanol, entonces traduje esto con la traduje de google. But I knew what "no hablo espanol" means:D
