Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or its characters, nor do I own the lyrics used within.
Special thanks to my beta, LadyFaePhillips, for her work on this piece!
When it all comes down to a sunrise on the East Side,
Will you be there to carry home the remains of my wasted youth.
This wasted time on you has left me shaking in waiting.
Shaking in waiting for something more.
Katara looked up at the door when the bell overhead chimed with a hopeful expression on her face. It quickly fell when she saw an older couple come strolling into the coffee shop, and she dropped her chin onto her fisted hand with a dejected sigh. She checked the time on her phone.
Her date was ten minutes late.
She picked up her cup of vanilla chai tea and took a sip, wondering how long she should wait for this guy to show up before she should just cut her losses and go home to wallow in self-pity and a pint of ice cream. Katara peered around the coffee shop, hoping no one was paying any mind to the single woman sitting alone at a two-seater table by the window.
There was a college-age guy with black glasses typing away at his laptop in the corner by the restrooms. A middle-aged woman who looked like a soccer mom relishing fifteen minutes to herself sat at a table with a venti cup of coffee and a lemon poppyseed muffin, staring off into space. The elderly couple were standing in front of the register, faces turned up to the menu as they discussed what to order in hushed tones. And then there was the barista.
Katara watched him from the corner of her eye. He was cute, with a flirty half-smile. His dark hair was pulled up into a bun on the crown of his head, and he had rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt to reveal muscular forearms covered in tattoos. She could see a swirling dragon wrapping up the length of his left forearm and colorful flames danced up the other. His eyes were a bright shade of gold.
Katara guessed he was about her age, and he was decidedly more gorgeous than the jock-type guy she was supposed to be on a date with.
She looked away and dropped her gaze to the dark screen of her phone. She checked it and found no new notifications.
How hard was it to send a quick text? Ghosting was so...so...immature. It was something her brother, Sokka, would do. In fact, he had done it—to that nice girl, Suki, from Kyoshi Island last summer. But Sokka was sort of a jerk, and if ghosting was a sign of jerkiness, then Katara thought she should consider herself lucky that Haru had ghosted her.
But it didn't stop the sting of rejection from washing over her or the heated blush of embarrassment that warmed her cheeks.
The bell jingled over the door again and her eyes flickered to it, but it was just the soccer mom leaving hastily, loading herself up into a boxy SUV parked out front. Katara glanced back across the coffee shop. The woman had left her empty coffee cup and napkin on the table instead of throwing it away, and Katara rolled her eyes. That was just inconsiderate.
At last the elderly couple placed their order. Katara sipped her tea as she watched him prepare their drinks—one house coffee, two creams and a sugar, and one chai latte. With his back to her, Katara was able to watch him freely. His movements were fluid as he maneuvered around the small prep station.
She watched them shuffle back across the coffee shop toward the door. Katara checked the time on her phone again. Her date was fifteen minutes late, and was definitely not showing up. Her mouth twisted into a scowl as she wondered what went wrong.
Katara had been leery of dating apps, but her best friend, Yue, had managed to convince her to give it a try after her last relationship didn't work out. She had downloaded the app and let Yue help her set it up—as in, Yue took over and typed out her bio and selected her photos, which included two filter-less selfies and two full-body poses, one of which included Katara in a bikini from her trip to Kyoshi Island the summer before—and had even started swiping on a few profiles before Katara was able to confiscate her phone.
Since starting her adventure in online dating, Katara had been on five dates. Three of them had been a bust on the first go, but one guy had gotten two dates. And he probably would have gotten more had he not sent an unsolicited picture of his man parts to her shortly after their second date. Agni knew how many other poor women were subjected to the same pitiful scene, and after she'd seen what he had to offer, she realized it was no big loss.
And that led her here, to what was supposed to be a sixth date...with Mr. Ghost. Haru. What is wrong with guys? Katara lamented internally. What is wrong with me?
Movement in her peripherals caught her attention, and Katara glanced over to see the barista was clearing off the table the soccer mom had been occupying. He looked up and met her gaze, his lips turning up in his easy-going smirk, and Katara quickly returned one of her own before she looked away, blushing.
She distracted herself by picking up her cup for another drink—but she had drunk all of her tea without realizing it. Her blush deepened as she let out a sigh and set the empty cup back down. Katara drummed her fingertips across the table as she cupped her chin in her hand. She looked out at the sunny early autumn day outside as she tried to figure out her next move.
Haru was obviously not showing up. He had ghosted her, for whatever reason. Katara felt disappointed. She had thought the two of them really hit it off. They had similar interests, he had been a smooth talker without being too over-the-top, and he hadn't made any lewd comments. They had agreed to this coffee date four days ago, and they had been texting up until last night. Katara didn't understand what went wrong.
And now she had to prepare herself for the walk of shame.
It didn't really matter that no one at the coffee shop knew she'd been stood up. Katara knew, and her pride was wounded. She was about to delete the dating app and declare herself an old crone already.
"Can I get you a refill?"
Katara jumped and turned to the sound of the voice. She found the barista standing beside her table, the corner of his mouth quirked up. He was tall and wiry, but she suspected he was stacked with lean muscle beneath his black t-shirt and flannel and dark denim jeans. Her eyes scanned him for a name tag but didn't find one.
She looked down at her empty cup. "Um, I don't know. I should probably be going—"
"You got stood up, didn't you?"
Katara gaped up at him. Heat flushed her cheeks and she pressed her lips together as she dropped her eyes again. Her brow furrowed in frustration. "How did you know?"
"You were watching the door like you were waiting for someone." From the corner of her eye, she saw his shoulders lift in a shrug. "And...you've been here for almost a half an hour, so either your date is offensively late or they bailed."
Katara huffed out a breath. "I'm pretty sure my date ghosted me." She managed to look up at him. "I should probably get out of your hair and quit taking up your table space."
He crossed his arms over his chest and balanced his weight on one foot, looking at her with that smile. He's seriously cute, Katara thought as she looked at him. "Let me get you a refill. On the house." The smirk widened. "Let's give your date one shot at redeeming himself, alright?"
Katara snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen."
"If you liked him enough to go on a date with him, you should like him well enough to give him another shot."
"What, are you a barista and a dating expert?" Katara couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face.
The barista chuckled. "Nah, I'm just a barista." He grabbed her empty cup and backed away, heading for the counter. He pointed the empty cup in her direction. "Vanilla chai, right?"
"Right." Katara smiled at him.
She watched as he spun on his heel and loped across the floor. In one deft movement, he hopped over the counter on one hand before tossing her used cup into the trash with the skill of a professional basketball player. He's smooth, she thought. Katara couldn't imagine that a health inspector would approve of that, but she definitely did.
And if he was trying to show off a bit...it was definitely working.
She rested her elbows on the table and tented her hands in front of her face as she watched the barista make her drink. He made the tea with practiced ease, and within minutes he was walking back to her, that half-smile back on his lips as he held out her fresh tea.
"This one's on the house." He flashed his lopsided smile at her, and Katara felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. He was way cuter than any of the guys she had found on the dating app. "Sorry about your no-show."
Katara shrugged as she lifted the fresh tea to her mouth and blew on it. Feeling a little bold, she met his gaze and offered a flirtatious smile. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
His smirk widened momentarily before he turned back toward the counter. Katara sipped her tea and watched him wipe down the countertop and prep stations. He washed his hands in the sink at one end of the prep station and dried them off on the towel hanging from the pocket of his black apron. Then he made his way back over to her.
He snagged the empty chair at her table and spun it around before he sat down to straddle it, folding his arms across the back of the chair. "How's the tea?"
"Delicious." Katara appraised him, wondering why he had sat down with her.
"I'm on break," he said, as if that explained everything. He smiled lopsidedly at her. "I thought I'd keep you company, if you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind."Katara glanced toward the kitchen but didn't see anyone else. "Aren't you the only one here?"
He shrugged. "It's just you and the college guy." He jerked his chin at the guy typing on his laptop. His lips tugged up in another smile. "If someone else comes in, I'll take their order. No big deal." He stuck out his hand, still smirking at her. "I'm Zuko, by the way."
Katara put her hand in his. "I'm Katara. It's nice to meet you." Her eyes flickered to her drink. "And thanks again for the tea."
"Don't mention it." Zuko waved her off with a shrug. "It's the least I could do."
Katara took an opportunity to cast her eyes around the tea shop now that she was no longer watching the door. It had an atmosphere that managed to be both modern and antique, with oak-panelled walls, carbon-colored tiled flooring, and old-style paintings of different locations around the Earth Kingdom. Lights hung suspended from the ceiling over the round tables with their green apple-colored chairs, casting a soft yellow glow that made it seem cozier. It smelled pleasantly of coffee and baked pastries, and Katara found that she rather liked it here.
"You know what's funny?" Katara looked back at Zuko, her lips curving into a wry smile. "My date is the one who recommended this coffee shop. He said it had the best tea in the city."
Zuko appraised her, his eyes flickering between her and her drink. "Well? Was he right?"
"Oh, definitely." Katara laughed as she took another sip. "This is the tastiest chai tea I've ever had, and I like to think of myself as something of a connoisseur."
His eyes twinkled happily. "I'm glad to hear that. And I'm sure my uncle would too." He gestured toward the shop again. "He owns it. I just work here."
"Ah." Katara's eyes roved the room again, taking in the small details, like the tip jar that had a hand-drawn note proclaiming TEA IS NOT JUST HOT LEAF JUICE! Or the delicate porcelain tea set on a glass display case in one of the windows, its gold trim shimmering in the sunlight. She turned back to Zuko and peered up at him from beneath her lashes. "Well, my date might have been a bust, but I don't think this was a complete waste."
His answering smile was blinding. Heat rose in her cheeks. "Well, I'm glad it wasn't all bad." He appraised her. "Any guy who ghosts you has to be crazy."
Her blush deepened. Was he...flirting? Oh my spirits, he has to be, Katara thought. She gave him a shy smile. "Oh, I don't know about that...I've been on a series of bad dates lately. I'm starting to think it might be me."
Zuko arched a brow at her. "Nah, it's not you. You just haven't found the right guy yet." He held her gaze for a beat.
"Maybe dating apps just aren't for me," she murmured. She took another sip of her tea. It was nearly gone. When it was, she would have to leave too. But she found she didn't want to go. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe this Zuko guy was the right one. Katara had never been one for taking chances, but so far that hadn't seemed to work in her favor. Maybe it was time to try.
His lips twitched into a crooked smirk that was becoming familiar very quickly. "Maybe not. Maybe you ought to try it the old-fashioned way."
"Oh?" Her heart thrummed in her chest. She didn't want to assume...but it seemed like maybe he was into her too?
"Oh," he echoed. Zuko leaned closer to her. "So, how about an actual date where you don't get stood up?"
She couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. Katara dropped her gaze for a brief moment to collect herself. She peered up at Zuko from beneath her eyelashes. "I'd like that."