*Almost forgot the important disclaimer! I don't own any of the characters mentioned. Whether their from the show, or the real world. I did this for fun. It's actually the first story I've had the nerve to post. Characters a mostly OC, a bit of my alter ego's might slip in here and there. I ask that any reviews be clean. I hate it when people just send stuff on how stupid it is or was. I often ask "How is that helpful?" Also flames on the pairings or how Emotional Aang might be will be totally ignored. This is a Zutara story, I never cared for KatAang even when the show was going on. Aang will grow up I promise so please bare with me. Any helpful suggestions are appreciated. All haters and flamers please take your mean reviews and use them to thaw your cold hearts.*
Late one night Katara walked back towards her dorm with a bag of take out she, Toph and Suki had ordered. Half way to the restaurant Aang had called and she was not able to shake him. Aang called at least three times a day, with an endless stream of texts in between calls. "Yea Aang of course I miss you…" Katara answered for what seemed like the millionth time. Ever since he'd started his classes he seemed a lot more desperate for her attention, which was abnormal even for Aang's clinginess. 'I'll talk to him about it over Thanksgiving break…' "No Aang I can't come home a week early for break I have tests and finales... I do want to see you but my grades are important too…" Katara was so engrossed by her conversation she failed to look both ways before crossing the road. Bright lights shone right in Katara's cobalt eyes and horns blew in an instant. Before Katara could shriek two strong arms wrapped themselves around her and pushed her back.
Both Katara and the stranger fell onto the soft earth. The driver of the car simply honked the horn again and flipped the bird before speeding off. Katara could smell a smoky musk smell. A comfortable weight was on her. Her face was pressed against a muscular chest. Aang's' frantic calls came from her cell phone just a little above her head. Katara looked up too see a pair of golden eyes staring at her with concern. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mother had died in a car accident when she was young. 'I could have been killed.' A firm deep voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Are you alright?" Katara nodded but she couldn't look away from this stranger who had saved her life. His face was handsome, even the palm shaped scar over his right eye. His skin was pale with dark unkempt hair. The stranger held his arm behind her neck as he brought his hand up to cup the side of her face. "Are you sure? Do you feel drowsy? Do you feel light headed?" Katara shook her head. Carefully the stranger sat up and helped Katara into the sitting position. Katara let the breath out she hadn't known she'd been holding. "KAT! KAT! CAN YOU HEAR ME! KAT!" The stranger glanced at the phone before he stood, "well if your alright then... you should be more careful." Katara just stared in a daze and nodded. He turned to walk away and Katara found her voice, "WAIT!'
He turned slightly and Katara bit her lip slightly. In the street light he looked a little dangerous and sexy. "Um, thank you. I'm Katara..." He smiled slightly, which caused Katara to shiver slightly. "I'm Zuko." With that he left, leaving Katara to stare after him. "KAT!" Aang's' voice rang from her phone. Katara jumped and searched for the device. The walk back to the dorm room was longer because of Katara's racing heart and Aang's frantic concern. Amazingly the take out had made it through the ordeal. Katara finally managed to get Aang to hang up before she entered the dorm. Heavy drum beats blared in her face as Katara entered. Suki looked up from Toph's bed as Toph continued to jam out.
Suki's eyes widened when they took in Katara's shaken state. "Tara are you OK? What happened?" She asked over the drums. Toph felt Katara's heart through her feet and she stopped drumming. "Hey sugar queen what happened? Your hearts acting like a Raba-roo." Katara tried to smile, she had yet to adapt to Toph's ability to see.
When they had first met Toph explained it like a wolf-bat's sonar. She can see through the vibrations in the earth. It's a fairly new method of bending. Not many earth benders can get it completely. But Toph was one of the first to be tested and they were amazed at how well she took to it. Though Toph says that carpet is like putting a film over her eyes and sand is like a fuzzy movie.
"I'm OK... I just almost had an accident on the way back."
"What kind of accident? You look half dead." Suki asked as she sat up and crossed her legs on Toph's bed. She wore a simple pair of khaki pants and a emerald tank top. Her short auburn hair was in a partial ponytail behind her head. Toph set her percussion sticks down but remained in her drum stool. Katara walked over to her desk and set down the take out.
"Almost got hit by a car..." she had to take a breath. Her chest felt tight, she'd been so young when her mother had died. Sometimes it was hard to remember what she was like. Katara smiled slightly as she continued,"but lucky for me, this guy saved me last second." Suki glanced at Toph who nodded back, Katara wasn't lying but both could tell there was more to the story. Suki pushed a little further, "this guy didn't try anything did he?" Immediately Katara denied and Toph confirmed the truth again. "Then why did you look like you did when you came in Tara? Near death experiences are scary but you looked one foot in the grave." Suki stated as she reached over to the take out and grabbed a burger for herself and Toph. Toph nodded as she took a bite from her burger, " Yea Sugar Queen, what's the matter?"
Katara inwardly winced, her mom was always a touchy subject. She had a lot of hurt still even years later. But they were her friends, probably better friends than the people she knew all her life from school. She took a short breath and released it. "Well, I lost my mom in a car accident when I was five. So stuff like that just hits me ya know." Suki and Toph both nodded. Toph pulled one leg up to rest across her knee a pensive look in her milky white eyes. "Yea I lost my mom about two years ago. Well at least the only mom I ever knew. She was my stepmother you see, but she treated me like her own. She's the one who found the Sonar Bending program, and she's the one who convinced my dad it was a good idea." Katara was touched that normally Outspoken but reserved Toph would share something so personal like that. She took a small bite of her burger before she asked. "What did she die from if you don't mind me asking."
Toph rubbed her face against her cotton night shirt. Katara was afraid she'd pried to far but Toph answered. "I don't remember the name but it was basically heart cancer. It's a really rare disease. My dad, brother and I are still getting over it. I don't really like to talk about it..." Katara nodded in understanding that the topic was closed. The three friends sat in a semi-comfortable silence. Toph began to play on her drum set softly. Suki fell back onto Toph's bed. Katara brushed out her hair and braided it for bed. Suki finally broke the silence. "So Tara, was he hot?" Both Toph and Katara burst out laughing and all was well in the world again.