Chapter 20:
Katara was fast asleep in bed, exhausted from the day before. She was buried underneath her blanket with her face head first into the pillow. She was snoring and all. She was in such a deep sleep, even the heavy handed knocks on her door almost didn't wake her. She rolled over and glared at her alarm clock. 4:45 AM. She groaned and face planted back into the pillow. No one would visit her at this hour. It was probably someone knocking on the wrong door, she thought. She snuggled up against her pillow and shut her eyes to return to sleep. The knocks persisted, even louder and harder this time.
"Ugh, this better be important!" she yelled in an annoyed voice while forcing herself out of bed. She was sleeping in a low cut tank top and spandex shorts, so she hoped she could crawl back into her incredibly warm and comfortable bed soon. The knocks only persisted as she walk up to the door. "Who is it?"
A female voice was on the other side, "Katara Sapphire. It's June. I have sent for you."
June was the head of Zuko's public relations team. They had only met briefly when she gave Zuko whatever secretly urgent news she had to share, but that was two days ago. Zuko had been acting a little secretive since she showed him whatever it was, but she figured it was business stuff and didn't involve her. What she wanted with Katara was unknown anyway, she thought opening the door slowly. June was standing in front with two large men behind her. What was this a kidnapping scheme?
"Sorry to wake you but you have to come with me Princess." June said as the two men lunged forward and grabbed her before she could even protest. They covered her mouth and the blindfolded her. She couldn't see or understand what was even going on. All of the sudden she was sitting down and everything around her was moving.
"I apologize for the blindfold. With this situation, we must take precautions. We've almost arrived to the destination." Katara's heard June's voice penetrate through the darkness. Was this even necessary?
Almost 15 minutes later the blindfold was removed and she found herself in a brightly lit room with a large table. She found herself the center of attention because all eyes were on her, including Zuko's. June advised her to take a seat next to her. The mood pretty stiff considering no one made a sound.
"Jesus June, you kidnapped her from her apartment! You could've at least let her put clothes on." Zuko shook his head disapprovingly at June.
"Well I'm sorry Royal Highness! She deserves to be involved too. You can't hide it from her." June got up from the table and stood in front of the projector screen. "Now ladies and gentlemen of the board, I present to you the situation at hand."
The screen click on it was an image of her and Zuko, followed by many other photos of her and Zuko together. Her in Zuko's car, her and Zuko at the ice cream shop, Zuko helping her zip her dress up, numerous photos of her coming in and out of the Agni Estate, and photos of her, Zuko, and Maya swimming together. So someone has been following her Zuko around all this time? That wasn't creepy at all.
"As of 9:40PM Tuesday, my team received the following the photographs with an ominous note attached that the truth will be exposed. I thought nothing of the photos. Although Mr. Agni and Ms. Sapphire do look like they are carrying on a love affair, nothing in the photos are completely threatening towards the image of Mr. Agni and Agni Incorporated. Last night we received this video." June paused as the video came up on the screen.
Katara gasped. It was her being carried into a bedroom with the Masked Man. His hand was groping up and down her thigh and they were in the middle of a heated kiss. Her mask was pulled off and then she was pushed against a wall with her legs wrapped around the man's waist. Katara felt like she just wanted to disappear. Someone had caught her in a completely intimate situation on film no less. But what did this have to with Zuko UNLESS… It was him she had spent the night with. It was him who had set her nerves on fire. It was him who she revealed her most intimate self to and he, he had turned around and left without a word. He had spent almost every day with her since and didn't think to reveal himself. She trusted him and he had hid the truth from her. He left alone in the morning, he rejected her because he was embarrassed of her.
"While some of you may say that's an unidentifiable man. Whoever took this video footage got video of Mr. Agni leaving with the very same mask in hand the next morning. They claim they'll leak the video sometime today. Now combined with the photos of the two of them in more intimate moments it pretty much look even worse. This situation calls for proper damage control for both Mr. Agni and Agni Incorporated." June finished explaining
Katara glared hard at Zuko. How could he not say it was him this entire time? How could he just get up and leave? Did he still think she was a mistake? Zuko had no facial expression at all. It was like he didn't even care.
"Zuko! How, why did you hide this from me?!" Katara exclaimed. Zuko just stared back with a completely blank expression.
June's eyes widened, "Oh so Princess here didn't know it was you. Thaaaaaaaat's why you didn't want her here. My bad. Drama ensues. But really Zuko you couldn't expect her to just stay in the dark."
Katara got up and headed to the door. Not only did she have to deal with the fact that it was Zuko that night but now the whole world would know what her and Zuko did. She couldn't even handle this right now.
"Ms. Sapphire. Sit down!" Zuko demanded. Katara just continued walking towards the doors. The two large men that carried her out of her apartment blocked the doorway. "Sit. Down."
Katara sighed and walked back over to the table, not having much choice in the matter. She felt judged by every one of the board members in the room. They were staring at her, probably calling her sorts of names in their heads. Even then they couldn't make her feel any worse than she already felt in the moment.
"I propose a plan that would protect Zuko and his company's image!" June exclaimed.
"What about MY image? You know the other person in the video has an image too." Katara pressed.
"Oh, honey. You see the beauty of it is you just stand there and look pretty. You get your name known around this country for doing absolutely nothing. Now do you want to be Kim Kardashian who was able to brand herself and be successful from screwing around or do you want to be known as the two dollar whore whose only claim to fame is that one time she got caught in bed with Zuko Agni? Stick with me and my plan and neither one of you will face any public ridicule." June said
"What's your plan June? I'm listening. It's very obvious that something needs to be done so the public opinion won't ruin my already tarnished reputation. I can't risk losing investors or clients here at Agni Inc." Zuko questioned in a cold tone
So that was it? Zuko didn't care about her at all and he never did. All he cared about was his image. This entire time all he wanted was to sleep with her. Aang was right. She felt so incredibly stupid for even liking him.
"Let's be real: Everyone EXPECTS this type of behavior from you, especially when it will be following your recent drunken escapade. Our focus should be both on the investors and the public eye. The investors get wind of this video then they'll mark you and the company as irresponsible. You'll lose millions Mr. Agni but not if we do a little re-branding, we can turn you from sex crazed playboy to a compassionate family man, who wanted to spare his new fiancée from the judgmental public. We spin it and make it seem like that night you tried to contain yourself in front of all your investors but one look at her and you had to have a moment with your fiancée. What do you think? It's brilliant right?" June explained.
"FIANCEE! I'm not posing as his fiancée! That's ridiculous! What would my family think? I don't even LIKE Zuko, let alone would consider marrying him." Katara retorted.
"I hate to say it June but this type of spin would be difficult. I go from dancing with half naked women to having a committed relationship with a woman who no one has ever heard of." Zuko stated, folding his hands together.
"That's just it! The story will be so ridiculous it'll overshadow the scandal. America loves a good story of star crossed lovers and passion. We keep the story the same and change minute details. Ms. Sapphire was still your employee but somewhere along the line you fell in love with her, you introduced her to your daughter who she loves, you keep her secret because of the scrutiny your lover would receive, but now with the wake of this video you can't hide it anymore. You declare to the entire world that you love her and she's made you a completely changed man. Think of it! People will eat it up like they tune into the Bachelor show every week. Now if we incorporate your daughter-
Zuko cut her off quickly, "My daughter will not be involved. I'm not selling out my kid to protect my image."
"No, you just sell out your friends." Katara snapped.
"Now, now I'm just saying people love cute adorable kids. We get pictures of the three of you and we even get Maya to confirm her love for Katara, then your perfect image will be sold and packaged right at our door step. It isn't stretching the truth, I'd hope. Ms. Sapphire has spent a significant amount of time with your daughter and from the looks of that video there's a significant amount of passion between you too. It would also be the perfect opportunity to introduce your daughter to the world instead of locking her away in your dark, scary castle."
"I'm NOT agreeing to this LIE! This is completely unethical. I don't care about this company or Zuko so can I please just go!" Katara protested
"Unfortunately, we can't walk away from this situation Ms. Sapphire. We both laid in bed that night and we both have to face the consequences. It's far better if we BOTH help repair the damage that will ultimately occur." Zuko explained.
"Oh, it's easy for you to say that considering I didn't even know it was YOU! Now I'm the one that has to adjust my life and act like your little puppet to save your horrendous image! I have never met someone so selfish in my life." Katara yelled.
"Now, now settled down Princess. Woman to woman, I know how important people's viewpoints are to us ladies. The worst possible and most demeaning thing a woman can ever be called is promiscuous. It will damn you and haunt you for your entire life. Need I remind you that you will be labeled as the face that launched a thousand ships? You'll be forced to wear an invisible Scarlet Letter on your chest everywhere you go. You will possibly be the most hated woman in this country for reminding every middle aged woman that being a slut isn't so cute anymore. You'll reminding them of their own dirty sexual desires and own embarrassing yet not public moments of promiscuity. No one wants to be an ugly slut Katara, which is what you'll ultimately be if you don't put your big girl panties on, get on national television, and fake it for a few months. No one said you had to really marry him, just… you know, keep up appearances. This is what's best for you too. You will have no job and no future if you don't take this deal. I promise you with my years of experience in PR you will be in good hands. I can assure you that people are ruthless and they will eat you alive until you're worthless. Do you want to be worthless or do you want to be a role model to all the women who think they'll never find love. Get America to believe in LOVE again Katara. That's all you have to do." June ranted.
June certainly was convincing but the burning in her chest wouldn't allow Katara to agree to this.
"No. I won't do it. I can't lie to myself and I can't lie the entire world. I'm sorry."
"Do we know who got a hold of this video June?" a board member asked.
"Unfortunately we do not know who the source is, but there's nothing we can do once it's leaked. Now Katara, I will give you until 9PM when this little video of you and Mr. Mysterious hits the internet, the tabloids, newspapers, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, and every other place you can think of. I'm sure you'll change your mind once your grandmother is reading about your escapade while she's drinking her morning coffee. If you do agree to this the full agreement is in the folder in front of you." June stated.
"Thanks but no thanks." Katara stated getting up and walking out.
"Katara!" Zuko ran behind her. Katara tried to walk faster but Zuko was trailing behind her. He grabbed her by the shoulders in the hall and turned her around to face him.
"Get off of me you pig!" Katara yelled pushing him away. "I don't want anything to do with you."
"I'm sorry Katara. Believe me, I wanted you to know it was me but I left because I was afraid to face my feelings. I was afraid you'd reject me and I didn't want to cause any more trouble than I already have between you and Aang. If I revealed who I was, everything between us would've changed. I didn't want that whole mess."
"Well it looks like we're already in a big enough mess Mr. Agni."
"Why are so upset? I know I hid that from you but it's not like I leaked the video. I would NEVER do that. Do you think I'd jeopardize both of our futures and my company just to do what? To humiliate you? I had nothing to do with this, I swear. I'm as much of a victim as you."
"Tell me Mr. Agni, did it feel good? Did it feel good when you finally got your conquest? Did it feel good to leave her the next morning all alone and feeling unwanted?"
"Conquest? You were never a conquest to me Katara! What happened that night is something I can't get out of my head ever since it happened. I wanted you and I still want you. It meant more to me than just a hook up. You mean so much to me and I didn't want to leave you either. I told you before I wasn't ready to face the consequences. It just felt good and for once it felt right being with a woman. I felt like I was complete with you."
"How many women have you tried that line on? I can't believe I was ever stupid enough to trust you. I offered to visit my mother's grave site for YOU. There I was pouring out the details of my life to you just so you could use it against me to get me into bed. I'm so stupid." Katara rolled her eyes. "You aren't different at all. You're selfish and you wonder why you can't have a decent relationship."
"No one else! I haven't ever said that to anyone else. I have never felt the way I've felt with you towards ANYONE else! I am not embarrassed that I was with you nor do I regret it. You are the best possible women in my life for me. You make me actually want to change. There's something special between us and I know you felt it too that night. We don't have to fight."
"NO, what I felt that night was the drunken high from the 20 shots of alcohol I had that night. I DON'T feel anything for you and I know you're saying these lies to convince me to take the deal. Well I'm not. I'm done being your little toy!"
"Katara, listen the deal is what's best for both of us. You can capitalize off of this. You can write books, make talk show appearances, tour all over the country, and have enough money to never work again. You can even open your own private therapy practice. I know you wanted to do that. If we do June's plan you can do whatever you want. After it's over you can have nothing to do with me. We don't have to marry or do anything permanent. Besides, it wouldn't be completely pretending. As much you deny it I know you have feelings for me too and Maya loves you. The only lie would be the engagement. If Aang is the problem-"
"Screw you!" Katara yelled.
"What?!"
"Screw. You. Screw the stupid plan. Screw your horrendous disaster of a life. Screw your money and your mansion. Screw everything AND I QUIT!" Katara ran off with that statement, leaving Zuko to his own thoughts.
~/~
Katara had spent the rest of the day crying her eyes out. In just a few hours she would be labelled as the biggest idiot of all idiots, among other terrible things. Now she had no job and everyone in the country would be judging her. There were no hopes of a job, Aang would probably leave her, her family would disown her, and her friends probably wouldn't even speak to her anymore. She decided to call Toph, the only friend who could possibly help her and not judge in this situation. She was the only one that knew about her and the Masked Man anyway. Toph brought over tons of Kleenex and ice cream and sat next to Katara the whole time.
"Cheer up Sugar Queen. Being a harlot is like the new black. Everyone does it. Who cares what people say?" Toph said, handing her a tissue.
"Only every future employer, investor, friend, family member, and everyone else on this earth. What am I going to do?"
Toph picked up the packet she had been given from June, "Wow she set up some nice appearances. Wendy Williams, The View, and you even get an interview with Oprah. Katara, OPRAH! She is like my fairy godmother in my head."
"I don't CARE about the stupid deal Toph. I don't want anything to do with Zuko."
"I mean aren't you going a little too hard on him. His life is falling apart and you left him when it got even harder. He didn't leak the video nor did he force you into bed that night. You did it because you wanted him too. Granted you didn't know it was him but you choose to go upstairs with him. Perhaps, you're doing…ummm what's that psych term princess? Oh transference! Yes, maybe you're transferring the anger to Zuko when you're really pissed at yourself for liking him, cheating on Aang and lying about it, getting filmed cheating, having to face the impending doom that is the American public, having to face the fact that you aren't perfect and also the fact that your manicure is pretty bad. I mean, I get it. He withheld his identity from you, but if he really revealed himself you would've freaked out even more and it would've been awkward to see each other every day. You would eat yourself away with guilt and lose your marbles. He didn't tell you because maybe he didn't want to make the choice of being with him to affect your life and stress you out. He wanted you to choose your own happiness first over him and make your own decisions." Toph explained.
"He just wanted to sleep with me. He doesn't care about me or anyone else."
"Is this Katara talking or is this Aang talking? You can tell yourself he doesn't care all you want to make yourself feel better, but the fact remains in three hours you'll now be a household name. You can't lie to Aang anymore so I suggest you face him now before he sees it for himself on TV tonight." Toph continued flipping through the folder June gave her. "DUDE if you fake kiss Zuko's ass you get to have your own brand new MANSION and after you two separate you get to KEEP the ring! You will be paid $1.5 million dollars every year after that point! Oh my God, she even has you slatted to have your own talk show if people love you enough. Plus you get to meet OPRAH. Fucking OPRAH Katara. I would sign this deal in a heartbeat."
"I'm not sure I could lie like that. The story is so ridiculous."
"Is it really a lie? Falling in love with your boss and his kid isn't too far off from the truth. You do love his daughter and you did say how incredibly amazing you felt after that night with him. You also kind get all smiley when you talk about him. He DID have you sign a waiver soooo there's the secret aspect right there. Unless you'd like to personally volunteer your future as tribute I'd get to calling Ms. June and ask her about a wedding special ASAP."
"TOPH! Stop! I can't believe you're actually going along with this."
"All you'd have to do is drop Aang like a bad habit."
"No!"
"Really? So let me get this straight: Aang's completely self-absorbed, ridiculous, month long lie in a situation which you had no choice in the matter deserves forgiveness but Zuko's one time, for your benefit, withholding of his identity in a situation that you chose to put yourself in is unforgiveable. Really Katara? Zuko has been consistently honest with you but Aang lied from the beginning. What else could he be hiding from you? I think if you have to lie to a guy everyday just to be with him that isn't the guy for you. You're being a hypocrite, I hope you know that. If you ask me I think you're with Aang because he worships you and that makes you feel better about yourself." Toph continues on, "Anyway, time's a ticking Katara. What are you going to do?"
If only Katara knew what to do in the first place. She had to tell Aang the truth then explain to her family what happened then survive all of the public commentary and opinions of her from people she didn't know. None of that sounded remotely enjoyable to Katara at the moment. If she was lucky Aang would take pity on her and her brother would still invite her to the baby shower. Maybe she could cut her hair, dye it blonde, get a bunch of piercings, some contacts and move to another country. She could start a whole new life somewhere else away from Aang, Zuko, and this complete nightmare. Maybe she could fake her death and move to Canada. They have free health care there so at least she could be properly treated for her eternal shame. Well that sounded way more ridiculous than even June's fake engagement plan. Her options were slim and she didn't have too much time now. In 2 hours Katara Sapphire would be known as one of Zuko Agni's most recent conquest!
Author's Note: Thoughts on this chapter? It's a little longer than usual. Also, I'm considering working on a new ATLA AU. You guys have any requests or ideas of what you'd want to read? Thanks for reading!