A/N:
Thank you everyone that read Second Chances. This is the follow up story. Enjoy!
Summary:
Sequel to Second Chances...When not even death can separate them, Ozai and Katara try focusing on their children's needs but does that mean they'll be together. Or will Ozai decide his happiness lies elsewhere? Can they defeat Atsou with their hearts so heavy? And will they find peace at the end of this foreboding endgame? Only time will tell.
Part One:
Fuck! I'm going to be late! Katara shouted as she was running her fastest to the bus stop. She couldn't afford to be late for school again. This was her senior year and in order to get into the school of her dreams, she had to have good attendance. She had overslept last week but the teachers excused her since she had stayed after school to work on something very important for the school festival. However, she doubted they'd excuse her this time around.
Unfortunately, the bus took off without her and she was left standing in the rain with her umbrella feeling totally defeated. Spirits, she was going to have to make a perfect score on that entrance exam in order to have them overlook her rubbish attendance. The next bus wouldn't be here for another forty-five minutes. Katara debated if she should walk. Maybe she could get to the train station in time to get on the next one headed towards her school's district. But no! It's already a twenty minute ride there! It would take an hour to get there anyway! Damn it! I'll just wait!
Moping as she stood at the bus stop with her umbrella, Katara sighed to herself as she tried to think of all the ways she was going to make up for the fall of her perfect attendance. But as she contemplated her life's decisions, the high school student noticed a sleek black sports car with tinted windows pull up in front of her. It was the sleek black sports car that she had always seen out in front of one of her neighbors' house. The neighbor with the biggest house on the street. Even though this was already a well off neighborhood, that neighbor was the envy of everyone on this block.
The window rolled down and Katara saw her neighbor. She waved her hand to be friendly as she crouched a little and smiled.
"Hi, Mr. Yong."
Holding one hand to the steering wheel as his other rested on the back of the passenger seat, "Do you need a ride?"
Katara hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure. Mr. Yong wasn't a terrible man. It was nice of him to offer her a ride but her father had told her about the man. He was a divorcee that fooled around with plenty of women, both young and old. Not to mention, he wasn't the friendliest person. He had a resting scowl on his face most of the time. Though at the moment, he looked like a normal middle-aged man. Her father would kill her if he knew she got in the car with him. But I really need to get to school!
"Are you sure?" Katara felt she was asking herself more than she was asking him. "My school is halfway across town."
Shrugging as he reached for the door on the passenger side and pushed it open for her, "Fortunately for you, I happen to work across town. Get in."
Katara reluctantly did so. Closing her umbrella as she slid into the passenger seat. As she buckled herself into her seat, the high school student noticed him toss her bag and umbrella to the back seat. He took off as soon as her buckle clicked and spirits, did she feel herself be flattened against her seat. Why is he driving so fast?! She tried not to complain too much in her head. He was taking her to school after all.
As they reached the city streets just a few miles outside of the quiet quaint neighborhood they lived in, Katara felt relieved as he slowed down. Her heart could finally stop racing. I thought I was going to be sick!
Getting caught in a little bit of the morning traffic, Katara glanced over at her neighbor and noticed he was just staring ahead. His elbow resting against the armrest of his door to prop his tilted head up while keeping just one hand on the wheel. She had never really got a good look at him before. They had been neighbors for about ten years and she never really saw him except when he was leaving and entering his home. She was sure that could be said for everyone. Mr. Yong looked like the kind of man that lived his life in secrecy and she couldn't blame him. She was sure he heard the neighbors speculating things about him and the rumors. Even her father was in on the criticism. What middle-age man with two kids lived his life so privately that even his neighbors didn't know his first name?
The high school student also noted that for a man of whatever his exact age was, he was very handsome. If he were a teacher at her school, all the girls would flock to him. He had chin length black hair that looked like he took real good care of. She wanted to ask what products he used. And then was the fact he had the brightest hazel eyes. They were practically gold. More gold than any Fire Nation person she saw. The aloofness would definitely make the girls go crazy over him. Girls liked the mysterious type. He was mysterious if he was anything. And mysterious was really an understatement.
Honestly, Katara figured that would make someone interesting, right? He looked like he had interesting stuff on his mind. Maybe that's why he never smiled. He was probably just thinking a lot. But about what? What did men like him think about?
"Is there something on my face, girl?"
Katara felt her gut sink in her stomach at the low pitch of his voice as it came out of nowhere. She would have jumped out of her skin were she able to. His voice was so low and husky that it frightened her at the sudden disruption it caused their silent ride to school.
Quickly averting her eyes from him, Katara shook her head. "Sorry, that was rude. I just sort of spaced out."
Side eyeing her, "You're not ill or anything?"
"Oh, no!" She waved her hands around frantically. "I'm not! Just a little spacey! I was really worried about being late for school and you were sort of godsent! So I'm very grateful is all!"
Spirits, why was she so damn awkward. He didn't ask for all of that. Stupid! Stupid! Stup-
"There's nothing godsent about me, not that I believe in any gods, but I appreciate the sentiment."
Pulling her hair behind her ear as she tried to figure out how to reply back but just as she opened her mouth, he turned on the radio and the news broadcast for the weather came on. She silently thanked him for doing so. Spirits knew whatever she said would have been stupid and he'd think she was just some silly teen with no real social skills, which she was, but he didn't have to know that.
Sighing as she decided to look out the window for the rest of the ride. It only took a few more minutes for her to arrive at her school and as soon as she was out, she bowed her head in gratitude, thanking him.
"You've really saved my skin, Mr. Yong. I don't know how to repay you." She said humbly.
"Don't worry about it." He said nonchalantly before starting his car back up and telling her to have a good day, then taking off.
Katara watched as her neighbor sped again and wondered if he had ever been pulled over for how fast he was going. Shaking her head at the thought, she clutched her bag tight and reached for her umbrella. But when she tried grabbing either. She realized she left them in her neighbor's car.
Damn it!
…..
"Ozai, there you are! I would have sworn you'd call out today!" A coworker approached him as soon as he exited his car in the parking garage.
Going to grab his work bag from the backseat, Ozai noticed that the girl's things were still in the back. Fuck. Her school was actually on the opposite side of town from where he worked and though he didn't care about being late for a job that he didn't really give a fuck about. He really didn't want to head back that way. Sighing as he decided to ignore the girl's things and grab his work bag. He'd give her her things when he got home.
Slamming his car door shut, Ozai ignored his Co-worker as he walked past him with his eyes shut. The idiot thought it was funny. Somehow his aloofness was either humorous to some and suspicious to others. Not that he cared too much about that. However; it did annoy him at the made up rumors going around about him. One in particular being that he was a part of the mob. Mentally scoffing, as if.
Getting to his office, Ozai sat at his desk and reached into his desk drawer to get a bottle of headache relief medicine. He didn't have a headache, yet, but it was always good to be proactive. He went ahead and took two just as the door to his office opened and he saw the secretary from down the hall.
"What is it?"
"Sir, we need to talk about the enrollment process of students that are of non Fire Nation descent."
"What about it?" Ozai was already very annoyed today and honestly, he didn't even know why at this point.
The secretary explained that the number of accepted applicants from other backgrounds weren't increasing by much this year and it would seem that the same would be said for the following year. This wasn't good. The school would get a lawsuit if they found any discriminatory reason for something like this. Bad enough there were a few racially charged rhetorics floating around amongst the student body.
Ozai rubbed his brow, "Have we gotten any recent applications from these demographics?"
"Only a few, sir." The secretary handed him a folded.
As soon as he opened the folder, the first application was that neighbor girl of his. He didn't know her name but the applications always came with a headshot of the student. He decided he was interested enough by her willingness to come to a school like this to review her application.
"Ah, that's Katara Mizu. She's been head of her class since her jr high days. The girl also has a talent for the ancient arts of waterbending and competes in bending tournaments as her extracurricular. She outmatches all other bending forms and opponents. Some believe she'll get into pro-bending after graduation."
From what Ozai could see, that would be a complete waste of the girl's true talent. She was head of her class for six years. Had been student body president for the first two years of high school, only stepping down to focus on perfecting her grades and topping her exam scores from the prior years. She was literally what they sought for in a student of any demographic. She could easily get in. However…
Ozai raised his brow at her attendance, "Looks like she's late pretty often."
"Yes, that seems to be the only big issue on her application. Other than that, she excels."
Sighing as he placed the application down, "Can't have our school getting a bad rep for allowing tardy students to attend class anytime they like. How does she expect to grow in a career if she's late like this?"
"Well, sir, she is a waterbender and they sort of operate at a later time than most people."
Ozai scoffed, "What have I told you about bringing that folklore shit in my office, Pema?"
"But it is true, sir."
…..
Katara felt like a total idiot. How did she leave her bag and umbrella in his car. My lunch was in there. She pouted at her desk as she watched the rain fall outside.
"Hey, Tara! How's it going?" One of her classmates with a crush on her approached her desk.
Not bothering to look at him, Katara continued sulking. "Just leave me alone, Aang."
Seeing she didn't look her usual chipper self, Aang pulled a seat up to her desk and sat in front of her. "What's wrong?"
Feeling the need to vent, even to a persistent pest like Aang, Katara decided to tell him how her day went. She was so annoyed. She didn't miss school or was late but she didn't have a single book for any of her classes thus far. It was embarrassing being called upon to read out loud and everyone saw she had no book. Worst of all, she had to sit beside one of those stuck up trashy girls just to follow along in the text.
"It can't get worse than this."
And it did. Katara had to walk in the rain on the way back home. Even more, she missed the bus again, this time headed home. She tried not to be so butt hurt about it since it wasn't like she couldn't easily explain her awful day to her father but it was annoying.
Trying to keep herself warm as she walked her way up the stairs to where the train's platform was, Katara was reminded that she didn't have her pass. Oh my fuck! She wanted to scream now. Why was she so unlucky today? She's had bad days plenty but this was hands down the worst in a long time. Now she had to walk home.
It was three hours. Three long dirty hours. Katara was soaked. Her bra was practically showing through her drenched white uniform shirt and her skirt was about to fall off her ass from how heavy it was due to the water trapped in its material. But at least her journey was almost over. She could see her house from here and it was not far from where she was. However, as she passed the neighborhood convenient store, the high school student noticed a group of guys hanging out in front. They looked like a bunch of delinquents. Dropouts that never got acclimated with society and decided to be nuisances. She didn't dare make eye contact with them. Just focused ahead, already fantasizing about a hot bath to warm her up and some tasty food in her belly. She hoped her dad made some pork dumplings and rice noodles. That would so hit the spot right now.
As Katara was ignoring the catcalls and the whistling of the delinquents, she paused as she heard the loud speeding of a sports car. She turned her head to see a sleek black sports car zoom by, splashing a puddle on her as it drove by. She froze immediately as she was stunned by the mug that splashed on her. The delinquents had a field day laughing and joking at the girl that rose her nose at them.
Skulking home, Katara was just moments away from reaching her house when she saw her neighbor, Mr. Yong, slamming his car door before kicking it.
"Fuck!"
Sparing a glance as she stopped in front of the gate of her house, guess he had a bad day too. Seeing him lean forward on his car, folding his arms on the side of his car as he buried his face in the fold. Katara sighed as she really wanted to just get in her house and get out of these wet clothes, she really did need to get her school bag to study.
Not like I'll ever run into him again. They had been neighbors for ten years and today was the first time she had even heard his voice or really got a look at his face. Even if she looked a hot mess and her stomach was so loud it was probably using words, he could judge her all day and it wouldn't affect her at all.
Sucking it up, Katara pulled her hand away from the gate of her house and started making her way over to her neighbor's car. As she got closer, he lifted his head and turned around, seeing her reflection in the tinted window. She paused as his eyes fell on her and he leaned back against his car, folding his arms.
"Hi, Mr. Yong. Sorry to bother you but I left my b-
"It's in the car." He said, seeming a bit annoyed.
Katara watched him open the backseat door and gesture for her to get her things. "I'm a bit dirty. I don't want to mess up your car."
Ozai eyed the girl and could see she was soaked and wet. She must have had to walk home in the rain since her bag and umbrella were with him. Grabbing her things, he handed them over to her and she thanked him. As she turned to leave, he figured he should probably tell her about viewing her application. She met all marks on her application except attendance. She still had a chance to get in despite her occasional tardiness but if she was late ever again, he was going to toss her application in the trash.
"You should probably get up earlier to catch the bus. Another morning like today's and you'll have to kiss your future goodbye."
Pausing as she looked over her shoulder at him, Katara felt a bit confused. Why was he telling her this? Did she burden him this morning? Spirits, she knew it. Why am I always in the way? She bet he just took pity on her this morning. He was just being nice and now, it seemed his good deed was more of a burden.
"I'm sorry if I inconvenience you. I won't do it again." She said before taking off to her house.
Watching the girl trip over the gate of her home and cursing, Ozai raised his brow. What the hell is wrong with that girl? First, she misses the bus, leaves her things in his car, then looks like she fell into a mud puddle, and now she's clumsily falling over the gate. Must have bad luck.
…..
The next following weeks, Katara was early to school everyday after that awful day of hers. She didn't have anymore bad luck from that day forward. If anything, she felt everything was going well and today was going exceptionally well. Her father made her most favorite pancakes and left a cheerful note in her lunch box. She managed to find her mother's necklace for good luck. She never took a test without it and today would be no different. Today was the entrance exams at the college of her dreams. Caldra University.
"Bye, dad!" Katara waved as her father watched her out.
"You've got this! Make daddy proud!" Hakoda shouted after his daughter.
Across the street, Mr. Yong watched the Mizu girl rush from her house down the road to the city bus stop. He figured he'd see her at the entrance exam. At least she won't be late.
Arriving at work, Ozai was bombarded by a chaotic office of staff running around like headless chickens.
"What the fuck is this?"
"Sir! We have a problem!"
"What?"
"The exams! We don't have enough for all the students in attendance! We assumed there would be less participants but we have record numbers! How should we go about this?!"
Ozai rolled his eyes, "First come first served."
….
"Sorry, this testing lab is now closed." An administrator told the crowd of students arriving not yet at the mark.
Pushing her way through the angry students that were being turned away, Katara eagerly sought out the administrator to confirm this. Her world literally shattered. This was her dream school and now, she wouldn't be able to take the exams. This isn't happening. But it was and the high school didn't quite know how to take being turned away from the doors of the one school she applied to. She couldn't even apply anywhere else for another year which means she wasn't getting into college for a whole year because they weren't accepting anymore exam students. You've got to be kidding me!
Getting home to her dad, Katara sluggishly approached him, wrapping her arms around him as she buried her face in his chest.
"It's okay, dear." Hakoda rubbed his daughter's back as she sobbed against him.
It was not okay. She hadn't worked as hard as she did for six years, neglecting a healthy social life, being teased by her older brother for being a dweeb and participating in every extracurricular activity that ever existed. There had been so much dedication and time spent on achieving her lifelong dream of going to Caldra University that she didn't know what to do with herself now. For a whole year she was going to have to find something else to work on. Even worse, now with her taking a year off, how could she ensure her arrival into the school at the top of her class. It was a known thing that the class before always out performed the previous class. She would not be able to compete with the next possible head of class in the following year. Spirits, she never had been so disappointed in her life.
"Look, sweetheart, think of it like this. You can get a part-time job and save up some money to help you survive university life once you are able to enter." Hakoda tried looking on the bright side for his daughter as he smiled at her. "Plus, you get to take a little break from school. I'm actually really happy you'll get a chance to be a normal teen. You should try to enjoy this time as much as you can."
Sniffling as she wiped her eyes, "But I'm the only one not going to university after graduation. People will say things."
"People always say things, sweetheart." Hakoda chuckled as he ran his hand over the back on his daughter's head. "How about we head out and get some take out? Watch one of those silly animations you kids like these days."
Katara rolled her eyes and giggled a little, "I kind of want to stay here and take a long bath. Can you get take out yourself?"
"Sure, what do you want?"
As her father left the house, Katara went upstairs and took her bath, soaking. With a moisturizing face mask and towel around her wet hair, the high school student sighed to herself. Maybe her father was right. This may not all be a bad thing. She had always been so dedicated to her education that she didn't even know how to live without being in school. Maybe this was the time to finally balance that out for herself. Be just a normal teen. Get a part-time job and make some friends. Maybe even get a boyfriend or experience some sort of romantic feelings. This might not be the path she was hoping to take but it was the one ahead of her and she felt less afraid of going down this new path of hers now that she thought about it.
When Katara got out of the bathtub and dried herself off, she noticed the doorbell was being rung. She quickly put on her pajama shorts and big tee and raced down the steps. She figured her father might have forgotten his house key or need help carrying in the take out. As she shifted her wet hair to one shoulder, the teen answered the door and had to say, this was a surprise.
"Mr. Yong?" Katara said, a bit taken aback by her neighbor whom she literally only met a few weeks ago. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Ozai eyed the short girl, not realizing before how much smaller she was. "Is your father home?" He looked around her a little.
Shaking her head, "He went out to grab some food. Is everything alright?"
"Just let him know to give me a call." The man handed the girl his contact card and left without another word.
Katara eyed the card for a moment and looked back at her neighbor as he left. She tilted her head a little. Is it just me or is he really weird?
A few minutes later and her father returned with food as well as some exciting news. A local coffee shop down the road was hiring and was looking for a high school or college student. Katara liked the idea and said she would show up there on her next day off.
Slurping her noodles, "Ah, yeah," Katara suddenly remembered. "Mr. Yong came by and told me to give you this. He said call him."
Hakoda put down his take out box and watched his daughter pull a card from her pocket. He took a look at it and snorted to himself. "Well, at least now we know his first name. Finally."
"I guess he's just private. Nothing wrong with that." She shrugged her shoulders.
Scoffing, "The man's been our neighbor since we moved to republic city ten years ago and I've never even heard this man's voice."
"It's pretty deep. Kind of adds to the mysterious aesthetic he has going on for him." Katara chuckled as she scarfed down the rest of her noodles.
Hakoda looked over the front and back of the card, "Wonder what he wants?"
Katara was curious about that too. After that day he gave her a ride, she didn't see or hear from him again. Not that she really cared. He kind of scared her a bit and in a creepy way, he was just very intimidating. Large and intimidating. Spirits, he was really tall. It was one thing being in the car with him and seeing him from across the street but the way he just towered in the doorway, his head nearly hitting the top of the threshold, it was freaky.
As her father went to give Mr. Yong a call to see what he wanted, Katara decided to do the dishes. She was in the middle of rinsing the last dish when her father approached her with a humorous look on his face.
"What did he want?" She asked.
Sort of in a state of disbelief, Hakoda put his cellphone down on the counter and chuckled to himself. "That man is the Dean at Caldra University. Seems he had been eyeing your application for sometime and was disappointed that you didn't show for the testing today."
Katara's eyes were wide. Wait! He's the dean?! Of Caldra University?! What the-
"Crazy thing is, he says he'll make an exception and have you take the test next week."
"WHAT?!"
"But I told him not to worry. You're taking a break from school." Hakoda told her.
"But dad-"
Raising his hand to stop her right there, "Katara, sweetheart, you need a year off from school anyway. This is a good opportunity. Caldra University will always still be right there. But these years of your youth won't be forever. You need to experience it, okay?"
Hakoda walked over to his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Be a kid for once."
…
So, Katara didn't complain. Her father was right. She went to apply at the coffee shop and got placed on the night shift. Graduation had been a blast and her brother even got to attend. Even though Sokka had to return back soon after, she was still happy to see him. He brought his girlfriend Suki and she seemed pretty nice. As for her new job, she liked it. Her coworkers were nice and friendly. The customers were all really nice to her and some even nicer than others. Even more, she had a regular customer that seemed to only want her making his coffee.
"Mr. Yong, you're back." Katara said cheerfully.
It was late in the evening already and she didn't usually get many customers around this time. None except him. It was always around closing time and sometimes she'd find he was sitting in his car pretending to be using his phone for an app or text. But she had figured out he was just waiting for her to offer her a ride home. She'd feel bad for him waiting and agreed to let him drive her home.
Smirking as he was greeted by the teen, "I had a question to ask you."
"Yes?" She looked up at him in curiosity.
"When's your next day off?"
"Hmm?" Katara tilted her head. "Umm, tomorrow. Any reason you'd like to know that?"
Leaning against the counter, "I was going to ask you to go somewhere with me."
"Mr. Yong, are you asking me out?" Katara raised a brow.
"Is that a problem?"
Not really. She didn't mind. She would not mind at all going on a date with him. He was very attractive. Charming. She couldn't say she didn't already notice he liked her. He didn't seem like the friendly type but he was nice to her. And she didn't have much experience with someone liking her but she read enough romantic novels to know the signs. Only problem was her father wouldn't like her going out with a man twice her age. Plus, she did plan to go to Caldra next year, wouldn't it look bad if she were to be dating the dean?
"I'm flattered. I am. And I wouldn't be against it, I'd love to, but my father won't approve." Katara hated that she'd have to turn him down. She really wouldn't mind.
"You don't have to tell him."
"But what about you being the Dean at Caldra? You do know I still plan to attend, right?"
Ozai tilted his head, "Are you just looking for an excuse to reject me?"
"No. I would have just said 'yes' if these weren't concerns of mine."
"Then don't be concerned."
Katara narrowed her eyes at him, "Fine. Yes, I'll go out with you."
"Great, I'll wait for you to finish your shift." He said as he left the coffee shop.
Yeah, she totally figured he was going to give her a ride home. Turning around, Katara saw her coworkers eyeing her funny and giggling.
"What?" She seemed confused.
Seemed her coworker had caught the entire interaction and were giving her the look. She tried not to blush when they started teasing her. Everyone knew she hadn't ever been on a date before. She told them that after a few other customers hit on her. They all thought it was funny she turned all the other guys away but agreed to go on a date with the older man.
"Maybe she has daddy issues." Toph, her blind co-worker said.
"That or she was being nice. He is her neighbor." Hojo told everyone.
Rolling her eyes as she folded her arms, "Or maybe, I don't have daddy issues and I'm not just being nice. I've turned away plenty before him. Plus, he's good looking and he's nice!"
No one thought that guy was nice. He literally didn't even speak to anyone and he had gotten coffee here before Katara started working here. He only spoke to her. That's not nice. That's being selective. They knew he had a thing for her when he didn't order from the app to avoid speaking to anyone.
"Yeah but you literally just turned 18 right after graduation, Tara." Aang said.
Spirits, she hated that he was even here. Aang just didn't like it when anyone hit on her. For the most part, he never said anything but that was because she turned them down. But the one time she accepts, he wants to discourage her. He was obviously jealous.
"And he's old enough to be your dad." He tossed out there.
His age didn't matter to her. Mr. Yong was nice to her. He had even tried to get her into the school despite her missing the exam. Plus, it wasn't like she didn't like him and he only asked her on a date. He didn't ask her to marry him. It wasn't like they were going to go to a love hotel and...Anyways, Aang was being a jerk.
"What if he kisses you?!"
Pulling her hair behind her ear as she felt her face heat up a little, Katara saw everyone looking at her as if to hear her answer. "It would just be a kiss. There's no problem with that."
"But you've never kissed a guy." Toph snorted.
Hojo chuckled, "Well, he is older so I'm sure he can teach her."
"I'm sure he could teach her a lot." Toph burst out laughing.
Katara stormed off into the back as she didn't want to hear anymore. The shop was closing and she just wanted to go home already. As she grabbed her plush rabbit backpack, the girl headed over to Mr. Yong's car and got in as he opened the door for her. Getting settled in, she noticed that he was staring at her and she tried not to blush but it was really hard not to. He merely snickered to himself before he took off driving, speeding like he always did. As many times as she had rode with him, he had never got pulled over, and she couldn't understand why that was. Where were the cops this time of night?
Pulling up in front of her house, Ozai asked her for her phone to put his number in it. She took her phone out of her plushie bag and handed it over to him. Once his number was saved, Katara laughed a little as she saw he put a heart emoji next to his name. Took his phone and entered her contact, putting a bunny emoji.
"Text me what plans you have for us. I want to dress appropriately." She told him as she opened his car door to get out.
Ozai nodded as he watched the girl leave his car and wave before heading into her house. To be completely honest, he didn't see her agreeing to go out with him. He had seen her turn down plenty of younger men. Telling them she was busy or flat out lying about having a boyfriend already. He thought for sure she would do the same to him, at least giving him a different set of excuses. But no, she said 'yes'. He was surprised. He really was. So much so, he hadn't really thought about where to take her.
…
"I'm home." She announced herself as she took her shoes off at the door.
Seeing his daughter finally get home, Hakoda smiled as he was wiping his hands from cooking off on a dish rag. "Hey, dear, how was your day?"
Katara told him it was great and how her coworkers are all silly. She was careful not to mention Mr. Yong in front of her father. She never really did. He didn't even know their neighbor gave her rides home. Spirits knew he would lose his mind. Her father wasn't much of a fan of Mr. Yong. Something about the man being single and occasionally having random women come over made her father raise a brow at him. It wasn't uncommon for a single man to have the occasional female guest but her father liked to think otherwise. And she knew he would kill her if he knew she agreed to go on a date with Mr. Yong tomorrow.
"So, tomorrow, I decided to pick up a long shift tomorrow for one of my coworkers." Katara began to lie as she sat at the table across from her father.
Picking up some of his food with his chopsticks, "That's fine. I actually have to leave town for work tomorrow."
"Really?" She seemed a bit concerned. She never really liked when her father had to be gone for a few days. "How long?"
"Five months." He didn't make eye contact knowing how she felt about him being gone for long.
"Five months?! Why?!"
Hakoda finally looked at his daughter, "Sweetheart, I know you don't like it but I have to work to keep a roof over our heads."
"Where to?"
"The South Pole."
"Ugh! Okay, fine." Katara rolled her eyes as she sulked.
"Look, you can have a few friends over or go to their place. You're eighteen and should try not relying on me to have all your fun with."
Katara snorted, telling him he was never any fun which he begged to differ.
After dinner, the teen went up stairs and changed into her pjs. She flopped in her bed and curled up with her stuffed animal as she pulled out her phone to see if she got a text from Mr. Yong. Sure enough, he had texted. Katara couldn't help the smile that curled up on her face as she opened the message from him.
*I have no clue what we're doing tomorrow.* She read and giggled.
*Then why did you ask me out?*
Her phone buzzed soon after and she covered her mouth as she laughed even more.
*I didn't think I'd get this far.*
Did he really think I'd say 'no'? Not that she was ever forward with him or anything but she never thought she gave him the impression that she was disinterested or didn't like him. She always greeted him with a smile and joked with him a little. Sometimes he would graze her hand with his when she handed him his coffee and she knew for a fact her face turned red because he always smirked as if he knew what he had done. He had been toying with her for weeks and she was honestly surprised that he waited so long to ask her out. Not that she was looking forward to it or anything but he always looked like he wanted to say something after dropping her off and she wished he would have just said whatever was on his mind.
Sighing as she texted him back that she would be willing to do anything fun, Katara pressed her phone to her chest until it buzzed again and looked at the message.
*Would your father care if you weren't home till late?*
*My dad's sort of leaving the country for a while. So he won't know anyway.*
*Catch an opera?*
An opera. She had never been. That seemed like fun. She immediately responded back.
*Dinner first or after?*
*First!* She hated to sound like a food crazy teen but she wasn't going to be able to focus on an empty stomach. Hence why she kept snacks in her room.
*Then be ready by six.*
*Okay.*
*Night*
*Night Night*
Katara shut her eyes after putting her phone on the charger and was about to fall asleep with a grin on her face. What the hell do people wear to an opera?! Her eyes snapped open.
…..
Early the next morning, Katara was woken up by her father before he left. He just wanted to tell her goodbye and to text him if anything happened. She agreed and told him to be safe. Once he was gone, she fell right back to sleep. She spent the entire night searching for something to wear to the opera. She found the cute dress her father bought her for her birthday. It was a strapless blue dress that was a bit short. She really didn't know what her father had been thinking but she figured it would be appropriate if she wore a cute shall over her shoulders. But what to do with her hair?
As she decided she was too excited to stay asleep, the teen went to the bathroom to start moisturizing her face. Her date didn't even start till 6 but she wanted to allot herself enough time to get ready. This was her first date and she knew she wasn't his first date. She had seen the lady friends of his from time to time. No one in the last year for whatever reason that was but she knew. Plus, he had kids. Two. They were somewhere around her age which was a bit off putting but she tried not to think of it so much. They visited but didn't live with him. And she knew he had been married before. The neighbors were a bit nosey and discovered he had divorced his wife a few years before moving here.
After bathing and brushing her teeth, Katara tried toying with different hair styles to see what would look best with her dress. She tried the hair down, ponytail, fishtail, pigtails, hair on left shoulder, hair on right shoulder, bun, elegant bun, messy bun, and etc. Only one she liked so far was the messy-elegant bun with a few strands down in the front.
The teen spent the better half of the day getting herself ready for her date. Shaving leg hair, arm hair, underarm hair and wearing the mouthpiece with black lights to ensure her teeth were as white as they could be. She even painted her toe and finger nails. Black because she didn't have any other color. Picked out a few silver bangles to wear and earrings that sparkled with the midnight blue dress she was going to wear. The only part she felt stomped at was when she had to decide between flats or heels. The dating magazine she read said she should wear heels especially if she wasn't great at walking in them because she'd have to rely on him helping her but she felt a little odd about making him help her so much on their first date. She was awful in heels. But the flats didn't look as good as the heels with the dress. Plus, Mr. Yong was a very tall man. Incredibly tall. If she didn't wear heels, she'd look like a dwarf next to him.
Katara quickly texted one of her coworkers, Hojo, and asked for his advice. He was always good at giving advice. Especially at this sort of thing. He helped her figure out exactly what to wear last night after she texted him somewhere around midnight. Surely, he'd know what to do.
*Heels, girl!*
*But what if I trip and fall*
*You won't have to worry about that if you're holding onto him.*
*(Grumpy emoji)*
*(Eye roll emoji) Trust me, you will not regret it.*
Plopping down on her bean bag chair, Katara looked at the time and saw it was only an hour till. She really couldn't believe it took her so long to get herself together and wasn't like she was stunning or anything. She just didn't look atrocious. I swear I'll be lucky if he doesn't change his mind!
….
Getting the door after the bell had been rang, the teen put her shoes back on after running down the stairs barefooted and straightened herself out so she wouldn't look like she almost stumbled down the stairs.
"Hi, Mr. Yong." Katara greeted him with an awkward hand wave and trying to mask how out of breath she was from speeding down the steps.
Smirking as he looked the girl over, Ozai had to say, he didn't expect her to dress up. Sure, the occasion called for it but he figured girls her age wanted to be more casual these days. But he was grateful she decided to wear this. Bad enough she was his daughter's age, he didn't want someone to mistake her for such like had happened to him before when dating someone just slightly older than her.
But aside from that, she looked beautiful and not that she never looked it before. He noticed that day he gave her a ride to school that she was easy on the eyes. But from her application he saw she wasn't quite of age. So, he waited. Patiently. Only flirting with her at the coffee shop she worked at once he knew she was legal and that wasn't exactly something he would tell anyone. People would say he was creeping and if a man did that to his daughter, he'd probably say the same thing.
"You know that's my surname." His eyes still roaming her.
Blushing as she placed her hands over her face, "But isn't that too sudden to use your given name? I can't just call you *says in a whisper* Ozai."
"I've always called you by your name."
And then he said it, her name, and she wanted to shrink away. He was toying with her and she didn't even know how to respond. Like always, his eyes were glued on her and she felt unable to not become unraveled by his stare. Not that she hadn't been looked at before but it was different with him. Not only because she appealed to an older man but because his gaze was intense and she felt vulnerable under his observation. He studied her and she could tell.
Looking him over, Katara never thought he could look much better than he always did. He always dressed how she pictured the average corporate person or adult male to dress. Always sophisticated but also lax at the same time. Today, he wasn't dressed much differently. But she did like the white dress shirt that was unbuttoned a bit at the top and the black jacket he wore over it. Not to mention, he styled his hair differently. It wasn't brushed back like he did for the more professional look he'd go for on days he worked. He parted it to the side, leaving the front of it out while the rest was tucked behind his ear. Was it too soon to ask him if she could touch it?
"Fine, call me what you like." He told her.
And so Mr. Yong would remain his name until she felt he wasn't just her neighbor.
….
From the car ride to the restaurant, Ozai noticed the girl was very bashful and she admitted to not having much of a life. Which confused him even more when it came to why she agreed to go out with him. Sure, he was interested in her but what made her so willing to let her first date be with a man twice her age? He brought this question up and she shrugged.
"Should I have said 'no' to you?" Katara raised a brow as she looked over at him. "I mean sure it might give my father a heart attack but I don't personally see the problem. Unless you're planning on taking advantage of me or something. But I don't think you're that kind of man. So I said yes."
That was fair of her. Honestly, he never had a problem getting younger women or any women for that matter. However, he figured things would be diff
erent with her.
"So, where are you taking me?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Katara watched him grin.
"What does your father do for a living?"
Smiling as she looked out the window, "He's a sea merchant. Sometimes he's gone for months at a time, I'm alone most of the time with him and my brother always gone."
"I couldn't imagine your father leaving you at home by yourself for months at a time."
"Well, I'm a good girl so he's doesn't have much to worry about."
Ozai snorted. He was sure if her father knew she was with him, the man would sale his house and move her around with him. Not that he was keen on gossip but he wasn't clueless to some of the things the neighbors said. And he had specifically heard her father speaking with another neighbor about him in the supermarket. Ozai didn't know what he did to give them the impression he was a womanizer but that's what everyone thought. Sure, he dated different women from time to time. Never at the same time but they never really lasted long. Mostly because they were always wanting something from him that wasn't just him and it didn't matter if they were young or older, the women he dated were always materialistic. But he wasn't going to complain. People came and went, he just hated that people made up stories about him that weren't true.
Arriving at their destination, Ozai helped his date out of the car as she made it pretty clear that she didn't know how to walk in heels. He didn't know a woman that didn't but he did already assume she would be different. As she held onto his arm as he led them in, Katara eyed everything. She hadn't ever been to a fancy restaurant like this. It was Fire Nation themed and it looked very expensive.
As Ozai checked them in with the host, Katara looked up at him and ask if this was okay. She felt weird about being somewhere that looked like the food cost more than what her father paid for their house.
"I wouldn't bring you here if there were a problem." He assured her as they followed behind the hostess to be seated.
At their table that had a nice window view, Katara looked over the menu and froze at the prices.
"Uh, Mr. Yong, these prices-"
"Get whatever you want." He said while looking over his menu
Katara really wasn't sure. She felt it was pricy for a first date. Sure, she figured he could afford it with him working as the dean and living alone with no financial responsibility outside himself but this was still a first date. Skimming the menu, she tried looking for the cheapest thing on the menu and found that even the cheapest was more than what she had in her purse. He did say get whatever. Sighing, Katara told herself if this date went well and there was the chance of a second, she was picking it because he had expensive taste.
When it came time to order, Ozai decided to order for them both as the girl couldn't seem to bring herself to choose anything. He didn't know why she was being conscious of the price. He had it covered. As soon as the waiter was gone, he eyed her funny.
"I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't have it covered." He was a bit offended. He always came here, why was she acting like this?
Feeling a bit uncomfortable, "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sure this isn't your first time here but don't you think this is a lot to spend on a first date. You don't even know if you like me or not. Won't you feel like you're wasting money if you figure you're not really into me?" She said as her eyes were cast down on her lap as she twiddled her fingers.
So she wasn't trying to offend him, she just didn't like that he was willing to spend so much on her when it was just the first date. Ozai swore he was use to women jumping at him spending money on them. They didn't care about whether it was appropriate for the occasion or not. So, this was new to him.
"Let's make a deal. You let me spend however much I like tonight and if you decide you'll go on a second date, I'll let you decide how much I spend next time."
Figuring that was fair, Katara raised her gaze to him. "And what if I decide I don't want a second date?"
Smirking, "Then feel free to slap me when the night is over."
As much as she didn't want to think about slapping the man, Katara didn't mind playfully telling him to do the same if he decided against a second date.
"It's only fair." She chuckled.
"I'm not slapping you." Ozai shook his head.
"Then you can pinch me."
"I've already decided I want a second date." He said as his eyes intensified on her.
Katara kind of just stared back, dumbfounded, and didn't know how to respond as their drinks got to them. Does he seriously like me enough to already make up his mind?
Yes, it was already decided. He knew he would like her and wouldn't mind dating her if she agreed. The date was more for her than him. For her to decide if she liked him or not. He already knew what he liked and he wasn't very fickle about these sorts of things.
Eyeing the bottle of wine he ordered for them, Katara watched as the waiter poured them both a glass before setting the bottle in bucket of ice before leaving. She had never drank before. Her eyes went from her glass to him.
"My father never let me drink before, so I don't know my tolerance." She said, taking her glass and pulling it to herself.
Ozai eyed her as she took a sip and seemed to not mind the bitterness. "If you've had too much to drink, I'll stop you."
Katara nodded as she went to finish her glass before him. Her eyes were busy studying the glass after drinking it all. She didn't realize she wouldn't mind the bitter taste but she liked it. Not noticing her date had his brow raised at her. Their food wasn't even here yet and she had drank an entire glass in one go.
Looking up from her glass to ask for more, the teen noticed he was looking at her funny and she chuckled.
"What? Did I do something wrong?"
"No." Yes, you don't drink an entire glass before you've had something on your stomach. "I just didn't think you'd like it."
"Oh, it's good. Can I have more?"
"Are you sure?" His brow went back up.
Katara nodded her head.
Something told him this was going to be an interesting night.
It wasn't long before their food had arrived and by that time, Ozai felt Katara needed to eat something. She had three glasses and he could see the alcohol was starting to get to her. While she became more lax and was talking much more, her posture had changed. He hoped she hadn't drank too much that she wouldn't be able to enjoy the rest of the night. It took some convincing but he had to stop her from drinking anymore, she didn't believe she was drunk at first.
Giggling as she snorted at her own joke, Katara covered her mouth and shook her head as she didn't want him to hear her snort. They had just got back to the car after dinner and he was trying his hardest not to ruin things and kiss her but she had been incredibly too cute. Aside from how she clumsily bumped into one of the guests and was hit on as soon as they saw how she looked, they had a good time. She was funny. Her jokes weren't the kind he expected someone like her to have. It was dark and twisted like his humor. Even more, though she hadn't much of a life, he was still able to have good conversation with her. There wasn't much he could talk about that she wasn't able to respond to him on. He only liked her more.
Curled in the passenger seat, Katara saw Ozai was staring at her and doing so in a way that made all the heat rise to her face.
"Stop looking at me." She wiggled in the seat as she tried cover her face to hide from him.
A smug look formed on his face, "Why?"
"Because you're making me nervous." She'd peeked from the small gape in her fingers covering her eyes.
"Is that so?"
Pulling her hands from her face, Katara's eyes went from his to his hair. Maybe now was a good time to ask him if she could touch his hair.
"Can I touch your hair?" She said out of th blue.
"My hair?" Ozai could see her gaze was fixed on his hair. "Yes."
Katara's eyes lit up as she reached over and placed her hand on the top of his head, slowly running it down the side to his face. Her fingertips collected a few strands as she then raked them into his scalp, completely mesmerized by how soft it was. She never thought a man could have hair this thick and soft. Oh spirits, this is heaven. She bit her lip as she leaned over some more to use both hands.
Ozai could tell she didn't have much experience. Small things like this sometimes turned men on and if she knew that, she'd be more careful. He tried focusing really hard on something else as she had her fun with playing in his hair. Spirits knew his hair was probably a mess now but he didn't want to stop her. He simply closed his eyes as she seemed to have climbed over on his side of the car and was sitting in his lap. Maybe he should stop her. She clearly had too much to drink tonight.
Opening his eyes to get ready to stop her, he saw the girl was rubbing a lock of his hair to her face.
"Oh! Sorry!" She jumped back and her ass pressed to the horn on the car causing her to jump forward against him at the loud sound.
Feeling her heart race in her chest against him, Ozai tried moving his hand to pat her or gesture for her to get up but she lifted her head to look at him in the eyes and he found he was stunned for a moment.
"I think I drank too m-"
Cutting her off, Ozai moved to press his lips against hers and felt her stiffen for a moment in shock. He already knew she'd do that. It was her first kiss and he stole it from her. He just wanted to see what she did afterwards. And as he started move his lips against hers, he felt her trying to respond to him and so he helped her out. Grabbing her chin, he showed her how to return the kiss and she mimicked him, picking up quickly. Once she had it, his hand moved from her chin and rested on her hip. It wasn't long before they were hungrily kissing one another and Katara found herself getting dizzy as she tried to keep up with him.
Katara broke the kiss as she panted and rested her head against his chest, "I think I need to go home. I feel dizzy."
…
Helping her to the door, Ozai had to pick her up as her balance was completely off. He put her down on her feet just in front of her door as she fumbled through her purse to get her house key. The girl ended up dropping it and falling over into the shrubs by the door. Ozai sighed and grabbed the girl, then swiping her key from the ground. He was taking her to his place. That way he didn't have to worry about her all night.
Leaving his car parked in front of her house, Ozai went across the street with the girl in his arms to his house. As soon as they were in, he took her upstairs to his room and laid her in his bed. Taking her shoes off and setting her purse aside, he threw the covers over her before swiping the sheets to take with him downstairs where he would sleep.
In the morning, Katara wiggled herself around as she made herself comfy which wasn't hard. Her sheets felt extra soft and silky. Rubbing her face against the pillow, the teen smelt it and it smelled just like Mr. Yong. Her mind drifted off to how her date went and she'd say it turned out great. She did seem to drink more than she should but he didn't seem to mind and laughed at her jokes. Not to mention, he let her touch his hair and it was as soft as her bed right now. She wished she could have played with it some more but after that they...they… Katara sat up in her bed as the revelation dawned on her and she shrieked.
Katara slapped herself as she told herself to get it together. There was nothing wrong with kissing him. Well, he kissed her but it wasn't like she turned him away. She remembered him showing her and her repeating it back. Her face turned red hot as she remembered how he held her against him as they made out in his car. She was thankful his windows were tinted because she would be so embarrassed if someone saw them.
Once she had gotten herself to cool down, Katara looked around to distract herself with something only to find that this wasn't her room. Tilting her head as she rustled her hair, this isn't even my house. There was no room in her house that looked like this. Not her room, not her father's, and not her brother's. Her eyes fell to the bed she was in as she rubbed her eyes and saw the sheets were dark red. As her brain slowly registered that this wasn't her room or any room in her house, she also began to realize who's house this could have been. Her hand went over her mouth as she wanted to scream.
Waking up from the shriek, Ozai shifted on his couch and groaned as he pulled the sheets over his head. He should have closed the blinds. After the girl was put to bed, he had come downstairs and had a few drinks before falling asleep watching the news on mute. He had a massive hangover and he was sure, he was not alone. Hearing footsteps racing down the steps, he peaked from over the sheets to see his date from last night look like she was in panic.
"Mr. Yong!" She ran up to him after her eyes did a full sweep of the living room.
"Hmmm…" He answered as he looked at her with his drowsy eyes.
Kneeling right in front of him, "Mr. Yong, how did I end up here last night?"
Ozai told her while he still had the sheets over most of his face and saw her slowly look more and more embarrassed by what he was telling her had happen last night.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have burdened you." Katara apologized as she bowed her head in shame.
"It's fine. I should have ordered you water or something." He said as he sat up on the couch and ran his hand through his hair, trying to wake himself up. His sheets still over him.
Standing to her feet, "Umm...so, I bet you're probably going to pinch me or something." She said as she pulled her hair behind her ear.
Eyeing her, Ozai remembered that was her term if he didn't want a second date. He shrugged his sheets off and stood to his feet as he moved to stand over her. Grabbing her chin and lifting it so he could look her in the eyes. He saw her staring up at him with those big blue eyes of hers. Last night, he was really holding back when she was in his lap. Not like he had never took his date to bed on the first date before. A lot of times that's what would happen but he had already stole her first kiss, he wasn't going to take more than that. For now.
"If I didn't want to see you again, I'd have left you in the bushes last night." He told her.
Feeling somewhat better from hearing him say that, "Really?"
"Yes."
"So there'll be a second date?" She asked him as her eyes shifted away from him and her cheeks turned red.
"Definitely." He said before kissing her again.
….
A/N:
Don't worry everyone, connections to the first two stories will be coming up