#Of course Zuko also received chocolates from other people... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smylealong · 4 years

Text

Embers and Snowflakes - Zutara Week 2020 - Reunion (Modern AU)

@zutaraweek Katara pulled at the hem of her blue sequined dress that ended at her mid-thigh. “Isn’t this a little too short?”

“No,” Suki drawled, without even looking up from her magazine.

“You didn’t even look!”

“Don’t have to.”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Is Jet here yet?”

“Nope.”

Katara adjusted the spaghetti strap of her dress in a self-conscious act. “I don’t want to go. I don’t know what I was thinking when I said yes.”

Suki dropped the magazine on the table and turned to look at her. “Katara! What’s going on?”

With a sigh, Katara sat down on the chair, “Jet asked me out.”

Suki licked her lips and said, “Okay? And?”

“I don’t know. I mean I like him, but I don’t love him.”

“Okay, and did you say that to him?”

Katara shifted uncomfortably. “Not in so many words.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him I would think about it.”

Suki sighed, “No, Katara! If you don’t want to date him, just say so.”

Katara leaned back on the couch and tried to gather her thoughts. “I… I can’t.”

“Can’t what? Tell Jet that you are not into him or move on from your past?”

Katara sighed and closed her eyes, “Both, I guess?”

“Katara, no. You must stop this. It is fine if you are still hung up on your past. What is not fine is stringing the guy along like this. I mean I’m no big fan of his, he seems obnoxious as heck and I get the feeling that he can stir up trouble, but what you are doing is helping neither him nor you. You’re acting like his girlfriend, by agreeing to go with him to every damn party. Don’t give him ideas. If you want to say no to him, say so. Flat out. You have to figure out what you want. And soon.”

“I don’t know,” Katara said, grabbing her head in her hand. “I want to move on. But … Something stops me.”

Suki leaned over and patted her hand. “You are allowed to have fun, Katara. It is okay if you want to live your life.”

“You think I should date Jet?”

“That is a decision only you can make,” Suki said. “Tell you what? Go to this party and consider if this is what you really want for the foreseeable future. If it looks like you can handle it, then go for it. Step out a little. If not, nip it. Sounds fair?”

Katara nodded. When put like that, it did sound fair.

“He can get a tad clingy though.”

Katara’s lips quirked a bit. “He does that, doesn’t he?”

“Make sure you remember that if you do choose to date him.”

Katara turned to her roommate and soon to be sister-in-law to say something when the bell of their tiny apartment rang. Katara took a deep breath, trying to tell herself that she was doing the right thing. While Suki opened the door, Katara stood up.

“Hi, Jet.”

“Hi Suki. Is Katara ready?”

Suki simply stepped aside to let him in. Jet was dressed in a chocolate brown suit, with a white shirt. He had gelled his hair to brush it backward. Stepping into the house, he looked at Katara. His eyes raked over her body in a way she was not entirely comfortable with, and he let out a whistle, “Wow. You’re looking nice.”

Katara swallowed and forced herself to smile. You can do this, Katara. Relax a little. She squared her shoulders and walked over to the shoe rack.

“Thanks. Let’s go,” she said putting on her matching heels.

Jet held out a hand but Katara pretended she did not see it as she busied herself with her purse.

***********************************************************************************

Katara downed the wine in one swig. This party reminded her of the reason she was reluctant to date Jet in the first place. He had brought her to his office party as his date. But now, like always, he was the center of attention. He was sweet-talking to some people, regaling them with some tale as they hung on every word of his, while she was sitting on the sidelines, drinking wine, and nursing a bruised ego.

It was not that she envied him his silver tongue. That was what had drawn her to him in the first place. The smooth nature and sheer charisma that he possessed had momentarily, made her forget … everything. Sometimes, he could take her mind off the constant emptiness, grief, and guilt that threatened to suffocate her. Jet had made her feel like a girl again, something she thought she had forgotten after him. And those were the reasons she was considering saying ‘yes’ to him.

But, in addition to his clinginess, she also had to wonder if she was okay with being Jet’s arm-candy. Supposed to be there at his beck and call, when he needed to show her off. But when he was at the receiving end of attention, she would be cast away, only to be retrieved later when he needed an ego massage. Problem was, Katara knew that she had never really learned to say no to Jet. He had a tendency to sulk when things didn’t go his way, and for reasons she wasn’t entirely certain, Katara found herself indulging his wishes.

Katara kneaded her temple, trying to figure out what to say to Jet. She did not want to be treated like a trophy, to be brought out only when someone wanted to show her off, kept away on the shelf for the rest of the time. But she did not want to nurse a broken heart for the rest of her life either. She wanted to move on.

“Hey, Katara,” Toph’s voice cut through the vortex of darkness that was her thoughts.

“Hey, Toph.”

“What are you doing here all alone?”

Katara made a face, knowing it was pointless, “Take a guess.”

“Jet ditched you again to go frolic somewhere?”

Katara let her silence do the talking.

Toph huffed, “Typical. You know what, let me introduce you to my new partner. I have a feeling you’ll like him.”

“New partner?”

Toph rolled her milky eyes, “What do you think this party is for?”

“Jet didn’t really elaborate. He just said it’s an office party.”

Toph sighed, “That guy! If he were not phenomenal at his job, I’d be kicking his butt for being so irresponsible. Anyway, as you may know, the Bei Fong Corp was looking to expand beyond the Earth Kingdom. This business family who already has a presence all over got wind of it and reached out to me with a lucrative deal. Long story short, we are partnering with them so we can start off big in Caldera.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware of all that. Congrats.”

“Come, let me introduce you. You look morose.”

Katara chuckled, “I saw what you did there, Toph.”

Toph guffawed, “Let’s go.”

As she walked with Toph, she wondered about her relationship with the blind woman. Even though she was Jet’s boss, Katara and Toph met through their common friend Aang. In fact, Aang had asked Toph out last year and they were now a couple. She had initially worried about being so friendly with Jet’s boss, but Katara and Toph got along like house on fire. Toph was the girl friend Katara had yearned for all her life, but never really had.

“Do you even know where we are going, Toph?”

“Of course,” she scoffed. “Come on.”

Katara always marveled at Toph’s ability to navigate through the bustling throng of people. It was eerie the way she moved, with complete assurance and without fail. In three years, she had only seen her bump into things or people maybe three times. Katara was convinced that it was a superpower.

The two women reached a group of people that were engaged in a conversation. Toph tapped the shoulder of a tall man in a black suit who was standing with his back to them, and said, “Hey, Partner. I want to introduce you to someone.”

The man turned around and Katara felt as though the ground beneath her fell away. Blood drained from her face and her jaw dropped. She did not even notice when the people he had been talking to moved away. All she could do was look at the man standing in front of her. Staring back at her was an exceedingly familiar face, angular, sharp, and handsome. The angry red scar still looked just as prominent as she remembered, but thanks to his current hairstyle, it blended with his face. It was him.

“Zuko?” she breathed, daring to utter his name in public for the first time in six years.

He gave a small smile and nodded, “Hi, Katara.”

“You guys know each other?” Toph’s incredulous voice came to her as though from miles away.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to find the words to respond. Her breath was stolen from her.

“Yeah,” Zuko answered, not taking his eyes off her. “We were childhood friends.”

While not technically wrong, but that was far from the whole truth. It did not speak about their shared past. The love they held for each other. Their torrid affair. Or their brief marriage. Or Zara.

“How are you, Katara?” Zuko asked, his golden eyes pinning her in place.

For Katara, the world around her ceased to exist. Nothing mattered anymore. Standing in front of her was the man she had loved from before she knew what love meant. And the one she would keep loving till her dying day. Nothing had changed. She had deluded herself into believing that she had learned to live without Zuko, but in just one second, he had shattered the illusion. She had not moved on. She never would. Jet and his attention suddenly seemed childlike in comparison.

She gave a small, tight smile and said, “I … I’m okay. You?”

“Going on,” he replied. When he lifted his scotch to his lips, she noticed the tremble in his hands. She felt a thrill of savage pleasure that even he was not unaffected at this surprise reunion.

She swallowed the icy chunk of nervousness lodged in her throat and pushed the painful images that fought to come to the fore, casting in her mind to say something. She jumped to the obvious. “H-How are Uncle Iroh and Ursa?”

“Uncle’s fine. Just old age issues. Mom’s no more,” he replied, his golden gaze boring into her. “Her cancer returned.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry to hear that,” she meant it.

Somewhere in the recess of her mind, she was aware of the expression on Toph’s face. Her friend was getting very curious, but Katara only had eyes for Zuko. He nodded and licked his lips. His eyes dropped to her lips and she knew he was thinking about the same thing she was. Their kisses. They were, undoubtedly the best kisses she had ever had. Katara bit her lip, suddenly conscious. “How’s Azula?” She asked, hoping to concentrate on anything except the tornado raging inside her.

“Azula is still where she was,” Zuko replied cryptically. Katara knew he did not want to talk about the fact that his sister was currently in a padded cell. Not that she blamed him. She could understand that he would not want to talk about it in front of strangers.

“I see,” she said, wishing she had not left her wine on the table. A sob, six years in making, was building up within her, threatening to break through. Katara blinked rapidly, trying to push away the tears. When her vision focused back, Zuko was looking at her with raw pain on his face. Maybe he too…

“How are Sokka and Hakoda? And Gran?” he rasped, cutting through her train of thoughts. Katara spotted that his fingers were white from clutching his glass tightly.

“Gran passed away two years ago. Old age,” Katara said, willing her heart to stop beating so loud. “Dad’s fine. Sokka too. He’s about to get married soon, in fact.”

“Sorry about Gran. And really, Sokka’s getting married? To whom? That girl … what’s her name …Yuki … no Yue?”

“Oh no! Sokka broke up with Yue a while back. He began dating someone else. That’s who he’ll be marrying next month.”

“That’s great.”

“Katara!” Jet came up to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. Every inch of Katara screamed No. Across from her, she saw Zuko narrow his eyes ever so slightly but otherwise, his face remained impassive. If she had not known Zuko as well as she did, she would not even have noticed the change of expression on his face. “Oh, I see you’ve met Zuko. We’ll be working together for a while, till the office in Caldera is set up.”

“I heard,” Katara said as she subtly wiggled out of Jet’s embrace. Every pore, every fiber of her wanted to move away from Jet. She had the overwhelming urge to cling to her ex-husband and cry into his shoulders. “I … I need to use the restroom. Excuse me.”

Without waiting for either of the men to say anything, Katara turned around and walked away. Once she was out of their sight, she all but ran into the ladies’ room, stumbled over to a toilet, and retched. The wine she had earlier in the evening made its way out, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Somehow, she made her way to the sink after flushing the toilet. She splashed her face multiple times, not caring that her make-up and mascara ran. Finally, she shut the tap and grabbed on to the sink to stay upright.

“Okay, out with it,” Toph’s voice startled her for the second time in the evening. “And don’t give me the ‘childhood friends’ bullshit. What’s happening?”

“I ate something bad, I guess,” Katara croaked, wiping beads of water and sweat from her forehead.

“Bullshit. After you saw Zuko, your voice cracked, and you became completely erratic. I could sense tears in your words. And he seemed shaken too. Something is going on. What?”

In the shock of seeing Zuko after six years, Katara had forgotten just how perceptive Toph was. She could almost always tell when someone was lying. But she was not ready to divulge the truth either. Katara took a deep breath and said, “Toph, I’m sorry, I can’t talk about it right now. I’ll tell you later, okay? Please don’t mind, but I have to go now? Could you tell Jet I was just… not feeling well?”

Toph chewed her bottom lip for a moment and said, “Okay. You do seem very shaken. I’ll arrange for a car. You go,” She fished out her phone and made a quick call. “My car will be waiting for you downstairs.”

Katara gave her friend a hug. “Thanks a ton. I owe you one.”

“Nonsense. You just take care. Don’t stress out, okay?”

On the car-ride back home, Jet called her a few times, and she ignored them all. She was not up to entertaining his clinginess, not when her past was coming to suffocate her. When she dragged herself into her house, she realized, with some amount of relief that Suki was not home. Katara pulled off her shoes, changed into PJs, and threw herself on the bed. She was still reeling from seeing the golden-eyed man again and found herself struggling to breathe. Her phone beeped. She hoped that it was Zuko’s text, for she would not put it past him to ask Toph for her number and she knew Toph would give it, that girl was intuitive beyond belief. She opened her phone, only to find a series of texts from Jet.

Katara, where are you?

Toph said you’re sick. Are you okay?

Why didn’t you tell me? I would have taken you home.

Leaving me like that at the party was not cool.

Katara was about to dump the phone to the side, when it beeped again, showing a new number. Her fingers shook as she opened the text.

Hope you reached home safely. We need to talk. Meet me for coffee tomorrow? – Zuko.

#zutara week #reuinion

4 notes · View notes