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The first time Zuko walks in on Katara, she is changing at her house.
He was over for Bro Night, which consisted of five pizzas, seven liters of Dr. Pepper, and several soon to be uncountable hours of video games. The pizza had just arrived and Zuko – less concerned about the number of slices Sokka will eat while he’s gone and more concerned about Katara getting her share – jumps up the flight of stairs, skipping every other step, walks down the hall, sneakily as to surprise, and stops at the last door to the right.
Without knocking and without hesitation, Zuko opens the door.
Katara stands there, in only her underwear– her panties yellow and her bra mint green.
Zuko barely has time to look at her mismatched set and cover his eyes before Katara screams – eerily similar to the sound of a startled Witch – and throws the closest thing to her, which happens to be her wooden jewelry box.
The pause after Katara seems to realize the mess of scattered earrings and rings across her bedroom floor is enough time for Zuko to rush out the door, run down the hallway, and leap down the stairs, several steps at time.
Zuko postpones Bro Night.
x0x0x0x0x
The second time Zuko walks in on Katara, she is prepared.
They both work at the local community center – he in the weight room and she in the pool. Katara has just finished her swim lessons for the day and goes into the small Aquatics Room to change. As normal, she leaves the door unlocked. She’s slipped off the top of her bathing suit, letting it cinch her lower stomach and releases the tie in her hair when she hears Zuko.
“Is anyone in there?”
“Just Katara, though she’s been in there for a while. It should be safe.” Someone laughs, but to Katara it sounds like a snicker.
She figures this is the way to extract revenge. She knows he comes into the pool to swim laps after his shift. She knows he’ll come into the room to get his stashed goggles and webbed paddles.
She remains standing, knee bent, hip juted, arms crossed under the breasts, covering her nipples – she knows the best way the accent her small bust – swimsuit still dripping, water running down her legs, when he opens the door.
He stares longer than the first time.
“Didn’t your mom teach you how to knock?”
He gives no response; instead, he walks around her in the small, cramped room, neck red and eyes on anything but her. Katara turns her body to constantly face him and watches for a reaction. He reaches behind the stacked kickboards, retrieves his goggles, and dashes for the exit; she hears the splash of his jump into the pool before the door he had closed behind him shuts.
She hopes the cold water will cool his erection.
x0x0x0x0x
The final time Zuko –accidentally - walks in on Katara changing is at her house again.
She’s home alone when Zuko walks in the front door. Katara knows he’s over to drop off something of Sokka’s – according to the text she received a few minutes ago – and thus responds accordingly when Zuko calls out into seemingly empty house. Zuko doesn’t know that Katara –loathe to dress after a shower – is wearing only a towel, her hair still damp.
Ursa obviously never taught Zuko to knock as he – earlier experiences be damned – opens Katara’s bedroom door and walks in to see Katara laid out on her bed, flipping through the pages of a book. Her towel is short, barely covering the tops of her tighs. She props her chin on her palm, shooting Zuko a look.
Zuko closes the door behind him.
x0x0x0x0x
Katara’s towel is unraveled and Zuko just starts to slip off his boxers by the time they hear Hakoda walking up the stairs.