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Inhale…and exhale, releasing all your tension. Katara did one final stretch and a short meditation before packing up for the day. She took her time showering and changing. Tonight was the taekwondo students’ belt test night, so she’d have to wait a little bit. Locking the yoga studio door behind her, she turned toward the coffee shop nearby.
Rapid flashes of white, loud cries of “Kyap!” and the crack of wooden boards came from the martial arts school next door. She peeked through the Dancing Dragon’s window. Nine or ten children, none of them older than seven, chaotically kicked the boards the instructors held for them. She smiled as the kids who’d already gone tried not to fidget too much where they sat.
One girl shyly approached someone Katara knew well. Zuko wasn’t tall, but he still had to get down on one knee to hold the boards out for the little ones. The girl hesitated, looking up at Zuko’s face, her anxiety visible even from here. He said something Katara couldn’t hear, with a kind, encouraging smile, and the girl took a deep breath. She glared at the board for a moment or two.
Then she gave a fierce, sharp front kick, her dark braid flying behind her. The board split, and Zuko held up the pieces for the parents in the audience. As he handed them to her, she broke protocol by hugging him around the knees. He ruffled her hair and shooed her off to the mat edge.
Zuko looked up, catching Katara’s eye. He raised a hand in greeting, and she waved back. She mimicked texting, hoping he’d get her meaning: Let me know when you’re done. He nodded and returned to the tests, bowing to the yellow-belted boy now in front of him. Katara walked off, trying not to think too hard about the fluttering in her stomach.
___________
Zuko tossed his duffel bag, black belt poking out a little, into the backseat. “Thanks again for the ride,” he sighed, leaning back into Katara’s passenger seat. Though he’d changed out of his uniform, his black hair was still wet from the shower. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They should be done with my car at the shop by Monday.”
“Zuko, I’ve said it’s no problem,” Katara assured him, backing out. She gave him a quick smile, not wanting to take her eyes off the road too long.
“Good class?”
“Yeah, I always like teaching the older ladies,” she said, turning onto the next street. “They don’t do yoga for Instagram likes, and it’s nice. How were the belt tests?”
“It was great,” he said excitedly. “Everyone passed, Lee got his black belt tonight, and Iñaki broke her board the first time around!”
They stopped at a red light, and Katara glanced over at him. He was flicking through the post-test photos, his eyes and face alight. “That’s great,” she said. “Was she the nervous-looking one?”
“Yeah.” He put his phone away and said with fierce pride, “She’s six, and she’s been working harder than all my other beginners put together. She really earned that yellow belt.”
“Hey, now, no playing favorites,” Katara teased, and Zuko laughed.
“We’re not allowed to play favorites, but we can have them,” he reminded her, and she had to laugh too. There was a silence as they drove into the dusk.
“I’m glad it went so well, and I’m glad you’re coming with us.” She chose her next words carefully. “I think it’ll be good for you,” she said. “After the year you’ve had.”
“Breakups happen,” he said. “And at least the asshole left me and Azula something useful.”
At the next red light, Katara stole another glance at her friend. Zuko’s scarred side was turned to her, so she couldn’t make out his full expression. But his hand was clenched in a fist on his thigh. Everything in her screamed to reach out, to put her own hand on his shoulder. To unwind his fingers and slide hers between them. To lean in and up to his mouth, and let her hand wander to –
No. Not yet, she scolded herself. “He was still your father, Zuko,” she said gently. “It was always going to be hard. And Mai – ”
“We don’t have to talk about Mai,” he said, his voice clipped. As they pulled into the parking lot and Katara killed the engine, he looked regretfully at her. “Sorry, Katara,” he said. “I just want to have a good time tonight. I’d rather not think about the past.”
“I get that.” From several spaces away, shadowy figures waved at them, and both Katara and Zuko waved back as they headed for the karaoke bar. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. But I’d watch my back, between Azula and Suki. Wouldn’t be surprised if they make you sing something.”
Zuko laughed again, lightness returning to him. “Don’t worry, I plan to stay completely sober.”
___________
“I love rock and roll / So come and take your time and dance with me!” Azula finished her song with a snarl and a fist pump, and everyone in the bar applauded. She sank back into her seat next to Katara, smiling despite the exhaustion in her eyes. “I needed that,” she sighed. She pulled her beer can close, shook it with a frown, and ordered another from a passing waiter.
“It was great!” Suki cried, giving her a hug. Sokka and Zuko both grinned and nodded. Katara looked sympathetically at Azula as she chugged her third beer.
“School giving you a hard time?” she said.
Azula groaned. “You have no idea. Everyone said the data analysis class was hard, but R stat programming is kicking my ass.”
Katara had no idea what that meant, but she put a hand on her friend’s arm anyway. Azula smiled and added, “Well, at least next year will be better. I’ll be writing my thesis then.”
“And no matter how you do, we’re proud of you.” Zuko squeezed her hand across the table and reminded her, “First MBA in the family!”
Sokka and Suki went up about twenty minutes later, delivering a passable version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Katara scrolled through the karaoke signup list, sighing. There were about ten or fifteen people between them and her. It looked like it was going to be a late night. At least tomorrow’s my day off.
Leaning over the table, she and Zuko chatted about everything and anything. Book recommendations, their students, the merits and meanings of a new movie called The Substance. Talking to him was always such a refreshing change. He held her gaze with interest, answered her questions and gave his own, their thoughts zipping back and forth like a tennis ball. Most guys she’d known, even ones she’d dated, had never made her feel this heard and seen. Occasionally Suki smirked at them, but Katara was so caught in the conversation’s flow that she could ignore it.
They almost didn’t notice the very drunk guy’s song until the bar exploded into a chorus: “Sweet Caroline, bah bah bah – ”
“Ugh, I hate this song,” Suki shouted over the noise.
“Me too,” Katara called back.
“Let’s get some air!” Suki took Katara’s arm and tugged her toward the door, through the rowdy audience. The bar’s front porch was serene by comparison, the spring air pleasant, crickets singing somewhere out in the darkness. They sat together on the steps, watching moths fluttering around the lights.
Then Suki turned to Katara. In spite of her three Moscow mules, she was focused and determined. “You’ve been doing it again. You and Zuko.”
“What?”
“Talking in your own little world for an hour and a half.”
“Oh, God, has it been that long? Sorry, Suki,” Katara said, embarrassed. “I didn’t notice.”
Suki rolled her eyes. “So? Any movement on that front?”
“No,” Katara muttered, looking at her shoes.
“Katara, you’re lucky he’s stayed single this long,” Suki said bluntly.
“I know, I know,” she said. “But it hasn’t even been a year since he and Mai broke up. I keep worrying it’s too soon for him.” She pressed her hands into her eyes.
“Eight months is a while,” Suki said evenly.
“But after a two-year relationship?” Katara looked at her friend, desperate for some insight. “He still doesn’t like talking about it!”
Suki seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Look, it’s sweet that you want to give him space and time,” she said. “But Sokka says Zuko’s already had three girls asking him out in the past month and a half. And you know Ty Lee, the other karate instructor? She’s been flirting with him nonstop. He doesn’t respond, but still.”
Katara groaned. “I don’t want to overthink this like always,” she said. “But I’m scared, Suki, of so many things. It being too soon for him, ruining our friendship, being a rebound girl. I don’t want any of that.”
“I get it, I really do.” Suki took Katara’s hand, her eyes serious. “But I can give you an answer to each and every one of those.”
“Okay, go for it.”
“One, Zuko will tell you if it’s too soon. He’s not scared to be direct,” Suki said. “Two, most of the people I’ve known who have gone from friends to dating went back with no problems. And three, if he was just looking for a rebound, he would’ve gone on a date with one of those girls, right? He’s holding out for something.” She hesitated. “From where I’m sitting, it looks like he’s holding out for you.”
Katara’s heart pounded at the thought. But she shook her head anxiously. “I still don’t know, Suki,” she said. “I still have to think about it. Whether or not what I gain is worth what I risk losing.”
Suki sighed deeply and stood up. “I think they’re done with the torture session in there,” she said. As she held the door open, she said, “Just think it over. Neither of you can wait forever.”
___________
The night carried on. Katara was more mindful, after her chat with Suki, about talking to her other friends as well. Luckily tonight’s karaoke was decent enough to serve as background music. As she slid back into her seat, once her song was finally done, Azula spoke.
“So. Zuzu’s the only one who hasn’t gone,” she smirked at him.
Zuko turned a little red and took a chug of Coke. “Come on, ‘Zula, you know this isn’t really my scene,” he said, giving her a shut up now look.
“Awww, but we want to hear you!” Sokka complained.
“Yeah,” chipped in Suki. “It’s only fair. Right, Katara?” Katara gave Suki a shut up look of her own, but Suki disregarded it. “Please, Zuko? If not, one of us will dare you.”
“What are we, in high school?” he chuckled.
“No,” said Azula. “Still, Zuko, go on, live a little!” She got a devilish grin on her face as she looked at Katara. “But I think you’d only take a dare seriously from one of us.”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” Katara growled. But it was too late: Azula and Suki both ganged up on her so fast she wondered if they’d planned this. Both of them started pleading with her now too.
“Come on, Katara, dare him!”
“He’ll listen to you!”
“All right, all right!” Cornered, Katara looked across the table, into Zuko’s eyes. They gleamed in the neon lights, amused, and maybe something else too? She couldn’t quite tell, not after a couple margaritas. “I dare you to get up there,” she said.
Zuko held her gaze steadily. “And what do you want me to sing?”
“Make him sing something embarrassing,” Azula begged.
That gave Katara an idea. “Azula, hand me a pen,” she said, and she obliged. Pulling a clean napkin toward her, she wrote a title on it and passed it to Zuko. Before she did, Azula snickered.
“Oooh, wrong choice, Katara,” she said. But Zuko read the title with a neutral expression.
“All right,” he agreed. He entered his name into the karaoke signup app, and they fell into easy conversation again as they waited for his turn.
The MC called Zuko up, and he climbed onto the small stage, taking the microphone. “Singing on a dare, folks,” he said. “So this one is for you…Katara.”
She flipped him off, but it was only in jest. Her heart was fluttering again; nobody had ever dedicated a song to her before. The electric keyboard intro was barely audible over the audience’s conversation, the clinking of drinks and laughter. But everyone in their friend group heard it.
“No way,” Sokka muttered, and Azula cackled.
“Why was this a mistake, again?” Katara asked her.
“Just you wait,” she said gleefully.
Onstage, Zuko took a deep breath. The range was high, but he carried it with shocking ease. “Just a small-town girl / Living in a lonely world / She took the midnight train going anywhere.” Whoops and hollers shot across the bar, and Zuko grinned. “Just a city boy / Born and raised in south Detroit / He took the midnight train going anywhere.”
Katara faced Azula, who was filming, her mouth hanging open. Azula smiled. “Never told you he loves Journey, did he?” she called over the second verse.
Katara’s cheeks flamed, and she returned her gaze to Zuko. He moved with the melody’s curves and the beat, his dark hair swaying with him, eyes closed in an enjoyment that was all too obvious. Azula, Suki, and Sokka all started to sing along. And other voices raised across the bar, all ages and genders joining in.
“Strangers waiting / Up and down the boulevard / Their shadows searching in the ni-i-ight.” A smile splashed across Zuko’s face like a sunburst. “Streetlights, people / Living just to find emotion / Hiding somewhere in the niiiiight!”
Zuko threw his head back and nailed the high note, bringing the house down again. The audience flagged a little through the rest of the song, some of them clearly not knowing all the words, until he reached the final section. Over the searing guitar solo, he called out, “Come on, I know you know it!”
More cheers and whoops. Everyone sang again, holding steady under Zuko’s more intricate melody: “Don’t stop believin’ / Hold on to that feeling / Streetlights, people / Oh, oh, ohhhhhh!”
Katara stared around the karaoke bar, at the strangers singing and clapping along, joined together by the music. It was weirdly moving, making her throat tighten slightly. And it tightened further when she noticed that several women (and one or two men) were looking at Zuko with definite interest. Shit.
But was it any wonder? Azula sometimes said that a person’s passion for the things they loved was just as attractive as anything their bodies had to offer. She was on to something, Katara reflected. As the electric guitar and heavy drums soared in Katara’s ears, the music stirred her courage, hardening in her chest.
Suki’s right. I have to do something about this.
___________
Zuko pulled into a parking space just outside Katara’s building. As they undid their seat belts, she said, “Thanks for driving me. I was probably fine to drive, but still.”
“Better safe than sorry.” He smiled at her. “And thanks for the dare. That was actually really fun.”
“And you sing pretty good,” she said. “Wonder what other talents you’re hiding?”
They both laughed together, and as their laughter died their eyes met. Katara suddenly found it hard to breathe. She was close enough to see his eyes in full detail: the bright gold, the long black eyelashes. A warm feeling was blossoming in her stomach. How have I never noticed how beautiful they are?
She ignored this and gave him a hug, leaning awkwardly over the center console. Her head rested naturally on his shoulder. Somehow, he always smelled like spiced chai tea. Very subtly, she felt him start to let her go.
“Wait.” The small word took both of them by surprise. But Zuko obeyed, bringing her close again, shifting toward her so they had a better angle. His head turned above her, his nose brushing into her hair, against her scalp. Hands slid along her back, almost shy, one feeling for her hips and the other running up to hold her head. The richness of all the sensations sent sparks prickling under her skin.
Katara pulled back, just enough to look up into his face. Zuko’s eyes were wide, sparkling in the streetlights outside, as he brushed her hair back. But the look was so tender, so sweet, that it made her heart melt a little. A smile curved his lips, the curious one he used when he wanted to know what she was thinking.
She needed to make sure he understood. “Zuko, this isn’t just the drinks talking. And only if you want it too. But…” Katara leaned closer, excitement pulsing in her as she felt his heart thrumming under her hand. She breathed, “I’d really like to kiss you…”
That was all she needed. Zuko drew her to him, his lips softer and warmer than even she’d imagined. Katara opened her mouth to let him in, his tongue dancing around hers in a way that made her head spin. He let out a muffled groan and hunger exploded in her stomach. Closer, I need him closer, now.
She scrambled across the car and into his lap. Zuko steadied her with both hands on her hips, and she fisted her hands into his hair, thick and velvet-smooth. They stared into each other’s eyes, not quite believing what was happening. Another desperate, delirious kiss, white-hot desire shooting through her like lightning.
He tilted her head back slightly, pressing scorching kisses to her throat. “Katara,” he said her name huskily. “I need you to know. I’ve wanted this for ages. It has nothing to do with – it’s not just…because,” he finished lamely.
Joy burst through her chest. “I’ve wanted it too, Zuko,” she assured him. “Oh, God, I’ve wanted it too.” Their lips crashed together again, with an intensity she could swear was going to burn them both alive –
HOOOOOONK.
Some part of Katara’s body hit the horn and they both nearly jumped out of their skins. Katara swore, loudly and colorfully, as her head collided with the car roof. “Jesus, are you okay?” Zuko yelped.
“Fine,” she grumbled, rubbing her head. She straightened back up, eyes watering slightly, and her breath froze in her chest. His face was flushed, his lips swollen and rosy with her kisses, and happiness danced in his eyes as he looked up at her. In spite of her throbbing head, she smiled at him before coming in for a softer, slower kiss.
“Maybe we can continue this outside?” he murmured against her lips.
Katara brushed her hand along his cheek. “How about upstairs?” she suggested. “You can crash here and I’ll give you a ride back to work tomorrow.”
Zuko grinned wickedly as he claimed her lips again. “Deal.” They tumbled together out of her car, and Katara led him to her front door. Before going in, they leaned against the wall, bodies flush against each other. “You’re full of good ideas tonight. I’d love to hear any others you might have for me,” he said, between the kisses he pressed to her neck.
Katara laughed, pulling herself away just long enough to unlock the door. She took Zuko’s hand, leading him through, saying mischievously, “I have a few more.”