homecoming
Katara peers around the corners of the grocery store aisles, trying to find where Sokka has ventured off to. After many unsuccessful attempts, they finally find him in the alcohol aisle, a box of wine in either hand, as if contemplating between the two. “Please tell me you’re not buying boxed wine,” they say, placing a box of crackers into the shopping cart that he had taken with him.
“Come on, Katara. I’m a PhD student, don’t be ridiculous! Of course I’m buying boxed wine,” he replies, placing the slightly larger box into their cart. “Besides, it has one of those taps on it. Much more convenient than a bottle.”
Katara removes the box from the cart and places it back on the shelf. “I’ve got a bottle of Pinot Noir in my trunk. We don’t need this.” Sokka whines, though his expression makes it clear that he’s grateful for a night free of cheap grocery store wine. "--And I’m sure that Dad and Bato have wine at home. They always have a glass before bed.”
“… is that healthy?”
“I mean, It isn't unhealthy..." Katara's thoughts drift as they see a figure that is all too familiar, strolling through the produce aisle. Turning to Sokka, Katara hears the words leave their mouth before they can think of what they're saying. "How about you go grab the cheese for the charcuterie board tonight. I'll get the fruit."
"O-kayyy? Sokka replies as he glances over his shoulder, trying to find the target of Katara's distracted daze.
"I'll meet you in a few minutes, okay?" Katara gently shoves him towards the direction of the dairy aisle and turns back towards where the tragically familiar person had recently stood. Katara frowns as they make their way out of the aisle and quickly surveys the area around them. They see a blur of white hair entering a few aisles to their left, and they scurry towards them. Katara reaches out their hand and pokes their shoulder, and an older woman turns to face them. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I don't want any deals today, thank you," she says as she places a jar of pickled asparagus into her cart.
Katara's stunned. They were expecting-- well, not this. "Oh! Uh, alright. Sorry to bother you, ma'am," they sputter. The woman smiles and walks away from Katara, leaving them dumbstruck and embarrassed in the condiments aisle.
"Katara?" a voice calls out from behind them. Katara spins, nearly crashing into the owner of the voice. "Whoa-! Careful!" Yue says as Katara stumbles, trying to catch their balance. "I didn't know you work here," She smiles, a soft chuckle escaping her gentle lips.
"Oh-- uh, no. That was just-- it was just a misunderstanding." Yue hums and nods her head, displacing her bleached-white bangs. Katara watches, enchanted, as she retucks them behind her ears.
"I know. How have you been?"
"I'm-- I'm doing alright," Katara replies. They feel like they’re eighteen again, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Yue’s pickup, listening to her ramble on about the waterproofed properties of duck feathers. The moment before their first kiss. "H- how are you?" They ask, cheeks flushed.
"I'm doing good," She grins. "I'm really good."
"That's incredible," Katara smiles, a balloon expanding in their throat as Sokka appears in the aisle. "Yue!" he exclaims, abandoning the cart and entrapping her in a hug. "Oh, good idea, Katara. Zuko loves pickles-- he'll be very upset if there isn't any on the charcuterie board tomorrow."
"Oh, is the infamous New Year's party back on this year?" Yue asks as Sokka reaches for a jar of both sweet and dill pickles from behind her.
"You bet! You should swing by! I'm sure Zuko wouldn't mind-- it's at his and Suki’s and Ty Lee's place. Do you need the address?"
"No, I, uh-- I've got it already," Yue says, awkwardly rubbing her neck.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Sokka says.
"About what?" Katara asks, jealousy-based interest suddenly piqued.
"Ty Lee and Yue were--"
"It was nothing--" Yue interrupts. "We just hung out a bit, a few years ago. That's all."
A state of melancholy overtakes Katara. Their gut twists and the balloon in their throat expands further, accompanied by an overwhelming amount of grief pounding in their chest. They know what 'hanging out' means--they did it with Yue too, many moons ago. "Oh," they say, their gaze drifting to Yue's shoes. "Um… well, we should go. Dad and Bato are expecting these groceries," Katara says, grabbing hold of the abandoned shopping cart and veering it in the direction of the checkout lanes.
"Right, well, I guess I'll see you two tomorrow night," Yue says, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Nine o'clock! Be there or be square!" Sokka proclaims as he chases after Katara. Once he catches up, he asks the very question Katara wanted to avoid: "What was that about?"
"Nothing," Katara answers with a grumble, placing their items onto the conveyor belt.
"Really? Or are you just repressing your emotions so that this difficult discussion doesn't have to happen?"
Katara sighs. "Why do you act like you're a therapist? You took one psychology course in undergrad. You're not in my head ."
"Aren't I? You're angry over seemingly nothing, you're changing the topic of conversation, you won't make eye contact... the list goes on, Katara."
"Fine! Yue and I... we dated for a while. I guess I just... I don't know. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia, that's all."
As Katara pays for the groceries, Sokka, who has stepped to the end of the conveyor belt and started bagging them, squeals like a child that was just told they're going to DisneyLand. This earns him a skeptical look from the cashier. "Can we talk about this later? I just want to go home."
"Okay," Sokka says, not even trying to suppress his smile. "This is just so exciting! Why didn't you tell me?" Katara and Sokka grab the bags and make their way towards the exit, leaving their cart at the cleaning station.
"Sokka- you literally walked in on us making out. Multiple times. We weren't exactly keeping it a secret."
"I thought that was just you guys being - besties - or whatever!"
"What?'
"I made out with my best friend all the time!"
"You mean Zuko? Your boyfriend? Who you plan on proposing to tomorrow night?"
"Oh shit, that's right. Damn, how did I not even realize?"
"You were too busy fawning over Zuko. It's fine."
”It is NOT fine! My baby sister’s first love—“
”I’m not a baby! And nobody said anything about love…”
”Your face did when you were speaking to her. And about her. And just now, when I mentioned love.”
Katara turned away from their annoyingly correct brother, unwilling to admit defeat, yet no longer arguing his point. From the corner of their eye, they notice Yue’s white pickup truck, covered in mud, as per usual. The dirt roads of their small town are especially wet this time of year, typically waiting to freeze solid until a month or so into the new year. Something stirs within the pit of their stomach- this sight was a constant during a period of everlasting change. At this moment, it felt more like a curse than a blessing. "Can we just go home?" they grumble, placing their five bags into the trunk of their dads’ Subaru.
"Fine, but I get to pick the music this time!"
"As long as you don't put on Hall & Oates again, then I really could not care less."
"I promise that I won't play Hall & Oates."
Sokka played Hall & Oates. In fact, he played Out of Touch on repeat for the entire way home, just to annoy Katara. "Sokka, I swear to god, you're never getting music privileges ever again!"
"I had to! It's Thursday!" Katara rolls their eyes and hands Sokka the bags from the trunk one at a time. Bato grins from the door of their childhood home and walks towards the siblings, wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders’. “Bato—“ Sokka wheezes. “Can’t hold on any longer—“ he says as the bags drop to the floor, the the shattering of the pickle jars ringing in Katara’s ears.
“Fuck, Sokka! I really don’t want to go back to the grocery store!”
“You will if Yue’s still there,” Sokka teases in a sing-song voice. Bato sends Sokka a look of warning then turns to Katara, who’s face flushes a dark crimson with rage.
Bato, ever the peacekeeper, says “Sokka, go inside. Katara and I will bring in the groceries,” in an almost too-calm tone.
“But—“
”Just go, son.”
Sokka hangs his head and murmurs under his breath as he shuffles into the house. “Yue, huh?” Bato asks once Sokka’s out of earshot.
Katara grumbles. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
”Alright— but I’m here if you do,” he says as he bends down to grab the dropped bags, clearly not convinced.
“It’s just—“ Bato looks up at Katara. There are tears in their eyes now, and they can’t comprehend why. “It’s just that it felt— when I saw her at the store, I felt the same as I had back then… and I didn’t think that I would still feel the same now— I didn’t know I could still feel that way— about anyone. But she’s moved on, and I guess I just feel— I don’t know. It’s silly." They wave their hand, trying to play it off as less of a big deal than it actually is.
Bato sighs, abandoning the previously dropped bags to place his hand on Katara’s shoulder. “It’s not silly— not in the slightest.” He wipes a tear from Katara’s cheek. “You know that your father and I have been friends for a long time, yeah? Like, since we were kids.” Katara nods. “I think we were fourteen when I fell in love with him. He didn’t know it at the time, he was- how do I put this kindly... he was denser than a rock,” he chuckles. “But,” he continues, “he was still my best friend. And eventually, he met your mother, and they fell in love and had you and your brother. I was heartbroken, of course, but he was still my best friend, and your mother was the person that he needed at that moment-- so I learned to live with my pain- I pushed it down, of course, but it was always there. And then, when your mother passed, he was broken— you remember, he wouldn’t sleep, he wouldn’t eat— the war happened, and he set out to fight, so naturally, I followed.” Tears are welling in Bato’s eyes now, too. “The idiot needed someone who would nurse him back to health if he did anything stupid. I can remember the day he figured it all out— that I was in love with him. The dummy had slipped while we were walking the edge of a cliff. I grabbed his arm, but we both went flying off the edge— thankfully there was water at the bottom— but when we emerged, still holding on to one another, he looked at me and his face changed— softened, really, and he asked why I went down with him, but he knew. He understood perfectly— and he would’ve done the exact same thing for me.”
Bato sighs, wiping his eyes. “My point is,” he says, finally grabbing the grocery bags from the ground, “that love doesn’t just disappear. I loved your father for decades, I never ‘moved on,’ even when he was with someone else.” Katara smiles, hugging Bato around the waist. ”What I’m trying to tell you, Katara, is that if your relationship meant as much to Yue as it did to you, she probably still feels love for you on some level. I’m sure she’s reacting the exact same way that you are at this very moment.”
”Not true,” Katara laughs through a sniffle. “Yue’s way more cool and collected than I am. I’m still just the nerdy eleventh grader who had a massive crush on the captain of the ice hockey team. The only difference now is that all my time is spent writing my freaking thesis instead of yearning for an older girl. I’m not even sure I know how to have a crush anymore, it’s been so long.”
“I’m sure with a little practice you’ll be a pro at yearning in no time. Honestly, it only took me a few minutes to get right back into my deeply infatuated state when your father started showing his romantic feelings towards me.”
Katara sighs as they grab the remaining two grocery bags from the trunk, closing it swiftly afterwards. Bato walks towards the house and beckons Katara to follow him. “Come on, it can’t be all that bad,” he says, placing the grocery bags onto the kitchen counter. Katara scoffs as they close the front door, a bag in either hand. "It absolutely is that bad! This is the last thing I need right now. Dr. Yagoda has been on my ass about finishing my report on Necrotising Fasciitis treatments, and the rough draft of my thesis is due in two months! This is just another distraction that’s going to end by causing too much procrastination. Besides, we're only going to be in the city together for a week, and we only have plans to see each other once: at a party with a bunch of other people. There isn't much progress we could make over the course of one night. I'm just gonna get my hopes up, and as per usual, we'll go our separate ways and won't speak to each other for another year."
"It doesn't have to be that way, and you know it. It just takes communication and trust."
"Two things I don't have time for at this point in my life. The only people I trust right now are my mentor and my lab partners. I can't afford to trust anyone else or I’ll lose focus on what really matters: my schoolwork, my thesis, my labs."
"You said yourself that you've got a whole week. Forget about your thesis for a while, forget about the labs and the schoolwork. Now is the time to take a step back, evaluate your situation, and give yourself time to relax and-" Bato's putting a package of dried chickpeas into the cupboard when a small hole tears in the bag. Chickpeas fall out of the bag and roll across the kitchen floor in every direction. He sighs and grabs the broom from the closet as Katara pinches the bridge of their nose with their thumb and index finger. "Look, if you want to try again with Yue, then you really need to try. I get that it feels like there's no time or space for anything else in that jam-packed brain of yours, but just give yourself a couple days free of thoughts of school, just... take it easy."
It's at this moment that Sokka walks into the kitchen. "'Take it easy?' Katara? When have you ever known Katara to 'take it easy?'"
"Ha-ha," Katara deadpans. "Do you ever shut up?
"Yeah, actually, I do. Anyways, I just came in here to let you know that Zuko and I are meeting up with Toph, Suki, and Aang at the bowling alley. I'm sure they'd all love it if you came."
Katara looks at Bato. "Go," he says. I'll finish putting these away." They smile and kiss Bato on the cheek before following Sokka to the front door to put on their shoes and jacket.
As they approach Freedom Bowl, Katara asks: "Is it disco-bowl tonight?"
"Yeah but that doesn't start until later. It hurts Zuko's eyes, so we always go before it starts. Plus they always make popcorn with the edible glitter on it, so we always get a fresh batch if we go early."
"Glitter popcorn?" Katara makes a face of disgust.
"It actually tastes better than you would think. They mix it in with sugar, so it just gives it a bit of a candied taste. Like Kettle Corn."
Katara hums lightly as they get out of the car. They're the first ones there, so they book the lane and order all the shoes. "Can we get two lanes at the end, please? We'll need three pairs of size six, a nine, an eight and two tens. And we'll also need a ramp."
"For sure, no problem," says the guy behind the counter. "It's just gonna be a few minutes for the ramp, I put it in the computer so someone should bring it by any minute." He looks around the same age as Sokka, and he has a double piercing on his left eyebrow, two hoops, one silver and one gold. His name tag says 'Jet.' Katara's about to ask Sokka why they're getting seven pairs of shoes, but Jet speaks first. "So, is this your partner or..." He asks Sokka.
"Katara? Oh god no! Eugh! They're my sibling!" Sokka makes fake gagging noises, and Jet chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "So-"
"Hello, love." Zuko's soft-spoken voice comes from behind Sokka as he swings around and gently pecks Sokka on the cheek. Jet blushes from behind the counter. "Oh, hi Jet, I didn't know you work here!"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Just helping out Smel while I'm on a break from school. She runs the place with her cousin and uncle."
"Nice," Zuko says before turning back to Sokka. "Did you already get the shoes and ramp sorted out?"
"Yeah, we're just waiting on the ramp."
"Uh, hello. I'm here too?" Katara waves their arms from beside Sokka. "Just in case you didn't notice," they say, grinning.
"Katara! How are you?" Zuko asks as he abandons Sokka and gives them a hug. "Sorry, I just-"
"-Haven't seen your boyfriend in two whole hours? Oh my, how will you ever survive?" Katara jokes as they pull apart.
“Hey, what’s that smell?” An all-too familiar voice asks from behind Katara. “Oh! It smells like a bitch in here!” “Come here, Toph. I know you missed me,” Katara says, pulling their friend in for a hug. “Eugh! As if!”
Katara pulls back with a surprised expression and gave a hearty laugh. “Where did you learn that? I didn’t think you were one for romcoms,” they say.
“She was hanging round ours when Ty Lee forced us to watch Clueless.”
“‘Forced’ is a strong word, Zuko. You were on the couch before Ty Lee could even say the title of the movie,” Toph laughs.
“Because there were hot Cheetos! You know they’re one of my few weaknesses.”
“That and cheesy romcoms,” says Suki, who had walked in just when they first mentioned Clueless. She looks as cool as ever—the top half of her auburn-dyed hair in a bun, a black flannel over a sage green crop top, black jeans, platform combat boots, and red winged eyeliner that made it very difficult to look away. “Hi, love,” she says, wrapping an arm around Katara’s shoulders and giving them a kiss on the cheek. Katara can feel themself blush as they grin back at Suki. “Hey. Long time, no see.” They try to say it casually, but something hitches in their throat. There’s always been something about Suki that makes Katara flustered— they just never had the chance to properly figure out what it was.
Suki’s arm is still wrapped around their shoulders when Aang walks in, chatting animatedly with Yue. Katara’s stunned, still as a statue when Jet hands them their shoes and when Pipsqueak, one of Zuko’s old classmates from high school, brings over the ramp and engaged in a conversation with him for so long that it ended with Zuko inviting him and the rest of the “Freedom Fighters” to the New Year’s Eve party.
Yue’s still talking with Aang, and the group has now wandered over to their lanes at end of the alley, (Katara guided by Suki in their stunned state), but Katara can feel her eyes on them as they enter the names into their lane’s scoreboard.
AANG
SUKI
KATARA
YUE
“No Katara, write something funny!” Sokka calls from the next laneover. Katara sighs as they look at the other group’s scoreboard.
ZOOMIES
SOCK
DWAYNE JOHNSON
Katara sighs, rolling their eyes as they change the names to the regular nicknames on the scoreboard.
FART BRAIN
SHE WOLF (courtesy of Sokka)
THEM WOLF (also courtesy of Sokka)
…They don’t know what to put for Yue. ‘Pretty girl?' ‘Take me now?' They look over at Yue, who glances between Katara and the scoreboard with anticipation. “Here, allow me,” Suki says. She leans in front of Katara, her hair right in their face. Katara’s heart skips a beat and they nearly swoon at the scent of Suki’s coconut conditioner. After a moment of contemplation, Suki writes “BETTY WHITE.”
Suki sits up, grinning and Katara smiles. “I don’t get it,” Yue says. Sokka’s laughing from the other table and is offering Suki a high-five, which she graciously accepts.
“I think it’s because you have white hair,” Katara says.
“Are you saying I look like Betty White?” Yue asks Suki.
“Hey! Betty White was a total babe in her prime!” Suki flashes her award-winning grin at Yue, and Katara can feel something burn deep within them.
“I wasn’t aware Betty White had a ‘prime.’ She’s still hot!” Sokka says.
“Ew, Sokka! She’s like— older than Gran Gran!“
“She’s a GILF.”
“Please stop.”
“So what I’m hearing,” Yue intervenes, a certain elusiveness in her voice, “Is that you think I’m hot.”
“Pfft— uh— uhm-“ Katara sputters as Suki says “Absolutely.” Yue chuckles as she looks between Katara’s flustered expression and Suki’s confident one. “You two make a cute couple,” she smiles.
“Oh— uh— we’re, uh—“
“Thanks! We definitely would be a cute couple. If we were one— but alas, we’re not,” Suki says, leaning her head on Katara’s shoulder and caresses their hair, causing a deep crimson to rise in their cheeks.
“Guys can you quit your flirting so we can bowl already?” Aang asks. “It's your turn, Suki.”
“Already?”
“It has been for the past fifteen minutes! at least! The other group’s already at round three!”
“-And we have Sokka and Zuko on our team, who have been too busy sucking each other’s faces to bowl!” Toph nearly shouts from the other table. “I may be blind but I'm not deaf! I can hear your fucking saliva sloshing around, you horn dogs!” she shouts, waving a hand in front of her face, John Cena-style.
“Oh shit. Sorry, Aang.” Suki sits upright and stands up, leaving the table, and simultaneously leaving Katara with a (literal) cold shoulder.
“It’s okay! At least you’re not all making out like Sokka and Zuko.”
“Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of opportunities for that,” Suki winks, picks up her bowling ball, and to top off her smoothness, scores a strike. As the group congratulates Suki for the first strike of the night, Katara takes a few deep breaths, collecting themself before standing up to take their turn. They smile at Suki, who just rose from taking a bow, as they approach the lane.
“Nice one,” they say awkwardly, their breath hitching in their throat when Suki grins back at them. “Thanks,” she answers.
There’s a moment where Katara is uncertain of their next move. Do they offer her a high-five? Do they continue on as though Suki didn’t just melt their insides and take their turn? Do they full-on make out with Suki in the middle of the bowling alley?
Their choices disappear as Suki walks past them, and with her passing comes a slight brush of fingers. Katara, too flustered to even think straight, grabs the wrong bowling ball. A 16 pound ball, one that was already in the lane and none of them were strong enough to bring all the way back to the rack, falls on their toes. With a stabbing pain in their foot, Katara shouts, raising concern from their friends. As Sokka and Suki lift the ball from Katara’s foot, they know immediately that something is wrong.
“Katara, are you alright?!” Sokka asks, worry evident in his voice.
Katara tries to move their foot but can’t. Tears form in their eyes but they push them down. “I need to go to the clinic,” they choke out over the lump in their throat. they accept Sokka’s arm for support. “I don’t think I can walk.”
“Here, get on my back,” Suki says, squatting down in front of them. Katara leans onto Suki’s back and bends their knees, allowing Suki to grab hold of them and stand up. Katara can see the concern rising in their friend’s faces as they watched their pathetic attempt to not jump or put weight on their injured foot.
“Come on, I’ve got a friend at the clinic down the street, I’ve already texted her,” Yue says, pulling out her keys. “We can take my truck.”
Suki follows Yue, carrying Katara to the painfully familiar pickup, and Katara allows the tears to fall down their cheeks. She props Katara onto the back seat, letting them lay down before shutting the door and hopping into the passenger side. Yue starts the truck and they take off.