Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Merits ❯ Part Six ( Chapter 6 )

“Merits” - Part Six

(later that night, after her talk with Toph at the Bomber.)

The last assignment was marked, the papers were written, and her readings were almost up to date. Her desk was tidied, her alarm was set for the morning, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, her Friday was looking like it might not leave her completely wiped out for the weekend.

She should have been thrilled.

Instead, Katara was sitting on her bed in her pyjamas, toweling off her wet hair and glaring at her cellphone as if it were about to eat her. It was her guilt and cowardice that threatened the latter, however. Her insecurity was infuriating her, too. She was being intimidated by a silver-and-chrome container of circuits with an antennae - adorned with a sparkly-blue dolphin charm on it to boot. Oh, the indignity…

Glancing at the clock, she knew it should have been too late to call Jet, since he had to work early the next morning; still, she wanted to get this over with, at least make a step in the `right' direction. All this indecision, all this waffling, all this uncertainty was wearing her out and she wanted to just expel it and start over. She'd made a mountain out of a molehill, and possibly ruined a really great relationship in the making.

“You can do this, Katara,” she mumbled to herself, holding the phone in front of her.

It would wake him up, he could get mad, and if he wasn't about to dump her already, he'd probably be ready to by the time she started talking to him and accusing him of drugging her.

“Yeah right,” she ran her hand down her face. Oh brother, this is already going well…

She stared at the small screen, hard, as if to make the phone decide for her.
Call him. See how he's doing! (Too friendly.)
Don't call him. Shun the jerk. (Too aggressive.)

Call him. Talk about what happened! (Too straightforward.)

Don't call him. Make him suffer. (Too vindictive.)

Call him. (No.)

Don't call him. (No!)

Callhim. (NO.)

Don'tcallhim. (NO!)

Callhimordon'tcallhim, just get a grip, Katara! (Arrrrghhhhhh!!!!) She wanted to rip her dark locks out from their soggy roots. Why was this so hard?

A second later, the phone in question rang and the vibrations startled her so badly she dropped it with a muffled shriek.

“Hello?” trying to stabilize her voice, she grabbed at the phone and flipped it open before the caller-ID had even registered the sender.
“Katara, is that you? Are you ok?” Jet's desperate voice jumped at her through the line. “Oh thank god, I was so worried…”

The relief in his voice doubled her guilt… and relieved her at the same time. By the tone she could tell he was doubled-over. Then came the sound of a light thud. Was he leaning his head against a wall? Had she worried him that much? Had she even considered what he might have been thinking this past week?...

She pulled the damp towel from her shoulders and felt her fingers dig into the terrycloth. No, she hadn't thought about him all week, just what she thought he'd done to her. She'd been so worried about herself, she hadn't given a second's thought to what he was going through, or even considered the option that he may not have had anything to do with her crazy `dream'. From the receiver, on the other end of the line she heard Jet mumbling relieved sounds to himself, over and over. She'd been completely wrong… One hundred percent wrong. Oh… shit.

She really hated it when Toph was right. There went her alcohol budget for the month.

“Jet?” she asked, interrupting his mumblings.

“Yeah? Is everything ok? When you got mad at me and wouldn't talk to me, I thought something had happened. I didn't want to bug you at work, and I know you've been really busy, but I just…” His voice trailed off. “I'm just… I'm really happy I got a hold of you,” he finished, and Katara could hear the smile in his voice.

“I… I think I got mad at you for something… and… I didn't understand what was going on. I'm sorry,” she said in a rush, eager to get the apology out of the way. Details would come later.

“Hey, that's no problem, stuff happens!” Katara almost laughed at his swing back to his usual easy, laid-back manner. She couldn't believe how worked up she'd been. Not that she was letting herself - or him - off the hook that easily, but at least she didn't feel as intimidated to do it. Feeling like an idiot, now that she'd have a hard time shaking.
“So… just to clear things up, and see what happened… do you have some time this weekend?” She asked hesitantly. She didn't want to be the one to say, “Let's have a talk.” She knew guys got uncomfortable when girls suggested that. And it wasn't like they were a serious couple. They hadn't been dating very long, really. But hopefully Jet wouldn't run, wouldn't panic or avoid her, or would at least let her broach the topic, and--.

“Do you want to talk about things? Want me to come over?” he offered.

Wait, what?
For a second she was so surprised she pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. Who was this man, and what had he done with her Jet? Broody, laidback, but never-this-sensitive Jet. He was as good as Toph with manipulation, if he was manipulating her. Damnit, was she the only one around here who sucked at this relationship thing? Katara felt her couple-confidence take a hit to the proverbial groin - yes, she realized, she was…

Jet was talking again, and she continued to stare at the phone anxiously.

No, no she wasn't ready to talk right now, she just meant to bridge the gap, make arrangements, set things up for the weekend! Her conflicting emotions warred again. She was beginning to hate both sides of the internal battle. Why was she being such a chicken? It was just a talk.

Katara scrambled to find her voice.

“Jet, you have to work tomorrow,” she insisted, noticing the clock. 10:45pm. He could likely make it over by 11:00pm, but still…

“I took tomorrow off. I'll see you soon!”

“Jet!” She didn't want him to skip work because of her! Damn this impulsive man!
He'd already hung up.

Katara's pyjamas slid down her slumped shoulders as her hand fell to the top of the comforter on her bed.

“Crap!” jumping to her feet, she ran to the living to collect the stacks of laundry she'd been neglecting for the past two weeks.

In her haste, she stumbled over one of her piles of books. The top one fell open to a bookmarked section entitled Porphyria. She ignored it as she reached under her couch for a wayward pair of underroos. She figured she had about 20 minutes, max, before Jet buzzed her from the lobby...

 

The morning light streamed in from the blinds and Katara rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face to glance at the clock. She groaned; she was going to be late. Thank the gods she was giving the kids back a quiz today and had already planned another assignment they could start in-class after they finished reviewing the evaluation's answers…

A dark, work-roughened arm around her middle shifted and pulled her closer to his warmth under the blankets, and she tried not to give in and call in sick. Her students were depending on her. It was so comfy under the blankets, though…

Scholarship… Squeezing her eyes shut and cursing the weekday light, Katara grumbled out of bed.

“Work,” she admonished, reaching up to pull the blankets away just enough to let her out and still maintain the warmth under the comforter for Jet.

“Mmmph…”

“Look, I'm leaving this spare key for you so you can sleep in a bit and then lock up after yourself, ok? I'll get it back from you later,” she said. She washed up in the bathroom and left the key on the kitchen table, just beyond the entranceway to her apartment.

Not wanting to be left behind, Jet hurried around the corner, still buttoning up his jeans. “Hey, wait a second,” he said, ducking into the bathroom, rinsing with mouthwash and coming to join her by the door. His jeans were slung low on his hips. Her attention was distracted when he reached into the pocket of his coat and handed her a tiny silver object.

“What's this… for?” she asked, and realized it was a key. She hadn't meant, when she leant hers to him, oh no, she hadn't meant…

She looked up at him, trying to decide how to convey the misunderstanding with tact.

“No, it's ok, I know you just mean to give me yours for today.” He smiled. “This is mine, though, for you.”

“Jet, I can't.”
“Yes, you can. I don't want you to think you can't trust me. And call me when your classes are done, I'll come get you.”
Katara glanced at the clock and decided she'd be putting her old martial-arts conditioning to good use on her run to class that morning. “I need to go.”

He slid a hand along her cheek, and hand-combed her hair behind her ear. “Call, ok? No more scary trips by campus for a while by yourself. Even if you are Super Woman!” He added when he saw her temper flare. His hand tightened in her hair and he pulled her close and kissed her soundly before she pulled the door open and dashed out. “Have a great class!”

Katara's cheeks burned as she flew past her neighbours who'd come to investigate the sounds of her louder-than-usual morning routine. She couldn't help but overhear their comments about her `gentleman caller' who didn't look so bad without his shirt. She made a mental note to remind Jet to dress himself before she'd let him see her off again. She sped up as she exited the building and crossed the parking lot in leaps and bounds, the snow on her usual shortcut barely slowing her pace. She was very grateful she'd packed her bag the night before, but she wished she'd remembered to grab a hat & scarf.

 

From the driver's seat of his car, the vampire watched her hurtle over the chain link fence with ease before sliding to a stop on the snow and dashing off again. She hadn't even broken a sweat yet. Her dark hair flew behind her like a raven's wing in the wind.

She was strong, very strong. He already knew she was a fighter. Her opinionated attitude could stand some adjustment, but still…

She was definitely worth a look...

The Audi's engine purred to a start, and he pulled away to head towards the university. He was sure he'd find more out about her there, from the direction she was heading.

Zuko slid his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose as he smirked and wondered how she'd taste.

 

“You've known your legacy from a young age. You've trained, studied, and prepared for this role your whole life.” The austere man looked at the young man kneeling before him in the circle.
“Do you understand the career you are undertaking?”
“Yes.”

“Do you understand the sacrifices and responsibilities?”
“Yes.”
“Do you understand the cost, not only to yourself but to those around you?”
“Yes I do. I accept them as they are a part of who I am.”

“Then rise and join us, Aang,” his voice rose to a crescendo to shout to the crowds surrounding them on the stone risers in the secluded amphitheatre. “Rise and join your fellow vampire hunters. Protect the human, defeat the darkness; through these you will preserve peace and light.”

The young bald man accepted the accolades and bowed, covering one fist with the palm of the other. The blue trail of tattoos curled over lean muscles and sinew, from wrist to shoulder and down his back. The mark of the Guardian.

A pair of ocean-blue eyes materialized in his mind, and internally he smiled.

Triumph. Relief. Determination.
I'm going home.