Chapter Text
Katara is drunk. It doesn’t take much to confirm that. The floating feeling in her body combined with the numbing sensation in her teeth are obvious signs. She is drunk and content to sit on the couch in the living room for the rest of the night. Hopefully, one of her friends would realize if she accidentally falls asleep here.
A body settles into the couch next to her. The combined scents of mahogany cologne and whiskey are all she needs to know who it is.
“Zuko,” she mumbles, leaning her head onto his shoulder.
“Katara.” He slumps into her more. Warmth spreads through her body from his touch. She is definitely falling asleep now. “Mom called me,” Zuko mutters, his breath tickling the top of her head. She grunts a response. “She’s not coming here for Winter Solstice.”
Katara pouts even though Zuko probably couldn’t see it. “Why not?”
“She is filling in a role for the traveling Soltice play. She’ll be all over the Fire Nation for the next six weeks.”
“That’s great! But also a bummer. What about your step-dad and Kiyi?”
“Going with her until Kiyi’s school break is over. I could meet them, but I don’t think I’m ready to go back yet.”
Katara tugs Zuko’s hand into hers, offering him the little comfort she could while half-asleep and drunk. Zuko’s family always came to Ba Sing Se for the holidays. He hasn’t been back to his home country since falling out with his father. She doesn’t blame him. The man is a bastard.
“What about Uncle?”
He sighs, “Lu Ten is hosting this year. Uncle feels bad leaving but I told him he needs to go spend time with his son.”
“Such a good nephew,” Katara chuckles.
“But now that means I’ll be alone for the Soltice.”
Katara huffs, “I’m sorry Zuko.”
She feels him shrug, “It will be okay.”
“I’d rather be alone than go home. Now that Sokka and Suki have a baby, all I’ve been getting is constant harassment about why I’m single and when I’m going to get married and have a brood of my own.”
Zuko laughs, “You should hire one of those fake holiday boyfriends. That would shut them up for a bit.”
“Yeah, and make me look absolutely crazy,” she smiles.
“You already are,” he teases. Katara shoves him away from her, finally looking at his face. It is moments like these, when she is a little (a lot) drunk and Zuko is smiling, bright and full for her, that her heart will beg, just a little, for her to lean in and kiss him. But she is drunk. And he is her best friend. So she tacks it up to the vodka talking and never thinks about it again.
“Yeah, yeah,” she rolls her eyes. “Let’s go. I’m tired.”
Zuko stands and pulls her off the couch, catching her when she sways a bit. They walk out together, waving to Aang and Toph as they leave. Luckily, the apartment they are at is close to Zuko’s place. Katara can’t walk another block even if she wants to.
“I’m definitely going to need Iroh’s special hangover coffee tomorrow,” she groans, clutching her head as they climb the steps.
“You need that every time you drink.”
“I can’t help that it’s the miracle cure we’ve needed for centuries.”
Zuko grins and lets her into his apartment. Katara weaves through the living room to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take off her makeup. Zuko changes in his room and then they swap, used to their routine. He leaves her a glass of water and some headache medicine on the side table, which she happily takes. After chugging the water, she slides on one of his old t-shirts and gets comfortable under the covers.
“Night Tara,” Zuko calls from the door, flipping off the light before heading to the couch.
“Night Zuko,” she mumbles and drifts off to sleep.
**
The scent of coffee slowly teases Katara awake. She grins when her eyes open and land on the takeout cup from the Jasmine Dragon, knowing exactly what’s inside. A content moan falls from her lips after the first sip, already feeling more alive.
Zuko is making breakfast in the kitchen, and she also can’t resist the smell of bacon. She blames that on her father’s genes. She grabs one of Zuko’s hoodies that almost falls to her knees and shuffles out to the main room, coffee in hand.
“Morning,” he shoots her a grin. “Nice bed head.”
Katara sticks out her tongue and slumps into the bar stool at the island, watching him turn bacon and check on the pancakes on top of the stove. Her favorite. But he knows that.
“Thanks for the coffee and breakfast.”
“It’s our thing, right?” he shrugs it off, always refusing to take credit for any of the kind things he does.
“It’s only our thing because you can wake up at an ungodly hour, even after slamming an entire bottle of Fire Whiskey.”
“It’s a gift.” He plates their foot and settles into the bar stool next to her.
They eat in comfortable silence and Katara does the dishes, Zuko helping her even after she tells him not to. She feels like a whole person again after breakfast and an insane amount of caffeine.
“I’m really sorry about your Winter Solstice plans,” she says, now finally able to respond sincerely since she isn’t inebriated. Zuko looks at her from across the couch and shrugs.
“It is what it is. One year won’t hurt.” He tries to hide the disappointment in his voice, but she knows him better than that. She grins to herself at their conversation last night. Mostly at his absurd suggestion that she hire a fake boyfriend for the Solstice…
The idea zips through her and Katara speaks before she really thinks about it. “You should come to the South Pole with me. And be my fake boyfriend.”
“What?!” Zuko nearly chokes on his own coffee and stares at her with wide eyes.
“It’s perfect! You won’t have to spend the Solstice alone and I won’t have to hear an endless barrage of comments from my family about me being lonely forever!”
He shakes his head, like he’s trying to wake up from a dream. His dark hair falls back over his forehead in the cutest way. “Katara, isn’t that a little much? Lying to your family like that?”
She rolls her eyes, “They deserve it. I can’t tell you how annoying it was to hear everything from them after Aang and I broke up.”
“Aren’t you flying out next week? Wouldn’t it be a little too suspicious to suddenly bring a boyfriend?”
“I’ll blame it on Sokka being an overprotective nutcase.”
Zuko’s golden eyes widen again at the mention of his best friend. “Sokka will kill me!”
“He will not. Besides, we can fake break up later and just say we were better off as friends. Sokka will buy that.”
“Yeah, but he won’t like the fact that I’m fake or real dating his baby sister.”
“He will get over it. You were his best man at his wedding. If he could pick anyone to date me, it should be you.”
“Katara, this is an insane idea.”
“No, it’s a genius idea. Please, please, please.” He hesitates, running his fingers through his hair and messing it up more.
Katara puts on her best puppy dog eyes, knowing it always gets Zuko to cave. “Please, please, please come to the South Pole with me so I can spend Winter Solstice with my best friend.”
Zuko fights a grin and she knows she got him. “Well, when you put it that way…alright, fine.” She squeals with joy and launches to the other side of the couch to hug him. “Don’t make me regret this, Katara.”
“You won’t! I promise! We can make spiked hot chocolate and go skiing and build a snowman. It’s going to be so much fun!”
“Fuck, I forgot about the snow,” Zuko groans, his head falling to the back of the couch. He still has Katara in his arms in a half-hug. “Too late to back out?”
“One hundred percent too late. But you will look so cute bundled up in a parka!”