Chapter Text
Katara had exactly three things on her mind as she climbed the stairs to the second floor of the dorm building.
First, she was exhausted. Her last lecture had run almost forty minutes over because Professor Pakku had decided the midterm review needed "one final clarification," which somehow turned into an entirely new lesson.
Second, she was starving. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the grocery bags digging into her forearms smelled faintly of fresh vegetables and the bakery downstairs.
Third—and most importantly—Ty Lee had better not have eaten the leftover curry she'd spent two hours making the night before.
By the time she reached Room 214, she was already imagining herself curled up on the couch with dinner and whatever low quality romance movie Ty Lee insisted they watch this week. Balancing the grocery bags against her hip, Katara pushed the door open with her shoulder.
I'm back," she called as she stepped inside. "And if you touched my leftovers, I'm revoking your movie-night privileges."
Nothing.
Katara frowned.
Normally Ty Lee answered before the door had even finished opening. She'd usually yell back from her desk or come running over to help with the groceries, apologizing for something before Katara had even asked.
Instead...
Silence.
The room itself looked wrong.
Katara's eyes swept across it, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
Ty Lee's side of the room had been completely dismantled.
Her desk drawers sat open and empty. Cardboard boxes were stacked neatly against the wall. Half her closet was bare, and clothes were folded into an open suitcase resting on the bed. It wasn't messy so much as... halfway erased.
Katara slowly lowered the grocery bags onto the floor.
"...Ty Lee?"
A head popped up from behind the bed.
Ty Lee smiled, though it looked more nervous than cheerful this time.
"Oh! Hi, Katara."
She was holding an armful of hoodies, one of which nearly slipped from her grasp before she hurriedly caught it. Katara stared at her for a long moment before speaking.
"Why are you packing?"
Ty Lee opened her mouth. Closed it again. Then she let out a short, awkward laugh.
"Okay... so before you get mad—"
"I'm not mad," Katara interrupted.
She glanced around the room one more time.
"I'm just.. concerned."
The distinction didn't seem to comfort Ty Lee in the slightest.
Before either of them could say anything else, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Mai appeared in the doorway carrying another cardboard box against her hip. She walked inside like this was the most normal thing in the world, set it carefully on Ty Lee's bed, and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She looked between Katara and Ty Lee once.
"You should probably skip to the part where she's mad."
Katara blinked.
"...Mai."
"Katara."
"Why are you here?"
Mai glanced down at the box she'd just carried in, as though the answer should've been obvious.
"I'm helping."
Katara folded her arms.
"Helping with what?"
Ty Lee looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. She set the hoodies down on the bed and took a slow breath.
"I'm moving."
For a second, Katara simply stared at her. The sentence registered. Then her brain rejected it.
"...You're what?"
"I'm moving."
"I heard you the first time." Katara said slowly.
Despite the situation, Mai let out the faintest snort. Ty Lee rubbed the back of her neck.
"So... Mai had an opening in her room."
Katara looked over at Mai.
"You had a roommate."
"I did."
"What happened to her?"
"She switched for Ty Lee."
Katara blinked, averting her eyes towards the ground slowly.
"...Oh."
"It was mutual," Mai explained with a shrug. "No yelling. No thrown furniture. Surprisingly mature." Ty Lee smiled sheepishly.
"And... since Mai and I have been together for a while now..."
She reached over and laced her fingers with Mai's for a second before looking back at Katara.
"...we thought it made sense to live together."
Katara finished the sentence for her.
"You guys want to be roommates."
Ty Lee nodded.
"Yeah."
Katara looked at the half-empty room again.
She wanted to be upset. She really did. Her and Ty Lee had established a secure friendship since move-in day. But she also couldn't ignore the fact that Ty Lee looked... happy.
Really happy.
If Katara were dating someone she loved, she'd probably want the same thing.
She let out a long sigh.
"...You could've warned me."
"I wanted to," Ty Lee said quickly. "Housing didn't approve the transfer until this morning. I found out, like, two hours ago."
Katara rubbed her forehead.
"I know."
"I'm really sorry."
"I know."
She wasn't angry.
Not really.
Just caught off guard.
Her eyes drifted across the room once more, lingering on the empty shelves where Ty Lee's decorations had already disappeared.
"So..."
She folded her arms again.
"Who's replacing you?"
The room became strangely quiet.
Ty Lee suddenly found the zipper on her suitcase incredibly interesting.
Mai looked toward the ceiling.
Neither of them answered.
Katara narrowed her eyes.
"Why is no one saying anything!" She barked
A familiar voice drifted in from the hallway.
"Because they possess excellent survival instincts."
Katara's stomach dropped.
No.
No, no, no.
She already knew that voice.
Slowly, she turned toward the doorway.
Azula stood there with a suitcase in one hand and a duffel bag slung over her body. She looked immaculate, as always. Not a hair out of place, posture perfectly straight, expression calm enough to suggest she hadn't just walked into what was rapidly becoming Katara's worst afternoon of the semester.
Their eyes met.
Azula gave her a smirk more cockier than a penis itself
"...No," Katara said.
Azula tilted her head ever so slightly.
"'No?'"
"No."
A flicker of amusement crossed Azula's face.
"I wasn't aware this was a vote."
"You are not my new roommate."
"I am." Azula piped
"There's been a mistake."
"There has not." Mai said sounding unbeliveable to Katara
Katara whipped around to face Ty Lee.
"Tell me she's joking."
Ty Lee gave her the most apologetic smile Katara had ever seen.
"She's not."
Katara closed her eyes for exactly three seconds, silently hoping that when she opened them, Azula would have disappeared.
She opened them.
Azula was still there.
"...No," Katara repeated.
"I admire your persistence," Azula said evenly, "but repeating the word doesn't appear to be changing reality."
Katara pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Out of every student on this campus..."
"There are approximately ten thousand," Azula supplied.
"...it had to be you."
Azula gave a small shrug.
"I could make the same observation."
Mai looked between the two of them before taking a step toward the door.
"I'll leave you three to sort this out."
Katara stared at her.
"You're seriously just leaving?"
"I don't see how my presence improves the situation." Mai said, walking to the door.
By the time Ty Lee sprinted with the last of her boxes into Mai's room across the hall, the silence in Room 214 had become overwhelming. Katara sat on her bed with her arms crossed. Across the room, Azula unpacked with alarming efficiency. Within five minutes, every book was arranged neatly on the shelf. Every article of clothing had been folded. Every notebook sat in a perfect stack. Katara watched her for another minute before speaking.
"...Do you organize everything like that?"
Azula didn't look up.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It makes finding things easier."
"You found things before."
"I find them faster now."
Katara watched as Azula adjusted a stack of books by what couldn't have been more than half an inch.
"...You're serious."
"I usually am."
Katara shook her head.
"We're complete opposites."
"So I've noticed."
Ty Lee peeked through the still-open door.
"How's it going?"
Both girls answered at the same time.
"Fine."
Ty Lee smiled.
"Oh! See? That's a good sign."
"It isn't," Katara said.
"Not remotely," Azula agreed.
Ty Lee chose to ignore them.
She walked over and wrapped Katara in a hug.
"I promise this isn't weird."
"It is already weird."
"We'll still have movie nights."
"You owe me dinner."
"Done."
"And dessert."
"Done."
"And you're helping me with chemistry until finals."
Ty Lee chuckled.
"I was going to do that anyway."
Katara hugged her back for another second before letting go.
"...I'm happy for you."
Ty Lee smiled warmly.
"I know."
She looked toward Azula.
"Take care of her."
Katara groaned.
"I don't need to be taken care of."
Azula met Ty Lee's eyes.
"I'll ensure she remains alive."
"I was hoping for slightly warmer than that."
"It would be dishonest."
Ty Lee giggled despite herself.
"You'll get along eventually."
Katara snorted.
"I wouldn't bet money on it."
Neither would Azula.
That evening, the room settled into an uneasy quiet. Katara spread her notes across her desk, trying to ignore the fact that someone else occupied the other half of the room. She'd known Azula for nearly two years.Everyone on campus knew Azula. Top of every class she was in. Captain of the debate team and the softball team. Teaching assistant for two different professors despite only being a freshman. Brilliant. Intimidating. And so relentlessly confident it bordered on infuriating. Every conversation they'd ever had somehow turned into an argument. Usually because Azula insisted she was right. Usually because she was. Which only made it worse.
Across the room, Azula was reading a thick economics textbook without so much as glancing at her phone.
Katara frowned.
"Do you ever take breaks?"
"I am taking one."
"You're reading."
"Exactly."
"That's... not a break."
"It is from statistics."
Katara stared.
"I don't know whether to admire you or worry about you."
"You needn't do either."
Silence settled over the room again.
It wasn't exactly uncomfortable.
Just...
Foreign.
Katara hated “Foreign”. She liked routines. She liked knowing what to expect. Living with Ty Lee had become effortless. Living with Azula already felt like trying to solve a puzzle where half the pieces had been hidden on purpose.