The Neighbors Pt4
Katara is playing outside on the small balcony of her family’s apartment when she overhears some banging and muttering. Curious, she looks and spots Zuko carrying a large and near-to-bursting trash bag to the dumpster. He’s awkwardly drag-carrying it and does look rather silly.
Unfortunately, the bottom of the bag gets caught on something and bursts open. The contents pour out onto the ground. Katara stares in shock. Zuko curses, such dirty, adult-only words. Katara gasps in horror at his boldness.
Mom once scolded Uncle Bato about his language in front of her and Sokka. She’d very seriously told her and Sokka to absolutely not talk like Uncle Bato and had gotten very scary about it, too.
Down below, Zuko was quickly gathering the trash that had fallen out. Thankfully, it wasn’t windy that day.
“I’ll be right down!” Katara calls out to him.
She doesn’t really explain as she bursts into the kitchen, startling Gran-Gran who was making herself some tea. Thankfully, she doesn’t spill a drop of tea and nothing is broken.
“Sorry, Gran-Gran! I gotta go downstairs and help Zuko!”
Katara grabs a trash bag, slips on her favorite sparkly-blue sandals, and makes sure to grab the apartment keys and slips them into her shorts pocket.
A few minutes later, she meets Zuko downstairs. He’s managed to gather most of the trash, but is awkwardly holding onto the bag to prevent it from spilling over again.
Katara shakes open the bag, and hands it to Zuko who wordlessly starts taking some of the trash out and stuffing it into the new bag. Katara quickly gathers some the trash that Zuko couldn’t get.
A few minutes later, they’ve divided the trash into two, more manageable amounts that aren’t threatening to burst through the bag.
“…Thanks,” Zuko mutters.
“You said bad words.” Katara replies.
Zuko looks at her wide-eyed. Almost nervous. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
Katara shrugs. “My mom gets scary when Sokka or me talk like that. She even yelled at my uncle.”
“…My mom doesn’t like me using those words, either.”
“I promise I won’t tell,” Katara’s voice is solemn.
Zuko nods his thanks.
They both carry the bags to the dumpsters. The smell is mildly unpleasant, but not overbearing.
“I saw a raccoon-fox here, once.” Katara tells him. “It was very fat. It had to clamber over the fence.”
Katara imitates the creature, drawing a small smile from Zuko. It was something she was secretly proud of.
“I’ve never seen one.” Zuko admits. “But I have seen skunk-raccoons…they smell terrible.”
“Oh…” Katara nods. “My brother’s socks smell real bad sometimes. Is it that bad?”
“…I’ve never smelled your brother’s socks so I wouldn’t know?”
Katara’s fairly certain the two smells would compare.
They’re walking back to the apartment as Katara asks, “Do you like it here?”
Zuko nods. “It’s um, smaller than our old house. But it’s much nicer.”
“What was your old house like?” Katara carefully balances on the curb as she walks, holding out her arms to balance herself.
Zuko doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he glances down at the ground and kicks at a small rock.
“It had lots of rooms. There was a piano in one. Books in another. We all had our own bedrooms. My dad had his…” Zuko stops, mouth forming a thin line. “Anyway, there was even a garden with turtle-ducks. My mom, Azula, and I sat out there whenever we could. I miss it.”
His tone of voice is much different, then. Wistful, remembering a wonderful memory. Gran-Gran looks like that too whenever she talks about the South. Katara has vague memories of being surrounded by the cold while also being surrounded by warmth with her family.
“…Do you miss your dad, too?”
Zuko’s expression – it isn’t a nice one. “No-one misses him.”
Somehow, the conversation halts into an awkward silence. Katara feels like she’s just stumbled into a hoard of angry buzzard-hornets. Everything about Zuko is suddenly stiff and tight, and his hands are stuffed into his pockets.
Should she apologize? Her parents always said that she should apologize when she’s hurt someone’s feelings – but she also needed to apologize specifically for whatever she’d said that caused the hurt.
The elevator ride back up to their floor is still filled with that uncomfortable silence. They both exit and the doors slide closed.
“I’m sorry about your dad.” Katara finally says, fidgeting nervously.
“…I am too.” Zuko’s voice is quiet. He looks at her, no longer with that unpleasant expression. “Thanks, for your help. I’ll um, I’ll see you later.”
Katara smiles at him, relieved.
---
Zuko follows after Sokka, with Katara and Azula coming along behind them.
The apartments were in an area that had a decent-sized creek, and it wasn’t too deep. They had to walk about a mile or two to reach it. According to Sokka, during the summer, the creek had crawdad-cicadas which buzzed and clicked loudly. Zuko and Azula had missed them by just a week-and-a-half. There were also cool rocks and other stuff.
“…Your parents won’t mind if we get muddy, right?” Zuko asks, slightly nervous at the idea.
Mother probably wouldn’t mind, too much. Maybe a little dirt would be fine. Father wasn’t here to be angry about the slightest amount of dirt.
A part of him is anxious at the idea of Sokka potentially getting into trouble.
“It’ll be fine.” Sokka insists. “Stop being such a wimpy-worrywart.”
“I’m not!” Zuko snaps. Another part of him feels guilty for snapping at Sokka – but the other boy doesn’t seem to even care. Or if he does, he’s not showing it.
Zuko can hear the girls talking – about some show that Katara has been watching and Azula has gotten sucked into watching it, too. Azula hadn’t really been able to watch TV like that so freely, before.
They come to an area with trees and rocks, and of course, the creek.
“Here we are!” Sokka announces, proudly. “You girls go on and do your own thing, like pick flowers. Me and Zuko are gonna do tough-guy stuff.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Katara yells.
“Explain yourself!” Azula demands.
Zuko doesn’t say a word – cautiously watching. He doesn’t want to be on the bad side of either Azula or Katara. Let alone both.
“This is the wilderness.” Sokka insists, placing his hands on his hips. “We’re gonna be doing manly stuff. And you girls will get grossed out.”
“You’re ten, Sokka!” Katara was very irritated, like she was about to tackle Sokka.
“You wanna see gross I’ll show you gross!” Azula might just retaliate. Not do anything too serious. Hopefully.
Sokka scoffs. “The point is. it’s really hard to survive out here. Am I right, Zuko?”
“…I can still sort of see the parking lot of the back part of the bowling alley.” Zuko states. This didn’t seem like an argument worth having and he didn’t want to get pulled into it. “I don’t really think that counts as wilderness.”
He simply marches to the edge of the creek and glances at the water flowing by. “Just let the girls do whatever they want, Sokka.”
It was better to avoid arguments and petty retaliations.
“Fine. Just don’t come crying to me if you get dirty.”
“Thank you, Zuko.” Katara says very smartly, making a face at Sokka.
Both Sokka and Katara stuck their tongues out at each other.
Sokka then turns and marches along the creek. “I’m going exploring.”
Azula marches after him. Sokka doesn’t look happy about it.
“You coming?”
“Not with you.” Katara says, kicking off her blue sandals and wading into the shallow water.
“Fine.”
“Fine!”
The water barely reaches her knees. She was bent over, running her hands through the water to pully out stones, and then and throwing what she doesn’t want away.
Zuko doesn’t want to leave Katara alone, so he stays behind.
“Be careful, Azula!”
“Ugh, I know!” she turns around briefly. “I’ll be careful, promise!”
Zuko hopes that he didn’t unintentionally start a fight with Sokka. And hopefully Azula won’t annoy Sokka too much. But she might just do something to get back at him for those comments earlier if she were irritated enough.
He removes his shoes and socks and carefully set them down and rolls up his pant legs. Other than Katara muttering under her breath about “stupid boys” and “stupid brothers” they don’t really talk.
They both spend several minutes finding several interestingly shaped river rocks, walking back-and-forth to place their collection at the river’s edge.
Zuko holds up a rock to look –
Katara suddenly yelps and falls into the water with a loud splash.
Concerned, Zuko quickly makes his way over to her. “Are you okay?”
“I hurt my foot!” Katara says with tears in her eyes.
Katara holds up her foot and Zuko winces when he sees a bloody gash.
It takes some careful maneuvering so he doesn’t fall in too, and Zuko helps Katara sit on the ground. The only thing they have bandage-wise are his socks. Zuko ties one of his socks around her foot and then puts on his shoes. It feels somewhat uncomfortable and strange to not be wearing his socks with his shoes, but that was the least of his concerns.
Sokka and Azula should be fine – he could take Katara home, then run back here to tell them what happened.
Zuko frowns when Katara sniffles, “It hurts to walk.”
--
This is how Zuko ends up carrying Katara piggyback style. Her fingers gripped the straps of her sandals as her arms were wrapped around his neck. This is embarrassing, she thinks. Zuko’s hair slightly tickles her nose, and she carefully shifts so that she can lean towards his ear.
“I’m sorry about your socks.” Katara mutters. “And that you have to carry me.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“I just didn’t want to get my sandals wet.” Katara explains miserably. Because they’re sparkly and new, and it was a big deal for her parents to get them for her.
“Okay.” Zuko replies. “You won’t get in trouble with your dad, right?”
“Huh? No? Why would I get in trouble?” Katara asks so genuinely confused at his concern. It was an odd question, wasn’t it?
“Um…your sandals…?”
“No…they’re sparkly, see? And they’re new.” This was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
“Okay. That’s good.”
--
They aren’t that far from the apartment when a car slows down next to them and stops.
The window rolls down.
“Katara?”
“Uncle Bato!” Katara greets, while Zuko stares – a part of him almost panics at the idea of getting caught – even though he hadn’t been doing anything to get in trouble for.
Mr. Bato helps them both into his car, and Katara happily rambles.
“This is my friend, Zuko. He and his mom and sister moved in not long ago.”
Zuko feels his face heat up slightly because Katara calls him ‘friend’ so easily.
Mr. Bato carries Katara up to her apartment where Ms. Kya is – and then he quickly leaves again to find Sokka and Azula just in case they come back only to find their respective siblings gone.
Ms. Kya easily cleans up and bandages Katara’s foot, and she thanks Zuko for taking care of her daughter.
--
It’s just thirty minutes or so later that Mr. Bato returns with Sokka and Azula.
“I’m sorry, Katara.” Sokka mutters.
“That is a shameful injury.” Azula tells Katara. “You should know better.”
“You’re a shameful injury.” Katara huffs, crossing her arms.
Azula scoffs.
Ms. Kya gives the kids some snacks before Zuko and Azula have to go home.
“Zuko!” Katara calls him over. She shifts around a little in her seated position and digs into her pocket before pulling out a stone.
“Here,” she holds it out to him. “I thought it was really pretty. I’m glad I grabbed it. It’s not much – but – thanks for your help, earlier.”
Zuko carefully holds the stone. It’s a pinkish-red color; smooth and cool, and just big enough to fill his palm.
“It…it really wasn’t that big a deal.”
Katara grins up at him, blue eyes shining.
“See you later, Katara.”
--
The stone finds a special place on his nightstand.
Pt. 1
Pt. 2
Pt. 3
