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Katara loved her job and everything she did.
For as long as she could remember she’d always wanted to help people in any way that she could. Whether it was being there for her friends when they needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to whip them into shape, helping strangers on the street, volunteering somewhere (anywhere, really), or just offering someone a smile. She wanted to help people, be there for them, be kind and spread that kindness as far and wide as she could.
Being a nurse was something that allowed Katara to do that. She was able to help people, heal them, care for them, comfort them, in a way that she found fulfilling and felt like she was making a difference. Working at the local Emergency Care center made that work feel even more important, more meaningful, more purposeful.
Being a nurse at an Emergency Care center, Katara came to find, was a lot different than being a nurse at a hospital or doctor’s office. The work here vacillated between fast-paced ‘get this done now and get it done right or this man is going to die’, a more sedate ‘hey another kid stuck a lego up their nose, it’s your turn to take care of that’ and hours-long stretches of ‘there’s not much to do so let’s reorganize this filing cabinet again.’ Katara reveled in it; the uncertainty of what kind of night she was going to get, the challenge of the different problems she could be faced with, and the knowledge that no matter what it was she was going to do her damndest to care for everyone and send them home better than when they came in.
Another thing Katara loved about working at the Emergency Care was the different kinds of people she met. People from all walks of life came to Emergency Care; young and old, rich and poor, locals and out-of-towners, any extreme and everything in between. Katara loved being able to talk to people while they were there, make conversation, and help put them at ease while they cared for them. People tended to be a lot more open when visiting a doctor, eager to make a connection, to find someone to relate to, to find comfort in such an unfamiliar and nerve-wracking place. A nurse that connected with you over a book, a TV show, or a shared interest was a welcome familiarity in the face of uncertainty.
Katara could be that familiarity and comfort for someone, for however long they were there. And that made all the difference in the world.
One thing that Katara had come to appreciate from working at the Emergency Care center was repeat patients. People who injure themselves a lot, always forget to make doctor’s appointments, or just generally don’t want to see a doctor unless things get to ‘oh shit’ levels. Regular patients are few and far between, so Katara has formed a sort of kinship with the ones she recognizes. She’s never excited that people have to keep coming back, she’d rather everyone stayed healthy enough that she never had to see them again, and she feels a little guilt along with the comfort of seeing familiar faces.
So, when the boy her age who keeps coming in with skateboard-related injuries becomes a regular, Katara has mixed feelings about it.
The first visit, or at least, the first that Katara was his nurse for, was a concussion.
Katara has just finished helping to put a cast on a little girl’s broken arm and was making her way back to her station to check her list of patients when she ran into Song, another nurse who worked the shift just before Katara. She and Song tended to have the same kind of patients; either young kids or the elderly. Young kids tended to be a bit more at ease with a younger face around to reassure them. The elderly, because she and Song, in particular, had a knack for responding appropriately to their small talk and convincing them to adhere to any treatment prescribed to them properly. Song’s gentle coaxing and Katara’s logical approach tended to get the job done. Katara loved working with Song; they had similar ideals, morals, and goals, which made it easy to connect with her.
“Oh, Katara! I’m so glad I found you,” Song says, catching up to her just outside her station. “Are you heading to another patient right now?”
“I was just going to check my list and see who’s next,” Katara says picking up her clipboard and flipping through the pages. “What’s up?”
“A new patient came in a little while ago,” Song flicks through her own clipboard until she finds the page she’s looking for, holding it out for Katara to see. “His friend brought him in because he hit his head on the concrete skateboarding. I only saw him for a minute when I called them into the back, but I think he has a concussion and might need stitches.”
“Ouch,” Katara winces, glancing at Song’s papers detailing his basics before turning back to her own.
“Yeah, there’s a pretty deep cut on the side of his head. Anyway, I was going to ask if you had time to squeeze in seeing him? I was going to head over there, but that older man who came in with food poisoning earlier has only gotten worse, and one of the doctors asked me to stay in there with him in case he tears his stomach lining with all the puking he’s doing.”
Katara winces again. Elderly and food poisoning were not a good match. Katara looks through her papers, contemplating. She has one more kid that she needs to go check on again, a little boy who came in with the flu and was severely dehydrated. She really only needed to check his saline drip and see if it needed replacing, which she could get done quickly enough.
“Yeah, I should be able to go see him soon. Give me his papers, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you! I owe you one,” Song says, hurriedly handing over the papers.
“You can take the next kid who shoves a lego up their nose.”
“Ah, I should’ve known you’d drive a hard bargain. Consider it done.”
Katara makes it to the communal room the skateboard kid is being held about thirty minutes later. Despite most of the beds in the room being occupied, she doesn’t have to look very hard for the correct patient.
In one corner of the room are two boys who look about her age, one of them sitting on the bed with a bloody bandage on his head, and the other is a boy in a wheelchair who’s talking animatedly to the one on the bed.
“Hi there, I’m Katara,” she introduces herself when she’s close enough. “Sorry it’s taken a bit for someone to get to you, but I’ll get you taken care of right away.”
Both boys look over to her when she speaks, and both give her blinding grins. At least they both seem the happy type, Katara thinks.
“Don’t worry about it,” the friend in the wheelchair says when her newest patient only stares at her. Katara has a suspicion that Song’s early diagnosis of a concussion is correct. “I’m sure you’re all super busy here.”
Katara learns as she checks him over (Aang, his paperwork says) that his friends’ name is Teo. They had been trying out some new tricks at the skate park when Aang slipped off his board on the landing of one of the said tricks and fell hard enough that his helmet slipped off, causing him to hit his head. He cut his head on the corner of a cement block when he rolled from the momentum of the fall. (“It’s there for tricks, like flips and stuff. It’s not like, just out in the open or anything. We had been using it, so we were probably too close to it,” Teo assures her when Katara expresses concern over cement blocks just being out there for anyone to run into.) Katara learns all of this from Teo since Aang hasn’t done much more than stare and answer Katara’s questions about how he’s feeling when prompted more than once.
“So, you’ve definitely got a concussion here, my friend,” Katara says, turning Aang’s head a bit so she can get a better angle to clean up his cut. “Have you ever had one before?”
“You’re really pretty,” is what Aang says back instead of answering her question. Surprised at the gall of it, Katara feels her face flush. Teo buries his face in his hands, shaking his head, but Katara has a sinking suspicion that he’s holding back laughter.
“That,” Katara says, pulling off her gloves and tossing them. “would be the concussion talking. I’m gonna go grab some numbing we’ll get this stitched up for you.”
Katara gets Aang stitched up with no problems. He doesn’t flinch too badly at the sight of the stitching materials, and Teo holds his hand through it, which makes Katara smile at the kindness of it. Aang makes a few more comments on her eyes or her hair, but stops in horror when Teo chastizes him for flirting with someone who’s working; and even more, flirting with a woman who’s holding sharp objects to his head. Katara’s had her fair share of patients who flirt and is well familiar with concussions, so she doesn’t really take any of it to heart. It helps that Aang spends the rest of his time in the Emergency Care alternatively apologizing and talking about his beloved dog.
Katara sends them off when she’s certain they have a ride home, (“My dad is waiting for us in the waiting room, he drove us here,” Teo reassures her.) She gives them some pamphlets on how to care for concussions and extracts promises that he’ll come back if he has recurring headaches, dizziness, or trouble focusing in the weeks to come. She gives a strict order to not do anything that might risk another head injury because the absolute last thing he wants to do is hit his head again any time soon.
With a follow-up appointment to remove the stitches secured, Katara bids them goodnight, and figures that’s the end of it.
Aang is dying.
He’s dying, going down in spinning flames and sinking into the floorboards, he’s sure of it.
Now, if only Teo would stop laughing at him.
“Couldn’t you have just a little bit of mercy?” Aang asks in despair, voice muffled because his face is still buried in the sofa cushions. Appa, laying on the floor beside the sofa, reaches up to lick at Aang’s face in commiseration. He mostly gets Aang’s ear, which pulls a shudder from him, but Aang still appreciates the attempt at comfort.
Teo laughs harder. Aang needs new friends.
“You did this to yourself,” Teo tells him, unrepentant. “‘ Katara you’re so pretty. Your eyes are beautiful. You’re so nice, Katara, please marry me. ’”
“ I did not say that, ” Aang hisses, sitting up from the sofa and throwing a pillow at Teo. Teo, of course, simply catches the pillow and proceeds to snuggle it, still laughing at him. Appa woof’s, excited by the sudden movements.
Again, Aang needs new friends. Maybe he should reconnect with Toph, they haven’t talked much since she moved back to the city. Then again, Aang thinks, she’d probably be a lot worse than Teo is being. Maybe Aang should just… conveniently forget to mention this the next time they talk.
“You might as well have,” Teo says, clutching the pillow to his chest and resting his chin on it. He looks far too smug for Aang’s liking. “At least you apologized. And she didn’t even stab you a little bit! Well, except for what was necessary for the stitches.”
“I can’t believe you let me keep talking and bothering that poor nurse. She shouldn’t have had to deal with me acting like that,” Aang pouts.
From what Aang remembers, which isn’t much, but is certainly enough to be mortified, the nurse who helped him was indeed very pretty. Gorgeous eyes, hair that looked like it would be soft to the touch, calloused hands that still managed to feel soft. Pretty and nice and kind enough to laugh off Aang’s slurred and dazed compliments. He remembers she had a nice smile and gentle hands as she stitched his forehead up. He also remembers she had an infectious laugh that made him smile widely in return.
“You weren’t that bad,” Teo tries to assure him. Aang would beg to differ. “As sucky as it is, she probably deals with worse. At least you weren’t sexual about it or anything--”
Aang gapes, eyes going wide, cheeks reddening at even the thought and makes a noise of despair. Teo waves his hands frantically, “I said you didn’t! It could’ve been worse!”
“Could’ve been worse,” Aang repeats. “It shouldn’t have happened at all.”
“Dude, you were concussed. You hardly stopped talking once she asked if you had pets. But, then you almost cried when you realized you didn’t have your phone and couldn’t show her pictures of Appa.”
“That was a tragedy,” Aang mumbles, reaching down to scratch Appa behind the ears, cooing at him. Appa leans his head into Aang’s hands, and Aang’s heart melts a little. “Everyone should get to see pictures of Appa. Right, boy? Cause you’re just the best, aren’t you? Aren’t you?” Appa woof’s again in agreement, licking at Aang’s hands.
“Of course Appa’s the best boy ever,” Teo agrees easily. “I’m just saying, the nurse probably isn’t going to hold things against you that you had no ability to control. I’m sure dealing with concussions is like, a daily occurrence for her.”
“I can never show my face at that Emergency Center again,” Aang says plainly.
“You have an appointment there next week to remove your stitches.”
“... Shit.”
Luck seems to be on Aang’s side, mercy of all mercy’s because when Aang goes to get his stitches removed, it’s not the same nurse who helped before. Instead, it’s a sweet girl by the name of Song who makes conversation with him and Teo the whole time about the importance of preserving nature sights. It goes off without a hitch, and Aang thinks, hopes, that’s the end of it.
At least, until a few months later when Aang bangs up his ankle because his board slipped out from under his feet while landing a simple kickflip. The group of elementary and middle schoolers that hang out at the same skate park that Aang and Teo teach tricks to lose it. It’s the first time they’ve seen him get hurt, none of them having been there during his last fall, so he supposes it’s only natural for them to worry. A group of older kids on the other side of the park snicker amongst themselves as little Emi takes a bright pink bandage with butterflies out of her pocket and carefully places it on his skinned knee. He makes sure to thank her for it.
He’s almost too embarrassed by the fact that he fell so hard doing a trick he mastered when he was eleven to want to go to the emergency room. But his ankle hurts and it’s just swollen enough that Teo is worried there might be a fracture. Aang lets Teo and his dad shuffle him into the car and pouts the whole way to the Emergency Care. He just hopes luck continues to be on his side.
Luck is not on his side.
Katara had figured, after not having been the one to remove the skateboarders’ stitches, that that would be the end of it.
It turns out to not be the end of it, when a few months later, Aang is back, and this time with an ankle injury.
Katara doesn’t have many patients on this lovely Tuesday afternoon, so when he shows up, limping, leaning heavily on his friends’ wheelchair, and pouting deep enough to put sad puppies to shame, Katara takes over helping them out. She waits until he’s filed all the paperwork out and turned it all into the receptionist before looking it over. Written in the little box designated to describing the injury is a wordy explanation that boils down to landing wrong during a skateboard trick and hurting his left ankle.
Katara calls him back, intent on getting an X-Ray first to see the extent of the damage. Hopefully, it’s not a break, because broken ankles are just about the worst, especially for those that do things like skateboard on the regular. His friend comes back with him again, shooting him teasing looks when Katara gives him the option of crutches or a wheelchair to maneuver around the building. He tries to bugger off either, but his ankle is concerningly swollen, and there’s no way Katara is letting him put pressure on it. Aang sheepishly accepts the crutches.
Aang maneuvers the crutches easily, though Katara keeps close in case he loses his balance. When they get to the room and Katara and Doctor Yagoda are readying the X-Ray room, Aang gives them a bit more detail about his injury.
“I really was just doing a simple trick. I don’t know how it happened, but my board just slipped out from under me and I rolled my ankle. That’s never happened to me before, and when stuff like that does happen, I’m usually a lot better at falling in a way that doesn’t lead to getting hurt,” Aang explains.
“Sometimes simple acts lead to pretty serious injuries,” Doctor Yagoda muses, nodding her head toward the table in the center of the room. “Not everyone can be perfect all the time. Up on the table, sweetheart.”
“I suppose,” Aang says, hoisting himself up onto the table as instructed. “Still, it might not have hurt my pride so much if the group of high schoolers watching hadn’t laughed quite so hard.”
“Hey,” his friend, Teo, Katara is pretty sure his name is, jumps in. “The little kids were very worried about you. They were hovering over you like scared little chickens until we got you in the car. I bet some of them are gonna be too scared to skate now that their mentor went and wiped out right in front of them. We’re gonna have to go back soon just to prove to them that you’re fine.”
Aang looks even more distressed at the thought that the little kids he apparently hangs out with might be worried about him. His friend snickers at him.
“Alright,” Katara says, once everything is set up and Aang is in position. “Teo, right?” At his nod, Katara continues. “You and I are going to go in that side room and watch while Doctor Yagoda takes the X-Rays, okay? It should only take a few minutes.”
“Alright,” Teo nods, giving Aang a reassuring thumbs-up as he and Katara exit the room. They can still see into the room through a window, and they watch mostly in silence as Aang follows Doctor Yagoda’s directions while she snaps X-Rays.
“He really hasn’t fallen like that in a long time,” Teo mumbles, face pinching when they see Aang wince as he turns his leg at a different angle. “It was kinda scary.”
“It’s always scary to see someone you care about get hurt,” Katara sympathizes. “You’re good at staying calm, though. And that helps keep him calm, too.”
“I guess,” Teo sighs. “We’ve been friends for a long time, and he used to get hurt a lot more, and not just from skateboarding. Too stubborn to ever back down from a challenge, no matter what that challenge was. It’s been so long since something like this happened, though, that I guess I forgot what it was like.”
“Sounds like you two have been through a lot together,” Katara says softly. “It’s good that you two have each other.”
“Yeah, known him for a little longer than ten years, now. He’s like a brother the brother I never had, so even though I joke a lot, I still worry about him.”
“Like any sibling would. I love my brother to death, but I’ll be the first to tease him about something.”
Teo laughs at that, some of the heaviness leaving his shoulders. “Oh yeah, I’m not sure if you remember the last time he was here. He had a concussion and you did his stitches?”
“I remember. He flirted and then started to cry about his dog.”
Teo snickers again. “Yeah, I went at him kinda hard for that one. He felt so bad once he was fully lucid that I just had to tease him. I really hope he didn’t make you uncomfortable, though. Soul bro or no, I’ll ram him in the shins with my wheels if that’s the case.”
That startles a little laugh out of Katara. “No, he didn’t,” she assures. “I’ve dealt with much worse before. And besides, he stopped and apologized for it right away, even still concussed. That’s more than I can say for others.”
“He’ll probably try to apologize again, too, now that he doesn’t have a concussion hindering him.”
“Well, I won’t stop him if he does. Come on this way, it looks like they’re finished in there.”
Sure enough, Doctor Yogoda has moved away from the machine and is helping Aang down from the table. She hands him his crutches, and Katara opens the door just in time to hear his thanks.
“Alright, Katara, why don’t you show them to room two while I look these over?” She says. “I’ll be there once we know what’s going on with your ankle.”
After a round of heartfelt thanks from both Aang and Teo, Katara starts leading them to the room. It’s one of the bigger communal ones, but right now it only holds two other patients; an older woman who came in after a dizzy spell lead her to a fall, and a young adult who had an allergic reaction to a new lotion. Katara holds the door open for them and tells Aang to take a seat on any bed he likes.
“You get comfortable, I’m going to get you some ice and some things to clean and bandage those cuts. What would you rate your pain at? I’ll bring some pain medication, as well.” she says, motioning towards his roughed-up knees.
“Oh, um. Hmm, like a six maybe? It’s tapered off some and I’ve always had a pretty high pain tolerance.”
“Right, I’ll bring something to help you out.”
Katara does just that, coming back to the room in just a few minutes laden with her supplies. Teo and Aang are whispering to each other, heads bent together when she walks in. Aang’s cheeks are red, and he snaps to attention when gets to his side.
Katara tends to his ankle first, placing the ice pack just so and wrapping some cloth around it so it stays in place. While she’s working, Aang clears his throat, opening his mouth to speak. Despite clearing his throat, however, his voice comes out just a tad quiet and a bit squeaky.
“Um, Katara? Teo said he mentioned the… last time I was here to you, but, uh. I wanted to properly apologize for my behavior that day. It was inappropriate, and concussion or not, I shouldn’t have acted that way. I’m sorry.”
Aang ends his apology with a dip of his head, breaking eye contact know that he’s done speaking. Off to the side, Teo looks amused, yet proud of his friend.
Katara, well… Katara finds herself charmed against any better judgment.
“Well, I’d hope Teo also told you that I’m not upset, but the apology is still much appreciated,” Katara says while she’s adjusting where he has his ankle elevated. “Apology accepted. Besides, your compliments were more nice than uncomfortable, if not the wrong place and wrong time.”
“Oh…” Aang breathes out, smiling at her. “I don’t really remember all that I said, but I’m glad it was nothing bad.”
“Nothing bad,” Katara confirms. “Now, can you turn just a bit so I can get to those cuts? I see this one is bandaged, did you clean it beforehand?”
If you can call a neon pink bandaid with purple butterflies bandaged, which Katara sort of does, it seems like that would be the worst of the scrapes. Aang’s knees are a bit torn up and already bruising, akin to skidding on concrete. They’ll definitely be sore and take a while to heal up. However, Katara can see that the pink bandaid is losing its battle and she can see some blood coming through.
“Ah, we poured some water over it? That was all any of us really had,” Aang says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “The bandage came from one of the younger kids that hangs out at the park.”
Katara hums, “It seems to be losing its fight a bit. I’m going to remove it, clean them properly, and rebandage you, sound good?” Aang nods, so Katara gets her things ready.
“Here,” she says, handing Aang a painkiller and a small bottle of water. “That should help with the pain and the swelling. Just a basic Ibuprofen, just a bit stronger than an over-the-counter one.”
Aang takes the pill and water gratefully, and Katara gets to work. The cuts aren’t too bad, the one that had been bandaged already being the worst one. Luckily, his hands have managed to stay scrape-free by virtue of the gloves he wears while skating. Katara makes quick work of them, finishing wrapping him up when Doctor Yagoda comes into the room.
“You’re in luck,” she tells Aang brightly, looking up from her stack of papers. “It’s just a sprain, albeit a pretty bad one. No signs of fractures, though, which is a very good sign.”
Aang and Teo both breathe a sigh of relief, expressing their thanks once again. Doctor Yagoda smiles indulgently at them. “So, what we’re going to do is get you a brace that you’ll wear for three weeks minimum, young man. You keep pressure off of that ankle as much as possible, use those crutches like they’re a part of you. Keep it elevated, and take things easy for a while. And you’ll come back here for another X-Ray to make sure everything is healed properly. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Aang says quickly, nodding his head.
Doctor Yagoda finishes taking care of him while Katara goes off to help other patients. Katara sees him again briefly while he’s leaving; she’s in the main room to call back a new patient, and he’s making his way to the exit while an older man who must be Teo’s father holds the door open for them. Aang and Teo spot her, and they both wave. Katara smiles back before ushering her new patient into the back.
And now, Katara is stuck in this weird emotional space where she wants to see and speak to Aang again, but she doesn’t want that to be because he’s been hurt and has to come back to the Emergency Room.
Aang is not dying this time, but it’s a near thing.
Aang isn’t dying, but he is crushing, and he has no idea what to do about it.
“You could always get hurt again and hope she’s your nurse,” Teo says, unhelpfully from his spot in Aang’s living room where he’s showering Appa with affection. If Appa didn’t love Teo so much Aang would insist on getting a new best friend.
“I’d rather not have to go to the emergency room again, if it’s all the same to you,” Aang says haughtily. Teo, very slowly and without pausing his petting of Appa, raises his head to make eye contact with Aang and lifts one brow.
Aang is sitting (pouting) on his sofa, footstool in front of him so he can elevate his injured ankle. He doesn’t have the brace on at the moment, but that’s only because he’s currently icing it, as per Doctor Yagoda’s instruction. The brace will go back on after. Aang is surrounded by pillows to make his leg comfortable, a blanket over his lap because the ice had made him cold. His knees are still badly bruised, a collage of blues and purples and yellows that ache when he bends them. The scrapes are on their way to being healed, but they’re scabbed over and itchy and they’re steadily driving Aang crazy.
So, he doesn’t look his best right now. Teo’s look is still uncalled for.
“Just because I’m currently injured doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.”
“Yesterday you were using your crutches in the kitchen and almost slipped on the tile to take a header into the counter.”
“ Almost. And that was only because the socks I was wearing made me slide on the floor. That won’t happen again.”
“When I got here you almost fell again because you stepped on one of Appa’s toys.”
“That wasn’t there earlier! I was just distracted by you so I didn’t see it!”
“You lost your balance when going to sit on the sofa and practically fell onto it.”
“ Okay, so maybe I’ve been a little more clumsy lately, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna send myself back to the emergency room!”
“Well if you’re not gonna go back to the emergency room, how are you gonna see her again?”
“Keep that up and I might start thinking you want me to get hurt, Teo,” Aang pulls out his best pout for this one, intent on getting Teo to stop his teasing. Of course, he knows Teo hates it when he gets hurt, and his teasing is just that, teasing. But, Aang wants to win this round.
True to form, Teo’s face softens, a rueful little smile taking over his face. “You know I don’t really want you to get hurt, I’m just teasing. But on the other hand, I can’t really think of another way that you might see her again. And what would you even say? ‘Hey, you’ve been my nurse a couple of times, wanna get coffee with me?’”
“Why not? We’ve only talked a little bit, yeah, but she’s kind, and talking to her gives me butterflies. Why not try?”
“I guess. And you do still have to go back at the end of the month to check your ankle again. Maybe you’ll see her then.”
Emboldened, Aang lets the confidence his conversation with Teo gave him carry him all the to the day of his next X-Ray appointment. He’s mentally ready and prepared to ask Katara to coffee with him. If she says yes, awesome, Aang has a date to prepare for. If she says no, it’ll suck ‘cause he gets this feeling in chest when he looks at her that just makes him feel like they could be something, but Teo bought him a pint of the good chocolate fudge ice cream and he’ll survive.
Aang doesn’t see Katara when he goes to his appointment except for a brief moment when he’s walking down the hallway with Nurse Song, the one who removed his stitches, and Katara smiles and waves at him. The Emergency Care is busier than Aang has ever seen it be before, and he’s sure she’s beyond busy. Nurse Song herself is looking a bit harried, even though she’s doing a good job of keeping a smile on her face.
Aang leaves, clean bill of health, and peace of mind that his ankle is fully healed, but not having shared so much as a word with Katara.
Fate, as much as Katara believes in it, and she does, turns out to be a funny thing.
It’s been about two months since she’s last seen Aang, and even though it’s a shorter gap from last time, it feels like it’s been longer. When he’d come in to get his ankle X-Rayed again, she only had time to send him a quick smile and wave before rushing off to another patient. It was hardly satisfying, and while she’s glad he hasn’t been hurt, she won’t deny her slight desire to see him.
Today, though, is one of Katara’s rare days off and she plans to spend it finishing her errands early and then relaxing for the rest of the day. Katara doesn’t like to sleep in too late on her days off, finds that it ruins her sleep schedule. And she’s always been one to prefer keeping busy, even if she does love a good lazy day. Today, she’s going to get done what needs doing, and then she’s going to get take out, watch the newest drama series that just came out, and finish her day off with a long, relaxing bath.
Nowhere in those plans did she count on running into the boy she’s kind of been crushing on in the middle of the grocery store. But again, fate is a funny thing.
Katara has finished all of her errands; going to the post office to send her grandmother back home a package, went to the bank, picked up the dress she wore (and spilled wine on) at Suki’s graduation party last weekend from the dry cleaners, had lunch with Sokka (not an errand, but still a to-do), and now was tackling the last chore of the day: grocery shopping.
She’s in the produce section, deciding between getting strawberries or mangos or both when she hears someone call her name.
“Hey, Katara!” a bright voice calls out from not far behind her. It sounds like… But it can’t be, right?
Sure enough, Katara turns around and is met with the sight of Aang, small grocery basket in arm, smiling at her from just a few feet away.
“Aang, hi!” Katara says, surprised but pleasantly so. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“I know right! I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I mean, the Emergency Care Center isn’t too far from here. But still! It’s nice to run into you,” Aang has this small, pleased smile on his face, and even though it’s not as big as other smiles she’s seen of his, this one feels much more genuine.
“It is nice to see you when you haven’t been hurt,” Katara teases. “It has been a while since you’ve been to the emergency room, though, I hope you aren’t planning on visiting any time soon.”
“Believe me, I have no plans to get hurt. As much as I enjoy seeing you, I don’t actually enjoy being hurt,” Aang’s voice is confident when he lets slip the casual flirt, but the flush on his cheeks gives him away as slightly nervous. Katara’s stomach flutters, butterflies making their home there for the time being.
Katara lets herself smile coyly, willing her nerves to settle.
“Enjoy seeing me, huh? I think I like seeing you, too. Maybe outside of the emergency room, though?”
The brightest smile Katara has seen to date lights up Aang’s face. Katara feels one gracing her own.
“Would you like to go out for coffee sometime?”
“Yeah, I would.”
They exchange phone numbers, right there in the produce aisle in front of the strawberries. Aang promises to message her with the times he’s free and Katara promises to do the same so they can work out a time to go out.
Eventually though, they can’t loiter in the aisle anymore, so after the second person has to shuffle awkwardly past them, they’re forced to say goodbye. Aang explains that he was really only here because he ran out of carrots and green onion, which he needed for his soup, and he gathers what he needs quickly. He leaves Katara with a sweet goodbye and another promise to text her.
Katara, feeling indulgent, gets both the strawberries and the mangos. She finishes the rest of her shopping with a smile on her face.
As she’s leaving the grocery store, her phone chimes and she pulls it out of her pocket, expecting to see a text from Sokka. She supposes she should have known otherwise.
Aang
Can’t wait for our date.