Zutara Month 2018

Day 21- Costume Party (AU)

Katara stood from her bed, pacing back and forth in front of her full-length mirror. Her best friend, Suki, sat cross legged on the mattress, watching Katara. "What do I do, Suki? What do I even wear?"

Katara had just gotten invited to a Halloween party by none other than Zuko himself. The hottest guy in school. How had that happened for her? Her, of all people! She wasn't very popular in school. She wore eyeglasses, she had braces, she stayed quiet unless spoken to....

There had to be some sort of catch, right?

Suki got to her feet, grabbing Katara's shoulders. "Katara! Calm. Down. Look at me. We got this, okay?"

Katara still wasn't so sure. "What do you suggest, then?"

Suki wiggled her eyebrows. "No man can resist Catwoman. I'll go as Black Widow."

Katara groaned. "Okay. Let's get this over with."

The two girls spent the next couple of days buying stuff for their costumes. Eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick, contacts, and two tight leather outfits. Katara stared at it, wondering how she would ever get that on her body. Suki had lost her mind.

Suki helped Katara straighten her hair and do her makeup. By the time they were done, Suki couldn't recognize her.

"Whoa," she said, taking a step back to look at what she'd done. "Zuko's gonna love this."

Two hours later, Katara stood outside of a huge mansion alongside Suki and her brother Sokka. Suki prayed she didn't notice the glances she'd been giving Sokka- he'd decided to come as the Hulk. His skin was painted green, and he wore a ripped white T-Shirt that exposed the abs underneath. She thought she might faint when she first saw him.

She'd had feelings for Sokka for so long. She'd done everything she could to hide it from Katara. It was best friend code that you didn't date their brother, right?

Loud music blared from inside the house. You could see shadows of writhing bodies dancing to it within the mansion. All three teenagers stood there, nerves crackling.

Sokka made the first move towards the door. Suki had to pull Katara with her. Sokka raised one green fist and pounded on the door. Zuko's sister stood in the doorway in a skimpy rabbit costume. She moved, putting her back against the door and dragging one heeled foot up to rest against it. "Hello, there, handsome. Care to come in?," She said in a seductive voice.

Sokka was speechless. Katara's face had turned red. All Suki could see was red.

Sokka didn't respond, just pushed past her. Katara and Suki followed, glancing over their shoulders to see Azula wink at them before she closed the door.

There were so many people inside, Katara felt as if she might suffocate. Men kept staring at her, dragging their eyes up the tight leather bodice of her outfit. Some even grazed against her, giving her winks or smiles of encouragement.

She felt so out of place. This wasn't the world she was used to. She was used to order, to books and pencils. She wasn't used to the attention of men, or the smell of alcohol that seemed to permeate the room.

Finally they made it to the kitchen, which was pretty open compared to the rest of the house. Katara saw a bright red bowl of punch, and made her way over to it. Her mouth was drier than cotton. There was a lump in her throat so big she didn't know if anything would help it get out.

She chugged the punch, despite the fact that it had a funny taste to it. Once done with her first glass, she chugged another and made a glass for Sokka and a glass for Suki. She nearly fell into them when she took it to them, hysterically laughing as she did so.

"Katara, are you drunk?", Both Sokka and Suki said, their eyes wide.

Was she? Maybe that had been why the punch tasted funny. "No idea," she giggled before turning to make her way back into the crowd. Suki tried desperately to grab her wrist and stop her from moving, but it didn't work. She kept going despite the protests of her best friend and her brother.

Katara started dancing her way through the crowd. She liked this feeling, this feeling of letting go for a moment. Of freedom from responsibilities. She'd had to grow up way too fast when her mother died. She'd handled most of the responsibilities because their father was always working. She'd done what she had to do.

Finally she danced her way into the arms of a man who was dressed as Batman. The costume fit him in all the right places. Katara knew who he was without taking the mask off of him. She'd seen him in his football jersey enough to know the layout muscular chest and abdomen.

Little did she know, he'd studied her just as often. Which is why he'd invited her here. Before now, he couldn't think of any excuses to get the pretty blue-eyed girl to talk to him. She always seemed so very shy.

He dragged his hands down her body, resting them on her hips. She dragged her hands up his body, resting them on his shoulders. They stood like that for a while before a commotion broke their attention. They turned their heads to see that Suki and Sokka had fallen through a coffee table. Despite the shattered glass and the fact that Sokka's back was bleeding, they were still attached at the lips.

"What in the-" Katara started to speak before Zuko's hand grabbed her chin, pulling her attention back to him.

"Don't," he said, his voice raspy. "They can handle that situation. They don't need your help. Right now, it's just you, and me. I need you, Katara. Now."

He dropped his hand from her chin, replacing it on her hip. He leaned in, closer and closer until their lips barely touched. Then he kissed her, hard. She tasted like the punch, sweet and somehow bitter at the same time.

She kissed him back, losing her breath. Her head spun and her heart pounded in her ribcage. She'd wanted this for so long. She thought it would never happen.

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Hey guys! I wanted to give a shout-out to JessClaudia18 for her help in writing for this prompt. She suggested I use an AU.

Thank you so much for your help! And thank you all for supporting this. It means a lot to me.

God bless!

XOXOXOXO

-Bree