Chapter Text
It was done.
It was finally done.
It had taken 11 months of her life, but it was official: she was a free woman. The divorce had been finalized.
In hindsight, she really wished it hadn't taken as long as it had, but Jet was a two-faced, lying bastard who had raised his nose and balked at every divorce settlement proposal, taking every opportunity, at every turn, to try and squeeze more alimony out of her.
Alimony, she scoffed. What for? They didn't even have any children together — thank God.
She couldn't really pinpoint when things had started to go south for them. He hadn't been like that at the start of their relationship; he had been cocky and overconfident, sure, but she had liked that about him. He was sweet and caring in his own way, though a bit mean at times, which was normal for boys his age, according to her friends back then.
The real mistake had been marrying so young, though there was not much she could do about it now.
She made it out of the tribunal and into the street in record time, having no wish nor energy to prolong this rueful ridicule.
Down the long steps of the courthouse and almost grasping the handle of her car,she heard someone shout her name.
She turned around and to her horror, Jet was stalking his way to her
Katara stiffened instantly, taking a step back..
“What do you want?” she asked coldly.
“To talk.”
A humorless chuckle, closer to a scoff. Arms curling around herself before she could stop them.
“You’ve had plenty of time to talk. Almost twenty years, actually.”
Jet’s jaw tightened. He dragged a hand through his hair, frustration flashing across his face before smoothing into a familiar expression she used to mistake for sincerity.
“Don’t do this, angel,” softly, moving closer, arms open like he actually expected her to embrace him. “You know we can still fix this.” he begged.
Katara’s stomach twisted at the nickname. Once, it would’ve gentled her. Now it only made her want to gag.
There had been a time when she would’ve shouted.
A time when she would’ve thrown herself against his chest, pounding at it and screaming until her throat went raw.
There had also been a time when, after all of that, she would’ve relented.
She would’ve admitted he was right.
She would’ve let him kiss her senseless and murmur, with that beguiling assuredness of his, that everything could still be fixed.
And she would’ve believed him without a second thought.
The Katara of the present didn’t have the strength left to shout or pound against his chest anymore.
She also no longer felt the urge to relent, to swallow her pride and pretend to agree with him just to preserve some minuscule shred of peace.
And she definitely didn't have the desire to kiss him anymore, nor to keep hearing him talk to himself
With the car door now open and firmly planted between them — just another insurmountable barrier added to the list — she stares at him and realizes, with a weary sort of despondency, but no real surprise, that she doesn't know the man standing before her, and perhaps she never had.
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The teashop is relatively quiet — not empty, it never really was — but they still had some time before peak hour rolled in and their private conversation stopped being so private.
Mai and Suki sat across from her. Usually there were more of them, but Suki had informed her, right after congratulating her on the separation, that Toph had been called back to the agency immediately due to some major data backup failure she apparently had to handle herself. Yue had, strangely, called in sick for the entire week.
For a bit they had talked deferentially about the divorce, treating it like the life-altering event it was instead of turning it into some bawdy gossip session about who Katara's inaugural booty call would be. But with Suki there, it was only a matter of time before the conversation derailed
“No one?” Suki exclaimed, far louder than necessary. “You mean to tell me you don’t have your eye on anyone?”
“I’m way too busy for relationships, and you know it.” Katara tried not to sound bashful, though she could already feel a blush creeping across her cheeks.
“That's why you haven't been getting any?” Sometimes she thought her brother had taught her how to push her buttons from the moment they had met. She could be so lurid sometimes.
“Hey!” A sugar packet hit Suki square in the chest. “For your information, I haven’t been `getting any´ because I was a married woman.”
The two women shared a look before turning matching quizzical expressions back on her. Katara hated when she could tell exactly what they were thinking before either of them even spoke.
A breath left her before she felt steady enough to keep talking “ Both of you know I don't entertain the thought of cheating… No matter what he chose to do, I wasn't going to debase myself to his level
There was a brief lull in the conversation before it picked up again, Mai this time
“You don't have to start a relationship if you don't feel ready for it Katara, but I do think someone to…” a tentative pause “Keep you company might do you some good. God knows you’ve been neglected enough.”
Taking advantage of Katara’s shock-induced silence, Mai continued. “I’m not usually the type to suggest these kinds of preposterous ideas, but maybe someone from the office would be acceptable? Since you apparently don’t have the time to meet anyone outside of work right now.”
“As the head of HR,” Suki began, biting her lip in a failed attempt to suppress a laugh, “I have to strongly advise against this.” She grinned. “As your friend, though, I’m kind of curious who you’d pick.”
The knowing smirk on Suki’s face made Katara’s stomach twist. She already knew exactly who Katara would choose if that were even a remote possibility. She knew because Katara had drunkenly confessed it herself during their last office party.
Katara forcibly shoved the thought of kind gray eyes, broad shoulders, and hungry smiles out of her mind.
“ Maybe Haru from accounting would be interested?” Please stop talking “ I heard some of the girls chatting about him having a thing for you”
Katara grimaced unabashedly. She knew the man, and he wasn't unattractive by any means, but the mustache just didn't do it for her
“What about your assistant? What was he called...Aang? He’s pretty nice.”
Katara’s head snapped toward Suki so fast she got dizzy for a second. The audacity of this bitch.
She sneered at her “Plus, I’ve caught him checking you out a couple of times… Not like you haven’t noticed, right, Katara?”
She was going to kill her. She’d have to apologize profusely to Sokka later, but right now she genuinely felt like strangling her sister-in-law.
Mai had always been perceptive — that much was unquestionable — but the blush blooming across Katara’s cheeks and the murderous glare she was aiming at Suki did at least half the detective work for her.
“Wait… the new guy who follows you around like a lapdog? Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows? You have a thing for him?”
“NO!” A shriek
“YES!” Suki squealed. “She told me herself last month.” She clasped both hands dramatically over her chest and started making kissy faces. “She digs the calm attitude and the tattoos.”
Katara was about to launch herself across the table and dig her nails into Suki’s face when Mai rebutted
“I didn’t take you for the type to like them that young, Katara.” An incredulous laugh left her lips “A few more years and you could probably pass as his mother.” Mai took a slow sip of tea before adding, almost thoughtfully, “Besides, wouldn’t him being your direct subordinate create a rather… concerning power imbalance?”
She cupped her own face in her hands and cast her gaze downward while Mai and Suki discussed the logistics of it.
Of course she knew it was wrong. The thought sat at the forefront of her mind every single time she saw him; it was the only thing that allowed her to keep herself under control around him.
She was pushing forty, for God’s sake. Having a crush like this at her age felt downright embarrassing.
“Though,” Mai continued casually, “if what you’re interested in is more the boy-toy experience itself, I think I could give you a hand.”
She raised her head tentatively from her hands, making eye contact with her through her eyelashes “...The boy-toy experience?”
“You know…” Mai said, leaning back in her chair, “you hire a strapping, handsome young man to take you on dates, accompany you on trips, or show up with you at social events.”
“Some of them even go all the way,” Suki added, like it was the most common thing in the world
“All… all the way?”
Katara felt like a teenager getting the sex talk all over again.
“Mhm.” Suki nodded blithely with entirely too much enthusiasm.
“A friend of a friend used to see one a few summers back.” Mai paused, waiting until she had their undivided attention. “She said it was the best money she’d ever spent.” She clicked her tongue thoughtfully. “Described him as warm, funny, kind, respectful…”
Then she leaned farther across the table, chin resting against the backs of her hands, fixing Katara with a distinctly foreboding smile.
“…and an absolute cyclone in bed.”
Katara hated how dehumanizing it felt from her point of view to the other person — just a commodity for the best bidder—
Hated the chill that ran down her spine.
Hated that some traitorous part of her was genuinely curious about the prospect of being with a stranger like that. They could see it in her face, she knew it.
“I could get you his contact info, if you’re interested,” Mai offered, trying to hide her taunting smirk behind her hand. “It would only take a phone call.”
She was interested.
That was the problem.
Her body, humiliatingly enough, was very interested.
…Fuck.
She had to play this cool, or Suki would never let her live it down.
Katara leaned back in her chair, trying to look far more composed than she actually felt. She took a careful sip of tea, making absolutely sure she swallowed before attempting to speak or breathe — she didn't want a repeat of last time —
“That would be extremely kind of you Mai” her gaze lasered in on the opposite side of the room, trying desperately not to make eye contact.
Nailed it
“It’d be no trouble at all, Katara.” Mai offered her a fond little smile before standing abruptly and downing the last of her tea. She gestured for her companions to do the same. “We should get going before Toph starts blowing up our phones and berating us for being late. Again.”
With their teas finished, coats on, and bags in hand, Mai shouted over her shoulder, “IROH! WE’RE LEAVING!”
The man appeared through the doorway leading to the storage room, an easy smile on his face as he waved them farewell.
“Goodbye, ladies. Stay safe.”
“Bye, Iroh!” Katara and Suki called back in unison, waving from the doorway as they made their way out of the teashop.
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Toph had, indeed, screamed at them the moment they set foot in the building.
Katara had briefly considered reminding her that she was technically the boss. That she had every right to arrive whenever she pleased, but she was smarter than that.
The last time she had tried pulling rank, Toph had barked out a laugh and shouted at her to `start acting like it´
Thankfully it didn't take long for her to slip away and finally make it up to her office— an opulent, expansive space on the top floor of the building. Dark wood paneling lined the walls, accented with blue inlaid details, plush rugs, and floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the room with light.
She passed through the acid-etched screen that separated her office from the rest of the floor, granting her the privacy she needed to do her job comfortably, and found Aang already at work, organizing her meetings, revising dockets, and rearranging schedules according to her specifications.
He looked distractingly handsome — all tattoos, taut muscle, and quiet concentration.
God, those reading glasses did something to her.
He seemed to catch her movement from the corner of his eye. Pulling off his earphones, he immediately rose from his chair with a bright smile.
“Ms. Halloran.” He crossed the room toward her, helping her out of her coat and taking her bag with ease.
Such a gentleman too.
“I thought you might not come in after all, so I postponed today’s meeting to Monday. I hope that’s okay?”
“That’s perfect, Aang. Thank you.” She let out a groan of mock exasperation. “I genuinely don’t have the energy to deal with it today.”
She made her way over to her desk and sat down to start her day. And if Aang noticed her checking him out as he walked back to his seat, he didn’t let it show.
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They had been working for a few hours, chatting pleasantly between tasks, when Katara’s phone buzzed against the table.
She picked it up and nearly made a sound of surprise.
It was from Mai.
That had been fast.
The message contained nothing but an URL and a simple have fun typed beneath it.
She stared at the screen for a long moment before exhaling quietly to herself. Now was as good a time as any.
Katara sat back in her armchair, subtly angling her computer screen away from Aang’s gaze. She didn’t need a chat with HR on top of everything else she already had going on, and she definitely didn’t want to traumatize the sunshine of a man she had as her assistant with what she was about to do.
She logged into her personal email — again, God forbid HR ever found out about this. Suki would have a field day with her — then typed in the web address Mai had so generously shared with her and waited for the page to load.
Half a second later, a blush crept across her face and down her chest, something hot and vulgar coiling low in her abdomen.
The image of a male torso occupied one half of the screen. It stretched from the delicious V of the pelvis to sculpted abdominals and a broad chest, drenched and glistening in a way that looked obscenely appetizing. Then came the arms, folded behind his head, tattoo lines disappearing toward the biceps. The picture cut off at the mouth, frozen in either a gasp or a moan. Katara wasn’t sure which one she preferred.
The text next to it read in bold yet flowy letters:
The Avatar: social companionship, emotional support, and physical services.
She felt her throat go dry. Was this…? Was this really okay for her to do?
Her cursor hovered over the contact prompt.
She couldn’t do it. Not with him here, at least.
Katara glanced down at her wristwatch. 11:30 wasn’t too early for lunch, right?
“Aang, could you be a dear and go get us lunch from that place I like?” She hoped the slight waver in her voice didn’t give her away.
He looked anxious for a moment, craning his neck to look at the clock on the wall like he was afraid he was running late, then fixing her with a questioning look when he realised he wasn't
“I just thought it might be good to eat a bit sooner, so you can avoid rush hour” She leaned back in her chair, trying to look far more casual than she felt.
Giving her an eager `Sure´ and that devastating smile she wasn’t convinced she’d ever get used to, he rose from his chair, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.
“I want the—”
He cut her off before she could finish. “Pad thai. No bell peppers, extra sauce, extra meat. I know.”
Sometimes it felt dangerous, this unspoken complicity that existed between them. Like an electric current that could fry her common sense completely if she got any closer.
“You’re such a doll,” she murmured before she could stop herself. “What would I do without you?”
Judging by the look on his face, she also knew how to smile disarmingly
“You know me, ma’am.” His gaze swept over her slowly enough to make her bite the inside of her cheek before she suggested something catastrophically inappropriate, like her having him for lunch instead. “I love to please.”
With a soft chuckle and a wink, he left her alone at her desk: flustered out of her mind, staring after him, and finally free to do what she needed to do without the fear of judgement.