People have been asking about updates on this story and I have not been getting this chapter right. Finally, I am good. I'm enjoying writing this Modern Au more than I thought, tbh. That's why, my Zutara week story is also modern Au. At least one of them is. The other is… well you'll see.

I'll leave a trigger warning for this chapter because Katara describes her trauma here. It is a tough one. So yeah.

Trigger Warning: Home invasion, death, trauma.

Chapter 8

As the silence stretches, Zuko's confidence falters. Katara is looking at him blankly, her eyes red from lack of sleep.

"Okay, wow, this is awkward," he says, shuffling on his feet. "I should go before your dad or Sokka see me in your room."

Katara blinks as though waking up from a trance, and says, "Oh… Umm… They're not home. Dad is at Omashu and Sokka's gone to Suki's from the party."

Zuko frowns, "Wait. They left you alone? Knowing that you don't sleep at night and that you are terrified of something, they left you alone in the house for all night?"

Katara sighs, "It's not as bad as it sounds. Suki lives just five minutes away. I can always call them if things get bad. And of course, there's you."

"Right. Of course." Zuko does not pause to think because he knows that if he does, he will lose his nerve. He closes the distance between them and places his lips on hers. She gasps in surprise but just as he is about to pull back, she opens her lips to him. A jolt of electricity passes through him and he wraps his arms around her. She is soft and tiny against him, and Zuko thinks this is the best moment of his life. Then, as if to prove him wrong, she runs her fingers through his hair, her nails scraping gently against his scalp and Zuko is lost. His eyes are closed when they pull apart. He lays his head against her and runs her thumb on her cheek.

"You're beautiful," his voice comes out in a whisper.

She blushes and tucks her head into the crook of his neck, clutching on to his shirt. The two of them stand there, locked in each other's embrace for a long time.

"My mom," she says suddenly.

He takes a step back so he can look at her, while his hands are still on her waist, "What?"

"Come, sit," she leads him to the bed, but then pauses, "Wai, you don't like beds, right."

Zuko smiles, touched that she remembers and lowers himself on the bed. He pats the spot next him and says, "I don't sleep on beds. I can sit."

He manages to contain his whoop of joy when she settles next to him and curls into him. "When I was eight, my grandma reconnected with her old lover and they decided to get married. Dad and Sokka went to the marriage. Mom and I were supposed to go too, but I had a fever, so mom decided to hang back. Dad and Sokka were meant to return the next day. But that night, someone came into our house. A burglar. I don't think he was expecting anyone to be home. When she realized someone was home, Mom shoved me into the brooms closet and told me not to step out unless dad or she called me. That was the last time I saw her. The guy killed her," her voice trembles and she shivers as she talks. Zuko tightens his grasp around her, horrified. "I saw him kill her. From the slats. Thanks to the fever, I could not scream. My mom's dead body lay less than ten feet away from me. The man… he called for me, several times. Kid, come on out. Let's have fun!"

She is sobbing, hysterically. Zuko pulls her on to his lap, unable to wrap his mind around the horror he feels. "He called me over and over again. I still hear his words, you know. I don't know when he left the house. I… I stayed in the closet, ten feet away from mom's dead body, till dad came back next afternoon."

"Oh my God!" Zuko pulls her tightly against himself. He cannot even imagine what it would have been like for the little girl to sit in the closet for a whole day, watching her mother bleed slowly to death.

"I had years of therapy," Katara says against his chest. "But even today, I get scared."

"That's no surprise," he replies. "In fact, I would say you are much better adjusted. All things considered."

Katara gives a weak chuckle and wipes her tears. "I still go to a therapist. I'm much more in control of my emotions. Just… I can't sleep."

Stuck by a sudden thought, he says, "Tell you what, I am going to stay here with you, till you fall asleep."

"Zuko, you don't have to. Your sister is home and –"

"I don't give a fuck about her anyway," he says as he lowers her on the bed and stretches next to her. "Lie down, sleep. I am not leaving you alone."

"Thank you, Zuko," she says as she shuffles closer to him. She arches into him and kisses him again. Zuko thinks he can definitely get used to it.

"Hey, what time do you go to work tomorrow?" He asks, twisting a strand of her hair in his fingers.

"Eight thirty, why?"

"I'll drop you off."

"What? No, Zuko, you don't have to."

"No. But I want to. I'm dropping you off and that's final."

"Okay," she says and burrows into him.

Zuko does not know when he falls asleep. When he wakes up, Katara is in his arms and the sky is a different color. This is the first time in years that he has slept on a bed, without any nightmares, and he cannot even complain that he is late. Very late.

Katara settles into the passenger seat of Zuko's car and leans over to give him a quick peck on his cheeks. "Things go alright when you got home?"

Zuko shrugs. "Azula knew I wasn't home all night."

"Oh, ouch," she says.

He waves a hand and starts to drive, "Eh, don't worry about it. She was curious as to where I was. I just said I went out. She knows I don't sleep so didn't ask any more questions. Did kinda throw some shade during breakfast. How are you doing?"

Katara shrugs, trying not show the euphoria she feels at just sitting next to him. He likes me. He really likes me. She has been chanting those words like a mantra. When she woke up this morning, in his arms, feeling like she has slept better than ever before. Last night, telling him about what had happened to her, was an experience she had not been prepared for. Today she feels as though she can finally breathe.

The car comes to a halt in front of her office and Zuko squeezes her knee and brushes his lips under her earlobe. "I'll pick you up later, okay?"

"Yup."

For the next ten days, Zuko comes to her room and they sleep. In each other's arms. For the first time in years, Katara sleeps for six hours in the night, without being plagued by nightmares. She has never felt better. On the eleventh day, she is woken up from her sleep by a loud voice yelling, "What the fuck?"

She wakes up to find Sokka gaping at her and Zuko.