Title: Zutara Week 2015

Rating: K - T (for now at least)

Summary: A collection of Modern AU one-shots in celebration of Zutara Week 2015.

a/n: So in an effort to simultaneously write for Zutara Week and knock about a bunch of AU ideas I've had for the longest, I'm going to be doing a bunch of Modern AU one-shots for the whole seven days (and hope and pray that I actually keep up). I'll be posting on FFN, AO3, and Tumblr, so please keep an eye out. Any and all reviews / comments will be greatly appreciated :)

OOO

Day 1: Happenstance

(n. coincidence)

Summary: If Katara knew that she was going to be crushing on someone that she met over Craigslist, she wouldn't have bothered to believe it. Because, seriously. Who does that?

OOO

"So? Did you find it?"

Katara slammed the door to her flat shut with her back, leaning against the door, not caring that the knob was digging into her back, and slowly slid down to the floor to lay in an undignified heap. She hit the ground with a whine and promptly fell over to the side and laid down on the floor in absolute defeat. Toph peaked over the arm of the couch and raised a brow at the display. "...so that's a no, I guess."

Katara called out from her position on the floor, her voice coming out muffled what with her face planted against the hardwood. "I retraced my steps, I went to the pawn shop, I asked the landlord, and I even crawled on my hands on knees all over Trader Joe's. It's gone." She turned her face so that she was staring at Toph who was perched on the edge of the couch's arm with her laptop on her knees. "I lost my mother's necklace. I'm a horrible, horrible daughter and I have nothing to live for anymore."

It didn't seem like Toph was taking Katara's self-deprecating seriously, although to be fair, she never did. "Okay, Sugar Queen. The dramatics were a bit unnecessary."

"But it's true!" Katara bemoaned. "It could be anywhere by now, and I have no way of getting it back," she finished with an undignified whine. All she was trying to do that morning was go shopping for some groceries and cook a nice breakfast before she spent the rest of the Sunday relaxing at home, binge watching Netflix with Toph, and staying curled up in a blanket on the couch all day until work the next morning. It was supposed to be a stress-free day. But of course, somewhere in between her leaving the grocery store and coming back into the apartment, Katara had somehow lost her mother's necklace that she was given when she was little — probably her most prized possession.

But of course, it was probably floating in the sewers or rotting in the gutters by now. Honestly, she was usually so careful about these things and she had never before lost her necklace during the fifteen or years it had been around her neck. She was an awful person. Terrible. Despicable. It was gone forever and she wasn't going to get it back.

"Cheer up, will you?" Toph scolded, keeping her eyes on her laptop and clearly showing less anxiety over this debacle than Katara. "It's been gone for less than a day. It's only the afternoon. Knowing you, you dropped it while you were getting the mail and the neighbors picked it up."

Katara poked her head up from the floor and crawled over to the couch where Toph was sitting. "I already asked the neighbors. All of them."

Toph raised a brow and shook her head. "Okay. You need to relax. Seriously. You already crawled on your hands and knees all over the city looking for the freakin' thing and didn't find it. Just chill out. Make some tea. Watch some TV. Just calm down. You're giving me hives."

Katara pouted and leaned her chin in the arm of the chair, wondering how relaxing was even possible at this point. "Easy for you to say. You haven't lost the single most important thing you own. You're just..." Katara paused and peeked at Toph's computer. She frowned deeply. "You're on Craigslist Missed Connections — are you serious? I'm having a crisis here!"

Toph looked down at her. "First of all, don't knock this website, it's hilarious. Second of all, this is probably the best thing for you right now. You need something to cheer you up and distract you from something that is completely out of your control right now, to be honest. This is literally the best website to do it on."

That opinion was certainly one that the two of them didn't share. Sometimes, the things that Toph showed Katara from the internet that she felt were hilarious and side splitting Katara just found strange and disturbing. Maybe it was the difference in their senses of humor, but nothing about Missed Connections was hilarious or appealing. "The last thing I want to be doing right now is reading pathetic posts about people being creeps and talking about how hot and good looking the strangers they saw on the street were today."

"That's because you have no imagination," Toph decided. "I mean, look, read this one: I couldn't take my eyes off of your legs/feet/shoes. I was hoping you would allow me to take you for a drink so you could decide if you would enjoy having me as your life partner!" Toph collapsed into hysterics and fell back off the arm of the couch and into the pillows behind her. "That's so creepy and hilarious at the same time. This website is gold!"

Katara rolled her eyes and ambled over to the kitchen. "I'm going to make flyers and have some lunch. You're so not supportive."

Toph called from the couch. "I really don't think flyers are going to work. No one is that honest. This is jewelry we're talking about. Not a dog."

"Not helping!"

Katara slammed about the kitchen for a little while, looking for something to make for lunch that would hopefully make her feel a little better — comfort food, that cheered people up, right? — while Toph kept laughing to herself in the living room over whatever it was she was reading now. It wasn't that Katara expected Toph to completely drop everything she was doing and worry right along with Katara, but some sympathy would be nice. Toph never did understand Katara's intense sentimentality over his necklace or why she decided to wear it everywhere if it was so valuable. But still…

She was contemplating omelets when Toph called from the living room. "...hey, random question. Did you...almost get run over by a motorcycle today?"

Katara closed the fridge. She thought back. Actually, she did. She was crossing the street when someone zoomed by on their bike and nearly made her drop all of the groceries on the ground. He had jumped off and apologized, helping her pick up some of her things, but she was in a rush to get home that she hadn't bothered to really give them a proper thank you. "Yeah, actually," Katara agreed. "When I was coming back from the grocery store. How did you even know that? I didn't say anything about it."

"You might want to come over here then."

Toph was holding out her laptop for Katara to look at, and she immediately picked the machine up and scrolled to the post that Toph was pointing at on the Missed Connections page. She clicked on the ad, and was immediately met with a picture of her necklace laid on top of a wooden table.

"That's my necklace!" Katara cried out in shock as she stared critically at the picture. It looked like the clasp was a bit snapped and the ribbon choker was a little dirty, but there was no denying the pendant. That was definitely hers. It looks like someone found it, but how.

She was about to turn and ask more questions, but Toph merely pointed to the screen. "Read the post."

Hey there. I don't usually ever post on this website, but my roommate said that there might be a chance that this could work. So here goes:

You were crossing 15th street today when I accidentally sped by you on my red motorcycle and made you drop all of your groceries. I helped you up and collected your bags for you, but you seemed to be in a hurry and rushed off. Anyway, I think I found your necklace. It must have fell in the street while you were running off. It looked valuable so I figured I'd hold onto it for you. If you want it back, message me back with what you were wearing this afternoon and I'd be happy to return it.

OOO

Katara looked down at her phone, checked the address twice, and looked up at the apartment door she was standing in front of. "Toph, this seems really sketchy."

The other girl didn't seem too bothered. "Well, it could be worse," she tried to comfort. "We could be in some run down drug lord's apartment. At least we're in a decent neighborhood."

"Still," Katara hesitated. This was the reason she didn't really work through websites like this. You never knew who it was you were going to meet. Although, compared to the rest of the ads that were on this website, the person who had found her necklace seemed to have been very nice and very sincere. Not that this meant anything, but at least that was of some comfort. She had immediately messaged him back with a description of her clothing — trying to reign in the amount of discomfort that gave her — and was immediately messaged back with an address not too far from where Toph and Katara lived, and a suggested time to meet. So far so good, but she heard a lot of Craigslist horror stories in her time. This could be a repeat of one of those scenarios.

"Look, that's why I came with you," Toph assured with a smirk. "If this dude tries anything, I'll be here to back you up. Rule one of meeting strangers on the internet: always come with a friend in case the person is an axe murderer."

Katara frowned. "You really don't know how to cheer people up, do you?"

Toph merely shrugged. "Not my thing." She reached over and rang the doorbell. Katara didn't hear anything suspicious with the exception of footsteps slowly nearing the door. "Anyway, I'm sure it'll be fine."

There was no comfort in that assurance because Toph didn't really know that, but Katara supposed there was no helping it. If it meant getting her mother's necklace back, she'd try anything at this point. Besides, she supposed that having Toph here was at least a little bit of a buffer. Worst case scenario, they could just run and call the cops.

The door flung open, and the two women were met with the sight of a young man about their age with shaggy brown hair, grey eyes, and what looked to be arrows tattooed down his arms and ending at the tops of his hands. He leaned against the door casually and regarded the two visitors with a strange look. "Uh...hi? Can I help you?"

Katara cleared her throat. "Um...hi. Um...I'm Katara. I, uh...saw your ad on Missed Connections, and I think you may have found my necklace?"

It took the man a couple of seconds before his eyes lit up in recognition and he grinned at Katara. "Oh, wait, you're Necklace Girl! Yes! See, I told Zuko this would work, but no. He thinks Missed Connections is sketchy and completely not useful."

Toph perked up from next to Katara. "Tell this one that. She was scared we were walking straight into a trap."

The man waved away her worries. "Oh no, trust me, this isn't some weird scam or whatever. Zuko's just a nice guy and he didn't know how to find you." He stepped aside and ushered the girls inside. "You want to wait inside? I think he's in his room trying to fix the clasp to your choker. It broke or something."

Katara hesitated by the doorway. "Um...no thanks. We can just...wait out here."

The man frowned. "You sure? I swear, we're not creeps," he promised with his hands up in defense. "I just didn't want to make you guys stand out in the hallway."

Toph rolled her eyes and stepped over the threshold. "Ignore her," she told the man at the door. "She watches too many scary movies, and her paranoia gets the best of her."

The man shrugged. "I guess I can understand that." He held out his hand towards Toph. "Name's Aang, by the way. I'm Zuko's roommate."

Toph returned the handshake. "Toph. Nice to meet you. I'm Katara's cover in case she gets kidnapped."

Aang chuckled and closed the door behind Katara was she deemed the apartment safe enough to enter. "Well, at least you're being careful." Aang turned his head and yelled to the back of the apartment. "Zuko! Necklace Girl is here!"

A door from the back of the apartment opened suddenly and a deeper voice shouted out, "Okay, gimme a sec. Tell her to sit down or something."

Aang regally gestured to the furniture behind him. "Sit anywhere you'd like ladies. Thirsty?"

Katara bit her lip nervously, deciding that accepting drinks from strangers probably wasn't the best idea. She sat on the very edge of their couch and folded her hands in her lap. "No, I'm...I'm fine."

Toph didn't seem to share Katara's wariness. "I'll have a drink so long as you let me make it myself."

Instead of being offended, Aang tipped his head back and laughed. "Okay, I guess that's fair. Might want to leave them alone anyway. I'll show you the kitchen."

Toph smirked and waved lazily at Katara as she followed Aang to the back of the apartment towards the kitchen. "Look, I'll be in plain sight. It's a small apartment. I'll be safe. Just get your necklace back and we can go." She turned back to Aang and circled around an armchair to cross the doorway that led to the kitchen. She poked Aang's arm and commented, "Cool tattoos, by the way."

Their conversation was faint in the background while Katara looked around the apartment, waiting for this Zuko person to show up. She was fiddling through her phone, looking through texts and making sure that her phone had plenty of battery when she saw another person come into the living room out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting."

Katara looked up, widened her eyes, and felt herself choke on her breath for a moment.

Now that she was seeing him, she did remember him. He was still wearing the same Dr. Marten boots and black pants that the motorcycle drive from this morning was wearing, and something about this frame seemed familiar to her as well. Of course, back then, his bike helmet was obscuring most of his face so there was no way she was able to see him well at all when he had first bumped into her. Of course, now that was a different story. She could see his face clearly and the first word that popped into her head when she saw him was gorgeous.

He was a little bit taller than his roommate and had long, choppy black hair that hung around his ears and fell slightly in front of his eyes. He had a handsome face — strong jaw line, straight nose, high cheekbones — and stunning eyes that were so light brown they looked gold in the sunlight. She had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing that right. She didn't think she'd ever seen eyes that color. The only thing potentially marring his features was a scar — slightly pink in color — that went over the top of his eye and stretched across one side of his face and ended where his ear started.

A burn scar, if she had to put a name to it, but it was surprising how easy it was for her to overlook something so small. He was a remarkably good looking person and he was smiling softly at her, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Zuko," he said shortly. "And you are…?"

"Katara," she forced out after swallowing to clear her throat. She didn't mean to stare and she certainly didn't mean to ogle, but she couldn't quite help it. She shook her head a little bit to try and clear her thought, praying to her mother in heaven that she wasn't blushing like a little girl in front of this stranger. "Nice to meet you."

Zuko grinned. "Very nice to meet you." He reached into his back pocket and carefully pulled out Katara's necklace. She let out a sigh of relief at finally being able to see in person that it was safe and sound. Zuko sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of Katara. "I tried to clean the choker and fix the clasp for you since it was a little banged up when I found it." He pinched either end of the choker between his fingers and held it up carefully. "It should be okay."

Katara reached out and cradled the necklace in her hands. She could see where the clasp had probably been bent and where Zuko had straightened it out so that it could open and close properly again. The material of the choker was still a little wet from when Zuko must have been cleaning it, but it was perfectly free of any of the dirt and mar that it had when Katara saw the picture in the ad that Zuko posted. She closed her hand over it and made a silent promise to herself to be extra careful about it from now on.

She smiled at him in relief. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how out of my mind I've been looking for this thing."

"Is it an heirloom or something?" Zuko asked. "It looks pretty valuable."

Katara nodded. "It was my mom's," she admitted, unsure of why she felt so comfortable regaling this stranger with this information. "It's really important to me. I don't even know what would have happened if I had lost it for good."

Zuko rested his elbows on his knees and smiled — a soft, subtle smile with no teeth, but all the warmth that Katara found incredibly fetching and endearing. "Well I'm glad I could help." He paused and winced. "Oh, and sorry about almost...you know, uh...running you over this afternoon? I was in a little bit of a rush to get home and wasn't looking where I was going."

Katara furrowed her brows. "Yeah, I noticed," she commented. "My groceries went flying."

Zuko frowned and nervously rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, I was trying to make the light before it turned red — I had an essay I had to submit before 3 and I was trying to get home as soon as possible — and I seriously wasn't paying attention. You're okay, I hope?"

"Of course," she smiled in return. She held both of her arms out. "All in one piece, not to worry."

He chuckled and dipped his head a little bit so that a few pieces of his hair fell in front of his eyes. "Good. I was afraid I had hurt you."

There really was no need for Katara to stay any later than she already had — she already got her necklace and an apology — but for some reason, she suddenly didn't want to leave just yet. She cleared her throat and asked, "You mentioned an essay...are you a student?"

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, I go to the university in Main Square. So does my roommate. We decided to get an apartment together instead of hassling around with being cramped into a tiny dorm."

Katara felt her heart jump and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Wait, I go there too! Toph and I both do. We got an apartment together near school also."

"No kidding?" Zuko asked in surprise. "What year are you?"

"A junior," Katara replied. "I'm a pre-med"

"Impressive," Zuko commented. "I'm a junior and an econ major." He paused for a moment laughed at himself incredulously. "I can't believe we're in the same graduating class. I've never seen you around campus."

Katara shrugged and started curling a lock of her hair in between her fingers. "I mean, it's a big campus and all…"

"Still," Zuko insisted. "That's some coincidence. And I'm surprised I haven't managed to see someone like you walking around before."

"Someone like me?" Katara asked.

His eyes widened a little bit and he broke eye contact with her. "No! I mean...not like that I just meant...you know. You...look like you'd stand out in a crowd. In a good way!" he added hurriedly. "You're very...striking."

Katara couldn't help but laugh at Zuko's attempts at what she assumed to be a compliment. "I think I get what you mean. That's nice of you to say." He smiled shyly at her, and suddenly Katara couldn't ignore the fact that it was probably the sweetest, most endearing attempt at a compliment that she had ever heard in a while. It wasn't too often that you ran into a guy who was so kind and soft spoken and also kind enough to actually return what looked to be a priceless piece of jewelry. It also helped that he was incredibly easy on the eyes and he happened to go the same university she did. Truly, what were the chances?

If Katara knew that she was going to be crushing on someone that she met over Craigslist, she wouldn't have bothered to believe it. Because, seriously. Who does that? But she supposed it couldn't have been an entirely distasteful prospect if she managed to meet someone who was attractive and polite. That had to have been some weird stroke of luck or twist of fate or something. Stuff like this just didn't happen on a normal day to day streak.

Zuko straightened up and jutted his chin towards the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink or eat? I feel like I owe you after making you go out of your mind with worry."

Katara looked down back at the necklace in her lap and shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know…" she hesitated. "I mean, I wouldn't want to impose or anything. Besides, I came here with my friend and I wouldn't want to hold her up or anything."

Zuko looked back over to the kitchen and chuckled. "Something tells me your friend wouldn't mind saying for a bit longer."

Sure enough, when Katara looked back over to the kitchen, Toph was sitting on the counter staring down at Aang who was leaning his elbow against the counter, staring up at Toph and telling her something that must have been pretty damn hilarious because it looked like the two of them were barely holding it together trying to keep from laughing too hard. It was very rare that Toph was so at ease with other people, especially ones she had just met, but Katara was very familiar with Toph to know that she was relaxed, comfortable, and — like Zuko had said — probably not too against staying for a little bit longer.

"Looks like they hit it off," Katara commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, Aang's always been really good at talking to people," Zuko commented. "I don't know how he does it."

Katara nudged her knee with his. "You're not that bad at it either, you know," she told him.

Zuko smiled, a slight tinge of pink coloring his cheek bones, and Katara found herself smiling back in return. He jutted his thumb to the kitchen. "I was just about to make lunch. The two of you could say and join us if you'd like."

Katara figured that there was no harm in staying anymore. It didn't seem like Zuko was trying to do anything except make it up to Katara. Besides, she sort of didn't mind trying to talk to Zuko a little bit more over some food. Maybe staying for a couple of hours wouldn't be too horrible. She cut her losses and shrugged. "Sure, why not? I haven't eaten anything in ages."

Zuko brightened up. "Great!" He stood up and was about to climb over the coffee table over the to kitchen before turned back towards Katara suddenly. "Actually, wait. I forgot something. Turn around."

She darted her eyes back over to the kitchen and stared at Zuko strangely. "Uh, why?"

Zuko held his hand out. "Just trust me. Hand me your necklace for a second?"

Not bothering to ask anymore questions, Katara turned around and handed Zuko her necklace over her shoulder. Katara waited patiently until she felt Zuko bring his arms over her head and hold her necklace in front of her neck. He tapped his thumb gently against her collarbone and said, "Pick up your hair for a second."

Katara complied, piling it all on top of her hair with one hand, and waited while Zuko placed her necklace back around her neck and fastened it for her. For some reason, Katara couldn't help but smile. She wondered if Zuko was one of those hopeless romantics that purposely looked for every opportunity to do something sweet or romantic. Honestly, she had planned to put it on herself anyway, but she found herself having the strangest desire to laugh and giggle over the way he was treating her since she walked through the door. To think that she was actually nervous about coming over here.

She dropped her hair and turned back around, making sure that the pendant was in the center of her throat. "So? How does it look?"

Zuko smiled fondly. "Absolutely beautiful." He looked up at her after he finished saying that, and Katara knew for a fact that her cheeks were heating up like mad. This was just a hunch of hers, but she had a feeling that she should probably keep an eye on him when she finally went back to class tomorrow. Maybe see if she could finagle a phone number of out him or a promise for some coffee. There were just some things that were too good to merely be a coincidence, and this just seemed like one of them.

She grinned and walked around the couch. "So...you mentioned lunch?"