So this is a story based on Zuko's part in episode 15 of season II, "Tales of Ba-Sing-Se". I thought that Zuko and Jin were just brilliant together and it killed me when their relationship was never continued. Hence the story...Enjoy!

She was there the next morning. For the longest time, Zuko did nothing but sit and watch her. Not once in the undeterminable amount of time he observed her did she look his way. He was not surprised, of course. He knew the workings of remorse very well, and was more than a mere acquaintance with the emotion. However, this time the emotion was visiting him with new companions; some of these he could identify, but most remained beyond the reaches of his understanding. He wished deeply that he could understand and identify all of the emotions he felt, but both the depth and abundance of his emotions were working against him.

He knew she was aware of him. At the very least, she knew he was there because this was his place of work. Whether she knew that he was watching her, he did not know. Strangely, the more he watched her, the more he wished that she did know. He felt that on a subconscious level he understood why, but he was not able to put the reason into words. Only after a long time had he realized that she had not yet placed an order for tea. After an even longer time, he realized that he was the person she usually asked to place an order. Whether tea was what encircled her thoughts at the moment or not, she had come to see him, and she had been waiting all this time for him. He felt himself blushing, probably quite vibrantly, although no one was looking at him. He knew he had to at least approach her and ask if she wished to order.

He was aware that every second he wasted was another second she might leave. If she left, she might never come back, which right now seemed like the worst possible thing that could ever happen. Of course, Zuko did not know why thought seemed so horrible to him. Not knowing these things was becoming increasingly bothersome. Finally, he got up from his seat and walked toward her. Time seemed to move both fast and slow as he walked; it seemed to take forever to get there, but at the same time, he was in front of her without remembering his first step. She didn't immediately meet his eyes, but when she did, her face seemed to light up as he could never have expected. Without any hesitation, nor full awareness of what he was doing, he spoke:

"Do you have a minute? I kind of wanted to talk to you."

She laughed. Not a full hearty laugh, but not the obnoxious giggle he was accustomed to girls giving him when they found him funny in a way he didn't understand.

"Sure," she said with a smile. "I can't say I didn't want to talk to you as well."

Outside, they found a place near the fountain. It did not look as beautiful in daylight, and instead conjured up feelings in Zuko that made him silently wish they could talk elsewhere.

He had no clue what to say to her, and she must have sensed it, for she took the first line:

"You said it's complicated."

He knew he would not be able to meet her eyes now. Of course, her eyes were not ones that he had ever been able to meet with ease. Nobody's were, for that matter.

"Is that true?" she asked him.

"Is what true?" he said; gaze still locked on the ground.

"Is it really complicated?" she said with not only an inquisitive tone but with an empathetic one as well. "Or was that just your way of blowing me off?"

"No! It wasn't like that." he said, looking towards her direction but still not able to match her stare had it been there. She was looking forward now, in a manner that she seemed not to be looking at anything that would be visible to anyone else; she was looking at something only she could see.

"Well that's good. For me at least." She added. She turned her face towards him, and he turned away. He looked up at her from the corner of his eye, and she smiled at him. "I didn't think that was the case. You never struck me as a heartbreaker."

"No I don't think I am. Not with all the times I've felt my own heart broken before." His gaze was again at the ground beneath him. He had not expected to say anything like that to her, but he didn't feel that he had made a mistake. He hadn't revealed anything yet about his true origin; he had only revealed something about himself.

He couldn't see her, but he knew she was staring at him and trying to feel his pain. He didn't know how to react to empathy. It had been so long since he had seen it displayed for him before. It reminded him of his late mother, although he did not want to associate Jin with his mother, for obvious reasons.

"You don't have to tell me, but was it a girl?" She asked him.

"No. Sometimes I wish it were as simple as that." he answered.

"Do you want to talk about it? I promise I would listen."

"I know you would. But I can't. At least not right now."

She moved closer to him, and put her hand on his shoulder. He turned towards her slowly, at the same time taking her hand in his. He was suddenly able to stare straight into her eyes, and as soon as he saw them, and the kindness that they harbored, he knew that he could tell her everything, and that she would listen to it all. She wouldn't ridicule him, or ignore him, or pass him off as foolish because she probably had experienced all of those things as well, or at least had the compassion to understand them. He saw in her both the wisdom of his uncle and the compassion of his mother. He had not a clue how to react to the emotions that flooded through him at the moment. Fortunately, he did not have to. She began to lean in closer to him, her lips moving quickly towards his, but at the last second, moving upward and gently kissing him on his cheek, right under the scar. His body stiffened. She hesitated for a second, and then pulled back, although she was still much closer than before.

"Why don't we start with that?" she said, giving him another smile. "We're both new to dating, so let's take it slow."

"We're not dating." He said. But when he saw her face, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. "At least, not yet." He added, hoping she would focus on the latter statement. He wished that he hadn't spoken so quickly, but unfortunately, it was not in his nature to think things through.

She smiled again. "Fair enough." She said, standing up. He opened his mouth to tell her to stay, but she patted his head and said, "Don't worry, I'll be back. Meet me outside the shop at sundown again."

She walked away before he could say okay, and for a while he sat on the bench alone, thinking to himself, unsure how to react. He hoped he hadn't hurt her again. He knew that he always seemed to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, no matter how hard he tried to watch himself. His thoughts were clearer than they had been earlier, but the clarity only brought about more questions about everything, which was ridiculous in his opinion. Clarity should bring answers, not questions. He brooded on this subject among others, so deeply in fact that he nearly jumped out of his seat upon hearing his uncle's voice.

"I hope you are planning on meeting with her again, Prince Zuko." He said.

Zuko waited a minute, and, without answering, followed his uncle back into the shop. Of course, like always, he was aware that his uncle knew the answer to his question before he even asked it.