Insurrection
By Nerd Incognito

Summary: Zuko and Iroh have been forced to start a new life in Ba Sing Se, but how long can they maintain their new quiet existence as humble tea servants before their past comes back to find them?

Disclaimers: You know the deal, I own nothing. Well, not nothing, but nothing to do with Avatar.

The tea shop was busier than usual. Another large transport of refugees had just arrived into Ba Sing Se. Anxious to start their new lives in Ba Sing Se, the newcomers converge on the lower level of the city flooding into every corner and every shop creating nonstop crowds for several days after their arrival.

Zuko always hated it when this happened. Not because of the extra work, he had no problem with hard work, but because he never knew who might be arriving, who just might recognize the banished fire prince. He tried to be very careful, being as unobtrusive as possible. He served the patrons in the tea shop almost as he was a ghost, gliding about the room as silently as possible, never making eye contact and never speaking. But it was hard to be inconspicuous when a good portion of your face was covered by a very distinguishing scar.

That scar. How he hated it so. It was an ugly red brand for the whole world to see. A physical manifestation of his shame. A constant reminder of his failure and subsequent banishment. Of his father's hatred for him. And worst of all, at least for now, was its distinctiveness. You can forget a single face in a sea of faces, but not that scar. That scar screamed out for recognition. Anyone who saw it and knew of Zuko would instantly recognize him.

So as the crowds waxed and waned throughout the day, Zuko did his best to keep his head down and stay out of sight. Not that his uncle was making that and easy thing to accomplish. No, Iroh had embraced their new station in life and was trying to force his young nephew to do the same.

It was completely unfathomable to Zuko that his uncle could smile, joke and carry on in Ba Sing Se as if he wasn't the city's most legendary villain. The greatest tea service in the world could not save Iroh from the wrath of the citizens if they ever discovered he was Iroh, Dragon of the West, instead of simply Mushie, the tea maker. The possibility made Zuko ill.

He would never admit it aloud, but his years in exile had brought him immensely close to his uncle and he couldn't imagine losing him now. Especially since it would be his fault. Yes, Iroh was quite safe in the fact that no one would ever consider for a second that this giddy old man could be the famed fire nation general. If they discovered, it would because they recognized Zuko and made the connection to who his uncle was. He couldn't let that happen.

And it wasn't just the crowds that we making him nervous today, but a feeling. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched throughout the day. He had done his best to carefully scope the room to catch who might be watching him, but could never pinpoint the source. And when he shared his unease with his uncle, Iroh did a quick scan of the room and told his nephew that he was being paranoid. But not before he pointed out several teenaged girls among the customers.

"Must be one of those lovely young ladies trying to catch your eye, nephew," said Iroh with a chuckle as he sipped from his own cup of tea.

Zuko, less than amused, scowled and stormed into the back room where he vowed to remain until closing time, which, couldn't come soon enough in his opinion. In a few days, the newcomers would get into their own schedules, the crowds would die down and Zuko could be less on guard until the next transport's arrival.

Finally, closing time came and Zuko emerged from the back where he had been doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen for the past hour and a half. His uncle was already engaged in cleaning up the dining room while loudly humming a cheery tune to himself. Without a word, Zuko proceeded to help by removing discarded trash from tables.

Zuko was lost in his own thoughts, reviewing the day and trying to again determine where the feeling of being watched could have come from. Perhaps his uncle had been right and it was just some silly girl making eyes at him. It wouldn't be the first time that he had gotten some notice in the shop. He had almost convinced himself that this must be the case when he noticed something strange on a table near the furthest corner of the dining room.

Sitting square in the middle of the table was a piece of paper folded in quarters to like a tent. Used to finding just crumpled up napkins left on tables at the end of the night, this piqued Zuko's curiosity. He slowly unfolded the paper to discover its contents.

As soon as he got the paper open, he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. His mouth fell open slightly as he gripped the paper so tightly he almost tore it in half. Shocked, he read the message contained inside a second time, to make sure he had not imagined it.

In a fine script in the center of the paper was written:

Lei:
I know who you really are.
Meet me at the western courtyard 2 hours after you close tonight.

Thank you for reading my first Avatar fan fiction. Please review. It makes me feel so very special inside. More to come soon. I have this story all mapped out and will try to finish it soon and keep posts pretty regular. Especially with good review.