Zuko promised his uncle he would try to make a better life. It seems he has, but not in the way his uncle intended.
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Chapter one: Ba Sing not safe
Zuko looked around his uncle's tea shop. He had refused to make a life here at first, but he was planning an escape. He had secret place in the woods where he was going to live for a while until he found out what his next move would be. His obsession for the Avatar might not be dead, but it was under control. His next objective was to kill his own father. The man who had marked, betrayed, and dishonored his own son. Zuko wanted nothing more than to feel the blood from the Fire Lord's body spill into his hands.
"Fight me boy."
"No father, I will not fight you!"
"You have dishonored me. Stand up and take your punishment like a man!"
"No father, please!"
"Zuko!" the sound of his uncle's voice ripped him out of his trance and back to the present.
"What is it uncle?" he asked.
"We have a young lady costumer at the table nearest the door. I need to take her order," he told Zuko handing him a menu.
"Since when does a tea shop need menus?"
"Since we started getting all these upper class costumers. They are really good tippers. I wish to give them the best our tea shop has to offer. Now get going! We've got costumers!"
Zuko snatched the menu from his uncle who was smiling widely, that's when he saw her. It was the Avatar's friend. Katara. She was very attractive now that he saw her. She had grown into a young woman. She would most likely be the object of the Avatar's desire. It had been two years since they had arrived in Ba Sing Se and he had never once seen this girl within these city walls.
Suddenly, panic filled his mind. He couldn't let her see him. It would blow both his and his uncle's cover. He took the menu his uncle had handed him and hid his face. He slowly approached the table making as casual an appearance as possible.
"Can I help you?" he asked still hiding his face.
"I'll take the secret recipe tea. I heard it is quite good," she responded.
"Coming right up, Katara," Zuko slapped himself in the forehead.
"Excuse me? How did you know my name?" she asked.
"Umm…I've seen you around the city and I've heard some little bald monk kid say it once or twice," he lied. But as he peered around his disguise, he saw that she did not buy it.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You don't want to know."
"You must have known me before I came to the city for I have never been to this part of town."
"No, please, I'll just bring you your order."
"Fine," she replied. "This never happened."
Zuko breathed a sigh of relief as he went into the back and asked his uncle to make her order.
"She sure is pretty," he stated taking the herbs needed to make her drink.
"She is a friend of the Avatar's. She is no ally of mine," Zuko responded.
"Now, Zuko, the last time you had a woman at your side was the first few months we were here. Don't you remember?"
"Yes I do," Zuko replied. The truth was, his uncle was not aware of his reputation around here. He had gotten quite a name among the ladies of Ba Sing Se. He had always been a people pleaser as he was told when he was younger and here he had lived up that reputation.
Zuko brought a tray of Katara's tea to her table with his menu perfectly in place.
"Thank you," she said looking at her tea and begging to sip it. Zuko returned to the back of the shop and watched her. She was his enemy and he was hers. But it gave him satisfaction that she had come to his shop…or at least his uncle's shop. It meant that he had the upper because obviously she didn't know who he was. When she had finished, he decided to venture to her table once more to take up her trash and collect his pay from her. He brought his handy-dandy menu and hid his face.
"How did you like it?" he asked behind his mask.
"This shop deserves its reputation," she responded.
"Is there anything else I can do?" he asked getting ready to make a dash for the kitchen and out of her life.
"Yes actually," she replied. Out of nowhere, she brought up a stream of water that whipped the menu from his hands. She gasped and ran for her life.
He couldn't let her go back to her little friends and tell them of his presence in the city, he took off after her.