Let me just state now, that I don't own anything regarding A:TLA, because if I did, Zutara would have happened.

Summary- Zuko is the banished prince of the Fire Nation, destined to pursue a life of hardship and looking over his shoulder. Finally realizing his search for the Avatar was nothing more than a wild goose chase, he says goodbye to his Uncle Iroh and sets a course for Ba Sing Se. There, he is forced to search for a job to secure his next meal. But who might he meet while he's in the legendary city? And what journey will this person take him on, physically and emotionally? Zuko is discovering that, though he may not ever have his old life back, and can start a new one with this amazing girl by his side. But will it last? Will their life together be faced with difficult challenges that bring forth his old self? Who might enter the scene and force him to choose between his new life and his birthright?

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Formless Hope

Chapter I

A Hopeful Meeting

Zuko picked at his bowl of spiced noodles thoughtfully. If he managed to land a decent job here, this would be the first of many good meals to come. But if he didn't get a job, this would be the last. He savored each bight as if it were his last, because there was no way to know. The spices weren't nearly as heavy as he would have liked, but that was one of the many great things he left in the Fire Nation, good food.

Remembering his home added to his worries. With his scar it would be easy to identify him, but would anyone think the banished prince was hiding in Ba Sing Se? Only the Dai Li would dare try and capture him. That alone was reason enough to keep an eye on his back.

He sighed.

"Um, hi?" He looked up to see a waitress; she was around his age, wearing the custom green dressings with a dark green apron, her hair down in a long braid that swept across her shoulder. What shocked him were her bright blue eyes, they weren't common in the Earth Kingdom, and only a few people were born with blue eyes in the Fire Nation, normally of Water Tribe decent.

She gave him a sweet smile, her round face kind and warm. "You look upset, is there anything I can do to help?" He almost snapped at her to leave him alone, but that would cause a scene, which was the last thing he wanted.

"Um, I don't think so, but you're welcome to try." Always be nice to a lady, his Uncle's voice told him in his head.

"Ok," she smiled again, sitting down across from him. "Is it about a girl?" she suggested. Zuko almost snorted, but just shook his head. "A boy?" His eyes widened at her implication.

"No, no. Nothing romantic." He cleared.

"Then why don't you tell me what's going on and I'll see what I can do." She said it so sweetly he almost wanted to tell her his entire life story, almost. Instead he went with his immediate problem.

"I'm looking for a job, and if I don't get one soon then…" he wasn't sure what he'd do after that. Maybe he could find his Uncle and resume his search for the Avatar. But that was none of the girls business. Besides, he'd just gotten to Ba Sing Se after abandoning Uncle Iroh, he wasn't going to give up so easily. Even the banished prince of the Fire Nation should be given the chance at a normal life, but then again, when was life fair?

"Hmm," she tapped her chin and bit her lip. For a moment, he thought, she looked kind of cute, but he quickly regained focus on why he was even talking to her in the first place. "I know of a place that in need of a bus boy, maybe he'll hire you."

"What's the place?" he asked, not wanting to sound too hopeful. She smiled kindly and pulled out her note pad for taking orders and wrote an address down.

"It's a tea shop here in the lower ring." She said. He smiled at that, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe Uncle's tea skills had rub off on him over the years? "Tell the owner Katara sent you." She handed him the paper.

"Katara? That doesn't sound like an Earth Kingdom name." He raised an eyebrow at her knowingly.

A light shade of pink rushed over her cheeks. "That's because it's not. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe."

"You must have traveled far to get here, not alone I'm assuming." No betrothal necklace, so she must not be married… He thought.

"Me and my brother, he's a great map reader so it didn't take us too long, just a few weeks."

Zuko wished he'd had him during his own travels. He had gotten lost frequently, never once asking for directions, either out of fear they'd recognize him or pride. The later was more likely.

"What about you?" She asked, hopefully not questioning if he was Fire Nation or not. Most people in the lower ring were refugees from other parts of the Earth Kingdom, so it wasn't uncommon for people to discuss their homelands.

"Ugh, where do I start?" Obviously he couldn't start anywhere, but he didn't realize that till the words had come out, he might not have enough time to think of a believable lie.

"How 'bout with your name?" She looked at him innocently, there was no possible way she could be a Fire Nation spy, or even an assassin. But better safe than dead, or worse, captured by Azula…

"Oh. Um… Lee." It was common in the Fire Nation so why not here? "It's not as original as Katara, or as beautiful." Where did that come from! She blushed and looked down at her hands. Maybe I'm smoother than I realized, he thought with a touch of pride.

"So, um, you're from the Earth Kingdome?" Katara asked. He nodded. "That's nice, at least you didn't have to travel far." He nodded. "Where did you live before you came to Ba Sing Se?" He froze. What was that big town I passed through? He thought.

"Goaling." He spat the first town name that came to his mind.

"Really?" She sounded surprised, "Me and my brother have been there, it was a really nice city, why would you want to leave?" crap.

"My, uh, Dad. He kicked me out." Close enough, he was never good a lying. She adjusted her position.

"Why would he do that?" she asked cautiously, as though afraid he'd be a criminal.

"He, um, never liked me. And I spoke out of line so…" This might actually work, he thought to himself.

"That doesn't sound fair, what was so out of line that he threw you out because of it?" This girl is too smart, Zuko thought with agitation. If she wasn't so pretty I'd tell her to mind her own business and scram.

"Um, my, uh, Mother." Zuko answered. Yeah, that's close enough. She looked down again.

"I understand. The Fire Nation took my Mother away from me," she reached for something on her neck but didn't find it and dropped her hand.

"I'm sorry," he said in a husky voice, "That's something we have in common." She smiled a little sadly and started to say something when a shrill voice called her from the kitchen.

"That's my que." She shrugged and got up from the table. "It was really nice talking to you Lee."

"Likewise."

Katara gave him one last smile before retreating to the kitchen. It was nice talking to her, he thought, taking one last bite of noodles.

The Tea Shop was small, hardly enough room for six tables. The owner was a short man with a hat, and the typical style of facial hair common among the Earth Kingdome.

"So you're looking for a job, Eh?" he eyed Zuko suspiciously.

"Yes, uh, Katara said you were looking for a bus boy?"

"Oh, Katara sent you?" the man smiled exuberantly and clapped his hands together. "Well then, you've got the job." The relief Zuko felt was beyond words. He could eat tonight. "You start immediately. I think I have an apron in the back."

Zuko made a mental note to thank Katara the next time he saw her.

O0o0o

Katara POV

I couldn't wait to see if Lee got the job at my favorite Teashop. Pao, the owner, says I'm his best customer and wants me to work for him. I declined his offer to hire me; it didn't pay as well as being a waitress at one of the nicer restaurants in the lower ring, though it would be nice not to get hit on every night. Luckily Sokka won't allow me to work in a tavern, which would be much worse.

As I sat down at my usual table by the counter, I saw exactly what I came for.

Lee gave me a crooked grin from the kitchen where he was washing dishes. I again noticed the scar across his eye, probably from a Firebender. My curiosity was going to get the better of me if I became friends with this boy. He sure is handsome.

"The usual?" Pao asked, startling me. He stood beside my table with a note pad ready.

"Oh, um, yes." I blushed; embarrassed that he'd taken me by surprise.

"I must thank you Katara, the boy you sent me is quite the hard worker. I wish the two of you the best," he winked and was gone before I could reply.

Lee finished washing, told something to Pao, and came to sit with me.

"I'll owe you for the rest of my life," he smiled crookedly and I couldn't help but blush.

"I'll remember that," I promised. Pao appeared and sat my cup in front of me, along with a little glass cup of warm honey.

"Don't let me interrupt," Pao looked at us happily. "But I am curious, should I warn your brother about what you're bringing home?" I gasped and blushed, Lee looked down at his hands.

"You don't have to warn Sokka, not because Lee's a good guy, which I'm not saying he isn't, but because we're not together, I mean we're together as in sitting together but not-"

"He gets it," Lee interrupted my rambling; I thanked him silently in my head. Pao just smiled knowingly and returned to his work.

"I'm sorry," I said. Lee chuckled again.

"You're blushing," he stated, causing said blush to darken.

"I know I hate it," I forgot to blow on my steaming hot tea and as I sipped it burned my tongue. I can't believe I'm embarrassing myself so much.

"I don't, I think it's cute." He said with a smile. Aww… I couldn't help a giggle, what's with all this girly stuff all of a sudden? I thought.

"So how do you know Pao?" He asked, obviously just as aware of the awkward situation as I was.

"I come here a lot," I told him. "To think about my destiny and all that," I said sarcastically, he chuckled.

"What have you come up with so far?" I thought for a moment. Should I tell him about mine and Sokka's game plan? It couldn't hurt right? He already knows I'm from the Water Tribe; it shouldn't be too much of a shock… right?

As I deliberated he stared at me strangely, I ignored it.

"Actually, me and my brother kind of have a plan for our immediate future," I hesitated.

"What's that?" He sounded truly interested; that was a first, most of the guys I talked to hardly listened when I spoke; just stared at my midsection and nodded at the right times.

"Well, you see, I'm sort of… A Waterbender." I bit my lip, unsure of how he would take it. He didn't look surprised at all.

"I had a feeling you might be a bender," he smirked at me. He could tell I was a bender? Had he ever seen me practice? That was unlikely considering I only practiced in the bathhouse, and he didn't seem like the type to spy on girls while they were bathing. "So I'm guessing your plan has something to do with finding a master?"

"How'd you know?" I gawked at him. He blinked a few times.

"The last I heard was that the Southern Water Tribe was all but extinct, so I assumed that meant very few masters?" He asked carefully, I could see the worry in his eyes and the slight twitch of his scared eye brow.

"You're almost right. Actually, there are no masters. You're looking at the last Waterbender from the whole South Pole." Again, he didn't look surprised.

"Fire Nation?" He guessed.

"Yeah," I said sadly, reaching for my mother's necklace, but, of course, it wasn't there.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Reach for something on your neck, then drop your hand as if it's gone?" He noticed that?

"I used to wear my mother's betrothal necklace, it's the only piece of her I have left." I looked down at my hands.

"Why aren't you wearing it anymore?"

"Because… Sokka has this crazy idea that one day some rich man is going to come and ask me to marry him, but that he won't do that if I already have a betrothal necklace." I rolled my eyes to show how much I believed that was going to happen. It was almost laughable.

Sokka had my necklace now. It was with his boomerang and all our money. Luckily Sokka was smart enough to hide our most important possessions in a place no one would ever look; they were under our apartment flooring. Sokka had pulled up the wood slats and sat all our stuff there, then put a rug over the spot where he pulled up the wood, not that you could tell that anyone had pulled them up in the first place.

"That's smart, he must care about you a lot."

"He does," I agreed. "But I'm his responsibility. He has to take care of me because that's what our father told him to do." This frustrated me, though I knew it was true. Sokka was smart and watched out for me, we took care of each other. He was the protector who brought home the food. I cooked the food, did all the chores, had my own job that paid for the rent, and made sure he woke up so he could to get his job.

I wasn't exactly sure who got the short end of the stick.

"I'm sure that's not the only reason," he hesitated, "Too bad I couldn't have been more like your brother."

"You have younger siblings?" He looked reluctant to answer, like he hadn't meant for that bit of information to slip.

"Just a sister, but we don't get along, not in the slightest." He made a face and I guessed his hatred for his sister ran deep.

"Why-"

"Back to work, Lee." Pao called from the counter. Lee grinned at me.

"How about we pick this up later, what are you doing tonight?" I almost squealed with eagerness.

"Nothing," I must be smiling like an idiot, I thought.

"Good, meet me at that bridge over there?" He pointed out the window and I nodded in acknowledgment. "Great, I'll see you later."

Did that just happen? Do I have a date tonight?

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