A/N: I really hope you like this chapter, please tell me how I did because I'm not so sure about it.

Chapter 3

Hoping For More

0o0o0o

Katara's POV

As I unlocked the door and got a look at the remnants of the inside, I immediately shut it and turned to face Lee with an embarrassed smile. He gave me a confused look but I just shook my head nervously.

"Never mind what I said, you should wait out here." I didn't give him long to reply, I had already slipped inside to retrieve a scrap of parchment so I could write my note to Sokka.

The reason I hadn't wanted Lee to come inside may have been silly, but I couldn't let him see the entire one bedroom mess that used to be clean and comfortable.

I hadn't gotten around to cleaning up after the other night, and all the furniture was either turned over on its side or broken into splintery shards of wood and glass. The curtains I had sewn from blue Water Tribe material where ripped and lay strew across the floor along with mine and Sokka's clothing.

Sighing, I quickly searched the room for a scrap of parchment that I could use to write on. Sokka wouldn't be surprised by the mess, considering he already knew every detail. He had come to my rescue just moments after the robbers had escaped. If I weren't his responsibility, I would owe him for the rest of my life by now. I couldn't imagine what he thought when he saw me lying there terrified and shivering with blood running down my face...

I shuddered at the fresh memory, quickly scrawling the note; I'm fine, going somewhere with a friend, don't wait up for me. I'm safe -K.

I rushed back outside, seeing Lee leaning against the wall with a somber look. I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he had probably gotten a glimpse of the interior when I had come back outside. He just frowned and held his arm out for me, I took it and we walked back to the street in awkward silence.

0o0o0o

He didn't want to think about what he had seen; he knew if he thought too much about it, he would start getting angry, and that was the last thing he wanted to do when he was near Katara. But just that small glimpse… What had happened? He couldn't ask, and he knew she wouldn't tell some stranger who felt the need to protect her. All he could do was clench his teeth and focus on her. Though the reminder of what she must have gone through was written all over her face in fresh cuts and bruises.

"Lee?" She asked hesitantly after what seemed like forever. He glanced at her beside him, and gave a small smile, silently telling her he was listening. "Can we pretend nothing happened?" She sounded desperate, wanting just as much as he did for this to be a normal date. He nodded to her.

"No problem," he said, leading her down a side road where a tavern was booming with voices while the one across from it was blaring heavy music.

In the back of his mind he remembered hating those kinds of restaurants, and mostly he still did.

He felt Katara shiver beside him, and was about to ask if she was cold when she asked: "We're not going anywhere like that, are we?" She gestured to one of the adult restaurants on the street. He raised his eyebrows when he realized the connection. He mentally kicked himself for not being more thoughtful.

"Of course not," he answered. Katara sighed with relief. "I'm not that adventurous on the first date," he warned her, and she laughed. "I hope you don't mind, but I know of a small coffee shop where we can talk." She looked at him questioningly. "You've never had coffee?" she shook her head. "It's a cheaper kind of tea, made out of beans instead of leaves." She scrunched up her nose, and he noted how cute she looked. He smirked. "It's not as bad as it sounds." She raised an eyebrow at him and he gave her a crooked smile, letting go of her arm to take her hand instead.

0o0o0

Coffee? Was he serious? I'd never heard of it before, but as soon as we walked into the small shop, I could smell the intoxicating aroma of said coffee. It smelt of something so… indescribably good, that it mustn't be bad. Right?

We sat down at a round, wooden table beside the window and he ordered us two mugs without even looking at the menu, though I was staring at mine like it was written in a foreign language.

"It's not bad, I promise." He attempted to reassure me, but I raised an eyebrow at him daringly.

"Pinky promise?" I held my hand out across the table, pinky out. He looked taken aback.

"I haven't been asked that since I was a kid," he smirked that crooked smile that I was really starting to love. "Pinky promise." I giggled as we shook pinkies. He was right, it was childish, but it was too cute to see him smiled crookedly at me. His eyes the color of liquid caramel, or maybe they were amber? With it being dark outside and the room not well lit it was difficult to tell what exact color they were, just that they were stunning and never left my face.

The waiter came and sat down two mugs of dark, steaming liquid in front of us. Lee sipped his eagerly, though careful with the hot coffee.

"Mmm," he licked his lips, and I gulped nervously, noticing how nice his lips looked, and the slight stubble on his upper lip and chin. "Try it." I blushed, realizing that I was staring, and looked down into the milky liquid. The sweet smell was relaxing, and I brought it to my lips cautiously. He burst out laughing when I scrunched my nose in disgust.

"Blahhh" It tasted awful! How could he like it? "You lied to me!" I accused, he only laughed harder. I reached over and punched his upper arm, though it probably hurt me more than him, because his arms felt like pure muscle. I'd really like to touch them again…

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "I guess it's an acquired taste." I stuck my tongue out at him, and he smirked. "So you're not going to finish that?" I slid the ceramic mug towards him.

"You can have the rest, you tasteless liar."

He chuckled and reached over to push a stray curl behind my ear. "Cute." He said it like it meant Touché .

I giggled and blushed, realizing that he was talking about me, as I silently wished his hand would stay there.

0o0o0o

They walked arm in arm down the deserted road, laughing the whole way about nothing in particular. When they turned down the alley way towards her apartment, he knew the night was coming to a close, though he was not yet willing to let her leave him.

"This was a lot of fun, Lee." She said as they stopped in front of her apartment door for the second time that night. The lights flowing out of the window indicated that her brother was indeed waiting up for her.

"Yeah, it was," he agreed thoughtfully, unable to look her in the eye because of his nerves. Her ocean blue eyes looked up at him from under long, dark lashes, her blush becoming a nearly permanent fixture on her face. "We should…. Do it again sometime," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, she giggled and nodded.

"Defiantly," then, to his surprise, she stood up on her tiptoes to plant a delicate kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Lee, for everything." His cheeks burnt like the fire he bent, his face going blank except for the goofy grin on his lips.

"Y-Yeah, no problem." He cleared his throat awkwardly, giving her one last crooked grin before she disappeared behind the wooden door.

He smiled as he walked back towards his own apartment, thinking to himself; Maybe Ba Sing Se isn't such a bad place after all…

0o0o0o

After I had shut the door, I burst into a fit of giggles. Sokka, who had been fixing the dining table, took it as crying and rushed over to comfort me.

"Katara, what's wrong?" He looked at me with a terrified expression, no doubt thinking I was having late reactions about the robbery.

I smiled at him, blushing. "Nothing, everything's perfect." He raised his eyebrow at me like I'd gone crazy but I ignored him and skipped into my room. After I'd closed the door I snatched out my diary from under my pillow and wrote down the night's events in vivid and girly detail.

Outside the door, I could hear Sokka mumbling to himself, probably about how crazy I was being. Little did he know I was having the greatest night of my life!

I shoved my face in my pillow so Sokka wouldn't hear my squeal of happiness.

0o0o0o

The next day at work, Zuko fully expected to see Katara. Each time the front door opened and the little bell on the handle jingled he'd look up expecting to see her face. By noon Pao was starting to get nosy.

"Expecting someone?" he asked after another customer had come in and Zuko's head had popped up to look.

"N-not at all," his left eye twitched, lying was defiantly not his strong suit. Why he had ever thought he could live a secret life was a mystery.

"Hmm," Pao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Katara won't be here for a couple hours."

"I'm not expecting anyone," Zuko said smoothly, implying that he should drop the subject. Pao grinned knowingly and continued helping customers.

"Lee, please take this to the young lady at table three?" Pao ordered politely. Zuko nodded and grabbed the silver tray, taking it to said girl. He grimaced when he realized she was the girl he'd hooked up with the night Katara stood him up—or so he thought. Now that he knew the circumstances behind her absence he felt doubly guilty for falling into the flirtatious woman's arms. Now she smiled at him, brushed back her messy brown hair, and batted her long eyelashes. She'd been sitting at the same table nearly all day, always seeming unsure and nervous. He placed the cup on the table, hardly looking at her. She looked down and mumbled a small thank you before he walked back to the counter.

Awhile later he heard a female voice from behind him. "Thank you for the tea," he looked and saw the same girl from earlier. "What's your name?" Why would she want to know that? He asked himself. Could it be a trick? Doesn't she remember? Is she playing at something?

"My names Lee," he turned to face her as she handed him the money for her drink. He turned his back to her, inferring that she should leave him alone if she knew what was good for her, unfortunately she either didn't get the hint, or refused to leave him alone.

"Hi Lee, my name is Jin. Thank you and, well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?" no hidden meaning in that, he noted. She must not recognize me, Zuko figured. She had been a little tipsy.

He turned back to her, blushing. "I, um-"

"He's busy," he recognized that voice, behind Jin stood a shorter, tan girl, who he was becoming more and more interested in.

Jin turned to look at Katara, who had her arms crossed and was glaring at Jin. She looked incredibly challenging, and Zuko made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were involved," she said to Zuko embarrassedly, before slumping her shoulders and slinking out of the shop.

Zuko grinned at Katara. "Thanks for saving me, I owe you." He leaned over the counter to kiss her on the cheek, causing her to blush. It was a gutsy move he wouldn't normally do, but worth it.

"Don't forget, you already owe me for the rest of your life." She reminded him. Zuko smiled crookedly.

"That's true," he turned to shout at Pao in the kitchen. "I'm taking my break now." Then he hopped over the counter—looking exactly like a teenager instead of the responsibly adult he tried to be—and led Katara to a table.

She smiled at him as they sat down. "So how's your day been?" she made an attempt at small talk.

"Better now that you're here."

She blushed and looked down at her hands. "I can't believe that girl was trying to ask you out," Katara was trying not to sound overbearing as a blush crept to her cheeks. He could see the jealousy in her eyes, and for a moment he felt a little proud.

Zuko snorted. "I don't think she was trying, she just came out and said it!" She laughed and rolled her ocean blue eyes.

"Some guys like straightforwardness," she hinted.

"Some, but not me." He said.

She looked up, trying to keep the curiosity from showing on her face. "Really?" She questioned doubtfully.

"Really. I've always had a thing for the quieter girls, like you." Zuko was really trying his hardest to be charming, he wasn't sure if it was working though. Katara giggled at his comment and looked back down at her hands. It obviously wasn't going to badly.

"I'm not that quiet once you get to know me."

He smiled crookedly, "Then I'm looking forward to getting to know you." She smiled at him, her shinning blue eyes meeting his from across the table, and suddenly he was nervous again.

"And I'm very much looking forward to getting to know the real you," she countered smoothly. Uh oh, he thought, trying to keep the fear he felt from showing on his face.

"Uh, there's not much to know." He said carefully, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'm pretty boring." He was surprised when she shook her head in denial, a knowing smirk playing on her ruby lips.

"I don't think you're boring, I think there's a lot you're not sharing." Crap!

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants nervously, "What makes you say that?" How could she know that? Could she be a spy? What if she's only here to bring me back to Azula?

A million questions rang threw his mind as to why she could suspect something of him. He was never a good liar, but she wouldn't know his tell. She hardly knew him! Unless she was working for Azula, then she would know everything about him! And she was just using his heart to lure him into Azula's trap! Maybe she wasn't a Waterbender at all, maybe she was just telling him that to take away the suspicion that she could be a spy from the Fire Nation, or worse, an assassin! But if she were an assassin she would have killed him by now, it's not like she didn't have the opportunity. But maybe Azula was just playing with him, waiting until he fell for this girl so she could do the dirty deed herself.

When she opened her mouth to reply his heart nearly froze in anticipation, he could feel the beads of sweat on his temple.

If she attacked him he would be forced to use Firebending, but with so many witnesses he would most likely be captured by the Dai-Li. What if Azula had infiltrated Ba Sing Se? He remembered her plan to build a machine that would drill a hole through the outer wall. But she had had that idea when they were kids, just after the siege of Ba Sing Se, where his uncle had failed to claim the great city in the name of the Fire Nation. For that, he was marked as a failure. An embarrassment to the Fire Lord, something Iroh and Zuko had in common. Something Azula would never feel, because she was just so perfect. It made him sick to think about her, about how she could be tracking him, using this girl as bait, and possibly taking over the Earth Kingdome right at that very moment.

He gulped, and began mentally preparing himself for a fight. She could even be a Firebender like him, which could have been why he knew she was a bender.

As she began to speak he focused intently on her words, reviewing each one for any possible clue that would suggest her being either a spy or an assassin with orders to bring him back to Azula.

She put her elbows on the table and looked at him seriously, slightly tilting her head to one side. "You talk about yourself very carefully, specifically your past. Like you're keeping a dark secret that no one is allowed to know." She wanted to know his secrets; that he could easily tell.

She leaned half way across the table, and he did the same, their faces only inches away from each other. She bit her lips as he absent-mindedly leaned closer, ever so slightly tilting his head to the side. He could feel her hot breath, and smell her sweet scent. Her eyes began to drift closed as he came the slightest distance closer, nearly standing up out of his seat to meet her lips.

But she continued biting her lips as he parted his. He could tell she had something more to say. He paused in his advance, giving her a moment to collect her thoughts and get out what she needed to say.

She opened her eyes and looked into his cautiously, "I think… I think your keeping something from me, something important." She had no idea how spot-on she was to the truth.

He sighed; the moment was lost. He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, then pulled away completely and sat back in his chair. She did the same, a look of disappointment written clearly on her face.

"Have you thought that maybe it was to keep you safe?" He tried, possibly giving away too much but he was in a what-the-hell kind of mood. Katara gave him a determined look as she crossed her arms over her chest like a guilty child about to be punished. He studied her face, trying to figure out if she was mad at him, or if she was just confused.

Finally she spoke up, "I don't think this is going to work out." His eyes widened in utter and complete shock.

"What? How could you say that?" He demanded, she just looked at the ground.

"I can't be with someone who's going to keep secrets, and I can already tell that you will." She said firmly, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Katara I… I don't know what to tell you-"

"How about the truth?" suddenly she was standing up, her hands flat on the table, with an angry look in her eyes. Zuko hesitated a moment too long and Katara turned to leave.

"Ok," he stood up and grabbed her shoulder. She turned and looked at him carefully, "From now on I will only tell you the truth." She smiled triumphantly, and he could sense this wasn't going to be the first time she got exactly what she wanted.

"Oh Lee-" she made to hug him but he grabbed her by the shoulders and held up a single finger in front of her face.

"But," she frowned, "you have to promise not to ask any questions." She sighed, and took a moment to deliberate.

"Fine. But I want a full explanation eventually," She required. Zuko grinned at her and kissed her forehead.

"Eventually," he agreed, mentally hoping beyond hope they actually lasted that long. Katara giggled and stood up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. At first he was a little shocked, but didn't hesitate long before wrapping his arms around her small and delicate waist.

"Does this mean we're…?" She hid her face in his shoulder, but he knew she was blushing madly.

"I think so," he blushed and squeezed her tighter. He felt her giggle into his neck.

"I have a boyfriend," he heard her say to herself, as she went into a fit of giggles. He couldn't help but smile crookedly to himself.

He had a girlfriend…

Yay! Their together! If you read this and say "hey wait, this is totally wrong, people don't get together like that!" well then I apologize, I really wouldn't know the correct way. But I wanted theirs to be totally informal and confusing! Yes that was my goal. It had to be awkward and embarrassing for poor Zuzu, I absolutely love making him feel uncomfortable!

If you're thinking 'this story aint going nowhere', well you're sadly mistaken. I have big plans for this story, that's why I've been neglecting my others.

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