A/N: Hey, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed my last couple of chapters, your reviews keep me writing. More should be explained in this chapter, sorry if it's been hazy up until this point. Just a general note to everyone, there isn't any bending in this story. Sorry…I know its fun to write but it'd be kind of random if we had benders in the real world, not that it wouldn't be awesome, just saying. Please review with your comments and suggestions. Thanks!

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Zhao sneered, clearly quite amused at Zuko's obvious blatant surprise and irritation regarding his unexpected presence in the tea shop.

"Why so angry Zuko?" he inquired, the smirk spreading across his face. The young man scowled.

"I'm not angry, I just want to know why you're here," he hissed in response, glancing fleetingly over his shoulder to make sure they weren't attracting any unwanted attention from the customers. The man shrugged his shoulders, letting Zuko's statement roll off of him like water.

"Your father sent me. I think he's interested in your progress," he answered simply, fixing Zuko with a hard stare. "You've been here three weeks already; surely you must have figured something out by now." The boy's stomach clenched and shifted his gaze to the steaming tea tray he still held in his hands.

"I… I think I may have a lead of some sort," he muttered, hoping Zhao would just leave it at that. Naturally things were never that easy.

"Oh really? Do tell, I'm sure you want me to be able to report something to Ozai," he stated, leaning back into his seat and continuing to stare at Zuko with that irritatingly smug expression. The boy wracked his brain, trying desperately to think of something he could say that would be a legitimate response to Zhao's pressing questions. Truth be told he still had yet to find any information on the man they were seeking but he knew revealing this would bring disfavor upon him in his father's eyes. It also wouldn't be a surprise if the man sitting before him stretched the tale in order to make Zuko sound even more pathetic than he already felt.

"Nothing huh? What a disappointment." Zhao had clearly read the conflicting emotions racing through Zuko's eyes and come to the conclusion that the young man really did have nothing to say worth mentioning. "I suppose it is most fortunate for you then, that I have information for you." Zuko's head snapped up and he gaped at the man, immediately suspicious as to why in the world his father's right hand would want to help him.

"What's in it for you? Why would you want to help me?" he asked cautiously. Zhao's sneer disappeared, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Believe me, I wouldn't. My orders come from your father; he thought this information might prove beneficial to your cause," he replied curtly. Zuko nearly rolled his eyes but caught himself just in time. Figures, he thought to himself. Fixing the man with one of his nastier glares, the young man waited for him to spill what he had to say, nearly throwing the tea tray at him when he proceeded to remain stubbornly silent.

"Well!?" he fumed much than louder than he'd meant to, all the chattering voices suddenly fading as his outburst cut through their various conversations. Zuko flushed and tried to avoid the many pairs of eyes that had curiously turned his way, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his rising anger and clear his head. Zhao however, seemed determined to make this difficult for him.

"Really Zuko… subtlety is obviously something you're still struggling with. It makes me wonder if it was a wise decision for Ozai to send you on this mission and not your sister. Azula clearly has a much better head on her shoulders…" the man crooned in a purposefully disinterested way. Zuko's eyes flashed and he nearly dropped the tray, wanting nothing more than to pummel the bastard into a bloody pulp. At the last second however, he remembered where he was and contained himself, fixing Zhao with a withering glare. The man's lip curled as he took in the boy's tense frame and carefully controlled expression.

"Very good, you're learning to control that nasty temper of yours. The fat old geezer has clearly already begun to impact on you. I didn't realize you were so soft," he murmured, his eyes fixed on Zuko, eager for his reaction. There was a pause before the young man very carefully put the tray down, his hands shaking with the effort he was putting forth to control his temper. Looking Zhao straight in the eye he hissed:

"This isn't the place to talk. There are too many people around who could easily overhear whatever the hell it is you have to say. Meet me tonight after the Dragon closes and you can tell me your information then. I'll let Uncle know to expect you." With those words he turned smartly around and stormed off in the other direction, leaving Zhao alone at the table. The man watched him leave with a scowl on his face, a sense of deep loathing stirring in his gut. That boy would get what was coming to him; there was no doubt about it. He was involved in some very dangerous business and in this business; accidents were bound to happen…

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"Agh, stupid storm!" Katara moaned as she glared out the window to where the rain was pounding down in rapid torrents. She and Suki had walked the few blocks from her house to the library earlier that day in order to get the piles of homework they'd received finished sometime before the next millennium hit. Her father Hakoda had been involved in another of his meetings and the two girls hadn't wanted to disturb them, thus resulting in the library trip. What Katara hadn't counted on was the storm now raging ferociously outside the sanctuary of the library.

Suki had left about an hour earlier yet Katara had stayed, wanting to finish her biology homework before retiring home for the night. Now here she was, stuck in a library that just happened to be closing in five minutes.

"Make that three," she mumbled to herself, glancing at the large clock ticking irritatingly away on the wall. Groaning she stood and swiped her papers and folders none to nicely into her backpack, knowing she'd just have to brave the storm and hope she didn't wind up too worse for wear. Reaching for her coat she suffered a brief moment of panic when it wasn't there, only to remember she had left it at home in her rush to leave the house.

"This is just perfect!" she wailed, her eyes once more sliding to the raging storm outside.

"Ma'am? We're closing now." Katara turned to see a bored looking man standing behind her, his gaze traveling from her to the clock and back again.

"I-I know. Sorry, I'll get out of your hair," she muttered, turning on her heel and tromping towards the door.

"Stay dry," the man called after her and Katara thought she caught a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Jerk," she grumbled, refusing to turn around and acknowledge his comment. Opening the door she was immediately met with a cold rush of wind that sprayed her with frigid water and sending her body into compulsive shivers. Gritting her teeth she plowed into the storm, keeping her head down and wrapping her arms around herself, trying to keep in any bit of warmth she could. She could feel her teeth beginning to chatter and her cheeks were already feeling numb from the freezing wind. She was soaked through within seconds.

Normally Katara loved being outside in thunderstorms, relishing the feel of the water trickling down her face and the wind dancing with her hair and clothes. This however, was nothing like those pleasant summer storms; this might as well have been a full blown hurricane.

Night had already fallen and that added on top of everything else made it nearly impossible to see anything that wasn't directly in front of her face. Glancing up she shielded her eyes with one numb hand, trying to get her bearings on where she was. She could just make out the foggy shape of a blurred building about fifteen yards away, soft lights emanating from the upper windows. Squinting her eyes against the rain, she could see the sign above the door reading: The Jasmine Dragon. So she was near the tea shop…great, just four more blocks to go.

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Zuko winced as another crash of thunder rolled across the sky, reverberating through the tea shop and causing the cups and saucers to rattle and shake. The rest of the day since his conversation with Zhao had passed by unbearably slowly, his mind in a distracted haze the entire time. He couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with the man, his brain buzzing with unanswered questions. What information did he have and why did his father sent Zhao personally? Why not let one of the lower ranking members bring a message? The fire district wasn't exactly close and it certainly was unlike Zhao to travel so far a distance just to help Zuko out. It wasn't just unlikely, it was down right unheard of and the teen knew there had to be something else going on behind the scenes that he didn't know about.

"Zuko!" his uncle's voice cut into his thoughts and the boy suppressed a growl of frustration, turning sharply on the older man.

"What?"

"Can you take out the trash for me please? These old bones don't like to be about in thunderstorms," Iroh said to him. Zuko narrowed his eyes.

"Wha… That's not true Uncle! You just don't-I'm not going to…fine," he mumbled, earning him a large grin from the older man.

"What a kind nephew I have," he said before heading back behind the counter, humming happily to himself. Zuko shook his head, refusing to take his irritation at Zhao out on his uncle. Reaching under the counter Zuko grabbed the three smelly trash bags they had stored there, his nose crinkling and his lips folding into a disgusted grimace as he realized one was quite plainly leaking.

"Uncle I need another trash bag!" he shouted over another crash of thunder. Iroh grunted in response and opened one of the counter's many drawers, pulling out a roll of fresh trash bags and tossing them over to his nephew. Zuko caught them easily and yanked out a new bag, wasting no time wrapping it around the dripping stink bomb and firmly securing the top in a tight knot. Hoisting the bags over his shoulder he made his way to the door, ignoring his uncle's advice to grab a jacket before advancing into the storm.

The dumpsters were located behind the store and Zuko ran headlong into the wind, wanting to get this dismal task over with as soon as possible. He threw the trash bags into the large brown containers and heard the satisfactory thwack sound they made upon hitting the bottom. Slamming the lid on top of them he hurried back to the tea shop, anxious to return to the Dragon's inviting warmth when something caught his eye. It was a girl making her way down the block, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her head bowed against the raging wind, long brown hair flying in all directions. She seemed familiar and it took him a second before he recognized her as the girl he had crashed into that morning.

A funny feeling sank into his stomach as he remembered how close his face had been to hers only a couple of hours ago and how astonishingly beautiful her startled ocean blue eyes had been. Pushing those stupid thoughts out of his head he couldn't help but wonder what in the world she was doing out in this kind of weather at this hour of the evening when she suddenly tripped and fell, crashing headfirst into the pavement.

Zuko wasn't exactly sure what happened to his legs because he definitely had not told them to move in any direction at all save back towards the Jasmine Dragon. Now for whatever reason, he suddenly found them taking him towards the fallen girl and at a strangely rapid rate. It wasn't until he was right next to her that he realized he had no idea what to say. Her eyes slowly rose to meet his and he saw a spark of recognition there, the girl clearly recognizing him from that morning as well. She rapidly got to her feet, clenching her fists down by her sides and glaring at him, clearly trying to appear unfazed yet Zuko could see her shivering in the cold, her lips already turning slightly purple.

"What are you doing?!" the boy found himself blurting out before he could stop himself. The girl scowled.

"I'm g-going home," she replied, her teeth chattering so much she could barely get the words out.

"You're walking? In this weather?" he stated in disbelief, regarding the girl with a clearly dumbfounded expression. She however, was having none of his attitude.

"Yes I'm walking. Now if you wouldn't mind getting out of my way I'd really like to get home before I catch hypothermia!" she snapped, marching forward and shoving past him. Zuko watched her stomp away before his traitorous mouth opened itself again.

"Wait, hold on a second. At least let me give you an umbrella or something," he said to her. The girl turned, unable to hide her expression of genuine surprise at his words. Finally however, her mouth curved into the slightest of smiles.

"Thanks for the offer but at this point, I can't see an umbrella making much difference," she said to him, holding her arms out as though to emphasize her point. She was indeed soaking wet. Zuko stood baffled for a second, unable to think of anything else to say. She had a point but it still seemed wrong somehow to just let her continue on her way without doing anything. Rolling his eyes he grabbed her arm and pulled her after him, unable to believe he was actually doing this. He barely knew this girl! What obligation did he owe her? He had no reason to show her kindness, no reason to help her out. Even so…

"Wait, hold on! Where are you taking me?" she asked, trying and failing to pull out of his grip. He turned to look at her again, exasperation in his eyes.

"Just come on, I'm not going to attack you alright," he replied, his words coming out a little harsher than he'd meant them to. She frowned, studying his face for a moment before finally sighing in defeat.

"Alright fine; but only because I want to get out of this storm!" she stated. He nodded once, not particularly caring that her answer hadn't been exactly friendly as long as it got her out of the nasty weather. "…You can let go of my arm now." Zuko stopped in his tracks, dropping her arm like it had burned him.

"Sorry," he muttered before continuing towards the tea shop's welcoming front door. At this point he too had gotten himself soaked to the bone and he knew his uncle would be wondering if he'd gotten himself lost in the dumpster. Opening the door he stepped inside, the Dragon's warmth rushing around him like a hot bath.

"There you are Zuko! What in the world were you…" Iroh trailed off as the girl stepped into the shelter of the tea shop, looking ten times worse for wear than his nephew. The older man's face broke into a smile, anxious to hear the story of how his sullen, moody nephew had managed to return with such a lovely young lady. "Who might this be?" he asked, setting down the dishrag in his hand and fixing Zuko with a curious look. His nephew appeared a tad bit sheepish as he glanced down at the girl standing dripping wet beside him.

"Uh…this is…"

"Katara," the girl said, shooting Zuko a bemused look. "I'm one of Zuko's classmates." The young man stared at her, wondering how in the world she knew his name without having ever introduced himself. Reading his expression she grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Your name was on that paper you dropped," she said to him.

"Oh…" was his only reply. He stood awkwardly for a moment before turning back to Iroh. "I'll be right back," he muttered before slipping off his soaking wet shoes and hurrying up the back staircase, leaving Katara and Iroh alone. Once on the second floor he vanished into his bedroom and closed the door behind him, immediately stripping off his wet clothes and pulling warmer, dryer ones from his chest of drawers.

After slipping them on he stepped out of his bedroom and into the bathroom he shared with his uncle, grabbing a towel off the rack and draping it over his shoulders before returning to his room and opening his closet door. He scanned his eyes over the various jackets and sweatshirts hanging up there, looking for one that wouldn't be an absolute circus tent on her.

Rummaging through them, he finally pulled out an old black windbreaker that had gotten to be a little on the small side but would still be rather loose on Katara. Regardless it would keep her a lot warmer and dryer than she had been before.

Setting the jacket down, he grabbed the towel from around his shoulders and scrubbed it through his hair, making the dark strands appear even more disheveled than usual before once again picking up the coat and heading down the steps. It was only when he'd reached the bottom of the stairwell that he thought Katara may have wanted a towel as well.

He needn't have worried for when he rounded the corner to where his uncle and classmate were standing he saw that the girl already had a fluffy white towel draped across her shoulders. She and Iroh were talking quietly and she burst into laughter as he approached, clearly quite amused at something his uncle had said to her. Refusing to ask what they'd been talking about Zuko marched up to Katara and shoved the jacket into her arms.

"Here wear this, it should help to keep you dry," he said to her. "I'll get you an umbrella." Katara blinked, looking from him to the jacket in her hand and then back to him.

"Thank you," she finally spluttered. Iroh however, was frowning.

"Zuko, don't you think you should escort this young lady home? It is not safe for someone of her age to be walking alone in the dark, especially in the midst of a storm such as this," he said to him. Zuko glared at his uncle, momentarily hating him for causing this awkward situation he now found himself in. Zhao was going to be there any minute and he didn't have time to leave for however long it took Katara to get home. The information the man had was bound to be important and he wasn't about to blow a chance at the first potential break through he'd had since coming to this place. Katara, obviously sensing his reluctance, backed away, smiling apologetically.

"No, don't worry about it. I walk home by myself all the time! Really, it's okay!" she protested. Iroh waved his hand, brushing her comment aside.

"No, we insist. Zuko would be happy to drive you home, wouldn't you Zuko?" he pressed, giving his nephew a meaningful stare. Zuko opened his mouth to protest before closing it again, trying to find a way out of this situation.

"I'm expecting someone uncle. I have to be here when he arrives," he murmured. Iroh's eyes narrowed and his lips folded downward into a small frown.

"He will wait for you to come back. I will see to that," he replied firmly. Katara bit her lip feeling horribly awkward and unwanted. She hadn't asked to come to this place, she hadn't asked to be taken care of, and she definitely had had no intention of getting a lift home with the very boy who she had been so unbelievably irritated with that same morning.

"It's okay! Look, I'm just going to head out now. Thank you for the offer but really, I'll be fine. I appreciate your help," she stated before turning and walking away before either one could respond. Opening the door she took three steps into the storm before remembering she was still gripping Zuko's jacket in her arms. It would be more than a little bit embarrassing to go back in there, drop off the coat, and then promptly leave again. Huffing in amused exasperation she decided she may as well make the make use of it.

Slipping it around her shoulders she was immediately ten times warmer than she had been previously. The wind didn't have nearly as much affect on her and the raindrops simply rolled off the coat before dripping onto the ground. Breathing in she couldn't help but notice how nice the jacket smelled, the faint scent of Zuko's cologne still lingering on the material. Shaking her head Katara snapped herself out of it, knowing she had better get home soon before her father or Sokka called the police.

The sound of a car door slamming somewhere close by reached her ears and she glanced up, peering through the rain to see the dark silhouette of a figure moving towards her. Upon closer inspection she realized it was a man with very imposing features, his eyes sharp and dangerous looking, his mouth set in an irritated scowl.

He barely looked at her as she passed him, his eyes flicking to her momentarily before snapping back onto the front door. She was glad he hadn't spoken for something about this guy screamed danger. The girl paused and watched him walk into the tea shop, letting the door slam shut behind him and disappearing from her view. Could this be the man Zuko had been waiting for? If so she couldn't imagine what kind of business someone her age had with a man like that. Deciding it wasn't her concern she once more plodded forward, determining she would return Zuko's jacket to him the first chance she got. She definitely didn't want to keep it too long in case he had some need for it and she didn't like the way her heart pounded in her chest whenever she breathed in it's alluring scent.

Katara sighed, staring forward into the rain. She had noticed his scar this time. It was there, plain as day, just like Suki had said. How in the world had she missed it before? For some reason her mind went a little funny whenever she was around him. Lightening flashed overhead and she winced, outwardly flinching and quickening her pace. Maybe she should have let Zuko walk her home after all…

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Hey everyone! Just a general comment to anyone reading this, please review it with your suggestions and ideas, thoughts and feelings, things you liked or disliked about it. Your comments are what keep me writing this story so please if you read it, leave a review! Thank you so much. Question: Were Zuko and Katara in character for that storm part? Was it OOC of Zuko to help Katara like that?? I wasn't sure…please let me know! Thanks so much!

~Phoenix