Part III
The Paying of a Visit

"Gyatso!" Aang yelled as he pushed the front door shut behind him. "Gyatso! Where are you?" He called out as he trudged into the kitchen. As he entered, he was met with the sight of Katara leaning almost all of her weight onto the water pump. Her face was red with exertion - and possibly frustration - and her fingers had gone pale from where they were gripping the handle. She did not seem pleased.

"Stop shouting. Gyatso's gone to the marketplace with Sokka to get some saffron, even though the idiot should have stayed here and pumped some water." Katara said as she huffed and let go of the water pump.

"Do you need some help?" Aang offered with a smile.

"Yes, I do." Katara replied irritably.

"Okay, then." Aang said as his lips curved into an amused grin.

"Sorry!" Katara burst out. "It's just that, it was Sokka's turn to pump the water and he didn't even have the decency to help!" She said, her voice rising with each word.

"Calm down, Katara. Here, we'll do it together." He brightly said as he stepped forward.

"But you're not strong enough." Katara pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. We just need a little bending. That's all." Aang said. "You put your hands around the handle and then, when you push, I'll make the air do the same." He said brightly.

"Okay, then. If you say so." Katara said as she grasped the handle before pushing down with a grunt of exertion. Aang took the small amount of time that Katara was successfully able to put as much force as possible onto the handle without tiring, to pull his hands up to his chest. The water bender was just shooting him an inquisitive glance when Aang suddenly thrust his hands down to his torso.

Katara gasped as the handle lurched downwards and Aang barely managed to prevent her from hitting her head on the metal. "And there!" He said as he let his arms fall to his side.

There was a pause and then, Katara turned to Aang with an amused smile on her lips. "Aang, do you even know how a water pump works?" She asked.

"Sure. You push down and the water flows out."

"Yes, but you have to push down again and again. Don't you and Gyatso ever use this thing?" She wondered.

"Well, not really." Aang said with a sheepish smile. "But it doesn't matter. We'll go get some from the well. Come on."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Zuko had just cleaned the grime off his body and was now, scowling behind the cloth secured around his face. The marginal amount of heat the day before had only lasted throughout the night and now, the air was stuffy and humid. Every exhale seemed to prompt more and more sweat drops to form on Zuko's skin and he was trying hard not to rip the cloth from around his face and burn it into a million particles.

Instead, he was forced to walk down the street with his cloth garnering unnecessary attention from surrounding people. He could see now that it was unusual for people in this particular village to be so afraid of getting burnt. Instead, they were fair but oddly resistant to the heat.

Damn their stupid complexions.

Zuko, now thoroughly irritated, turned into another street and walked several paces before slipping into an alley. Even though the walls were low and the heat left no place un-searched, the shade provided some sort of relief from the glaring sunlight and Zuko gratefully pulled the cloth off his face, allowing it to trail down his shoulder. Now in a considerably better mood, Zuko set down the alley at a brisk pace. The sides were lined with several doors but the fire bender passed by each and every one of them. At last, barely six feet away from the mouth of the alley, Zuko turned to his right and knocked twice on a plain wooden door.

There was a long pause and then, finally it was thrown open to reveal a slim girl, with green eyes and brown hair. "Good morning, Zuko." She said softly.

"Lee, Jin. My name is Lee." Zuko reminded quietly as she stepped aside to let him through.

"Oh, sorry." She said with a smile.

"It's fine." Zuko said as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. The room that he had stepped into was a small, cramped kitchen with a low roof. Several pots and pans sat to one side of the room and a large fire-pit had been dug into the ground. A pot currently simmered above it. The room was unglamorous and a small girl was crouched beside the pot, poking at the contents every now and then.

"So, where is he?" Zuko asked as his golden eyes swept the room one last time before resting on Jin.

"Next room. He's trying to make tea with the 'atrociously meager quality of tea-leaves' in my shop." Jin said with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, he's gotten ruder since the last time he was here."

"No, he's just getting old. And creaky." Zuko said with a wry smile.

"Well, go on. He's been waiting for you all night." Jin said before sauntering over to the fire-pit and taking the spoon from the little girl's hand.

"Thank you, Jin." Zuko said as he nodded once at her before crossing the room and pushing open the only door.

A few steps forward brought him to a simple, yet cozy sitting room. "Prince Zuko!" A voice suddenly burst out from across the room and Zuko's lips twitched as he turned to face his uncle.

"Uncle," He said with a small smile.

"Well, haven't you gotten taller?" Iroh wondered aloud from where he was nestled in the plushy folds of an armchair.

"Uncle, it's only been ten days since we last saw each other," Zuko dryly pointed out as he made his way towards the chair across from his Uncle's.

"I know, I know. But time passes by quickly," Iroh said dramatically.

"Jin told me you were making tea." Zuko said with raised eyebrows.

"I was. But there were no tea leaves. I really ought to have brought my own supply," Iroh said mournfully.

"Right." Zuko said as he took a seat and stared quietly at his Uncle.

"Well..." Iroh said as he leaned forward. "How's Gyatso?" He asked brightly.

"He's fine." Zuko replied shortly and before Iroh could say anything, he cut him off. "I thought you were supposed to wait at the main city. Why are you here?" Zuko asked sharply.

"Curiosity." Iroh replied airily.

"Oh, really now?"

"Yes, nephew!" Iroh insisted. "It is merely a dying man's last wish to see the Avatar before he passes."

"Uncle, you're not going to die." Zuko said irritably. "And the Avatar is nothing impressive."

"Really? How so?" Iroh wondered.

"He's not particularly bright. And is ridiculously trusting." Zuko said dryly.

"That's why he has you." Iroh said. "Yet..."

"What?" Zuko wondered.

"There was a disruption, in the village. Early this morning. Perhaps you've heard, Prince Zuko." Iroh said with a disapproving look.

"That wasn't my fault!" Zuko said indignantly. "He's reckless. And immature."

"That may be so, nephew, but for him to be drawing attention to himself so early could prove to be harmful." Iroh said.

"But he doesn't listen!"

"Ah, Zuko." Iroh said dramatically and the younger boy's eyebrows rose expectantly.

However, when his uncle did not say anything more, he sat back in his seat with an annoyed huff. The two lapsed into silence for several minutes before Iroh spoke, his voice grave.

"They've increased security in surrounding villages. She's near."

"Oh..." Zuko said quietly.

"When she does come, Zuko-"

"It's not a showdown. My priority is to protect the Avatar and I shall only battle Azula if the need befalls me." Zuko recited dully. "I remember."

Iroh paused before a small smile tugged at his lips and he shook his head slightly. "Very well. You can leave now. If Azula does not arrive by tomorrow, I will send a messenger. Send a written update, concise and coded through him and I will pass it onto the main city." Iroh said quietly.

"I will." Zuko said as he got to his feet. He reached up a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and was just about to turn away when a thought struck him.

The fire bender hesitantly bit his lip before looking at his Uncle. "When will I see you again?" He asked quietly.

"I would tell you soon but if I did, then that would be a lie." Iroh said with a small smile.

Zuko took a moment to process the information and once he was sure that disappointment did not show on his face, he spoke. "What about when Azula comes? Will you help me drive her off?"

"I will not." Iroh said.

"Why?" Zuko asked irritably.

"Because you are fully capable of handling her yourself." Iroh said.

"Yeah, I suppose that's why she almost intercepted me three months ago." Zuko muttered under his breath.

"I feel that that was stupidity on both of your parts. She should have known that you wouldn't let a prostitute fool you and you should have known that it was her doing and not taken the opportunity to 'relax'." Iroh said with a rather derisive snort.

"We never did anything! I was just telling the stupid whore to back off when she pulled a dagger on me." Zuko muttered with an embarrassed blush.

"I'm sure." Iroh said with an amused smile.

Zuko merely shot his Uncle a glare, even though the effect was quite ruined as his blush refused to subside. After several moments, however, the fire bender gruffly cleared his throat and wiped the sheepish look off his own face.

"Take care of the Avatar, nephew." Iroh said firmly.

"I know, Uncle. That's the only reason I'm here." Zuko said irritably.

"No, Zuko. You must protect him with your life. This isn't about proving yourself to the White Lotus and it most certainly isn't about the money. Your only objective should be to keep Azula away from him and him away from Azula. Keep an eye on those slaves as well. I do trust Gyatso's judgement but there must be no exceptions. Anyone could be a spy." Iroh said seriously.

"They hardly seem like the type but..." Zuko said hastily as Iroh shot him a warning look. "I'll keep an eye on them. Don't worry, Uncle."

"Aang, we're wasting our time!" Katara said as she looked up at the air bender from where she was sitting on their overturned pitcher.

"I know. But we need water so that we can cook." Aang said as he absentmindedly bent the air around them to keep circulating, so as to keep both of them from suffering the full extent of the desert heat.

The air bender was just busy maneuvering the air currents around the people surrounding them so that he could make Katara's chocolate brown tresses twist in on themselves in funny shapes when someone bumped into him hard. The air bender lurched forward with a yell and just caught sight of a masked figure standing behind him when his face met the ground beneath him, abruptly muffling his shout.

"What are you? Blind?" Katara said irritably as Aang groaned and rolled over onto his back.

"No, just irritated." Zuko drawled as he glared down at the water bender.

"Oh, hey, Zuko!" Aang said brightly as he sat up and wiped the sand off his face.

"You'd be able to play with your friend's hair better if you controlled the currents more with your breath, rather than your fingers." Zuko said.

"Oh." Aang said as his face scrunched up in curiosity. "How do I do that?" He wondered.

"Well, getting onto your feet would help." Zuko muttered irritably.

There was a pause and then, chuckling, Aang pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet. "So..." Aang said expectantly.

"Inhale first." Zuko said as he placed his hand on Katara's shoulder and steered her to stand in front of the air bender. She roughly pushed his hand off and the fire bender pretended not to notice as she shot him a filthy glare. "Inhale, Aang." He repeated as the air bender continued to stare at him.

"Oh, yeah. Inhaling." Aang said as he closed his eyes and sucked in a breath.

"Through your nose!" Zuko said exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Aang sheepishly said as he inhaled through his nose.

"Now exhale through your mouth and at the same time, try to maneuver the air with as less gestures as possible. If you can, use only your fingers. Not your wrists." Zuko said.

"Okay." Aang said.

"Hide your hand." Zuko said sharply.

"But why?"

"Someone might see.' Zuko said as his eyes swept the line behind him.

"I doubt anyone's interested in watching." he said with a shrug.

"Those who're looking for you will be very interested."

"Oh, um, okay then." Aang said as he pulled his sleeve down over his wrist and raised his hand. Zuko's eyes flickered between his hand and Katara's head, his lips curving into a smile as several of the tresses rose before dropping.

'That was-' Zuko began but cut himself off as an air current lazily skimmed his cheek and then the back of his neck before proceeding to his forehead, ruffling up all of his hair in the process. 'What are you doing?' he asked with raised eyebrows.

'Practicing.' Aang said with a bright smile.

'You mean showing off. Put your hand down.' Zuko said.

'You were the one who told him to do it.' Katara said snidely.

'On you, not me.' Zuko said with a glare.

'It looks better that way.' Aang said, grinning.

'No, it doesn't.' Zuko said.

'But you can't even see it.' Aang said with a pout.

'I don't need to see it to tell that it looks awful.' Zuko said as he reached up to pat it down. However, his fingers had barely grazed the strands of his hair when Aang flicked his wrist and his hand lurched to the side.

The air bender smiled widely, unperturbed by Zuko's murderous look. 'Don't do that.' Zuko said warningly.

'Why not? It's not like you're going to hurt me.' Aang said as he waggled his eyebrows.

Zuko faltered and despite the fact that Aang's lips widened into a smile, he couldn't bring himself to shake off the fact that the air bender bore a striking resemblance to Azula when she decided to become charming. It was only once the silence stretched on for more than two minutes that Aang looked worriedly at him. 'Um, Zuko... Are you okay?' he asked softly.

'Yes, fine.' Zuko said sharply.

'Well, I didn't mean to offend you, just so you know. Feel free to hurt me whenever you want.' Aang said with a sheepish smile

And then something absurd happened. Zuko wasn't particularly sure if it was because the air bender didn't seem like he'd altogether understood how serious he'd sounded or maybe that he did understand and still managed to smile - but then the fire bender was chuckling.

It wasn't particularly spectacular, since it took him entirely two seconds to realize it and immediately shut his mouth - and also because his laugh sounded hoarse and creaky, like someone with a sore throat - but for some reason, it made Aang's eyes light up like he'd seen a rain cloud.

'Wow, you can laugh!' Katara said in astonishment.

'Of course, he can laugh.' Aang said happily.

'You just caught me off guard.' Zuko said curtly.

'You looked pretty alert to me.' Katara said with a smug smile.

'Shut up.' Zuko said but the effect was quite ruined as he felt the heat rush to his cheeks.

Aang's smile did not even falter but if anything, grew ever wider as he and Katara exchanged a glance. Zuko merely shook his head and sighed. 'Don't wander around once you're done.' he said before stepping out of line and making his way down the street.

Well, there you go.
I won't make any excuses except the fact that I kind of lost interest in this story :P But that was then and now its back and I hope to be punctual with it if seems like anyone's still reading it. I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be up and I haven't written it yet but it'll detail some of Zuko's past and the events leading up to how he joined the White Lotus and met Aang. Hopefully, that should clear things up a bit.

To dragonmaster: I really appreciate your feedback but I doubt that I won't make this a Zukaang. But I have taken what you've said about Sokka and Katara into consideration and the next few chapters will deal mostly with character development.

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review! :D

-Cerise