It's getting really hard to come up with chapter names that have HOPE in them….

Chapter 4

Meeting the Past and Hoping for the Future

They walked hand in hand down Market Street, Zuko carrying her basket while she picked out all her groceries and chatted on and on about life in the Southern Water Tribe. In that moment, Zuko's life was perfect. There was no need to worry, and no reason to look over his shoulder every five seconds. Is this what it feels like to be normal? He contemplated with a bit of happiness. He had everything a simple man could want at his age; a steady job, a nice place to live, and a lovely girl holding his hand and talking to him without carefully selecting her words. He was actually… happy. This thought led him to remember something Azula had mentioned once, when you feel like you're on the top of life, you can only go down from there. Zuko winced at the memory, but Katara was too busy talking to notice his lapse.

Though he couldn't focus on the words she was saying, her voice rang like a thousand bells; creating a music so enticing, he couldn't help but be overcome by its melody.

Suddenly, she gasped and stopped walking, jerking him to a stop as well. She ducked behind his back, hiding her face behind his shoulders.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, she looked almost scared.

She pointed a few yards ahead. "You see that guy with the brown hair?"

"Uhh… Katara?" he turned around to face her, but she just cowered in front of him, looking over his shoulder. "That narrows it down to about the whole world." She rolled her eyes.

"He's standing between a tall guy with a bow and a short boy with face paint," he looked again then turned back to her with a mocking grin.

"That's a girl, Katara." He smirked.

"You don't know that," she challenged, putting her hands on her hips defensively.

"Actually I do, I've met them. I think the leader's name is Jet." She gaped at him for a second, then mumbled something that sounded like a cuss word, and yanked him by the wrist into a colorfully decorated clothing tent.

"How do you know him?" She demanded, shrinking behind a rack of green tunics.

"I met them on the ferry from Full Moon Bay," he said, "why?" Katara blushed for a reason unknown to him.

"Well… he's kind of my ex-boyfriend." She answered with embarrassment. His eyes widened and he could only stare at her in disbelief.

"You're what?" He demanded, suddenly angry. She opened her mouth to continue but then suddenly dropped to her knees behind the display rack.

"Don't let him see me!" she ordered, carefully crawling over to the changing rooms, soon after entering she reached out from behind the curtain, grabbed the front of his shirt, and yanked him inside with her.

"Why don't you want him to see you?" he asked curiously, wondering if Katara was just too embarrassed to be seen with a peasant like Lee, or if this guy was trouble.

"Because he can't know I'm here in Ba Sing Se," she opened the curtain slightly to peek outside. Suddenly she gasped and fell back into his arms.

"What the-!" He got out half his sentence before a woman interrupted him.

Before them stood a short, stubby woman with her hands on her hips, looking at them warningly. "I'm sorry children, but this is a family shop, and I don't appreciate young couples' public displays of affection in my changing rooms."

He felt the blush rise on his cheeks as he realized what this must look like. "Uh, we weren't…"

"He was just leaving," Katara quickly shoved him out of the changing room and shut the curtain behind him, leaving him standing awkwardly beside the shop owner.

She gave him a warning look, before leaving him to attend to the rest of her customers.

He sighed in relief, then winced when his alias' name was called.

"Lee? Is that you?" Jet smirked, walking up to him and patting him once on the shoulder. "It is you, long time no see." He said, rolling his signature piece of straw between his fingers.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, irritated by his presence now that he knew he had been with Katara. "Nice to see you again." He lied.

"You don't have to be so formal, Lee." He rolled his eyes while Smellerbee and Longshot stood uncomfortably behind him. "So who's the bitch you got in there?" He provoked.

Zuko smirked, but before he could say anything the curtain to the changing room opened.

"Katara?" Jet's jaw dropped.

"Hello Jet," she sneered, coming to stand next to Zuko so he could put his arm over her possessively. Katara smiled wickedly at Jet, clearly showing off. "Longshot, Smellerbee." She greeted politely, they only nodded in response, just as shocked by her appearance as their leader.

"Katara, what are you doing here? And with him?" Jet demanded, shocked. He sent a death glare at Zuko, who only continued to smirk and hug Katara tighter.

"This," Katara turned her head so she could look at Zuko, "is my boyfriend."

Jet growled, his face mangling in fury. "I can see that…" Zuko frowned at him, silently daring him to make a scene while he shifted his stance, readying for a fight if necessary. Though he couldn't Firebend here, he was still a master swordsman and a badass at hand-to-hand combat. Jet noticed the movement and squared his shoulders. "I guess I'll see y'all around," he sent Zuko one more glare, then stomped out of the tent, his followers right on his heels.

Once they were out of site, the couple burst into a fit of laughter.

"Did you see his face?" she giggled, covering her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.

"You must have made quite the impression on him," he chuckled, kissing the top of her head.

She giggled, shoving him away playfully. "You could say it was mutual." She said, taking his hand and leading him out of the shop and back into the merchant street.

Zuko raised an eyebrow at her, suddenly a little jealous. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "If I'm not allowed to ask questions about your past, I don't think you should be able to ask me." She said, raising her eyebrow challengingly. He shook his head in exasperation, and they stopped walking once they were atop a bridge crossing a narrow stream.

"Katara," he stood in front of her, cupping her face in his hand. "In due time, I promise."

She gave him a tired smile, leaning into his hand. "That's what you keep telling me, but we've been dating for over a week and you still haven't…" She trailed off, a blush creeping to her cheeks as she looked towards her feet.

"Haven't what?" He raised an eyebrow at her curiously. She bit her bottom lip and her blush deepened.

"Kissed me."

After a slight moment of shock he chuckled and lifted her chin, making her look him in the eye. He leaned in closer to her, feeling her breath on his face as his heart beat violently in his chest. Her eyes drifted shut as she stood on her tiptoes expectantly.

Then they kissed.

It was slow, but sweet. When they separated a few seconds later they both had to take a deep breath. Zuko's heart pounded against his ribcage from his nerves. Palms sweaty, and utterly scared that she might reject him, he smiled down at her crookedly.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing her lips to his in a more heated kiss. He staggered backwards slightly from the force of her weight but held her waist tight. His mind wiped clean of anything that didn't involve her lips on his.

He pulled away reluctantly and in need of air, both of them grinning stupidly at the other.

An elderly couple passing by chuckled at them and Zuko heard the old man say to his wife: "Were we ever that in love?" The woman smiled and rolled her eyes. "Young love… It's a chronic illness." The old man replied. She shrugged and the coupled continued walking. Zuko wanted to laugh but was too involved in memorizing every move of Katara's lips.

0o0ooo

He walked me back to my apartment—I still couldn't bring myself to call it home—and stopped at the door to kiss me goodbye.

"You should come in." I told him. I know it was selfish to think he only had time for me, but what can I say, he's supposed to be mine right?

He grinned crookedly and cocked his head to the side. "I have the late shift tonight, but I really do wish I could stay." I know he meant it. His eyes said it all. We might have only been dating for a week, but today was a major milestone in our relationship and I wasn't ready to end the day.

"Please?" I cooed, playing on his affection for me. I saw the deliberation in his face, but his fondness for me must have won out against his paying job because he leaned in and brushed my lips once more before following me inside.

Luckily Sokka and I had cleaned the place up so it was almost as nice as before the robbery. But I still felt the need to tidy things up for Lee as we walked through to the kitchen that was separated from the small living area by a countertop.

He had been carrying my groceries all day and sat the basket on the counter and I started preparing dinner. It was a wonder I got anything done with him around. I was supposed to be making dinner for Sokka, but I kept pausing to kiss Lee. Whether it was chopping tomatoes and he hugged my waist from behind, or boiling the noodles and him twirling my hair between his fingers; I couldn't keep focus.

While he sat on the counter and watched me strain the noodles with that lustful look in his eyes, I reluctantly decided it was time to end this perfect day.

"Lee, you know I like you a lot." I gave him an apologetic smile and his face immediately fell to a look of concern. "But my brother's going to be home soon and…" His concern faded into amusement and he grinned crookedly at me, sending the nearly constant butterflies in my stomach to flutter energetically.

"You don't want him to meet me yet." It was no question. He knew.

"Don't take it the wrong way I just… Don't think he's ready." It had been only a week since I was attacked, and the bruises were just starting to fade. I had hinted to Sokka that I was seeing someone… But that it was really more of a close friendship than a romantic relationship. Obviously I had hoped that would change, and it had! Now I just had to figure things out from here…

"I understand Katara," his voice saying my name nearly sent chills up my spine. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but must have decided against it because he hopped off the counter and leaned in to give me a deep kiss. There was nothing awkward about it. His lips were soft and sure. "I'll see you tomorrow." I could only nod, not trusting my voice. He chuckled and pecked my lips once more before showing himself out. Half of me was glued to the spot I was standing in because my mind was still floating from his kiss, but my other half wanted to chase after him and give him a proper goodbye.

A few minutes after he left I was able to steady my breathing enough to resume cooking the meal, but my mind was far away with Lee. Just like my heart soon would be.

"How was work?" I asked Sokka while putting the bowls of noodles and tomato sauce on the table.

He shrugged and started piling noodles into his bowl. "Same old, same old. It's not as exciting to be a fisherman as I thought it would be."

"Technically you're only the manual labor," I joked while waiting for him to give me some of the food that I had cooked.

"Emphasis on the man," he added. I laughed and we ate in comfortable silence. "What 'bout you? How was your day?" I swallowed and took a big gulp of water. Stalling for time until I could think of something to tell him. Even if I did try and lie to him he would know. I suck at lying.

"Lee and I went to the market," I said cautiously, watching his face for any sign of… well, anything. He could very well be mad that I trusted someone this soon after what had happened. Or he could decide that it wasn't a good idea for us to make a life here and try and make me stop seeing Lee. Like hell that was going to happen!

"You don't think you're… rushing things with this guy?" Sokka didn't seem angry, just thoughtful and protective. "I mean, you hardly know him. He could be from the Fire Nation for all we know." I rolled my eyes at his paranoia.

"Lee's not from the Fire Nation, Sokka. He's practically the nicest guy I've ever met. He's sweet, and funny…"

"You've got that look."

"What look?"

"That mushy, ooy-gooy look you used to get when you were with Jet." He frowned, thinking of how Jet had broken my heart.

I thought about telling Sokka that I had run into Jet at the market, but knowing that creep was in Ba Sing Se was bad enough for me to know, let alone Sokka. He would probably go looking for him. Sokka didn't need to worry about me running into Jet and things going wrong, he already had enough things to worry about that involved me. I didn't want to add anymore to that list than necessary.

So I bit my tongue and smiled at him innocently.

Maybe it was time for Sokka and Lee to meet… or maybe not….?

O0o0o

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