I've been re-reading this to myself (which is something I do a lot because I'm a perfectionist) and it's starting to bug me how lacking my skills are at character development. I'm doing much better than I thought I would at Zuko, but Katara's kind of lacking in my head. (I find this pretty ironic considering Katara's element is water which is fluid and yet she's fairly static in her personality, but at the same time, it is Katara, and she is stubborn.) So, I'm working on it, just bear in here with me, please, and I'll keep striving to improve.

Also, I just noticed that my ages are a smidge off (it's so strange for me to think that the entirety of the show took place over one year considering how much they changed the characters through the series) and if that bothers anyone, my sincere apologies. But I'm already in this far, so it's just gonna have to stick.

Zuko slipped his arms under his head and stared up into the sky. It was darker than any night he'd seen in months though the stars were bright. He supposed that was due to the absence of the moon—and the absence of the moon was what he contributed to Katara's obvious fatigue as well.

He rolled onto his side (flinching when a large rock drove itself into his ribcage) and looked over to where the waterbender slumbered further away from the fire. They'd made good time earlier, so he'd had no qualms when she suggested they turn in early and take advantage of the cooling night. He hadn't cared so much for the idea of sleeping in such cold weather, but that was easily enough taken care of. He was, however, a bit put out when she kept inching further and further away from the flames until she was practically on the other side of the small clearing (he'd only been trying to make their journey more comfortable).

She was facing away from him—he didn't know if it was intentional or not—and her body rose with her deep breathing. For the last two days that they'd been traveling, she'd been quieter than he could ever remember her being. She'd made a point to always be no less than four strides in front of him—running ahead a few times if he began to catch up. He wondered internally if he'd done something to offend her (but then, she wouldn't have let him come if that were the case) or if it was simply her urgency to carry out their mission as quickly as possible.

Either way, it was causing his gut to churn nervously.

"Stop looking at me."

Her soft grumbled command shocked him more than he'd expected. "I thought you were sleeping."

She didn't move. Though he couldn't see it, her eyes were open and at his confession, they rolled dramatically. "Obviously I'm not."

An awkward silence fell upon their small camp. Somewhere far in the distance, an owl sounded brazenly, most likely swooping in on its prey. Katara wiped a lock of hair away from her face and Zuko rustled on his bedroll, trying to find a comfortable spot.

"Are you angry with me?" The young woman bristled. When she didn't reply, Zuko pressed further. "Did I do something to upset you? I didn't mean to, if I did."

Katara let out a long breath of frustration. "Aren't you too busy to be here?"

"What?"

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the stars. Her mouth was set in a grim line. "You're the Fire Lord—you have duties and responsibilities now. How is it that now—after six years of constantly being too busy to even let yourself sleep a full night—now you have the time to travel the world on another wild goose chase?"

"It's not a wild goose chase. You said you knew where he was."

"I said I have a lead. There's a big difference."

Zuko shook his head, knowing fully that the gesture went unnoticed. "I don't understand why you're upset that I'm helping you look for him. I owe a lot to Aang."

"A lot of people owe a lot to Aang—the entire world owes a lot to Aang. But that doesn't mean they're out looking for him."

"Well, you're looking for him."

Katara opened her mouth to retort, stumped. "I—I have to. It's different." It was the weakest explanation she thought she'd ever come up with, but it was the best she had. She didn't know how to rationalize her insistence that she had to find Aang. It didn't quite make sense to her either, as she hadn't heard from the Avatar in over three years. But she knew—after all they'd been through, he would scour the earth trying to find her if their roles were reversed.

Zuko owed just as much to Aang.

"We both owe it to him, Katara. Isn't that reason enough?"

If she didn't want his company, she could just say it.

"No." Though she was exhausted, she felt entirely restless. "You have a nation to run—how could you just walk away from that?"

He sat upright and turned on her. "You think I walked away? I'm helping you save the Avatar—that's kind of more important right now."

"Well, I don't need your help." Katara rolled back onto her side, shutting him out emotionally.

"Katara, what's gotten into you?"

"I don't need a babysitter, okay?" She shouted the words at him and shot up, looking at him with fierce dark eyes and her hair matted around her face. She scowled and her hand pounded into the ground. "You treat me like I'm going to break in half if I do a single thing on my own—and I'm sick of it, Zuko. Ever since General Tsu, you've been trying to mother me—but you aren't my mother."

He lowered his eyes. "I just worry about you."

"Well, don't. I'm capable of taking care of myself."

Zuko sighed. "I know that. Katara, you took down my rampaging sister, brought the Avatar back from the brink of death, and saved my life too. And even after all of that, you've been through so much and you didn't let it touch you. You're the strongest person I know. There's no doubt in my mind that you can take care of yourself."

"Then why are you acting like this?" Her eyes were wide, expectant.

The Fire Lord ran a hand across his forehead, pressing at his temples in hope that the tension building up would wane. "I broke a promise to your brother."

"What promise?"

He spoke slowly, his voice low (the fact that he hadn't been able to uphold his promise to the warrior hurt his honour more than being shamed by his father ever had). "I promised him I wouldn't let you get hurt." Her brother had been so concerned last year when they'd shown up on Kyoshi Island and Katara had told him of her plans to reside in the Fire Nation. He didn't like the idea of her being in a strange land—literally out of her element—without someone watching out for her.

"That's not your promise to make." She understood why he'd made it—she was filled with deep respect for him because of it. But it wasn't his responsibility to look after her as Sokka always had. She was an adult—she was a master—and she could look after herself.

"Nevertheless, it's a promise I don't mind trying to keep."

-/-/-

Her lead had ended up being a dead end. The sailor hadn't ever seen the Avatar in person, much less recently. Zuko figured the man must have been living under a rock for the last decade, because when Katara had approached him on the docks, the man told her that last he'd heard, the Avatar had been killed in Ba Sing Se.

Katara wondered why her informant had sent her here. She didn't have the patience for this sort of misinformation nor did she have the time to be led around the world on fake leads. Even more than that, though, she continuously wondered why they'd come to her when Aang went missing.

The sailor had turned them away and managed to pick-pocket Katara in one fowl swoop. He'd tried to do the same to Zuko, but the firebender caught on before he'd taken two steps and the sailor suddenly found himself lying on the ground in the fetal position, nursing his burnt leg in agony as his mouth hung open wide with a silent scream. Katara knelt down beside the sticky-fingered sailor as she retrieved the stolen possessions without a word. With how she'd been reacting to him lately, Zuko expected—and mentally prepared himself—for the onslaught of sharp-tongued chastising words about not using violence against innocent people but it never came and she expressed her gratitude before the pair walked away.

Now they were wandering from town to town in the Earth Kingdom on their way to Ba Sing Se. In each town they stopped in, Katara excused herself for a brief time, disappearing through the market place and coming back with a new direction for them to travel. He wondered where they were heading, but her determined gait kept him from asking and he conceded to simply follow her instead.

It was when they were on the ferry that his patience finally ran out.

Zuko sighed in frustration. "Where are we going, Katara?"

Katara's gaze had been fixed out the window at the churning lake (keen eyes searching for the serpent that she knew stalked the water) but she turned to Zuko at the sound of his voice. She looked tired, no longer used to traveling for days on end with minimal time to rest. "I have another lead."

He smiled at her with concern, lips in a thin line. "Is this one actually going to turn out?" He hated the idea of her chasing after one lead after another with no results. He'd done exactly that after being banished with the task of finding the alleged Avatar, and he knew how wearing it could be to one's spirit.

But Katara nodded confidently. "I'm sure about this one."

He nodded—he respected her enough not to doubt her. When Katara was determined to make something happen, it always did. But there was still something about their mission that was bothering him to no end.

"Can I ask you something?"

Her dazed look was replaced by a sliver of amusement and she quirked her lips at the question. "You just did."

Zuko forced himself not to roll his eyes. "How did you find out that Aang was missing?" The last he'd known, Aang and Toph were busy restoring the Western Air Temple and though he didn't know how the progress was going, he was confident that Toph wouldn't have let someone just capture him. It hardly made sense. If the Avatar disappeared on her watch, Toph would have either struck out after him on her own, or she would have come herself to ask for help.

Katara looked down at her lap with a frown. "You'll think it's crazy."

He snorted. "Try me."

She didn't answer him immediately. It was crazy even to her—and she'd seen so many crazy things throughout her life, she wasn't sure if she should consider it as odd as she did. But as much as Katara was instinctual, her brother's habit of basing decisions around fact had grown on her, and she began to question her optimistic view years prior.

She plucked at the hem of her tunic, picking at non-existent stray threads that sullied the element-worn material. "The spirits sent me a vision. In all honesty, I don't know if it's true or not. He might not even be missing."

They'd been away from the Capitol City for two weeks, and now she told him that it might be a feeble-based fruitless pursuit after all, like they'd both feared all along.

Katara continued. "I have to make sure, though. If he's not missing, I'll know he's safe. If he is, then we'll find him."

Zuko found himself nodding slowly, but he could feel the skepticism filling in where before there had simply been purpose and faith in Katara's cause.

He would see it through—for her.

-/-/-

Zuko was frozen in spot and he wished, for the first time since departing from the palace, that he hadn't come with Katara. The heady aroma of fresh brewed herbal tea filled his senses (the sense of déjà vu that erupted from the scent was absolutely unintentional and unwanted). He glanced back at Katara as she passed him, briefly placing a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support—but not enough support to let him turn back. She sauntered into the shop and leant up against the counter, flicking delicately at a small crystal wind chime that hung beside the white curtain near the kitchen.

Normally, the annoying hostess his Uncle hired would have greeted them at the door, but Zuko supposed his uncle must have allowed her to go home early (as it was well past dusk and most shops in the upper ring were closing down for the night—but his Uncle insisted that it was only his service to the people of the world to serve tea late into the night).

He couldn't seem to will his feet to move him from the doorway.

The white curtain leading into the kitchen pulled aside as Uncle Iroh pushed his pudgy, flushed face through the gap, smiling brightly in greeting. "Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon!"

Katara smiled at him. "Hello, Iroh." She bowed in greeting and the old man's eyes widened in joy.

"If it isn't my favourite waterbender." He looked past her to his nephew frozen in the doorway and Zuko swore to Agni that the old man's face was a fraction from splitting in half. "And I see you brought my favourite nephew with you, as well."

"I'm your only nephew, Uncle," Zuko mumbled. (Iroh pretended not to hear it since it was bad manners to mumble under one's breath.)

Iroh came out through the archway to the kitchen and wrung his hands on white towel. "Don't linger in the doorway, Fire Lord Zuko. Why don't you come in and have a seat? I will make us all some hot ginger root tea so we can catch up."

Zuko's feet dragged behind him as he slowly entered the tea shop. "Unfortunately, Uncle, this is not a social visit. We're here on business."

The former general looked between the two benders, one brow raised speculatively on his otherwise happy face. "What sort of business could you have with an old man like me?"

Katara chuckled. They were all aware of his involvement in the White Lotus Order, but Iroh was always so determined to play the part of an insignificant elder—just simple Uncle Iroh with his simple but prosperous tea shop in the humble city of Ba Sing Se. "Actually," she explained, "we're meeting someone here. The Jasmine Dragon was the safest place I could think of to hold the meeting."

At the word 'safe', Iroh's face drew grim, the happy light from the surprise visit suddenly being extinguished and replaced by something colder. "In such a peaceful time, sanctuary is not a difficult thing to find. If I may ask, what is the nature of this meeting? It wouldn't have anything to do with the roguish Blue Spirit, would it?" Katara could not decipher the stare Iroh had pinned his nephew with when he voiced the question, and Zuko's emotionless face gave no indication either.

"To my knowledge," Zuko responded smoothly (only Uncle Iroh who knew him so well could detect the cutting edge to his otherwise cavalier tone), "the Blue Spirit hasn't been seen since the world was at war."

"Spirits are known to dwell most frequently where they may do their work without being seen, but when provoked, they care only for their cause and anonymity becomes a trivial matter."

Zuko and Iroh both watched each other closely. Katara took in the tense stance the Fire Lord portrayed and the hard set of his jaw—and decided a topic change was well called for (though she filed the interaction away for questioning at a later time).

"Actually, we're meeting with someone who can help us find Aang."

Iroh's entire body relaxed suddenly and it almost looked like he melted from a stranger back into the man they knew. He stroked the hairs on his chin and looked concerned. "I was unaware that the young Avatar had gone missing."

"It's not something the world can comfortably be informed of at this time." Zuko's answer was diplomatic and carefully worded—he had spent a great part of the trip trying to figure out how he would handle the situation if they didn't find Aang. What he said rang true, and Katara realized that Zuko wasn't simply with her to watch after her or repay a debt to Aang; he was doing his duty as the Fire Lord to prevent the world from falling back into chaos.

"He may not even be missing," Katara amended for the sake of the old man. "But finding him is the surest way to discover if he was ever lost."

Uncle Iroh nodded. "That is indeed true." Iroh heard the whistle of his kettle in the kitchen, alerting him that the tea was ready to serve. "It seems I must tend to my tea. But I insist that you two stay here with me during your visit to town—I will not have family and friends staying at an inn."

Katara smiled to him. "Thank you, Iroh. We are most appreciative of the offer."

Iroh winked at her. "Anything to help a beautiful young lady." Zuko's flat look was interpreted quite expertly and his Uncle laughed. "And, of course, my dearest nephew whom she is traveling with." (Zuko muttered again under his breath that he was the man's only nephew, and again Iroh chose to ignore the statement.)

"We will catch up later, my friends." The squat man bowed to the travelers. "I hope that your business associate turns out to be most helpful. The absence of the Avatar is indeed a grave matter." Iroh took his leave, returning through the long curtains into the small shop kitchen.

"He's right," a drawling voice came from the back corner of the shop. Both Zuko's and Katara's heads whipped around to the newcomer. "A missing Avatar is highly concerning."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Jun."

Jun smirked and pointed at the Fire Lord with a flourish. "Fire Lord fancy-pants. Nice to see you again." She brushed the curtain of dark hair back. "I see your girlfriend's still sticking around—you must be doing something right."

The look Zuko gave her tasted sour.

Katara groaned. "Still not his girlfriend."

The bounty hunter shrugged, her grin playing smugly at her lips. "I really don't care."

Zuko bristled. Smoke blew from the palms of his hands and he tried his childhood trick of counting backwards from ten. "Then why do you keep bringing it up?"

"It amuses me how easily it gets you steamed up and bothered." Her eyes even twinkled in amusement. At last, though, her physique shifted into a more professional attitude, her long, pale hands folded atop the table. "Now, before I get old enough that your Uncle's advances feel flattering, why don't we get down to business."

-/-/-

"What do you mean you won't take us to him?"

Katara couldn't believe what she was hearing—Jun was turning down a job. A well paying job at that.

"Exactly what I said. I'm not taking the job."

Zuko's fist slammed against the table. "When did you develop a sense of loyalty?"

Jun laughed. "It's got nothing to do with loyalty. I won't take you because it would be a breach of my contract."

"What contract?" Jun had never been one to work under the strict rules contracts set—she preferred to do things her way, not caring what happened as long as her end goal was accomplished.

"One that just made me richer than I've ever been in my life; rich enough that I could retire now if I wanted to." She shook her head in laughter and raised the steaming tea cup to her lips.

Katara still hadn't backed away, and the waterbender put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing angrily. "We're willing to pay."

"You wouldn't have sought me out if you weren't." The bounty hunter shrugged. "Regardless, I've got a contract. I'm not dumb enough to break it."

Zuko eyed her apprehensively. He'd made deals with Jun before and the fact that her employer had felt the need to write up a legal contract unsettled him. "How does helping us track down the Avatar interfere with your contract?"

"Because," Jun said aloofly. Her hand waved in the air, as if presenting an obvious truth. "I'm the one who captured him in the first place."

The tea shop fell silent—Katara balked in disbelief, Zuko kilted back in surprise.

Jun's eyes snapped up to Zuko's over her tea and her red lips painted a wide smile across her pale face. A dark eyebrow quirked cockily—"That's right. Jealous, your highness?"