Homecoming had come and gone - Katara and Zuko weren't interested in going, and Sokka wasn't going to go if he couldn't go with Yue. Now it was two weeks before winter break, and Zuko was already about to explode from impatience.

Lu Ten was coming home.

The Fire Naval Academy's break had, amazingly, matched up with Four Nations', so Lu Ten was coming back to Ba Sing Se to see them. Zuko had been beside himself when he heard the news, as had Iroh.

The last day of school before winter break, every second was a century. Lu Ten had arrived in Ba Sing Se that afternoon - Zuko would see him as soon as he got home. So, of course, school took its own sweet time - or, at least, it seemed that way. He was so impatient and fidgety that he got sent to the hall in two of his classes and irritated everyone else - he was constantly tapping his fingers on the desk, or absently bouncing his pencil against his notebook.

Finally, finally it was sixth period and math and the end of the day. Zhao was giving a lecture on the various relationships of trigonometric functions. Zuko tuned him out, silently counting down the minutes until he could see his older cousin - who was really more like his older brother. A hand on his knee stilled his bouncing leg under the desk, and he turned and blinked at Katara, who was giving him a quelling look.

"You're driving everyone crazy," she whispered. Suki and Longshot gave nods of agreement.

"Sorry," he whispered back. A minute later, his leg was bouncing again, shaking the group of desks slightly.

"Zuko," Katara hissed. "I know you want to see your cousin, but you need to stop. You're going to get kicked out of class again - actually, it's Zhao, he'll give you after-school detention. So just relax!"

Zuko stopped fidgeting immediately. He was not staying after school. He tried to pay attention to Zhao as he did a problem on the board, but then started wondering about Lu Ten. He hadn't seen him for nearly two years - first-year Fire Navy recruits weren't allowed to leave during training, which lasted the full year. Would his cousin be different?

"Pay attention!" Katara whispered, jabbing him in the arm with her pencil. He shot her a glare but tuned back in, rubbing his arm. Zhao was watching him. He did his best to look as though he was taking notes, but found himself instead tracing the symbol of the Fire Navy on the margins of his notebook. He glanced at the clock. Ten minutes left. This was going to drive him insane.

"Hey, hotshot," Hahn whispered from behind him. "Turn it down." Zuko gave him a blank stare. The Water Tribe boy rolled his eyes.

"You're heating up the room, firebender," he sneered. "Ease up." Zuko narrowed his eyes. This was the kid who'd gone to homecoming with Yue, and he instantly disliked him, on Sokka's behalf.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Zhao asked, breaking off mid-lecture to glare at Zuko.

"No, sir," the two boys chorused. Zuko took a deep breath and lowered his body temperature to something a little more normal as the teacher turned back to the lesson. He managed to keep his temper - and his temperature - under control for the last five minutes of class.

When the bell rang, he was up and out the door before you could say "Sky Bison", dashing for his car without even saying goodbye to Katara. He may or may not have been speeding most of the way home to the Jasmine Dragon.

"Lu Ten?" he called, pushing the door open.

"Hey! Zuko! Finally!" his cousin grinned, standing and coming in for a hug. Zuko stopped short, staring.

"What's on your face?" he asked in dismay. Lu Ten frowned, then laughed.

"Oh, I see. You're jealous that I managed to grow facial hair before you did," he smirked. "It's a goatee. Totally within Fire Navy regulations, and my commanding officer absolutely despises it."

"You look ridiculous," grumbled Zuko, who was, in fact, just the tiniest bit jealous.

"Boys," Iroh interjected, trying to hold back a smile. Lu Ten grinned as Zuko sat down at the table.

"It's good to see you again," Lu Ten said, once Zuko had poured himself a cup of hot tea from the ever-present teapot. "How's school going?"

Zuko shrugged. "It's going," he said, with a tone that seemed to say, It's school, what'd you expect? Lu Ten gave him a sly smile.

"That's it? Come on, you've got more to tell me than that," he teased. Zuko gave him an unimpressed look.

"You're going to make me ask you straight out, aren't you," Lu Ten sighed.

Zuko took a sip of tea.

"Fine. Got a girlfriend yet?" his cousin asked, exaggerating every word.

Zuko slammed the teacup down on the table. "No! And why are you all so interested in whether I have a girlfriend or not?" he demanded, including Iroh in his statement. Lu Ten exchanged a knowing glance with his father.

"For Agni's sake," groaned Zuko. "Why did I want you to come back?"

"You know you love me," Lu Ten replied, not missing a beat. Zuko snorted. "Anyway," his cousin continued, "I heard there's two new employees at the teashop?"

"Sokka and Katara," Iroh nodded.

"Water Tribe kids, right? Brother and sister?"

"Yep," said Zuko.

"I want to meet them," Lu Ten announced.

"They're going home to the South Pole for winter break," Zuko said. with a small pang. He'd wanted his friends to meet his 'brother' as well.

"Well, you could always tell me about them," Lu Ten suggested. "I'm curious as to how two Water Tribe kids ended up in Ba Sing Se and going to Four Nations. I've heard about them a bit already," he added.

Iroh stood. "I will let you catch up. I'm going to make dinner." He bustled into the kitchen. "And you are not going to bed without playing a game of Pai Sho, son!" he called over his shoulder.

"Yessir!" Lu Ten called back. He turned to Zuko, eyebrows raised. "So. Tell me about our newest employees."

Zuko leaned back in his seat. Where to start? Sokka's lame puns that still managed to make them all laugh? Katara's tea-making skills? There was so much… Then his mouth quirked up into a smile. "Well," he began, "the way I first met them is kind of a funny story." He then launched into the tale of the face-off with Azula and then finding out the girl he'd 'rescued' was working at his uncle's teashop.

"Katara sounds like a spitfire," Lu Ten remarked.

"Sometimes it feels like she's the older one," Zuko smiled. "If Sokka wasn't so smart, I'd think he was a freshman, honestly."

"It sounds like you're good friends with both of them," his cousin said.

"I am now," Zuko said. "It helps that they're new this year. They don't know all the stuff other… people do."

"Meaning Azula and her friends."

"Meaning Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee," Zuko agreed.

Lu Ten looked at him sympathetically. "She been giving you trouble?"

Zuko shook his head dismissively. "Mostly we ignore each other. It works."

"Hey, though, anytime you need a hand," Lu Ten said, taking a sip of tea. "Fire Navy cadet, right here."

"Please," Zuko said, rolling his eyes. "I bet I could take you in a sparring match. I've been training, too."

One of Lu Ten's eyebrows lifted. "Was that a challenge, Zu-zu?"

"It is now," Zuko said, grimacing at the use of the nickname.

"Basement?" Lu Ten suggested, standing.

"You're on," grinned Zuko.

"After dinner," said Iroh firmly, exiting the kitchen bearing a pot of soup.

"But - " Lu Ten started. Iroh raised one eyebrow, much as his son had earlier, as he set the large pot on the table. "Fine." Zuko smirked. Iroh returned to the kitchen.

"Don't think we're done," his cousin warned. "You've insulted the honor of the Fire Navy. I will avenge myself!" His father brought out a bowl of steaming rice and set it on the table.

"Yeah, and lose," Zuko countered, ladling himself a bowl of the hot, peppery soup.

"That's what you think," Lu Ten muttered through a mouthful of rice.

The phone at the front desk rang. "I'll get it," Zuko volunteered, hopping up and jogging over to the counter. "Hello, you've reached the Jasmine Dragon," he said, picking it up.

"Hey, Zuko?" Katara's voice said.

"Hey! What's up? Are you at the South Pole yet?" he asked, leaning back against the counter.

She gave a dry laugh. "Our flight was canceled. We're not leaving until tomorrow afternoon, now."

"That's too bad," Zuko said, frowning. Then an idea occurred to him. "Hey, you guys could come over and meet Lu Ten!"

"Really?" said Katara. "I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"No, it's fine," he assured her, waving to get his uncle's attention. He pointed to the phone and mouthed, Katara. Iroh gave him a knowing smile. Lu Ten's grin widened by at least a foot. Rolling his eyes, Zuko continued, "We're having dinner right now, but we should be done by 6:00." There was a pause.

"Gran-Gran says it's fine if Iroh's okay with it," she said finally.

"It's okay," Zuko said.

"Okay. Sokka says to tell you he has high expectations, by the way," Katara added, a smile in her voice.

Zuko laughed. "He won't be disappointed. See you at six."

"See you at six," she repeated, then hung up.

"Katara and Sokka are coming over in half an hour," Zuko called, jogging back to the table.

"Sweet!" Lu Ten said, smiling. "Looks like I will get to meet them after all."

"I thought they were leaving for the South Pole tonight," Iroh said, standing to fetch two more teacups.

"Their flight was canceled. Now they're not leaving until late tomorrow," Zuko explained between bites of rice. Then he turned to his cousin. "And you're just relieved that you don't have to spar me now."

"We can still do it," Lu Ten said, folding his arms over his chest. "Unless you want to save yourself some trouble and admit that I'm going to win right now."

"In your dreams," Zuko shot back after a mouthful of soup. Lu Ten just shook his head.

"Your funeral," he said, finishing off his soup.

"Oh, by the way - " Zuko started, a sudden thought occurring to him. "They think you're my older brother."

"I am your older brother," Lu Ten said, raising an eyebrow. "Practically."

"I mean, my actual biological brother. They don't… they're not aware of the whole - situation."

"I see," his cousin said, standing with bowl in hand. "You might want to consider telling them at some point." Zuko nodded, but privately thought that unless it came up, he wasn't going to say anything.


There was a knock on the restaurant's front door. Iroh hurried over to answer it. "They're here," Zuko said, suddenly nervous. What if Lu Ten didn't like them? What if they didn't like Lu Ten? He knew it was irrational, but he wanted his friends to like his cousin, who'd been such a big influence.

"Hi," Katara said, walking over to their table.

"Hey!" Sokka grinned from behind her.

"Hi, guys," Zuko said, standing. Lu Ten followed suit behind him. "So… this is my brother, Lu Ten."

"Nice to meet you," Sokka said, sticking his hand out. Lu Ten shook it, nodding respectfully. "I'm Sokka."

"And I'm Katara," Katara said, also sticking her hand out.

"Nice to meet you both," Lu Ten said, then grinned at the Water Tribe siblings good-naturedly. "I've heard a lot about you already."

"All good things, I hope," Katara said, with a little giggle that Zuko had never heard from her before. He looked at her strangely, but she didn't see it, focused on Lu Ten.

"Of course," Lu Ten said. "I'm glad you're helping out here; I know my father really appreciates it."

"Our Gran-Gran is friends with him," Sokka interjected. "We were happy to help."

"So you're in the Fire Navy?" Katara asked, changing the subject.

"Yep!" replied Lu Ten with a smile. "Just finished basic training, in fact." At this, he shot a glance over at Zuko. "I've been working on my bending form." Zuko rolled his eyes,

"What's Fire Nation navy training like?" Sokka asked, with an air of professional curiosity, which Zuko understood. While the Water Tribes still had the best navy by far, the Fire Nation was not far behind - and their methods were certainly different. Lu Ten launched into a detailed description of Fire Navy protocol and basic training; the two Water Tribe siblings hung on his every word. Zuko, having heard it all before, was at leisure to watch his two friends. Sokka was listening with all the interest of a fellow military enthusiast - Zuko knew he wanted to join the Water Tribe Corps of Engineers after he graduated. But Katara, who he knew had no interest in the military (she was more interested in politics, or healing) was also paying close attention - though as he watched, it seemed like she was paying more attention to the speaker than the words.

Zuko was suddenly very jealous of his cousin.


A/N: I'm still alive! Like GLaDOS in Portal :) I had some issues this last month and do not have as much access to my laptop as I did, so updates will be significantly slower. So, my apologies - but you should get longer chapters, so I suppose that's a bonus? Anyway, I should be back full-time by mid-June. Hopefully. Also, yay, Lu Ten! I love the potential his character has - he might as well be an OC. I am kind of basing him off of how he's shown in Mrs Pettyfer's "This Is My Idea", which is a fantastic story; you should go read it. After you review this chapter!

New! Song of the Chapter: "Shape of My Heart" by Sting! This has nothing to do with the chapter, but I've had it on as 'writing music' on repeat for the past, like, three days. So it's going on here.

Read and review, s'il vous plait!

(Wow, that was a long author's note.)