It'd been nearly three months since I had seen anyone familiar to me. Seeing Zuko knocked the breath out of me, made my heart flutter, and sent a pang of guilt into my stomach at the same time. He looked noble and appeared as the Fire Lord he was, wearing his top knot and lavish robes and armor. He smiled at me serenely for a quick moment before becoming serious and focusing on the cowering men in front of him. I could see that he was holding back a smirk; he obviously thought it was funny that grown men were bowing before a seventeen-year-old.
"Please, men, stand up," he said calmly, his voice echoing through the large chamber. Obediently, they stood up and bowed their heads before focusing their gaze on him. I supposed they feared that he would burn the palace and the rest of Ba Sing Se down if they did not comply. I covered my mouth to stifle a giggle.
Sokka and Toph trailed in behind him a few moments later, and I felt myself on the verge of tears. I ran towards my brother, throwing my hands around his neck in a warm embrace. "Don't you ever do that again!" were his first words before he softened into a "Hey, sis". I hugged Toph as well, and for the first time she hugged me back with the same amount of love. We didn't always get along, but we'd always be there for each other.
Zuko was speaking with the five men about creating a search team. The Earth Kingdom was the largest place in the world, and there would obviously be a good number of people that would be willing to help. And if he was in the Earth Kingdom, the earthbenders would have a definite advantages against the firebenders. The king's advisor assured him that they'd have an army in no more than two days, and Aang would be back and safe in no more than a month. Smiling, Zuko thanked him and paid him his respects before we all departed the grand chamber. The room was silent except for the sounds of our feet against the marble.
"I guess my uncle has been here for a while," Zuko started as we descended the steps, "Order of the White Lotus stuff." he shrugged his shoulders as we turned left to head down the familiar path. People moved out of their way, clutching children and belongings to them. Were they actually…afraid? Zuko and Aang had promised peace in front of all the important people from all nations, but I figured since Aang was no where in site, they believed that Zuko would snap at any moment. I could tell he was embarrassed and also ashamed that people were afraid of him. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair, comfort him, but I knew that would be impossible during this time.
It was easy to say that Iroh was surprised to see us. We quickly went into the story of Aang's capture and my struggles in searching for him. He remained quiet and attentive through the whole story, only momentarily breaking his attention to take a sip of his tea. He told the other customers that he was closing early, and that they were free to have half-priced tea all day tomorrow. Once everything was secure, we created a plan.
"I can probably convince some members of the Order to come along with us on our journey. I know that Aang is able to help himself, but with many of the gang members skilled generals, the more help the better." Iroh started, taking a moment to ponder his next words. "However, this could be a very dangerous trip, young ones. We know that Long Feng has escaped and he could possibly be assisting them, using his skills to hypnotize and brainwash Aang. I just hope that we will get there before we must make an rash decisions."
His speech had made us all somber. For the rest of the evening, we drank tea and told stories of happier times, deciding that it was best not to linger on Aang too much. The more well-rested we were in the morning, the better. He was still all that was on my mind - or, he took up the most space. I was mildly distracted by Zuko sitting so near me, but I just figured it was from lack of space in the small but quaint tea shop. He had removed the more formal of his clothes and was resting in a robe and pants. I forced myself to look away from his too-tight short that seemed closer to ripping every time he moved a muscle. I wouldn't let myself focus on how shaggy his hair was and how obvious it was that he refused to get a haircut. I didn't let myself jump every time he "accidentally" nudged me with his leg. Sokka seemed oblivious to this; he was content indulging himself in the meat and food in general. I noticed Toph giving us a few curious looks; Iroh as well.
Once it was time for bed - it was nearly midnight - we all bade each other farewell and slipped into our private rooms in the inn across from Iroh's tea shop. It'd only been a few minutes and I was nearly asleep before I head someone knocking on my screen. I was only in my underclothes, so I hastily pulled on a robe that barely covered all the necessary areas before pulling open the screen. I nearly jumped out of my skin to see Zuko in front of me, and I blushed as I saw his eyes quickly graze over me before looking away, a deep blush forming on his pale skin.
"Can we talk?" he whispered.