Author's Note: Thank you to all who reviewed, though I'm a little sad that there were only two reviewers last chapter, compared to seven on the first. Please, if you are reading this fic, don't be afraid to leave a review, even if it's something really short. I don't like updating without at least three reviews. I know there are enough people following and reading this story for provide me with that much. Please? :)

In other news... omg, last day of school! I'm excited. My exams start next week so I might be a little bit dead to fanfic. But my absence will not be for long! Now, read my pretties, read!

Chapter 11

The Jasmine Dragon was just as quaint and peaceful as Katara had suspected. They became a part of the steady flow of customers and sat across from each other at a small table. The afternoon was quickly disappearing into the night, and streetlamps and shop-lights were starting to compensate for the lack of sun. A tiny dinner candle flickered on the table between them, and Zuko ran the tip of his finger back and forth over the top of the flame.

"Doesn't it burn you?" He shook his head. "I've seen my brother do that trick before too, but I've never been game enough to try it."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm afraid of getting burned."

Zuko gave a low chuckle. "You don't have to be afraid. That's the only reason you will get burned. It's easy; you just have to be quick." He demonstrated again, running his finger over the small flame. He showed her his fingertip, just as unmarred as the rest of the pale skin on his hand: it showed no resemblance whatsoever to the scar across the left side of his face. "Do you want to try it?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know. How fast is fast enough not to get burned?"

"Well don't hold your finger over it and leave it there."

She scowled at him. "Duh."

"Just trust your instincts." He demonstrated again and then sat back in his chair to watch her expectantly.

Katara took a deep breath and leaned towards the little candle. She held one finger out to the side of it and had to resist the urge to close her eyes. Quickly, she swished it over the tiny flame. Beneath her finger, she felt the warmth of the fire. It was soothing and not at all painful. She swished her finger over it again. And again. The fear dissipated and she let go of that held breath.

"See? It's not so bad."

She folded her hands on the table in front of her. "I guess I'm just used to things that are cold."

"How about tea? Will you drink that hot?"

Katara laughed. "Of course I will."

Iroh waved to them as they left The Jasmine Dragon and Zuko led her to a take-away shop. With sushi and a bowl of fried rice to share, they began walking aimlessly around Ba Sing Se.

"I just don't feel like sitting down tonight. I've been sitting down too much lately," said Katara. "It's too noisy and busy to sit down anywhere around here."

They found some quieter streets to wander down and passed the bowl of rice between each other, talking about nothing and everything. "My Uncle used to go to that place with his wife and son all the time, and they'd go and sit in the park under the trees. But it got too dangerous and they had to stop after someone tried to mug them once."

"That's sad," Katara frowned. "I'd never eaten in a restaurant or form a take-away place before I moved here. Down south, we just don't have that sort of thing."

"Really?" he said incredulously. "I've been surrounded by that sort of stuff my whole life. I don't think I can really imagine a place without it. Huh… I guess there's a lot of things we here in the city take for granted."

She nodded. "The sun. I just can't appreciate it anymore, because I see it too often here."

"And it's something everyone else just expects to see every day."

Katara chewed slowly at a mouthful of rice as Zuko took the bowl from her. "Does being so used to the sun make you appreciate the rain instead?"

He frowned. "I don't think so. I mean, I don't mind water or anything. But rain is just an inconvenience to most people here." She gave a soft chuckle at that. "I think I'm starting to develop a new appreciation for it though," he said.

"Why's that?"

He passed the rice back to her. "What you keep saying about too much sunlight, and rain helping you to think clearly." He shrugged. "I guess you've given me a different perspective on it that I've never really thought of before."

Katara raised a doubtful eyebrow. "You're just saying that."

He shook his head. "No. After detention the other day, what you said… it made me think. Especially after we went to the skate-park. There's not much difference. The skate-park is my rain." She gave a soft giggle. He scowled at her. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it just sounded a little cliché is all."

He snorted. "You're the one who likes standing in the rain to help you think."

"What of it?"

"You can't tell me that isn't cliché," he said, taking the bowl of fried rice from her hand.

"Whatever!" She snatched the bowl back, but he saw the grab coming and held fast. Somewhere between their fingertips, the bowl dropped and its contents spilled out onto the ground.

"Good job!" he spat.

Katara huffed. "Well I'm sorry! Hey, it's your fault too."

"Really? How?"

"You wouldn't let me take the bowl!"

"You were snatching!"

"So?"

"So why should I have let you take it?"

She let out a growl. "Why do you have to make such a huge deal out of it? It's just a bowl of rice. It's not like there was that much left anyway."

"Well jeez, I just thought I'd try and put a bit of effort into our first date by buying you dinner, I'm sorry if I'm just a little upset that it went to waste!" he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Whatever, I – … wait, our first what?"

Zuko stopped short and closed his mouth slowly. He looked awkwardly at the ground between them and felt his face going red. Katara's eyes bore into him and he waited for her to look away. But her stare was relentless, and eventually he would have to look up at her. He took the plunge. Even in her anger and in her confusion, the blue of her eyes was breathtaking. It was like the sky when the clouds had cleared in the late afternoon of a rainy day, just before the sun was setting, just before the sky started turning all those other magical colours. She watched him, expectantly, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and disgust. Zuko couldn't find words.

After a moment she gave a short laugh. "Whatever. I'm going home." She turned around and started walking back they way they'd come.

"Katara! Hey wait!" he moved after her and caught her by the wrist. "Just wait a sec, look, I'm sorry, just –"

She wrenched her arm free of his grip. "Let me go! Stay away from me." She backed away and he stayed frozen to the spot. She started jogging back the way they came. He let her go and watched the night encase her slowly. But as her figure began to fade into the darkness, he saw somebody else, slender, hooded and stealthy, following her.

Author's Note: Uh-oh, who's stalking Katara? Anyone want to chance a guess in a review? Please, if you are reading, leave a review. I'm not updating until I get three reviews. So if you want to see Zutara prevail, there's a little text box down the bottom of this page. Use it! :)