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A/N - at the end of the chapter

Sigh.

Every Christmas Zuko had to take his father's constant belitthering. From being called a weakling, a softling, a failure. And then for his Christmas present, he would be reminded of why his scar was a gift of a lifetime. This time was different. This time he could use the distance as an excuse to stay away. However, having said that.

Sigh.

This Christmas was… worse than he had anticipated. He knew that he was going to be alone. He knew he was going to be far away from his father. His sister. And everything that made him cringe. But… Sokka wasn't going to be here. He couldn't talk, touch or BE with Katara. The closest thing he had to physical contact was caressing her cheek from the screen and even then he couldn't do that. Unless he wanted her to think of him as a madman.

He knew he was going to help his uncle out with his cafe, which he didn't mind. But he did not see himself working alongside someone else. That someone else being-

"What's cooking good-looking?"

Zuko groaned when he felt a light jab to his elbow. He placed the round tray on the counter to rub his elbow. "Not when we have customers, Jin."

Her name was Jin. She attends the University of Republic as well and has worked at the cafe since the beginning of the school year. Thankfully, Zuko thought, the campus was large for Zuko to avoid any contact with her. He had thought that Jin would return home for Christmas but then- "Guests."

Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Customers"

She chuckled. "Guests."

"Customers."

"Guests."

Zuko turned away from her gaze. "Jin, not now."

As he opened his eyes, he saw Jin. An inch away from his face. He saw her smirk again and in a split second, reached for the round tray and placed it between them.

"Aww, they are so cute." Someone said.

He heard another giggle. "They are the reason I come here, they are so entertaining."

"You heard them. Entertainment."

Zuko snarled at his uncle coming from behind. "Uncle, shut it." And with that, he went to take orders from another table, praying for time to speed up.

Hadoka had hoped that once the kids met Ursa that it would be a start of something new. He had hoped, or known, that they would like her because she harbored the gentle aura that once belonged to their mother. But here he was, comforting a trembling Ursa in an empty kitchen while staring at the spot where Katara had been held back by Sokka.

There was no use in how they wound up in this situation because it all happened so fast.

"You're Zuko's mother!"

Sokka looked at Katara to Ursa and then back to Katara, again. "Say what now?"

Ursa flinched at the name and found her fingers by her parting lips. "Z-Zuko?..:"

Hakoda's eyes darted from his daughter to his lover, and against the racing beat of his heart he joyously proclaimed. "Oh, what do you know? We already found one thing in common!"

Katara took a step forward with a heavy stomp. And in a slow whisper she said. "Why did you leave your family like that?"

Ursa's eyes widened and her gaze fell to the floor. "It's-"

Another stomp. "What?"

"It's complicated." She said in a low tone.

Another stomp. "What do you mean 'complicated'?" And again. "Because of you," and again, "because you, Zuko-" Katara's ears had long blocked the noises from behind her as the only one it would register was from Ursa's.

"I did it for him. For them-"

"That's why he has a giant scar on the left side of his face!" She fought through the forceful restraints as she wanted to take a step further. "That's why he was left with the physical,"

Ozai.

She groaned. "Emotional!"

Mai.

Her voice cracked and she swallowed her tears back. "-torture that everybody around him put him through!"

Katara violently rustled herself free from the tight hold. "You have done nothing! And I mean nothing for him!"

Through a stream of tears and a hoarse voice Ursa cried. "Please, I- I don't want to think about what my Zuko-"

"He's not yours. He's mine! How could you! How could you, his own mother, leave him like that?! He… he's the sweetest, kindest, most caring person you could ever meet and yet he was surrounded by people who could care less about him. If he didn't have his uncle, who knows what would have happened to him?!"

"I- I'm sorry, I-"

"No-!"

"I had no choice!" Ursa's shoulder trembled and the hands from her lover did nothing but aggregate the intensity of her feelings.

"And I had no choice but to accept that my mother was never going to come back to me." Was all Katara said before turning the heel.

Katara stopped by the door handle, keeping her gaze forward. "Pa', I don't and won't accept this."

And then she slammed the door shut.

Hakoda guided Ursa to his room and helped her find comfort on his bed. He gently took her hand into his. "Ursa."

Her lips pursed. "My daughter… is very passionate. And I'm sorry for how she reacted but… she wouldn't have acted that way if," he guided Ursa's chin to his face, "she didn't have a good reason to."

Ursa nodded. "No. She's right. I should have done more but I-I was scared of what Ozai would do to Zuko if I-" She inhaled deeply before letting it go as her thoughts recollected.

She stared into Hakoda's eyes, lips squirming at the mere memory of her family's past. Her eyes, defeated, fell from his as her face turned away. Hakoda gave her hand a tiny squeeze before letting the silence befall them both.

"Isn't it about time I took a break, uncle?"

Iroh grinned. "Of course, dear nephew. It would also be the perfect time to meet Song."

Just when Zuko was about to throw the platter on the counter he looked at his uncle in confusion. "Who is 'Song'?"

"Jin's replacement for the rest of the holiday. An emergency..." Zuko felt an uptick by the corners of his mouth, "... and luckily I found Song."

Zuko inhaled and exhaled with great enthusiasm. "See you after my break, uncle."

The excitement over the news of Jin began to falter and was replaced by a nervous sensation as he made his way up the stairs to the 'relaxation room' as his uncle would call it. He didn't know what to anticipate with this new person, and on top of being the worst conversation starter he- No! He managed to make 2 new friends this semester. And not only are they his friends, they are his best friends.

He got this. He got this. He-

As he stepped into the room, he was taken aback by the glinting speckles that glimmered from her brunette hair. She was sitting on her legs on the couch. There was a sense of gentle and kindness to her gaze. He could only wonder what she was looking at. At that moment Zuko was too afraid to break her peace and instead found his eyes wandering from her face to her- he squinted his eyes at the mysterious mark that showed on her leg. It seemed to continue further up her leg, but it was covered by her robe attire. It must have been a tattoo, he thought.

When he comtelated leaving, he saw her pull a small cologne bottle out from her robe and give herself a couple of sprays. She-"Oh!"

Zuko jumped and saw how she scurried to cover any trace of her leg with her robe, making his suspicions rise again.

"Sorry," Zuko scratched the back of his neck, "didn't mean to interrupt, err, whatever you were doing."

Her giggle was sweeter than he had imagined, and he couldn't help but give a tiny smile at that.

"That's okay. I was just," she took an extra look, "admiring the city lights."

Zuko nodded. He and Song had found comfort on the round table in the center, enjoying a cup of jasmine tea.

"So, your name is Song?"

She smiled at him and he couldn't help but feel flustered. "Yes, and you are?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm Zuko. Uncle Iroh is my uncle."

. . .

"No wait, I just said that."

It had been enough to send Song into a fit of laughter, with her hand delicately covering her mouth. There was so much grace to her movements that he confused Song for his mother.

"That's okay. So you are a student?"

Zuko nodded, taking a sip of his tea. At the moment he nodded, Zuko swore he saw sparkles in her eyes. They seemed to grow when she asked. "What do you study?"

"Business management."

Her mouth gaped in awe, but quickly shut as though she caught herself off guard. Zuko could tell she was burning to ask another question but was hesitant. He saw her eyes dart from left to right and he found that oddly cute, especially when her cheeks had taken a redder shade.

"So," he started, wanting to help her out, "what do you study?"

As if a hole in her fantasy had cracked, the enthusiasm faded and her eyes fell to her tea cup. "Oh."

She rubbed her elbow and Zuko was immediately reminded of another brown-haired girl that did that whenever she was nervous. A girl whose eyes you could get lost in. A girl whose embrace could be described in only a billion words. A girl who he- "Medicine"

Great. He hadn't listened to any of the parts before and now he was left with asking. "Why medicine?"

Her smile was filled with genuine warmth that Zuko could not look away from. "I want to help others in need."

Zuko smiled. That reminded him of another- No, he was not about to lose focus again. Besides, he had a face call with Katara later tonight so all he could hope was for time to speed up.

"That's nice. I'm sure you're doing amazing at your course." She gave him a dumbfounded look, and he returned the expression. "What?"

"I'm…"

Zuko blinked twice. "You go to the University of Republic City, right?"

Her voice fell into a low whisper. "I… Not yet. I don't have the money for it. That's why I'm working."

"Oh." Zuko started before it hit him. "Oh! I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" He scrambled for the right words to say until she waved her palm to gesture him to stop.

"It's okay." She gave him another smile. This time with every bit of joy she once had washed away from it.

As Zuko was about to speak again, he heard his uncle. "Zuko, your break is over!"

They both rose at the same time, with Song's eyes glued to the table. "Song, I'm really-"

She giggled. "It's okay. Don't worry, Zuko."

Her smile was ever so distracting for how it brightened her face and Zuko had to shake his head to refocus. It was then he noticed that she wore no apron. "You aren't wearing an apron. Do you want me to show you where it is." He said, pointing behind him.

She gently shook her head. "That won't be needed."

"Oh?"

"You better get back to your shift before your uncle comes up."

Zuko's lips parted but the words he had meant to say failed him and instead he said. "You're right."

Zuko nodded to her before walking towards the door. He took a step outside, looked back to give Song a tiny smile, and then he left. He had upset her due to his failure to focus on her words and he would make it up to her. He would do so after the shift. Yes, after his shift he would give her a proper apology.

When Katara stormed off to her room she had hoped she would be alone. She had hoped she could mellow in her anger, curled up on her bed, alone. But-

"So, are you done with," Sokka pointed at her, circling his finger around her frame, "whatever you are doing now?" Now she was stuck with Sokka, who had taken a seat right before her head.

She hugged her knees tighter. "Sokka, beat it."

"Katara-"

"No."

Sokka scratched the back of his neck. He looked at his sister before looking back at the window wall that viewed the city of the Northern State. The moon lay right before him, shining brightly into the room. Sokka inhaled as he absorbed the moonlight into his skin as though it were the sun. When he opened his eyes, he felt a sense of protection wash over him.

"Sis."

"Sokka, go away!"

Katara saw Sokka lift his hand in the air and winced at his hand that had found its way to her head, ruffling her hair. When Sokka's hand was still on her head, she lifted her head to find a tiny smile on his face. "Do me a favour," he started, looking down at her, "and stop running away when I'm standing right next to you."

. . . .

"Who are you and what have you done to my Sokka?."

Sokka chuckled. "I have you to blame for that."

This time, Katara chuckled.

Zuko released a tiresome sigh to the now empty cafe. Customers kept swarming in and by the time they were an hour away from closing time, all he could think about was his face call with Katara. That was all he had on his mind: Katara. And she was the single thing that kept him from losing his temper at some of those customers. He unwrapped his long apron, threw it on a chair and went a hand through his hair.

"Finally, it's over."

He felt a light clap on his back. "It truly is, partner."

"Or not." He muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I heard that." When he turned to face Jin, she broke into a fit of laughter.

"Good job today, Zuko. See you next year." Was all she said before she left the cafe

He shook his head and thanked the spirits above that he was going to be Jin-free for the remaining for this holiday. When he looked at the tiny clock on the counter and saw the time, he panicked. It was 7:30PM! His face call with Katara was soon. He scrambled for his apron and made his way upstairs. His uncle was thankfully in the kitchen cleaning the dishes so he knew that he would be uninterrupted in gathering his stuff.

It was when he was walking up each step that he had a nagging feeling of something he had forgotten. When he made the final step, it struck him. But the word that rolled off his tongue was- "What?" He breathed at the huge scar that rounded their shin.

"Who did this to you?!" He said in another whisper. He saw Song jump from the sudden voice and quickly let her robe fall.

"It's nothing." She said, taking a step back. "It's nothing."

Zuko's body stepped forward. "What do you mean that's nothing?"

Song looked away, biting her lower-lip. She shook her head before looking back at Zuko, this time with a smile. A forced smile. "It was an accident."

Silence was their only source of noise. Zuko had kept his gaze at her leg. After what felt like an eternity he forced his eyes away from her leg and up to her eyes. "Aren't you planning on going home?"

He saw her press her lips together and her fingers were clutching the sides of her dress. "I… I will." She hurriedly added. "Soon."

They fell into another staring competition. This time they were interrupted by the lights in the corridor shutting down followed by Iroh's voice. "That's me leaving. Make sure to lock all doors, Song!"

"My uncle is always last to leave."

Her eyes fell to the ground, her lips wavered. "I… live here." She admitted.

"Your uncle allowed me to stay if I started working full time." Her eyes darted everywhere but at Zuko. "He found me last week and since then he has been teaching how to make the different teas and what to do when the cafe closes."

It was then he had remembered what he was going to do after his shift. Apologise. He was going to apologise to Song for upsetting her, and here he was making her uncomfortable. It seemed as if he had done nothing but be a nuisance to her. And now… she revealed that she was 'found' by her uncle. No matter how he tried to spin it, he could not find a positive scenario.

[...] and luckily I found Song.

Zuko cursed himself. He looked at her again, this time at her robes. It was then he noticed the subtle scratches to the edges of her dress. And that perfume… and the fact that she didn't have money for- she was- she must have been… homeless.

Zuko didn't have to take any closer looks at Song to see the distraught in her face. And she was in this state because he had pushed her to her limit.. At this point he was surprised that she hadn't- her eyelids started to water and in that moment he took another step forward and blurted. "Do you want to live with me?"

When her face shut up, he quickly added. "For the holidays."

A/N - Hey guys. I'm sorry for taking this long on updating a chapter. October was just... hectic and emotionally draining because I had an exam coming up early November (and it's not over) But it's just now I had the time (and motivation) to write so I hope that you will bear with my inconsistent update patterns. Thank you so much for reading and tuning in after so long :) Love you all!

See you later!