Katara was startled awake by the squeaking of the door. She jerked her head up, wincing when she felt a cramp in her neck. She looked up and saw Iroh and Fung emerging from the back room. She realized that it was daylight outside, with sunlight streaming in through the narrow windows. And that she and Zuko had fallen asleep sitting side by side on the table. And she was pretty sure that she'd been using his shoulder as a pillow.

Zuko woke up right after she did, immediately jumping into a defensive position as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. Katara realized that the two of them had fallen asleep sitting side by side on the table. And she was pretty sure that she'd been using his shoulder as a pillow.

"What's going on?" Zuko asked, his voice husky with sleep. "Is the club meeting over?"

Iroh offered them a smile. "Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba Sing Se."

"Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked as his brow furrowed. "Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?"

Fung looked at him with a conspiratorial glint in his eye. "The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice three more."

Katara's eyebrows lifted. She looked at Zuko, and saw that his brow was still knit as he considered it.

"We can hide in plain sight there. And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation," Iroh remarked with a shrug. "Even I couldn't break through to the city."

"But what about me? I can't go to Ba Sing Se," Katara interrupted, feeling panic surge in her belly. "I still need to find my brother and Aang."

Zuko looked at her, and she saw the conflict that quickly flitted over his face. "It's not safe for my uncle and I out here anymore. We've been attacked twice in almost as many days. We need to be somewhere safe."

"You're welcome to come with us, Master Katara," Iroh told her as he put a broad, warm hand on her shoulder. "I understand that it may be hard to leave your friends behind, but you may be able to contact them from the city."

Katara chewed her lip nervously. Going to Ba Sing Se felt like she was abandoning Sokka and Aang. How could she give up on looking for them? But a nastier voice asked if they had even been looking for her, and she had no answer for that. And maybe Iroh was right. It couldn't be that hard to find out the whereabouts of the Avatar with the kind of resources that Ba Sing Se would probably have.

She'd heard about the city, from her dad and grandmother. Neither of them had ever seen it (maybe her father had now, but she had no way of knowing), but they had heard about it from the occasional Earth Kingdom merchant who would come to the South Pole. It was apparently so massive that even standing on top of the inner wall, it was nearly impossible to see the other side. Katara could barely fathom it.

And if she did go to Ba Sing Se with them, what then? Would her and Zuko's alliance—their tentative friendship—come to an end? What would they do in the city? What would she do?

"Katara, if you don't want to go, that's fine," Zuko murmured, not quite able to meet her gaze. "You can take Dusty, and we'll get you some supplies—"

"I'll go," Katara found herself saying as she looked up at him. "I'll go to Ba Sing Se with you and Iroh."

Zuko met her gaze, his expression unreadable. But before anyone could say anything else, the front door of the shop opened, and a young man in dusty clothes came inside. Fung looked up at him expectantly.

"I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the street looking for them," the man said.

Fung grabbed Iroh's arm. "Quickly, then. We'll have to stash you and get you out of here."

"They've been looking for you three all night," the young man remarked. "And they're coming this way now."

"Let's hurry." Fung looked around before his gaze settled on a large flower pot and a wooden crate. "In here. Iroh, you'll fit in the pot. Your nephew and the girl will fit in the crate. Quickly now."

Katara looked up at Zuko with wide eyes, but he shrugged helplessly as Fung shepherded them over to the crate. The young man pulled up a hand-drawn cart and quickly loaded the flower pot and crate onto it. Iroh climbed unceremoniously into the flower pot. Katara looked down at the crate apprehensively. It was going to be a tight fit.

"Come on," Zuko murmured in her ear.

With an uncertain breath, Katara climbed into the crate and laid down on her side with her knees bent. The crate was small and smelled of fertilizer. A moment later, Zuko crawled in beside her, moving carefully so that he didn't accidentally crush her. He laid down behind her, and in the tiny space, he was inevitably pressed up against her, with his knees tucked in behind hers.

"I hope you're cozy," Fung said as he lowered the lid over them.

Katara felt a jolt of claustrophobia go through her as the darkness swallowed them up. "Do you think we'll have enough air?"

"Guess we'll find out," came Zuko's voice from behind her, dangerously close to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her skin, and it sent a shiver down her spine. "Just don't breathe so hard."

Easier said than done, Katara thought. She was hyper-aware of him behind her, with her sense of sight gone. She could feel every place that Zuko was touching her (which was basically everywhere) and she realized that she had never been this close to another boy, ever.

Outside of their little box, she felt the cart start rolling over the stone floor. It bumped over something, jostling her back against Zuko, her head colliding with his teeth. She winced as her scalp smarted. He swore softly, and she muttered an apology.

Then she heard what she thought might have been a door opening, and then little slivers of sunlight were filtering in through the narrow gaps in the boards that made up the crate. The ground beneath them was suddenly much rougher, and she found it impossible to keep herself still.

She tried to ignore the feeling of him behind her, but it was impossible, especially when the cart's rough movements kept bumping her into him. Katara could feel his chest pressed against her back, and his legs slotted along hers. And he was so warm, like he had a little sun inside of him. His warmth filled their crate, and soon she was sweating.

For his part, Zuko tried to hold very still. He was more successful than she was, probably because he could brace his back against the side of the crate. She wasn't sure where his arms were, but she thought she could feel the hand trapped beneath him pushed against her back. Her own arms were tucked against her chest. She supposed things could be worse, although she didn't know how.

"How long are we gonna be stuck like this?" Katara whispered.

"I don't know," Zuko answered, his voice just as quiet.

So she settled in. It was very, very boring. Even worse than riding on Dusty, because at least then she could see. Then she gasped.

"What?" Zuko asked, startled.

"What's gonna happen to Dusty?" Katara asked worriedly. "We left her behind."

Zuko was quiet for a moment. "I...don't know. But I'll make sure she's taken care of. I'm sure Fung will take care of her."

Katara felt unexpected tears sting her eyes. It felt a little silly, but Dusty had been with them through so much. And way back at the beginning, all those weeks ago now, Dusty had been her only friend when she'd first joined up with Zuko. The ostrich horse had even had her back against those horrible thieves.

Zuko's voice startled her. "Are...are you crying?"

"No," Katara said defensively, even as she sniffled and wiped her fingers over the hollows of her eyes.

"Dusty will be okay," Zuko murmured.

"You don't know that," Katara choked out even as she struggled to blink back more tears. "We just left her there."

She felt his hand on her shoulder. It felt like it was blazing against her skin. "I told you. I'll make sure she's okay."

Katara nodded jerkily as she finally dried the last of her tears. She tucked her hand beneath her cheek and tried to get more comfortable. Already, her legs were cramping.

"Can you stop moving so much?" Zuko snipped.

"Sorry, this isn't exactly comfortable," Katara retorted hotly. She tried to reach back to pull her braid off of her neck, where the sweat had caused it to stick to her skin. "And do you realize how hot you are?"

"What?"

Her cheeks burned as she realized what she had said. She had the sudden urge to smash her head into the crate and hoped it would knock her out for the rest of the ride. Why did she say that? Why did she say that?

"I mean—you're just—like, your body is hot." Not better, Katara! Definitely not better. Could someone die of mortification? Katara thought she might be the first person in history. "Your skin, I mean. Like, you just—"

"Do you think you can stick your foot in your mouth from this position?" Zuko asked with a laugh in his voice, interrupting her incoherent stammering.

Kataa groaned and leaned her head against the side of the crate. "Shut up. Just shut up, please. For the love of Tui, stop talking."

"That's bold coming from the one who can't shut up."

Katara took a deep breath. "I just meant that you are freakishly warm. I'm literally sweating to death."

"Well, there's not a whole lot I can do about it," Zuko quipped back. But she felt him shift further back.

"It's fine—really, it's fine," Katara said. "I'll manage. This probably isn't very comfortable for either of us."

"No, it's not."

He wiggled, and she could feel his arm, the one he was laying on, digging against her. It had to be numb by now. At least an hour had passed, maybe more. Katara bit her lip. Could she possibly make a bigger fool of herself today? No, she didn't think so.

"You shouldn't lay on your arm like that," she murmured.

"Yeah? Where do you propose I put it?"

"I don't know! Forget it." She huffed out an irritated breath. "I was just trying to help. Excuse me."

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Then Zuko shifted, the movement subtle as if he was trying to hide it from her, which was impossible in this stupid, tiny crate.

"Just move your arm in a more comfortable position, Tui and La!" Katara burst out, barely remembering to keep her voice low.

"Fine."

He shifted then, pulling away from her as far as their space would allow. His arm slipped between the space between her neck and shoulder. Zuko adjusted some more before he finally settled down.

Katara turned her head, and she realized that she could faintly see him. "See? Isn't that much better?"

She saw a thin ray of sunlight hit his scarred eye, turning the narrow slit into a pool of honey.

"Yeah," he said, his voice husky. "It is."

She wasn't sure what the sound of his voice did to her, but she was pretty sure that she liked it.