Zuko spent the rest of the day avoiding Katara, Jet, and everyone else, tucking himself into a back corner of the deck so that he could brood in peace. He was still fuming over his argument with her—if it could even be called that—and he was sick and tired of being on this stupid boat.
How could she even say that he was jealous of Jet? And Zuko certainly wasn't jealous that he'd kissed her. Katara could kiss whoever she pleased—as she had pointed out. But do you think she'd like to kiss you? a traitorous voice whispered in his head. Pfft, yeah, right. Him? The traitor prince of the Fire Nation? Fat chance.
Zuko couldn't wait until they reached Ba Sing Se. Hopefully they could leave Jet and his Freedom Fighters behind, and he and Katara could get past this weirdness between them. Everything had been fine until Jet came along.
And Zuko wasn't sure that he liked or trusted him. Growing up in his father's court, Zuko could spot a bullshitter from a mile away. Jet was far too arrogant for Zuko's taste. There was something slimy about him, and it definitely had nothing to do with Katara. (Zuko definitely wasn't jealous that he'd kissed her.)
After several hours, when the sun was sinking towards the horizon, bells began to ring on the ferry. Only then did Zuko abandon his post (it was definitely not a hiding place—princes didn't hide) and made his way back towards the others. The ferry was getting ready to dock.
Katara didn't spare a glance at him, and in fact pointed looked away, clearly still miffed about their argument. Jet offered him an easy-going grin while Smellerbee and Longshot, who hadn't spoken a word that Zuko was aware of, nodded in greeting. Iroh looked up at him.
"There you are, nephew," he greeted jovially, as if he were completely oblivious to the obvious tension. "It looks like we've finally made it."
Zuko looked out towards the land. He could see Ba Sing Se's massive outer wall clearly now, colored a rust-red by the setting sun. He glared at it. He wasn't some refugee, meant to live in squalor and poverty. How long did his uncle expect them to stay here?
After another hour, the ferry finally docked and the refugees were let off of the boat. Earthbenders were allowing them to pass through an earthen gate in the wall itself. Zuko, Katara, and Iroh got in line, losing Jet and his friends along the way amidst the crowd.
At last, they were inside the wall. The setup here was nicer than it had been in Full Moon Bay. There weren't crowds of refugees sleeping in tents or directly on the stone floor, waiting to escape the Fire Nation. The atmosphere was different here. Hopeful.
There were several lines leading up to the check-in desks, moving along with an efficient speed. Zuko, Iroh, and Katara got into one of these lines. He kept his eyes open for Jet and his friends, but he didn't see them in the crowd. He was glad. Zuko would be happy if he never saw Jet again.
Another hour passed before they finally reached the front of their line. A middle-aged woman with a concerning mole stood in her window. Iroh handed over their passports. As he had in Full Moon Bay, Zuko waited apprehensively. If they were caught here in Ba Sing Se, the punishment would be much steeper than in other parts of the Earth Kingdom. This was the capital, for spirits' sake.
His eyes cut to Katara as a new fear occurred to him: could she be labeled as an accessory and be arrested as well? He hadn't thought about that before.
The woman inspected the passports. "So, Miss Katara, Mr. Lee, and Mister, um...Mushy, is it?"
Iroh chuckled. "It's pronounced Moo-shi."
The woman fixed him with a hard stare. "Are you telling me how to do my job?"
Zuko glared daggers at his uncle's back. Beside him, Katara had also stiffened. But Iroh just approached the booth and leaned one arm against the counter. Zuko watched, slightly terrified, wondering what his uncle could possibly be doing.
"No, no," Iroh said with a charming smile. He leaned closer to the woman. "But may I say, you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating."
Zuko was pretty sure he threw up in his mouth a little.
The woman pressed a hand to her large bust, batting her eyelashes at Iroh. "You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome." She stamped their passports and tickets for the train. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se."
Iroh offered her a bow. "Thank you, ma'am."
Zuko grabbed his ticket from his uncle as they walked away. "I'm going to forget I saw that."
He stomped past his uncle, but Katara was suddenly at his elbow, giggling. "I thought it was kind of sweet."
"Ick." Zuko grimaced. "No wonder you let Jet kiss you. You have no idea what romance looks like."
Oh spirits, why did he say that? That was the first time Katara had talked to him since that morning! He was such an idiot.
Katara put her hands on her hips indignantly. "Oh, and you know so much about romance, Mr. Never-Been-Kissed?"
His cheeks burned. "I know that that wasn't romantic. It was nauseating."
Katara just snorted as they made their way towards yet another line, this time towards the train station that would take them from the outer wall to the inner wall. They found a place to sit and wait for their train. He and Katara each sat on one side of Iroh, so clearly, she was still upset with him. Great.
But they weren't alone for long before none other than Jet came sauntering up. He dropped onto the seat next to Zuko. He sighed internally. So much for ditching the jerk.
Jet looked over at him. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"
"We'll figure it out," Zuko replied gruffly, hoping to portray an attitude of leave me alone. But Jet was not so easily deterred.
"This is a fresh start for me and my Freedom Fighters, but Ba Sing Se is a big place," Jet went on. "It can be dangerous too, or so I've heard. Lots of crime in the Lower Ring, with all the refugees. There's not enough resources to go around. Maybe we can change that. Liberate some more supplies."
He nudged Zuko pointedly with his elbow, and Zuko huffed out a noncommittal sound.
A tea seller walked by, pushing a cart. "Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"
Iroh raised a hand. "Ooh! Jasmine, please!"
Zuko rolled his eyes as the tea seller made his way over to them. His uncle and his tea, he swore to Agni. Beside him, Jet stood up and looked down at Zuko.
"Can I talk to you for a second, Lee?" Jet asked.
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and started to walk away as the tea seller offered Iroh and Katara his brews. This time, Zuko didn't hold in his sigh as he got to his feet and followed Jet.
"Blech! Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it!" he heard Iroh gripe. "What a disgrace!"
Jet looked at Zuko once they were out of Iroh and Katara's earshot. "You and I have a much better chance of making it in the city if we stick together."
"Katara doesn't trust you," Zuko pointed out. "And I don't know you. But I trust her judgement."
"I hurt her. I know I did, and I want to make it up to her," Jet told him earnestly. "Katara is probably the best person I know. And I think, if I had your help, I could earn her trust back." He looked at Zuko hopefully. "You want to join the Freedom Fighters."
Zuko felt several emotions at once, some of which he didn't even want to address. But he knew for a fact that he wanted nothing more than to be away from Jet, and to keep Katara away from him as well. And there was always the risk of associating with other people—he and Iroh couldn't chance being discovered.
"Thanks, but I don't think you want me in your gang," Zuko said.
"Come on, we made a great team looting the captain's food," Jet insisted. He gestured around them. "Think of all the good we could do for these refugees."
Zuko shook his head before he turned and started back towards his uncle and Katara. "I said no."
He heard Jet huff out a breath. "Have it your way."
Zuko looked up at his uncle and his eyes widened. Iroh's cup of tea was now steaming. That didn't happen on its own. What was his uncle thinking? Did he want them to get caught? Was tea more important than their safety?
He risked a glance over his shoulder at Jet. The teenager was also looking at Iroh, a suspicious frown on his face. Fantastic. Before Zuko could say anything—before he could offer up any kind of excuse or explanation—Jet turned and walked away. Zuko turned back towards his uncle, barely able to contain himself as he stalked back over to him. He slapped the tea out of Iroh's hand.
"Hey!" Iroh protested.
"Lee, what are you doing?" Katara demanded to know.
Zuko leaned closer to his uncle, his teeth gritted angrily as he whispered, "What are you doing firebending your tea? For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!"
"No one could've noticed!" Katara hissed back, glaring at him. "That was awfully rude of you."
Zuko sighed in exasperation before he dropped back into his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Was he the only one who understood the danger they were in?
Beside him, Iroh sniffled dramatically. "I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but...it's just so sad!"
At last, their train arrived. Zuko, Iroh, and Katara made their way into the earthen carriage. Katara studied the train in wide-eyed wonder, and even Zuko had to admit that he was impressed. The whole thing was powered by earthbenders, and it was really an ingenious use of bending, similar to how firebenders used their element to run their coal-powered machines.
They found some empty seats near the middle of the carriage. Iroh seated himself beside a couple and their baby, with Katara sitting on his other side. Zuko sat beside her, crossing his arms over his chest. He was getting a headache, and he knew that it would take most of the night for the train to reach the inner wall.
"What a handsome baby," Iroh remarked to the couple.
"Thank you," the woman said.
Zuko glanced over at them and swallowed hard as he recognized them. They were the couple that he had found out in the desert, when he and Katara had been starving. He looked away, although he knew that they couldn't recognize him.
After a while, a servant in crisp green robes moved down the aisle, selling food. Zuko's stomach growled, and beside him, Katara and Iroh looked at the food cart hungrily. Iroh produced a few coins that the sandbenders had given them for their journey, and they were able to enjoy a decent dinner.
The train pulled out from the wall and into the open air. It was fully dark out now, and it was hard to see their surroundings with only the moonlight to illuminate it, but in the distance ahead of them, Zuko could see the faint lights of the city, safely ensconced behind the inner wall.
With his belly full of food, he was feeling drowsy. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep before they arrived in the city. Beside him, he felt Katara settle more comfortably as well.
By morning, they would be in Ba Sing Se. Zuko wondered what waited for them there. He supposed that they would soon find out.
Jet sat broodingly in a train car a few behind the one he had watched Lee, Katara, and Mushi disappear into. He was furious, his mind racing as he tried to piece everything together from the last two days.
Smellerbee let out a sigh. "Jet, relax. So the old guy had some hot tea. Big deal."
"He heated it himself!" Jet snapped, glaring at her. His lip curled in disgust. "Those guys are firebenders."
And Katara was traveling with them. She hadn't told him what happened to her brother and Aang. Had she been captured by Lee and Mushi? Or did she not know that the two of them were firebenders?
Beside him, Smellerbee shook her head. Maybe she didn't believe him, but Jet didn't care. He knew what he saw. How dare a couple of firebenders think they could just sneak into the safest city in the world, the one place that had been untouched by the Fire Nation? It made him sick.
But Jet wasn't going to let that happen. Lee and Mushi would get what was coming to them. He'd get Katara away from them. Jet would make sure of it.