A month passed. Katara didn't bring up the whole kiss thing again, for which Zuko was grateful. It was all too stressful and confusing for him to deal with. Things were different between them now though, which Zuko didn't like. Katara seemed more withdrawn from him, as if she wasn't quite sure how to act around him. Zuko understood it though, because he didn't know how to act around her, either.

He liked her, but he couldn't bring himself to act on his feelings. It wouldn't be fair to her when he didn't know what his future held. Part of him—a bigger part of himself than he wanted to admit—still wanted his honor, his throne, back. He wanted his father's approval, to know that he was no longer disgraced.

But another part of him couldn't help but wonder what things might be like if he succumbed to his feelings for Katara. Would he be able to forsake his family? To become a full-blown traitor, join the Avatar, and help end the war? He didn't know, and that frightened him. He didn't like the uncertainty of that future. At least, by capturing the Avatar, he knew what his fate would be.

Even worse, the tension between him and Katara was so obvious that his uncle had noticed. Iroh had spent a week or better probing Zuko for details, but he was definitely not going to talk to his uncle about his girl troubles. Finally, Iroh had given up.

And life went on. Boring, refugee life in Ba Sing Se, but it went on. Zuko and his uncle continued to work for Pao, and Katara started working as a seamstress's apprentice. Zuko wouldn't exactly say that life was good, but it was comfortable. They never went hungry, and they even had enough spare coin for Iroh to decorate the apartment with whatever tacky baubles he saw in the market (which he visited far too often in Zuko's opinion).

Katara kept looking for her friends, and Zuko was a little ashamed to admit that he felt a little relieved each time she told them that she hadn't heard anything yet. She never asked about Jet either, and Zuko was more than willing to keep his arrest a secret from her. The last thing he wanted was for her to think about pulling some hairbrained rescue attempt and putting them all at risk. And he just didn't like the thought of the guy being around her.

They tried to mostly keep to themselves, as Zuko wanted to keep a low profile. Iroh made it a little difficult, as he seemed to make friends with everyone—shoppers at the market, the vendors, customers at the tea shop. Zuko was more than surprised when he came home one day and found their pregnant neighbor and her brood in their apartment, only to learn that Iroh had invited them for dinner.

Pao was very pleased with Iroh's extroverted personality, along with his tea making skills, as the shop was full every day. There were quite a few regulars who came in frequently too.

Zuko was more than surprised when he noticed that he was receiving more tips—usually from teenage girls. Sometimes they acted so weird, too, always giggling when he would talk to them, even though he was only asking for their orders or reading the specials, or just trying to chat him up. It was weird.

There was one girl who came in every day when Zuko was working. She was always friendly to him and tipped well. She sat in the back corner of the shop, just drinking her tea and reading scrolls.

One day, after Zuko had brought her her usual order, he went over to where Iroh was brewing tea in the kitchen.

"That girl, the one who always sits in the back," Zuko murmured to his uncle. "Isn't it a little weird that she's always here when we're working?"

"I think you mean when you're working," Iroh remarked.

Zuko's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"She doesn't come in on your days off, nephew," Iroh informed. "I know, because she asked me what days you work. She only comes in when you're here."

He was thoroughly confused now. "What? Why would she want to know when I'm working?"

"It seems to me that she has quite the little crush on you," Iroh chuckled.

"What?" Zuko spluttered.

Iroh looked back into the main shop. "She's ready to pay. Go take her money, nephew."

Zuko was flustered, still reeling from his uncle's comment. "Can't you do it?"

"I'm brewing tea, and I can't leave my station. Spirits knows that you can't be trusted to brew it," Iroh said before he gave Zuko a push towards the counter.

Zuko reluctantly went out to the counter, his cheeks burning. The girl smiled warmly at him as she set a pile of coins on down for him.

"Thank you for the tea," she said. "What's your name?"

"My name's Lee," Zuko stammered out. "My uncle and I just moved here." He wasn't sure why he didn't mention Katara.

The girl giggled. "Hi, Lee. My name's Jin. Thank you, and well…" She trailed off with a shy smile, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime."

Zuko stared dumbly at her for a moment, tongue-tied. She was asking him out? Like, on a date? He opened his mouth to tell her no, but suddenly, Iroh appeared beside him with a huge grin, having clearly overheard their conversation. He clapped Zuko on the back.

"He'd love to!" Iroh exclaimed.

Zuko shot him a dark look, but then Jin said, "Great! I'll meet you in front of the shop at sundown."

Then Jin turned and left the shop. Zuko stared after her for a moment, wondering what had just happened. He looked at his uncle accusingly.

"What did you do that for?" Zuko snapped.

Iroh just chuckled as he ducked back into the kitchen. "You need to loosen up, nephew. How exciting! Your first date!"

Zuko let out a huff of air as his shoulders slumped. Great.

When Katara walked into the apartment that evening after work, she was very surprised by the scene in front of her.

Zuko was wearing a new (nice) outfit, and Iroh was...styling his hair? Katara frowned as she shut the door. Both of them looked up at her, and she saw Zuko's cheeks turn red.

"Um, what's up?" she asked curiously.

Zuko's cheeks somehow grew even more red as he looked away from her. Iroh flashed her a bright grin.

"Zuko has a date!" he announced jovially.

Katara's jaw dropped open as her eyes flickered back and forth between them for a moment as she registered what Iroh had said. Zuko had a date?

"With who?" she asked incredulously.

"A customer from the shop!" Iroh replied brightly. "She seems like such a lovely young woman, doesn't she, nephew?"

Zuko was scowling, and he still wouldn't look at Katara. "Uh, sure."

Katara crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to control her emotions. Not that she had any emotions about Zuko. Going on a date. Or in general.

"Well, have fun," Katara said with a forced cheerfulness.

"I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time," Iroh said as he finished combing Zuko's hair.

Katara pressed her lips together to hide her laughter. She supposed that the slick, combed look was better than his silly ponytail, but he still looked a little ridiculous. Especially with the way he was pouting.

"I think I have a bottle of cologne in my room," Iroh said as he stood up. "I'll be right back."

He went into his room. Zuko stood up and seemed intent on looking at anything other than her.

"You...look nice," Katara said awkwardly.

"Uh, thanks," Zuko muttered.

Katara pursed her lips. "So...you're going on a date, then. Um, what's her name?"

"Jin," he replied. "It's not a big deal."

"Right," Katara said. "Can I fix your hair?"

Zuko reached up and touched it. "What's wrong with my hair?"

Katara walked over to him and ruffled his hair until it resumed its normal mussed look. It had grown out a lot since she had first run across him in the desert, curling against his ears and flopping over his forehead. She liked it.

"There," she said as Iroh emerged from his room with the bottle of cologne in his hands.

"Nephew, what did you do?" Iroh wanted to know. "It took me ten minutes to do your hair! Never mind—you better get going if you don't want to be late."

Zuko grimaced, his eyes darting to Katara. She offered him a thin smile.

"Well, have fun," she muttered.

"Right," Zuko said as he started for the door. "Fun."

"Wait!" Iroh hurried over to him and dabbed some cologne at the corners of Zuko's jaw. "Now you're ready. Have a good time."

Iroh practically pushed Zuko out of the door. Katara let out a silent sigh as she headed towards her room.

"Are you going to bed already, Master Katara? I was hoping we could play a round of Pai Sho," Iroh said.

Katara gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, but not tonight, Iroh. I'm pretty tired. I'll see you in the morning."

She went into her room and shut the door behind her. She was feeling a little sick to her stomach, but she didn't understand why. What did she care if Zuko went out on a date? He'd made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be with her like that.

She laid down on her bedroll and tried, and failed, to not feel sorry for herself.

Zuko stood with his arms crossed over his chest outside of the dark tea shop. Why had he come here? He should have told her no. He wasn't interested in Jin. He was interested in Katara! And he'd seen the way Katara had looked when she found out that he was going on this stupid date. It had hurt her. Damn it, Uncle!

He was half-tempted to leave now before Jin showed up, and lie to his uncle and Katara and say that she bailed. But then he'd have to deal with Jin coming into the shop wondering why he had bailed—

"Well, look at you," came Jin's voice from behind him. "You're even cute without the apron."

Zuko felt a blush ride in his cheeks as he resisted the urge to scowl. He wasn't cute! Polar bear puppies were cute. He was not.

"Hi," Zuko muttered as she walked up to him. She wore a nice dress, and she'd freed her hair from its braid and pulled it back into a ponytail. "You, uh, you look nice."

Jin beamed a smile up at him. "Thanks! Let's go."

She looped her arm through his and began to guide him through the quiet streets. They only had a few hours until the strictly-enforced curfew would go into effect. Zuko hoped the date wouldn't last that long.

Jin led him to an open-air restaurant. A waiter seated them, and they made very awkward small talk as they waited for their food. Zuko couldn't help but think about how things used to be between him and Katara, after they became friends and before their feelings got in the way.

"So, how do you like the city so far?" Jin asked while they waited.

"It's okay," Zuko muttered. At least that was true.

Jin took a sip of her tea. Did she ever get tired of drinking that stuff? "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Nothing," he answered roughly. Which wasn't really true. He liked practicing with his swords, or firebending, or hanging out with Katara.

Finally, they got their food. Zuko pushed his dumplings around on his plate with his chopsticks, decidedly not very hungry. He watched as Jin slurped down a large bite of ramen from her bowl.

"Uh...you have quite an appetite...for a girl," Zuko remarked, then immediately regretted it as she froze. He mentally face-palmed himself.

"Um...thanks?" Jin said.

Ugh, why was this so hard? It was never this hard talking to Katara.

Jin tried another attempt at conversation. "So Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here?"

Zuko stiffened for a moment. He hated backstories. Again, he thought about Katara, and her tendency to use them. Like the time they pretended to be dating. Somehow, that was more pleasant than this.

"Um...well, we've been traveling around for a long time," Zuko lied.

"Oh," Jin said. "Why were you traveling?"

I got banished from home and I was trying to capture the Avatar, but then I found his friend and I started traveling with her, and now I really like her and I think I'd rather be on a date with her instead of you—

"We were...uh...part of this...traveling circus?" Zuko replied weakly.

She seemed to buy it. "Really? What did you do?" She grinned. "Wait, lemme guess: you juggled."

Zuko grimaced. He had a lot of skills, but he was sure that juggling wasn't one of them. But it would be a little hard to explain to her how he became an expert swordsman, and he definitely couldn't tell her that he was a firebender.

"Yes, I...juggled," Zuko said.

Jin's face lit up. "I've always wanted to learn how to juggle!" She grabbed three sweet buns out of a basket on the table and offered them to him. "Can you show me?"

Zuko took the rolls uncertainly. "Uh...sure?"

He hadn't been to a circus since he was a kid, and since juggling was usually one of the less interesting performances, he had never paid much attention to it. He tossed all three buns into the air, already knowing that this was going to fail spectacularly.

Zuko managed to catch all three rolls, but it definitely didn't resemble juggling. He looked at her sheepishly. She didn't look impressed, but she giggled. Not that he cared.

"I haven't practiced in a while," he huffed.

"Right," Jin said with a smile.

Suddenly, the waiter appeared. "Would you and your girlfriend like dessert?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Oh, my apologies," the waiter squeaked. "Perhaps the check then?"

He scurried away, and Zuko looked out into the street, scowling.

"Are you having a good time, Lee?" Jin asked him.

"Yeah, great time," Zuko muttered.

"Then maybe I can show you one of my favorite places in the city," Jin suggested.

So after he paid for the meal, Jin took him by the hand and pulled him through the dark streets.

"I'm so excited for you to see the Firelight Fountain," Jin told him as they hurried along. "The lamps make the water sparkle and reflect in the pool in the most beautiful way!"

Finally, they reached their destination. As Zuko took in the round fountain, with the lanterns floating on it, and more posted in a circle around it, he had to admit that it was a pretty view. But he also couldn't help but think that he would rather see it with Katara.

"Isn't it so pretty?" Jin breathed.

"Yeah," he said. "It's nice."

He felt Jin take his hand as they looked at the fountain. Zuko glanced down at her, and Jin peeked up at him from beneath her eyelashes. She leaned towards him, and Zuko felt a jolt of panic go through him. He suddenly produced the coupon his uncle had given him.

"I brought you something," he said in a rush. "It's a coupon, for a free cup of tea."

Jin laughed as she took it. "Lee, that's so sweet."

"Don't thank me," Zuko said. "It was my uncle's idea. He thinks you're our most valuable customer."

"That's very sweet of him, too," Jin said as she stepped closer. She smiled softly up at him. "I have something for you too. Close your eyes."

Zuko frowned, but he did it anyway. A moment later, he felt her lips brush over his. He froze, and Jin pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked, confusion in her eyes.

Zuko stepped away from her. "It's complicated. I have to go."

Then he turned and hurried back in the direction of the apartment.

Katara was still awake when she heard the apartment door open later that night. She rolled onto her side with her back to her bedroom door as she scowled. She bet Zuko had a great time on his date. And she was definitely not jealous about it.

Then there was a soft knock at her door. "Katara?"

She was so incensed that she didn't even think to pretend to be asleep. "Go away, Zuko."

"Can we talk? Please?"

"Go away!"

The door opened. She could see his shadow on the wall, cast by the moonlight pouring in through the windows in the living room. Katara sat upright and glared at him.

"What? Did you come to gloat about your date?" she snapped.

"No," he said.

She blinked in surprise, but then she scowled. "Oh. Then what did you want?"

"Jin kissed me," Zuko said in a rush.

"I thought you weren't gloating!" She threw her pillow at him, but he knocked it aside.

"I'm not!" Zuko insisted.

Katara crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what do you want, Zuko?"

"I wanted to tell you that I was miserable the whole time," Zuko said as he came to stand beside her. "It was stupid and annoying and I was miserable every second I was with her."

Katara narrowed her eyes and slowly got to her feet. "Why?"

Zuko looked at her, his golden eyes burning in the shadows. "Because, Katara I—the whole time I was with her, I couldn't stop thinking about you. How I would have rather been there with you. How I don't feel awkward or weird when I'm with you. How easy it is to be with you. And I know that I've really messed things up between us, but I really like you, and I do think you're pretty, and I just—"

A wide smile creased her face. "Zuko."

He stopped talking and looked at her. "What?"

Katara stretched up and pressed her lips to his. Zuko froze for a moment, but then he kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands found her waist. His mouth was soft and warm against hers, and being this close, she could feel the heat he radiated naturally, and she sank into.

She pulled back reluctantly after a moment, her heart thumping hard in her chest. Zuko stared down at her with wide eyes, not moving.

Katara suddenly worried that she had made a mistake. What if she had misunderstood him?

"Zuko, say something," she whispered.

But Zuko didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her to him and kissed her. She decided that was better than words.