They waited until they heard Iroh leave before they left Katara's bedroom. As he had promised, Iroh had left breakfast waiting for them. Zuko and Katara ate together, glancing at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, only to blush and look away when they caught each other's eye.

After breakfast, they freshened up and left the apartment. Zuko was pleasantly surprised when Katara took his hand as they started down the street.

"So what do you want to see first?" Zuko asked her while they walked.

Katara looked up at him with a bright smile. "Everything!"

So they saw...everything. They took a train to the Middle Ring, and Zuko couldn't help but smile at the wide-eyed wonder on Katara's face as she took in the city. The ride in from the Outer Wall had been impressive, but it didn't compare to seeing the city up close like his.

"Wow, it's so much bigger than the South Pole!" Katara gasped as she took it in.

The Lower Ring looked different from the tracks, raised above the buildings they criss-crossed over. It didn't really look like a slum from up here. In a way, it almost reminded Zuko of the lower streets of the Caldera, with the buildings arranged in a helter skelter formation. There was no true order, as if the city had been built piece by piece instead of in a neat grid.

But disappointment struck when they reached the gates of the Middle Ring, and the guards denied them entrance.

"Why can't we go in?" Katara asked the stern-faced guards.

"You must have business in the Middle Ring to enter it," the guard sneered, clearly unimpressed by their refugee status. "We don't let just anyone in."

"Come on, Katara," Zuko muttered as he took her hand. She looked like she was ready to argue, but he didn't want her to cause a scene. "We'll find something else to do."

So they began to walk down the streets. There wasn't much to do but look around, but neither of them seemed to mind. The city was so full of life that it was almost interesting to watch people go about their days. Katara seemed to enjoy it, at any rate.

They stopped for lunch at a street vendor's cart. Katara ordered a kebab of deep-fried pickle radishes and dumplings. Zuko wasn't sure of the pickle radishes, as they had a pungent odor, and his nose wrinkled when Katara offered him a bite.

"They remind me of home," Katara said. "It's the closest I've come to tasting Water Tribe food in...months."

"I'm good," Zuko told her as he held up his own kebab, with far more palatable dumplings and crab puffs. "I'll stick to my lunch."

Katara pouted. "Come on Try it. For me? I'll try that weird spicy green stuff you and Iroh like."

"Wasabi?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, that stuff." She pushed her kebab closer to him. "Come onnnn!"

Zuko huffed out a breath. "Fine. But only for you, okay?"

She beamed brightly at him as she handed her kebab to him. Zuko grimaced as he sniffed it experimentally. It definitely didn't smell good. But he took a tiny bite, noting the crunchy texture and the vinegary taste. Katara waited expectantly.

"Sooo? What do you think?" she asked excitedly.

Zuko swallowed the bite before he handed her the kebab back. "It's...kind of surprisingly good."

"I told you!" Katara said before she gladly ate the rest of the pickle radish.

He smirked at her. "Yeah, but now you have to try wasabi."

So after they finished their lunch, they went on a hunt for wasabi. Finally, they found some in a small market. Katara boldly took a bite, only to immediately grimace as she struggled to swallow it. She coughed against the heat, and Zuko chuckled before he pulled her water pouch off of her hip and handed it to her.

Katara drank from it for a minute before she pulled a face. "Ew, I used this on the swamp guy!"

Zuko arched his brow. "Swamp guy?"

She shook her head. "Long story." She smacked her lips. "It even tastes swampy. Gross."

"Yuck," Zuko teased.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him. "It's all your fault. You better make it up to me."

"Hey, you started it by making me eat the pickle radish," Zuko reminded her.

"If I'm going to be your girlfriend, then you need to learn to accept that everything is your fault."

Zuko pulled up short. "Girlfriend?"

Katara blushed and looked away. "Um...if you want me to be your girlfriend."

Zuko swallowed hard. "Uh...yeah. I'd like that. If you want to be my—my girlfriend."

She peeked up at him. "I do."

The corner of his lips pulled up, and he took her hand again. "I've never had a girlfriend before."

"I've never had a boyfriend," Katara replied. She gave him a pointed look. "And Jet does not count."

"Good."

Katara frowned. "I wonder what happened to him anyway. I would've thought we would have seen him by now." She looked up at him. "You haven't seen him at the tea shop, have you?"

Zuko looked away. How could he tell her what had happened? Jet had been arrested a month ago. No doubt she'd get upset with him for not telling her. And he didn't want that. Things were going well between them right now. He wasn't willing to let some lowlife jerk like Jet get in the way of that.

"He didn't strike me as the kind of guy who likes tea," Zuko muttered.

"Still, it's kind of weird, right? It's like, once we got to the city he just...disappeared," Katara remarked.

"Does it matter?" Zuko asked, his voice sharper than he meant for it to be. "I thought we didn't trust him."

"We don't," Katara said firmly. "I just thought it was weird, is all."

Zuko stopped walking and grabbed her other hand. "Let's not worry about him, okay? He's not important to me. You are. And I want to enjoy this day with you."

"Yeah...you're right." She pursed her lips for a moment before she looked up at him, humor dancing in her eyes. "We should have fun before we have to go home and deal with your uncle, uh?"

"Ugh, don't remind me."

So they enjoyed the rest of their day. They walked around and just talked, about everything and nothing. He bought her sugar cookies to make up for the wasabi, and she forgave him with a kiss to his cheek. They watched street performers and rode the train with no destination in mind. As the day grew to a close and they took the train home, Zuko wrapped his arm around her shoulders and Katara leaned her head against his chest.

"This was a perfect day," Katara mumbled sleepily.

He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, it was."

Night had settled over the city by the time they arrived back at the apartment. Iroh was waiting for them with dinner and a knowing smile.

"What did you two get up to today?" Iroh asked as they reluctantly joined him.

"We went and saw the city," Katara replied as she filled her plate with rice and strips of meat. "Can you believe that they don't let refugees into the Middle Ring?"

"Somehow that does not surprise me," Iroh remarked. "The city thrives on its social classes. That has not changed in hundreds of years."

"It's ridiculous," Katara muttered. She looked up at him. "Is the Fire Nation like that?"

Zuko and Iroh looked uncomfortable. Zuko pushed his dinner around with his chopstick. Iroh took a sip of his tea before he answered her.

"Yes and no," Iroh replied measuredly. "There are more freedoms for someone from a lower class, and they're more easily able to move up in social ranking, typically by military conquests. Admiral Zhao was no nobleman's son, nor was he born of wealth, but his military prowess allowed him to progress through the ranks."

"Hmph." Katara frowned at her plate. "Back home, there isn't a social hierarchy. We're all equal. The only ones treated as any form of nobility are the elders, because we respect them above all else. Even though my dad is the chief, me and Sokka aren't really royalty or anything."

"Your father is Chief Hakoda?" Iroh remarked curiously.

She nodded. "Yeah, he is." She cocked her head. "Do you know him?"

"I know of him," Iroh replied. "I've been retired for many years now, but I have my friends in the military, who have kept me up to date on things."

"Oh."

Zuko's brow furrowed. She almost sounded disappointed. Not that he blamed her. He understood what it felt like to miss one's father, to miss home, although he was beginning to miss it less and less as time went on.

After they ate, Zuko and Katara washed the dishes in companionable silence as Iroh puttered around, straightening things up and cleaning the immaculate apartment. Zuko suspected that Iroh was waiting until they were alone to really ask him what was going on between him and Katara.

He felt anxiety coil in his belly at the thought. Zuko was certain that Iroh would have a lot of questions for him—what did this mean about his quest to capture the Avatar? Was he prepared to choose Katara over his own father? Would Zuko tell her the truth about Jet?

But to Zuko's surprise, after Katara retired for the night (with a soft smile that told him she really wanted to kiss him goodnight), Iroh only looked up at him and said, "I'm happy for you, nephew."

Then Iroh shuffled to his room and shut the door, leaving Zuko staring dumbfoundedly after him.

After a few minutes, Katara opened her door and poked her head out, beckoning him over to her with her finger. Zuko obliged, still stunned that that was all his uncle had said. But he didn't mind so much when Katara pulled him into her room and properly bid him goodnight.