Title: war paint

A/N: For the Journeys, a Zutaraang zine! I like the idea of Zuko and Katara being ridiculously competitive no matter what AU they're in.

Summary: Aang liked working in a bakery. He liked the smell, liked the tasty leftovers, and he especially loved seeing his two maybe-sorta-hopefully lovers walk through every morning, grabbing a bite to eat before they headed out to work.

Aang liked working at a bakery. He liked the warm smell of fresh pastries as they got out of the oven, the way flour and dough could combine into so many tasty things, and how the treats just melted in his mouth. Okay, so maybe he didn't like working in a bakery so much as he loved eating in a bakery, but one of the perks was all the free food and he had always been an optimist at heart.

Still, if he had to pick any bakery to work at, The Lotus was the best. Located in the heart of Republic City, it was a bakery that fused together the best aspects of the four nations: the solid flavours of the Earth Kingdom, the spicy tastes of the Fire Nation, the delicate creations of the Water Tribes, and even the simple dishes of the Air Nomads. This was the only bakery that took the main idea of the city, of combining the nations, and actually applied it to its food.

Staring at a tray that held confections from all four groups, it was easy to believe that they could work out their differences.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes, stop making out with the food and deal with the customers." An annoyed Toph jabbed him in the side hard. Once, she had claimed she won a wrestling contest. Even if her short height made the idea laughable, the strength in her arms did not.

"Hey!" Aang glared at her as he set down the tray. "I almost dropped this. We'd have to remake everything."

"You'd have to remake everything." Toph pretended to grope blindly in front of her. "I can't see, remember? You shouldn't block my way."

Considering that her other hand was holding a walking stick, it was an entirely blatant lie. It was a losing battle to point that out. Aang puffed his cheeks. "I wasn't making out with the food."

Toph grinned slyly and he realized immediately he'd made a mistake. "You'd rather do it with them, right?"

She pointed at the front door just as two familiar faces stepped in. Aang flushed, unable to refute her words. While he liked working at the bakery, the reason he loved it here was solely because this was the one stop Zuko and Katara made every morning.

His maybe-kinda-they-were-still-sorting-it-out partners. Aang glanced at the tray again. Maybe the real reason he was so optimistic about Republic City and all it promised was that this was the only place where the three of them could meet. The Air Nomads rarely descended the mountains, the Water Tribe their icy homes, and the Fire Nation only liked travelling for business. It was surprising enough that an Earth Kingdom resident like Toph had left her home, her people were known to stay rooted in one town for their entire lives.

At Republic City, there was space for all of them.

"Hey, Aang," Katara called out as she studied the cookie tray, no doubt picking out which ones she wanted for a special after-lunch snack.

Next to her, Zuko leaned against the counter, his fingers drumming restlessly on the cool surface. "Morning."

Aang grinned as headed to the cashier. As usual, the pair were dressed in suits, and he had never realized how much he liked the uniform until he saw it on them. A slightly more unusual sight was the fact that Katara's collar was loose enough for her mother's necklace to peek out underneath, or that Zuko's hair was pulled back and revealed the entire burn that marred his right eye.

They looked like they were dressed up for something, but he wasn't sure what. They'd only been dating for a few months, so it couldn't be an anniversary. It wasn't a birthday either. Aang reached over and squeezed Katara's hand first, then Zuko's. "Looking good, you guys! Something up?"

Katara flushed, the blush reaching her ears. "Thanks. I thought it might be a little too much, the collar thing, but…" She trailed off, sheepish. "It doesn't look unprofessional, does it?"

"No!" Zuko and Aang blurted out at the same time, shaking their heads. Aang didn't have to ask to know what Zuko was thinking—there was something a little sexy about the whole rumpled collar look, and it was rare enough that Katara felt confident enough to pull it off. If she took it back now, she might never do it again.

Besides, it was probably professional. Aang had seen worse.

Katara stared at them both, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It feels suspicious when you two talk at the same time. It reminds me of my brother."

It was almost an honour to be compared to Sokka. If there was anyone who could match Aang in pranking or relaxing, it was him. Still, that wouldn't help their case today. He gave her a thumbs up. "It's nothing! Really! You look good!"

"Amazing," Zuko chimed in, nodding.

Her suspicious stare only grew deeper. Aang quickly turned to Zuko, changing the topic. "You're showing your scar today."

"Ah, yeah." Zuko lightly touched his hair. Now that Aang was closer, he could see the gel keeping it in place. "Azula told me I looked like a shaggy dog otherwise."

Aang laughed. "Oh man, your sister is a killer, how does she think of these things?"

"I like dogs," Katara added unhelpfully.

"Not you two too." Zuko groaned. "I like my hair down."

She squeezed his shoulder. "So do I, but maybe not in the office? At least not for the presentation."

Aang blinked. Presentation. Well, that explained why they looked a little off today. "What presentation?"

"Aang, don't tell me you forgot." Katara frowned, hands on her hips. "Seriously?"

"I won't tell you?" he replied weakly.

Zuko straightened slightly, recovering from the blow to his ego moments ago. "It's about the city's trolleys. Our companies are trying to get the contract for them."

"Oh. Right." Vaguely, Aang remembered hearing something about it at their last date. To be perfectly honest, he never had the head for business, and Katara and Zuko liked to get real technical about it. Which was fine, they both looked happy when they talked about it, but he never remembered a word of it after.

Katara snorted. "He's trying. I'm going to get it."

Immediately, Zuko crossed his arms. "You won't. Your proposal's too expensive."

"Guys, really?" Aang groaned as they ignored him, their bodies as tense as boxers in a ring. They verbally sparred at least once a day and he wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't some weird type of flirting between the two.

"Yours is environmentally unfriendly." Katara smiled, all teeth. "The citizens will protest."

Zuko smirked, striking back. "They'll be too busy ripping apart yours after they realize it'll cause delays."

"A small delay is better than actual service interruptions," Katara retorted, ready for the jab. She countered, "Your trolleys need more maintenance and replacements."

Aang could almost see them actually punching each other. He pulled out two cookies from the cookie platter and held it out. "Come on, guys, don't fight."

"We're not fighting," they replied at the same time, not taking their eyes off each other as they accepted the cookies.

"Sure looks like fighting," Aang muttered.

Katara looked away first. Reaching over the counter, she pulled Aang closer and pressed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Dinner tonight's at the Otter Penguin House. See you at eight when I win."

Before he could respond, Zuko kissed his other cheek, his eyes still on Katara. "Dinner's at the Dragon Grill. When I win."

"Oh we'll see about that," Katara growled, nabbing an extra cookie before marching out of the café.

"Don't worry, you'll have a front seat to it," Zuko retorted, also nabbing an extra cookie.

Aang's jaw dropped as he watched them walk away. "Guys? You're going to pay for that, right?"

They didn't so much as turn around, the pair pushing against each other as they tried to be the first one out.

"You sure know how to pick them, Twinkle Toes," Toph said, appearing at his elbow suddenly. Luckily, this time he wasn't carrying anything and he was too tired to jump.

"They're usually not that bad," he defended weakly.

"They're like this every morning." Toph snorted derisively. "You sure you're dating?"

He didn't even hesitate before replying. "Yeah."

It wasn't like he could blame Toph. For someone who didn't know them, they wouldn't notice how Zuko had smelled lightly of Katara's strawberry shampoo or how Katara was wearing the earrings Zuko had bought her. Or how they both had the bracelet he'd given them.

Aang had noticed they liked to do that when they were particularly nervous. To take little bits of their relationship with them like war paint. It was the small things, sometimes.

"If you say so." Toph shrugged. "So what're you going to do about dinner?"

Aang flinched. "I have to book both of those restaurants and then a third one for when they both lose."

"When?" Toph raised a brow.

"Yeah, cause Suki's also bidding. And I've never seen her fail." Aang sighed, pulling out his phone. Republic City was great, it was the only place they could all meet.

He just wasn't sure sometimes if there was enough space for their egos.