~~~S2 E19: The Guru~~~

It was late morning, two days later, when Katara and Zuko got into Ba Sing Se.

Coming out of the customs building into the city, Katara looked around in awe as the vastness of the capital city of the Earth Kingdom. Earthbender-powered monorails zoomed overhead, far above the dwellings, to all corners of the city. People bustled in the streets, many of whom had lived their whole lives without ever stepping foot outside the city's walls. In the Lower Ring, where they now walked, the houses were crammed on top of each other, making Katara feel almost as claustrophobic as she had on the ferry—which had been a full day's journey spent packed together with as many refugees as the vessel could fit.

Thanks to the Earth Kingdom passports that Fung gave them, they had no trouble gaining passage when they arrived at the hidden port. Their biggest concern was protecting their belongings from other refugees, some of whom were just desperate enough to try robbing other passengers. But between Zuko's intimidating scowl and his swords displayed openly, no one tried anything.

The whole time on the ferry, Katara grappled with the fact that she was, definitely and hopelessly, in love with Zuko. A few months ago, this was the last thing she would have ever expected to happen. She still wasn't totally sure how it had happened. When she had woken up in the morning at the inn, she had just known it in her heart, without a doubt. She'd opened her eyes to see him sitting shirtless by the window, the morning light hitting his alabaster skin and making him look like some beautiful ethereal being, and the thought was simply there. Oh spirits, I love him. It seemed to have permeated her soul while she slept, although it must have taken root much sooner, long before she was able to notice it consciously.

On the ferry, she had rolled it over in her mind again and again, but it never changed, never budged. It simply was. Just like the sun would rise and set each day. And she felt like she was bursting with the joy of it. She thought about telling him constantly. But every time she opened her mouth to say it, something held her back.

First, she wasn't sure she should be in love with him—it was still very confusing, considering they had been enemies not so long ago. She knew their entanglement was going to be complicated when they started it but, spirits, this added a whole new dimension that she was not ready to deal with.

And what if she told him and he didn't feel the same? It had, after all, only been about a month that they had been traveling together. It was too fast. They had never even discussed what this was between them—they weren't a couple, she wasn't his girlfriend, she didn't really know where she stood or what he thought. The future was a total question mark. There was a war going on, and he was the crown prince of the invading nation, banished or not. Not to mention the small matter of the Avatar. Had Zuko really abandoned his quest?

Filled with uncertainty and not wanting to ruin what they had, she decided to keep her feelings to herself for the time being. It would only further complicate an already-way-too-complicated situation.

Now, Katara and Zuko stood in the middle of the muddy street, no belongings, tired from the ferry journey, and looking as much like refugees as the rest. Katara's enthusiasm could not be quenched, however.

"This is amazing!" Katara exclaimed. "Oh, but how will we ever find anyone in a city this big?"

Zuko reached into his pouch to pull out a small piece of paper, worn and folded many times over. "How about starting with this?"

When he held it up, Katara gasped. It was a drawing of Iroh—a pretty good one, at that.

"Where did you get that?"

Zuko gave her a self-satisfied smile. "Just a bit of thinking ahead. I ripped it off a wanted poster a few weeks ago. Thought it might come in handy."

"Great thinking! We'll definitely be able to find him with this!"

"If I'm good at anything, it's hunting down people who are hard to find." Zuko said with a deadpan tone, the corner of his eye crinkling in amusement as he waited for her reaction.

Katara dissolved into laughter at the absurdity of it all. "You're right about that."

They showed the paper to everyone they could find, moving through the Lower Ring. Eventually, they started to find people who recognized Iroh, claiming that he had worked as a teamaker in a place called the Pao Family Tea House—but no one had seen him in a while.

When they found the tea shop, Zuko confronted the owner.

"Where is this man?" he said without preamble, holding out the paper and interrupting the man behind the counter as he was brewing several pots of tea.

"What? Who are you?" Pao jumped, startled.

Zuko shook the paper. "This man is my uncle and I was separated from him. I need to find him. Where is he?"

"Oh, Mushi is your uncle? You should have just said so in the first place. Well, when you find him you can tell him that I'm still mad he quit on me. The shop doesn't get nearly as many customers without him. He was my best teamaker!"

"I don't care about any of that. Where is he now?"

"He was invited to open a shop in the Upper Ring. Too fancy for us Lower Ring folks now, I suppose."

Katara said, "And can you tell us what the shop is called, please?"

"The Jasmine Dragon. Now either order or leave, I have customers."

As they were leaving the shop, Katara noticed a pretty Earth Kingdom girl giving Zuko an interested look. With a flush of possessiveness, she linked her arm through Zuko's on the way out—that girl could forget any ideas she might be getting.

When they were back on the street, Katara chuckled, "Mushi?!"

Zuko smiled. "Yeah… I came up with it on the fly when we were first fugitives. I'm surprised he's still going by it."

"Maybe it reminds him of you."

O – O – O – O – O – O

They managed to make their way to the Upper Ring thanks to Katara name-dropping Toph's family when some of the city guards questioned them when they tried to get on the monorail. As they were, they certainly looked like they belonged in the Lower Ring, but with some not-so-thinly veiled threats about provoking the ire of the powerful Beifong family, the guards allowed them through. Katara even gained some interesting information—apparently a member of the Beifong family was said to be visiting the city now. She pressed for more information but the guard knew very little—only rumors, and vague ones at that. Still, Katara's heart leapt. It could be Toph! But she didn't want to get her hopes up until they could find out more.

The Upper Ring of the city was breathtaking, a complete change from the squalor and poverty that permeated the Lower Ring. Huge estates with massive courtyards and private gardens were peppered among the beautifully manicured greenery of the Upper Ring boulevards.

Katara felt a little self-conscious as they walked around in their dirty travel clothes, while everyone they encountered was dressed so finely. Zuko, though, carried himself with the same commanding presence as ever.

After asking only a few people, they got directions to the Jasmine Dragon. Zuko began to look a little nervous as they approached the large, elegant building. They climbed the broad stone steps and walked past a stately rectangular pool with a fountain in the center.

"How did he manage this?" Zuko muttered, looking around at the extravagance of the place.

They stood just outside the double doors that served as the entrance to the exquisite tea shop.

"Let's see if he's here!" Katara said, pushing open the doors.

A massive green carpet with a golden dragon snaking along it ran from the door through the center of the building. On either side, tables filled the building to the walls, packed with refined Upper Ring customers chatting and enjoying their afternoon tea. Despite its lavishness, the tea shop still managed to exude a warm, homey feeling.

As they entered and tried to cross the carpet toward the back of the establishment, they were cut off by a hostess.

Taking one look at their clothing and generally disheveled appearance, she turned up her nose and said, "Excuse me. Can I help you?" It was clear from her tone that she meant "can I help you find your way out of here?" and not "can I help you get some tea?"

Zuko gave her a derisive look. "You can. Go tell Mushi his nephew is here."

"You are Mushi's nephew? I find that hard to believe." she said condescendingly.

"I can have you fired you know. Go tell him. Now." Zuko was getting annoyed.

As the hostess scowled and hurried off, Katara touched Zuko's arm lightly and said, "Don't let her get to you. You're about to see your uncle again, aren't you excited?"

Zuko released the tension from his shoulders. "Yeah, actually. I am."

"LEE!" came Iroh's voice from the back of the tea shop. Katara quickly dropped her hand from Zuko's arm, feeling oddly guilty and realizing she had no idea whether Zuko would want his uncle to know about them or not.

Iroh rushed over to them, his face alight with a giant smile. His eyes crinkled with joy as he looked at Zuko and pulled him into a mighty hug. The hostess gave them an astonished look before having the good sense to melt away and busy herself with the customers.

"You finally found me! And I see you have brought someone else with you, too." Iroh turned his smile on Katara, dipping his head in a slight bow of greeting. "I have to say, I am surprised to find you with my nephew, Katara. But it is a welcome surprise! You are looking as well as ever."

Katara blushed. "Oh, um, thanks. It's nice to see you again… And you could say I'm a bit surprised to find myself with Lee, too."

Iroh laughed and guided them over to an empty table near the back of the restaurant. He motioned for one of the waiters to bring a round of tea as they sat down.

"I am sure there is quite the story behind that. And I can't wait to hear it."

"It's nothing, Uncle. I just helped her out in the desert, and we were going in the same direction so we decided to go together." Zuko said.

"I see," said Iroh, clearly waiting for the rest of the story.

"He didn't just help me out. He saved my life." Katara said, resisting the urge to take Zuko's hand. Touching him had become almost second nature during their travels—now it took conscious effort not to.

"Oh, is that so? Very interesting." Iroh gave Zuko an appraising look.

"We don't need to make a big deal out of it." Zuko said.

"Does this mean, you have decided to give up your quest for the Avatar, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked quietly, confident that no one would overhear them among the buzz of conversation within the shop.

Zuko felt their eyes on him. "I—" He wanted to give them the answer they both so obviously wanted, but he just wasn't sure. "I don't know."

"Zuko…" Katara said.

He looked at her apologetically. "I thought it was my destiny to capture him. To regain my honor. And go back to the Fire Nation."

Iroh nodded thoughtfully. "Is that your destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"

"Stop it, Uncle."

"It sounds like you did the right thing when you helped Katara, nephew. It is time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you, and what do you want?"

Zuko glanced at Katara, then away from them both angrily.

The silence grew uncomfortable until Katara cleared her throat and asked, "So, um, how did you end up owning such a beautiful tea shop?"

"That is an excellent story. Everyone liked my tea so much in the Lower Ring, that I was offered this place to run as my own. Who would have thought when I came to this city as a refugee, that I'd end up owning my own tea shop?! Follow your passion, Zuko. And life will reward you."

Despite his discomfort with his uncle's earlier line of inquiry, Zuko couldn't help but return Iroh's contagious joy when he spoke of his tea shop.

"Congratulations Uncle. It truly is amazing."

"I am very thankful." Iroh said.

"You deserve it. And from the looks of it, the Jasmine Dragon is already the best tea shop in the city," said Zuko.

"No. I am thankful because you have found me. And something is different about you than when we parted ways in the desert. You seem to be on your path to finding yourself, my nephew. The self you were always meant to be. That is why I am thankful. It means more than you know."

Zuko got out of his chair and hugged Iroh. Katara felt a bit like an interloper, but at the same time she was so pleased to see this side of Zuko, and to hear how much his uncle thought of him and cared for him. With everything she knew about the rest of his family, it filled her with warmth to know that he had at least one person in his life who loved him so.

When Zuko settled back into his seat, Iroh turned back to Katara, "You must be eager to find your friends. That is why you have come to Ba Sing Se, is it not?"

"What? Do you know something? Have you seen them?" Katara's eyes lit up and she leaned forward.

"Yes, they are here in the Upper Ring."

Katara put a hand over her mouth and fought to keep tears of happiness from spilling from her eyes.

"How do you know?" Zuko asked.

"I knew they were here when I saw posters about a missing sky bison."

"Appa!" Katara exclaimed. "Oh I hope they found him. Do you know?"

"I do know. I saved him."

"What?!" Katara and Zuko shouted at the same time. A few patrons from nearby tables glanced over at the commotion before turning back to their own conversations.

Iroh looked around to ensure no one was still listening to them, then lowered his voice until they could barely hear him. "This city is not all it seems. There is a hidden underground facility where the Dai Li—that is the secret police force here—'re-educates' undesirables. They hide many secrets there. Including the Avatar's bison. When I saw the posters, I had an inkling of where he might be. I thought such a magnificent creature should not be held captive underground. And I thought, perhaps, the Avatar might have need of him." Iroh's eyes twinkled.

"Uncle! Why are you helping the Avatar?" Zuko hissed.

"Zuko!" Katara retorted. "I thought you were past this!"

Zuko said, "I am! I am. But still. That is a lot of risk for you to take for someone who was our enemy."

Iroh looked pointedly at Katara. "I could say the same to you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko's ears turned red. "That's… different."

Iroh looked at Zuko with a newfound interest, then glanced contemplatively at Katara. She got the feeling he could see right through them both, and then some. Blushing, she suddenly found the painting on the wall extremely fascinating. Iroh smiled thoughtfully.

Zuko continued, "What if you were found out? What if I came to the city to find no trace of you? What if you were killed?"

"Some things are worth the risk." Iroh said. "And, look, here I am with my own tea shop!"

Katara took both of Iroh's hands in hers and looked him in the eyes. "Thank you. Really, you don't know how much Appa means to Aang. To all of us."

"It was my pleasure."

"You said my friends are here—do you know where they are staying? Can you tell me how to get there?"

"I can do you one better. I will take you there." Iroh rose.

"What? Now?" Zuko demanded, sounding strained. He jumped to his feet.

"I see no reason why not," said Iroh.

"Yes, oh thank you!" Katara bounded up and followed Iroh to the front of the tea shop.

As Iroh spoke with one of the staff to let them know that his nephew had arrived unexpectedly and he was leaving for the afternoon, Zuko came up next to Katara.

"I shouldn't come. The last thing they need is to see me right now." He felt despair washing over him.

This is it, this is when I lose her. It came so fast, he wasn't prepared. He had thought he still had a few days, at least, before they'd find her friends in the huge city.

"You should come." Katara said firmly. "You said yourself, you're not our enemy anymore. You could… join us? If you don't want to stay here with your uncle, of course." Katara heart raced. She held her breath and waited for his response.

Zuko blinked. She wants me to join them? To stay… with her. It would mean turning my back on my nation. On my own father. …But I could stay with her.

Before Zuko could gather his thoughts and reply, Iroh was back, ushering them out of the building. Katara wished they'd had just a few more seconds. Would he consider joining them? It probably wasn't something she should have brought up so lightly. She did notice, however, that he followed as Iroh led the way down the street.

As they walked, Zuko and Katara told Iroh more of the story of how they came to be traveling together, and some of the adventures with moose-lions and refugees they'd had since.

Eventually they came to a one-story house with a golden roof and a porch wrapping around the perimeter. The right half of the house looked like it was undergoing some serious repairs, with wooden beams holding up sections of the roof and a big grey tarp draped across the corner to keep the elements out. Katara wondered what had happened.

As they approached, Iroh said, "We are here."

Katara took off at a run, leaping up the stairs and opening the door without even knocking. She couldn't wait to hug Sokka and see Aang and Toph again. She could only imagine how worried they must have been.

The door pushed open to reveal an empty living room. There was no one there. Worse still, it didn't look like anyone had been there for a while.

Katara fell to her knees, tears of bitter disappointment flowing freely. Zuko rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her. He felt ashamed of his own feeling of relief. Katara buried her face into his shoulder.

Iroh did not fail to notice the ease with which Zuko held her, and the way she sought comfort from him.

Katara tried to wipe away her tears. "What will I do now?"

"You will stay with us, of course. Until your friends return," Iroh said.

"What if they don't?"

"Then we will find them. But I have a feeling their business here is not yet finished. I would not be surprised if they returned soon," Iroh said knowingly.

O – O – O – O – O – O

They arrived at Iroh's home. It was small (by Upper Ring standards) but lovingly decorated and well kept. The day was growing late, and Iroh bustled around humming happily while he made dinner for everyone. Katara tried to help, but Iroh refused, insisting that she was a guest and she had been through a great shock today, so she needn't worry about a thing.

As they ate, Katara was struck with the strangeness of sharing a companionable meal with these two firebenders—Fire Nation royalty, even—and the fact that she felt so relaxed in their company. Soon, she was even laughing with them. When she had been their captive (which, when she thought about now, seemed crazy and so long ago), Iroh had always been kind to her. But she felt like she was getting to know him so much better now, and she was amazed by how much she genuinely liked him.

As the hour grew late, Iroh stretched and said, "I am going to bed. Prince Zuko, I have a room all set up for you already. Unfortunately, Katara, I did not expect your wonderful company and so I did not get anything ready for you. There is a rather comfortable mat in the living room. But I will leave it to you two to determine your sleeping arrangements… however you see fit." His eyes twinkled and Katara thought for a split-second that she saw him wink.

"I'll sleep in the living room." Zuko blurted after Iroh, as he headed into his own bedroom.

"Of course, nephew. Whatever makes you most comfortable. I will be in my room, so it is no concern of mine where either of you chooses to sleep." Iroh shut the panel door, leaving them alone.

Katara stifled a giggle as Zuko blushed furiously and put his hands over his face.

"Sounds like Uncle Iroh approves," she whispered.

"That old man."

"He just wants you to be happy. And anyway, there's no point in you sleeping in the living room now, let's go see your room!"

"Fine. But I'm laying the mat out in the living room, just in case." Zuko said stubbornly.