Chapter 21
Zuko
On the way out, she spilled as much of the story as she could, about meeting Jet and getting gauze for the wound and Zhao overpowering her in the supply closet. He never should have left Katara alone. His whole reason for being there was to protect her, and he couldn't even do that right. Was he that much of a failure?
Outside of the hospital, a plain unmarked palanquin rested on the ground near four men as they exited, the men looking up as they passed. The only decoration was a ruby butterfly hanging from the roof in front of the side opening. The men stared at him in open-mouthed horror as he brought Katara outside, but he ignored them.
Katara collapsed against the limestone wall next to the door, breathing heavily. She sank down to the floor and hugged herself, looking like she was about to vomit. He might have to carry her back…not inconspicuous at all, but if necessary...he would. She leaned back, resting her head on the cool brick of Shibai Hospital.
He knelt beside her, smoothing her hair down. When they'd left, she had gripped the front of Zuko's tunic, her fingernails threatening to tear the fabric, and he'd never seen her this way. Not back in the Southern Water Tribe, not even after Mai. She wasn't supposed to be like this. He didn't know if Zhao was dead, if not, he'd kill him with his bare hands. How dare Zhao touch her. How dare he have the nerve to assault the girl he loved—
Love?
He'd never thought about Katara in that way before. Did he love her? Maybe he did, and maybe he didn't. He didn't have time to think about it now, and the idea of loving someone was probably something that took a lot of thought.
He knew that he felt something for her at the very least, and even if it wasn't love that he felt bubbling deep down inside, he cared way too much about her to see her like this. He crouched down in front of her while she wrung her hands, not looking at him. He stared at her intently, his rage against Zhao building with every passing second.
Katara had always been such a strong girl. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind about something she thought was wrong, and she never hesitated to defend herself whether verbally or physically. And he didn't know what upset her more. Was it the idea that Zhao threatened to kill her…or was it the idea that she thought she had just killed a man?
He couldn't allow her to agonize over the idea that she now had blood on her hands. Katara and murder were two words that would never go together if he could help it.
"I'll kill him myself."
"If he's not dead already" she said monotonously.
Zuko stared back towards the hospital, rising. "He's not going to get away with this. I'm serious, Katara."
"Zuko wait!" Katara stood, looking weak and Zuko held her hand and kept her steady. She pressed her hands lightly against Zuko's chest, palms open, trying to stop him from moving forward. She gave him a pleading look. "If you go in there, you'll be doing exactly what Zhao wants!"
"I don't care." Zuko forced out, seeing red. "He hurt you and I'm going to destroy this hospital even if I have to take it down myself. My father be damned."
She still pushed against his chest more fervently than before, stopping him. "What about Miyuki and all of the other patients? If something happens to Zhao, where will they go? Do they deserve to die for something that Zhao did?"
"Katara you can't be serious." Zuko asked disbelieving. After all this time, she was thinking of others rather than herself?
She gave him her 'Katara glare' that she usually used when she was angry with him. "I'm. I won't let you harm innocents because Zhao is heartless... " Her next words were hollow sounding, like the icy wind of the arctic. "Besides. I think I already did your job for you."
Zuko's heart ached when he saw how upset she was. Placing one hand on her shoulder, and a finger under her chin, he forced her to look at him. She did, albeit a bit reluctantly.
Zuko had always thought that Katara's eyes mirrored the ocean's, raging like a storm when she was angry, or calm and bright like a summer's day when she was happy. But he had nothing to describe this. They were the eyes of sadness, of despair, and the blue sorrow in them was something he hated to see, unnatural even.
Katara looked ready to speak again but Zuko hushed her quietly. "Katara, there's no way you could have killed Zhao."
"You don't know that." She said harshly. She gave him an icy look, but Zuko didn't take it to heart.
Zuko wanted to tell her how absurd she was being, but he would have to do so gently. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and leaned into her. "Katara I don't really think you get it...he was a Fire Nation soldier for more than 25 years. And I don't think you're weak or anything, but there's no way that you did anything to kill him. He'll probably have a nasty bump on the head, but that's it."
"No, Zuko." She said, breaking free of his hold. She turned her back on him and walked down the steps of Shibai hospital. She turned back to him and fixed him with a surly look. "You don't get it. I know I'm not strong enough to fight Zhao off physically. What I'm trying to tell you is that there was nothing physical about it! One second he was threatening to burn me, the next…he just collapsed." When she finished that last sentence, Katara broke down again and started crying. Her head dropped to her chest and her arms wrapped around her upper body, cradling herself as sobs escaped her lips.
Damn it all. Can he do nothing right? Everything he said seemed to upset her. He walked down the steps to her pulling her in for a hug and suddenly, it was as if they were back to square one. "For all we know, Zhao could just be unconscious."
Her shoulders relaxed a bit as he held her in his arms, and it didn't even register with him that they had never touched this much before.
Katara looked up at him again, her eyes red and puffy. She sniffled again. "B-But I did that to him! Me!" Katara tilted her head and looked at the dark and dirty windows of Shibai hospital pensively.
Zuko thought it might be best to get a Katara away from the hospital where Zhao might be lurking. He steered her toward the palace. "Tell me what happened." Zuko said as they now walked in public view along the main street of the busy Fire Nation marketplace. His arm was around Katara's shoulder as she curled into him.
Katara looked around nervously. "I-I honestly don't know." It was much lighter outside, and the market was very busy now. Waves of red and brown-clothed bodies moved almost in unison, going in all types of directions. Over the din of people, Zuko wasn't so sure that they weren't being listened to. He leaned down closer to Katara. Anyone one who looked at them would think that they were two teenagers who couldn't get enough of each other.
Katara could barely get the words out. When she did speak, her voice was raw from all of the crying. "All I remember thinking is that I wanted Zhao off me and then, I felt nothing. I looked down and there was Zhao. Just there on the floor. I don't even know if he was breathing...Zuko what am I going to do?"
He looked at Katara who stared at him with nervous eyes. His mind searched for an answer to her problems. Some way to make it all disappear. But the only thing he could offer her was a smile, an attempt to be reassuring. "Don't worry about it. Whatever happens we'll get though it together."
"Do you really mean that?"
He nodded. "Of course, I do."
They continued toward the palace, and Zuko looked around, watching his people interact with each other. They were in the middle of the marketplace, almost an equal distance from both the harbor and the Gate leading to the Palace. A part of him didn't want to leave. He had never done this...been on the ground with them. He'd always been riding a komodo rhino or inside of a palanquin. He was in awe of the normalcy of daily life. There were stalls outside of shops covered by canopies and tarps, protecting the items and the merchants from the heat of the Fire Nation sun while patrons walked along and haggled with shop owners.
It was then that he realized that there was a difference between seeing the place you lived in through from a balcony or palanquin and experiencing it. The shouts and curses of drunken men rang in his ears and the children laughing around him seemed to be without a care in the world. It was real, raw, unlike anything he'd ever seen. Except back in the Southern Water Tribe.
But Zuko had to put it aside for now, eyeing the girl at his side. It appeared she would never be the same again. And he could understand why.
Zuko had never killed anyone before, but there were occasions when they were younger, that Lu Ten would 'pretend' to be dead while training in order to scare him. Even the thought of knocking his cousin unconscious had terrified him. Killing him? Unthinkable. For Katara, it was probably much worse. Who knew what she was capable of if she felt threatened?
She was trying her best not to cry, stifling her tears, but every so often, her eyes would well up and she would have to blink them away. She wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Her obvious grief was proof enough of that. But still, if she kept crying, and they went back, people would start asking questions.
I can't take her back to the palace like this. Come on Zuko. Find something to distract her with...
He searched the marketplace for a distraction. The smell of smoking meat filled his nose and as he looked around, he saw a little restaurant set up. Perfect. She did say she was hungry before…and food was the way to a girl's heart, right? Or stomach. Whatever. A sign posted above the doorway said it was called the Golden Lily Tea Shop. A smaller sign posted out front listed the menu items that included soup, meat, bread and obviously tea. Katara looked at the food enviously, her hands on her probably empty stomach.
"Katara are you hungry?" Zuko asked, knowing the answer. She nodded solemnly. He felt the weight of the coins in the bag at his side. He'd brought a little more than Katara had told him to, a mix of 50 gold and silver coins, yet he wasn't sure if they would have enough for the day. "Why don't we go in there?" He asked her, pointing to the small teashop.
Agreeing, they made their way through the growing throng of market visitors, into the shop. The teashop owner had obviously tried to make the shop look expensive in the dirty market. There were columns spatially placed throughout the teahouse, coated in white marble. The walls were lined in white as well, and so was the tile. Red cloth tapestries hung from the ceiling and wound around each column. At the end of each red length hung gold tassels swaying lightly in the breeze.
In the back of the room sat an old man with deep wrinkles around his eyes. There were about eight tables crammed into the tiny room, but only three were being used at the current time. A couple and their young son occupied one of the tables in the middle of the room. The child was crying as his mother tried to get him to eat a steamed bun. A frail looking man with a long stringy beard sipped daintily on his tea as he read a scroll. He occupied a table in the corner far away from the family with the screaming child. Near the wall on the left side, there was a woman who was eating a piece of cake and sipping on tea. She looked to be about Lu Ten's age, maybe a bit older.
The old man that Zuko assumed to be the owner moved from behind the desk and flitted from table to table, seeing to his customers…was he the only person that worked here?
They found a table against the wall behind the woman's table. When they sat down, there were two pairs of metal spoons and chopsticks inside a wooden box, resting to the left of two wooden cups. Katara set about examining the boxes and the utensils inside, keeping her mind somewhat occupied.
Zuko cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea of what you want?"
"Just water for me for now, I'll eat later." She said, twisting and turning the golden strings of thread in her hands.
Zuko sighed and reached across the table. He pulled one of her hands away from the tassel and rested it on the table, staring at Katara intently. She blinked at him. "Katara you have to eat something. You'll feel better."
"Why do you care?" She said, her voice harsh. She looked away from him, shaking her head dejectedly.
Katara tore her hand away from his but Zuko grabbed it back. No, not this. Not Katara. She never put herself down as far as he knew. So what if she wasn't like the "refined" Fire Nation girls that were paraded in front of him? Katara was herself around him…and this wasn't Katara. Not at all.
He looked down in his lap, sighing again. But when he looked back up at Katara, his eyes were pleading, almost desperate. "Katara, I thought you knew. I thought you understood. We've been through this before. You know that I care about you, a lot." He let go of her hand, and as it hit the table with a soft thud, a realization suddenly hit him. Maybe she doesn't care about me as much as I thought she did. "I'm sorry but I thought you felt the same. At least on some level." Zuko turned away from her.
Her hand shot out to grab his wrist. Now she was the one looking at him with serious eyes, her mouth pressed into a hard line. "Don't you dare think for a second that I don't care about you, Zuko." He looked down at his wrist, still caught by Katara's hand and then back at her. She let go, albeit reluctantly and Zuko turned around.
"What?" Zuko's mouth dropped open.
"Is that so difficult to believe?" Katara asked him.
Zuko shook his head. "Ever since I met you, I've been different. My beliefs have been different. I'm constantly changing my mind around. I don't know who I'm or what to believe when I'm around you, Katara." Zuko said. "You make my head spin."
Her mouth dropped open. Katara didn't let go of his wrist. Their eyes met and suddenly it was like everyone in the entire tea shop was gone, disappeared into a void of black nothingness. Icy sapphire met scorching gold and Zuko had the strangest urge to kiss her then, to feel her press her lips against his own. But she was across the table from him. The kiss would be awkward to say the least.
They started at each other for what must have been mere seconds, but it seemed to Zuko that he felt as though hours had passed. He didn't want to break away. When he gazed at her eyes it was as though he could see right to her undeniable spirit. He wondered if she could see the same in him, though there wasn't anything remarkable to find there.
He could have stared at her for longer, but the sound of a throat clearing interrupted them. They broke eye contact, Katara's cheeks burning, surely his matched hers as they looked up to sound of the voice. The old man from behind the counter grinned happily at them, the smile lines around his mouth more pronounced than before.
Katara let go of his hand.
"My name is Wu." The old man said. He held a wooden rack in his arms that had a long piece of paper attached. Zuko assumed that these would be menus of some sort. "Can I get you two anything?"
"We'll need a few minutes." Zuko said, and Wu lay the rack gently on the table before nodding and leaving. He made his way to the table in front of them with the young woman, striking up a conversation with her. It appeared to Zuko that they were friends.
Zuko picked up the wooden racks and scanned the items on the list quickly. He noticed that all the prices were dreadfully low. 10 silver coins for a full 3-course meal? That didn't make any sense. Unless the food wasn't of good quality…he looked up at Katara, wanting to know what she thought of the prices but Zuko noticed something else about her. Her eyes zeroed in on the paper, and her head was in her hand, tilted to the side, a confused look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Zuko asked her.
She lifted her head up and met his eyes again, only for a moment, but it was enough to turn her cheeks pink. Her eyes roamed over the menu for a long while before she said, "I can't read this."
"What do you mean, you can't read this?" Zuko asked. "You know how to read, Katara."
"No—what I mean is, that I can't read some of these words. Some of these words don't exist in the Water Tribe."
Wait…what? Did the Fire Nation use different words than the rest of the world? Zuko's brows furrowed in confusion. "Like what?"
Katara raised her own menu and turned it to face him. She pointed to a single character. The character appeared in nearly every item on the menu and it meant a word that Zuko knew quite well. She tapped the board in other places where it appeared for emphasis. "Like this one. What's that mean? It's in almost everything!"
Zuko chuckled. "It means spicy or hot, Katara." He looked at her doubtfully. "You guys don't have the word spicy in the Water Tribe?"
Katara shook her head. "We don't really have spicy food…most of our food is salty because we're so close to the ocean." She put the menu down. "My brother can eat almost anything. But most of us don't like spicy food."
Zuko remembered Katara's brother albeit a bit vaguely. A loudmouth boy the same age as his sister, who ate everything in sight and had a lame joke up his sleeve.
Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What have you been eating since you've been here?"
"Well…I've only eaten really authentic Fire Nation food here once. And I think I nearly died, my mouth was on fire, and I started sweating…it's not something that I want to experience again." Her eyes grew wide and she smacked her lips together, sticking out her tongue. The pure expression of horror and irritation on her face made Zuko want to laugh. And he did. She smiled at him, placing her head in the palm of her right hand. "Since then, I asked Gu Zhi to request that the Royal Kitchens make me non-spicy food."
Zuko grimaced. Someone in the Fire Nation not eating spicy food was like…Air Nomads without their arrows…It just didn't make sense. "That sounds so…bad."
She smirked at him. "It's not bad."
He backtracked quickly from his last statement, immediately defending himself. "I never said it's bad, I said bland, which are two different things. Would you ever consider eating spicy food again?"
She shrugged. "Hm, I don't know. I think I could learn to like spicy food. if I had enough of it…" Zuko wondered if she meant that she could learn to like the Fire Nation's food, and by extension…learn to like living in the Fire Nation. Was he assuming too much? "So, tell me. What on this menu isn't that spicy?"
Zuko could hear Wu ending the conversation with the woman behind them. He left her and made his way back to them. His long white beard hung down to his chest, and his hair was pleated in a long braid down his back. Wu reminded Zuko of his uncle…only much thinner.
"Have you decided?" Wu asked.
Katara handed Wu her menu and looked at Zuko expectantly. "Well? What have you found for me to eat?"
He scanned the words again, finding nothing except for basic soup. "To be honest, not much…the only thing that I see is…ocean kumquat." He shivered as he remembered the taste of it.
"Ocean kumquat?" She asked him. "What's wrong with it?"
"It tastes…never mind…you should get it, you just might like it." Zuko shrugged, being unable to sum up the flavor of ocean kumquat in a single sentence. He'd have to devote an entire memoir dedicated to describing the nauseating smell first.
"The young master is right. It's…interesting, miss." Wu said, and Zuko wondered why the man sold ocean kumquats when it was so glaringly obvious that he didn't like them either. "But if that fits your taste, who am I to argue? Would you like me to put any spices in it?"
The blue-eyed girl blinked in confusion. "No, it's fine as it is." Katara said, smiling at the old man.
Wu turned his head towards Zuko and jerked a thumb at Katara teasingly. "Does she always choose such bland food?"
Zuko chuckled, shrugging exaggeratedly. "What can I say, she's a weird girl."
"Hey." Katara narrowed her eyes at him, picked up his menu off the table and tried to whack him in the shoulder with it. Zuko dodged it easily, leaning over to the side, and she gave him a half-hearted glare and stuck her tongue out at him. Wu smiled at Zuko and the teenage boy shrugged, smirking, and pointed to Katara, her blue eyes full of mischief.
Wu, still smiling, asked Zuko now. "And what would you like young sir?"
Zuko didn't really have to think very long. " Five fire dumplings, please." Wu nodded, giving him a curious look, and then he left.
"What are—,"
Zuko cut her off, knowing what she was going to ask. "These are five dumplings, the size of half my hand. They're made with the hottest spices known in the entire Fire Nation. Expensive, of course, but they're rumored to bring the eater a lot of luck."
Katara's stared at him intently, listening to his explanation. "What kind, good or bad?"
Zuko shrugged. "Good? Bad? Both? My family and I have been eating them on New Year's Day for as long as I can remember."
"So, if they're that hot," Katara asked. "Then why do you guys eat them?"
"Like I said…" Zuko fingered the grooves on the wooden table. "They're supposed to be really lucky. Four hundred years ago, people used to eat a variation of them to decide who would be the next Fire Lord. The Fire Lord would be chosen from the Princes that ate the most dumplings."
"I don't get it." She shook her head. "They ate them endlessly until only one person was left?"
He nodded. "Exactly. Now of course, we only eat five, which is pretty much all that anyone can stand to eat without passing out. Of course, my dad boasts that he can eat double the amount…My mom and aunt can only stomach one, and they usually end up in tears. Lu Ten passed out last year, but then again he'd tried to eat all five."
"How many did he eat?"
Zuko laughed as the memory came back to him. "Four and a half."
"Does that mean, he's destined to become Fire Lord?" She asked. Zuko shrugged, and she continued. "If Lu Ten was able to make it to four of them…"
"You would think so, wouldn't you?"
Katara leaned forward. "But you're not so sure, are you?"
"I don't know, I'm not superstitious like that." He sat back in his chair and let out a deep breath, looking down. When he did look up, Katara smiled at him encouragingly. "I mean, the Fire Lord was chosen from the ones who don't react. Lu Ten didn't have a reaction. Until he got to the fifth one."
"So, let me get this straight." Katara had a disbelieving look on her face. She sat back in her chair, staring at him from across the table. "Lu Ten passed out…and he had four and a half of them. You're about to eat the same amount and you're younger than he was. Are you saying I'm going to have to pick you up from the floor and drag you out of here?"
Zuko scoffed, sticking his tongue out at her. "No…" And at first, he said no as a way to show Katara that he wasn't weak, but he actually realized that he meant it. He thought back throughout his entire childhood and gathered that he had not had a single adverse reaction to the Four-Fire dumplings. He had never gotten hot, or sweaty, or felt any level of discomfort like the rest of his family could. His mother could only stomach one of them, and his aunt had to cut hers in half.
Zuko?" Katara called to him softly. "You don't look so good."
His eyes snapped to Katara's face in shock. "I don't react. I never react. I'm the only one in my family besides my Uncle who can eat four dumplings and not start to have a reaction."
"Does that mean you're destined to be Fire Lord then?" Katara asked, her voice a little too loud.
"Shh," Zuko hissed at her. He sat up and looked around. People were starting to fill up the tiny restaurant, their chattering tones creating a din to drown out their voices. He leaned closer, and Katara did too, for he had to whisper. "We shouldn't be talking about this. Not here. Not where people can listen." He glanced around. No one seemed to be paying them any attention, but Zuko didn't want to take any chances.
"Zuko, no one is listening." Katara said to him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Zuko folded his arms over his chest. "But you'd be surprised what people will do if you pay them enough gold…or threaten their children…" He looked up at her. "The list goes on and on…"
"What are you—I don't even—," Katara stammered, but Zuko wasn't finished.
"My father, Katara. You'd be surprised to see what he'd do to get a confession. Torture, bribery…they all come second nature to him. Like every one of my ancestors…" He looked at her, and felt an unexplained sadness in his chest, like a rock settled to the bottom of his stomach and wouldn't leave.
"Are you're afraid you'll become like them?" Katara asked.
How did she know him so well? "I can't be like my father, Katara. I refuse to be. Not after the way he's treated my mother and I over the years."
Katara shrugged. "So then don't be." He looked at her as if to say 'Like-that-will-solve-anything'. What did she know? She smiled at him kindly. "The first step to changing is to acknowledge what's wrong—the second is to make the conscious decision…and you just did."
The worry in his stomach and in his mind was only a minor nuisance after she'd spoken, like a boulder rolling down a hill, it became smaller and smaller until he could barely tell it was there.
Katara changed the subject, and he was happy because of it. "So, I won't have to pick you up off the floor?"
He chuckled. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." Katara smirked at him, and he was glad that something took her mind off what happened, even if it was at his own expense. "But no, I don't think you should have to."
She sighed, contented. "Good, because from the looks of it, the palace is far, and you look heavy."
Zuko's mouth fell open in mock astonishment. He stuck out his tongue at her, laughing, feeling more like a child than he had since before he could remember. And he had Katara to thank for that. Clearing his throat, he asked, "What would you order in the Southern Water Tribe?"
Katara shrugged. "We don't even have restaurants like this, so we don't have anything like menus either. Suki's village has this cute little tavern—,"
"So then how do you eat?" Zuko asked her, interested in the world she came from.
Katara's face turned a minute shade of pink. "Well…everyone goes hunting or fishing together and we all share it around the village."
"What about servants and such to do that for you?"
"Think about it Zuko, did you ever see a servant at my house?"
"So then how do you get things done?" Zuko asked, thinking of her time in the Hana Matsuri. "You let the servants take care of you here."
"They're kind, Zuko. To them, it's just a job. Besides, it wasn't exactly fun arguing with Gu Zhi every day over washing my own hair." She said leaning forward. "The difference is that in the Water Tribe, the lines between the rich and the poor aren't so concrete as they are here."
"So, if the Water Tribe did use servants, they would eat the same things that you and your family ate?"
Katara nodded, giving him a no-nonsense look. "Of course. Remember when you had to carry in the trays? You don't work – you don't eat."
Zuko blinked at her. "I guess so…"
She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you know how grateful we were that your horde stayed aboard the ship eating your own food?
"My what?"
The 15-year-old before him rolled her eyes. She waved a hand in the air flippantly. "Your flock of seagulls that follows you everywhere you went. All of those people, the maids and the guards and the advisors, and everyone else that you brought with you when you came to the Water Tribe?"
"I didn't make that decision. It's tradition." He said simply.
"Tradition is good, sometimes." She told him, acknowledging what he said. but then her face sank. "I'll have to follow another one soon, anyway."
"And what tradition is that?" Zuko asked her.
She sighed. "Marriage." Zuko's ears perked up. He wasn't expecting that. "It's been exactly two months since I've left the Southern Water Tribe…I'll be 16 in the middle of next month and..."
Her eyes met his and the tiniest tinge of pink hit her face, and he wondered if he was blushing as well. He had never fathomed the idea of Katara being married to...anyone. Not even Hahn. When he met that kid, there was an automatic whine to his voice that grated on his nerves. Knowing her now, Katara would never have been happy with him.
"Are you anticipating it then? Marriage, I mean." Yes, Zuko's cheeks were enflamed now.
She shrugged. "My parents will probably pick someone this time. They've seen the foolish decisions I've made and likely won't let me pick out my own betrothed."
"Your parents didn't seem like the type." Zuko murmured. "Are you prepared to go back?"
"No…not really, I mean… I don't know…I haven't thought about it in a long time." She didn't look at him, a puzzled expression coming over her features.
"I hope whoever is lucky enough to marry you is worthy enough." Their eyes met again. Zuko felt his heart quicken…it beat faster and faster in his chest until he was sure that it was going to give out on him. "And if Hahn gives you any trouble—,"
He wanted to say that he'd be there for her, that he'd be there for her always. But he didn't.
"A-And I hope…I hope that he knows…how wonderful of a girl you're. I hope he appreciates you."
Katara blushed once more, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you Zuko…it means a lot, coming from you."
"Me? Why me?"
"Well…I mean…considering how I'm technically supposed to be marrying you…I just…."
It's official, I like her. Zuko's heart sank. But she can't see a future for herself here. A future with me. I want to tell her how I feel—Somehow…I have to tell her that…
But no.
You've done this before, Zuko. With Mai. You've laid your heart out on your sleeve…only to have it stepped on. Besides, it's too weird. There's no way of knowing if she even likes you. She'll freak out. She'll run away. She'll never talk to me again and then where will I be? I just have to ease into it…gently.
"What are you thinking about so intensely?" Katara asked, her eyes filled with some emotion that he couldn't describe.
But thankfully, to save face in front of Katara, and before he could put his foot any further in his mouth, Wu came back, carrying a tray with two covered dishes and a large pitcher. He saw the old man struggling to carry the tray, it was horribly off balance, the dishes were sliding, and the pitcher was leaning precariously to the side. Zuko rose, just as the man was about to spill everything, and Zuko ran to help him.
He caught both dishes as they slid off the tray, the covers just barely staying on. One hand was underneath each dish and the handle of the pitcher was hanging from his thumb, his agility and years of training stopped everything from spilling all over the floor. When he set the dishes down, the smell of ocean kumquats hit his nose and Zuko grimaced as he brought the dishes to the table. Wu followed behind him, carrying the empty tray. Zuko smiled at the old man, and the old man returned it.
"Thank you, my dear boy." Wu told Zuko as he sat back down across from Katara. "What was your name again?"
"Lee." Zuko replied, looking at Katara warily. Wu cleared his throat. "Well Lee, if you're ever in need of a job, you should come by and see me. I could use another waiter like you. With those reflexes I'd have the best teashop in all of the Fire Nation."
Zuko glanced at Katara again. Her eyes offered no solution. Obviously, he couldn't take the job, but he didn't know how to let the old man down. "Well…I um…" Wu's eyes were so hopeful. His dim golden eyes of old age practically shone again, and suddenly the wrinkles on his cheeks didn't looks so pronounced. He looked like a man half his age. But Zuko still couldn't accept. He was a prince. And Princes were not meant to serve tea. That just didn't happen. "I'm sorry…I can't accept…I have other obligations that…I mean well…"
"What Lee means, is that he's already slated to go into the family business. His parents and practically his entire family are expecting it." Katara told Wu this, but she didn't look at the old man. Instead, she looked at Zuko, staring him down, her blue eyes telling him to agree with it.
"She's right." Zuko said, his face apologetic. Wu's face saddened, but he nodded anyway. Zuko did feel bad for the old man. Wu looked at him again. A sad, longing look that Zuko couldn't understand the reason behind. The teenager sighed. "I'm sorry though."
"That's quite all right." Wu said, his voice weak.
"Do you have anyone else to help?" Katara asked him.
Wu shook his head. "My wife passed away recently, and I have two daughters. One of my daughters runs the local Mail Office and the other runs her own dress shop here in the marketplace…and my son he—he…y-you look so much like him, you know…I thought…" Tears came to Wu's eyes then and Zuko regretted ever denying the man's offer, but realistically it wasn't possible. Wu spoke the next words all in a rush, they came out of his mouth so fast that Zuko had to strain to hear them. "There's water in the pitcher for your dumplings sir, I-I can't—I'm sorry—,"
Wu walked away briskly, his thin shoulders shaking. Zuko looked at Katara, wondering about what just transpired. "That made me feel horrible." Zuko said to her. "I never expected him to react like this."
"Me neither." Katara said, shaking her head. The sadness was evident on her face, made only the clearer by her crystalline blue eyes. "That poor man…"
Zuko nodded solemnly, "We might as well eat, not to let his cooking go to waste."
Katara nodded. Eyeing the pitcher of water and uncapping her waterskin, she said. "I could use this for my waterskin, just in case I actually need it." When Zuko nodded his agreement, she looked around, making sure that no one was looking before placing two fingers over the open mouth of the jug and swirling her fingers around, bringing up a tiny and continuous stream, and pulling it into the waterskin.
When she was finished, he uncovered the dish, revealing a large bowl of kumquat soup, made mostly of ocean kumquats floating in a yellow-brown broth with bits of seaweed, carrots, and fish. If it didn't have the kumquats in it, Zuko would have said that it looked appetizing, but not when he considered what was in it. And oh the smell. It was nauseating and made him want to gag as soon as she lifted off the top. Steam wafted from the bowl, and to Zuko's nose. He covered his nose with his hand, making a sick face to Katara.
"What's wrong Zuko?" She asked sweetly.
Zuko wanted to roll his eyes. "Ugh how can you eat that?"
Katara on the other hand was acting as if they were the best things ever in the world. She brought her hand to her face, inhaling the smell of the rancid food. Her smile grew large on her face. "They smell wonderful, I don't know what you're talking about." Katara pouted at him, dipping her spoon into the mixture and bringing the liquid to her lips. She blew on it for a moment before taking a sip of the broth. After that, she ate a bit of the kumquat. "Zuko you're crazy this is delicious. This is just like stewed sea prunes. You've got to try some."
"I'll stick to my food, thank you very much." Zuko smirked and uncovered his food. It was as he expected. Four large dumplings were arranged artistically on a plate. Drizzled on them was some soy sauce and decorated by sprigs of parsley.
"Why don't we try each other's food?" Katara suggested, stirring the contents of her bowl. "Wouldn't that be kind of fun?"
Zuko shuddered. "There is no way that you're going to get me to eat ocean kumquat soup voluntarily."
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and gave him a determined grin. "I'll try one of your 'supposedly hot dumplings'." She said teasingly.
"I'm serious Katara, you said you don't like spicy and these things are the hottest food in the Fire Nation." Zuko stared back, equally as determined. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
Her gaze wavered. She looked at the plate of innocent looking dumplings warily. "I could try."
"Katara, be reasonable."
"Break open one of them Zuko." She said, a look came into her eyes just then, and Zuko couldn't put a finger on what it was, but he wanted to see how she would handle the most famous things in the Fire Nation.
"Oh all right." He said to her. Using his chopsticks, he pried one of the dumplings apart, the drizzle of soy sauce falling through the middle. There was komodo rhino meat inside, various vegetables, colorful spices brightening up the food. The smell was tangy but savory and Zuko felt his mouth water just from looking at them.
"Now let me try."
Zuko looked up, Katara had a wistful look on her face, regarding him suspiciously. "What?"
She waved a hand in the air flippantly. "I mean, you were so engrossed in your food, I thought you must have forgotten that I'm supposed to try it next. Or do you just not want to share?"
"No, no…here you go." Zuko slid the plate across the table to her, next to the bowl of ocean kumquat disgustingness, "Remember we have water here."
Katara gave him a scathing look. "Yes, I know." Picking up her chopsticks, she attempted to pick up half of the dumpling.
"Wait a minute." Zuko said. He'd gotten an idea, but he wasn't sure what her reaction would be to it. Hoping it was a good one he stopped her midway in what she was doing.
She paused, the chopstick barely in her fingers as she put them down on a napkin. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I just want to try something." Picking up his own chopsticks, Zuko picked up the half of a dumpling that she selected before and held it out before her. Katara's eyes were wide and she looked bewildered for a moment, seeming unsure of what to do before she opened her mouth and Zuko placed the dumpling inside. Staring at him wide eyed, Katara chewed the dumpling slowly.
Zuko held his breath, waiting for the sweating, the reddening, her breathing to quicken…he waited for Katara to grab the pitcher of water and down the entire thing in one go. But she didn't. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. When Katara finished chewing, she swallowed and looked at Zuko glowingly as well as gloatingly. He didn't know what she would say to him having literally fed her like she was a child, but he thought it would be…kind of romantic. He had done the same for Mai on their first date, but she'd rejected it claiming that it was too "cheesy." He hoped that Katara didn't find it cheesy.
"Are…you…okay…?" Zuko asked her, uncertain. Maybe if she opened her mouth to talk, she would spit fire.
But to his surprise, Katara nodded. "Oh yes, I'm fine. You're right, these are good."
"Is it really? It's good to you? Miss I-don't-eat-spicy food?" He asked her, gaping at her open-mouthed. "And you aren't feeling any pain or burning at all."
She grinned, the satisfied smile still on her face. "No," Zuko looked at her skeptically.
"Okay, maybe a little, but it's nothing I can't handle."
"Seriously?" Zuko asked. "My mother and aunt can't even make it past a half of a Four Fire Dumpling."
"Hm…" Katara said, a curious look coming onto her face.
"What's it?"
"Nothing." She said quickly. When she turned to him, her smile grew larger. She picked up her spoon and swirled it in the cooling stew. "Don't think that I've forgotten. Your turn. Open up."
Katara had that look on her face that he knew all too well. It was her don't-even-bother-to-resist-because-we-both-know-that-I'm-going-to-win anyway face. He sighed, and he started to reach for the spoon, but Katara had other ideas. She picked up the utensil, which had a piece of kumquat on it much too big for his liking, and blew on it softly. She presented it to him like a parent would a stubborn toddler, directing him to open his mouth. With enough of a stare-down, Zuko's eyes closed and he pinched his nose in anticipation of the nastiness. He reluctantly opened his mouth and allowed Katara to spoon-feed him the ocean kumquat.
The taste hit his tongue, warm and soothing. It wasn't bad...Could it have used some chili pepper? Absolutely, but would he grumble about eating it ever again? Not if it tasted like this, and definitely not if Katara was the one giving it to him. It was a weird combination of soggy textures with the fish and the seaweed and the ocean kumquat, but it actually…tasted alright. He wished he had something to crunch. If he was being mature about it, then the kumquat tasted more like very soggy lettuce rolled up into a ball, which wasn't so bad when he really thought about it.
He finally opened his eyes, chewed the rest of it and swallowed. Katara was staring at him expectantly, a knowing smile on her face. "It's good right?" She said.
Zuko pursed his lips and turned his head away. With as much moaning and groaning as he had put up before, letting Katara know that he was wrong about the food was just like…losing a sparring match. It wasn't a real fight, and yet the frustration of losing was all too real.
But of course, Katara could see right through him. She clapped her hands together excitedly. "I knew it! See, Water Tribe food isn't that bad."
"Technically, this is Fire Nation."
"It's Water Tribe inspired, then." She said in a sing-song voice.
Zuko glared at her half-heartedly, but she smiled smugly anyway and Zuko looked away from her, examining the small crowd that now appeared in the tiny restaurant. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction that she probably had anyway. Nearly every seat was filled with a body, and several more were leaning against the walls and waiting outside the door.
He saw students in Fire Nation School uniforms, walking in groups and carrying a bunch of scrolls in their hand. They chattered loudly as they passed Zuko and Katara. Zuko remembered his own time at the Royal Academy. it wasn't exactly a pleasurable experience, especially when he had to learn to play the Sunggi horn, quickly realizing that he had zero musical talent and was perfectly fine with that. Loud voices at the table next to theirs made Zuko turn his head. They must have come in while he and Katara were talking. Empty plates rested in front of the occupants, two girls that looked to be around the same age as Zuko, maybe a little bit younger. One girl had short black hair cut into a bob and the girl across from her had long black hair held in place with a red headband. They both deposited their bags on the floor and the large number of scrolls inside threatened to spill out all over the floor.
The shorthaired girl gave a large sigh and looked at her friend gratingly. "Ugh, I can't wait until we're out of school. I wish next week was over and we graduated already."
"That's only because you don't want to take Master Wen's final." Her friend asked.
"Obviously." The other girl said, rolling her eyes. "Who knows if Prince Lu Ten and Prince Zuko are still looking for wives? I could get a job as an official or for a politician and if they came across me…they might just fall in love with me."
Zuko and Katara shared a look. Katara snickered, covering her mouth with her hand and Zuko picked up a dumpling to hide his smile.
The long-haired girl leaned forward in her chair. "Aren't we just a little young to get married?"
"Of course not." The girl with the bob shook her head and leaned down and fixing her leather bag. She shook it, glaring at the pieces of paper inside as though they were personally offending her. When she rose, her eyes met Zuko's for the briefest of seconds before Zuko turned his head. He couldn't see the girls, but he could hear their conversation clear as day. That meant that by extension, so could Katara. "I heard that there's girls as young as 12 in the Hana Matsuri."
The girl turned back to her friend, her short black locks flying. In a hushed whisper she said "Yumi! Do you see that guy over there?"
"What guy?" her friend – Yumi – asked loudly. The other girl shushed her and pointed in Zuko's general direction. He averted his eyes and tried to give no indication that he'd heard their conversation. Yumi gasped, and then exclaimed to her friend, "Rian, he's gorgeous!"
"Spirits, look at those arms…" Rian commented to Yumi. "I wonder how much he works out."
"I wonder who he is…" Yumi sighed dreamily. Zuko shifted in his seat, feeling a bit uncomfortable, trying to pretend like he didn't hear them.
"Ooh, look, that was so cute!" Rian said. Cute? 'Cute' is for babies and little kids. Not…me. "He's got to be a nobleman's son. Look at his clothes! I mean that's got to be pure silk, right?"
Zuko's face was turning red, he'd never been examined like this before. Just maybe…maybe it might boost his ego a little bit.
Zuko eyed Katara's face. She was spooning soup into her mouth, hiding a smile, pretending that she couldn't hear the girls
Is she…jealous?
They had enough of gossiping about him, and decided to talk about Katara, the very girl who was probably wishing they were gone. Yumi flicked her finger in Katara's direction absently. "What about her, do you think she's something?"
"Who? Oh her? No, of course not. Look at what she's wearing. She's probably his servant or something." Rian concluded snobbishly. Oh, how wrong you're, Zuko wanted to say. Katara dropped the spoon in the bowl with a loud clatter. Her eyes were downcast, and he could see her lips form a grim line. The two girls glanced her way before turning back to each other.
"You think he has a personal servant? Who could afford a personal servant?" Her friend asked.
Rian snickered. "Obviously he can. Look at that bag of coins tied around his waist…he's probably loaded." Well they were right about one thing. Rian pouted. "I would give anything to be his servant...Just to follow him around all day."
"Same here…" Yumi nodded her head dreamily. Zuko could feel their eyes roam over his face, though it was turned to the side.
Rian snorted, laughing loudly. "Still. I mean, him with a girl as dark as her? No chance." The soup in the bowl moved from side to side, Katara's anger causing it to shift.
"Calm down, they don't know anything about what's between us." Zuko tried to be reassuring, but he was met with an angry glare from Katara.
"Who do they think they are?" she hissed the last part under her breath, leaning towards him. Before Zuko knew it, the remainder of the soup in the bowl spilled out all over the table, soaking the uniforms of the girls opposite them.
"Ah!" Rian exclaimed, sitting back in her chair. "How? What?"
Yumi snickered cruelly at her friend, pointing at the darkened school uniform. Then her gaze fell on something that was behind Rian. "Come on! You can clean up later, Master Wen was in here, and he just left."
"What?" Rian said standing, the front of her uniform was soaked through, and a bit of soup dripped onto the scrolls on the floor. "We are so dead."
Zuko lifted his head and looked around the room. The old man that was sitting in the far corner of the room was gone, and Zuko assumed that he was the feared Master Wen. Zuko never had him for a teacher, but he knew of his reputation. A lot of the students were leaving, so it must have been time for school to start.
"Correction." Yumi said, rising as well. "You're so dead. I studied."
"Come on, Yumi…" Rian pleaded with her friend, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Help me out just this once, huh? You should feel bad because my uniform is a mess."
"Don't blame me for your inability to function." Yumi started to walk away. "You say that I should help you every time. I don't want to."
Their voices faded away as Zuko turned back to Katara. Her lips were still pursed, and obvious disgust was on her face. But she was fuming. Zuko knew that if she got any more water in front of her, Wu would have to pick ice shards out of his walls and tablecloths.
"The idea! Judging me based on how I look? How I'm dressed?" Katara fumed. "I have half a mind to—,"
"Maybe you should have some water, Katara." Zuko said, taking a cup in his hand. He held the pitcher of water in the other. It felt cold to the touch. Tilting it, Zuko looked inside and saw that the water inside was frozen into a single block of ice.
She rambled, the words all coming out in a rush. Katara's eyes shifted, she refused to look at him. "I'm fine—well actually, I'm not—It's just…how can they think so lowly of someone they've never met? Would it be so impossible for you and me to—?" Was this it? Was Katara admitting to feeling the same things that he had been feeling for the longest time? "…For you and me to…ever…be in a relationship? Would that be so…wrong?"
He was drawn to her…and he hoped that she was too. But judging from the way she stared at him earlier this morning, he guessed that she was a little bit attracted to him…but he would never know what Katara was thinking.
"Katara I…"
She cleared her throat, looking down, wringing her hands together nervously. Zuko's heart beat faster with each passing second. "I mean—I know it's weird to say, but I feel…I don't know…strange around you. Not like I did with Hahn. I know I'm doing the right here by staying here, but not because of your uncle, because I want to stay here…for you."
Zuko's mind drew a blank. "Katara I don't…"
She looked up at him, fear evident on her face. "I know you might not…feel the same way…and I'm sorry for that…but I like you Zuko. A lot. Probably more than I actually want to admit."
Edit from 2/9/18: I changed the number of fire dumplings to 5, because I realized that the number 4 is a very unlucky number in China, Korea and Japan and basically means death. Whereas the number 5 can be both a lucky and unlucky number. Also I shortened this monstrosity by about 1000 words, so I'm satisfied