A/N: This is my first Avatar fic! In fact, it's the first fiction I've written centred around a TV show continuity in a very long time :) I've always wanted to write an angsty romance story, but the other fandom I write in doesn't lend itself very well to that. The main pairing is Zutara, but it will start out with some Kataang and Maiko. I also have to say thanks to my friend fallendeathlord who beta read this for me!

Oh yeah, and I don't own Avatar. Cause if I did, Zutara would be canon ;)

Between the Lines of Reason
Chapter 1: A Mutual Understanding

Iroh hummed to himself as he prepared a pot of Jasmine Green Tea. He was getting ready for what (if he had his way) he hoped would become an annual tradition.

Those who had fought a tough battle one year prior would be gathering at his tea shop that afternoon in Ba Sing Se. It would be a way for them to catch up, reflect and of course, celebrate the change that they had all caused. The war was now over and together they'd helped restore balance between the nations.

Zuko had been the first to arrive. Not that this was a surprise to Iroh, as he had also been the first to respond when the get together had been suggested. He was eager to see all of his friends again, and though they'd all been through a lot together, they'd also gone their separate ways for a little while.

Though Zuko hadn't explicitly said it, and though Iroh was certain he never would, the old man was sure it was because this group of people were his first true friends. The first friends he had made on his own, and the first people who had seen him and accepted him for who he truly was. Other than Iroh and Mai, that is. This group had seen him at his worst and though he was once regarded by them as an enemy, and someone to be feared, Zuko had managed to turn their perception of him around completely.

It was for that, which Iroh was most proud of his nephew. Even though Zuko's accomplishments as the new Fire Lord were many, acceptance was the one thing he had craved all his life. For him to finally have it, from people who shared the same outlook and vision that he did (even if it took him a while to get there) meant more to Zuko than anything else in the world.

That wasn't to say Zuko wasn't doing a good job as the new Fire Lord. He had the privilege of rebuilding an entire nation which, as he'd said in his induction speech, had been torn apart after 100 years of war. Though it seemed like a daunting task, especially to someone so young, Iroh had seen Zuko rise to the challenge. He was leading the nation his way, and though not everyone agreed with him, everyone was growing to respect him and his unique way of leadership.

Again, not surprising for Iroh. He wouldn't have told Zuko that he needed to become the new Fire Lord if he didn't think that bringing peace back to their nation was something he had the ability to do. Of course the unwavering support that Zuko had from Mai didn't hurt things either.

Zuko wasn't the only one in the group who was busy with their responsibilities after the war had ended. Iroh had witnessed each person grow up and use their talents to help the rebuilding of the world.

Aang was always up and about, in the very literal sense of the words. He travelled all over the world to different towns and cities, mostly giving speeches and generally trying to raise spirits. It wasn't always easy, given that the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes were still very weary of the Fire Nation. Things weren't going to change overnight, and since Aang knew this, he spent the bulk of his time with those two nations, allowing Zuko to take charge of the Fire Nation himself.

Katara was never far from his side, and hadn't been since their first evening spent in Ba Sing Se. She travelled alongside Aang, helping out where she could. She did her best to improve relations especially between the Water Tribes and the other nations, but her efforts were often overshadowed by those of the Avatar. Still, she stayed by his side, and Iroh assumed that she was happy doing what she was doing.

Sokka and Suki spent most of their time on Kyoshi Island. However, they'd also taken up the 'hobby' (as Sokka would put it) of fighting pirates on the waters near the island. The two of them were almost always involved in some sort of battle, and always had interesting stories to tell whenever they met up with their friends.

But perhaps the person Iroh saw the most often was Toph, who also resided in Ba Sing Se and stopped in to have tea at least twice a week. She hadn't yet made any effort to reconnect with her parents, and Iroh wasn't sure that she had any intention to. Instead she stayed in the big city, working on her own earthbending, as well as training others to be more efficient warriors.

"Do you need any help, Uncle?" Zuko interrupted Iroh's thoughts as he poked his head through the doorway and entered the tea shop.

"No, I don't think so," Iroh replied as he set the tea down on the table. "You just sit down and relax, the others should be here shortly."

Zuko never bothered to argue with his uncle, he had come to realize that Iroh always knew best. That, and he also knew he loved to be the host. So Zuko promptly did as he was told. "The others are already here in the city, I saw them last night."

Iroh nodded, turning his back to Zuko for a second. "Yes, I believe the only ones who have yet to arrive in town are-"

"The Avatar and Katara?" Zuko guessed, cutting Iroh off. He just nodded.

Zuko laughed a little in response. "The Avatar isn't exactly known for his punctuality."

As if on cue, Sokka, Suki and Toph took that moment to enter the tea shop. Driving the point home even further – Aang was typically late. Which would always make Katara late by omission.

"Zuko!" Sokka greeted him, stuffing a biscuit in his mouth and draping his arm lazily around his friend. "How's my favourite Fire Lord?"

Instead of scowling as he usually would, Zuko merely smiled and lifted Sokka's arm off him. Sokka didn't fight this, and instead took the opportunity to eat more of the food that was sitting on the table.

"Don't you think you should wait until the others get here?" Suki asked, sitting down beside her boyfriend as Iroh handed her a cup of tea.

"Who, Aang and Katara?" Sokka asked, glancing at Suki. "They knew when they were supposed to show up. They probably got caught up doing Avatar stuff."

"Yeah, or Katara did," Toph snickered, followed soon after by Suki. Zuko just rolled his eyes. The very thought of that made him feel uncomfortable, though he wasn't quite sure why.

Sokka eyed them all questioningly for a moment before finally catching on. "Ew, that's my sister you're talking about! I'm sure they're just having crazy adventures with Appa! And Momo! You know, flying around, airbending, waterbending, saving the world! All that normal stuff!" He rambled on, eyes wide, and obviously disturbed by the comment.

"Sure, Sokka," Toph continued, never giving up an opportunity to rile him up a little.

"Anyway," Sokka said, trying as best he could to steer the conversation away from Katara, Aang and things he just didn't want to think about them doing. "Speaking of romantic love interests, I guess, where's Mai?" he asked, looking at Zuko.

"She decided to stay back," Zuko said casually. "The celebration isn't really her thing." He stared down into his tea, which he'd hardly touched. He'd wanted Mai to come with him, to get to know the group and join them in the occasion. But she'd insisted on staying in the palace, saying that someone had to watch over the place while he was away.

Zuko knew better than to argue with her. So, he'd reluctantly left her and gone on his way. Still, he couldn't shake the worried feeling he had. He'd try to brush it off, knowing that if he spoke of it to anyone, they'd just tell him that it was nothing. That he was always worried about something or other.

While that was true, Zuko still had a hard time pushing the thoughts out of his mind.

Luckily, another distraction soon arrived. Though fashionably late, Aang and Katara had finally decided to grace the tea shop with their presence

"Hey guys," Aang said cheerfully as the two of them entered the shop and sat down. "Sorry we're late," he grinned boyishly, looking anything but remorseful.

"We're not even technically late," Katara reasoned, shrugging her shoulders. "We agreed to meet in the afternoon. It's still the afternoon."

"Yeah, but you're the last ones here," Sokka nudged her playfully. "Therefore, late."

Katara only scowled at her brother.

"Aw, lighten up, Sokka," Aang said, stretching out and grabbing one of the cookies off the table. "We still have lots of time. Besides, I want to hear all about the new warrior training you've been doing."

Sokka's expression instantly brightened. "Well, you see," he began to babble on and on about the new training, how much fun it was, and how happy he was to have a boomerang back in his life.

Zuko smiled as he listened to their conversation, but it quickly just became background noise as he surveyed the scene and took everything in. There was a time in his life where he didn't think he would ever be at the point where he was truly happy. When his purpose was just regaining his honour and being able to return to the Fire Nation, no longer being known as the banished prince.

A time when all the people surrounding him, save for his uncle, were his enemies.

(Well, technically there was also a time when he and Iroh weren't on such great terms either, but Zuko preferred to keep those memories so tightly locked in the back of his mind that they rarely made it to the surface.)

Now, he felt warmth and general sense of content.

He watched Sokka, still talking about his adventures. Suki was leaning against him, but every so often she'd have to move as Sokka tended to speak using big gestures. Especially when he was excited about something.

Toph was close by, listening intently to Sokka's every word, and laughing along with all of his jokes.

As he looked over at Aang, their eyes met, and he could tell that the Avatar was doing the very same thing. Half listening to Sokka, but also half reflecting on the situation and how everything came to be.

Zuko then glanced over at Katara, and suddenly felt uncomfortable. He tore his eyes away from her quickly, staring down into his tea, which had probably already gotten cold.

It wasn't that seeing her with the Avatar made him feel uncomfortable. He was used to it by now, everyone was – with the possible exception of Sokka. But that was nothing more than big brother protectiveness. The fact was, their relationship had almost taken him by surprise. It certainly wasn't something he'd been expecting. Admittedly, Zuko wasn't the most intuitive person, but he'd always figured Katara's affection for Aang was more like that of a sibling than a lover.

When she'd started dating Aang, Zuko wouldn't have said he was jealous. A little shocked, yes, but not jealous. He did have Mai, and he loved her. Though he'd hadn't exactly had a romantic past with Katara, it had been an interesting one.

To say that he'd always found her to be the most understanding of the group would be obvious to anyone who knew them. She'd trusted him and always found good in him, even when others didn't. Though the two of them didn't always see eye to eye (that was the understatement of the year) he always understood her motivations and knew where she was coming from.

He felt connected to her in a way that was different from the others. She had a good grasp on him. She knew all about his inner conflicts, and though it had taken her some time, she'd eventually forgiven the horrible things he'd done to her, and the rest of the group.

"Hello, earth to Zuko?" Katara gave him an odd look as she noticed him looking at her. The others stopped talking for a moment to turn to him. "You haven't touched your tea, did you really find Sokka's stories that interesting?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Hey, I resent that!" Sokka leaned over the table, giving his sister a look. "Of course my stories are interesting!"

Zuko hesitated for a moment, being slightly taken aback by the fact that Katara was the person to bring him back to the situation at hand, when she'd been the very reason he'd been zoning out for the past few minutes. "I was just thinking about how nice it was for all of us to be able to be here together," he said finally.

While everyone else smiled at the sentiment, Toph just giggled. "Wow, sappy much?"

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows in embarrassment and quickly looked back down at the ground. "Shut up," he muttered. He hated being called on his softer moments, and could always count on Toph for that.

"I get it," Aang said, ignoring Toph's comment. "It is nice that even though we're all so busy, we can still come here and find time for each other. I think that's important."

"It is important," Katara confirmed. "We've all been through so much together, and even though we could just go our separate ways, we're able to come back together for occasions like this. I really think it's because of the strong friendship and trust that we all have in each other that allowed us to win the war in the first place."

Zuko looked at her gratefully. Maybe he wasn't completely off the mark with his sentiment after all. He knew he'd been right about his feelings earlier. It seemed his understanding of Katara was reciprocated. In matters of friendship and emotion, at least. It made sense, as those two things were pretty much Katara's speciality.

As the laughter and chatter continued to fill the tea house, Zuko continued to stay quiet for the most part. He felt content and at peace. Everything was finally as it should be.