A/N

You guys make me very happy. I had no idea I could find so much joy in reading your reviews. I'm really pleased with the responses I've been getting, and I just want you all to know that you're uberly sweet.

Anyway, I'm really glad I didn't lose anybody from the long wait (or did I?). I had quite a writer's block, and then I had quite a bit of time I had to work… But now it's time for me to do some stuff for me.

Oh, and I have no idea if the avatar world has clocks, but mine does! Woohoo for clocks.

In other news (I have loads, see my deviant my homepage):

I'm falling in love with Sokka… He's so fun to mess with.

Sokka: You do that a lot lately. Why do I always sound so stupid?
me: Because you are, honey. It's just for fun.

Sokka: Don't call me honey. :sticks tongue out: I'm Yue's honey.

me: Wow… I don't know how to put this... But…

Sokka: Eh! Don't say it.

And… Here's to Mako (glass clinks in toast). He was a good man, great actor. What will Iroh be without him?

xxx

"So, what did you buy yesterday, Zuko?" Katara asked.

Zuko glanced at the clock. He had a mere hour left to get the rest of them shoved out of the apartment, and after that the surprise would be spoiled.

"Clothes."

"Where were you last evening, anyway?" Sokka asked. "We haven't seen you since you ducked in here way past desert."

"You missed it, Zuko. They served crème puffs!" Iroh sighed.

"I was busy." Zuko growled in reply. "Don't you guys have some places to be, as well?"

"Well… I was just going to tag along with someone." Aang shrugged. "I'm going to check up on Appa, but other than that, I don't have any plans."

"How is the ol' bison?" Katara asked.

"He's fine. The royal stable is really treating him well. I might take him out later to do a bit of flying, though. He needs his air time."

"You should do that now. After breakfast." Zuko prompted.

"That's a good idea! Who else wants to go? Iroh, you and Zuko have never ridden on Appa before; do you want to go?" Aang exclaimed.

"Sadly, I'm busy." Zuko replied shortly.

"What could you possibly have to do?" Katara teased. "We're not exactly at the height of the activity here."

"I bet he's sneaking messages to the Fire Nation." Sokka pouted.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"I'll bet he is, Sokka." Katara sighed. "And he's plotting to kill you."

"What gave it away?" Zuko said sarcastically. He gave the clock more of his attention.

"Well, I would like to take a ride on Appa. It sounds fun." Iroh nodded.

"What about you two?" Zuko turned to Katara and Sokka.

"I think I'll just lie around here and take a nap." Sokka yawned. "Aang kept me up all night with his stupid splashing."

"Sorry," Aang muttered. "I couldn't sleep, and I just thought I'd practice a little water bending."

"Are you still having nightmares?" Katara asked.

"They just get worse…" Aang rubbed his eyes. "Oh well. They'll go away eventually, right?"

"Right. Sometime at the end of the summer… Maybe a little bit after Sozen's comet returns." Sokka quipped.

Iroh raised his eyebrows. "You've done your research."

"Avatar Roku told me about it during the winter solstice." Aang answered.

Iroh smirked. "Oh, of course. I saw you."

Zuko groaned. "Uncle, don't make up stories again."

"I'm not making it up. You were riding a dragon, weren't you?"

Aang blinked. "Yeah… I was."

"But I thought no one could see you in when you were in the spirit world…" Katara puzzled.

"They can't… can they?" Aang looked to Iroh expectantly.

"Only those who have been to the spirit world can see those within its vast boundaries." Iroh said between sips of tea.

"You've been to the spirit world?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"A long time ago." Iroh nodded.

"Why did you go there?" Aang asked.

"It started when-."

"Okay. Story-time over. Everybody out." Zuko snapped, rising to his feet.

"What's the rush?" Katara demanded.

"The 'rush' is that if you don't get out of here, then… The bison is lonely! Go visit it!"

Sokka stretched and settled further into his seat. "I think I'm gonna take another helping of this… stuff." He reached for the ladle.

Zuko slapped his hand away. "Listen, if you all will just leave, I swear I'll…"

"Will you play the sungi horn for us?" Iroh smirked.

"We don't have a sungi horn anymore, Uncle." Zuko growled.

"No, but I plan on buying one. So, if we leave, you'll give us a little performance?"

Zuko chewed the inside of his cheek. This feat was definitely starting to not look worth it. He glanced at Katara, and she was watching him expectantly.

He wondered what her reaction would be when she saw her room upon completion. Would she be angry with him for barging into her room? Would she just thank him? Was she too old to squeal? He seemed to recall that Azula used to squeal when something went in her favor.

"Fine," Zuko sighed. "If you leave and don't come back for three hours, I'll play the sungi horn."

Sokka snickered. "I can't wait."

"I bet you can." Zuko retorted.

They slowly began to stand, stretch, and take a few last sips of their drink. Zuko folded his arms. Could they take any longer?

Aang and Iroh finally shuffled out into the hall, flanked by Sokka, and then Katara finally followed, but not after one last inquiry.

"What are you up to?" She asked.

"You'll see, won't you?" Zuko smirked.

xxx

The salesman really hadn't believed that Zuko requested to have his purchases delivered to a room in the palace, and even more unbelievable was that it was one of the royal suites. After a few more coins had exchanged hands, the salesman couldn't see any reason not to believe the strange boy in his midst. Does gold lie?

Zuko stood in her doorway for a full five minutes before finally deciding where to start. He'd imagined this would be a simple task, but so far it was proving itself to be extremely demanding.

He started with the bed, ripping off the comforter and piling it into the hall. He bought her a quilt, so she wouldn't need the old bedspread. He took her old mirror down and stacked it into the hall as well. He stood back and looked around her bare room.

He wandered around the apartment for awhile, unsure of what to do with himself now that he actually had free time. He tried to meditate in the lounge, but he couldn't get comfortable.

Finally, when he was considering abandoning the entire enterprise out of sheer boredom, there was a knock on the apartment door. He rushed to it and flung it open.

There were four men, each sporting unhappy expressions.

"Are you the fella that bought this yesterday?"

Zuko nodded. "Is it all here?"

"Got the delivery fee?"

Zuko rifled through his inside shirt pocket until he found the right amount, and then the men carried the merchandise inside. Zuko watched them place the mirror carefully against the wall.

"How do I hang that thing?" he asked.

They blinked. "Seriously?"

Zuko curled his lip. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"You use a hammer… and a nail…"

"Do you have one?"

"Not on me, no."

"Where can I find one?"

"Listen, pal, we're here to deliver your stuff and get out. Don't try to con us into doing any other work for ya."

"I'll pay you to hang it." Zuko offered.

"Nah… We've got other stops to make. The boss'd kill us doing side-work on his time. Good luck."

Zuko's frown deepened considerably as the posse walked out, taking any chance of handiwork knowledge with them.

xxx

"What could he possibly be doing?" Katara wondered aloud.

"Sending messages to the Fire Lord!" Sokka cried. "I keep telling you that, but you just-."

"If you say that one more time, Sokka…" Aang threatened.

"I think he's fixing a surprise feast," Iroh guessed. "That's what I think he's doing."

"He's making some sort of surprise," Katara agreed.

xxx

"Stupid… Stupid blanket!" Zuko shouted, and threw the new quilt aside once more. "I'll never get this thing on!"

He kicked a pillow and sent it flying into the hall. He gave once last, frustrated snarl before stumbling into the hall to retrieve the rogue pillow.

A maid stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Oh…" He muttered. "Sorry."

"Is there a problem, sir?" She asked.

"No… Well… I can't make a bed; that's the problem."

"Would you like my help?"

"Do you have a hammer, too?"

"No, but I'm sure I can find you one, sir."

He led the maid into Katara's misshapen room. She took it all in with a startled expression.

"Are you from the Water Tribe, sir?"

Zuko snorted. "Hardly."

"May I inquire as to you reason for the… redecorating?"

"A girl," Zuko answered simply. "She deserves to have…" He gestured to the pile of furniture he'd bought. "Much more than this, but I'm sure I can find something a little more worthy of her later."

"She's a lucky girl, if I may be so bold as to say, to have such a gentleman to watch over her."

Zuko's focus was caught on a painting he'd propped up against the wall. Against a white-washed landscape, a girl stood under the stars. He really didn't know why he'd bought it, other than the fact that the girl reminded him of Katara. She didn't need a memoir of herself. He scooped up the painting.

"I'll be right back." Zuko said quietly. "I've got another place for this."

xxx

"Okay…" Sokka grumbled, taking a bite of pastry. "Lesh go. We gave 'im three hoursh."

"Stop talking with your mouth full." Katara scolded. "But yes, I agree. I think we've given him enough time."

"My curiosity is getting the best of me." Iroh said, and led the way back to the apartment.

xxx

Zuko was running around the apartment, getting rid of things (he ended up chucking the mirror wrappings into the streets below the balcony, and then ducking out of sight), straightening wall hangings, and dumping buckets of water from the bathroom into the vases placed on either side of Katara's door. He was still unsure of where to put himself.

He didn't want to have to point to her door, "Go look in there," or be in her room when she saw it.

He left one tiny memoir pointing to himself, and then he took off to let the streets calm his anxious, excited soul.

xxx

"Zuko?" Aang called into the empty apartment.

"He's not here." Iroh noted.

"I told you!" Sokka exclaimed.

They glared at him once before splitting up to search the apartment more thoroughly.

Katara headed to his room. "Zuko?" She pushed open his door, only to find it abandoned.

"Maybe he just went out to find us." Aang puzzled, heading to his room. He froze in front of Katara's room. "Woah…"

Katara peered in from behind him. "What?" Her jaw dropped as her eyes beheld the same sight as Aang.

"It's…" Aang trailed off.

"Beautiful." Katara finished.

Her feet sank in fur as she stepped into her room, and blue blared from the paintings hung on her walls.

"Look, Katara!" Aang pointed to the two vases by her door. "They're full of water."

She touched the quilt with her fingertips. The design was like something her grandmother would make… Stars and moons and wolves. The dressing table caught her eye. It was white-washed metal, with a larger, more decorative mirror than before. On its surface was a single, red candle. She grinned.

"Zuko did this…" She whispered.

"It looks the South Pole was just dumped into your room," Sokka said admiringly from the doorway.

"He was busy." Iroh said wryly.

xxx

The more Zuko thought about her, the more he convinced himself that she'd be furious at his intrusion to her private quarters. It really wasn't 'private'. Her door was open more often than not.

He grabbed some mid-afternoon lunch at a small vendor within the palace's shadow. After that, he found solace on a bench under the apartment balcony.

He took a swig of water. He should've bought the white rug, instead of the brown one…

xxx

No one could restrain Katara's bouncy behavior after that. Sokka and Aang explored her room a bit more, but finally grew out of it. They settled into the lounge with Iroh.

"She's really excited, huh?" Aang asked miserably as Katara rushed from the kitchen into the hall, screaming something about 'too amazing to be real'.

"No…Aang." Sokka groaned sarcastically. "She's always like this."

"I wonder why Zuko's not here taking some of this in." Iroh pondered.

"She'd probably smother him." Sokka said.

Katara peeled into the room and headed for the balcony. "He's the greatest…best… most thoughtful…" She trailed off as she shut herself on the balcony.

Aang let out a sigh. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because Zuko's materialistic." Sokka said seethingly. He glanced at Iroh, expecting him to challenge that statement.

Iroh shrugged. "He is that way only for others, and you'd be surprised at the emotion that's backed by such 'materialism'."

xxx

Zuko took another breath. One of these days he'd just have to suck it up and go inside. He sat, waiting for some act of bravery to push himself off of the bench. Nothing happened.

Somewhere distant he heard a squeal. He didn't pay it much attention.

Again, he heard it, but louder, and in the form of "Zuko! Up here!"

He tore his gaze from the sidewalk and stared up at the apartment balcony. Katara was waving her arms over her head ecstatically. He smiled, despite himself, and raised one arm in a small wave.

"It looks great!" She screamed. "Wait right there; I'll be right down!"

xxx

"He's outside! I found him!" Katara exclaimed as she sprinted through the lounge to the apartment door.

"Where are you going?" Aang asked.

"I have to-." She shut the door behind her before she could give him a full answer.

"I'm not related…" Sokka grumbled.

xxx

Zuko wouldn't have moved from that bench should a rhino have been charging at him. There were several people that were casting weird looks his way (did a girl from the balcony just scream down at him?), but he didn't really care at the moment.

At least she wasn't angry.

She rushed from across the street and pulled him to his feet in an embrace.

"Thank you!" She cried. "I've never gotten a better present, ever!"

Zuko squirmed in her grasp. "You're welcome," he muttered.

xxx

A/N

Did you get my Rufio reference? Haha… Don't we all just loooove Dante?

I know you've all heard this a thousand times, but I really, really didn't like this chapter. I rushed through it, for one, because I wanted to get it done before I go on vacation. I thought it would be easy to write, but it was the hardest yet!

Another salute to our beloved Mako. See my profile for some links in his honor.