Date Completed: 13 December 2008

Pairing: Reference to past Maiko, very slight Ty Lee/Zuko, reference to past Iroh/Ursa, insinuating future OC/Zuko (that WILL NOT HAPPEN) and future Sokka/Zuko

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Darn. I've got to work on that…

Summary: When Zuko asked to join the Gaang and teach the avatar firebending, he mentioned that there was "not very much time left," and they assumed he meant until Sozin's Comet. But what if there was another restriction on his time –one he hasn't told anyone about? (Much angst, drama llama, and romance-smut. Oh yeah, and a good dosage of omg NOOO! )

AN: Yes, there is a small section of Ty Lee's POV in there… but it's there for a reason. Not a very good reason, but a reason nonetheless. Besides, she'll only be in this story for one chapter (or will she? I'm considering having her guest appearance in the epilogue), so is there really anything to complain about?

And an OC! Oh, the nerve of me... Cal's just a cute little side character (Noooooo! He's my baby....! I wuv him....) that won't ever appear again (although maybe mentioned once or twice -and in next chapter), so don't grow too attached (like I already am .). I just needed someone to open our little Zuzu's eyes to ...alternative lifestyles...

Something I've noticed: it's very difficult to make this any longer than 3000 words. In fact, my first time through this chapter it was only 1890, and I had to go back and edit it extensively, as well as including Ty Lee's POV in there to add to the length. I'm going to assume that it will get easier as I go on, and that it shouldn't take me any longer than a week (two at most) to get each chapter to you. I look forward to the responses, and just a note: fanart will not only make me very happy, but will speed up the process of chapter-writing, and how long each new chapter is. I enjoy hearing (or seeing!) how much people like this fic, so if you'd like something to go a certain way, have any suggestions, or just want to tell me what you think, feel free to drop me a line. Also: if you'd like to do (or see) a one-shot side-story to this piece, I will be very accommodating. I've had people request side-stories in the past, and not only does it give inspiration to others, it inspires me to want to make this longer and better. However, you might want to wait until we really get into the story, as there's not much to go on about with two chapters.

Being back home was like going to the lake and realizing you've forgotten a bathing suit. There weren't any physical changes that Zuko could point out if pressed, but there was still something missing. And it was so obvious it was almost tangible…

But he was home, and that's all he had ever wanted.

The first thing he did when he arrived back at the palace was to go check on his room. It had been a good few years since he had been banished, but to his surprise, it looked exactly as he had left it; a fair bit messy, but no dust along the drawers or tables. Azula must have warned the maids not to touch any of his possessions, because he couldn't imagine that they would've left a pair of semi-muddy boots on the floor if it weren't for some instruction. But why would she try so hard to stay on his good side? It's not like she'd ever been kind to him before…

Sighing in confused frustration, Zuko slowly crossed his room toward his bed, scooping up a few random articles of clothing off the floor as he went. Compared to the open atmosphere of the apartment he had shared with his uncle, his room felt like a prison cell; although much cleaner, the dark maroon of the walls coupled with tall, narrow, velvet-swathed windows closed him off from the world more efficiently than a steel cell ever could. It was obvious that the crimson silk sheets had been washed recently, as well as the maroon paper lantern he had hung above his bed a year or so before his banishment. There wasn't a wrinkle in the tightly tucked silk; it was as if the bed was pulling the covers tight on all sides to keep him out of it. Well, the bed could just keep on pulling, because no matter how tired Zuko seemed to feel lately, he was still too proud to be caught sleeping in the middle of the afternoon.

Even though the bed looked so comfy…

Discovering his eyelids fluttering, the dark-haired teen shook his head slightly to clear his head of thoughts of sleeping until the comet and instead turned towards the window, where faint sounds of laughter could now be heard. Zuko pulled back the thick velvet curtains to reveal the manicured lawn and shrubs of the East Garden. It too was much like he remembered, and although he couldn't see the turtle-ducks from here, he knew that they would usually be splashing about the ornate pond, enjoying the afternoon. Unless Azula scared them away, that is.

Again, a clear laugh rang through the air, and brought the boy's attention to his right, where three teen girls were lounging under a purple-flowered willow. Well, two were lounging, while the other girl – one with a long pony tail and light-colored clothes – hung by her ankles from a large branch over their heads, laughing at the taller girl who was dressed in black with a sour look on her face.

Mai. They had had something once, he was sure… but whatever they had between them now was little more than awkward friendship. She was beautiful and strong, sure, but they were also too alike. Zuko had always had the tendency to get lost in his own demons, as did Mai. He was sure that if they actually tried to be anything, it'd end up more like the tragic Flameo and Juliet; both of them too absorbed in their own stormy minds to realize that all they really needed was someone with a sense of humor to pull them up from themselves. But that was also part of the problem. Zuko was sure that if there were any such person in the Fire Nation, they would never be interested in him; with the fateful scar across a large portion of his face, he was nowhere near handsome, not to mention his terrible attitude problems and former exiled status. Add in a cup of self-conscious teenage angst and a pinch of clumsy-with-his-limbs and his outlook on love just kept getting poorer. Oh yeah, he was quite the catch…

By now all three girls noticed the gangly teen leaning half out the window, far-away expression and all. Ty Lee (AKA tree climber) yipped at seeing her old friend, flipping out of the tree to land in front of Mai, who only looked slightly amused. "Hey, Zuko! Come join us! We were just about to go into the city to get you some new outfits! Seeing as yours are so ill-kept…"The other two girls looked towards the cheerful girl, evidently unaware of any plan to go into town. Azula –who had been leaning against the bark with her arms crossed –stepped away from the tree to argue, but thought better of it and merely smirked at her now startled older brother.

They've never invited me anywhere before, Zuko thought to himself, cautious of their motives. First Azula and her minions want to kill me, now they're trying to dress me up? Something's obviously going on here… Suddenly the face of Ty Lee shot up in front of him, and he tripped over his own legs in his effort to put some distance between them, falling hard on the unyielding wood flooring of his room.

When his back hit the floor, all the air was pushed out of his lungs. Trying to regain his breath, he breathed in… only to find that it felt as though someone had shoved cotton into the back of his throat –he couldn't get any air at all. He couldn't catch his breath!

I'm going to die here just because Ty Lee surprised me?

Gasping didn't help, and black spots began to litter the outside of his vision. Was the room supposed to be spinning? Above him, Ty Lee's startled face started swirling and blending into the patterns on the tapestry behind her. It was making Zuko slightly nauseous and he wanted to tell her to stop spinning, but for some reason he couldn't help but stare. Why was she blending into the background like a chameleon-peacock? He tried to convey his confusion to her, but couldn't keep track of his words as they were falling from his gasping lips.

Suddenly feeling as though the floor decided to stop holding him up, Zuko was quickly rushed into the blackness.

The whole day had been wonderful; the sky was sunny, the air was fresh, and our family was whole again. Maybe it wasn't really as sunny or fresh as it seemed, but having her friend come home to her, to them, made the sky look bluer, the grass look greener, and even Mai's incessant grumbling did nothing to deter her cheerful spirit. Oh yes, the day was good.

Speaking of their little family, 'Zula had been awfully grumpy today. Maybe she was just upset that she'd have to share our attention? If that was what she was worried about, she's just silly; she's always kinda been our leader, and we'd all pay lots of attention to her, even with Zuko. Shouldn't she be happy to have another person to talk with her too?

Mai was once again complaining about… something. The weather, maybe? And Azula looked cross at the world. What was wrong with her friends? Why couldn't they just enjoy the day like she could? Today was a day to celebrate! With a little giggle, Ty Lee jumped up into the air, spinning upside down, and grabbing onto an overhanging tree branch with her feet. Thankfully the stretchy bands around her wrists and ankles kept her shirt from falling up… or down? Below her she could see her own pony tail, a lot of green grass and Mai's apathetic stare. Well, it was probably meant to look apathetic, but from Ty Lee's angle, just looked really silly. Amusing herself with the funny expressions her friends appeared to be making, she let out a few carefree laughs. The world sure was nice.

She was just turning slightly to catch a view of the palace when she noticed a dark-haired boy leaning slightly out of an upper window. One pale hand was gripping the window frame and curtain, and glassy amber colored eyes were gazing at them. One eye was surrounded by a rouge scar…

"Yay!" With a carefree yip, she let her feet disentangle themselves from the branch and flipped over to land daintily before her friends. Zuko was back! Apparently everyone else noticed too because Mai just snorted, amused at the far-away look in her ex-boyfriend's eyes. Azula, on the other hand, did not look so amused. Time for a little family counciling…

"Hey, Zuko! Come join us! We were just about to go into the city to get you some new outfits," she invented on the spot, hoping her friends wouldn't argue that they never agreed to this. But just looking at the threadbare clothes Zuko was wearing, she could tell that fashion would be the thing to bring them all together again. "Seeing as yours are so ill-kept…"

Ocher eyes swiveled towards her in surprise and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter within her chest. Oh wow, he looks much better now than he did a year ago… He looked as though he was debating with himself whether or not he should speak his opinion of the quick-planned "shopping trip." Azula made a move behind her to argue, but to Ty Lee's surprise, said nothing. Good. Now she just needed to get him ready. With five bounding steps and a small leap, she was sitting before him. Obviously he wasn't expecting this, because his eyes went wide and made a move to step back away from her out of instinct…

He must have tripped over a stray piece of clothing, because down he went with a thump that made even her wince. She leaned forward to offer her hand, but instead of taking it, he let out a small cough and several wheezing noises, looking increasingly alarmed as he couldn't catch his breath. Her heart pounded fiercely as he looked up at her desperately, eyes wide and hands grasping up towards his throat. What to do, what to do?! Immediately she ran to the window and yelled for help, not waiting to see the expressions on her friends' faces. Sprinting back to the gasping boy, she kneeled down and tried to help him sit up. Her hands were met with a sweat-slick back, and it took no effort at all to pull the light boy up for better air. His confused foggy eyes once again found hers.

"H-hey…. When'd you… become a chameleon-peacock?"

With that, his eyes rolled backwards and he went limp in her arms.

Whoever said that dying was like falling asleep needed to be kicked in the balls. Hard.

That is, assuming that he was dying, and not just being over dramatic as usual.

Swirls of red and gold danced before him. Tiny pinpricks of light were making themselves known in the corners of his vision, disappearing as he turned to investigate them. Distantly, he recognized hushed voices as familiar females, but ignored it them in favor of the headache that was making itself more pressing to his attention. It blurredly occurred to him that he was no longer unconscious and was laid out across something plush and velvety. There was also the vague scent of vanilla…

The girls were sitting at a low mahogany table a ways away from him, discussing something in clipped whispers and hushed tones. Or judging by Azula's face, arguing about something. But Zuko didn't want their focus on him just yet, so he leaned back against soft pillows –taking his face out of their view and giving him the opportunity to study the changes made to the East Tea Room.

Back when his mother had still lived with them at the palace, the room had been light, breathy, and had the aura of spring. Instead of harsh wooden doors and glass windows, she had insisted upon Shoji screens painted with sakura blossoms and lilies. Unlike the rest of the palace, his mother's favorite room had been painted a light grass green, which had infuriated Father, who claimed it was the color of the enemy. Zuko could often find his mom sitting at the same low table with his uncle, sharing a similar love for tea, companionship and conversation, something rarely found from her stoic husband. The teen faintly recalled an evening tea in this room with her after an argument with his sister that left him feeling confused and frustrated with his difficulty in firebending. He could still remember her words.

"Zuko, dear, what's gotten you so upset?" She had been a strong woman, and held his golden eyes with gold ones of her own. He had just looked away and wiped angry tears from his eyes, disappointed in himself for showing such weakness. She would have none of it. "Do you really think there's anything so embarrassing that you can't tell the woman who changed your dirty underclothes as a babe?"

Despite the teasing smile and eyes like warm mead, he hadn't been consoled by her concern. "It's nothing," he had said, crossing his arms across his chest protectively, refusing to meet her gaze. "Azula's just being a show-off again."

Still, she had zeroed in on the source of his torment and squelched the itching and burning self-doubt that had coiled itself in his gut. "She can toss around fire so easily because she is ruled by a fiery personality. But that doesn't mean that she's better than you, or that I'm more proud of her than I am of you." A warm arm had curled itself comfortingly around his shoulders, his head cradled by a soft-clothed shoulder.

Even though the tears had still clung to his lower lashes, he had looked up to meet pools of amber, face slack in defeat. "But she's still better at firebending than me…" His mother had frowned and slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Not better… It just comes easier for her. You might have to work at this, but think about those dao swords of yours. I don't think I've ever seen your sister even touch a blade. Besides, firebending isn't everything." He had mumbled something about it being the only important thing, though. "Am I not important to you?" He had been appalled at the question. Of course she was important to him. She was the most important thing to him. "And I can't firebend. So is it really that big of a deal?" A slight shake of the head, as he started to understand what she meant. "Now let's go feed the turtle-ducks. I bet they miss us, huh?"

And that was only one of many times she had been there for him when he had needed her. Just another difference between then and now.

The chaise that he was sprawled out on was a deep red velvet with gold-painted legs and backboard, pushed away from the wall enough to allow easy access to the other side of the room without crossing the center. Rust-colored paint covered his mother's green, and the Shoji screens had been replaced with much sturdier bamboo sliders; both tasteful and practical, they kept the room lighter than the rest of the palace without seeming out of place for the strict environment. Large bookshelves still covered much of the opposite wall, although he bet that most contained war strategies and recounts of victorious battles instead of his mother's expansive poetry collection. Amazingly, the table the girls sat at looked to be the same one he had sat in front of with his mother on many occasion. Maybe Father couldn't find another one that matched…

His sister looked annoyed but overcome, as though resigned to some miserable deed that was for the best. Mai appeared less annoyed and more apathetic, which really wasn't all that different from her usual detached expression. Ty Lee, on the other hand, looked to be the owl-cat who caught the mouse-rat; she had a huge grin stretching her face and couldn't seem to keep still, bouncing up and down in her seat. He figured that he had probably faked sleeping long enough, and gave an elaborate yawn/groan, stretching his arms above his head in the most overdone "I've just awoken" pose he could think of.

Three sets of eyes shot in his direction and the boy realized his performance as exceedingly obvious, a scarlet blush painting his cheeks. No one called him on his acting skills, but each regarded him in their own way. While the other two girls stayed sitting at the low table, Ty Lee sprung up and over to his couch where he was just starting to sit up, pushing back a thin blanket he hadn't noticed before. The gymnast was now sporting a rather uncharacteristic frown, concern shining in her eyes. Perhaps it's because I passed out on her. Waving her hands in small circles through the air, she fussed over him –was his head hurting at all? Any unusual pains in the neck or chest region? Was he warm enough? Did he want something to eat? What about a drink? Too many questions at once; did she honestly expect him to answer them all?

"Uh… not really, my chest hurts a bit I guess, and I'm not really hungry or thirsty… what else was there?" The teenage boy brought up a hand to rub at the aching temples. He doubted if his sudden migraine had anything to do with his bout of unconsciousness. Sure, these were his friends, but he was a solitary person by nature and more than ten minutes in their presence was pushing his limits.

"Leave the guy alone. He's still as ineloquent as ever, so he's obviously alright now."

"But you didn't see him, Mai," Ty Lee argued with her dark friend. "He didn't look alright."

"You're never alright, are you, Zuzu?" Of course Azula had to try to make fun of him at every opportunity. She seemed to recall their original intent and turned towards her friends with a serious look, disregarding the question of her older brothers health in favor of something all girls seemed to love. "But weren't we leaving?" Ty Lee quit pouting long enough to remember the impromptu shopping excursion.

"Oh, right! We gotta make you look hot…er, better with some new clothes." For some reason, a cherry blush stained her cheeks briefly before she caught herself. " We should leave soon or we won't make it back from the city by sundown."

Zuko glanced towards the windows and was slightly annoyed to find out she had spoken the truth. The sun was low in the sky and if they wanted any hope of doing this by nightfall, they needed to leave immediately Azula and Mai started for the door, and Ty Lee began to follow them before glancing back at him. He just sho'ed her along, telling her in a look that he'd join them in a moment. Assured that he was indeed coming, she skipped off after her friends, out the door. Recalling his collapse in Ba Sing Sei, Zuko was slow in getting to his feet, but it paid off when he stood fully-erect without a dizzy spell to speak of. The scarred boy brushed off his pants from his original fall (despite the rather mangy state they were in anyway) and followed her out the door without a last look to the room that had meant so much to his mother.

"The City" turned out to be a maze of narrow alleyways dimly lit by strings of the same paper lanterns that hung above his bed, except in a whole variety of colors. In the center of the maze was a large fountain lit by hundreds of small candles that reminded Zuko too much of his "date" with Jin. The street seemed way too crowded for this time in the evening, and the road beneath their feet was made of uneven red-brown cobblestone –impossible to drive a horse-carriage through, but perfect for a quaint village pathway. The shops themselves were also just as interesting. No two shops seemed to be the same size or height, and their fronts were painted just so that no two same colors were ever touching. Much to their annoyance, however, none of the shops had legible signs, and they entered quite a few antique and specialty shops before they got the hang of the complex organizing system. Shops that sold food had an orange lantern out front, purple for specialty shops of any kind, red for weaponry, blue for books, and finally a queer yellow-green for three or four shops that sold regular Fire Nation attire.

The dark-haired boy was hauled into the first clothing shop they passed by an over-aggressive Azula. Mai and Ty Lee followed in quickly, pulling the screen door shut behind them for privacy.

Inside the store were racks and racks of material, ranging in hues of mostly red to gold, with a smattering of black, brown, and white thrown in for good measure. Up until this point, all the Fire Nations Prince's clothes had been designed with his future in mind, and brought directly to his wardrobe, where he never laid eyes on them until he put them on. It was safe to say that there were more clothes in this one shop than Zuko had ever seen in his life and it was a bit daunting. Where to begin? And I may not be an expert on fashion, but aren't these women's clothes?

Azula –who had apparently decided that picking out new clothes for him would make up for all her past wrong-doings– sprung into action, snapping her red-painted fingers at the attendant who practically sprinted towards them to avoid her wrath. "Calsifer," as his name-tag read, looked nervous but still in his element; he listened to the princess' orders intently and could effectively interrupt her with his own suggestions without being torn apart. The older teens wide shoulders and thick, coiling arm-muscles probably helped his case though. Despite the fact that every visible part of the man's body was sinew and muscle, Zuko couldn't help but think that he looked sweet and intelligent due to his bookish reading glasses, fly-away brown hair and soft green eyes. As if reading his thoughts, Calsifer turned towards the prince and gave him a raised brow. Zuko's cheeks burned as he was caught staring, even though he didn't know why it seemed so embarrassing to him. Cal just chuckled and poked him lightly in the forehead with his index finger. The younger teen just snorted and mock-glared up at the attendant.

"'Gonna stare all day or are we going to find an outfit to bring out those great-big gold eyes of yours?"

Annoyed, Zuko turned the scarred side of his face towards the man to say, "Is this really what you mean by big eye?" but if Cal noticed, he didn't say anything. Instead, he began mumbling to himself about different types of fabric, leading them towards the back of the store. Azula looked miffed at the complement that wasn't aimed towards her, but only scowled and followed after the distracted man.

At the back of the store were stacks of silk piled nearly to the ceiling. Each pile was a separate shade of either red, gold or orange, and had various tags and papers stuck in between them at seemingly random intervals. Cal wandered over towards the nearest maroon pile and leafed through each fold until he came across a paper with the letter "S" scrawled on it and pulled out what appeared to be a shirt. Next came the pants and he repeated the process, again looking for a "S" and placing it on top of the shirt in his arms. For a moment he looked lost, like he was forgetting something important, but soon snapped his fingers and rushed off through the velvet curtain that separated the shop from the storage room.

Mai was through waiting though. "How much longer is this going to take? I never would've agreed to come along if I knew it'd be this boring..." She and Ty Lee had found seamstress' stools and pulled them up to where the royal siblings were standing awkwardly, waiting for the attendant to return. With a sly look in her eye, she turned towards the only boy in the room. "And you seemed awfully interested in that shop-keep's suggestions earlier... or was it just his face you couldn't stop staring at?"

Heart racing, Zuko balled his fists and glared at Mai, but was saved from calling her several inappropriate words because Ty Lee decided that now was the time to speak up for her returned friend.

"I think it was his glasses," the girl announced, "you don't see a whole bunch of people wearing them all the time unless they're old. So it seemed weird... right, Zuko? That's why you were staring, right?" She looked into his eyes searchingly, seemingly pleading him to agree and let the topic die. He could only mutter a faint, "Yeah, it's just weird," before awkward tension started to settle into the group.

Thankfully, Cal came rushing back into the room, panting like a tired dog and holding a long swath of golden cloth like a baby in his arms. He pulled up another stool and let the bundle drop onto it. Wrapped up inside the silk cloth were several small golden fastenings, all in the shape of tiny curled dragons. The clothes were then hauled up into strong muscled arms again and he whirled around, big hand easily encircling Zuko's wrist and dragging him towards a row of velvet-curtained cubicles. Silk was then distributed into Zuko's arms and the curtain was shut again before the startled boy could speak a word. Not that he had anything to say...

Zuko stopped wondering about his strange reaction to the older man long enough to get a good look at the fabrics handed to him. First came the maroon silk pants, which he slipped long legs into, standing up with them just to watch them fall to the ground. Obviously they were too big as they were, but surprisingly didn't fall down when he tied the drawstrings around his waist much tighter. Long and flowing were the legs of the pants; the thick golden cuffs at the bottom resting lightly across the tops of his feet. Noticing a sort of design in black thread, Zuko leaned against the wall of the cubicle with one hand while he grabbed a foot with the other. A black and silver dragon circled around his foot and breathed its red and orange fire at its tail, about three inches from its own mouth.

Next came the shirt. His arms found the arm-holes easily and the maroon silk was slipped over his head to settle easily across his chest. It had short sleeves that fell to his elbow with a golden stitched-dragon border. The collar of the shirt clasped low along one side of his neck and continued down along the same side to his knees, much like many of the dresses Zuko had seen during his brief visit to Ba Sing Sei. This too had a golden-dragon border, but was noticeably thicker than along the sleeve edges. That left him with one piece of fabric left behind.

What could this scrap possibly be for? He thought, unrolling what looked to be several feet of overly thick obi sash. The once exiled prince was not amused. Does he think me a girl?!

Nonetheless, soon the obi joined its brothers in clothing the moody teens body.

From his point of view in the small dressing room, Zuko couldn't tell if he looked good or pathetic like he imagined himself to be. His pants were near too long, his shirt looked too much like something an Earth Kingdom girl would wear and instead of a belt, he was given an obi. Apparently Calsifer thought he looked too weak to be anything other than a girl, and decided to tease him as such. He had half a mind to just leave that moment...

Unfortunately for him, the girls outside had been patiently waiting long enough and were now more than ready to see their finished product. Without knocking first, his sister pulled back the curtain to see what was taking so long. The startled male teen jumped and spun around, glaring at the girl before resigning himself to being their doll to dress up and play with. He pushed her aside and joined the rest of the group outside the dressing room.

While he had been taking his time in the small cubicle, Calsifer had drug an old stand-up mirror over to where the rest of the group sat. As soon as the scowling boy stepped out of the dressing room, he stopped dead at the sight of himself.

He looked, dare he say it... adorable. Cute, even. The wide sleeves hid the shape of his muscles just as the overly long and flowing pants made it look as though he were a small child trying on an older brother's clothes. Even his scar seemed to take on a new light; the maroon of both the scar and the dress (shirt and pants!) matched to some degree, and suddenly it wasn't as striking to look at. And even though he had hated the idea of an obi, he had to admit that it emphasized the slimness of his waist and hips... And why the hell am I sounding like suck a girl?! I need some clothes that I can be taken seriously in, not this... dress...

"Oh, Zuko looks so cute!!" Ty Lee exclaimed, shaking her balled fists before her mouth, eyes alight and a blush across her cheeks. Mai just nodded and actually looked as though she agreed with the exuberant girl. Azula, however, could hardly contain her laughter.

"Oh Agni!" she started, ignoring the death glares he was sending her. "I always knew Zuzu was weak, but now he really looks just like a girl!"

"I think your.. Zuko? He looks very pretty, very handsome," Calsifer came to his rescue, although being called "pretty" was hardly better than what Azula had said. Then the older man turned and looked him up and down in a way that made the teen feel as though he weren't wearing any clothes, then winked at him. "You'd look nice in anything. Don't worry about what anyone else tells you."

Beet-red and embarrassed, the prince decided that he'd rather keep his intimidating persona around the palace a bit longer. "You don't have anything less... 'pretty,' do you?" Cal just smirked and nodded his head towards the ceiling-tall stacks once more.

An hour later it was dark and the four teens entered the palace exhaustedly. Ty Lee smiled and thanked them for inviting her along before turning and running off towards her room. Azula didn't feel the need to do the same, but left also to her bed chambers. Finally, Zuko and Mai were alone to walk towards their neighboring rooms.

The amber-eyed boy couldn't help but feel awkward around the girl he used to be so infatuated with. He just couldn't read her. Was she angry that they had split up, or did she accept that it was for the best? Maybe she was having the same thoughts because neither spoke until they came to the doors of the rooms.

"So..." she began, sounding as though she had no idea what to say. "That man –Calsifer– seemed nice... And he seemed pretty interested in you..." He didn't know what her point was, but as she was a girl, he was sure she had one.

"Well I am the Crowned Prince of the Fire Nation... people are bound to stare and try to get on my good side." Still, Zuko couldn't help but recall the look Cal had given him as he was ringing up his (less pretty) purchases –like Zuko had a bounty over his head that Calsifer wanted to claim.

She gave him a level stare. "That's not what I meant. He was interested in you. Romantically. You were practically egging him on the whole time, too." It wasn't really an accusation, no matter how much it sounded like one. She just cared about him, and wanted to know what was going on in his mixed-up mind. He however, couldn't meet her eye, and didn't respond. She understood his actions as well as any spoken answer. Without a word, she nodded "goodnight" and shut her bedroom door behind her.

In the embers of the day, Zuko was left standing alone in the hallway before his room, feeling the piece of paper Cal had slipped him with a hand in his pocket, and wondering why he hadn't thrown it away earlier.

AN: Oh my god.. chapter done and it's MUCH longer than I expected for a second chapter (Which is good news for future chapters). There are 6151 words here in total, and it only took me … three? Days to write.

The next chapter will ALSO be centered around the palace (much to the disappointment of sokka/zuko fans) because it's necessary for plot development. And I've decided that Cal needs to show up in the next chapter too... so yay. However, it'll be a lot shorter than this one, which means that the NEXT one after that will come much sooner (and be at the Western Air Temple =]).

So, for next time: We meet Lady Konowae, the mysterious healer-woman of "The City" and a mini-*date* with Cal.

See you then!