You're Not Fooling Anyone-Part II
it's rude to eavesdrop, you know...

After his Uncle left, Zuko pulled out some maps of the land around his ship and tried to come up with a plan to capture the Avatar.

If I put soldiers here...here...and here...then the Avatar will be surrounded.

But what about the peasant warrior? One soldier should be enough to incapacitate him. Better make it two. He's proved elusive in the past.

"I thought you would like some tea to help pass the time." Zuko was surprised by the sudden interruption. He even jumped up a little, not expecting to suddenly be interrupted by his Uncle. He didn't even hear the door open. Iroh was stealthier than Zuko gave him credit for. But surprised as he was, Zuko was committed, so he didn't turn around to greet his Uncle and remained focused on the maps in front of him.

"Come now, tea is an excellent way to order one's thoughts during stressful days like this one."

Zuko continued to ignore his Uncle. He just scowled and tried to block out the old man's voice.

The giant bison could be troublesome...Maybe if I give these soldiers nets...and put them here...

"Tea is especially important for a growing girl."

Zuko's eyes bulged comically. His Uncle did NOT just call him a girl. He turned around, back erect, fists burning, and eyes blazing. He opened his mouth ready to unleash a furious torrid of insults that would make all his other moments of anger look like childish pouting in comparison.

But he blinked and closed his mouth when he saw he was completely alone. He looked around the room, wondering where his Uncle could have possibly gone.

"Now what type of tea do you prefer? Jasmine or Green?"

The sound of Iroh's elderly voice came from far left, but when Zuko turned his head to the source of the question, all he saw was a blank wall. Had his Uncle suddenly turned invisible to avoid his wrath? Zuko quickly threw that possibility out. The sooner one started to entertain those kinds of thoughts, the sooner they ended up living in a large white room with soft walls.

"Um...Jasmine is fine, I suppose..."

This second voice was very feminine and eerily familiar. Dear Agni, was he going crazy?

"An excellent choice, my dear. I have always been particularly fond of that one myself."

Eager to prove his own sanity, Zuko examined the wall closely. He was determined to prove to himself, at least, that his Uncle's tea obsessed life hadn't driven him insane. When he found the air vent, Zuko quickly concluded that he was eavesdropping on somebody else's conversation (and was quite sane).

"I want to apologize for your current accommodations. If it were up to me, you would be given a much nicer room to stay in. Unfortunately, my nephew is not quite as courteous to his guests as I am. A fact I am desperately trying to change."

"Oh, so I'm his guest now?" she spat venomously. "I was under the assumption that I was his prisoner."

Zuko scowled at her sudden outburst. The peasant should be grateful that she's not in chains and that she was allowed to keep her room.

"You should never assume, darling. It never turns out well," he said, skillfully changing the topic.

A tense silence followed Iroh's odd statement and lasted several moments before Katara spoke again. "So you're Zuko's Uncle?" her tone a combination of suspicion and curiosity.

"Yes. Please, call me Iroh. And what should I call you?"

She hesitated for a second, unsure whether she should give her name to the uncle of the boy that had been trying to capture her and her friends. "Katara," she said reluctantly.

"Katara," Iroh repeated. "A beautiful name. It suits you well."

Katara smiled despite herself. She knew she should be more on edge around this stranger, but the old man was very charming and had a way of making you feel like you were talking to an old friend.

Zuko rolled his eyes. That was his Uncle alright.

"I find that tea tastes much better when shared. However, my nephew does not share the same mentality. So I'm forced to find new friends to enjoy my tea with."

"Zuko doesn't look like the type to enjoy tea. Or anything, for that matter." Katara's tone was icy and vicious. The peasant's attitude was starting to get to Zuko. And if she didn't start showing him the respect that a Prince deserved, you can bet she was going to spend the night in chains.

"My nephew has been through a lot in his short life. He has seen too much pain and anguish and I'm afraid that it has made him narrow-sighted, unable to appreciate small things that make life great. He is less a boy and more like an old war veteran."

Zuko instantly tensed. This was the first time that Zuko had ever heard his Uncle talk about him to someone else. And the mournful tone of Iroh's voice made him even tense.

Another moment of silence before Zuko heard Katara's voice echo through the vent.

"Everybody has issues. He's not the only one that has to deal with having a hard life. He needs to learn to deal with his past. Maybe then he can find a better future and find out who he really is."

Zuko's clenching hands had turned his knuckles white. Anger blazed within the prince, insulted at his prisoner's words. Who was she to say such things about him? She was just a stupid backwater peasant who couldn't bend a puddle to save her life! She didn't know anything about him or his life. She was a fool who didn't even have the right to so much as look at him, let alone give him advice on his life!

But far in the corners of his mind, Katara's words echoed.

Even the tone that she had used had gotten to him. Her voice had lost the icy sharpness that she used before when referring to him. Instead she spoke with a silent conviction one might use when advising an ally, a comrade...a friend.

"You are wiser than your age, Katara," said Iroh. "Perhaps I could set up a meeting between the both of you, so you can give him some more advice."

"What?" asked a shocked Katara.

What? thought a shocked Zuko.

"Tomorrow I'll set up a lunch date so you two can talk. I have a feeling that the words of a pretty young woman might be more effective than those of an old, tea drinker."

"A lunch...date?"

Every muscle in Zuko's body tensed immediately. Dear Agni, was his Uncle trying to set him up on a…a date? What was the world coming to?

"We have an excellent cook on board and he'll cook you anything you want. So what would you like for lunch tomorrow?"

"Uh...I'm not...well, I don't think tha-

"No suggestions? Well, the cook's specialty is sweet and roasted pork and fish and shrimp stew. Which do you like more?"

"Umm...the stew, I guess. But I don't thi-"

"Wonderful. Have a good night and I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said just as he left the room.

Never more furious and humiliated in his life, Zuko's scowling face had turned a dark shade of red. How dare his Uncle try and set up such ludicrous plans? And behind his back no less! If Iroh seriously thought that that pointless lunch...conference-conferences because it was certainly NOT a date- was going to happen, than the former General was even crazier than Zuko had previously thought.

And his face was red out of anger, not embarrassment. And his heart was racing because he was so damn furious, and not because he had never been on a date before-not that that matters!. And his palms were sweating because...well, he didn't know why his palms were sweating... But it was certainly not because of her!

Later that night, Katara was moved to a different room and the air vent was promptly blocked up.

As Zuko lay in his bed, one final thought drifted through his mind before he entered the land of dreams.

She's not even that pretty...

Zuko and Katara never had their lunch date because Katara had escaped sometime in the night.

Iroh was very disappointed.

Perhaps because he was too preoccupied with thoughts of capturing the Avatar and she was busy thinking about trying to survive, both teenagers had completely forgotten about the air vent and the conversations they overheard. Even when the two were traveling together and on good enough term that they could be called friends, neither one remembered that fateful night. Or if they did, they didn't mention it.

The whole thing might have gone completely forgotten if Iroh hadn't very loudly mentioned it to them years later during dinner... with the whole Gaang...and the entire Royal Fire Nation Court.

A/N:

I sincerely apologize for the long lack of updates. My life has been real hectic lately. I been busy with summer college classes and looking for a job. I just haven't had the time to do anything lately. But I promise that's all going to change. I'm going to make some time for FF.

And I have one other piece of news that I'm very happy about. I'm going to be an Uncle!

My older sister is five months pregnant and it's going to be a boy. I'm incredibly happy. If I knew how, I would put some pictures of the ultrasound on my profile. His name is going to be Dean.

So drop a review and tell me what you think or offer your congratulations. Either one is fine. I just want reviews.