Author's Note: A big thank you to all who reviewed last chapter. Your words of encouragement and simply telling me that you're out there enjoying the story means a lot. Now brace yourselves, my pretties; things are about to get... interesting. Happy reading :)

Chapter 7

Suki and Katara stopped by a noodle shop; it was too late to start cooking and Sokka would be desperate for food by now. They carried the warm square boxes in plastic bags through the nightlife of the streets. The pitter-patter of rain kept them under sheltered areas of footpath as they moved towards home, and Katara had to resist the urge to cross the street when they came to walk opposite The Jasmine Dragon.

"So who was this boy you were hanging out with after detention anyway?" Suki asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Katara tore her eyes away from the café and bowed her head against the wind. "Just a guy from school. He was in detention with me and he helped me get my sketchbook back after Ms Joo Dee confiscated it."

Suki giggled. "That's so cute! Is he cute?"

Katara was taken aback by the question. "Oh… um, yeah, I guess."

"Really? What does he look like?"

She could feel herself blushing as she fumbled to answer the question. "Well, he's tall and his hair is black and … I dunno, he seems well built. But he has this scar…"

"Ooh, did he tell you how he got it? Scars are so cool. How did he get it? A fist fight?"

"His dad burned him."

Suki frowned. "Oh." They walked up the front steps to the house and Katara pushed the door open. "So, who is this guy? He sounds interesting."

Before Katara could answer, Sokka swarmed in on them with complaints and questions. He quickly relieved them of the noodle boxes and Katara followed closely to him to make sure he only ate his share. Suki smacked his hands away from the boxes when he sat down at the table. "Wait for everyone else!" She started setting the table and Katara moved into the next room to find Gran-Gran sitting in a recliner.

"There you are. I was beginning to worry."

"Sorry, Gran-Gran. Suki and I brought dinner home. Come and eat." She helped the elderly woman up and walked slowly with her into the kitchen. The four sat around the table and Sokka quickly grabbed the nearest box of noodles and began to devour its content. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Sokka."

"So you should be!" he said with his mouth full. Suki looked at him, unimpressed with the poor manners. "What took you so long?"

"I had an after-school detention with Ms Joo Dee," she explained for what felt like the millionth time. "Then I went to the hospital to see Aang and…" Katara trailed off and bit her lip. She looked down at her box of noddles and suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

Gran-Gran placed a hand on her arm. "Is Aang alright?"

Katara looked across the table at Suki, who stared right back. Sokka put down his box of noodles and looked between them. Katara shook her head and felt herself starting to shake with sobs again, but she bit back on them; crying wasn't going to help her friend.

The evening passed over The Jasmine Dragon with a gentle flow of customers. Zuko watched his uncle's undying smile as he greeted and thanked everyone as they came and as they left and couldn't help but give a little smile himself. A young woman with lose black braids stopped to talk to his uncle. Zuko could hear their soft conversation from where he stood, stooped over a recently vacated table as he cleaned.

"Thank you so much for the tea; it was delicious."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"You really do make the best tea in all of Ba Sing Se."

Iroh gave a humble chuckle and thanked her for the compliment. "You're too kind."

"Excuse me, but do you think you could tell me the name of the boy just over there?"

There was a pause in their conversation and Zuko froze and listened a little closer.

"Oh, you mean my nephew, Zuko?"

"Zuko… thank you, Sir."

Zuko straightened up and turned to see the girl bow to his uncle and then turn to look at him. She walked over to him with a bounce in her step and a smile on her bright and friendly face. "Hi there. Zuko, right?"

He raised his eyebrow. "Right…"

"I'm Jin. I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go out for dinner some time."

It sounded more like a question and Zuko felt himself blush. He fiddled with the piece of cloth he'd used to wipe down the table. "Oh, um…"

Iroh appeared at his elbow. "He'd love to!"

Jin smiled widely. "Great! When can I see you?"

"Are you free tomorrow night?" his uncle asked. Jin nodded. "Zuko, you're not working tomorrow night."

"I'm not?"

"That's right."

"Great! I'll meet you out the front at six," Jin said. She took a step back and bowed politely to them both. "Goodnight." She skipped away, happy and graceful.

Iroh nudged his nephew in the ribs, but Zuko scowled back. "What was that for?"

"You need a lady-friend! You're so tense… I'll bet she could really lighten you up."

"I don't need to lighten up," he said as the last two customers waved goodbye.

"Thank you for coming, have a lovely night!" Iroh called after them. "Zuko, it's only out for dinner. Come on, it will be fun! She seems like a nice girl, doesn't she?" Zuko frowned deeply at him. Iroh sighed. "Just go out with her tomorrow night and I'll let you decide what happens from there."

"Fine. But don't do that again."

Iroh chuckled. "You'll thank me for it later." Zuko doubted it, but said nothing and went to clean another table. "I'll get that. Could you change the bin bags, please?"

Zuko handed the cloth over to his uncle with a nod and disappeared out the back. He relined the bins in the kitchen and dragged the full bags out the back door, snatching up the keys to the dumpster. The door swung shut behind him and he heard it lock and sighed when he realized he'd forgotten the key to let himself back inside. The sensor lights did not come on as he pulled the bags away from the door and he fumbled to find the padlock on the giant bin in the dark.

"Hello, brother," a voice startled him. He spun around and searched the shadows for a figure; for the person he knew that voice belonged to. "Settled in well with Uncle, I see." Azula stepped forward. In the dark, Zuko could see the red uniform-like clothes and the little golden badge which confirmed that she was a member of the Red Army.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?"

She sulked. "Zuko, it's polite to greet people before you bombard them with questions."

"I'll ask all the questions I want. Where have you been and why are you back?"

She took another step towards him and he could see the smirk her lips formed. "I'm being Dad's eyes in the city here and I would like you to help me." Zuko frowned at her. "Dad misses you, by the way. He asked me to be sure I told you if I ever found you again."

"You found me when you came back to school a few months ago."

"It's too risky to talk about stuff like this at school and you know it."

"Stuff like what?"

Azula sighed impatiently. "Why so hostile, Zuko? Don't you love your little sister anymore?"

"My sister deserted me three years ago along with my father. As far as I'm concerned, Uncle is the only family I have left. It's pretty obvious I'm not good enough for you and Dad and I'm done trying to please him or be as good as you."

Azula laughed. The sound was cruel in the damp night air. "I'm sorry that you feel that way, brother."

"Don't call me that."

She ignored him. "Anyway, Dad and I want your help. We need to find as much information about King Kuei as we can and relay it to him. I've already made a start, but there are some files up in the palace that I want to get my hands on and I can't do it on my own. I'm not stupid enough to try, either."

"Well, you're going to have to find someone else. I'm not helping you." Zuko turned back to the dumpster and found the padlock, turned the key and threw the bags in. The sound of the lock clicking into place again sounded so final that Zuko almost felt relieved. But Azula was still standing there when he turned back around. "You should leave," he said. He pushed past her and tried to push the door open again. He'd forgotten; it was locked.

"You know, Dad would really appreciate it if you helped out. I mean, come on, Zuko, we're your family."

"Family?" he said, rounding on her. "I haven't seen either of you in three years until you showed up back at school. I lost half of my face to him. What kind of a family is that?"

"He's sorry that he left you behind, Zuko."

"Sorry?"

"He regrets it. And he regrets lashing out at you like that," Azula said, straight-faced, unsmiling. "He wants you to join us again." Zuko frowned and faced the locked door again, thinking. She couldn't be serious. But if she was… "If you help me get those files, our work here will be done and I can get you out of this place and take you back to Dad. He would welcome you with open arms if you helped us now." Zuko didn't turn around. He could feel her staring at his back, waiting for him to cave in and surrender himself to what she wanted. "It's your choice, Zuko. Let me know when you've made it."

Zuko listened to her footsteps fade away and closed his eyes. He put his hands out and leaned against the shut door, confused, lost. What am I supposed to do?

Author's Note: Aaaaaand a big welcome to Sokka, Gran-Gran, Jin and Azula. What did you all think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Meh?

Can anyone guess where I'm going to take this story? I'd love to hear what you think, so if you think you might be reading my mind, or want to offer any suggestions (I'll give you shout outs if I use your suggestions).