Zuko swept the floor of the tea shop, not sure what to do. There weren't many customers during the heat of the afternoon. He wiped sweat from his brow and continued to clean. Uncle had gone to get some groceries for the two of them, and so Zuko was in charge of the store. Eventually, he decided to sit in one of the chairs and relax for a few minutes.
The tea shop was very quaint, nothing too special about it. It was a small, single-story building made out of wood, standing near the center of the shopping district. A stepping stone and two wooden pillars flanked the door, marking the entrance to the little shop. Two lanterns glimmered on the pillars throughout the night, inviting passersby to enjoy a freshly brewed cup of tea. Zuko admired the simplicity of the design. Despite what he said, he didn't mind working as a waiter in the shop. He found it much better than his previous silly quest to capture the Avatar for his honor. He was glad that Uncle had persuaded him to give that up. Zuko enjoyed Uncle's way of life. But still, sometimes, he felt lost in life without his constant goal of regaining honor, as if without a purpose.
Zuko ceased his ruminating as Uncle Iroh walked in the door.
"Zuko, I just heard some great news!", Uncle exclaimed.
Zuko stood. "What is it, Uncle?" He was hesitant; Uncle's news usually wasn't that great for him.
He shoved a flyer in Zuko's face. "We can cater our tea here! It will bring us some good business.", Uncle beamed.
Zuko quickly scanned the flyer. "A dance tonight? Would tea really be appropriate at a dance?"
"I'd think so. Young people these days really need to appreciate the wonders of tea." Uncle's smile was so wide, Zuko couldn't help but comply to bringing tea to the event.
As Uncle went on and on about ideas for brewing the tea and presenting it at the dance, Zuko smiled and let himself join in Uncle's excitement for it. As he did so, he found his thoughts drifting to Katara. Even though that meeting was harmless, he was worried that she or others could show up at the dance or at the tea shop. Zuko needed to be careful, and decided to tell Uncle about the incident in the forest.
Uncle smirked. "What are you so worried about, Prince Zuko? Do you have eyes for this Katara girl?"
Zuko couldn't help the blush that crept up on his cheeks. He felt so ashamed that Uncle would even think of such a thing. "Uncle! Don't you realize she could be a threat to our livelihood? What if our location is revealed to the Fire Nation because of the Avatar?"
"You must not be so uptight. Let those worries go and just enjoy your life. This girl won't like you if you act like this.", Iroh remarked, mockingly but also sincerely.
Zuko was exasperated. He let out a groan of frustration and stalked off to his room. He stretched out on his bed and tried to calm down. Zuko hoped that Katara or others from Aang's group wouldn't come to the dance; he could still see her eyes in his head, piercing him.
Meanwhile, in the shop, Uncle sat at one of the tables, thinking about Zuko. He understood his sense of loss from letting go of his quest of honor. Zuko's whole life had been devoted to gaining respect from his father and capturing the Avatar. Now, without that, he must feel purposeless in the world. Iroh wanted Zuko to find another goal for his life, one that is noble and fulfilling.
Hearing that the Avatar's group is in Ba Sing Se, Iroh felt that Zuko would truly find himself if he devoted his efforts to bringing balance and peace to the world. Despite this, Uncle would never force Zuko into doing anything, but nudging him in the direction of the Avatar would be the best, in Iroh's opinion. However, getting this ideal plan to come to fruition will be rather difficult.
Iroh sighed, pulling himself from his thoughts, and went to knock on Zuko's door to ask him to help with the preparation for the dance, putting a beaming smile on his face.
Katara pinned back one more strand of hair behind her head, then glanced at the mirror. Her eyes glided across her reflection, taking in every detail, from the hues on her kimono to the gems that dangled from her ears. It took awhile, but she managed to put herself together nicely for tonight's dance. She only hoped Tea Boy appreciated her outfit as much as she did, maybe even more so. Katara crossed the threshold into the living room, where Toph stood impatiently in her normal outfit.
"Toph, why aren't you dressed yet? The dance is in 10 minutes!" Katara exclaimed, incredulous.
"What are you talking about? I am dressed." Toph said, confused.
"You're going like that? It's a dance, at least try to dress up." Katara advised. Katara saw this coming; Toph was never the girly type. The thought of makeup and fine gowns repulsed her and one dance didn't seem to be enough of a reason to change her habits.
"It's not like it matters, anyway. I can't even see what I look like, so what's the difference?" Toph questioned.
"Well, others will see you. And everyone will be dressing up, so why not join in the fun?" Katara remarked.
"There's nothing fun about dressing up." Toph replied stubbornly.
It was terribly obvious that Toph was not going to dress up for the dance. Katara started to feel painfully self-conscious, as if she'd gone through so much trouble to groom herself for no reason. She sighed, realizing that her efforts to impress some nameless boy really were somewhat silly.
But Katara still wouldn't give up on Toph, she had to get this girl into something fancy, just for a change of pace if anything.
"Well have you ever tried to dress up? How can you know if you never tried to." Katara argued. Toph merely stood quietly, her arms crossed in frustration. Katara then grabbed Toph's arm and dragged her towards the wardrobe. Toph, protesting and squirming, ended up giving in and Katara managed to dress her up within minutes.
The two of them quickly slipped out from the room, and tiptoed to the door. They were trying to avoid Aang and Sokka, but sadly that plan didn't work out as expected.
"Hey Katara, where are you? Have you seen Momo?" Aang called through the house, his voice echoing.
Katara and Toph stood dead still, but their silence was to no avail.
"Oh, there you are, Kata-" Aang's eyes widened as he walked in the room. "Umm...uhh...what are you guys wearing? I mean, not like it looks bad or anything, but uhh, it just surprised me, and you look really pretty by the way..." Aang stuttered, blushing and fidgeting.
Just as Toph was about to interject and create an excuse, Sokka conveniently walks in as well. "Hey Toph, I need your help-Woah...what are you two doing? Where are you going?...Katara, if this is some secret rendezvous with some boy, then as your older brother I object-"
"Jeez! Both of you! Calm down! Katara and I are just going to the dance in the shopping district. Nothing special for you guys." Toph explained while she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, just like Toph said. We'll be back by 10. Now if you'll excuse us." Katara smiled. The girls turned away from the gawking guys before they could protest and strolled out of the house to the big party they'd been waiting for all day.