This was all the break he'd get. One day to sort out his emotions and then he'd have to go back to being Fire Lord. After last night's dream, all the sleep that didn't happen, and promises of marriage to Katara, it felt like an insurmountable task to return to being Fire Lord and put all this behind him. Zuko leaned back against a moon peach tree in the small grove planted outside the kitchen. The fruit made the air sweet and fragrant, and outside of the turtleduck pond, it was his favorite place, and his favorite fruit and scent.

But now there were people coming, disrupting his peace. He opened his eyes and watched Katara and Toph come toward him. Katara smiled and waved, but her smile was strained, and Zuko had half a mind to walk away from them and put a locked door between him and whatever news they had. There'd been enough disappointment for him already, and now they would ask him to deal with more.

"Sugar Queen and I have been talking," Toph said, plopping down across from him. "Maybe it's a good thing that you've been grounded. She told me about this Chem character—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Katara lowered herself next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not listening," he said before she had the chance to say anything.

"What's your deal?" Toph squeaked out, shooting a finger in his direction. "Look, lie to Hau all you want, but I know the truth. The moment he turns his back, you're bolting out of this place so fast—"

"She's my mother, I won't abandon her!"

See, they'd done it again. Zuko had restarted his project of waking up and not being pissed, and the day had started well. He felt drained, lonely without Katara, a little achy, and maybe like someone was kicking him while he was down, but overall, he couldn't exactly say he was pissed. Then Toph and Katara had to come along and ignore him. It hurt too much, it was still too soon. He wanted to just wallow in a bit of grief and melancholy for a while, but they were determined to not let him.

"We're not asking you to abandon her," Katara said soothingly. Her hand was still on his shoulder, and she was trying to guide him to lay his head on her shoulder. "Zuko, you don't have to keep doing this on your own."

"I'm not on my own," he said, hating his voice for cracking. The Fire Lord does not cry. He took in a shaky breath.

"Look, Zuko, we're your family." Hesitantly, Toph grabbed his hand and held it. It was such an intimate gesture for her. "You don't get to pick and choose when you have family. We're here for you, all the time."

"So Sokka seems fond of reminding me."

"Then stop with the jerkbending and let us help. Or don't you trust us?"

He waited a few beats. "Of course I trust you."

Toph made an indignant noise that was worthy of Katara-rage and threw down his hand. She reared back and punched him for real in his shoulder.

"How dare you! You don't trust us!"

"It's not that simple, Toph!" Zuko rubbed his shoulder. That really, really hurt. She might not have grown much in the past three years, but she hit even harder, if that was possible. "It's not a trust thing…"

"Then what is it?"

"It's mine, ok. This is my job. I'm supposed to be the one to find her. She's my mother. I promised…"

He looked at Katara, hoping she would understand, but she said nothing. She was giving him that strained smile, and she pat his cheek a few times, but she wasn't going to say she understood. Maybe she didn't. Sometimes there were things a person had to do alone. He decided to try a different tactic.

"If I had brought you Yan Rah's head," Zuko said to Katara quietly, "would you have felt that you had your revenge?"

Katara looked startled, caught off guard by the question. Perhaps she did understand, which was why she didn't often scold him for not letting their friends know about the quest. She started to fidget the longer he looked at her, and finally she turned away.

"No. No, I suppose not."

"Look, Zuko, people are afraid there will be riots in Ba Sing Se," Toph said, her finger inches from his face. He didn't think he liked her using their real names as much. "Hau told you, and I'm going to tell you again. You are not allowed to leave the Fire Nation. Not now. Who's going to protect the Earth Kingdom when the riots start? There was a huge meeting while you were playing secret ninja, and your council jumped down Hau's throat because they knew that he knew where you were. And he wasn't telling."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because I was there. Hau asked me to come, hoping I could put in a few well placed words at Gaoling, or maybe speak with Aang, because right then, I was the best they could do. And I'm a fifteen year old girl with no desire for real political power."

She crossed her arms and sat, and the three were quiet. Zuko's shoulders slumped, and he gave in, resting his head on Katara's shoulders. Toph and Hau were right. He had a country to run, and he was the Fire Lord, and he should be the one making all the important decisions. It just…hurt so much to feel like he was letting her down.

"If I had known things were this bad," Katara said, stroking his hair gently, "I would have tried to convince you we should wait, but I've spent too much time on a boat, lately. I don't get the news as quickly as I should."

She kissed his forehead, and he took another shaky breath. He wanted his uncle. He was messing everything up. Again. Like he'd always done.

"None of us knew. It happened in the span of three or four days. It's pretty clear that Ba Sing Se needs help. No one thought tensions would get so high so quickly. The upper class is demanding the gates between the rings be closed and locked. But don't worry, Sparky. I've got a plan that will work around you having to stay in the capitol. It starts with you making it known that you've given your mother up for dead—"

"What? No!" He sat upright, but Katara was pulling him down again, making soft cooing noises like he was a baby, and he hated it for working. He wasn't weak and feeble; he could manage more than one thing at a time. Mostly.

"Shh, shh." She was rubbing his head again, which she knew he found relaxing. "You don't trust Chem, I don't trust Chem, but it's clear that he trusts me. If everyone else can use make these situations work for them, then why not us? This is the only reason he exists to me. Whatever else he may say, Zuko, my loyalty is to you."

"Yeah. You know that no matter what, we side with you." Toph punched the ground a bit. "Besides, maybe we can even find a way around this Chem man. Oh, and don't worry about telling us that we shouldn't bother. I've already sent out a bunch of letters."

"What? What the hell, did anyone even think I should know about this?"

"Shh, Zoozie." Katara was petting him again. "If we told you first, you would say no."

"I hate you both."

"No you don't," Toph said, giving him one of her affectionate punches. "If you did, you wouldn't let her call you something stupid like that."

Katara giggled softly, and Zuko groaned. There were three people in the entire world he would rather never find out the stupid nicknames Katara called him: Toph, Hakoda, and Uncle. In that order.

"So, what did the council decide while I was away?"

Toph shifted uncomfortably. She poked holes in the ground. "You haven't talked to Hau about it?"

"Not yet. We're meeting later today."

Toph covered her ears, shook her head. "If Ba Sing Se breaks out in riots, they wanted to know what they should do. You know, if a defense army is organized to stop the fighting…should the Fire Nation send soldiers to help…"

"And?"

Toph flat out turned her back to him, and Zuko's stomach dropped. There was no way he'd be able to justify his actions to himself, now. Not with Toph avoiding the answer like that, because Toph was almost always straightforward. She only did this with bad news. He touched her shoulder.

"What did they decide?"

"No. The majority voted no, and the only person who could overturn that ruling was gone."

It was official. The universe still hated him.

A/N: And so Zuko's reality check really hits home. A bit more Toph Love wouldn't hurt either. I've kinda thought that if any place was going to have some real trouble after the war, it would be Ba Sing Se. At least the Fire Nation's problems are out in the open, and there were some people who would oppose the war. In Ba Sing Se, though, it was total oppression, and I figure people would be very wary of the government. I also think Kuei would be a rather weak king-Long Feng kept him oblivious to things, and while Kuei did show a bit of strength and intelligence on his own when Long Feng was deposed, he's facing a rather steep learning curve. I don't believe Iroh would let Zuko go without continuing to teach him about the nation and how to be a good leader (even if those teachings were hidden under something else...like pai sho, maybe?). Plus, he would have Iroh at his side to help him along the way. Kuei could get help from his generals, but I got the impression that they were more focused on the war rather than governing the city. That was all Long Feng.