disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!

City of Facades and Stonewalls

"He's a giant bison; where could someone possibly hide him… Oh."

Mariko stirred from polishing one of her daggers, looking at the vast expanse of buildings laid out on either side of the railway and she felt her stomach drop. Well, if that's the case, we'd better start looking as soon as possible, she mused.

"Back in the city; great." Toph grumbled, petting the lemur draped over her right shoulder, earning a glance from the firebender admiring the many buildings and expansive territory that was the Lower Ring as they disembarked from the train car.

Sokka disagreed, "What's the problem? It's amazing!"

"Just a bunch of walls and rules," Toph countered with a dismissive hand, "You wait; you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."

Mariko huffed, sliding her hands into the pockets of her pants. "I agree with Toph; rules and regulations are some of the luxuries of being sheltered." She said with heavy sarcasm and some venom regarding the word 'luxuries'.

Sokka rolled his eyes, blinking when she stiffened and her left hand subtly tugged at the handle of her concealed dagger tucked into her right wrist guard, looking at where she was staring to see a brunette woman standing on the other side of the railway, seeming to wait for the train to pass so she could cross over.

There was a creepy vibe to that mechanical smile on the woman's face that made her the slightest bit on edge.

It heightened her sense of unease she tried her damnedest to conceal beneath a neutral mask when the woman's mechanical smile was approaching them at a confident march.

Sokka elbowed her pointedly when seeing the dagger handle was poking out more, jerking her from her subconscious actions, watching her tuck it back and drop her arm, not without nudging him back in response, her pretty face going stoic.

"Hello, my name is Joo Dee." The woman introduced, looking to each of the teenager's faces. "I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Mariko. Welcome to our wonderful city," she nodded to the quartet before adding brightly, "Shall we get started?"

Mariko narrowed her eyes at her when her back was turned, traipsing alongside Toph's left, vaguely wondering how in hell this robot knew of her; she hadn't been that conspicuous in the past three years, had she?

Sokka seemed pissy when their guide completely ignored his attempts to deliver the news about the upcoming eclipse to the Earth King, trailing at the back of the group.

"This is the Lower Ring," Joo Dee informed after they left the station and boarded an elaborately posh carriage as they passed through the main street of the lower echelons in the city.

"What's that wall for?" Katara asked, indicating the wall barraging the slums from the middle class sections; her nose wrinkled at the blatant reminder of home.

"Ba Sing Se has many walls: there're the ones outside protecting us, and the ones inside that maintain order." Ignoring the quiet snort from the third girl present, she continued, "This is where our newest arrivals live, as well as our craftsman and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively." Joo Dee explained lightly.

Her lip curled slightly when noting a couple of men talking on one side of the carriage, amber eyes zeroing in on the broadsword's blade winking sunlight as it was held reflexively by a shady-looking man.

"You do want to watch your step, though." Their guide added, her smile faltering a smidge when the other five occupants looked at where the firebender was scowling.

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in only one part of the city?" Katara asked more to herself.

Aang had a slightly-somber expression on his face as he commented, "This is why I never came here before; I'd always heard it was so different from the way the monks taught us to live."

"Neat and single-file, keeping the strays out of the picture." Mariko contributed softly, folding her arms over her chest, jaw set in a displeased scowl. Just like home.

::::::::dOb::::::::

"Is that woman deaf? She only seems to hear every other word I say!" Sokka exploded when they stopped to be given a tour of Town Hall in the Middle Ring.

It had only taken half an hour or so to pass between the two sects but Mariko got that itch again, the curiosity that had first egged her to escape with Aang and his friends the day they met, the curiosity that used to get her in trouble when she was growing up.

Right now it was nagging her to go snoop around the Lower Ring.

She had her daggers and katana and carried little money; she'd be fine.

"It's called 'being handled'; get used to it." Toph informed bitingly, crossing her arms and slouching against the seat.

Mariko nodded her agreement and shuffled out of the carriage with the trio as she stayed put, if only to stretch her legs.

The tour of the 'oldest building in the Middle Ring' lasted at least for an hour, or more judging by her count. When Joo Dee turned to showcase some artifact to the trio, she took the chance and slipped away, darting behind a wall that separated the side street with the building she was showing them. She didn't waste a second to see if she had been missed, keeping to the shadows of the side streets until she backtracked to the middle-ground divider between the two sects of the city, crossing through without having anyone spot her; luck was with her.

Once setting foot in the Lower Ring she felt her shoulders sag with an unrequited sigh she hadn't let out in that damn carriage. Knowing she would be missed within an hour or so, she accepted that she would most likely get an earful from Katara and with that knowledge, she didn't look back as she continued walking, weaving in and around people that all seemed to have that weary look on their faces, the same weary look she had seen on the refugees back at Full Moon Bay.

Mariko crossed through at least four or five blocks without intrusion, and even though she felt some measure of shame once again at seeing how many people had been uprooted by the war, she was glad for the solace, even if it was just her.

A passerby cart carrying pottery got in her way when she came across another narrow street, and she practically had to jump back from getting run over by the driver; she glared slightly at the cart as it continued on (to the main street their carriage had come through, if she had to guess), leaving her to catch sight of the sign adorned with two jade lanterns on either end of a shop right infront of her.

Tilting her head to the side, she read the characters scrawled and emboldened on the sign and smiled thoughtfully at the prospect.

A small break wouldn't hurt, now would it?

She stepped inside the dimly lit main room of the tea shop and closed the door quietly behind her, the streaks of sunlight that came with her dying when the door closed. "Hello? Anyone here?" She called politely once noticing the room was vacant of life.

"Sorry for the wait…" The tea-server declared as he stepped out from the back room, and she took in his olive-brown longsleeve shirt under a brown sleeveless tunic, the short ruffled dark brown hair on his head, his pale complexion… Wait a second.

Gold met amber.

"W-what the… Mariko?"

"Zuko?"

"What're you doing here?"

Mariko took in the pale apron he wore and she failed to keep the confused expression for much longer, an amused smile curving her lips slowly. "I-I, um… Have you been here long, in Ba Sing Se?" She asked; the prince she had grown up with wouldn't take a simple stint job of serving tea without swallowing his pride.

"Um, no… not really, anyway. Uncle and I barely arrived yesterday." Zuko stumbled slightly over his words, his ears burning as he saw the laughter dancing vainly in her eyes, knowing he looked stupid with this damn apron on… "What about you? I thought you were with the Avatar." He returned quickly, clearing his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, I'm just doing some exploring. His girlfriend and I kinda had a spat on the way here, so I figured I'd cool off by looking around, y'know, in the Lower Ring." She wasn't really lying, though the spat with Katara was weeks old, given they rarely butted heads.

He eyed her with a knowing look, seeing she slightly fidgeted under his stare, but other than that she was telling the truth; his face softened slightly. "You look like you got taller." Or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a sleeveless tunic that showed her thin arm muscles… Wait why was he ogling that? No, keep it platonic; he wasn't in the mood to get his hopes up with her.

The last few times they met she sided with her new friends, and each time it left a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.

Heat colored her cheeks pink and she kicked at the floor with a boot, closing her eyes calmly with a tilt of her chin upward, noting his hair again; she smiled thoughtfully. "Your hair grew out." She half-chuckled, amber eyes twinkling. "Kinda reminds me of a boar-cupine."

His cheeks turned dark pink and he snorted, cutting his gaze away at her instinctive reaction to a compliment; typical tomboy, typical Mariko. "S-shut up, at least my hair doesn't look like a tangled mess." He picked.

"That's only because I haven't combed it today." She puffed her cheeks out childishly, pouting.

He regarded the expression that crossed her face and couldn't help but chuckle quietly; even if she was flaky in her choices, she was still cute when she made faces.

"Don't patronize me," Mariko groused, slugging him affectionately on the shoulder.

Zuko rubbed his arm gingerly and pouted, making her laugh. "Ow! Crap, I almost forgot how hard you could punch…" He grumbled, narrowing his gold eyes in feigned scathing.

She smiled cheekily, lifting her hand that had punched him to tousle his hair. "You forget, princeling, that I happen to be a girl." She reminded.

He looked away with a slight blush coloring his cheeks again and he scowled embarrassedly. "Don't call me that." He pretended she didn't giggle at his embarrassment.

"I had wondered why my nephew sounded so flustered." A voice said from the doorway to the back room, making both teenagers look to see his uncle standing there with a pot of tea in hand, the manager obviously having been assured they could handle the front with ease.

"Uncle!" Mariko beamed, forsaking formality and watching him lower the pot onto a nearby table as she embraced him. "I'm so glad you're here! I was worried."

Then why didn't you stay? A small nagging voice in the back of his head demanded dryly.

::::::::dOb::::::::

"And you! Where've you been!?"

Mariko closed the front door behind her entrance and ignored the grimace that threatened to contort her face at the loud volume, regarding the explosive greeting from her age-mate with a neutral look. "Out."

She'd left the Lower Ring only an hour ago, saying she would be back the next day, and even though her friends should know where she had been for the past few hours, she didn't dare tell them. She had a pretty good feeling she'd end up both maimed and with the third degree if she voiced just who she had run into while in the slums of Ba Sing Se.

"Shoulda dragged me with you, then, just to get away from the snooze-fest." Toph huffed from picking her toes, lounging in the small common room by the back of the spacious living area.

"Sorry; so, judging by the grimness in the air, I imagine Ms. Smiles didn't let you within walking distance of the Earth King." Mariko nudged her gently after she traipsed past the annoyed Sokka and kicked her boots off, plonking down next to her.

"How'd you guess? I know this is kinda stretched, but have you ever heard of the Dai Li, Mariko?" Aang asked, sitting across from both girls.

Mariko finger-combed her mane of black hair she'd brought over her left shoulder, brow furrowing softly in thought. "Just that they're like the special-operative-police that're supposedly loyal to the Earth King. If what Joo Dee said was correct, though, regarding the inner walls restricting the lower, middle and upper class, then I'd bet my right hand that the Dai Li are the enforcers of 'order'." Her lip curled at the word and she yanked her fingers through a particularly stubborn knot. "Irony enough how life inside Ba Sing Se is a spitting image of how life in the Fire Nation is. Colonials, middle-class nobles, and then upper-class nobles plus the royal family make up the society; the latter are what make up Caldera, the palace city." She added the last bit dryly.

"Poverty and nobility are the same no matter what nation, huh?" Toph surmised.

"The only difference is that one nation churns out destruction every five seconds." Sokka mused as he plonked down next to Aang, slightly miffed, mostly curious now that she had spilled so much regarding how society was structured in the Fire Nation.

Mariko shot him a death glare, "I'm sure the Earth Kingdom has its bad blood, too; if you were warned to stay away from the Dai Li, then that obviously means there is bad blood all around." Though from the rumors and accusations it sounds like they've been corrupted for a while.

"So you think the Dai Li are corrupt or something?" Katara asked as she had been listening and had come to sit at Aang's right, blue eyes regarding her friend with curiosity.

"It's possible." She blinked once at noting she was the center of attention, feeling her ears burn as she sat back and scowled. "Look, just because I come from the Fire Nation doesn't mean I'm a walking military encyclopedia." If anything, just because my father is an admiral it doesn't mean he'd share combat stories with me when I was a kid, she silently added. "Sokka's the son of a warrior, here, anywho, and he is the leader, right?"

Almost visibly inflating, said boy smiled cheekily, "Right you are, Ms. Spitfire."

Mariko fought a grimace at basically complimenting him, rolling her eyes and flicking his ear.

"The King is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear." Katara informed, waving a rolled-up fancy scroll in her hand.

Aang lifted a brow, "You mean platypus-bear?"

"No, it just says 'bear'." Katara replied, mystified, looking at the scroll again.

Mariko rolled her eyes as the trio tried guessing what kind of pet the King had, sighing and sheathing the katana she had been polishing, a quiet 'clink' sounding. "Sounds boring."

Katara's hypothesis earned a raised brow, "The palace will be packed; we can sneak in with the crowd."

"Won't work." Toph declined simply, matter-of-factly, and at Katara's confused rebuttal, she added knowingly, "Well no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd would spot you from a mile away: you've got no manners."

Mariko smiled bemusedly at Katara's incredulous look, nodding her head. "Toph's right, actually. No manners or proper etiquette in the face of a room full of Earth Kingdom elitist snobs? You'll be thrown out faster than week-old-fish." She contributed blandly.

"Just because you lived in a noble house that makes you an expert?" Sokka scoffed.

"Manners and etiquette were forced on me since I could first talk; my mother was a fanatic about 'how a proper young woman should behave'." Mariko answered bitterly.

"'I've got no manners'? It's not like you two are exactly Lady Fancy-Fingers and Lady Politeness." Katara sniffed.

"I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it." Both fire- and earthbender answered simultaneously, the latter who had been munching on a pastry tossing it aside to let the lemur snack on it; "You never learned anything, and frankly, it's a little too late." She added, picking at her nose absently.

"Aha, but you learned it; you could teach us!" Sokka piped up from lounging near the raised platform Aang lounged on. Said airbender chimed, "Yeah, I'm mastering all four elements; how hard could learning manners be?"

Mariko sweatdropped when both boys tried to play fancy, snorting and then uttering a quiet giggle when their bows –they'd begun bowing low to each other, but the bows turned into narrowly-missed headbutts—resulted in a sharp head-butt that made both of them fall back in a heap. "Mum always said girls had more tact when it came to manners and being proper." She murmured.

"Katara and Mariko might be able to pull it off, but you two would be lucky to pass as busboys." Toph added with a snicker, regarding them with a bemused look.

Sokka pouted, "But I feel so fancy…"

::::::::dOb::::::::

"Are you sure you don't wanna go?"

She rolled her eyes and helped her tame the thick bushy locks of brown into an elegant chignon with green and pink hair adornments, letting her tuck the stray strands behind her ears. "Pretty sure a firebender in the middle of the King's palace is a violation in and of itself. Besides, I've suffered enough at the hands of the uppercrust society; I'll pass." She declined patiently.

She examined the chignon in the mirror of the communal bathroom's vanity, poking the light makeup she'd helped her put on before her hand was swatted away by her stylist. "Well okay, if you're sure…" She muttered.

"Let her sulk at home; as punishment for making me suffer through hell one last time, your penalty is helping me put on this damn warpaint." Toph said testily from the chair next to Katara's.

Both older girls shared a slight smile before Katara left the room.

Mariko sighed and pulled the makeup kit onto the right side of the counter and began working with her pale concealer. "Sorry I'm bailing on ya." She mumbled.

"Don't be; I know you're going out, anyway." Toph sniffed, perking her ears, not seeing the older girl stiffen; at sensing she'd caught her in a lie, she smirked cockily and closed her eyes when feeling the lavender eye shadow being put on. "The feet don't lie." She added simply.

Mariko chewed on her lower lip, scowling in defeat, and sighing as she applied the lipstick, a light pink color. "Perceptive little stonewall… You gotta promise you won't tell, okay?" She glanced over her shoulder at the closed door of the room and then at her 'masterpiece' who nodded slightly. "My friend is here, in the city. I ran into him yesterday in the Lower Ring." She explained softly.

Toph's brow crinkled slightly in thought as she added a darker tinge of pink blush to her cheekbones. "Your boyfriend you mean… That's that guy, isn't it? The nephew of that man. You were pretty depressed the day after we were in that ghost town." She didn't see her friend's cheeks color dark pink at her assumption, milky green eyes narrowing in realization.

"… Yeah, it's him. I don't know how he got here to Ba Sing Se, but he's here, and I… it's complicated." Mariko mumbled, finishing her work and putting the equipment away.

"Dunno, but all I'm saying is to keep it under wraps. If the Sugar Queen finds out about it..." She crossed her arms, a grim light entering her sightless eyes.

She sighed and nodded, smiling at the younger girl; for a stonewall tomboy earthbender, she was pretty smart for her age. "Thanks, Toph." She nudged her to get up, opening the door for her.

She slugged her arm affectionately, smirking when the older girl muttered an 'Ow'. "Don't mention it; if you see the old man, tell him I said hello." She replied under her breath, striding out to join Katara in the limelight.

::::::::dOb::::::::

It didn't take long for her to locate the shop again. Of course it was busy with customers, most of them looking like they'd come to relax after a hard day of work.

She had a hunch the shop's sudden increase in popularity had to do with Uncle Iroh; the man was best when it came to the ways of tea-making. "One jasmine tea, please." She said lightly once finding a vacant table at the back corner near the window on the right-hand side of the seating area, smiling up at the tea-server.

The prince made a face when seeing the amusement in her eyes, scribbling it down. "You just enjoy doing this, don't you?" He groused, his displeased scowl on his brow, one she had grown accustomed to seeing in the past few instances they had run into each other.

The admiral's daughter smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She allowed a chuckle as his lips formed into a thin line of annoyance and he turned to storm back behind the cashier's counter.

Zuko soon returned with a slightly lukewarm cup of tea, placing it infront of her with a bit of force. "Your tea, Your Highness." He bit out, irritable that she was enjoying heckling him so late in the afternoon.

Mariko grinned impishly, sipping the tea. "How sweet, you missed me so soon." She sang.

At not seeing more customers coming in, the prince exhaled and leaned against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, you just came to bug me again." He said testily.

"So you didn't miss me, after all." She surmised from above the rim of her cup, her tone softened in something he pegged to be melancholy, teasing shifting to somberness, her brow crinkling slightly.

"O-of course I missed you!" He stammered out indignantly in a hushed voice, seeing her blink and slowly look up at him; he quickly added, "I-I mean, Uncle missed you. Said it was good to see you here, in Ba Sing Se… Alive." His gaze softened out of reflex as he recalled the last time they'd talked this long, that cold night caught in the middle of a damn blizzard.

Mariko's cheeks warmed and it wasn't because of the tea; she dropped her gaze, sipping the drink. "I missed you, too. Uncle hasn't lost his touch…"

The front door of the shop being thrown open made both teens perk up. "I'm tired of waiting: these two men are firebenders!" Her stomach dropped to pool around her feet as she heard that familiar cocky voice now riddled with something she sensed to be paranoia, and frustration.

Well damn.

She glared at the bushy head of brown hair that belonged to that jerkoff vigilante and made to get up when his rough hand lashed out to curl his fingers around her wrist, his grip surprisingly gentle and firm. She looked up at his narrowed gold eyes and read the silent message that said 'wait'; obeying reluctantly, she fixed her tightened stare on her old acquaintance, on the twin swords he bared, light winking off the curved blade edges.

"I know they're firebenders; I saw the old man heating his tea!" Jet declared emphatically, brown eyes glowering at the man in question, darting between him and the scarred boy that was said man's nephew.

One of the two guards seated at a nearby table (both, she realized, worked with the ferry, judging by their uniform) rationalized clearly, "He works in a tea shop."

Jet was deadset in proving his point, "He's a firebender, I'm telling you!"

The same ferry guard regarded him now with apprehension and irritation, "Drop your swords, boy, nice and easy." Both he and his coworker stood from their seats to converge on the irrational teenager.

"You'll have to defend yourself; everyone will know… Go ahead. Show them what you can do." Jet drawled, advancing on his uncle.

Mariko handed her sheathed katana to him wordlessly as he strode forward to meet his challenge.

"You want a show? I'll give you a show." Zuko spat venomously as he kicked the table she'd been sitting at towards him from the side, proving as a form of leverage as his adversary dug his blades into the tabletop, hopping up to attack him, aiming to break his foothold.

Jet shattered the table he'd used as a shield, knocking the prince back onto the floor so he landed lithely; he grunted as he bolted for him, curved blades clashing sharply with the curved edge of the borrowed katana held tight in Zuko's hands.

She watched their duel with bitter amusement, light winking off the clashed blades, shrill screeches echoing when the blades met viciously and broke apart only to reconnect; she had almost forgotten how good Zuko was with a blade. Of course he was better than her when wielding dao swords, but even so, his skill with a katana matched her own. She sipped her tea, grimacing to note that it had gotten cold, amber eyes lifting again as somewhere between the clashing blades and fluid movement of both boys, they had moved the fight past the front door of the tea shop and out into the middle of the street.

Tossing her cold tea out the window, Mariko slipped past the throng of people that had congregated to watch the duel to get to the front, hearing Uncle Iroh trying to call out to Jet, saying that he was confused.

Damn right he is. She scoffed. I almost forgot how piss-poor of a fighter Jet is, especially with those swords; he had the trees for leverage back in that forest… here, he only has concrete and dumb luck.

Jet's nimble leap back from narrowly avoiding a swing at his head from the prince jarred her from her thoughts, and her narrowed gaze settled on him as he cried, "You hear that? The Fire Nation is trying to silence me!" Oh trust me, I'd gladly do it myself if you weren't so hell-bent on exposing Zuko. "It'll never happen!" With a snarl of anger he swung forward legs-first from using the well as support, resuming the fight.

A particularly vicious swing from Jet sent his opponent backward, heels digging into the cobblestone ground.

Now how did that chi-blocking go again?

Zuko stiffened when movement stirred in the corner of his right eye; Jet gave a battle cry as he barreled forward, swords swinging.

Three jabs, two to the middle of his spine and the third to the back of his nape, a single jab to both shoulderblades, and a sharp kick from behind into his backside sent the vigilante down with a grunt of pain and anger escaping from between gritted teeth; his gold eyes sharpened in surprise.

Jet's brown eyes flew to the girl in maroon and black that stood to the side. "M-Mariko… why?" He bit out in a half-snarl.

"You screw with my friends, your ass is mine." Mariko stated with all the warmth of the coldest iceberg in her low voice, spitting at the ground next to his face. "Pathetic."

Zuko stared at her, the tomboy he had grown up with, the stonewall spitfire that saw him through the loss of his mother and his first Agni-Kai, and as he kept his eyes on her he now saw the admiral's daughter she had tried to keep covered for the past few years. He regarded her stony and stoic amber stare with a measure of respect.

"What's going on here?" Both firebenders jerked their gazes to register on two men that had been observing the scene; the girl's gaze tightened as she recognized the dark green color of their robes, the serious features on their stony faces.

Dai Li.

"This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees!" The shopkeep, a short man with a black braid down his back and a thin moustache, informed, gesturing angrily to the paralyzed teenager on the ground.

The same outspoken ferry guard from before agreed grimly, "It's true, sir; we saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea-maker in the city."

Zuko rolled his eyes when his uncle blushed bashfully; Mariko smiled softly at his receiving praise (from Earth Kingdom guards, no less; my how the tables have turned…).

Mariko stooped slightly to lift the boy by the back of his tunic, tossing him to the two Dai Li agents. "He's all yours, boys." She mused scathingly, shooting another scowl at the now-incarcerated teenager as one of the two agents bound his hands with earth-cuffs and the other hoisted him onto his feet a little.

"You don't understand: they're Fire Nation! You have to believe me!" Jet cried out desperately as he was taken away, jerking his head to look from one agent to the other with wild brown eyes.

The crowd dispersed as soon as the cart the two men had put him in rolled away into the darkness of night, leaving the trio plus the two refugees' boss.

"Lee, you did well tonight; go back to the apartment and rest. Jun, see to it your cousin gets himself cleaned up." Uncle Iroh addressed the two teenagers, making both of them blink once.

'Lee'?

Zuko complied without a word, heading off in the direction of their shabby apartment complex; Mariko spared a glance at his uncle and noted the warm twinkle in his eye before she smiled and followed the prince.

Their complex reminded her of boxes stacked ontop of each other with small windows opening out to stare into the adjoining complex on either side, both, she noticed, were just like the one he and his uncle lived in.

He was quiet as he let her inside the apartment's small living room, a tiny kitchen near the windows, and two doors that must've led to the bedrooms, the third door showing an indoor bathroom that was open just a crack.

She blinked when he offered her katana back, smiling slightly and taking it from his hands, sheathing the sword with a quiet 'clink' when wood met steel, looking up at him and noting the few scratches and nicks here and there on his face, his hands; she frowned softly, exhaling and propping the sword against a nearby chair tucked into a desk, slipping into the bathroom to find the first aid.

Zuko made a face when she pulled the chair out for him to sit in; at seeing the knowing expression on her face, he exhaled and sat down, letting her tend to his cuts. "Since when do you know how to block someone's chi?" The first one to break the silence was him, and it threw her off for a moment.

Mariko paused in dabbing some antiseptic ointment on a narrow graze on his right cheekbone, shrugging and resuming her task. "Ty Lee used it against Katara and Sokka, the day of the ghost town incident, and I'd read about it back home. It's a cruel trick, but it works." She half-scoffed, smirking wryly, "I had to test it out at some point, didn't I?" She mused.

"You didn't need to use it on him; you didn't need to interfere." He pointed out, his words sounding more like a scolding.

She looked up at him from tying a strip of bandage around a mending cut on his right thumb's knuckle, quirking a brow in slight confusion. "Well I couldn't very well sit there and do nothing. Not when he was threatening you and Uncle…"

"How did he know you? Don't tell me you had a crush on him the last time you met." Zuko cut across, curiosity and anger mixing together and welling inside him, leveling a pointed glare down at his nurse.

Mariko glared back, her jaw setting, "No, like I would ever be interested in a pathetic jerk like him. Jet and I met a while back, after the incident with the pirates… He tried to hurt my friends, what else was I supposed to do, Zuko?" She rebutted impatiently.

'Jet and I'… he didn't know why, but the three words alone made his blood boil with anger towards that fool, and he was once again grateful he had been removed before things got ugly. His ears burned and tingled when she spoke his name; the sad grimace she had worn the last time they'd met flashed in his mind momentarily before vanishing.

"If you didn't have that sword… Why did you act so reckless and put your foot in?" Zuko demanded, left hand lashing out to grab her right wrist as she finished mending his minor scrapes, gold eyes blazing as they pinned her stubborn amber orbs.

Mariko blushed slightly and looked at the doorway to the bathroom, finding it suddenly interesting. "Because you needed me, you idiot." She answered quietly, her voice slightly subdued, the blush returning.

His hand slackened its grip on her wrist as her words sank in; he let her retrieve her wrist as he cut his gaze away sharply. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was? You could've gotten hurt, you idiot." He snapped in a slightly brittle tone.

She blinked once before her cheeks colored red and she rubbed her arm, looking down. "Like you're one to talk; you should be grateful I lent you my katana, you lunkhead." She bit out, regaining her fire again, amber eyes annoyed, before she stormed away to get a pot of tea going.

Zuko briefly marveled at how easily she resorted to performing a mundane task like tea-making, straightening from his chair to approach as she got the water boiling with a thin ember-chain underneath the stove grate. "You're as much of a lunkhead as I am, then; the Lower Ring isn't a place for someone who's hanging with the Avatar." He snorted.

Mariko whirled on him when he made that comment about her being in the Lower Ring, jabbing a finger into his chest as she bit out, "What about the Lower Ring? You don't think I'm strong enough to make it here; is that it?"

She had to let her hair grow out again, and it seemed wilder now than it did that night in the blizzard… "Not alone, no. In case you've forgotten, firebenders like you and me would be torn to shreds in the street if anyone in Ba Sing Se knew we weren't just refugees. You wouldn't last long!" He snarled lowly, perking up when she grabbed the front of his tunic in a hard fist, bringing his face closer to hers.

"I am not weak. I can take care of myself, as I've done for the last three years, and don't you dare think me less than what I am, Zuko." She purred venomously, amber eyes like jagged daggers stabbing into his equally-livid gold stare.

Three years apart, in solitude and pain, made him realize that she was exceptionally beautiful when she was riled.

Hands lowering to her ribs, the prince crushed her lips in a hard kiss, hearing a muffled gasp come from the spitfire girl.

She momentarily froze in his grasp before the sensation of his lips roving over hers demanding entrance sent her on the offense, and she was kissing back defiantly, stubbornly, fingers snaking up his neck and cheekbones to let her fingers weave in the ruffled brown hair on his head, coiling and tugging to somehow get him to cave.

But no, Zuko was stronger than her; he'd always been like that, for as long as she could remember.

He growled and held her tightly, feeling brief stinging sensations when her fingers tugged on his hair, and that set him on an even more stubborn need to make her crumble.

The distant sound of the front door opening made both teenagers scramble away from each other, both panting heavily, as flush-faced and defiant as ever, amber and gold clashing again.

"Was I interrupting something?" Uncle Iroh asked carefully as he left the doorway to approach the two teenagers.

Mariko smiled shyly as her cheeks burned scarlet and she tucked a few loosened strands of hair behind her right ear. "N-no, Uncle." She answered quickly.

Zuko felt a small smile curve his lips at seeing her remain just as flushed about their sudden kiss as he probably looked, shuffling away to fix the tea. "Thank you again, for earlier, Mariko." He ignored the annoyed look she shot in his direction, a cheeky light dancing in his gaze locked with hers, before his smile turned appreciative.

"Don't mention it. Um, I'd better get going; my friends are probably wondering where I am." Mariko shrugged her katana onto her shoulder and bowed slightly to her elder before shuffling to the door.

"Mariko, would it inconvenience you to come by tomorrow, as well? To check on Zuko's injuries, that is." Iroh asked sweetly, hearing his nephew almost break one of the tea cups behind, seeing her freeze with her hand hovering over the doorknob.

She looked at the blushing prince and smiled fondly despite the surprise and subtle suspicion regarding his request, nodding. "It'd be no trouble at all. Good night, Uncle; sleep well, Zu." She smiled warmly at his uncle before opening the door and slipping out into the darkness, closing it behind her leave.

"What was that for!?" He seethed, glaring daggers at his uncle, pouring him a cup of tea and placing it with some force onto the small dining table.

His uncle merely smiled innocently, sipping his tea with a sigh. "Ginseng, my favorite! And she made it just right, too… Mariko is a keeper, my nephew."

He pretended both his cheeks and ears didn't burn, storming out of the living room to his bedroom, a loud 'slam' echoing in the tiny apartment when the door closed shut behind him.

A/N: and yes, i love heckling Zuko.. can you tell? /gets bricked also, regarding Mariko using chi-blocking, it was just something i wanted to test out. some feedback on this would be WELL LOVED~ /hinthintwinkwink