A/N: I struggled for a week with the chapter I initially planned in between this and the last, which was to be Zuko's visit to Kyoshi Island, but then I figured, what the hell, him knowing Suki, he's probably sorted that out already. So here's the last chapter! Here be Jinko.

Finding Jin has proven the hardest. For months, Zuko has put in requests with the Earth King and the palace guard, all to no avail. With the remains of the Dai Li still in shambles, most of the organisation dissolved after their betrayal and its members imprisoned, there isn't much of a secret service in Ba Sing Se. But when he walks into Pao's tea shop, dressed down inconspicuously, there she is, sitting at her usual table, sadly staring down into a mug of Pao's hot leaf juice.

Zuko retreats before she spots him and ducks into the shadows. The lock on the back entrance is still as broken as ever, and after Pao has gotten over his shock at seeing Zuko suddenly materialise in his storeroom, after a sizable amount of coins changes hands, he agrees to relay Zuko's message. The fact that the Earth King's seal is on the invitation Zuko tells him to pass along probably helps, as does the fact that he's just been paid enough money to paint the walls of his shop golden.

His uncle is more than willing to stay after hours, and if he is pleased to see Zuko's attempt at making things right with the girl Iroh set him up to begin with, he knows better than to show it. Come nightfall, the Jasmine Dragon is devoid of customers and Zuko waits.

Knock-knock.

"Please, come in!"

His uncle opens the door and lets her in. Zuko can hear her soft voice, hushed and uncertain, and Iroh's soothing baritone voice.

"Please, have a seat. He's waiting for you."

Footsteps, the rustling of clothes, the scraping as a chair is pulled out.

"Junior, your visitor is here!"

When Iroh returns to the kitchen, he shoots Zuko a reassuring smile and nods towards the door. Zuko takes a deep breath and enters the front of the shop.

Jin has grown, that's the first thing he notices. So has he, he supposes. She's a good hand's width taller than last time, her hair equally longer, but her face is still as soft and kind as last time, traces of that cheerful, slightly cocky smile still visible in the lines around her mouth.

"Hey."

She looks up at the sound of his voice, and the shock, the surprise, the relief – that he's here, that he's real, that he's still alive and that it is him – is written all over her face. He pulls out the chair opposite from her and sits down.

"Lee."

"Yes."

She pulls out his message.

"When I got the invitation, I wasn't sure – I thought someone was playing a prank on me." She lets her gaze wander around the room as if she's taking it in for the first time. "So… the Upper Ring, huh? When I went back to Pao's after…", after our date, "he only told me you and your uncle had moved."

Zuko can vividly imagine Pao's reaction to their sudden quitting.

"Yeah. Uncle got the chance to open his own tea shop up here."

She nods thoughtfully.

"I went back to Pao's for a while. I… kind of hoped you would come back."

Zuko closes his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Things happened, I couldn't. I hope you can accept my apology."

She doesn't answer right away, and every passing second, Zuko can feel himself get more nervous.

"Can I get you some tea?"

Without waiting for her response, he stands up and fetches the pot he's brewed while waiting. It's the first he's made in quite a while, but with uncle's help, he's reasonably confident it'll be palatable. Iroh tried it and didn't spit it out, so that has to count for something.

When he returns to the table with the pot and two cups, pours one for each of them, he can't bring himself to look her in the eye.

"Where do I start?"

She takes a sip, mulls the question over.

"The last time… I hoped, maybe… well, your uncle put you up to it and you didn't really seem to enjoy yourself."

The memory – his snappy temper, him running away after the kiss – is so embarrassing, it's almost physically painful. It's true, he didn't enjoy himself. Not at the time, not when he was thinking of nothing but the Avatar.

"What changed?"

Why are you back? Why did you invite me here? Why did Pao hand me an invitation with the King's seal and offered me a tea on the house?

"I… there was a lot going on. I wasn't really thinking clearly, it wasn't your fault. I had lost my way, and it took me a long time to find it again."

It's not really an explanation, and before he can give one, there's one big hurdle to get out of the way.

"Jin… my name isn't really Lee. And I'm not from the Earth Kingdom."

"I know."

The words almost make him choke on his tea.

"How—what do you mean?"

She regards him strangely.

"The way you hold yourself, the way you talk… You're not a very good liar. And not a good juggler, either. And at the fountain? Nobody can light a dozen lamps that quickly."

"I'm—"

"A firebender", she finishes calmly. "I know, Lee."

Oh.

"Then why?"

Jin shrugs.

"I don't know, really. I suppose I didn't want to know. I told myself, there's a million reasons. Maybe you were a deserter. Maybe you ran away from home." She gently puts down her cup. "It didn't really matter to me. You were… well, you."

The words warm Zuko from the inside more than the tea ever could.

"You're right. In a way, at least."

Deep breaths.

"What I have to tell you – please, hear me out. I promise I can explain."

After a moment's hesitation, she nods. On a whim, Zuko cautiously extends a hand across the table, and to his relief, she takes it.

"My real name", Agni be with me, "is Zuko."

Half a dozen emotions flash across her face in an instant. Curiosity to know his name, surprise, understanding as she puts the pieces together, shock, fear, disgust, confusion, apprehension, and curiosity again. News spread faster in Ba Sing Se than out in the desert or the remote forests. She's heard of him, must have heard of him. How much, he doesn't know, but he can make an educated guess.

"You—you're the—Zuko, as in, Fire Lord Zuko?"

He closes his eyes, prays he won't see rejection when he opens them.

"Yes."

In the silent room, he can hear her swallow. Take a deep breath as he takes one of his own. Her hand is still in his and she doesn't let go.

"Okay. You said you could explain."

"How much do you know? About the end of the war?"

She shrugs.

"As much as everyone else. When that terrible comet was in the sky, the Avatar brought down the Fire Lord and the Dragon of the West liberated Ba Sing Se—"

Her eyes go wide.

"Oh spirits. Your uncle Mushi—"

"Yeah."

"And you… you're the Avatar's friend. The banished prince who became Fire Lord." She frowns. "Some people say he—you snuck into the city to capture it, but I always thought that was just hearsay."

Zuko shakes his head and averts his eyes.

"No. It's true. I helped my sister take Ba Sing Se. I almost killed Aang. Like I said, I lost my way."

Her hand twitches, and for a terrifying second, he expects her to pull it away. But she doesn't.

"But you are here. And the Avatar is your friend."

"I am. He is."

For a moment, neither of them speaks. Jin tries to understand what she's heard. Eventually, she decides that if the Avatar trusts Le—Zuko, that's good enough. They say he's ended the war. They say he's promised to return all stolen land to the Earth Kingdom, that he's released all prisoners and promised to atone for his nation's sins. It sounds too good to be true, but if it is, it's certainly good enough for her.

"What does all of that have to do with…", she doesn't say with us, but Zuko hopes that she thinks it.

"I've asked you here so I could apologise. You were kind to me when I wasn't kind to anyone, not even to myself. I'm grateful for that. I ran away back then because I was scared, because I was obsessed with returning home, with proving myself to my father. I guess… I don't want you to think less of me."

That's not all, though.

"And… I wanted to see you again."

For the first time, there is a trace of that familiar smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. It's easy to miss, but it encourages Zuko. A little weight falls off his chest.

"Jin… I'm sorry. For the way I treated you; for lying to you. I hope you can forgive me."

She squeezes his hand and puts her other hand on top of his. He looks up, and there are her eyes, green as ever, as hopeful as they were back then.

"I can."

Something occurs to her and she laughs.

"It feels weird to think of you as", she gestures, "you know… you, I mean, Lee from the tea shop – the Fire Lord… shit, do I have to call you 'your Majesty' now or—"

He holds up a hand.

"Please. Just Zuko. Or 'Lee', if you prefer that."

The habits of Ba Sing Se are hard to shed, he knows that. It's not so long ago that the people had to learn that talking about the war would no longer get them disappeared off the streets. Kuei has taken to interacting with his people more, and Zuko knows a lot of citizens still can't get used to it. He's tried to do the same at home, and more than once, people have looked at him as if Agni herself would strike them from above if they accepted his offer to just call him by his name.

"Zuko… Lee…"

It's gonna take some getting used to.

"I'm not the Fire Lord in here", he assures her. "Just me."

She nods.

"You're gonna have to fill me in on the details at some point. What you were doing here, what happened with… everything." Her eyes find his again. "But I'm glad to see you again."

He could get lost in those eyes. At the time, he barely gave her the time of day, thinking of nothing but Aang and his honour, despised his uncle's dreams of a quiet life. But in the year since, he's come to look back at his time in Ba Sing Se more fondly. He's thought about it a lot, has dreamt about being just Zuko again, or just Lee, every time he's been stuck in the palace the past year, cleaning up his country, weeding out the traditionalists, the warmongerers, and the hopelessly sadistic. Has come to recognise his first attempt at a normal life for what it was. His first chance at happiness. Those few days, from when he shed his mask at Lake Laogai, to that fateful confrontation with Azula. A chance he threw away.

He's not about to make the same mistake again.

Zuko gives in and loses himself in her eyes. Almost as if through unspoken agreement, they lean in closer until their foreheads are almost touching. He closes his eyes, prepares to meet her halfway—

"Lee."

His name – his old name – snaps him out of his trance.

"Lee… where is this going?"

He pulls back his hand, coughs, straightens himself.

"I'm sorry if I misread—"

"No", she shakes her head, "spirits, no. But… you're the Fire Lord. I'm… me."

"And?"

She sighs softly.

"That just doesn't happen. In the legends perhaps, but… you're royal, you're going to marry some noblewoman. I'm a girl from the Lower Ring, I'm going to settle down with a merchant or an innkeeper or something. That's how the world works. I like you, but I know that this…"

She searches for words for a moment.

"It's a fantasy, Lee. Zuko." His name sounds unfamiliar to both of them, coming from her. "You and me… what would you even do? Sneak out here every now and then to see me?"

He shakes his head.

"I'm not that kind of Fire Lord."

She looks at him sadly.

"Then what is it you want?"

"No, you misunderstand. I don't care about what people expect me to do. My father expected me to capture the Avatar, instead I've helped him take down my father. I ended a war my people had been fighting for a century."

He reaches back out, and she hesitantly lays her hand back in his. He puts all of his feelings, all the longing that's built up over the past year, all the regret about his first time in Ba Sing Se, into his next sentence.

"Where you come from doesn't matter to me."

She wants to believe it. Wants it to be true more than anything in the world. Zuko squeezes her hand in hopes to reassure her. A single tear escapes her eyes.

"I have to ask", she eventually breaks the silence. "You being", she's not quite sure how to put it, "important and all… what happens if I say no?"

Zuko knows as well as her that kings have a way of choosing their brides. His father did when he took Zuko's mother as his wife. Mai's parents bartered their daughter to the Fire Lord long before Zuko was old enough to understand the meaning of an arranged marriage, and neither he nor Mai are too torn up that that has fallen through. And the other way of being with a king, a secret, a misstress, he knows enough to know what that's like.

He won't be like that to her.

"If that's what you want", he carefully begins, "you can walk out that door and you will never have to see me again, I promise. If you ever want to leave, I swear I won't stand in your way."

It would break his heart, but he will not make a prisoner out of her like his father made his mother.

For a moment, there is no sound but their breathing.

"Okay", she nods at last. The smile, that smile, the smile that feels like it can light up the entire room is back, even as another tear rolls down her cheek. "I believe you."

This time, as they lean in, he does meet her halfway.

The kiss is nothing like their first. This time, Zuko doesn't pull away immediately, doesn't run away from feelings he doesn't understand. The tears flow freely from Jin's eyes now, and from Zuko's remaining eye, too. The taste of her lips (cherry, Zuko thinks, with a hint of the jasmine tea) mixes with salt, but neither of them minds. She kisses him in a way Mai never did, more passion than habit, and he kisses her back in a way he never could Mai, with relief, rather than conflict. This time, he knows what he wants, knows who he is and who he wants to be.

When they pull away, the tears are all over their faces, but Zuko thinks he's never seen a more beautiful sight before.

"I'm glad you came", is the first thing Zuko can think of.

"Me too."

They lean back in, and Zuko feels like he could do this all evening. Her other hand comes up to his cheek, the scarred one,and he lets her, damaged as he is. She doesn't seem to mind. If the table weren't between them, who knows where this would lead.

"Ah-hem."

They jump apart at the sound of Iroh's cough.

"Far be it from me to stand in your way, but a man needs his rest, and I'm not getting any younger."

Zuko blushes redder than he's thought possible.

"Of course, Uncle."

His uncle beams at Jin. "I'm pleased to see you two get along so well. I would be honoured to welcome you in my shop any time."

She bows slightly. "I'd be delighted, General Iroh."

"Oh, please. I'm not a general anymore. Just call me Iroh."

"Thank you… Iroh."

They reluctantly stand up and let themselves be ushered out. After his uncle has closed up the shop and headed home, Jin turns back to Zuko.

"What now?"

It's the question he's been dreading.

"I'm going to be in Ba Sing Se for at least another month. After that… we'll figure something out to see each other."

She gives him another one of those laughs that sound like music to his ears.

"No, I meant, aren't you going to walk me home?"

"Oh. I mean, of course!"

The walk from the Upper Ring to her place in the Lower Ring takes quite a while, and Zuko has never been prouder than he is holding her hand the entire time. They make small talk – she tells him of how she's been, her new job, of her family and the aftermath of the occupation; he tells her about his work, about the peace treaties, about the places he's seem. Even strolling at a leisurely pace, they arrive in front of her door all too soon.

"How will I see you again?"

He's actually thought about that, and after rummaging through his pockets for a second, he produces a (only slightly crumpled) piece of paper.

"This will get you into the Upper Ring. Kuei's guest house", hearing the Earth King's name so casually from his lips is a little staggering, "is a little west of the palace. Just ask for Zuko, they'll know to expect you."

She nods and takes it. Reaches for the door, stops again.

"This isn't a dream, is it? Will it still be real when I wake up tomorrow?"

This time it's Zuko who reaches up to her cheek.

"It will be."

Jin leans in for a kiss, then pauses again.

"Would you like to come in? My tea isn't as good as your uncle's, but…"

"I would love to."

There is no tea that evening. Once inside, a year of longing – slightly more on Jin's side, to be precise –discharges like lightning and their lips crash into another like a flame and a boulder, arms wrapped around each other, holding on as if to never let go. What follows is terra incognita for Zuko, but he learns quickly.

"Won't they miss you at the palace?" Jin asks much later, when they're in bed, her head resting on Zuko's chest and his hands caressing her hair.

"I don't think so. The first times I was back in the city after my coronation, I used to take walks at night to clear my head and get away from the constant bowing and coddling. They got used to it."

"Hmmmm. Does that mean you could stay the night?"

He leans down and kisses her forehead. "I think so."

She lets out a content sigh.

"You know, I never did use that coupon for a free tea. I don't even know if I still have it."

Zuko laughs.

"Don't worry. I can get you a new one."