Chapter Two

A Gift for Katara

Gray and white geese flew overhead, honking noisily for all to hear. Their V-formation was perfect today, and Zuko rather thought it resembled an arrow. He stood for a moment in the doorway just watching them and toying with the small piece of paper in his hand.

At this hour of the morning, most people would still be asleep. He habitually rose with the sun, though, which gave him an opportunity like this. Slowly he tore his gaze from the honking fleet in the sky and set off towards the government building. It was an odd destination for Christmas morning, but then again he had just received an odd gift from an oddly anonymous sender. Hopefully, she would not be anonymous for long.

In the government building were the names and addresses of every person living in Ba Sing Se, from the nobles to the men that sat and slept on the front steps of buildings in the lower ring. He walked briskly through the nearly empty streets, rubbing his hands together every once in a while to warm them up. Firebending in the city was too risky, even if it were to keep from getting frostbite.

As he came upon the marble staircase, the boy checked once more that he had the paper and bounded up the steps. He reached the top after ten or twelve and pushed the door open, thankful that it was unlocked. Inside, the walls were decorated with muddy-green coloured tile, and the floor was pale green stone. Not caring to look at the décor, he walked over to the front desk and rang the bell.

A young bright-eyed woman emerged from the file room. She wore a long dress in a pale green and yellow silk pattern, and her thick brown hair was neatly done in a braided bun and secured with a yellow ribbon. In comparison to his own outfit of a green shirt, brown vest, and khaki pants, he couldn't help but feel underdressed.

"Can I help you?" She smiled at him with a professional cheerfulness.

"May I see the residency list?"

"One moment, please," she said, disappearing into the back. Several moments later she emerged with a brown-covered book as thick as your arm was long. She thumped it down on the counter and flipped to a marked page, then turned it around to face Zuko. He thanked her and then she was off, back to the file room to shuffle papers around.

There were thousands of names listed, but thankfully the print was large enough to read and neatly spaced. His plan was to read through for anyone he knew, and then narrow it down from there.

Any customers or other employees of the teashop wouldn't have known his real name. His Uncle would have left his name, so that rules him out. That left, well, no one that he could think of. However, the script was most definitely a woman's writing, so that narrowed it down by fifty percent.

Zuko sighed miserably at the task ahead. Still, he refused to quit now, as the curiosity would drive him insane. He could argue, though, that anyone who knew his name was a security risk to he and his Uncle, but it was mostly curiosity that willed him on through the dozens of names.

Half an hour later, the poor woman who was stuck working there that day jumped at a sudden shout from the man. She'd been on the floor beneath a table, trying to reach a piece of paper someone had dropped there. She had hit her head on the hard wooden underside of it when she jumped at the sudden yell. Quietly she cursed her luck and retreated to rub her head mournfully, hoping that there would not be too much of a bump. Nervously she snuck out to the doorway and peeked out at the man.

"I'm fine," he told the woman before she had a chance to ask. "I got a paper cut. Sorry."

Sighing, she returned to the drudgery of her job. "I really hate working holidays," she muttered somberly. "To think that I could be sipping hot cinnamon tea and opening presents right now…"

Zuko waited until she was out of sight and then returned anxiously to the text. Of course, he hadn't gotten a paper cut, but he almost wished he had instead of finding such a listing.

Four names, listed one after another, with a special "temporary guest" marking beside each. They were the all too familiar names of the Avatar and friends. I could surprise them, he thought, since they wouldn't expect to be attacked on a Christmas morning. Then I could capture the Avatar and… But what if his friend was the one that gave me that gift? They're the only ones I really recognize that would know my real name. It wouldn't be a very honorable and grateful thing to do.

Fuming over the difficult decision that lie ahead of him, for a moment he considered going on a rampage, blowing up half the city with Firebending, and then take the Avatar by force. He couldn't ask his Uncle for advice, because then he'd want to know what was the gift he'd received. Instead of blowing the building up, he quickly memorized the address and slammed the book shut, then stormed out to roam around the city and ponder what to do.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Katara awoke by the excited shouts of Aang as he jumped around the apartment. It was his first Christmas since he'd been recovered from the iceberg, so the childish enthusiasm was fairly justified. She herself was excited as well, and threw off the covers and quickly got herself up and dressed.

Sokka and Toph hadn't bothered with the "dressed" part, and sat sleepily around their family room in their pyjamas. Aang zoomed up to her when she came out and exclaimed happily, "Merry Christmas, Katara!" From behind his back he pulled out a small package tied with ribbon. She smiled, took it, and thanked him. Then she greeted the others, wishing them both a merry Christmas, too.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Around midday, when the four were eating sweets and playing with their new gifts, the doorbell rang, alerting them to a visitor.

"I'll get it!" Aang zipped over and threw open the door. "Hello, merry Christmas!" To his surprise, no one was there after all. "Hey, there's a box sitting out here."

He grabbed the little box and returned to his seat with the others. It was plainly wrapped in brown paper, with regular string holding it in place. A small, folded piece of paper was tied on. He opened it and read, "Katara. This is my return gift."

"There's no signature?"

"Nope." He handed it delicately to her. The girl looked quite surprised.

Her brother asked curiously, "Who's it from, Katara?"

"Beats me," she answered, deciding a white lie couldn't hurt. The girl untied the string and tore away the paper wrapping. Taking off the lid to the box and discarding the tissue paper inside, which was also quite plain, she lifted out the gift. What she pulled out, however, was far from plain. It was a blue silk ribbon with white embroidered dots, supposed to be falling snow. It was about a foot and a half long, and at each end was tied a large wooden bead, painted dark blue. Embroidered across the length of it was a Water Tribe village, with traditional structures and layout. A few children in heavy blue and white clothing ran around, seeming to be bending the snow in a snow fight.

It was quite impressive, and her friends asked to see it themselves. She handed it to Aang, with a slight blush on her face, and Sokka looked over his shoulder at it. Then they passed it to Toph, who gently ran a finger over the intricate embroidering against the smooth fabric.

"What is it a picture of?"

"A Water Tribe village," she told the girl, "In fresh snowfall."

"That's really nice, Katara," complimented her brother, "Is it from a suitor or something?"

"What? Of course it isn't."

"It is, isn't it? Don't be shy."

"Sokka," she moaned.

"Oh, fine."

He handed it back to her and she took it fondly, smiling and thinking to herself that she didn't know Zuko could be so thoughtful.

Outside, you could hear the distant sound of carollers singing, and beyond the window a light snow had began to fall.

XOXOXOXOXOX

A/n: Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, merry whatever you celebrate. This is supposed to take place sometime when they're in Ba Sing Se during Season II. Yes, I had to change the time of year. The first chapter is what was originally a one-shot I wrote last Christmas, and the second chapter I decided to write this year. Do you know what I'd like for Christmas, more than anything else? Some spiffy reviews. Please and Thanks.