Zuko rubbed his hands enthusiastically. He'd been out of firebending practice for three months and Katara had decided it was okay for him to start bending again, as long as he didn't do anything stupid like a crazy blitz or something. He surveyed his surroundings. The Agni Kai arena; This had been where he and Azula had fought for the job Zuko sometimes hated. Maybe that had been the reason Azula had been off her game; the stresses of the job.

Then again, she'd never been quite … quite right.

Zuko let a small flame through his nostrils as he breathed. Katara stepped back from him momentarily, allowing herself to smile slightly. Zuko scooped down low and shot a rich orange burst of flame out of his fist as he balanced himself on his knee. Katara crossed her arms with a raise of the eyebrow and a half-smirk. Zuko's excuse for this had been that he didn't want to get out of practice for their upcoming vacation, to which Katara had replied;

"You firebend in Ba Sing Se and we'll get thrown out in a second flat." She'd eventually given in and allowed him a practice session before their departure the following day.

Maybe Zuko was right; if worse came to worse, being in practice would be a good precaution with the task they'd been requested to perform. After all, the slums of Ba Sing Se were still ripe with crime, and that was where they'd be staying for a change.

"Blasting jelly by the ton was bought by a collection of people in the lower ring, we suspect it's the Dai Li rebels." Uncle read from the letter in his hand.

"Well after the last attempt to blow up the Earth palace failed, it was natural to assume they'd try again." Zuko ran his hand over his face. "Besides, if needed I can go Blue Spirit."

"It is very dangerous, nephew. The nation can not afford to lose the Firelord in such delicate times of change." Iroh put the letter down and eyed the young man.

"I've got my swords, and Katara will be right there if I need the help." Zuko glanced across the room to Katara, who had been roped into a spy trip to Ba Sing Se. Zuko was desperate to get out of the palace, even if it meant staying in some dirty grimy shack in the low ring of Ba Sing Se.

"Zuko, do you not realize how improper it is for a Firelord to inhabit the slums of the most poverty-stricken area of the world? The council will berate you for months!" Iroh's eyebrows seemed to get higher and higher, reaching for his hairline.

"I'm sick of this place, uncle!" Zuko shot to his feet. "We'll call it a vacation."

"Zuko." Iroh stood up. "Your parents idea of vacation was an Ember Island retreat, and your grandfather's idea was killing dragons, but never, never, has a Firelord-,"

"My idea of a vacation is not having to cater to the council's whims and worries." Zuko sighed heavily. "And I'm completely recovered; you can ask Katara." Zuko and Iroh glanced at Katara, who nodded briefly.

"What is your opinion? You've been awfully silent." Iroh looked at her confusedly.

"I think it sounds like a vacation; the formalities and dresses are starting to get petty." Katara explained with a slight smile. "So, if Zuko wants to play tea-boy again, I'll play ball with him."

Zuko smiled at her before looking back to Iroh. "Will you please just stand in for a few weeks?"

Iroh sighed and nodded. "I expect you will be careful, Zuko. I will not bury another young man in my lifetime." He said as he left the room.

Zuko glanced after his uncle, roughly recalling the older man's breakdown after his son's death in the Ba Sing Se siege. Odd, really, that if he were to die on this mission, not that he was expecting to, it would be in Ba Sing Se.

"He has a point." Katara blinked slowly and seemed to relax slightly.

Zuko shrugged at this. "Does Aang know you volunteered for this?" he changed the subject.

"No." she snapped quickly. "Why?"

Zuko tailed off the subject, seeing as she was oddly touchy about it. "Mind if I practice some firebending? I mean, I might as well be in practice, just in case."

Katara considered this for a moment. He'd been bandaged up for two months, and then been having half-clothed, hot, healing sponge baths to ease the discomfort that came with his wound.

"You firebend in Ba Sing Se and we'll get thrown out in a second flat. But no, I don't mind." Katara smiled softly.

Zuko walked proudly up to Katara after his solo exercise session, sweating but smiling happily. Katara understood that; after three months being wrapped up and coddled to do nothing but make arrangements for new settlements and meetings, she could imagine beaming at the thought of bending again.

"So, when are we leaving?" Katara stretched her arms towards the reddening sky.

"Tomorrow." Zuko crossed his arms in front of himself.

Katara nodded and turned towards the palace with him. "Are we settled on where we're staying?"

Zuko pulled a face that made Katara uneasy. "Sort of," he replied.

"What do you mean sort of?"

"I mean there's no actual … designated place, we're just going to have to wing it like everyone else in Ba Sing Se."

"You mean get a job and find a house by the first night we're there?" Katara stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"I know some people there. They'll probably take me back at the Jasmine Dragon without a problem." Zuko smiled momentarily at this.

Katara pulled a face, pushing the rouge curtains aside as they walked through the hall. "It's definitely a risk."

"You've camped out in the middle of a forest, how can you be this worried about whether or not we have a roof over our heads for one night?"

"Oh, you're confident we'll get a place after one night, then?" Katara smirked.

Zuko just shrugged again and put his hand on his door. "We need fake names. They know me by Lee there, so I'm sticking by that."

Katara looked up for a moment in thought. "Uh … I'll think of something."

Zuko nodded in thought. "See you tomorrow."

Katara smiled slightly and left for her room, which was coincidentally Azula's old room. She shut and locked the door behind herself, before diving onto the bed. Perhaps she was making a mistake in going to Ba Sing Se. After all, Ba Sing Se hadn't changed at all since the end of the war. They seemed not to acknowledge the war had even begun or ended. Long Feng and the Dai Li obviously still inhabited Ba Sing Se, even in they were no longer loyal to the Earth King. As no one had been able to prove the Lake Laogai base had ever existed, no one had been able to get it destroyed.

Katara disrobed and climbed under the sheets, before drifting into a heavy sleep that let her rise refreshed and energetic the next morning. She managed to rise with the sun, just as most people in the nation were.

She met Zuko for breakfast before boarding the airship that would carry them to a spot in the desert a mile out from Ba Sing Se. They changed into common Earth kingdom clothes and carried their own bags towards Ba Sing Se. Half a mile towards the city, Katara started complaining.

"How do they walk in these stupid shoes?" she dropped her rucksack and kicked her shoes off. "I already have blisters." She picked up the high-heeled shoe.

Zuko paused as she stuffed her shoes into her rucksack and pulled wooden sandals out. She picked up her bag again and continued, Zuko maybe two feet ahead of her.

"Think we have enough stuff to last us, Lee?" she eyed the huge walls of Ba Sing Se.

"No, but that's the point. Did you think of a name?"

Katara pulled her bag up higher onto her back. "Yeah, TeiLyn. It's better than nothing."

Zuko ran his hand through his messy hair, pushing it out of his face. They got to the large doors at the front of the city and were met by the scene of a huge crowd of refugees. Katara's lips parted at the panorama of people. Zuko nudged her to follow him and pushed through the crowd to get into a long line of people, leading up to a desk that housed a large woman with many facial flaws. Katara took not of what time it had been when they entered the city. The sun had been high up in the sky, indicating it was noon, if not earlier. They waited in line on their feet for an hour before they got remotely near the end of the line. Five people were between them and the desk.

Katara watched as the woman at the desk sent away a man that had been waiting for hours on end. He pleaded that he had left and returned for three days in a row, and Katara realized that she would have to win the woman over with some kind of flattery or bribery. When she asked Zuko about it, he explained how Iroh had gotten them into Ba Sing Se before. Katara moved close to him and explained quietly what her plan was.

"We'll get in easier if we say we're lovers. Just follow my lead." Katara stood behind him and put her hand on his arm.

Zuko bit back a blush and nodded.

Katara calculated each moment and as the person in front of them stepped towards the desk, Katara slid her arms around Zuko's waist and laid her head against his back, pretending to be exhausted. While she actually was quite tired, she was exaggerating to get in. Zuko immediately played ball and put his hand over where hers were linked around him.

"Next!" the woman called. Katara pretended to be shocked awake as she made sure the woman's attention was on them. Zuko tapped her hands with his gently and pulled her towards the desk.

Zuko cleared his throat, making sure he held Katara by the hand where the woman could see. Katara made her best effort to look especially tired.

"Name." the old woman raised an eyebrow.

"Lee Dei… and TeiLyn Wang." He had almost forgotten about the last names, and had thought quickly.

"And I suppose you're seeking refuge." She cleared her throat with a grating noise.

"We're very tired, ma'am, we've walked for miles in the desert." He answered, squeezing Katara's hand, trying to get her to help a little more.

"You and every other person here." The old woman glanced at Katara.

Katara stepped closer to Zuko, lifting her other hand to his arm and looking up at the woman with huge blue eyes. Zuko looked to Katara, avoiding the woman's gaze, trying to create an image that he was trying to comfort his exhausted girlfriend.

The woman made a noise that explained her decision, stamping two tickets and pushing them to the front of the desk. Zuko reached and took the tickets, smiling excitedly at Katara, who smiled thankfully at the woman. They walked away from the desk, still holding hands in case she was watching. They got onto the train and burst out in excitement as soon as they made sure they were the only ones on the car.

"That was so close!" she took a deep breath. "You … you were brilliant,"

Zuko smirked proudly. "You were right; we probably wouldn't have gotten through without the act."

Katara outstretched her hand in his, before realizing their hands were still linked.

"Oh, sorry." Zuko suddenly pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck with it.

Katara smiled awkwardly and looked out the window as she saw the upper ring of Ba Sing Se pass by. She then saw the slums from the window and grimaced at the sight. They'd be lucky to find a place before nightfall; it somehow looked overpopulated. The train stopped at a badly earthbent station to let them off. Katara's hair was tied back with a single gray ribbon, and a fair bit of her hair fell around her face as she and Zuko walked out into the streets. Beggars and tramps lined the road as they traveled down looking for a shop that was hiring. Katara quickly pointed out a modest yet large teashop with a sign that read 'Jasmine Dragon'.

A/N: I'm not sure, but I think the idea has been done, however I figured, 'why not'. I'm enthusiastic about the story line and I hope to update frequently. Keeping the faith alive, Zutarians!

A little bit of info on me: I haven't done fan fiction in a while, except for Grey's Anatomy, and even that has been neglected whilst I've been working on this and some other ATLA work. I recently dragged myself back into ATLA at the discovery of my true shipping. Yes, people, I indeed was a Kataang fan. Stone me if you may, but I have learnt the error of my ways and have decided to make amends and regain my honor (had to say that). So, after much research on Avatar, I became a Zutarian. I had always shipped Kataang, right from the start and to the end, but then I discovered one thing. Zuko was ... Zuko was now HOT. I reflected on this.

After much consideration, I started a fan fiction that turned cheesy, and opened the door for this. This should include the awkward, passionate Zuko/Katara romance that the series lacked for us. And don't ask me about Korra, because the concept completely barricades my now Zutarian beliefs. Argh.

Fave line ever? 'I'll save you from the pirates'. Oh, yeah. Lovin' his smug-ass princey self. Next chapter comin' up.