Chapter Text
Zuko poked his head above the counter, then ducked back down.
“Did you see anything?” Jet whispered.
“I was too fast.” And sleep deprivation doesn’t make for good information processing, Zuko didn’t add. He’d stayed up all night on the flight back to Ba Sing Se telling Aang everything he’d ever learned about firebending and poking the boy every time he started to nod off. They’d gotten back right before the opening shift had started. He’d tried to convince Aang to help out when he’d realized that Jet was the only other person working, but Aang and Appa had both fallen asleep in the alley behind the Jasmine Dragon and Zuko hadn’t been able to wake them. He’d thrown an Appa-sized blanket over the pair and stumbled back inside to do his best.
Jet took a turn looking over the counter; half a second later, he rejoined Zuko on the floor.
“Anything?”
“I got distracted by the lychee guy staring at me. I think this is a bad spot.”
The pair crawled to the curtains dividing the main floor from the kitchen. Zuko reached up to untie the knot holding one side open. They both peeked through.
“Bad vantage point,” Jet said. “I bet you could see over the top of the curtain if you were tall enough.”
“You can stand on my shoulders.”
“You stand on my shoulders,” Jet countered. “I’m taller, so it makes sense.”
“But I’m stronger.”
“You just don’t want her to spot you. You’re a scaredy lion-cat.”
“I’m not scared, you’re scared,” Zuko countered.
“Yeah, I am,” said Jet. “Get up there.”
After some maneuvering, and several head thumps against the wall, Zuko was looking over the top of the curtain. The main floor was packed; they had been short-staffed all morning and their hiding wasn’t making things any better. Jet had told him that Toph was supposed to be working since Smellerbee, Longshot, and Jin had tickets to a fighting show, but once she found out about the show, she declared that she was taking vacation time and tagged along. It was busy, but they had been making it work until Katara and Momo had walked through the door. Zuko had cut off a customer mid-order to dive behind the counter, where Jet had already taken cover.
“I think she’s still there,” Zuko whispered down to Jet. “I can see blue.”
“You can see blue? Anything actually helpful? Does it look like she’s here to attack us? How much backup does she have?”
“Just Momo. I think she’s…waiting for tea.”
“So what do we do?”
“I think you should go take her order.”
“Me? No way. It’s your tea shop, you go talk to her. Here, I’ll get you do—”
Jet started to crouch so Zuko could get off his shoulders just as Zuko leaned forward for a better look. Zuko went tumbling. The curtains crashed to the ground, along with several nearby teapots. Zuko’s hand landed on one of the shards. Seconds later, the second curtain fell on top of him and Jet.
“Uh, sorry about that,” Zuko said loudly from under the curtain to the dead silent tea shop. He tried to make his voice deeper; maybe she wouldn’t be able to tell it was him. He could just barely see through the curtain, but he was pretty sure all the customers were staring at them. “We’ll be right with you, sorry. Um, we’ll bring everyone one of our new sky bison biscuits as a thank you for waiting. So, uh, as you were.”
“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. My name is Lee and I’ll be your server today. We’ll have your sky bison biscuits out soon. Can I take your order?”
Zuko had his straw hat pushed down as far on his head as it would go and was still trying to disguise his voice. Jet had wrapped way too many layers of gauze around his hand, making it hard to hold his pencil, but Zuko was pretty sure Jet could read his clumsy writing.
“I’d like a cup of jasmine tea, please. Momo would like a cup of lychee tea with lychee nuts on the side.”
Zuko couldn’t help but look back at the lychee tea man. The man had apologized to Zuko for being a hassle as soon as he had walked in and practically begged him to tell Toph that he had apologized. Zuko had stutteringly agreed and taken the man’s order which was, surprisingly, ordered correctly the first time. But a single normal order and apology couldn’t erase weeks of trauma.
“Just to make sure,” Zuko said, “are we talking green tea with lychee nuts on the side? Or the actual lychee tea that includes extra lychee nuts on the side? Or does Momo just want water with lychee nuts on the side?”
Katar blinked. “Um, just regular lychee tea with regular lychee nuts on the side.”
Momo screeched and jumped onto Zuko’s shoulder, knocking the straw hat out of the way. Momo licked Zuko’s ear.
“You!” Katara said, jumping to her feet.
“Um,” said Zuko.
“Is everything alright, Miss? Lee?”
Zuko shot a thankful glance at Professor Yu. He knew there was a reason he always went out of his way to get her cabbage cookies.
Katara looked around, seeming to realize just how many people were looking their way. She slowly sat back down, still glaring at Zuko.
“Let’s take this outside,” Katara said icily.
“So, uh,” Zuko said. “I’m really sorry, but we’re short-staffed right now, and I can’t leave Je—I mean, my co-worker on his own with all of this.”
Katara’s eyes narrowed. “I’m supposed to believe you’re just working at a tea shop now?”
“Yes?” Zuko said. “Um, your order is on the house today. As a, uh, a sorry. For, you know, chasing you for months. Do you want Momo—”
Momo made a protesting noise and clung more tightly to Zuko’s shoulder.
“Momo will keep an eye on you while I wait for your shift to finish.”
“So, Lee. Why are you in Ba Sing Se?”
“Um, my uncle and I are starting a new life here.”
“A new life, huh? Like a new life of trying to take over the city for the—” Katara glanced around, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “—for the Fire Nation?”
“No. Just, just a regular life. With a tea shop.”
“I bet you’re here to capture Aang, aren’t you? You chased us around the world, why not chase us into Ba Sing Se? It makes sense.”
“Uncle opened the tea shop weeks ago. And we lived in the Lower Ring for a while before we moved here. I’m not chasing you anymore.”
“Maybe this is all part of your plan. Get here early, come in disguise, lie to my face, set a trap.”
“I think you’re confusing me with my sister.”
“No, you can do traps. Like right now, you’ve trapped me here through…through social convention.”
“Social—”
“I can’t force you to go outside willingly but I can’t fight you with all these customers around. So I’m stuck here.”
“You could just leave.”
“You could just leave.”
“I can’t. We’re short-staffed, I told you. You are trapping me here. You could just go away and pretend this never happened.”
“Hmm.”
“I’d like another jasmine tea, Lee.”
“Okay, it’ll just be a few min—”
“You’re a terrible person. You know that? Always following us, trying to capture the world’s last hope for peace.”
“Yeah, sorry again about that,” Zuko said awkwardly. “I’m different now. Like, I’m not bad anymore. Not that I thought I was bad then, but now I realize that I was bad, so I’m good now. Or at least, I’m trying to be.”
“Yeah, right. What do you know about good? Just bring me my tea plea—I mean, bring me my tea.”
“I suppose you can’t help it, can you? You’re…his son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood. I bet the Fire—I mean, your father will be so proud of you when you show up at the palace with Aang.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think I do.”
“You don’t. He—”
“Lee, can I get a refill?” a customer called from a nearby table. Zuko left, avoiding Katara’s eyes.
“You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me, personally. The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.”
“I’m sorry,” Zuko said quietly. He hesitated, then said, “That’s something we have in common.”
“Your mother—”
“I need to check on the other customers.”
The teashop was mostly empty for the pre-lunch lull; Katara was still at her table. Zuko tried to set down her sky bison biscuit and leave, but she made a motion at the other chair. Zuko reluctantly sat down.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Katara said. “It’s just that, for so long now, whenever I imagined the face of the enemy, it was your face.”
Zuko touched his scar with his bandaged hand before he could stop himself. “My face,” he said quietly. He knew the scar was all most people saw when they looked at him, but he tried not to think about it. “I see.”
Katara’s hands flew to her mouth. “No, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay,” Zuko said. He tried to resist the urge to turn the scarred side of his face away and duck his head. He’d gotten used to comments from kids and customers without filters, but it felt different coming from someone who saw his scar and thought it made him even more of a monster than she already thought he was. It made sense; he’d terrified the people of her village, chased her for months, tied her up and taunted her with her necklace, threatened her, and captured Aang twice. He’d acted like a monster and in her eyes, looked like one too.
“I understand. I know how it looks and I know what it makes people think. This scar was meant to mark me as an honorless coward and for so long, I thought that it did. I was desperate to prove to my father that I wasn’t a coward, that I could capture the Avatar and come back home with my honor restored. But lately, I’ve realized I’m free to determine my own path, even though I’ll never be free of my mark. My father is cruel, what the Fire Nation is doing to the world is cruel, and I don’t need to prove anything to them. I need to do what’s right and help restore peace and kindness to the world.” He started to lower his hand, but Momo grabbed it and started licking the bandages. He left his hand awkwardly at Momo-height.
Katara was silent for several moments, thumbing at a vial around her neck. “Maybe...maybe I could heal it.”
“It’s a scar,” Zuko said. “There’s nothing to heal.”
“I learned to heal with waterbending at the Northern Water Tribe,” Katara explained. “They gave me water from the spirit oasis.”
Zuko’s good eye widened and his scarred eye twitched, but stayed squinted as always.
Katara pulled the spirit oasis water out of the vial. It was glowing even in the bright light of the tea shop. Zuko could almost hear the spirits of the Northern Water Tribe whispering as the water swirled.
He thought about what it would be like to be free of his scar. Strangers he passed on the street wouldn’t do a double take; his hearing and sight would be even again; he wouldn’t be reminded of his father every time he caught a glimpse of his reflection.
Katara reached towards Zuko, but he shook his head. He thought about Song, with the burn scars snaking up her leg. He thought about Lee, who might have lost his brother and his father to the war and had nearly been conscripted into the Earth Kingdom army himself. He thought about Lu Ten, crushed by an earthbender during his uncle’s siege of the very city that was protecting them now.
“I really appreciate the offer,” said Zuko, forcing the words out, “but I can live with my scar. There are so many people suffering and dying because of this war. You should save it for someone who really needs it.”
Katara kept the water out for a moment longer. Zuko closed his eyes and tried to ignore the sounds of the spirits.
“Are you sure?”
Zuko nodded.
Finally, reluctantly, Katara put it back in the vial. The spirits quieted. Zuko opened his eyes. Katara was still looking at his scar.
“Does it hurt?”
Zuko hesitated a moment. “It’s not too bad anymore. Kind of…sensitive and the skin pulls. But it’s been three years. I’m used to it.”
Katara reached up slowly. When Zuko didn’t stop her, she put her hand on the scar and ran her thumb along the edge. “Can I see what I can do with regular water? I can fix your hand, too, once Momo stops licking it. I haven’t been healing for long, so it’s good to get practice.”
Zuko nodded. Katara popped open her water skin and pulled out a small amount of water. Momo released Zuko’s hand in favor of reaching towards the water. Zuko quickly undid the thick bandages and winced as the cut was exposed to the air. Katara let the water spin between her hands for a moment, then guided it towards the large cut. Zuko watched, fascinated, as the skin knit itself back together, then scabbed, then healed as though there hadn’t been a cut there in the first place. Katara guided the used water into an empty tea cup and pulled out more from her water skin. She brought the water up to Zuko’s face and let it settle over his scar. Slowly, the feeling of tightness faded, the ringing in his ear he had learned to tune out got quieter, and the world grew a bit clearer out of his bad eye, the fuzzy shapes and muted colors sharper and more vibrant than they had been in years.
“It doesn’t look any different,” Katara said disappointedly, pulling the water away. “I’m sorry.”
“No,” Zuko said, reaching up to feel his scar. “It’s so much better than it was. I had no idea waterbending could do that. Thank you, Katara. That was amazing.”
Katara smiled. “Maybe once this is all over, you could visit the Northern Water Tribe with us. Master Yagoda has been healing for decades and I have so much more to learn from her. She might know how to fade scars.”
Zuko smiled back at Katara. The last few customers left, leaving the tea shop empty except for them and Jet, still hiding in the kitchen.
Katara’s smile slowly turned contemplative. “So is your mother—”
Zuko looked down at the table “I don’t know.”
Katara raised an eyebrow.
Zuko paused. Katara was still looking at him. Finally, he said, “I woke up one morning and my grandfather was dead and she was gone. The night before, Azula had said—I mean, she always lies, but not always always, and usually she’s telling the truth, I just wish it was a lie, and I don’t really know if my grandfather told my dad to kill me, but he might have since my grandfather was really mad at my dad, and my father and grandfather always thought I was an embarrassment because nothing ever came easy for me and I always had to struggle for weeks to learn even the most basic things, so maybe he would have said-and Azula looked excited, she loves it when people get in trouble, but I ran away before I could hear for myself because Grandfather was scary when he was mad, and Azula thought I should run away to the Earth Kingdom, but—”
Zuko cut himself off. Katara was staring at him with wide eyes. He stared at the table and started to count the crumbs. Momo jumped from his shoulder to the table around crumb number thirteen. Zuko stared at Momo instead for a while before he looked back up at Katara.
“My mom woke me up before she was gone, and she said that everything she did was to protect me. I didn’t know what she was talking about at the time, but the next morning, Grandfather was dead. I don’t know if my dad…if my dad killed her or if he made her leave. I asked but he wouldn’t answer and he started getting mad after the first time I asked, so I stopped asking. But Azula says Mom is gone because of me and she’s not lying about that.”
Katara had tears in her eyes. “Your mom protected you because she loves you.”
“I know,” Zuko said quietly.
“Zuko, everything that happened, it’s not your fault.”
Zuko looked at the crumbs around Momo but didn’t start counting. He wiped at his good eye with the back of his hand. Momo dragged his tail across the table and several of the crumbs went flying to the ground. He’d have to sweep before the lunch rush started — there were crumbs and leaves scattered across the floor and Uncle liked customers to have a good impression when they walked in the shop. Zuko looked up, but didn’t meet Katara’s eyes. He looked back down at the table. “Maybe someday I’ll believe that.”
Zuko could feel Katara’s eyes on him for several moments before she joined him in looking at Momo and the crumbs. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet.
“When I was eight, the Fire Nation came looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. I’m the only one left, they must have been looking for me, but my mom must have said that she was the last waterbender. When I got back to our house with my dad, she was—”
Katara’s voice cracked. She stopped and rubbed at her eyes. Momo jumped from the table to Katara’s lap. Katara hugged Momo close and continued.
“It was terrible, and I could barely even tell it was her, and I can still remember the smell, and—and—”
Katara stopped again and buried her face in Momo.
“Katara—”
Katara shook her head, still pressed against Momo. Zuko felt like he should do something, say something, but he didn’t know what, so he just waited. He stared at the crumbs again but felt like he shouldn’t count them. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when Katara lifted her head, tears still in her eyes.
“Dad and Gran Gran did the funeral preparations. Sokka wanted to help, but they wouldn’t even let him see her body. They wouldn’t let us in the house until they’d…made it peaceful, Gran Gran said. But it was never peaceful again for me. I wanted to feel like our house was our home, I wanted to remember all the memories we had there, but no matter how many times I tried, all I could see when I walked in the door was—and all I could smell was—”
“I am so, so sorry, Katara.”
Katara hugged Momo tighter. “It was the Fire Nation’s fault and it was that man’s fault, and I’m so angry at them. But I’m angry at myself, because…because it was my fault, too. She did that for me. She’s gone because of me. If I hadn’t been a waterbender…or if I’d done a better job of hiding it, so no one knew, or if I’d learned how to fight, or…or…”
“Your mother was a brave woman,” Zuko said.
Katara touched her necklace. “I know.”
“She protected you because she loves you.”
Katara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I know she did,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t your fault, Katara.”
Momo chirped in agreement.
Katara looked Zuko in the eyes. “Maybe someday I’ll believe that.”
“So I was thinking,” Katara said, two hours and a lunch rush and a shift change later, “since we’re friends now, maybe you could teach Aang firebending.”
“Oh,” Zuko said. He waved to Jet, who was still hiding in the kitchen, and Jin, who had shown up to take over for Zuko. Jin had said Uncle was at a three-day Pai Sho convention in the Lower Ring, but had been coming back to the apartment every day in case Zuko had come back. Zuko had tried to not think about what he was going to say to his uncle about joining Aang and deciding to actively work against the Fire Nation when he saw him again and had wished Jin good luck with the afternoon shift.
Zuko turned back towards Katara as they walked out of the tea shop. “I’m already teaching Aang firebending. We just got back from visiting the dragons this morning. Oh, uh, don’t tell anyone we visited dragons. We were supposed to keep that a secret. Although I’m not really sure how it’s supposed to stay a secret since Appa has a dragon egg. Anyway, Toph said she’d cover for us and has been working at the tea shop. And Aang and Appa are sleeping in the back alley.”
Katara spun to face Zuko. Momo squeaked and held onto her shoulder tighter. Katara opened and closed her mouth several times, then crossed her arms.
“Are you…okay?”
“I guess I should be happy that Aang didn’t go to the Fancy Lady Day Spa without me.”
“My uncle loves that place. He opens the tea shop late once a week and takes everyone who works at the shop.”
Katara grinned. “You said you’re short-staffed, right?”