(Zutara) Let Me Pretend; Your Soul is Winter Fire

City of Lies

"You have five minutes to tell me why I'm here, or I go to the Dai Li and tell them there's a firebender in Ba Sing Se."

As expected, Azula takes no notice of his threat. His word is as good as a fish trying to breathe air to her. Still, the mocking eyebrow she lifts grates against Zuko's nerves. "Don't you mean two firebenders? Oh wait, three?"

He grits his teeth. "Leave Uncle out of this."

"I certainly will not." Azula stands, brushing her legs as if to brush the Earth Kingdom from her. "You forget, Zuzu, both of you were my original assignment. No thanks to that fat old man, though, things have changed."

She takes a step towards him. He takes one back, hovering in the doorway. "How did you get into the city?"

Azula stops, already bored with his cautious proceedings. "Does that really matter? You said so yourself, you can't be here long."

"Indulge me."

She rolls her eyes. "Unlike you, my attempts on the Avatar were nearly successful. My attempt at cracking open Ba Sing Se's walls even more so. Getting double teamed by their little gang did me in, but in the chaos, I was able to slip into the Lower Ring. But as you can see, I'm quite stuck. Can't even get close to the Middle Ring wall before those Dai Li mutts start sniffing around, asking for papers, identification. It's quite inconvenient."

"How dare they do their jobs," Zuko mutters.

"Exactly." She begins to parade the room, inspecting the dark corners shrouded in the gloom, either oblivious to Zuko's sarcasm or, as he asked, indulging him. Somehow, as with everything she does, it feels like she's mocking him. "Security is much tighter than I expected for such a gathering of stubborn block heads. Though you seem to have had no trouble. Should I get a mask, too? Did you leave any of mother's things for me to use?"

"Stop dancing around, Azula." Each second stretches longer, filling the spaces between his thumping heart. He'll have to defend himself if she attacks him again. But he won't last long enough to get away without being able to firebend. "Out with it. Why did you send Katara to the tea shop? I could have gotten arrested!"

"Oh, calm down. You're so dramatic, Zuzu." She waves a hand in his outraged direction without the curtesy of looking at him. "You were never in any danger. I, or some well-paid acquaintances, were watching the peasant closely. If she were in danger of spooking, I would have gotten you out of there."

Lie, his gut tells him instantly. Except she makes sure to catch his eye. She's gotten better at appearing human. "What do you mean?"

"I thought I was on the clock?" Fake innocence drips from her like poison.

"So, stop playing coy." His temper and his nerve are two twined ropes, fraying apart the more she unspools his confidence.

"So, ask me something," Azula bites back.

"I don't believe you," he states, matter of fact.

Amber eyes roll again. "You can't even follow one instruction," she sighs, self-suffering. "I'm telling the truth. This time. You've become too valuable to be thrown in a cell, Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom. And it's not just me who thinks so."

He knows which part of that lingering statement she wants him to question. He wants to as well, fighting against the urge. "Explain."

"Touchy." Azula tsks when he doesn't react, flipping her fringe out of her eyes as she returns to her seat at the rotten desk. "My original plan was to wait until you were out on one of your little excursions. Don't you know how vulnerable you are on your own in the city? Some hired Earth Kingdom thugs would show you. I was going to pay them to pin you down, then use you as leverage to force Uncle out."