When Worlds Collide: Book Two, Earth

/////Sam's POV\\\\\

Aang was shaving his already bald head, Sokka was shaving his stubble, and Katara was fixing her hair. Toph was still in her room, and I was lounging around in the main room, too lazy to do anything with myself.

"Sam, are you going to do anything to yourself?" Katara asked, walking up to me.

"I'm dressed, and my face is washed," I replied, smiling. "I'll probably braid my hair later, but that's it, yeah."

She rolled her eyes, and pulled Toph out from behind the door. My eyes widened at the young earthbender, with her hair standing straight up, and covered in dirt. "Toph and I are going out for a girl's day," Katara informed me. "You wanna come?"

"Are the boys going out too?" I asked, biting my lip.

Katara shrugged. "I'm not really sure. You'd have to ask them."

I looked out the window, and smiled softly. "You know what? I think I'll just stick around here. Explore a bit." I looked back at Katara, and my smile widened. "How often do I get the chance to explore a different world's major city?"

She chuckled at me, before nodding and pulling Toph out the door.

It wasn't too long later, when Aang came bounding through the door.

"And where are you going, little dude?" I called, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to go searching for Appa," he said, not even turning to look at me.

I sighed. "You know, I used to lose things all the time. The more I looked, the more impossible it seemed."

"What are you saying?" he asked, turning to give me a questionable look.

"Just try to rest today," I urged, smiling. "Go sight seeing, play soccer, get into trouble. Just don't worry that bald head of yours, kay?"

He smiled at me, and started to walk out the door, but stopped. "Sam?"

"Hm?" I hummed, and started to fishtail my hair.

"What's soccer?"

I laughed at his clueless face. "I'll show you sometime. Promise."

He smiled again, before bounding out the door.

"Sokka?" I called, and started walking down the hall. I knocked on his door, and since I got no reply, I walked in.

He was standing in front of the mirror, and didn't seem to notice me. He was flexing in the reflective glass, and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me. He jumped, and spun around, waving his boomerang wildly.

"Hey Macho Man, I'm going out, kay?" I told him, smirking.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"Just going to explore. I heard about a new tea shop the other day, and wanted to check it out." He looked at me weirdly, but I rolled my eyes. "If you aren't doing anything, you should practice writing. Katara's getting ahead of you." I winked, before walking out the door.

"Katara's ahead of you," I heard him mock, and I laughed, before grabbing a bit of money from one of our pouches, and walking out the door.

I hadn't had decent tea since I had last seen Zuko and Iroh, and I was hoping that the tea shop was as good as everyone was saying. It was in the second ring, so I had to walk a little ways to get there. It was really hot out, so I took one of my fans, and waved it in front of my face.

The shop was small, but had a nice, homey charm to it. The only decor out front was two green lanterns on each side of the door, and a sign that I couldn't read, but it didn't need anything else. I eagerly stepped inside, and looked around to see only a few people sitting around.

Behind the counter, a man was turned away, probably making tea.

"Excuse me," I called, standing in front of the counter. "I'll have a jasmine tea, please."

When he grunted and turned around, I was shocked to see that it was Zuko, of all people. I quickly covered my face with my fan, and smirked. This could be fun.

"I heard this was the best tea in the city," I said, trying to hide the laughter in my voice. "Can you vouch for that?"

He shrugged, and rolled his eyes. "It's all tea, isn't it?"

I chuckled, and handed him a few coins to pay for my tea.

He raised his eyebrow at me, giving me an odd look. "The tea isn't that expensive."

"Stupid currency," I mumbled, and dropped my fan. "I should've known that wouldn't last long."

"Sam?" Zuko asked, looking at me like I was a unicorn. "What are you doing here?"

"Katara and I got into a fight," I lied. "Pretty soon, we all got into it, and I got sick of it, and left." Maybe lying to him wasn't the best thing to do, but the last thing we needed was for him to try to capture Aang again.

"Sam!" I heard, and turned to face Iroh.

I grinned, and Iroh and I hugged. "I should've known, where there's tea, there's Iroh," I teased, and flashed Zuko another smile.

"I go by Mushi now," he confessed, and I raised my eyebrows.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"We can't risk being found out," Zuko explained quietly.

I chuckled, nodding. "And what do you go by?"

"Lee," he answered.

"Lee," I repeated, hearing it. "I like it."

The banished prince blushed, and I chuckled. "So how's business?" I asked. "I've heard at least a dozen people talking about this place."

Iroh didn't answer, instead just smiling knowingly at Zuko and I. "Why don't you two go out today?" he suggested. "I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

I smiled, and turned to Zuko, who had a faint smile also. "I think that's a great idea."

"Me too," I agreed, and gave Iroh another hug. "I'll see you later, alright Mushi?" I giggled, and followed Zuko out the door.

"So how long have you been here?" he asked, glancing at me.

"Not long," I said, playing with my hair. "About a week, I suppose. You?"

"About the same," he shrugged, and lead me down the street. "How long have you been... on your own?"

"Mm... A while," I lied. "I caught up with the Kyoshi warriors for a while. Brushed up on my skills, you know." I chuckled at myself. Maybe singing and dancing was out, but an actress? Possibly. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Hiding from my sister," he grumbled, glaring at the ground.

"Ah yes, Azula," I sighed. "Crazy woman. You know she's been chasing me? Something about a legend. She's delusional." I sighed, and kicked a rock.

"Legend?" Zuko asked, his eyes shooting up to meet mine.

I nodded. "Like I said, crazy. I'm pretty sure the only thing I'm legendary for is...well... nothing."

He chuckled, and I smiled more. "The legend thing... It sounds kind of familiar."

"Oh, not you too," I laughed, and lightly pushed him.

We were walking along side some shops, and they had lots of jewelry for sale, and a lot of fresh breads and fruits. A little boy ran by, wearing too-long pants, and he tripped and fell in front of us. I instantly knelt down to help him up, and I couldn't help but notice his resemblance to my little brother, Danny.

"Are- are you okay?" I asked, helping him stand.

He nodded, looking shy.

I smiled at him. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Lee," he said quietly, and I glanced up at Zuko, smirking.

"I'm Sam," I introduced, holding out my hand.

He giggled, and shook it. "That's a funny name," he commented, and I giggled too.

"I get that a lot," I chuckled. "Where's your mom, Lee?"

He pointed behind us, and I turned to see a woman working a shop, watching us intently. I smiled and waved at her, and her gaze softened.

"You be more careful, alright?" I told Lee, still smiling.

He nodded, before running off again. I smiled after him, and turned to see Zuko giving me an odd look.

"What?" I asked, standing back up straight, and sighing at the last place I had seen Lee.

"You just... are so much different than most people," he told me.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"It's just surprising, I guess," he decided. "The way you treated him like he was your little brother or something."

I bit my lip, and looked at the ground. "That's who he reminded me of," I confessed, still looking away. "He looked just like Danny. And around the same age, too."

Zuko was silent for a bit, and I felt his hand lightly take mine. My eyes jumped to meet his, and saw he was smiling softly.

"Sometimes... sometimes I think that I'm never going to see my family again," I whispered, squeezing his hand for suppport. "I'll never know what happened to them... or me. I could be dead in my world, or missing, or..." I trailed off, and tear slid down my cheek.

"Hey," Zuko called softly, and pulled me over to the side, into a small alley. "It'll be okay." He pulled me into a hug, and I cried into his shoulder.

The banished Fire Nation prince was comforting me. I hadn't realized until now just how much I had missed him and his company. I thought back to the North Pole, when we kissed. Where did that leave us now? Did we just jump right back into the friendzone? Or are we something more? I was clueless. I had absolutely no clue what was going on between us, and it kind of broke my heart.

I finally pulled away, and looked up at the sky. "I should probably go," I sighed, although I didn't want to.

Zuko nodded, also looking at the setting sun. "Uncle will probably be expecting me soon."

Neither of us moved, and it took me a few seconds to notice we were still holding hands. I blushed and looked down. Before I could lose my nerve, I leaned in, and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later, Prince Zuko," I said softly, and skipped out into the street, leaving the blushing prince behind. I wanted so much to go back, and kiss him for real, but I was too scared.

He probably didn't even like me. He was just comforting me, after all. Wasn't it, like, human instinct to help others? Yeah. That's it.

When I got back to the house, the others were still out, and I was thankful. Looking in the mirror, I noticed that I still had a faint blush on my cheeks, and my braid was a mess. I quickly took it down, only to put it back up in a french braid. I slipped into some pajamas that Katara had given me a while ago, and brought some parchment and pen into the main room.

By the time everyone had got back, I had drawn the exterior of Iroh's shop, and was now working on the interior.