We made it to the train station, where we would be taken into the city. The line was long. It's not even funny how long we had to wait in line.

"Uncle, when we get into the city, I want to make a dish to commemorate no longer living in the wilderness." I smiled when Zuko looked slightly confused.

"You can cook?"

I rose an amused eyebrow. "I'm not as bad at cooking as you are at making tea."

"You said you liked it!" He defended himself.

"I never said that. I said that it was stimulating. I didn't lie; my senses were awakened to the potential threat that I allowed to enter my body." I reasoned with a sly smile.

I heard him mumble something under his breath about me being ungrateful and rude.

"Oh, come on, big brother. It took you too long to realize that. I thought you were smarter than that. I guess I was wrong." I joked.

Uncle laughed. "So, what dish are you thinking of preparing?"

"It's called beef and noodles. It sounds simple, but it's delicious. It was the first thing I ever learned to cook. We made it every Sunday." I frowned. "It may be difficult to find the ingredients required here. Oh well, I can make do."

"When'd you learn to make that?" Zuko questioned.

"Let's see. I'm 14 now, and I've had ten years to perfect it. So, I was four." My mouth was watering at the thought of the dish.

"You learned how to cook when you were four?" Uncle asked. Zuko had another question in mind. "You be had the same dish every week since you were four, and you still aren't tired of it?"

"Yes, and yes." I smiled. "What can I say? I like my cooking."

"Wow... conceited much?" Zuko asked with a teasing smirk.

"No. It's not being conceited if it's true." I retorted lightly.

Zuko's comeback was cut short when Uncle handed the lady our passports.

"So, Mr. Lee, Ms. Aiko and Mr... uh... Mushy, is it?" She tried.

"Actually, it's pronounced Mushi." Uncle corrected. She looked past the passport to him.

"Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?" Ugh. Here we go. Evil ticket lady time.

"Uh... No, no." Uncle walked up to her stall and leaned against it casually. "But, may I just say you are like a flower in bloom; your beauty is intoxicating." Gag. Not what I was expecting. Now, I'm kind of wishing that I had to deal with an evil ticket lady.

She smiled flirtatiously. "Mm. You're pretty on the eyes yourself, handsome. Mreowr. Welcome to Ba Sing Se." She stamped the passports and handed them back to Uncle.

I had to keep my lunch from making a second appearance. Uncle held out our passports, and Zuko snatched it from him. "I'm going to forget I saw that."

I took the other one. "Well, aren't you lucky? I'm gonna have nightmares for a week." Zuko smirked and patted me  on the back, as if he really did feel sorry for me. Rude, human.

We moved over to where we would sit and wait for the train. I sighed the moment I was able to take the weight off my feet. "Ah. Finally."

Zuko and Uncle sat to my left.

Jet came up behind us and sat beside me. I wanted to gag all over again. "So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"

"Yes." I growled, glaring at him. He sighed. "Sorry about that, Aiko. I didn't realize-" I could tell Zuko was about to tell something at him, but someone beat him to the chase.

"Get your hot tea here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!" I heard a merchant call. Us three teens all turned our heads to the source of the call.

Uncle waved his hand frantically to catch his attention. "Oh. Jasmine, please!" He called.

The merchant poured him a cup, and he drank it, before spitting it out as if it were something Zuko tried to make. "Blech. Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se, is more like it." He turned to the two of us. "What a disgrace."

Jet caught our attention again. "Hey. Can I talk to you two for a second?" He stood up and left us to follow.

I saw Zuko sigh and then shrug to me. I sighed as well, and followed Zuko over. "The three of us have a higher chance of making it in the city of we stuck together. Wanna join the Freedom Fighters?" I glared.

Noticing my discomfort, Zuko spoke up for me. "Thanks, but I don't think you want us in your gang."

"Come on, we made a great team looting that captain's food. Think about all the good we could do for these refugees." Jet tried to convince us.

"We said no." I emphasized, and pulled Zuko back to Uncle.

"Have it your way." I heard him sigh. When we made it back to Uncle, I noticed the once cold tea was now steaming, and he smiled after taking a sip.

Zuko turned around suspiciously to make sure no one saw, before smacking out of Uncle's hands. "Hey!" He protested.

"What are you doing Firebending your tea? For wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move." Zuko scolded through gritted teeth.

I sighed. "I'm going to say this, and if anyone ever asks in the future I'm going to deny it. I agree with Lee."

Ignoring us, Uncle began sniffing. "I know you're not supposed to cry over spilt tea, but... It's just so sad." I rolled my eyes. Typical Uncle.

"Ah. Stop your whining. The saying is don't cry over spilt milk." I retorted aggravatedly.

Zuko looked at me, already peeved at Uncle. "The saying is not that. Why would you... Oh, right. Sorry." That's when he realized I'm from a different world.

I smiled. "There you go. Remember that. It could save your life." I smirked.

The train pulled up, finally. Instead of the motorized style that I'm used to, it was powered by Earthbenders.

"I don't know why, but I was expecting the train to be more... modern." I noted as we boarded.

"What do you mean more modern? Steam-powered?" Zuko scoffed.

"To an extent, yes. Remember, where I'm from benders don't exist and everything is automated. I just tend to forget that you guys are pre- industrial revolution." I retorted.

He rolled his eyes. "If you need it so bad, why don't you go invent it."

I pouted. "I don't know how to. I'm fourteen! That's not nearly long enough to learn how my technology works."

When we sat down, Uncle pulled my attention towards the couple sitting next to us. "What a handsome baby." He smiled at them.

"Thank you." Replied the mother.

I turned to her with a smile. "Hey. I'm Aiko."

"Hello, my name is Ying, and this is my husband." Ying answered.

"So, what are you guys planning to do when you're in the city?" I inquired.

"We don't really know yet. The past couple of days have been pretty hectic. We just want to get settled into our new home first."

I nodded. "Makes sense." I was yanked from the conversation when Zuko turned me around.

"We don't need to make friends, Aiko. We're hiding out there, not making a life." He hissed. I frowned.

"Yes, we're hiding out, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be rude to people, Junior." I smiled triumphantly when he began to mumble incoherent things under his breath.

I was in a good mood. We made it to a safe haven where we can hide. We've got plenty to look forward to. Things are looking up for us.

Still, I have this nagging feeling that it won't last forever.

- - - - - - - - -

A/N extremely short chapter. Sorry about that. There wasn't much to work off of, and the next chapter is going to be a lot longer.