Iroh's Gourmet Teas and Teapots

The Meeting

Zuko sighed contently. It had been exactly one year since his banishment, and six months since he had stopped caring.

His uncle had been a big help in making Zuko realize that the whole avatar thing was a wild goose chase. He had been upset at first, but then he realized that Iroh was right. It was a wild goose chase.

Even if it was possible to find the avatar, why would he want to?

It's not like Zuko wanted to rejoin the fire nation. Iroh has made him realize that, too. He was much happier without Azula or his father. The fire nation was oppressive, and he was better off being banished. Ever since his mother had died, his home had become a house of abuse and painful memories. Azula was the golden child, and Zuko..... Well, Zuko was closer to flying buffalo dung in his father's eyes.

After he decided he was done chasing the avatar for his father, Zuko felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had never felt so free.

Even when Zuko heard about the avatar being found in an iceberg, he stayed out of it. He was busy working in his uncle's tea shop.

It was a cute, small shop, built into the ship that had once belonged to the fire nation. Now it belonged to Iroh's Gourmet Teas and Teapots, a quaint shop in an Earth bender colony, one that hadn't been overtaken by the fire nation.

It was a nice life, not being involved in his father's pointless war. Being free to be himself without the fear of not being enough. He had a peaceful life.

The ladies were all over Zuko, but he wasn't interested, no matter how much his uncle tried to get him to get a girlfriend. He wasn't sure if he wanted a boyfriend instead, or if he'd rather be single, or if he just hadn't met the right woman yet, but he didn't really care.

"Zuko!" Uncle Iroh called out.

Zuko poked his head out of the closet he was hiding in. "Yes, Uncle?"

"A very nice girl came to see you. Her name is Zi Lee. She's a tailor. She was very disappointed that you weren't here. Where were you?"

"I was hiding in this closet." Zuko replied.

Iroh looked taken aback. His brow furrowed. "Why were you hiding?"

"Zi Lee is a great girl," Zuko explained, "She's smart and pretty, and her family is fairly respectable. But I'm just not interested in romance at the moment."

Iroh shook his head, but he was smiling. "Oh, Zuko. Why, when I was your age, I wanted nothing more than to conquer nations and charm beautiful women. But not everyone is the same. You'll meet someone one day, and they will be wonderful."

Zuko noted that his uncle said 'they' And not 'she.' He wondered if this was a conscious decision made, or if his uncle had simply had a slip of the tongue.

"Anyway," Iroh said, "It's time for dinner. I made cabbage soup and rice."

Zuko lowered himself out of the closet. "That sounds great, Uncle. But why cabbage soup? You hate cabbage."

Iroh nodded. "Yes, but the cabbage vendor looked so sad. He said his cabbages kept being knocked over. I wanted to make him a little happier, so I bought a cabbage."

"That was very nice of you. I hope it made him happy."

"I hope so, too. It's always nice to brighten someone's day."

Zuko was taste-testing tea for his uncle the next day when the story broke.

"Hmm." Zuko said, "I think it needs something. Maybe a little bit more ginger?"