Zuko's Redemption

Part Five

Lei took a deep breath before rapping her knuckles against the doorframe.
"Gene!" A shout sounded from within the ramshackle house. "Answer that!"
Lei smiled when the door slid open.
Gene took her in with an unsatisfied frown. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
"What do you want?" he growled.
A crash sounded from behind him followed by a multitude of voices shouting.
Lei spied a seeming countless number of kids running around the room as Gene's mother attempted to wrangle them into order.
Gene had three younger brothers, but his mother was such a kind hearted person, that many young orphan refugees had ended up underneath her roof. Gene's job as a wall guard paid better than most other professions available in the slums, but with so many mouths to feed, his family still struggled.
"Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?" Lei asked as another crash sounded from inside, followed by more laughter and shouting.
"Why should I?" Gene replied stubbornly.
Lei sighed and dropped her gaze to the ground.
"Because you were right. You're my best friend and you deserve an explanation."
"I do like it when you tell me I'm right."
Half an hour and a lot of walking later, the pair sat down on the edge of one of the bean fields just outside the slums.
"So who is he?" Gene asked, cutting straight to the point.
"He's a refugee, like we were," Lei said, picking at a few of the beanstalks and placing them in her bag. "He's trying to find his elderly uncle and broke curfew during his search."
When telling a lie, it was often best to stick as close to the truth as possible.
"The Dai Lee found him and wanted to make an example of him, so they attacked him and left him in the street with a hole in his chest."
"Why would they leave him alive?" Gene asked with suspiciously narrowed eyes.
Lei shrugged.
"Maybe they wanted him to die slowly, or maybe they thought he was dead. I'm not sure. All I know is I found him barely clinging to life and brought him to the apothecary."
Lei tied her sack of beanstalks shut.
"When he told me what happened, I realized that if the Dai Lee came into the apothecary, they might recognize him, so I hid him upstairs."
Lei met Gene's gaze. She knew she could look at him for this last part, since it wasn't a lie at all.
"I'm just trying to help him recover so he can go and find his uncle."
Gene hadn't lost his suspicious squint.
"So you're not sleeping with him?"
"No!" Lei exclaimed. "Is that really what you care about?"
"Yes!" Gene replied. "I care about you, Lei. I don't want you getting tangled up with criminals because they have a pretty face."
"You saw his face," Lei scoffed.
"And the half that isn't burned is pretty," Gene retorted.
Lei rolled her eyes.
"Yes, it is. But that's not why I'm helping him."
"Lei," Gene said, suddenly very serious. "He's a criminal, and you're putting yourself in danger by helping him."
"If he's a criminal, then so am I," Lei huffed. "And so are you! We break curfew and sneak out of the walls all the time."
"That is a fair point," Gene groaned and tipped his head backward. Lei could tell he was beginning to relent.
"So you forgive me for keeping it a secret from you at first?" she prodded.
Gene peeked at her through one eye.
"Yes I forgive you, but I still don't like it."
"I'm being careful, he's been in my room for five days and the only people who know are you and me."
"Wait," Gene said, turning to face her fully. "Five days?"
"Yes?"
"You found him the night those firebenders attacked?"
Lei felt her throat clench.
"Was that the same night?" she asked lightly.
"It had to have been," Gene gasped. "Lei, what if he's one of the firebenders?"
Lei prayed Gene couldn't hear the rapid beating of her heart.
"What? No way. He's a refugee from the southern earth kingdom. He's not a firebender!"
"How could you possibly know?" Gene shouted. "He's probably lying to you. Lei, what if he's waiting for you to heal him so he can kill you?"
"No way!" Lei said while crossing her arms. "Besides, I found him early in the night. I heard the firebender attack was later; almost near dawn! Not to mention I found him in a completely different area from the attack."
Gene stared up at her, concern marring his face.
"Lei, I have a bad feeling about this."
"I know," Lei said gently. "I understand your concern, but he's not evil. He just needs help."
Gene sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Why do I get the feeling you're about to ask me for something?"
Lei took a deep breath to harden her resolve.
"In two days, I'm going to help him leave the city so he can go and search for his uncle."
"And you need me to open the tunnel through the wall," Gene muttered.
"Please, Gene," Lei said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He needs both of us to help him."
"Lei, I don't think I can do that."
"We both know what it's like to lose someone," Lei murmured. Gene's shoulders drooped, no doubt thinking of his father and uncle before they left for the war, and how they never came back. "His uncle might still have a chance, he just needs to go and find him."
Gene sighed and turned his watery eyes to meet Lei's.
"You are super persuasive, you know that?"
"Does that mean you'll help?"
Gene rolled his eyes and pulled Lei closer to him with an arm over her shoulders.
"Against my better judgement, yes, I'll help your new boyfriend escape."
"He's not my boyfriend," Lei scoffed.
"Good," Gene said as he pulled her closer and kissed her.