Avatar: The Fifth Element

15. Uncle Iroh

"Uncle! I'm so happy to see you're safe!" Zuko stepped forward, and Rumi let go so he could envelope his uncle in a hug. Rumi smiled at how affection Zuko was towards the old man.

"And who might this be?" Iroh asked once he saw Rumi.

Zuko looked to her awkwardly as he stepped back, trying to stand on his own but failing miserably. Rumi giggled and caught him with a small struggle.

"I'm Rumi, I came from that village of benders not far from here," she explained.

"Ahh yes, I heard the Avatar and a few others had gone there. The reason, I'm not quite sure," Iroh said.

The group sat around a table and Iroh served them all tea, and then joined them. Aang begin by explaining why they had to go there, and the cause of the meteorites. Originally, they weren't going to talk about this in front of anyone from the village, a precaution as to not upset or scare away the etherbender, but at this point, Rumi was the exception. She was nearly a part of their group now.

When the meteor had hit Ba Sing Se, Iroh explained that he had seen it coming, and went to warn everyone in the area it would hit. The people evacuated just in time, and only a few citizens were injured. Luckily for Iroh, his tea shop and house in Ba Sing Se had remained untouched.

Not a word was uttered from Rumi's mouth as the conversation went on. She simply listened intently, swirling her tea around. If only they knew...

"How bad was the damage?" Rumi nearly shouted, interrupting the conversation that she forgot was going on. Everyone turned to her, confused.

"From the meteorite?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah."

"I assume a lot," Sokka concluded.

Iroh shook his head, "It wasn't as bad as you would think, but there are still plenty of repairs to be done."

"Can I see? I wanna help with the repairs," there was a sense of urgency to Rumi's tone.

"So hasty," Iroh laughed. "You should all get settled into my home here, then I can take you."

That was that. Rumi wouldn't object, especially when she was generously offered a place to stay. The time did drag on, however. Everyone had to first finish their tea, and Iroh had to close up the shop before they finally made their way to his home.

It was a fairly big place, with four extra rooms aside from Iroh's. The colours were warm tones, fitting for that of a firebender, and the place smelled of jasmine tea. It was probably the most relaxing environment Rumi had ever been in, and she honestly didn't want to leave, let alone go to a place that was destroyed by a meteorite. But alas, that still had to wait, and Rumi was getting impatient.

"Okayy," Sokka was beginning to mull something over. "So there's four rooms. Obviously Katara and Aang are sharing a room, I'll get my own, and—"

"I'm getting my own room too!" Toph yelped. "I need my space!"

"Then that leaves one more room, and Zuko and Rumi," everyone turned to the two of them, while Sokka smiled at Zuko slyly.

Rumi saw Zuko lightly blushing, and rolled her eyes. "I'll sleep on the couch in the living room," she offered.

Zuko, of course, immediately protested, "No, it's not as comfortable as a bed, I can sleep down here."

"Don't be silly, you're injured. You need a bed more than me. Plus, there's a fire place down here, it'll keep me warm," Rumi countered.

"She's a smart one. Hold onto her, Zuko," Iroh said, smiling.

Entertained, Rumi watched as Zuko grew more and more flustered. He keeled under the pressure and decided to take the the last bedroom upstairs, and then proceeded to stubbornly limp the whole way there.

Once she had settled herself into the living room, Rumi went up to Iroh.

"Can you take me to where the meteor hit now?" she asked.

"You're an eager one, aren't you?"

Rumi nodded, "I'm not the most patient, I have to admit."

"Come with me."

It didn't take long to get there, but when Rumi saw the destruction, her heart sank and she felt her head grow woozy. Houses were destroyed, and the people that lived in those houses slept in small tents — or even just outside in sleeping bags — while they waited for their homes to be repaired.

Clasping a hand to her mouth, Rumi ducked her head down. She felt sick.

"You're hiding something."

When Iroh spoke, it wasn't in the form of a question, but a statement. He knew she was keeping a secret.

"Yes," she wasn't going to deny it.

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever it is, you will feel better once it is no longer a secret. Keeping it inside will hurt you more than telling it will hurt everyone else."

Rumi stayed silent. She knew Iroh was right. She had always known, but she was stubborn, and she was scared of what people would do if they knew — what people would think of her.

What Zuko would think of me...

She quickly brushed the thought out of her mind. What had just come over her? She wasn't one to care what people thought, not in that way at least.

Thankfully, Rumi was pulled out of her thoughts when Iroh spoke again.

"Just like I said before, you're a smart girl. You know what the right thing to do is," he stopped speaking for a moment as a smile grew on his face. "You're smart enough to see the way my nephew feels."

Rumi smiled at the ground, "He's not very subtle."

Iroh looked at her, "Do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Be gentle with him, he's been through quite a lot. He's quite hotheaded, but that's because..." Iroh leaned in as if he were telling a secret, "he's sensitive."

Rumi giggled, "Gentle isn't exactly in my nature, but I can try." She thought for a moment, "And I know what the right thing is, I'll eventually do it. I promise. You gotta hold me to that promise, okay?"

"Oh, I was going to hold you to it anyways!"

-

A/N ~ hey guys! okay first of all i wanna thank you for 700 reads!! i know people usually do this kinda thing at 500 and 1000 reads, but 7 is my favourite number (and i missed the 500 mark). but anyways, i'm so happy that every day i get more reads! it keeps me motivated to write this!
i know this update is a little later than all the other ones i've done (i usually update every second day or so) but i haven't been feeling great mentally, so it was difficult to write. i do have a lot of prewritten chapters though, and i'm super excited to release all of them.
also,, Iroh's finally in the story! yay!
and get ready for a longer next chapter, featuring an insecure Zuko and Rumi actually being caring for once!
i hope everyone has a good day,
and don't forget to vote/comment/share!
—Blaise⚡️