You exited the tea shop, dodging puddles of water and trying to stay in the vicinity of the streetlights. "Why did you come here in the first place? Not that I'm upset or anything, but it's a pretty crazy coincidence." Zuko asked.
"Uhh, it's a pretty long story. I kind of had to enter a sacred tomb of knowledge, walk through a desert, and roam the streets of this city with no place to stay because the people in charge have a serious distaste for being corrected."
Zuko paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. "That's rough, buddy."
You gave him a look.
"What? I'm trying to sympathize with you!" He scoffed. "You really spent thirty seconds lost in thought, just to say 'that's rough, buddy'?" You chuckled. "Well, I didn't want to say anything that'd make you feel sad..." Zuko muttered.
You looked at him in surprise. Your gaze softened and a gentle smile appeared on your face. "Y'know, I'm not sure I can keep calling you pricko if you keep being so considerate."
"Don't worry, I'll always call you a gremlin."
You grimaced and gave him the stink eye. "It's true though, isn't it?" Zuko chuckled. "I take back everything I said just now."
√|•|§€=°––<<《–––》>>––°=€§|•|√
Soon enough, you made it to Iroh and Zuko's place. There were some small potted plants in the corners of the room, and several lanterns hung throughout it. You also noticed quite a few instruments to make tea with.
"Ahh, what a long day it's been. Perhaps I should prepare a cup of tea." Iroh hummed. "Uncle, are you serious? We just came back from the tea shop!" Zuko grunted, staring at his uncle with a look of disbelief.
"I see you still do not understand. You see, there is no such thing as too much tea." Iroh stated, adding emphasis to his words by waving his index finger. "Wouldn't you agree, Y/N?"
You giggled and nodded. "Truly inconceivable. Too much tea? How ridiculous!" Zuko furrowed his eyebrows angrily, "Don't encourage him, Y/N! If I smell the scent of tea one more time, I swear I'll go insane!"
"Don't be such a downer. Come on, you're probably tired from all that work. Where are the rooms?"
While Zuko was giving you a tour of the place, you began to zone out.
Back on the docks...
Saiyaka... She had a boat.
She gave you and Ursa a sad nod. "Go, blessed one. You must go on your own." Saiyaka set the boat upon the water and Ursa sat you inside of it. Squeezing your hands, Ursa let out a soft sigh. "Please, be safe, little one." You gave her a hug. "You too, Ms. Zuko's mother." She let out a soft chuckle. Saiyaka took a necklace out of her pocket and placed it around your neck.
You placed a hand on your double cresent necklace, glancing at the ground. Zuko probably doesn't know anything about what happened on that night.
You glanced back up at him. Should you... Tell him?
You bit your lip.
How would he react?
What if he believes you're the reason Ursa disappeared?
No... Zuko wouldn't do that.
You recalled Toph's words.
"You like that person a lot, right? Then you gotta take the risk."
Right. He should definitely know what occured. It's probably been hurting him for a long time now... You, at least, knew the truth of what happened to your mother. You could move forward. But Zuko...
"This is where you'll be staying until we can get another bed. Is that alright?" Zuko asked. When he saw your dark expression, a look of concern appeared on his face. "Zuko... Do you want to know what happened to your mother?"
He stood, frozen with shock. His eyes narrowed as he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the room and shut the door. The two of you sat across from one another, able to see each other's faces.
"Y/N." Zuko stated directly into your eyes. "Do you... Seriously know what happened to my mother?"
You nodded, "We ran away from the palace on the same day. She was with me when I left the Fire Nation."
Zuko placed his hands on his forehead, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Please, tell me."
Your gaze shifted to the flooring before you shut your eyes. "It was a few days after you guys got news about Iroh's Siege at Ba Sing Se. Firelord Ozai was speaking with Azulon about being the heir to the throne, but things took a turn for the worst when Azulon ordered Ozai to... To kill you."
Zuko let out a shaky sigh. You held his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to comfort him. "Should I continue?" You asked. You were always there to comfort him. He gave you a nod, so you proceeded to tell the rest of the events that went down.
"We left the palace, and an elderly woman named Saiyaka was there with a boat. That's when I left that paper butterfly on the docks... and when Ursa and I went our separate ways."
"Saiyaka wouldn't let anything bad happen to Ursa. I'm sure of it. If anyone knows where your mother is, it's her. All I can tell you is that... Ursa is definitely alive somewhere."
Zuko began to shake. "She's..."
He turned his head, gazing at you with a look of shock, anguish, and hope all mixed into one.
"She's... alive?"
A smile appeared on your face. "She's alive, Zuko."
You got a strange feeling in your chest. "...And I know that somehow, we're going to find her."
"Please, promise me that you won't ever disappear like that again." Zuko muttered. "I promise. Now you have to promise me... That if we somehow get separated, we'll always find our way back to each other." You hummed.
Zuko gave you a small, soft smile.
"I promise."
√|•|§€=°––<<《–––》>>––°=€§|•|√
Sometime in the early morning, you all went to Pao's Family Tea House so that you could start working as an employee.
You knocked a rhythm on the door, awaiting Pao's arrival. After a few minutes, the door swung open."Why, hello, ma'am! What brings you here?" Pao asked, peeping his head out from behind the door.
"If it's alright, could I work-" Before you could finish your sentence, Pao pulled you into the tea shop, ran to the back of it, and handed you an apron. With a large grin on his face, he said, "You're hired!"
Confused, yet pretty happy with the easy application process, you smiled.
"N o i c e."
Iroh and Zuko entered the building, both surprised to see you in uniform. "He just let you in? Just like that?" Zuko questioned, raising an eyebrow. You nodded.
Zuko's eyes widened as he placed a hand on his forehead. "How bankrupt is he?"
–—————————————————
It was decided that you would be a waitress, take orders, and try to bring in more customers, as Iroh's tea techniques a legendary art, hard for a mere plebian to achieve.
Slowly, customers started to enter the shop. You popped your collar and exhaled through your mouth. You gave yourself an inner pep-talk and began working.
Surely, things wouldn't be too bad.
Surprisingly, things actually weren't going horribly. Aside from the weirdo who continually asked if you were related to any "cabbage-killers," You were having a pretty good time.
As the sky darkened, the number of people in the shop began to dwindle. Everyone who remained was either finishing their food, or staying to relax in the peaceful environment.
You walked over to Zuko, who was leaning against the counter which led to the Worker's Area.
"How come you seem so happy? You've been serving tea for like, six hours." He huffed.
"Yeah, but it's fun!" You beamed.
He gave you a look and scoffed, "Uh huh. Fun."
"I get to judge people's tastes in my head and figure out what the best things to eat are. Not only that but..." You grinned, "No one is touching my precious baked buns."
Zuko raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Then maybe I should do a bit of advertising."
You squinted at him with a moue, "Then I guess I should bring in some more customers for you to serve."
"Sure thing. I'd probably earn a gold piece or two for my outstanding service." Zuko chuckled, a tender smile on his face as he looked upon your's.
"Hmph! Let's compare wages when we get back to the apartments, you bald headed rat." Zuko's eyes widened at your bizarre statement.
"I'm... Not even bald." He muttered, patting his head as if he needed to confirm that he was indeed, not bald.
"You were bald." You hummed, shutting your eyes. "When was I ever bald!? Do I look like the Avatar to you!?" He inquired.
"85% of your head was absolutely-"
"That's still not bald!"
You began to giggle at his reaction to your words. "Okay, okay! You aren't as bald as you were before. You honestly have a cute hairstyle."
You expected Zuko to have some sort of reply to your comment, but he didn't. You looked at him in confusion, before realizing what you said.
"U-Um, I'd better... Make sure all the customers are enjoying themselves!"
You awkwardly waddled away from him, blushing with embarassment. You could practically feel Lso making fun of you in the back of your head.
Then, suddenly, the door was swung wide open, slamming into the wall. "I'M TIRED OF WAITING!"
A brunette with straw in his mouth barged into the tea shop. "Those three are firebenders!"
You looked around the room in confusion. "Are you talking about me?" You mumbled, genuinely perturbed about the lad's mental state.
"Stop pretending to be innocent! Why don't you take off your gloves and launch a fire ball at me, huh!?"
You noticed Zuko furrowing his eyebrows and clenching his fists.
You stepped in front of him.
"That girl's hands are burnt! If anything, a firebender was the one who hurt her!" A customer said.
The intruder unsheathed his swords. "Then you must be holding her captive!"
"I'm not being held captive. You don't even have evidence that they're firebenders!" You declared.
If you fought the intruder, then surely, those men who took away Lin would come for you, too.
"I do have proof! I saw the old man heating his tea!" The intruder yelled. "He works in a tea shop." A customer sighed.
"He's a firebender, I'm telling you!" The intruder shouted.
You pointed at the stranger, deciding a small bluff wouldn't hurt.
"I've been traveling with the two of them for some time now. I would know if they were firebenders!"
"That burn on your arm and the fact you're defending them..." The stranger dashed towards you, holding his swords close to your neck, daring to slit your throat.
There wasn't much you could do. If you fought back, then your abilities would be revealed. You could be taken away by the strange agents you met!
A customer was about to pull out their swords, but Zuko took them and glared at the unwanted guest. "Let her go. Now."
"You're keeping her alive for some reason, aren't you!? I'll put an end to whatever plans you have!" The intruder slid his swords closer to your throat. At that point, you couldn't even struggle to get out of his grasp.
Zuko stared at you. You knew what he was trying to say. You had to take a risk.
Your shaky legs became firmly planted on the ground. You took a deep breath.
You shot your gloved hand upwards through the space between the intruders swords and your neck, successfully kicking him backwards and protecting yourself from injury.
You lept away from the stranger and over to Zuko's side.
The intruder stood up and clutched his swords, glaring at Zuko.
"You want a show? I'll give you a show!"
Zuko dragged a table in front of him using his foot and kicked it at the intruder, who sliced it in half and tried to land a hit on Zuko.
Jumping onto another table, Zuko avoided the intruder's blade. However, the table he was standing on was sliced in half by the stranger. Seeing that Zuko could still remain balanced on the table, he slashed off the table's legs.
Zuko lept off, but not before swinging his swords at the stranger's feet. The intruder hopped backwards, but held his knee and hissed. Your kick appeared to have done quite a bit of damage.
Zuko swung his broadswords at the intruder, who tried to block them, but got sent rolling backwards out of the tea shop.
Knowing he would come back, Zuko dashed outside. You and Iroh followed after him, along with a few customers who were interested in the ordeal.
The intruder and Zuko locked swords, glaring at each other with immense hatred.
"You must be getting tired of using those swords. Why don't you go ahead and firebend at me!?" The intruder taunted.
More and more people came to watch the two battle. You noticed two people staring at the scene with concern. "Jet... What are you doing...!?" One of them muttered. "Please son, you're confused! You don't know what you're doing!" Iroh cried.
Jet spun around, sending one of Zuko's swords onto the ground. Jet put his swords together, whirling them around. Zuko took a few steps back. "Bet you wish he'd help you out with a little fire blast." Jet scoffed.
You furrowed your eyebrows, annoyed. You hid your hand behind your back, about to do something to make Jet trip. Iroh noticed and shook his head at you.
As Jet continued his circular pattern, Zuko pinned one of Jet's swords into the ground. "You're the one who needs help." Zuko sighed.
Jet tried to launch an attack, but was no match for Zuko's agility. He swung his sword at Jet, who narrowly avoided a nasty injury.
You watched in awe as Zuko's broadsword sliced clean through the piece of wheat in Jet's mouth.
You were shocked and astonished by his abilities. You could still recall training with him, back when he wasn't as experienced. He had definitely improved.
Thinking back to his fight with Zhao, you realized that... There something you had missed.
The determination in his eyes.
His fierce movements.
How the arena lit up as flames cast their light upon his figure.
The way those orange flames danced... You couldn't help but remember the picture of dozens of lanterns drifting across the midnight skies.
The warmth they provided...
For some reason, your heart was beating faster.
"Drop your weapons." The low voice drew you out of your trance. The agents...
Zuko lowered his sword, but didn't loosen his grip on it. However, Jet pointed his weapon at you, Iroh, and Zuko. "Arrest them! They're firebenders!"
Iroh stepped up, "This poor boy is confused. We're just simple refugees."
Pao pointed to Jet with an angry expression, "This young man wrecked my tea shop and even harassed and assaulted my employees!"
"It's true sir. We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city." A customer announced. "Oh, ho, ho. That's very sweet." Iroh smiled.
You stared at Jet, unsure of how to feel about him. The Fire Nation might have hurt him, but he held a sword to your throat, even when he believed you were innocent.
You sighed and entered the tea shop, doing your best to clean up the mess the battle caused.
You looked up at the ceiling, gazing into the yellow lights.
Where had all those lanterns gone?