Miyuki was at a bit of a disadvantage here. For some reason, she'd been unable to receive any messages since arriving. She wasn't even sure if the message she tried to send out made it at this point. She could make her best educated guess as to where Zuko and Iroh might be, but past that, she would just have to leave it to chance. She hoped that they were still in the lower ring. If they somehow made it to a different ring already, it would take her longer to find them.
The first thing she had to do was start up a reputation. For the time being, she was dancing on the streets. The lower ring was filled with unsavory types, but she was making a decent amount for the time being, and the exposure would help her set up a new network in the near future. Still, it had been a week and progress had been slow.
She used her waterbending to create a sort of spectacle of water dancing in the air with each of her movements like ribbons trailing behind her, which would then direct the sunlight to her just right, creating a halo effect around herself to draw in as much attention as possible. It was perfect. If the idea wasn't genius, she didn't know what was.
She backflipped a couple times and brought the water down with her in a crashing wave, only to turn them into the smallest droplets of water she could when her feet hit the ground. She made the droplets bounce back up into the air, sprinkling the crowd in what looked like small jewels for a moment. Really, it was just like she was practicing her waterbending, but instead of the goal being to incapacitate her opponent as quickly as possible, her goal was to make it as entertaining as possible. Miyuki ducked into a bow and she heard the sound of coins falling into her bag.
"Wha- Miyuki? Is that you?!" a familiar voice exclaimed as she stowed her earnings for the day.
She looked up and smiled at the familiar face. "Hey there, stranger. I hardly recognized you with your new hair."
"What are you doing here?" the exiled prince asked. "And..." His eyes flickered to her clothes and he covered them with his hand. "Why are you dressed like that?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." She decided not to mention the pink tinge on his cheeks as she laughed lightly and put the jade-colored outer layer of her dress back on. "I wasn't expecting to run into you again so soon."
"Right back at you."
"I hope it's a pleasant surprise? Is your uncle with you?"
"I'll bring you to him."
She noted that he didn't comment as to his opinion on their reunion.
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
Miyuki smiled as she caught sight of Iroh serving tea in a tea shop. "What a pleasant surprise!" he greeted genially. "I had been missing our pai sho games recently, and you know how Lee isn't a fan."
She laughed lightly and noted Zuko's alias. "I would love to play when you have the time! It's so nice to see you both again. You seem like you're doing well."
"Yes, we can catch up later!" Iroh replied, ever friendly. "Would you like some tea?"
She smiled at him. "If you're the one brewing it, I would love some."
"You've got good taste, young lady. Mushi's the best tea maker in the city!" a man in uniform commented.
She flashed a bright smile at him and bowed a little. He didn't look like much, but if he was in uniform then he would know more people, and given the current state of her network, every single person counted.
A shiver went down her spine then, and Miyuki stood a little straighter. Someone's eyes were boring into the back of her head. She took a small mirror out and took a peek at who it was under the guise of checking to make sure the floral hairpin that she'd put into her hair was still in place. It was a girl in the corner of the shop with braids.
She put her mirror away before Iroh came out with a teapot, led her to a table, and poured her some tea. He put a hand on her shoulder with the air of a caring parent before going back towards the kitchen wordlessly. "Lee, why don't you lend her your jacket? She seems cold," he told his nephew. "And take a break too, it's about time."
Miyuki shivered for Zuko as she wondered what Iroh was hinting at. The prince draped his jacket over her shoulders and said gruffly, "That's what happens when you don't wear your clothes right."
She smiled at him as she pulled the edges around her. "Thanks." She held the teacup between her hands and stared at the steam rising from it for a moment as she guessed at what Iroh could be hinting at. Finally, she looked back up at the prince and flashed him a charming smile. "It's been a while since we last met. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight to catch up?"
"He'd love to!" Iroh replied from the front.
Bingo?
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
Miyuki felt herself attracting glances from passerbyers despite the fact that she had long since changed out of her flashy dancing clothes in favor of a more modest, plain-colored dress. She ran a hand through her hair and decided to ignore them. It was easier to ignore when they truly knew nothing about her. Zuko looked tense because of all the attention that they were getting though.
She took his arm and got on her toes to whisper, "And here I thought a prince would be used to the attention."
He flushed before frowning at her and grumbling an excuse, to which she laughed lightly in response.
When they arrived at the restaurant that she picked out, they ordered a variety of food and ate in silence for some time before Miyuki took it upon herself to break it. "So what's happened to you since we last met?"
"A lot." His reply was simple, but from him in this context, it seemed to imply that it was a mix of things that he'd rather not discuss and an explanation that he was saving for when there were fewer prying eyes and ears around. "I could ask you the same. How'd you get here?"
She flashed a charming smile in his direction as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "You know me, I have my ways." She glanced around and leaned in close to him then. "Although, I can't say that I'm certain about living here."
He cast her an inquisitive look and she continued in a hushed tone, "I haven't been able to get in contact with any of my sources since arriving. I won't go into the specifics, but it's as though either my birds or my sources are being captured."
She folded her arms. "It doesn't help that the last message I managed to get before arriving here was from one of the most carefree of the bunch." She lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. "He told me to be careful around all government agents." They leaned back and she mouthed, "Corruption and conspiracy."
He folded his arms and seemed to take the new information seriously. He nodded firmly after a moment.
She put a pleasant smile back on her face when she caught a glimpse of the waiter approaching them. "Excuse me, would you and your girlfriend care for dessert?" the waiter asked.
Knowing that Zuko would exclaim something rash and draw unnecessary attention to them, Miyuki flashed the waiter a dazzling smile and replied, "Yes, please."
The waiter nodded and headed off on his merry way.
The dazzling smile dropped from her face the moment the waiter's back was turned to her. "In any case, it means that I have no idea where he is at the moment," she finished quietly before having a small piece of the fish. "I don't have a network established here yet, so that's why I've been dancing. It's a pretty terrible job, but it serves its purpose well enough."
"If it's so miserable, why are you here?" he grumbled.
She thought about it for a moment before admitting quietly, "Because I heard that you might be here." She turned back to her food immediately upon feeling the warmth gathering by her cheeks. She was more frustrated than embarrassed at this point, given that there was nothing to be embarrassed about to begin with. She was working for him. It was only natural that she would try to follow him, right?
The waiter placed a couple skewers of mochi on the table and she took a piece when she was done with the fish. It was good, really good.
She looked up at him when she heard him laughing softly. "Your eyes are practically sparkling."
She found herself pouting a little. "Go easy on me. I was spoiled by a certain person's chef on the ship."
Miyuki found herself smiling as they chatted and walked around the middle ring together. There was a lot that she wanted to talk to him about and ask about, and while some of it could be discussed openly, some of it had to be discussed through subtext, leading to some interesting comparisons.
"Alright, I get it." He bumped her arm with his. "It was a weird choice of metaphor," he grumbled. He frowned at her when she chuckled at him. He folded his arms and looked away. "How'd you even manage to get a place in the middle ring?"
"Oh, that?" He glanced back at her. "Would you believe me if I said that a stranger gave it to me?"
"That's ridiculous." He watched her expectantly, but when she didn't say anything else, his eyes widened. "You're serious? Someone gave you an apartment in the middle ring?"
She nodded. "On my third day here, I met a woman from the upper ring. She's the third daughter of some rich family and she wants to be a fashion designer. Apparently, I caught her eye right away and she asked me to be her model. Initially, she wanted me to stay in her family's guesthouse, but obviously that arrangement wouldn't work because I was looking for you and your uncle, so we came to a compromise. She provides me a place in the middle ring and sends me the clothes and accessories that she designed, and in exchange, I wear only the stuff she sends me. Whenever people ask me about them or compliment my clothes or accessories, I send them to her." Miyuki shrugged.
"You're lucky just like my sister." It was hard to miss the tinge of irritation in his voice at the comparison, and she took note of it.
"I'd like to say that it's because I'm skilled, but you're right. In this case, I was lucky," she said pointedly. She spun around to face him and grinned. "You have to admit though, she's got a talent for it, don't you think?"
His gaze flickered away from her shyly. "She has a good eye."
She felt a flush reach her cheeks when she realized why he couldn't meet her gaze, and she fell back into pace with him and they walked side-by-side in silence through the park for a long while.
"Um... My uncle could probably get you a job at the tea shop if you want," he began. "He always said you're good with customers and stuff. Only if you want though."
"I'd like that a lot, thanks."
As they continued down the street, the pair fell into another silence. "You know," she began, "apparently, there's some kinda fountain that's a popular spot around here. 'Firelight Fountain' or something like that because the lanterns make the water sparkle." She paused and pointed at the fountain. "Ah, that."
"It's not lit."
"It certainly is not." She agreed with a nod.
"Should we fix that?"
She glanced at him. "You'd risk getting discovered for something like that?"
"It'd be a shame, you know- if some couple came by and they weren't lit."
She hummed thoughtfully, half to figure out how to reply and half to tease him. Mostly to tease him. "It would be quite the shame, wouldn't it?" she agreed at long last, tugging him along by the edge of his sleeve. "Yeah, let's fix it then. And by that, I mean, let me watch as you fix it."
"Don't look," he murmured when they arrived at the entrance.
"Hm?"
He covered her eyes with a hand and turned her around so that her back was to him. "Don't look 'til I say so."
"Sure, sure." She waved her hand dismissively and decided that she would keep watch instead when he lifted his hands from her eyes.
She heard him take a breath, and after a moment, some shuffling. Then, his hand was on her shoulder. "Alright."
She turned around and took in the scene before her. She could see what the girls were talking about. The soft light of the lanterns over the darkness of the water made for quite the sight. She thought for a moment before bending some water into the air like she did with her dancing and used the droplets to reflect the light even more. The result was better than she expected it to be, considering that they were suddenly surrounded by a warm glow and glinting that looked almost like stars.
"Huh. What do you know? Water and fire do go well together sometimes," she murmured more to herself than anyone else as she watched the water fall to the ground, catch the light, and glimmer.
She turned to Zuko when he didn't reply even after a long span of time, and she found him staring at her. "What is it?" She found herself whispering the question as she realized how close their faces were.
He dipped his head and pressed his lips against her's.
Her first reaction was panic, but her second wasn't to jump back. Instead, her eyelids fluttered shut. It was quick and a bit clumsy, but when they broke apart, she met his gaze and got on her toes before returning the favor. Even when they broke apart, his arms stayed around her and they watched each other for a moment with burning cheeks.
"Hey, get a room, kids!" A man exclaimed from a distance away. The woman by his side giggled quietly.
And just like that, she and Zuko practically leapt away from each other. Zuko turned away from her and cleared his throat quietly. "It's, uh, getting late. I-I'll walk you back."
All she could hear was the blood rushing through her ears as she replied, "Um, yeah. Yeah, I'd appreciate it. It's just a few minutes from here." As they began to walk, it was almost as though she was leading the way with her a few paces ahead and him a few paces behind. All the while, she tried and failed to completely compose her expression.
When they got to the door, she stopped and turned to face him. "This is it..."
"So, um, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah, see you tomorrow," she agreed hastily before waving and scurrying into the apartment. She opened the door again hesitantly the moment she closed it and peeked at him from behind the crack. "Thanks for... tonight. It was nice."
Extra:
Miyuki locked the door and slid down to the floor with her back to the door. It had been a long while since anyone had her heart and her mind racing at the same time. It was almost as though she was having a meltdown. As though her heart was no longer in sync with her mind.
She didn't have time for this. Not here, not now, and not with him. Not with the crown prince of the Fire Nation. Nothing about that matched up. Nothing. And yet, a part of her was over the moon.
She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Now what?