Miyuki knocked on Iroh and Zuko's apartment door the next morning. She had information that they should know about before things went down, and honestly, the sooner they knew, the better. She was in the middle of thinking about how best to phrase things when the door flew open and Iroh ushered her in hastily. "Your timing couldn't be better," the general began, "It's my nephew."
Her thoughts began to race with her heart. Given that they had gone directly against the Dai Li the night before, there was no telling what might have happened after she left. "What's happened, and how can I help?"
The room that Iroh led her into was quaint and a little worn-down. It reminded her a little of the initial apartment that she had managed to secure when she first arrived in Ba Sing Se, and she could see why Zuko had insisted that he wasn't keen on starting a life here. He was a prince. Exiled or not, there was no way that he would be accustomed to living like this.
She glanced at him, laid out on the floor on the futon and coerced with a blanket. At least he hadn't disappeared without a trace. Still, even from a cursory glance, she could already see the sweat beading at his brow, and as she sat, she could hear how ragged his breathing was.
She thanked Iroh when he set some clean water out for her when she was situated on the floor. "He suddenly collapsed last night and has been running a fever ever since," the general explained. "I did what I could to keep it down, but it only seems to be getting worse."
"How long ago was this?" she asked as she bent the water that he had prepared for her. The water spiraled around him as she searched for what could be wrong.
"After we returned last night."
Some quick math led her to estimate that it had been roughly eight hours then. It was no wonder that the man sounded so grave. Running such a high fever for that long was dangerous.
Miyuki spread the water so that it hovered over Zuko in a sheet, gathering more from the air as needed until it hovered over him entirely. She frowned a little as she drew her conclusions. She set about healing the injuries he sustained from the night before. "This fever," she began slowly as she looked up to meet the man's gaze. "It's not natural, somehow." She glanced at the water as it began to glow. "I can't heal him because it's almost as though he's fighting himself. The most that I can do is heal his other injuries and help lower his fever by keeping him cool."
"So it's as I thought," the man murmured. "What he did yesterday was in direct opposition to how he sees himself."
"I'm not sure I understand, but I can help look after him." She bent some water over Zuko's forehead like a towel while Iroh produced a towel and began to soak it in water. She froze some of the water for him to quickly lower the temperature and he thanked her.
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
When everything they could do was done, Miyuki sat in the corner while the general made tea nearby. He glanced at her from the stove. "You know, you mean quite a bit to my nephew. I'm glad that it's not one-sided."
"I-" She stopped herself and lowered her head when she realized that her first instinct was to deny it. She did have feelings for the prince, but at times, it felt almost conditional. It was hard to admit that she had those feelings for him when he snapped at her like he had the day before. Not to mention the fact that she didn't have time for something like this. Especially not a relationship that could never work in the long term.
The older man chuckled as though he knew her true response. Honestly, maybe he did. She wouldn't put it past him. He seemed to know so much more than he let on. "Emotions are such strange things, wouldn't you agree?" he asked gently, "They compel us to do things we would have never imagined that we could do."
She leaned back on the wall. "I don't like emotions. They're messy and difficult to deal with. Is that strange?" she couldn't help but murmur in response.
"Not at all," he assured her, "And they don't have to be messy and difficult, you know."
She sighed softly and hung her head. "As though the emotions themselves aren't turbulent enough, there's no future for this relationship," she admitted quietly.
"And why do you think that?"
"Putting the matter of nationality and status, and all the other obvious factors aside?" she began with a wry huff. "There are times when my feelings seem almost conditional. I don't know how to handle someone whose moods change so quickly— someone prone to snapping and going into a rage so easily. It's not a bad thing necessarily, being so dynamic, but—" She sighed. "The fact is that I don't know how to react or what to do at times like that, and if that means that whatever I feel is conditional, well- That's not love, is it? I don't know what it is, a crush maybe." She shook her head. "Either way, whatever it is, I wouldn't call it love."
Her eyes were fixed on the ground, as though studying the grain of the wood flooring would somehow solve all her problems.
The man sighed softly. Her eyes flickered up to him and she found him nodding understandingly. "As you already know, my nephew has been through a lot. It does not excuse his behavior, of course, but you are one of the few people that has seen all of him, all of who he is. You're a smart, young woman with a penchant for thinking logically and pragmatically, and you apply that skill to everything that you do. Like everything, there are times when this is to your benefit, but at others, that sort of thinking may impede you."
She took in his words and dissected them carefully in her mind before replying, "As to say that you think that this is one of those cases where I'm impeding myself? That the obvious things and the not so obvious things don't matter as much as I think?"
"Of course I support my nephew, and I want only the best for him, but I'm not asking you to love him blindly. Instead, I'm asking that you take some time and look deep into your heart before you make your decision. Love is a powerful emotion, and we only truly feel it for so few people. It is not something that you should rush into, nor is it something that you should give up quite so easily."
"I..." She nodded slowly. "I understand. But before I can do that, I think that there are things that I need to work on. Things about myself that I need to fix before I'm ready. There's a lot about my past and my present that I'm not content with."
"We are the people we are today because of our past."
"And is who I am today something to be proud of?" she asked dryly.
"I see a strong-willed and intelligent girl with a good moral compass," he replied. "I don't know what it is that you see."
She hesitated as the phrase 'imposter' came to mind before she replied quietly, "Something that isn't that."
"Then change. That's the beauty of people, after all."
She chuckled at how simple he made it sound. "Is it truly that easy, I wonder?" She was adept at building up an image that she tailored for herself, sometimes to the point where even she believed that she lived up to that falsified image. But that was the thing about creating an image. It was fabricated. Fake.
He patted her on the back and handed her a cup of tea. "It is."
She smiled wryly and held the teacup between her hands. It was just the right temperature, warm but not scalding. A temperature where she could drink the tea right away without worrying about burning herself. She wondered for a moment if she would have grown up to be a better person if she had someone as patient and caring as Iroh looking out for her.
It wasn't to say that her brother didn't take good care of her, but her brother was growing at the same time that she was. He had his own things to deal with on top of the responsibility that came with taking care of her. If there was someone like Iroh around, who had long since found himself— if there was someone like him to dispense advice and keep her on track, if she hadn't lived her life practically alone as she fought everyone every step of the way— Would things have turned out differently?
Weeks ago, Miyuki had told Pakku that she was grateful that he had denied her training all those years ago because it made her stronger as a bender and as a person, but with that came demerits as well. She became detached and schemed. She was always ready for a fight and looking for the most efficient way to go through things, and when all else failed or things became difficult, her first instinct was to completely obliterate any obstacle in her way. Even if that obstacle was herself.
She and Iroh had their tea together in silence as she focused on her breathing. She felt herself calming down, as though the knot of emotions had untied and smoothed itself out while she sipped the jasmine tea.
When she finished the cup, she stood. "Let me get us some food."
He moved to stop her, but she shook her head. "Daichi says that they make more food that the palace can manage to eat all the time," she replied. "I'll be back soon."
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
Miyuki awoke to Zuko's sudden exclamation sometime after eating dinner with Iroh and playing pai sho. She jumped up, water whip at the ready, and her heart beating loud enough for her to hear as she processed the situation. When she did, however, she let out a quiet sigh. She bent the water away, and sat down next to Zuko, who was sweating profusely. "Hey. Hey, it's alright," she said gently, "You're fine, Zuko. You're fine. You've just got a bit of a fever." She took a towel and wiped some of the sweat from his face and hoped that it would help cool him down a bit.
"W-What are you doing here, Miyuki?" She noted that his voice was quiet and weak as he spoke.
"Your uncle called me here to heal you," she explained, "but I can't exactly help this particular fever with my healing. I'm sorry."
"Then why'd you stay?" He lay back down and took one of her hands in his as he murmured, "Is this just another dream?"
She pulled the blanket back over him. "That's a good question," she agreed just barely above a whisper.
He lifted the edge of the blanket in invitation and tugged softly at her hand. "Since you're here, will you stay with me for a little longer, Miyuki?" His eyelids seemed heavy, and his question slurred a bit at the end as he was lulled back to sleep's embrace.
She, not feeling it in her to reject his request, relented and took a place by his side, soaking in his warmth as he wrapped an arm around her and tucked her snugly to his side with a hum.
"You're cold," he murmured.
"You have a pretty high fever, Zuko," she whispered back.
He sighed contentedly. "How do you always smell so sweet?"
"Camellia oil."
He pressed his nose into her hair. "It's nice."
Despite it all, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips as he held her hand over his chest and he fell back asleep. Before she could linger on his actions or their position, she felt her eyes falling shut once again and she gave into it. She could think about the complicated things in the morning. For now, she would rest.
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
The new tea shop and the new uniforms were- well, they were certainly something. She had no real complaints though, not when Iroh looked so over the moon, and business was booming. Mr. Fu and the rest even happily exclaimed that the wait to get in was well worth it now that their favorite tea shop was far closer to where they lived and worked. Still, despite the bright start to the day, she couldn't help but feel as though something was off about Zuko.
She cast a glance at him when they both happened to be at the back at the same time, overseeing the patrons while they waited for upcoming orders to come out from the kitchen. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" she began hesitantly, "Ever since you recovered from your fever, you've felt a little-" She paused to think of the right word for a situation like this before deciding on the vague, "different."
"You know, my uncle said the same thing this morning." His expression was warm as he turned to her and chuckled softly. He took her hands in his gently then, and she felt her cheeks warm a hint despite herself when she saw the way that he smiled at her. His smile was genuine and full, and there was a certain level of affection to it that she had never seen so clearly written on his face before this. "Things are looking up, that's all. It's a new day. We've got a new apartment, new furniture, the grand opening of my uncle's new tea shop is going well, and you're here."
"And I'm happy for you." She was slightly thrown off by his uncharacteristic optimism, but it was enough that she had to ignore him mentioning that she was one of the things on his list, not if she wanted to keep her composure. "But are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling great. As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you'd meet me after work to celebrate?" He gave her hands a gentle squeeze and she felt her heart skip a beat. They had been in closer proximity before this, but this- it wasn't acting or teasing. This was genuine. Straightforward and earnest.
She nodded, unable to find her voice or the words quickly enough, and his smile only seemed to become brighter at her reply.
"Great. Then I'll see you tonight." He gave her hands one last squeeze before letting go to serve the orders that just came out.
She watched for a moment as she tried to get her heart to slow down and noted the way that her hands felt oddly empty before placing the orders that came out on her tray and getting back to work.
·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.
Miyuki glanced at herself in the mirror. Maybe she went a little too overboard. Her hair looked too intricate and her clothes were too flashy. She undid the small braids and put her hair back into its usual style before changing into a simpler outfit. She fished out a hairpin with a couple small, pink flowers on it and pinned her hair in its usual style. She tucked the hair framing her face behind her ears before putting on a pair of small teardrop earrings. She fixed her hair and glanced at herself in the mirror once more before leaving.
As Miyuki made her way to the tea shop, it felt as though her thoughts were tripping over themselves. It wasn't like her to get thrown off so much by anything. Maybe she was putting too much thought into this or maybe-
She took a deep breath in. Maybe it would be better if she stopped letting her thoughts run away like this. Still, something was off about her. Maybe she was getting sick. She felt as though she needed to cool down, her heart was racing, and her cheeks felt too warm. But there was nothing between her and Zuko. They were- Well, she wasn't sure what they were exactly, but all of their previous interactions, save for one, were teasing, so there was no reason for her to be getting so worked up about it. Right?
She managed to settle her thoughts and heart a bit by the time she reached the shop, where she found Zuko sweeping the steps.
"Hey, need help closing up?" She noted that her voice sounded perfectly normal. Cool, nonchalant.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just finishing up." He smiled at her. "Besides, you look so pretty, I wouldn't want you to get dirty."
Her heart began to drum away again despite all the work she had just put in calming herself down. Something really was wrong with her. She stepped into the shop and Iroh poured her a cup of tea with a knowing smile.
The warmth of the cup was comforting as she tried to clear her mind. She didn't like being flustered. This wasn't acceptable. It was as though her body had decided to betray her mind.
When she was nearly done with her tea, Zuko walked up to her with that smile on his face. "Ready to go?"
She nodded, swallowed back her nervousness, and followed him out of the shop. "So I was thinking that I'd bring you to a mochi place here in the upper ring," Zuko began. "I overheard a customer talking about how good it was earlier. Is that okay with you?"
"I'd like that a lot, actually."
He smiled at her. "Perfect."
Miyuki felt her cheeks warm. Something about this new, smiley Zuko was bad for her. Really bad.
Extra:
She had been fidgeting the entire time they were together, and now that the date was over, he was walking her back to her apartment. As usual, they cut through the park. "Hey, Miyuki," he whispered before cupping her face in his hand and stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
She felt herself flush deeply as though she were the one with a fever now as she met his gaze from such a close proximity. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"
He drew closer to her, close enough that she could practically feel his breath on her skin. "Can I kiss you?" he whispered.
If she had a fever before this, she was effectively dead now. "I appreciate that you asked, but from now on— Don't ask." She gripped the edge of his shirt and tugged on it softly in protest. "That makes it more embarrassing somehow." Her voice came out hardly louder than a whisper. She was surprised that he even heard her.
"Alright." His lips fell over her's softly with no more warning than that, and she felt him wrap his arms around her as her eyes fluttered shut.
When he pulled back, she looked up at him, face still burning, and murmured, "So what does this mean?"
He chuckled as he held her close to him. "You're possibly the best informant of our time, but you can't figure this out on your own?"
She shook her head. "Tell me."
He took her hand in his and pressed it to his cheek. "Be my girlfriend. I know things are complicated, but we'll figure it out."
She hardly recognized the meek voice that came out when she replied. "Okay."