{the jasmine dragon}
when zuko was no longer sick, they finally moved from to lower ring to the upper ring. not only was their apartment lovely, but zuko had changed too.
zuko was no longer snippy and mean or harsh, he was kind, gracious, happy for his uncle. it was such a weird change for hana to witness.
while she did know zuko was kind beneath the surface, he never showed it and when he did, it was only for desperate measures.
hana watched as iroh stirred the jook he had been making. it was a common earth kingdom meal.
zuko came out of his room, clearly groggy from just waking up, "what's that smell?"
"it's jook. i'm sure you wouldn't like it," iroh said as stirred it.
iroh moved out of the way so zuko could smell it, "actually, it smells delicious. i'd love a bowl, uncle." he picked up the bowl and held it out to get some of the food.
iroh took the bowl from his hands and ladled some of it into it, "now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow."
"yeah, where is my zuko and where did you put him?" hana joked with the two.
zuko chuckled, "it's a new day! we've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop. things are looking up for us!"
hana and iroh smiled at zuko. it was rare she liked his attitude.
shit, it might not last long but it's nice.
iroh gave a bit of food to hana. zuko and hana quietly ate together. hana was careful in trying not to have anxiety about the day.
she wanted this day to go as smoothly as possible. she wanted everyone to be happy and not worry. this was iroh's big day and she wasn't going to let anyone ruin it.
after eating they dressed in the nicest clothing they had. hana quickly braided her hair and then helped zuko with his. it was still in its awkward stages.
they got their stuff together, left the apartment and went to the tea shop.
when they got there there was a bit of a line. apparently, the people in the upper ring had heard of iroh's tea. hana and zuko smiled as they watched him greet everyone.
they quickly went inside and greeted the staff. they all got to work preparing the tea. once they were finally done making the tea they started to open up the shop and take orders.
each time someone entered the shop they were greeted by two women at the door who bowed. it was wonderful, the people of the earth kingdom were socializing with others and drinking their tea.
hana, zuko, and iroh watched as more people walked in and they talked, "who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that i'd end up owning my own tea shop. follow your passion, and life will reward you."
"congratulations uncle," zuko said cheerfully.
hana smiled, "yes! congratulations! you did such a wonderful job picking out the decor too!"
"i'm very thankful," he told them.
"you deserve it," zuko told him and hana nodded in agreement. "the jasmine dragon will be the best tea shop in this city."
iroh shook his head, "no, i am thankful because you decided to share this special day with me." iroh put his arms around the two teens and gave them a squeeze, "it means more than you'll ever know."
the two of them got out of his grasp and decided on a hug for iroh. while it may not have seemed like much, it was.
when zuko let go he was as enthusiastic as ever, "now let's make these people some tea."
"yes! let's make some tea!" iroh said eagerly.
hana smiled and trailed behind the two of them.
they began to work for a while trying to pump out as much tea as they could for their guests. hana began to help a few customers when she saw someone with water tribe clothes on.
the sheer terror and fear on her face when she realized it was katara was enough to tell you about how she felt about her.
and when katara recognized iroh, zuko, and then her, katara freaked.
"leave!" hana mouthed.
katara took off running, abandoning any plan she had originally set out on.
the rest of the day went accordingly. she kept a lookout, though. she made sure there was no suspicious customers and no one unusual around. she couldn't risk them going to prison or dying.
soon, it was night time. the patrons were gone and so was the staff. it was just the three of them cleaning up.
a man entered, a messenger, "a message from the royal palace."
hana stopped cleaning and looked up to see iroh with a scroll in his hands, "what's that?"
his eye's widened in excitement," i can't believe it." iroh stumbled over his words.
zuko walked over to iroh, "what is it?"
iroh closed the scroll, "great news!"
"huh?"
"we've been invited to serve tea to the earth king!" he cheered and ran around the shop like an excited child.
hana and zuko laughed and went back to cleaning up.
lexi speaks;
holy shit. monday. last chapter of the second act.