Blades and Fans

The Tea Shop

Zuko let another small yawn escape his lips as he swept the floors. It had been another long night, barely getting any sleep. Ever since Jet saw his Uncle fire bend his tea, he has been stalking them relentlessly. Zuko debated going across the street several times and deal with Jet personally. Though each time he felt his hand reaching for the door. He'd scold himself and pull his hand away. He had to be on his best behavior, they were in hiding after all and one wrong move could have them arrested or worse.

The guards and the Dai Li visited the tea shop often, which didn't help with Zuko's anxiety or his paranoia. He could always feel their suspicious hollow gazes on him. Although they never acted on anything, they just sipped their tea and left.

Iroh saw it as a blessing in disguise. They were living in the lower ring after all. And with the frequent visits from the Dai Li, it kept the more unsavory characters like Jet away and kept them out of trouble.

Zuko reluctantly agreed though it still didn't help much, he did his best to ignore them. He just focused on what he needed to do and who he was waiting for. He had expected Suki and Kyoshi Warriors to come by any day now and was looking forward to catching up with his new sisters. He even opened up more to his Uncle telling him more about his time traveling with them.

Iroh was very intrigued to learn of the group of female warriors. He was especially impressed by how much they truly knew his nephew and had forgiven him for his past deeds. He even decided to create a special tea blend for them as a thank you.

Zuko had rolled his eyes as everything his Uncle did, came back to tea. Shaking his head at the thought as he continued to sweep. "Nephew two ginseng for table three are ready," Iroh called out to Zuko as he placed a small clay pot and two cups on a tray.

Zuko groaned silently as he set the broom aside, retrieving the tray. "This is so demeaning," Zuko thought to himself as he began to serve the customers carrying over their tea.

"Blue!"

Just as Zuko set the tea down, his eyes shot open. He instantly recognized the high-pitched squeal. But before he could react, a pair of slender yet surprisingly strong arms wrapped around his chest. Squeezing him like he was trapped in a python spider's trap. "Hey, Tam," he managed to speak, gasping a bit as the young warrior suffocated him.

"Hey Blue, we missed you!" Tam answered keeping her arms around him till he was nearly blue in the face.

"Ummmm Tam I think you might be killing him," Kikki noted making Tam quickly pull away in embarrassment. "Oops sorry," she giggled stepping away, giving Zuko a chance to catch his breath.

Kikki just laughed as the Kyoshi Warriors entered the tea shop. "She's right though we did miss you. Heck, even Aikio missed you," she said pointing to her.

"Missed is a strong word... especially if someone wants to keep their teeth," Aikio replied as she crossed her arms. Making Kikki gulp instantly regretting her words while Ami and Tam quietly giggled.

"Missed, haha I meant to say relieved you were gone. In fact, she was disappointed when she heard you were alive," Kikki quickly corrected herself to everyone's amusement.

Aikio let a small smirk cross her lips as she looked to Zuko. "See, didn't miss you, not one bit."

"Sure you didn't," Zuko rolled his eyes at her as the other girls came in to greet him. As they did it was almost surreal seeing them all in civilian clothes, no make-up, or weapons. He wasn't sure he would have recognized them if he just bumped into them on the street. Suki being the exception.