Protected Princess || Zuko

16 || The Tea Shop

Iroh, Zuko and I were working diligently in the tea shop for a few hours now. It was near noon currently and we started working in the morning.

"Who ordered the Oolong tea?" I ask, carrying a platter with three cups. This wasn't my table to serve but Zuko forgot about their order so I picked it up for him.

"I did." A nice girl says. She was about my age and very pretty. She had black hair which was put into two braids, with a few pieces in the front. Her eyes were bright green and kind looking.

"Oh- uh here you go." I say smiling and nervously handing the girl her tea.

"Thank you." She says, smiling back towards me.

"And the chamomile?" I question, now holding the second cup.

"That's me." A young man says, around my age as well.

I handed him his cup, "And the Chai must be yours." I say smiling, handing the last person their tea.

"Nephew! I need two cups of jasmine!" Iroh yelled over to Zuko.

"Got it." Zuko says in a low tone. Although he seems miserable, it's quite funny seeing Zuko make tea when he doesn't want to. Luckily, Iroh taught us how to make tea similar to how he does. I say similar because no matter how hard Zuko and I try, it's never as good as Iroh's. Because of this, Iroh adds to the tea after we make it. I don't know what exactly he does but whatever it is makes the tea taste amazing.

I made my way behind the counter as I ran into Bo.

"Oh, sorry Kyi! It's a busy day." Bo says laughing slightly.

"Yes, very." I say laughing. Bo and his father don't make the tea, just Zuko, Iroh and myself.

"Maybe you should watch where you're walking on these busy days." Zuko says from behind me in a low voice.

Bo stammered for a moment before speaking, "I didn't mean to-"

"Its fine Bo, really I'm okay." I said glaring back at Zuko. Why did he speak out like that to Bo?

"Is he alright?" Bo asked.

I looked at Zuko as he made the tea, "Psh, yeah he's fine. He just hates making tea so much."

Bo laughed as he continued on his original path from before, while I walked over to Zuko.

I stood next to him and watched as he made his tea. His eyes slightly darted over to me, "What is it?" He asked.

"We get off of work soon don't be so stressed." I replied.

"I'm not stressed." Zuko said in a low voice while stirring the tea.

I laughed and looked down slightly, "Yeah, when I'm stress free I clench my jaw too."

Zuko's face got slightly pink, "Don't you have to make tea too or something?" Zuko said, urging me to leave.

"Actually no-"

"Kyi! Three chamomile please!" Shouted Iroh with a smile.

Zuko chuckled slightly as I did too. I walked over to my station and began making the chamomile tea. The kitchen felt warm and smelled like multiple tea's with small deserts. The lighting was warm and orange, making it feel welcoming at all times. It was small but it was nice. Things aren't measured in value by how big or small they are, but how welcoming it feels is what counts the most.

°°°°

It was the end of our shift now and the last few customers left, dropping their dishes off at the dirties table.