The Jasmine Dragon - Zukka AU

Chapter 1

Hey guys, so, well this is my first ever fanfiction (kind of?) and I'm completely open to suggestions, corrections, and plot line suggestions. Now before you get confused, in this AU Zuko didn't join the gAang yet in the first chapters. He also kind of gave up on restoring his honor and never went back to the fire nation before Aang kicked Ozai's top knot off. I'm completely obsessed with 'Lee from the tea shop' AU's soo I FINALLY decided to make one myself. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!

~3rd person Zuko~

Zuko sighed as he boiled the water, staring into the little ripples spreading around it. He hated this job. I mean, who even drank tea anymore, let alone owned a tea shop?! His eyes slid over to the old man behind him, talking to a customer.  Other than them. BUT still! He took the steaming pot off of the stove and poured it into little porcelain cups. 'At least it isn't the fire nation' he thought, placing the cups onto large platters. "TUI AND LA, WHY ME," he yelled as quietly as he could as the steaming teapot fell on him. He glared at his drenched lower body and set the platter down to clean up the mess. 

"Zuko! Hurry up, the customers are waiting!" his uncle Iroh yelled  to him. "What do you think I'm doing?! Playing Pai Sho back here?!" Zuko yelled back, clearly annoyed. He finished cleaning up and went over to the extremely patient (notice the sarcasm) customers with their tea. There was a white-eyed girl, about twelve years old with black hair and another blue-eyed boy with dark hair who was about 15 sitting together at the corner of the shop. His eyes widened.

 "Agni. Wait- only Sokka and Toph? Where are the others?" he breathed, confused.  "Aaah you know what- who in the spirits cares anyways, it's not like I'm coming to kill them anymore." He walked over to them. "Here's your Ginseng tea." Zuko said, pointing to the platter he placed on the table. Sokka nodded without looking up from the paper he was drawing on and took a sip of his tea. Toph whispered something to him and he slowly looked up at Zuko.

 "WHO-I-WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Sokka spit out, spilling tea on Zuko's foot. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I GOT DRENCHED TONIGHT WIH TEA. And for the record, I am trying to work in a tea shop so will you please just drink your tea and get out?" Zuko spat back, quite literally glaring daggers at him. By this time, almost the entire shop was watching. He was about to turn around and go back before he almost bodyslammed into a stone wall. 

He whipped around dizzily and fell to his knees just before he could hit it. "Now what the hell was that?" he said in low voice. You think you can attempt to seriously injure me and just get away with it like that?" Zuko pulled out his dual swords, only to have them pushed down by Toph. Zuko heard Sokka whisper something like 'I don't think that was that smart, but' resulting in a punch from Toph

"STOP! We just want to know why you're here, can't you see that?!" she yelled, holding him in one place. Zuko looked over at his uncle, who nodded. He groaned. "Can we at least talk outside and not in a shop full of confused awkward by passers?". Toph grunted in response and pulled him outside while Sokka followed from behind, holding his hands together so he wouldn't attack them while being dragged out.  Toph tightly bound him to a pole and stepped back to admire her work. "Wasn't she blind?" I whisper to Sokka, who only replied in a glare. 

"Why don't you answer some questions first?"