ice in my veins and a fire in your heart

iii

It was another steady day at the tea shop. Nava floated between tables on one side, taking orders and clearing away empty cups. Zuko worked at the other tables across from her, but with a little less purpose. Clearly he wasn't enjoying himself as much was Nava was trying to. She didn't necessarily like the work either but sulking all day wasn't going to make it better.

Zuko set a cup of tea down in front of a girl as Nava grabbed an empty one from the table over.

"Thank you," the girl said, smiling up at Zuko through her eyelashes. He turned to walk back to the counter, but the girl stopped him again. "What's your name?"

Nava wanted to smirk at the panic that flashed in Zuko's eyes for a split second but something uncomfortable knotted in her stomach at the same time. Ignoring the feeling, she left Zuko to flounder with the pretty girl while she took the cups back to the dish pit.

She returned to the counter as Zuko did he and pulled her and Iroh aside.

"Don't look now but I think the girl by the door is on to us," he hissed. "I think she knows we're Fire Nation."

Nava didn't have to look to know who Zuko was talking about and she almost wanted to laugh at how adorably obtuse he was being. "Really? She obviously has a crush on you." she said, and the words felt like dirt coming out her mouth. "She's been in here every day for the past week."

"What?" Zuko glanced over his shoulder at the girl, whose bright green eyes were watching him from behind the lip of her cup as she sipped her drink.

"Honestly, Prince Zuko, I am surprised you did not notice," Iroh muttered. "The green tea isn't that good for her to order multiple cups of it only when you're here. If Pao would just take my advice and brew the tea for less amount of time..." he stalked off to the back, mumbling to himself and shaking his head.

"Do you really think she has a crush on me?" Zuko asked Nava.

She laughed incredulously now. "The only time she stays for longer than one cup of tea is when you're working, and she only ever sits in your section. Do you not notice her staring at you the entire time?"

"I thought she was just staring at my scar, everyone else does," Zuko said defensively. "She doesn't even know me, how could she have a crush on me?"

Scoffing, Nava shook her head and left him standing there, going to greet two city guards who just walked in. Surely he can't be that clueless, she thought as she greeted the watchmen with a polite smile. As she took their orders, the girl got up from her seat and took her empty cup to the back, handing it to Zuko.

"My name is Jin," Nava heard her say as she came back around the counter, sidestepping past Zuko to get her orders for the guards. "Would you like to hang out sometime?"

The hot tea stung her hand through the cup while Nava tried to ignore the dropping feeling in her stomach. She brushed past Zuko again as he sputtered for an answer and walked back to the guards' table, putting their drinks down with more force than was necessary.

"Let me know if you need anything else," she said through a tight-lipped smile.

She cleared off some other tables — mostly to avoid having to go back over to Jin and Zuko — but his distractions were causing him to fall behind on busing his tables.

A moment later, she heard Jin say, "great! I'll meet you here tomorrow night after close!"

Nava looked up once Jin was gone to see Iroh standing beside Zuko, smiling wildly, while the younger of the two wore an expression of doubt.

"It will be fun, nephew, you'll see," Iroh told him as Nava made her way to the back room. As she passed the counter, she made brief eye-contact with Zuko and in the half-second they glanced at each other, he had an almost apologetic look in his eye.