Flameheart | Zuko

FORTY-TWO

Homura stood beside Zuko in front of the door Chin and his mother Jianji now stayed, an arm still raised as she knocked on the door. She cast a look over her shoulder at Zuko with a smile as she turned back to her front just as the door opened. Jianji greeted her with a smile, her eyes barely skipping over Zuko before she turned to her once more.

"Homura, I thought you'd be at the tea shop by now."

"A friend of mine insisted she worked in my place for the day," she explained as she gestured to Zuko behind her, "that's my boyfriend."

Jianji smiled, both women oblivious to his stolen glance at Homura's back as Jianji moved to the side. "Do you want to get inside? Chin is still sleeping but I'll have to go to work."

"We'll wait for him to wake up, I'll make him breakfast," she told her at once as she got inside, Zuko following after her. Jianji left the house.

"Thank you, Homura. Perhaps we could have dinner together one of these days. Your friends are invited too."

"Thank you, Jianji," she called over her back with a smile Jianji returned and then backtracked out of the house, closing the door behind her. Zuko glanced at the closed door before he followed after Homura who seemed to already know where she was going. She got in the kitchen and it was then she turned to face him, but only briefly. She turned away once more and looked around the drawers, finding a plate - what she had apparently been looking for - after a while and with a small hum, she took out a few fruit from a basket nearby, then grabbed a knife in the corner and started cutting it. Zuko slowly walked closer.

"You've never called me your boyfriend before."

She turned to face him with a bright smile as he got closer, his eyes analysing her face before she turned back to the fruit, the knife moving rapidly, cutting it to little pieces. "Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he muttered as he trailed his eyes to the knife. There was a beat of silence as Homura picked up the fruit and placed it in the plate. She walked away from him, reaching up to grab yet another plate. She sent him a sweet smile.

"Most of the fruit is ours. Jianji wants Chin to eat lots of fruit so that'll make it seem like he actually ate some. Chin hates fruit, though. So I'm going to make him something else."

Once more, Zuko was reminded of Kiyi. He moved over to the plate with the fruit and popped one in his mouth as he watched her start a fire. She placed a small pot on top of the fire and cracked an egg inside before she reached for a fruit with her free hand.

"He should be up any minute now. He's an early riser."

"Don't you think you're spoiling him?"

"Never," she mused with a brief smile that fell quicker than Zuko would have preferred. "He grew up in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, Zuko. He didn't have much and now he's here and I want him to have...anything. I would give him anything." He listened carefully as she looked at the egg closely. "He's so much like Shu. He used to live in the place mother and I stayed in the Lower Ring and the moment I saw him I knew I couldn't not try to help him."

"Uncle told me you tried your best," Zuko murmured as she let out a sigh.

"My best wouldn't have been enough. I'm grateful for your Uncle. If it weren't for him, I would have lived in the streets and Chin would have lived his life in poverty. It was my choice though to leave the luxury of your palace but he didn't have a choice. He was poor, hungry, and I needed to change that. He's just so much like Shu..." she trailed off as she noticed his slightly confused expression. Her eyes widened. "You don't know who Shu is? I haven't told you?"