The Tea Shop-(Zuko x Reader)

The Alleyway

I walk home as the purple sky settles in, the path is illuminated by only a few street lamps and the twinkling stars overhead. My thick soled shoes step across the dark cobblestone street, echoing and creating a sweet ringing tone every time I take a new step. I'm excited to finally have a new job, my back aches and my brow sweats just think about going back to the fruit stand, but I'm terrified of how my old boss, Jung, is going to react to hearing that his only employee is quitting with no notice. It's not too late to tell him now, I know he's probably still packing boxes from the shop into his old, splintered, worn out wagon.

The frail old man looks harmless, but he is always angry and malicious. He is constantly mad at me and makes sure to express that by yelling at me. I've gotten used to his yelling, but I always tend to fear the worst. What if he makes up a story about me that scares Mr.Pao into not hiring me? What if he is friends with my landlord and gets me evicted? What if he hits me?

The craziest ideas swirl through my head as I quickly make my way back to the fruit stand. As I get there I see Jung loading the last box into his wagon. "I need to speak to you." I say as confidently as I can. Jung looks at me, annoyed and angry, "what do you want?" I struggle to say the words, "I quit, I can't work for you any longer." I finally blurt. He looks at me with a twisted look of anger, his curved hunched over back is now straight, he takes a step forward and gets in my face, "YOU STUPID BITCH!" He screams, "I've been nothing but generous to you and this is how you repay me?!?"

He goes on a rant, screaming at me, lifting his hands like he's going to hit me when suddenly he stops. "You know what, fine. I don't care." He says in a nervous tone. His expression has turned to fear as he quickly grabs his wagon and heads down the alleyway. "What made him suddenly change his mind?" When I turn around to head home I almost slam into the boy from the tea shop.

His expression hasn't changed, he still has that deep angry frown. "Uh...what are you doing here?" I stupidly ask after staring at him for a few seconds. "I'm walking home. That's all." He says with an extremely defensive tone. "Ok...well I'm (y/n), and you are?" I try to be as friendly as I can. "Since we are going to be working together we should probably know each other's names," I say with a smile. His frown softens a little, but he turns and starts walking in the other direction, "...Lee." I hear him say in a quiet tone. When he disappears into the ink-black alley, I start to walk home. A little smile crosses my face as I whisper. "Thanks, Lee."

     **(A/N) sorry for the short chapter and lack of Zuko, my next chapter will be much longer with a lot more of him!!**