A/N: Hello, Avatar fandom! It's been awhile, hm? Well, I usually like to start my reign of fanfictions with a bit of angst and didn't anticipate the break I took right after. So after a revisit to the show, I decided to continue! Now, this fic is a bit more light hearted than the last one I wrote (a lot more light hearted actually) however, there will be a few chapters that cover heavier topics, but no matter. Lets dive right in, hm?
Disclaimers: I own nothing.
Iroh's P.O.V:
Owning a tea shop has been one of my greater achievements since I had last been in Ba Sing Se. The people here are so delightful, I find it far more rewarding to serve them rather than to fight them. The people that enter my shop are all so interesting and I am more than happy to hear a story from those who enter, if time permitted for me to hear them.
I have seen many new faces since I opened the Jasmine Dragon; however, those new faces quickly become old as they return regularly. Each person has their own story of their life in Ba Sing Se, some good and some bad, but unique none the less. I hear stories from people older than me to people younger than my nephew; it is one of life's greatest gifts, to share one's own experiences over some tea.
A woman, a few years younger than me, likes to come in during the afternoon just after she leaves work. She sits by the window, glancing up and down the street. She has told me her husband had been sent away to fight in the war efforts many years ago before she had come to Ba Sing Se; she believes that one day he will return, though she is unsure which side of the street he will be walking up when he does. I tell her that I hope that when he does return, they share many years of happiness together. She orders no tea, but that is okay, I prefer she have somewhere nice to sit and wait.
A young man, far younger than my nephew, finds his way into the shop every once in awhile, whenever his mother provides him with enough of a allowance to actually purchase anything. Every day he comes in, he's wearing his brother's straw hat, taking it off and chewing the edges while he waits for his tea. His brother has been gone many years, though he has yet to tell me where he has gone. I see him sometimes stop at the door to talk with my nephew and occasionally, he will stop and sit on the floor while Zuko circles the shop, checking on the s. The child will sometimes talk extensively about what he and his friends had done that week and other times, he will sit silently on the floor as Zuko works, waiting until he took a break to ask if he had time to play a game with him. If he wasn't too busy, Zuko would go with the child, who I heard recently would be starting school after the summer.
I had the joy of witnessing a reunion between a father and his child here. The father would regularly visit the shop had spoke of the child, recounting many tales of their time together until his son had left at the age of sixteen, for reasons the father himself was not quite sure of. That had been thirteen years ago and the reunion could not have been more wonderful; there were hugs, laughter, even a few tears, and the overwhelming sense that, though I did not personally know these people, I was involved in such a special moment in their lives.
I find myself thinking of my own son as I watch the reunion, though; the burden of losing a child is one I understand entirely...I had lost my own son to the walls of Ba Sing Se, though I feel as though I have gained another; One old face had become new during my time here, though the change was one for the better. I remember looking at my dear nephew before we had even made it to Ba Sing Se, he was in no way interested to be here, but I knew it would help him greatly. The first time I had ever seen him more happy was when he was here in the shop, rather than back home in the palace. He was a lot more at ease than he ever had been. When he entered my shop on the first day, I did not see the face of a lost prince, rather, I saw a young man who had found hope in this new city.