General Iroh is a disciplined young man. He had worked very hard to rise to his current station as the youngest general in the history of the United Forces, and even so, he had made certain to retain his humble nature. Of course, there are certain relevant worldly talents that not even the navy academy can teach.
And in Iroh's case, it is how to talk to women.
"Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon!" A pale young girl with freckles spattered across her face bows lightly to Iroh as he enters the tea shop. His eyes meet the bright set that pair well with the smile from the young girl before him. He inclines his head toward her in a light nod.
"It is quite a pleasure to be here." This makes the girl beam with unbridled joy. Iroh finds himself convinced that she must really love her job.
"Please, allow me to guide you to your seat!" She happily leads him forth through the shop and to a nice quiet table in the corner. She produces a simple, humble menu from beneath her arm. "Would you like a few minutes to decide?"
Iroh looks down at it and smiles, glad to see there is at least one Jasmine Dragon that still uses his namesake's original menu design. "I don't need to see it. I'll gladly have some ginseng tea, please."
"Excellent choice!" She exclaims, her smile still as bright as her sunny disposition. "I'll have it right out to you!"
Iroh watches her bustle off excitedly and can't help but chuckle to himself. After she disappears into the back, he allows his gaze to flicker about the shop; he is pleased to see the entire shop is just how the Dragon of the West had set up his own in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. Iroh's ship had just come in to port within the last hour, and after attending to his duties as the ship's commander, he had debarked to enter the port town. It was then he had discovered a franchise of the Jasmine Dragon, and despite the original being the best, he finds himself glad his great, great uncle's memory lives on within these tea shops, even this far out into the world.
Soon enough, a plot of tea is placed before him along with a teacup and saucer. He looks up and sees the pretty young girl with the bright smile has returned, and she speaks as she pours his first cup. "Here you go, sir! You must be from the navy ship that just docked, right? Oh, how silly of me! I'm Reina, and I'm your server today!"
Iroh nods and chuckles lightly. "Yes, I am, actually. That's my ship. I'm Iroh."
His words make her gasp, and she leans in toward him. "YOU'RE the commander, the youngest general in the history of the United Forces?!"
"Um… yes?" His own topaz eyes meet the wide chocolate ones, and upon receiving an affirmative answer, Reina laughs in delight.
"Wonderful! That means you're the great nephew of the Dragon of the West!" She plonks herself down in the seat across from him, smile brighter than before, if possible, and she begins to babble incessantly. "I've always loved the Jasmine Dragon, ever since I was a little girl! Of course, I'm still really just a little girl, since I can't seem to ever get any taller. I've always been this dinky. But oh, I fell in love with the original tea shop when I visited the area that used to be the Earth Kingdom! It was simply divine, and the tea was incredible! I wanted to make tea like that! So I worked really hard for several years, just so I could open my own tea shop! Of course, nothing I could do on my own would EVER compare to a legend like your uncle's, but I opened it and swore to myself I'd never change a thing! And I make sure to always make the tea just the way he did – with a little bit of love!"
Iroh takes the chance to speak when she pauses to take a breath. "Wait, you own this shop?"
"Yes!" The girl exclaims happily. "It's what I've always dreamed of, and I finally got the chance! I've been running this shop for almost three years now!"
"I see," Iroh murmurs as he lifts his cup for his first sip, finding himself smiling lightly. "The tea is wonderful."
Reina simply beams at him with sheer joy. "Oh, I'm so glad you think so! And what a compliment that is, coming from you!"
Iroh chuckles softly and simply listens to her prattle as he drinks his tea, rather enjoying her praise to his late uncle's memory and tea shop. It isn't until he finishes the tea entirely that she rises with a light blush across her cheeks. "I am so sorry for wasting all your time. I was just so excited to meet you. Would you like another pot?"
"No, thank you," Iroh sees her face fall with disappointment and quickly adds, "but I'm looking forward to returning tomorrow for more of your delicious tea and pleasant company."
Reina's smile quickly returns as she bows again. "Of course! And I'll be happy to serve you again!"
Iroh enters the familiar shop the following afternoon and looks around, smiling a little as he sees the enthusiastic owner from yesterday at the counter busily scribbling on a tablet of paper. He moves forward to greet her, but then finds his throat stuck the second she looks up and turns that smile back onto him, an oddly warm, fluttery sensation manifesting in his chest.
"General Iroh! What a surprise!" She beams at him, eyes dancing with a good-natured humor. "What brings you here today?"
"I- erm… tea?" He stands before her, absolutely appalled by what has come from his mouth. Was that supposed to be a response? What has happened to me?
Reina giggles softly to herself as she comes out from behind the counter. "Well now, I'm glad you enjoyed the tea so much… but what happened to 'the pleasure of my company'?"
Iroh feels a flush beginning to creep up his neck. "Oh… that, too. Your pleasure. I-I mean your company! The pleasure… of your company!"
The blush reaches his face and darkens. Oh gods, what's wrong with me…?
The pretty girl laughs heartily at this, nearly in tears for the hilarity of his poor choice of words… although he can't seem to make himself mind, as her voice sounds like the melodic rise and fall of the ocean on a warm summer evening. "Oh my, General! Well if it's my pleasure you're wanting, I'd suggest we start with a cup of tea together!"
"Yes. Tea." Iroh could kick himself.
"Then I'll just be off to get a pot. Would you like ginseng again, or shall I prepare our namesake?" She flashes an impish grin that leaves him lost.
"'Our namesake'?" He watches her laugh to herself and bustle off again. He soon sinks into the booth and leans his face into his hands. "What is the matter with me?! Why am I getting all flustered? I've been trained to keep from acting like this!"
"Oh have you now? Too bad," Reina flashes him a cheeky smile as she returns and sets up their table, the warm, fluttery feeling also returning to his chest. "I was just starting to find you quite entertaining."
Iroh blushes again but soon finds himself deeply interested in what she's doing. She dips the rims of the teacups into a clear solution and lightly wafts them in the air to dry before skillfully pouring the jasmine tea into the cups, careful not to splash the rims. Then with a devious twinkle in her eye, she takes a sip from the saucer of unknown liquid, strikes a match, and lightly blows on it. Iroh jumps and gasps in surprise as her actions cause a flame of what appears to be dragon's breath over the cups; the rims easily light on fire and give off a pleasant aroma of jasmine until they burn out.
Reina can't help laughing at the look of awe on his face. "What? I had to contribute something to the memory of the Dragon of the West!"
Iroh slowly returns the smile. "That was incredible…. My uncle would have loved it. And maybe you could show my grandfather sometime."
Reina laughs in delight and takes a sip of her tea before launching into her breathless babbling, and Iroh simply smiles and drinks his tea as he listens. Maybe it doesn't matter so much that he suddenly trips over his own words when he tries to talk to her.
After all, she talks enough for both of them.