Warmth and Tea
He had never spent the winter in the South Pole before, let alone during a blizzard. His hands shook, his teeth chattered, his lips were blue. General Iroh scooted closer to the fire, nearly sitting on the flames and lighting his borrowed wolf skin. He was freezing despite being inside.
Remember your breath of fire, his grandfather's voice whispered at the back of his mind. My uncle taught me this technique when I was your age, if not younger. It saved my life in the Northern Water Tribe.
Iroh closed his eyes and cupped his palms around his mouth, shaped in a small o. He exhaled hotly, feeling the energy rise in him, the chi bringing warmth into his blood and thawing out his body. He caught the little bursts of fire in his hands and extinguished them before they could cause any damage to the building. Iroh opened his eyes as a hand brushed the back of his neck. He turned, surprised and suspicious, until he caught a glimpse of a young woman's long black hair - and then he couldn't stop himself from grinning, just a little. Iroh felt significantly warmer, and not because of the fire nor the blanket that was now draped around his shoulders.
"You look cold, General," Asami said, smiling behind a cup of hot tea. In her other hand she had a second mug, held out to him. He reached for it, and their fingers touched. In the brightly illuminated room, he saw her pale cheeks begin to turn light pink as she tried to hide behind her gloves and cup. Perfectly aware that he was openly staring at her, Iroh couldn't help but notice the deep red of her lips, lightly pressed together as she gazed into the steaming tea; or the cute little curve of her nose, the tip a little red from the cold; or the flames dancing in the ravishing reflection of her brilliant emerald eyes.
Asami glanced at him from the side. Having caught him studying her, she raised an eyebrow in question, the tip of her lips quirking up in the corner. Yes? What is it? she seemed to say. Why are you staring at me like that? Her eyes flicked away, then back again as she shook a little, and a light, almost musical sound floated around him. Then, rather stupidly, Iroh realized that the soft ringing was her laughter, that she actually had spoken those words aloud - and he had only continued staring.
He shook his head with a chuckle and pulled the blanket from his shoulders. Iroh extended his arms around Asami and covered her with the blanket. Her hair puffed out around her head like a mushroom and he tried not to laugh as he patted it down. Iroh looked down at her. She was watching him with a strange expression; amusement, maybe? Or perhaps something more, something that he couldn't read from the dark expression in her eyes, haunted by the repercussions of the war.
A stray black lock stuck out like a spike behind her ear. Before he realized what he was doing, Iroh tucked it behind Asami's ear and beneath the blanket.
Their eyes locked.
His hand lingered.
Something passed between them.
Commander Bumi's loud laughter echoed, followed closely by Chief Beifong's swearing. The moment ended, and General Iroh sat back and as far away from her as he could without being rude. Asami silently took another sip of tea.
