Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned in this one shot.
A/N: So this isn't like my normal writing. I saw a few fics written like this and I wanted to try my hand at it. Turns out I really like writing like this. It allows me to put my voice into it more.
Jin knew there was something different about the golden eyed pair the moment she stepped foot into Pao's small tea shop and saw them. Lee, as much as he liked to pretend he was hiding his identity perfectly, was just too different to be Earth Kingdom. Jin had come to this realization the moment she saw his golden eyes. Those sweet embers that seemed to catch every light they passed by, and reflect such a gleam back that could have put a fire to shame when compared. His burning eyes that caught her attention and held her fascination from the first glance.She blamed the events that followed on his eyes. It had been his set of strange eyes that drew her to the little shop everyday. She knew part their secret, she knew what they were, yet she couldn't bring herself to ratting them out. They were nothing like she had expected Fire Nation people to act, and their very presence left her counting down the hours until she could revisit the tea shop, revisit her favorite pair of tea makers. Well favorite tea serving teenage boy.
Mushi was very sweet, a little too sweet to some of the costumers, but the guy gave off those vibe that made you want to get to know him. Over all he had this feeling that made it impossible for her to be scared of him, even when she knew they didn't fit in the city. He was nothing like what she was taught the Fire Nation was like. But she hadn't know who he really was at the time.
Lee, Lee was a completely different story. He didn't give off the same feeling that Mushi did. Whenever he walked by she could just sense the tension in his walk, the anger in his steps, the confusion on his face. But there was something beneath his hard shell that made her wonder about him. She blamed his eyes. She just couldn't look away from the golden orbs. She was determined to find out who this strange eyed stranger was. This was why she had decided to make the move and ask him out for the night, well that was most of the reason. She figured she'd open up, drill him a little about his past until she found something to grab a hold of and unravel his secret. If he was indeed Fire Nation he wasn't going to openly come out and say yep I'm actually from the country that's trying to take away all of your rights and privileges. Why am I in Ba Song Se? No reason, just took a break from concurring the world and decided to come on vacation here. Well he won't use those exact words, but it would be something like that. Jin needed a way to get him to open up to her. So where did you and your Uncle live before you moved here? Oh Lee... you could have tried to lie better. She's seen melted ice hold itself together better than this boy was. By the end of the night she was positive he was Fire Nation. She just needed him to say those words.
The fountain hadn't been part of the plan, but it had been such a nice night and she hoped she could make a break through in her attempt to figure the stranger out. Plus she really felt that Lee needed to find a little beauty it the world, but the main focus was hoping to uncover the truth that pained this boy's eyes. He lit the little lanterns for her. Every. Single. One! In like three seconds. Her speculations were made clear at that moment. She had forgotten her plan at that moment and made her move. The kiss hadn't happened as she hoped, she definitely hadn't planned that part, and she didn't want to go in excruciating detail about it.
He was Fire Nation, she was certain. But it would be awhile before she would see this golden eyed boy again. She had figured out most of his secret; figured out where he was from, what he was. But she hadn't discovered who he was in that moment. It would be months later that she would learn that the boy she had kiss, the boy who's golden eyes held her heart, was indeed Prince Zuko...
-oOo-
Jin couldn't help but look out the door as the soldiers marched down the street. Her hopes of this war ending disappeared as the troops took farther hold of the city. She knew it wasn't smart to open the door, knew she should have been hiding. But she did it anyways.
Little did she know that her last place of hope, her home, falling was all on the shoulders of a golden eyed boy who was even more lost and confused then she was. She hadn't known who he was, but what if she had? Lee had disappeared shortly after their date, him and his uncle moving up to the Upper Ring in order to start their own tea shop.
Days later the great city fell. Lee and Mushi gone.
-oOo-
The men in the strange blue and white uniforms had told the residence of Ba Sing Se to evacuate their homes quickly using the tunnels the members of the group had made to help them escape. Or if they were unable to flee, than to stay inside their homes and away from the windows, and to not leave no matter what happened the day of the comet. Jin and her family were forced to take the second option, since her mother was too sick to evacuate. Of course Jin couldn't help but peak out the window at the sound of explosions. That was when she saw him.
Mushi was battling it out with a group of Fire Nation soldiers, the fighter's blasts alive more than they had ever been. Must be that comet everyone kept freaking out about. Looks like they had good reason to worry. She had never seen such a fight, but she had been smart enough to close the window and move to a safe location away from the brutal battle ensuring outside in the streets.
But not before she saw the fire spread from Mushi's clenched fists. He was Fire Nation... and he was on the Earth Kingdom's side.
-oOo-
When Jin heard that the Jasmine Dragon was reopening she was thrilled. But it wasn't under the name of Mushi. It was General Iroh who was reopening his beloved shop. The same General Iroh who tried to conjure Ba Sing Se in the name of the Fire Nation... lead the attack to free it in the name of the Earth Kingdom? Fate had a funny way of messing with one's path. She decided she needed to see him. Needed to see Mus- Iroh.
She had never actually been to the Jasmine Dragon the whole Ba Sing Se take over making that task kind of hard, but it was surely a sight to see. The place was beautiful, a complete change from the rinky-dink tea shop she had met the strangers at. Seeing Mushi- Iroh she was going to have to get the name right she was instantly back in the little tea shop once more. Approaching the man had been harder to do than she had thought. She couldn't imagine what she would say to him. Hey, just wanted to know if your nephew was here. You know because I'm really curious as to what his name really is and was wondering if he could explain a few things to me. Lee's his real name? I don't think so Mushi. Yep she needed to think of what she was going to say.
Thankfully Iroh noticed her first and was the one who started the conversation. He immediately filled her in on the secret they had kept while in the Earth Kingdom, the whole being Fire Nation thing had been a good thing to hide at the time, offered her a job, and told her his nephew would be there with his new found friends in a few days after he finished getting the war general people to take his Fire Lordyness... she was fairly certain Lordyness was a word... seriously and listen to him so he could establish world peace and let everyone know to stop attacking each other, and Team Avatar needed a few days in order to calmed down from the epic fights they had fought. Iroh hadn't gone into much detail, but Jin had noticed the little slipping of a job in his ramble. And of course she took it. She was going to be there to chew off Lee's ear. Plus she kind of like Iroh and didn't mind working for him.
She blamed his golden eyes. Those Fire Nation eyes.
-oOo-
Jin didn't know what caught her off guard the most... Lee's complete attitude change, how good looking he was with long hair, or the way him and his tan friend, who was equally good looking, had collided with the door. Both him and the tan boy had her attention the moment they stumbled in, both caught in an in-eloquent noggie contest which ended with them on the floor. She was a teenage girl, her hormones were digging those two. It was that long hair they had... but goggling at Lee and his friend hadn't been her purpose for the day... even though she took care to have great views of the two while trying not to attract their girlfriends attention while doing so. She made a clear attempt to chew Lee... who she discovered was named Zuko... out about the whole lying to her, running off, and not talking to her after their date.
Of course his friends had been all kinds of perky to hear about this date and she had been forced to recant what a bomb it had been. He broke a few plates... You were the one who asked me to juggle... Yelled at a waiter... I was upset... He kissed me and ran... I can't be held responsible for anything that happened that night!
Of course the conversation got no where, and in the mess of laughing at Zuko's failure at dating she had forgotten why she was yelling at him in the first place.
It was those damn golden eyes. His burning eyes that shined with a new sense of belonging and purpose.
-oooOOOooo_
A/N: I wanted to do one of these things. So I figured why not try... and use Jin as the lab rat. Okay so there might be a few things I need to clear up with my logic to some parts.
Lordyness isn't a word by the way. It's actually Lordliness... but I am one for making up words.
Whenever I look back at Jin's small moment in Avatar I have this feeling like she knew more than she lead on. She's a clever girl and apparently spent quite some time sitting in the little tea shop fascinated by the two before Uncle decided to play match maker and set her up with Zuko for the night. I just imagine that after awhile she would have connected his strange colored eyes with his not being Earth Kingdom. Then Zuko pretty much blew his cover in my opinion with the whole jugging thing, epic Zuko moment, and Jin's a smart girl she would have made a few more connections. And then Zuko's whole fountain moment of caring, way to blow your cover, would have told her everything she needed to know. I also don't see Jin as being someone who would flat out say "Hey I know what you are. Fight me!" Stupid Jet... She would have gone slower, trying to get him to come out not forcing him out.
Jin for me is a mix between Katara and Jet when it comes to the whole situation. Like Katara she wants to get to the bottom of this and fix him. She knows the two don't fit into Ba Sing Se right, she knows something's bothering 'Lee' and she wants to help dang it. The curiosity is too great and she wants to know what is going on. Unlike Katara she doesn't openly yell "Whatever is wrong spit it out before I waterbender hiya it out of you!" She's more suddle... unlike Jet. While she is patient and tries to find that fool proof evidence, she doesn't "Hook Sword Slice," in order to get what she wanted. She's clever, patient, and able to weasel things out of Zuko without him catching on. Zuko would have known Jet was stalking him, but Zuko was unaware that Jin knew he was Fire Nation.
After Azula got the Di Lee and Zuko on her side and successfully couped Ba Sing Se up and down, Jin was at Pao's tea shop watching in horror as the Fire Nation soldiers swarmed the streets of Ba Sing Se and took everything over. She saw the troops, she didn't see Zuko or the girls. I don't see Azula skipping down the street once they have Ba Sing Se captured, and I imagine Zuko would have stayed close to her and the other Ozai Angels. He wouldn't want to face the town he had started to make a home in, a place where he found peace from all the responsibilities and duties, after he had played a major part in its fall. But if you think about Ba Sing Se would have fallen no matter what side Zuko took. All those Di Lee and Azula! Ba Sing Se was toast. But Zuko had played a part in its conquer and I don't see him tracking down people in Ba Sing Se he had known before leaving to go back home. He would have been sulking in a closet somewhere trying to figure out what had happened with Uncle... and even Katara. But this is not the moment to ramble about this. This is Jin's moment. So she might not have been able to make the connection with romantic failure Lee and confused just made a huge mistake Zuko.
I would think the White Lotus would let the towns people know that there was going to be an epic fight on their hands. Somehow they would have let them know to either get out of the area, or most likely to barricade themselves inside. It would have been pretty impossible to have gotten every person out of the areas without the Fire Nation soldiers knowing. Unless Azula banished everyone in her short stay there. That's probably why there wasn't a lot of people left in the fire Nation capital during the Azula-Zuko Agni Ki. Azula likes to banish people. Again this is a Jin fic... stay on topic. But while Jin is indeed a clever girl the noise of the battle outside would have drawn her attention. There isn't much about Jin's past and family minus that the group were refuges living in the Lower Ring. Iroh had to get up to the palace somehow for the attack to be successful... So why not push through the Lower Ring saving everyone there. Actually the whole purpose had been so Jin could see her sweet tea loving Mushi as bad ass firebender Iroh! It was the perfect scene.
Jin would have been curious about where Lee went, back whenever him and Uncle moved up a few Rings during Book Two. When she went back to Pao's tea shop were the two had worked, Pao would have told her that they moved. Doing a bit of digging she would have discovered where they moved to, not every tea shop is run by an old man and a sexy teenage boy both with golden eyes. But by time she got there the two would have been gone. Iroh reopened his shop after the war, he's obsessed with tea is amazing, news would have spread that the Dragon of the West was back in town, so was the best tasting tea in all of the Earth Kingdom. Oh ya Iroh's the tea pimp. Jin would have heard and gone to visit, she really missed Zuko serving tea in that apron of his, and Iroh would have clued her in since she did kind of deserve it since Zuko ruined their date. It was pretty clear that Iroh thought Jin was a sweet girl and his tea shop needed new hot help since his nephew couldn't help at the moment. So why not hire a pretty perky teenage girl who he could trust?
Jin is a teenage girl if you didn't know. What teenage girl in the show didn't find either Sokka and Zuko sexy in one way or the other? Jin is no exception to this rule. The thought of Zuko and Sokka trying to wrestle each other as they were walking into the Jasmine Dragon is a wonderful image for probably any girl who knew what the two looked like. Aang's still like 13...he has to wait for the love. But Jin is liking this sight. And of course as soon as the embarrassment of his failed date starts Zuko turns seven shades of red and the Gaang push on for more hysterical details about this failed night. Arguing ensures, I just see Jin and Zuko arguing, if only for the shear sake of arguing. Zuko makes everyone want to argue him. He's just too stubborn, and she has a bit of a revenge to serve up. You know what they say... revenge is best served cold.
His golden eyes... damn those Fire Nation eyes!