A/N: I have been reading lots of fabulous little short stories that don't have some huge over hanging epic tale behind them and are instead more like little glimpses into the lives of the characters. I like these stories so much in fact that I have decided to try my hand at them, mostly to have fun with them and to work on developing my own writing style. So naturally, things will get bumpy. I will be trying (that's the key word here) to write little stores about Zuko and Katara mainly, but other characters are anything but off limits. They may be AU, strange, happy or sad, but as always, constructive criticism, suggestions and requests are always welcomed!
Ps: In this story, Zuko and his Uncle have been traveling with the gaang for a while
Peasant
"Peasant where are my clothes?"
"Peasant where is my uncle?"
"It's not my fault if I'm not used to igloos and dirt like you peasants are!"
"Peasant."
"Peasant!"
"ENOUGH!" Katara stood up from her place sitting next to his uncle, fingers curled into claws. "I am sick and tired of you always calling me and Sokka peasants!" Stomping up to Zuko she stooped over to stab a slim finger in his face her blue eyes blazing.
"Peasant this and peasant that, peasant where's the food!" she ranted "I'm not your servant so stop treating me like one! I just can't believe I've put up with you for this long!"
Zuko simply started for a moment eyebrow raised before slowly standing to his full height. In all honesty, he wasn't really trying to insult her (Sokka however lived up to his name in every way) the title was more of a habit more than anything else. Why didn't this unbearably loud woman understand that? At this rate, she was going to give away their position to Ozai himself.
"Don't you dare screech at me like-"he started voice pitched low, but she only raised her own and continued on her tirade.
"And another thing" she went on not cowed by him in the least "Where do you get calling us peasants from anyways? Sokka and I are the children of the village chief! We're as close to Southern Water Tribe royalty as you can get even if, unlike you, we can keep our egos in check!"
Zuko blinked once never having thought of it like that before pulling on a sneer.
"That's about as impressive as being the principal of a home school" he shot back a smirking as she sputtered wordlessly. He'd sooner die than admit it but he lived for these arguments, her temper was fantastic to watch once she got going. It was a shame really that a she wasn't a firebender, she'd have a lot of emotion to draw from.
"I- You- You're…"
Zuko leaned forward a bit and smiled as she tried to stand her ground and look strong, but her cheeks slowly heating to a dull red under his gaze and the uncertainty in newly widened eyes betrayed the affect he was having on her. Keen golden eyes picked up on this before he simply shook a bit of hair out of his face.
"What?" he asked impishly "Cat-owl got your tongue?"
Caught up in the moment Katara recklessly pushed herself forward previous embarrassment forgotten, very nearly closing the gap between their faces. Zuko tried to tell himself that he wasn't disappointed that she didn't overshoot.
"For Yue's sake you are impossible!" she hissed before turning sharply on her heel and stalking to the nearby river to cool off, leaving behind a smug prince and his nearly forgotten uncle.
"You know nephew," Iroh finally spoke prompting Zuko to turn around and well, actually remember that he was there. Somehow, he felt almost embarrassed that his uncle had seen them argue, it like he was invading on something that was to be kept between him and Katara. But that was absurd there was nothing to going on with them and the argument meant nothing. He just enjoyed riling her up a bit, making the Sugar Queen show her thorns.
"You like your women the way I like my tea," He paused for a beat and Zuko rolled his eyes at the prospect of yet another tea related life lesson from his uncle. He remained silent, impatiently shifting his weight from one foot to the other as the silence stretched on.
"Strong and hot!" Iroh finally exclaimed when he was sure he had captured his audience's interest.
"…"
"But you see Zuko you must be very careful about these things. Now that you have found a tea to your liking, you must figure out a way to drink it without getting burned. However, you cannot wait for it too cool for too long or someone else will figure out how to get a taste before you do." He said meaningfully "Surely you do not want another to taste the tea you have grown so fond of?"
Zuko's mouth slowly fell open and his face grew warm as he caught on.
"Uncle…"
"And don't think that you can try to drink other teas while you are admiring this one for any reason," he went on sagely "I will tell you now that mixing teas is always a bad idea. You might think the flavors will complement each other, but ultimately trying to sample more than one tea at a time will only ensure that you end up thirsty at the end of the night" Iroh put a hand to his beard and stroked it thoughtfully for a moment before his wrinkled face lit up "Well most of the time."
Zuko could only blanch.
"And Prince Zuko I understand that you are young and that you might not think the consequences of your actions through sometimes. You may try to sip the tea before it has steeped properly, or you may neglect to appreciate your tea as it is, but you must promise me one thing." He said, his voice full of warning for his young nephew.
Despite his rapidly growing discomfort, Zuko's curiosity got the better of him and he folded his arms tightly to brace himself for his uncle's final piece of advice.
"What is it?" He asked hesitantly.
Iroh's serious face broke into a wide grin "No matter how much you think it will better the experience of finally tasting your tea, you must make sure none of the leaves escape the tea bag! The Fire Nation will require a junior tea drinker at some point but now is not the time!"
"UNCLE!"
A/N: I just wanted to start out with something silly that I thought of in a moment of boredom. But I must confess that the idea of Iroh using tea to explain certain things ;) was inspired by a fanfic that read on here that I can't remember. Can anyone give me the name? I think in that fic Zuko didn't catch on to what Iroh meant or if he did it wasn't right away.
