(A/N) I forget to mention that this is AU. That means, Toph can see and Aang is not bald. :3 Chapter 2 people, enjoy!
Chapter 2: Katara's Excuse
"Thank you for coming! Hope to see you soon," Jin cheerily waved another customer good-bye as they began to exit the shop. She turned to the old man behind the counter. "How was that, Uncle Iroh?"
"That was pretty good for a start, Miss Jin," He smiled. "I'd say you'll do just fine here."
The young girl's eyes gleamed as she excitedly skipped back to the kitchen to check on the coffee she was asked to brew. The old man couldn't help but smile at his new co-worker as she carefully prepared the drink. It's nice to have someone so young and willing like Jin to help around the shop when his nephew was busy.
Today is Jin's first day of working at the Jasmine Dragon. She'll be working at the café for the rest of the summer. He knew that she needed the money and the old man was kind enough to employ her. From what she learned, Iroh's business started out as a small and simple teashop until he eventually upgraded it to a café. His nephew pointed out to him that maybe it was time for a change. Fewer people prefer drinking tea over coffee from what he heard. And much to his surprise, he earned more than he did by selling cakes and coffee.
Although tea wasn't on top of his menu, he still served them for the love of it.
"How's this, Uncle?" Jin held out a cup of Cafe au Lait complete with latte art that took the form of a jasmine.
"That's beautiful, Miss Jin," He said with a warm smile. "It will bring a warm feeling to the customer."
Jin felt a sense of pride with her work as she delivered it to the waiting customer. At the sight of the coffee before him, he gave a warm smile to the girl who delivered it. She smiled politely in return.
Uncle Iroh was never more grateful to have someone like Jin assist him in his work. It's not every day that someone young and willing to help would walk through the doors. With someone as cheery and helpful as Jin helping about, it made him smile and forget for a short moment about the disturbing news that his brother broke to him this morning.
Zuko parked his Mazda on the drive way just in front of his uncle's café and stepped out of the car with ease. He took a small glance at the shop's window and saw some people give him a weird look. He frowned. His scar made him look like a rebel and a fugitive but most of the time he'd just ignore the looks people give him. And unfortunately, he was very much used to it.
He made his way to the shop's front doors and once he entered, he was surprised to find a familiar face carrying a tray of chinaware. Her hair was brown and was tied in two small braids that fell at either side of her neck. She may have not acknowledged his presence when he entered but he knew immediately who she was the moment he saw her.
"Jin?" He said with a look of surprise that he wasn't able to hide.
The girl turned her head to look at him and she grinned the moment she saw him. "Hey, Lee. Good to see you here."
Lee was supposedly his 'other' name when he first introduced himself to her. Back then, his true identity was his secret to everyone in town. Although he never told her his real name, she knew it was 'Zuko'. She still preferred calling him 'Lee', though.
"Where's uncle?" He asked her.
"He's out back," she said simply. "He told me you were coming."
Zuko nodded to her as he made his way to the kitchen. But not before glancing back at her and saying, "I never knew you applied for a job here…among all places."
"Yeah, today's my first day actually. Get use to seeing me every day," she gave a small laugh.
The moment he entered the kitchen, his uncle wasn't at all surprised to see him. He gave his nephew a big smile.
"Ah, nephew, so glad that you could stop by," he said.
"Hey, uncle," Zuko greeted him. "I won't be long, though." He hid a small frown from the old man and quickly added, "Unless father is here to see me. And…and Azula…Just as almost you told me."
The old man's smile faded and Zuko didn't fail to catch his abrupt change of expression. Iroh forgot about what Ozai told him this morning. He was reluctant for a short moment to say something. But before the young man could open his mouth his uncle said: "My brother called. They changed their plans of seeing you."
"Why?"
Uncle Iroh sighed and gestured for the young man to sit down so he could explain it to him better. "He told me that you have no place in his house."
"What?"
"Your father changed his mind of letting you stay with them," He said darkly. "You're not welcome there, Zuko. I'm sorry."
"This…this isn't a lie, is it?" He asked a bit hopeful. Even if he knew he wasn't lying to him one bit.
"And why would I lie to you if you wanted me to tell you the truth? I'm sorry, Zuko. But he doesn't want to see you."
Ever, he silently added.
Zuko sighed. Even if how painful it is to hear, he was used to this and half-expected that this would happen. He already had past experiences of being rejected by his father; banished from his family even. What his uncle told him didn't hurt as much as his past experiences did when he remembered them. To his surprise, he wasn't at all completely surprised or hurt to hear the news. In fact, he didn't know what he felt at that very moment.
"It's okay, uncle," Despite being a bit disappointed about what his father had said, he didn't want his uncle to worry too much. So he gave him a knowing smile. "I'll look for a different place."
I hope.
"I'll help you find one. I'll be leaving in a week so we have time. I'm sorry if I didn't tell you about my leave sooner. Even I was a little surprised when I received their letter."
"I know. And it's okay. I'll do it on my own," Zuko stood from his chair and bowed politely to the man before him. "Thank you, uncle."
"I can convince my brother again to let you stay with him, if you'd like. I won't take no for an answer this time."
"I appreciate the help, uncle, but I'll spare you all the trouble. He might even hurt you if you pry. And I won't allow him to do so. I'm saying so myself that I personally wouldn't risk living with him. And you know that I wouldn't. Besides, he wouldn't want me there."
Zuko flashed a small smile as he turned and began to walk away. As his uncle watched him leave, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy and wished that he could do something to help him. He was his guardian and it was his duty. Just for now, though he'll let him be. Sighing, he stood up and continued on with his work.
"Hey, Sokka?" Aang asked the boy sitting across him.
"Whurt?" Sokka mumbled while chewing a slice of pizza.
"Do you know the lyrics of 'Gangnam Style'?" Aang asked while scratching a finger on his shaggy brown head. On his other hand, he held his phone for the older boy to see.
"Please, Twinkletoes," Toph rolled her eyes beside him. "That song's history."
"But this game's so fun and this is the last song before I get to the next level and finish the game. I need to fill in the remaining blanks to get there."
Sokka chewed on his pizza and swallowed. He stared at the app for a while before clearing his throat dramatically. "Aang, I memorize it by heart." He gestured to his chest with his palm.
"Really?" Aang asked enthusiastically. "Cause I was wondering if you know the lyrics that comes after – "
"Sokka, you hate that song," Katara pointed out. "Every time you hear it on the radio, you ask me to turn it off. Completely." She emphasized the last word.
"Hush, baby sis, and let me help Aang over here." Sokka smiled at her goofily. "Just let me do what I do best: helping people."
Katara couldn't help but roll her eyes at him as Suki suppressed a chuckle.
Sometimes it's hard to believe that he was her brother. He was goofy and was the class clown, she's Miss Sophisticated. They may look a-like but they are different in more ways than you could count. Despite the differences, she, however, learns to accept him for who he is. Slowly, though (it takes pretty long). It's hard to tolerate someone like Sokka especially when they're family. But she learned the long way how to love him like a true sister would.
As the two boys were busy giving their attention to Aang's game, Katara couldn't help but think that in three months her brother will become a senior. He still acts like a kid at seventeen and Aang on the other hand, is still tolerable at fourteen. He and Toph are incoming freshmen and just like everyone else, are looking forward to finally experience being in high school…well, at least Aang is. Toph isn't as excited compared to Aang.
"Wow, Sokka," Aang grinned as they finally completed the game. "I didn't know we had that much luck. Look, Katara!" He beamed. "I finished the game."
Sokka raised a brow at him. "Ehem?"
"…With the help of Sokka, of course."
She smiled at him. "That's nice, Aang."
Aang will forever remain a kid. She silently thought.
It was Toph's turn to roll her eyes. "Please, he so totally cheated."
"What? No I didn't," Aang defended.
"Not you. Sokka."
Sokka glared at her. "I'll have you know that I didn't win the game through cheating. Besides, what kind of sore loser would tell the world he won a game if he cheated on it?"
Toph coughed. "You would." Remembering the game of air hockey Sokka had with a random guy last week in the arcade. She smirked at him.
"Hey, but that was just once!" He defended. "I only cheated because the guy was cheating."
They continued to argue, but Katara ignored them. Instead, she turned her attention back to her plate. Glancing at the empty seat in front of her, Katara can't help but notice the fact that Zuko still has not yet arrived. She gazed at the plate of pizza they prepared for him across from her and frowned.
Toph stopped arguing with Sokka for a moment when sensed Katara tense a bit. She set her gaze to Katara and realized that her friend was staring at the plate beside her and smirked. "Chill, Sweetness. Prince Charming will be here soon."
At the sound of Toph's new nickname for Zuko, she glared at the girl with jade eyes.
"What? You seem so worried. I had to say something, right?"
"That was completely unnecessary, Toph."
Suki giggled. "But you did seem to be worried for a moment there, Kat."
"What? No I wasn't. I was just thinking…"
"Thinking about what?" Toph pressed. A wide grin was spreading on her face.
"It's summer, right?"
"Umm, do you see snow anywhere, Katara? 'Cause all I can think about is that it gets hotter by the hour."
Aang laughed. "Of course it is, Katara. What about it?"
"I was thinking…what if we go on vacation?"
Everyone stops to stare at her for a moment and a wave of awkwardness soon follows.
Suddenly conscious of what she said, Katara's eyes darted to each one of them. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
Aang was the first to speak up. "Um, no you didn't." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We just thought maybe…"
"That we already had planned this before?" Toph filled in. "Remember? Two weeks on Ember Island or some other Island? Sponsored by Sparky and me?"
"We actually planned that before school ended," Sokka supplied. "In the exact same spot we're sitting on right now."
"Yeah, that. And you sort of forgot, I think?" Suki said.
"Or maybe you were too busy thinking of a way to change topic about Prince Charming," Toph grinned evilly at her and Suki chuckled.
"What? No! That's not it. I was just – "
"Hey, guys," Zuko came in and casually took a seat in front of Katara. "Sorry I'm late." He started chewing on his cold pizza that has been there ever since the pan arrived. "Did the pizza arrive too early or did I just take too long to arrive?"
For a moment Zuko was too busy eating that he didn't notice everyone was staring at him. "What?" He said.
"Nothing," Toph said smirking. "We were just talking about you." Then she leaned over to Katara. "Right, Katara?"
The older girl glared at Toph. But Zuko ignored that.
"Really?" Zuko, still eating, asked nonchalantly. "What about?"
Suki smiled. "Oh, she was – "
"Talking about you sponsoring our trip to Ember Island this year," Katara said a little too quickly before Suki could finish.
Zuko was yet again unsurprised. "Oh yeah, that."
"I was thinking," she continued on. "We should set a proper date and time for it since we're all leaving next month, right?"
At the word 'date', the two other girls snickered. Katara shot them both a death glare but Zuko failed to notice it.
"Uh, yeah," he said. "You guys take care of that. I'm already paying for it."
"But, dude," Sokka spoke up. "It's your island. Why do you still need to pay?"
"That's why. It's my family's island. And I'm sponsoring half of the trip. As for Toph's part, the other half."
Toph just gave a thumbs-up.
Aang gave her a look. "I can't believe your parents agreed to pay for the trip. That's so unlike them."
"Well, they promised me that if all my grades were at least above a C, they'll do anything for me this summer," she said casually. "And so I gave them what they wanted. Dad was more than thrilled. So when Sugar Queen here heard the news," She gestured to Katara. "She asked me a little favor to help with our Gaang's vacation. So I end up paying for half of it. As the kind girl I am, I did not hesitate. I guess I owe it to her for being such a good tutor."
Over the year, Katara has been secretly tutoring Toph just so she could pass. Without her, Toph wouldn't have made it.
"Your parents still don't know I've been helping you?"
"Nope," she grinned. "They think I'm a natural independent genius."
Katara couldn't help but smile at that. Sokka on the other hand, thought it was ironic.
They continued to chat until they felt like leaving. The whole time, Zuko was debating on whether to tell them about his problem or not. But his brain told him that now wasn't the best time to break it to them. They all seem so happy that telling them wasn't exactly the best idea; they'll carry the burden along with him when they find out. But he can't hide it forever could he?
By twilight, they started to leave. Zuko offered to drive Sokka and his sister home.
Maybe I should tell at least one of them… He thought.
And the first person that came to his mind that he planned on telling was Katara.
To be continued…
