Chapter 03: Helpless Dolt
Rating: K
AH, here is chapter 3. The first real Jinko moments of the story, so hopefully it turned out well. I had been going on a bit of a Zuko x Suki kick the last few days, but writing this reinvigorated by love of Jinko. It is just so sweet, like cotton candy. Anyway, in this chapter the two just spend a little time talking, and Zuko opens up to the girl a little about his situation. No grand revelations yet, but hopefully it's enjoyable. Felt a bit weird, but maybe that's because Jin is a oneshot character, so it's a bit harder to get her personality down. Anyway, I also tried a bit harder to keep Zuko in character, so thoughts about the chapter and the story overall are appreciated. Enjoy.
Before he could mutter a more coherent response, Zuko felt a pair of slender arms snaking around his lean body, pulling him into a hug that reminded him a little too much of the kind of thing that Ty Lee might do. The green clad Earth Kingdom girl left her arms in place for a moment, as though she were afraid he would vanish before her eyes once more.
"Um, Jin, boundaries…" he mumbled, clapping his right hand gently on the girl's back in an attempt to gain her attention. He felt her body tense for a moment before she pulled back, a mildly embarrassed look on her face as she looked down at the well tread ground beneath their feet.
"Oh, sorry Lee," she mumbled, her beautiful emerald eyes locked with the ground as she took a seat on the edge of the fountain next to the young man. "I was just so surprised and happy to see you," she continued, a small hint of sadness in her voice tearing into his heart as she spoke.
"Well, it's um, okay," he said lamely, cursing himself as he stuttered over his words, even for an instant. The girl's face lit up as she smiled, tucking her hands into the loose sleeves of her simple kimono. "So, what are you doing here so early? Normally they don't light torches until it's dark," Zuko said, motioning towards the unlit lanterns surrounding the fountain.
"I just like to come here a lot of the time. It's usually pretty peaceful, at least compared to other parts of the city," the girl said, sighing a bit as she looked around the small clearing. The street showed signs that it had been well paved at one point, the heavy foot traffic of the bustling metropolis having worn away most of the sharper looking edges.
"Yeah, it does seem pretty quiet," he admitted, figuring it wouldn't be any help to mention that the Upper Ring was far more serene. No use rubbing salt in an obvious wound, after all.
"That doesn't explain what you're doing here. Why were you just sleeping on the rim of the fountain like a bum?" Jin inquired, her right brow quirked up as she stared at the scarred teen, a slightly teasing smile gracing her sweet lips. Zuko turned away from the girl, not even truly remembering falling asleep.
"I don't remember. I was running from the Dai Li, then I ended up here, and then I guess I fell asleep," he muttered, more to himself than the girl, his eyes shooting open again as he realized he had been speaking out loud. "Oh, I mean, I was out, uh, walking late, and then I guess I, um, just got tired," he said, feeling his heart begin to beat a bit faster in his chest.
He didn't like the feeling of seeming security he felt with this girl. He felt oddly open, and vulnerable, something that he had learned long ago to be a weakness that could cost him dearly in the wrong circumstances.
"So, what was that about the Dai Li?" she asked, her own heart falling a bit at the mention of the shady earth benders. Even among the common folks of the city, they had a very bad reputation. Many a dissident's disappearance was attributed to the secretive agents of the Earth King.
"I, uh, was, um, juggling, and one of the… juggles, flew off and hit one in the head, and then he chased me down," Zuko said, watching as Jin's eyes narrowed a bit in disbelief, seemingly judging his story as he spoke. He knew the stutters and pauses made it seem even less believable, but he hoped against hope that the girl would just accept it without any follow up questions.
"Well, if you're that bad at it, why don't you switch to another act?" Jin asked, her eyes opening further, giving him a glimpse at the beautiful emeralds as they sparkled in the morning Sunlight.
"Maybe I should," he muttered, sighing a silent prayer of relief that she was so trusting and innocent. He turned so that his feet were placed on the ground, running them back and forth on the oddly smoothed ground. 'Even the mightiest of elements is nothing in front of the forces of time,' he thought to himself, imagining the countless numbers of people that must have tread the very ground he passed his feet over.
"What other talents do you have?" Jin asked, a helpful smile gracing her soft, rounded features as he looked in her direction. So innocent. So trusting. He felt a twinge of guilt for lying to the girl, but certainly did not want to risk revealing his identity in the middle of the large city.
"None, really," he answered truthfully. Other than fire bending, which he was not as talented at as he would like, and his odd affinity with the dao swords, there was little that he could claim he was good at. At least in terms of anything that could be called a marketable skill.
"Aww, come on, you must be pretty good at something," Jin said, nudging the young man lightly with her elbow. The girl pulled her fingers to her chin, cupping it as she slipped into thought. "Oh, you must be pretty good at making tea, right?" she asked, her smile faltering a bit as she noticed the sad look on Zuko's face.
Tea, of all things, reminded him most of his uncle, and the betrayal he had affected in the catacombs beneath the city. Clasping his hands together in his lap, he felt as though he might burn a hole in the brown fabric, the blood rushing through his body as the guilt again laid painfully in his chest.
"I'm sorry if I said anything to upset you," she said weakly, her hands resting on his forearm, giving it a reassuring squeeze, wordlessly telling him that she was there for him if he wanted to open up and talk about whatever it was. Zuko turned his gaze back to the girl, offering her a weak smile in return.
"It's nothing. It's just that, hearing about tea makes me think of my uncle," he said softly, his voice nearing a choke at the word uncle. Jin pulled her hands away from his strong frame, letting them rest gently in her lap.
"What happened to your uncle?" she asked, curious about what could make the young boy so upset. "Oh, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she continued, waving her hands in front of her face gently as she made a sort of apology for asking such a personal question.
"I lost track of him during the invasion," he said, feeling only a bit better at telling a half truth instead of a full blown lie. The guilt stung him even deeper, and he wondered in his mind if it was to become a part of his personality. But the soft fingers on his cheek perked his spirits up a bit.
"So, where are you staying? I would have thought the circus would have left town," Jin said, a silent question evident in her words.
"You mean am I staying with Mai?" he asked, putting words to her unasked question. The boy smirked a bit as she nodded weakly, the glimmer of hope in her eyes fading a bit as she played back the scene from the day before, when she had met the boy's "friend" from the circus.
"Well, she uh, left town with my sister and her other friend, and I'm not sure when I'll see them again," another half truth. He was getting far too comfortable with lying for his own good, and he cursed himself for not being strong enough to just tell this girl the truth… but why did he want to?
"That sounds tough too, Lee," she said sympathetically, but with a distinctly female tone of victory mixed with jealousy. For a moment, Zuko forgot that he was pretending to be Lee, casting a look around the steadily filling stalls surrounding the fountain.
"Oh, yeah, I guess it is. But, I'm sure they'll be back sooner rather than later," he said, a fearful shiver running up his spine at the thought. Zuko had a distinct feeling that the next time he and Azula crossed paths, she could well be sporting the support of the entire Fire Nation military.
"Well, that's nice. So, if your uncle is missing, where are you staying?" Jin asked sweetly, her soft green eyes boring into his very soul as she stared at him, a warm smile gently crossing her lips.
"Uh, I don't know," he muttered slowly. 'You do know, you're staying at the palace!' his traitorous mind screamed at him, his jaw tightening just a bit at the thought of spending another night in the fancy bed that adorned his chamber of the Earth Kingdom Palace.
"Well, you could, um, stay with me if you wanted," the brunette said, fidgeting a bit in her seat at her own forwardness. Zuko for his part nearly choked on his own tongue as the words rang in his ears.
"W-what, s-stay with, uh, you?" he mumbled, golden eyes locked open as he stared incredulously at the young girl. The soft spoke brunette chewed gently on her lower lip, her gaze centered on a nearby lantern as the silence between them hung densely around.
"Ah, it was just a bad idea, just forget I said anything," she said, a trace of hurt in her voice as she went to stand up. Brushing the fine layer of dust from her green robe, she turned slowly towards the Fire Prince, bowing despite having no idea of his royal birth.
Zuko watched for a moment as she turned away from him, time seemingly coming to a standstill as he thought. Even though he had spent three years as a banished Prince of the world's enemy, then as a fugitive from the very same country, he still had the manners instilled in him by a high-born education. Matters of etiquette and honor all indoctrinated thoroughly into the sons and daughters of nobility.
But this was not something that fell solely under that standard. He knew that it was not right, under almost any circumstance, for a man and a woman to live under one roof, even with the best of intentions. But he didn't want to seem rude or angry. Without truly thinking about it, he reached out quickly, grasping the girl's soft hand in his own.
"Jin, I'm sorry. It was, uh, nice of you to offer, but it wouldn't be right. A guy and a girl… living together," both teens blushed at the implication, Jin's skin matching the tones of red worn by the Fire Nation. The girl turned back towards the scarred teen, her eyes planted on the ground beneath her once again, too embarrassed to look the golden eyed boy in the face.
"Oh, it's not like that, honestly. I just mean that my parents' house has an open room, and I am sure they would really like you Lee, so if you wanted you could come and meet them," she rambled a bit, cursing herself for the way her invitation was sounding.
"What do your parents do?" he asked hesitantly, trying to calm down the situation if only a little. He gently pulled the girl back towards himher body putting up little resistance, taking position to his right as she sat next to him.
"They run a little inn. Me and my little sister help out, but it's not exactly the most luxurious place, and it's not particularly popular, especially with the… shadier elements that hang out around there," Jin said, a definite sadness on her voice as she spoke. Zuko felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest at the vulnerable, innocent look on the girl's face.
"Shadier elements?" he asked, his good brow perking up at the thought of delinquents, "soldiers" and other such creatures inhabiting the area around the lovely Jin.
"Mm. It's in a pretty bad area, where there are a lot of more questionable activities," she said, her voice catching a bit as she wrapped her arms around herself, as though she felt a chill even under the brightly burning morning Sun.
"Is it really that bad there?" he asked, mindlessly throwing a comforting arm around the girl. Before he realized what had happened, the girl offered him a smile, leanig her head against his strong shoulder.
"Most of the time it is alright. They just use it as a hangout, and just make a lot of noise," Jin continued, placing her hands against her ears as a motion to indicate how noisy it got at times.
"Most of the time?"
"Yeah. Once in a while, someone comes by looking for "protection" money. My father doesn't think I know, but I'm not stupid," she said, her voice coated with sadness and anger as she spoke about her family's problems. Zuko was taken back to his own family problems, realizing that some manner of problems were universal.
"Don't the police do anything about it?" he asked, almost naively as he realized that he had seen very little that could be construed as police activity in the city. The girl curled closer to him as he thought for a moment, her resting just shy of his good ear. He shivered a bit as her breath hitched against his skin, the soft warmth causing his eyes to close.
"Lee?" she asked, letting her voice fill with a sultry, seductive tone that she hoped would work on the young man. She fought back a giggle as he nodded weakly, his body even more stiff than it had been during their date. "I was just kidding," she said, the giggle escaping her lips as she darted away from the boy.
"WHAT!?" he shouted, more loudly than he had intended. His golden eyes blinked open and closed a few times, his breathing ragged as he realized he had been played so easily by the girl.
"Well, not all of it was a lie, but the part about it being in a crappy neighborhood was not true," she said, she smile still plastered on her face as Zuko pushed himself to his feet, steadily making his way over to her.
"Why would you lie about that?"
"To see your response. You're so cute when you're mad, you know?" she said, a spot of blush showing on her soft, tanned skin. Zuko was suddenly reminded of an incident so many years ago, and his secondary mantra running through his head.
"Girls are crazy…" he muttered lowly, turning in a huff away from the young girl, his brows knit together in frustration. Fuming in his usual way, he picked up the pack that was thankfully not stolen while he slept, and made off towards the opposite end of the square from where the young woman stood.
"Ah, don't be mad. I was just kidding around," the brunette said, giggles still escaping from her lips as she rushed forward, clasping her hand around his once again, taking in the warmth of his strong grip. The young man stopped fully at the soft touch of her impossibly smooth skin, fighting back a subtle groan at baing so sucked in by her pace.
"That's not a nice thing to kid about," he said, turning slowly back towards the young girl, his black hair swaying in front of his golden eyes as he focused on the twin braids as they dangled over her shoulders.
"I know, I'm sorry," she said, her eyes showing her sincerity as they peeked towards him. He felt an odd warmth pass over his cheeks as he stared at the slightly rounded cheeks, the soft lips, and the… he stopped his train of thinking as his eyes traveled to her slightly exposed bust.
"Umm, maybe you should, uh, cover up," he said, averting his gaze from the delectable sight of exposed flesh. The brunette looked at him in confusion for a moment, before looking down her own body.
"Ah, geez," she said, not nearly as embarrassed as Zuko felt she should have been about the matter. A soft shuffle of cloth sounded in his ears as she fixed her robes, Zuko trying his best to forget what he had seen. But some things are just too appealing to a teenage boy, and he had a feeling that might be one of them.
"You should be more careful about that, Jin. I mean, not all guys are as honorable as I am," he said as he turned back towards her once she indicated that she was in an adequately fixed state of dress. The girl nudged him a bit in the arm with a mock dreamlike look on her face.
"Aww, my hero," she said sweetly, her eyelashes fluttering as she leaned in towards the young man. Zuko pulled back a step, leaving the girl smiling at his innocent attitude towards the fairer sex.
"I should, uh, be getting back," he said, trying to be polite. Truthfully, if he was ever honest with himself, he was enjoying the time with the young girl. And, again if he was ever honest with himself, he really had nowhere to be going, unless he wanted to go back to the palace, which he most certainly didn't want to at that moment.
"You never answered me before. Where are you staying?" she asked, moving in front of the young man, leaning down as she tilted her head up, her deep green eyes locking on the flickering specks of gold in his own eyes.
"Well, um, I…" he started, groaning at the sight of her almost painful smile that seemed to light up her entire face. Once again, he tried to force his mind to think of something, anything, to get out of the situation. "I'm sure I can find someplace. It's only for a few days, I can just stay at an inn or something," he said, his mind flashing to the small bag tucked neatly in his pack.
"Just a few days? Why so short? You think Mai will be back so quickly?" Again, the distinctly feminine hints of jealousy, subtle and poking, unlike the male variety, with the anger, hurt and blatant accusations. And she also had the female knack for prying information out of a young man without asking the questions directly.
"I'm sure I'll think of something," he murmured, knowing that this was the kind of thing his uncle would always warn him about, more thoughts of the old man increasing the size of the lump of guilt building up in his chest. The girl seemed to take note of his sadness, and her smile dropped just a bit. But just as quickly, it picked back up, her hands clasping his tightly as she tugged on his arm.
"Well then, it's settled. You'll stay with us for a few days. That'll give you a chance to think about what you're going to do if you can't get back to the circus," Jin said cheerfully, Zuko unwillingly following after her. Either he was just taken aback by her sudden boldness, or she was a lot stronger than she looked.
"Hey, wait, I didn't agree to anything yet," he said, feeling the exasperation weighing heavily on his mind. The prospect of spending more time with the energetic girl was not entirely displeasing, but the moral ramifications hung heavily.
"You've got no place else to go, so you can't really argue. Besides, it's not nice to ignore a lady's invitation, would it?" she asked, smiling as she winked sweetly at him. "I'm sure my parents will love you," she sung, entirely ignoring whatever complaints he muttered about the matter. Finally, he gave in, his head hanging down as he groaned in frustration. Usually, the less people who knew about him, the better. And here he was seemingly about to increase the number of people who came into contact with him.
"There's no way this is going to end well," he said just low enough that she couldn't hear him.
Next chapter, Zuko meets Jin's parents. I wonder how that will turn out? No idea myself yet, but hopefully I will think of something. Also thinking of a fun little story where the whole gang (oneshot characters included) get together for a beach party. If I go with it, any pairings one might like to see in it would be taken under advisement. But my personal vote would go for Jinko, so that leaves any Zuko pairings other than it out (other than for comedic value). Aang x On Ji would also be kinda neat, since I do think they look better together than Aang and Katara. But maybe that's just me. Probably not written until I'm well into this story, but it's definitely in planning. LONG oneshot, as well, probably up around 10,000 words or so. Look forward to the next chapter of this story, loyal Jinko fans.
