3

"Your plants are certainly remarkable, Luong. You've done well for yourself," Mushi says as he looks around the greenhouse. Jin looks up from the flower arrangement she is working on and widens her eyes in surprise when she sees the portly old man. Her grandfather is right behind him, his lips curled into a proud smile.

"Well, you didn't exactly leave me with any options after the whole Ba Sing Se siege ordeal. The plant business was the only way to go for me," her grandfather chuckles.

She hasn't seen Mushi since the night he first came to visit them. She wonders, not for the first time, how the man manages to travel in between Rings with relative ease. She knows all too well how snooty all those bureaucrats and guards can be, even on Free Movement Days. She goes back to her flower arrangement and half-listens as her grandfather and Mushi discuss fertilizers and Pai Sho.

"That's a lovely flower arrangement," Mushi says. Jin jumps a little, startled. She looks up and offers him a small smile.

"Thank you," Jin says. After a few seconds, she adds, "You make great tea, too. It's the best I have ever tasted."

"You are too kind," Mushi genially says. Her grandfather comes up from behind him and tells Jin that he wants her to water the bear orchids. Jin is about to reply when Mushi suddenly asks, "So Jin do you have a boyfriend?"

Jin pauses, confused. "Um...what?"

Her grandfather rolls his eyes and dismissively says, "No, she doesn't, thank the Spirits. I've had enough boy troubles from my daughter to last me a lifetime."

Mushi suddenly gives a conspiratorial grin and says, "Well, what a coincidence! My nephew doesn't have a girlfriend as well!"

Jin shifts in her place, uncomfortable with the look on Mushi's face. She has a vague idea on where this conversation is heading and she doesn't like it. She ducks down and attempts to move past them, saying, "I'll just water those bear orchids for you now—''

"I need to ask a favor from you, Jin. If it's alright with you, of course," Mushi says and before she can leave, her grandfather grabs her by the elbow and steers her back into the counter.

"That…um…depends," Jin mumbles. She nervously toys with the hem of her sleeve and starts biting her bottom lip.

"My nephew's been a little down since we moved here. He's just a little upset with…what happened before we got here and…well, never mind," he says. Jin nods—she knows how it feels to lose everything to the Fire Nation. Well, it isn't as if she asked them for their life story or anything but it's pretty obvious that, that is what happened to them. There is veiled sadness behind Mushi's bright eyes; she knows it's there because she used to look like that too.

"My point is that my nephew has been feeling a little out of it lately and I was wondering if you could maybe show him around the city for the night. Take him out to dinner; help him lighten up a bit. The spirits know that the boy needs it," Mushi says, a small joking smile on his face.

Jin stares at him incredulously. "Wait—so you want me…to take your nephew out on a date?"

"Well, not exactly but when you put it that way…"

"Oh no, I can't." Jin shakes her head and her grandfather glares at her, as if refusing Mushi's request is such a huge fallacy. "I mean…I'm sure your nephew is a nice guy but well, I'm really busy—''

"Busy doing what? I gave you the afternoon shift off," her grandfather gruffly interrupts.

Jin ignores him. "—and I don't think he really likes me that much…"

Mushi laughs and shakes his head. "Oh, don't be put off by him. He's like that with everybody. Even me."

"Look, I'd really like to help but—''

"She'd love to!" her grandfather says before she can continue.

Mushi smiles and gives a short bow. "Thank you."

"But—''

"Mushi, have you seen my Fire lilies? I've been having trouble getting their buds to open for awhile now but they're coming along nicely…" her grandfather says before Jin can protest any further. He quickly steers Mushi outside towards the greenhouse.

"Grandpa…" Jin hisses.

"If she doesn't want to, then it's really okay," Mushi says. Her grandfather shakes his head and says, "Oh no, don't be ridiculous. She would love to."

"No, I don't—''

"Just go and help his poor nephew out," he hisses back as he leads Mushi through the door.

"But, I don't want to—''

"Silly girl, stop talking so much! Just go on and do as I say!" he snaps as he walks outside.

Jin sighs and slumps against the counter-top. Spirits, the things that man gets her into.

She thinks that it's a little stupid that she's forced into her first date with a cranky, ill-mannered boy by her grandfather, of all people. (And it's weird because her grandfather is deathly allergic to the idea of her dating anyone.) But it's not as if she can do anything about it. Her grandfather usually gets his way and in an uncharacteristically serious voice, he told her that Mushi had saved his life once and that sending Jin to go on a date with his nephew is the least her grandfather could do for him. She tried asking him for more details but he just got annoyed and told her to start pruning his flower beds.

So the next day, she walks over towards the counter and just asks him out. His nephew—Lee—just blinks at her and she can tell that going on a date with a complete stranger isn't something that he wants to do as well. His uncle accepts for him and she flashes a huge smile and makes the arrangements.

As she leaves the shop, she catches Mushi's eye. He winks at her and mouths, "Thank you" and suddenly she doesn't feel as annoyed about the whole thing.

When Lee walks out of the door, she smiles because he looks cute even if he does look ridiculous. She messes his hair up and he waspishly responds that it took his uncle ten minutes to do his hair. She just smiles at him and grabs him by the arm before dragging him off to the nearest restaurant. She thinks that his irritated and angry behavior is a little silly and she suddenly, irrationally wants to make him smile. At least just once tonight.

They don't talk while they eat dinner. Jin feels nervous and she doesn't really know what she is supposed to say to him. He hasn't looked at her in the eye once or made any attempt at starting a conversation.

She decides that if there's ever going to be any talking between the two of them, she's the one who has to start. She clears her throat and says, "So, how do you like the city so far?"

"It's okay."

Well, isn't he the conversationalist, Jin dryly thinks. She decides to try again. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Nothing."

She inwardly sighs in exasperation. If this is what Mushi has to deal with everyday, it's no wonder why the man wants his nephew out of his hair for the night.

She's about to ask him another question when the waiter interrupts them and asks if they would care for some dessert. Lee responds by slamming his fist against the table and yelling to the whole restaurant that Jin is most certainly not his girlfriend.

(Well, at least now she knows that he's really concerned about proper labeling.)

Her cheeks flush and she chokes on the duck meat she is chewing. To hide her embarrassment, Jin ducks her head down and starts stuffing a large quantity of noodles into her mouth.

He then says the most interesting to come out of his mouth yet. "You have... quite an appetite for a girl…"

Jin looks up at him and uncomfortably says, "Umm…thanks?"

(It's nice though, that he's at least trying to compliment her.)

Jin decides to move on. "So, Lee, where were you and your uncle living before you came here?"

She's asking because she is curious. Lee and his uncle must be really important people for her grandfather to go through all that trouble of protecting them and keeping them happy here in Ba Sing Se. If her grandfather won't tell her then she figures that maybe Lee might have some answers.

But instead, all he really says is, "Umm…well we've been traveling around for a long time."

"Oh." She tries not to sound too disappointed. "Why were you traveling so much?"

"We were…uh…part of this traveling circus," he haltingly says.

He's lying, she can tell. She suddenly feels bad for prying. She figures that something horrible happened to him and his uncle before they came to Ba Sing Se, something that the Fire Nation had done. He obviously does not want to talk about it. She wonders if she should just go along with his lie or comfort him. She decides to go with the former—comforting him means talking about it and she's pretty sure that, that is the last thing he wants to do right now.

"Really? What did you do? Wait…let me guess…" She taps her chin and pretends to think about it. "You juggled!"

She does not expect him to agree. Giggling to herself a little, she hands him a couple of pots and objects and asks him to give her a demonstration. Lee nervously takes all of the objects and as she expected, fails miserably when he attempts to juggle. As he is cleaning his face off with a rag, Jin decides that she wants to take him to the Firelight Fountain. It's a little ridiculous and she doesn't think that he will appreciate it very much, but she wants him to see it anyway. It might cheer him up and make him feel better.

She's never shown anyone the Firelight Fountain before but she figures that she can show Lee. Lee is nice enough and he's surprisingly being a good sport about the whole evening. She thinks that she should be offended by his sometimes rude behavior but she isn't. His outbursts don't seem intentional—they mostly seem to be a result of his impulses.

She takes him by the hand and leads him towards the fountain. When they get there, her face falls. The lamps aren't lit. It's not a big deal but she's a little disappointed. It's a shame that he won't be able to see the fountain with all the lamps lit. She was hoping that showing it to him would help him lighten up. She figures that living in the Lower Ring is enough to make anyone angry and irritable—it's overcrowded and hot and people are always out to mug you. But the fountain is one of the few places in the Lower Ring that's beautiful and it never fails to put a smile on her face whenever she goes there.

"Close your eyes. And don't peek," Lee suddenly tells her.

She looks at him incredulously, but he just motions for her to do as he says. Jin's lips quirk into a small smile and she closes her eyes.

She peeks between her fingers because she's curious and she's never been one to do something just because someone told her to (except maybe when it's her grandfather doing the ordering).

He moves forward and puts his hands together in meditation. Then he starts firebending, his arms and hands moving in quick, precise motions. Her chest constricts and she feels a slight spasm of fear. He's a firebender. Her grandfather sent her to protect a firebender. The crazy boy was right. And Spirits, she sent him to the Dai Li for telling the truth. She's upset because she doesn't understand why firebenders are here in the city or why her grandfather is friends with one of them. Or maybe her grandfather doesn't know. Yes, that sounds more plausible. He wouldn't willingly protect firebenders—not after what happened to her mother.

"Okay, now you can look," he says.

She opens her eyes and tries to feign amazement. "Oh…wow…what happened? How did they light? What did you…"

And okay, so maybe she isn't really pretending. He lit all of the lamps in record time and with perfect accuracy. It's actually kind of impressive. Whoever he is, he's an extremely powerful and skilled bender. And it's kind of sweet of him, to do this for her. She looks at him from the corner of her eyes and in spite of herself, she's happy that he's finally smiling.

She doesn't know why she grabs his hand. She really shouldn't have. He's a firebender, hiding in the city, probably having some sort of secret agenda to destroy Ba Sing Se. But—a small voice at the back of her head says—he and his uncle are not hurting anybody. She's been in the teashop for weeks, observing them, protecting them—they just want a new life like everyone else.

She doesn't know when they started facing each other or when they started drawing closer to each other. She thinks that maybe she should take a step back because she can't do something as stupid as kissing him without verifying if he and his uncle are really dangerous or not.

But she wants to kiss him. She's crazy for even thinking about it and she's thankful when Lee stops them by holding a tea coupon out.

She smiles at Lee and takes the tea coupon. She should really tell Lee that she needs to go right now. Stop this before she does something idiotic.

Instead, she stupidly tells him to close his eyes.

She doesn't know what she's thinking when she leans forward and presses a chaste kiss on his lips. She's a little surprised when he kisses her back and despite herself, she smiles against his lips.

When he abruptly pulls back and runs away, she watches him go and she thinks of only two things. One, she can't believe that he actually just left her here without properly saying goodbye. Two, she has just kissed one of the conquerors of her people.

She thinks that she should feel guiltier than this but she doesn't.

"You're home early," her grandfather says as soon as she enters the house. He's in the living room eating a rice cake, an extremely thick scroll in his hand.

She ignores his question and rushes towards him. "Gramps, Lee and Mushi…you're not going to believe this but…Lee…and Mushi…they're firebenders!"

Her grandfather sits up. "What? How did you find out?"

"Lee…his nephew…he firebent for me in the fountain—''

"You went to the fountain?! Did he try anything—''

"What? No—''

"Pah! Don't lie to me! I know what you teenagers do there at the fountain. You forget that your mother was a teenager once," her grandfather says, with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "Why'd you bring him there in the first place!?"

"Mushi told me to show him around Ba Sing Se and that's what I did. Look, I don't—''

Her grandfather ignores her and he starts muttering under his breath. From his garbled speech, Jin can make out, "Idiot….it takes us forever to smuggle them in here….and he just messes it up…I need to talk to Iroh about this…"

"Um…hello? Gramps, are you still here?" Jin says as she waves a hand in front of him.

Her grandfather slaps her hand away and irately says, "Did anybody see him? Did you at least make sure that no one was watching him?"

"Gramps, are you serious!? That's your main concern!? Grandpa, they're firebenders!" Jin says as she wrings her hands for emphasis.

Her grandfather sighs and calmly takes a bite out of his rice cake. "Of course, they are."

"So, I was thinking…they're pretty harmless but we have to be sure right? What should we do? Should we ask around—wait, what? You knew…that they were firebenders…this whole time?" Jin says, thoroughly appalled.

Her grandfather rolls his eyes. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

"But…but…" Jin struggles to get the words out. Finally, she manages to reign in her shock. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it was none of your business," he retorts. After a few seconds, he adds, "And I knew that you would react like this."

"React like what?"

"React like the whole world is ending. Spirits, calm down will you?"

"What are you talking about!? I'm calm!" Jin defensively says. Her grandfather looks at her disbelievingly. She sighs, places her hands on her hips and demands "Wait a second. How are you even friends with firebenders!?"

Her grandfather shrugs. "We met each other in the Siege of Ba Sing Se."

"The Siege of Ba Sing Se? So…you met each other and became friends…while trying to kill each other? And this doesn't bother you at all—''

"Look, what does it matter how we became friends?!" Her grandfather explodes. He gives her a pointed glare. "Did you do what you were supposed to do or what?!"

"Well, yeah. I showed him around and tried to show him a good time. I don't think I succeeded in the showing-him-a-good-time part though."

"Whatever. Are you sure no one was watching the two of you?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Good. Now I want you to water the ferns tomorrow. They're getting a little dry—''

"But, wait, I don't get it. If he fought during the Siege then why is he here…"

"Silly girl, stop asking so many questions! Just go on and do as I say!" her grandfather grumpily says.

Jin frowns at him but she doesn't leave him alone. She folds her arms and says, slightly worried, "So…them being here in Ba Sing Se…it's not a problem right?"

Instead of giving her another annoyed retort, her grandfather looks at her seriously, "I know you may not understand why we're protecting them right now, Jinny."

She smiles a little when she hears him call her 'Jinny.' It's a nickname he rarely calls her.

"But someday, I promise that you will. Not now, though. You need to see the world first. Finish schooling. Learn a couple of things. Gain a bit wisdom. Grow older, more mature, more cultured. I'll tell you someday but not now."

He then returns to his scroll and irately adds, "And that's that. Deal with it."

Jin sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She nods her head and mutters a quick goodnight to him before heading towards her room. Before she leaves, she stops by the edge of the hallway and looks at her grandfather. In a quiet, hesitant voice, she asks, "But doesn't it bother you that they're like the people who—''

"I already told you. They're good people," her grandfather says with a tone of finality.

Jin isn't really convinced but her grandfather is a smart man and he is never wrong. So, she nods her head and hurries towards her room without saying another word.

Author's Note: Jinny is pronounced "Jenny." Anyways, Iroh playing matchmaker has a really good explanation. When I first saw Zuko's segment in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" my first thought was that Iroh hired Jin to show his nephew a good time xD Granted, after re-watching the episode, I realized that it was obviously not the case. Jin was just a simple, normal girl who liked Zuko. Still, it's nice to speculate and the idea that Iroh is somehow behind Jin asking Zuko out is fun to think about.

To answer TheDivines' question: Yes, she will be initiated to the White Lotus eventually. Key word is eventually :)

For those who reviewed: Thank you so much. You have no idea how much your input means to me. Please don't stop telling me what you think of the story.

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Hope you guys liked this chapter. I will be uploading the next chapter by next week.