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"Uncle Mushi! I have something to tell you!" said Lee dragging a happy Jin into the shop. Everyone's eyes turned towards him and he suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"It will have to wait until the end of your shift." Said Uncle Mushi handing him the serving tray. Jin was feeling self-conscious too. Some of these people knew her mother. Also, maybe it wasn't the best thing to announce her air bending ability. Considering what the fire nation army did to them it might not have been the best idea to paint a target on her back.

"But it's very important." Said Lee respectfully. Now people were quietly speculating to themselves what it could be. Most of them were betting on Jin being in a family way. Teenagers!

"I've seen the flyers." Said Uncle Mushi leading him to the back of the shop. Oh, that papers from the sky.

"Wow, the Avatar's in the city and he lost his flying bison monster." Said Lee. Uncle Mushi was giving him an odd look. He turned to look at Jin and shrugged his shoulders. She motioned that she had to go. Her break was coming dangerously close to being over. She'd tell her mother when she got home. now mother would have to be proud of her. Jin, the last female air bender!

"I must implore you not to go looking for the bison. We have a new life here, a good life." Said Uncle Mushi. Lee was confused. He felt like something about this was important. Very important. Ah yes, it said there was a reward. They could use the money.

"Uncle, we don't need the money that badly. Actually there's something I want to talk to you about." Said Lee as his uncle put things on a low simmer. Oh no, Uncle Mushi was taking a break. He didn't usually take them because he loved the tea and the shop so much but when he did they were long. Lee looked for him once and found him playing Pi-Sho with another old person. Uncle made friends wherever they went.

"We'll discuss it when I return from my well-earned break. I trust you not to ruin the tea but just in case I've written very detailed instructions which I want burned when I get back." said Uncle Mushi leaving. Oh no! he had to tell his uncle before he left. What if he didn't get a chance to tell him all day and they came home to find Jin, her mother, and all their belongings in front of their apartment!

"But Uncle-" started Lee. Iroh wanted to stay but he had to get to his contacts about this. Who in their right mind would separate the Avatar from his bison? It wasn't just a beast of burden it was his spirit animal. If they were trying to pull a general Fong and send him into the Avatar state…the thought was too terrible to bear. He heated leaving his nephew but this had to be taken care of.

"Don't go after the bison." Said Uncle as he left. Lee was confused. Sure it looked like a lot of gold but where would he even begin looking for a giant bison. He was getting a strange feeling like he was forgetting something important. He served tea and dwelled on this feeling. He recalled the image of a boy with…arrows…on his head? The Avatar! Had he met the Avatar? Something was telling him yes. He pondered this until the post lunch lull when his Uncle came back. Uncle Mushi didn't look happy. Had eh lost at Pi-Sho? It was getting late when Jin began tapping at the back window.

"What's going on?" asked Lee as he took in Jin's appearance. Her hair as messed up, she had a red print on her face, and she looked like she had been crying. Oh no, had she been attacked. This was a safer part of the lower ring but it was still the lower ring.

"My mother threw me out." Said Jin sadly. Lee climbed through the window and held her. oh no, this was his fault. He was such a failure.

"I'm sorry." Said Lee. It was all he could say. He had ruined her life like he had ruined his. Somehow…! Ugh! He wanted to remember! Alright…he had to make this better. He could…hide her in the apartment!...the tiny two room apartment.

"It's not your fault. Some people made up some terrible rumors to my mother and she called me so many names and now I can't go back home." said Jin. She had failed her mother. Her mother had never been the same since her brother died in the war and her father left. Jin should have tried harder. How was her mother going to survive without her income contributing to the family?

"I'll make it better. Somehow." Said Lee. Jin cried softly into his apron. Lee knew that Uncle Mushi would be angry that he was shirking his duties but Jin was more important. She was his almost wife.

"I'm so scared. What's she going to do without me? I failed her. She threw me out until I could make something of myself." Sobbed Jin. She was a failure. Fifteen years old and still working in the same job with the same wages she had at twelve. She still looked and acted like a child.

"Did you try telling her you were an air bender? That's an accomplishment being the only air bender in the world besides the Avatar." Said Lee. Well, it was amazing anyway. His father had hated him for being a failure too so he knew where Jin was coming from. They could be failure's together.

"She didn't believe me. I even bended some air at her, well at least I thought I did I felt like when I bend air at you, and she said that it was the breeze and I was a liar." Sobbed Jin. Now Uncle Mushi was sticking his head out the window.

"Why don't you offer Miss Jin a cup of tea before we close early?" said Uncle Mushi. Many scenarios about why she was crying went through his head. None of them good. In a way he was happy that his nephew was involved with a girl but on the other hand this wasn't really his nephew. And he still had to find a way to inform the Avatar without anyone knowing it was him about the whereabouts of the sky bison.

"Thank you Mushi. You are most kind." Said Jin. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and picked up the bag holding everything she could take with her. Lee helped her through the front door; she was in no condition to be climbing through windows. She sat at a table in the back and Lee served her some of her favorite tea.

"Uncle Musi…can Jin stay with us?" whispered Lee quietly. He held out an arm to steady his Uncle as he began to sway dangerously.

"And why would Miss Jin need to be living with us?" asked Uncle Mushi. Lee rubbed the back of his head. Uncle Mushi gave him a stern look.

"Because her mother threw her out because we're getting married. Don't worry she's not pregnant or anything!" said Lee a bit too loud. Uncle Mushi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She can stay for now. You can take her home and get settled. I'll be there after closing. Later on we're going to have a serious discussion about thinking things through." Said Uncle Mushi sounding very old. Lee nodded gratefully before leaving as quickly as politeness permitted. He didn't want to stay and get incinerated…or lectured.

"What's going on?" asked Jin softly. Lee smiled and helped her up. This was going great, sort of. H didn't know how long the time being was but it was better than Jin sleeping on the streets.

"Uncle Mushi says you can stay." Said Lee purposely omitting the time stipulation. Maybe when Uncle Mushi saw that they were serious about getting married he'd let her stay permanently. Married. It was sounding better and better to him. and they'd have a house in the middle ring where their children could play and Uncle Mushi could sleep in a proper bed and they'd live above a tea shop. Yes, everything would be perfect.

"Thank you." Said Jin as they set off towards the apartment building. Lee helped Jin with her large bag and noted that there was room for a bedroll and not much else. Where would she sleep? Their apartment only have one bedroom. She could stay in the all-purpose room until he saved up and found them a better apartment.

"This is bigger than my old apartment." Said Jin. There were two rooms and a communal bathroom down the hall. Lee helped her set up a bedroll in the corner. Soon her bed and clothes were unpacked and they stood there in silence. This was…something. They were alone. In private. Together. Alone. They stood silently in awkwardness. They had never been alone together like this. They shifted awkwardly.

"Can I see you fire bend?" asked Jin suddenly. It was the first thing to pop into her mind. She had been curious about it since he confessed his abilities to her.

"S-Sure." Said Lee. He made sure to close and secure all the screens for the windows. Other people could see in if they tried hard enough. He didn't need to be reported to the guards for fire bending. He was living peacefully within the city. Jin stood at the far side of the corner and waited for something to happen. The darkness that cloaked them was broken when Lee snapped his fingers over a candle.

"Wow." Said Jin. It had been a simple display but she had never seen fire bending up close before. Usually she was running away from the fireballs. That was scary or destructive at all. Lee looked sheepish.

"Can I see you air bend again?" asked Lee. His own bending made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He didn't know how he knew how to do that but he just did. It wasn't just instinct, it was memory.

"Well here goes." Said Jin. She took a deep breath and felt the energy within her move. She moved her arm back taking some air with her and then pushed it forward. It was a much bigger gust than she had planned to make. She put out the fire and sent Lee into the wall.

"Wow." Said Lee as he felt his spine pop back into place. Ok, that was an exaggeration but it was jarring. Someone was banging on the wall but he didn't care. That was amazing. And familiar. He didn't dwell on that now. Jin was an air bender. He wondered when, if ever, he was going to get used to that.

"I'm sorry!" said Jin as she rushed over in the darkness to see if she had hurt him badly. She tripped over something and went flying into him. She put her arms in front of herself to break her fall but instead she caught herself with a gust of air. Now that she knew she was a bender was she going to keep accidently bending like this? She knew untrained earth benders could topple houses when angry.

"I think you need more practice." Said Lee sitting up. Jin knew she'd find a way to screw up being an air bender too. She needed to practice more. The more she practiced the more she'd get it. She wished she could find a teacher but the only other trained air bender around was the Avatar. Who was in the city.

"Lee, I just had a crazy idea." Said Jin. She crawled over to Lee and curled up next to him. This was nice, just being alone. Together. And it was alright because they were going to get married. Lots of things were alright now that they were going to get married. She was aware of how lean he felt. How close he was.

"Y-Yes?" asked Lee. He too was aware of Jin. He was breathing deeply in case he accidently bent too. something in him told him to control his breath to control his bending. He had put his Uncle through enough; he didn't want to add burning down their apartment to the list.

"What if the Avatar taught me?" asked Jin. Lee found the candle and re lit it. Jin was right, under normal circumstances that would have been crazy but he was living here in the city. an untrained bender was a dangerous one. Hmm…there was an address on that flyer. They would just have to find a way to the upper ring.

"We need to find a way to the upper ring." Said Lee. Jin was happy, he didn't think she was crazy. She was so happy she just kissed him. deeply. He kissed her back. at some point they had made their way to her bedroll. At some point hands had found their way under each other's clothes. And at some point they broke apart when they heard Uncle Mushi coming home.

"What in the world happened here?" asked Uncle Mushi as he surveyed the damage. Jin and Lee looked like guilty sheep. Very guilty sheep.

"I'm sorry it was my fault." Said Jin respectfully. Lee looked around, at least nothing was broken. That was good, right?

"That must have been some argument." Said Uncle Mushi as he began to pick up his over turned but thankfully undamaged tea pot. For a moment he thought the Dai Li had taken them and ransacked his apartment.

"Uncle…Jin's an airbender." said Lee. And the teapot shattered.