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Chapter 9: Forward Thinking
The air was almost cold and the rain had slowed to a feeble drizzle. Black clouds still populated the sky, dense looking things ready to let loose their power on Sapporo. The occasional sound of far away thunder reminded Mai that rainy season was far from over. She smiled to herself and threw open the windows, relishing the crispness of the breeze. The white curtains moved in time with the wind, performing a graceful dance.
"What are you doing? It's freezing in here now?" Akira huddled into her sweater and glared at her daughter. She clutched a cup of fresh coffee in one hand and gestured at the window with her other.
"I like airing the apartment out. I'll shut them in a minute."
Had to spoil things, didn't you?
"Sometimes I wonder if you aren't some sort of changeling. Tom-Tom and your father and I all love the sun and the heat. We hate the rainy season." As happened more often than not, Akira hadn't given her words much thought. They played right into the alienation from her family that had plagued Mai for as far as she could remember back. And they hurt.
"Wow, I feel all warm and loved now. " Mai opened the window further and turned her back to Akira. The wind moved her hair in time with the curtains and now it was a tandem dance.
"Don't be so sensitive, Mai." She reached around her daughter and closed the window with a resounding bang. Stubborn to a fault sometimes, Mai reopened it and positioned herself strategically. Akira would not be able to close it again. "Stand there then and guard the thing. I'm going to fix myself up for our little excursion."
"Good riddance," the young woman said under her breath. Her great mood had faded and that fact made her even angrier.
Once certain that Akira would be occupied for a few minutes at least, Mai curled up in her chair; tucking denim clad legs beneath her, she reached for her phone. Zuko had left her a text message that made her smile and flush. She gave Komoku, dozing contentedly along the back of the chair a rub. "Hey, sweet kitty," she crooned.
Restless feeling she stood again and adjusted the simple white shirt she wore before heading into her bedroom and grabbing a light jacket. The temperature fluctuated quite a bit this time of year and it was always best to be prepared. She checked her reflection, and satisfied, walked back out into the living room.
Tom was busy on the floor with a puzzle Iroh had bought for him the day before. He concentrated hard, his face scrunched comically, picking up this piece and that piece, doing his best to figure things out. Mai crouched down beside him and made suggestions without really giving things away. She gave her brother a sidelong glance, taking her time, absorbing every detail of his sweet little face, and her heart lurched once more.
I love him. There's no denying it.
"You're pretty cute. Do you know that?"
"Uh huh; Mommy and Daddy say so."
"Well, I say so too." Unable to help herself, Mai placed a hand on the boy's head. She let it rest there for a moment, enjoying the feel of his soft hair beneath her fingers, the warmth that radiated from him and that special scent that emanated from small children, something clean and pure that persisted even when they were filthy. Leaning in, she kissed him with a tenderness that surprised her. Tom-Tom hardly noticed. "I'm going to miss you, little brother."
"Then you'll have to come home for a visit. Bring Zuko along. Your father should meet him." Akira stood, hands on hips, overdressed in some silky blouse and clingy skirt.
Mai's first reaction was to balk at the very suggestion of going back home. But she bit back the bile and thought first. It might not be so bad. Tom-Tom would be there and with Zuko's presence, everything tired and tiresome might just become new and alive once again.
"Maybe." Mai didn't want to appear excited either. "Isn't that a bit much for some dusty old building?" The librarian gestured to Akira's outfit.
"One never knows who one might run into, Mai. A woman should always look her best." Gold eyes, astute and cool, glided over Mai, taking in the worn and comfortable jeans she wore, Mai's favorite pair, and the equally comfortable shirt. Clearly, Mai was not following her mother's rule for successful womanhood.
I fail. And I don't care.
"I'll take a chance."
She turned back to her brother and suggested he leave his puzzle. It was time to meet Zuko and Iroh downstairs. When the boy stood up, he squirmed in place, a sure sign that he needed to use the bathroom. Mai took him by the hand and led him there, waiting patiently for him to finish and wash up. Tom-Tom was quite proud of his big boy status and beamed up at Mai as he dried his hands with exaggerated care.
"I'm impressed." She nodded her head slowly.
He didn't know what that meant exactly, but the look on Mai's face told the story. Tom-Tom smiled again and reached for her, not relinquishing her hand until Iroh pulled up in his nondescript, fuel efficient sedan.
~~~~0000~~~~
Zuko stepped out of the passenger seat and waved Akira in. He waited, head down against the rain, for Mai and Tom-Tom to slide across the back bench seat. Once they were settled, he joined them, sitting a little closer to Mai than was necessary. But after yesterday's session outside the library, Zuko couldn't get the feel of her or the smell of her or his need for her out of his mind. He would have to content himself now with the press of her leg against his and her slender fingers wrapped inside his own.
"Okay?" Mai gave him a sly look. She knew very well that he was struggling with his desires.
"I wish we could be alone. Yesterday was…." He had no words. Squeezing her fingers tight and nudging her thigh would have to do. Mai understood. She edged even closer and leaned her head on Zuko's shoulder.
Akira twisted in her seat to check on Tom-Tom. Her bright smile, the one she only gifted him with, faded away when she spotted the young couple's close proximity.
"What?" Mai stared right back and wouldn't budge. She was immoveable as granite and her time away from home had lessened mother's power over daughter. It still existed, but Mai had a life to protect now and a relationship and she would do so as fiercely as any creature protected its young. Akira would not ruin this for her. She would not.
"They're young, Akira, and their blood runs hot. But they're not children either. Let them be." Iroh's mellow voice, always so calming, made the woman's head swing back around to the front.
"That may be, Iroh, but there are codes to follow too. I don't want Mai ending up…..in trouble."
"Trouble; really, Mother?" Mai clenched her free fist and sucked in her breath, making a hissing sound. Tom-Tom patted her leg. "I'm eighteen, not fourteen and I'm very capable of taking care of myself."
"Perhaps, Mai, perhaps, but you don't have a lot of experience with, with men, and you might get in over your head before you're ready." It was every mother's concern for her daughter and part of Mai was pleased that Akira worried at all. But the woman's timing couldn't be more off. And the young woman suspected that her mother's concerns revolved more around her own reputation than any distress Mai might suffer.
"I won't hurt Mai. I wouldn't." Zuko felt his own integrity was being called into question.
"My nephew is an honourable man; you need not worry about Mai. Besides that she can take care of herself. Anyone can see that." That steel was back in Iroh's voice, the steel that told Akira she may have overstepped some invisible boundary.
Akira huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Let's not discuss it any further."
"There's an idea."
"Not right now; but we will talk about it some other time, Mai."
"I can't wait for that mother/daughter bonding moment."
"Enough with the sarcasm, Mai, and show some respect. I am still your mother, though sometimes I think you'd like to pretend otherwise." Akira's voice wasn't steel, but obsidian, dark and sharp, cutting through Mai like the young woman imagined a polar wind might cut through a flimsy jacket. She was four again, vulnerable and defenseless, and never quite good enough to please. And for once, she could think of nothing to say.
Zuko was rubbing the knuckles of her hand, dragging his thumb across them over and over, trying to calm her down. He might only have known Mai for a week, but the firebender could tell when she was upset. And right now she was some strange mix of angry, sad and contrite. He could almost see the slap mark on the lovely pale skin of her cheek.
Families were complicated things. He knew that from his own, but upon witnessing Mai and her mother together, Zuko realized he did not have exclusive rights over that domain.
Why can't she just accept Mai? Why can't Father accept me? What is it we did so wrong?
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They were downtown now, the oldest part of the city, everything else stretching and growing outwards from that solid little core. The streets were tree lined and narrow, shadows everywhere. And there was an air of decay too. Some of the homes had been restored with loving attention to detail. But others were shambling messes with falling down porches and missing shingles, gardens that hadn't been tended for decades, eaves troughs hanging from roofs like broken limbs.
Iroh turned left. The silence in the car was an uneasy one. He broke it with a cheery declaration. "Look; the building's right down there." He pointed and grinned as they approached a huge two story building, white stucco with red clay tiles for a roof. It was classic Fire Nation and would once have been the focus of people downtown, the residence of some well known physician perhaps, or an attorney.
"Is it zoned for business, Uncle?" Zuko gazed about the neighborhood, saw the building's potential, and got excited.
"For business yes, just not heavy industry; so a tea shop is completely within regulations."
Sapporo's downtown had been in various stages of dying for years now. Mayors tried to revitalize but most people stuck to the more conveniently located plazas and malls. That didn't mean that all businesses failed. There were a few that flourished and Iroh planned to make his Jasmine Dragon one of them.
"Can we look inside?" Mai was anxious to get out of the sedan's confined space and away from her mother.
Iroh beamed. "The lovely real estate agent gave me the key." He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and dangled it, letting it swing back and forth like some miniature pendulum.
He opened the car door then and hopped out, swooping around to Akira's side and holding the door for her. She nodded, all business now, and stepped onto the sidewalk. Tugging her collar up, she waited for Tom-Tom and took his hand.
Mai and Zuko lagged behind a bit, holding hands. Iroh threw a sympathetic look at them over his shoulder, letting his warm gaze linger on Mai for an extra beat. She knew he was giving her his support, wordless though it might be and her affection for Zuko's uncle grew a bit more. Only a week earlier, Mai had felt very much alone but for her uncle, and she rarely saw him. Now she had Zuko and Iroh and Tom-Tom. Days could pass and pass and nothing much changed. And then, change could come in a flurry and with force, making it hard to keep up.
The wooden boards of the wide wraparound porch creaked and groaned beneath their weight. White paint peeled in large flecks that blew about in the breeze, collecting in overgrown bushes and blowing down the cement walkway. Loose nails poked rusted heads up from the wood. Akira frowned as she guided her son around the pitfalls.
"Needs some work," Mai observed in her typical understated fashion.
"Indeed." Iroh agreed readily enough. "Wait until you see the inside."
But none of that mattered. The businessman stared up at the house and he saw the future, a future in which he was near Zuko, a future in which he brought a dilapidated, once majestic home, back to life. Oh, he had plans, many, many plans. They hatched daily in his brain and each one of them made him grin. Iroh was fortunate that he had the money to fund such a project. And he planned to involve Mai and Zuko as much as they would tolerate. He secretly hoped that the young couple would one day come to call the place home. An old man could dream.
"So, the inside?" Mai placed a hand on Iroh's arm. He was off somewhere, daydreaming and Mai almost hated to break the spell. But they were there to inspect the house.
"Oh, yes, forgive me, dear." He approached the door and put the old-fashioned key into the old-fashioned lock, turning the pretty glass door knob.
The door stuck a bit and he had to put his shoulder into it before it finally budged. He stood back then, letting the others enter first. Mai's gasp was audible and she turned about in a slow, deliberate circle. She was entranced. And if one could fall in love with a house, Mai just had.
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It was run down, yes, but it was magnificent. Everything inside had been crafted with love and exquisite care. The staircase was wide and winding, dragons carved into the wood with intricate detail, something Mai's drawings had never attained. She touched them, letting her fingers run over bumps and ridges, tails and wings.
"Oh," was all she could manage to say. Her fingers came away dusty. She wiped them off on her jeans.
The ceilings were high, elegant light fixtures, also dragon themed dangled from sturdy chains. The floors were all a deep, rich, dark stained wood, dirty and scratched but they could be refinished. Each room was incredibly spacious, with huge arched windows and arched entranceways.
The glass was filthy. What light there was outside struggled, faint and ghostly, through the panes. Mai easily imagined the brilliance of the rooms during a bright summer day, everything inside sparkling and spotless. It would be beautiful. But she loved it now, all subdued and almost gloomy.
She took Zuko by the hand once more and dragged him into the kitchen. It was monstrous, with a huge centre island and hooks for hanging pots and pans and utensils. It had a fireplace too, built from reddish brick, smeared with black, dirty inside, but again, Mai could picture the fire crackling away on a cool, damp day.
Zuko took it all in quietly. He was enjoying Mai's obvious pleasure more than the actual tour.
"Do you wanna go upstairs?" The firebender gave her hand a little tug and jerked his head toward the staircase.
Akira was busy making suggestions to Iroh about the garden and where tables might go, what to dress the windows with and what kind of décor to use. She gazed about with expert eyes, sizing everything up. The woman had good taste, a bit stiff and formal for Iroh, though. He listened politely, but it was plain that he had his own very entrenched ideas.
Tom-Tom sat on the floor, bored by the conversation, and pushed a tiny toy car about in the dirt and dust. The miniature wheels left distinct trails which delighted the boy and he whirled the car about, making circular patterns and then long roadways. When he stood up, his behind was coated in dust. Akira grimaced and grabbed hold of him, swatting gently at his backside until a cloud floated upward, making the woman sneeze.
Laughing, Mai's brother darted away.
"I've got him," Mai called. She had grabbed the boy's hand before he could wander off too far and get into mischief. "We're taking him upstairs."
"Keep an eye him." Akira stood at the bottom of the staircase and watched as they climbed. "Agni knows what kind of dangers are waiting up there."
Mai rolled her eyes and kept moving, eager to see more.
~~~~0000~~~~
The second floor had six bedrooms, all of them spacious.
"My entire apartment could fit inside one of these." Zuko was reminded of the mansion back in Capitol City he had grown up in. He still didn't miss it, though. There were no misty-eyed moments of nostalgia. Sapporo right now, with Iroh and Mai, that ugly little apartment, was all the home he needed.
"Mmhmm, mine too." She let go of Tom-Tom and drifted to one of the back bedrooms. It had a lovely view of the back yard, scraggly and unkempt now, but that could be easily changed, and of the sky. There was a window seat, a wide thing, plenty of room for stretching out with a book or a sketch pad, and Mai fell in love even harder.
"Nice room," Zuko said softly. He joined her at the window, leaning down a bit, resting his chin on her shoulder. Mai's expression was dreamlike and her thoughts were far away. Zuko kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms about her waist. He turned for a moment, checking to make certain that Tom-Tom was still about. The boy was busy with his car again, running it alongside the once white baseboard.
Taking the opportunity, Zuko pressed his lips into her hair, inhaling the subtle scent of almonds. He moved the ebony mane away from her neck then and kissed the pale skin. Mai shuddered but her attention was still somewhere else. Determined now, Zuko shifted his position, blocking Mai's view of the window, tilted up her chin and kissed her lips.
She was fully aware of him then. The house was forgotten and so was her brother. Mai felt what she had the day before outside the library, the rain beating down all around them; it was as though her higher brain functions left temporarily while need and want gained control.
The sound of Tom-Tom running out of the room and down the hallway towards that huge staircase snapped both Mai and Zuko out of their trance. She darted after the little boy, panic in her pale gold eyes. He assumed it was a game of chase now and giggled, looking back at her mischievously. When he tripped on a shoelace and went down hard, Mai ran faster, caught up and swept him into her arms.
He wailed, far more than the actual hurt warranted. Akira, who was already half way up the stairs with Iroh, rushed to her son, tore him from Mai's arms, giving her a glare before smiling at the boy.
"It's all right," she soothed. "It's all right."
Satisfied that he was fine, she found that fury again and directed it at Mai and Zuko. "What happened? Why weren't you watching him? What if he'd gotten to the stairs and fallen there instead?"
"Kissing," Tom-Tom giggled, pointing at his sister and her young man.
"You were kissing when you should have been watching my son?"
The way she distanced Mai from Tom-Tom, neglecting to call him her brother, infuriated the young woman. But it was all true enough. They didn't keep their eyes on him and had anything happened it would have been Mai's fault.
"Yes, for a minute. He was on the floor with his car and..."
Just say you're sorry.
"I'm sorry. I'll watch him more closely from now on."
"It's my fault." Zuko spoke up now. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Akira with a sheepish expression. "I kissed Mai. I distracted her." He blushed deeply at the confession. He'd been doing a lot of blushing over the past week.
"Well, maybe you should think next time." Akira glanced at Iroh. "You keep saying that they're mature, Iroh. I'm not sure."
"Nothing happened, Akira. The boy is fine. Kids fall down all the time." He gave Tom-Tom's head a rub. "And I stand by my statement. Mai is working and living by herself, and going to school too. Give your daughter some credit. Most eighteen year olds can barely handle one of those things."
She acknowledged none of Mai's accomplishments. "I'm taking Tom-Tom back downstairs."
Once the sound of her footsteps faded away, Iroh smiled at the pair. "Don't worry about her. You took your eyes off Tom-Tom. It happens. Now, tell me what you think of the house. Do you think it would make a good tea shop?"
Both Mai and Zuko nodded.
"It's amazing." Mai felt herself drawn to that one bedroom again.
Zuko gazed about once more. The house had charm and style and character in abundance. "Yeah, Uncle Iroh, I love it."
"Good, good, I thought you might. The work will take time, months, I'm sure. But when it's ready, do you think you might make this house your home? Mai, I mean you as well." He stood, hands linked together behind his back, his belly jutting out. His face was hopeful, anticipatory. He hadn't planned on asking them yet. But seeing them there, so good together, Zuko happier than he had been in years, Iroh couldn't contain himself.
Both teenagers stared at him, stunned. Mai spoke first.
"Uh, I might be able to do that."
Delighted, Iroh pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I'm so glad." Tears stood out in his eyes. "We'll discuss everything further once your mother has returned home, Mai." He grinned. "I don't want her bursting our bubble, not for awhile at least."
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A/N: I think Iroh wants people around him to love as badly as Mai and Zuko do. So the house/future tea shop is his way of gathering the nephew he loves and Mai, whom he is beginning to love, up and giving them the home he thinks they deserve. Of course, he's assuming they will stick with each other. Good assumption!
Things will get sorted out in future chapters.
Hmm, I always wanted a window seat when I was a little girl. I still do. (Mr. Plushie would fit nicely there, and he would have something to look at besides the inside of a closet). I love old, rambling houses too. Modern homes can never compare. Ah, well…..
Thanks to those who review. There are not enough of you. Look, I made a rhyme! Seriously, I really want feedback on this story. Don't be afraid, It won't hurt to write a review. I myself have written hundreds and I LIVE!
Alabaster
