The sun had finally dipped below the wall, casting a shadow across the city, while Jin lead Zuko and Suki through the streets. Zuko slowed to a stop once they rounded the corner. Jin continued past him, but stopped when she reached the circle of torches. Suki followed her, glancing back at the Fire Lord and grinning.
"So, is this what I think it is?"
He slowly nodded. "Firelight Fountain. I can still smell the fish that Mai slapped on my head." She walked back to him and grabbed him by the sleeve.
"Come on, keep walking," she told him, dragging him along.
Jin looked back at the laughing pair and her eyes narrowed, an intrigued smirk coming to her face. "Well, that looks familiar."
Zuko looked around the circle, the last few moments of his date playing over and over in his mind. He still regretted running off and leaving Jin on her own.
"I can see why you like the place," Suki said, leaning against one of the torches. "Even without the candles lit, it's still romantic."
"It's my favourite place in the whole city," Jin told her. "They'll light them in an hour or two. Although..." She turned to the Fire Lord, who was still gazing around the fountain. "We do have our own firebender." His gaze snapped to them and he frowned when they continued to look at him. Suki made little gestures behind Jin, pretending to shoot fire at the lights. He rolled his eyes and stepped closer to the fountain, slowing his breathing. Jin leaned on the other side of the torch across from Suki. "I have always wanted to watch him do this."
Suki laughed as the Fire Lord stood still. "I've seen him training back in the Fire Nation. He's skilled. This should be easy for him."
He couldn't figure out why he was so nervous; he had done this before, it wasn't difficult. He was used to performing firebending in front of others. He looked over his shoulder, his gaze passing over the excited girl and focusing on the Kyoshi Warrior, who stood expectantly. He turned back around and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply until his lungs were full, and brought his clasped hands up to his chest. He focused on the image in his mind. His eyes snapped open and he began to fire at the candles. He seemed to shoot at random, turning quickly with each movement, and even fired before he had seen his target, always hitting true. He stepped up onto the edge of the fountain, firing down at the floating candles.
"He's showing off," Suki noted as he began to move along the edge, dealing with the lights the fountain had obscured.
Jin glanced at Suki, who was focused completely on the Fire Lord. "So, what happened with the knife throwing girl?" she said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm pretty sure they were dating when I met them."
"They broke up a few years ago," she said curtly. She lightly bit at her lip, but stayed focused on Zuko.
Jin furrowed her brow but decided not to push it. She turned back to the firebender as he completed his circuit of the edge. He lit the candle at the top of the fountain and held his pose. His eyes flicked to the side and he pictured the two girls behind him. He spun on his left leg, brought his right in and kicked high. Jin let out a yelp and ducked behind Suki, The Kyoshi Warrior however, stood completely still as the fireball sailed overhead, lighting the torch she was leaning on. Zuko held his leg in the air for a few moments, breathing heavily before dropping it and stepping down.
Suki stared at him, illuminated by the fountain behind him. "That was...amazing," she mumbled to herself.
Jin stepped out from behind her and looked at her with a sly smile before turning towards Zuko. "That was incredible! I can't believe I didn't realise you were a firebender when that first happened."
Zuko let out a laugh as Suki strolled over to them. "You put on a bit of a show for us."
"I try my best. When did you figure it out?"
"I really only put two and two together after the Fire Nation took over," Jin explained, scratching the back of her neck. "I thought for the longest time you had just been some spy working for them."
"I can't imagine hearing that I helped Azula went far to change that," Zuko muttered, his mouth forming a tight line.
Jin laughed and sat down on the edge of the fountain. "I only figured out who you actually were when I saw posters and watched a play with Aiguo." She looked away for a moment and sighed. "I'll admit, I didn't have the best opinion of you when I first learned you were the Fire Lord." She glanced back at him with a warm smile. "I'm just happy that you made the right choice in the end." She tapped the fountain edge next to her. Zuko's raised his eyebrows, but sat down beside her. "Suki, do you think Zuko and I could talk together for a moment."
"Of course," she said, bowing before walking over to one of the torches and turning away. She saluted the Dai Li agent watching them from the roof of a nearby building, but he disappeared immediately. Zuko stared at the floor, silent.
"Did you really come to Ba Sing Se for a meeting with the Earth King, and just decide to visit me?" The Fire Lord hung his head low. "I'll take what ever you tell me as the truth."
He almost said yes, but only a sigh came out. His cheeks began to heat up. "You were the reason I came to Ba Sing Se."
"I had a feeling I was."
Zuko covered his face with his hands, "I'm an idiot."
"I'm not saying you're not, but don't beat yourself up over it. This is all very sweet," she said, giving him a light elbow in the side.
He looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "Sweet?"
"I don't know a lot of guys who'd travel all the way to Ba Sing Se just to ask me out. Well, I guess I don't know many lords either." He let out a chuckle, looking back at the floor. "Thanks by the way."
"For what?"
"Being honest with me. I knew something was up, but I would have understood if you didn't tell me."
"It's not like I hid it very well," he said, getting a laugh from her. "Thanks."
She threw and arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. The pair sat their for a few silent moments. "So..." Jin began, looking over to the Kyoshi Warrior. "are you going to ask her out?" Zuko's head snapped up.
"What? Who?"
"Suki. You two like each other, right?" He started to deny it, but Jin continued on. "You would make such a romantic couple. The Fire Lord and his loyal bodyguard."
He let out another sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There's nothing between Suki and me."
"Oh, really?" She crossed her arms and frowned. "You two seem pretty close."
"Well, I suppose we are, but not in a romantic way. We've been through a lot together," he said, not able to meet her eyes.
She shook her head and chuckled, placing a hand on his shoulder "You've got even worse at lying since our date." He glanced over at the Suki, who still had her back turned to them before facing Jin, who had a knowing grin on her face.
"Is it really that obvious?"
She gave a quick nod. "What's the problem? I'm certain she likes you too. Just ask her out."
"That wouldn't go well, she's–"
"Wait, you're telling me you came halfway across the world to ask me out, a girl you hadn't seen in nearly three years, but you're worried about the girl you see nearly every day?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that." he said, resting his head in his palms. "She's already in a relationship with Sokka." Jin tilted her head slightly. "Yeah, the Sokka you heard about in the plays."
Jin stayed quiet for a moment and begun lightly pulling at one of her ponytails. "And what if Sokka wasn't there?" Zuko gave her a worried look. "I mean if they weren't together, would you be able to ask her out then?"
Zuko sat up a bit straighter and scratched his cheek. "Maybe, I suppose if...I mean yes, I would. Sure."
Jin beamed as she stood. "Good. Now if you ever get that chance, remember this conversation, okay?" Zuko smiled weakly up at her and bowed his head. "Trust me, if you ask, I guarantee she'll say yes."
"Jin," Zuko muttered as she walked towards Suki, who was looking at them out of the corner of her eye. "If you and Aiguo weren't together, what would you have said to me?"
It was Jin's turn to blush. She stepped up to him, a smirk on her face. "I wouldn't have jumped into your arms, but..." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "I'd have given you a chance; I would have liked getting to know the real Lee, Zuko." He glanced over to Suki as he hugged the young woman. She had turned to look directly at them, a sad smile on her face. "Maybe in another life," Jin said, lightly kissing his cheek, as she released him.
Zuko smiled sheepishly. "Maybe." He looked over her shoulder, at the Kyoshi Warrior who strolled towards them.
"You two have a good talk?"
"Yeah," Zuko said, getting a sly grin from Jin. "It was nice."
Jin glanced up at the darkening sky and pulled a face. "I should probably get back to Aiguo. He'd either starve or burn down the house if I left him to cook dinner."
The Fire Lord bowed deeply. "It was a pleasure seeing you again. Aiguo is a lucky man."
"He better know it," she said, laughing as she returned his bow.
"It was lovely to–" Suki found herself enveloped in a hug. She and Zuko rolled their eyes at each other.
"Take good care of him, okay?" Jin whispered into her ear.
"Sure thing," she whispered back after a moment.
Jin gave one last squeeze before letting the Kyoshi Warrior go. "We're not sure of the date, but Aiguo and I are getting married sometime in the next few months. I'll try to send a letter or something to let you know when."
"That would be nice," Zuko said, giving her a light smile.
"Zuko tends to get a lot of letters," Suki said. "Send it to me, it'll get through to us quicker."
"I'll be sure to do that." She gave Zuko one last quick hug. "Thanks for coming to see me." She turned and hurried off, and Zuko and Suki found themselves alone, illuminated only by the candles of the Firelight Fountain.
"Are you okay?" Suki asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah," he said after a few moments. "I'm alright."
"Well, that's good. It's unfortunate she was with Aiguo; I can see why you would have liked to see her again."
He shrugged, and looked into the fountain. "She seemed happy with him; that's the important thing, I suppose."
"That's a great way to look at it," she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Let's go. We should probably head back. I'm sure Ty Lee will have about a hundred questions for us."
Aww, cute! Hopefully this chapter helped the sooth those who were looking for a small relationship between Jin and Zuko. I felt this was a nice way for the two of them to say goodbye. I'd like to hear people's opinions on how I wrote Jin. She didn't get much screen time, so it was interesting trying to imagine how she would be in a few years. Anyway, the next chapter is currently being written up. About 1000 words or so into it, looking to be another long chapter. Not to give too much away, but Suki forgot about something a bit important!
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