10

Zuko shivers as the cold scales of the dragons coil around his body. They blow puffs and streams of smoke, blurring his vision and making him cough. His head painfully aches as the two of them both whisper in his ear. He tries to make sense of what they are saying to him, but their words sound so far away and garbled.

"You're right. He looks terrible. What happened to him?"

"I don't know. He's been sick for days now. His temperature bounces up and down so drastically. Sometimes he's too cold, sometimes he's too hot. But don't worry about it. I've already called a doctor."

The blue dragon presses against his side and whispers at him to go to sleep. It blows out an extremely hot stream of smoke from its nostrils, into his face. He spasms.

"It was really nice of you to visit."

"Don't be ridiculous. I had to come over as soon as I heard that he was sick."

"I hope you won't get into trouble with your grandfather for missing work."

"Pfft. He'll get over it."

"Thank you for the noodles."

"They're your favorite. I brought Lee's favorite as well but I don't think he will be able to enjoy them."

"He called for you, you know. Once. In his sleep."

"He probably said something else and you misheard him."

"No. It was definitely your name." Pause. "So, I've been meaning to ask, are you two still fighting?"

"We weren't fighting."

Loud laughter. Zuko winces at the noise.

"Sure, you weren't."

"Don't worry. He already apologized. On the night he told me you guys were coming to live here in the Upper Ring."

"How romantic."

"Pfft. More like idiotic. He came in the middle in the night. He could've been caught by the Dai Li or the night watchmen."

"He has never been one to think things through."

He closes his eyes and the red dragon barks at him to wake up, to turn away from the blue dragon. A throbbing pain rises from his head as their voices raise octaves higher.

He feels something cool rest on his forehead although he can't see what it is. It feels soft and smooth, like silk.

"Are you two spies? Or deserters?"

A long stretch of silence. "We're neither. We are traitors. Exiles. But most of all, we are just like everyone else here. Refugees looking to start a new life."

"You don't seem surprised that I know."

"You don't look like you believe me."

"I'm sorry. It's just that…sometimes…it's really hard looking at you and Lee without thinking about how my mother and father—''

"It's okay. I understand. You don't have to say it. You are taking this a lot better than most people would have. How long have you known?"

"Since our first date." Pause. "Are you and Lee planning to stay here in Ba Sing Se?"

"Yes, that is my wish. I want me and my nephew to settle down here. I want him to have a good life. I want him to find a nice girl, get married, give me lots of grandnephews and grandnieces—''

"Mushi, don't look at me like that—''

Loud laughter. "My nephew deserves peace and contentment in his life. He's been through a lot. But…with the war going on…you can never how things will turn out."

Bitterness."That's true."

"He's a good man, Jin."

"I know."

He wants to rest. His eyelids grow heavy as the blue dragon whispers in his ear again to sleep. Maybe he should listen to it. He does feel tired and all he really wants to do is lie down on his bed and sleep. He closes his eyelids and the blue dragon screams into his ear, "Just like mother!"

He is falling, falling into darkness. He opens his mouth to cry for help but no sound comes out. The red dragon is calling out to him, telling him to calm down. It shoves the blue dragon aside and hurtles towards him. The blue dragon hisses and recoils in anger.

His heart stops thumping wildly against his chest when the red dragon catches him on its back. The creature flies him towards a small corner and settles down. Zuko slides off its back and leans against its warm, great big hide.

The dragon raises its head to face him and Zuko frowns in confusion when he sees that the dragon's eyes are green. They are a familiar sort of green. Green with flecks of gold and amber. He's seen those eyes before.

Zuko yawns and the red dragon tells him that it's okay to sleep now—except that the red dragon isn't really red anymore. Its scales have turned into jade and its voice has grown softer, gentler, more feminine somehow.

"Where's the red dragon?" he demands, the words come out of his mouth in a slow, drawn-out manner.

"Just go to sleep," the jade dragon says. It leans forward and instead of blowing out a stream of smoke like he expects to, it tenderly licks him in the forehead.

Zuko nods and complies. He curls himself up against the dragon's side and closes his eyes. From above them, he can feel the blue dragon's presence, circling them, patiently waiting for a sign of weakness. But he knows that he will be alright. The jade or red (or whatever color it is) dragon will protect him.

The jade dragon starts singing a lullaby about stars and boats and oceans and skies. The dark sky fills up with a hundred of bright stars, bright firelights.

Zuko finally falls asleep.

"Hey! You! Vegetable-girl!"

Zuko smirks at Jin as she looks up to meet his eyes. She's at the back trimming a penjing, surrounded by tall tree-like plants, vines and flowers. She looks up at him in surprise, holds her hand up and signals him to wait as she puts the trimmers away and makes her way towards him.

He's been out sick for the last few days and he has missed the opening of their teashop. But when he woke up today he felt great—better than he's felt in a really long time. And their new teashop is amazing; the pay is better and the customers (despite being twenty times more obnoxious) give bigger tips. Everything is falling into place; his life is stable, he is content and his uncle is happy. The only thing missing is Jin.

He hasn't seen her since the night he came over to her house to apologize. So, as soon as he finished his shift in the teashop today, he went here right away, to her grandfather's gardening shop.

"I've been waiting here for fifteen minutes," Zuko gruffly tells her.

Jin folds her arms and raises a brow at him. "Sorry, for the delay sir—''Zuko's grins when she says the word "sir". "—but as you can see, I was kind of busy."

"The service here is shoddy," Zuko says. He gives her an irritated look.

"Pfft." Jin snorts. "Whenever I go to the teashop , the service there is always shoddy. The waiter in particular, isn't very nice."

Zuko glares at her. "I'm a great waiter. And I always serve your tea on time."

"You never even take my order."

"That's because you order the same thing every day. Taking your order is a waste of time."

Jin grins at him. "I see that being bedridden for days still hasn't improved your mood."

"Wait—what? Bedridden? You went to our apartment?" Zuko says, looking slightly horrified.

Jin's grin grows wider at the expression on his face. "I came over to visit you. I also saw you puke at least seven times, brought some of your favorite noodles (although your uncle ended up eating all of it) and played some Pai Sho with him. Although he isn't a very fun person to play with. He cheats."

Zuko snorts. "Maybe you're just a really lousy Pai Sho player."

"Did you come all the way here just to act all irritated with me?' Jin demands as she places her hands on her hips.

Zuko's frown disappears into a huge smile. "Actually, my uncle…um…sent me to get some plants or flowers or something for our shop. He said we needed to have a bit of color."

Jin gestures at him to move forward. "Take a look around. Tell me if you see anything you like."

He stops himself before he can tell her what he truly likes. He pretends to look around although he isn't really paying much attention to the flowers. He keeps looking at Jin—her hair is haphazardly tied in braids and there is dirt scattered all over her dress. He thinks that she looks pretty however; there's this nice relaxed air about her that he likes.

"Lee!? Hello! Are you still there?" Jin says as she snaps her fingers in front of his face.

"Hm?" Zuko sheepishly says as he comes back into focus.

"I said that I have the white dragon bush tea leaves your uncle wanted." She holds out the pouch of tea and gives it a fond look. "Make sure it gets to him. Your uncle spent hours giving me a lecture on the different kinds of tea when I visited your shop and he wouldn't stop talking about the white dragon bush."

"He gave you a lecture about tea?" Zuko incredulously says as he takes the pouch.

"Yeah. But I think that he was just mostly looking for an excuse to brew lots and lots of tea," Jin says as she bends down and starts examining a pot of snake plants. She glances up at him from the corner of her eyes and says, "I'm glad that you're better. I thought that you would die or something."

Zuko's lips twitch into a smile.

"You were worried about me," he states.

Jin snorts. "Sure, because you hallucinating and having extreme drops and increases in temperature are things that I shouldn't worry about."

"I'm happy that you were worried about me," he tells her. Her smile widens and she flushes. His grin grows wider when she turns her face away from him.

"How's Cheng's research paper?" Zuko asks, half in a joking manner, half in a serious voice.

"He finished it," Jin says.

Zuko tries to sound as less happy as he possibly can. "Oh. So, I guess that means that you and Cheng won't be spending so much time together anymore."

"Yeah, I guess." Jin shrugs.

"So I guess that means you have a lot of free time now," Zuko continues.

"More or less," Jin says. She finally faces him and gives him a confused look. "What's with you today?"

"What?"

"I don't know...you just seem so...happy," Jin says. She gives him a strange look—the same strange look his uncle keeps giving him lately.

"Why shouldn't I be? My uncle's new teashop has finally opened," he says with a shrug. He flushes slightly when he tells her, "And I'm here, standing next to you. What's not to be happy about?"

Jin's cheeks redden but she continues to look at him with a confused look on her face.

"And you're smiling." She says it as if she is pointing out a particularly unusual fact.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He pokes her on the arm. "Weren't you the one who told me that it wouldn't kill me to laugh or smile on occasion?"

"The fever has obviously made you crazy," Jin tells him.

Zuko laughs and shakes his head. Jin pauses, her hand poised over the pot of snake plants. She stares at him, her face marked with a confused and disbelieving expression. Her expression suddenly softens and her lips pull upwards in a wide smile. She says, "Your laugh."

"What about it?"

"I've never heard you laugh like that before," Jin tells him.

"Oh."

"And your smile. It reaches your eyes." Zuko stares at her, completely incredulous as to why she is voicing out these observations. Jin starts drumming her fingers against her thighs. She tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and mutters, "You should smile like that more often. It suits you."

"Thanks." His face flushes and Jin looks away and pretends to be absorbed in a pot full of azaleas.

"Hey, why don't you get these ones? They would look great with the color of your walls," Jin says as she gestures at a patch of blooming rhododendrons.

"Yeah, sure. Can you arrange them in a vase for me?" Zuko distractedly says. He doesn't care about the stupid flowers—he isn't here for that. He's here for something else.

"Okay, but I think that I need to put another set of flowers in with the rhododendrons. Maybe some peonies? Or some orchids—''

He interrupts her before she can continue rambling off more flower combinations.

"Actually, I was wondering…" He starts twiddling his thumbs and nervously looks at her. "… you're free this evening right?"

Jin nods her head. "Yes. As soon as I finish my shift here, I'm free for the rest of the night."

"And now that you no longer have to help Cheng with his stupid research paper—''

"His research paper was not stupid—''

"So now you have more free time on your hands, right?"

"I guess so."

"Do you think you could show me around the Upper Ring later? You know, since I'm new here and all," he asks her.

Jin shrugs and sends him a warm smile. "Sure. But I still have to do the flower arrangements for that vase you wanted and—''

"You don't need to do that. You can do it some other time," Zuko quickly tells her.

She raises a brow and smirks at him. "You're not really here to buy some plants are you?"

(He's kind of afraid because he has a feeling that she is on to him.)

Zuko laughs loudly again, a big, great rolling laugh that silences Jin and draws out a shocked expression from her face. Zuko shakes his head and holds his hands up in surrender. "You caught me. So what, are you going to show me around or not?"

Jin stands up and heads towards the table. "My shift doesn't end until an hour. You think you can wait that long, Mr. Teashop-Owner?"

Zuko nods his head and folds his arms. "Yeah, sure. But do you think you can open some windows in here? It's hot."

Jin rolls her eyes at him and teasingly smirks. "Whatever, tea-boy."

"Be respectful, vegetable-girl."

She pretends to be annoyed, but her mouth is curled into a smile. He's happy that he is here.

The Upper Ring is nice and it reminds him of the palace compound back in the Fire Nation. There are big houses and large, spacious gardens. Everything is clean and orderly and it isn't smelly or overcrowded with people. It' a nice break from the Lower Ring and Zuko thinks that he and his uncle really lucked out in getting a teashop here. All the structures are beautiful, especially since it's evening and all the houses have colorful lanterns hanging on their front doors and porches.

Jin shows him around and tells him the history behind each building and monument. She points at several houses and tells him about who lives there and what they are like. She shows him the theatre and tells him about her favorite play (The Weaver Girl and The Cowherd) and takes him to the Upper Ring library and makes him borrow a couple of (boring) scrolls. She shows him her favorite restaurant and her little brother's school.

"So…you came back," Jin says as she turns to look at him. Zuko tries to keep himself from looking at her because her eyes are really distracting, especially against the glow of the lamplights.

"Came back from what?"

"Came back from whatever it is you were doing."

"I wasn't doing anything."

Jin gives him a disbelieving look. "Sure, you weren't."

Zuko scowls at her and she just gives him a small shrug.

They stop walking and rest on a bench overlooking a good portion of the Upper and Middle Rings. As he looks at all the twinkling city lights, Zuko suddenly feels small, insignificant. He's surprised when he realizes that, that doesn't really bother him.

"Well, I did promise," Zuko says with a small chuckle.

Jin smirks and shakes her head. "Never figured you for the kind of guy who would keep promises."

"I'm not," Zuko says with a nod of his head. He gives her a small, subtle smile. He is thinking of saying something else but what comes out of his mouth instead is, "Maybe, I did keep a promise, that one time, just for you."

(Agni, what did he just say?)

Jin briefly meets his eyes before looking away. "Oh. And why is that?"

He knows that she's going to make him say it. He looks at her, hoping that she will change the topic or say something else or maybe say it first. But she isn't going to give. Her eyes are challenging and she has one brow raised at him. He opens his mouth but the words die before they can leave his throat.

There is no way that he's going there. He's lying to her about everything. He's lying to her about himself. He can't let this thing (whatever this thing is) between them progress until he tells the truth. He swallows thickly. But he can't do that either. He's not an idiot. He is like the people who killed her mother and father and destroyed her home. If she ever finds out, she's going to turn him into to the Dai Li or worse—hate him.

"Maybe it's because I like you," he finally tells her. Her smile widens but before she can speak, he continues, "Even though I shouldn't."

Jin stares at him incredulously but her smile doesn't waver. She folds her arms and says, "And why not? Is it because you and your uncle are firebenders?"

Zuko blinks at her once and his chest constricts. She knows? He grips the edge of the bench tighter and panic suddenly courses through him. A thick air of tension suddenly envelops the two of them and he suddenly feels nauseous. He stares at her, trying to gauge the expression on her face—she looks more amused than angry; it's almost as if she finds the anxious look on Zuko's face funny.

He decides to go with the whole denial tactic. He nervously sputters, "Firebenders? What are you talking about?"

Jin rolls her eyes. "Cut the garbage, Lee. I'm not stupid."

She's not screaming for help or trying to chuck rocks at him. Zuko figures that maybe she's not as repulsed by him as he first thought she would be—that or she's being nice to him so that he will lower his guard and she can strike.

But that's crazy. She's not out to get him. Not every girl is like Azula.

"How long have you known?" he finally manages to say.

"Since our first date."

"But how?"

Jin calmly shrugs. "I peeked."

Zuko's eyes widen. "What!?"

Jin puts a hand over her mouth as she attempts to stop herself from giggling. "Sorry. But it's not a big deal. I would've found out anyway, even if I did keep my eyes closed. I mean, unless you had a batch of magical fire sprites, there really was only one way you could've lit all those lamps."

It takes him a very long time to process all this. He stares at her, open-mouthed and Jin just patiently looks back at him.

"But…but if you knew...why aren't you yelling for help? Or trying to kill me? Or calling the Dai Li?" Zuko splutters.

Jin gives him a confused look. "Why on earth would I do that? They would take you away."

"But..but…you know."

Jin nods her head. "Yes."

"And it doesn't bother you that I'm a firebender? At all?" he says, thoroughly confused.

There's a brief flicker of hesitation in her eyes but then she firmly shakes her head. "Nope."

"But, why?" he demands, not quite believing it.

When she leans forward, he tenses but he doesn't pull away. She's a lot closer than he thought. He can count her lashes and see just how many flecks of gold are in her green eyes. He tries not to get too distracted so that he can pay attention to what she is about to say next.

She meets his eyes and whispers, "Maybe it's because I like you too."

The dam in his chest breaks.

He doesn't kiss her first and neither does she. It just happens. Her lips are soft and warm and at first, he doesn't really know what he is supposed to do. But then her hands find their way to the sides of his face and hair and he finds his hands slowly sliding their way to her hips. His heart is beating against his chest so hard that he's afraid that she will hear it.

He feels warm all over, a different kind of warmth he feels when he is firebending—a nice, comfortable kind of warmth—and for the first time, he genuinely thinks that he can be happy here in Ba Sing Se.