Prompt #11: Disturbance...two offerings this time since I was not that happy with the first one.
Perfect Pair
The Jasmine Dragon was a tea shop, a busy place, but peaceful. It was a place for people to enjoy Iroh's fine tea, a place to meet and talk or take a short break in the midst of a jam packed day. It was a beloved place, a famous place, and a place the Fire Lord and Fire Lady visited as often as they could.
Iroh often closed down early when his nephew arrived, or allowed his trusted assistant Pong to take over the most important duties, while his small cache of servers waited on tables. But Pong was away on his own holiday this time. So everything fell to the famed tea maker.
Zuko and Mai found him in the kitchen hidden by a cloud of steam. "We're here, Uncle. Look, we'll see ourselves upstairs, okay. Can we help?"
Iroh waved the steam aside and emerged wearing a grin. "Maybe; go get settled first. Grab something to eat."
Tired from their journey, the couple trudged up the stairs. Once they sat on the familiar and comfortable bed, their exhaustion seemed to hang even heavier upon their shoulders. They stretched out, swearing that it would be for just a minute. Both were sound asleep within seconds.
~~~~0000~~~~
Noise awakened the pair hours later. The sun was down and the room darker than Mai's ebony locks. Bleary eyed, Zuko rubbed at his face and created a flame in his palm. His wife's face looked strange in the wavering light.
"Uh, what was that?" She wondered if maybe Iroh had dropped something, one of the huge kettles perhaps.
Zuko scratched his forehead with his free hand. "Let me light the lantern. Should have done that first, but I was half asleep." Once the room was brighter, they got out of bed and crept down the stairs.
Out of some instinct perhaps, a sense that something was amiss, they moved silently, both using all the stealth skills in their possession. Mai's blades and arrows were at the ready.
"I have a bad feeling." Mai's words were less than a whisper. But Zuko heard. He nodded his agreement.
On the second to last step, they stopped and listened, heads cocked, breathing halted momentarily. Someone was rifling through the kitchen and the office, tossing things aside haphazardly. Pottery hit the floor and shattered. There would be hundreds of sharp shards everywhere.
"Iroh…." Zuko managed to say, his voice a strangled mess.
Mai could feel the worry and fear and anger radiating off her lover. Iroh was no slouch, the Dragon of the West, a master firebender and smart too. He must have been taken unawares, injured somehow and left. Her own anger boiled. How dare they? And yes, there were two thieves, two skulking bastards who caused the disturbance.
She gave his hand a quick squeeze, conveying her love and support. They descended the last steps before peeking around the corner. Sure enough, two men, burly, thick necked creatures, dressed in black, scarves covering all but their eyes, were destroying what Iroh held dear. And Iroh himself lay sprawled face down on the office floor, some papers clutched in one hand, blood clotting in his grey hair.
Zuko clenched his fists, subdued a roar and went at the men, both fists flaming. Mai would have taken a calmer approach. But Iroh was his uncle and she understood that need to revenge and protect. She'd felt it for Zuko. Back up was a fine position to take.
A blade in each hand, she inched forward, avoiding all the fire. Zuko knelt beside Iroh now, urging, pleading with the man to wake up. One of the assailants twitched on the floor, ready to get up again.
"I don't think so," Mai hissed. Just two fluid throws and the man was down again, pinned at the wrists.
He shouted at her, called her an unpleasant name. For that, Mai gave him a kick. He was quiet after that.
"I'll get the doctor," Mai said, leaning down next to her husband. "He'll be all right."
Nodding, Zuko kept his eyes on Iroh. Mai went out into the Ba Sing Se night, walking swiftly, but staring about too. Where there were two thugs, there would be more. She arrived at the physician's place safely and knocked on the door. The weary man who answered had no idea he spoke with the Fire Lady. He pulled on a robe and joined her. Mai explained along the way.
By the time they arrived at the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh was awake, but groggy. The men were tied up; the police would have to be told.
"Let me check you, Iroh. Wouldn't want the world's finest tea maker to expire on us, now would we?" The old man fussed with the other old man and declared him in danger of nothing but a bad headache.
"I've got that already," Iroh announced. He poked at the wound on his head and gave everyone a rueful smile. "Zuko, Mai, thank you. The two of you make a good team, a great team." His eyes twinkled. "But we already knew that, didn't we?"
Zuko reached for Mai's hand. "Yeah, we did."
A/N: Ix's headcanon re Zuko having Mai's favorite foods/snacks available for her all around the palace sort of inspired this one.
Homecoming
'What do you mean the fruit tarts aren't ready?" The Fire Lord shot the cook an exasperated glare. "It's been hours already. And Mmm, I mean the Fire Lady will be home any minute. And she'll be hungry."
The older woman cowered a bit under Zuko's gaze. "The deliveries were late this morning, my lord. And then there was a bit of a commotion in the kitchen." She delivered her own glare, this one at her young assistant.
"I'm sorry, my lord; I dropped the mixing bowl and the flour went everywhere and it took forever to clean up and we had to order more flour and…" She was almost crying now.
Ashamed of his little outburst, Zuko suggested the ladies take a break, have a cup of tea and then get back to work.
"She really loves fruit tarts, you know; especially the ones with cherries." He shrugged his shoulders as if indicating he was as much a victim of his wife's appetites as they were.
"Yes, my lord, we know." The cook ushered him out of the kitchen then. "We'll make an extra special one," she called after Zuko.
She rolled her eyes when the young Fire Lord turned about and ran back to the kitchen. "I almost forgot about the dumplings. I told you about those, didn't I? And the melon? She adores melon."
The cook grabbed an extensive list written by Zuko himself and waved it about in the air. "It's all right here, my lord." She squinted then and read aloud. "'I will take care of the fire flakes and the chocolate.' Have those deliveries arrived?" Expertly she deflected the attention away from the kitchen.
Zuko sucked in his breath and took off, running down the corridor in a very undignified manner.
"His father certainly never did that," the cook declared with a giggle.
The assistant placed a hand over her heart and tilted her head to the side, smiling dreamily. "I think it's beautiful, the way he loves his wife. I wonder if some man will ever love me like that." She sighed and put the kettle on to boil.
~~~~0000~~~~
Almost frantic, Zuko shoved open his office door. He searched the desk and the floor for crates. Only neat stacks of papers and potted plants greeted him.
"Where is the chocolate? I'm going to murder that Mr. Suzuki. He was supposed to send me all his newest concoctions. And the fire flakes, the nuts, the tea and the moon cakes? Where are they?"
He dropped to his chair in defeat, slouching down further and further until he almost disappeared below the desk. Mai had been gone for two weeks, some sort of girls' spa trip with Ty Lee and Suki. He'd been lost without her; lonely, sullen, moody. Now that her arrival home was imminent, excitement built inside him. He anticipated his first glimpse of her, their first kiss more than he had just about anything.
"You're creating quite a disturbance, Zuko." Kenji, the Fire Lord's loyal advisor and friend, poked his head inside the door.
"Sometimes I think I can't do anything right, Kenji. I had all this stuff ordered. And none of it has arrived." Zuko dragged a hand through his hair.
"How about sitting up so I can see you?" Kenji, a man in his early forties, shook his head and began to laugh. "Calm down. Mai doesn't care about all that, though she does love her food."
"I wanted her homecoming to be perfect."
"It's only been two weeks."
"Two of the longest weeks ever; I just want to make sure she knows that I missed her."
"Then tell her so; and by the way, all the crates were sent to my office." Kenji grinned. "I'll have them carried to your rooms."
"Oh, thank Agni; I was beginning to believe I didn't really order anything after all."
"Go now; do what you need to do. Meet Mai. Anyone wants to see you, I'll say you're unavailable for the rest of the day."
"Kenji, I…."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a life saver. I know. Get lost."
Zuko bounded out of the office like some young animal just discovering it could run. It was time to welcome Mai home.
~~~~0000~~~~
When his wife came into view, Zuko just stared for a moment, absorbing the sight. He really had missed her, especially at night. The huge bed they shared was more of an abyss without her, a comfortable one, but a dark place nonetheless. The warmth of her, the smoothness of her skin, the sharp angle of her hip, the scent of her skin and hair, all tugged him into slumber every night. Without them, Zuko was lost.
"Miss me?" Mai said the words with a wry twist. But her eyes spoke of her own longing.
"Yes," Zuko breathed. "Come here."
They embraced, re-familiarizing themselves with each other. Zuko pressed his nose into her hair and breathed deep before pulling back and kissing her soundly.
"So, I heard something about special deliveries for me." Her eyes sparkled now. "And I am hungry."
"Good." Zuko took her hand. "Everything's waiting in our rooms, all your favorites." He couldn't wait to share them with her.