So! Here we are. The last actual chapter of Gilded Green. Also the longest, at 17 pages. Well, sixteen and three quarters. Close enough.

Thanks as always to Stingrae, who had tons of useful things to point out in this one. Including typos! Because I really do make them, sometimes. She took great delight in pointing them out to me. XD

Enjoy!


GG Chapter 10 - The Yu You Use

Long Feng looked up when the office door opened. Enlai entered, looking a little stiff and...miffed was an understatement. Long Feng briefly wondered why his aide looked like he'd swallowed a lemon whole, but that matter was quickly explained when Shirong followed Enlai through the door, accompanied by a brainwashed and thoroughly confused-looking Firebender.

Long Feng stared.

"Director Shirong's here," Enlai announced pointlessly. "Along with Mr. ...Xiaofan."

"Xiaofan" shifted uneasily on his feet. Shirong shot Long Feng a smug look.

"I ran into Xiaofan in the Lower Ring this morning," he said casually. "Literally. He appears to be missing his identification papers, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring him here."

There was a moment of extremely awkward silence. And not-entirely-subtle gaping. Shirong reveled in it.

Long Feng took a moment to look at his other directors. Delun was attempting to hide his surprise. Yong was favoring the Firebender with an intense and calculative look. Quy was staring with an expression that was a mixture of shock and...something else. And Tuan looked like he wanted to curl up into a ball, sink into the floor, and die.

The Firebender, meanwhile, looked nervous. His eyes flickered from Dai Li to Dai Li, then around the room in general. He glanced at the shelves of scrolls, and the few tapestries, and then his eyes latched onto the green flames burning eerily on the hearth.

Long Feng felt his heart freeze. His muscles tensed, ready to send stone flying if he had to, and he thought about shouting at Shirong, telling him that he should have given him some warning so he'd know not to light the damn flames today and what on earth was he thinking, bringing in such a potential risk - ?

But then the Firebender's eyes slid away from the fireplace, and he turned his gaze back to the Dai Li sitting around the table.

Long Feng looked at Shirong. Shirong stared back, but his unspoken words were clear.

You doubted me?

Never again, Long Feng thought, and he allowed himself a smile. "Well then," he said. "I suppose we'll have to question Mr. Xiaofan. After we're finished here," he added. Shirong had had his fun derailing their meeting - now they had to get back on track. They could handle the Firebender afterwards. "Enlai," Long Feng said, "escort our guest to the hallway and wait there until we're done, please." Brainwashed or not, there was no reason to keep the Firebender in the room while they discussed sensitive information.

Enlai led Xiaofan back out into the hall. The moment the door closed behind them, Long Feng fixed Shirong with a sharp look. "A warning would have been nice."

"Yes, but not necessary," Shirong answered, coming forward to take his customary seat at the table. "Besides, I wanted to see the looks on your faces."

Long Feng snorted. "You missed half the meeting."

"I'm sure I'll be filled in."

Long Feng sighed. "Very well. Yong," he turned to the Head of Investigations, "you were going to give us an update on those undercover agents..."

"Yes," Yong nodded. "Agents Tu Qiang Bi and Fu Jin have managed to pass some more information back to me regarding the crime ring they've infiltrated. Their cover still appears to be intact, though I'm hoping we won't have to leave them there for too much longer. With any luck, we'll be able to organize a raid on the gang within the next few months, hopefully after Tu and Fu have managed to acquire further information on their affiliates..."

o0O0o

The Firebender was uncomfortable, and Enlai didn't care.

They were standing in the hallway outside Long Feng's office. Enlai stood still and straight, hands clasped at attention behind his back. Xiaofan, on the other hand, leaned against the wall a little, and was constantly shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His eyes roamed the stone hallways curiously, taking in the detailed carvings on the walls. Every so often his gaze was drawn back to the sunbeams that spilled through the window at the end of the hall.

It was ironic, Enlai would admit. Here was a Fire Nation soldier who'd waited for six hundred days to see Ba Sing Se - and now, not only was he in the Imperial Palace, he also couldn't even remember that he was a Fire Nation soldier. Enlai wondered what the Firebender would have done in his old life to get to where he was standing now.

The Firebender kept looking around, trying to pass the time. Every so often he'd glance curiously at Enlai, and just as quickly look away. Enlai stared straight at the Firebender the entire time, observing as well as guarding. He tried to see past the brown robes, short braid, and quiet demeanor, looking for the angry, cursing, flame-spitting Fire soldier who'd been dragged out of the earth weeks ago.

He couldn't find the slightest trace of the man.

Director Shirong, Enlai decided, was very good at what he did.

The Firebender shifted uneasily again, and Enlai idly recalled watching an entranced Healer Dong set the man's legs in splints. For a moment he wondered if the Firebender's legs still hurt, and then he decided that he didn't care.

The Firebender glanced at him again, and Enlai decided he might as well say something. Of course, he didn't care about the awkward tension the Firebender must have been experiencing, but he did want to see how Shirong's results held up under questioning.

"Where did you say you were from?"

The Firebender blinked at him a few times before answering, "Um – I – "

Enlai stared at him, waiting patiently.

" – Yutaka," the Firebender said at last. "I'm from Yutaka. It's a...Fire Nation colony. In the central Earth Kingdom."

Enlai frowned, peering straight into golden eyes. "And what, exactly, is a Fire Nation colonial doing in Ba Sing Se?"

The Firebender hesitated again before answering. "My mother...she was Earth Kingdom. My aunt, too. I always got along better with their folk than with my father's."

"So how did you get all the way here?"

"It...it's a long story."

Oh, I bet, Enlai thought, still staring at those bright yellow eyes. Just a few weeks ago, those eyes had been filled with such defiance and anger and hatred, and Enlai had been on the receiving end of many a heated glare. But now...

The Firebender stared right back at him, but in a curious sort of way. Not defiant, or angry, or hateful. There was no recognition in his gaze at all.

Enlai thought of another pair of yellow eyes – a pair belonging to a cocky and aggravating Firebender who'd betrayed his commander and handed detailed battle plans over to the Earth Kingdom, charging nothing but a single condition in return.

"Do you swear, upon your honor and your life, to see to it that the north flank is completely obliterated?"

He had. And it wasn't. But, standing here, faced with the proof of what the Dai Li were capable of, Enlai couldn't bring himself to care.

o0O0o

When the meeting was over, Shirong led Xiaofan back into the office. Enlai came back in as well and retook his seat at Long Feng's side. Long Feng expected Shirong to take his usual seat as well, but Shirong ignored the empty chair. Instead, he remained by the Firebender's side, standing before the Directors.

"Xiaofan," Shirong said, and the Firebender's head whipped around to look at him. Long Feng was slightly reminded of a Joo Dee awaiting orders. "We are going to ask you some questions. Please answer truthfully."

The Firebender took a breath. "Yes, sir."

"Very well, then," Long Feng said. "Let's begin." He glanced at Yong, the most experienced interrogator among them.

"Name?" Yong asked.

"Xiaofan."

"Just Xiaofan? No family name?"

"No."

"Place of birth?"

"Yutaka." At their blank looks, he added, "It's a...Fire Nation colony. In the central Earth Kingdom."

"And why were you not assigned a family name when you entered the city?"

"I...didn't exactly enter it legally. Sir."

Yong frowned. "A Fire Nation colonial who illegally entered the city and has no identification papers. Are you a leftover spy from the Siege, perhaps?"

"No," Xiaofan said quickly, "no, no, I'm not - I'd never - I don't like the Fire Nation, sir."

There was a moment of silence while they all absorbed what he'd just said.

"Let's start at the beginning," Long Feng decided. "You were born in Yutaka..."

Xiaofan nodded and breathed. "My father and his brother are Fire Nation, sir. My mother and aunt are Earth Kingdom. My mother died when I was born, so my aunt helped raise me. Thanks to her, I've always loved the Earth Kingdom, and I came to...disapprove of the Fire Nation's behavior and attitudes."

Long Feng nodded. "What are you doing in Ba Sing Se? The city is a long way from Yutaka."

"I left Yutaka several months ago. I was hoping I could find some small Earth Kingdom town to settle in, away from the Fire Nation. But...the war's hard to escape, and everyone was coming here, so I followed. Of course, that Siege made things a little difficult..."

"Did you ever participate in the Siege?" Classic Yong, point-blank and in-your-face.

"What?" Xiaofan asked. "No! Never even got close to it." After a moment, he added, "Well...except for this one time... I...ran into a troop of Fire soldiers while they were patrolling around the countryside, near He Liu Village."

"And used your heritage to get on their good side, no doubt," Yong said.

"Actually, sir, they weren't happy when they realized I was a deserter. That's where I lost my identification papers, actually." Xiaofan frowned before adding, "And then they beat me up and shoved a rather large rock on my legs to crush them, and then they left me there. I would've died if a healer from He Liu hadn't walked by a few hours later."

Long Feng frowned. "They used a rock to crush your legs," he repeated. There was really no other way to explain Xiaofan's leg wounds, but how on earth Shirong had managed to make Fire soldiers using a rock sound realistic...

"Something about irony, I think, sir," Xiaofan said. "Since I loved the Earth Kingdom so much."

Long Feng looked at Shirong. Shirong smirked. Xiaofan, standing slightly ahead of Shirong, didn't see it.

o0O0o

Xiaofan wasn't sure how long the interrogation went on for. They wanted to know every last detail about him, it seemed, and he was happy to tell them. Maybe – hopefully - if they thought he really did care about the Earth Kingdom, they'd let him live.

He was pretty sure that with every answer he gave, Shirong became prouder. Well, smugger, at least. Xiaofan wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. Something told him that Shirong, at least, liked him. Shirong might be on his side.

Something else about Shirong freaked him out, though. Xiaofan wasn't sure what or why - it was just instinct. The man was dangerous, even if he was on his side.

But then, maybe having a dangerous person who liked him was a good thing right now. The other Dai Li certainly didn't seem to care about him.

They did seem impressed, for some reason. Especially towards the end of the interrogation, when the white-haired director - Quy, that was his name - asked what Xiaofan wanted in Ba Sing Se, anyway.

Xiaofan's reply had been simple. "I don't want much, sir. Even if there was just some...some small duty I could perform in the city... If I could just be allowed to live here, legally, I would be honored to serve the Earth Kingdom."

They all stared at him. And then they all looked vaguely amused.

Except for Director Quy, Xiaofan noticed. He just looked thoughtful.

Finally, they were out of questions, and Xiaofan fell silent. His legs hurt, and he wanted to sit down, but he knew better than to ask. And besides, he didn't want to show weakness. Not now, when his entire life was on the line.

"You've outdone yourself, Shirong," Long Feng said. Xiaofan wondered what Shirong had done, exactly. "I'm pleased to know that I can count one so skilled among my friends."

Shirong inclined his head. "Thank you."

"I do believe this settles our bet," Long Feng added. "Yong, Delun, and myself will pay out your winnings soon."

Tuan looked relieved.

"Now then," Long Feng continued. "There is the matter of what to do with him."

Xiaofan heard Shirong take a deep breath. "Yes. About that - "

"I'll take him," Yong cut in quickly. No one looked terribly surprised. "That is, I'm sure no one else will be wanting him for anything, so if you'd like to hand him over to me - "

"No."

Shirong's voice was as firm and unyielding as the stone he stood on. The directors all looked at him incredulously.

"Pardon?" Long Feng asked.

"I would rather not hand him over to Yong."

Yong frowned at Shirong.

"Then what do you propose you do with him, Shirong?" Long Feng asked, turning his gaze on Xiaofan.

This wouldn't end well for him, Xiaofan knew. They didn't want him in their city. He was a half-breed and he'd entered the city illegally, and now they were going to dispose of him. He shivered, wondering how long it would take.

But then a pair of hands took his shoulders in a firm and steady grip, and Shirong said, "I'm keeping him."

Something about the way Shirong said that was very, very strange. Confused and terrified, Xiaofan spoke up. "What the hell are you talking about?"

They all looked at him, as though remembering he was still there. Shirong sighed.

"Xiaofan, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

He was, of course, honored to accept his invitation.

o0O0o

Once the Firebender was safely entranced, Long Feng rounded on Shirong. "Are you mad, or merely suicidal?"

"I've worked hard on him," Shirong protested. "And I am quite pleased with the results. It would be a waste to just dispose of him!"

Long Feng could have cursed. He should have known it would come to this. Shirong's protectiveness of his creations was legendary. "Shirong..."

"Besides," the other pressed on, "this project has numerous differences and variations from my normal ones. He is a foreigner, and a Firebender, reconditioned to believe he's at least partially native and a nonbender. And this is the first time I've reconditioned someone so thoroughly without turning them into a Joo Dee or a mindless lump - I've made it so that he's capable of living out an actual life." Looking at Long Feng, he finished, "It would be most interesting to study his behavior."

"You're saying you want to keep a brainwashed Firebender around until he realizes he can shoot flames out of his hands and comes after us for revenge?" Tuan spluttered. Shirong stared at the other director for a moment, unable to come up with a suitable comeback for such a blunt statement.

"Tuan's right," Long Feng said, causing Tuan, Yong, Enlai, Delun, and Quy to gape at him. He ignored them. "He's dangerous, Shirong. I cannot allow you to keep him."

"And I cannot allow you to destroy him."

"Shirong," Long Feng growled, the word a warning. Shirong met his gaze evenly, and the other directors made sure they knew where the exits were. There was a long, tense moment, and finally Long Feng sighed. "Say I let you keep him," he said. Maybe, just maybe, Shirong hadn't really thought this through. Maybe he'd see the stupidity of it all when the flaws in his plan were pointed out to him. "What would you do with him, Shirong? You can't just let him wander around the city!"

"I was thinking I might take him into my household. I could use a servant."

"You would never be able to watch him there," Long Feng said. "You never go home. You spend most of your time at the Lake."

Shirong hesitated, unsure how to retort.

And then, suddenly, Quy spoke up. "I'd take him."

Shirong turned to stare at the other man. "...What?"

Quy glanced at him briefly before looking to Long Feng. "He said himself he'd like to work for the city. Administration could always use another pair of hands. And you don't need to be a bender to handle paperwork, so the lack of earthbending wouldn't raise suspicions." Meeting Long Feng's gaze, he said, "We could keep an eye on him there. If anything went wrong, we'd notice."

"Oh, yeah, we'd notice alright," Tuan grumbled.

Long Feng was frowning at Quy and Shirong. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two had planned this."

"We didn't," Shirong murmured, glancing at Quy. The other wouldn't meet his gaze.

"I just think it would be a waste of life," Quy said. "Not to mention a waste of opportunity. Shirong's right - this would make for an extremely interesting behavioral study."

"A behavioral study that would help further my psychoanalytic research," Shirong added, latching on to that idea. "I've been trying to refine our reconditioning techniques. This would definitely be useful."

"Great," Tuan sighed. "We'll have a psychoanalytical research experiment of a brainwashed Firebender sorting papers in the Administration Branch until he snaps and tries to kill us. With fire. Wonderful."

"He's as harmless as a Joo Dee," Shirong said.

"Joo Dees are pretty harmful when they snap," Yong pointed out, giving Shirong a hard look. "Or have you forgotten the butcher knife incident?"

Shirong scowled. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"You keep an eye on your precious Joo Dees, too, but even they have rebounds sometimes."

"Then I'll keep an even closer eye on him."

"Or you could just hand him over to me and be done with it."

"I am not handing him over to you."

"What is it with you and your precious pets?"

"I do not have pets!"

"Then what are the Joo Dees? Your daughters?"

"Listen Yong," Shirong snarled, "just because I'm not letting you rip the man to shreds doesn't mean you need to act like a - !"

"Enough," Long Feng ordered, and the two men fell silent, though they were still spearing each other with glares. Long Feng sighed. Once upon a time, Yong had tried to go after one of Shirong's Joo Dees. The resulting bending battle was still talked about. Both men were possessive as hell. The difference was that Shirong was possessively protective. Yong was just possessive.

"So," Long Feng said after a moment. "We have a brainwashed Firebender. On the one hand, he may or may not have a rebound." He allowed them a moment to think about the repercussions of such an event. "On the other hand, he could provide an extra pair of hands in Administration, as well as be a unique case study."

"He'll probably develop a great love for Earth Kingdom culture as well," Shirong ventured. Delun snorted, looking amused at the thought.

Long Feng sighed again. That was the thing with childhood friends. They knew just how to play you. Shirong's Firebender would provide three things that Long Feng either valued or enjoyed - hard work, information, and humiliating irony - at the risk of that Firebender possibly having a rebound and coming after them for revenge. Possibly.

But Shirong was an expert hypnotist. After years on the job, he could see a rebound coming from a mile away.

And the idea of having a Firebender - a brainwashed Firebender - willingly sorting through the Dai Li's paperwork and happily chattering about Earth Kingdom culture was just too wonderfully absurd to pass up.

Long Feng sighed one last time. "Shirong," he said, "I'm trusting you with this."

They all stared at him. Enlai in shock. Tuan in horror. Yong was obviously pissed. Quy looked resigned. Delun merely nodded, taking it in stride, as always. And Shirong...

Shirong was just staring.

And then he nodded. "It will be fine. I promise."

"It had better be."

o0O0o

It was turning out to be one of the longest Directors' meetings in the history of the Dai Li. Once Xiaofan's continued existence and job in Administration was settled, they'd had to figure out other things. Such as rationalizing to Xiaofan why they were letting him stay.

They couldn't just accept him into the Dai Li out of the goodness of their hearts, after all.

"No, no, it's a perfectly good idea," Tuan insisted. "A trade-off. Tell him he's welcome to stay in the city if he provides all the information he remembers on the smugglers who got him in. That way, it sounds like a fair exchange and he doesn't get suspicious."

"Those smugglers don't exist," Yong grumbled.

"Yes, but he thinks they do," Tuan explained.

"So we're going to ask him to provide useless information on nonexistent smugglers?" Yong growled, shooting an glare at the subject of their conversation. The Firebender didn't notice, of course, as he was still stuck in a trance.

"Yes," said Tuan. "Pretty much. The point is to make him think we're getting something out of this." It wasn't that he cared about the Firebender - oh, no, definitely not. In fact, seeing as Xiaofan's existence was just a reminder of a night that Tuan couldn't remember and the embarrassing drunken bet that'd resulted, Tuan would've been happiest if they'd just quietly disposed of the guy.

But he'd also realized that, by Shirong keeping Xiaofan, Yong wasn't getting what he wanted. It was pissing Yong off, because Yong always got what he wanted. And Tuan, who had lost so many good agents by way of transfer to Investigations, couldn't help but smirk a little on the inside, to see Yong in such a state.

Karma was a wonderful, wonderful thing.

He still thought keeping the Firebender around was a bad idea, of course. But hey, since when had anyone listened to him?

"I think that will work," Shirong nodded, approving of Tuan's plan.

"You're sure he'll believe we'd just let him stay in exchange for some information?" Quy asked. Shirong shrugged.

"He isn't stupid, Quy. He probably knows we'd like to keep an eye on him, too. It will work. Now we just need to get him some identification papers..."

Delun spoke up. "What are you naming him? His family name, I mean."

Shirong was silent for a long, long moment. And then he answered, "...Lee."

Delun stared at him dully.

"Lee is a perfectly good family name!" Shirong protested.

"It's completely unoriginal!"

"Well what do you suggest?" Shirong asked.

"Yu."

Oh. Like Yutaka. That made sense. Refugees were usually named after their homelands, after all.

"Only not the yu used for Yutaka," Delun added, grabbing a sheet of paper and quickly writing out a character on it. "Use this yu."

Shirong stared at the word. Then at Delun. Then back at the word.

"Fine," he sighed. He didn't really care what Xiaofan's family name was. He was just happy Xiaofan wasn't getting killed. He supposed it would be alright if the boy got saddled with an extraordinarily meaningful name.

Stupid symbolic Delun.

o0O0o

Xiaofan couldn't believe his luck. Not only had the Dai Li directors not thrown him out of the city - they'd even given him a job! Well, forced a job on him was more like it. They said it was in exchange for information, but Xiaofan wasn't stupid. He knew they probably wanted to keep a close eye on him, what with the Fire Nation heritage and all. He would too, were he in their position.

But still. He had a job. Things were looking up.

After that meeting, Directors Shirong and Quy had taken him to some other part of the palace, where Quy had proceeded to disappear into a room. An hour or so later, Quy met Xiaofan and Shirong in the hallway. He held out a little booklet. Xiaofan took it gingerly. "What's this?"

"Your new identification papers," Shirong answered. "Don't lose them."

Xiaofan blinked and opened the cover. He stared at the two characters that spelled out his name. They looked...strange, for some reason. Unfamiliar. He wasn't sure why. But he was happy to see them.

Then he frowned at the third character alongside the original two. "What's this?"

"Your family name," Quy answered. "Oftentimes for refugees, family names are derived from the province they came from. Sai for those from Sai An, Nan or Nanyue for those from Nanyue. We assigned you the first syllable of your home colony."

"Xiaofan Yu," Xiaofan read. He nodded. "Alright. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Come on. This way."

Xiaofan hurried after him. "Um...so, where are we going now?"

"Lake Laogai," Shirong answered, and Xiaofan shivered. "It's the weekend, so you won't need to start work during the next few days. But you might as well familiarize yourself with the place's layout, and it's not like you have anywhere else to stay, correct?"

"Right."

"Good," said Shirong.

For a while, the three of them walked in silence. And then Xiaofan spoke.

"You know...the yu you used for my name...it isn't the same yu you use to write Yutaka."

Shirong and Quy exchanged glances. "We know," Quy said. Shirong sighed, rolled his eyes, and shook his head. Little obedient one was bad enough. To add yu to it...

"It's okay, though," Xiaofan added quickly. "I don't mind."

Shirong snorted and smiled. "Of course you don't."

Xiaofan shrugged. He really didn't mind. He just thought it was odd, that instead of using the character for abundant, they'd use the one that meant consent. But then, he had consented to work for them. Maybe they meant for it to be symbolic or something.

o0O0o

They took him to Lake Laogai and led him through the tunnels. Xiaofan shuddered as they guided him through the subterranean lair. He supposed he just wasn't used to being underground.

He'd get used to it, though, he was sure. He was going to be working for these people, after all.

They reached a large cavern filled with hundreds of shelves that must have held thousands of scrolls. Xiaofan couldn't help but stare.

"This would be the Dai Li's Administration Branch," Shirong told him. Quy had left their side and was walking in front of the shelves, looking down each aisle as he passed. "They handle all the paperwork. As you can see, the organization generates a lot of it."

"Right," Xiaofan nodded. "And...Quy's in charge."

"Director Quy is the Head of Administration, yes."

Halfway across the room, Quy had apparently found what he was looking for. "Yuan!" he called. A moment later, he was leading another agent back towards them.

"Sir?" the newcomer asked when he caught sight of Xiaofan and Shirong.

"This is Xiaofan Yu," Quy said. "He's new. Xiaofan, this is Yuan Nanyue, my second."

"Nice to meet you," Yuan said.

"Nice to meet you too," Xiaofan answered.

"Yuan," Quy began, and he sighed. "I know it's almost the weekend, and you probably want to get home to Suyin and the kids, but if you could please help Xiaofan settle in... He'll be spending the weekend here, and then he'll start work with the rest of us on Yang-Earthday. You'll be able to show him the ropes then."

"Yes sir," Yuan nodded. Eyeing Xiaofan, he said, "Well, I guess we'd better get you a room if you're going to be staying a few days. And some uniforms. Shall we go?"

Xiaofan glanced at Quy and Shirong. Shirong nodded. "Alright," Xiaofan said. Yuan smiled and led him out of the room.

Quy and Shirong watched them go. When they were gone, Quy sighed, closed his eyes, and tiredly leaned against one of the shelves. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he said quietly.

Shirong was silent. Quy sighed again and opened his eyes, looking in the direction Yuan had taken Xiaofan. "I should go make sure he gets settled in alright." But he didn't move from where he leaned against the shelf.

"I'll be staying here over the weekend," Shirong said. "Just in case."

Quy snorted. "I thought you said he was perfectly safe."

"A little extra caution never hurt anybody. Besides, I'd like to analyze his behavior."

"I'm sure he'll be just as nice, quiet, and submissive as he's been all day."

"Indeed," Shirong sighed. "He does keep deferring to me, I've noticed."

"Maybe it's his name," Quy suggested. Shirong grimaced.

"Maybe."

Xiaofan Yu. Little Obedient One Who Consents.

"I'm going to make sure he hasn't fried Yuan," Quy said at length, heading for the door.

"He won't have fried Yuan," Shirong grumbled, following after.

"A little extra caution never hurt anybody," Quy snipped.

They continued down the hallways until they heard the voices.

"...have any clothes other than those?"

"Um...no..."

Quy paused just outside the door to the room the extra uniforms were stored in. Shirong stopped right behind him.

"Eh, that's alright. I'm sure we can find some extra robes somewhere that you can use. Until you get some of your own, I mean. You know, you look about my size...a little shorter, but that's alright. I can probably lend you some of mine. I've got a bunch of extra clothes in my room."

"I don't want to be a bother..."

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind, really." A brief pause, and then, "You're a refugee, right?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Well...just don't worry about it, then. Just return them whenever you've gotten your own, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks."

There were footsteps, and the two men came to the door. They paused when they saw the two directors standing there. Yuan smiled brightly at his boss, while Xiaofan hung back in the door frame, clutching a bundle of green robes and a matching conical hat.

"Director Quy," Yuan nodded. "I was just going to show Xiaofan to one of the empty rooms before I went home..."

Quy nodded back. "Thank you, Yuan. Have a nice weekend."

"You too, sir," Yuan smiled. "Come on, Xiaofan. Sleeping quarters are down this way." He headed off down the hallway. Xiaofan quickly followed. Quy watched them go, and desperately hoped that this wouldn't end badly. Though so far, it seemed they were off to a good start. Yuan seemed to have taken a liking to the Firebender, at least.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. What in Hu-Tu's name was he doing?

But he couldn't not do it, either. Not after seeing Xiaofan before he was...Xiaofan. Not after realizing that the boy had a father somewhere. A father who probably missed him terribly.

Quy thought of his own children - his sons, Sunan and Kun. His daughter, Zan. They were all grown up - older than Xiaofan, even, albeit not by much. If anything ever happened to any of them...

Quy didn't want to think about what Xiaofan's father must be going through. He didn't want to sympathize with a nameless and faceless Fire Nation man. But he couldn't help himself.

Down the hallway, Yuan was still chatting amicably with Xiaofan. Then they rounded a corner and disappeared.

"Quy," Shirong said quietly. His voice sounded awkward.

"Hm?"

Shirong was silent for a moment. And then he said, "Thank you."

Quy grunted. "I didn't do it for you."

"I know."

Quy sighed again and stared off down the hallway at the corner Yuan and Xiaofan had turned at. "You said you'll be here for the weekend?"

"Yes."

"Great. In that case, I'm going to go home now. To my family." To his wife and his sons and his daughter. His nephew would probably be there, too, and his sister- and brother-in-law...

He was still staring at the place where Xiaofan had disappeared. More than anything else right now, he realized, he wanted to take Sunan and Kun and Zan in his arms and hold them tight.

Part of him suddenly became irrationally pissed at Shirong for making him feel this way about a Firebender, of all people.

He turned to face the other director. "I'm going home," he said again, and then, unable to help himself, he lashed out at Shirong. Just a little. "My family is waiting for me."

Yours isn't.

The words weren't spoken, but they were still there. Shirong looked away.

"Have a good weekend, Quy," he said quietly.

"Right," Quy said. "You too."

He left Shirong standing in that hallway and headed for one of Lake Laogai's exits - a tunnel that led up to the surface, where he could easily reach an Agrarian Zone train station and catch a ride home.

He didn't leave until Yuan showed up. His subordinate looked surprised to see him.

"I thought you'd left, sir."

"Figured I'd wait," Quy sighed. He told himself to stop checking Yuan over for singe marks. "Everything with Xiaofan go alright?"

"Yes sir. He's all settled in."

"Good. Thank you."

Yuan nodded, and then he hesitated. "Sir...about Xiaofan..."

"Yes?"

"I didn't want to pry, but...he has very yellow eyes."

Quy sighed. "I'm sure he'll tell you his story when he feels comfortable."

"War child?" Yuan asked.

"From what I heard, his parents loved each other," Quy said. "It really isn't my story to tell, though." Nor is it Xiaofan's.

Yuan chuckled. "And since when have the Dai Li worried about other people's privacy, sir?"

"You ought to know full well that we worry about each other's privacy plenty," Quy answered. "Now come on. We've both got wives and children who are probably wondering where we are."

"Of course, sir," Yuan smiled as they boarded the train. "Though seeing as your children are my age, I'm sure they aren't nearly as excited for you to come home as mine are."

"Well, yes," Quy said, and he absently pushed a few strands of white hair that'd gotten loose from his braid out of his face. But they'll always be mine.

o0O0o

Shirong found Xiaofan sitting on a bed in one of the unoccupied sleeping quarters, staring at the hands he'd folded in his lap. He glanced up when Shirong entered, and started to stand, but Shirong held out a hand.

"Don't worry about that," he said. After a moment, he asked, "Do your legs hurt?"

"...Just a little. Sir."

"They'll get better," Shirong promised.

Xiaofan nodded, but didn't say anything.

Shirong glanced around the small room. Like most Dai Li sleeping quarters, it had two sets of furniture - two beds, two closets, two desks. Sparse but serviceable. Xiaofan had no partner, however, and this room wasn't being used by anyone else, so the right half of the room was empty.

So was the left half, actually. All that Xiaofan had was a small pile of clothes folded up on the bed. Most of them belonged to Yuan.

"I'll be staying here during the weekend, should you need anything," Shirong said, and Xiaofan perked up a bit at his words. "Although I may not always be available," he added, thinking of the few farming families who still needed to be reconditioned and the various other duties he'd been neglecting in favor of brainwashing the Firebender. He might as well use the weekend to catch up on work. It wasn't like he had anything else to do.

"Alright," Xiaofan said quietly. "Thank you. Sir."

"Did Yuan give you a map of the place?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I suggest you spend your time using it. The sooner you've familiarized yourself with the tunnels, the better."

Xiaofan nodded. "I will, sir."

Shirong stared at him for a few more seconds, wondering if he'd forgotten anything. Finally, he nodded back. "Alright then. I have some things I need to take care of. You have a good evening."

"You too, sir."

Shirong left the room. Halfway to his office, he was shocked to run into Huo.

"Sir!" Huo exclaimed. "You're still here?"

"Yes."

Huo looked sympathetic. "I suppose you're still busy."

"Oh," said Shirong. "No, actually. I mean, yes, but...not with that project. It's over."

"Oh," said Huo. "That's good. Glad to hear it."

"I'll be helping you finish with the farming families now," Shirong added. Huo smiled.

"We've only got a few more to go, sir. But the help will be welcome."

"I'll work on them over the weekend," Shirong promised, and Huo frowned.

"You aren't going home?"

"Not right now."

Huo shrugged. "Alright sir. I'm going home now myself, though. You have a good night."

"You too, Huo."

Huo nodded and started to walk away, and then he stopped. "Fen's making Fried pork-chicken and rice for dinner," he said. "You want to come? She keeps asking me when you're available, you know..."

He wanted to, Shirong realized. He really, reallywanted to say yes, and go see his godson, and enjoy Fen's cooking after weeks of nothing but Lake Laogai's cafeteria food.

But he had a brainwashed Firebender to take care of and a load of neglected duties that he needed to catch up on. He couldn't afford to leave. Not right now.

So he smiled at Huo and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. Not tonight."

"Alright sir," Huo said. "Maybe next week?"

Shirong thought for a moment. And then he nodded. "Next week."


Next time: The epilogue. Xiaofan has trouble sleeping.

In case I haven't made myself clear, this isn't the end of Gilded Green; it's only the beginning. Gilded Green is meant to be a series of stories, this one being the first. I'll be posting a short epilogue to this one next week.

The next story in the Gilded Green series, What a Week, is in the works. With any luck it'll be posted the week after I post the epilogue to this one - that is, two weeks from now - but I might need an additional week or two to get it straightened out. I'll let you know next week.