Twenty-one

Standing in line had to be the worst thing ever. But it gave Maya time to stare around the room they were in. She was shocked at how huge it was. The customs building had to be at least a mile long! The little ticket boxes went on and on so far down the room that she couldn't see where they ended! Had they not been in the Earth Kingdom, surrounded by earthbenders, she would have wondered how long it took them to build a room so massive. But when you could hire fifty earthbenders at once, no construction job could take too long, she was sure.

Still, even admiring the size of the room lost its charm after the first fifteen minutes. She was relieved when they finally made it to the front of the line. She was regretting being at the front a few seconds later, however, when she realized they had the most hard-ass passport taker in the world. She was old-ish woman with the ugliest mole you'd ever seen on her forehead. It even had hair growing out of it. It took everything Maya had not to openly shudder in horror at that thing.

"So," the woman began. "Miss Ming, Mister Lee, and Mister, uhh…" She leaned forward a bit, studying Uncle's passport. "Mushy, is it?"

"It's pronounced Moo-shee," he provided helpfully.

She slowly pulled the passport away from her face, and then glared at Uncle. "You tellin' me how to do my job?"

Uncle flinched. "Uh, no, no," he said quickly, putting up his hands in an 'I surrender' fashion. He walked up to the booth and leaned an elbow on the counter, smiling at the woman. "But, may I just say, you're like a flower in bloom! Your beauty is intoxicating."

Maya choked, trying not to laugh. A small snort came from her throat, and she forced her mouth to stop smiling. She would let herself laugh later. Zuko just put his face in his hands.

The woman opened up to Uncle immediately. "Mm, you're pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Rawr!" She made a cat-clawing motion.

Maya buried her face against Zuko's shoulder to muffle her guffaws of laughter as her body shook. Zuko groaned and rubbed at his temples.

"Welcome to Ba Sing Se," said the woman in a sultry voice, stamping all three of the tickets and sliding them to Uncle.

Uncle turned with a large smile and held out the tickets to Maya and Zuko. Zuko snatched his with a quick hand and said, "I'm gonna forget I saw that."

Maya quietly took hers while trying to quell the remainder of her laughter.

It wasn't long before Jet somehow found them again. Sure, Maya had decided that he wasn't a bad guy, but she still didn't like him much. He was way too cocky for her tastes. But she was too nice to just up and tell him to leave. So when he sat down next to Zuko, she sighed and said nothing.

"So, you guys got plans once you're inside the city?"

Before anyone could reply, a tea peddler shouted over the din of the room. "Get your hot tea, here! Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!"

Of course, Uncle immediately raised a hand and waved it around "Oh!" he said excitedly. "Jasmine, please!"

The peddler came over to them and poured Uncle a cup. Maya wasn't really interested in any part of that until he took a sip and suddenly spat it out. "Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se, is more like it!" he griped. "What a disgrace!" He glared at the tea peddler's back.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jet asked Zuko. He looked at Maya. "Mind if I borrow your boyfriend?"

Maya immediately burst out laughing, suddenly imagining Jet attempting to put the moves on Zuko, and waved them off. She knew he hadn't meant it like that, but his wording had been very poor in that instance. She was still chuckling when, after they'd gone off a few feet, Uncle decided to heat up his tea. She choked on her laughter when she saw steam rise from the cup. "Uncle!" she admonished. "I don't think we want everyone here to know you're a firebender!" She had whispered that last part close to his ear so no one could hear them. "Maybe retrain yourself next time?"

"Aww, it'll be okay, Ming," he said, calling her by her undercover name as naturally as he had called her Maya. "No one noticed."

She sighed, leaning back against the pillar. There was nothing they could do about it now. A moment later, Zuko returned, and Maya glanced past him to wave Jet goodbye. But the look on the boy's face frightened her. He was staring right at her. Or, no… No, he was staring at Uncle. Her eyes widened in fear and she quickly looked away from him, hoping he hadn't noticed. It wouldn't help to look so guilty like that.

Zuko turned to see what Maya had been so scared of, and also seemed to notice Jet's face. After Jet walked away, Zuko quickly turned and slapped the tea out of Uncle's hand and onto the floor. "What are you doing firebending your tea?" he demanded through gritted teeth. "For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!"

For once, Maya didn't mind that Zuko was talking to Iroh like that. He was kinda right. "I told you," she said to Uncle. "I knew someone was gonna notice!" She sighed and buried her face in her hands, scrubbing her eyes to try and get the image of Jet's face out of her mind.

Uncle stared down at the tea all over the ground. "I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but…" He gave a sniff. "It's just so sad."

Maya laughed. "Don't worry, Uncle. I'm sure once we're actually inside the city, we can buy you a hot cup of tea."

Uncle's eyes suddenly lit up. "Maybe I can start my own tea shop!" he said.

"That's a great idea!" Maya replied.

"Ugh!" Zuko made a sound of annoyance. "We are not starting a tea shop."

"You don't have to join me if you don't want to, Lee," Uncle said. "Ming and I will do it all ourselves!"

"And you can finally teach me how to make tea the way you do," she added happily.

"Good, then maybe you can teach Lee," Uncle muttered. "He makes horrible tea!" He laughed.

Zuko glowered at them, arms crossed.

"Oh, Lee," Maya said. "We're just teasing you."

Zuko said nothing, but a small smile graced his lips after a moment.

In another hour they had all sat down in a seat on one of the trains headed for the city. They were seated next to a couple. The woman held a very young baby in her arms. Uncle smiled and leaned over to tickle the sleeping babe a little. "What a handsome baby," he commented, giving the woman a smile.

She returned it with a thank-you.

Maya smiled too, feeling the most hopeful she had felt in a long while. They were going to Ba Sing Se, all together, as a family. She was hesitant to think of herself as part of their family, at least where it concerned Uncle, but he had never once said anything negative about it. He'd allowed her to call him that from the very beginning, perhaps seeing that she had needed some guidance, much like Zuko did.

She rested her head against Zuko's shoulder as the train began to move. He leaned against her a little in response.

"I love you," she said to him, not expecting him to say it in return. Especially not with Uncle right there. But he did.

"I love you, too," he said quietly, and then everything was relatively silent.

At some point, Maya fell asleep, dreaming of the future. She finally felt like her life was going to be stable. No more running away from bad guys, or chasing after the Avatar. They'd make a new life in the city. And it would be great. For all of them.