Edit 3/6/18: I fixed the errors. Good grief. This is what I get for writing at night while jet lagged. Sorry y'all.
A/N: Ok, so. Anyone who says traveling forward in time (zones) is harder than traveling back, they're wrong. Traveling back is harder. It took me all of 1 day to acclimate to Icelandic time (UTC, aka 5 hours ahead of me). But I've been home now for 3 days and I'm still trying to acclimatize. I keep waking up at 4am local time (9am Icelandic time) and being unable to go back to sleep. This morning, I was so fed up, I just got up at 6:30am and read a book until I had to start getting ready to leave for work at 8. It's stupid.
Rambling aside, I'm updating now because I'm finally able to stay up past 9pm without getting a headache from sleepiness. Iceland is beautiful. Cold, windy, friendly, and beautiful. I have so many pictures, it's ridiculous. Not even kidding. But yeah, Iceland is beautiful and I miss it, but I'm glad to be home again.
Chapter summary: In which Jet and Iroh have a talk, Jet gets some unwelcome news, and Li isn't doing so well.
25: Late
Zuko was late which was unusual, to say the least. Ever since he'd been hired, Zuko had been punctual. This was the first time his nephew had ever deliberately been late to anything. Hopefully, it wasn't deliberate, just an accident. Accidents happened, after all. Sometimes the body needed more sleep, sometimes the weather made travel difficult, sometimes cabbage carts toppled over in the street. There really was no way to know for sure until Zuko arrived and could explain himself.
Hopefully, Pao wouldn't fire Zuko on the spot. This morning had been particularly busy. Supposedly, there had been some excitement in the artisan's district. No one could say for certain what had happened, but apparently the potter's complex had been more active than usual. One loyal patron had even sworn up and down she'd seen the Guard and a Dai Li enter the complex. Jin had never lied before as far as Iroh knew. So if her words were to be trusted, then Iroh felt worry coil in his stomach.
He wondered what poor unfortunate had caught the Dai Li's attention. Hopefully, it wasn't anything too serious. Perhaps they had finally managed to track down the source of that odd illness that had been spreading in the district next to the artisans'. Oh dear Agni above, please don't let the culprit be poison.
The little bell above the door tinkled pleasantly, distracting Iroh from his darker thoughts. Pasting a large, friendly smile on his face, he turned to greet the newest guest. Oh. Well.
"You're here early," Iroh said, watching the young man with messy brown hair stroll into the tea shop. "I'm afraid Li isn't in yet."
Brown eyes narrowed in surprise. Goodness, what was the boy's name again? Ah yes.
"Would you like to sit down, Jet?" Iroh asked, gesturing to a newly open seat at a small table. "You're in luck. I have a pot of yerba mate, if you're interested."
Jet snorted and plucked the straw from his mouth. "Always. Don't tell 'Bee?" he said, winking playfully.
"I shall take this to my grave," Iroh said, placing a fist over his heart dramatically. The chuckled it drew from the young man was worth it. "Let me know if you need anything else."
As he turned to go, Iroh glanced worriedly at the front door once more. Where was Zuko?
The pot of yerba mate was right where Iroh had left it, no surprise. Honestly, the number of people who wanted the energy boost in the morning was tellingly high. Iroh sighed. So much energy, so much work. Did no one take the time to just sit and enjoy the day anymore?
"Here you are," he said, placing a steaming hot mug of tea in front of Jet.
The young man grinned and nodded a thank you, dropping two coppers on the table in exchange and stretching. "Li's usually in by now," he said casually. "Wonder what's taking him."
Iroh didn't miss the sharp glance Jet threw his way, but chose not to think too much about it. Instead, he looked around the shop. Most of the morning rush customers were gone and all of the tea kettles were either still brewing or keeping warm. Pao was busy taking stock of what they still had and what they would need to order for the next month.
So with a content sigh, Iroh pulled out the chair across from Jet and sat down. just what he needed. His back definitely needed this. He'd forgotten how good it felt to just sit down and rest every now and then. Perhaps he could pour himself a cup of tea later.
"I wonder indeed," he murmured. "My nephew is usually on time."
Jet sipped his tea, studying Iroh's face closely before sighing. "So you really don't know where he is."
It wasn't a question, but Iroh shook his head anyway. "No, I do not," he said. His lips quirked upwards in a sly grin as he nodded to the bandaged appendage in the middle of Jet's face. "But I heard the tale of a certain, shall we say misadventure, that resulted in a broken nose."
Jet grinned broadly and leaned back in his chair. "Guy's got a mean punch," he said. "Never seen anyone turn so red before."
Iroh chuckled. "Li has never been particularly adept at dealing with embarrassment," he said, smiling gaily. "He takes after his mother. But I see pieces of his father in him." His smile faded. "That is not necessarily a bad thing."
The question was plainly visible on Jet's face. The boy was itching to ask, but he wasn't sure whether he should or not.
"Where are his parents?" Jet finally asked, fingering his hot mug hesitantly. "Are they-" He waved his hand vaguely, but the word not spoken was clear as a bell.
"No," Iroh admitted slowly. "No, they are not. His father is alive, but has no desire to see him. It is not my place to say much, but I will say Li is here because of his father." How to put this delicately? Was that even possible? "He is… not missed."
A shadow fell over Jet's face and his eyes darkened, studying Iroh closely. "And his mother?" Jet pressed.
"Missing."
Let Jet make of that what he would.
"I worry about him," Iroh admitted. "I have been with him for the past three years. I knew his moods, what made him angry, what made him calm, when he needed my guidance, and when he needed to learn on his own." He sighed and allowed his gaze to slip to the table. "When we parted ways on the road, Li was angry. I thought by letting him be for a day or two, he would calm his temper and seek me out. Naturally, I followed his path just far enough behind so as to not be detected. But I miscalculated. I was attacked and lost track of him."
"Fire Nation?" Jet guessed.
Iroh grimaced in reply. After a moment, he shook his head wearily. "Seeing him here, safe and sound, warms my heart. But knowing he does not recognize me…"
There were no words.
Jet pulled the straw out of his mouth and toyed with it before dropping it into his tea. Iroh barely contained his wince. Such good tea should not be treated like that.
"Why are you telling me this?" Jet said suddenly, breaking through Iroh's thoughts. "Why now?"
"Can I not speak of my family with friends?" Iroh asked.
"You can," Jet answered, his eyes gleaming shrewdly. "But I get the feeling there's more to it than that."
Iroh huffed a laugh. "Suffice it to say, I know how your nose got, ah, rearranged," he said. "You will be pleased to know Li has been watching for you every time someone comes in, and has been disappointed when it wasn't you."
Yes, that was definitely a flush in Jet's tanned cheeks.
"Which is why," Iroh continued, "as Li's uncle, whether he remembers me or not, I thought it wise to warn you. Do not play with my nephew's heart. He has never had many people he could trust in his life. Fewer still who care for him. He will act on his heart before taking the time to think through his actions. This has landed him in many troubles." He paused thoughtfully. "It has also gotten him out of many troubles. In short," he held Jet's brown gaze in his own dark amber, "do not hurt my nephew Jet. Or you will not have to worry about the Dai Li vanishing you."
To his credit, Jet did not pale or flinch away from the warning. He took it for what it was and accepted it with a slow, careful nod. Satisfied his words had not fallen on deaf ears, Iroh hummed.
"I see your tea has gone cold," he said, reaching out to take Jet's mostly empty mug. "Allow me to refill it before you go. You should try the jasmine tea. It is magnificent."
Jet grinned. "I'll take your word for it, Mushi."
"So you're Jet."
Startled, Jet looked up and smirked when he saw a cute girl sitting at the table next to his. He winked.
"Maybe I am," he teased, "and maybe I'm not." He shrugged. "Who's knows?"
She giggled, amused but not necessarily impressed. "I recognized you by your broken nose," she said, tapping a finger against the side of her own nose.
Jet laughed. "Not broken so much anymore since I had 'Bee fix it," he said, "but it still hurts like a bitch. Li's got an arm on him."
"He's got more than that, from what I hear," the girl teased. "He blushes every time Mushi mentions you."
Well, now that stroked Jet's ego. "What can I say," he gestured, fluffing his collar dramatically, "I'm irresistible."
She snorted. "Right."
"Can I at least have the name of the person challenging my irresistibility?" Jet said, reaching for his straw and grumbling when he realized Mushi had taken it away with his mug.
The girl tucked one of her two braids behind her ear and smiled. "Jin," she said. "I usually come here in the mornings. I don't remember seeing you."
Jet shrugged. "I'm an afternoon guy myself," he said. "I just happen to have a couple hours free this morning. An order was delayed so I have nothing to do until my boss lets me know it's ready for pickup. Then I'm back to making deliveries."
Jin's smile faded. "Was it a pottery order?" she asked warily.
"Yeah, it was," Jet said, after a moment. He turned slightly in his chair so he was almost facing Jin fully. "How'd you know that?"
The girl wilted, pursing her lips. She glanced around the quiet tea shop before leaning close. Ooh, a rumor. Jet loved rumors. So much juicy news to sort throu-
"Something happened at the potter's complex this morning," Jin said.
It felt like his stomach had turned to stone. He wasn't amused anymore.
"Where'd you hear that?" he demanded, perhaps a bit more harshly than he meant to.
"I didn't have to," Jin said, shaking her head. "I have to walk past there every morning on my way here before heading to work." She glanced around again quickly before continuing, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "I'm not sure what happened. But there was this smell that…" She shook her head. "It smelled like… It was bad."
"What kind of bad?" Jet demanded. "Ostrich-horse shat on your shoe bad or someone hasn't bathed in three weeks bad?"
Jin grimaced, wrinkling her face in disgust. "Ew, neither. It was like something was burning, I just don't know what."
Burning.
"All I know, is that whatever it was, it was bad enough to get a visit from the Guard and the Dai Li," Jin said. "I couldn't stay. I had to-"
Jet didn't hear the rest of what he aaid over the raging emotions in his head Burning. Smell. Burning flesh. Fire. Dai Li. Firebender?!
After cleaning out the mug, Iroh checked the kettles once more. Perfect. The fresh batch of jasmine tea was almost ready to serve. He had just enough time to pluck a fresh mug from the cupboard when he felt a cool breeze flow through the kitchen from the back door of the tea shop. Pao must be back in.
"How goes the counting?" he called over his shoulder, without taking his eyes off of the kettle near his elbow. "Are we short on anything?"
When there was no immediate answer, be it words or grumbles, Iroh frowned and turned around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his nephew standing there, but his relief quickly faded to worry when he noticed the stiffness with which Zuko held himself. Zuko leaned back against the door, his hands tucked behind his back likely clasping the handle, and his head hung so his chin brushed his green and brown tunic. He was shaking.
"Z- Li," Iroh called, his worry almost causing him to trip over his words. It hurt to see his nephew flinch at the name. "Li," he tried again, setting the mug in his hands down on the counter and approaching his nephew with care. "Are you alright?"
Movement at Zuko's feet caught Iroh's attention and he dropped his gaze to the floor. The Knowledge Seeker was nuzzling Zuko's ankle and batting his shoe with her paw. She took one look at Iroh with her sightless eyes before swishing her tail and darting out of the kitchen into the main area where the few customers still sat.
He barely heard his nephew whisper something under his breath, but it was too soft to hear clearly.
"Li," Iroh called, stepping closer and pressing what he hoped would be a soothing hand on his nephew's shoulder. "What has happened?"
From here, Iroh could plainly see the pallor in Zuko's downcast face. Both of Zuko's golden eyes were squeezed tightly shut as if in pain.
"They're dead."
The words were soft and so full of unshed tears it broke Iroh's heart. He squeezed Zuko's shoulder comfortingly. "Who is dead?" he asked gently.
It took a few tries for Zuko to find the energy to form clear words. "They were… Someone put them in there knowing they would die… Wha... " He gulped. "They earthbent it shut so we couldn't get in. They did it deliberately! Wha- Why would…" He breathed a quiet sob. "They were just children. Why would someone-"
Pale gold eyes flashed up to Iroh's dark amber, roiling with anger, sadness, disgust, horror, and pain. "What kind of monster would murder their own children?" he hissed furiously. "They were alive when they were put in there. Alive!" Zuko shuddered in horror. "And we didn't know. We couldn't get them out. They burned alive and we couldn't do anything!"
Iroh didn't understand where this was coming from, but he knew pain when he saw it. He pulled his nephew close and held him until Zuko twitching away from the contact.
"What's going on? Li?"
Zuko lifted his head to see the person who had come into the kitchen. Iroh would have to talk to Jet about that. Customers really weren't allowed in the kitchen for health reasons. But not now.
Now, he let his beloved nephew step away from him and stumble over to Jet. It hurt to see Zuko wrap his arms around Jet's shoulders and cling to his friend as soft sobs shook his body. It was yet another reminder that Zuko did not remember his uncle and their adventures together. To this Zuko, Iroh was just Mushi, the kindly old tea maker. Not the uncle who had loved him and taught him and tried to be there for him during his exile.
Perhaps it was selfish, but a large part of Iroh wanted his broken nephew back. He missed him. He loved Zuko and he loved Li. But he missed the nephew who would confide in him, rant at him, and be vulnerable in front of him.
At least, even as Li, Zuko had someone he could trust. A flash of gray-black flickered in the corner of his eye before the Knowledge Seeker leaped from Jet's shoulder to Zuko's, pressing her nose into Zuko's short hair.
Why did Iroh feel like he was intruding?