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Chapter 50

Father to Father

The rain pitter patted down lightly upon the roof of the Bei Fong estate. Lao stood at the window of the garden staring out at his daughter and her boyfriend as they dipped their feet from the tiny bridge into the little creek. She looked so happy out there in the rain with him. Ever since that boy had come into her life she had become stronger.

Perhaps not, he thought to himself. She was always strong, Lao. You just never noticed it.

He could not deny, however, that Aang had given her the courage to say so. The young man had been such a positive influence on Toph, even if Lao had refused to acknowledge him at first. It struck him as odd how he could have been so against Aang when he was now so fond of him. Not that he would ever admit that. Lao saw it as his duty as a father to give Aang a difficult time. He also considered it to be one of the perks of being a father.

Staring out at them, Lao felt so comfortable with what he saw in store for Toph. She would be with someone who knew how to take care of his baby girl and allow her the freedom she so desired at the same time. He had to admit he was a tad bit jealous that this young man understood her so much better than he himself did, but he was starting to understand more each day. Sadly, that might not be the case soon. Lao feared more than anything that this next year would cause Toph to close herself off again. With all of her friends, save Ty Lee, moving beyond her reach, she may put that wall back in place. After finally coming out of that secluded place, it would kill Lao to see her go back.

As Lao stared out into the gray, yet pleasant rainy garden at his smiling daughter, Gyatso came into the room.

"Ah, Lao," he greeted with a polite bow. "I was wondering if by chance you have seen Aang this morning."

"He's out in the garden, actually," Lao answered without looking away from the children.

By the time Gyatso had joined Lao at the window, Aang and Toph had moved under the large tree by the creek. Aang was sitting with his back to the trunk with his arms wrapped around Toph who was leaning into him serenely. Gyatso moved to go out into the garden, but Lao stopped him.

"Let them rest," he said.

"I am sorry, but I must speak with Aang," Gyatso replied. "We have things to discuss."

"Can't it wait?"

"I am afraid not. He has been avoiding me far too long about this subject and it is about time we handled the situation."

Lao knew that it would be best not to drag this out. It would make the transition easier for everyone if he simply stepped aside and allowed Gyatso to pull Aang away from his daughter for a few minutes. The problem was that they just looked so content out there that he could not bare to see them parted.

"Is it really necessary for Aang to leave?" he blurted out. Gyatso turned to him with an unreadable expression in his storm gray eyes. "Gyatso, if it is an issue of money, I am more than willing to pay his tuition so that he can stay."

"That is a most generous offer, Lao, but such generosity should be given to those in need of it, not to those who want it."

"Gyatso, please just--"

"I do not wish to hear anymore of this," Gyatso said sternly. "You have been most gracious to us already, and I thank you for that, but such an offer is too much."

Before Lao could try to persuade Gyatso, Kuzon entered the room with Ty Lee in toe. She was bouncing around merrily looking around the house for Toph.

"Where's my Tophy?" she asked.

"She's out in the garden," Lao smiled.

Ty Lee bounded out the door leaving her father to join Lao and Gyatso. Having worked for the Bei Fongs for so long, Kuzon recognized Lao's tension signs as though he were reading a book. He did not know what the trouble was, but considering he was with Gyatso, he knew that it must have had something to do with their children. He smiled gently and clapped both men on the shoulder.

"Do you know what would do the two of you some good right now?" he asked. "You need some nice hot tea."

- - - -

Business for The Jasmine Dragon was slow that day. Only a few young couples were drinking in the window side tables when the three men came in out of the rain. A young lady that Lao did not recognize greeted them at the door with a warm smile. Her unruly brown hair was tied up in two braids that poked out from her head.

"Good day, gentlemen, and welcome to The Jasmine Dragon," she said with a bow. "My name is Meng and I will be your hostess and waitress today."

"Hello, Meng," Lao said. "Where is Iroh?"

"Master Iroh is in the kitchen," she answered. "He insists that he brew all of the tea for his guests. Would you like a window table or an inner table today?"

"They'll be sitting with me, kiddo," a familiar voice said.

Hakoda sat near the center of the room with a small cup of tea in his hand. He waved to the others and kicked one of the chairs out, inviting them to join him. Meng walked the men over and made sure that they were all comfortable before taking their order and heading towards the back.

"Miss Meng," Kuzon called after her. "Please let Master Iroh know that we are here."

Meng nodded politely before disappearing behind the swinging door to the kitchen.

"So what brings you guys out here?" Hakoda asked as he took a drink.

"We are in need of a distraction of sorts," Kuzon replied.

Gyatso let out a sigh at the comment. He did not need a distraction. What he needed was to talk to his son.

"When Kuzon suggested coming to The Jasmine Dragon, I was hoping that Iroh might have time for a game of Pai Sho," Lao said, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Pai Sho?" Hakoda grinned. "I got something better."

Reaching down next to his seat, Hakoda pulled out a small leather case that he slid onto the table. He unbuckled the clasps and flipped it open to reveal a large collection of hand painted ivory tiles. He smiled broadly as the other men looked them over.

"Very nice," Lao said.

"Indeed," Kuzon agreed.

"Just had a long sit down with a couple of co-workers," Hakoda told them. "Wouldn't mind a few more games though."

"A few more games of what?" Gyatso asked.

"Mahjong of course!" Hakoda laughed. "Haven't you ever played mahjong before?"

"I have not," Gyatso admitted.

"It is not as refined a game as Pai Sho," Iroh said as he stepped up to the table with Meng. "However, it is a fun game to play with friends. If you would like, I would be glad to assist you with the rules."

"Thank you very much," Gyatso smiled.

"Meng, would you be a dear and check on the other customers for me?"

"Yes, sir," the girl smiled before doing so.

"So when do you hire her?" Lao asked as Hakoda began to shuffle and distribute tiles.

"She is an assistant to an old friend of mine," Iroh answered. "She works to help support her family and I needed the help when the shop became a little more well known."

It did not take long for Iroh to help Gyatso become familiar with the semi-complicated rules of the game. By the time the tea was ready and served, Gyatso barely had any questions to ask during play. As luck would have it, he had won the majority of the hands. Hakoda attributed it to beginner's luck while Lao gave credit to Iroh's fine teaching. Kuzon believed that Gyatso just had good intuition for the game.

"Katara is worrying herself sick over this valedictorian speech of hers," Hakoda said to no one in particular. "At least she's not stressing over exams this time."

"Zuko is more nervous about tripping over his robes on the stage," Iroh laughed. "It is hard to believe how quickly the years have passed."

"They are not our little boys and girls anymore," Lao agreed. "They've really grown. Especially Toph this year. Thanks to Aang, we have really been able to open up to each other. I would hate to see that end."

"Tsumo," Gyatso said as he laid his tiles down in victory.

"The winds have been favoring Gyatso all game," Iroh laughed as he sipped some ginseng tea.

"Yes, but the cardinals have been favoring Lao," Hakoda pointed out. "He's gotten 'em just about every hand."

Lao smiled at the statement. Many times he had been just behind Gyatso with a victorious hand, and he had even managed to win a few times. The wheels of his mind began to turn and formulate an idea. There was no guarantee that Gyatso would accept, but it was worth a try.

"I'd like to propose a wager," he said staring Gyatso in the eye.

"And what wager might that be?" Gyatso asked as he glanced at his newly dealt hand.

"Should I win this hand, you allow me to pay Aang's tuition for next year."

"No," Gyatso said flatly. "We have discussed this, and the matter is closed."

Gyatso drew his first tile of the hand and discarded a bamboo tile.

"Why are you so closed on this matter?" Lao asked as Hakoda drew his tile. "I do not wish to see the two of them dragged apart. Don't you think that it is about time that Aang was able to settle into a normal life instead of that of a nomadic anthropologist?"

Gyatso stared intensely across the table at Lao. Once again, Kuzon could feel the level of tension in the air rising.

"Is this an open wager?" he asked. "I believe Ty Lee would do well at that school."

Lao turned to Kuzon with a confused look on his face.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "You always talk about how wonderful your daughter's school is and how it's a perfect fit for her. Why would you suddenly--"

Another idea sprang into Lao's head. An excellent idea that even Gyatso would have to agree was a good one. The only trouble was getting him to agree to hear him out.

"Perhaps a different wager," Lao said. "If I win, you have to listen to an alternative to leaving here with Aang."

Gyatso's eyes never left Lao's as he drew another tile. He placed a season tile down in the center of the table without batting an eyelash.

"And if I win, will you stop bringing this up? Please?"

Lao nodded in agreement as Hakoda picked up Gyatso's season.

"You guys are making way too big a deal out of this game," Hakoda said. "I thought you were trying to relax."

As the game continued, Lao paid close attention to every tile that Gyatso discarded. Based off of the collection that he had left on the table, he was once again trying to collect the four wind tiles to complete his set. Unfortunately, there was no way for Lao to tell how close Gyatso actually was to tsumo. Lao had already collected enough tiles to call riichi, but he did not want to cause anyone to second guess what he was aiming for. All he needed was one more cardinal and he would have the game won.

"I apologize for my comment earlier, Gyatso," Lao suddenly said. "It was rude and hurtful of me to say."

"Think nothing of it," Gyatso replied. "I completely understand why you felt the need to say it."

"Whether it was a good reason or not, it was still crossing the line to tell you how to raise your son."

As Kuzon placed a dot tile down on the table, Gyatso smiled across at Lao. He was just trying to be a good father to his daughter, and Gyatso could not blame him for that. It also did not help that Lao did not know what Gyatso was planning for his son. With a smile in his eyes, Gyatso drew the tile that he knew would be his last tile for the game.

"I never did intend to take Aang away from here, Lao," he said calmly. "Just so you know."

Lao looked up from his tiles to meet Gyatso's gaze. He watched Gyatso's hand lift a tile from his set and discard it to the center of the table. There sat the cardinal that would grant him victory for the hand. He turned to Hakoda, waiting for him to draw and discard, knowing that his cardinal would be blocked. Hakoda just smiled and slid the cardinal over to him.

"Tsumo."

- - - -

Aang and Toph tiptoed their way through the garden door. Usually Aang would make his exit over the garden wall, but since both of their fathers had been gone all afternoon and the house lights were off, he decided that it would be safe to walk Toph to her room. As they attempted to pass through the living room to get to the hall that Toph's room was in, the lights flickered on. Both Mr. Bei Fong and Gyatso were standing in the center of the room, apparently waiting for them.

"Uh, hi," Aang said nervously. He turned to Toph and whispered "Why didn't you tell me they were in here?"

"Aang, we need to talk," Gyatso said.

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Aang asked. "It's kinda late and I'm tired."

"Sit down, young man," Lao ordered.

Surprised by the tone that Mr. Bei Fong had taken, Aang did as he was told. He and Toph sat on the couch as their fathers stood in front of them. Aang did not want to have this conversation yet. He was hoping he could have at least put it off until Katara and Zuko's graduation next weekend.

"I need you to begin packing your things at the dorm, Aang," Gyatso informed him. "We will be moving two weeks from now."

Aang hung his head dejectedly at the news. It was not that he had not expected it. He was just hoping that he would at least have the summer to spend with Toph and the others. He did not want to be taken away from them all so soon. Especially Toph.

"So where are we going?" he asked, not really caring.

"Once the rest of my things arrive from my last study site, we will be moving into the Behavioral Science wing of the University."

For a moment, Aang had thought he had gone insane. He stuck his fingers in his ears and wiggled them around, trying to dislodge anything that might have been affecting his hearing. He then looked at Gyatso again.

"Say again?"

"Your father is going to be working for the University, Aang," Lao repeated for him. "When I referred him told them of his experiences, they were eager to take him aboard as a field specialist. You'll begin attending the public high school in August."

"So what does that mean?" Aang asked, not daring to believe it.

"What do you think it means, Twinkle Toes?" Toph said excitedly as she pounced on him. "You're staying here!"

Aang worked his eyes passed the mass of black hair that covered them until he could see his father's face. Gyatso smiled happily to him and nodded that this was indeed the truth. He did not know how to react. At first he felt like laughing, and then crying. So he did all that he could with Toph squeezing his neck. He held onto her as tightly as he could as he laughed through his tears.

A/N: Mahjong is not all that complicated a game if you play by the most basic rules. If you want to learn to play, and see a complete set of mahjong tiles, Kasamari would suggest looking it up at wikipedia. Mahjong is one of Kasamari's favorite games, and he is excited to say he'll be getting a set very soon!

On an unrelated note, Pahoyhoy has pointed out that all four nations were represented in this game. Kasamari also did not realize it as he was writing, but they are even lined up in the Avatar cycle!