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Chapter 8~

Best date ever~

The restaurant was the fanciest I'd ever seen. The host was tripping over himself when he realized the Fire lord was dining there, and the other patrons just stared at us as we were seated. Zuko didn't seem to notice, too absorbed in me.

Me!

A peasant girl from the lower ring! On a date in the upper ring with the Fire lord! I still found it hard to believe that the fire lord, leader of the entire fire nation, was spending his evening with me. He was here, with me, pulling my seat out for me and looking at me as if I was the world's greatest treasure. A few soldiers were seated not too far from us, just out of ear shot, but close enough in case of an emergency.

Our waitress, Ratree, bowed stiffly when she came to our table, stuttering and tripping over her own voice while asking us what she could get for us.

I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile, and she seemed to relax, the wave in her voice disappearing. To my joy, he ordered a pot of jasmine tea for us to share.

As soon as we placed our order and Ratree left, Zuko set his hand over mine. "You look absolutely radiant tonight, Jin."

"Thank you." I said, flipping my hand over to hold his. "You're very sweet, Zuko." He beamed at me, practically oozing happiness.

The flickering light of the candle on our table beamed across his face, softening his sharp features.

"You're really handsome."

I covered my lips with my free hand, cursing my mouth for speaking without my permission, my entire face burning. Zuko's face joined mine in mimicking a flame.

"You think I'm handsome?" He whispered, eyes wide. I nodded, smiling sheepishly.

"Of course I do, I have since I met you. You're very handsome, Zuko." He stared down at our joined hands for a moment before looking me straight in the eyes. His gold bore into my green.

"Even with the scar?"

The question surprised me. He sounded and looked so scared of my answer, so afraid of what I truly thought of him. And he shouldn't have been.

"Even with the scar, you're the most handsome man I've ever seen. The scar's a part of who you are and what you are. And I like you for who you are. So of course I think you're handsome with the scar."

Zuko stared at me for a silent minute, his eyes never leaving mine, a heavy blush on his cheeks. I stared back, waiting for him to find what he needed to. He broke contact, dropping it to our hands again before lifting them.

"Thank you, Jin." He whispered, bringing my fingers to his lips. "For what it's worth, you're the loveliest woman I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"Thank you."

Ratree came back, allowing me to fight down my blush as she balanced a teapot and some tea cups on her tray. She smiled when she saw us, placing the tea supplies down between us. "Is there anything else I can get you, my lord, my lady?" She asked, pouring both of us our tea. I'd never been called 'my lady' before, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel a bit wrong to be referred to as one.

"No thank you, Miss. Ratree." Zuko said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she bowed. "I'll bring your meal out shortly. Enjoy your tea, and let me know if there's anything else you need."

"Thank you!" She smiled at me, bowing her head before walking away. I took a much needed sip of tea, smiling when the warm beverage hit my tongue. It wasn't as good as Iroh's tea, but it wasn't bad.

I set my cup down, licking my lower lip. "I feel like I know so much about you, but at the same time, I don't. I mean, we know some pretty big things about each other, but we know none of the little things, like how old we are and what our favorites things are."

Zuko thought for a moment before, sipping his tea before speaking. "That's very true. Well, for starters, my birthday was a few months ago, and I turned seventeen. What about you?"

"I'll be sixteen at the beginning of next year. Do you have a favorite color? Mine's yellow, but green and blue are also pretty. And red too." He thought for a moment, giving me a chance to drink some more of my tea.

"I've always liked red, but that's a bit boring. I'm starting to really like green, though." Zuko gestured towards me, grinning.

"Do you like animals?" he asked, playing with his tea cup. "I love them! We have this old tom cat named Dumpling at the home, and he's the best! What about you?"

Zuko looked sheepish, nodding. "Yeah. My mom would take me down to the turtle duck pond when I was little, and I still really like them."

"That's cute, Zuko! Turtle duck's are adorable!" He smiled brightly. "I'll have to show you the pond sometime! It's one of my favorite places in the world."

"What's another?" I asked before finishing my cup of tea.

"I can show you one later, after we eat, if that's alright?" He said, refilling my cup, moving the pot to the side. "That sounds wonderful."

Ratree came over with our food and a beaming smile. "My lord, my lady! Please enjoy your meal!" She said, placing our plates down and tucking her tray under her arm. We thanked her, and her smile grew before she bowed and walked off. "She's nice. I like her." Zuko chuckled, shaking his head. "I have the feeling you like most people, Jin. I mean, you like me for crying out loud."

I swallowed my bite of noodles, pointed my chopstick at him. "But you're easy to like, sweetheart!"

He poked at his food, smiling down at it. We ate in silence for a few minutes before I finally thought of something to say.

"Do you really do nothing for fun?" Zuko laughed, and the butterflies from earlier returned.

The candle's flame seemed to dance, and I feel warm all over. "No, no I don't. My duties take up a lot of my time, but I started reading more, and playing pai sho with my uncle when he asks. Do you play?"

"Yes, but I'm not very good. My friends and I play together after we're done with work, but Keiko normally wins. She's amazing! The only one to ever beat her is Shun, and he's only done it once. Huan's gotten really close, though."
"You haven't talked about them before." He said softly, taking a bite. "Shun and Huan have been missing since the fall of Ba Sing Se. I, we. Don't know what happened to them." The words died in my throat, and Zuko took my hand.

"I'm sorry, Jin. I swear, I'll do everything I can to help find them. We'll get them home." I gripped his fingers tightly in mine, smiling back at him. "Thank you."

"Of course, anything for you. How old are they?" He waved over a soldier. "They're both seventeen." The soldier bowed deeply when he reached our table. "Thank you, Jin. Lieutenant Chen, send word to all prisons holding any young adults that Huan and Shun of Ba Sing Se are to be released if in captivity." The man said nothing, just bowed again and walked off. Zuko turned back to me, looking a bit surprised. I then realized my mouth was hanging open. Close it, you idiot!

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" He blushed, shaking his head. "It's no problem at all, fire lily. Let's finish while the food's still hot. I have more plans for the evening."

Responses~

Faby Gadget- Thank you! More is on the way!

Itsnot2014anymore- Thank you! I loved writing it!

Does anyone know the names of the months in the Avatar? Do they have the same as us, or is there a different one? Also, I couldn't find Zuko's specific birth date anywhere, so I made one up. (August 4th)

(It's literally 4:30 in the morning here...Good night!)