Chapter 5: A Tale of Zuko
The Saturday market vendors had a habit of giving Moro the worst stink-eye they could muster, even when she paid in full for her groceries and didn't give them any sass. Most of the time. Downside of being a known pickpocket I guess, people don't trust you even if you walk the straight and narrow.
Oh well, not like it was any skin off her back.
She started walking towards the stand with all the medicinal herbs when she was tackled by three familiar small bodies. She was lucky she didn't drop anything from her basket, gritting her teeth as she heard three sets of laughter from on top of her back.
"You brats! What have I said about tackling me when I'm holding things!?" she hissed, getting up and dusting herself off before grabbing both Yuu and Ashi's heads in a furious flurry of noogies.
Ashi managed to wiggle free before her expensive updo could be ruined, "Where have you been Moro?" she chirped.
"Yeah we thought the Dai Li got you!" Mink added from his usual spot clinging to her leg.
Moro scoffed, despite her deep fears for the secret police, she was way better at hiding than the kids gave her credit for. She was about to tell them so, that they needed to have more faith in her, when someone spoke from behind her.
"Come on guys, you know she's more slippery than a nervous eel." Moro turned and smiled at Jin, Yuu's older sister, and possibly one of the prettiest girls in the Lower Ring. Her dark hair, jasper-green eyes, and crooked smile had broken more than a few hearts when they were growing up, even now that they were older the list of guys interested in her kept on growing.
Moro finally let Yuu go, who tried to ruffle his hair back into place before scampering back to his sister's side. "Yeah, have some more faith in me brats!" she said.
Jin laughed as the kids ran circles around her, Moro taking playful swipes at them before falling into stride alongside the other girl. "It's been forever Moro! I was starting to worry you really had been arrested."
"Takes more than that to catch me," she joked, kicking aside a pebble.
They made small talk some more as they walked, the smaller trio scampering about ahead of them. Jin then nudged her arm, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "So, you've met that total hottie from Pao's tea shop right?"
Moro almost tripped over her own feet, steadying herself just in time to hear the other girl giggle into her hand.
"I'm assuming you mean Lee?" she said, feeling weird acknowledging him as hot. He was definitely… not hideous but… actually no. Not touching those thoughts with a ten-foot pole; put them in a box in a deep, dark cave and never even look at them again. "Unless you have a crush on Old Man Mushi you haven't told me about!"
Jin gave her a shove, "Everyone's talking about it, the tea there has gotten so good, but all the girls have started going for something extra."
She honestly did not know what to say to that, so she just scoffed. Jin then gave her a look that worried her; it was some kind of cross between teasing and suggestive, one of her eyebrows perking up as she hummed.
"You're at Pao's a lot more now too, I guess you must really like tea now, huh?"
"Meaning what?" she replied, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest.
The other girl tickled her arms, making her drop them from her chest. "You never go out with any of the guys I introduce you to! And now I hear that you're apparently besties with the Cute-tea over at Pao's?!"
"Is that what people are calling him?!" she laughed.
"And here I thought our friendship meant something to you!" she pouted, blinking her big green eyes up at Moro, who just stared at her with her teasing, catlike smirk.
The odd-eyed girl sighed, blowing some of her bangs from her face. Jin tended to disguise her actual intentions with flowery words and harmless jibes, Moro herself succumbing to her matchmaking attempts more than once because of her tricky methods. "Jin, what are you talking about?"
Her frown quickly turned up, grasping Moro's hands tightly in hers. "I'm talking about how you should totally ask him out!"
She couldn't stop herself from laughing so hard it hurt her stomach. Okay yeah, Lee wasn't unattractive, but she liked hanging out with him because he was so fun to mess with. His scowl and the way his mouth would twitch when he was angry was too hilarious to waste, and despite his temper he was actually pretty okay to be around. He didn't stick up his nose at her for stealing, and was almost brutally honest, which was a welcome change. Most people gave empty words of sympathy, not doing anything to actually help, but Lee always said exactly what he really thought.
Plus it felt like an accomplishment whenever she weaseled through the walls he had around him.
She would deny until the day she died that she was blushing. "Don't be ridiculous, we're just friends, and besides this isn't the first time your romantic advice has crashed and burned."
"Oh how was I supposed to know that Josu already had a boyfriend?!" she defended, puffing out her cheeks. Moro snickered, remembering how the other girl cried when she told her that Josu was into her neighbor Yasu and couldn't be interested in her if he tried. "Okay, I was wrong about that, but I still think Lee is super into you! He's always looking at you when you're not paying attention."
"Probably worried I'll steal something,"
Jin sighed loudly, reaching into her pocket. "I didn't want to have to do this Moro, but you've left me no choice!" with a flourish of her arm, she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket that said Miss Pearl's Noodle House in bright red letters. "This is a coupon to your favorite restaurant for two free bowls of ultra-spicy noodles, which I will give you if you go with Lee… on a date."
In literally any other circumstances, Moro wouldn't cave so easily, but Miss Pearl's restaurant had the best food in the Middle Ring, and made noodles spicier than anywhere in the entire city. For a firebender in the Earth Kingdom, spicy food was practically a gift from the heavens, and one that Moro rarely got to enjoy.
She grit her teeth and clenched her fist, "You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?!"
Jin giggled, dangling the coupon above her like a string above a cat. Maybe she was letting her love of food outweigh her proper judgment, but she honestly didn't care. Sure, Jin could call it a date, but it could also be just two friends getting noodles. Nothing romantic about that, right?
Moro grabbed the coupon, ignoring the other girl's victorious grin. "It's a deal then?"
She sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets.
"Yeah… deal."
Zuko probably should have been used to Moro's odd behavior by now, what with all the times she ran into the shop on the run from the law, or tracked him down just to annoy him with stupid jokes and stories about who she beat at pai-sho that day. But she still found ways to confuse him, and it irritated him more than it should have how difficult it was for him to figure her out.
Most people he met he could gauge easily, he was a prince after all, and to properly rule an empire you had to read people with no difficulty. But Moro was tricky; one moment she would be laughing at whatever lame pun she'd thought of, calling him a sourpuss when he didn't laugh too, and running off into trouble until he saw her again tomorrow. Then the next moment she would be frowning and staring off at nothing, or shrinking and hiding whenever Dai Li officers came into the shop, genuinely afraid.
She was so annoyingly confusing, and Zuko wanted to slam his head against a wall more times than not.
Today she was being weird again, sitting at the tea counter while he was working and drumming her fingers against the table instead of bothering him with endless conversation. Once in a while she would look up at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention, staring at him deep in thought before looking back down at the table when he turned back.
Zuko pulled his uncle aside, "She's been acting weird all day, you think she knows about us?" he whispered.
Iroh glanced at Moro, watching her push her teacup back and forth before it fell over onto the floor. She tried to catch it, but it cracked, and she quickly looked around before shuffling the remains under the table, innocently twiddling her thumbs.
He smiled, "Perhaps she just enjoys your company, I know I do."
"This is serious uncle! If she finds out she could get us killed, and I don't feel like risking my neck just because you keep trying to get me to…" he was suddenly stopped when Moro pressed her finger against his forehead, something he was coming to recognize as her way to get his attention.
He hated it.
She laughed at his glare, "Don't get too upset, I haven't stolen anything today."
"Good, means I won't have to deal with guards that come in here looking for you." He grumbled.
"Ha ha…" she drummed her fingers a few more times, almost hesitating before she spoke again. "So, Gramps tells me you like spicy stuff right? Well so do I, and I have a coupon for this place that has the hottest noodles in town… made a guy puke once!"
As though that were a good thing. Zuko would have said no in a heartbeat; he wasn't interested in continuing his time with her anymore than he already had to deal with, but the idea of food spicy enough for his firebender's palette did not sound terrible.
Against his better judgement, he agreed. "Fine, it'll be nice to have some real food for a change anyway."
Moro practically leapt over the counter, ruffling his hair while he protested loudly. "Catch you later then!" she ran off before he could catch her, laughing at his expense the whole way.
He growled, half-joking, "Try not to get arrested!"
"No promises!" she called, and then she was gone.
Zuko groaned, running his fingers through his messy hair and asking himself why he put up with her. He tried to get back to work, but Iroh was giving him a suggestive look. "What?" he barked through gritted teeth.
His uncle shrugged, busying himself. "Nothing."
He knew it was a mistake to let his uncle do his hair as soon as he heard Moro's uncontrollable laughter. She cackled like a maniac, holding her stomach as tears of mirth spilled over her cheeks, and Zuko was thoroughly regretting every life choice he'd ever made.
Why did he let his uncle talk him into this again?
It'll be good for you, Prince Zuko.
Don't waste an opportunity, Prince Zuko.
Have fun with your friend, Prince Zuko.
Right, that's why. Because Iroh would tease him about it to the ends of the earth if he didn't go, and while he was looking forward to real food instead of tea and market scraps, he could do without his uncle's reference to this outing as a date.
He'd sooner expose himself as a firebender to the Dai Li than go on a date with Moro. He could barely withstand her presence as an acquaintance, let alone a girlfriend.
And yet, here he found himself, swiping his hands through his greased back hair to get it back to normal. "It's not funny!" even after he was satisfied, Moro continued to snicker into her hands, trying to hide her amusement. "What?!"
"I'm just trying to remember what my life was like before I met you!" she dissolved into laughter once more, and Zuko groaned.
As annoying as her teasing was, however, seeing her laughing and making fun of him was weirdly comforting. It was easier to understand compared to her low moods where he couldn't read her at all. Seeing her happy was familiar, and Zuko would rather see that than her more confusing moments when she was quiet or afraid.
The way to the restaurant involved sneaking through a hole in the wall that separated the Lower and Middle Rings, with Moro keeping an eye out for guards before the two of them slipped past unnoticed. Zuko hadn't seen the Middle Ring yet, but it was much nicer than the Lower Ring, with more lights and many more people out after dark. Having fun and laughing instead of staying inside to avoid thugs and guards.
Moro explained the class difference being because more merchants lived in the Middle Ring, meaning more commerce, meaning more money. It was so different from the Fire Nation capital, with all it's walls and different kinds of people, people like Moro who found a way to travel between worlds, but still had to risk arrest to survive.
When they finally sat down Moro whispered something to their waiter, who grimaced but nodded before leaving. Zuko eyed her skeptically, and she shrugged.
"You have to give the waiter a code to let him know you want Miss Pearl's special spicy noodles, don't worry, I'm not trying to poison you." She explained, smirking.
He rolled his eyes, "Oh how horrible that would be…"
She lightly kicked him under the table, and he didn't have time to cover up his chuckle. Their food came and she took a single bite before reaching for the jar of chili flakes, dumping half of its contents into her noodles before nodding and going back to eating. Zuko looked at her for a moment, then the half-empty bottle of chili flakes, then back at her.
Huh, she liked things spicy, just like he did.
"Why'd you ask me to come with you? Don't you have any friends that are girls?" he asked, poking the fish cake in his broth.
She slurped loudly, "Yeah, I do, but no one's as entertaining as you." He scoffed and she laughed. "And I asked you to come because… I really don't know that much about you, where'd you live before Ba Sing Se?"
"Nowhere."
Moro frowned, drumming her fingers. "What do you like to do?"
"Nothing."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Zuko paused, and knew Moro had him trapped. He half-heartedly scowled at her, but her grin was indestructible, overpowering him completely. He sighed, "I have a little sister."
She practically purred, "Really? How come I haven't seen her around?"
"We don't really… get along." If there was one thing he did not want to talk about with Moro it was Azula. Things in his life were complicated enough as it is, he didn't need more stress by adding the odd-eyed urchin to that list. He noticed her looking at him, her blue and yellow eyes blinking curiously, trying to know what he was thinking. Zuko shook his head, "Sorry, it's complicated…"
Moro smiled, nudging his arm from across the table. "That's okay, sorry your family bums you out so much."
That's right, he told her his father didn't know he existed, Iroh told her his mother was gone, and he practically spelled out his disdain for Azula.
This was not going well.
She nudged him again, "But hey, I think I know just what will cheer you up!" she slapped her coupon for free noodles on the table before grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the restaurant.
They ducked and wove through alleys and around guards until Moro brought him to what looked like a public courtyard. There were flowers and unlit lanterns surrounding a large fountain, and probably would have been beautiful had the lanterns been lit.
The odd-eyed girl groaned, "Ah… they aren't lit! This place is amazing when it's all lit up… I guess we'll have to come back another time." She kicked a rock aside before making her way back between the buildings, but Zuko found himself hesitating.
By all accounts he didn't like Moro very much, but she kept going out of her way to be his friend, buying him the foods he liked and bringing him places to cheer him up when he was feeling bitter, and for some reason it stung to see her unhappy.
She kept risking things for him, so maybe it was time he risk something for her.
Making sure she was nowhere near the courtyard, Zuko took a deep breath and summoned his firebending. It felt like coming home, holding the flame in his hand, feeling it wisp and move with the wind like it was alive.
With a thrust of his arms he lit every lantern in the plaza, until it was glowing with light. The flowers shone with colors and the water glinted in the firelight, it really was amazing.
Zuko ran off after Moro, grabbing her shoulder, "Hey! Come back, the lanterns lit up."
She made a face, "Huh?"
"Just… come see." He lead her back to the courtyard, and smiled when her confusion morphed into awe. Moro ran over to the fountain, grinning down at the koi fish in the water, their scales glittering in the light of the lanterns like gems. She reached for one, but it swam away too quickly, Zuko rolling his eyes at her almost childlike antics.
She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms and smirking, she asked, "Okay, how'd you do that?"
Zuko shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "I don't know what you mean."
Moro fixed him with a critical stare, looking deep into his eyes for any ticks to reveal his lie, not finding any, she just shrugged and sat on the ledge of the fountain, content with watching the fish. The prince sat beside her, not really sure what to do, so he watched her watch the fish.
Their eyes met in the reflection of the water, burning amber meeting bright blue and yellow, and Zuko found himself smiling. Moro grinned back, winking and nudging him with her shoulder.
He rubbed his arm awkwardly, "Hey, you wanna play a game?" he asked, earning a surprised look from her.
"I thought you didn't like games."
"Ha-ha." He picked up a stone from the ground, testing it's weight before placing it on her head. Moro didn't move, but she did eye the stone warily as he backed away from her. "You place something on your head, and if I can knock it off without hitting you I win,"
Azula often tricked him into playing the same game with her friends when they were kids, but it never turned out well. But he was older now, so this time he wouldn't knock anyone into a pond.
He wound his arm back and threw the pebble, but instead of hitting the rock on her head, it hit Moro square in the face. She hissed, more startled than in pain, but Zuko rushed towards her anyway, only in his hurry he tripped over the dirt, slamming into her and knocking them both backwards into the fountain.
They plunged into the water with a splash, all the koi fish darting away as they were sprawled out in a soaking wet pile.
Maybe he just shouldn't play this game.
A beat of silence passed as the pair stared at each other, and Zuko was worried she would get angry and storm off like Mai had so many years ago.
Instead, she snorted before bursting out into a fit of laughter. She became completely unhinged, snorting and laughing uncontrollably as they sat in a fountain surrounded by fish. She was laughing so hard she started crying, and as angry as he was for getting wet, Zuko couldn't help himself, he started laughing too.
It had been more than a while since he'd found anything funny enough to laugh, let alone guffaw like a madman in a fountain with a girl like Moro.
He wiped water from his face, briefly catching Moro staring at him like he'd grown a second head. This was probably the first time she'd ever seen him smile… ever. In response to her, Zuko splashed her, snapping her out of her awe and bringing her mischeivious grin back in full.
She stood up, kicking water onto him, and back and forth they went splashing each other in the fountain, until some guards came into the plaza, alerted by the noise they were making. "Hey! What are you two doing?!"
Moro grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the water, and the two ran. The guards chased after them, but it was useless, after a few sharp turns they were long gone.
Never in his life would Zuko have thought to enjoy running through Ba Sing Se, soaking wet and laughing like an idiot, but just for a few moments, it felt nice to call Moro his friend…
It felt nice to be happy.
Light that shipping fuel fire! Don't get too excited though, at this point in the story Zuko and Moro need a friend more than they need a significant other. next chapter is when the angst kicks in, because Lake Logai will be when Moro finds out about Zuko and Iroh, and vice versa. BTW i always pictured Moro as an Aladdin type but it's interesting that some of you thought of her as a Flynn Ryder type, both are valid! Now... Stay Tuned!