A/N: Has it really been a year? Pretty close probably, anyway, can you believe I'm updating again?! Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Airbender, I don't own Zuko… :(
It was during one of those daily walks Zuko and Umi had begun taking that Iroh began to truly consider mentioning once again the possibility of rejoining the world. After all Zuko was fully healed…Iroh frowned to himself, as healed as the boy could ever be that is. How could he ever hope to ascend to the throne now? Yes the boy was proud and powerful, he could still bend in a certain way; however, he was physically unable to move quickly to avoid attacks and only able to bend certain kinds of fire. In many ways he would always be at a disadvantage. In an agni kai, whether against the Fire Lord, or his cruel sister Azula, he would most assuredly lose and perish; Iroh didn't know if he could survive the loss of another son, even if this one was actually his nephew. The old general heaved a sigh.
"Uncle, look what we have!" The excited voice brought him abruptly out of his thoughts as the object of those thoughts shouted enthusiastically when he was close enough to be heard. Iroh waved and grunted as he hauled himself to his feet. All of this rough living was catching up to him; he wasn't a young man after all! Fussing good naturedly to himself he sauntered out to meet his nephew and the lovely Umi. His eyebrows raised in surprise and pleasure when he saw what the water spirit carried. He hurried out to meet them and opened his hands to gently receive the gift they had brought.
He spoke in awed tones "where did you find them?" Zuko smirked at his uncle's delighted amazement "Umi found them quite some ways away when she was searching the waters; she retrieved them just for you, Uncle." Iroh beamed at Umi as they all strolled back to the campsite together, "you have made an old, tea-loving man very happy today" the former general stated joyfully as he stared again at the stems and leaves of an actual tea leaf plant he was holding, not some blend of whatever he could find in the forest, but real tea leaves..! "Thank you!" he rushed to say, nearly forgetting in his excitement. Umi beamed at him as Zuko grinned almost indulgently "you are most welcome Iroh! I hope they are as wonderful as they can be!" she added happily.
They had hardly reached camp before the old gentleman was nearly darting around the campsite, his former complaint of old age and pain forgotten in his excitement to begin the process as quickly as possible so he could have that long-awaited cup of 'real' tea. There was still a good deal of sunlight left in the day, so, placing his treasure safely on his sleeping place in the shelter he took off to find a good, flat surface on which he could dry his leaves. Zuko and Umi glanced at each other and smiled again. "I had no idea he loved tea this much, I would have retrieved them much sooner!" she laughed and Zuko couldn't help but laugh with her; the water spirit's laugh was like a babbling brook, soothing and beautiful; a sound he was sure he would never tire of, nor hear often enough.
It occurred to him to find his reaction odd as he had truly never even considered such a thing before that very moment. For the very first time Zuko looked, truly looked, at the water spirit named Umi; the absolutely breathtaking loveliness of the form she preferred and her exquisite character. She was as lovely inside as she was outside and for the first time he began to truly feel. At this revelation of new feelings never before explored the young man shyly looked away and watched where his uncle had disappeared into the forest as he attempted to compose his face and marshal the thoughts that had marched their way into his mind entirely without his permission. Oh, but if he were honest with himself he certainly wasn't complaining.
The focus of his thoughts tilted her head to the side ever-so-slightly, as if trying to ascertain what he was thinking. She could almost feel his thoughts and knew they were on her; she blushed daintily and looked away as well, pretending to be thoroughly engrossed in creating a miniature cloud, gently forming it out of the air and then giving it a push into the sky, blowing on it gently to allow it to gain a little momentum to move. Zuko turned just in time to view her cloud-making and grinned as the little cloud floated away as she pursed her lips and blew at it. Her lips… Suddenly Zuko mentally slapped himself for starting down a path that, for all he knew, was the very same path the ancient Avatar that had bound her to the tree had walked down. He turned and slowly made his way into the shelter. "I'm going to rest, if Iroh comes back just let him know I'm still here."
Umi blinked in surprise at the almost sharp nature of his tone as he threw the statement over his shoulder. She stared at his retreating back; had she said or done something wrong? She sighed as turned back to watch her little cloud float slowly away, the natural elements moving it despite her lack of involvement. Just like Zuko, moving away from her.
It was a few days before Iroh deemed his precious gift of tea leaves ready to be made into very possibly the best tea he had ever drunk. Also, if his nephew would climb out of the funk he was in, the old firebender decided he would even share some with him. It was a given that he would offer some to Umi, it was because of her that he was currently about to drink real tea in the first place, and after all, good tea should be drunk in good company! As he waited for the leaves to steep Iroh offered Umi to join him in and she happily agreed. It had been a very, very long time since she had enjoyed real tea.
He would have invited Zuko but the boy had become a bit reclusive and had decided to take a walk; alone.
The old former general sighed and shook his head as if to clear away the dismal thoughts. This tea he would enjoy without worrying about anything.
Umi stood waiting and he handed her a crude wooden cup of fresh, steaming tea. She allowed the scent to drift up into her nostrils and inhaled, smiling blissfully at the lovely aroma. "This is tea brewed by a true master!" She exclaimed happily before she even had the chance to taste it.
Iroh nearly blushed at such high praise from so lovely a lady and mentally scoffed at himself, imagine, acting like a schoolboy at his age! "You honor me with your praise; please, hold your judgment until you taste it" he chuckled. Umi smiled "no need, the fragrance is all I need to tell me that you have done this many times before".
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes enjoying their tea before Iroh thoughtfully began to speak. "You know…the life of a tea leaf is actually quite difficult." Umi raised one perfectly created eyebrow at this statement and Iroh chuckled. "It must be plucked from the bush it calls home, whether or not it wishes to be; after that it must be dried in the sun and crushed. Once the leaf has just the right size and shape to create the strongest flavor it is finally brought to the culmination of its existence and is steeped in very hot water; in this way, the fullest flavor and the best aroma will be released and the tea will be a success to be enjoyed by anyone who drinks it. Although the leaf goes through many hardships; all of these things work together to create something wonderful. It is the same for Zuko. Removed from his home, forced to be in a strange place and wander the land in search of something he might not find; many times he was crushed, defeated, but so far it has only added to the flavor of the person he is maturing into. He will be a fine man, he has not allowed these tragedies to break him; instead, he has, like the tea leaf, brought out the best in the worst of circumstances."
Umi smiled over at Iroh; the older gentleman certainly had a way with worlds. Moments later the subject of their conversational musings stepped out of the woods and trudged into the shelter with no words but a nod to them both. Umi's smile slipped as she stared after him at the shelter where he had disappeared. Iroh sipped the last of his tea and gently placed the cup on the ground beside him. He looked knowingly at her as she continued to gaze at the shelter. She sighed. "My nephew may be many things, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he can be very blind" the wise old man spoke quietly, "it may have to be you who takes the first step to show him your interest".
Her head whipped back around to look at her tea-partner once again. "How…how do I..?" She was unable to articulate the question and Iroh simply smiled a gentle smile and reached over to pat her shoulder. "When the time comes, you will know. The heart always knows what it wants; you will find a way."
Despite the sage advice of the old general Umi had not been able to find a way to share her growing affection for Zuko. Even so, time seemed to fly for the three outcasts and the forest was changing bit by bit; slowly retracting her generosity of the previous months. A drought had plagued the area since they had arrived with very little reprieve, and game that had been so prevalent when they arrived had begun to thin considerably; enough so that sometimes they would go three or four days without finding anything to eat. As powerful as she was, even Umi was unable to end the long months without water, as she was only able to affect smaller areas and couldn't make a large enough storm out of the dry air to be of much help.
Being immortal and made of water, she was, at least, able to sustain herself using the air nearby what little water there was left; however, being the humans that they were, her companions were slowly beginning to lose weight; seeing as they were already relatively thin, their need was becoming rather dire. Winter was very quickly approaching and they would need more dried meat if they were going to survive it.
Although they had not spoken of it, all three knew that something would have to change, soon.
Once again, it was the forest that made their decision for them. Iroh was out hunting, ranging much further than he ever had in search of food and had been gone 3 days. He had been sorely missed; Zuko had withdrawn into himself out of embarrassment and poor Umi was beginning to think he hated her, though she had no clear idea why. They'd hardly spoken a word to each other in the last three days, and after having been stuck in a tree for far, far too long she had enjoyed the old man's conversation and missed it terribly. She only wished the young man who seemed to wish he were anywhere but there would speak with her, only perhaps, in a slightly different fashion. She sighed. Remembering again the advice Iroh had given her concerning Zuko she considered speaking with him. She decided she should not be a coward, that she should act on her feelings and voice them, and if she was rejected, well, that was the future and it hadn't happened yet.
Squaring her shoulders and strengthening her resolve, she walked into camp from where she had been pacing a hole in the forest floor in her indecision and called out to Zuko who was in the shelter, avoiding the wind that whipped and swirled through the trees. In some moments he emerged, looking slightly confused. He hobbled expertly up to meet her in the center of the logs they used for seats and opened his mouth to ask why she had called him when a massive gust of wind buffeted them. Both were blown off their feet, Zuko's crutch was ripped from his suddenly nerveless fingers and it spun through the air when the wind suddenly changed directions so quickly they hadn't even landed from the first gust. The crutch connected with Umi's head, and as she was still in human form, the force of the blow rendered her instantly unconscious. At the same moment a resounding crack came from the direction of the shelter and as both of their bodies slammed into the unforgiving ground, the huge tree that had supported their shelter for nearly a year, now old and brittle from lack of rain, splintered near the base and came hurtling down to the ground, instantly destroying the shelter and everything else in its path.
A/N: I'm not evil, really I'm not. ;p I know this is a VERY short chapter but it's been an especially long time (I'm so sorry) and I haven't written since the last chapter I posted. Kinda slow going. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter (hopefully some of you out there still believe I'll finish this fic eventually and stuck with me) and maybe it won't take a year or so this time before I update again. :)
Just hang in there with me, I'm not giving up!