"Uncle, this isn't going to work." Zuko hissed as he tugged on Iroh's sleeve as the old man hummed congenially. His nerves were frayed from too many days surrounded by people. Refugees, one and all. He didn't know them, didn't- couldn't - trust them. They were so obviously Fire Nation that it was a miracle that they hadn't been caught already. Their eyes, pale skin, inhuman eyes… Agni, he could barely stop himself from forming the flame when he forced himself to express his… thanks to the peasants that helped him and Uncle.
Iroh patted him on the shoulder. "Patience, nephew. I assure you that my friends are very good at what they do. We will get into Ba Sing Se. Remember; a man who is a master of patience is a master of himself."
Zuko growls before stalking away, exhaling harshly. He barely caught himself from breathing out a plume of flame, pulling back his chi with a breath to kill any fire before it could spark. He could feel people's eyes connect with him, following him as he pushed through the crowd. Worse, his scar itched under their curious and horrified glances, though at least those were better than the pity. How dare they pity me. Filthy peasants, every last one of them.
Caught up in his fury, he slams into a solid object, stumbling. He looks up to see a young woman dressed in a smart uniform of Earth Kingdom colors. Ash and bone. She's an official. We're so burnt.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared up at him from the floor, and Zuko could have sworn that he saw recognition in them before she shook her head and raised an eyebrow as if waiting for something. A heartbeat passed before she got up, shaking her head. "You could have offered me a hand up, you know."
He blinked at her. "Why? You seem more than capable of standing by yourself. Why would I insult you like that?"
Suki cocked her head. "...you really mean that, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Why would I lie?" What an odd woman. He gave her a second look, confused and intrigued. Shorter than him, but only just, her blue-green eyes sat in an attractive face framed by auburn hair. Her hands strayed near a pair of folded tessen, ready to snap them open at a moment's notice. Something about her was bothering him. A surge of paranoia suddenly swept through him. "Do I know you?" he asked, hands dropping to his dao before purposefully clenching his fists and lowering them.
She smirked lightly as her eyes flickered to his blades before he reddened from embarrassment and rage. "I don't think that you do, no. My name's Angwar Suki." She stuck out her hand while the other settled onto her tessen. "What's your name?"
"..Lee. Of no particular name." He tentatively reached out with his hand, not entirely sure of the proper Earth Kingdom greeting.
It turned out that his worry was largely misplaced, as she reached out and grabbed his hand, pumping it once. "That's how we greet each other in the Earth Kingdom." She smiled ruefully. "You really don't blend in all that well."
He dropped her hand and stepped back, swords rasping halfway out of their sheath before she stepped forward and grabbed his arm and whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "No no no, it's okay. It must be hard, adjusting to life away from the colonies." She looked around and smiled, reassuring the alarmed refugees who'd flinched at the sound of drawn steel. "There's nothing wrong with that, so long as you're not here to continue the war?" A hint of a question entered her voice as her hand tightened over her weapon.
"No. No, me and my uncle, we're… we're not part of the war. Not anymore." His teeth were clenched. Not like we have any choice about it.
"Then you're welcome here." She steered him towards the wall, away from the larger horde of refugees. "Though you might not want to mention where you're from when you finally get into Ba Sing Se. They won't be quite as friendly as I am about it." She actually winked, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up as a surge of paranoia swept through him.
She knows who I am. His fingers twitched as his chi surged beneath his skin, quickening with his breath. Why isn't she turning me in, screaming out who I am?
Suki stood, crossing her arms and keeping her hands far from her tessen, very clearly projecting that she wasn't looking for a fight.
"Right… the colonies. Don't tell people. I understand." Zuko could feel the panic rising, sweat beading on his brow as his eyes flickered to either side, seeking an escape from the woman who totally knew that he wasn't from the colonies. All it would take was a single word, and everyone would either panic or descend upon him and - Agni, Uncle didn't know that she knew.
"Look, I'm not going to judge you. You... you're not the only one who's hiding something from the people here." She seemed to want to add something else, but couldn't bring herself to say it. She offered him a wan smile. "Look, I'm not going to say anything unless you force my hand. Which I hope that you don't." She leaned against the wall and slid down, patting the ground beside her. "Sit. If you don't mind, I've got some questions about the… colonies. "
Zuko backed away a step, hand on his blade. I could back away. We could disappear, and she'd never find us again. He forced himself to stop, frown creasing his face. If we started running, would we be able to stop? She'd report us. He very deliberately removed his hand and returned to the wall, flopping down a few feet away from Suki. "I'll answer one question, if you promise to leave me and my uncle alone."
Suki smiled and held out her hand. "Deal." At his hesitance, she wiggled her hand. "We also shake to seal a deal here."
"Barbarians." He muttered under his breath, ignoring her bright smile.
"So touching's not a thing out there, I guess?" She dropped her hand and brought up a knee, leaning her elbow on it as her hand dangled in the air.
Zuko shot her a glare. "Is that your question?"
She threw her hands up. "Oh, no, don't answer that. That's not my question. What's it really like in the colonies? You've seen the rest of the Earth Kingdoms, and been all over the world. But everything that I know about the colonies is from rumours."
"I haven't been home in years. Ask something else." He almost snarled out his answer, fingernails digging into his palms.
"Okay, okay… sensitive topic. Got it." Her lips pursed, and Zuko caught himself studying the pensive expression on her face. He quickly forced his gaze outwards again, blush rising in his cheeks. Agni. No. I'm not attracted to the pretty peasant.
"Women." Zuko glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He suddenly realised that he'd put her on his unscarred side, and refused to examine that thought. "You didn't offer me a hand up after you knocked me down. It's common courtesy in the Earth Kingdoms to help up a woman if you've seen her fall."
He snorted. "You haven't seen the women that I grew up with. If you're an official here, I figured that you could handle yourself. I wasn't going to demean your accomplishments by assuming that you needed help." Zuko sighed. "And you were right about touching not being a Big Thing from where I was born. It's not something offered lightly, except in close relationships."
He had to force himself to look away from the grin that spread across her face when she realised that he'd answered two questions. "Huh. So women aren't second class citizens, then?"
"No. That's only one of the reasons that the Fire Nation is rolling over the Earth Kingdoms, despite their smaller population. We don't - they don't cut off half of their population from fighting over something that they didn't have control over. The Fire Lord doesn't care if you're a woman or not if you can hold a blade or summon a flame. Though women tend to serve more at home rather than the front lines. Early on in the war, the things that they did to captured soldiers… there's a reason women serve mostly in the islands."
A long silence fell between the pair, the chatter of refugees filling the stillness between them.
"I'm sorry, that was depressing. I shouldn't have-"
"No, you don't have to apologize, Lee. " Suki ran her hand through her hair, slowly releasing her breath. "I'd rather harsh truths than a pretty lie."
"Well, good thing that you asked me. I'm a terrible liar." She tipped back her head and laughed. Zuko abruptly jerked his head back forwards so that he'd stop appreciating the elegant line of her neck. I've got to get out of here. He stood up abruptly. "I've… I've got to go. My uncle is looking for me."
"No need to worry, Lee. I assure you that I am perfectly fine." Iroh seemed to phase out of the crowd, wide grin on his face. "But who am I to separate my nephew from such a refreshing spring of water?
Zuko's face flushed, and he was morbidly intrigued by the similar blush that came up over Suki's face. "You must be Lee's uncle. He's lucky to have you."
Iroh's grin only grew. "You are not the first to tell me such, young lady."
"Uncle…" Zuko's long-suffering sigh made Suki giggle.
"Fine, I'll take mercy on you, Lee. I should be getting back to work." She stood up, and offered her hand to him. "Not that I don't respect you, Lee, but in the Earth Kingdom it's also a courtesy to help up a friend."
Zuko froze, eyes flashing to hers. Gold blazed into blue-green, and he swallowed heavily before shakily extending his hand up to her. Calloused hand met calloused hand as she pulled him up. He mentally approved at the tough muscles required to pull him up before telling his brain to shut up please. He pointedly refused to look at Iroh as he almost squealed as Suki smiled softly at him.
"I suppose that there's worse things that you could call me, Miss Angwar."
"Suki." He raised his eyebrow as she let go of his hand. "My friends call me Suki, not Miss Angwar."
"Suki, then. Thank you for your… silence. And your help." He couldn't help but appreciate the feel of her name on his tongue. The sharp syllables were almost Fire Nation compared to the often softer Earth Kingdom names. He had to consciously stop himself from forming the flame to her before she spun and walked away.
"So, my nephew. How did you get such a pretty girl to flirt with you?"
"Uncle! We're not talking about this. Ugh!" Zuko spun and walked away, before realising that he was headed in the same direction as Suki before turning on his heel and walking the opposite direction.
"Ah, young love." Iroh smiled congenially as he wondered if the White Lotus could get the guards here rotated to a shift in the city proper. It would do his nephew a world of good to have a distraction, a connection to life outside of hunting the Avatar. And she was quite pretty. He idly wondered if Zuko could see the traces of Fire Nation ancestry in Suki's features, in her sharp cheekbones and narrow nose. He hummed cheerfully to himself as he trundled off after his nephew. "It's a long long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city, they look so pretty…"