Zuko sat in the tea shop, arms crossed. He was tired of serving jasmine tea to the women, ginseng tea to all the soldiers and guards that came flowing in, and rose tea to all the other people. It was the same thing over and over. His Uncle was just minding his own business and serving and making the tea nonstop. Zuko sighed when he had to go and collect the dishes from the table where a group of men and women had just left. His Uncle smiled at him as he walked past, filling up another cup of tea.
"Lee, Mushi, you can take your break now," said the owner of the tea shop.
Zuko sighed, taking off the apron and heading to the back of the shop. He went out the backdoor to get some fresh air from the smell of different types of teas. His Uncle Iroh followed him, smiling. He told Zuko that now would be a good time to start practicing. Zuko gave him a look of concern. There were people sitting in the back of the other shops where they worked at. Zuko shook his head. He didn't want to Firebend at the moment. He was actually very tired from working.
"Lee, this is the perfect chance. You can finally learn that one thing," Iroh said slowly.
"Uncle, I can't. You know what could happen," Zuko muttered, head in his hands. "This really isn't the place to do it. I mean, why couldn't we have went to another refugee camp where the security was just a bit low key? And where it wasn't as crowded?"
"Lee, understand what I am trying to say. Your sister will conquer you if you don't practice!"
"Uncle, no. I'm not going to blow our cover," Zuko hissed quietly. "I don't want to ruin our lives so far."
Zuko went back into the tea shop, reaching for his apron once he entered the kitchen. Tying it back on, he entered the main room, where a lot of people had left and he needed to get all the cups up off of the tables. He sighed, reaching for a tray and heading towards the first table that he was near. The tea shop owner came over and looked at him with worry.
"Lee is something wrong?" he asked, putting a hand on his employee's shoulder.
"Yeah, a lot of things have been wrong lately," Zuko muttered, heading towards the next table. "Money is tight, I need to learn bending, and there's nowhere to do that in this city. I want to go home, but I can't because I'll be kicked out yet again. My sister is coming after me for some idiotic reason, and a whole lot of other things are going on."
"Lee, if I had known, I would have helped you and your Uncle."
"It's not just my Uncle. It is mainly myself. I'm causing a lot of the trouble," he said, most of it to himself.
"Don't put it all on yourself, Lee. That's what causes a man to crumble under pressure," the shop owner paused. "I was once a bender myself, but quit to follow the family business. I was a…Firebender. I didn't really believe in what the Fire Nation was doing, but I forced myself to forget all the things I learned as a child."
Zuko looked at him with wide eyes. So he was a Firebender. What if he remembered everything he had learned and just didn't use it? Maybe he could teach him! Zuko noticed that the shop was completely empty, the doors were closed. No one was around. They were good to go. He took a deep breath, and turned to the tea shop owner.
"I'm a Firebender myself."
"I know. You're Prince Zuko. No one can deny the fact with that scar, Prince. I'm surprised you are running from your own family," he chuckled.
Zuko nodded his head. He didn't know why he was running from his family either. It was such a hard task. But he understood why he was running from his sister. Azula wanted him dead just so she could ascend the throne after their father died. Zuko wasn't going to allow this to happen. For centuries it had been men that had lead the Fire Nation, and he wasn't about to let that change just because of his sister's ambitions.
"I'm ashamed at myself, really. I'm supposed to be out there helping my nation, but they all want me dead because of how stupid I am," Zuko put his head in his hands, dropping the tray on the floor as he did so. "I'm so sorry!"
Zuko knelt down to start cleaning up the broken china. He had done this so much in the past few days that it was unreal. The tea shop owner told him to stop, to sit down and listen to him. Zuko did as he was told, but couldn't ignore the fact that he had just messed up again.
"Zuko, I can help you. I know some underground passages below my shop that lead to an area where Earthbenders, Waterbenders, and a few Firebenders meet up and practice. I bring the water for the Waterbenders each night," the tea shop owner looked at the door again. "Meet me here at midnight. I'll be ready to teach you. Bring Mushi if you wish to. What is his real name, actually?"
"His real name is Iroh. General Iroh."
"Ah, your uncle. Well, I'll see you tonight, Lee. Now, clean up this mess or I'll have to take away your raise," the shop owner laughed, raising his hands at the look on Zuko's face. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Just clean it up and then I'll get the spares out of the back to set up on the tables!"