Prompt: Zuko and Kimiko bondin over being... Uh, fire people? (Submitted by anonymous on tumblr.)
The rain fell softly against the glass window panes that night, not quite a staccato, but still just as even and steady. She sat near the roaring fire of the tea house's main room—it had never gone out once since the place had first been built, the owner's granddaughter had told her, once—and stared into the flames as her finger lightly traced the edge of her mug, lost in thought.
It was then that the door to the tea house opened, the sound of the old hinges squealing in protest rising above that of the rain outside. She turned her head and looked at the newcomer: a tall figure wearing a thick, dark cloak, head covered by a hood and face hidden in shadow. The only thing she could discern about the newcomer was his gender—if their gait was anything to go by, the stranger was most certainly a man.
Her suspicions were confirmed when the newcomer made their way to the counter, and the tenor of a young man's voice carried through the empty room and to her ears. "Just green tea—jasmine, if you have it today."
She smiled down at her own mug before getting out of her chair and making her way to the counter as well; she needed a refill, anyway. "You've got good taste; the jasmine here is some of the best I've ever had," she told the newcomer. She gestured to her mug. "Chamomile for me, Mars."
The girl behind the counter rolled her eyes and tucked a few wayward strands of dark hair behind her ear with a frown. "Are you ever going to stop with that dumb nickname, Kimiko?" She took the empty mug.
"Fine, Rei," Kimiko replied. "Could I get some honey and lemon with that, by the way?"
Rei rolled her eyes again, but this time a small smile replaced the frown. "Just the way your father makes it, right?"
"You actually add things to your tea?" The newcomer turned toward Kimiko; his hood was still up, and she still couldn't see his eyes, but his lips were pressed into a thin, disapproving line.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know it's rude to have your hood up when getting food in nice places, right?"
"Tea isn't food," the stranger shot back, but he complied and pulled down his hood.
Kimiko fought the urge to gasp; a large burn covered the man's face, covering his left eye and ear completely. She averted her eyes quickly, but the the man still noticed.
"I know you saw it," he told her as he pointed to the scar. "If you're here, of all places, then you already know how destructive fire can be."
From where she was bustling around behind the counter, Rei replied, "But it can help rebuild things, too—how's the reconstruction going, Mister Fire Lord Zuko?"
The stranger—Zuko—shrugged and sighed. "As well as it could be, I guess. You can't fix a century's worth of damage that quickly, you know." He paused and looked around. "I was hoping Mustang would be in tonight, actually—I'm sure he knows a thing or two about rebuilding countries."
Kimiko scoffed. "You just missed him—he left just before you got here. And good thing, too." She made a face. "I've had it up to here with his stupid flirting. The next time he starts hitting on me, I'm going to show him how much things can burn."
Zuko looked at her strangely. "Have we met before?" he asked.
Kimiko glared at him. "What? Now you're going to put the moves on me?" She scoffed. "And I thought Jack was bad enough."
"No, no," Zuko replied. "It's just that you remind me of someone." Then he frowned. "Besides, I have a girlfriend."
"Doesn't stop Mustang."
The clatter of a tray being set on the countertop caught their attention, and the two looked at a very irate looking Rei. "Stop acting like brats," she said, "or I'm going to call Natsu over and ask him to make you stop—he's been itching for a fight all day, and I know he won't say no."
Zuko scowled at her and took his cup from the tray. "You're worse than Uchiha," he said before taking a sip.
"Or Calcifer," Kimiko agreed.
From across the room, the fire in the hearth roared up in protest. "I heard that!"