Chap. 3

Dinner Preparations

"How's the peach tea?" Aang asked as Iroh and Luz took a sip. Instantly their faces contorted into grimaces as they vehemently spit it out.

"I thought you said this was tea!" Iroh muttered. "This is just hot leaf juice."

"No, it's hot leaf juice spiced with pepper." Luz muttered.

"Sorry guys, it's all we have." The Avatar replied, as he took the cups back over to the washing pot. Since there was no longer any jasmine in the inn, Iroh had been attempting to use the leaves from Fuego's spices to make something that resembled tea. But so far, nothing was working.

"I didn't think using leaves from Fuego's spices was that good of an idea anyway. He said he was trying some alterations with some of them for different flavors." Aang said.

"Couldn't have been any worse then the time he tried mixing cilantro and chili pepper." Luz muttered. "Where the hell is Trueno anyway?"

Just as those words were spoken, the door swung open and Trueno walked back in. "Everything ok here?" the ram asked aloud.

"Pretty good." Aang answered. The ram nodded; this was part of the system the group had worked out if one of them happened to leave the inn. Anyone coming back asked if everything was ok. If the answer they got back was 'fine', then the Dai Li weren't watching. If the answer was 'pretty good' then the Dai Li were watching. They'd chosen this system because it seemed like such a casual greeting; it was unlikely anyone would ever think it was anything else.

"Thank heaven! Did you get the jasmine?" Iroh asked eagerly. The ram nodded and quickly tossed the former general the bag full of leaves. Iroh caught it and quickly began to move to the firepit, while Luz smiled in anticipation.

"Actually, you're gonna have to hold off on that, Mushi." Truneo said. "We've got some serious work to do."

"What? What can be so important that it must delay tea?!" Iroh asked in astonishment.

"We've got company coming tonight, and I think we should at least try to make the house look nice. Where are the others?" The ram replied.

"Most of them went to see what they could find out about the Dai Li, but Fuego and Katara went to get stuff for dinner. What do you mean, company?" Luz asked.

"Someone's bringing a friend home from work." The ram said as he moved over to the couch and began to fluff the cushions.

"You mean Jin?" Iroh asked in surprise, the tea forgotten at this new bit of information. After Zuko had come home from his date last week, Iroh had been trying to get him to follow up on the 'nice' time he'd had with the girl. But Zuko hadn't moved forward at all. He said it was because he hadn't seen Jin at the shop lately, but Iroh thought it was because he was still unwilling to put roots down in the city.

"How on earth did you get him to invite her here?" the Firebender asked, as he moved to wash the cups stacked by the washing pot.

"Actually, I did it for him." Truneo replied. "She introduced herself and after some conversation, I managed to invite her over. Good thing too; that nephew of yours had all the charm and wit of a retarded gecko."

Iroh nodded his agreement, as Aang raised his hand and said, "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but we're still in the dark here. Who the heck is Jin?"

"A girl that Li met at the tea shop." Iroh answered. "She has quite a crush on him. Of course he didn't believe it. But I gave him a little insight and even set up a date for them last week."

"Li went a date?" Luz gasped in amazement.

"Wow. And I thought finding out I was the Avatar would be the biggest shock of my life." Aang added.

"Come on guys, he isn't that bad. They probably had a good time.' Truneo said.

"Yeah I can just imagine it." Luz said, giving Aang a slight nudge. Clasping her hands together, Luz mock sighed and said in a lovelorn voice, "Oh Li, you're so dark and mysterious, please tell me about yourself."

"No, I can't." Aang answered back, making his voice deep and angst ridden. "I can never reveal the dark mysteries of my soul."

"But why? I must know all about you. Your loner nature and lack of conversational skills are so attractive to me."

"Yes, but they hide a great secret, a horrible accident of my past that no one must ever know about."

"Oh no, what could that secret be? Please tell me." Luz said, as she reached over and pulled Aang's face close to hers, looking deep into his eyes.

Aang looked away a second, then broke the embrace and said, "Very well. Your feminine wiles, along with my inability to hold any more depressing secrets about myself without committing suicide, has broken me. When I was left my home all those years ago, I was a happy, carefree boy. But then, my greatest treasure was taken from me, the blanket that I had slept with since I was a baby."

"No!"

"Yes. That is why I must forever be an angst-ridden loner, for I can never retrieve my wonderful blanket, nor can anything or anyone else give me that kind of unconditional love. Now, I must leave you here and go and brood about it, to further my angst as I sleep with the makeshift doll I created to replace my blanket."

Aang looked down then, as Luz stared at him with sad puppy-dog eyes. Three seconds later, they broke character and began to laugh uncontrollably. Trueno attempted to keep his face neutral, but eventually he broke down in laughter too. Iroh even laughed, though his face went back a moment later.

"That was quite good, but I hope you do realize that Li will need your help tonight."

"Don't worry Uncle Iroh." Aang replied. "We'll get dinner together."

"It isn't just dinner. Li's has never had a lady-friend before. He left his home before he could find one, and all the traveling we did prevented him from finding one. This is his first time dealing with a girl, and I don't want to see him get hurt. You know how hard he takes things; he may very well give up."

"Good point." Luz said thoughtfully. "All right, we'll do our best to make sure tonight goes smoothly. Not that we wouldn't have done that anyway. I'll go contact Fuego and tell him to get more food for tonight."

"And I'll do some dusting." Aang said, as he moved into an Airbending stance. Holding his hand out, the young Avatar blew a stream of air around the room, doing an hour's worth of dusting in a minute. Once everything was clean, Aang gathered the dust together in a cloud, and then blew it outside the window.

"Wow. You'll make a great husband one day Aang." Trueno said, as he looked at the now dust-free room. Aang just smiled and moved to clean other parts of the inn.

The small band worked throughout the day, cleaning the inn with great speed, as the others came home and began to help themselves. Meanwhile, the day moved quickly, until it was finally sundown….

How did I get into this again? Zuko thought as he stood outside the teahouse, waiting for Jin. Granted, it wasn't waiting for Jin that was bothering him; Zuko really did want to make things right after what had happened last time. But he had wanted to do it on his terms. Zuko hated being shanghaied into these things that he had no control or input on. His uncle was bad enough; he didn't need Trueno or the others trying to make him do these things too.

But then again, what would he have done on his own? Zuko had to admit, he was still trying to figure out what was going on between himself and Jin. She was pretty, kind, and it was nice to know his scar didn't repulse her, like it had so many girls in his travels. But at the same time, Zuko had never been in a relationship before. His interest in girls had begun just before his banishment from the Fire Nation. Once he'd been out on the sea, he'd been forced to bury those feelings to pursue his goal of the Avatar. Now he had finally had a chance to develop those feelings, but he felt like he was years behind his age and should know more then he did. Plus, he was still apprehensive about making any sort of connection to Ba Sing Se. This city was a prison and the Dai Li were the guards. Zuko wanted to get out more then anything, and if not for the knowledge that the group possessed about the eclipse, he imagined they would have been right there with him trying to escape.

But it was Zuko's inexperience and confusion that was really why Trueno and Iroh had needed to set Zuko up. At first, the idea of Jin liking him had never even crossed his mind. He'd had no idea how to act on their date, and he'd just plain panicked during their …… Zuko smiled a bit at this thought. Even now, despite all his issues, Zuko still enjoyed the memory of their brief kiss. Yet as pleasant as it was, it still added to his confusion. Part of it was his fear of commitment to Ba Sing Se. But it was also not knowing what it meant for him. Did this mean he liked her? Were these feelings just because she had kissed him? Would it have been the same with another girl? Or was this special?

Zuko could've mediated on those thoughts for days, but before he could begin, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. Turing around, he saw Jin walking over from the alleyway, dressed in the same green robes and hairstyle as on their first date.

"I guess your uncle didn't want to see his ten minutes wasted again?" Jin asked jokingly, pointing to Zuko's uncombed hair.

"I didn't have time to get home; we had a late delivery." Zuko replied, gesturing to the shop.

"Probably just as well. You look better this way." Jin said, as she slipped her arm under Zuko's. "Now, I think you have a dinner waiting for me?"

Zuko nodded, and the two of them began walking in the direction of the inn. As they walked, Jin asked, "So how did you meet the Elementals anyway? I always heard that they didn't come to Earth very often."

"Well, it was back when my uncle and I were in the circus." Zuko said, trying to think quickly. "They had just found the Avatar, and they stopped in to see a show. There was a Fire Nation raid by these guys called the Rough Rhinos, and they helped us escape. They even traveled with us for a few weeks, since we were heading in the same direction. That's when Trueno taught me juggling; I used to be a lion-tamer. After my uncle and I left, we met up with them when they arrived in the city."

"Wow. I wish I could be lucky enough to meet such legends." Jin said.

"They definitely had a big effect on me." Zuko agreed.

"It must be so weird though, staying with people that are so….. well different. I mean Trueno was cool, but the others…."

As Jin spoke, Zuko felt her grip on her arm tighten. As he noticed it, something began to move around in his brain, a sense that most people would realize as intuition. Jin had been nervous when she'd met Trueno, and she sounded the same way when she spoke about the other Knights. Zuko realized then that Jin was just a simple girl who had probably never met anyone like the Avatar or the Elementals. Zuko had been around important people his entire life and he was used to their presence; it had helped him accept the Knights and the Avatar rather painlessly. But Jin hadn't and she was meeting some very important people who knew nothing about her.

"Trust me it'll be fine." He said reassuringly. "They aren't all as happy as Trueno, but they are all friendly."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jin answered. "It's just that I'm a little nervous. I guess I'm kinda worried that they'll think I'm not worth noticing; they've so much after all."

"That won't happen." Zuko said. "And if they think that, then the fate of the world is in the hands of complete morons."

Jin's eyes widened at that, and after a second, she smiled and put her head on Zuko's arm. The boy gasped a bit at that, but kept walking, albeit with a small smile of his own.