Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything associated with it. This is for personal amusement only—so I hope you're amused!
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Chapter 3
After leaving the bookstore, Zuko and Iroh headed back towards the tea shop. As soon as they arrived, Iroh waved off Zuko.
"Zuko, why don't you go home and get some rest. I'll be home for dinner, then come back later to close up the shop," Iroh said.
"Uncle, I can come back tonight to close," Zuko said while standing in the doorway of DragonsTea.
"No, no, it will be unnecessary. Besides, don't you have an 8 a.m. class tomorrow? You don't want to show up to your first class tired from closing the shop—what kind of impression would that make?"
"Fine, Uncle, I'll head home and get started on dinner. Did you want anything in particular?"
"Why don't you surprise me, nephew," Iroh replied with a smile.
With that, Zuko headed out the door towards the home he shared with Iroh, located just a few blocks away. Zuko had moved in with Iroh while he was still in high school—Zuko's father, Ozai, had disowned Zuko because he had accidentally started a fire in their home. Iroh took the boy under his wing soon after, realizing that his younger brother's attitude towards the boy was not going to change anytime soon.
Zuko was an attentive young man when it came to his uncle, but unfortunately, he was a loner. I just don't think it's healthy for a young man like himself to not have any friends, Iroh often mused to himself. At first, he thought the boy's dislike of people stemmed from the prominent scar across the boy's face—evidence of the fire he caused and the shame Zuko felt for causing it. Soon though, he realized that Zuko simply did not care for the friendship of other youngsters and realized that the boy would only seek companionship if wanted to.
If only Ursa were here to talk to him…Iroh often pondered the disappearance of Zuko's mother years ago. She had simply packed up and left his brother and her family nearly a decade earlier, years before the fire. Iroh never understood why she disappeared, but he knew that for a woman like Ursa to abandon her family, she would have to have a good reason.
As Iroh shook himself from his thoughts, he went to the office and grabbed his apron. Soon enough, he was checking the large jars of tea on a shelf beside the counter. If they looked low, he would take the jar down and place it on a small work table nearby. After taking down a couple of jars, he eyeballed their labels and went to the stockroom, retrieving large bags of loose tea. Armed with scoop in hand, he refilled each until he was satisfied. He then placed them back on the shelf and returned the bags back to their storage area. Afterwards, he walked around the tea shop, clearing tables as he went by. He had started the shop by himself years ago, after he retired as an honored general from the Fire Nation army. The shop was his pride and joy and filled his time with something to do instead of being depressed over the untimely death of his son Lu Ten.
The shop wasn't large by any means, as it was a small converted house, but it had plenty of roomy seating, with large sofas by the windows and small tables in the back for studying. There was also a large patio outside, allowing people to enjoy the sunshine or smoke clove cigarettes late into an evening of conversation. On Friday nights, Iroh hosted an open mike night and students would come by, some reciting poetry, others testing out a new stand-up comedy act and others just playing a tune on their guitar. This tea shop is so full of life, Iroh would always think to himself. He smiled as he returned to the counter, wiping it off with a clean rag. Soon enough, two new customers walked in. As Iroh looked up, he smiled, "Welcome to DragonsTea, ladies. I'm glad to see you took me up on my offer."
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Katara and Suki left their dorm room, looking forward to an afternoon snack. They meandered their way through campus, stopping every so often so Katara could point out a particular building or relay a favorite spot. She showed Suki the small pond on campus, pointing out the colorful koi and the turtle-ducks that called it home.
"It's amazing that in the middle of this big campus, there's a spot for serenity," Suki admired as they finally left. "I'm really glad I came here…"
"I know exactly what you mean," Katara replied. "Coming from the South Pole to here was like a complete 180. At first, I was worried that I'd get lost in the sea of people and buildings, but now I think of it as my 'home away from home.'"
They neared the edge of campus and saw DragonsTea across the street. Katara was already looking forward to a cold boba tea to wash the day's earlier events away and cool her off in the afternoon heat.
As soon as they walked in, Katara smiled at the old man behind the counter. After a brief welcome, Katara handed him the coupon. She then eyed the extensive menu near the register. She quickly spotted the drink of her desire.
"Thanks again for the coupon," she started. "I think I'll try the iced peach boba. How about you, Suki?" Katara said turning to her companion.
"I'll try the iced green boba with strawberry, please," Suki replied, handing over some money to Iroh.
Iroh respectfully turned the money away asking, "Is this your first visit to DragonsTea, Ms. Suki?" Suki nodded an affirmative. "Well then, please consider your drink on the house, as well. Unfortunately, I did not catch your name," Iroh said while addressing Katara.
"I'm Katara," Katara said offering her hand.
"Nice to meet you Katara—such a beautiful name. I am Iroh Sozin," Iroh replied shaking her hand. "Again, my apologies for Zuko's behavior earlier—he can be a little harsh sometimes."
"No worries—consider it forgotten," Katara said smiling and belying the fact that she still thought he was a jerk.
"Well, why don't you ladies take a seat and I'll bring you your drinks shortly," Iroh said graciously.
At that, Katara and Suki headed outside to enjoy some of the sunshine as it peeked through the tree covering part of the patio area. After a minute or two of chatting, Iroh appeared, walking over with a small tray with their drinks on it, as well as an additional teacup.
"Here you go, ladies. Would you forgive an old man his weariness and allow me to join you for a little conversation?"
"Of course, Mr. Sozin. Please feel free to join us," Katara replied respectfully.
"Please, call me Iroh. Now, you girls must be students at BSSU. What are you majoring in?" Iroh asked while sipping his tea.
Katara answered first, "I'm a sophomore majoring in physical therapy."
"And I'm a junior majoring in biology," Suki said with a smile.
"And what do the young people do now when they're not studying for class?" Iroh queried with a small grin.
"Well, we both play for the women's water polo team," Katara replied in between sips of her boba. She thoughtfully chewed on a large tapioca pearl before continuing, "And I volunteer at the teen center in the lower tier on the weekends."
"Water polo, eh? That isn't an easy sport—it's the only sport I know of where you have to not only compete, but you also have to keep yourself from drowning!" Iroh said with a small laugh. "And it's very admirable that you volunteer, as well, especially in the lower tier."
The girls smiled at him and they continued their small talk. Soon enough, it was getting late and, as they finished the last of their drinks, they said goodbye to their new friend.
"Please come back soon, Katara. If it weren't for you kids, I would feel even older than I look!" Iroh called to them as they walked away.
"Thanks again, Iroh!" both girls cheerfully replied as they crossed the street.
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As Katara got ready for bed that night, she smiled thoughtfully as she remembered that sweet old man. As nice as he is, I'm almost surprised he's related to the jerk I ran into earlier today.
Pulling out the tie that pulled her hair back, she began to slowly brush her hair. I can't believe it's the start of another school year. It seems like just yesterday, I was graduating from high school. I can still remember the look of pride on Dad's, Gran-Gran's and Sokka's faces. Too bad Mom never got to see me graduate…
Shaking her head a little, as if to help tumble the memory out of her mind, Katara put down her hair brush. She quickly changed into her pajamas and turned out the light. Turning to Suki's side of the room, she quickly said "good night" to her roommate and curled up in her bed. Tomorrow's the start of a whole new year…
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It was late and Zuko couldn't sleep…again. After Uncle came home, he had served dinner and watched some TV before heading to his room. He undressed and changed into the pajama bottoms Iroh had gotten him for his birthday earlier that year. Zuko lay in bed, smiling as he thought about how his uncle had gone to great lengths to find him some adult-sized pajamas with the Blue Spirit character on them. The Blue Spirit was his favorite comic book character as a child and Iroh had remembered. Thankfully, Iroh had given the gift to him after everyone had left the party. It would have been at least a little embarrassing for everyone to see how excited I was to get a set of PJs with a comic book character on them.
As Zuko tossed and turned, he realized that he wasn't going to go to sleep anytime soon. So, he turned the light back on and grabbed one of the old comic books that he stored under his bed. Maybe a little reading will get me sleepy, he thought to himself.
After reading halfway through the short Blue Spirit comic book, Zuko felt his eyelids droop. Soon enough, he was falling asleep. His last thoughts drowsily coming: tomorrow's the start of a whole new year…
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Author's Note: So, I was seriously bored at work (it's 80 degrees in Southern California, not to mention a Friday), so I thought I'd continue with the next chapter—which, I admit, is a little slow. While this chapter may not seem exciting, it does set up a lot of back story on our characters (which you're probably aware of anyways, if you watch a:tla). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see if I have it in me to crank another chapter out sometime over the weekend!