Legal Notice: Tea would make it easier on my knowing that I don't own this.
Chapter 16: Tea
Kana bounced excitedly on the ball of her heels as she and Meno waited for the monorail that would bring her friends, and his cousin. They watched excitedly as the tan and green carts sped towards them, jerkily coming to a stop as it slid into the station. The doors slid open, and her eyes scanned along the crowd, brightening as soon as she saw Aang's goofy grin.
She rushed forward as the others piled out to meet her, scooping up everyone that could fit into her arms. "I'm so glad you're all okay!" she gushed, before she could stop herself.
"Sheesh Water Mama, you'd think we fought some giant drill trying to take down Ba Sing Se or something." Toph snickered; face splitting into a wide grin. "What do you think you're doing over there Manny, you know I can see you!"
"I was just waiting until this touching reunion was over," he said, walking over to everybody. Aang and Sokka stared at him with confusion, but Katara's eyes were focused on Kana, who shrugged.
"What are you doing here, Manny?" Toph asked, socking him in the shoulder.
"Kana and I ran into each other at a tea house, she invited me along to come meet you guys." He answered nodding to everyone.
"What kind of name is Manny?" Sokka asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"It stands for 'male nanny'," Kana snickered, "he was in charge of looking after Toph until I got there."
"Okay, so what's his real name?" Katara wondered aloud as Sokka's face puffed out, a reddish hue coloring his cheeks as he tried not to laugh.
"Meno," he purred, sticking his hand out for her to shake, "it's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Aang, that's Katara, and that's Sokka." Aang said pointing to everyone in turn, taking his hand.
"I hope you all become fast friends." Kana grinned, putting her hand on Meno's shoulder, and digging her nails into the cloth of his shirt. He winced, then nodded his head in understanding. The message was water clear: Stay away from Katara, or suffer the consequences.
Behind the group, the monorail cars creaked before finally leaving, and on the other side of the track a lone woman with long dark hair stood there. She shuffled forward, an unnatural, wide, smile plastered on her face, causing an unpleasant tingle to crawl up everyone's spines.
"Hello, my name is Joo Dee. I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, and Toph." The woman hesitated for a moment, eyeing Kana and Meno, her lips tightening as she continued. "I did not know I would also be escorting the two of you."
"Oh, that's quite all right." Kana responded smoothly with a tiny smile of her own, even though her skin crawled at Joo Dee's unblinking gaze.
"Unfortunately not," the older woman replied merrily, "our transportation is only big enough for five."
"As I've said, that is quite all right," Kana said tightly, lips spreading in an upward fashion that was hinging on Joo Dee-ish. "Master Beifong and I have some business in the Lower Ring to attend too. If you would just give me the address that my friends and I will be staying at, I will be more than happy to meet you there."
"Of course." Joo Dee beamed, bowing low. "You will be staying in the garden district of the Upper Ring on Orchid road. It's the last house on left. May I inquire as to where you are going?"
"Unfortunately, we have a lot of business transactions to deal with, so it'll be impossible to give an exact location at any given time." Kana laughed lightly, Joo Dee joining in with her own forced chuckle.
"Would you like me to wait at your house?" she asked, making Kana's eye twitch.
"I'll be home late." She said politely. Joo Dee stared at her, a glazed over look in her eyes, then nodded her – unwilling – assent.
"You're leaving already?" Aang asked; face falling into a pout, immediately softening Kana's face.
"My temper hasn't been the best since becoming a Firebender, it's harder to… control it." She muttered eyes flicking to a distracted Joo Dee, who was being yelled at by Sokka. "I'll be there before the moon is in the middle of the sky." She promised, and he smiled. It was something the two of them would say when they snuck out at night to chase lemurs, or visit the bison stables.
"You'll be back before I go to sleep?" he asked tenderly.
"Of course." She whispered softly, before turning sharply and shouting to Meno. "Come on Manny, I'm taking you back to work!"
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"Lee!" Kana shouted merrily, walking into the tea house, making Zuko jump, and nearly spill a costumer's drinks on them. "Look who I brought back to work!"
"How do you know Lee?" Meno asked, side eyeing her suspiciously.
"I ran into him yesterday when I went back to talk with Jet. He waited with me until he arrived."
"Can you two not see that I'm busy?" Zuko hissed, venomously. "Unless you're here to help, leave."
"Do you always have to be in such a bad mood, Zuzu?" Kana teased waving away his comment like stale air. "Couldn't you be happy just once?"
"I'd be happy if you'd leave me alone." He growled, stomping away, and into the kitchen, Meno and Kana on his heels.
"Zuzu?" He whispered, making her shrug.
"A bitter fruit that grows in the swamps of the Southern Earth Kingdom." She answered smoothly, the lie rolling off her tongue easily.
"You're in the way." Zuko snapped, shoving his way between the two of them with a tray full of tea, and Kana felt her lips dip down in annoyance. He was hiding something. Yesterday he was confused, and probably scared of the thought that she could turn him into the Dai Lee with a flick of the wrist. Now he was upset, and more than usual.
She was about to say something in response, but before her lips could open, a brown cloth was thrown over her head. She was blind for just a moment before tearing it from her face, and tossing a glare in Meno's direction. She looked at the brown in her hands, noticing in a less than a second that it was an apron. "It's only fair since you used this as an excuse to get out of fun time with Joo Dee." He snickered, and she tossed it back with more force than necessary.
"What about payment?" she asked, a wicked smirk forming on her lips when he frowned.
"You sound like my parents." He grimaced, "You might wanna be careful that the Bei Fong mentality doesn't wear off on you." She crossed her arms.
"Am I getting paid?" she demanded again.
"Fine! Average wage, now why don't you go help Lee." he sighed, and she gave him a radiant smile. Kana caught the apron as he threw it at her for the second time, before slipping it over her head. She turned on her heel, taking a tray from Iroh's waiting hands. There was a card on the tray stating which table to take it to, and with one final wink to Meno, she walked into the front of the tea house. When Zuko caught sight of her, she stuck her tongue out before walking over to her table.
They served anyone who came into the shop, almost making a competition of it, trying to wait on more people than the other. Suddenly, Kana had a sudden burst of inspiration, and with a sly smirk, she moved to the door of the tea house to 'water' the flowers outside. She cast a few shy smiles at the boys walking by before slipping back inside, a small horde following her, and requesting her as their server.
It was no coincidence that the amount of costumers increased every time she went outside to water these same flowers. They had a nice flow of people flowing in and out for the rest of the day until closing, marked by the sun dipping fully below the horizon. Kana ushered out the stragglers, then shut the door with a sigh. The work day was finally over.
"Would you like to come to the our apartment for some tea, Dewdrop?" Iroh asked, exiting the kitchen with Zuko and Meno in tow.
"We just worked in a tea house all day," Zuko snapped, making Kana snicker behind a hand, "we're sick of tea."
"I would love some, Mushi." she laughed, and Zuko's expression soured. "It's not as if we were drinking tea all day."
"A fact that I am eager to change!" Iroh gushed, clapping his hands together in delight, "Will you be joining us, Meno?"
"No," he yawned, "I have to get up early for the trip into the upper ring."
"See you tomorrow!" Kana called, and he tossed a wave back over his shoulder.
"Shall we get going?" Iroh asked, offering his arm with a beaming smile.
"Such a gentleman!" Kana laughed, taking his arm with her own, making Zuko roll his eyes in annoyance. They all walked out together, and as soon as they set foot outside, Kana felt a prickle on the back of her neck. She was being watched. She turned around, prepared to strike, but instead of someone out to rob seemingly defenseless tea serves, she was greeted with a lopsided grin.
"Jet!" she exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that an interesting girl with the most beautiful blue eyes was working down here," he said, and her cheeks flushed pink, "I figured I should come visit."
"I guess you didn't get the memo that it was closing time." Zuko stated, stepping forward slightly, causing an alarm bell to go off in her head. She placed a hand on his arm, and he set his jaw, but moved back next to his uncle nonetheless.
"Lee's right," she said, "I've already made plans with Mushi."
"Nonsense!" Iroh laughed, ignoring the tension in the air, "friends are a gift of life, you're more than welcome to join us for a spot of tea."
"That's nice of you, but-"
"But he'd love too." Kana cut in hastily, earning an amused smile from Jet, and an angry scowl from Zuko.
I guess, I'd love too." Jet chuckled, falling in step with Iroh, who was leading the way. "It's good to see you again, Lee."
"Like wise, Jet."
Kana's brows rose at the terse acknowledgement from the two boys, but simply shrugged it off. She wouldn't be able to pry until Iroh was distracted. She had missed an opportunity when she first learned that they knew each other, but had been to preoccupied to really question it. She should have thought inviting Jet along through before jumping at the opportunity to rectify the fact that she had left Jet hanging the other night. She had to hope the two didn't clash too much, and trust Iroh knew this, and wasn't just doing it to please - or possibly get under his nephews skin - Kana.
When the apartment complex came into view, she let her shoulders relax slightly. She was quickly led up a flight of stairs, and into a small living room, much like baby Hope's and Jet's. It wasn't cramped at the very least, even with the bit of furniture sitting around. It was rather dull, but the flowers made it a little lively. "It's nice." she said with a small smile.
"It's prison." Zuko snorted, pushing his way to a green cushion before plopping onto it, an amused smirk tugging on Kana's lips. She had never known Zuko to 'plop' anywhere.
"I have to agree," Jet said offhandedly, eyes roving over his surroundings. "The wall's definitely make it feel that way."
"You two are just complainers." Kana stated brushing off their complaints with a wave of her hand, sitting down next to Zuko when Iroh motioned for her too. Jet took a seat on her other side, and Iroh filled a pot with water, placing it on the stove, and reaching for the spark rocks. His hands rustled around for a second, and right as Kana was going to offer to light it for him, he pulled out the little black stones. He lit the stove, and as soon as the water started to boil, Iroh stood over the pot like a mother turtle duck, occasionally making lite conversation. It was boring, yet pleasant, and Kana was content with it.
She pushed both Jet and Zuko to speak, specifically to each other so she could gauge their reactions. As far as she could tell, there was nothing that could have warranted the tension in the room. She continued to probe gently, Iroh occasionally joining in, helping with her efforts. But even when the night was winding down, and it was time for her and Jet to leave, she had nothing. She gave a mental sigh, and Iroh a hug before backing away with a warm smile. "Thank you for inviting me over, Mushi."
"Anytime Dewdrop, it's always a pleasure to be in the company of a pretty girl." he grinned, making her laugh. She hesitated for a second before waving her hand towards Zuko, who sat there in surprised silence for a moment before raising his own in farewell. She and Jet left the apartment together, but went their separate ways as soon as they got outside. They said goodbye, and Kana gave him a small hug before snapping her gliders wings open, and taking to the air.
She went to the Garden district where Joo Dee had instructed her to go, and as soon as her feet touched the ground on Orchid road, a large grin split her face. Despite having spent the day with Zuko and Iroh, she was excited to see her friends again. She jogged forward, and as soon as she stepped on the porch, the door flung open.
"Thank the spirits you're here, Water Mama," Toph groaned, "you're the only one I can count on putting me out of my misery."
"Being in the city isn't that bad, Toph." Kana chuckled, walking into the house where everyone else sat slumped against giant pillows.
"We used to agree with you, Kana." Aang moaned.
"But that was before we had to spend the whole day with Joo Dee." Katara complained tiredly.
"It couldn't have been all bad." Kana said, trying to repress a snicker.
"Says the one who ran off to have fun all day with Meno." Toph snorted, making her huff.
"I worked all day in a tea shop, thank you very much!" she huffed indignantly, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, well we won't be able to see the Earth King for two months, so we got you beat." Sokka groaned, causing Kana's face to redden in anger.
"We what!?" she screeched, Momo leaping up from his perch on Aang's head in a frenzy.
"Whoa, Water Mama!" Toph warned, "We don't want a repeat of Gaoling!"
"That pompous ass!" Kana seethed, ignoring the fact that Toph and Aang were in the room, "I should just pull a Kyoshi and burst in there demanding his attention!"
"I would be all for that, except for the whole 'we need his help' thing." Sokka stated dryly, rolling his eyes. Kana opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut, taking a deep breath through the nose. Anger was bad, she had to think clearly.
"So what are we going to do?" Aang asked, eyes wide.
"We'll figure something out." Katara said soothingly, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "But for tonight I think we should all get some rest. It's been a long day for all of us I'm sure."
"Well there's only four rooms, and I call not sharing." Toph said, hands on hips.
"That's fine, Kana and I can share, right Kana?" Katara asked with a warm smile.
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Katara woke up with a yawn, the sun beating down on her closed eyelids. She pushed her face down into her pillow with a groan. She hated the mornings, and the fact that she had been getting up earlier than usual due to all the traveling she'd been doing. With a sigh of deep loathing, she peeled open her eyes, only to have thick mahogany hair obscure her vision.
She picked up her head in confusion only to find that the nook in Kana's back had been acting as her pillow. She blushed slightly, remembering how her gran-gran had told her that if she were to lay down next to somebody, they had better be prepared to cuddle. She shifted slightly, and the other girl's eye opened groggily, glaring. "What are you doing, Katara?" she growled.
"Nothing, it's morning." She responded, hands on hips.
"Mornings are evil." Kana moaned, burying her face in an actual pillow.
"Come on, if you get up I'll let you have my desert after dinner." Katara promised, standing, and offering her hand. Kana groaned before taking it, and pulling herself up. They dressed in silence, and exited the room, one going to the living room, the other heading for the front door.
Katara walked out side stretching and yawning once more, a blue jay singing in the distance. She grabed a roll of papers sticking out of the mail slot attached to the wall, scanning the contents quickly with her eyes. Eyes widening with delight, she gasped with excitement before running back inside. The others were all lounging around the upper part of the living room, Aang blowing puffs of air into Kana's face, trying to wake her up fully.
"This is it!" Katara announced loudly, Kana sitting up straight in surprise. "I know how we're gonna see the Earth King!"
"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph snorted before mimicking what Joo Dee had said the other day, "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King."
"Well, the King is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear."
"You mean Platypus-Bear?" Aang asked.
"No, it just says 'Bear'."
"Certainly you mean his pet Skunk-Bear." Sokka said.
"Or his Armadillo-Bear." Toph added.
"Tiger-Bear?" Kana asked.
"Just...Bear". Katara said, staring at the paper in her hands.
"This place is weird." Toph stated, and after a moment where they all silently agreed, Katara began to speak again.
"The palace will be packed. We can sneak in with the crowd." Katara said happily.
"Won't work." Toph stated bluntly, lying down.
"Why not?" Katara asked grumpily at having her idea shut down so fast.
"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd would spot you from a mile away. You've got no manners." Toph said grabing a pastry from a bowl next to her, and sticking it in her mouth.
"Excuse me? I've got no manners?" Katara snapped, hands on hips. "You're not exactly lady fancy fingers."
"I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it." Toph snickered, throwing the half eaten pastry off to the side, earning a glare from Kana. "You never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late."
"Ah-Ha, but you learned it. You could teach us." Sokka pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm mastering every element. How hard could manners be?" Aang asked, grabbing a nearby curtain and draping it around himself like a noble's robe.
"I don't think that's helping your case, Aang." Kana said, making him pout.
"She's right Twinkle Toes." Toph said, "And besides Katara might be able to pull it off, and Kana already knows proper etiquette, but you and Sokka would be lucky to pass as busboys."
"But I wanted to feel fancy." Sokka complained, only to have all three girls snort at him.
Character questions answered
Zuko and Kana, when are you going to tell the other you LOVE them?
Kana: Love Zuko? Ahahahaha, that's funny!
Zuko: Well I'm glad to know it's so ridiculous that you could love me!
Kana: What? It's as ridiculous as you loving me!
Zuko: Yeah whatever.
Kana: -_-
Zuko: -_=