Chin Lao lived a block away from Miyo's noodle shop and sold them carrots and cabbages, and frequently stayed to drink a cup of tea and discuss politics with Miyo, despite the both of them being thoroughly uninformed. He took a great interest in Lu Ten, asking him about what he'd seen outside of Ba Sing Se and what the war was like. He was all around a decent man, who seemed to be the living embodiment of what Lu Ten's father had told him abut the simple honor of poverty.
Watching Chin Lao wipe the sweat from his brow after delivering cabbages on a hot day, Lu Ten had to think that the man deserved more from life than he'd gotten. But what this "more" was, Lu Ten couldn't be sure. After all, he himself had been born a prince and left it all behind to walk the same streets Chin Lao did. And Chin Lao had a wife and three boisterous children and made enough selling carrots and cabbages, so maybe he didn't need more after all.
Chin Lao's fortieth birthday was fast approaching and he'd invited the entire block to a party to celebrate. Lu Ten, having only attended Fire Nation royal galas, had no idea what to expect.
"The lower ring, despite its flaws, knows how to party." Ayeshi was busy scrubbing dirty dishes after a long day of serving noodles. "you should come to Chin Lao's party. It'll be fun. Besides, you can meet the neighborhood."
"You said they know how to party here."
"Yes?"
"It's funny, because Ozai liked to boast that he knew how to party but every event he hosted was terrible." Lu Ten shuddered. He still remembered the fifteen-foot flames, the royal banners everywhere, and crowds of stuffy rich people loudly singing the Fire Nation national anthem.
"We do party well here. There's music and food and fun times. What on earth were parties in the Fire Nation like that you speak of them in that tone of voice?"
"Let's just say they were bad. They're always very stiff, formal affairs, and they're dreadfully boring. At my grandfather's celebration for sixty-five years on the throne I had to sit still and look nice while people gave speeches. Azula upstaged me at my own birthday party once by giving a fire bending demonstration."
"Trust me, our parties aren't anything like that." Ayeshi laughed. "We do dress up a little, though."
The day of the party, people were outside all day setting up tables and hanging colored paper lanterns, which Lu Ten had never seen before but enjoyed immensely. Miyo was cooking vats of noodles and barking orders, and Lu Ten was busy setting up to make sure he'd be able to have tea piping hot for everyone.
Before the party Ayeshi disappeared upstairs to change and came back down in a green dress Lu Ten had never seen before, with a neckline that dipped lower than her casual clothes. He felt the blood rushing to his face as he looked at her and suddenly felt like a clumsy platypus bear standing next to her in the slightly better of his two grimy green tunics. "Flameo, hotwoman. You look lovely."
Ayeshi smiled and used a damp finger to wipe some dirt off his face. "If that's the Fire Nation's idea of slang I'm fine with never leaving the lower ring of Ba Sing Se."
"Fair enough." He took Ayeshi's hand and lead her outside, where the street was lit up with dozens of multicolored lamps and people were already bustling about.
"Lee!" someone clapped him on the back. "Where's that famous tea I keep hearing about?"
"It's coming soon! Ayeshi and I need to eat first."
"Ayeshi! Wherever did you find this piece of eye candy?" A woman asked them.
"Oh, you know, destiny dropped him right in my lap." Ayeshi laughed, winking at Lu Ten. "C'mon, let's get food and then go dance."
"You guys dance at parties?"
"Of course we do! Did—did you not dance back home?"
"It wasn't allowed. It was seen as frivolous and unpatriotic."
"The more I hear about your upbringing the less I like it." Ayeshi muttered. "It's ok. I'll teach you. It's not that hard." They both picked up bowls of noodles and sat down.
Lu Ten smiled and looked up at a pink lantern hanging over their heads. "This is better than anything I could've ever imagined. I never would've guessed that being a refugee could be this fun. We don't even need a fancy venue."
"That's the funny thing about people. Even when everything around us is terrible, we try to make it nice. A few colored lanterns can do a lot for a run-down street."
"I like it. Worlds better than our royal galas back home."
Ayeshi smiled and slurped her noodles. "How long can I steal you away from the tea stand to dance with me?"
"A little, here and there. Your brother Wei agreed to cover for me at the tea stand."
"Excellent." Ayeshi's eyes were bright in the lantern light. The musicians were already starting tospan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanset up on the edge of the open space left for dancing, and couples hung on the outskirts waiting for the music to start. Ayeshi leapt up and took Lu Ten's hand, dragging him to wait with the others. "Do you have any musical background?"
"My dad taught me to play the tsungi horn. Oh, he would've loved this little band."
"Good enough. Can you feel the beat of the music? Take my waist."
Lu Ten took her hand and followed her onto the dance floor. He was aware of everyone's eyes on him, waiting to see how the new boy would measure up. The musicians started to play and he hastened to copy everyone else's moves. He fell into the beat of the music, stepping back and forth and reacting to her touch as she pushed and pulled. He supposed he looked stupid, but there was nothing to be done now. Ayeshi smiled as he began to move faster, and then everyone else seemed to fade and the only thing in the world, the only thing that really mattered, was the smile on Ayeshi's face and her wide glittering eyes staring back at him. As the music slowed Lu Ten, feeling inspired, dipped her low and kissed her.
There was silence for a moment as he came up for air, before the onlookers began clapping.
"Wow." Ayeshi was staring at him. "For a guy who claims never to have danced before, you looked pretty good out there." They moved back to the tea station as the next song started. From where they were standing they could see Han and Miyo stumbling across the dance floor as well as a group of girls staring at Lu Ten and giggling.
Lu Ten couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun. He spent the night serving tea, though Ayeshi would steal him away for a dance as often as she could get one of her brothers to cover for him. That wasn't nearly as often as either of them would have liked, since Wei and Han spent most of the evening attempting to chat up a group of girls about their age. The stream of people waiting for tea was pretty constant and Lu Ten was quite busy.
As the night drew to a close Chin Lao's wife climbed up on a table and tapped a spoon against a glass. "Attention! Thank you everyone for coming for another year of fun! Chin Lao and I are very grateful to everyone who helped make this party come together. To my wonderful husband!"
"To Chin Lao!" they chorused, raising their cups.
"To the musicians!" someone else called.
"To Ba Sing Se!"
"To Lee with the good tea!" another person yelled. Lu Ten turned scarlet as everyone looked at him, but smiled graciously as those around him raised their cups.
As the crowd began to dissipate, Lu Ten helped the family take their pots and pans and bowls back inside. There was a huge stack of dirty dishes, but they didn't all need to be cleaned tonight. Lu Ten went back for the teapots, which had just a little bit of cold tea sloshing around in the bottom. He smiled as he took a few dancing steps over the cobblestones and could almost imagine he still heard the music.
"Lee!" Ayeshi called from the doorway, using his fake name. "Come inside, you dreamer!"
"Just a minute!" Lu Ten picked up a few stray cups, then realized one of them was still full. He smiled. Using one of his favorite fire bending tricks, he generated just enough heat to make the tea steaming hot again and took a sip. "Ahh!"
Someone squeezed beneath a table gasped. "You're a fire bender!"
"What?"
A small boy scrambled out from under the table. "You're a fire bender!"
"No I'm not. I'm just enjoying a cup of tea!"
"That tea was cold. I saw you all clean up after the party. And now it's hot again, and the only way that's possible is if you fire bended it."
Lu Ten weighed his options. He couldn't exactly punch an innocent kid in the mouth, but he also couldn't have this kid running around announcing it to the world. "Keep your mouth shut, ok? That kind of information could get me killed in a place like this."
"I understand that, believe me." The kid brushed off some of the dirt. "My name's Ton Yu, and I need your help."
A/N: I couldn't resist having Lu Ten make the same slip-up with the hot tea that Iroh does in book 2.