Chapter Twenty-Three

 "This is stupid." I said matter-of-factly. We were voluntarily heading into a city that actively wanted each of us dead. Zuko grunted in agreement from my left.

"I've always wanted to go to BaSingSe!" Iroh laughs, I frowned, looking out at the large lake we were crossing by ferry boat.

"Yeah, well it sucks." I huffed. My son ignored my pessimism and grinned, whipping out a straw sun hat to place on my head. I resituated it, but left it on my head.

"Who knew I would one day return to my greatest military disgrace? And, as a tourist!" Iroh remarked happily, and I let a little smile slip. I didn't doubt that had LuTen survived, Iroh would have conquered the city years ago.

"We're not tourists! We're refugees!" Zuko snapped, taking a sip from his bowl of soup before spitting it over the side of the boat. "This is disgusting!" He yelled, throwing the whole bowl into the lake and stomping off. I didn't move, continuing to watch the land in the distance. The serpent's pass was across the lake, and on the other side I knew there were Fire Nation ships. Iroh and I stayed silent for a bit as he joined me in watching the horizon, but soon he broke the silence.

"Zuko told me you taught him to redirect lightning." He said, I could feel his eyes on me.

"Yeah, I did." I shrugged indifferently. When he didn't say anything, I raised a brow. "So?"

"I just– I thought you..." He trailed off but I knew what he meant. I'd never had much of a hand in raising Zuko. Not like I did for Lu Ten and Azula. In truth, I was scared. Scared that he'd turn out like Ozai had, scared that Ozai would interpret my closeness to his son as an acknowledgement that he would be a great bender. He wanted a pawn, but I wasn't about to let him use me to shape it. And so, I'd taken a step back. It wasn't like Zuko was alone. He was the firstborn. He had privileges his sister didn't, especially after LuTen's death. Plus, his mother loved him and doted on him. But, still, sometimes I felt guilty. So, as Iroh was healing, I'd approached Zuko. I'd taught him to redirect lightning, I had a feeling he would need to know. He was, after all, on his sister's and his father's hit lists, and I'd I'd taught them both lightning bending.

"Did he say anything about it to you?" I asked Iroh. I wondered if Zuko had realized the different treatment. I'd always made sure to give gifts on birthdays equally, and it wasn't like I ignored him. But Azula had warmed to me, and I had been named her bending teacher, so we had become much closer than I was with Zuko.

"He asked me to shoot lightning at him." Iroh deadpanned, and I blanched.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Spirits."

–

"Here." I looked up at Zuko from my place, sitting cross-legged beside Iroh. My grandson held a bowl out to me and I took it, raising an eyebrow at him when I noted the delicious-looking soup instead of the gross muck I'd eaten for lunch. He ignored my look and just sat down beside his uncle.

"From what I hear, people eat like this every night in BaSingSe." Another boy said, sitting down with us. I remembered him speaking to Zuko earlier and deduced that he was probably the instigator of the plot to 'liberate' the nice food we were eating. I looked up at him, he looked like trouble. "I can't wait to set my eyes on that wall."

"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh nodded at his comment, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, until you're trapped inside." I scoffed, and the boy's eyes snapped to me.

"You two have been there before, then?"

"Once... when I was a different man." Iroh frowned, and all eyes turned to me. Iroh and Zuko looked really curious. They hadn't known about this.

"I lived there for a few years, it was a long time ago." I mumbled, looking away. Iroh redirected the conversation, and I went back to looking out at the lake.

–

"Cut it out, Zuko." I said, irritated. "No one saw."

"This time!" He muttered back as we walked onto the train, and he stomped ahead.

"He's not wrong. We need to be careful." I told Iroh quietly, and he sulked like a scolded child.

"I just wanted some hot tea." I rolled my eyes and sat down beside Zuko. There was a couple to my left with a bab,y and I immediately turned towards them.

"She's adorable." I told the couple, and they smiled back at me. "How old?" He looked extremely young.

"Thank you. She's only two days old." The man told me with a proud smile, wrapping an arm around the woman.

"Wow. You're brave." I chuckled, "I barely moved for a week after I had my first." The woman's eyes widened.

"Oh my, but you look so young!" The man exclaimed.

I sweatdropped a bit, "Yeah, I get that a lot." I pushed the issue of my age to the side. The woman nodded and moved on, asking about tips for the first few weeks.

As we hopped off the train, Zuko's face was bright red. "What's wrong?" I asked him, he just gave me a disturbed look and walked off.

"He heard you talk to that mother about giving birth." Iroh told me, letting out a big laugh. I laughed too, probably for the first time in weeks, and I caught up with Zuko.

"So, anything you want to know?" I asked him, he became even redder. "Do you have questions?" I threw an arm around his shoulders.

"No!" He said quickly, looking straight ahead. Iroh was almost crying now, he was laughing so hard.

"You sure? Because I've had three-"

"I'm sure!" He pushed my arm off and once again sped up, his ears had become red too. I stayed behind, laughing with Iroh.

–

"Zuko and I got jobs at a tea shop!" Iroh grinned as he walked in the front door of our little apartment. Zuko walked in behind him and flopped down on the bed.

"That's great, Iroh." I said, sending him a small smile. We'd been here for a day, and already we'd all found work, it was like a miracle. "I'll be leaving soon for work, don't wait up, okay?" I said, I'd gotten a job in the entertainment district as a barista this morning.

"Would you like some tea before you go?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you." I responded, Iroh had a knack for making tea.

"Zuko?"

"We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea!" The teen shot back, I sighed. His attitude was seriously aggravating.

"Sick of tea?" Iroh gasped, taken aback. "That's like being sick of breathing!" I laughed, and Zuko huffed, covering his face with his pillow.

"Are you sure I can't work with you instead?" My grandson questioned, turning to look at me. I laughed and shook my head.

"You're too young to work at a bar, Zuko." I responded, standing to begin braiding my hair for work.

– six days later

I was turned away from the bar, grabbing a new bottle of vodka, when I heard a glass slam down on the bar top behind me. "Another one, bar-keep!" A male voice called out, I turned around, a professionally pleasant smile on my face. The man stared at me for a moment before reiterating his words. "Another one, please, beautiful bar-keep." He grinned and I laughed a little, not actually amused, but hoping for a tip.

"Coming right up." I winked, turning back around. But, something caught my attention and I paused, walking in the door to the restaurant and bar was none other than the boy who had been on my mind for weeks. I blinked and he was gone, a large swarm of bar-goers obstructing my view. I continued my movements, pouring and shaking the customer's drink, but I kept looking over my shoulder, watching for Sokka.

Had I imagined him? Was I that deluded? I sighed, handing the man at the bar his drink and wiping down the counter but a voice stopped me. "Ren?" My head snapped up and our eyes met. "You're here." His shocked expression broke out into a grin.

"Fancy seeing you here." I said with a matching grin. Sokka let out a laugh and shook his head.

"You work here now?" He asked, taking a seat at the bar, I nodded, beginning to prepare another drink.

"Yeah, for the last week." I shrugged, mixing the alcohol into the shaker.

"Hmm, incredible coincidence, we've been here for the same." He said, raising an eyebrow at me, I just sent him a wink and he laughed again. That laugh was music to my ears, and I felt my shoulders relax.

We met eyes again and I smiled, "I'm off in two hours."

"I'll be here," He grinned back as I slid him the drink I'd made. "What's this?"

"It's on the house."