Chapter One "Grumpy Wait-Staff"

It was a beautiful spring afternoon. The sun was shining. The air was fresh. Birds could be heard singing. The many different aromas of fresh tea being served to upper-class citizens of Ba Sing Se never smelt more enchanting.

To be honest Zuko never cared for the stuff. Tea is basically hot leaf juice but his uncle Iroh swore there was a difference between the two. But Zuko did like a certain kind of black tea his uncle served called "Metal brew" it was dark, flavourless and bitter. It also had something in it called "Caffeine" and it was the only thing that made the mornings bearable for Zuko.

Zuko loved Metal Brew and would drink it all day if he could but his uncle was opposed to it. Iroh claimed "it will stunt your growth Zuko," or "it's not good for your brain development Zuko,"

"Please, I've had all the development I can stand now give me the fast brain juice Uncle,"

Despite this, his uncle insisted that he be the only one to make Zuko "Metal Brew" normally he gave Zuko Green Tea. Green tea wasn't too bad and it didn't have as much "Caffeine" in it but still enough to make the slow days tolerable.

The rest of the teas Zuko wasn't too fond of. But he could definitely appreciate the art of tea. From the soothing smells to the calming steam to the hot boiled water. There was something reassuring about the teapot whistles and the soft voices of the customers.

"Hello?"

Oh, that's right... Reality

Abruptly interrupted from his daydream, Zuko looked up from what he was doing. He was standing at the counter with a particularly tall lady in front of him.

"Hm?" Zuko asked.

"I said, I want a white lotus tea with gemsbok milk and bunch-hornet honey," The Lady said.

Gross

"...Table seven," Zuko handed the Woman a number placement.

The lady walked away as Zuko wrote down the order on a piece of paper. Zuko walked to the back. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. Good, no one was watching him. Zuko held the bottom of the kettle and concentrated, the kettle started whistling. Zuko put it down and He opened a small white box of loose leaf tea and spooned a little into a white ceramic teapot with small blue dragons covering it. Iroh walked over.

"Good business today don't you think Lee?" He grinned as he checked the order Zuko was doing.

Ha, Lee. Lee Hong is the fake name Iroh had chosen for him. "I'm Mushi and this is my nephew Lee we are but humble refugees, we came to Ba Sing Se hoping for a fresh start" that's the sob story Iroh had told the officials. But it worked and they were now Ba Sing Se residents. That was probably about two months ago.

They were wanted criminals and that's why they were hiding in Ba Sing Se but it had been nice staying in one place for a while. And Ba Sing Se was nice, the upper-class manners and rules made Zuko feel at home.

"Excuse me, ExCuSe mE!" a short bald man shouted from a table.

Yep, just like home. Zuko walked over to the table.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"This tea is cold," He said.

"Okay..." Zuko said.

"Young man, I don't think you understand. The TEA is COLD!" the bald man said.

Zuko blinked. He had severed this man 40 minutes ago, of course his fucking tea was cold. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Iroh had come over.

"Ah not to worry sir. I'll go ahead and reheat it for you," Iroh took the red teapot from them and walked behind the wall separating the kitchen from the customers.

Zuko stood at the table watching where his uncle had disappeared, the short bald man coughed. Not a minute later Iroh came back with a piping hot pot of whatever the bald man was drinking.

"Here you are my friend, Piping hot," Iroh smiled widely.

"Thank you," the man said in an exasperated tone.

"No problem it's a pleasure," Iroh smiled. He bowed his head and pulled Zuko away.

"Don't worry about it Zuko, remember, the customer is always right," Iroh patted his shoulder reassuringly and walked off to a different table.

"Not all the time," Zuko mumbled under his breath.

He turned around to clean up a couple of empty tables. Zuko didn't think he was really cut out for hospitality but it was tolerable. Certainly taught him how to handle stuck-up gas-bags.

Zuko ran a hand through his hair. A nervous habit that had developed when he cut his ponytail, it was still an odd feeling to have hair when your used to a bald head most of your life. Zuko didn't hate it, it looked okay, he didn't really think about it, to be honest.

In the mornings when he would wash and dress sometimes he would stare at his reflection. He didn't recognise himself. He knew it was him because of his scar but it didn't look like the Zuko he knew. It was someone different, someone lost and confused and maybe a little worried.

But he was still alive and now he was living in a beautiful city. Okay yes, he served tea to rich old people but he and Iroh had to earn a living somehow. it was nothing compared to his father's fortune but it was decent enough to be comfortable perhaps a little more. Okay maybe a lot more but still nothing compared to some of the upper-classmen that came into their tea shop.

Zuko was trying to balance two plates on each hand when the service bell rang at the front desk. Zuko picked up more cups. The service bell rang again.

"Lee! Can you get that," Iroh called.

Zuko groaned and dumped the dishes onto an empty table as the bell rang for the third time.

"Alright already!," Zuko stomped up to the desk.

"What do you wa-" He trailed off when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"Geez, for such a high reputation you sure have grumpy wait-staff," the guy raised an eyebrow at Zuko.

FUCK FUCK FUCK

NOT GOOD NOT GOOD

SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT

"Can I talk with whoever is in charge please?" Sokka said.

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted.

"Coming," Iroh shuffled over. "Hello is there a problem-" Iroh froze when he saw who was standing in front of the counter.

Sokka shrugged "Oh, No, there's no problem." he scratched his forehead.

he eyed the two of them, "are you two okay? You look like you've seen a ghost,"

"Oh no, we're fine," Iroh said.

"You two look real familiar have I seen you guys before?" Sokka asked.

"Uhm... I just have one of those faces," Iroh said.

"Uh-huh, but I swear I have seen a scar like yours." Sokka glanced at Zuko.

Zuko froze. He didn't know how to answer.

"just give me one second I won't take long," Iroh grinned widely and pulled Zuko quickly into the back.

"Uncle, what are we going to do? They've found us!" Zuko started pacing back and forth.

"Hmm, I'm not so sure, I don't think he recognised us," Iroh said.

"How can that be?" Zuko exclaimed and flames escaped from his throat. He clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Well the last time he saw you, you still had your top knot. And I wasn't wearing this hat," Iroh readjusted his skullcap, which was barely a disguise.

"Then it's only a matter of time before he realises and tells the officials and we get killed,"

"Zuko, stop pacing around like that, you'll get dizzy"

Zuko folded his arms together and scowled.

"Well, If he hasn't recognised us then we might as well listen to him," Iroh reasoned.

"What? Why?" Zuko asked.

"if we turn him away it'll look too suspicious, plus I never turn away a possible customer," Iroh rubbed his hands together and walked out of the kitchen. He walked back over to the counter where Sokka was still waiting.

"I'm so sorry for the delay, what can I help you with today, my friend?" Iroh smiled.

"Yeah, well, I hear a lot of good things about this place and I want to work here," Sokka said.

"A job?" Iroh said.

Iroh and Zuko glanced at each other. Zuko mouthed "No!" Iroh turned back to Sokka.

"Well young man, have you worked in hospitality before?" Iroh asked.

Zuko's jaw dropped, His uncle couldn't be serious. He was actually thinking about hiring the water tribe boy?

"Lee, can you carry on? I need to talk to...?"

"It's Sokka,"

"Ah, of course, I'll be right back Lee,"

Iroh led Sokka to a table in a quieter part of the shop. Zuko made a face at the back of Iroh's head. Zuko carried on work and carefully watched Sokka and his uncle. He heard snippets of their conversation. Stuff like: "Bored," "I can wash dishes," "My sister says.".

At one point Zuko overheard "Do you have any references?" "I'm friends with the avatar,". The word Avatar made Zuko shudder. But he had to give it to his uncle, Iroh never lost his cool. He asked careful questions and seemed to be having quite an in-depth conversation with Sokka.

Eventually, they both stood up and shook hands, Iroh was laughing and Sokka was smiling. Then Zuko heard the words he had been dreading.

"You're hired Sokka, you can come in and start tomorrow,"

"Thanks, Mushi, looking forward to it,"

Oh god why

Zuko watched Sokka leave out the door, he walked over to his uncle.

"Uncle, why did you hire him?" Zuko asked.

"Well he seems like a hard-working boy, and we could always use a couple more waiters. Plus he's so funny," and Iroh started chuckling to himself.

Zuko looked at the doors where Sokka had left. He felt nervous.

He had a bad feeling about this.