Lee's Got Strange Friends

Chapter 1: Air

When Zuko was younger he had never understood why his Uncle's greatest dream was to run away and open a tea shop. The more time he spent as the Firelord though the more he understood.

Being a waiter was simple and thousands of times more fun than having to sit in stuffy robes with a pole up his ass and lead a country.

So Zuko did the only logical thing he could do in the situation and deemed himself too young to properly lead the nation, left the crown to a much more mentally stable Azula, and ran out on his empire.

Oh he still got paperwork mailed to him, all big decisions made by Azula had to be approved by him first. He might love his sister but after so many years of hurt feelings and attempted murder Zuko was still warming up to trust.

Never mind that Azula was his 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 sister or that his approval ratings were sky high. He'd spent the last three years living more like a lowly navy boy on some rusty tin can in the sea than a prince. To say the transition from blunt, foulmouthed, sailor to refined king was rough was an understatement.

He'd tasted freedom and damn it all he wasn't ready to give it up so soon!

...

Iroh lit up when he got the letter from Zuko.

"Lee's on his way back from the caldera!"

A nice perk of the war being over was that he didn't have to hide that he was a Fire bender anymore.

Of course people had been shocked and he'd even lost a few customers, but most people came around to it. This was still Mushi after all, it's not like anything had changed. He was also proud to announce that the Jasmine Dragon had officially been declared the best tea shop in all of Ba Sing Se by King Kuei.

"Hey Mushi, when's Lee coming back again?" Jin asked.

"Sometime this week."

"So soon?! Did he send the letter while he was traveling then?"

"No, he sent it a while before he left the caldera. He's having a friend help with transportation so he's been traveling quite fast."

"Oh is it like one of those super fast caravans then?"

He chuckled "Not exactly. I imagine you'll get a chance to meet him though. He likes to stick around for a while before moving on."

"He? So it's just one person then?"

"He's a nomad, but he usually has friends he travels with. Since the war just ended though, they all decided to spend some time back home with their families."

She nodded. Knowing that Lee was a fire bender explained so much about how the lanterns had magically lit themselves on their date. She wondered what the Fire Nation capital was like. Maybe she could travel with Lee when he went back to visit?

...

A few days after that conversation while she was enjoying tea with her friends a giant flying bison landed right outside the shop.

When Mushi had told her Lee was traveling with a friend, nothing would've prepared Jin for that friend to be the 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳.

"Uncle!" Lee exclaimed happily before running over and hugging Mushi.

"Hey uncle!" The Avatar said.

Oma and Shu did the Avatar called Mushi uncle!?

"No! He's my uncle and I'm not sharing!" Lee joked.