Burnt Out - Zuko x OC

Are You Scared?

Pao, the tea shop owner, left shortly after the dual. Trusting his newest employees to close up shop swiftly and not linger like they were doing now. Iroh fanned out the overhead lanterns and lit two smaller ones by the bar, blowing a brief flame from his throat. From the outside the shop would look vacant, but the three of them could see each other just fine.

"It would have been nice for my nephew to give me a little bit of warning. How long have you known, dear?" Iroh's aging features were illuminated, he looked much older in the dim light. He wondered what had made Zuko trust this girl so easily when, to his knowledge, they'd only known her for a handful of days.

"A few weeks. Not of you, of course. But of Zuko."

"A few WEEKS?!" The old man repeated, looking to his nephew for answers.

Zuko scrambled to respond, "We met at a military occupied village when you and I were.." He stumbled over the sore memory of abandoning his elder, "Apart. A family that was hosting her generously offered to house me for the night as she was leaving."

You would've thought this was the scene of a father catching his normally obedient teenage son sneaking out with his secret girlfriend late in the light, Iroh was shocked. Not that his nephew had hidden a part of his life from him, he was certain Zuko did that more often than necessary -- but that he'd seemingly already opened up to the stranger before Iroh himself did. He swallowed hard, hoping that Zuko did so with good judgement of character, and formally introduced himself for the first time.

"Well I'm not sure what trait of yours sprouted a rare trustworthiness out of my nephew, probably your smile." Zuko gagged as his uncle flirted with the girl, "But nonetheless, any friend of Zuko's is a friend of mine. My name is Iroh."

He held out his hand and Kai happily took it in her own. She felt his fingertips, they reminded her very much of Zuko's. Their warmth, their meatiness. But Iroh's were different, they were smooth in comparison to Zuko's rough, calloused ones. With the simple brush of their hands, she could sense every emotion and doubt going through his head. She could feel the blood pumping through his veins with every elevated heartbeat. But she couldn't let him know that she was able to feel all of that.

"It's very nice to formally meet you, Iroh. My name is still Kai. Is there anything I can do to assure you that your secret is safe with me?"

"Hm.." Iroh stroked his long, white beard. He was still curious as to how she'd come to be such an expert in hand to hand combat, "Your ability to subdue both Jet and my nephew, who is very highly trained, with such ease is impressive. Tell me, where did you study?"

Kai slowly sucked in a deep breath, ready to not lie, but tell a less complicated version of the truth, "My father had me home schooled. I think he didn't want me picking up any sloppy habits from students that weren't..." Born to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their nation? Yeah, that was the real reason for her private trainer, "serious, I guess. I was lucky to have such skilled trainer."

Zuko's hands met the countertop with force. Both Kai and Iroh had been able to feel Zuko's annoyance since the moment his battle had ended, ignoring it up until now. His voice was low in case anyone was listening from the outside, though still hostile, "Enough! This isn't speed dating!" His heavy feet stomped against the floor, bringing him closer to Kai as he pointed an extended finger at her chest, snarling in her face, "I didn't need your help! I can handle my own, and I was just about to —"

Kai barely glanced down at the finger threatening her before looking back up at him, Zuko immediately regretted his rash decision, "What you were about to do would've landed you in a jail cell, where Jet is sitting as we speak. Now, I've already told you once — a simple 'thank you' will suffice. This, however, I will not repeat." She stood from her chair. Zuko didn't retreat, he watched the flame from the lanterns flicker aggressively in her pupils, "Get your dirty finger off of me before I crush every bone in your hand without thinking twice about it."