𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗃𝖺𝗌𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝖺𝗀𝗈𝗇 - zuko

𝗂

"Iroh, please sit down, I can't have you messing up your joints this early into the day." A desperate person pleaded with their boss. Daiyu had tried so hard to get Iroh to sit down, take it easy. Except Iroh was resilient, stubborn. He insisted on serving his customers along with making the tea he was praised for. Daiyu often didn't have the heart to raise their voice at the old man.

"No, no," Iroh insisted, patting Daiyu's shoulder, "I am fine, trust me, my child. One must never rest when there are other more important things to do. I must continue working, just look at all these smiling faces!" He said, gesturing out to his customers. His brittle and frail voice insisted on continuing to work himself to death, although this was exactly why Daiyu was hired. They weren't just a waiter, but a caregiver as well. They had to make sure that Iroh was okay working at this age, as well as staying safe doing so.

Daiyu let out a heavy sigh, their last try at getting Iroh to settle down. "I hate it when you do that." They said, a defeated smile coming to their face. Iroh had a smug look on his face, less out of arrogance and more out of genuine care. Daiyu always loved how humble the old man was. It was the thing they most adored about him. If you asked Iroh for a bowl of soup, he'd give you a home. Daiyu could recall three times when they had to stop him from adopting an alley cat, a different one each time. 'With a cat and a tea shop, you'd die in 3 years.' They reminded him, and soon Iroh backed down, grumbling like a hot headed toddler.

Daiyu moved to do their tasks for the day, sweeping floors when the foot traffic came to a stop and helping Iroh serve tea when there was more chatter than Daiyu thought was humanly possible. Right now was one of those slower days. Daiyu had never felt more at ease than when they worked at the Jasmine Dragon. The patter of footsteps on the tile floor along with Iroh's sprinkling of proverbs in their daily conversations added up to be a pretty serene ambience. Feeling the glow of a loving sun against their skin and Iroh humming old songs as he bustled around made Daiyu feel safe. They actually had a home. One that cared for them the way they cared for it.

—

The sun was dim on the Ba Sing Se horizon, it's dark orange glows casting long shadows in the tea shop. Usually this meant it was time to pack everything up. Daiyu started to stack chairs up and move tables out of the way, moving quickly and with urgency. 'A good worker will move with purpose.' Their mother would tell a very young Daiyu before sending them off to their job. 'Put your work in, and no one will pay attention to you.' She would say.

Ever since the collapse of Fire Lord's reign and the widespread hysteria of Ba Sing Se trying to get with the times died down, the world was at peace. Daiyu hasn't paid much attention to politics until the wall she lived inside collapsed, they didn't even know there was a war until it was forced into their life; Shoved into their face like a knife threatening its hostage. Most Lower Ring citizens barely escaped, but even though Daiyu was poor, and basically worthless, even a peasant from the lower ring could find success. Daiyu was now being paid well by a kind old man and working at his humble tea shop in the upper ring of all places.

Daiyu was glad they could get out. Too many of their neighbors had perished in the few weeks of the sheer anarchy, and every day Daiyu was thankful they could get out of it safe. Fire Nation soldiers didn't have a good grasp on the laws of Ba Sing Se, meaning Daiyu could slip into the upper ring pretty easily, make a home in an alleyway, feeding themself and a small cat they called BunBao (the first thing Daiyu had fed him).

While they mindlessly cleaned, Iroh soon called their name. Well, not their name, but 'my child.' It was a weird experience at first, Daiyu had to admit. They didn't know how to feel about their boss calling them his child, but they found it hard to ask him to stop. They... liked being someone's child. Liked being taken care of by a sweet old man. Enjoyed having someone to look up to. So they just let it slide.