Work Text:
Sokka groaned. Not this again. Katara was on loop at this point. You should get a job Sokka, we need money Sokka. Ugh. As they where walking along the port they saw what looked like a fire nation boat. Except, this boat was painted a golden red color, had no cannons, and looked very old. Also they're where sighs on it. 'Jasmine dragon' One said. 'The best Tea you'll find on land or on sea' another read. The one that caught Sokka eye was one that said, 'Looking for temporary workers. Will pay 1 copper piece an hour.'
Sokka sighed. Working at a traveling Tea shop won't be the worst job. "Alright Katara, I'll get a job." Katara turned to him with a smile. "Where are you going to work?" The asks. He points to the tea shop. Katara nodded approvingly. "We'll be in the cave up there that Aang spotted." She pointed to said cave. "Meet us there at six o'clock. Be careful, I heard a fisherman say that he thought a storm was coming. I don't believe him, but still, be careful." Sokka waves off Katara and Aang and walked into the ship turned shop.
He sees a man in his early twenties. "Hello! Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. My name is Jin. How can I help you on this fine morning?" Sokka smiled. "Hi, my name's Sokka, I'm here about the sign that says your hiring temporary workers?" Jin smiles. "How long do you want to work here for?" He asks. "Hmm, probably only till six today." Jin nods. "I'll go get Zuko and Iroh. Zuko owns this ship and Iroh is his uncle." Sokka nods and Jin leaves.
Jim comes back and tells Sokka to follow him. They go into the back and into a room off a small hallway. Inside the room is an old man and a young kid about Sokka's age with a large scar on his face. The boy and older man smile. "I'm Zuko, and this is my uncle Iroh. We just have a few questions before you can start." Sokka looks surprised. This kid owns the ship? Oh well. Sokka nods.
"So, first of all, why do you want to work here?" Sokka thinks for a second. "Well, me and my sister as well as a friend of ours is traveling the world and we ran out of cash, so I decided I should get a job." Zuko nods. "Are you okay with firebending?" Sokka hesitates a little then says, "As long as it's not hurting anyone or destroying things. Why?"
"Most of the crew are firebenders and they sometimes use their fire to heat up tea and such things." Sokka nods. "I'm fine with that." Zuko smiles. "Well, my uncle can help you get an apron then Desna can show you the ropes." Sokka nods and follows Zuko's uncle to a room with different clothes, mostly aprons. Iroh hands Sokka an apron and Sokka puts it on. They leave the room and Iroh introduces Sokka to the staff. After that, Desna helps Sokka learn the ropes and rules. After that, he starts.
"Zuko I think a storm is coming." Sokka overhears Iroh say to his nephew. "Nonsense uncle. It is a perfectly clear day." Iroh shrugs. "Just saying." They go back to work. After quite a while it seems Iroh is correct and storm clouds start coming. Zuko instructs everyone to close the shop, as it is raining to hard for anyone to want to go outside. Ming goes outside and puts up a closed sign, while everyone else starts wiping down tables and putting things away. Once everything is done, Iroh suggests they go down to the lower deck to wait out the storm. They agreed and headed downstairs to the lower area.
The room they went into had some instruments in cases, and other things. Most of the crew sit down on the floor, while some stay standing and talk. Sokka sits down and Zuko sits next to him. "So, you said you're traveling the world with your sister and friend?" Zuko asks him. "Oh yeah! My sister is named Katara and we grew up in a small village. We never really left until we met Aang and decided to travel around with him." Zuko nods. "How did you meat Aang?" Sokka thought about how to answer. "Well me and my sister where fishing and we found a boy wandering around the ice in thin clothes, so we took him back to the village. We became fast friends after that and set off on a journey to see the world." Zuko nods. "So, how did you get this boat?" Sokka asks Zuko.
Zuko sighed. "I upset my father and in turn the fire lord, so he gave me this boat and banished me, telling me not to come back until I completed an impossible quest. I decided it wasn't worth it, so with some help from my uncle, we turned this ship into a floating tea shop." Sokka wants to know what he did to tic off the fire lord, but based on the scar on his face, he probably would not like the answer. They go on asking questions to each other until the ship starts to rock more violently. Suddenly there's a loud metal snap and they can feel the ship moving. Everyone who had sat down stood up. "What was that?" Zuko asks to Jee, then almost gets thrown off of his feet. "I-I think it was the anchor!" Everyone pales.
The crew rushes up to the top deck and sure enough they are being pushed out to sea. The ship tosses, and Zuko would have gone over board if Sokka hadn't grabbed him and thrown them both to the floor. "Thanks." Zuko muttered quietly. "What are we going to do?" Sokka asks. "We need something to pull us back to the docks so we can tie the ship up. Even if it would be worse than the anchor, it would still hold us there until the storm is over and we can get another anchor." Sokka curses at what he said.
Then Sokka got an idea. "I might have a plan." Sokka pulls out the bison whistle that Aang had gotten him, after his own had worked so well. Sokka blew into it, hoping the wind wasn't to loud. "What did you do?" Zuko yells over the wind. "It's an air bison whistle. I hope he can hear it." Zuko looks confused. "But there's only one air bison left in the world and it belongs to the avatar." Just as Zuko said that Appa appeared with Aang and Katara on his back.
"What happened?" Aang shouted. "The anchor broke! We need something to pull us to shore." Zuko yelled. "How about we tie Appa to the front of the ship and have him pull it back?" Katara shouts. Zuko considered it. "It could work!" Zuko ran inside and grabbed a long sturdy rope. He tossed it to Aang and Aang and Katara tied it to Appa's saddle. Little by little the ship was pulled forward by the flying bison. When they got to port, several members of the crew jumped off with rope and tied the boat to the docks.
When the ship was all tied up, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The men who had jumped off got back on and Appa landed on the deck. "So, who are your friends, Sokka?" Zuko asks after everyone had made their way into the shop. "Well that's my sister Katara," Katara waved. "And that's my friend, Aang, the Avatar." Several people twitched, including Zuko, at the knowledge that Aang was the avatar, but no one did anything. "Would you like some tea?" Iroh asks Aang and Katara. The agreed and sat down to wait out the storm. It was a bit awkward at first, but as the storm raged on, they got more comfortable with each other.
By the end of the storm, everyone was having a good time, laughing a talking, telling stories, and playing games. When it was time for the trio to leave, Zuko gave Sokka his wages in a small bag, and if there happened to be a list of all the ports they where planing on stopping at and when, nobody said anything. And if Sokka always came back to work there when they where in town, who could blame him? And of course, if Fire Lord Zuko was saw working in a small boat that sold tea, well no one could prove anything.