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Zuko recognized the woman who’d just walked into the Jasmine Dragon in an instant. He’d seen her the few times he covered morning shifts for Song, and judging by the cheerful way she was always chatting with Uncle Iroh, she seemed to be a regular. Not that Zuko was all that great at remembering regulars- Song teased him mercilessly when Jin asked him out after coming into the shop every day for four months and he had to ask Song what her name was- but this woman was hard to forget.
She was, to put it briefly, the most beautiful woman that Zuko had ever seen. Her ocean eyes always had a sparkle to them, even when she looked like she was about to fall asleep halfway through her order, and she always had a warm smile for him- or whichever barista was helping at the moment, but he liked to pretend it was for him. Today her dark hair was out of its usual tight braid, and the chestnut waves cascaded down her back in a way that begged Zuko to run his hands through it. She had also foregone her usual scrubs, and Zuko reminded himself it was thoroughly inappropriate to ogle customers, even when their tight jeans showed off how long and shapely their legs were.
Another difference today was that instead of having a backpack with her, she had a small child. The boy looked like he was somewhere around six or seven, and bore such a striking resemblance to the woman that he had to be her son. Zuko had long ago dejectedly noticed the betrothal necklace the woman wore around her neck, but he wouldn’t have thought she’d have a child- especially one that old. So she’s married married. Figures.
“Hi.” The woman- who had been leaning down conferring with her child- finally stepped up, ready to order, and Zuko gave her his regular plastered-on grin.
“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon. What can I get for you this afternoon?”
“Could I please get a large Lavender Earl Grey? And a small Cotton Candy- that’s decaf, right?” She checked, giving her son a sidelong look. Zuko smiled at her and the kid and nodded.
“Yeah, the Cotton Candy is decaf.”
“Okay good. And could we please get one of those big m&m cookies? All for here.”
“Absolutely.” Zuko rang them up, and she guided the kid to the pick-up counter to wait while he made their drinks. It was a slow Tuesday afternoon, so Iroh was in the back “doing the books”- Zuko strongly suspected he was napping- while Zuko manned the front alone.
He could feel eyes on him while he worked, and felt his scar itch uncomfortably. The boy had seemed well-behaved enough while the woman ordered, but kids could be funny sometimes. Zuko usually got along well with kids once he knew them- spending half of high school at Ty Lee’s house with her never-ending stream of nieces and nephews made sure of that, especially since Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula would always stick him with babysitting duty whenever they got sick of the kids. But new kids were different, and he’d had his scar long enough to know that it scared plenty of kids, and transfixed others. He’d received plenty of blunt questions from kids, typically followed up with mortified parents apologizing and scolding their children, all the while eyeing his scar curiously themselves.
When he turned to bring over the tray with their drinks and cookie the boy was still staring, and the mom was bent down to listen to something he was whispering. He braced himself, ready for her face to redden, for her to shush the child and give him a wide-eyed, apologetic look. Instead, the woman laughed lightly, and looked up at Zuko, her eyes tracing up his body. That was unusual. And not at all unpleasant.
“You should tell him that honey.” She told the child. Zuko set their order down, and met the little boy’s large blue eyes, giving him a soft smile.
“I like your tattoo.” The kid pointed at the twin red and blue dragons snaking up his arm, on full display because of the short-sleeve shirt Zuko was wearing. “Dragons are really cool.” Zuko felt himself relax, and smiled at the kid.
“Thanks buddy. I like your shirt.” He gestured to the boy’s Charizard shirt.
“Do you like Pokemon?” He asked eagerly. Zuko nodded sagely.
“Blaziken is my favorite.” Zuko informed him. He liked to pretend he only had a favorite from watching the shows with all of his pseudo-nieces and nephews, but if he was being honest he’d totally nerded out over the show as a kid. And teen. And he maybe sometimes watched the show still if he needed a pick-me-up. The kid nodded seriously.
“Gyrados is mine, but that shirt is dirty. Charizard is my second favorite.” He told Zuko, before pointing to his mom. “Her favorite is Milotic.” Zuko met the woman’s eye, and she nodded with an amused smile. The kid pointed to Zuko’s tattoo again.
“That kinda looks like Gyrados and Milotic. A little. My daddy has a tattoo that looks like Mightyena, but he says it’s really a wolf. It’s here, like yours.” The kid patted his own thin bicep, and Zuko’s mind was suddenly filled with images of a Water Tribe man with rippling muscles, flexing while the beautiful woman looked on with utter adoration. A bitter taste filled his mouth at the thought.
“That sounds really cool.” He told the kid, trying to keep up his cheerful act. The kid beamed at him, and his mother picked up the tray.
“Tonraq, thank Mr. Zuko for our drinks and for talking with you and let’s go sit.” Zuko blinked at the woman in surprise for a moment- he wouldn’t have forgotten being introduced to her- before remembering he was wearing a name tag, and that was how she knew his name.
“Thank you Mr. Zuko.” The boy- Tonraq- echoed cheerfully. The woman thanked him again, her familiar smile filling his stomach with warmth, before turning and shepherding her kid to a booth. Zuko busied himself with various duties- re-wiping the counters, making sure the pastries were arranged in a nice manner- before opening his law textbook to finish his reading. He had only made a little headway when he heard a clatter come from the mother and son’s table and looked up to see the little boy had apparently knocked over his tea cup. Luckily it hadn’t shattered- Zuko was always careful to give anyone under the age of 13 heavier-duty mugs- but there was tea everywhere.
“Are you okay? You didn’t burn yourself, did you honey?” The mother’s concerned voice rang out in the otherwise-empty tea shop.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry, it slipped.’ He apologized, his lower lip jutting out. His mother patted his hand comfortingly.
“It’s okay. Stay here, I’ll get some napkins to clean this up.” She half-rose from the booth, but Zuko was way ahead of her, and already on his way over with plenty of cleaning rags and a mop to sop the mess up.
“I’ve got this.” He offered, dropping the rags on the table and started to mop up the mess on the floor. “It happens all the time.” He told them. The mother gave him a kind smile, and started wiping up the table with the rags.
“I can at least give you a hand. But thank you, really.” She said, her brilliant eyes shining prettily when they met his. He smiled back at her, feeling butterflies swoop around his stomach.
“Of course.” He lowered his eyes to the mess then, knowing better than to stare at the poor woman who was just trying to enjoy an afternoon with her son. As he cleaned though, the little boy started talking around a mouthful of cookie, all traces of pouting gone.
“Mr. Zuko, can I ask you a question?” He asked. Zuko nodded.
“Sure bud.”
“Do you have a partner?” Zuko furrowed his brow at the boy. Did he mean a business partner? Or a partner partner?
“What?”
“Like a girlfriend or a boyfriend or someone. Mommy says you should say ‘partner’ instead for in-que-sidity.” Tonraq told him, kicking his heels against the booth. Ah.
“You also shouldn’t ask strangers personal questions.” The boy’s mother said pointedly. “Sorry.” She said to Zuko. He just shrugged.
“It’s okay. No, I don’t have a partner.” He told Tonraq- though he had no idea why the kid would want to know that. Tonraq positively beamed.
“Auntie Kit Kat doesn’t either! She used to have a boyfriend, but then she found out he had another girlfriend too. He was a real douche-canoe.” Despite feeling badly for the boy’s aunt- it sounded like the boy’s appraisal of her ex was correct- Zuko couldn’t help but snort at the curse in Tonraq’s high-pitched voice.
“Tonraq Takeo Kuruk! Where did you hear that word?” The woman demanded, aghast. Her cheeks were gaining color, and the blush only accentuated her beauty. Tonraq looked down shamefacedly.
“Daddy says it sometimes when he’s driving. I wasn’t supposed to tell you or Mommy though. Don’t tell Mommy?” He gave the woman- who apparently wasn’t his mother?- a pleading look, and she just pursed her lips. When she didn’t scold him more, the boy continued.
“Daddy said it about Jet too. He said that you only liked him because he tricked you with his fancy hair and cute butt.” The woman spluttered, and Tonraq turned back to Zuko- who was both immensely amused and very sympathetic to the beautiful- and apparently single- Kit Kat. “But you have fancy hair too, and Auntie Kit Kat was looking at your butt when you were making our drinks.” Zuko felt a smug smirk creep across his face, and turned his attention back to the woman.
“I was not!” She protested, her entire face now bright red.
“You were too!” Tonraq argued back, grinning wildly. Flattered as he was, and with the beginning of hope building in his gut, Zuko met Tonraq’s eye.
“Do I have fancier hair than Jet?” He asked, as though it was a very serious question. Tonraq nodded.
“Yes. His was floofy, but yours is all shiny. It’s much better.” The kid informed him seriously. Zuko was thankful he’d styled his hair in a sleek top-knot today, rather than pulling it into a messy bun as he sometimes did when he was running late.
“That’s good to know.” Zuko responded. Tonraq nodded.
“And you and Auntie both like Pokemon and tea, so you would have a lot to talk about! Uncle Aang says you should talk a lot in relationships.” He informed Zuko, who nodded in agreement.
“That is a very good point.” There was a beat of silence before the boy continued.
“Mommy said she thought that Auntie Kit Kat liked Jet because he was good at going to bed-” Zuko burst out laughing at the kid’s words- “-but Daddy told her not to be gross about his sister. I don’t know why that’s gross though. Auntie always reads me stories in bed, and rubs my back and sings until I fall asleep, so I think she’s really good at it too.”
Kit Kat, who had been gaping at the child in mortified horror, jumped up.
“Okay Tonraq! Enough of that! It sounds like Mommy and Daddy were having a private conversation that was not meant for little ears.” The kid’s pout belied the truth of his aunt’s statement. “Which means that we also do not repeat those conversations in public.” She turned to Zuko, not quite meeting his eyes.
“I’m so sorry. You know how kids- they just say these- sorry.” Her face was burning red, and Zuko held his hands up, though he was pretty sure the gesture was less placating with him still shaking with laughter.
“No worries.” He assured her.
“Thank you for your help, and for… humoring him.” She said, wincing. “Uh, we have to go. Tonraq, pick up your cookie, I’ll wrap it in a napkin for you.”
“There’s to-go cups on the counter for the rest of your tea.” Zuko offered, pointing. He didn’t want to see her go, but he couldn’t exactly blame her for her speedy exit. If the roles had been reversed… he shuddered at the thought.
Kit Kat smiled at him again as she waved Tonraq out of the booth.
“Thank you again for everything.” She said as they made their way out of the shop.
“Bye Mr. Zuko!” Tonraq waved energetically, and gave Zuko a big, dramatic wink that made him laugh.
“Bye!” He waved back.
Despite her fleeing, Zuko felt unusually chipper for the rest of the afternoon.
It was stupid, but Zuko had begged Song to switch shifts with him the next day, hoping and praying he would see Kit Kat at her usual time. Typically he liked to spend the mornings focusing on studying, but this… felt more important.
And shortly into his shift, Zuko’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the beautiful Kit Kat entering the quiet shop, back in her usual scrubs and braid.
“Good morning.” He couldn’t help but grin at her. She gave him a sheepish smile in return as she approached the counter.
“I’m so sorry again about yesterday.” She apologized. “Could you consider just forgetting it? I really like the tea here.” She joked nervously. Zuko’s grin widened.
“Of course. Besides, I don’t even usually work this shift unless someone needs coverage, so you should be able to avoid me most of the time.” He joked back. She smiled gratefully at him, and his stomach swooped again.
As he took her order and prepped her drink, he battled with himself. Should he say it? Or should he leave things as they were, comfortable. He could find her beautiful from afar, and continue to treasure each smile she sent his way. The kid had probably been exaggerating anyways, or just plain wrong. Or, if she was that fresh from a relationship, she probably didn’t even want to start anything new.
“Here you are.” Their fingers brushed as he handed her her tea, and the tingle of electricity between them ignited his courage.
“Of course, if you don’t want to forget it, I would love to take you out to dinner sometime.” He offered. The woman stared at him for a moment, her lips slightly parted in surprise. He was on the verge of apologizing and promising he wouldn’t pick up any more morning shifts, and she could enjoy her tea in peace when a wide smile crossed her face.
“That sounds really nice.” She said, her smile sending a rush of warmth through him. “I’ll give you my number?” He nodded eagerly and fished his phone out of pocket, handing it over. She typed in her number quickly, smiling slyly at him as she handed the phone back.
“So, would it be totally inappropriate if I said I was checking out your butt?” She asked teasingly.
“Would it be inappropriate if I told you I wore my tightest jeans today hoping you would?” He grinned back, and she laughed, the sound a beautiful melody.
“I have to run, but definitely text me. Have a nice day Zuko.”
“I certainly will now.” He assured her, gesturing to his phone, eyes flitting down briefly to read what she had typed. “Have a nice day, I hope I’ll see you soon Katara.” Her name rolled off of his tongue, and he savored the feeling he got when she gifted him another sparkling smile, raising her to-go cup in a cheers motion as she walked away.
Zuko sighed happily, running his thumb over her name on the phone screen. Katara.
Now to plan the perfect date.