Chapter Text
End of April, 104 AG.
The sun was starting to set over Ba Sing Se as the final touches were put on the Jasmine Dragon for Toph Beifong’s sixteenth birthday.
“A little bit to the left!” Katara instructed Aang as he hung ribbons of green and gold from the rafters. Zuko watched, smiling slightly to himself as he set out the cake and fruits on an immaculately arranged table.
Momo’s head poked out from under the tablecloth with a mrap, and Zuko sighed a little as he grabbed a handful of fruit. Keeping him away was a lost cause. “Just don’t mess with the cake yet, okay?”
On the back wall was a large scroll with a terrible portrait of Toph drawn by Sokka, who had insisted on displaying it even after Katara reminded him Toph wouldn’t know what was on it. Suki had carefully inked Happy birthday Toph! in calligraphy, a stark contrast to Sokka’s thick, wobbly lines.
It was the first time Team Avatar would be together in over two years. The wildly complicated and time-consuming decolonization and rebuilding of the world had made it difficult for all of them to be in the same place at the same time. Things had finally begun to calm down across the world enough that, after much finagling, he and Aang had managed to time their needed diplomatic visit with the Earth King to overlap with Toph’s birthday, and the others had been able to take time off from their various responsibilities to come too.
“How was the ride from the Southern Water Tribe?” Suki asked Katara as the group gathered to wait for the guest of honor’s arrival. Toph was supposed to arrive soon with her older sister Yiren, who she was staying with.
Zuko had not met Yiren, and he was the only person at the party who had not, which made him feel especially nervous. The end of the war had soothed some of his anxieties, but socializing was not one of them. He found it difficult to separate himself from others expectation of him, especially with noblewomen. Toph had talked about her often on their travels, and she clearly loved her dearly. But he knew, to some extent, she was a noblewoman, and noblewomen unnerved him.
After his breakup with Mai, the eligible young ladies of the Fire Nation had started appearing almost out of thin air, around every corner, trying to impress him. Some of these were women who had treated him with disgust in childhood, or whose families he knew were staunch Ozai loyalists and opposed his rule. He knew what they were hoping for, and he understood why, but he didn’t understand why they were so willing to lie for it.
“I think you will like Yiren Beifong,” Iroh said quietly next to him, with a sly glint in his eye. “She has good taste in tea.” Zuko couldn’t help but roll his eyes, remembering the many times in Ba Sing Se his uncle had tried his hand at matchmaking.
Appa roared in welcome as Toph appeared in the courtyard, arm in arm with a taller woman. The sun, setting behind them, blurred them momentarily, but as they became clear, Zuko felt his mouth go dry.
It was true that Yiren Beifong was beautiful. Her long black hair was loosely pinned behind her ears, without any fuss, showing off the softness of her features. Zuko was surprised to see how simply dressed she was, though it was clear, even from a distance, that the forest green dress she was wearing was made by a skilled tailor, in expensive cloth. She shared Toph’s pale complexion, but her eyes were much darker. They shifted from her sister to the group gathered at the teahouse, and as soon as they reached Zuko, he tore his gaze away to focus on Toph.
“Happy birthday!” Sokka shouted excitedly, and the clamoring began as descended on Toph, Momo circling above.
* * *
The group sat around the large table sharing stories of their separate adventures, mostly Toph weaving stories of her various students’ misadventures. Yiren sat quietly next to Toph, smiling at her with such warmth and fondness that the faintest shadow of jealousy—old, familiar jealousy—flitted through Zuko’s heart. He didn’t know exactly where it was originating—was it seeing the affectionate sibling relationship he never had, or did he want Yiren to look at him in the same way?
Regardless, he breathed deeply and let it pass.
“Zuko, will you prepare a pot of tea?” His uncle asked as the conversation lulled. “I am ready for my nighttime cup.”
“Of course, Uncle,” he smiled, raising to his feet and moving through a curtain to the back room, where the tea stores were kept. Though Iroh was the superior brewer, whenever they were together, he had gotten in the habit of brewing his uncle his nighttime tea. In fact, though he still wasn’t particularly fond of the taste, he often prepared his own tea at the palace. His sixteen-year-old self would be appalled, but Iroh had been right all along—the process helped ground him, and reminded him of their time together during his exile.
He was heating the water to rinse the tea leaves when he heard someone enter the room. They were lighter on their feet than most of the group, whose footsteps he knew well, but with a heavier step than Suki and Aang. It must be Yiren, and the ceramic pitcher in his hands heated just slightly more than he intended.
“It’s amazing to see her as an adult, isn’t it?” Her voice was clear, but not high. It was a nice voice. Zuko had admired it as she greeted him. He carefully poured the water over the tea leaves to open them, and rinsed them out.
“Yes,” He replied, and then, trying not to be short with her because of his nerves, “It’s hard to imagine her as a teacher, but it seems like she’s doing a good job.”
Next to him, Yiren placed the dirty plates in the sink and hummed in agreement. Her hands were shaped like a noblewoman’s, he noticed, but they weren’t as smooth as usual. Not the rough of a bender or laborer, but they reflected more than an entirely pampered life. On her right hand, where she might hold a brush, there was a callous. He recognized it immediately—he had the same, from reviewing papers all day.
“I’m sorry to intrude. Your uncle asked me to help you bring out the tea.”
Zuko couldn’t help but exhale the smallest huff of sparks at his uncle’s meddling. “It’s alright. I already set out the cups on a tray. I’m going to steep the tea leaves and pour it now.” She nodded at him, and he poured the water over the leaves, counting to fifteen in his head.
He could feel her watching as he carefully poured the tea into eight small cups. When he was done, he shifted the tray in her direction.
“You can bring this tray. I’ll bring the leaves and more water out, so we can steep them again if we’d like.” Yiren was still looking at him, and he looked back. Her eyes were searching for something in his face. It made him want to flinch away, but he forced himself to hold her gaze as she spoke. Up close, he saw her eyes were hazel, with specks of gray and green. There was a brightness to them that reminded him of Aang.
“I wanted to say before, but I thought it might be embarrassing in front of everyone. It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you, and I’m so grateful for all you and your other friends have done for Toph.”
Zuko was stunned by her sincerity. Most noblewomen he had met obscured their true feelings at all costs. Toph was always honest, but with a hard edge. He hadn’t thought much about it, but perhaps he assumed her sister would be similarly acerbic or haughty.
“I—It’s no problem,” he stammered out, “She always believed in me, even when I’m not sure I deserved it. I’m grateful for her, too.” At this, Yiren beamed, and again it felt like she blurred out of focus, she was so bright. Again, an unidentifiable pang in his heart.
“I’m sure you deserved it.” How casually she said something that felt so immense to him. She picked up the tray of cups carefully, and looked around. “I’ve been at the teahouse so often since I moved to Ba Sing Se, but I’ve never been in the back.”
Zuko watched the movement of her hair as he followed after her. When they entered the main teahouse, Sokka had moved so that the two empty seats were next to each other. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the man when they made eye contact, and Sokka winked back, grinning.
“You’re from Gaoling, aren’t you? Why did you move here?” He asked as they set down the tea, the rest of the group splintered into multiple conversations—in fact, it seemed there was a distinct effort to not integrate them back into the group. Group ambush, he grumbled to himself, though he couldn’t say he was actually upset as Yiren picked up a cup and looked at him again.
Sitting next to her, he could see there were faint freckles across her face and collarbones. For a moment, he wondered where else she might have freckles, before gulping a sip of tea that scorched down his throat.
“When my father left home to build the Earthen Fire Refinery when the war was over, I convinced him to give me early control over a certain amount of our fortune so I could aid rebuilding efforts. I was traveling through the country for a few years to help on the ground with the first wave of aid, but now that I’ve established local contacts, I’m trying to create a proper infrastructure for funding. I moved to Ba Sing Se six months ago to try to work with the Earth Kingdom government on funding remediation efforts.”
Her answer had clearly been practiced in many meetings and dinner parties, and Zuko tried not to look stupified. That would have been embarrassing. He thought he should have been told about this by the Fire Nation ambassador to the Earth Kingdom—but how much was he not told about? Toph had mentioned that her sister was donating money, but hadn’t made it clear that she was fully dedicated to remediation aid. Then again, Toph tended to downplay the Beifong’s wealth, on purpose or not.
Yiren seemed to take his silence as something other than it was, because she pursed her lips and blushed, prettily. “Sorry to talk work at a social event. I’m sure you have to deal with that all the time.”
“No—I mean, that’s fine—I just can’t believe we haven’t met yet,” Zuko stumbled over his words, and she laughed, relief flickering over her face. He wondered: does she want to impress me, too?
“I think we’ve both been busy.” This was true, but Zuko truthfully thought it was a shame that he had to wait four years to meet her.
“We probably will get in trouble if we talk too much about diplomacy,” he said, a little quieter, and forced himself to make eye contact again, his Fire Lord voice sneaking in, “but of course I am—and the Fire Nation is—very committed to remedying the damage our Nation wrought on the Earth Kingdom. Would direct contact with the Fire Nation embassy be helpful?”
For the first time since he met her, a glimmer of mischief—or was that flirtation?—sparkled across Yiren’s face. “Direct contact with the embassy, or direct contact with the Fire Lord?”Across the table, Aang declared a party game was in order, but Zuko couldn’t tear his gaze away from Yiren just yet. A voice, sounding suspiciously like Sokka, shouted in his mind: You can do this!
Zuko swallowed, his ears going red. “Both, if you’d like,” he managed to get out.
Yiren nodded. “Both would be nice,” she replied. Without missing a beat, she rejoined the group conversation, the hint of a smile playing on her lips.
* * *
“Yiyi! You have a letter!” Toph hollered from the living area. Yiren didn’t even know her sister had woken up—she was mildly impressed that she was up before lunch. They had been out until midnight at the Jasmine Dragon, and had spent another hour lying together in Yiren’s bed, going back and forth, until they fell asleep.
“Can you bring it in here?” She yelled back, setting her brush down. It endlessly surprised her just how much paperwork she had to fill out just to give away money, and since starting negotiations with the Earth Kingdom government, the piles of forms and contracts had multiplied, seemingly infinitely. The bureaucracy of the Earth Kingdom was unmatched, Aang had explained to her when she complained to him, relaying their early experiences in Ba Sing Se during the war. He had assured her that it had improved since Long Feng was ousted, but Yiren found that impossible. How could it be any worse?
Her sister, of course, just laughed at her misery.
Toph burst open the door, throwing the scroll onto Yiren’s desk. “Who’s it from?” She demanded immediately, throwing herself on the small lounging sofa in the corner with all the gusto of a newly-sixteen year old. Her hair was a rat’s nest, so she couldn’t have been up long. It was something the two of them shared with their mother, their thick black hair that caught tangles easily. Poppy had tried to teach them both a long routine of oils, soaps, and perfumes to keep it smooth, but while Yiren still followed it religiously, Toph had unsurprisingly never taken to it. Now, on a rare occasion, she would allow Yiren to apply some—not all, it was too tedious—of those products. They didn’t speak of their mother during those moments.
Yiren couldn’t help but smile at her little sister, her gaze slipping warmly over her to the letter. But, unlike the green or gold insignia of most of her correspondence, this scroll was—red, with a Fire Nation emblem sealing it shut. “Oh,” she said, “it’s Fire Nation.”
Her sister barked out a sharp laugh, sitting up immediately and pointing an accusing finger. “The Fire Lord doesn’t waste any time!”
“Toph!” Yiren couldn’t help but protest, Toph laughing harder at her petulant outburst. She forced her heart to remain calm to avoid further ridicule. She was never entirely sure how much of her emotional regulation was innate, and how much had been developed to get around Toph’s earthbending senses. She still could never manage to fully lie to her sister—whether that was moral goodness or the anxiety of getting caught was another question. “Your close friend, the Fire Lord,” she replied, pointedly, “offered to put me in touch with the Fire Nation embassy to help support my work in Ba Sing Se.”
“Suuuuure! That definitely explains the way the two of you were acting last night.”
Rolling her eyes, Yiren broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. “We were not acting any way at all.” The paper was a different texture than the ones she was familiar with. She had never been to the Fire Nation; she wondered if they used different plants to make paper.
Yiren Beifong,
I am glad to have made your acquaintance last night. If you are available this Thursday afternoon, I have the time to welcome you to the Fire Nation embassy to properly introduce you to Ambassador Endo, as discussed. If you have previous arrangements, I will have Ambassador Endo reach out to you separately.
I hope you are aware that the Earth King is hosting a party in the Avatar’s honor tomorrow night. Of course, Toph has refused the invitation, but will you be attending?
Fire Lord Zuko
“Are you done reading it? What does it say?” Toph pestered, and Yiren felt herself leveling her with what others characterized as her stern older sister stare. The look never truly worked, of course, but Toph knew what that silence meant, and she grumbled.
Yiren’s one true privacy from her nosy little sister was the written word, and looking at Zuko’s message, she felt grateful that she could keep it for herself. It was innocuous, but she could feel how carefully the words were chosen. The calligraphy was near perfect, with a tight stroke. She wondered if he had thrown away practice drafts. He struck her as slightly rushed with a brush.
“Like I said, he is arranging for me to meet Ambassador Endo.” A lie of omission couldn’t hurt, at least for now.
“That’s it?” Toph furrowed her brow, her feet firmly on the ground. It was a tell that she was listening carefully, which made Yiren consider her next words. She was already attending the Earth King’s party, in an attempt to rub elbows with the bureaucrats who were handling remediation efforts, so it wasn’t an invitation, exactly. Just a question.
“Nothing else of note,” she stated, decidedly. “Want to get ready to go out for lunch? I was thinking dumplings.”
The mention of food threw Toph off the hunt, and her stomach growled in response. Grumbling, she left Yiren alone in her office, where she unraveled a scroll and dipped her brush into ink.
She would not need a practice draft.
Fire Lord Zuko,
It would be my honor to visit the embassy. Thank you for the invitation.
Before then, I look forward to seeing you at the Royal Palace.
Yiren