Zuko accepted the coins, watching the Freedom Fighter warily, before turning and going to prepare his tea.
It had been quite some time since the Dai Li had arrived and interrupted their fight, dragging off a screaming and unbalanced Jet to who knew where. Zuko had never thought he’d see him again, but it was as his uncle Iroh said: destiny was a funny thing.
As he busied himself in the back, preparing his customer’s tea, he let his uncle know they had an old guest visit; his uncle told him to serve Jet the way he would any customer, for though he caused trouble, he was a customer just the same. Heeding his uncle’s advice, he fetched the ingredients to make something simple but hearty for Jet to eat.
Returning, he placed the small cup of tea and a bowl of jook for Jet’s consumption. Awkwardly, he stood there, before asking, “May I join you?”
He wanted to set the record straight, figure out Jet’s motives, to see what he was doing here. This may be a place for food, but Zuko sincerely doubted Jet was just here to eat. After all, it was Jet…he was always up to something.
The best tea shop in Ba Sing Se, and of course it had to have Li and the old guy running it. Felt like that was how his luck went anymore. At least he hadn’t immediately tried to attack him.
Once Li had gone off to do… whatever, plan his death or poison the tea, Jet thought about leaving. Thought about getting up and going, before any of it could happen. But it felt like giving in, like giving up, and he refused to tolerate the idea. Not to mention that he’d be out money if he just left; having to pay for anything was a foreign concept. Just giving money away sounded even worse.
With Li gone, Jet folds his arms on the table to pillow his head as he leans forward, and— Probably a bad idea, but he ignores the sharp pain in his chest, shifts a little until it’s less pronounced.
It’s not until Li returns that Jet bothers to pick his head up again, and even then, it takes him a while of staring down at the bowl to do anything. If he was going to eat that— there was no telling if Li had done something to it, had snuck something dangerous into it, if he was trying to get revenge on him. If he wanted to goad him into attacking again. None of it made sense. Why he was still sitting there, why Li wanted to join him.
The only answer Jet has for that is to pick a foot up off the ground to kick the chair across the table out, then to nod at it. He likely wasn’t going to leave even if he refused, anyway. And it gave Jet the opportunity to shove the bowl and cup across the table at him, jerking his head down toward them. “Eat some.”
The humbled prince looked at the Freedom Fighter in surprise. Did he expect him to poison his food or something? Did he really hold such a low opinion of him? Did he really hate firebenders that much? Not that he could prove it, but the boy before him wasn't to be fooled, it seemed.
Still, it was not safe to reveal his abilities or identity in the heart of the Earth Kingdom stronghold, especially given that they were fugitives from both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation.
Zuko accepted the other boy's offer, sitting in the seat pulled out for him. Looking almost bemusedly at Jet, Zuko gave the faintest of smiles, as though mocking him.
"Afraid it's poisoned?" he mused, before taking a sip of the jook and washing it down with some of his best tea.
"There," said the former prince, pushing the bowl and cup towards him. "Eat."
He paused before adding, "And tell me how you've been, Jet."
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