Uncle Iroh needs more tea (tea_bender) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-07-21 15:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, iroh, zuko |
Prince Zuko...
Who: Zuko and Iroh
What: Talking about Mai, crime, Azula and Ozai
When: Friday Morning
Where: Jasmine Dragon
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: mentions of human trafficking
Zuko was a wreck, today. He'd dropped several cups of tea and he'd been surly all morning. Mostly, he was worried about Mai, still. And she was giving him the cold shoulder again and he didn't know why. He thought everything had been fixed, and talked out. They'd made love. But she'd been chilly. Maybe it wasn't as fixed as he'd thought.
After the fifth teacup had been dropped, Iroh stopped thinking that it was just Zuko having some kind of clumsy day. He was going to run out of teacups at this rate, and all of that spilled tea... it was just so sad.
He hit pause on the netflix steam of My Little Ponies, something he'd been casually watching while overseeeing things in the back, and walked out of his office, approaching Zuko quietly. Something was eating at the boy, and it was his duty to find out what it was.
"For the tea's sake, I think you had better stop serving today," was what Iroh decided to open with. Someone had to think of the tea, after all.
Zuko folded his arms, glaring at his Uncle, but he didn't fight it. Instead he slipped into the back and sat heavily in a chair. He rubbed his face with both hands. Mai, the trafficking, the attack, his sister, his mother. It was all too much.
Iroh followed him to the back, and took a seat next to him, "You look exhausted. When was the last time that you slept instead of staring at Mai all night?"
His tone was a knowing one, implying that he'd probably watched Zuko watch Mai, or perhaps implying that he knew exactly what it was like to be so scared for your loved ones that you stay up evenings making sure they were okay. He didn't say, either way.
Shrugging a shoulder, Ozai's eldest didn't respond immediately. It took several moments, before he lifted his head and said wryly, "Father thanked me for my work, and asked me how he should approach the 'situation' with Azula."
"And what did you tell him?" Iroh asked, while pouring himself some tea. Ozai had called the house a few days ago, actually, to talk to Ursa. Yell at her, most likely, and Iroh absolutely was not having that. He and his brother were estranged enough as it was, but after that conversation, Iroh might as well have changed his family name and left the country.
He'd never mentioned it to anyone.
"I told him with the shifting public opinion and the general liberalism of the city the American branch was based out of, this could only be a good thing for the company. Especially considering the optics should Ty Lee place and win a medal. Then I added it was already generally assumed amongst most of the board."
It had been more for Ty Lee than Azula's sake. But Zuko desparately wanted to give his sister the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it really was love. As much as he hated how his sister was favored, he didn't want her to lose it over something as stupid as this.
A heavy hand was clapped against Zuko's shoulder, and Iroh's eyes shined with pride as he regarded his nephew. He was, at times, still disappointed with the man he was becoming - mainly because he worried that Zuko pursued a destiny that wasn'te even his - but lately, he had also been so proud of him. Especially when he made decisions like this.
"That was a very wise decision you made, and I sincerely hope that your father takes this advice. It will be good for everyone, and... you have done the right thing, my nephew."
"I don't know. I'm worried about Ty Lee, too. What if Azula hurts her?" It would be like the crazy lesbian trope. And his sister was probably both. Zuko frowned.
"All you can do for Ty Lee is make her aware of the danger she is in," and if Iroh's dreams were any indication, Ty Lee was in danger, "She has to learn on her own. There can be no saving someone buried under this many layers of love, devotion, and experience. We must watch, and wait. It is not an easy thing, no. But you know that your friend is safe here if she needs a place to go."
He sighed, putting it out of his mind for the moment. He'd send that offer onto Ty Lee via text later. There were other things weighing on his mind. Things he'd only touched on with Mai, but he found he needed advice.
He just wasn't sure how Iroh would react.
Iroh observed him for a moment, while taking a long sip of his tea. Several moments passed before he opened his mouth again, "It is not just Ty Lee and Azula that are bothering you."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"It's Mai, it's what the Fire Nation is doing." Zuko shook his head. The Irony of the dream nation's actions and what his father was doing was not lost on him. There was too much similar.
A disregard for life.
"I thought you and Mai had patched things up?" Iroh raised a brow at that. The two of them often seemed as if he was the sun and she was the moon - destined only to be together when the cycles of their lives met up. He'd hoped that analogy was wrong. Mai was a good woman, when she wanted to be. She was a good influence on Zuko.
As to the Fire Nation's actions, he could only guess, "They are doing things you do not agree with? You feel torn between your loyalty to them, and your dislike of their choices."
"We had, but she's being a bit chilly today. I think I just need to talk to her, is all. Why are women so fucking insane?" Because they just WERE. Look at his sister! And Mai, and Ty Lee. ALL NUTS!
"and..yeah.. I do." He deflated.
"Because we make them insane, Zuko," Iroh said, with a bit of a tired sigh. He knew Zilan had often been very unhappy with his actions. Women were complicated in a way that he, at least, was not. It had taken him years to understand the few he'd ever interacted with.
"... Society does, and the men in their lives do, and they make themselves crazy, too. But I think it is because they feel in a different way, and feel more than we let ourselves. I would probably get hit by a woman for ever saying that in front of them."
He patted Zuko on the shoulder and nodded a bit, picking up the other conversation thread, "This is not an easy path to navigate. You have to find your own way, and make it your own. If you wish to leave, You know I will encourage that. If you wish to stay, because YOU choose to stay, then I will help in whatever way I can."
"Mai? Feel?" But he knew it was true, and thought that's why she held it in so much. She felt too much.
Zuko shook his head, "I can't leave. I'm entrenched too much, and I can do some good, I think, if I stay." More tips. Shut down what he could. And maybe someday he would understand so much of what his father did hurt so many people, but right now he could just focus on the terrible parts.
"When she allows herself," Iroh nodded. Mai was an enigma, but it seemed that Zuko was starting to understand her better. That was really all any of them could ask for.
When Zuko finished speaking, he patted his nephew's shoulder again, "Then I will help you, however I can. I will not go back to that life, myself, but I still have old friends, old contacts. If this is YOUR choice, I will help you."
"The Nation has more honor than to sell girls and women to perverts," Zuko growled.
"... that is a very serious accusation." Iroh's tone was disturbed. What had his brother gotten himself INTO?
"I have enough evidence to believe some are involved in this. I've taken one out, running through one of the OC warehouses, and tipped off Interpol and the FBI to two other rings."
Zuko stood then, and started to pace, "But nothing that leads directly to my father."
Iroh watched him pace a bit, while trying to process through things in his head. He had never heard about any kind of human trafficking while he'd been an active member of the syndicate, but things changed, and often they went in directions that were not originally planned.
He nodded a bit as Zuko mentioned the tips he'd given, seeming to think that that was the right thing to do, "It is possible that he is not involved. The Fire Nation is large, and governing it is becoming as hard as governing an Empire. The eye of the Fire Lord cannot be everywhere at once. People would exploit that."
"I hope he's not," Zuko replied. "There are various factions. All going for control." Most of them hated him. He was young, and they felt he rode into the position by virtue of his birthright.
He'd laugh in their faces if they said that to him. He'd had to work harder than any of them. Even his sister, the favorite child, had to work hard and constantly. Zuko wasn't that naive. He'd seen her in the boardroom. It just came easily for her, was all.
"You need to be careful with this, Zuko." Iroh rumbled. He poured himself another cup of tea, forcing his hand to stay steady. The truth was, the more they spoke about this, the more worried he became. He didn't want to lose the boy.
Zuko's voice was serious, "I know, Uncle." He was an annoying old man, but he felt a lot better having talked to him.
"I hope that you do," Iroh replied, his tone just as serious.
"Thanks. I'll pay you back for the teacups." Zuko got up and turned to go. He needed to talk to Mai.
"Prince Zuko..." Iroh got up, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"..Prince?"
"... This is not about the teacups. It is about your life. Please! Please. Be careful."
Zuko gave him an odd look, then said, "I will be."
Iroh nodded, and let him go.