The Sake of Hope

“Lee, you should get out more. You haven’t left this place since we got here, I don’t think,” Mushi sighed. Lee laid back on the bed with his hat pulled over his eyes as his uncle folded laundry.
“Uncle, I have no reason to get out. We’re only here to wait…”
“Wait for what?” Botan, Sake’s oldest younger brother, just happened to walk by the doorway into Mushi’s room.
It was quiet, but only for a second. Then Mushi smiled.
“Wait to go home, son. But I’m afraid our home is overrun with Fire Nation at the moment and-”
“And it’s none of your business anyway,” Zuko added, rather testily. Botan’s eyes grew wide and for a moment he was afraid at Lee’s sudden anger. Mushi glared down at Lee.
“That was rude, Lee. Apologize.”
Rather than fight it, Lee did, quietly, and laid back down, hat covering his face once more. Mushi turned back to Botan.
“Here, Botan,” and he grinned and pulled a small sack of hard candies out of his sleeve. He held the bag open and Botan eagerly plummeted his hand inside, always grateful for some candy. Sure, he was fourteen, but it came so seldom…
Mushi put a finger to his lips.
“Don’t tell the others. I’m afraid I don’t have enough,” and he winked. Botan smiled and left, popping the candy into his mouth and savoring the flavor.
“I don’t know why you favor them. Why you like them,” Lee said from the bed once Botan was out of earshot.
“They’re people, Lee, just like you and me,” he said simply back.
“No… They’re nothing like you and me.”
Mushi sighed.
“Nephew, as much as you’ve been taught, fancy clothing, armor, and titles have little to do with a person’s quality. The finest people can be dressed in rags and the most horrid and abominable can be kings of a great nation,” and he was quiet for sometime, as was Zuko. Finally, he spoke again.
“Run to the market for your uncle, will you?” he asked kindly, looking at Zuko’s lifeless form on the bed.
“Why can’t you?”
“Because I promised Sake I would make my famous ginseng tea tonight and I must get started. I did, however, promise Miss Jun that I would pick her up a few things for supper.”
At the mention of Sake’s name Lee’s eyes fluttered open and heat found it’s way underneath his hat and on his cheeks. He wasn’t sure why…
“Lee?”
“Fine.”

***

Little children with wooden toys, flustered mothers with babies on their hips, men with bad teeth laughing aloud amongst themselves.
This was the market of Dim Jan. And this was wear Lee wandered now, looking for items on a long list stored inside his head.
He had found the bread easily enough- the smell was hardly difficult to track down. The spices were also easy, as they were the only thing here in an actual building, and a big building at that. Full of gypsies and potions promised to turn others into foreign objects and make them fall in love with you.
As for the butcher, it wasn’t hard to find one. What was hard though, was finding the right one. Three different kinds of meat and ten different butchers, all with different set prices, weights, cuts. It was all too confusing.
“Lee?” her voice. He knew it, and it made him smile.
Sake ran up behind Lee, a group of girls and boys looking to be her own age following behind her.
“What are you doing out? You’ve become quite the… hermit,” and she laughed while his expression never changed.
Lee looked over her shoulder to her friends following behind her. All of them had books or a sack, so they’d all just come from the academy. There were three girls and two boys. They all looked about the same, dressed in clothes their mother’s frequently kept clean, but were slowly wearing out. But then he looked back at Sake. She was different from the rest of them. He knew for fact that she had no mother. Around anyway. And she washed her own clothes- took care of herself. But, he thought, who was to say they didn’t? What his uncle had said had come back to him briefly. Sake, he allowed himself to admit, wasn’t so bad. She wasn’t like the rest. She didn’t care that she had to work, had no money, took care of herself.
Sake followed his gaze back to her friends who were right behind her now.
“Here,” and she turned and pushed Lee in front of her, to face her friends. Her slender hand rested on his shoulder, and all the time it did, he prayed the blush that besieged his face earlier didn’t return. “This is my friend, Lee. Lee, this is Beta, Jade, Stephanie, Luke, and Tamil,” they all smiled kindly, the girls waved, and the guys nodded. All of them, captivated by the left side of his face. And he knew it.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Lee said in return, offering no smile or any other kind words.
It was about to become quiet and awkward, so Sake spoke up.
“Doing a bit of shopping, are you?”
“Your aunt needed some things. My uncle’s busy, so he sent me.”
Sake thought for a moment. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he was having trouble finding things. But in the front of her mind, was free time. Alone. With Lee. And she had to admit, he captivated her.
“Why don’t you guys go ahead,” she offered to the other five. “I’ll help Lee and make sure he gets the right stuff.”
Although Lee was grateful, he didn’t like how she made him out to be lost and foolish. But, before he could argue, her friends were off.
“Bye Sake,” Luke offered quietly, almost shyly.
Something called jealousy made itself apparent in Zuko just then.
Despite his mixed and jumbled emotions, Zuko was actually quite thankful for some help.
“Ok, what else do you need?”
“I could have done it myself,” he said it. It was reflex. Even though he didn’t want to be bitter, it was in him. Although, Sake must have known this. She shrugged it off and looked in the sack he carried.
“Meat, I’m guessing?” and she grinned, knowing he was probably incredibly confused.
“Yes.”
“We go to Mr. Gin over there,” and she pointed at a stand, behind which stood a bulky man with a bloodstained apron. “He’s not the cheapest, but he’s not outrageous either. And he gives good cuts.”
They walked over, greeted the man, and placed their order. One of the man’s workers went back to prepare it and Mr. Gin charged a customer while they waited.
“So,” the butcher began, “If it isn’t my future daughter-in-law,” and he wailed a laugh from his gut. Sake blushed. “I’m only kidding Ms. Sake,” and he grinned. Lee’s face was smitten with curiosity and shock. “You know, though, Luke is quite excited about taking you to the school dance tomorrow. Heard him talking to his mother about it last night. Getting all cleaned up for it, wearing-”
“Please, don’t spoil my surprise,” and Sake laughed with him, no longer blushing, but rolling her eyes.
Now Zuko understood why Luke was so shy when he’d strayed back a bit to tell Sake goodbye. He obviously had a crush on her. And why on earth was it bothering Zuko so much? And why on earth did he keep denying how much he liked her?
And there was the heat, returning to his face.
“Well, here ya’ go little miss. Luke will be by to walk you tomorrow night,” and he winked and handed her her package. Sake grinned.
“Thank you, and tell Luck I’ll be waiting,” and she chuckled a bit as they walked from the stall.
For a long time Zuko was quiet, it seemed. But, maybe that was just because he was thinking so hard and minutes between the two of them seemed like hours.
“So, you’re… going to a dance?”
Sake smiled behind the wall of hair that covered her face from Lee’s view.
“Yes. With Luke.”
“Er… which one was he again?”
“The one with the longer hair.”
“Oh. I… I don’t really remember.”
“It’s too bad you don’t go to the academy,” Sake said, against her minds best instincts.
Lee’s eyes got big and for a second he didn’t reply, afraid he’d heard wrong.
“Er… why?”
Sake pushed her hair back behind her ear so he could see her face now.
“Maybe I would have asked you,” and she smiled, half at the fact that it was impossibly true, and half at the look on Lee’s face.
And then they both blushed once they met each other’s eyes.
Lee coughed.
“I probably wouldn’t go anyway,” he said, fending off the embarrassment at being caught off guard.
Sake looked at him, hurt, but not believing it at the same time.
“Can I show you something?” she asked. “After supper?”
Lee stopped thinking about embarrassment and started wondering why on earth she’d want to show him something. More importantly, what was it she had for him to see?
“I… yeah… sure… I guess.”
Sake smiled and her hair fell back in between them.