Here's an update. This time, Zujin style! Unbeta'd for your amusement.
Fascinate:
He likes to think of Jin whenever he can. Even if she was just a passing flirtation, and a glimpse of the life he
could've had in Ba Sing Se, he still thought of her. It was almost as if, by thinking about her, he could return back to the days where he and Uncle ran the tea shop. Back to the days when Azula wasn't around, when the Avatar wasn't that much of a threat, and when the only thoughts on his mind were who was going to venture into the tea shop that day.
Zuko stares outside of the window of the room provided to him inside the Earth King's palace, and glances around the unknown civilians of Ba Sing Se, hoping to catch a glimpse of a green dress walking the streets. She was a refugee, and it was unlikely to find her near the Upper Ring, but his mother always told him to look for what he's wanted, even in the most unlikely of places.
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Second Date"Li, I want you to see something." She grabbed on to his arm, pulling him along the busy streets of the lower ring, with the biggest smile she's ever had on her face.
"Uhh, s-sure!" Zuko didn't really know what to say to what was happening to him right now. Here he was, on a beautiful day, with a girl, pulling him along the busy streets. There really wasn't all that much to think about.
She giggled (Zuko's never heard quite a sound coming from a girl), and then lured him into one of what seemed to be the oldest shops of Ba Sing Se. Finally letting go of his arm, she entered along with him to observe the many trinkets and gizmos that laid on the table.
"Where are we?"
She turned to face him, holding up an antique piece of jewelry. "This is one of my favorite shops in the city. My mother used to come here a lot with my father." Placing the antique down, she grabbed another one this time with a leather strap, and a shiny piece of metal dangling down with a peculiar design on it.
"So, I guess...your father must've bought your mother lots of things from this shop?" He didn't know where she was going with this, and wasn't really sure whether he wanted to know, or if he would never know. Girls were like that, he remembered his Uncle taught him.
She nodded, "My mother has a box filled with old jewelry my father used to buy for her. Sometimes I would sneak into her room, and wear the jewelry to feel pretty." She laughed awkwardly, looking at the other pieces of jewelry on the table. "I don't know
why I used to do it, but I did. Guess that makes me kind of silly, huh?"
He wasn't really sure how to respond to that remark, but thought back to what his Uncle told him before he left that day. "I guess it is kind of silly..." he paused for a second, and then replied back. "I mean, you don't need any jewelry to look pretty...because, you're already very...beautiful."
He didn't know where that comment came from, but it gave him a very interesting response. Jin briefly blushed, and then smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're such a sweetie! It's kinda weird. Whatever happened to the Li I met in the Tea Shop?"
He gave her a cheesy smile, the same one Jin remembers when he told her he was part of a traveling circus, before replying: "I guess I've changed..."
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Joy:
"What do you want to do when you're older?"
The question caught him completely off guard. "What do you mean?"
She leaned against the grassy fields, before turning towards him. "I mean, what do you want to do when you're older? I don't think you'd want to make tea for the rest of your life."
"To be honest, I don't have a liking for tea all that much..."
"I knew it! I knew you hated tea. I could tell from the moment I first saw you that you
hated working there."
"I enjoy helping my Uncle, and that's all that really matters to me." He replied, laying on his back turned towards her.
"I could tell..." she smiled, before taking his hand into hers. Playing with his fingers, she gazed up at him. "I've always wondered what you've wanted to do with your life. You know, I always saw you as this royalty type person. Kind of like a prince. For all we know, maybe you'll become a King someday!"
"Perhaps..."
"Hey, I have an idea." She jumped on him, hovering above him pinning his wrists down with her hands. She smirked, "If you're going to become a King someday, can I be your Queen?"
He wasn't used to these kind of situations, and wasn't really sure what to do. Should he turn the tables and pin her to the ground? But then if he did, he was afraid of hurting her in some way. So he decided to gaze into her eyes, and speak. "Only if you promise to be a good Queen."
She giggled, "Of course."