uncle_iroh | Inbox for Sn: Pai Sho

From:

[ Zuko didn't warn Iroh that he was coming over today. He doesn't text, just comes over with a hope of catching the man at home. If not, he's prepared a card, using his best calligraphy skills to write "For Uncle" in their world's language and a loose, impressionistic sketch of a branch of blossoms in intentional brush strokes; it's quite nice looking, really. The illustration on the card matches the gift he comes bearing: a large bouquet of red, yellow and white larkspurs, as well as a small pot of an unblossomed sprout of some sort. He picked up these flowers from Aerith as a gift with his uncle in mind specifically from the get go. He comes wearing plain clothes and knocks at the door, waiting a few moments, just in case Iroh is home to answer. If not, he'll leave them at the doorstep with the note he drew. ]

From:

uncle_iroh

He is indeed in. Iroh opened the door and blinked when he saw his nephew with the flowers. Then he smiled. "You have a date, Prince Zuko?" Who was she that Zuko actually thought to bing flowers? Orr had one of his friends taught him more about how to handle such things than Zuko had been able to learn in Ba Sing Se?

From:

rediscovering

"Wh-What?! A date?! No...!"

Uh, how dare you even suggest it, is how his body language reads, flustered, reeling were it not for his armful of flowers.

"No, Uncle, they're for you... To decorate your apartment..."

He looks disgruntled. His kindness was misinterpreted right off the bat!

From:

uncle_iroh

"Oh. Well then, come on in. But it would not be so bad for you to go on a date, would it?" he asked, stepping out of the way. "You looked quite handsome on your date in Ba Sing Se, after all."

From:

rediscovering

He does as told, waiting inside for Iroh to either take all these big flowers from him or tell him where to put them.

"Why's everyone trying to get me to go on dates lately!" he laments, rolling his eyes.

He'd just been pestered by Hikaru playing wingman with Aurora not so long ago, but he's not advertising to Iroh that indeed his friend has already set him up on a date coming up quite soon. Although he's terribly certain that Iroh would approve of her, an elegant and kindly peasant girl raised in the woods by her aunts who teaches Zuko to enjoy singing and dancing as a form of meditation, of course a good influence in his life with stunning (though literally alien) good looks to boot... which is exactly why he's not advertising this information yet. But it's Zuko. It's not hard to get information out of him.

From:

uncle_iroh

"Because it is a good and often natural experience for youngsters. You said that you wanted a more normal time while you are here. Who, in this case, is everyone?" he asked as casually as he said the rest, without any change in pace or tone to indicate he was going to swap from answering to asking. He did take the flowers, though; he set them on the counter in the kitchen and started studying them to see if any of them might make good tea.

From:

rediscovering

"It's poisonous, Uncle — it can't be made into tea. I asked."

He recognizes that inspection and follows Iroh's train of thought without the man needing to say anything at all. Zuko had foresight for once. But he huffs, sweeping the room in long, quick strides to collapse on the couch as if it were his own home, resting his arms behind his head and talking to the ceiling instead of looking at Iroh when he speaks.

"And by everyone, I dunno, my friends, people I know — it's just come up a lot lately... Hikaru, mostly, I guess. He's trying to play matchmaker, I can tell."

He says it with some derision, some dismissiveness, but Iroh knows Zuko all too well enough to hear there's also some tone of endearment in there, amusement, fondness... Zuko can complain about it, but from the sounds of it, he's letting it happen anyway.

Inbox for Sn: Pai Sho - Avalon