Part I - Silver and Gold

I couldn't have known that one cup of tea would alter the course of my entire life, but perhaps that's just the spirits' way of reminding us that sometimes the smallest things can hold the greatest meaning. My mother always told me that the spirits can sense when we are at a crossroads, and if they are feeling kind enough, they might guide us in the right direction. My father always told me to trust my heart and trust my instincts, and if I did, they would lead me to happiness. Whether it was a spirit, instinct, or sheer coincidence that day, I will always remember that wonderful things can come from unexpected places, and that sometimes all you need is a cup of tea to change your life.

It was early evening, the close of one of the hottest days of the year so far. It had been a long, miserable day at market with my mother and father, trying to sell fish, melons, and weavings when many other refugees around us were selling the same wares. I was not yet used to sweating and bartering with street folk under a hot canvas tent all day long, still longing for the cool farmland of home; in a way, I doubted that I would ever be used to it, but it was a living, even if we were constantly just scraping by. We were lucky, very lucky, to have reached Ba Sing Se and the safety of its outer walls, my father often reminded us. Poor or not, I was grateful for the chance to have a relatively normal life in the city when it seemed next to impossible anywhere else.

But that day had been a particularly bad one. Very few of the tunics I had slaved over the night before had sold, and my father's fish had sat untouched on their ice all day, until they were practically swimming underwater again. The catch had been from that morning, and I knew that we would have to work late into the night yet again, salting and drying it so it would not go to waste.

Mercifully, my parents had turned me loose when the working day had ended, allowing me time to myself in between the market's close and sundown. My friends had whooped and hollered when I told them I at last had an evening off.

"That's great, Jin!" Takan had laughed, clapping me on the back. "We're going to go to the Seven Lillies. Do you want to come?"

I looked at him gratefully. The Seven Lillies was a pub in the Lower Ring, and in truth, at fifteen I probably was not strictly old enough to go. But Takan, Moka, and Yu were older - they took care of me, included me whenever they could. For that, I was thankful. Life in those days would have been painfully lonely without them.

"Thanks, Takan. But I think I'd better get home sooner rather than later," I lied. "There's a mountain of fish we didn't sell today that's going to need to be stored."

His face fell and guilt panged through me, but I brushed it aside. It wasn't a total lie, after all, and after the tribulations of the day, I felt that I had earned some solitude. I couldn't tell them that I'd rather be alone than spend time with them. I was grateful for their companionship, just worn out and, at the moment, longing to be alone.

"That's okay, Jin," Yu said quickly, glancing at Takan with her sharp green eyes. "We understand. Maybe next time?"

"Next time," I agreed, smiling at the three kind, hopeful faces in front of me. Here we all were, hardened and battered by circumstances we couldn't control in a city that was not our own, and yet compassion still endured. Flooded by sudden appreciation for my friends, I gave them each a hug in turn.

"See you all tomorrow."

"'Bye!" Moka called as they headed down the street. "Good luck with the fish!"

"Be safe tonight, you three!"

"Maybe!" Takan yelled back, and I laughed, watching him wave as they turned the corner. Finally, the crowd of people swallowed them up, and they were gone.

I allowed the grin to drop off my face, my features to relax, and sighed. Maybe I should just go home after all. My parents would be needing me, and it couldn't hurt to get an early start on our work for the evening.

I turned, starting up the street in the opposite direction from the one my friends had taken. They sought fun and nightlife - tonight, I sought peace and quiet. The crowds near the recently-closed marketplace were thick, throngs of merchants, refugees, beggars, and entertainers headed home after a long day's work. I allowed my feet to take me through the winding cobblestone streets until the crowds had thinned and I could breathe again. Lost in my own thoughts, I hardly realized where I was going until I had stopped, out of habit, at the crossroads just before the section of town we lived in.

I stared down the street and thought of what would await me should I follow it straight ahead. My parents, the salt jar, the drying rack, a roaring fire. I wrinkled my nose. After baking out in the hot sun all day, spending the night baking in front of a hot fire did not sound like my idea of fun. Turning, I looked out over the miles to the great wall of the city. The sun was sitting just above the top battlements, throwing its orange rays across every rooftop, baking every stone in the road with glowing light. It would still be a good hour or two before it fell down below the mountains, the time when I would have to be home.

Shifting my gaze, I looked instead to my right, away from home and up the many winding walkways, steps, and alleys that led to the higher part of the Lower Ring. I could walk by myself for a while, mull over the day. Stretch my legs and recover before it was time to go back to work.

In a split second I made my decision, and ducked into the alley that held the shortcut to Dai Street. The fire could wait.

- o -

The higher I went, the more winding and intricate the streets seemed to become, and for the second time that day I was silently and fervently grateful for my friends. Yu, unlike the rest of us, was a Ba Sing Se native and had taught Takan, Moka, and me all she knew about the geography of the city. After four years, I knew my way around the crowded blocks of the huge Lower Ring tolerably well, and even some parts of the Middle Ring. The Upper Ring I had never seen, and, I reminded myself, I never would. Ba Sing Se, as wonderful of a safe haven as it was, still had its pride; the Upper Ring was no place for a girl like me.

That night, though, I couldn't have cared less. I walked through the streets until the muscles of my legs twinged, a wonderful pain after being cramped up, immobile, in our market stall all day. It was still warm despite the beginnings of dusk, and sweat slipped down my back beneath my tunic. I was happy just to wander, to set down the weight of the day, the weight of trying to survive. For now, I was not Jin, Earth Kingdom refugee and Lower Ring merchant brat. For now, alone with myself, I was just Jin - and that was enough.

When the sun dropped below the outer wall and stretched its long shadow over the city, I knew it would soon be time to retrace my steps back home. Reluctant, I drifted to the edge of the street and leaned against the corner of a building, my eyes far out over the mountains. They were the color of tangerines in the dying sun, their brilliant orange ridges reminding me of the backs of the great dragons I had seen in picture books when I was little. Their majesty took my breath away, and for a moment I was still.

When a warm breeze swept through the streets, the wooden sign hanging above my head creaked and groaned in its swinging, effectively breaking my reverie. I glanced up. The sign was weathered and faded in places, but the characters were still easily readable: "Pao Family Tea House." Mmm… tea. I swallowed, my dry tongue and throat protesting. It was far too hot out to go for very long without a drink, and I had not had one since I'd left the marketplace. And, I thought, fingering the few copper pieces in my sash, it would be nice, so nice, to sit down in the cool interior of a tea house and be served, for once, instead of serving. I didn't have much to spend, it was true, but I couldn't resist. My thirst won out, and I ducked inside.

I had been right. It was blissfully cool and dry, and the comforting sounds of china clinking filled my ears. The air was fragrant, making my head swim with spices and jasmine and earth. It was dim, and a bit shabby, but clean and neat. The tables were filled with people sipping tea, eating rice cakes, and playing pai sho at the boards in the corners. As my eyes adjusted they lit upon the menu hanging above the counter, and I approached it slowly, still rubbing one of my copper pieces between my fingers.

There was no one at the register at the moment, as all the employees were otherwise engaged. An older man with heavy gray brows and a thick gray beard was taking a tray out to a table by the door, another was wiping down the chairs, and a third behind the counter was busy with his back to me, fumbling clumsily with matches as he lit the fire.

My eyes drifted up to the menu. It was small but reasonably well-rounded, with some of the brews being ones I remembered having only had as a child before we had had to uproot our lives and flee to the walled city. White tea… I smiled. Now there was a blend I hadn't had in years. Having decided, I lowered my eyes back to the register, and had to swallow a loud gasp in my throat.

The man trying to light the fire had turned around, and whatever expectations I had had, he met none of them. My stomach jumped as my eyes took in several things at once. Firstly, the fact that he was young - he couldn't have been more than two years older than me. Secondly, the fact that he was handsome, so handsome that I was temporarily robbed of speech. His hair was as black as volcanic rock and cut short, bearing the look of having recently been grown out. His face was finely structured, with high cheekbones and a guarded, almost distrusting expression. And his eyes… I felt my fingers fumble over their copper coin. His eyes were an intense, bright gold, but one of them… one of them was reduced to a slit in the center of a huge dark burn scar, stretching from his temple to the middle of his cheek. It was a face the likes of which I had never seen before. What a face.

"Hello," he said carefully, setting down the matches on top of the register. "What can I get for you?"

I gathered my senses as quickly as I could, doing my best to arrange my features into a neutral expression. The scar was far from the only reason I was surprised, but I was certain that with something so brutally noticeable he must get stares from strangers fifty times a day. I didn't want him to think I was one of them.

"Hello," I replied, forcing myself to meet those golden eyes as casually as I could. "Could I please get a cup of the silver needle?"

He nodded mutely and made a note of it on the register. "That'll be three coppers."

I counted them out of my sash and, scooping them into my palm, dropped them into his. When my fingertips brushed his hand, I was in for another surprise - he was warm. Not just average, human-body warm, but very warm, so warm that I could feel the heat coming off his skin even before our hands touched. I might have thought that he had a fever, but he looked perfectly healthy. And, it might have been my imagination, but it seemed that he snatched his hand away more quickly than was necessary.

"I'll bring it out to you when it's ready," he muttered, and turned on his heel and disappeared through the curtains into the back.

I stared after him for a heartbeat or two, still thinking about those lovely, rare golden eyes. What a strange young man.

I turned slowly and made my way to one of the tables near a window, wondering who he was and how he possibly could have gotten his scar. It was a burn, that much was clear, but this couldn't have been caused by any average household accident. I had badly scorched my arm on our coal oven seven years before, and though it had been terribly painful and slow to heal at the time, I had been left with little more than a slightly mottled wrist. This, whatever kind of accident he had been a part of… I shivered. It must have been terrible, to leave such angry red colors and tough skin years later. It was clearly fully healed, but whatever had happened to him had been so bad that he would never have an eyebrow on that side again, or be able to open that beautiful eye all the way.

And maybe… maybe it hadn't been an accident. I involuntarily shivered again. The Fire Nation had shown that it was not above marring women and children. The Lower Ring was packed to the brim with refugees. Was it possible that he had had his life uprooted and his face scarred by those that wielded fire, and was seeking peace here, just like me?

"Here you go."

I was startled out of my thoughts as the object of them placed a steaming cup in front of me. His face was slightly turned away, his lips a compressed line, almost as if he feared I would try to ask him questions he didn't want to answer. Instead, I smiled as cheerfully as I could at him.

"Thank you very much."

He nodded, and without so much as a backwards glance, strode back behind the counter. The gray-bearded man was there now, too, and as I watched, he muttered something to his scarred companion, who gave a great start and drew back, eyes wide and indignant. The older man roared with laughter, while the younger stomped off through the curtains again. I couldn't help but smile again. They seemed to know each other, were perhaps even related.

I turned my attention back to my tea, blew on it lightly, and took a sip.

"Mmm," I sighed happily. The silver needle blend was delicious, bringing back warm and comforting memories of home. Whoever had made this tea certainly knew what they were doing, and I was certain that a cup of it was worth more than three coppers.

The tea soothed my dry throat as I watched the shadows grow longer and longer across the city, my thoughts still dwelling on the young man who had served me. I had never seen anyone so handsome in all my fifteen years, Moka and Takan included, and they were certainly never hard up for dates. There was something about this one. Not just his scar, or his eyes. No, something told me that this boy had not always worked in a tea shop in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. It was something in the way he carried himself, something in his manner that struck me as mysterious. Different.

"Enjoying your silver needle, miss?"

I looked over and this time it was the gray-haired man who had teased my server that had come over to interrupt my thoughts. But I didn't mind; I liked him already. There was a kind, mischievous twinkle in his eyes - his amber eyes, I realized. Another very rare color in the Earth Kingdom, indeed. Now I was almost sure that the two of them had to be related.

"Yes," I smiled, cupping my hands around my tea. "It's wonderful, some of the best I've ever had. Whoever made it could be charging a lot more for their work."

The old man smiled back good-naturedly, bowing. "I appreciate the compliment, young lady."

"You made this?" I took another sip. It really was impressive quality. "Thank you."

He inclined his head, the corners of his eyes crinkling with pleasure. "Would you mind if I sat with you for a few moments? The evening is drawing to a close, and I'm afraid my young coworker is not the most agreeable company at the moment."

My eyes drifted over to where my server was now clearing tables, a definite crease between his eyes. "Of course, please do sit."

He did, making himself comfortable across from me, and placed a fist against his open palm. "I am Mo-Shi, and that ornery young man there is my nephew."

So I was right! I returned the gesture, inclining my head respectfully. "Please to meet you, Mo-Shi. My name is Jin."

"What brings you to the Pao tea house tonight, Miss Jin?"

I took another gulp of my tea before answering. "I work in the market during the day. The evening is the time I get for myself. It's been a long time since I was in a tea shop."

"Well, I'm glad that you found us," he replied, smiling kindly. "It was dreadfully hot out there today, wasn't it?"

"Very," I agreed. "And I'll be going home tonight to sit in front of a hot fire for hours, drying and salting fish to store, so I'm glad to be out of the heat for a while."

"Hmm… yes," he mused, laying his hands flat on the table. "Fire can be rather antagonizing, but without it I would not have been able to make you that tea there. So for that reason, I am grateful for it."

"So am I," I smiled, and drained my cup. "It was delicious."

"I am glad that you liked it."

I looked out the window again. It was twilight, and it was time that I was getting back to my parents.

"Thank you for the tea and the company. I think it's time that I head home."

The old man stood politely and walked me to the door, waving to me as I stepped into the street. "Walk home safely, Miss Jin. It was very nice to meet you. I hope that your fire is not too hot tonight."

- o -

In the following days, the memory of the scarred young man from the tea shop did not fade, but instead seemed to crop up more and more insistently in my thoughts. His face would appear in my mind's eye at the oddest moments, and more than once did I have to explain away my preoccupation to Moka, Takan, and Yu as worries about that month's rent. They understood and didn't press me on it, but I had made up my mind - I was going to go back to the Pao Family Tea House.

And go back I did, four days after my first visit, and continued to go back every other night for two weeks. I couldn't explain it even to myself. Why was I so intrigued by someone whose name I didn't even know? But I couldn't help it. Each time I went, I would watch him. Sometimes he would serve me, sometimes his uncle, sometimes another employee, or even sometimes Pao himself - but it didn't matter. He was there every time I went, and that was what mattered. I observed silently as he served customers, swept the shop, and wiped down the tables. I did notice that each time he had to light the fire he had trouble with it, almost as if he was unaccustomed to using matches.

I was spending my sparse pocket money more rapidly than I ever had, but I considered it an investment, and Mo-Shi's tea was certainly nothing to complain about. I was certain that his nephew didn't even realize I existed, so wrapped up did he always seem in his own thoughts, but I was going to change that.

One day, I decided I would wait no longer. My parents hadn't needed me that afternoon at the market; instead, I was tasked with finishing the weaving at home from the night before. But I had a plan, and the weaving could wait for another time. Instead of sitting down at the loom, I stood in front of my mother's looking glass. Turning my face side to side, I assessed myself carefully. I knew that I didn't have much to complain about in the looks department, and for perhaps the first time, I was truly grateful for it. Picking up the one horse-hair brush we owned, I thoroughly combed the morning's dust out of my hair and wound it into two plaits over my shoulders. My face I splashed with water, and I removed my normal rough tunic in favor of a nice green robe with a tie in the center. It was the most I could do with my time and my funds and, examining myself in the mirror, I felt ready.

To my pleasure, it was the object of my efforts who served me that day. He was as reserved as ever, but it didn't matter to me; I was just happy to see him again and hear his voice, even if he was just telling me to enjoy my white needle. It had become my favorite, and now, every time I came in the door, Mo-Shi had a pot ready - just for me, he said. It seemed that he was determined to keep me around. I had become sure that he had noticed the way I would look at his nephew, and perhaps he thought that a little matchmaking would do the boy good. Whatever the case was, I wasn't arguing.

After I finished my tea, instead of sitting with my own thoughts as I usually did, I counted out three copper pieces into my hand and walked up to the counter, where Mo-Shi and his nephew were deep in conversation. I was too far away to hear what they were saying, but the old man was smiling and the young one looked tense, which, from what I had gathered over the past month, was how it usually was. I hoped I wasn't catching him at a bad time, but I had no choice now.

"Thank you for the tea."

They both turned, and Mo-Shi smiled at me knowingly. His nephew held out his hand wordlessly, and, just like every time he served me, I could feel the heat coming off of his fingers before I even dropped the coins into them. He put his back to me, placing my money on the table, but I wasn't going to let him go so easily.

"What's your name?"

He turned back and, for the first time since I had seen him, he looked something other than brooding and discontent. He looked nervous.

"My name's Lee. My uncle and I just moved here."

He was cute when his eyes went wide like that, I decided. He looked younger. Less intimidating. I couldn't help but smile.

"Hi Lee, my name's Jin. Thank you and… well, I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime."

His eyes went even wider, and before he could say a word, Mo-Shi beamed at me.

"He'd love to!"

Happiness exploded inside me. I didn't even care that Lee hadn't been the one to answer. "Great! I'll meet you outside the shop at sundown."

And with that, feeling lighter than I had in weeks, I walked straight out of the teashop and into the street. The sun was still high in the sky - I had time. Smiling so hard my face hurt, I set off for home at a run. I had some weaving to finish before my date!

- o -

"Woah," Takan's eyes widened. "You look nice."

"Thanks," I giggled, giving him a twirl. "Do you like my hair? I had it in braids earlier, do you think I should do those instead?"

"Uh, no," he cleared his throat. "No, I think it looks really nice up the way it is."

"You're sweet," I beamed, and continued folding up the bolts of cloth I'd finished that afternoon. I didn't think I had ever woven so fast; my head had been full of thoughts of Lee, and my fingers had flown across the loom of their own accord.

Takan, whose father was the local baker, had come by to drop off my family's bread for the week just as I'd finished doing my hair for the night. He seemed a little tongue-tied at the sight of me, and I resolved to try and put him at ease as much as I could.

"You can just set that bag in the kitchen, Takan. Thank you."

"Sure." With one last glance at me, he ducked out of the room.

Sighing in happy anticipation, I tucked the last bit of fabric into my basket and closed the lid. Tonight was the night I'd been waiting for, ever since I saw Lee turn around that first day in the tea shop. Brooding he may be, but he was also unlike anybody I'd ever seen, or met. There was so much to be discovered about him, and I had made up my mind to be a willing and eager student. He needed someone to bring some brightness to his life, that much was clear, and his uncle knew it. Maybe I could be that person.

The walk to the tea shop seemed to take longer than it ever had. I could hardly keep from bouncing with cheerfulness, and Takan, who had insisted on walking with me, kept giving me sideways glances. The higher we climbed, the more I seemed to levitate and the more he glanced at me, until finally he sighed.

"Jin, you've been so distracted lately. What's gotten into you? Is everything okay?"

"Yes," I said defensively, my thoughts rocketing back to earth. "Why?"

"Nothing," he replied, and it was his turn to be defensive. "You just seem like your thoughts are far away. I know you said you and your parents are a little bit worried about this month's rent," he inclined his head respectfully, "but I feel like it's more than that. If it's not, I apologize, but I just wanted to ask."

I looked at his earnest, concerned face, and felt my heart melt. Here was a good man, a sweet friend.

"Yes, Takan," I said gently. "I'm fine, it's nothing bad."

"Well, alright," he said reluctantly, and turned his face to look straight ahead. My gaze stayed fixed on him. Earth Kingdom was spelled out in every line of his face. He had green eyes like Yu, and brown hair like me. He was broad and solidly built. Predictable. Dependable. Trustworthy.

"If something was wrong I would tell you," I reassured him, grabbing his hand. "I tell you and Moka and Yu everything."

Well, almost everything.

He squeezed my hand and let it go, looking at my face again. "Well, what about something that's not wrong? Not bad?"

"What do you mean?" We were very close to the tea shop now and I was ready for this conversation to be over. We were drawing rather close to something I wasn't sure I was ready to share with him yet.

"Well," he began slowly, "they think that maybe you've met somebody."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows at him. Behind his face, the sun had fallen below the ridges of the mountains. It would be time to meet Lee any minute now.

He nodded slowly. "So… have you?"

We had come to the corner just before the shop, and I stopped. He stopped too.

"I don't know yet," I said finally. "I'll let you know." Getting up on my tiptoes, I kissed him on the cheek. "'Bye, Takan. I have to go. Don't worry about me."

And with that, I brushed my hair from my face and slipped around the corner, leaving him in the last dying rays of the day.

- o -

Lee, for all his appearances of reluctance about the evening, had put on nice clothes and combed his hair, which I found adorable. He was stiff when he met me, but I didn't care - I could see the nerves in his eyes, and I was going to do everything I could to get him to open up to me. There was more to him than met the eye, I was sure of it, and I was determined to see another side of him before the evening was over.

It was, by no means, the best date I had been on, but it was by far the most interesting. I took him to my favorite restaurant in the Lower Ring, and he looked like a fish out of water as we walked through the streets and sat down to eat. If I had suspected that he wasn't from the Earth Kingdom before, now I was sure of it. It wasn't just his golden eyes or black hair. No, it was that something that I had noticed before, something about the way that he moved. He was lithe, graceful, and I got the feeling he could be very quick if he wanted to be. Almost catlike. There was nothing of the solid earth about him.

After two weeks of watching Lee, my curiosity had reached a peak and I did everything I could to pepper him with questions and find out more about him and his uncle; but he dodged me at every point, monosyllabic and guarded, and what answers he did give me I was pretty sure were untruthful. Lee didn't belong in a traveling circus any more than I belonged in the Upper Ring, but I didn't press him. Instead, I watched him. Every line of his body, his face, screamed out of comfort zone! And I was wondering fervently just what his comfort zone actually was.

At last, I decided that it was time for my crowning jewel of the evening, my last effort.

"Hey," I smiled, leaning forward as encouragingly as I could. "I want to show you one of my favorite places in the city."

I had never actually been to the Firelight Fountain with a boy before, but if there was ever going to be a time for it, this was it. It was the most romantic place in all of the Lower Ring, and my heart skipped a beat when I imagined how his handsome face would look in the wavering light underneath all the lanterns. It didn't matter that he had been a less than stellar date so far. I was just happy, very happy, to be alone with him, this boy who had fascinated me and captured my imagination.

I couldn't contain my glee and I grabbed his hand, tugging him out the door of the restaurant, feeling like I was walking on air.

"I'm so excited for you to see the Firelight Fountain," I told him as we ran down the street. I couldn't stop smiling, and I still hadn't let go of his hand. "The lamps make the water sparkle and reflect in the pool in the most beautiful way."

He looked unsure, but I couldn't fail to be confident that he'd be dazzled by the sight. It was a gorgeous place, and anticipation filled me as we rounded the corner. When I saw the plaza, though, my heart fell.

It was dark.

"I can't believe it! They aren't lit."

Why tonight, of all nights, did the candles have to be out? Bad luck! I tried hard not to let my disappointment rise to the surface, but I was sure that it showed on my face.

"Close your eyes," came Lee's voice, much softer than usual. I turned to look at him curiously. "And don't peek."

His face was as stern as ever, but there was a gentleness in his voice I hadn't heard before. Maybe we could still have our moment together after all, somehow. I smiled in spite of myself and covered my eyes. What was he going to do? I half-hoped that he was going to kiss me, but no, I could sense him walking away from me, not towards.

There was a sound like a deep, focused breath, and then, for a moment, he was quiet.

Then the air was filled with a series of quiet, rapid-fire pops. What on earth was he doing? Curiosity filled me, burning in my stomach, but he had told me not to peek and I was going to be damned if I didn't fulfill the one thing he'd asked me to do. I kept my eyes reluctantly closed, waiting.

I didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute had passed before his voice came again.

"Okay. Now you can look."

I think that part of me knew what I would find even before I opened my eyes, but that didn't make the sight any less awe-inspiring. I gasped as joy filled me. The lanterns were lit! Hundreds of tiny flames danced over our heads and all around us, wavering and flickering in the dark water of the fountain. And, to complete a perfect picture, there was Lee, standing in front of the basin in the orange light, and smiling at me. Actually smiling! My eyes roamed over his handsome face and a tenderness that I'd never known before wrapped its way around my heart. Even his scar was beautiful.

"What happened? How did they light? What did you…?"

He smiled at me silently, still guarded, but happy. Wonder filled me as I gazed around us, and gazed at him. I was stunned, and something occurred to me - This was the most comfortable I had ever seen him look. So this was his comfort zone. Fire.

A thousand thoughts and feelings ran through me at once, from doubt to fear to worry. The Fire Nation had taken my old life away from me. But as I looked around us, it occurred to me fully for the first time just how beautiful fire could be. It had given me this moment, and the boy standing next to me was as beautiful as the flames. My qualms melted like wax.

I took his hand, his abnormally warm skin sending shivers through me. He turned to look at me, eyes wide again, and before I could move any closer, he held something up between us.

"I've brought you something," he rushed out. "It's a coupon, for a free cup of tea."

I smiled at him, and if possible, my heart softened further. How could someone be so unsure yet so imperious, so brusque and yet so sweet? I took it from him, placing my fingers over his.

"Lee, this is so sweet."

He backed away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't thank me – it was my uncle's idea. He thinks you're our most valuable customer."

I thanked the spirits silently for Mo-Shi. He was less of a riddle than his nephew - I hadn't needed to know him for long to know that he was the best kind of man.

"Your uncle is a good teacher," I said quietly. I was not to be deterred, and as I closed the space between us and placed my hand on his cheek, he looked at me in a way that made my heart beat even faster. He was so warm under my hand, and, for once, he looked his age. He looked sixteen, his cat's eyes unsure and vulnerable. My fingertips tingled on his skin.

"I have something for you, too. Now it's your turn to close your eyes."

For a moment I almost doubted that he would do it; but a second later his eyes were shut, and my heart was pounding. It was now or never, and I wouldn't let this chance slip through my fingers.

In a single breath, I closed the space between us and pressed my lips softly, gently to his. Lee filled my senses, his warmth encompassing me, his scent of rich spices and smoke tickling my nose. I wanted very much to run my hand through his beautiful hair, but… easy does it. I didn't expect to get this far and I didn't want to scare him off. But when I pulled away, one of his hands found the back of my waist and, for a brief, wonderful moment, he pulled me in closer to him as he pressed his lips to mine. The heat of his hand burned through the back of my robe and I gave myself up to being so near to him, absolutely still for a heartbeat, happiness filling me like the sparkling water in the fountain.

The next moment, though, he was jumping away. He looked at me for a brief moment - his face filled with doubt, confliction, and reluctance - and turned away.

"What's wrong?" I called. In the abrupt absence of his heat, the warm summer night felt cold around me.

"It's complicated," he muttered. "I have to go."

And he walked away, leaving me feeling more confused and in love than ever.