jintletealeaf

[jintletealeaf]

mi amor

[jintletealeaf]

Night flower

[jintletealeaf]

[jintletealeaf]

🌿-- She wanted to protest him telling her not to call him that title , but she didn't know if she wasn't { { supposed } } to . . . Not until now . His grip around her wrists loosened before they fell completely , and Jin's eyes just looked at her wrists , then his boots , until her head lifted to find his gaze . He was close now , like he had been when he { { first } } came across her cell and pulled her into his arms . She ha been given permission to call him by his name -- { { Zuko } } . No formal title that represented wealth and riches , no bowing . . . Just his name , in the purest , truest form . It was like she was calling him Lee all over again . There were no walls between them when she called him that , no awkward tension . . . Just two people , standing in the lantern's glow , by glistening water .

❝ The Dai Li . . . Are why Jet is gone . ❞ She whispered , searching his eyes for answers with such unsung desperation that it felt illegal . He continued to talk his truth , one right after another until there was nothing left for her to ask . He answered everything she laid on the table . He never { { feared } } her questions , he only matched them . She could see the sadness on his face , and how he cared with such { { passion } } that no poet could ever compare . He led his charge courageously , and loved through bravery .

He would have let her come with him ? That made her lips part as a silent gasp slipped between them . In a way , she almost couldn't { { believe } } what he was saying to her . What would have happened if he had taken her back to the Fire Nation ? Would he have let her live there ? She'd have to keep her Earthbending a secret . . . Again , but , perhaps , it would have been worth it all because , at least then , she would have been able to escape the choices that she had made . On the other hand , she would have left those she cared about { { behind } } , and in the same debts she tried to take from them . She couldn't do that .

❛. . . She's still standing in front of me . ❜

Zuko spoke with such a tender tone that it made Jin's heart falter . His hand touched her cheek , and she felt herself instinctively lean into it . His touch was so warm , so { { safe } } , that it felt like something she felt like she didn't deserve ; but , he gave it to her anyway .

❝ She is still here . . . ❞ She spoke on the tail end of his words , almost like she was answering the prayer he had left behind .

He never answered her { { own } } question , about whether or not she was free , or if she was staying behind . In this case , actions spoke louder than any words he could ever say . He leaned into her , and she let him without question . His lips were on hers , and she instantly melted back against his . Her right hand loosely draped against his wrist , while her left hand came to rest on his waist . Subtly , as her heart began to tell his own that their story had only just begun , Jin rose on the balls of her feet to close their distance even more . The hand on his waist , now rested firmly against his shoulder to balance herself against the man who was now going to be her { { future } } . Her tears trailed down her cheeks and over his fingers , but she didn't care . He came back , and nothing was going to take him away from her again .

Zuko’s breath caught at the sound of her apology. His title on her lips made his chest tighten. He shook his head quickly, releasing her wrists to close the distance between them before she could retreat further into her guilt. “Don’t—” his voice cracked before he steadied it, “Don’t call me Fire Lord. Not you. And you don’t ever need to apologize for not knowing, Jin. You couldn’t have known. The Dai Li made sure no one knew. They twisted the truth, fed you lies, and locked the whole city in a cage of silence. None of that was your fault.”

He released a slow breath, forcing himself to soften as his gaze swept her face. “If I had stayed… if I had been selfish enough to stay in Ba Sing Se with you, yes. I would’ve told you the truth. I wanted you to know me —all of me. And maybe… maybe if I had done that, there could’ve been a path where you walked destiny's with me. Where you didn’t have to stand here now thinking I left because I didn’t care.”

For a moment, his mask of control faltered, grief rippling across his scarred features. His voice dropped to a near whisper. “I don’t want to believe it’s too late for that. Not when every part of me is telling me that the girl who saw past my scar, past the lies, past the tea shop walls… she’s still standing in front of me.” His hand lifted, trembling with hesitation before finally settling against her cheek. His thumb brushed gently along her skin, careful not to press against the cuts and bruises, as though to reassure himself she was real.

The sight of her battered face made his chest ache, but his voice remained gentle, affectionate despite the anger he felt for what the Silver Fangs had put her through. “Jin… you don’t have to add me to the list of people who left you behind if you don’t want to. It doesn’t have to end that way.” The words broke softly from him, and before doubt could steal the moment, he leaned in and kissed her; desperately, passionately pouring into it all the ache of lost time and the longing that had haunted him since that night together beneath the lantern lights.

[jintletealeaf]

❝ 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 , 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 ❛𝐢𝐭 ❜ . 𝐈'𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 , 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 , 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 . ❞

-- ILLENIUM & Jon Bellion , Good Things Fall Apart .

[jintletealeaf]

🌿-- When he said that it was real , when he said that he didn't { { want } } to leave her , Jin felt something pull in her chest . Wrists remained tight in his grasp , like he himself was the line between her freedom or being thrown back in a jail cell . He was { { now } } her jail cell , but not physically . . . In an emotional sense . She had fallen for him so hard back then . She didn't care that he was a firebender , or that he was working in a teashop . She cared about the person she saw { { beneath } } it all . She saw the person beneath the scar , beyond the backstory that had brought him to Ba Sing Se . No , she cared about { { him } } . And , judging by the words he was saying to her . . . He actually had cared about her too .

❝ Would you have told me the truth if you had stayed ? ❞ Her question came after a long , dangerous period of { { silence } } that followed his brutal honesty . She wanted to know that , as well . She had endless questions that she wanted to ask him , but she could only manage to get one or two out at a time .

❝ You said that if you had stayed , it would have just been you running away from who you really were . If you had stayed , would you have told me the truth about how you were ? ❞

She knew she was repeating her question , but she needed it to really drive home into him . The anger she had felt once upon a time towards him , and even in { { this } } moment had melted away , leaving behind the hurt that she felt . . . A similar feeling to his own . She wanted to fight him more , though , but she couldn't . . . How could she when he was { { right } } . She didn't know what the world would be like if he had stayed , but she knew it wouldn't be like it was now . He chose peace , and saving the world . He chose what he thought was safety and comfort . . . Things she knew , deep down , that she would { { never } } be able to provide him . He chose what he needed ; and yes , he lost her in the process . . .

. . . But , she had lost so many people in her life because they chose other things . . . She never wanted to add his name to the list .

She looked up at him for a long , long time , before shoulders started to shake as she held back from falling apart . He lost her , but he { { never } } wanted to . Here she was thinking he did it because he didn't care . . . and now , she felt like she was the worst person in the universe for thinking so low of him . That was when she couldn't look at him anymore , no matter how { { hard } } she wanted to . Her chest burned with raw emotions , and her mind threw things at her she couldn't throw back at him . . .

❝ I'm - . . . I'm sorry , Fire Lord Zuko . ❞

. . . That was all she could do -- apologize -- in a voice so soft , it wouldn't be recognizable to her . She had come to terms with a broken heart { { years } } ago . Now , standing in front of him at her absolute lowest , it felt like reliving that wound all over again .

❝ I'm so sorry . . . ❞

Her words dug deep, twisting into wounds that hadn't fully healed. She thought he had just left, as if walking away from her had been easy, as if he’d chosen power and comfort over her.

“Stayed?” His voice came edged with hurt. His eyes, lit by the torchlight, flared with pain. “You think I didn’t want to? You think I didn’t relive that night hundreds of times wishing I could go back and make a different choice? Jin, you have no idea how much I wanted to. But if I had stayed in Ba Sing Se, if I had tried to pretend I could build a life there with you, I would’ve been running from who I was. I had to go back to the Fire Nation —not because I wanted the throne, because it was the only way I could understand that my destiny wasn’t to rule as my father’s son. It was to help the Avatar end the war. To end the cycle that destroyed both our lives.”

His voice cracked, but he pressed on, forcing himself to meet her eyes even when it hurt. “Do you understand? Going back… it was the only way I could see the truth. And when I did —when I finally realized what I was meant to do— it was already too late to come back for you.” He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a quieter tone. “Don’t say I didn’t care. Don’t say I chose comfort over you. There was no comfort waiting for me in the Fire Nation—only a father who wanted me dead. I chose the war because if I didn’t, no one else would. But I never stopped carrying you with me while I was trying to make this world better.”

Her tears pulled at something deep inside him, but his words didn’t waver this time. She needed to understand if there was any hope of them moving forward from this, together. “You’re right. Getting you out of here isn’t an apology. It doesn’t undo what I did. But don’t think so little of me that you believe I could’ve stayed and turned my back on everything. I chose the world, Jin.” His voice broke on the last words, his amber gaze glinting with an unspoken ache. “And in doing it… I lost you.”

[jintletealeaf]

🌿 -- The first words that fell from his lips after her string of honesty cut through her heart like a { { knife } } . Fail was a strong , powerful word , that she knew meant to her than it to did him . She knew that , and Spirits did she hope he knew that too . But , Jin didn't think it did . His voice was rough like he did , and the way he { { forced } } himself to hold her hardened gaze was also more than enough , but Jin's heart was still heavy . He didn't understand . He would { { never } } understand .

She could see that now .

Perhaps , that was hurt the most ? Was that he left her , to go play dress up in the very nation who took her parents away . No , not just that , he was now the powerful , great{ { leader } } of that nation . It made her sick to her stomach , just like it had when she clutched that article in her hands , and cried . If anyone asked her what really twisted that knife , it was how he was telling her all these ❛ what if's ❜ , like that would make everything better . What if he stayed ? What if he hadn't left ? What if he took the time to really get to { { know } } what she had kept behind the smile that didn't reach her eyes ? What if ? What if . . . { { What if } } ?

❝ You coming to my rescue isn't an apology . . . ❞ Oh , how she wished it could be . But , it couldn't . ❝ You should have - . . . You could have done so much if you had just { { stayed } } . If you had given me a chance . You can't just show up and think you can give me a chance , now . That isn't fair to me , or to you . ❞

The tears in her eyes started to fall as she looked over her shoulder at Xuan , Smellerbee and Longshot , then looked down at the ground . ❝ If you cared that much about me in the first place , you would have stayed . . . ❞ Her words were quiet as she finally let her eyes find his again , ❝ If I go . . . then they do too . Or , I stay . That's the deal . ❞

Zuko’s breath caught as her words sank in, each one hitting him harder than the last. She wasn’t wrong about the letter he should’ve written. He had thought disappearing would hurt less than saying goodbye, that his shame of who he was would ruin her if he let her too close. But in protecting her from his brokenness, he had done exactly what he feared. He’d broken her anyway.

When she pulled back that half-step, his arms twitched as if to follow, but he forced himself still. She deserved the space. Spirits, she deserved far more than that. His hands fell from her arms, slowly, like he didn’t want to let go but knew he had no right to keep her there. Her fists, her trembling, her words all cut him open. He wanted to deny them, to tell her she was wrong, that he would have stopped for anyone. But that wasn’t the truth. He had stopped for her, and for her alone. He couldn’t pretend otherwise.

“I did fail you,” he said, his voice rough, his gaze fixed on the stone floor for a moment before he made himself meet her eyes again. “I should have stayed. I should’ve written. You’re right—I left you wondering, and that’s something I’ll never forgive myself for.” His throat felt tight. “And I’m sorry I let you believe you didn’t matter to me. Because you did. You do.” At her comment about Smellerbee and Longshot he shook his head. “No. Don’t you dare think that. It wasn’t just your name on that list —it was you. You’re not just another name I would’ve walked past, Jin. You never were.”

[jintletealeaf]

🌿 -- The thing was , Jin couldn't { { stay } } mad at him , because Zuko had done what so few in her life had done -- they put in effort . He went to every bakery in Ba Sing Se and had ordered something he { { knew } } she liked , just to win himself a spot in her good graces , and to get her to smile . He cared enough to remember what she liked , and how she liked it . He followed the paths that her eyes { { wandered } } down if it meant seeing her light up because he got her something she liked . Most importantly , Zuko { { cared } } . He cared so deeply that it showed , and even if he was a little bit guilty for what he had done , he still cared enough to apologize .

❝ There's a lot of things that you should have done , Zuko , but if you focus on the past , then our future is going to slip through your fingers . ❞ Jin replied gently , finding his gaze . Quietly , she took a deep breath , then closed the distance between them . When they were close enough , she took his hand in hers , letting him feel the sincerity of her touch and her words . ❝ I already know why you left . I read about it , even if you probably didn't want me to . But , I'd still much rather hear more about it from you , than some article . ❞

She watched him smile , and how his shoulders started to relax . That was good . Frankly , that was what she wanted , and what she { { needed } } from him . It wasn't like he had robbed a bunch of stores , or hurt people to make something possible -- not that . . . she would know what that was like . He had ordered pastries , perhaps too many , but he still { { ordered } } them because he had a good motive at heart . That was what mattered , as far as Jin was concerned . But , that didn't stop the way her eyes flickered to his when the G word slipped from his lips ; nor , did it stop the slight hint of { { concern } } that flashed before her eyes , before she realized that he meant his friends .

❝ Yeah . . . Yeah , they might . Considering you did buy an entire city's worth of egg tarts . ❞ Jin laughed awkwardly , tightly , as she drew closer to him . ❝ Yeah , I don't mind . Just , next time , I'd rather us talk about all of this with maybe { { one } } box of egg tarts instead of . . . At least ten . ❞

Zuko stood there watching her weave through the stacks of boxes as if she were trying to make sense of the mess he’d just dropped into her life. He hadn’t thought about the ribbons on the packaging, or how people would talk once they realized every bakery in Ba Sing Se had been raided for her sake. He’d only thought about her and fixing the pain he's caused her since that night at the fountains.

Hearing her say all I ever wanted was for you to come back and tell me why you left struck him in the chest like a punch, because she was right. He vanished and left her with nothing but questions, and even now he didn’t have an easy answer for her. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter than before. “You’re right. Egg tarts aren’t going to make up for what I did or didn’t do. I should’ve come back sooner. I should’ve told you why.” His golden eyes flickered down again, then back to hers. “I don’t know if I can explain it in a way that makes sense… but I’ll try. If you’ll let me.”

With her suggestion of giving the pastries away, some of the tension in his shoulders eased. That was Jin. Always seeing past the gesture to what could actually be done with it. A small smile tugged at his mouth, almost reluctant but genuine. “Yeah… that’s a better idea. People shouldn’t go without when there’s too much here.” He paused, then added, “I’ll take some to the Gaang. They’ll probably laugh at me.”

Her remark calling him something else made his ears redden. Zuko huffed out something that might have been a laugh. “Yeah. I’ve been told.” He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing aside before letting his eyes settle on her again. “But… I guess it’s good to know you don’t mind.”

[jintletealeaf]

🌿 -- Jin had her hesitancies about being in the Fire Nation , none of them pleasant , and none of them kind . It was unfamiliar , and { { foreign } } . She wasn't used to living in a place like this -- where riches were everywhere , and the people seemed far more well off than they did in Ba Sing Se . She wasn't { { used } } to someone wanting to take care of her , besides her friends and her grandpa . Yet , she was learning to be okay with it . { { All } } of it . It wasn't easy , but Zuko was good at making it feel that way . It something that she wasn't going to complain about . . . Well , unless he decided to do something reckless .

So far , she didn't have to worry about that .

She had been recommended a mud bath to help take care of the things that she'd rather { { forget } } about . The cuts on her wrists , bruises on her arms , and shins , but she knew far too well that the healing properties within the elements of the earth were great , and sometimes the best medicine . So , she accepted . She refused to let Zuko see her remove her clothes and get into the mud bath . She wasn't ready for him to see the { { complete } } laundry list of damage that had happened to her when he was away . And , in her mind , he didn't need to see it at all . He worried enough about her . He didn't need to do anymore of that than he already did .

As soon as her foot touched the warm bath , Jin's eyes closed in absolute { { happiness } } . She sank in slow , careful not to slip or fall . She lowered herself onto her knees , then completely into the mud bath . It took her some time to get comfortable . She adjusted a few times , wiggling around until she felt like she was completely comfortable . In no time at all , the little tea leaf from Ba Sing Se was buried up to her shoulders in a bath of herbs , minerals , and liquid earth .

For the first time in a long , long time , Jin was able to { { relax } } . She let go of all of the fears and worries that plagued her mind . She let go of the thoughts of home , and what it was like now that she wasn't there . Her shoulders relaxed while her head fell back against the edge of the tub , causing her thick hair to gently { { crush } } beneath the weight of her head . Her eyes lay in rest , while sweet peace settled across her features for the first time since she was a child .

Just as sigh sighed something { { pleasant } } , Jin's nose scrunched the minute she felt his finger tap something warm , and yet also cold , across her nose .

❝ H - Hey ! ❞

She giggled something soft as her Jasmine eyes opened to meet the golden hues she had begun to fall back in love with ,

❝ You shouldn't start a fight you can't finish . ❞

It was a warning , but one layered in { { love } } , as she lifted her hand from the mud bath to return the favor . Just a dot , no more , no less , Jin placed on his nose to mirror the dollop on her own . Then , she lowered her hand back into the bath .

❝ Hey , look at you ! You look so cute . Now we match . ❞

Doctor Jiro had insisted the mud baths would help with the bruising and stiffness @jintletealeaf still carried after the confrontation in Ba Sing Se, so Zuko had offered to bring her here himself. He told himself he was just making sure she followed through with the treatment. But now, with her settled beside him, submerged in warm mud and steam, he found himself watching her more than he probably should.

The lines of tension in her shoulders had finally started to ease. Her eyes didn’t hold quite as much pain as they did a week ago. And there was something about her that undid him a little more each day.

She was someone he wanted to be near. Someone he found himself thinking about long after she’d gone. And now, seeing her like this, it struck him just how much he'd been falling for her without realizing how far he'd already fallen.

He tore his gaze away briefly, pressing a hand to the warmth of the mud as if that could ground him. But then a streak of it clung to his fingers, and with an impulsive flick, he reached over and dabbed a little on the tip of her nose. Just enough to make her blink. Just enough to make him feel like a boy again.

Back when he was pretending to be Lee, he hadn’t let himself think too hard about what he felt. Everything had been a lie —a mask he wore while chasing something he thought would fix him. He'd been so focused on himself, on reclaiming his honor, that he failed to see how much she was hurting. Failed to notice how tightly the Silver Fangs had wrapped their claws around her life. While he was caught up in his own war, she'd been fighting a quieter one right in front of him and he hadn’t been there when she needed someone the most.

It shamed him, the memory of how easily he’d walked away. How convinced he’d been that detachment was safer for both of them. But all it had done was leave her more alone. And now, sitting beside her in the steam, watching the tension melt from her face, he couldn’t stop the guilt from pressing down on him.

And yet… here she was.

That alone was enough to stir a fragile flicker of hope. Maybe she wasn’t ready to forgive him. Maybe she never would. But the warmth of this moment made him want to believe it wasn’t too late to be what he should have been all along.

[jintletealeaf]

🍵新茶の季節☺️

家族が、静岡県掛川市の『葛野農園』さんから長年お茶を買っていて、新茶が来たから美味しい内（＊荒茶は長期保存に向かない）に飲め飲めと勧められた次第です🍵

[jintletealeaf]

i’m such a “i want your attention” but “won’t bother you” kinda person

[jintletealeaf]

i’m always apologising for getting hurt. you made me think it was my fault.

[jintletealeaf]

[jintletealeaf]

🌿 -- He should have written was an { { utter } } understatement . A single letter , an apology for how he left her at those fountains years ago . . . { { Something } } telling her that he was okay , or that he wasn't angry with her , would have at least done { { something } } to heal her heart . Instead , she was left wondering . Wondering if her kiss had been what scared him off . Wondering if he knew how much it had hurt her to see him run away like he had . Wondering if he had thought about her once after that night . Wondering . . . An entire { { library } } of thought and feelings that she didn't think he would ever fill the pages of with answers .

He had left to become the { { Fire Lord } } . He had left for a future full of wealth , riches , and lavish fabrics -- things she could only { { dream } } of touching , and not just to polish their shoes , or provide pastries for their fancy parties . He left for comfort and safety , while having a roof over her head was a luxury she could { { barely } } afford . She had asked him out because she liked him , thought they could be something in the future . . . and because , for a moment , while she sat in that tea shop , Jin could pretend that everything was { { fine } } . That she wasn't tangled in something that she could only escape with her life , and that everything she had to offer wasn't just her blood . He made her feel genuine { { happiness } } . . . and he also took that feeling away . The worst part ? She thought that , if they had worked out , she would have told him everything . . . Maybe he could have helped . . .

. . . Not anymore . Him coming back , playing { { hero } } was not going to make any of this better . He couldn't fix her -- and she didn't { { want } } him to fix her . That ship had sailed when he left her looking like an idiot with tears in her eyes by lantern's light.

She could see it in his eyes -- the concern he had over what state she was left in after fending for herself for so long . How he looked at her bruises and cuts like he had done them himself , or the way his voice dropped into something raw and honest because he felt guilty that this had happened . If he had cared this much in the first place . . . He would have stayed .

❝ You didn't have to do anything . ❞ Jin muttered , curling her hands into fists in his grasp . ❝ You only stopped because it was my name . If it wasn't my name -- Smellerbee , Longshot , any name . . . You would have stuck up your nose and kept walking . You would have checked my name off the list like anyone else . ❞ Those tears that lined her eyes threatened to fall , but each time , she blinked them back in . She took a small step back from him , not enough to tell him she was running away , but enough for him to know that she was hurt . ❝ This . . . . Isn't how I wanted you to come back , or how I wanted you to see me . ❞

The edge in her voice wasn’t sharp out of cruelty. It was sharp the way broken glass was sharp, when something once whole had been dropped and left to shatter alone.

She said he didn’t know what she deserved. And she was right. He had no idea how much pain she had carried. He hadn’t seen her fall. He's just assumed she stayed behind, safe and small in the city he'd left behind. He had believed, foolishly, that not saying goodbye would make the leaving easier for her.. for him, but now he saw the cost of his absence written across every bruise on her skin and every tremble in her voice. When she asked why he stopped —why he was here, why she mattered— his jaw clenched, not with anger, but a deep, raw, rotting guilt. Because the truth was, Jin wasn’t wrong.

He’d become something bigger. Someone important. And in the swell of that storm, he hadn’t let himself look back. He had walked out of her life without a word. Not because she didn’t matter, because she’d been the only softness he’d known during a time he was barely holding himself together, and he hadn’t let himself feel that until now.

His grip softened on her arms. Not to let go, but to wordlessly apologize. His gaze dropped to her hands, to the rawness of the rope marks, the places her skin had split. Then back up to her face, where hopelessness clung to her like ash.

“I should’ve written,” he said finally, barely more than breath. “I should’ve stayed. I should’ve —spirits, Jin —I meant to come back.” There was no excuse that would make it right. But there was the truth. “You’re wrong about one thing, though,” he added, his voice hoarse. “If I’d seen anyone else’s name on that list… I would’ve kept walking.” He met her eyes, green like an emerald and rimmed with tears he had no right to cause. “But not yours.”

He had broken her heart twice. He knew that now. The first time by leaving. The second by becoming someone she didn’t think could still see her. And right here, in the hollow silence of a prison cell, he was finally beginning to understand just how much of her he'd lost.

[jintletealeaf]

🌿 -- Jin looked at him as she watched the sea of pastry boxes continue to enter her kitchen one by one . When they were down , it was , well , a { { mountain } } of them . She could smell them all , too . Egg tarts . Those weren't exactly quick to make , and he had ordered enough to fill an entire city . Flustered and overwhelmed did not even begin to describe how she felt . Her concern wasn't about how much he had spent , though maybe it { { should } } have been . Jin's concern was more on how he put - out the bakeries within Ba Sing Se because he chose to be foolish . Whether he acted out of love , well . . . That would bring to light an entirely { { different } } story .

❝ You didn't order { { all } } of them ahead ? Wait . What do you mean you caused a stir ? ❞ Yeah , maybe she was a { { lot } } concerned by how much of a stir the man before her had caused as an apology .

She walked further into her home , looking at the boxes of pastries one by one . She'd worked in the city long enough , so she knew which bakeries had which packaging and ribbons . Once her friends learned that Zuko had bought them { { all } } for her , she was never going to hear the end of it . As she gently opened the boxes , his words were not lost on her . Each one was sincere and kind . He had a reason for being a little { { overboard } } , but she wasn't fully angry . If he had just shown up and told her that this was ❛ just cause ❜ then she might have been . But , hearing the reasoning behind it . . . Jin couldn't help the faint smile that formed .

❝ I appreciate your apology , Zuko . ❞ Jin smiled softly as turned to look up at him . Her arms folded across her chest , as she figured out what { { exactly } } she was going to do with him . ❝ Really , you didn't have to do any of this . . . You came back . All I { { ever } } wanted was for you to come back and tell me why you left . You arrested my friends because you didn't know they were my friends . I just - . . . I need you to know that coming back doesn't make up for years lost , and neither can egg tarts . ❞

Her smile did grow slightly at the last little remark at the end of her sentence , ❝ Yes , it worked , but . . . It also { { didn't } } work either . I'm sure you paid them well , ❞ He always overpaid , in her opinion , ❝ But , you still put people out today . We're going to give these egg tarts away to people who need them . I'll keep a couple boxes , and maybe you should take some to your friends too , okay ? ❞ She stepped closer to him then shook her head , ❝ Has anyone ever told you that you're something else before ? ❞ Jin meant it lovingly , of course , but also . . . Sometimes , he was a little { { too } } extra but , that's okay . She liked him anyway .

Zuko’s gaze lingered on Jin as she fumbled over her words, the hint of scolding in her voice softening into awe. He shifted the weight of the last box in his hands and gave a sheepish half-smile, a small curl of amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I may have… overdone it, he thought, a flicker of regret passing briefly through him as he watched her inspect the overflowing boxes. Five bakeries, Zuko? Really? Five?

He stepped fully into her apartment, brushing imaginary crumbs from his sleeve. “Uh… I might have… yes, I might have ordered ahead,” he admitted, though his tone carried a mix of pride and embarrassment. “Or… well… maybe not all of them. Some were… um… last-minute.” His hand gestured vaguely toward the towering stacks of egg tarts. “I might’ve —probably did —cause a bit of a stir this morning.”

He cleared his throat and tried again, softer this time, his eyes catching hers. “I just… I wanted to make it right. I know I messed up by leaving without saying anything, arresting your friends, and I—” He stopped, realizing how awkward it all sounded, then shrugged, exhaling. “I wanted to apologize… with something a little… extra.”

He glanced around at the boxes again and muttered under his breath, “Extra might be the wrong word…” before looking back at her, a small, earnest smile still on his face. “Did it… work?” His voice was quieter now, almost vulnerable, waiting for her to forgive him or at least not scold him too harshly.

[jintletealeaf]

shaoxing, zhejiang province, china

[jintletealeaf]

To the girl who saw my worth when I had none to show. Your love asked for nothing, yet gave me everything. You were home before I knew I needed one.

- Unknown