driftfleet | one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

[ He still bristles, hearing some accusation of neediness in those words and it makes him want to get up and walk out immediately.

One slow, deep breath. ]

No. Something I can distract myself with individually. I'll start training more. [ Because that's what he needs. ]

[ ooh, a struck nerve. and zuko studies him for a moment before deciding to just

blatantly ignore the training thing ]

... do you make tea a lot?

[ zuko points towards the cup.

bc you make it like GARBAGE nah not really he's just curious. ]

[ ... wait, what? He looks genuinely confused by the shift to small talk, to actual normal people conversation. His specialty. ]

... I used to. It's been a long time.

[ he leans back into the drawers of his desk, pulling open (another picked lock, smh) another drawer to remove some cannisters of tea leaves. hoarded, carefully. ]

I figured. It looks terrible.

[ sorry were you expecting encouragement ]

Though I guess adjusting to only having one hand is difficult when you're pouring.

[ Sasuke just looks down at the cup, not seeming particularly insulted. Zuko isn't wrong on either count, after all. ]

Aa. I wasn't skilled at it as a child either. My father used to say the same thing.

Mm.

[ zuko is pretty sure ozai has Several Opinions about zuko that are far worse than his tea making abilities, but he pushes hiimself up to sit on the desk completely, crossing his legs underneath him as he pries open a can. ]

My old firebending master used to make me pour tea with an arm behind my back to make sure my hands weren't shaking.

[ zuko is certain that had been iroh's idea ]

And to practice control of heat, and water, by boiling kettles -- give me your cup.

[ Ozai was definitely worse than Fugaku, no arguments here. Sasuke looks down at that cup, however, finishing off the last sip and ensuring it's empty before lobbing it over to Zuko with naturally perfect aim. ]

How precise... My first lesson involved standing on a dock over my family's lake, trying to produce as large a fireball as I could. Much less subtle. [ Good... times. ]

[ zuko catches it without looking up, still parsing through his tea canister with his free hand. ]

I wasn't able to produce flames until I was older.

[ older being... four or five. zuko can't really remember, but azula is definitely the faster learner of the two. he's always had to play catch up and work twice as hard for what he has, but that's entirely the reason why zuko is the stable one, right? ]

And when I did, they weren't easily controlled, so -- they thought it was better to focus on the basics, with me -- where's my kettle...

[ there is no hot plate in zuko's personnel room, mostly because he... obviously doesn't need one. and so he unfolds his legs to hop down from the desk, placing the canister on the table behind him to truly go through his desk, figuring out where he put it. ]

Anyway, I found out it's a lot harder to focus your energy to boil water than it is to blow up a building.

[ he found that out the hard way, as it were ]

[ Sasuke only managed at age seven or so and definitely developed a complex over being "behind". ]

I could have told you that one. I always had a habit of using too much power too early on whether my body could handle it or not. [ He watches Zuko rummage around with some quiet amusement, leaning over to rest his elbow on his knee while he watches him work. Helping him would probably defeat the purpose, or at least make it too easy on him. ]

Is it also harder to keep your space organized than it is to blow up a building? You're getting warmer... Ah, colder with that drawer. Go left again.

I usually don't have people break into my room and go through my stuff.

[ underneath his breath, and zuko moves to the drawer indicated, pulling it open to find his small kettle, along with a bottle of water. he undoes it and pours the water into the kettle neatly, without spilling a drop, and sets it on top of a nearby potholder. ]

Obnoxious... there.

[ with a brief touch of his fingers, the kettle whistles. ]

I didn't move anything. [ in his defense!! ]

But if I really wanted to hide that I had been in here, I could've. [ Finally he pushes himself up, setting the sword on the cushions behind him as he steps closer to observe more closely. ]

Can you generate that kind of heat with any part of your body or just your hands?

[ to answer, zuko inhales and exhales a burst of flame, which he catches neatly in his left hand, dispersing it with a shake of his wrist. ]

It's just a refocusing of chi.

[ -- to give a better answer, and zuko eyes the kettle for a moment before glancing at the cup on the table. ]

What kind do you want?

[ As usual Sasuke first focuses on the fire, unwilling to take his eyes off it until it's gone... for safety or just out of interest, who knows. But that's a good question, one that has him settling his stare on each canister in turn before then reaching for the first.

A pop of the lid, and he leans over to smell it, patiently repeating the process with each and every one before pointing out the third. Jasmine. ]

... you can call it what you like, but I can't exactly produce fire with my feet.

That's inconvenient.

[ seriously, that sucks. and zuko picks up the third container, tipping it neatly to fish out some tea leaves -- but he pauses slightly, his expression flickering for half a second before continuing to work.

zuko is not nearly as good at iroh in the timing and perfection of brewing tea, but at least someone in that household raised the boy with some amount of tradition and delicacy. so he's quiet, waiting patiently, tapping the kettle every so often to make sure the water is the right temperature before slowly pouring it into the cup. ]

[ Sasuke clicks his tongue, an entirely wordless but perfectly clear 'you don't have to tell me' spoken in broody teenager language.

They're both just standing there without a word and somehow it's a comfortable silence, neither of them the type to feel the need to fill it needlessly. It allows him to better focus on what Zuko is doing anyway, again waiting for the smell to waft up before he decides he's satisfied with his choice. ]

What temperature did you heat it too? [ How precise are you, exactly. ]

Seventy-eight degrees.

[ zuko, when he was small, decided to measure it with a thermometer, much to iroh's chagrin and frustration. and when zuko instantly complained that he constantly overcooked the tea leaves, iroh had removed the kettle from his hands and turned it into a lesson on patience.

you need to interact with the world around you, zuko, not everything needs to be measured, and not everything is a contest. you'll know when it's right. ]

It can vary a few degrees, but not by much.

Edited 2016-01-22 05:18 (UTC)

A single degree is a significant difference. [ Or at least that feels like something his mother would've said. It used to be he'd cook for himself when he was alone, keeping out of the kitchen for too long because he knew how disappointed he'd be by his own efforts but eventually forcing himself to try. Lately though he's been drifting, staying in inns and without a home to practice much of anything domestic in.

It's a strange comfort to watch this, and yet he doesn't want the reminders. ]

That seems low. Is it due to this type of leaf?

You picked out jasmine; it's brewed at a lower temperature, for some reason.

[ that is literally all zuko knows ]

My uncle would know better than I would. He just showed me how to make it. He didn't really explain why it is the way it is.

[ through much loving frustration and great patience. zuko pauses, watching the cup of tea before crossing his arms. ]

He didn't think it mattered, I guess.

Perhaps he finds you to be overly analytical. [ Sasuke would want to know every bit of science behind it if it mattered to him, while otherwise just accepting it as it was if it didn't. He likes to think he doesn't waste his time on pointless ventures while spending hours sitting in complete silence in dark rooms. ]

Or he wants you to find the answer on your own.

Probably the second one.

[ it's murmured, watching the tea lives finally settle and drift.

azula, certainly, never mastered the art of making tea. ]

He's pretty insistent on self-discovery -- it should be fine, now.

And yet you still don't know. [ Sasuke's unconcerned with and unbothered by the temperature of the cup when he picks it up, no more worried over the tea itself when he takes his first sip. ]

[ The difference between it and the one he'd prepared is marked, showcasing that when he's unsatisfied with just that one taste and ends up nearly immediately taking another. ]

... is it possible to research it here? I don't know what materials you have available.

I'm pretty sure he meant for me to never find out. "It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit." Or something.

[ iroh talks a lot ]

But there is a library on the Iskaliut, I think. I could look it up, but it wouldn't change whether or not the tea tastes to standard if I do.

[ iroh, translated: who the fuck cares, zuko, it is what it is. ]

You could be inspired to do things that weren't the things he intended. I'd appreciate the flavor of something more if I knew the complexity of it. [ But... ]

Yet it's possible I'm uncreative, or interested only in dull things. [ self-aware moment ]

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