AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE IROH'S TEA PARTY CUZ IROH'S TEA PARTY DON'T STOP! [Active][Open]

[whitelotustea.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Iroh, OPEN OPEN OPEN
Content: Iroh hosts a tea party at his joint. Conversations ensue.
Setting: The Golden Turtle
Time: Mid-Afternoon, Week 31
Warnings: Will update as it goes.

A few more strokes of the broom against the floor shoved the last plumes of dirt away into the bare streets. Iroh twirled it from one hand to the other and placed it away in the corner of the room, flooded with sunlight and warmth. "All ready!" he announced with excitement, looking over the front door banner that read WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN TURTLE TEA PARTY!

[ooc: Party style threading. Comments are considered exclusive conversations, so reply to the actual comments instead of the entry if you want to be a part of that conversation. Iroh will be by your table shortly. ]

Comments

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Under the watchful, creepy eye of Hades. She snapped a glare his way, lips pursed into a pinched scowl of displeasure. "Around. Why do you care?" Even as she said the words, she knew it was a mistake. She knew he didn't do anything wrong. All he did was enjoy her company. But that had been a mistake, for both of them. She had to push him away.

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

A lesser man would have probably winced at that... and even though the urge was there, Jecht repressed it, a low rumbling emitting from his throat instead. It was on the tip of his tongue to jump up and shout about how he cared plenty, and at one time he was pretty sure she had cared too -- but Urd's advice stuck with him -- he needed to figure out just what was getting her so worked up...

He shrugged it off, pretending not to be affected by the bite in her tone. "I dunno. I just thought maybe, if you had some free time... I mean, since the bar's not a priority anymore... I was never really one for decoratin', so..."

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

She stared at him blankly before slowly raising her eyebrow. "Are you...asking me to help decorate your new place?" No sarcastic quip came to mind; she was honestly flabbergasted by the very idea. Why would he think she would be any better? You had to have a home to decorate. She hadn't had a home in a long time.

But then, it wasn't really about decorating. She tilted her head, gaze boring into his face. Finally, her voice came out barely more than a whisper. "...why?"

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

Of course it wasn't really about the decorating. He just -- couldn't think of anything better on the spot. And coming out with 'I miss you' didn't seem like the best idea at this point. He chanced a glance towards her, then away again -- and back to her once more as he spoke, trying his best to ignore that awkward sensation that was creeping up on him.

"Not much fun doing it by yourself. And I just figured... maybe it could use a bit of a woman's touch, y'know? I mean... if you're busy, that's fine, I just... was wonderin'."

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

She just chuckled mirthlessly, hand going to the side of her head. "Are...are you kidding me? Haven't you been paying attention?" She closed her eyes, sliding her hand over her face. "I'm trying to push you away for a reason, you idiot. You keep coming back for more abuse. Why? Why aren't you running away?"

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

He watched her movements carefully... realizing more and more that he hated seeing her like this. And for the first time -- he realized that even though it was under close lock and key -- she was hurting too.

Jecht reached across, attempting to rest a hand dangerously close to her free one. "I've never run a day in my life... And, heh -- haven't you heard? It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks."

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

One corner of her mouth lifted and she slowly slid her gaze to his hand. "You should know, I...I don't hate you. Okay?" What was she doing? She was a fool. A selfish fool. She longed to be his friend, to not have him hate her, but hating her was the only way he'd stay out of Hades' fire. What was it about him that always made the walls she'd spent so long building crumble just a little?

Before she even knew what she was doing, her finger brushed his hand.

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

Well that was certainly a start, at least. It was looking like the whole endeavour wasn't going to be a total loss. Although he pretended to ignore her hand brushing along his own, the fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, inching closer to wrap around her dainty ones.

"Then, why...?" Why push him away? Why go through this obvious misery? If he only knew the reason, maybe there was something he could do...

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Her eyes drifted closed as their hands linked and she gave his hand a squeeze. "Oh, Jecht..." Shaking her head, she withdrew her hand and stood up, putting the necessary distance between them again. "I can't -- You wouldn't understand, okay? It's for your own good." She backed away, heedless of any observers as she risked one last look at him, eyes full of pain.

"I'm not worth it. Trust me on that." She turned to make her escape, all thoughts of tea completely gone.

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

"H-hey," he pushed his chair back, rising to his feet, and arm outstretched in her direction as she fled. "Wait. Wait!" he dodged through the tables of customers, waving in and out as he made his way to the exit, reaching forward in one last attempt to stop her from leaving. "What are you saying? I wouldn't understand... how do you know unless you try me?" A brief pause. "What if I say you are worth it? That I'm not just gonna give up?"

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

He was able to take hold of her wrist as she burst open into the sunshine of the street outside. Ponytail swinging, she twisted to look at him with quiet anguish she struggled to contain. "Then you're a bigger idiot than I thought," she said, voice low and rough with emotion. She turned away quickly but not fast enough to hide the glitter of unshed tears in her eyes as she wrenched her hand away from him and fled into the crowd of people walking past.

[finalfayth.livejournal.com]

Jecht stayed put this time, following her until she was out of sight. He stood there, in the light of day, the crowd working its way around him. His gaze fell, looking down at the hand she'd pulled away from.

She didn't want this, either. Now he was sure of it.

Epilogue

[whitelotustea.livejournal.com]

Iroh had brought by two cups of steaming hot tea he had nervously worked through as quickly as he could. He knew there would only be a matter of time before some manner of drama would arrive in his shop and it was the last thing he needed. He wanted to do a favor for Megara, especially in the wake of her latest business troubles. This new character that had come into the shop looked to be almost equal in burden to her. He could only do so much for her without also attending to all the other customers in his shop.

By the time he had wheeled around to the table with a tray for the cups, the seats they occupied were empty. He sighed, shook his head, and offered the tea to the next table over, free of charge.

Under his breath on the way back to the kitchen, he muttered under his breath, "Where did you go?"