A/N: Thank you to JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It and CallMeClandestine for reviewing!

Prompt #7: Hire

Characters: Iroh and Toph

Iroh breathed in the smell of the lychee tea he had just finished brewing. Perfection. Smiling, he poured a cup for two customers. "Enjoy your tea."

They smiled and thanked him, taking their tea to a nearby table. Iroh glanced around the teashop, packed and bustling with customers and several employees. Three years had established the Jasmine Dragon as one of the most popular--and busiest--teashops in Ba Sing Se.

The bell over the front door jangled, and Iroh called, "Welcome!" His smile grew when he saw that it was Toph who had entered. She deftly wove through tables and around customers until she reached the front counter.

Iroh was already preparing a cup of ginseng tea as she jumped up and sat on the edge of the counter, her bare feet dangling off the floor. "So," she began, "I hear you're hiring."

Iroh handed Toph the tea. "Are you bored with your job already?"

"Bored, no. Annoyed, yes." Toph took a long drink of the tea. "Those dunderheads can't feel anything. They're all so anxious to get the earth to move, they don't want to take the time to wait." She sighed. "These are the days I miss training Twinkle Toes."

Iroh chuckled. "I am sure the guards will be the strongest in the Earth Kingdom when you are done with them."

Toph snorted. "Either the strongest or the most miserable. Some of them have less sense than the rocks they're trying to bend."

"Sir, I need six cups of almond black tea." Ai Lin, Iroh's newest employee, walked up to the counter, glancing uncertainly at Toph. She had not yet had the good fortune of meeting the young Earthbender, and was undoubtedly wondering who Iroh would allow to lounge on his front counter.

Iroh swiftly placed six cups on a tray and poured the tea. When Ai Lin had carried it away, still glancing curiously at the back of Toph's head, Iroh again addressed Toph. "I hear very good things about you from the soldiers who come in here."

Toph's lip curled. "I bet you hear bad things, too." She held her cup still while Iroh refilled it.

"Your trainees have great respect for you, but they are not always pleased with you."

Toph grinned. "Good. If they were all happy with me, I'd be doing something wrong." She quickly downed her second cup of tea and slid off the counter, rubbing her hands together. "You have the space all cleared out?"

"Of course." Iroh gave the shop another quick look to ensure all was in order, and then led the way to the back, to the pantry where he stored his supplies. It had been completely emptied in preparation.

Toph stepped into it, nodding slowly. "Yeah, you have enough space to almost double the size. I can go deeper. I hope you're okay with stairs." She took a step back, slid her foot forward, and thrust her arms out. With a lot of loud rumbling and shaking, the walls moved and the floor dropped. Stairs jutted out of the earth, leading down into the newly-deepened room. Rock shelves pushed out of the walls.

Dusting her hands in satisfaction, Toph nodded. "Think that'll work for a while?"

"It is fantastic. I especially like the shelves. It will save me the trouble of hanging my wooden shelves again. If you ever wish for a career change, may I suggest work as an architect?"

"Ha. I only do this job for you. And a few other lucky people." Toph followed Iroh back out to the front of the teashop. "Well, thanks for the tea. I have to run, but I'll be back in a few days. You owe me a game of Pai Sho. Plus…" She scratched the back of her neck. "Well, I could use some of that advice of yours."

"Ahh. Is it about a boy?"

"You know, as often as you ask me that, isn't it likely I'll have more leadership stuff to ask you, oh wise General Iroh?"

"Perhaps. But perhaps one day I will ask you if it is about a boy and the answer will be yes."

Toph grinned at him over her shoulder. "Well, this time, the answer is maybe." Waving, she walked out the front door.

"She was blind!" Ai Lin said in a hushed voice as she set an empty tray on the counter. "Was that General Toph Bei Fong? In…in here?"

"Of course," Iroh answered. He motioned Ai Lin to follow him toward the back of the shop.

"But what was she doing here? I mean…why would she come to a teashop? She works out of the palace. Don't they have tea?" Ai Lin stopped with him as he opened the pantry.

"She works out of the palace many days, but she does not live there." Iroh motioned inside the room. "Today, she was here to make my pantry larger. Now everything needs to be put back into it, so you may begin on that task."

Ai Lin stared at him as though she'd misheard. "General Toph Bei Fong was making your pantry bigger?" she echoed faintly.

"She is a young woman with many talents." Iroh smiled to himself as he turned away. "Also, there is one very important thing to remember. The palace may have tea, but it is not my tea."