Payment

by: RebLaw (who does not own Avatar: The Last Airbender)

A/N: Feedback is always appreciated and loved. This ficlet is IrohxJun just because, well... You know Iroh wasn't going to pay out his weight in gold if the Avatar wasn't caught. ;-) Rated T for implied adult situations just to be on the safe side. Enjoy

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"You know, you strike me as a dirty old man," Jun hissed at Iroh, gazing him down. The three had just gotten away from the sisters of the abbey. Iroh had invited Jun into his quarters to discuss what payment she would get.

"And you have a problem with that?" Iroh asked gently, raising an eyebrow while smiling.

"I'm only here to get paid hun," the bounty hunter scoffed arrogantly, raising an eyebrow back at the retired general. The young woman had figured out a while ago that she hadn't been invited into the retired generals private quarters for purposes of discussing payment. At least, not just that.

"Oh yes, don't worry I didn't forget," Iroh replied, tossing the young woman a sizeable bag full of gold. "Unfortunately, because the Avatar was not caught, I can not pay you the full fee discussed."

"It wasn't part of the terms," the dark-haired bounty hunter pointed out. She knew that it was kind of her fault the Avatar wasn't caught, but it could never hurt to try to get more money. "The 'prince' failed to catch the boy on his own. I did lead him to the Avatar."

"Hmm," Iroh paused in thought momentarily. "But your beast did get out of control and paralyze not only the prince, but yourself as well. If Prince Zuko had not been paralyzed, maybe he would've caught the Avatar."

Jun shrugged, it was exactly as she figured it would go. While moved towards the door, she turned and asked. "Hey old man, just one question before I go."

"Yes," Iroh answered. "Ask me anything you want."

"Are you really the famed 'Dragon of the West'?" Jun asked. "Or were you just trying to impress me?"

"Impress you?" Iroh asked, his eyebrows raised. "Lady, you must not know about my horrible defeat. We retreated after the six hundred days siege."

"No other general could siege that city for that long," the bounty hunter explained. "It was a very impressive feat. I remember hearing about it from my uncle, who fought against you. He had nothing but respect for you power."

"I am honored to have the respect of my enemy," Iroh stated almost humbly.

Jun looked the older man in the eyes, as if appraising his quality. "You know, since you aren't going to pay me the full price in gold, I can think of another way you could compensate me for my efforts."

The Dragon of the West raised an eyebrow, he liked the way she thought. "And what way exactly would that be?"

The poor, poor, prince, Zuko, was serenaded by carnal sounds that night, much to his disgust.