Jet had never missed the trees so much in his entire fucking life. He remembered back to when he was a child -maybe after his second tree house once he was on his own - when he hated the trees. There he would sit, way up high, watching people below him and animals above him. He remembered thinking that he could fall at any second, and no one would catch him, because he had no one. The freedom, the space, the entire world spread out in front of him for him to face alone.
The forest had reminded him just how alone he was.
Now, as the last rays of sun were leaving his cell, he wanted nothing more than to stand on the branch of a tree and stare out at the forest, ready to take on anything. The four walls surrounding him were driving him crazy.
Jet hadn't been in prison long, but long enough. He wondered when his... well, his friends would come break him out.
After all, he sacrificed his life for them. There was nothing much to do in his confinement than think. And every thought brought him back to his final days in Ba Sing Se...
His last few days in Ba Sing Se were nothing but a game of chance. Too many chance encounters, too many roads crossing together, too many histories colliding at once. He couldn't decide which action set things in motion. Was it those warrior girls who were attacked weeks before the downfall? Was his the fight he and Prince Zuko had days before the walls came down? Or was it the look he mustered towards the Avatar, seconds before everything fell apart?
Jet never liked living in the city, but it was safe. It was safe, and he had made a promise to Smellerbee and Longshot, who left everything they'd worked for to go with him. He'd suck it up in the city for them.
Li was just an added bonus.
If the ferry ride was any indication to what the city would be like, Jet already hated it. Well, everything expect for a scarred young man who walked with anger, but kissed with passion. Jet could handle the city, if the city stayed like the ferry ride.
He wished he'd never seen the old man heating his tea. More than that, he wished that his first instinct was to kill them, like it should have been.
Instead, Jet watched the steam unfold over the tea, and he watched Li turn to him, face hard. Jet should have pounced then. He should have killed them both there. Maybe then, Ba Sing Se wouldn't have fallen.
Jet turned away from the firebenders because he was confused. He spent three days on a ferry with Li, just three short days, but Jet had never trusted anyone more. He tried to will his mind, try to convince himself that he was just imagining the steam. Smellerbee tried to convince him to forget it, she just wanted peace.
And so Jet tried. He didn't plot or scheme in front of the two younger freedom fighters, but he stalked the firebenders at night. One more ounce of proof and maybe he wouldn't be so tormented about killing them. Every time Jet watched Li move, his body ached with want. But then he would remember the cup of tea, and deep down, Jet didn't need anymore evidence. He could feel the anger boiling in his stomach, could feel the hate on the tip of his tongue. If he had been wrong in any way, the hate would have faded by now. But he knew he was right. Li was a firebender, a firebender who touched Jet, kissed Jet, ran his fingers through Jet's hair when he thought he was sleeping.
That's what subsided the anger for as long as it did. It had been days since the ferry docked at Be Sing Se, and Jet watched the tea heat. Torn between lust and hate, Jet exploded.
Exploded right through the door of their tea shop, swords pointed at the culprits, eyes burning with rage. Jet felt dirty. Dirty because a firebender had touched him, and fucking filthy because he liked it.
Li didn't fall into the trap, like anyone else would have. They fought, and Jet wondered if anyone else say how fluid their movements were together, how when the glided against each other's skin, neither of them flinched. How close the fight had come.
Jet didn't miss how easily it would have been for Li to kill him. He got close, twice, but always pulled his swords back. Jet wanted to rip his skin off and burn it in front of his uncle. The longer the fight played out, the more Jet started to hate Li.
When the police showed up, Jet announced them as who they were. And it wasn't Li that spoke. His uncle, Mushi, stepped in line and spoke for Jet.
"This poor boy is confused. I think he's had a bit too much to drink. There is no need to press charges for his assault. We'll make sure he gets home safely."
Jet started to protest, screaming about how the Fire Nation was in Ba Sing Se. It was only then, Smellerbee and Longshot appeared, grabbing him by the arms and repeating what Mushi had said, dragging them towards their apartment.
A solid kick to the gut it was Jet got the minute she got him inside.
"This was supposed to be a fresh start!" She has yelled, throwing her hands up. "Who cares if the guy had heated tea?! You need to let this go, Jet!"
Jet shook his head. It was different for him. Smellerbee barely remembered her family, she was abandoned when she was six. Her father taken by the Fire Nation, and her mother dying when she was a baby. She set off by herself instead of staying with her grandmother. Jet didn't have the luxury of a choice, he'd seen his entire family burn in front of him. Created himself from the dirt up, deciding who he was, what he needed to fight for, who was the enemy.
The enemy, who he'd let into his mouth, touch him, breathe him in. He could feel his parents rolling in their grave. They would be so disappointed.
Smellerbee had left with a huff when she realized Jet wouldn't say anything else.
And again, he tried for them. Tried to stay away from the tea shop, from the beautiful firebender, from murderous thoughts. He'd taken odd jobs, kept the younger two fed and made sure they had what they needed. He was their leader, after all.
A few days after the showdown, Mushi appeared on their doorstep. Smellerbee was hesitant to let him in, but the panic in his voice is what had her opening the door. Jet listened from his room, behind the wall he'd chosen to hide behind.
"My nephew was captured by his sister." Jet heard. He begged them to help, and within the begging, exposed them both, not only as firebenders, but as part of the royal fucking family. Jet was on his feet immediately.
"Let's go get him back." Was all he had said as he walked out the door, Mushi far behind. He instructed - ordered - Smellerbee and Longshot to stay put, to not come after him. Jet knew what was at stake. He knew going up against the Princess wouldn't end well, but he would get Li back. He would get Li back and make him explain, make him admit to everything. And then he would kill Li himself.
The next group of people Mushi went to surprised Jet. The Avatar and his friends, though Jet only recognized Sokka. The smaller girl referred to Mushi as a different name and urged Aang to trust him. Apparently, Jet wasn't the only people they lied to.
Sokka took off with other plans, the small girl following him, while Aang agreed to go with Mushi, who he kept calling Iroh. Apparently, wherever Li was, Katara was there, too. Jet wasn't looking forward to that meeting.
As they tunneled through a cave, Iroh keeping a flame in his hand that made Jet want to vomit, it was revealed that Aang knew who they were. The fucking Avatar knew who these two were and trusted them. Surely Jet could do the same right?
Jet never got to answer that question for himself or ask the question, Who's Zuko? because once the name was mention, Aang broke through the final wall. The catacombs in front of them were beautiful. Jet would have been in awe if he hadn't been so enraged.
He followed the two silently. Aang was looking to save Katara; Iroh was looking to save Li. Jet wanted a fight, wanted to finally settle the score between him a Li. To spit the Prince title at him while he sliced his skin open. Murderous vision danced in front of Jet's eyes until the broke through another wall, and Jet saw them together.
They were standing too close, and her hand was on his scar. A million emotions went through Jet at that time, too quick to pick out what exactly they were, although he had the time to do it now.
The only emotion Jet could focus on was rage. He watched Iroh hug Li and Aang hug Katara, and he stood by himself, ready to kill all of them if they got in his way. He stalked towards Li, eyes hungry and ready, and then he faulted when Li's arms were around his neck. Li sighed five words against his hair, and Jet forget why he was angry.
I'm so glad you're okay.
Jet didn't get the chance to yell or scream or kiss Li, because then the questions erupted. Katara call him by his name and Li wondered, almost angered, how he had known the Avatar. Katara asked Aang why he would trust Jet. Aang finally asked how Jet and Li knew each other. Questions blurred together. Jet was talking to fast, trying to explain his story over everyone else's. There was a low buzzing that Jet should have been aware of at the time, but all he could focus on was Li's arm brushing his as he tried to reason with Katara.
The buzzing got heavier and then earth bolted up in between all of them.
Two earth benders slid down a hill that they had formed. There was a woman behind them, walking slowly. Her black hair was in a top knot, two stray bangs falling around her face. Her eyes were golden, amber, so obviously Fire Nation. Jet had seen those same eyes on Li a thousand times, and wondered how he never caught on.
Aang and Katara wasted no time running, but it was Aang who pulled Jet with them. The last thing Jet heard before Aang opened another cave was the woman's voice, piercing, frightening, and pleading.
I need you, Zuko.
Jet ran after the two benders until it felt like his lungs were giving out. It felt like they were almost away, when huge blue flames hit right next to them. Katara and Aang turned, already so used to them, it seemed. And ready to fight. He looked at their stances. They weren't the kids he'd met in the forest. The had grown stronger and wiser.
Then again, so had he.
Jet took a stance next to Aang, swords ready to kill. He'd missed the thrill of pending battle. Missed the way his mouth would curl, disturbingly, at the thought of killing firebenders. Missed seeing blood one the very swords his father had given him.
So, Jet stood ready, as the Princess entered the cave. She was alone, and Jet didn't know what that meant. Though they were three on one, Jet had a feeling in his stomach that he wouldn't make it out of here. But he wasn't scared. Jet always knew he'd die fighting, and dying to protect the Avatar was just proud bonus.
The fire princess stood across from them, her fingers pointed out wide, anticipating an attack from any of them. Jet knew them, though. He had tried to fight Aang before, and he knew Aang would never make the first move. Katara seemed to have more of a fight in her, but not against an opponent she knew she couldn't beat.
It looked like Jet was going to make the first advance.
Just as he took the first step, a blast of fire appeared between him and the princess. Jet followed the direction of the flame, seeing Li, at the edge of the cave, fists out and steaming. Jet's stomach turned. Li had thrown that blast.
But the vomit suppressed when he realized Li was only here for two reasons: to be with them or against them.
He hadn't know much about Li's life. Or how much Li's life was similar to Zuko's life. But Li always talked about going home. And here was his chance. Jet knew it was coming before anyone else, and he jumped back right as a blast was aimed at Aang.
Everything erupted then. Katara screamed wordlessly, and took Li as her opponent. Jet wanted to help her take down Li, but he didn't know how well he'd fight if he had to fight the urge to puke every time he saw Li firebend.
So he followed Aang in his advance on Azula. She seemed more focused on the Avatar, but made sure her blast deterred Jet as well. He wasn't as agile or flexible as Aang was, but he'd had a lifetime of practice, dodging flames.
Words rang in his ears from across the cave.
I thought you had changed!
I have changed.
The words were a punch to the gut, and Jet turned on his heal. Shrieking wordlessly, he ran towards Li, faster than he ever thought possible. Blind, white-hot rage fueled Jet's every breath. He hadn't been this mad when the fire nation solider turned to him from his rhino and smirked at Jet, as his village burned behind him. He hadn't been this mad when he realized he'd let a firebender fuck him night after night. He hadn't been this angry when Mushi - Iroh - made a fool out of Jet in front of the tea house. No rage had ever fueled Jet this much.
He ran towards Li, ready to hook his sword around his neck, and knock his feet out from under him. He wanted to hear the satisfying crack and Li's neck snapped. He'd even wanted to hear Katara's gasp as she realized she'd witness a murder.
His sword was an inch away from scraping down Li's spine, when the earth rumbled and then rocks hit him in the side, sending him flying across the small river in the cave. He rolled and groaned.
When he looked up, Li's eyes were on him, panicked. Jet growled and stood up. He'd had some broken ribs, but he wasn't going to let anything stop him from Li's blood staining his swords. He wouldn't ever clean them again.
Jet didn't take the time to register that his injury meant earthbenders were involved, he just launched himself towards Li again, only to be stopped by another rock to his stomach. He flew backwards, feeling blood spew from his mouth.
And he knew this was it, Jet knew he was going to die. But he'd be dammed if he'd die without taking this Prince with him. Jet was on his feet again, hooks still in his grasp.
The glowing light was the only thing that halted his attack, seemed to halt everyone's attack. Aang was strung high in the air, his entire body seemed like it was glowing. This allowed Jet to edge his bets. Everyone's eyes were on Aang. Li's own fucking back was turned against Jet.
And Li was the only one Jet wanted to take out. He'd gladly let one of the earth benders kill him after he slit the Prince's throat. Before he could act on these images, the lighting hit.
Aang was going down. Nobody moved. The smoke traced back to the princess' fingers, her smirk making Jet's stomach turn again, and Aang was still going down. Katara acted on impulse, he realized, as she brought a tidal wave with her, getting to Aang faster than he thought possible.
Aang's body was limp in her arms. He appeared dead, but Jet knew Katara. She wouldn't give up. She wouldn't let Aang die.
Everybody was still motionless, but he felt the stirring within the crowd. The royal siblings at the head of hundreds of earth benders. There was no way Katara could fight them off and protect Aang's body.
So Jet ran past the earthbenders, dogging weak attempts to stop them. He dove in front of Katara and Aang, his swords stopping a rock at hitting them.
"Get out of here!" He screamed, not looking back. "I'll hold them off as long as I can. Go!"
He didn't turn to make sure they did. If they wanted to nobly stand behind Jet, that was their own stupid mistake. Instead he rolled under blue fire, dodged flying rocks and made sure to never meet eyes with Li.
The only conscious thought that Li had before a rock collided with his chest, was that there had never been an orange flame thrown at him.
After that, there was nothing but blackness.
When Jet had woken up, he was already in prison, the night in Ba Sing Se feeling almost like a dream. The warden had assured him that it wasn't and throughout his weeks in prison, he'd gathered what happened after he went down.
Katara had escaped with Aang, and together, the royal siblings took down the walls of Ba Sing Se, and returned to the Fire Nation. Li - who he finally started thinking as Prince Zuko, only because he couldn't stomach to call him Li. Li wouldn't have betray him that way - had taken his rightful place as heir to the thrown, while Jet rotted away in prison.
So for weeks, Jet went from cell to yard to cell to yard, waiting and hoping that Katara and Aang had the decency to break him out. Because the first thing he would do was find a way into the Fire Nation and kill the prince.
After weeks of wasting away, Jet realized that they weren't coming. He never knew why he expected them to. The Avatar preached about peace and love, but he knew deep down that they wouldn't come. They never cared about Jet. And he knew damn well, they wouldn't have sacrificed themselves for him.
Jet made it by, without the aching thoughts keeping him up at night. The only thing he could ever think of was what action set the final days into motion. He wished he'd never met Zuko. Wished he'd killed him the second he found out about him.
Most of all Jet wished that when Iroh came to their apartment that day, that the reason he stood up so quickly was because he really wanted to be the one to kill Zuko, not because he feared for his life. Not because he wanted to save them.
Prison gave Jet too much time to think and thinking was never something Jet was good at. In the forest, in the trees, leading the freedom fighters, even in Ba Sing Se, he always had something to do besides think. Now, that's all Jet could do. And he hated it.
He hated that he had to be sealed in a dark cell, hated that he was on the same grounds as firebenders, hated that there was nothing he could do, hated that Prince fucking Zuko was walking around the palace, getting pampered, and waiting to take the thrown.
He hoped that someone assassinated Zuko. He hoped that the Avatar hadn't really survived, and that his next reincarnation would give a damn to help people that helped him. He hoped that he could sharped the knife in his room enough to kill at least one firebender, slice his throat and pretended he was Zuko.
Yes, the only thing Jet could do was hope and think and wither away.
It wasn't until Sokka showed up at his cell door, dressed as a guard, that Jet felt useful again. Sokka sat in his room with him for a few minutes, explained why no one had come for him yet. They had an invasion plan that was limited for time, and they had no idea where he was until they got a source from the inside.
When Jet heard that their source was Prince fucking Zuko himself, he all but punched Sokka in the face.
"Look, I didn't have to come here and break you out! I didn't have to risk my ass for you!" He yelled and he rubbed his jaw. Once he thought better of it, his put his helmet back on, face mask pulled down. As if that would stop Jet from hitting him again.
"You actually trust that bastard?! He's the reason Ba Sing Se fell! He's the reason I'm in here!" Jet screamed at him.
"It's been complicated, to say the least," Sokk amended. "And I know you have as much reason to hate him as anyone. He told us what happened. But I'm here to get out and he was the only person willing to help me. You don't have to trust him, but trust me."
"I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill him the second you let me near him," Jet threatened, desperate to not be around him.
His cell door slid open then, and a figured stood in the doorway. Sokka took the hint and stepped out, taking place as guard of the door. Once the door slammed, Zuko threw his helmet at Jet's feet, a knife right after it.
Before Jet could react, Zuko snarled. "Go ahead and do it. Kill me. Who will you be, then? You've spent months wishing you could kill me, I bet. Months waiting to be able to slit my throat, well go ahead and do it! What will you live for then, Jet?"
Jet's nostrils flared at that. He had no right to say his name. The knife was in his hand, and he had Zuko slammed against the cell door in a second. Blade to skin, Jet leveled his eyes with Zuko's. He'd wanted to see this for a while.
But then Zuko smirked, and Jet faltered. "Do it, Jet. Kill me. Kill me, then kill every firebender in the place. Kill me, then break out and kill my father. Take Ba Sing Se back, eliminate all firebenders. Who will you be then, Jet?" Zuko repeated. The question struck Jet down deep.
"Shut up," he growled, applying pressure to the blade. Nothing was stopping him from killing him right now. But for some reason, his muscles tensed and he couldn't move them forward.
"Who are you gonna be once the war's over, Jet? What are you gonna fight for, then?" The questions prodded at Jet some more and Zuko knew he had him. Jet knew that Zuko had him, but he would never admit it.
Instead, he heaved the knife at the opposing wall, letting Zuko out of his grasp. Only when he saw the knife clatter to the ground, did he turn around, throwing all of his force into the punch against Zuko's face.
"That's for Ba Sing Se," Jet grunted in his ear, and Zuko fell back, gripping his jaw. Jet let him fall to the ground and knocked twice on the cell door. Sokka opened it for him and he stepped out. Angry, ready, and willing.
The plan Sokka created worked perfectly. Three more passengers that Jet didn't know - Sokka's girlfriend and father and another prisoner - were on the gondala with them, and Jet couldn't stop glaring at Zuko. It would be so easy to through him into the boiling water, so easy, just like it had been so easy for him to slit his throat in his cell. So why couldn't he?
When Zuko's sister appeared on the next gondola, Sokka and Jet were the first ones out of the window and to the top. Jet had no weapons, but that had never stopped him before. He climbed out right after Sokka and stood next to him, Zuko in front of them, facing his sister.
Jet didn't know who he'd strike at first until blue flames were singing his hair. He snarled and darted forward, fist ready to push her into the boiling lake. She dodged the attempt, and rolled sending a blast his way. Jet was used to a much bigger playing field and when he jumped away from it, he slipped. And then he was sliding off the gondola.
Zuko's had wrapped around his wrist and pulled him up. Jet glared. He'd rather have fallen to his death then have Zuko save him. He growled, and when he gained his footing, to a strike at Zuko, who stumbled backwards into Sokka.
The Princess had noticed the underlying fight happening, and she struck. Jet thought it would be at him, until it made sense that it wouldn't be. Zuko fell to his side on the gondola, clutching his arm. Sokka seemed torn if he should kneel down and tend to Zuko or finish his sister. But Jet knew Zuko, even when he wished he didn't. He could almost hear the swearing if they let her get away just to baby him. So Jet turned, unexpectedly, and swung at the Princess. He managed to catch her off guard and she stumbled off the gondola.
For a brief moment, it seemed over, that she had fallen, until a blue blast of flame came from the bottom of the gondola. When Jet looked down, he saw her clinging to one of the windows. He wondered why no one inside the gondola just pushed her, stomped on her fingers. He wondered why everyone in this group was so fucking nice.
When a voice from inside the gondola screamed, "Cut the line!" Jet started to panic. Sokka, who had been attending to Zuko, met eyes with Jet as they both tried to think of a plan. The Princess shot right above them and onto a second line.
Sokka was panicking, he wasn't thinking. Jet took action. As much as he hated himself for it, when he wasn't thinking too much, he could let it happened. He walked over to Zuko, helped him to his feet and into the window. His arm was badly burnt, and Jet ripped a piece of his prison shirt to wrapped it around Zuko. Sokka was busy planning, finally able to think. He had the other firebender shoot huge blasts out the opposite window, urging the gondola to go further.
They got close enough to jump, before the gondola fell beneath then, warden inside. Sokka was using his sword, stuck deep in the cliff wall to edge himself upward, helping his girlfriend, though she skitted up like a pro. The other bender had some trouble, but managed on his own, just as Sokka's father did.
Zuko, with one injured arm, was losing. His nails were scraping against rock, and Jet, with both hands securly holding him at safety, could hear Zuko's hands slipping off the rocks. He heard the panting, the fear in Zuko's breath, his nails screaming in protest as he hung on with all of his strength. But it wasn't working. Zuko was about five seconds away from falling.
For the third time today, it would have bee so easy for Jet to kill him, or rather, let him die. But some instinct took over, deep with inside Jet, and he reached down, grabbed Zuko's hand and yanked it off the rock. Zuko looked up with pure terror in his eyes, and Jet realized that Zuko wasn't playing him this time, like he had been in the cell. Zuko walked into that cell knowing Jet wouldn't kill him.
Now, he was dangling over the edge of a boiling lake, the steam rising up between them, and he was staring at Jet with fear because he didn't know. Jet yanked once, twice, and then Zuko was up next to him, gripping a rock and getting better footing.
Jet put a hand on his back and hoisted him up towards Sokka's helpful arms. Once Zuko was up, Jet returned to his two rocks, starting to climb after the group.
It occurred to him about seven times on the way up that he could just let go, plummet into the lake and all this confusion and hate and fear would be gone.
Once he reached the top of the cliff, it was Zuko he helped him up, and clung to him as they ran towards their escape.
Jet would have been dammed if he'd let Zuko see him jump.
