Inbetween the Lines
Rating: M (for language)
Summary: A familiar face reappears after years and shakes up their relationship like they would not believe. Post-war. Obvious AU.
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I can feel his approach like the fire in my blood
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Zuko was going over a scroll pertaining to the capitol's economy, but it was soon forgotten in favor of looking across his expansive desk to his good friend (and recent lover), thinking he misheard what she said.
"I'm sorry, but can you repeat that?" he asked.
"I said, I saw Jet."
"When? Better yet, how?"
Katara shrugged. "Around a week ago, I think. I was in this small village a few miles from Omashu-"
"For the outbreak that's been going on there, right?" Zuko interjected.
Katara gave a nod. "Yeah. I was able to cure all the people, once I actually sat down and figured out the cause of the matter."
Zuko leaned back in his chair. "Which was?"
"Apparently the neighboring village sent them tainted firewood for the season, unbeknownst to all, so when they started to burn the wood it would emit a very toxic, but unnoticeable fumes into the air, which caused respiratory problems, fevers and the like. I consulted with the local arborist there and together we figured out the root of the problem."
Zuko gave her a bemused look at the last part of her sentence, the pun not lost on him.
"So how did Jet enter the picture? Was he the arborist?"
Katara laughed. "No. It was after all that when I was out buying something to eat before turning in for the evening when I ran into him. He was…"
Zuko arched a brow. "He was what?"
"Alive," Katara answered honestly. "I couldn't believe it. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but there he was," Katara trailed off, a far off look in her eyes. "He was older, of course, but he looked the same; same signature lop-sided grin, grass straw in his mouth, same stance. It was unreal. He told me that Smellerbee and Longshot were able to get him out of there, just barely and they were able to find a healer in the nick of time."
Zuko glanced at one of Katara's hand that tugged the end of her hair. A nervous habit she had for years and he briefly wondered if she was omitting something from her retelling.
"What happened after that?" Zuko prompted.
Katara bit her lip, another nervous tick, to which Zuko raised his brow again. Now he was really intrigued.
"We hugged, I was crying and telling him I thought I failed him and he assured me that wasn't true," Katara began, letting her hair go. "After that we went to a local tavern, had some drinks and spent most of the evening catching up."
Zuko watched her as she talked, taking note of her eyes never staying on his face for long, though she did stop with the hair pulling and the lip biting.
The lack of eye contact had him asking, "Did anything else happen?"
Katara looked at him fleetingly before tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
"Well… After that, he walked me back to the inn I was staying for the night and gave me a kiss on the cheek," she looked at him. "But that was all, I swear."
Zuko was quiet for a moment before saying, "Katara, did you think I would fly into a jealous rampage? I'm not sixteen anymore," he remarked with a light chuckle.
"Well… You might when you hear the last bit," she replied hesitantly. "Right before we parted ways, he wanted to keep in touch so I let him know I spend most of my time here."
"Did you say with whom?" Zuko questioned, a bit of an edge in his voice.
Katara shook her head. "But only because we've never established what we're doing. At the same time, it's not like I want to be with him anyway."
"Are you sure about that?"
They fell silent for some time, both thinking back years ago to the night of the play and the talk they shared later in the evening when everyone else was in bed. They had sat on the beach for some time, neither offering up anything to say. After a while though, Katara had started speaking, as if recalling a memory.
"Ya know, one of my regrets back in Ba Sing Se was not staying in Lake Laogai with Jet," she had said, staring out at the dark ocean, the half-moon reflecting prettily on its surface. "I feel like if I had stayed, I could have saved his life. I mean, I had the spirit water with me, I just didn't think about it then. So foolish."
Zuko had looked at her, and then at the slow rippling water. "No, it's not foolish. If you had used it, what would that had meant for Aang? Like my uncle told me countless times, everything happens for a reason."
"I know," she reluctantly reasoned. "And then I realized that if I used it on you, what would have changed? Would you had still joined forces with Azula? I think that if you did, the betrayal would have cut a lot deeper," Katara finished with a sigh.
Zuko knew that their newfound friendship was fragile, so he treaded lightly when he told her, "I honestly don't know. Azula had offered practically everything up on a silver platter, but I feel like if you had healed me, I would have been more conflicted than ever."
Katara took that into consideration, digging her right hand into the sand, scooping some up before letting it filter through her fingers.
"That's how Jet was, at least toward the end," she had started, bringing the conversation back full circle. "He was always at war with himself. A lot like you, now that I think about it." She glanced his way. "Ya know what's also interesting? You both saved me."
Zuko had given her a curious look. "What do you mean?"
"He intervened when we accidently came across a Fire Nation camp. A soldier was sneaking up on me and almost had me if it weren't for Jet stepping in, which caused me to crush on him so hard," she told him with a slight smile. "And you saved me from the pirates. Well, kind of anyway. Funny, you both saved me just to use me later on." Her smile fell off then.
There was also no hint of a smile on her face now as she looked at Zuko across his desk. He did not look amused in the slightest and wore a tense, frowning expression. Katara could not blame him, not really. What transpired after that was bittersweet. He said he was sorry and she, at the time, said jokingly that it was not like he could kiss it to make it better. However, he told her he would if she thought it would help. After a pause, she let him.
It was the only kiss they shared because afterward they retreated to their respective rooms for the night and the following morning was the comet. Aang had gone missing, they had quite an adventure trying to locate him and before they knew it, they were all facing the fight of their lives. There was simply no time to dwell on it and when they were victorious, they both found themselves gravitating back to the familiar. It was not until three years later that both their previous relationships grew stagnant and eventually fell away to the way side. Katara was in the Fire Nation as a newly appointed Ambassador for her tribe when Zuko told her the news.
Smiling with no real mirth, she informed him that Aang broke up with her barely a few days prior. Zuko shook his head back then and bluntly ask her if she wanted to drink, which she readily agreed to and so that night in his study they shared a couple of bottles of fire whiskey, old memories, the liquid courage helping them both to admit the buried feelings of attraction; after which they had a heated sex session on his desk, ink wells and scrolls thrown to the floor in their haste.
Thus began their kind of, sort of relationship.
They never labeled it anything more than a thing they shared whenever they saw one another. No one knew about it, they were just having fun after all, but it did not stop Katara for feeling guilty of her time with Jet.
"I'm sorry-"
"It's fine, Katara. There's no reason to feel bad about it. You two share a history, I get that," Zuko cut in. "Who am I to step in the way of that?"
"There's nothing to step into, though," she stated. "I like what we have, Zuko."
"And what do we have, truly?" he could not help but asking. "Don't get me wrong, I like our time together too, but-"
"But nothing. I want to continue this with you," Katara proclaimed. "Whatever this is, I want to see it through."
Zuko was about to make a retort when there was a knock on the door. He told the person to come in and an advisor stepped in.
"Sorry to interrupt, sire, but there is a young man here that requests your audience."
Katara and Zuko shared a look.
"It couldn't be…" she said in disbelief.
Zuko looked at his advisor. "Did he give a name?"
"Yes, my lord. He said his name was Jet."
Katara gulped.
Zuko's eyes widen just a notch.
"Let him in."
She gasped.
The advisor followed his order and a moment later, Jet made his appearance.
"Well, well. This week has just been one surprise after another," he stated with a grin.
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A former Freedom Fighter, a Fire Lord and a Master waterbender, were all seated on pillows around a modest sized circular table in the middle on the palace lounge that was connected to the study. It was all very surreal to Katara, being in the room with two men that meant different things to her at different times in her life.
Despite Jet's opening line, he became quiet when Zuko escorted them to the lounge, the doors shutting firmly behind them, only a pair of guards posted at the entrance. In all regards, they were alone.
Katara looked between the two, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. She worried her bottom lip. If they were already arguing with just looks, she could only imagine what the words would be.
"So…" she began which made the guys break their eye dual to glance her way. "That's all I got," she admitted a little embarrassed.
Jet leaned back on his hands. "Great conversation starter, Katara," he quipped jocularly. His eyes darted over to Zuko. "Of course I heard many things over the years, but to think my old traveling buddy turned tea server turned Fire Nation prince became the Fire Lord." Jet gave a laugh, shaking his head. "At first I was enraged because I knew it, I fucking knew that you were Fire Nation, yet no one believed me. Got my mind turned to mush over it, turned on you again," Jet looked at Katara apologetically. "And then that Long Feng bastard tried to kill me…"
Zuko kept his face neutral but Katara knew he was listening to every word, measuring him up through his tale and his body language. Jet continued.
"But thankfully my friends were able to get me to a healer just in time because it was really touch and go for a while. Then I learned we lost Ba Sing Se when I gained consciousness just before passing out again. When I awoke again, we won the war after all." Jet looked out the window, past the flowing curtains, a few yards away from them, watching a few clouds go by ever so slowly, but he knew they were moving at a more rapid pace.
"In any case, I just want to let you know I have no hard feelings toward you anymore, though I don't know if I can ever bring myself to call you lord," Jet finished with a shrug.
"That's fair," Zuko replied. "So what brings you here?"
Like he doesn't know, Katara thought, resisting an eye roll.
Jet smirked. "Why, for the lovely Katara, of course. Seeing as how you weren't surprised by my being here in the flesh, I figured she told you I was alive."
"She did," was Zuko's curt response.
Jet caught the tone and frowned just slightly. "So, if it's alright with you," here Jet looked her way. "Wanna try to pick up where we left off?"
Katara swirled her fingertip slowly on the rug underneath the big, red pillow. "Listen, Jet, I think I might have-"
"She can't," Zuko edged in.
The pair looked at him, Katara surprised while Jet became annoyed.
"And why's that?" Jet grounded out, leaning forward ever so slightly. He had a suspicion there was something going on between them, in the not so subtle fleeting eye contact, how they always seem to turn their bodies toward one another whenever they addressed each other; and even how they said each other's' names.
"Because we're… involved."
"Zuko!" Katara cried out.
"So what?" Jet asked plainly. "Is it serious?"
Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. "Serious enough."
The guys went back to their silent eye battle and after a moment, Katara could not take it anymore.
"Look!" she said, getting their attention again. "First off, Jet, like I was trying to say earlier, I believe I gave you mixed signals when I told you where I frequent. I only told you so that we can keep in contact, become friends again." Katara took a breath before continuing. "And Zuko is right, we are involved."
Jet rubbed his chin in thought. "I see. Well, this can all be solved with one solution."
"Which would be?" Katara questioned.
"Simple. You date us both."
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A/N: Chapter title credit goes to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero."