This is a quick oneshot to get the Jetko obsession out of my system before my papers. The title is inspired by When the Sun Goes Down by Ben Gibbard, and yes, the street performer is singing the song. In the AU that The Jasmine Dragon, my other story, is set in. That is, Iroh never heated his tea. And yes, I suppose this is Jet replacing Jin on the date. :D
"What do you do after work?" Jet asked, resting on the counter, looking very much like an eager puppy. Li glanced at him and moved around the room, picking up the empty cups from tables and wiping up spills with a damp rag.
"What everyone else does, I suppose." Li replied shortly, bringing the tray of used cups to the back and coming out again. He stood at the counter and surveyed the shop. It was empty, except for Jet. The afternoon sun beat down on the ground outside, and he wondered if any customers were going to be coming in for hot tea in this weather.
"Don't you drink? How about eating out? Taken a night tour of the city?" Jet asked, chewing on the wheat stalk and looking at Li with an expression that suggested that Jet would be very open to any salacious activities in light of the lack of people around. Li had learnt that if he didn't answer Jet, the questions would flow hot and fast without stopping, which eventually led to sexual proclivities, which made Li feel uncomfortably hot under his collar.
"I'm not interested in exploring Ba Sing Se." Li said, finally looking at Jet instead of fiddling with the knob of the cash register. Jet's grin grew wider.
"How about dinner tonight, then? Then we can explore the place together."
"I just said I'm not in-"
"Nonsense, nephew. That offer sounds good." Li turned around to glare at Mushi, who was surreptitiously eavesdropping while wiping the clean cups.
"Fine."
"I'll see you here at sundown!" Jet called, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.
OoOoOo
It was an hour past sundown. Li was late, but that was due to the large number of customers. As Jet peeked in through the shutters, he saw Li take off his apron after he wiped down all the tables and stacked the chairs. He hastily withdrew and leant against the shop in what he hoped was a casual manner.
"Hey there." Jet greeted as Li stepped out of the shop. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Sorry I'm late." Jet manoeuvred Li through the crowd slowly streaming towards the main square of the Lower Ring, where there were small noodle stalls set up around the place. Jet was acutely aware of Li by his side, slipping through the people like he did. It was a novel sensation, being so close to someone he'd just only met. Jet decided that he liked it, and that he liked Li even more when he looked puzzled. Like when Jet grasped his hand to pull him forward, and he looked almost confused before he had flushed and let go quickly.
"So… How was your day?"
"Fine."
"Do you like serving tea?"
"Maybe."
"Wanna hear about my day?"
"You spent it at the tea shop."
"No, I mean, what I did in the afternoon."
"Sure." Jet took up the invitation and spoke about discovering a zoo on the outside of the inner wall of Ba Sing Se, where the animals looked so free and happy roaming about their large compounds. Li studied Jet's expression, how it lifted when he spoke of grass beneath his feet and the blue sky up ahead. At times like this, Li thought, Jet was better-looking than ever. That was an odd thought to have, but it was true.
"Maybe we could go there sometime? On your off day, perhaps?" Jet suggested gently, placing a hand on Li's shoulder to steer him towards a small noodle stall towards the west end of the square.
"I, uh… I'd like that." Li admitted, and then mentally kicked himself for acting like a schoolgirl. Jet pointed to a table on the outskirts of the stall, nearer to the fountain. They sat down at the small wooden table, perched on rickety wooden stools. Li realised that the square was quite packed, families and couples and groups of friends alike were scattered around the place. Laughter rang out, the clatter of chopsticks against cheap porcelain bowls, and Li was overwhelmed. Paper lanterns strung around the place were brightly lit, pink and yellow and green patches on the worn stone of the floor. There was a young man in the middle of the place sitting cross-legged beside the fountain, plucking lazily at his instrument.
"What would you like?" A pretty waitress with braids asked.
"Chasu-noodles with plenty of spring onion please!" Jet said, smiling winningly at her. She giggled then turned to Li, cheeks pink.
"I'll have… Um… Extra spicy shrimp noodle, please." She giggled and turned back to Jet, winked, and strolled away. They sat there and poked at the tiny dish of cold pickled mustard on the table, each wondering how to start the conversation.
"So… Do you have a job yet?" Jet shook his head.
"Those that I tried so far, well, I can't really apply because I don't know how to fill in the application forms. I never really got to learn how to write." Jet shrugged and ate a slice of vegetable, placing the wheat stalk in a cup of water.
"I can help you, if you like. I had a tutor last time." Li said. Jet brightened up.
"Really?"
"Sure." The waitress swung by with their orders and placed them on the table, blushing when Jet's hand brushed hers as he passed her six coppers. Li narrowed his eyes, feeling a sharp flare of jealousy. This isn't the right way to behave, Li told himself as he pulled his bowl of noodles towards him and pulled out his own money pouch.
"Thanks, I really appreciate that. And there's no need to pay, dinner's on me." Jet pointed out as he saw Li struggle with the drawstring of the pouch. They slurped their noodles up, Li pausing only to add a generous dollop of chilli to his portion of noodles. The young man by the fountain started a gentle strumming. The crowd quieted down to listen as his voice broke through the din.
When the sun goes down, down on your street
Oh, let me be the one you meet
In the lamplight hung when the night has just begun
And though you fear where shadows fall
There's nothing there to harm you at all
Uncover your eyes, presume uncertain skies
"You know this song, right?" Jet asked, smiling as the familiar tune wound its way through the crowd. Li listened intently before shaking his head.
"It's a popular folk song from Omashu. It's called When The Sun Goes Down."
And rise, arise
Step into the night, it'll be alright
When the sun goes down, down on your street
And you're feeling strangely incomplete
Oh, please don't grieve for days that fell like leaves.
"It's not bad," Li said. He drank down the last of the broth in his bowl, watching as Jet devoured the chasu and set his bowl down.
"Let's go. There's fireworks tonight, I've been told." Jet left a copper piece on the table as he grasped Li's hand and they made their way out of the crowd, down an alley. They leapt onto dustbins and scaled the walls, to the roof of the building on the north end of the square. They could still hear the song weaving the night together, holding the air at the seams.
"There!" Jet cried excitedly. There was the loud, familiar bom-bah of fireworks and green sparks blossomed across the sky. Jet turned to see Li in a ball, eyes barely visible above his knees.
"It's cold," Li said defensively. Jet pressed flush up against Li, chest to back, and Li tried to flinch away but stayed as Jet held him in place.
"Wha-"
"You said you were cold." Jet murmured. "And I don't have a cloak. This is the most I can do." Li stayed in the warmth, feeling a wave of contentment wash over him as they watched the fireworks with Jet wrapped around him.
Under a moon that hangs from silver strings
We know not what this darkness brings
The stars all gleam with possibilities.
Li allowed himself to relax into Jet's hold, watching the sky with half-lidded eyes.
OoOoOo
Jet could not keep an undignified bounce out of his step as he walked Li home, and he had a fuzzy feeling in his chest. It was like that time when Pipsqueak raided a Fire Nation camp and brought a crate of baijiu to the Freedom Fighters and they spent half the night making merry. Yeah, Jet felt light. Like he could do anything. He glanced at Li, who was walking beside him.
Yeah, Jet could do anything.
They stopped outside Li's door.
"So, well… I'll see you around?" Li said, already getting ready to turn the knob. He didn't know what to say to Jet about the night, or the meal or the fireworks and all his words were jumbled up in his throat and his head and he'd never had a friend like Jet before and he felt all warm inside when Jet was around he saw Jet leaning forward and…
And Jet kissed him.
It was a chaste kiss, and Li closed his eyes and pressed back hesitantly. When they parted, Jet grinned broadly at the sight of Li's dazed expression, a blush spreading across his fair skin.
"Yeah, I'll see you around." Jet purred. "Goodnight, Li." Li blushed and opened the door, stepping over the threshold. He faced Jet.
"Goodnight to you, too." Li said softly, closing the door. Jet smiled and turned to walk to his own apartment.
Rise, arise
And step into the night, it'll be alright.
Thanks for reading! Leave a review please (: I'd like some feedback. Yes, I made Ben Gibbard an Omashu citizen :D