A/N: I Jetko'd. *flies into the sun*
Disclaimer: Don't own it!
Matched Set
That stupid kid from the ferry was watching them again. Zuko glared at the silhouette of shaggy hair on the roof.
"Jet!"
The hair disappeared. Zuko heard the other teen cursing.
"Why don't you just come down," Zuko called, pinching the bridge of his nose.
It was quiet for a moment. Zuko listened to one of his neighbors yelling about the ever-increasing price of meat and sighed. This was ridiculous.
"Jet!"
"What?" Jet's head popped up again, and Zuko felt him glaring at down at him. He crossed his arms and scowled right back.
"Just come down. Uncle already said he'd feed you."
Jet slid down the drain pipe at the mention of a free meal. He slunk over to Zuko with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Zuko rolled his eyes. Jet always had to be 'cool' guy.
Zuko turned on his heel and stormed back into the tenement, heading up the stairs to his and Uncle's two rooms on the fourth floor. He heard Jet swaggering along behind him. He pushed the door open and let it swing back, hoping it would hit Jet. It didn't.
"Oh, nephew, you're back!" Iroh called from the corner of the living area that served as a kitchen. "I seem to have misplaced my spark rocks again, could you go ask the lovely Miss Chun next door?"
"Yeah, I'll be right back." Another quick turn brought him nearly nose-to-nose with Jet. Zuko glared up at him. "Do you mind?"
Jet smirked and backed up two steps. He brought his hands up and shrugged. "Not at all, Lee."
Zuko grumbled and pushed past the other teen. He kept grumbling in the hallway, and he barely stopped before knocking on the neighbor's door. A pretty, teenaged girl with bright eyes and dark hair opened the door.
"Lee!" She chirped. Jet's head pop out into the hallway. "Hey! How are you today?"
"Uh, fine, I'm fine, Chun." Zuko scratched at the back of his neck. "So, uh, my uncle seems to have—"
"You need to borrow my spark rocks again, don't you?" She grinned at him. Jet frowned.
"Um, yeah. If it's no trouble."
Chun laughed. "Don't be stupid. I'm surprised you two haven't starved to death yet."
Zuko felt his neck flush. "We can cook our meals just fine, you know."
"Oh, I know, I have to smell 'em," she replied. Chun grabbed a set of spark rocks from her kitchen table. She handed them over to him with a wry smile. "Doesn't mean they're any good, though. Sometimes you just need a woman's touch in the kitchen."
"Er—"
Chun waved him off. "Bring those back before breakfast tomorrow, alright?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks."
"Any time, Lee." she giggled and shut the door. Zuko stared at the wood grain for a second before trotting back to his apartment. Jet was still hanging out of the doorway, blocking it and glaring at Chun's door.
"Who's the chick?" He asked gruffly.
"A neighbor." Zuko huffed. "Now will you move?"
"Sure, sure," Jet muttered, taking half a step back and stretching his arms above his head. Zuko shoved past him again.
Zuko passed off the rocks to Iroh. "Spark rocks, Uncle."
"Wonderful, thank you, nephew."
"So what's for dinner, Mushi?" Jet sprawled across the cushions beside the low table in the center of the room. Spirits, sometimes Zuko just wanted to throw that arrogant ass out the window.
"Just a simple stir fry I'm afraid. Fresh tofu from Madame Suan, though, so it should be most excellent," Iroh answered, smiling at Jet. "Nephew, if you could measure out the tea, I'll have water over there in a short while."
Zuko moved over to the table, grabbing a wooden box on the way. Settling on the opposite side of the table from Jet, Zuko scooped what he hoped was the right amount of the green matcha powder for four or five cups of tea. Then he rearranged the lid and the whisk and settled down to wait for Uncle. Jet continued to lounge, staring at different parts of the room and him. Mostly him, though. Zuko fidgeted.
"It's rude to stare."
Jet blinked at him, his stupid wheatgrass tilting upward. "Just checkin' out the place. Me and 'Bee and Longshot aren't too far from here, ya know. Wanted to see if we got gypped."
Zuko snorted. Sure, that was his reason. "That doesn't explain why you were on the roof."
Jet's eyes sharpened, but then he grinned widely. "What can I say? I miss star-gazin'. Your place is just the right height. Reminds me of home."
Zuko frowned. Iroh arrived with the steaming kettle. He peeked in the pot and tutted at the amount of matcha, but he poured the water in anyway.
"And that, my young friend, is why I enjoy tea," the old man commented. "I traveled quite a bit when I was in my prime. A cup of ginseng would soothe my homesick heart, a cup of jasmine would relax my weary bones, and sometimes peppermint to settle a rebellious stomach!" Iroh laughed heartily at his joke. "It's important to enjoy the small things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were not very small at all."
With that, Iroh whisked the lumpy powder smooth and left to finish fixing up the evening meal.
Zuko frowned deeper, staring at the table. Uncle always dropped proverbs like that. About being happy, being humble, accepting the little joys and having the patience to wait for the big ones. Zuko sighed. He hated waiting.
"Hey," Jet broke through his half-hearted brood.
"What?" Zuko snapped.
"That tea ready yet?"
"…You want tea."
"Yeah. Thirsty work, star-gazin'."
"…Right."
Zuko stared hard at Jet, but the other teen just smiled, fiddling with his stalk of wheatgrass. Zuko rolled his eyes and poured Jet a measure of the bright green tea.
Jet rubbed his hands together and grabbed the cup, and took a quick drink of it.
"Eurgh!" He spat it all out, grimacing. Jet rubbed at his tongue with free hand.
"What? Is it that bad?" Zuko wouldn't say it out loud, but he really had been trying to figure out how to make a dece—er, less bracing—cup of tea. He was pretty sure he'd gotten everything right this time.
"No, no," Jet coughed out. "It's fine. Just hot. Really hot. Wasn't expecting that."
"You weren't…expecting…the tea…to be hot…?" Zuko stared at him, watching Jet fan his tongue. "Uncle literally just put boiling water in there."
Jet shot him a scowl and a rude hand gesture.
"What'd you expect? It sure as hell wasn't gonna be cold."
"I know that! That's not—Ugh!" Jet's hands shot up in the air.
Zuko gave a small grin. It wasn't a normal day when Jet was the one frustrated beyond words. He should probably write the date down somewhere. This should really go down in history as the day smooth-talking, always-got-a-comeback Jet finally lost his cool.
Jet chewed on the end of his wheatgrass and gave him a half-hearted glare. "Come on, Lee, just spit it out."
"Nope, I'm good."
Jet frowned, practically pouting.
"So, uh," Zuko scratched the back of his neck a bit. "You really liked my tea?"
A/N: I regret nothing. Reviews appreciated, though, because I literally have NO handle on Jet.
