Baby Steps

Jet decided to wait a few days before he went to see Li/Zuko again. He imagined they could both do with a cooling off period after the other night's revelations. A part of Jet's mind also hoped he'd return to sanity. Was he really going to let two of the enemy, from the royal family no less, settle down in Ba Sing Se?

The answer appeared to be yes, as long as one of the two was Zuko.

That bothered him a lot, especially that he was hiding something so important from Longshot and Smellerbee. Giving himself time only made him feel guilty but seeing the boy from the ferry taken by the Dai Li to his death wasn't tolerable. In the end he decided to trust his instinctive belief that Zuko could be one of them.

When he did go to see them, he waited until Pao's tea shop closed. After his last visit, he didn't expect to be welcome there anytime soon. Going to their apartment would be too pushy.

Jet stayed on the other side of the road. When Pao and his employees parted ways, he approached the Fire Nation fugitives. To be on the safe side he kept both hands visible.

General Iroh's hard, assessing eyes made him glad he did. Jet had to be impressed at how well the great soldier hid his true nature. Everyone who met him considered Mushi a sweet old guy, but right this moment he had a deadly, formidable aura.

Jet raised his empty hands, putting them together carefully, and did something he didn't have much practice doing.

He bowed deeply. As he raised his torso he said, "I want to apologize to you and Li and thank you both for talking to the Dai Li for me."

The old man's sharp eyes narrowed, giving Jet a bit of a chill. "You may thank my nephew. I intervened to assist him."

There was a subtle emphasis on that last word. The Dragon of the West wouldn't be trusting Jet any time soon.

"You're right. We talked the other day to settle things but I didn't thank him. You stood up for me like one of my Freedom Fighters would've", he said, turning his eyes to the prince. "That deserves more than gratitude. You've earned my trust, Li, more than once."

Zuko glanced toward his uncle but the general didn't look any more suspicious than he'd already been. Iroh knew that they'd worked together on the ferry to liberate edible food before the incident with the Dai Li.

That look told Jet he hadn't told his uncle what he intended to do when he sought Jet out that night. The old man didn't know that Jet was aware of their true names and that they were about as Fire Nation as you could be.

If Zuko didn't think General Iroh should know he'd revealed that much to Jet, Jet wasn't about to tell him. He decided he'd better keep this meeting short and polite.

The old man wasn't just sharp. He was a dangerous man who had everything to lose. He wouldn't understand that Jet couldn't take anything from him because Zuko would lose it, too. He couldn't have explained why that mattered to himself, let alone a suspicious enemy. Former enemy, he reminded himself.

"Anyway", he said, "I know you've been working all day so I won't keep you guys."

He started to turn away but Zuko's voice made him stop.

"Maybe", said, then hesitated. "I, uh, usually take a break around midday. If you aren't too busy maybe you could stop by.

Jet noticed Iroh's surprise only peripherally. He was too busy being surprised himself—and startlingly happy.

"I'm still picking work up day by day", he said, "but I'm sure I can find some time." His casual smile turned into a huge grin as he turned away. He remembered standing beside Zuko at the ferry's railing, saying that he knew they were the same. The prince hadn't disagreed. Jet thought maybe he'd felt the connection, too.