Disclaimer: I still don't own. But I still watch religiously, I swear.
Once Upon a Teashop
The past few days had flown by in a blur, and all three boys had been busy helping up about the shop. Toph had stopped by a couple times to laugh at Sokka and sit around talking to Iroh, but she hadn't stayed long, as Katara and Aang were already constantly wondering where their plan guy was disappearing to for hours at a time every day (the work excuse had only gone so far before Katara had started wondering where her brother was working, and what Katara worried about, Aang did, too). They did not need to start wondering where their token earthbender was, too. Jin had also finally shown her face at the Jasmine Dragon again, but the way she ignored Zuko's attempts to speak with her clearly told everyone she was there strictly for the tea and not the boy. Even Smellerbee and Longshot had finally given in to Jet's pestering and come around, drawn back by the delicious tea they had had at music night. Sokka himself had spent most of the week sitting back and watching what was so far promising to be the most entertaining show he'd seen since entering Ba Sing Se unwrap before him. "Li" had consisted in his efforts to be nice to the Freedom Fighter, and Jet had spent the rest of the week fluctuating between amused, enthralled, creeped out, and terrified for his life. Still, though, his pursuit was relentless, and no matter how unnerving the fake smile that decorated the other waiter's face, the obsessed, wheat-chewing boy was always there waiting for Zuko after work and trying to let the other boy agree to walk home together. To Sokka, it almost seemed as if his plan might be beginning to backfire, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he tossed it out into his mental tundra, letting his mental snow white it out before he could even begin to fully process it. His plans didn't fail. Ever. Except when they did, of course (and a lot of those times had involved Zuko in some way), but those times didn't count.
Finally, though, the day had arrived. The three boys stood on the platform as they waited for the train to arrive, content to ignore the few people bustling around them. Or, at least, two of them were content. Zuko was twitchy and jumpy, and kept constantly glancing around them, although whether it was from nerves or paranoia (or a combination of both), Sokka couldn't tell.
"Calm down, Li," Jet grinned, plopping an arm over the younger teen's shoulders. "It's just the zoo. We can get to more later." The black-haired firebender stiffened, and the next second found the Freedom Fighter's arm twisted up behind his back, his shoulder pulled to an uncomfortable angle. Sokka's own shoulder twinged just watching it, but he didn't dwell much on it. Jet did deserve that and so much more, after all, even if the smug bastard kept on grinning that irritating, cocky grin the whole time.
"Don't touch me," Zuko growled, and for a split second Sokka wondered if this was going to be the end of the prince's attempts at playing nice. But then, only somewhat surprisingly, the Fire Nation boy let go of his companion's arm, and went back to how he'd been standing before: glaring at everything that walked by with his arms folded tightly across his chest. What did surprise both of the other boys was what came next. "…Sorry."
The one good thing to come from that was that an actual apology had seemed to stun Jet into sudden silence. It was, unfortunately, ruined by all things that hate Sokka (or maybe Zuko, who seemed to have an even worse streak of luck), as the train to the inner wall chose that moment to pull up in front of them, and the crowd of people piled off, shuffling around all three boys.
"Well, here goes," Jet announced, and for a second a look crossed his face, one that showed he was contemplating doing something exceedingly stupid (and quite possibly suicidal). Whatever it was, though, the look passed, and the tallest of the three strode confidently forward into the stone car. Sokka and Zuko exchanged a look, and then, with a shrug from the watertribe boy, joined Jet.
xXxXxXxXxXx
The first thing Jet noticed when they arrived was the ungodly stench that permeated the whole area. It was a foul, putrid smell that clearly reflected animals and their droppings, and no one cleaning them up—and this was after the zoo had apparently been fixed up? The Freedom Fighter would've hated to visit this when it was still stuck behind the inner walls. It also seemed he wasn't alone in this opinion.
"Aww, gross, animal poo," Sokka groaned the instant they stepped foot through the newly built gates. He slapped a hand over his nose and wiped away the water that was beginning to leak out of his eyes from the stench. "Spirits, you would think a zoo this new could do something about the smell! Probably, this is why they ended up losing business inside the city."
"It's not that bad," Li muttered with a shrug, pointedly looking away when they stared at him in abject disbelief.
"Not that bad?" Jet raised an eyebrow as he asked. "This place is disgusting. Is there even anything that smells worse than this?"
"Burning flesh," he returned deadpan, and so straightforward that the other two did not know how to take it. Sokka had a slightly horrified look on his face, and Jet felt a tad sick at the thought. Neither could quite avoid glancing at the healed burn. Seeing that, Li sighed. "It was a joke."
Jet laughed nervously. "Yeah. Uh…good one…"
Sokka just shook his head and patted the scarred boy on the back. "It was a good try, but why don't you just leave the joking to me?" Li actually looked put out at that suggestion, and if Jet did not know any better, he would say that his co-worker was actually pouting. It wasn't something he could dwell on, though, because Sokka quickly continued. "Well, come on, guys. I want to go see the Sabretooth Moose Lions! You know, I met one in the wild ones. It was the cutest little thing. Foofoocuddlypoo. I miss you… Granted, then its mother came, and that was a little more scary considering I was stuck in a crack and couldn't move, but, you know, Toph came along eventually, and it all turned out good." As the watertribesman continued to babble about his adventures, Jet took the opportunity to sidle up close behind Li.
"Nice view, though, isn't it?" The Freedom Fighter commented lowly, his lips barely an inch from the perfectly formed, unblemished pale ear. Instead of getting an elbow in his gut like he had been expecting (and prepared for, being in the other waiter's personal space uncaringly after all), Jet was pleasantly surprised when the other boy just nodded instead, staring out at the simply yet efficiently designed landscape. It really was quite pretty to look at, the way the animals roamed around their...well, not so much cages and pens, considering how Aang had apparently built the whole thing with earthbending, and all the animals were confined to their own location by cleverly placed walls of land. The ebb and flow of the hills and dips in the land reminded Jet of water, in a way, only more solid and unmoving, but the way the sunlight glittered across the grass made everything look brighter and more cheerful out here, outside of the main part of the city, especially with the small amount of people around. There was a crowd, yes, as there had been since the zoo had been rebuilt a few weeks ago, but it was a relatively tiny one and comprised mainly of children and their parents. Still, though, it was nothing compared to the overbearing stuffyness of the Lower Ring, where one could not take even a step outside their own door without running into some other ragged, unfortunate refugee who had not been able to (and, most likely, would not ever) find a job since they arrived and had taken to sleeping in the street like some sort of slothrat, appearing as giant lumps lining the paths through the city. The Middle and Upper Rings were not nearly as bad, but the Middle Ring was still fairly crowded, even if the conditions were much more bearable. The Upper Ring was the easiest place to get around, and with the way the rich seemed to ease through the streets the way they eased through life, it was much easier to think that there were a significantly fewer amount of people there, even if it was mainly only the bustling that had been reduced.
"You ever been to the zoo before?" Jet asked next, making sure to grip the belt he was wearing tightly in his hands. The wheat-chewing boy was absolutely sure that if he were to touch the object of his desire right now, he would end up with far worse than just a sore shoulder. Li seemed edgy today, for some reason—at least, much edgier than normal.
"Yes," the scarred boy finally responded, a jerky nod to accompany his voice. "Once. With my mother. It was a long time ago, though…and far away from here." That was the second time this week Jet had heard the other teen refer to his mother, and he noticed the way the other's voice softened a bit. It was quieter, and without that underlying current of anger that seemed to infuse even Li's most calm tones. Despondent was most likely a good candidate for the way he spoke about her—and an accurate description of the short sigh the waiter released. Jet straightened up, and stepped out of the other boy's space before saying anything else.
"You must have really loved her."
Li turned to face him at that. His lips were half open in a look that was a cross between genuine surprise and wariness as his gold eyes locked with Jet's brown. "Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, I did."
"—Are you guys even listening?" Sokka suddenly interrupted. "I mean, this was a really traumatic time in my life. I almost got killed by a crazed mob of Avatar fangirls!" Li rolled his eyes irritably, and the moment was lost. Jet scowled internally for a second before he contemplated how best to turn the situation in his favour.
"Hey, Sokka," he began evenly, "You lost your mother to the Fire Nation, too, didn't you?"
"…What about it?" the blue-clad boy questioned warily, suddenly on the defensive. He was shooting a dark look at Jet which would not have usually bothered him had not Li also suddenly started glaring again in his direction.
"Oh, nothing. Just saying, we're all three boys here who lost our mothers to the Fire Nation. Kind of have a lot in common, don't we, Li?" Jet smirked, and continued before the scarred boy could get the 'No' in that they all saw coming. "I mean, I lost my mother to the Fire Nation, you lost your mother to the Fire Nation, Li lost his mother to the Fire Nation. I lost my dad to those bastards, you haven't seen your dad in two years because he's off fighting them, and…what, uh…what about your dad, Li?" The tall Freedom Fighter turned to look at the object of his desires.
Sokka's eyes widened imperceptibly. Zuko's lips had tightened, and he had gone from reminiscent to irritated in less time than it took Momo to grab a nut. Still, though, the brown-haired boy restrained himself from intervening. As it was, Jet and Zuko were getting a little too close for comfort, and if one of these times the Fire Nation prince were to snap and seriously injure Jet, well, the situation would be dealt with and Appa would be Aang's once more that much faster. Remarkably, though, the volatile teen looked like he, too, was restraining himself as he merely rubbed angrily at the ruined part of his face and turned away, not deigning to answer that question.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I want to go see the Rabbiroos," Sokka announced loudly. His voice was filled with false bravado, and if the other two noticed it, they did not say anything on the matter (although, Zuko shot him a slightly grateful look when Jet's back was turned—Sokka assumed it was a grateful look because it seemed less angry than the look he had been giving the ground).
"I've never seen a rabbiroo before," offered the prince hesitantly. Jet looked genuinely surprised, but Sokka understood the sentiment.
"Me neither. I mean, I have seen a lot of creatures since Katara and I left the Southern Water Tribe, but there are still so many I've never even heard of that they have in the Earth Kingdom."
"Wow. I mean, they had rabbiroos nearby all the time where I grew up. I mean, I get you, Sokka, but where in the Earth Kingdom are you from, Li?"
"It's—it's down south. Near the Si Wong desert. Closest to Omashu, I guess."
"Well, I guess you wouldn't get rabbiroos that close to the desert," Jet conceded with a shrug, even as he followed his tow companions to that display. "Still, though, there's nothing really that special about them. I want to see a Sabretooth Moose Lion."
"Did I not just say that when we first got here?" Sokka muttered under his breath. He was not surprised when the tallest of the three ignored him (although, he was a tad surprised when Zuko basically just shrugged in response). Still, though, with barely a word more, the three of them made their way to the rabbiroo exhibit.
"Aww, look at the cute little babies in the mother's pouch!" Sokka practically cooed when they got there, leaning over the wooden rail to try and get a better view. "They've got—hey, is that a someone's pet?"
Zuko looked where the dark-skinned boy was pointing, but before he could respond, he felt a tugging on his arm. Glancing back, he found his resident stalker standing entirely too close for comfort again, especially as Jet leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"Come on, Li, I have something I want to show you." He glanced over to Sokka, but Jet continued, "It will only take a second—we don't need to bother him." The black-haired firebender narrowed his eyes dubiously, but after a moment's contemplation decided to just go with it. He was supposed to be being friendly, after all. Besides, it was not as if he could not beat Jet in a fight should it come to it. That night so long ago when Jet had attacked him and Uncle at the teashop lingered in the back of his mind, along with the knowledge that Jet fully knew he would get beaten should violence of any kind be the result of skipping out on Sokka like this. So he nodded, and allowed the taller boy to grab his hand and lead him away from the rabbiroo pit and through the winding crowds.
The crowds seemed to thin out as they walked further, and the people they did stumble across seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. Zuko frowned because he knew they were not heading towards the exit—in fact, they were going in almost the exact opposite direction. There were only a couple more animal pits this way, and he idly wondered what exactly it was that Jet wanted to show him or if this whole thing was a waste of his time. Finally, though, the other boy pulled them behind some boulders and stopped, turning to face the prince with a broad grin on his cheeky, handsome face.
Zuko blinked and glanced around, his head swirling from side to side. There were more giant piles of stone to the left, the wall enclosing the zoo in front of him, and a surprisingly thin, mostly empty path around the boulders to their right. He dimly realised, "There's nothing over here."
"Yeah, there is," Jet grinned, stepping around until Zuko realised himself to be unexpectedly trapped between the taller teen and the wall of rock behind him when he stepped back uncomfortably and felt stone digging into his back.
"So, um. What did you want to show me?" He was flustered, now, and nervous—his fingers seemed to have developed a slight tic. The problem was not that Jet was up to anything usual—the problem was that this was not the other boy's usual mode of operation, and, as such, the firebender could not make heads or tails out of what the Freedom Fighter could possibly be up to. The fact that Jet smirked in reply did nothing for the paranoid prince's nerves.
"Just this," the tan-skinned boy announced, pulling the wheat stalk out of his mouth with one hand before leaning over and planting his lips on top of Zuko's.
Meanwhile, across the zoo, Sokka looked up from where he had been rambling about the animals to realise that he was now alone, with neither of his companions in sight.
"Damn it!"
TBC…
Sorry all! I almost forgot today was the two-week mark, lol. For some reason I thought I updated last week. Also, this chapter's a tad shorter, but that's because I had to leave it off there. I'll make it up to you, promise.
Question of the hour: How do you think Zuko responds to Jet smacking-lips?
1. Denial (If you say it didn't happen, it didn't happen.)
2. Anger (Violence is always the answer.)
3. Bargaining (It only happened because…)
4. Depression (He only likes me because of a lie!)
5. Acceptance (Omgsh, Jet kissed me, cool!)
