Title: Little Red String

Rating: R

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Warnings: Psychological abuse, almost-rape, physical abuse, Azula (she's scary enough that she needs a warning), sexual situations and activities (homo- and heterosexual), almost-rape, explicit language (mostly from Jet and Zuko), POV switches (when in Jet's POV, Iroh and Zuko will be Lee and Mushi during the bits leading up to what would canonically be season 3, then Iroh and Zuko from then on; when in Zuko's POV, Iroh and Zuko's will be Iroh/Uncle and Zuko)

Pairing(s): JetZuko, implied ZukoMai, hints of Kataang

Summary: When you meet someone, an invisible red string is tied around your pinky fingers that links you together. The thicker the string is between people, the stronger their bond is.

Sometimes, you find allies in the strangest of places. Like Zuko - he found Jet and the Freedom Fighters on a boat to Ba Sing Se. But Zuko didn't expect Jet to be as charismatic as he was. So he left behind everything to start over with Jet and begin anew in Ba Sing Se. But some parts of his past are harder to let go of, or won't let go. Like his crazy sister. And the fact that he's Fire Nation, which Jet doesn't actually know. Will Zuko's life catch up with him? Can Jet and Zuko stand against the evils of the Fire Nation and still be together?

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter X

The next week arrived. After trekking from their dingy apartments in the Lower Ring to their new, enormous abode in the Upper Ring, Zuko, Iroh, Longshot, Smellerbee, and Jet had all settled into their new lifestyle. The move had been fairly painless – it helped that all they really had left to pack up was Zuko's stuff, and some other things that Iroh had forgotten to pack when he had been going back and forth between the apartments when Zuko was sick – and was accomplished rather quickly, partially due to the small army of servants that their nobleman patron (who Iroh told Zuko was called Quon) had lent to help them get everything straightened out. They were provided with new clothes befitting their new social status, and were almost immediately welcomed into the community of people in their neighborhood.

As for the rooming situation, Iroh had his own room, Jet and Zuko shared a room down the hall, and Longshot and Smellerbee had the last bedroom. There was a large bathroom, and the kitchen doubled as a large common area with a low table and cushions for meals and the like.

They were all working to get the Jasmine Dragon ready for its grand opening.

Zuko himself was much happier now than he had been in a long time. He was publicly affectionate with Jet - pecking him on the cheek when one of them had to run errands or just for the pleasure of it, rubbing his shoulders on breaks during the setup for the tea shop, that sort of thing - and he willingly helped out Uncle Iroh when he was asked to do so. He even played the Tsungi Horn one night for his roommates' entertainment, although how it had gotten into their apartment he was not sure, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Uncle was behind it. Things were definitely going well for Zuko these days.

One night, as he and Jet were sleeping, a voice came to Zuko in his dream. It kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, each time getting louder.

"Help me." The voice sounded female at first, but as it got louder it diverged into two voices, then three. Two male, one of which sounded younger than the other, and one female. The voices continued to get louder, and in his dream Zuko walked toward where he thought the voices were coming from.

At last, Zuko reached three columns. Each one had chains running across the back of it, and he could see three pairs of hands protruding from the chains. He ran towards the columns, and saw that Jet, Uncle Iroh, and his mother were chained to the columns. They all visibly brightened at his presence, but the only words they could say were "Help me" again and again.

"Help you with what?" Zuko asked. He came up to his mother and started to fiddle with the chains, thinking that must be the source of their discomfort. But to his surprise, when he unlocked the chain on one hand, it locked itself again. He repeated the process, and got the same result.

Suddenly, a new sound greeted his ears – laughter. At first, it sounded almost joyful, but as it increased in volume, it started to sound twisted, almost insane. Zuko tried to find the source of the laughter, but nothing.

Storm clouds appeared above them, and thunder began to boom from within the clouds. Appropriately, lightning accompanied the thunder. And Zuko, having dreamed about lightning before, realized that this dream storm could mean only one person was coming.

Azula.

As if thinking of her caused her to exist, his sister Azula appeared before him, cackling madly. "Found you!" she screeched, and proceeded to ready herself to shoot out lightning. Zuko tried to remember how to redirect lightning, but the thoughts escaped him. All he could think about was how to protect his mother, uncle, and lover from this menace that was supposed to be his sister.

But it was too late. Azula struck, first Uncle, then Mother, then Jet. He was able to catch Jet in his arms, and just before Jet's heart gave out, he whispered to Zuko, "I love you, no matter what." And then he faded away, just as Iroh and Ursa had mere seconds before.

Alone and unable to defend himself, Zuko backed up against the nearest column. But before he could do anything, Azula struck him down, and he was falling, falling, falling, through fire and water, unable to stop until…

He jolted awake, his heart pounding in his chest. What had that dream meant? Surely Azula wouldn't be coming to Ba Sing Se, she'd get thrown out of here as soon as she set foot on the outer wall. Then again, this was Azula he was thinking about; she wasn't a Firebending prodigy for nothing, and she had Mai and Ty Lee with her, and together those three were a threat to any establishment.

Jet shifted, opened his eyes, and groggily said, "Lee, what is it? You okay?"

"It's nothing," Zuko lied. He wouldn't want Jet to worry about him, especially since his lover had spent the past week watching him lie helplessly in bed while he struggled with his personal demons. "Let's go back to sleep."

Jet nodded, and opened his arms to let Zuko in. The prince gratefully slid into his lover's embrace, glad that he could find comfort here. They both fell asleep again in seconds.

The next morning, Zuko debated on telling Uncle Iroh about the dream with Azula, but thought better of it. Today was the grand opening of the Jasmine Dragon, and he didn't want to upset Uncle in his moment of absolute happiness.

Zuko showered, got dressed, ate a bowl of jook for breakfast, and then got ready to head off to the tea shop once Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee, and Uncle were all set. Today was going to be a good day. Zuko could feel it.

And he was right. A great multitude of people arrived in the shop, most of them from the Upper Ring, but some classier folks from the Middle Ring came as well. Business was booming, and this was only their first day!

After serving close to one hundred and fifty pots of tea that day, it was finally time to close the shop. Longshot and Smellerbee, along with the greeting girls, had taken on dishwashing duty, while Zuko and Jet were sweeping up and Iroh was taking a well-deserved break.

A messenger came to the door, bearing a scroll that he said was from the royal palace. Uncle accepted it, and read the message. As his eyes traveled down the length of the scroll, they got bigger and more excited-looking. At length, he said, "I can't believe it."

Zuko came up to him. "What is it, Uncle?"

"We have been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!" Iroh ran to the kitchen to spread the good news to the rest of the staff.

"Already?" Jet said from behind Zuko. "Seems a bit quick if you ask me."

"Word travels fast here," Zuko replied. "We were in the city for barely a week and already Uncle was attracting people from the Upper Ring to try his tea at Pao's. And besides, look how happy he was about it. Nothing makes Uncle happier than serving tea."

"Yes," Jet said, "that's true. All I'm saying, though, is that you should be careful. I don't think it's entirely normal for the Earth King to ask for tea from a tea shop that only just opened today."

Zuko sighed. "Do you want to come with us and be our 'protection?' Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes," Jet replied. He reached around and loosely wrapped Zuko in his arms while nuzzling at his neck. "Because I would hate for you to get hurt."

Zuko blushed. "I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."

"Did you see the way you tried to walk last week? That was ridiculous," Jet chuckled. "You looked like a newborn pygmy poodle."

"I had just gotten over being sick!" Zuko replied. "Would you have been stable walking the first time after that?"

"Probably," Jet said as he moved on to stroking Zuko's cheek with his thumb.

"Shut up," Zuko grumbled.

"You're so cute when you get flustered," Jet said as he started nibbling at Zuko's good ear. But before they could get any further, Iroh, Longshot, and Smellerbee arrived, which meant it was time to go back to the apartment and get ready for the next day.

In the morning, Uncle Iroh sent Longshot and Smellerbee to the shop to say that it would be temporarily closed until he, Zuko, and Jet returned from serving tea to the Earth King. They did so, and then were allowed to return to the apartment and sleep.

The three travelers went to the palace, where they were directed to a small house on the grounds. They were given very delicate, expensive-looking china to serve the tea in, and they did so. They then waited for the Earth King to appear.

After about thirty minutes, the ruler of Ba Sing Se had yet to appear. Surely it wouldn't take this long to get to such a small audience.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept," Iroh offered in response. Jet shrugged.

Suddenly, several Dai Li agents appeared and formed a circle around the tea servers. They looked dangerous, as usual. Still no sign of the Earth King, however.

"Something's not right here," Jet commented. Zuko nodded, and tensed.

Suddenly, the girl who had haunted his dreams appeared before him. Azula, dressed in Earth Kingdom garb that looked stolen, stood behind the circle of Dai Li agents and mockingly said, "It's tea time."

Enraged, Zuko stood and asked, "What are you doing here?"

She ignored him and said, "Have you met the Dai Li? They're Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that is so Firebender. I just love it!" She giggled chillingly.

"Why is she talking about Firebenders?" Jet asked Zuko, who said nothing.

Iroh took the cup of tea he poured and stood up beside Zuko. "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname, the 'Dragon of the West?'"

Azula looked nonchalantly at her nails. "I'm not interested in one of your stories, Uncle."

"It's more of a demonstration, really," Uncle replied. He sipped at the tea and then, taking a traditional Firebending stance, breathed a large amount of fire at the Dai Li, who shielded themselves with their gloved hands. This gave Zuko, Iroh, and Jet the opportunity to run.

"You're Firebenders?" Jet asked tensely. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I'll explain later," Zuko replied, "but right now, let's just focus on getting out of here." He knew this day would come, but could it not have been because of Azula?

Iroh and Zuko blasted a hole in the wall at the end of the house. Jet jumped down first, followed by Iroh. Zuko should have followed, but instead, he decided to face Azula. It was time to end this chase once and for all, and there was only one way to do it. Agni Kai.

Unfortunately, since Azula was such an annoying brat and general prodigy, she turned down his challenge and left him to the Dai Li. In minutes, he was captured and bound, and then taken to the courtyard of the palace. From there, a hole opened in the ground, and Zuko was sent down the corresponding tunnel.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one under the tunnel. Katara was there, and she did not look too pleased to see Zuko.

This day just kept getting worse.