Chapter 10

"I'm so very sorry for your loss."

"It's such a tragedy."
"You'll get over it eventually."
"I know exactly how you feel, young man, my cat passed away last month."

Zuko was never exactly an expert on socialising with other people, but he'd never imagined feeling as hopeless as he did now, with all these people awkwardly trying to reassure him. There were surprisingly a lot of people who showed up at Ursa's funeral. Uncle had informed him that she'd had a lot of friends, a lot of colleagues and a lot of people she was close to and Zuko wasn't surprised, she had been an extraordinary person after all. His father had restricted his mother, he'd never allowed her to socialise with other people, only to look as if she were a mere possession.

Zuko felt himself fill with pride, and for a split second, he wished his father were here, just so he could see how loved and successful his mother had been without him. Despite the obvious tragedy of his situation, Zuko felt his spirits lift and became more friendly to the people acknowledged him, however awkward and strange their reassurances were.

Uncle was also quite popular with the guests. He was telling all his favourite jokes, giving his eccentric but wise advice to those in need of it and offering his various tea recipes to anyone who would give him the chance. A smile twitched at Zuko's lips. He knew that the position he was in, with his loved mother gone, was not a happy one, and he knew that he was short of a supportive family. But he had Uncle, and for now and forever, that was enough.

Zuko looked from a while away, at an elaborate, beautiful jar on a pedestal in at the front of the garden. The jar was golden, and decorated with intricate and detailed patterns. Inside were the ashes of his mother. Zuko looked swiftly away. Him and his Uncle had been informed that his mother's body had been so… disfigured, by the crash, that it was preferable to have her body cremated. At first, Zuko had protested, saying that he didn't want his mother's body burned, but then he'd had an image of his mother in the ground, with her face and body deformed for all eternity until her body would rot, and he'd changed his mind.

Zuko knew exactly where he would set her ashes free. A place they'd shared together, a place she'd loved and a place where she would rest in peace. The thought left Zuko feeling satisfied and content, like he was doing something right, like it would be what his mother would've wanted, even though he wouldn't know for sure.

Uncle had asked him if he'd wanted to make a speech about his mother at the funeral, which Zuko had declined. He didn't want anyone making a speech at the funeral, for everyone had their own different perceptions of his mother, whether they were a friend, colleague or family, it depended. Zuko wouldn't have known what to say anyway, and worse, there was always the possibility of him crying in front of a lot of strangers.

Zuko's mind wandered to Katara as he poured himself a drink. They'd kissed, and that thought alone was enough to make Zuko grin a little. But now it was going to be more awkward than ever. He didn't know how to act around her at all now. He didn't know if they were going out or not, or if she wanted to go out with him at all. Sure they'd kissed, but what if he approached her, acting like they were a couple and she told him it was a one-time thing or something. What if their kiss had been a momentary rush of emotion? He knew Katara wasn't like that, especially since she'd kissed him back, and wasn't the sort to lead anyone on, but still, he couldn't just assume she wanted him. And how was he even supposed to approach the subject at all, without making their friendship, or whatever it was, extremely uncomfortable.

Zuko groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, before hearing a sudden crash behind him.

Instinctively, he turned around, and found himself looking at the last person he expected.

Jet.

He was wearing a suit and was sheepishly picking up chairs he'd knocked over, but he was here. Zuko stared at him, unable to believe his eyes. Jet looked up at that moment and met his eyes. He gave a hesitant grin, which quickly faded when Zuko's shocked, but cold expression remained intact. A sudden surge of anger hit Zuko. Jet was here to ruin his mother's funeral, to sabotage it, like he'd done with the rest of Zuko's life.

But there was no way Zuko would let him, he'd suffered under Jet's tyranny for a long time, and he'd handled it, hadn't caused problems. But his mother, dead or alive, was a completely different matter.

Jet approached him awkwardly, with no change from Zuko, and stopped to face him.
"Hi" Jet started. Zuko stiffened, put off by Jet's unusually civil manner.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Zuko snarled savagely, his temper rising. Jet winced and a ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, I guess I deserve that." He replied evenly, much to Zuko's surprise. But still, his rage didn't abate. On the contrary, it heightened and he took another menacing step closer to the other boy.
"I'm going to give you a chance right now to leave quietly." Zuko informed him, his voice quiet but lethal. "If you turn around right now, without making a sound, and walk away, I won't have to hurt you. You've messed up a lot of things Jet, but you won't mess up this."

Jet met his gaze calmly.
"I'm not here to ruin your mother's funeral." He said levelly, and oddly, sincerely. Zuko looked at the other boy suspiciously.
"Then why are you here?" He asked, baffled. Jet looked away, looking… Guilty?
"I screwed up." He said quietly. Zuko looked at him, bewildered for a moment.
"What?"
"I screwed up." Jet repeated simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I made your life hell when you needed me most. I remember how weird you used to get when I mentioned one of your parents, even though your mum was gone. How secretive you were. And then I came over one day and you answered the door and it scared me. You were so nervous and jittery, you told me to leave and that you'd explained later, but I thought you were embarrassed of me so I went into your house anyway."

Zuko looked at Jet, unable to speak and unable to figure out where the other boy was heading with this reminiscence for their memories.

"I hated your dad when I met him, and he hated me, and while we were having our awkward conversation, you were in the corner, anxiously twiddling your thumbs. And even though I didn't like your dad, I couldn't figure out why you were so nervous. You avoided me for the next two days and when I confronted you at school, you said: "My father doesn't want me to be friends with you anymore." And boy did you sound upset about it. What did I say?: "Screw him, who cares what he thinks?" and I kept drilling you to ignore him and you did, eventually. And our friendship never wavered"
"Where are you going with this?" Zuko interrupted impatiently, almost suspicious Jet was stalling to put one of his plans in action.

"Then you're Dad fired my parents because we were friends. And I blamed you. I told you not to listen to your Dad even though you warned me countless times after I met him, what he was capable of. It wasn't your fault at all, what he did. Even my parents implored me to make up with you. But I shunned you instead." Jet took a shuddering breath.
"When you came to school with that scar on your face, I knew, I knew that you'd stood up to him, for me, and that you'd paid the price, and that should've been the moment that I walked up to you as a friend, not as an enemy. That's when I should've been there for you. But I'd thought of my parents again, and my pride got in the way, so instead of making things better, I made them so much worse." He looked at Zuko, straight in the eye. And Zuko, hearing all this, from his best friend and from his tormentor, felt many mixed emotions: Anger, sadness, joy, bitterness, and relief. Jet continued.

"When you came to Roku High, all that guilt, all that regret came rushing back, especially after I saw how I made you." He laughed. "When we were best friends, you were the funniest kid I knew, so outspoken and outrageous and friendly. But seeing you, when you came to Roku, was surreal. You were cold and isolated and wary of everyone and it was my fault. I started that fight at school a few weeks ago, because I wanted you to hurt me. I wanted to give myself a reason to hate you. But it just made me feel so much worse. You'd lost both your parents and I was just reminding you of it."

Their eyes met. Jet's pleading and full of regret and sorrow. Zuko's cold but swirling with year's worth of unspoken emotion.

"Now your mother's passed away, and I came to terms with the fact that I was wrong, that you were right and that I was the biggest douchebag that ever walked the planet. I know that this time round, you need your friends more than ever, and this time, I'm not going to abandon you. I'm going to stick by you, like I should've done before, no matter what." He paused. "I'm so, so sorry Zuko, and I hope you can forgive me."

Zuko stood there, completely unsure of what to do. On one hand, he wanted to punch Jet squarely in the face and tell him that it was too little too late, but on the other hand, he'd never ever imagined an apology from Jet, much less an entire story to go with it. There were so many reasons why Zuko wanted to dismiss Jet then and there, but then he realised three things: he needed his friends more than ever, Jet was actually apologising for everything and finally, his best friend was back.

With a small smile Zuko held out his hand.
"My Uncle heavily believes in second chances." He said, and saw Jet's eyes widen hopefully as he understood what Zuko was implicating. "I learn from the best." With a relieved grin, Jet firmly grasped his hand and they shook on it. And just like that, years of tension, betrayal and torment were gone.

"To friends?" Jet suggested, a familiar smirk from their old days on his lips. Zuko returned the smile, feeling elated and powerful and like he was nine again all at once. He replied:
"To new beginnings."