Requested by TrueThinker

Jetzula--Jet x Azula

--Takes Place During Lake Laogai

Opposite, and yet the same.

Confusing, yes, but so was the pair. Jet had grown up rebellious, loathing the Fire Nation for what they'd done to his village. His first memory was that of uncontrollable fire, infernos so large that he woke up crying every night. For years, the color red would set him off, get him barking, shouting, and bleeding at his heart.

On the other side, there was Azula, the pampered princess and very face of evil. With no conscience, she'd abused her powers to gain control. Thousands fell dead in her path, and still hundreds more fled at the mere mention of her name. She was only a teenager, yet already the leader of a powerful nation. The firenation caused Jet's village's destruction, the war, and, through Azula and Long Feng, his pained murder.

But before he died, before he rejoined the avatar, before he found the poster about Appa, Jet was innocent. So terribly, terribly naive were the days after his brainwashing, spent in pure bliss and oblivion. All memories of war and hatred had been wiped from his mind, leaving nothing but calm. He greeted those he knew, and introduced himself to those he didn't. Smiles all around! Jokes and riddles spilled from his lips, replacing the biased slurs he spoke so often, and his laugh became a well-known sound around the dingy neighborhood where he slept.

It just so happened that Jet and Azula inadvertently crossed paths one morning, coincidentally the same morning that Jet managed to track down Katara. The princess had confidential information to relay to her assistants, Ty Lee and Mai, who were purchasing souvenirs for their family back home. Usually Azula would have sent out a guard to fetch the girls, but it had been a while since she'd gotten some fresh air, so she worried that her skin was becoming a bit pale. At the same time, Jet finished buying a small whistle for music and a thin straw to chew on. He stuck the weed in his mouth and piped out an airy tune as the prodigy passed.

Azula turned towards the sound at the same time Jet looked up from the instrument, and a silent bond formed between them.

Large brown eyes, wide and love struck, connected with sharp golden ones not far away. First, nothing happened, then one heart began to pound. Which one? Not Azula's, for she surely couldn't be excited by a mere peasant...could she?

No. She led her guards away, but Jet, newly the optimist, decided at once to follow. Azula trooped steadily along the road, completely unaware that she was being stalked. Jet ran behind for a little ways, struggling to keep out of sight, but always with his gaze focused on the Firebender. If he'd remembered who she was, perhaps he would have given up long ago; unfortunately, the Dai Li had long since taken care of his memories. Now he knew nothing other than he'd found a pretty girl, and teenage boys were supposed to like pretty girls. Simple logic, the basics of life learned from studying the actions of his peers.

The fact that this 'pretty girl' was his enemy and a murderer seemed to matter to everyone but him. As he tailed her, pictures of future children swam through his head, boys with long black hair, girls with a natural draw to hook swords. He patted the weapons by his side in anticipation and hurried on. When he came within shouting distance, he cupped his hand to his mouth and called, "Excuse me! Excuse me, but..." He dodged an angry cabbage merchant. "You--you're beautiful!"

The world seemed to stop moving as a gasp rose from the crowds. Azula, frustrated at the sudden pause, spun on her heel to face the ex-freedom fighter. Was this some sort of sick joke? He looks sincere, she observed, The idiot.

"We are going now," she declared quietly, and her guards exchanged nervous glances as they obeyed. That fool. He should know I don't love.

As she walked away from the downcast ghost of a boy, Azula wrestled with a miniscule edge of guilt. And maybe, just maybe, she might have smiled.

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Any pairings, from crack! to same-gender to the dreaded CANON. (shudders) What could be worse than the pairings the creators actually want us to believe in? (I'm just kidding. Don't hate me for that.)

My Goal: 5 more requests by Chapter 21. And to finish another crack! fic, but I suppose you can't really help with that one.

What's your favorite pairing?