Chapter 34: The Morning After
Jet's POV
I woke up before dawn the next day. I guess I was just so pumped from last night. I mean, hello, my girlfriend just agreed to get back together with me. That was just… awesome.
No one was awake yet. Not surprising. I headed out to the main balcony and get some fresh air. A few moments later, the sun started to rise and began to dye the sky with yellow. Wow… It was just like Azula's eyes… golden, striking, beautiful…
A glimpse of red caught my eye from the right. I looked and saw a single flower blooming from a tall bush that reached up to the balcony. It seemed to shimmer and glow when the sun hit it. I've heard of this before actually. It was a firelily, the Fire Nation's national flower. It was used for many things too. Some waited for it to turn into a fruit, then ate it. Some ground it and mixed some other stuff with it to make medicines. Some simply used it for decoration. But I had my own use for it today. I quickly plucked it from the bush and as if on cue, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned around and caught those glowing eyes that I was just thinking about.
"You're up early…" Azula said, strolling casually towards me
"Look who's talking…" I replied, hiding the flower behind me
"I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here actually."
"Umm… do you want me to leave? I mean-"
"No. Not at all. It's just… I'm all messy and unprepared right now."
Jet looked at her up and down. Her hair was in a loose messy ponytail and she had no make-up on, which made her face look paler – not as pale as Mai's but paler than it usually looked. She was wearing a t-shirt with a pink leopard-cat design and black shorts. Instead of sandals or heels or flip-flops on her feet, there were fuzzy leopard-cat slippers. I automatically smiled when I saw the necklace I gave her still around her neck.
"What?" she said, slightly giggling. "You think I look ridiculous, don't you?"
"No, no…" I reassured her. "Of course not! It's just… I'm surprised you kept the necklace…"
She fingered it for a moment then looked back up at me.
"Why wouldn't I keep it?" she said. "I mean… I do love it…"
"Oh really?"
I smirked and put the flower in front of her. She smiled before taking it in her hands and inhaling its scent.
"Well, what else do you love?" I asked
"Umm…" she said, pretending to think. "I love…. warm bagels in the morning, chocolate milkshakes, black furry leopard-cats…"
"Yeah, I totally didn't notice."
I chuckled and pointed at her outfit. She put her hands on her hips and tried to pout but she ended up laughing with me.
"Hey, leopard-cats are awesome, okay?" she said. "They're powerful and graceful and strong-"
"Just like you…" I replied, putting my hands around her waist.
"Yeah, right. Anyway, what else do I love? I love… beaches… firelilies… brown-haired guys… brown-haired mischievous guys like you… and… you."
"Well, guess what? I love you too…"
Before I could even make a move, I felt her push her lips on mine and her arms encircling my neck. I smiled into the kiss and tightened my grip on her waist, supporting her so that she wouldn't tip over.
God, how I missed this… I missed her soft lips, her smooth skin and just… her comforting warmth…
When we broke the kiss, I could barely breathe. I was still seeing stars because it was just so… good.
"See?" she said, smirking at me. "If you screw up again, you'll miss out on all of that."
"Trust me." I replied, pulling her in for another kiss. "I won't this time. I promise…"
Then, once again, our lips connected and everything around us didn't matter anymore…
Zuko's POV
When I woke up, I was surprised to find myself alone on the bed. Azula must have woken up early… Weird…
I shook the sleepiness out of my head and stretched. Fully woken up, I walked down the halls trying to look for anyone who was also already awake. I guess everyone was still tired out from the late night. Well, almost everyone…
As I reached the living room, I saw my sister smiling brightly and sniffing a firelily that she held in her hands. I stopped in my tracks and gave her a weird look. She saw me, smiled at me and gave me a tight squeeze.
"Okay… this is weird." I said. "Are you okay? Are you like… sick or something?"
"No, Zuzu!" she said, half giggling, then skipping away.
Yes. Skipping. Seriously.
"I'm just having a great morning!" she called before entering our parents' room.
I stared at the door she just closed for a minute, then looked around me, half wondering if this was a dream and half waiting for people to pop out and tell me I was on some televised prank or whatever.
"H-Hey Zuko…"
I looked at the balcony and saw Jet leaning on the sliding glass doors.
"Umm… Hey…"
I was still unsure about our friendship status right now. I mean, he did save my sister but he also kind of responsible for my break-up with Katara… Does that even things out?
"Can I talk to you out here for a minute?" he asked
Instead of replying, I walked over to the balcony, leaned on the railing and waited for him to talk. A few moments passed but silence remained. A cool breeze passed by when he finally took a deep breath and started explaining.
"Look, Zuko…" he started. "There are just… so many things I want to tell you right now… First of all, my god, I really am sorry about the Katara thing… I mean, I was so stupid before…"
I nodded in response, holding back a smile.
"And then I met your sister and everything changed. She changed me, Zuko. I know I can't do anything about it anymore and I'm sorry for ruining it for you… for Katara. Trust me, dude… If there's anything I could do to make it up to you and her, I would. I swear, just tell me and I'll do it."
"Well, I-"
"No, Zuko. Let me finish, please. Another thing is about your sister… I… I really love her, Zuko and I know you're still mad at me and everything but you deserve to know that Azula and I want to get back together… I wanted to know if it was okay with you. I mean, I don't want to get in the way of family here… So… what do you say?"
"To start off, you were stupid before and thank god you realized it." I started, letting out my grin. "Second, as long as you keep my sister safe and happy, it's all good with me. Third, I shouldn't have blamed you so much for the break-up. I mean, you made a mistake but hey, it was still Katara's choice in the end… and well, she just… didn't choose me…"
I inhaled deeply before speaking again. I didn't like talking about the break-up… It just reminded me of how much I missed her…
"So yeah, I apologize for getting so mad at you." I continued. "And beating the crap out of you in public."
I mocked him a bit with that statement and he rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on." he said, grinning back. "You did not punch me that hard."
"Dude, get real. You still have a slight bruise on your jaw."
"It still wasn't that hard. Plus you still punch like a girl."
"Well, if I punch like a girl, then you punch like Haru!"
"What! Dude, that's so not true! No one sucks like Haru!"
"Oh come on!" Haru said, suddenly joining us on the balcony and scratching his head. "You guys aren't even friends and you're still making fun of me? Man, I can't catch a break…"
Jet slapped his back but looked back at me.
"Haru, we're good now…"Jet said, holding out his hand. "Right?"
I took his hand and caught them both in a group hug.
"Right…" I replied, still not letting go.
"Hey!" Sokka suddenly interrupted, standing at the balcony doorway. "Why wasn't I included in this hug? I feel so rejected."
He received a punch on the arm from Toph before he rushed to the fridge to find food.
"Watch out, guys!" Toph said, walking back inside while laughing. "There's a huge ball of testosterone on the balcony!"
Laughing as well, we let go of each other and started to make our way back to the living room. Before Jet walked away, I caught his shoulder and stopped him. He looked back at me with a confused expression.
"One more thing." I said, letting go of him. "Thank you, really…"
"Huh?" he said. "For what?"
"Last night…"
"Huh? Okay, Zuko, I don't know what kind of sensual dreams you've been having but I assure you, I like girls."
"Dude! No way! That's sick! Stop ruining the moment!"
"Well, I'm sorry! You know I have a dirty mind."
"Geez. What does Azula see in you?"
"Believe me, I'm wondering too…"
"Anyway, will you let me finish?"
"Fine, go ahead."
"Thank you for saving my sister last night."
"Oh… That? No problem."
"Seriously, dude. I mean, I don't think I could have handled Chan without you and Sokka."
"Well, we all knew that…"
I gave him a friendly slap on the head and laughed. I actually missed the guy…
Aang's POV
"Do the monks in your Air Temples teach you to always forgive and forget?"
"Yes, that's why I forgave you."
I drew in a big breath and asked him a question that, I think, gave him an epiphany.
"Then why haven't you forgiven Toph?"
Azula's statement kept me up all night. God, she was right. I… I just don't know anymore. I mean, why the hell was I so affected by Toph's lie? I already forgave Azula and hell, she tried to kill me – and almost succeeded – but I still haven't forgiven Toph because of her lies, which when you think about it, were really kind of… minor. I mean, she meant well… she never hurt me… she said all those nice things to me when we were "dating."
So why the hell did it bother me?
And why did it bother her so much that I was in love with Katara?
Umm… I still am, right? Maybe… I don't know… I mean, this thing with Katara was kind of changing me into a different person… I didn't even mean what I said to Zuko before… I don't hate him… I just… I can't look at him straight in the eye after what I told him…
Man, I'm confused. To top it off, I still haven't slept a wink and it's already dawn.
Maybe I should ask for Sokka's advice…
Author's Note:
Yey! Jetzula lives! 3 And yes, I really think Azula's the type of person who would like cats in real life. :D
Lol. JETKO love. You know, they're my Yaoi OTP. I mean, hello, Jet = sexy and Zuko = even MOAR sexy therefore Jet + Zuko = INFINITE SEXINESSSSSSS! 3 3 3
well, Aang's finally thinking right. About time, huh?
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any of the characters in it.
Hope you like it! R&R please! :D