He and Jet only had one night together in the end. Zuko didn't mind. He didn't want any kind of relationship, didn't want another person to focus on. He had his uncle and that was all he needed. He wasn't planning on making a life in Ba Sing Se. It was just temporary. It was just temporary.

And Jet himself certainly wasn't what Zuko needed. Yes, they had fun together on the boat, but their goals were far to different to ever allow them to be anything to each other- Jet's attempt at arresting Zuko and Iroh was proof of that.

But… their one night of passion had stirred something in Zuko. A deep, aching loneliness in his chest, something that even his uncle couldn't temper.

It reared in the quiet of the night as he lay curled in his bed. A desperate longing for something to make him feel whole again.

But Zuko stubbornly pushed it down, locking the feeling away. It was a nuisance, a distraction, one he could not afford to allow himself to feel. So he didn't.

Until he did.