"You find your words and make them work for you, and trust me, people will drink them in.
The absence of a witness, no one to see this. Hid your affection for self-obsession and your greed.
But now it's back to your, back to your needs." Butcher's Mouth, Emery.
Xx
"Uhg, walking sucks!"
Katara's feet are killing her as the three of them walk through the forest. Sokka had the bright idea to continue travelling on foot instead of just riding Appa like they usually do, but after hours of doing just that Katara is ready to knock her brother out just so that they can get back to flying. Sokka leads them through the trees, the direction based on his "instinct," and Katara knows something bad is going to happen; it's just a matter of time.
"Listen, I know it sucks, but at least we're safe from the Fire..." They come to a clearing which just so happens to be full of Fire Nation soldiers as Sokka finishes his sentence. "...Nation."
Katara curses under her breath as the soldiers move towards them, effectively blocking their path through the forest, and she finds herself wondering if Zuko is going to magically appear to save their asses again. Instead, the soldier directly in front of them suddenly drops like a sack of potatoes. In the trees beyond him is a good looking guy holding two hooked swords; he proceeds to jump down from the tree and take out two more soldiers before making his way towards Katara.
"They're in the trees!" a Fire Nation soldier yells as a handful of people drop from various trees, and in minutes, the entire camp of soldiers is unconscious at their feet. The attractive boy ends up about a foot away from Katara, his deep brown eyes staring right into hers.
"Hey." The piece of straw he holds in his mouth bounces when he speaks.
"Hi." Katara is a little breathless, feeling a blush creeping onto her cheeks, and the young man smirks.
"Wow, that was incredible!" Aang is full of energy, practically bouncing on his feet as he talks to the guy chewing the straw. "You took out that whole army camp almost single handedly!"
"It was only, like, 20 guys," Sokka grumbles to himself.
"My name's Jet, and these are my freedom fighters." He looks right at Katara as he introduces himself, and turns to gesture to each individual as he introduces them in turn. "Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, and Pipsqueak."
"Thanks for taking those guys out for us, Jet!" Katara smiles, taking note that Jet has a very nice smile when he returns it.
"We should be thanking you guys. We had been waiting for the right moment to ambush those guys all day, and then you stumbled in."
"We were relying on instinct." She looks back at Sokka as she says it. He had ensured them that trusting his instinct to walk instead of fly was the best course of action earlier in the day. Note to self; screw Sokka's instincts.
"You'll get yourself killed doing that."
Sokka scoffs at Jet's retort, obviously not appreciating the slight as his expense.
"Hey Jet!" The Duke is standing in front of half a dozen large barrels. "These barrels are full of blasting jelly!"
"And these ones are full of jelly candy!" Pipsqueak motions to a different set of barrels on the other side of the camp.
"Good score, let's not get those mixed up when we bring them back to the hideout."
"You guys have a hideout?" Aang sounds like a little kid who's just been told that he can stay up an extra hour before going to bed.
"Yeah, you guys should come check it out." He again looks at Katara, something about his stare making her flush and sending tingles through her body.
"Sure." Her answer elicits a smile from Jet, and she thinks her insides might be turning into jelly.
A while later, they emerge into a small clearing.
"Alright, we're here," Jet announces.
"There's nothing here." Sokka sounds like he'd rather keep walking for three days straight than indulge in whatever it is that Jet has planned for him.
"Hold this,. Jet hands him a rope, and when Sokka gets a firm grip on it, the rope shoots upwards, carrying a screaming Sokka with it. Jet holds a rope out to Aang, but Aang shakes his head.
"I'll get up on my own!" He jumps up using his airbending and disappears into the trees.
Jet turns to Katara, holding his hand out for her to take. "Take my hand." A shy smile crosses her face as she reaches out for Jet, and when their hands meet, he pulls her into his chest. "Hold on tight," he whispers in her ear, and she shivers as she wraps her arms around his strong torso.
He grabs hold of her waist, and the rope begins to ascend. The journey up through the trees is beautiful; the sun filters in through the leaves like stained glass, throwing fractals of light in every direction. Her head is nestled in Jet's shoulder; he smells like pine and sweet smelling sap. She's never been this close to a boy her age in this context; the only other person in the South Pole close to her age was Sokka. She feels her blood rushing in her veins, pent up hormones making her start to sweat. Luckily it seems that Jet either doesn't notice or doesn't care, and they make it up to the hideout without Katara passing out or sliding out of her skin.
The setting of the freedom fighters' hideout is impressive. It consists of a series of treehouses connected by thin walkways, with plenty of hanging ropes to swing from to get to the other homes. The main treehouse is the biggest and most put together— most of the others are not much more than tarps draped over tree branches or simple lean-tos, but it feels lived in, like a home should. Katara notices that as she's been looking around, Jet has been solely looking at her with an interesting look in his eyes, one that makes her blush for what could very well be the 800th time today. Get a grip, Katara. He's just a cute boy. A tall, strong, good smelling cute boy who keeps looking at me like… that.
Aang zooms by on a rope swing, calling out as he passes, "this is pretty cool, Jet!"
"It works for what we do." He breaks away from Katara and looks around the hideout. "This way the Fire Nation can't find us and we can keep disrupting their supply lines. They took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a couple of years ago, and we've been giving them hell ever since."
"That's really brave of you, Jet." She tries not to sound too desperate, beaming when Jet smiles at her.
"Yeah, nothing braver than a guy in a tree house," Sokka says gruffly. Katara shoots him a glare; it's clear that he doesn't like Jet, but Katara can't see any reason why he wouldn't.
"So, you all live here?" She probes as the two of them begin walking across one of the narrow bridges as they talk, leaving Sokka behind. Jet takes Katara's hand to help her keep her balance; she finds herself very distracted by his ips and almost loses her footing. Focus, Katara!
"Yup. We're the only family we've got." Katara looks around at the rest of the freedom fighters, some swinging around with Aang, some doing their own thing. "The Fire nation took all of our families from us, so we made our own family. They killed my parents when I was eight."
"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation too."
"I'm so sorry Katara." He pulls her close to him once they cross the bridge, so close that she can feel his breath on her face.
"Me too." The words come out as a whisper, and her eyes start to close as she feels Jet moving closer—
"Wooo!"
Katara jumps as Aang swings by, followed by The Duke and Smellerbee. She looks back at Jet, whose face has darkened, and feels the disappointment flow through her. Jet looks at her and takes her hand again.
"I'll come for you later tonight so we can get a little privacy." He raises an eyebrow as he smirks at her, and she giggles a little and nods her head. She feels giddy and light as they walk back towards the main tree house, a bounce in her step that she would be embarrassed by if she had the sense to care at all.
Xx
At dinner, Jet makes a rousing speech about their victory over the Fire Nation. Everyone at the table cheers (except for Sokka), and they sit down to eat, raucous laughter and loud conversation filling the small tree house.
"I was really impressed with you and Aang earlier today." Jet's compliment has Katara's eyes bright like glowflies, her stomach doing a funny little flip inside of her. "I think I have a way that you can help end our struggle against the soldiers occupying the nearby town."
"Unfortunately," Sokka's mouth is full, but that has never stopped him from speaking before, and apparently it won't succeed now. "We have to leave tonight."
"You're kidding me!" Jet's face falls; Katara tries not to let hers fall too much as she thinks about his promise of their late night meeting. "I need you for an important mission tomorrow."
Sokka's attention turns away from his dinner. "What mission?"
Jet smirks, turning back to his own food. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow morning. Meet me here a few hours after the sun comes up."
Dinner passes slower than Katara wants it to. She eats what she can, but the sparrowkeets in her stomach make it difficult to get much down. The thought of meeting up with Jet later, alone, maybe somewhere romantic… her mind is meandering like a swift river all throughout dinner. Despite her preoccupation, she finds her thoughts drawn back to Zuko. The look in his eyes after he helped them escape the pirates evokes a warmth in her stomach not unlike the one she feels around Jet. She knows she was a little flirty with him, her words having the desired effect evidenced by his rosy cheeks and wide eyes. It doesn't mean anything. He is a strong, attractive man around her age, she reasons. She can't expect herself not to be drawn to him after spending her whole life isolated in the South Pole. But that's all it is, just a simple physical attraction. Nothing more. I barely know him, for Tui and La's sake! She tries to ignore the fact that she hardly knows Jet, either.
An eternity later, Katara rises from her bed roll and soundlessly makes her way out of the treehouse. Unsurprisingly, Jet is waiting for her, leaning casually against the side of the railing separating the walkway from the open forest. He offers his hand and leads her across a few walkways before getting to a more secluded area with a few ropes dangling from the tree tops. She holds tight to his chest, his body heat seeping into her belly and settling low in her abdomen, as they descend. The rope stops short of the ground— the walkway they land on leads out to a space that overlooks the valley beyond. Jet leads her to the edge, and their feet hang off the edge when they sit.
"It's beautiful here." Katara looks out at the scenery, the moon's light washing the valley in a soft glow, the forest life humming around them, always awake, even as the world sleeps.
"Yeah."
She turns to Jet, finding his face already close to her, his eyes half lidded and aimed down at her lips. I thought there would be a little more conversation first, but…
Katara closes her eyes, leaning forward and meeting his lips for her first kiss. It doesn't feel as magical as she always imagined it would, but as Jet moves his lips against hers, coaxing her mouth open by darting his tongue out against her lower lip, she can't find it in her to complain. He moves so that he can pull her hips until she is practically in his lap, deepening the kiss. His hands explore her upper body, setting her skin on fire and leaving a trail of embers in their wake. The pleasant burning sensation makes her think of Zuko; his gold eyes, his calloused hands holding hers. Stop, just enjoy the moment. She fists her hands in Jet's hair, grounding herself and pushing the thoughts of Zuko out of her head. A maddening heat is building at her core as Jet kisses her with increasing intensity, her breaths coming heavy and hot. He cards his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck, pulling down to expose her throat so he can nip and suck and— oh, that feels divine.
He moves his other hand up over her clothes, palming her breast through her tunic, giving rise to a soft keening noise from Katara. He pulls her even closer against him, bringing a fresh wave of heat shuddering through her body as they both let out a soft groan at the increased contact. He moves to pull her tunic down over her shoulder, exposing more goose pimpled flesh to the night air.
"Wait..." She's breathless, and it all feels so good. "Jet, wait."
He pulls away from her, hungry eyes raking over her body. "What is it?"
"I just… this is my first time with all of this," she says quietly, watching his eyebrows tilt downward in confusion.
"Like, all of it?" There is disbelief in his voice— her cheeks turn pinker with embarrassment. She nods, and Jet letts out a breath through his nose. Is he… disappointed? "That's all right." He moves his hand from her shoulder down to her waist again, running it up and down her side, stoking the dying embers he had left there before. "We can take it slow. Just tell me when you want to stop."
She wants to think she is imagining the edge in his voice; there is definitely a look of disappointment in his eyes that Katara desperately wants to make disappear. She nods again, leaning back in to kiss him. It's slower this time, bravery coursing through Katara's veins as she lets her hands roam around his chest. He breaks the kiss to pull his shirt over his head, leaning right back into Katara once he's gotten it off. Okay, don't panic. You've seen a man's chest before. Visions of a paler chest float unbidden into her mind's eye, various faded scars dappling the muscles. Tui and La, get a grip, woman! Jet's hands slither up under her tunic, bringing her crashing back down to reality, his rough hands grazing the skin of her hips making her shiver. She feels more confident than she did before, enjoying the feel of Jet's toned chest beneath her hands. He grinds into her, pulling a gasping breath from her throat, sliding his hands further up her body, dipping his fingers below her breast bindings…
"Wait—" she pulls back from his kiss sharply, and he sighs in a frustrated manner. "Sorry. I just think we're moving a little too fast."
"Fine." He pulls his hands out from under her shirt, disentangling her legs from his and pushing back away from her. The warm air is steeped in tension, and not the good kind. "Maybe we should just head back."
"Oh..." She doesn't understand. Just because she doesn't want to go too far with Jet, he doesn't want to even spend time with her? "Okay." The ride back up through the trees is made in silence. Jet walks off as soon as they get back up to the main area, leaving Katara to walk back to where she is sleeping alone.
Xx
The next day, Jet acts as if nothing at all had happened between them the night before. Hurt mixed with anger pulses through Katara; this is not how she wanted her first intimate experience to go, and she is frustrated that Jet had the audacity to act like she owed him something just because she wanted to kiss him. She stews in her annoyance through breakfast, and later in the morning Jet leads her and Aang to an area that is full of clogged geysers. Early in the morning Sokka had gone out on a mission with Jet and a few of the freedom fighters, and they had apprehended an old man in possession of a knife laced with a vial of poison. Jet took this as a sign that the Fire Nation was beginning to take drastic measures against them, and was intent on stopping them.
"The idea is to use your waterbending to fill the reservoir, that way we can fight the Fire Nation and stop them from burning down the forest," Jet explains to her and Aang as he points to the reservoir off in the near distance. He leaves them to it without a second glance.
"Let's meet Jet back up at the reservoir." The river is filled with water, and Katara is anxious to talk to Jet about what happened last night.
"Didn't he tell us to meet him back at the hideout?" Aang sounds unsure; Katara can tell that he knows something has changed between her and Jet, but she does her best to act normal.
"Yeah, but we finished early; maybe we can help out some more up there." They head up to the top of the reservoir to meet Jet, and spot some of the freedom fighters unloading large barrels next to the dam. "What are they doing with all that blasting jelly?"
Aang's eyes widen. "They're going to blow up the dam."
"What?" Jet may be a dick, but he's not homicidal. "Jet wouldn't do that, that would kill everyone in town!" Aang jumps onto his glider to head to the dam, but Jet appears and grabs it before he can take off.
"Yes, I would." He comes closer, a predatory look in his eyes. "Think about it Katara. The Fire Nation killed your mother, killed my family. They deserve this."
"There's innocent people in that town!" Tears spring to eyes, her mind frantically trying to understand what's happening.
"I want you to understand me Katara." He lays a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I wanted your brother to understand me too, but—"
A tidal wave of rage drenches her, anger dripping from every word as she smacks Jet's hand off of her shoulder. "Where's Sokka? What did you do to him?!" She knew it was strange that she hadn't seen him all morning; Jet had assured her that Sokka had come around to his side after their mission, but his words were snake oil, and Katara had drunk them up.
"Katara—" Jet reaches for her face, but she slams him with the water from her waterskin with a shout. Aang goes to grab his glider, but Jet pulls it back to him with his swords.
"I'm not going to fight you, Jet!" Aang's voice is shrapnel, but Jet is armed to the teeth with vitriol and righteousness.
"You're going to have to if you want to get your glider back!"
He jumps up into the trees, fleeing into the forest, and Aang bounces up behind him to give chase. Katara sprints below them on the ground, adrenaline and fury fueling her. Jet falls to the forest floor as Aang slides down the trunk of a tree and lands with a heavy "thump" at the base. Before Jet can move towards Aang, Katara reaches out to the steam flowing next to them, pulling the water to her and pummeling Jet with wave after wave. Her confusion, hurt, betrayal, and anger flow through her into the water and pound into Jet again and again before she decides he's had enough. She lets out a controlled exhale as she bends the water up his body, freezing him to a tree.
"I can't believe I trusted you, you bastard!" She hates the emotions that colors her voice, but doesn't bother trying to control the tremor in her words.
Jet looks up at her, his gaze dark and dangerous. "It's too late."
They hear a bird call, and Aang tries to jump up onto his glider to get to the dam, but it's taken too much damage in its journey through the trees and fails to lift Aang off the ground.
"Sokka's still out there!" Aang is breathing heavily, battered from his fight with Jet.
"Come on Sokka..." Katara pleads to every spirit she knows of, but the dam still explodes— water races into the town with enough force to bring all the buildings into crumbling heaps. Memories, lives, and possessions wash away with the massive amount of water, and Katara cries at the loss, guilt clawing at her throat as she tries unsuccessfully to hold it down.
"Jet, you fucking monster!" She turns back towards him, ready to make him pay for all the lives he's taken.
"This is a win Katara! the Fire Nation is gone and this valley will finally be safe!"
"They will be safe." Sokka steps out from the trees, staring Jet down, his face shrouded in contempt. "Without you. I warned the town in time for them to all escape before you flooded it."
"Sokka!" Katara jumps up into her brother's waiting arms, sagging into him with the relief that he is safe, and that the town is safe as well.
"You traitor!" Jet screeches, eyes wild, and Katara is very glad that he is iced to a tree.
"No, Jet. You're the traitor. You were willing to sacrifice hundreds of innocent lives to quench your bloodlust. We're leaving." Sokka turns away from Jet, and Aang follows after shooting a dejected look Jet's way.
"Katara, please—" Jet tries to appeal to Katara's sympathy, not realizing that it has dried up like the now empty reservoir.
"Fuck you, Jet."