Chapter 5: The Boiling Rock
Katara was walking around the courtyard when she noticed Momo was holding a note. She took it and began to read.
"What does it say?" Toph said.
"'Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko.'" As she said this, Aang yawned and turned around to lie back down. "One more thing. 'Aang, practice your firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats every time you hear a badgerfrog croak. Zuko.'" A few moments later, a badgerfrog croaked.
Aang sighed, "Nobody else has homework." He stood up and walked to a spot and started hot squatting. "One hot squat, two hot squat, three hot squat, four hot squat …," Katara heard as she and Toph walked away.
ooo
Zuko and Sokka were on Zuko's war balloon on the way to Boiling Rock to rescue Sokka and Katara's dad. They had been talking for a bit, trying to fill the silence.
"My first girl-friend turned into the moon," Sokka was saying.
Zuko was shocked for a moment and didn't know how to respond. He looked up at the sky briefly, before glancing back at Sokka. "That's rough, buddy," he said.
After a few more minutes of silence, Zuko said, "What's the story with your sister and Jet?"
"Ahhh, Jet," Sokka said. "Well he was Katara's first boyfriend, and he used her and Aang to try and flood this whole Fire Nation town. I realized what was going on before anyone got hurt, I led the townspeople out to safety. Jet would've let all those innocent people die. Thing about Katara is, she cares about people a lot, no matter where they're from. She was devastated that he tried to use her that way to hurt innocent people. That's the last thing she'd want to do. So now she hates his guts," he said.
Zuko was surprised. So, Jet had been telling the truth about dating Katara. But did that mean they were secretly dating now? How could he talk to Sokka about it further without potentially breaking her trust? He'd have to ask her about it later.
Zuko said, "It's hard to be around someone you used to love when they've hurt you. It's kind of how I felt when I was imprisoned in the Fire Nation. It felt like a nightmare. I realized everything I had previously worked toward was empty. No one there cares for me, not the way my Uncle does. I've made so many mistakes." He sighed. "One of the only good things I've done in the last few years is saving Katara and Aang in the crystal catacombs in Ba Sing Se. But I guess I had to go through everything else to realize what my true destiny was."
Sokka stared at Zuko thoughtfully. "You know," Sokka said, "you should really tell Katara everything you just said. I know she's feeling … guilty right now for lying to us. She really did beg us for months to help get you out of prison. If it weren't so impossible to get into the Fire Nation, she probably would have tried a long time ago. She could have been captured, or died trying to save you."
Zuko gave him a sheepish look. "Right … yeah I should talk to her more about it. After we get your dad back."
"Right," Sokka said with a hopeful smile.
ooo
Things had been awkward for Katara with Jet around, ever since their heart-to-heart in her room. She didn't know how to feel about him. She knew objectively that she was attracted to him. Even Toph seemed a bit smitten. With Zuko and Jet joining, the group dynamic had changed a lot. Katara didn't mind the extra eye candy, but her history with Jet threw her off. There had been a time she thought she was in love with him, but that had been as fleeting as her trust in him. Now whenever she was around him, she felt discomfort, like she was out of her element. She knew he was joking most of the time, poking around to see how she would react to his advances, but him flirting with her now just made her want to run.
She had been so relieved when Zuko returned with Aang after their trip to the Sun Warriors. It was another positive step forward in him gaining her trust. Jet on the other hand was just irritating her. He was so used to being the center of attention with the Freedom Fighters, it was like he was trying to establish himself as a leader again.
"Hey Katara," Jet said suddenly, from next to her.
Katara jumped, "Oh hey Jet, I didn't see you there."
"And I'm the blind one," Toph said snarkily.
"Look Katara," Jet said with a sigh. He looked around the group nervously. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," Katara said. At this he nodded and turned, leading her to the far edge of the courtyard away from everyone. Toph was definitely paying attention to them and she knew the rest of the group would be asking her about this later.
"Katara," Jet said seriously. "I'm not trying to make things weird, but I've been feeling this … tension around you. Maybe it's all in my head, but I just had to ask."
Katara bit her lip, trying to figure out how to respond. "I just don't know how to act around you," she said honestly.
Jet smiled softly, "You don't have to act any differently. Just be yourself."
Katara frowned at him. "It's not like," she paused sighing. "Look, we both know we have a connection. Chemistry, whatever," she said rolling her hand in emphasis. She felt her cheeks light up with a blush. "But when we were together that way last time, well you know. It's just weird for me to be around you now, after how I felt before."
Jet frowned at her words. "I understand if you want to say no to this, and if it would make you uncomfortable, but when the Freedom Fighters had issues like this, we would spar together to let off steam. Have you trained much without bending? Maybe I could teach you some non-bending fighting. You'll be able to let out some of your anger at me," he said with a hopeful smile.
"Actually," Katara said, "that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I know some fighting, of course, but it's always good to be prepared for when I can't use my bending. There's this girl with the Fire Nation now who's a chi blocker, and with a couple of arm hits, my bending is gone for a while."
Jet's eyes widened. "That's no good Kat! We need to get you trained up ASAP! Come on," he said with a grin, grabbing her hand to pull her to the area the group had been using for training. She smiled at his enthusiasm as she followed him.
ooo
Jet and Katara were sitting in the grass by the main Wester Air Temple courtyard, cooling off from their training. "On my way here, I ran into some orphans in a village in the Earth Kingdom," Jet said. "One of the boys reminded me of myself when I was younger." He stared down at the ground as he spoke. Katara stayed silent, wanting to give him a chance to get whatever he was thinking off of his chest. "I helped them out some. I know stealing is wrong, but I took food and money from some really rich people and gave it to the kids. They were starving Katara, and I've been there before. It's the only way I could help them."
Katara looked at him thoughtfully. She sighed. "Stealing is wrong of course. I learned the hard way that it always catches up to you. But I understand why you did it."
Jet's face lit up. "I knew you would understand Katara," he said. "That's what I want to do when the war is over, I want to help all the orphans left behind. I'll do it the right way though, maybe by donations? I don't know the logistics, but I know what it's like to be an orphan, and I'll do whatever I can to help them."
"We know the Earth King from Ba Sing Se … well I mean the king before … Azula of course," Katara said. "I'm sure we could get you an audience with him to discuss how to help. It would be amazing, I'm sure you'd really make a difference Jet." In that moment, Katara was surprised to feel proud of him, and started to think she may have been wrong about him. Maybe he really could change.
ooo
Around nightfall, an airship landed at the Western Air Temple. Team Avatar approached the ship warily. Zuko and Sokka exited, standing in front of Toph, Aang, Katara, and Jet.
"What are you doing in this thing?" Katara said. "What happened to the war balloon?" Her mind was running quickly through scenarios, trying to figure out what could have happened.
"It kind of got destroyed," Zuko said.
"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip," Aang said.
"Did you at least get some good meat?" Toph said.
"We did," Sokka said with a smile. "The best meat of all. The meat of friendship and fatherhood." Suddenly Suki, Hakoda, and Chit Sang exited the airship.
Chit Sang waved at them and said, "I'm new. What's up, everybody?"
Katara went into shock, frozen for a couple seconds, her eyes welling up with tears at the sight of Hakoda. "Dad?" she said, feeling overjoyed. She ran into his arms.
"Hi Katara," her father said, embracing her. The hug felt like coming home.
Katara pulled back from the hug to look at his face. "How are you here?" She said. "What is going on? Where did you go?" She turned her head to look at Sokka and Zuko.
"We kinda went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka said. Hakoda pulled Sokka into the embrace.
From the side Toph said, "Seriously? You guys didn't find any meat?"
ooo
Jet turned to Zuko, saying quietly, "You trying to make me look bad? I could have gone with you, I could have helped."
"What?" Zuko said with surprise. "Make you look bad?" How?"
"I need to make things up to them as much as you do," Jet said.
Zuko glared at him, "You would have only gotten in the way. We needed stealth, the more people we took the harder it would have been."
"I'm great at stealth!" Jet said angrily.
Zuko replied with a huff, "Well it doesn't matter now, we got them out anyways. Arguing about it won't change anything!" Their voices had slowly risen in volume, and the group around them got quiet. It was suddenly apparent that everyone was staring at Jet and Zuko.
Sokka quickly understood what was happening. "Do you two really have to choose now of all times to hate each other?" Sokka said.
Jet's face twisted with guilt. "I'm sorry Sokka, it's my fault. I was just telling Zuko that if I had a choice, I would have been a part of this rescue mission."
Sokka's face softened with understanding. "I knew that if I stuck around or told you guys what I was gonna do, you would all want to help. I … didn't want anyone else to end up imprisoned because of me," Sokka said. He looked down and the shame was evident on his face.
"Oh, I see," Jet said. "You took Zuko because you didn't mind if Jerkbender got imprisoned again," Jet said with a smirk. Zuko glared at him.
Hakoda put a strong hand on Sokka's shoulder, completely ignoring the banter. "It's not your fault Sokka. Every one of us knew what we were getting into. We knew the risks. Besides, you should be proud right now, you helped us escape the highest security prison in the Fire Nation, son. We will make a new plan and help the others out, it will just take some time."
Sokka nodded at him. "Thanks dad," he said. They smiled at each other, and Hakoda's pride was evident. "Dad, Suki," he said. "This is Jet," he motioned to Jet, whose anger had dissipated while watching the exchange with a strange expression.
Jet nodded and with a charming smile said, "Hi, I'm Jet. It's nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you both."
"Hello Jet," Hakoda said in a clipped tone. "I've heard about you as well." Jet's eyes widened a bit in surprise and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his eyes darting accusingly to Sokka. Sokka narrowed his eyes at Jet, a stern look on his face.
"I'm Suki." Suki said sweetly, trying to dissipate the sudden negative energy. She held out her hand to Jet, who stepped forward to shake her hand. They gave each other sweeping warrior assessments.
"Nice to meet you Suki," Jet said smoothly. After seeing the look Jet had on his face as the two stepped away from each other, Sokka stepped forward to put his arm around Suki.
"Let's get you guys some food," Sokka said, pulling Suki with him as he headed for their main camp.
"Well that was exciting," Toph said loudly as they all walked together. "It's been boring without you two dunderheads. Only interesting thing has been Jet and Katara sparring together." Sokka suddenly stopped walking.
ooo
Katara heard Toph say, "Only interesting thing has been Jet and Katara sparring together," and Sokka suddenly stopped walking.
"Toph!" Katara gasped, feeling betrayed.
Sokka stepped away from Suki, turning to his sister. "Sparring … with Jet?"
Jet stepped to the side of them with a lazy smile. "Yeah, I've been showing her some non-bending fighting. You know, ways she could take Fire Nation down without her bending, if she ever needed to."
Sokka's mouth was wide open. "I could do that," he said turning to Katara. "I didn't know you would want to learn how to fight without bending."
"Well you were gone," Katara said defensively, "and no one's ever asked before. I'd love to learn anything that would help me be a better fighter."
"That's my girl," Hakoda said, and Katara smiled at his praise.
"I'd love to train with you Katara," Suki said.
"Really?" Katara said, suddenly excited at the thought of training with such a talented Kyoshi Warrior.
"Of course," Suki said with a laugh. "Sokka told me about what you did in the North to learn waterbending. You have a warrior's heart."
"I still don't feel like it's really necessary, Katara," Aang said as they all approached their fire. At Katara's heated gaze, he explained, "I mean Katara, you're one of the best waterbenders I've ever seen, and you're getting better every day," he blushed. Jet snickered at Aang's embarrassment, and Aang shot him a dirty look.
"Learning how to fight isn't all about bending," Zuko said. "I can't tell you how many times the other skills I've learned have saved my life. A bender can't always rely on just their bending."
"I seem to manage just fine," Toph said, suddenly bending herself an earth seat and sitting down with her feet up on an earth footstool to emphasize her point.
As she sat down, Katara said, "Everyone seems to have a strong opinion about what I do with my own time. You guys are as bad as Pakku," She crossed her arms with a pout, aware she was acting a bit childish. She didn't care, she was a child.
"Katara, you know when and where to meet tomorrow," Jet said. He acted like he was unaware of the sudden disapproving sound Sokka made upon hearing this. "It's always your choice of course, whether you want to train or not."
"I'll be there," Katara said, her tone leaving no more room for discussion. She pretended not to notice the grumpy expression on Sokka's face, or how he crossed his arms. He would get over it soon.
ooo
Katara went to bed early, saying she needed rest for training tomorrow. Jet couldn't wait. Hakoda also went to bed, joking that he was getting too old to stay up after the kind of day they had, and Chit Sang followed suit.
The rest of the group was still celebrating the new arrivals and happily catching up. Jet heard from the other side of the fire Toph say, "Haru, I'm rooting for you buddy."
"What do you mean?" Haru said, his eyebrows furrowing.
Toph grinned conspiratorially. At Haru's slightly raised voice, some of the conversations died and most everyone was listening to Toph now. "Word of advice my friend. Shave the 'stache, you'll thank me later," she punched his arm.
"My mustache?" Haru said, his hand touching the facial hair. "Toph I don't understand what you're saying, why would I shave it?"
"Ah, you know," Toph said, clearly enjoying goading him on. "I just heard something about it."
Haru's voice was confused as he said, "What did you hear?"
Toph was picking at her toes as though she wasn't enjoying making him squirm. "Just that you were hotter without the mustache." She turned her attention back to his direction with a wide grin.
Haru blushed bright red. "Um …" he said. "Who did you hear that from Toph?"
"Katara of course," Toph said. "I can't really give you an opinion on it." She waved a hand in front of her obviously blind eyes. Haru looked like he wanted to sink into the ground from embarrassment.
"Bro," Jet said. "Don't even think about it. If you come out tomorrow with a shaved face I'll call you out on being whipped."
"Mustache or not though, if I had to bet, I'd put my money on Zuko," Toph said.
"Zuko?" Suki said with interest.
"Yeah," Toph said. "Katara's heart beat goes crazy whenever he's around. Especially when he's training."
Zuko suddenly choked on his tea. Aang grumbled something about himself being there whenever Zuko was training too. Suki was laughing, and Toph looked very amused. Jet on the other hand was extremely irritated at the turn of the conversation. He could feel his hatred for Zuko growing again, and the plan that had been forming in his mind continued to solidify.
Sokka's face was twisted in a mixture of emotions. "Is there anyone in this group that doesn't want to date my sister?!" Jet noticed Haru blushing and looking at the ground, Aang blushed, and Zuko was staring at the ground like he didn't hear anything.
Suki raised her hand and said, "I don't want to date Katara," with a laugh.
"I'm with Suki on this one," Toph said.
The group was silent for several more beats, and then Toph was cracking up. "I freaking knew it!"
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments! A storm is comin' in future chapters! XD