WARNING: SMUT! You can thank AngelaLeeHarden for that - I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender!

Earlier that day, he'd received a letter from the same messenger he'd sent out to find Jet – yes, he'd sent some man to scour an entire town he'd heard rumors of Jet, Lion-heart's, whereabouts trickling forth from, but as half-baked as the plan had been, it yielded results as now he had a response. Sort of. The letter in question was a scroll with a torn piece of a map secured on to the center of the paper with the word here written beneath in sloppy, hard strikes, and after many hours of scouring the maps within the palace library, he finally found the location, which in itself made little to no sense, for if the Avatar was as alive and well as he suspects, then wouldn't it be better for them to hide elsewhere than within the Fire Nation? The very Nation which, if Zuko remembers correctly and he's sure he does, is currently celebrating the supposed death of said boy?

Could they have something planned?

Or perhaps Jet had gone his separate way – but that made even less sense than the Avatar's group hiding out within the very land that wants them all captured, or killed. In the end, it doesn't matter as he finally has Jet's location. Taking a steadying breath, Zuko turns to leave the library, that is until he spots Mai standing in the entryway, her arms crossed over her chest and a small smile playing across her lips, and it's then that Zuko remembers that he's technically in a relationship with another person who isn't Jet.

"Mai," Zuko blinks, surprise written within his tone, "Mai," he starts again, hating the way his throat closes, "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Mai starts, there's a small upturn to her lips, "I heard from a couple of the servants that you were in here for most of the morning, so I just had to find out just what it was that had you so preoccupied for so long. And in the library of all places."

She's beautiful and amazing, and makes Zuko feel guilty, "I was – planning to visit a few places within the Fire Nation."

"Oh?" she starts walking towards the table he'd been hunched over for several hours straight, "Anywhere special?"

"Uh," he turns back towards the table, "Ember Island, maybe – it's been a while."

Mai makes a hum of acknowledgment, "With or without the royal procession?"

"Without I think," Zuko frowns, "It really has been a while and I, and I just need some time to myself, to see what's changed."

It's all a lie – despite Zuko having been gone for two or so years, he's still terrible at lying, but she allows her smile to widen a fraction more as she places a hand upon his jaw and coaxes him into a kiss. For once it's soft and tender, more than their usual kisses which consist of Zuko standing as stiff as a board with awkward, jerky movements. She feels him press his lips against hers and lay a hand upon her waist, pulling her closer than he's ever done since they've been dating. When they pull away, the look Zuko gives her breaks her heart – she knows he's going to search for Lion-heart, after all, she's noticed that the WANTED posters of said teen have suddenly disappeared. Azula has too, but she doesn't bother, claiming that if Zuko wants to ruin his life for some orphan, then so be it, Ty-Lee thinks it's a nice gesture. And Mai, Mai just hopes Zuko knows what he's doing:

"I hope you have a good time."

Zuko smiles an actual smile that's both soft and rare, his hand still on her waist, "I hope you'll have just as good a time."

Mai rolls her eyes, a snort playing on the tip of her tongue, "With how dull this place is, I doubt it."

And with that, Zuko can't help the dry laugh that escapes his lips – they could have been something in another time and in another place, Mai is beautiful, she's amazing, deadly and graceful, she's everything Zuko could possibly want in a possible love interest. But Jet's ruined him. Ruined him in ways he never knew he could. Jet's shown him a softer side, a more caring side, a side that didn't involve anger, but he's also pushed him beyond his normal levels of emotion and physical being – both he and Mai could have been something and it kills him.

Zuko pulls her back in for a hug, "Thank you."

Returning the unexpected hug, Mai begins to feel as if this will be the last time they'll be able to stay like this, to hold one another like this, and if she holds him an extra second longer, then no one has to know – that night, when a messenger shows up at her family's house with a letter specifically for her, she knows her suspicions were correct: Zuko is searching for Lion-heart.

But despite her knowing her now ex-boyfriend's intentions, that doesn't stop the break in her heart when she reads the letter left for her.

oOo

At the end of the day, it had been Katara who had been the most against Jet temporarily leaving the group to meet up with Zuko, and even though she'd given her best argument and even went as far as to bat her pretty blue eyes at him, it didn't work, especially since he was currently sitting high within a tree that overlooked the sandy shores. With a leg dangling over the edge of a branch, his fingers absently tearing apart a perfectly good leaf before throwing it over the edge and plucking another, his eyes scan the sandy shores as well as the vast ocean beyond it – and try as he might to convince himself that he didn't care whether the Fire Prince showed or not, his heart still beat to the tune of rejection and disappointment.

As the seventeen year old reaches for another victim/leaf, he spots movement upon the sandy shores, sitting upright, he squints his eyes in an attempt to get a better look at the person – they're obviously Fire Nation if he red clothes are anything to go by. Male. Black hair and pale skin. And gee, that leaves – just the entire Fire Nation!

Knowing he'd have to get a closer look, he nimbly jumps from his perch and lands safely upon the forest ground – walking along the beach, Zuko finds a particular worthy looking spot to sit and wait, and maybe play in the sand, but before he can reach for a nearby shell glinting underneath the noon sun, he feels a blade press against his neck with something curving around the front of his throat. The sharpness of the blade causes him to tense.

"You tried to shoot me down."

Uh-oh.

"You – saw that?"

"More or less." the blade doesn't waver, "I hope you're not expecting a kiss."

No, he hadn't been thinking anything of the sort, but a kiss would be nice right about now.

"No." he says instead, "Not really."

"Why are you here?"

"To - ,"

"Wait." Zuko can hear the frown in Jet's voice, "Let me rephrase that. Why did you want to meet?"

Needing to see Jet, Zuko twists his body a little and cranes his neck, he feels the blade's edge bite into his skin, but that doesn't matter once he sees the cold indifference in Jet's countenance – Jet looks the same, his hair's a little longer though and his clothes are shades of red and gold, obviously Fire Nation, but it's Jet, or rather, Lion-heart at the moment.

Zuko meets Jet's eyes, "It's as the letter says."

Jet's eyes narrow and his lip pulls back to reveal gritted teeth, "You try to shoot me down and now you come crawling back to me because you, all of a sudden, miss me?" the older teen barks out a bitter, vicious laugh, "Forgive me Prince Zuko if I don't quite believe the tale your selling."

"Jet," Zuko tries, voice softening, "You and I both know that I can't lie to save my life." the blade nips his skin, this time it draws blood, "I really did miss you, I just – I finally had everything I wanted and – none of it was what I wanted. Not – anymore at least."

Silence.

Sighing, Jet removes his sword from Zuko's neck and sheathes it, "Don't think this means I forgive you."

Zuko offers a small sheepish smile before his eyes glance beyond Jet, the smile disappears and a look of confusion takes over, "I thought – you were with the Avatar."

Of course this is the wrong thing to say for Jet instantly tenses, his fists clench and his eyes narrow:

"Why?" Jet snarls, "So you can kidnap him? Kill him once and for all?"

"No! No, no!" Zuko mentally backtracks, "I just – I was wondering if they were here with you!"

"No." Jet hisses, "They're not. Disappointed?"

"Not particularly." Zuko smiles, soft and wistful, "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this."

Jet is surprised when his sword is knocked away and Zuko grabs his shirt. His first thoughts are all reminders and notes of how to take Zuko down, that is, before he finally realizes what the other is doing – and wow, Zuko's lips are softer than he remembers. Allowing his eyes to drift shut, he raises his hands to place them on Zuko's back – until he catches himself and forces his body to pull away from the other's welcoming warmth.

"No - ," Jet mouths, he can't help the way his heart hammers or the way his mind immediately imprints the picture Zuko makes, lips a shade darker, glossy with spit, and eyes half-lidded – he needs to speak louder, otherwise this will progress a lot farther than he'd suspected, "Don't."

Yeah. He isn't speaking loud enough. Hands cup either side of his face and he's pulled in for another kiss and Spirits how he missed this, his mind tells him to stop, tells him that he shouldn't be letting this happen, that he shouldn't let Zuko in that easily – but Zuko is making these needy little noises and Jet may or may not have jerked off to memories of those sounds back when he and the others were on that God forsaken Fire Nation Navy ship. God. Who was he kidding?

Growling, Jet wraps his arms around Zuko and pulls the other closer until their bodies are pressed flush against one another, hooking his foot behind Zuko's ankle, he manages to trip the firebender up and watches him fall back with a surprised yelp. Jet doesn't give him much time to assess much of his surroundings as he instantly crowds over him, his fingers fiddling with his pants before becoming frustrated with the drawstrings and tugging hi pants down aggressively, he feels his cock spring free, feels it bounce, but his eyes are drawn to Zuko, the Prince is biting his lower lip, eyes half-lidded and drawn to his arousal. Grabbing Zuko's leg, he yanks off one boot, then the other, and proceeds to pull his pants and underwear down and over his legs, the Fire Prince isn't all that bothered by what was currently happening considering that he's sporting a matching erection. Licking his lips, Jet grabs Zuko's legs and pulls him closer until he's situated between his thighs – when he presses the head against Zuko's entrance, he half expects some resistance. When he's met with none, he feels a deep seated anger flair and his jealousy spike monumentally, his eyes flick upwards to meet Zuko's, he sees the embarrassed blush.

"I see someone's been busy." Jet snarls, he's already pulling back when Zuko's fingers wrap around his upper arm.

"I – it isn't like that," the Prince says, Jet frowns, because really what else could it mean? "I - ," Zuko bites his lips, "I missed you and – so I uh,"

Blinking at the revelation, Jet feels an excited grin spread across his lips, the thought of Zuko fingering himself to thoughts of him makes his erection all that more hard. Planting a hand besides Zuko's head, he guides himself once more and pushes in, making it agonizingly slow, he watches with a possessive pride as the younger teen's mouth falls open, his body tensing, and his hips rolling. Angling Zuko's hips off the ground, he starts a languid pace that has Zuko wriggling in place, allowing the Prince to get used to the intrusion, to the pace, before he slams his hips against the other, the force jerking Zuko's body – the wanton moaning that comes from Zuko encourages him even more.

The sex is rough, it's needy, it's explosive – and when Jet realizes that he's screwing Zuko on the beach where anyone could find them, recognize them, he can't help but come before the firebender, burying himself as deep as he can, his eyes glazed as he watches Zuko work to get himself off, either not noticing or not minding that Jet had literally finished inside him. In fact, it seems to get him closer to the edge.

"Here." Jet rasps, he wraps his own hand around Zuko's and the two begin working to get Zuko closer, "Let me help."

It doesn't take long before Zuko's own climax washes over him.

In the aftermath, both teens try catching their breath, although Jet is first, when he pulls out of Zuko, he notes that some of his sperm spills out and that makes his member twitch, but he doesn't follow through, instead, he stuffs himself inside his pants and watches Zuko, the Prince taking his lovely time as he sits up, only to wince when he sees the mess made on and in him.

Zuko sighs, "At least the ocean's close by."

Jet watches the sovereign – it doesn't feel right, he looks away, "I'm sorry."

Zuko looks up, but Jet isn't looking at him, "For what?"

Jet turns and situates a deadpan stare on the Prince, "What do you think?"

Zuko purses his lips and looks at his lap shortly before closing his legs, "I didn't mind."

"Of course you didn't." Jet sighs, he runs a hand through his hair, he'd come here to meet with Zuko and maybe make him work for his trust, instead he ends up screwing Zuko on the beach – but when Zuko looks up at him from underneath his fringe, Jet realizes that he's gotten even prettier, wait, handsomer? Beautifuler? Is that even a word? "Zuko, you – you left and tried killing me, I came here to – I don't know the reason why I came here in the first place! Vindication? A fight? To screw you on the beach?" Jet runs his hands over his face, "Thing is, I can't just forgive you like what you did didn't hurt me, but I see you and – and that's it. I see you and everything you've done is forgiven and fuck, how is Iroh!?"

Zuko seems to shrink in on himself, "In prison."

"See!" Jet shouts, gesturing towards Zuko, "Did you even try to get him out?!"

"I – n-not entirely." Zuko curls even more, "I mean I talked to him - ."

"Of course." Jet sighs, "But because I fucked you and got off faster than I ever had with my own hand, I don't care!"

The Fire Prince fixes his long vest to at least cover his lap; he looks down at his hands, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stay." Jet sighs, falling back into the sand and staring at the blue skies, he feels Zuko lay beside him, feels the Prince cuddle up to him and God it hurts how much he wants to just roll over and hold the firebender, "But I don't – I don't know what that means for us."

"We could just be friends."

The simplicity of such a suggestion is so far out there that it has Jet laughing louder than he's laughed since he's joined the Avatar's group.

There's still gonna be some problems between these two, but for now, it's nothing but smooth sailing. And yeah, Angela helped with the smut, actually, she wrote it and I tried rewriting it into my own style but that was a little difficult so I left some of her words in there :I