Oh my God, I'm dead, I'm just dead, I can't take it ~ ! I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender ~ !

Having come across a large crater housing a body of water, the group had stopped and decided to make the secluded area their private campsite for the upcoming night – the others were already doing their own thing, Jet and Zuko not excluded as the Fire Prince was tending to the former Lion-Heart's bandages, the firebender taking a look at the scar across his boyfriend's chest.

"Do you really need these anymore?"

Jet watches Zuko, "Not really. I just – keep them on to keep them on."

Zuko misses the hesitation in Jet's voice, he sits proper and meets Jet's gaze, "If you don't need them then you should get rid of them."

Jet flexes his right hand, he feels nothing, "Guess you're right."

Unwrapping the gauze around his right hand and forearm, he can feel Zuko's eyes glued to his arm as bit by bit he reveals the scarred tissue beneath. When his hand is freed for all to see, he brings it eyelevel and stares at the scarred skin, thick and ugly, all feeling gone forever – his heart shouldn't sink like it does, like it always does every time he looks at the hideously marred skin, mangled and disgusting, he's tired of forgetting that it forever looks like this, he's tired of the same emotions playing over and over on repeat, running around in circles within his mind, thoughts chasing one another in an eternal chase. He's weak. He wants to rage. He wants to tear the world apart and break its inhabitants.

"They deserve it." he thinks bitterly, "No one is innocent."

His thoughts are interrupted and he's pulled back to present reality by pale fingers wrapping around his wrist and a hand grabbing his own, blinking away the afterimages of the world on fire, of his home burning down, he stares at Zuko as the Prince pulls his hand down and rests it in his lap, one hand cupping the back of Jet's hand and the other toying with his fingers. Moving and curling them – Jet laments not being able to feel this.

"What's this?" Zuko's middle and index finger run along the odd patch of skin that doesn't quite fit with the rest, he brings Jet's hand closer to his face, eyes narrowing in concentration. He flips Jet's hand over and sees the same thing on the palm side, he looks up at Jet from underneath his fringe. "Jet?"

"Um - ," Jet remembers, of course he does and he isn't proud of it, "I – I stabbed myself?"

Zuko's eyebrow shoots up and his eyes widen, his mouth dropping, "You did what?! When did this happen?!"

The taller of the two can feel the eyes of the others on them, he pulls his hand away from Zuko's hold, "It's fine! I'm fine! Katara patched me up!" he stares at the water's surface, he whispers more to himself than his companion, "I didn't feel anything."

"It isn't fine!" shouts Zuko in disbelief, the look of utter shock adding to his tone, "You don't just – do that! Wait – what do you mean you didn't feel anything?"

"It means what it means." Jet mutters with a shrug, fingers flexing, "I can't feel anything."

"Jet."

"Every never ending below my elbow is dead. I can move my wrist and my fingers just fine, I guess I can count myself lucky on that, but I can't feel."

Zuko's eyes fall to the scar on Jet's chest, "What about your - ?"

"My chest is fine. A little too sensitive at times, but fine."

The Prince sighs, "I don't care if you can't feel or not. You don't just do that. At least I don't want you doing that anymore, I don't want you hurting yourself."

Jet chuckles, somber and self-deprecating, "Can't help it."

"I can't leave you alone, can I?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Zuko grabs both of Jet's hands, Jet tries not to flinch at the contrast between his scarred hand and Zuko's smooth skin, "I'm just – sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed it. You were there for me and I just – I couldn't return the favor. I was selfish."

"It's fine. You were going through some shit too, besides, I didn't help myself by hiding it." Jet reaches out and moves Zuko's hair out of his eyes with his left hand, "You just being here is good enough for me."

Feeling his eyes sting, Zuko huffs and smacks Jet's hand away rather than pushing into it as he would have liked to do, "Sometimes I wonder if you think too highly of me."

"Of course." a small smile etches itself across his lips, "You're the world to me."

"That doesn't mean anything – I'd like it if you made me work to earn your forgiveness." spits Zuko, he doesn't mean to be annoyed or for his tone to slip but Jet's words were getting to him. "You always forgive me too easily – it makes me feel like I'm not doing anything, like I'm messing up somehow."

"Life's too short to stay mad." Zuko opens his mouth to retort but Jet continues, "Yes. I'm aware of the irony in that statement."

Letting his muscles relax, or rather forcing himself to, both he and Jet smile at one another, lost in their own world where no one else but each other existed – at least until Sokka blundered his way into their little planet, completely breaking the atmosphere and startling the two sole occupants.

"Hey Jet!" the Water Tribesman starts, "I just had an idea!" he sits next to the two older boys, "What if you and I sparred!?"

Jet can't stop the kneejerk reaction he has to Sokka, especially after the lanky teen seems to be getting close to good terms with Zuko, "Are you sure?" he jeers, "I don't want to be accused of trying to kill you by your sister."

Yes. Jet is aware of the look Zuko sends him.

Sokka isn't deterred. The blue-eyed boy frowns, "I'm not that bad. In fact I think I may have found my own style. My own groove. And I want to test it out against other styles of fighting, and since you're the only one here who knows more than enough fighting styles to be fair, you're my man!"

"Calm down."

"Relax."

"It's okay."

There's a nudge coming from his right. Zuko. "No harm in humoring him." the Prince says, Sokka lets out an indignant squawk, Jet tries not to feel betrayed and bitter, tries to fight back the jealousy surging to the forefront of his mind as insecurities and toxic thoughts begin to kick up, "I'll be here."

"What?" Jet asks sardonic, voice laden with toxicity, but he's already pushing himself to his feet, "Tired of me already." he doesn't see Zuko's expression, but he can feel it heavy on his back, "I get it. I know when I'm not wanted." there really is no reason for the sudden hatred spilling into his veins, he gestures for Sokka to follow, "C'mon String-Bean, let's see what you got."

Amber eyes watch with heavy emotion as both dusky colored teens move away to a more open space – Zuko doesn't know what to make of Jet's emotions or his reasoning behind it, but when has emotions ever been felt out of any sane thought. The Prince was out of his depth here – he had about as much emotion as an active volcano. Motion catches his attention, turning towards the source, he finds Toph plopping down next to him, she stretches her legs out and rests heavily on her hands, her head angled to the side.

Both remain silent until Zuko can no longer take it:

"Uh – hi."

Toph remains silent a beat longer before speaking, "So, when are you going to give that present of yours to your boyfriend?"

Zuko's entire face burns bright, "E-Excuse me?!"

"You're excused."

"I - ! Wha - ?! H - ?!"

"Use your words." Toph says, but her chin is dipped towards her chest, hiding a small smile, "And you might want to keep it down unless you want the others to hear."

"I - ," Zuko flusters, "How did - ? Jet isn't - ," Zuko was at a loss.

"A little better. But Sparky, the fact that you knew who I was talking about gives you away." Toph feels Zuko's heart flutter, her smile widens, "When we left that little town to go clothes shopping for tall, dark, and apparently handsome, I overheard you two being lovey-dovey with each other when you two thought everyone had fallen asleep. I mean, I had my suspicions, but that confirmed it.

Zuko swallows hard, "I don't - ,"

"Don't worry. No one else knows, I mean, Katara's becoming suspicious, but as far as she knows your attraction to Jet is one-sided at the moment."

"Um – right."

Toph tilts her head in Jet's direction, the tormented teen currently snarling at Sokka who looks more or less irritated, "So what was that about?"

"I don't know." Zuko is still uneasy about Toph having heard what they thought was a private moment, but is more than willing to talk his current predicament out with someone who will hopefully know what to do. "I – things were fine."

"Define fine."

Zuko let out a frustrated huff, "We were talking about – things, and I think we may have resolved something but then Sokka came over and asked to spar with Jet and he did a complete turnaround."

"Sounds like a complicated guy."

"He is!" Zuko about raises his voice but strangles the sound, instead, he lets small sparks of fire escape his mouth, "Even when we were friends there was always this whole other layer to him, like he wasn't telling me everything. I even learned that he was going to kill me and my family not too long ago. I just – I don't understand. At all. I was never a people-person, that was always him, so this whole me trying to offer emotional support is new to me and I feel like I'm doing nothing, he says it's fine but I don't know whether to believe him or not." sighs Zuko, "And he has the nerve to call me complicated?"

"You're both complicated." Toph states, "You may not have realized it but you also did a complete turnaround, you went from being suspicious of me to ranting about your boyfriend." Zuko opens his mouth but Toph holds a hand up, "I'm not done. When I met your Uncle, he told me a little bit about you and it sounds like you grew up in a pretty complicated home. You had to adapt to that environment so simple things tend to go over your head – just allow yourself to feel, don't over think, don't fight it."

"Fighting is all I've ever done."

"But you don't need to fight with Jet. You don't need to do some grand gesture to show Jet that you're there for him, for me, just knowing someone is there is enough."

"Oh."

Toph punches Zuko's shoulder, she hears a startled yelp and sees Zuko reach up to hold onto his throbbing shoulder, "Let him know you're there for him and no one else."

"Why did you punch me?!"

"That's how I show affection."

Zuko's brows furrow but he says no more on the subject.

"Does your Uncle know?"

"My Uncle?" flusters Zuko, "He – he knows."

oOo

Night falls and everyone is asleep, everyone except for Zuko who can't quite find a comfortable position to sleep in, instead, his eyes search the night sky, simply marveling at the beauty it offered. Turning his head to the right, he finds Jet lying on his back, mouth parted slightly, his chest rising and falling, the motion lulling Zuko's thoughts to a calm quiet – Jet is beautiful, he deserves none of what has befallen him. Turning onto his side to face Jet better, he reaches out with a tentative hand, the tips of his fingers gingerly brushing against Jet's cheek, the skin cool from the night air and smooth, trailing his fingers towards the taller male's jawline, he traces a faint scar, small and hardly noticeable, something the man had gotten during their journey out on sea.

The Prince watches Jet's eyelids open almost sluggishly, he watches the dusky teen become more aware of the world, he watches Jet's throat bob as he swallows.

Jet asks, voice raspy. "What are you doing?"

"I love you."

Jet reaches up and grabs his wrist, he pulls the hand away and turns his head to look at Zuko, he still looks tired and now a little lost with himself, unsure of what to do with Zuko's sudden declaration, but here in the dark of night, shrouded by shadows with only the stars at their witnesses, he could care less of the others – for the first time since they'd left Ba-Sing-Se, he wonders if they can still leave, just the two of them. Jet then brings his hand to his lips and presses a kiss to his knuckles.

"Love you too, Fire-Bird."

Smiling, the Prince pulls his hand from Jet's hold and reaches out with both arms, maneuvering the older boy into an embrace, he buries his nose in the other's wild hair. The feeling of his chest wanting to explode grows. Love. This is love.

"Jet." Zuko breathes, he hears Jet hum, "I love you so much it hurts, I can't – I don't understand these feelings half of the time, or at all, but – I know that I don't want to let you go. When I said I would marry you if I could, I thought nothing of it, but then I started giving it some thought." his heart is pounding, his chest swelling with emotion, "And now I can't imagine a life without you." he swallows the lump in his throat, "I know you said you're still young, we both are, but I - ," he feels Jet pull away, propping himself on his elbows to peer at Zuko who sits up and stares at the rocky ground, "After the war is over, I'd like for you to be mine," he bites his lower lip, throat feeling like it was swelling shut, "As my husband." he hears Jet make a strangled noise, he shrinks in on himself, "I already bought a gift and everything. I just. Couldn't give it to you because I was scared."

"You're a Prince."

"I know that. But – I'd give it up if it meant I could be with you. We could travel like we originally planned to do in Ba-Sing-Se. Just you and me. No one else."

"The gift." Jet says, he feels like the surrounding air is trying to suffocate him, "Where is it?"

"You – you know what happens if you accept it, don't you?"

Jet nods, voice leaving him. Flexing his fingers, Zuko reaches over to his pack and immediately comes into contact with the piece he's wanted to give to Jet. Pulling the object from his satchel, he holds it in his lap – he jumps when Jet reaches out to take the red wrapped gift from him, he ducks his head and watches Jet from the corner of his eye, watches the taller teen unwrap the gift only to stare at the pieces.

"Fuck." Jet finally curses; Zuko tries to not let his heart sink.

"What?"

Jet chuckles a little, almost bashful, "My hair's not long enough, you know."

"So that means - ?"

"Yeah." Jet smiles, legitimately smiles, something pure.

Feeling his heart swell, Zuko throws himself at Jet, wrapping his arms around the other, both falling over from the force, Jet laughing until Zuko smashes their lips together, the firebender cupping his fiancé's face in his hands and kisses him harder until air becomes a necessity again.

"I love you." Zuko whispers, short of breath, "I love you."

Holding Zuko in his own arms, Jet is smiling up at his future husband, his insides feeling warm and fuzzy, old wounds healing with each whispered proclamation of love coming from Zuko. Zuko is his. They have a future together. This kind of happiness can't be explained; no matter how many times a person tries, no matter how talented the person is with words.

"After the war." Zuko says, voice filled with emotion, "After the war we'll get married."

Jet presses their noses together, "Now I have a reason to help end the war."

Zuko snuggles up against Jet, "So do I."

I found such beautiful songs that helped me with this, thank you so much Kyrje for the recommendation ~ ! I'm feeling so wonderful ~ ! Love is so beautiful ~ !