It has been a while and I'm sorry for that, I really did have the chapter ready to be looked over, but I'm a lazy bitch, I'm sorry, plus life gets in the way . . . I hope you enjoy anyway.


Glass Half Empty

X

Recounting the events of her rather strenuous day to her silent companion as he helped her prepare their dinner meal, a rather important dinner meal it felt it would be, the very one where their lead Alpha would introduce them to his special someone . . . it's as the Alpha and Beta comrades are dressing their sad little table with the foods and drinks to be consumed is when Jet reappears with Li close in tow, Longshot perks up the second he spots Jet walking in to their abode, like the silent Beta hadn't been sure that Jet would even return despite their mentions of a dinner. And a part of Smellerbee, the part that was still suspicious of pretty much everything, had even thought that as well.

But seeing their tall, trouble making leader standing there made them feel complete.

"Jet, Li." Smellerbee starts pleasantly, at least pleasant for her, "Why don't you take a seat?"

"Thanks." Jet smiles his crooked smirk with Li at his side, looking awkward as ever.

Taking a spot at the table alongside Longshot, she keeps an eye on both Jet and Li as they interact, when she looks to Longshot and sees him give the tiniest of nods towards the new couple. She knows what that gesture is supposed to mean, and while she would like nothing more than to let the whole situation flow on by like a corpse in a river, she knew she had to say something or it very well may come back and bite her on the ass.

"So, Li," she continues, noticing how Li seems to tense and lean the smallest bit into Jet's side, Jet not minding, even seeming to encourage it if him wrapping his arm around Li was anything. "you're an Omega?"

The reaction is immediate: Li chokes on his food and Jet winces at the question, but he attempts to help Li who all but snarls and swipes at Jet's hands, their sudden reaction confusing both Smellerbee and Longshot. When Li recovers and look at her through narrowed eyes, she realizes that discussing his rank may have not been the best way to go about easing in to the tentative strain between them, especially since now that she thought about it, he probably didn't want anyone to know about his secondary gender.

"How did you find out?"

She looks between Li, who is sitting straight and refusing to touch Jet, and Jet who is watching her with cautious eyes that tell her to tread carefully, "I . . . picked up on it when I gave Jet a hug earlier."

Li's eyes turn from her to Jet, Jet presses against Li who tenses, "It's okay." he ducks his head closer to Li, making it so they're on even level, "They won't say anything to anyone, I promise you, they're good at keeping secrets."

Li continues staring at Jet, but relents, Jet gives Smellerbee a nod, a go-ahead if she's ever known one. "Sorry, Jet is right though, we won't tell anyone." she sees Li eye them both critically, it annoys her that they have to work so hard to earn his trust, but if it's for Jet she'll sit through the skepticism, Li nods though and she begins once again. "How is Ba-Sing-Se treating you so far?"

Li's jaw seems to work mindlessly, like he's mulling his answer over, "Okay."

And Jet presses his nose against Li's neck, "I seem to remember you saying you hated it here."

Li bristles, even shoves Jet's face away, "I seem to remember the question being directed at me."

Their tanned friend just grins like a madman and grabs Li's wrist, keeping eye contact with the recently revealed to be Omega, and presses a kiss of all things to the hard, calloused palm, the action is oddly intimate and makes Smellerbee want to look away, but the look on Li's face, like he can't quite believe someone would do something so gentle and adoring like that to him of all people keeps her eyes firmly on them, the girl wondering what Li had gone through . . . then his face burns bright red and he rips his hand away from Jet, he holds his hand close to his chest, like Jet had burned him with that kiss. Smellerbee was sure if she were to check his pulse, or even press a hand to his forehead, she would feel his heart beating rabiroo fast and his skin hot as the desert.

"Um . . . so how is it working at the teashop?"

"Uh . . . fine, if you don't mind idiots who like to stare." he spits.

Longshot starts to mete out more food, making sure each is equal, but Jet doesn't look too interested in eating when his focus is centered on Li who is still as tense as he'd been, if not worse, when Smellerbee had asked after him.

Unlike Jet, she didn't have the persistence or time to crack Li's shell open, besides, she was still wary of the guy.

Setting her chopsticks down with a fairly loud thump and clack, she levels a glare at Li who looks taken aback by her sudden aggressive motion, only to scowl, ready for a fight, she could understand how Jet found that attractive, he always did love the fighters and the survivors, those tough enough that life and unfair circumstances couldn't beat down.

"Do you like Jet?"

Li blinks, looks from her to Jet then back, "Yes?"

She ignores that it sounds like a question; she knows that the guy is awkward and socially inept, "And he likes you, so don't you dare hurt him. Got it, Omega or not, I will track you down and kick your ass myself."

Li is now scowling and looking very much affronted, jaw clenched, but he nods . . . as the night progresses, Li seems to lean deeper into Jet's side, their friend curling around him, unconsciously shielding him from the world. And only then, does it dawn on her, Longshot and herself are no longer the only ones in Jet's little world, no longer the center, they had to make room for Li and that title was reserved for the boarcupine-esque boy.

"Wanna stay the night?" Jet murmurs, head ducked towards Li.

Jet does that a lot, Smellerbee notes.

Li seems to get a hold of himself, "My uncle . . . ,"

"Knows where you are." Jet finishes for him, "C'mon, let's go to bed."

Smellerbee watches Li go through several motions before allowing Jet to help him to his feet, she forces herself to call out to the sour teen, "Li." both he and Jet stop to look at her. "Goodnight."

Li hesitates, "Goodnight."

Jet grins though, and that is all the confirmation she needs of how well she handled things, "Night guys."

Both she and Longshot nod after them, watching Jet lead Li to his room . . . stepping into the room the taller teen inhabited, Zuko sees the once bare bed is now loaded with pillows and blankets of different fabrics and sizes, it looked more like a heap of comfort than an actual bed. The banished prince watches the other slink past him, removing his shirts as he goes, feeling his face start to heat up rather uncomfortably, he looks away from the other's expanse of muscle and skin on display, and starts to follow Jet's lead by shedding his own outer robe. It should be a red flag that he was getting a little too used to Jet's presence, for the second Zuko manages to get comfortable, Jet wraps his arms around his abdomen and pulls him close until their bodies are pressed neatly together, the firebender not thinking twice about the way Jet curls around him, holding him close like he were trying to protect him. While a part of him may be annoyed, the other part remembers fuzzy memories of his mother holding him close, keeping him safe and warm, and it's those feelings that follow him into sleep, allowing him to curl up against Jet in return.

G-H-E

Rising with the sun is a normal occurrence, what isn't is the feeling of having one of the best sleeps of his life since he'd left his own room back in the Fire Nation. The warmth that surrounds him tempts him to curl back up and sleep some more, maybe even waste the day away doing nothing, but the distinct smell of cedar keeps him from doing so. Opening his eyes, he sees an arm wrapped around him, holding him tight against the owner of that arm: Jet. The black haired boy reaches down and wraps his fingers around Jet's wrist, he attempts to move the other's arm off of him, but it's to no avail as it only seems to make the tanned male hold on to him tighter, his nose burying within the back of Zuko's neck.

It shouldn't make his heart beast as fast as it does, or warm his face as much as it does.

Something warm and wet runs up his neck, it makes him tense and his heart become rapid and uncoordinated with an odd type of heat shooting through his veins and striking his core, he feels the warmth of Jet's breath when he mumbles, his voice hazy with sleep and the right amount of quiet that makes his throat dry up, "What're you doing?"

Swallowing the sudden lump forming in his throat, Zuko forces himself to speak, "I've got to go to work."

The firebender feels the man behind him hum, feels the vibrations through his chest, feels him shift and wrap his arms tighter around him, pulling him close and curling in around him . . . this is too much for him, his heart is beating insanely fast and his face is burning, the roaring of his blood and the heat coiling within his gut.

"You could stay, convince your uncle I can pay for your guys' rent."

Take care of you.

This annoys Zuko, never once had he needed to depend on an Alpha to take care of him, not his uncle, not the men he'd been saddled with as a crew, not the random stray they happened to meet while on the road, and he wasn't about to start because Jet just so happened to be a friend, he elbows the Earth Kingdom male in the ribs, he feels the taller wince, but his arms release their hold on him. Sitting up, Zuko slips out of the bed that was much more comfortable than his own, and starts dressing himself. The sooner he got out of here, the sooner he would be able to clear his mind and calm his misbehaving body, he had to double check and see if his heat really was due within two weeks . . . as he walks the streets back to the place he shared with his uncle, Zuko can feel eyes on him from all over, it makes him more than uneasy, makes him wonder if there's something on him, but whenever he looks to see who it is that is staring so intently at him, he sees several heads turn away, it makes him paranoid.

All but slamming the door of their apartment, Zuko closes his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath, when he opens his eyes, he finds his uncle staring at him with wide eyes. The banished prince looks away from his uncle's curious gaze stubbornly, but his traitorous body betrays him by heating his face up . . . it wasn't like he and Jet did anything!

"How was dinner with your friends?"

Zuko's initial response is to deny their relationship with him, but he frowns, "Fine."

"Oh?"

The way the man questions it makes Zuko meet his uncle's gaze, he can't quite tell what it is he sees in his uncle's eyes, and while it annoys him, he knows he isn't one to coax the answer out of his uncle, let alone anyone, he was more likely to demand they tell him, and that method only got him so far, more so now that he was no longer royalty . . . it's nearing the end of the lunch rush when Zuko realizes that he's being watched, again, when he looked over his shoulder at the sensation, he would spot the same girl sitting in the corner of the shop. The firebender had seen her within the shop several times, always in the same spot, always wearing that suspicious expression. It made him suspicious. Again.

When he went to his uncle with his suspicions, he was greeted with one of the weirdest things he's heard his uncle say, up to date:

"You're right Zuko, I've seen that girl in here quite a lot. It seems she has quite the little crush on you~."

Zuko's voice does not crack as he reels away from his uncle, "What?!"

"Thank you for the tea~."

Both Zuko and his uncle turn to face the speaker, only to find that it's that girl, Zuko feels his suspicion spike, had she heard what they were talking about, how long had she been standing there, and if she knew they were Fire Nation, could that mean she also knew what he really was?

Zuko takes the girl's money and attempts to busy himself, hoping that she wouldn't pry, that she would just leave, it was hard enough with Jet and his questions, but with a stranger he hadn't said a word to would be a lot harder, but she speaks once more.

"What's your name~?"

Zuko turns around, "My name's Li." he's very much aware of how uncomfortable he is, "My uncle and I just moved here."

"Hi Li, my name's Jin." she keeps looking at him through her lashes in a way that makes his heart rate pick up a tad, she looks away, "Thank you and, I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime~?"

Go out?

Would he like to go out? As in . . . friends? Or a date?

"He'd love to~!"

"Great~!" she starts to turn, "I'll meet you in front of the shop at sundown~."

A hand is placed upon his shoulder; he turns to glare at his uncle when the girl's back is turned, his uncle simply smiles at him like he were proud, even though Zuko wasn't the one who answered.


Oh boy . . . Jet is not going to be pleased when he finds out.