Chapter 18: Oh Brother!

Zuko had been kissed before.

His old childhood crush, Mai, had been his first when they were twelve and had given him his last one when he was thirteen.

That had been nearly two years ago, and it had been an innocent peck between two kids who barely had any experience in dating. It had been awkward, sloppy but still new and exciting.

It had also been before he got his scar.

After the horrible mark had been branded upon him, Zuko could not bear for anyone to look at his face, save his uncle and the physician Chan, and even then he hated the sympathetic stares they gave him.

To think that a girl would even want him after such a disfigurement was completely laughable, an absolute joke. For that is what he was, Zuko had thought bitterly; the banished prince; the disgrace of his nation.

No decent girl, or woman as he got older, would ever want a person like that.

Therefore, when Jade Shi's lips met his so tenderly and so willingly, he was completely stunned into silence and stillness.

She's kissing Jin. She's kissing the guy in her dreams not you.

His mind tried to reason as it did its best to reset his body to react and push the still sleeping girl off of him.

But for some reason his body did not listen to a word his brain even said.

And so carefully, his hands on her waist tightened slightly and he pulled her closer.

He felt her smiling against his mouth as his fingers tickled her sides a little. For some reason, the sound of her giggle made him feel strangely lighter himself.

He was feeling so elated in fact that he didn't hesitate to playfully pinch some of her back (or was that her behind, he wasn't quite sure about what he was touching). Either way the affect was such that it made her gasp, her lips parting just enough for his tongue to slip between them hesitantly.

Oh damn…this is so wrong…

But even so it felt so damn good.

He grunted softly as he felt her own fingers scratch a little on his bare chest as she tried to grip at it.

But what he didn't notice was the way her green eyes slid open just a fraction, before widening to the size of dinner plates.

"GAH!"

Zuko gasped as with a hard wrench the pair of lips tore off him with a loud squeak that rent the air like a knife, as Jade sat bolt upright, hands over her mouth in shock and horror.

"Oh spirits! Oh spirits! What the hell? What the…" she trailed off as she looked down and saw the prince laying beneath her, his ponytail all messed up around his face which was redder than the tapestry on the wall.

As soon as their eyes met, Jade actually leapt off of Zuko landing flat on her behind onto the floor, where upon she made to scramble away to cling to the wall.

"What the hell were you-how were you-Why the hell were you kissing me?!" she whisper-screamed as Zuko sat up, his face setting into such a scathing scowl that it was a miracle his room didn't catch on fire.

"Only because you kissed me first" he snapped wiping at his mouth, which still tingled at the memory of her lips. "Or rather Jin."

Had Jade not been so shocked she might have sneered right back and told him to mind his own business. But right now her hammering heart and terror and humiliation were totally consuming her as she squeaked.

"How the hell do you know about Jin?"

"You said his name. Jin! Oh Jin!" Zuko sneered in mocking impersonation of her voice before snorting "Who is he? Your boyfriend?"

Now Jade finally snarled, an angry sight that would flatten a herd of Rhino's any second.

"You-you-you-you little-you-you! How dare you?! I would never-" she all but growled but Zuko only smirked smugly at her.

"No, you're right, you'd never have a boyfriend. So come on where is this Jin guy from? One of those stupid sailors from the port. Either way it was clear you enjoyed it."

"Shut up!" Jade spat but Zuko was all but ruthless in his verbal assault.

"Oh so he's one of the men from the-"

Kathwack!

The sound of the slap was so loud that it reverberated off the metal walls several times before silence fell.

Zuko blinked as Jade lowered her hand, astounded by how his cheek stung so horribly in the cold air.

But worse than the sting on his face, was the sting in his chest when he looked and saw the tears threatening to spill from Jade's angry face.

When she spoke, her voice was shaking, though from rage or from distress he could not tell.

"You know I really thought you might actually not be as much of a jerk as I first thought…but I guess I was wrong. You're a despicable, egotistical, selfish, jealous ass, who has no idea of how to treat anyone else with common human decency let alone respect."

"Jade I-" Zuko began but Jade only screeched over the top of him.

"DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!" she took a deep breath to swallow down the sob that threatened to escape from her as she choked "You-you have no right…none at all to call me that. And you have no right to touch me!" she added flinching away as Zuko tried to reach out to her.

His hand quickly dropped as she continued to move from him, trying and failing to blink back tears as she backed out of the door to his room, which she shut with a clang.

He shut his eyes, cringing to himself as he heard the sob escape her, and it took all his willpower to force himself to stay put where he was and not chase after her as he heard her run from the door.

Heard her run…from him. From his stupidity.

Zuko roared, a loud snarling almost feral sound that ripped through the air, tearing it to pieces as he slammed his fist hard against the metal walls of his room… one single bead of wet salt trickling down his cheek.

Why?! Why do I always screw things up?!

The crew of Zuko's ship had gotten used to seeing the Prince and the young kitchen maid fighting and scrapping at one another worse than a pair of dogs.

And yet all of them were astounded by the new silence that had fallen over the pair in recent time.

The first two days had been amusing enough. Most of the older shipmates smirked as the two youngest crew members ignored one another so pointedly that they didn't even speak to one another.

"Trouble in paradise" they had sniggered behind their hands.

However as the days passed the jokes and laughter faded as the crew finally began to see the truth, that somehow behind closed doors a big line had been crossed and not in a good way.

Jade was not a girl who was easily upset, and if she was she rarely let it show, save to her family. But this time Ruishi and Shen were just as in the dark as everyone else which in turn put the former in a very grouchy mood as he did his best to pry his daughter's mask.

Unfortunately that just made matters a whole lot worse…and the argument between father and daughter all the more horrible.

It wasn't a loud quarrel (they never were) but unfortunately for Jade she had inherited her father's uncanny ability to be able to communicate a lot without saying much out loud.

Whoever said that a picture is worth a thousand words obviously never met the Shi family, for their facial expressions alone could convey more than five thousand.

And so it was with that Ruishi Shi had stormed out of the kitchens one morning, his daughter's glare hard on his back as he left.

"So…the talk didn't go well" Shen gulped as his father stormed past him, grunting only once in response to his son's presence.

Shen sighed heavily and shook his head.

That's it!

He thought glaring as he glanced up and down the corridor.

I'm gonna get to the bottom of this if its' the last thing I do. By any means necessary!

And "by any means necessary" meant only one thing…

The trek to his sister's room was uneventful and Shen was unafraid of people passing by him on the way to it. It wasn't unusual for the two siblings to wander between rooms. They were after all the youngest crewmates, (not counting Zuko) and it made the much older members of the crew happy to see the siblings enjoying their youthful days...or at least what was left of them.

This thought was enough to wipe the smile off Shen's face as he entered his sister's room.

Small, simply adorned but cosy and warm…

Just like her…

He snorted as he shut the door and in two strides reached under her bedroll pillow and grabbing her journal.

Now to find out about the little royal swine who's making her cry nearly every time they're alone!

He wasted no time as he flicked to the last entry only to find that it was mostly blurred and covered in stains.

He frowned as he inspected the page. Most of it was water that had dropped onto nearly every second word.

Tears

He reasoned, his blood boiling in his veins nonetheless as he tried to find one word that was completely decipherable from the mess.

He found it after a full five minutes of searching, a few words scrawled and cramped into a corner of the page… and nearly choked on his own spit.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to have kissed him. I mean I didn't know I was kissing him." A few more splodgy ink marks and then it continued "And then he has the gall to accuse me of being a woman off the docks right after he kissed me back!"

Had he not been in such shock Shen might have killed the prince right then and there. And he wouldn't have bothered with fire-bending. He'd have gone straight to strangle him.

That little bastard how dare he!

He would've torn the paper then and there and snarled to the heavens had a voice not spoken behind him.

"I would put that book back if I were you."

Shen froze and slowly turned, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw-

"Lord Iroh?"

Iroh nodded calmly and with a small smile, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Come, we must not talk here. Your sister's work is nearly over for the day, and she will need her rest just as much as you will need answers."

Shen nodded and quietly tucking his sister's journal back where he found it, before reaching out to pick up one of his pai sho tiles he had accidently left there the night before.

And not a moment too soon.

"Oh Shen, Lord Iroh" Jade yawned widely bowing to the older lord before patting her brother's shoulder.

"I left my pai-sho tile here" he held up the tile for her to see "I was going to play a few rounds with Lord Iroh, Ji, Lee and Quan"

"Then go! Go! Play your pai sho. I'm going to go train and then sleep" Jade groaned as she waved him off, clearly too tired to see anything suspicious about the older lord's presence down in the servants quarters as she made to rummage around her bed.

After bidding her goodnight and closing the door, Shen let his smile drop to a scowl.

Spirits she lets herself work far too hard

Though he born into the royal status, there were times Zuko truly hated being a prince. More often than not it was difficult for him to just find peace on his own, or even as he walked anywhere, for his presence was always noticed, always watched closely.

And as of late the crew were even more attentive to his movements than normal.

But unlike the other times, this time he knew exactly why.

His crew, jolly and light hearted though they were at times, were not fools. They knew he and Jade had fought badly, and they knew in some way that it had been his fault.

And so did Zuko himself, though it made him even more furious just thinking about it.

Me and my big mouth!

He groaned as he pinched his nose, leaning his head back so that it hit the wall behind him, painfully.

I guess I deserved that

He reasoned as he looked about his dark room. However instead of helping his mood, it only aggravated it more, especially the bed.

Ever since that night, Zuko had avoided sleeping in it, choosing instead to sleep on cushions arranged on the floor with a blanket. Hell he even avoided looking at the damn thing, for whenever he did he felt his lips tingle and his body shudder in a way that felt good…a bit too good.

"Argh! Spirits!" he cursed to the empty room.

With a heavy sigh he leaned against the wall again (gently this time) his ear pressing up against the metal.

Through it he could hear the sounds of his uncle's voice as he spoke.

"-You know he is affected by this just as much as she is?"

Oh great now even uncle's sharing the gossip behind my back

Zuko snarled but paused as he heard another familiar voice reply.

"Not that difficult to see. Every time they fight he gets moody, but this time he's just plain miserable"

It was Jade's brother Shen. His usually light hearted jovial voice was so grim that Zuko's eyebrows rose in astonishment, even as he made to say:

"But that still doesn't excuse what he said to her"

"No I agree it doesn't" Iroh agreed just as grimly though with a hint of sadness. "But still this is their argument, and they are both old enough to deal with it on their own."

"I know. I keep trying to tell father that." Shen sighed, sounding more weary than the old general he was talking with.

"Your father has always been rather protective of her since the start. From what I remember your father telling me hers was a difficult birth"

"Of course it was difficult. She was born one month early. It's no wonder she has such impeccable timing" Shen snorted only to sighed again. "She was always such a small kid. Small but by spirits she was a fighter. I swear I still have the scars from when she used to bite me"

"Yes, you're little sister sure has spirit" Iroh chuckled softly only for the sound to fall away as Shen made to speak again, his voice this time quiet and sad.

"Yeah…though sometimes I'm afraid she forgets she has it…and I'm afraid that I can't help her see it"

Zuko couldn't see his uncle's face but he could hear the small patient smile in his voice as he said:

"My dear boy you sell yourself too short. For as long as even I can remember, you have always looked after Jade as best you can. And ever since your poor mother passed on four years ago, you have always done your best to make sure that she was looked after, clothed, fed, healthy and happy. Even when your father was not able to-"

"He could've been able to" Shen all but spat before, it seemed, he could stop himself. "he could've tried to remember he had a life and a family besides our mother"

Now it was Iroh's turn to sigh heavily.

"I understand your anger Shen, and I am not saying you are wrong to feel it. You were still just a boy when it happened-"

"Fourteen" Shen stated bluntly and there was a silence from Iroh "I was fourteen and Jade was ten. Even if I could've gotten a job and looked after myself, both Jade and I still needed him. We needed our dad. But he didn't need us-"

"Now you know that is not true" Iroh's voice turned from patient to stern so fast that Zuko almost winced as he continued to listen.

"Your father needed you more than you knew. He still does need you. The whole reason he refuses to let your sister go, is because he's afraid of losing you both. You are both the only thing he has left of the love of his life."

Iroh paused to take a few deep breaths after which he continued his voice slightly tremulous.

"Shen, I know this is no excuse for your father's past actions whatever they may be, but I can tell you from personal experience that to lose a wife and to lose a child are both things that no man alive should ever experience. Both hurt more than you can ever imagine. And neither can you ever truly recover from the pain of it, no matter how much time passes."

Shen was silent as the older lord took a deep shuddering breath to steady himself. When he spoke next he was as calm as a cucumber.

"We are getting off topic"

"Yes we are" Shen agreed quickly, sounding a little ashamed, though he was quick to cover it up with a polite mutter of "May I have some more tea?"

"Of course my dear boy, of course" Iroh quickly coughed and soon all Zuko could hear was the pouring of liquid from cups that were slurped and put down.

Zuko waited patiently as Shen made to speak again, this time his voice hardened quite severely indeed.

"Now about your nephew and my sister…what actually happened?"

"From what you read in her diary I thought you'd know" Iroh snorted sounding a little amused.

"Only that they kissed and that he kissed her back before insulting her and comparing her to a dock wench" Shen barely managed to keep the snarl out of his voice, but even so Zuko felt his insides drop.

He'd yet to ever see Shen lose his temper, and given what he had seen of his father and sister, Zuko was not looking forwards to finding out how bad it was.

So he listened raptly hoping (cowardly he knew) that his uncle might be able to dull the anger out of the older teen, only to face palm as his uncle said:

"Yes he did."

Crap I'm screwed.

"That being said" Iroh piped up and again Zuko's head rose in hope "He does regret every word. I am sure that given the opportunity he would apologise to her, and I am sure that given time she would forgive him."

"Unlikely" Shen grunted as he took a swig of tea "I've never seen her this mad before. That being said, I don't think I've ever seen her this frazzled about someone since our mom died"

"Oh? And who was that last someone?" Iroh asked curiously and Zuko could once again hear the hint of a smirk in his uncle's voice. It appeared too in Shen's as he made to snigger.

"A boy in her acting troupe. Jin-Lee, the magistrate's son. Talented fire-bender, but a bit of a shallow and arrogant little prick. Not that Jade or the other girls seemed to care. He acted well enough to fool them into liking him."

"And Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked a sly edge to his voice. "Where does he stand in comparison to this talented actor?"

For some reason Zuko found himself holding his breath as he waited for Shen to think.

"Prince Zuko…hmm…difficult to tell really. But I do know this for a fact." Shen's voice was stern again "if he dares call my sister a whore again I will personally burn his entire face off myself."

"Not as long as I'm around" Iroh tutted, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice "As much as I understand your anger young man, the prince is still my nephew, and if there is to be any punishment for his behaviour it will be dealt with by me. And if the crime warrants it I will allow you to enact a reasonable level of justice"

"I guess I can live with that" Shen agreed with a small chuckle.

There was a small clink as two cups were toasted to one another, but already Zuko had prized himself away from the wall and had stood up to his feet.

Well…that was…bizarre…

He blinked to himself as he stumbled a little on his way to the door.

Air…he needed fresh air to mull over this new information.

No.

A calm but firm voice in his brain told him as he reached for the door handle.

No…Shen's right you need to find her and apologise…

But it wasn't my fault

Another part of his head whined childishly as he strode out the door and down the corridor.

She started it. She kissed me!

And you continued it and then you called her a whore you idiot.

The calm voice clipped only for the childish one to groan.

Yeah but she was thinking of another guy and kissing me. How could she –who even does that?

Plenty of other people. How do you think most of the people at court handle their arranged marriages?

The calm voice reasoned before adding:

Why? Did you enjoy it? Were you jealous of Jin? Is that why you did it? Did you insult her for liking him? just like how you couldn't stand her having a better family.

But did she really have a better family.

The honest answer was yes. But even so Zuko could still not help but ponder over what he had just heard.

Zuko had figured that Jade's mother was dead for quite some time (it didn't take a genius to work out after all).

But after hearing all of that talk between Shen and his uncle…it felt almost surreal to even just think about.

Ruishi wasn't ever a man to shirk from his responsibilities. From all Zuko had seen in these past two years the man was by far the most dutiful soldier and attentive, if slightly overbearing, father.

In fact if he had been honest with himself, it had always been one of the reasons he had been pissed off at Jade.

He, the crown prince, the one was supposed to have been adored by his people as the next potential ruler. Instead he got banished and scarred by his own father and thrown out, banished to hunt for the most powerful being in the world, whilst the rest of his nation laughed and scorned him behind his back.

Whereas she, Jade, was only a mere servant girl. Just one kitchen maid working at the bottom of a dingy ship with barely more than a small chest of clothes, one journal to confide in and one jade pendant to her name. And yet for whatever little she had, she still had she had everything he wanted.

A loving family, good friends… a person whom she liked…

Jin…

Even though he did not know the person, the name made Zuko's blood boil so hotly in his head that he accidently bent the heat in the corridor up a few degrees.

He didn't understand why he was so angry? Jade was a pretty girl for her age, anyone with working eyes could see that from a mile off. It stood to reason that there would be other boys interested in her.

Other boys whom she might be interested in.

He knew he shouldn't care. Knew that it was stupid of him to care. But somehow the thought of Jade with another boy…it just felt wrong…plain wrong…

Zuko stopped short midway up the stairs, his entire body going as still as stone.

Unfortunately for him his timing couldn't have been more disastrous for at that moment something clattered down from the deck and towards the stairs that led up towards the deck.

Zuko looked down and was surprised to see it was a shiny metal sai, sharp and clean, well made and balanced.

He reached down to grab it, only for his hand to touch another, far more slender and delicate than his.

He looked up quickly and gulped as a pair of green eyes met his in surprise

Oh crap…

His throat went dry as Jade's surprise turned into a hard disgusted glare.

"Prince Zuko" she clipped formally as she snatched her sai from the step.

"Jade-" Zuko began but already she was past him, her eyes set firmly on the corridor beyond as she all but ran from him.

He caught her arm quickly before she could get too far.

"I'm sorry" he murmured before she could wrench herself away.

Jade opened her mouth, then closed it, then swallowed and then said in a voice that was as steely as an iron cast door.

"Good night your highness"

And with that she tore her arm out of his grip and dashed down the corridor, leaving Zuko behind to stare after her as her head of brown hair whipped around a corner.

As soon as she was gone he swore to himself again.

Damn it! what is with that girl?! I apologised didn't I?! Argh! Why does this even matter to me? WHY DO I CARE SO MUCH?!

But even as he thought it the calm voice in his head spoke up once more.

Because…you like her…

There was a silence in the dark and then Zuko groaned loudly.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me"

MUAHAHAHAHA! NOW THE FUN BEGINS!

so zuko's finally realizing a little bit about himself and his feelings. but his struggles are not over yet. I know he apologized but personally i think Jade herself also has to do a bit more maturing before anything real can really happen between them.

But yeah, so a little bit more on Jade's (and her brother's) backstory was covered. it was fun writing from her brother Shen's perspective (though i admit that was sneaky reading from her diary) and from Iroh's (he's always interesting to write about) i hope i get to do more of them as well as our two teen idiots.

And as for jade...i guess even her family's got their issues (as does everyones families). don't worry the full story about them will be given in time (and i promise you it will be worth it).

hope you enjoyed and keep R&Ring