A. N. : Last chapter before the weekend and no, I am not sorry. In French, we can say a lie/story is "cousu de fil blanc" (sewn with white thread). It means the fact it was made up is obvious.

Li is still unconscious.

He has been for two days now and neither the fever nor the nightmares have gone away.

Smellerbee and Longshot drop by everyday to check on him, and Jet and Mushi are taking turns so there's always someone watching him while the other can rest or take care of Lin.

It is night and Mushi and Lin are sleeping in the main room, and Jet only has his mind and a candle to keep him company. Discussing with Li is as useless as frustrating, and really, Jet is going to kick his ass so hard for that and what kind of idiot gets that sick from a little water, it's not as if he fought Katara or anything right – Jet has no idea what Li did, but if it had involved Katara, they would've found Li frozen to a building, not looking like he just crossed a fucking river while fully dressed –

Even not talking to Li is frustrating.

Jet sighs. Mushi said that Li's illness was caused by some sort of metamorphosis he's supposedly going through, but Jet calls bullshit on that. Only benders can be so affected by their emotions that they fall sick. Something about chi manipulation or whatever. And Li isn't a bender.

Right ?

No. No he isn't. If he was, Jet would know it. Li has no reason to hide something like that. Except if – no. No that's impossible Li isn't –

Jet forces himself to breathe.

Li is like him. Li gets him. Li is broken and hurt and wears the war on his skin and loves a tiny war child and is haunted by dreams so terrible they come during the day too, and make him forget about how much he can hurt the people who care. Li is always angry and nothing ever happens, not like it does around Lin, and if it isn't proof that Mushi is just a senile old man, the Jet doesn't know what is.

And that candle is moving like a regular fucking candle and not following Li's irregular breathing.

Jet's eyes are watering from looking too long at the flame, but he can't stop, because it's just an accident that it's dancing at the rhythm of a heartbeat and if he stops looking he will miss the moment it stops and he can't miss it because he is right he always is and Li may be a mystery but Jet knows they are the same and he isn't like that, isn't like them, doesn't burn innocent villages down – he drowns them instead and he is sick sick and why can't the candle just burn out then he'll be in the dark and fine and he'll be able to lie like he always does and pretend he didn't become like them while fighting them, pretend it doesn't hurt to know he did –

Li screams in his sleep and the flame burns white –

Jet sobs.