FicWad

Uninvited
Pairing: Jet/Zuko
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3407
Disclaimer: Don't own, not making any money.



Zuko couldn't believe it. The boy from the ferry - /Jet/, his mind supplied - was here, attacking him. And Jet was blowing his and Uncle Iroh's cover.

"I know," Jet said, holding his hook swords. "I knew as soon as I saw the old man with his tea." His eyes narrowed and a bitter smile curled on his lips. "His hot tea."

Zuko shook his head. "I don't want to fight you," he said, wielding his broadswords. "Leave me alone."

Jet snorted. "I can't do that." He darted forward, slashing his swords and Zuko jumped back, swinging his left hand at Jet. Their weapons struck each other with a loud, trilling sound and the two men parted, jumping backwards and away.

"Firebend, Lee!" Jet yelled. "You're a firebender so strike me with your flames!" He stepped backwards and weaved forward, swinging his swords in a spherical motion. ""I'll make you!" he said, slashing at Zuko. Zuko ducked low and swung one sword at Jet's legs. Jet jumped up and brought the curved side of his hook sword down hard Zuko's back before jumping back.

"Use your bending!" Jet said. "Stop fighting me with your swords; that'll never work!" A small crowd had gathered, watching the spectacle with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Jet appealed to them. "This man and his uncle are Fire Nation! Fire Nation!" he repeated, pointing at Zuko. "This man is your enemy!"

"Shut up!" Zuko yelled, glancing at the surrounding people. "You're crazy! I can't firebend!"

"You can! I saw you!" Jet said, launching himself at Zuko. "Stop lying, Lee!" he yelled, swinging both swords at Zuko wildly. Zuko stepped backwards and watched Jet wearily. /He losing it/, he thought, seeing the desperate gleam in Jet's eyes. In the corner of his he could see two of the Dai Lee guards stepping forward.

"I can't bend," he said again. "You're acting crazy, Jet!" Before he could say anything else, the two guards rushed forward and grabbed hold of Jet by the shoulder, quickly disarming him and earthbending cuffs around his wrists.

"What...what are you doing?!" Jet said, struggling against them. "Stop it, he's the one! He's a firebender!" He lunged away from them and dove for his swords but the earth cuffs on his wrists prevented him from picking them up.

The two guards picked him up around his arms and started dragging him away. "Let go of me!" he said, though his struggles were useless this time. "That man is from the Fire Nation!"

Zuko watched them drag Jet away, brow furrowed. /It's not right/, he said, holding his swords at his side. /Something's not right here/. "Wait!" he said, running up to the guard. "Wait. My...friend has been drinking tonight. He always gets like this. Please, he didn't mean any harm," Zuko said, bowing deeply to them and glaring at the ground. "He's had a rough time in the past."

"Lee...?" Jet said, brow furrowed.

The two Dai Lee guards frowned and exchanged a glance. "Keep him out of trouble," one said, thrusting Jet at Zuko. Zuko caught the boy and push him away from himself. At the Dai Lee's suspicious glare, he kept his hand on Jet's back.

"Yes, of course," Zuko said, bowing again, and picked up the hooked swords. "C'mon Jet. Let's get you back to the...tea shop," he said. As they walked away from the Dai Lee agents, Zuko spoke under his breath. "Just shut up and come on. I'm trying to keep both of us out of trouble here," he said, glancing over his shoulder. The two guards were watching them leave and he muttered below his breath as they reached the tea shop door.

Jet glared at him. "Get. In. the shop," Zuko hissed. "They're still watching us." Jet glanced over his shoulder at the guards before sighing deeply and walking into the tea shop.

Zuko chanced one more glance at the Dai Lee agents before slamming the door behind him. "What are you thinking?!" he hissed at Jet. "You're going to get both of us arrested!"

"It would be worth it knowing that you're in prison too," Jet said, hands flexing on his swords. "Why did you help me, Lee?!"

"Yes, Nephew," a voice said and both Zuko and Jet jumped, weapons coming automatically. "Why did you help him?" Iroh said, sitting at the bar of the tea shop. "I fear you may have caused us many problems in the future."

Zuko frowned, brow furrowing. "I...don't know," he said. Jet snorted and Zuko glared at him. "I think it's because you're wrong. My uncle and I are not firebenders," he said firmly. "I'm not sure why you're thinking this, but we're not."

"Firebenders?" Iroh said, stroking his beard. "Of course we're not. Young man, you are very mistaken," he said, smiling at Jet. "We're not bender of any sort."

Jet raised his eyebrows. "Well, sure," he said, putting his hands on his hips. "Of course I believe you. You telling me that is really all the proof I need." He shook his head. "Sorry, old man. That's not going to cut it."

Zuko frowned. "I'm not interested in helping with your insane accusations," he said. "After the guards leave, so will you. And," he narrowed his eyes and pointed at him. "You won't be coming back."

Jet walked over to Zuko. Towering over the shorter man, he poked Zuko's chest. "Oh no," he said, lips curling into a smirk. "Don't you remember what you told the Dai Lee? We're friends, right? Really good pals. It would look...suspicious...for me to leave now." He stepped back and glanced at Iroh. "I might just have to visit you here every day to make sure everything's doing okay." The smirk sharpened. "And when you don't see me? I'll still be there." He lowered his head and voice and stared at Zuko, eye to eye. "I'll be ghosting your steps, Lee. I'll be everywhere you are."

Zuko waved Jet's hand away from his chest and scowled. "Now, look," he started but Jet turned and peaked out the window.

"They're gone," he said, opening the door. He looked over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow," he said, a shark's smile on his lips as he walked through the doorway.

Zuko stared, a thundercloud at his brow, before turning to Iroh. "I should have let them take him," he said.

Iroh nodded. "There is nothing you can do about it now, Nephew," he said, getting to his feet. "Come. It is time for bed."

"But," Zuko began and Iroh waved him off.

"There is nothing we can do about that boy now," he said. "We will just have to be more careful." He eyed Zuko. "Do you really not know why you stopped them from taking him?" he asked as they walked to their rooms.

Zuko thought about it. "I'm not sure," he said. "There's something wrong with this city." He didn't know how to explain it any further so he stopped.

Iroh eyed him for a moment. "Perhaps," he said. "Or perhaps you feel pity for that boy. It seems that you two share a lot in common." He smiled at Zuko's glare. "Good night. /Lee/," he said, stressing the name. He turned to his own bed.

Zuko watched him for a moment before sighing. "Good night, Uncle," he said.

*

It was a fairly typical day at the tea shop. Several elderly visitors ooh-ed and ahh-ed over Iroh's tea. All the younger girls that came in whispered and giggled behind their hands, chancing glances at Zuko. Iroh kept everyone highly entertained with completely ridiculous stories while Zuko stayed as far away from the customers as he could while still doing his job.

Zuko hated it. He hated working there, having to serve the people. He hated having to fake politeness to irritating and puerile conversations. He really wasn't very good at it, either. More than once, a young girl or older woman would wince away from his short replies and disinterested stares.

"You're not making any friends, Nephew," Iroh whispered, to him when they were both in the back. "You must learn to be more friendly."

"I'm being polite," Zuko said. "Uncle, what would you have me do? Do a song and dance for each customer that comes in here?"

Iroh chuckled. "I would like to see that," he said, waving his hand at Zuko's glare. "No, Zuko. All I ask for is kindness. Your politeness is rather frosty, you know." The door creaked open and Iroh stepped out from the back.

Zuko sighed and sat down at the table. /Uncle is getting entirely too comfortable with this life/, he thought. He didn't want to stay here. At all.

"Lee, come out here," he heard Iroh say and Zuko stood up.

"Uncle, what is it?" he asked, stepping out. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not," Iroh said, and though he was smiling, his eyes were coldly amused. "Your friend is here."

Zuko frowned and looked over. "Jet?" he said, eyes widening.

The man stepped forward, eyebrow lifting sardonically at Zuko's surprised expression. "Hey, Lee," he said. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night." He winked at some of the customers who were listening. "You know how it is when you've drunk too much." He laughed and the elderly men laughed with him, and it was suddenly like Jet was friends with everyone in the shop.

Zuko scowled and opened his mouth to argue with him but Iroh touched his shoulder. Zuko paused for a moment, rethinking his words. "That's...alright, Jet," he said stiffly. "I understand."

The corners of Jet's lips twitched upwards. "Would you mind getting me a cup of tea?" he asked. "I'm a bit thirsty."

Zuko gritted his teeth. "Sure," he bit out and turned to get the tea. Behind him, he heard Iroh strike up a conversation with Jet. /Figures. That man could hold a conversation with a wall if it looked interesting/, Zuko thought, a bit unfairly as he slammed the tea kettles and cups around. /This just isn't right. It's almost blackmail/.

When he got back, several of the customers were listening to a story Jet was telling. Zuko came up beside where he sat and set the tea down. "Your tea," he said, and Jet took a sip.

"Delicious. Mushi, this is great," he said. Iroh smiled and nodded from where he sat with some of the customers.

Zuko turned to leave and felt a hand fall on his arm. He looked at Jet. "Let go," he said, tugging his arm out of Jet's grasp.

"C'mon, Lee," Jet said with an easy grin. "Surely you can take a few moments away from your busy job to sit with me?" The threat was in his eyes and Zuko sighed.

"I suppose I have a moment to spare," he said, sitting down heavily on the bench across from Jet. Jet laughed, low and dark.

"I thought you might," he said, resting his head on one hand. "How are you liking Ba Sing Se?" he asked, glaring at Zuko as if waiting for him to slip up.

Zuko frowned. What is he playing at? "It's fine," he said, looking over Jet's shoulder, appearing as disinterested as possible.

Jet nodded. "I imagine it's nothing like the great cities of the Fire Nation, hmm?" he asked, eyes flashing dangerously when he said it.

"I wouldn't know," Zuko said, looking at him pointedly. "Since I've never been to any."

Jet laughed. "Right," he said. "That's right, of course you haven't." He shook his head, still smiling. "You're not Fire Nation at all. You're just another Earth Nation citizen, right?"

Zuko blinked. Is that our story? he thought, brow furrowing. He couldn't remember if he had ever told anyone that before. "Yes, we're Earth Nation," he said slowly. "We came here as refugees."

Jet watched him carefully. "Right," he said, before finishing off his tea. "Well, I suppose it's time for me to go," he said, getting to his feet. Zuko did the same, relieved.

"Thanks for the tea Lee, Mushi," he said, dropping a few coins down on the table. "I'll see you later," he said, smiling winningly at the other customers before leaving. Zuko followed him out, furious beyond words.

"What are you playing at?" he hissed, resisting the urge to punch Jet. "Why did you come here? To my work and home?!"

Jet stuck a wheat stalk in his mouth and sucked on it. "You invited me first," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Last night."

"You're not going to come back here!" Zuko said, pointing at him. "Just stay away from me!"

Jet grinned. "No can do," he said, shrugging. "See you tomorrow." He began walking away and Zuko took a step forward.

"Hey! Come back here!" he yelled, but Jet ignored him. Zuko rubbed his forehead and walked back to the shop.

"I'm taking a break," he said, bypassing Iroh's attempts to talk to him, walking directly to the backdoor. Standing in the small alleyway behind the tea shop, Zuko sighed deeply.

/This is just. Perfect/, he thought, folding his hands in front of his chest.

*

And so it went on for two weeks. Jet would should up at the tea shop and various parts of the day and have Zuko serve tea and sit with him. He would ask Zuko various questions about where he was from, what he'd been doing before coming to Ba Sing Se, and what he was planning to do. For each question, Zuko would answer as quickly and vaguely as possible.

Zuko was beginning to get sick of it. On the fifteenth day, Jet didn't arrive until just before closing. The sun had set and the lamps had been lit. Iroh sat at the window near the front, reading a book and taking surreptitious glances at the two young men.

Jet and Zuko were sitting on the opposite end of the shop. Jet slouched comfortably in the seat and Zuko sat across from him, back straight and hands resting in his lap.

"Your eyes are gold," Jet set, leaning forward and peering at Zuko's face. "That's a Fire Nation color, isn't it?" he asked, lip curling up. "How do you explain that, Lee?"

Zuko sighed. "It's uncommon for an Earth Kingdom citizen to have gold eyes, but it's not impossible." He glared at Jet. "You've been coming here for two weeks now. Can't you see that I'm not Fire Nation by now?" All the frustration that had been building up for the past fourteen weeks flooded Zuko and he leaned forward, voice raising. "You've come here for the past two weeks, silently threatening to cause trouble for my uncle and me, making me serve you and pretend that we're friends, over what? A hunch?!" Zuko stood. "I've had enough, Jet! It's over! If you want to start a fight, fine. But I won't be blackmailed anymore!" He started to walk away and a hand fell on his wrist.

"Wait," Jet said, pulling at his arm. "Sit back down, Lee," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Please."

Zuko huffed and sat back down rather roughly. "What?" he said, eyes narrowed.

Jet smiled. "I don't think you're Fire Nation," he said easily, letting go of Zuko's arm. "I haven't for the last week or so."

Zuko blinked. "...What?" he said, not sure what he just heard. "You don't think I'm from the Fire Nation?"

Jet shook his head. "Nope," he said, cocking his head to one side as he watched Zuko's reaction.

"Then..." Zuko shook his head ."Then what have you been doing for the past week?!" he said, confusion melting into rage. "What's been going on?!"

Jet shrugged. "We've been drinking tea together every day," he said, a slow grin spreading on his face as he watched Zuko attempt to reign in his anger. "You're really mad about this," he noted.

"Of course I'm mad!" Zuko said, slamming a fist on the hand. "You've been blackmailing me for no reason! This entire week you've been lying and for what? Why?!"

Jet shrugged again and Zuko was beginning to hate that gesture. "To see you," he said.

"Why?" Zuko said, brows slamming down into a scowl. "What is the point of that?"

Jet sighed, eyebrows raising. "You're kind of oblivious, aren't you?" he said, and Zuko had had enough. He got to his feet.

"Get out," he said, pointing to the door. "First you threaten me, then you lie for whatever reason, and now you insult me?" He shook his head. "Don't bother coming back here again."

Jet stood up as well, holding his hands up in a pacifying manner. "Wait, Lee," he protested and Zuko grabbed his hand.

"Shut up," he said, dragging him to the door. "I don't want to hear it," he said, sliding the door open violently.

"Well I want to say it," Jet said, frowning. He glanced at Iroh, who quickly looked down at his book, eyebrows raised innocently. "Let's talk outside," he said and Zuko shook his head.

"No, I'm through talking with you," he said, gesturing at the door. "Get out!"

Jet sighed and walked to the door. The moment he passed Zuko, though, he grabbed his arm.

"Hey!" Zuko cried out as he was pulled outside. He threw his elbow up and slammed it against Jet's face. Jet stumbled back and surged forward, pushing Zuko face first against the wall of the tea shop.

"I'm not trying to hurt you!" Jet said, pinning Zuko's hands to his lower back. "Lee, calm down! I just want to talk!"

"You've talked enough!" Zuko said, struggling against the hold. "Let go of me!" He said and felt Jet's body press up against his.

"Lee, I like you," Jet said and Zuko froze. He felt Jet's hands loosen on his wrists but he didn't move.

"What?" he asked. What?! "What are you...?"

"I like you," he heard again and Zuko felt lips press against the back of his neck. "See?"

Zuko turned around slowly, hating the feel of blush rushing to his checks. "Oh," he said, not looking at Jet.

He heard Jet laugh and looked at him sharply, offended. Jet raised his eyebrows. "You don't have to look so flattered," he said, eyeing Zuko's reddened face.

Zuko scowled. "What were you expecting me to do, welcome you with open arms?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

Jet laughed again. "No, I was expecting exactly this. Well, the elbow jab was a surprise," he said, rubbing his nose. "Which is why I didn't say anything when I realized that you really weren't from the Fire Nation." He shrugged, sucking on the wheat stalk. "That way, I would still get to see you."

Zuko raised his eyes to Jet and shook his head. "That's completely insane," he said.

Jet thought about it for a moment before nodded. "Yeah, a little," he conceded. "But it worked, right?" He grinned. "So, do you want to go out sometime?"

"Of course not!" Zuko said, frowning. "Don't be ridiculous." He shook his head and pushed Jet away from him. "I. Don't know you," he stuttered, not sure what to say. "I'm going back inside."

Jet raised his hands and sighed. "Okay, okay," he said. "I can understand your decision." He smiled around his wheat stalk. "I had to give it a shot, right?"

Zuko frowned. "I guess," he said, expression frosty. He turned and started walking back to the door.

"Hey, Lee." Zuko sighed heavily and turned. Strong hands grabbed hold of his shoulders and Jet brushed his lips against Zuko's before pressing harder, meshing their lips together. Jet tilted his head and suddenly his tongue was there, in Zuko's mouth, stroking his tongue.

Zuko moaned, eyes closing reflexively, before jerking away from Jet. "Stop that!" he sputtered, scrubbing his mouth.

Jet winked. Leaning forward, he touched Zuko's cheek. "See you tomorrow," Jet whispered, breath puffing against Zuko's lips, before turning and walking away. Zuko watched him leave before going back inside.

"Prince Zuko..." Iroh said and Zuko waved him off.

"I'm going to bed," he said, trudging to his room. Sliding the door, he fell onto his bed and reviewed what just happened. /That Fire Nation-hating man likes me/, Zuko thought, rolling over to his side. He was silent and still for a moment before launching himself upwards.

"Did he say 'see you tomorrow'?!"




END