Two Hearts, One Soul Chapter Two
Title: Two Hearts, One Soul
Rating: Hard R/nc-17 to be safe
Chapter: Often Quiet and Unexpected
Summary: AU Jet survives Lake Laogai and Zuko sides with Team Avatar during the Crossroads of Destiny. But old prejudice and unresolved self hatred and shame are only some of the few obstacles facing these two. Jetko
1.
Jet wanted Li to be a Freedom Fighter.
He wasn’t sure why, but there was something intangible, some odd sense of longing he had for this strange boy that he had just met.
Li had the skill to be a Freedom Fighter, for one thing. Jet hadn’t expected that, honestly. He hadn’t been prepared for the grace Li exuded when he held his swords, or the way he moved with cat-like reflexes through the shadows.
But it wasn’t just Li’s talents that Jet was drawn to. He could tell himself that was it, that all he wanted to rebuild his group to its former glory, but even Jet couldn’t hide that small, niggling voice in the back of his head that told him just how badly he wanted Li.
It was strange, it was unexplainable, and most importantly it was stupid and dangerous to get mixed up with a stranger.
And Jet didn’t give a fuck.
He decided searched for Li the next morning; a little afraid that last night had scared him off. Jet just needed to see him, to calm the boy down and assure him that last night was just a little blip in the overall plan that Jet had formed to make Li a Freedom Fighter. Jet frowned as he went over last night over and over in his head. He had been so sure Li had wanted him. He had responded, hadn’t he? He had wanted Jet, at some point, before pushing him away. Li was holding something back, something that prevented him from getting close to people.
Li just kept getting more and more fascinating by the second.
Jet found Li’s Uncle first, snoring in some corner of the ship with a blanket wrapped tightly against the pre-dawn chill. Li was not there, but Jet saw a second blanket neatly folded in the empty space beside the old man. Jet crept down and laid the back of his hand against it. Slight warmth still radiated from it, so Li couldn’t have been up for too long.
Jet spent the next half hour prowling the ship in search of a pale boy with the scarred face. His search was difficult, what with the massive influx of refugees aboard. He was not in the expected places, before Jet cursed himself and made one more loop around the ship before he spotted his target.
Jet was sure the other boy had heard him approach, but he made no movement to acknowledge him.
Li stood at the bow of the boat, the rising sun reflected against his face, his entire posture tense and stiff. His lips were pressed into a thin line, the corners turned downwards. But Jet remembered how they had tasted, how they had parted for him, and Li’s harsh pants in his ear.
A new desire struck him as he observed the boy for several moments. Jet wanted, with a sudden desperate urge that coursed through him, to see how far he could push him. He wanted to know how long it would take before Jet could break him. He wanted Li under him, free from his pain, losing himself to his own senses. Jet wanted to see that scowl twist into a helpless smile, his tension melting beneath Jet’s hands.
But the time to test Li’s limits could come later. Jet could be patient, he had a feeling that this boy would be worth the wait anyway. For now, Jet wanted a Freedom Fighter.
2.
The Avatar was badly injured.
Zuko wasn’t quite sure how it had happened; he himself had been facing down several Dai Li agents when it had happened. But he had felt it, the change in the air. As a firebender, he knew the flames inside and out. He knew how fire felt, how it tasted, how it burned. There wasn’t a way to explain it exactly, the way the air would shift around him as the blaze ignites, and consuming the oxygen as the bender wielded it. Zuko could feel the shimmer right before the flames struck.
It was something no one could teach you; there was really no way to explain the slight change in air currents as the fire came to life. It was knowledge that had to be experienced.
So Zuko had felt it, some distance to his left, as a strange, cold blooded flame mad contact with its victim. He was not certain, but Zuko believed the flame had been intended for the Water Tribe girl. But the young Airbender bore the brunt of the attack, and for now he lay healing in a private cabin, with an ever watchful
waterbender as his guardian.
Zuko did his best to steer clear of that room. It was almost painful, even being on the same ship as the Avatar. Every instinct in him screamed to take charge. He was on a ship made by his own people. It would be easy, so easy. He could capture the Avatar. He could lead his friends into a trap. He could restore his honor.
He could go home.
But then he would remember his Uncle. And then guilt would taint his temptation.
Instead Zuko spent most of his time avoiding the others. He knew they made attempts to include him, but it was awkward and forced, made out of a sense of duty for trying to save their lives rather than true feelings of friendship.
Jet had an easier time.
While he had been at odds with the others before, his actions in Ba Sing Se had redeemed him. He also had Smellerbee and Longshot on his side and with his own natural charm and charisma, any initial awkwardness between himself and the avatar’s friends vanished within the first couple of days.
Zuko told himself he was not bitter, but the contrast in their positions was frustrating.
So Zuko isolated himself as best he could, spending the first three days alone in his room with his own thoughts for company. Only the blind earth bender sought him out. She spoke fondly of his Uncle, which helped, but her ease with him made his own solitude and strained relations with the others more obvious. One person on his side against a majority vote against him was not going to made him feel any more accepted.
In order to thoroughly remove all contact between him and the others, Zuko spent the remaining hours of his days in an empty storage room down the hall from his cabin. It was windowless, so he had hunted down candles (his own left behind in Ba Sing Se). He had found some in a secondary storage closet on the upper deck. As a Fire Nation ship, it made sense for there to be large quantities of candles lying around, and after confirming that the others had already taken their share he moved the remaining to his own area. There he trained until he was too exhausted to think. He had to keep his firebending to a minimum because of the enclosed area, so he instead focused on his dual swords.
Every morning he would awake at sunrise and grab his swords where he stored them beside his bed. He would take time to light each candle lining the wall, using precise firebending and even, staccato breathes. Then he would draw his swords, going through the motions like the weapons were his second skin, feet stepping just where he needed them to be. He trained until sweat dripped down his back, and his mind blanked. The only thing he felt was his own movements and the flames on the candles that comforted the fire within him.
For now, it was the only comfort he had.
3.
“You know, as soon as I saw your scar I knew exactly who you were.”
Those words, the second he heard them, sent an icy shiver down Zuko’s back as he tensed even further, preparing for accusations and the inevitable fight. He could feel the Earth Kingdom boy step closer, the tanned skin just barely in line with his peripheral vision.
“… You’re an outcast, like me,” and yes, those words threw Zuko and he struggled to maintain a blank façade, “And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other’s backs, because no one else will.”
This brought a shocked relief to Zuko, who immediately thanked Agni and every deity out there that his and Uncle’s secret was safe. For now, at least.
Zuko then struggled to think of what to say. He knew he was a horrible liar, even when his life dependent on it. So he went with the truth instead, hoping it would be enough. He couldn’t do any more than that.
“I’ve realized lately,” Zuko stated before he could stop himself, “ That being on your own isn’t always the best path.”
Those were not the words Zuko had imagined himself saying. But he had said them before he realized they had, and now they hung in the air between the two boys, incapable of being taken back. The words were the truth, but Zuko still couldn’t believe he had said something so real…so raw, to a complete stranger. He wasn’t sure how Jet reacted, didn’t care enough to look. His own heart was pounding in his chest.
Zuko only thought of last night, when he had come so close to revealing himself.
Zuko wasn’t completely sexually clueless. He knew what his crew got up to in their spare time, he knew where they went on shore leave, and he knew how they made do with each other when women were far and few between. But he had been kissed for the first time in that tiny closet on the ship, and he had not expected it would feel so….overwhelming. Amazing, and a little terrifying, but definitely something he would want again and again.
But he was afraid of losing control.
He doubted that he would have firebended during his and Jet’s little make-out session, but the truth was, while Jet had been kissing and touching him he had felt his fire pulsing through his veins as his heart skipped and pounded against his chest. He had no trouble containing his inner fire, but just the idea of losing his control, even if it was just himself and not his bending, was too scary for Zuko to admit.
And what if Jet discovered him?
“You’re an outcast, like me…”
Jet hadn’t discovered him.
Jet still wanted him.
But the most terrifying part of all? Zuko wasn’t quite sure if he minded.
Thankfully Jet remained quiet, and the two of them watched as the walls of Ba Sing Se loomed closer.
They could make a new life here, Zuko realized. Him and his Uncle.
But Zuko was not a refugee like the others. He was a Prince. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, make this life permanent.
He absolutely refused.
The winds drew in a cool breeze that ruffled through his hair. It was still an odd feeling, not having his traditional pony tail.
He barely noticed Jet shuffling closer until he felt a warm shoulder brush against his. He felt the ghost of a finger trail down his elbow, lingering on the crook before brushing against the sensitive skin of his underarms. The tip of a thumb pressed lightly on the pulse at his wrist.
Whether on his own violation or not, Zuko’s fingers twitched forward, and suddenly he found himself standing hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, with this Earth Kingdom Peasant, their hands intertwined between them.
He could shove him off, storm off, and find Uncle. He should do that, before things got any worse. He had to end this before he got too attached.
He imagined Jet going away, finally leaving him alone. Jet would forget him, and Zuko would become lost amongst the other refugees on the ship, struggling to survive. He could forget this boy, who could drive him beyond reason with the simple press of his lips. And maybe, someday, Zuko could get his life back on track somehow.
But in reality, Zuko sighed, and didn’t turn away when Jet pressed a small kiss to his shoulder. Instead, they turned together to face the sun rise, the soft wind whispering around them.
note: Aang does not get struck by lighting because of how things played out with Zuko joining the group earlier, but he does still get badly injured
Rating: Hard R/nc-17 to be safe
Chapter: Often Quiet and Unexpected
Summary: AU Jet survives Lake Laogai and Zuko sides with Team Avatar during the Crossroads of Destiny. But old prejudice and unresolved self hatred and shame are only some of the few obstacles facing these two. Jetko
1.
Jet wanted Li to be a Freedom Fighter.
He wasn’t sure why, but there was something intangible, some odd sense of longing he had for this strange boy that he had just met.
Li had the skill to be a Freedom Fighter, for one thing. Jet hadn’t expected that, honestly. He hadn’t been prepared for the grace Li exuded when he held his swords, or the way he moved with cat-like reflexes through the shadows.
But it wasn’t just Li’s talents that Jet was drawn to. He could tell himself that was it, that all he wanted to rebuild his group to its former glory, but even Jet couldn’t hide that small, niggling voice in the back of his head that told him just how badly he wanted Li.
It was strange, it was unexplainable, and most importantly it was stupid and dangerous to get mixed up with a stranger.
And Jet didn’t give a fuck.
He decided searched for Li the next morning; a little afraid that last night had scared him off. Jet just needed to see him, to calm the boy down and assure him that last night was just a little blip in the overall plan that Jet had formed to make Li a Freedom Fighter. Jet frowned as he went over last night over and over in his head. He had been so sure Li had wanted him. He had responded, hadn’t he? He had wanted Jet, at some point, before pushing him away. Li was holding something back, something that prevented him from getting close to people.
Li just kept getting more and more fascinating by the second.
Jet found Li’s Uncle first, snoring in some corner of the ship with a blanket wrapped tightly against the pre-dawn chill. Li was not there, but Jet saw a second blanket neatly folded in the empty space beside the old man. Jet crept down and laid the back of his hand against it. Slight warmth still radiated from it, so Li couldn’t have been up for too long.
Jet spent the next half hour prowling the ship in search of a pale boy with the scarred face. His search was difficult, what with the massive influx of refugees aboard. He was not in the expected places, before Jet cursed himself and made one more loop around the ship before he spotted his target.
Jet was sure the other boy had heard him approach, but he made no movement to acknowledge him.
Li stood at the bow of the boat, the rising sun reflected against his face, his entire posture tense and stiff. His lips were pressed into a thin line, the corners turned downwards. But Jet remembered how they had tasted, how they had parted for him, and Li’s harsh pants in his ear.
A new desire struck him as he observed the boy for several moments. Jet wanted, with a sudden desperate urge that coursed through him, to see how far he could push him. He wanted to know how long it would take before Jet could break him. He wanted Li under him, free from his pain, losing himself to his own senses. Jet wanted to see that scowl twist into a helpless smile, his tension melting beneath Jet’s hands.
But the time to test Li’s limits could come later. Jet could be patient, he had a feeling that this boy would be worth the wait anyway. For now, Jet wanted a Freedom Fighter.
2.
The Avatar was badly injured.
Zuko wasn’t quite sure how it had happened; he himself had been facing down several Dai Li agents when it had happened. But he had felt it, the change in the air. As a firebender, he knew the flames inside and out. He knew how fire felt, how it tasted, how it burned. There wasn’t a way to explain it exactly, the way the air would shift around him as the blaze ignites, and consuming the oxygen as the bender wielded it. Zuko could feel the shimmer right before the flames struck.
It was something no one could teach you; there was really no way to explain the slight change in air currents as the fire came to life. It was knowledge that had to be experienced.
So Zuko had felt it, some distance to his left, as a strange, cold blooded flame mad contact with its victim. He was not certain, but Zuko believed the flame had been intended for the Water Tribe girl. But the young Airbender bore the brunt of the attack, and for now he lay healing in a private cabin, with an ever watchful
waterbender as his guardian.
Zuko did his best to steer clear of that room. It was almost painful, even being on the same ship as the Avatar. Every instinct in him screamed to take charge. He was on a ship made by his own people. It would be easy, so easy. He could capture the Avatar. He could lead his friends into a trap. He could restore his honor.
He could go home.
But then he would remember his Uncle. And then guilt would taint his temptation.
Instead Zuko spent most of his time avoiding the others. He knew they made attempts to include him, but it was awkward and forced, made out of a sense of duty for trying to save their lives rather than true feelings of friendship.
Jet had an easier time.
While he had been at odds with the others before, his actions in Ba Sing Se had redeemed him. He also had Smellerbee and Longshot on his side and with his own natural charm and charisma, any initial awkwardness between himself and the avatar’s friends vanished within the first couple of days.
Zuko told himself he was not bitter, but the contrast in their positions was frustrating.
So Zuko isolated himself as best he could, spending the first three days alone in his room with his own thoughts for company. Only the blind earth bender sought him out. She spoke fondly of his Uncle, which helped, but her ease with him made his own solitude and strained relations with the others more obvious. One person on his side against a majority vote against him was not going to made him feel any more accepted.
In order to thoroughly remove all contact between him and the others, Zuko spent the remaining hours of his days in an empty storage room down the hall from his cabin. It was windowless, so he had hunted down candles (his own left behind in Ba Sing Se). He had found some in a secondary storage closet on the upper deck. As a Fire Nation ship, it made sense for there to be large quantities of candles lying around, and after confirming that the others had already taken their share he moved the remaining to his own area. There he trained until he was too exhausted to think. He had to keep his firebending to a minimum because of the enclosed area, so he instead focused on his dual swords.
Every morning he would awake at sunrise and grab his swords where he stored them beside his bed. He would take time to light each candle lining the wall, using precise firebending and even, staccato breathes. Then he would draw his swords, going through the motions like the weapons were his second skin, feet stepping just where he needed them to be. He trained until sweat dripped down his back, and his mind blanked. The only thing he felt was his own movements and the flames on the candles that comforted the fire within him.
For now, it was the only comfort he had.
3.
“You know, as soon as I saw your scar I knew exactly who you were.”
Those words, the second he heard them, sent an icy shiver down Zuko’s back as he tensed even further, preparing for accusations and the inevitable fight. He could feel the Earth Kingdom boy step closer, the tanned skin just barely in line with his peripheral vision.
“… You’re an outcast, like me,” and yes, those words threw Zuko and he struggled to maintain a blank façade, “And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other’s backs, because no one else will.”
This brought a shocked relief to Zuko, who immediately thanked Agni and every deity out there that his and Uncle’s secret was safe. For now, at least.
Zuko then struggled to think of what to say. He knew he was a horrible liar, even when his life dependent on it. So he went with the truth instead, hoping it would be enough. He couldn’t do any more than that.
“I’ve realized lately,” Zuko stated before he could stop himself, “ That being on your own isn’t always the best path.”
Those were not the words Zuko had imagined himself saying. But he had said them before he realized they had, and now they hung in the air between the two boys, incapable of being taken back. The words were the truth, but Zuko still couldn’t believe he had said something so real…so raw, to a complete stranger. He wasn’t sure how Jet reacted, didn’t care enough to look. His own heart was pounding in his chest.
Zuko only thought of last night, when he had come so close to revealing himself.
Zuko wasn’t completely sexually clueless. He knew what his crew got up to in their spare time, he knew where they went on shore leave, and he knew how they made do with each other when women were far and few between. But he had been kissed for the first time in that tiny closet on the ship, and he had not expected it would feel so….overwhelming. Amazing, and a little terrifying, but definitely something he would want again and again.
But he was afraid of losing control.
He doubted that he would have firebended during his and Jet’s little make-out session, but the truth was, while Jet had been kissing and touching him he had felt his fire pulsing through his veins as his heart skipped and pounded against his chest. He had no trouble containing his inner fire, but just the idea of losing his control, even if it was just himself and not his bending, was too scary for Zuko to admit.
And what if Jet discovered him?
“You’re an outcast, like me…”
Jet hadn’t discovered him.
Jet still wanted him.
But the most terrifying part of all? Zuko wasn’t quite sure if he minded.
Thankfully Jet remained quiet, and the two of them watched as the walls of Ba Sing Se loomed closer.
They could make a new life here, Zuko realized. Him and his Uncle.
But Zuko was not a refugee like the others. He was a Prince. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, make this life permanent.
He absolutely refused.
The winds drew in a cool breeze that ruffled through his hair. It was still an odd feeling, not having his traditional pony tail.
He barely noticed Jet shuffling closer until he felt a warm shoulder brush against his. He felt the ghost of a finger trail down his elbow, lingering on the crook before brushing against the sensitive skin of his underarms. The tip of a thumb pressed lightly on the pulse at his wrist.
Whether on his own violation or not, Zuko’s fingers twitched forward, and suddenly he found himself standing hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, with this Earth Kingdom Peasant, their hands intertwined between them.
He could shove him off, storm off, and find Uncle. He should do that, before things got any worse. He had to end this before he got too attached.
He imagined Jet going away, finally leaving him alone. Jet would forget him, and Zuko would become lost amongst the other refugees on the ship, struggling to survive. He could forget this boy, who could drive him beyond reason with the simple press of his lips. And maybe, someday, Zuko could get his life back on track somehow.
But in reality, Zuko sighed, and didn’t turn away when Jet pressed a small kiss to his shoulder. Instead, they turned together to face the sun rise, the soft wind whispering around them.
note: Aang does not get struck by lighting because of how things played out with Zuko joining the group earlier, but he does still get badly injured