Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“H-hey,” a weak voice calls from one of the coolers. “L-le-let me ou-out of he-here.”

Zuko stops in front of the door. The voice is so familiar, but he can’t quite place it. It sounds so different from the last time he heard it and the quiver brought on by the cold doesn’t help. He ignores Sokka as he urges him to keep moving. The sound of his racing heart drowns out his friend’s voice as he reaches for the lock.

He expects to see someone from his past, but he’d expected someone from his childhood. Maybe one of the kids he played with before his mother disappeared. Ice chases his blood from his veins at the sight of the person on the other side of the door.

“Jet?!” Sokka calls. He sounds as shocked and concerned as Zuko. But he also seems confused, his eyes locked on the freedom fighter’s chest.

Kneeling beside him, Zuko reaches to pull Jet close, stopping when he flinches. “Easy. It’s okay.” His voice is gentle, calm even. Jet is too exhausted to fight as Zuko pulls him close. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes when Jet hisses in pain. “Sokka, get us back to Suki’s cell.”

It takes far longer than it should have to get back to the Kyoshi Warrior’s cell after Sokka finally shakes off his shock. His racing thoughts keeping his mouth shut and his anger at bay until they reach the women’s wing of the prison. There are fewer guards here; the female prisoners are far less trouble than their male counterparts. As soon as they reach Suki’s floor, it’s clear to her cell.

“Who’s she?” Suki asks when the door closes behind the trio.

“’He,’” Zuko corrects as he lays Jet on the bare cot. “Hey. I know you’re tired, but I need you to try to stay awake for me. Okay? At least until I get you warm.”

It worries him that the only response Jet can offer is incoherent mumbling. He’s still cold to the touch. How long had he been in that cooler? Prisoners aren’t allowed to have blankets, so Zuko pulls off his shirt and covers Jet with that. He always forgets just how much smaller than him the freedom fighter is. With his armor and all the layers he usually wears, the two look about the same size, but Jet is much slimmer and he appears to have lost some weight. A thin shirt alone isn’t going to be enough to warm him.

“I’ll see if I can get a real blanket from the barracks,” Sokka announces. Before stepping out the door, he says, “Sharing body heat is one of the best ways to combat hypothermia. Second to fire and blankets.”

“Maybe you should-” Suki starts before turning towards the cot. “Zuko!”

“What?” Zuko snaps back as he pulls Jet’s shirt the rest of the way off, doing his best to keep him up right while quickly covering him again. “He said to share body heat.”

Suki face palms when Zuko pulls Jet into his lap. “This isn’t what he meant. You don’t get to feel up some defenseless girl just because you’re the warmest person in the room.” He just shakes his head as he presses one warm hand to the side of Jet’s neck, the other holding the shirts up over him. “Did you hear me?!”

“Jet is anything but defenseless and I’m not trying to ‘feel him up.’ He knows me. He knows Sokka. He doesn’t know you and he doesn’t trust strangers. Forgive me for prioritizing his safety and comfort over your assumption of his desires,” Zuko hisses. “And if you keep shouting, we’re all going to get in trouble. Shut. Up.”

She doesn’t like it, but he’s right. They need to be quiet until Sokka returns. So she sits on the end of the cot and watches the exiled prince like a hawk. Sokka seems to trust him, but that doesn’t mean she has to. She especially doesn’t trust him as Jet finally loses consciousness in his arms.

Eventually, Sokka returns with a blanket and some news. As he wrapped Jet in the extra layer of warmth, he explained that there were some guards talking about a new group of prisoners from the warfront due to arrive in an hour. The trio agrees to stay in case Hakoda is among the group. If not, they’ll find a new way out. In the meantime, they had to take care of Jet.

Chapter Text

A knock on the door startles the silent trio. Quietly, Sokka checks who’s on the other side. He breathes a sigh of relief as he opens the door. “Its just Chit Sang.” Behind Chit Sang, two more prisoners look impatient. “Who are they?”

“This is my girl, Rena,” an oddly happy woman waves. “And my best buddy, Li. They’re coming with us. What’s that jerk doing here?”

“I can still kick your ass,” Jet slurs as he finally starts to wake up. “Where’s my shirt?”

Snapping to get Chit Sang’s attention away from Jet, Sokka says, “He’s our friend. Yours can come with us, but we need a new plan and we all need to get along.” He pointedly looks to Suki with the last statement. “The new arrivals should be here any minute now. I’ll go see if my dad’s with them. It might be best if everyone acts normal until we find a way to get out of here. Zuko, I know you don’t like it-”

“I get it. We have to maintain appearances.” Turning to Jet as he finishes tying the belt around his waist, he asks, “Are you okay?”

A stiff nod is his response. As Zuko stands to follow the others, he asks, “When we get out of here, can I talk to you? Alone?”

Dread falls over the prince at the sad look in his partner’s eyes. He can only manage a nod of his own before the two girls and Jet were alone in the cell. Rena’s ever-present smile falters after a solid ten minutes of awkward silence. She thought that at least one of them would speak, but Suki just keeps watching Jet like she’s his aggressively concerned sister and Jet has hugged his knees to his chest and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling.

Eventually, she can’t take the silence. “My name’s Rena,” she again introduces herself. More silence. “I didn’t catch your names.”

“Suki.”

“Jet.”

Rena’s smile drops completely at their short responses. “You two aren’t big talkers, are you?” That at least gets them to look at her. “Well, it’s just that you’ve been staring at her like you expect her to explode.” She turns to Jet. “Any you look like you’d rather be anywhere but here. Which, I totally get.”

“I’m a guy,” Jet deadpans when he processes Rena calling him “her,” only to trigger yet another bout of silence. “I mean, I was born like a girl, but I’m not a girl. I’m a guy,” he elaborates.

“Does Zuko know you’re a guy?” Suki questions.

He glares at her. “Did I do something to piss you off? Or do you have a grudge against him?”

“You didn’t do anything,” Suki assures. “I don’t trust him, especially after he was so enthusiastic to get you undressed.”

“Okay? Even I know skin to skin makes it easier to fight hypothermia. They left me in that cooler for twelve hours! I was freezing!”

“I understand, but I was right here.”

“I don’t know you.”

It finally clicks in her mind. Zuko had said something similar earlier. To Jet, she’s just another prisoner, one that happens to know Sokka. He has no reason to trust her. “My name is Suki. I’m the Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors. Part of my job is protecting my girls and after leaving our island to join the war effort I’ve come to understand that most men don’t have the best intentions. Especially when they come across a vulnerable woman. I don’t trust Zuko, specifically, because he was one of the firebenders that burned my village looking for Aang. I didn’t know that you aren’t a girl, and I was so preoccupied with protecting you that I didn’t listen when I was corrected. For that I’m sorry.”

“Whatever,” he grumbles, brushing off her apology. “Zuko’s not like that. And I’m not some defenseless little girl. I’ve been fighting since I was eight. I’m good at it. And I’ve got people to protect, too.”

“Do you have family waiting for you on the outside?” Rena asks.

He shakes his head in response. “My Freedom Fighters and Zuko are all I’ve got.”

“I met the Freedom Fighters,” Suki comments. “They fought with us on the Day of Black Sun. Rowdy bunch, but good fighters.”

“Sounds like my kids,” Jet laughs before a familiar whistle down the hall from the cell catches his attention. “Sokka’s coming.”

Chapter Text

Sokka is alone when he returns to the cell, but not emptyhanded. He’d stolen bandages from the infirmary on his way back for Jet. He saw how he’d curled in on himself the second he had his shirt back on. How uncomfortable he was. In that hunched position his chest almost appeared flat beneath the loose garment. While he waited for the new prisoners to arrive, he couldn’t get that image out of his head. The anxiety in his eyes didn’t leave Sokka’s mind even as he watched his father step off the gondola.

“Was he with them?” Suki asks.

“Yeah,” Sokka confirms as he crosses the room to sit between his girlfriend and Jet, handing him the bandages as he sat. “I’m going to see him when I’m done here. But I wanted to check on Jet first.” Turning his attention to the Freedom Fighter, he asks, “How are you feeling?”

Taking a deep breath, Jet thinks about how to answer. He doesn’t want to say that he’s okay because he’s not. His hands still feel like he’s being stuck with pins and needles, and everything hurts. But he’s not cold anymore. “Warm,” he decides is a good answer. “I hate those coolers.”

“You know, if you make a little fire,” Rena says, producing a tiny flame in the palm of her hand, “like this, you can get a little warmth for the first few minutes.”

Fear and anger fill Jet’s eyes as he stares into the fire. He can feel the heat from across the room. He doesn’t hear Sokka snap at her that he isn’t a bender and to put out the fire or how shallow his breathing gets. He feels the familiar urge to attack the source of his fear but restrains himself from reaching for his absent swords. He misses his swords; they made him feel safe.

Right now, he does not feel safe. And he’s afraid of what he’ll do. While everything in him is screaming to fight, a tiny voice in the back of his mind is whispering for him to just breathe and assess. He doesn’t have the chance to decide between the scream and the whisper before Sokka is shooing the girls out of the cell.

“Jet?” He flinches as Sokka’s hand closes around his. “What can I do?”

“What’s wrong with me?” His voice sounds strained. “Three months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to fight,” he adds, again hugging his knees to his chest. “Now, part of me just wants to curl into a ball and disappear.”

He looks scared and confused and every bit his age. Jet is only sixteen, so is Sokka and Zuko and Suki. For the first time in a long time Sokka is reminded that they are all just children playing war, not actual soldiers. “It’s called shell shock. I’ve seen it in men twice your age with half your experience. You’ve been fighting your entire life and you’re exhausted.” He moves to sit beside Jet. He can’t feel how cold the metal wall is through the stolen guard uniform he’s wearing, but having something solid behind him is a small comfort. “We’re kids. We all are. You, me, Suki, Zuko. All of us. We’re all kids fighting in a war that takes everything from everyone and we’re all exhausted. But we’re almost done.”

“Are we, though?”

“We are. We have one last chance. Whether we win or lose, this war will be over when Sozin’s Commet arrives.”

“We can’t lose.”

“There’s a plan, but it’s not up to us. Aang has to do it. That’s his duty as the Avatar.”

Jet shakes his head at the thought. “The fate of the world is in the hands of a twelve-year-old boy and I’m freaking out over a little firebending.”

He flinches when Sokka’s hand moves to his shoulder. “Aang knows the plan and you didn’t freak out. You were scared. It’s okay to be scared, especially when you’ve been surrounded by the one thing you fear for months. Hell, I’m scared. You just need to hang in there a little longer, then you can rest. By this time tomorrow we’ll be on our way to the Western Air Temple.”

Jet tilts his head back against the wall to once again stare at the ceiling. “I wish we were going back to the forest. I miss my Freedom Fighters.”

“You should be proud of them. They fought well during the invasion. And the Duke is back at the Air Temple. Pipsqueak made sure he went with us when we had to retreat. I don’t know about everyone else, though. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. My guys are tough.”

After a moment, Sokka gently squeezes Jet’s shoulder before standing. “I’m going to go check on my dad, then track down Zuko. We should have a plan by the time I get back.”

Chapter Text

Zuko watched from the ground floor as Sokka made his way from the woman’s wing to a cell in the men’s wing of the prison that he can only assume is Hakoda’s. They nod to each other when they momentarily locked eyes. He turns his attention back to mopping the floor, trying to stay under the guards’ radar as much as possible.

For a while, it works. He’s just another face in the crowd until two guards approached him, telling him to come with them. He barely catches a glimpse of Jet’s confused expression as he’s dragged past him and Suki. Zuko wants to tell him that everything is okay, that he’ll be back in a few minutes, but he doesn’t even know where he’s being taken. For all he knows, they’re dragging him to a cooler and he’ll be left there longer than Jet was.

“What are you doing?” he demands as they turn on to a familiar hall. This is where he was brought the last time the Warden wanted to see him. “Where are you taking me? I didn’t do anything wrong!” he snaps when they open the door and throw him towards a chair in the middle of the room.

“Come on, Zuko,” Mai taunts from where she emerges from the shadows. “We all know that’s a lie.”

“How did you know I was here?” he asks, trying to hide his anxiety behind a casual exterior. He knows better than most how dangerous Mai can be when she’s angry, and he left her with a letter. He couldn’t even bring himself to tell her the real reason why. Just some half assed story about honor and saving the world.

She crosses her arms and glares at him. “The Warden is my uncle, you idiot!” she snaps. “I thought I knew you, Zuko, but all I get before you run off to join the enemy is a letter?! You could have at least looked me in the eye when you ripped out my heart!”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“You didn’t mean to?!” Pulling out the letter he’d left, she starts reading, “’Dear Mai, I’m sorry that you have to find out this way, but I’m leaving.’”

Zuko shakes his head, he shouts, “Stop! This isn’t about you.”

Her glare becomes sharper than her knives. “Thanks, Zuko, that makes me feel all better.”

“Mai, I never meant to hurt you.”

“’Never meant to hurt me?’ You left me and betrayed our country all in one letter!”

“Mai, we were never going to work and I’m trying to save our country.”

For a moment, hurt crosses Mai’s dark eyes before she covers it with more anger. “What do you mean? We were good. You and I were good together!”

“No, we weren’t. Not as a couple.”

“I don’t understand.”

He hesitates. The Fire Nation doesn’t view homosexuality in a kind light. He’s seen people be attacked in the street and shunned from society for things as small as a rumor of them being gay. People with less reason for the Fire Lord himself to burn them alive. But this is Mai. She’d stood up to Azula for him when they were little. She’d stayed with him after Ba Sing Se when he hated everything about himself. She’s always been a good friend to him, and she’s always been open to less conventional ways of life.

“Zuko, what’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”

“I’m gay,” he breathes. The following silence weighs heavy on both of them. He’s never said it out loud until now. Even when he was spending all of his breaks from the tea shop in Ba Sing Se with Jet, he never once defined what he was until now. “I have a boyfriend. He’s beautiful and determined and strong. And I love him. I’ve loved him since I met him. You and I are friends, good friends. I want you to still be my friend when all of this is over, but I love him.”

“I-it’s not anything I did, though?” Mai questions. A breath of relief escapes her. That’s another thing. She only ever shows emotion around him, especially when she’s scared.

“No, Mai,” he shakes his head. “You didn’t do anything. You’re amazing. I’m sure you’ll find a great guy some day that makes you happy. But I’m not that guy. I never was. I’m sorry for leading you on. I’m sorry for hurting you when I left. I’m sorry for leaving a stupid letter instead of telling you I was leaving. I was afraid you’d stop me.”

Crossing the room, Mai pulls Zuko into a tight hug. “Are you sure you love this guy?” He nods. “He makes you happy?”

“Very.”

“Good,” she nods, letting go of him and turning to the door. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”

“Ma’am,” a guard bursts through the door, “There’s a riot going on! I’m here to protect you!”

“I don’t need any protection.”

“Believe me,” Zuko laughs, “she doesn’t.”

Mai nods to the open door as the guard explains, “I’m under direct orders from your uncle to make sure nothing happens.” While the guard is distracted, Zuko takes off running.
“Hey! Get back here!”

“Run,” is the last thing Zuko hears before turning the corner towards the yard.

Chapter Text

“Is sh-he. Is he okay?” Suki asks as Sokka exits the cell alone.

“He’s okay,” Sokka assures. “You should be down in the yard. I told-”

“I know, I know. Act natural. I’ll go down with Jet.”

“Okay, but,” Sokka glances back at the door, “give him some time. I think he needs to be alone for a while.”

Jet hears them whispering outside the door. He knows they’re talking about him, but he can’t bring himself to care. It’s just Sokka and Suki. Suki seems like a nice girl. She reminds him a lot of himself a few years ago. Before the first few assassination attempts. Before the paranoia set in. Back when it was just him and the Freedom Fighters.

Being the oldest, he looked out for them. Especially Smellerbee and the Duke. Smellerbee’s like him, born with the wrong body. In the five years that he’s known her, she’s been like a little sister to him and they protected each other. The Duke is the only other survivor from their village. Their mothers were friends and Jet was close with the Duke’s older sister before the attack.

Smoke made it hard to breathe, but he still called every name he knew. The Fire Nation soldiers were long gone, but some of the fires were still burning. “Mama!” he called. She was the only blood family he had left. “Auntie Lyn! Kimmy!” He waded through the scorched remains of his home. His throat hurt as a violent coughing fit brought him to his knees. “Anybody,” he whimpered. A muffled cry drew his attention to a nearby pile of rubble. By some miracle, the roof didn’t hit the cradle the infant had been sleeping in when it collapsed.

He remembers lifting the Duke out of the cradle and sobbing when he realized they were the only two left. Jet took him to the treehouse where the older kids in their village used to play. That treehouse was the beginning of the Freedom Fighters’ hideout. In a year, he went from taking care of a single baby in a treehouse to about a dozen small children, all orphaned by a war they didn’t understand, in that same treehouse. By the third year, he’d built two more treehouses and collected ten more kids.

When he met Smellerbee, she’d been cornered by a few Fire Nation soldiers and was fighting like a cornered animal with nothing but a rock and a small knife. That was the first time in three years that he’d faced these people. They aren’t the same soldiers, but the fear is the same. The fierceness in the nine-year-old’s eyes is the only reason he didn’t stay safely hidden by the forest. She inspired him to fight.

Eventually, there were fifty Freedom Fighters total. Fifteen are under the age of ten, and they’re the only ones exempt from more serious tasks. The older kids take care of the younger ones and each other. They were a family. The Freedom Fighters are Jet’s family. Looking down to the bandage in his hands he decides that he has to do everything to get back to them.

Jet takes one last deep breath before untying his belt and pulling off his shirt. He hasn’t bound with bandages since he broke a rib when he was fourteen. Normally, he’d wear a hezi tied as tight as he can get it, but that’s not an option. He tries to stay focused on wrapping the bandage, but the scar on his chest holds his attention.

“He can’t make you do this!” Aang shouted. He could see how hard Jet was fighting to resist Long Feng’s orders. It was hard to breathe. His body wouldn’t cooperate. What little control he had was stolen from him and he couldn’t break free. “You’re a Freedom Fighter!”

His whole life flashed before his eyes. He saw his Freedom Fighters. Watched them grow up, get stronger. He saw the first time he met Katara, Sokka, and Aang. He’d pulled Katara close and carried her up to the hideout. How she didn’t feel his breasts when she put her hand on his chest, he didn’t know. He remembered panicking when hours passed before Smellerbee and Longshot found him frozen to that tree. It didn’t take much for them to talk him into scouting a new home for them in Ba Sing Se.

It had been a split-second decision. He spun around and threw his sword as hard as he could. It felt like the world was going in slow motion. In the span of an exhale his feet left the ground. A spire of stone had slammed into his chest hard enough to through him through the air.

“I’ve realized lately that being on your own isn’t always the best path,” Zuko muttered, staring off at the horizon.

“Then don’t be alone,” Jet whispered. He remembers kissing him and feeling like something in the back of his mind clicked into place.

He remembers Smellerbee teasing him when she noticed a mark on the side of his neck the next morning. Then the nausea a few weeks later. He thought he’d eaten something that disagreed with him. He’d focused so much of his energy on investigating rumors of missing refugees, he didn’t take the time to care for himself. Longshot was the one to point out that he was late. He’d always been more observant than Jet and Smellerbee.

When he hit the ground hard, all he felt was pain. In his chest, his back, his head, everything. Despite everything hurting, the cramps were what stood out in his mind. “This isn’t good.” Katara’s words only confirmed what he already knew. It took everything in him to not cry as the memory of how excited Zuko had been only a few days ago flashed through his mind.

“Don’t worry, Katara.” He forced a smile as he looked up at her. He knew he wasn’t going to die, only wish he had. “I’ll be fine.”

“Hey,” Suki greets as he steps out of the cell. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he mutters. “Let’s go. I want to find Zuko.”

Jet chooses to ignore how she looks him over before gesturing towards the main corridor. He feels her eyes on him as they walk, only looking away to make sure she doesn’t run into anything. Mostly she’s watching his face for any emotion hidden beneath the mask of indifference that he so easily dawns. A few times, he catches her eyes drift down to his now flat chest. It’s not much of a difference, there wasn’t much to bind, but it’s noticeable enough to someone who’s seen him shirtless.

“Are you just going to keep staring at me all day?” he asks when they reach the stairs.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” she shrugs. “You looked pretty scared when you saw that fire.”

“Yep.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Already talked to Sokka.”

She catches him by the shoulder and turns him to look at her. “You can trust me, you know.”

“I don’t know you,” he reminds her.

“I’m your friend. Or I could be if you’d let me. You don’t seem to have many friends here.”

He doesn’t hear half of what she says. It’s all fuzzy after he catches sight of Zuko being led away by guards. The firebender looks annoyed, but his expression softens for a second as he passes Jet. It’s an almost comforting look, like he’s willing him to not panic. He imagines it’s similar to the expression he wore the last time he saw Longshot and Smellerbee.

Footsteps echoed throughout the compound. Dozens of sets of footsteps quickly closing in on the large chamber. Jet couldn’t move and he could already feel blood soaking through his clothes. “Go,” he ordered, pain clear in his tone. He’s already dealt with the Dai Li once. He could do it again, but he wouldn’t subject his Freedom Fighters to them.

“No!” Smellerbee argued. “I want to stay with you! I can fight!”

Sympathy broke through the pain. He’d known this girl since she was nine and never once had she cried until that day. In every way but blood, he’s her brother. She would never leave him of her own accord. “Longshot, take her and run. Get her out of here and don’t look back.”

Like he always had, Longshot followed orders. He grabbed Smellerbee by the arm and ran, dragging her along as she screamed to stay. The Dai Li surrounded him moments after silence fell over the chamber. He had expected to be tortured or brainwashed again, but they dragged him to a cell. Then, he thought they’d leave him to die of his injuries, but they brought in a healer. He didn’t know what to expect after that. He kept time by when they would feed him. Porridge in the morning, rice and bread in the evening. It was the same thing every day.

After a week, a girl that looked strikingly similar to Zuko came to his cell. “I hear you’re quite the fighter,” she commented before turning to the guard by the door. “She doesn’t look like much to me.”

Not long after meeting Azula, Jet found himself held prisoner at the Boiling Rock. His anger for her is what kept him fighting even when fear made him want to hide. When he didn’t have a friend he trusts or his partner to keep him from falling apart, he had his anger.

Chapter Text

Nervousness twist Sokka’s stomach in knots as he approaches his father’s cell. He takes a few calming breaths as he double checks for guards. Most are busy with shift change while a few are supervising the prisoners in the yard. For the next fifteen minutes, nobody should be checking the cells.

Still, he’s anxious to be in the same room as his dad for the first time since the invasion. His whole plan failed. They were completely overwhelmed and the Fire Lord wasn’t even there. Would Hakoda be disappointed in him? Angry? Deep down, Sokka knows that he did his best, and that his father knows that. But the anxiety is still there. The desire to make him proud and the feeling that he failed to do that.

He shakes those thoughts from his mind as he opens the door. Hakoda is sitting with his back to the wall and his head down. In the split second before he looks up, Sokka thinks he might be asleep or hurt. Then he sees the fight in his eyes and he knows he’s okay.

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” he breathes.

Hakoda quickly rising to a fighting position forces him to take a step back. “If you take one step closer, you’ll see just how ‘okay’ I am.” The fierceness in his voice startles Sokka for a moment before he remembers what he’s wearing.

“Dad,” he pushes the mask of the helmet up to show his face, “it’s me.”

He only catches a glimpse of the shock and relief in Hakoda’s eyes before he’s pulled into the tightest hug of his life. “Sokka, you should be more careful with that guard outfit on. I could’ve seriously hurt you.”

“Yeah,” he laughs, most of his earlier anxiety melting away. “I got a similar greeting from Suki this morning.”

“How is she?” he asks as Sokka checks the door. “The last time I saw her, she was cut off from the rest of us and still fighting.”

Still no guards. “She’s good. I mean, she’s not thrilled that Zuko’s here, but he’s the whole reason I knew to check here for you two. I think she’s warming up to him.” Turning back to his dad, he asks, “Where’s Bato and the rest of the invasion force?”

“The others are being held in a prison near the Fire Nation palace. They singled me out as the leader and sent me here. I guess they did the same with Suki.” His face scrunches in concentration before asking, “You said Zuko was here, too? Isn’t he the son of the Fire Lord?”

“Yeah, but he’s on our side now. Trust me, he’s proven himself and Jet trusts him. That guy doesn’t trust anyone from the Fire Nation, but he trusts Zuko. He’s also teaching Aang firebending.”

It takes Hakoda a moment to absorb this new information. Last he’d heard, Zuko had hunted his children and the avatar from one pole to the other and everywhere in between. Now he’s on their side. It’s hard to believe, but he trusts his son’s judgment. He wouldn’t have left him to run their village while he was off to war if he didn’t. So, now all he has to ask is, “Do you have a plan?”

A dark look claims Sokka’s blue eyes as he looks down to his hands. “We did. We were going to unscrew one of the coolers from the building and use it like a boat to get across the boiling lake. But Zuko and I found Jet in one of the coolers. They’d left him there so long he was starting to turn blue. I don’t know why he was in there in the first place; he’s not a bender.”

“Where have I heard that name, ‘Jet?’”

“You might have heard the Freedom Fighters talk about him. He’s their leader. That might be why he landed here instead of any other prison. Looks like they send resistance leaders here. You, Suki, Jet. Leadership is the only connection between all three of you that I can think of.”

“Maybe. This does seem like the kind of place you send someone if you want to break their spirit.” His expression turns hopeful as he puts an arm around Sokka’s shoulders. “But there’s no prison in the world that can hold two Water Tribe geniuses. I’m sure you’ve been checking for weak points, too.”

Nodding, Sokka checks the door again. The longer he’s here, the more the fear of getting caught grows in the back of his mind. There’s one guard now. She’s at the normal post at near the main staircase. The stairs that lead to the barracks and infirmary is unguarded. If he needed to explain how he got past her, he could say he came from there.

Alibi temporarily secured, he again turns to Hakoda. “When we first got here, I thought the gondola would be a good escape route. Then we saw how locked down this place is and the warden arrived. The gondola and the coolers are the only vulnerable points this place has.”

“Then we’ll take the gondola.”

“How are going to make it there? There’s three checkpoints we’d have to pass to get there with two guards each. And if we make it to the platform, there’s nothing stopping them from cutting the line before we get across.”

“Sounds like we need a distraction. What would get all of the guards away from their posts?”

Sokka hums in thought. A fight would only draw the attention of a few guards. Maybe a medical emergency? That would get a medic and two guards. Total lockdown would do more harm than good for an escape plan. “A riot. There’s a thirty to one ratio of prisoners to guards. It would be all hands on deck to get it under control. Then they’d have to split between taking benders to coolers and non-benders to cells. They’d be distracted for long enough for us to get to the platform, but what then? What’s stopping them from cutting the line?”

“A hostage.”

“Who? The warden doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to let prisoners go just to save a guard.” It clicks about halfway through his sentence. “We take the warden. He’s an ass, but he doesn’t seem suicidal.”

“He won’t let them cut the line if he’s on the gondola.” Hakoda smiles proudly at his son. He’s grown up to be quite the strategist. In moments like this, he wonders what Kya would think. He wishes she could see the amazing people their children have grown up to be. “I’m proud of you, Sokka.”

Chapter Text

The guard didn’t stop them when they passed her on their way to the yard. She only nodded to Sokka and glared at Hakoda. It does nothing to ease Sokka’s anxiety as it returns like a tidal wave. He doesn’t see Zuko, but Suki and Jet are waiting for him in the blind spot behind the stairs. She looks as vigilant as always, keeping a trained eye on the other inmates to ensure they aren’t discovered…again. He looks pissed. It’s the same kind of pissed as when they first met in the forest and he was trying to drown a village. The kind of pissed that scares Sokka.

“Where’s Zuko?” The question was directed to Jet. Sokka had assumed he’d make a beeline to him the second he had the chance. But he just shakes his head.

“The guards took him,” Suki explains. “Not too long ago. You just missed him.”

That changes the plan. He’s not going to leave Zuko behind. Not when he’s done so much to help them. “Whatever your plan is, I’m sure he’ll catch up,” Jet comments, almost as if he read Sokka’s mind. “What is the plan?”

“One second.” Looking around, Sokka spots Chit Sang, Rena, and Li not too far away. When they join them, he explains, “We’re taking a hostage and getting out of here on the gondola. We need a distraction and for someone grab the warden.” From where they’re hiding, they can see the angry man three floors up, watching the yard like a tigerdillo ready to pounce, but he can’t see them. “Suki, Jet, do you two think you can get up there without being caught?”

“Should be easy,” Suki agrees.

Jet looks almost offended. “I grew up in a forest. That’s child’s play compared to some of the things I’ve climbed.”

“I figured, but you’re also hurt.”

The anger returns. “I’ve been hurt before. What’s the distraction?”

“We need to start a riot,” Hakoda states.

“Okay,” Suki nods slowly in confusion. “But how do we do that?”

An amused smirk spreads across the chief’s face. “I’ll show you,” he says as he walks over to one of the other prisoners. It’s the biggest guy they could see from their hiding spot. Even shoving him as hard as he could, the man is barely phased as he stumbles. He turns to Hakoda with a hurt expression.

Though they can’t hear their conversation, Jet’s palm becomes very well acquainted with his forehead. “He just had to pick Mr. Anger Management,” he groans. He grabs Chit Sang by his shirt and drags him out of their hiding spot. Gesturing to him then to another prisoner, they both nod.

Chit Sang lifts the prisoner Jet had pointed out over his head while Jet takes off running towards the other side of the yard. “RIOT!” they shout seconds before Jet slams into a group of prisoners, knocking three of them to the ground and bouncing up to punch a fourth and kick a fifth before running back to the stairs.

He’s laughing by the time he reaches them. “That’s how you start a riot. Senseless violence.”

“I’m starting to see why you were in a cooler,” Suki comments.

“No, she was in a cooler because she knocked me out in the middle of dinner last night,” Li grumbles.

“And I’ll do it again, shithead! Keep running your mouth.”

“Boys, we don’t have time for this. Let’s go Jet.”

Jet and Zuko lock eyes as they pass each other before Zuko turns to Sokka, asking, “What’s going on? What’s the plan?”

“Right now? Grab the warden and get to the gondola.”

“How do we do that? And where are Jet and Suki going?”

Chit Sang pushes the two towards the stairs, explaining, “Your girlfriends are taking care of it.”

Running up the stairs, Zuko looks back every chance he gets. He watches Jet and Suki run over the crowd. They use people’s heads and shoulders like steppingstones across a river. As they go from one staircase to the next, he watches as Suki backflips from the wall to the bar before summersaulting over the rail. Beside her, Jet pushes off the wall and catches the bar, pulling himself up and over the rail. He’s not as elegant as Suki, but just as fast. The two of them knock out a few guards before Zuko has to take his eyes off them again. By the time they reach the top of the next staircase, another guard is down for the count and Suki and Jet each have a hold of the warden’s arms.

“Those two are awesome,” Rena comments in awe as she and Li pass Zuko.

Li, on the other hand, looks terrified. “I’m never pissing that girl off again.”

Suki has the warden pinned to the wall by the time the rest of the group arrives, completely out of breath. “We’ve got the warden,” Jet says from where he’s leaning on the rail, holding his side. He sounds like he’s in pain and Suki keeps glancing over her shoulder at him. “Can we please get out of here now?”

Chapter Text

Chit Sang easily hefts the warden over his shoulder as they run to the gondola platform. A few guards try to stop them, but back down when they see their superior held hostage. Familiar paranoia claims Jet’s mind. This is too easy. Looking over his shoulder, he sees the guards running after them.

“Everyone in!” Suki’s voice is barely an echo in the back of his mind. He sees the others get on the gondola and feels a sharp pain in his side. He knew he had a few cracked ribs from when the guards beat him before throwing him in the cooler. But he didn’t know or care how bad his injuries were at the time. He didn’t care how much worse his wounds were going to get if he bound and fought.

He ignores the pain as he pulls the lever to get the gondola moving. He barely makes it onboard before it leaves the platform. Then he hears something hit metal hard. His body feels cold as he looks back to see Zuko kick the lever again. “No,” Jet breathes.

They’re getting too far and Zuko is still on the platform. And all he can do is stare as the distance continues to grow. He holds his breath as the lever finally breaks and Zuko starts running. It feels like the world is going in slow motion when he leaps from the platform. The image of him falling fills his mind before a clap reaches his ears and he watches Sokka pull him up.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he snaps, rushing to hug Zuko as tightly as he can manage. Warm arms snaking around him chases a bit of his paranoia away. “Don’t you dare ever do anything that stupid again, or I swear to the spirits I’ll kill you myself,” he whispers.

Zuko chuckles into his shoulder, content with the knowledge that they’re almost free and beyond happy that Jet is with them. “I love you, too,” he whispers back.

“Who’s that?” Hakoda asks.

Standing on the platform below, Azula and Ty Lee stare up at the retreating gondola. Panic returns to Jet’s mind as he backs away from the window. “That’s a problem,” Zuko comments. “It’s my sister and her friend.”

“This is a rematch I’ve been waiting for,” Suki growls as Azula and Ty Lee start towards the gondola.

“Hey, sweetie,” Rena says, moving to sit by Jet as he pushes himself into the corner. “Are you alright?”

He doesn’t hear her or Zuko, Suki, and Sokka climb to the roof to fight Azula. He just hears Azula’s voice and laughter echo in his head. Before he was moved, she would visit his cell in Ba Sing Se and taunt him. She’d tell him all the ways she could kill him and the people he loves. The healer had told her about the baby he lost, so she’d joke about that. Some days, she’d have Dai Li agents hang paper on the walls of his cell that she’d burn. He remembers hearing her laugh while he choked on the smoke. It was never enough for him to pass out, only for her to be amused. And it went on for two and a half weeks before he was transferred.

A dainty hand on his shoulder snaps him out of his spiraling thoughts. “I-I’m fine,” Jet mutters, not really believing it himself but needing to say it. He needs to say it to keep himself from completely falling apart. There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now all he wants to do is fight, but he feels defenseless without his swords.

Then he sees the warden leaning out the window. “CUT TH-” Jet drags him back by his shirt and slams him into the floor.

“Are you suicidal?!” he snaps. “Because not even I’m this crazy, and I tried to drown a village less than a year ago!”

“Is that why you were here?” Li asks, looking more scared than five minutes ago. “Why are we taking her with us?”

“’Him,’” Rena and Jet correct.

“’Her.’ I got a good feel,” Li gestures to his chest, “the other day.”

Jet rolls his eyes in disgust, muttering, “I’m going to kill him.”

“I might beat you to the punch,” Hakoda agrees. “Have some respect, kid. Jet was put in that prison for being the leader of the only rebel forces in his region, which the Earth Kingdom army had abandoned years ago.” As much as Jet appreciates the backup, he’s confused. And it shows. “I assume. The Duke talks about you a lot and it’s not that difficult to see that this is where they send leaders.”

Another reason he can’t fall apart now. He has to get back to Duke. Lean into the anger and survive. It’s how he’s kept going for the past five years. It’s how he’s going to keep going until this war is over.

The gondola comes to a jerky halt as a horrible grinding sound fills the caldera. “They’re about to cut the line!” Ty Lee exclaims.

“Then it’s time to leave. Goodbye, Zuko.” Azula’s panic inducing voice retreats as the others climb back into the gondola.

“They’re cutting the line,” Zuko informs.

“Gathered that,” Jet snaps as he resecures the gag keeping the warden quiet. “How close are we to the edge?”

“Is that-” Sokka starts.

“Mai,” Zuko finishes. Back on the platform, his ex is fighting off the guards that were bowing to Azula minutes ago. She sends two guards flying towards the bars halting the wheels, dislodging them. Jet reaches for Zuko’s hand and holds it tightly when the gondola jolts back into motion. “It’s okay,” he quietly assures, holding on just as tightly.

It doesn’t take three minutes for them to get to the platform on the rim. After everyone else is off, Chit Sang throws the warden back on the gondola and closes the door. “Sorry, warden,” Hakoda shrugs. “Your record is officially broken.”

Jet takes a second to admire the chief’s attitude before turning his attention to his partner, who’s still focused on the prison. “What are you thinking about?” he asks, wrapping his arms around Zuko’s waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

“My sister’s here.”

“Okay.”

“How’d she get here?”

Jet thinks for a moment before saying, “She has her own ship.”

"That's what I'm thinking."

Chapter Text

Azula’s airship had been docked on the shore at the base of the volcano. It was huge compared to the war balloon Sokka and Zuko had flown in on. There was plenty of space, but only Chit Sang, Li, and Rena immediately took the opportunity to get away from the group. Everyone else congregated in the control room once they were in the air.

“We should all get some rest,” Sokka suggests as he sets their course. “We should arrive at the Air Temple by morning.”

Jet’s too on edge to sleep. Instead, he volunteers to check what supplies are on the ship. None of them had thought of taking inventory, only of escaping. And it’s something routine enough to take his mind off his anxiety and pain. Zuko offered to help, but Jet just wanted to be alone for a while.

Zuko respected that request for a few hours. When Jet hadn’t returned by the time everyone else had fallen asleep, he went looking for him. He found him sitting in the corner in the cargo hold. The bandage he’d used to bind was in a pile beside him and he looked like he’d just stopped crying.

“Jet?” He flinched at the sudden sound. “What’s wrong?” Zuko asks, moving to sit beside his partner.

“Nothing,” he insists, refusing to look at Zuko as he tries to rub away his tears. “I’m fine.”

“You know that I know better than to believe that.” Jet huffs a humorless laugh and shakes his head. “Is this about whatever you wanted to tell me? Everyone else is asleep if you want to talk now.”

“I,” Jet starts before a fresh wave of tears blurs his vision. “I don’t know. Please just go away.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m not leaving you when you’re this upset.” He wraps an arm around Jet’s shoulders as he adds, “You don’t deserve someone that’s going to leave when you look like you’re two seconds from breaking.”

“I was broken when you found me.”

“No, you weren’t.” Jet finally looks up into Zuko’s concerned golden eyes. “If you were broken, you wouldn’t have still been fighting.”

“You know, this whole perfect boyfriend thing you’ve got going on,” he vaguely gestures in Zuko’s direction, “makes it really hard to give you bad news.”

“I’m not perfect. I never have been.”

“To me, you are.” Sadness returns to Jet’s eyes as he moves away from Zuko. He doesn’t go far, just far enough that he’s not leaning on him as he hugs his knees to his chest. “And I really don’t want to lose you.”

“Jet, nothing you can say will make me leave you.”

“Promise?”

“I swear. What’s wrong?”

He hesitates just long enough to take a shaky breath that doesn’t calm him nearly as much as he’d hoped. “I lost the baby.”

His voice is so quiet, not wanting to allow the words to fill the silence, but they echo through Zuko’s mind like a clap of thunder. He had been worried that Jet was hiding an injury, but this is so much worse. He knows how much Jet wanted that baby. How much they both wanted it. It takes a second to process. And when it does, all he can think about is making sure Jet is okay. It’s early enough, even if the miscarriage had been recent, that the possible complications wouldn’t be too severe, but that’s only the physical complications. Losing a child before it’s first breath can take a monstrous toll on those who created it.

“Are you okay?” he finally asks.

The question catches Jet off guard. He’d expected Zuko to be angry. He expected shouting or at least a harsh tone. But he’s just worried. “What?”

“Are you okay?” he repeats.

“You’re not upset?”

“Of course, I’m upset. That was our baby. We both wanted that baby, even if it was an accident. But I’m more worried about you.” Seeing the disbelief and confusion on Jet’s face, he explains. “After having Azula, my father wanted another boy, so my parents tried for a third child. Instead of a baby, my mom had three miscarriages in five years. I remember not seeing her for weeks after each one because she refused to get out of bed. I think it broke her. I don’t want to see that happen to you. Are you okay?”

“I think I’m as okay as I can be. I mean, part of me wishes I’d bled out. But the rest of me is clinging to the hope of seeing my Freedom Fighters again. I raised those kids. They need me to keep going. And I’m sorry about your mother.”

Zuko sighs as he scoots closer to Jet and again wraps him in his arms. “I mourned my mother a long time ago. You and I have our whole lives ahead of us. You’ll see your kids again.”

The assurance finally gets a smile, however small, from Jet as he rests his head on Zuko’s shoulder. “I’ve been told Duke’s at the temple.”

“He’ll be happy to see you.”

Jet is already sound asleep. It’s the first time since their reunion that Zuko has seen him genuinely relaxed. He’s spent the past few months in a constant state of fight or flight. This is the first time since Lake Laogai that he’s felt safe.

That’s how Sokka found them the next morning, asleep in each other’s arms in the cargo hold. He almost didn’t want to wake them. But they’ll be landing in a few minutes. “Hey, guys,” he calls, gently shaking them awake. “It’s time to get up. We’ll be landing soon.”

“What time is it?” Jet asks, reaching for the bandage he’d abandoned the night before.

Sokka turns his eyes to the ceiling as Jet pulls off his shirt and starts wrapping the bandage. “Just before daybreak,” he answers. “Everyone else is already up. They’re waiting in the control room.”

“Let’s go,” Zuko says, clapping a hand on Sokka’s shoulder.

“I assume you know how to land this thing,” Jet adds as he passes the two.

There’s a slight panic at the temple as a Fire Nation airship comes right at them. Toph, Katara, and Aang brace themselves for a battle while Haru erects a barrier around himself, Teo, and the Duke. They all hold their breath as the airship lands and the hatch opens.

“Hold your fire,” Sokka calls being the first to exit. “It’s us.”

Katara almost laughs, but she’s more angry for the heart attack her brother nearly gave her. “What are you doing in this thing? What happened to the war balloon?”

“It kind of got destroyed,” Zuko admits as he and Jet follow Sokka.

“Sounds like-”

“Jet!” Aang is cut off by the Duke’s excited voice as he wiggles out of Teo’s arms. He dodges Haru trying to catch him as he runs to Jet, who’s dropped to his knees and opened his arms just in time to catch the child. “Katara said you were dead!” Duke cries into Jet’s shoulder.

“Hey, now,” he soothes, a disapproving glare meeting Katara’s guilt and disbelief for a moment. “You know I’m not going down that easy. Someone’s gotta look after you kids.” Hugging the Duke tighter, Jet quietly admits, “I missed you.”

“Did you guys at least get some good meat?” Toph inquires only to be ignored as before the rest of the escapees join them.

Chit Sang awkwardly waves, saying, “We’re new. What’s up, everybody?” as Katara ran past him to hug her father.

“Where did you two go?” Aang questions. He’s having a hard time processing the sudden arrival of so many new people. Their little group has nearly doubled in a matter of days, and half of them are complete strangers.

“We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison,” Sokka nervously admits. “It was my idea.”

Toph, uninterested in reunions and likely not even fully awake, makes her way over to sit by Jet. “Seriously, though. Did you guys bring back any meat?”