Content: Jet being a bad boyfriend, Reader is a classist brat, Smellerbee is Reader's only friend outside of the palace lmao, Sokka interaction
(a/n: Reader is kinda a bird this chapter lol but like also not? it's like i love having a bf but i genuinely hate my bf, y'know?)
wc: 3.9k
m.list
Life continues as it has been. Mostly.
Jet isn't here now.
He doesn't come to the tea shop, he doesn't take you out at night, and you've become increasingly unaware of your brother’s existence.
Without Jet, there was no need to worry about Lee. Not really.
When the morning rush finally dies down, you find an empty table and begin taking your break. Small amounts of whatever tea Uncle brewed earlier occasionally spills onto whatever paper you're scribbling on as you mindlessly take sips.
You're lost in your own world of anger and tea leaves until a group of two people in minor body armor walks in. You recognize them from the ferry: Longshot and Smellerbee. Two of Jet’s friends.
Fuck, you think. They are most definitely here for you.
You rest your hand on your temple and look down, hoping that they don’t notice you and pass by without questioning. But, as most things do, it does not go your way.
Smellerbee approaches you, slamming her hand on your table to gain your attention. You begrudgingly look up at her, a present scowl making you look less innocent than you wanted.
“Jet has been missing for a week,” she concedes, barely attempting to remain civil and earning a long, irritated glare from your brother for disturbing the customers. “And you happen to be the last person he said he was with.”
The seat behind you would have toppled over if your uncle had not caught it. You double down, slamming your hands down onto the table as well, shaking it enough that large droplets of your tea escape, only to land on a sad piece of paper.
“Who comes into someone's job to interrogate them?!” You are exasperated and want to not worry about Jet. “If you really think I did something to Jet, you’re out of your mind.”
You could feel Uncle looming just behind you, him and his all-knowing-ness was overbearing (even more so after coming home with a bloody cheek) and incredibly hard to ignore.
“I apologize for interrupting,” Iroh says after placing a hand on your shoulder with the intensity of a man who couldn’t protect his niece once and refuses to let that happen again, “But I believe coming into our employer's shop to threaten my niece is a bit far.”
Longshot shakes his head before Smellerbee starts again, “I’m sorry, I came off more aggressive than I meant,” Her voice is softer now, “Jet went missing and—”
“Talk to me outside,” you interrupt her, untying your apron after telling your uncle you’d be back soon despite his protests, it being the middle of your shift, and having exactly three minutes left of your break.
You push away and usher the two Freedom Fighters outside, lifting the apron over your head and tossing it lazily over a table. Once outside, you finally contemplate everything that you’ve been carrying—- since you never actually told Iroh what had happened—- and whether or not you should disclose everything. Obviously not everything, since saying ‘Hey, my family and I are from the Fire Nation,’ would get you into either another fight or an early grave (thanks to the dirt-eating savages).
“What do you know about Jet?” Smellerbee doesn’t give you a chance to speak first. Rude, but whatever. You’re getting better at mentally saying ‘whatever’ and moving on, even though. You secretly wish a certain older sister were here to threaten those who were rude to you.
“I don’t owe you anything.”
You really don’t. Kinda?
It’s none of these people’s business what you and Jet last did, but they did have a genuine right to know what happened to their friend.
If you were vicious enough with your answers, you thought, they’d most likely just leave you alone.
When were you vicious?
You weren't the vicious one. No, no that was Azula. You were—
No. You don't have time to dwell on the past.
Smellerbee gives Longshot a look before opening her mouth, but you interrupt. Again.
“But I will tell you about Jet.” A beat passes. “If you tell me all you know about the war.”
.
You didn’t go back to work that day.
Instead, you’ve found yourself huddled in the even more run-down apartment complex next to your own. You think Jet once lived here with Smellerbee and Longshot. It wasn’t very furnished nor was it the cleanest, but it worked. Like your own apartment, though Zuko happened to be a clean freak and Iroh hated a room full of nothing, so not really.
You fell into the habit— without telling either of your family members, but you’re sure Iroh was smart enough to know—- of 'borrowing' extra money from the register (that was really just a coin jar).
Feeling a little guilty of the whole Jet situation, you bought everyone a small fish cake from the bakery Jin worked at. It was just down the street from the tea shop, so it’s not like you went completely out of your way.
“I know the Avatar is traveling to Ba Sing Se,” you say, like it was the most boring thing in the world. “But I haven’t the slightest clue if they’re in the city or not. Being cooped up in that stuffy tea house all day doesn’t help.”
Smellerbee sits next to you at the small table while Longshot—- you’ve noticed he’s a bit of a busybody—- washes and puts dishes away, much like Iroh. Who, ironically, wouldn’t let you or Zuko wash dishes because both of you failed to replicate exactly how he did them despite him complaining about how he always does the housework. Like sorry you chose to do that dude.
“I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard a few things while I was in the middle ring market,” She takes a bite of her fish cake and hums with satisfaction before continuing, “They say the Avatar and his friends currently live somewhere in the upper ring.”
You ponder for a moment as you chew on your fish cake.
Why would the Avatar be in Ba Sing Se, anyway? It’s not like there’s a huge Fire Nation threat looming over the city. Unless…
Oh shit.
Azula is here.
For you? The thought leaves just as quickly as it arrives. Not for you. For Ba Sing Se. You would just happen to be a bonus.
You have the chance to go home and you'd be damned if you didn't take it.
“Why would the Avatar be in Ba Sing Se of all places?” you ask. “It doesn't seem reasonable.”
Longshot finally sits down after placing the last dish away and washing his hands. He shrugs at you and Smellerbee nods in response. “They might be tryin’ to talk to the Earth King. Y’know since then he could help take down the Fire Nation.”
“Right,” you reply, muscle memory from when Jet would go on tangents about how evil your home country was. It didn’t bother you much anymore. Not really. You were smart enough to play along.
Longshot blinks at Smellerbee, causing her face to contort before she focuses back on you. “Oh yeah,” she says. “What happened to Jet?”
You silently curse yourself for not having a story to tell them.
“Well,” you begin, blending the real world and a crafted narrative together, “Jet and I were walking around when someone brought up the Avatar, which led to him bringing up the Fire Nation… And, uh, he got into a fight. Before I knew it, the Dai Li came and arrested him.”
Smellerbee runs a hand down his face with a quiet groan. “I told him that we were going straight, but he never listens.”
You nod your head. Jet definitely did have a listening problem.
“I'm not one for investigating,” you comment, “But we should at least see if we could find something. I bet somewhere in the markets there must be someone who knows something.”
.
“No, I apologize,” an old woman sitting behind her fruit stand says, “I know very little of the Dai Li. I hope you dears find your friend.”
This has been the first person to be kind towards the three of you. Usually, they'd shut down or kick you out of their shop at the mere thought of the Dai Li.
You nod and adjust the hat you stole from the tea shop earlier, y’know, just in case someone you don't need to know who you are shows up. It was Lee’s— Zuko. Lee isn’t your brother's name and you're not really Tako, despite how much you like to think you are— but he had a habit of hanging it up in the quietest corner of the tea shop. In all honesty, he’s lucky you're the one who stole it and not an unruly customer.
“Maybe there’s something over here?” Smellerbee suggests, though she doesn’t sound very positive.
Longshot nods and says something to Smellerbee that you don’t understand. She scratches her chin like she’s contemplating something and you choose to ignore it.
The three of you turn a corner, only to find a large mob of people dressed in foreign clothing speaking over each other. They didn’t seem to be refugees, you could tell by the way their clothes weren’t borderline rags. Which was odd, since you never thought Water Tribe savages could have nice clothes.
You tilt your head at a familiar-looking brunette before perking up, “Isn't that—?” but Smellerbee beats you to it.
“Jet!” She exclaims, a small smile finding itself present on her lips.
“I thought you said you didn't have your gang anymore,” a water tribe girl around your age says, her brows furrowed and her hands on her hips.
“I don't,” Jet, he turns around and you can't help but feel guilty for being excited to see him. His gaze lingers on you while Smellerbee tackles him into a hug. You step forward, waiting for your hug next (which probably won't come).
“We were so worried!” She exclaims, Longshot standing just behind her. “How did you get away from the Dai Li?”
“You were arrested by the Dai Li weeks ago, Jet,” you push forward, careful to keep your hat low and covering most of your face. “You went missing!”
“Why would I be arrested?” Jet scoffs at you, but there's no real bite behind it. “I've been living peacefully in the city!”
“Because we got into a fight,” you place a hand on his armored chest and push him back, almost to knock some sense into him. “And you couldn't keep your mouth shut about the war!”
“Doesn't surprise me,” the water tribe girl remarks sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.
“This doesn't make sense,” You say, examining his face. “You think he would know he's talking to his friends and girlfriend… It's almost like he's been brainwashed.”
You turn and look at Smellerbee before biting your lip and looking back at Jet, while a girl dressed in green squats down to feel the earth.
“They're all telling the truth,” she says before standing up.
“That's impossible,” the water tribe girl says, much calmer now.
“No, it's not,” the same water tribe boy you fought from before you were held hostage starts speaking and you make sure he doesn't catch too good a glimpse of your face by hiding behind Longshot, “Toph can't tell who’s lying because they both think they're telling the truth.”
“He's been brainwashed!” Smellerbee exclaims.
"That's literally what I said," you mutter.
“That's crazy! It can't be!” Jet says, reaching for his swords, but you manage to grab hold of his arm and pull his hand away from the weapon.
Before you could say anything of major use, Jet shoves you off him and you stumble to the ground with a soft thud, knocking your hat off your head. “Get away from me!”
The water tribe boy looks as if he’s going to say something about your true identity (because, well, you’d be suspicious of someone who looks just like one of your enemies just kinda showed up), his mouth open and his right brow perked, but you give him a look that screams ‘say anything and I will skin you.’ So he says nothing. Thank the spirits.
While the Avatar and his friends close in on Jet, the same water tribe boy offers his hand to pick you up and you take it without hesitation.
Smellerbee and Longshot come back over to you with an unconscious Jet strung around her shoulders while the Avatar and his companions quietly offer to take him to return his memories.
.
The water tribe boy and girl, you've learned their names are Sokka and Katara, tie Jet to a chair in some abandoned home.
It's kinda funny seeing him in such a stupid situation like this. Since your last fight, you've been fighting between being petty and laughing at his dumbass for being arrested, or being concerned about him being arrested. Petty was currently winning.
“The Dai Li must have sent Jet to mislead us, and that janitor was part of their scheme too,” Katara concludes, earning a shared glance between you and Smellerbee. “Plus,” she then turns to you, “You were the girl with Azu—”
“Who I am isn't important,” you cut her off, “We need to focus on Jet. Something is wrong with my boyfriend.”
Katara gives you a weird look. One thing you’re very sure of is a mix between confusion and prejudice.
It was pretty obvious you were Fire Nation: appearance, your Fire Nation accent, and— weirdly enough— your perfectly straight posture. Jet was obviously very much not Fire Nation.
Dating people from other nations was almost unheard of. Especially between Fire Nation and literally everyone else. In your case, you were pretending not to be Fire Nation so it didn’t count anyway.

“I bet they have Appa somewhere here in the city,” the young Avatar says. “Maybe he's in the same place they took Jet.” As your boyfriend (kinda? you should probably dump him) opens his eyes, he asks, “Where did they take you?”
“Nowhere,” Jet pleads. Not like he's asking for your forgiveness after doing something, but it's as if he's scared for his life. “I-I don't know what you're talking about.”
“We need to find a way to jog his real memories,” Aang comes up with the most obvious solution.
“Like what?” Smellerbee scratches her head while you’re busy watching a very confused and very afraid Jet.
“Maybe Katara could kiss him,” Sokka teases, “That should bring something back.”
You clear your throat and mumble, “Did no one hear me say that I was Jet’s girlfriend?”
“Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka,” Katara retorts.
“Hey, just an idea,” He then turns to you, “Maybe we could get you to do it?”
“I’m kinda mad at him right now,” you roll your eyes, “Plus, he always has a piece of grass in his mouth. Ew.”
“That's really helpful.” He gives you a look.
You roll your eyes. “Yep.”
“Oh, wait, I got it!” Sokka exclaims, moving to take a stray piece of hay from seemingly thin air before stuffing it into Jet’s mouth.
“I don’t think it’s working,” Jet replies before spitting it out.
The earthbender, who you've learned was named Toph and who you found out was blind after she ran into you, tries another tactic. “Try to think of something from your past that triggers your memories.”
Smellerbee glances at you with an apologetic look on her face before speaking up, “The Fire Nation, remember what they did to your family?”
You clench your fists but keep quiet, unable to say anything. The Fire Nation did hurt a lot of people. Jet, Smellerbee, Longshot, Jin, and even Zuko.
Jet struggles before giving up, the memories too painful to relive. Katara then bends some water near his head and the Jet you know comes back fully. Kinda, since he doesn’t seem to remember being arrested or that you’re actually Fire Nation. Thank the spirits ‘cause it made your life easier.
“They took me to a headquarters under the water, like a lake,” he says finally.
“Wait, do you guys remember what Joo Dee said?” Sokka turns to his group, obviously not to you and the Freedom Fighters because you have no idea what a Joo Dee even is, “She said she went on vacation to Lake Laogai.”
“That’s it!” Jet stands suddenly. “Lake Laogi.”
You push through others to make it to Jet, who stares at you for a quiet moment before walking over and taking your hand. His callused finger pads trace over the back of your hand before they thread between your fingers.
You snap your hand back and step back into place between Smellerbee and Longshot.
“Oh come on,” Jet groans like he was just denied something trivial, “I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“I’m still mad at you,” you huff. “Don’t pretend to be all worried now. You had no problem shoving a sword in my face last time I saw you.”
“Tako—" the vowels ring hollow, "—I’m sorry, okay?” Jet offers but there’s not much sincerity behind his eyes, “I was way too in over—”
“Save it for another day, Jet,” you interrupt, “We’ll figure this out later.”
“Tako,” he doubles down and grips on your scared wrist, “We have plenty of time to get to Lake Loagi, which means we have plenty of time to talk.”
“I said no.” You step away from him, though he follows shortly behind and invades your personal space. “I’m done with you and your apologies, Jet.”
“Tako—”
“I said no!” Your words come out before you can stop them. The room goes silent and your cheeks instantly heat up from embarrassment. Jet pushes past you as he barks something at Smellerbee to ‘get going.’
.
The building under the lake reminds you of the palace back home with its imposing walls and dimly lit corridors. Though, after spending months in your shabby apartment with the ridiculous amount of candles Uncle bought, it didn’t feel very comforting.
“It’s all starting to come back to me,” Jet says with his swords drawn. You walk just behind him with your weapon out as well, still refusing to talk to him since your earlier arguement. That was all you seemed to be doing, not talking to him after an argument, that is.
You continue with the group, even sneaking past a room filled with girls in fancy clothes and glazed-over eyes. Without thinking, you leave Jet’s side and hurry over to Smellerbee and Longshot. “Jet’s still acting weird,” you whisper. “Something's definitely up.”
Longshot nods before the three of you continue on your journey through the labyrinth until Jet leads you all into yet another hallway. “I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead.”
“I thought we were looking for the rest of Jet’s memories,” you comment to Smellerbee, who then shrugs.
“The Avatar needs his bison,” Sokka slides next to you and you don’t move to look at him, careful keeping your eyes on Jet in case he tries something. “Besides, Jet already has his memories back.”
You blow him off and walk fast to be back at Jet’s side, where he opens a door into an empty room. Everyone walks in before the door slams itself shut and light casts down on you, revealing a tall, brooding man standing with guards breathing down his neck.
“You have made yourselves enemies of the state,” he says to you and the others before turning to his guards, “Take them into custody.”
A battle quickly breaks out, leaving you, Smellerbee, and Longshot to join together into a defensive position. You decided to stick with them.
Each of your shoulder blades touches one of the others’ as a way to leave no backs unmatched before you break off onto the offensive after Smellerbee is almost cuffed with rock hands. You manage to take down two soldiers before you watch Jet and Avatar Aang running after the leader of the Dai Li.
In an act of carelessness, you don’t watch your back and before you know it, you’re cuffed by the rock hands and tossed to the ground. You let out a scream at the impact, before using the momentum and rolling yourself back onto your feet.
The man who cuffed you now charges at you with his fists ready, but you time one of Toph’s attacks rocks attacks, use it to launch yourself into the air, and manage to hit the man’s shoulder blades with your heels with a satisfying crunch. By the time you’re back on the ground, the cuffs have collapsed.
“Tako, Jet went this way!” Smellerbee calls you over as she and the others begin hurrying down the hallway. You don’t manage to catch up until you spot everyone, besides Jet, circling something.
Your heart drops to your stomach.
Jet blinks up at you before his signature smirk finds his lips. You don’t say anything as tears threaten to fall.
Katara bends water out from the pouch strapped to her belt and begins healing Jet’s chest. “This isn’t good,” she says.
“You guys go and find Appa, we’ll take care of Jet,” Smellerbee offers as she squats next to you.
“What are you saying?” Your shoulders tense, “Katara could be our only—”
“There’s no time,” Longshot suddenly speaks, throwing you off guard. “Just go. We’ll take care of him. He’s our leader.”
“Don’t worry, Tako,” Jet tilts his head to look at you, even lifting his arm with what little strength he had remaining to place a hand on your cheek. “I’ll be fine.”
You press your hand over his and attempt to hide your tears, but they drip just past Jet’s head and onto the cold ground next to him. Smellerbee leans on you and begins sobbing into your shoulder as the Avatar and his team slowly trickle out.
Longshot then pulls out an arrow and shoots off into seemingly nowhere, but when a Dai Li soldier falls from the ceiling, you know exactly what he’s done. You shake Smellerbee and point to Longshot before the two of you haul Jet’s limp body over your shoulders.
The three of you move as quickly as you can while Longshot shoots at the Dai Li, giving you a chance to escape.
With the enemy hot on your heels, you push Smellerbee and an unconscious Jet into a darkened corridor while you pull out your sword and begin helping to take out the rest of the soldiers.
You'd think it be a longer battle, but you guess that all the good Dai Li soldiers were chasing after the Avatar.
When the threat is finally gone and the man lies unconscious, the three of you make it close to the entrance before you and Smellerbee are cuffed by the same rock hands that had imprisoned you earlier. Longshot follows shortly after while you’re dragged back up by one of the Dai Li men.
“Princess (...)?” You hear the surprise in his voice before you see it on his face, I mean it’s not every day you find a royal with a shabby guerrilla gang. “Shouldn’t you be in the Fire Nation?”
Before you could answer, the man holding you collapses and you begin to feel the world blur together. Smellerbee shouts something at you but the world quickly fades to black.
You don’t remember anything that’s happened, your mind was pumping with so much adrenaline that you could barely open your eyes after the majority of the threat was gone.
When you do, you find yourself in a somewhat unfamiliar location. You sit up quickly, causing the damp towel resting on your forehead to land on your lap.
“I keep telling you to come home at a reasonable hour,” you hear the familiar voice of your uncle before you see him, “Neither of you ever listens.”
taglist: @ita606
border credit: strangergraphics
(a/n: i'm keeping quiet about what will happen with jet but he'll be important... somehow)
