Title: The Walls of Ba Sing Se
Main pairing: Jet/Zuko

Other pairings: Zuko/Jin, Smellerbee/Longshot, Uncle/OFC
Warning(s): Spoilers for all books

A/N: A huge thanks to Cadesama for the beta and for being my idea bouncy-board. Enjoy!

The Walls of Ba Sing Se: Chapter 1

Jet lay on a rooftop chewing on his straw, arms folded behind his head, the warmth from the roof-tiles soaking through his clothes. Earlier, he had cornered Li, asking him if he'd join Jet's Freedom Fighters. Li had turned him down once more, glaring at Jet before stalking off, but this time there'd been hesitation in his voice. Jet smiled. That was all the in he needed.

He'd followed Li to Pao's teahouse, climbing up gutters, running across wooden beams and tiled roofs. In some ways this boiling mess of a city was just like his forest. No one ever looked up.

He watched Li through the open window of the teahouse, watched him awkwardly pour tea and clean tables and it struck him, just like it had on the ferry, how out of place Li looked.

Jet shifted his straw from one side of his mouth to the other. If he hadn't seen Li gracefully climb ropes or the way he'd used his dao to pack food when they'd raided the ship's kitchen on their way to Ba Sing Se, he could have almost believed that this was a different person.

"Tofu! Soft, fresh tofu! Pickles and tofu!" The salesman pushed his cart around the corner, the bang of his knife against a metal plate advertising his presence, echoing down the street. He stopped near the Pao Family Teahouse, cutting and weighing the soft, off-white squares for the customers that had stepped out of their houses at the sound of his arrival.

Jet frowned. If there was one thing he hated about the city, it was the constant noise. It felt a bit like going mad. Voices came from every direction, crowding in, filling his ears, his thoughts. Even late at night there was no peace or quiet. The first night, they'd found shelter in an abandoned warehouse, he had woken up to the sound of the cattle drivers and farmers coming into the city, delivering their wares before the dawn of day. The stomping of the bull-pigs shaking the ground like a battalion of Fire Nation soldiers on their komodo-rhinos brought back all the bitter memories he was trying so hard to leave behind. He had not been able to go back to sleep after that, staring instead at the gray pre-dawn sky, wishing he was back in his forest, back when it all had made sense.

His eyes were once more drawn to the teahouse windows. Li was setting up a pai sho board near the window. The afternoon sun caught the good side of his face, soft golden light touching amber eyes. Fire Nation eyes. Jet had seen many children like him in the occupied parts of the Earth Kingdom. When the Fire Nation army marched through, sooner rather than later, there would be children, unwanted and suffering for their fathers' sins. Another thing he would make the Fire Nation to pay for.

The sun was setting, and with the rising darkness flint hit steel and the streets lit with the green glow of a million lanterns. The tofu salesman had moved on, and Jet could smell the hundreds of cooking fires set up by the food stalls selling beer and barbeque to people crouching on tiny folding chairs. Their chatter filled the air like wind rattling leaves.

The smell of roasting meat made his nose tingle and his stomach grumble. He reached into his pocket, counting the meagre change he still possesses, enough for dinner and maybe a bottle or two of beer. Jet grinned, spit out his straw, and climbed down from the roof.

ooooo

..

"We're closed." Li threw the washrag he'd been using to wipe down cups and pots onto the table. "Get out."

"No, you're not. Is that how you treat all your customers?" Jet grinned at Li who glowered at him in return.

"What do you want?" Li leaned onto the table, looking straight into Jet's eyes, challenging.

"Cup of jasmine, please." Jet raised an eyebrow at him, his voice teasing.

Li grabbed his rag and stalked off without a comment. He returned a few minutes later with a cup of steaming tea on a tray. Jet took it out of his hands, making sure their fingers touched, running his thumb sensually over Li's. Li's eyes went wide and he frantically pulled his hand away, nearly spilling the tea.

"When do you get off, Li?"

"What do you want from me?" Li took a step back, looking lost.

Jet thought the blush creeping up Li's cheeks was rather adorable, especially the way it made his ears glow. "We could have dinner at one of the barbeque stalls?"

"You're crazy." Li grabbed his tray, holding it in front of him like a shield, exasperation in his voice.

"Is that a yes?" Jet called after him, taking a sip of his tea and admiring Li's lithe step as he walked back to the kitchen.

ooooo

..

Jet pulled the last bit of meat off the barbeque stick with his teeth, chewing slowly he savored the flavor, then threw the wooden stick behind him, hearing it bounce off the roof tiles and fall into the darkness below. He licked the seasoning off his fingers and waited.

Earlier he'd climbed up to their apartment, knifed open the flimsy lock on the window and nearly knocked over a rather hideous vase someone had placed right under it. He stepped inside and looked around the room where Li and his uncle were staying.

Jet took his time to admire Li's weapons. Li's dao were nothing special, but they were well cared for, a soldier's swords. Jet pushed them back into their sheath, his hand lingering over the hilt, caressing the handle where Li's hands had worn it thin. The dagger, now, that was another matter. Jet weighed it carefully in his hand, admiring its balance. This was no common weapon, not merely ornamental but also well worked. Jet tried to read the filigreed inscription. It had to be an heirloom of some kind. In times like these, refugees fleeing the Fire Nation, money scarce, people did not weigh themselves down with possessions that could be sold to buy another meal. Jet's hand tightened around the hilt, wondering what had happened to Li's family. There had to be sentimental value attached for Li and his uncle to keep the dagger. Someday he'd make the Fire Nation pay for taking their families from them. Make them pay dearly for it all. Jet put it back where he had found it, placed his straw on Li's blanket and left.

A bit later he was again lying on the roof opposite their window, head resting on crossed arms, looking out over the wooden ridge, waiting for them to come home from work. Jet idly watched as dark houses exploded with light; their inhabitants returning home and lighting cooking fires and candles and it reminded him of nothing so much as an oversized anthill.

He wasn't sure how long he'd gazed off into the night. Nearby a door closed with a bang. With the sound of flint hitting steal the room across the street lit up snapping him out of his daze. A single candle now lit the room and Li was stretched out on his bed, the straw in pieces on the floor. Uncle Mushi was busying himself at the stove.

"Would you like a pot of tea?" Mushi dumped out this morning's leaves, measuring out fresh ones for this evening's brew.

"We've been working in a teashop all day." Li rolled over on his bed, facing his uncle, his voice bitter. "I'm sick of tea."

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing." Mushi sounded exasperated. He rekindled their hearth fire, reaching for the kettle, only to find it empty. Then frowned; he put the kettle back down on the table and walked over to their waist high earthenware cistern, lifting the lid. "It's nearly empty. Didn't you refill it this morning?"

"I did." Li scowled and ran a hand through his hair. He determinedly got up and grabbed the carrying stick with the two buckets from behind the door. "I'll be right back."

ooooo

..

Like all houses in Ba Sing Se, Li's home faced a public courtyard with a well. Jet slid down the tiled roof, gently descending until his feet securely rested on the eave. He edged along the eave, remembering the drain pipe he had climbed up on to be a few feet to his right. He jumped down the last few feet, landing softly on the paved street.

Jet brushed the dirt off his clothes and sauntered into the passageway to Li's house. A single green lantern lit the courtyard, its shadows dancing with the soft evening breeze. Li's buckets and carrying stick were on the tiled ground by the well, but Li was nowhere in sight. And then, very suddenly, there was that knife against his throat.

Jet grinned. "Missed me?"

The knife against his throat tightened, biting into his flesh, nearly drawing blood. Then it was withdrawn and Jet found himself thrown against the wall, Li glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I take that as a yes." Jet reached out and tugged an errant strand of hair behind Li's ear.

"Is this how you get people to join your group?" Li froze at the gentle gesture, knife still at the ready, his grip on Jet's arm like iron.

"Is it working?" Jet smirked, looking way too smug for Li's taste.

"What do you want from me?" He shoved Jet against the wall again for emphasize.

"Bored of serving tea, yet?" Jet drawled, stepping closer. "I could use a man with your talents." His breath hot on Li's skin.

The pressure on Jet's arms eased and Li blinked and gave him a tiny nod. "What do you have in mind?"

"It'll be fun." Jet spun Li around, in a move that was almost dancing, pressing him against the wall, his hand in Li's hair, his thumb caressing Li's cheek. "Just like old times."

Seizing the opportune moment Jet quickly leaned down and kissed him, Li's lips soft under his, their breathing ragged as Jet pulled away. He thought he rather liked that look of perplexed awkwardness on Li's face.

He pushed away from the wall, stepping out of reach with a dancer's ease and was halfway across the courtyard when he turned to a still frozen Li and flashed him a smile. "Tomorrow, after the teahouse closes."

ooooo

..

Zuko watched Jet disappear into the darkness, his mind reeling. It had all made sense, Jet recruiting for his group, wanting another fighter to join them, but then …

He ran a finger over his lips, trying to comprehend what had just happened, trying to understand why Jet had kissed him. What did he want?

Zuko was faintly aware of someone watching him as he finally went over to where he'd left his buckets by the well. Feeling unease and anticipation Zuko leaned over the edge of the well, lowering his bucket into the ground water below.

Someone watched him fill first one, then the other bucket, hook them to the carrying stick and walk back towards the house.