Seizures (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Walking a Thin Line

The names he heard sounded familiar, yet Jet found himself unable to place them. His mind swirled around, attempting to take in the situation. However, what the Da Li did to him made his mind feel like mush, so Jet couldn't figure out what Lee or his uncle Mushi were up to. The fever wracked his mind and body, making all his thoughts collide painfully.

The fever finally broke, and Jet's eyes blinked open, attempting to take everything slowly so another seizure wouldn't set in. His tongue felt dry and slightly swollen as Jet slowly turned his head to the side to see Lee, realizing quickly that the other boy was touching him, much to his disgust. He also saw the blue flame flickering in the other teen's hand, and instinctively he hit Lee's hand away.

It felt good to be able to move, but relief didn't set in as his worst fears became confirmed. Lee's eyes blinked open, suddenly realizing Jet had awakened him. The young Firebender hadn't noticed the flame, so Jet spoke curtly. "You're not a Firebender? That sure says you are."

Jet hadn't expected to see the fear wash over the Firebender's face or how Lee attempted to shake off the fire from his hand, causing it to fling across the room. The older teen closed his eyes, then opened them, relief washing over him as the flame hit the dishes just as Mushi entered the room. He lay in the bed, observing, noting the name Mushi used for Lee and his sister, the names registering and staying this time, ready to be recalled later on if he didn't have another one of those seizures.

Confirmed – they were Firebenders.

Supposedly – he was an Earthbender, meaning they were insane as well, yet Jet didn't think Mushi would lie to him. The old man was strange, and despite his disgust and distrust of Firebenders, there was a peculiar feeling telling him to trust the old man.

Unknown – why Zuko – that was Lee's real name – made his fire blue.

Strange – the fact Mushi didn't mind sharing Zuko's real name with him.

Irritating – he was now Zuko's babysitter because something was off about the other teen, yet everything seemed normal to Jet. However, in turn, Zuko was also, unfortunately, his babysitter.

Jet watched Iroh leave the apartment, and Jet sat up, sighing. "I don't like you, and if I had any energy, I would either kill you or turn you over to..."

"Do I need to remind you of what they did to you the last time?" Zuko let out a sigh, heading over to the tub of dishes. Without hesitation, he cleaned them, almost as if he were pretending Jet wasn't there.

"Then I guess I'm left with the option of killing you." Jet's comment elicited no reaction, making the older teen worry his lip. He couldn't remember much of what was said between them outside of being horrified that his rescuer was Zuko. He wasn't sure where to start regarding the other teen, his teeth tightening, only to let out a sound of discomfort due to how swollen and sore his tongue was.

"Are you okay?"

One of Jet's hands reached up to touch his mouth before he looked up to glare at the other teen. "Let me ask you something, Lee. Why did you refuse to join us?"

Zuko flinched, turning to look at Jet, his eyes widening. "We already discussed this?"

"No, you're avoiding this because you don't want to admit that you wanted nothing to do with us. You don't believe in our cause."

"Yes, we already did discuss this, and no, I didn't say no because I didn't want to have anything to do with you and your friends."

"Liar." Jet watched the younger teen's jaw clench as he turned back to the dishes he was washing, one of his hands splashing down as he controlled his anger. Zuko's entire body was tense, including his jaw.