Seizures (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Uncle

Zuko honestly felt like a fool.

After getting away far enough, he could set Jet down but found the other teen glaring lividly at him. There was no possible way that he could have known who was behind the mask and told the young man it wasn't a good idea for Jet to know his rescuer behind the mask. Something in his mind made him wonder if Jet recognized the swords he carried on the back and decided it best just to give in.

The anger Zuko saw in Jet's eyes left a shallow feeling, yet any thoughts regarding how Jet's rejection made him feel were quickly forgotten when Jet entered another seizure.

Except – this time, there was something more, almost as if the earth had begun to shake a little with the tremors in Jet's body.

Jet remained in no condition to know what was going on, yet Zuko knew if this was Jet's doing, there was likely no clue he was doing it. Worse, there were no signs of Jet having the ability of Earth Bending before, for in the back of Zuko's mind, he felt sure Jet would use the bending on him in their fight. As such, the person wasn't Jet, but someone else was coming.

In his urge to calm the situation down, he made a huge mistake; he stuffed his hand into Jet's mouth so he wouldn't gag on his own tongue instead of the hilt of his sword. Zuko held the other teen's head so he wouldn't slam against the wall despite the pain he felt, but he found himself muttering something about this happening again.

Finally, when Jet's movements stopped, Zuko removed his hand.

The result was Jet vomiting all over him. The vomit wasn't the kind that puked up chunks of food but was instead the bile that came up when one's stomach was empty. Zuko snapped a curt thank you to the other youth before grabbing Jet's face so they looked each other in the eye and gave Jet two choices. He felt the movement of Jet's eyes indicate he wanted Zuko to leave.

Zuko found himself backing off and disappearing around the wall so he might lean against the structure and think while the vomit soaked into his clothing. Jet was stubborn; his uncle might say he was as stubborn as possible. Zuko shook his hand, but the pain from the bite wouldn't leave. He glanced around the corner and saw Jet trying to get up. Zuko rolled his eyes and let out a deep sigh before hurrying over so he might grab the falling boy.

He gently lifted Jet onto his back, only for the boy to reward him with a relatively weak stranglehold, yet in the back of Zuko's mind, he knew Jet could have – in his normal condition – had his airways blocked off. This wasn't the case, making Zuko frown. He muttered something about this being a problem and started with the boy, only for someone to stop him; Zuko suspected the person was the one he felt coming up earlier.

A lie he didn't want to tell slipped from his tongue. "Sorry. My cousin here got sick, so..."

The lie came out with ease, but from the visual cues Jet gave off of being tense, Zuko knew he wasn't pleased with the lie either. The lie ended up working, and the man went his own way. Zuko didn't like how he began to feel Jet's body relax, indicating Jet might be falling asleep.

"You're worse off than I thought."

A

Iroh pretended he slept when his nephew left but remained so until he heard his nephew enter the room. He thought nothing of it but then listened to his nephew shuffle something other than himself onto his bed. The everyday delight he might take at hearing Zuko softly tiptoe towards his bed wasn't there when his nephew shook his shoulder. "Uncle. I found him. Something's wrong. He's not well."

The former general sat up straight and lit a fire in the lamp; he held no worry about discovering his Fire Bending as there were more important matters. He stood and hurried over towards Zuko's bed and saw Jet lying unconscious on Zuko's bed. He carefully placed a hand on Jet's face, yet felt a slight fever before reaching for the boy's shoulder so he might way up.