After the war

Confrontation pt. 1

Zuko wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that his boyfriend had already got up. The firebender dressed and ventured into the living room and found Sokka and Toph sitting at the table.

"Morning" Zuko muttered, sitting down next to Sokka. As the firebender sat down he watched Ra scurry off the water tribe boy's lap and run onto Zuko's shoulder.

"Morning Zuko, how did you sleep?" Suki asked walking into the room from the kitchen.

"Not great, took me a while to get to sleep, and I had a nightmare about... him" Zuko looked down at the floor while tapping his left knuckles on the table.

"Well, hopefully after today, that won't be a problem" Suki smiled.

"Hopefully" Zuko narrowed his eyes at the floor. He had one last resolve left about his choice, but the events of last night had expelled that. His nightmare hadn't been about the demon freedom fighter, it had been about his father. Ozai had advised him. Jet was going to die today.

Sokka sat at the table in total silence. He had been against Katara going after Yon Rha, he was definitely against Zuko facing Jet. He couldn't protect him while he was in the cell, he couldn't keep his promise. The water tribe boy tapped his right knuckles on the table, in time with Zuko's left hand. While he wasn't totally on board with his boyfriend's mission, he trusted the firebender to make the correct decision when the time came, Katara had, Zuko could too.

"When can we get to Jet's prison?" Zuko asked the group, not looking up from the floor. His eyes were currently trained on a crease in his shoe. He could feel Ra rubbing his nose on his ear, so he reached a hand up to scratch the dragon's chin. A small smile crept onto Zuko's face when he could hear his companion softly purring.

"We can have breakfast first and then get going" Suki smiled at her friends.

"Suki, as much as I love your cooking, and as much as I love food, I'm not sure I can eat..." Sokka trailed off and mimicked Zuko, looking down at the floor.

"Fair enough Sokka, Zuko?" Suki turned to the firebender.

"Suki, if Sokka is too nervous to eat do you really think Sparky could even stomach the sight of food?" Toph answered for Zuko. "Let's just get going" she stood up and walked towards the door.

"Good idea" Sokka's eyes snapped up at the tone of his boyfriend's voice. There was an air of chilling evil in Zuko's voice.

"Ta Da!" Toph presented as they arrived at the enormous prison she had built with the help of the Dai Li. Zuko walked up next to her and stopped at her side. "Ready Sparky?" She looked in the general direction of her friend.

"Ready Beifong" Zuko felt a strange tension snap through his body as he prepared himself to meet his tormentor.

Toph opened the great metal doors and the group entered through them. They began their descent, deep into the earth. The prison consisted of a building above ground, housing various bookkeepers that took note of the prisoners and their crimes. Below the ground, there were hundreds upon thousands of cells, the further down the cells went, the worse the criminals got.

"Here we are, Jet's cell..." Toph stopped them at a large cell at the end of a long corridor.

Zuko stared at the great steel door and took in a deep breath. He knew what awaited him on the other side, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

"Sokka, look after Ra, I don't want him anywhere near Jet" Zuko was filled with sudden terror at the thought of the freedom fighter being in the vicinity of Ra.

"Yeah, sure Zuko" Sokka smiled lifting the dragon of Zuko's head.

"There's a system of three doors in the cells, I'll open the first door, you step through, I close the door behind you, then open the door in front, and so on and so forth until you're inside the cell" Toph explained. "Are you sure you want to do this Zuko? You can turn back now and none of us will judge you" the earthbender put her hand on her friend's arm.

"No, I have to do this! Jet dies tonight!" Zuko directed his eyes at the floor, unable to look at the shock on his friends faces as he revealed his plan to them.

The firebender turned to face the cell and felt a hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes, breathed in, opened his eyes, and turned to face his boyfriend.

"Zuko, remember what you told me, this goes beyond your personal grievances, this is bigger than you are, if you kill Jet, you could start a war! After the battle of the airships the army is scattered, and the Fire Nation is nigh on defenceless! Not to mention murdering Jet is not the answer! It's evil, and wrong!" Sokka looked at his boyfriend with pleading eyes, knowing he wasn't going to get through to him. "Please... don't kill him Hotshot"

At the sound of Sokka's nickname for him Zuko's narrowed eyes widened. "Yeah, I'll bear that in mind Sokka..." the firebender took an interest in his shoes again.

"No matter what happens in there, I'll still love and support you" Sokka smiled and pressed a kiss to Zuko's cheek. He knew, deep down that he would make the right decision, but a little convincing could go a long way.

"Thank you, Sokka, that means a lot" Zuko gave his boyfriend a small smile, and then turned to their resident metalbender.

"Let me in Toph" Zuko's hardened exterior returned as he asked the metalbender to open the cell.

"When that door opens, there's no turning back Zuko, when you face him you have to be sure and ready" Suki looked upon her friend's determined face, trying to determine whether or not it was a mask to hide fear.

"I'm ready Suki, it's time to face my demon..." there was fire blazing in Zuko's eyes as he stared at the door.

Upon hearing Zuko's words Toph positioned herself to open the doors. She closed her eyes and pulled the door down. She felt the Firelord step into the space between the two barriers.

"Wait!" Sokka put his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. He stopped and turned to face the water tribe boy. "Zuko, I love you" Sokka held onto the firebender's hands and looked into his dimmed golden eyes.

"I love you too Sokka" the Firelord leaned in to kiss his boyfriend. "I promise, I'll make the right decision" Zuko turned away, steeling himself, tonight Jet would meet his fate. He stepped into the gap between the two doors and heard Toph close the door behind him.

The Firelord watched as the door in front of him was lowered to the floor. He stepped into the space between the two doors and faced the final barrier between him and his choice. He flinched slightly as he heard the door behind him close.

After what felt like hours the door in front of Zuko opened. There he was. The man that tormented the Firelord. He was sat leaning against the far wall, head bowed, legs crossed, hands resting on his ankles.

"Well, hello there Firelord Zuko" Jet put a mocking emphasis on the word 'Firelord', not bothering to look up at his victim.

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Oooohhhh plot has entered the chat how exciting. 

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Follow to burn Jet at the stake.