Jet x Reader/OC Avatar the Last Airbender

Fantasy

   Over the next few days, Jet and I became more comfortable with our routine... I told him he should try doing his bandages on his own since he had recently been doing some small stretches to combat the stiffness from bed in a bed for three weeks, but he didn't seem to get the hang of wrapping his chest. Our mornings seemed more natural now, and my face didn't feel so warm anymore, to my relief. Once when he was finally out of bed and doing more stretches, I noticed how tall he really was. I cleaned up the end table by his bed when he was doing his exercises when I realized I had to crane my neck to look at his face. His friends never seemed to leave him, and I was beginning to wonder if they had just wholly quit their jobs to be at his bedside. They always seemed to be in a deep conversation because Jet's brow would get so furrowed and he would frown a lot.

     However, on one occasion, I was surprised to find that neither friend was at his side. I sat on the edge of the bed as I always had. "You're all alone today?"

     "Yeah, Smellerbee and Longshot had some... Errands to run." He looked at the ceiling.

     "Oh." I finished wrapping him up. His scabs were turning into scars, and his bruise had been draining color, so I was pretty sure he didn't need his wrapping changed as often, but the head nurse insisted. "Do you want a warm compress again?"

     "Sure." he nodded. "They're usually lukewarm by this time, though."     

     "Oh... I'll try and find a warm one for you." I walked over to the cart where the warm compresses were kept, and I chose one piled in the middle, which was already pretty much room temperature. I made sure my back was faced to Jet and as many other people before I heated my hands up slightly until it just began steaming. "I got a fresh one." I smiled at him and pressed it against his chest.

     "Thank you," he smirked a bit. "You don't think you could pull something like that with the food, could you?"

     I gave him an unimpressed look. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do, princess."

     He laughed, and I rolled my eyes as soon as I turned to do the rest of my rounds. By the time I finished, I had noticed that Jet was ready and struggling to get out of bed to stretch. I hustled over and tried to help him sit up. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I grab his waist and back to hoist him up so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Sorry... this is a little embarrassing. Usually, Smellerbee and Longshot help me out..." He blushed a little.

     I smiled. "It's no problem. You're still really stiff in your shoulders and back... Do you need a massage or something to help loosen up?"

     He looked up at me, almost relieved. "That would be great."

     I pulled up another chair and transferred him into that one. "I used to be a massage therapist back at home." I rolled up my sleeves and heated my hands a bit, and began working on the knots in his shoulders.

     "And now you're a nurse in the outer rim of Ba Sing Sa?"

     "Mm. My home town was burned down, so I left with my village here. We all still live relatively close to each other." I felt a knot of my own tie in my stomach. I hadn't really talked to anyone here outside of the people from my village that I came with. Although this wasn't a complete lie, I still felt uneasy.

     I felt Jet tense up. "You're one of the lucky ones... all I have left is Smellerbee and Longshot. My village was burned down as well. Not very many made it out."

     "I'm sorry to hear that." I felt my stomach plummet. He would absolutely despise me if he would out I was part of the nation that took his family away. "Well, you should be out of here soon, we probably would have sent you home sooner, but we don't get too many patients and had extra room. Your wrist only had a slight sprain, and it looks pretty good, and you would usually nurse bruised ribs at home an-"

     Jet turned around to look at me. "Thank you. I know it's your job and all but still..." he looked down at the ground and dropped his voice. "Can I still come back?"

     I tilted my head a little... was this boy stupid? "Well... yeah you still have to come in every other week for check-ups and if you hav-"

     "No," he grinned and locked his eyes with mine. "Come back to see you. I want to see you."

     My face immediately heated up. "Uh- yeah... yeah, sure." I couldn't look anywhere but his eyes.

     Jet turned around again, and I looked down at his untidy hair. "Alright, cool." He turned his head a little. "Does your face always turn that red?"

     I smiled to myself. "No... only when I get flustered by a cute boy."

     He chuckled. "Hey- My shoulders are still tight."

     "Oh- right."

     The next day on the way to work, Jet had been pestering my mind, so I decided to pick up an apple from the market near Gram's house. The shop owner argued with another customer trying to haggle money for some groceries, so I slipped the apple into my pocket and was on my way. I hadn't gotten much sleep because I kept replaying what Jet had said over and over. I could feel my face blush each time he was replayed. Back at home, I was always training, studying, or helping around the village, so romance had no room in my life. After our unplanned move, I seemed to have some newfound free time in which I didn't know what to do. I felt unsettling, and since the underground arena heated up so quickly, it was hard to train, so my primary way to kill time was virtually nonexistent. Although I was excited and flattered with Jet, I knew that we could never be anything more than maybe distant friends, I couldn't do that with anyone for that matter. I couldn't hide being a firebender for that long with any stranger, friend, or partner. I had to put my daydreams on self and make sure they stayed as exactly that... a fantasy to escape these suffocating walls.

     When I approached his bed Smellerbee and Longshot were standing, as if they were ready to leave. I could sense some tension. "Jet, you don't know what you're ta-" Smellerbee stopped immediately as they saw me. "Mornin'." The pair promptly left.

     "Sorry- she gets worked up sometimes- it's nothing." Jet gave an uneasy smile.

     "It's none of my business anyway." I tossed him the apple. "Sorry, it's not the best, but we aren't really known for our cuisine."

     Jet smiled and took a bite. "Thanks, it's a lot better than the usual menu."

     "I bet... I'll let you finish and come back after my other rounds." 

    When I got around to Jet, he looked at me the entire time as I dabbed some vitamin E oil on his healing scars. "You know I'm supposed to be released today."

     "Oh, really? That's exciting." I avoided his gaze that seared into the back of my head.

     "Mm. What time do you get off?"

     I almost spilled the glass of the oil over. "Uh... I usually get off around 2..."

     "If I come next week, will you be here?"

     I nodded and hurried to collect all the supplies on his end table. I was too flustered to say anything else until my shift ended.