Chapter Text
The Duke couldn’t believe it- it’s Zuko!!! The young boy watched as the familiar face walked away from afar, and no matter how hard he yelled, he just wasn’t close enough to grab the teen’s attention.
“That’s him! That’s the guy I was telling you about!” The Duke hollered at Haru and Teo, pointing vigorously at the figure that was slowly fading away.
“The guy who’d tell you all those stories?” Teo asked, following them to the nearest exit so they could see what was going on.
…
When The Duke met Zuko for the first time, he wasn’t “Zuko” but rather ”Li.” He and the other freedom fighters ran into him while seeking refuge in Ba Sing Se, where their leader, Jet, was very motivated to get “Li” to join their group. In the beginning, he was too standoffish and upset at the world to bond with the group. However, the passage of time seemed to help heal both Jet and Zuko in their own ways.
The Duke didn’t completely understand romance or the difference between friends and partners yet, but he understood enough to catch on that Zuko and Jet were more than friends. He acted like his parents did back when they were still alive- glued to each other’s sides during all phases of themselves whether that be bickering, laughing, or consoling one another. He’d also catch a kiss or two before Smellerbee ushered him away from the window, insisting that they needed privacy.
Even if Jet didn’t always verbalize it, he’d always cared for Zuko. Even when he really, really didn’t want to. At first it was the ideas of him being a firebender, then after he found out that he was in fact a firebender after he denied it, then after he found out that his name wasn’t even Li but rather ‘Prince Zuko of The Fire Nation.’
They’ve fought a lot, but something kept pulling them back together. Jet did most of the work on finding him, but Zuko always seemed to welcome him back into his life, time and time again. The Duke thought about his conversation with Zuko’s uncle, who spoke about Zuko’s tendencies to shut his loved ones out in fear that he’ll be rejected if he asks for forgiveness first. Funnily enough, The Duke running off to find Zuko was the reason they got back together the second time. He remembered feeling so relieved when he saw the familiar face of “Mushi” after the two moved away to work in the upper ring of the city. Later that night, Jet and the others had finally found him, and before Jet could pick another fight, The Duke begged Jet to “be friends” with Zuko again. After a long walk, the two teens returned together, hand-in-hand with smiling faces.
The Duke never said it out loud, but he secretly hoped the two could get a home together where he could stay with them. On nights that Zuko stayed over, he’d happily tell stories to the boy before he went to bed. Jet would always lie back and watch them with a relaxed, satisfied look on his face. Much more deeply satisfied than any victory against any firebenders brought him. The Duke hated it when the two insisted on being alone or going off on some adventure without the rest of them, but Smellerbee always assured him that it wasn’t because they didn’t want to spend time with him and that they would play with him again later.
The end had all happened so fast- too fast for such a young boy to ever process by himself. Iroh had shown up at their door saying that Zuko was captured, and Jet readily joined the man on their search. When The Duke insisted on joining, Iroh had an odd, sad look to his face that the boy couldn’t quite understand.
“I think it would be best… if you were to stay back here with someone, little one,” Iroh spoke with a weary voice, unable to look anyone in the eyes.
Before The Duke could protest, he remembered their talk at the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh shared how he lost his son in Ba Sing Se, back when he was a different man. Iroh seemed to hold the same expression as he did when sharing this story, so The Duke assumed that Iroh foresaw something bad coming from this mission.
Without hesitation, Pipsqueak stayed back with The Duke and had eventually decided to get them the hell out of that city the very second the first word of an invasion had spread. With more luck than humanly imaginable, they seemed to escape the walls just before the fire nation soldiers busted through.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” The Duke asked as he rode on Pipsqueak’s shoulders.
“I’m sure of it, The Duke.” The bigger man gave a fake smile, glad he wasn't completely facing the boy.
…
“Was that really Zuko!? Where’s he going!?!?” The Duke’s questions echoed across the air temple halls as he tried peering over the edge of the flooring.
“You know Zuko!?” Sokka’s jaw dropped along with the others.
The Duke didn’t understand why everyone was so upset. He just wanted to know where Zuko was going and if any of the freedom fighters were there with him. He blocked out most of their interrogating questions with the distraction of finding any sight of him down below, but he eventually gave up.
“The Duke, when did you meet Zuko?” Katara asked gently while kneeling down to his level. She seemed concerned, as if something bad had happened to him without his knowledge.
Despite her expression, The Duke popped up with pride at his recollection of Zuko. “He’s Jet’s partner! He’s the guy who taught me how to read and write and told me all those stories- like the one about the stars!”
No one there seemed to interpret “partner” in the same way that The Duke meant, as he was told that “boyfriends” wasn’t a safe word to use in public; But the classic “partners in crime” interpretation was all they needed in order to understand how much The Duke knew Zuko.
“The Duke, I’m afraid Zuko isn’t who you think he is. He’s been hunting down Aang for the past few months, and did… a lot of evil things.” Sokka explained as he kneeled next to Katara, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“He changed! Jet and Zuko both changed!” The Duke shouted out, wiggling out of Sokka’s grasp.
“Hey, hey! Easy, Buddy! We’re just trying to explain to you that he’s not as safe as he might seem!” Sokka insisted with an anxious look on his face.
The Duke knew Sokka was nice and funny and trustworthy… So how could he say such a thing?! He remembered how they seemed to forgive Jet back when they went to free Appa… why couldn’t they forgive Zuko?
The Duke noticed Toph was gone. He heard her yelling, but he knew she got heated up easily, so overhearing any outbursts of hers wasn’t exactly new to him. Still, he wondered if any of that was related to Zuko.
“Why’d Toph leave?!” He demanded, crossing his arms and turning his back towards everyone there.
“She’s… also upset about us refusing to let Zuko join us,” Katara admitted.
“He was gonna join us!? Which way is he going now!?” The boy turned back faster than an airbender, hands now on his head.
“Duke…” Haru started, but that was enough to get The Duke to explode.
“It’s THE Duke!!! THE!!! T! H! A!” He yelled, storming off down the stairway.
Sokka coughed as he broke the awkward silence, “…Okay, either his name isn’t spelt how I thought it was, or Zuko is a shit spelling teacher.”
…
It was super dark, but The Duke wasn’t afraid of the dark! Even if he really, really wanted a torch right about now. A faint smell of smoke lead westward, so that’s where The Duke followed.
At some point, The Duke heard a girl scream. He knew it was Toph as she continued to call out, and he almost ran away until he heard Zuko’s familiar voice exclaim “WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD!?!?”
It took him about five more minutes to locate Zuko’s campsite, and at first, he didn’t even see Zuko until he heard shuffling from the darkest corner of the tent.
“Hello!? I didn’t mean to burn her! I swear!” Zuko shouted with a nasally undertone- had he been crying?
The Duke hurdled towards the tent with open arms, calling out “Zuzu!”
He liked calling Zuko that because he always laughed at Zuko’s reaction when Jet called him that, too. When caught laughing, Zuko would mischievously sneak over to The Duke and tickle him, demanding what was so funny.
“Huh?” Zuko removed his hand from his face, shocked at the sight and sound of the boy.
As he was pelted by a big hug, Zuko snapped out of it and finally hugged the boy back enough to knock the wind out of both of them. As Zuko slowly rocked him side-to-side in the deep embrace, the kid giggled, ignoring that his helmet fell off of his head.
“The Duke… Little buddy… what are you doing here!?” Zuko asked breathlessly, leaning back to scan his face.
The Duke beamed with pride, “I saw you! They said they didn’t want you to join, but I know you’re good! You’re the most good person I know, Zuko!”
Zuko laughed, but not without a look of guilt. “Well, Buddy… I haven’t made great choices lately. I’m trying to change for good and help The Avatar learn firebending… but so far it’s been a disaster.”
“Was that Toph? She was yelling…” The Duke looked out into the dark and finally recognized a pillar emerging from the ground. “Did you two have a fight?” He added.
Zuko closes his eyes, sighing. He remembered when he’d ask Zuko this after he and Jet finished yelling at each other… and to a much more awkward extent after he noticed a few bite marks on his shoulders. Stupid Jet had probably woken up the entire neighborhood with his hour-long laughing fit.
“Yeah. We got in a fight.”
The Duke pouted, looking around for any injuries. He noticed Zuko’s posture was worse than usual, with dust and dirt covering his stomach.
“Your belly’s hurt.” The Duke stated as a fact, looking around for anything to use to help.
Zuko redirected his attention by softly grabbing his shoulder. “It’s okay, bud. It’s not that bad.”
Zuko thought about a similar eruption of earth that stood in front of Jet’s limp body back in Ba Sing Se.
…
“Get out of my face right now before I ruin yours.” Jet hissed, eyes practically red from an indescribable rage pulsating through his entire body.
Zuko was almost touched… he suggested his face wasn’t already ruined.
“Jet… Li- or… Zuko is still the same person. He just has a different past, and we’ve all agreed to put the past behind us” Smellerbee started, but Jet wouldn’t let her finish.
“Bullshit! He’s a liar! He’s from the Fire Nation, he’s a firebender, and he’s the offspring of the very person who’s in charge of this whole war! If it weren’t for his father my parents wouldn’t be ashes right now!” His yelling echoed throughout all of the underground tunnels, probably alerting every Dai Li possible.
“He’s not his father, Jet,” Longshot spoke, causing everyone to turn his way in shock.
He continued after a short pause- “Zuko has done a lot of good for us, including you. I know I didn’t know your parents, but I’d like to think they’d want you to be happy. You and Zuko have both changed each other, and you need each other to make it through these difficult times… You love each other.”
“I loved Li. Li’s not here anymore.” Jet spat with his eyes closed, shifting his weight onto his toes for a moment as if the floor knew he was lying.
The sound of Aang and his friends echoed nearby, and Zuko pulled his mask back on. “Fine, I’ve got new plans anyway.”
Time passed, and on their way out Zuko and Iroh ran into the sight of Jet collapsed on the ground.
However, he wasn’t the only one.
Twenty, no- thirty-something Dai Lee laid across the floor. Some had arrows in their chest, others a dark red pool surrounding where they laid. Both panting, Smellerbee and Longshot leaned on one another as they sat in front of Jet.
“Is he alive!?” Zuko gasped out as he charged toward the trio, almost tripping over a few fallen men.
“...hah..yes…” Jet breathed, grabbing onto his shirt like his life depended on it.
“You’re hurt,” Zuko said plainly, putting a hand over his.
Jet ignored him, eyes dazed. “...You kill that Bison?...-ngh…”
“No. I let him go.” Zuko answered, seeing his uncle talk to Smellerbee and Longshot in his peripheral.
Jet let out a short laugh, then winced at the sharp pain in his stomach. “Hah… you are a little softy… Kitty…”
Zuko gave a sheepish smile at his dumb nickname that Jet gave him a while back, then gently lifted Jet’s shirt to see the damage.
“Yo dude… not in front of your uncle…” Jet said with the most disturbed face Zuko had ever seen on him.
Zuko had laughed for the first time in what seemed like forever, “I’m checking the damages, idiot.”
There was a lot of redness, but it wasn’t purple yet. 'That’s good… so good…' Zuko thought as he recollected the signs of internal bleeding. 'Internal bleeding turns purple almost immediately, bruising turns within in one or two days.' He didn’t see any blood from his nose or mouth either, and he was still conscious.
“Let’s get him out of here before any others arrive,” Iroh said, helping the other two get up.
Zuko nodded, gently hoisting him up with the help of the others. “I’m still so… ngh… I hate you damn ash makers… so much…” Jet gasped as he was led to a safe exit. Smellerbee kept trying to get him to quit, but to Zuko’s relief, his constant griping was a sign that he was still breathing.
That was the longest fight the two had, but neither of them remembered most of the days that passed by. While Iroh tended to his family, the freedom fighters tended to their own. By the time Jet recovered enough to move around with ease, Zuko and his uncle had already gone off and moved into the upper ring of the city. Jet refused to even say the name “Zuko” up until a certain someone had ran off to find him.
Zuko, refreshed and as chipper as ever, was just mixing his fifth experimental lemonade-tea recipe as he hummed an improvised tune. He heard his uncle talking to someone out in the front, but he just assumed it was another customer who stayed after hours. It was only until he heard yelling from a familiar voice that he decided to peer out and see what was going on.
“Li! -I mean, Zuko!” The Duke cheered as he got out of Jet’s arms to into Zuko’s.
Zuko instinctively accepted the embrace, very glad to see the boy again. “Hey, little bit! When did you get here?”
“I was wondering the same thing.” Jet said, giving The Duke ‘the look.’
The Duke blushed and turned away from Jet’s stare, mumbling, “I left around lunchtime but got here like an hour ago, I think.”
“Not. Okay. We spent hours looking around for you, and they’re still out there thinking you’re lost!” Jet shifted his eye’s to Zuko’s “And give me my kid back, you ash maker!” Jet walked up to snatch his youngest member of his group, ignoring The Duke’s protests.
“Don’t call him that, Jet!” The Duke started to wail, finally wiggling out of his arms again to run back into Zuko’s. “Stop being in a fight! I miss you and L- Zuko telling me stories and playing with me! You’re supposed to love each other! Smellerbee told me you did!”
Jet was still as he watched the boy cling to his ex, staining his clothes with tears and snot. Zuko didn’t look up at Jet at all, but only focused all of his attention on The Duke. Jet remembered how he himself had held the boy all throughout the night after they found him stealing their food. He then remembered the face of the man who killed his parents as he watched him cry, and recognized that whatever form of evil that man was… Zuko was not the same.
Jet gave a heavy, somewhat irritated sigh. “Mushi… can you watch him while your nephew and I have a talk outside?”
“It’s actually Iroh, but, yes. He’s a great guest and deserves some more lychee tea!” Iroh agreed with the hopes of cheering The Duke up, refilling the small cup that sat on the edge of one of the tables. To their relief, the crying had stopped almost immediately.
Jet was a bit taken aback at Zuko’s new personality, but he assumed that’s what life in the upper ring did to a person. He gave up after a few minutes of trying for a screaming match, realizing that Zuko was no longer built on rage and aggression. Instead, Zuko got to share more of his past life, and everything the fire nation did to him, as well as his own mistakes he had made. Finally, Zuko had nothing left to hide from Jet.
Jet tried to keep his word and deny any forgiveness to him, but the moonlight had complemented his fair skin too well, his eyes seemed to have a golden glow even in the dark, his smile and laughter were too nice to look away from, they were perfectly hidden away from the public... and...
…
The Duke didn’t budge when Zuko told him to go back to the others so they wouldn't worry. At first, Zuko thought he was just being stubborn, but he had to agree that maybe daylight would be safer to travel through than the night. He just hoped that none of them would find him and seek vengeance for burning Toph’s feet, though at the time, he really felt like he deserved it.
“Zuko?” The Duke yawned, snuggling on top of the teen’s chest as they listened to the cricket-flies chirp.
“Yeah, bud?” Zuko yawned back.
“Where’s Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee?”
The Duke felt Zuko’s heart pound for a moment, making him look up.
“Well… they’re alive but… I’m afraid they’re in prison.” Zuko gulped, thinking about his lover and his friends being tossed around by Boiling Rock’s guards.
The Duke broke the short silence with a quiet “I think that’s where Pipsqueak is, too… Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“I’m sure of it.” Zuko whispered back.