Chapter Text
It was a relatively easy day, Jet had nothing to complain about, no one was squabbling (not that it usually happened), some of the younger ones had managed to catch berries that were actually edible, and he had managed to get more than three hours of sleep.
He didn’t believe this day could get any better, until he went with Pipsqueak, Smellerbee and Longshot to raid a Fire Nation camp. Though, someone had gotten there before them.
He recognized them instantly, the blue, demon-like mask, the dual swords… The Blue Spirit, though unlike the rumors, they weren’t alone, they had three companions. A tiny bald kid and two other teens, seemingly water-tribe.
Watching them actually fight Fire Nation soldiers was nothing like the stories, it was a hundred times better. Jet wishes there was a way to keep those memories locked somewhere for him to re-watch over and over. Once his idol The Blue Spirit had managed to knock all of them out, with the help of the water tribe girl and the little kid (and an attempt of help from the other boy), Jet realized that he and his friends had just been staring like idiots without going to help.
But, well, it wasn’t like they needed any help, right?
He gave the others a signal for them to stay quiet, wanting to see what the small group would do, he obviously already had his eyes set on someone, but then that someone turned their head, the smiling-face of the mask staring back at him.
So much for being sneaky…
Begrudgingly, he and his friends went down from the trees, introducing themselves as the Freedom Fighters. The water-tribe boy, Sokka, stared at them with a hint of wariness in his blue eyed, which was fair, since they were spying on them and didn’t help at all during the fight. The girl, Katara, and the kid, whose name was Aang and was apparently the Avatar, seemed more impressed, though the waterbender still had the same, tiny wariness her brother shared.
And the Blue Spirit… well, he guessed they were wary too, and they hadn’t spoken once during all of this. Maybe they were mute, as some of the tales suggested.
While his friends checked the camp out, he was about to tell the group about their hide-out when a soft, slightly raspy voice interrupted him.
“You know, a little help back there would’ve been nice.” It was a small jab, and for a second, he thought the water tribe boy said it, but, he hadn’t opened his mouth. So that only left…
”… You can talk?” Great job, Jet, the first impression your idol has of you is that you’re an idiot who doesn’t help others.
”Of course I can’t talk, why wouldn’t I?” He ignored how amused Sokka looked to focus on the other’s voice, judging by it, he guessed he was a boy, and by his height, he was his age or near it.
”I just thought— never mind…” He shut himself up before he could say anything else that would paint him as a fool.
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The good news were that the group had agreed to stay around for a few days, meaning that Jet had more than enough time to try to get on the Blue Spirit’s good side and inquire about his knowledge of the Fire Nation’s weak spots.
If someone knew about those, it had to be him, right?
The bad news were that he didn’t know how to speak to him, yes, surprising considering the company he has, ehem, Longshot, ehem, unlike his dear friend, his masked visitor didn’t leave room to read his expression in case he said something inappropriately. So, the only thing he had left was body language.
After bribing him with meat, Sokka had told him that his target was an early riser, he woke up with the sunrise, went to meditate, trained a while and then prepared something for his friends to eat. Jet would never admit that the thought of eating something cooked by his idol was delightful, but, since he was a good host, there was no way the Blue Spirit would have to worry about food.
So, after waking up at ass-crack in the morning, he had no choice but to look for his favourite guest, he found him pretty quickly, sitting cross-legged on a thick branch, back straight, raven hair flowing with the gentle morning breeze.
Then he noticed something, something marvelous, the Blue Spirit, was not wearing his mask! It was settled peacefully next to him on the wood.
Even if it was a one-time chance, Jet couldn’t help but feel like he was invading a private moment, which made him hesitate a bit, even if he had never been much of a hesitater, he always had his every move controlled.
”Are you going to keep staring at me for long?” Okay, maybe he’s not as sneaky as he thought he was.
”Oh-, uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I just—…” Why did his charisma and charm abandon him!? “I was just curious about the ‘mysterious’ Blue Spirit’s morning routine.”
That technically wasn’t a lie.
He watched as the other boy stood up, back facing him, he picked up his mask and turned to face Jet and—
Oma and Shu, what a face.
The first thing he noticed was, of course, that the person who had bothered the Fire Nation the most in the last three years had a nasty burn scar covering a pretty big part of his face. Then, it was the colour of his eyes, gold, firey-gold, unconsciously he clenched his fist a little before forcing himself to relax.
There were many colonies in the Earth Kingdom with children that looked like that, and most of them weren’t exactly desired. Besides, the boy in front of him couldn’t seriously be from the Fire Nation, not with that awful scar.
But, even with the scar, the Blue Spirit was… Gorgeous, ehem, fairly attractive… Actually no, he was unfairly attractive.
Realizing he had been staring for a long time, Jet faked a cough and cleared his throat, not wanting to make the other uncomfortable. “You don’t look like I had expected…”
”How did you expect me to look like, exactly?”
”Oh, I don’t know… I thought maybe you’d have buck teeth, maybe a moustache.” That comment earned him a soft chuckle. “You’re really younger than I thought, everyone talks about you like you’re either a devil or a really underpaid mercenary.”
”I don’t think mercenaries can be underpaid when they choose their salaries.” Oh, so he was a smartass, alright.
Jet opened his mouth to continue with this lovely conversation, when a loud voice interrupted him. “Hey, Koko! Have you finished daydreaming already so we can spar and actually do something!?” It was Sokka, wait…
”Koko? That’s an awfully cute name.” He smiled as the other boy sent him a withering glare before turning to his friend.
”Start warming up, I’ll be with you soon!” That seemed to satisfy the water-tribe boy, though he gave Jet a look he didn’t recognize before walking off. “And it’s not my name, it’s just a dumb nickname he’s come up with.”
”Well, it’s still adorable, Koko…” He laughed as the raven-haired boy shoved him away before going after Sokka.