It was raining in Ba Sing Se. The heat of the summer was on a momentary still, and the clouds had opened midday and let forth great fat droplets of rain that hit the roofs of the houses hard and with a metallic clang. People had run in from the streets clutching their light summer clothing round them and with hands above their heads, leaving the crowded streets and squares empty.
Which was just fine for Zuko.
He loped down the road, his feet silent on the slippery cobblestones and his hands stuffed in his pockets. His face was not tucked into his chest like most caught in the rain but turned up, towards the dark, angry sky above. As the rain pelted down on him, he smiled, letting the cool drops slip from his hair onto his face, running along the scar that disfigured it. A last citizen jogged past him with his top pulled up to cover his head and with that it seemed to Zuko as though he had all the city to himself.
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jet was getting anxious, pacing the floors of the warehouse and chewing mindlessly on the ever-present piece of straw in his mouth. He paused for a moment, looking up and scanning the entrances of the building before angrily sighing and resuming his pacing.
Smellerbee sat watching him from the corner, her eyes tracking him, seeing him pace like a caged animal. Unlike jet she was not worried, not about Li anyway. Smellerbee knew he was clever enough to stay out of trouble and a little bit of water never harmed anyone but apparently jet was overlooking this. She watched him a second longer before pulling her sandal of her foot and lobbing it at jet. It hit him right between his shoulders and he flinched in surprise before easily pulling himself up into a defence position his hands already reaching for his hooked blades. When he saw it was just Smellerbee he scowled.
'Is there any reason you've taken to throwing your shoe at me, or are you just in one of those moods?'
Smellerbee raised an eyebrow before replying
'You need to calm down- if you're so worried about Li just go take a look!'
Jet blinked before backing up a little, his hands held up, palms facing her.
'I wasn't thinking about Li!' he said, looking a little flustered 'why would I care what happens to him?'
He then regained himself to his normal composure and straightened up, dropping his hands to his side.
'Just thinking about raids, is all.'
Smellerbee sniffed
'Just go you idiot, before you wear a hole in the floor'
He scowled a second longer before kicking Smellerbee's sandal back at her, turning on his heel and slinking out the door, and Smellerbee watched as he disappeared into rain.
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Zuko was sitting atop the walls of Ba Sing Se when jet found him. He was simply staring at the lights of the city which had come on as the suns light had started fading, his legs dangling off the edge and almost fell off the wall when a large hand grabbed his shoulder. For a terrifying moment he felt precariously unbalanced, nothing but glorious lights beneath his feet for miles and his heart had seemed to jump from his chest to up around his throat.
'Whoa, Li, clam down, it's me!' Jet hissed, quickly wrapping his arm around Zuko's chest and tugging till his feet where back on the solid side of the ledge. For a second they were still, Zuko in Jet's lap with his arms around his chest and Jet could feel Zuko's heart beating furiously underneath his hands.
Then Zuko snarled and pushed himself off jet- scrambling sideways, his face twisted and his scar dark.
'What were you doing? Don't sneak up on me like that!'
Jet opened his mouth but was cut off again. To be honest he didn't mind, in that moment he was taking the time to study Zuko. His hair was wet and hanging in his eyes and his chest rising and falling haggardly. At his side his fingers were clenched and his golden eyes shone out from beneath his dark brows. The rain had soaked him through and his pale, pale skin shone wetly in the glow of the city lights. Then Jet realised he should stop staring. Jet had found himself staring at Zuko before and he didn't know why. It had got to stop.
Shaking his head he reached out to pat Zuko on the shin,
'Calm yourself, you shouldn't sit that close to the edge anyway' Jet said, warily keeping an eye on Zuko, who snorted angrily and swung his head away from him to glare at the city lights. This gave jet the perfect view of the long white column of his neck and he had a sudden urge to reach out and stroke it, to move closer and kiss, to bite, to smooth it out and lap at the unblemished skin.
He shook his head again. This really had to stop.
'Come on Li, don't be like this- I just spent ages looking for you, can you at least stop sulking?' jet whined, shuffling in closer. Once again Zuko just huffed and continued deliberately not looking at him, his mouth set in a stubborn line. Which Jet promptly found himself admiring, noting the plumpness of the lower lip and a kind of softness which he'd never thought he'd find on Li.
Good lord- he was going crazy.
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Zuko had always been interested in the strange country boy who'd approached him on the ferry, and though at first he was suspicious the tall boy had quickly tricked him into liking him. Liking the way he talked, and liking his jokes, liking the way he cared for the other kids and the way he wielded those hooked blades with such grace and poise. Oddly enough he'd even started to like the way that Jet could be unthinkingly rude sometimes, the way he constantly had a bit of straw clenched between his teeth, the way he hated with such passion and laughed when Zuko really felt the time wasn't one for such cheer. He grudgingly grew to respect the leader of those kids, and spent an increasing amount of time away from the tea shop and his uncle and his duties and more with jet and the other kids- running on the roof tops and swinging from the eves, stealing grain to feed the orphaned and helpless and sunning in empty courtyards, stretched out in the rays of warmth side by side.
But he would be lying if he said that he didn't hate it at the same time. Jet had such a burning hate for the fire, a talent that essentially made Zuko who he was and even though he knew this, knew it got more and more dangerous the longer that he spent with the strange, charismatic boy, he was drawn to jet like a moth to the very flame that would light its wings and turn it to cinder and ash on the wind.
And he knew he was in trouble because bit by bit he became closer to jet. And becoming closer to jet meant he had more feelings for him, different kinds of feelings, and really it scared him. Scared him how just being near to jet could set his pulse racing and his heart constricting, make his stomach flip flop round in his body and his breath come in little sharp bursts. Scared of how he constantly thought of jet, whether he was serving tea in the shop or with his uncle at dinner, when he was talking with the smitten girl who visited him often or lying in bed with his hand pushed under his waistband and his palm covering his mouth to stop his uncle hear him gasp out in a way entirely too close to what sounded like jet's name for comfort.
And now he was alone and sitting very close to jet who was leaning closer and closer, still trying to convince Zuko to stop being a silent sulker. Zuko wasn't being silent to sulk though; he felt as though if he opened his mouth to speak his voice would either remain trapped in his throat or come out in a cracking garbled rush. So he kept it closed and when jet moved right up close, trying to get up in his face he turned his head even further, his mouth gone dry and his heart beat fluttering madly like a piece of cloth caught in a wind.
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Jet was sick of Zuko ignoring him, so he moved closer, and closer, and even closer, till he was practically straddling the shorter boy and still his face was twisted away from him, baring that gorgeous soft spot below his jaw. Frustrated, jet reached out and gripped Zuko's chin and turned his head forcefully back to face him, and only then realised how close he was to the other boy. Zuko's eyes had widened; their golden depths flashing in the city lights and jet's eyes dropped to his lips, which had fallen the slightest bit open. Zuko's breath caught in his throat and his tongue darted out to swipe a line over his bottom lip.
And then jet ducked his head and pressed his lips to Zuko's.
A beat passed in silence before they suddenly burst into life, lips moving against each other and hands wandering over backs and chests. They fought for dominance but jet managed to get a hold of Zuko's shoulder and pushes him down, pinning him to the stone of the wall. Their lips break contact and Zuko's breath is forced from his lungs upon impact but Jet's have followed him down and though he has no air he carries on kissing him, jet's breath whispering into him and his knee's sliding between Zuko's.
Zuko pulled away for a second, turning his head to the side to gasp for breath and jet placed wet kisses down his neck and suddenly bites down, his teeth sinking into flesh, breaking skin. Zuko gasped and arches, grinding up against jet and surprises himself by turning his head even further in an effort to bare more of his neck to the panting boy above him. jet smoothed over the mark with the pad of his tongue before carrying on down jets neck, smattering nips and kisses on his collar bone and the junction at the bottom of his neck and shoulder. He started grappling with Zuko's top, pulling the sash ferociously and Zuko wriggles in aid of pushing the garment of his shoulders. Jet yanked his own top off before ducking back down again and kissing the planes of Zuko's chest, the leans muscles of his abdomen and the jut of pelvic bone. Zuko's skin is wet but warm- burning hot even, and jets fingers splay out on his chest, rubbing and pinching and smoothing out the smooth skin.
As jet worked lower and lower Zuko became aware of a keening and it took him a moment to realise it was in fact him making those embarrassing needy noises. He brung a hand up to cover his mouth but jet stopped him, their eyes meeting
'Don't, I want to hear you' jet whispers and Zuko was about to reply when jet suddenly moves further down and mouths the growing tent in Zuko's trousers. With that Zuko arched straight off the ground, his pants coming out in whimpers from behind gritted teeth and his hands shoot straight down to wind themselves in jet's wet hair. Jet's shucked off his trousers as well as his own and moves up Zuko's body, quickly silencing Zuko himself with a kiss and he reached a hand down to grab at Zuko's straining member.
Zuko wrapped his arms tightly around jets broad back and could feel the muscles moving underneath the scarred, wet skin. Jets hand is hot and slippery around him and soon he can't even focus on kissing, and jet buried his head in Zuko's shoulder whilst his hand pumps both of them. They're gasping and grabbing, grinding into each other, all rhythm lost in the frantic rocking of their bodies and then Zuko comes, splattering his own stomach with sticky white and jet works himself harder till he tenses over Zuko, his seed joining Zuko's on the younger's abdomen.
Suddenly Zuko felt incredibly limp and weary, can barely bring himself to open his eyes. Jet is still above him and for a short time the silence is only broken by their harsh panting. Then jet reached for his sash and wiped the rapidly cooling mess off Zuko's stomach, tender in his movements. Then he flings that cloth off to the side and moves off Zuko to lie beside him, to listen to the other's slowing breathing and grip his hand in his own.
'Li,' he murmurs, not really wanting to break the younger's contented, sleepy silence, but knowing he has too.
'Li, come on, get up, we have to get off the wall before the midnight patrol comes by, please' he pleads, pulling Zuko's hand firmly and he manages to pull him up, and slings and arm around his waist to keep him standing.
Together they slowly dress and support each other as they climb off the wall, and run back to the warehouse in silence but with barely a couple of inches between them.
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To be continued…