Hey there Readers, I'm bumbling along with this fic. My writing powers peak during the night sometime around 1 and 3 in the morning, which is great because I work night shifts but risky cause I'm basically writing erotica to some degree, haha.
But I say it all the time, re-reading all the glorious reviews for my original fic do stoke my writing flames. I'm so hyped that you guys thought it was good enough, and that you encouraged me. This is for all you guys who supported this story, and for all those who are yet to stumble upon it, and for those hard-core fans who are yet to see Jet do some…. Some things… yes. And I don't know, I guess this is sort of a long one.
On with the SHOW!
Warning: This is boy love. Two guys, Yaoi, Shonen-ai. Serious smut alert.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the world, they just be my guilty pleasure.
For now, please enjoy!
Falling asleep in a tree is not as comfortable as one might think. Zuko had woken first; the sun was in his eyes but the light was quickly dragged below the treelines which made up the horizon. It was nightfall – time to get moving.
He felt sweaty and knew they would need to bathe –their swift crossing at the river seemed to make the condition of their clothes worse, which meant that they would need to procure some new ones.
Zuko felt stiff when he tried to move and it took him a moment to realise it wasn't just his own aching muscles keeping him still – Jet was clinging on in his sleep. Zuko grunted at his numb legs and wriggled subtly so his legs dropped down – the blood flowing back to them was almost paralyzing and he let out a strained guttural mumble, unintentionally gripping at Jets biceps.
Jet was lured awake by the rather enticing sound. He focused on Zuko whose lips were pressed into a thin line. He was also controlling his breathing and rocking gently upon Jets crotch. "It's never too early, huh?" Jet mumbled, a grin spread across his face. Zuko glanced up, a small frown marring his features. `What? Of course we've got to move soon, it's dark enough to…` He then stopped moving and felt a hard bulk beneath Jet's clothing. "That… is…?" Zuko's heart buzzed strangely. Jet snorted. "Well you're also-," He lifted the front of Zuko's tunic to indicate the bulge.
Zuko felt the fluster rise to his features and couldn't stop it. He carefully forced his tunic back down and pinched the bridge of his nose, regaining his composure.
"Yeesh; is that all you think about? This has nothing to do with you. My legs are numb and I just woke up…" He sounded tired and was irritated by how red his face was turning. Jet chuckled and raised a hand to run it through Zuko's hair. "Hmm… you are all I think about." He said smoothly. Zuko knew his heart was pounding and it skipped a beat when Jet leant in for a morning kiss. The pale teen fought against both urges –the one which couldn't handle the heat and wanted to retreat, and the other urge which would have him hungrily leaning in and taking part in this delightful morning activity. However… "If you start with that…. I told you– we don't do this out here in the open." Zuko had hesitantly and gently covered Jets mouth with his hand. He so wanted to kiss, but it could lead to something distracting. Not to mention, he actually wanted to be somewhere respectable and less dangerous to get frisky.
Jet noticeably slumped. "Are you serious? We're not in the open, we climbed high enough that nesting birds can't even see us." The disappointment was there, but so was hope that Zuko's resolve could be whittled down by –perhaps –a little smooth talking and gentle groping. However, the pale teen was stubborn. Jet was clearly starting to frown and pushed forward but he knew the battle was lost before it even begun. Zuko leant back and pried himself away. Jet let the squirming teen go. It was really nice to see him flustered and panicking and Jet really wanted to take advantage of it right in that moment, to the point where his hands followed Zuko unconsciously and he had to consciously stop. `No need to force it, he's not running off anywhere anytime soon…` Jet reminded himself. `Don't want to go scaring him off…` He mentally berated and settled for staring at the pale teen in the fading light. `Spirits… I can't get enough of him…`
Zuko touched his own lips; he was silently mourning the kiss that never happened. `Stop complaining, you set the damn rules yourself…. Plus… there's time for that later…` He sternly told himself, and he came down from his flustered high. If all he could do was think about not being able to kiss Jet, he would go mad, so when they found a safe and secluded spot, Zuko would take it upon himself to put his mind at ease. Though the thought of that nearly had him squirming with embarrassment and he let out a groan under his breath. He really knew how to torture himself.
After a morning ritual of releasing ones urges and stretching, the two spied from their branch through the foliage for any sign of passing people, but they really had gone quite high up and it was getting darker by the minute; soon they couldn't see the ground at all. "Anyone could have camped nearby during the day. Are you up for sticking to the trees?" Zuko asked. Jet scoffed. "Pah! If you don't recall, I lived in the forest for years. You insult me. Keep up if you can!" Jet grinned and with several bounds he was already a shadow in the moon light. Zuko blinked at the fading shape and felt a challenging smile pull at his lips.
*x*
The trees were close and had robust branches and the moon was bright enough in the top canopy, making it easier to move as the two raced along. It turned into a show-off-show-down. Occasionally, they would make eye contact if they were close enough before leaping off into the dark –that unspoken contest spurring them onwards. Zuko noticeably fell behind, but then again he did have the disadvantage of being more of an ocean-goer. Jet would stay somewhere in the centre height of the foliage where the branches were safe and strong and easy to access, whereas Zuko often found himself teetering and wobbling far more often than he should be. Although, he was distracted as he constantly scanned for Jet. Zuko saw him use his hook swords to catch and hurl himself onwards. His weapons were an extension of him, and he was more than freakishly good at manipulating them. The show of skills and strength made the fire-nation prince feel a little heated.
Zuko almost envied how he couldn't use anything on himself to his advantage– the most his broad swords could do might be to slice of a branch or get wedged in one. The hook swords were the only reason Jet was in the lead. `The only reason,` Zuko huffed to himself. He kept control over his breathing and paused now and then to listen for Jet; was he still in front, or had Zuko now overtaken him? Curious of the outcome, the pale teen ascended and balanced among the higher branches. He was practically in a shrub compared to the trees around him, which loomed giant and dark.
He had made a mistake in climbing up – as the branches became weak and thin. Before Zuko had travelled much further – SNAP – he was going down. He let out a choked wheeze as he fell – resisting the urge to shout. He didn't fall very far – and it wasn't his flailing arms and legs that saved him. Something strong and soft had him under the armpits and Zuko looked up.
Jet was upside down and smirking. "Hey bright eyes, trying to go for a swim?" Jet hummed and swung slowly to steady them both. Zuko heard him laughing and his pride felt like a cornered animal. "Don't mock me, I was fine," He growled and immediately began to kick his legs to try and reach a nearby branch. Jet held on tighter. "Whoa! Zuko my knees are slipping-!" Jet tried to warn, but the new scar on his ribs pulled tight and Zuko was still swinging, trying to regain some balance and some pride.
The drop was as sudden as the pain in Jets side and the two fell like stones. They hit a few branches on the way down, but they snapped easily on impacting, meaning minimum damage to their bodies. They both let out a yelp as they landed in water. It was deep and chilled.
Zuko broke the surface first; so this is what Jet was talking about when he was falling before. He looked around quickly and saw Jet rise as well, shaking his head and having his brunette hair plaster his face. He ran a hand down his features and then squirted water from his mouth into Zuko's face, ending in a smile.
"Great, OK, it's a little cold, but let's go for a swim." He agreed mockingly with chattering teeth. Zuko glowered. "Like this was intentional." He grumbled and began to swim to the water's edge. Jet laughed and followed him. "I tried to tell you, y'know,"
Zuko stopped swimming and turned to continue glowering. "Well you should have tried harder. Now it's impossible to keep going in these drenched clothes!" He yanked at the sash around his tunic and pulled off his top in one go, throwing it at Jet. There was an echoing slap as his top wrapped around Jets head. He removed the wet material and shook his head again, running a hand through his hair to clear it from his face. He saw Zuko somewhat impatiently pulling off all of his clothes like a child. He was hopping in the shallows towards to embankment and he yanked off his boots –tipping them to spill the water that filled them. Zuko felt a chill run through him from the cold water, but then he realised it was because Jet was staring at his now pale and naked ass in the moon light.
`Don't get fucking flustered…` He scorned himself again and took a practical approach. "What are you waiting for? We've got to get out of our clothes –and we might as well bathe while we're at it." Zuko spoke with a grumble. Jet chuckled and Zuko could hear the chittering teeth from where he stood in the shallows.
"…Good idea…" Jet hummed, and began to undress as he waded into the shallows as well. His body was trembling from the chill and he noticed how Zuko remained unphazed. "W-w-what the h-hell? Aren't you c-cold…?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself.
Zuko looked side-long at him and released a long breath through his nose. A cloud of steam rolled across the water and then into the air. Jet allowed a dry little smirk onto his face. "Oh, I see, so you cheated,"
Zuko let out one sour little chuckle. "When you've endured the cold of the Northern oceans, you learn a little something," He said, maybe a little too bitterly, and started to back-stroke further into the water.
Jet stood in a shallow area of the pool, his body involuntarily jittering and getting worse as he watched Zuko who seemed to be waiting for him. Maybe he didn't need a bath… or maybe he just needed a warm bath. "H-hey… Don't make me go all the way o-over there… come share some of that h-heat will ya?" He tried to sound like he didn't know his teeth were chattering. Zuko cocked his eyebrow and then floated nonchalantly. It was another obvious, unspoken challenge.
Eventually, Jet put up his hands. "Nope, sorry, but this is as far as I go… so how about I scrub your back and you share some of that heat," The tanned teen then held his own torso in a lame attempt to fend off the chill. Zuko took a crippling moment to actually roll his eyes before swimming over. He touched Jets arm and felt how much of the cold he had absorbed. "You fool, you'll catch-" His sentence ended in a grunt when Jet greedily pulled him in for a tight high. "Shit, you're so warm," He breathed down Zuko's back as he nuzzled into him, even his breath was chilly. Zuko's brain still shot-circuited at intimate and close contact. For a moment, he didn't respond but he quickly settled into the embrace. One of his warm hands snaked up and held the back of Jets neck as the other ran up and down his back slowly and thoroughly –he could feel every muscle buzzing.
Already reaping the benefits, Jet let out a shaky sigh. The pale teen repressed a shiver. He could feel Jets pulse, and his own heart began beating a little erratically. Of course he was excited; he couldn't think of a time when he couldn't be excited about touching Jet. Zuko took a deep breath and let it out on Jets shoulder. Jet could feel that it was warmer than usual, and it almost burned, but in a good way, and it nipped away at the chill. He felt his skin tingle back to life. Zuko let out long, slow, heated breaths along Jets shoulder and up his neck, pausing only for another intake of air. He could feel Jets long fingers creeping down the sides of his thighs and he felt his heart begin to thrum a little faster and Zuko felt his breath hitch for a moment. The pale teen knew he was getting carried away – maybe it was the lack of air he was actually breathing which was clouding his mind so quickly. Maybe the cold was getting to him. `I… don't think I care anymore…`
Zuko was hypnotising himself with deep breaths and tentative touches. He inhaled and exhaled next to Jets ear. In-and-out along his cheek. In-and-out over his mouth. Zuko's eyes were heavy and he felt a flush burn up his neck to his cheeks. Jets mouth opened in response to the hot gasps. Their lips ghosted over one another's and Zuko was the first to make contact. His kiss was no accident and he let out a small sound as he eventually tasted Jet for the first time in what felt like forever. It was desperate. It came from that part of himself that he had been denying so much to. It was that part of him that didn't resist when Jet pulled Zuko's warm thighs up and around his waist. It was that part of Zuko that ran his fingers through Jets hair and pushed their faces closer together.
All he could feel was the contact of their wet lips. Jets were cold to start with and then they warmed and became slick enough for their mouths to glide across one another's. Zuko tilted his head and let out a soft breath. He felt their chests pressing together and their pulses meshing and beating off each other. He became breathless when their tongues licked and rubbed lips.
Steam rose from Zuko's shoulders and soon from the water around them. Jet catered to every movement Zuko pined for; touching his thighs and squeezing his ass cheeks and making Zuko rock his hips. All Zuko could think of was how much he needed Jet to touch him, and how much he wanted to feel those toned muscles resist against every scrape of his extremities. When Jets penis prodded him, however, Zuko felt his heart stop and he let out a shocked murmur. Was this going to be the moment? His whole body seized up and he felt fear and excitement battling inside. Before the trembling set in, his brain kick started again when Jet shuffled and soon his long fingers had grasped both of their cocks. Zuko let out one ragged pant after another as Jet curled his course hands around his length and pumped his hand in desperate jerking motions. Jet grunted and rested his head in the crook of Zuko's neck. "This… this is ok for now…" He said, and Zuko curled his fingers through Jets wet hair. He let out a long, strained hum when Jet squeezed their cocks together and thrust against his skin – the head of Zuko's penis throbbed delightfully and ached and burned each time Jet grazed his finger over the top of it. Jets other hand worked to squeeze Zuko's ass cheek and then grip at his lower back.
Zuko spread his legs wider and felt his groin area stretching and his ass cheeks tighten. He gyrated his hips upwards into the pumping hand. He arched into Jet and tilted his head back gradually as he lulled into the rhythm of rocking his body and dragging his cock down against Jet's own member.
Jet pressed his face harder into Zuko's shoulder and panted against flushed skin. He knew he hit a good spot for Zuko when the fire bender spread his legs further apart and dug his fingers into Jets scalp. The water began to slosh around them and Jet could feel Zuko fucking his hand and rubbing his cock firmly into Jets. "Ah… s-shit…" Jet hissed and grazed his teeth across Zuko's collarbone. The small sounds Zuko would make were starting to drive him wild. Zuko didn't sound delicate. His groans and gasps were deep and reverberated through his toned chest, and he was so damn hot to touch. This was no woman. Jet was grabbing another man and pumping them both to satisfaction and it was tender and thorough.
He dragged his hand to the tips of their cocks and plastered his thumb across the heads, pressing down firmly and squeezing into the slick pre-cum, feeling them both throbbing against his grip. Jet pressed particularly hard into the skin of Zuko's dick because he wanted to hear him cry out.
Zuko did cry out. He almost howled the forest down around them but he caught himself and quickly brought his head back down. He released Jets hair and wrapped both arms around tanned, broad shoulders, muffling his choked cry in Jets neck. It died out into a shaky whimper and he rolled his hips desperately into the rough hand. "Je-t…!" He croaked –it came out broken by ragged huffs as Zuko continued to fuck himself against the other throbbing cock.
At the deep, guttural way his name was said, Jet jerked twice more and ejaculated. His whole body buzzed and burned and tingled and he took his free hand from Zuko's back and grabbed his black hair, pulling a flushed face into view to kiss it. He pressed their lips together hard as his strokes softened out and his own hips twitched erratically. He pumped out the last of the stars behind his eyes. Zuko was gasping breathlessly, and on the second huff, Jet introduced his tongue to the kiss.
Jet could still feel Zuko was hot and hard and suddenly he spun them around and waded a few steps so the pale teen had his back to the embankment. Zuko grunted when his back his the rock-riddled mud, but was otherwise engaged with Jet's hand Jets tongue. The tanned teen grunted in effort and squeezed Zuko hard and he felt when muscled thighs clenched around his waist. The fire bender's mouth was agape in a choked yelp and Jet bit gently at his lips, losing himself in the way Zuko trembled desperately. Jet had his eyes half open and broke off the kiss to hear the others' breath catch and to hear the deep, almost pained groans Zuko was trying frantically not to release.
He witnessed Zuko; eyes closed, mouth agape, frowning desperately as he continued to thrust and press into Jet, each jerky movement hungry and sex-driven. Jet almost imagined thrusting into him in that moment and knew he was growing hard again. Zuko then clenched his jaw and let out a groan from deep in his throat, arching his back. "I'm c-cummi-!" He panted. Jet stopped immediately, and Zuko thrust a few times into a motionless hand. The pale teen inhaled sharply at the pinching and pressing sensation on the head of his penis and covered his own mouth to stop an ungodly yell ripping through him. Jet kissed his neck. "I want… to hear you…." He panted and swiftly moved down to a perked, red nipple and took it in his mouth. He grazed his teeth around it and over it and sucked it firmly and felt every muscle of Zuko's chest. His skin was feverishly red. Zuko's frown deepened and a lusty haze reflected his twitching groin and the way his hips continued to jerk into Jets teasing hand. "Jet…. Don't…" He breathed out a growl in his throat – it was an impatient growl and it was profound and craving.
Jet smirked up at Zuko as he took the nipple between his teeth and flicked it with his tongue once. "I want to taste you…" He said and then grabbed Zuko's toned hips and hefted them to the waters surface. Zukos' shoulders were pressing into the embankment and he look down. His penis was twitching and hot. Jet dipped his head, mouth open, and pressed his tongue into the tip of the fire-benders cock, as he had been doing with his thumb. Jets tongue was considerably hotter and his mouth was slick and rubbed zealously around the dicks throbbing tip. Zuko felt his heart palpitate erratically as Jet closed his mouth around his member and sucked. He felt the heated pressure build at the top of his cock and it burned there as Jet continued to suck and press the bulbous head between his tongue and the roof of his mouth.
Zuko nearly slipped under the water as he thrust upwards – his body was jerking involuntarily and moving on its own and he couldn't breathe enough air in the world – his chest was going to explode. He felt the tingling burn as he fucked into Jets mouth and he was in blissful agony. Jet forces his head down until his nose was brushing Zuko's navel hair and he could feel the balls against his lower lip. He looked up as he did this more, sucking hard each time he drew his head back and lapped the head. "F-Fuck, Jet!" Zuko panted fitfully. On the last time he sucked hard and let Zuko plunge his dick right to the back of his throat, he gagged a little and his tonsils contracted and squeezed.
Zuko's frown changed from concentration to ecstasy. "Je-Jet-t…" Came the strained rumble of the fire-benders voice, punctuated by the thrusting of hips and the splashing of water. Jet saw Zuko's face and he felt the throbbing cock in his mouth ejaculate. He sucked again and again as the pale teen curled in on himself, his fingers digging through Jets hair and his hot gasps and ragged breathing deafening the tanned teen in one ear. Zuko was unconsciously holding Jets head down on his cock, but Jet didn't mind for a few moments as he hummed and swallowed. When Zuko felt Jet swallowing, he opened his eyes and took deeper, slower breaths.
Jet pulled back, dragging his tongue along the twitching penis between his teeth, and ambled up Zuko's heaving body for a kiss, but the fire-bender actually plastered a hand firmly over Jets mouth. "Nnh…Not… not… right… after…" He panted, a light frown still on his face. Jet ducked below the water quickly and took a gulp from the pool, then squirted it out slowly on Zuko's stomach. It tickled delightfully as it pattered against the pale teen's abs then down through his hair. Jet let his jaw hang slack for a moment and came up to kiss Zuko on the mouth again. It was slower, although just as frantic as they hummed and whispered groans. The heated kiss was short, but Jet didn't want to stop as he nibbled down Zuko's neck.
Zuko dug his fingers into Jets back when he felt teeth pinching his skin and then Jet sucking on the tender spot again and again. "Jet…" Zuko croaked, and Jet felt another frenzy coming on. "Y'know... I nearly fuck you on the spot every time you say my name…" He hummed and pinned Zuko to the embankment with his own chest as he continued to leave a determined mark on flush skin.
Zuko dipped below the water, which wasn't so chilled any more. Breathing heavily, the two sank until just their heads were above the water –their chins dipping below the surface, foreheads pressed together.
Jet eyed the love bite mark in the moon light – it was kind of ugly and already bruising. Not his best work. Zuko brought a hand up to delicately touch the area around it and after a few minutes of blissful silence, he asked; "…Jet, how did you find me…?" His voice was recovering from ragged breathing but his question managed to come out quiet and soft. Jet blinked through the droplets of water falling into his eyes but otherwise would have stared endlessly at Zuko. His fire-bender; who was flushed red and trembling from having Jet sucking him off. His expression was gorgeous right now, and Jet almost didn't hear the question. "Hn? I told you, before, I won't leave your side," He said just as quietly.
At this, Zuko was dragged back in time to that farm. When those fire nation soldiers attacked. When Jet still called him `Li`. When Jet saw Zuko for the fire bender he truly was. There was a great amount of conflict now marring Zuko's face – that was a rough time and it was ruining the mood. Jet noticed and added; "Plus, if I ask the right people the right way –it's not hard to find a mysterious grump of your description," He flashed a smile.
Torment immediately put back to rest, Zuko glowered half-heartedly. "Is that so?" He mumbled. Jet turned on the charm and winked. "Yeah. I'd say; he's about this tall, great body, sexy eyes, and he'll stab you if ya' get on his bad side," Jet chuckled when he saw Zuko go through emotions of dismay and embarrassment. `He…` Zuko's mind buzzed. `I can see it, he would actually say that. He better not have said that…` The fire-bender imagined Jet sauntering up to strangers with a wanted poster of Zuko and Iroh that Azula arranged, and asking any damn drunk if someone of the following description had passed through. But then Zuko had to give Jet his due – of course he wouldn't put Zuko in danger like that. Of course, realising the foolish nature of the situation, Zuko half-heartedly shoved Jet away with a punch.
"Just for future reference… I'm going by the alias Li again, while I continue to search for the Avatar." Zuko said. Jet cocked an eye brow, his smile still playful on his lips. "Well, it'll be just like old times then. Should we nap a sack of potatoes and see if we can make some coin while we're at it?" He asked, starting to swim further away. Zuko waded after him. "I'm not some gimmick,"
Jet snickered. "No. Of course not, Li." He smiled and pointed to himself. "I've got to have a gimmick too, right? How about… Xhao, or..." He barely started to list off names when Zuko choked on water. "No!" He ended up saying a little louder than he intended. It went quiet between then, and Zuko scratched at his head in embarrassment. He desperately didn't want that name. Anything but that. "How about…Po… or something…" He muttered his offering and Jet contemplated it and then shrugged. "Li and Po…. Hmm…it's not the worst." Jet said, now swimming circles around Zuko. The fire-bender had to agree. "Definitely not the worst."
*x*
Their clothes were no-where near dried, and the two took to resting in the cool grass. Jet lay splayed in all his glory, staring at the stars and the moon. Zuko had his mind on other things, though. They had dawdled for a while now – too long. He knew he probably should have waited until they were in the town before doing anything so exhausting, but then again this secluded spot was pretty much perfect. He almost had it in his mind to stick around for longer, but he shook his head and sat up, reaching for the clothes.
Jet cast a side-long glance, and the rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand. Zuko's back was great to look at. As he moved, even in the light, his muscles cast defined shadows around his shoulders and his lower back. He refrained from staring too heavily at his ass. `Careful, don't get excited again…` He told himself. Unfortunately, this thought was feeble and warranted no real will power.
Zuko sat back down with his arms shoved into his boots, and at this unexpected site, Jet snorted and laughed. The fire-bender glowered. "I need to dry them out!" He defended himself and stubbornly kept his hands in the soaked footwear. They started to steam and Jet's laughing died down to a chuckle. "No-no… I mean… just the thought of your boots being the first thing to dry…" He couldn't finish his sentence. Zuko didn't defer his scowl. "So?!"
Jet wiped his eye, this was much funnier than it should be. "The thought… of only the boots being dry, and us high-tailing it out of here in an emergency wearing nothing but shoes; our naked asses carrying our wet clothes," He snorted again an rolled onto his stomach, grinning. Zuko couldn't imagine that being too funny, but knowing Jet, the tanned teen would be laughing his ass off as they fled, should such an incident occur. Zuko pointed a boot at the grinning loon. "Just as long as you remember to call me Li if we're chased," He tried his hand at joining the joke, but it went quiet for too long and Zuko felt his face heating with awkward embarrassment. `Why… why am I bad at this? Why did I even try…?!` He berated himself, but noticed Jet had buried his face into his folder arms and his shoulders were shaking. He lifted his head, a giggle rolling into a groan. "Zuko… what the heck?! You have a sense of humour?!"
"Well that's the last time I fucking try then!" The fire-bender just narrowly avoided setting his shoes on fire, and Jet noticed the smoke. "Whoa, I was wondering when that might happen." He mumbled. Zuko waved his arms quickly to remove the boots and rubbed his arms as they smoked. He then picked up Jets trousers threateningly and the freedom-fighter raised his hands in submission. "Whoa there, my apologies, my apologies."
Zuko grunted at his victory and tossed their water bags at Jet. "Make yourself useful and fill those up." He said. Jet shielded himself from the items and kept smiling to himself. It was a great feeling, knowing how amusing it was to wind Zuko up. It really felt like before, with an added bonus of sexy-time of course. But Jet hesitated before filling the water bags. Zuko raised an eye brow as he shuffled his arms subconsciously through Jets trouser legs and heated them up. Jet pursed his lips. "Y'know… maybe we should have filled these before we went and soiled the water…" He mumbled. Zuko burrowed his head into the trousers immediately and sighed a sigh riddled with embarrassment and irritation. "Shit." He breathed. Jet shook his water bag. "I mean, if you don't mind then I don't mind-," He said, and Zuko nearly pulled the trousers over his head. "No, just shut up. Stop talking about that! We'll get water in the town," He was practically pleading Jet to stop. So Zuko might get hot under the collar remembering so vividly, but he was ashamed that he really didn't think about filling the water bags first. So much for survival of the horny teens – fuck now, practical matters later.
*x*
Jet shimmied into his trousers, and then into his boots, then he let out a delightful sigh. "Nice and warm…" He nodded with a smile. Zuko has just burrowed his head through his clothes and began tying his sash about his waist. "They're still a bit damp, but since we're planning on replacing them when we get to the town…" He stopped talking and frowned in dismay at how a rip in his clothes had grown. That sewing kit would be really fucking useful right now. But Jet lightly grasped at the top he was wearing. It was Zuko's top. Even though it had been soaked and dried, it still had a hint of his scent on it. No way was Jet going to get rid of it. "Yeah, but I'll survive. How far do we have?"
*x*
It was mid-morning when they spotted signs of life. More paths and roads became evident in the forest and soon they could smell and hear the commotion of people. At first, the two stuck to the outskirts, silently raiding washing lines. They procured long, hooded robes and managed not to look utterly suspicious as they walked into the heart of the town. It was pretty big – a market town. And it looked like they had arrived at a time of festivities. Banners and stalls lined every alley –even the shadier ones. The mix of people surprised Zuko; as he saw Earth Nation Soldiers getting drunk, children playing, and men and women mingling and acting like there wasn't a world changing war raging all around the country and fire nation soldiers ready to invade and attack at any moment.
"These people… they look relaxed. They have it pretty good here," Zuko said quietly; it almost reminded him of Ba Sing Se. All the places he had come across in his travels were greatly diverse; but lately there had been a string of worn out, run-down villages with people struggling to survive. The two teens hung at a corner, planning out what they could see and areas they could use to escape to in an emergency.
Jet smirked at the commotion. "That's people for you. Putting on a show and having a party even when they could get caught with their pants down." Even when Jet said this, there was humour as well as an underlying bitterness. Zuko found himself being wary at that sleeping rage, and decided to change the subject. "The map I have is no use; I'm going to get a new one," The fire-bender eyed the stocked stalls. Jet's smirk turned more playful. "Whatcha' got to trade, Li? Potatoes?" He waggled his eye brows and Zuko stared at him blankly before responding; "I'm not trading anything. You're causing a distraction." He said. Jet was noticeably curious but didn't have time to wonder.
Zuko swiftly swiped a foot out from under him and Jet toppled backwards into baskets of items, rolling over a stall and sending everything flying. The owners were distraught and shouting; demanding payment for the damage. Jet was on his feet, rubbing the back of his aching head he had hit on the way down. "O-ah, sorry, sorry. I guess I tripped." His gaze flickered to Zuko, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. He noticed the fire-bender swiping a rolled parchment from the mess and then assisting in helping the owners recover their spilled-but-un-damaged goods. Zuko hunkered next to Jet, who whispered irritably. "You're shit at team work sometimes, you know that?" He hissed. Zuko nodded his head toward an area with large banners of blue and white hanging from the balconies. They had scouted it earlier. "We'll leave through there, get what you can."
Discretely, the two managed to pack four items in total, including a new map. But they didn't get five feet away when the woman at the stall yelled. "Wait –they stole something from me!" At the exclamation and the pointing, all sorts of people turned to stare and everyone immediately honed in on the two mysteriously hooded figures hesitantly hovering, waiting to run. Jet grabbed Zuko's shoulder. "Let's not hang around!" He said to Zuko and they fled. Drunken earth soldiers tried to get in the way, but Jet and Zuko used them as a step ladder – running up their slumped and staggering forms and sailing over their heads with a flip.
Nothing much else stood in their way, but they were being pursued. Jet was the first to clamber the balcony with the banners and dodge onto the roof, running and disappearing out of site. Zuko got onto the balcony and had his foot yanked. He fell behind, but kicked off the pursuer and got his footing, scrambling onto the roof.
Unfortunately, his pursuer was just as agile and was on his tail. They tackled him and the two fell off the roof –laundry lines broke most of their fall. Two others grabbed Zuko when he was on the ground, pinned and struggling to get away. Then the culprit pulled his hood down and there was a silent moment of glaring until the girl with the painted face squinted with recognition. "Hey… I know you…" She mumbled for a moment. Zuko would recognise that damn face paint anywhere, from that stupid island. One of the other girls looked up worryingly. "What, who is he, Suki?"
Suki recoiled but her grip on his wrists tightened, like she was holding a snake. "Zuko, the banished Fire-Nation Prince." She gasped. "What are you doing here?!" She demanded. "Where are your fire nation soldier hiding?!"
Zuko couldn't say he knew the girl personally, but with three painted faces staring down at him, the memories flooded back. Of course this would look bad. Of course he would look bad. "It's not what you think! I'm not like that anymore!" He growled, but one of the girls shoved a fallen sock into his mouth. "Search him!" One girl said, and Suki rummaged briefly before coming across the item. "What's this, a map?" She paused and then glared at Zuko. "You're tracking Aang, aren't you?!" She growled, clenching the map. Zuko tried to shout through the sock. He would have said "I'm looking for the Avatar to help him, not hunt him down anymore!" but it came out a gagged mess. Zuko suddenly froze when Suki whipped a knife out from her fan and held it to his throat. "I'm not making any mistakes with you, Zuko," She said, and then turned to her fellow Kiyoshi Warriors.
"C'mon, we've got to find the other one he was with before he reports back to any more fire nation soldiers nearby." Suki was eyeing the rooftops cautiously as she said this. "They're bound to be nearby. They wouldn't abandon their prince, even a banished one."
Oh how right she was.
xxx
When I see people say "the fandom is dead", I'm screaming at my computer "THE HELL IT IS" and waking up people in the house while I roam around in the night to chill and write this, much faster, to prove the point that it is fucking ALIVE like Frankenstein's Monster baby!
Hell I know this isn't the BEST Jetko fic but we are still alive, and we are still burning angry and wanting, so keep shipping my fellow crew mates. Blow those cannons and thrust your swords and keep shipping.
Also; FUN FACT: I am the youngest of my colleagues on the night shift, and they all laugh and jest because I don't join their minds in the gutter and I don't laugh at every double entendre. "Oh to be young and naive," they joke, and one guy thinks I don't get a lot of the sexual references and will chuckle and explain like the responsible adult he is. Well… guess whose drawing gay porn and writing smut while you laugh from across the room. HA. HA. HA. But I play along. Jokes on them.
Also-also: holy shit that was a really long scene in the pool I hope you liked.
Also-also-also: don't worry, more is coming.
