Practice Makes Perfect

Draconis VonTrapp

~*~*~*~*

The ferry ride sucked. His uncle's upbeat attitude sucked. The sea sucked. Hiding sucked. The only thing that managed to not suck was Jet. Jet, who'd approached him fearlessly and asked him to help them 'liberate' some food (okay, so the food no longer sucked). Jet, who smirked and nodded in approval at his food-'liberating' method. He couldn't understand what he was feeling; he'd never had a problem with getting a fluttery stomach when someone looked at him. His palms never sweated when he was smiled at. So why did Jet invoke such reactions?

Needless to say, Zuko had never been this struck by a person before, especially someone he'd only met that day. Sure, he'd had fond feelings for Mai, but that never really went anywhere; he'd been exiled before he was old enough to really do anything about it. Well, there was that one cheek kiss she'd given him on his thirteenth birthday, but that was just sort of awkward. Nothing about Jet was awkward.

Jet, who now sat across from him, bowl of rice and roasted meat with vegetables mostly eaten, talking about his expectations for Ba Sing Se. Though, Zuko wasn't really listening to what he was saying; his eyes were drawn to that mouth, watching the grass stalk bob up and down as he spoke. It must have been difficult to learn to talk around that thing…

Jet had also been immediately attracted to the scarred boy. He'd seen them board, watched him rant and gesticulate, and just couldn't look away. Most people couldn't look past the scar, furrowed brow, angry countenance. However, Jet wasn't most people. He saw a fighter. Those swords on his back suggested a body heavy with muscle, and from watching him work them expertly during their mission, could tell he was experienced. When he moved, he didn't make a sound, suggesting martial arts training. He was focused, agile, nimble.

And fuck, if it wasn't sexy as hell.

Babbling about Ba Sing Se, Jet noted immediately when Zuko's eyes were drawn to his mouth. Hmm. This was interesting. And most certainly relevant to his interests. To test the waters, Jet licked his lips to moisten them before talking again, hazel eyes trained on Zuko's reactions. As that sliver of pink tongue emerged from the seam of his mouth, the boy's cheeks flushed ever so slightly, and he looked away. Perfect.

"—but you're probably sick of me going on about Ba Sing Se. I guess we'll see when we get there, eh?" He gave a light chuckle before asking Zuko's uncle, "Would'ja mind if I borrowed Li for a minute?"

Zuko's eyes snapped to his, wide and suspicious. However, Iroh simply laughed heartily before answering, "Of course not, my boy. Junior needs more friends his age. Go on, take your time." He waved them on supportively.

Pleased, Jet smiled and pushed himself up, holding a hand out to Zuko. He seemed torn on whether to take it or not, but curiosity about how the other's skin felt won over, and he gripped the tanned hand firmly to pull himself up. Warm, calloused, strong. Jet held on a second too long before letting his hand drop, leading Zuko away from prying eyes.

It was getting late, and not many people were on this end of the boat. Jet's plan was to finesse Zuko into calmness before making a move. Though, he wasn't going to be all girly about it and bat his eyelashes. He was a man, and he'd never gotten anywhere without a little pushing, and he knew Li wanted him.

They leaned against the railing, gripping it, looking out across the darkening sky and sapphire sea; a moment of tranquility passed before Jet boldly placed his hand over Zuko's. The paler hand jerked slightly in surprise, but didn't move away; the owner of the hand was making furtive, almost panicked glances at Jet, not sure what to do.

Zuko was no doubt attracted to him, but wasn't entirely sure how to go about expressing that. Aside from his mom, he wasn't exactly raised on love and adoration, especially not this kind. This was a boy. A man. How would one show these feelings towards a man?

Jet didn't seem to have any problem with it, watching Zuko's face as his hand shifted from the top of Zuko's hand to his wrist, up his forearm. He knew Jet was looking for reassurance that he wasn't freaking him out, so Zuko nodded minutely, keeping his eyes averted; he was sure he'd suffocate if he looked too closely into Jet's. A beautiful pair of eyes did that.

The wandering hand lightly gripped the muscle on his forearm, then on his bicep, deltoid. The hand would cup, then smooth over. Yep, just as Jet had suspected: Made of muscle. The hand worked its way up his shoulder and finally came to cup the side of his neck. Instead of feeling the muscle there, Jet slowly caressed the soft skin with his thumb. This made Zuko look up, instantly captivated by Jet's gentle gaze, his soft eyes and softer-looking lips. Instincts told him the only proper thing to do was kiss him. So, he did.

Didn't turn out so well, actually.

Jet was caught off guard (which he kicked himself for), and wasn't exactly ready for it. Added to that was Zuko pressing an iota too hard, causing a clacking of teeth. As far as first kisses went, it wasn't that great. And now Jet was laughing. Why the fuck was Jet laughing? Okay, it was more like snickering, but still.

"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, laughter leaving as fast as it came. "It's just… Have you ever done this before?"

Zuko promptly turned bright red and looked away. Jet's eyebrows rose. Wow. He hadn't expected this boy to be a kissing virgin. When Jet didn't say anything for a moment, Zuko looked back up to scowl at his shocked expression.

"What?" he snapped.

"Really?" Jet asked skeptically. Zuko's lips pressed together and he looked away again in embarrassment. "Someone as pretty as you?"

A biting retort was on the tip of his tongue at the 'pretty' comment, but Jet spoke before he could get it out.

"I guess I'll hafta teach you some stuff, then." A shiver coursed through him. Well, he hadn't expected that response. "C'mon." He took Zuko's hand and led him away from the railing. If he was going to train this boy up right, then they couldn't risk someone walking in on them. Over a little ways was some sort of alcove built into the ship's cabin area, housing some repair tools and… yes! A lamp! Jet used the spark rocks next to it to light it before shutting the door. This made Zuko slightly nervous, suddenly feeling like a trapped animal. And he was still sort of annoyed at himself for sucking at kissing. He could add that to the list of things that sucked.

"Hm, let's sit," Jet proposed, plopping down and bringing Zuko with him by his wrists. The scarred boy's heart started to pick up the pace at the prospect of what was about to happen. Once they were settled, Jet scooted closer before his hands cupped Zuko's jaw. He licked his lips in preparation. "I'll take the reins. Just try'da copy what I do." And with that, he softly pressed their lips together, eyes closing.

Well, this wasn't exactly what Zuko had been expecting. He thought kissing was a press of lips, nothing more. At least, this is what he gathered from paintings and stuff he'd seen around the palace. This was something entirely different. It didn't seem like just one kiss; it was more like a series of small, slow pecks. It was a sensation that was entirely pleasant, and he didn't even have to think about it as he kissed back, his mouth seeming to know what to do (which was probably for the best, since his brain was focused on don'tmessupdon'tmessup).

Once Zuko seemed to be catching on rather well, Jet let one hand stray from his face to his neck, feeling the downy hairs there, making goosebumps flush over him. The paler boy's lips were soft and warm, making Jet want to kiss him harder, nibble them. Though, maybe this wasn't the best option, because when the Freedom Fighter took the bottom lip hostage between his teeth, Zuko made a surprised, confused noise. Naturally, Jet wasn't above using this to his advantage, releasing the lip to dab his tongue inside the other's mouth. Zuko promptly jerked back, a stitch in his brow.

"What are—"

"It's okay, Li," Jet chuckled.

"But you—"

"It's okay," he repeated in a husky, whispery voice as he leaned closer again, his mouth silencing any more protests. A small sound of complaint was muffled, and damn, was Jet pushy. What business did Jet's tongue have in his mouth? It was weird and… slightly unsanitary, he'd like to think. But now, that slick muscle sliding across the seam of his lips wasn't exactly… bad… his eyes fell closed again as he hesitantly parted his lips. That curious tongue slowly felt its way inside, and when it barely brushed Zuko's, it startled him slightly. That was an odd feeling.

Once again, Zuko wasn't exactly sure what to do. Jet's tongue felt alien inside his mouth, tentatively flicking at his own; it caused a ripple to shoot through his spine, and he instinctively pressed back against it. Jet let out a breathy moan, which was doing badbad things to Zuko's crotch. And that hand now traveling down his side wasn't helping.

Jet, encouraged by Zuko's participation, eagerly became a mouth cartographer as he tried to memorize every plane and crevice in his mouth, more than a little turned on. Spirits, Li tasted to fucking good. There was a light glazing flavor of dinner and tea, but his own unique flavor was sweeter than any dessert and far more fulfilling. And he was so warm, kind of cozy but in a manly way. No, that didn't make sense. Jet told himself to stop thinking so hard about it and just feel.

However, Zuko was just trying to keep up, still attempting to copy what Jet was doing. Though, this proved difficult since he couldn't get a tongue in edgewise, the other's thrusting so deliberately into his mouth that he couldn't return the gesture. Really, though, he was just trying not to screw it up.

A break for air, which Zuko didn't realize he needed until he was gasping in lungfuls. Jet smirked around his light panting, giving them another moment to breathe before saying, "Your turn."

"Huh?" he breathed, but that was all he got out as Jet once again swooped down. That trapped animal feeling that accompanied it faded as Jet's tongue once again probed at his lips. Though this time Zuko knew he liked what the slick muscle had to offer, so he gladly opened his mouth.

What he hadn't expected was Jet, instead of using his own tongue, sucked Zuko's into his mouth. Oh, so that's what he meant.

And then nerves set in. What had Jet done? What did he do? Where did he start? He tried the flicking thing, and that seemed to work well. Jet, wanting to encourage Zuko, tried to be vocal so the other knew he enjoyed it. If by the way Zuko's body heat rose, he could assume his method was working.

Those noises were addicting, Zuko soon decided. Jet's moans and faint sighs eagerly sent the blood in his brain that he was using to think with straight to his groin. Nothing had made him this excited before. The handful of times he'd jacked off back when he still had a ponytail couldn't compare to how horny he was now. And fuck, if he didn't get some friction on himself soon, he'd go insane.

However, doing this with Jet around was just not on.

He broke away, breathing hard and blushing uncontrollably. To Jet it was adorable, as were the words Zuko spoke next.

"I, uh… I need to use the bathroom. Now." He cleared his throat awkwardly, eyes darting to the side. Jet's smirk deepened as his eyes traced down his chest, over his stomach, right to the telltale teepee in his trousers. He chuckled, scooting a bit closer so Zuko, who swallowed heavily and tried to scoot away.

"Yeah, you look really, ah, backed up there," Jet teased, hand pressing emphatically into Zuko's crotch. Ocher eyes widened as a choked moan was torn from his throat. Jet looked pleased, rubbing the bulge satisfactorily. Fuck, Li's sexface was hot.

"S-stop," he stammered weakly, though he knew he didn't really mean it. Good thing Jet knew it, too, and kept giving him that sosogood friction. Surely people who knew each other less than a day didn't do this kind of stuff?

"What's that? 'Harder'? Well, if you're sure." The tanned hand pressed more insistently, Jet leering closer, his mouth descending on Zuko's straining neck. The paler boy couldn't help his hips from rolling with Jet's hand, and decidedly slapped a hand over his own mouth to muffle his noises; he didn't want anyone to hear him, since he seemed incapable of being quiet. Touching himself had been okay and satisfying to a certain extent, but this was something on a completely different level. Someone else's hands touching him, another's mouth suckling behind his ear.

Okay, so maybe doing this with Jet around was on.

The hand slowly massaged, and it was notenoughdamnit. Jet, who had been previously balanced on his knees, yelped in surprise as two strong hands harshly gripped his buttocks and yanked him forward. Wow, this Li guy really knew what he wanted. He smirked in satisfaction, allowing Zuko to pull Jet's pelvis down to meet his own. Spirits, that was perfect… The smirk dissolved into a small 'o' as he settled more comfortably in Zuko's lap, rolling and thrusting his hips against the other's at an animalistic pace.

"Like that… no, like that," Jet moaned, coming alarmingly close to his happy ending. A harsh, more experienced (Jet preened) mouth met his, and they were probably using way too much tongue but he couldn't give a flying fuck and shit how was Li so good at this?

Again and again they fucked against each other, breathing hard into each other's mouths, clutching at each other desperately because if they didn't then surely they would fall off the edge of the world. The world which, abruptly, got a whole lot brighter as the bluish glow of the moon poured in. But wait, they hadn't opened the door. That could only mean…

"O-oh my," an elderly voice stuttered. The boys' movement suddenly ceased as they looked up to see none other than Iroh gazing down upon them, completely gob-smacked. "I thought this was the bathroom. I see now that I am sorely mistak—"

"Uncle, get--out!" Zuko roared. Any other time Iroh would have admonished the boy for being rude to his uncle, but at the moment he could only stammer.

"A-ah, right, well, um… Of course, continue." Why had he said that? Iroh mentally slapped himself before backing out as quickly as his stubbly legs could carry him, slamming the door shut.

"…That was awk—"

"Come on!" The previously stilled-in-horror hips underneath his own suddenly bucked, reminding him that hey, you're still horny here. Wow, sexual frustration Zuko wasn't pleasant. Good thing it was sexy as hell.

Jet's mouth twisted mischievously as he picked up his former rhythm. Yes, Li would make a fine apprentice yet.