Hey there readers! Here's a little bit of limey goodness for your little eyes to bare! It's a bit of a downer, I admit, not being able to go as far as I wanted to because of the rules but oh well, I think I can get away with this at least. I've been trying to type this one for ages, but it's got a lot more to it that what I've done here. This is the severely edited version. It was originally going to be a chaptered story, but by some magical-ness I've managed to chop it down to a sweet one-shot.

All for you guys! To all Jetko lovers and loyal readers and people who happen to stumble across this story and read it any way!

Warning: This is BoyxBoy love. YAOI. Gay guys holding hands and kissing… which I suppose would make it Shonen-ai… but don't read if you don't like. You have been warned by dears.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

For now, my pretty's….. ENJOY! XD!

He moved closer, his stomach touching the low of the other teens' back as his hands reached around the trim waist to lean on the side. His breath blew past the shorter teens ear as he leaned down to speak.

"Boo." He said, his voice quietly rumbling against the others entire back.

Zuko's head snapped back and nearly cracked into Jets' face, but the taller teen knew what was coming and darted away from the swinging fist flying through the air for his head. With a hearty chuckle, Jet grabbed the scarred teens fists and lowered them. "Hey-hey-hey! No need to be so violent. I just wanted to see if you'd jump this time…and there's no denying it, you did."

"I didn't jump!" He argued back, rolling up his sleeves and getting bubbles all over them. Of course he would never gasp or jump, nothing more than a twitch and then a punch or elbow in the stomach to the perpetrator afterwards.

Jet, of all people, had decided to play this little game. Whenever Zuko was vaguely distracted or coming out of the bathroom or in any other embarrassing scenario, Jet tried to get the jump on him. Zuko happened to be a stern guy, never taken off guard easily and never willing to play along with Jets stupid little games. No matter how long Jet had known Zuko and his uncle, the guy didn't seem to learn his lesson and it frustrated the grumpy teen to no end having to keep his guard up all the time.

Obviously, Jet adored the scarred teen when he was frustrated or angry because he knew it was just embarrassment. He'd only ever seen Zuko blush once and he'd made it his mission to make him do it ever since.

Iroh had come to own a tea-workshop and Jet was there most of the time giving him a helping hand. Iroh had come to be a temporary guardian for Jet when he was a young boy because the tanned teen had been subjected to a tragedy; he'd lost his family to a murder. Jet always used to get into fights when he'd been taken from the orphanage and put into a home, but when it came to Iroh? The old man was the only one who understood the young boys situation; what with having lost his only son to a brutal mugging some years before..

Years later, Iroh found that his experience with adopting Jet would come into play again when his only nephew, Zuko, was viciously attacked by his father, Ozai. Irohs' brother was never an easy man, nor was he good. Having a history of being the suspected lord of a drug ring, it came as no surprise that he would do something so horrible but it still shocked all who knew about it. Another sad aspect to that story was that Zukos' mother had gone missing on the day of the attack, and all suspected that she had been murdered by Ozai after he made a run for it, taking Zukos' sister, Azula, with him and disappearing. Zuko had been badly burned and scarred and then thrown into a protection scheme which had him shunted around for years before Iroh finally got a hold of him.

By then, Zuko was no longer the nephew Iroh had once known him as. He was quiet, stubborn, he snapped easily, shouted, threw things, he never spoke for more than five minutes about anything, he never cried or showed much emotion other than anger or anguish… the boy was a wreck. He was paranoid about his father finding him and he was always bothered when he was anywhere near strangers or more than two people because of his scar. He nearly punched Jet out cold the first time Jet saw Zuko with his hood down.

The funny thing about that was that it was how the two bonded for the first time.

Well, Jet had been told about Zuko by Iroh in the years the old man was trying to get custody of the scarred teen. Jet felt a bond towards Zuko instantly when he heard of him, knowing that they shared the same pain.

So, how they met? Jet had bumped into Zuko a few times in the house; of which every time Zuko kind of ran away from him. Jet tried speaking to him, following him, but all he got every time was a door slammed in his face and T.V static blared from the other side of the wall so that Zuko couldn't hear him shouting through the door.

One day, when Iroh wasn't present, Jet had jumped Zuko and the two fell to the floor in the tackle. Jet pulled down Zukos' hood and the next thing he knew a pale fist made contact with his eye.

It was awkward as hell after that since Jet thought a punch in the face was a step too far. So, when Iroh was busy with the workshop, Jet pounced Zuko in the house again, but he pinned his hands to the wall this time so there'd be no punching involved.

"What'd you punch me for, eh?" Jet asked, getting right up in Zukos' face. Not exactly in an intimidating manner nor a sneering manner. He was using a stern, soft voice. Zuko might have been a bit shorter than Jet, but damn was he quite the strong little bugger. Jet could barely keep in pinned with his hands.

The scarred teen turned his hooded head away. "Get off me you bastard!" He growled loudly, kicking away. Jet shook his head. "Not until you apologise." He murmured in the same tone of voice. Zukos' head snapped up. "Who wouldn't punch the ass whole who jumped them in their own home?!" The teen shouted.

Jet had to admit, maybe pouncing the guy when he was giving him the cold shoulder all the time probably was a dimwit idea… but he wasn't going to be hard done by such logic. "Well if you hadn't ignored me I wouldn't have had to jump you." He said loudly.

Zuko wouldn't stop kicking and shuffling and was making a lot of noise. "Well you should have taken the hint and left me alone!" He growled. Jet was growing tired of all this fighting and pushed against Zuko with his body to stop him from kicking him in the shins any more than he already had. "Hey, I was just being friendly. You wouldn't even tell me your name or say `hi`. How d'you expect to make friends with that kind of attitude? Cause that's all I was tryin' to do."

He had his forehead pressed against Zukos' briefly as he said this before he backed away and let go. Zuko ripped away from the wall and scowled at him. "Maybe I don't want any friends!" He snapped. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop a lonely, hurt tone escape as he said it. Jet raised his brow as Zukos' denial and pointed something out. "Well, I have to say, this is the most I've gotten out of you for months."

Zuko stormed off as Jet said: "Hey, you've not got to hide anything from me. I know what you're going through, y'know…. I've been there, done it and got the t-shirt. Sometimes all it takes is talking to someone who understands…"

From then on, Zuko slowly but surely allowed Jet to speak to him. The two got friendly and before Zuko knew it, he had a leech- sorry, friend- by his side. Regardless of what mood he was in, Jet seemed to disregard the anger Zuko threw out. It was a little uncomfortable at first, having someone know almost everything, but Zuko still had a firm grip of the one secret that lead to his terrible misfortune and as Jet grew to be his friend, he knew he would never make that mistake again.

He'd never admit that he kind of liked it when Jet was around. When Jet came uncomfortably close and jokingly wrapped his arms around Zukos' waist and lifted him up in a tight, warm squeeze from behind. When Jet came along and took a swig from Zukos' can or cup or from his straw, totally disregarding personal hygiene or manners since he didn't even ask. When Jet chuckled or smiled warmly at him or intentionally pissed him off so that the tanned teen would have to clasp his hands around Zukos' fists as to avoid black eyes.

Their playfully violent puppy-like ways of interacting with each other made Zuko less conscious of being in danger. He'd even met a few of Jets buddies and grew horrified when he felt jealousy creeping up his entirety when he saw Jet having a good time with them. It was at moments like those when Zuko instantly grew quiet and distant from Jet again as not to feel anything more than he already did.

Unfortunately, he found that he couldn't stay by himself for long. Not with his own thoughts…. Those thoughts of Jet. They grew too vivid and real and Zuko was discovering that the terrible secret was coming back in to play full pelt. It was one evening when Zuko was standing at the bottom of the stairs, the beginning of a fever coming on like a bitch because he'd been out in the rain yesterday with Jet, rushing to get the drying aprons off the washing line before they got totally soaked.

He felt the prickling heat and aching creeping up his body when he'd reached the stairs. His eyes felt heavy and his throat was sore and his nose burned. He took one look at the flight of stairs and turned around to the open living room area, his eyes fixated on the couch.

Iroh was already up stairs and a few students were wandering around the woods. It was a weekend and some of the workshop students were allowed to camp out in the woods- as long as they didn't leave rubbish around or burn the place down. It was a beautiful area any way so there was no surprise when Zuko could hear the distant and echoing music from cars and see the glow of campfires through the windows.

Zuko didn't even make it to the couch, as soon as he took a step forward, the room spun and he wobbled, falling backwards and landing with a thud on the bottom step. It was obvious that he was sleeping at the bottom of the stairs tonight then.

As Zuko sat in annoyance about not being able to move, he soon found that his current situation was the least of his worries.

Lightly smelling of alcohol and standing in front of Zuko was Jet. He wasn't drunk but he sure did sound like it as he giggled at Zuko, slouched on the bottom step. "Hey bright eyes, looks like you've just been dumped the way you're sitting there." He chuckled. When Zuko didn't give much of a reply, he sensed something was different and crouched down to look at his face. "Hey… are you blushing?" He asked, thinking he'd finally seen Zuko blush for the second time in his life.

Grouchy from his loud voice and the comment and the fever coming on, Zuko mustered the strength to growl up at him in a croaky voice. "Nnnnot blushing….!" He managed. Jet realised the symptoms of the fever and placed his palm to the pale forehead. "Geez man, that's some temperature you got rising there. Here, let's get you upstairs. I'll carry you if ya' want." He said jokingly as he went to scoop Zuko up.

"No… couch…." Zuko murmured as a haze began to set over his senses. He felt he was losing control when he willingly allowed Jet to help him over to the couch. When he was set on the couch, Jet flopped down next to him and placed his bottle on the table, stretching both arms over the back of the seat. Zuko then heard the ringing in his ears as they began to block up and when Jet spoke he didn't hear him.

Jet raised his brows when Zuko didn't react to his teasing again and leant in to speak quietly in his ears. "Hey, I said you look cute when you blush…" Again, nothing. Zuko just sat forward in his seat, his head lulled forward into his arms. Jet pursed his lips, unhappy that he was being ignored and decided to poke Zuko gently in the side.

The scarred teen groaned; he intended it to sound like `go-away-I'm-tired` but it came out as `Ah-not-there!`. A grin spread across Jets face. He'd never been able to tickle Zuko before; the pale teen had too strong of an iron will. Now, on the other hand? His defences were down because of this fever and Jet lay into him again. Although, he didn't realise that when Zuko got a fever, he became a little sensitive on another note.

Zuko flinched and groaned louder, trying to tell Jet to back off but giving off a sound that said otherwise again and again until Jet was over him and playfully but gently annoying him. Jet touched him all over, from his neck to his sides and once he'd done there, his hands snaked under the pale teens top and around to his back. At the sudden touch of skin on skin, Zuko arched up into Jets body to get away from the sensitive tickling sensation. "Ah, Nnn!" He cried out, trying to get Jet to stop but not quite being able to form words. He tried to say `no-stop-it's-not-funny` but just came out with a cry and a groan like no other.

His hands weakly pushed against Jets broad, firm chest as his legs kicked out to the side. Jet's grin slowly disappeared and was replaced by realisation of the noise Zuko just made. The heat in his face tripled and he had to be seriously red in the cheeks. He liked the noise Zuko made and he wanted him to make it again… so he stroked lightly up the pale teens lean back.

Zuko knew of his own situation now but he couldn't stop himself. The light sensation made Zuko arch into Jet again but this time he could form words. "It- s all your f-ault." He managed through a croaky voice. Jet knew what he was referring to but said otherwise. "Hey, I didn't give you the fever… but I know how you get rid of one." He leant into Zuko's neck, it was pulsing with heat. "You gotta' sweat it out… or give it to someone else…and I know a great way to sweat things out… and I know how to give it away." He murmured into Zukos' ear and the shorter teens breath caught in his throat, making him gasp.

Jet continued to rub the low of Zukos' back slowly as he lulled the drowsy teen into a soft kiss. At first, it was just lip to lip but then Zuko rolled his head away, panting from the fever. "Don't… want to… give you the fever…" He croaked. Jet shrugged. "True, but I don't get ill that easy… and if you stay like this for much longer, I don't know what else I might do to you. So just pass it to me already." He said softly, nuzzling Zuko's head back into reach.

When their lips touched again, Jet opened his mouth slowly, coaxing Zukos' along with him. When they were both open, Zuko panting hard into the air, Jet gently placed his tongue into Zukos' mouth and leant into so that their lips were sealed together. The tanned teen was gentle and eased into it slowly, giving Zuko every chance to push him away… but all Zuko did was clasp his thighs tightly around Jets waist and pull him in. Their tongues slid along each other, Jet skilfully rocking his head to the side and coking Zukos' jaw in an upward tilt so that he had better access to the younger teens mouth.

Zukos eyes were so heavy with the heat that they were shut before the kiss even began but he was so aware of what was going on. Part of it felt like a dream, the way Jet was pushing into his mouth, making everything wet and hot and hard to breath. He couldn't stop the instinct of rocking his hips into Jets groin, feeling every second of every touch. How Jets hands ran up his sides to his chest and exposed his pale body to the air, cooler compared to his own heated skin, nearly pink in colour now.

As Jet pulled his tongue back into his own mouth, he pushed against Zukos' tongue and sucked thoroughly until there was a small `pop` sound. When Jet looked at the scene below him, he could barely believe he was thinking about stopping.

Zuko lay with an arm above his head, the other lightly clutching to Jets arm. His pale, toned chest, stomach and waist exposed and turning a delicious shade of pink from all the friction. His lips now a little glossy from the kiss and red from the soft severity of the sucking and the licking. Jet felt as though he was committing a sin, the way he was going to leave without doing anything more, I mean.

He knew Zuko was hazy and not thinking straight from the fever and the guy would probably never forgive him for taking advantage of him like this. So, he pulled down Zukos' top and hefted the boy up into a bridal style hold, carrying him up the stairs and into his room. Zuko had drifted into a sleep from the heat of the situation and Jet smiled lightly down at the guy sprawled helplessly before him. "I'm kinda' glad you and I have such a terrible past in common, y'know…. Because then I would have never met you like I have." He said, stroking the hair from Zuko's forehead.

"And don't worry, your `secret` is safe with me… because what kind of secret would I be if I didn't stay yours?" He said, touching foreheads with the pale teen before curling up next to him on top of the covers, cradling Zuko in his arms.