Title: Heat
Prompt: Swordplay
Pairing: Piandao/Jeong-Jeong
Word Count: 800+
Rating: PG
Summary: Piandao knows Jeong-Jeong dislikes his firebending, so he tries to teach his friend a different method of defending himself.
Author's Notes: I love writing sexual tension. What Piandao has to say about using a sword is me faking it, so there may be no relation to reality of how you'd actually use a sword in the style he favors.
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"Here," Piandao said and dropped a wooden sword in his lap. "You're going to learn how to use this."
"Am I?" Jeong-Jeong briefly considered setting it on fire to spite Piandao for interrupting his meditations. No, that was another destructive impulse, another flare of the all-consuming fire trying to escape his control. He would not give into it.
"You are." Piandao wore his own sword across his back and carried a practice one in hand himself. He paused and stared down at the slowly rising candle-flames. "It's a way to defend yourself without firebending."
The candles went out.
"You don't have to be that dramatic," Piandao said, a smile in his voice.
"I know enough ways to kill people." Jeong-Jeong picked up the wooden sword. It weighed more than he expected, but it had been sanded smooth and sealed with oil. Even with practice weapons, Piandao refused to make less than the best he was capable of.
"I saw what happened the last time the Fire Nation caught up with us," Piandao reminded him gently.
"The Fire Nation wouldn't keep catching up with us if I didn't have a camp full of followers," Jeong-Jeong grumbled.
Piandao changed tactics instead of responding to that. He tended to ignore Jeong-Jeong's suggestions that they sneak away from the other deserters these days. "If you practice with me, I'll take Chey away for a week."
"- A month."
"Two weeks."
"Fine."
***
Piandao led him away from the camp to a clearing along a streambank. The still-strange Earth Kingdom trees rose all around, shading the edges. This part of the Earth Kingdom had mild summers, and the feel of sunlight on his skin made his blood spark and leap. He craved this- And too much of what he craved was tied intimately with fire. Sunlight was no different.
"Have you ever fought with a weapon before?" Piandao asked, then clarified, "Besides fire."
Jeong-Jeong stared at his friend until Piandao figured it out for himself.
"No. Right, someone needs to change Basic so the firebenders get at least some weapons-training..." Piandao squared his shoulders and raised his sword. "Grip and basic stance first. Don't hold it so hard that it hurts, but don't hold it loosely or you'll be disarmed. Think of it as holding a live bird that you don't want to let escape but also don't want to crush."
Jeong-Jeong looked at the way Piandao held himself and tried to echo it. It felt all wrong, though, like his fire would not come forth easily.
"Hnh." Piandao tucked his practice sword over the opposite shoulder from his real one and stepped over to correct him. "Not quite like that."
He gently tapped the inside of Jeong-Jeong's ankle with his foot to encourage him to widen his stance, then reached around to adjust his friend's grip on the practice sword. His hands felt calloused differently than a firebender's, worn and rough against the back of Jeong-Jeong's hands, and his breath was soft against Jeong-Jeong's neck.
They were far too close, Jeong-Jeong thought with something not quite like annoyance. But Piandao needed to ground him in the very basics first; Jeong-Jeong knew how to teach, he knew how it went. Complaining about his teacher's methods would make him sound like a petulant child.
"A little tighter," Piandao said, hands squeezing against Jeong-Jeong's. "Live birds aren't quite as delicate as you seem to think."
For a moment they stood there, Piandao against his back, arms laid over his, hands covering his. Jeong-Jeong could feel the rise and fall of his friend's chest with every breath, could hear the subtle pulse of Piandao's heart.
"Basic block," Piandao said softly, moving his arms and forcing Jeong-Jeong to move with him. "Use this one to guard your belly and up to your mid-chest. Above that, and you want to use a high block - you hold your arms differently for those."
Jeong-Jeong nodded and held the block, then shifted back to the basic stance. Piandao moved with him smoothly, one knee touching the back of Jeong-Jeong's. The slide of his leg against his friend's felt... distracting as Jeong-Jeong raised his practice sword again in a basic block.
"Your skin's heating up," Piandao murmured, and Jeong-Jeong felt sparks flash along his spine as he felt the brush of lips against his neck.
"You're doing this deliberately," he accused.
"Mm." Piandao brushed his lips across Jeong-Jeong's spine.
Jeong-Jeong tensed and tried to pull away, but Piandao moved with him. It felt- Jeong-Jeong felt a wisp of smoke drift from his mouth, felt Piandao's hands press against his, felt the push of Piandao's chest against his back as they breathed, felt his own fire rising in a steady, languid warmth.
"You're my friend," he protested, feeling far too out of control to allow this.
"It is preferable to sleep with people you actually like," Piandao pointed out.
There really wasn't anything Jeong-Jeong could say to that.
-End-