The weight of a pillow on his face marked the end of his slumber. He sat up, tossing his blanket off wildly.
"What is it?" he said, slightly alarmed. Were they being attacked? Fortunately, the projectile seemed to come from the mat next to his. On it was Katara, holding another pillow and quietly tapping her foot.
He reached up to scratch his hair. "What?"
"You were snoring. It bothered me, so I stopped it."
He scowled. "I do not snore."
"You just were. It went on for a while, too." She dropped her pillow and sat on it, resting her chin on her fists.
"Wait, were you already awake?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. It doesn't matter."
Pulling himself into a sitting position, he raised an eyebrow. Katara waved her hand absently, shrugging away the thought. "Just..it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about."
He nodded, silent for a moment. "Was it bad?"
She started, and looked up. "What?"
"Your dream. It was a bad dream, wasn't it?"
She said nothing, looking down. Zuko noticed her fingers absently fluttering.
"It helps to be near someone else, I think." he murmured. Katara glanced up, questioning. He continued, "I uh, I used to get them too. A lot."
Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again. "Oh," was all that came out. "I didn't know that."
He grunted in response, and they sat in silence for a while. His breathing gradually deepened, and his mind was all to eager to re-enter the state of drowsiness when Katara cleared her throat quickly, moving to get up.
"I think I'll go back to sleep now. Try not to snore so loud this time, will you?"
"I told you, I don't snore!"
She smirked. "Sure. Just wait until I'm asleep before you start." She moved her pillow back to her mat, and Zuko settled back down. A slight shifting sound caused him to turn around, and he noticed Katara scooting her mat towards his. She shrugged nonchalantly when she caught him staring. "What? I'm testing out your theory." Without explanation, Katara began fixing her blanket.
"What if I snore too loud?"
"Shut up."
