Share with me the blankets that you're wrapped in
Because it's cold outside, cold outside, it's cold outside
Taking the early morning watch was one of the few chores that Katara could actually find peaceful, mainly because she was alone and it gave her time to think. The main downfall was the freezing cold and the memories that would come plague her night after night, like nightmares that she could not escape with a simple pinch. Sitting on the cold rocky outcropping with her chocolate tresses blowing in the wind, her thoughts began to stray towards her mother and with nothing to distract her from them; away they went like galloping dark shadows transporting her back to that fateful day…
She saw the black snow come fluttering down and remembered being perplexed for any smart water tribe girl knew that snow came in white and yellow and you were not supposed to eat the yellow as her father, Hakoda, liked to joke to make her mother laugh. It wasn't until the warriors were running towards the dark metal warships that she felt a touch of fear, ignoring Sokka's calls she started to run as fast as her stubby little legs would carry her towards her mother who had just left them outside playing only a few moments ago to clean up the house while her kids were distracted. Dashing inside she saw her mother and a Fire Nation Captain standing tall beside her looking down on "the savage" with contempt. She could hear her mother's voice saying the same things she always did but instead of truly listening this time, the teenager attempted to commit to her permanent memory drive all the details of the face that she never wanted to forget, from the cerulean blue eyes, a shade lighter than her sapphire orbs, the same caramel skin and the way that her hair fell out of its ponytail and hung there as sweaty chocolate streaks standing out dark on her tan skin...
Before she could run out of the tent as she had done on that day, she was awoken from her drifting living nightmare of a memory by the sound of a change in breathing and a scratching as one of the group awoke from their own nightmares and torturous sleep demons. Shaking her head the girl forced herself to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand, which at the moment was controlling the shivers from the cold that her Fire Nation cloak just couldn't seem to keep out and stopping the sniffles; she didn't want anyone else to hear her crying.
Unbeknownst to her, the person who had, indeed, awoken from a nightmare was Zuko and he had no intention of going back to sleep after the dream of chasing after his own mother and her being constantly pulled away by his demented father, Ozai, any time he got close. Now was definitely not the time to think of this, he needed sleep but he knew after that there was no way that he was getting any that wasn't plagued by those images. Standing up and popping his stiff back he moved about waking up his half-asleep muscles with a few stretches before walking over to where he knew the morning watch girl was sitting. Getting a few steps closer he heard the sniffles and sharp intakes of breath combined with the chattering of teeth and stamping of feet to ward off the cold. He was momentarily distracted as he processed the reason for these noises and he made the mistake of stepping on a small twig and the sharp noise echoed around the sleeping campsite.
"Who's there?" Katara asked trying to keep the tears out of her voice, and almost succeeding, except the small squeak at the end that gave her away. Whirling around the girl's sapphire blues met the glowing golden orbs of the firebender, and she sighed thankful that it was just one of their group and not someone she had to battle to protect the others. His single black eyebrow rose after he made note of the tear streaks glistening on her face and the goose bumps coating her skin.
"Are you okay, Katara?" The teen asked concern filling his familiar gruff voice that she knew, now, hid a compassionate heart and a caring soul. She tried to nod but at a pointed look of disbelief from the boy, her resolve crumbled and she shook her head looking down in embarrassment. Taking the last few steps between them the boy knelt down and pulled her into a hug as he whispered her name in a caring tone, "Katara." Just him saying her name made her feel so much safer and not forcing her to divulge what was bothering her made her feel even better despite the situation. Letting go with one arm he sat down behind her and took the cloak wrapping it around the two of them and putting his legs on either side of her.
"Zuko?" Katara asked feeling slightly confused and a little embarrassed as the boy sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her tight under the red cloth cloak. The boy blushed slightly but finished getting comfortable before responding.
"I can't sleep either and I figured since you had to be up and were cold I could at least be helpful and share with you the blankets that you're wrapped it and keep you warm because it's cold outside. Well I mean cold outside for you of course." He amended not wanting to admit that despite his fiery chi he could still feel the cold tendrils that the nightmare had left on the edge of his thoughts. Leaning back closer to his warmth she sighed in content as she started to feel warm and safe again.
"It is cold outside" She stated aloud as if to justify that as being the reason she felt so much better in his embrace, or the fact that it made her feel warm and safe inside. Zuko smiled into her hair and she could feel him nod, he too wasn't quite ready to admit how much he needed her presence to tie him down to reality either and they both knew then that despite how strong they both were, they both needed help some days.