Still shivering, they half-stumbled, half-tripped into the hut they were sharing, tracking in snow, breathless and flushed from the cold. Without bothering to remove his parka or boots, or his arms from around Katara, Aang collapsed onto the large bed of furs puled in the middle of the room, groaning; she gave a restrained yelp as she was pulled down on top of him, and then she laughed.

"Tired?" she said, propping her chin up on his chest to look at him. His head was tilted back into the furs and her breath fanned out faintly against the underside of his chin and jaw.

"Yeah," Aang sighed – but it was a contented sound, heavy as it was, and he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "But it was way more than worth it. Thank you."

He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, felt the hum of approval Katara made low in her throat.

"Well, thanks for coming with me," she muttered. "I've always gone alone before now… I've never had anybody to take."

"Really?" His voice was getting rough with exhaustion, and it struck him then just how long the day had been. "How come? I wouldn't miss that for the world."

She grinned. "Because nobody else has ever been crazy enough to risk freezing to death."

"Excuse you," he said, sucking in a huge breath so his chest expanded and she was suddenly lifted up a couple inches, "I believe you meant 'brave enough.''"

"Sure, sure." And then under her breath: "If it makes you feel better about yourself, sure."

With a quiet laugh as the air puffed out of him, Aang rolled to one side, took a moment to appreciate how beautiful she looked in the dimming starlight and to thank everything he had for her, using numb fingers to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I'm not crazy," he said. "I just really, really love you."

Just like he'd hoped she would, Katara did that smile thing where her lips curled down except at the corners like she was trying not to, and she blushed again, but this time not because of the wind – this time it was because of him. As if that wasn't good enough, she kissed him, a little awkwardly because of their position, so that her nose bumped against his – it felt almost frozen solid, and he shivered (although, considering, that might not have been just because of her nose).

After a beat he said, "I'm also really, really cold, so…"

Now she really did smile, that one that said she was laughing at him on the inside. She moved to sit up, but found his arms had gone tense around her, holding her down.

"Aang, you have to let go if I'm going to get –"

"No, I don't," he mumbled, tightening his grip and grinning a bit as he saw her raise an eyebrow. "You're warm."

"And you're about to fall asleep." Amazing, the way she managed to make even that simple fact sound like an accusation.

"Very true," he said, mouth stretched by a huge yawn.

While his arms were slack, she maneuvered here and there until she was able to reach the thicker pelts stacked at the foot of the bed and pull them up over their shoulders, snuggling just about as close to him as was physically possible without them merging into one person. Her leg slipped between his and her head fit perfectly beneath his chin and the fur tickled his cheek and he sighed again as their body heat started to circulate under the blanket and everything just clicked.

"I don't know how I survived in that ice without you to keep me warm," he muttered, eyes sliding closed. She smiled and pressed her cold nose deeper into his neck.

notes: based off a drawing my friend sarah on tumblr did because she obviously knows my weakness for cold noses - you can see it at hippofoliage dot tumblr dot com/post/33870831805 - and you totally should check it out because it's super cute ok.

always gotta love some fluff, right?

thanks for reading as always, guys.