Author's note-

I guess that after reading this , u might think this is terribly cliché with a rather sluggish and boring pace. But guys, spare a thought .This is my first fic (cliché too, I know) and I really like my take on the standard Zutara flick . This is set somewhere after "The Deserter" (I guess most of you'll have to rewind ur memories though it's still only the first season here for me. Hurrah for the net though cos I know the whole story and the spoilers just act as teasers for me.)Still that's enough rambling. So , here we go!

Summary-

A new twist on the standard capture zutara. Who gets captured by whom?

Disclaimer-

I never said I owned Avatar :The last airbender, did I? Well, how gave you that dumb idea?

HOSTAGE

"Not nuts again!"

Katara was mad. They had flown for hours trying to get Zuko off their trail before deciding to camp out on a deserted stretch of sand near a coconut grove , somewhere along the earth kingdom coast. And after three hours of searching, all Sokka could find were nuts?

"Hey, come on. It's not like I can just go to the market and buy stuff. Hunting in this place requires a skilled warrior like me. Besides you were the one who ate all that food."

"I was recovering from a fever. And you ate just as much as I did."

"Ok you two. Stop bickering." Aang, ever being the peacemaker, stepped in to separate the quarrelling siblings. "Sokka , how did you manage to find nuts in a coconut grove? Katara, Sokka and I will go together and don't worry, we'll find something. Meanwhile why don't you take some rest. You seem a little tired."

"Hey, I'm tired too. How come I don't get to rest?"

"Because you're a warrior, Sokka. And you did eat a lot of our food.", piped in Katara.

"Ha, he's just letting you stay back because you are a girl. And girls can't hunt. So, I guess it's just you and me, Aang"

Aang saw Katara twitching her eyebrows and recognized the warning signs of a major outburst and hurriedly said "Come on, Sokka. Let's go, Katara needs her rest."

After they left, Katara laid back against a nearby coconut tree and sighed. Finally, some peace and quiet. No more fighting and running and bickering and just Appa and Momo to keep her company. And before she knew it, she was fast asleep

Unknown to her, somebody was coming to disturb her peace just then. Zuko was feeling pleased with himself. He had used the same smoke trail trick he had used on Zhao earlier and followed the avatar in an innocent-looking little boat you could almost mistake for a fishing vessel. But the avatar was smart and his little trick hadn't worked before, so he kept a respectable distance. And now finally, he was here at the avatar's camp.

Drat! He was late and the avatar was nowhere in sight. The only person around the camp was the girl who was lying fast asleep against a tree. Guess he'd just have to wait some more. Orrrrrrr….He could just take the girl hostage and make the avatar come after him. So, Zuko stepped out and went towards her. He pulled out a short length of rope and bent forwards to tie her hands together.

Katara was dreaming about something sweet when she suddenly woke up with a start.

Only to find Prince Zuko within touching distance of her and looking as if he was trying to tie her up.

Zuko was astonished when the girl yelped and jumped away from him. Oh great, now he would have to knock her out. Well, maybe the avatar would hear and come to save his friend.

"Keep away from me or I'll….." said Katara , thinking hard of a way to get out of this without having to call for help. She'd be damned if she let Sokka call her a damsel in distress again.

"Or what, you'll get me wet?", he sneered.

"I may not have had much training Zuko, but I'm still pretty good." Katara retaliated.

"Okay, then show me what you've got. I'm more than a match for stupid water benders like you."

Now Katara was mad again. She'd finally gotten some peace and this rotten prince had to come chasing them again. She whipped up a wall of water from the sea behind Zuko and before he could react, she dropped it onto his head.

Now Zuko was really mad. He charged forward with a fireblast which Katara narrowly dodged, and charred the tree behind her. Katara blocked the continous streams of fire and tried to throw some ice daggers at him. But though her bending was good, her reflexes were slower on account of not spending most of the day training like he did.

Zuko thought he almost had her when the sea came charging up in a strong low wave and knocked him off his feet. He quickly made a spinning arc of fire with his feet and got up while Katara managed to scamper away with a minor burn on her dress. He shot more rows of fire at her with his feet and hands while she tried unsuccessfully to deter him by throwing disks of ice which just melted on contact with the fire. She jumped as one of the flames touched her feet when she felt him grab her neck through the misty steam.

"There , I caught you", he smirked when Momo chose this precise moment to enter the fray by jumping onto Zuko's head and screeching. He began shooting blindly trying to get it off when a stray fireblast from his hand chopped off one of the branches from the tree overhead and as Momo leaped off, fell straight onto his head. Zuko was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground, pinning Katara under him in the process.

"Get off me, you oaf", she screamed but to no avail. He was out cold and she was trapped under him. Maybe she could wash him off her. But she found that she couldn't move her hands enough to gather a wave. Now, her only hope was that Aang and Sokka came back before any of his crew or his uncle came looking for him. Just my luck, she thought.

Some distance away, Aang and Sokka were not getting lucky either. So far Aang had airbended up the trees only to find two measly shriveled coconuts among the dozens of trees there. Sokka also was being hard pressed to find any game or anything that looked edible around.

"Maybe we could just try hunting for some fish, Aang. Katara could even water bend them out for us." , he said.

"I'm still a vegetarian Sokka and I'm not going to change my mind about it. And we're gathering food, not hunting."Aang repliedwith just a touch of irritability creeping into his voice from being hungry so long.

"Whatever you say, Aang."he replied gruffly.

" I wonder whether Katara's ok out there alone?I mean she did look tired. Maybe she won't be strong enough to defend herself if the firebenders attacked now.",Aang wondered.

"What are you worrying about? You're the one who said she was tired and left her there".

Now Sokka was starting to sound anxious .

"Sure but we're close enough to help if she gets into any trouble. Besides you'd have done the same if Suki had been around." ,he teased.

"No, I wouldn't .", Sokka protested. "She wouldn't have needed to anyway" he added in an undertone.

But Aang enjoyed teasing Sokka . He airbended out of the way and with one of his trademark goofy smiles plastered on his face, began to sing " Sokka and Suki sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-"

Sokka stopped trying to catch Aang suddenly at hearing Momo's screeching and the dull thud that followed as their ears picked up the commotion that had gone unnoticed earlier and they noticed the slight smoke coming from the beach. They exchanged glances and said at the same time "Firebenders".

Then they took off at full speed towards the beach.

Katara had resigned herself to being trapped under Zuko and relaxed. Her mind was screaming at her for being so close to the enemy. But it wasn't that uncomfortable for her body. Zuko was warm even with his armor between them and his arms entrapped her in something that looked like an embrace. His head was buried between her breasts and she could feel his breathing tickle her. Now if only she wasn't so weak from hunger and he wasn't so heavy. Why did he have to wear that dratted armor anyway? Boys- always trying to play the soldier. That was probably why he was so madly obsessed with capturing Aang too. Some big ego trip or vanity project. Though he could have justified being just a little bit vain if it hadn't been for that scar. Wonder how he got that,though?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Aang made a smooth landing beside her and folded up his glider. Sokka reached her at the same time and exclaimed "Katara, what are you doing? Get off my sister, you fire nation scum."

"He's out cold, stupid. A little help here, Aang?" she said.

As they rolled Zuko off her, Aang asked her what happened. She gave him a quick explanation and as Momo scampered near on hearing his name, Katara picked him up into her lap and said "Thanks for saving me, Momo." As Momo chattered and slipped away, Aang asked "So, what do we do with him?"

"What do you mean? We leave him here for his crew to find and shift camp immediately, of course. In fact, I bet they're searching for him this very minute." said Sokka.

"No wait, I have a better idea." Katara stood up and said, "let's take him prisoner."

Author's note-

Oh yeah don't forget o R&R. I'd appreciate it.