A:TLA is not owned by me, etcetera, etcetera. Also done for the Rashaka LJ contest but self-disqualified because it's not fair to enter two submissions.

Home Away From Home

"Uh…so…d'you…that is, um…"

"What are you talking about, you moron?"

Zuko took a deep breath. Was there a right way to say this?

Katara waited patiently. It's not like they were able to go anywhere soon, any ways. Why was he stuttering like a lunatic? Weren't princes supposed to be suave and charming?

"What I mean to…I meant, what I…oh, forget it! You would never understand. I'll just stay on my end and leave you alone."

He turned his back on her and sat, sulking in embarrassment and misery. Many minutes passed. Zuko felt extra movement and knew she was crawling towards her from the way the tiny dinghy shifted with her weight. He hunkered down even more, hoping that if he stayed still enough, she wouldn't see him and would go away. A delicate hand perched neatly on his shoulder.

"That is, you meant to say: 'Do you want to see what it's like to be with a Fire Prince? Do you want to pass the endless stretch of time waiting for rescue by getting it on? Do you want me to take you hard and without mercy?' Is that it?" her sultry voice was like nothing he had ever heard or expected to hear coming out of the Waterbender's mouth.

Stunned, he turned around and came within inches of her face, big eyes as blue as the ocean all around them. He could find no trace of joking in those eyes. A lump rose in his throat and he wished he had some water to gulp it down. "Um," he began, panicking.

Katara laughed heartily, throwing her head back, the sound ringing across the wide expanse of water like the peals of bells. When she finally wiped the tears from her face, Zuko saw that they were shining with mirth. "Ha! Oh…ho ho! Hee! You should've seen the look on your face! Oh man! Hahaha!"

He sat, completely at a loss of words. Suddenly, a grin slipped across his face. "So that's how you want to play it, Water peasant?"

Zuko lunged for Katara, pinning her roughly against the bottom of the raft by the wrists, his larger male body holding her delicate female frame down. She shrieked and struggled, giggling madly. "Oh no!" she cried coquettishly. "What's a poor, defenseless girl like me to do with such a big man on top of her? Oh that's right! Punish him!"

A snakelike strand of water rose from the water and whipped towards Zuko from behind, stinging him smartly right in the small of his back. "Ow! Oh, you're going to get it!"

Shrieks of laughter filled the air and the small dinghy rocked from time to time in their play. When the pair finally stopped giggling and the boat finally stilled, Zuko looked up at the girl straddling his lap, her profile silhouetted against the sun. Somehow in the course of events, they had switched positions. Zuko thought he was rather okay with that. He examined her brilliant cerulean eyes, her prominent cheekbones flushed with heat, her lush pink lips. A sensation he had not felt for years – ages – twanged in his core.

Katara panted slightly, sweat beading on her brow. She gazed at the boy underneath her strong thighs and felt something stirring deep within her, something strange. She reached out with one finger and traced the scar on Zuko's face, trailing her hand from his temple to his cheek, and down to rest on his lips.

He didn't know what quite came over him, but he kissed the fingertip lightly and then, surprised by his own bravado, slipped it gently into his warm mouth. She sighed and arched her back, causing his hips to buck involuntarily against her.

Taking the finger out of his mouth, Zuko sat up, still holding Katara in his lap. Hesitantly, nervously, he slid his hand into her hair, which had come undone during the mock struggle. Her arms somehow found their way to his neck, which they promptly wound around. Zuko couldn't believe it, but he felt himself pulling her towards him, closer and closer.

Their eyes closed and they leaned in.

They cuddled up together afterwards, her body draped languidly over his. While they were together, they did not say a word, but Zuko felt it was now appropriate to break the voluntary silence.

"I don't really know you at all," came the whisper. "But it feels like home when I'm inside of you."