Ok, picking up right where we left off last chapter. Enjoy. R&R!

3. The North Pole, Part 2: Love in a Cave

Katara's right cheek rubbed against the now unmasked Blue Spirits left cheek.

Katara gasped. She could feel that the bottom half of his cheek was smooth but the top half was rough.

What is that? she thought.

She moved her hand from the back of his head to touch the cheek in question. She traced a line at the edge of the rough skin.

It's like…

She ran her fingertips over his ear and over where his eyebrow should have been. She traced the edge of the blemish right back to where it had started.

Like…a…scar?!

Katara held her breath.

I know that scar.

Her heart was racing.

There's only one person with a scar like that…

Katara was surprised that he couldn't hear her heart beating.

Please…

She drew away from his face slowly.

Don't let it be…

She looked at the man she had just kissed. In the light from the fire, Katara could see the face of Prince Zuko.

No! she thought desperately, NO!

The Fire Prince looked into her eyes and Katara could see he was afraid. They stared at each other in silence for a moment and Zuko stopped pushing Katara up against the wall. He sat back and looked at the ground giving the water girl room to get up if she wanted to leave.

But she didn't move. Katara was too shocked to move.

Not Zuko, no, you can't be Zuko.

But as much as Katara begged her eyes to be deceiving her, she knew they weren't.

Zuko waited. He was waiting for Katara to scream at him. To hit him. To get up and run away from him. But nothing happened.

Katara didn't speak, didn't lash out, didn't try to run.

After a while, the Fire Prince began to get annoyed. He looked at her to see she was looking at the ground between them. The only emotions visible in her expression were sorrow, uncertainty and longing.

Finally he spoke.

"Well… what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to yell at me? Hit me? Run away form me?" The Prince could barely keep his voice steady.

Katara continued to stair at the ground silently.

Zuko became frustrated.

What I'd give to just make it that this never happened.

But he couldn't change the past, and he knew it. So, he just took a deep breath and forced himself to refrain from burning both of them to death.

Katara stared at the ground between herself and the now unmasked Blue Spirit.

Zuko?! No, not Zuko! How can it be Zuko?!

She was too shocked to physically so anything, but inside of her, she was working herself into a state of panic.

Prince Zuko. Just. Kissed. Me.

The man who chased me, my friend and my brother half way around the world is right in front of me.

Suddenly, another part of Katara's brain chimed in.

This man just saved your life… several times!

He's a firebender… he's Prince of the Fire Nation – I'm in grave danger.

I don't think you are. I think if you were in danger from the Fire Prince, he would have killed you by now. In fact, he probably wouldn't have bothered saving you from the pirates if he wanted you dead.

He'll probably just use me to get to Aang.

But he saved Aang too; remember on the island with the fortress? The Blue Spirit kept Aang alive until he was in safe hands and made sure you and Sokka were alright before leaving and not disturbing you again.

We're talking about Prince Zuko here!

So? He saved Aang, Sokka and you as a group and tonight he's helped you several times, just you.

He's still the enemy, he's a firebender!

You knew he was a Firebender before you kissed him… and he kissed back, even thought he knew all along that it was you!

Katara wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted to hurt the man in front of her and tell him what a jerk he was. But at the same time, she wanted to close the gap between them and kiss him again. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body on hers and she wanted to run away with him and never be found.

She hated him for the things he had done and the things he had tried to do, but he had saved her life many times tonight and for that, she loved him.

You are a good person, she mused.

His voice brought her back to reality.

"What are you waiting for?!" he sounded frustrated, angry and scared all in one.

Katara took a moment to find her voice.

"I knew there was good in you," she commented, but she only spoke in a whisper.

Silence hung between them as they tried to think of what to say next.

What was that suppose to mean?! Zuko thought, half annoyed and half curious.

"Why haven't you run off yet? Or pushed me further away? Or started yelling at me about how much of a jerk I am?" Once again, he struggled to keep his voice steady and it cracked as he choked out his words.

There was silence for a moment.

"You saved my life," she said, "I knew there was good in you."

Now what am I suppose to say?

"Why didn't you just tell me it was you?" the waterbender asked.

"Because I thought you'd try and run away from me and turn down my help. I wasn't sure you'd react well."

"Why would you want to save me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he retorted.

"Well, the fact that I've been travelling with the Avatar and have been helping stop you from catching him, for starts. I'm a waterbender, not a firebender or even from the Fire Nation. And I'm a peasant at that!"

They were both silent for a minute.

"Why did you help me?" she asked again.

"Because I just did!" Zuko snapped back.

He glared at her for a moment before realizing she hadn't done anything wrong. He lowered his eyes and mumbled an apology. When he spoke again, he didn't take his eyes off the ground.

"Prince Zuko has a duty to his nation. It's his duty to capture the Avatar and help the Fire Nation win this war in the way the Fire Lord deems best." He paused for a moment. He had never told anyone this – not even his uncle. He would have to choose his words carefully. "But he doesn't like his duties to his country. So, he got himself a mask, and when no one's looking, he slips it on and becomes the Blue Spirit and he does his duties to his heart." The Fire Prince spoke softly and truthfully. "But he knows that if anyone found out he was the Blue Spirit, he would be in a hell of a lot of trouble. So he keeps his mask on when he's out and hidden when he's not. And when everyone's watching he puts on the mask of Prince Zuko, and only Prince Zuko, because he isn't free to just be Zuko," he finished.

There was a stunned silence between them.

After a while Katara spoke.

"So, what you're saying is, Prince Zuko is a forced personality, not really what you want or who you are. And the only way you can be yourself is if you're behind the mask, but even then, you're the only one who knows it's you – everyone else just thinks you're the Blue Spirit."

Zuko confirmed this with a nod.

"I knew there had to be some good in you," she said again.

They were silent for a moment longer.

"If you knew it was me… then why did you let me kiss you?" she asked after a moment of thought.

"I-I just did," was his answer.

"More to it, why did you kiss back?" Now Katara looked him in the eye.

Blue clashed with gold and Zuko's mouth worked before his mind as he let his emotions take control of him.

"I just did," he paused, "because I wanted to, and I've wanted to for a long time."

Katara kept their eye contact and Zuko could see she whished desperately that his words were true.

"Because I love you," he couldn't help but add before he finished.

The waterbender closed her eyes and silence filled the dank cave. The water girl couldn't believe her ears.

Zuko loves me, she thought, he loves me and he wants to be on the Avatar's side of the war.

Told you, you were safe with him, another part of her brain told her.

The Fire Prince loved her… was she alright with that? She knew the answer, but she was scared to reveal it, even to herself.

She opened her eyes again and looked at Zuko.

He is kinda good looking, she thought, the scar really isn't that bad.

Zuko looked back at her.

"If you're Prince Zuko when everyone's watching and you become the Blue Spirit when their backs are turned… then who are you now?"

"Now? Well, I'm doing my duty to myself without my mask on… so I guess that means… I'm just Zuko," he answered.

"Just Zuko," she repeated. "Well, just Zuko, seeing as I know your secret, when I'm the only one watching, can you be just Zuko, for me?"

The firebender was speechless at first.

Finally he spoke.

"What are you saying?" he whispered.

Katara wasn't entirely sure what she had meant. But the water girl was lost in her emotions and moved forward, lessening the gap between them.

Now she found her voice.

"I'm saying…" their faces were millimeters apart, "I love you too."

They kept eye contact as their faces moved closer. Both of them closed their eyes as the gap between them disappeared and their lips met in a kiss.

At first it was gentle as their arms slowly snaked around each other and they drew closer to each other.

Katara leaned backwards against the cave wall again and Zuko leaned forward.

Their lips began to move faster. Their tongues invaded each others mouths and the kisses deepened.

Katara felt Zuko's embrace tighten on her and she followed suit. She ran her hands up the back of his head to where his ponytail was. Gently, but quickly, she removed the material keeping it up and his black hair fell around his shoulders.

Then she felt his hands reach for the hair-ties holding her braid and bun together. He tugged them out and her hair came loose. He ran his fingers through it and began to trace kisses down her cheek, to her jaw. Katara leaned her head back as he began to trail down her neck. He kissed her along the collar bone and held her tight to him all the while.

When he got to her cleavage, he stopped and rested his head against her chest. She knew he was listening to her heartbeat.

After an eternity they both sat up and looked at each other, still wrapped in each others embrace. They leaned in towards each other and rested their heads on each others shoulders.

"Yes. I'll be just Zuko when you're the only one watching."

And they sat like that, in silence, for hours, until it was almost dawn.

As the sun rose Zuko stood up. He didn't need to see the sun to know it was rising. He quickly knotted his hair back into its ponytail and then bent down and picked up his mask.

"We can't stay down here forever," he said.

She nodded a forced approval.

"Not even if we really want to," he added.

He held out his hand to help her up. She accepted the help and stood up. But they continued to hold hands as they stood there.

"Well, let's get out of here," Katara whispered.

They left the cave hand in hand and walked to the edge of the flooded cavern. Katara parted the water and they walked to the other side.

After a while of walking, they came to the mouth of the cave. Before they left, Zuko put his mask back on and became the Blue Spirit again.

They stepped out, to see the sun rising and painting the sky and water and snow and ice in gold and pink. The air was cold and crisp and fresh.

"I'll take you back to your friends and then I'll have to go and find my uncle," Zuko told her.

"When will I see you again?" the water girl asked.

"I don't know," he admitted, "next time I'll probably be Prince Zuko," he added. He saw her face sadden and regretted having said anything. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright," he assured her.

She looked at him and smiled. Katara leaned in and kissed his neck. Zuko smiled from behind his mask. After a moment, Zuko began to lead the way back towards the city.

The streets were quiet and deserted. Everyone still seemed to be asleep in their beds. But Zuko wasn't paying attention to any of this.

All he did was look at Katara from behind his mask and think about what had happened between them over the past few hours.

Sokka and Aang and Yue must be so worried, Katara thought, I wonder what they think must have happened to me…

Suddenly, the Blue Spirit tapped her on the shoulder.

"I have to go now; will you be alright to find your friends?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Are you gonna find your uncle easy enough?"

"Yes, but even if I just wait around here, he'll find me," the Blue Spirit answered.

"Thanks for saving me."

"No problem." He paused and thought for a moment. "Don't tell anyone it's me, ok?"

Katara nodded. "Ok," she said.

"But if anyone asked what happened, just tell them everything up to the bit where we started… you know… kissing." he told her.

The water girl nodded again.

"But definitely don't tell them who I really am!" the masked man added as he past a hand over the part of his mask that was hiding his scar.

Another nod from Katara.

The Blue Spirit turned to leave and Katara suddenly felt empty. Alone. Cold.

No, don't leave me…

She couldn't let him go, not without saying goodbye properly first. Before he was out of arms reach, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back round to face her.

Before he could do anything, she lifted his mask so that his mouth was exposed and she pressed her lips against his.

Once again, she felt her heart soar, as she tasted his hot lips.

He couldn't bring himself to protest her actions and he let himself kiss her back.

Zuko's heart began to ache horribly as their lips broke apart.

Katara placed his mask back on his face properly.

When her hand released his, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him so that their bodies met and they embraced each other tightly. They stood there in each others arms for a few minutes.

Zuko suddenly heard footsteps approaching. He released his grip on Katara and stepped back.

Katara heard the noise too.

Suddenly, a boy dressed in a Water Tribe outfit appeared around a corner and stopped dead when he saw the waterbender. His face cracked into a smile.

"Katara!" he raced towards her and hugged her.

The Blue Spirit quickly ran off before the boy could notice he was there.

"I was so worried!" the boy said.

"I know, Sokka, but it's ok, I'm fine," she assured her brother, as he pushed her back off him so he could see her properly.

Zuko stopped at a corner and looked back at the water siblings.

"Yue told me what happened…how did you escape?"

At this, Katara looked behind her brother to where her hero stood. The water boy didn't take any notice of what his sister was looking at and just waited for her answer.

"I…was rescued," she answered.

"By who?" he urged.

"I dunno, he didn't say his name… he was wearing a mask."

Sokka looked vaguely interested, but decided to just enjoy having his sister back while he did.

Katara looked away from the Blue Spirit as her brother embraced her again. Zuko took this opportunity to leave.

If I don't leave now, I'll never be able to.

He left Katara, the woman of his dreams, in her brothers' arms, in the village. He promised himself he wouldn't look back at them, and only just succeeded.

Zuko found his uncle a few hours later, on the beach. He decided not to say anything about saving Katara.

"I just looked for the Avatar, fought a few pirates, had a little run in with some of Zhao's men," he lied.

His weary uncle took his nephews word without a second thought.

For the rest of the day, Zuko's only thoughts were of her.

I wonder… when will I see you again?

Katara kept her promise to Zuko. She didn't tell anyone that her rescuer and been the Fire Prince or a firebender at all. And she didn't say a word about the secret relationship that had started between them.

She told her brother everything else as it had been.

When they caught up with Aang, they told her of their night's events; both good and bad.

But for the whole day, and many more to come, the one question lingered at the back of her mind.

When will I see you again?

Did you like it? I hope you did. Fairytale enough for you? Anyways, review.

If you wanna join Team Zutara, PM me or ask me in your review. For more info, look at my profile page. It has more info than I put in last chapters author's note on the profile page.

R&R XD A~A~A