Wow, after three months finally an update.

I feel compelled to mention that I relate the Avatar-universe to America. Fire Nation= a Los Angeles/Phoenix heat with New York City style. The South Pole= the mid-west, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, cold and snowy. Earth Kingdom= Texas and the South. I don't know why Texas but it does for some reason. As for the Air Nomads, well they travel around the country or live in communes in the Northwest. Misty Palms Oasis = Las Vegas (that will make sense next chapter). I hope this gives some perspective at least in the way of environment that I'm trying to do. Also, while they are able to bend, it is minimal as being in modern day they don't have the need for their abilities any more.


The five hour flight had been torture. Not only the crappy seats (all the first class ones were taken), but the sweaty guy sitting next to him or the old lady who smelled strangely of fish and some kind of ointment. But every minute of getting closer to her made it all worth it. He kept the headphones in his ears the whole flight lost in the music on his iPod and typing the report for next week's meeting on his laptop. When the plane finally landed at the airport in the South Pole, he saw the snow outside very glad he packed warmly (sometimes he forgot the temperature differences between their two locations). He got his bag from overhead and headed to baggage claim where she would be waiting.

As he approached, he found her sitting with a little girl, no more than a year old, standing on her thighs while Katara kept laughing and raising the little girl's arms up then down. For some odd reason, his heart skipped a beat at how natural that scene appeared. A little voice in the back of his head foresaw a similar scene.

Tossing his laptop bag over his shoulder carryon rolling behind him, he approached Katara, a goofy grin on his face. "Something you want to tell me?" he teased.

Her face furrowed at the interruption, then brightened instantly when she saw his face. Jumping up she threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. "Sokka got called in today and I offered to watch her. Sorry to ruin your return," Katara managed to apologize and seduce at the same time.

"Where's Suki?" Zuko inquired, as the little girl leaned forward in Katara's arms indicating she wanted Zuko. Zuko had met Katara's niece several times and though he had never really gotten along well with kids, he got along with this one. He traded the little girl for the laptop bag. She gave him a sloppy wet kiss on his lips. "Looks like she missed her Uncle Zuko," Katara smiled as she tossed the diaper bag and Zuko's laptop bag onto the stroller and the group headed for the elevator.

"Suki works today, normally its Sokka's day off and Gran Gran is out of town and Dad…," continuing her conversation of the family whereabouts as they got on the elevator to get to the parking lot. An older couple watched the threesome with smiles.

"That's a beautiful little girl," commented the woman after a moment of silence.

"Thanks!" Katara beamed proudly of her little niece as she adjusted the girl's coat.

"She sure seems happy to see her daddy," the man chimed in, indicating the way the girl snuggled into Zuko.

Katara and Zuko looked quickly to each other, blushing, and blubbering that this wasn't their child. "She's my niece," Katara frantically explained.

"Oh!" the woman blushed in her mistake. "It's just she looks so much like both of you. Oh, well I'm sure a nice couple like yourselves you'll have children soon enough."

Luckily everyone was saved from further embarrassment by the opening of the elevator doors. Making their getaway, they headed to Katara's blue Audi Q5where Zuko threw his bag and the stroller into the trunk while Katara latched Maelie into her car seat. During the drive to Katara's loft apartment, fingers laced together when she didn't need them to drive, they enjoyed the ramblings of the one-year-old. Zuko glanced back at her, who flashed a brilliant smile, just like her aunt's.

"She sure is a chatty thing," he observed as he began the game of her tossing her toy to which he would pick up and hand back to her.

"Takes after her dad," Katara teased. "Are you hungry? We could stop and pick up lunch?"

Stopping at the nearest fast food joint, they picked up burgers and headed to her apartment. He should have been more tired but for some reason the excitement of seeing Katara and having to keep up with the toddler overruled any level of exhaustion. He had hoped to get her in bed (or wherever else they saw fit) but honestly they were too busy playing "house" with her niece. The day was spent keeping her entertained, cleaning up her messes, feedings, changings, and all the other necessities of toddlerhood until finally the girl passed out in between them on the couch. Around 11:30 at night, Sokka finally showed up to pick up his daughter. He apologized profusely knowing the babysitting interrupted the start of their weekend and thanked them even more so.

Zuko nodded to him, "It was kind of fun actually."

"Well, good," Sokka tossed the diaper bag over his other shoulder while holding his sleeping child in his other arm, "You guys are coming out to dad's tomorrow, right? He's letting us use the cabin and there's a big group that's coming out and we're having an awesome snow party."

Zuko had no idea about this, and Katara asked if it was okay with her eyes. "Or course," Zuko replied, "Sounds fun."

"Great! See you then. Thank you again!" and he was off.

Katara shut the door and looked around her apartment then looked at a very tired Zuko. "To bed?" she asked, looking quite ragged after the busy day.

"To bed," he agreed. Stripping down to nothing, they slid into the cool sheets, taking each other into their arms, but beyond a couple deep kisses exhaustion quickly overtook them.

"It was kind of like we were a little family today wasn't it?" Katara mumbled against his chest. Zuko murmured his agreement. It was.

And it was nice.

The following morning, they made up for the day and night before. After an hour or so, the rose from bed and Katara made breakfast while Zuko showered. After eating and packing a bag, they headed for her dad's cabin. It was about two hours out of town. The huge log cabin sat in the middle of twenty acres of forest and snow. Katara explained it had been in the family for well over a hundred years, every year they would come here. Zuko remembered back in high school he had come here with Sokka one summer but that had been so long ago. There were several cars already there so they would not be the only ones.

Sokka greeted them and Suki popped her head out the door as well. Katara ran to her, screaming and jumping up and down that she got home early. Zuko shook Sokka's hand after grabbing their luggage to take inside. Katara led the way to her old room. Zuko noticed that it was definitely a teenage girl's room. "I see you haven't changed it much," he commented, taking in the posters of teen bands and actors on the pale lavender walls, the pastel quilt on the full size oak bed, stuffed animals on the bookshelves. Katara just laughed and lightly slapped him. "I don't make fun of your place, all sterile and bland."

Throughout the day more people arrived. Several of them Zuko had gone to school with. T.J. Longshot and Lucy Smellerbee, who for some reason were called by their last names, which Zuko never understood, but to each their own, were there and so was their friend Jet. Zuko had to cover his mistrust. They hadn't gotten along well in school and to top it off he knew Jet had been Katara's first boyfriend, just before Aang, and he knew he had been her first in other things. He knew he shouldn't be jealous, but that little demon within him came to life.

He watched from the open kitchen as Jet struck up a conversation with her. He watched as she gave him a little hug and then laughed. He watched anxiously as the two talked in the great room.

Sokka came up to where Zuko stood in the kitchen getting another beer. He nudged his shoulder nodding in Katara's direction, "You better go save your girlfriend there."

Zuko stiffened briefly, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Yeah right," he rolled his eyes, "You just travel five hours on a plane for a booty call. Sorry I'm just not seeing it," Sokka laughed as he popped some cocktail sausages in his mouth. Zuko couldn't help but snicker at the thought.

"We're just taking it slow," Zuko replied.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "How long you planning on waiting then? It's already been six years."

Zuko looked at him funny, "What are you talking about?"

"C'mon, man. I'm not stupid. You don't think I've seen the way you've looked at my sister since just about the day you two met. She likes you, you like her. Let's just get it over with already."

"But that's your sister. Shouldn't you be stopping me?" Zuko inquired, taking a swig of his beer.

Sokka shrugged, "Normally, yes, I would." Suki came up and wrapped her arms around Sokka's waist, interrupting them, "Convincing him to go for it, Sokka?"

"Yeah, but he's too damn stubborn," he replied as if Zuko wasn't even standing two feet from him and the two stared at Zuko who glanced back at them then to Katara and Jet.

Taking a deep breath, he set down his beer and approached the two. Katara felt his presence and instantly brightened, "Zuko!" she exclaimed wrapping an arm around Zuko's waist, "Jet, you remember Zuko? From school?"

Jet glared at Zuko, clearly irked by his interruption, but nodded and held out a hand to which Zuko took and shook. Both men tried to out squeeze the other in a show of dominance. Until finally Jet pulled away when Zuko warmed his hand to an uncomfortable temperature.

"Good to see," Jet casually replied, switching the toothpick in his mouth to the other corner. "I was just telling Katara here how beautiful she is and I'm sorry to hear about her and Aang. A gorgeous girl like her shouldn't be without someone."

Zuko caught her stiffening briefly, "I do have someone and am quite happy about it. Now if you'll excuse us, we have somewhere else we need to be." She tugged Zuko away and whispered to him, "Took you long enough."

He was confused to say the least; she just smiled and rolled her eyes, "I thought I was making it obvious that you needed to come over." Zuko guessed it spent the whole time watching Jet's actions that he failed to notice her body signals. Chalk it up to his crappy observational skills when it came to women yet again.

Several hours, and many drinks later, a large group ended up in the hot tub. Since it wasn't planned, and there were no bathing suits, everyone stripped down to their underwear before plunging into the hot water. There were more people than there were seats, so for couples the women sat on their men's laps, singles paired up with other singles. Someone started passing around a bottle while someone else passed around a pipe and lighter. The group of about 13 people were all talking and laughing loudly. One couple had managed to start kissing much to everyone's laughter and their embarrassment. Katara would wiggle her silky sheathed butt against Zuko's groin under the guise of getting comfortable on him lap which started to make him hard. He leaned up and whispered for her to stop. She just winked and whispered back for him to relax.

Soon after, someone (probably Sokka since it was just the sort of thing he would suggest) said it was time to be polar bears. Zuko had no clue what this meant, but apparently everyone else did. Katara quickly explained they would get in the hot tub, get hot, and then dip into the creek several yards away until they were freezing then back to the hot tub. In one giant mass, everyone jumped out and in their dripping underwear their hot bodies landed in the freezing water of the creek. Splashing each other with the freezing water, they were all quickly frozen, and raced back to the hot tub with the exception of the two benders.

Being the firebender his body ran a bit warmer than everyone else so he didn't get cold nearly as quickly. Being the waterbender, her body ran colder than everyone else so she tolerated the cold much easier. Katara scooped up a snowball behind her back and seductively approached him as he stood in the creek. He noticed her actions, and quickly circled around her avoiding the ball behind her back. She began laughing, taunting him. He raised his hands in defense, warming the air around him.

"What are you going to do, Katara?" he taunted, bare-chested, in his boxer briefs, the cold water long ago decimating the erection that had been in the tub, standing at the edge of the water watching her movements. She in her lace bra and silk panties, nipples quite visible through the material, ankle deep in ice water, she eyed him as if he was her prey. Her drenched sexy firebending prey.

"Nothing," she sang, blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight, "I just want to give you a hug. You look so cold."

"Ha! Not likely," he countered, golden eyes watching and waiting for the first strike which he knew was going to come any second, "If you're going to do it, just do it already." He strangely felt like they were kids again playing war.

But the strike didn't come. So as was his nature, he made the first move. He lunged towards her, she quickly dodged it and landed the snow ball on his back causing him to fall face first into the icy water. Turning quickly, he grabbed her ankle yanking it out from underneath her; she landed on her butt right next to him, splashing the water over him. Her laughter rung out over the meadow as he wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her into the water next to him. The ice water apparently got to be too much because she started to shiver. He pulled her into his lap as he sat up. The water running over their laps as it made its way across the rocks.

"You look cold," he observed smugly.

"Maybe you should warm me up," biting the edge of her lip seductively as she stared at him through half-lidded eyes. He quickly heated the water around them and her shivering from the cold turned into tremors of a different kind.

His hands ran up and down her back heating the cooled flesh, leaving a wake of goosebumps. Her lips met his kissing deep and sensual as she brought her hands up and bent the water from his hair before running her fingers through the black strands just the way he liked. His warm hands continued roaming over her silky tan skin, savoring the contrast of the warmth and the cold. He noted each and every moan and purr when he caressed her sensitive spots on her body or nibbled her lips just so or licked her ear in just a certain way.

Their bodies soon became oblivious to the cold water that surrounded them as hands caressed, tongues and lips explored. Soon enough, Katara's bra was flung over her shoulder landing in the snowy creek bank and his mouth was on first one caramel nipple as one hand massaged the other while the other hand splayed across her back for support and warmth against the chilly night air. She leaned back ever so slightly in his lap giving him ample room for his lips to roam over her chest, her hands on his neck supporting herself. Her hands migrated from his neck down his shoulders, raking her nails lightly against his chest, fingertips tracing across his nipples before trailing down his abs, to his covered hardness within his boxer briefs across his waist and up his back. Zuko angled his hips upward, rubbing himself against her clothed mound eliciting the most enticing of moans. "I want you," she sighed erotically. "So bad."

"Ah. I want you," he husked back against the outline of her neck, rubbing himself between her legs again. "No condom though." Even if he had had one in his pants, they were way back over by the hot tub, at least a hundred yards away. Way too far away for what they did both want at that moment.

She paused briefly before looking him dead in the eye, "So what if we don't …?"

"What if you…We…?" he didn't finish. He didn't need to. Words couldn't begin to express what they were communicating between their eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded shyly, "You?"

He grinned timidly and nodded. She beamed. "Okay then," he murmured. Not quite confident enough to remove his underwear completely in the freezing water, he managed to lift her up pushing her underwear out of the way with his thumb as he maneuvered himself out of the briefs and into the warmth of her body. It was then it began to snow. White flakes softly gliding down as he pushed up against her, melting the instant they touched the two bender's exposed skin. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms folded around his neck, their lips kissing in time to the rocking of their bodies.

"The box was wrong," she panted as she pushed against him with her hips. Zuko chuckled. The box was indeed wrong. This was heaven, feeling the hot walls of her body surrounding him. She was so wet and tight and he felt every flutter she made. His smooth hardness rocked in and out of her as she ground against him in perfect rhythm. The water around them splashing against their bodies giving an erotic sound effect as if the water was making love to them as they made love to each other. Holding each other tightly not only for warmth but for support they built up to that peak and as Zuko felt that familiar tightening in his belly he asked again, just to make sure it was okay, "I'm so close. Are you sure?"

Head tilted back, she nodded and panted that she wanted to feel him come with her. The water began crashing around them furiously as her body peaked, her moans and gasps filling his ears, her body clenching deliciously around him, her wetness increasing giving him the needed lubrication to pound into her those last few strokes before he exploded inside her. The heat from his body rolling in time to the waves of his orgasm warming them against the icy water.

Remaining in the water, until both their bodies were thoroughly chilled, they exited the water. Katara bent the water from their bodies kissing in the afterglow as he warmed them once again from the frosty chill in the air. Latching her bra, they casually made their way to the hot tub to get their clothes. Sokka and Suki were the only ones in the tub, arms around each other.

"Hey, you guys made it back!" Sokka observed as they fished their clothes from the small pile that remained, they shoved them into their arms so they could get inside and out of the cold. Suki watched them with a devilish smile on her face.

"We got lost," Katara tried to lie. It didn't work. As they headed inside, Sokka called out, "Next time, you guys should be quieter. We could hear you all the way up here. Oh and I hope I didn't become an uncle tonight!"

Katara and Zuko exchanged glances and blushed furiously before closing the patio door and racing to her bedroom.