Apologies for the wait. I lost my crack muse while I was focussing on writing The Undying Fire, but I have not forgotten about this story. Also, big thanks for all the reviews and suggestions! I'm not sure if I'll be able to include them all, but I'll see what I can do.

Oh, and as a warning, this chapter toes the line of the T rating a little . . .


Chapter Four

After what felt like hours of walking, Katara had resigned herself to the fact that her bending was not going to return anytime soon. Nothing responded—not even the smallest drops of water. Zuko thought the ninjas might have put something in the drug they had used to knock her out; chi blocking didn't normally last this long.

"What are we going to do?" Katara groaned. She rattled their handcuffed wrists. "We can't just stay stuck together."

"I don't know," he muttered.

"But—"

"I said I don't know!"

Katara glowered at him. "There's no need to get snippy about it."

He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. It was obvious their situation was getting to him. Not that she was faring much better. Hunger, exhaustion and being stuck in such close proximity with each other were all taking their toll. It didn't help that she and Zuko had never particularly got along.

"Let's just keep walking," he said tiredly.

Katara followed, though with little enthusiasm. It was getting colder now that the sun was going down. She missed her furs (and just clothes in general). Her feet ached from walking so long without shoes. Her wrist also ached from the handcuff constantly tugging and rubbing against her skin. Frankly, this whole situation sucked.

"Do you even know where we're going?" she asked.

Zuko paused to give her a flat stare.

"What?" She planted her hand on her hip. "It's a genuine question. You've been taking the lead, so—"

"Do I look like a walking map of the Earth Kingdom?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

He heaved a sigh. "I wasn't awake when I got brought to the ninjas' hideout. Hence, I have no idea where we are. Hence, I also have no idea where we are going."

She puffed her cheeks out in irritation. "Do you mean to tell me that we're —"

"You're welcome to take the lead if you think you can do any better," he cut in before she could get started on a new tirade. He made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "Please, be my guest."

Katara closed her mouth. They were both aware that she knew even less about the Earth Kingdom than him. Still, she could have done without his sarcasm.

"Your attitude sucks," she muttered.

"Your comebacks suck."

"Wow, so mature."

Zuko ignored her and kept walking. She muttered unflattering things about him under her breath, but he either didn't hear or chose to feign deafness. This didn't help to ease her building frustration. All she could do was glare at him: at his stupid profile (which was not handsome), and at the way he strutted ahead in that moody way of his (which did not give her a nice view of his butt. Because she wasn't staring. Nope. Not at all).

Katara shook her head, trying to shake off the distracting thoughts. It was just hard when Zuko was right there. He was so close, all lean body and toned muscle, and that itty bit of fabric did nothing to disguise what was covered. Even if he was annoying, even if she aimed to glare at him, the part of her that had grown up in a small village with a severe lack of males her own age couldn't help but appreciate the view.

And what a view it was. Zuko was undoubtedly the most attractive boy she had met during her travels, even with the scar that marred the left side of his face. Of course, her treacherous mind decided to remind her that she had also felt that view. All those times they'd been pressed up against each other, bodies touching far too intimately, and—

"Ah, stop it!"

Zuko glanced over his shoulder. His brow creased. "Stop what? I'm not doing anything."

Katara's cheeks flooded with pink. She couldn't believe she had said that aloud.

"Your hair is stupid," she muttered.

Zuko blinked in confusion, but Katara was already striding ahead. Walking behind the prince was far too dangerous. She'd take the lead for her own sanity. It wasn't like they could get any more lost.

They walked in silence for a while, even as the sky got darker. Her stomach renewed its chorus of grumbles and rumbling. It would have been embarrassing had Zuko's not joined her for a food-deprived duet. Both teens sighed in unison.

"We need food," Katara said, clutching her stomach. "There has to be some berries or nuts or something in this forest."

Zuko agreed that food would be nice, but they hadn't come across anything edible so far and soon it would be too difficult to see. Hardly any light was getting through the gaps in the trees.

"You can create a flame to give us light, can't you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's too risky with those ninjas around. It'll be like a signal to give away our position."

Katara huffed and muttered that he was no use at all. Zuko also muttered something, though she didn't catch his exact words. Just that it sounded very rude.

"You wanna say that again?" she demanded.

Zuko met her glare for glare. "If we're going to talk about who is the useless one here, it's obviously you," he said bluntly. "What have you even done except act demanding and get in the way?"

"Excuse me!" She took a step closer, jabbing him in the chest with her finger. "I saved your life, you jerk! Without me, you'd have drowned in that river."

It was hard to tell in the fading light, but it looked as if his unscarred cheek coloured a little. Right. They were both reminded of just how she had saved him. Lips pressed against lips, breathing air into his lungs. It hadn't been romantic in the slightest, but that didn't change the fact she had basically kissed him.

"Whatever," Zuko said, turning his nose up at her. "Let's just—"

"Hey!" She grabbed his arm. "This conversation isn't over!"

Zuko shook her off. "What's your problem?" he snapped.

"My problem? What's yours?" Her chest swelled with frustration. "You're just a big jerk acting like you know everything, but really you have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"Yeah? Well, you're just a bossy brat, and you're always getting in my space, and you sit there saying whatever you like about me, but you can't handle it when it's dished back to you, can you?"

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish. "Y-you—"

"I bet that's why the Avatar and your brother ditched you in Ba Sing Se; they got sick of your bossiness."

"They didn't ditch me! I chose to stay in Ba Sing Se!"

He turned his back on her. "That's what you say."

Katara made a choked sound of rage. If she could bend, she would have doused him with water. As it was, she resorted to shoving him hard in the back. The attack took him by surprise—enough to knock him forward more steps than expected. Unfortunately, the fact they were handcuffed together meant the momentum dragged her along with him. She yelped, crashing into his back while he was still trying to recover his balance. Her stomach swooped in a fluttery rush. She was falling, he was falling. It was an all too familiar experience. Katara really hated handcuffs.

Zuko hit the ground with a thump. He was half-raised on his knees, palm planted flat on the dirt. Katara had instinctively curled around him during the fall, which had worked great in the sense that he had become her cushion. The problem was that her hand was now gripping fabric. There was only one bit of fabric on Zuko's body. Also, there was some definite movement happening down there.

"Get off!"

Zuko's voice sounded panicked. His fingers closed around her wrist, wrenching her hand away. A second later, she found herself sprawled on her butt. Katara blinked. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. It had moved. Oh spirits. She had touched it and it had moved.

"Um," she began.

"Don't."

The way he spoke sounded like he was gritting his teeth. She couldn't tell for sure because he sat angled away from her, almost huddled. Katara would have found his discomfort funny if she wasn't so mortified. This was different from the time she'd accidentally felt Jet's erection (he'd got that one all by himself and had tipped her off when he'd hugged her from behind). This time, however, she'd actually touched Zuko. Right there. With her hand. And then it had stiffened and got hard, and—

Katara let out a little groan. "I'm so sorry."

Apparently, apologising had been the wrong thing to say. Zuko lost it: he went off at her about how she was just a stupid klutz who was forever falling on him, and why couldn't she just keep her hands to herself? Why was that so hard?

"You're one to talk!" she snapped. "You were all over me back at the ninjas' hideout!"

"What?" he exclaimed. "When have I ever touched you?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Aside from the accidental boob grope, she could vividly recall all those times they'd been forced into close proximity because he'd tugged her with him into an alcove or some other hiding place. Heck, he'd practically kissed her ear. When she said as much, he claimed that he had only been trying to stop them from getting caught. It wasn't like he had purposely touched her in intimate places.

"I didn't touch you there on purpose!" she retorted. "It was an accident. Besides, you're the one who reacted like that!" Her blush darkened. "I can't believe I felt that."

"It's not like I can help it!"

His voice sounded a bit choked. He had huddled more over himself, still keeping his back to her as much as possible. For some reason this annoyed her.

"Hasn't it gone down yet?" she demanded.

Zuko's shoulders hunched. "If I could make it go down just like that, I would. Trust me." Under his breath, he muttered something about how he couldn't believe they were having this conversation.

Katara bit her lip. This was too awkward. She was very conscious of the fact that he was sitting right next to her with an erection she had given him. It made her think too much about how it had felt, and what it might look like, and—

"How long are we going to have to wait?" she asked, flushing. "Isn't there a way to make it go down faster?"

Zuko made more choked noises. "Would you just shut up for a moment?"

Katara huffed and folded her arms across her chest. And immediately regretted it. Just like last time, Zuko's hand ended up on her boob.

"For the love of—" he gritted out, quickly pulling his hand away. "Stop moving. Stop talking. Just stop."

Katara did as asked, though it was more from awkwardness than because she actually wanted to listen to him. His voice sounded far too strained. It was like being close to her physically pained him. Her own heart was a fluttery mess in her chest. She could still feel the imprint of his hand on her breast, which somehow felt more sensitive than usual.

That was when her stomach gave a loud grumble, going on and on and on. Zuko let out another choked noise, though this time it was more of a snort. Had he—had he just laughed?

"Something funny?" she asked in a dry voice.

She wanted to be the mature one: the one to make it clear that her stomach growling in the middle of their awkward spat was not at all amusing. Except her stomach chose that moment to let out another long rumble. It was so long and loud that it was like it was talking to them, reaching a dramatic crescendo. Zuko's shoulders shook, and then a tiny giggle escaped him. Katara's lips twitched. The sound he'd made had been half-hysterical, far, far too adorable, but it was still an undeniable giggle.

What a dork.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back the bubble of laughter rising within her. She lost it when his stomach joined in, getting louder and louder by the second. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation was too much. Plus, his giggles were infectious.

"Can't breathe," Katara gasped.

Zuko collapsed against the ground on his back, dragging her with him from the motion. He sucked in deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. She lay next to him, occasionally shaking with fresh chuckles. Any lingering tension between the teens had well and truly vanished. It helped that he was no longer pitching a tent in his loincloth.

"Okay," she said in a trembling voice, "I think we should really try to find some food."

He grunted in agreement.

She shifted to her knees and glanced down at him. "By the way," she said, unable to resist teasing him a little, "I never expected you'd have such a cute laugh. Aren't you supposed to be the big, bad Fire Nation prince?"

His mouth twisted into a scowl. "Shut up."

Katara snorted, though she didn't tease him any further. The two got to their feet and continued walking. Fortunately, they did manage to find a bush with edible berries in the end, along with a tiny stream they could use for drinking water. She took the opportunity to wash herself down a bit, using the hand that wasn't handcuffed to Zuko to dampen her skin. It was while she was running her hand down her neck that she noticed him staring at her.

"What?" she questioned.

He cleared his throat and looked the other way. "Nothing."

Katara frowned but didn't push the matter. She tried waterbending, just to see if it would work this time, but her bending was still stubbornly out of her reach. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Still no luck?" Zuko asked.

She shook her head. The two of them were going to have to stay stuck together for now. It wasn't a happy thought—especially when they realised that they could no longer keep walking. It was too dark to see, far too cold, and both were exhausted. They needed to find a place to rest for the night.

Zuko managed to find a small hollow within a barricade of tree trunks. There wasn't much space, but it wasn't like the handcuffs would have let them separate anyway. Besides, with their current lack of clothing and the icy wind that had started up, the main thing was to have as much shelter as possible. Even if it was awkward to be this close to the prince.

Katara curled her legs up so she was huddled in a ball. Every time either of them moved they'd brush against each other. Little slithers of icy wind kept sneaking through the gaps in the hollow. She could hear his teeth chattering. Or maybe that was her own. It was hard to tell.

"It's cold," she complained.

Zuko just grunted. He had got more and more miserable as the temperature had dropped. Well, he was also only wearing a loincloth and was from a much warmer climate. Perhaps that was why he kept shuffling around, desperate to escape the draft. It was a pain.

She sighed and stared into the darkness. He shifted again, rattling the chain on their handcuffs. Two minutes later, he was huffing and rolling the other way. This time he dragged her wrist with him.

"Quit it," Katara muttered. "Geez, you're like a little kid. Just stay still."

Zuko huffed and tried to do as she asked. He lasted all of ten seconds.

"That's it," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

The next second she had shuffled his way and was feeling around in the darkness until her hands made contact with his chilled skin. He flinched at the contact—her fingers were hardly warm—but she just moved closer. He audibly swallowed and demanded to know what she was doing.

"You're annoying," she said bluntly.

Though she was grateful for the darkness that hid her blush. She'd snuggled herself right up against him, so close she could feel his heartbeat. Too bad he was as stiff as a block of stone.

"Relax," she told him. "You're cold too, right? This way we can share body heat. Or would you rather get sick?"

He was still for a moment and then his arm came around her, drawing her in so that there was no space between their bodies. Not that he stopped there. He tangled his legs with hers and buried his face into the nook between her neck and shoulder. She could feel his breath on her bare skin—almost feel the imprint of his lips. Her stomach fluttered and her pulse quickened. It was so much different when he initiated the contact. Blood thudded in her ears.

She cleared her throat. "U-um, Zuko, I don't think—"

"You're the one who said we should share body heat."

"But—"

"Just stay like this."

His voice was low and raspy, and it made something curl like an unfurling petal inside her. She was hyperaware of every point where they touched. It was like their skin had become charged with energy. She had an odd urge to touch him—not as she did now, all pressed against him, but to really touch him. Exploring caresses, fingers slipping through his hair. She wanted to experience it all.

That was a scary thought.

Katara clenched her hands into fists. His body heat was slowly beginning to merge with hers, but that didn't matter now. She already knew it was going to be a long, long night. It would be a miracle if she got any sleep.


I kind of flipped the whole "Zuko's a firebender and so much warmer" cliché on its head (thanks cresswellshipper17 for the suggestion), but hey. Zutara snuggles still happened. That's all that matters.

Merry Christmas and hope you all have a great New Year!