"Honey, it's in the stars, and you're my everything from here to Mars. And every word I say I truly mean; dear darling,

I hope I'm being clear, 'cause there's no one like you on earth that can be my universe." Here to Mars, Coheed and Cambria

Xx

"So, I don't remember the beginning of the joke, but the punchline goes 'leaf me alone, I'm bushed!'"

Aang and Sokka laugh at his terrible joke, Toph rolls her eyes, and Katara gives him an amused look that he reads as 'you're a huge dummy but I like your lame jokes anyway' (and if that's not what she's actually saying, then he doesn't want to know). Zuko approaches Sokka to hand him his tea, and the other man moves his head in a gesture to lead him away from the group. They walk a little ways away, and Zuko makes sure to turn towards Katara and give her a reassuring nod. He and Sokka had been spending more time together after their little heart to heart, and it seemed that Sokka was a little less under the weather. Of course, something like what happened with Zhao would never truly leave him, but it was important that he was able to function at least semi-normally.

"Where do you think they took my dad?" They stop at the edge of the terrace, the canyon yawning before them in the dewy morning.

"Like, after they captured him?" Sokka nods as they sip their tea. "Well, he was leading the invasion with you, right? They usually take political prisoners to the Boiling Rock. It's located in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable."

"That sounds promising." The sarcasm in Sokka's voice is a comfort to Zuko. Seeing Sokka act a little closer to his normal self always makes Zuko feel better; he worries about his friend. "Where is it?" Now Zuko is skeptical, his eyebrow raising towards his hairline.

"Why do you want to know?" Sokka looks out into the canyon without answering. "Sokka, it's the most high security prison in the Fire Nation. If you're thinking of trying to break your father out—"

"No, no," he waves Zuko off, which does absolutely nothing to make him feel better. "I just want to know. I think it'll make me feel better." That's a bald-faced lie.

"It's on a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. We actually flew right past it on our way here." He watches Sokka's face carefully over his cup of tea, practically watching the gears turn inside of his friend's head.

"See, I feel better already!" He claps Zuko on the shoulder as he starts to walk away. "Thanks, bud!" Zuko sighs as he watches Sokka retreat to where the others are still sitting. There's no way in hell that this is going to turn out good.

Xx

He sits with Katara as the sun sets, something that's become a nightly ritual of theirs when they have the time. He's tired; he had trained with Aang almost all day, trying to get the kid to focus more on firebending forms and less on manipulating the flames to look like rabaroos. He's resting his head in her lap as she runs her fingers through his hair, the motions soothing, and he feels his body relax as the sun slips below the horizon, his inner fire lessening to a more gentle flame. This is his favorite part of the day, tied only with the rising sun as it bathes him in the warmth and light of Agni.

"What did my brother want to talk to you about earlier?" Katara asks about her brother often, but Zuko's answers are always vague.

"Oh, you know." He breathes in deep through his nose and out through his mouth, feeling his body sink into the ground, his head cushioned by the softness of Katara's thighs.

"No, I don't." He can hear the smirk in her voice, but the seriousness bleeds through into her words. "That's why I asked you, dummy." He sighs and opens his eyes to meet hers, the brilliant blue bright and sparkling with the dying light of the setting sun.

"He asked me where I think they took your dad." Sadness creeps into her features, and he sits up to face her.

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth." He shrugs, unable to stop himself from bringing his hand up to rub her upper arm, her closeness stirring a different kind of heat within him.

"Hm." She must not care all that much about the details, or maybe she just doesn't want to know, and she leans in to kiss him, her full lips soft and warm against his own.

He loves when Katara kisses him. They had talked about her inexperience and decided that it was best if, for now, she took the lead in the physical aspect of their relationship. Zuko has never been very social, but he likes to think that he's good at reading body language in these circumstances, and he does his best to honor her wishes. Sometimes their kisses are sweet and soft, and sometimes they leave him burning and itching for more when they part.

This is one of the latter.

She's a fast learner, that's for sure; Zuko has noticed that she copies most of the techniques that he uses when they kiss (gently biting her plush bottom lip, teasing her with just the tip of his tongue briefly touching hers) and takes note of what he likes. She's also brave and assertive now that she's gotten comfortable, and on more than a few occasions she's pushed him bodily up against a wall and kissed him senseless, leaving him gasping for breath and hungry for more.

She moves to straddle him, situating herself on his lap in such a way that sends a pleasant shiver up his spine. One of her hands reaches under the collar of his shirt down to his upper back, and he takes his cue, just barely lifting her tunic up so he can trail his thumbs along her bare hips. He knows that's a sensitive spot for her, and it draws out a quiet moan that he muffles with his mouth on hers. She moves to kiss the spot at the corner of his jaw right below his ear, and he can't help the soft groan that escapes his lips as she slides her other hand up the front of his shirt, her fingers ghosting over his ribs and making him shudder.

"Katara..." She hums as she continues kissing down his neck. "We should go inside." No matter how much farther she wants to go tonight, it would be better for them to be somewhere private, even if the sky is now a saturated navy blue and the light from the crescent moon is weak above them.

"Yeah." The word is a whine as it passes through her lips, one that he so badly wants to kiss away. "You're right."

She swings her leg around so she can get off of his lap and get up, and he follows eagerly. She takes his hand and leads him inside, to a place far enough away from their sleeping area that they don't have to worry about anyone barging in on them. As they round a corner into a more private room, Katara pushes him roughly up against the wall, surging up to kiss him again as she slips both of her hands underneath his shirt. He groans when she presses herself against him, his hands tightening on her hips as he feels his blood rushing in his veins. She breaks away from the kiss to push his shirt up, and he obliges to her wish and pulls it off over his head. She moves back in to nip and lick at his neck where it meets his shoulder, and he slides his hands further up her waist above her tunic, desperate to feel more of her but unwilling to push her boundaries.

"Fuck, Katara," he pants under her ministrations, a strangled moan pulling from his throat as she drags her tongue up his neck, placing a wet kiss on his jaw.

She pulls back and unties the sash holding her tunic in place, pulling it off of her shoulders in one swift motion. Zuko gazes upon her chest; he's never seen her like this before, her dark skin glistening under a thin sheen of sweat, bare except for the binding over her breasts. He places his hands lightly on her hips again, being careful to make it clear that he doesn't want to pressure her, and she lays her body against his, both of them letting out a shaky exhale at the feeling of their bare skin touching from shoulder to hip.

He tilts his head down to capture her lips in a kiss, languid and slow as Zuko lets her adjust to the new sensations. They have a sort of code for Katara to let him know what she's comfortable with when they try something new; where she moves her hands on him, Zuko mimics on her body, this way they can communicate what she's comfortable with without her having to tell him with words. She moves her hands lightly up from his hips to his ribs, his following her trail and eliciting a gasp from her. He moves his lips to kiss and lap at her neck with the flat of his tongue, something he knows she enjoys, her moan causing even more blood to rush downwards, sparks shooting through him as he pushes up against her. She moves her hands slowly upwards on his chest, his heart hammering beneath his ribs when she stops with her hands braced on his pectorals. He moves his hands slowly, giving her plenty of time to change her mind before bringing them up to her heavy breasts, moving his thumbs just the tiniest bit over her nipples.

"Ah!" It sounds like a good noise, but he pulls back from where he had been kissing behind her ear and stills his hands.

"Good?" He always takes care to make sure that she's comfortable; the last thing he ever wants to do is put her in a situation where she feels trapped or obligated.

"Yeah, fuck, Zuko," she whisperss, her words stoking the fire within him as her breaths puff out against his shoulder. "Do that again."

He moves his thumbs across her breasts, feeling the peak of her hardening nipples under her bindings as she groans against him. She grabs the hair at the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to hers, and she slides her tongue in his mouth as she moans again, louder this time as Zuko concentrates his affections, rubbing his thumbs back and forth across her peaked breasts. He squeezes them gently, basking in the feeling of her body moving against his, of her pressing her chest up into his hands. Feeling bold, he slowly passes over her nipple with the nail of his thumb, her resulting gasp definitely being loud enough that, if she wasn't kissing him with everything she has, it would have echoed through the empty halls of the temple. She breaks away from his lips, panting and resting her forehead against his as she catches her breath.

"You like that?" His voice is low and rumbling; he knows the answer, but he asks anyway. He wants to hear her say it, wants to relish in her voice, wrecked and rasping against his collar.

"Yes..." He repeats the motion on her other breast, wishing he could have her like this all the time. "Fuck, yes Zuko!"

She muffles her next moan in his chest, her breaths coming harder and faster as he teases her, and he can feel himself growing stiffer between their bodies. She pushes forcefully up against him, the pressure agonizingly good, making him want to pull her against him again and again. She slides her hand between them and palms him through his pants, and he shudders bodily against her as he groans.

"Katara..." Her name is a prayer on his lips, and he wants to worship her every night for the rest of his life. She moves her hand along his length, a whimper crawling from his throat through his lips as he bucks into her. She moves her hand to the waistband of his pants, going for the knot holding them on his hips before he pulls away from her.

"Katara," he looks into her eyes, sees her curiosity and desire, but something else hidden behind it as well. "Are you sure?" He moves his hands back down to her hips, holding her gently as he watches her think. He wants her, so bad that he's almost dizzy with the force of it, but he needs her to be sure that she wants him too. She hesitates, a little crease forming between her brows as she looks away from him. "Hey..." he moves his hand up to the side of her head, stroking her hair gently to calm her. "We don't have to do anything now. We have plenty of time." Her hands move back up to circle his waist, and he wraps her in a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry." Her voice is small, the guilt he hears in it making the corners of his mouth turn down.

"You don't have to apologize." He runs his hand through the length of her hair, the soft curls sifting through his fingers. "I don't ever want to push you and make you feel uncomfortable." She nuzzles into his chest, the affection in the gesture swelling his heart.

"Maybe we can just stay like this for a while."

He presses a kiss to the crown of her head, happy to just hold her in his arms. They stay there for some time before they part, basking in the warmth of each other. Zuko bites back the three words that threaten to spill from his lips as they say goodnight.

Xx

Zuko leans back in Appa's saddle, closing his eyes against the darkness of the night. He knows what was going through Sokka's mind earlier that day, and he's smart enough to realize what the other man's plan is. So, he waits in the saddle, trying (and failing) not to think about Katara. Not just their earlier trist in the bowels of the temple; as much as he wants to think about that, it's definitely not a good idea right now. But he can't help but think of her soft hair, her bright smile, her blue eyes staring into his with warmth and passion and what he wants to be love. He really does want to spend his life with her, and maybe he's being rash or unrealistic, but he'd do almost anything to be with her. All of that being said, he has no idea if that's what she wants, or if she's even thought about it yet. Most people don't think about that stuff after only having been together for less than two months, so no, she probably hasn't thought about it. He runs his hand through his hair, brushing it off of his face, and a warm breeze caresses his skin, carrying the sound of footsteps towards Zuko's place in the saddle.

"Out for a midnight ride?" He announces his presence to Sokka just as the man's head pokes over the lip of the saddle.

Sokka squeaks and falls right off of Appa, having not even made it into the saddle completely before Zuko caught him.

"Uhg, fine." He climbs back up, swinging his pack from over his shoulder into the saddle. "You caught me. I'm going to rescue my dad, and you can't stop me."

"Okay."

"Listen Zuko, I know you think—" Sokka whips his head around from where he's messing with his pack. "Wait, what?"

"I said okay." Zuko shrugs. "I get why you want to rescue him. So let's go."

"Woah, there's no 'let's,' here." He gives Zuko a weighted look. "I'm going alone."

"Definitely not," Zuko counters. "You seriously think I'm going to let you do something this stupid alone?" Sokka sighs, resigned to Zuko's tagging along on his mission.

"Wait." Sokka rummages through his bag and pulls out a scroll. "We need to leave the others a message so they don't freak out." He finds some ink and a brush and narrates the note as he writes it. "Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days."

"Seriously? 'Need meat'? That's the best you've got?" Zuko's eyebrow is raised, and Sokka shoots him a disapproving look.

"Do you have a better idea?" Zuko stays silent as a response. "That's what I thought. Let's go."

"Wait." Zuko grabs the brush out of Sokka's hand before scrawling a note of his own underneath Sokka's. "Alright, now we can go."

Xx

"'Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko.'" Katara reads the note, her suspicion mounting with every word.

"Finally!" Aang yawns and stretches his arms over his head. "I get to take a break from firebending!"

"Not so fast, Aang." Katara's mouth twitches up at the corner as she reads the post script at the bottom of the page. "'Aang, practice your firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats every time you hear a badgerfrog croak. Zuko.'" Aang groans, a badgerfrog croaking from somewhere in the distance.

"Nobody else has homework," he grumbles as he starts doing his hot squats.

Xx

They finally get to the prison after an incredibly awkward trip (Sokka had told Zuko that his first girlfriend had turned into the moon, to which Zuko replied "that's rough, buddy," something he knew he'd never live down once the story got back to Katara), and proceed to steal some extra uniforms as a disguise. The bad part about using guard disguises as costumes, however, is that moments after they change into them, they are called into the prison yard to break up a fight. But when they get there, the only fight is between a disgruntled prisoner and an angry guard, who seems to be trying to goad the man into an actual fight. After the guard firebends at the prisoner, who is forced to bend it back towards his attacker, Sokka is roped into helping said guard bring the prisoner to something called "the cooler."

"Meet me back here in an hour," Sokka whispers to Zuko before he leaves.

In the meantime, Zuko goes to the mess hall to get some food, not knowing how he's going to manage to eat without taking his helmet off, but is called over to a table by some other guards before he can figure it out.

"Can a new guy ask you veterans some questions?" He figures this is as good a chance as any to get some intel. "I know this prison is for the Fire Nation's most dangerous prisoners, but what about prisoners of war?"

Xx

He's standing on an overlook above the prison yard when another guard approaches him.

"Uh—" Play it cool, Zuko. "Hello, fellow guard. How goes it?" Wow, real cool.

"Zuko?" Sokka lifts up the faceplate of his helmet and Zuko breathes a sigh of relief.

"Listen, I asked around earlier, and there are no Water Tribe prisoners here." He watches Sokka's face fall with the news.

"Are you sure? Did you double check?"

"Yeah." He puts his hand on Sokka's slumped shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Fuck!" Sokka pulls away, bringing his hands to his head in exasperation. "We came all the way here for nothing. I failed."

"Ah..." Zuko scrambles for a way to cheer up his friend. "What would uncle say? Sometimes, clouds have two sides." Okay, good start. "A dark and a light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich!" Sokka looks at him with a raised brow. "So, when life gets hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich!" Maybe when we get back I'll ask Katara to sew my mouth shut. Sokka looks out over the railing, his face lighting up at something he can't see.

"Maybe we didn't fail after all!"

"Wow, that worked?" Zuko's astonishment is clear in his voice. "I didn't even know what I was saying."

"No, what you were saying made no sense at all." Zuko's shoulders slump. "But look," he points out towards the prison yard. "It's Suki!"

Before Zuko knows it, he's stationed outside Suki's cell (he vaguely remembers her as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, although he doesn't recognise her without her face paint) so that Sokka can talk to her (and probably make out, but that's not his business). Sokka had told him that Suki could help them make a plan to escape, and judging on the reputation of the Kyoshi Warriors, he has faith that she can.

"Excuse me." Zuko spins around to face a female guard steadily moving towards him. "I need to get in that cell." Shit.

"Uh, you can't!" She tilts her head in a questioning gesture. "The lights are out. The prisoner could sneak up on you!" She scoffs at Zuko and moves forwards towards the cell.

"Get out of my way!" She reaches her arm out to open the door, and Zuko grabs it before she can and hooks his leg around hers to spin her into the door, pinning her against it with her arm sandwiched between them.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The woman fights back against him, getting him up against the cell door with his face plastered to the looking hole. I hope Sokka and Suki are enjoying the show. He manages to twist the woman in such a way that the door is out of her sight, and he hopes Sokka has taken the opportunity to slip out unnoticed. The guard gets him back in a position where she's in control as she looks down the hall.

"Guard!" She shouts at a guard that he hopes is Sokka. "I think he's an imposter! Get him off of me and arrest him!" The guard that thankfully does end up being Sokka runs over and slams Zuko to the ground, his ears ringing as his head hits the inside of the too-big helmet.

"You're under arrest!" Sokka picks him up and leads him away from the female guard. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out," Sokka whispers, and he has no choice but to trust him.

Xx

Zuko's identity is exposed when he goes to speak to the warden, who is apparently Mai's uncle (he doesn't know what Mai told his sister when she arrived without him after Ba Sing Se, but her uncle seems to believe that Zuko had broken her heart). And that's how he ends up mopping floors with Suki when Sokka approaches to tell them about the plan. Apparently the idea is to get Zuko thrown in the cooler (easy enough) so he can remove all the bolts from inside. Then, they'll roll it down to the water and use it as a boat to sail across the boiling lake to their meet up spot with Appa.

"That's a great plan!" The three of them jump as the prisoner who Sokka had escorted to the cooler before, Chit Sang, appears behind them.

"What plan? We don't have a plan!" Sokka's voice breaks, and Zuko and Suki throw each other resigned looks.

"I heard it all." Chit Sang looks seriously between them all. "And I can help."

Xx

It turns out that letting Chit Sang help had been a good thing; they had heard while Sokka was getting Zuko out of the cooler that there were a load of prisoners coming in, some of them being prisoners of war. When they had gotten the cooler out to the lake, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko had decided to stay behind in hopes that one of the war prisoners would be Hakoda, which worked to their advantage. Not only because Chit Sang and his friend and girlfriend that he had brought along got caught, but because Hakoda had indeed ended up being in the group of prisoners brought in. They devised another plan, one that involved starting a riot in the prison yard and commandeering the gondola to get them out of the prison. It all went according to plan, Suki taking care of pretty much everything for them to get on the gondola, including taking the warden hostage, and Chit Sang had even joined back up with them before making their escape. They even get the gondola moving and are on their way out before things go to shit.

"Who's that?" Hakoda points to none other than Azula and Ty Lee standing on the platform that they had just come from.

"That's a problem," Zuko sighs. "It's my sister and her friend."

Ty Lee jumps up onto the cable and starts to run towards them as Azula grabs a pair of handcuffs and attaches it to the other cable. She blasts her way along the cable, propelling herself by channeling her blue fire out of her feet. When they reach the gondola, Suki takes on Ty Lee, and Zuko and Sokka team up to fight Azula. Zuko blocks her blue flames while Sokka advances on her with his sword, and they have her on the edge of the gondola before they hear the warden.

"Cut the line!" he shouts, and the gondola stops short, swinging with the momentum and almost tossing Sokka off of the edge.

"They're going to cut the line!" Ty Lee shouts at Azula as another gondola approaches from the opposite side.

"Then it's time to leave." Azula and Ty Lee escape to the other gondola, riding it back to the platform as the gondola they are standing in starts to shake.

"They're almost through!" Suki's voice is alarmed, tension riding high within the group.

"Let's hope this thing floats!" Hakoda's voice is steady, but Zuko can see the concern flashing in his eyes.

Suddenly, the gondola begins to move again with a jerk, and they all move to the edge to see what's happening on the platform.

"Wait, is that…" Sokka is squinting next to Zuko, who confirms his suspicions.

"It's Mai!" They can see her fighting off a handful of guards as the gondola moves away, the mist shrouding the platform as they land on the other side.

"Sorry, warden." Hakoda throws the warden back into the gondola, he and Chit Sang glaring at the man as he struggles against his bonds. "Your 'no escapes' record is officially broken." The five of them run down to where Appa is cleverly hidden, and the Boiling Rock fades into the distance as they make their escape.