Squabbling in the Snow

Author/Artist: MuffyTaj
Pairing: Zuko/Katara
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Theme: #22. Cradle
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or the series.

Katara grumpily bended some more snow over the entrance of their hastily-made cave. She could always move it later when they needed to get out, or Zuko could melt it away. Meanwhile, it stopped the dreadful wind from howling around them.

She drew the water out of her clothing, but this did little to stop the pervasiveness of the cold. Her clothing was worn and torn and badly in need of repair, and not nearly enough to protect her against the elements.

Zuko had it much worse: his robes had frozen from the moisture trapped in them, and he was too afraid of bringing their icy ceiling down on them to use fire to dry himself. So he just sat there, stoically bearing it with the kind of determination that leads to stupidly pointless deaths.

Eventually Katara sighed, and shoved his shoulder. "Stand up." She said tiredly, "And I'll get that water out."

"I'm fine." He replied, teeth chattering.

"No, you're not!" She insisted, before pushing him harder. "Now stand!" She didn't ask herself why she was bothering to help Zuko, only that there was a difference between leaving someone to die, and actually having them die in front of you.

"I'm still cold." He mumbled a few minutes later.

"That's because you wore such stupid clothing when tracking us." Katara said.

"So you're not cold?" He scoffed, noticing how she huddled in on herself.

"Not one bit." She lied, and to prove her point stretched out. "See, I'm warm and toasty. We water tribe people are used to the cold, unlike you weak fire nation babies."

"Which is why your lips are turning blue." Zuko sneered, a little burst of fire playing around his own lips.

"My lips are always blue!" She snapped at him.

"No they're not, they're usually a light brown."

"What would you know about my lips?" Katara huffed, somewhat disconcerted by the way his gaze lingered on her mouth. Zuko flushed slightly, and glared at her.

"I make a point of studying my enemies. It's good strategy and shows intelligence. Something you are obviously in dire need of."

"Intelligence? If it wasn't for me you'd be dead by now! How would your intelligence save you then?" Katara growled, and threw her hands up in the air, "You're just as bad as Sokka!"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "I've never noticed any signs of intelligence from your Sokka." He stated. "He's usually just charging straight at the enemy with his weapon raised."

"He's not my Sokka, he's my brother!" Katara was nearly shouting by now, exhaustion and frustration fraying her temper. "And he is very intelligent; he's just a big idiot that's all!"

"Well that makes a lot of sense!" Zuko, never known for his calmness at the best of time, was quickly rising to match Katara's anger.

"I don't have to make sense!" Katara shouted, the wall behind her cracking.

"Yes you do!" Zuko shouted back, "Why are women always so irrational? You're just like my sister! You both make no sense!" The snow beneath him was fast melting, and the ceiling was beginning to sag.

"You're exactly like Sokka!" Katara pointed a finger at him. "You're both sexist pigs!"

"I'm not sexist!" Zuko flared, "You just make no sense! And for the last time, I am nothing like your brother!" They were both flushed, their breath coming in sharp pants as they glared at each other with all the fervour of two lovers about to embrace. If the lovers would then proceed to strangle each other to death, that is.

Katara opened her mouth to yell something, but what she had to say was never known, as at that exact moment their cave collapsed on them.

Katara dug herself out and without thinking pulled Zuko out of the snow too.

"I vote we stop fighting." Zuko said between the chattering of his teeth.

"Agreed." Katara shivered, before making them both another cave. Once inside their newly-made grotto she sealed the entrance again, and drew the water out of them both without a word. Zuko didn't protest this time, just peacefully let her help him.

"We should get some sleep, and set out in the morning." She said eventually.

"Shouldn't your Avatar and his flying bison have come to rescue us by then?" Zuko asked, torn between hope and sarcasm. Katara shrugged.

"They know the general area where we fell off, but unless they manage to shake off the fire troops they won't be able to come help us for a while yet." She sighed wearily, "We're just lucky they didn't follow us instead."

"Capturing the Avatar is of paramount importance. Securing one of his accomplices and a banished prince comes second." Zuko fought between gratefulness and bitterness, and instead settled for resigned.

"We need to sleep. But if we go to sleep like this we'll probably get frostbite." Katara chewed at her bottom lip. "And if you use your fire you'll just bring the roof down on us again." Zuko decided to be the mature one, and not mention how much she had helped bring the roof down.

"We'd better sleep together then." He said. Katara drew breath to yell at him again, then subsided. Her family would often huddle together for warmth, and in bad conditions the entire village had slept together. The look on Zuko's face said he didn't like the idea any more than she did, but that if they wanted to stay alive then this was the best option.

"Fine." She said eventually, sitting down next to him. "But you'd better not smother me in my sleep or something."

Zuko didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. Instead he said "If you want I'll use some steam to heat us up, but you'll have to strengthen the snow around us whilst I'm doing that. And neither of us will be able to rest."

"Fine." She muttered sulkily, before lying down and pulling him down next to her. "We'll stay warm together. Good night." She squished her eyes shut, and was soon fast asleep.

Zuko, on the other hand, wasn't used to sleeping in such cold conditions, nor to the sensation of someone pressed up against him. The thought occurred to him that this was the first time he had slept with a girl, and the way she fitted into the curve of his body made him glad that she was fast asleep.

He slung an arm over her, and pulled her even closer to him. For warmth. Because, as she had said, he wasn't used to the cold. He pulled her even tighter against him, his lips brushing against the back of her neck. Yes, she was warm, and close, and right now that was all he needed.