Sorry for not updating for a long time…I was busy with stupid AP tests. Ah well. They're over now! WHEE! (throws a party)

Disclaimer: Me no own. Get that through your thick skulls.

Warnings: Bad wordsies, some fluff and pervert-ness on behalf of Sokka… and oh so lovely mood swings.

Like a build-up of clouds,
The battle is joined in waves
When it's over, we creep along the dark street…

--Forces (translated)
--Berserk

A month had passed since they left that Earth Kingdom city, and it was still pouring. The skies were a dark grey and the wind blew hard, slamming the raindrops against their faces as they tried to walk. It was difficult to walk on those slippery, muddy and flooded roads, but it was even more impossible to fly. So the small group trudged along under the meager protection of the trees, slipping and sliding in the ankle-deep mud and water.

Zuko sighed as he huddled on top of Appa, with both Momo and Yun curled in his lap. He had slipped and almost fallen so many times that the others had almost forced him on Appa. Zuko didn't really mind, even though it was a blow to his honor. He was about four or five months into pregnancy, and the dangers of miscarriage were becoming more and more real. He honestly didn't know what he'd do if he miscarried…

Sighing again, Zuko brushed some wet strands of hair from his face and tried to tuck it back into the bun. His hair was so tangled and bushy now that he opted to place it in a bun. Katara offered to braid it for him, but he refused. Braids were too…girly. He then pulled up his hood again, in a vain attempt to shield his face from the wind and rain. Looking down, he smiled a bit at the pairs of eyes looking back up at him. Both animals had curled around each other, then had buried themselves beneath his cloak to try to keep warm. It was almost the end of spring and yet it was so cold…

Looking back over the saddle, Zuko watched the others trudge on with difficulty. It was easier for Appa if they walked, but it still was difficult for the bison. Zuko had tried to get them to head for a nearby city, but both Iroh and Sokka would not even hear of the idea. So they were stuck trudging along, heading for Omashu at a slow, slow pace. They would be lucky if they managed to get to Omashu by the end of summer…Zuko thought bitterly. Growling, he called down to the group.

"Can we please find some shelter now?"

The others groaned. That was about the twentieth time the Firebender had asked.

"NO!" Aang replied edgily. "We're weeks away from Omashu! We need to keep moving!"

"WELL," Zuko replied, edgily as well, "Can't we just wait until it stops raining and then fly to Omashu?"

"And do you see it stopping anytime soon?" Aang snapped back.

"You said it would stop in two to three months! It's the third month! It'll stop any day now!"

"Do you see any sign that it WILL?"

"Do you see any sign that it WON'T?"

"IT'S POURING RAIN!"

"WHICH IS WHY WE NEED TO FIND SHELTER!"

"WE DON'T NEED SHELTER!"

"DO YOU HONESTLY WANT TO DROWN?"

"WELL IF DROWING GOT ME TO OMASHU ANY FASTER—"

"ENOUGH!"

Both quieted at that, and looked at Iroh. The retired General sighed and massaged his temples. "Both of you, that is enough. Young Avatar, please calm yourself. Zuko, please be a little patient—"

"Patient! I've been PATIENT for the past month!—"

Iroh shot him a weary look. "Zuko, please try to understand—"

"Understand! UNDERSTAND! This little pipsqueak here is the one that needs to UNDERSTAND!"

Aang snapped his head up at that. "What did you call me!"

"You heard me!"

"Spoiled teenager!"

"Pathetic weakling!"

"Bigmouthed loser!"

"Tiresome—"

"QUIET!" Iroh roared, causing everyone to wince. "NOW, would you both please start acting maturely?"

Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but Katara quickly cut him off. "Aang, we're all tired and grumpy. I think we should find some shelter…at least for a little while. Okay?"

Aang huffed but nodded, then stuck out his tongue at Zuko, who simply made an obscene gesture back, causing Iroh to berate him harshly and the two water siblings to groan.

They managed to set up camp beneath a bigger tree without anyone trying to wring someone else's neck.

It was a simple camp, with everyone settling their sleeping bags on Appa instead, but it was comfortable. Zuko climbed off of Appa almost immediately (despite the protests), eager to stretch his legs for once. Yun and Momo, however, opted to stay on Appa.

"Finally we've stopped." Zuko murmured, causing Sokka to roll his eyes as he spread out his sleeping bag on Appa.

"You know you can walk."

Zuko snorted as he crossed his arms. "And yet you were the one insisting I ride."

"Then don't complain!"

"I'll complain if I want to!" Zuko snapped back moodily. "I'm entitled to opinions too!"

Sokka growled and whirled around to face the Firebender. "What is wrong with you!"

"What's wrong with me?" Zuko snarled. "I'll TELL you what's wrong! I'm cold, wet, hungry, miserable, and FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT!"

Aang shot him a cold look. "Well no one asked you to come with us! You could have stayed at that old lady's house, but no…you just HAD to come with us didn't you?"

Zuko looked at them. "You all are horrible." He snarled, promptly before bursting into tears.

Katara immediately shot a hard glare at Aang, who looked suddenly ashamed of himself. Iroh, meanwhile, strode over to Zuko and tried (in vain) to calm him down. Sokka, too, would've tried, but a warning glare from Iroh kept him back.

"There, there," Iroh said quietly, patting his nephew on the back, "it's all right…"

"No, it's not all right!" Zuko moaned in between sobs. "I hate you! Leave me alone!" With that, he managed to disappear into the thicket.

"Will he be okay?" Katara asked worriedly. Iroh sighed as he stared after Zuko. Slowly, he nodded, but seemed uncertain. Sokka, meanwhile, frowned.

"Maybe I should go after him…" Then he disappeared after Zuko before Iroh could even think of protesting.

Zuko sat huddled under a big oak tree, furiously wiping the tears away from his face. He couldn't believe he just burst out crying like that. What had gone over him? Crying was a weakness he could not afford to show before enemies, lest in front of friends. And yet he'd gone and started bawling like that… Disgraceful. He could almost see his father snarling it in disappointment. Disgraceful.

And yet he couldn't stop it. It was as if something for no apparent reason, wanted him to cry. And he could barely stop even now. He'd been sitting here for what? Two hours? And he was still sniffling. Pathetic.

Sighing, he stood up, furiously trying to wipe his face clean of any stray tear marks. He had to go back now. Uncle and Sokka were probably beside themselves with worry…

He wrapped his arms around his chest, hugging himself a bit to keep warm as he carefully walked in the puddles and mud. The leaves above him kept the rain from pouring down on him full force, but they couldn't stop the wind. And being a firebender, he could only warm himself for so long. Sighing again, he glanced around the thicket, before heading where he thought was camp.

Zuko had to fight to keep himself from bursting into tears again. Now not only was he cold, wet, hungry, miserable, and five months pregnant, he was also lost. Joy. What was with him and his lousy sense of directions?

Growling in anger while biting his lip to keep from crying, he struggled to remember where he'd come from.

Nothing.

Great. Lovely. Now what? Was he just supposed to sit here and wait for them to come for him? Zuko growled. He hated playing damsel in distress, but in the current circumstances… Sighing in frustration, he plopped down on a wooden stump.

Zuko let out a moan as he buried his head into his hands in frustration. He'd only been sitting here for five minutes and he was already fed up with this whole entire thing. Why can't something happen already!

A faint cry suddenly caught his attention.

Zuko blinked. That had been convenient. Shrugging, he stood and quickly hurried towards the cry. Hey, it was better than sitting and playing damsel in distress.

As he neared, though, he slowed down and smiled. That cry for help was pretty familiar…

Finally arriving into a clearing, Zuko shivered as rain suddenly poured down on him. But he ignored it and scanned the area. The forest seemed to come to an end here, with huge boulders replacing trees. It seemed to be the edge of a mountain.

Just then, Zuko heard the cry again, this time louder but strangely muffled. Blinking, he scanned the area again, before noticing a huge hole in the ground. Carefully, he climbed over the slippery rocks to the hole and peeked in, before chuckling. How predictable.

Sokka had just about shouted himself hoarse when he heard faint chuckling from above. Glancing up, he literally jumped up from his huddled position in joy. "Zuko! There you are!"

Zuko just shook his head, grinning. "There you are. What in the Spirit's are you doing down there!"

Sokka flushed at that. "Well…" He began, scratching his head in embarrassment. "That's kinda a long story…"

"We've got plenty of time." Zuko pointed out. Sokka shot him a glare.

"Get me outta here."

"Tell me first."

Sokka growled. "Fine…I went searching for you, found a cave not too far away instead, and fell into this hole. Satisfied?"

Zuko glanced around the hole. It was wide enough for Appa to fall into it with no problem. "How in Spirit's did you not notice a huge hole looming right in front of you!"

Sokka made a face while flushing even redder. "I just didn't all right! Now go find the others!"

Zuko blinked. "Find the others? What's wrong with me!"

Sokka laughed nervously as he saw the glare that was now focused on him. "Nothing! It's just that maybe you shouldn't strain yourself…I mean with you being five months pregnant and all—"

"Are you saying I'm fragile?"

Sokka winced at the sharp tone. "No! I'm just saying that maybe it isn't such a good idea for you to be overworking yourself—"

"So you're saying that I'm too weak and fragile to pull your heavy self up." Zuko summarized, feeling his temper flair. Who the hell did Sokka think he was! Zuko could beat him up with his hands tied behind his back in anything! Well…almost anything. But that didn't matter right now, he decided as he clenched his fists.

"Exactly." Sokka answered without thinking. Then, "No! Wait!—"

But Zuko had already shot him a hard look and began to walk away, feeling insulted. "Fine then. Have fun trying to pull yourself up."

Sokka panicked. "Zuko! WAIT! You're not serious are you? You're not just going to leave me here?"

"See ya!" Came the answer, already growing distant.

"WAIT! I'M SORRY! I TAKE IT ALL BACK! YOU'RE NOT WEAK OR FRAIL!" Sokka waited a bit but when he heard no answer, he tried again. "YOU'RE PRETTY STRONG AND FAST AND…" Sokka thought for a second, "HOT AND—"

"Do you mean 'hot' in the literal or figurative way?"

Sokka glanced up to see Zuko poking his head over the edge curiously. He blinked a bit before realizing what he had just said. Damn. That last part had just slipped out… Flushing a bit, he saw no choice but to answer. "Well…literally I suppose…" Then seeing the beginnings of a frown on Zuko's face, he desperately added, "But figuratively too!"

Zuko placed his arms on his hips. "Now are you just saying that so I'll get you out of that hole?"

"No!" Sokka defended himself, although Zuko was right in a way. But at the same time, he really did mean it. "C'mon! You've got gorgeous eyes, a hell of a nice body, a cute ass—"

"All right! That's enough!" Zuko cut in, flushing now. "Hold on a sec."

Sokka nodded, grinning silently at his little 'payback'. Then, his jaw dropped open when he saw Zuko slipping off his brown cloak. What the hell? What was he doing! Stripping?

But Zuko made no move to remove his original grey robes underneath, a fact that Sokka was strangely disappointed to note. However, what he did notice more though, was that the grey robes were doing a hell of a good job of sticking to Zuko's body. Grinning widely at that revelation, Sokka allowed himself the luxury of memorizing every curve, noting especially the bulge of Zuko's stomach. It still wasn't huge, but it was now noticeable, especially with the thin body-fitting grey robes Zuko wore underneath.

Zuko, meanwhile, had twisted the cloak into a long strand, and now threw one end down into the hole and kneeling down.

Sokka blinked as he saw the cloak hit the wall of the hole. Grunting, he jumped up to try and grab the edge of the cloth, but came no where near it. "I can't reach!"

Zuko tried to hold it a little lower. "What about now?"

Sokka tried, but to no avail. "It's too high up!" He sighed as he took a step back to better see Zuko. "Don't you have anything that can make it longer?"

Zuko paused, thinking hard. Then his eyes fell on his grey robe. Closing his eyes, he cursed whatever Spirit was watching over him, and pulled the cloak back up before quickly starting to undo the knot on his robe. Quickly slipping it off, Zuko tried very hard to ignore the blatant stare he knew he was receiving from Sokka, and tied his robe to the cloak before tossing it down, blushing heavily.

Sokka, meanwhile, was gleefully thanking whatever Spirit was watching over him. Granted, Zuko was wearing a shirt underneath, but the shirt was small, tight, and white. Now he was getting an even clearer view of Zuko's body, and as a bonus, white cloth, when wet, was a little see-through.

"Grab the stupid cloth already!" Zuko screamed down at him, rudely jerking Sokka out of his revelations. Sokka quickly grabbed the edge of the cloak and began climbing up.

Zuko, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in pain. Shit, that idiot was heavy! "Hurry it up, will you?" He moaned as he strained open his eyes and shot a weary glare down at Sokka.

Sokka chose not to answer, but grabbed the edge of the hole with one hand, and with the other, grabbed Zuko's wrist, hoisting himself up. Then, he chose to collapse into Zuko's lap and wrap his arms discreetly around his waist.

Zuko stiffened in surprise at the sudden movement, then rolled his eyes as he felt Sokka stroking his back with one hand, while the other hand moving lower to cup his ass. "You pervert." He growled, but made no move to stop him. Sokka just chuckled and rubbed his face against the other's bulging stomach.

They stayed like that for a while, until Sokka spoke up, not yet moving. "We'd better get back. You're Uncle'll kill me if we stay out any longer."

Zuko chuckled a bit at that, knowing it was true. "Fine, but I honestly have no idea where to go." He grudgingly admitted, flushing a bit darker.

Sokka's eyes widened and he jerked back to look Zuko straight in the eye. "What! I thought you knew!"

Zuko shook his head, confused.

"Great." Sokka inwardly cursed. "Just great. I don't know where to go either!"

Zuko's eyes widened as well, before he let out a groan and buried his head in his hands. "Lovely…Can anything else get worse?"

Sokka sighed as he stood. "The cave I found is nearby. C'mon. We'll wait for them to find us there."

Zuko nodded and stood, but not before blowing some smoke from his nostrils, releasing all his pent up frustrations and anger into the pouring rain.

Alrighty people.

And for anyone wondering why Zuko kept switching emotions like that, well, here's the answer in plain simple terms: Mood Swings. Fun.

R&R please.