DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor am I in any way affiliated with Michael Dante DiMartino or Bryan Konietzko. This story is purely fan-made.

"Woken up, have we?" Cai asked, a mischievous grin on his face. Katara felt herself flush at his question, and did not dare look at Zuko. They were sitting as far apart as was possible on his mattress without falling off, which probably looked more conspicuous than the position they were in when Cai walked in. Zuko stood up, seemingly unperturbed by Cai's observation. However, it appeared he couldn't resist jibing the agent.

"You're sharp. I now see why you're a Dai Li agent." His sarcastic voice was light, but Katara knew (okay, hoped) that he was just as annoyed as she was at Cai's interruption.

Interruption of what? Katara silently asked herself. What would've happened had Cai not come? The answer was obvious, but admitting it to herself would be like admitting she wanted it to happen. Which, truth be told, she did. Was that wrong? Of course it's wrong, you idiot. Were you there when he sided with his sister? A voice hissed. Katara almost rolled her eyes. Her sensible side, the side that made most of the decisions, was shining through. But for once, Katara ignored it. There were some decisions she had to make with her heart, not her head. And her heart was screaming "Go for it!".

Standing up, Katara saw Cai adopting the "don't shoot" stance, his hands up and palms facing outwards, although the large grin on his face showed that he did not consider himself in any danger. A stupid thing to think, considering a muscle in Zuko's jaw was twitching, a sure sign he was annoyed.

"No need to get defensive." Cai chortled, unaware of Zuko's growing anger. More fool him.

"I have a reason to get defensive?" Zuko asked icily, almost daring Cai to suggest something. Cai finally noticed Zuko's expression and tone of voice, and the grin slowly slipped from his face, replaced by raised eyebrows.

"You tell me." While Cai spoke, he very obviously looked at Katara, before turning back to Zuko.

Katara's embarrassment faded and instead anger took its place.

"I am in the room, you know." She snapped at Cai, before stepping between him and Zuko, who were glaring daggers at one another. "Was there something you wanted?"

Cai reluctantly dragged his glare away from Zuko to rest his eyes on Katara.

"Yes. I've found a way to get out of the palace." He told her, obviously doing his best to ignore the death-vibe radiating from Zuko.

At Cai's words, Katara's eyes widened a little, but her brow furrowed in confusion.

"I thought you said you only knew a way out of the city?" She asked, in a somewhat suspicious tone.

"I did. But after some more thinking I've figured it out." Cai said nonchalantly. "I can get you out in two days."

"Why not sooner?" Zuko asked testily. Cai turned to him and shot him a withering glare, which Zuko returned in full.

"I'll need to think of a diversion so your sister doesn't shoot lightning at us while we're trying to escape." Cai replied, hissing the words "your sister".

Standing between Cai and Zuko made Katara feel extremely nervous, as though either could lash out at any time. She could already feel the heat radiating off Zuko, and was sure that at any moment his fists would clench and strike Cai. Deciding it was time to intervene further, Katara turned to Zuko.

"Down boy." She told him, as though chastising a dog. Zuko angrily opened his mouth, but at a glare from Katara, quickly shut it again. His eyes however retained their anger and his fists did indeed clench. Cai was smirking, something which Katara saw as she turned to face him.

"Two days." She nodded. "Tell Toph and Iroh the plan and come back here if there are any complications."

"You have enough water?" Cai asked, gesturing to the nearby jug. Katara nodded wordlessly again.

"Thanks for your help with…" Katara's eyes flicked towards Zuko and back again, "…everything. Are you sure you're not in any danger from the Dai Li?"

"They may be getting suspicious, so I'll need to make my visits here less frequent."

"Good." Zuko muttered under his breath. Katara rolled her eyes but ignored his comment.

"Tomorrow night, fill us in on the plan. If you haven't come up with a diversion, we'll think of one." Katara said, once again taking the lead. "In the meantime make sure Iroh and Toph are okay and for Gods' sake, be careful."

Cai nodded once, then made his way to the door. He unlocked it, and just as he was about to leave, turned back to Zuko, smirking.

"Once again, apologies for interrupting."

The line of flame narrowly missed Cai's head as he slammed shut the door, leaving a small, smoking indent in the metal. The names Zuko were muttering were not by any means complimentary to Cai or his parentage. Katara felt herself blushing at a couple of these words, ones which she had not heard Zuko use before.

"He only said that to get a rise out of you." She murmured, still keeping her distance from the angry Firebender. When infuriated, Zuko had a tendency to hit out at anything, not caring about the consequences, and unfortunately Katara seemed to be the closest thing, so she was taking no chances.

Breathing heavily, his golden eyes reduced to slits, Zuko turned around to face her. The muscle in his jaw had subsided, and the heat coming from him was slowly cooling. Noticing the direction of Katara's gaze, Zuko slowly unfurled his tightly clenched fists. He looked over at her scornfully.

"I won't hurt you." He said, arrogance in his voice.

"I know." Katara replied, "You're just kind of scary when you do that."

She hadn't meant to say these words out loud, they were just thoughts that had somehow gotten transformed into speech. Still, it was true. Even though Katara knew that anger issues were a part of what made Zuko Zuko, it still frightened her sometimes.

"When I do what?" Zuko asked, genuinely confused. Eyebrows raised, Katara moved aside to reveal the smoking door.

"Oh. Right." Zuko said sheepishly. He paused, and then spoke again. "You know I wouldn't hurt you, right?"

"I know." Katara replied, smiling and walking back over to Zuko. "I trust you."

Zuko gave one of his rare smiles, one that could (and did) light up even the darkest of rooms. When Katara saw this smile, it made her feel like smiling too, as though all the problems in the world had merely melted away. Yeah, what's up with that? She wondered briefly.

"We need to get a lock on that door." Zuko mused, glancing over Katara's head.

"Zuko. It's a dungeon cell. We already have a lock on the door, and that's the problem." Katara told him, bemused that Zuko had not thought of this.

"Okay," Zuko amended "then a lock that the Dai Li can't open."

"Or how about just no lock at all so we can escape?" Katara asked, smiling. "Why would you want a lock anyway?"

Zuko didn't answer for awhile and Katara feared she had asked the wrong thing. Had Zuko known what was going to happen if Cai hadn't interrupted? More importantly, did he want it to happen? Zuko hadn't pulled away, so that may have been a sign.

"I'm just saying," Zuko started carefully, "I'd feel easier if I knew someone wasn't about to come bursting in at any moment."

"Fair enough." Katara nodded. "Do you need anymore healing? I mean, you look okay to me, but I'm not the one who got stabbed now, am I?"

"I'm fine." Zuko replied. "I think you healed me right up."

Warily, Katara scanned Zuko to see if there were any noticeable after-effects of being stabbed. Besides the pain and the blood and the overall trauma, most of which she had already healed. Even if Zuko was in pain, Katara knew all too well that his pride would stop him from allowing her to heal him. However, Zuko's skin had returned to its normal paleness, and he seemed to have no trouble in walking or balancing. At least, if the way he was walking closer towards her was any indication. He stopped a mere few inches before a slightly confused Katara, who didn't know why he had come so close. Not that she was complaining. So when Zuko began to speak, she listened carefully.

"This past week…a lot has happened." He started softly. "And I know that you didn't ask for any of it. Especially," Zuko looked slightly uncomfortable, "being trapped in the same room as someone you hate."

"I don't hate you!" Katara practically shouted in disbelief before she could stop herself.

"But you did at first." Zuko reminded her. Before she could interrupt again, he went on. "It's alright. You hated me, and yet you still helped me when I needed help."

He paused and looked at Katara again. She looked back, a small yet confused smile on her lips. She had no idea -well, she had a small, absurdly hopeful idea- where this was heading.

"I guess what I'm trying to say," He carried on quietly, drawing closer. "Is thank you for saving my life."

As soon as he said the words, he regretted them. They had sounded good in his head, but out in the open "thank you for saving my life" sounded cheesy and cliché, not exactly the mood he wanted to create. But Katara didn't seem to mind; she closed the already small space between them by brushing her lips against his softly. Although momentarily surprised, Zuko soon deepened the kiss.

All thoughts escaped from Katara's mind. Her dismal surroundings faded away and all that was left was her and Zuko. Katara felt nothing, except the pressure on her lips and the sensation this caused. The hunger, the cold and the weariness she had felt before simply melted away. Nothing mattered anymore, just as long as she continued being in Zuko's embrace, and could feel his lips against hers. It felt right, and she did not want to lose the feeling. When Zuko wrapped his hands around her waist and gently brought her closer, she obliged to his wishes. Katara closed her eyes, wanting to be lost in this moment for eternity. However, harsh reality came crashing down when Zuko pulled away suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked worriedly. Was it her? She had little -okay, no- experience in the proper kissing department, whereas Zuko seemed to know what he was doing.

"I can't do this." Zuko replied quietly. "Not until I know I have your trust."

Oh Gods, not this again, Katara thought in exasperation. Shouldn't it be me demanding he prove his loyalty?

"You know you have my trust, Zuko." Katara sighed, as Zuko dropped his hands from her waist. "Do you really think I'd let you get this close to me if you didn't?"

"I know I don't have your trust fully." Zuko continued, in the same downbeat tone. "You never talk about the Avatar around me. It's as though you're afraid I'll go after him again. I don't know what happened to him after Azula attacked him, I don't know where he is now and I don't know where you're going to go once we've escaped."

Katara thought about what he'd just said. For the most part, it was true. She hadn't told Zuko any of these things, at least, not in detail. A part of her was still wary about mentioning Aang's name around Zuko, but why? If she trusted Zuko as much as she said she did, then there would be no problem in telling him.

I trust him, Katara thought, reaching her decision. She smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.

"After Azula attacked Aang, he died but I brought him back with my Spirit Oasis water. He, my brother and the Earth King are currently in a small clearing in a forest just outside the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. When we get out, I suppose we'll set off for the Fire Nation." Katara paused. "Happy?"

Zuko's expression slowly started to change. And not in a good way.

"Immensely." He replied seriously in answer to Katara's joking question. A smirk was beginning to appear on his face, reminiscent of the old Zuko that Katara had privately feared. Stepping away from her, Zuko walked over to the door to the cell and banged on it heavily.

"Zuko?" Katara whispered, her stomach feeling as though it had dropped several feet through apprehension over what was about to happen.

"You trust me, don't you?" Zuko asked sincerely, turning around to face her. Katara nodded mutely, her heart racing.

Zuko's smirk returned. "Good." He said, before banging on the door again.

In less than five seconds, a Dai Li agent had opened the door and was peering in suspiciously. Zuko took charge, and his next words chilled Katara to the bone:

"Get Princess Azula. Tell her I have the information she needs."

A/N:

Okay, before you post the death threats, just read the next chapter, okay? Thanks to my reviewers :D