Story Title: Cliff-Side: Part Two
Rating: T for language
Pairings: Zutara Goodness
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Avatar: The Last Airbender themes or characters. That is all owned by Nickelodeon.

A/N: This is the second part. Sorry it took so long, everyone, I was out of town for a month. I took a really fun sculpture class at this Ranch in Co. . I worked with metal, wood, and clay. I must say, wood was definately my favorite. Though I got to use a plasma cutter and I got to weld with the metal. - Exciting, exciting! Anyways, I'm back now so expect some more drabbles. Also, who saw that ATLAB movie! I cried the first time I saw it--It was just so sad! Sokka was hilarious, though. Anyways, enjoy and please review! -Solar Beam

Cliff-Side: Part Two

The girl silently twitched in her sleep. Why did she feel so cold and wet? She never felt cold or wet, unless it was raining. She wrinkled he nose and slowly opened one eye. It was hazy and getting dark and she was soaked to the bone. She sat up slowly and her back cracked; obviously it isn't always a good thing to sleep like a rock, or in this case right up against one. Her eyes traveled the horizon of the cliff she sat upon until she saw that Zuko was sleeping, laid out on the ground.

His wounds were turning a nasty greenish color, with yellow surrounding it and in one slit there was something white. Like foam. She grimaced; those wounds looked nasty. She wished she had some herbs to heal him. That's when she remembered that she was a natural healer. As much as she hated Zuko, she had to admit that he had saved her life from the bear and she owed him somewhat. She inched closer to him hesitantly and at one point he twitched, yawned, and rolled over on his other side.

Katara glowered; damn prince. Doesn't make this easier for me, Jerk-Whole, she thought as she finally sat down next to him. Slowly she reached over to him and touched his shoulder; Zuko jerked forward but did not wake up. Katara pulled her hand back and sighed heavily. Now she reached over with both hands and turned him so sharply, like pulling a sticky leaf off as fast as you can so that it doesn't hurt. She slowly traced one finger along one of the wounds and she grimaced. She could almost feel the poisonous germs seeking into it.

She looked up into the drizzling sky; it was hazy and thick and it made it hard for her to breath. Or maybe it was the thought that she was just about to touch and heal the enemy. She lifted one hand up to the sky, the other placed near the wound. Water gathered on her hand, forming a sort of glove slowly. It began to glow and she looked at it a moment, hesitantly. She had only done this once before. She had just started to trace her "gloved" finger over a wound when a strong and firm hand grabbed her wrist threateningly.

Zuko's eyes opened and he glared at her. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked. Katara bit her lip, too shocked to say a word. He was a light sleeper. "I asked you a question, peasant."

Katara's eyes narrowed and she pulled her hand back sharply from him; the glowing water fell to the ground. "Peasant? Don't you dare call me that. I have a name and I know you know it, so you might as well call me by it." She paused and let out a deep breath, rubbing the wrist he had originally grabbed; it hurt a lot. "And I was going to heal you."

"Heal me?" Zuko looked dumb-founded, "With water?" he paused, "Don't joke with me, peasant."

Katara glared at him. "I'm not joking with you, and my name is not 'peasant'!" She was about to yell and scream and stomp around. He got on her nerves so easily!

"I'll believe it when I see it." He said with a swift nod of the head. He then began to lie back down and roll over but Katara grabbed his shoulder and swung him around angrily.

"Then I will prove it. Sit up, you stupid jerk-whole." Zuko smirked and sat up, leaning on one hand that was against the stone floor. He watched her as she lifted a hand to the sky, and he watched as she summoned the water droplets to her to form a glove. That gloved hand began to glow an iridescent blue. She looked at his now expressionless face for any sign of shock or surprise. She took on a full serious face, she knew that these wounds were pretty bad and would have to take all of her determination.

Her hand reached out to it, and Zuko was about to grab her hand with his own free one when she reached out and grabbed it while it was reaching for her wrist once more. She squeezed it, but did not let go of it. Her eyes narrowed as her fingers touched the wound at the very top. She winced as she felt the poisons screeches as the healing power began to seep in. She opened one eye as she began to drag her gloved hand down his chest slowly. Slowly, carefully, the skin began to stitch back together.

Katara smirked slightly; she was proving him wrong, of course. A few minutes later the wound was only a mere scar. Healed, but a scar nonetheless. She removed her hand from his chest and the water dropped onto the stone. She looked at him with an, 'I-told-you-so' look and then she backed up to the wall and sat there looking up at the sky above.

Zuko sighed, rubbing the fresh scar. It would disappear eventually. It wasn't like the scar his father had given him. He looked over to Katara; she was leaning against the wall looking up at the sky. Probably looking for the Avatar's fluffy beast. "You proved me wrong, Katara."

She looked at him for a moment. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"…For calling me by my name," she said softly. She leaned the back of her head against the wall and she watched the clouds quickly pass over head. She could tell that a worse storm was on its way, because the drizzle was getting harder. She sighed and lifted one hand up, using it to stop any raindrops that would come to hit her and get her wet. It was her own personal umbrella. She glanced over at Zuko; the water was just turning to steam when it hit him.

"Why were you there?" she asked suddenly.

Zuko looked over to her curiously. "What?"

"You were there when I fell, weren't you? I mean, what I am trying to say, is that you…you just appeared out of nowhere. To save me, I mean. Why did you even come and try and help me? Why were you even in the forest alone?"

"I wasn't alone. I was with my Uncle, the one that got hit by Azula. He is doing better, but he wants tea every time he finishes a cup. I was out looking for a certain tea leaf for him when I heard you start calling out. I didn't recognize your voice, but I followed it and I looked down and there you were."

"Why didn't you let go of me?" she asked softly. She knew he had told her why, but she wasn't sure if that was the truth or not. She finally looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. She didn't like him like that or anything, but she didn't want to hate him anymore either. "You could use me as bait to get Aang, you had me right there where you could have wanted me."

Zuko looked at her for a long moment, looking into those cobalt-blue eyes. He was quiet for so long Katara felt he wouldn't answer her. Finally, he did. "I am not after your little friend anymore. What's the point? I am a permanent enemy of the Fire Nation. I go back with the Avatar, the Avatar would be locked up and I'd be killed. I go back to the Fire Nation without the Avatar I get killed. I get captured by Azula I get killed."

Katara was quiet a moment, but then she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "But you didn't answer my first question."

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Why didn't I let you go, you wonder? I may be Fire Nation, Katara, but I am certainly not a killer. Besides, my uncle had this crazy idea that we join you guys and travel together. It would be a bad start if I had let you die, wouldn't it?" He was somber a moment, and then he smirked. "Besides, if I had let you go I would never have a sparring partner that could possibly match my strength."

Katara blushed for an unknown reason. Her hand was getting tired and she finally had to set it down. Water dumped on top of her head. Zuko chuckled and she looked over at him, amazed. She lifted her other hand to the sky to use as the bender, and she looked at him curiously. "How are you not getting wet? Is it because you are just a Fire Bender or what?"

"Whenever it gets rainy out, our body temperature instantly rises so that the water evaporates when it hits our skin." He paused. "Why do your people always have strands of hair hanging in front of your face?"

Katara pulled at one of the strands for a moment, a deep blush caressing her cheeks. She looked down and then back up at him. "The 'strands' as you call them stand for…umm…womanhood," she said the last word so quietly Zuko thought he didn't hear her correctly.

"Stands for what?" he asked.

"A young woman in my tribe receives the strands when she has reached her womanhood," Katara said a bit louder. Zuko stared at her a moment, blinked, and then a deep blush filled his cheeks.

"Oh."

Katara nodded. "I'm guessing you cut your pony-tail because you don't want to consider yourself royalty anymore, right?" she asked quietly, poking at a dirt patch with her finger and drawing shapes into it.

"Right," he said. "I'm guessing you and the Avatar have something going on, am I right?"

Katara's head snapped up and she fumbled with her words. "Wh-what? N-no! Me and Aang have nothing but friendship!" she was in a high-pitched voice, her eyes wide, shocked that he would even ask that. "What would give you that idea!"

"You guys are just so buddy-buddy is all," he answered with a shrug. Katara was quiet for a long time. She had never even thought of that. I mean, yeah they might've kissed at the Cave of Two Lovers. And yeah she had been the one who had suggested it, but she had just wanted to get out. The kiss was the only possible thing that it could've been to get them out! She grimaced. She had never thought of it that way. "I also notice how he looks at you sometimes. Kind of protectively-like."

Katara gaped at him. "He looks at me like a normal friend! Don't you dare judge Aang!" She stumbled on the words once more, because she knew it was true. She had noticed it as well as of late. She bit her lip and looked down, dropping her hand from the sky and into her lap. She looked at her hands, and looked and looked as if she were trying to find the truth in them.

"…I'm sorry, then."

She looked up at him with a sad smile, getting soaked in the rain. She could feel her bones and clothes and hair being drenched in the wetness. "It's fine. I've noticed it, too." She shivered.

"Are you cold?"

Katara shook her head swiftly. "Yes you are, I can tell." Zuko inched closer to her and Katara inched away from him.

"I'm fine, really." But even as Zuko at a few feet away from her, sitting against the rock as she was, she could feel the heat from his body. She shut her eyes and sighed, but she shivered once more. Heat and cold didn't mix. She sighed once more and scooted closer to him, but not so close to where they touched.

"Katara!"

Katara looked over at Zuko curiously. "Did you just say my name?"

Zuko looked at her curiously. "No, I didn't even hear anything."

Katara shrugged and leaned her head back against the wall, looking up at the sky.

"Katara!"

"Katara, where are you?"

"There it is, didn't you hear it?" Katara said, standing and putting her hands against the wall. She backed up a few steps, looking up the cliff, trying to see anything like a face.

"Katara, come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Katara, this isn't funny; where are you?"

"Now I hear it. It sounds like your friends." Zuko stood and looked up the cliff. Katara kept backing up, excitement laminating her face. Her foot slipped, she felt herself tipping backward. Zuko saw this as if in slow motion. She was falling off their over-hang. He jumped forward and held out his arms, and he grabbed her around her waist just in time. He pulled her toward him and they fell backwards. Katara landed on top of him with'oof'.

"Damn, the second time you had to save me."

"Don't mention it."

They didn't move until the voices got closer. "Sokka, I found them! They are down there!" Toph pointed downward when she had finally felt Katara's pulses in the ground. Good thing she can't see, Katara thought as she quickly scampered off of him, brushing herself with an embarrassed blush. "Someone is down there with her!" Zuko sat up and looked up just as Toph disappeared and Sokka's face appeared.

"Katara, are you okay? How did you get down there? Who is that with you? Is that a guy?" Sokka narrowed his eyes to get a better look. "Holy crap! Aang! Zuko's down there with her!"

"Zuko?" Aang's face appeared and no both boys were looking down at the two teenagers.

"Zuko, if you laid one hand on my sister, I'll—"

"Sokka, later please! Get Appa or something down here to save us!"

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, shut it, opened it once more, and then shut it. "Move out of the way, Sokka." Sokka moved right as Appa appeared.

"Careful, Aang! The cliff is really easy to break!" Katara called.

"We will!" Aang replied. "Here, grab hold!" A rope fell from the cliff high above and Katara grabbed hold. "Alright, now Appa is going to start pulling. Both of you grab on."

"Wait, what? We're helping that Fire Nation brat, too?" screeched Sokka.

Aang turned his head and glared at Sokka, and Zuko narrowed his eyes. He'd show that Water Tribe peasant once he got up there. Katara held the rope tightly, and Zuko grabbed hold closely behind her. Aang said something to Appa and the beast began to pull. Katara and Zuko began to rise. Katara felt her hands tighten instantly around the rope, and she shut her eyes tightly. She was beginning to really hate dangling dangerously high above a trench, especially now since a gust of wind just so happened to pass by, making the rope sway dangerously.

"Hang on tight, Katara," Aang called out.

"I am, don't worry about that!" Katara said through gritted teeth.

Zuko smirked slightly, but then another gust of wind came. Katara's hands were blown off from the rope and she felt herself falling once more. "Damnet!" she cried out.

Zuko's eyes widened at her word usage, but he grabbed her just in time around the waist once more. He pulled her up beside him, gripping the rope with one strong hand, the other holding tight to Katara. Katara opened her eyes, looked at Zuko, and moaned. Her pose next to him reminded her much of Jet. "Darn, you had to save me again. I'm sorry, that must be getting really tiring."

Zuko smirked slightly, tightening his grip on the rope as they got closer and closer to the cliff. "I'm getting used to it."

A few minutes pass, and finally they reached the earth. Zuko let go of Katara and she ran forward, grabbing all of her friends at once around their necks with her arms in a huge hug. "Its about time you guys showed up!" she cried on Sokka's shoulder. Zuko watched the water-bender girl a moment, and while all of them began talking in excited voices and Katara began retelling them of what happened, Zuko slipped away.

"And Zuko tried to save me! He grabbed my hands just as I was falling. It was amazing! Zuko, tell them of …how…" Her voice trailed away as she looked around for her new-found acquaintance.

"He's gone," Aang said curiously, stroking his chin as if he had a beard.

"Thank goodness, come on, we should head out too," Sokka turned around to go. They all began to walk away back to camp, but Katara stood there a long minute. She bit her lip nervously. She saw Zuko watching her curiously from the brush, and she raised a hand and waved.

"Thank you," she mouthed. Zuko just shrugged and disappeared.

"Katara, come on! I bet you are hungry!" Sokka called.

Katara ran back to her friends. She was sure their paths would cross again, and that's when she'll say thank you appropriately. Zuko was a Fire Nation prince, but he was banished and he wasn't a killer. He was just misunderstood.