The pale golden rays of dawn tenderly roused the Fire Lord, a naturally early riser, as he rubbed his eyes with his left hand. The right one, along with the right half of his chest, seemed to be pinned down by a rhythmically moving weight of some sort that, coupled with a stiff chest wound, made for a somewhat paralyzed Zuko. His eyes were still quite functional, however, and he cast them down to look, seeing none other than Katara, peacefully resting her head and shoulders on him. From what he could remember, they had been talking out on the veranda the day before, and he had had a few glasses of his uncle's wine.
"Katara," he whispered, "wake up." He strained to gently shake the girl awake, but to no avail. The headstrong waterbender mumbled some incoherent words and rolled farther onto Zuko's chest, impairing the rest of his torso but freeing his right arm. He signed, an action now difficult, and tried again.
"Katara….get up." She remained motionless, half of her body still on Zuko's. He resolved to wait until she came to; the truth was, moving hurt. She would wake up eventually…and it wasn't as if they were doing anything. Zuko shook his head, attempting to disperse (and sternly banish) any thoughts of doing anything whatsoever with Katara. He desperately tried to get her off his mind, but her scent, of all things, still lingered. She smelled pleasantly of…lavender. He breathed a grunt of frustration, wondering why in the world none of the others had come looking for them in the night. At this rate, it was going to be a few hours before anybody woke up, meaning he would remain in this uncomfortable (and potentially compromising) situation with her until then. Her soft brown hair had spilled all over his body; her head nestled right below his chin. Worst of all, his arms were bent awkwardly to his sides. If I could just move my arms somewhere else…
After a few moments of silent deliberation, Zuko hesitantly wrapped his arms around her sleeping frame. Yep, it's definitely more comfortable. Noticing the abnormally low temperature of her skin, he tightened his hold on her. And if anyone were to find us here, I could just close my eyes and feign sleep. Zuko smiled at his brilliant precaution. Frankly, it felt quite nice to just hug her in his arms without any protest on her part. He felt…at peace, almost, and the golden silence was calming. This unexpected realization had come too late however, and by now, the fiery sun was beaming in its full-bound glory. The Fire Lord closed his eyes, only to open them again to the stirring motions of the girl in his arms.