(A/N: IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ! I'm so sorry! It's not my fault there was such a long delay. Every time I tried to update I kept getting an error message. But since you're reading this, it means the problem is solved. But I tested it a few times afterwards and the error message is coming up again, damn it! I already contacted support_fanfiction, but I'm still getting problems. Sorry for the inconvenience and hopefully this problem will be resolved quickly. Anyway, this chapter is the, ah, intimate moment between Jake and Neytiri, hence Zuko and Katara. I had to come up with a replacement for the Trees of Voices and decided to go with the Cave of Two Lovers instead.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 8: The Cave of Two Lovers

He had no idea where Katara was leading him. She had merely told him to follow her. He had done so without question. But he wondered where they were going. It was a lot warming around here though, there was no longer any snow on the ground.

But Zuko didn't really care about the scenery. His full attention was on the beautiful Waterbender he was following. She looked stunning in the light of the full moon. And tonight she had taken her hair out of her braid, letting it flow freely. Zuko really liked it, and made a mental note to tell her to wear it freely more often.

"Come." She said, heading over to a cave.

"Where are we?" he asked as she pulled him along into the cave.

"This is known as the Cave of Two Lovers." She told him, going deeper into the cave.

Zuko created fire so they could see in the darkness. "Cave of Two Lovers?"

She gave him a smile. "Long ago, two lovers from opposing tribes created this labyrinth with Earthbending. Here they were able to meet without fear of their families discovering them. Only they knew how to navigate through the cave. Anyone else who entered was lost forever."

That didn't sound good. "So we're going in here… why?"

She laughed. "It is said that only those who believe in true love as they did could find the way through. All you have to do is trust in love." She gathered some water from her pouch. With it, she covered the fire Zuko had created, extinguishing the flame. "And they say love shines brightest in the dark."

For a few seconds they were left in complete darkness, but then a bright light filled the cave, coming from glowing crystals on the cave walls. Zuko was left in awe at its beauty.

"Wow."

"Beautiful, isn't it? This cave is a sacred cave of eternal love. They say you can still feel the love of all those who enter this cave. It's an old story passed down for generations in our tribe. Many come here to propose to those they love. And for those who's love in unrequited, it is said that if you call the name of the one you love while going through the cave that they shall come to love you in return."

Zuko's heart skipped a beat. "Is that so?"

Unconsciously, his hand drifted to his scar. Ever since he had received it, he had thought no one would ever come to love him; that they'd never be able to see beyond his hideous blemish. And his sister had always rubbed that in his face.

Katara seemed to sense his sadness. "What's wrong?"

Zuko hesitated. "It's… nothing."

"You're lying. I can tell when you lie, Zuko. You're very bad at it." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me anything."

Again he hesitated. "I guess… I just feel out of place in here. For the longest time I didn't think anyone would ever love me. My mother died long ago, my father withdrew his love, and my sister, she… well, she said that if Mother saw me with this scar that I'd even lose her love."

Katara was shocked. "What nonsense. Love is not about appearance. You're mother would have loved you regardless of how you looked. And besides, scars are proof of bravery. They show what powerful warriors those who bear them are."

Zuko shook his head. "Not me. Mine's one of disgrace."

He pulled away from her. Katara looked at his turned back, a sad look on her face. "Tell me."

A jolt of fear went through Zuko. She was asking him to tell her of the most disgraceful moment of his life. It was a closely guarded secret that he never shared with anyone. But he found that he didn't want to keep secrets from her. He was already lying to her about his true purpose here, he could at least tell her this.

"When I was thirteen, my father and his generals held a war council. I was curious about it, and I wanted to be a good warrior. So I begged Uncle to let me attend. He said I could if I promised to remain silent.

"During the meeting, one of the generals presented a battle plan that would require sacrificing a great deal of our men, but would gain us victory in the end. I was outraged by this. I said that he couldn't sacrifice our soldiers like that. They trusted and respected us, and we'd be betraying them if we did such a thing." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Father became angry after I said that."

"But you were right." Katara told him.

Zuko shook his head. "Whether I was right or wrong, it wasn't my place to say so. Father said that speaking out like that was a show of great disrespect, and the only way to resolve it was with an Agni Kai." He realized she probably didn't know what that was. "A Firebending Duel to the death." He heard her gasp in surprise. "Looking at the old general, I thought I'd be able to take him and announced that I wasn't afraid. And so, before the entire Fire Nation, I prepared for the duel." He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, as if trying to block out the memory. "But my opponent wasn't the general."

Katara's hand went to her mouth. "It wasn't… Was it?"

Zuko nodded. "It was my father. It may have been the general I insulted, but by speaking out of term in the Fire Lord's war room, it was my father I showed disrespect to. I had to fight a duel to the death with my own father!"

He let out an anguished cry and punched the rock wall, splitting his knuckles. "But I couldn't. I got down on my knees and begged for forgiveness. I told him that I meant no disrespect and that I would not fight my own father." His hand covered his scar. "So he gave me a permanent reminder of how to show respect on my face. But not even that was enough. He said that since I refused to fight, I disgraced myself, so he stripped me of my honor and disowned me."

He felt tears creep up in his eyes and squeezed them shut tightly to keep them in. But a soft hand on his scar made him open his eyes. Katara was standing in front of him, also looking close to tears. Gently, she took his hand and, using her healing abilities, healed his bloody knuckles.

"I was hoping," he continued, "that the sacred water from here would be able to heal my scar and remove my shame."

"There's no reason for that." she told him. "Your family has it all backwards, Zuko. It's your father who disgraced himself. He burned his own son for trying to save the lives of his own people. It was incredibly brave to speak out when it was not your place to defend your people. And you respected your father so much that you did what was considered dishonorable in front of your entire nation because you did not wish to fight your father." She touched Zukko's scar again. "This mark is anything but dishonorable. It's the mark of a brave and honorable man, and you should wear it proudly."

Slowly Zuko's hand came up to cover hers. "You're the first person to ever say that."

She gave him a smile. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. Any member of the Water Tribe will see you scar in the same light as I do. What your nation believes does not matter. You are now one of the people, Zuko. You may take your place among us. You may make your house of ice beside the rest of us." Her smile left her face and she turned away. "And you may choose a woman. Our tribe has many fine women. Song is the best singer."

The change in mood caught Zuko off guard, but from the direction their previous conversation had taken, combined with three months of unspoken feelings, Zuko suddenly found an answer to his question; how did Katara feel about him?

"Her name certainly indicates so." He told her. "But I don't want Song."

Was it his imagination, or did Katara seem to perk up a bit. But her shoulders immediately sank again. "Jin is a good hunter."

No argument there. "Yes, she is a good hunter." She turned to him then, a look of heartbreak on her face. Zuko made sure to keep eye contact as he spoke. "I've already chosen." He noticed a glimmer of hope appear in her eyes. He was determined to make his feelings known. "But… this woman must also choose me."

The sadness vanished completely to be replaced with joy and love. "She already has." She told him.

Zuko's hands came up to cup her face, slowly bringing her face closer to his, and their lips met for the first time.

Clothes fell away as kisses and caresses were exchanged, the two lovers whispering declarations and vows of love to each other. And for a short time, the fact that they were from two different worlds was lost to each other. They knew only of their lover and the love they had for them. But as the two held each other tightly while drifting off to sleep, a single thought ran through the Fire Prince's mind.

'What the hell are you doing, Zuko?'

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The previous night had been magical, but it was to a harsh reality that the two woke up to. Katara was the first to hear it, the loud rumbling of the Fire Nation tanks. But it wasn't until the metal monsters began drilling through the Cave of Two Lovers that she realized what was happening.

Rushing to Zuko's side, she shook him awake as cracks began appearing along the walls and ceiling of the cave. "Zuko, wake up!"

The Fire Prince's eyes shot open. He recognized the sound of the Fire Nation's machinery and realized what was happening. "Oh no!"

They dressed as they ran from the cave, coming outside to see countless mobile drills burrowing into the mountainside. The Fire Nation was trying to drill a direct route to the Water Tribe, destroying the Cave of Two Lovers in the process.

"Hey!" Zuko shouted. "Cut it out! Stop!"

If the ones controlling the drills could even hear him over the noise, they completely ignored him. Zuko swore furiously and began climbing the machine. He created fire daggers and stabbed them into what he knew was the weakest part of the drill. There was a loud snapping sound and the drill stopped spinning.

At that moment, the lid to the tank open, and a Firebender threw a handful of fire at him. Zuko jumped off the tank and ran to Katara, who could only watch in horror as the Fire Nation proceeded to tear apart the Cave of Two Lovers.

Farther away, Zuko caught sight of a group of Water Tribe members, led by Jet. They looked just as horrified as Katara, but also furious. Especially Jet, though he seemed to be looking at Katara and Zuko, noting how little clothing they wore.

Zuko decided to ignore the issue with Jet for now. He alone knew the weaknesses of the drills, and if he could actually get the soldiers to realize who he was, he could order them to stop. But Katara and the others were in danger here.

"Katara, go back to the village." He told her. "I'll do what I can to stop them."

She looked ready to argue. "But-"

"These are my people." He told her. "Only I can stop them. Go now, hurry."

He didn't wait for her to argue as he ran to another tank. He tried getting their attention again, but when that didn't work he attempted to immobilize the drill again. But a powerful blow to the head brought him crashing down to the ground. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the large form of Combustion Man standing over him.

(A/N: For those of you that know the movie, you should know that dark times are ahead, Heartbreak and tragedy are ahead, along with a lot of action.)