DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIR BENDER. ALL RIGHTS GO TO ITS RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

"Lips"

1.) either of the two fleshy parts or folds forming the margins of the mouth and functioning in speech.

Sokka's fist hurt a whole lot more than it should have. Who knew he would actually punch somebody for the last piece of meat?

Zuko touched his bleeding lip gently, still annoyed with the glutinous, water- tribe warrior. You don't just go around punching people for the last piece of meat, especially if you've already had like six pieces already!

Zuko sighed and tried to stop the bleeding by sucking on his lip, the metallic, coppery taste the blood left in his mouth didn't exactly make him want to keep trying that tactic.

He could always go ask Katara to heal it for him… but no way was he going to risk his pride in such a way. He would rather have a busted lip rather than a wounded pride any day.

He sat defiantly on the log in the middle of the forest, refusing to go back to camp until his lip was fixed. For whatever reason, he had this strange idea that if he sat here in the confinement of the forest long enough, with enough patience, his lip would miraculously stop bleeding, stitch itself up and poof! he'd have his lips back to normal again.

However, when noon dawned, he was beginning to understand that no such thing was going to happen today.

"Zuko!" Katara called out from somewhere in the endless intertwining maze of branches within the forest.

He debated whether or not to call out for her. They weren't in camp and nobody would see them if she fixed his lip… but that didn't mean that she wouldn't hang it over his head as bait.

Finally, it turned out that he wouldn't have to call out for her. She emerged from the tree limbs in a bad mood, leaves twined into her hair and tiny scratches on her cheeks and arms.

"You," her voice was annoyed and accusing. "You heard me yelling for you! Why didn't you come out?" her hands were on her hips, eyes burning a hole through his skull with their intensity.

He shrugged. "Geez, Katara. It's just a few scratches. Get over it."

She was silent for a moment until she eventually burst out with uncontrollable laughter.

He stared at her with confusion. "What?"

She wiped an invisible tear from her eye before looking back at him with a grin. "You're telling me to get over myself when you're back here moping about your busted lip. You are such a hypocrite."

He scowled at her but she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Tell you what," she said, moving to where she sat in front of him on the log. "I'll fix your busted lip, won't tell anybody about it, and you'll never take the last piece of meat from Sokka again. Deal?"

He looked at her, unconvinced. "That's all? Just don't take Sokka's precious meat and my lip gets fixed plus you won't say anything about it?"

She nodded. "I'm tired of hearing Sokka's whining. He's almost as bad as you."

Once again he scowled.

She giggled lightly at his expression and then bended her healing water gloves onto her fingers.

"Okay," she whispered. "Ready?"

He nodded and she touched her cool fingers to the fleshy tissue. It was a quick and painless process, but her fingers lingered on his bottom lip. He couldn't say that he didn't like them there, though.

Staring into the other's eyes, they seemed to lose themselves entirely; completely at the mercy of the other.

Finally she pulled away with a sigh and started to rise to her feet.

He pulled her back down and, at the same exact second her face turned to his in confusion, he quickly touched his, uninjured, lips to hers.

Little did the exiled prince know that the water bender's meat-loving, obsessive brother was lurking nearby and Zuko would soon have to call on Katara once more so she could fix his lip yet again.

****Haha, I love Sokka; he's just absolutely hilarious.

R&R!!!!!
~Moonlit- Silhouette