Authors Note: Sorry it's been like forever since I've updated! I have no excuse, but I'm still sorry. This chapter was annoying to write, and I changed the storyline like 10 times. Anyway, here's the next chapter and hopefully I'll be updated wayyy faster next time. Also I changed the approximate length to 20-35k because it'll probably be that long in the end. I hope you enjoy it! :)

Warning: A little bit of sexiness

Katara felt the heat of Zuko's body against her front and the bite of the brick wall against her back. Her heart raced as Zuko's arms came up and rested on either side of her head. His scent of hot embers and smoke filled her nose making her lose all sense of what was occurring beyond the firebender in front of her. Zuko's hands burned their way down her waist and settled on her hips. It was a gentle enough motion, but she could sense the underlying authority in the way his hands ran down her body. She knew what it meant. He wanted to be in charge. Part of her wanted to resist, but a different, secret part of her wanted to see what he would do.

The gentle press of Zuko's lips against her neck sent shivers down her body. Katara wished she could feel those soft lips against her own. Gasping as his teeth nipped her now heated skin, she felt her fingers run up his chest of their own accord. Zuko was deliciously hard against her hands. Muscles sculpted from years of firebending and sword fighting shifted under her wandering hands. Katara felt his lips twitch upwards in a smile against her neck as she eagerly explored his chest. He seemed amused at her enthusiasm.

Katara whimpered a little when he withdrew his lips from her neck. But now that she could see the fiery look Zuko was giving her, she barely cared. Her heart raced as his gaze dipped to her lips and stayed there. He was going to kiss her, and she couldn't be more excited. Leaning in ever so slowly, his lips grazed hers…

Katara sat up in bed with a gasp.

Oh spirits, that dream had seemed so real. Breathing heavily, Katara looked around her room. It was a good thing she had been able to get one of the private rooms instead of a shared one. She would have died of embarrassment if anyone had seen or heard her. If she were anybody else it wouldn't have mattered, but Katara knew that she was a very vocal sleeper, and often spoke aloud or moved in her sleep.

This was not the first dream she has had about Zuko, although it was probably the most intense one. She bet it was because of all the time she had spent with him over the last few days. The spirits must be punishing her for desiring the Fire Lord by tormenting her in her sleep with situations that could never happen.

Sighing, Katara lifted off the fur covers she had been sleeping under, and slipped out of bed. The floor was cold, but she hardly noticed. By the time she was dressed and ready for the day, she could hear the commotion of breakfast being served. As she left, she said a quick prayer to the spirits, asking for the strength to face Zuko after that dream.

…

It was a beautiful day outside. The snow was glittering in the sun, and the ocean in the distance was breathtaking. Breakfast had gone okay. Katara had done her best to act like everything was normal, and aside from a few blushes, had done well. She was, however, extremely thankful that Sokka and the others did most of the talking. Zuko, like her, spoke very little, but it wasn't that strange since he did not usually talk much at these types of gatherings.

Speaking of Zuko, he looked good enough to eat this morning. He wore his hair down instead of in his usual Fire Lord updo, and Katara's fingers itched to run through it. She bet it was as silky and smooth as it looked. He had also been given warmer clothes since he obviously hadn't been warm enough in his Fire Nation outfits. But instead of the blue and white clothes she had expected him to be wearing (since that's basically all the colors Water Tribe people wear), Sokka had somehow found him black and red clothes in the Water Tribe style. She had no idea how he managed it, but she suspected he had ordered them made special for his friend. Even though Sokka seemed oblivious to most things, he must have noticed Zuko's preference for only wearing dark colors and had wanted him to feel as comfortable as possible.

Today was the day they were going sightseeing! It had been her own idea obviously, but the others had all wanted to go as well. Personally, Katara couldn't wait to see what Zuko would think of her homeland. It was certainly very different from the Fire Nation. They were going to visit the famous ice caverns. It was arguably the only place in the Water Tribe that could be considered a tourist destination, but in Katara's 'unbiased' opinion, all of the South Pole was worth seeing. Since it was too far away to walk, Appa would be flying them there.

Hearing the voices of the others coming her way, Katara turned to greet them. She smiled as she saw Aang basically flying in excitement. Zuko was trying to frown at the airbender's antics, but she could see the smile in his eyes. Toph had decided not to go since it would be too difficult for her to see, and it would be too hard for anyone to help her. But she said she was okay staying back and would use the free time to practice her metalbending.

Once everyone had piled onto Appa, they took off.

…

The sky was looking darker and darker. It had been around half an hour since they started, and the once clear sky was now littered with ominous dark clouds. Karara knew enough about southern storms to know they were in for a big one. After warning everyone and telling Aang to turn back, Katara made herself busy strapping things down. They did not have much baggage, but there was still enough aboard to be worth securing. Sure enough, in less than ten minutes the wind picked up and the snow started. Katara felt the flakes of ice blow into her face like a million little needles. It was worse up in the air than it was on the ground. Up here there was no protection from the snow, and the wind speed was increased due to their altitude.

Pulling her fur hood closer to her face, Katara looked up from the bags she had just finished tying. On the opposite side of the saddle, she could barely make out Sokka and Suki huddling together. They were tying themselves to the railing so as to not be blown off. Their actions reminded her of her own vulnerability, kneeling by herself without any harness. But before she could maneuver herself over to safety, the whole saddle started rocking back and forth. The wind was blowing Appa off course and subsequently tossing the saddle around! Katara's scream was lost in the wind as she was flung towards the edge. Desperately trying to hold onto something, her nails scraped the wood floor. She could no longer make out anything beyond the snowy haze all around her. The blizzard seemed determined to cast her out into the white plains below. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arm reached out and grabbed her.

One moment she was preparing to be flung overboard, and the next she was in Zuko's arms. He had wrapped himself around her body, laying partially on top of her to keep her from flying off. She couldn't see his face because the snow was too thick, but she could feel his warmth protecting her. After the initial shock wore off, she realized what had happened. He had risked his own safety to come save her. He had been attached to the railing like Sokka and Suki only a moment before, but here he was untethered, protecting her with his body.

There was one more moment of calm before all she felt was air.

…

There was white everywhere. It was all Katara could see. White and cold. Oh Spirits, they had been blown overboard! She tried to move her legs, but they would not budge. Panicking, Katara jerked her hands to her face and tried to wipe her eyes and see through the snow. She was buried up to her waist in a snow drift. Lucky for her, her face had not been covered, and her legs were, on second examination, not buried too deeply. It only took her a few moments to dig herself out and stand up.

Once her feet were under her, she almost fell down again from the sheer force of the wind. But shivering she managed to stay upright. Now that she was free, she looked around for Zuko. She remembered the short seconds that they had fallen still clinging to each other, before they had been separated. She had no idea how far away he would have landed from her. Suddenly terrified for him, Katara managed to yell out "Zuko!" as she scrambled through the snow searching for him. She desperately hoped he had not been injured or even worse, fully buried in the snow.

After about twenty paces, Katara, stumbling along, saw a flash of black and red sticking out of the snow. Almost crying in relief, she flung herself forward and knelt beside the motionless Zuko. He was almost fully buried in snow, but thankfully his face was still mostly uncovered. Brushing off the dusting of snow on his cheeks and eyes, she prayed he wasn't hurt too badly. He seemed to be breathing, although unsteadily. The only other uncovered part of him was his left leg, which was the black she had spotted. Frantically, Katara dug him out of the snow. It was cold on her hands, but she hardly noticed. All she could think of was the unconscious firebender before her.

When she was almost done uncovering him, Katara heard him groan softly. The sound both filled her with joy and terrified her. Bending over his face, she saw his eyes straining to open against the snow.

"Katara?" He groaned.

"Yes I'm here Zuko! Are you hurt? Can you move at all?" Her voice trembled as she moved her hand behind his head to check for injuries.

"I… I think I'm fine. Except for my chest…" He finished his sentence with a groan as he moved his hand over his torso. "I think a few of my ribs are broken."

Both relieved and afraid, Katara assisted Zuko as he sat up. It was obvious he was in a significant amount of pain, and Katara felt her heart ache for him. But soon she remembered the situation they were in and realized the need to find shelter, and soon. "Can you walk, Zuko? We need to find somewhere to wait out the storm. If I recall correctly, there should be a hunting cave somewhere near here. We should try to find it before it gets too difficult to see." With this she pulled Zuko to his feet, making sure to support him until he found his balance.

"I can walk," was all he replied as the wind thrashed around them.

…

Fatigue wrapped itself around Katara's limbs as they struggled onward. It seemed like they had been walking for hours, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could trek through this snow. Undoubtedly, Zuko was in a lot more pain than she was at the moment, but he bore it without so much as a whisper of complaint. To be honest, she was in awe of how well he was handling the situation. A firebender lost in a blizzard. What an absurd situation.

It was only when Katara could no longer take another step, when she saw it. A dark spot against the sky. The hunting cave.

Almost crying out in relief, she stumbled forward, dragging Zuko along behind her. Only when they were both through the narrow entrance, did Katara collapse on the ground. She barely registered when Zuko slumped down beside her. With one last surge of energy, she sealed the entrance behind them with ice. Then her eyes closed and darkness took her.

Turns out I'm probably better at writing Zuko's POV since this chapter sucked... *facepalm* Anyway, I had to do some research on blizzards, and from what I gathered they can occur suddenly (as I had happen) and can last up to a week. So that gives me a week of Zutara cave time before I have to let them get rescued. *sigh* ;) Hopefully, I'll be able to fit in enough sexiness along the way to satisfy my love for Zutara. I'm totally open to suggestions or requests on what you guys want to happen in the next few chapters, so feel free to message me or comment! (In fact, I'm secretly begging anyone to request anything at anytime ;) Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!