A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the hella long wait, I was sick and I had a lot of test those days!
A BIG thanks goes to purpleplatyplusbear21 for proof reading the story.
Chapter 2 "A warm night"
After picking up some food, Sara returned to find Noatak sitting in front of the fire with his eyes closed. Thinking he was sleeping or meditating, she carefully placed down her basket containing the food and sat in front of him.
He slowly opened his eyes and watched her. For a moment everything was silent.
But then suddenly, a booming clash of thunder echoed through the forest, some lightning flashed in the dark sky, and then it started to pour.
Sara jumped at the surprise but she quickly regained her composure.
Noatak was shocked too. "It's really coming down. It looks like it won't stop for a while," he said.
"Yeah… are you hungry? It seems like you haven't eaten for days." She gave him the basket. "Here."
He watched it warily, noticing all of the fruits and vegetables she had picked for him.
"Is there something wrong?" the girl asked.
He let out a light laugh. "No, everything is fine. It's just that I've never had just fruits and vegetables for dinner." He continued laughing.
Sara was taken aback. It was the first time she saw him laughing. When she realized she was staring too much she coughed, blushing a bit. "Well, I didn't expect to meet anyone today… I usually eat like this every night."
He stopped laughing and straightened up. "Why do you live here alone? Aren't you afraid?"
She looked at him and said, "I decided to live here after I escaped the orphanage. At first it was difficult, but I've come to love this place, so I'm not afraid, not at all. I've become friends with the animals and I can always rely on my firebending, so... I don't have anything to worry about."
The man opened his jaw in surprise. After recomposing himself, all he could say was, "Wow."
She looked at him and started laughing out loud placing both of her hands in front of her mouth.
He watched her slightly offended but then a little smile appeared on his face.
The two continued laughing and chatting into the night, until Sara started to yawn. "I'm really sleepy… I think I'll go to bed. You should rest too!"
He nodded and prepared to sleep on the floor when Sara gave him her pillow and her blanket. "Why are you giving me your blanket? Won't you be cold?"
Sara smiled. "I won't be cold. You're still injured so you need to stay warm."
Noatak was about to answer her when she sneezed. "See? You need this more than I do." He gave her the blanket back.
"I just sneezed, I'm not cold at all. I'm a firebender, I know how to stay warm."
He looked at her suspiciously and then blurted, "Maybe we can- Nothing, never mind."
"Oh no boy, now I want to know what you wanted to say!"
"It's just a stupid idea... but I thought we could perhaps… sleep together..."
She blushed, just about ready to slap him.
"I-I correct myself... By sleeping together I don't mean that! I mean we could share the blanket… If you're okay with that."
As she composed herself, still blushing, she nodded silently while looking at the floor.
He smiled at her, and then Sara walked closer to him and lay down under the blanket. He cozied up next to her and fell asleep.
Noatak woke up the following morning, surprised to find a sleeping girl in his arms, with her heavy head pressed to his chest. He blushed a bit and whispered, "Did we sleep like this all night?"
A few minutes later, Sara woke up. When she opened her eyes and discovered she was in the man's arms, she blushed and started uttering nonsense. "I-I, w-we?! Why? H-how? Oh Spirits don't tell me I-I've… I'm so sorry!" she stammered while she escaped his arms.
Noatak laughed, "It's okay, I was cold, so I must have hugged you while I was asleep. It's not your fault."
She glanced up at him. "O-owh, okay then." She got up and grabbed the basket. "There's still a little bit of fruit left, do you want some?" Smiling kindly, she handed him a pear.
He took it from her hand and took a bite.
The girl pulled out a small apple and began to eat as well. She was never very hungry in the morning, so she usually had a light meal anyway.
After she finished her apple, she started to tidy up a bit, humming a song while she folded the blanket and placed it with the pillow in a corner of the cave.
Noatak recognized the song she was humming; it was a Water Tribe song. At first, a wave of suspicion rushed through his body, but then he concluded that she must have learned the tune from her friends. The tension in his face abated as he released a soft sigh.