A/N: Just a little somethin' somethin' that I whipped up, with the prompt 'party' still on my mind. The idea of Ty Lee throwing a masquerade sort of party and reading people comes from Private Fire..thanks, woman!
All Will be Revealed
"You're scared, aren't you, Mai?" Ty Lee rested a hand on her friend's arm, trying to convey her affection and her care. "It's just a party. I'm going to read auras. Everyone will be in masks. So you'll feel safe, all right?"
Mai shrugged indifferently. "Why would I be scared of a boring party?" She stared down at her sharp, black fingernails, examining each one individually, before meeting Ty Lee's wide eyed gaze once again.
"You're scared of revealing too much. You have been for as long as I can remember. Look, if you like, I can skip you altogether and Zuko too."
"I don't really care what you do. Parties are boring anyway." Immediately she felt guilty for her sour mood and even sourer attitude. "Sorry," she sighed. "Look, Zuko and I will be there with our masks and our costumes. Just don't expect us to have fun."
It had only been a few weeks since the war had ended. Everyone, all the war heroes, were still in the Fire Nation capitol, trying to ensure the smooth transition of power. The days had been hectic and exhausting and joyless.
Ty Lee figured that everyone needed a little bit of relaxation. And what better way to relax than at a party with friends? Well, that was her idea of fun anyway. Mai would rather curl up with Zuko and go to sleep. But with his schedule, sleep was more of a luxury than a necessity.
"I shouldn't be going to this, this thing," Zuko grimaced. "I have too much work."
"It will have to wait. Ty will send the Kyoshi Warriors after us if we don't show up. And you need a break. You're tired and grumpy and miserable. Maybe after the party, you'll just be tired and grumpy." She smiled weakly but Zuko did not smile back.
"There's so much to do, Mai." He collapsed onto the bed and spread his limbs out. "How did my father handle it?"
Mai snapped at her lover angrily. "He didn't have to deal with a new peace and reparations and treaties and negotiations. He just waged war, continued what his father and grandfather had already started. He had it easy. Don't even think about comparing your situation to his."
"I wish Uncle was here." For a moment Zuko sounded like a lost little boy.
Mai's heart ached. She lay down beside him and he accommodated her, lifting an arm so that she could snuggle close. "I wish he was too. But you've got friends to help you too." She kissed his scarred cheek and then wriggled even closer. "And you have me."
He wondered if he was in over his head and he wondered if either he or Mai had any idea what else they might be in for. He wondered if dragging her into this mess was fair. But he said nothing.
His gaze wandered to the costumes that hung from the wardrobe door. Stupid party; he hated parties, always had.
"We'd better get dressed now." Mai left the warmth of Zuko's side reluctantly.
She took off her robes and stood in just her bindings. Quickly and efficiently she pulled on the black pants and tunic and the black boots. Everything clung to her body, revealing her figure. No one would have any trouble determining that she was female. Zuko liked the view and for the first time that evening, he did smile.
"Are you supposed to be a ninja?" he asked
"I guess." She put her hair in a pony tail and then tried the white mask on. It covered all of her face and the effect of the black and the white was striking. "Come on," she urged. "Let's get there early. Maybe we'll be able to leave early too."
Grunting, the Fire Lord got up and dressed. His clothes were a hodge-podge of colours; blues and greens and yellows and oranges. He felt like some sort of circus freak.
"Is this Ty Lee's idea of payback?" He gestured dramatically with his arms and Mai giggled.
"Maybe, because you do look ridiculous; put on the mask."
It was painted like a rainbow and Zuko snarled behind the monstrosity.
Moving to him and stroking his back, Mai whispered, "No one will ever guess that it's you."
All of Ty Lee's friends were there or so she said. No one really knew who anyone was.
Zuko and Mai huddled together in a corner, then figuring that act alone might give away their identities, mingled instead, nodding their masked heads at people and trying to show interest, well show what interest they could with their faces covered and not speaking. Voices would be a giveaway too after all.
"What is the point of this party again?" Zuko hissed in Mai's ear. "No one can talk to anyone. Aren't parties boring enough?"
She shrugged and whispered back. "It's Ty Lee. Who knows? I think once she reads some people, the masks can come off."
"Can we go home then?" he asked petulantly.
"We'll figure something out." Mai smirked beneath the white painted wood and her head spun with ideas.
When Ty Lee called for everyone's attention, the couple found seats and listened. Their friend spoke of auras and essences and sensing a person's innermost emotions, their true selves. She promised that no identities would be revealed unless the guest wanted it so. When they were ready to take their masks off they could, or they could leave them on too. Ty Lee was easy to get along with. With a grin and a bounce in her step, she began. And she was amazingly accurate too. Guests sucked in their breaths, amazed by what she could see.
When she turned her attention to Mai and Zuko, both of them froze, fearful of what might be exposed.
"You're worried," she began, pointing at Mai. "But you hide it well. Your aura is beautiful, with bits of pink and red and turquoise too. Pink means love and you feel love very strongly. The red means that you're thinking about the physical body, or maybe someone else's," she quipped. "You have powerful desires. Now the turquoise indicates that you are well organized, good at doing many things at once. You want to help someone in your life. There's some gray too and that's not so good. Some of your thoughts are dark. Like I said, you're worried about someone close to you and there's anger too. You feel shut out and abandoned."
Zuko turned to his lover. She squirmed uncomfortably. Her friend had hit the mark.
"Mai?" the Fire Lord asked quietly, quiet enough so that no one else could hear. She found it difficult to look at his mask and take anything seriously. But Mai heard the earnestness in his voice, the worry and the panic. "Is that true? Oh, Agni, it is true, isn't it? I'm screwing up again."
She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him very close. "Let's go somewhere and talk. Ty Lee will understand."
"Everything okay, Mai?" the grey-eyed girl inquired, leaning towards her friends and looking about the room filled with guests.
"Don't be angry, Ty, but we're leaving. This kind of party isn't for us and we have things to talk about." Mai couldn't wait to leave. It wasn't the masks, it was the analysis and feeling exposed in front of so many people that bothered her. No, they didn't know who she and Zuko were, but the longer they stayed, the better the chances of someone finding out.
"I'm sorry," the chi blocker whispered, her lower lip quivering. "I should have, ugh, I thought this party would be fun."
"It probably is for some people, just not us. Don't worry about it." Standing up, Mai gave Ty Lee a quick hug.
The pair slipped out the door, the eyes of other party goers following their progress.
Once outside, the Fire Lord and his girl ran from Ty Lee's home, back to the palace and out into the gardens. Zuko ripped his mask off and threw it onto the grass.
"Damned party," he spewed. He sprawled out on the grass too, heedless of its nighttime dampness. Gazing at Mai, Zuko willed her to join him.
With a purposefully heavy sigh, she lay down beside him, cringing at the cold and the wet. "Eww," she shuddered. "So, I suppose you want me to confess my deepest, hidden feelings or something like that?"
"Well, yeah. Something's bothering you, Mai." He reached for her hand and held it loosely in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
"I guess something is." She sighed again. "You shut me out. You did before you were Fire Lord and you still do. What am I here for if you don't let me help?"
"You do help!" he insisted.
"By help I mean something other than being available for sex. It's not that I don't love it, but…You didn't tell me when you left to join the Avatar. You made that huge decision without me. I don't want that to happen again. I grew up around politics, Zuko, and I can read people. Use it to your advantage. Don't keep me in the dark anymore. I hate it."
"I do that? Yeah, I guess I do that. Why do I do that?" He groaned and gave himself a good, solid slap on the forehead.
"I don't know. Maybe you're trying to protect me. Maybe you don't like asking anyone for help, not even the woman you love." He did love her, didn't he? Suddenly and painfully, doubt flooded her mind. She shoved it away and down. That could be dealt with later. "Maybe you think you can do everything yourself. You can't."
"I'll do better," he promised, his voice husky with emotion. "There's a meeting tomorrow, an important one; will you be there? I could use another set of eyes and ears, someone who doesn't lose her temper like I do."
"I'll be there." She inched nearer to Zuko, resting her head on his chest. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"About as hard as you telling me how you feel," he retorted with a grin. "I guess we need to work on our communication a bit."
Lifting her head, she kissed Zuko. "What do you think I'm trying to tell you?" She was smirking now and the tension had all left her body.
"I know what you're trying to tell me." With no further words, he scooped her up easily and carried her inside.
Mai did not protest.