A/N: So, this is my second official fanfiction for the Avatar fandom and my first time participating in some type of Week, especially Maiko. I'm really excited for this, as I have a TON of ideas for all the prompts, and 'cause I'm better at snippets of stories rather than a full-fledged story. Also 'cause I'm sitting here writing this and my sister is upstairs playing hide-and-go-seek with a friend… That may have influenced this a little…

Notes:

Zuko – Age 7

Mai – Age 6

Azula – Age 5

Ty Lee – Age 5

Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee have been friends for some time, but this is the first time Ursa and Zuko have met Mai.

Flirting

Zuko felt entirely at ease for the first time he could remember in the five years he'd had Azula as a sibling. Sure, half those years she was a baby and couldn't understand what she did, but Zuko insisted in his own mind that she had been manipulating him since the moment she was born.

When she was younger and their mom would set her on the floor next to him, telling him she would be back in a moment and to look after his sister, Azula would gaze at him intently. It freaked him out how she would sit there and stare for at least five minutes, seemingly trying to evaluate him; his strengths and weaknesses, as if she wanted to exploit them. Then in the blink of an eye she would be tugging on his hair. Now, he may be a boy and the crown prince of the fire nation, but man, that hurt!

And if that weren't bad enough, as soon as the two of them could hear Ursa returning, Azula would stop and just smile and giggle at him. It was as if none of that ever happened; let alone their mother didn't believe him that Azula, a baby, could act out with malice! It was frustrating and grated on his last nerve every time.

So, now he spent his time relaxing next to the turtle duck pond, soaking up Agni's vibrant rays. It felt nice not having to be anywhere or do anything; he could just sit and space out as much and as long as he wanted. Though, as Zuko had learned in the past couple of months, everything good had to come to an end sooner or later, and for him, it was sooner.

"Mother! Zuzu! I'm home!" Azula's voice rang out loud and clear. "I brought Ty Lee over too! And I have another friend you have to meet!" Zuko sat up onto his elbows and looked out to his sister across the yard. He really didn't want to go over there. Ty Lee was practically bouncing beside his sister and there was another figure on Azula's left. Curiosity sprung up, but Zuko forced it back down, reminding himself that this was Azula. He tried to lay down flatter so his sister wouldn't see him. "I can see you Zuzu; now get your butt over here!"

Zuko sighed as he stood up slowly as watched their mother make her way over to Azula. His sister had a certain look on her face as she introduced her friend the Ursa. He walked over until he was beside his mother, but didn't make eye contact with any of the girls.

"About time you got over here slow poke!" Azula grabbed his wrist and yanked him in front of the unknown girl. "Zuko, I'd like you to meet Mai. Mai, this is my brother, Zuko." Zuko looked up at the girl and to say he was stunned was a bit of an understatement. He was expecting someone similar to Ty Lee, but no one like Mai.

Her hair was a short ebony color that reached about half way down her ears with a Fire Nation red ribbon on either side. She was extremely pale and dressed in a noble's daughter's clothes; he didn't know the names of the clothes that she wore, just that they were also the same red as the ribbons. She was glancing down at her feet, so he couldn't get a good look at her face. After several awkward moments of silence and a stern look of disapproval from his mother, Zuko said hi.

She looked up sharply at his voice and studied his face as he felt his own eyes widen in surprise. She was… cute. Her facial features were soft and her eyes a somewhat dulled amber. While Zuko himself looked surprised, her own expression was blank. He began to grow a bit uncomfortable as she continued to analyze him. Then when he thought it was never going to end, she finally spoke. "Hi."

Azula looked proud as she nodded to herself and then turned her large doe eyes on their mother. "Mother, Ty Lee, Mai, and I were going to play hide-and-explode, can Zuko play with us? Then it would be even."

Zuko's eyes pleaded with their mother to say that he had something to do, but… "That sounds like a great idea Azula. Zuko, go play with your sister and her friends. Have fun!" With that said, Ursa walked off leaving the four children alone.

Ty Lee turned to Azula excitedly, bouncing once again. "Are we really going to play hide-and-explode Azula?"

"Yep, and we're going to play in teams. I'm going to be with you, Ty Lee, and Mai is going to be with Zuko. That way each team has a firebender."

"That's sounds perfect Azula! But who's going to hide first?" Ty Lee questioned. Azula gave her friend a smirk and then turned to the silent Mai and Zuko.

"Mai and Zuko are going to hide first, Ty Lee. No objections?" Without waiting for a response Azula continued speaking. "Good. Ty Lee and I are going to count to 20 and then come search for you two, got it?" All was quiet for a couple of seconds. "What are you waiting for? Go hide!" His sister and Ty Lee turned to the wall behind them and began counting.

Zuko turned to Mai, a little unsure, but offered his hand for her to take. She took it without question and they both ran off to find somewhere to hide, knowing Azula would have their heads if they didn't participate.

As they ran off Azula ceased counting and smiled. She lifted her head off the wall and poked Ty Lee. Ty Lee turned to her flabbergasted. "Azula! We're supposed to be counting! We can't cheat!"

Azula led her friend away from the courtyard and into the palace. "Oh, but we're not cheating, Ty Lee. We're just going to let Zuko and Mai… hide for a little bit." Ty Lee looked at the smile on her friend's face and one of her own grew.

"You're so evil!" She stated giggling.

"I know."

It had been almost an hour since they had found their hiding spot behind a couple of bushes and Zuko's legs and feet were starting to grow numb. "It can't be that hard to find us, can it?" He asked, turning to his companion. She said nothing in return and continued playing with the grass in front of her. Zuko sat quietly for a few minutes longer before he couldn't take it anymore. "So… how did you meet my sister?"

Mai turned towards him, but didn't make eye contact. "We both go to the Fire Nation Academy for Girls." Her voice was completely monotone.

"Oh." Zuko played with his sleeves uncomfortably. "Where do you live?" He said after another long pause.

"On the outskirts of the capitol, but my family is moving into the governor's house across the street." A slight pause. "My father's the new governor."

"That's cool." Zuko's back was starting to hurt so he leaned up against the wall behind him. Mai glanced at him out of the corner of her eye at the movement. He ignored her and began playing with a small flame, tossing it back and forth between his hands like a ball.

"I've always been fascinated by benders." Her voice was so sudden that Zuko jumped a bit, but the flame did not extinguish.

"Really? You like firebending?"

"I didn't say firebenders, I said bending; that includes all the elements." She twirled a piece of grass between her thumb and pointer finger. "Though I would have to say I like firebenders the best."

Zuko extinguished the flame and shifted his body so he was facing more towards her. "So I take it you're not a bender?"

Mai shook her head. "I'm not, but I really enjoy knives and the like." She pulled out a small blade from where it was hidden up her sleeve.

Zuko's eyes bugged. "Wow! That's really cool!" What he didn't notice as he stared at the blade in her hand was the blush that appeared across Mai's face. "You know how to use them?"

"I'm practicing. I don't have an official teacher, but I practice throwing them at my wall and aiming for certain spots."

"What made you start?"

"Boredom." That made a smile crack on both of their faces. After that they both lapsed into a comfortable silence.

"It's getting kinda late." Zuko noted as he looked at the sky growing darker. Mai nodded in agreement and shifted a little closer to him, playing with a strand of hair. "What time do you think it is?"

The girl shrugged in response. "I don't know, maybe seven?"

Zuko suddenly struggled to keep a yawn in and blushed in embarrassment as it escaped. Mai looked at him with understanding before she herself yawned too. It must have been contagious. Before either of them knew it, they were both asleep.

After forcing some answers out of Azula when she noticed the missing Zuko and Mai, Ursa ran outside frantically searching for the two of them. It didn't take her long and when she found them all of her worry melted at the site.

Zuko was propped up against the wall, legs outstretched before him and head resting on his right shoulder. Mai was curled up in a tight little ball into his right side, her arm wrapped around his arm, which was wrapped around her back, holding her close. Both of them had a small smile of content on their sleeping faces.

Come on, say it with me: AWWWW! I absolutely love younger Zuko and Mai; they're so cute! Anyways, if there's any questions about how they acted, well their ARE ten years younger people! Mai may be more emotionless in the future, but she's only five here and she's not perfect. So obviously, some emotions would leak through.

Wanna read another cute Maiko moment? Go to Google and search for "Going Home Again Avatar comic" and click on the first one. It should be the first one from fanpop. My favorite part: Mai putting a slimly fish on Zuko's head so nonchalantly. Hilarious!

Thanks so much for reading! Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!

Luna