Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Title: This is not a Competition
Characters: Mai, Suki
Word Count: 1094
Notes: Written for week #29: Road Not Taken in livejournal community, avatarcontest.

Summary: She doesn't know him as well as she hopes to. And the worst thing is there are a lot of people who know him better than she ever will.


this is not a competition
(because she's definitely losing)

Five minutes in the teashop and she knew that she shouldn't have come.

Her boyfriend had been invited to a post-war get together party (boring) with his so-called 'friends' (boring, boring) in his uncle's newest teashop that's located in none other than the infamous Ba Sing Se (boring, boring, boring).

She didn't want to come. In fact, she'd rather go to the Kyoshi Islands to visit Ty Lee than meeting a bald monk, some Water Tribe peasants, and a self-centered blind girl who apparently thinks that she's too good for anyone but her friends (Mai likes sarcasm better when she's not on the receiving end) but Zuko looked at her with that look upon his face, and that smile that was reserved for her solely before he left her with only a pathetic excuse of a letter.

So she accompanied him. But only, only, because he asked her, and that's what she's been repeating in her head. Because she cares for him, only him.

They arrived and she watched as the smile she recognized as their smile appeared in his face when he met his friends. She snorted in disgust when the Avatar's bison tried to lick her boyfriend (She never likes animals), frowned when the Tribesman slapped 'Jerkbender's' back and the blind girl punched his arm, and realized that now she's sharing his smiles with Azula's former enemies.

She should've been gone by the time he was hugging the Avatar like a long lost soulmate and moved to hug the water girl without any hesitation (The Zuko that Mai knows doesn't do public displays of affection unless he's with her, and he definitely doesn't hug boys in public), but his uncle's voice called her with a polite, "Lady Mai, it's very nice to see you!" and everyone in the room turned to look at her for the first time. Except for the blind girl, of course.

It all went downhill from there.

After an awkward and quick introduction, (Mai was sure she saw a frown in the water girl's face and the blind girl didn't even turn her head to the right direction- Mai knew she can tell) her boyfriend's uncle invited them to sit and have some light snacks, and she knew that snacks mean socializing.

She was in no mood to socialize.

Apparently, her boyfriend did not share the same sentiments.

Two fruit tarts and a cup of tea later she found out a lot of things that she didn't know before, and almost all of them were about the newly crowned Fire Lord.

She didn't know that he defied Admiral Zhao (Mai never wondered of what happened to the man- she didn't even know that he disappeared), or that he almost got killed by some pirates, or that he was known as 'Jerkbender', 'Sifu Hotman' and 'The Angry Jerk with a ponytail'. Burning villages down didn't surprise her, but the water girl's account of his actions did.

Mai didn't know her boyfriend was the type who ties girls to a tree.

She knew that lines were appearing in her face as she watched him laughing- laughing- with the mocha-skinned girl after her recounts of their- his- past, even after their laughter was joined by the Avatar's light chuckles and General Iroh- former General's hearty guffaws. Soon the teashop was filled by snickers and giggles- so much happiness.

Mai didn't laugh. She had no reason to.

"It's okay to be jealous, you know."

Mai glared at the auburn-haired girl that had taken a place beside her on one of the teashop's armchairs- she was doing just fine by herself, before the Tribeman's girlfriend interrupted her quiet musings, and turned her head away from the other girl.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

It was a lie. Mai knew exactly what this girl was talking about, and the sight that greeted her eyes when she did a quick search around the shop confirmed that. Not wanting to look at her boyfriend and the Avatar and the waterbender (what is it with those three that they have to stick together all the time) chatting happily with his uncle anymore (he's been doing that for the last two hours), she turned away.

"I don't know Sokka that well either."

Mai almost sighed. Almost. What? Now the Kyoshi warrior is going to spill the contents of her heart to her? As if dealing with Ty Lee's girly talks wasn't bad enough.

But the girl seemed to take her silence as a permission to carry on, and continued, "I know the feeling. I used to have the same one when I just joined them, you know? Even though I met him first, sometimes I feel like I don't know him, or at least, don't know him enough like the others do. And it's not that great of a feeling- even if I know that I can't help but knowing him only that much because I wasn't there, on their road with him."

"I think I know my boyfriend just fine." Finally she answered with a hint of irritation in her voice. Admitting she didn't know him to Zuko himself was one thing, but for this girl to assume that she didn't know him was, well- for Mai, it was rude.

"No, you don't."

"Excuse me?" This girl better explained herself. Mai was running out of patience, and that was a great deal after being friends with Ty Lee for almost her whole life.

"You might've known him since you two are little but there's nothing that can make up for those years he spent away from you. Maybe the person who can claim to actually know him is his uncle, who knows- even Katara might know him better than you."

At the mention of the waterbender's name, Mai snorted. "Well you might be jealous but I'm not."

"It's okay. I was jealous of Toph, at first. She joked with Sokka as if they've known each other forever." The Kyoshi warrior sighed. "And besides, this isn't about which girl who knows him the most. They picked us."

Mai's lips moved on her own before she could stop them. "They picked us."

"Yeah. They did."

"What are you still doing here?"

"I… want to ask you to play Pai Sho against me?"

This time, Mai really did sigh. She looked at the girl beside her, weighing her options. A loud laughter from across the room made up her mind. "Come on." When the other girl smiled, she quickly added, "Before I change my mind."

She was getting bored anyway.

I've told you once, and I'll tell you again, I don't own Avatar. Reviews and constructive critics will be very appreciated.