A/N: Another year, another Zutara Week…hopefully this one works out better than the last one did, in terms of updating. I have ZERO stories written right now (well, besides this one), so I'm not promising anything. But I will try my best!

I don't own AtLA. Although I'm pretty sure that's entirely unnecessary at this point.

"Masks"

As a young girl growing up with apathetic, perfectionist parents who wanted a daughter that was seen but not heard and a manipulative, sadistic friend who wanted a companion that did very much the same, Mai quickly learned the value of masking her emotions. Around her parents, Mai was the ideal noblewoman; demure, elegant, and impassive. Around Azula, she was the ideal assassin; quick, silent, and unfeeling. It wasn't long before her mask carried on to those around her, and, after a while, not even her closest companions were privy to her true feelings.

For a long time, this worked to her advantage. Those who knew her only as a lady of the nobility believed that she would rightfully keep her place of quiet obedience, and did not hesitate to speak openly in her presence. Soon, she knew the secrets of countless nobles and aristocrats, allowing her access to people and places that not even Azula could dream of. And those select few that knew her as a warrior of deadly precision always seemed to forget that she was a person as well as a weapon, overlooking the fact that she did, indeed, feel.

Unfortunately, there came a time when Mai, too, forgot.

She didn't realize it at first. There had been the search for the Avatar, and for Zuko, and Mai had felt a sort of excited fluttering in her chest and in her stomach; joy at being free again, to leave behind Omashu and experience the world, and to maybe even see the boy that still haunted her dreams after all those years. Then Zuko had returned with them to the Fire Nation, his title restored, and Mai thought she might even be happy.

After the Boiling Rock, Mai could only think, this must be despair. And, strangely, she thought she might have still felt a bit of hope; at least, that was what Ty Lee had called it.

The year following the war was full of momentous occasions: Zuko's ascension, their engagement, the countless treaties and peace meetings, even the Avatar's whirlwind romance with his waterbending teacher, only to end with her moving to the Fire Nation Capital to work as an ambassador for her home nation and his departure to search for remaining airbenders with the Blind Bandit. All of this distracted her from looking too deeply within, and, for a while, she thought she might be truly happy.

But then the summits ended, and the gossip died down, and there was only Zuko's sleepless nights working to restore his country's pride, accompanied by the waterbender's worried frowns and an intense feeling of emptiness that Mai just couldn't shake. She felt like she was missing something; she couldn't understand Zuko's dedication or Katara's concern, and, for the first time, she realized that she couldn't even begin to comprehend what such emotions might be like.

Despite everything, despite Zuko's unwavering love, Ty Lee's enthusiastic friendship, or even Katara's steady support, Mai could not return the feeling that she had lost as a girl. Her mask had consumed her, until she was just as blank as her exterior proclaimed.

It was then that she realized three things.

The first was that, despite her earlier convictions, she wanted to feel again. She needed to feel, to know what it was to be human, and whole.

The second was that she would have to let go of everything she was now in order to do so, even her deepest love. For how could she love Zuko, when she wasn't even sure what love was?

The third was the most difficult to accept, but made the second much easier to perform. That was, Zuko's love was torn, just as she was, and though he'd given his loyalty along with half his heart to Mai, the other piece lied in the hands of a waterbender named Katara. And it was all too clear that her heart belonged to him, as well.

So Mai did the bravest, most noble act of anyone to participate in the Great War: she sacrificed everything she was to save everything she held dear. She left one night, a note each for Zuko and Katara, and vanished into the night, only stopping when the one person she feared she could not bear to see stepped in her way. Ty Lee was the only part she let herself, and only because the girl was too stubborn to be left behind.

The next day, Zuko awoke with the sun to an empty bed and a note, just as Mai had over a year before, back in a different time. His heart stopped, and he swore he could hear it breaking as he dropped to the floor, note sliding from his fingers. He couldn't say how long he'd been there, but it seemed like a lifetime had passed when Katara rushed in to throw her arms around him, the note in her hand falling to join the one on the floor. His spoke of the elegant poetry that spoke of her noble upbringing and proud demeanor, retaining the cool nonchalance that he had come to love.

Zuko,

I would give you all my love, were I sure that I had any to give. So instead, I must settle to give you back my half of your heart, so that she may make it whole. Perhaps one day I can remember happiness, so I can wish it for you to find with her.

Mai

Katara's letter was much simpler, befitting of the precise soldier that she had known Mai to be.

Katara,

He will need you. Keep him safe.

Mai

A/N: hah! Hopefully no one else thought to use Mai…I was totally out of ideas (I mean, really, another Blue Spirit?) when I thought of this little guy. Short, but–hopefully–sweet. I hope people realize how much I admire Mai's potential. I really think she needs to be free to grow, though. Zuko is on his path; let Mai find her own, too. Maybe they see each other again, and fall back in love. Or maybe, as I like to believe, she has found her own soul mate, and Zuko is free to go after the girl who saved him.