Maiko Drabbles #2
Chopsticks
Zuko liked watching Mai eat with her chopsticks. The sheer volume of the food she ate was incongruous to the delicate way in which she ate it. He couldn't stare; staring would result in a swat or an eye roll or a verbal assault. But he could peek at her, under the bangs of his longish black hair.
And so he did. He snuck a glance as she lifted a noodle to her mouth. Her pink lips opened and she quickly pushed the noodle in. Mai chewed thoughtfully and thoroughly. Her method of eating matched her personality, Zuko thought.
"I like the way you eat," the Firelord blurted out.
Mai just shook her head and continued lifting single pieces of food off her plate and bringing them to her mouth.
"Sometimes I wonder about you," she smiled.
The Little Things
Mai knocked on the door to Zuko's office. The meeting earlier that day with his ministers and Earth Kingdom officials was particularly tense. She knew that her husband would have a headache and that his back would be tight with knots. Without waiting for Zuko to give permission to enter, she opened the door and glided into the room.
Just as she predicted, his shoulders were hunched, his bow was furrowed and he wore a fierce looking scowl.
"Tea is coming," she announced.
Zuko grunted something indeterminate and she smiled.
"Come over here to the couch," Mai ordered gently.
Zuko knew it was useless to object so he eased himself up from his stiff chair and dropped onto the comfortable couch. Mai pulled him back toward her and began working on his neck and shoulders. He groaned with a mixture of pain and pleasure. A servant brought in a tray with a pot of aromatic jasmine tea. Mai poured Zuko a cup and he sipped it gratefully. The Firelord's wife continued with the massage, moving down the lean back, forcing her fingers to press down through the thick fabric of the Firelord robes.
Mai finished and poured herself a cup of tea. She kissed Zuko on the cheek and whispered, "Sometimes it's the little things."
Daydreams
Mai was a practical girl, not one given to fantasies or dreams. Once she met Prince Zuko, however, her daydreams began. Sitting under the apple tree in the palace garden while Ty Lee and Azula played, she thought of Zuko, hoping that perhaps he would come outside to play too. He would look at her and smile that sweet, shy smile.
When she was a few years older, she daydreamed about Zuko kissing her. They would have a secret, special place somewhere in the palace, a place that no one else knew about. She and Zuko would sit silently together and then he would kiss her.
After his banishment, her daydreams were both a comfort and heartache. She pictured his handsome, noble face and then remembered that it was different now, but she didn't quite know how. She decided that a scar, no matter how terrible, was of no consequence to her. Zuko was beautiful. Nothing could change that. She imagined the prince coming home, a world weary traveler looking for comfort in an old friend. He would court her in that bumbling way he had and she would laugh her rare laugh. They would share kisses and afternoons and it would be wonderful. But, he didn't come home.
Daydreams 2
Once in awhile, not very often, during those interminable days of his banishment, Zuko indulged in daydreams. Sometimes they involved his mother being alive and finding her way to him, sometimes they involved returning to the Fire Nation in triumph, the avatar captured and his honor restored. Other times, though, when he felt the solidity of that little heart shaped rock tucked into a tiny pocket of his uniform, Zuko daydreamed about Mai.
Lying back on his mattress, arms behind his head and eyes closed, he conjured her up. There she was standing before him, all quiet and shy, so much like himself in so many ways. Her lustrous black hair was pulled up with ribbons. He reached over and pulled the red silk out of her hair and it hung down like an ebony cloak over her shoulders. Her golden eyes widened at his bold gesture but she didn't protest. The prince took her pale hand with its delicate fingers into his own and pulled her along a garden path. He steered her toward a huge willow tree. Its drooping branches touched the ground and formed a curtain to hide behind. Inside, Zuko reached up and touched Mai's cheek. She blushed prettily and Zuko smiled. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pressed his lips to hers. They were warm and soft and the prince inhaled sharply as he pulled away. Mai pulled Zuko back, giving him her own kiss.
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Author's Note: I love writing drabbles. They force you to be concise, to pin down a feeling or concept or event in very few words. And they're fun and don't require a massive amount of commitment. I hope you enjoy these. I'll write more in the future.
Thanks for reading and please review.