A/N: This is not a new story. Once upon a time, I had a series of some Avatar one-shots posted in one file as part of a prompt set for a community on LiveJournal. I dropped my prompt claim, so I removed it from my fanfiction account. However, I have some one-shots that I'd like to keep on my account, so I'm just going to post a few of them as standalones and not as part of a prompt set.
Disclaimer: Avatar: TLA is not mine.
Originally written July 2009 for my friend fairheartstrife.
Zuko knew he was too late when he walked into his and Mai's room to find it dark and empty. Suppressing a groan, he glanced around the room, pausing when he saw the knives embedded in the wall, as though Mai had been lying on the bed throwing them.
Yeah, she was definitely upset. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Zuko gave the empty chambers one last look before going to look in the spots Mai usually went if she wanted to be left alone. The alcove in the eastern hall, the palace library ("not to read, Zuko; I go there because no one else does. Have you seen those scrolls? They're more boring than Governor Shun's dinner conversation, and that's saying something"), and finally to a balcony overlooking the gardens.
Mai wasn't on the balcony, but when he looked down into the gardens, he saw her solitary figure seated next to the pond. Relieved, he hastily stepped on the other side of the balcony rail, lowering himself until he was close enough to drop to the ground. Though she undoubtedly heard him coming, she didn't even turn to look at him. She sat stiff and silent, twirling a knife in her fingers.
It was as humid as ever, the smell of herbs and flowers wafting through the night air. The normal noises of the birds and turtleducks were absent, the only sounds those of the night creatures stirring.
Zuko braced himself before sitting down next to Mai. "Mai-"
Mai still didn't look at him, but he noticed her knife-twirling got a little faster. "Don't."
"I'm sorry."
Her narrowed eyes flashed over to his face and he saw the anger there-but more than that, he got a glimpse of hurt before her eyes darted away again. He doubted anyone else would have noticed, but he'd gotten a lot better at catching the little gestures and glimpses of emotion that Mai was so good at hiding. "One night, Zuko."
Zuko sighed. "I tried to end the meeting earlier, but the Earth Kingdom general and one of the Fire Nation governors got into a fight and-"
Mai's knife flashed in the moonlight as she threw it. It sliced off the top of a flower before sticking into a tree. She had barely let it go before she whirled and glared at him directly. "One night, Zuko."
Did she really think he had wanted to be stuck dealing with shouting politicians? He was used to meetings and talks and dealing with various heated personalities after two years as Firelord, but these particular talks had been going on all week. It was long, exhausting, and because of some of what was being negotiated, tempers had been running high. If Zuko could have, he would have been yelling at everyone to shut up, calm down, and discuss things rationally or get out of his palace. Unfortunately, controlling his temper with this group of people was essential. Being the Firelord was a lot more restraining than being a banished prince. For the love of everything sacred, he'd taught Aang firebending with less hassle than this. Mai knew all this, because she'd been just as involved in these talks as Zuko was, albeit in different ways.
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Mai continued in that tone of contained anger, quiet and yet sharper than any of her weapons. "Zuko, I knew when I married you what it would mean. I knew that you'd never be completely mine all the time, okay? You have a responsibility to the world and our nation and I took that responsibility, too. I know what you deal with; I have to deal with just as much as Fire Lady. But I really don't think it's too much to know that short of a war starting or something getting blown up, we can have at least this night to ourselves. I didn't even ask for the whole day. Not everything is about us, but this is."
Zuko opened his mouth to come back with an angry defense, but found he didn't have one. Not one that wouldn't just land him in even deeper water. All the justification in the world wasn't going to matter in this situation, anyway. "I know," he finally said. Tentatively, wondering if she'd shove him away, he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mai."
She didn't reach back for him, but at least she didn't shrug him off, so Zuko took that as an invitation to keep talking. Just like he was learning to negotiate and compromise as the Firelord, he was learning that marriage was very much the same. "What can I do to make it up to you?"
Mai eyed him for a moment and he realized that she had another knife in her fingers. He had hardly any warning before she tackled him. As he landed on his back in the garden, Mai expertly pinned both his sleeves to the ground with her knives and straddled him.
"Mai, I-mmph!" Zuko's words fled when Mai lowered herself to kiss him. Arms still immobile, he wrapped his legs around her, and slowly ceased to care about anything except the taste of her mouth and the weight of her pressing against him just so.
He was panting when she pulled back enough to murmur against his lips, "That's a start." She pulled her knives out of his sleeves, unpinning him. (The palace tailor was not going to be happy to see the mess of his shirt.) At least now Zuko knew that Mai wasn't just going to leave him there while she went inside.
Zuko's arms snaked around her and he pulled her back down on top of him, but she propped herself up with her hands and looked at him sternly. "But if this happens again next year, I'm breaking into the meeting and sticking everyone to the walls." Then, finally smiling, she dropped back down on him.
"Happy anniversary, Mai," Zuko got out between breathless kisses.
"Mm." Mai's fingers slipped under his shirt. "Let's see just how happy you can make it."