Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the last airbender. Please read and review. No flames. This is a one shot.
It had been a normal day in the Fire Nation Royal palace, or as normal as it could get. Outside of the palace: Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula were playing. Zuko, Azula's big brother, was on the other side, playing with his knife.
Mai sat with her back against the tree, bored with the games Ty Lee and Azula were playing. Her stare was directed towards the unaware Zuko. A love struck sigh escaped Mai's lips as she stared at him.
"Look at that." Ty Lee exclaimed to Azula. She pointed to their friend, Mai.
Azula looked to where the girl was pointing at, and a devious smirk appeared on her face.
Ty Lee knew her friend well enough to know what that meant. "Azula, what are you going to do now?" she asked her, both scared and excited, but mostly excited.
"Well…" she whispered into Ty Lee's ear, "It can't fail."
Ty Lee's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, "Oh, Azula!" she jumped up and down, "That is a great idea."
Azula's and Zuko's mother, Ursa was passing through the yard, she had a pot of flowers in her hands and a warm smile on her face.
"Mom, can Zuko play with us?" Azula asked, almost sounding innocent.
Zuko shook his head, against the idea of playing with his sister. "I am not going to play with them!" shouted Zuko, "Last time I played with them, I got wet!"
"It was just water" said Azula, "Or are you afraid of some water, Zuzu?" she whispered in a volume that way their mother couldn't hear her taunt.
"Go on and play with your sister, Zuko." his mother told him, smiling. "You need to bond with your sister more."
"But mom!" protested Zuko.
Ursa walked out, leaving Zuko alone with the girls.
Azula let out a wicked laugh.
Zuko folded his arms together, and huffed. "I am not playing and you can not make me!"
A sly grin appeared on Azula's face. "Fine, you don't have to play."
"I am not-wait what?" questioned Zuko, taken aback by what his sister had said.
"You don't have to play." she repeated.
"Great…" he exclaimed, but then added, "Wait, what's the catch?"
"Why does there always have to be a catch?" replied Azula, "Can't a sister just do something nice for her brother?"
"Well…yes but that's not like you." whispered Zuko.
"Oh, you're right. It isn't." she agreed with a smirk. "Well, I was going to tell you something that you don't know if you played but you don't want to play, do you?"
She knew just where to strike him. He wouldn't let her get to him.
"I don't want to know." he huffed.
"Are you sure about that, Zuzu?" taunted Azula, "It concerns you." In the background, Ty Lee was staring at the sibling rivalry with amusement.
After a moment of silence, Zuko finally grunted out, "Fine…I'll play…but I won't like it"
"Excellent!" Azula said, smirking.
After playing….
"Tell me now!" yelled Zuko, "What's the secret that I don't know?"
"Now, now Zuko." teased Azula, "Settle down."
Zuko was getting irritated, however he calm down either way.
"Now…you really want to know?" whispered Azula in a teasing manner.
"Yes" replied Zuko.
"Are you sure?" taunted Azula.
"Yes, I'm sure!" exclaimed Zuko, already losing patience.
"You know Mai, right?" Azula asked after a few silent seconds.
"Yeah, of course I know her." Zuko shrugged.
"Well…she likes you!" Azula said, smirking. "It's true."
Zuko's eyes widen, "Mai…likes…me?"
"Yup!" she replied, skipping away.
Zuko slump down against the tree. Unbeknownst to Zuko, on the other side of the tree was Mai.
"Hey…" whispered a voice to Zuko, causing him to jerk back. "Sorry…" she apologized.
He turned around to face who was speaking. "Oh. Hey, Mai." he greeted.
She sighed. "I'm bored."
"Why don't you play with Azula and Ty Lee, then?" Zuko asked her, raising an eyebrow.
A small laugh escaped the girl's lips, "Are you kidding me? I'd be more bored than I am now."
Chucking, Zuko suggested "Well, do you want to I don't know…hang out with me?"
A small smile appeared on Mai's features. "Sure, anything to take me away from all those bright colors." she commented, standing up.
Zuko stood up as well and together they walked off to the palace doors.
He opted with not to bringing up what Azula had told him that day, for two main reasons. One, if what Azula said was a lie it could cause things to become awkward between Mai and him and we all know 'Azula always lies'. Two, if it is in fact true, he wants to wait for Mai to admit to it.
Years later…
Zuko was attempting to put on a jacket, but was having a difficult time with the pain in his shoulder. Mai walked in.
"Need any help" she offered, helping Zuko put on his jacket.
"Thanks" he thanked her, smiling. "How did you get out of jail?"
She shrugged, "My uncle pulled some strings, and it doesn't hurt when the new fire lord is your boyfriend." She smiled at him. They leaned in and shared a small simple yet loving kiss. When they pulled apart, she poked lightly at his chest. "But, never break up with me ever again."
A grin formed on Zuko's lips, and they kissed again.
Out of all the thoughts running through his mind at that moment, the one that rang the loudest was:
"At least, there is one thing that Azula did not lie about."
Author's note:
Well what did you think? This was my first Mai/Zuko fan fiction. Please review. No flames. Thanks.
