Disclaimer : I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Mike and Bryan of Nickelodeon do.

This is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender chapter story. Please review, and refrain from flames. Friendly criticism is alright, but no hate reviews will be tolerated.

The prologue of this story starts before Zuko's Agni Ki with his father. The rest of this story lies right after the season two finale. The main characters are Prince Zuko and Mai (my favorite pairing). Please enjoy!

Maiko Forever now presents . . .

For Better, For Worse, Forever . . . Prologue

"Mai, someone's looking for you."

The ivory-skinned, raven-haired, thirteen-year-old girl snapped her attention from the book she was reading to look up at her long-time friend, Ty Lee. They were in the library of their friend Azula's palace, while Azula was in her firebending lesson. Azula was the daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, and she was princess of the Fire Nation. The two girls were noblemen's daughters. Mai and Ty Lee were always invited to their friend's home to play when they were younger, so they made sure that every other day, all three of them would get together at the palace to hang out, so to not break their long-time tradition.

"Who is this someone, Ty Lee?" Mai asked with a bored expression. What else was new, though? Mai always wore that plain expression; some crude people wondered if she didn't even have emotions. Ty Lee giggled, her long brown braid switching back and forth, holding out Mai's suspense. Ty Lee was that kind of person: sweet and playful.

"Guess!" Ty Lee was able to choke out between giggles. She always loved to play guessing games, especially if she was the one with the secret. Mai did nothing but glare; unlike her bubbly friend, Mai was not one for playing foolish games.

"Ty Lee . . . ," Mai growled.

Ty Lee pouted and crossed her arms. "You're no fun."

"I realize that. Now tell me who is looking for me." Mai said, returning to her former bored expression. Ty Lee sighed, but smiled.

"Alright, lover girl. Lover boy is waiting for you down by the fountain in the center courtyard." Ty Lee said with a sly but sweet smile. Mai's heart skipped a beat. She knew that her friend was talking about Azula's brother, Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko was a year older than her, and he was considered very handsome by all girls in the Fire Nation, except for, of course, his sister Azula. Mai and Zuko had been sweethearts for a few days, and now they were barely separable. Mai blushed furiously.

"Oh! Thank you, Ty Lee!" Mai said and she got up from her chair. She smiled at her friend, which was a rare event; Mai only smiled when she thought of the one she loved . . .

"Your welcome. Now go grab him! He's heading for his fire bending lesson right after Azula is done!" Ty Lee said, giving her friend a warm smile back; she and Mai had always had a stronger bond than either of them had with Azula. It was just that way.

Mai picked up her book, set it back on it's shelf, and ran off to meet Zuko. The palace was large with many winding, confusing halls, but soon enough, Mai found the courtyard. And, as promised, Zuko was sitting on the fountain waiting for her.

"Mai . . ." he said, dragging out her name sweetly, the way she loved it.

"Zuko . . ." Mai said, the same way Zuko said her name. She ran next to him, smiling radiantly, and he kissed her on the cheek. Mai blushed. If I get this flustered when he kisses my cheek, she thought to herself, imagine how it will be when we have our first kiss. Every time Mai imagines what their first kiss will be like, she blushes furiously, turning her usual white skin a light pink around her cheeks.

"Mai," Zuko said again, "I was wondering . . ." He stopped.

"What is it?" Mai asked.

"I was wondering," he continued, "If you would wait for me while I do my firebending lesson. It will be over in an hour. Then, we could go out into the city together . . . alone."

"I would love to!" she giggled, then blushed and scolded herself on the inside. It was rare that Mai would smile, but it was nearly impossible to get her to giggle like Ty Lee does, the way she just did.

"Great," he beamed, "I need to go now, but I'll meet you back here in an hour." He pulled Mai into a deep hug, and as he ran to get to his lesson, Zuko turned, blushed, and waved. Mai stood there, dumbfounded and blushing like a maniac. One hour, my love, my Zuko.

For what seemed like a year to them, Zuko stayed in his lesson. When he finally left class and got back to the fountain, Mai was there, around the same spot he left her standing earlier. Had she even left within the past hour?, he asked himself. But he pushed that thought aside. He walked up and took her hand gently. He's holding my hand, she thought, blushing more. He led her through the palace, out the gate, and into town.

Zuko and Mai ran through the open square in the center of town into a local tea shop. They sat down at a table across from each other. The waiter came and they put in their orders, then looked back at one another. They both blushed and looked away.

"Aw, young love," the two sweethearts overheard and elderly man say to his equally elderly wife. The younger couple blushed some more, then turned their attention back to each other.

"So . . ." Mai began, "How was practice?"

"It was fine," said Zuko. Then they were silent; neither of them were ones for small talk. Thankfully, the tea came to break their awkward silence. They drank their tea, and stole glances at each other. Not many words were exchanged, but that was just Mai's and Zuko's relationship. They were just there to keep each other's company. Also, in Mai's case, Zuko was there to just sit there and be sweet and look handsome. In Zuko's case, Mai was just there to be shy and look beautiful. When their tea was done, they paid, and walked around the center square for awhile.

"Mai, follow me," Zuko said suddenly, "I want to show you something special." He took her hand and pulled her along as they ran. He soon stopped at the edge of the town, and he kept walking into the forest.

"Um, Zuko," Mai stuttered, "Where are we going?" She was sort of afraid of dark forests, especially at night. Zuko appeared to have sensed it.

"Don't worry," he said in a reassuring voice, "We'll be there soon. Besides," he squeezed her hand gently, "You're with me." Mai smiled and looked deeply in his eyes. But soon, they stopped walking suddenly.

"There it is," he sighed. Mai looked where he was staring, and gasped. Away from all of the trees, there was a small clearing, with panda and tiger lilies sprouting every which way. There was a small stream trickling by, and there were fireflies everywhere.

"Wow . . ." was all Mai could say. She was stunned, it was just so pretty. She let go of her boyfriend's hand and walked into the middle of the clearing. Fireflies gathered around her; they felt warm as they flew close to her face. She held out a finger, and a few of the lightning bugs landed on it.

"Mai . . ." she heard Zuko say. She turned around to see him holding a bouquet of panda and tiger lilies. He walked up to Mai and gave them to her. She blushed and took them.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, inhaling the entrancing scent. "They're so pretty." She looked up at him with a smile.

"Yes," he said, "You are." She blushed even more as he met her gaze. They looked away, and then back again. Slowly, they inched towards each other. Just as their lips were about to meet, Mai pulled away. Zuko looked at her questioningly.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I- I don't know. I guess I'm just kind of n- nervous." Mai was beginning to stutter even more, when Zuko put a finger on her lips.

"Sometimes, Mai, you're too quiet," Zuko said, "But now, you're talking too much." He smiled at her, and she smiled at him back. Both were blushing (but that's really no surprise, is it?). They inched back towards each other. Their lips met for only a few seconds, but to the two lovers, it was an eternity.

They separated and smiled more. They kissed again, except more passionately.

He's kissing me!, Mai thought.

I'm kissing her!, Zuko thought. They were two of a kind, you might say. Reluctantly, they came up to breath. Zuko took Mai's hand, and walked her home. They stood in front of her door and kissed again.

"Same time next week?" Zuko whispered to his love.

"Yes," she said. They kissed one last time, an she walked up her steps. She turned, waved, and walked into her home.

Next week, Zuko thought, then turned to walk home.

Unfortunately, a few days before their date, Zuko spoke up against terms during a meeting with the Fire Nation officials. That would lead to his infamous Agni Ki, which happened to fall on the exact date of Mai's and his next date.

"Don't worry," he had said, "I'll be done in time to go out. I'll see you soon." He kissed her and entered the arena. But that was the last time they saw each other close up. Zuko was burned horrendously by his father that day, and was in the infirmary for the next month. During that time, no visitors were aloud to see him, including Mai.

Then Zuko was banished. The last time he and Mai had ever caught a glimpse of each other was while Zuko's ship was leaving to travel the world in search for the Avatar. She didn't want to go, but Azula and Ty Lee literally pushed her to the dock, just as the battle ship was leaving. Zuko, even with his new scar, was just as handsome as ever. As he looked down at his former home, he saw Mai. Both of them started to cry.

"I'll wait for you, Zuko!" Mai yelled. He was barely able to hear her, but he did.

"I love you, Mai!" he screamed back. She nodded, and ran off, sobbing hysterically. But not before that, they both whispered to themselves a silent goodbye.

Goodbye my love, my Zuko. I will miss you.

Goodbye, Mai, darling. I will always remember you.

I love you.

Eek! My first story. This is just the epilogue; many more chapters are to come. Please review, but no flames will be tolerated. Tell me if its good!

- Maiko Forever