P: Promise

Zuko always felt the need to get what burdened him out of his chest—whether it was anger, affection, grief, desire or just a simple thought, the want to push it out of his system never ended, and it didn't stop now. His eyes were focused on the face of his girlfriend, even though they were supposed to be reading the letter he was grasping between his fingertips. Realizing that the weight of his work was too much and having a considerable knowledge of politics, Mai was always helping Zuko in his office as much as he allowed her to.

Aware that the decision he had made would affect her more than anyone else, Zuko made an attempt to find the words to let her know of it, without hurting her or angering her—for both would prove deadly for him. Knowing, however, the gravity of his choice, he had no doubt that it would be impossible, despite her emotionless façade.

He took a deep breath. "Mai?"

Raising her eyes from the scroll, she looked at him expectantly. "Yeah?"

"If…" He paused, trying to shove the slight wavering away from his voice. "If something ever happens to me, I want you to take care. I mean—yes, I know you are capable and damn, you've proved it many times to me—but...but I want you to take care in general. You know, your life choices. Move on, be happy and—"

"Zuko." Her voice, despite its fierceness, passed unnoticed.

"—and pretend I never crossed your life, okay? I know I—"

"Zuko!" It was louder this time, and it stopped the awkward flow of words that left his lips. He clamped his mouth shut—his jaw quivering—and looked at her, his ochre eyes more desperate than ever.

"What's all this about?" Her tone was soft and, despite the small spark of fear and apprehension he had managed to ignite, it was steady and determined.

"I—Oh, Mai, I had Aang make a promise," he whispered and shut his eyes closed, afraid that the simple phrase would make her snap.

Biting the inside of her cheek, the raven-haired girl stood up and crossed the room with fast but steady strides. Putting her slender hands on the desk he was sitting, she leaned over it and looked at his eyes. He hadn't told her anything but, somehow, his words made her stomach clench into tight knots, responding to instinct. "Explain," she murmured.

Her tone wasn't fierce and it wasn't loud, either. But it made Zuko shake in despair. Despite his willingness to let her know of it, he would not be able to face the consequences, much less deal with them. But he was aware that she had every right to know. "I—I'm afraid, Mai. Afraid I'll turn into Ozai."

Rolling her eyes, the young woman heaved a sigh, relieved now that it was just one of his unimportant worries, which haunted him quite often. "Is this what it's all about? Agni, you're an idiot!"Straightening up, she took a step behind, ready to return to her previous post.

Shaking his head, the recently-crowned Fire Lord stood up and caught her wrist in an attempt to stop her from leaving. "Let me finish, Mai. Please."

Her brow furrowing in concern, the girl nodded and let him walk closer to her.

Zuko placed warm palms on her shoulders—they wouldn't be able to stop her, should she decide to leave, but the motion did make him feel more secure for the moment. Tell her, even if it means you'll lose her. "We did a huge effort to restore peace. We fought and sacrificed and got hurt."

The knife-thrower nodded. "I know that. Get to the point."

Zuko ignored her. "All those efforts, all that trying would go in vain if this peace gets destroyed once again. By me. I need a safety net, Mai—the world needs a safety net."

Fists curled into two tight balls, Mai glared at him, realizing where he was getting at. "What are you telling me, Zuko?"

"If I ever turn into my father," he took a deep breath. It's now or never. "…Aang promised to kill me."

Mai froze—her perfect immobility and pale skin making her look like a lifeless porcelain doll in the dimly-lit room. The word 'kill' repeated itself in her mind, resembling an endless echo, getting louder with each second. Somewhere, far off, he heard him shout her name and shake her gently, but decided to ignore him. The spasms on her stomach and throat made her too nauseous to speak. For a moment, Zuko, responding to her inertness, wondered whether she had heard him at all, but then saw the knuckles of her fists turn white by the force. When she finally surfaced from the abyss, her sharp, mocha eyes burnt holes on him. "He promised what?" She hissed though gritted teeth.

The fire bender cradled her face between his heated hands gently, as if the simple motion could keep the pieces together and prevent the outburst . "It's just in case."

"Just in case?" She shouted now, not bothering to keep up the emotionless façade. "He's murdering you, just in case?"

Zuko's hands slid down to her arms and tightened their grip for a moment, before he took a step back. Should she decide to, she was free to go now, even though his pain would be unbearable later on, and the space would be suffocating. "I had no choice."

"That's what you always say, Zuko, even though there are plenty of more rational solutions! You just refuse to open your damn eyes and see them!"

His stance became defensive now and, even though he knew she had every reason to react this way, he felt his own anger building up. "Tell me what my options were this time, Mai. What else could I have done?"

"You could have talked to me!" She took a step closer to him, pointing to herself with her index finger. "I can stop you from being the same as Ozai. I can stop you from making the wrong choices. I can be your safety net."

Zuko smiled bitterly. The thought sounded nice in his head, but far too dreamy and unrealistic. "It wouldn't have worked."

"Yes," she murmured softly, nodding. "It wouldn't have worked because you never talk to me; because, for some crazy reason, you always decide to talk to everyone but me."

"That's not true! I did talk to you, didn't I?"

"After the promise! After everyone else learnt—after Katara learnt."

"Don't go there, Mai." He rolled his eyes, instantly dismissing her claims. "We've argued about this lots of times and you always admit you're wrong. Besides, this is not our point."

"There is no point," she muttered, shrugging. "You already made your choice. Why tell me now?"

Her tone had turned from the furious one into her usual sarcastic. It enraged Zuko to no end but, at the same time, he swore he couldn't love her more than those moments when her sarcasm appeared. "Because, if it ever happens, I want you to move on and live a happy life."

The realization that there was a chance of him leaving her forever made her heart clench and unclench. She could feel the first sting of her tears on her eyes and she snorted in an attempt to push them away. "Married to some noble pervert."

In a vain effort to calm her, Zuko ran a hand through her silky hair, enjoying the softness between his fingertips. "Maybe it won't come to this," he claimed, even though he did not fully believe his words. "Maybe things will go smoothly."

Mai pushed his hand away sharply, making her boyfriend's throat constrict with the feelings of hurt and rejection. "I hate it when you rely on maybes," she muttered, throwing him another icy glare.

"I had to do it, Mai." His tone, even though subdued, dipped with a fierce determination, rendering his girlfriend unable to argue, thus putting an end to their fight. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, her straight bangs wavering, before turning her back and gracefully walking out of the room. Zuko didn't try to stop her. His fingers, however, twitched, as his heart urged him to reach for her, while his mind rendered itself an obstacle between him and her.

The door closed.

Mai huffed and took off another layer of her flowing, burgundy tunic. She was sweating now and panting, but the throwing of her blades did not cease—if anything, it became more frantic, as if it gained power from her exhaustion. Despite the weariness that dawned upon her, the raven-haired woman was provided with much needed comfort and composure by metal. Her boyfriend's words were still fresh in her mind, and the wounds they opened were even fresher. Had he not looked at her with those desperate, affectionate eyes, she would have not hesitated to slap him. But she loved him and that was her only weakness.

If she wanted to be honest with herself, the very promise was the least of her worries. After all, her faith in Zuko was as vast as her support for him was, and the combination of the both convinced her that the new Fire Lord would be completely unlike his father. What, however, infuriated her to no end was the fact that still, after all they had been through, he refused to open up and talk to her. She had opened up, she had brought down the invisible wall, she changed after he had asked her to, she had made sacrifices. And, being fully aware that change does not occur from one day to another, she had given him plenty of time for his own change, which he did not use.

In a moment's rage, she let the shuriken fly out of her hand with a little more force than needed. The nerve on her wrist flicked, making her bite her lip in pain. Unaffected, she kept going, lost in her thoughts—but not lost enough not to notice him walking towards her. She chose to ignore him.

The Fire Lord stood there for a few moments, watching her lean form flex and un-flex. His eyes flashed to her face, and then to her struggling hand in worry. "You hurt your wrist."

Mai shot him a side glare, wondering when he became so observant, but didn't answer.

Shaking his head, the young Fire Lord cursed his absurdness. Despite the fact that he wanted her to make her own choices—even if that meant leaving him—he could not let her go. Not that easily. "I messed up again. There, I said it!" His hands flashed into the air in exasperation.

Mai scowled—admitting his mistakes had always been the easy part for her boyfriend; correcting them, on the other hand, was another matter, one that Zuko did not seem to understand. The knife thrower huffed, but her knives did not falter.

"Everything I do, I do it wrong. Ordering servants, making decisions, ruling my nation." His voice fell into a murmur. "…Keeping you happy…"

The knife-thrower scoffed, unable to feign ignorance any longer. With a twist of her hand, she pulled out one knife out of her target a bit too hard, taking her anger out on it. Despite the intensity of her nerves, her voice was even. "But I am happy with you—even now that you make me want to kill you, I am happy."

His smile was proud, smug almost, but satisfied. "Really?"

Mai saw the twinkle in his eyes, and softened. "Yes, you idiot. Do you really think I'd be here right now if you didn't make me happy?"

"I don't know what to think any longer, Mai." A tired sigh left his lips and Zuko mentally wished that all of his troubles would leave him along with that puff of air. "You honestly don't want to know what's going on in my mind these days."

"See? Wrong again." Mai took a deep breath, and her face relaxed, regaining its lost coolness. "I want to know what's going on in your mind." Freed from her rage's grasp now, the pale girl walked closer to him and reflexively put her fingers above his scared cheek.

The Fire Lord closed her eyes and revered the feeling of her touch, just like every time. "You'd run away."

"If that's what you're afraid of, then you should know that you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Zuko smiled then—a small twitch on the corners of his lips, but it was enough for both of them. "Hopefully."

"I want you to promise me something, too, Zuko."

Eagerly nodding, the fire bender rested his forehead against hers. Realizing that she did not push him away, small drops of hope started trickling down on him, and he dared raise a hand and give her cheek a feathery touch as well. "Anything."

"Promise me you'll talk to me. For Agni's sake, Zuko, talk to me! That's all I'm asking for."

"I promise," he whispered, his voice husky with emotions. Mai saw the way his face contorted in guilt, regret and fear and, suddenly, her arms were around him, embracing him close, and her lips were on his—soft, reassuring, comforting. For a moment, Zuko was sure of himself.

"Let's get something for your wrist. What were you thinking, training like that?"

Mai rolled her eyes but let him drag her to a healer.

"Remember, Zuko. A promise is a promise."

I'm not fully satisfied with this—I get the feeling it's a bit rushed.

I want to clear some things up:

First of all, Mai is not jealous of Katara, in a Zutara way. She is more jealous of the communication Zuko and Katara share, and she wants Zuko to talk to her, and open up to her, just like he does to Katara.

Also, I wanted this one-shot to explain why Mai gets so upset when Zuko doesn't tell her he'd go to Ba Sing Se in The Promise Part 1, and when he doesn't tell her he'd be visiting Ozai in The Promise Part 2. Because he had made a promise to her, and because she knew what would happen if he became his father.

I'm going to upload this as a one-shot, as well.

Thanks to NinjaKick, for editing and everything! Honestly, her support is great, I couldn't have a better beta!

Please, do review—I want to hear your opinions on this.

~Dora.