She'd never stopped loving him. Even when he hurt her, even when he left, even when he seemed to forget about her and choose his whims above her loyalty, she never stopped loving him.

Though, some nights, when she was all alone with her tears she would tell herself that he was never, could never be worth it all. She would turn her back on the full moon, curse his name and wish she'd never fallen in love in the first place. Some nights, in a cell with her own uncle keeping watch outside, she would count the reasons to hate him against the reasons to love him. The reasons to hate Zuko dwarfed the reasons her heart still leapt when a passing guard would mention his name.

Though in spite of everything—in spite of the fact that she was alone in prison, in spite of his willingness to leave her, in spite of the fact that Zuko chose the company of enemies over hers, Mai still loved him.

She would hate herself for it soon. But when she had no other company, he was with her, taking up more space in her heart that he had any right to. She dreamed of him every night for the first week in prison. But as time wore on the dreams faded. Her memories of his warmth cooled. She finally attained some peace with the fact that he was gone when she heard that the Avatar had overthrown Fire Lord Ozai. She was finally ready to move on. . .

. . . Then Zuko came to get her himself.

There had been no coronation of the next Fire Lord. No restructuring. Nothing but one night's disturbed rest and he was there at the Boiling Rock with a sky bison to come and get her and Ty Lee.

She was speechless.

At first she was angry. She's done all the healing to get over him, and here he came crawling back begging for forgiveness. She wanted to say something cutting yet classy, cold and precise to make him feel every pain she had until the comet. Something articulate and high minded might have some to her if her brain hadn't frozen.

Then she was angry anymore. She saw the single line of tears on his cheek as he looked at her in a prison uniform he had once worn, when their roles had been reversed. When he had sat, imprisoned, tied to a chair, listening to the first of her anger.

And then she cried. She slipped to the ground, leaning against the cot which had taken all her secret tears, and cried with Zuko. She didn't hear his apologies. He didn't hear hers. But when she stood, he held her, every unspoken word passing between them. Every burned bridge had collapsed into the final flowing rivers. There was no more need for bridges when bonds so strong and deep had been forged.

They didn't speak on the way back. Neither said the words "I love you" aloud, but each replied with the same silence that the words had been spoken with. Ty Lee remained silent the entire way, after a teary hug of her friend and a careful bow to Zuko.

With all the decorum and festivity of an enraged Rhino charging through a respectable bath house, they were married. No pomp. No celebration—not after so much loss. No fireworks. No hundreds of guests pretending to be pleased. Not even the formality of asking permission from any member of Mai's family whatsoever. Just the Avatar's ragtag team, Ty Lee crying enough for an entire wedding party, and Zuko's step-father Iroh standing in the palace kitchen of all places, speaking words of healing.

And during that final vow it began to rain.

A/N: Nope. This isn't my Maiko fic. Just a oneshot. And kudos to anyone who can decode my amateurish use of symbology (some are obvious, though at least one might be tricky). Hopefully this came out well. I suppose this is my tribute to the ship (huzzah for you all). : )

In Christ,

ZFF