A Happy Family
Zuko watched the pai shou board carefully, deeply contemplating his next move. Finally, he moved a single tile, inciting a smirk in his opponent.
"Sorry, Zuko," Mai said as she made her final move, "but you really shouldn't have done that."
Zuko groaned in defeat, banging his head on the table. Toph walked into the living room where they were playing, feeling Zuko's defeat and a Mai whose shit-eating grin (or as close as her image could allow her to come to one) was so big even she could see it.
"Mai, did you beat poor Zuzu's ass again?"
"Yes, but we had a bet, you see," Mai replied, her grin getting wider. "We decided to get a kitten, but were arguing about the name. Whoever won this match was going to decide what it is."
"And what kind of name's got Zuko this depressed?"
"Your Honour."
"...Mai, you're a genius."
"Why, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some shopping to do. Come on, Zuko, let's go get Your Honour."
The boy groaned again, but stood up nevertheless, a less-than-happy look on his face. The two of them went out under the sound of Toph's laughter."
"What about this one?"
"No. That one."
"Mai, I accepted it when you wanted to paint our whole room black, with a bit of red, when you made half the living room the same colours, but may the Avatar help me if I'm getting a kitten with black fur and eyes."
"...Fine, you choose the kitten. After all…"
"No, don't say it-"
"It's Your Honour we're talking about."
"Why must you do this to me."
"Why, did that hurt? Did I, perhaps…"
"Mai, no-"
"...Burn you?"
"..."
"...I really love you, you know."
"It's moments like these when I believe you the most."
Mai and Zuko walked, carrying a basket with their new kitten inside, as well as a few shopping bags, full of all the supplies they'd need for the new part of their family. Aang, ever the animal lover, had his inner alarm immediately triggered, and as such was the first to congratulate them at the entrance for their new pet. When he learned what the name was, he laughed and went on to tell Katara, who'd just come back with him from visiting the North Pole. Toph and Sokka were playing pai shou in the living room and snickered upon seeing the new kitten - a cute ginger with dark eyes (as much as Zuko had tried resisting, Mai could be very, very persuasive). For the next few days, the kitten made fast friends with everyone, even Sokka, who immediately saw it's value as a rat hunter. Toph was very amused by its antics - messing up Zuko's things constantly and thus making his life hard. Not that it wanted to - it just seemed extremely fond of him, and knew innately when he's touched something and what were his stuff, and often stole them, hiding them in all the nooks and crannies in the house, and resting in Mai's hands as Zuko then went on to search for all of them. Aang really enjoyed playing with it and introduced it to Appa and Momo, the latter of which became really close with the new addition to the Gaang. The kitten also really liked sitting in Katara's lap while she sewed, or just letting her and Mai absently stroking it when they were just chilling around the house. It also really liked visitors - the first time Suki had come after its arrival it had spent the whole night with her, ignoring everybody else.
As Zuko sat, reading a book with Mai cuddled up against him, the kitten between them, with Katara and Toph cooking and Aang and Sokka heatedly discussing animal rights, he decided that life, despite seemingly all his friends having it out for his honour, was as good as it could get.
A/N: This was a random gift fic for a friend of mine I wrote a while back. I couldn't think of a proper ending, though. Still, I hope you liked it.