Ok, I have been thinking of writing this for a long long time and finally decided to give it a shot today.

Do let me know how it was :)

And just to avoid confusion, the part in italics happend in the past, kind of like a flashback showing the train of events that led to the current scenario while the rest is what is happening in the present.

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Suki glared at him, twirling her fans around in a smooth motion, turning her body in mid air and landing on the ground on her feet, the sharp flick of her fans resounding through out the palace grounds. Zuko gulped nervously, a tiny trickle of sweat seeping down his forehead; cursing his luck for forgetting that she was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors after all. Not a sound was to be heard around the courtyard but if Zuko tried really hard, he could hear Sokka whimper in panic behind him.

"She is going to kill us." Sokka whinned, trying to hide behind Zuko, using him as a shield between Suki and himself.

"Oh, you think?" Zuko snarled, getting into a fighting stance, ignoring the panic running down his spine.

He tried to glare back at her, summoning up all the courage he could muster but he found himself wondering whether his ancestors would forgive him if he tried to make a run for it. She looked murderous standing there, the evening sun reflecting off the metal fans in her hands, her stance perfect and still.

"Oh what are we going to do?" Sokka whimpered, his panic seeping into Zuko.

"You could have tried keeping your big mouth shut." Zuko replied back, trying to calm the frantic beating of his heart.

"Hey there Suki! Want to go for a ride on Appa? I heard the fire nation looks beautiful from up there."

"Thanks Sokka but I have to finish off this game of Pai Sho first."

"Oh! You ladies are playing Pai Sho huh?"

"Yes. Do you want to join in the next game?"

"Naahh.. Thanks Mai but I would rather do manly things than sit around with a bunch of girls and play a pansy board game."

Zuko knew he should have stopped him then and there itself but he never thought that Sokka was capable of putting one feet after the other in his big mouth in such a rapid succession. He wondered how Sokka could have missed the tiny flash of anger that flickered on Mai's face for just a second before she turned back to look at Suki.

"Pansy board game huh?"

"Oh, not for you Suki. You are a girl after all but for a warrior like me, it's a waste of time when we could be out there hunting or refining our fighting skills so that we can protect you ladies from harm."

"Protect us? "

"Of course Mai. That's what we are here for, aren't we Zuko?"

Zuko closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. When he had joined the Avatar, this was certainly not what he had signed up for. He fisted his hands tightly, willing them to stop shaking so much, hoping against hope that he was unable to move not because of the fear at the look on Suki's face but because he didn't want to go near her. Wait, how is that any better, he wondered miserably.

"Really?"

"Of course! With a man like Zuko around, you don't have to worry one bit about lifting your dainty fingers to protect yourself."

"Suki?"

"Yes, Mai."

"I think Sokka is right."

"You do?"

"Of course. Pai Sho is a pansy board game. We should be practising to refine our fighting skills, not sit around and waste time."

"Oh, but it's all right for you ladies. You can relax and take time off to have your little chit chats. It's for us guys to keep fit."

Zuko opened his eyes, exhaling deeply.

"Stand back Zuko." Suki snarled, the wind whipping her voice around the whole courtyrad. "This is between me and him."

"Never!" Sokka shouted back, "Zuko is not going to abandon his friend in need."

"Can you please shut up?" Zuko hissed, trying not to shudder at the tone of Suki's voice.

"But you are not going to abandon me are you?" Sokka whispered in panic.

Zuko sighed.

"Mai?"

"Yes Suki?"

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"Maybe."

Zuko wondered why it always had to be him who ended up being the one to take the flake. He tried to focus his attention back to the present situation, trying hard to figure out a way to keep Sokka away from Suki's grasp; he didn't want to be the one to explain to Katara why he didn't do anything to prevent her brother from being murdered by his own girlfriend.

"Can you tell your girlfriend to stop glaring at me?" Sokka whispered, nudging Zuko painfully at his ribs.

"You should be thankful," Zuko replied gritting his teeth, "It gets worse once she stops glaring and starts throwing her knives around."

Sokka gulped.

"What are you thinking?"

"Oh, I just wanted to show you a few tricks that Mai had been teaching me."

"Great! So you finally learnt how to make a decent cup of tea?"

"Tea?"

"Of course Mai. Suki is terrible in brewing tea but I heard fire nation people are really good at it. So I am guessing that's what you taught her, right?"

"Wrong!"

Sokka didn't even know when they had moved. One second they were sitting there looking at him, the next second he was on the ground, tackled aside by Zuko, a sharp hot flash of air having missed his ears by just inches. He looked over Zuko's shoulders to see one of Mai's knife stuck on the wall, its blade still quivering while a vase lay shattered on the floor next to it, Suki's fan having smashed it to pieces.

And suddenly Suki charged, her fans held back in her hands as she ran towards Sokka, her eyes glaring daggers. Sokka yelped in fear, crouching down behind Zuko, covering his head with his hands, his eyes tightly shut, praying to all the gods he knew.

A sharp clang and a gust of air, the smell of metal vs metal filling up his nose. He opened his eyes slowly, peering up to look at Suki, her metal fan inches away from his head, blocked down by one of Zuko's swords. Before he could take in a breath of relief, Suki suddenly flipped around, sailing through the air and landing on the other side, her hands reaching forward to grab Sokka by his shirt. Zuko moved just as fast, twisting his sword to fling away Suki's fan hand and whirling around to snatch Sokka by his robes, pulling him out of Suki's reach just in time.

Sokka's blood was pounding in his head, fear rendering him immobile. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering whether he had been hitting on the cactus juice again. He must have, he thought miserably as he watched Suki trying her best to reach him and Zuko blocking her every attempt, otherwise he wouldn't have said all those things.

Or would he have?

A sudden whoosh of air by his side and he looked up just in time to see one of Mai's knife flying through the air, piercing through Zuko's robes and pulling his hand back, pinning it to the wall behind him as the knife thudded with a resounding sound into the wall.

Oh no, Sokka gulped.

Zuko looked at Mai as she calmly stepped out from behind the pillar, walking over to Suki.

"He's all yours." She said, nodding towards Sokka. "I will make sure Zuko doesn't interfere."

Now he has had it, Zuko shook his head sadly, pitying the blind look of panic spreading across Sokka's face as Suki broke into a smile, nodding her thanks to Mai and then turned to look at Sokka, her eyes hardening to slits.

Mai walked over towards him, calmly folding her arms across her chest.

"Are you crazy?" Zuko asked frantically, trying to free his hand from under the knife. "She is going to kill him."

"Don't worry." Mai replied back, turning her back towards him, "He will survive."

Zuko watched in horror as Sokka finally dropped all pretenses and scrambled up his feet, running down the opposite corner, screaming at the top of his lungs with Suki giving chase.

"Come back here you coward!" Suki's voice echoed throughout the courtyard, as she flung the fan at him, missing him by inches before he disappeared around the corner.

"So.." Mai's voice brought his attention back to her. She glared at him, her voice dangerously low as she leaned in towards him. Zuko gulped, his heart thundering in his chest. Now he has had it, he thought miserably. Damn Sokka and his big mouth. For a sec she kept glaring at him, her face inches away from his own and just as he was preparing himself to face her wrath, she threw him completely off guard by suddenly breaking into a beautiful smile. "Want to play Pai Sho?"

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Reviews are always appreciated :)