"That wasn't boring." Mai comments casually. She gazes up at her companion, waiting for him to respond. He doesn't. His alabaster features are luminescent in the night, allowing her to catch a glimpse of his darkened eyes and taut mouth before he inclines his head away from her. She quickly shifts her gaze to her brocade slippers, letting her shining dark hair hide the disappointment that flickers across her face.
He quickens his pace abruptly, disrupting the rhythm of their matched steps. Mai is tugged along for a moment by their linked hands.
"Zuko?" Her tone is flat; but there is an undercurrent of concern that only one who knew her well could detect. "Are you all right?" The straight line of her lips softens and her noble eyebrows arch, furrowing her brow. Only with him does she dare to lift her veil of apathy.
He turns back to her as if waking from a dream. His long fingers shift, as if just noticing that they enclose Mai's hand. "Yeah. Fine."
The familiar rasp of his voice still sends a thrill through Mai, but she shakes it off and stares at him skeptically.
"Really. I'm fine. Just…tired." He unlaces his fingers from her loose grasp and gestures vaguely. "Well, we're here."
"Oh. Yes." Mai finally tears her attention from Zuko and notices where they are.
She makes as though she is about to turn to leave, then changes her mind and faces him.
She places her elegant right hand on his scarred cheek, and nudges him so that he looks into her eyes. Her amber gaze locks with his golden eyes, searching vainly to find what clouds their depths. She caresses his cheek lightly with her thumb, then leans in and presses her lips to his.
His lips are unusually cold, having none of their previous fire, and do not move against hers. She feels his jaw tense. So she pulls away and opens her eyes, to find that he never closed his.
"Well… good night, Zuko." Mai closes her eyes as she turns away. She does not want him to see the pain swimming in them.
She does not look back, not trusting herself to. But finally, she can resist no longer, and glances over her shoulder- only to find that he has already abandoned her to the darkness.
