"Don't call me that," Zuko grumbled, eyes closed. He had to admit, he enjoyed soaking in the sun's rays. It made him feel refreshed... energized, somehow. He could feel the heat prickling through his veins. He could feel... a shadow blocking his sun. He frowned.
"Zuko, don't you want to come swimming?" Mai asked. Zuko cracked open his scarred eye and glared at her, looking as though she had just come from a funeral, as always.
"Are you suggesting you plan on swimming in THAT?" he retorted. Mai touched the veil of her sunhat self-consciously.
"I wore my swimsuit underneath... I just can't stand Ty Lee constantly nagging me to play volleyball, and I... just wanted some company." She shifted her weight slightly and clasped her hands in front of her. Zuko didn't answer. Azula knew he was just pretending to be asleep, however, and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.
"OW!!" Zuko shouted, bolting upright. He shot a harsh glare at his sister, who lay on her blanket smirking to herself. He turned to Mai, still waiting for an answer. "Fine, I suppose," he relented, and followed his sister's friend down the beach to the water. As Mai removed her outer garments, her cheeks flushed crimson, and Zuko wondered if the heat was bothering her. She wasn't a firebender, after all. Maybe the high temperatures affected her more easily than they did him. He raised his eyebrow as she finally revealed a burgundy tankini, the straps and torso made of a thin black mesh. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple.
"Well! Let's get in the water, shall we?" he said loudly, with a nervous laugh. An imperceptible smile crossed Mai's lips as Zuko marched into the surf, paying no attention to the bubble of air collecting in his swim trunks. "I gotta hand it to you, Mai, the water feels pretty nice. How about you?"
"Oh, I'm... GREAT," Mai answered, taking in the sight of Zuko's bare chest. He'd lost a bit of weight wandering around the Earth Kingdom begging for food, but since returning to the Fire Nation he had resumed his training and filled out more. It was all Mai could do not to throw herself on him... not that he would have minded with her in that swimsuit. The smile fell from her face as Zuko looked at her, his expression growing less embarrassed and more... wary...
"Mai... geez... I'm not a piece of meat, you know," Zuko muttered. Mai's eyes widened. "You can't just... grope me like that..."
"I... I'm not touching you, Zuko," Mai replied, backing up a few inches. Zuko looked down into the water as a flash of silver grazed his knees. He turned towards shore, when the creature in the water began thrashing furiously.
"AAAAAAHHH!!" Zuko yelled, flailing and struggling to free himself from the creature's grip. "AAAAHHH WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK AAAAAHHHH!!!" Mai shrieked and dove towards shore, swimming as fast as she could to escape the wild beast. She made it to shore and turned to find Zuko still fighting with the animal in water up to his chest.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU STUPID--" Zuko stopped short as the waters suddenly calmed and the creature took off to the depths of the ocean. He stood frozen, his eyes wide, as he realized what had happened. After a moment he snapped out of it, and locked eyes with Mai on the beach.
"Maaiii!" he hissed, trying not to draw attention to himself. "Mai, get my towel!" Mai squinted, struggling to make out his words. He pulled one hand out of the water and gestured wildly at his spot next to Azula. "My towel!! Get my towel!"
"...Why?" Mai asked, puzzled. "Just come out of the water and get it yourself!"
"I caaaaan't!" Zuko replied, his cheeks flushed.
"Why not?"
"The... the dolphinsquid!"
"What?"
"That thing just now, it was a dolphinsquid!"
"Okay..."
"It... it took my bathing suit, Mai!"
"...WHAT?!"
"The dolphinsquid stole my bathing suit!" At this point, Zuko was contemplating swimming out to sea and drowning himself, but the thought of strangers hauling his nude corpse ashore was enough to deter him.
Mai stepped back towards his stuff, then stopped. Zuko... her lava love god, Zuko... was stranded in the ocean NAKED. Surely this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
"MAI I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T BRING ME MY TOWEL RIGHT NOW I WILL PERSONALLY FLAY YOU ALIVE WITH FIRE WHIPS!" Zuko screeched. "AND NO, IT'S NOT AS MUCH FUN AS IT SOUNDS!" Reluctantly, Mai turned and retrieved his towel from the sandy beach.
"So, what, you want me to just toss it into the water?" Mai asked bleakly.
"Yeah, sure, fine," Zuko replied. Mai half-heartedly dropped the towel into the surf and crossed her arms as Zuko waded towards it. When it was within reach, he grabbed the towel and pulled it underwater, wrapping it around his waist. Mai sighed dejectedly as Zuko emerged from the water. Not quite the sight she was hoping for, though it did cling to his body rather nicely. Her revelry was cut short, however, as Zuko stomped off into a changing tent and heated the towel until it was dry. Marching back to the rest of his belongings, he shoved his feet into his sandals and threw on the robe he had worn on the way over.
"I'm going home," he announced curtly to his sister, who merely opened one eye to glance at him, and resumed sunning herself. Zuko turned and headed for the road, hailing a carriage to return to the palace. Azula turned and looked at Mai. Mai shrugged and shook her head. Out at sea, a pair of black and red swim trunks floated to the surface.