Quick note: The children in this story are based on some fanart by the hugely talented DS-Hina (who can be found on deviantart) because I thought the art was adorable and really wanted to write a story around it.
Things were not going well.
"Roku, please explain."
"She's a liar, Mother. And she was calling me Sparky." Her son's face was screwed up in an impressive scowl.
"I wasn't lying."
"Kara," Mai said sternly. The girl nodded and went quiet. Mai turned back to her son, who flinched at the look she gave him.
"I didn't mean to! I swear! She just made me really mad and then practically dared me."
"So you thought you'd attack her with fire?"
"She's okay," Roku argued lamely.
"That doesn't count for much, Roku. You can't expect everyone who makes you mad to be able to defend themselves that well." Mai caught Kara's smug little grin and rounded on her as well. "And you should know better than to pick on firebenders who haven't mastered their tempers."
"It's been a few years. I would have thought he'd matured a little by now."
Roku gaped at her and looked to Mai for assistance.
"You bring out that side of him," Mai said to her coldly. It was enough to wipe the smirk off of her face. It was Roku's turn to look smug, so Mai turned to him. "That's no excuse, Roku. Frankly, you're lucky to be alive with both of your eyebrows intact; she went easy on you."
"What?... I... That... I could have taken her!" Roku insisted.
"Your father and I both respect your pride, Roku, but she's been training her whole life, and with better firebenders than you." Before continuing, Mai shot Kara a quick glance to make sure she still looked humble. "You will learn to control your temper, Roku, even around those that take some pathetic delight in kindling it, and in the meantime, you will return to studying firebending theory rather than practice."
Roku was near tears. "But... she's... she's a liar! You wouldn't believe what she was saying about you and Father!"
Mai arched an eyebrow, and Roku continued.
"She said you two were in prison!"
"They were. Our dads went there and rescued my mom and my grandpa. I've heard this story dozens of times, Sp... Roku."
"Do you even listen to yourself?"
Mai and Zuko knew this day would come. They'd hoped it would wait until Roku's lessons reached more contemporary history, because by then he might be old enough to understand. She hated the girl a little for raising these questions now, when Roku still saw his parents, his father especially, as infallible heroes.
"Mother?" Mai realized her silence had been long and incriminating. "It's... it's not true, right?"
"You are both to go to your rooms. Kara, I will be with you shortly. Roku... your father and I will come to talk to you about this a little later, all right?" The two nodded. Mai watched them leave, then hurried into the hall to find Zuko.
Much of Zuko's day consisted of meetings with various advisors in various rooms of the palace; he had found the day endlessly dull if he were to spend it all glaring at people from behind a wall of fire, and now used the throne room as sparingly as possible. Much of Mai's day consisted of tracking him; she had perfected the art of happening upon him in the hallways between meetings.
She slowed her pace slightly as she heard Zuko and his attendants behind her. She lowered her arm, allowing Zuko's hand to slide comfortably into her own. They exchanged subtle smiles.
Mai gave Zuko's hand a small squeeze. "Roku's asking questions about... before. The prison." She looked at him significantly. "We're going to need to explain things."
Zuko sighed and nodded. "Would this have anything to do with the Princess and a certain firebending incident?"
"Word travels quickly."
"I wish her parents thought the consequences through a little better before telling her things." He shook his head. "But I guess it would be foolish to expect them to start now."
"Indeed," Mai smiled crookedly. "Though I suppose we should have seen this coming. We forget that for them, the prison is a romantic story."
Zuko squeezed her hand. After all this time, he still felt guilty.
"I like our story the way it is," she assured him. "I should go. I'll find you when you're free to speak to Roku with me."
"I'm not sure when that will be, to be honest," Zuko sighed.
"That's all right. I am."
"Your parents spoke to me about their wishes... your wishes... before they left." Mai eyed the girl. She had decided to stay here, of all places, while her parents visited the South Pole. Mai knew she had done it to bring up the subject herself. "I'm not sure they realized what they'd brought up, but I could figure it out. This was not a good start, Kara."
"I know." At least she sounded genuinely sorry.
"My first object is to raise my son to be a good prince. If you hinder me, I will not tolerate your presence here."
The girl nodded. She looked down at her hands.
"The only way I will agree to foster you is if you prove to me that you will be a good influence on my son and not make my life needlessly difficult." Mai softened her tone before continuing. "There's no doubt that you would be a model pupil, and you have potential. I should like to accept you."
"I apologize. It was childish to provoke him."
Mai nodded. "What did you tell him about his father and myself?"
"That you were there, at the prison. He didn't believe me that you were good with throwing knives."
Mai sighed, but gave the girl a little credit for not immediately telling her son about the times that Mai had fought against Suki and Sokka, instead choosing to relate the time she helped to rescue them.
"That was it, though. And I swear, I thought he knew about you with the knives. I thought that was why he was making fun of me learning to use my mother's fans." Kara bowed her head.
"I hope you realize what you've started here."
"You're going to talk to Roku about your pasts, and he might not be ready to understand." At least she was clever enough to figure that out.
"In that case, he might seek you out, or at any rate be more inclined towards your company than that of anyone else. Make yourself available if he needs to talk to anyone, and don't make things worse."
Kara nodded, then added, "Again, I'm sorry."
"I know your parents, so I'll try to be patient with you here, but you need to learn to be less reckless with the consequences of your actions, socially, at least, if you are to survive here with me."
"So she was telling the truth?" Roku looked almost sick at the thought.
"Well, yes. But it was more complicated than that..." Zuko started to explain.
Roku looked to his father desperately. "But you didn't leave mother there, right? That part can't be true."
"I only locked her in the cell to keep her safe from the riot," Zuko said calmly.
"You locked her in a cell?" Roku was far from calmed. He gaped at his parents.
"I..." Zuko looked to Mai for help.
She sighed. "It's a long story, Roku. Your father's side especially..."
"Is it true about you and the knives, too?" Roku interrupted.
Mai removed a few of them from her sleeve to show him. Though she didn't carry as many as she used to, it was still a habit she hadn't bothered to break.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"We would have liked to wait until you were older before discussing parts of this with you. Our side of things gets a little... complicated," Mai tried to explain.
Roku's eyes widened. "You two... you were both... good guys... right?"
The look they exchanged was enough; Roku looked like he wanted to bolt from the room.
"But... you're good guys! You're friends with her parents! You're friends with the Avatar! You helped them win!"
"That's true," Zuko said, trying to be a calm and patient foil against his son.
"You... did you ever... fight against them?" Roku clearly didn't even want to ask the question.
"We did," Zuko admitted.
"But... how can you be on both sides?"
"It's not always good guys and bad guys, Roku. Like today when you attacked Kara... that doesn't make you a bad guy."
"That's different! That's not... It was the Avatar! How could you do that?" Roku shoved his father away and ran from the room. Mai exchanged an understanding look with Zuko before slipping out silently to follow their son.
He was already up the tree when she spotted him; he knew neither of his parents would chase him up there. Mai waited in the shadows, patient and silent as ever, for when he might come down.
"Can I join you?" Kara was under the tree, looking up at Roku.
"I don't know. Can you, in that dress?" He shouldn't have challenged her; she was sitting demurely on a branch next to him in seconds.
"My mother's always trained me to fight in a dress," she explained casually. "She says if I can learn to do that, everything else will be easy."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Kara absently practiced a few moves with her fan. "What's wrong?"
Ruko glared at her. "You wouldn't understand."
"Is it about your parents?"
Roku scowled at the ground, then mumbled, "They were bad guys."
Kara just shrugged. "The Fire Nation was different then. When they were good guys, they were traitors."
"Yeah, but..."
"But what? It was complicated."
"You all keep saying that, but that doesn't justify anything."
Kara contemplated him. "You ought to read more about your father's history... I'll find you a few scrolls. It should make things clearer."
"I just don't know..."
"Everyone else can forgive them. They may have fought my parents a couple times, but they also saved them. And if you read about what the Fire Nation was like before they took over... they've done a lot of good, Roku. You should be proud of them."
"I was." The tone was enough to break Mai's heart a little.
"Destiny's a funny thing; your dad's journey was pretty crazy."
Roku narrowed his eyes. "Why do you know more about this than I do?"
"I was curious."
"...Curious?"
She just nodded.
"Is that why you're here? To study them or something?"
"It's part of it," she said without hesitation. "Another part is that I'm not terribly interested in going to the South Pole again." Roku rolled his eyes. "And then... well, I like it here."
Roku stared at her a moment before declaring, "You're weird."
Kara just shrugged and leapt gracefully out of the tree. Roku waited until she was out of sight before making his own clumsy descent.
Still in the shadows, Mai secretly saw Roku back to his room, then went to find Zuko and, one way or another, assuage his guilt.
"Really, Lady Mai, it was an accident. Or if anyone needs to be blamed, it's me," Kara was insisting. "I was looking to practice with my fans and basically insisted."
Mai sighed. She wondered if when things were openly hostile between the children, they might have been better. Since Kara had taken it upon herself to educate Roku about his parents, as he was then still avoiding speaking seriously with Mai and Zuko, the two had seemed to get along well, though clearly not without consequences. Mai eyed Kara's singed hem. "Your dress is ruined. You had better go change."
The girl nodded and quietly left the room. Mai turned to her son, who immediately winced.
"I didn't mean to! Really, this time!"
"We were wrong to let you proceed so quickly with your firebending training. I'll have a word with your master, and you'll return to theoretical exercises."
"The candles again? But that's so stupid!"
"You need to learn to control yourself, Roku. I think it might be a good idea to bring in someone who will be able to watch you both... in a manner of speaking."
Roku's face fell. "You can't..."
"At this rate, Roku, it's only a matter of time before one of you seriously injures the other. Besides, your father and I will be needing to leave soon. I would feel better if Toph were here with you both."
"But..." Roku seemed overwhelmed with the protests he wanted to make. "She's blind! And she's a bad influence! And she calls me 'Sparky'!" He took another tactic. "Why do both of you have to leave? You could stay! We'll be good!" When that didn't seem to have an effect, "But why can't you have someone else come, like Katara! She's nice and she'd be able to fix us if we got hurt!... And we wouldn't, I swear!"
Mai's face remained impassive.
"Please don't leave me alone with them!"
"Are you finished?"
Roku groaned, but nodded.
"Toph is a good friend, Roku, and we owe her a lot. That includes our respect." He nodded, however reluctantly. "As a prince, you cannot be so picky about your company. You must be hospitable and respectful, and if I get reports that you were anything but, I'll take away the candles, too, and you'll just have to read about firebending for awhile."
Roku began to protest, then stoically nodded.
Though considerably more quiet than usual, Roku seemed composed during the days leading up to Mai and Zuko's departure, even including Toph's arrival. Toph did bring letters for him from his grandmother and great-uncle, which might explain his self control; he was generally quick to heed their advice, thinking both of them omniscient and unerring, and Ursa's lifelong absence only served to make her seem more god-like to Roku. Mai wasn't sure he was entirely wrong, either, and she was always grateful that their letters seemed to calm and steady her son. But even that did not fully explain his recent transformation, and Mai had the vague suspicion that Roku thought she had only been threatening him, and if he were well-behaved enough, she would not, in fact, leave him with Kara and Toph. She wondered how quickly this princely demeanor would fall apart in her absence.
Mai was overseeing the packing when she spotted Roku in the doorway.
"I'm sorry I called you bad guys," he said quietly.
"I know." Mai extended an arm and coaxed Roku to her side.
"Did Ozai really... do that... to Father's face?" Roku practically whispered it.
It had never occurred to Mai that they had neglected to tell him about Zuko's scar. She nodded. "You've been reading, I take it?"
He ignored her question. "Were you there?"
Mai shook her head. Though she had always regretted not being able to see Zuko off, she was at least a little relieved she had been spared witnessing any of it. She did, however, clearly remember Azula telling her of Zuko's disgrace, watching Mai's face intently, sadistically, for any hint of betrayed emotion. She shuddered lightly at the thought.
She was brought back as Roku's hand crept carefully up her sleeve, removing one of the blades stored there. "Will you show me, sometime? What you can do?" He asked, looking at the blade.
"Perhaps." Mai had to smile slightly.
"Kara says her dad is still a little scared of you." He sounded proud. "She wants you to teach her."
That was not something Mai needed, though she reminded herself she was younger than Kara when she began learning. Mai wondered how she had ever gotten away with it. "I'll show you sometime. Kara may have to wait." That pleased him.
His grin morphed into a contemplative frown. "There isn't a lot about you in what I'm reading, before you married Father."
She understood his unasked question, but wasn't sure how to answer. How could she explain her alliance with Azula? That her hunt of the Avatar was largely to stave off boredom?
Roku was scrutinizing her face, fruitlessly. "It really was choosing between being a hero for doing the wrong thing, and being a traitor for doing good, wasn't it?"
"More or less." That was a hard time to think about.
"What made you decide to be a traitor?"
"Your father," Mai answered without hesitation. "I realized I would follow him anywhere."
It wasn't a hero's answer, but it seemed to satisfy Roku well enough.
"So Roku's been reading, huh?" For at least the length of their flight to the Southern Air Temple, Mai and Zuko had been granted a rare stretch of privacy. Zuko was especially grateful that this allowed for uncensored conversation; he got impatient with Mai's habit of talking around things.
"He spoke with you, too, then?" Mai was observing their relatively unremarkable view of clouds and ocean.
Zuko joined her. "Yeah. He seems to have forgiven me for being a bad guy."
"You were never that bad, really."
Zuko smiled weakly, not believing Mai's words, but appreciating them nevertheless. "Think he'll be okay?"
"I sent for Iroh and Tom-Tom. They would cheer him up." Roku had always idolized both of them. "Especially since I don't know how long this will take."
Zuko nodded. It was not rare to be attending these summits with Aang and other world leaders, but they usually irritated Zuko to no end; he had only so much patience for diplomacy and the way any goals of these things seemed to politely wait until the last possible minute to make themselves known.
Mai put a hand on his shoulder. It was generally her purpose to keep Zuko's frustration from affecting his temper, and in that she was skilled. "Your mother's going to be here."
"Really? Why didn't you tell me?"
Mai just shrugged. "I guess Aang invited her. She's not a representative... officially she is just there to serve tea... and it would probably be best if no one knew for certain who she really was."
"But... why was she invited?"
"You know how she is." Zuko, of all people, seemed so hesitant to fully acknowledge his mother's manipulative tendencies. "She's there to do what she can to keep things moving and help Aang's agenda along. So it would be best if no one had any idea what she was trying to do, and, if they figure it out, no reason to suspect that she's your mother. You can see how that would look."
"I understand."
"That's not to say we won't be able to arrange some time together, just that you need to be conscious of how it might appear..."
"I understand, Mai," Zuko said. "I just don't understand what could be so important to bring her out here... for her to risk it." He looked sharply at Mai, hoping to divine whether or not she had the answers.
Mai's face was as expressionless as ever. "I could only guess, Zuko."
With a stony stare, Zuko prompted her to do just that.
She sighed before continuing, "You've been doing too well. The Fire Nation has recovered too quickly for their comfort. And now that you have a legacy, they are getting concerned that you might break your promises and take over the world again."
Zuko groaned. "I can't do anything right, can I?"
"It always depends on who you ask, and when."
"What will they want?"
"It's just conjecture, but... probably money. A lot of it. It would weaken us and strengthen them."
"And the amount?"
"Negotiable, I suppose. That's probably why we're here."
Zuko looked resigned. "If Aang asked Mother here... that's probably for the best. I just wish there were some way I could prove to them, once and for all..." he trailed off.
Mai nodded, taking Zuko's hand. She knew the one thing he hated most about being Fire Lord was being treated as though he were his father, always on his own side of the table, the rest of the world against him. The least she could do was stand beside him on their side until things leveled out, if they ever did. "Remember, you don't need to give in to all of their demands. They'll try to convince you that you're no better than your predecessors unless you do..."
"I remember." Zuko's first years had been just that.
"But there are alternatives. And unless their first offer is remarkably fair..."
Zuko laughed dryly.
"... We'll find an alternative." Mai squeezed his hand.
He looked at her gratefully. "I'm sorry I was short with you..."
"It's fine, Zuko." Mai brushed his cheek. "You can't be this soft in there... consider it practice."
"So how is Roku?" Ursa asked cheerfully, setting up the tea service for Mai, Zuko, and herself. Zuko moved to help her, but she lightly slapped his hand away.
"He must have waited a whole day after we left to send this..." Mai was perusing her son's letter. "A new record, I imagine..." she trailed off, furrowing her brow.
"What's wrong?" Zuko asked, expecting only the worst to elicit a facial expression from her. Even Ursa had looked up sharply from her work.
"It's not serious, just... I made a mistake." She finished the letter and passed it to Ursa, a finger pointing out the relevant passage.
Ursa's concerned expression morphed into a fond smile. "Oh, Roku."
Zuko scowled. "What is it?"
"Tom-Tom." Mai explained, "He must have arrived shortly after we left. I had hoped his being there would cheer Roku up and distract him from Toph and Kara..."
"Right," Zuko nodded.
Mai and Ursa exchanged a quick look. "Well, I miscalculated. It seems that Tom-Tom was the one distracted."
Zuko shook his head, uncomprehending, before his mother passed him the letter.
"She is quite a beauty," Ursa conceded.
"And mature for her age... usually," Mai added. "I suppose I had forgotten that they hadn't seen each other in years."
"Oh!" Zuko caught on. "That's rough to lose his friend to a girl. Especially to Kara."
"I'm not entirely sure he's upset about losing Tom-Tom, Zuko." Ursa passed him his tea.
"I may have to write to Tom-Tom. He's probably just not aware," Mai sighed.
"Wait... why is that necessary? They're kids. Roku will get over it."
Mai and Ursa exchanged another look.
"...What?" Zuko asked hesitantly, eying them both.
"Well, Kara has a lot of potential, Zuko," Mai began to explain.
"And it's obvious that she's been a generally good influence on Roku," Ursa continued.
"NO." Zuko stood. "Both of you... stop. They're kids!"
"Precisely," Mai said patiently. "Look, it isn't as though we're putting anything in writing just yet, but while we can, we're just guiding them..."
"No!" Zuko persisted. "Mai, I'm surprised, given how upset you got with my Mother for doing this... and Mother... I would have thought you'd have gotten your fix with Toph and Mai and me... But this? You should both be ashamed."
"Zuko," Ursa began soothingly.
"No... it's insane! I haven't said anything in years, with both of you treating me like a puppet, but I will draw the line here. It's my son's life, and he deserves to live it and fall in love on his own terms, and I will not stand by and watch you both pull the strings!"
Mai shot a look to Ursa, who was looking intently at Zuko.
Zuko's face fell. "No..."
"You understand, Mai was a very promising young lady, even at an early age," Ursa said patiently.
Zuko turned to Mai. "You knew?"
Mai was slightly hesitant and answered softly, "Not the whole time, obviously. Not until after you had been banished, and by then, unofficial as it was, it had been dissolved." Mai glanced at Ursa. "Mostly."
Zuko seated himself again.
"Why are you so upset?" Mai asked dryly. "Do you have any complaints?"
Zuko shook his head. "I just thought I did this one thing. I thought I had some element of control over my own life." It was exceptionally bitter, even for Zuko.
"You did," Ursa smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "You both did. It was just something the rest of us noticed and encouraged. That's all." His mother smiled. "You were about as subtle as Roku, after all. He is very much your son."
"Great."
"Zuko, as much as I'd love to send Roku out into the world to find and choose whoever he wants, he's still a prince, and will one day be Fire Lord. You want to tell me that you think just anyone can be Fire Lady?" Mai raised an eyebrow.
"Well, no, but..."
"If he does find someone else he prefers that would be suitable, I won't stand in his way, Zuko. But I don't see any other contenders, so I'm working with what he's given me."
Zuko gaped. "So that's why you're going to foster her?"
Mai rolled her eyes, but remained calm and even. "Of course it is. I need to make sure Roku's choice is equipped for the job."
Ursa watched Mai approvingly, smiling slightly.
Zuko wrinkled his brow. "But if... if Roku does find someone else, what happens to Kara?"
"Why? What would you like to see happen?" Ursa asked, at least sounding curious.
"Well... I guess I did kind of figure that they might..." He noticed the satisfied smirks on his wife and mother. "But let me be absolutely clear: I do not condone all of this... plotting."
"Oh, Zuko," his mother sighed.
"No... don't... How can you not see how ridiculous this is? Have you even talked to Suki about this? They want Kara to be a warrior!"
Mai arched an eyebrow. "How is that any different from me plotting Roku's future?"
Zuko sputtered before managing to say, "She's not our daughter, Mai! We don't have the right to plan her future, too!"
"She's the one who wanted me to foster her," Mai said dismissively.
"Don't give me that! It's because you did that... that thing you and Mother can do where you make people think they want what you want them to want!" Zuko accused her. "It's eerie and wrong."
Mai narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you upset that we've been planning this, or that we haven't included you until now?"
Zuko's hesitation, indignant though it was, was answer enough.
"Honestly," Mai sighed. "We really haven't done anything. They've been coming together on their own. We've just been paying attention."
"He's not wonderful about concealing his feelings, either," Ursa added, smiling, and producing several of Roku's letters. "He really is your son, Zuko."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zuko mumbled, mostly rhetorically, as he started perusing his son's letters.
"It's no more manipulative than how we came together, Zuko," Mai said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Zuko gave a vague grunt. Hitting upon a particularly transparent passage of one of the letters, he sighed, "Oh, Roku." He passed the letters back to his mother. "Okay, I grant you that there's clearly some affection on his side, even if he doesn't totally realize it, but what about hers? Especially if she's running around with Tom-Tom?"
"Oh, there's affection."
"It might take a woman to recognize it, Zuko, but it's there," Ursa explained. "She's definitely interested, but he's still a little young. Roku just needs a few years to reach his real potential, and she'll figure it out. Tom-Tom is just fascinatingly worldly at the moment."
Zuko shook his head. "This is ridiculous." He sounded resigned.
"I know." Ursa patted his hand. "These matters usually are."
"Are you okay?" Aang asked cautiously, peeking in on Mai and Zuko.
"I'm fine." Zuko had calmed himself since his outburst. Mai was doing her part, lightly stroking his shoulders to soothe him.
"That was quite the passionate speech in there." Aang seemed to be speaking carefully.
"It was rehearsed," Mai explained. "Ursa felt an explosive storm-off was needed to make a point."
"Not that it was difficult. They just..." Zuko made a few frustrated noises.
"The... uh... breathing smoke was a nice touch." Aang was smiling, but still his eyes still looked concerned.
"How did it go over?" Mai asked, watching Aang's face for clues.
"They were still just pretty shocked when I left. Should I send in... did you want some tea?"
Mai shook her head. "Ursa wanted to stay and watch them. She says that after something like this, they might be a little more malleable."
Aang nodded. "I'm sorry about all of that... all of this..."
"Is there anything you would have us do?" Zuko asked, eager for guidance from someone the world seemed to trust.
"Well, I don't mean... I know you had every right... but... you could apologize to them for the outburst."
"That's a good move," Mai agreed, trying to sound as though that hadn't already been the next phase of Ursa's plan.
Zuko nodded. "When?"
"We can wait for Ursa, I'm sure." Aang shifted slightly. "You're doing really well in there, Zuko. If you were representing any other country..."
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to do more to help... to get them to trust me."
"No, no..." Aang shook his head. "If anything, I'm sorry I haven't been able to do more to help."
Mai tried to keep herself from groaning. "They want to blame someone. It's nothing the two of you have or haven't done. People are going to be bitter for the 100 years of war the Fire Nation put them through. There's nothing that can change that."
"Then what are we doing here?" Zuko sounded genuinely confused, having spent the last couple weeks clinging to the hope that the conclusion of this summit would see the rest of the world embracing him and his nation.
Mai shrugged. "Letting them vent. Hearing their concerns. We'll do what we can, honor the promises we make, but ultimately we're just renting their trust. It will run out, and we'll do this again." Mai avoided Aang's eyes. She hated saying this in his presence. "This is what an era of peace is... doing these summits instead of going to war over it. Blissful, independent coexistence is a fantasy."
Aang seemed deflated; Mai regretted being so harsh, but she was anxious to go home, and that would never happen if they were holding out for a something so unattainable.
"Aang, come back to the Fire Nation with us; it's been ages since you visited. Tell them that you'll be trying to persuade us to be more cooperative; after that, we'll send gifts to the other nations... some passenger airships, perhaps," Mai offered.
"Roku doesn't remember your last visit," Zuko added. "He'd be thrilled to meet you... again."
Aang looked around. Mai knew the rebuilding of the Air Temples had occupied all of his leisure time the past several years, and it wasn't a project he would abandon lightly, even for a short while. "I'd like that," he said finally.
Zuko and Aang grasped arms and smiled, if a little sadly.
"We'll work on wrapping things up here," Mai assured Aang. "Just come whenever you're ready to leave."
Aang nodded, gave them each an encouraging smile, and returned to face the rest of his day.
"How does my mother do that?" Zuko asked incredulously, not for the first time this journey.
Mai shrugged. "I might as well ask you how to firebend."
Zuko seated himself beside Mai and embraced her. "You two are both incredible. I'd never be able to do this without you."
Mai leaned against him, content.
"You're right... Roku will need someone like you." His gaze was adoring. "Do you really think you can turn Kara into that someone?"
"Provided she leaves my brother alone..."
Zuko laughed lightly. Mai had been trying to manage this minor crisis as well as she could, but knowing the parties as she did, she was not able to explicitly ask her brother to stay away from Kara; Tom-Tom enjoyed rebelling against direct orders. So his sister had had to work more slowly and discreetly. Iroh's arrival seemed to have calmed things, as Roku now had company, but irritated letters from their son had continued to arrive. It did seem, however, that between Iroh's mentoring, the mess he was currently in, his temper, and his solitude, Roku's firebending had progressed remarkably; Iroh had written just to say he had never seen anything like it.
"What do Suki and Sokka think of Tom-Tom?" Zuko offered.
"Regardless, do you think that would matter to Kara?"
Zuko frowned. "What about your parents?"
"Same problem."
"We could invite them over."
"They're doing their annual tour of the islands. They won't be back for a few weeks yet. It's the only reason Tom-Tom agreed to stay this long in the first place."
"You tried appealing to him about Roku's feelings?" Zuko asked.
"Yes. He never responded and obviously didn't stop seeing Kara. I think he chose not to care."
"Boys, huh?"
"Exactly." Mai had to smile.