Just something short based on a picture I found on deviantArt of Ty Lee hugging a sad Mai. Review, please!
She poked her head into the chamber that Mai was in, grinning broadly when she spotted her. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! Azula wants to talk to us. She says it's about Zuko." Ty Lee put a special emphasis on the fire prince's name, but Mai was silent. "Mai? Is something wrong?"
Mai was sitting in a chair facing partially away from the door, clutching a scroll tightly in her shaking hands. Her head was bent low, bangs shadowing her eyes. From the door, Ty Lee was able to pick out Zuko's handwriting on the scroll, though she couldn't tell what it said. She came forward to get a better look and noticed that there were fresh tear stains on the scroll.
"Are you okay?" Ty Lee asked timidly, laying a hand on her shoulder.
The reaction was instantaneous. Mai dropped the scroll, stood up, and pulled Ty Lee into a tight embrace. The scroll clattering to the floor a moment later was the only sound besides Mai's sobs. "He left," she mumbled into Ty Lee's hair, voice cracking before the second letter.
"Oh, Mai." Ty Lee wrapped her arms around Mai and rubbed her back comfortingly. It was strange to Ty Lee; Mai had always been the one giving Ty Lee a shoulder to cry on in their Academy days. This was the first time in her life she'd ever seen Mai shed a tear, but somehow the role of a comforting friend came easily to her.
After what seemed like a long time, Mai pulled away. She rubbed the last of her tears from her red, puffy eyes. "Don't tell Azula," she sniffled, small hiccups causing her to stutter as she spoke.
Ty Lee smiled warmly. How many times had she asked the very same of Mai? And how many times had Mai simply nodded knowingly and kept the secret? "Of course," she promised sincerely. She danced to the door and turned back, a conspiratorial smile on her face. "You must've been hiding very well, because I looked everywhere and couldn't find you!"
Mai attempted a smile, but her lip quivered too much and it came out as a grimace. "I was in the palace garden the whole time." Her voice was already beginning to reattain the same dull tone she always used. "I don't see how you could've missed me."
Ty Lee dropped her fist into her palm in pseudo realization. "Of course! The one place I didn't think to check! It's way too perky and flowery for someone like you." This time Mai's smile came through. "Take all the time you need. I can stall Azula as long as I have to."
As Ty Lee left, she thought she heard the faintest whisper of a "thank you," and she replied with the faintest whisper of a "you're welcome," knowing that this was a secret that would be taken to the grave.