A/N: My exams are FINALLY over! :D Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Thank you so much for your reviews, follows and favourites :)


The night was so dark that the sky looked opaque. Starless, cloudless, moonless, featureless. A lone cricket chirped in the distance. The Firelord was blind and deaf to it. His usually immaculate office was messy. His eyes hurt. The dim lamp's flame flickered a little, as though laughing at him.

In silence, he pored over the World's Most Boring Document. Co-operation, Republic, International...The words just jumbled into a noodle-y mess before his eyes. Oh gosh, this was pathetic. He had more important—more interesting—things on his mind.

Like, for instance, tomorrow's dinner plans. Private. Romantic. Special in every way. He would do it tomorrow!

...He'd have to figure out how to pop the question in an...original manner, though. It had to be memorable. It would have to be something that lesser beings would look up to and say, "Yeah, that's how I'm going to ask my girlfriend. Firelord Zuko was so smooth with proposing."

Ten minutes into his mindless day dreaming, someone entered his office without knocking.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Sokka barked, half exasperated, half amused.

"This is my office! What the hell are YOU doing here? I thought you'd left for home!"

"What? Me? Go home? You're crazy. When I said I was leaving, I meant I was leaving to go shopping. You have to reward your nation's clothes designers, Zuko. Look at this belt!" Sokka brandished a large, ugly piece of leather that glittered in ways that nothing should ever glitter in. "Isn't it amazing?"

Zuko blinked. "Uh...yeah...amazingly hideous."

"Oh shut up, you have no fashion sense." Sokka dumped his shopping loot on the floor and sprawled onto the large plush chair he'd occupied earlier that day. He was careful to put his feet up on its fine fabric, and watched as Zuko's face went purple with annoyance. "Anyway, what are you doing here, seriously?"

"What does that mean? I'm working! And get your feet off that chair!"

"No. My feet stay right where they are and the only way you can get them off is by buring the chair from under me. And what I mean is, why aren't you with your fiance?" Sokka waggled his eyebrows at that one.

"She isn't my fiance!" Zuko snapped. Then, with a slightly dejected expression, added, "Not yet."

Sokka stared at his friend. "Don't tell me you're still worked up about asking her to marry you in an original way. Seriously, just do it." The Water Tribe man's face was grave. "You don't want to give her the idea that you're never going to ask her. Almost happened with Suki and I. I was all about to go 'original' on her too, and I couldn't think of anything—and this is about when she was hinting and hinting that I better make the move—and she got all upset and told Ty Lee who told me...It was a mess. That's why I went with the simple dinner idea. She's happy, right? That's what matters."

Zuko looked at Sokka, then at the document on his table. There'd be plenty of time to work later, he decided, and faced his friend again. "But...I don't want to propose to her that way. I want to make it special!" he threw his hands in the air and pulled up another plush chair.

"It will be special," Sokka comforted, his voice unsually soft. Zuko gave him a grateful look. The warrior added, "Anyway, I met Mai before. She said you two have dinner plans tomorrow. You're going to ask her then?" The tone he used was urgent and excited.

"I guess..." Zuko shrugged. "If I can come up with a nice way to do it."

"What part of 'flowers, dinner, ring, sex' do you not understand!"

Zuko frowned. Then he stood and started to pace. "What if I ask the cook to put the ring inside the cake and then when we ask for dessert..."

"Lame."

"It's not lame!"

"You're right, it's cliché."

"UGH!" The Firelord snarled and kicked a random wall.

"Yes, Zuko, that helps. Break the whole palace down. Then ask her to marry you. It'll be really, really memorable."

"Damn it, why is this so hard?" Zuko roared, glaring at Sokka like it was his fault. "It's just a marriage proposal! It shouldn't be this aggravating!"

The Firelord and his temper tantrums, oh boy. Sokka sighed. He was going to grow old just dealing with this guy. "Maybe it isn't aggravating, maybe you're just getting aggravated anyway? Did you ever think of that?"

The look Zuko gave him was akin to a volcano about to explode.

"Fine, fine, it's aggravating, painful, torturous, whatever you want it to be!" Sokka quickly said. "But why don't you just go spend some time with Mai instead of throwing a fit?"

The older man sighed. "Sorry. I know you're just trying to help. I guess I'm just nervous."

"I get it, I get it. You really want to please her. I hear ya. And speaking of help, I got you something while I was shopping today."

"Not a belt, I hope."

"Nope, not a belt. You have no appreciation for them anyway." Sokka leaned over and from his shopping bag pulled out a small, flat book. "It's called 'Great Ways To Pop The Question'and apparently it's been written by this guy who's been rejected twenty-two times by thirteen different women. So he must have a lot of experience."

Blank faced, Zuko took the book. "He proposed twenty-two times?" The Firelord's tone was disbelieving.

"To thirteen women. That guy had it going on, don't you think?"

"...I don't really know what to say," Zuko looked at Sokka, "To your comment, or to your gift."

"No thanks required. Go, go spend time with Mai. Now!"

Sokka was a very good general because he liked ordering people around. And so he really liked it when Lord and High King of the Fire Nation obediently put away the book, gave Sokka an amused but confused grin, and said, "Okay." He turned off the lamp and dragged Sokka out with him. "I trust you can find your own room," Zuko added. Sokka had stayed at the palace plenty of times and liked the room that overlooked the garden the best.

"Sure, sure, now you kids don't do anything I wouldn't," Sokka joked as he walked off. "Don't forget to use protection either, alright-y Zuko?"

"Sokka, shut up and go away."

Without even turning around, Sokka new Zuko was blushing.


Mai was a lot of things, but she was not oblivious. She knew she'd accidentally scared Zuko out of his mind that day in the carriage. Men were always so...jumpy...when it came to children. She could never understand why. She'd never had a problem with Tom Tom. In fact, her younger brother had always liked her. But Zuko had gone three shades paler when he was asked to pick the baby up and carry him across the room. Honestly.

Ever since the silly carriage incident, Zuko had been acting...strange. Granted, Mai should have just held her tongue. She was so good at it otherwise, but what with Zuko and his warmth and rapt attention towards her when she talked...Mai had just...loosened up a little. But still...why was he being such a big drama queen?

The other day, she'd discovered some turtleduck eggs in the bushes. Zuko had always liked turtleducks so that day at lunch, she told him.

"I found a turtleduck nest this morning when I was in the courtyard. I think they'll hatch soon."

Zuko's eyes widened and he spluttered for a moment. "That's...um. Interesting."

She rolled her eyes. "I am not pregnant, you idiot."

"I know, I know, I'm just...got a catch in my throat." He made a few loud, fake coughs and lowered his eyes. The rest of the meal was consumed in total silence, with Zuko finding a profound fascination with his fork.

So clearly, something was up. And Mai was determined to find out what. Did he not want to have children? Was that it? Did it have something to do with his own dark childhood? Or was he just being stupid?

She sat in their room, brooding this over. Spread out on the bed were a thousand tiny knives, all of which she was cleaning with a damp cloth. You had to take care of your weapons. Mai was religious about it.

The door opened. The Firelord entered.

"Hey sweetheart," he began, then his eyes fell to the knives on the bed. "Never mind, I'll sit on the chair."

"Hey," Mai responded, her eyes never leaving the blade in her hand. She moved the cloth around it, sweeping through its delicate edge.

Zuko came and tried to kiss her. She did not lift her head. The kiss was awkwardly planted on one of her hair bun thingies. "Everything okay?" he asked, a little bit cautious. She knew he was trying to judge her mood. He'd gotten very good at picking up the subtle sign of emotion that she gave away.

"Fine."

She was pensive. And also searching. She really wanted to know what Zuko's problem was, and yet she knew a direct approach would not help. The subject, it seemed, was touchy. She'd have to tread with care.

"Are you sure...?" he ventured, his eyes trying to force into hers. "You didn't have a fight with your mother again, did you?"

"Not today," was the quiet response.

"Oh, that's good. Then why do you seem so...so..." he fell silent for a moment, and then finished, "Unhappy."

Mai swallowed some annoyance. She really wanted to slap him in the back of his head and say, Well Why Do You Think, You Moron?

But she didn't.

Instead, she put the blade down and looked at him, her eyes disecting his soul in two and examining his secrets with a fine tooth comb. "I'm not unhappy. I'm just feeling thoughtful. That is all."

He narrowed his eyes. "Something's up," he countered.

"Remember, you said that, not me."

"No, Mai. If there's something you want to talk about, just say it!"

"Now you're getting angry. Honestly Zuko, go put some ice on your head."

"What!?"

"To cool it off."

"I know what you meant!"

"See, this is what I mean. Temper, temper."

"Mai!"

She sighed. "Fine. Don't put ice on your head." She gathered her knives and stuck them into her clothes.

"Where are you going?" he snapped.

"Outside."

He groaned. "And now you're mad."

"I'm not mad," she stated articulately, and slammed the door in his face.

He swore under his breath and ran after her. But either she had invisibility powers, or was at least, very stealthy, because she'd vanished.

Just great, he thought, a growl almost reaching his throat. Now she's definitely going to say yes.


A/N: I did not mean for this to be so long, or have so much bromance in it. Lol. Anyway, hope you liked it. Thanks for reading.

Reviews are love :D