Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Avatar. Nice try, though.


It was late afternoon the next day before Kyoshi Island came into sight. Zuko and Mai had spent the morning resting and chatting occasionally with Hakoda. Zuko was in an optimistic mood, a rare one for him. They'd been rescued, after all. He would smile at the warriors as he passed them on the ship, but tried not to distract them from their business. The young prince decided to join Mai at the bow of the ship. Being in a daring humor, he came to her from behind and slipped his arm loosely about her waist. Mai's neck snapped to the side, startled. Her eyes grew wide.

"What are you doing?" Her blank eyes questioned his. Zuko, coming to some sense, removed his hand and coughed. What was I thinking?

"We'll be back on land soon. Any ideas on where we go from there?" Prince Zuko covered up the awkwardness quickly. Despite his quick thinking, Mai was not a fool. She brought her face to her hands and sighed.

"I suppose we'll have to find some way to get home on our own terms." The way she said 'our' made him nervous and he wasn't sure why. Zuko forced a nervous smile.

"Do you think if we sided with them…it would be okay?" Mai was questioning every doctrine she had ever known. 'The fire nation is supreme.' 'The strong live and the weak die, so you must be strong.' Every single word of propaganda was examined in her mind.

'It's all lies.' The thought seemed to come out of nowhere. At that moment she noticed that Zuko was staring at her. What was it about him?

"Nothing will make everything right." Zuko's eyes glinted with determination. "But we can try. The Avatar might be dead because…because of me." He looked away. Again he found himself here, pouring his inner most thought out to a woman he barely knew. What was he thinking? Suddenly, Zuko was aware that the shore was awfully close. Hakoda knew was he was doing, of course. These boats were designed land on the shore just as the smaller skiffs would. In fact, Zuko had no reason to worry; he barely felt it when the vessel scrapped the bottom of the shore and skidded gracefully onto the beach. The young prince turned to see the captain making his way towards them, a fatherly smile on his russet face.

"Here we are. Kyoshi Island." Hakoda announced, gesturing to the land before them. "I can take you to the town, but then we must be on our way." Nodding in agreement, Zuko shook hands with the water tribe captain and thanked him.

When they saw the statue, Mai knew why the name "Kyoshi" was familiar. The warriors whose clothes they, Azula, Ty Lee, and herself, had taken were from Kyoshi Island, hence the name. Guilt tugged at her gut in a way she had never experienced before. Mai scowled; was this actually remorse she felt? She felt sick to her stomach.

Zuko, on the other hand, thought of one thing when he saw the green and gold monument. That thing was the Avatar. The question that had plagued his thoughts for the past few days came up again. 'Have I killed the world's only hope?' Of course, Azula was the one who did the physical damage…but had it not been for him, she would have been defeated. If he hadn't been so boorish and stupid, they wouldn't be in this situation.

The young prince frowned and gave himself several abrupt mental kicks before Hakoda spoke.

"Well, I'd better be off. There should be enough to help you get by in those bags," he smiled warmly. "Good luck, and if you see my son, please tell him that I am so very proud." Hakoda waved and disappeared over the hill, making his way back towards the ship.

The town was eerily quiet; there was virtually no one bustling about doing daily errands. Though Zuko led, neither of them had any idea where to go. The two took to walking the main street up and down twice and then heading to a building rested on the crest of a mountain overlooking the city. It appeared to be a dojo of some sort. Poking his head through the door, Zuko was surprised at what he saw. There were no warriors training, but about a dozen women lay on pallets all around the room. Two were crouched near a patient, apparently redressing a wound. The injured ones' festive facial paint was smeared and pain beset their faces. It was an unpleasant, frightening sight.

"What happened here?" Zuko breathed. The warriors serving as nurses turned to the door, but did not respond.

"She happened." The voice came from a woman in the futon closest to them. She was sitting with her back against the wall, but was also wincing in pain. Her grey-blue eyes were looking dead at Mai and it made Zuko incredibly uncomfortable. "She attacked us with the fire nation princess and another." The warrior hid the fault in her voice. "They took our clothes and we were left for dead." Her words were harsh and sent chills down Zuko's spine. He turned to Mai and spoke softly.

"So this is how you got into Ba Sing Se…you pretended to be them." This was not something unexpected of Azula, though he was considerably ticked off. Seeing these warriors laying in agony sent jolts of outrage through his body. They were people. It was not every day that a prince saw the aftermath of battle. She could see the sharpness in his eyes, but she did not move. Mai could outlast the best of them and she held Zuko's gaze with just as much intensity as he did hers. Only a sharp gasp from the warrior distracted their battle of stubbornness. The girl's face twisted with pain, her eyes became glossy with tears.

"Who are you?" Zuko asked her calmly. "And how did you manage to get back here?" The young woman sighed and put her face in her hands. After a moment of silence, she tossed her head back and replied.

"I am the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki. After our…defeat, they took our clothes and left. Hours passed, then a day or two." Though she was not intent on making Mai feel positively awful about it, Suki recalled the event in detail. "Every joint was crying out in agony, blood was seeping from the gashes and burns…" Her auburn hair drooped in her face and her eyes grew wide. Zuko saw a tear slip from the corner of her eye. "Some travelers found us, and were able to lead the way to the peninsula. Then we returned here. Some of us." It was then that he noticed that this Suki was only clothed in a wide bandage around her chest and midsection. He could see blood seeping through what was probably a large gash on her back. Zuko turned; he had no desire to stare at this beaten warrior. Mai was not in the doorway, nor was she anywhere in sight. Zuko didn't think much of it and crouched down next to Suki.

"She is not your enemy now." He said softly, referring to Mai. "But were are all enemies of Azula. It seems that we have all just narrowly escaped certain death at her hand." Then he added, "She blew up my ship…I thought I was heading home." He was telling her this more to comfort her than to inform. They, he and Mai, did not need to make enemies; they already had plenty. Suki stared at him for a few minutes, looking past him and into his mind.

"You're Zuko." She said blankly.

"And I wouldn't be here had it not been for Azula and her deceit. I have no reason to lie to you." His voice lacked compassion now. It appeared that Suki believed him, though was still apprehensive about Mai. At that moment, Mai returned and stood over Zuko. She stared down at them and spoke for the first time.

"If it were any different, I would not be with him."

Suki nodded to concur. It was very awkward; Mai was certainly not going to apologize, Suki seemed to be skeptical of them, too. But then again, who wouldn't be? Not only were they fire nation, but also Mai was responsible for killing this warrior's friends. It would be a miracle if she forgave them.

"I guess we should be going." Zuko said after a time. To his surprise, Suki slowly stood. She donned a green and gold robe carefully and spoke.

"It's too late for you to start traveling again. You can stay one of our barns for the night." The sun was indeed setting, Zuko noticed. How could she offer them shelter? Mai stared with disbelief. "Do not let the sun set on while you are still angry." Suki sniffed.

'Truly a honorable woman…' Mai thought. This must have been the Suki that the water tribe boy, Hakoda's son, was speaking of when they were found to be false Kyoshi warriors in Ba Sing Se. Here she was, delicately smiling at them even though she struggled to stand.

"Thank you." Zuko barely whispered.

"I can take you there, but it might take a little longer than usual." She shuffled to the doorway, arm wrapped around her own waist. Zuko guessed that the warriors/nurses figured Suki could take care of herself, for they did not try to stop her from leaving.

"Uh…let me help you…" Zuko said nervously, reaching after her as she walked. Glancing over her shoulder, Suki smiled sadly and accepted.

The barn house was only a three-minute walk from the dojo and was in good condition. Hay was spread about in piles around and a pit that could be used for a fire was in the center of the barn. Zuko had climbed to the top of the single ladder to the loft and tossed down some blankets. Suki had told him that they were there, of course, and said that someone would bring them dinner. Mai pulled her outside and spoke for a while; Zuko decided it was not his business and took to starting the fire. Mai returned in a somewhat better disposition, which, in turn, improved his.

"We'll have to leave in the morning." She said plainly, taking a seat near him. He took a bite of the rice that had just been brought.

"Yes."

Mai brought her cup of herbal tea to her lips, the steam warming her chilled face. Nights on Kyoshi tended to be wintry considering their proximity to the South Pole. Silence, Zuko noticed, was starting to be a common thing between them. He also became aware that he didn't mind and it seemed that neither did Mai. Her eyes glistened in the light of the fire, flames dancing across them. After a moment, Mai brought her legs to her chest, hugging her knees tightly. With a 'plink', Zuko returned his rice bowl to the tray and scooted closer to her. She rested her chin on the tops of her knees, eyeing the prince curiously.

"So…what do you think about this war now?" He asked gently. A deep sigh escaped Mai's lips. She slowly closed her eyes and reopened them, eyelashes making light, spindly shadows on her cheeks. The assassin's lips pursed and she spoke almost inaudibly.

"Azula always lies." The reality of that truth was sinking in. After years of avoiding it, Mai understood what lies and deceit she played into as a child and even now. It was all propaganda, brainwashing. She stared blankly into Zuko's golden eyes. Warmth filled them and Mai wished that should could dive into those luminous pools of amber and be lost forever. Not that she would admit it; she'd rather face an angry badger mole. That's who she was, the quiet girl who blended into the background, blushing and hiding. Zuko inched closer and closer to her until their shoulders touched. Dare he go even closer? Mai was like that forbidden realm, beyond the reach of mortal men. Yes, yes he would dare. He brushed her hair back and ran his fingers over the nape of her neck.

She prayed he did not notice when she held her breath, that maybe he was oblivious to the heat that rose in her cheeks. Mai closed her eyes again. The prince smiled and breathed into her hair.

"Yes, yes she does."

Perhaps it was the moment. Perhaps it was fatigue. Either way, Mai and Zuko found themselves huddled under a wool blanket, the later whispered softly into the other's ear until they succumbed to the pulls of sleep. It certainly felt real enough. Perhaps her childish dreams were coming true. Or perhaps it was yet another lie.


Ooo...the romantic tension! Please review!