Epilogue 8: Seventh Conflict of Loves

Dawn rose with remarkably warm fire. Like any other firebender, so did Zuko. He breathed deep of the warmth that streamed in from the small split in the curtains. As he opened his eyes, his whole body tensed in wariness. Mai was curled with him in his bed. The mental fogginess of dawn filled his head and blocked the memories of how she got there. He didn't want to wake her. He didn't want her to kill him out of being startled. He didn't want to give up the feeling of her completely at peace on his shoulder.

They had kissed last night. They had more than just kissed. Zuko was grateful neither of them were unclothed. He gave Mai's brow a small chaste kiss and passed his fingers through her sleek black bangs. Then he carefully slipped out of the bed without disturbing her.

He lit a candle and breathed through his chakras, begging forgiveness of Faelin for his indiscretion. He moved through his Shaolin fire moves without any firebending. With a brief glance back to the sleeping Mai, he continued working through the martial forms of the Hung Gar he nearly had mastered under Mu-Tan's training and with Travahar. He paused to catch his breath and think. The Bagua moves were still fresh in his mind, and made him sweat with their fast turns and dodges. It made sense now how the avatar could avoid him so easily. The most difficult moves were those of Tai Chi with the emphasis on slow fluidity. He didn't know many of those, just the first set. He still struggled with the images of Katara using Tai Chi with such fast fierceness. He found these moves the most complicated. They made no sense to him. Giving up for now he sat and breathed through his chakras with his candle again. His clothes now sticking to him with his sweat. He extinguished his candle flame and took a brief shower dressing in clean clothes.

When he returned to his palace bedroom, Mai was already gone. He stood a long while staring at the rumpled blankets and the depression left behind by her once peacefully curled form in his bed. She had left. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved.