Frantic thoughts raced through his mind as Zuko raced from one side of the house to the other. Each room he checked though seemed less likely than the one before, but he knew he needed to look. From the moment he saw the empty shot glass on the counter, a part of him knew Aang wouldn't be in the house.
After a his search turned up no results, he made a quick stop into his room and grabbed a tight black tee shirt from his closet. He slipped it on as he made it back into the kitchen and stared at the still full shot. A glare he hadn't intended landed on the empty one beside it. In a few swift steps, he had the shot glasses in hand and headed over to the sink. Using cold water from the faucet, he watched it swirl around the drain as he dumped the full one and rinsed them out. Without a thought, he wiped his damp hands on his pants before grabbing his phone and keys off the counter. The phone blinking a message from Mai, Zuko hadn't even noticed it as he stuffed it in his pocket. He ran out the door and climbed into his car.
On the freeway he tried to convince himself of any number of reasons that Aang might need to go back to his hotel room. Some more impossible than other, but he was proud he managed to come up with a few practical ones. Without realizing it, he stayed at or just under the speed limit. It seemed like ages till he found his exit and made it over to the hotel. He told the valet to wait with his car. The last thing he needed was to find out that Aang had decided to just go out for a walk while he was across town looking for him. It was better to have his car ready just in case. He asked the woman at the counter if Aang had come back to his room.
After pressing several keys on a monitor only she could see, the woman said at last, "Yes, Aang did come to his room late last night. However it seems he didn't stay long. He not only left a short time later, but he checked out with us at that time too."
The world seemed to drop out from underneath Zuko. His legs carried him out to his car by reflex alone. Dark thoughts consumed his mind and some of the unreasonable ideas seemed pretty logical. Panic welled in him though. Aang was unlikely to understand anything. Zuko hadn't thought Aang would go anywhere, because Aang was a complete outsider. Aang wasn't supposed to know anyone in the town, but had made his way across town last night some how without him. It was more things that just didn't add up. Anything to do with Aang seemed to do that.
Reaching into his pocket, Zuko pulled out his phone. He saw the message blinking from Mai and looked at it.
Don't panic. Call me or come to the office.
Throwing his phone on the passenger seat, Zuko sped to the office. His thoughts storming as he drove. Aang needed an accomplice to leave and when there was bound to be no one else he knew, Aang would go to the one person he did. The need for answers told him he was driving reckless, but that thought was pushed back in light of more relevant ones. The office finally came into view and while it had only been a day since he was there, some how it felt like months had passed. He knew must have then committed the worst parking job known to man kind, but he didn't care. He climbed out of the car and locked it and ran inside.
Mai sat at her desk. Her eyes knowing.
"Where is he, Mai?"
Mai reached into her desk and pulled out a box of tissues and slid across her desk. A noise escaped Zuko as he looked at the Kleenex. If Zuko had to say, it was the noise of one getting their heart ripped out and thrown on the floor. Mai would later say it was probably the most pathetic noise she had ever heard from Zuko. A cross between a whimper, swear, and yell.
Zuko paced back and forth for a moment, torn between what to do, but threw his hands in the air in defeat. He threw himself in the chair across from Mai's desk.
"Zuko," Mai said, concern clear in her voice.
"What happened," Zuko asked, voice thick.
"I got a call last night from you. At least it was from your cell phone. He told me that you were asleep and he needed a few things from me. The first thing he had me do was settle his bill. He paid for the full twenty four hours and left a rather large bonus for you. He said something about helping it to pay for your car insurance," Mai said probing.
"Mai, the last thing that I care about is that he settled his bill."
"I was just making sure we were on the same page," Mai said nodding.
Zuko rose from the chair and went to his car. He cleared it of everything Aang related. He came back into the office and set down the left over pizza first on her desk and handed her the Polaroid picture. He put the ticket stubs down and then gave her the photobooth pictures next. He sent a quick text to Jet and thankfully, managed to get the picture from him without fuss and tossed his phone over to Mai.
"There, now were on the same page."
Mai looked much the way he felt.
She gestured at everything and said, "Zuko, this isn't just mixing a little business and pleasure. What happened here?"
"That's what I wanna know," Zuko said.
He collapsed in the chair again. Holding his head in his hands, he told her about everything since he had gotten off the phone with her. She sat quietly for the whole thing. He didn't spare any detail. He was desperate that she might see something he couldn't. Anything at all. It was pointless not to tell her anyways, as Mai always just seemed to have a way of finding out. When he told her that Aang had checked out, she just nodded.
"While you were passed out, Aang did a lot more than just settle his bill. He had me book the flight back for early this morning. I called him a taxi and had to point out how it works too," Mai explained.
Zuko looked at her accusingly.
"He sounded really upset," Mai said defensively.
The look didn't budge.
"I didn't know, Zuko. I know I learn about everything, but that normally takes a day or two. You were with him one night. From looking at this, I'd think you had been together forever. You talked about not keeping your hands off him, but this looks like a lot more than that," Mai said holding up the Polaroid. She pointed at it saying, "Zuko, I know you and even I have not seen you look this stupidly happy. You look like some kind of alien! You didn't mention anything about this on the phone."
Zuko sighed as he leaned back in the chair. He stared up at the ceiling. He could hear the beeping of his phone as Mai went through his pictures and her restrained laugh. His phone beeped differently and he knew he had just been sent something.
"Jet just sent a link. He posted the vid of you guys at the club," Mai informed.
The sound that came from his phone told Zuko clearly that Mai was watching. Mai seemed to tilt her head a bit to the side as she watched. She mumbled something which Zuko was pretty sure was, I love this song.
"You guys... you...," Mai said at a loss for words as she watched. She tilted the phone to the side and her brow furrowed. Zuko could only guess at what part made her look like that. She opened her mouth and struggled not to gape while saying, "Wow. That is limber. How do the two of you manage to move like that together?"
He shrugged as he stared at the ceiling. Wishing it might have some of the answers he lacked.
"What made you take him to these places? Not to sound bad, but I think all bodyguards just find that one mark where they cross the line. Still, this wasn't just crossing the line, you made a noose of it and hanged yourself. That isn't like you. Why him?"
Taking his eyes off the ceiling, he looked at her and said, "That's the hardest part. I don't know. I thought he was cute, but something about him just made me want to share everything with him. I didn't realize that my life was so easy to walk into."
"It's not, Zuko. I've seen a lot of people try and you have a barrier thicker and longer then the great wall. You keep every one at arms length. Even your lovers. All of them complain about how distant you act to them at times. Something was special about him. What was it," Mai said as she raid through the photos some more.
"It was just him. It was just everything about him. I've never seen anyone get excited by simply ordering a pizza before," Zuko said and let out a small laugh. "I mean you wouldn't believe how torn he looked when I told him to pick an ice cream. If he had seen all the flavors, we would have been there all day tasting them, like he did the candy at the movie. He was so passionate about wanting to try everything. The world is daunting and overwhelming, but he just jumped in with both feet. Instead of drowning though, he made it work for him. Being with him, it was fun and exciting and made everything feel new again."
"Was it just the thought of having a brand new toy that no one had played with?"
"No. I found myself thinking last night that I'd love to go back to the Boiling Rock with him. I thought about how comfortable it would be to just eat pizza out with him a million times over there. I could easily see the two of us in my kitchen eating ice cream and still having to fight the eternal, what flavor question. There were so many firsts that he shared with me, but I learned I'm greedy. I want the seconds, the thirds, and maybe even the life times if he had been willing to offer them."
Mai looked at him with a sad smile on her face. She had joked about crying with him before, but they both knew he wasn't the crying kind. He didn't get upset enough about any one to cry, but for once, Mai considered that he might. She had never seen loss so clearly in his eyes and hear it in his voice. It seemed some how etched on his entire being.
"You talk about him like you might move the Earth itself to get to him," Mai said.
"I would if I thought it would make him stay. I would even chase him down and bring him back, but he would just leave again," Zuko admitted. He looked at her saying in a voice thick with emotion, "I wish I understood. I knew there was something he was hiding. Still, we were there and happy. What could make him suddenly so sad and willing to leave? When we drank, he looked at me and I asked him, I was positive that he felt the same thing I felt."
Small arms slipped around Zuko's neck from behind him. There was only one person he knew that had just a fine pink manicure. He patted Ty Lee's arm.
"I'm sorry, Zuko," She whispered to him.
"How long have you been here for," He asked her.
"All of it, basically," She softly answered.
He rested his head against her arm. Ty Lee had always been close to Azula and some one that he was quick to brush off, but since they started working together, he started giving the girl a lot more credit. He learned that she could be a serious partner in a pinch and was always a fiercely loyal friend. He was glad to have two people he had known the longest in there with him for support.
FN: Review? Please.
