Sokka watched Mai play with Kazuto on the train seat opposite him. In the two days they'd been on the train, the boy hadn't talked once. But at least he was smiling now as Mai smoothed his hair back behind his ears. The bruise on his face had faded to a yellow-brown.
Mai was an enigma to Sokka. Most of the time, she was surly, disinterested, only engaging to plan their next approach. But once or twice he swore she had enjoyed their charades. And the affection she showed Kazuto was genuine, just as genuine as her rage when she killed Sachem…Sokka knew Aang would never have done that, no matter what. But at the same time, he couldn't entirely fault Mai. Maybe he should be more disturbed than he was.
The train jerked as it switched gears, and Sokka was pressed against the back of his seat while they began the sharp incline up the dormant volcano that sheltered the Capital City. They were almost there. He looked out the window, and was greeted by a truly spectacular view of the mountainside, greenery alternating with dramatic rock formations and sudden canyons.
"Kazuto, come see this!" Sokka held out his arms, and Mai handed the child over. Standing on Sokka's knee, Kazuto pressed his face against the glass, golden eyes wide. "That's a river flowing down the side of the volcano," said Mai, pointing for Kazuto. "All that water comes from a lake in the Capital, and in the middle of that lake is the Firelord's palace. That's where we're going!" She caught Sokka's eye. "What?" she said defensively. "This is the only interesting part of this entire dreary train ride." Sokka didn't reply, just watched Kazuto squash his nose against the windowpane. His breath made a fog, and Kazuto smiled at his little creation before licking the glass.
"Kaz, no!" laughed Sokka. "We don't lick the window." Kazuto shrank away from Sokka, clearly afraid of any admonishment. "It's okay, buddy," said Sokka. "I just don't want you to get sick or something from whatever's on that window." The window suddenly went dark as they entered a tunnel. Mai stepped in again, putting her hand on Kazuto's back. "Once we get out of the tunnel, we'll be able to see the whole city!" Kazuto turned back to the window just as they emerged into the bright sunlight.
Sokka had spent hours examining maps of the Capital City, preparing for the invasion on the Day of Black Sun. But in all that time, he had never realized how beautiful the Fire Nation capital truly was. Red-roofed buildings dotted the green inside of the volcano. And there were three silver lakes—a small one on the north side just below them, the central lake surrounding the palace, and a large crescent lake opposite them. The train began its descent, and the tiny buildings and cobbled streets came into view more clearly. There seemed to be a lot of stages and temporary stalls on the streets, and Sokka pointed this out to Mai.
"The Festival of Masques would have been yesterday," she said after thinking for a minute. "There's always a huge celebration, but I've never gone."
"That sounds like fun!" said Sokka. Mai merely shrugged. They picked up speed, and Sokka lifted Kazuto's arms. "Wheee!" he said, hoping the boy would join in. He didn't, but Kazuto laughed shyly.
"He looks a lot like Zuko looked at this age. In paintings," said Mai. "It's almost eerie." Sokka thought of the time Katara found a painting of Ozai on Ember Island and thought it was Zuko. Then he was reminded of another Zuko story and burst into laughter.
"Mai!" he said eagerly. "You would appreciate this. Did Zuko ever tell you about the time he interrupted my private time with Suki to talk about his mother?" Mai raised an eyebrow.
"So we were on the run, and Suki and I were trying to get some time alone. So we found this cave, and I decorated it with candles, flowers, everything. I was ah…waiting for her to come over after everyone went to sleep. So imagine my surprise when Zuko burst in. He saw the candles and the roses, and what does he do?"
"Was he completely oblivious?" sighed Mai, shaking her head.
"Oh yeah. But like, wilfully so. Because there's no way he didn't know what was going on. We talked about our mothers and our sisters for like half an hour before he finally left." Sokka put one hand to his face, the other still supporting Kazuto. "What a total buzzkill." Mai smiled before quickly reverting to her blank default expression.
"So Suki. Are you still together?" asked Mai.
"Yeah. Although we haven't seen each other much recently," said Sokka. "I was hoping to spend time with her when I came to the Capital City."
"Do you love her?"
Sokka was taken aback by the question, especially from Mai. "Yeah, I think I do," he answered truthfully. "Do you love Zuko?" he asked. He was actually curious about how she'd respond.
"I do," Mai said simply. Something in her face twitched. "No one really gets why he loves me, though." Sokka didn't know how to reply, since he had often wondered the same thing. "But forget everyone else," said Mai fiercely. She reached up and took Kazuto back from Sokka, settling him on her knee and staring out the window.
"There are lots of good things about you, Mai," said Sokka awkwardly. "You're a fighter. And you're determined." He thought about her killing Sachem. "And you have the strength to do what's right."
"I don't need your approval," said Mai dully, still gazing out the window. They were pulling up to the station. She suddenly jerked her head around to look at Sokka. "No. I'm sorry. Thank you for saying that," she said, stiffly but sincerely.
Their train finally ground to a halt, and Kazuto yelled excitedly, pointing out the window at a parked train in the station. "We're here!" said Sokka, glad to be distracted from Mai. "And that's a train, Kazuto! Can you say train?" Kazuto merely screamed happily.
They made their way to the palace by rickshaw. Zuko must have received advance warning of their arrival, because as soon as they entered the palace, he was ready to greet them.
"You're back!" he said joyfully, dismissing the nearby guards with a wave. He ran to Mai and embraced her, then, apparently unconcerned by Sokka's presence, grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her. When he withdrew, he glanced back at Sokka, who was standing awkwardly by the door holding Kazuto's hand.
"Sokka!" he smiled. "I'm so glad you made it. Thank you again." He stepped forward as if to hug Sokka, and then stopped, noticing Kazuto for the first time. For a second, Zuko hesitated, and then knelt down to get to Kazuto's level.
"Hello there," he said gently. "My name is Zuko. Can you tell me your name?" Kazuto shook his head, and Zuko smiled. "That's okay. You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
"He hasn't said anything yet," said Mai from behind her fiancé.
Zuko looked concerned for a second, but kept his eyes on Kazuto. "That's okay, Kaz. We have lots of time to get to know each other." He rose and held out a hand for Kazuto to take. "Let's go see your room! You'll be staying where I used to sleep when I was your age." Kaz reached up one pudgy hand and grabbed Zuko's fingers. Seeing the two of them standing next to each other, Sokka was struck again by how alike they looked. There was no way they could conceal the resemblance.
As they walked slowly down towards the nursery, accommodating Kazuto's slow toddler pace, Zuko addressed Sokka. "I figured you'd arrive sometime today, so I gave Suki a few days off starting now." He smirked. "Sorry to have separated you for this long. You'll have to make up for lost time." Sokka laughed and smacked Zuko on the back while Mai rolled her eyes.
They entered the Firelord's personal wing and Zuko suddenly looked tense. "So there have been some developments since you two left," he said edgily. "And after we get Kazuto settled I want to hear all about how things went with you. But first you should know that, well." He inhaled deeply. "I found Akira and he totally knew all about Ozai and was expecting me and he says he wants to be my ally? So now he's living here. With us."
"What?" snapped Mai. Even Sokka was surprised. That seemed like a monumentally foolish thing to do.
"My theory was that it's better to keep him close, even if he is a spy or if he has ambitions to the throne. That way I can keep an eye on him," explained Zuko. He pushed open the door to the nursery. Before Mai or Sokka could protest further, Zuko had swept into the room and was showing Kazuto various toys and games.
"I can't believe him," fumed Mai.
"Well, we brought one back with us," said Sokka fairly. "So we broke the 'keep a low profile' rule too."
"It's different," said Mai, shaking her head. "Kazuto was helpless. Akira is not."
"Did I hear my name?"
Sokka whirled around and found himself staring upwards into a pair of grey-gold eyes. It took him a second to process, but with a start he realized this must be Akira. Had Zuko seriously given him freedom to move around the palace? Akira nodded at Sokka and then stepped around him.
"Hey, Zuko," said Akira. "I was distracted by the noise so I thought I'd take a study break." He stared curiously at Kazuto.
"What have we here?" he asked.