"This is going to be the worst night of my life." Zuko mumbled to his refection. Normally a statement like this would be an overreaction, not this time though. It really was going to be the worst.

"It's a good thing that I think your melodrama is cute." Suki laughed from next to him, putting on some mascara.

"I'm not being melodramatic, this is really going to be the worst."

"Oh I don't know." She sighed, looking herself over in the mirror, smoothing her red dress down, "I think that one time we stole my dad's car and got it stuck in the mud was pretty bad."

He could not help but laugh, running his fingers though his hair, "That was a bad day."

She reached over and shoved his shoulder lightly, her eyes still on her reflection as she checked it over for anything that was out of place. "This is not going to be that bad Zuko."

He just rolled his eyes, "Right…"

Mai Omura got her first camera when she was 13. Her mother though it might help ease the girl's constant boredom. It did the trick. Before she knew it she was a skilled photographer and was winning awards. While she had been dating Zuko, he was her favorite photo subject. Most of the best pictures that existed of him were from that time period. They were all a little bit on the sexy side, much to both Mai and Suki's amusement. Zuko's feelings were a bit more complicated about it.

Suki and Zuko walked hand in hand to the art galley a few blocks from their house. Through the large windows photos of all shapes and sizes could be seen hung on the wall. There was a verity of images, both black and white as well as color, from all around the world. From her travels.

It's why she left Zuko. She had wanted to see the world, and take pictures of things that everyone else only got to dream of. It was one of the perks of being a rich kid. She had the money to do any and everything that she wanted to. And that is what she did. This gallery opening was a celebration of her return from her travels after 7 years of being all over the world. Most of the exhibition was just that, picture from all over the place.

There was on section of the gallery that was older images of hers. It was a collection of the things that she had left behind. There were pictures of her little brother Tom Tom, her mother, her home, and then one of Zuko. It was the one of him that really grabbed the attention of both Zuko and Suki. It was by far the biggest out of the images, measuring over four feet on the longest side. It was not just the size that threw them off guard, but the image itself.

"You know I've always liked this photo." Suki told him with a smile.

"As have I. I just never expected to see it so… big." He frowned a little bit, looking at the black and white image. He remembered the day, the exact moment that the image was taken. It was shortly after her seventeenth birthday on a sunny day they had spent inside having sex. It was one of their favorite activities and one that they did often back then. In the picture he was naked, leaning against the open door frame of her balcony with a smile on his face, hair flipped in his eyes and a lit cigarette in one hand.

"It's very sexy." Suki commented, a smile on her face as she held her boyfriend's hand.

"Very much so." He mumbled, "You can see my cock kinda." It made both of them giggle.

"You would think that you two had never seen a penis before." A flat, shallow voice said from behind them.

They both looked back, a smile on their faces, "I just never expected to see it on a gallery wall." He smirked, looking back at his ex-girlfriend.

"Can I get this in an eight by ten?" Suki asked with a smirk.

"I can get you some wallets too if you want." Mai just smirked a little bit, walking next to Zuko.

"You look good." He told her, squeezing Suki's hand as he did so.

"As do you." Mai said with a smile, "Both of you." She looked back to the picture, "So you like it?"

"I do." Zuko told her, "I've liked it from the moment you developed it."

"As have I." Mai smiled at it, "There were some others, but I did not think you wanted a full frontal nude hanging on the wall for my mother to see."

"Yeah, not again." He grumbled.

Suki raised an eye brow, "Again?" Zuko and Mai just laughed, turning to one another with smiles on their faces.

Zuko and Mai sat outside the gallery on the bench, her smoking a cigarette slowly and happily. "They are all really amazing you know?"

She blushed, looking over at the dark haired boy, "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

"You think?"

She nodded, "I do." She looked him over, a small smile on her face, "Do you hate me for leaving you?"

He shook his head, smiling at her, "Not at all." He motioned back to the gallery, "If you had to leave me to accomplish this, I'm ok with it."

She thought about it for a second, "I kinda think that to, you know." She looked over at him, "Seventeen national and international magazines, three awards, a book deal..."

"See, that is a ton of great and amazing things."

"I just had to set aside almost a decade of my life, lost time with my only brother and had to let go my first true love."

Zuko frowned lightly, looking over her blank and empty face. Anyone else would just see total apathy in those eyes, but he knew better, he know her better than that.

"I don't think of it like that." He whispered.

"Then how do you think of it?"

"I think of it that we had different paths. They converged for a while, but then they diverged, they went their separate ways." He looked back to the gallery, "This was you destination." He spotted Suki in the gallery, speaking with Ty Lee and her latest tall dreamy boyfriend, "She was mine." He smiled a little bit as Suki spotted his gaze, waving to him with a large smile.

"You know the first time I meet her I knew it was going to be me or her," Mai told him, a smile on her face.

"Huh?"

"I knoew that either her and I would be the one to marry you."

He could not help but smile, thinking about what Mai looked like naked. He was aware that it was a bit of an odd time to think of such a thing, but he came to his mind none the less. He liked the way Suki looked better. "I bet you didn't see Sokka and Azula coming though." He finally said, "That one is a bit more random."

"I thought it was random that they were NOT together longer." She said flatly, putting out her cigarette. "When Ty Lee told me I was just mostly amazed it had taken them that long to get together. She was in love with him forever and she is the kind of girl who goes after what she wants."

"And she did…" He frowned, "And still is… I can't even sit on my sofa anymore without horrible images running though my head."

She just laughed, looking over at him. "Of course you can't."

"But it's worth it." He sighed, "I'm happy with my life… with my home, with Suki…"

Mai looked at him with a soft frown, knowing that he really was gone. She had half expected him to wait for her to get back, for her to return so they could pick up where they left off. It was now apparent that no such thing was going to happen though.

"I'm glad you found it, even if it was not with me."

Her comment drew a frown from him. "I'm sorry Mai."

"There is no reason to be." She sighed, standing up from the bench, "My life is fine the way it is and I'm going to venture that you would say the same about yours."

He stood up with her, looking at her with a smile, "I would." They hugged quickly her this long arms wrapping around the strong body that had once been hers for one glorious moment. He pulled away at just the right time, but sooner than she really wanted him to. She realized that those were not her arms to melt in anymore though. "If you ever need anything from me, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Same with me." She whispered, "Including a wedding photographer."

He laughed, running his fingers though his hair, "I bought a ring..." He twisted his mouth, thinking, "Four months ago."

"And you've not given it to her yet?"

He shook his head, his fingers locking behind his head in his hair, "Not yet, I'm waiting."

"For?"

He shrugged, "Call it a precautionary measure. The last girl I bought a ring for left me a week before I was going to give it to her."

The confession made Mai blink in surprised, her heart dropping. "I see." She whispered, looking away.

He dropped his arms, annoyed with himself, "I'm sorry, I should not have told you that."

"No…" Her voice shook a little bit, "I'm glad you did." He smiled over so lightly, looking up at him.

"Why?"

She shrugged again, "Here I was thinking that I was the only one who lost something when we broke up."

This drew another frown from him, his arms going to her and wrapping them around her, holding her close with a soft frown. They held this one for a while, much to her approval. His lips went to the side of her head, lingering there for a second before pulling away.

"I will always kinda love you, you know." He whispered to her, a single tear cutting down his cheek.

She reached out and wiped the tear away, "You are so melodramatic."

"You know Suki thinks it's cute." He laughed.

"I'm glad someone dose." She rolled her eyes, walking away from him and back into the gallery, Zuko following.

Suki had bought one of Mai's pictures. It was a photo of a group of woman in India, all of them in brightly colored saris and make up. Suki had liked the colors, and said that it would look nice in the living room. Mai seem pleased with Suki's choice and was glad that she liked the picture.

Zuko and Suki walked home after getting drinks with Ty Lee and her boyfriend. He was not even really paying attention to what was going on or said in the conversation. His mind was on what he had told Mai about the ring he had gotten from Suki.

He had bought one, a vintage number just like Suki wanted. He had been moving it from place to place in the apartment, hopping that she or no one else found it. His hold off had less to do with fear she was going to leave him, and more to do with him just not being sure.

Things had been going well between them. However there was an underlining feeling that things were not well, and it worried him. He did not say anything about it to her as they walked home, hand in hand.

"Was that as bad as you thought it would be?"

He shook his head, a smile on his face. "Not at all, it was actually nice."

"Very much so." She pulled his hand to hers, kissing his knuckles. "I bought a cool image, got to see a very sexy picture of my boyfriend's cock." She laughed a little bit.

"Well you can see the actual thing when you get home if you would like."

She smirked, "It sounds like you are just trying to gain sexual favors from me."

"Well you are right." He kept his eyes down, a smile on his face.

"Then I have no choice but to comply."

His eye brow raised, his smile widening, "Then we better get home." He started to walk faster, pulling his giggling girlfriend behind him.