A/N: I can't believe we're at 25 chapters, 170k words in.

WHAT? AN ANGST FILLED ZUKO-CENTRIC CHAPTER? Say it ain't so. We've been missing out on our favorite scarred guy. Also, time to meet some old friends...

I wrote this and another chapter (bit in the future, but Azula-Sokka centric) to Wicked Games by the Weeknd, and the orchestral cover of the same song by Ramin Djawadi for Westworld. If you haven't heard the orchestral cover, or you're not an Weeknd fan or you don't like RnB, stop what you're doing and go listen to the Ramin Djawadi version. It's beyond fantastic. Djawadi is a Hans Zimmer protegee who is just as skilled at his craft as the master now, IMO.

Important: I'm going to be taking a week long break from publishing new chapters to go back and edit some old ones, with the help of Rick O'Shay25, who, though not an official beta reader, is basically the beta reader for the story. Not to worry - I'm still a few chapters ahead, and I promise not to GRRM all you wonderful readers. If you're following along at AO3, you'll see the edited chapters go up. I don't intend to make any plot changes - much of the editing is grammar, style, or universe consistency based. If there are any changes beyond that, I will make note of it :)

Which means that next Friday is when you can expect a new chapter, most likely. Don't worry - I pre-write, so it's not like I've run out of words or anything :)

Chapter XXV: Masquerade

Zuko hated parties.

The only thing he hated more than parties were parties where he was the guest of honor.

In hindsight, he should have understood that Father would have thrown some sort of soiree in honor of his return - even if he had made it abundantly clear that Zuko's return was mostly because he intended to further his dynasty, something that Azula could not guarantee to his satisfaction now that she was in open rebellion against her father. Appearances had to be kept - or in this case, hidden. The soiree had become a ball, and the ball had become a masquerade.

The entire nobility of Caldera and the surrounding islands had turned out to the grand ballroom of the palace, a vibrantly red room with high pillars and an arched ceiling decorated with beautiful murals of multi-colored dragons; even Commander - no, Admiral, now - Zhao, who had recently been promoted into the upper military staff and was now a constant presence in the war council, prowled the sidelines with a tiger mask. Zuko spotted a few familiar people - Lady Jing, who wore a coquettish black lace mask that made her resemble a cat, and Lord Takeda's wife, who had shared some genuinely kind words with him, though he knew undoubtedly her husband was still upset with his actions in Gaipan. Takeda was soft at times, but Zuko had never forgotten his support in the meeting where he'd earned his exile.

His stomach had lurched when Mai had turned out. Even from here, he could tell who she was - her measured gait hadn't changed one bit, and she still favored those ao dai robes she used to wear, although now she was fully woman in them, her curves accentuated by every furl of the fabrics. Even with her intricate mask, in the shape of an owl, he had recognized her. She still wore her hair similarly to how she had when he left. His eyes fell to her sleeves, and a small smirk crossed his face. He wondered if there were knives inside - and then realized that of course there were; the question was not were there? but rather how many?

Zuko a decade ago would have shied away from striding boldly across the ballroom and spinning her into a twirl around the dance floor, but he was not Zuko from a decade ago; he was a different man, and this was a different time.

His own mask was gold, in the image of a dragon, covering the burned half of his face, though it curved in a little at the lips to reveal his whole mouth. His top knot, which had been a defining feature of his since his exile, was gone - a small fuzz of closely cropped hair crowned his head now, grown out in the weeks since his return. He'd used a razor to keep the sides close to shaved, but had purposefully neglected to turn that razor to his cheeks and jaw, which now sported stubble that gave him an air of roguishness. Unlike the rest of the men, who wore familiar robes with ceremonial shoulder armor, Zuko eschewed tradition, wearing a black and scarlet khalat tied with a gold sash, with his ceremonial armor on top and a sweeping black cape trimmed with gold fringe behind him. Evidently, from the stares he'd drawn all night, it had the intended effect.

Yet somehow, still like the boy of over a decade ago, he hoped that the intended effect would work on Mai, else it would have all been for naught. He strode over to her, but a soft hand and warm brown-grey eyes gave him pause.

He wouldn't have paused for any woman who'd stopped him on his way to Mai, but this one was inordinately familiar to him, though he couldn't place her face behind her gilded, intricate white mask. Unlike all the others in the room, hers was the only one not sporting some sort of animal or mythical motif, but instead a elegantly simple design that framed the contours of her pretty countenance. And she was pretty - no, gorgeous, and lithe, her soft mauve qipao hugging every inch of her beautiful curves, save for a slit, which revealed just the tasteful amount of leg. But every movement of her limbs was measured, steady, and powerful; her beauty was not empty.

"Dance with me?" she murmured. He didn't know what compelled him, but he took her waist and proffered arm anyway. The musical ensemble struck up a haunting strings piece at an allegretto, and they began to move together. Agni, she was graceful, every movement timed perfectly to the tempo, her feet never hesitating in their next step. Zuko had not danced in so long, but the woman's grace brought all his court training back to him, every lesson he'd ever been taught in the art of rulership. Soon his own steps grew confident as they waltzed. Her distinctive rose perfume filled his nostrils with a pleasant smell - unlike many of the people he'd stood next to, it wasn't as if she'd bathed in the liquid; it was just the right amount of a hint, enough to make him ask for more.

She was staring at him; not in the obsessive and hungry manner of some of the women in the room, who clearly saw their path to a seat aside the Fire Throne, nor in the scandalized manner of some of the older noblewomen who saw his cropped hair and his stubble as indicative of the front line butchers of the military and not of the well coiffed and mustachioed styles of the military aristocracy. Her gaze was calculating, but not unkind; she was appraising him, but not for selfish purposes.

She left out a soft giggle, a tinkling laugh that burrowed its way uncomfortably into Zuko's chest, like a beautiful but unwanted stranger. "You've changed," she said, whispering into his ear. "Far, far more confident now than you used to be."

His ears prickled at that. Certainly, that narrowed down the list of women this could be - she spoke to him in tones of exceeding familiarity. He wasn't sure how many of those people remained in the palace. Most of the servants of his memory were long gone, many of them banished for their loyalty to Ursa. And this woman was no servant.

"I thought I'd intercept you before you went to Mai," she said, her lovely lips drawing into a soft smirk. "That was the only visible crack in your armor, Prince Zuko. The way you looked at her reminded me of the boy I knew, instead of the man holding me now."

"I'm afraid you have me at a loss, my lady," he said roughly. "You seem to know me well, but I can't recall you."

The smirk vanished for a hint of a second, and Zuko's eyes gleamed with predatory glee. Oh, there was only one person he knew like this - beautiful, athletic, gregarious, and oh-so afraid of having her identity subsumed. It was always a shame; Ty Lee shone so much brighter than any of her sisters.

"Ty?"

The smirk returned, though not as self-confident as before. "I was wondering when you'd recognize me." Zuko never broached the topic with her, but he'd always secretly believed she liked being called Ty, as if she was the only one in her family with that prefix.

Zuko gave her a genuine smile. There were few people he remembered fondly from his past, but he'd never disliked Ty Lee.

"You're hard to forget, Ty." And it was true, even though the gorgeous woman in front of him was a far cry from the overly-friendly girl he remembered from Azula's clique. Agni, she had filled out delightfully.

Ty Lee laughed, another beautiful tinkle that caused another blossom of warmth in Zuko's chest. "You're sweet, Zuko. I'm glad you haven't lost that part of you. I was a little afraid, when I saw you across the room." She studied his face a little more, and one of her fingers rose to trace the side of his jaw. He let her, but he wished he hadn't - her touch was electric. He almost groaned. Ty Lee had always been charming without effort or attempt, but tonight she was utterly spellbinding. "You're all muscle and scar where you were soft and kind before. You aura is so different, but I can still see a sliver of the old you."

"Ten years of war will change anyone," Zuko murmured. "I don't think your opinion of me would hold up after you heard every story I have to tell."

She laughed softly, her lips close to his ear. "You're not the only one who's changed, Zuko. A lot's happened while you were gone." She was quiet for a moment, before she asked the question he knew was on her mind.

"How's Azula? Mai told me she heard from her father that Azula's been stirring up trouble in the Earth Kingdom. And that she has a... lover." She almost giggled out the last word.

Zuko grunted. "She's with that man from the South Pole. The Nightwolf."

Now Ty Lee did react. "I'm sorry, what? He's real?"

Zuko nodded, dipping her during their dance without breaking their conversation. "I don't know how much Father clamps down on information here in the mainland, but yes. He's real. Brute of a man, tall as I am, piercing blue eyes. And before you ask, yes. He does dress like a wolf - or at least, his armor is in that style."

Ty Lee smirked. "Zuko, please. You're forgetting the detail all girls really want to know."

Now Zuko did audibly groan, which caused Ty Lee to laugh. "I suppose... he's what women would term... attractive."

"That wasn't so hard. Also, good for Azula, though that can't be it. I know your sister; she doesn't chase guys with muscles for brains. Remember Chan?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me-"

"Azula kissed him on Ember Island once. Ended up burning down his house. You were exiled then... it was the first time we went without you. It didn't feel the same to me." For some reason, Zuko believed the downcast look she gave him. "Anyway, my point is that the Nightwolf has to have something she admires, and it's not just brute strength."

Zuko shrugged. "For some reason, Uncle Iroh seemed to like him. Played Pai Sho with him for the few days we held him captive." He didn't want to tell her about the fact that he'd tortured the Nightwolf. "And... I think he actually loves Azula."

"Good. That's all she's ever deserved." Ty Lee sighed. "Does she love him too?"

"Maybe. I thought she might have been using him, but the way she jumped after him..." he grinned at the memory. "You're skipping over the part where she's committing treason against the country."

Ty Lee laughed. "I never cared about that, silly."

Their dance had grown slightly more intimate, but as stunning as Ty Lee was, Zuko kept having his thoughts dragged towards Mai.

"You're still thinking about her, aren't you?" Ty Lee asked quietly.

"Yeah... yeah, I am, Ty." He muttered. "Sorry," he added sheepishly, as an afterthought.

"I don't think I ever said it, Zuko, but your sincerity is one of my favorite qualities of yours," she said, her eyes crinkling into a sweet smile. "Whatever else you might have become in your exile, you're still... genuine. Maybe one of five people in Caldera like that. Never lose it," she said. "What I wanted to tell you about Mai was that she's betrothed, Zuko."

He almost jerked away - almost. It felt like he'd been slapped in his face, and Ty Lee sensed his grip around her waist tighten.

"Who?"

"No one you know. Well... not personally. Lord Mori's eldest son, Takamoto."

"Mori?" Now Zuko couldn't suppress his seething rage. "Mori, the same Mori who I spoke out against in that war council? That same Mori who got me banished to the Earth Kingdom for a spirits damned decade?"

Ty Lee winced. "I'm sorry, Zuko. He's... not bad, not like his dad at all. But Mai's a little worried. He was part of the detachment sent to the South Pole, and Mai heard from her dad that a few ships were attacked off the coast of Kyoshi Island. I don't know if Takamoto was on one of those ships, but Mai said his letters stopped coming by hawk around that time."

Zuko almost barked in laughter. "Agni, I don't believe it. A week ago in council, we received a report from the Southern Fleet confirming that two ships were completely raided, all their crew killed... by the Avatar. Except I know that the Avatar doesn't kill, so it had to have been Azula and the Nightwolf. They even hijacked one of the ships and evacuated the survivors from the island right under the nose of a battlecruiser. If he was on one of them, he's dead."

Ty Lee pulled away slightly, looking at him with glistening eyes. Zuko immediately regretted any glee he'd felt for Takamoto's likely demise. "I'm sorry, Ty."

"Oh, Agni. Listen Zuko, if you talk to her, don't you dare mention it, or I'll leave you a paralyzed heap on the floor. Got it?"

Zuko smiled a little at the protectiveness of Mai's friend. "Of course."

Ty Lee shook her head. "I miss being ten and playing with you and Azula and Mai in the gardens. I miss being innocent."

"You still are, Ty. You seem like the only person here not affected by... well, anything. And you're definitely the only person here not playing politics with every move you make."

She gave him a sad smile, and for the first time, Zuko was forced to consider that the girl's bubbly and happy personality was more a persona than reality.

He sighed. "I didn't mean to bring you down. In all honesty, I'm glad you're here. You're probably the friendliest face I could have hoped to see since my return."

She laughed, and this time he couldn't help but smile at the noise. He liked her laugh, he realized. "Even more than Mai?" she asked coyly.

"I wouldn't know what to say to her. She was an old flame. It'd be awkward. With you, I feel like I'm picking up right where we left off."

They were still waltzing, but he could feel her draw closer to him. His breath caught in his throat as he felt her soft curves press against him.

"You're probably too sincere for your own good, but I always liked it," she whispered into his ear. And like that, the song ended, and she pulled away from him and curtsied, winking as she walked away. "Go talk to Mai, loverboy. And remember - don't bring up Takamoto."

Somehow, the urge to find his old crush wasn't half as strong as it had been before he'd stared into a pair of warm brown-grey eyes, but he did anyway.

When he approached her, she was on a bench in an adjacent hallway, one the servants used for quick egress and ingress into the ballroom, hidden from the sight of most of the guests. He could see her tawny eyes flicker to him, drinking in his presence. He gave her a small smile, and she offered him a bottle of cherry wine.

"You never liked that stuff, even when the servants sneaked us small glasses after dinner back in the day. It was Azula's favorite," he said.

Mai simply shrugged. "It's good for what it's good for."

He took the bottle and found two unused glasses, pouring each of them a drink. "As tempting as it is to drink straight from the bottle, appearances must be kept."

She snorted. "If you were dressed slightly more modestly, you wouldn't have to worry about keeping up appearances. Instead, everyone in that ballroom knows who you are."

He laughed, taking a deep drink from the glass. She did too, to his surprise.

"Crown princes have to look like crown princes," he said, offhandedly.

"You don't look anything like a crown prince, Zuko," she said drily. Her tone was acerbic, but Zuko was surprised by how familiar it was, like slipping into an old robe.

"What do I look like?" he asked.

"A butcher."

"That's not inaccurate, I guess," he said, with an amused snort.

"Where the hell have you been for the last ten years?" she asked, her dryness disappearing temporarily. His heart lurched at the emotion in her words. "You never wrote. You never said anything to me."

He looked her square in the eye and pulled off his mask. To her credit, she didn't wince or look away.

"Like what you see?" he asked, bitterly.

"No. But I don't hate it any more than I hate your stupid face in general, Zuko. You forgot about me."

"I wanted you to forget me, Mai. Look at my scar. Look at me. What I was back then wasn't worth loving. There was no future there for you."

"That's for ME to decide, Zuko, not for you. I would have chosen you."

"Would you? Would you still, knowing what I've been up to in my time away?"

She looked away. "I heard stories from my father."

He poured them each another glass, their firsts having disappeared quickly. Mai drained hers in nearly one gulp.

"You have time to listen to them?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment, then: "Yes."

So then he spoke to her, for an hour at least, telling her the stories he'd never told anyone. Mai didn't flinch once. She simply nodded or made a small comment here and there, as he told her of battles, of butchery, of every near scrape that he'd had.

"You're different now," she said, quietly.

"And you're a taken woman," he said acidly. "I'm sure the court gossips are going to have a blast with spinning you out to be some royal mistress by tomorrow."

She shrugged. "Might be exciting."

"Would Takamoto feel that way?" he shot back.

She stared at him with what could only be described as rage, though her voice didn't waver from its typical dryness. "And where did you find out-? Ah, who am I kidding. Ty Lee."

"I ran into her before."

"I saw. You two looked a treat out there on the dance floor," she muttered.

"Taken women aren't supposed to be jealous," Zuko said with a small smile on his face.

"You would know if something's happened to him." It was a statement from her, but also a question. One he wasn't sure he wanted to entertain.

"I can't say for sure without knowing which ship he was stationed on, Mai." She opened her mouth, but he waved her off. "I'm not going to be the harbinger of your fiance's death. Don't tell me which ship. I'm not going to break that news for you. The Southern Fleet is large, the chances he was on that detachment at Kyoshi Island was minuscule."

She gave him a hard stare, and for a moment, a well of bitterness rose up in him that he couldn't suppress. "But do you know what I will tell you?" he hissed at her. "Those men on Kyoshi, and the ones on those two ships... they were hacked to bits. The Nightwolf? Everything they make him out to be is real. And even worse, Azula - your best friend, Azula - fights on his side now. She even loves him, can you imagine that? Did your father tell you we found a dozen electrocuted soldiers in the village square? Azula executed them," he said, laughing hoarsely. "Probably because they torched the village and put at least a hundred villagers to death. Seems you have a type when it comes to men."

The slap he received in exchange for his words was worth it, though it stung like a dozen bee stings. He poured another glass for them both. "I have no right to be upset that you got engaged to another man. That's why I never wrote; I didn't want you to love a ghost thousands of miles away from you," he said.

She didn't respond, but they continued to drink in silence. Zuko could handle his alcohol fine after some of the brews he'd had in the Earth Kingdom, but he could tell it was affecting Mai.

"Azula loves the Nightwolf?" she muttered.

He snorted. "You sound as disbelieving as I was, but I saw her kiss him in his village. And then I heard him defend her to me on threat of pain. To top it all off, she rescued him from me, and my men saw them kiss on the Agni damned deck of my ship. It's funny how that part of the story is infinitely more interesting than the fact that I captured the Avatar for a short while."

Mai smiled, which took him aback. "The Avatar is boring. Azula turning traitor for love is something no one saw coming... except maybe Ty Lee and myself."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked. "You were expecting something like this?"

Mai shrugged. "Did I know she'd become allies with public enemy numbers one and two of the Fire Nation? No. But Azula has never been loved by anyone in her life, except me and Ty Lee, though I'm pretty sure she never saw it as love. She probably thought we were using her," she said, tracing the rim of her glass with her finger. "This Nightwolf sounds perfect for her."

Zuko snorted. "A southern water tribe savage, perfect for her?"

"You don't think she sees a kindred spirit? He sounds like someone with a drive to match hers."

They were quiet again for a moment, but Zuko drained his glass and stood up. "For the record, you're wrong. There was a time I loved Azula like a brother should love a sister. She was precious to me. Turns out she was incapable of loving anyone other than someone just like her."

Mai shook her head. "Azula would have loved you, but both of you are victims of your parents. Who would she have had on her side if she stood up for you? The Fire Lord would abandon her, and your mother was too busy caring after you to care after Azula."

Zuko laughed. "You sound like the Nightwolf."

Mai smiled. "If that's the case, maybe he really does love her. I'm glad for her."

Zuko stood there, gripping his glass tightly, and then he affixed his mask back onto his head. "I'll see you around, Mai," he said, half whisper, half grunt. He turned on his heels and walked back into the ballroom.

"Goodbye, Zuko," she whispered. Only after he was completely gone did she allow the tear welling up in her eye to roll down her cheek.

XXXXX

He stood by Ozai. The Fire Lord had issued a summons to his private gallery, above the ballroom. Father and son stood there, observing hundreds of guests mill about, their conversations carrying up to the booth in muddled tones.

"You requested my presence, Father?" Zuko said stiffly.

"You can handle alcohol and still function. Good." Ozai remarked. Zuko was taken aback. Surely Ozai hadn't called him up just for that.

He decided not to walk on eggshells around the man. "I've had stronger shit than what you've got the servants pouring down there."

Ozai gave a very small grin, and for a moment the Fire Lord's eyes darted towards his son.

"You truly are changed."

"So I've been told at least twice before, tonight," Zuko muttered darkly.

"You've changed in all the ways that are important to me," Ozai clarified. "A bender, a warrior, a general, a butcher - and now that I see you in the formal setting, even a makeshift statesman. Perhaps you do have it in you to sit on that throne after me."

"I've always had it."

"I would disagree, Prince. You did not possess it a decade ago. My decision to exile you after your disgrace paid dividends."

Zuko bit back a sarcastic laugh. "War brought what I had out of me, but it was always there," he replied.

"Be that as it may, all it took was to separate you from your mother's coddling to bring out the blood of Sozin in you. Sometimes I wonder if abandoning the practice of the old generations wasn't wrong, soiling our bloodline with that of outsiders.

Zuko grimaced in disgust. "I'd rather not imagine fathering children with Azula, if it's all the same to you."

Ozai hissed. "That harlot is dead to me now, Zuko. And if I have my way, she will be entirely dead. My dynasty - our dynasty - lies in your hands now." He paused for a moment, before resuming in his regular icy tones. "I received a hawk yesterday. We shall discuss it in council, but it would seem that your sister and the Nightwolf killed the Rough Rhinos. Executed them publicly in the southern Earth Kingdom."

Zuko sensed the hidden ask in his first outburst. "Mongke and his men were rabid beasts anyway. And... are you asking about marriage, Father?"

Ozai's grimace quickly reflexed into a smile in a way Zuko hated. None of the man's facial expressions seemed real. He wondered if Father had any personality at all, or if he was just some freak who could be whatever suited him.

"Yes. There are a number of eligible women here, from good breeding. You must father children soon, and frankly, I do not care if you have male or female heirs. At this time, I value continuity over whether the child has cock or cunt dangling between their legs."

Zuko tutted. "Not how the blood of Sozin should speak, Father."

To his surprise, Ozai laughed again. "My son... you truly have changed, to talk back to me like that without a second thought. I would almost be proud of you, if you hadn't failed to bring the Avatar and the Nightwolf in. But I can work with what you are now. You won't be Sozin reborn, but you won't fail our legacy either."

"If I recall correctly, you rebuked me and gave me a scar for talking back to you."

"Because you did so in public, Zuko. Here, where it is just us, above them, in our natural state as rulers of this world... here, you may speak your mind. The boldness you have now gives me hope."

Zuko stared at the people milling below. "Did Lord Mori's eldest son die on Kyoshi Island?"

Ozai laughed. "You plan on taking his fiancee, then? That Mai girl, the one Azula was friends with... Ukano's daughter."

"Which ship was he on?"

"Neither. He was one of the ones executed by Azula. Idiot boy requested to start at the bottom of the ranks instead of being entered in as an officer."

Zuko grimaced in surprise. "You may not care to hear it, Father, but the best commanders are born on the battlefield, not in the Royal Officer Academy. Mori had the right idea. He just couldn't cut it."

"Be that as it may, Ukano's daughter is now eligible to marry. If you want her, fine. Her pedigree is not the absolute best, but you could do worse among the peerage. I would prefer Takeda's eldest, or perhaps one of Mori's brood... Ukano's family has little history of infertility, and she seems courtly enough to serve as Fire Lady in the future. I have no objections, but if I uncover anything that might compromise our dynasty, I will lock her away where you can't find her."

But Zuko wasn't paying attention so much anymore. His eyes were transfixed on a lithe body, dancing in the middle of the ballroom, in a mauve qipao. He wasn't sure why he'd never noticed Ty Lee like this before, but Agni, she was achingly beautiful.

"And if you care to have mistresses on the side, I will not begrudge you that," chuckled Ozai, following his son's gaze. "But a word of warning, my son: if you father bastards, I will have them thrown from the Black Cliffs to dash on the rocks and drown in the seas below, and you will toss them yourself. You may go, now."

XXXXX

Zuko felt torn as he walked back to his quarters, but twisted around and dropped into a battle stance as he heard quick footfalls behind him.

A mauve blur leapt at him, wrapping her legs around him and using the momentum of her jump to twist around and over his back. He could sense the jab coming before it came, so he dropped to a knee and rolled on the ground, crushing her under his weight. He flipped over onto his feet and pinned the figure down, one hand poised in a blazing fist above her head.

Ty Lee's giggle broke him out of his battle haze, and he grimaced at her as he eased up, offering her a hand. She took it and he hoisted her up, her smile still plastered on her face. It was the biggest and most honest one he'd seen since he came to the capital.

For a moment the thought of pinning her against the wall and kissing her deeply overtook him, but then he clawed it back. No... if even Mai could be disgusted with who he was, then certainly Ty Lee - good-hearted, kind Ty Lee - would run from the monster that he was.

"I just wanted to see if you dance as well in battle as you do on the dance floor, Zuko." Her voice was full of mirth, and her brown-grey eyes were full of happy amusement. He found himself smiling just having stared into them. He wondered how she would react if he took off his mask and showed her the horrid scar that stretched over his eye. Would she not say anything, like Mai? Would she recoil? Most likely the latter - no matter how good she was, she wasn't Mai, who could at least fake indifference even if the scar bothered her.

"Did I live up to your expectations?" he asked.

Quicker than he could react, she gave him a hug and a soft peck on the cheek. "You were better. I'm glad you're back, Zuko. The past feels a little less empty with you here."

His heart leapt in a way that even Mai had not made it, but just like that, the moment was over. Ty Lee bade him goodnight with a beaming smile and bounded back down the hallway, past confused looking guards who had stopped their furious charge towards them only after witnessing the friendly exchange after the abrupt battle.

His heart still beating, he entered his quarters and headed straight for the bottle of dark golden arrack on his nightstand, pouring himself a shot to try and burn away the feeling Ty Lee had left in his chest, or at least to drown it in a stupor that Mai's cherry wine couldn't muster up. It burned on its way down, but he didn't forget Ty Lee at all.

There was a knock on his door, and again he felt his bastard heart betray him. He poured another shot and inched towards the door. If the Royal Guardsmen hadn't stopped whoever it was, it must be a servant.

He opened the door to find Mai standing there. Wordlessly, he pressed the door open more and lowered his arm, and wordlessly, she stepped in to his room. He shut the door behind her.

"You're drunk," she said, drunkenly. Her eyes flitted towards the shot glass in his hand, which he put to his lips and drained.

"It could be worse," he said in response, quietly.

She took a few steps towards him, and for a moment he considered dropping into a battle stance, in case Mai tried to pull out a knife and test him like Ty Lee had, but he sensed none of that flicker of aggression that presented itself in her eye before she reached for her knives. Instead, he let her draw in close, and she placed a hand on his jaw tenderly.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she asked.

Zuko simply nodded. "I'm sorry, Mai."

She stared at him. "No, you're not," she said, her voice as flat as ever. She pressed her body against his.

Zuko had women throughout the Earth Kingdom. Sex wasn't new to him, but this was different. It was Mai. She was drunk, and not in her right mind.

But the wine and the arrack was finally settling in, and frankly, neither was he.

"This is wrong," he managed to fumble out, not really meaning it.

"Yeah, it is," she breathed out. "It doesn't matter. You came back."

"I didn't want this for you. I'm not the same boy who left, Mai. You don't want this."

"I get to decide what I want," she retorted back, softly.

"You're not thinking clearly," he insisted.

"I'm thinking clearly enough to know that I never stopped caring about you." She pulled off his mask and tossed it aside, revealing that scar he hated so much, but she didn't look on him with pity or fear. Her finger traced the burned, scarred skin. "I want you, Zuko. Scars and all." She meant more than just the physical ones.

He wasn't sure how they kept talking as they tore away at each other's clothes, but they did. He practically ripped off her mask first, tossing it aside, before pulling her hairpiece out and doing the same with it.

"Did you care about him?" he grunted. Her fingers fumbled at his golden sash, and the khalat came undone. She nearly ripped it as she tore it off him.

"No," she said, almost laughing as her ao dai followed his cape on the floor.

"Then why did you get engaged to him?" he asked, their trousers now adorning the area by the nightstand.

"Because I couldn't have you," she said, gasping as he tore off her lacy undergarments and took an exposed breast into his ravenous mouth. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her to the bed. "Zuko..." she breathed, her normally passive face full of want.

It was strange, to see her possessed of anything other than her usual indifference. It almost seemed like it wasn't Mai - and that made it easier for him, even though he knew she was hurting and they were both drunk. He kissed her, deeply, harshly, taking his pleasure from her, though he was sure to give her enough of it in return. He trailed kisses down her pale body, resting to nuzzle at her nipples and moving down to her inner thighs. He lapped the sides before moving to her soft folds. When his tongue made contact, she cried out softly and ran her hands over the cropped fuzz on his head. "Agni, Zuko..."

Her voice didn't sound like her. She didn't sound like anyone he recognized... and he realized how much things had changed, how much they had changed. When his tongue carried her to blessed release, he didn't recognize that either... but from how desperate her cry was, he was sure she didn't recognize herself either. He climbed atop her and kissed her full on the lips, which she returned with a fury unmatched, as if she wanted to taste herself on his lips.

"Agni, Mai... you taste like honey," he managed to gasp out between breaths. He flipped her over onto her stomach and pinned her down. "Do I need to be gentle?"

Mai shook her head no, and that was all he needed. He wasn't a green boy, and he didn't care if she wasn't some virginal prize. She was soaked for him and only him, anyway.

He entered her from behind - slowly, though not particularly carefully. He shifted his weight to his arms and legs, so as to not crush her underneath him, and began to move. She gasped and moaned into the sheets, but he wanted to hear her cry out for him. When she lifted her head just a little, he used one hand to crane her face towards him, and took her mouth with his. Their tongues dueled as he languidly entered her from behind, and when they pulled apart, he made sure that her eyes were affixed on his when she did cry out his name. He wanted her to see him, his scar, and every feature on his face as he took her and made her his the way he'd wanted for so many years.

It was Mai he loved, Mai who he had wanted for the last decade, Mai he was desperate to return to. She was the one who looked past his scar and saw him. And when she came hard, shaking, unraveling with a loud cry of his name, it was her name he called as he spilled into her.

When they lay together in the afterglow of their fuck, as Mai drifted off in his arms, he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. It was Mai who saw past his mask, past his scars, past the horror and brutality of the last ten years. It was Mai who was hurting like him. They complemented each other perfectly.

But even so, he couldn't help but think of a waltz and of the hint of rose perfume for the briefest moment as he fell into the throes of sleep.

"Bring your love baby, I could bring my shame,
Bring the drugs baby, I could bring my pain,
I got my heart right here, I got my scars right here"

- Wicked Games by the Weeknd, AKA the soundtrack to a bunch of bad relationships in 2012...

Don't hate me, Maiko/Ty Luko shippers, please :)

Does Ozai seem like the baby murdering type to you? He seems like the baby murdering type to me.

Some clothing terms:

Qipao are traditional Chinese dresses originating from the Manchu period
Ao Dai are traditional Vietnamese dresses

Khalat are Central Asian robes - google image search "Alim Khan, Emir of Bukhara" - when you see a guy in amazing blue robes, you'll get an idea of what I was shooting for. Barring that, google "achkan" for a similar garment.

Arrack is not clothing, but its actually a sugarcane based liquor from Southeast Asia.