Aang woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar place with a pounding headache. Groaning, he threw one arm over his eyes to block out the sunlight that was shining directly onto his face. He remained like that for a few minutes before his overwhelming thirst drove him to move. He sat up on the couch he had been draped across, squinting blearily in the early morning light. With a grunt, he swiped a hand across his face, before summoning all his energy and managing to stand up. He shuffled over to the washroom and splashed cold water on his face, cupping his hands to take a drink as well. Already feeling somewhat refreshed, he went back into the living room and appraised his surroundings with fresh eyes.

Last night, he had been surprised that Mai didn't take him to the lavish mansion directly across the street from the palace. It was, after all, where she had been living the last time he had visited the Fire Nation. She explained that her parents owned the house, but she preferred to live somewhere that she paid for herself. Instead, she had dragged him down the street to a large apartment complex, past an apathetic doorman to the top floor. They had opened the bottle of guilt wine and Aang had gotten through about half a glass before his eyelids began fluttering shut. Mai had disappeared into her bedroom for a moment, returning to the living room with a pillow and a blanket. In the time she had been gone, Aang had already flopped back on the couch, half asleep. Though she had thrown the folded blanket onto his lap, he could remember her lifting his head up with uncharacteristic gentleness to slide the pillow underneath it.

The living room itself was modestly decorated; Mai didn't appear to adhere to the Fire Nation interior design technique of throwing the flame insignia on everything. The entire space was very neat, with very few trinkets or decorations. Aang wandered over to the walls, where a few paintings were displayed. There was one of her and an older couple he recognized as her parents, done when she was a teenager. There were a few of a young boy at various stages of life, from infant to pre-teen, that Aang realized with a shock must be her younger brother, Tom-Tom. He touched his fingertips to the latest painting of the two of them, doing the math in his head. Right now, Tom-Tom would be about the age that Aang was when he had been recovered from the iceberg. Thinking about the toddler he had (accidentally) taken hostage being a 12-year-old boy made Aang feel old, so he moved on.

The next portrait made him smile; it was Mai and Ty Lee together, clearly done recently. Ty Lee was wearing her Kyoshi warrior uniform and makeup, and she had both arms wrapped around Mai in a side hug. Aang marveled that the painter had been able to capture Mai's almost-smile, the one that barely flickered around the corners of her mouth but shone through her eyes. The last few were landscapes, places that Aang could identify from sites around the Fire Nation. There was one that was undoubtably the beach at Ember Island, one of an aerial view of Caldera City, and one of a field of fire lilies. Aang frowned, noticing that there were no pictures of Zuko or Azula, nor any new friends or significant others. He tucked that thought away for later and moved on to the next wall, which was dominated by a huge world map. The paper the map was drawn on was brown with age, the edges almost completely shredded. A date in one corner put the map's creation at almost 1,000 years ago.

Aang's snooping was interrupted by a large growl from his stomach, and he made a beeline for the kitchen. Like the living room, it was meticulously organized and clean. Poking around through the well-stocked cupboards, he was pleased to find the green tea that he liked to drink in the morning. He filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove, lighting it with a short tap of his finger. While the water boiled, he continued searching for food that he could keep down, the sake and wine still churning unpleasantly in his stomach. Inspiration struck when he found a small pot of miso paste, and within a few minutes he had a saucepan heating on the stove as well as he chopped up tofu and scallions for miso soup.

The combination of the smell of the soup, the relaxing tedium of preparing breakfast, and the warm sunlight filling the room eased Aang's headache and bolstered his mood. He found himself whistling cheerfully as he took the kettle off the stove just before it boiled, and poured it over the tea leaves he had prepared in two mugs. He stirred the soup to dissolve the miso paste, then used his knife to scrape the tofu into the saucepan. He only looked up when he heard a faint groan coming from the living room.

Mai was standing in the doorway of her bedroom, still in her pajamas and with an oversized shawl comically wrapped around her shoulders. Her glossy black hair was even messier than it had been last night, and there were dark purple circles under her eyes. She made another half-growl, half-grumble sound, and she could not be scowling harder if she tried.

Undeterred (and perhaps a little encouraged) by this show of morning grumpiness, Aang smiled brightly. "Good morning!" he proclaimed, making a show of pushing one of the tea cups towards her. "Tea? The soup will be ready in a few minutes." Mai gave him her most withering glare and plodded over to the kitchen. Two hands emerged from the shawl cocoon to grasp the cup of tea, which she carried to the dining table. "Of course," she muttered, collapsing in a chair before bringing the mug up to her face and inhaling deeply. "Of course you're a morning person." Mai's tone implied that in her view, this was a grave character flaw.

"It's a firebender thing. We rise with the sun," Aang replied, turning back to the soup. Though he was not a firebender by birth, he had cultivated his connection to the sun, appreciating that spiritual link just as much as the actual power of firebending.

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Mai said sourly, and with a jolt Aang remembered which firebender he had picked up the phrase from. Aang coughed awkwardly, but Mai continued in her usual neutral tone, not giving him time to try to apologize. "I can't believe you're this lively when you're hungover."

Aang laughed at that, ladling the miso into two bowls and sprinkling scallions in each one. "If it helps, I feel terrible," he admitted, bringing the two bowls over to the table and setting one in front of Mai. "Also, I think that fire whiskey you were drinking all night is actual poison." He propped his head up on his hand, elbow braced against the table, so his face was directly over the gently steaming bowl of soup. His eyes fluttered shut, betraying that he was not as awake and merry as he was acting. It had been a long time since he had drunk as much as he had last night, and his body was reminding him that he was not 18 anymore.

Never one for small talk, Mai ate breakfast in silence, and Aang followed suit. He felt more and more revived once he had something in his stomach, and the caffeine in the tea was helping as well. As the sun rose higher and the apartment slowly warmed up, Mai discarded her shawl haphazardly on the couch. At some point in the morning, she had run her fingers through her hair and plaited it in a long, messy braid that hung over her shoulder. Aang finished eating first and leaned back in his chair, sipping his tea and looking around the apartment. He wanted to ask why she was living there, why there weren't any pictures of other people on her wall, where the map had come from. But none of those felt appropriate for first thing in the morning, to someone he didn't know that well.

"You should go," Mai said suddenly, setting her mug down. Aang blinked at her in surprise, a little shocked at how much that hurt. He obviously hadn't intended to bum around her apartment all day, but he hadn't expected to get kicked out before 7 AM. He cleared his throat and pushed his chair back, picking up his dishes to bring to the kitchen. "Oh. Right."

Mai seemed to see something in the expression on his face, and rolled her eyes. "Spirits, don't pout. I have to get ready for work and I still smell like a bar." Aang visibly relaxed at her explanation and he ruefully thought about how, even at 22 years old, nothing hurt his feelings quite like somebody not liking him.

"Oh really?" he drawled, leaning one elbow back on the table and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Or do you just not want anyone to see the Avatar leaving your place?" Mai didn't react to the joke, instead getting to her feet and walking past him into the kitchen, plucking the bowl from his hand as she brushed by him. "I doubt I have to worry about that, considering I basically had to carry your drunk ass over here," she replied breezily, putting the dishes in the sink. "If anything, the bigger scandal will be whether or not I've done away with you."

Aang laughed at that. "To be fair, I'm pretty sure you did try to kill me with the carriage last night."

"You were standing on top of a moving vehicle, no jury would ever convict me." Mai was smiling now, just a little bit. Aang moved behind her, intending to help wash the dishes, but she nudged him sharply with her elbow and refused to let him near the sink. "Out. Now."

He held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, I'll go and clear up any rumors about my demise. I'll even use the front door so there are as many witnesses as possible."

"There's only the one door," Mai responded, confused. He grinned mischievously and pointed to the living room window, which opened onto a balcony. "Do whatever you want, daredevil," she shrugged and turned back to the dishes.

Aang genuinely considered it for a moment (if only to show off), but shook his head. "Nah, I'll save the death-defying stunts for when my head doesn't feel like it's already hit the ground. Besides, it's more fun when I have my glider."

Mai hummed noncommittally. "I guess you'll have to bring it next time," she stated, and Aang beamed. That could not be a more obvious invitation than if she had actually asked him to visit her again. And Aang did want to see her again; Mai was much more than Zuko's ex-girlfriend, and he truly felt like he had made a new friend.

"Until next time," he called jovially as he scanned the living room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Satisfied that all his belongings were still on his person, he headed to the door. "Have a good day at work!" he called over his shoulder in a sing-songy voice before letting it slam shut behind him.


The palace was already buzzing as Aang snuck back in, servants bustling about cleaning, cooking, and whatever else needed to happen to run a palace. Aang managed to evade notice, making his way noiselessly to his quarters. Every time Aang stayed in the fire palace, he negotiated himself a smaller and smaller room. At first, Zuko had insisted on giving him the largest suite, which held three separate bedrooms and an indoor pool. Aang had to keep reminding him that sleeping in a large space alone made him antsy and uncomfortable, as did the gaudy trappings that adorned each suite. By now, he had talked himself down into a simple one bedroom, with a washroom and a split living room and kitchen. It was still a little much, but he was happier with it.

Aang breathed a sigh of relief as he approached his door, but paused when the handle moved before he could touch it. The next thing he knew, he was face to face with Toph. The two benders froze in shock, but Toph came to her senses first. She did so by pointing at him and loudly yelling, "HA!"

"'Ha' what?" Aang asked, wondering if the situation was really as weird as he thought it was, or if his brain was still addled from the hangover. He tried to move past the earthbender, but she put her arms up on either side of the door, blocking him out. "Toph, this is my room," he explained patiently.

"Oh, I know it's your room, Twinkle Toes," she announced, still not using an inside voice. "I came by to see if you wanted to spar, and you weren't here."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, heh, yeah, I got up early to meditate."

"Then why," Toph gestured dramatically back towards the room. "Are all your things still packed up? And why hasn't the bed been slept in?" And why," she paused, reaching out to pinch the front of his shirt. "are you still wearing your clothes from last night? Also, you smell."

"You're one to talk, detective," Aang good-naturedly dislodged her hand from his shirt. "Are you still drunk?" Toph was definitely not into sparring first thing in the morning, unless she had been up all night drinking.

"Yes, but that is irrelevant," Toph stubbornly replied, crossing her arms. "You didn't answer any of my questions. Where were you all night?"

"What! You think…How dare you accuse me…after everything we've been through, honestly, I thought we were friends," Aang prattled on in fake outrage, maneuvering his way around Toph so that he was standing inside the doorway and she was out in the hallway. "I hope you think about what you've done. Anyway, I have to get ready for the Team Avatar breakfast. See you later!" With that, he closed the door in her face, then braced himself against it. After a second, the stone door began to shake on its hinges as Toph hammered on it from the other side.

"Foul play, Twinkle Toes! See if I ever try to fight you again!" With that, Aang could hear her stomping away down the hallway. Chuckling at the incorrigible earthbender, Aang straightened up from the door and stretched his back, a series of satisfying pops cracking up his spine. The sight of Toph had reminded him that their friend group had, in fact, arranged to eat breakfast together the morning after the reception. They had wisely chosen to meet late in the morning, so Aang had plenty of time to bathe and change.

He went into the bedroom and did a quick lap, closing all of the drawers and closet doors that Toph had left open when she had ransacked it. He didn't hold the break-in against her; Toph was very good at pushing boundaries without crossing them. She hadn't taken anything from the room, and his bag with all of his belongings was untouched. He wasn't terribly pleased that someone had already figured out that he was out all night, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

After unpacking, washing up, and changing his clothes, Aang decided to go check on Appa. The sky bison was still snoring peacefully when Aang entered the stable, though he blinked unsteadily as the man flopped over onto his forehead. Aang giggled as the bison stood up, sticking out his tongue and coating Aang in drool from head to foot. "Good morning, buddy," he said, wiping one sleeve across his head and neck. "How was your night? Did you behave?" Appa groaned, exhaling a draft of warm air that ruffled the edges of Aang's clothes. "Yeah, me neither." He stretched his arm behind Appa's horn and scratched the soft fur there. Appa grunted again, leaning into his hand. Aang looked around the stable and noted, with a pang in his heart, that there was still a little perch tucked away in the upper corner. Momo had passed away almost five years ago, but apparently Zuko hadn't been able to take it down yet. Aang had asked about it, once, and the Fire Lord had shrugged and said that he could save it for the next one. Aang had yet to find another flying lemur.

Pushing aside all of his gloomiest thoughts, Aang buried his face in Appa's fur near his eye, giving him an exaggerated kiss. "We'll go out flying later, I promise." Glancing out at the sun, Aang realized that it was almost time for breakfast. After one final hug for the sky bison, Aang made his way back inside, heading for Zuko's private dining room.


It was painfully clear that, no matter how poorly Aang was feeling, his friends were all feeling much worse. Zuko's face was pale and drawn, and Katara was leaning on his shoulder, half-asleep. Sokka was slumped forward in his chair, nursing a cup of tea. Toph, of course, was still drunk, but even she appeared to be flagging, one hand clutched around a glass that Aang prayed was full of water. Aang took a seat next to the earthbender and poured himself his own cup of tea. "Morning!" he greeted them brightly, earning himself a round of groans from the rest of the table.

"How?" Sokka complained. "How are you in a good mood?"

"He's probably faking it to be annoying," Toph griped, half-heartedly punching out towards him and glancing off his shoulder. "You drank an entire bar of sake, there's no way you're not hungover," she directed that towards Aang.

Aang sniffed, unwilling to admit that Toph was right. "Maybe it's my amazing Avatar powers that keep me from getting hungover."

"Where were those amazing Avatar powers two years ago when Sokka tried to take you fishing after you drank half a bottle of wine and you threw up before you even left port?" Katara piped up, her eyes still closed. At the round of laughter that went up around the table, everyone seemed to perk up a little bit. Zuko had a servant bring in some light food, and pointedly had a glass of water placed in front of each person. Aang reached past Toph to pick up a pastry, noting that he was still pretty hungry after his breakfast of soup. He nibbled on the pastry as the topic of conversation predictably turned to the wedding.

"That was some party," Sokka was saying appreciatively, in between mouthfuls of food. "Definitely one of the top five weddings I've been to."

"How many weddings have you been to?" Katara countered, raising an eyebrow. Sokka took a moment to think about it. "Five," he finally answered, eliciting a cackle from Toph. "You have some tough competition! Remember that insane food fight at Suki and Ty Lee's wedding? I'm just saying, nobody dropped an entire cake on Zuko last night."

The table burst into laughter again, though that reminded Aang that he hadn't seen a certain couple of Kyoshi warriors at the reception. "Why weren't Suki and Ty Lee here?" he asked quietly to Toph as the other three argued about the placement of last night's wedding in the ranking system of 'best weddings Sokka has been to.'

Toph shrugged. "Something about how they're on a super secret undercover spy mission in the Earth Kingdom. They would have compromised their positions if they had left." She stuck a hand out, and Aang obligingly broke his pastry in half and handed the uneaten portion to her. It was too bad that the two warrior women hadn't been able to go to the wedding, Aang reflected. They were much better at acting normal about him and Katara since the break up than anybody else, mostly because they didn't insist on talking about it at every turn.

Aang tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Zuko say, "Well I guess you'll have to have your own spectacular wedding to show the rest of us how it's done."

"That would require him to actually be dating someone," Katara teased, leaning forward and propping her chin on her hands. "How long have you been single?"

Sokka opened his mouth to retort, but Toph steamrolled over him "What about that girl in the new southern village? Ayiri? I thought you were going to ask her out?"

"He chickened out," Katara replied gleefully.

"No, she turned him down," Zuko corrected her, very noticeably trying not to laugh as Sokka dramatically pointed at him.

"Traitor!" he shouted, loud enough to make everyone at the table wince. "I told you not to tell Katara about that!"

"No you didn't," Zuko said, sounding confused.

"Well it's implied that all my women-related problems are secrets from Katara," Sokka shot back, crossing his arms huffily.

"So you are having problems!"

"I didn't say that!"

"Yes, you totally did."

"We all heard you, Sokka."

"Hey, if you ever need lady advice, I'm always here—"

"Toph has a secret girlfriend!" Sokka blurted out, bringing the barrage to a screeching halt. Toph gaped, turning bright red. The attention all shifted to her, and she sputtered incoherently. "I'm…you…that isn't…we've only been together like a week, I didn't want you weirdos scaring her off!"

"Ooooh, what's her name?" Katara probed, effortlessly shifting from goading her brother to Toph.

"None of your business!" Toph grumbled.

"Come on, you can't tell Sokka and not me, that's—"

"Aang was out all night!" Aang gasped at the betrayal, not expecting to be the next one in line to be thrown to the wolves. He glared at Toph, who obviously couldn't see it, and who was redundantly pointing at him. Zuko, Katara, and Sokka all leaned in towards him, and he leaned back in his chair.

"Okay, first of all, I was an innocent bystander this whole time," Aang protested, not making eye contact with anyone. "Also, I was at the reception all night."

"But you left early," Aang's attention snapped to Katara as she spoke, staring him down thoughtfully. She exchanged a look with Zuko before continuing. "You were talking to Mai, and then we did the bending demonstration, and then nobody could find you the rest of the night."

Aang could feel his palms sweating, and he opened his mouth to defend himself. Before he could say a word, a messenger entered the room and made his way directly to the Fire Lord. Zuko frowned at the intrusion, but the messenger leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Zuko nodded, took the envelope from the messenger's hand, and sent him on his way. As Zuko opened the envelope and began to read, Aang breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the distraction. The relief was short-lived; Zuko was fixing him with his most fiery glare, and Aang had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what was in that letter.

"It seems," Zuko began slowly, handing the letter over to Katara to read. "That we've spent the morning getting complaints from civilians about the royal carriage tearing through the city, destroying private property. One landlord says that the driver of the carriage earthbent a ledge directly in front of his building." As Zuko spoke, one by one, everyone's eyes turned to Aang. "The coachmen claim that somebody borrowed the royal carriage last night, and returned it with the ostrich-horses exhausted, a broken wheel, and covered in scratches." By now, everyone's eyes were wide as dinner plates, and Katara had her hand over her mouth. "And what's really interesting," Zuko finished, and Aang had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at how intentionally dramatic the man was making all of this. "Is that everyone claims that the driver was the Avatar, accompanied by a young woman."

The room was dead quiet for a few seconds. Aang shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Holy shit," Toph said faintly. She turned to Aang, clasped her hands together, and bowed to him deeply. "The student of chaos becomes the master."

Sokka snorted at that, and it was pretty clear that the hand that Katara had clapped over her mouth was to stifle her incredulous giggles. Zuko was the only one who didn't seem amused. "So, Aang, care to explain where you went last night?"


Aang had talked himself out of far worse situations, and it didn't take long before he had his friends clutching their stomachs, doubled over in laughter as he recounted his exploits of the previous evening. Even Zuko couldn't help chuckling, though he tried to cover up the sound with a cough. He did artfully omit a few details: the reason that he and Mai had originally left the wedding in the first place, and why they hadn't returned after the carriage ride. He smoothed over those lapses in his story by focusing on his adventure in the city, even jumping on the table to recreate his ride on top of the carriage. After the laughter died down and Zuko wrangled a promise from Aang that he would fix the streets he had earthbent, they seemed content to let the topic go and move on to something else. Aang settled back in his seat, exhaling a long sigh of relief, before turning back to Toph. "So," he started, leaning close to the blind earthbender. "What's this about a secret girlfriend?"

The next hour passed pleasantly, the five of them easily falling back into their old dynamics. It warmed Aang's heart every time, the reassurance that no matter the time and distance between them, they would always be able to come back to this. All too soon, Sokka and Toph were standing up. They had switched roles from the reception; now Sokka had his hand braced against Toph's shoulder, holding her upright. Aang felt a pang that he didn't have more time with his friends, but they were all so busy it was impossible to be in the same place for more than a few days. They huddled together in a group hug, Aang using his lanky arms to their full advantage to gather as many of them as he possibly could. They filed out to the air balloon that would carry Sokka back to the Southern Water Tribe, and Toph to her earthbending school in Omashu. Katara had both of her arms wrapped around her brother's elbow, propping her head on his shoulder and ignoring how difficult it was to walk like that. Aang was just behind Sokka and Toph, his arms draped over both of their shoulders to soak up as much of their comforting heat as he could. Eventually, the hugs and well wishes had to end, and Sokka and Toph had to board the air ship.

Aang waved until the balloon was just a speck in the sky.

He turned back to Zuko and Katara, who had their arms loosely around each other's waists. They were still watching the balloon with matching wistful looks on their faces.

"I should probably go too," Aang said, breaking the silence. Katara and Zuko exchanged cryptic glances, then Katara stepped towards Aang.

"You don't have to," she stated, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "We know you're busy, but we haven't seen you in almost a year. We would really like it if you stayed a little longer."

"Well…" Aang trailed off, resentfully wishing that he wasn't still so susceptible to those striking blue eyes. Zuko reached out to clasp his other arm, his expression pleading, and Aang knew he was a goner. "Please, Aang."

Aang exhaled, all of his resistance leaving his body with that single breath. "I guess I can stay a few more days," he relented, and he was once again pulled into a bone-crushing hug. How bad could it be? he wondered optimistically.


After a normal day of work made even more excruciating by her hangover, Mai could almost imagine that the events of the previous night were an elaborate daydream. She was therefore not expecting to see the Avatar crouching on her balcony that evening, knocking on the window. She froze, staring stupidly as he began cheekily waving to her, then gathered herself together. She unlocked and opened the window, standing in the gap to block his path. "Can I help you?" she asked in her usual deadpan tone, leaning against the window frame. Aang straightened up, matching her posture by supporting himself on his glider.

"I believe I was promised fancy guilt wine," he answered breezily, as if this were a normal situation and he hadn't snuck onto a woman's balcony. Mai raised an eyebrow.

"I believe you already had some wine last night."

"That didn't count," Aang replied. "I fell asleep before I got to enjoy it." Mai reflected on that. Truthfully, she was glad to see the airbender. Mai had been absolutely dreading Zuko's wedding, especially once she found out Ty Lee wasn't going to make it. Not that she held anything against the newly married couple, of course. But Zuko's awkward self-deprecating guilt was suffocating, to the point that sometimes she idly wished that he would go back to yelling at her. And while Katara was nice enough, it was obvious that the waterbender didn't know what to make of Mai, and would avoid her whenever she could. Mai had thus anticipated spending the night alone, surrounded by Zuko's friends and Fire Nation nobles, all skirting carefully around her. But Aang had surprised her; he was charming and reckless in a way that the people that she spent her time with were not. Before she could overthink it too much, she moved out of the way and inclined her head. Aang's ever-present, infuriating grin widened, and he stepped over the threshold.

For a second, neither of them moved any further into the apartment, standing only inches apart. It felt like a game, to Mai, and she was very good with these kinds of games. So her expression didn't change as the Avatar stared her down, nor did she flinch when he extended an arm past her to lean his staff against the wall. His next move in the game, however, was a shocker: he wrapped his arms around her in an affectionate hug. She was so startled that she froze, stiff as a board, and by the time her brain had caught up with the rest of her he had already let her go. "It's good to see you, Mai," he said warmly as he finally brushed past her, making his way to her kitchen. To her credit, she composed herself quickly and followed him, wondering if she had perhaps miscalculated the game that he was playing.

He had already pulled out the wine bottle, and was now rummaging through her cabinets for glasses. Mai closed all the cabinet doors that he had left ajar, plucked the wine bottle from his hands, and pointed to the glasses they had used last night that had been washed and left to dry on the counter. Aang obediently brought the glasses over to her and watched silently as she poured the wine. He made a whining noise in his throat when she moved to close the bottle after filling each glass a third full; Mai met his eyes, sighed, and poured until the liquid neared the top of each cup.

They found themselves sprawled in the living room, the balcony window still open to let in the night air. Mai was reclining on her couch, both legs primly tucked underneath her body. Aang had inexplicably chosen to sit on the floor, his back against the same couch. Aang was very easy to talk to, and Mai found herself elaborating on her work, her coworkers, her hobbies. If he noticed that she neglected to talk about her social life, he didn't comment on it. It did mean that it didn't take long for them to run out of benign things to talk about, and Mai could address the komodo-rhino in the room.

"So," Mai began, setting her almost empty wine glass on the table. "How are the newlyweds?"

Aang hesitated, examining his own wine glass to avoid looking her in the eye. "They're fine," he said cautiously. She waited for him to continue. "It's weird," he admitted, craning his neck back so his head was flat on the couch cushion. "They want things to be normal but they are just so bad at it." Mai couldn't hold back a quiet laugh at Aang's exasperation while he tried to describe his day with Zuko and Katara, picking up steam as he went on. He was a good story-teller; Mai had to cover her face with her hands as he described in painful detail how at one point, the married couple had each grabbed one of his hands and insisted that they walk around like that. He pantomimed his panicked expression that he had directed at the guards, none of whom were merciful enough to help him out. Luckily, their walk was confined to the palace; apparently they had been showing him the renovated grounds, which included a new garden and outdoor training arena designed for any style of bending. When they had tried to drag him to the market, he had insisted that he was absolutely starving and that they should take a break for lunch.

"Meals are the only time that I can breathe, because they forget to act like crazy people," he finished in an amused tone. He downed the rest of his glass, then groaned. "I'm sorry, I promise I didn't come over here just to complain about them," he mumbled, drawing his legs up against him and resting his head on his knees. "It's not like me."

"Isn't it?" Mai countered, tilting her head to give him a knowing look.

"Well, it's not supposed to be," he amended. "I'm supposed to be able to let things like this go. I can't help anybody if I'm wrapped up in my own petty nonsense. I should be above whining like this." He spat out the last sentence, still staring at the floor, and so he didn't see Mai's expression soften.

"You're still human," she said, unfolding her legs from under her to nudge his shoulder with her toe. It wasn't the best way to comfort someone, but she was a little out of her depth here. "Super Avatar powers or not. And no human is above whining about their annoying ex." She was pleased to see the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a grin at that. "I don't mind, anyway. It drives you crazy, not being able to talk about that stuff."

Aang sat up straight and twisted his body so his shoulder was pressed against the couch and he could see her fully. "Do you have anyone you can talk to about it?" he asked sincerely. "Ty Lee? Or…" he paused. "Azula?"

Mai's face fell into its default stony expression, and she stood up abruptly. Aang jumped at the movement, his head following her as she went to fetch the half-empty wine bottle from the kitchen. She brought it over the living room and refilled their glasses, avoiding eye contact. "I haven't seen Ty Lee in a long time," she finally spoke in a clipped voice. "She spends most of her time either traveling or on Kyoshi Island. Besides, she's not great with secrets. Or complaining." Her gaze flickered to the painting of the two of them that hung on her wall, a fond smile creeping over her face. She was glad that her friend had found happiness in the Kyoshi warriors, in her wife, and in her efforts to maintain peace in the world. But she missed Ty Lee so much that it hurt sometimes.

"And Azula?" Aang pressed gently.

Mai stilled, her hand still wrapped around the wine bottle. "Azula's been in a nearby mental health clinic," she finally answered. "Zuko says that she's doing a lot better. Ty Lee and I have tried to visit a few times, but she won't see us." She neglected to mention that once a week for almost a year she had tried to see the dethroned princess, and had been turned away every time. Mai didn't even know what she wanted to talk to Azula about. Maybe it was to apologize for betraying her, maybe to rage at her about almost killing Zuko and destroying the world, maybe to see if the therapists and medications had silenced the myriad of voices in her head.

Maybe to ask if she had ever actually cared about Mai, or if she had been using her the whole time.

"I'm sorry," Aang said sincerely, and Mai believed him. "So…nobody to talk to?"

Mai took a long drink from her wine glass, deliberating on when it had begun to taste so sour. "It's funny. I was brought to the palace to befriend Azula and Zuko to advance my father's career, and my own social standing," she said, in a bitter voice that showed that it wasn't funny at all. "Instead, they ruined both. My father got demoted and I…" She wavered, unsure if she really wanted to keep going. But Aang was staring at her with those wide eyes, both childlike and ageless, and she found herself continuing. "Well, now everyone sees Azula as a madwoman and a traitor. Many people still associate me with her. And as for Zuko," she scowled. "Every guy I talk to thinks that the Fire Lord is going to change his mind someday and want me back." She gave a very unlady-like snort of derision. "As if I'd ever take him back."

Aang seemed to think about that for a moment. "Well, now that he's married, maybe you'll finally get lucky," he said optimistically. Whether it was the sudden shift in tone or the crass joke, Mai found herself laughing.

"Maybe," she agreed, holding her glass up to him in a toast. "To getting lucky. Or at least, to not being as pathetic as we are now." Aang gladly clinked his glass against hers, cheering, "Here here!" The dour mood broken, they passed the rest of the evening chatting about much lighter topics. Mai reminded him about the Air Nomad artifacts in the museum, and the conversation turned to history. He asked her about the ancient map hanging on her living room wall (she had outbid a pretentious noble at an auction who had made a snide comment about her not being able to afford it), and she questioned him about life 100 years ago, before Fire Nation propaganda twisted and mangled the truth. His knowledge usually came in the form of stories, which she found she didn't mind.

When it was finally time for Aang to leave, Mai reluctantly followed him out onto the balcony. She briefly thought about asking if he wanted to stay the night again, but she dismissed it almost immediately. That was exactly how rumors got started, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with that kind of gossip. Aang twirled his staff in his hand and tapped one end against the floor, causing the wings of the glider to pop out. She expected him to hug her goodbye, so she was taken aback when he swooped down to kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Mai," he said softly, and then he was gone. Mai brought one hand to her cheek, fingertips brushing the spot where his lips had been, and watched his shadow soar against the starry night sky until he was out of sight.