"Zuko said they're calling themselves the Phoenix Authority, but he doesn't know much more beyond that," Aang briefed Mai as she prepared for the mission, tucking an ungodly amount of knives, arrows, and shuriken into her clothing.
"Of course they are," Mai rolled her eyes. At Aang's questioning look, she sighed. "All of these insurgent groups name themselves after phoenixes. Something about being reborn from the ashes, plus Ozai's Phoenix King thing. There's been the Phoenix Rebellion, the Red Phoenix, the Phoenix Alliance…" she ticked off the names of the variances agencies that had revolted against her ex-boyfriend on her fingers. "There was the Phoenix Uprising, and then a year later the Rising Phoenix, which was incredibly lazy, if you ask me."
"How do you remember all of that?" Aang instantly regretted the question. Mai only responded with a scathing glance before she returned to her preparations. Most of those revolts were in the first few years of Zuko's reign, when Mai would have been at his side. Aang wondered if he should have asked someone else, if this would be too personal for Mai. But the woman hadn't faltered since Aang had brought up the mission, and he had a feeling that he'd get a knife in the leg if he tried to stop her from going now.
Aang's resolve not to talk until she was ready to go was broken quickly, when Mai pulled out yet another box from her cabinet and began strapping a mechanism to her arm and loading it with small arrows. She did the same with one that wrapped around her ankle. "Are you sure all of that is really necessary? They shouldn't even know we're there, the plan is just to gather intel."
"And I suppose things always go according to plan for you," Mai said in her usual deadpan, not looking up or slowing down. Aang pouted at that, but she did have a good point. Anyway, it was an argument that Aang was positive that he couldn't win, so he dropped it.
Finally, Mai was ready, nothing in her figure giving away the fact that she was armed to the teeth. Aang considered his glider for a moment, then shook his head and left it behind. He was loathe to do so, but he was trying to go incognito, and the staff was a dead giveaway that he was the Avatar. Besides, he wasn't too familiar with the area they would be spying in, and having the glider was a hindrance when trying to sneak through small spaces. He pulled his hood up over his head to hide his arrow and trailed after Mai out the front door. Without a word, Mai began to run, blending seamlessly into the shadows. Aang blinked once at her disappearance, then followed suit.
The little information that Zuko had led them a district of warehouses, exactly where one would expect a group of criminals to meet. They hadn't known the exact building that the meeting would be in, but Aang suspected it was the one with four guards stationed around every door. Signaling to Mai, he jumped up onto the roof of a building a block away from their target. He glanced down to see if Mai needed help, only to find that she was already at his side and on the move again. The two loped across the rooftops, easily making the jumps between buildings. Before long, they were only one building over. There was no indication from the guards that they had been seen.
Aang scanned the building and was pleased to see a small window near the ceiling. He pointed it out to Mai and she nodded in assent. They made the final leap onto the target building, Aang's heart thudding in his throat. They were in view of the guards for the split second that they were in the air; it would only take one of them looking up to blow their cover. Thankfully, nobody called out an alarm or began shooting fire at them, so he figured they were in the clear.
The target window was on the top floor, with a ledge just a few inches wide that they were able to perch on. Aang experimentally pushed on it and was disappointed to find that it was locked. He looked over to Mai, who gestured for him to move out of the way. She took her place at the window and removed one of her many knives from her sleeve. In one smooth motion, she ran the knife against the seam where the window met the wall, cutting neatly through the lock without making a sound. Impressed, and his heart pounding for an entirely different reason now, Aang followed Mai through the window, catching it on his hand and slowly lowering it so it wouldn't slam.
They were on what should have been an attic, but the floors had rotted away so that only the supporting structures remained, criss-crossing above the warehouse floor. They crept forward until they could fully see what was taking place below. In the midst of hundreds of crates and shipping containers, a large space had been cleared out on the floor. In that space was a table around which a dozen men and women sat, already deep in discussion. At the head of the table, a man sat silently watching the conversation. Aang could immediately tell that this man was in charge of the group; he had an air of confidence and power about him that seemed to both attract and repel the attention of the attendants. People would turn to address him, leaning in towards him, but they were nervous every time they did so. The man's appearance wasn't terribly unique. He was handsome and well-dressed, but otherwise couldn't be distinguished from every Fire Nation noble Aang had ever met.
The woman standing behind the man was a lot more distinctive, and just as intimidating. She was tall and broad-shouldered, made even broader by the heavy armor she wore. There was a bow and quiver clipped to her back, and a collection of large knives to rival Mai's adorning the rest of her body. Her eyes were sharp and intense, constantly moving around the room. Most worrisome was the red tattoo splayed across those eyes, marking her as a Yuyan archer. Aang assumed that she was no longer affiliated with the Yuyan archers, who now served Zuko. But he had no doubt that she was still just as quick and deadly as her brethren.
The actual voices of the group below them were drowned out in the empty space of the warehouse, so Aang and Mai had to move closer. They laid down on one of the remaining struts that crossed the warehouse ceiling and inched forward, until they were almost directly above the table. From here, Aang could begin to catch some of what they were saying.
"…it's pathetic. The Earth Kingdom is bound to be working on their own invasion, now that they see how weak the Fire Nation has become," one of the men sitting around the table was arguing. "Zuko has given away too much out of his misplaced guilt, he'd sell the crown itself before fighting for our nation."
There was a murmur of agreement. "Especially now that he's married that Water Tribe whore," another man sneered. "Might as well hand the palace over to those savages now."
Aang's hands clenched into fists and he curled his lip in rage. Mai shot him a warning glance.
"There is no Fire Nation anymore," a woman at the table sneered haughtily. "Between the Water Tribe bitch, the Beifong girl, and the Avatar, every nation has their greedy fingers in the government. Ozai never would have let this happen."
"Don't even start on the Avatar," the first man groaned.
"He's in the city now, doing Agni knows what," someone else said scathingly. Up in the rafters, Aang hunched his shoulders down guiltily.
"Daichi, what are you going to do about this?" one of them demanded, directing his attention to the man at the head of the table. Mai stiffened beside Aang, but when he turned to give her a curious look she shook her head sharply. Later, she mouthed.
The leader, Daichi, didn't speak for a moment. The rest of the group had fallen silent at the direct challenge. Though the man was now languidly leaning back in his seat, the tension in the room was palpable.
"Do you think," he drawled. "That I've spent the past decade planning this for nothing?"
A decade? Aang was growing more and more uneasy, aware that this rebellion was more than a gaggle of poorly organized hot heads grumbling about Zuko's leadership. If this man had been in the plotting stages for the past ten years, they were in trouble.
The man who had questioned Daichi paled. "No sir, it's not that," he stuttered. "I—we, just don't understand what the delay is. We have members of the Phoenix Authority deployed all across the city. We're ready now."
Aang could see Daichi's calm expression tighten into a scowl. Flames licked along the edge of his chair, just enough to be threatening but not enough to set it alight. "If you're not happy with my leadership, you are more than welcome to challenge me for it," he said cordially. "I am always open to constructive criticism."
The man turned from white to a sickly shade of green, and sank back into his seat. Daichi smirked. "That's what I thought. Now, Eito, have you—"
The conversation was interrupted by the Yuyan archer, who placed a hand on Daichi's shoulder. He turned his head towards her, frowning solemnly as she whispered something into his ear. She pulled away and resumed her previous stance, hands clasped firmly behind her back and shoulders square.
"We're going to have to call it an early night, ladies and gentlemen," Daichi said nonchalantly, slowly rising to his feet. "Aiya has just informed me that we have a few rats spying in the rafters." Aang's eyes widened, and he had only a second to process that before the archer pulled the bow off her back and began loosing arrows up at them.
"Time to go," Mai muttered way too calmly, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. The second they stood up, the arrows began aiming for their heads and bodies, and they had to slam back down to the rafter. The men and women meeting below were shouting in confusion, but one of them seemed to gather himself enough to shoot a jet of fire up at them. Aang was able to deflect it, but more firebenders began to join in and soon they were surrounded by flames. The already rotting wood beneath their feet began to creak and pop with heat. Mai was already crouched, prepared to jump down, throwing knives down into the crowd below while they still had the high ground. Aang shot one last forlorn look at the smoke-filled window they would never be able to reach now, before jumping down to the floor. Mai followed closely behind.
On the ground, Aang was struck by a wave of heat and was engulfed in flame. Most of the group appeared to be firebenders, but quite a few of them were wielding weapons with deadly intent. He was immediately put on the defensive, bringing up a wall of fire to protect him and Mai from the blasts. He extinguished the next few shots with a gust of wind, eliciting another cry of surprise from the others. Somebody yelled "It's the Avatar!" and a few people paused, but not enough to give him an actual respite. Aang reached down through the thin metal floor of the warehouse and brought up a wave of earth that rolled through the dissenters, knocking them off balance. Sweat shone on his brow as he worked to capture as many hands and feet in earth as he could, while still turning back all the fireballs that were launched at him. It had been a while since he had fought so many people at once, and he was loathe to make any killing blows. His enemies did not share his reluctance. He hissed in pain as a fireblast licked against his forearm, burning the cloth and the skin beneath it. He put out the fire on his sleeve and knocked the attacker out with a spear of earth. His foot slid on the ground, and he looked down to see he was leaving bloody footprints behind. Somebody had thrown a dagger that he had missed, and it had left a shallow cut on his thigh that was now dripping blood down his leg.
Belatedly, he remembered Aiya and the boss, Daichi. He looked over just in time to see Daichi being hustled out of the warehouse by two guards, and that Mai was busy dealing with the Yuyan archer. Every arrow that the archer released was knocked out of the way midair by one of Mai's knives, and Aang could see several of Mai's arrows lodged in the archer's armor. Aiya was trying to press forward, but Mai was able to keep her at bay, aiming for her exposed face or hands whenever she tried to move. Looking around, Aang could see that several others had their arms and legs pinned to their chairs or to the table.
Satisfied that Mai was handling herself just fine, Aang could turn his full attention back to his own battle. With their cover blown and the two of them outnumbered, his only goal now was to get them out of here alive. The window they had come in through was no longer an option; the rafters were falling apart and the windowsill itself was still on fire. That only left the front door; the guards posted there had joined in the fight, and it was unprotected. Decision made, he turned back towards Mai, only to narrowly dodge an arrow that she had missed. Some of the people that Mai had pinned down had freed themselves, and she had her attention split between their attacks and Aiya's arrows. One of the women Mai had pinned down wrenched her arm free and shot a jet of fire towards Mai. Mai ducked and turned to respond, which was apparently what Aiya had been waiting for. The second Mai's attention was off her, the archer loosed an arrow that lodged into Mai's left shoulder. To her credit, Mai didn't cry out, but Aang did.
"Enough," he growled, summoning the power of his past lives. His vision went white, and when it returned he felt strong, the energy vibrating through his skin. He was no longer aware of his injuries, only the desire to get out of here alive. He threw out one arm and a wave of fire, hotter and brighter and any he had previously made swept out. Not even the most talented firebenders were able to disperse it, and their only choices were to get out of the way or burn alive. He turned his attention to the people Mai was fighting. Everyone still trapped to the table had frozen in fear, painfully aware that they would have no way to defend themselves if the Avatar turned his attacks on them. Aiya was the only one who didn't react. Aang almost had to admire how she coldly stared him down, one arm arched over her head to draw another in her seemingly endless supply of arrows.
Before she could load her bow, Aang slammed his arms together and twisted, sending a cyclone of air that hit her hard enough to slam her into the opposing wall. Pausing only long enough to grab Mai by her uninjured arm, Aang brought up a surge of earth that tore through the metal floor like paper. They rode the wave out to the door, bowling over everyone that was still foolish enough to try to stop them and ripping a jagged gash in the floor. Aang let the earth stop at the door, jumping off and raising the earth behind him so that it completely blocked the doorway. Already, Aang could hear determined firebenders blasting at the rock, and he knew that they didn't have long to get going. The bulk of the fighting over, Aang allowed himself to slip out of the Avatar State. It drained a lot of out of him, and he would deeply pay for it if he tried to continue their escape like that. With the loss of that power, he was acutely aware of his wounds, as well as the full body ache that came from sustained bending. He ignored that to check on Mai, who hadn't made a sound since she had been shot.
"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, his hand ghosting over the shoulder that still had an arrow sticking out of it. Mai's expression was tight from the pain, but she swiftly brought her other hand which was now holding a knife (how long had that been there, Aang wondered), and cut through the shaft of the arrow, leaving the head buried in her flesh. She moved too fast for him to object or question her, though he understood that if they tried to pull the arrow out now she would likely bleed to death.
"I'm fine," she answered shortly, carelessly tossing the remains of the arrow away. "We need to run." She gestured towards the earthen door that Aang had created, which was already cracked and smoking from heat. Aang wanted to argue, or at least offer to carry her, but she took off before he could say anything. Frustrated, Aang had no choice but to run to catch up, tracking the trail of blood droplets that she left behind.
Miraculously, they weren't followed. Aang could only assume that the Phoenix Authority had chosen to stay behind and lick their wounds rather than chase the Avatar through the city. After a few minutes of running, Aang slackened his pace to a walk, forcing Mai to slow as well. She was still stubbornly refusing to show any weakness, but he could see that she was panting and that her face was even paler than usual. Her wounded arm was carefully cradled against her chest, her other hand still clutched around a knife. She gave him a defiant look, daring him to tell her to slow down.
"I think we're safe. If they were coming after us, we would know by now," Aang explained, which was absolutely not true. But it seemed good enough for Mai; she nodded tightly and continued walking by his side. Looking down at her, his stomach churned with guilt at the truly colossal mess their spy mission had turned into.
"I guess it's a good thing you brought all those knives, huh?" Mai kept her gaze forward on the cobblestones, but he did see her mouth quirk into a small smile. It wasn't enough. "I'm sorry." His voice was soft, barely audible. "I shouldn't have brought you into that."
Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh, we're doing this already?" Her tone sounded normal, almost bored, betraying none of the pain that she was surely feeling. "I don't want an apology, or your misplaced guilt. You asked me for help on a dangerous mission, and I accepted."
Aang hadn't been expecting that. "But if I—"
"If I wasn't there, you might have died," she interrupted him. "I'm familiar with the Yuyan, I know how deadly they are. We're both alive, end of story." She fixed him with a stony glare that eerily reminded him of Aiya staring him down. "I fought in the same war you did."
Aang deflated. "You're right, you're right. I'm—" he caught her scowl and corrected himself before he could apologize again. "I'm glad you were there." She accepted that, and they kept walking. Aang had a thousand questions he wanted to ask, ranging from her opinion on what they had eavesdropped on to whether she needed help walking. He couldn't quite articulate any of them, and stayed silent.
Their next argument happened at Mai's apartment building. She turned to go inside while Aang continued walking forward, towards the palace. He noticed her absence at his side and paused. "We should go to the palace, you need to see a healer."
"I'm fine," Mai responded automatically, though the blood dripping down her arm and smeared on her face said otherwise.
"You're not fine, but Katara can fix your shoulder so you will be."
"I said I'm fine!" Mai snapped, taking a step away from him. "I have bandages in my room, and I can go see my doctor tomorrow."
"I'm not kidding around, you need to see Katara now if you don't want to lose that arm or bleed out!" Aang was genuinely getting angry now, he could hear himself raising his voice.
Mai looked up sharply at his change in tone, but stubbornly refused to move towards him. "And I'm not kidding either, I can handle it myself!"
Aang could feel the frustration bubbling in his chest, but as he examined Mai's expression he could feel that anger deflating. She looked obstinate, yes, but also looked more anxious than she had the entire rest of the night. He could see why she would reject the idea of limping up to the palace, asking her ex-boyfriend and his wife for help. Unfortunately for her, Aang was unwilling to accept her going to nurse her wounds alone in her apartment, so this was not a fight she could win.
"Mai," he said gently. "I get it, I really do. But I'm not going to let you hurt yourself like this."
She hesitated. "Can't you heal it?" A note of desperation crept into her voice. "Aren't you a waterbender?"
His gut clenched; he hated being helpless to relieve someone's pain, and it was doubly heart breaking when it was someone he cared about as much as Mai. "Not something like this. I never quite got the hang of it the way that Katara did." Aang had found that, while he was able to use waterbending to heal surface level scrapes and bruises, he never really fully mastered healing as a discipline.
Mai wavered, her mouth set in a grim line, enough that Aang began deliberating the logistics of bringing Katara out to the stubborn girl's apartment. Finally, her shoulders slumped, and she wordlessly resumed walking, heading towards the palace. Relief crashed over Aang in a wave, and, as he had done most of the night, he followed her.
"We need one of you to take us to an infirmary, now," Aang informed the guards stationed outside the front door of the palace. They looked shocked, but Aang had pushed back the hood of his cloak to reveal his distinctive arrow tattoo, and snapped to attention. "Can one of you have Katara meet us there?" he asked to the guards in general. One of them immediately bowed and sprinted down the hallway, towards the royal bedchambers. The other guards clustered around the pair, herding them to the infirmary. Mai had walked the entire way by herself, and shrugged off the hands that tried to steady her.
Katara arrived at the medical room less than a minute after they did, out of breath. She had obviously been deep asleep; a robe was haphazardly thrown over her sleeping clothes, and her hair was in a wild tangle around her head. She made a beeline for Aang, exclaiming, "What happened? Are you okay?"
Confused, Aang held out his arms to ward her off. He caught sight of his burned arm, only just then remembering that he had been injured. The burn was minor and the cut on his leg had already stopped bleeding. They were not the wounds he was concerned about. "I'm fine," he reassured Katara. "Mai needs help, she got shot with an arrow."
"An arrow?" Aang jumped; he hadn't noticed Zuko appear in the doorway. He strode over to Mai, who Aang had barely managed to coax into sitting down before anyone else arrived. Katara had swiftly moved over to examine the other woman's shoulder, unflinchingly evaluating the damage.
"Not good, but I've seen worse," she said decisively. "Zuko, fill up a basin with water and bring over some towels. Aang, hand me those scissors from the table behind you." Aang turned and grabbed the large pair of shears, giving them to Katara with some trepidation. The waterbender cut Mai's sleeve around the remainder of the arrow shaft, peeling the fabric away from the drying blood. When the garment was completely free, she ruthlessly stripped it away, leaving Mai in her undershirt. Aang barely held back a gasp when the injury was fully exposed. Her arm and shirt were caked in blood, and the skin that he could see was red and inflamed. Mai was feigning disinterest, but Aang couldn't help but noticed she refused to look at it.
By now, Zuko had come back with a bowl of water and a stack of clean towels. Katara pulled the water over her hands and placed them against Mai's shoulder. As the water began to glow blue, Katara called out more instructions. "Zuko, Aang, one of you needs to pull out the arrow while I'm healing her." Aang was sure that his own horrified expression mirrored Zuko's. The two men faltered, making eye contact with each other, seeing who would offer to do the grotesque deed first.
Before either of them could move, Mai reached over with her good hand and yanked the arrow out herself. She hissed in pain, carelessly throwing the bloody arrow onto the floor. Aang couldn't help but be a little impressed by the action, even as Katara shouted wordlessly in exasperation and slapped the offended hand away. "No more heroics, if you move again I'm knocking you out," she growled. That, of all things, got Mai to smile.
Zuko rubbed a hand across his face, clearly haggard from the interrupted night of sleep. His long, dark hair was loose around his shoulders, and there was a shadow of stubble on his cheeks. He turned to Aang, worry etched across his features. "This was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, what happened?" There was a hint of anger in his voice, but Aang didn't know if that was directed at him, Mai, or Zuko himself.
Aang sighed, lowering himself in a chair and wincing as his muscles protested the shift. "It's not good," he admitted. "This group, the Phoenix Authority…they've been planning this for years. There were about fifteen people at this meeting, but they have more, all over the city. There leader was there tonight."
"It's Daichi," Mai interjected. After Katara's latest threat, she was actually cooperating and sitting still, letting the waterbender focus on her shoulder. The blue light from the glowing water shimmered eerily across Mai's face; she looked ethereal, otherworldly.
Zuko swore and Katara flinched, pausing in her work to exchange a worried look with her husband. Catching Aang's confused expression, Zuko explained. "Daichi was on my father's war council. They were all dismissed when I became Fire Lord, and banished from Caldera City." Aang recalled the early days of Zuko's reign, and how conflicted he had been about how to treat Ozai's old staff. No matter how many people reassured him that the circumstances of the banishment of a group of adult war mongers were vastly different from a father exiling his own child, Zuko remained anguished at the decision. Thinking back on it, Aang could now remember Mai cynically saying that the expulsion was a temporary solution, that those men would never be happy retiring in the countryside. She didn't look happy to be proven right a decade later.
"Okay, well Daichi is here, now," Aang picked up telling his report again. "His second is a Yuyan archer, a woman named Aiya. She was the one who spotted us."
Zuko grimaced. "I've heard of her. She defected from the Yuyan about three years ago. She…did not go peacefully."
Aang didn't want to ask. "How many casualties?"
"She killed five of her fellow archers, and wounded ten more."
That was not good news. Aang groaned. "Anyway, we had to fight our way out. Daichi got away almost immediately. Mai held Aiya off until we could escape, and got shot in the process."
"You held off a Yuyan archer yourself?" Zuko turned to Mai, eyes wide.
She coolly met his gaze, refusing to match his manic energy. "You sound surprised."
Zuko faltered. "That's not what I meant, just—" he was saved by Katara, who abruptly stood up and let the water flow from her hands back to the bowl.
"I've done as much as I can now. Provided you rest tonight, it'll heal fine with minimal scarring." Mai ran her fingertips over the small divot that was all that remained of the arrow hole, and experimentally rotated her shoulder. Katara went to stand next to Zuko, absent-mindedly resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. He shifted, moving his arm so Katara was enfolded in the overlarge sleeve of his sleeping robe. Aang was too tired and uneasy to feel any type of way about that. He turned his attention to Mai, who was already looking much better. The tension in his body melted away, and he could finally appreciate the miracle of the two of them making it out in one piece. Wordlessly, he offered a hand out to her. She studied it suspiciously for a moment, before shyly putting her own hand in it. She gave it one reassuring squeeze before withdrawing it.
Zuko, meanwhile, had drawn up two chairs across from Mai and Aang for him and Katara to sit in. "This is far worse than we expected," he sighed. "Did you find out what they want?"
"It's probably what you expected," Aang answered, shrugging. "They think you don't have the Fire Nation's best interests at heart, me and Toph are influencing you, they want to return to the glory days."
"And Katara?" Zuko's tone was harsh.
"They say she's…" Aang trailed off, unwilling to repeat the disgusting things that the rebels had said about Katara.
Mai did not share his reluctance. "They're calling her a whore and a spy. They think she's using you to shift the government so it favors the Water Tribes, so they can take over."
Katara's dark glare spoke for all of them. "Anything else?"
"No, Aiya spotted us before we could hear anything about what they're going to do next." The weight of the situation pressed down on him like a physical thing, reminding him that despite everything that had happened, they had no idea what the Phoenix Authority was planning.
Zuko rose to his feet. "I'll start sending out scouts tomorrow throughout the city, see if they can find anything. Everyone should get some rest." Aang was yanked out of his seat by the firebender and crushed into a tight hug. The movement made the burn on his arm flare up, but Aang ignored it. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax as Katara embraced him too. "Thank you," Zuko murmured, Katara nodding her assent into his shoulder. The three disengaged, and if there was some sniffling, nobody said anything.
Zuko turned to Mai, who was still sitting down, and awkwardly bowed to her. "Thank you too, Mai. We appreciate everything you did for us tonight." The stark difference between the two shows of gratitude was painfully obvious. Mai didn't say anything, and after a beat the married couple headed towards the door.
"You two go, I'll just be a minute," Aang said, noticing Katara had paused in the doorway. Katara's gaze meaningfully slid between Aang and Mai, but she followed her husband back to their bedchamber. Mai rose to her feet and stretched both arms over her head with no apparent discomfort. The sleeveless black undershirt that Mai was left in was cropped a few inches above her bellybutton, and Aang caught himself staring at her lean abdominal muscles flexing with the movement. He looked away, hoping the flush that he knew was creeping up his neck wasn't too noticeable.
Wanting something to do with his hands, Aang gathered up the remains of Mai's clothing that had been cut away and handed it to her. "So how many more times am I allowed to apologize?"
Mai accepted her blood-stained shirt and began combing through it, removing the remaining knives from the dozens of hidden pockets. "Zero."
He should have expected that. "What about 'thank you for keeping that archer from turning me into a pincushion'?"
She paused, considering. "Five."
Aang laughed. "I'll take it."
Mai finished collecting her knives and unceremoniously dumped her ruined clothes on her chair. She looked at his burn and frowned. "Why didn't you have Katara heal that?"
Aang blinked. "Oh. I guess I forgot." He pulled some water from the basin and settled it over his arm, breathing deeply. The water began to glow, and he sighed in relief as the sting of the burn faded away.
Mai raised an eyebrow. "You forgot?"
"I was worried about you."
That was enough to break through Mai's carefully neutral expression. She ducked her head, but Aang could still see the corner of her mouth lift up, and hint of red on her cheeks. "Oh."
"I don't suppose there's anything I can say to convince you to stay the night here so Katara can check on you in the morning?"
"Not a chance. And I'm sure there's nothing I can say that will keep you from checking on me yourself tomorrow."
He grinned. "Not a chance."
Aang made himself wait until the evening the next day to stop by Mai's apartment. This was partially to give her some space, and partially because he knew she had to work all day and she would be furious if he tried to bother her in the morning. He knocked on her door, fidgeting anxiously as he waited for her to answer. She should have made it home just fine, but Aang couldn't help but think that he should have walked her home, or somehow made her stay at the palace, or…
Mai opened the door and blinked in surprise. "You're using the door now?"
As thrilled as he was to see her alive and well, it took a second for the question to sink in. "You told me to." He hadn't been sure how serious she had been the previous night, but Aang chose to be safe rather than sorry. Though he hadn't necessarily minded getting pinned to the wall, he didn't want to push her boundaries or make her feel uncomfortable. He trailed after her into the living room, taking up his usual spot on the couch. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," Mai said automatically. "How chaotic was the palace today?"
Aang groaned, remembering how hectic the day had been. "Absolutely insane. Zuko was in a frenzy, he must have hired and sent out over a hundred scouts." Aang couldn't really blame him, the news that they had brought back last night was grim. "They wanted me to thank you again, and to apologize for you getting caught up in everything. And you can't get mad about that apology because it's from them, not me."
Mai appraised him thoughtfully, then held out a hand. "Give it to me."
Aang considered feigning ignorance, but decided there was no point. He reached into his robe and pulled out a small, beautifully polished wooden box. He handed it over and Mai snapped open the clasp, revealing a set of meticulously crafted shuriken. Mai took one out, examining it. It was flawless, perfectly balanced and razor sharp, the metal painted matte black so they wouldn't reflect light. It was one of the first things that Zuko had taken care of that morning. The firebender had pushed the newly purchased box into his hands, insisting that Mai accept it. "How'd you know?"
"I'm something of an expert in Zuko apologies." Though the words themselves were bitter, her tone was more jaded than anything. She put the throwing star back in the box and set it aside. She settled down on the floor, leaning back against the body of the couch.
"I guess you'll have to be more careful next time, so he doesn't have anything to apologize for."
She gave him a startled look. "Next time?"
"Yeah 'next time,' you think I'll let you off the hook after one injury?" Aang playfully pushed on the shoulder she had been shot in. "Seriously, that was impressive. And you have to admit, we make a pretty good team."
She smiled, just a little, at the compliment. "I guess so. Does that mean you're sticking around? I thought your entire thing was traversing the world and solving problems."
Her tone was carefully casual; Aang couldn't parse out exactly how she felt about him potentially leaving. "I thought I'd stick around and help solve this particular problem. Why, are you sick of me?"
She laughed, and something inside him melted at the sound. "Not yet." She twisted to meet his eyes, one hand on the couch cushions tantalizingly close to his knee. "Are you sick of me?"
Aang used every ounce of his self control not to reach out and run his fingers through her hair. He'd known for years the type of intimacy that comes from fighting side by side with someone, and yet it takes him by surprise every time. He's playing a dangerous game, this thing with Mai, and a part of him revels in it.
"Never."
