Mai was suspicious when she entered the living room and found Aang serenely drinking tea at the table. Something about his posture told her that he was waiting for her to get up, and it put her on edge. She cautiously approached the table, as one would approach a sabertooth moose-lion, and slid into her chair. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Aang nodded in greeting, far too calm and cool. Mai's gaze landed on the plate in the middle of the table, piled high with fruit tarts. Her blood ran cold.

"Did you go out and buy those?" she asked, desperately hoping that she was wrong.

"Nope," Aang answered. "Zuko sent them up to you." He paused. "With a note." Another pause. "That said 'happy birthday.'" He finally met her eyes, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Mai, is it your birthday?"

"No," she lied, taking one of the fruit tarts and nibbling on it. It was very sweet of Zuko to remember her birthday, but she wasn't feeling very grateful right now. She hadn't intended on telling anybody about it, least of all Aang.

"Happy birthday!" Aang crowed, reaching for one of the tarts. Mai smacked his hand before he could touch the plate. "You're 27 now, right?"

She didn't know how he knew that, but she had long since stopped being surprised by the personal details that he picked up about her. "Yes."

"Do you have any plans?"

"Work."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

Aang pouted, temporarily halting his attempts to sneak one of the tarts away from her. "That's no fun, I want to do something for your birthday."

"You can do whatever you want, I'll be at work." Mai finally relented and pushed the plate towards Aang, who victoriously picked up one of the tarts. She didn't believe for a second that she would actually get away with not celebrating her birthday, not now that Aang knew about it.

"Can I at least get you a present?" Aang ventured. Mai gave him a threatening look. "That's not fair! Zuko got to get you a present."

"What would you get me for a present?"

Aang scrunched up his face in thought. "I'm not sure, I'll have to think about it. You didn't really give me a lot of notice."

"I didn't give you any notice."

"Ugh, fine, I'll figure something out." He pointed one of his fingers reproachfully in her direction. "Maybe I'll see if I can buy you a better birthday attitude."

A smile quirked at the corner of Mai's mouth. "I don't think you can afford that. How much does being the Avatar pay again?"

"I know you think being mean will make me give up on celebrating your birthday, but it won't work." Aang finished his tart and brushed the crumbs off his hands. "Let's start with your hair."

Mai groaned. "Aang, I woke up thirty seconds ago, do you have to do my hair right now?" She was aware of how petulant and spoiled she sounded, but she really did not like her birthday. She had intended on having a perfectly normal day, which had been spoiled by Zuko before she had even woken up.

As usual, Aang responded to her hostility with his unflappable good-tempered attitude. "Yes, I have to do it now. I'm supposed to meet with Katara soon to talk about some of the trade deals between the Fire Nation and the South Pole. Which I could have done any other day, had I known it was your birthday today." With that, Aang retrieved her hairbrush from the bathroom, then stood behind her and began gathering her loose hair between his hands. Mai automatically tipped her head back, eyes half-closed as his fingers scraped against the back of her neck. She had to admit, it felt very indulgent to be sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast and drinking tea, while somebody brushed her hair.

"Where did you even learn how to do this?" she murmured, more to herself than to him. They very pointedly did not talk about the hair, but she was curious, and he had never brought it up.

Aang's hands paused. "Oh. I used to braid Katara's hair." The soothing movement of the brush through her hair began again, not reflecting the hesitation in his voice. "When we were together."

The implication of that hung in the silence between them before Aang hurriedly added, "But once everyone figured out I was good at it, they all wanted me to braid their hair. Toph, Zuko, Suki, even Sokka, when his hair got long enough." Mai let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, Aang diligently working on her hair and Mai equally diligently finishing the fruit tart. "So your meeting doesn't have anything to do with the Phoenix Authority?" Mai asked, licking a bit of syrup from the corner of her mouth.

Aang sighed. "No, there's still no word on them." Zuko had briefly been invigorated by the news that Aiya was seen in a small town just outside the city, and had directed more of his spies to scour the neighboring villages. Unfortunately, that had led to dead end after dead end, and there was still no sign of Daichi. Nobody had seen him since Aang and Mai's first run in with him. "Some other stuff has been getting neglected, so we're working on not letting anything else fall too far behind."

"Since when are you involved in the inner workings of Fire Nation politics?"

He hummed. "I'm not, really. I'm just helping to mediate, give an outsider's perspective. I need something to do to entertain myself while you're at work all day."

Before Mai could begin to unpack that, he took a step back and announced, "Done!" Mai ran one hand over her hair to find that it had been bound in a complex of braids that twisted and overlapped across the back of her head. She got up to examine it closer in the bathroom mirror; it was impeccably done, and without a doubt the most elaborate hairstyle he had done for her so far.

"What do you think?" Aang appeared in the doorway, his hands fidgeting against each other. Mai realized, somewhat amused, that he was nervous. As though there was any chance that she wouldn't like it.

"It's amazing," she said shyly. He beamed at her. "Can this count as my birthday present?"

Aang stepped forward, and Mai's breath hitched as he folded one of her hands between his, looking her directly in the eye with a solemn expression. "No."

Mai huffed and extricated her hand, using it to shove the now-giggling Avatar in the chest so she could walk past him and finish getting ready for work. She would die before she admitted it, but this was already the best birthday she had had in a long time.


"I don't believe you," Rika cooed in a sing-song voice.

"I don't care," Mai replied, her attention fully on the clipboard in her hands. One of their suppliers had dropped off a shipment of tools she used in the warehouse, and she was meticulously checking the invoice to make sure that everything had been delivered. The second it had been clear that Mai would be lingering by the front desk to complete this task, Rika had begun talking about her favorite subject.

"I'm just saying, living with a guy is a big deal. There's no way you two aren't hooking up."

"And yet we aren't. One of life's great mysteries." Mai didn't really dislike Rika, but her obsession with Aang was getting irritating. Invasive questions followed one after another, and Mai had no doubt that Rika was sharing the scant news that she got with her other friends in the museum. It didn't help that she was firmly convinced that Mai was dating him, and yet still made sure to hit on him every chance she got.

Suddenly, something slammed into Mai like an avalanche. She stumbled backwards, her arms pinned against her sides.

"Happy birthday, Mai!" her attacker squealed, pulling back to reveal that it was Ty Lee. Mai blinked in surprise, unable to fully comprehend that her childhood friend was here, in the Fire Nation, on her birthday. She was soon joined by another assailant, who swept both women up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Ty Lee! Suki! What are you doing here?" Mai gasped, the tips of her toes barely scraping the ground as the brawny Kyoshi warrior squished her against Ty Lee. The couple finally stepped back to let Mai breathe. They were bare-faced and clad in plain Earth Kingdom clothes, rather than their elaborate uniforms and makeup.

"What do you mean 'what are we doing here'? It's your birthday, we came to celebrate with you!" Ty Lee responded, as if it were logical that they would have traveled halfway across the world just for her birthday. They had never done it before; then again, they had never been away from the Fire Nation for so long. And since Mai didn't leave Caldera City, it had been a few years since she had seen the couple.

"It's your birthday?" Mai had completely forgotten about Rika, who was watching the reunion with wide, shrewd eyes. It was probably an odd sight for the receptionist, seeing the usually-reserved Mai being hugged and coddled. There was nobody else would be able to get away with it, but there was a special place in Mai's heart for the pair, and not just because Mai had been friends with Ty Lee since they were toddlers. After Zuko's coronation, a small contingent of the Kyoshi warriors had stayed in the palace, serving as guards to replace those who had been a little too devoted to Ozai. During that time, Mai had gotten to know Suki, both as the leader of the warriors who thwarted more than a few assassination attempts, and as the person that Ty Lee spent most of her time mooning over.

"Yes, technically," Mai vaguely answered, not wanting to make a bigger deal out of it than it already was.

"I'm Ty Lee, and this is my wife, Suki," Ty Lee took the initiative to introduce them, knowing that Mai was unlikely to extend that social nicety. "We're from Kyoshi Island, but we've known Mai forever." Ty Lee had slung an arm around Mai's shoulders, as though she thought Mai would slip away if she let go of her.

"I'm Rika. It's an honor to meet real Kyoshi warriors." It was actually the most sincere Mai had ever heard Rika sound, but the warriors had gained quite an impressive reputation after the war. "And happy birthday, Mai. I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Mai, who told Rika as little as possible, did not find it quite so unbelievable.

"It's an honor to meet you as well. I can't believe you're lucky enough to get to see our Mai every day," Ty Lee replied, grabbing Mai's chin in one hand to give her an overdramatic kiss on the cheek. Mai put one hand over Ty Lee's face and pushed her away, ignoring the other woman's giggling. That set Rika off as well, and not even Mai's most venomous glare intimidated her into silencing her laughter.

"So, I assume you have planned absolutely nothing for this evening," Suki said, not even bothering to make it a question.

Mai answered anyway. "No."

"Great! So we'll stop by your apartment at six to take you out to dinner."

"Apartment? I thought Mai was staying in the palace with the Avatar?"

Mai's head snapped towards Rika, who was looking back at her with an expression of feigned innocence. Ty Lee and Suki shrieked, "What?!"

"Not that it's any of your business," Mai directed that at all three women, but mostly towards Rika. "But it's not what it sounds like."

"Okay then, what is it?"

Mai, for once, was at a loss for words. "It's...well...there's this coup…" She stopped and took a deep breath. "A group of rebels is trying to oust Zuko, and Aang and I got caught spying on them. They tried to take me from my apartment, so I moved into the palace as a security measure."

Ty Lee and Suki had matching incredulous expressions. "Okay...so why do you have to live with Aang?" Suki questioned, one eyebrow raised. "Doesn't his room only have the one bed?"

Mai barely suppressed a groan as Rika's jaw dropped. "What do you mean there's only one bed?"

"Okay, everyone's being a little dramatic." Privately, Mai wondered how things had gotten out of hand so quickly. "The other guest rooms in the palace make me uncomfortable, and Aang is a friend. I sleep in the bed, and he sleeps on the couch in the living room." Saying it all out loud made Mai begin to comprehend how ridiculously stupid her logic was, and how apparent it was that she had just wanted to spend more time with Aang. She didn't even want to think about all the other lies she had been telling to herself.

"You sleep. In his bed." Suki sounded like she was trying to keep her cool, but was failing miserably.

"Technically, but he's not in it," Mai countered, as though she had a leg to stand on.

"I didn't realize it was such close quarters. I guess that explains why he braids your hair every morning." Rika was very lucky that Mai wasn't a firebender, because her and her desk would have been reduced to charcoal before she could finish her sentence.

Ty Lee drew her fingertips over Mai's braids, just now connecting the dots regarding her impeccably styled hair. "Of course, how could I have missed it? This is so Aang."

"Anyway," Maid said loudly, pulling away from Ty Lee's prying hands. "I have a ton of work to do today, so unless you want me to have to work overtime on my birthday, I suggest you find someone else to bother."

"I'm sure we can manage that," Suki said cheerfully, throwing a conspiratorial wink towards Rika. "We're going to go see your palace husband now."

Before Mai could object to the title, Suki was giving her a hug goodbye and heading for the door. Ty Lee trailed after her, though she did stop long enough to stage whisper, "You should probably run," to Rika before she left.

Now alone with the receptionist, Mai slowly turned until she could fix Rika with an icy stare. Much less confident without the support of the Kyoshi warriors, Rika babbled something about needing to check on an exhibit on the museum floor, and disappeared.


Katara and Aang were just finishing up their meeting when Zuko stopped by the office to let them know that Ty Lee and Suki were in the throne room. After a beat, they both leapt to their feet and charged down the hallway, sweeping past Zuko. Aang ignored Zuko's shouting at the gusts of air that swirled around him whenever he ran and bolted down the hallway towards the throne room. He burst in through the large double doors, Katara a step behind, unable to believe his eyes at the two women waiting for him. Without preamble, both Aang and Katara shrieked, "Suki!" and threw themselves at the Kyoshi warrior, almost knocking her down.

"I didn't realize the Fire Nation was such a party spot, we would have come by sooner," Suki laughed, managing to regain her balance just in time for Ty Lee to jump in on the group hug. The enthusiastic greetings continued when Zuko finally strolled into the throne room, his wide grin betraying his delight despite his complaining about the show of affection. They all finally disentangled themselves, and Zuko led them to a more casual room where they could sit around a low table and catch up.

"How long are you guys going to be here?" Zuko asked.

We'll be in the Fire Nation for a few days, but we're leaving the capitol tomorrow," Ty Lee replied. "It's a bit of a trip to track down all of my sisters."

"We really wanted to make sure to be here for Mai's birthday," Suki continued. "Neither of us liked the idea of her spending it alone. Although," she added with a sly glance at Aang. "I guess we don't need to worry as much as we thought."

Aang loudly cleared his throat. "Ah. You guys talked to Mai already."

"We went to see her at the museum. It was...enlightening." Ty Lee savored the last word. Aang could feel his entire face warming up as four pairs of eyes appraised him.

Katara, thank the spirits, came to his rescue. "Well it was nice of you to make the trip to be here for her. What do you have planned?"

"Dinner, maybe some dancing if we can convince her to stay out once the sun goes down," Ty Lee answered. "Do you want to come?" The last question was directed at Zuko and Katara.

Zuko sighed, exchanging a look with Katara. "I don't think it's a good idea. I have a lot of work to do, I don't think I'll be much fun."

"Yeah, I have a huge proposal to review, I'm barely sleeping as it is," Katara agreed. What wasn't said aloud was the near constant worry about the Phoenix Authority. Zuko had a hard enough time relaxing when he didn't think that assassins were coming after him.

"Boo! What about you, Aang?"

The thought of dancing with Mai made his decision easy. "Sure, I'd love to go. As long as you ladies don't mind me tagging along."

"Oh, I don't think anyone will mind," Suki said with a smirk.

The plans for the evening settled, Ty Lee turned her attention to Zuko and Katara. "So how was the wedding? Tell me everything!"


"Where's that dress we got you for my sister's graduation two years ago?" Ty Lee rifled through Mai's closet, examining and discarding each piece of clothing that didn't meet her standards. "Ah ha!" she triumphantly announced, pulling the aforementioned dress out from its place shoved behind all of Mai's work clothes. Ty Lee frowned. "When was the last time you wore this?"

"At your sister's graduation two years ago," Mai responded dryly. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, observing with some concern as all of her clothes began to pile up around her. She hadn't really known what she had been expecting of the evening, but having Ty Lee walk her back to her apartment from work to get dressed was not it. Mai had objected to being walked home like a child, Ty Lee had countered that she fully expected Mai to try to run away and hide in the city until her birthday was over. Mai hadn't been able to dispute that logic.

"What? That's insane, you look hot in it!" Ty Lee sounded personally offended. "It's settled, you're wearing it tonight."

"No way."

"Yes way!"

"Absolutely not."

Ty Lee looked at her thoughtfully, then, in a surprising move, sat down next to Mai on the bed. "Listen," she started gently. "I know you think you have to argue with me and be negative about this, because you don't want to be excited. I know you don't like to celebrate yourself at all. But Suki and I travelled a long way to be here with you."

"I never asked you guys to come—"

"And I would have traveled twice as far to be here with you, today, in a heartbeat," Ty Lee firmly steamrolled over Mai's protesting. "So here's the deal. If you say you don't want to do something, we won't do it. But you can't say no just because you feel like you aren't allowed to have fun or go all out for your birthday."

Mai's throat closed up, and she pondered exactly what she could have done right enough in her life to deserve a friend like Ty Lee. "Okay," she whispered, then cleared her throat. The next time she spoke it was louder, more confident. "Deal."

Ty Lee squealed and threw her arms around Mai. In a rare move, Mai returned the hug, timidly wrapping her own arms around the acrobat's waist. Mai closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the feeling. She thought that she didn't appreciate this enough when she had had it as a teenager. Ty Lee broke away first, her gray eyes glowing, and she hopped back over to Mai's closet. She pulled out the dress again, offering it to Mai. With a small smile, she accepted it.

It took a while to get ready, much longer than when Mai was getting dressed by herself. Ty Lee's style was certainly…different from hers, so it was a battle to find things in Mai's wardrobe that Ty Lee approved of. Finally, Mai was allowed to retreat to the bathroom to change, the door half-open so the girls could still talk.

"I saw Azula today," Ty Lee said out of the blue. Mai froze, her shirt halfway over her head. As far as she knew, nobody had been able to visit Azula in her clinic besides Zuko and Iroh.

"She let you in?" Mai asked carefully as she resumed changing, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Yeah, isn't it crazy?" Ty Lee chuckled ruefully. "I wasn't expecting it."

Silence. "How is she?"

"She seems...okay. She said she's trying to get back to a normal life." Another pause. "She apologized to me."

"Azula apologized to you?"

"I swear! And…" her voice wavered. "She asked about you."

Mai closed her eyes and leaned against the sink. "She did?"

"She'll let you in, if you go visit. She said so."

"Maybe I will." Mai studied herself in the mirror, trying to distract herself from the somber conversation. The dress was stunning, but it also showed off a lot more of her midsection and arms than she was used to. Especially in today's political climate, where more fabric meant more places to hide knives. "Okay, I'm dressed."

Ty Lee pushed the door open and gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth. "Mai! You're a vision!" She excitedly clapped her hands together as she circled around Mai, evaluating her work. "Perfection. Why don't you dress like this more? I know girls that would kill for those abs."

Mai instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach. "You do not. Everyone on Kyoshi Island has at least a six pack."

"Would I lie to you?" Ty Lee clucked, pulling Mai's arms away from herself and twirling her in a circle. "Why won't you admit you're the most beautiful girl in the Fire Nation?"

Despite herself, Mai cracked a grin at that. "What about your wife?"

"Duh, Suki is obviously the most beautiful girl in the world," Ty Lee replied matter-of-factly. She paused, grinning devilishly. "I bet Aang would agree with me."

"About Suki being the most beautiful girl in the world?"

"No! I mean yes, clearly. But I mean about you. You should have seen him—"

"No," Mai said abruptly, snatching her hands out of Ty Lee's. "I don't want to talk about Aang now."

Ty Lee looked disappointed, but in the name of their deal she backed down. "Okay, no Aang talk. Now sit down, I need to brush out that exquisitely styled hair that your good friend did for you." Mai shot her a warning glance, but true to her word, Ty Lee didn't bring up Aang for the rest of the time it took to do her hair and makeup. Instead, she chattered about safer topics: how the new Kyoshi warrior recruits were doing, that Suki had built a bird feeder in their backyard, a funny story about a painter getting stuck on the Kyoshi statue's head when he accidentally kicked his ladder away. Mai had little to do but laugh and interject with sarcastic commentary, mostly just watching Ty Lee flit around her in the reflection of the mirror. It felt comfortable, familiar. Home. She barely complained when Ty Lee painted her lips dark red and lined her eyes with black. When she finally caught a glance of herself in the mirror, she did a double-take. She almost didn't recognize herself, but she had to give Ty Lee some credit.

She looked good.


Aang wolf-whistled when he opened his door to see Suki all dolled up, wearing an open-backed vibrant green dress that showed off her muscular shoulders. Suki grinned and spun around, striking a pose before pushing past him into his room.

"I can't believe I get to spend the evening with you three gorgeous women," he declared, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "Are you sure it isn't my birthday?"

"Enough of that, you scoundrel," Suki stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, you haven't even seen what Ty Lee is going to do for Mai."

Well, that was certainly promising. "Where is your wife and the birthday girl?"

"They're getting ready at Mai's apartment. They should be here soon." Suki assessed him, a wrinkle forming in between her eyebrows. "Didn't you come here for a wedding? Why aren't you dressed up?"

Aang shrugged. "I'm a monk, I don't have dress up clothes." He was wearing the same thing he had worn to Zuko and Katara's wedding, his orange tunic that draped loosely over one shoulder and left most of his torso bare. The only real change was that he had switched out his purple earring for a blue crystal.

Suki clicked her tongue. "I suppose that makes sense. You're lucky you're cute and can get away with that." With a loud sigh, she flopped inelegantly onto the sofa, one leg swinging over the arm of the couch. "What's going on with you two anyway?"

Aang considered playing dumb, but knew Suki wouldn't fall for it. "I don't know," he answered honestly, sitting next to her on the couch.

"You like her, don't you?" Trust Suki to distill the past few weeks of uncertainty into a single blunt question.

Aang hung his head over the back of the couch. "Yes."

"So what's the problem?"

He fumbled for the right words. "It's complicated. And I don't know how she feels about me."

"She moved in here with you, you don't think that means she likes you?"

"That's nothing, there was—"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard about the kidnapping thing." Suki sat up so she could fix him with a disbelieving stare. "Do you think Mai would ever do something she didn't want to do because she feared for her own safety?"

He hadn't thought about that. "I guess not."

"And do you think Mai would ever do something she didn't want to do because somebody else told her to? Even you?"

The thought of Mai blindly doing what she was told was, frankly, laughable. "No."

Suki sank back into the couch, satisfied. "So she's definitely here because she wants to be here. With you. I think you have more of a shot than you think." She emphasized her point with a punch to his arm.

They were interrupted by a boisterous knock on the door, after which Ty Lee burst in before they could get up to open it. Aang rose to his feet then stopped dead, pretty sure his entire body shut down when he saw Mai walk in the door. He always thought she looked beautiful, and he had seen her dressed up before, but she didn't usually have Ty Lee as her stylist. The top of the dress tied at one of her shoulders and stopped just below her ribcage, leaving her arms and midriff bare. The skirt was long and flowing, but a slit ran up each side so that when she moved it exposed her legs up to her thighs. It wasn't black, but charcoal gray, which brought enough warmth to her pale skin that she was positively radiant. Her hair was undone, sleekly falling down her neck and across her back like a curtain. Most enticing of all was the wine red lipstick, drawing his attention inexorably to her mouth.

"Aang, you're drooling," Suki tapped the underside of his chin with the back of her hand, enough to make him notice that he had indeed been gawking like a dying fish. Mai crossed her arms and stared back, one eyebrow raised in challenge. He straightened up and shooed Suki's hand away, very pointedly not looking at Mai. "You look very nice," he managed to say, grateful that his voice didn't crack.

"Aw, thank you!" Ty Lee giggled, slinging one arm around Mai and squeezing. "She put up a good fight, but I think we got something really special out of our gorgeous little birthday flower."

"Alright, if you idiots are done making fun of me, we should get going," Mai said, her pale complexion giving away her flushed face. She was clearly embarrassed by the compliments, which was a shame, because Aang could have spent the entire night telling her how dazzling she looked. He couldn't start quite yet though, because there was something else he had to do before they left.

"Wait!" Aang's hand wrapped around the small box in his pocket, his palms sweating. Suki and Ty Lee stopped in the doorway, Mai just behind them. "I have your birthday present," he explained, withdrawing the box and holding it out to Mai.

Mai regarded it skeptically. "I thought dinner was my present."

"That's your present from Ty Lee and Suki. This one's from me." Aang knew it was too much. He knew. He had spent the entire day worried that it would freak her out and that she wouldn't like it. Worse, he worried that it wouldn't seem like much because she wouldn't even remember the significance of it. That would hurt even more, since the moment had been seared in Aang's brain to replay itself over and over.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it now, because Mai was taking the box out of his hand and opening it. She stared numbly at the earrings, two light blue gems wrapped in delicate gold wire, with a tiny gold flame dangling from the bottom.

"They're from Mount Nantai," he explained, feeling his words rush and jumble over themselves. "I don't know if you remember, but the first time we went flying on Appa I pointed it out, and you said you had never been, and—"

"I remember," she murmured, picking up one of the earrings and holding it up to the light. "Blue obsidian, right?"

Relief washed over Aang. "Right! Anyway, I flew over after my meeting with Katara. One of the jewelers there helped me pick out the stones and gave me some supplies to make them."

"You made them?" Now she was looking up at him, so raw and hopeful that it physically wrenched his heart. All at once, the hours spent flying on Appa followed by hours spent bending tiny pieces of metal while peering through a magnifying glass were worth it.

"I made them." Aang was not a person naturally inclined to be bashful, but he couldn't keep the slight tremor out of his voice when he asked, "Do you like them?"

"Yes," she breathed. "I love them." She began taking out the earrings that she was already wearing, switching them out for the ones that Aang had made. Aang glanced up to see that Suki and Ty Lee were still observing them from the doorway, each with their hand helpfully clamped over the other's mouth. They saw his head move towards them and both gave him a thumbs up with their free hand. He grimaced at how obvious they were being, and they succeeded in schooling themselves into a facade of composure by the time Mai was done. He really couldn't think about how Mai was looking at him now, so instead he offered an arm out to her. She timidly wound her arm around his elbow, and they followed Ty Lee and Suki out of the palace.


The four of them tumbled into the bar that Ty Lee had picked for after dinner entertainment. Somehow, despite not living in the city, she had picked the most popular bar in the area, complete with a live band and a packed dance floor. Mai was already tipsy after their dinner, which had included several glasses of wine and a shot of firewhiskey. Ty Lee had her elbow hooked in Mai's, and it took a second for her to realize that she was steering them towards the dance floor. Mai dug in her heels, bringing them to a halt. Aang and Suki, who had been tagging along behind them, stopped as well.

"Nobody said anything about dancing," Mai said accusingly.

Suki rolled her eyes. "Why else would we come to this bar?"

"To drink."

"And dance!" Ty Lee chirped, tightening her hold on Mai's arm and trying to drag her forward. Mai held her ground.

"Well, I'm going to need more drinks to dance," Mai replied, turning towards the bar. With matching long-suffering sighs, Suki and Ty Lee followed her lead.

"Party poopers!" Aang booed, crossing his arms. "I want to dance now!"

Like magic, a young man around their age appeared at Aang's side. "I'll dance with you," he said, flashing a cheeky smile and holding a hand out to Aang.

Aang made sure to shoot a smug grin towards Mai. "Thank you, I would love to." He accepted the man's hand, who swiftly pulled him into the throng of dancers. Mai could still easily pick Aang out of the crowd, both because of his height and the way he drew people's attention, pulling other dancers in towards him. With a dismissive shake of her head, she led Ty Lee and Suki over to the bar.

The blaring music was giving Mai a headache, so once they had their drinks they settled at a table in the corner of the bar that was still within sight of the dance floor. Ty Lee sighed, resting her chin on Suki's shoulder. "Okay, so what's wrong with him?"

Mai already didn't like where this was going. "What's wrong with who?"

"Aang, of course! I don't get it. He's cute, and funny, and makes you beautiful jewelry." Mai's hand unconsciously went up to her head, her fingers brushing her earrings. "Do you not like him?"

Having the question directed at her point blank by someone Mai knew she couldn't lie to left her tongue-tied. She took a sip of her drink, savoring the warm burn of the whiskey in her mouth. Finally, she shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Ty Lee didn't seem pleased with that answer. "Of course it matters! Why wouldn't it matter?"

Mai could think of a thousand reasons, but she settled on, "Because as soon as this coup is sorted out, he's going to leave. There's no point starting something that won't go anywhere."

"Why wouldn't it go anywhere?" Suki interjected, her gaze far too intense for someone who had had as much to drink as she had.

"I'd be here, and he'd be off who-knows-where," Mai bitterly replied, wondering why this very obvious problem wasn't so obvious to the two women. "It's not like you guys, you've lived within a mile of each other for ten years."

Suki pursed her lips. "Sokka and I dated for a year and a half. I was here, and he was at the South Pole."

Mai had completely forgotten about that. "Well," she floundered. "That's different." Suki waited patiently for her to dig herself out of the hole she had made. "He was staying in one place, you could write to each other, and visit. And you were younger. I'm way past the age where it's romantic to sit by the window waiting for a guy to show up."

"I'm just saying," Suki held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "If you really love each other, you can make it work."

Mai choked on her drink, feeling her cheeks warm. "Okay, I never said anything about love. Besides," her voice lowered, eyes cast down at the table. "It doesn't matter, because he doesn't feel that way about me."

Ty Lee giggled. "Ha! Good one!"

Mai frowned. "Good what?"

"That…that was a joke, right?" Ty Lee faltered, exchanging a worried glance with her wife.

Realization flashed across Suki's face, and she breathed out dramatically. "Oh. Oh, you don't know, do you?"

Mai was starting to get annoyed. She wasn't accustomed to feeling stupid, but these two were acting like they were in on some big secret. "Know what?"

"Mai," Suki clamped a heavy hand down on her shoulder, shaking it a little. "That boy is madly in love with you."

Mai's stomach dropped out from under her, and all she could do was bark a derisive laugh. "You're funny."

"We're not kidding," Ty Lee piped up.

"If this is about me staying with him—"

"It's not, although that is a very good point, because you two are living together," Suki interrupted her. "Do you really not see him flirting with you?"

"He flirts with everyone," Mai scoffed,, swirling her drink in her hand.

"And I suppose that he'll fly hours out of his way to buy gemstones and handmake earrings for everyone, right?" Suki drawled.

"That's not—"

"And he braids everyone's hair every morning?" Ty Lee added.

"Okay, the two of you are never talking to Rika again," Mai grumbled, downing the rest of her drink in one shot before pointing to the dance floor. "He is literally dancing with someone else right now."

The two women's heads swiveled to look at the dance floor simultaneously, where Aang was still dancing with that same guy, twirling him expertly under his arm. Suki studied him for a minute, then shook her head. "That's nothing."

Mai sighed. "What do you mean 'nothing'?"

"Aang's barely touching him, and he keeps looking up every ten seconds to check on you," Suki answered confidently, raising her own glass to her lips. "Trust me, it's nothing."

Mai refused to let her opinion on that show on her face. "It's not true just because you say it."

"Fine." Suki's expression turned mischievous. "I bet you a gold piece that if you waved him over, he'd drop that guy instantly and come here."

That seemed like a safe bet, especially considering how close Aang and his partner were dancing now. Mai waited until Aang's head was up and scanning across the bar, then raised one arm and beckoned him over. Her heart skipped a few beats as she watched him smile, lean down to whisper in the guy's ear, then leave him on the dance floor to walk over to their table. Ty Lee brought her drink to her mouth in a poor attempt to stifle her giggling, and Suki smugly held out one hand. Mai sighed, digging through her pocket until she found her wallet, then sourly dropped a gold coin into Suki's outstretched palm.

"Hey! What's going on?" Aang greeted them, a droplet of sweat rolling down his temple.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Suki replied sweetly, hopping down from her stool. "Ty Lee and I are going to dance, and we thought someone should keep the birthday girl company." She shot Mai a meaningful glance as she took Ty Lee's hand and led her to the dance floor. Ty Lee blew Mai a kiss and waggled her eyebrows at her and Aang, ignoring Mai's glowering. Aang, mercifully, did not ask her to clarify, just flopped down in the seat that Suki had vacated.

"You don't want to dance?" he inquired, sounding as though the thought had never crossed his mind.

Mai suddenly became very interested in examining her nails. "I don't really know how." This wasn't entirely true; like most Fire Nation nobility, she had been classically trained when she was a child. She had liked it enough, but that type of dancing was more suited to a large ballroom full of stuffy governors and ministers, not a crowded dance floor at a dive bar.

Aang disagreed. "Dancing isn't something you know how to do, it's just something you do. Everyone can dance."

"I'm not stopping you. Go find your new friend."

"I'm not going to leave you here alone on your birthday." Aang sounded insulted that she would even suggest it. The image of Aang sitting next to her at the table, all night, because he didn't want her to be alone sprang to her mind. Suki's words echoed through her mind.

That boy is madly in love with you.

"Are you going to pout here all night if I don't dance?" Mai asked.

Aang immediately dropped his head onto his arms that were folded on the table, then turned to look at her with one sad, gray eye. "Yes."

With an exasperated sigh that she absolutely did not mean, Mai stood up and held a hand out to Aang. "Alright, let's go."

All smiles again, the airbender leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand, yanking her towards the dance floor. She was surrounded by people, constantly jostled by strangers' arms and legs. Her whole body tensed up, then Aang was holding each of her hands in one of his, reassuring and safe. "Relax," he murmured, pulling her closer to him. "We'll start easy. When I step forward, you step back." He moved his left foot forward, his toe bumping against her right foot, until she pulled it back behind her. Nodding encouragingly, he brought that foot back to center, then moved his right foot back behind him. Picking up on the pattern, Mai moved her left foot forward at the same time.

"Yeah!" he beamed. "Now you can add a little pizzazz, like this." He exaggeratedly rolled his hips on the next step, which elicited a snicker from Mai, which seemed to be the intention. She tried to match his movement, allowing her own hips to sway in time with the steps. "Look at me, not at your feet," was his next instruction, and she lifted her head to catch that blinding, intense stare of his that sent shivers through her whole body. She was so distracted that the first time he let go of one hand to twirl her out, she was caught off guard, and almost slipped right out of his grasp. He caught her at the last minute and tugged her back to him, so that she thudded against his chest. "You're getting it," he laughed, and Mai realized that she was also laughing.

The rest of the evening passed in a whirlwind. Sometimes Mai danced with Ty Lee or Suki, girlish giggles bubbling out of them as the more experienced dancers twirled her around. Most of the time, though, she danced with Aang. She felt his hands like red-hot brands, skimming across her hips, her back, her arms. At one point he dipped her low, one hand provocatively sliding up the back of her thigh. Suki's words rang in her ear with every touch, every time someone else asked Aang to dance and he turned them away, every time they paused with their bodies pressed against each other, breathing heavily in the muggy air. The idea of someone like Aang being in love with her was preposterous, but he was here, his attention single-mindedly focused on her. When she moved her head, she could feel the earrings he had made click against her neck and jaw. Mount Nantai wasn't far, but it wasn't close, either. And she had never had a boyfriend that made her presents before.

As the night wore on, the buzz of alcohol quieted her racing mind, allowing her to actually enjoy herself. They left the bar when it closed, which was something Mai hadn't done in many years. They stumbled back to the palace, Mai selfishly supporting herself against Aang's side, her feet dragging on the cobblestones. She reminded him that he owed her this after the wedding, and he chuckled so that she could feel his chest vibrate against her. "I wasn't complaining."

Ty Lee and Suki peeled off from them once they got inside the palace; Zuko kept a room just for their sporadic visits in another wing. They drunkenly embraced Mai and peppered her face with kisses until Mai shoved them away, her grumbling at odds with the stupid smile that refused to leave her.

Back in their quarters, Aang steered Mai into the bedroom. "I'm fine, you don't need to walk me," she griped. He cooperatively pulled his hands away from her, only for her to immediately stumble. He caught her before she could fall down, the laughter dying in his throat as they appraised each other.

"Did I tell you that you look really beautiful?" he murmured.

Mai tried to talk, but nothing came out. She swallowed and finally was able to croak, "I don't remember."

"Well, I'll tell you again, to be safe." He was standing so close, his hands on her arms, she could do nothing but helplessly stare up at him. "You look beautiful." For a wild moment, Mai thought he was going to kiss her. His head ducked down towards her, ever so slightly, and she instinctively tilted her face up towards him. He hesitated, then seemed to think better of it and pulled back. "Goodnight, Mai," he said instead, stepping backwards, away from her. "Happy birthday."

Mai didn't bother washing her face or changing into sleeping clothes. She did make sure to take out the earrings Aang had made for her, carefully placing them on her bedside table so she could still see them when she laid down on her side.