"You wanted to see me, Principal Roku?"
The Avatar had been going through an pile of paperwork scattered on his carved oak wood desk, when Aang's blue arrow peeped into the office.
He didn't think he'd be nervous, meeting Roku only the second time since the beginning of the school year... but still, he felt his stomach growing heavy with anticipation of the talk. Perhaps it was because this time... he was actually speaking to Roku in person, rather than just his Spiritual self.
As the principal looked up from his desk, seeing the nervous-yet-bold look on Aang as he creaked open the door, Roku gestured with a hand.
"Aang, please come in." the old man's rusty voice said easily, closing the folder of papers in front of him. "I'd just finished speaking with the princess Azula."
"Don't kick her out of the school." Aang heard himself say even before he took a seat. "Please... Principal Roku... sir, I--"
The Avatar raised a gentle hand in the air to bring the boy to silence. His elderly face had never looked more stern, yet graceful as he sustained attention of his young apprentice.
Aang had no idea what the verdict was. It hadn't even been a day since the incident occurred in the Shaolin arena, and the boy had been so bombarded with people and questions that he'd barely been able to catch a glimpse of Azula as she'd left for her hearing the next morning. Katara sat by him during lunch with the airbenders, and he'd told her what happened in the most minuscule detail, attempting to describe what it was like traveling through the Spirit World, searching for Azula. A bunch of the OmaShu players had also gone in to visit Zuko in the nursing clinic, still recovering from his wounds from the Agni Kai, and Aang tried not to laugh when Katara pestered the prince about trying to take on Azula's power by himself.
Aang'd almost lost it completely when he saw Song blush at the corner of his eye, pretending to not notice Katara sitting closely to Zuko.
It seemed that after the OmaShu play, the arena incident, and even after the school-wide voting for Student Council that same morning... everyone had carried on with their routine among the Praying Mantis grounds. Everyone seemed to be recovering, except for Azula... which was why Aang was so curious - almost scared - about Avatar Roku's decision with her.
The principal took a small breath before speaking, each word carrying a sort of weight as it passed.
"What you did for that girl, Aang... I cannot even begin to express. It was remarkable."
His elderly eyes welled with tears as he paused, glancing down at his papers as if in deep guilt.
"In the end, it was her choice to leave."
Aang's mouth gaped. "What do you mean?"
"She is not well, Aang," the principal explained, his rusty voice more soft-spoken. "Azula told me that herself - in the most tearful confession imaginable - just before you came in."
"But I want to help her!" the boy persisted, getting up immediately from his chair to get closer to the principal's desk. "She doesn't have to leave Praying Mantis. Roku, please... if you let her stay, everyone will see her differently. I know it!"
"And I believe that may happen, eventually," Avatar Roku insisted, "but before Azula can ask for anyone to change their ways about her... she will need to change herself. She must build her life around a new direction and go into this world as a young woman with careful potential."
Aang lingered towards the desk as he tried to conceive what Azula had decided to do. It seemed like a self-less act, in a way... but the boy couldn't help but think that his rescue had been more of a fool's errand... thinking it had been enough to let others see goodness in the Fire Nation princess. But Roku's right, Aang thought. This was more than just a choice; it was a transformation that Azula had to make all on her own.
It was then that Roku gathered another few of his papers - ones that looked rather worn - into his hand and began to leaf through them. He looked over at Aang's nervous expression across the desk as he began to speak.
"It is no surprise to me that teachers have commented very highly of you this year... Mr. Mechanist almost ran out of space talking about your support for the Non-Benders," Roku said amusingly, turning over that particular scroll of parchment.
"Principal Roku, can I ask you something?"
Something else had been eating the boy's thoughts, and perhaps this was the best moment to bring it up.
Roku winced. "Of course, Aang."
Aang chose his words carefully, scratching the back of his left ear out of awkwardness.
"When Fire Lord Sozin betrayed you... did you ever give him a second chance?"
It took the principal about a second to let that question sink in, and he breathed softly before letting his full honesty present itself to the boy. His worn-out voice was all the more audible.
"I didn't. And that has been my biggest regret to this day."
Roku looked over his shoulder, to the window in his office that overlooked the Praying Mantis courtyard.
"It is why I commend you for giving his great-grandaughter a second chance yourself. When I realized what Sozin had attempted to plot over my own eyes... it was as if I had never even known him."
"He was your friend?"
"Yes, Aang. He was my best friend." Roku acknowledged, and Aang's skin jumped when he noticed the tears welling in the man's eyes. "And my responsibility as the Avatar had been pressured to such extremity at his betrayal, I felt nothing for him. I imprisoned Sozin...in hopes that the Fire Nation could rebuild peacefully among the world... but even then, I knew it was a lie. The problem had never truly been resolved."
Avatar Roku turned fully to the young boy as Aang found the courage to walk all the way around the table, as if looking out at the courtyard that slowly buzzed with mingling students.
"Hatred comes to us so easily, Aang," the man turned his head to the courtyard, as if pointing out a few familiar students he's had to deal with among the years. "As the Avatar... we must learn to see through it. The part of me that had wanted to Listen to Sozin and help him out of this obsession for power... was lost through my own selfishness. I made him out to be a life-long criminal, without hearing what he had to say."
A few seconds passed, and Aang could hear the laughter of the bustling courtyard almost filter in through the window. He remembered that first ruthless glance Azula had given him, back when she was only a face in the Earthbending fields.
"It's funny," the boy then remarked, pressing a hand to his temple. "The whole time she was threatening to hurt people... I didn't think about hurting Azula. Everyone else did, and even when she fought me, I wanted to hurt herfor everything she tried to do to Katara... to the airbenders... the non-benders... everyone. But I couldn't."
He crossed his arms, uncomfortably, feeling his entire body fall a few degrees colder by the way he spoke his mind. He could barely look up at Roku again, but the man's calm and earnest eyes kept Aang at bay.
"That doesn't make you weak, Aang," Roku said almost in revelation. "It makes you wiser of an Avatar that I could ever become. Perhaps, deep down... you knew there was more to Azula's actions than others perceived."
The Avatar took another breath, and grinned.
"You found the true meaning of the human spirit... the ability to understand, and forgive."
Aang felt his heart drumming rhythmically, looking out into the courtyard to notice Toph pushing Teo's wheelchair sloppily along the fountain edge. "So... you really think that taking a break from school will make Azula a better person?" He wondered.
"I have no doubt." Roku smiled, perhaps relieved that the subject of his past had been set aside as they continued to overlook the courtyard. "When I approached prince Zuko at the clinic, he proposed the idea of being her travel guardian after he graduated... and I supported it. Those two had never really gotten along... and I believe this journey will change them for the better... for the future of the Fire Nation."
Aang gave a small sigh of contentment, glad to hear that two siblings would finally try to patch things up. And the young boy felt himself smile, as he looked through the window again and spotted Katara scurrying over to sit against the stone wall of the courtyard with Sokka.
Ruko caught that, and spoke with his worn-out voice amusingly. "You've touched many lives, Aang, and as far as Vice Principal Zhao told me in his own twisted sense... you seem to have made a name for yourself here, playing the hero."
"Vice Principal Zhao said that?"Aang winced, his eyes bolting in disbelief.
"Oh yes," Roku turned and gathered a few more of his papers on his desk. "His words were that I should send you back to the Air Temples immediately, before any of this glory goes to your little bald head."
Aang paused, but laughed as he nervously scratched the tattooed back of his neck.
"Not to worry," Roku reassured with a shake of his head. "He and I have long been due for an evaluation of his own principles, to see if he'll come to terms on my School's mission."
The boy nodded and replaced his arms at the side, feeling like a young man twice his age.
"Well, now that you have experienced half of the academic year, suffering through its entanglements of homework, and activities and heartache..." Roku laughed slightly while Aang tried to conceal his blushing cheeks. "... I wonder what the Avatar-in-Training has considered to do for his life-long devotion to this world."
"Um...I'm not sure," Aang said in a bashful way, shrugging his shoulders and trying to keep a blue-eyed girl out of his mind. "I like the idea about this school, Roku... but with everything that happened with Azula, I figured there's a lot of cultural things that people don't understand. Maybe with Katara's presidency next semester, people can start to appreciate diversity at Praying Mantis the right way, and I really want to keep that going."
Roku crossed his arms in approval, thinning his eyes towards the young apprentice.
"That sounds like a brilliant plan."
But as they both looked at the courtyard one last time, Aang noticed On Ji stepping out to sit with Kuzon on a stone bench, and the young boy's determined grin slightly faded.
It hadn't really occurred to him before... how deeply he must have touched people's lives with only a semester into the school. Even with all that strife the people around him had gone through, Aang had desired things to stay still... just for a moment... to admire the lovely laughter in Katara's voice, or the rewarding feeling when Haru asked if he'd audition for his original spring play entitled "The life and times of a Cabbage Merchant," or even that double-take when Toph insisted that he teach her to climb a tree.
But the truth was things were never supposed to stay still. Life had to go on. He would eventually have to leave Praying Mantis High.
It was why Aang couldn't help but feel guilty, in spite of his overwhelming sense of air-bending pride... that morning, when On Ji said she was going to leave after the Year-End dance.
"You think you can draw an entire collection by the end of the semester?"
"No," Mai said, but with a slight chuckle in her husky voice as Jet just rolled his eyes.
He had buckled his arms around her waist, sitting by her living room windowsill as they watched the moon part between two transparent clouds in the dark sky.
When her father had mentioned a business conference in Kyoshi Island, it took a small amount of convincing on Mai's part that she was not interested in tagging along on a trip with them this time around. She had seen her mother's questioning eyes more than once, believing this had something to do with that orphan boy who seemed to be luring her only daughter into romance... but Mai didn't bother to argue.
In fact, she'd pretended to say that Jet was nothing but a poor, aimless wanderer who would never amount to anything... for the sake of gaining her parents' trust. And it nearly broke her.
By the time her parents had prepared themselves for the trip, Mai had asked them one last time if she could stay behind at the manor. No servants, no nanny... and she even said she wanted to try her hand at cooking a meal. It was when she offered to take care of her little brother Tom-Tom for the whole weekend that her father's eyebrows nearly bolted out like darts... but in the end, Mai's mother complied.
How could she say no to a girl desiring to spend quality time with her baby brother?
And Mai smiled, feeling a little bit more life under her skin as Jet held her tightly along the windowsill, thinking about Tom-Tom who had just a few moments ago fallen asleep on his crib. She didn't feel any remorse from this visit... and deep down in her heart, Mai hoped that someday her parents would see this boy as something other than a poor orphan.
But for now... it would all have to be kept secret.
"All you have to do is say it." Jet murmured into the sweet strands of her hair, nuzzling at the crook of Mai's elegant neck.
She stirred, moving her chin towards Jet's shoulder as they cuddled.
"You're not asking me to that stupid dance, are you?" Mai said sarcastically.
But in her mind, she already knew he was requesting something else... and she felt her body tremble from a certain power he was breathlessly handing over to her.
"I don't have to go to Ba Sing Se yet... Not really," the boy whispered, and burrowed his face further into the strands of Mai's scalp. His voice was shaking as he felt his own heart melt from what he was saying out loud. "Tell me to stay, and I'll do it."
Mai still kept their bodies close, caressing the boy's hands she moved her body slightly around to look him in the eyes. She took a deep breath and took in light scent of pine along the boy's hair, trying to let Jet's words filter into the reasoning of her mind.
It frightened her, the way he spoke so willingly.
"Jet..." the girl fished for words carefully. "I know you'd stay here for me, but what is it that you want?"
She listened to the boy's tender heartbeats from the small caressing she gave to his neck, and Jet sighed for a moment before speaking again. He slowly parted from her by a few inches to talk to her respectfully. And the boy stumbled in his breath as he looked once again at Mai, realizing that leaving her would be like sacrificing his greatest wish... all for the sake of progress.
"I want to be with you, Mai." Jet spoke to her without any sort of hesitation. Or pride. "I don't care about stupid plans, and if I don't find a job in the city right away... that's fine! I can get by at the orphanage for another year; it won't be forever."
Her copper eyes shifted equivocally as she studied her boyfriend's calm demeanor, listening to those words that were coming out of him from a very deep place in his heart. She was about to say something, but Jet added something else.
"Mai, listen to me...." the boy spoke calmly, taking one of her hands. "I fell in love with you the moment I saw you draw, and I couldn't even talk to you. Now that we're here, I..."
She looked elsewhere. Tears had welled in her eyes that hid under her dark bangs, but the boy carefully parted them with a hand to see her more directly.
It was amazing to her how, in spite of what he said -- how terrifying it must've felt to confess this devotion to someone else -- the boy was not afraid to smile.
"I gave up my freedom once," he added then, "for my little brother, so I could take care of him... and I don't regret it Mai. Not for a second. And I definitely won't regret giving it up for you."
"Jet, I..."
This was suddenly becoming too much, and her eyes lingered towards the open window.
"I care about you, too, but..." She finally managed to bring herself back to hime. "This is insane. There's nothing else for you to do here."
"Oh come on," the boy gave her a sarcastic look of disbelief, with a grin. "I can still help with the new Oak Tree kids, and chaperone the Duke at his camping trips, and of course be with y--"
"But is that really what you want for yourself?" Mai challenged him, in a slightly worrisome voice. She placed a hand on his forearm for comfort, tears of doubt and guilt finally beginning to glimmer in her eyes. "It's an honor that you get to graduate early... and you have job interviews coming up. I still have school... my art portfolio...we'll be so busy."
"No we won't, Mai," Jet suggested, but only half-believing it by the amount of stress they'd both gone through that semester. However, his brown eyes still brought a hint of sincerity as he stared at her. "Why should we break up over some stupid plans?"
Jet moved back and brought a hand over to one of the girl's cheeks, seeing her eyes slowly begin to glimmer as he spoke again to her, with all of his kindness pouring through his lips.
"I don't know about you, Sharpy, but I'm willing to give us a try."
Mai looked at him in a puzzled gaze, wondering if there was something else he'd forgotten to mention to her... like how much he desired to be a combat trainer in Ba Sing Se and start building that reputation for his adult life. She studied the boy in front of her, the young wrinkles that were making up his forehead... seeing how much he was struggling to remain care-free, not realizing that there was a bigger world he needed to understand.
"What do you think?" Jet finally asked her quietly.
The Earth-dweller could see a certain fear in his girlfriend's eyes, which was extremely rare even in these circumstances. He knew something was bothering her.
Patience always seemed to come naturally between them, but Mai closed her eyes to gather her thoughts with ease.
It was then that she remembered her first love– or crush, rather. Something that had started as an imperative plan through her own parents... by which she had eventually grown to accept by the warm endurance of Prince Zuko.
She remembered how her parents had long talked about the idea of gaining more status... even royal blood... by simply placing their only girl into the right school and social circle. They would talk about this as if she were not even present in the dinner table... saying how befriending the young princess Azula would give their daughter complete access to the young Prince's affections... discussing the idea of her becoming Fire Lady someday.
A future member of the royal family of the Fire Nation.
Of course, for the sake of arguments and apathy, this girl followed along with those ridiculous schemes... coping with an incredibly spoiled prodigy in order to remain close to a prince.
But she had not expected to fall for him. And the strange thing was... she did not know why she did, either. It was amazing how much she grew to adore him, even after the unseen brutality that gave him his scar.
She had stayed close to Zuko by the greatest amount of imagination, and the pressure she had been given to place her eyes on him for a long time. She believed that they would last.
And yet... as Mai looked back at it now, they were an unhealthy match... perhaps kept for desperation on her part, because of a certain forced belief that Zuko was the man she was always supposed to marry. It was all planned out like that, wasn't it? And letting go of those plans had nearly crushed the girl's spirit from its hollow shell.
Things were never supposed to be certain.
She had learned that the hard way... remembering the strange, almost foreign coldness of tears that ran down her cheeks on the day she forced herself to put those plans to rest.
Mai pondered all this inside the web of her memories with Zuko. There was no doubt in her mind that Jet was different... persevering through the ridiculous and the unthinkable to make a girl like her have the faintest of smiles. Funny, how she how once despised this boy's care-free nature, and here she was, now... practically longing to live within that scent of pine that came from his hair. Jet had been so determined to help her break free from her emptiness... and perhaps somewhere along the way, Mai was supposed to thank him.
Instead, in all of its mysterious splendor, she had fallen in love with him.
But seeing this wonderful Earth-dweller plead for her to say what she felt, now... it was almost like she saw that foolish, love-struck little self again... wanting nothing but to hold hands with the Fire Nation prince. She saw the adventuresome Jet falling into an dark well of sacrifices and plans... all for the sake of keeping an uncertain dream alive between them. Mai could not bear to see him go through that kind of painful expectation.
After a moment's breath, the girl spoke her feelings in a bold-yet-shaking voice.
"Jet... I want you to stop holding yourself back for others."
Mai closed her eyes, knowing that her words must have caught the boy by surprise, and knowing they must have summoned a reluctant truth in him. She kept caressing her boyfriend's back in comfort, reassuring him that she meant well.
"We can still work, you know," she continued to speak in her husky voice, "but you need to move on. Go make a name for yourself out there."
Her eyes thinned from the honesty she felt in her voice, making her more at peace with Jet.
He kept his gaze, but his face fell into a saddened expression... as if she said exactly what he had been dreading to hear. Jet knew if he did stay, he would be missing out on opportunities. Ba Sing Se's competitive job market would not wait around for him, and hearing Mai acknowledge his passions openly brought a deep sense of understanding.
Somewhere during those few months... the young woman got to know that part of him so well... and Mai smiled at him right then, saying as if a part of her would be missing when he left.
"Okay," he said almost in a whisper, his eyes beginning to show a hint of trembling peace.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," she said kindly, now resting her head onto Jet's shoulder sweetly, taking in the scent of him again.
Jet responded with a nod, bringing an arm out to wrap around Mai's delicate waist for a hug. "I'll sure miss that annoying, sarcastic voice of yours."
Mai couldn't help but smile, "Idiot...."
The boy chuckled softly, and responded to her simply by brushing his cheek alongside her shoulder as they hugged tightly.
After a few moments, Mai took a breath and parted once again, revealing a thin line of tears that had streamed in each of her cheeks. Jet carefully brought a hand to one of them, rubbing the mark away with a thumb and grinning all the more. They gazed, chuckling foolishly as they always did in these moments... and Mai quickly moved to get up from the windowsill.
"I should go check on my brother," she murmured.
"Here, I'll go with you."
Mai smiled, seeing the boy's nurturing instincts come up without warning.
The two walked quietly over to the infant's bedchamber on the western wing, Mai holding up a small candlelight for useful guidance. Tom-Tom was sleeping dreamily in his cradle, sounding out little 'coo's under his giggles that Mai couldn't help but be amused over. Such little innocent sounds, it almost seemed that mischievous little critter that awoke in the morning was someone entirely different.
She wasn't sure why she felt so wholesome, watching her little brother sleep peacefully. Maybe it was because Jet was standing there next to her, smiling... or the fact that (for the first time) she imagined herself becoming a mother, feeling the warmth of Jet's hand bring her imagination into further development.
Mai shook her mind in amusement, imagining Jet as a father...her husband?... but the thoughts seemed so absurd and fragile to the fifteen-year-old, it fell out of reach after a moment, leaving her only with a foolish grin. Nevertheless, she let her fingers entwine with Jet's as they continued to hold hands in the dimness of Tom-Tom's room.
The two of them didn't say a word as they watched the little boy sleep, and as they decided to leave the room, another long thought was brewing inside Mai's head... like an inner struggle.
"It's getting late." Jet said, breaking the silence. "I better start heading out---"
But he didn't have time to finish that statement, or that plan.
Mai had carefully taken his hands and slowly brought her eyes to meet his. Jet blinked at the sudden intensity of her movement. There was a deep, inquisitive look about her, how those thin copper eyes seemed to be glistening more brilliantly than ever... but also with nervousness.
Jet wasn't sure if he'd seen that look before, but his memories were sinking so deeply, he could barely think straight.
Her hands held Jet's tightly as she gazed at him hopefully, fearlessly... and the boy knew what she was trying to tell him. His voice quivered.
"Mai... I... are you sure...?"
"Shhh..." she said softly to him, with a small finger touching his lips. It left the boy speechless.
And with the most tranquil pace in the world, she slowly led him into her bedchamber, taking each step backwards one-by-one and keeping her eyes locked with his. Jet gazed at her as if in a trance... building up a determination to go with what her feelings were telling her to do.
Jet did not want to push her into anything, either... but the intensity in her eyes almost cleared his mind completely... telling him that she would be alright. That they would be alright. With those small footsteps towards her dark room, Mai led her boyfriend into the most personal space she had... raising her chin to say "stay with me" as a small kiss met him lips.
And the boy kissed her back, ever so gently.
It wasn't long before the two had their arms wrapped around each other's bare, beautiful skin... enduring parts of themselves they had barely explored before.
Seconds became hours, and with each nervous breath they shared, it unfolded a new stage to their closeness by the dim moonlight that filtered through Mai's window. And as Jet carefully laid his girlfriend to bed, he untied the dual hairbuns from her scalp and let the silky strands hang down her body like a curtain.
Jet gazed at the copper eyes of a girl who tenderly brushed his hair with fingertips, and he stirred nervously, his hands slowly rediscovering the softness of Mai. After a few moments admiring each other's face... it seemed that their trust was finally sealed with another kiss.
A kiss that would soon become deeper... composing a chorus of precious "I love you"s between heavy breaths, sending their young hearts into oblivion.
A/N - yep, the last chapter was a short one, but I feel it did its job: a Dumbledore/Harry moment with Roku and Aang (and yeah, I totally intended it to start like scene with Gyatso in chapter 1)... and MaiJet! I'll be concluding this series with a juicy Year-End dance epilogue, which will involve fun dance-offs, sad good-byes, and maybe a passionate kiss... maybe. ^^ Thanks to my regular readers out there. It's hard to believe it's almost over; I might cry a little... --MM
