This chapter is about Maiko.
Please review.
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA.
Chapter 10b
Mai and Zuko were asleep on Appa. The Gaang was headed towards Ember Island for vacation. Zuko and Mai were looking forward to some quality time together. They hoped that a new group of friends would make their experience better than the last time they hung out.
Zuko and Mai woke up to hear Sokka yell, "Guys, look! Ember Island is right over there!"
"Couldn't you have woken us up calmly?!" Zuko said annoyed.
I wanted you guys to be awake as soon as possible because I cannot wait to hit the beach!" Sokka replied.
"Let's enjoy this vacation more than the last," Mai said, getting her stuff off of Appa.
"Now there's no Azula here to torture us," he said.
"If only Ty Lee were here. I actually enjoy her bubbliness, but Azula's attitude would always outweigh it," she said.
They walked over to the beach, fingers locked. They sat down on a towel underneath a tree.
"Zuko, could you get us some ice cream?" Mai asked.
"Yeah, sure," he got up.
"And try not to spill it on me this time," Mai said jokingly.
"I'll try," he laughed.
A few minutes had gone by and Katara and Aang had finally arrived at the beach. He returned with some ice cream.
"Thanks, Zuko," she kissed him. It was long and they didn't want to come up for air.
They only stopped when the ground started to rumble and they saw a castle rise. They laughed at Sokka's foolishness.
"WAR!" Sokka screamed after getting drenched by Katara.
"C'mon, this will be fun," Mai grabbed her knives.
Zuko hopped up and started sending fireballs.
Aang and Katara were doing a great job of protecting their castle. Toph joined in and sent sandballs towards Aang and Katara.
Zuko noticed Toph's sandballs and an idea popped. "Hey, let me set those on fire, we'll work better as a team," he pointed towards the sandball floating in the air.
"Good idea, Sparky."
"Don't call me that," Zuko said annoyed before lighting the next sandball on fire. Toph shot it and they tried to break Aang and Katara's defenses this way. Yet they couldn't get in or anywhere close to the castle.
Eventually, Toph, Mai, Suki, and Zuko got bored and walked away. Sokka, however, continued to fight.
Aang trapped Sokka in the sand. Katara laughed hysterically.
Zuko and Toph laughed at the sight, and Mai giggled. Suki went over to him and got him out. Before she could scold the young couple they had already gone surfing. Sokka got out and he had a big smile.
"Yes, the castle is mine!" he yelled out. Suki sighed and shook her head. She went over to her towel and took a seat.
It fell apart right after Sokka went atop of it.
Zuko and Mai resumed kissing both enjoying the intimacy.
"Do you want to remodel the Firelord's bedroom later? We should make it is cozy for the two of us," Zuko said.
"Sounds fine, but only if…" she gasped before she could finish. Zuko looked up to see a huge tidal wave coming towards him. He didn't know what to do. Toph went underneath the sand. Suki and Sokka were waiting up by the house.
He panicked and decided to climb up a tree. Mai followed him and climbed the tree next to him. Some waves crashed into them, but most of them narrowly missed.
"Stupid Aang and Katara and their annoying love, can't they just love each other quietly?" he thought to himself. "Oh man, now I sound like Sokka."
Mai had already been waiting on the ground. He hopped out of the tree and walked over toward Mai.
"Are you okay, Zuko?" she asked.
"Yeah, but my arm hurts a little bit," he replied.
She walked up to him and kissed his arm.
"Better?" she asked.
"Well, my forehead hurts too. I think a branched poked it," he said.
She then proceeded to kiss his forehead.
"Do your lips hurt too?" Mai asked.
"What? No, they feel fine."
Mai rolled her eyes. "I'm giving you an excuse to kiss me, stupid."
"Oh, uh-yeah. My lips hurt a little bit too."
Mai smiled at Zuko and gave him a passionate kiss.
"All better?" she asked.
"I think my lips need to get hurt more often," he said.
She rolled her eyes and walked toward the house. Zuko turned to see Sokka smirking and Toph 'looking' at Katara and Aang.
"SOMEONE is having fun," he heard Toph say.
Zuko watched the two as they blushed and decided to take a walk. He headed back up to the house to join Mai. He found out she was bathing so he decided to do some firebending practice.
"Maybe I should try to practice my lightning, you never know when you'll need it. But if I mess up then I could get seriously hurt." he thought to himself.
Zuko decided to wait until the others would be there so that he could get help if he messed up.
Aang and Katara hadn't come back but Suki, Toph, Sokka, and Mai were there so he decided he might as well. Zuko then took his stance, the others looked at him curiously. He started doing the motions of the attack. Lightning formed around him and then he shot his hand forward. The lightning bounced backward and started to electrocute Zuko.
"ZUKO!" Mai said running toward him.
Toph responded a split-second after followed by Suki and Sokka.
"Don't touch him, you'll just electrocute yourself," Sokka told her.
They stood around him not knowing what to do. Zuko seemed to be trying to absorb the energy.
"Maybe if I pass the energy through the stomach bypass and out I will be okay. If I don't I'm dead because Katara isn't her," he thought. "Alright, here goes nothing."
Zuko guided the energy through his stomach and then released it through his fingers into the sky. The lightning shot up and disappeared. Zuko collapsed.
"Is he okay?" Toph asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired. I shouldn't have tried that without Uncle here to guide me," Zuko responded.
"I'm just glad your okay, for a second I didn't think you were gonna make it." Mai kissed him.
The rest of the day went uneventful for Zuko. He just tried to hide his mishap from Katara and Aang who would have both freaked out if he told them. Sokka was preparing to leave and Aang and Katara came back from their walk.
"So, how was the walk?" Suki asked casually.
"I just wish there weren't so many fangirls," Katara said bitterly.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay. It's just something that comes with dating the Avatar, but I'm willing to deal with whatever it takes just so I can be with him."
Suki gave Katara a warm smile. Sokka had been behind them and overheard their conversation.
"UGHHHHH," Sokka groaned. The ladies turned around and looked at him.
"Aang is not even here and you're still giving me the oogies."
Katara was about to lose it and she was ready to kill Sokka, but her boyfriend walked down the stairs and he distracted her from blowing up and murdering Sokka.
"So, what are we having for dinner?" Aang asked.
"We-"
"We don't know yet," Sokka cut Katara off. "I'm heading to the market in a few minutes. I'll get the food."
"Alright, just don't forget to get me anything," Aang started to walk towards Katara.
About thirty minutes went by and Sokka returned with the groceries.
"What'd you buy from the market?" Toph asked.
"MEAT, I went to the market and bought all the meat. I bought komodo chicken, some duck, platypus egg, and some-"
"What about Aang? He can't eat any of this," Katara said annoyed.
Sokka reached through his bag and pulled out a bag of rice.
"Here ya go, Aang," he plopped the bag into Aang's hand.
"THANKS, SOKKA," Aang said sarcastically and annoyed.
"Yeah I know, my consideracy is so lovable."
"Consideracy?" Katara asked, facepalming.
"It's a word," he replied defensively.
"You said you would get Aang something. How did you even know everyone else wanted meat? I like Aang's vegetarian diet."
"I did get him something, Katara. You can share the rice with him and we get to enjoy more meat," Sokka replied.
Everyone watched as the siblings started fighting again.
Mai changed her gaze to Zuko. "Ugh, the sibling fights are so annoying," she whispered to him.
"Yeah, but you'll get used to it... eventually," Zuko responded.
The siblings finished arguing.
"Alright, time for... wait, I forgot my matches," Sokka groaned to himself.
"Uh, Sokka? Did you forget that you have two firebenders here?" Zuko asked.
"Oh, yeah. Zuko, you may do the honors."
Zuko stood up and set the logs on fire.
"Thanks, Zuko. Now it's time to cook!"
Sokka finished the barbeque about twenty minutes later. Aang had already finished his bag of rice. Katara comforted Aang while staring daggers at Sokka the whole time. Zuko and Mai only got a few pieces of meat, along with Katara and Suki. Toph and Sokka gulped down most of the food.
The Gaang had talked around the campfire, sharing stories and talking about other things. Though Sokka was the one who talked the most out of anyone else. Soon they got tired of his voice and decided to go to bed.
The next day went pretty uneventful for Zuko. He hung out with the whole Gaang and they just hung out indoors. Aang was basically gone all day on his "Avatar business", but everyone had a sneaking suspicion that he was up to something else. It was like that until they decided to tail Aang to the party and found Aang dancing with some girl.
Katara became extremely distraught and Sokka was fuming. Zuko went to pick up Aang. He was angry at him for breaking a close friend's heart. He decided that he wouldn't show any displays of anger as he knew that it wasn't his place.
They arrived back and Aang and Katara had a talk that night and they all went to bed thinking everything was resolved. The next day Aang and Katara had been really distant.
Everyone was hanging out in the kitchen, minus Katara who was in her room, and Aang who was out and about.
"What is up with Aang and Katara? They are really acting weird," Zuko asked.
"Yeah, usually they would be all over each other," Toph said.
"Didn't they resolve things last night?" Suki asked.
"Guys, stop worrying, things will work out. They just hit a relationship snag. It happens a lot, especially in young lovers," Mai said.
"You think so?" Sokka asked.
"Mai is right, that kind of thing happens. Ember Island usually does that to people," Zuko added.
"How would you know?" Toph asked.
"We had some experience with that here on our last visit," Zuko said.
"Oh," said Sokka.
They shrugged it off but each of them were concerned about their friends. Aang seemed to be unaffected but everyone could see his inner turmoil. On the other hand, Katara was sobbing all day and rarely left her room. She had grown extremely weak and tired. The next night, Zuko invited Mai out for a night on the town.
"So where are we going?" Mai asked as they walked to town.
"How about a romantic dinner on the beach?" Zuko responded.
"I like that idea," Mai replied.
Zuko stopped by a vendor and picked up a picnic basket. They went to their favorite chain restaurant, 'Toucan Puffin Cafe'.
"Take-out or stay-in?"
"This is a take-out order," Zuko responded.
"Alright, so what would you like?" the hostess asked.
"I'd like to order the roast duck," Zuko said.
"Oh, and I'll take the dumplings," Mai said.
"Okay... name?" the hostess said as she wrote down their order.
"Zuko."
"Okay, it will be ready in- wait, as in FIRELORD Zuko?"
"Yeah, this is the Firelord," Mai said grabbing Zuko's arm.
She got on her knees. "I apologize Firelord, the food will be ready very soon."
"No, really, it's fine. You don't have to apologize," Zuko smiled at her.
She got up and bowed to him. "Thank you, Firelord Zuko." She walked back into the kitchen and some waiters came out almost immediately after with their food.
"Hey, where are you going? That's my order," a man stood up. He said it in a harsh tone towards the waiter.
The hostess redirected him to Zuko.
"My apologies, Firelord," he sat back down.
Zuko and Mai walked back outside, heading towards the beach.
"Jeez, everyone's treating you like you're going to kill them," Mai said.
"Yeah, they probably heard the stories of my forefathers and about how harsh Azula is."
"Definitely," Mai laughed.
They got to the beach and sat down.
"I can't help but remember the last time we were here," Mai said putting a dumpling in her mouth.
"Me too, we both had our own issues back then. I was so angry and confused and you were scared to actually show your feelings."
"Azula didn't help either," she laughed. "But I am not scared of my feelings of you."
She kissed him. After, they stopped and looked out to the ocean.
"Do you really think things will work out between Aang and Katara?" Zuko asked.
"Yeah, I do, they love each other, they are just going through kinda what we went through," she said.
"But Aang is never like that. I think something is really wrong with him. Even when there is, he's never that distant with Katara," Zuko said.
"You have to realize its different now. They are romantically attached. Their relationship is now so much more complex."
"Yeah, I guess. But their relationship is still very similar to how it was when I first stopped trying to kill them. Katara was very handsy with him and they were very attached, even more so now. They were practically dating when I was formally introduced."
"But they've finally succumbed to their feelings, and they've been dating for what? Almost a month, right? Their bond has never been as strong as before. Realize that, Zuko."
"Yeah, you're right," he smiled at her.
"So Zuko, are we going to talk about them all night, or can we go back to us?" Zuko laughed and kissed her. He started a small fire on the beach so they could keep warm. They sat and enjoyed the evening, only returning to the house at a very late hour.
The next day the couple didn't do much of anything. Dinner was served and Katara and Aang had disappeared. His anniversary fourth anniversary with Mai had been coming up. He wanted to celebrate it with his girlfriend as they had been apart for three whole years.
Zuko walked over to Mai and signaled her to follow him. They walked out on to one of the balconies.
"Our anniversary is coming up," he said.
"It is," Mai said.
"We never even got to date for a full year before I was banished and I'm hoping to make up for that. You helped me through that difficult time. Sending you letters and receiving your letters were the only thing that kept me going, well, at least until I met Aang," he joked.
Mai smiled at him.
"I was hoping that we could have a week to ourselves right before our anniversary. Seven days won't make up for the three years we were apart, but I'm hoping that you'll accept this week as an apology. For the pain I gave you when I went away."
"Zuko, none of that was your fault. You only spoke out of turn because you're a good person. Even though I was in pain, I now realize that the journey you went on was important. You found the true you, the you that I fell deeper in love with."
They kissed.
"By the way, Zuko. I want to have a party for our anniversary. Because seven days with you is already too long," she joked.
"Alright, Mai, I'll get you that party."
She hugged him. "Thanks, Zuko."
They walked back into the main room to see Aang and Katara hugging.
"I guess Mai was right about Aang and Katara. I also guess Lo and Li were right about Ember Island. This place does magical things," Zuko thought.
"Hey guys, Mai and I have an announcement," Zuko said.
"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?" Sokka asked.
"Nononono, Sokka. Not yet, maybe in the future," Zuko said as he glanced at Mai.
"So what's so important then?"
"Well, to answer your question, Mai and I will be gone for a week. We're celebrating our fifth anniversary and we're trying to make up for the lost time," Zuko said.
"Awwwww, we're so happy for you," Aang and Katara said together.
"We're happy for you too. You guy seemed to have worked out your issues. It's usually one of your first steps in being a couple," Mai said.
"Yeah," Katara said, blushing and looking at Aang. She redirected her gaze back to Mai and Zuko. "So when is your anniversary?"
"About two months from now. It's a while from now but we wanted to give you a heads up. We'll give you another one a week before we leave.
"Sounds great," Toph said.
They all split up and went to enjoy the night.