A/N: Even though I only got two reviews (eh, what do you expect? Us Maiko fans are a minority…), they were wonderful! Thank you so much SpiffytheHiccupingRaineboe and Kimjuni2! Now today's prompt is going to fall more under the hurt/comfort genre rather than the cutesy one I wrote for yesterday, but I'm promise (or at least I hope) it's going to be as cute as yesterday's!

Notes: This takes place AFTER Crossroads of Destiny, but BEFORE the four's return to the Fire Nation.

Hopefully I explain enough in this chapter for it to be considered in-character.

Disaster

Zuko scrunched up his face and turned over roughly, the sheets on his bed wrapping his body and making movement completely impossible. After just a few seconds, the teen kicked the sheets off with force before just lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Sleep just wouldn't come; not with the rain outside pounding down on the Ba Sing Se Palace, accompanied by vivid flashes of lightning and loud roars of thunder. Zuko sighed again and then turned on his side, closed his eyes, and hoped for sleep.

As soon as his eyes closed though, they snapped right back open as he heard the creak of the bedroom door as it opened. His heart thudded a little harder as some fear slipped in. Just as he was about to spring into a fighting stance, a voice reached Zuko's ears and he froze.

"Zuko?" The voice was soft, but there was no mistaking who it belonged to. Mai, he thought with some confusion. What was she doing here in the middle of the night? "Are you awake?"

He sat up fully and stared across the room at Mai where she still stood in the doorway. "Mai? What's wrong? It's the middle of the night!""

The girl stepped into the room fully and softly closed the door behind her. Mai made her way over to the bed and sat at the very edge of it, hands folded in her lap. "Zuko, do you mind if I stay here? Just until the storm's over that is." Her voice was the same monotone, but underneath it Zuko could hear a small amount of fear. A flash of lightning lit up the room and Zuko could have sworn Mai had jumped at least a foot in the air. What is she afraid of? She's one of the strongest people I know!

Zuko beckoned her closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What wrong?" He asked with a little more force this time. He wanted her to know that he wanted a straight answer.

"Do you remember when Azula first started to bend lightning?" Zuko nodded. He had always thought it was unfair. Lightning was one of the greatest accomplishments a firebender could achieve and Azula had been able to do it at eight years old. "Well, she was so excited with it she liked to practice a lot with it… That included her precision." Mai paused, turned, and looked him right in the eye. "She liked to use Ty Lee and me as targets. Ever since then…"

Zuko's eyes widen and he felt Mai grab his hand and squeeze it as tight as she could when lightning flashed again. He wrapped his other arm around her and lowered his head to her ear. "It's okay…"

Mai turned into his chest. "It's such a silly little fear." Her voice broke a bit on the last word.

"Hey." He lifted her head with a hand and held her gaze. "She won't do that to you ever again; I'm here now." Zuko pulled her closer and then laid them both down, hands grasped together between their bodies. When the lightning flashed again, Mai's jumpiness had reduced to a strong flinch. He leaned his head down until her forehead rested against his and then kissed her softly on the lips. She responded immediately and only broke the kiss when they both needed to breath.

Zuko placed a small peck on Mai's forehead before closing his eyes, the storm fading slowly in the background.

Zuko woke up the next morning, bright and early as always, and glanced down at Mai who was still curled up to his chest. Surprisingly enough she was looking right back at him. "Hi."

"Hi." They both sat up, still holding hands. "I should probably get back to my room before Azula notices I'm not there." Mai stood up, smoothing out her clothes and running a hand threw her hair before making her way to the door.

"Yeah…" Zuko ran a hand through his unruly hair nervously. "About what happened last night…"

Mai turned to him sharply, a glare situated on her face. "You tell anyone about what happened last night and…" She allowed him to see the glinting metal coming from her sleeve. She didn't need to speak any further. Zuko swallowed a bit roughly before nodding. Her posture relaxed a tiny bit. "Sorry, I was a bit of a disaster last night."

"It's okay. If you ever need anything, I'm here." After rethinking his last statement he quickly spat out, "Just so you know!"

Mai smirked a tiny bit at him and turned away. "Okay Zuko, whatever you say." And with that, she left the room and its embarrassed occupant.

As soon as she was far enough away that he thought Mai wouldn't hear him, Zuko slapped himself in the forehead. "What were you thinking? So stupid…" He stood up and began preparing for the day; not like there was much else to do than sit there like an idiot.

Shorter than yesterday's, but I'm just as proud of it. Truthfully, I could totally see Azula aiming lightning at Mai and Ty Lee "just for the fun of it." In this instance, why Ty Lee doesn't have this gripping fear and Mai does… Mai knows that Azula is using the both of them and their "friendship" is just a ploy; Ty Lee looks at the optimistic side of everything and doesn't hold Azula against the things she does… until The Boiling Rock pt. 2.

Also I think Mai's fear is plausible in this instance. She knows that Azula would not hesitate to kill/harm her or her family. Thus, a fear of lightning 'cause it reminds her of the crazy Fire Nation princess. Mai's fear of lightning is called astraphobia.

Let me know what you thought of this! Any type of review is appreciated, though flames are frowned upon, but to each his own. Thanks for reading!

Luna