A Decade in the Life of Mai and Zuko

Year 7

Zuko had never been to The Southern Air Temple. Even during his years of searching for the avatar, he never set foot there. The Fire Nation did not have air balloons back then and there was no other way up but walking(unless one had a huge, six-legged flying bison, of course). Literally situated among the clouds, the temple was built atop a mountain, one of many in a steep chain of jagged peaks. It was a spectacular site. He, Mai, Keiko and Emiko had traveled there for the wedding of Aang and Katara. They took a Fire Nation balloon to the base of the mountain and waited for Appa to come down and fly them up to the temple.

The season was mid spring. There was a distinct nip in the air and the mountains held on to their snowy covers. Keiko, almost trembling with excitement about riding on Appa, stomped her foot impatiently.

"When is Appa coming? I want to see Sokka and his babies. Oh, and I wanna see Aang and Katara too, and Uncle Iroh and Toph and Suki."

Mai looked at Zuko and rolled her eyes. "He'll be here soon, Keiko," she said. "Why don't you go play tag with Daddy?"

"Oh, thanks," Zuko complained teasingly as Keiko made a swift beeline for her father. "You got me, Keiko. Now run." Dressed in a bright red coat, the brighter the better where Keiko was concerned, the small girl stood out against the bits of snow still on the ground, the budding green and the brown of the soil. At almost four years old, she was inquisitive, always busy and a bit temperamental. She had an affectionate, loving nature and enjoyed playing jokes. Zuko often said that she must have gotten that trait from Iroh.

Little Emiko was just fifteen months old. She toddled around quite well, occasionally breaking into a stuttering run. Mai set her loose on the ground. The toddler needed to burn off some energy. Her dark hair, still fairly short, was pulled up into a tiny pony tail. She ran, then stopped, ran again and finally tripped on a stone, falling down on her hands and knees and breaking into a mournful cry. Zuko, the doting father, picked her up swiftly and covered her tearstained face with kisses, tickling her at the same time. She giggled, quickly forgetting the trauma of skinned knees.

"Hey, girls, look up! I see Appa. And Keiko, Sokka's steering him."

"Yay, yay," Keiko screamed.

"Yay, yay, yay," Emiko cried in imitation.

"Stop copying me, Miko," Keiko said petulantly.

"Your sister is only copying you because she loves you, Keiko. Don't be too hard on her," Zuko chastised gently.

Appa landed lightly for a huge animal. "Well if it isn't my favorite Fire Family," Sokka declared. "How are you guys? C'mon, get onboard. Everyone else has already arrived."

"Sokka, Sokka," Keiko cried.

"Hey there, cutie," he replied as Zuko handed her up to the Water Tribe man. Mai climbed up next and Zuko handed Emiko over to her. The Fire Lord then sprinted aboard, grabbing hold of his younger daughter.

They were at the temple in a matter of minutes. Keiko babbled to Sokka the whole time. He listened good naturedly. "Is this what I have to look forward to with the twins?" he asked then turned to Keiko. "You never stop talking, do you?"

"Trust me," said Mai wryly, "you don't the half of it."

Suki was outside with her and Sokka's twins, a boy, Hiro, and a girl, Kana. They were a little over two years old and both dynamos. Suki was having trouble keeping both of them from running off. Jumping off Appa, Sokka snatched up his daughter and brought her over to Keiko. "Why don't you play with Keiko? Uncle Zuko can watch you."

Zuko shot Sokka a dirty look and said "Fine, I'll watch them for a little while." The Fire Lord patted Kana's head. "Do you want to play tag, Kana?" he asked affectionately. "I'll bet you can catch your daddy very easily. He's slow."

"Oh, yeah, I don't think so. Go for Uncle Zuko. He's the oldest so he's probably the slowest too."

Kana and Keiko giggled while Mai and Suki exchanged knowing looks. With Emiko in tow, Mai walked over to Suki. "The twins keep you busy, I see." she said. "Is it hard having two the same age?"

They launched into a discussion about children, talking quietly as they watched the other kids play. A few minutes later, Aang approached having heard all the screaming and laughter.

"Zuko, Mai, I'm so glad that you guys are here. He gave Mai a quick embrace and picked Emiko up, holding her close. "You're so pretty," he whispered to her. She beamed up at the airbender, captivated by his bright blue tattoos. Setting Emiko down, he walked over to Zuko. The two hugged warmly.

"I couldn't get married without you here, Zuko. It's good to see you."

"I'm very happy for you, Aang and I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything."

"You're very lucky. Your family is beautiful," Aang said almost wistfully.

"Thanks," Zuko beamed. "They really are. And you'll have your own one day soon."

"I know," Aang agreed.

"Where's Katara?" the Fire Lord asked.

"She's inside the temple, supervising the decorating."

"I thought Sokka would be in charge of decorating," Zuko replied loud enough for the Water Tribe man to hear.

"Very funny, Zuko, very funny, you know, I liked you better when you didn't joke."

"If you and Mai are ready, I can show you to your rooms. Then I would really love to give you a tour of the temple. We've put a lot of work into it." Zuko, as part of the Fire Nation reparations, had given money, material and manpower to Aang's cause of bringing the Air Temples back to their former glory.

"That would be great, Aang." They walked over to Mai and told her of their plans. She gathered up the girls and they followed Aang into the temple and to their comfortable rooms. The airbender left, giving the family time to settle in. Putting down their bags and unpacking, the family waited for Aang's return. He brought Katara, who greeted them all warmly. Why don't you two walk ahead with Aang while I spend some time with your girls? Is that alright, Mai?" Katara asked.

"Fine by me," Mai replied.

Aang gave the couple an extensive tour while Katara, Keiko and Emiko dawdled behind, talking and giggling. The temple was truly beautiful. Zuko felt a pang of guilt and sadness. It was his ancestor, Sozin, who had wiped out the entire Air Nomad culture, except for Aang. Zuko sometimes wondered how Aang remained so positive and cheerful.

The last stop of the tour was a massive chamber with a huge door that could open only with airbending. A large statue of Aang's old friend, Monk Gyatso stood guard outside. Inside were hundreds of statues of previous avatars. Aang led Mai and Zuko over to Avatar Roku.

"This is your great grandfather Roku," Aang said quietly.

Zuko approached the likeness slowly and caressed it with his right hand. "Great grandfather," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Behind them Katara and the girls entered the chamber. "It's spooky in here," Keiko complained.

"It's just a little dark, that's all," Katara soothed.

"Girls, come here," Zuko said to his daughters. He lifted Emiko up and held Keiko's hand. "This man is Avatar Roku. He is your great-great-grandfather."

"Wow," Keiko exclaimed. "Are all these people avatars?"

"Yep," Aang acknowledged. "There are a lot of them, right?"

"Yeah," the little girl agreed. "But it's still scary in here."

The tour over, the group walked back to the main building which housed the living quarters. On the way they passed a gravesite. Aang stopped briefly, bowing. "Zuko, we buried Monk Gyatso's remains here. He was such a good friend to me and to Roku as well."

Zuko bowed respectfully, feeling that pang again.

The wedding day dawned sunny and a bit warmer than the previous one. The hall was filled with people from all nations, from Katara's family to the Kyoshi Warriors to the Mechanist and Teo. Almost everyone Aang had touched along his journey to the Fire Nation was in attendance. Aang wore his yellow monk's robe while Katara wore a traditional Water Tribe wedding dress. Her mother's betrothal necklace still graced her neck and she reached for it several times during the ceremony. Both Mai's and Zuko's thoughts drifted back to their own happy wedding day over five years earlier. The crowd broke into raucous applause when the couple finally kissed.

Ty Lee bounded over to Mai and wrapped her up in a huge hug. "Wow, Mai, you look amazing. I'm so thrilled to see you. Get over here, Zuko. I'm going to hug you too."

Mai looked over at her husband. "Don't fight it, Zuko."

"And where are those adorable little girls? Oh, Agni, they are soooo cute. Give Aunt Ty Lee a hug."

"Here comes Uncle," Zuko told Mai as Iroh approached, fighting his way through the crowd.

"Ah, nephew, here you are," he exclaimed, pulling the young man in for a hug. "Is Ty Lee hogging my beautiful grand nieces?"

"She is, Uncle," Zuko replied with a grin.

"Mai, you look lovely as always," Iroh complimented as he gave her a warm hug.

Flushing slightly, she returned the embrace. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Now, I'm going to wrestle those girls of yours away from Ty Lee. I want to visit with you later, though."

"Definitely," Zuko agreed.

"There was a time not very long ago, when I could count on one hand the number of people I cared about and who cared about me," the Fire Lord said, turning to his wife.

"How things have changed," she agreed, linking her arm through his.