It was the first decent night's sleep any of them had gotten in weeks, really. Zuko refused to sleep as he continued to search for any sign of the Avatar, Mai was losing sleep worrying about him, and Iroh couldn't sleep worrying about them.

Mai yawned, sitting up carefully against her pillow so as not to disturb a still-sleeping Zuko. She blushed slightly; this wasn't the first time he'd slept in her room, during colder nights they would share space for warmth but even then he slept on the floor. This was the first time they'd actually shared a bed.

His eyes flickered open just then, and he raised his head a little.

"What time is it? Has the sun risen yet?" he asked sleepily.

"It just did." Mai smiled wryly. "Was my lap a comfortable pillow, my prince?"

"Oh...I'm sorry, I guess I should've gotten into my own bed sooner." He blushed, giving her a rare glimpse of confused, flustered thirteen-year-old. It was almost cute, Mai thought, she liked it better than the overly serious grouchy hunter stare he'd taken to wearing lately.

"It's okay. You looked so comfortable I didn't have the heart to move you," she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, actually." He smiled, sitting up and leaning against her. "You?"

"Just fine." Her blush deepened. "Listen, don't get used to this...I mean, we can't just do this whenever we feel like it, we're still practically kids."

"Oh, yeah! I mean, we are, and...you know, my nights are spent looking for the Avatar, so..." He trailed off, and they just stared into each other's eyes for a moment. A small part of Zuko realized he could get used to waking up with her, and from the look on her face she was obviously thinking the same...or at least he hoped so. "...Mai, I-"

The door burst open, and they sprang apart.

"Good morning!"

Zuko gave his uncle a dirty look.

"We fell asleep talking last night," he said as Mai pretended to fix her hair.

"Prince Zuko, you don't have to explain yourself to me," Iroh laughed. "You know I love to tease you. Now come on, we've just about reached the port town, we should get some more supplies while we're here!"

Zuko smiled. It was hard to stay mad at his uncle when they were all in such a good mood.

"We'll be ready in a few minutes," he said.