AN: I'm a little behind on prompts, so I sort of put two together and it more or less worked out. This is set just after the events in Going Home Again
Dare and Youth
It's a only moment after they kissed. The walk back is silence with only the patter of their shoes. Quietly, Zuko debates. An ongoing decision of whether he should keep his hands at his sides or try reaching for her waist.
She was right in that way, some things hadn't changed. Not the silence or the hesitation, the red dusted cheeks or the constant thought about what would happen if he dare touch her. Then there was the release. The effortless breath that followed when he gave in. When one of his hands slowly moved to take hers and both of their steps began to slow.
She doesn't say much, if anything at all. Mai never has, it's all in a look. A subtle gaze that says either stop or go, sadness or bliss, everything and nothing all at once.
When he pulls her closer her eyes widen a hair, and he smiles, letting go.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
Mai doesn't respond, instead snaking her arms around his neck and tugging him forward. They kiss for a few fleeting moments before Mai realizes she has to stand a bit on her toes to reach him.
She's acknowledged this before-they aren't kids. Not by any standards, not anymore. Had she stayed she would've been married in a year. Never to experience this, or him, and for once she's thankful to be in this bland city.
At that, she breathes in, lingering just over his lips, "Don't be sorry," she murmurs, twirling a few strands of his hair around her fingers, "please."
He shouldn't apologize for this. For giving them something to hold onto. A string of youth always frayed and clinging by a thread, until now, where she realizes it has snapped, and that sense of childishness is gone. Leaving them with reluctance and hesitation, calculations and a small bit of chance.
But never once has she she felt so lucky.
Smiling, she wagers more, peppering her lips along his jaw, and breathing a sigh as his hands finally fall on her waist. She's forgotten this-the ease, and as they both find themselves pulling at the fabric of their robes, they part.
"Not the time or place," Mai laughs, burying her face into the curve of his neck. "We should head back."
Zuko nods, and again they allow the silence.
