Chapter 5: Letting Loose

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Sokka and Aang were standing in front of three palace guards.

"I'm telling you, you have to let me in!" Sokka gestured to Zuko's locked chamber door.

Aang nodded emphatically. "Me too! We have to take him with us! Please?"

The guards shook their heads. "The Fire Lord told us not to let you in his room tonight."

"Why not?" asked an offended Sokka.

"His exact words were: 'Those idiots will ruin my life.' I suppose that is a sufficient answer?"

Aang hung his head. "I hope he didn't mean that about us being idiots."

"Of course he didn't!" Sokka slapped Aang on the back. "People say that about me all the time, and they never mean it!"

Aang rolled his eyes. "That's reassuring."

Sokka got a wonderfully awful idea. "That's too bad, then. Mai's out here, too."

The door slammed open to reveal Zuko, wearing clothes he'd worn as a prince. No fancy robes, no diadem, not even a topknot. He looked exceedingly disappointed to see that there really was no Mai out there.

Aang and Sokka whooped happily.

"Now you have to come with us!" Sokka insisted, running up to Zuko before he could slam the door.

"It won't be so bad," Aang assured Zuko. He assisted Sokka with a gust of wind from behind Zuko.

"Fine, I'm coming," Zuko grumbled.

With another whoop from Sokka, Zuko's friends dragged him down to Iroh's suite.

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When Suki and Toph arrived at Mai's house, Katara, Ty Lee, Topekaia and Mai had already set up the party room. Each of those girls were also wearing night clothes.

Suki was impressed by the flower arrangements that Mai and Topekaia had made the day before.

Toph appreciated the fact that they'd chosen to keep to the ground floor, and provided several pillows. She flopped down on said pillows and reclined without so much as a bow of greeting.

Mai wrinkled her nose, but let it go. She'd gotten used to Toph by now, and decided it wasn't worth harping on.

Suki bowed and selected a pillow to sit on. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"We're going to play Truth or Dare!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily, pulling Mai out of her suddenly stiff position and forcing her to sit down.

Katara and Topekaia sat down, too.

"We're seriously going to play Truth or Dare with Sunshine?" Toph asked with a laugh. "This will be good!"

Mai hid her eyes with her bangs. "That depends on your perspective," she said quietly.

Ty Lee thumped Mai on the back, causing her to let out a sharp cry and snap upright. "You'll be fine. It's just us! Besides, I've always wanted to play Truth or Dare!"

"You never have?" Topekaia asked. "Today you were discussing it like you'd done it thousands of times!"

Ty Lee's eyes darkened a bit. "Can you imagine playing Truth or Dare with Princess Azula? The things she could have gotten us to do or say…" Ty Lee shuddered.

Everyone who could stared at Ty Lee in shock. Was it really possible for her to have a dark moment?

"But," Ty Lee brightened, "now we can do it with no problem!"

Mai sighed again. "Again, that depends on your perspective."

"I say we ask the bride-to-be the first question!" Ty Lee exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air and squealing.

"Who's gonna ask it?" Toph asked.

"Me, of course!" Ty Lee said. "I've been asking her the exact same question for several years, and now she's got to answer or else she'll have to wear some of my clothes!" Ty Lee laughed at her own brilliant idea.

Mai slapped her own forehead. "What's the question, Ty Lee?"

"The question is—" Ty Lee leaned closer to Mai, purposefully making her uncomfortable. "What did you really do that day you and Zuko disappeared during hide-and-seek for an hour?"

Mai's blush answered half the question.

Her friends leaned in, intrigued by the question and the approaching answer.

"We hid in one of the laundry rooms. In a hamper. A really big one. Zuko said Azula would never look in a place so… low class. Unfortunately, the servants were soon gone. So there we were, left all alone in a hamper. We were afraid to get out in case Azula found us there, after all."

"Then what?" Ty Lee asked, breathless with anticipation. "That could only have taken about five minutes!"

Mai blushed deeper. "A couple servants came in. They made up this terrible joke about laundry, and smells… it was just weird. Then they started kissing. Long story short, our impressionable little eyes just couldn't look away."

Ty Lee and Suki giggled.

Toph snorted. "Why didn't you jump out and scare them?"

Mai lowered her gaze until she was staring at her folded hands. "We couldn't exactly bring ourselves to… look away. And when they were gone… we copied them. Almost exactly."

Suki and Ty Lee giggled loudly.

"Almost exactly?" Topekaia prompted.

"Zuko couldn't exactly pick me up. He did try, but it didn't work out." After beginning to breathe steadily again, Mai looked up at the wide-eyed girls around her. "Is that enough information? Or do I still have to wear pink?"

"That's enough information, Sunshine. Good story." Toph picked up a nut and crunched it.

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Sokka and Aang opened the door to Iroh's suite.

Iroh and Haru sat around a table with steaming tea.

"Glad you decided to join us, Nephew," Iroh said.

"I'm not sure what to expect from this," Zuko confided, flinching away from Sokka and Aang as if they might bite him.

"Your uncle told us you play the tsungi horn," Haru commented, producing said horn.

"Not well," Zuko said, looking at his uncle in horror.

"He also mentioned that you have extensive tea-serving experience." Sokka prodded Zuko's ribs.

Zuko looked around the room at his friends' faces. "You've got to be kidding."

"Not really," Aang said, taking the tsungi horn from Haru and handing it to Zuko. "We want you to play the horn and serve us tea. At the same time."

Zuko gave Aang a mortified expression. "You're really insane."

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"My turn," Suki said. "This one's for Ty Lee."

Ty Lee leaned forward expectantly.

"The question: Do you like Haru?"

Toph, Mai and Topekaia groaned.

"The dare?" Ty Lee asked.

"You have to tangle up your braid, and then undo it yourself."

Ty Lee cringed. "I think Haru is very cute. Especially that adorable mustache of his."

Topekaia, Mai, Katara and Suki groaned a bit at the mention of Haru's mustache, but they'd gotten a good answer.

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Zuko had somehow managed to serve all the tea without spilling it, and had successfully played the horn without messing up the songs they requested. But that was over, and now he'd hidden the offending instrument away from his sight.

"There's one more idea we all had," Sokka said, giving Aang a wink.

"Oh, yes. I think it will be a lot of fun, Zuko. Give the idea a chance."

"I've got these masks from town," Sokka said, producing a sack full of hand painted wooden masks. "And I thought we could use them to scare the girls!"

Zuko stared as one mask in particular caught his eyes. A few years ago, the sight of it would have made him remember the Fire Festival, and the carnivals he'd attended over the years. Now, he remembered a very dark time in his life, instead.

Iroh's smile faded a bit. "You don't have to wear that mask if you don't want to, Zuko," he said.

Aang looked into the bag and saw the mask of the Blue Spirit. He looked at Zuko and grimaced. "Just like old times, huh?"

Zuko grimaced back. "I guess wearing it myself is better than seeing someone else wearing it." He picked it up. "What are we supposed to do with these?"

"Sneak up on the girls—they're all at Mai's house, right?—and make them think we're… I don't know… bad guys."

Zuko frowned. "How is that going to end in a good time? If you feel like convincing Mai to unpin you from her wall while Suki and Ty Lee laugh hysterically and Toph comes up with inventive ways to insult you, then go ahead."

"This is your bachelor party!" Iroh interceded. "Participate in it!"

"I'm supposed to marry Mai tomorrow… do you want me to ruin our relationship with a stupid prank?"

"I don't think our prank will make Mai hate you!" Aang insisted. "Not if you're romantic about it at the end!"

Zuko crossed his arms and frowned at everyone just so they could all see how angry the idea made him. "I am not going to pull something like that on Mai. It's not fair, and it's not romantic, Aang."

"Mai will forgive you, Zuko," Iroh said. "Go and have some fun with your friends! This is your last night as a bachelor!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Zuko asked. "I still don't want to—"

"Please?" The combined strength of Sokka and Aang's large puppy dog eyes were overpowering.

Zuko caved in. "All right. Let's get this over with."

"Cool!" Sokka produced all-black outfits. "Are you coming Haru? Uncle Iroh?"

Zuko still hadn't gotten used to Sokka talking about his uncle as if he were also his nephew. It was like Sokka thought the two of them were brothers. But with Sokka, it wasn't smart to take everything seriously. You usually ended up getting angry over one thing after another. All that stress was far from worth it.

"I'm not going to try scaring anyone that way," Iroh shrugged. "Not even a bunch of girls. I'll go in and get them ready for you, though." The mischievous light in Iroh's eyes was even brighter than Sokka's.

Zuko shivered. If his uncle could come up with something to do, Mai was definitely in for it.

"I don't think I'll go," Haru said. "Someone is bound to beat me up. I'll come in when all of you are done."

"Are you really afraid of—"

"Ty Lee?" Haru cut Sokka off. "Very, very afraid of Ty Lee."

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There was a knock on the door of Mai's house. She got up to answer it, thus avoiding answering Suki's question of how many kids she wanted to have.

Opening the door, Mai revealed Iroh, standing there with a full tea service.

He was greeted enthusiastically by the other girls in the room, but Mai gave him a polite bow.

"Niece," Iroh said as he set down the tea service, "There is no need to be so formal."

Mai stared at Iroh, the great general who could have been Fire Lord had he but asked Zuko, and who was definitely not related to her. He had called her his niece. "But—"

"Tomorrow, when you marry my nephew, you will be my niece." Iroh put an arm on Mai's shoulder and sat her down next to Katara. "I just decided to get started early. You can call me Uncle."

"All right… Uncle. I'll try to get used to that." Mai's head was reeling. She hoped nobody noticed. One glance at Topekaia told her that someone did.

"Oh, it's so romantic!" Ty Lee squealed. "You're part of the family, Mai!"

Mai needed distraction. This was too much to take in at once. Ty Lee's words were probably true, at least as far as Iroh was concerned. She briefly wondered what Azula would have had to say about it.

"I have a story for all of you!" Iroh said excitedly. "Shall I tell it?"

"Oh, yes, please! You always tell the best stories!" Ty Lee said, brimming with enthusiasm.

Iroh poured tea for Mai, and then for himself.

Mai was busy blushing at the fact that singling her out in that manner was a sign that she was practically his own daughter, but tuned in, anyway.

"This is a story from the Earth Kingdom."

Toph and Suki reacted favorably to this, leaning in.

Mai started to feel bored. She'd spent hours and hours reading Earth Kingdom tales of every genre when her father had been governor of Omashu.

"It tells the story of three young men. They were each very skilled warriors, and each from different nations."

Ty Lee was nearly tipping over in her attempt to get as close to Iroh as she could.

"They wore masks, the same as are worn during the Fire Festival in our nation. They liked to have adventures, all over the Earth Kingdom."

Mai was easily able to slip on her own mask. She hadn't heard this story before, but the thought of three masked men gallivanting about was more childish in her mind than intriguing.

"Each of them fell into love. They found their true loves very easily. But there was war in the Earth Kingdom."

Suki, Toph and Katara tensed.

Mai continued to be relaxed. She was too used to tales taking place during war.

"They were separated from their loved ones, and soon turned to thievery."

Mai quirked an eyebrow. This was a fun twist. The heroes weren't so perfect, after all, then.

"Soon, their lovers turned on them, and now they roam the whole world, terrorizing young women on the night before they get married in the hopes that they can make other men just as miserable as they were in life!"

Ty Lee let out a little yelp and looked at Mai in horror.

The other girls laughed, because Iroh had obviously been trying to scare Mai.

Mai huffed. "Did Zuko ask you to tell me that story?"

"Not at all!" Iroh spread out his arms. "I just thought I should warn my niece about the three bandits!"

Mai shook her head. "Right."

There was another knock on the door.

"I'll get that one!" said Suki, closest to the door. She hopped up and opened it to reveal a slim man all in black but with a bright green mask. She let out a shriek.

The attention of all the girls in the room was riveted on Suki and the man with the green mask.

"What was that?" came the trembling voice of Mai's mother.

"Nothing mom! Go back to sleep!" Mai shouted up the stairs. It was only when she turned to face the stairs that she saw the blue mask only inches from her face. Then she let out a shriek of her own as double swords were drawn and she found herself between the swords and their wielder.

Topekaia rose, fists fiery, and was the first to see the third unannounced visitor, wearing an orange mask and hovering near Katara.

Ty Lee was curled up in a horrified ball, unable to move. "It's those three bandits!" she squeaked. "Uncle Iroh was right!"

Toph laughed. "It was really hard keeping quiet, you three!" she said. "Now it's done though. Take off your masks!"

"Aw," Aang said as he removed his orange mask.

"Too fast, Aang!" Sokka ripped off his green mask and frowned at Aang.

"So this one is…" Mai reached out and lifted the blue mask away from Zuko's face.

"Surprise," Zuko said quietly.

"Oh, you—" Mai slapped Zuko's shoulder. "Put those swords away."

Zuko put his swords back into their sheath. Then he kissed Mai quickly.

"All right, time for you all to go!" Topekaia said. "Don't you have your own party?"

"This was just a prank they talked me into," Zuko said. "Now that it's done, we can start behaving more traditionally."

Iroh rose. "It was nice to spend time with you, niece. See you tomorrow morning."

"Niece?" Zuko asked on the way out. He glanced back at Mai, inspiring a blush.

When the men had gone, Ty Lee turned to Mai. "As I recall, you were supposed to tell us how many children you want!"

Mai blushed, feeling the gaze of every girl in the room focused on her once more. "I never really—"

"She's lying," Toph piped in.

"I heard you talking about it once, too," Ty Lee pointed out. Then, turning to her audience, she continued, "Once, when we were kids, like, twelve, I caught her playing with dolls, and she called herself Fire Lady Mai, and the dolls were her children!"

"Aw!" Katara, Suki, Topekaia and Toph chorused. Toph did it mostly in a mocking tone.

"All right!" Mai slapped her hand over Ty Lee's mouth. "Three or four. Happy?"

They all nodded, except for Toph, who loudly crunched another nut.

"Team up on Sunshine!" Toph finally yelled boisterously. "It's my turn. Dare: Lick my feet."

Mai squirmed and grimaced. "Truth?"

"Truth: I want you to tell me about the first time you met the Angry Lord."

Mai sighed. She should have been expecting this one. She glanced at Ty Lee, whose gray eyes were as wide as Moon Lillies late at night. Mai knew that her oldest friend had been wanting to know the answers to so many questions concerning that day for way, way too long for her health. She drew in a deep breath. "I'll answer your question."

Once again, everyone leaned in. Even Toph did, this time.

"Azula met us at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She brought us to the palace during summer vacation."

"But… Aang was in school during the summer." Katara blinked in confusion.

"Of course; lower classes attend school all year round." Mai shrugged. "It's one of the perks of nobility that we didn't have to go all year round. As I was saying, Azula brought us here."

"We each got our own rooms in the palace on Azula's orders. She—" Ty Lee's enthusiasm dimmed a bit— "she didn't want to share her room with us."

"She liked playing with Ty Lee in the garden, trying to learn cartwheels and such," Mai continued as if Ty Lee hadn't spoken. "I, however, was allowed to sit under the apple trees and watch, because my talent wasn't acrobatics. Azula befriended me because of my friends here." She smiled slightly, revealing one of her shurikens. "Someone else in the palace heard about my knives and started spying on me. Whenever I caught him staring at me, I'd toss mud in his face. That's how it went for a while."

Ty Lee exploded. "That's not all! She isn't talking about how the very first time we came to the palace, Zuko was there and he couldn't complete an entire sentence because he kept looking at her!" Ty Lee giggled. "It was so adorable! Like love at first sight." Then she leaned closer to Mai, "Maybe it was?"

Mai sighed, sinking her head down so her forehead slammed against the tabletop.

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Sokka threw open the doors of Iroh's suite. He was laughing uproariously. "That was the best prank ever!" Sokka flopped onto a floor cushion and kept laughing, unable to stop.

Aang chuckled. "The looks on their faces were great!" He looked over at Iroh. "Did you make up that story on the spot?"

"Not completely." Iroh shrugged. "I'd been thinking of it for a little while."

There was a bit of silence while everyone listened to Sokka stop laughing.

"You're calling Mai your niece," Zuko said, hoping he didn't blush and that his voice was steady.

"That's what she is, right, nephew?" Iroh asked, eyebrows going up and down as he winked. "She took great pleasure in the title, you know."

"She did?" Zuko grinned. "Then… keep calling her that."

Iroh grinned, and looked at the sky. "The moon is getting high into the sky. Your bride may stay up late tonight, but you shouldn't. You'll need plenty of sleep to make up for tomorrow n—"

"Yes, yes, Uncle!" Zuko put up his hands. "I know what you're trying to say. Good night—"

"We're coming with you, silly!" Sokka said. "And didn't you notice who's clinging to Aang's back?"

Zuko examined Aang's back and his eyes widened at the sight of four-year-old Tom-Tom. "Hey, Tom-Tom. How are you doing?"

"Zuzu! We bounce!" Tom-Tom screeched.

"What?" Zuko blinked.

The door opened and Lee appeared, escorted by Haru.

"Since you don't have any brothers, cousins or nephews, these two are going to jump on your bed!" Aang said brightly.

Zuko stared from Aang, to Tom-Tom, to Lee.

"I thought I reminded you about this tradition yesterday." Iroh shook his head. "Lee and Tom-Tom will jump on your new bed to ensure fertility and many heirs."

Zuko winced. "Wouldn't you be happy with just one?"

Iroh gave Zuko a wide grin. "Would you?"

Zuko didn't really have an answer for that.

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Mai was gazing at the several bags and boxes that were lined up by the front door. Katara's help had been appreciated. Ty Lee had mostly talked, but Topekaia had dutifully done most of the work, even taking things Mai would have put away herself. Soon she would have a new home. A home she'd be living in for the rest of her life… with Zuko… and she'd have a family. She'd be part of the royal family. Part of Zuko's royal family. Her cheeks heated up again.

"Ooh, Sunshine's thinking about the Angry Lord again!" Toph announced.

Ty Lee leaned in to get the best possible view of Mai's face. "Yep. That's her Zuko look. What were you thinking of, Mai? Tomorrow night?"

All the pink drained from Mai's face along with every other color. "I… wasn't… I was thinking of… my family." There it was. She'd dug her grave and her friends were about to push her in to bury her.

"The one upstairs?" Suki asked.

Katara put a hand on Mai's shoulder. "You don't have to feel ashamed of leaving them. Is that what it is?"

Mai shook her head, looking down at her hands.

"Then… what family?" Suki asked.

"The one—" Mai couldn't stop herself, but she hesitated to go on. "The one I don't have yet."

Ty Lee and Suki squealed. "That's so sweet!"

Mai pulled her knees up to her chin. "It is?"

"And I'll tell your little princes and princesses that their mother was thinking about them the night before her wedding!" Ty Lee announced happily.

"You're expecting us to have more than one of each?" Mai asked, stumbling over her words.

"Of course!" Ty Lee clapped. "I've seen the way Zuko looks at you. I'll bet you'll have all those three or four royal babies!"

Mai nearly fell over. This was so embarrassing. All her friends were leaning in and grinning broadly. They now knew all her secret dreams… and Mai wasn't sure that was a bad thing under inspection.

"Let's put the queen mother to sleep, shall we?" Topekaia suggested, tugging on one of Mai's arms. "If we keep on like this, she'll never survive long enough to get married!"

"Right." Suki took Mai's other arm.

Ty Lee hopped around behind, making sure Mai couldn't resist.

Toph and Katara followed at a slower pace.

Suki opened Mai's bedroom door before pushing her in. "Someone undo the bed covers!"

Toph and Katara did so.

"What is this, exactly?" Mai asked.

"We're just having fun," said Ty Lee, gesturing for someone to take Mai's legs.

Katara obliged and, soon, they all had Mai laid out on the bed.

"Tuck her in!" Suki giggled.

Katara hurried to do so.

"I'm not ready for—"

"Aw, Mai." Ty Lee gave her the puppy dog face.

"How can you raise little princes and princesses if you act like one of them?" Topekaia teased.

Mai's mouth fell open. "What are you all trying to do?"

"This is your last night alone, right?" Ty Lee giggled. "So, you'd better enjoy your big, empty bed!"

Mai blinked. What was she supposed to say to that?

"Everyone else will be camping out in the living room," Katara explained. "We decided earlier that we wanted to give you a chance to enjoy your privacy." She gestured for the others to file out before waving and leaving herself.

Mai stared at the ceiling. Her friends were great. With the exception of Ty Lee and Topekaia, all of them would have been her enemies if the war hadn't ended. What a strange thought. She had often turned it over in her mind before, but this night, the foreigners had been so considerate of her. She could hardly believe it.

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Many thanks to the kind people who have reviewed the past several chapters: abe, gloomy maiko lover, Kimjuni2, Lythya, and Millie.