AN: I'm disappointed in you.

I got one email, and that was today. No reviews.

If everyone who's subscribed to this story could give one review, that would be brilliant. We'd have a lot more reviews. A lot more critique, a lot more morale, and of course a lot more to show off to our friends. ;)

I wasn't going to update today, but: one) today's the one-year anniversary of the story, and two) somebody this morning added this to story alert.

So yeah. I hope you enjoy the story as we develop the Aurora-Zuko-Mai triangle.

Chapter Thirteen

It had been well over half a year and Zuko had managed to remain single.

He wasn't sure whether to consider that an accomplishment or not. Not that it mattered much.

He had intended to go after Mai. He really had. He still kept her note, had the directions to the address memorized, and still had idle daydreams about finding her and apologizing.

He was just... busy. Really busy. As being the sole leader of a country can do to one sometimes.

He had been all around the world and back. To every major city in every major island and every major continent.

It was all for PR, everybody said. Making yourself look good to the people.

Most people, by now, at least had a degree of respect for him.

He'd never reach Avatar-level popularity. He never really wanted Avatar-level popularity. Being the savior of the world was a lot to put on a thirteen-year-old.

There wasn't much beyond that involved in the position of Fire Lord, though. He had realized that much of the actual legal stuff only needed his approval, and less of his involvement in the process.

Now, however, he had been given some time off for the holidays. Things still continued as usual, but there was less traveling, less meetings, less people in the palace.

And he had time on his hands.

He spent a lot of that time staring at the address.

It's too late, he told himself. She's moved on. It's been too long for you to apologize.

But what if she's waiting for you, what if she's still wishing that you'd go to her, that you'd apologize and re-invite her to the palace...

What if she's waiting for you to go after her like Aurora was...

He groaned and put his head in his hands.

The guilt was killing him. He had to go to Mai. It would continue to haunt him until he did.

oOoOoOoOoO

Zuko double and then triple-checked the address to make sure he got it right.

He took a deep breath and walked up to the door.

Knock knock knock.

He could hear some voices from beyond the door, though he couldn't tell what they were saying. He almost thought he saw the edge of the curtains move, but he couldn't be certain.

The door opened, slowly.

Mai was speaking to someone inside the house. "I'll just be a minute." She then turned her head to Zuko and stepped outside, quietly closing the door.

"Fire Lord Zuko," she said with a small bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure." Her deadpan tone made it unclear whether it was a question or not.

"Mai, I was just... Agni, I'm no good at this," he stumbled. "Look, I just want to say- I'm sorry."

She looked at him, in that same cool, calculated expression she had always had. "I would be sorry too," she said at last.

"I know I screwed up. Big time. But-"

"Let me stop you there," she said. "I've been given a lot of time to think about this. A lot of time that you gave me. And I'm not going to fall for the water works this time."

Zuko felt oddly stung, but let Mai continue.

"I gave you everything," she hissed at him. "I gave up everything for you. And do you know what you did to me? You took it, and you threw it away. You used me, Zuko, and then, when your pretty little toy was all worn out, you threw me away and found a new one."

"Mai, that's not-"

"But it is, Zuko. You know it is. To you, I was interesting, at first. I was pretty. I was someone who trusted you, and who you trusted. And then you got tired of me. You found somebody prettier, somebody who was flashier than me. And you just gave me up."

Zuko was completely unable to form words.

"Now look through my eyes for a minute. If you can. Here was this guy, this guy who understood why I was the way I was, and who didn't care. Who had been disfigured but I didn't care, I understood why you were that way, and I didn't care. He was nice, and I could trust him and I felt like he trusted me. I had built my life around him. I had made major decisions based on him, even when he didn't seem like he cared about me any more. And, one day, we had a little petty fight. That had happened before and it would happen again. Until I hear that the Fire Lord had been stuffing his tongue down some other girl's throat."

Mai delivered this entire story deadpan, without a hint of emotion. That wasn't exactly surprising, but for some reason it took Zuko off guard.

"I was broken. So I ran, left him with the information to follow me if he wanted to, or leave me if he didn't. It took him seven months for him to figure it out and show up. By which time I had decided I was and am still happier without him."

Zuko spent several seconds trying to remember how to form words. "Mai..."

"Good afternoon, Fire Lord Zuko."

Mai quietly turned around and headed back into her house, leaving Zuko dumbfounded on her doorstep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Five months?"

"That's what I said!"

"That's not fair. Not fair to you, not fair to him, not fair to anyone involved."

"I know."

Min was listening intently. "So what did you do?"

Aurora shrugged. "I made an appointment. Five months from today. I've waited this long, right?" She gave a sad smile. "I guess I'll just wait and see. Thanks for listening to me rant, by the way."

"Any time. I still think you should go back and give them a piece of your mind."

"I almost did. But you know, he's busy. I'd rather not bother him."

"That attitude isn't going to get you anywhere, you know."

"I know."

There was a space of silence.

"So what have you and Hiryu been doing?"

"Nothing much. Saving up."

"What for?"

"We're not really sure."

Aurora laughed. "Well, glad to see you two have made plans."

Min smiled.

There was another pause. "You sure you can wait that long?"

"Of course I can!" Aurora said. Min simply looked her. "Okay! So maybe I can't! But what am I supposed to do? Just waltz right in there and force them to let me in?" Another look. "You truly are a terrible influence. You know that right?" Silence. "Fine! I'll go! Just stop with that look."

Aurora got up from the table they were sitting at and swiftly walked down the street. Min smiled as she watched her golden hair disappear.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Sorry, ma'am. We already told you. You cannot see the Fire Lord until the date of your appointment. Then you will have one hour to speak with him."

Aurora stood in front of the man writing away on his scroll at his wooden desk. He was slightly old, he had hair that was grey and thinning. She had already spoken with two other men on the matter and each had said the exact same thing.

He continued the speech. Aurora got a mental image of a little script being handed out to each of these people every morning. "You should consider yourself lucky. Most people only get five minutes with him."

"Well I don't! I want to see the Fire Lord now! Is that too much to ask?"

The man sighed and looked up, removing his glasses. "Young lady, many claim that they know the Fire Lord personally. You deserve no special treatment. Just because you have a little crush on him doesn't mean you'll get to see him any sooner."

"A... What?" Aurora puffed up larger than a ticked off cat. "Listen buddy! I do know the Fire Lord, I do not have a little crush on him, and so help me, I had better see him!"

"Young lady, do I need to call security?"

"Go ahead and try!" she laughed. "I could firebend your sorry little butt to the courtyard and back!"

Now the man laughed. "Big talk." He laughed some more before freezing, staring at something behind Aurora.

"I'd listen to her if I were you. She really could."

Aurora spun around to see none other than Fire Lord Zuko standing there with an ever-so-slight smirk on his face. He seemed slightly taller than when she had last seen him. Which was a frightening thought, as she remembered how small she looked next to him before. She beamed and ran up to him, without thinking, and hugged him tightly.

"S-sir? You," the man gulped. "You know this girl?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen her in seven or so months."

Aurora couldn't help but childishly stick her tongue out at the stunned man. He turned an angry red before settling back in his chair. The girl smiled before realizing she was still hugging Zuko. She turned a bright pink and let go hastily.

"S-sorry about that," she managed.

"It's no big deal." He smiled and began to walk toward the main part of the building. Zuko stopped and turned around. "Aren't you coming, Rory?"

She nodded quickly and ran to catch up with him.

They were silent for a few moments.

"So, what are you doing here?"

Aurora blinked at the honest question. She had been lost in her own thoughts. "Huh?"

"I asked what you were doing here."

"Oh! Um..." What was she doing there? She had been so set on seeing him, so determined to tell him something. But now that she was here, Aurora couldn't remember anything. "Uh... I wanted to drop by and say hi," she finished lamely. Idiot.

"Just that?" To be honest, he was a little disappointed. "I see."

"Did you know the waiting list to see you is over five months long?" she asked incredulously. "You really need to do something about that. They also returned the letter I sent to you, saying something like you're not allowed to get direct mail or something."

He nodded. "I know. They know and I know and you know that I'm not the most popular person in the Fire Nation. And I have no relatives. No heirs. So they're... quite protective."

Aurora blushed at the word 'heirs,' and she didn't quite know why.

"I suppose that makes sense," she said. "But still. It's frustrating."

"I know," he said again. "Believe me, I know."

"You're doing a good job, though," Aurora said. "I mean, running the Fire Nation. Lots of people like you." She mentally slapped herself. That sounded so weird!

He shrugged. "There's still a lot of Ozai's supporters out there. They're listening to what their parents and grandparents tell them about the War, not what we have to say. Which is reasonable enough," he added. "But it's... challenging."

Aurora nodded, then finally decided she couldn't take this any more. "Why are you being so distant?" she demanded. "What happened to Ba Sing Sei? Or years and years ago? I just want to be friends, Zuko, I'm not asking for anything more than that." She stopped and turned to face him.

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now." He paused. "Aurora, do you want to come over later?"

Co... WHAT?

He said something else, but she wasn't listening. Her brain suddenly became a jumbled mess. It's just to talk, nothing else. It's nothing like that. He... He doesn't like you that way! You shouldn't think like that! Ew!

That 'h' word came to her mind again and she turned a bright pink.

"I... Huh?" she managed stupidly.

"Do you want to come over later for dinner or something? I'm just busy right now, there's a lot to do."

Something?

"D... Dinner sounds great!" See! Just dinner!

"All right. I'll contact you." He smiled. "You probably know the way out."

Aurora nodded. "I do. I mean- yeah, I'll talk to you later. Um, bye."

Crimson, she excused herself.

She stopped near the door. She had to ask. No matter how much the answer terrified her, she had to ask. Aurora turned around.

"Hey, Blaze?"

The Fire Lord stopped and turned around.

"How are things with you and-" She took a deep breath and forced the name out. "Mai?"

He looked at the ground and didn't speak for a moment. "She's still mad." He paused. "I think," he added.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It... It's not your fault." Zuko was slightly surprised at how easily the words came out. "I'll see you later." He turned and began walking again.

"Yeah," she said quietly, smiling when she was sure he couldn't see. "See you." Aurora walked out the door, beaming.

AN: Sorry if Mai was a little OOC. I tried to keep her in character, but I also wanted to show her motivations and a long internal monologue didn't seem interesting to me.

By the way, I know this is focusing more on the romance side of the story. Chapter 14 is almost entirely written now and we promise it focuses more on the main plot.

You want one more reason to review?

Today's Marissa's (my co-writer) birthday. This story was actually a birthday present to her, and here we are one year later.

So review for her!