Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the song "Sue Me" from Guys & Dolls, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.
Author's Note: After seeing The Boiling Rock, I got thinking about this song and thought it would make a good extended/alternate scene between Zuko and Mai.
Sue Me
You
promise me this,
You promise me that.
You promise me anything
under the sun,
Then you give me a kiss,
And you're grabbing
your hat,
And you're off to the races again.
"'Dear Mai,'" Mai began reading aloud. "'I'm sorry to leave you like this.'"
"I'm sorry, Mai." Zuko already knew what was in the letter; he didn't need to hear his own words thrown back at him like an accusation. "I never meant to hurt you."
"Oh, you didn't?" she challenged. "What did you expect me to feel when I read this?"
"I…I don't know." In truth, he hadn't been certain she'd feel anything. It was so difficult to tell with her. Even when she'd broken up with him on Ember Island, it had been so casual, as though she were merely rejecting one option on a dinner menu.
"I thought you were home to stay. I never would have taken up with you if I'd thought you were just going to run off again on some fool's errand!"
"Wouldn't you?" Zuko asked quietly. It was an honest question; he really wanted to know.
When I think of
the time gone by,
And I think of the way I tried,
I could
honestly die!
Mai did not respond directly. She just stood there, gazing at him helplessly. Only her eyes revealed the emotional struggle within as she tried to answer that question for herself. Zuko understood, as it was similar to the battle he'd fought with himself when he'd left her.
"I can't believe you did this to me," she said finally, throwing the letter violently aside for emphasis. "Why couldn't you have faced me like a man to tell me we were through?"
"I was afraid," he admitted, his eyes never leaving hers. "Afraid I would change my mind." Maybe he was also slightly afraid of those ready knives of hers, but it didn't seem appropriate to mention that right now. He watched as she tried to work out what he meant. When she did, it actually seemed to make her more angry.
Call a
lawyer and sue me, sue me,
What can you do me?
I love you.
Give
a holler and hate me, hate me,
Go ahead, hate me -
I love you.
"I hate you!" she burst out. "How can you…you make me so…ugh!" This show of passion was the greatest Zuko had yet seen from her. Honestly, it was quite attractive.
"I know, and I don't blame you," he sighed. It had just occurred to him that she was the second girl to tell him she hated him within the past couple of weeks. Given that they both had vastly different reasons for their feelings, he could only conclude it was something innately part of him that caused such a violent reaction. "I just did what I thought I had to do."
"How can you sit there so calmly and just let me yell at you?" she demanded. It was an excellent question. Not that long ago, he'd lost his temper all too frequently. Maybe it was the peace of finally choosing the correct path that made him feel so placid. Like his uncle always seemed.
"I denied you the chance to do this before. You have every right to vent."
The best years of
my life
I was a fool to give to you!
-Alright, already, I'm
just a no-goodnick,
-Alright, already, it's true.
-So
new?
-So sue me, sue me,
-What can you do me?
-I love you.
"Three years," Mai announced. "I waited for you for three years!"
"You didn't have to."
"Yes, I did. Not that I expect you to understand that," she spat. She paced slowly about the room, her burst of rage apparently having dissipated. "Did you ever care about me at all?"
"If I didn't, I would have tried to take you with me," he answered with a sad, half-smile.
"I don't understand."
"I know." Until this point, Zuko had remained seated, allowing Mai to retain the position of dominance. Now, though, he rose and tentatively took a few steps in her direction. "I hated leaving you, but I had to. I've found the path I'm meant to follow. It's the right thing."
You gamble it
here
You gamble it there,
You gamble on everything,
All
except me,
And I'm sick of you leaving me
Up in the air
Till
you're back in the money again.
"I can't do this anymore, Zuko," said Mai, shaking her head. "I never blamed you for your exile; it wasn't really your fault. But this was your decision. You betrayed your family and your country, and you left me. I love you, but I can't go on like this." Her words struck Zuko more forcefully than he would have expected, and it was suddenly very important for her to understand what he was doing.
"Can you even imagine what the world would be like without war?" he asked softly. "It's been going on our entire lives, the lives of our parents. That's why Aang is different. Talking with him makes you realize that there's another way. He remembers when everyone got along, when the Fire Nation wasn't feared and hated. Doesn't that sound better?"
"The war will be over when we conquer the rest of the world, bring them under our banner," she insisted, as though reciting. He recognized the same reasons Firelord Sozin had given for his vision of world domination, and he now saw its vanity. The Fire Nation indoctrination schools and tutors had certainly done their job well. "We can all live in peace together again."
When
I think of the time gone by,
And I think of the way I tried,
I
could honestly die!
"It will never be over," Zuko shook his head. "Don't you see? The most basic yearning in all people is to be free. As long as we try to force others to be like us and impose our rule using fear and oppression, there will always be rebellion, always those fighting for their independence."
Mai stared at him in undisguised astonishment. She backed away from him as though afraid that he had something contagious. At last, she found her voice.
"How can you say these things?" she demanded. "Who are you?"
"I think you know that better than I do. I'm still finding out. Didn't you ever wish you could find out who you were, away from other people's expectations?" Of all people, he thought she would understand this. She'd always had to be the perfect, quiet girl her parents wanted, but that wasn't what he saw in her. Mai paced around a few moments more before planting her feet and facing him again.
Serve
a paper and sue me, sue me,
What can you do me?
I love
you.
Give a holler and hate me, hate me,
Go ahead, hate me -
I
love you!
"How long?" she asked. "How long will it be this time?"
"The comet comes in six weeks," Zuko told her solemnly. "If the Avatar wins, the entire world will change, and I should be able to come home. If he loses--"
"If the Firelord wins, you mean," Mai snapped, obviously unwilling to let go of all of her illusions yet.
"If Aang loses, I won't ever be able to come back. I'll be an outcast and a traitor forever."
"I don't understand you at all. Why are you doing this? I thought we might finally have a future together."
"So did I. But Mai, you knew I wasn't happy. I wasn't myself. Uncle was always right, and if I'd just listened to him sooner…" he trailed off. "It's the Avatar's job to bring balance back to the world, and it's my job to help him. It's that simple."
When you wind up
in jail,
Don't come to me to bail you out!
-Alright, already,
so call a policeman,
-Alright, already, it's true.
-So
new?
-So sue me, sue me,
-What can you do me?
-I love you.
"Simple? What's simple about that?" Mai returned, looking more perplexed than ever. "I sort of understand the Avatar having a job to do, but why you?"
"Because I'm not just the son of the Firelord. I'm also the great-grandson of the Avatar."
"What?"
"My mother was – is – Avatar Roku's granddaughter." Zuko didn't know if Ursa was still alive, but he preferred to believe that. For several heartbeats, nothing could be heard in the room except the ambient prison noise from beyond the door.
"I liked your mother," admitted Mai quietly.
"I'm the only one who can do this. The seeds of balance and conflict both run through me. I'm the key to uniting the Avatar and the Firelord again, to getting them both on the same path."
You're at it
again,
You're running the game;
I'm not gonna play second
fiddle to that,
And I'm telling you now that we're through!
"You really believe all of this, don't you?" Mai sounded resigned, and Zuko knew he'd made progress. He hadn't won her over to his way of thinking, but she was at least accepting his decision. "So what do you expect me to do?"
"I don't expect anything," he replied honestly. "I've made my choice, but you have choices, too. You can leave me in here to rot. You can go back to Azula or your parents. You can turn me over to the Firelord."
"The Firelord?" Mai interrupted sharply. "He's not your father anymore?"
"He gave me life," Zuko acknowledged. "But who should I see as a father, the man who burned and later tried to kill me when I questioned him, or the one who supported me when I least deserved it?"
When
I think of the time gone by,
And I think of the way I tried,
I
could honestly die!
"He tried to kill you?" Mai looked truly surprised. Zuko felt his mouth twist into a wry smile.
"So he didn't tell you that part? Or maybe she didn't."
"I could help you escape," Mai mused after a pause, as though it were only idle conjecture.
"You could also run a knife through me," Zuko pointed out. Although no knives were visible, he knew she had several on her at the moment. She always did.
"I could."
"Mai, whatever happens, whatever you decide, I do love you."
Mai nodded almost imperceptibly before calling to the guard to let her out. Once she was gone, Zuko sank into the one chair in his cell. He didn't know what her decision would be, but he wanted her to be free to make it. Now there was nothing to do but wait.
Sue me, sue
me,
Shoot bullets through me!
I love you!
--
Author's Note: I made up the six weeks, based on an estimate of how much time it's been since the Summer Solstice.
Review responses:
airnaruto45: Thanks for the warning. I don't understand people who have nothing better to do than flame people.
Vanille Strawberry: Yes, I think I read that one of yours. The idea for the last chapter had already formed before I read it, but I did notice some similarities in the interaction between the characters.
Kumai290: Thank you. I enjoyed doing it.
Magnumus: Okay, now I understand. Welcome back!