Writer's Note: I have no idea. Don't even ask me. I think it's because I haven't written anything epic for Avatar yet. Sue me.

Warning: Takes place post-series and may contain spoilers.

The bite of the steel was sharp and cold. It was so surprising that no one had even seen it coming. Mai, of all people, would have bet that she should have seen it coming. And maybe some part of her had. After all, she suddenly had gotten the urge to lean over and whisper something to Zuko, blocking him from view with her body. She forgot now what it had been. Something important? Something about the meeting that had just dispersed?

"Huh…urgh…" the sound of discontent she had intended to make dragged out into a sort of horrible grating noise in her throat. Zuko jerked, turning to her quickly, his eyes wide and suddenly blazing with both fear and fury. When she staggered, her hands going to her left side, Zuko was on his feet and grabbing a hold of her to steady her. Something hot and thick coated her hands, followed a split second later by white-hot pain, so sudden that she shut her eyes and gritted her teeth.

Ah, some part of her mind concluded. Assassin. Of course it was.

"Mai?" Zuko was shouting it, his voice high with panic. She felt him shaking her, too roughly if she had an opinion about it. "Mai? Mai?"

"From the back!" Aang's voice suddenly shouted out. There was a sound of running feet, of rushing wind, and a few confused shouts and cries from the crowd of politicians. There was the sound of a grunt, someone uttering an extremely rude word, and then, shocked silence.

Or would-be silence. Zuko's harsh breathing filled her ears, and she could feel, under her cheek, that his heart was racing.

"Don't panic," she whispered, opening her eyes halfway. His face, she saw, was stained with tears, and he was shaking so hard she felt it in her bones. "Don't…panic, Zuko."

"Don't panic?" he echoed, his voice hysteric. "Don't panic?" A harsh laugh ripped from his throat, and a tear fell from his nose and on her cheek. "How can I not panic?"

Mai sighed, then wished she hadn't. It hurt to do that. She winced, then tried to attempt to roll her eyes at him. "You're…not supposed to," she answered. "Fire Lords don't panic."

"Got him, Zuko!" Aang's voice called out.

"I don't care!" Zuko snapped, his voice cracking. "Leave him, get a doctor! Get my uncle! Get Katara! Just…so help me, Aang, if Mai dies-,"

"You're panicking," Mai chastised, listening to Aang's flurried footsteps vanish from the room.

Zuko didn't answer. Carefully, he lay her on her back, clumsily shoving the hem of his gown into his mouth. With a jerk of his head, he tugged at it with his teeth, and after a few pulls (and a lot of cursing), he managed to free up a generous amount of cloth. He wadded it up with shaky hands, bunched it into one hand, and with the other he gently pulled Mai's away from her side, lifting up her shirt slowly. She hissed with pain but didn't make any other sound, knowing that it would just make it worse for him. With jerking moves, he pressed the wad of cloth down onto the wound, keeping his hands there and applying almost too much pressure.

"What…was it?" Mai wondered, closing her eyes for a moment.

A hand cupped her cheek, rubbing gently. "Open your eyes!" Zuko pleaded, and she did.

She repeated her question, and Zuko took a long time to answer, struggling to keep his panic buried. "Uh," he stammered. "Small knife. Clean through."

"Irony," she replied, trying to smile.

"Not funny," Zuko snapped, and she felt a little bad, but not enough to apologise. It was ironic, really. "Why'd you do that? I could have taken it! Why are you so stupid?"

Mai sighed, placing a hand on his knee gently, the part of him closest to her hand. "Didn't mean to. Accident."

"Shut up, don't talk," he snapped. He reached up again, this time using his thumb to wipe the blood away from her mouth and chin. She hadn't even felt it there and was surprised. What else can't I feel? On second thought, why can't I feel the pain anymore?

She opened her mouth to say something cutting in reply, but choked on something thick and annoying at the back of her throat. Zuko's hands went to her shoulders, gripping tight, his face a mask of raw and naked fear. "Mai," he whispered.

"Pressure," she choked out. He blinked, bemused for a moment, then it clicked and he nodded, his hands going back to her side.

The sound of returning footsteps seemed almost too loud for Mai's ears, as if her senses were suddenly razor-sharp. For some reason, the sound was soothing, almost like a heartbeat, and Mai could feel her eyes closing.

Zuko's hand, cold and clammy, was back on her cheek. "Eyes open!" he snapped, his voice cracking. "Keep your eyes open!"

"Don't panic…" Mai whispered sleepily, feeling heavy and out of it. She tried to, but couldn't, open her eyes again.

"Open your eyes, then!" Zuko pleaded. There was the sound of scuffling, and suddenly Mai felt the presence of two other people around her. There was the sound of sharp breathing, and a weird sound, like a ragged grating noise. It was a split second later that she realised that the sound was of her own breathing.

That can't be good.

"Zuko, move your hands, please," Katara's voice said gently. The pressure at Mai's side didn't ease at all, and she wanted to laugh. He's still panicking.

"She won't open her eyes," he answered, his voice choked. "I asked her to. She won't do it. She won't do it. Make her do it."

"Stop panicking," Mai muttered, her words slurred.

Cool fingers went to her throat, then to her forehead. "I understand you're scared," Katara's voice was calm, and gentle, but also firm. "But you need to move your hands so that I can help her."

"If she dies…"

"She won't if you move your hands."

Slowly, the pressure ceased from Mai's side, and she felt a strange tugging sensation, like a bandage being peeled away. Not an inappropriate comparison. There was the sound of sloshing water, a strange, vibrating noise, and then pain, like needles in her side. She jerked, her fingers clenching onto Zuko's knee, but she didn't utter more than a strangled mumble.

Soon, the sudden pain eased into a kind of numbing sensation, and she sighed, feeling her body relax. Her grip eased off of Zuko's knee, but Zuko snatched her hand up between his, holding it tight. She wanted to say something, but she was just so sleepy…

She heard him say her name, but then she slipped into comforting nothingness.

Mai woke up feeling horrible. She winced, struggling to open her eyes but not quite finding the motor skills for it yet. She felt sluggish, like she had heat stroke, and her side throbbed with each heartbeat. It was really, really annoying.

She stretched her fingers, first with her right hand, clenching them to get the blood into them. When she tried the same with the left, she found that she couldn't: something was blocking her fingers.

Don't panic, she thought to herself, although she couldn't help the horrible images from flooding into her mind, like, maybe I lost my hand somehow or is it caught in something?

Whatever held her hand tightened around her fingers and sent her heart into a flurry of racing. Her eyes snapped open finally, turning to the left, and quite suddenly her heart calmed, and she smiled faintly.

Zuko sat at her side, holding her hand to his lips, his eyes wide and brimming with tears. She tried to tighten her fingers around his hands, but he held them too tight. "Hello, Mai," he whispered, his breath hot against her skin.

She smiled wider, closing her eyes briefly in acknowledgment. Her throat felt sore, and too dry to use.

"You're okay," he whispered, his eyes closing tight, the tears spilling onto her hand. His voice was choked, and it seemed to Mai like he was trying to reassure himself.

She nodded, tugging a little on her hand, trying to get his attention. His eyes opened slowly, and with her free hand, she pantomimed drinking. To her delight, he went bright red, just as she had hoped; she loved calling attention to his silliness and making him feel bad about it. Just because she was injured didn't make it any less fun.

He carefully placed her hand at her side before reaching over to a table at her side, pouring a glass of water from a pitcher. Carefully, he helped her sit up, then proceeded to try and give it to her. She scowled at him, and he went even redder and just held out the glass. She took it and drank it down gratefully in one go.

Wiping her mouth, she gave the empty glass back to him. "Thanks," she said finally, her voice raspy. "Needed that."

Zuko stared at her, his face so sad that it almost broke her heart. He looked so haunted, so broken, that she reached up and cupped his face into her hands. He shut his eyes and leaned into her grasp, his hands going up to her forearms and holding tight.

"I told you not to panic," she scolded softly. "I'm fine."

Zuko shook his head slowly. "My fault," he whispered.

Mai duh her fingers into his cheeks, forcing him to wince and jerk away. Rubbing his cheeks, he frowned at her, but she merely smiled. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice flat. "Did you ask that guy to throw a knife at you?"

Zuko's face went pink. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Did you ask me to lean over? Did you ask that your people should be whiny little idiots who can't resolve anything other than by throwing things at each other?"

He made a face. She could tell that he wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"The answer is no, Zuko," she sighed, rolling her eyes and leaning back onto the pillows that propped her up. "Oh, how I wish my boyfriend was smarter."

"But…" Zuko wasn't looking at her. His hands were on his lap, his fingers tangling into themselves. "If I hadn't asked you to come…"

"You'd be dead," she snapped, getting frustrated. His head jerked up, his eyes wide. "I was standing, you idiot. You were sitting. I got it on the side. Which was level with your head."

The colour left his face just as suddenly as it had appeared. He swallowed, hard, the reality of what could have happened hitting him like a club over the head.

Rolling her eyes, she reached over and shoved a finger up his nose. He yelped and batted her hand away, making squeaking noises of indignation. She laughed suddenly.

I adore you, she thought tenderly. You take yourself way too seriously, but when faced with it, you're still the biggest dweeb in the Fire Nation.

"Mai!" he whined, as if sensing her thoughts. "Don't do that!"

"I want more water," she replied calmly.

Zuko was quick to comply, and she drank it to his silence, relishing in how good it was and how underestimated water was.

When she was finished, Zuko surprised her. He took the glass away, set it back down on the table, and got up, sitting back down right beside her on the small cot. His eyes never left hers, and despite the situation, she felt her heart racing in attraction for him. With feather-light fingers, he reached up and touched her cheek, tracing her features slowly.

"You scared me," he whispered, his eyes wavering again. Mai bit her lip, reaching out and cupping his face in her hands again. Something in him seemed to sudden crumple, and he just…leaned in and grabbed onto her, his arms sliding around her waist, his face buried into her neck.

She hissed a little, his arm jarring her still-tender side a bit, but when he moved to pull away she tugged him back, hard, sliding her arms around him and reaching up stroke his hair. Her neck was soon wet with his tears, and she kissed the top of his head softly, her own eyes stinging, just a bit.

There was a long silence, broken by Zuko's occasional sniffles or coughs. Then his hands reached up, one going to her back, the other to the back of her head. Mai's eyes opened slowly, and before she knew it or could even focus, she felt his lips on her neck, his teeth grazing her skin lightly, and she shut her eyes, shivering. His hold tightened, and suddenly she understood. Gently, she pulled him away from her neck and kissed him on the lips, long and deep. He clung to her, kissing back so hard it took her breath away.

A few stray tears fell on her cheeks, but by then, she wasn't sure whose they were. He pressed closer, and she held him tight. This was a kiss of life, of relief, and of the impact of what could have happened, rather than what really had.

Zuko pulled away, getting up only to lock the door from the inside. Then, he was back at her side, in her arms, and she fell into it, comforting as well as being comforted, relishing in being alive, and not alone in it.

Later, Mai lay awake. Zuko dozed in her arms, his face pillowed on her chest. She was tired, and her side was a little sore, but the blankets were warm and so was Zuko, so she didn't care. She looked down at him and smiled a little, her fingers sliding through his shaggy hair. He looked so relaxed in his sleep, so different than how he looked when awake.

Belatedly, as she felt her eyelids droop with her own fatigue, she realised that, in a way, she had been the one panicking, not just him. She had been so eager to calm him down, in a way, her own gestures were jerky and panicky at best.

And, she thought, her eyes closed, sighing deeply, probably wasn't being calm that has us falling asleep here.

There were two kinds of panic, she thought sleepily. The one that Zuko had shown when she had been hurt; that raw, screaming, unbridled fear and anguish.

And then there was the second one, the one that they had shared together; that desperate, clinging kind of panic that made one think of time lost, of fleeting moments, and of hope that another day is coming, despite the situation.

Maybe that kind isn't so bad, was her last thought, before she, too, fell into a tired slumber next to Zuko.