Warning: Occurs four years post-series and contains spoilers. It also references the fic "Don't Panic".

It had been a really good day, Mai had thought.

Three years had passed with some hints of trouble, popping up here and there with little to no reason, but ones that never got too far out of hand (Mai never counted the assassination attempt that almost killed her – as far as she was concerned, the fact that she hadn't died was a victory).

The weather wasn't too hot for their friends, and they were visiting without much complaint or discomfort. Ember Island was a familiar haunting ground for them all, having spent a collective time period together in some way shape or form on the sandy beaches. Together, as a group, it felt like home, like a family, really.

Aang was taking turns chasing Momo in the air and taking dives at Katara, who was submerged in the deep end of the water and refused to come out no matter how many times Aang flew past her with laughter.

Toph sat a few feet away from the beach, her toes occasionally getting wet, her fingers exploring some random part of her body (her nose, now). The Duke was sitting behind her, and she used him as a sort of prop, leaning on him with her arm across her stomach. He looked thrilled with this arrangement, despite Toph's occasional attempts at showing him what she dug up.

Suki and Sokka were both in the water, taking turns daring each other in stupid and probably dangerous endeavours if it had been anyone else. Ty Lee, who was gravitating between them and Mai and Zuko, would occasionally egg them on, suggesting even worse things for them to do (which thrilled Sokka).

Zuko and Mai were under the canopy. Zuko had his head in Mai's lap, dozing. These days, even the slightest activity left him exhausted, and any kind of break was a relief. Mai stroked his hair lazily, dozing on and off herself, the hot air and sunshine making her sleepy.

Sokka suddenly ran up to them, soaking wet and looking thrilled. "Hey, guys," he said, forcing both Mai and Zuko to wake up and open their eyes. "We're going into town to grab some food; you up for anything?"

"Ugh, yes," Zuko groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm starving. Get me anything spicy and meaty."

"Make it two," Mai agreed.

Sokka nodded. He waved over to Suki, who was yanking her arm free of an overly enthusiastic (and thus entirely suspicious) Ty Lee. Together, taking turns trying to land hits on each other, the two ran around the bend and disappeared from sight. Ty Lee shortly followed, shouting out protests.

"Those two are so weird," Zuko muttered, his hands on Mai's thigh and his cheek pressed against her skin. "Are they ever getting married?"

"It's not for everyone, you judgemental idiot," Mai replied calmly, tugging at his hair. "I only agreed to it because you whined too much about it. It was the only way to shut you up and get some peace."

Zuko looked up at her with a scowl. "You proposed to me," he answered.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Details. I merely did it to shut you up."

Zuko smirked. "You did not."

Mai felt her cheeks redden. Even after all of this time, he still had the ability to make her feel like a love-sick pre-teen all over again. "Whatever," she answered.

Zuko chuckled, turning onto his back and getting comfortable again, closing his eyes and flinging an arm over his face. "Wake me when the food gets here."

"No," Mai answered, but of course she would. She always did.

She watched her friends play, feeling that far away part of her reel in surprise. She had friends, real friends, and they didn't care about her past, but how she was now.

Toph had just finished cleaning out her ear and was holding up her finger to The Duke for him to examine. He made a groaning noise and pushed her hand away, bringing a laugh from her.

Aang swooped down on Katara a final time, as when he got close, she suddenly leapt up and grabbed him around his waist. With a scream, he was dragged under the water with her while she laughed in triumph. Momo squawked in shock and veered away, trying to avoid getting splashed.

Zuko started snoring lightly, his chest rising and falling underneath her hand with his breaths. She closed her eyes, relishing in the sound, loving every sound he made.

It was a really good day.

"Back!" Sokka's voice dragged her out of a sleep she hadn't realised she was in. "The service was really fast, too!" He tossed them something wrapped in heat foil, first to her, then to Zuko, who sat up like lightning to grab it. Sokka then started making rounds, tossing out food to his friends (including Aang and Katara, who had finally washed up on the beach arm-in-arm, soaking wet, and laughing).

"Oh, man," Zuko murmured, his voice muffled by his food. "This is so amazing. I haven't tasted anything this good in...ever."

Mai started peeling the paper off of hers. "If you like it, I guess it's okay," she replied.

She was about to take a bite when a shout rose up from Aang. He lunged out and slapped Katara's food out of her hands, then did the same for both Toph and The Duke. "Stop, stop!" he shouted, his voice high with sudden panic. "Don't eat it!"

Mai's mouth went dry, and her gut clenched. Wordlessly, her eyes met Zuko's, who looked frozen. In his hands was an empty wrapper.

Aang rushed over, his face pale. "Don't eat it!" he repeated, yanking Mai's out of her hand. "Momo smelled something in it; I think it's poisoned!"

Mai felt all of the blood leave her face, just as Zuko dropped the wrapper like it was on fire. He looked confused, like he couldn't quite understand what had just happened.

"No," Aang murmured, his eyes wide. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't."

"I was starving," Zuko said, his eyes fixed on the wrapper on the ground.

Mai stared at him, her eyes wide. "Zuko," she whispered.

He looked up slowly, like he was sleepy. His eyelids fluttered a little. "I feel strange," he admitted, his voice cracking a little. "Something's...wrong..."

"Katara!" Aang's voice was almost a shriek. The older girl ran under the canopy, her own face pale with fear. "What is it?" she wondered, before her eyes fell first on Zuko, then on the empty food wrapper.

Zuko's eyes seemed to darken, going blank. "I feel..." he put a hand to his head, gritting his teeth. "I feel...sick...I feel...I think I...Mai...?" His hand dropped and his eyes closed. Without any other sound, he just fell, like a stone, on his side.

"Zuko!" His name ripped from her throat, and before she could even get a grip, she shoved both Aang and Katara away and grabbed Zuko up in her arms, cradling his head against her and holding him close to her chest. His hands reached up and clutched onto her arm, his fingernails digging in, and his face was a mask of pure pain and confusion.

Hold on, she thought desperately. Hold on. I'm holding you, like you held me. I'm here...hold on.

"Do something," Mai snapped, her eyes on Katara. She knew it wasn't fair, and she knew that they were just as scared as she was, but all she could feel was Zuko's fingers digging into her arm, hear his gasps that seemed to come from deep in his chest, see how ashen his complexion was and how already he was losing his grip on consciousness, and she didn't care if she was rude if it meant saving him.

Why isn't it a good day anymore?

She leaned in and held Zuko close, closing her eyes tight. She ignored everything around her, pressing her face into Zuko's damp hair, her fingers clutching at him almost too hard. "Hold on," she whispered into his ear. "Hold on, baby. Hold on."

Slowly, she felt him nod once, his fingers slackening a little before digging in again, and the tears she had been fighting to swallow and bury sprung free. And she sobbed, unable to hold it in.

You're dying, you're dying, don't die on me, please don't die on me, hold on, hold on, hold on!

Around her, she heard the distant voices of her friends, faint murmurs amidst the sounds of Zuko's harsh breathing and occasional murmurs of pain. She heard the words, "poison" and "purging plant" and "find out who it was". She also heard the words, "I know exactly who it was, and he won't know what hit him," coming from Suki, and for some reason, it comforted her, even as her lover, her best friend, her husband lay dying in her arms as she slowly rocked him in her panic.

A cool hand on her shoulder suddenly forced Mai to look up, right into Katara's bright blue eyes. In the other hand, she held out a handful of purple, mottled plants. "He needs to chew this," she said, her voice stern. "You need to help him."

Mai took the plant, her other arm holding Zuko close. She leaned in and whispered, "You need to eat this disgusting plant so that you can puke and gross us all out, okay?" Her voice was thick, and barely understandable, and her vision was obscured with her tears, but she was beyond caring.

Zuko nodded again, once, and a flicker of a smile graced his lips for a split second, almost like a twitch.

It was slow work. Zuko not only had trouble chewing, but he had trouble swallowing, and choked a couple of times on the leaves before he was able to swallow a few mouthfuls. In moments, his body was wracked in convulsions, and Mai held him on his side, supporting him through it, even when the last of it became dry heaves.

When the last of it was out, Zuko lay shivering on his side, his hands under his chin, his legs curled up. Mai wrapped him in a blanket that Aang offered to her, then leaned in beside him, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his arms slowly. She rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed, and she said nothing, nothing at all. Gradually, his shudders stopped, too, and soon he was sleeping, really sleeping, and Mai found herself breathing once more.

"Mai."

She didn't move.

"Mai?"

She clung closer, feeling herself shivering, now, feeling her eyes burn and her lips tremble. Still she didn't move. She didn't open her eyes.

"Mai..."

And then she felt arms around her. Ty Lee's. She buried her face deeper into Zuko's shoulder, unable to smother the sobs from her throat. Ty Lee rubbed her back slowly, telling her that it was okay, and Zuko was alive, but she didn't hear it. All she could hear was the bewilderment in Zuko's voice when he said the words, "I was starving..."

Zuko would be fine. They confirmed it later, when one of the healers in town came to the estate to examine him. It had been close, but Katara's quick thinking and initiative saved him. He needed sleep, lots of fluids, and more sleep. In a few days, he would be fine.

Suki had been true to her word. Not only had she found the would-be murderer, but she had managed to incapacitate him and drag him to the local courthouse. When he protested, they searched him, only to find evidence of his crime. That seemed to open some kind of floodgate, as the man was quick to shout that Zuko was a fool and a weakling and that anyone who followed him was the same.

Apparently most of the Fire Nation was full of fools and weaklings, because he was quickly incarcerated.

Some distant part of Mai thought that it was really kind of funny, if she looked at it hard enough. First it had been her that was the lump in the bed, with Zuko at her side. Now it was reversed. Funny, sort of.

Except not at all. Except so completely not. Mai quickly realised that some things in life were just not funny. Like Zuko's first Agni Kai. Like being abandoned by him. Like realising that everything she was fighting for was the wrong thing to do. Like betraying her best friend. Like being stabbed in the guts.

Yeah, not funny.

She and Zuko were alone, in the largest room of the newly refurbished summer home of the Royal Family. Zuko was, of course, sleeping, not only from his exhaustion but also because he had been given something to make him sleep (the healers know their Lord all too well). Mai lay next to him, curled up at his side, holding him so close that no space came between their bodies. Her eyes were open, staring at nothing, and occasionally, silently, they would fill, spill over, and close tight, only to do so again a moment later.

Mai was a very private person when it came to grief. Her friends, however, weren't. They needed to shout, to brainstorm, to talk out their feelings and worries and emotions and make plans and solutions.

Mai wasn't like that. In fact, that kind of thing repelled her. When things like this happened, she needed to be alone, to grieve, to speculate, to stew, but by herself, because she was the only one she trusted with those kinds of naked, intimate feelings.

Well, maybe not the only one...

She closed her eyes, one last time, as she drifted off, exhaustion claiming her, as well. That was also part of her own defence.

She woke to the feel of familiar fingers stroking her hair slowly. She opened her eyes and looked up, only to find Zuko already looking at her, in his achingly wonderful and lopsided way. He smiled a little. She smiled back.

"Hi," she whispered, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek.

"Hey," he replied. "I feel like shit."

She laughed quietly, slipping her arms around his waist and hugging him tight. He hugged back, and she closed her eyes and breathed, really breathed, for the first time since the whole mess started. "You look like it, too," she replied softly.

"Thanks, Mai, that really helps." His voice was rich with sarcasm, and it made her stomach clench in a way that made her suddenly think, we're okay, we're going to be okay. I can breathe, now.