here's another prompt from Sexy Maiko Week... try as i might, i really cannot do sexy... i try to do fluff though... =)
there's a part here that might look a little confusing and for that i give you a heads up... i tried to use Mai's name to separate the "her" in the story (although it's easy enough to know who she is) but i just wanted to maintain that certain feel in the story...
the last part was generally supposed to be a flashback for Zuko while waiting for Mai, but i decided to just put it before ending this one-shot... and by doing that, it may seem to stand on its own...
i'll see if i can do another prompt tomorrow... this one was supposed to be written in half an hour but it took me more than that (way more than that)... but tomorrow's a weekend so i'll see what i can do...
for this one, i used the prompt Danger
The hallway was dimly lit and anyone walking through it could almost feel whatever positive emotions they have in them been slowly sucked away, with depression gradually seeping in. The walls were lined with evenly distanced fire torches and every so often, Mai could see a guard suddenly standing to attention as she walked closer to her intended room. They were not expecting her; they never did. After all, who would even think of visiting a fallen princess?
Zuko was already in her chambers when she walked in. She expected just as well; ever since she was travelling back to the Fire Nation Capitol. The setting sun was enough to tell her that Zuko would have been done with his meeting by the time she arrived at the palace. She wanted to beat him to it and pretend that she was not even away but she knew whatever she do, Zuko would eventually know about it. She never really intended to keep any secrets from him.
"I'll tell them to prepare our dinner." Zuko announced as soon as she closed the door. He was seating on the edge of her bed as if pondering what he was about to say and settled with the simplest one. "Do you want it here at the balcony or in the garden?"
"The garden will be fine." Mai answered simply. She placed a quick kiss to Zuko's lips and immediately pulled away before he was able to place his arms around her. "I'll just take a quick bath and I will see you there."
"It's okay. I'll wait for you here." Zuko said before walking towards the door to call for the servants. However, after a few steps, he turned back and called out to Mai who was in the process of removing the ribbons on her hair. Although Mai had not removed any part of her clothing yet, Zuko had breathe in a lungful of air before he was able to continue what he was about to say. "Do... do you want me to heat the water for you?"
"I'll make use of the things they built for that purpose today." Mai replied, without giving time for any thought. She would have said yes any other time, but tonight, she'd rather be alone when she took her bath. She noticed how Zuko looked disappointed at this and quickly tried to justify her refusal. "You had a long day, Zuko. You should rest for tonight."
Zuko smiled to acknowledge her concern and nodded before turning around to call for the servants. Mai, on the hand, continued to walk inside the bathroom before disrobing. She heard Zuko talk to the servant, instructing them of what they should do and where they should do it. Mai felt a certain need to sigh at how Zuko was addressing his servants. Although he is the Fire Lord, he never sounded commanding or intimidating when it comes to them. Sometimes she wonders if that kind of attitude was something somebody can inherit or something that can be learned.
After finally ridding herself of the layers of clothing she wore, she lithely walked to small contraption located near the rock formation where the bath water was gathered and with a few push and pulls, the water began heating up. She rarely uses the device - only when Zuko was not around - however, she had already figured out the fastest way to have the right amount of heat for taking a relaxing bath; the thing she needed the most right now. As soon as her body was immersed in the heated bath water, Mai's thought were shifted to her journey that day.
Mai sat on the lone chair facing the person who right now was looking more like a pauper instead of a princess. Her hair was shorter; cut right up to the edge of her ears and the few strands of her uneven, sticky bangs were covering most of her face. Her clothes may have been decent once, but right now they were of a sickly color, with stains Mai didn't even want to know what they're made of and her feet were bare but somehow they managed to keep what part of her legs that were exposed to be scratch-free. Her hands were covered in what seems to be fire-resistant material and Mai thought that her foot may have been bound in one as well. They said that her bending would come out every so often but she was unable to generate it at will anymore.
"Mai." Her voice was never the same since the last time Mai saw her. What once was full of confidence was now sounding like a hollow voice coming from underneath. "Come to see if your friend is doing okay?"
Mai stared at her as her lips moved, the only part of her face that Mai can clearly see. It formed a nasty smile as she finished her question and Mai felt a certain jolt to her veins.
"Ty Lee said that you might be lonely and she was afraid that you're being mistreated. I just wanted to see for myself before I tell her she's wrong" It was half true. Mai didn't want to lie.
"Ty Lee..." Mai saw her hands moved and Mai wanted nothing more than to move her own hands to feel the steal beneath her sleeves. But Mai had learned from many didactic journeys with her that rising up to bait will only mean that you have already lost half the battle.
"I also wanted to see if you're sane enough to tell me the group of people you consider were very loyal to your father." Mai saw her smirk and Mai could almost feel her eyebrows wanting to move to a frown. But Mai didn't let them and maintained a straight face. Mai had enough practice and knows how to keep her breathing normal.
"Is Zuzu having problems already?"
"Do you think he should be?"
- Give no answers, only ask the questions. -
"But you wanted to know if somebody's out to harm your helpless boyfriend?"
"I distinctly remember only saying that I wanted to see for myself if you are in your right mind to give me names of people who you think were loyal to your father. I haven't asked any questions."
- Let them think it was their idea to allow them to give you the answers. -
"And you think I would just give it to you like that? What would I get in return?" This time the smirk turned to a full grin. She slowly raised her head to face Mai and look Mai straight in the eyes.
"Honestly, I don't even know if you are not crazy to tell me anything truthful."
- Do not let them know anything of importance. Do not give them anything to hold against you. -
She started with a chuckle. Her shoulders began moving and Mai could feel an impending crazy laughter about to erupt. Mai gave out an audible sigh and not a second later, a deafening cackle could be heard filling the room.
"You've learned well, Mai." Her voice was louder now and Mai could see her hands moving farther apart. From the corner of Mai's eyes, Mai could see the guards making their way to subdue her. "You better tell dear Zuzu that his reign will be short. They will definitely make their move and have him killed. Him and his friends, including the Avatar. The Fire Nation would again reign supreme over the entire world and reinstate the rightful ruler to be the Fire Lord. You can say goodbye to whatever peace you hold so dear now, for it will not last long."
- Just wait and they will eventually tell you what you need to know. And they wouldn't even know it. -
Mai stood and watched the guards grab unto her arms and waist to drag her off the room. Mai could still see her eyes full of anger as she screams at Mai through the shoulders of the guards trying to control her movements. She continued to laugh and shout and Mai could still feel the tension building all over her body at the information she got.
Mai thought that this journey was worth every bit of it.
Mai felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes to look at Zuko. Despite the smile on his face, Mai could tell that he was worried.
"You'll start to wrinkle if you stay in the bath too long." Zuko joked and Mai twisted her body to face him, splashing water to the edge of the rock to drop on the floor. She wrapped her hands on the nape of his neck to pull him into a long kiss.
When they pulled apart, Zuko had a cheeky grin on his face and Mai felt thankful to see such a smile and know that smile was because and was for her.
Zuko stood to grab a towel by the bathroom closet and handed it to Mai before walking off to exit the bathroom. Mai gracefully walked out of the bath, with her hair leaving a trail of water, soaking the bathroom floor. She grabbed another towel for her hair and proceeded into drying off her body.
Zuko was lazily lying on the bed when she got out of the bathroom and Mai noticed that he was drawing her name on the air using fire from his fingertips. She let a smile escape her lips before walking her way to her closet for a change of clothes.
"As much as I would like to say that writing my name in fire is cute, I really don't want my bed to end up in flames." Mai casually stated while shuffling through her clothes. She picked one and began putting them on before turning to look over her shoulders at Zuko.
"Since when did you think anything I do is cute?" Zuko said, still carefully drawing the last stroke of Mai's name.
"I'll have you know that even though there's a lot of things I don't say, that doesn't mean I don't think it." Finished with her clothes, she walked towards the edge of the bed to nudge Zuko on his knee. "Now stop that and help me dry my hair."
With a wave of Zuko's hands, he gathered the fire in the shape of the completed Mai's name and closed his hands to extinguish it. Mai handed him the towel and he followed her as she walked towards her dresser and sat down on the chair. As soon as she was seated and her hair was all pulled to flow over the back of the chair, Zuko began slowly running the towel to her hair.
Although Zuko would never admit it, he loved helping Mai with her hair. He loved running his hands through her silky black tresses that even though he was doing this for her, he was also doing this for himself.
"Mai." Zuko began. Mai only hummed in response. "Did you ever think of cutting your hair short? Like how it was when we were younger?"
Mai thought for a moment and she absentmindedly reached for a few strand of her hair and see how long it has been. She looked in the mirror and saw Zuko waiting for her answer. "Do you want me to?" Zuko shook his head and Mai flipped the hair back, letting Zuko reach for it to place it back along with the rest of her hair. "I don't see why I should cut it. I can always have you dry it for me."
Zuko smiled and continued to run the towel back and forth, careful to not put too much pressure on it to avoid damaging it. He looked at the mirror and saw Mai arranging her daggers, neatly packing it before placing some of it to her drawer. She left a few daggers on the table and began strapping them into her forearms, one at a time. Mai looked up to see Zuko looking intently at her and finally noticing the way his lips form a thin line.
"We're taking our dinner in the garden. We cannot take any chances."
Zuko nodded and looked away from her.
"Tell me Mai." He paused, thinking of what better way to word his question. Something to make it sound like he just wants to know and not because he knows something. "Is there anything I can do to stop you from making thesesecretive travels?"
Mai continued to strap on her daggers and answered without looking at Zuko. "They're not secretive, Zuko, if you already know about it."
Zuko wanted to slap his palm on his forehead but managed to stop himself. "I mean, why do you need to visit Azula alone? Can't you wait till I'm free so we can go together?"
"Remember your advisors? If I wait for you, it'll be years till we even get to see her again."
Zuko's hand stopped moving and Mai felt his breath as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Why would you even want to see her?"
"Friendship?" Mai raised her eyebrow and looked in the mirror again to see his reflection. Sure enough, Zuko's facial expression changed from bothered to surprised. "Ty lee asked me." This time, she was almost certain that Zuko might be trying out different facial expression since his just changed to looking somewhat calm. "And to get some information."
"Like what?" Now, Zuko's expression changed again. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows almost met, if he had a left eyebrow.
"Look Zuko, I'm hungry. Can we talk about this after dinner?" Mai secured the last dagger and made a move to get up. "I think my hair's dry enough."
Zuko looked on as Mai deftly tied her hair to a single bun, not a hair out of place. He placed the towel on top of the dresser and moved around the chair to stand next to Mai. He placed his hands on her shoulder and gently turned her to face him and waited till her eyes met his.
"Is there anything I can do to stop you from putting yourself in danger because of me?" Zuko's eyes were full of worry and Mai could just feel his eyes boring a hole to hers. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't look away.
"You know I can take care of myself." She retaliated. She placed her left hand on top of his hand on her right shoulder and gave it a mild squeeze.
"I know." Zuko turned his hands to hold Mai's and covered it with his other hand. He held onto it, while his gaze never left hers. "But that doesn't mean I would like to see you do things that could harm you. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't do anything to protect you."
"Zuko..." Mai placed her other hand to overlap his and she had to look away from his stare. Things are getting too emotional and she's being dragged along with it. If she didn't do anything about it, they'd be going on all night about how they need to protect each other and how much they cared for each other. As much as Mai adored that about Zuko, sometimes being emotional can only get in the way of the more important things.
Mai tapped at Zuko's hand and when she looked back at him, she had a smile on her face. This threw Zuko off and his eyes turned dubious.
"If anything happens to me, I'll make sure that you know who to take it out on. Unless of course, I beat you to it."
Zuko's lip turned to a frown and he moved his hand to enable him to pull Mai into his embrace. His hug was comfortable but it was so sudden that Mai almost gave out a yelp when she was shoved into his arms.
"You know that doesn't even make me feel better." He murmured to her hair. Mai's face turned serious and her arms found their way to his back to pull him closer.
"I know." Mai's voice was muffled but Zuko was able to hear her. Mai gently pulled away from Zuko and looked at him again, her hands still clutching to his clothes.
A knock on the door brought them back to the world that doesn't just involve the two of them and Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose before totally letting go of Mai. The servant had announced that their dinner was ready and Zuko thanked them for it. Zuko leaned to kiss Mai on her forehead before grabbing her hand to lead them out of the room to the garden.
Zuko sat on the grassy part of the garden, picking small portions of the bread before throwing it to the family of turtle-ducks noisily swimming on the garden pond. Another set of bread were thrown to the pond and the turtle-ducks continued to swim around trying to get the morsels thrown at them.
"And she also looks different from Ty Lee and Azula. I mean, have you seen her skin, Mom, she looks pale. She's so white, I'm afraid if I touched her for too long, I might bruise her. But, her skin is soft, Mom. Hers is even softer than yours. Not that I don't like yours. But her skin is like touching a soft pillow that you'd want to run your hands on it again and again and you'd never get tired of touching it."
Ursa smiled at his young son and nodded at everything he said to acknowledge that she's listening to him. She looked in amusement at how her young Zuko was describing her daughter's friend.
"She said she liked the idea of throwing knives. I told her it's dangerous, but she said that if she's careful with it and if she practice more in handling it; she didn't need to worry about getting hurt. What do you think, Mom? What I said was true, right?" Zuko stopped throwing the bread crumbs at the pond and Ursa looked at the water, littered with bread crumbs that were too much for the turtle-ducks to intake.
Ursa placed the remaining loaf of bread on the basket and did the same for the bread that Zuko was still holding. Zuko scrunched his face at this and tried to get his mother's attention.
"Mom? You're not even listening to me!" Zuko threw his arms to the side before crossing them to his chest and turned away from Ursa.
Ursa smiled and scooted closer to Zuko to place her arms around the young boy's shoulder. She peered through the right side of his face to whisper to him. "You, my boy, are in danger of falling in love with Mai."
Zuko's eyes widened and tried to shake free from his mother's hold. He immediately stood up and waved his arms to his side, attempting to make a point.
"Wh...What? No... I'm not..." His face was flushed and he couldn't remain still. He began walking in circles and every so often looked at his mother. "I'm too young to even be in love. Besides, I don't have time to fall in love." He crossed his arms on his chest again and turned to look away from Ursa, with his nose high up in the air. "And besides, she's Azula's friend!"
Ursa giggled and this only caused Zuko to blush even more.
"Stop it, Mom." Zuko sat back down, feeling defeated. He may not admit it, but he kind of liked Mai. Now, love was another question though, but he really liked Mai.
Ursa tried to contain her giggles and went to pat Zuko on his back. "It's not a bad thing, Zuko. Mai's a lovely girl."
"Mom..." Zuko pleaded and Ursa conceded.
The turtle-ducks began making noises again and Ursa and Zuko noticed that they already finished the bread crumbs they have thrown at them. Ursa picked the loaf of bread and handed one to Zuko and they both resumed throwing food at the family of turtle-ducks again.
"What's the danger in falling in love anyways?" Zuko muttered shortly after they have fallen into a comfortable silence. At this, Ursa's giggles started anew and Zuko had to cover his ears and his face to hide his embarrassment.