The Fire Lord may rise with the sun, but his wife was never a morning person.
Mai kept her secret well. The Fire Sages would grumble and groan if they knew; the nation would protest. As far as they were concerned, if Agni was up, she should be too. Only her husband knew the true extent of her laziness.
To the rest of the country, she was doing sun rise yoga or overseeing the kitchens or god forbid, reading more trade agreements.
To Zuko, she was sprawled across their shared bed, snoring loudly. Her long and uncomfortable clothes had been kicked off for easier sleep, and at least three pillows were stacked under her head. Sometimes she clutched one to her chest, cradling it like the teddy bear she'd never been allowed to have. Knives glinted from where they were still strapped to her limbs. Drool spilled out of her mouth.
This was one of his favorite moments of the day. Mai, unkempt, unguarded, and a complete and total wreck.
The firebender had to see her like this quite often too. It hadn't taken long for him to realize what an expert she was at tricking servants into letting her sleep later. It was a trick she'd been cultivating since childhood. The knife thrower could get almost anything done with a sharp glance and a poorly hidden threat.
Because of this, the incredibly busy Fire Lord had to wake her up himself.
Every.
day.
It didn't take long for him to realize she was an expert at tricking him into letting her stay in bed later too.
It started with a few innocent kisses. Her soft, warm hands pulling him closer, pulling him into the bed with her, shoving his pants down-
Zuko got hot under his collar just thinking about it.
They always lay together afterwords. Zuko mumbled words of appreciation into her hair, and she held him tighter.
Sometimes, actions speak just as loud as words.
Even once this became a daily occurrence, it took a while for Zuko to figure out what she was doing. She was just so good at getting what she wanted.
Especially when Zuko wanted it too.
Eventually, he unearthed her plot and rushed to their bedroom to alert her. She was still asleep, but he didn't care anymore! She hadn't planned this as well as she thought!
Mai hadn't counted on his servants to alert him of all of the morning meetings he was missing, or she just hadn't expected him to care.
But he did.
This was about doing their duties! This was about serving their country! This was about their honor!
This was around the time that Mai pulled him down onto the bed with her.
Well, he thought as her hands slipped into his waistband, Who needs honor anyway?