Another day, another set of long meetings, quiet moments with Zuko, and another day full of things to get done. Mai didn't seem to mind as she lounged in Zuko's office, picking at her pile of papers to fill out. It was far more entertaining to stare at Zuko while he worked.

Zuko's hair was longer now, only half of it tied up in a low tail, the rest of it pooling over his shoulders. It looked nice on him, and it softened his face, unlike how it had sharpened his father's face. Zuko's head was bent over his desk, the end of his ink brush in his mouth, and his brows were furrowed in concentration. Mai observed him quietly, her own work forgotten on her lap as her eyes traced his frame over and over again. The lights in the room flickered evenly with his breathing, something he probably didn't even notice anymore. A few sparks that Mai had grown used to flicked around the room too, bouncing off of their shoulders in a comforting manner. Mai held out her hand to one of the sparks and let it rest in her hand. From the corner of her eye she saw Zuko shift as the spark settled in her hand, but he was otherwise undistracted.

Mai felt a content-ness as she sat on the couch just watching Zuko, pretending to read the scroll in front of her. Mai had long since forgotten what the scroll was about, too wrapped up in watching Zuko. Watching the movement of his hand as he drew the brush to the ink stone, then back to the stone; the movement of his right eyebrow as he worked; his lips mumbling the words he was writing. He had the barest of peach fuzz growing on his chin, but only if you squinted. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning over his desk.

Zuko caught her red-handed.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

Mai's cheeks tingled as she felt a blush grow across her face. She quickly tried to appear like she had merely glanced up, and was failing miserably. "Ah, no, I was just…just…looking."

Zuko cocked his head like a dog.

"You're hair has grown a lot in a year," was what Mai went with. Somehow that felt like a wrong answer.

Zuko's hands fished through the ends of his hair. "My…hair?…yeah, I guess it's longer. Did you only just notice?"

Mai controlled her features. "Of course not, I was just looking at it. There's nothing wrong with looking at you once in a while, is there my lord?"

Zuko smirked at the name. "Oh, but I do believe there is a punishment if you stare at the Fire Lord too long, my dear councilwoman. You will have to pay a steep price." Zuko set his ink brush down and hovered over her seat, his hair creating a curtain around their faces. He leaned in close, merely smiling at her. That look would have been dangerous if it didn't come from Zuko.

"What's the price? I'm sure it can easily be paid," Mai implored, making her expression an impassable barrier. Inside, she was a melting ball of iron, molding to the barest of his touches. No matter who she meets, Zuko is and has always been the one person who could break through to her molten layers, but she wasn't just going to let him know. He was still going to have to break the surface himself.

The typical sparks that followed Zuko everywhere whenever she was near turned brighter, almost becoming individual flames, burning as bright as a candle's wick. Mai noted how flushed he was as he hovered nearer to her. He seemed to have reached an impasse, not knowing if he should cross the bridge yet.

He quickly leaned back, casting his gaze towards the door, even though no one had knocked. He pointed to his cheek hesitantly; his unscarred cheek. "How about a kiss, yeah. That will suffice."

Mai could hear and feel her heartbeat in her ears. Her shoulders sagged at his words, but she didn't know what she had expected. Everything was new territory, every little step a decidedly won battle. Mai reached up and cupped his unscathed cheek, moving her thumb just slightly and she moved to kiss it. At the last moment, as his eyes blinked closed, she tilted her head and planted her lips briefly on the left side of his face, her nose bumping his.

Zuko's eyes fluttered open and he reached out to her to keep his balance. She smiled hesitantly at him as his hand gripped her elbow. He had an unreadable look on his face. It was not often that she couldn't decipher him, and it unsettled her that she didn't know if she had done the right thing or not.

There was a knock at the door, and they rushed apart, both standing awkwardly far apart from each other. They hadn't been this far apart since they were children. Anyone who walked in through that door would instantly know something was up. Mai pushed her hands in her sleeves, and ducked her chin to hide her laugh as the door swung open, revealing one of the many councilmen who had probably yet another "urgent" matter that must be dealt with immediately.

Mai's hands brushed Zuko's arm as she made an exit. He jumped at her touch, and she immediately retracted her hands. She furrowed her brows, looking for a sign on his face as to what she had did, or what she had said to make him angry.

Actually, the poor boy looked incredibly flustered. His ears were bright red, as well as the rest of his neck as he tried to school his expression for his guest. As usual the councilman only raised an eyebrow to them before blustering about the new contract he wanted signed. He didn't seem to care, nor notice the Fire Lord's babbling and coughing.

Mai had got to go home early that day, going grocery shopping before returning home to her small quarters that was hers, all hers. In the past week and a half since Mai started truly living by herself, and had found out quickly that she was not a good cook. To be fair, she was learning by herself with recipes she stole from the library. Some of them would turn out burnt, while others would turn out tasting really weird and she had no idea where she went wrong. Tonight's dinner was just simple rice, some vegetables that were a little soggy, and some dragon-chicken that had a heavy layer of charcoal. Catfish got the delicacy for dinner. A beautiful, rare fish completely raw. Mai was just digging in when there was knock on her window. Not her door, but her window.

Mai readied one of her pairing knives and crept towards the door. She opened the door with a flurry of motion, making the shadow outside her door fall on the ground. She flung one knife as a warning into the grass near the shadow's head.

The shadow hurriedly held up their hands in surrender. "Maisy, it's me!" Zuko said in panic, pulling down the lower half of his black mask.

"What are you doing here!" Mai lowered her voice, scantily looking down the road, looking for anyone out this late.

Zuko came up to the windowsill. "Can I come in?"

Mai raised an eyebrow. "You can use a door can't you?"

The corner of Zuko's mouth slid up. "But where would the fun in that be?" He pulled himself up through the window, landing light-footed on the floor of her small apartment. Zuko itched his eyebrow, casting a glance around the humble surroundings. He seemed to scan everything over carefully, committing it to his memory.

Mai sat in her chair rigidly, crossing her legs and subtly moving her dinner to the side. "I'm surprised to see you here. Aren't you supposed to be up in the palace?"

"I wanted to come see you," Zuko blurted. He itched his eyebrow again. "I-yeah, I wanted to see, especially because of…of earlier."

Mai swallowed, unsure of what to say. "Was it that important?" she decided upon saying.

Zuko hovered in the middle of the room, still scanning his surroundings. "What's with all of the plants?"

Mai blushed. The plants had really started to take over apartment. Maybe the least she could have done was buy another chair, but it wasn't like she was expecting company anytime soon. "Their my plants."

Zuko went up to one and pet one of its leaves gently as if greeting an old woman. "Hi, I'm Zuko," he greeted the plant.

Mai couldn't help herself as she laughed. "You don't have to introduce yourself to them. Their just plants."

"But they're yours, aren't they?" Zuko moved onto the neighboring plant, performing the same protocol. "My mom had a small nursery when I was growing up, and she said plants have ears and they will help you, but only if you're nice to them."

"You should see your mom's nursery now, it's so large now."

Zuko hummed, his eyes turning downcast for a moment before brightening. "I wish I had time to visit her at home instead of her always coming to visit me. I would be honored to meet her new family of plants." Zuko turned towards her. "I like it; I like your plants."

"You're ridiculous. What's wrong, let's get this over with. I can tell you're avoiding something." Mai crossed her arms as if guarding herself from his words just in case. "Was it something I did earlier? Did I cross a boundary? What? What did I do?"

Zuko pointed to the burnt dragon-chicken. "Is that your dinner?"

"Zuko," she said exasperated.

"You know I could take you out for dinner if you would like?"

Mai's foot tapped on the floor. She leveled her gaze at him and he sulked under her gaze.

"You did nothing wrong, it's my fault," he mumbled.

Mai's brows knitted together. "What do you mean 'your fault'?"

"I went too far. I would never punish anyone for like that, but I went too far with what should have been a joke. Please forgive me."

"I knew you were joking." Mai reached out a hand for him to take, which he did eagerly. "I was the one who did something you didn't want. I'm…I'm sorry." Apologies did not come easily to Mai's voice, but she promised a while ago she would try and talk to him.

Now Zuko looked down at her in confusion. "Something I didn't want? What?!"

Mai pinched her lips together. "I kissed you on your cheek. You didn't seem to like it."

Zuko seemed to melt on the spot. His face turned bright red, as much as he tried to hide it under his long, shaggy hair. "Oh," was all he said. Sparks erupted into the air, flying around the room like they were on caffeine.

"Did…did you like it?"

If it were possible for Zuko to turn into a pile of molten lava, he would have. He nodded, his motions jerky.

Mai let out a laugh of relief, a mischievous smile pouring over her features. "Well why didn't you say that in the first place?" She leaned forward, pressing a kiss onto the same cheek.

She tilted his chin with her boney fingers, meeting his eyes readily. "You and I need to work more on this communication thing," she said with a laugh. "We're both awful at it."

That wriggled a small laugh out of Zuko. "Nu-uh, you're worse at it."

Mai shook her head with mock-stubbornness. "I would like to disagree, Sparky. You're so dramatic."

"Am not," he said with a smirk.

"How did you even get out of the palace?"

Zuko put a finger to his lips. "It's a secret. I'll show you sometime, maybe. But only if you stay over sometime."

Mai rolled her eyes. She handed over her plate of food. "Here, have some if you're going to be a while."

Zuko took the chair this time, and Mai perched on the side of her table, carving up the pieces of chicken and dishing it out between the two of them. The chicken was very tough and very black and dusty in texture, but to his credit, Zuko didn't complain.

Mai spat out a piece. "Ugh, how are you eating this? This tastes disgusting."

"I wanted to be polite," Zuko mumbled. "It's not that bad."

"You're not just saying that because I made it, are you?"

"…maybe."

Mai snorted. "Communication."

There was a short pause. "It tastes awful."

"Thank you, it's the third thing I've ever made by hand," Mai said proudly.

Zuko finished his portion. "At least you're trying. I was lucky to have my uncle teach me how to cook during my banishment. If you need help, I can always offer my assistance."

Mai scanned Zuko's open features. "How can you so easily talk about your banishment?" she asked.

Zuko shrugged. "I hated it at the time, and I know I didn't deserve it, but I think it saved me in a way. It allowed me a chance to see the world and slowly become who I am today." Zuko reached out for Mai's dishes. "Here, I'll do the dishes for you."

"Thank you," Mai said, mulling her thoughts over. "Do you think things would be different if you had come home sooner?"

"Do you think you would be here if you hadn't betrayed Azula?" Zuko washed the dishes diligently, getting soapy up to his elbows. "There are a million silver sandwiches to choose from in the world. It's useless to think about things that you cannot change."

"Silver sandwiches?"

Zuko scratched the back of his neck, getting soap everywhere. "I don't know, I feel like it's something my uncle would say, but I never can really understand what he's saying."

"None of us do." Mai came up behind Zuko, and brushed the soap out of the ends of his hair. Zuko shivered at the contact, the flickering sparks blinking happily at her. "Thank you for coming to see me; I appreciate it."

Zuko turned around, caged by Mai's arms and he bumped his head against her cheek affectionately, bringing his soapy hands around her waist. She grumbled at his wet hands, squirming a little.

"If only you could stay a little longer," she whispered.

"I could…"

"And have the entire Fire Nation go on a manhunt for you? Yeah, no," Mai said dryly. "I need to go to bed, and so do you."

The sparks circling Zuko stirred, becoming dimmer. "Okay, if that is what you want."

Mai huffed. "Well I want you to stay, but that doesn't exactly work with your job description."

Zuko pressed his lips against hers, pulling at them softly, kneading them slowly. Mai moved her head slightly, exhaling into his mouth. It all ended too quickly, but Mai reluctantly let go and put some space between them. When Zuko first came home after the fall of Ba Sing Se, Mai felt like she couldn't get enough of Zuko. And even though she felt the same emotions if not more strongly, she was scared back then that one word would make him disappear. One word from Azula or Ozai, and Zuko would have been gone. Mai had wanted to hold on for as long as she was allowed. Now, they were afforded time and Mai wanted to enjoy the moments with him without the pressure of some unknown force coming to take him away. "What if I want to stay?" His voice was weakening her resolve quicker and quicker each time.

Mai paused, taking her time. "Then stay," she finally said.

Hello Readers! It's been a bit, but I hope you liked this fluffy chapter. I really like writing fluff like this because it's just slices of life that we don't always get to see. These moments are something that builds a relationship, and I wanted to give these two that even as things begin to build in the background. I'll be back in another two weeks with an update, so look forward to that. Please leave a comment, favorite, or follow if you wish, and until I write again, TTFN!