"What're you doing?" Zuko asks lazily. He pulls his rear up and rubs his eyes open to the silhouette of his sister.
"Sleeping here, " she murmurs.
"Uh, no you're not." He rests back on the bed. Azula still stands there.
"Yes I am."
"Yes you're not."
"Nu-uh." She refuses stubbornly.
"Fine, " he grumbles. He resists the urge to fight back. It's too late anyway.
She moves to the bed and dozes off as quickly as she entered. Zuko can't help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
(X)
The palace awakes with commotion the next day. The princess runs through the halls. How she was able to be so hyperactive, Zuko does not know. His movements are unhurried and stagnant.
" It's my birthday!" Azula shouts gleefully from the palace.
"Yes, we know my dear," Ursa says. She chuckles as she her daughter races across the halls, her feet dancing against the wooden floor.
"They're going to be here any second now!" The princess jumps up and down in glee.
"Alright, come, Azula. The snacks are ready." Ursa takes off her apron and rolls it on the shoulder of a chair. She lays out a plate of rice balls on the table.
"Thanks!" Zuko says, drawing his chopsticks in the air.
Ursa catches his hand with a smile. "Azula gets it first."
"Huh?"
"Of course I do Zuzu," his sister says smugly. Zuko groans as she takes nearly all of the rice balls from the plate.
"You have the rest Zuko, " Ursa says fondly, pushing the plate into his face. He rests his head on his hand and sighs.
"I'm going to go out into the garden, "he grumbles.
(X)
Outside in the garden, next to his favorite fountain, is a dark-haired girl. Her arms are crossed, and her face gazes on the water.
"Hey," the prince says, awkwardly waving his hand. He gives an unsteady smile to the dark-haired girl. Her face is still, but finally, she returns the gesture.
"She's not here. You're one of Azula's friends, right?" He says after getting no response.
"Maybe," she mutters just loud enough for the prince to hear.
Maybe? That didn't make any sense. Zuko frowns. "Uh, what're you doing here?"
She eyes him for one second, one split second. Their eyes holding, her dark hair tucked in the wind, and he realizes that ...
she's quite beautiful.
She hurriedly looks back at the water. "Weirdo."
Weirdo? "Hey!" he says, crossing his arms. The dishonor! "So you are one of Azula's friends. Only Azula calls me that."
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Hmm." She brushes a wild strand of hair back her ear.
Silence. The water flows like a river, and the wind blows like a wave. Zuko takes a step forward, then another, then ...
"You, er, want to feed, uh, some turtle-ducks with me?" He says, an arms length away from her. He scratches the back of his head.
Again she stares at him. Her eyes are sharp. She smells like honey, ginger, and everything else he likes.
"Fine," she says simply, following his gaze as they both look out into the pond.
"What's your name?" Zuko says. He puffs his chest up proudly. "I'm Prince Zuko."
"Mai."
"Mai," Zuko says carefully. Like May. It rolls off his tongue like a butterfly rolls off a leaf. "It's a beautiful name," he finds himself saying before he can stop himself.
His face grows red. The embarrassment is short-lived.
"Zuzu! Check this out!" Azula shouts from behind her brother. The girl and Zuko turn around to see the princess attempt to do another cartwheel. He gives a smile as she completely fails it.
Once Azula gets up from the grass, she looks at the two again. A frown graces her features.
"Mai, what are you doing with Zuko?"
"We were going to feed the turtle-ducks," the boy says.
"Oh really?" Azula asks with a sarcastic expression. "I'm sure you guys are just doing that for fun and not for...other reasons?"
The two flush, their faces turning into the colors of their suits. They lean away slightly, causing Azula to grin.
"There's no need to be shy," she says.
"It's nothing!" Zuko says back through gritted teeth. He straightens his back and stomps to the pond. Cowering his head over the water, he starts mumbling something incoherent.
"It's nothing," comes the soft voice of Mai.
"Come on then! There's still a lot of rice balls left!"
Mai groans and, after taking one last look at Zuko, follows her friend.
Zuko stands over the railing of the pond, holding his head over the ducks. He fiddles his fingers on their shells. A mother duck nibbles it as if expecting food.
"No, not right now," Zuko says with a small chuckle. The duck still continues it's nibbling. The prince sighs and pulls his finger away.
He does this for an hour. It's distracting. It's calming. And especially after seeing an angel, and then having it ripped from you by your sister, it's relieving.
A hand seizes his shoulder.
"Zuzu, you're seriously telling me you don't want a rice ball?" Azula asks with a smirk, obscuring his pond view with a plate filled with them.
Zuko huffs. "Last time you did that for me you put a bug in the food."
Azula pauses for a moment, and then relieving the plate onto the railing. "I'll eat one if you don't trust me."
"Hmmm."
"Hmmm, what?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I kinda felt bad that...I..er..ruined your date."
He turns to her with a confused expression. "When have you ever been concerned with feeling bad?"
"Look," she says with a glare, "if you don't want it..."
"Fine." He grabs a rice ball and stuffs it into his mouth.
She leans in. "Say thank you, Princess Azula."
"Fanks you."
"You know you're royalty right? Don't talk when you chew your mouth."
"Whatever." He takes a chunk of the food and drops it onto the pond.
"You're still feeding those animals?"
"Of course. How else will they get food?"
She scoffs. "By themselves?"
"They're too dependent on us to get it themselves." He turns his head to her.
She raises her brow. "Explain."
"Wel, it's like ..." Zuko thinks. "It's like children who don't have parents. They need someone else to be their guardian."
Azula taps her chin, as if thinking. He doesn't why. It's a dumb analogy he made up on the spot.
Zuko plops more pellets of food, causing the turtle-ducks to scramble as they bathe in the yellow glint of noon.
"Come on, " he says to her. "Do it with me."
She crosses her arms bitterly but he forces her to take the bread anyway from his hand. Azula lazily holds it above the pond, waiting for the ducks to grab it. None do.
"Perhaps they're scared," Zuko says with a fond smile.
"Come on," he nudges the mother duck to his sister's hand. The duck, after a moment of hesitation, relieves the bread from Azula's hand and passes it to on to its children.
"See? They like you now."
Her lips curve upwards. Her eyes are wider than the sky. They twinkle and light up.
"Greedy ducks," She says with a faint smile.
"Just like you already," he says. He laughs.
"I'm going to burn your shirt."
"Kidding!" He says quickly.
She relaxes her shoulders and like Zuko, slouches over the fountain. They stand for a while, a silence descending among them.
Zuko shifts uneasily. He closes his eyes as the half-obscured sun beams on the siblings. For a moment, it seems peaceful. He takes in the scene and wonders what just happened.
Something touches his shoulder. He jerks his eyes open and surveys the scene before him. Azula's head laid on his shoulder, bewildering him for a few seconds. Azula never does that, he thinks to himself. Had her mask finally slip?
He grins inwardly. Maybe he should take her to feed turtle-ducks more often.