Fic: Memories (PG13) ch4 of 5
Title: Memories
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender
Pairings: Mai/ Zuko
Summary: After three years apart, Mai and Zuko revisit some old memories together.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 ||
=========
Chapter 4
Zuko watches in amusement as Mai sleeps. It has been quite some time since her breathing has deepened, but her frown seems permanantly etched on her forehead. Grinning, he touches her lightly on the point where her furrowed eyebrows meet, and then chuckles when she wrigges her nose in discomfort.
Mai. His Mai. His beautiful Mai, fast asleep in his arms. The very thought makes him swell with pride, and he strokes her hair protectively. He can hardly believe that it has taken him this long to talk to her. It has been almost a week since he has allied himself with his sister and defeated the avatar, but throughout all this time, Mai has seemed so proud and untouchable that he could hardly summon up the courage to approach her.
Earlier this evening however, she had watched him intently at dinner, and although Zuko still cannot figure out the thoughts that must surely have played behind her mask, her gaze had not been a manavolent one, and that had somehow given him the courage to finally seek her out.
It is odd, Zuko thinks, how unreadable his Mai can be. Watching her sleep so trustingly in his arms, Zuko wonders how she has been able to keep her affection for him concealed so well over the past week. It makes him think that perhaps her icy demenour might just be an act, and that beneath all these hard layers of jade, she might still be the sweet little girl he remembers her to be. Perhaps, she has merely been waiting for him to break the ice, the way she had waited for him once before.
==========
In his bedroom, Zuko stood before the mirror and patted down his hair. He felt uneasy without his customary top-knot, but he was sneaking out to the kerathong festival that night, and the last thing he wanted was to be recognised in a crowd.
Behind him, his little sister swung her legs and eyed him in amusement. Zuko bit back a sigh. He wished Azula did not know of this - who could say whether or not she would run squealing to their father the moment he made it over the walls - but she was here now, and there was nothing he could do but hope for the best.
“You look funny,” she grinned cockily.
“Shut up, Azula,” he snapped in response. He already felt stupid enough with this slicked-back hair, and last thing he needed was to be told that he looked like an idiot.
Bored by his inattention, Azula’s gaze shifted to the simple paper boat he had folded earlier that afternoon - the vessal that would contain both his candle and his wish - and against his will, Zuko felt his body stiffen.
“You wouldn’t,” he breathed, and saw her eyes glitter with wicked joy. Alarmed, he made a grab for his boat, but she reached it first and laughingly made off with his precious paper offering. “Don’t!” Zuko cried, chasing her around the room, but his sister was too nimble and eluded him easily. “It’s not funny, Azula! Give it back!”
Finally, he managed to snatch the boat back from her, and plonked himself sulkily down to smoothen out the creases. “Look what you’ve done,” he glared accusingly, but instead of lookking ashamed, Azula meerly waved her hand and smirked.
“I know what you’re wishing for,” she sang, much to Zuko’s horror.
“You mean you peeked?!” he cried, jumping to his feet, infuriated. “Azula!!”
Instead of being defensive however, his sister merely crossed her arms and sighed. “No, I didn’t, dum-dum. Anyone with half a brain would know,” she replied, and then flopped, belly-down beside him. “Just drop a pair and tell her.”
For a moment, Zuko stared blankly as he tried to figure out the meaning of her words, but when he did, he felt himself turn purple. “What?” he cried, affornted and tried to whack her with a pillow, but the princess merely laughed and danced cheekily out of the way.
Later that night, Zuko slipped past the guards and made his way to the designated meeting place as punctually as he possibly could. “Sorry,” he grimaced, when he finally met up with Mai. “Azula made off with the boat,” he said, by way of explanation.
He had half expected her to be angry, but Mai merely smiled, as if she were relieved to see him, and then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
Suddenly confused, he cast around and searched wildly for something to say. “Um, I like your hair,” he managed weakly.
Surprised, Mai reached up to finger the single ponytail that hung down her neck. Zuko had never realised how long her hair was before: he had only ever seen her wear it pulled back into two primly covered buns, but since elaborate hairstyles was the exclusive domain of the rich, she must have changed hairstyle for the same reason that he had simplified his.
“I feel like a peasant girl,” she admitted, embaressed.
“A really pretty one,” he replied and then touched his own flat hair self-conciously. “I guess we both look kinda strange tonight.”
And although she laughed prettily at his halfhearted attempt at a joke, Zuko soon felt her growing gradually more sombre, weighed down the immensity of her mission. Even the breathtaking sight of the river dotted with thousands of candles did not affect her, and she remained grim as she lit her own wishing-candle, fixed it firmly to her boat and set the pair adrift in the dark water.
Time crept slowly by, and the two children found themselves huddling close to keep out the chill. Not surprisingly, Zuko’s candle was one of the first to go out - he had never been very good at crafting shapes out of paper, and his earlier tussle with his sister had done nothing to prolong the life of his vessel. Still, he had been pinning some of his hopes on this wish, and try as he might, he could not help the sharp bite of regret that etched itself in his heart.
As the night wore on, more and more wish-candles went out, until only a few dozen were left floating serenely along the river. The crowd thinned accordingly, as one by one, couples and individuals ended their virgil and left, disappointed at not having their wish granted that year.
As dawn approached, Zuko could feel Mai’s anxiety rise to a pitch. She looked more hopeful than he had ever seen her, but terrified at the same time - and how could she not be, when her future rested on the whim of a mere candle!
And then it happened: her boat bumped gently against a neighbouring vessal. It should have been nothing. If it had happened earlier that night, it certainly would have been nothing, but nine hours into the ritual, the paper had become so waterlogged that even the slightest touch was enough to bend it out of shape, throwing the boat off-balance and exposing the precious flame to the mercy of the elements.
He heard Mai stiffle a gasp as her candle flickered into nothhingness, and then watched helplessly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. To have been so close, and then to have success dashed from one’s lips - Zuko could only imagine how painful it must be to endure.
And then, to his surprise, she turned annd strode off without a backward glance.
“Mai!” he cried, half in alarm, and darted after her. “Come on,” he pleaded, when he finally caught up. “Don’t be like this. I mean... it’s just a candle right? It doesn’t mean that it can’t come true.”
Desperately, he wracked his brains for some way to comfort her, to make her relax and smile again, until with a start, he remembered his sister’s words to him earlier that evening.
Perhaps Azula was right. Perhaps it really was time he got his act together.
“Look,” he said, and took her by both shoulders. “Just because the river won’t grant your wish, it doesn’t mean it can’t come true. We still can make our own future. I’ll prove it to you,” he said emphatically, and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
“Do you know what I wished for?” Zuko continued, nervously this time. “I... wished for... that... uh...” he trailed off clumsily as he searched for the right words. “Mai... I... like… uh ... ” he stammered, and then rubbed the back of his neck. Whoever thought it would be so hard to confess?
Mai’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment, but then furrowed as she began to eye him critically.
“I like… er…. ah…” he tried again, but to no avail. Summoning up his courage one last time, he tried to blurt it out at once, before his nerves got in the way again, but still his tongue simply refused to say the words. “What I mean to say, is that... uh… The reason I came down today is that… I kinda… I really kinda… you know…. um…” he trailed off, and then cursed, frustrated at his own ineffectuality.
“You like me?” she said skeptically.
“Um… kinda… I think. Yeah,” he replied awkwardly, blushing to his roots. “I’ve... well, liked you since forever, I’ve just never had the guts to say so.”
“Since... forever?” she said again, and this time, her face was a mask of stone.
“Well, for a few years, I guess. I... I don’t really know,” he admitted guiltily.
“But definitely for a few years.” she asked cooly, and Zuko felt his insides twist. So Azula had been wrong after all, and he had been a fool to have hoped for anything less. It was clear enough for now that Mai found his confession distasteful.
“Yes,” he said quietly, dug his toe into the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” she said heatedly, making him flinch. “I suffered all this time, thinking I was an idiot, when all this time you actually liked me back?”
Shocked, Zuko snapped his head up and looked searchingly at her, and what he saw made his heart leap with joy. She was trying - albelit unsuccessfully - to look stern, but her eyes were sparkling too brightly, and her lips were positively twitching with the effort of not laughing.
“Mai,” he breathed, and watched in wonder as she broke into the most radiant smile he had ever seen.
==========
Zuko chuckles softly to himself as his girlfriend stirs in her sleep, and then kisses her gently on the forehead. It feels so good to have her cuddle up to him. He should have come to her earlier, he thinks, and wonders what it is about Mai that always makes him so scared to make the first move.
His gaze wanders around the room and eventually falls upon his reflection in the mirror, where the sight of his mangled flesh makes him wince. Doubt plagues him afresh as he remembers how she had flinched eariler at the sight of his deformity. How can he possibly expect her to love a face like his?
He does not know how long he stares at himself in the glass, but when he finally tears his eyes away, he realises with a start that she is watching him intently. Slowly, hesitantly, she reaches out a hand and brushes her fingertips against the scar.
“Don’t,” he says harshly, and knocks her hand away, then extinguishes the light, plunging the room into utter darkness.
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender
Pairings: Mai/ Zuko
Summary: After three years apart, Mai and Zuko revisit some old memories together.
Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 ||
=========
Chapter 4
Zuko watches in amusement as Mai sleeps. It has been quite some time since her breathing has deepened, but her frown seems permanantly etched on her forehead. Grinning, he touches her lightly on the point where her furrowed eyebrows meet, and then chuckles when she wrigges her nose in discomfort.
Mai. His Mai. His beautiful Mai, fast asleep in his arms. The very thought makes him swell with pride, and he strokes her hair protectively. He can hardly believe that it has taken him this long to talk to her. It has been almost a week since he has allied himself with his sister and defeated the avatar, but throughout all this time, Mai has seemed so proud and untouchable that he could hardly summon up the courage to approach her.
Earlier this evening however, she had watched him intently at dinner, and although Zuko still cannot figure out the thoughts that must surely have played behind her mask, her gaze had not been a manavolent one, and that had somehow given him the courage to finally seek her out.
It is odd, Zuko thinks, how unreadable his Mai can be. Watching her sleep so trustingly in his arms, Zuko wonders how she has been able to keep her affection for him concealed so well over the past week. It makes him think that perhaps her icy demenour might just be an act, and that beneath all these hard layers of jade, she might still be the sweet little girl he remembers her to be. Perhaps, she has merely been waiting for him to break the ice, the way she had waited for him once before.
==========
In his bedroom, Zuko stood before the mirror and patted down his hair. He felt uneasy without his customary top-knot, but he was sneaking out to the kerathong festival that night, and the last thing he wanted was to be recognised in a crowd.
Behind him, his little sister swung her legs and eyed him in amusement. Zuko bit back a sigh. He wished Azula did not know of this - who could say whether or not she would run squealing to their father the moment he made it over the walls - but she was here now, and there was nothing he could do but hope for the best.
“You look funny,” she grinned cockily.
“Shut up, Azula,” he snapped in response. He already felt stupid enough with this slicked-back hair, and last thing he needed was to be told that he looked like an idiot.
Bored by his inattention, Azula’s gaze shifted to the simple paper boat he had folded earlier that afternoon - the vessal that would contain both his candle and his wish - and against his will, Zuko felt his body stiffen.
“You wouldn’t,” he breathed, and saw her eyes glitter with wicked joy. Alarmed, he made a grab for his boat, but she reached it first and laughingly made off with his precious paper offering. “Don’t!” Zuko cried, chasing her around the room, but his sister was too nimble and eluded him easily. “It’s not funny, Azula! Give it back!”
Finally, he managed to snatch the boat back from her, and plonked himself sulkily down to smoothen out the creases. “Look what you’ve done,” he glared accusingly, but instead of lookking ashamed, Azula meerly waved her hand and smirked.
“I know what you’re wishing for,” she sang, much to Zuko’s horror.
“You mean you peeked?!” he cried, jumping to his feet, infuriated. “Azula!!”
Instead of being defensive however, his sister merely crossed her arms and sighed. “No, I didn’t, dum-dum. Anyone with half a brain would know,” she replied, and then flopped, belly-down beside him. “Just drop a pair and tell her.”
For a moment, Zuko stared blankly as he tried to figure out the meaning of her words, but when he did, he felt himself turn purple. “What?” he cried, affornted and tried to whack her with a pillow, but the princess merely laughed and danced cheekily out of the way.
Later that night, Zuko slipped past the guards and made his way to the designated meeting place as punctually as he possibly could. “Sorry,” he grimaced, when he finally met up with Mai. “Azula made off with the boat,” he said, by way of explanation.
He had half expected her to be angry, but Mai merely smiled, as if she were relieved to see him, and then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
Suddenly confused, he cast around and searched wildly for something to say. “Um, I like your hair,” he managed weakly.
Surprised, Mai reached up to finger the single ponytail that hung down her neck. Zuko had never realised how long her hair was before: he had only ever seen her wear it pulled back into two primly covered buns, but since elaborate hairstyles was the exclusive domain of the rich, she must have changed hairstyle for the same reason that he had simplified his.
“I feel like a peasant girl,” she admitted, embaressed.
“A really pretty one,” he replied and then touched his own flat hair self-conciously. “I guess we both look kinda strange tonight.”
And although she laughed prettily at his halfhearted attempt at a joke, Zuko soon felt her growing gradually more sombre, weighed down the immensity of her mission. Even the breathtaking sight of the river dotted with thousands of candles did not affect her, and she remained grim as she lit her own wishing-candle, fixed it firmly to her boat and set the pair adrift in the dark water.
Time crept slowly by, and the two children found themselves huddling close to keep out the chill. Not surprisingly, Zuko’s candle was one of the first to go out - he had never been very good at crafting shapes out of paper, and his earlier tussle with his sister had done nothing to prolong the life of his vessel. Still, he had been pinning some of his hopes on this wish, and try as he might, he could not help the sharp bite of regret that etched itself in his heart.
As the night wore on, more and more wish-candles went out, until only a few dozen were left floating serenely along the river. The crowd thinned accordingly, as one by one, couples and individuals ended their virgil and left, disappointed at not having their wish granted that year.
As dawn approached, Zuko could feel Mai’s anxiety rise to a pitch. She looked more hopeful than he had ever seen her, but terrified at the same time - and how could she not be, when her future rested on the whim of a mere candle!
And then it happened: her boat bumped gently against a neighbouring vessal. It should have been nothing. If it had happened earlier that night, it certainly would have been nothing, but nine hours into the ritual, the paper had become so waterlogged that even the slightest touch was enough to bend it out of shape, throwing the boat off-balance and exposing the precious flame to the mercy of the elements.
He heard Mai stiffle a gasp as her candle flickered into nothhingness, and then watched helplessly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. To have been so close, and then to have success dashed from one’s lips - Zuko could only imagine how painful it must be to endure.
And then, to his surprise, she turned annd strode off without a backward glance.
“Mai!” he cried, half in alarm, and darted after her. “Come on,” he pleaded, when he finally caught up. “Don’t be like this. I mean... it’s just a candle right? It doesn’t mean that it can’t come true.”
Desperately, he wracked his brains for some way to comfort her, to make her relax and smile again, until with a start, he remembered his sister’s words to him earlier that evening.
Perhaps Azula was right. Perhaps it really was time he got his act together.
“Look,” he said, and took her by both shoulders. “Just because the river won’t grant your wish, it doesn’t mean it can’t come true. We still can make our own future. I’ll prove it to you,” he said emphatically, and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
“Do you know what I wished for?” Zuko continued, nervously this time. “I... wished for... that... uh...” he trailed off clumsily as he searched for the right words. “Mai... I... like… uh ... ” he stammered, and then rubbed the back of his neck. Whoever thought it would be so hard to confess?
Mai’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment, but then furrowed as she began to eye him critically.
“I like… er…. ah…” he tried again, but to no avail. Summoning up his courage one last time, he tried to blurt it out at once, before his nerves got in the way again, but still his tongue simply refused to say the words. “What I mean to say, is that... uh… The reason I came down today is that… I kinda… I really kinda… you know…. um…” he trailed off, and then cursed, frustrated at his own ineffectuality.
“You like me?” she said skeptically.
“Um… kinda… I think. Yeah,” he replied awkwardly, blushing to his roots. “I’ve... well, liked you since forever, I’ve just never had the guts to say so.”
“Since... forever?” she said again, and this time, her face was a mask of stone.
“Well, for a few years, I guess. I... I don’t really know,” he admitted guiltily.
“But definitely for a few years.” she asked cooly, and Zuko felt his insides twist. So Azula had been wrong after all, and he had been a fool to have hoped for anything less. It was clear enough for now that Mai found his confession distasteful.
“Yes,” he said quietly, dug his toe into the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” she said heatedly, making him flinch. “I suffered all this time, thinking I was an idiot, when all this time you actually liked me back?”
Shocked, Zuko snapped his head up and looked searchingly at her, and what he saw made his heart leap with joy. She was trying - albelit unsuccessfully - to look stern, but her eyes were sparkling too brightly, and her lips were positively twitching with the effort of not laughing.
“Mai,” he breathed, and watched in wonder as she broke into the most radiant smile he had ever seen.
==========
Zuko chuckles softly to himself as his girlfriend stirs in her sleep, and then kisses her gently on the forehead. It feels so good to have her cuddle up to him. He should have come to her earlier, he thinks, and wonders what it is about Mai that always makes him so scared to make the first move.
His gaze wanders around the room and eventually falls upon his reflection in the mirror, where the sight of his mangled flesh makes him wince. Doubt plagues him afresh as he remembers how she had flinched eariler at the sight of his deformity. How can he possibly expect her to love a face like his?
He does not know how long he stares at himself in the glass, but when he finally tears his eyes away, he realises with a start that she is watching him intently. Slowly, hesitantly, she reaches out a hand and brushes her fingertips against the scar.
“Don’t,” he says harshly, and knocks her hand away, then extinguishes the light, plunging the room into utter darkness.