A/N: My first Zukaang ever! All prompts are from this year's Zukaang week. SUPER late, but better late than never. It was tough to write, but I did it anyway because Zukaang :3

Warning/s: AU, a bit of OOC-ness, some ship bashing and character bashing, but to be fair I wrote it in Aang's perspective so nyeh XP

Day One: Foe

Aang was in a good mood today. He woke up feeling refreshed, he had a delicious breakfast thanks to his Uncle Gyatso, and his favorite beanie (the one with the really cool arrow design on it) was out of the wash so he can wear it today. He practically skipped to school, his mood nearly infectious. He even had Toph smiling when he greeted her a good morning, which was quite a feat since Toph was one of the last people one would assume to be a morning person.

Unfortunately, Aang's good mood crashed and burned as he approached his locker and found one of his best friends, Zuko, chatting amiably to one person he'd rather not see so early in the morning. Well, he wasn't going to let her ruin any chance for some Zuko-time.

"Morning Zuko!" Aang chirped as he bounced up to the other teen's side, linking arms with Zuko and smiling sweetly. He got a grin in return and it made his heart flutter and his stomach flip flop. Oh how he loved to see that smile, especially after all they had been through.

"Aang," a flat voice broke through the teen's fluffy haze and Aang locked eyes with his rival, his enemy, his foe; Mai.

"Mai," Aang greeted back with the same sweet tone of voice but with an underlying hostility that hardly anyone could detect. Aang was known as the sweet, funny, friendly, kind, and general good guy of the whole school, so it was unheard of for him to harbor any sort of hostility towards anyone.

Well that was their first mistake.

"We were having a conversation," the goth girl (because she really is, no matter how many times she denied it) deadpanned, eyes narrowed at the younger teen. Aang might have cowered under that sharp gaze, but he had endured far worse; the far worst being Zuko's father.

"Sorry," Aang apologized without sounding apologetic at all. "Just wanted to greet my good friend Zuko before we went to class!" He emphasized his sentence by pressing against Zuko's side and grinning widely up at him. His reward was a warm smile that nearly had Aang swooning.

"You sound like you missed me," Zuko chuckled, warm and sweet and golden like honey, like the color of his eyes, like whiskey and amber and sunsets and sunrises and wow, Aang should stop with all the comparisons, especially ones as sappy as those. It sounded straight out of a trashy romance novel, like the ones Katara secretly had in her closet.

"I did miss you!"

"We talked on Skype last night."

"But last night was so far away! It's a distant memory. I hardly remember it. So we must make more now!"

Zuko laughed again, this time a little stronger, and Aang chanced a look at Mai. He was delighted to see her pursed lips that was a sign of her annoyance. Ha! Take that Miss Surly Buns!

"You really know how to get my spirits up in the morning," Zuko said, nudging Aang's side a little. "Especially before Zhao's nightmare disguised as a class."

"I aim to please!"

"Speaking of which, I've got to get there early." Aang allowed Zuko to slip out of his grasp and he watched his friend close up his locker. "I want to get in some extra studying before our pop quiz."

"I don't know why you're worrying," Mai spoke up before Aang did and Aang had to suppress the urge to glare at her. "You'll pass with flying colors."

Zuko shrugged as he hefted his bag higher on his shoulder. "Yeah, but Zhao hates me. I'd rather not take my chances."

"Do your absolute best then!" Aang beamed. He took the chance to pull Zuko towards him and place a kiss on the other's cheek. Aang's heart thundered almost painfully against his chest as he pulled away, hoping against hope that his friend wouldn't look at him too weirdly. But to his delight, Zuko just looked down at him with a soft, shy smile on his lips and his cheeks a rosy red. The sight made hope fill Aang's heart full to bursting and his grin took on an even brighter tone.

With a soft "see you later" and a last second smile thrown at Mai, Zuko took off down the hallway towards his first class with a bounce in his step that Aang was sure would embarrass the older teen if he ever mentioned it. Smiling dreamily at the wake of his best friend and crush, Aang turned back to his locker to get his school things ready for his own class, but he stopped short when he caught sight of Mai's sharp gaze. He couldn't stop himself from smirking smugly at the girl though.

"Don't think I'm going to give up on him," Mai stated, voice cold yet flat.

"Good luck with that," Aang grinned, indefinitely smug about this morning's victory.

If eyes were gems, Mai's were definitely diamonds what with how hard and cold they were. "You've only known Zuko for a year," she started, lifting her chin up in a reminder of her status and that she was born and raised in the upper echelon of society. Despite her boredom with that world, there was one thing she had grown accustomed to and it was that she always got what she wanted. "I've known him since we were kids. You can't compare to that type of bond."

The statement was so ridiculous that Aang burst out laughing. He had thought that Mai smarter than that, but it seems even she had her bouts of stupidity, like everyone else.

"That's it? That's your argument on whether you're 'right' for Zuko?" Aang chuckled as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry but that was pathetic."

Mai's "I'm bored and I don't care about you" mask was cracking with how hard she was glaring and Aang had to congratulate himself for being one of the few who was able to do that. It was a skill worth having he had to admit.

"You think that just because you knew Zuko when you were kids that you have some right to him and his feelings?" Aang continued in disbelief. "That's really the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You know, despite only knowing Zuko for a year and despite being younger than him, I know more about him than you do. I know all the mundane things like his favorite food and color and type of music." At that, Aang had to smirk and somehow it didn't look entirely out of place on his kind and gentle face. "I also know the deeper things like his feelings for his father and his sister, how many times he fell into depression and nearly succumbed to it, how much hate and insecurity he still feels towards himself, even after all this time..."

Aang had to shake his head at the stunned look in Mai's eyes before turning to open his locker. She really was ignorant about all these things and Aang didn't think that she can carry that kind of burden should she and Zuko ever get together (read: over Aang's dead body). She just didn't understand all that stuff and Aang didn't think that Zuko would just trust her with that kind of knowledge so readily.

"You knew Zuko as a kid, I can give you that. But that doesn't count for anything, especially considering you're Azula's friend and from what Zuko told me, he avoided you and Ty Lee simply because you were Azula's friends," Aang said conversationally as he located his books and stuffed them into his bag. "You went to a boarding school before transferring here with Azula and Ty Lee – because of the school's reputation I'm sure – and even then, after several weeks of harassing pretty much the entire student body, you didn't approach Zuko until after semester break." Aang slammed his locker shut, activated the lock, and adjusted his bag before turning back to Mai, head tilting curiously. "Tell me, was it the fact that he grew his hair out, the fact that he started wearing clothes that showed off his muscles, or the fact that he stopped looking like a constipated wolverine that caught your attention, hm?"

Mai herself was starting to look like a constipated wolverine and Aang had to bite back a laugh. He was on a roll and he had more to say. He didn't want to ruin it all by laughing.

"I might not have known him in his childhood, but you only knew of him and that there lies the difference." Aang shook his head again. "Despite all the ups and downs I had with him, despite being constantly pushed away, I always stayed by Zuko's side. I was there through a lot of shit he had to deal with while you were off playing the bored Governor's daughter and strutting around with Azula. Zuko might be friendly with you because he's changed now, but you still don't know him and with that kind of attitude you never will."

Aang started to walk backwards away from Mai, parting with a last, "You're welcome to try though. I need some good competition, yeah?" before he turned and skipped down the hall towards his own class, mood bright once again and a big smile plastered on his face.

It really was a good morning.