It's the last one, and I still don't know if I should be happy with this... It's Maiko featuring little Izumi, teenage Izumi and grown up Izumi. Written for the Royal Family Week - Day 5: Endings. Enjoy it, and please, correct my mistakes...
I should warn you: "I'm sorry..."
Their daughter is seven and having problems at the Academy.
The teachers tell the worried parents that she's gotten into a fight again. Normally she would have been expelled by now, but because she's the princess they're being condescending. They don't expect it to repeat, though.
"She's not happy with all of this" Mai tells him when they're in bed. He thinks about taking her out from the Academy and arranging for her having classes at home, but Mai says she's going to talk with Izumi and things will to work out.
On the next morning he finds them in the balcony of her bedroom, his wife with a steady look and his daughter looking a little upset.
"May I interrupt?", he asks, standing at the door.
"It's a girl talk, Zuko." Mai shoos him. He's a little confused at first, but then she raises an eyebrow and he realizes that yes, he needs to leave. He's shocked and a little hurt for being casted aside. He tries to argue, but all that leaves his mouth are unintelligible sounds, before he leaves embarrassed.
The sound of his daughter laughing at his expressions, however, is enough to reassure him.
.
.
Their daughter is thirteen and healing a broken heart.
She doesn't want to speak with anyone, but one of their closest friends tells them. Izumi has been locked in her room for a long time by now, and all of them are worried, so she forgets about the promise of not telling anyone (he was a jerk anyway).
He doesn't know the name of the boy, but his actual plan is tracking him down and making him regret from making his baby girl cry. After a while she allows them to enter into her bedroom, but she refuses to eat, leaving Zuko frustrated. He doesn't like to stay around for too much, looking at her sad face and her teary eyes, so he leaves big part of the hard work to Mai, what frustrates him even more.
One of these days he finds them in the balcony of her bedroom. The vision of his wife hugging his crying daughter is makes his heart ache.
"May I interrupt?", he asks, standing at the door.
"It's a girl talk, Zuko." Mai sighs, trying to hold the pieces of Izumi's heart. He wishes he could argue, but he can't stand the vision of his broken-hearted princess without wanting to punch someone for too long. He sighs and gives his wife a sorry look, but she just shakes her head, understanding, before he leaves.
Mai can handle this. He knows it because he already made her go through this before. The sound of his daughter weeping, however, is enough for making him mad.
.
.
Their daughter is seventeen and learning how relationships work.
She's happy, of course, but sometimes she's pouting during meals, and her parents know that they had another fight. Some of these periods last more than others, but they always last long enough to make them be cautious around her, especially when there are pointy objects on the room.
"She only comes to me because I have more experience...", she tells him after he voices his discontent on how Izumi always goes for her mother when she's having relationship problems, leaving Zuko out of their secret girl talks. And he's not happy when she implies that yes, he was a poor boyfriend when they were at her age.
He usually finds them laughing, sitting side-by-side on the balcony of her bedroom, and they always stop talking whenever he's around.
"May I interrupt?", he asks, standing at the door.
"It's a girl talk, Zuko." Mai says laughing, and he can't ignore the sensation that she was using him as an example of how boys can be stupid when they're young. Then Izumi giggles, and he is sure. He stays around a little more though, looking at them with suspicious eyes, while his girls try to hold the laughter at his presence.
He sighs, but then he leaves, ignoring the blurt of laugh behind him. Honestly, if his own family holds no respect for him, then how will the entire nation?
.
.
Their daughter is a young woman and she's getting married soon.
He still hasn't accepted the fact that his little girl is a woman now, and that she no longer needs his help with the homework, but she has found a good man. At least, good enough that Zuko doesn't need to constantly threaten him in order to keep his baby safe and happy.
However, he still thinks that this day came way too fast, and that makes him sad. That's why he can't be like Mai or Katara and Suki, that run around the palace making sure that everything will be ready within the deadline and that the bride will the most beautiful thing that everyone has ever seen. The only thing that Zuko does for the preparations is to sit with his future son-in-law, to guarantee that he'll be sure to be there for the ceremony.
During the short breaks however, he's going to check on his daughter, to make sure she's not choking on the silks or the flowers. He finds them in the balcony, talking in a low voice.
"May I interrupt?", he asks, standing at the door.
"It's a girl talk, Zuko." Mai says with a wry smile and Izumi looks away. At first he doesn't get it, but when he does he can't believe it. He looks questioningly at them and the way that his daughter's ears get red confirms his suspicions. Mai laughs a little at the way his cheeks get pink and he thinks he found a new definition for the word 'mortified'.
He flees as fast as he can, ignoring the burning feeling on his face. Izumi and Mai can have their little girl talk alone, he doesn't care.
.
.
Their daughter is already on middle age and she's strong enough for all of this.
She's already a great wife, a great mother and a great leader, Zuko couldn't have been more proud. He thanks the Heavens for letting him have Mai by his side all the time, otherwise, he would have most likely ruined everything.
He walks with tired legs on hallways that seemed shorter when he was young, lighter, warmer. But now he's old, and it takes longer for him to get to her bedroom. Of course, the bedroom isn't hers anymore, but it doesn't matter. He always found them there, on the balcony, even after Izumi got married and got another room for her and her husband.
"May I interrupt?", he asks, standing at the door.
His daughter sits alone on the bench that she used to share with her mother. She's trying hard not to let the tears fall, just like he's doing, so she would be able to be strong for the kids. At least until the ceremony was over.
She looks up at him, and he doesn't remember her being so fragile before. He's not sure if can fix her if she breaks, not without Mai.
"Dad…" Izumi sighs and runs for him. He opens his arms and lets her cry on his shoulder, feeling her hugging him so hard that he can't breath properly. Not that it bothers him, since he's actually holding her just as tight.
Their white clothes are dyed with the orange sunset. Mai always hated orange.
He closes his eyes at the sound of Izumi sobbing, and tries to give her the comfort that her mother wouldn't give anymore. Soon, they would have to go downstairs and look strong for the crowd, but at the moment, he would just help her to let everything out, and then they would focus on getting better.
As for him, he would cry later. When the lights had gone out and he had laid alone in an empty, cold bed. He would cry and sob and miss her more than anything, but not now.
Right now, he would hold their daughter.