In the corner of Zuko's room was a small altar, unadorned except for three tall candles and a red silk cloth. When Mai arrived he was sitting in front of it on the floor, the flames waxing and waning in time with his breath. He didn't look up at the sound of her footsteps, so she perched on the edge of his mattress and waited. The air was warm and close, and the soft, flickering light made her eyelids heavy. It had been days since she'd slept through the night, weeks since the sleep she did manage had actually been restful. There had been a lot on her mind.

She woke with Zuko hovering over her, his hand gently squeezing her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I lost track of the time," he said. His scent mingled with beeswax and incense. "If you're tired, this can wait until-"

"I'm fine," said Mai irritably, and he jerked his hand away as she sat up. Her shoulder felt cold without it, which only annoyed her further. "I guess I was just overwhelmed by your firebending prowess. I mean, three candles at once? My heart's all aflutter."

Zuko scowled. "I was meditating," he said. "It helps be concentrate."

She sighed. It was no fun needling someone so single-mindedly earnest. "All right, then...let's hear this traitorous plan of yours."

He didn't answer right away, his brow furrowed and his fingertips digging into the bedspread. It was one thing to indulge in vague talk about morality, and another entirely to propose putting it into action. She knew he was deciding whether or not to trust her, and she couldn't hold that against him -- even now, sitting next to him on his bed as she fished for incriminating details, she wasn't entirely sure she trusted herself.

"I want to help Uncle escape," he said finally, handing his life to her with words. "It's my fault that he's here, and my father will kill him if Azula brings him home with her."

"No doubt," said Mai quietly. She turned to face him, and when he glanced up her eyes held his gaze. "Tell me exactly what you've done."

"I've paid attention," said Zuko. "I know when and how the Dai Li patrol the grounds. I know eight different ways of leaving the palace undetected, and fifteen routes down through the upper ring and into the rest of the city. I know of an ostrich horse in the stable that no one would miss for two days. I've packed a bag with enough food and water to last a week, but..." He faltered. "I don't know where she's keeping him."

"Conveniently enough, I do," said Mai.

oOoOo

They walked together through the empty halls, wordlessly altering their route from time to time to avoid guards and servants. After so many nights of following behind him, it was strange to find herself at his side for the second time in two days. The second time in her life, really, as they had never done this as children. His sister would never let them hear the end of it.

Zuko had insisted on bringing his swords, and his knuckles were white as he gripped their hilts in his fist. Most firebenders were disdainful of weapons, and Mai wondered what made him different. She could understand an affection for razor edges and polished steel, but suspected there was more to it than that. Perhaps life in Azula's shadow had led him to seek out whatever advantages he could find, beneath his status or not.

Green marble gave way to granite as they descended, the air growing chilly and damp. But when they reached the iron door to the dungeons, Zuko stopped short.

"I can't do this," he rasped. "I can't face him after everything I've done."

"Don't be such a drama queen," said Mai, peering into the lock. She inserted a long, thin dagger, and a short while later there was a soft click as the mechanism turned over. "Your uncle is inhumanly cheerful. Just give him a cup of tea and he'll forget it ever happened."

Zuko didn't look convinced, but he followed her into the dungeons all the same. Mai had run enough errands for Azula down there to navigate the maze of identical corridors, and after several minutes of walking and a half-dozen turns she motioned for Zuko to stop.

"There will be two guards," she muttered. "We'll have to knock them out from behind and lock them in one of the cells. That'll give us time to free your uncle and get him out of the palace."

Zuko gaped at her. "We're breaking him out tonight?!" he hissed.

"What did you think? We'd socialize for an hour or so and then drop in again tomorrow?" Mai rolled her eyes. "Of course we're doing it tonight. Azula would move him to another cell and triple his guard before we got another chance."

Before he could protest further, Mai slipped around the final bend and crept along the wall, her eyes on the pair of Dai Li guards. They sat on either side of a low table, intent on their game of Pai Sho. She could feel Zuko's warmth behind her.

"I'm telling you, it's a classic example of the Pan Luan gambit," insisted a gravelly voice from within the cell. "You should cut your losses now and retreat to the southeast."

"When I want help I'll ask for it, old man," snarled one of the guards. "Just shut up and-"

Mai interrupted him with a sharp blow to the head.

"Who's there?" Iroh asked as the guard crumpled. He peered through the bars, but only Mai was in his line of sight. He smiled. "To what do I owe this honor, my lady?"

Zuko looked up from the unconscious guard at his feet, his face ashen.

"Apparently the dungeon's overcrowded," said Mai. She removed a set of keys from her victim's belt and examined them in turn. "We're going to have to give your cell to someone else."

"I suppose I'll manage somehow," said Iroh gravely. "Though it saddens me to leave such fine accommodations."

Mai smirked and selected a key from the ring. "I hear there's still plenty of room outside the city," she said. The door swung open, and as soon as Iroh was clear of it he leaned down to place a tile board. Only then did he look up, his satisfied smile evaporating when he saw Zuko in the hall.

"Nephew..?" he rasped.

"Hello, Uncle," Zuko murmured.

For a long moment, they stared at each other in silence. Then, with an abruptness that made Mai jump, Iroh stumbled forward and crushed his nephew into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he said thickly, his face buried against Zuko's chest. "If I'd had any other choice..."

Zuko patted him awkwardly on the back. "Uncle, what are you talking about? I...this is my..." He shook his head in confusion. "I'm the one who betrayed you-"

"It's wasn't your fault," Iroh rumbled, pushing away so he could look his nephew in the eye. "I was reckless. I asked too much of you, too quickly." His voice faltered as tears slid down his cheeks and into his tangled beard. "You're like a son to me, Zuko, and I gave up on you when you needed me most."

"You did what you had to," said Zuko, his own eyes brimming over. "I know that, now...I'm just...I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."

"The past is the past," said Iroh. "What matters now are the choices we make today."

Deciding she'd had about as much sincerity as she could stomach in one night, Mai stooped down and grabbed the guards by their collars. She could hear Iroh and Zuko talking as she dragged the unconscious men into a neighboring cell, but their words blurred together in the echoy stone hall. By the time she had bound and gagged her prisoners and locked the cell door, Iroh and Zuko were seated at the Pai Sho table deep in conversation.

"We should go," said Mai, hanging the keys on the door handle. "It's almost dawn, and these two will be missed before long."

Zuko leapt to his feet. "Everything we need is in the stables," he said, and the three of them ran from the dungeons as quickly and quietly as they could. Watching Iroh from the corner of her eye, Mai was astonished by how so large a man could make so little sound. She found herself regretting that she wouldn't have a chance to spend more time with him.

It wasn't until that moment that she admitted to herself what was actually going to happen. She had avoided thinking about it for days, but now that she'd gone this far the truth was impossible ignore. She was helping a traitor to escape, and neither he nor his equally traitorous nephew would be able to return to Ozai's good graces. Zuko was leaving, had packed his supplies and planned his route and collected his uncle, the only thing that really tied him to Ba Sing Se. If he manged to stay away from his sister Mai was never going to see him again.

When Zuko had first been sent into exile, she had sat in her room with her back to the ocean, refusing to watch his sad little ship disappear over the horizon. And now, in a distant moonlit city of green shadows and unfamiliar faces, it was happening again. Only this time she was old enough to understand what she was about to lose, and how lucky she had been to have a second chance to win him in the first place. A chance she had squandered on spying and sneaking and cowardly denial.

She watched him run, strong arms pumping as sweat ran down the back of his neck and beaded on his forehead, the scarred side of his face betraying no emotion. These were their last moments together, and all she could do was look on in mute despair as her carefully constructed facade began to crumble.

They reached the stables. Zuko glanced over at her, his shoulders heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Iroh reached out for her hand. "Mai, I can't thank you enough for what you've done tonight," he whispered.

Mai stared helplessly at the two of them, her own lungs burning as her mind raced through niceties and platitudes. She knew that she should say something, but what was there to say? She didn't want goodbyes. She wasn't interested in tears or hugs or promises to write. If they weren't going to stay, then she wanted them gone.

"I'll keep Azula busy as long as I can," she said. And before either of them could answer she turned and ran back toward the palace.

oOoOo

Mai was late to breakfast the next morning. She sat in front of her mirror for over an hour, furiously stamping out all traces of what had happened. She would not give Azula the satisfaction of seeing her like this. She would be perfectly blank, distant and cool and unconcerned. When the redness had left her eyes, when her hair was in place and her breathing was even and her furrowed brow had smoothed, Mai changed into a crisp, clean dress and set out for the dining room.

Ty Lee was alone at the table, humming cheerfully to herself as she spooned honey into her porridge. "Good morning, Mai!" she said when she noticed her friend. "Sleep well?"

"Sure," said Mai. She sat across from the other girl and began to fill her plate. It was easier to stay calm when she had something to do with her hands.

"Are you busy this afternoon?" asked Ty Lee. "Because I really haven't seen that much of you lately, and I think it'd be fun to do some...you know...girl things! Did you know there's a hot spring underneath the palace? And a sauna? Maybe we could get one of those cute Dai Li guys to give us a massage!"

"Maybe," said Mai. She poured herself a cup of tea, willing the pot not to rattle in her grip.

Ty Lee giggled, grinning playfully. "Maybe if you asked him nicely, a certain someone would go with us?"

The teapot hit the table with a bang just as the door to the dining room flew open. Palace servants scrambled out of the way as Azula stormed past them, the air around her crackling with electricity. She strode down the table to where Mai was sitting and leaned forward until their faces were level, her palms flat on the polished wood.

"Where's Zuko?" she asked sharply.

Mai took her time looking up from her breakfast. "How should I know? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Azula's fist hit the table, rattling porcelain and silver. "Uncle is gone, and I want to know where my brother is." She's noticed, then, Mai thought, forcing herself to take a bite of eggs.

"Maybe he's just sleeping in?" Ty Lee chirped hopefully. "You've been working him pretty hard lately-"

"Don't you think his room was the first place I looked?" Azula snapped.

"Wasn't your uncle in the dungeons?" Mai wondered. Another bite.

"Apparently, someone knocked out the guards and helped him escape." She could feel Azula's eyes boring into her, but she didn't stop eating. At least the nausea gave her something else to think about.

"Any idea who?" asked Ty Lee with a small frown of worry.

"Well, that's an interesting question," Azula sneered poisonously. "I wonder, who has easy access to the palace and a reason to turn traitor for Zuko's benefit?"

Mai cut a small potato in half, speared it on her fork, and chewed it in a thoughtful manner before she answered. "What makes you so sure that he's gone? Maybe he freed his uncle and then hid from you. I wouldn't blame him."

Azula's fists clenched on the tabletop. "I don't care how many years we've known each other," she hissed. "If I find out that you had anything to do with this-"

"Anything to do with what?"

Mai choked. With as much dignity and calm as she could muster, she dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin before turning to look, her eyes watering as she forced herself not to cough, to appear slow and unconcerned.

He was dressed in a soft, brown tunic, his hair disheveled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Sunlight streamed through tall, narrow windows, making his skin glow and his scar burn red. He sought her out across the room, his good eye watching her from under dark lashes, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Then he stifled a yawn, and Mai remembered to breathe again.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Azula growled.

For once, Mai could not agree with her more.

oOoOo

By some mutual, unspoken consensus, Mai and Zuko avoided each other entirely for the next week. She suspected there were at least two Dai Li agents following her, and it seemed unwise to give them anything worthwhile to report. She spent her days in Ty Lee's company, which she had genuinely missed, and her nights alone in her own room, counting the tiles on her ceiling while she waited for sleep to come. Eventually, however, Azula's thunderous mood began to ease. And once it was clear that Iroh was not going to try and retake the city single-handedly, her attention fully returned to managing palace affairs and preparing for their journey home.

Mai was out of reasons to stay away from Zuko, but was unclear on what to do with herself now that the danger had passed. She was desperate to know what had happened, to find out why he'd stayed behind and where his uncle had gone, but the questions that kept her up until morning seemed too foolish to actually ask. Secretly, she was terrified that he would refuse to answer her even if she did. So she sought out ways to distract herself and waited for the right moment to come.

She was sitting on the floor of the library, surrounded by books and scrolls, when he found her. Absorbed by an account of the construction of Ba Sing Se's outer wall, she didn't notice that he'd sat down beside her until he spoke.

"Earth Kingdom propaganda, huh?" he asked.

"Know thy enemy," she said loftily, marking her place before snapping the book shut. "Or Azula's enemy, anyway, now that I'm a professional traitor."

Zuko smirked. "Doesn't 'professional' imply that you're getting paid?"

"You're still here, aren't you?" said Mai before she could think better of it. "That's enough compensation, I think."

He didn't answer for a long time, and Mai spent the minutes of silence wishing she could melt into the floor.

"It's been...nice..." he said awkwardly. "Spending time with you, I mean. It...it'd been a long time."

Mai nodded, swallowing hard as her heart pounded in her ears. "I didn't think I was going to see you again," she said. "After everything you told me, I was sure...I thought you were going to go with him."

Zuko bit his lip, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Part of me wanted to," he said. "But I couldn't...there's still too much left to do. Uncle can train the avatar without my help. It's time that I faced my father again...time that I stopped running."

He may as well have slapped her across the face. She knew it was ridiculous to be angry that he hadn't stayed behind because of her, but she was, and the humiliation only made her angrier. "You just sent your uncle to help the avatar, and now you want to go home and make nice with your dad?" she scoffed bitterly. "Great plan, Zuko. He's the reason we're all trying to capture the avatar in the first place."

"No one knows that better than I do," said Zuko quietly, his fingers brushing against his scarred cheek as the bottom dropped out of her stomach. "That's why I'm going to change his mind."

"Then Azula's not the only crazy one in your family," said Mai. She was past the point of caring how much of an ass she made of herself. "Arrow-head and his friends want to destroy the Fire Nation. Why would your father do anything but try and stop them?"

She was baiting him, she knew, but his temper didn't flare. "Uncle told me that the avatar's purpose is to restore balance to the four nations," he said, contemplative and a little sad. "To keep people like Zhao from throwing the world into chaos. They don't want to destroy us, Mai...they just want for us not to destroy them."

"Which is a little difficult, seeing as we're at war."

"We won the war when we captured Ba Sing Se," said Zuko. "We have all the riches of the Earth Kingdom before us, colonies throughout the continent and more than enough men to hold our new borders. There's no reason for this to go any further. If I can make Father see that, maybe he'll leave the avatar alone."

"And if you can't?" she asked. It was more of a challenge than a question.

Zuko surprised her with a chuckle. "I guess that depends on how traitorous we're feeling, doesn't it?"

"This isn't funny," she snapped, on her feet and shoving books back onto their shelves. "If you're planning to leave then just tell me instead of jerking me around."

He stood and came up beside her. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Of course it is, you idiot," she spat as she crammed a scroll into an empty corner.

"I'd..." Zuko paused, and when she glanced at him she saw that his unmarked cheek was flushed. "Actually, I'd just...assumed that you would go with me..."

Mai stopped shelving. "That's a pretty big assumption," she said quietly.

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, his face crimson. "Would you?"

Mai turned toward him, her arms crossed and her mouth a thin line. He looked terrified but determined, and so handsome that Mai wished she'd kept her eyes on the shelf. "Is that really want you want?" she asked.

He straightened a little, shoulders back and arms straight at his sides. "Yes."

"Then this is entirely your fault," she said, and kissed him full on the mouth.

Her first thought, as their lips met and her eyes fluttered closed, was that she had put this off for entirely too long. She held his face in her hands, his scar smooth and warm beneath her fingertips, his mouth hot and eager and tasting of salt and citrus. His arms circled her waist, fingers tracing the curve of her spine, and waves of heat flowed over her as he pressed her body against him.

Finally she pulled back, resting her forehead against his as she caught her breath. "I want to know everything," she whispered. "I want to know what's happened to you since the fire lord sent you away."

Zuko's hold on her tightened. "There are parts of it that aren't...pleasant," he said. "Things you might not want to hear."

"There's nothing about you that I don't want to hear," she said, and she knew she would always be following him. That she would never turn her back on him again.

Not that she intended to admit as much to him or anyone else. She still had her dignity, after all.

oOoOo

End

oOoOo