It was over

It was over. Aang defeated the Firelord. Zuko had defeated his sister, and was now to be the new Firelord. The war had ended, and they would have to work at restoring peace among the nations.

All of this dawned on Zuko as he gazed over the Firenation's capital city. He was standing on the balcony located on the tower of the palace, where just a few months ago he had been looking down at his nation as their returning prince. The crowd below him had been cheering.

Now, it was empty. He saw the palace grounds, damaged and burned from the fierce fight that had taken place just hours ago. He saw some smoke in the distance, where flames from the battle had been reduced to ash.

The wind ruffled at his hair and clothes, or at least what was left of them. He hadn't bothered to change out of his clothes from the battle, which had numerous holes, and half of his sleeves were gone. He had received some painful blows, but Katara had healed them before stalked off to his current location.

It was up to him to rebuild his nation. He'd have to make them understand why the Firenation was wrong, and after a hundred years believing their nation was the good guy, Zuko already knew he was going to have trouble convincing them. He was too young; he shouldn't have to deal with this. Most of the nation didn't even know he was the Firelord yet, and he was already stressing. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

Zuko scoffed at the idea. Of course it was going to be bad. He knew the politicians and the generals. He knew his people. They are not going to be pleased about any of this, and they aren't going to accept his way of thinking easily. They're a stubborn people who are set in their ways. A sixteen-year-old formerly banished traitor prince isn't going to change their minds easily.

Zuko heard someone approaching him. He turned his head slightly to the person, but didn't bother to look at them.

"I thought I asked to be alone for a while," he said, still not looking at the visitor. He knew who it was.

The familiar voice of his uncle proved he was right. Zuko and his uncle had met up before the battle. There Zuko had apologized for everything. Iroh, of course, forgave him with a hug and was just relieved to see Zuko realized his true destiny.

"I know, but there is someone here to see you. I didn't think you'd mind the intrusion."

Zuko put his head down, closed his eyes, and inhaled a deep breath, which he slowly let out. Great, there was already some politician here to question him.

This time, another familiar voice proved him wrong. "Hey Zuko," was all she had to say in her dry monotone, and he knew who it was.

Zuko's heart leapt. He spun around and his eyes met hers. He studied her with his mouth agape. She looked so different. Her jet black hair was pulled into a loose bun, which looked like it took her two seconds to arrange, rather than her normal style that looked like it took hours to do. She was wearing average, form fitting Firenation clothes, rather than the elegant robes he was accustomed to seeing her in. She had bruises on her otherwise flawless face, and he could see bandages wrapping around her stomach under her shirt, which he would have to find out who was responsible for that. But, he knew it was still Mai.

Mai raised an eyebrow at him. He looked like an idiot staring at her like that. She knew she didn't look very presentable, but she didn't have time nor the resources to fix herself up. It didn't matter though. She came here for an answer. She wanted to know whether or not he still wanted her. She hadn't exactly thought of how she was going to find this out. She figured she'd show up and see what he did, but him just staring at her wasn't helping. She didn't know what to say so just waited until he hopefully would snap out of it. She crossed her arms, and shifted uncomfortably waiting.

He mouthed her name, but no sound escaped. All of the sudden he sprung forward and sent his mouth crashing down onto hers, and arms wrapping around her waist. He wasn't exactly sure how she would react, he was just happy she hadn't pushed him away yet.

She stepped back a step, from the loss of balance from the force of the kiss. Slowly, she let her body relax, and uncrossed her arms. She rested them on his chest. For a second Zuko thought she was going to push him away, so he pulled her closer, not wanting to lose the moment.

Finally, they broke the kiss, and held each other in a warm embrace. Zuko's hands were near the top of her back. One was stroking her hair near the bottom of her head. Mai's arms were just wrapped around his neck holding him close. She didn't realize how much she had missed him until then. His warmth, his feel, his scent, his taste. Her head was buried into his shoulder, inhaling his familiar aroma.

Zuko looked up and saw his uncle watching them smiling. Zuko smiled back at him, and watched as his uncle bowed and walked away. Zuko lifted his head to look at her again. He saw her smile, barely, but it was still there. Then he noticed something he thought he'd never see.

"Mai, are you crying?" he asked. She looked at him, with a somewhat annoyed look on her face.

"No," she said. She could feel the word get caught in her throat. She barely noticed the tear that was slowly traveling down her face.

Zuko lifted his hand and wiped the tear away with his thumb. And rested his hand against her cheek. "Really?" His tone suggested he knew she was lying.

Mai gave up. She hated the effect he had on her. "Maybe. I don't know," she sniffed. She felt so stupid and vulnerable. How could she be crying? She wasn't even upset.

Zuko noticed the bruises again and looked back down at the bandages on her stomach. "What happened?"

Mai sighed. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Azula?"

"Yep. My uncle wasn't too happy either."

Zuko just shook his head. And looked back into her eyes. "How do you feel? Does it still hurt?"

"I'll be fine," was her only reply, which meant it was still hurting her.

"Come on, I'll take you to Katara, she can heal it for you." He grabbed her hand and started walking, but noticed she wasn't following. She just stood there.

"I'll go see her later. I don't want to leave just yet." She pulled him back and grabbed his other hand.

"Are you sure? Because, it won't take long. I mean she won't mind or anything, and it'll feel a lot better afterwards. It's –" he was cut off by her lips lightly kissing his. He went to deepen the kiss just as she pulled away and found himself dumbly looking like he was kissing the air.

"When I said I'll be fine, I meant it." she didn't want to go see everyone now. She was enjoying her time alone with Zuko.

Zuko gave up. "If your sure…" he noticed her face was only inches away from his. She kept coming in closer, they're faces practically touching before she stopped and spoke.

"I'm sure." And with that went in for another kiss. This one, deeper and more sensual than the last.

After they pulled away, their breathing became more ragged and uneven. They rested their foreheads against each other's. Zuko looked into her eyes and smiled warmly, which she returned.

For once, everything felt perfect.

Yay, for once, I actually got a chapter up when I said I would. Okay, so I'm pretty sure this story is over, but I'm planning on making a sequal. At first, I was just going to add more to this story, but it wouldn't flow right if I did. So, not sure what the sequal is going to be called yet, but I already have ideas on whats going to happen. But, its not going to come out until after the finale.

Anway, thanks everyone who read this.

And thanks for the reviews. I must be old meat cause you guys spoil me. ; )

--puttingpentopaper--