Finally, I got this baby up. I know right? It took me forever. I actually wasn't sure how to start this before, and finally came up with an idea on vacation.

Sequal to New Slang. Starts off right where New Slang left off. If you haven't read New Slang, then the only thing that won't coincide I hope I used that right with the finale is probably just this first chapter.

Disclaimer: Trust me. I don't own Avatar.

Title is from the song Finer Feelings by Spoon.

It was a breathtaking view of the capital. The setting sun cast rays reflecting off of the red roofs of the buildings in the city, located in a crater next to the ocean. Currently, the new Firelord and his girlfriend were taking in the view from the balcony located on the large tower of the palace, where you could look down upon the whole city. Zuko had one arm holding onto the railing, with the other going behind Mai to hold onto the railing on the other side of her so she could be closer to him. Both seemed very content at the moment, leaving all of the worries of war and politics behind them. At least, for now…

"So, this is all yours now huh?" Mai asked not seeming too interested in the topic.

Zuko looked down at her smiling. "It's going to be yours someday too."

A small smirk became visible on Mai's face as she replied. "You seem so sure of yourself."

Zuko's smile turned into a concerned frown. "You're not?"

"Calm down. I was just joking," she told him.

As much as she liked the thought of marrying Zuko, it felt weird to talk about. She wasn't going to be sixteen for another two months and while it was the legal age for marriage, it was still considered a young age to marry. And even though she loved Zuko, (even if she never directly told him, he knew it) she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to leave her again. So, Mai quickly changed the subject, hoping to get rid of the awkwardness that was surrounding them.

"What's going on tomorrow?" she asked, yet again not seeming very interested.

"After my coronation, I have to go to a meeting with a bunch of angry politicians and war ministers. You want to come?" he asked somewhat joking and somewhat serious. He didn't like the thought of dealing with people who hated him no matter what he said.

Mai smiled as she spoke. "Thanks, but I'll pass. Ty Lee is leaving for Kyoshi Island tomorrow. I should probably say bye before she leaves."

Zuko looked at her, obviously confused.

Mai sighed, "She's a Kyoshi Warrior now." She continued, seeing this didn't help his understanding any bit. "Ty Lee had made friends with the Kyoshi Warriors, and after a while, they invited her to join."

"Huh," was Zuko's only reply. "Well, my uncle's leaving tomorrow too, and Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph aren't leaving until after the meeting, but Aang said he might stay until he makes sure everything's going to be okay. So even though Ty Lee's gone, we'll still have company for a while."

"They aren't going to be around all of the time while they're here, are they?" Mai asked.

"Well…they like to do things as a group, so yeah, probably."

"Lucky us." This response came dripping with sarcasm, of course. "What are you even going to talk about in that meeting." Right before he was about to reply she added, "Just a short summary, not every little detail."

Zuko shrugged. "Probably just removing Firenation troops from the Earth Kingdom, and giving them back their cities."

Mai moaned. "Ugh. Can you please have the troops in Omashu come back last? Please?"

Zuko chuckled a little. He knew exactly why she wanted them back last. "Actually they're probably going to be one of the first to come back. Besides, King Bumi retook the city from the Firenation during the eclipse. The army and the governor were outside of the city waiting to strike again. My father had said they couldn't come back to the Firenation without regaining Omashu in the name of the Firelord. Your family will probably be back by next week."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Great. I enjoyed living by myself. I didn't have my mother nagging me, or an annoying toddler crying all the time." She looked up at Zuko. "You know, this means you can't come over anymore. My mom will pester you when you do, and she'll have to lecture me afterwards."

Zuko looked down at his feet, a blush slowly creeping onto his face. "Actually, I was thinking you could stay here, at the palace."

Mai's eyes widened, but other than that her face remained unchanged. "I can't stay here."

Zuko shot his head up and looked at her. "Why not?"

"Because, it would start gossip. You know that. I mean, if someone saw me come out of your room just once, people would start talking. And once they see me come out of your room every morning…It's just a bad idea." She honestly couldn't even believe he was suggesting she stay with him. It's not that they've never done anything, but they made sure that they didn't make it so obvious. They weren't even married. Great, now she was thinking about marriage again.

Zuko looked confused at first. Slowly his expression changed to a goofy grin. "Mai, I said you could stay at the palace. I never said anything about staying in my room."

Mai could feel the heat rise to her face. "Maybe if you weren't so vague…" she didn't even know what she was going to say after that.

Zuko wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer, laughing into her neck. He had never seen her flustered. "So, do you want to stay here?"

The edges of Mai's lips quirked into a smile, as she felt his warm breathe against her neck. "Yeah, I guess."

He kissed her on her cheek. She turned her head so her lips met his for a deep kiss. After they pulled away, they stared at each other for a few seconds. "I'll let you have my old room or Azula's since they're nicer than the guest rooms."

"I'll take your old one." Mai didn't think she could stand being in Azula's room. She had heard what happened to Azula. Part of her felt somewhat bad for the girl. At one point in her life, Mai had actually been friends with the princess, and it was partially Mai's fault that Azula went crazy. Plus she liked the thought of staying in Zuko's old room, sleeping in his old bed…

"Okay, I'll tell the servants to get it ready. It's probably a little dusty." Zuko reluctantly let go of Mai and grabbed her hand as they left their spot on the balcony.

And that was the most relaxing evening they would have for a long while, and unfortunately both of them knew it.

Meh. I honestly had no idea how to end this chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else to write. It'll be deeper as it goes on. Trust me.

So, there's chapter one. I'll try my best to update this at least once a week, but I'm not good at those kinda promises, so who knows.