I, of course, do not own Avatar.

These are mostly unrelated and can be set to whenever you want them to be, past, future, or present unless a time line is given or connection is given.

Submission to Zai Week Day 1

Daydream

To look at her, one really wouldn't take Mai to be a daydreamer. On the contrary, it was one of her forms of escape from her repressive, dreary life. She had several reoccurring ones. Her favorite ones always had the same key element: Zuko.

When she was a girl and her mother scolded her for giggling at Lord Tushi, she'd imagine that Zuko was with her, laughing with her. Then they'd stick their tongues out at her mother, run off, and play somewhere. She'd be the first to admit she wasn't all that creative.

After his banishment, she tried to make her little fantasies stop. They were stupid, childless and unattainable. And it actually hurt a little. Still, she found herself wondering what would have happened if she'd went with him. Or maybe he'd come back in the dead of night, her prince come to charm her and take her away with him to sail the world. Agni, she'd had entire conversations with him in her head during several of the painfully boring 'parties' she'd had to attend.

Sometimes, he'd sit with her, just be there. He'd smile at her. She wouldn't blush this time.

A/N: You don't even know how I had to restrain myself from posting this upon completion. More to come

Random and as out of nowhere as it is, I will totally dedicate one of the upcoming (like tomorrow and the day after) fics to you if you can tell me Aunt Wu's exact, word for word, prediction for Sokka. It's important if I'm going to do this fic I'm kicking around.