Title: Prize

Fandom: Avatar: TLA

Pairing: Zuko/Mai

Warning(s): None

Genre: Romance

Mai didn't like to brag. She didn't like to think herself lucky, worthy, talented, or anything else that would justify her relationship with Zuko.

She wasn't Azula. She didn't go looking for glory, just something to do. She didn't need fame, just peace. She needed the peace to be who she wanted to be, and to be uninhibited by annoying people.

Zuko gave her that somehow. Sometimes they argued, and sometimes they misunderstood each other. Deep down, though, Mai knew that Zuko wouldn't be a problem to her. He was sweet, and he tried hard enough for the both of them, but he was no prize. The guy was a walking time bomb sometimes. He made a big deal out of things. He could be annoying, and his temper wasn't easy to deal with.

What was more annoying were people who saw Zuko as a prize. Some girls swooned over his good looks, or his status as Fire Lord. Diplomats took way too much of his time, mostly to complain that the debts the Fire Nation owed to the world weren't being paid fast enough. His kind nature was being taken advantage of, which really showed when he couldn't control his anger at the end of the day. Sometimes his temper was scary, but it was nothing Mai couldn't handle. At least he was sane, which was more than could be said about Azula.

So at the end of the day Mai wanted to be there for Zuko, as someone who didn't judge him, someone who didn't flaunt his status before his eyes, and someone who would keep him in check when his attitude got out of hand. She supposed this was what love did to people. It was no picnic, but she couldn't imagine her life without it.

END