Definitions

By

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the creation of Michael Dante DeMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is used without permission.

Zuko lay stretched out on the bed, waiting for Mai. She strolled into the bedroom, naked and fresh from the long bath she had indulged in, her hair shining and falling unbound along the curve of her alabaster back. He watched her as she went to her dresser to fetch out a nightgown. She noticed his intense regard and smiled slyly at him over her shoulder. "Are you ogling me?" she asked.

"No," he answered, returning her smile with a crooked one of his own. "I'm admiring you."

Mai arched an eyebrow. "What's the difference?"

"Ogling is wanton. Admiring is respectful."

She considered Zuko's answer for a moment, then let out a wicked laugh. She shimmied, shaking her hips in an exaggerated motion, her lithe body wiggling gracefully as she turned towards her lover and posed for him, pulling her hair up over her head, letting it run through her fingers and cascade down over her body in an artful mess. "What if I told you I prefer ogling to admiring?"

Zuko swallowed hard, his face flushing, his blood starting to thrum through his veins like electricity. He stood up from the bed and skinned out of his sleep tunic. "I think I can handle that." He stalked towards her, eyes alight with desire.

Mai met him half-way.