Behind the Wall of Fire

Zuko had always admired both the throne room and the throne, and up until the time of his banishment, had expected both would be his one day. It had not been a happy place for him, though. Whether it was his grandfather, Azulon, sitting behind the wall of flames, or his father, Ozai, he'd felt uncomfortable there, out of place and never, ever good enough. It had been the scene of ridicule and embarrassment and had come to represent everything that was wrong with his nation.

Still, Zuko believed he could change the way others saw his country, his people and the palace. And he believed that he could transform the throne room from a place of terror and tyranny to a place of compromise, tolerance and love. He never anticipated taking that ambition quite so literally.

"It's quite big, isn't it?" Mai stared at the throne, Zuko's symbolic seat of power.

Size was only one factor in its impressiveness. The throne was breathtakingly beautiful too, an ancient work of the best craftsmanship. Fierce gold dragons coiled their way around and around the framework of the seat, red jewel eyes sparkled menacingly, flames reflected in their shiny surfaces. Delicate scrollwork detailed the arm rests and the back while thick, red velvet padding covered the seat.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed. He stared at it reverently and finally sat down. "How do I look?"

Mai gave him one of her barely there smiles. "You look like our new Fire Lord. I approve, naturally."

Cheekily, she perched herself on his knee and leaned in for a kiss. The sound of movement outside the throne room and then the soft rustling of the rich brocade curtains convinced Mai to slide back off. It was perilously early in Zuko's reign and she did not want to jeopardize it in any way. Once he was more firmly established, and had chosen a council, exerting an appropriate amount of control over them, Mai and Zuko would have more freedom to play. And play they intended to do as well.

"Excuse me, my lord." Zuko's assistant, chosen carefully by both he and Mai along with Toph, bowed. "You're needed in your office. Tanaka has arrived."

"Please, just call me Zuko. We're going to be working closely together for many years I hope." Kenji nodded his assent. "I'm on my way. And Mai's coming too. I don't care what those men think."

Kenji grinned. "I figured so."

Once he was gone, Zuko linked his hand with Mai's and together they strode to his very dignified office to conduct the first of their interviews of potential council members.

Three Months Later

The meeting of the council seemed to go on and on, the whole thing one interminable bore. Usually they were somewhat tiresome, with the occasional interesting moment or two, sometimes even an entire hour that was riveting. But today's was the worst since the council had been formed three months earlier.

Mai felt sorry for Zuko. He had to maintain that concerned and engrossed expression that said he was hanging on every word spoken by each and every councilman. She, on the other hand, could yawn, take out a blade and spin it around, gaze about the room and so on. They all assumed she paid little attention to what was going on. But Mai had the ability to pick out what was important and focus on that, setting aside all those tidbits for discussion with Zuko later.

The young Fire Lord kept the flames low, unintimidating, unlike his predecessors. It made him seem more accessible and welcoming. Some critics no doubt thought it made Zuko appear weak. But he didn't care. Zuko wanted the image of the Fire Lord to be one not of maniacal, out of control egomania and a never ending quest for power. He did not equate the opposite of that with weakness. He equated it with strength. Only through compassion and reason and compromise could a new era be brought forth for the Fire Nation and for the world. That did not mean Zuko would be walked over. If he didn't see to that, Mai would.

"Can't you bring this to a close?" she whispered, keeping her eyes forward. "They're so dull and we had plans for this afternoon. Remember?"

Zuko remembered all right. Almost immediately the crotch of the simple pants he wore beneath the voluminous Fire Lord robes tightened. "Best I can do is order a break," he hissed in reply. "Half an hour and that's it."

Some of the councilmen seemed to realize that he and Mai were exchanging their own words while they were busy presenting statistics and projected figures.

"If his lordship cannot concentrate, perhaps it's time we paused." Councilman Tanaka was arrogant and often condescending but also sharp witted and loyal and a tireless worker devoted to his nation and its people. Zuko kept him around for the latter qualities and tried his best to ignore the others.

"How wise," Mai drawled. "The Fire Lord was just thinking about a break."

"Yes, half an hour; make good use of it." The young monarch smirked then and turned to Mai. "I certainly intend to."

"Ugh, I loathe that man." Mai waited a moment, making certain that every councilman was gone, before climbing onto Zuko's lap and kissing him senseless. She would have advised he make the wall of lovely orange and yellow flames higher, but Zuko's arousal did it automatically.

"Mmm," was all Zuko managed to get out.

There was plenty of room on the throne to do lots of things. Cuddling and more was certainly not a problem.

"Wish you could wear something simpler," Mai complained as her hands waded through yards of fabric, finally getting everything moved aside.

"Sorry." Zuko flushed a bit as Mai's fingers curled around his hardness. He stared over her shoulder, but all he could see was fire. That was good. Anyone on the other side would see the same.

Mai smiled wryly. "I always manage."

She began a slow, sensuous stroking that drove Zuko wild with desire.

"We don't have enough time for all that," the Fire Lord declared, pushing her hand aside. He kissed her roughly and tried to maneuvere her so that she sat astride him.

Hiking up her robes and roughly shoving her undergarments out of the way, Mai did as Zuko wanted. She lowered herself slowly, enjoying the sensation of being filled up.

Everything was a blur then, with the Fire Lord eventually gaining control, urging Mai on, then getting up from his seated position and taking her.

Random visions of past Fire Lords staring down at his activities with disapproval and disgust entered Zuko's head. He deftly avoided those images and concentrated instead on the pale skin before him. Mai was beautiful and he loved her and he would make love to her anywhere he damn well pleased. There had been enough hate and misery in the throne room to last a number of lifetimes. If he had his way, there would be no more. Some might, no, most would consider their actions crass and disrespectful. But in their small way, Mai and Zuko were changing the atmosphere. And damn were they having a great time doing it.

When they were finished, and all the clothing had been smoothed and adjusted, Zuko settled back on the throne, looking innocent, while Mai sat on her chair, looking like a satisfied cat.

Kenji poked his head in through the curtains and cleared his throat. "I figured it would be safe now." He looked directly at his Fire Lord, trying his best to appear severe and not quite managing it.

"Yes, I'm insatiable," Zuko stated with no emotion at all. He sounded like Mai and Kenji burst out laughing.

"Indeed, I suppose the both of you are. I took the liberty of bringing you something to eat." Zuko's assistant carried in a tray and set it down. "Now behave yourselves for the rest of the day, will you?"

"We'll try," Zuko replied, giving Mai a bit of a poke.

"Yes, we'll try." She reached for a slice of melon and popped it into her mouth, licking the juice from her lips, making certain that Zuko had a good view.

He met Kenji's eyes. "I'm doomed."

A/N: Private Fire, you got your line, he, he.

There are two more of these romantic/sexy fics coming (one I'm particularly pleased with) and then that will be it for me re Maiko for a good while...well, except for Miscalculation, whenever I get around to finishing that up.