this is what you came for
“Here.”
In the corner of the gym where she sat with her back against the wall, Mai is pulled from her focus on a competitive round of volleyball between Ty Lee and Sokka. She looks at the small box of fruit tarts from a popular high-end shop, slid across the laminated wooden floor by Azula.
Azula, who she’d barely seen for the last few days, since the night she had shown up at her house unannounced.
Mai shoots her a dubious look.
“What?” the brunette snaps, sinking onto her knees to situate herself beside Mai. “Ty Lee mentioned you like them.”
At that, Mai stifles a smile. “Ah. Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”
“It’s nothing.” Azula’s air of composure wavers the slightest bit, “Just… thank you, I guess. For helping me out. You know, after the sports festival.” She clears her throat. “And I spoke to my father. Yours should expect some good news soon.”
Mai shrugs indifferently. “Okay,” she says shortly, and a flash of confusion crosses the other girl’s features. Taking a fruit tart out of the box, Mai sighs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I’m unappreciative. It’s just… Sometimes people do nice things for you because they want to. Like I said, friendship isn’t a transaction. You don’t have to pay me back, or whatever. But thank you - really.”
“Right.”
“Anyway,” Mai gazes at the other girl plainly, “do you even actually care about being friends with me, or is this really all about your weird rivalry with your brother?”
Azula’s lips curl into a bitter smile. “Both, I guess.”
“Why? At this rate, if you don’t get help with your little issue, you’ll die before you win your dumb competition - which, by the way, is just a fucked up delusion put in your head by your father,” Mai says bluntly, breaking the fruit tart into two pieces. “So what’s the point?”
She can see Azula’s pulse quicken, looking very affronted and clearly holding back her rage. Mai holds her hand out in offering, crumbs of fruit tart falling onto the floor.
With a weary sigh, Azula reaches out to take the other piece. “I hate you.”
“Hey!” comes Sokka’s indignant cry. “Was that even allowed? This chick is an absolute cheat!”
“Ha!” Ty Lee taunted cheerfully. “Who’s got mad skillz now, sucker?”
Mai can’t help but chuckle along as Ty Lee, Suki and Zuko burst out into laughter.
At the end of the school day, Mai arrives at the hall of getabako to see her friends loitering, chatting amongst themselves loudly while they put on their shoes.
“Hey,” Zuko beams at her. He’s crowded against her locker again — likely on purpose. She nods at the group in greeting and he makes space for her to retrieve her shoes.
“Any plans tonight, Gloomy Girl?” Sokka asks. “We’re thinking we could go hit the new yakiniku spot near that university.”
Suki nods enthusiastically. “Students get 15% off on Fridays!”
Mai hesitates, a thoughtful frown on her face, and Zuko nudges her with his shoulder upon noticing. Azula and Ty Lee are wearing the same awkward, hesitant expression.
Sokka throws his hands up in the air exasperatedly. He shoots a glare between Ty Lee and Azula. “Alright, what’s going on in here? Especially you two,” he points at the girls accusingly. “You’ve been killing me all day with the tension!”
Ty Lee squeaks, “I didn’t even say anything! I am going.”
“Alright!” Sokka turns his gaze to Azula. “And you?”
“I don’t know. It might be best if I didn’t.”
“Don’t play with me,” he huffs, “cause this is definitely not the time. For the last time, are you coming or not?”
“Fine.”
“Great, Mean Mug is in.”
Azula rolls her eyes at the nickname, muttering, “Not like I have anything better to do.”
Several pairs of eyes land on Mai.
“I’ll try,” she says weakly. The last time she had gone out, she ended up in hot water with her mother. “I just need to ask first.”
“Alright, then ask,” Sokka says expectantly.
Mai blinks. “Now?”
“Yes, now,” he groans.
With a long-suffering sigh, Mai takes her phone out to call her mother. She takes a few steps away into a corner by the stairwell for good measure — just in case her mother was in a foul mood.
“Mom,” she says quietly in greeting when her mother picks up. “There’s no cram school tonight, and it’s a Friday, so I was wondering if it’s all right if I go out to dinner with… my friends.”
On the contrary, the house seemed to be in a good mood. Michi makes a noise of disapproval, though it held less weight than it usually would. Mai can hear her father and Tom-Tom in the background, seemingly singing along to a kids’ show theme song on the television.
“Sorry,” Mai says sheepishly. “It’s fine, I’ll come home if you’ve already made supper.”
Behind her, Sokka groans loudly once again, “Come on, Mai, I’m starving!”, and instantly the group shushes him.
“Go,” Michi sighs. “But I want you home no later than 7 o’clock.”
“9?” Mai bites her lip, knowing she’s pushing her luck.
Her mother makes a derisive noise on the line, like Mai has lost her mind.
“8:30, then?” she bargains.
“Fine,” Michi huffs. “Not a minute later.”
“Okay,” Mai breathes in relief. “Thank you, Mom.”
They say their goodbyes and Mai turns in her place to face the group, all openly watching her intently.
“Tiger mom, much?” Sokka jokes, earning a sharp elbow to his ribs from Suki. Mai rolls her eyes at him.
“Well, gang… Shall we go?” she asks, the corners of her lips turning up ever so slightly.
The group cheers, despite Sokka still clutching his side in pain, spilling out of the doors to make their way to Zuko’s car. It’s when they reach it that a dilemma presents itself.
“Uh.” Zuko frowns. “I can only fit 4 other people in.”
Sokka slaps a hand to his forehead. “It never ends! I just want to eat!”
“I guess I’ll sit this one out,” Azula declares dryly. “You should all go have fun.”
“Hang on,” Zuko says. “We’ll think of something.”
Azula quickly schools her surprised expression back into neutral.
“Ah, you know what? You guys go ahead. I’m actually a bit tired,” Ty Lee says with an awkward giggle.
“No, don’t be silly, Ty,” Suki protests, brows pinched in distress. The group is silent for a beat, thinking. “I guess I can sit on Sokka’s lap?”
“Nuh-uh,” he says with a firm shake of his head. “I don’t want to get pulled over. That’ll delay dinner even more.”
“I can make two trips?” Zuko offers. “Drop someone off to get us a table, then come back to pick up the rest?”
Sokka strokes his chin as if he had an invisible goatee. “Oh, yeah. That’s actually a pretty good—”
Azula smacks her fist onto her palm, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You might not need to, Zuzu. I have an idea.”
“Okay.” Zuko shrugs. “Great.”
“Mai,” he calls gently as he opens the door to the passenger seat. He places a gentle hand on the small of her back to guide her in, closing the door after her before opening the door to the backseat, “Ladies.”
“Wait a second, I don’t like where this is going,” Sokka says, the words falling on deaf ears.
“Girls? Anyone want the window?” Suki prompts.
“I don’t mind whichever’s easiest,” Ty Lee says, and Suki climbs in.
“Ty, you’re smallest,” she calls matter-of-factly from inside. “It might be better for you to sit in the middle, is that okay?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Well, that’s sorted.” Azula turns to Sokka, clearly trying to suppress a wicked smile. “Oh, wait — let me get the door for you.”
She steps to the back of the car and swings her foot under the boot. The door lifts open with a whooshing sound.
He gapes at her. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
She shrugs, fixing him with a blank look. “Do you want to go or not? Time’s wasting.”
“Dude! Get your psycho sister under control!”
Zuko doubles over in laughter.
At the restaurant’s parking lot, the girls stumble out of the backseat in hysterics, giggling breathlessly with phones in hand. Mai smiles at their antics.
“Wait here,” Zuko says softly, stepping out. She watches him stride across the front of the car to open the passenger door for her.
Mai takes his offered hand with flushed cheeks, letting him help her out of the car.
“Thank you,” she says. She doesn’t drop his hand.
They join the girls behind the car, falling into step with their hands still adjoined, and Mai stifles a laugh into her free hand at the sight that meets them.
“Yeah yeah, you got your photos, now someone help me out,” Sokka is saying defeatedly. “You girls are crazy. Zuko, say something, man!”
Zuko shakes his head in amusement.
“Okay, sorry,” Suki wipes a stray tear from her eye as she reaches in to pull her boyfriend out of the trunk of the car, giggles escaping her mouth. “Sorry, sorry — that was too funny.”
They pile into the entrance, thankfully not having to wait long for a table. The group settles in, Zuko pulling a chair out for Mai and helping her in before taking his own seat across from her.
A waitress brings over a piece of receipt paper with a barcode on it and gives them instructions on how to place their orders. Suki and Ty Lee huddle closer, peacefully poring over the menu on Ty Lee’s screen, seated across Sokka and Azula. Zuko pulls his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it and handing it over to Mai.
“You should try the iced Jasmine green tea,” he says.
“Good?”
Zuko shoots her a boyish grin. “Oh yeah. The best.”
She looks at him quizzically. “You’re… quite passionate about tea, huh?”
He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.
Azula snorts, looking at the same image on her screen. “Figures — it’s The Jasmine Dragon.” She looks at Mai. “It’s our uncle’s brand of tea. I agree, though, it’s of excellent quality. Try it.”
“Wait,” Mai says. “Isn’t there a shop called The Jasmine Dragon right next door?”
Zuko nods, “Yup.”
“Ah. Okay, then,” Mai concedes, amused. It’s rare to see the two agree about anything. “Anyone else want the iced tea?”
“Yes, please! I wanna try,” Ty Lee says.
“We should get the jug,” Suki suggests, and Zuko nods in agreement. “It’s really good, you two. Trust.”
Mai taps the “send order” button on the screen. A moment later she hears a chime from one of the tablets on the counter nearby.
“I hear Uncle Iroh’s shop is a really big hit with the university students,” Suki says. “I saw an article the other night - the shop made it to a list of best bubble tea in the city!”
“Yeah,” Zuko beams, “Uncle’s really excited about how much the whole thing has grown. He’s considering opening another branch.”
“It’s amazing! He deserves all the success.” Suki smiles warmly. “Although I can’t imagine him leaving anyone else to run the other branch themselves. He’ll probably be wanting to putter around between them quite a lot.”
Zuko sighs. “Yeah, I did say he should take it easy, but you know. He’s still stubborn sometimes.”
Mai watches him in conversation. Every now and then, their eyes meet, and his face softens every time with a seemingly uncontrollable smile, never failing to include her and ask for her input.
“Yo, this place is neat. It smells so good,” Sokka rambles loudly as he rubs his hands together in excitement, looking over Azula’s shoulder at her phone screen. He gasps at a photo flashing by, “Ooh, ooh — go back! I saw a pork set. That one! Everyone in favor of the pork set?!”
Azula bats his face away with a palm, even smacking him in the arm for good measure. “Ow, you were right next to my ear!”
“I don’t think I can ever eat again,” Ty Lee groans as they make their way to the counter to pay. “I definitely overdid it.”
“Me too,” Mai sighs, a bit regretful.
“Hey guys, did you find everything okay?” the cashier beams at the group.
“Yes, perfect,” Azula says primly. “Thank you.”
“Great!” The cashier reads out the total. “Will that be cash or card tonight?” Seeing multiple cards being brought out by the group, he winces, pointing towards the sign reading NO SPLIT PAYMENTS stuck on the counter just below eye level. “Ah, my apologies—we don’t take split payments.”
“No worries,” Azula nods, handing over her card. “I’ll get it. Use this one, please.”
The group buzzes about loudly as they exit the shop, all speaking over each other to ask Azula for her bank account details. She declines, though the group doesn’t stop pressing, huddled on the curb in front of the bustling tea shop.
“It’s fine,” Azula waves them off. “Seriously.”
“Nah, man, that wouldn’t be right,” Sokka says. “You ate the least out of all of us, too.”
“Zuko, could you send it to us?” Ty Lee asks. He nods, already busy on his phone, despite one hand holding Mai’s.
Suki agrees, “Yeah, make a group or something.”
Azula rolls her eyes. “You guys are unbelievably hard-headed.”
In her pocket, Mai feels her phone vibrate with multiple notifications as her friends start to send screenshots of their bank transactions, and she pulls it out to do the same.
Zuko spots her out of the corner of his eye and shakes his head at her. “Hey, don’t worry. I already got it.”
Mai can feel her cheeks reddening. “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”
Sokka nearly walks into a street lamp as he tries to take a screenshot.
“Seriously,” Azula says, “you don’t all have to do it right now—”
Something behind Mai catches Azula’s attention, and her sentence trails off. Mai follows her line of sight.
A plump man with a kind face and a distinct white beard was behind the counter at the tea shop, donning a green uniform and white apron, one hand raised mid-wave. Zuko waves back, enthused, a small smile on his face. He nudges his sister.
Azula waves, too.
Mai recognizes him as the face in the logo of The Jasmine Dragon above them, the smiling bearded man with a cup of steaming tea nestled in his hands.
“Very busy,” he mouths—or, at least Mai thinks that’s what he said—pulling a regretful face before his face defaults into a cheerful smile again.
Zuko simply heads inside and Mai watches as they talk. Iroh’s eyes land on her for a moment, shooting her a smile and a wink before turning his attention back to his nephew and nodding.
“Okay, gang — who’s going first?” Zuko asks once he returns from the tea shop, twirling his car keys in his fingers. “Zula?”
“I’ve already called the chauffeur,” Azula says. “He should be here in five.”
“Alright,” Zuko nods. “Sokka?”
He shakes his head. “Oh nah, all good, man - I’ll take the train with Suki. Gotta walk her home.”
“You sure, dude?”
“Yeah, a walk would do my stomach good,” Sokka confirms, going in for a hug/fist bump hybrid which looked well-practiced to Mai. The thought makes her smile. “See you on Monday, bro.”
“Ty?” Zuko offers as Suki and Sokka start to bid their goodbyes to the rest of the group.
“Oh, uh,” Ty Lee hesitates. “I’ll catch the train with these guys.”
Azula raises a skeptical brow. “Don’t be daft. You get off at different stations, you’ll be walking home alone. Someone could stalk you.”
Mai nods. “We’ll take you home, Ty.”
Ty Lee looks between her and Zuko. “Oh no, I don’t want to intrude on anything. I’m good - promise!”
Blushing, Mai and Zuko sputter variations of “no, you’re fine!” and “you’re not intruding on anything!” awkwardly at the same time. Sokka is already wrapping an arm around Suki’s shoulders as they begin walking away.
“Jesus, you two. Get going. I’ll get the chauffeur to drop her off,” Azula sighs, head turned off to the side. She can spot the familiar sedan pulling into an empty bay.
Mai locks eyes with Ty Lee, a silent question. You okay?
Ty Lee nods, then shifts her gaze on the ground. “Thanks, Azula.”
“Let me know when you get home,” Mai tells the pair.
Parting ways, Zuko waves at the driver as the sedan pulls off with the girls inside. He leans on the side of the car, fingers drumming against his pocket.
“Ah, so full…” he groans and throws his head back, making her laugh. “Sorry, give me a minute then we’ll go. What time is it?”
Mai glances at her watch. 7 o’clock.
“It’s fine,” she says, stepping into his space. He tips his head back down to look at her, eyes catching on her lips. “We still have time.”
Zuko smiles when their eyes meet, a dorky little thing that makes her heart squeeze. Boldly, he snakes his arms around her waist, pulling her close. “Do you want to do something else?”
Mai shrugs, playing nonchalant, though her heart is now hammering a million beats a minute in her chest at their newfound closeness. “Do you?”
“Let’s get out of here,” Zuko says lowly, and as his hands fall onto her hips as he guides them upright she catches a whiff of his cologne. It makes her head swim.
God. I’m screwed, aren’t I?
He opens the door for her again and makes sure she’s seated comfortably before closing the door and stepping off to the driver’s side.
He turns the key and the engine roars to life.
Mai stares at his side profile as he pulls off the lot and into the street. She’s rendered a little speechless by how effortlessly gorgeous he is, one hand on the wheel, the other carding his fingers through soft dark hair. Then they settle on the steering wheel too, tapping along to the music. She realizes he’s probably itching for a smoke by now.
Not wanting a repeat of their last outing, Mai takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. Zuko stills for a split-second, glancing at her from his peripheral. She catches a smile playing on his lips.
Eventually he had to drop her hand for a maneuver, but not before pressing it to his lips for a kiss.
Mai is burning up inside. She’s never been touched like this. How do you do what you’re doing to me? Her heartbeat skyrockets when Zuko casually idles his hand on her thigh, striking up a conversation as he drives.
“Is your place close by?” she asks, once there’s a lull in the chatter.
“Yeah,” Zuko nods, seemingly oblivious. “We can stop by if you like.”
“Well, I mean… you’ve been to mine. Technically.”
He laughs, playing along. “Oh, does that count? Yeah, we can go, then.”
“Only if it’s okay.”
Zuko flashes her another winning smile. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
That’s how they end up in his uncle’s house, fifteen minutes away from the tea shop.
“It’s really nice,” Mai says lightly as she took in the sight. The house was a balanced mix of modern and traditional styles. It’s clean and neat, but in a cosy and inviting way instead of a cold and drab way. It looks… lived in. One of Zuko’s jackets is draped on a chair in the dining area. The scent of sweet jasmine and something earthy lingered in the air. “How long have you lived here again?”
“Oh, since I was thirteen,” he says. “This is a really old house, though. It just looks the way it is now because of Uncle Iroh.”
“Ah. Everything I’ve heard of him has been very positive,” Mai smiles. “Sounds like a great man.”
Zuko beams at her, even though she can’t see, too busy looking around. “He is.”
“He definitely raised a fine gentleman.”
He laughs. When she turns around to look at him, he’s lingering by the entry to the kitchen, looking at her expectantly like an excited puppy.
“Want some ice cream?”
At the end of the night, Zuko walks her to her doorstep, still laughing about the multiple photos and videos sent of Sokka in the trunk of the car in the new group chat.
Their laughter fizzles out and Mai sighs as they come to a stop, turning to face him.
“Well,” he says, tilting his watch towards his face. “8:29. Right on time.”
“Yeah,” she chuckles. “Thank you. For tonight.”
“Of course. I really like spending time with you.”
“Me too.” Mai bites her lip. “But I have to go.”
“Right,” Zuko startles, “yeah, sure, you go ahead. Um, good night?”
She gazes at him for a moment, thinking.
“My room is around the back,” she says pointedly. “White curtain. There’s a lattice under the window.”
“Uh, okay..?”
She fixes him with a deadpan stare until he gets it.
“Oh,” Zuko’s eyes widen, a blush coloring his cheeks.
Mai smirks. “See you later?”