About a year and a half into Zuko's rule, he and Mai break it off.
"I--" he starts, then sighs, slouching further forward. "I'm gay."
"I know" Mai tells him. "I am too." She can see his shoulders release the tension they had been holding, relieved. Had he really thought she'd be mad? "I've seen the way you look at Sokka," she continues. "I knew you never looked at me like that."
He nods. "I still love you though."
She gives him a small smile. "I love you too, Zuko."
"So when are you going to talk to Ty Lee?" He teases.
She pushes him into the pond, laughing at his indignant sputtering in a way she hasn't felt free to do in awhile.
...
When she arrives on Kyoshi Island Suki greets her.
"It's great to see you, Mai. I'm sure Ty Lee will be happy to see you. Does she know you're here?"
Mai suddenly feels sheepish. "I actually didn't tell her I was coming..."
"Oh, well, she's over here if you'll follow me." Suki seems surprised at her lack of communication, but nevertheless leads the way.
They walk in relative silence, but Mai can tell the warrior wants to ask about her lapse in writing back to Ty Lee. She decides to change the subject. "So... Has Sokka visited recently?"
Suki chuckles. "He visited about 9 months ago, but I haven't seen him since." She pauses for a few seconds before continuing. "We actually broke up, but we still write to one another, so we're still on good terms."
Mai thinks back to Zuko. "That's nice." He'd better not screw up this opportunity.
...
When Mai sees Ty Lee, the world freezes for a second.
Surrounded by the other warriors, clad in the bright makeup, Mai sees her as she's always wanted to be: strong, happy, beautiful. Although she's in a sea of green and white, Mai can spot her immediately. She has a certain way she holds herself, as if she's brimming with excitement and wonder constantly. Mai's never understood, but maybe that's why Ty Lee charms her so.
But here, surrounded by all these cheery girls, Mai feels like she's intruding. She stays in the doorway, afraid to enter.
Ty Lee spots her after a few moments. After a brief second of confusion, her face breaks out into the widest grin and she sprints forward, vaulting over every obstacle--and woman--in her way. Mai's caught a bit off guard when she leaps into her arms, hugging her like a tree. Mai almost falls back, but she won't fall. She'll always catch Ty Lee.
...
Throughout dinner, Mai catches her gaze slipping to the warrior's lips.
It's nothing new, Mai used to stare at her often, but she'd do it when no one was looking. Now she can't stop herself from openly taking her friend in, cataloging every inch of her. Ty Lee beams--seemingly oblivious to Mai's internal strife--and tells her of life on Kyoshi Island.
...
Due to a new influx of recruits, it seems they're low on beds.
"Oh don't worry," Ty Lee assures her. "You can share with me!"
It's a twin bed.
No matter how hard Mai tries, she's still touching Ty Lee. Every position she moves to seems to provide more skin-to-skin contact. She groans internally. This is decidedly not helping.
"Here, this might be more comfortable." Ty Lee pulls on Mai's shoulder so they're facing each other. Mai wants to run and hide from the raw adoration in the other woman's gaze, but instead she lets Ty Lee maneuver her arms around her waste. They're very close. Mai can feel every breath Ty Lee takes, and she hopes that she won't notice the uneven exhales coming from her own mouth. Ty Lee turns around so that Mai's spooning her.
"Goodnight!" She says, like this is perfectly normal and fine and completely platonic.
"Night."
...
Suki lets Ty Lee take a bit of time off from training.
She spends this time dragging Mai around the village, showing her every nook and cranny on the island. At every corner there's a new surprise that makes her squeal and exclaim "okay, this might be my favorite spot." Mai rolls her eyes but obligingly follows.
Ty Lee leads her, holding tight to her hand the entire time.
...
The campfire is finally dying down when Ty Lee turns to her.
"Can I kiss you?" She asks innocently. Mai feels like she might pass out on the spot.
"Um, what?" she articulately replies.
"It's just that, when I came here, I was so happy to finally be in a place I felt like I belonged, but I realized something was missing. I guess we've spent so much time together that I never thought what it'd be like to live without you. I've decided I don't like it." She concludes confidently.
It's all Mai needs to hear.
"Yeah, I missed you too."
She thinks Ty Lee starts to giggle about how husky her voice had been, but Mai's pressing her smiling lips to her laughing ones before she can feel embarrassed.