Chapter Text
At first, Zuko assumed that the repetitive tune ringing through his head was part of his dream. He blinked through his sleepy fog, rolling onto his back while the annoying chime still echoed throughout his room. It wasn’t until he felt the vibrations under his butt that he realized it was in fact his phone that was responsible for the incessant ringing and not his dreamscape.
He felt around for the flat surface, his fingers finally brushing over the warm screen. Picking it up in his sleepy hands, and thumbed the green button before lazily placing it to his ear.
“Good morning best man!” Sokka’s exuberant tone blasted through the phone, causing Zuko to quickly yank the device away. No one’s voice should be that cheery for this early in the morning.
With his eardrum still ringing, he cautiously placed the phone back to his ear. “Best man? What are you talking about?” he rasped, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He turned his head slightly, squinting at the red digits of his alarm- 4:00 am .
“Aang didn’t tell you yet? You’re gonna be his best man,” he explained. There was a pause between them, as Zuko still was processing the new information. “Ya know… for the wedding?”
“The wedding?” Zuko questioned, sleep still clouding his mind.
“Yes, the wedding...in a few weeks?” Sokka reminded. “Ember Island remember? We’ve been planning this for a few awhile now...”
The wedding... Aang’s wedding... It took a few seconds for his sleep-deprived mind to catch up to the current conversation, but soon enough, it hit him like a truck. “Yes, the wedding!” Zuko sat erect, as memories came flooding back. “The wedding at Ember Island, yes. I remember,” He spoke assertively, the fog having cleared.
He was still surprised that Aang had convinced Katara to marry him in the first place. She had been occupied for the longest time with finishing medical school and looking towards the future, while he was busy living in the moment, which included maintaining a small yoga studio and living out of a trailer. They were the most opposite people on the planet, yet somehow they found each other. Love has mysterious ways of working, something that Zuko was still trying to figure out.
“Yeah, he wants you to fly out in a week. The wedding still isn’t for a couple of weeks but he just wants all our opinions on certain things about the ceremony. Oh, and not to mention the banger bachelor party I’m planning...” Zuko could practically hear Sokka’s conspicuous grin on the other line. “And it gives you and I plenty of time to hook you up with a few people...Maybe find your future Mr. or Mrs. Zuko…”
Of course, Sokka would use them coming together as an excuse to badger him about his bachelor status. Out of the entire group, Zuko and Toph were the only singles standing, and since the latter would most likely kick someone's ass if they so as tried to bring up her love life, that left poor old Zuko as the prime object for their teasing. Sokka had even designated himself to be his personal matchmaker. Zuko couldn’t help but gag as he remembered all the attempts his friend had done to try and connect him with someone, all of which had turned out to be absolute failures and embarrassments. He wasn’t about to deal with that again.
“I um,” he gulped. “I’m actually seeing someone right now.” He ran a hand through his hair, hoping that would be enough to quell his badgering.
Zuko could hear collective gasps come from the other side and palmed his forehead as he realized that he was on speaker. “Well, they can come along too!” Sokka offered.
“I don’t think that’s really necessary,” he digressed, trying to retreat from the now growing dumpster fire.
“Zuko you have to bring them over!” Suki’s voice picked up on the line. “Everyone will be so excited!”
“I wanna meet Mr. or Mrs. King of Angst!” Toph added in the distance.
“C’mon Zuko, we’re practically family! Let us meet them,” Sokka urged with the final plea.
Zuko had really walked right into that one, head first. There was no one to blame but himself for the grave he had started digging himself into. He minus well be thinking of his epitaph now.
“Fine. If I bring them, will you shut up about it?” he questioned. Why am I still going along with this stupid, stupid idea?
There was a pause on the other line. “Yes,” the three-spoke simultaneously.
He sighed, burying his face in his other hand. “Fine,” he agreed.
“Great! See you in a week, bud,” Sokka spoke. “Tell your date we’ll be looking forward to meeting them…”
Zuko could hear the small whispers from the other line, mixed in with mischievous chuckles.
“Goodbye, Sokka,” he groaned before quickly ending the call. He gazed at the screen for a few moments, digesting his conversation. He should be happy, shouldn’t he? Being picked as best man for his friend’s wedding has to be one of the biggest signs of friendship in the world. But that enthusiasm was instead taken up by complete dread. Not only had he lied about being involved with someone, but he had also promised his group of friends to bring this imaginary-person to a wedding. A wedding!
Zuko had done plenty of stupid things in his life, but this by far had to be one of the stupidest. A part of him hoped that this conversation had been nothing but a fever dream, but the sharp pain that came when he pinched himself on his arm proved otherwise.
He tossed the phone aside and crashed back into the bed with a grunt. His mind raced with how he would pull this stunt off, thinking of people that would possibly be willing to take part in such a venture. One particular person kept coming to mind, but he quickly brushed the idea aside. Their relationship was... complicated, to say the least. But the more he mulled over it, the more he realized that there was really no one else he knew of that would be able to pull it off besides them.
It would take quite the convincing on his part- they didn’t take bribes too easily. But there was no harm in trying... right?
The ringing of the bell over the door interrupted Mai from her colorful arrangement of panda lilies and carnations. Placing one final flower into the arrangement, she brushed her hands on her apron and paused her music. She cast a glance up at the new customer, eyes widening as they settled on a familiar set of golden eyes.
“Zuko?” she questioned, stepping out from behind the large floral arrangements. “What are you doing here?”
She never took him for the flower-giving kind of guy. Even while they were dating, some odd three years ago, he never once greeted her with a bouquet or surprised her with a basket of flowers. Then again, she made it blatantly clear that she wasn’t into that sort of frilly, romantic gesture, but maybe this mysterious recipient of his was different. Not that she cared of course.
But the flustered look in his eyes made her realize that it probably wasn’t flowers that he was looking for. He was swaying side to side, his fingers tapping a quick continuous rhythm on his thigh as if he were running out of time. “Mai, hey,” he breathed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What’s up with you?” she perked a brow, crossing her arms.
“Well, uh, I was just wondering if you maybe, uh, ...wanted to grab a coffee or something,” he sputtered. Zuko cast a glance at the older woman behind the counter, who was most definitely Mai’s aunt, peering at him with half-lidded eyes. “Right now. If you’re not busy that is.”
Something told her there was a catch to this sudden invitation and she was not about to get roped into whatever trouble he had gotten himself into this time. She was about to decline his offer, concocting some random excuse, but before she could utter a word, her aunt interrupted.
“She’s not busy at all,” Mura spoke. Zuko perked up at the older woman’s comment, turning back to Mai for confirmation.
Mai cast a sharp side-eye towards her aunt, who returned with a mischievous wink. She sighed, knowing that there was no way she could get out of this one without sounding like a complete ass. “It appears I suddenly have a break in my schedule,” she begrudgingly responded.
“Great! Um, I’ll wait for you to get your things, and then we can head over,” he spoke with relief.
Mai swiftly turned on her heel as she headed towards the back to retrieve her coat and other belongings, leaving Zuko and Aunt Mura in awkward silence. Old music played softly over the store speakers, and Zuko’s gaze bounced between the different arrangements to avoid the awkward eye contact with Mai’s aunt.
“I like a man who doesn’t give up,” Mura spoke with a smirk. Zuko gulped nervously, the room suddenly feeling a little too warm for his comfort.
“So what’s the catch?” Mai questioned as the two settled in one of the booths in the cafe.
“We’re friends right?” Zuko questioned, gripping the edge of the table. “I mean we basically grew up together, being next-door neighbors and going to the same school...until I moved...and yeah we dated for a while and broke up but that's a different story!” he chuckled nervously, catching himself before he rambled. “We’re friends though, right?”
Mai sipped her tea casually, glancing up at the ball of nerves sitting in front of her. “Yes,” she responded suspiciously, taking another sip of the hot liquid.
“And friends would do anything for each other, right?” he continued, his eyes never leaving hers.
Mai furrowed her brows, placing the cup down on the coaster. “What are you getting at here?”
Zuko sighed, mentally preparing himself for the conversation he wasn't yet ready to have. “I need a favor…” he began. “And I promise if you do this I’ll make it up to you ten times over. A hundred- A thousand times over!”
“Spit it out already,” she pressed, her patience quickly waning.
“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
If Mai had taken another sip of her tea, she would have found herself spitting it out on the man in front of her. Instead, her eyes widened as large as saucers, her hand clenching around the cup.
“Look, I know about what happened on our last try and I promise nothing is going to happen between us this time around. I just need this one favor,” he pleaded.
Mai pursed her lips, being reminded of their past attempt to add romance to their relationship, and all the secrets, arguments, and harsh feelings that came with it. They were still kids back then, finishing up college, and struggling to find their place in the world. A relationship only added more stress. It was an amicable breakup, and they mutually agreed that they were much better off as friends.
“And why do you even need someone to be your fake lover?” Mai questioned cautiously.
“One of my best friends is getting married and he made me his best man. He and the rest of them have been hounding me about love and finding someone, and to shut them up, I may have said I met someone. Well, now they want to meet this said-someone and if I show up alone I won’t hear the last of it for years to come.”
“And there’s no one else who can do this?”
Zuko shrugged. “You’re really the only friend I have here.”
Mai sighed, clasping her hands in front of her. This certainly was the stupidest thing someone had ever asked her to do, and it was no surprise that it was coming from Zuko.
“What’s in it for me?” she found herself asking. Normally, she would immediately decline this outlandish offer, but yet she couldn’t find herself saying no to him. In fact, she felt just slightly charmed that Zuko was comfortable enough in going to her first.
“A free trip to Ember Island,” he replied with a cheeky smile.
Mai hated Ember Island. She used to dread her family trips to the island when she was younger. It was too sunny for its own good, and the humidity made her hair frizz upon landing. The people were always so cheery and nonchalant, and walked around half-clothed or wearing the absolute pits of fashion- shorts and flip flops. She couldn’t even start on how much she hated sand; how the coarse little grains managed to get from the beach all the way into the bed and wouldn’t leave no matter how much one cleaned up.
Zuko noticed her distaste at the offer and quickly threw in another bargain. “Not to mention all the food you can eat and a month of free tea at the Jasmine Dragon.”
Mai, as tough and calloused as she presented herself to be, had an extreme weakness to food as well as his Uncle’s tea. Zuko was pulling at straws at this point, and he felt that he had no choice but to place all the cards on the table, even if it would take a large chunk out of his bank account.
Sure enough, that final bribe managed to pique her interest. She eyed him cautiously, debating her options. “Okay, let’s make it six months,” Zuko added. It had to be an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“You’re really desperate, aren’t you?” she questioned with a wry smile. Zuko nodded profusely, clasping his hands together as if he were praying to her.
She sighed, sitting back against the booth, her arms crossed in thought. It had been a while since she had left Republic City, and she wouldn’t mind taking a break from the boring, monotony of city life for a week or two, even if it was to the sunny and balmy Ember Island. It wasn’t her ideal vacation spot, but it was an escape nonetheless- and it was free. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to take a vacation…” she shrugged.
His face brightened, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“On one condition,” she shot her index finger up, and his face faltered. “No kissing, or cuddling, or doing stupid couple things.”
“Mai, we’re pretending to be a couple here,” Zuko informed. It would be less than convincing if they acted as if they were barely acquaintances.
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Fine, hugging, hand-holding, and the occasional kiss is permissible. But not on the lips,” she compromised.
Zuko nodded, putting out a hand to finalize the agreement. She shook it reluctantly. “And when it’s over, we will never speak of it again. Not to our friends, or our family,” she spoke sharply. “We’ll forget this ever happened.”
“Deal.” He spoke with an assured smile.
It was going to be a vacation with his friend, who just so happened to be his ex. The worst that could happen would be the rest of his posse finding out about their little arrangement, but Mai was the human equivalent of a bank vault. If there was someone who could keep secrets, it would be her.
Everything would be fine. It was just for a couple of weeks. Nothing could go wrong.