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Mai had been fine right up until she was about to knock on her parents’ door. It was only then that she was overcome with doubt and a deep, stomach-churning anxiety.
“What’s wrong?” Aang asked. He had his hand resting against the small of her back, an unconscious gesture of comfort. Since they had gotten together, Aang was always touching her, a persistent reminder that he was here, and he was hers.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Mai answered honestly. Her mind was filled with the worst possible scenarios: they would disown her, they would laugh at her, they would insist that she stay. She was so used to just going along with whatever they said that she didn’t know if she could directly disobey them like that.
“Well, we have to. Otherwise they’ll think I’ve stolen you away, and I am not going through that again.”
“You whisk a lot of young women away then?” Aang’s plan was working; there was the barest hint of a smile on her face.
“Enough to know not to do it anymore.” He laughed and pulled her close, pressing his lips against the top of her head. “It’s going to be fine. They like me.”
Not enough. Not for this. Before Mai could drown even further in her own thoughts, she knocked on the door.
A servant girl answered and led them to the sitting room, directing them to take a seat on the couch. Mai perched on the edge of the cushion, her back ramrod straight and her hands folded stiffly in her lap.
“Mai, what a pleasant surprise,” her mother cooed as she strode into the room, Ukano close behind. They both stopped short when they saw who was accompanying her. “Avatar Aang! I apologize, my daughter didn’t warn me that you would be visiting. I would have prepared something if I had known—”
“Please, Michi, don’t worry about it. It’s my fault this is so last minute,” Aang halted her mother’s dithering by clasping her hands between his, giving her his most winning smile. The gesture was startlingly informal, but Michi seemed to be soothed by his reassurance. Aang nodded his head in a slight bow to Ukano, again bypassing the usual pageantry that visitors to their house usually went through. Bemused but temporarily put at ease, Mai’s parents settled on the couch opposite them.
“I am intrigued, to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?” Mai had to force herself not to roll her eyes at her mother’s false sweetness, but she was relieved that she had relented when Aang insisted on talking to her parents together. This would be a lot more difficult without him to smooth things over.
“Is Tom-Tom here?” Mai asked. Michi tilted her head at her daughter’s abruptness, but sent the maid to bring Tom-Tom to the sitting room. Aang didn’t allow the space to be filled with awkward silence while they waited, engaging her parents in light small talk.
“Mai! Aang!” Tom-Tom joyfully announced, trotting into the room at the fastest pace he could manage without getting scolded for running in the house. Mai’s expression softened when her brother hugged her, and she held him in her arms for perhaps a second too long.
“Okay, we’re all here. What’s this about?”
Mai took a deep breath. She hadn’t had much time to really think about what she was going to say, but had decided to be short and blunt.“Aang is leaving tomorrow.” Michi and Ukano made vague, disappointed noises, which Mai interrupted as she continued. “I’m going with him.”
Deathly quiet. All three of them started at Mai as though she had grown a second head. “What?” her mother croaked.
“We’re together, and I’ve decided that I want to go with him.” She reached out to hold Aang’s hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. Her parents watched the movement through disbelieving eyes.
“You’re...but you said…” Michi’s voice was breathy, faint, a tad overdramatic.
“Mai, this is highly unorthodox,” Ukano interjected.
“A few weeks ago you wanted me to marry him. What did you think would happen?”
“But you aren’t marrying him, are you?” Ukano turned his attention to Aang. “Avatar, with all due respect, this is not how things are done here.”
“I know, and I take some responsibility for this,” Aang responded mildly. His thumb was rubbing calming circles on the back of Mai’s hand. “I didn’t ask her to come with me until today.”
“Mai, we’re just looking out for your best interests,” Michi was practically pleading. “People will talk.”
“I don’t care.” It wasn’t a lie. Since deciding to leave with Aang, Mai had thought a lot about her reputation in Caldera City, and she realized that she truly didn’t mind what people here thought of her. Michi looked taken aback, her mouth drawn in a thin line. “I’m doing this to be happy.”
Michi and Ukano shared one of those looks that passed as an entire conversation for them. With a sigh, they rose to their feet. “I suppose, if this is what you want…” Her father trailed off, at a loss for words. It was as close to their blessing as they were likely to get.
“Thank you.”
“You’re really leaving?” Tom-Tom spoke up for the first time. Mai’s resolve wavered, and she gathered him in her arms.
“Not forever. We’ll be back in about a year, I promise.” She raised her gaze to meet her parents’ eyes, giving them the same promise.
While Mai said goodbye to Tom-Tom, she could hear Aang speaking to Michi and Ukano in a low voice. “I swear, I’ll keep her safe. Although she really doesn’t need my help with that.” She smiled into Tom-Tom’s hair.
Mai was enveloped by her parents one at a time; one soft and perfumed with flowers, the other lean and sturdy. “You will get married soon, won’t you?” Michi murmured in her ear. Mai didn’t answer, and her mother didn’t repeat herself. She knew better.
“How do you feel?” Aang asked. They had elected to walk rather than fly. He was still holding her hand, swinging it between them.
Mai thought for a minute. “I feel…” It was hard to pin down. She was relieved her parents had given them their blessing, however begrudging it was. It also meant there was nothing left stopping her from going. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
“Free.”