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August.
Mai should have loved august. She should have loved being on their new annual Ember Island getaway with him. She should have loved watching sunrises and sunsets with the Firelord.
There were a lot of things she should have loved. But as his hand was in hers, and as the waves rolled against their feet, she felt nothing but the wind against her face. It ruffled her hair, played with her skirt. The salt air whisked her mind away to a solitary, happy place, somewhere without the names and faces of her friends and loved ones.
She felt Zuko sigh next to her. A better girlfriend would have asked if he was okay, but Mai kept the silence. It’s what he would have done. She wondered, as she so often did, where his mind was. She could never tell- he always kept his walls up. Not that she could complain about the very thing he accused her of so many times, though.
By all means, things should have gotten better after the war. No more violence and strife, no more arguing and stress on Zuko’s back. And it had been better for the first year. He found time to spend with her. He brought her presents. It had been better, back when he gave her a reason to hope. But these days were different and distant. He spent more time with the Kyoshi Warriors than with her. Spending time with them was fine-Mai wasn’t the jealous type. But she couldn’t help but wonder where his heart lay. If he was still hers. If he ever was.
Her nose twitched. If I painted my face, would he kiss it like he used to?
August was a cruel month. August could bring them closer physically, but it did nothing but highlight the distance between them. Before she knew it, another August would slip away like a moment in time.
And he still won’t be mine.