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[in the southern water tribe]
“You’re coming to Caldera with me,” Katara repeats. “Why?”
“Because my best friend in the entire world invited me. I don’t know if you’ve ever met him—Prince Zuko. Kind of tall. Master swordsman. Ponytail.”
Katara bends a splash of water from her basin and hits Sokka’s face.
There’s still a hint of smirk on Sokka’s face as he wipes the water with the back of his gloved hand.
Katara was about to enter her last year of school in the Fire Nation. Spending the summer home in the Southern Water Tribe, as always, she had time to ponder about what she wanted to do after.
She was thinking of maybe going to the Northern Water Tribe for a bit so she could learn how to heal. She knew how to do the very basics, like sooth burns and close cuts, because Hama had a scroll; however, Hama never learned how to heal. So Katara doesn’t really know how—just knows how to stop her friends from dying.
She was thinking of maybe checking out Ba Sing Se University to see what kind of courses they had to offer. Schooling in the Fire Nation was agonizing enough and she wasn’t sure she’d want to commit to higher education.
Ty Lee was going to join the “circus” (read: tour and assassinate war criminals), and to everyone’s surprise, Suki offered her a spot in the Kyoshi Warriors. Azula wasn’t exactly thrilled about that, but Ty Lee has always been a free spirit.
Mai—well, Katara didn’t really know. All she knows is that Mai was currently interning at a blacksmith’s shop making all kinds of metal weapons. She loved it, so Katara assumed she’d just stick to that.
At the end of the day, however, Katara wanted to end up back in the Fire Nation. Probably. Because her family away from home lives there.
“Well how long are you going to be there?”
Sokka ignored her and responded, “Zuko invited me stay in the palace himself.”
“The palace?”
“I tried to say, oh no, Prince Zuko, I couldn’t bear to accept the invitation, but he insisted. ‘Sokka, I can’t have my best friend in the entire world stay at some inn,’” he said with a rather good Zuko impression.
Katara rolls her eyes, “Shut up, Sokka.”
Sokka keeps up the impression, “Just come with Katara. Then I can see my two favorite people arrive together.”
Katara’s face softens at that.
This breaks Sokka out of character as he groans. “Ick! I guess I didn’t really think about how I’m going to experience you two being lovey-dovey.”
“But don’t you love how your best friend in the entire world is the one with your favorite little sister?” she clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes at Sokka.
He throws a washcloth at her face.
[in the Fire Nation]
“Okay, Sokka, I’m interning at the hospital and Zuko has a few meetings. Can I trust you to wander around town for a few hours without getting in trouble?”
“I’m not a kid, Katara. And plus, why can’t you get one of your pretty friends to hang out with me?”
“Oh, no. I know what you’re planning. I’m not going to let you hit on Ty Lee and Azula would last a few minutes before deciding she wants to murder you.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re missing someone.”
“The Kyoshi Warrior? Well, she’s not really my friend—”
Sokka rolls his eyes. “No, the other one.”
Katara snorts, “Mai? Nope, no way. I’m not letting her waste her time with you.”
Mai,
I miss you! But I know you know that because I write you every week saying the same thing; but I really do. Being away from the Fire Nation is always hard.
Anyways, I need to let you know something. My brother, Sokka, is coming with me to Caldera because Zuko invited him. I wanted to let you know because I think of all people I know, he’d be most interested in you.
And I know what you’re thinking—and I’m telling you not to. I know him and I know what type of woman he likes. Just, please, if you meet him before I can introduce you two, please don’t be mad if he hits on you! He’s not trying to be offensive, but at the South Pole, there isn’t anyone his age so I’m not entirely confident he knows how to hit on girls.
Also, I know you’re going to reject his advances, but again, please don’t take offense to anything!
I can’t wait to see you!
Love you,
Katara
Mai looks at the letter Katara wrote her, speechless. She thinks of all the people she knows, her brother would like her? She even said I know what you’re thinking because has Katara met Mai?
She’s definitely not the prettiest one in the group, nor the most outgoing. She’s perhaps even the least interesting. It doesn’t hurt Mai to think this way, not really. She’s not really interested in boys hitting on her (which they do sometimes) and she’s not that much into romance.
She’s not even really met a guy who garnered her attention—save for the Prince, but look at how that turned out.
She takes a scroll from her drawer and takes her quill.
Sure thing.
Miss you too,
Mai
Mai’s leaving the blacksmith shop after sharpening weapons all day long. In the sword aisle of the shop, she sees a boy she’s never seen before. Not seeing a man she’s never seen before isn’t unusual—they do get tourists and travelers, after all—but he has a wolf tail and is wearing a Water Tribe tunic designed to withstand the Fire Nation heat.
He must sense someone is staring at him because he turns to look at her.
When their eyes meet, Mai’s heart starts beating faster and to her horror, she can feel the blood spread to her face. Shit, she thinks, that’s Katara’s brother. She can tell because he looks so much like her—and he’s so fucking handsome.
But because Mai’s fucking awkward, embarrassing and stupid¸ she turns on her heels and walks away. She hopes he leaves it alone. They’ll probably meet, preferably with Katara, and she hopes he doesn’t bring up that god awful embarrassing interaction.
She’s too absorbed in her thoughts that she doesn’t hear heavy footsteps following behind her, which is unusual because Mai’s an expert in stealth and she’s always listening to strange sounds and movements.
Before she rounds a corner, she hears, “You’re the Mai girl.”
She turns to face him and repeats, “The Mai girl.”
“You helped my sister when she first got here. You protected her.”
Mai snorts, “You know she could bloodbend, right? She doesn’t need me.”
“She did back then.” Sokka pauses, looks at his hands for a second and looks back at her, “Why’d you help her?”
“You know, you’ve hardly introduced yourself. You’re getting kind of personal.”
“I’m Sokka. Do you mind if I walk with you then?”
Without answering, Mai continues to walk ahead; but when she doesn’t hear him follow her, she looks back, inviting him to come with her.
“You hungry?” she asks.
He gives her a half-smile that nearly makes her melt. “Starving.”
Mai prays to Agni that she comes off as way cooler and nonchalant than she for sure doesn’t feel on the inside.
“I’m guessing you don’t really use chopsticks in the South Pole,” Mai observes the way Sokka is holding his chopsticks, how he’s having a bit of difficulty scooping up the rice. It would bring deep shame to a Fire Nation family.
Sokka lets out a nervous laugh, “No, we don’t really. Is it that bad?”
“No,” Mai lies.
“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better. Before Katara left to come here, we made sure she knew how to use them. I didn’t get the same training.”
Mai knew, of course, but she never really considered that Katara got to go to the Fire Nation over her older brother. Not that going to the Fire Nation was some huge accomplishment and that everyone wanted to come here; but it did represent opportunities that they wouldn’t have gotten in their home country.
“Do you miss her when she’s gone?” Mai knows she isn’t one to really ask personal questions, but Sokka doesn’t know that.
Sokka looks as if he’s deep concentration as he picks up a piece of raw salmon, tries to lightly dip it in the soy sauce, and instead drops the whole thing in the dish.
“I mean, it’s been a long time now, but the first couple of years were tough.” He swallows the salmon. “But she was always destined for big things. The South Pole is too small.”
Mai doesn’t respond, willing the conversation to die out into a comfortable silence. She’s nervous as hell being out with Sokka and she’s trying hard not to stare. It’s working, but mostly because he’s focused on eating.
She’s known for being cool, calm, and collected, seemingly never giving a fuck. But she can’t regulate her breathing around him. He’s too…fucking beautiful. Even when he doesn’t know how to eat with chopsticks—that somehow makes him more endearing to her.
She’s afraid she’ll drop her rice herself.
Caught up in her thoughts again, she barely registers that he’s looking right back at her. His expression pensive.
No, Mai thinks, you will not figure me out. I don’t care how dreamy you are. Wait, did he ask me a question?
“Wait, sorry, did you ask me a question?”
Sokka wears a soft smirk, as if he knows the chaos happening in Mai’s ribcage is because of him.
“You never answered my question: Why’d you help Katara? I figured we’re sharing this lovely meal together. It’s okay to get a bit personal.”
She didn’t want to tell Sokka that she really did find the Water Tribes fascinating. That her favorite caretaker was from the Northern Water Tribe who painted pictures of the frozen wonderland daily. That those pictures were the background to Mai’s most frequent daydreams as a child, serving as a source of excitement and joy in her bleak, sad world.
She sure in hell wouldn’t tell Sokka that sometimes she would imagine her future husband would have tan, aged skin from the snow and sun with tattooed, muscular shoulders and arms from providing for the tribe. She imagined her husband as stoic and strong, a leader in places where she lacked.
She didn’t want to sound like she fetishized the Water Tribe and their men, and to horror that’s exactly what it sounded like.
“The people of the Fire Nation could be cruel. They don’t understand the value of being the last anything and I wanted to see your sister succeed.”
“But why?”
“Why does there have to be a reason, Sokka? I just did. That’s how I felt.”
Sokka looked at her, expectant and patient. Mai felt a stirring in her stomach. She was nervous, and it didn’t help how much she found how cute Sokka was.
Finally, Mai sighs, “Okay, fine. The Fire Nation is highly individualistic. Sure, bringing honor to your family is like the first commandment, but once you bring dishonor, your family has the right to disown you.” Mai thinks bitterly of what happened to Zuko.
She doesn’t know what compels her to confess the depressing reality of her childhood to him, but she continues, “My parents used that against me. Forced me to lay silent so I couldn’t embarrass my father. I think they forgot I existed.”
She looks up at Sokka and she’s surprised that she still has his full attention. What surprises her even more is how her heart starts beating a little faster, even more nervous. She’s revealing too much.
“I liked the Tribal Code that states that members of a family function like a body—that they work as one. And I know roles are dictated by gender, but there’s still equality and no one’s role is inferior to the other. Everyone’s contribution is needed.”
Sokka looks caught off guard that Mai had knowledge of the Tribal Codes. “They’re teaching you guys about Tribal Codes?” When Mai shakes her head, he asks, “Katara?”
“No.”
“Go on a date with me.”
“Because I know about a Tribal Code?”
“You’re not that mysterious to me, Mai. Katara told me that you gave her jerky and that scroll in collaboration with Chief Arnook. You’re interested in the Water Tribes.”
“So that makes you interested in me?”
“The fact you’ve helped my sister feel at home in the Fire Nation of all places—yes, that makes me interested in you. Also, you’re beautiful.”
To her horror, she feels the blood rush to her face. She knows that in a second Sokka would be able to see how flushed she is.
Sokka tilts his head to the side, his eyes softening, “Why do I get the feeling that’s the first time a guy’s called you beautiful?”
Mai sits up from her chair, defensive, “Is that you hit on girls—by embarrassing them?”
“Wait, no!” Sokka exclaims, grabbing Mai’s hand to keep her from walking away. When she shoots him with a murderous look, he backs up with his hands up, “Okay, you don’t like being touched.”
“Well not suddenly.” After a few seconds, she sighs and sits back down. Sokka knows the girls are trained in combat, but the way they’re taught to see everyone as an opponent and see sudden movements as a potential threat was too much, even for Mai.
“I like you, Mai. I know it may seem sudden to you, but the way Katara talked about you made me excited to meet you. But if I’m coming on too strong—”
“You’re not.”
Sokka looks at her with hopeful eyes.
“You know she wrote to me about you. She said that she thinks you’d be interested in me.”
“Did she now?”
“She thought I’d reject your advances.”
“Well, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”