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In the days following Mai and Zuko’s impassioned reunion, the two were noticeably happier to everyone around them. Mai’s Aunt Mura could swear that the young woman would hum under her breath while the shop was empty, and noticed a sort of glimmer in her eyes – something vaguely familiar, with a sort of newness to it as well. Zuko would still visit the shop frequently, and when he did, Mura would pretend not to see their shared looks and smiles. One day when he popped in, during conversation Mura made vague mention to him of how certain flowers have specific meanings.
“They speak a language of their own,” she said, “The right arrangement can say just as much as a long love letter.”
“You mean hanakotoba?” Zuko replied, “Uncle always goes on about it. ‘The right set of flowers can win the heart of anyone you desire, nephew’.” Mai softly giggled at his Iroh impression.
“Ah, so you’re familiar?” Mura asked, to which the Fire Lord nodded. “I’m glad the old traditions are still carrying on with the next generation.” They continued their casual chat, the young man still stealing glances over to his secret love.
“Aunt Mura,” Mai started as the pair walked home together, “What was that you said earlier about flowers having a language?”
“Ah, my dear,” Mura mused, smiling, “Each flower has its own very specific meaning. Even different colors of the same flower mean different things. For example, we know that the Fire Lily invokes passion, which is why it’s so common for lovers to gift them to one another.” Mai listened intently, nodding. Her aunt continued:
“Soldiers will often leave lotuses for their lovers before heading off to war, as the lotus says that you are far from the one you love.”
“Tell me more about this,” Mai said, her interest intriguing the older woman.
“There’s so much to know, Mai,” Mura chuckled, “Any specific flowers you have in mind?”
“Well,” Mai thought for a moment, “What about plum blossoms?”
“Your namesake flower,” Mura smiled, “They invoke hope.” Mai let a small smile spread across her lips.
“And…roses?” Mai asked.
“Depends which color of rose,” Mura replied, “The white rose symbolizes devotion, while the yellow rose embodies jealousy. Red, of course, is for love and desire.”
“What other flowers talk about love?” Mai asked, becoming more intrigued as Mura spoke. Mura looked to her niece with raised eyebrows.
“Someone special in mind?” she teased. Mai blushed, looking away in an attempt to hide it.
“No,” she lied, “To make better recommendations to our customers.” She knew that her aunt wouldn’t buy it, but the woman didn’t press the issue further.
“There’s many kinds of love,” Mura explained, “Yellow tulips symbolize unrequited love. The camellia flower is very much about ‘love’ – white and yellow camellias signify waiting or longing. Red camellias signify romantic love. My particular favorite, the white egret, says ‘my thoughts will follow you into your dreams’. Another favorite for soldiers to give their lovers. They would often pair them with cactus flowers.” Mura giggled as she spoke this last phrase. Mai grew confused.
“What do cactus flowers mean?” she asked.
“Oh, cactus flowers speak of profound lust,” Mura answered, “Quite the opposite of the azalea, which stands for patience and modesty. These are usually included in bridal bouquets.”
“This is actually…really cool,” Mai said sincerely, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome my dear,” Mura responded with a knowing smile on her face.
Meanwhile, in the palace, Zuko strode around with a newfound confidence, standing taller than anyone had seen him do since the day he was crowned Fire Lord. He was more decisive, but also more patient. The fuse of his temper didn’t seem to burn quite so fast anymore. And everyone, especially his personal guard, the Kyoshi Warriors, saw him smiling nearly all the time.
A few weeks following the solstice celebration, as Zuko made his way from a meeting to take a quick lunch, he nearly walked right into Ty Lee.
“Sorry!” he apologized quickly once he realized, his ears flushing in embarrassment. Ty Lee simply narrowed her eyes, smirking back knowingly.
“It’s okay,” she teased lightly, “I know you’ve been distracted since you and Mai hooked up at the party.”
Zuko’s jaw fell open, and he quickly snapped it shut, pursing his lips together.
“How did you find out about that?” he asked, lowering his voice.
“I didn’t – until you just told me now,” Ty Lee giggled, “I KNEW it!” The girl clapped her hands together joyfully, squealing in delight.
“Just please, don’t tell anyone else?” Zuko asked, keeping his tone hushed, “Mai and I really haven’t had much of a chance to sit down and talk since then.”
“Don’t worry, my Lord,” Ty Lee said smugly, bowing, “Your secret is safe with me.” She started to walk past him, and whispered conspiratorially as she did so.
“But just remember, nothing gets past the Kyoshi Warriors.”
Zuko blushed as he hurried away. He wasn’t really lying when he’d told Ty Lee that he and Mai had yet to sit down and talk – even though Mai had been sneaking into his bedroom nearly every night, they weren’t exactly doing a whole lot of talking. He wondered if maybe they weren’t being quite as discreet as they had thought.
That evening, just past midnight, Zuko heard the familiar soft flutter of fabric as Mai slipped deftly through the open window. She hurried over to his bed where he sat, her footsteps barely making a sound, and engulfed him in a deep kiss. Zuko pulled her onto his lap, grasping her hair with one hand, and pushing the fabric of her tunic off her shoulder with another. She fumbled to help him free her arms from the garment, before placing her hands on his already bare chest to push him onto his back. He let out a whispered moan as Mai sunk her nails ever so lightly into his skin.
“Shhh,” Mai teased, her voice soft and low. “If you want this to keep happening, you have to be quiet.” She moved her lips from his jaw, down to his neck, and across his chest to kiss the marks she had made just moments ago. Meanwhile, her hands started to grasp at the waistband of his pants.
“Mai,” Zuko breathed, his hands desperately wandering her body, “Slow down. We have time.”
“I don’t want to slow down,” she whispered back, her lips now laying kisses down his stomach, “It’s more fun this way.” Zuko had briefly lifted his head from the sheets to look at her, but it quickly fell back to the mattress when Mai’s lips reached their destination. A groan escaped his lips, much louder than intended. His hand flew to his mouth immediately, and he began to bite his wrist when he realized that he hadn’t deterred Mai, but rather encouraged her.
Just outside the Fire Lord’s chambers, Ty Lee and Suki were standing guard when they heard the leader softly cry out. Their heads whipped to look at each other, then the door. Suki was ready to charge, but Ty Lee held up her hand.
“Wait,” she whispered, giving her fellow warrior pause. Suki looked at her questioningly, and they slowly pressed their ears to the door, listening intently. There was silence for a brief moment, and then:
“Oh, Mai…”
It took everything in the women not to burst out in hysterical laughter. They swiftly moved away from the door, crossing the hall in order to stifle their giggles.
“Oh my god,” Suki whispered, trying to catch her breath, “Thank you for stopping me! I don’t think I could ever unsee whatever’s happening in there if I had just run in.” This caused Ty Lee to break into a new fit of giggles, and before long, they were desperately wiping hysterical tears from their eyes and trying to calm their breathing.
“They really think nobody knows,” Ty Lee whispered, shaking her head. She softly giggled once more.
The lovers lay quietly together, chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath. Mai, her ear pressed against Zuko’s chest, listened to his racing heartbeat contentedly. Zuko had an arm draped lazily around her, his fingers lightly tracing patterns across the skin of her bare shoulders and back.
“How much longer are we going to keep doing this?” Zuko asked, pressing a gentle kiss to Mai’s forehead.
“Why, are you bored of me already?” Mai teased, lifting her head slightly to meet his gaze.
“Never,” he smirked, kissing her again. “I meant…sneaking around like this. Only getting to spend a few hours together in the middle of the night.” Mai’s lids fluttered downward as she looked away from him. She rested her head on his chest once more.
“I want to be with you,” Zuko continued softly, “Really be with you, all the time. Don’t you want that, too?”
“I do,” Mai sighed, closing her eyes. She hugged him a little tighter, tangling her legs with his. Even though it was the answer he’d wanted to hear, Zuko gave pause, thinking that she had more to say.
“I just…I want to be with you as if we were normal people, in a normal relationship,” Mai finally continued, “But there’s just too much politics that’ll get forced onto us. Too many pressures. I don’t know how I feel about being so…publicly scrutinized again.”
Zuko understood, feeling a twinge of guilt. Mai was finally free from the stuffy, pompous lifestyle she had been forced through since she was born, and here he was wanting to drag her right back into it. And as if she had been reading his mind, Mai spoke again:
“But then again, I guess that’s what I get for being in love with the Fire Lord.” She gently caressed his jaw with her fingertips, turning his face towards hers to kiss him again. They shared a few more slow, soft kisses before continuing their conversation.
“So, where do we go from here?” Mai asked, sitting up to stretch her arms and comb through her hair with her fingers.
“I won’t force you into the public eye,” Zuko started, propping himself up on an elbow, “We can keep this as private as you want.” Mai smiled at this, content with his answer, but he continued:
“But just to put it all out there now…” Zuko took a deep breath, considering whether or not he should really say what he was thinking. He decided to go for it.
“I’m in this for the long haul, Mai. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives…I know this formal royal life isn’t what you want – honestly, we both know that I didn’t really want it either – but if you’ll have me, I’m yours.”
“What I want is you,” Mai responded, “And I’ll just have to deal with whatever else comes along with that.” Zuko smiled at her, and she leaned down to kiss him once more, before pulling away with a sly smirk.
“You owe me big time, though,” she purred. Zuko raised his eyebrows at her, and then gripped her waist to flip her onto her back so he could hover over her.
“However can I repay you?” he teased, his lips just barely grazing hers. He smirked when she shivered under him.
“I can think of a few ways,” she breathed, before capturing his lips in another eager kiss.
A few mornings later, Mai heard the shop door open. She looked up excitedly to see that it was Zuko crossing the threshold, just as she had hoped.
“Fire Lord Zuko,” Mura greeted with a bow as the young man entered, “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company today?”
“I’ve actually come to order some flowers,” Zuko responded, looking quickly to Mai before turning his attention back to her aunt, “I’ve noticed Lady Mai’s arrangements are quite stunning lately, and I’d like one to bring some extra beauty into the palace.”
“Wonderful!” Mura said, smiling widely.
“That is,” Zuko continued, “If you’d oblige me, Lady Mai.” He bowed his head respectfully as he acknowledged her.
“Of course, my Lord,” Mai responded with a bow of her own, “Did you have anything specific in mind?”
“Surprise me,” he said, with a quick wink. Mai prayed that her aunt hadn’t caught it. She nodded in agreement before asking one final question.
“When would you like the completed piece, my Lord?”
“Take your time,” Zuko responded, “You can deliver it whenever it is finished. It will be an honor to display your creation in the palace.”
As Mai worked on assembling her bouquet for Zuko, she knew she would need to choose carefully, especially since she had just been asking her aunt all those questions about flowers and their meanings. She began by choosing a few zinnias, which indicated loyalty. This was innocent enough, she thought, as it could mean loyalty to the throne. Sunflowers had a double meaning – respect, but also passionate love. Mai figured she could feign ignorance on the latter if Mura questioned it. She pondered for a moment on what to include next, her eyes scanning the shop. A fresh bundle of azaleas caught her eye – she remembered that these stood for patience, a quality any great leader should possess. She added them to the arrangement carefully. Mai took a step back to admire it, but still felt something was missing.
“You could add some plum blossoms,” Mura’s voice startled her niece, who hadn’t realized she was standing there. “They’d round it out nicely, I think. It could be like your signature!” Mai smiled, adding a couple stems of plum blossoms to the mix.
“Lovely work, Mai,” Mura commented, “I think that the Fire Lord will be pleased.”
“One more thing,” Mai said, moving to pick up one last flower. She returned, and carefully placed a large Fire Lily in the center.
“No royal bouquet is complete without a rare flower,” she said, hoping that the thinly veiled excuse would make it past her aunt’s perception. Mura simply nodded in approval, smiling warmly.
“I think you should deliver it yourself,” she suggested, “I’m sure Fire Lord Zuko would love to receive his arrangement directly from the artisan who crafted it.” Mai agreed, and began to make her way to the palace. Once she was around the corner from the shop, she produced a few small cactus flowers from her sleeve and added them into the mix, a sly smile on her face.
As Mai was escorted into the throne room, she tried to ignore the fact that the last time she had been here, she was breaking up with Zuko. Putting it out of her mind, she approached him gracefully, maintaining a formal demeanor.
“My Lord,” she bowed, presenting the bouquet in front of her, “Your requested arrangement. I personally chose every flower in this vase.”
“Thank you, Lady Mai, for this lovely gift,” Zuko responded, stepping off the platform in order to retrieve it himself. He examined the petals as Mai passed the vase into his hands.
“How’d you explain the cactus flowers?” he whispered with a smirk.
“I didn’t,” Mai answered in a hushed tone, “I added them in after I left the shop. Otherwise, I knew it would be a dead giveaway.” They shared a meaningful look, then bid each other a formal farewell.
That night in his room, Zuko recounted the flowers with Mai as she rested her head on his chest.
“Sunflower and Fire Lily? Burning passion,” he teased. “Zinnia for loyalty, azalea for patience, cactus flower for lust…and plum blossoms. Hope?”
“That, and so that you’d know it’s from me,” Mai responded, a light tease in her own voice.
“So basically, you’re really hot for me, and only me, but you’re also willing to wait,” Zuko summarized, “Isn’t that a little contradictory? Especially considering the position we’re in right now…” He laughed lightly, gesturing to their clothes scattered around the floor.
“Obviously not that kind of waiting,” Mai said with a playful roll of her eyes, “But waiting like, waiting for the right time to be together in public.”
“When is that right time?” Zuko asked, gazing into her eyes.
“That’s where the hope comes in,” Mai answered, “As in, hoping that it’s sooner rather than later.” They shared a tender, longing kiss.
“Want to know what kind of bouquet I’d make for you?” Zuko invited. Mai nodded, curious to hear what her lover would have to say.
“Red rose, violet, bluebell, and lavender,” he answered.
“Passionate love, honesty, gratitude, and fidelity,” Mai said, “Is that a promise?”
“A vow,” Zuko whispered, caressing her cheek with his fingertips, “One I’ll keep for the rest of my life.”