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february 14, valentine’s day
“They look like rocks.”
The gloomy girl sighed in defeat, her shoulders drooping, almost as if there were real rocks weighing her down, along with the looming prospect of rejection from her crush-since-forever due to having nothing on hand (at least, nothing presentable) to show for her sincerity other than her most recent kitchen blunder.
When she asked Aunt Mura to teach her how to carve shapes out of chocolate, she really did not expect that it would be this hard. She had almost half her life’s worth of lessons under her belt (and under the insistent prodding of her mother) from renowned tutors in Caldera City, lessons on the ladylike arts—calligraphy, embroidery, even flower arrangement. Equipped with all that, not to mention her natural affinity for knives, you’d think that she had enough artistic sense to end up with perfectly carved chocolate hearts.
Mai, however, in all her twelve years, did not account for the fact that throwing knives at her bedroom walls and ceiling would not equate to instantly being able to master the delicate nature of food sculpting.
She had the whole scene planned out: go to the scheduled playdate with Azula and Ty Lee at the former's family estate (which was right across from hers), sneak out of whatever game they're playing (hopefully it's hide-and-seek) the moment she sees Zuko pass through the garden while on his way to the turtleduck pond, and then...
And then... say I kinda like you, please accept this? I like how you don't make fun of me the way your sister does? I like how your eyes look like dancing flames when the sun hits just right?
"Oh, whatever," Mai thought as she began clearing the marble counter, carving tools being put away. "I don't even know for sure if I'll see him today."
With great care, she placed three chocolate hearts in a red gift box—the ones that she deemed not that horrifying to look at, and tied the box with a white satin ribbon. She used to think that the practice of giving a gift to someone you like on Valentine's Day was stupid; looking back at all the times when her eyes were narrowed in judgment toward the blushing girls at school, twiddling their thumbs as they recounted how they confessed to their crushes. Those tales were told with so much fanfare, as if saying I like you was as groundbreaking as going on a life-changing field trip to the ancient ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization and finding out that dragons are real or something.
But then again, she's not so different from them after all. She became a blushing girl, too. And if dragons really do exist, she hopes that one would whisk her away and set her on fire after she pushes the box in Zuko's hands, before he opens it to see what's inside.
Her last-minute brooding was eventually cut off when she heard Ty Lee chirp "Hey, Mai! You ready to go?" from the entrance hall.
After doing one last inspection of the gift box, she stuffed it into her backpack and braced herself for the day ahead.
As luck would have it—or as Azula's whim would have it, they did end up playing hide-and-seek.
It'll be challenging to slip past Azula as the seeker, so Mai knew she had to act fast. And by fast, she means before the agreed upon countdown of 60 drops to zero.
“Sixty.. fifty-nine… fifty-eight..”
Her eyes darted around the area as she ran towards the direction of the turtleduck pond all the way to the edge of the garden.
“Fifty-seven.. fifty-six… fifty-five..”
Azula called louder, her voice laced with impatience.
“Fifty-four.. fifty-three… fifty-two..”
Mai bumped into Ty Lee, and the two girls had to clamp down their shock at the collision.
“Fifty-one.. fifty… forty-nine..”
“The tree next to the turtleduck pond’s mine. Find a different spot. Go to the opposite side if you don't want Azula to find us both in one go,” she whispered before rushing towards her goal as the sound of the countdown grows fainter and fainter.
With great effort, Mai began to hoist herself up the tree. The extra weight added by her backpack posed an obstacle, and she dreaded imagining what her mother would think if she saw her only daughter—her prim and proper daughter, as she liked to boast at society parties—now.
As she clung to a sturdy branch like a winged lemur, even Mai had to admit the absurdity of it all. Forget about confessing: if she were Zuko and a rumpled girl with leaves in her hair suddenly gave out chocolate, she would not even touch her with a ten-foot pole.
“Mai?”
Oh, ashes. You've got to be joking. In a cruel trick by the universe, Zuko was in front of her. Or rather, looking up at her. It's like he materialized out of thin air the minute she thought against her plan of giving the gift.
Even with her mind going haywire, Mai kept a firm control on projecting the impression of not being fazed in the slightest.
“Shush up! We're playing hide-and-seek. Don't tell Azula I'm here,” she hissed and furrowed her brows for emphasis.
Zuko peeked his head out of the small stone fence which separated the pond from the scattered dragon topiary and unlit lamp posts. “Azula's on the opposite side of the garden, near the fountain. Can you come down? That doesn't look very safe.”
Feeling the ache in her arms, she gave in and went down as quietly as she could, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.
“You can sit behind the tree. I'll sit in front and look out for you.”
Mai nodded at him in gratitude, trying to ignore the flurry in her chest that oddly sounded like Fire Days Festival drums, the phrase look out for you still ringing in her ears.
She figured that maybe this could work in her favor. With the tree trunk acting as a barrier between them, she won't have to look at him directly, and he can be spared from the sight of her being a mess.
“Do you know what day it is today?” Mai began once she was settled against the bark, fumbling with the strings of her bag in a nervous tic. Deciding that it would be better to just put it all out there, she doesn't let a beat pass before adding, “It's Valentine's Day. I want to give you something.”
She laid the gift box on the lush grass—just within Zuko’s reach, but not close enough to him that would warrant her having to come out of hiding.
Before she could pull her hand away, he already caught it in a tentative grip, his fingertips brushing against hers ever so slightly with a featherlight finish.
“You're injured,” he whispered, like he was afraid that speaking too loud would shatter the moment. And maybe it would shatter something—the relative safety she was offered by being away from Azula's view, that is. “Can I sit next to you?”
“Don't be dramatic,” Mai scoffed. “I just got nicked from my knives, no big deal. It happens.”
This time, Zuko did not wait for her confirmation to sit next to each other. He crouched towards the other side of the tree—towards her, with the box clutched to his chest. Trying to make as little noise as possible, he brought out a black handkerchief from his pocket and tied it to her hand. “Sorry, I don't have any bandages,” he said sheepishly.
“Do you want to open the box?” Mai asked, simultaneously offering up a silent prayer of Spirits, give me strength to the cosmic forces.
With a nod, Zuko hurried to untie the ribbon, his eyes widened in delight once he saw the contents. Turning towards the girl, he asked, “Did you carve this yourself?”
“I did,” Mai confirmed. “Sorry it looks terrible.”
“No, no it doesn’t!” he scrambled to defuse her worry, noting that Mai was more shy than usual. Seeing that there was a dust of pink in her cheeks, Zuko felt heat rush all the way up to his ears as well. “Thank you, Mai. It's the first time anyone's given me anything for Valentine's Day.”
Mai wanted to debunk his claim, thinking of his gaggle of admirers from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls that made googly eyes at ‘Zuko, Azula's cute older brother’, but she chose to bite her tongue—opting to reply with a measured “You’re welcome.”
Before she could say anything else that would make her spontaneously combust in embarrassment, she dusted off her clothes and stood from her position against the tree.
“I should probably go and show myself to Azula now.”
“What? What about your game? You're gonna lose.”
Mai allowed herself a small smile, the corners of her mouth slightly tilted upwards as her voice took on a mischievous tone. “No, I feel like I've already won.”
The festival drums in her chest rose to a crescendo when her last sight of Zuko before leaving the turtleduck pond was him with his flushed face.
march 14, white day
It's Valentine's Day. I want to give you something.
No, I feel like I've already won.
A month has already passed, but that whole garden encounter has taken up a well-established corner of his mind. Zuko struggled to wrap his head around the fact that a girl—that Mai, of all people, went out of her way to give him something for Valentine’s Day. He also struggled to wrap his head around what this meant for the two of them, but at the tender age of 13, he concluded that there were far more pressing matters to consider.
Like preparing his White Day present, for example.
He was never one to indulge in such events (receiving his first ever Valentine’s gift means that it’s also his first ever White Day participation), but he’s up to speed with the social practice of giving reciprocal gifts. It’s the polite thing to do, but Zuko knew deep down that his motivations grew deeper than simple courtesy.
He thought back to Mai at the turtleduck pond, her hands littered with scrapes. And when he popped the chocolate hearts into his mouth that day, noticing that there was a bit of a spicy kick that complemented the ensuing sweetness, he was resolved to give Mai a present that deservedly measured up to her efforts—if not more.
With only a few hours left on the clock before Mai comes over, Zuko was hunched over a closed off kitchen counter of the Jasmine Dragon, his eyes set in concentration and lips in a firm line. He could have done this at home, but he’d rather not give Azula any openings. She was already teasing him enough as it is, starting from when he inquired about Mai’s food preferences and his sister merely replied with “Aww does our little Zuzu have a crush?” in a singsong voice.
He didn’t really care about what Azula thinks, but it would be bothersome if she pestered Mai about it. He knew they were already friends even before Mai was made aware of his existence, and he knew that his sister would take it as a slight against her, accusing Zuko of ‘poaching’ her friend—whatever that meant.
Thank the spirits for Ty Lee and Uncle Iroh. The lively girl was the one to supply that Mai liked fruit tarts, something about how the pastry ‘makes her aura bright with bliss’, while his uncle hummed “Oh, to be young,” after agreeing to Zuko’s request of lending his tea shop’s kitchen as the venue for his baking sessions.
Zuko spent two weeks poring over fruit tart recipes, and spent another two weeks thinking about the exact words to say when he came face-to-face with Mai.
I wasn’t lying when I said you’re the first one to ever give me a Valentine’s Day gift, he practiced in his head. And you being the first one makes me really happy because I really like you.
He started to carefully slice the red grapefruit and blood oranges, the knife’s metallic sheen reminding him of Mai’s favorite hobby. I like how your words can be as sharp as your knives, and I like that even though you say you hate the world, you’re one of the few people I know who makes the world beautiful to me.
Once he finished slicing all the fruits, he filled the pre-baked crust with chilled pastry cream and proceeded to decorate. With all the finesse he could muster, he brushed the grapefruit, blood oranges, strawberries, and apple slices with apricot glaze; the fruits glinting like gems under the fluorescent light. Satisfied, he wrapped up his masterpiece by placing a few white rose petals on top of the tart and around the serving platter.
As the hours inch closer toward the talked-about meeting time, Zuko grew more and more agitated. Pacing back and forth in the kitchen, he opened and closed his fists while letting out a few nervous huffs.
Uncle Iroh eventually broke the trance, opening the door and said, “I hate to interrupt your little parade on my kitchen floor, nephew, but your guest has arrived. Why don’t you guide her to a table while I brew a nice pot of jasmine tea to ease your nerves?”
I can do this, he grounded himself, taking large and purposeful strides out of the kitchen.
“Hi,” Zuko said breathlessly once he saw her at the doorway. He wanted to kick himself because of how his voice sounded like it was struggling to come out.
He guided her to a private booth, which was set apart from the normal tables by a bamboo screen. “I’ll just quickly get something from the kitchen. I’ll be right back.”
With a wink, his uncle handed him a large tray containing the fruit tarts he baked, as well as the tea set. Zuko merely nodded at him, both out of bashfulness and gratitude. He went back to where Mai was, sighing in relief that he was able to successfully balance the tray without spilling anything.
Once he was settled in the booth, he handed her a plate with one slice. Seeing the expression on her face made his chest feel.. warm and fuzzy. It felt like he was housing the sun inside of his body.
Mai’s eyes sparkled in wonder, her mouth in a small ‘o’. “Woah, that’s one fancy fruit tart,” she said with a tiny grin. “It has rose petals on top.”
As he looked at her, the thing that Ty Lee said about Mai’s aura being bright finally dawned on him.
“Do you know what day it is today?” Zuko replied with his own matching grin. “It’s White Day. I baked you something.”
“You baked this? Color me impressed,” she laughed, almost in disbelief.
The two of them fell into a silent yet comfortable rhythm, him arranging their plates and cutlery, and her pouring their tea with all the refined grace of nobility. A few fleeting moments have passed before one of them dared to break the silence.
“Thank you, Zuko,” she said as she looked directly into his eyes, and he felt the sun in his chest flare up.
He smiled at her in return, thinking that if this is what it feels like to have the sun inside of him, he wouldn’t mind nursing this warmth in his chest forever.
“You’re welcome.”